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Sunday, November 27, 2011

VEGETARIAN RISOTTO WITH TOMATOES AND CHEESE


VEGETARIAN RISOTTO WITH TOMATOES AND CHEESE
It’s vacation time here in Singapore and the kids are at home demanding for interesting food. So I decided to make this Italian dish for them which is rich in proteins, calcium and carbohydrates essential for kids.
Risotto is an Italian dish and I recently had this at an Italian joint here in Singapore and kind of liked it a lot. I felt it tasted very much like our Rice Khichdi / Pongal. They usually make this with Arborio rice which is a special kind of Italian short grained rice, this rice is named after the town of Arborio, in the Po Valley, where it is grown. When cooked, the rounded grains are firm, creamy, and chewy, due to its higher amylopectin starch content thus it has a starchy taste but blends well with other flavours. It is used to make risotto. But in my recipe I used normal Indian short grained rice. I also used fresh tomatoes and cheese to make it interesting for my kids.

Ingredients
Arborio rice – 1 cup
Onion – 1
Tomatoes – 2 ripe ones
Garlic – 2 cloves (optional)
Olive oil – 2 tbsps
Italian seasoning – 1 -2 tsps
Salt as per taste
Pepper – 2 pinches or as per taste
Fresh basil – ¼ cup
Fresh parsley – 2 tsp
Parmesan cheese – 3 heaped tablespoons

Method
In a wok, add 2 tablespoons of olive oil, don’t allow it to fume. When it’s mildly hot, add in the garlic and the finely chopped onion and sauté for 3 to 5 minutes. Once the onions are transparent, add in the finely chopped tomatoes and cook until the tomatoes are squashy and soft. Add the risotto rice and cook, stirring constantly to avoid burning. Allow to cook for about 2 to 3 minutes, or until rice just starts to brown.
At this point add 1 cup of water and stir well to combine. Add a dash of salt and pepper. When most of the liquid has been absorbed, add one more cup of water, add in the   finely chopped fresh basil and parsley and stir well.
As the water gets absorbed into the rice, continue to add water one cup at a time, stirring frequently, until the rice is cooked. After this I lay this cooked Risotto in a glass bowl and
Sprinkled it with some parmesan cheese and some Italian seasoning (Italian seasoning is a dried mix of popular Italian herbs, this is easily available in the markets) and  put it in the microwave on a high until the cheese melted and became golden brown. After this I cut the Risotto like a cake and served it to my kids. The kids enjoyed it and asked for more helpings.

Friday, November 18, 2011

HARE CHANE AUR PANEER KI KARI / CHOLIYA AUR PANEER KI KARI/ HARBHARA AUR PANEER KI KARI / FRESH WHOLE GREEN CHICKPEAS WITH CRUMBLED COTTAGE CHEESE IN GRAVY


HARE CHANE AUR PANEER KI KARI / CHOLIYA AUR PANEER KI KARI/ HARBHARA AUR PANEER KI KARI / FRESH WHOLE GREEN CHICKPEAS WITH CRUMBLED COTTAGE CHEESE IN GRAVY
Sony TV airs one of my favorite serials, “Kuch tho log kahenge” in which the heroine makes hare chane ki kari methi muthia ke saath for the hero with love.
This spurted my search for the recipe of hare chane ki kari and I stumbled upon Tarla Dalalji’s site and found this recipe. But my recipe has a twist from the original recipe as it doesn’t follow the same ingredients and also because I added crumbled paneer to the dish.
Fresh green sorted whole chickpeas-Image courtesy Wikipedia
Now for many like me who didn’t know what’s hara chana, they are whole green chick peas packed with a lot of nutritional value. Typically, these are available only a few weeks a year.
Fresh green whole chickpeas-Image courtesy Wikipedia
Whenever I go to Pune, my husband always buys harbhara (choliya/ hara chana/ fresh whole green chick peas). It comes in a bunch and you have to split open the pea like thing and get the harbhara in it, he eats it raw.  I saw many people on the roads grabbing onto bunches of fresh harhara and eating it like peanuts.
Yo(my husband) asked me to try some, I somehow didn’t like the taste. I guess you need to develop a flair for it.
This dish is specially made for my dear husband and my little one who troubles me zillions to eat.
When you are using the fresh ones, you have to pick the peas, open them and sort them, after which you have to rinse them through a colander, it’s a very lengthy process and to get a decent quantity of chickpeas you have to pick a few bunches of the plant.  
Since the fresh chick peas are not available in Singapore, I used the frozen ones available in Mustafa (a shopping mall which has a lot of Indian products). It’s known as Choliya under the Greentech brand.
For those who are unable to get the frozen ones you can find the dry green chanas in any Indian store all through the year. When you are using the dry ones, you have to soak them overnight and pressure cook them up to 3 whistles before you follow my recipe.
Since I am not too fond of the taste of the green chickpeas I tried to lace it with as many spices as I could lay my hand on and also added some crumbled paneer and when the dish was done it was so yummy that I would never say that I don’t like the green chickpeas much and I am looking forward to making it and relishing it again and again.
Hare Chane ki kari
Ingredients
1 ½ cups hare chane (whole green chickpeas)
Spinach (Palak leaves) - 4-5 for color/alternatively use green food color-1-2 drops.
Onion - 1 Big
Tomatoes – 2 red and ripe ones
Green chillies – 2
Ginger – ½ inch
Cumin seeds – 1 tsp
Badi elaichi – 1
Cinnamon stick – 1
Star Anise – 1 tsp
Kasuri Methi powder – 1 tsp
Coriander powder – 1 tsp
Cumin powder – 1 tsp
Garam Masala – 1 tsp
Chole Masala – 1 tsp
Chaat Masala – 1 tsp
Asafetida – a pinch
Paneer (Cottage Cheese) crumbled 3-4 heaped tablespoons
Salt as per taste
Oil – 2 tbsps
Fresh Green Coriander leaves for garnish

