Italian breadsticks

From food

Breadsticks are one of my favorites wether they are olive garden style or pizza hut style.I stumbled upon this recipe from real moms kitchen and tried out my hand at it and you can see the result.

Black eyed peas vada/fritters

Finally winter started casting it's spell with cool temperatures and giving one more reason to gobble on the hot ,fried foods...:) . These black eyed peas /cow peas fritters satisfy the winter craving and at the same time are nourishing with high protein and iron content.

Ingredients:

2 cups black eyed peas,(soak at least 4 hours)

1 medium onion finely chopped,

4-5 green chillies,

1/2 inch ginger finely chopped,

small bunch of mint chopped,

few leaves of mint chopped,

salt to taste,

oil for frying

Method:

wash the soaked beans and grind them coarsely .Add finely chopped onions,green chillies,ginger,mint,cumin and salt and mix well.

Heat oil for frying .Make small balls or vadas using the grounded paste and drop them gently in oil.

Fry till golden and remove.Serve them hot with sauce or chutney.

Mirchi bajji.....and hooray my 50th post !!!!!!

Ingredients:

10 big green chilis(hot),

1 cup besan/chick pea flour,

4 tsp aijwan/vaamu,

2 tsp putnala pappu/roasted channa dhal,

3-4 tsp tamarind paste,

1 cup besan/chick pea flour,

2 tbs rice flour,

salt to taste,

oil for frying

Method:

• Slit the green chillies lengthwise and remove all the seeds using a spoon.
• Blanch the green chillies by placing them in boiling water for 3 minutes.Remove and cool.
• Take aijwan/vaamu and putnala pappu+1/2 tsp salt and grind into fine powder.
• Take the green chillies and dab little tamarind inside and stuff the aijwan powder inside.Just add a tsp of powder.
• In a wide mouthed vessel add besan,1 tsp aijwan,salt,rice flour and water to make a smooth paste without lumps. consistency should not be too thin .
• Heat oil in an heavy bottomed pan.
• Dip the stuffed chili in the besan /gram flour mixture and drop carefully in the oil.
• Fry till they are golden on both sides.
• serve hot with diced onions and a dash of lemon juice.

saggubiyyam /sago vada

I got this recipe from my cousin.It is very easy to make appetiser.I usually try not to make the fried foods but I think it's ok for an ocassional treat..:)
I'm sending this to the event wyf-side dish hosted by EC

Ingredients:

1 cup sago/saggubiyyam,

1 cup buttermilk /blended yogurt,

1 small onion diced,

3 green chillies diced,

1tsp cumin powder,

1tbs all purpose flour,

1tbs rice flour,

salt to taste,

oil for frying

Method:

• Soak sago in buttermilk overnight.
• Add the flours ,onion,chilis ,cumin and salt and mix well.If consistency is too thin vada take up more oil.
• Heat oil in a pan and when the oil is hot drop little balls of the sago mix and fry till it is golden on all sides.
• Serve hot or else they will be mushy.

chaat ...chaat..chaat !!!!

Chaat is one of the street foods which I relish apart from the mirchi bajji and jilebi.It is so much fun and yummy when you buy rather than make at home.But my view changed after coming overseas ...can be due to lack of a good chat store that offers the chat comparable to what we get back home.After realising how easy it is to make I got much more addicted to it.Bhel puri and pani puri are 2 chaats which I make often at home.I got this recipe from my North Indian friend who makes absolutely mouth watering chaat.I am posting this for cfk-rice event hosted by Trupti and brainchild of Sharmi .

This is going to the event sunday snaks-chats hosted by pallavi

Bhel puri:

Ingredients:-

3 bowls bhel puri mix (you can buy ready made mix from Indian store),

1 medium potato boiled and mashed,

1/2 cup chick peas boiled and mashed,

1 small onion finely diced,

1 medium tomato finely diced,

1 cup fine sev(you can get this from Indian store),

1/2 cup finely diced cilantro,

salt to taste,

chaat masala,

tamarind chutney(recipe below),

green chutney(recipe below)

Method:

1. Take the Bhel mix in a bowl and add mashed potato and mashed chick peas.
2. Add the finely diced onions,tomatoes, 3 tsps green chutney, 5 tsps tamarind chutney ,salt(bhel mix also contain salt so be cautious) and mix well.
3. Put the mixture in the bowls and put lots of tamarind chutney and top with fine sev.
4. Garnish with coriander and chat masala and enjoy quickly or else it becomes mushy.

