boondi

Boondi 

Ingredients
1 cup gram flour
1/2 cups sugar
1 cup water
1/4 tsp. cardamom powder
6-8 chopped almonds
ghee to deep fry
perforated flat spoon about 5" diameter
Method
1.Boil the sugar and water together. Add a tbsp. of milk to bring up the scum.
2.Remove scum and boil liquid till the syrup is sticky between the fingers.
3.Keep aide, but keep warm for use.
4.Make batter with gram flour, which should not be too thin.
5.The batter should evenly coat the back of a spoon when dipped in it.
6.Heat ghee, hold perforated spoon a little above the hot ghee, pour some batter on the spoon.
7.Tap very lightly at edge of spoon to allow small droplets to fall in the ghee.
8.Pour back remaining batter and wipe spoon.
9.Stir the boondis in the ghee gently and fry till crisp but not brown.10.Drain and put into the syrup. Keep for 3-4 minutes before draining from the syrup.
11.Spread on a wide plate, add cardamom powder, almonds and mix gently.
12.Cool completely and loosen the boondi with finger till each droplet separates.
13.Store in airtight container.
Note: Take great care while dropping the boondi in the hot ghee so as not to burn yourself. A little practice and it is
very easy.
Making time: 30 minutes.
Makes: 3 cups approx.

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Spicy Items

Spicy Khaja

Ingredients
2 cups gram flour
1/2 cup plain flour
2 tsp. red chilli powder
1/2 tsp. omam seeds (ajwain)
1/2 tsp. cumin seeds
1 tbsp. coriander very finely chopped
1 tbsp. oil
salt to taste
oil to deep fry

Method
1.Mix both flours together.
2.Make a well in the centre, add all other ingredients, except oil to deep fry.
3.Mix them well in the flour.
4.Add enough water to make a soft pliable dough.
5.Divide dough to make small (4" diameter) thin rounds.
6.Prick on both sides with a fork.
7.Allow to dry on a clean cloth for 25-30 minutes.
8.Deep fry in hot oil till a light browning appears.
9.Do not over fry.
10.Drain and cool completely before storing.
Making time: 30 minutes
Makes: 25-30 pieces

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Sweet Kachori

Ingredients:
For filling:
200 gms. khoya
50 gms milk powder
1/2 tsp.nutmeg-cardomom-cinnamon powder
For cover:
250 gms. plain flour
1 tbsp. cornflour
30 gms. ghee
For syrup:
250 gms. sugar
1 cup water
1 big pinch saffron
Ghee for deep frying

Method:
1.Mix ingredients for filling. The mixture should be soft and crumbly.
2.Mix ingredients for cover. Using water knead to a pliable dough.
3.Cover with a wet cloth. Keep aside
4.Boil sugar and water adding a tbsp. of milk to clear the syrup.
5.Boil till the syrup is slightly sticky between the fingers.
6.Strain. Crush and add the saffron. Keep aside.
7.Make 15 to 16 flattish balls of the mixture.
8.Divide dough also into 15 to 16 parts.
9.Roll one part into a puri, place one mixture ball in the centre.
10.Pull up all the sides to seal the mixture and press in centre.
11.Make 5 to 6 such kachoris, heat ghee and fry on low flame till light brown, turning once.
12.Repeat for remaining kachoris.
13.When slightly cool, make a hole in the centre of each (approx. 2cm. diameter).
14.Pour about half tbsp. of syrup and roll kachori around to let the syrup spread.
15.Allow to stand for half hour before serving. Note: The unsweetened kachoris may be stored without refrigeration for
one week and
sweetened as required .
Serves:15 helpings .
Time required:2 hr.
Shelf life: 10 days .

