Announcing "Sunday Snacks" event - Festive Snacks of Navratri and Diwali

In the month of October and November, the famous event of blogosphere "Sunday Snacks" is nestling here in Appyayan. This event is a brainchild of Hima of SnackORama, but Pallavi of All Thingz Yummy has took over since Hima has moved to India. Few months back, when I saw Pallavi is asking to guest host the event, as she is pregnant with twin girls. I just had to help her and took this great opportunity to host this great event. I knew how hard is going to be for her, as I went thru the same experience 2 years back and now a proud mother of twin boys. Wishing her all the best...it was quite a good experience for me and hoping the same for her........................
As I'm hosting on the month of October-November, the theme was obvious...it's the month when we, Indians are in festive mood. Three main festivals are celebrated this time - Navratri, Dusshera and Diwali. While North and West Indians celebrate Navratri and Dusshera, same time East Indians celebrate Durga puja to worship Devi Durga. And then comes Diwali or Deepavali, the festival of lights, which is celebrated all over India.

So the theme of this edition's "Sunday Snack" is  

Festive Snack of Navratri and Diwali"

Festivals in India are incomplete without delicious food. These festivals offer a great opportunity for people from different regions to enjoy the traditional delicacies that are cooked using the traditional recipes which have been passed on from generations to generations. So I want to know what snack do you make during this festive season. Share traditional or your family's favorite recipes from your part of India.

PLEASE READ ALL THE RULES CAREFULLY.. AND PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU FOLLOW THEM

Each recipe being submitted for the event, must have a link to this post..even if it is reposted grouped with others, every individual entry must have a link to this announcement, even your archived ones .. Linking with logo is preferable as it's made for this event only, but not compulsory.

Due date :

the duration of this event is 2 months. due date will be the last Sunday of November, i.e., 29th November, 2009 (Round up will be posted by the next week with a new theme announcement for the future edition)

Ingredients Restrictions:

There is no restrictions with the ingredients...vegetarian and non-vegetarian entries are allowed. But no beef, please.........

Multiple Entries:

Send as many entries as u like

Posts from Archives:

Anything from archives is ok. Reposting is not necessary but again you must link each and every individual post/entry to this announcement.

Non-Bloggers:

Please submit your recipes via email. Please include your name, where are you from and recipe text and images are compulsory.


Email your entries to indranidh@gmail.com with subject line as Sunday Snacks - Festive snacks of Navratri & Diwali 

Please include all these fields in your mail.......................

Your name:

Blog name:

Name of the dish:

Post permalink:

Picture of the Dish : Max. 300 px.

Previous Sunday Snacks Roundups are here:

Sunday Snacks : Spill the beans
Sunday Snacks : Chaats

Sunday Snacks : Grab n go

Sunday Snacks : Hot & Spicy

Sunday Snacks : Fix it

Sunday Snacks :Fry it
Sunday Snacks : Bake it 


With this post I'll take a break from blogging for 2-3 weeks, as I'm visiting Kolkata for Durga Puja...Hope to see you all soon and keep making festive snacks and send me your yummy yummy entries...wish my readers, visitors and blogger friends a happy and healthy Navratri and Dussehra............I'll see you before Diwali

Bread Utthapam

Bread is now so important part of our diet...without eating bread day's diet can't be complete. But always choose wholemeal bread over white bread or white flour bread. The basic difference between these two types of bread is during production of wholemeal flour the whole grain is used. This type of flour has an extraction rate of 100%, which means nothing is removed during milling. White flour is refined. The bran and nutrient-packed germ are separated from the rest of the grain losing many nutrients. The wholemeal flour contains all parts of the grain: the fibre-rich bran (outer layer), the endosperm (middle layer) and the germ (inner layer). The bran provides fibre, B vitamins, minerals, protein and other phytochemicals. The endosperm contains carbohydrates, proteins and small amounts of B vitamins. The germ is packed with minerals, B vitamins, vitamin E and other phytochemicals. The regular consumption of whole grain foods has been linked by researchers to a reduction of several diseases including heart disease and cancer, especially colon cancer.
My family likes bread than cereal or any other breakfast stuff. So I'm in a constant look for something different to serve them with bread. Few months back, I came accross one such recipe which can be served as a breakfast and also for evening snack. My daughter loved it and now every day she wants only this for her evening snack...so try it some time and let me know how your kids have liked it...........

Bread Utthapam........It's very easy to make and simply delicious bread snack recipe, which will be loved by all ages. If you don't know what a uttapam/utthapam is, it is dosa like dish made from same batter like dosa, but it's thick and not filled like dosa and different grated veges spread over it and fried.

Ingredients :

Bread ( any type of bread) : 6-8 slices ( I used Focaccia, it was just yummy)
Curd/yoghurt/Dahi : 1/2 cup
Semolina/Suji : 1/4 cup
Grated Onion : 1/2 cup
Grated Carrot : 1/2 cup
Grated Capsicum : 1/4 - 1/2 cup
Finely chopped tomatoes : 1/2 cup
Grated Ginger : 1 tblsp.
Finely chopped Green chillies : 1 tblsp.(Omit if cooking for kids)
Finely chopped Coriander leaves : 1/2 cup
Chilli powder : 2 tsp.( as per taste)
salt to taste
Butter/Margarine : as needed
Oil/ghee(clarified butter) : 2 tblsp.

Method :

• In a big bowl, take curd/yoghurt, whip it a little. Then add all the ingredients except oil and bread. 
• Spread butter or margarine in only one side of your bread. 
  
• Heat tawa or a wide pan, put butter side of the bread down, let it brown, on the top side, spread the yoghurt batter evenly in a thin layer. Once the down part is done, pick it up with a flat spatula, drop 1 tsp. of oil, flip to the other side. 
• In medium heat, let it brown. Remove from tawa. Prepare other slices same way.
  
