Vaghereli rotli (left over chapati in yoghurt gravy)

This is one of warming, comforting dishes that is very easy, healthy and quick to make. Extremely satisfying dish. This dish is always the sort of thing that i crave every once in a while and also when I am on my own and wanting to get snuggled up on the sofa, all safe and cosy. :D

When I make chapatis, sometime I make a few too many and then freeze the leftovers for this dish
alone because i love it so so much and cuts down a. lot of cooking time drastically.

It is cooked in a  sour yoghurt gravy, so it is a good source of calcium too! And great for using yoghurt that is close to its sell by date. You would never believe how tasty this dish is. I just think its amazing when you think that it is all made with leftovers! Simply delicious!!!

Ingredients:-

8 or so left over chapatis,
1 cup of sour yoghurt,
2 1/2 - 3 cups of water,
1 1/2 tbs oil,
1/2 tsp mustard seeds,
a pinch of hing or asafoetida powder,
1/4 tsp methi or fenugreek seeds,
1/2 tsp cumin seeds,
1 tsp each garlic and ginger pastes,
a few curry leaves
1/2 tsp dhana- jeera powder or coriander-cumin powder
1 tsp of sugar or to taste,
salt to taste,
fresh coriander to garnish.

Directions:-

1. Tear the chapatis and keep to one side.
2. Heat up the oil on a medium heat and once it is hot enough, add the mustard seeds.
3. When they pop add the cumin seeds, fenugreek seeds, curry leaves, asafoetida, and fry for a few seconds before adding the garlic and the ginger pastes and the turmeric. Fry on a low heat for a few minutes until the turn translucent and the raw smell goes.
4. Add some salt to taste, sugar and the water, bring back to the boil and simmer for about 1 or 2 minutes.
5. Add the yoghurt and the torn up chapattis, test for seasoning, if its ok then sprinkle with coriander and serve steaming hot! Enjoy and feel free to comment and let me know what you think! :D :D

Pav Bhaji Recipe

Pav bhaji! This is a typical street food dish, that comes from the streets of Bombay. If you are looking for a healthy dish, you can reduce the amount of butter used, but you will missing the point of this dish entirely! It is supposed to be super rich and super buttery! There has been many occasions that i have made this dish too hot, but that tends to be something that i get carried away with quite often! :)
So a word of warning if you are making this dish for young children, then I would reduce the amount of chilli that you add. BUT! it really is best to have this dish buttery and spicy.

I also like this dish because you can use some normal rolls from the supermarket. Traditionally, you would use pav buns, but unless you want to make our own or you have an Indian grocery store nearby, then just go for plain white rolls.

This recipe is also very versatile. You can really chuck in as many different types, or as few as you would like. It really doesn't affect the overall taste too much, but I like to add as many different kind of veg, just for the nutritional value. The recipe that i'm posting about today is a more complex version, but I will post a simplified version soon.

It is a long list of ingredients but please, don't let this put you off! :D

1 large or 2 medium onions, diced,
2 cups of diced potatoes,
1 orange sweet potato,
1 cup washed broccoli,
1 cup washed cauliflower,
1/2 cup green beans,
1 red pepper,
1 green pepper,
3 nice and juicy tomatoes,
1 cup of finely chopped carrots,
1 partially peeled aubergine. set aside in salted water.
1 1/2 cups frozen peas
1 heaped tsp garlic paste,
1 heaped tsp ginger paste,
1/2 tsp green chilli paste,
1/2 tsp mustard seeds,
1 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp hing or asafoetida,
1/2 tsp chilli powder or to taste (optional)
1 tsp pav bhaji masala (essential. store bought or homemade)
1 tsp paprika
salt and 1 tsp sugar. sugar is optional but balances the tomatoes
1 tbs oil
As much butter as you can stomach! I sometimes use up to 150g! Only if it is a treat!
1 tbs lemon juice
fresh green coriander


Directions:-

1. Chop all the vegetables, very finely and steam them all, except the onions, peppers and the peas. Steam until everything is well cooked and soft. Drain and keep aside.
2. Heat a very large pan or stock pot onto a medium heat and add 1tbs of oil.
3. Add the mustard seeds an wait for the to pop and crackle.
4. Add the cumin seeds and asafoetida or hing.
5, Add the diced onions and cook until the are starting to caramelize at the edges.
6. Add the tomatoes and a splash of water if they are not very juicy and cook until it is like a sauce.
7. Add the turmeric, chilli powder, ginger, green chilli and the garlic paste and cook until the raw smell goes. Maybe a minute.
8. Then add the peppers and cook for about a minute.
9. Then add all of the steamed vegetables and the pav bhaji masala. Mash all of this together keeping everything on a low heat at this time. Simmer everything with some salt for about 10 minutes to let the flavours mingle, stirring it occasionally.
10. Add the frozen peas and cook for another 5 minutes, or until the peas are cooked. stir occasionally.
11. Add the butter and the lemon juice and stir until blended through and then give it a taste to check the seasoning .
12. At this point you want to prepare your bread. I like to lightly toast each side under the grill and then lightly butter.

Serve piping hot with lots of coriander and some kachumber salad ( raw onions, cuccumber and tomato.

ENJOY!! :D X

traditional Khichi or khichu recipe ( rice flour dumplings)

I have already posted a recipe for khichi before, but it was a very early recipe of mine and completely improvised. It has always been an all time favourite snack of mine to buy when I go shopping to belgrave road. Another reason why it is a favourite is because it is steamed, so it is a healthy option to the fried snacks. When I have given it to other people, they either love it or hate it, but a word of warning, if you like it, you wont be able to stop eating the stuff. I now make this snack weekly because i find it keeps well in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Anyway this is a completely different way of cooking khichi to my last recipe. It has been given to me by my friend who used to work in one of the sweet marts that i like to visit. I am very lucky to share this recipe with you. I was so over joyed when I first cook khichi this way. I hope you will be too! Let me know what you think........ :D

Ingredients:-

1 cup of fine rice flour,
1 tsp cumin seeds,
1/4 tsp asafoetida or hing,
a pinch of turmeric,
1 tsp of fresh green chilli paste,
1/2-3/4 tsp fresh ginger paste,
1/2 tsp papad khar,
around 3/4 tsp salt or to taste.
Fresh green coriander and red chilli flakes.

