Moong Dal Kachori.

Moong Dal Kachori is a easy to make and very very tasty to have with hot cup a tea for a breakfast or as a evening snacks. This recipe is sitting in my draft from ages, Since the climate is getting cold here so I think it's a right time to post this recipe.. I have taken this recipe from NishaMadhulika.com and thanks to her for such a awesome recipe. Do try and let me know.

Ingredient's For Filling.

1cup moong dal (soaked for 2 hours)

1tbsp finely chopped ginger garlic

2 finely chopped green chillies

Pinch of Hing

1/2 tsp fennel powder

1/2 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp dry mango powder

1/2tsp turmeric, 1/2tsp coriander powder, 1/2tsp red chilli powder

2tbsp oil

Salt to taste.

Ingredient's For Dough.

2 cup Maida (all purpose flour)

1/4 cup oil

Salt to taste.

Cooking Method.

Take maida in a big bowl, add salt and oil and mix well. Now add little water at a time and knead soft dough same as required for making chapatti. Don't knead the dough too much. Cover the dough and keep it aside for 15-20 minutes to set. Meanwhile prepare stuffing.

Stuffing:

Coarsely ground the soaked moong dal. Set it aside, Preheat pan and add 2tbsp oil in it. When oil is hot, add cumin seeds and saute for while. After sauteing cumin seeds add hing, green chilly, red chilli powder, coriander powder, ginger garlic, fennel powder and saute the spices for few minutes. Now add grounded dal, salt, garam masala and dry mango powder. Mix all ingredients really well. Stir constantly and cook dal until it dries. Take out the roasted dal in a bowl and allow to cool. 

Take little amount of dough, equal to size of lemon, and roll to a round shape. Take one dough ball and flatten it with help of your fingers giving it a shape like bowl. Now fill this bowl with 1 tsp stuffing and lift from all sides for sealing the stuffing. Likewise prepare all kachoris. 

Preheat a enough oil in a deep frying pan for frying kachoris. Oil should be medium hot for frying kachoris and now roll the stuffed dough ball with your hand or fingers gently into thick kachori. Place the kachori in medium hot oil for frying. Place as many kachoris as possible in the wok at one time. Flip the side when kachoris turn puffy and are slightly brown from beneath. Keep flipping the kachoris and fry until they turn golden brown in color. Keep the flame low and medium, to get crunchy and crusty kachoris. Place the fried kachoris over a plate with absorbent paper. Likewise fry all kachoris.

Serve kachoris with green coriander chutney or sweet chutney or you can even eat them as it.

Brinjal Rice/ Vangi Bhath.

Brinjal Rice/ Vangi Bhath is a delicious one pot meal. It is a combination of eggplant and rice combined with indian spices!! and serve with coconut chutney. I still can't forget those days, when one of colleague use to bring vangi bhath for me in lunch when ever she cooks, atleast once in a month I use to get a call saying that don't bring lunch today, because I have cooked VB. She was an expert when it came to cooking this dish and I have tried eating in many South Indian restaurants but still I'm not able to get that taste. Anyway even I try my hands on to this dish when ever I get a chance. This dish can be made with even left over rice and serve with coconut chutney and papad, It's a wonderful combination.. I make vangi bhath masala at home, this time I have used a store bought masala, since the home made was over and I was craving to have this dish. What to do desperate times desperate measures!!

Ingredient's.

2 brinjal cut into cubes 

2 cups cooked rice

1/2cup peanuts

1 medium onion chopped

2tbsp vangi bhath masala

2 to 3tbsp tamrind extract

1tsp red chilli powder, 1/2tsp turmeric, 1tsp coriander powder

1/4tsp channa dal, 1/4tsp urad dal

1/4tsp mustard seeds

2 dry red chilli

Pinch of hing

10 to 15 curry leaves

Salt and Oil to taste.

Cooking Method.

