Rain Gods, bring it on! We're sufficiently armed!

This post is way too late, the rains have gone, the cold winds have stopped and it's now beautiful spring time here in Aussie! But I still want to post this classic, quintessential Indian Monsoon snack.

Pakoras!

The easiest, most sought after snack when dark clouds loom over the skies. And as the first faint pitter-patter of the raindrops begins, there's frantic running to fetch the washing hanging on the clothesline out in the backyard (or terrace). Someone puts a saucepan full of water on the stove and starts crushing fresh ginger and elaichi to make steaming cups of chai. Meanwhile, onions are finely chopped and tossed into a bowl with besan, salt, chilli powder and turmeric. Indoors is suddenly decked with half dried washing, almost like buntings! And when the chai and pakoras are ready, everyone finds a cozy little spot to sit, legs tucked under their bottoms. The rain outside and the warmth inside...aaah! The familiar sights and smells of 'home'!

Easy and satisfying Crispy Onion Pakoras

• 2 large onions, finely chopped
• 1 cup besan (chickpea flour)
• 1/2 teaspoon red chilli powder
• 1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
• salt to taste
• oil for deep frying

1. Toss into a large bowl chopped onions, red chilli powder, turmeric and salt.
2. Use your hands to mix everything well. Leave aside for about 5 minutes.
3. The onions will start to release some water when combined with salt. Now add besan and again, mix well using your hands. Using your hands, instead of a spoon, will help you judge how much water you need to add in. The secret to crispy pakoras is a nice, stiff dough, not batter. Too much water and the pakoras will turn out soggy and limp. So simply sprinkle some water and continue to mix until the mixture holds itself together. Basically, you don't want any dry besan in the bowl and neither do you want a runny batter.
4. Heat oil in a wok and when hot, drop in small portions of the onion-besan mixture and fry until golden brown and crispy.
5. Serve hot with tomato ketchup and green chilli chutney.

We had a sudden bout of rain here in Sydney the other day. So it was the perfect setting :) Diet-shmiet! Everything flew out of the window when it was time for pakoras!

Sweet Potato Fries (in the oven)

Hey there! Trust everyone's been cooking well and eating well :)
As you may already know, Pinterest.com can be a serious addiction! I may have to sign up for Pinterst-aholics Anonymous soon. (Of course, someone is bound to come up with that soon!) Meanwhile all is well at the inspiration land, so much to see, so much to admire and quite a bit to try as well. Like these super awesome sweet potato fries. KFC had them for a limited time and I was in love. And there was this one time we ate at a nice cafe-restaurant kind of place and we ordered their hand-cut sweet potato fries which were really delish. So it's small wonder that I tried them at home the same evening I saw it on Pinterest. Got to love Pinterest! They turned out so great! (Unfortunately, I don't have a record of the blog I found the recipe from).

It's super easy. All you have to do is get yourself a sweet potato (or two) and wash it thoroughly. You'll be leaving the skin on so it's important to clean it very well and get rid of any dirt on it. Then simply cut them into sort of chunky slices and place in a bowl. Drizzle a wee bit of olive oil all over it. In another little bowl, prepare your spice mix - now I used paprika, salt and cumin powder. You could use anything you like, although my spice mixture tasted really good in the end :-)

Now place the chips on an oven tray (you may want to line it with foil first) and put into a preheated oven at 180 deg. Leave to cook for about 20 minutes, but keep checking on them as oven temperatures and cooking times may vary. When you take them out after they're done, they should be kind of crispy, kind of soft, kind of sweet 'n' salty...mmmm, you get the idea!

We had ours with home-made pizza, yum!

An exciting medley of flavours!

Baby in bed - check
Movie to watch - check
Yummy dinner with minimum effort - check

That Friday night was a treat for us! 

It all began over coffee 'n' scone late that afternoon. Having just come back from India, husby and I were rambling about all the eating we had done there. Our (at least mine) taste buds hadn't yet accepted that the holiday was over, and the scone wasn't doing anything for me. I needed something tangy, something with that punch, you know? And husby was not willing to drive me all the way to Parramatta, 'just for a plate of chat', in his words. He tried reasoning it out, pointing out that the traffic would be mad that time of the day and most importantly the (tennis) match would begin at 7 something. Pah! Anyway, he did promise to take me there the next day though. But 'tomorrow' wasn't good enough for me, I wanted chat and that was it.
So then of course we stopped by at the Indian store, picked up a couple of things so I could make it all at home and headed back home with a happy and convinced husby. And that's how that Friday night was a treat :) I made bhel puri and papdi chat for dinner and we watched Nanban, while baby slept peacefully, oh bless her!

Not that it is a very elaborate procedure for me to actually blog about it...it's just a simple assembly once you have all the ingredients ready! Everything, you should be able to get easily at an Indian grocery store. Also, there is no set quantity/measurement or anything, just go by what you like. Easy peasy :) Here's what I used -

• store bought papdi
• store bought tamarind chutney (you could make your own)
• store bought green chilly chutney
• ok...so I'll stop saying 'store bought' :-)
• fine sev
• yogurt
• finely chopped onion
• finely chopped tomato
• grated carrot
• finely chopped fresh coriander
• finely chopped cucumber (optional)
• boiled and mashed potato

Method (like there is one, sheesh!)

