Vada Pav - Indian Burger

When Anthony Bourdain came to Mumbai.....he had Vada Pav........ and he said......... "This is the best thing I have ever eaten"......do I have to say anything more.....

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What you will need
*Homemade Pav
*Batata Vada
*Spicy Green Chutney
*Tamarind Chutney
*Peanut Chutney
*Oil to deep fry

Ingredients for Batata Vada - Recipe Source :Manjula's Kitchen

• 4 Medium Potatoes (Boiled, skinned and mashed)
• 1 small onion finely chopped
• 3 green chillies chopped
• 1 tbsp oil
• 1 tsp Jeera
• 1 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 1/2 tsp ginger garlic paste
• 2 tbsp chopped coriander leaves
• salt to taste

For batter

• 1 cup Besan (Gram flour)
• 2tbsp chopped coriander leaves
• salt to taste
• water

For peanut chutney

• 2 tbsp peanuts
• 1 tbsp sesame seeds
• 1 tbsp dry coconut powder
• 4 dry red chillies
• salt to taste

Method:

For Peanut chutney

1. Dry roast peanuts in a small pan till they change color lightly, then add red chillies till they turn dark. Reduce heat to low and add sesame seeds and roast for a minute. Turn off heat and add coconut powder.Let this cool before grinding to a powder. Add salt to taste.Peanut chutney is ready.

For Batter

1. Mix besan (gramflour), salt and coriander leaves,add enough water to make a thick but smooth batter.Keep this aside.

For Vada

1. Place a pan on medium heat, add oil,when oil is hot add jeera seeds (cumin seeds) stir for few seconds and add onion, fry till translucent add ginger garlic paste and stir for few seconds now add turmeric powder and stir for few seconds,add green chillies and mashed potatoes ans mix well, adjust salt. Cover and cook for few minutes. Now add chopped coriander leaves and mix well.
2. When the potato mixture cools slightly make equal size balls.
3. Dip the potato balls in besan(gramflour) batter and deep fry in hot oil till they turn golden brown.
4. Place the fried potato vadas on absorbent paper.

How to assemble

1. Slit the pav to two,spread desired amount of green chutney and tamarind chutney on one side of the pav.
2. Sprinkle some peanut chutney and place potato vada on top.Top with another slice of pav.
3.  Please do me a favor and dig in.

Homemade Pav - Bread

When I was paired with Vardhini from Zesty Palette for blog hop Wednesday, this was what I had chosen to make....after I baked the pav and made Vad Pav (my next post)...I went through her blog again and came across Rasmalai recipe and chose to that as an entry for Blog Hop Wednesday. 

I thoroughly enjoyed making the Pav...the results are so satisfying ,my family was awed by this...they could not believe that its possible to make Pav at home and that too it was much much better than the store bought Pav...So soft and spongy. Will definitely make it again. 

Recipe source:Zesty palette

Ingredients 

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• 3 Cups Maida (All purpose flour)
• 2 1/4 tsp dry active yeast
• 2 tsp Sugar
• 1/4 cup luke warm water
• 3 tbsp butter
• 1 1/4 cup milk
• 1 tsp salt

Method

1. Add butter to luke warm milk and let it melt. Keep this aside.
2.Combine sugar and yeast in luke warm water and mix well. Keep aside and let it froth up.
3. Once the yeast froths up add salt and milk+ butter mixture to it.
4. Now add 1 cup flour at a time and form a sticky dough.
5. Transfer the dough on to a clean surface and using little flour knead for 5 to 10 minutes to get a smooth and soft dough.
6.Keep the dough in the bowl, cover it and let it rise in a warm area for 1 hour.

7. After the dough has doubled in size, punch it down and remove all the air. Grease a baking tin with oil and keep aside. Divide the dough to 12 equal parts , form a ball and place it on the grease baking tin.

8. Cover and let it rise for 30 to 45 minutes.

9. Brush the top of the dough with milk and pop it in a preheated oven at 180 Degree C and bake for 25 to 30 minutes.Remove from oven and let it cool.

Rasmalai- Blog Hop Wednesday

Whenever my daughter is happy..she puts her hands in her pockets and moves it left and right and sings 'Dinka Chika Dinka Chika'...well I was doing exactly the same today after I made this Rasmalai...in one of my posts I have mentioned that I was scared of trying out two things ....'Cheesecake' and 'Rasmalai'.....welllll............ 'Dinka Chika Dinka Chika Dinka Chika';)

This Rasmalai is dedicated to my virtual friend Shireen Sequeira from Ruchik Randhap. reason being....see the new look of my blog...Well Shireen did it. I am technically backward and wanted a change and Shireen offered to help. So Shireen is not only an amazing cook ,she is also  good at designing blogs. But she does not come cheap you see...I had to pay her 1000 virtual hugs:)...so Shireen ....for the last time 'THANK YOU' :)

This week I was paired with Vardhini from Zesty Palette.Vardhini has a vast collection of recipes and I decided on a particular recipe and made  last week and was all set to post it on Wednesday ........ I went through her blog again yesterday and had totally missed out the Rasgulla recipe..I really wanted to try it out...made a few changes...... Rasmalai instead of rasgulla and I halved the recipe and used lemon juice instead of vinegar......and here it is. Ohhh I am feeling so proud.....I just love to challenge myself.... I get this amazing adrenaline rush.....just love it.