A close up of the dish
Method
Finely Chop the onion and tomatoes. Make a coarse paste of the ginger and green chillies in a blender. Soak the frozen paneer in some warm water. After a while crumble and keep it aside. Blend the spinach leaves with some water and keep aside.
Rinse the frozen choliya (whole green chick peas), drain and keep aside. For those who are using the fresh green chickpeas or the dried ones kindly read above the ingredients list, the method to cook it.
Heat oil in a wok(kadhai), add the cumin seeds, badi elaichi, cinnamon stick & star anise.
Once the cumin is fried, Add in the coarsely grounded ginger and chilly paste and fry, after a minute add the finely chopped onions and sauté, once the onions are transparent, add the finely chopped tomatoes and sauté until it is totally squashy and fried. Add in the Kasuri Methi powder, Coriander powder, Cumin powder, Garam Masala, Chole Masala and Chaat Masala, asafetida and salt and fry for a minute. The masala should get fried well, At this point add in the blended spinach leaves paste, sauté until the oil comes out of the puree. Now add the whole green chickpea without any water and mix well with all the masala. If you are not using spinach for color, you can add in 1-2 drops of green color just for the color (this is optional)
Cover and cook in a low flame. Let the green chana cook in its own juices. When you see the water is getting dried. Add in 2 teacups of water and let it cook on a slow flame. Keep adding water everytime you see that the chana is dry until you can see that the chickpeas are cooked. Once the chickpeas are cooked and can be mashed easily with the back of the spatula, add the crumbled paneer, cook covered for a while. While cooking, keep mashing a few chickpeas with the back of the spatula for a mushy thick gravy. Cook for about 10-15 minutes on a slow flame. Ensure that the mix has gravy by adding water and letting the mix boil. When you see that it is an even mix and has enough gravy to your heart’s desire. Put off the flame. Garnish with finely chopped fresh green coriander leaves and serve hot with fulkas or rice.

Saturday, November 5, 2011

PANEER BURJI (SCRAMBLED COTTAGE CHEESE)


PANEER BURJI (SCRAMBLED COTTAGE CHEESE)
My kids absolutely love this dish, it’s not spicy and tastes yummy and the best part is it can be cooked in a jiffy. Bombay is very famous for its stalls selling bread and anda burji (scrambled eggs).
The way you cook Paneer burji is similar to the way anda burji is made is what my dear hubby says.
Since we don’t eat eggs we enjoy the richer version of the burji, “scrambled cottage cheese”. Anything which has cheese does sound luxurious doesn’t it? LOL!!!!!
Paneer Burji
Ingredients
Paneer – 500 gms
Onions – 2 small or 1 big
Tomatoes – 1 ripe and big
Green chillies – 2-3
Turmeric powder – ½ tsp
Mustard seeds – 1 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Salt as per taste
Oil – 1 tbsp
Coriander leaves 1-2 tbsps for garnish
Close up
Method
Soak the Paneer chunks/cubes in hot water for 15-20 minutes. Rinse well and crumble the paneer using your hand. Keep this aside. Meanwhile finely chop the onions, tomatoes, green chillies and coriander leaves.
In a wok(kadhai). Add 1 tbsp oil, add the mustard seeds and cumin seeds and when they start to splutter, add in the green chillies and when they are fried add in the onions and sauté until transparent, now, add in the tomatoes and some salt and sauté until you see the oil comes out of the masala. Now add the crumbled paneer, add salt, turmeric powder and toss everything well till you see the masala is mixed well with the crumbled paneer. Now keep the flame of the gas low and cook it covered for about 5-7 minutes. The paneer gets further softened and the masala enters into it during this time. Garnish liberally with finely chopped fresh green coriander leaves. Toss well and serve hot with fulkas/ parathas.