Tamarind chutney:

1 cup tamarind juice (soak tamarind in water and extract juice),

1/4 cup grated jaggery/sugar,

1/2 tsp red chili powder,

1/2 tsp cumin powder,

1/2 tsp salt (kala namak/black salt is best),

method:In a pan put tamarind juice and sugar/jaggery and bring to boil and simmer till it thickens a little (soup consistency ..kind of ) and cool .Then add the other ingredients and mix well.You can store in a air tight container in fridge for 4 days. Alternatively you can buy this in an Indian store near you...

Green chutney:

1 cup chopped mint,

1 cup chopped coriander,

2-3 green chilies,

2-3 tsp lemon juice,

salt to taste

Grind all the ingredients to a smooth paste adding little water if required.

Sev puri:

Pani puri puris ,

1 medium potato boiled and mashed,

1/2 cup chick peas boiled and mashed,

1 small onion finely diced

1 medium tomato finely diced,

1 cup fine sev(you can get this from Indian store),

1/2 cup finely diced cilantro,

green chutney,

tamarind chutney,

chaat masala

method:

make a little assembly line of all the ingredients.Make small hole in puris and add potato,chick peas,onion,tomato,green chutney,yogurt,tamarind chutney,sev,chaat masala and coriander in order and enjoy them.

curry puffs -- baked puff pastry with potato curry filling

It is always pretty difficult to satisfy kids who are picky eaters.Often they indulge in appetisers than a regular meal.So it is best way to persuade them by offering more vegetables concealed in the form of appetisers.Curry puffs are one such dish which most of the kids relish on and my daughter is one of them.She absolutely loves curry puffs.

I am posting this recipe as a part of event cooking for kids authorised by sharmi of neivedyam and hosted by Deepa hari.

Ingredients:

4 medium potatoes boiled and cut into cubes,

1 medium onion diced,

3-6 green chillies(depends on spice level),

1" ginger crushed,

1tsp urad dhal,

1tsp mustard seeds,

1tsp cumin seeds,

few curry leaves,

1tsp turmeric powder,

1tsp coriander/dhaniya powder,

salt to taste,

1 tbsp oil,

1 package pepperidge farm puff pastry sheets.

Recipe:

1. Grind green chillies and ginger in a mixer.
2. Heat oil in a heavy bottomed pan and do the seasoning using urad dhal,mustard seeds,cumin seeda and curry leaves in order.
3. Add the turmeric powder ,green chili and ginger paste and fry.Add diced onion and cook till the onion become translucent.
4. Add the potato pieces and add cook for about 5 mins till the onions are completely cooked.
5. Add the coriander powder and you can also add fresh coriander.
6. Allow it to cool and meanwhile thaw the puff pastry sheets according to package directions.
7. Each box has 2 sheets folded in three parts.Make each part into 3 pieces..ie each sheet will make 9 curry puffs and the whole box 18..(ha..ha math wizz)
8. take 1 piece of sheet and take some curry (about half lemon size) and place it on one side and fold the sheet in half.
9. Seal the edges by pressing the sheet firmly.

baking part:

• Heat the oven to 350 degrees.
• Place the prepared pastry sheets in a baking pan and bake for about 20 mins tuning in between.
• They are ready once they are golden on both sides.

Fry that fish!!!

Fish is one of my all time favorite food.As I hail from coastal region of India, like many most others there my taste buds crave for recipes like fish pulusu,fish fry ...fish in any (..may be many) forms.Even though we don't have that much selection of fish variety here I try to incorporate fish in my meal whenever possible.This fish fry is one of our family favorites(...easy to make too :) )

Ingredients:

4 thilapia fillets(cut into 4 inch pieces),

2 tsp ginger garlic paste,

1/2 tsp turmeric powder,

2tbs lemon juice,

1tsp red chili powder,

2 tsp garam masala ( I use shan fish seasoning..i use whole pack),

salt to taste,

oil for frying,

Method:

• Mix all ingredients except oil and fish in a bowl.
• Marinate fish for about 30 min in this mixture.
• In a heavy bottomed skillet add oil and shallow fry fish pieces.
• Once they are golden brown flip to other side and fry til golden brown.
• Serve hot as appetiser or with rice.

note: If you are using shan masala note that there will be salt in it .

chilli chicken

Chili chicken is most popular appetiser tickling the taste buds of food lovers till day.Even though it is a Chinese recipe it has made its way to different cuisines . Here is andhra style chili chicken recipe....

