Mung/Moong Pakode [Mung Dal Fritters]

My Mom prepares different types of Dals (amti) with varied Lentils, but I had not known that these can be also used in any pakodas / bhajji / fritters (except the Medu vadas). So when The Foodie mentioned about Mung ke Pakode, I was quite amused. :-/ 
My First attempt was disaster as while grinding the soaked lentils we used quite a bit of water, later to thicken it we mixed Besan- but we were deprived of its original taste till I tried it over the weekend.  ;;)
Hence, this post belongs to the Mung – Moong family. As mentioned here - The split bean is known as moong dal, which is green with the husk, and yellow when dehusked.





You Need:

• Yellow Moong Dal: 1 and half cup
• Green Split Moong Dal: Half cup 
• Green Chilies: 1-2 nos
• Red Chili powder: 1-2 tsp
• Turmeric powder: 1/2 tsp
• Fennel seeds (saunf): 1-2 tbsp
• Salt to taste
• Oil to Deep Fry

You Do:

1. Mix yellow and green dals, soakd it for 4-5 hours – I soaked overnight. (Normally Green Split Dal is not used, but I used, as the green skin gives crispiness)
2. When done, remove all water from it (literally drain all water, as water thins the consistency) – then grind it coarsely. I preferred using Food Processor. (Avoid grinding to paste, if not thick its difficult to fry)
3. Mix all other ingredients and grind again.
4. When Done, Deep Fry them making small balls out of them, remove on a tissue when color changes to brown. (as small the balls the pakodas are easier to cook) 

Dhan Tana…..Done ! :D I served with chutney and Sauce.

You can also mix ginger-garlic paste if required. Even Coarsely sliced Onion tastes cool with it.

Vokay ! So me sending these Pakodas to following Events :

1. Sending this to Sia for her My Love affair with Legumes-Fifteenth Helping initiated by Susan of The Well Seasoned Cook
2. These Pakodas along with Cheeku Choco Shake goes to Kid’s Delight hosted by Srivalli
3. As Fritters are favorite Evening snack with Tea, sending this for Monthly Mingle hosted by Aparna and started by Meeta
4. Posting this vegan dish to It's a vegan world - Indian hosted this month by Erbe in cucina an event started by Vaishali of Holy Cow

Happy Hosting Gals .. events like these inspire us a lot ! Thank you :)

Bread Dosa /Ghavan

Before when Food Blogging World was unknown to me , I used to browse through Sanjeev Kapoor. I think the recipes are not given in detail over there but still it’s a great bible for all, the site tries to cover up most of cuisines.  Whenever I like any recipe I normally bookmark it and always decide that I will go through it step wise while trying it out, but when I am really trying these recipes @ that time I just recollect pieces of it and hence my experimenting starts!
I always prefer any dish with bread in it and also I'm in love with the Dosa Family. So I had bookmarked this-  Bread Dosa Recipe.
But I did quite different than this, it turned out very well infact very much like Ghavan (in Marathi – it’s a small dosa, Mom prepares with mixture of Rice flour and Rava).

You Need:

• White Bread Slices – 6-7 – soaked in water (I did not throw the edges as mentioned by SK – can't bear wastage of food for tiny tiny taste changes ;))
• Onion: One small size
• Green chili: 1-2
• Rice Flour: 1-2 tbsp
• Rava/Sooji: 1 cup
• Ginger: ½ inch
• Chilli flakes: 1-2 tbsp
• Yogurt: 2-3 tbsp
• Coriander leaves: finely chopped
• Salt to taste
• Oil: to shallow fry

You Do:

1. Mix green chilies, ginger and onion and chop it finely or nearly grind it. (I used food processor)                                                                                                        
2. Squeeze out excess water from the soaked bread, then mix it with rice flour and rava with whisked yogurt – blend it with the above mixture.
3. Mix water and adjust the consistency as to make it like a dosa batter.  I just wanted to make spicy so used chili flakes too. Also used coriander leaves just make it look better.                                                                                                          
4. It doesn’t get circled as smoothly as normal dosa batter, have to put it similar to rava dosa or ghavan.  Use appropriate oil to shallow fry.
5. Cook from both the sides till it turns brown.

I served with Ridge gourd skin chutney and Dosa Special Potato sabzi.