Leftover specials
If Paneer burji remains until the next day.
  • Just make a Frankie (Recipe coming soon) out of it or
  • Make a paratha with the mix and it becomes Paneer paratha and a tastier version of Paneer paratha at that.

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

MUTTAKOSE PATTANI THUVARAN (CABBAGE AND GREEN PEAS DRY CURRY)

MUTTAKOSE PATTANI THUVARAN (CABBAGE AND GREEN PEAS DRY CURRY)
As I mentioned in my earlier post, after Diwali I am looking to cook foods that are bland, not so colorful and light. So I decided to make cabbage and green peas thuvaran with some molaghu rasam. I love the combo of cabbage and green peas. Its absolutely delightful.
Close up for Muttakose pattani thuvaran
Ingredients
Cabbage - 1 medium size
Green peas – 1 ½ cup (fresh or frozen)
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Udad dal - 1 tsp
Green chillies – 1-2
Grated ginger / ginger paste – 1 tsp
Asafetida (Hing) - a small pinch
Freshly grated Coconut – 1-2 tbsps
Cooking oil - 1 tbsp (Prefer coconut oil)
Salt as per taste.

CABBAGE AND GREEN PEAS DRY
Method
Chop the cabbage & rinse well under running water in a colander. Rinse the green peas as well and keep aside.
In a Kadhai (wok), Add 1 tbsp of coconut oil, when it is hot, Add the mustard seeds and udad dal, when it begins to crackle, when the udad dal becomes slightly pink, add the green chillies and grated ginger and fry well, Add the green peas and sauté for 2-3 minutes, after this add the chopped cabbage. Add asafetida and salt and stir well. Close with the lid and cook on low flame till it is cooked. Stir well, wait until the water drains completely and then add in the freshly grated coconut and stir fry till everything is mixed well. Serve hot with Rice and Rasam.

Tips :-
  • You can add turmeric powder for some color, but after all the colors of Diwali I wanted it plain and bland.
  • Instead  of green chilly you can add red chilly
  • You can avoid coconut for health reasons.

Friday, October 28, 2011

PARUPPU THOGAIYAL (A Chutney made with Lentils)


PARUPPU THOGAIYAL (A Chutney made with Lentils)
After the Diwali snacks and sweets onslaught, I am thinking of foods which are easy to digest and lighter on the stomach. Togayal is one such dish which usually is a treat to the taste buds and light on the stomach as well. Thogayal is generally served as an accompaniment to a meal.
I made bottle gourd kootu and paruppu thogayal and it felt like a slice of heaven.
Paruppu thogayal can be eaten with Idly, dosai or any snack. We can also eat this by mixing it with hot rice and a dollop of ghee or some gingelly oil.
This thogayal can be made with Moong dal or toor dal. I used moong dal as it’s a healthier option.

Ingredients
Yellow split Moong dal / Pigeon Pea (Toor dal) – 1 cup
Coconut – 2 tbsps (Freshly grated)
Dry red chilli – 1 (To taste)
Curry leaves – A sprig
Peppercorns – 1 tsp
Asafetida – ½ tsp
Salt as per taste
Oil – 1-2 tbsp

