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Lip smacking vadacurry

Dosa with vadacurry

Vadacurry is a South Indian dish that can be paired with idly, dosa and poori. A tomato onion based gravy wherein you find bits and pieces of lentil/Dal vada soaked gives you a perfect compliment taste to the idlis or dosas. In most hotels this is made with leftover vadas. But you can choose to make fresh vadas for this recipe as well. You could keep some for snacking and add in the remaining into the gravy , so it serves two purpose.

Popularly paired with set dosa you can see this combination on most hotel menus in South India as set dosa vadacurry.

I will share my age old recipe that has been passed over generations. Read till the end where I give you a quick tip.if you are lazy to make vadas but still would want to relish vadacurry.

Ingredients :

For vada:

Channa Dal – 1 cup soaked 2 hours
Fennel seeds -1 tbsp
Green chilli or red chilli – 2 numbers
Garlic – 2 cloves

Curry leaves – 1 sprig
Coriander leaves -1 tbsp chopped
Salt – as required

Gravy :

Bay leaf -1

Cloves -1

Cinnamon -1/2″ inch
Ginger garlic paste or ginger and garlic crushed – 1 tbsp each
Chilli powder -2 tbsp
Turmeric powder -1 tbsp
Coriander powder -3 tbsp
Tomato -3 chopped

Onion -2 chopped
Mustard seeds -1 tbsp
Oil- for tempering
Fennel -1 tbsp

Salt – as required
Asafoetida – 1/4 tbsp
Curry leaves -1 sprig
Green chilli – 2 slit
Coriander leaves – for garnish
Coconut milk (optional) – 1/2 cup

Method

To make vada

Once the channa Dal is soaked grind with the rest of ingredients. Grind coarsely and not as smooth batter. Deep fry in oil or cook in appe pan. If I’m pairing with idlies I steam it along so it gets cooked and then mixed with gravy. This gives a unique taste go the dish than the deep fried vadas.

Gravy

1. Temper mustard seeds, fennel seeds, curry leaves , asafoetida , cinnamon, clove , bay leaf and green chillies.

2. Add in chopped onion and ginger garlic paste and saute for two mins until onion turns pale.

3. Add in chopped tomatoes and saute until tomato gets mushy. You could also add in some salt or sugar to speed up the process.

4. Once this is mushy start adding the spice powders one by one. Mix well and add some water for maintaining consistency.

5. The vada already has salt so adjust salt in gravy accordingly. After about 7-8 mins the gravy is well cooked. You can choose to pour in some coconut milk if you want else it’s completely fine.

6. Gently mix and when it starts to mildly bubble turn off add the vadas give a stir and close.

7. Let the vadas soak in the gravy. Remove lid and garnish with coriander leaves.

Absolutely lip smacking vadacurry is ready and can be had with idlies, dosa or pooris.

So and yes for the little secret tip, if you want to relish vadacurry but not in mood to make vadas or have any leftover vadas you can choose to add Kara boondi in place of vadas. They work amazingly well as replacements.

Variations to the vada would be steaming along with idly or cooking in appe pan and then crumbled to be added to gravy.

This blog post is part of the blog challenge ‘Blogaberry Dazzle’ hosted by Cindy and Noor Anand Chawla, and happily SPONSORED BY RRE Studios and SHOWCASE Events.

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Lipsmacking Mint peas pulao , sweet potato sticks

Mint peas pulao

We all love pulao. Though it is mildly flavoured compared to its counterpart biryani this dish sure does top it to favourite food lists of many especially the vegetarians and people who prefer mild flavours.

The mint peas pulao is actually a variation of my mint rice with cooked peas being an additional ingredient.

Cooking is all about experimenting. I love adding in new ingredients to existing dishes. When you succeed you have a brand new dish. Voila !!

At the same time you need to be careful while experimenting. The ingredient that you chose to add or substitute shouldn’t overpower and spoil the dish on the whole.

For the same mint rice, I cannot add peanuts . But I can alternate the peas or chhole or chickpeas. So experiment but know how and what.

This mint pulao is made with seeraga samba rice variant. The grains are much shorter but the aroma and flavours are to die for. Also you would require more quantity of rice than basmati because of the size.

Mint pulao recipe

Ingredients

To grind

  • Mint leaves 1 cup
  • Chilli -2 long
  • Poppy seed -1 tbsp
  • Small onions-3-4
  • Ginger -1′ piece
  • Garlic – 2 pods
  • Cinnamon -1′ stick
  • Cloves -2
  • Elaichi-1
  • Star anise -1
  • Bay leaf-1
  • Coconut shredded- 2 tbsp

The whole spices must be soaked in hot water for about 15 mins before being grounded.

