Cauliflower Bhaji

Fried foods always tend to taste good. It holds good for this cauliflower bhaji too. If you don't have potatoes or onions for bhaji , don't worry, cauliflower can make excellent bhajis. It is a great tea time snack. So, go ahead and give it a try sometime. (sorry... the flash has ruined my picture.

Ingredients:

cauliflower- 1 (medium size)
oil- for deep frying
besan powder- 1 cup
rice flour- 2 tbs
turmeric powder- 1/4 tsp
chilli powder- 1/2 tsp (first add 1/4 tsp, if you can handle the heat add more)
salt- as per taste
cumin powder- 1/4 tsp
amchur powder- few pinches (optional)


Procedure:

Wash the cauliflower well and seperate the florets. Steam them for 3 to4 minutes. You can skip this step if you want. I just do it because that's how my friend taught me. But I have tried it without the steaming also. Didn't notice any difference at all. Mix the rest of the ingredients from besan to amchur powder with water. Add water little by little. The batter should be thick and not runny. If you dip the floret and lift it up the batter should not slide away. This is the right consistency. Deep fry them in oil and drain when they are golden brown. Serve this with ketchup, corriander chutney , sweet and sour sauce or any other dip of your choice.

If you wish to add an extra touch... saute some sliced onions, finely chopped ginger & garlic, chopped green chillies with some salt and red pepper flakes. Then add a little tomato sauce and mix it. Add the fried florets and toss to coat them. Serve hot sprinkled with some corriander leaves or spring onions.

Palak and Black Eye Pea Vadas

Here is another dish with Black eye peas. You can call it vadas if you shape it or just drop it in oil without shaping it- you have fritters. This vada tastes very differnt from the channa dal vadas. It is crunchy on the outside and so soft on the inside. Recently I saw these pea fritters in one of our fellow bloggers blog. But I'm so sorry. I forgot who it was. Anyway, that's how I was reminded of this dish that I had made years ago... maybe 4 years back.

I saw this dish in the 'melting pot' foodtv show. A carribean cook did this. I don't remember her name. She served it with cucumber raitha. Initially, I was doubtful of the combination , but I remember that my hubby really enjoyed that combo. I tried to locate the recipe from 'Food TV' but couldn't find it. So, I recreated the recipe to best of my knowledge. Also, I added palak for my touch. It tasted sooo good.

Hey, I know what you are thinking. You might wonder what am I doing with fried foods when I'm bragging that I'm on diet. Actually, I didn't eat even one. Just tasted the batter for seasonings before frying it. 'B' wanted a tea time snack, so it was made just for him. He relished all the vadas without any one to compete for it. Didn't have time for the raitha. So I served it just with tomato ketchup and sweet tamarind sauce. My hubby liked it both. Ok, it's time for the recipe. Here goes.

Ingredients:
Black eye peas- 1 cup (soaked overnight)
onion- 1/2 (finely chopped)
clove- 1
saunf- 1 tsp
ginger- 1/2 "
green chillies- 3
salt- as needed
palak- 1/2 cup (chopped. can add more if needed)

Procedure:

Drain the soaked peas. Grind it with clove, saunf, ginger, chilli and salt to a coarse batter. Do not add water. Otherwise the batter will become runny and you can't shape it. Scoop out the ground paste and add chopped onions and palak. Mix well. Test for seasoning level. Finally shape them into vadas and deep fry in oil. Serve it hot with cucumber raitha, sauce or mint chutney.

Here is another look....

Ridgegourd bhajis/ Peerkangai bhajis

Many of you must have tried bhajis with different vegetables like potato, onion,brinjal or plantain. How about ridge gourd for a change ? This veggie is a little sweet by nature and it turns really soft when fried like this. It's a great evening snack and one medium size ridge gourd can be finished just like that when prepared this way. It can be served with any chutney of your choice or can skip all the work and serve it with ketchup like me. Enjoy!!!

Ingredients:

ridgegourd- 1 medium size

besan flour- 1 cup

rice flour- 1/4 up

salt- as reqd

chilli powder- 1 tsp

cumin powder- 1/2 tsp

hing- 1/4 tsp

water- 1/2 cup

Procedure:

Scrap off the skin from ridgegourd and cut into medium size rounds. Combine the rest of the ingredients well. First mix the dry ingredients evenly and then add water. The batter should be a little thick. Heat oil in kadai. Dip the vegetable one by one and drop it in the hot oil. Turn after a few minutes and remove when you get a nice golden color.

Here is another snap for all of you.

Urad dal vadai

Urad dal / Ulundu vadai is a very common breakfast item in South-India. With this basic vada we can make sambar vada or dahi vada. Again, this is my MIL's recipe and she is so good at it. Try it for yourself and you will surely agree with me.

