Ravva/Sooji Pakodi

It was a rainy day for us today.  We were craving for some spicy fastfood.  I made ravva pakodi with a very few ingredients which ya'll will have at home for sure.  And here is the recipe!!

Ingredients:

Ravva/Sooji Flour-1 Cup

Onions-3

Butter-1Tspn

Salt-As Required

Oil-To Deep Fry

Curd-1 Cup

Corriander Seeds-1 Tspn

Green Mirchi-5

Ginger-1"

Corriander leaves-6 Tspn

Procedure:

1.  Finely chop Onions, Green Mirchi & Ginger.

2.  Mix together Chopped onions, Green Mirchi, Ginger, Corriander Seeds, Salt in Ravva/Sooji and put all these in Curd.

3.  Add butter & Corriander Leaves in the batter and mix it up real good and keep it aside for 30mins.

4.  Heat enough oil in a deep frying pan.  It should be piping hot.

5.  Use your fingers to drop the batter in the oil to form small fritters.  Reduce the heat to medium and deep fry till they turn golden brown.  Use the ladle and keep turning the fritters so that they cook on all sides.

6.  Once they turn golden brown, remove them on an absorbant paper.

7.  You can either store 'em in an air tight container or eat them hot along with a cup of Masala Tea. 

Stuffed Karelas/Bitter gourd Recipe

The very moment I listen to Bitter gourd curry @ home Yukkkk!!! I never used to put it into my mouth b'coz of its horrible bitterness. My mom used to try different different tricks to reduce the bitterness completely and one worked out finally and I ate it literally by licking my fingers. It was that tasty. I want to share that dish with ya'll. Try it out and feel good.

Ingredients:

Bitter gourd-6 pieces in you preffer the long ones, 10 pieces if short, there will be short ones in it as well in which the bitterness will be lil less than the long ones, but this is very rare in the market.
Besan-12 Tspn
Onion-1
Fresh Ginger & Garlic Pieces-3 Tspn
Red Mirchi Powder-as required
Salt-as required
Corriander powder-1/2Tspn
Turmeric Powder-a pinch
Oil-8Tspn

Procedure:

1. Remove the peal of the Bitterguard. Wash the peeled part and save this peeled part for further use.
2. Cut the Bitterguard in 2-3 horizantal pieces.
3. With a knife or a fork try to remove all the seeds from the horizantally cut Bitterguard pieces. This might take a while, but if you want no bitterness at all you have to remove the seeds inside, if you preffer lil bitterness you can keep some of the seeds in it.
4. Add salt all over the pieces and rub the salt agaist the pieces on the Bitterguard skin as well as the inside part.
5. Keep it aside for some time and carry on with rest of the method.
6. Take 4 Tspns oil in a deep bottom pan and let it heat, keep the flame LOW.
7. Add Ginger & Garlic pieces, add finely chopped onion pieces, let the onions turn brown, add Besan and fry till it changes its colour and till you get a fragrant smell from the Besan. Add Salt, Red Mirchi Powder and Corriander powder and fry for a while again. Finally add the peeled part of the Bitterguard in step1.
8. You can taste this stuff and add salt and any spices if needed.
9. Let the stuffing cool down. In the mean time you wash the Bittergourd pieces make sure there isint any salt in it.
10. Mix the stuffing with you hand well.
11. Hold a piece of Bittergourd in you palm vertically, take some stuffing and try to stuff as much as you can into the Bittergourd properly. You can take help of oil or water to stuff it into the Bittergourd i.e., you can mix lil oil/water to the stuffing and then stuff it into the Bittergourd. I did not do this way, I directly stuffed the stuffing into Bittergourd.
12. Take 4Tspn oil in a wide bottom pan and let it heat. Keep the flame in low.
13. Add these stuffed pieces into the pan and keep a lid on it and let it cook. This might take 30 mins. Keep on checking inbetween, this prevents the bittergourd from burning. You can sprinkle lil water on the pieces and let it cook.
14. Remove when they are soft. You will know it by inserting a fork or knife inside the piece.
15. Add these pieces to the remaining stuffing present and garnish with corriander leaves and cashews.
16. Have fun eating with rice, jeera rice, pulav, goes well along with pappu as a side dish too.

Stuffed Jalapenos

Here is a great side dish which I do when every I make Daal/Pappu. It goes great with it.

Ingredients:

Jalapenos-10

Besan-5 Tspn

Garlic flakes-6

Oil-6Tspn

Salt-as needed

Red Mirchi Powder-as needed

Method:

1. In a vessel, add besan, salt, red mirchi powder, crushed garlic, 4 Tspns of oil and mix well. You can taste the powder and add more salt or mirchi powder according to your taste.

2. Wash the Jalapenos, slit them in the middle and remove the seeds of it if you are not used to a SPICY dish.

3. Stuff the besan powder in all the Jalapenos.

4. Take a wide bottom pan and heat it. Add 2 Tspn of oil in it and put all these Jalapenos in it and close the pan with a lid. There is no need of adding water to it, it will be cooked by the moisture present in the Jalapenos.

5. Keep the flame on LOW and heat it up for around 30 mins. Check the pan inbetween, you might need to turn the Jalapenos to the other side.