Directions:-

1. Heat  medium sized pan an the cooker and add 2 1/2 cups of water.
2. Into the water add all of the ingredients except for the rice flour.
3. Bring everything to a boil. once it reaches boiling point, add the rice flour and stir with all of your might! It has to be lump free!
4. Kneed the dough with a wooden spoon or or spatula until it becomes all nice and smooth.
5. Get a large steamer pan heated up and ready. I use one of those steal stack steamers that you cook on the stove top.
6. Transfer the dough into a slightly smaller bowl or plate and spread out so that it is fairly thin. Cover it with cling film to stop the drips from getting in.
7. Pop it into the steamer and steam for 15-20 minutes, giving it a quick stir halfway through.
8. This next step is completely optional, but i think it looks really nice and makes it easy to serve, but you could just transfer it into a suitable bowl.
Leave the khichi to cool so that you can handle it. With lightly oiled hands, scoop up the dough and make little patties. using your thumb or the end of a rolling pin make an indentation in the center. Do this until you have used up all of the dough.
9. Sprinkle fresh green coriander and red chilli flakes and a drizzle of oil (optional)

Sev Mumra recipe (chickpea vermicelli and puffed rice) Or simply sev, or simply mumra!

Sev mumra is one of those things that you never really think to cook, because I must admit that the shop bought stuff is actually delicious. So for years I have probably spent a small fortune on the stuff.

One of my friends came over for a catch up one day and came with a bag full of homemade sev mumra that she had left over from the weekend. We filled a big bowl full and we sat and nattered and nibbled on this wonderful snack. I said to her that it was the best I had ever tasted by far! She then told me that it was actually home made and one of the easiest things that they prepare in their house. They even prepare this after their main meal is ready, that is if you have some sev already prepared.
It is that easy!! Any way you really must try it, it really is too good to miss!!

Ingredients for the sev:-

1 cup of chickpea flour, (besan)
a pinch of turmeric,
a tsp oil,
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
a tiny pinch of hing,
a pinch of baking soda.
Water as needed.
1/2 tsp of salt


Tip!! You need a sev maker to proceed!

Directions:-

1) Prepare a pan of oil and heat it over a medium heat. There oil should be a few inches deep to cover the sev as it is cooking.

2) Grease the sev maker inside and around the lid and screw. (This just helps with the cleaning)

3) Mix together the above ingredients ensuring that the oil gets well incorporated.

4) Slowly add the water and mix until you have a very sticky batter. It should not be runny, but it definitely doesn't want to be hard, otherwize your sev won't turn out very good.

5) Once you are happy with the batter, check to see if the oil is hot enough by dropping a small drop of batter into the oil and if it sizzles to the top straight the way then the oil is ready. ( also make sure that it is not too hot either otherwise it will taste burnt.)

6) Fill the sev maker with the batter by using a spoon and screw up the lid. Then gently turn the handle over the oil, using circular movements so that the sev almost looks like lace, or if you remember what one looks like a spirograph pattern. :-)(showing my age!) When you have got enough sev in your pan, turn the handle in the other direction to stop the flow of batter.

7) Cook until the oil calms down and then turn the whole thing over to cook the other side.

8) Again cook until the oil calms down and drain onto a piece of kitchen paper.
Repeat the process until you have used up all of your batter.

You can enjoy sev on it's own like this, or use it as a topping for chaats... or you can proceed to make sev mumra!!

ingredients:-

6 cups of puffed rice (Mumra)
7-10 fresh curry leaves,
1/2 - 1 tsp homemade chilli paste,
1/2 tsp homemade garlic paste,
1/2 tsp turmeric powder,
2 tbs oil,
a large pinch of salt.

Directions:-

1) Heat the oven to the lowest temperature that your oven will go to.

2) In a large, clean roasting tin, mix in all of the above ingredients together thoroughly.

3) Pop the tray into the oven and after about 10 minutes, take them out of the oven and give everything another good stir. You must make sure that your sev does not burn.

4) Repeat this process another 2 times. the sev should only need about 25 minutes in total.

5) Once your mumra is ready, it needs to be cooled down to room temperature.

6) This is actually quite nice nike this to, but i like to mix it with some of the above sev. Just mix to your liking! ENJOY!!!

Feel free to leave your tips and feedback, it is always very welcome! :-) :-) :-)

Green Peas Kachori Recipe

I absolutely LOVE these!! So does all of my family! We used to buy these a lot when we went shopping. I always used to ponder how these were made because the pastry coating was quite unusual. It has no cracks, but it is flaky and crisp. The filling comes in many different types of recipes depending on the region of India, and different personal tastes. As I say, my Husband and I have always preferred the peas filling, but I would say that the next most popular stuffing would be with lentils. Because these are such a winner in our family, I have decided to post the recipe with peas. I'm sure to blog about the lentil stuffing soon, because they are also too good to miss out on.

Another really good thing about this recipe is that it really is quick and easy to do. When we bought these little goodies they were too daunting to me to ever try and actually cook them.

My family and I were snacking on some peas kachories in a restaurant one day and we ended up having a conversation with a lady that was also dining at the same time. I had mentioned that we all loved them so much, but I wouldn't know where to start with them. Then the lady said to me "Oh my mother and I cook them all of the time with different fillings, but the pastry is so easy if you just do it all in a food processor! I have a pen in my bag, so I shall just jot down for you what we do" I was so chuffed to bits!! I thought that she was just going to write how to just make the pastry, but she very kindly gave me a nice short recipe on how to make a pea filling too!! WICKED!! I couldn't help wanting to go home straight the way and give the recipe a go!