Differences with the original:

• As I wanted to prepare this very quick dish so I mixed the chopped onion-ginger-green chilies with the batter, while SK suggested to sauté it then mix it.
• Hence also avoided the tempering stuffs.

Sending this to Priya for her Sunday Snacks-Snacks With Bread.

Ridge Gourd Skin/Edges Chutney – [Shirala chya saalichi chutney / Turai ke chillke ki chutney]

Most common breakfast @ our place belonged to dosa – idli family. Mom used to do loads of variations with them and also with the side dish served with it – Chutney!So at our place we had this Huge family of Chutneys- every week new one and it dint reappear for months! :-/
So I also decided to continue this trend and atleast try new chutney/pickle once a month. So when we had brought ridge gourd, I recollected Mom’s Shirala chya saalichi chutney. Ridge gourd is called Shirala in Marathi cos it has these Shiras (Edges in marathi), normally we don’t use this in our sabzi/vegetable (as we use peeled guord) and as I have this waste phobia I feel top of the world if I use something which was meant to be thrown. ;)

You Need:

• Skin /Edges of Ridge gourd

• Green Chilies: 2-3 as spicy as you need
• Sesame Seeds (Til): 2-3 tsp
• Ghee: while roasting
• Jaggery and Tamarind Pulp: 2 tbsp
• Salt to taste

 

You Do:

1. Heat Ghee in a pan – Roast all ingredients on the pan.                                                                          
2. The skin changes its color from dark green to light one  - then put it across in mixer and grind.                                                            
3. Add the pulp – grind –add water for the required consistency.

Done :)

Chikoo Choco Shake !

It was a very bad work week, too busy with projects – deliverables - assignments! So dinner wise it was worst week, five days out seven had to eat out – order – Maggi! Last week sometime, we also had our six month anniversary :P !! ( yeah me a bit cynical about these special days, as The Foodie says if asked to I can add every 365 days in my special days list :D)

But due to workloads I totally forgot about The Six Month Anniversary :( but Thanks to The Foodie there was this surprise on the bed when I returned from work. But alas, as always, I had neither gift nor time to make anything special for him.

So Me just browsed our normally overloaded but this time empty fridge. There were chocolates and fruits and some couple of days malai and cold Milk bass – So thought of making something different and ROYAL for The Foodie with these very items!

This again is something I tried impulsively – hence experimental dish! It dint take more than ten minutes.

You Need:

Chikoo – 3-4 in number – Peeled and Deseeded
Thick Cold Milk with loads of Malai
Sugar – couple of tbsp
Choclates – qty depending on you – smashed into small pieces and grated

You Do:

1.   Mix the chikoo pieces , Milk with malai and sugar – Grind it to make thick paste.

2.   Now just make layers of the paste and smashed pieces of chocolates – I made four thin layers.

(I had used the heavy nutty dark chocolate but if the chocolate is light layers can be thick and numbers of layers can be increased as to make the shake heavier)

3.   When done garnish with grated chocolate. Done ! =P~

We had it with Maggi – some ching noodles. We had single glass between both of us but it was too heavy and much thicker than any CCD – Barista Choco shakes :P

As Choclate being integral part of this Shake, me sending this to Hema for her CFK : Chocolate

Also sending this to Sireesha for her Soup 'N Juice Event.

Update ::
Sandhya has presented me with this beautiful Kreative Blogger Award, Thanks a lot Sandhya !!
As I need to pass on this to seven blogger friends, those ARE HERE !

Corn Rice and Ridge gourd Fry !!

अतिथि देवो भवः !!

I know we have been brought up with this culture but when you are married for not more than 1 month and your cooking knowledge especially for guests lasts only where you serve and your Mom prepares, I was cold feet when couple of our friends were supposed to drop by around dinner time ! :|

The Foodie and Me started drooling over what to prepare , infact we started by looking as to what we have stored in fridge and to our utter shock we just had Frozen Corn and pending half Ridge gourd :'( ..We had very less options to prepare with these two stuffs and more less time as it was already dinner time ! :-/

So ticking our brains we decided on Corn Rice and Ridge gourd Fry!!
Corn Rice - tried and tasted
Ridge Guard Fry - infact on similar lines of Batatachya Kaapi - Experimental (we didn't have enough to prepare sabzi, and we really dint want to disappoint our friends by ordering outside food)

So we were done with all with in mere 30 mins !!!