1. Take out your favourite plate (how big or small is up to you)
2. Arrange (whole, undamaged) papdis in one layer, all over the plate
3. Top with rest of the ingredients, starting with onion, boiled potatoes, carrot, tomato, some tamarind chutney, green chutney and yogurt. 
4. Finally sprinkle chopped coriander and a generous amount of sev.
5. Enjoy!

And the best part is, all the stuff you bought will last for at least a couple of more chat episodes :)

A Snack in Need is a Snack Indeed!

Have you ever been bitten by the 'I-wanna-eat-something' bug? Well, it seems to like me, a lot! It specially loves to visit when I'm home alone and bored. That's when a whole lot of emotions and thoughts are running rampant in my head, like so - "I want a snack; but I don't want anything oily; Oh but I do!; No! Nothing oily; But something to munch on; But then I'm too lazy to make anything; Oh what can I eat; Darn! The munchies jar is empty; Now what?!"

One on such crazy afternoon, this great idea sprang to mind and I made besan pancakes (or so I'd like to call them). Quick, easy, not oily. Perfect for those notorious needy-clingy hunger pangs. The best part about this recipe is all the ingredients are at hand and it's made in a jiffy. I love such recipes because then I can prance about in my cozy little kitchen, pretending I'm on a cooking show and go about making my snack with the enthusiasm I started with. The joy of reaching out to just the right jars, measuring out everything, chopping, and preparing is something else! Otherwise my enthusiasm is generally dampened if it means I have to make a quick trip to the supermarket to get something I don't have. Since this recipe calls for just some basic stuff, it's a
favourite. See what I mean -

• besan (chickpea flour) 1.5 cups
• finely chopped tomato 1/4 cup
• finely chopped onion 1/2 cup
• 1 tbspn finely chopped coriander/cilantro
• 1 tspn whole jeera (cumin)
• 1 tspn paprika/chilli powder
• 1/4 tspn turmeric powder optional
• a pinch of hing (asafotieda) optional
• a pinch of carom seeds (ajwain) optional - I generally add this to anything made of besan
• salt to taste

Mix everything to make a (pouring) batter. Pour a big spoonful onto a heated skillet and spread evenly. Spray some oil and cook on both sides until done. Serve hot with some tangy pickle or maybe some tomato sauce.

Hate not those sudden cravings, instead make these besan pancakes and enjoy!

Who says you can't have street food at home?

Indian Street Food, if we were playing the word association game, by now there would be a really long list of associated words like chaat, pav bhaji, masala dosa, grilled sandwich, samosas, jalebis, vada pav, etc. etc. etc!! Oh those glorious streets of Bengalooru! The enticing aroma of spices, the hissing sound as a splash of water hits the hot grill, the crowd, the bustle, the lip smacking food, the experience. The bajjis never tasted as good anywhere except on the streets, the secret - oil that's used and reused (God knows how many times!). The samosa chaat is finger lickin' good, the secret - rustic bare fingers of the man who smashes the samosa in a quick blow. And the dosa, oh the dosa is divine, crisp yet spongy, the secret - a very hot griddle frequently splashed with a generous dose of oil and deftly spread with a stiff broom! Well, pardon my almost oxymoronic description. But I think that's entirely the essence of Indian Street Food, pure deliciousness amidst small 'eyebrow raisers' that can be easily ignored. I mean, come to think of it, we've been enjoying eating out for ages now and we've survived (!), so I guess we've kind of settled on the fact that reused oil, tap water and not the cleanest of kitchens can all be dismissed as 'not that big a deal'. But then again, maybe I can't generalise the conclusion. Maybe I speak only on behalf of my Indian counterparts who, by now, seemed to have developed a 'withstand-all' kind of a gene. Delhi Belly was coined for a reason, I'm sure! Nevertheless, if not in Bengalooru, then I'm sure some place else, most of us would know the true sense of an evening enjoyed gorging on street food.

Having said that, the effects of street food can be created at home as well. The same feeling of heightened senses as the spice hits just the right spots, the same medley of flavours and with some Bollywood numbers blasting from the iPod dock, voila! it's the street food experience right at home, and with clean water and washed hands :)

Bhelpuri - a (very) popular Indian street food item, tangy, sweet, crunchy and oh-so-yummy!

