Vada Paav

Ingredients

Potatoes - 5  (boiled and mashed)
Green chilies- 5
Garlic cloves-5
Coriander leaves - chopped
Salt to taste
Oil
Indian Paav (Bread)



To Make Vada

Besan flour - 1 cup
Rice flour - 2 tbs
Red Chili Powder - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp
Baking Soda - pinch
Salt




Seasoning

Mustard Seeds - 1 tsp
Hing -1/4 tsp
Curry leaves- few



To Spread

Dry Garlic Chutney
Coriander Chutney




Method

         Crush green chillies and garlic to make  a coarse paste. Keep it aside. Heat oil in a pan . Add mustard seeds to the oil . Once the seeds crackle, add curry leaves and hing. Add the crushed green chili paste and saute till the raw smell goes. Add the mashed potatoes, turmeric and salt to the pan and give  a nice stir. Add the chopped coriander leaves and stir well . Switch of the stove.  Let the mixture cool.

                   Shape the potoato mixture into small rounds.

Combine all the ingredients under vada section  in a mixing bowl with water to make a smooth batter. Dip the potato rounds in the batter . Make sure the potato rounds are  evenly coated with the batter and drop  gently into the oil . Deep fry them till golden brown .  Fry some green chillies in oil and keep aside

Slice the pav into two halves without breaking the ends .  Slightly toast the pav with little butter on a tava.  Spread coriander chutney on one side of the pav and sprinkle the dry garlic chutney on the other half . Keep the hot potato vada in between  and  serve the vada pavs hot along with fried chili and hot chai.

Freezing Bitter Gourd

Wash the Bitter Gourd well. 

Pat dry with a kitchen towel .

Slice the Bitter Gourd evenly with a Mandoline slicer . 

Place then in a single layer on a cookie tray. Flash freeze them for 30-45  minutes

Pack them in freezer bags. Take out the air using a straw from the freezer bag before closing it..

Simple Thali - Roti, Dal and Subzi

~Moong Dal Halwa
~Hakka Noodle
~Tadka Dal
~Salad
~Aloo Gobi Sabzi
~Dahi and Mango Pickle
~Roti

Drumstick Leaves Vada

~Drumstick Leaves vada

Ingredients:

• Gits Instant Dal Mix Pack – 2
• Drumstick leaves – 1 bunch (2 handful)
• Coriander leaves – few
• Onion – 1
• Water - 10 oz (adjust water  to make a thick batter consistency)

Method:

         Take the dal mix in a bowl. Add finely chopped drumstick leaves, coriander leaves, onion and green chillies. Mix it well and gradually add water to make vada batter consistency. Drop the batter in oil in small rounds . Deep fry till golden brown .

Enjoy the vada with a cup of chai!



Note:  No need to add salt as it's in the mix already. Any type of greens can be added to the mix

Peek into my Spice Box-The Masala Dabba

Ground Spices

Dry Spices

Whole Garam Masala Spices

Jangiri

Sunchoke Chips

                                                            ~Sunchoke Chips




                                                          ~Sunchokes a.k.a  Jerusalem Artichokes



                           Sunchokes are great for diabetics because of its Inulin content .

                                                 ~   Bounty from my garden

                                                ~ Drizzled with Olive Oil and Pepper

                                                                ~Baking in Process

                                                               ~  Crispy  Chips

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Slice the cleaned sunchokes with a mandoline. Sprinkle salt and drizzle some olive oil. Place them in a single layer on a baking sheet. Turn the sunchokes halfway through and bake it for about 10-12 mts, or until crisp and golden. Yummy!

Caution: Do not eat large amount of sunchokes in one meal  as it causes heavy stomach discomfort..

Holiday Cheese Platter

                     ~Holiday Platter that I set up for Christmas Dinner.

         A delicious assortment of  Strawberries ,  Blueberries, Grapes ,Vegetable Crackers complimented by Gouda , Gruyere and Sharp Cheddar Cheeses

Navaratri Golu Celebration -2014

~ Guruvayoorapan and Varaha Lakshmi - new this year

                                                   

                                                               ~Flowers for Pooja

                                                 
                                                     ~Strung into garland for Vilaku by my mom

                                               ~My saree choice for the day and  Jasmine flowers

                                   ~Mr. B and My daughter decorated the brass uruli with flowers

                                                  ~Flowers in Brass uruli

                                                 ~My daughter and Mr. B playing puzzles
                                                          while waiting for the guests

Fava Bean Falafel

Falafel is a Middle Eastern version of our parupu vada made with fava  or garbanzo beans or combination of both. The beans are soaked overnight, ground to a coarse mixture, rolled them into small balls and deep fried  in oil. It can be eaten just as a snack or roll them in a flatbread drizzled with homemade Tzatziki  sauce (yogurt sauce) and hot sauce. I tasted the Falafal  for the first time in Amsterdam, many years back. I was hooked to Falafel since then. Amsterdam has lot of Falafel joints because of Turks and Moroccan population there. 

 I have made Falafel several times with Chickpea (Garbanzo beans). But this time I tried with dried Fava beans. 

Ingredients:

       Fava Beans              - 1 lb. (soaked overnight)

       Red Onion               - 1 (very finely chopped)

       Garlic                      - 1-2 cloves

       Parsley                    - 1/2 a bunch, chopped

       Cilantro                   -1/2 a bunch, chopped

       Chili powder           - 1 tbs

       Cumin Powder        - 1 tsp

       All purpose flour (Maida) - 2 tbs

       Baking powder      - 1/2 tsp

       Oil

       Salt

Method:

In a food processor, combine  beans with onion, parsley, and cilantro . Grind them to a coarse mixture. Add chili powder, cumin powder, flour, baking soda and mix it well. Roll the mixture into small balls and deep fry them. Stuff the falafel in a flatbread along with lettuce, onions, hot sauce, and yogurt-dill sauce.                                        

                                                 

                                                                 ~Yummy Falafel

                                                              ~ Slightly toasted flatbread

                                 

Yogurt Sauce

Ingredients:
Greek Yogurt – 1 cup
Dill or Mint leaves – 2 tbs (finely chopped)
English Cucumber- ½ (finely chopped or grated)
Garlic Clove  -   1 finely minced
Lemon Juice – ½ tsp
Cumin powder - 1/2 tsp (toasted and powdered)
Siracha Sauce - 1 tsp
Salt & Pepper

  

Method:

Mix all the ingredients and refrigerate until ready to serve. 

Here is the Falafel wrapped in a Lavash (Armenian Flatbread).