Bell Pepper Rings

Dear friends

This time i have tried bajjis using green pepper..
Long back i had this snack at a friends place.. she had made with besan,green chilli paste and salt. so keeping that in mind i was planning to do the same except to substitute by adding red chilli powder but ended up adding many more things.. i had besan and then was preparing the batter and it had become too watery ... ooh i went to the pantry foraging for a packet of besan..alas to my dissapointment no besan was there.. crazy pooja was wondering what to do and finally ended up adding little rice flour but still the batter was little loose and then i opened the kitchen cabinet and there i spotted tomato ketchup..why not add some???? lets try ! thinking i added about a tsp of tomato ketchup.. the batter was better and believe me guys the recipe turned out to be good
now let me share this crazy recipe
you can also make this using the regular bajji batter

Ingredients

Bell pepper(green) - 1
gram flour/besan - 5 tbspn
rice flour - 1 tbspn
tomato ketchup - 1 tspn
red chilli powder - 1/4 tspn
turmeric powder - a pinch
asafoetida - a pinch
salt - acc to taste
oil - for frying

Method

• slice the green pepper in the form of rings
• mix the above mentioned ing with water to form a batter
  
• mean while heat oil in a pan
• now dip the pepper rings in teh batter and deep fry them in oil
  
• serve hot with tea

this can be made in a jiffy , when you want to fix a quick snack !
sending these to AFAM(a fruit a month) - Bell Pepper hosted by priya and started by maheswari of beyond the usual

Chicken Fry/Tandoori Chicken

Well i have experimented on tandoori chicken without using a tan door.
sounds strange but as i am away from india i dont have the tan door.
yeah but the chicken can be grilled in the oven also but i have used simple frying pan and cooked it on the gas.
This is a post from the archive but i would like to re-post it for the event Potluck chicken
hosted by viki


Ingredients

Chicken - 300 gms
For marination

• Ginger paste- 1 tspn
• Garlic paste- 1 tspn
• Vinegar - 1 tbspn
• Lime juice - 1 tbspn
• Curd - 2 tbspn
• Chicken masala - 2 tspn
• Red color powder - a pinch ( optional)
• salt - acc to taste.

Chicken masala

The chicken masala which i usually use is "sakthi chilli chicken "
Marination

• wash the chicken and make small incisions on it (with fork or knife) and set it aside
• in a bowl add ginger garlic paste and all the above mentioned ingredients for marination
  
• stir it properly so that the masala gets dissolved
• then add the chicken pieces and mix it well
• now this has to kept it in the refrigerator for to 1 to 2 hrs for proper marination
• sometimes i keep it overnight( depends upon the availability of time)

Method

• Heat about 1 tbspn of oil in the frying pan
• when its hot add the marinated chicken pieces
  
• make sure the flame is low
• occasionally brush it with oil n make sure to turn it
  
• keep cooking for about 10 to 12 mins
• here we go tasty chicken is ready

Enjoy it as a starter or with chappathi or naan

Bourekas

Bourekas are made out puff pastry filled with various fillings. The most popular fillings are cheese,mashed potato,spinach,eggplant,pizza-flavor, and mushrooms.
i have had this several times at a Jewish friend's place . On quizzing my friend got to know that Bourekas was brought to Israel by the Jews from Turkey and Balkans..
Burek ( other variant name) is popular in the Arab world, some countries around the Mediterranean Sea, the Slavic cuisines, throughout the Balkans and the former Ottoman Empire.
You can check out the variants here on wikipedia(Burek)

Whenever i go to my friends place she always gives these delicious treats and i end up eating so many and my tummy is so full by the times we reach the main course.I'm staying in West Africa and its difficult to get puff pastry here.. i tried one of store bought pastries and some how dint like the smell of it. Got to know from my friend that their house keeper prepared everything from the scratch and i was taken aback.preparing puff pastry at home... now was not that meant to be difficult... well i was so obsessed with the Bourekas and was very stubborn on learning it.. so one fine day she arranged a cooking lesson for me and i was so excited.
i had made video of the entire process and i tell you it was so much fun..
i came home all enlightened ( he he he) and the following weekend i was set to try it at home.
here i have made the bourekas using the fillings cheese and pizza flavour..




now for those of you who can get ready made pastry its very easy for the unlucky ones like me
the procedure for making the puff pastry is given below