Ingredients - (will serve 2, 1 if you have a very strong craving)
(I haven't mentioned the quantity of some ingredients as it's totally up to your taste and liking. More if you love it, less if you don't so much)

• puffed rice 2 cups
• finely chopped onion
• finely chopped cucumber
• grated carrot
• roughly diced boiled potato
• finely chopped tomato
• finely chopped fresh coriander/cilantro
• a handful of roasted peanuts
• a splash of lime juice
• ready made papdi (available in Indian grocery stores), optional
• salt, chaat masala powder (available in Indian grocery stores) and tamarind chutney (available in Indian grocery stores to taste
• sev (available in Indian grocery stores) to garnish, optional

Method -

• Simply combine everything, except puffed rice and sev, in a large mixing bowl.
• Add puffed rice just before you're ready to serve and toss it well.
• Garnish generously with sev and some extra chopped coriander and serve immediately.

Apparently, bhelpuri is considered a low fat snack, minus the papdi and sev. That's how I made it yesterday.

So hope you try this street food classic at your place and maybe it will inspire you to try it on the streets of India, if you haven't already!

Until then, cook, serve, love!

Teatime Nibbles

A strong cup of Indian masala chai (or south Indian filter kaapi) is somewhat incomplete without some snacks or nibbles on the side. Typically, it would be biscuits (Marie or Parle G) dunked and unceremoniously popped into the mouth in a hurry, lest the soggy bikkie disintegrates. I've had one too many dunking accidents and the resulting gooey sediment at the bottom of my teacup is not one of the most appealing things. So, bicuits with tea are more like a thing of the past for me. I digress. I was talking about the popular chai accompaniments. Samosas, pakodas or bajjis*, mixture* (what an innovative name, pah!), etc. are all popular teatime snacks. Basically, something deep fried and crisp (and oozing with fat that goes straight to the hips) is very gratifying at teatime.
On the list is a simple fried snack that my family calls 'thukudi'. I don't really know why it is called that! I think it is quite similar to what my north Indian friends call namakpare. Oh well, what's in a name? It's great for teatime, that's what matters, right? It's kind of like crisp, flaky puff pastry. It's a very simple recipe, yields a substantial quantity and keeps for a couple of weeks. Now that's my kind of recipe, a handy jar of crisp thukudi to perk up teatimes.
Here's the recipe -

1.5 cups wheat flour (or wholemeal, whatever you have at hand)
1/4 cup all purpose flour (you could skip this totally if you wish)
2 tbspns besan (chickpea flour)
salt and red chilli powder (or paprika) to taste
oil for deep frying
1 tbspn hot oil

Method -

• Combine all the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
• Heat 1tbspn oil in a small skillet ( not to smoking point, just a little bit) and pour into the flour mixture.
• Rub in the oil using your fingers until the mixture has the texture of breadcrumbs.
• Using very little water gradually, work the mixture into a stiff dough.
• Leave to rest for about 15mins.
• Before you begin with the rested dough, pour oil in a wok or pot and place on medium heat.
• Knead the dough on a work surface that's slightly dusted with flour and divide the dough into lemon sized balls.
• Roll each ball of dough into a circle, slightly on the thinner side. But don't worry too much about it, 'cos if you try and roll it out too thin, it might get all clingy and stick to your work surface.The intention is to get crips nibbles and not soft  & soggy  (like mini pooris). So the thinner, the better.
• Using a pizza cutter (or a knife) cut the rolled out dough into approx half inch strips. Then rotate about 40deg and cut into strips again, to get little diamond shapes.
• Carefully tip in all the little dough diamonds into the hot oil (steer clear from tiny oil splashes in the process) and fry on both sides until crisp and light brown. Take care not to over fry them.
• Drain onto a paper towel and store in an airtight jar.
• You could even sprinkle a wee bit of chat masala powder when they're out of the oil and before they go into the jar.

I hope you enjoy these with your next cup of tea or coffee :)

*pakodas & bajjis: vegetable or onion fritters made with chickpea flour
*mixture: a medley of tiny deep fried (or toasted) nibbles (often sev & boondi, made from chickpea flour) and peanuts.

In a Jiffy!

It's been quiet here at the Cozy Little Kitchen. But that doesn't mean I haven't been cooking up a storm! Just that I was lazy to take pictures and post about all the yummy recipes I've been churning :)

But this, I couldn't miss posting about... When husby darling ventured into the kitchen late one afternoon, driven by my craving for a certain Bengalooru snack - kodubale (koe-du-ba-lei)

I was being crabby, bored and wanted to snack - an unusual combination of emotions! You might have figured I didn't want to get up from the spot on the couch I'd been warming :) So, my next logical move was that of a shrewd predator on a hunt. My vision zeroed in on my unsuspecting man as he sat browsing through some DVDs. 'I want to munch on something', I declared loudly. No response. 'I feel like a snack, something spicy, something crunchy', I continued. This time he looked at me, got up and walked to the kitchen asking if I wanted some chips or peanuts. Out of nowhere I said I felt like eating kodubale. I didn't really expect anything except a, 'Hmmm...yeah, but we only have chips, want some?'. But I was pleasantly surprised when husby actually looked through my recipe books and pulled out one that I'd nicked from Amma's place.  The book was in Kannada and I had a good laugh as he struggled with the instructions. But, strangely enough, he followed it thoroughly, measured out everything and set about making kodubale! With a wee bit of help from me, he actually managed to fulfil my out-of-the-blue desire that boring afternoon! Talk about feeling loved and special!