• Serve hot with a ketchup or any sauce of your choice.

I'm sending it to Priya of Priya's Easy N Tasty Recipes
for her event, "Sunday Snacks : snacks with bread". I've the priviledge to host this event next month, so friends and foodies come to my place for the announcement and please participate and make it a success........

Also want to share my daughter's recent favorite snack with Srivalli of Spice your Life, who is celebrating her first blog anniversary with the theme, "Kids Delight"

Home Made Bengali Sweet : Malpoa

Bengalis call their desserts course as mishti. It was many years ago that every household made its own sweet dishes. The principles of economy and the skilled required for the popular preparations led to families specializing in confectionery – making, where expertise was handed down from father to son. The community, known as Moiras, has developed sweet-making into a fine art and specialities like rosogulla and sandesh are made. The sweet shops of Bengal known as "Mistannan Bhandar" (Sweet House). But, to one’s belief, Bengali sweets are not only Sandesh,  Rosogulla or Misti Doi. There are even lots more varieties to Bengali Desserts, which might not be available, commercially in the market, nor in the sweet shops, but typically home made, like different "Pithas"(which are basically rice-wheat-coconut based sweets, some are stuffed , some not, some are stuffed and dipped in thickened milk and so on), Rasbara( made from pasted Urad dal, whipped till frothy, then fried in round balls and finally soaked in syrup), Narkel Naru(coconut laddoo) and Malpoa to name some of them..

 
I'll share this home made delicacy with you today, which is made during festival time,too. I always make this on my husband's birthday, as he just loves this. Being a bengali, he has less sweet tooth than me, he'll prefer this over any cake. So I made them on last weekend for his birthday. 

Malpoa : It is made with all purpose flour(maida) and semolina/suji, made into a thick batter. The batter is then drop into hot oil in a form a small round pancakes which are deep fried and then dipped into hot sugar syrup. You can add also crushed fruits in the batter, like banana, mango or pineapple for different taste. But my family just love the natural flavour of fennel seeds and coconut. This is the basic recipe of malpoa.



Ingredients :  

Flour - 1 cup

Sooji (Semolina) - 1/4 cup

Fennel (Mouri/Saunf) seeds- 1/2 tsp

Milk - 1 and 1/4 cups ( as needed)

Coconut - 2 tbsp, grated or finely chopped

Oil - 2 cups (for deep frying)

For Syrup:

Sugar - 2 cups

Water - 2 cups

Green Cardamom - 3(crushed)

Method : 

• In a bowl, mix together all the ingredients except oil. Using your hands, make a smooth batter free of lumps. use milk as needed to make a semi-thick batter,little thicker than pakora batter.
  

• Meantime, in a wide pan, prepare sugar syrup, adding cups sugar in 2 cups of water and let come to boil. Add crushed green cardamoms and Simmer for 8-10 minutes. Note : remember syrup thickens when cooled so do not boil to a thick consistency.
• Heat the oil to smoking in a wide pan/kadhai. Turn the flame down to medium. Using a ladle, pour in a full measure of the batter in a form of small circle of 3" diameter into the oil.  
• Fry for approximately 3-4 minutes until deep brown on medium heat, so the batter can cook through. Flip over and fry other side to deep brown.

• Remove and add directly to the hot sugar syrup, boil them for 3-4 minutes in syrup and then take them out. Meantime, fry another batch of malpoas and dip in sugar syrup. 
• Tips : If your syrup dries a bit during process, add some more water and sugar if required. But don't let syrup thicken much.
  

• Serve in room temperature. you can store the rest in refrigerator and can keep them for 7-10 days but before eating, warm them up a little. 

I would like to share this festive sweet with Sudeshna who is

hosting an event " Durga puja Food Festival" @ her place Cook Like A Bong....
And to EC of Simple Indian Food for her Festive treat Event
And to Shanthi Krishnakumar's event Dusshera, Dhanteras and Deepavali

In another note : Recently, Some of my blogger friends has passed me a loads of awards to me, which I couldn't acknowledge before for lack of time. My heartfelt thanks to Pinky of Esho-bosho-aahare showered me with so many awards that I just totally drenched with excitement and enthusiasm, Thanks dear for your support and love....

 

I am supposed to share these awards with 7 bloggers and I would love to share my awards with these lovely ladies of blogger world..........But I love you all

Home Cooked Oriya Food, Kitchen Flavour, Tulip, Babli, Sowmya, Nithya and Renu

Lissie of Salt and Spice has shared her awards with me.....My heartfelt thanks to Lissie

 

 

I would Like to share these awards with Shanthi, Chitra, Pallavi, Aysha, Ann, Meera and Radhika

Murukku for Indian cooking Challenge

Murukku in Tamil, Muruku in Telegu, or Chakli in Marathi or Kannada, is a popular South-Indian teatime Snack, but now popular in allover India. It is one of the popular snack during "Diwali", the festival of light, which is right around the corner. Murukku is typically made from a mixture of urad dal(split black gram dal) and rice, both made into flour, added salt and flavourings such as chilli, asafoetida or hing, ajwain(celery seed) or cumin or sesame seeds. Both flour mixture is made into a dough and then filled into murukku press, formed into any shape, like spiral or coil, and then deep fried to a crisp.

I just love this snack, but never tried to make this at home as it is easily available ready from market. After joining Srivalli's event Indian Cooking Challenge, we're learning all regional delicacies from scratch. This month, we're learning this great mouth-watering snack. To make Murukku, you need Murukky press, which comes with many discs with thin holes, bigger holes, star shaped holes and flat rectangular holes, can make murukku of different shapes.
I had this cookie press for years, I make sometimes different shaped cookie with this, had no idea that murukku press also look the same. It has these different shaped tips and many other different shaped discs for making cookie. I made these murukkus with the smallest star shaped tip.