Making the puff pastry

Ingredients

all purpose flour(for dough) - 6 cups
all purpose flour(for dusting) - 1 cup
oil(olive/sunflower)- 2 tbspns
salt- 1 tbspn
sugar-1 tbspn
margarine-200 gms
water-sufficient amount to knead
Method

• sieve the flour for the dough and add in the salt, sugar and oil
• add in sufficient water to form a smooth dough
• sieve the flour for dusting in a separate bowl and set aside
• choose a big platform and dust some flour on the surface and roll the dough to uniform thickness..its better to use a big surface as the dough has to rolled to about 1/4 inch thickness
• now grate the margarine all over the dough surface , about 25 gms should be fine.
• now close the dough from both sides and gently press with your hands
• dust some flour on top of the spread dough and beneath (on the surface) also , so as to avoid the dough sticking and rol the dough once again
  
• again grate some more margarine on top of the dough and repeat the process for 4 more times ( in total it is 6 times of repeated rolling, grating,folding and again so on for 6 times)
• this process is a little tiring but its worth the effort
• when you are done with the 6th time ,by then entire margarine should be finished
  
• roll the dough again to uniform thickness cut into small squares of desired size

Pizza-flovour

Ingredients

Onion- 1 small
Garlic - 1 pearl
tomatoes - 2 nos
tomato puree - 1 tbspn
pepper powder- 1/2 tspn
salt- to taste
oil- 1 tspn
grated cheese - 1/2 cup
Olives - 1 tbspn

Method

• heat oil in a pan add the finely chopped garlic and saute for a min and then add the finely chopped onions and when they turn golden brown add the finely chopped tomatoes(store bought can also be used) and add little salt and when they begin to become mushy add the tomato puree and pepper and saute for 5 mins and turn off the flame
• cool the mixture and to this add the grated cheese, i have used emmental cheese and add the chopped olives and mix it well

Cheese flavour

Ingredients

grated cheese- 1/2 cup
Olives- 2 tbspn
egg white - 1

Method

• mix the grated cheese, i have used emmental and the chopped olives and blend in the agg white and keep aside

Making the Bourekas

• On a lightly floored surface the dough has to be cut into squares
• place a tbspn of the required filling on the dough and close to form a triangle
• crump the edges using a fork
• place it on the tray lined with a baking paper
  
• and beat the egg yellow and brush the top of the bourekas and sprinkle sesame seeds on top
• bake at 350 degrees until puffy and golden brown
  

voila you have hot Bourekas , enjoy !






Thanx a ton to my dearest friends !

Pakoras (Onion,Corn&beans)

This weekend was raining and i wanted to eat something hot ...after much thinking zeroed on Pakoras being the easiest... i wanted to add something different and tried with corn and beans
and it came out well..here goes the recipe

Ingredients

Onion- 1 medium sized
Corn- 3 tspns
Beans - 2 tspns
Gram flour(besan/kadalai maavu) - 1/2 cup
rice flour- 1 tbspn
water - 3/4 cup(approx)
salt - according to taste
Asafoetida(hing) - a pinch
turmeric powder - 1/4 tspn
chilli powder- 1 tspn
garam masala - 1/4 tspn(optional)

Ingredients

• cut the onions lengthwise and finely chop the beans and keep in a bowl
• to this add corn( i have used the tinned corn which is little sweet)
• add the turmeric ,hing, chilli powder, garam masala and salt and mix well
• to this add the besan and rice flour and mix well such that the veggies are coated uniformly
• now add water little by little to form a batter neither loose nor stiff
• heat oil and fry these in batches ..
• serve with chutney or ketchup

Samosa

Samosas have always been a hit in all my dinner parties !
I'm dedicating this post to my dearest Em who has always been a great fan of my samosa
Thanx Em

Ingredients for the filling

Potatoes - 4 to 5
Onion - 1 medium sized
Carrots - 1/2 cup
Frozen Peas - 3/4 cup
Coriander leaves - 6 stalks
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tspn
Cumin - 1 tspn
Chaat masala- 1 tspn
Chilli powder - 1 tspn
Garam masala - 1/4 tspn
Salt -according to taste
Oil- for deep frying

