French Fries

French fries are something everyone young or old enjoys.My son loves french fries ofcourse potatoes are the only vegetable he likes to eat.I'm wondering if thats the case with many mothers these days.Like we say necessity is the mother of all invention.I used to make fries at home and it was oily,soggy and all my guilt stopping me from making it at all.This may not be perfect like the store brought ones but atleast i know theres nothing added to it.

Paneer pops | Cottage cheese fritters

Friday's are fun days but ever since we had the rains in December there's been school every Saturday and its continuing through this month too. Usually I prefer to make home made snacks. 

This recipe uses home made paneer. I'm using the blogger app and unable to figure out how to include the link here so pls do check out the blog how to basics tab to find to make home made paneer. 

Preparation time : 15 mins 

You need

Potato 1 small

Paneer/ cottage cheese 1/2cup grated

Ginger garlic paste 1/4 tsp

Salt to taste 

Coriander leaves 2 tablespoon chopped finely 

Lemon juice 1 tsp

Chili powder 1/4 tsp 

Bread crumbs 1/2 cup

Oil to deep fry 

- Boil and peel potato , grate paneer. In a bowl add the rest of the ingredients except oil and mix well. Check for salt. 

- heat oil in a deep vessel. Shape the mixture into small balls or flat pellets as you like. 

- fry the balls until golden brown and drain on kitchen towels. 

- serve hot with tomato sauce. 

Enjoy crispy healthy snacks that kids will love. 

Palak Aloo Parathas | Spinach potato stuffed flat breads

We had a really long weekend 5 days precisely and me and my blog were on a holiday too.Lately I think i'll blame the weather for making me feel too lazy to blog luckily i drag myself to cook something simple and this is one such easy lazy day meal that kids and elders will enjoy equally!

Kanda batata Poha/ Flattened rice

What I've been upto lately I have to write here that I wouldn't want to make a post on my blog - watching the same movie back to back whole of last week ever since I first watched it.Its been a while since I've gone bonkers over any movie.

Ajwain puris

I love puris!Anyone who doesn't ?Especially with the classic potato sabji its a super duper combination for breakfast.Our Indian food has some really good combinations like this.

I make puris not so often because of them being deep fried but yes once a month I get really tempted to make them.Ofcourse puris go well with eveything like channa, paneer and even a restaurant in Dubai used to serve tandoori chicken we used to have them every week during our weekly restaurant dining days.I don't know if they still do that.

Ajwain or carom seeds or omam is a common spice with both medicinal and aromatic properties.I always keep them stock because of my really sensitive tummy whenever i have a tummy disorder i run for my ajwain.These days you even get a thick concentrate of ajwain water which eases your tummy discomforts.My mom always adds ajwain to the puri dough so that its flavourful and doesn't get too tough to digest because more often we tend to make puris for dinner who has the time and patience to roll out these beauties in the mornings!

To make these puris 

Wheat flour 1 cup

Rawa/semolina 1/4 cup

Ajwain/omam 2 tsp

Salt to taste

Water to make a dough

Oil to deep fry them in

• Make a dough of the six ingredients and leave it in a air tight container or zipper bag.
• Pinch small lemon sized balls and roll them out.
• Heat the oil and fry the puris until golden on either side.
• To get puffy puris, once you slip the puri into the oil wait until its done completely then turn to the next side and wait for the puri to puff up slowly sprinkling oil with the ladle onto the puri.The rawa can be skipped but helps keep the puris crispy and puffy for longer.

Enjoy hot puris with aloo matar sabji or classic puri masala.

Ajwain puris

I love puris!Anyone who doesn't ?Especially with the classic potato sabji its a super duper combination for breakfast.Our Indian food has some really good combinations like this.

Potato and peas curry/Aloo Mattar ki sabji

Happy summer everyone :) I had a fun summer vacation and after that long lazy chilled out break we got back home two days back and we had some earth/mind cooling showers both there and here in Chennai :) I'm always thrilled to see rains they give everyone a refreshing energy to one and all.

As lazy as i am in this cosy rainy weather let me give you this comfort food - aloo matar. This is a very common dish which can be made in various ways I'm sure every household has a recipe.This is the way i do it.I had frozen lots of peas during the winter and to my great surprise it was a great life saver on many an occasion. Just peel the peas off the pod and store it in a zipper bag in the freezer remember not the fridge then the peas will sprout :)(thats healthy too yea)

Keeping a boiled potato like wise in the refrigerator(not freezer) always comes handy.Just store it well covered in a covered container or a zipper bag.

You need 

Boiled Potato 1 big
Fresh Peas 1 cup
Oil 2 tablespoons
Cumin seeds 1 tsp
Onions 1 large
Dhaniya powder/coriander powder 1 tsp
Garam masala powder 1 tsp
Garlic crushed 2 pods
Ginger sliced half an inch piece
Lime juice 1 tsp
Salt to taste

- Heat oil in a saucepan, add cumin seeds let it pop.Add the ginger and garlic and saute well.
- Add the onions and fry until translucent.Add peas and let it cook.
- Add the dry masala spices and let it cook well.
- Add the potato and add enough water to allow the gravy to blend well.
- Once the vegetables have cooked well in the spice gravy turn off the heat.

