Chola bhaja - Fried Black chickpeas/kala chana.

My last post was a tea-time snack....here I am again with another great and healthy snack, which goes great with tea or coffee and it's not deep fried, so it's one of a kind guilt free and healthy snack. It is made of black chana or chola in Bengali. Just soak for few hours and then shallow fry them in medium heat, and you have home made healthy tea-time snack. I learned it from my friend, and from that day on it has become my hubby's favorite snack. It is nutritious and also quite filling.

Ingredients :

Black chickpeas/chola/kala chana : 1 cup
Onion : 1(medium-chopped)
Green chilli : 2(chopped)
Mustard Seeds : 1 tsp.
Oil : 2 tblsp.
Chilli powder : 1-2 tsp.
Salt to taste

Method :

• Soak chickpeas overnight if possible, or for 3-4 hours in hot water. WHen soaked totally, remove and pat dry.
• Heat oil in a wide pan, temper with mustard seeds. When seeds start to crackle, add chopped green chillies and finely chopped onions. Fry until onions turn light brown, then add Black chickpeas.
• Stir and mix with onions. Turn the heat to medium. Keep stirring them continuously for another 10 minutes. The key for this snack is in the frying. 
  
• After frying for 10 minutes in medium heat, you will find chickpeas became soft and cooked from inside. 
• Enjoy this yummy snack with tea or coffee, but consume immediately. Do not store them.
  

 Fried black chick peas is going to take part on MLLA:18, guest hosted by Srivalli and the creator of this event is Susan of The well-seasoned Cook.

Reposted Recipe :

Masala Peanuts

 Beguni Or Brinjal Fritters

Sending these 3 yummy tea time snacks to EC of Simple Indian Food for her event WYF : Tea Time Snack

Spice Crusted Crunchy-munchy Peanuts (Masala Peanuts)

This is a recipe where hot and spicy peanuts are fried with delicious mix of spices,which is totally impossible to resist. This makes a great snack or munch for sitting around watching TV or playing games with family and friends. If you are bored of eating regular peanuts, try this zesty recipe. It is also made during Indian festivals like Holi, Diwali etc. Serve this snack with some sweets to your friends when they visit you next Diwali or Holi and make them happy.
It is a great party food, too. Goes well with cocktail or any kind of drinks, or with a cup of hot tea. The most important part of this snack, you can make this ahead of time and store in an airtight jar for 3-4 weeks. You guests will wonder where do you get them from. You can get this snack also from Indian Grocery stores, but most of them are with a stinky smell of oil. Spend 15 minutes in your kitchen and result, a freshly made, healthy snack which will be loved by everyone, even good for kids. Store and munch whenever you feel like.
Most of us avoid Nuts for fear of weight gain. But friends, do you know, A prospective study published in the journal Obesity shows such fears are groundless. In fact, people who eat nuts at least twice a week are much less likely to gain weight than those who almost never eat nuts. So munch your peanuts without any fear at least twice a week. Hurray!! now I'll munch even more than before..I love peanuts!!!!!
And there are some obvious reasons, not to avoid them at all

• Nuts lowers the risk of weight gain.
• Help prevent gallstones
• Peanuts contains a higher concentration of Anti-oxidants
• Peanut is a good source of Monounsaturated fats, which is good for the health of your heart, helps lower blood cholesterol.

Ingredients : ( I combined two recipes I knew and it came out real good)
Raw peanuts/groundnuts : 1 and 1/2 cup
Besan/chick pea flour : about 1/2 cup
Rice flour : 1/4 cup
Turmeric  powder : 1/2 tsp.
Red chilli powder : 1-2 tsp.(adjust to taste)
Coriander Powder : 1 tsp.
Amchur/mango powder/Chaat masala : 2 tsp. (it will give a tangy taste)
Cumin seeds & Fennel/Ani seed : 1 tsp. each (crush a little with a rolling pin)
BakingSoda : a pinch
Salt to taste (about 1 tsp.)
Water : about 3/4 cup or as needed
Oil to deep fry

Method :

• In a frying pan, dry roast peanuts for 3-4 minutes in medium heat, remove and let them cool for few minutes.
• Prepare the spice mix. After peanuts cool a little, take them in a big bowl along with all the ingredients except oil and water. 
• This step is very crucial, do not hurry, do it with a steady hand. Mix them together, them drop water 1 spoon at a time and mix. You should add that much water, so that spices and flour just coat peanuts evenly. It should not be crumbly either. Just a smooth spice paste coated evenly with peanuts. ( See the image below)

•  Heat oil in the same frying pan, the oil should be at least 1 inch high. To check if the oil is ready, put one drop of batter in the oil. The batter should raise to the top but not change color right away. 