Recipe adapted from :Zesty Palette and manjula's Kitchen
Ingredients
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• 4 cups Milk
• 1/4 cup Lemon Juice
• 1/2 cup Hot Water
• 1 1/2 cup Sugar
• 4 1/2 cup Water

for Ras

• 3 cups Milk
• Sugar to taste
• few strands Saffron
• 2 tbsp Pistachios (chopped)

Method

Making Paneer

1.Mix lemon juice and 1/2 cup water in a bowl and keep aside.
2. In a thick bottom non stick vessel heat 4 cups of milk on medium flame. Stir often to avoid burning of milk.

3. When the milk come to boil slowly add the lemon and water mixture.

4. Stir with a spoon gently. The curd will start separating from the whey. Turn off the heat.

 5.Once the milk fat separates from the whey, drain the whey using a muslin cloth or cheese cloth.

 6. Rinse under cold water to cool down the paneer and remove any smell of lemon. Remove excess water by squeezing the cloth and tying it to the tap or press the wrapped paneer under a heavy pan for 1 hour.
7. Removing the right amount of water is secret to soft rasmalai.

 8.To check if the paneer is of the right consistency, take a small amount of paneer and rub it with you fingers ,after rubbing for few second you should be able to form firm but soft balls and little oil would have released.
9. Now knead the paneer for about 10 minutes till a smooth soft dough forms. Knead the paneer hard with your palm.

Making Rasmalai

1. Divide the dough into into equal parts and roll into a smooth ball and press slightly to make patties.

2. Mix sugar and water in a pressure cooker on medium heat and bring to boil.Cooker should be big enough to accommodate the panner balls as they will double in size after they are cooked.
3.Add the panner balls and cover the cooker. After 1 whistle switch off the flame, leave the cooker for 5 minutes. Then place it under running water to cool down the cooker.

4.Open the cooker and remove the paneer ball, squeeze them slightly to remove the sugar syrup. Keep this aside.At this point the rasgullas are ready...time to turn it into rasmalai.

5.Prepare the ras (rabri).Soak saffron in 1/2 cup of hot milk and keep aside.
6. Pour 2 1/2 cup milk into a thick bottom pan and cook on medium low flame till the milk reduces to less than 2 cups. At this point lot of malai would have formed, which I totally dislike so I passed the rabri through a sieve to remove the malai. Pour back the sieved rabri into the same vessel and place on medium low flame. Add the saffron milk and sugar and mix well.
7. Now add the rasgullas into the prepared rabri. let it cook for few more minutes so that the soft balls soaks in the sweet rabdi.
8. Garnish with chopped pistachios. let the rasmalai cool down in room temperature and then chill in the refrigerator before serving.

Sending this to Radhika Tickling Palates

Sending this to Kirtis Kitchen and Denny's Oh Taste and see

Ghenda da adde / Nesel Adde / Cucumber Cake

I know , doesn't look appetizing for those who don't know what it is.....but for those who do.....its a delicacy..

Nesel adde  also know as Ghenda da Adde is a very famous sweet dish for us Mangaloreans. Ghenda   in Tulu means coal and before(in those days) this sweet cake was cooked on low flame with coal on top which gave it an unique taste...but nowadays in the city is more convenient to use the gas stove....its so funny...I actually wanted to use coal....but mom refused...she did not want to go through all the trouble ...looks like times are changing :)

Nesel adde / Ghenda da adde taste best when its cooked on very low flame for 1 hour or little more..I love it when the Adde browns nicely outside. I have also put up a video just to guide you through the process. This can also be baked in an oven.

Ingredients

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• 2 cup rice (dosa rice)
• 1 medium cucumber(skinned and chopped)
• 1/4 tsp methi (fenugreek seeds)
• 1 cup coconut
• 1/2 jaggery (adjust to taste)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 medium onion( chopped)
• 1/2 cup ghee
• 2 tbsp cahew
• 2 tbsp raisin

