PONGAL-VADA

Left over pongal at home or wanna try something new,try this easy recipe for a change:-)Pongal vada!!

INGREDIENTS:

• Pongal(Khara-spicy)- 1 cup(note:left over pongal can be used,should be in room temperature)
• Onion -1 chopped well
• Chillies- 1 or 2(optional)
• Besan - 1 cup
• Rice flour - 2 tsp
• Salt to taste
• Oil for frying

HOW TO MAKE:

• Take a big mixing bowl and add pongal,besan ,rice flour,onion,chillies and salt.
• Mix well without adding any additional water as the water content in pongal will be quite sufficient.
• Heat a frying pan with oil and keep it ready.
• Now make small lemon sized balls with the batter and fry them in the pan until golden brown on low to medium heat.
• Remove from pan and pat dry the extra oil.
• Serve hot with chutney!

Preparation Time: 15 minutes

ZITRONE PICKLE(Zitrone Uppinakayi)

While the original intent of making pickle was to preserve the seasonal vegetables,it has over centuries become an intrinsic part of Indian culinary experience!No meal is considered complete without a dash of pickle:)Pickle making is a tradition and each region have their own twist to the recipes.Spurred by the availability of zitrone(lemon like) in Germany,I was motivated to try making a zitrone pickle!It tasted real yummy an here goes the recipe:)

INGREDIENTS

• Zitrones - 4-5(big)
• Fenugreek seeds - 2 tsp
• Asafoetida(Hinge) - 1/4 tsp
• Red Chilli powder - about 75 gms(add less if you want it less spicy)
• Salt - about 50 gms(or as per your taste)

HOW TO MAKE

Preparing the pickle jar:

• Take a glass jar and wipe it well to make sure there is no moisture.

• Cut the zitrones to small pieces as per your desire .
• Add in the Zitrones to the clean jar.
• Now add in the salt and mix well.

• Close the jar(make sure it is tight) and keep it aside for about 4-5 days.(Make sure you keep mixing once in 2 days and most importantly ,do not add any water and use only a dry spoon)
• After 4-5 days ,you will see that the zitrones would have given out enough water because of salt.
• Now is the time to add in the spice mix.

Preparing the spices to mix for the pickle:

• Take a saucepan and dry roast the fenugreek seeds and asafoetida until you get a nice aroma.(Make sure you do not burn them)
• Allow the mixture to cool down.
• Now take a grinder and add the roasted mixture and the chilli powder .Grind them to a smooth powder WITHOUT adding water.

• Now add the ground powder to the pickle jar (which as been sitting for about a week in the salt mixture)
• Mix well.
•                                            
• Make sure you keep mixing the pickle once in every two days.After 3-4 days the juice from the zitrone start to form and would have mixed well with the masala and the pickle is ready to taste.(one tip:If it is not juicy,you can add some zitrone juice and then allow it to settle well for some more time)
• Pickle is ready to eat.Savour it with Idli,Dosa,rice!

Note: The above steps can be followed by using lime/lemon instead of zitrone.

SPRING ONION SOUP

INGREDIENTS:

• Spring Onions - a bunch
• Onion - 1/4 cup, finely chopped (optional)
• Garlic - 2 big cloves, finely chopped
• Butter- 2 teaspoons
• Milk - 1/2 cup
• Water/Vegetable stock - 1 cup
• Salt - to taste
• Crushed black pepper - 1 Tsp

HOW TO MAKE:

• Wash and chop the spring onions top and bottom part separately.
• In a Pan,heat Butter.Add chopped garlic and fry for few minutes.
• Now,Add chopped onion and bottom part of the spring onion. Saute them till the onion gets translucent.
• Add spring onion top part and saute well without changing the colour. Once it is done, allow it cool completely.
• Blend the mixture to a smooth paste and transfer to sauce pan again.
• Add vegetable stock and warm milk. Simmer it for 5-7 minutes. Add salt and pepper.
• Serve hot with bread or croutons.