• Take a handful of peanuts mix, try to seperate each peanut while droping, by moving your finger through the mix. Wait for a minute. Try to seperate further if there are some lumps. Fry in medium heat, stir occasionally until they turn brown in colour. Fry for at least 5-6 minutes in medium flame for crispier peanuts.
  
• When done, take them out with a slotted spoon and place on a kitchen tissue to absorb extra oil. After cooling to room temperature, peanuts should be more crispy.
• Finally, store to an airtight jar for further use, can store for at least 2-3 weeks or more.
  

This Crunchy-munchy snack is going to take part on this event "Sunday Snack : Festive snacks of Navratri and Diwali" hosted by me this time, deadline is 29th of this month, send me your entries if you wish to participate.
This event is a brainchild of Hima of SnackORama and now organised by Pallavi of All Thinz Yummy. Visit here for future schedule of the event and if you wish to host in future, as Pallavi is engaged with her newborn twins.

Beguni or Brinjal Fritters

Hi Friends, I'm back after a quite long break. Even after coming from vacation, last 10 days, the man of the family was terribly sick with fever. So couldn't even think of blogging a bit...Now he is fine, so tried to post something...I don't know why it feels little weird to write down something after such a long break, it feels like I havn't ever did this before...but I've to say that, I terribly missed blogging,...
Any way,  Beguni or Brinjal Fritters is my recipe today...........

Beguni is a famous bengali snack made from brinjals. We call brinjals "begun", so the fritters or pakoras made out of it is "beguni". This fritter is so beloved in bengali community, it is served as an evening snack with tea (mainly in demand when it rains outside) or is a famous accompaniment with Khichdi(a lentil-rice combination), a popular appetizer in any special occassion menu like birthdays, Puja, even in marriage functions. You can serve this as a side dish with any dal and rice. During Durga Puja, it is served with Khichdi in puja pandals and even it is made at bengali households,too. I also made this during puja time at home.
The most important aspect of this fritter is the shape in which the brinjals are cut. First, cut in 1/8 inch thick round slices and then cut each round one from the middle (resembling the shape of half-moon). Another way to cut the brinjals is to make thin slices of the brinjals vertically. For best results, always use the dark purple brinjals. Now to the ingredients, you need very less ingredients for this fritter...

Ingredients : 

Thick Purple Brinjal : 1
Besan(chick pea flour) : about 1 cup
Chilli powder : 2 tsp. (according to your taste)
Turmeric powder : a pinch
Kalonji or black cumin or onion seed : 1 tsp.
Poppy seed(posto) : 2 tblsp.(for extra flavour & crunch)

Baking powder : 1 tsp.
Salt to taste
Water
Oil for deep frying

Method :

• Sprinkle a pinch of both salt and turmeric powder over the brinjals and keep aside for 10-15 minutes.
  
• To prepare the batter, take besan in a bowl, mix all the ingredients in it except water and oil and mix them together.Then add enough water to make a semi-thick consistency of batter. It shouldn't be runny or not too much thick.Whip the batter for 2-3 minutes to make a smooth and lump-free batter.
  
• Heat enough oil in a wide vessel to deep fry. Dip each eggplant piece in the batter, check if it is coated from all sides. then deep fry in medium heat until lightly browned. 
• Serve hot immediately after frying.............................

This is going to take part in my ongoing event ,       
"Sunday Snacks : Festive snack of Navratri & Diwali"....Friends, send in your entries soon to me, I want to know Which snack you've served to your family & friends during this festive season.  