I didn't get chance to try that day, but when I did, it was well worth the wait!!



Ingredients for the pastry:-

1 cup of plain flour (maida)
1 fairly rounded tbs gram flour
2 tbs suji (semolina)
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup oil + 1 tbs
salt

For the filling....

2 1/2 cups boiled green peas,
1/2 - 3/4 tsp cumin seeds (*to taste)
1/2 - 3/4 tsp ajwain seeds (*to taste)
3/4 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp hing ( asafoetida )
1 tsp ginger paste
1/2- 1 tsp green chilli paste
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp lemon juice ( or to taste )
salt

Directions for the pastry:-

1) In a blender, combine the oil, water and salt. Blend it on full power until the liquid has turned white.

2) The when you are ready with the flour, turn the blender on again and slowly add the flours and the suji. You should stop half way through to push all the mixture down from the sides with a spatula. When a ball forms, that's when the dough is ready. Give the dough a very gentle knead, just to bring into a smooth ball. Leave to one side while you prepare the filling.

For the filling:-

1) In a pan heat a tbs of oil onto a medium high heat. Once it is hot enough, add the seeds and hing. Let them sizzle for a few seconds before you add the cooked peas.

2) Stir fry the peas for a moment and then add the chilli and the garlic pastes. Stir fry the mixture on a low to medium heat for around 3-4 minutes.

3) Add the salt, sugar and the lemon juice and coarsely mash the peas and check the seasonings.

Assembly Directions:-

1) Divide the dough equally into small balls. Keep one ball to one side and cover the rest of the balls.

2) On a rolling board or flat surface, roll the dough out to be about the thickness of a poori. You really do have to make sure that the pastry is not too thin, but not too thick. I usually like to make up a sample one first and fry so that I can check the thickness and the overall taste of the kachori's. ( Any excuse to have a taste)

3) Once the dough is rolled to the desired thickness, place a heaped tbs of the pea mixture into the centre and carefully gather up the sides of the dough. Pinch the excess dough off the end and give the whole thing a roll with your hands so that it is a nice smooth ball with no edges. ( You can crimp the top for presentation, or you can make into patties like I have in the photo's) Leave to one side, and follow the last steps with the rest of the ingredients.

4) When they are all prepared, fry on a medium to hot heat until the are nice and golden. Oh yes and make sure that you don't fry more than two or three at a time.

Drain onto kitchen towels and serve with chutney.

Please feel free to share and thoughts, or how you make this dish. Any comments really make me happy!! ENJOY!!!! :-) :-) :-)

Tandoori Potato recipe

The first time that I tried these delicious little morsels was at the local market. I was there shopping and it was a dull cold day. I had just dropped off my son at his nursery at the time, so i had been in a usual last minute rush so I hadn't even had time to grab any breakfast, so I was STARVING!!!! Just in the nick of time there was a market stall selling all sorts of home made spicy foods. I didn't even think about what to eat, i just said to the stall holder "I'll have one of those, one of those and one of those please!! When he put all of my goodies into a bag, the whole carrier bag was absolutely full to the brim!! He must of thought that i was a right greedy pig lol!! Never mind, I didn't care because it made my shopping sooo much easier!!

One of the goodies that was in the bag of joy, was some tandoori potatoes on skewers. My mouth watered when I saw them. They looked like shiny red jewels on a chain. When I tasted them it was just heaven! They were instantly one of my new favourite foods.

On the way home I popped into my local supermarket, I was looking in the world food section (as per usual,) and I noticed some tandoori paste. I had seen the paste before, but I never really paid to much attention to it before. Of cause I snapped the paste up and put it in my basket to buy.

When I got home, I had already got some pre cooked jersey royal new potatoes. They really are the best waxy potato! So I grabbed the ingredients, left to marinade and roasted just before the rest of the dinner was ready. They were different to the potatoes that I had had at the market, but they were equally just as delicious. So why don't you give them a go for yourself and let me know how you get on? :-) :-) :-)

Ingredients:-

About 10-20 new potatoes. It just depends on the size.
3 heaped tbs tandoori paste (of your choice)
2 tbs fresh yoghurt,
1/2 tsp turmeric powder,
1 tsp lemon juice (or to taste)
just a sprinkle of salt,
Fresh coriander for garnishing.

Directions:-

1) In a large bowl mix all of the above ingredients together, except the potatoes.

2) Then mix in the required amount of potatoes.

3) When every thing is thoroughly mixed in together and all of the potatoes are well coated with the mixture, cover with cling film and put them into the fridge to marinade for a couple of hours, or even over night. I only had time to marinade for a few hours but they were fine with that.

4) When you are just about ready to cook, preheat the oven to the hottest temperature your oven will go to. Give the potatoes one last mix, give the baking tray a drizzle of oil and then spread the potatoes evenly onto the tray.

5) Put the tray onto the top shelf of your oven and cook for 5-10 minutes turning once. You need to keep an eye on them once they are in the oven, because evry oven is different so cooking times may change dramatically!

6) Once they are cooked sprinkle over some fresh coriander and serve with salad and plane yoghurt.

I hope that you enjoy they as much as my family and I did, so why don't you let me know how you got on? :-) :-) :-)

Potato vada/batata vada/mashed potato fritter

This is a real special recipe! Everyone I know who has tried these amazing balls of wonder have always gone back for seconds, or maybe thirds..or forth... Basically i would make sure that you have time to make plenty of these because the will disappear like hotcakes!

Here we go!!.......

Ingredients:-

1 kg floury potatoes- boiled
About 10 cloves of garlic or a very large tsp of garlic purée,
1-2 green chillies,
about 7 fresh curry leaves,
1/4 tsp mustard seeds
1/4 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 onion diced,
a large pinch asafoetida,
1/2 tsp turmeric powder,
1 tbs fresh coriander,
1/2 tbs lemon juice or to taste,
1 1/2 tbs oil
salt to taste.

ingredients for the outer layer:-

1 cup sieved gram flour.
a pinch of hing (asafoetida)
a pinch turmeric,
1/8 tsp baking powder,
1/2 tsp salt, or to taste.

directions:- For the potato mixture.