Method
Heat oil in a Wok (kadhai), Add the Yellow split moong dal or Toor dal (whichever you are using) and the red chillies and roast until the dals turn pink and the chillies turn plump. Keep aside on a plate. Dry roast the peppercorns and keep aside. Now add the coconut, salt, curry leaves and asafetida and roast until the coconut is light pink in color and a lovely aroma is emanating, allow this to cool down as well.
Now, run the roasted dal mixture in the dry mill of your blender to a coarse powder consistency. Keep aside.
After this, run the roasted coconut. Mix the dal mixtures and coconut mixture together.
Check for the salt, if required, add at this stage Run once more in the blender with some water(about 4-5 tablespoonful), This time don’t run the blender too much, just one spin would be enough. Remember, don’t make it a fine powder. The mix should be coarse.  
This should be coarse as shown in the picture not too fine. If you grind all the ingredients together and not separately as directed then you will notice that the dals don’t get powdered and if you run it too much to ensure that the dals get powdered then the mixture will be too fine and not so tasty. All the ingredients get grounded at different levels hence it has to be done separately. The best way to grind it is always using a stone manual grinder and if not you can achieve the similar taste if you grind in the wet/dry automated grinder which we use nowadays to grind idly/dosa batter.

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

BADHUSHA


BADHUSHA
I would like to wish all the visitors to my blog, 
A VERY HAPPY & PROSPEROUS DIWALI.


These days I look for sweets which are less sweet. I usually have Badhusha in a shop here in Singapore and adore it because it’s not that sweet as other sweets, so this Diwali I decided to make Badhusha also known as Balushahi in some parts of India. While I was browsing for a no-fail recipe I stumbled across Raks kitchen (Raks happens to be a fellow blogger from Singapore as well, Please click on the hyperlink to see the step by step pictures in her blog). I had tried making Badhusha earlier but it was a huge flop as it came out very hard. I didn't want to try any stunts and followed exactly as mentioned in her blog.

Ingredients
Maida/All purpose flour -1 ½  cups
Butter – ¼ cup
Oil – 1/8 cup
Sugar - ½ tsp
Curd – 1 ½ tsp
Cooking soda/sodium bi carbonate - 2 pinches
Water - ¼  cup (approx.)
Oil - for deep frying
For Syrup
Sugar - ½ cup
Water - Just to immerse the sugar
Cardamom powder -      2 pinches
Saffron Optional - a pinch
Lemon Juice - 1 tsp
Method
In a big bowl, Add melted butter, oil, sugar, curd and sodium bi-carb and use a whisk to mix well, to make it almost frothy. Now add the flour to it and mix well to make it crumbly. Now add water to make the dough, I used ¼ cup of water only, it was just right, kindly adjust accordingly. Knead the dough well like you do for chappati. The dough should be smooth and not have any lumps. Knead well till you feel it is smooth. I kneaded for about 10 mins. Beating and folding the dough and trying to make it as smooth as possible. I made 23 small balls out of this, as I made slightly smaller sized badhushas. You can adjust the size according to how you want it. Now take a ball and pinch the edges and fold it inwards to make rims decoratively (You can refer to Raks blog where she has uploaded a video to show how it is done). I didn’t have much patience so I tried only 2 pieces with decorative rims and the rest I just made by flattening the balls and putting a depression in the middle with my index finger. Repeat to finish everything and keep covered.
Meanwhile add sugar to a pan and just add water to immerse it and boil till one string consistency,
i.e; if you pour in little water, it should not dissolve and it should lay a fine thread. Add saffron, cardamom if desired and squeeze the lemon juice lastly.
Heat oil just enough, check it by adding a pinch of batter, if it rises immediately, then its just right. Don’t let the oil fume at any point.
Add some five badushas, we prepared, carefully in to the oil. Remove from fire and let it get cooked in the pre heated oil. Approximately it would take 5 minutes.
At one stage the badushas float, then again keep the kadai on fire and cook in medium-low flame, adjust heat at the end to make it golden brown, for me it took around 5-8 mins.
Drain in a paper towel and immediately add to the hot sugar syrup, to cover the badusha, Since my badushas were small I put in 5 at a time.  Leave for a minute and then drain the badushas to a greased surface.
After it cools down, the sugar syrup would have coated the badhusha beautifully, transfer to a dry container. Enjoy this sweet this Deepawali.

Notes
  • If you reduce the quantity of butter or oil, then there will be drastic change in the texture of the badushas too, it will turn hard or crispy. You won’t get the layers inside too.
  • Adding lemon juice is to prevent crystallization of the sugar syrup.
  • Be patient while frying, please do as mentioned, otherwise the texture gets affected too.
  • Consume within a week. Do not refrigerate.