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"

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.

Mini Fish Cutlets

Fish cutlet, is one of a kind delicacy of Bengali cuisine with Fish. Fresh fish, first boiled and mashed with potato and then spiced up with little spice and onion-ginger-garlic and then deep-fried coated with breadcrumbs. It is so scrumptious that no one can resist this at anytime. It is served with cucumber-onion-tomato slices and by they side a dollop of kasundi(bengali mustard relish). At Kolkata, you don't need to make it at home, as we get them freshly made in front of you at nearby snack shop at every nookkar or goli or corner. But when you're outside India, to indulge this delicacy, you have to spend some time and energy in your kitchen, but after you taste it, you will feel that it's worth all the energy and time spent. I Made this Mini cutlets for my event Spotlight:Fish, which is ending today. Serve them with tea or as an appetizer in your full meal. This irresistible fish cutlets are must in any bengali wedding menu.


Ingredients :
Bhetki fish(I used seabass, or any white fish) : 4-5 pieces
Potato : 2 (medium)
Onion (medium) : 2 (finely chopped)
Ginger-garlic paste : 2 tblsp.
Garlic cloves : 2(pounded), Ginger : 1"
Black Peppercorns : 6-7
Green chilli : 2 (finely chopped)
Fresh coriander leaves (chopped)
Red chilli powder : 2 tsp.
Chaat masala powder : 1 tblsp.(optional- gives a tangy flavour)/lemon juice : 2 tblsp.
Worcestershire sauce : 4-5 tsp.
Egg : 2(beaten)
Breadcrumbs : as needed(apprx. 1/2-1 cup)
Salt to taste
Butter : 1 tblsp.
Oil for deep frying

Method :

• First boil the fish pieces. To boil, place the fish in a saucepan and cover it up with water (just enough to cover the fish). Pound the garlic cloves and ginger and add it in the water, along with the peppercorns. Bring it to a boil and cover and simmer for 5 minutes or until the fish is done. Let it cool down.
• Meanwhile, boil the potatoes too in pressure cooker or anyway you like. Cool and mash them too.
• Remove the fish from the water, take out the bones and skin. Put all the flesh in a bowl and mash finely.
  
• In a pan, heat butter, add chopped onions, fry till brown, add green chilli, ginger-garlic paste, mashed potato, mashed fish, coriander leaves, all dry powders and worcestershire sauce. Add salt to taste. Mix very well stirring vigorously for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool for few minutes. Frying fish in the butter will remove any raw fish smell.
  
• Make cutlets from the mixture, give shape as desired, round or oval or flat. Take a small lump, press between your palms and flatten them until you get your desired shape. Don't make them too thick, otherwise it won't cook through.
• Take a flat bowl of beaten eggs with a pinch of salt and another plate of breadcrumbs. Take each cutlet, dip in egg and immediately roll in breadcrumbs. Repeat it once again, dip in egg and roll again in breadcrumbs. This process will make them more crunchy and crispy.
• Heat the oil for frying in a deep pan or kadai, deep fry the cutlets in batches of 3-4 on a medium heat. When evenly brown on all sides, take out with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper.
• Serving suggestion : Cut onions, cucumber and tomatoes in thin slices and serve cutlets with them and with your preferred sauce or bengali kasundi. Serve with tea or as an appetizer.
  

Bengali kasundi recipe is here from my friend, Rashmi of Delhi Belle.
She has a full post on Bengali Kasundi and the pic is also from her blog.

Tips :

• Make lots of cutlets at one time, fry as much needed and store rest in the freezer for up to a week. This saves a lot of time.
• When you fry the cutlets in the oil, avoid turning them immediately, they might break.Wait for few minutes and always fry in medium heat.
  

Pyaji (Bengali Onion Pakora)

Onion pakora is known as Pyaji in bengali...it's one of a kind mouthwatering snack.....have them with tea as an evening snack or have it as a side dish with dal, chawal(rice).


While making onion pakora, I took this onion and garlic still life picture for this month's Click photo event : Allium @ Jugalbandi.