Corn Rice :

You Need:

Sweet Corn Niblets: 1 cup - boiled and soft
Rice: 1 cup soaked in water for about 10 mins
Water: 2 cups - boiled
Onion: Half cut into slices
Green Chilies: 1-2 cut into small pieces
Curry Leaves: 2-3
Black Pepper: Crushed whole about 2-3 tbsp
Turmeric Powder: 1 tsp
Red Chili Powder: 1 tsp
Mustard seeds and cumin seeds: tempering
Oil: 1-2 tsp
Salt to taste

You Do:

1. Heat oil in Kadhai - put the tempering stuffs along with green chilies and curry leaves
2. Saute Onion for few minutes then add the Soaked rice.
3. Put Pepper along with other masalas and salt. Mix it thoroughly
4. Pour the boiled water and cover the kadhai and let it cook on medium flame for 10 minutes.
5. Remove when done - garnish with coriander. (Avoid mixing the rice once water is poured else it becomes sticky and rice breaks)

Ridge gourd Fry:

Vokay - totally accepting this is a total experimental dish , I had some pending Shirala (Ridge gourd in Marathi) and I wanted to make something like Batatyachya Kaapi (will post this soon) but then it really dint go that way as Shirala being a bit soft disappointed me by not being crispy at the end.
But then we served it as Fry vegetable so nobody knew that it was experimental and as the taste dint disappoint me :D

You Need:

Ridge Gourd: Peeled and sliced in circles
Turmeric Powder: 1 tsp
Red Chili Powder: 1 tsp
Rice Flour: 1-2 tbsp
Semolina (Rava): 1-2 tbsp
salt to taste
Oil to shallow fry

You Do:

1. Mix the masalas and salt with the slices and keep it for about 10-15 mins.
2. It will give out water - Remove it else it will be salty.
3. Then mix the flours along with the slices.
4. Shallow fry in a small pan till it turns a bit cripsy.

Dhan Tannaaa ... This is how the dinner looked liked , Desert was Naturals Ice-cream !

Sending this to Raji for her  Cooking for Guests

Sambhar - Worth remembering and preparing the dish!

South Indian cuisine especially Idli /Dosa Sambhar is one of the most famous and very easily accessible throughout India or even abroad!

But Mom makes the most delicious and very complicated type of Sambhar – it might not be authentic cos I don’t know how it is prepared in authentic south India, but I have tasted Sambhar from Chennai – Cochin – Banglore or any Udipi hotel in Mumbai but I feel Moms Sambhar is the BEST!

This is how I jot down Mom’s instructions for important recipes. (Ignore the DAAG done while preparation - proof I prepared the Sambhar ;) )

You Need:

Toor Dal (split yellow peas): 1 cup cooked in pressure cooker (once done in cooker smash it a bit)

Veggies: 1 to 1 ½ cup – (I used) : Brinjal , Bhendi, Shirala (Snake  Gourd), Tomato, Drumsticks, Green Chillies, Pumpkin

Red Chillies,Curry Leaves, Mustard Seeds, Asafoetida (Asafoetida - bit more than used normally used - Mom mentioned this to me again and again): Tempering stuffs

Tamarind and Jaggery Pulp: 4-5 tbsp

Turmeric Powder: 1tbsp

Red Chilli Powder: 1 tbsp

Coriander Leaves: Garnishing

Oil for tempering

Salt to taste

Vatan/ Required for Grinded Paste:

Grated Coconut: 3-4 tbsp

Uncooked Rice – Not cooked one: 1tbsp

Chana Dal: 1 tbsp

Urad Dal: 1 tbsp
Red Chillies: 3-4

Coriander seeds: 3-4tbps

Cumin Seeds: 1tbsp

Mustard Seeds: 1tbsp

Fenugreek Seeds: 1 tbsp

You Do:

1. Heat Oil in Big Kadhai, Put the Tempering stuffs.

2. Add the veggies to this - one after other (let the easiest cooking veggie go in the last eg - i put pumpkin last). Cover and let it cook.

3. In the mean time, Heat oil on frying pan then roast the vatan together for more than couple of minutes.

 Then grind this into smooth powder.

4. Add Tamarind and Jaggery pulp and grind to make a fine paste.

5. Once the veggies are half cooked add this smooth paste/vatan in the mixture and all other masalas along with salt and then cover and let it cook.

