Papdi Chaat

   
Papdi Chat is a  delicious North Indian snack made out of crispy wafers and ingredients like curd,tomatoes, tamarind sauce, coriander sauce, potatoes and sev. The best part is that it is a delicious and tangy  snack and the taste can be regulated during the preparation depending upon your taste for spice or sweet.  During evening hours if you wish to treat your family and friends with a fast to prepare and tasty snack without much hassles, I highly recommend that you serve them with papdi Chat. And you can make the papdis in advance to save time. So make this delicious chat and  see the plates empty in front of you within minutes. Also Happy Ganesha Chaturthi and Eid to all my Blogger Friends in advance.
                                                                                                         

Ingredients:

1 cup All purpose flour

½ tsp Ajwain

1 tbsp refind oil

A pinch of Soda

½ tsp Salt

Water to knead the dough
Oil for frying

Method to make Papdi:

In a bowl mix flour, salt, soda, ajwain and oil. Add water a little at a time and knead the dough to make a firm dough. Cover the dough with a damp cloth and let it sit for 20 minutes.

                                                                  

Now there are two ways to make papdi : first way is to divide the dough in equal parts (25-28) and roll into thin circles ( 2 ½ inch) and prick each thin circle with fork (this is to ensure that  these doesn't puff up while frying). Keep aside these circles for 10 minutes before frying.

Another way is to divide the dough into 3-4 equal parts and roll into 9 inch diameter (it should be neither too thick or thin). Now prick the rolled dough and cut small rounds with a small cookie cutter. Keep aside the ready to fry small circle for 10 minutes.

Heat vegetable oil in a frying pan on medium heat and slide 2-3 papdis at a time, flip and fry till both sides are light brown and crips. Drain and keep on paper towels. Continue frying the remaining papdi in batches. When these papdis cool down completely, you can store them in an air tight container.

                                                                       

For Chaat:

2 boiled Potatoes

1 Onion, finely diced

Green chutney

Tamrind chutney

2 cups Yogurt, chilled

2-3 tsp Red chilly powder

1 tsp Black salt powder

1 tsp Chat masala

Salt to taste

1 tbsp roasted and powdered Cumin seeds

1/2 cup  Sev

Finely chopped coriander leaves for garnish

 To arrange Papdi Chaat:

 Pour yogurt with salt in a bowl and whisk till smooth. Keep aside.

                                                                                    
 Arrange 5-6 papdis in a plate and layer each papdi with chopped potato, onion and add yogurt to cover the papdis. 

                                                                   
Sprinkle red chilly podwed and black salt over the layer.

                                                                    
 Pour Green chutney and tamarind chutney over papdi. 

                                                                            
Sprinkle sev, chat masala, roasted cumin powder and coriander leaves. 

                                                                                  
And serve immediately or it may become soggy.

                                                                                          

read more.. "Papdi Chaat"

Dalma : Orissa Special

                                                                                
Today I'm going to share a humble dish from the state of Orissa, which I learnt from my cook who is an Oriya. The taste and aroma was so good that I had to learn this recipe from her. An ultimate blend of lentils and variety of vegetables. A highly nutritious dal which goes well with rice or with pooris/ luchi.  The aroma of panch phoron enhances the flavor and also enhances the taste. Many times I have felt like preparing one dish each from the states of India and taking forward this thought process is today's preparation. Our Country has got varied culture, religions, languages and yet all of them blend together like different flowers in a garden. As always the comments from my readers and blogger friends will be always welcomed.


Ingredients:
1 cup Toor dal /Split Pigeon Pea /Arhar Dal
1 tsp Turmeric powder
2 tsp Refind oil
Salt to taste


Vegetables to be chopped into big chunks:
1 Potato
1 small portion of Pumpkin
100 gms Brinjal
250 gms Bottle gourd
2 Drumsticks, cut into 2 inch length
2 Onions
1 Tomato
1 small Radish


Tempering Ingredients:
1 tsp Panch Phutana (panch phoron: fenugreek, nigella seeds, aniseed, mustard, cumin)
2-3 dry Red chillies
1 Bay leaf
1 tsp Red chilli powder
1 tsp chopped Ginger
1/2 tsp Asafoetida (Hing)
  1 1/2 tbsp Ghee


Garnishing: 
1 tsp dry roasted and ground Cumin
1 tsp ghee
1 tbsp Coriander leaves