Thursday, October 20, 2011

TENKUZHAL (TENGOZHAL) CRISPY RICE SPIRALS


TENKUZHAL (TENGOZHAL) CRISPY RICE SPIRALS
Every Diwali in my house and in my mother’s house, one permanent bhakshanam(savory snack dish) is the Tenkuzhal, we call this Tengozhal at home. The reason that everyone used to like this savory snack is because it’s not spicy. Children used to absolutely love this crispy, crunchy snack. Here in Singapore almost all my Indian and non-Indian friends love this snack and request me to bring some for them and Diwali is one such time where we share sweets and savories with our near and dear ones and what better way to share what is prepared at home with love.
TENGOZHAL
Ingredients
Rice Flour - 2 Cups
White lentil/(Black gram skinless)/Udad dal or ready Udad flour - 2 Tablespoon
Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp
Sesame seeds – 1 tbsp(I love this in the tengozhal so I put more, you can put 1 tsp
Asafetida - a pinch
Butter - 2 tablespoons
Salt as per taste
Coconut oil – 1 tbsp (for the palakkad iyer / keralaiyer touch)(optional)
Oil for frying
You need the Tengozhal press nazhi and you have to use the plate with holes (bigger holes to be precise)
Method
Dry roast the udad dal in a pan and grind it in a blender to make a fine powder. I used the ready flour easily available in the market nowadays.
Dry roast the cumin seeds and when it pops remove, cool it and grind it for one spin in the blender. Don't make it into a fine powder. We are putting it in the blender so that it breaks into half and the aroma comes out.
In a big bowl, Add rice flour, udad flour, broken cumin seeds, sesame seeds, salt as per taste, butter and asafetida. Mix well so that you know everything has blended well. Now add water slowly and make a dough. The dough resembles the dough we make for chapatti / roti. At this stage add the coconut oil and knead well for another 5 minutes, palakkad iyers usually fry the bhakshanams in coconut oil which gives it a very unique and flavorful taste, to remind me of that I added the coconut oil, this is optional and if you want you can avoid it.
Heat oil in a heavy bottomed pan, and when the oil is hot add a little piece of dough to check, if the dough rises immediately then the oil is ready for frying.
Now stuff the dough in the nazhi(press) and close the mould. Squeeze it through the mould in big circles or smaller circles. Mind you, keep your hand a bit far once you drop as the steam will hit your hand. Deep fry the Tengozhal in low flame till it is crisp. I like my Tengozhal white and crisp. If your rice flour is good your tengozhal will come out white as mine in the picture and if not you will have to fry till its done to an almost golden brown color. Remove and place on paper towel to absorb the excess oil. Once cool, store it in a air tight container. Indulge in this crunchy delight as and when you want it.

Monday, October 10, 2011

PORULVALANGAI URUNDAI / KETTI URUNDAI

PORULVALANGAI URUNDAI / KETTI URUNDAI
Warning!!!! These are for people with strong teeth only.
At home we call this Poruvalangai urundai but its actually Porulvilangai urundai. In Singapore they call it Ketti urundai. My brother absolutely loves this and this post is for my brother.
I read a lot about why this laddoo shaped sweet is called Porulvalangai urundai and came up with many answers. I won’t repeat them though as they are all over the internet. This urundai is very good for health as it has got all healthy ingredients. In olden day’s people who used to travel from one place to another used to carry this with them as it has a longer shelf life and a lot of nutritional value to give them extra energy or boost while traveling.
There are various recipes to make this sweet as they say, anything nutritious can be added. This is my recipe. I tried to make it a bit softer by adding ghee as we have 2 people at home with cavities and fillings and I couldn’t afford to take risks…LOL!!!!!
My mother used to tell me how her grand mother (my great grandmother) would be able to eat these urundais at a very old age. I guess they were using their teeth aptly unlike us.
Here is a delicious recipe which you can make for Diwali. It is less sweet, healthy and nutritious and very very tasty.
Porulvalangai Urundai
Ingredients
Green Beans or Yellow split moong dal – ½ cup
Rice – ¼ cup
Chana ka daali / chutney daal/ pottu kadalai – ½ cup
Cardamom powder – 1tsp
Sesame Seeds – ¼ tbsp
Salt - a pinch
Jaggery – 1 cup
Ghee – 1 tablespoon (optional)
Dry ginger powder -1/2 tbsp
Cashew nuts – 1-2 tbsp
Raisins - 1-2 tbsp