Ingredients :(This recipe makes approx. 250 gms. of murukkus)

Raw Rice - 4 cups
Urad Dal - 1 cup
Water - app 1/2 cup or more

For Seasoning ------

Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Sesame seeds- 1 tsp
Asafetida/ Hing - 1/2 tsp
Salt to taste
Butter - 75 gms

 Method : 

• Wash and drain the rice. Shade dry the Rice for 1/2 hr. Dry roast the Urad dal to light brown. Allow it to cool. If you are using more quantity, you can get it ground in rice mil, else use your mixie to grind both Rice and Urad dal.
• First grind rice into a fine flour, keep it aside. then grind the urad dal to fine powder.
• In a wide vessel, take both the flours along with salt. Mix well. Add cumin, Sesame seeds to the flour, mix well. Whether you use Asafetida powder or the solid ones, you got to mix it in water, make sure it is dissolved before adding to the flour. If its not dissolved properly, when deep frying the muruku, there are chances for the hing to burst our due to air bubbles.
• Mix in the hing to the flour and finally add the butter. Gather everything well and you will get more of a crumbling mixture. Now slowly add water and knead a dough which is little more softer than the puri dough.
• Heat a kadai with oil enough to deep fry. Once the oil is hot enough, simmer to low flame. Take the Muruku Aachu, wash and wipe it clean. Then divide the dough into equal balls. Fill the Muruku maker with the dough. You can either press it directly over the flames or press over a paper and gently slide it down the hot oil. But since the quantity mentioned here is less, you can press it directly over the kadai.
• Cook over medium flame, using a slotted spoon, turn it over to other side to ensure both sides turn golden colour. You will know by seeing the colour that its cooked. Remove to a kitchen paper and store it in a air tight container.
  

You can store in an airtight container, it stays good for weeks, which is quite impossible unless you forget about them.

Stuffed Bell Peppers in Peanut-Sesame Sauce

Want to color your life healthy? Then eat bright colour fruit and vegetable.  
Brightly colored bell peppers, are rich sources of some of the best nutrients available. Bell peppers, also known as sweet peppersor capsicum, are like the Christmas ornaments of the vegetable world since they are beautifully shaped, glossy in appearance and come in a variety of vivid colors such as green, red, yellow, orange, even in purple, brown and black. Bell peppers are not 'hot' like other peppers. They contain a recessive gene that eliminates capsaicin, the compound responsible for the 'hotness' found in other peppers.

Health Benefits of bell peppers/capsicum : 

Brightly colored bell peppers, whether green, red, orange or yellow, are rich sources of some of the best nutrients available. To start, peppers are excellent sources of vitamin C and vitamin A (through its concentration of carotenoids such as beta-carotene), two very powerful antioxidants. These antioxidants work together to effectively neutralize free radicals, which can travel through the body causing huge amounts of damage to cells. Free radicals are major players in the build up of cholesterol in the arteries that leads to atherosclerosis and heart disease, the nerve and blood vessel damage seen in diabetes, the cloudy lenses of cataracts, the joint pain and damage seen in osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis, and the wheezing and airway tightening of asthma. By providing these two potent free radical destroyers, bell peppers may help prevent or reduce some of the symptoms of these conditions by shutting down the source of the problem. So it creates Protection against Free Radicals, Cardiovascular Disease, Promote Optimal Health, Promote Lung Health, Protection against Rheumatoid Arthritis and Better Eyesight...

Vitamin A & C content in red, green and yellow bell pepper(in 1/2 cup, chopped):

RED PEPPER :          Vitamin A  45%,     Vitamin C 240%
YELLOW PEPPER :  Vitamin A 2%,        Vitamin C 230%
GREEN PEPPER :     Vitamin A  4%,       Vitamin C 60%

Now, you already know what my recipe contains today....Yes, yes, Bell peppers, I just love to add them in our diet..Because of their hollow appearance, we love to stuff bell peppers. Almost every cuisine has their own stuffed bell pepper recipes. With Rice, meat, lentils, vegetables, nuts and cheese and so many more things are used to stuff the bell peppers. I love to stuff bell peppers with potatoes. Normally, I just stuff peppers and brown them and serve them with pulao or other things. Few days back, while I was browsing thru Indira's Blog, Mahanandi, I found her stuffed bell pepper recipe and she made a peanut-sesame seed sauce with it. After seeing that colorful sauce I had to try it and I made and served my guests. They were spellbound. It was worth all the effort, it's such an unique recipe, thanks, Indira for sharing the recipe.

Stuffed bell peppers in peanut-sesame sauce

BTW, The stuffing recipe is mine. Let's move on to the recipe, it's going to be big...couldn't take a good pic, sorry , had no time..

Ingredients : 

Bell peppers(any color) : as needed( try to get smaller sized capsicums, bigger one doesn't look good for this curry)
For stuffing --------
Potato : 3 (big)
Green peas: 1/2 a cup
Onion : 1(chopped)
Ginger-garlic paste :L 1 tblsp.
Tomato : 1(small-chopped)
Green chilli : 2(finely chopped)
Cumin seeds : 1 tsp.
Turmeric powder: 2 tsp.
Red chilli powder : 1-2 tsp.
Cumin-coriander powder : 2tsp.
Roasted peanut (raw peanuts roast and ground) : 1/2 cup (not totally powdered, but ground into very small chunks)
Fresh coriander leaves : a bunch(chopped)

For peanut-sesame sauce : 

Sesame seed : 1/4 cup
Raw Peanuts : 1/4 cup
Cloves : 2-3
Cinnmon : 2(1" pieces)
Jaggery powder : 1 tblsp.
Tamarind juice : 1 tblsp.
Salt to taste

Oil : 4-5 tblsp.