6. You will know when the Jalapenos are done by inserting a fork or a tooth pick into it.

7. Garnish with Cashews and Corriander leaves and serve along with rice or eat as a side dish along with any pappu/daal.

Strawberry Milkshake and Lassi

Yayy!! Winters gone and its HOT HOT Summer comming....I tried out Strawberry Milkshake and Strawberry Lassi at home. I would like to share it with ya'll. Hope ya'll also give it a try.

First ill tel you the Ingredients for Strawberry Milkshake:

Fresh Strawberries-1/2 cup
Dry roasted Cashews-15 pieces
Badam-15pieces
Honey-4 Tspn
Sugar-10Tspn
Cardamom Powder-1/4 spoon
Milk-1/2 glass
Ice Cubes-few

Procedure:

1. Grind the nuts, both Cashew and Badam into fine pieces.
2. Add Strawberry pieces, Sugar, lil water, Milk, Cardamom Powder and grind it again.
3. You can add few ice cubes instead of water too.
4. In a Glass sprinkle few strawberry pieces and Honey and then pour the milkshake in it and finally top it with Honey and strawberry pieces on top of it again.
5. Drink it right away or cool it and drink it later.

Heres the recipe for Straweberry Lassi:

Ingredients:

Strawberries-1/2cup
Sugar-10Tspn
Thick Curd-1/2cup

Procedure:

1. Grind the Strawberries til they are half mashed up.
2. Add Sugar and thick curd. Try not to add any water in it and gring again.
3. Add lil pepper powder and serve in a glass.
4. Cool it up for sometime and drink or add ice cubes and drink right away.

Hope you all try these Summer special Drinks and like them.

Gobhi Kurma

Here is a very simple and an easy dish without using more Masalas or Spices but just using Cauliflower & here are theIngredients we need:

Phool Gobhi/Cauliflower-1 Medium sized

Onions-2

Turmeric powder-1/4 tspn

Green Mirchi-4-5

Ginger Garlic Paste-1 Tspn

Garam Masala Powder-1/2 Tspn

Whole Garam Masala(Cloves, Cardamom, Bay Leaves & Dalchini)-Few Each

Salt-As Required. 

Fresh Cream-6Tspn(optional)

Fresh Curd-1/2 cup

Khus Khus Paste-2Tspn

Dry Fruits(Cashew, Pistachio, Badam, Kismis)-8-10 each

Oil/Ghee-5Tspn

Method:

1.  Cut the Cauliflower into Florets and discard the stem of it.  Soak it for 20 mins in salt and turmeric powder.  This will help to remove any bitterness or acetic taste if present.  In the meanwhile we can go ahead with the rest of the method.

2.  Boil the Onions and make a paste out of it.

3.  Put Oil/Ghee in a deep bottom pan, add whole garam masala, onion paste, Green Mirchi and let it fry in a slow flame till the paste slightly changes its colour.  Careful it shoud not burn! 

4.  Add Ginger Garlic Paste and Khus Khus Paste and fry for a while. 

5.  Now add the Cauliflower Florets and mix well along with the gravy and add enough water till the paste gets mixed into it well without forming any lumps.

6.  Add Salt and then the Dry fruits.  Its up to you how you add them, you can cut them into small pieces and add or you may grind them into fine paste if you want or add them as they are.

7.  Boil it til the Cauliflower is almost done.

8.  Now add Garam Masala, Fresh Curd and Fresh Cream, reduce the flame and cook for 2-3 mins.

9.  Add Corriander Leaves and serve along with Roti's, Paratha's or Rice.

Useful Tip:  

1.  You can soak Khus Khus for some time in hot water and then make a paste of it, it will be easy.

2.  If you are a calorie counter person you can eat the curry without adding the Cream too.

Lima Beans Pappu Charu

Hii Friends,
Here is another variety dish i tried out myself and came out fantastic.

Do you have Lima Beans/Butter Beans in your freazer?
If YES: Do this dish right away.
If NO: Worth purchasing a packet of it my friends, trust me the taste is just amazing.

These are what you need to do this,

Ingredients:

Lima/Butter beans-1 cup
Tammarind-Leamon size
Corriander Powder-1Tspn
Garlic-6 Pods
Onion-1
Red Mirchi Powder-1Tspn
Mustard Seeds-1/2 Tspn
Cumin Seeds-1/4Tspn
Curry Leaves-15
Corriander Leaves-2 Tspn
Red Mirchi Flakes-4
Turmeric Powder-Just a Pinch
Salt-As Required
Tomatoes-2

Method:

1. Put Beans, Onions(cut into chunks), Red Mirchi Powder in a Vessel and Preassure Cook them
2. Take a spatula and mix it and Grind them to a fine paste.
3. Soak the tammarind for 20mins and extract the pulp from it.
4. Take a larger vessel, mix the tammarind pulp, the fine paste, lil water, Corriander Powder, Tomato Pieces and the Curry Leaves and boil well.
5. Take some oil in the pan, let it heat for a while and then add Mustard Seeds, Cumin Seeds, Red Mirchi Flakes, Crushed Garlic let it change its colour a bit and mix this in the boiling liquid in the vessel.
6. Adjust Tammarind juice, Salt, Red Mirchi Powder according to your taste and the dish is abs ready to eat with any kind of rice.
7. Don't forget to add corriander leaves before you switch OFF the stove.

Enjoy cooking and have fun eating it.