1) Heat the oil in a pan over a medium to hot heat and add the mustard seeds. Wait until they pop like popcorn.

2) Add the cumin seeds and the asafoetida and let them sizzle for a second or so before you add the onions. Saute the onions until they are light brown.

3) Add the garlic, chillies and the ginger and stir for a few minutes

4) Add the lemon juice, salt, coriander and the turmeric and give it a quick stir before adding the potato.

5) Mash the potato into the mixture making sure that you leave some chunks of potato.

Test the seasoning to cheek if is your taste and a just if you need to.

6) Mix all the dry ingredients for the outer layer together and then slowly add enough water make a thick batter making sure that there are no lumps. I always check the consistency of the batter on the back of a spoon.

7) Heat enough oil in a pan to coat the vada's over a medium heat.

8) Roll the potato mixture into equal size balls an set aside.

9) Dip the balls into the mixture, making sure that they are well coated and then fry in the oil.

10) Fry 3 or 4 at a time but do not crowed the pan. You need to have space for the vada's to move around.

11) Fry each vada for a few minutes each, or until nice and golden. Make sure you turn each vada a few times to ensure even cooking.

I hope that you enjoy these little treasures as much as my family and friends.

Stuffed mirchi bhaji recipe (stuffed chill pakora)

This is one of those recipes that get a craving for when it is a cold damp winters evening. The last time I made these, it was snowing outside and it was sooo cold and dark. Earlier that day I had been shopping and I stumbled across the beautiful banana chillies, they were so bright and green and firm, just like they are when you first pick them. So I bought them without a doubt in my mind what I was going to with them. The previous night I had made lots and lots of other snaky things, so stuffed mirchi bhaji just had to be top of the list to complete our feast!!!

I hope that you enjoy these as much as me!!!

ingredients for the outer layer:-

1 cup sieved gram flour.
a pinch of hing (asafoetida)
a pinch turmeric,
1/8 tsp baking powder,
1/2 tsp salt, or to taste,

Ingredients for the filling:-

1 kg floury potatoes- boiled
About 10 cloves of garlic or a very large tsp of garlic purée,
1/2 inch piece of grated ginger or 1/2 tsp ginger paste
1-2 green chillies,
about 7 fresh curry leaves,
1/4 tsp mustard seeds
1/4 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 onion diced,
a large pinch asafoetida,
1/2 tsp turmeric powder,
1 tbs fresh coriander,
1/2 tbs lemon juice or to taste,
1 1/2 tbs oil
salt to taste.

Directions:-

1) While the potatoes are boiling, mix all the dry ingredients for the outer layer together and then slowly add enough water make a thick batter making sure that there are no lumps. I always check the consistency of the batter on the back of a spoon.

2) Heat the oil in a pan and add the mustard seeds, let them pop and then add the cumin seeds and the asafoetida and fry for a few seconds.

3) Take the pan of the heat and add the curry leaves. Let them sizzle for a second and then add the onion and saute until just starting to brown on the heat.

4) Add the ginger and garlic and saute for another minute or so.

5) Season with salt, turmeric, lemon juice and coriander.

6) Add the potatoes and coarsely mash into the spices. Leave aside to cool slightly.

7) While you are waiting, Heat a pan of oil over a medium to hot heat. (You need enough oil to coat the bhaji's.)

8) When the potato mixture is cool enough to handle, place a slit along the chillies, but make sure that you don't go all of the way through and stuff the chillies with the potato mixture, pressing down with your finger to make sure that the stuffing has gone all of the way through the chilli. Seal it together as best as you can.

9) Dip the chillies into the batter and dip into the oil. Fry for a couple of minutes until golden.

Serve the chopped onion, coriander, chutney and sev (optional)

Please feel free to comment on this dish. Maybe you could share your experiences with mirchi bhaji's? Thank you
:-) :-) :-)

Gujarati sambharo

This is one of the best side dishes there is!!
I first savoured this dish when I was younger, from a restaurant in Leicester. It was a really hot summers day and we had been shopping down the "golden mile". This is an area in Leicester which is dripping in beautiful jewellery shops, saree shops and sweet marts. For me it is such and amazing place to shops. Anyway back to what I was saying!! I was shopping down Belgrave road and we stopped at one of the sweet marts to get some savoury snacks and they gave us two little pots with the snacks. In one was an amazing green chutney and in the other one was some sambharo. I loved it from the first mouthful. The lady who I was with noticed how I had woffed the whole lot down in one nearly, so she told me about her family recipe and wrote me a copy. When I cooked this recipe for the first time I did not follow her instruction to draw out the water from the vegetables with salt and the end result was still nice, but it did not taste anything like the real thing so I really do recommend that you follow that step, otherwise you will end up with a stir-fry!

Ingredients:-

1/2 white cabbage, stem removed, or 1 whole small cabbage
2 carrots peeled,
1 small onion or 1/2 large, peeled,
2-3 fat green chillies,
1 tsp
3 tbs oil
1/2 tsp black mustard seeds,
a pinch of cumin seeds,
1/4-1/2tsp asafoetida ( hing )
5-7 curry leaves
1/2 tsp turmeric powder,
1 tbs lemon juice,
fresh coriander.

Directions:-

1) Shred all of the vegetables separately in an electric chopper.

2) Put the carrots and the cabbage into a large bowl and set aside for at least 1/2 hour.

3) After 1/2 hour, pick up large handfuls of the cabbage and carrots and squeeze out as much of the water as you can and put aside in a dry bowl. Continue this process until all the veg have been squeezed.

4) Heat a wok over a medium to high heat with the oil and add the mustard seed. Wait until they pop and then add a pinch of cumin seeds and the asafoetida.