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Mirchi Bajji

Mirchi Bajji

Ingredients: 

1.Long, Stout Chilies – 8 
2.Tamarind – Gooseberry Sized 
3.Carom Seeds(Ajwain) – 1 1/2tsps 
4.Salt To Taste 
5.Gram Flour – 1 Cup 
6.Baking Powder – 1/4tsp 
7.Oil To Deep fry

Preparations: 

Take tamarind in a microwave safe bowl and add little water. Microwave this on high for 30 seconds. Stir and microwave again on high for 30 seconds. Keep aside. Take a mixie jar and add Carom Seeds (Ajwain). Add salt and the tamarind along with the tamarind water. If you have any doubt that the carom seeds do not get crushed to a fine paste, first powder them in a mortar and pestle and then add to the mixie jar. Now make a fine paste of the above ingredients. Take it into a plate and keep aside. Slit the chilies length wise and remove the seeds with the help of a spoon. Do not remove the seeds if you want the bajjis to be hot. If you want you can remove half seeds and keep half seeds so that the bajjis will be hot but not burning. Stuff these chilies with the tamarind mixture and keep aside for 4 to 5 hours. By doing this your bajjis will not be hot at all. The chilies get a nice flavor of carom seeds and tamarind and will be tasty. 

Method: 

Take gram flour in a bowl and add salt. Add baking powder also and mix. Slowly add water to get batter in right consistency. Heat a pan and add oil to it. To test whether the oil is sufficiently hot or not, drop a few drops of the batter into the oil. It should first sink and then slowly rise to the top. Then the heat is right. If it pops up immediately then switch off the heat and let it cool. Another way of cooling the oil is to add cold oil to it. Now dip the prepared chilies in the batter and drop them in the oil and fry on medium heat. Fry till golden brown. When done remove them on to the paper napkin to remove excess oil. Serve them hot. 

Points to Remember: 

 Make the gram flour batter 2 hours before you fry the chillies. Then they will puff rightly. Because of baking powder these chillies get browned fast. So fry them only on medium heat stirring all the while to get even browning. Remove the seeds from the chilies according to your taste. If you want them hot do not remove seeds. If you want them less hot then remove half the seeds. If you do not want it hot then remove all the seeds. After removing the seeds you can take some and grind along with the tamarind pulp also and stuff thereafter. It purely depends on your tastes. 

Tip: 

At times the stuffing comes out while frying and the oil gets spoilt. Do not worry. There is one age old tip. After frying the bajjis , take the pan away from heat and add some tamarind to the hot oil . Let the tamarind get fried completely. It becomes black and dry. Cool the oil along with the tamarind. Then strain it through a strainer and you get clear oil . But do not fry the oil repeatedly. It is not good for health as the property of oil changes once it is heated to high temperatures. So take less quantity of oil for frying and fry the chilies in 2 to 3 batches instead of one batch with more oil. Like this the oil remaining after frying will be less to get consumed. But remember not to use this oil for deep frying. Rather use this oil for daily cooking where you use only 2 to 3 teaspoons only. 

Variations: 

After frying these bajjis slit them length wise and keep aside. Chop onions finely, add some lemon juice and mix well with fingers. Stuff this onion mixture in the fried bajjis and serve. They taste excellent. 

 Or

Cut the bajjis into round pieces and spread them in a plate. Sprinkle chopped onions above these pieces. Sprinkle some lemon juice, some fine sev and serve as chat. 

Or

Cut the bajjis into round pieces and spread them in a plate. Take some whisked curd(smoothened curd) and add to the bajji pieces. Add tamarind chutney and green chutney to them. Sprinkle some tamarind chutney and green chutney. Cover with fine sev. Garnish with grated coconut and chopped coriander and serve.

Enjoy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Cabbage Vada

Cabbage Vada

 

Ingredients:

• Black Gram – 150gms (3/4Cup)
• Cabbage – 250gms
• Salt – To Taste (1/4tsp)
• Ginger – Small Piece
• Green Chilies – 4
• Onion – 1 (50gms)
• Chopped Coriander – 1Tbsp
• Oil – For Frying
  
  
  Preparations:
  Soaking Dal:
  Take black gram into a bowl and add water. Wash the dal and drain the water. Add water to the washed dal and soak overnight.
  