I'm adding this after seeing Asha's comment. I did not know that this is a karnataka dish too and goes by the name ' Uddin Vade'. So, now I'm sending this for RCI:K.

Ingredients:
urad dal- 1/4 kg
ponni raw rice- 1 tsp
onion-2(medium size)
green chillies-2
ginger- 1"
corriander-few
curry leaves-few
salt- as required

Procedure:
Soak urad dal for 5 to 6 hours. Drain and grind it with rice to a smooth paste (like butter). Add finely chopped onions, green chillies, ginger, corriander and curry leaves. Do not add salt while grinding the urad dal. Salt should be added after the batter is ready . If not the batter will give away the water and make it runny.
Oil your palms and shape the batter into vadas. You can use a ziploc cover too instead of your hand. Slide it carefully in the oil and deep fry it. Serve it with coconut chutney.

Fried Calamari

I wasn't a big seafood eater before marriage. But now I am. I love all kinds of fish,crabs and prawns. Recently, I had calamari in a Italian restaurant. I wouldn't say that I loved it. But it was ok. So, this weekend I asked my husband to experiment on calamari and the result is what I have posted here. It was similar to the one we had at the restaurant, but it was not spicy enough to satisfy my palate. Since it was our first try , I did not measure any ingredients. So, I'll post the recipe very soon after perfecting it. Until then... Happy Eating!

Parrupu Vadai

Ingredients:

Channa dal - 2 cups

onion - 1 (small,chopped)

green chillies - 6 (finely chopped)

corriander leaves-little

sombu- 1 tsp

salt

Procedure:

Soak Channa dal for 1 hr. drain water and grind it coarsely. In a vessel, combine dal,onions,chillies,sombu,corriander leaves and salt. Shape into vadas and deep fry in oil. Serve with chutney of your choice.

Mini Mutton Puffs

These mutton puffs are so easy to make. The filling can be done ahead and refrigerated. You can bake the puffs just 1/2 hr before serving.

Ingredients:

Mutton Kheema-1/2 kg
peas-1 cup
onion-1(chopped fine)
tomato-1(small,chopped fine)
ginger garlic paste- 1 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder-1/2 tsp
green chillies- 7 (chopped fine)
garam masala- 1/2 tsp
corriander leaves- (1/4 cup ,finely chopped)
Puff Pastry sheet- 1 pack
butter- for basting

Procedure:
Heat oil in Kadai. Add onions and saute until golden brown. Then add ginger garlic paste and chillies. Saute 2 mins. Now add tomatoes and cook till tender. Then add turmeric, garam masala and salt. check for seasonings. Now add kheema and mix well. Then put peas and 1/2 cup water. cover and cook till mutton is done. After some time, remove lid and allow all the water to evaporate so that the kheema is almost dry. Finally add corriander leaves and mix well. Now the stuffing is ready.

Thaw the pastry sheet as per package directions. Cut into desired shapes. Place a spoonful of stuffing and seal all the open edges. To seal edges you can apply some egg wash( 1 egg yolk+ 2 tbsp water. beat together). Apply egg wash on the top of the pastry sheet to get a nice golden colour. Preheat oven to 350 deg . Arrange the puffs on a baking dish coated with non-stick spray.Bake for 20 minutes or till done.

Note: The mistake that I did was I completly forgot about the egg wash. Although the puffs tasted good, it could have got that glossy golden color with the egg wash. Hope not to forget it next time.

Chicken 65

I really don't see any connection between the name of this dish to the dish itself. Anyway, this chicken tastes similar to the chillichicken we get from the street vendors of India.

Ingredients:
Chicken breast- 3 (skinless,boneless)
ginger garlic paste-1tsp
curd-1tsp
chilli powder- 1tsp
turmeric powder-1/4 tsp
salt- as required
egg white -1
cornflour-1tbsp
lemon juice-1tbsp
red food color- a pinch

Procedure:
Mix all and deep fry in hot oil. serve with onion and lemon wedges.

Baked Paneer Tikka

This dish is a little bland by itself. But it is good with sweet and sour sauce. The other day, I had some of my Husband's colleagues come for lunch. As they were Americans, I wanted to make a non-spicy dish that would be more or less like cheese cubes. Here is the recipe for baked paneer.

Ingredients:
paneer-250 gms
curd-1 tbsp
chilli powder- 1/2 tsp
garam masala- 1/4 tsp
chaat masala
salt- as required

Procedure:
Mix curd, chilli powder,garam masala, and salt. check the seasonings. Mix this with paneer and coat well. Refrigerate for atleast 4 hours.

Line the baking dish with foil paper. Spray some non-stick spray on foil. Arrange the paneer pieces on it. Alternatively, use wooden skewers and thread the paneer pieces on it. Broil for 10 mins in the oven.

Note: I broiled it for 15 mins , so paneer became a little dry. Do not broil it for long if you need the paneer to be moist.