fastindianrecipes.com

Simple potato fry

I make this simple potato fry often and everyone in my family relishes them. It’s quite easy to make and you can use amchoor (dried mango powder) if anardana powder is not available. Potato fry is made in many different ways and this is my version of the delicious potato dish.

Recipe of simple potato fry

3 medium potatoes- boiled, peeled

1/2 tsp mustard seeds

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

1/2 tsp red chilli powder (cayenne pepper)

Salt to taste

1/2 tsp coriander powder

3/4 tsp anardana powder (dried pomegranate powder)

1 tbsp oil

1. Break the potatoes unevenly by hands or you can cube them.

2. Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds. When they pop, add potato pieces. Add all the spices and salt. Mix well.

3. On a medium heat, stir fry the potatoes. Keep removing the scrapings on the walls of the pan. Fry till potatoes turn crisp. Take out from the pan and serve potato fry hot.

chana murmura

Roasted chana murmura

Feel like munching in between meals, especially with evening tea or coffee. Well, I have a low calorie snack which will satiate those hunger pangs without adding to your waistline, roasted chana murmura or roasted chickpea and puffed rice.

Recipe of roasted chana murmura

150 gms bhuna chana (roasted chickpeas without skin)

200 gms murmura (puffed rice/mamra/kurmura/borugulu)

1/2 tsp red chilli powder

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

Salt to taste

Few curry leaves

1 tsp chaat masala

2 tbsp oil

1. Heat oil in a big kadhai or a vessel. Add curry leaves and sauté them for 1 minute till they crisp out.

2. Add chana, salt and all the spices. Roast on a medium heat till chana turns slightly darker (but not too dark) stirring constantly.

3. Add murmura and mix everything well. Roast, stirring till murmura turns crisp (you can check a few grains of murmura).

4. Turn off the heat and take out chana murmura out of the kadhai and let it cool down completely before storing in an airtight container. Your low calorie snack is ready which will last you for days.

Tikhat mithachi puri

Tikhat mithachi puri is a marathi name meaning hot and savory puri/ poori. There are some variations in the common North Indian puri. You can have this tikhat mithachi puri with pickle as an evening snack or a Sunday Brunch.

Recipe of tikhat mithachi puri

1 cup atta (whole wheat flour)

3 tbsp sooji (semolina/rava)

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

3/4 tsp red chilli powder (cayenne pepper)

1 tbsp oil + for deep frying

1 tsp ajwain (carom seeds)

1. Mix salt in flour. Add sooji, turmeric powder, red chilli powder, ajwain and 1 tbsp oil. Mix well with your hands.

2. Add water little by little and knead the flour into stiff dough. Set aside for 20 minutes.

3. Take a lemon size ball from the dough and roll out on a lightly oiled surface into a 3-4 inch round poori.

4. Heat oil in a kadhai/wok and when it’s sufficiently hot, turn the heat to medium. Deep fry puris in the hot oil till puffed up and golden brown from both sides.

5. Drain on an absorbent paper and serve tikhat mithachi puri hot with some pickle.

Kairi ki sabzi

Kairi ki sabzi is a delicious accompaniment to meals. It stays fresh for 2-3 days in fridge. This is my mom’s recipe of using unripe mangoes. So, instead of kairi, you can also use mango which is not ripe enough to consume.

Recipe of kairi ki sabzi/ aam ki subzi

2-3 kairi (raw mango/kachcha aam)

1/4 tsp turmeric powder

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

1/2 tsp red chilli powder (cayenne pepper)

Salt to taste

1/2 tsp saunf (fennel) powder

1 tbsp gur (jaggery)

1 tbsp oil

1/2 tsp garam masala

1. Peel and cube kairi.

2. Heat oil in a pan and add cumin seeds. When they change color, add kairi pieces.

3. Add salt and all the spices except garam masala. Add 1 cup water and let it come to boil.

4. Add jaggery and lower heat. Cook covered till kairi softens, stirring occasionally.

Aam ki subzi

coconut cookies

These coconut cookies are mine and my hubby’s favorite cookies. They are absolutely delicious and melt in the mouth. I baked coconut cookies yesterday and only few of them are left today.