Method : 

• Pick small sized capsicums. Wash and trim the top off, remove the seeds and membrane and make a hollow space. Dip in a bowl of salted water for 10-12 minutes.
• Boil the potatoes, mash and keep aside.
• For stuffing, take a pan, heat 1 tblsp. oil, add cumin seeds. Then add chopped onions, ginger-garlic paste, green chillies and tomatoes. Saute for a while, add all powdered spices, thena add mashed potaoes, green peas and mix well. Stir for 2-3 minutes. Season with salt and add roasted peanuts. Mix well, add chopped coriander leaves, mix well with the potaoes and remove from heat. Your stuffing is ready.
• Fill bell peppers with the potato stuffing to the top. Take a big and wide frying pan, add 2 tblsp. of oil, place bell peppers neatly in a circle. Cook them covered on medium heat for 10-15 minutes. Turn them to sides in between, so they could get brown from all sides. Caution : Be careful while handing these beauties, as they are tend to break if overcooked. Just cook them until they are browned and tender to touch. Mine has also become little overcooked.

• Meantime, roast peanuts and sesame seed for the sauce. Take them in a grinder with all the other ingredients. Grind them to a smooth paste.

• Heat 2 tblsp. oil in another big and wide frying pan. Add the peanut-sesame sauce and about 2/3 cup of water. Mix well. Simmer on medium heat for about 10 minutes. Add salt and a bit of sugar to adjust your taste. Place browned capsicums directly from the other pan to this pan of cooked sauce very carefully, put little sauce over the bell peppers. Cook covered for another 8-10 minutes in medium heat.

Serve hot or in room temperature with rice, chapati, naan or with any Indian bread...I know, it's a labory, time consuming dish, but when you taste it, you will feel it's worth the effort...enjoy these beauties.....................

Sending this royal and festive dish to Sudeshna of Cook Like a Bong ,

who is celebrating upcoming Durga Puja with Durga Puja Food Festival....send her your festive recipe,too, friends......................deadline 22nd September,'09
And to EC of Simple Indian Food for her Festive Treat event

Festive food of Durga puja - Chicken Shahi Korma

In the beginning of Autumn season, when the sky looks beautifully blue in bright sunshine, kash flower sway with wind, sweet scent of white 'shiuli' flowers fill the air, it's the time to celebrate bengali's most beloved festival of the year, "Durga Puja", which is just 10 days away. Even though, nowadays, the scene has changed quite a bit for last few years, the sunshine part has vanished and Kolkata is under threat of T-strom and heavy rain from one month before the puja starts. But it can't shatter the mood of bengalis they get into with the onset of Autumn season.

If you're wondering, what's shiuli flower, check this out, shiuli phul is also known as Parijat flower
(image source : http://flickr.com/photos/abhijitc17/2209784394)

 Image of beautiful Kash phul(flower) dancing with the wind under the blue sky
(image source : http://bdshots.com)

"Ya Devi Sarvabhuteshu Saktirupeno Sangsthita,

Namastasyayee, Namastasyayee, Namastasyayee Nama Namaha!!"

ABOUT MAA DURGA

Durga, in Sanskrit means "She who is incomprehensible or difficult to reach." Goddess Durga is a form of Sakti worshiped for her gracious as well as terrifying aspect. Mother of the Universe, she represents the infinite power of the universe and is a symbol of a female dynamism. The manifestation of Goddess Durga is said to emerge from Her formless essence and the two are inseparable.

Info source : www.durga-puja.org

The festival can never be complete without good food. Bengalis do not need special occasions to have a delicious lunch or dinner. To them, having food with friends and family members itself is a big occasion. And when special occasions come, Bengalis appetite knows no bound. Kitchen in all Bengali houses remain crowded day and night with women, who put their best efforts to prepare delicious dishes for their family members and relatives. During this time, all the delicacies are cooked at home from fish to meat, veg. dishes to dessert or sweet.
Today, I'll share one such chicken recipe My mom used to make during this festive time or on some special occassions.........

Chicken Shahi Korma

(Korma, is a term of cooking, where meat is cooked  in yoghurt based sauce in ghee, instead of oil, shahi means Royal, as some royal food items like almonds, safforn, kewra water are some key ingredients of this recipe-very simple but yummy )

Ingredients :

Chichen : 1(whole)
Onion : 4-5(medium)
Ginger-garlic paste : 3 tblsp.(2" piece of ginger and 6-7 cloves of garlic)
Curd or yoghurt : 1 cup
Turmeric powder ; 2 tsp.
Red chilli powder : 2-3 tsp.(as per taste)
Garam masala powder : 2 tsp.
Kewra water : 1-2 tsp. ( can be found in Indian grocery stores)
Saffron Strands : 1 tblsp.
Whole black peppercorn : 10-12(grind into powder)


Almonds : 12-15 pcs.

Bay leaves : 2-3 pcs.
Salt to taste
Sugar : 1 tsp.
Ghee(clarified butter) : 4 tblsp.(I combined2 tblsp. oil and 2 tblsp. ghee)
Coriander leaves for garnishing

Method : 

• Cut the chicken into pieces and apply salt and 2 tsp. black pepper powder, keep aside for 1/2 an hour. Chop the onions and beat the yoghurt with 2 tblsp. of water and keep aside.
  
• Soak almonds in water and take out the skin and grind into powder. Soak saffron strands in kewra water. If you don't get kewra water, soak in 1 tblsp. milk. After 10 minutes, make paste.
  