Note:
Make sure to fry the spring onions well ,till the raw smell vanishes.

Preparation time:30 minutes(Including cooling)
Serves: 2

ALOO BUNS(POTATO BUNS)

Miss those yummy Iyengar Bakery Aloo Bun/Palya Bun from Namma Bengaluru here!So this was my first try at baking them here..wasn't bad for first time trial:)

INGREDIENTS:

• Potatoes - 3 large
• Onion - 2 large
• Oil - 3 Tbsp 
• Green chillies - 6 to 8 (finely cut)
• Salt - to taste
• Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
• Curry leaves - a few 
• Coriander leaves - 1 cup finely chopped

For the Bun dough:

• All purpose flour /Maida - 3 cups
• Salt - 1 1/2 tsp
• Dry yeast - 2 1/2 tsp
• Water - 1 cup luke warm
• Milk - 1/4 cup (luke warm)
• Butter - 1/4 cup melted
• Sugar - 2 tsp

For Brushing the bun before baking:

• 1 Tbsp of milk + 1 Tbsp oil

HOW TO MAKE:

For the filling to be used inside the buns:

• Boil potatoes. Peel them and mash them coarsely.
• In a pan, heat oil and add mustard seeds. When they start sputtering, add green chillies and curry leaves.
• When they are done, add onions and saute them until translucent.
• Add salt and mix well.
• Now add in the mashed potatoes. 
• Garnish with coriander leaves and  turn off the heat. 
• Let it cool down to room temperature.

Dough Preparation:

• Take a large bowl, add warm water, sugar, salt and yeast.
• Let it froth for about 5 minutes. 
• Slowly add melted butter, dry milk powder if using and flour little by little to make a smooth dough.
• Knead it well for 10 minutes. 
• Coat with a little bit oil(I used olive oil) all over the dough and cover and let it rise for about 45 minutes to an hour or till it doubles in volume. 
• After the rise is done, punch down the dough really well.
• Divide into 12- 14 balls.
• Let it rest covered for 10 minutes. 

Preparing the Bun for baking:

• From the filling prepared , make 12-14  lemon sized balls of the palya/stuffing and set aside.
• Now take the dough (1 piece) on your left hand and pat it to get a circle of about 4 - 5 " diameter.
• It should be large enough so that you can place the palya ball and cover it all around. 
• Keep the palya/stuffing ball in the center and pull all the sides up together to join in the center. (lie how you do for aloo paratha stuffing)
• Pinch the edges and roll it slightly in your palm to make it smooth.
• Place seam-side down on a baking sheet which is lined with parchment paper or lightly greased. 
• Repeat with rest of the dough.
• Cover the baking sheet with a clean kitchen towel or greased aluminum foil and let it rise in a warm place for about 30 - 45 minutes.
• Towards the end of rise period, preheat the oven to 200  deg C. 
• Brush the top of the buns with oil and milk mixture (Note : If you are an egg eater, you can give it an egg wash to get better color).
• Bake the buns in the oven for 20 - 22 minutes.
• Keep an eye on the bun so that they don't get over burnt.
• When done, remove from the oven and brush with butter if desired.
•  Serve Hot or warm:). 

OATS CUTLET

One more experiment with oats!Yummy oats cutlets!Read on for recipe:)

INGREDIENTS:

• Oats – 3/4 cup dry roasted and powdered.
• Potatoes(boiled and mashed well) - 2
• Onions – 2 (finely cut)
• Green Chillies – 6 (finely cut)
• Ginger – 1 tsp (grated)
• Red chilli powder – 1/2 tsp
• Garam masala powder - 1/2 tsp
• Cumin Powder – 1/2 tsp
• Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Salt – to taste
• Oil  
• Curry leaves 
• Coriander leaves – few strands finely cut

HOW TO MAKE:

• Dry roast the oats and grind it to fine powder and keep it aside.
• Heat 2 tsp of oil in a pan and add the cumin seeds and mustard seeds.
• When it starts to splutter, add the chopped green chillies ,curry leaves followed by the chopped onions and salt.
• When the onions become translucent, add the grated ginger.
• Toss it for 2 minutes and then add the red chilli powder, cumin powder, garam masala and fry for few  minutes.
• Now add the mashed potatoes  and fry for another 5 to 10 minutes.
• Add the chopped coriander and mix well.
• Then add 3 tsp of powdered oats  and combine well.It will become more thick.
• Now roll out small balls out of this dough and give them any of your desired shapes.
• Pour the remaining half cup of Oats into a plate. Roll these cutlet shapes over Oats taken in a plate so that Cutlets get nice coating of the Oats.
• Place a griddle and turn on the flame, add 1-2 sp of Oil, Once the oil is hot, you can place the cutlets for shallow fry. when a side is roasted well change the side and roast well on both sides. Serve hot with tomato ketchup or green chutney

Preparation time: 30 minutes

TANDOORI ROTI

Tandoori Roti is a type of Indian bread which is traditionally made in a clay oven called "tandoor".Since clay ovens are not so common now..here is a simple home recipe which comes close to a tandoor roti and very easy to make too:)

INGREDIENTS:

• Chapathi flour - 2 Cups
• Warm water - 3/4 cup + little extra
• Salt -1/2 tsp or to taste
• Dry chapathi flour for dusting
• Bread Toaster

HOW TO MAKE:

• Take a bowl and mix the chapathi flour and salt well.
• Now Add in the warm water and knead well to form a smooth dough.
• Let the dough rest for about 15 to 20 minutes before using it.
• Divide the dough in to a medium lemon sized balls.
• Dip the dough in to dry flour once and roll it in to a oval shape using a rolling pin.(Let it be thicker and smaller than the normal rotis)

• Place the rolled out roti on a hot tava and cook on both sides until you see some bubbles and they turn in to brown spots.

• Remove roti and keep in a covered hot case.
• Repeat the process for the remaining rotis.

For Tandoori Roti:

• Wnen you are ready to eat ,pop the rotis in to a bread toaster and toast them on medium until they puff up.
• Toast them until dark brown spots appear.

• Once the roti is done,remove from toaster and slightly butter it (optional)
• Serve hot with Dal,Subzi :-)Tastes almost similar to tandoori roti!

Serve Size:Makes about 10 Tandoori rotis

Adapted from showmethecurry.com 

CRISPY BABYCORN

Baby Corn is so versatile that it can be used in making starters or main course.. Here is a simple and quick way to make a yummy snack with minimum ingredients and time! 

Ingredients:

• Baby Corn - 10-15 Nos. slit in the middle and chop to 1" sized pieces
• Onion - 1 Big
• Tomato - 2 Medium 
• Corn Flour - 2 tbsp
• All purpose flour - 1 tbsp
• Green chillies - 4 finely chopped
• Ginger Garlic paste - 2 tsp
• Soy Sauce - little
• Vinegar - little
• Tomato Ketchup - 2 tbsp
• Spring onions - a small bunch
• Coriander - a few sprigs [only the leaf part]
• Oil for deep frying
• Salt to taste

Method:

• Take a bowl and mix the corn flour, all purpose flour 2 green chillies [finely chopped or paste] salt to taste. Batter should be of medium consistency not to thick nor thin and should nicely coat the slit baby corns well. 
• Deep fry the babycorns and keep aside.
• Take a big wok/ kadai and add a tbsp of oil add chopped onions which is cut length wise also add the ginger garlic paste, fry it on a high flame until the raw smell disappears.
• To this add the chopped tomato and fry well add the tomato and soy sauce also the vinegar.
• Add the fried baby corn and mix well and flame should be high this will make the corn crisp keep tossing it to avoid burning.
• finally end it with chopped spring onions and coriander finely chopped.
• Serve hot as an appetizer with some ketchup.