5) Take the pan off the heat and add the curry leaves.

6) Add the onion and the chillies and return to the heat. Fry until the onions turn translucent.

7) Turn the heat down to low and add the turmeric and the lemon juice.

8) Add the vegetables and mix in on a low- medium heat for a few minutes.

Garnish with coriander and serve hot or cold. This recipe is really nice with mixed vegetable pakora's, or aloo paratha and yoghurt.

Please feel free to post your opinions or advice. Thanks!! :-) :-) :-)

4)

Mirchi Bhaji (Green chilli pakora)

This is one of those little delicious nibbles that you crave on cold winter evenings as a comforting, warming supper. It is also so versatile it is incredible! The first time i ever had this tasty little morsel, it was just served plain and just with some coriander and mint raita, so this is my favourite way of serving it and it is the quickest and most convenient way to serve them. Although, if you want something a little more exiting, you can split the chilli's and sprinkle your favourite spices inside....If you want something really exiting and tasty you can stuff them with a potato masala and sprinkled with onion, chutneys and chat masala!!! MMMMM my mouth is watering so much as I'm typing, I think I'm going to have to make some of this right now!! So here is what I did for a quick chilli hit tonight, but I will post a stuffed chilli recipe soon :-)

Ingredients:-

10-12 chilli's of your taste, personally I use the long green finger chillies that you use for pickling, or green banana chillies.Sliced but not cut in half.

1 cup sieved gram flour.
a pinch of hing (asafoetida)
a pinch turmeric,
1/8 tsp baking powder,
1/2 tsp salt, or to taste,

Completely optional:-
chaat masala,
garam masala,
cumin powder,
amchoor powder (dry mango powder)
salt

Or aloo masala (spiced potato)

Directions:- pre heat a pan with enough oil to coat the chillies on a medium heat.

1) This step is optional, but if you prefer a milder taste, run your knife along the chilli ensuring that you don't slice the chilli in half (You should do this to all of the chillies even if you are not pre- boiling them,) boil the chillies in very salty water for 2-5 minutes and cool before dipping into the batter.

2) Mix all of the first 5 of the ingredients together in a large bowl and mix in enough water to make a nice thick batter.

3) Dip the chillies into the batter and then fry on a medium heat for a few minutes, turning once and then drain onto kitchen paper. Repeat with the remaining chillies.

serve with finely chopped raw onion and chutney's and pickles of your taste. ENJOY!! :-)

DHOKLA!!!!

This is a really traditional Gujarati recipe. It is probably one of the most popular snacks around.

The way that I would describe this dish to people that have never tasted it, well its one of the most delicious things that i have ever tasted! It is a moist, spongy, crumbly, savory, delicately spiced piece of heaven. This dish can take a lot of preparation if you are not used to Indian cooking, but i can assure you that is well worth the effort!

Again, but like most things, has taken me a bit of practice to get it right. There are definitively a few factors to the success of this dish, the size of the grain and the thickness of the batter i think, is the secret to this delicious dish. I also find that if there is not enough water and oil in the dish is dry, if there is too much water, the khaman will be dense and not enough air. Also another main factor is the fermentation process. You should really leave to ferment over night but it is ok if you only ferment for about 8 hours.

So here goes.....

Ingredients:-

1 cup of channa dal,
3 level tbs gram flour, or fine semolina,
2 tbs ground rice,
1/4 cup yogurt,
a few drops of lemon juice
2-3 tsp of sugar,
1 tsp of salt, or to taste,
1 green chilli,
1 tsp grated ginger,
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
2-3tbs oil.

To be added to the batter at the very last minute, 1 tsp of eno.

Seasoning ingredients:

1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp sesame seeds
a pinch of hing
1-2 green chilies either pureed or chopped finely.
about 10-12 curry leaves
1 tbs oil
dessicated coconut
fresh green coriander.

Directions :-

1) This step is optional, but really traditional and essential if you don't have some type of grinder.
Soak the dal in tepid water for about 4-6 hours and then grind to a coarse paste, adding some of the water from the soaking process into the food processor. You don't want to add too much water otherwise it will be hard to get the right consistency of the grain and the batter. The batter should be dropping consistency, but very nearly poring consistency. If you don't have time for this you can grind the channa dal into a coarse flour, a similar consistency to coarse semolina.

2) Add the flours with the salt, sugar, turmeric, ginger, yoghurt, green chilli and lemon juice, mix well ensuring that there are no lumps and transfer the paste into a metal bowl ( for some reason a metal bowl helps with the fermentation process) and cover with cling film, ensuring that you pop a couple of air holes into the cling film to allow a bit of air at the batter, but not too many as you don't want to dry the batter out.

3) Because i live in a cold climate, i put the bowl into my airing cupboard overnight to ferment. Or if you have a light in your oven you can leave it in there to ferment with the light on. If you can, leave the batter over night or for at least 8 hours.

4) When the batter is ready you should see tiny bubbles on the top. What i sometimes do if i am not to sure of the consistency of my batter i will check it after 5 hours and see if there are any bubbles starting to appear. If there isn't any and the batter looks to thick, I add a splash of boiling water, but be careful of how much you add as you don't want a watery batter. Then i will leave it for a few more hours to finish fermenting.

5) Make sure that you have a deep pan of water on the ready, and maybe use something to balance your cake tin on, if you are using one instead of a dhokla steamer. If you have a dhokla steamer, lightly grease, but if you don't you can use a small round cake tin lightly greased.

6) Gently but quickly mix in the eno, then immediately put into the pan for steaming.

7) If your dhokla's are done in shallow dhokla trays then I would steam for about 10-15 minutes.
If you have steamed the dhokla in a cake tin then probably steam for 15-20 minutes. To check if the dhokla is done, stick a knife into the centre and if it comes out clean then the dhokla is cooked.

