mirchi ke pakore
My hubby and FIL love mirchi ke pakore. Here I have given the recipe of stuffing chilli with chutney but I also make them by stuffing aloo (potato) masala. Mirchi pakoda tastes great both ways.
Recipe of mirchi ke pakore/ green chilli fritters
8-10 bhavnagri mirch (large, broad not so hot green chilli)
1 cup besan (gram flour/ chickpea flour)
Salt to taste
Green (dhania pudina) chutney- for stuffing
Oil to deep fry
1. Wash and wipe mirchi. Make a slit on one side without separating from the base or slitting other side. Remove seeds of mirchi.
2. Take besan in a bowl and add salt. Add water little by little, mixing with other hand so as to prepare lump free batter. Batter consistency should be like pancake batter.
3. Stuff green chutney into each mirchi.
4. Heat sufficient oil in a kadhai/ wok. Dip each stuffed mirchi in besan batter and put in hot oil. Deep fry on medium heat, turning as needed till golden brown.
5. Drain bharwa mirchi ke pakore on absorbent paper and serve hot.
Aloo bonda
Aloo bonda is a famous Indian deep fried savory snack. It’s crispy on outside and soft inside. Aloo bonda or potato bonda is liked by adults and kids alike. In South India, this snack is called aloo bonda and in Mumbai, it is known as batata vada.
Recipe of aloo bonda
4 (potatoes) aloo - boiled, peeled and mashed
1 1/2 cups besan (gram flour/ chickpea flour)
1 tbsp oil + for deep frying
2 onions- chopped
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
2 green chillies- chopped
Salt to taste
Few curry leaves
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
Coriander leaves- chopped
1. Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds. When they pop, add green chillies, curry leaves and onion. Fry till onion turns translucent.
2. Add aloo, turmeric powder and salt.
3. Cook for 2 minutes and add coriander leaves. Mix and turn off the heat. Remove in a bowl and let it cool.
4. Make lemon sized balls out of the potato mixture.
5. Now for the batter, mix besan, red chilli powder and salt. Add water, mixing with other hand to get smooth, lump free batter of dropping consistency.
6. Heat oil in a kadhai/wok. Dip the aloo balls in the batter and deep fry in the oil. Fry till golden brown.
7. Drain on an absorbent paper and serve alu bonda hot with tomato ketchup or some chutney.
Tamarind rice
Tamarind rice is an Andhra delicacy. It is made most by South Indian Iyengar community. In south India, tamarind rice is known by many names like Pulihora, Puliyogare, Puliodharai and Puli Sadham. Tamarind rice or imli rice is a delicious South Indian variety of rice.
Recipe of tamarind rice/ imli rice
1 cup basmati rice
2 tbsp tamarind (imli) pulp
1/4 tsp hing (asafoetida)
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
3 tsp peanuts
2 tsp dhuli urad dal (split black gram)
2 tsp chana dal (split Bengal gram)
Few curry leaves
3-4 dry red chillies
2 tbsp oil
1 tsp mustard seeds
Salt to taste
1. Wash rice and soak for 20 minutes. Drain. Boil 5 cups of water in a pan and add rice. Cook till done. Strain in a colander and spread on a big plate. Sprinkle a little oil over rice and mix very gently.
2. Heat 2 tbsp oil in a kadhai/wok. Add mustard seeds, dry red chillies, both dals. Fry till dals turn light golden.
3. Add hing, curry leaves, turmeric powder and peanuts. Fry for 1 minute taking care that dal do not burn.
4. Add tamarind pulp and salt. Cook for 2-3 minutes. Lower heat and cook covered for 5 minutes so that tamarind become dry and dal become soft.
5. Add this imli mixture in the rice and mix gently. Serve tamarind rice hot.
Pesarattu
Pesarattu or green gram pancake is a famous breakfast item from Andhra Pradesh. Pesarattu is not just tasty but it is also very healthy and nutritious since we are using whole moong beans.
Recipe of pesarattu/green gram dosa
1 cup sabut moong dal (whole green gram)
3 green chillies
1 inch piece ginger
Salt to taste
6-7 curry leaves
1 medium onion
1/4 cup fresh coriander leaves
Oil to shallow fry
1. Wash and soak moong dal for 3 hours. Chop onion and green chillies roughly. Chop coriander leaves and curry leaves.
2. Drain mung dal and discard the water. Grind moong dal with onion and green chillies. Add salt, curry leaves and coriander leaves.
3. Heat a dosa tava or any non-stick tava (griddle) and smear oil on it. Pour a ladleful of batter in the center of tava and spread it in outward circular motion with the back of the ladle (karchhi). Spread it thinly.
4. Drizzle oil along the edges of pesarattu, cover with a lid of some height. Cook on a medium heat for 2-3 minutes. Remove lid.
5. Turn over and applying oil, cook from other side also till golden and crisp. Make rest of the pesarattu with remaining batter. Serve hot pesarattu with chutney.
Coconut Rice
Coconut rice is a South Indian dish which is really fast to put together. If you have the ingredients at hand, you can prepare this flavorful rice dish any time. Coconut rice is really very tasty, try it!
Recipe of coconut rice
1 cup rice
1/2 coconut (nariyal) - grated (scraped)
1 tbsp oil
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
Salt to taste
A pinch of hing (asafoetida)
2 dry red chillies
2 tsp urad dal (split black gram)
1 tbsp cashew nuts
1. Cook rice and set aside to cool.
2. Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds, hing, dry red chillies, urad dal and cashew nuts.