  
  Other Preparations:
  Arrange thin slicer blade in a food processor bowl and slice the cabbage. Take the thinly sliced cabbage into a microwave safe bowl and add salt. Mix well and place this bowl in a microwave oven. Cover the bowl partially and cook on high power for 4 minutes. Stir once and add 15ml water if required. Stir once again and place the bowl in microwave oven. Cover partially and cook on high power for 4 minutes. Cool the cooked cabbage and remove water by pressing. Use this cabbage water while grinding the dal.
  Wash ginger and green chilies and make a coarse paste in a mixer grinder.
  Peel the onion and slice it thinly.
  Remove water from the soaked dal and grind to a smooth and thick paste. Add cabbage water while grinding, if required. Add very little water while grinding. As there is water in the cabbage water, add just sufficient amount of salt to the batter that too if required only.
  
  
  Method:
  Heat a pan and add sufficient oil to fry the vadas. Spread a paper napkin in a plate. After frying the vadas, place them on this paper napkin to soak excess oil. While the oil is getting hot prepare the batter.
  Beat the batter with a spoon to make it light. To test, drop a small portion of the batter in a bowl of water. If the batter sinks that indicates the batter is not light yet – so beat for some more time. If the batter floats, that indicates the batter is light—start making the vadas.
  To the prepared batter add ginger-green chili paste, sliced onions, cooked cabbage and mix well. Add chopped coriander and mix once again.
  Take a portion of the batter with wet fingers and place it on a wet plastic sheet. Shape the portion of the batter with wet fingers like a vada. Carefully drop the patted vada batter into the hot oil. Fry two or three vadas per batch. Do not crowd the oil and fry more—allow space for the vadas to get fried in oil. Fry the vadas on medium heat till brown and crisp. Drain the fried vadas from the oil and place them on the paper napkin which will soak all the excess oil. Similarly fry vadas using the prepared batter. Serve the cabbage vadas hot with any sauce or chutney or as it is.
  
  
  Points to Remember:
  Soaking the dal overnight gives a right texture for the batter.
  Add very little water while grinding the dal. Similarly add salt if required only as we have added salt while cooking the cabbage and the dal is ground with cabbage cooked water which has salt.
  Cooking cabbage removes the rawness. Drain water from the cooked cabbage by pressing—if not the consistency of the batter changes. If there is more water in the batter, it will be difficult to shape the batter like vadas and such vadas when fried in oil will soak more oil. So remove all the water from the cooked cabbage and use very little water while grinding the dal.
  Beat the batter to make it light. To test drop a small portion of the batter in a bowl of water. If the batter sinks, beat the batter for some more time till it is light. If the batter floats, the batter is light and start making vadas. Making the batter light is very important—otherwise the vadas will be hard and tasteless. In earlier days they used to grind the dal in a mortar and pestle—while grinding this aeration used to take place and it was not necessary to beat the batter separately. But in present days we grind the batter in a mixer grinder mostly which needs the step of aeration.
  
  These vadas taste better as they are—no accompaniments required, as there is cabbage, onions, green chili and ginger to bring that extra taste. But they also taste good with tomato sauce. In any case serve hot to enjoy the great taste.
  Enjoy !!!!!!!!

 

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Sweetened Condensed Milk

Sweetened Condensed Milk

Ingredients
1/3 cup water
2/3 cup sugar
1 cup dry milk powder
3 tablespoons butter


Heat water in the microwave until steaming hot.
Add remaining ingredients into a large bowl, add hot water and carefully whisk or blend until smooth.
Store in air tight container until you are ready to use.

HINT: Want to make it especially yummy? Add 1/2 tsp of vanilla to the milk for a light vanilla flavor!

This milk is great in recipes, tea and even coffee. Enjoy! 

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Gulaab Jamun with Paneer

Channarpuli (Gulaab Jaamun with Paneer)

Ingredients:

• Sweetened Condensed Milk – 100gms
• Paneer – 125gms (Preferably Homemade and one day old put in fridge)
• Maida – 3 1/2tbsps
• Baking Powder – 1/4tsp
• Ghee – 1/2tbsp
• Cardamoms – 3
• Sugar 1 1/2Cups (Cup = 200ml)
• Water – 1 1/2Cups (Cup = 200 ml)
  
  
  Preparations:
  Bring the Paneer out of the fridge and keep it in the kitchen before two hours of actually making the recipe. Paneer should be at room temperature. Grate this paneer in a mixer grinder. Add condensed milk, maida, baking powder and ghee to the grated paneer and run the mixie to get a sticky smooth paste. Transfer the prepared mixture to a bowl and keep it aside for 20 minutes. Do not worry about the stickiness. In the standing time of 20 minutes the paneer would absorb the condensed milk and the mixture would be amenable for making round balls.
  