Ingredients:

2lbs boneless,skinless chicken cut into 1"pieces,

2tbs ginger garlic paste,

2tsp red chili powder,

2tbs all purpose flour,

2 tbs corn flour,

oil for frying,

1 egg,

1tbs lemon juice,

5-10 cashew nuts,

6-10 green chillies,

curry leaves,

1 medium onion diced,

1 bell pepper diced,

1cup plain yogurt,

few drops food color(optional),

salt to taste.

recipe:

• Add egg,salt,chili powder,ginger garlic,flour,corn flour,lemon juice and chicken and marinate it for 1 hour.


• Deep fry the marinated chicken pieces.


• In another heavy bottomed pan heat 2 tbs of oil add cashews ,green chillies and onions.


• When the onions are translucent add bell pepper and add little salt to it .


• When the bell pepper is cooked add the blended plain yogurt and food color.


• Keep it stirring and add the chicken pieces .


• cook for 2-3 minutes .


• serve hot with cilantro on top.

Veg Manchuria

Whenever i think of veg Manchurian i remember the hot ,spicy Manchurian we used to eat at Mayuri restaurant in Dallas. I love the Indo Chinese food very much that the very thought of it makes me hungry.So let's dig into the recipie.I made this recipe this weekend and got very good comments from my friends.




Ingredients:

1/2 medium cabbage grated,

2 bell pepper/capsicum,
2 carrots grated,
2tbs maida or all purpose flour
salt to taste
oil for frying

for the gravy:

2 small onions, finely chopped,
1 bell pepper diced,
4-5 green onions chopped,
4 green chillies,
2tsp green chili sauce,
2tbs soy sauce,
1/2 inch ginger finely minced,
2 cloves garlic minced,
1/2 tsp pepper powder,
1 tbs corn starch (if u don't want it to be very dry)

recipe:

1. Mix the grated cabbage, carrot , bell pepper ,maida /flour, salt,little red chili powder(optional) to make a sticky paste.
   
2. Make small balls and deep fry in oil.
   
3. In a kadai add 2 tbs of oil add minced garlic ,ginger and add the chopped green chillies.
   
4. Add onions,bell pepper to it and and let it cook till the onions become translucent.
   
5. add green chilly sauce,pepper,soy sauce.
   
6. Mix the corn starch with a cup of water and add it .
   
7. Add the Manchurian and cook for about 2-5 mins.
   
8. Garnish with coriander.

To make my recipe more easier i found Manchurian sauce mix in Indian grocery store .After step 4 i will add the sauce mix and about 2 cups of water and follow the instructions and viola ..you will have your Manchurian ready in no time.

So wether it is fully home made or semi-homemade you can enjoy delicious Manchurian.......

Healthy junk.....

The other day my daughter was asking me a question."mom why can't all the junk food be healthy and you never have to say no to junk food ?"...( Her favorite foods are potato chips,corn chips and if feels to eat healthy food then vegetable chips). I smiled and said "if it is junk food it can't be healthy and if it's healthy it can't be junk". she is like "awwwww you are confusing me".That's how i got the idea of healthy junk and i got a recipe that qualifies for the title.The recipe is vegetable pakora. Mmmmm...enough with my chatter and let's dive into the recipe.

Ingredients:

• 11/2 cup chick pea flour/besan
• 2tsp garam masala
• 1tsp red chilly powder or according to spice level
• 1 cup cabbage diced(like you do for noodles)
• 1 medium size onion
• 1 bell pepper diced(big size,any color)
• 2 carrots diced into thin and long (1 inch) pieces
• 4 green chillies(optional)
• oil for frying

Recipe:

• Dice all the vegetables uniformly, add salt and mix thoroughly
  
• Keep them aside for 5-10 min so the water oozes out from the veggies.
  
• Add garam masala,chilli powder t the besan/flour and mix.
  
• Now add the flour to the veggies little by little and mix thoroughly.
  
• You can add water at this point to mix the flour and veggies.
  
• The batter should not be too loose.
  
• In a kadai/pan heat oil for frying .
  
• Once the oil is hot take the pakora mixture and add little by little to the oil.
  
• Fry till they are golden brown and remove.
  
• Serve hot with ketchup or your favourite sauce.

**You can add any of your favorite veggies to this recipe.I also add some rice flour or corn flour to besan to make the pakoras crispy.

They make a great snack especially on a cold winter day........have fun!!