Ingredients :
Onion(big) : 2 (chopped)
Chick pea flour(besan) : about 1/2 a cup or as needed
Green chilli : 2( finely chopped)
Fresh coriander leaves (chopped) : a bunch
Salt to taste
Red chilli powder : 1-2 tsp.
Baking Soda : a pinch
Oil for shallow deep frying


Method :

• In a big bowl, first take onions, green chillies and coriander leaves.
• Then add all the other ingredients. Mix together, then add water slowly as needed and make a smooth creamy batter, not runny.
  
• If the batter is too thin, add some more chick pea flour.
  
• In a pan, heat enough oil, drop one big spoonfull of batter, one by one. Make pakoras thin, then it will be more crispy. Fry till dark brown from both sides. Fry in medium flame so that inside of batter can cook.

Serve hot immediately with tea..................

Khaman Dhokla for Indian Cooking Challenge

Dhokla is a popular Gujrati snack rich in proteins. It is easily digestible and has an irresistible taste and flavour, is usually served as a snack at teatime. Authentically, chana dal (split Bengal gram) is soaked, ground with spices and fermented. The fermented batter is then steamed, cut into bite sized pieces and garnished with tempered mustard+sesame seeds, coconut and fresh coriander leaves. But using chana dal/Chick pea flour(besan) is kind of instant/handy version. It gets a sour taste from citric acid/lime juice used in there. It is served with green chutney, i.e., green chilli and coriander leaves combo.
I just love this snack and once u try it, you'll want more n more. I must admit, I never tried to make it at home from scratch, always used instant dhokla mix. In our Indian Cooking Challenge, we're trying to learn authentic regional recipes from all parts of India and this month we're trying this lovely Gujrati Snack : Khaman Dhokla. Srivalli(Cooking 4 all seasons), the organiser/mastermind and host of this great event provided us this foolproof recipe. If this recipe can be followed from top to bottom, you won't have any complain. I followed the recipe and it came out really well. Don't get overwhelmed with long list of ingredients and procedure. It seemed a little hard to me at first, too and finally, last weekend I gathered my courage and gave it a try.


Recipe as follows...........(Makes 20 medium sized pieces)
Ingredients :
For batter---
Bengal Gram flour / Besan - 250 gms (1 & 1/2 cup)
Curd - 1/2 cup (not very sour)
Water - 1/2 cup
Cooking Soda - 1/2 tsp

For seasoning to be mixed to the batter (to be added just before cooking)
Oil - 1 tbsp
Turmeric a pinch
G. Chili paste - 1 - 2 long (as per taste)
Sugar - 1 tsp
Citric acid - quarter tsp

Eno - 1 packet (green colour fruit lime) + sprinkle or dust few bits on the plate

Little water + Oil to be topped on dhoklas

For tempering on the dhoklas----
Sesame seeds
Mustard Seeds
Curry leaves
Grated coconut
Coriander leaves

Method :

• Mix first 1/2 cup curds with 1/2 water. To this add the besan and mix well to get a lump less batter, the consistency should be of idli batter, more of dropping not pouring consistency. Slowly add more water if needed else, add the soda. Keep it aside to rise for 1 hour.
• If you are using a pressure cooker, fill the pan with water, place a plate over which you will have use a plate for steaming the dhoklas. Thali plate can be used for steaming.
• To the batter mix in the citric acid, oil, salt, sugar, green chili paste and turmeric powder. Mix well. This has to be done just before pouring to the plate.
• Meanwhile have the pan on stove, and let the water start boiling. When the water reaches the rolling stage, you can mix the eno to the batter (Save little of eno for dusting on the plate), mix gently, you will see bubbles coming out.
• Dust or sprinkle the plate with eno. Then immediately pour the batter to the plate. Place the plate carefully inside the pressure pan and cover with lid. You need not use the whistle. After covering you will find steam coming out of the outlet, simmer and don't disturb for almost 5 -7 minutes.
• After 5 -7 minutes, remove the lid and proof it using toothpick or knife. If the knife comes out clean and does not have any batter sticking, then its done. Cover back and let it remain on flame for 1 min and switch off the gas and allow it for 5 minutes.
• In a bowl, mix 3 tsp of water along with a tsp of oil.Remove the plate from the pan, pour the water and oil mix over the top.
• For seasoning, heat a pan with oil, add curry leaves, sesame seeds, mustard seeds and finely chopped green chilies. When mustard starts popping, remove and pour over the dhokla.