Here's the recipe as it appears in the book -

1. Rice Flour - 500gms
2. Chickpea Flour (besan) - 250gms (we used 2 cups of rice flour and 1 cup of besan)
3. A pinch of asafotieda
4. Coconut - one half (we used dessicated coconut)
5. Red chili powder - 1 tbspn
6. Salt to taste
7. Oil for deep frying

Combine all ingredients (1-6) with some water to form a stiff dough. Roll and shape into kodubales (see pictures) and deep fry until light brown and crisp.

An Indian Twist to an Italian Favourite!

It was Saturday and we had done quite a bit of mindless, impulsive shopping. Husby's face was growing longer and sadder as the day went and I still hadn't taxed him with the weekly grocery shopping yet! After a snail paced episode of shopping at the local supermarket, husby darling just about had enough patience to push the cart (normally) towards our car without crashing it into some poor unsuspecting shopper in frustration. I tagged along to keep up with him while I scanned the longish receipt to see if we were charged right for everything. As we loaded the boot of our car with the many bags, I tried cheering him up by promising to make pizza for dinner. He didn't seem like he cared much. But when the pizza was made (and the kitchen smelt so good!), cut and served with some yummy garlic and cheese bread, he finally smiled, ear to ear :) 

Here's what I did - 


Make at home Pizza with Indian flavours. I can't help it! I'm Indian and I love the masalas :) 

• store bought pizza base
• tomato sauce/ketchup - 1 tbspn
• toppings (use as desired) - thinly sliced onion, thinly sliced capsicum, diced paneer , thinly sliced jalapeno chillies (de-seeded to save the mouth from catching fire), grated cheese, chopped coriander
• spices - (use as desired) paprika, chilli flakes, curry powder, salt

Method - 

• Preheat oven to 200 deg Celsius
• Spread tomato sauce over the pizza base and load it with toppings
• Sprinkle on the spices 
• Bake for about 10 mins (might vary from oven to oven)
• Serve hot with more ketchup and chilli sauce

It was so much better than as good as the ones we usually order in, honestly.

A Note of Thanks!

Appa a.k.a Kuzhi Paniyaram a.k.a Paddu, call it what you may, but it sure was on my 'to make' list for a while. Okay, so let me describe it for you - something comforting that Doddamma (my granny) used to make for us. It is (I think) made from a batter very similar to Dosa/Idly. Well, if you ask me, I'd probably say it is made with Dosa batter. You kitchen goddesses out there, please enlighten me :) Anyways, it's looks like a dumpling, is kind of crisp on the outside and soft 'n' fluffy inside. It can be made both sweet and savoury. Believe me, it tastes much better than my rather boring description of it. Spiced up with loads of chopped onion, chillies and coriander, served with a dollop of ghee/butter and some fresh green chutney...finger lickin' good! The sweet version is great too. If I remember correctly, I think Doddamma used to make it with cucumber and jaggery. Unusual combination did you say? Well, you should try it.

So then, I was saying, I'd been wanting to make it in my cozy little kitchen here in Sydney. Husby had also expressed his greed for it a couple of times. But sad thing was I didn't have the special griddle for it. And then on my recent trip to Bangalore, my dear Chikkamma (mum's little sister) gave it to me as a present. Now, wasn't that a stroke of luck? That was one thing I refused to leave behind, even though my baggage was dangerously tipping towards E.X.C.E.S.S! Here's a picture of it - 

Back in Sydney, I unpacked my very own 'appa kallu' (okay, I'm not making it up! That's what it's called) in glee. I made some appas or kuzhi paniyarams the very next day. However, I don't have a recipe for it as such 'cos I made them using a store bought Dosa mix. I simply prepared the batter as per instructions, added lots of chopped onion, green chillies and fresh coriander and cooked them with (very little) spray oil. Thay turned out so good that between Husby darling & me, we easily devoured 25 something of the yummy little rascals! I did say they were little, didn't I? Lest you think what gluttons we are, hehehe. I made Tomato-Onion Chutney to go with it. Yum-mmy!


So that was a little story of our craving being satisfied. All thanks to Jathu Chikkamma :)

Inspired Italian Cooking: Bruschetta

Back from a holiday in India, I slowly felt the kitchen induced lethargy. All the inevitable cooking, the endless pots 'n' pans - some in the sink, some in the dishwasher, the wilting veggies in my fridge, made me want to scream in frustration! Then, as if a storm was gone, the calm settled in, giving me a renewed sense of enthusiasm. I wanted to make something nice for dinner, really! Both husby & I were bored of the routine and wanted something else. So, I decided to try some Italian cuisine. Nothing fancy, thought I'd start with Bruschetta. Awfully simple to make but one heck of a classy, timeless and highly satisfying appetiser/starter/snack!