  
  Method:
  Take a bowl and add sugar & water to it. Prepare sugar syrup by placing this bowl on flame. Remove the skins of cardamoms and powder the seeds. When the sugar syrup is boiling, add the cardamom powder and mix well. Place this bowl in a rice cooker in “KEEP WARM” mode to keep the syrup warm.
  After 20 minutes the sticky dough becomes manageable to make round balls. A total of 18 balls can be made from this mixture. To begin with make 7 balls from the dough. For making balls take sufficient dough and press between palms. Then rub the pressed dough in circular motion to get a smooth round shaped ball. Prepare 7 similar balls (Pulis). 
  Heat a pan and add oil to it. To test the right hotness of oil take a small piece of dough and put it into the oil. The dough first sits at the bottom of the pan and then slowly rises to the top—that is the right temperature at which we have to fry the PULI’s. If the dough rises fast from the bottom of the pan, it indicates the oil is overheated. You need to switch off the stove and wait for a while.  If you have a thermometer the oil should be 105 degrees centigrade.
  Take a slotted spoon and turn the oil to make whirls. Now slowly add the PULI’s stirring the oil all the while. Stir oil with the slotted spoon without touching the PULI’s when they are just put in the oil. Keep stirring the oil throughout. After few minutes the PULI’s will rise to the top detaching from the bottom of the pan. If required, after a while you may just nudge them a little to dislodge and rise. When they are golden brown in color remove from oil. Keep the PULI’s aside for 3 to 5 minutes before adding them to the warm syrup. Switch off the stove as the temperature of the oil will be more to fry the next round of PULI’s. After 5 minutes add the fried PULI’S to the warm syrup. Stir the cooked PULI’s in intervals.
  Now again switch on the stove and make seven more balls. Test the heat of the oil before adding the Pulis. Fry them as mentioned earlier. Similarly make balls till Do not be alarmed with the stickiness of the dough when made. It would be alright in 20 minutes standing time.
  Take care of the temperature of the oil. The success of the recipe lies in frying the PULI’s at right temperature. For this all you need is LOTS and LOTS of PATIENCE.
  Do not crowd the oil pan by adding  more balls to the oil while frying. As the balls become double in size ensure free space for the balls to move around. Even if you are left with little dough for the last batch, do not add more balls to the oil. Fry the PULI’s and soak them in warm syrup. Soak all the PULI’s in the syrup and keep this bowl in rice cooker in “KEEP WARM” mode for at-least 2 hours. After 2 hours the CHANNAR PULI’s (Gulab Jamuns) would be ready to be served.
  
  
  Points To Be Noted:
  Do not touch the PULI’s while frying till they rise up all by themselves. Otherwise they will stick to the spoon you are using and they lose shape. So just stir the oil without touching the PULI’s. At best nudge them to rise after a while.
  Keep the sugar syrup warm till you finish frying all the PULI’s. The best method is to keep the syrup bowl in rice cooker in “KEEP WARM” mode. If you don’t have a rice cooker keep it in normal warm closed cooker. After 2 hours of soaking in warm syrup the PULI’s absorb the syrup and become juicy. To test this cut a PULI into half and see. If the PULI is not fried well then you will find a white colored circle in the centre of the PULI. Such Puli’s will not absorb sugar syrup.
  If the oil is too hot the Puli’s would turn to golden color very fast without being cooked inside, forcing you to try the recipe all over once again. Such Pulis when added to syrup will not absorb sugar syrup. Hence take care not to fry  Pulis in hot oil.
  This is a Bengali recipe. The recipe comes out well if the procedure is strictly followed. Those of you who are young and not weight conscious may fry the Pulis in Ghee or Vanaspati for enhanced taste.
  