Method:
Wash and soak the dal in enough water for 20 minutes. Wash and peel the outer skin of bottle gourd and radish. Add all the vegetables, coconut and dal in a pressure cooker. Add salt, oil, turmeric powder, add 3 cups of water and pressure cook until 2 whistles. Heat 1 1/2 tbsp ghee in a pan, add bay leaf, dry red chillies, panch phutana (panch phoron) and stir until the panch phutana  starts spluttering. Immediately add red chilly powder and asafoetida. Add chopped ginger and fry for a minute. Add the tempering to the cooked boiled dal. Sprinkle roasted cumin powder, coriander leaves and  a tsp of ghee on top. Remove from heat, transfer the dal into a serving bowl and serve hot with rice or luchi.

read more.. "Dalma : Orissa Special"

Kadai Chicken

Now after a very long time I am preparing my all time favourite north Indian chicken preparation. Kadai Chicken is that recipe which caught my fancy during my five year stay in Delhi. When ever there were guests in my house and I wanted them to relish my cooking, I used this preparation as my ultimate move. And till now the strike rate is 100% in terms of compliments that I have received. Kadai Chicken is a dish which not only looks great but also tastes great if prepared with passion. It can be complimented with both rice as well as rotis during any point of time.
                                                                         

To Marinate the Chicken you need:

1/2 kg Chicken, cut into medium pieces

3/4 cup Curd

5-6 Garlic pods

1” inch Ginger, chopped

3-4 Green chilies

1 tsp Red chilly powder

1 tsp Garam masala

Masala Ingredients:

3 big Onions, ground to a paste

1”inch Ginger juliennes

3-4 Garlic, chopped

2-3 Green chillies

3 Tomatoes, ground to a paste

2 tsp Kasoori Methi (dried fenugreek leaves)

1 Kashmiri chilly powder

1 tsp Coriander powder

1 tsp Garam masala

1 Capsicum (I used half red and half green capsicum here)

1/2 Cream

1 tbsp fresh chopped Coriander leaves (optional)

3 tbsp Oil

Method:

Wash and pat dry the chicken pieces. Make a paste of ginger-garlic-green chillies and mix it with curd. Add all the ingredients mentioned for the marination above. Mix well and keep aside fo 1/2 an hour.

Heat 2 tbsp oil in a Kadhai and fry the marinated chicken till all the curd liquid is soaked up and it’s crisp on the outside. Keep aside.

Now in the same kadhai heat oil, fry onion paste till the raw smell disappears, add ginger, garlic and green chillies. Add salt and stir well for another 5 minutes. Add Tomato paste and fry till it leaves oil. Add red chilly powder, coriander powder and stir well. Add chopped capsicum , chicken, kasoori methi and sprinkle garam masala. Stir well and add ½ cup water here if you want little gravy. Cover and cook for 10 minutes or till the chicken is cooked. Add cream, mix well and cook for 2 minutes before removing from heat. Garnish with coriander leaves and enjoy this lip-smacking with Naan or any kind of bread of your choice.

This goes to my friend Lubna's event Joy From Fasting to Feasting IV  and Jabeen's Corner ongoing event Iftar Nights.

 

                                                                                                 

read more.. "Kadai Chicken"

Reposting

Reposting my Sorshe Diye Ilish Macher Jhal (Hilsa in Mustrad Sauce)  for Hilsa Festival which is going on Saffronstreaks...a Food & Travel Blog. 

My friend Sukanya is having another wonderful event and Giveaway at her place Seasonal Indulgence series – Monsoon Medley, for which I'm re-posting few of my recipes- Soyabean Cutlets, Sabodana Boda, Bread Pakora, Palak Tikki and Aloo Tikki

                                                                 

read more.. "Reposting"

Vanilla Cake Recipe

                                                                             

I realized it last week only that I haven't posted simple vanilla cake yet in my space !! So without rambling much I will simply move on to today's simple basic Vanilla Cake.  And please bear with me for posting picture of cake in that tin!!! I was in such a hurry that I forgot to take pictures later. Whenever next time I prepare another vanilla cake, I will make sure to present with vigor. Till then hope you enjoy relishing the taste of this simple vanilla cake.