Bruschetta for two -


4 thick slices of bread - the classic recipe calls for a baguette, but I think any bread will work for a quick fix. (I cut my square slices in half)


1 firm tomato, finely chopped


1 small red onion, finely chopped


2 tbspns fresh basil, finely chopped


3 tbspns grated parmesan


salt & pepper to taste


some minced garlic in olive oil to brush on the slices of bread

1. Mix finely chopped onion, tomato, basil, cheese and salt & pepper in a bowl.
2. Brush the slices of bread with the garlic and olive oil.
3. Grill/toast the slices until crunchy and light brown.
4. Spread a spoonful of the prepared mixture and serve immediately.
5. Top with more grated cheese just before serving.

Fresh bruschetta, a bottle of good wine and endless conversation...now that's something I needed to calm down!

Spinach 'n' Onion Frittata

This is great for a lazy Sunday breakfast or as a quick back-from-work snack. M loves this :) It's very easy and can be dished up in a jiffy. The best part about a frittata is that you can improvise with almost anything at hand. Like when I made this, I only had frozen cubes of spinach and half an onion. Lucky me, it turned out that good!


Here's what you need - 


3 eggs - this should be enough for two I guess, but since I'm not a big fan of eggs, M was more than happy to give in to gluttony, hehehe.

sliced onion - again this depends on how much you want. Half a cup should be plenty.


finely chopped spinach - I used one frozen cube


1 clove of garlic, crushed


1 tspn cheese (any kind really, grated or crumbled) This is optional, the frittata will still turn out good without it.

1/4 tspn red chilli flakes


salt, pepper and any dried herbs to taste - I used about 1/4 tspn dried basil


Method - 


Heat a pan/griddle and lightly spray it with oil or butter.
Throw in the crushed garlic and the red chilli flakes and toss around till the flavours are released.
Put in the sliced onion and saute until slightly brown.

Meanwhile, in a bowl, whisk together the eggs, cheese, spinach, basil, salt and pepper.
Pour the egg mixture into the pan and cook on medium heat. Use a spatula and move the mixture around lightly.
Once settled, turn the heat down, cover and cook for about 5-6 minutes.
The frittata will have risen and will be soft and fluffy. Flip it over and cook the other side for about a minute or so.
Slide into a plate and serve warm with tomato or chilli sauce.

This recipe is very very flexible. You could use some mushrooms, potato, zucchini, etc.

Spicy whole Moong Fritters

My latest agenda is to utilise all but a few basics from my pantry. The reason for this drastic measure is that I'll be going to India soon (yay!) and I want only the bare essentials in stock till I'm back. That way M will be spared the following dramatic scene: 
(think Indian soap opera background music!)


M opens the kitchen cabinets reluctantly to make some 'simple daal' as I would've coaxed him to. He gasps in exasperation at the twenty something jars of lentils and other condiments. Then, muttering some incomprehensible things under his breath, he reaches for the nearest jar and starts the daal cooking process with what seems like, any, lentil (psst! insider information: it's urad daal!!!). 
Well, I think I can safely leave the rest of the scene to your imagination :)
So, I was saying...I'm looking at cooking with 'whatever-is-in-my-cabinets' at this point. I found a tall Tupperware canister, half full with green whole moong. So, robotically, I washed and soaked it, confident that I would have thought of something by morning. And I did! I made these crispy, spicy vades (deep fried lentil fritters).

 


Heres' what you need - 


2 cups whole green moong (hesarukaalu) soaked overnight
1/4 cup cornflour or rice flour
3 green chillies (increase or decrease according to your taste)
a small chunk of ginger
a handful of fresh coriander
1/2 tspn whole cumin (jeera)
1 small onion, finely chopped
a pinch of hing (asafotieda) and turmeric 
salt to tatse
oil  



Grind soaked moong, chillies, ginger, coriander and cumin to a coarse mixture. (use little or no water)
Transfer into a mixing bowl and add cornflour/rice flour, chopped onion, hing, turmeric and salt and give it a good mix.

Heat oil in a wok. 
Scoop out about a spooonful of the moong mixture with your fingers. Flatten it into a sort of patty using your thumb and forefingers before dropping it into hot oil.

Fry until light brown and crisp. Now, you need to be patient with these. You want them crunchy and crisp on the outside and fluffy and well cooked on the inside, so you need to fry them on medium flame.

If you are the type who'd tch!tch! at the deep frying bit, you could even pan fry them on a skillet with a fraction of the oil :)


So, I'm gonna take off now and continue my jars 'n' bottles scouring mission. Will be back soon with some more 'must-finish-somehow' recipes!

A basket of fresh corn please!

I love warm corn on the cob with a just a hint of salt and lime! And the fact that it is low fat makes it an extra special favourite. So, the creamy, fresh corn is a regular resident of my kitchen.
One Sunday afternoon, M & I had the familiar craving for a chatpata (tangy) snack with tea. My pantry wasn't at it's very best, but I did have plenty of corn. So I went looking for corn recipes and found this one at vahrehvah.com. Quick and easy! Good old corn to the rescue :)

I think it'd be great for parties as an appetiser. I guess the patties can be made ahead of time and refrigerated/frozen and all that's left to do is shallow fry or deep fry them when needed. Maybe it could be put on the BBQ as well for a nice smoky flavour, and something to add to the veggie BBQ menu :)

We had ours with tomato ketchup and mayo, but I'm sure it'll taste great with mint & coriander chutney.