  Enjoy !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

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Vepudukaram - Spice Powder

Vepudukaram - Spice Powder

( to sprinkle on Fries)

 

Ingredients:

• Coriander Seeds – 5 to 6Tbsps
• Cumin Seeds – 6 To 6 1/2Tbsps
• Mustard Seeds – 1 1/2Tsps
• Black Pepper – 15
• Salt 2 1/2 To 3 1/2Tsps
• Turmeric Powder – 1 Tsp
• Red Chili Powder – 100gms

Method:

Dry Roast Coriander seeds, Cumin seeds, Mustard seeds and black pepper. You can microwave them alternatively. Microwave the above 4 ingredients for 30 seconds on high power, stir once and again microwave on high power for 20 seconds. Take these roasted ingredients into a mixie jar and powder them. To the powdered ingredients add Salt, Turmeric Powder & Red Chili Powder and grind it to a fine powder. Store this prepared Vepudu karam in an airtight jar.

It can is used to spice the fried vegetables and garnish a few gravy recipes which I would be hosting on this site.
Enjoy !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Cauliflower Vepudu (Fry)

Cauliflower Vepudu (Fry)

Ingredients:

• Cauliflowers
• Oil for Deep frying
• Vepudukaram
• Salt
• Turmeric Powder
  
  
  Preparations:
  Take two/ three medium sized cauliflowers and remove the stems. Cut the cauliflower into florets of medium size. Wash them thoroughly and drain them into a slotted bowl. Take these washed cauliflower pieces into a microwave safe bowl and add some water ( around 15 ml). Cover partially and microwave on high power for 5 minutes. Stir once and microwave again on high power for 5 more minutes. After 5 minutes standing time, remove from the oven. You will observe that the cauliflower pieces are 80% done but not fully cooked. Drain them into a slotted bowl to remove excess water.
  
  
  Method:
  Heat a pan and add oil to deep fry the cauliflower pieces. When oil is hot add sufficient cauliflower pieces to it and fry on medium heat. Stir continuously for even browning. Fry till the cauliflower pieces get orange color. Drain them on to a newspaper / paper napkin to remove excess oil.
  Take a deep bowl and keep vepudukaram, salt and turmeric powder nearby. Add the cauliflower pieces to the deep bowl and add sufficient turmeric powder, salt and vepudukaram. Toss the cauliflower pieces so that the all the pieces get the spices evenly. Transfer the spice coated cauliflower pieces to a serving bowl.
  Repeat the process of frying cauliflower and coating them with spices. Once all the cauliflower pieces are fried toss all the cauliflower pieces once finally. Serve hot with plain rice.
  
  
  Points to Remember:
  Cut cauliflower pieces into even sized (medium) pieces so that while frying they get evenly browned.
  Wash the cauliflower thoroughly. At times we see worms on the flowers, so it is better to dip them once in hot water. Just add water enough (10 to 15 ml) to cook the vegetables, so that they are not fully cooked. When cooked, the vegetables should be soft to touch but hard to mash them. 
  Take care while dropping the cauliflower pieces to the hot oil, as the pieces are wet the oil splutters causing oil burns.
  You may choose the level of frying as per your choice. However I feel that if you deep fry too much there may not be much taste of the vegetable left to relish. Instead a medium fry should be good enough.
  Add the spices and Vepudukaram when the cauliflower pieces are still hot. The salt melts and the spices would stick to the hot and wet cauliflower pieces giving them good color and taste.
  
  
  Important Point:
  Take around 100 or 125 ml oil to fry the cauliflower pieces. Add just sufficient pieces per batch to fry. This way almost all the oil will be used up. As it is said that it is not good to reuse fried oil, increase the number of batches to fry using less oil for deepfrying. 
  Do not cover the container containing the cauliflower fry with a lid. Cover  it with a paper napkin only till it is served.
  Here it is not mentioned exactly as to how much cauliflower and spices are
  used. Use as many cauliflowers as you want and add spices according to your taste—there is no restriction. This cauliflower fry tastes very good, making all your family members relish and ask for more.
  