Take a broad pan and heat oil. add channa dal, urad dal and peanuts, when they starts to turn brown, add dry red chilli, mustard seeds, curry leaves and hing, when they starts to splutter, add chopped onion and fry to golden brown. Then add red chilli powder, turmeric, coriander powder, vabgi bhath masala, tamarind extract and brinjals and cook till the brinjals are well cooked, that might take about 5 to 6 minutes, Now add the cooked rice and mix well. Vangi Baath is ready to serve.

Serve with Coconut Chutney and Papad.

Adai/Lentil Dosa

Adai is a very famous South Indian dish which is made out of mix lentils and rice. You can add your choice of green leaves or veggies to make it more healthier and It is usually prepared for breakfast, but I even prefer to eat any time of the day. It is very simple to prepare and does not need much planning as for dosa and the good thing about this adai is, it does not need fermentation and you can prepare in no time. All you have to do just soak the rice and mix lentils for about 2 to 3hours. Then grind it to paste and make adai. Adai is usually little thicker then the dosa. It goes well with avial, coconut chutney or as it is.

Ingredient's.

1cup rice

1/2cup mix lentils(toor dal, urad dal, channa dal)

5 to 6 dry red chillis

10 curry leaves

1/2tsp finely chopped ginger

1/4tsp asafoetida/hing

Salt to taste

Oil for making adai.

Cooking Method.

Soak rice and dal together for 2- 3 hours.

Grind it to smooth paste along with red chilli, curry leaves, ginger, hing and salt. The batter should not be thick nor watery.

Heat a griddle or a non stick tawa and pour a ladle full of batter and spread it in circular motion. Drizzle a tsp of oil around the adai. Let it get cooked. Once cooked remove from tawa.

Serve it hot with coconut chutney, avial or as it is.

Nippattu.. A Spicy And Crunchy Snacks.

I think now this is the right time for me to take few days break from my blogging. As I have a very special thing to do in my life and which is going to change my life forever... I know you all must be thinking what it is. But I'm not going to disclose it now, you all will know very soon, even I'm also waiting desperately to give this news.. Every morning I get up by thinking that from today my holiday will start but it is getting postponed everytime, so I decided what ever happens, from today only my holiday is going to start... Now enough of this hiding business lets come to recipe :)

Nippattu.. This is one of the very famous snacks in South Indian, in every kannadiga families this is must on Ganesh festival. This was there in my to do list from ages and kept delaying to cook and as you all know tomorrow never comes, so I have given a small suggestion to myself that if I have to cook something I should cook it on the same day and never put it on my TO DO LIST. You can serve them with tea or a coffee and they even make very good time pass snacks while travelling..

Ingredient's.

1/2 cup rice flour

1 tbsp all purpose flour

1 tbsp fine sooji (rava)

1/2 tsp red chilli powder

1/4 tsp asafoetida (hing)

10 curry leaves (finely chopped)

1tsp red chilli flakes

2 tbsp dry roasted peanuts

2 tbsp soak channa dal

Salt to taste

2 tsp oil

Water as req to make stif dough

Oil for deep frying.

Cooking Method.

Prepare the mixture by adding rice flour, all purpose flour, chilli powder, sooji, asafoetida, peanuts, channa dal, curry leaves, chilli flakes and salt. Mix all together nicely.

Heat 2tsp oil and add it to the above mixture of flour and nuts. Keep aside for 2 to 3 minutes.

Then, add water little by little to make it a medium density dough.

Divide the dough into 12 or 24 pieces to make the Nippatu.

In a deep frying pan. Heat the oil on a medium heat.

Take the dough, make it into a small ball, then press it onto your palm to make a circle or you can also roll it on parchment paper (make sure you have greased the parchment paper first).

Once the oil is hot enough (check by adding a little dough to the oil, the dough has to come up immediately), add the flattened (Nippatu), one by one.

Fry it until it turns golden brown color on both sides.

Nippattu is ready.

Store them in a airtight container and Serve with hot cup of tea or coffee.

Medu Vada/ Urad Dal Vada/ Lentil Fritters.