Method

1. Soak rice and methi in water for 3 hours.
2. Grind rice, methi , jaggery, coconut and cucmber to a slightly coarse batter  adding little water(dosa batter consistency). Check sweetness, add more jaggery if you like it sweet.
3. Place a pressure cooker on medium flame , when hot add ghee,swirl the cooker around to grease the side of the cooker with ghee(by doing this you will be able to remove the whole adde out of the cooker easily), when ghee is hot add chopped onion and fry till they turn dark brown. Now add cashew nuts and raisins an stir for few seconds.
4. Add the batter and mix, add 1/2 cup water. mix well and lower the flame. Cover the cooker. Do not use the pressure weight, place a steel tumbler on the spout from where the steam escapes, By doing this the moisture is retained.
5. Cook the Adde on very low flame for 1 hour.
6. Check after 45 minutes to see if the Adde is done by piercing with a wet knife. If any batter sticks to the knife ,cover a cook again for few more minutes. 
7. once the Adde is done, let it cool down for few minutes, loosen the sides and and remove it from the cooker, cut to desires shape and serve (you can also warm the Adde in the microwave)

Few of my Favorite things - Sapada

There are few things in life which you cannot recreate....in my case ' don't want to recreate'

One such thing is this Sapada....(prasada given after Satyanarayan Pooja)......I remember since I was a little girl...even though I never understood a single word of the Priest who was telling us the story of Lord Satyanarayan...in back of my mind I always thought  "Okay, as soon as the priest is done I am going to get the Sapada"...I used to immensely enjoy that small bowl or sometimes just a teaspoon of Sapada...I know its a very simple dish ,its just Sheera (Semolina Pudding)...but yet the taste is so unique...I don't think I will ever be able to recreate the taste.....and like I said before....I really don't want to...I respect it too much .That one bowl or just a teaspoon is enough to satisfy me until the next Satyanarayana  Pooja ...which may come after few months or maybe next year....but its worth the wait.

That excitement  I had when I was a kid...I still have it...I still don't understand the whole story of Satyanaryana Pooja....but I do think "Okay, as soon as the Priest is done Iam going to get the Sapada"

So this definitely comes on 'Few of My Favorite things'  list  

Do you ever feel the same excitement that you had as a kid for anything particular???? I would love to know.......

  Every year we have Satyanarayan Pooja at home...this year we combined it with Ayudha pooja.

This day all tools, machines, vehicles, books and other devices are cleaned and worshiped.The story goes as such (with whatever little knowledge I know of our culture)...after Goddess Chamundeshwari slayed the Demon king Mahisasura...all the weapons used to slay the demon was cleaned and kept out to worship.On this day we also  worship goddesses Lakshmi, Parvathi and Saraswati..

Basically we are paying respect to all those things that are a major part of our everyday life....

Our neighbors are like a close knit family and we celebrate Ayudha pooja together. Every year , all neighbors get together on Ayudha pooja, clean the vehicles, decorate them with flowers, apply turmeric and sandalwood and worship the vehicles together .

We don't spare kids cycles too... that is my daughters and her best friends cycle :))

Lemons are placed under each Tyre and crushed...this symbolizes crushing away all evil eye....

Chicken Chettinad

Chicken Chettinad is from the Chettinad Region of Tamil Nadu....This particular dish is very similar to Mangalorean Cuisine....except for the addition of Fennel seeds(saunf) which I have noticed is used in most of the Tamil Nadu dishes.....

This is one dish my mom enjoys...apart from her Mangalorean Food.

Recipe stolen from Sanjeev Kapoor ..made a few changes....made it more spicy...its looks spicy doesn't it.....slurppppp. This tastes best the next day when masala thickens and coats the chicken well. 

Recipe Source : Sanjeev Kapoor

Ingredients
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• 1 kg Chicken (with bone)
• 15 Dried Red Chillies (long and small mixed)
• 1 cup Fresh Coconut
• 2 tsp Poppy seeds
• 3 tsp Coriander seeds
• 1 tsp Cumin seeds
• 3 Cardamom
• 2 Cloves
• 1 inch Cinnamon
• 1/2 Star anise
• 1 tsp Fennel seeds (saunf)
• 2 inch Ginger
• 10 to 12 cloves Garlic
• 1/2 cup Oil
• 1 large Onion (chopped )
• 10 to 12 Curry Leaves
• 3 medium Tomatoes (chopped)
• 1 tsp red chilli powder
• 1/2 tsp Turmeric Powder
• juice of 1 small Lemon
• 2 tbsp Fresh Coriander leaves
• Salt to taste

Method

1. In a pan add 2 tbsp oil and roast coconut, dried red chillies, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, fennel seeds, cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, star anise and poppy seeds for 5 to 6 minutes or till you you get a beautiful aroma and the coconut turns slight brown.
2. Grind the above using little water along with ginger and garlic to a slightly coarse paste.
3. Place a large pan on medium high flame , add rest of the oil and when the oil is hot add the chopped onion and fry till the onion  turns golden brown, add the curry leaves and ground masala paste and fry for few minutes. Now add the chopped tomatoes, salt , turmeric powder and red chilli powder and cook for few minutes.
4. Add chicken and mix well, add 1 cup water (less if you want dry or more if you want gravy). Cover and cook.
5. When the chicken is cooked adjust salt, add lemon juice and coriander leaves.
6. Serve hot with rice or chappatis.