  • Seeraga samba rice -1 cup (200 GM’s)
  • Oil as required
  • Green peas -100 GM’s
  • Salt as required
  • Ghee – 2 tbsp
  • One potato boiled and cubed

Method

  • Soak the rice for 30 mins.
  • Grind the paste and keep ready.
  • In a cooker add ghee and oil.
  • Add in the ground paste , green peas and cubed potato.
  • Add little salt, stir and cook for 5 mins until raw smell goes off.
  • Add soaked rice mix.
  • For 1 cup of rice add 1 cup of water.
  • Adjust salt and cook for 1 Whistle.
  • Cook in simmer for 3 mins and turn off.
  • Release pressure, fluff with fork and add ghee.
  • Mix ghee and serve hot with raitha.

Sweet potato sticks

An absolutely perfect side for mint peas pulao. This can be made spicy or just mild depending on your need. This is also a healthy snacking option. Did you know that this can also be offered as snack post 9 months for baby.

Ingredients

  • Sweet potato -3
  • Salt as required
  • Oil for shallow frying
  • Chill powder -2 tbsp
  • Cumin powder -1 tbsp
  • Chat masala-1 tbsp
  • Corn flour to coat the sticks

Method

  • Boil the sweet potato for one whistle.
  • Peel skin and cut into sticks or strips
  • They would be damp so quickly add in corn flour and the spice excluding chat masala.
  • Leave aside for about ten minutes.
  • Heat oil in a pan
  • Add the sticks and fry till golden brown.
  • Take out cool and add chat masala

Lipsmacking sweet potato sticks is ready to be eaten with mint peas pulao or even as snack.

You could also try the same recipe with raw banana, yam and potato. Like I said substitute and play. I’m sure you will definitely keep this recipe safer. Kids will definitely bug you for this snack.

On a healthier note, you could choose to bake the sticks instead of frying them.

I’m taking my blog to the next level with Blogchatter’s #MyFriendAlexa.

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Spicy cow peas kurma – no onion no garlic

Cow peas kurma with no onion and garlic

With dussehra a lot many of us were into fasting, some didn’t take non vegetarian food and few like me wanted to take food without onion and garlic.

Not only for dussehra but also for certain auspicious days we tend to avoid adding onion and garlic to food. In South India, typically during the month of Purattasi ( mid September to mid October) people generally give up non vegetarian food cause of devotion to Lord Narayana and it’s an auspicious month.

These ten days during dussehra, I avoided added any onion and garlic to food and didn’t consume any outside food.

Dinner options were getting very limited. For lunch I planned to make the neivedhyam ( offering) for the day , which would become our lunch as well. A variety rice paired with boiled and tempered lentils also known as Sundal in the south. This would be offered to the God and kolu at homes.

But dinner for a big headache. For a person like me who tries including if not garlic but onion in most dishes, cooking during these days was challenging. That is when I started whipping out recipes without onion and garlic. Believe me they tasted equally good. I’m here giving you a recipe of a kurma that has no onion and garlic, but had lipsmacking taste. This goes well with rotis, phulkas, plain rice and even pulaos.

Ingredients

  • Cow peas – 100 GM’s
  • Tomato – 2 chopped into chunks roughly
  • Red chilli whole – as per your spice level
  • Potatoes – boiled, peeled and cubed
  • Cloves -2
  • Cinnamon -1′ piece
  • Cardamom -2 pods
  • Ginger – 1/2′ piece
  • Turmeric powder -1 tbsp
  • Shredded coconut – 4 tbsp
  • Salt – as per taste
  • Oil for tempering and sautéing
  • Cumin seeds -1 tbsp
  • Bay leaf -1
  • Saunf / fennel seeds -1 tbsp
  • Cashew – 4-5 pieces
  • Coriander leaves for garnishing
  • Juice of 1/2 lemon

Method

  • Soak cashew , cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, bay leaf, saunf in hot water for 20 minutes.
  • In a pan add oil saute tomato chunks, red chilli and ginger piece.
  • Once cooked until mushy ,cool it.
  • Once cooled add mushy tomatoes, soaked ingredients, shredded coconut and turmeric powder to blender and blend them smooth.
  • Dry roast cow peas in pan for about 3-4 minutes until you get slightly roasted aroma.
  • Boil it in pressure cooker with water and salt for about 5 whistles.
  • Release steam, cool drain and keep aside.
  • In a pan temper cumin seeds and add tomato masala paste.
  • Saute for a while add little salt.
  • Give it a light boil.
  • Add cooked cow peas and potato.
  • Mix it with the gravy, adjust consistency with water.
  • Boil for 5 minutes in simmer until you get kurma consistency.
  • Adjust salt.
  • Turn off gas ,add lemon juice ,mix and serve garnished with coriander leaves.