• Heat ghee in a pan, add the bay leaves and 1 tsp. of sugar, add onions before bay leaves turn dark brown. Saute till onions get soft and transculent. Add ginger-garlic paste and saute for few more minutes. Add turmeric, red chilli powder and rest of the black pepper powder. 
• When oil seperates the masala, add the chicken pieces, mix well with the masala paste and saute for 10-12 minutes. Add 2 cups of hot water and let it cook covered with lid.
• When chicken is 2/3 done, add beaten curd, almond paste, sugar, garam masala and mix well. Season with salt. Let it cook for another 5 minutes.
• There should be no water left, it's a dry gravy based dish. Lastly add saffron paste. Mix well with the chicken, garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot.

Serving Suggestion :

Serve with Pulao(Bengali sweet Pulao) or any Indian bread like puri, paratha etc.
Check out my last year posts on Durga puja :
1. Dura puja is on our doorstep - know all the rituals of bengali durga puja
2. Pujor Diner Khabar(festive food of Durga puja) - Part 1 and Part 2


Sending this entry with above mentioned older entries to be featured on Durga puja Food Festival, organized by Sudeshna of Cook like a Bong

Spicy Potato & Scrambled Egg Sandwich

Friends, I have a good news to share with you...Sudeshna of Cook like a Bong, who is a famous bengali blogger, has loads of authentic bengali recipes in her new site. She is doing so much more than just blogging. Recently, she surveyed the web and enlisted Top 7 Bengali food blogger and Friends, I am in her list. I still can't believe this. This recognision just after 1 and 1/2 years of blogging, I am just delighted and so much thankful to Sudeshna and Kalyan. Thanks a lot, you both. She is going to publish the our interview, too in her site soon.
For this joyous occassion, I 'll share our family's favorite breakfast sandwich recipe which I make quite often ... its very filling and you can pack this sandwich for your and kid's lunch-box, too. It's a very healthy evening snack option for kids.

Ingredients :

Bread : any bread of your choice
Butter or margarine
For filling ::
Potato(medium) : 2(boiled and mashed)
Egg : 2
Onion(medium) : 1
Green chilli : 2(chopped)
Tomato(small) : 1(chopped)
Fresh coriander leaves : a handful(finely chopped)
Turmeric Powder : 1 tsp.
Red chilli powder : 1 tsp.
Chaat masala : 2 tsp. or Lemon juice : 1 tsp.
Oil : 1 tblsp.
Salt to taste
Black Pepper powder to taste
Lettuce leaves, Cucumber, Onion and tomato slices(few)

Method :

• Boil the potatoes and mash them finely with a pinch of salt. Keep aside.
• Heat oil in a pan, fry onion and green chilli till onion turns brown, add chopped tomatoes. Wait till tomatoes softens.
  
• In a bowl, beat 2 eggs vigorously to mix egg white and yellow. Add a pinch of salt and black pepper to the egg and add in the pan and mix well with onion and tomato.
  
  
  
  Vegetarians skip the above step and follow rest of the steps for spicy potato sandwich
  
  • Stir and break the fried egg into small pieces, just like you make scrambled egg, keep the eggs soft, not too much fried. So do it in medium low flame. Now add the mashed potato in it. Add turmeric, red chilli powder, chaat masala or lemon juice and coriander leaves. Season with salt and keep stirring until everything is well mixed. It should be a dry mixture. Remove from heat, your filling for sandwich is ready.
  
  

• Now toast bread slices, put some butter or margarine. On down piece of bread, place few lettuce leaves, spread some of the filling on that, place 2 slices of cucumber, onion and tomatoes each, sprinkle some black pepper powder on that and finally place your top bread slice.
• Your sandwich is ready. Give a big bite.........yummmmmmmmm
  

Alternatively, You can skip the potato and make a scrambled egg sandwich too in this way.....

Sending this to Priya of Priya's Easy N Tasty Recipes for her event "Sunday Snacks : snacks with bread" 

Full meal idea: Subzi dal and Kasoori gobi

My spotlight : fish is over. Thanks again to all 20 bloggers to make this event a success. My friend Sharmila of Kichu Khon has suggested me to put my next spotlight on festive food this month as Bengalis' durga puja is coming in 2 weeks. That was a very good Idea, Sharmila. But I've to disappoint you, Sharmila. I wanted to but as I'll be away on holiday during this time and so many festive food event going on in the blogosphere, thought to pass it this time and will try to participate on those events.
After all those fishy posts, thought to post a vegetarian complete full meal, which I make quite often..simple and delicious..Subji dal and kasoori gobhi, wat do u say, isn't it a good combination? I just love this combo............so without much edo, lets's go for the recipe..

Sabji Dal::::::::::::

Ingredients : 

Yellow Moong Dal : 1/2 cup
Massor dal or Toor dal : 1/2 cup(can use both)
Mixed vegetables(carrot, cauliflower, capsicum) : 1 cup
Green Peas : 1/3 cup
Mustard seeds : 1/2 tsp.
Cumin seeds (jeera) : 1/2 tsp.
Dry red chilli : 1(break into 2)
Green chili : 1(chopped)
Onion(medium) : 1(chopped)
Ginger-green chili paste : 2 tsp.
Garlic paste : 1/2 tsp.
Tomato(large) : 1(finely chopped)
Red Chili powder : 1 tsp.
Turmeric powder : 2 tsp.
Oil : 2 tbslsp.
Salt to taste
Chopped coriander for garnishing

Method : 

• Wash and pressure-cook the dals together with 2 cups of water and little salt till the dals are tender. Open the cooker and add 1/2 cup of warm water in the cooked dal, Keep aside.  
• Cut the vegetables in small chunks. Heat oil in a pan, fry carrots, cauliflower and capsicum in medium flame until 2/3 done. Keep them aside.
  