Ingredients for green chutney & Method :
G. chili - 4-5 no
coconut - 4- 5 pieces
coriander - bunch
few mint leaves
Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
Lime -1 big
Salt to taste
Method : Take all the ingredients except coriander in a food processor. Grind to a smooth paste. Then add the coriander and again grind. Remove to a bowl, add the remaining lime and serve with Dhoklas.

Green Moong & Cabbage Pakora

Cabbage pakora or badhakopir bada is a quite common in bengali kitchen. Thinly sliced cabbages in gram flour batter with some green chillies in it, shallow fried in oil, goes very well as a side dish with any dal. This time I thought to give it a little twist, So I made it with green moong instead of gram flour and we had them with tea as an afternoon snack. Don't worry, this is not a deep-fried snack, I've shallow fried it and it tasted yumm and totally nutritious. This is how I made it............


Ingredients :
Greem moong dal : 1/2 cup (soaked & boiled)
Cabbage : 1/2 (thinly sliced)
Onion : 1 (chopped)
Ginger-garlic paste : 2 tblsp.
Green chilli : 1-2(chopped)
Red chilli powder : 2 tsp.
Chat masala : 2 tsp.
Cornflour : about 1/3 cup or as needed
Fresh coriander leaves : 1/2 a bunch(chopped)
Salt to taste
Oil : 3 tblsp.

Method :

• Soak green moong dal in hot water for 3-4 hours, then boil it. Then mash the dal with the back of a spatula a bit.
• Heat 2 tblsp. oil in a pan, fry sliced onions until brown. Add ginger-garlic paste, saute for a minute, then add mashed dal. Add red chilli powder, chat masala and salt to taste. Mix everything well. Remove from pan and keep aside. Let it cool for a while.
• In a big bowl, take mashed spiced dal, add sliced cabbages, green chillies, chopped coriander leaves and cornflour to soak the moisture from the dal. Give it a good stir and make a smooth batter.
• Heat rest of the oil in a pan, add 1 tblsp. full of batter in oil and fry them until light brown on one side, then flip to the other side and fry until light brown.

Serve immediately with any chutney(tamarind chutney or green chutney) or just plain ketchup and enjoy every bite of them ........... any one want a bite?
Sending these yummy pakoras to Sunday Snacks : Spill the beans, hosted this month by Priya of Akshayapaatram, event is brainchild of Hima of SnackORama, followed by Pallavi of All Thingz Yummy

Masoor Dal Vada (Red lentil fritters)

This is one of the popular dal vada(lentil fritters) among bengalis. You can munch this with tea or can be eaten as a side dish with any dal(lentil soup). It is very crispy and very easy to make. I don't know about other cuisines of India, but bengalis love masoor dal(red lentil) and use more than any other lentils. Masoor dal has the most protien value than any other dal(lentil), so in Bengal it is considered as a "Non-veg" dal. Any way, now to the recipe.................


Ingredients :
Masoor dal(red lentil) : 1 cup
Green chilli : 1 or 2(blanched)/ red chilli powder : as per taste
Black Cumin seeds(kalonji/kali jeera) : 2 tsp.
Whole wheat/white/corn flour for binding
A pinch of baking soda
Salt to taste
Oil for shallow frying
Fresh coriander leaves : a bunch (blanched)

Method :

• Soak masoor dal for 1 hour in cold water. Drain whole water from dal and grind into a fine paste without using water or if needed use 2 tbsp. water.
• Mix all other ingredients into the paste except oil and flour. lastly mix wheat flour to make it a thick paste.
• Heat enough oil to fry, you can use your hand or use a spoon to drop little of the paste into the oil and form any kind of shape, round or long, big or small.
  
• When it turns brown in one side, flip to the other side. Take it off when both sides turn brown.
  