Method
Dry roast Green Bean(Moong dal) or you can also use yellow split moong dal, the rice and pottu kadalai, till a good aroma comes. Be careful when roating, don’t burn it else your laddoo will taste awful. Be around and monitor it and roast it on a low flame. Then grind these finely in a blender (mixer)
Dry roast sesame seeds separately and add in to your mixture. Also add in a pinch of salt, the cardamom powder and the dry ginger powder. Blend well with a dry wooden spatula.
In a wok, add 1 cup of jaggery with ¼ cup water. The jaggery starts to melt and dissolve in the water. Wait for it to froth and cook the syrup till you achieve one-string consistency (when you add some drops of syrup in a glass of water, it can be rolled like a flexible ball, another way of checking the paagu or syrup is take a teaspoon dip in paagu and dip it in a glass of cold water. If it becomes candy-like then it is ready). At this point switch off the gas. Pour this syrup into the grinded flour and roll it quickly to small lemon size balls. Fry the cashew and raisins in ghee and keep one each for decoration as seen in the picture. I added a tablespoon of hot melted ghee as well along with this. Be careful don’t take too much time to roll the flour into balls else it will become tough to roll. Incase that happens just keep the entire mix on a low flame until the jaggery melts and roll the balls. Once cool the laddoo becomes hard, its ready for attack. Now taste this nutritious poruvalangai urundai. For those with weaker teeth, break the urundai, pop it into your mouth and relish it.

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

DILL LEAVES SAUTÉED / SHEPU CHI BHAAJI


DILL LEAVES / SEED
In India, dill is known as 'Savaa' in Hindi and 'Soa' in Punjabi not related to Soy, In Telugu it is called soya and soya-kura (for herb greens). It is also called 'sapsige soppu' (ಸಪ್ಸಿಗೆ ಸೊಪ್ಪು) in Kannada.


Read more about Dill here

Dill Leaves / Shepu



Dill seeds / Suva











Dill is very rich in minerals, vitamin C and flavonoids, It gives protection Against Free Radicals and Carcinogens, It is considered an Anti-Bacterial Spice and it’s a flavorful way to help prevent bone loss.

Dill is mostly a culinary herb today, but it does have some value in medicine, mostly as a stomach soother and anti-gas remedy.  It is also said to increase mother's milk and help treat breast congestion from nursing. It is mild, and makes a good remedy for colic in babies.
Dill water is used often for relief of the above symptoms.
Dill can also be made into a Tea, and sweetened with honey, or prepared as an infusion by steeping 2 teaspoons of seed in 1 cup of water for 10-15 minutes, then straining.  Take 1-2 cups per day.
Tea made from a tablespoon of dill seed can help cure indigestion and treat hiccups. It has also been used successfully to treat colic (at 1/3 concentration). Save any remainder and soak your fingers in it to help strengthen your nails.


DILL LEAVES SAUTÉED / SHEPU CHI BHAAJI
This time when I had been to India my mother-in-law had made “Shepu chi bhaaji” and it was really yummy. Unfortunately it was not enough for a second helping as usually leafy vegetables when cooked always reduce drastically in quantity. Dill leaves and seeds are available aplenty in Singapore these days compared to a few years back, so I thought why not make the most of it. I have always been boiling dill seeds in water and giving my kids. On Sunday, I went to the supermarket and found a dark green fresh bunch of Dill leaves and I couldn’t resist buying. Here is a simple recipe for you'll to enjoy.

Dill Leaves Sauteed / Shepuchi bhaji
Ingredients
Dill (shepu) leaves – 1 bunch
Asafetida – A pinch
Onions – 1 (optional)
Garlic - 2 cloves
Green chilies - 2
Salt as per taste
Method
De-stem the Dill leaves. Wash them well in a colander by running water through it.  Drain and chop the leaves. Peel and slit the garlic into slivers. Break the green chillies into two.
In a wok, add a teaspoon of oil, once its hot, add a pinch of asafetida, add in the garlic slivers and green chillies, add in the onions for extra flavour(if you want) sauté till the garlic is orange in color. Don’t burn it. After this add in the chopped dill leaves, salt and sauté. You will see that it shrinks in size. Saute until the water is completely gone and until you see that the dill leaves look a bit fried. Serve hot wih fulkas/chappatis, Jowar/bajra rotis. Enjoy this flavorful healthy curry (sabji).