Recipe of coconut cookies/ biscuits

1 1/2 cup maida (all purpose flour/refined flour)

1 cup desiccated coconut

3/4 cup grinded sugar

4-5 tbsp unsalted butter or ghee (clarified butter)

3/4 tsp baking powder

1. Mix sugar in butter or ghee. Beat it till it gets lighter in color and fluffy.

2. Mix coconut and baking soda in all purpose flour.

3. Mix flour mixture in sugar-butter mixture. Turn it into dough. The dough would be crumbly.

4. Preheat oven to 180 degree C for 10 minutes.

5. Make small balls from the dough and flatten them between your palms. Line a baking tray with cookie sheet and grease it. Place these raw cookies on baking tray with some distance apart.

6. Bake them in the oven at 180 degree C for approx. 15 minutes or till they turn light brownish from the base. When hot, they will be soft to touch. Cool the coconut cookies completely before storing them in an airtight jar.

coconut biscuits

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.

Angoor ki chutney or grapes chutney is delicious sweet sour chutney. It is a great accompaniment to meals. Not only it is tasty but angoor ki chutney is also nutritious.

Recipe of angoor ki chutney

2 cups grapes (angoor)

1/2 tsp black salt

1 tsp grinded black pepper

100 gms grinded sugar

1. Wash angoor thoroughly. Make puree of angoor in a blender.

2. Add sugar, salt and black pepper and grind again in a blender.

3. Take out angoor ki chutney in a bowl and serve with meals. It stays fresh for 4-5 days in a fridge.

Bread pakora

Bread pakora is one of my favorite fritters. I wonder why I didn’t post it earlier.  Bread pakora is a famous street food in India and is available at street vendors with their assortment of chutneys. You can watch the whole process of their making at these vendors.

Recipe of bread pakora/ pakoda

6 bread slices

1 cup besan (gram flour/ chickpea flour)

1/2 cup boiled and mashed potatoes

1/2 tsp red chilli powder

Salt to taste

1 inch piece ginger- chopped

2 green chillies- finely chopped

1/4 tsp garam masala

1/2 tsp amchoor (dried mango powder)

Oil to deep fry

1. Mix salt and red chilli powder to besan. Add water little by little so as to prepare a lump free batter. Batter consistency should be thick pakora (fritters) batter like.

2. Mix salt, garam masala, green chillies, amchoor and ginger in mashed potato.

3. Cut each bread slice into 2 triangular pieces to get 12 triangles.

4. Divide potato mixture into 6 portions. Place potato mixture on 1 bread slice and cover it with another.

5. Heat oil in a kadhai/wok or a frying pan. When the oil is sufficiently hot, turn the heat to medium. Dip each potato stuffed bread in besan batter and deep fry in oil. Fry bread pakoda from both sides till golden brown.

6. Drain on an absorbent paper and serve bread pakora hot with chutney or tomato sauce.

Luchi puri

Luchi is a type of Bengali puri.  In a way luchi is similar to bhatura as both are made from maida or all purpose flour but they are different in the sense that bhatura dough is fermented and luchi dough is not. Luchi puri is very tasty and generally had with ghughni.

Recipe of luchi (puri)

2 cups maida (all purpose flour/ refined flour)

1/2 tsp salt

1 tbsp oil + for deep frying

1. Mix salt with flour. Add 1 tbsp oil and rub flour between your fingers so that oil coats the flour evenly.

2. Add lukewarm water to knead the flour into stiff dough. Cover with a damp cloth and let it rest for 20 minutes.

3. Heat sufficient oil in a kadhai/wok. Take a small lemon size ball out of the dough and roll out into 3 inch round luchi.

4. Gently place the luchi in the hot oil and fry till they puff up and turn pale cream. Fry from both sides.

5. Drain the luchi on an absorbent paper and similarly make rest of the luchi with remaining dough. Serve luchi poori hot with potato curry or ghughni.

tori ki sabzi

This is one of the simplest methods of making tori ki sabzi. You don’t need to add water since tori has lot of water. Add 1 tablespoon water if you are cooking in a pressure cooker and cook to 2 whistles. Tori is a light summer vegetable and can also be given to sick people. Being green, tori is full of nutrition.

Recipe of tori ki sabzi

4-5 tori (courgette/ ridge gourd/ snake gourd/ turai)

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

A pinch of hing (asafoetida)

1 tbsp oil

Salt to taste

1/4 tsp red chilli powder

1/2 tsp coriander powder

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

tori

1. Peel, wash and cut tori in small rounds.

2. Heat oil in a kadhai/ wok or a pan and add cumin seeds. When they change color, add hing.

3. Add tori pieces and all the spices and salt. Mix and lower heat to medium-low. Cook covered, stirring ocassionally.

4. Cook till tori turn tender. Turn off the heat and serve tori ki sabji hot with roti.