Tips : First, lower the flame and drop the paste into the oil, then increase the flame to medium. Fry in medium flame to let it cook from inside.
Serve immediately after frying with some ketchup or chilli sauce. It tastes great when hot......................enjoy

Sending this yummy starter to MLLA 10: starters & desserts hosted by Coco Cooks and brainchild of Susan of Well Seasoned Cook
Also this is going to another nice event Think Spice : Think Kalonji @Ammalu's Kitchen, the event is originally started by Sunita of Sunita's World

Semiya Upma for MBP: Snacks

I recently came across this nice blog, "Sunanda's Kitchen" . While I was going through her post, I found the recipe for "Semiya Upma (veg vermicelli upma)". I love upma and make it for breakfast often, but I never used vermicelli for upma. I always used sooji(rawa). I liked the idea of using vericelli and I tried it. It really taste great. Thanks Sunanda for this nice recipe.


I followed most of her recipe but need to change a little as per my taste. Use any vegetable available. I followed her 1st step of recipe. In the 2nd step, I tempered the oil, with red chilli, curry leaves, 1 tsp. of chana dal(bengal gram) and Urad dal each and mustard seeds. I added chopped green chillies in it. Rest I did the same way.

It's a lovely,delicious and easy to cook breakfast recipe....anyone will fall in love once tried.

So I am sending this mouth watering recipe to
MBP : Snacks & savouries hosted by
Aswini's Spicy Cuisine. MBP is a brainchild
of Coffee of Spice Cafe.

Ghugni (Dry Yellow/White Peas Curry)

Ghugni or dry white peas curry is another all time favorite snack or any time food of bengalis. Tradtionally, it is served as a late breakfast or evening snack. Today, I would like to share with you the recipe...................it's very easy to make and you can make anyone happy with this...at least in my home, this is my husband's all-time favorite snack or actually you can serve him anytime.....


Ingredients :
Dry white/green/yellow peas(vatana) : 1 cup
Potato : 1 (medium)
Onion : 2 (medium)
Tomato : 1 (medium)(blanched)
green Chillies : 1 or 2(slitted)
Ginger-garlic paste : 2 tblsp.
Turmeric powder : 2 tsp.
Chilli powder : 2 tsp.
Coriander powder : 1 tsp.
Cumin powder : 2 tsp.
Bay leaves : 2
Cardamom : 2 or 3
Cinnamon : 1(1")
Cloves : 2 or 3
Cumin Seeds : 2 tblsp.
Dry red chilli : 1 (medium)
Salt to taste
Oil : 3 tblsp.
Tamarind Juice : 3-4 tblsp. or lime juice
Fresh coconut slices : few (small)(optional)
Fresh coriander leaves for garnishing

Method :

• Soak the dry peas overnight or 3-4 hours in hot water. Pressure cook with little salt until it is just done not mushy.
• Dry roast cumin seeds and red chilli until light brown and immidiately grind them into fine powder and store in a contaimer for later use. You can keep it for long time.
• If using tamarind juice, take 1 small ball of tamarind pulp and soak in 4 tblsp. of water for 10 minutes. Then squeeze the pulp, throw away the seed and pulp and you will get the juice. Keep it aside.
• Cut the potatoes in small pieces. In a pan, heat oil, fry the potatoes until brown and keep aside. In the same oil, add bay leaves, cardamom, cinnamon and cloves, when they change their color, add onions and fry until it gets brown.
• Then add ginger-garlic paste, tomatoes, green chillies and stir fry some more until tomatoes get soft. Then add all the powdered spices and add 2 tblsp. of water and mix the spices and cook until oil seperates. then add the boiled peas and potatoes.
• Mix well with the spices, season with salt and add 2/3 cup water and let it cook for 5-7 minutes. Remember : It's not a dry preepration, it has to have semi-thick gravy. It tastes better when hot.
  
• Finally, add coconut slices over the top and take it out off heat.
• Serving : Take a bowl, put the dal, sprinkle some sliced red onions, coriander leaves and roasted cumin-red chilli powder and a spoon of tamarind or lemon juice.