McHomemade Burger!

A healthy alternative, really. I came across a recipe for sweet potato cakes on www.aartilla.blogspot.com. It's a 'sweet' video, one of the many wonderful food episodes she has churned out. Take a look when you have some time, they're amazing!
Anyways, keeping Aarti's recipe as a base, I tweaked around a little bit and made a burger meal out of it, easy peasy. Now, whenever we feel like a burger, I just whip this up in a jiffy and with some Coke and wedges/chips on the side, we can have the whole 'go-out-and-grab-a-burger' experience right at home!

Here's how I adapted the recipe, mainly to suit what I had at home :-) You can do the same too, just stick to the base ingredient, say sweet potato or regular potatoes, and get innovative with the add-ins.

• sweet potato, 1 medium size
• 1/2 cup whole green moong sprouts
• 2 tbspn wheat bran
• 2 tbspn all purpose flour/gram flour/wholemeal flour -whatever you have, just to bind it all together
• ginger, garlic, fresh chillies, fresh coriander/cilantro - ground to a paste, as per taste
• salt to taste & a pinch of sugar
• oil
• slices of onion, tomato, cucumber (any salad really) to serve the burger
• burger rolls
  

1. Cook the sweet potato until soft (I microwaved mine) and peel it once it cools down.
2. In a large bowl, put in the sweet potato and mash it with a fork/potato masher.
3. To this add all other ingredients and combine until it all comes together and holds well. (I also microwaved the sprouts for just a bit)
4. Shape into patties and shallow fry until crisp and brown on a heated skillet.
5. Sandwich between sliced burger rolls and serve with ketchup and chips.

I made this again this week and this time I used corn instead of sprouts. You could even use chickpeas as the base ingredient if you're looking to add some protein to the meal. Throw in a slice of cheese to add that extra bit of flavour. I mean, the options are endless, I even added a fried egg to M's burger. So, it's all about getting your act together. End of the day, make it yourself at home and gorge on one of these babies, guilt free!

Sweet Corn Vegetable Soup

On a cold winter's night...
It's quite cold now in Sydney as winter has set in. It has also been raining quite a bit. It's the perfect time and setting to stay indoors, cozy and warm, and gorge on some soulful comfort food. I was totally in the mood for some nice hot soup. 'Tomato? Nah, not tonight, hmmm, pumpkin? Don't think so...how about sweet corn? Yeah!!' - after some self conversation in my head, I decided on sweet corn vegetable soup :) I looked up the net for an easy recipe and found it on www.vahrehvah.com, yup there are some nice 'n' easy recipes there!

sweet corn kernels - 1 cup (the original recipe uses cream corn, but I used the regular canned ones. You could also boil fresh sweet corn at home and slice off the kernels.)

diced carrot - 1/4 cup (I wanted my version of the soup to be chunky, so added quite a bit of veggies, you could decrease the quantity if you wish)

thinly sliced french/string beans - 1/4 cup

vegetable stock - approx 3-4 cups

corn starch - about 2 tbspns, dissolved in about 4 tbspns of water

a dash of vinegar and soy sauce (the original recipes uses rice wine vinegar, I did not have any, so I just used regular white vinegar)

salt & pepper to taste

In a large pot/saucepan, bring together vegetable stock, corn, carrot and beans.

Turn on the heat and bring to the boil. Then, simmer it down and add vinegar and soy sauce.

Let it simmer for a couple of minutes before adding the corn starch paste. This is to thicken the soup, so use according to the consistency you're looking for.

Add salt and pepper to taste. Hold back on the salt until the end as vinegar and soy sauce have some salt content in them and you don't want your soup to be too salty.

Garnish with some chopped spring onion and serve hot with warm, toasted garlic bread.

What could be more comforting than hot home cooked food, a good movie to watch and the company of your beloved? Well, I couldn't have asked for more!

Fun with leftovers :)

Spicy Idli Roast
I had made some rava idlies for breakfast. Although M & I gorged on them to our hearts' content, there were still some left over. We were kind of bored of them already, so I quickly gave them a new avtaar! I simply diced the idlies into bite sized chunks, put them all into a bowl, drizzled some cooking oil and sprinkled some chutney pudi (spiced powder, available in Indian stores, MTR brand) and some salt. Then I just tossed it well till every piece was coated. Next I heated a tava/griddle and coated it with a little bit of oil. Then I placed the idly chunks on it and roasted them on medium heat, turning the pieces around so they didn't get burnt. The whole process took only about 10 mins or so and voila! we had a snack in a jiffy! We ate it with spicy sauce and the idli reincarnation was worth the effort.