- Serve hot aloo mattar gravy with rotis. phulkas or naan.Don't forget to sprinkle some lime juice before you serve.

Potato and peas curry/Aloo Mattar ki sabji

Happy summer everyone :) I had a fun summer vacation and after that long lazy chilled out break we got back home two days back and we had some earth/mind cooling showers both there and here in Chennai :) I'm always thrilled to see rains they give everyone a refreshing energy to one and all.

Rice Tikkis with fruit stuffing

Its Magic Mingle time again.And this time Kalyani is really putting our brains to work by making us think with her MM ingredients and everyone of us in definitely enjoying it I'm sure.

Last month Tea and pistachios was a tougher challenge and this time watermelon and rice somehow was more interesting and just in time i happened to watch a show that used rice to make some cakes.So i'm making a modification of that for this MM.

You need
Outer layer
Cooked rice 1 cup
Boiled potato mashed half
Salt to taste
Chat masala 1/2 tsp
Red chilli powder 1/2 tsp
Cumin seeds 1 tsp

For the stuffing
Red/green apples half
Capsicum a small piece
Watermelon a small wedge
Lime juice 1 tsp
Coriander leaves from a few sprigs
Chaat masala 1/2 tsp

Oil 2-3 tablespoons to shallow fry

• Keep the rice in a big sieve/bowl and mash into a smooth mix with a wooden spoon, add the mashed potato to this and the rest of the stuff for the outer layer.
• Chop fruits and mix the lime juice, chaat masala and coriander leaves.
• Wet your palms and make a flat disk of the rice potato paste and stuff a tsp of the stuffing into this.Repeat for the remaining rice mix.
• Add oil to a pan and place the tikkis as they are browning sprinkle cumin seeds one each tikki and brown both sides until crispy.
• Sprinkle chaat masala on the tikkis before serving.
• Enjoy crispy soft tikkis stuffed with cooling fruits!

A perfect yummy kids snack ready to be served with any sauce of your choice.

Sending this to MM 16  ,Left over make over event

Rice Tikkis with fruit stuffing

Its Magic Mingle time again.And this time Kalyani is really putting our brains to work by making us think with her MM ingredients and everyone of us in definitely enjoying it I'm sure.

Vada paav - Indian burger

Mumbai is famous for its street food which is affordable to one and all and also finger licking good!My favourite among them has to the Indian version of the world famous burgers - Vada paav.Vada paav is a potato fritter(vada/bonda) served in between dinner rolls (paavs) :) Even now there are food chains in Mumbai making more cleaner and better vada paavs the ones on the road side have to the best!

When we used to travel by trains from native place to Mumbai during our college days my sister and me used to wait to get to Pune where the vendors used to sell vada paavs and chikkis on the trains.They used to be fantastic!What fun train rides used to be.Watching the distant water falls on the valleys and the fog covered mountains.Trains passing through the tunnels in the mountains and going completely dark :) so much fun!

The potato/batata vada/bonda can be served as it is with any condiments of your liking like a spicy green chutney or a tangy tamarind chutney.But it tastes best with the paav!Whenever i pass by a shop serving chaats, my eyes wander the menu chart for vada paav-- my favourite!Even LM loved them!so its a family favourite now!

You need

Paav 4

Dry coconut garlic chutney 

Batata vada 4

To make the batata vada

Boiled and mashed potatoes 2

Oil 2 tsp

Mustard seeds 1/2 tsp

Green chillies 1 chopped finely

Curry leaves 1 sprig

Asoefetida powder/hing a pinch

Turmeric powder 1/4 tsp

Salt to taste

• Mash the potatoes with a fork or hands and leave aside.
• Heat a pan, heat oil add mustard seeds, curry leaves, green chillies and hing powder to the oil.Once the curry leaves are crispy turn off the flame.
• Add this seasoning to mashed potatoes and mix well with hands.
• Make small flat cutlet like balls of potato for the vada and mix each of them in the batter below.

The batter to dip the vada

Besan/chick pea flour/kadala maav 2 tablespoons

Baking soda a pinch

Salt to taste

Turmeric powder a pinch

Water to make a thick paste

Oil to deep fry vadas.

• Mix all the above into a thick paste with a dropping consistency and dip each of the potato vadas in it and drop in to hot oil and fry until golden brown.

Dry coconut garlic chutney

• Grind dry coconut,garlic,chilli powder, half an onion/few baby onions, salt to taste and leave it aside.( i have used fresh coconut dry roasted on a pan)

To serve the vada paav, 

• Slit open the paav in half and apply the dry coconut garlic chutney and place the vada in between the paav and serve hot!

Enjoy yummy vada paavs with green chutney or tamarind chutney too.Just the plain vada paav tastes heavenly too!

Serve them hot with tea or as a mini meal!Enjoy the taste of Mumbai on a plate :)

Sending this to JCO- Monsoon of India, Fun fair food

Vada paav - Indian burger

Mumbai is famous for its street food which is affordable to one and all and also finger licking good!My favourite among them has to the Indian version of the world famous burgers - Vada paav.Vada paav is a potato fritter(vada/bonda) served in between dinner rolls (paavs) :) Even now there are food chains in Mumbai making more cleaner and better vada paavs the ones on the road side have to the best!