Method

• Boil the potaotes until soft and when done cool and mash the potaotes and keep aside
• Cube the carrots and boil them until soft and set aside
• Heat 1 tbspn of oil in a wok and add the cumin and then add finely chopped onions
• Saute them for a while and when golden brown add the potatoes and saute for few mins and then add the carrots and peas followed by chilli powder, chaat masala ,garam masala,turmeric powder ,salt and saute them until the masala is well mixed then add the lemon juice and coriander leaves and switch off from flame
• Nuts of your choice such as groundnuts,cashew nuts can be roasted separately and add to this mixture.. i have not used any nuts in this recipe due to taste preferences
  
• Let this misture cool mean while the dough can be prepared

Preparing the dough

Ingredients

maida - 1 1/2 cups
salt - 1/4 tspn
baking soda - 1/4 tspn(optional)
oil - 1 tspn
water - for kneading

• mix the above mentioned ingredients to form a soft pliable dough

Method for samosa

• take dough to the size of lemon and gently roll into a circle
• now cut the circle into half as shown below
• now take one half of the circle(semicircle) and gently seal the edge using water to form a small cone( refer pics below)
• hold the cone using your fingers and palm and place 1 tbspn of the filling into it and seal the edges using water
• when done with the desired number of samosas
• deep fry them in hot oil with the sealed side facing up and when brown turn them
• and when done serve them with the chutney of your choice.

Gobi Manchurian(dry)

This has been my all time favorite !

Ingredients

Cauliflower florets(medium sized) - 30
Milk - 1 tbspn
Maida/all purpose flour - 1 cup
Corn flour - 3 tbspn
Ginger garlic paste - 3 tspn
Soy sauce(thick)- 2 tspn
Hot red chilli sauce - 1 1/2 tbspn
Tomato ketchup - 1 1/2 tbspn
Red chilli powder- 1 tspn
Spring Onions - 5 stalks
Onion - 1 medium sized
Capsicum - 1 medium sized
Salt - according to taste
Water - for boiling the florets
Water - 1 cup (approx)
Oil - for deep frying
Oil - 2 tbspn
Red color powder - 1 pinch (optional)

Method

• Clean the cauliflower florets and boil them in water along with 1 tbspn of milk for 5 mins and leave it closed mean while get the other things ready.
• In a bowl mix together the maida, corn flour, 1 1/2 tspn ginger garlic paste, 1 tspn of soy sauce,chilli powder, 1/4 tspn of salt and now add 1 cup water (approx) and mix together to form a thin batter
• drain the floretts and pat them dry. dip the boiled florets in the better one by one and deep fry in hot oil and set aside.
• heat 2 tbspn of oil in a wok and add the chopped onions and saute them for few mins and then add the chopped spring onions and cubed capsicum
• fry them for a while and add 1 1/2 tspn of ginger garlic paste and fry for 2 mins
• dissolve the red color powder(optional) in 1 tbspn of water and add at this stage
• add the deep fried florets and saute for few seconds and then add 1 tspn of soy sauce and the hot red chilli sauce and the tomato ketchup and salt
• you can adjust the amount of red chilli sauce and tomato ketchup according to taste
• Enjoy with rotis !

This post stands dedicated to my friend Ms. Indu Nair

Paruppu vadai

Paruppu vadai is made out of dal dumplings fried in oil .
it tastes excellent when eaten hot. here goes the recipe. I happened to do this for a potluck on Diwali party.


Ingredients

Channa dal - 500 gms
Onions - 2 big nos
Curry leaves - 4 stalks
Dried red chillies - 4 nos
cumin seeds - 2 tspns
fennel seeds - 2 tspn
salt - approx 2 tspn(acc to taste)
asafoetida - 1/4 tspn
oil- 3 cups for frying

Method

• Soak the channa dal for abt 2 hrs
• when they have doubled in size set aside about 5 tbspns of channa dal, this gives a crunchy taste to the vadai
  
• grind the remaining channa dal along with the red chillies to a coarse paste and add the chopped onions,roughly chopped curry leaves and cumin,fennel,asafoetida , salt ,coarsely grinded channa paste and the remaining dal and mix thoroughly .
• heat oil and meanwhile gently form lemon shaped balls out of this coarse paste and press it down with your palms
• when done fry these in batches and serve it hot with any chutney of ur choice or enjoy it as such.