• In the same oil, temper with broken dry red chilli, mustard and cumin seeds. When they crackle, add chopped green chilies and chopped onion and saute for 3 to 4 minutes. Add the ginger-green chili paste, garlic paste, tomato and again saute for about 3-4 more minutes or till tomatoes softens and raw smell of garlic and ginger evaporates. 
• Add the chilli powder, turmeric powder, mixed fried vegetables and mix well. Add the dals, green peas, season with salt and simmer for 8-10 minutes. 
• Garnish with the chopped coriander.

Yummy subzi dal is ready to serve with any Indian bread or rice.

Kasoori Gobi : A yummy dish made with gobi/cauliflower and kasoori methi(dry fenugreek leaves)
I just love the flavour of kasoori methi. So this time I tried my hands on kasoori gobi, the famous North Indian dish....and loved it.

Ingredients:

Cauliflower : 1(cut into medium size florets)
Green peas ; 1/3 cup (optional) 

Ginger-garlic-green chilli paste : 2 tblsp.(1" ginger+3 cloves garlic+1 green chilli-green chilli can be omitted)

Tomato(big) : 1(chopped)
Cumin seeds(jeera) : 1 tsp.
Turmeric powder : 2 tsp.
Red chilli powder : 2 tsp.
Coriander powder : 2 tsp.
Kasuri methi(dry fenugreek leaves) : 2 tsp.
Salt to taste
Sugar : 1 tsp.

Oil : 3 tblsp.

Method :

• Cut cauliflower in medium size florets and dip in a bowl of water with a pinch of salt.
• Heat oil in a pan, fry cauliflower florets until lightly browned. Keep them aside.
• In the same oil, temper with cumin seeds, add ginger-garlic-green chilli paste, saute for 2-3 minutes, then add chopped tomatoes, saute till tomato softens, then add all powdered spices mixed with 3 tblsp. of water.
• Cook the spices well till oil seperates. Add kasuri methi and fried cauliflower. Mix well and season with salt and add a pinch of sugar. Add 1/2 cup of water just to cook cauliflower. When water evaporates, add reen peas, mix everything well, check the seasoning. Remove from heat and serve hot.
• You can garnish with coriander leaves if you want, but I just want to have the flavour of kasuri methi,so I don't add coriander leaves.
  

So friends, try this combo some time....it is quick to make and result is just awesome....

Round-up of Spotlight:Fish with National and International Cuisine

Time flies so fast...few months back the idea came to my mind to host an event on Fish, then I was hesitating, may be I won't be able to give so much time, and see I'm posting the Round-up of The 1st event on Appyayan. I am so thankful to all the bloggers and non-bloggers who have gracefully participated on this event and made this event a huge success. Because of this huge response, I've become more enthusiast and I promise Spotlight event will continue. Next month, I'm hosting Sunday Snacks event by Pallavi of All thinz yummy. After that or if possible in between, I'll put my Spotlight on something.
Check out this array of fish dishes thru this film I've received from 20 bloggers, some of them with multiple entries. Some of them I knew and some of them I've known for the first time. Through this event, I came to know so many new bloggers. I want to thank each one of you for your kind participation.....enjoy this feast for eyes..............

The participants in alphabetical order :

1. Ann of A Delighted Foodie
2. Aysha of Life Today

3. Bong Mom of Bong Mom's Cookbook
4. Indrani/Myself of Appyayan
5. Jyothi of Shadruchulu
6. Lissie of Salt and spice
7. Malini of Khana Khazana with Malini
8. Meera of Enjoy Indian Food
9. Nabanita/Pinky of Esho-Bosho-Aahare
10. Nisha of Look who's cooking too
11. Priya of Priya's Easy N Tasty Recipes
12. Radhika of Sourashtra Kitchen 
13. Renuga & Gayathri of Ideas for a wonder home maker
14. Sharmila of Kichu Khon 
15. Soma of eCurry 
16. Sudeshna of Cook like a Bong 
17. Sudha of Malaysian delicacasies
18. Sumathy of Sumi's Kitchen 
19. Sunanda of Sunanda's Kitchen 
20. Tulip of Amader Rasona 
21. Valarmathy of Simple and Yummy Recipes 


I've arranged the round-up in categories by type of the dishes and then by cuisine:

1. Appetizer/Snack/side dish :

    Valarmathy sent a Fish fry recipe which is an authentic recipe of Indian State of Andhra Pradesh, which she says, "Food from Andhra Pradesh is rich, high on spices, it is absolutely delicious and the taste is very distinguishable. The spicy lip smacking dish of Andhra Pradesh are something to savour forever."

 
2. Priya of Priya's easy N Tasty Recipes sent Bread N Salmon Fish Pakora ,

which is her own creation , as she never likes gravies made with this fish(here we're very similar, Priya, Me too never liked it), she thought to make pakoras with this fish and leftover bread slices. Great Idea, Priya...I'll surely try this yummy recipe

3. Soma of eCurry sent Tandoori Fish . Tandoori is a traditional North and North-western Indian cuisine and Soma made this dish with home-made tandoori masala, not with store bought one. Amazing energy you have, Soma and in her place, she explains nicely about this amazing cooking technique, Tandoor and the ingredients of Tandoori masala.

 4. Sudeshna of Cook like a Bong sent several entries, but I was drooling over this yummy Macher Dimer(Fish roe) Vada. This is an authentic recipe from Bengali cuisine. She gave a very good and elaborate explanation on Fish roe, which you all should check out. Just lovely, Sudeshna.

5. My contribution in this category is Fish Cutlet, a popular snack of Bengal and an authentic Bengali recipe. This is little time consuming but very enjoyable snack. You can please your guest or anyone with this yummy snack. Serve with cucumber-onion-tomato slices and a dollop of Bengali kasundi(mustard relish)..ummmm yumm

6. Another entry from my side, which is a side dish I make very frequently, Potato & Shrimp Fry. I don't know about the authenticity of this recipe, but my mom used to make this whenever we had shrimp at home. It goes very well with simple meal menu like, lentil, rice and this fry.