The quantity of ingredients mentioned above is for two people. You can scale up as per need.

The kurma is spicy cause of red chilli and ginger, with a light tinge of tanginess fro the lemon juice.

The kurma is a great side to rotis, phulkas, plain rice and pulaos. Do try out and let me know.

Cooking without onion and garlic is not difficult and there are lipsmacking recipes that taste equally good. I will be sharing a couple more if such recipes.

I’m taking my blog to the next level with Blogchatter’s #MyFriendAlexa.

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Irresistibly lipsmacking recipes for toddlers #myfriendalexa

Toddlers are little humans who are just getting to know the world around them. Food, people, surroundings are what they start exploring with.

Looking around people analysing their behaviour from what they talk , do and eat always fascinates them. They try imitating and feel happy doing it.

Have you eve noticed the toddler demanding to eat like an adult. Yes they feel kind of accomplished or superior if their demand is fulfilled .

Quite often us adults are in a way responsible for the way they eat and also reject foods. Since I already told you they love to imitate this is not only in normal behaviour but also seen when choosing what to eat.

Junk foods , ready to eat, fried foods, food containing maida gain more popularity through media and their peers. Kids also demand getting these at home.

I will not say that we should right away reject or deny. See of you are able to give in to them, but as a healthy option that you are able to offer.

Here are two recipes that never go wrong and I tell you that your toddlers would want you making this on demand frequently.

UPMA CHEESE BALLS

Upma cheese balls

Upma is most often a less looked upon option for tiffen especially by the spouses and the kids. With this recipe below I’m sure that they will trouble you to make upma here on.

Ingredients

  • Upma – 1/2 cup (100gm)
  • Besan / chickpea flour- needed to coat the balls. Say a 100gm
  • Cheese cubes -2
  • Salt- as needed
  • Oil for frying

You could alternatively do an air fry as well.

METHOD

  1. Make upma into balls but adding little ghee so that it’s easier to mould them as balls. I generally use semolina upma. You could also alternatively try with poha/vermicelli upma.
  2. Cut cheese cubes into bite sized pieces and place inside the upma balls.
  3. Make a batter of besan,salt and water . You could add pepper if you need spice. I’ve not because the upma already has enough spice. Make sure the batter is of dripping consistency.
  4. Heat oil in a wok. Add the besan coated balls and fry until golden brown.
  5. They could be had with tomato ketchup, mayonnaise or even hung curd.

You could also air fry them, as I had mentioned above. In that case you could coat them with bread crumbs post the besan batter coating. Leave for a while and then fry.

BUN PIZZA

Bun pizza on tawa

Kids often get tempted seeing the variety of pizzas shown on TV. More or less during dine in I’ve seen more of wastage when parents order pizza as per the kids choice. You could try the below method at home to make bun sized pizza. It’s satisfactory to the kid and also easy on your pockets. Most importantly it’s home cooked so you needn’t worry about hygiene.

Ingredients

  • Bun – 2
  • Cheese slices -2
  • Cheese cube -2
  • Mix veggies – onion tomato capsicum and baby corn
  • Pizza spice – 2 tbsp
  • Tomayo ketchup -2 tbsp
  • Oil as per need
  • Butter for toasting
  • Salt and pepper- as per taste

METHOD

  1. Add oil in a pan, saute all the veggies together . Season with salt and pepper. They only need to be half cooked.
  2. Add butter to the same pan and toast the outer brown side of the bun.
  3. Once toasted, apply tomato ketchup to the inner side.
  4. Place the cheese slice on top of the ketchup layer.
  5. Now arrange the veggies on top.
  6. Sprinkle pizza spice or individually sprinkle chilli flakes and oregano.
  7. Close with lid and cook until cheese melts.
  8. I bet you will never look to place an order for pizza.
  9. You could also play with toppings as you like it.

Do try these recipes and let me know in comments. This is my first recipe post. I’d be happy to take feedback.

I’m taking my blog to the next level with Blogchatter’s #MyFriendAlexa.