For the seasoning:-

1) Heat a pan with the oil and when it is hot enough, add the mustard seeds. Let them pop

2) Add the hing (asafoetida) and let it sizzle for a second and then add the curry leaves, chillies and the sesame seed and give it a stir for about 20 seconds or until the sesame seeds look slightly toasted.

3) Pour evenly over the dhokla's and spread about.

4) Sprinkle over some coconut and coriander. And serve with coriander chutney or tamarind chutney.

ENJOY!!! :-))))))

Please give you comments and advice on my recipes as this would make me soooooooo happy!!!!

Khandvi

Oh where do i start with this dish!! I could really go on forever about this melt in you mouth dish!!



This tini little roll of yummy sunshine is probably one of the dishes that sent me on my mammouth quest for indian culinary masterpeices.



I can remember the first time i tryed this dish very vividly. And i will be really honnest with you and tell you that i actually didnt like this dish much. The thing is, i kept on trying it out of polliteness really and it was almost every mouth full tasted better and better!



There was one time when i was invited to an indian wedding to do the brides hair. It was a very important wedding so i insisted on lots of practices. This was definitely in my benifit as i could perfect the brides and hair, but there was a huge bonus! Lots and lots of fabulas food! This is the first time that I really thought Wow! I all of a sudden turned into this khandvi monster!! :-) What I mean is, this dish.... i am obessed about ever since! I dont know what happened to me that day but it was almost like a bolt of lightning, or a spell being cast apon me!!! Ok, Ok, O.T.T i know, but can i really explain how much i now love these amazing Gujarati delicacy's! I could absolutelt go on forever about how much i love these beauties!!!



I am sooo addicted!!!

Ingredients:-

1 cup besan ( chick-pea flour )
3/4 cup of sour yogurt- if it is not that sour you can add a few drops of lemon juice.
1/2 tsp grated ginger
1 grean chilli
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
a pinch of hing (asafoetida)
1 tsp salt
2 1/2 cups of water
2 tbs oil
Tempering ingredients:-

1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp sesame seeds
a pinch of hing
about 10 curry leaves
2 tbs oil

Garnishing ingredient:-

grated coconut or desiccated
fresh coriander
red chilli powder

Directions :- Line a long piece of foil out onto the work surface.

1)In a bowl with an electric blender, blend the flour, yogurt, ginger, green chilli, turmeric, hing and water, until you have a smooth lump free batter.

2)Heat 2 tbs oil in a large pan (the larger the better) and add the batter.
TIP:-
You have to keep stirring with a flat spatula and keep the temperature on a low heat. Maybe occasionally you might need to whisk the batter to keep it nice and smooth.

3)After about 10 minutes you can just check the mixture to make sure that the flour is cooked. I usually cook mine for about 15-20 minutes because i use a really low heat, so i would check it after 10 minutes.

4)When the mixture is leaving the sides the batter should be ready for rolling. A really good way to test if it is ready is to smear a small amount onto a plate, let it cool and see if you can roll the khandvi's. If it roll's easily, it is ready to go, BUT, you must work quickly from hear.

5)Blob the batter around the foil and spread evenly with a spatula. The thinner the better, but not quite as thin as so you can see through it.

6)Leave the batter to cool and set. Then with a pizza cutter, cut long thin sections to roll. You may want to tidy the edges to help make the rolling easier.

7)Roll the khandvi's and arrange on a plate.

8)Heat 2 tbs oil in a small frying pan and add the mustard seeds. Fry until they pop and splutter.

9)Then add the asafoetida, let it sizzle and then quickly add the curry leaves and sesame seed, but be careful of the spluttering.

10)Poor the tarka over the khandvi, sprinkle over the coconut, coriander and red chilli powder. Serve.

TIPS:-
1)If the batter is under cooked, it wont roll properly and will taste floury.

2)If it is over cooked it wont roll properly either. But you can always add some water, mix very well and cook again.

3)If the batter is spread too thick onto the foil, it wont spread properly.

4)I don't want to make this sound complicated, but if you spread it to thin it wont roll properly.

5)The perfect batter wouldn't be spread so thin that you can see through it, but only a tiny bit thicker.

Khichi recipe ( My way )

I know that i have said this every time so far on all of my posts, but i really do find this recipe truly irresistible!
I actually feel quite proud of my self really because i have truly improvised on this recipe! I have khichi many times when i go shopping to Belgrave road. Of course this is one of my favourite dishes because it has that smooth silky texture that i go crazy about, but i just could not find a recipe that came close! So after years of searching for a recipe that gave even similar results to the khichi which i adore!
Like i have said i have completely improvised on this recipe, so if you know of the recipe and are recoiling in horror over my preparations, then i really do apologise for this. But i really am quite proud for what i have concocted. Please give your opinion to help.

So here goes ......

Ingredients:-

1 heaped cup of fine rice flour ( sieved )
about 2 cups of water
1 big fat chilli with the seeds
1/2 sprig of fresh coriander ( optional )
1 tsp salt or to taste
1/8 tsp ajwain seeds
3/4 tsp cumin seeds
1/8-1/4 tsp asafotida ( hing )
1/4 tsp turmeric
a tiny pinch of papad khar or baking powder
3 tbs oil

Directions:-

1) Finely chop the chilli add the coriander and grind to a fine paste with the salt in a pestle and mortar. ( This makes a nice puree instead of blending in a blender.)
2) Heat the oil in a pan and add the seeds and fry until they splutter.
3) Add the green paste take off the heat and stir for 30 seconds
4) Add the turmeric and mix well. Put back onto the heat and turn up the heat.
5) Add the water and the papad khar. Bring to the boil.
6) When the water is boiling, add the rice flour and stir with a wooden spoon or a large spoon ensuring there is no lumps. ( you might want to take it off the heat to do this, just so that the bottom of the pan does not catch on the heat.
7) Before putting the lid on i would just give it a little taste, just to check the seasoning.
8) put on the lid and cook on a low flame for 10-15min. Then give it another vigorous stir.
9) After another 10-15 give it anther good stir.
10) In total you should need to cook this for anything between 1/2 hour - 1 hour, stirring every 10-15 minutes. I quite like the Constancy after about 3/4 hour.
11) When it is at the consistency that you like transfer into a bowl to cool.
12) When the khichi is cool enough to handle, well oil your hands and mold the khichi into small ball that are all the same size.
13) If you like, flatten and shape them in your hand, and with you thumb or kitchen utensil, form a hole in the center of the khichi.
14) Garnish with coriander, red chilli powder and oil ( optional )

Tips:-
If you don't have time you can just neatly pack it into a container and cool and refrigerate. When it comes to serving you can just slice the khichi.