Prawn 65

Ingredients

Prawns(cleaned & deveined) - 30 (small) or 15 (big)
soy sauce - 1 tbspn
vinegar - 1 tbspn
Ginger garlic paste - 1/4 tspn
Red Color - a pinch (optional)
Coriander powder - 1/4 tspn
Chilli powder - 1/4 tspn
garam masala - 1/4 tspn
turmeric powder - 1/4 tspn
Corn flour - 1 tbspn
Egg white - 1 no
Salt - acc to taste
Oil - 1/2 to 3/4 cup of oil for frying

For seasoning

Curry leaves - few
Green chillies - 2 to 3

Method

• Heat a pan(no oil needed) and add the prawns and turmeric powder.the prawns will leave water . keep sauting gently until the water dries up.now u can see the prawns coiled up at this stage remove from flame and allow it cool
• in a bowl add the prawns , ginger garlic paste, soy sauce,vinegar,coriander powder,garam masala powder,chilli powder,salt n red food color and leave it for atleast 30 mins to get marinated. i usually leave it for 2 to 3 hrs.
• Mix the egg white and corn flour to the prwans and leave it for 5 to 6 mins
  
• Heat oil in a pan(i usually use a small pan to reduce the amount of oil) and then fry the prawns in bathches of few .
• when done... heat abt 1/4 tspn of oil in another pan and ad the curry leaves and the green chillies cut lengthwise and then add the prawns saute for few secs and serve them hot as an appetizer

Medhu Vadai

Medhu vadai is made of urad dal and it is my all time favourite
Sunday evening it was raining "cats n dogs " and we felt like having somethin piping hot
after few mins of thinking we zeroed in on having medhu vadai.

Ingredients

Urad dal- 1 cup (200 gms)
Green chillies - 4 to 5
Onions - 2
Curry leaves - a bunch
Ginger grated - 1 tspn
Asafoetida- 1/2 tspn
Coriander leaves - a bunch
salt - acc to taste
Oil - for frying

Method

• wash n soak the dal and refrigerate for min 1 hr
• in the mean time chop the onions finely
• cut the green chillies and grate the ginger and finely chop the coriander leaves and curry leaves
  
• now grind the urad dal smoothly . care shud be taken not to add too much water as it might absorb excessive oil.
• when done add the onions , chillies, curry leaves , ginger, coriander leaves, needed sal and asafoetida. mix it thoroughly
• heat oil in a pan
  
• now comes the trickier part.
• usually the vada's have a hole in the centre to allow even frying
• the mixture must be in th right propotion to get this
• for begginers it is ok if u just fry it without the hole in the centre.
• wet ur hands and take the misture to the size of the lemon ball and a make a hole with ur thumb and gently drop it in the oil
• allow it to get fried , the color changes to golden brown and then turn it and fry evenly
• when done serve with coconut chutney .
• alternatively u can cool the vada and drop in curd and enjoy as thayir vadai(curd vada)

Chicken Fry

Well i have experimented on tandoori chicken without using a tandoor.
sounds strange but as i am away from india i dont have the tandoor.
yeah but the chicken can be grilled in the oven also but i use a simple frying pan n cook it on the gas.

Ingredients

Chicken - 300 gms

For marination

• Ginger paste- 1 tspn
• Garlic paste- 1 tspn
• Vinegar - 1 tbspn
• Lime juice - 1 tbspn
• Curd - 2 tbspn
• Chicken masala - 2 tspn
• Red color powder - a pinch ( optional)
• salt - acc to taste.

Chicken masala

The chicken masala which i usually use is "sakthi chilli chicken "
U can get the chicken masala from the Indian store .

Marination

• wash the chicken and make small incisions on it (with fork or knife) n set it aside
• in a bowl add ginger garlic paste and all the above mentioned ingredients for marination
  
• stir it properly so that the masala gets dissolved
• then add the chicken pieces n mix it well
• now this has to kept it in the refrigerator for to 1 to 2 hrs for proper marination
• sometimes i keep it overnight( depends upon the availability of time)

Method

• Heat about 1 tbspn of oil in the frying pan
• when its hot add the marinated chicken pieces
  
• make sure the falme is low
• occasionally brush it with oil n make sure to turn it
  
• keep cooking for abt 10 to 12 mins
• here we go tasty chicken is ready

Enjoy it as a starter or with chappathi or naan