Medu Vada is a urad dal based fried snack, a delightful dish from the South Indian cuisine... When I was in India this use to be our breakfast on every Saturday, because there were so many South Indian restaurant near our house and I use to never feel like cooking on weekends, all you have do just get up from the bed go to have hot hot breakfast and then do what ever you want whole day.. After coming to UK my life has changed completely. On weekends we are stuck with bread omelette or cornflakes, if we want to eat something else then cook and eat. I really miss India and I keep asking my husband when are we going back? and he reply's - very soon. I have no idea when that very soon will come :)

Ingredient's.

100 gram urad dal

1/2 cup finely chopped onion

1/2tsp cumin seeds

1/2tsp black pepper (coarsely ground)

1tbsp finely chopped coriander leaves

Pinch of Hing 

Salt to taste

Oil for deep frying.

Cooking Method.

Wash urad dal several times until the water appears clear and soak it over night or atleast 5 to 6 hours.

Drain the water and blend dal to coarsely texture. Just using enough water as needed to blend. 

Then add onion, cumin, black pepper, coriander, hing and salt. Whip dal batter using a spoon in a circular motion for about two to three minutes until batter become light and fluffy.

In a deep frying pan add oil and allow oil to become hot on medium flame. To check if oil is ready put a little batter into the oil, oil will sizzle and batter should start expending upwards slowly without changing color.

Then place a plastic sheet on to a flat surface and apply little water, then put 2tbsp batter on to plastic sheet and slowly flatten the vada and make a small hole in a centre. Take the plastic sheet slowly up and leave the vada into hot oil for frying. Fry until they are golden brown..

Serve hot with Coconut Chutney and Sambar.

Sesame Rice/ Til Rice/ Ellu Sadam.

Sesame Rice.. This is the authentic South Indian Dish. Most of the time this rice is prepared at homes or even in temples to offer god as only "Prasadam" on festivals along with many other dishes.. I had sesame rice in one of my close friend house and I had asked for the recipe and forgot. Day before yesterday the weather was very cold here and I was craving for some hot and spicy rice, which will not take more then 10 to 15 minutes to cook. I had kept the rice to cook and thought of browsing internet for some recipe, then I found one which refreshed my memory and I planed to cook sesame rice.. It was very simple and very very easy dish to cook and I can't tell you how tasty it was.. It saves lot of time and serves the best meal of the day along with some side dish..

Ingredient's.

2 cups cooked rice

3tbsp sesame seeds

1tbsp channa dal, 1tbsp urad dal

6 to 7 dry red chilly

5 to 6 curry leaves.

For Tempering.

Pinch of hing

8 to 10 curry leaves

2tbsp oil or ghee.

Cooking Method.

In a frying pan, dry roast the above ingredients and coarsely grind. set it aside.

In a same frying pan add oil/ghee, when oil is hot, add hing and curry leaves, when they splutter, add rice and grounded powder and mix it nice and cook for few sec. Then take out in a serving bowl.

Serve warm with Papad, mixture or any side dish of your choice..

Chakli...

Ingredient's

2cups rice flour 

2tsp Urad dal flour

1tsp sooji (Rava)

1tsp maida 

2tsp melted butter

1/4 tsp Asafoetida powder

1/2tsp black and white sesame seeds

1/2tsp cumin

Salt to taste

Water as per reqs

Oil for deep frying.

Cooking Method

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl. Adding water little by little, form a stiff dough. 

Take the 1 star attachment and fix it to the maker. Alternatively take a plastic sheet lightly brushed with oil/butter.

Now take a small amount of dough and place it inside the maker. Press the dough on the plastic sheet and you will find the dough coming out shaped as per the one star attachment.

Slightly rotate the maker round and round until you make a circle. Press it until a sufficient amount has dropped into the oil and break off the rest of the dough from dropping - just stop pressing the maker.

Now fry them until done - You can make it red, light brown or golden as per preference.

Drain them on paper towels. Let them cool and store in air tight containers.