Instant Khatta Dhokla

Yay! I couldn't wait to blog about this recipe I LOVE IT!!! When cooked it is a lovely WHITE colour! It is made with rice flour and curds and that is what gives this dish a wonder full colour that makes this dish soooo inviting to look at. At the end of the day food should be a feast for the eye's as well as the stomach!

I have had the offer to learn a few recipes, but because of silly reasons, i didn;t take up the offers!!! I know i know!! This is one of my life regrets, that i didn't take up the offer to learn how to make home made Indian food as it is a really good way to learn how to cook real Indian food.

The reason i adapted this recipe was because i simply didn't have the right amount of ingredients, but i really wanted to try this recipe, even though i had never tasted this version of dhokla before. This sound strange i know but i had seen the recipe for khatta dhokla many times and always thought it sounded really nice. I had only ever seen the yellow kind of dhokla before, it is a big favourite farsan of mine, so it is only natural for me to want to try something that sounds and looks so yummy.

This is now also one of those recipes that i like to cook on a regular basis. I think i almost get cravings for this recipe on nearly a daily basis!! OINK OINK little piggy! i could eat them all to my self too!!!!! ;-)

So here is my version of Instant khatta dhokla:-

Ingredients:-

1 heaped cup of ground rice ( or you could coarsely grind your own from normal rice)
1/4 cup of gram flour ( besan )
1/4 cup of coarse semolina (rawa)
1 tsp salt ( or to taste )
1 - 2 tsp sugar
pinch of asafoetida ( hing )
1/2 tsp lemon juice
1/2 cup yogurt
2/3 tbs oil
1/2 tsp ginger paste
1/2 tsp green chilli paste
1 heaped tsp eno ( not to be used untill the very last minute )

Seasoning ingredients :-

1 1/2 tbs sunflower oil
1 tsp sesame seeds
1/2 tsp mustard seed chilli ( or julienne )
10-12 curry leaves ( curry patta )

Directions :- Get the water to simmering point in a steamer on the hob.

1) Mix all of the dry flour's together, until well Incorporated.
2) Add the salt and sugar and mix well.
3) Add the yogurt and mix until it is well Incorporated.
4) Whisk in the right amount of water. I know that i haven't given any measurements for water but you need the consistency to be not quite poring consistency, but not dropping consistency. I find that this batter is better if is slightly thinner than the normal dhokla batter.
5) Add the ginger and chilli pastes and mix well.
6) This is the point that i like to add the oil, because if you add it to the flour it makes it much harder to get a lump free batter.
7) Lightly grease a dhokla stand or a cake tin which will fit into a steamer.
8) When the water is simmering and you have mixed in all of the ingredients together and greased whatever you are steaming your dhoklas in, you can add the eno to the batter. I i try to mix as quick as possible in a folding and cutting technique so that i don't loose all the bubbles from the eno.
9) Quickly transfer the batter to the steamer and steam for 10 min if you are making thinner dhokla or 20 min if you are using a deep cake tin
10) When the timer has gone, lift the lid and check the dhoklas with a butter knife. If the knife comes out clean, your dhokla's are done. Set aside to cool down.
11) Heat the oil in a pan and fry the mustard seeds until the pop and crackle.
12) Take off the heat and add the Curry leaves, sesame seeds and red chilli. Stir for 30 seconds and poor onto the dhokla's
13) Garnish with coriander and a sprinkle of Kashmir chilli powder.
Enjoy with coriander chutney and chilli with mustard seed pickle.

For a nice variation you can sprinkle some crushed black pepper

Mixed vegetable Pakora recipe

MMMMMMMM!!!! I tell you something!!! These are one of my most FAVOURITE things to eat in the world!!! It takes me back to when i first discovered Belgrave road in Leicester. I still go to the same shop now and by the pakora's from this little tiny restaurant. From the outside of the shop it really doesn't look that appealing, but once you walk inside, it is like a little Aladdin's cave for foodies!!!! The front of the counter has all sorts of Delicious farsans which are Indian savouries. At the back of the shop is all the array of brightly coloured sweets. Every time i go into this shop i absolutely drewl over the sights and smells.

One of the thing i really like about this shop is that the owner of the shop is so so friendly! Because we have been shopping there for years he knows me and my family and if i ever go in there on my own, he always asks how my family are and i can tell that he is truly genuine ( which seems to be a rarity ) This friendly attitude definitely helps to entice us into the shop, but REALLY! as if i need to be persuaded to go into this shop. OH! and how can i forget the green chutney that makes there pakoras really special. I have never been able to find a recipe which is even similar to their green chutney, but oh well i suppose it makes us go back for more every time.
When i cook these i seem to go on a mad spice Marathon and make as many snacky recipes possible. Somehow these little nuggets of love make me go bazerk! i just cant help it! i would make all the pickles and chutney too! My husband always spins his eyes at me when he can see me preparing the batter! I think he knows now that when he sees me making these, he knows that he is probably not going to be eating anything else for a couple of days until all the the different snacks are eaten up.

I am so surprised that neither of us are over weight aseptically my husband, but then again he always stays nice and slim! or sick of the sight of them but we are not. Well I am not :-)

In the early days of my cooking, for some reason i could never quite get them right. But after a while i think that my pakora's have been finally perfected. I now cook these little goodies on a monthly basis.