It can also serve as a main course meal, then it tastes amazing with puri or paratha.

Want to send it to My Legume love affair : Sixth Helping-Hot & Spicy hosted by Suganya of Tasty Palettes, originally started by Susan
of Well seasoned cook

Crispy Moong Dal Masala Dosa

Dosa or crispy pancake is a staple food of South India. It is served mainly for breakfast. It is also popular allover India. To make a regular dosa is atleast 2 days job. You have to soak rice & dal overnight, next morning grind them to make a batter and keep it for fermenting, it's a lengthy process..but end result is definitely awesome. Once you have it, you'll never forget the taste. I would like to share with you a simple dosa recipe, which you can make instantly avoiding all those process. It is made from Moong dal and it tastes as good as regular dosa. I am sure everybody will love this. From when I get to know that moong dal burns fat from your body(ya, it's true, Ayurveda says that), I am just looking for moong dal recipe everywhere and trying to consume as much as possible. So, I found out this recipe here and tried it. It's a lovely recipe. So try for sure and you'll love this ...............

Ingredients---------
For Dosa :
Moong dal : 2/3 cup
Ginger : 1"
Green chilli : 2/3
Oil : 3-4 tblsp.
For Masala filling :
Potato : 2/3
Green peas : 1/2 cup
Cumin seeds : 1 tsp.
Mustard Seeds : 1 tsp.
Dry red chilli : 1(bresk into 2)
Turmeric powder : 1 tsp.
Chilli powder : 1 tsp.
Grren chilli : 1 or 2 (cut into small pieces)(optional)
Coriander leaves : a handful
Oil : 2 tblsp.
Salt to taste

Method :

• Soak moong dal in hot water for 1 hour. Grind dal adding ginger, green chilli, salt and 2 tblsp.(tablespoon) of water. Don't use much water and make a smooth paste. It won't be not too dry but a smooth, creamy batter.
  
• With a spoon, whisk the batter in circular motion only for 2-3 minutes. keep aside. The batter is now ready to make dosa.
  
• For the masala filling, boil potatoes. Cut in cube like pieces. In a pan, heat oil. Then add dry red chilli, cumin & mustard seeds, when it splutters, add green chillies, potatoes and green peas. Put salt, turmeric and chilli powder. Stir for few minutes and mix well with potatoes.
• Pour 1/2 cup of water and in low flame let it cook. This is not a very dry preperation. There will be a little gravy well-coated with potatoes and masala will be soft. Sprinkle coriander leaves over it and masala is ready.
• To make the dosa, take a non-stick tawa or a frying pan with wide flat surface. Grease the whole pan with 1 tsp. oil and drop little batter on it. Now with back of a spatula, spread the batter in circular motion in a thin layer.
  
• As soon as the upper surface looks dry, drizzle one tblsp. oil all over the dosa. Flip over carefully. The lower surface should be light golden in color and crispy. Cook the flip over side until it also turns light golden for about 1 minute.

• Flip it over again and put some of the masala filling in the center of the dosa and fold from both sides.

• Take it out of the pan and serve hot. Same way, make some more dosas and serve with sambar and coconut chutney.

Sambar recipe, you will find here , it can be made with or without vegetables.

If you have excess dosa batter, don't throw them out. Try next day this Moong Dal Vada. It goes well as an accompaniment with any dal(lentil) and white rice or serve just as an appetizer.
Ingredients :
Dosa batter
Coriander leaves : a handful
Black cumin(nigella) seeds : 1 tsp.
Oil for frying

Method :

• Heat enough oil in a pan( it doesn't have to be deep-fried). Take little amount of batter in your hand and drop little by little on the oil. Fry on both sides until golden brown.
  
• Remove from oil and keep on a paper towel to absorb the excess oil.

Note : always serve this vada hot and make just before serving, as it gets soft very fast, then it won't taste so great. Serve with any chutney or chilli or tomato ketchup.

Both recipes are going to MLLA : Sixth Helping : Hot & Spicy at Tasty palettes hosted by Suganya
Also sending these two mouth-watering warming recipe to Trupti of Recipe Center who is hosting Winter Treat Event.