You can do the same with rice idlies as well and you can also try different flavours and spices, like chilli powder, pepper, etc. An uncle of mine used to cut the idlies into half and deep fry them until they turned nice 'n' crispy. Of course they taste great but they totally drown you in guilt as well! So I just opted for the healthier version :)

Triangular icons in the Indian snack scene!

Samosas!
This snack needs no introduction. It is by far the most popular Indian snack and I reckon it will never go out of fashion. Everybody loves the little fried pyramids. Crispy on the outside and tangy goodness inside, served with imli chutney and pudina chutney, it's one tongue tickling creation! It's very versatile too - you can have various fillings (just get creative), you can serve it as a chaat and you can also make the chic petite versions for your next party, cocktail samosas they're called apparently! The perfect accompaniment, according to me, is a nice hot cup of ginger chai. One can't go wrong with the combination. And that's exactly what we did when we had friends over for a little 'b'day tea party' in March this year. Good friends, lots of chatter, samosas and chai, now that's a relaxed evening!

To make the samosas - (this recipe will yield about a dozen samosas)

For the dough (for the outer pockets)

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 cup wholemeal flour (wheat flour/atta)
• 1/2 tspn ajwain (caraway seeds)
• a pinch of cooking soda
• salt to taste
• water

For the filling -

• 4 large potatoes (boiled)
• 2 tbspns oil
• 1/2 tspn jeera (cumin seeds)
• a pinch of turmeric
• 1 tspn each of - red chilli powder, jeera powder and amchur powder
• 1/2 tspn crushed whole dhania (coriander seeds)
• 1 tspn peanuts
• salt to taste
• oil for deep frying

1. Make a fairly stiff dough with all the ingredients mentioned in the first section. While adding the ajwain, lightly rub it between your palms to release the full flavour.
2. To make the filling, lightly mash the boiled potatoes.
3. Heat oil in a pan and add jeera.
   
4. Next add peanuts and crushed dhania and saute for a couple of minutes.
5. Now turn the heat down and add turmeric and all the dry masala powders and saute for about a minute or two.
6. Then add the potatoes and salt and give it a good mix. But be gentle as you don't want the filling to end up like mashed potatoes. (That reminds me, you could even add 1/2 a cup of green peas to the filling.)

Getting the triangles/pyramids!
This can be quite tricky the first few times, but after a lot of trial and error I figured that the best way to make it is as follows -

• Take a ping pong ball sized bit of the dough and roll it into an oblong shape (not round like you would for rotis/chapatis).
  
• It should neither be too flimsy (it will give in and tear when you stuff the filling inside and believe me, you would have to do a lot of dough grafting to hide the holes!) nor too thick (this will make the end product too hard to swallow, gulp!)
• Once you've rolled it out to the right thickness, cut it in the middle and you'll end up with two semi circles.
• Spoon out a little bit of the filling and place it in the centre of the half circle. Lightly run the edges with some water.
• Now lift the corners of the dough and bring them together to form a triangle/pyramid (now this may sound tricky in words and unfortunately I don't have pictures, but you'll figure it out when you do it) Seal the edges well to make sure the filling doesn't get out while frying. If you've done the pyramid construction right, you should be able to sit your samosa up on it's base.
• Make a few in a batch while the oil gets heated up.
• Deep fry the samosas till they turn (the cliched) golden brown :-)
• Serve hot and enjoy!

It may take a few attempts till you get comfy with the whole process, but once there. your options for variations are endless. For me though, the classic potato filling is the all time favourite. Go on, give this a try and have some good friends over for that long session of gossips, laughter and chai!

Yellow fluffies!

I'm back! 2009 seems to be a year of new hope for me...I quit my day job with an ambition to pursue my passion, so I need all the luck in the world! Anyways, I thought I'd make some breakfast, after a long, long phase of cereal and raisin toast :-) So, I made dhokla, fluffy steamed savoury cake and it turned out quite well...

• 2 cups besan (chickpea flour)
• buttermilk, enough to make a batter (like for pancakes)
• 1 teaspoon fruit salt, Eno (available in Indian stores)
• a small piece of ginger, grated
• a pinch of cooking soda
• salt

For the tempering -

• 2 tbspns oil
• mustard seeds
• hing (asafotieda)
• fresh red/green chillies, chopped finely
• fresh coriander/cilantro
• a mixture of lemon juice and sugar, you'll need only a few spoonfuls
• fresh grated coconut (optional)

1. Mix besan, salt, buttermilk, eno, soda and ginger to make the dhokla batter, neither too thick nor too runny.
2. Leave aside for about 10mins.
3. Grease a shallow microwave dish with oil and pour in the batter.
4. Microwave on high for 3 mins or till cooked. Check the centre to see if fluffy and cooked.
5. Remove from the oven and keep aside. When slightly cool, cut into squares.
   