7. Ilish mach bhaja(Hilsa fish fry) from

Sharmila of Kichu khon : Simple hilsa fish fry with only turmeric and salt, but taste just great. Top in all bengalis favorite food list. 

8. Jyothi of Shadruchulu sent an authentic Fish Fry recipe. The recipe is from her native place Andhra Pradesh, fish marinated with spices and fried with oil in a pan...just lovely, Jyothi

2. Main Course (Curry/gravy) :
 
I've categorise this section with recipes from different cuisines, as that was my intention of doing this event to learn authentic recipes from different places........

Kerala Cuisine : 

One highly fish influenced state of India just like Bengal is Kerala. Varieties of fishes including shrimp, cuttlefish, squid, oil sardines, mackerel, prawn, silver bellies, tuna, sting rays, shark, crabs, mussels, and oysters comprise the popular seafood items of Kerala.
1. Ann of A delighted Foodie sent an authentic fish recipe from Central Kerala, 
Mullan Vattichathu/Striped Ponyfish in a spicy,tangy yet mild gravy, she made it with ponyfish, which is very new to me, known as Mullan in Kerala. The color of the gravy is absolutely gorgeous, Ann

2. Another relish from Kerala, I got from Lissie of Salt and Spice is, Fish Pickle, which is an absolute keeper recipe, I never heard of pickle made of Fish. Thanks for sending it to this event, Lissie....just gorgeous

 

3. Aysha Dileen, sent a traditional everyday dish of keralaites, named Meen Vattichattu....she Used Basa fish for this, Basa is a type of Catfish.

4. Another fish curry from Kerala sent by two bloggers, who blog together, Gayathri and Renuga of Ideas for a wonderful home maker. Spicy Kerala Fish curry....In their blog, they blog on different areas like, home decoration, on kids as well as yummy recipes, everything in one place to make your home heaven in this World..keep the good work, you 2.

2. Konkani Cuisine :

Konkani Cuisine, is another Indian cuisine greatly influenced by Fish.
This cuisine is prevalent in the coastal parts of Maharashtra, Goa and Karnataka. The manner in which Konkani cuisine prepares fish gives it another taste altogether. This is because of the marinating procedures involved in the process.

Fish recipes from Konkani Cuisine sent by one of the most active blogger in the blogosphere at least I know, Meera of Enjoy Indian Food. She sent us two recipes..
Kotambir Methi (in south canara style) :This fish curry is traditionally made with Indian Mackerel, but she used Mahi mahi or Rainbow trout fillet

Sungatha Fanna Upkari(fiery Prawn curry) : she shares that she has a great passion for seafood(here we have a similar taste bud, Meera) and how she had missed fish tastes after moving to US. We all had gone through this face, Meera. Even you find fish in US, it's not similar like India. The curry look really fiery, wow what a red vibrant color!! Just Lovely........

Himachali Cuisine :

Cuisine of Himachal is very similar to North Indian cuisine yet it definitely has a uniqueness of its own. Influence of Punjab and Tibet can be clearly seen in the Himachal cuisine. Himachalis are most hospitable, and inviting an ‘acquaintance’(this could be someone they’ve just met!) home is a way of life. The host will then offer whatever food there is in the house, for they believe that a guest should not leave without eating. In case you have no time for it or turn down the offer for some reason, you will find something being stuffed into your bag – be it just green apples!

Trendsetter of Palates & palettes, a blogger which I got to know for first time, sent us a Himachali Fish curry made with Trout Kullu fish

Andhra Cuisine :
Andhra Cuisine or the cuisine of Andhra Pradesh is reputedly known as the spiciest of all indian cuisines.

Jyothi of Shadruchulu sent her mom's recipe made in telengana style fish Curry. Telengana is a region in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. Telengana cuisine is flavoured by red hot chillies and tamarinds.

Parsi Cuisine : 

Parsi cuisine is an eclectic north-west Indian recipe tradition native to the Parsis living in India, migrated from Persia or present day Iran.
One persian recipe sent by Bong Mom of Bong Mom's cookbook : Prawn Patia

International cuisine : 

This entry sent by Trendsetter from Continental Cuisine,  Fish Fingers with Tartar sauce

Malaysian cuisine :

SUdha of Malaysian Delicacies sent a Malaysian fish delicacy Asam Pedas/Asam Fish She says, [Asam pedas is one dish synonymous with Malacca as well as Johor in Malaysia and it is so popular that it’s said “a trip to Melaka or Johor is incomplete without savouring it”.]

Bengali cuisine : 

Lastly, my native cuisine, bengali cuisine. Bengali cuisine is the cuisine of Indian state of West Bengal. Bengalis are known as the inveterate eaters of fish as Fish is the main source of protein here and no good meal is complete without this.  Bengali cuisine does not start and end with fish, though it forms a large part of the Bengali's food habits. Almost every part of fish is eaten here, from fish head to fish oil. Some most common or popular fish varieties are from Sweetwater fishes are carp like Rui(rohu), Katla, Pabda(Indian butter fish), from Catfish family- tangra, magur, shingi, From Saltwater fishes - Ilish(hilsa) is an Icon of bengali cuisine, Shrimp or prawn(Chingri in bengali) is also very popular among bengalis and lots of fish delicacies are made with it. Here you'll see a great cover-up of most popular fish recipes of Bengal, I've received from my Bengali blogger friends....
I've categorise all bengali recipes in the way of Cooking, so you can see how many ways bengalis make their fish :
 Jhol(Curry): Thin gravy of fish seasoned with ground spices and thin slices of vegetables added to it.
1. Pomfret Fish curry from me
        