3. When mustard seeds start spluttering, add coconut and sauté till golden brown. Add salt. Mix this with rice and serve hot coconut rice with poppadums (papads).
peanut sundal
Peanut sundal is a street food of South India. It is famous on the beach of Chennai. I love peanut in any form and find it very filling. Peanuts are full of proteins and healthy fatty acids. Try this peanut sundal, I am sure you will like it.
Recipe of peanut sundal
2 cups raw peanuts (groundnuts/moongphali)
4-5 curry leaves
A pinch of hing (asafoetida)
2-3 green chillies- chopped
Salt to taste
1 onion - chopped
1 tbsp oil
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp rai (small mustard seeds)
1. Pressure cook peanuts to 2 whistles. Drain and set aside.
2. Heat oil in a kadhai/wok. Add rai and curry leaves. Fry for 1/2 a minute.
3. Add hing, green chillies and onion and fry for 1 minute.
4. Add peanuts, salt and lemon juice. Stir-fry for 2 minutes. Serve peanut sundal hot.
curd rice
Curd rice is a delicious South Indian dish which you never get tired of eating. This is a simple recipe of curd rice and makes for a quick fix meal.
Recipe of curd rice
1 cup boiled rice
1 cup curd (dahi/yogurt)
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
¼ tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp chana dal
1 tsp urad dal
5-6 curry leaves
1 dry red chilli
2 green chillies- finely chopped
1 tbsp oil
Few coriander leaves- finely chopped
Salt to taste
1. Beat the curd well and add rice to it. Season it with salt. Set aside.
2. Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds and cumin seeds. When they pop, add chana dal. After few seconds, add urad dal, curry leaves, red chilli and green chillies. Sauté them till brown.
3. Add rice curd mixture and cook, stirring, till it starts bubbling. Turn off the heat and garnish curd rice with coriander leaves.
banana fritters
Banana fritters or bajji is popular in Kerala. These fritters are also made from raw banana or plantain but here I have used ripe bananas or ‘pake hue kele’. Some people use rice flour to make kele ke pakore but I have used besan instead. What I feel is cooking is all about experimenting with ingredients and methods and make what suits your palate.
Recipe of banana fritters
1/2 kg ripe banana (kele) - chopped lengthwise into 4 pieces
1 cup besan (gram flour/ chickpea flour)
Salt to taste
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
1/2 tsp baking powder
Oil to deep fry
1. Mix together besan, salt, red chilli powder and baking powder. Add water little by little, mixing with other hand to form smooth, thick, lump free batter. Beat well.
2. Heat oil in a kadhai/ wok. Dip the banana pieces in the batter and deep fry 3-4 pieces at a time.
3. Fry till golden brown from both sides. Drain banana fritters on an absorbent paper. Serve hot.
Adai
Adai is a type of dal dosa and a popular Tamilian breakfast. It’s very nutritious and protein packed since it uses so many dals (lentils). It’s healthy, tasty as well as filling and the best part is, you don’t have to ferment the adai batter. To make it tastier, you can also add finely chopped onion or cabbage or both to the adai batter.
Recipe of adai (dal dosa)
1/2 cup rice
1/4 cup toor dal (arhar dal/ red gram)
1/4 cup dhuli urad dal (split, skinless black gram)
1/4 cup chana dal (Bengal gram)
1/4 cup dhuli moong dal (split, skinless green gram)
2 green chillies
Salt to taste
A pinch of hing (asafoetida)
Few curry leaves
Oil to shallow fry
1. Wash and soak rice and dals for 2-3 hours. Drain.
2. Grind dals and rice in a blender adding little water into a coarse paste. Remember not to add too much water as the batter for adai is usually thick.
3. Add salt, hing and curry leaves to the batter. Beat the batter well.
4. Heat a non-stick tava (griddle). Grease it and wipe off the excess oil. Pour a ladleful of batter in the center of the tava.
5. Spread it in the circular motion to make a round. Drizzle some oil around the edges and on top of the adai.
6. When the underside is cooked, turn over and cook from other side also till brownish. Similarly make other adai from rest of the batter. Serve adai hot with chutney or chutney powder.
Ven pongal (khara pongal)
Today being Sunday, we ate heavy breakfast. By afternoon, we wanted to eat something light and easy on stomach. I made ven pongal or khara pongal for lunch. Usually ven pongal is made for breakfast but it was our lunch today. Ven pongal is a type of moong dal khichdi except that the seasoning is different.
Recipe of ven pongal/ khara pongal
1 cup rice
1/2 cup dhuli moong dal (split, skinless green gram)
1 tbsp ghee (clarified butter)
1 tsp ginger paste
6-7 black peppercorns (kali mirch) - crushed coarsely
Salt to taste
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
3 1/2 cups of water
Lightly fried or toasted cashew nuts for garnish
1. Wash and soak rice and moong dal together for 10 minutes. Drain.
2. Heat ghee in a pressure cooker and add cumin seeds. When they change color, add ginger paste and crushed peppercorns. Fry for 1 minute.
3. Add rice and dal and stir fry for 1 minute.
4. Add water and salt. Pressure cook for 4-5 whistles.
5. Garnish ven pongal with fried cashew nuts and serve hot.