 

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups of All purpose flour

3/4 cup to 1 cup Sugar according to your taste

3/4 cup  unsalted Butter

2 Eggs, room temperature

½ cup Milk

1 tsp Vanilla essence

1 tsp Baking powder

Pinch of salt

Method:

Pre-heat oven to 180 Degrees C. Grease and flour a cake pan. In a large mixing bowl, beat sugar and butter till it becomes smooth. Then add one egg at a time and beat the mixture for few seconds. Add vanilla essence, milk and mix again. Sieve flour, baking powder and salt together. Now add dry ingredients to wet and stir well. Do not over beat the mixture. Pour the batter into the greased baking pan and bake it for 30-35 minutes or until golden and the edges start to pull away from the sides of pan. Remove the pan from the oven and allow it to cool. Flip the cake over a wire rack and enjoy this plain vanilla flavour cake with a cuppa.

              
Submitting to Lubna's Joy From Fasting to Feasting-IV  

                                               
& also to Jabeen's Iftar Nights      

And Finally to Taste of Pearl City's Iftar Moments Event

                                                                                             

read more.. "Vanilla Cake Recipe"

Kach Kolar Cutlet (Raw Banana Cutlet)

                                                                       


Raw bananas (Kach Kola, we Bengalis call it 'Kach Kola') are as much in demand as ripe bananas. In fact the flower of banana as well as the stem are not behind the race. These various parts are used to make delicious vegetarian dishes. I'm sharing raw banana cutlet (Kach Kolar) for evening snacks. 

                                                                       




Ingredients:
1 1/2 Raw Banana
1 Potato (boiled)
1 Onion
1/2 "inch ginger
1/2 tsp Coriander powder
1/2 tsp Red chilly powder
Pinch of Garam masala
2 Green chillies, chopped
1/2 tsp Coriander leaves, chopped
1 tsp Besan (Gramflour)


Method:
cut the ends of raw banana and boil with skin on in a pressure cooker with enough water. After 2-3 whistles check if they are done then de-skin it in chilled water. Mix the potato and mash it well with raw bananas together. Add all the above mentioned ingredients to incorporate the spices well with the potato-kola mixture. Take a little portion from the dough, roll into balls and slightly flatten each ball into a patty shape. Place the tikkis on the tava and on a medium flame shallow fry till they turn golden. Place on absorbent paper. Serve hot.

                                                              

read more.. "Kach Kolar Cutlet (Raw Banana Cutlet)"

Panchmel Dal (Mixed Lentils Curry)

                                                                             
Dal ( Lentils ) is a rich source of proteins and other important nutrients for everyone particularly for vegetarians. There are many types of dal each having different color and nourishment values.  I recall having this preparation at a friend's place. It tasted superb and was an instant hit. The key point here is the tempering preparation and the timing in which the process is completed. Hope you like the recipe and have a lot of compliments from near and dear ones for your preparation.


Ingredients:
To Pressure Cook Dal with other ingredients you need:
1/4 cup Split Black Gram 
1/4 cup Masoor Dal
1/4 cup Toor Dal
1/4 cup whole Urad Dal
1/4 cup Chana Dal
1 tsp Turmeric powder
1 tsp Salt to taste
1"inch Cinnamon
3 cups of Water


In a large bowl, mix all the lentils. Wash and soak them for 1-2 hours. After that pressure cook all the above ingredients for 10-15 minutes or until soft.

                                                                                      
For Tempering you need:
3 tbsp Ghee (Clarified butter)
2 tsp Cumin seeds
1/4 tsp Fenugreek seeds (methidana)
2 Green chillies
2 Onions, chopped
6 Garlic pods, smashed
1" inch Ginger
1 tsp Kashmiri lal mirch
1/2 Garam masala
1 Tomato, chopped
Coriander leaves-Handful (optional)


Method:
Take a pan add ghee and and heat over medium flame. Add cumin seeds and once it starts spluttering add chopped onions, green chillies, garlic, ginger along with fenugreek seeds and saute for few seconds. Add tomato and mix well. Cover and cook until tomatoes are done and fry till oil separates, pour cooked dal, adjust salt and check the consistency of dal. Add garam masala and mix well to incorporate into the dal. Remove from heat and garnish with coriander leaves (optional).
This dal goes well with phulkas or even with jeera rice. We had this mixed dal with rice, pickle and papad.