  Enjoy !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Cauliflower Bonda

Cauliflower Bonda

Ingredients:

• Cauliflower Florets – 500gms
• Gram Flour – 250gms
• Rice Flour – 50gms
• Green Chilies – 7
• Red Chili Powder – 1/2tsp
• Salt – To Taste
• Oil – 2Tbsps (To Mix In The Flour)
• Cumin Seeds – 1/2tsp
• Chopped Coriander – 2Tbsps
• Baking Soda – 1/4tsp
• Water – 400gms(Approx.)
• Oil – For Deep Frying
  
  
  Preparations:
  Wash green chilies and grind in a mixer grinder. Add cumin seeds to the ground chilies and crush slightly. Take this chili mixture into a plate & keep it aside.
  Wash cauliflower florets. At times we find worms in cauliflower. To get rid of the worms, wash florets in warm water. Cut the stems of big florets as shown in the movie clip—this will allow the florets to cook evenly. Add the washed florets into a microwave safe bowl and add 30 ml water. Place this bowl in microwave oven and cover it partially. Cook the florets on high power for 5 minutes and allow 2 minutes standing time. We need to just parboil the florets. When raw cauliflower florets are dipped in batter & fried, it will not get cooked from inside—to get evenly cooked & fried bondas we need to parboil the florets before frying bondas. Drain the parboiled florets into a slotted bowl to remove excess water. Cover & keep the drained florets aside to cool completely.
  Take a big mixie jar and add gram flour, rice flour and salt. run the mixer grinder to mix the ingredients. Add 2Tbsps of oil into the flour mixture and run to mix well. Scrape the mixture sticking to the sides of the jar in between and run the mixer grinder to incorporate the oil well into the flour mixture. Now add water little by little and run the mixer to form a smooth batter. Use a spatula to bring the mixture sticking to the sides of the jar and blend adding water. Do not add all the water at one go---to maintain the consistency of the batter add water in small intervals and prepare the batter. finger dipped in batter should coat it evenly. After preparing the batter add red chili powder, chili-cumin paste and mix. Then add chopped coriander and mix again. Take this prepared batter into a bowl and cover it. Keep this batter bowl aside to rest for 30 minutes.
  
  
  Method:
  Heat a pan and add sufficient oil to fry the bondas.
  After 30 minutes, add baking soda to the batter and mix well. Remember to add baking soda just before frying the bondas.
  Spread a paper napkin in a plate. After frying the bondas placing them on the paper napkin will soak excess oil.
  Test the heat of the oil by dropping a portion of batter. If the batter comes up at once, it indicates oil is hot enough to fry the bondas. Dip the parboiled floret in batter and lift to drain excess batter. Carefully add the batter coated floret to the hot oil. Similarly add few more florets to the oil for frying. After some time the bondas will increase in size. So add sufficient batter coated florets to the oil for frying. Fry on medium heat stirring and turning the bondas in between for even frying. When the bondas are golden in color, take them out of the oil with a slotted ladle and place them on the paper napkin. Fry the remaing florets in the above method on medium heat. Serve the bondas hot with sauce, ketchup or any chutney of your choice.
  It is advisable to have buttermilk after eating the bondas. Buttermilk is an antidote for fried items.
  
  
  Points to Remember:
  Use fresh cauliflower whose florets will be crisp & firm.
  Add seasonings (red chili powder, salt etc…) according to taste.
  Wash cauliflower thoroughly. To get rid of worms in cauliflower dip the flower in warm water for a minute or so. Then break the cauliflower into florets. If the florets are too big, cut the stems keeping the floret intact as shown in the movie clip for even cooking and frying. Parboiling the florets cooks the bondas from inside removing the rawness of cauliflower. Remember only to parboil and not boil the florets. Cooked florets will not retain the shape to dip them in batter. so only parboil the florets to get cooked partially and to retain shape. The remaining cooking of florets will take place while frying the bondas.
   Preparing the batter in a mixer grinder is an easy way to make a lumps free smooth batter.
  Remember not to add all the water mentioned at one go. Adding more water makes the batter thin and will not coat the florets properly. Check the consistency of the batter by dipping finger in the batter---batter should evenly coat the finger as shown in the movie clip.
  Remember to add baking soda just before frying the bondas.
  Take care while dropping the batter coated florets into the hot oil.
  Fry on medium heat only to get evenly fried bondas.
  Serve the bondas hot with any chutney or sauce of your choice.
  
  Most important thing to remember is to drink a big glass of buttermilk after eating the bondas as buttermilk is an antidote for fried things.
  
  
  Enjoy !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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