6. Heat oil in a small frying pan and add mustard seeds when hot.
   
7. Next add hing and chopped chillies.
8. Pour this all over the dhoklas.
9. Sprinkle chopped coriander/cilantro and grated coconut.
10. Then, simply dribble the sugar and lemon juice mixture.
11. Serve with mint chutney.

M & I enjoyed our Sunday dhokla brekkie, a good variation from the boring weekday regular!

Tea-time Saturday Evening...

Ambode/Aamavadai (deep fried lentil fritters) with Ginger Chai...

A lazy Saturday afternoon, I woke up after a nice nap when M was strumming his guitar. We realised we hadn't had any lunch and it was almost tea-time. I decided to indulge in some sinful deep fried bliss...so the ambodes were made and devoured in no time along with some hot-spicy-sugary ginger tea - a combi that will get your tastebuds floating in ecstasy!

• channadal (split yellow chickpeas) 1 large cup, soaked for about 4-5 hours
• 6-7 dry red chillies
• a small chunk of ginger
• 1 tsp hing (asafoteida)
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• a handful of curry leaves, chopped
• a small bunch of dill (sabbasige soppu) optional
• salt to taste
• oil for deep frying

1. Grind the soaked channadal, red chillies, ginger and hing coarsely, without adding any water. However, if the mixture is too dry then you could add a spoonful of water.
2. Transfer this to a wide bowl and add chopped onion, chopped curry leaves and salt (and chopped dill, if you wish)
3. Take some lentil mixture, the size of a pingpong ball and flatten into a patty.
4. Deep fry on medium flame until brown and crisp.

Ginger chai -

• 1 cup water
• 1 cup milk
• a large chunk of ginger, about the size of your thumb.
• tea powder/tea bags
• sugar

1. Heat the water in a saucepan and let it simmer.
2. Wash and peel ginger and grate. Add this to the simmering water.
3. Wait until it releases it's flavour and add 1 big spoon of tea leaves or 2-3 tea bags.
4. Bring to a light boil.
5. Next add milk and sugar and continue to boil till all the flavours blend in.
6. Strain into mugs and enjoy!

Sitting in our balcony with hot 'n' crisp ambodes and lovely ginger chai, we were like two people in love all over again :-)

Double Treat!

I tried these two recipes this week. Both use pretty much the same ingredients. Everytime I stock up my pantry I feel very good. But then, every single time, I end up just leaving everything in my fridge/cupboard till I have to throw them away and then I feel so miserable about it. I never seem to learn from these repeated acts of foolish carelessness. However, this time I was determined to make full and good use of my recent buys from the local Indian store.

The result was quite delicious! Atleast it had M nodding approvingly, so I'm beaming :-)

Try them, I'm sure you'll love them...

Trio Sandwiches -

• 3 potatoes, boiled & peeled
• paneer (Indian cottage cheese) - 1 medium chunk/slice about 200gms
• button mushrooms, about 4
• pudina (mint) chutney
• bread
• turneric powder, red chilli powder and salt

1. Cut the paneer into fairly thin, small square slices. Place them, separate, in a wide pan/plate and coat them with the dry powders and leave this aside for about 15mins.
2. Wash the mushrooms and slice them into half, not lengthwise, but like slicing a burger bun, in the middle. Coat them with the dry powders and leave this aside for about 15mins.
3. Slice the boiled potatoes .
4. Heat a frying pan. You need to roast/toast the paneer slices and mushrooms on a low flame. Dribble some olive oil.
5. Once cooked, take off the frying pan.
6. Now all that is left to do is to put the sandwich together.
7. Take a slice of bread and spread the mint chutney. Place the potato slices.
8. Next, another slice of bread with mint chutney, toasted mushrooms and paneer slices.
9. Top this with the last slice of bread and lightly toast/grill the whole sandwich.
10. Serve with tomato ketchup.

Simply yummy and oh-so-filling! Have fun!

Pocket full of yumm!

Had more paneer left, made these :-) Quick and easy treats and they look so cute!

• 1 small cup paneer cubes
• 1/2 cup green peas
• 1/4 cup boiled potatoes (again left over from my last recipe)
• 1 medium tomato, diced
• 1 large onion, chopped
• a small chunk of ginger, grated
• jeera (cumin seeds), turmeric powder, jeera powder, amchur (dry mango) powder, red chilli powder, salt and a pinch of sugar.
• pita pockets, 4
• fresh coriander
• 4tbspns oil

1. Heat oil in a deep pan and add jeera (cumin seeds).
2. Add grated ginger and suate for a couple of minutes.
3. Add chopped onion and suate for a while.
4. Next add the diced tomato and cook till soft.
5. Toss in the green peas and cook till done.
6. Now put in the paneer and potato cubes and mix very gently (you don't want the paneer crumbling)
7. Add all the dry masala powders and mix lightly.
8. Coontinue to cook on low flame for about 5mins till everything is cooked.
9. Garnish with fresh coriander.
10. Cut the pita pockets in half and spread mint chutney on the insides.
11. Fill the pockets with a big spoonful of the paneer-peas-potato masala.
12. Serve with tomato ketchup.