Aloo Methi

I had posted this recipe earlier this month using kasuri methi(dried fenugreek leaves).This recipe uses the fresh fenugreek leaves.They are really healthy and the health benefits are mentioned in my earlier post.

This easy dish makes a healthy side dish except that sometimes cleaning the fresh leaves are a tedious job.If the fenugreek leaves are tender, there is a short cut- just chop off the roots and wash thoroughly and grind it coursely in a mixer.Else the leaves have to be plucked.If the fresh leaves are unavailable use the sun dried - kasuri methi which is readily available in packs.

To make this dish, you need

Potatoes/baby potatoes 2 peeled and diced (if using baby potatoes can be used whole)
Fenugreek leaves/methi leaves one bunch
Onion 1 medium chopped finely
Tomato 1 large
Salt to taste
Cumin seeds 1 tsp
Garlic 2 3 pods
Oil 2 tablespoons
Chilli powder 1 tsp (or as much as you need)
Turmeric/haldi powder 1/2 tsp

• Heat oil in a pan, add the cumin seeds and let it splutter.Add the onions and fry till soft.Next add the garlic and fry well.
• Add the methi leaves and fry well in the oil until the leaves go soft.Now add the potatoes and cover and cook for 5 minutes.
• Next add the tomatoes and cover and cook.Do not pour extra water this needs to be a nice dry dish.
• Add salt, chilli powder and turmeric powder and mix well.
• Cover and cook until the potatoes are soft.

• Serve hot with hot chapatis or steamed rice.
• Stuff this in a slice of bread with your favorite spread and enjoy a healthy breakfast!!

Sending this to Healthy Morsels @ Taste of pearl city, CC : Vegan diet:Plant based, Lets cook :greens @Tickling Palates, Serve it series:Stir fried@krithi's kitchen & Denny's Oh taste n See, Anu's "SYF&HWS - Cook with SPICES" guest hosted by  Vardhini 

 

 

 

Aloo Methi

I had posted this recipe earlier this month using kasuri methi(dried fenugreek leaves).This recipe uses the fresh fenugreek leaves.They are really healthy and the health benefits are mentioned in my earlier post.

Ragda Patties - Potato patties dunked in white pea gravy

Street food in Mumbai is quite unique.My dad used to tell me anyone who earns even a meagre amount can survive on these street food especially vada paav used to priced quite less but now with the sky high prices even vada paavs are pricey.

I had'nt heard of ragda patties or any of the other street food until I went to Mumbai for my further education.I used to be quite amused at these names-usal/misal paav, ragda patties, dhabeli, paani puri, bhel puri, sev puri, etc are some famous chaat foods available on the Indian streets.I can't vouch for the cleanliness though but like they say it tastes best on the streets :)

For this month's blog hop, I had to just view Deeksha's blog and her ragda patties once to be tempted to try it immediately.I made it 3 weeks before time and now i'm waiting to post it!We enjoyed it and was one really filling snack!I made the ragda-peas gravy ahead of time (for lunch) so that i wouldn;t have to be juggling with everything at the same time.The dried white peas came as a surprise because i used to do all sorts of things to mask the pungent smell from the dried green peas.Now the dried white peas are a regular on the shopping list!

Like the name suggests, this dish has to be made in parts and then assembled :part 1: ragda and part 2: the patties- potato patties/cutlets.

For the ragda :

you need

Dried white peas soaked overnight and pressure cooked 1 cup
Onion 1 medium
Tomato 1 large
Coriander powder 1 tsp
Chilli powder 1 tsp
ginger garlic paste 1 tsp
Salt to taste
cumin seeds 1 tsp
Oil 2 tsp
Water as per your need
Coriander leaves/cilantro a handfull

- Pressure cook the peas and once its cooked the peels will float on top, you can remove the peels.Retain the water and drain the cooked peas.
- heat oil in a pan, add cumin seeds and let it pop, add the onions let them fry until soft.
- Add the ginger garlic paste and tomatoes and allow to mash until soft.Add the dried powders and fry well until the raw smell goes away.
- Add the cooked peas and let it cook.Add the water used for boiling the peas to make the gravy as watery as you need.
- Simmer for about 5-7 mins and turn off the heat.
- Garnish with cilantro and serve hot with indian flat breads or steamed rice.

For the patties -  check here - my aloo tikki post.I followed the same procedure except that i shallow fried the patties unlike the tikkis which are deep fried.

Serving the ragda patties:

- In a plate/dish, place the patties/tikkis with the peas gravy on the side or pour it over the tikkies.

- sprinkle onions,tomatoes,cucumber,cilantro and sev.Serve with a sprinkling of green and tamarind chutneys and lime.

- Enjoy the deliciousness of Mumbai Street Food.

Note: I have skipped using green and sweet chutneys you are welcome to add them if you feel so.

Sending this to Blog hop wednesday@Tickling palates, Bon Vivant moments:Savory items@Sumee's culinary bites, Comfort food @Daily cuppa,Anyone can cook