6. Then mix Cooked Toor Dal with the gravy.

7. In accordance with the required density mix water.

8. Let it simmer for sometime then garnish with Coriander leaves.

For my standards it’s very complicated recipe but I mean it - It is more than worthy!

When I prepared this over the weekend , the quantity was huge for both of us but we really din't mind as we had it with Idlis then Dosas then just Sambhar :D

As on Saturday Brunch The Foodie said I can’t have more than 3 Idlis so please don’t force me, and the same guy ate more than 8 !!!!

Sambhar is totally incomplete without Red Chilies - its required in vatan and also during tempering ! So me sending this as an entry to Lakshmi and Sunita for their Think Spice - Think Red Chillies .

There is always one dish/recipe very close to you that you always want to make just as your Mom does!

This is THE dish that I knew would take lot of preparation time but I just wanted to do it the right way!! (Read Moms way) O:-)

So I would like to send it to Dew Drop in Kitchen for her Just not any other dish event !

Capsicum Cheese Omlette

My favorite breakfast - Bread Omlette !
And before I went to US I knew there are two types of Omlettes - half fry and Onion Omlette. But I was surprised when I saw our canteen chef @ clients place put what not and all in the omlette! /:)
I learnt and tried various types of omlettes but my favorite among other favorites is Capsicum Cheese Omlette esp cos its very easy and most convenient to prepare. I prepare this during the Dauda Bhaga situation in morning but still it feels as if me having some type of luxurious breakfast. :D
You Need:

Egg - qty = as many omlettes you need
Capsicum - sliced
Cheese - either grated or cheese clices cut into pieces
Onion - cut into very small pieces
Milk - 3 tbsp
Green Chili: cut into small pieces
Turmeric Powder - a bit for color
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
You Do:
1. First break and beat the egg so that it becomes a smooth paste.
2. Add all other items and mix it vigorously for couple of minutes.
3. Add butter on the frying pan then pour the mixture.
4. Once cooked make it upside down - the milk makes the omlette fluffy!
5. Garnish with grated cheese.

I normally have this with Toast else just the omlette with sauce also tastes yummy :D
Sending this to Divya for her

Gajar Halwa

गणपति बाप्पा मोरया !
मंगलमूर्ति मोरया !
गणपति गेले गावाला !
चैन पडेना आम्हाला !
Yesterday, With these words we BID GOODBYE to our most beloved GOD !


Till last year Ganpati was just a festival for me where I used to visit my mama's place and then visit all famous Ganpatis around my vicinity. I considered last year the most lucky one as I could visit Lalbaug cha Raja while I missed this festival most, when I was in US.
But this year was most special one, The Foodie and Me decided to celeberate Ganesh Chaturthi @ HOME :)
We did pretty well , it was a combo Ganpati with the cocktail rituals from Marwadi and Marathi style ! First Day Mom was around so she was the one to prepare the required 21 Modaks , but for remaining 9 days prasad varied from all types of fruits , varied pedhas from halwai or simple coconut and sugar naivedya !
But over the weekend I had decided to prepare different sweets, it went on from Atte ka Halwa (first dish learnt from MIL :) ) to Gajar ka halwa (the only sweet dish I knew to prepare before marriage) !
As I took snap of Gajarcha Halwa with Ganpati , I thought of posting this.
You Need:
Carrots : 1/4 Kg - Peeled and Grated
Milk : 1/2 litre - Boiled
Mawa : (dry milk) 50 grams - Grated or in small pieces
Sugar : 1/2 to 1 cup (in accordance with the sweetness required)
Ghee : 5 tbsp
Dry fruits like Cashews or Almonds - Grated or in small pieces
Cardamom powder : 1/2 tsp - (As making cardamom powder is mixer is a bit difficult i mix it with some suger and put it in Mixer/Grinder)
You DO:
1. Heat Ghee in Kadhai, Saute the grated carrots for some time - carrots turn reddish.
2. Mix the milk (both boiled and dried milk) with carrots and cook over medium heat with stirring occassionaly. (so that it doesn't stick to kadhai)


3. When milk dries up , add sugar , cardamom powder and dry fruits if any.
Last time I had garnished with loads dry fruits ! (This time as Aarti time was running din't garnish, so the snap taken ekdum ghai ghai main ! :( )

I would like to send this to Priti and Purva for their Festive Food Event - 'FF'




 
Also sending this to Suchi for her WYF: Festive treat