2. Ilish macher Jhol(Hilsa Fish Curry with potato & eggplant) from Tulip of Amader Rasona : a very popular and delicious fish curry

3. Bengali Fish curry in Microwave from Malini Of Khana Khazana with Malini : A fish curry with Rohu fish cooked in microwave

Jhal or dry gravy : Fish is lightly fried first and then cooked in light sauce of ground mustard or other spices. For tempering, panchphoron(a dry spice mixture of Five spices) or black cumin is used.
1. Sorshe Bhetki (Fish in Mustard gravy) from me: Bhetki, which is similar to Seabass, cooked in mustard sauce gravy

2. Sorshe Rui(rohu in mustard gravy) from Malini of Khana Khazana with Malini : A similar dish, where Rohu is cooked in mustard sauce gravy

3. Another Sorshe mach from Sunanda of Sunanda's Kitchen 

4. A dry preperation from Sharmila of Kichu Khon, Tomato Chingri(tomato prawn) : Not an authentic one, but a very simple yet delicious dish created by Sharmila, just for her by chopping this and that and made this yummy looking dish(which she is very good at)

5. Doi Mach(Fish cooked in yoghurt sauce) from Bong Mom of Bong Mom's Cookbook : A favorite bengali dish made in every special occassions. Fish is lightly fried and cooked with yoghurt and very few spices...just delicious...

6. Doi Katla (katla fish in yoghurt sauce) from Nabanita(pinky) of Esho-bosho-aahare: it is a similar dish like above, but she made it with Katla fish, a popular bengali fish from Carp family.

7. Tanngra macher Jhol/Jhal : a dry gravy dish from Sunanda of Sunanda's Kitchen, made with small fish like Tangra(from catfish family)

Bhapa (steamed): Fish or vegetables are steamed with little oil and spices, mostly with ground mustard. The traditional way of steaming is to wrap the marinated fish pieces in banana leaf. Can also be done in steaming pot or pressure cooker or oven.

1. Bhapa Ilish (Steamed Hilsa Fish) from Bong mom of Bong Mom's cookbook: A must-have delicacy of bengali cuisine, which she prepared in oven

2. Baked Sorshe Ilish (hilsa baked in mustard sauce) from Sharmila of Kichu Khon : She also baked it.

3. Chingri mach Bhape(Steamed shrimp in mustard sauce) from me : here I made this dish with shrimp marinated with ground mustard, coconut and a little yoghurt, in pressure cooker

4.Another Bhapa Chingri(steamed prawn) from Sudeshna of Cook like a Bong : She did it in a double-boiler.

Kalia : A rich preperation of fish made in a sauce of onion-ginger-garlic and with veri little spices like turmeric and chilli, finally wih a touch of ghee(clarified butter) and Bengali garam masala(powder of cardamom, cinnamon & cloves), normally made with carp(Rohu or Katla)

1. Macher Kalia from Sunanda of Sunanda's Kitchen

 2. Rui macher kalia from Malini of Khana Khazana with Malini

 3. Another Rui macher kalia from Tulip of Amader Rasona

Fish with vegetables : Often made in Bengali kitchen this variety of dishes to make a simple vegetable dish a delicious one, flavoured mostly with small or medium sized shrimp or prawn
1. Lau chingri( Shrimp with bottle gourd) from me 

2. Kochu Chingri(shrimp with taro root/arbi) from me

Using Fish head : As I told you, in bengali cuisine, all parts of fish is eaten in some way. Fish head, first fried and then used in lentil or cooked with lots of vegetables in one dish and even with rice.
1. Macher Muror Dal (Fish head dal) from Sunanda of Sunanda's Kitchen: Muro is fish head in bengali. Fish head is cooked with lentil. It is just delicious and a traditional fish recipe often served in special homely occassions.

2. Macher Muror Ghonto(fish head curry) from Sunanda again : Fish head cooked with flavoured rice like basmati. It's just delicious and flavourful dish..thanks a lot, Sunanda for these authentic fish recipes.

3. Chenchra from Sudeshna of Cook like a Bong : Here fish head is cooked with green herb and other vegetables..just love this dish. The presence of fish head makes this dish an unforgettable experience.

Macher Dimer kalia (fish roe curry)    from me : a dry preperation of fish roe..just yummy, serve it with hot rice

Rice preperation with Fish 

Sweet Potato & Prawn Pulao from me : a simple but delicious dish, I added prawn and sweet potato for extra goodness in one dish

That's all from Bengali cuisine...Now it's time for
Participant's Own Creations :

1. Easy Breezy Salmon Curry from Sumathy of Sumi's Kitchen : She says, it's a must try of salmon for people who love salmon, even you don't love, you 'll start liking it..then I'll definitely try your recipe, Sumi..as I fall in the second category.

2. Random Fish Curry/Mali Amti from Radhika of Sourashtra Kitchen : She made this curry with Kingfish ..absolutely gorgeous, radhika

3. Fish Khurma from Jyothi of Shadruchulu : a new blogger to me and she blogs in both English and Telegu

4. Another entry in this category from Renuga and Gayathri of Ideas for a wonderful home maker : Steamed Pomfret

5. Another creation from above bloggers, Fish Gravy

6. I'll end this round-up with this gorgeous entry from Nisha of Look, who's cooking too   is  Fried, Line Caught Tuna Steaks. She couldn't decide in what way she should make this fish, continental or Indian and finally decided to do in Indian way. I've to tell, it's just one gorgeous looking Tuna steak..great Job, Nisha

So what do you say friends, Wasn't it a successful event......Bookmark this round-up, fish lovers and I'm going to try each one of yours recipe...if I've missed(hope not) any of your entries, please mail me ASAP...I'll update soon
Thanks again friends..........