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

MEDHU VADAI OR ULUNDHU VADAI (Savory Indian doughnut)


MEDHU VADAI OR ULUNDHU VADAI (Savory Indian doughnut)
The Savory Indian doughnut is what my non-Indian friends call our Medhu vadai in Singapore and I tell you they love it to the last bite.
Nothing can beat the crunch of the outside to the softness & puffiness of the inside. It’s bland but when it combines with sambhar or coconut chutney or yogurt, it turns into something else.
I have been trying to make the perfect Medhu vadais since the year 2001 when I got married and moved to Singapore but always ended up making mysore bondas (dropping the medhu vada batter into round balls instead). The taste is the same but the look is different. I wanted it to look like the ones we buy in the hotel. Until one day my friend Vidya who hails from Trichy got me some perfectly shaped doughnut like vadas, crispy on the outside and soft and well cooked on the inside. I asked her for the recipe and she told me that it is difficult to grind in the Blender (mixie) and she usually grinds for the vada batter in the wet grinder. She also told me that you should add water along the way an Urad / Udad dal should be ground into fine bouncy paste. Once I bought my little Premier Wet grinder, I decided to attempt Medhu Vadais with Vidya’s recipe. Now mind you Vidya’s mother is a fabulous cook and a perfectionist. Her mother had given her a tip of adding toor dal while soaking the Urad / Udad dal. This not only makes the vada crispy but also keeps the batter be bound together and makes it easy to make the doughnuts with the batter.
Medhu Vada
Ingredients
Skinless Black gram / Urad Dal – 2 cups
Yellow split Pea / Toor dal - 2 tablespoons
Green Chillies – 4-6 nos
Ginger – ½ inch (optional)
Onion – 1(optional)
Salt – 3/4 tsp
Asafetida (Hing or perungayam) - ½ tsp
Curry leaves – A sprig
Oil- for frying
Method
Soak the Urad dal and toor dal in water for 2-3 hours. Grind the soaked urad dal along with chillies, ginger and salt into a fine paste i.e. when you take the batter in your fingers you should not feel the grains. While grinding like I mentioned before kindly add water slowly, you can sprinkle water. Ensure that the batter doesn’t become watery. The batter should be thick and not like the dosa batter which flows down when dropped from a spoon.
Heat oil in a kadai. Dip your hands in water. Take the batter of the size of a small ball in your palm or a plantain leaf or a polythene sheet and pat it to form a circle. Dip your index finger in water and make a hole in the patted batter in the center. I prefer to do it on my palm as it is easy to maneuver the batter.
Fry the vadas in oil till golden brown on both sides.
Medhu Vadai
Different Types of Vadai
Coriander Leaves and Curry Leaves - You can add curry leaves and finely chopped coriander to the batter.
Spinach Vadai (Keerai Vadai)
You can add any green leafy vegetables like Palak keerai, Arai Keerai, Mullai Keerai, Murunga Elai(drumstick leaves),
Onion Vadai
You can add finely chopped onions,
Cabbage Vadai
You can add finely chopped cabbage,
Potato Ulundhu Vadai
You can add grated potato into the batter
You can use all or any of the permutation and combinations and still have a wholesome and nutritious snack which is very delectable.

RASAM VADA
Soak the vada in Rasam.
Soak the vada atleast for half an hour before serving. Only then the rasam will penetrate into the vada and will taste good.
While serving the Rasam vadai just garnish it with finely chopped coriander and then serve.

SAMBHAR VADA
Soak the vada in Sambhar.
The sambhar should not be very thick. Soak the vada atleast for half an hour before serving. Only then the sambhar will penetrate into the vada and will taste good.
While serving the Sambhar vadai just garnish it with finely chopped coriander and then serve.

DAHI VADA
Soak the vada in Dahi.
Kindly click on the link to follow the recipe. In my recipe replace the moong vada with the Urad vada and follow the method as per the link.

Tips
I have already given you the tip of adding Toor dal alongwith urad dal while soaking.
Here are some more tips :-
- You can add a pinch of baking soda just before making the vada, this makes the vada  
   crisp
- Add a boiled and mashed potato to the batter and mix it well. By adding boiled potato
   the vada will remain crisp and puffy for a long time
- If the batter is watery it will not freely drop into the oil. It will break half way through  
   the journey from your  hand to the oil. If it is like that don’t worry. Add some Rice   
   flour to the vada batter.
- To check if the Vada is cooked fully wash the tip     
  of a knife and pierce the vada. If no batter sticks on the knife then the vada is fully
  cooked or else it needs more cooking.
Neivedyam to the lord.


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