You could do a slight variation of the recipe too instead of chopping the vegetables into small cubes you could thinly slice the vegetables and just simply did the slices into the batter

Here I present to you My Mixed vegetable pakora recipe:

Makes about 15-20
Ingredients:-

1 cup of sieved gram flour (besan)
3 tbs rice flour (optional but makes the pakoras nice and crispy)
1 tsp cumin seeds (jeera)
1 tsp ajwain seeds
a pinch of asafoetida (Hing)
1 tsp coriander-cumin powder (dhania-jeera)
1/2 tsp turmeric powder (haldi)
1/2 - 1 tsp chilli powder (1/2 tsp is very mild)
1-2 tbs fenugreek leaves (methi)
2 tsp coriander powder
1/2 inch piece of ginger
1 green chilli finely chopped (optional)
1 small onion finely chopped
1 cup boiled finely diced mixed vegetables ( i use frozen )
1-2tbs sunflower oil
about 3/4 tsp salt (or to taste)
1/4 tsp soda bi carb
Enough water to make a thick batter

Directions:-

1) Pre-heat some oil in a pan, ensuring that you use enough oil to cover the pakoras

2) Sieve the flours into a large bowl

3) Add all of the powdered spices ond mix well

4) Add the ginger and the chilli if you are using. Mix well

5) At this point i add the water and salt to the mix. You have to mix everything together to make a nice smooth batter, that does not contain any lumps. This batter is better when it is dropping consistency because the vegetable still contain a lot of water.

6) Now add the soda-bicarb, the oil, and the coriander and fenugreek leaves, and mix really well, especially to incorporate all of the oil.

7) Add all of the vegetable of choice and mix really well. I forgot to mention that you can add fresh spinach leaves right now and mix well. I haven't used it in this recipe but i recommend it as it tastes really nice. When you mix all of the veg i try and break up the onion, but try and leave a few nice and chunky.

8) By this time your oil should be really nice and hot, so get some spoons ready to form the pakora's.

9) With a tsp or Tbs, which ever your preference to how big you pakora's are. ( i prefer my pakora's bigger and softer)

10) The tip to frying is to not crowd the pan to much as it slows down the cooking process and your pakora's will be oil soaked.

11) spoon the mixture into the oil. I like to try and keep mine roundish so i try to have a heap of the batter and vegetables on my spoon and then put it in the oil quickly so that it retains a nice shape.

12) Fry for a few moments , Oh and another tip, I always fry a tested one and let it stand for a few moments to set in the middle and to cool down to a temperature that is comfortable in your mouth. This is to help distinguish all of the flavours so that you can balance them out if you need to. They should be to your liking in chilli hotness, balancing of spices and salt etc

13) Fry the rest of the batter if you are happy with the flavours in your pakora

14) Drain on kitchen paper and serve with, coriander, or tamerind chutney, fresh coriander leaves, salad or pickle of choice. Really nice with plain yogurt

simple pork kebabs

This recipe is very dear to me as my father used to cook this at family bar-b-ques.
In this recipe i don't use any marinades so it is really fast to do. You can use what ever marinade you want with this. If i have time to marinade i would do a tikka marinade or a tandoori one, but what ever is you taste really.
This recipe is also great for kids and you could even get them to help assemble the kebabs together if you want to save time and to make the interaction with food more fun. You don't even have to use pork if you don't want to, you could quite easily substitute the meat for beef of chicken! You could even do a variation with the vegetables to suit your taste, all though i definitely think that onions and pepper go best, my Dad sometimes adds mushrooms too.

Whenever i have these kebabs the memories come flooding back to me from my teenage-hood. My Mum and Dad would always get up early to prepare for the bar-b-Que and i would be awoke with the smells and noises of the kitchen. Our family bar-b-Que's were always done on a summers Sunday, so i would usually be very fragile after a night out partying with my friends. When this was the case i used to lay in bed for a while watching t.v and soaking up the smells of the dinner. When i would eventually decide to venture downstairs i would be greeted with the banter of my Mum, Dad, Sisters and their children. Because of some of the states i was in, in the mornings it, was usually my appearance that would be the center of the friendly banter! Served me right really, but i still believed in having a good time over anything else at that stage, but is there any other goals for a British teenager if studding wasn't a priority? ( as you can probably tell that it wasn't at all a priority of mine! :-)

When we had all chipped in to help we were always shoved outside by my Mum to enjoy the very very rare English summer sun. In those days we were always in the sun, when it came out and probably had no sun protection on either! shock horror i know with all the health concerns we have about the UV rays! But any way Its was all really good fun! We would have the paddling pool out, with my nephews and niece's running around and having a brilliant time, all the nice garden furniture with a matching parasol. I can still remember the pattern and the bright colours of the garden furniture. My mum loves a bit of colour, so of course the garden was always full of colour. Anyway enough of my memories and down to my recipe.

Ingredients:-

Wooden meat skewers
6 or 7 strips of butchers pork belly
1 red pepper
1 yellow pepper
1 red onion
a few mushroom (optional)
marinade of choice (optional)

Directions:- Pre heat a griddle pan on a medium heat. Drizzle some oil on a plate and dip the prepared kebabs in the oil before cooking.

1. Soak the skewers in water so that they don't burn during cooking.
2. chop the pork belly into roughly 1" chunks and remove any rind that may remain.
3. Wash and chop the peppers int roughly the same size.
4. Peel and slice the onions into roughly the same size.
5. Do the same with the mushrooms if using.
6. Gradually assemble the kebab ingredients but i like to put the juicy fleshy side of the vegetables next to the meat. I find that this helps to keep the meat nice and juicy and tender. Assemble all of the kebabs and set aside on the plate which you prepared with the oil. Drain any excess oil before cooking.
7. Place the kebabs carefully onto the griddle and cook over a medium heat, turning occasionally until cooked through and nice black crispy bits appear at the edges.

Serve with salad, sundried tomato cous cous, and a dollop of mayonaise