                                                                   

read more.. "Panchmel Dal (Mixed Lentils Curry)"

Chole Bhature

                                                                                   
Today's preparation although may seem to you like a common meal, but it comes with a twist. As the title suggests , the entire dish is without any onion,garlic or tomatoes. You may also term it as satvik aahar ( as this Choley  preparation doesn't have Onions, Garlic or even tomatoes). I remember during my erstwhile days in hometown Haridwar, after a Holy dip in the cool and crystal clear Ganges, one was always drawn towards the food stalls near the embankments and gorge upon such delicious bhaturas and choles. So i recommend that all my blogger friends visit Haridwar at least once to have a view of the Ganges in it's full elements and then proceed towards the Himalayas. Trust me friends, you would relish this experience for the rest of your lives. Till then here is the recipe : 


                                            Bhaturas

                                                 
Ingredients:
1 kg All purpose flour
2 tsp Yeast
2 tsp Sugar
1/2 tsp Baking powder
1 cup Yogurt
2 tbsp Refined oil
1/2 cup Water (warm)
Little bit of salt


Method:
Take 1/2 cup of lukewarm water in a bowl and add sugar and yeast in it. Mix well and leave this untouched for 15 minutes in a warm place in your kitchen counter. Seive flour, salt, baking powder together in a broad mixing bowl. Make a hole in the center and add yeast liquid, refined oil and yogurt. Knead for 5-10 minutes to make a soft and pliable dough. Now drizzle a few drop of oil to coat dough. Cover with a cling film and keep this in a warm place for 4 hours in summers and 8 hours in winters.

                                                                       
Knead the dough for 3-4 minutes and then make equal sized balls out of the dough.Keep little flour in hand as you might need this while rolling the dough. Heat oil in a thick bottomed pan on medium flame. Lightly flour a board and start rolling one dough ball into a round shape or into long oval shape. To check if the oil temperature is ready, pinch a very small amount of dough and drop it into the oil, if it pops up immedietely on top then the oil is ready. Carefully slide one bhature at a time into the oil and press gently in the center, splash hot oil over the top of bhature. When it swells, flip it  and deep fry like pooris. Drain and remove from oil, fry the remaining bhatures in the same manner and serve hot bhatures with chole masala.


                                         Chole

                                           
Ingredients:
BOIL CHOLE WITH THESE INGREDIENTS:
2 cups Chole (Garbanzo- soaked overnight)
2 tsp Tea leaves 
2 Black Cardamom, slightly crushed
2 tsp Carom (ajwain) seeds
Pinch of Baking soda
Salt according to taste
3 cups of Water


Take a piece of muslin cloth, place tea leaves, crushed cardamoms, carom seeds in it and tie the cloth in a knot to make a sack. Boil the chole in a pressure cooker with salt, 3 cups of water, pinch of salt and soda along with that masala sack. After first whistle, cook on low flame for 20 -25 minutes. Drain out the water and keep aside for later use. Discard the  masala sack (potli) from the chole. 


Ingredients:
FOR MASALA:
1" inch Ginger, finely chopped
2 tsp Cumin seeds (jeera)
1/4 tsp Dry Ginger powder (sonth)
2 tsp Red chilly powder
3 tsp Mango powder (amchur)
3-4 Green chillies, slit from center
2 Bay leaves
2 tbsp Oil


 *GARAM MASALA TO ROAST AND POWDER:
3 tsp Coriander seeds (saboot dhania)
3 tsp Pomegranate seeds (anardana)
2 Star Anise (javitri phool)
1/2 tsp Black pepper balls
Small portion of Nutmeg (jaiphal)
2 Green cardamoms (ilaychi)


Method:
In a pan dry roast all the spices that are mentioned above * on low heat till the spices release nice aroma and light in color. Let this cool down and then powder the spices in a blender. After keeping 1/2 tsp powdered masala aside for later use, mix the rest of the roasted + ground masala to the boiled chole. 
Heat oil in a pan on medium flame, add cumin seeds, chopped ginger and green chillies. Add red chilly podwer, 1/2 roasted + ground masala (which was kept aside), bay leaves and fry for a minute. Add chole in the pan and mix well. Stir and fry for few minutes. Add boiled chole water, adjust the salt. Cover and cook for another 10 minutes on low heat. Remove from heat and add amchur and mix it thoroughly. Serve Chole with hot fried Bhatures.

                                                                     

read more.. "Chole Bhature"