Javvarisi / Sabudhana Idli

So still using those grinders and mixers to make fluffy idlis ? Dealing with all the mess? Not anymore... here is my very own recipe for soft, melt-in-the-mouth idlies. 

Hara-Bhara Tikki

Very colourful, delicious and healthy tikkis... with less oil...! 

What else...?! It is absolutely Vegan, Onion-Garlic free snack that goes great with a cup of hot tea in a chilly autumn afternoon.


Go Green!!

Matar Masala (Green Peas Gravy)

Easy and quick to make, if you have a pack of frozen peas. If you have to peal it from scratch? Forget it! who has time for that??! Unless you want to eat something truly healthy. 

This one here is 100% Vegan and made with teeny-weeny bit of oil when compared to the usual Indian gravies and still tastes the best. 

Ensalada de Garbanzos (Chickpeas Salad)

I was in Spain, the first week of July. Who would have thought that in the narrow lanes of Santiago de Compostela (Galicia, Spain) I would come across this beautiful restaurant, that has a separate vegan 3-course meal in their menu. That too 3 to 4 options!!

After some hard core travel, I had this salad that was just right for my growling tummy and yearning soul. Ok! now that's a little dramatic... but hey I ate it at 11 p.m ... you can't blame me!!

So here it is, a fresh, healthy, vegan salad  meal. Oasis in the middle of carne of Spain...:)

Bhakarwadi

Hot , spicy, crunchy snacks along with an afternoon tea.... Doesn't it sound great??!!
So here is recipe for Bhakarwadi, a Maharashtrian spicy snack that can be made and stored for days together*. 

Usually, making Bhakarwadi is a strenuous task, but this following video is going to make it all simple, trust me... I made it simpler. 

Corn and Cheese Canapes

I went to supermarket this weekend and picked up some random stuffs... So with a teeny-weeny experiment, here is what I got.... a canape (Hors d'oeuvre), a french starter, usually one-bite snack.

I have tried  to make a slideshow of the recipe (step by step). Please leave your feedback on this. If it is good I shall try to incorporate it on all my future recipes.

Makhai Paneer

I first time ate this in a restaurant recently. This Makhai Paneer (or Paneer-corn gravy as in the restaurant's menu) was so delicious that I tried it at home and it came out really great... I am sharing the recipe here...:)


Ingredients:
Sweet corn     -  1 cup
Paneer           -   10-15 cubes
Onions          -   2 nos.
Tomato        -   4 nos.
Ginger Paste     -   1 tspn
Green chilli        - 1 no.
Turmeric powder     -   1/2 tspn
Coriander seeds (powdered)    - 1 tspn
Jeera powder       -    1 tspn
Aamchur         -  1 tspn
Red Chilli Powder    -  2 tspn
Salt                  -  to taste    
Oil                  -   2 Tbspn


Method:

1. Thaw  paneer cubes in lukewarm water and keep it aside. Meanwhile steam cook sweet corn.
2. Heat the oil in a pan and add finely chopped onions and saute it until it turns light brown in colour.
3. Then add the ginger paste. 
4. Make puree of tomato and green chilli and add to it. 
5. Let it cook for a while until the mixture leaves the side of the pan.
6. Then add all the dry ingredients one by one and stir well.
7. Finally add sweetcorn and paneer to it and mix well. 
8. A little bit of water can be added if the gravy's consistency seems too thick.
9. Let it cook for a couple of minutes and our gravy is done.

Confessions:

• You can add garlic and garam masala to it for enhanced taste.
• As I don't eat onions... the above pic is makai paneer sans onions ;) Nevertheless it tastes good. :)
• Eat it with rice or any roti....!!

Gobi Besan ka Paratha

Hmmm... so for the past few weeks , it has been an array of sweets.... Fed up of them for a while I am, as some of my blog readers, 
So here comes a delicious savory and this one is my personal favourite too...:) 
This is a "zara hatke" dish from our* daily menu but I am sure the things that go into making it are all present in our sweet little kitchen...


Ingredients:
Wheat Flour    -    2 cups
Gram Flour/Besan   -   3/4 cup
Cabbage/Gobi (Finely chopped)   -  3/4 cup
Coriander seeds/Dhaniya (powdered)   -  2 tsp
Jeera (powdered)   -  2 tsp
Red Chilli powder  - 2 tsp
Ajwain (omam)      -  1 tsp
Salt                        -  to taste
Oil                         - as reqd


Method:
For Making Dough:

1. First mix wheat flour, salt and water and knead it well to make dough (similar to chapathi dough).
2. Then pour 2 tsp of oil over, so that it coats the surface of the dough, and let it rest for half an hour or so.

For Stuffing:

1. Meanwhile lets get into preparation of stuffing. Saute gram flour, powdered jeera, powdered dhaniya, ajwain in 3 tsp of oil for a while until the mixture leaves aroma and turns light golden colour.
2. Add the chopped cabbage to it.
3. Now add salt and red chilli powder as per your taste.
4. Now its done. Let it cool.

For Making Parathas:

1. Make small balls of the dough , say a small lemon size, press the ball inwards along the edges so that it forms a cup like structure. Somewhat thicker towards the middle than the edges.
2. Now fill the stuffing in it and seal the edges . This should again look like an 3-dimensional ellipse (Damn the engineer in me :| )
3. Roll it to make medium sized parathas. Just like the one in pic... yeah well raw of course at this stage :P
4. Now cook it on a tava so that both sides of the paratha is nicely and evenly cooked. Yeah now it ll look definitely like in the pic.... :) 

GaramaGaram Paratha is ready...! Who's hungry???!!!

Confessions:

• Add that extra pinch of salt and chilli to the stuffing, so that it doesn't underplay.
• Always be careful when rolling stuffed parathas. Make sure your stuffing does not peek out.
• You can actually have it without any side dish. But if you insist (or just as my father does) , serve the parathas with any pickle or raitha of your choice.
• No cabbage in the fridge... Don't worry you can always make "Besan ka paratha" ;)

* By "our" I mean typical south Indian family. :)