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July 31, 2014

ALOO KURKURE RECIPE-EASY KIDS SNACKS RECIPES

aloo kurkure recipe

Do u have Potato, poha and a handful of mint leaves in hand ? Then you can make this yummy kids snack recipe in the next 15 minutes . Its so easy to make and tastes super crispy. I am sure your kids won’t stop with one.I tried this recipe from Tarla Dalal’s site with slight modifications. Last week Raksha was asking for some evening snacks after coming back from school. 

I usually make some bajjibonda varieties as it can be made in minutes easily. But this time, I even felt bored of making the same and wanted to try something different. And I reminded about this recipe which I had bookmarked long back from her site as the title “Aloo kurkure” sounds different & attractive. I never expected such a crispy exterior for just the coating of poha/rice flakes. U can call this as potato-mint croquets too. It was tasting good with minty flavour. Its sure a crowd pleaser and you can make this snack for get together & birthday parties. It stays crispy for long time. Lets see how to make this yummy aloo kurkure recipe.

aloo-kurkure

Aloo kurkure recipe


Aloo kurkure recipe Aloo kurkure - A deep fried snack with minty flavoured potatoes coated with rice flakes!.
Cuisine: Indian
Category: Snacks
Serves: 10 nos
Prep time: 10 Minutes
Cook time: 10 Minutes
Total time: 20 Minutes


INGREDIENTS
For balls
  • Boiled Potato/Aloo - 2 nos ( 1/2 cup mashed)
  • Maida/ all purpose flour - 1 tbsp ( for binding)
  • Powdered poha - 2 to 3 tbsp ( to make thick dough)
  • Mint leaves - a handful
  • Green chillies – 2-3 nos small sized,(finely chopped)
  • Lemon juice - 1/2 tsp
  • Roasted cumin powder - 1/4 tsp
  • Garam masala powder Or Chat masala powder  -  1/2 tsp
  • Salt – as needed
For coating
  • Maida - 1/2 cup
  • Poha/Beaten rice flakes - 3/4 cup 
  • Water - as needed
  • Cooking oil - for deep frying
METHOD

  • Wash and pressure cook the potatoes in high flame for 3-4 whistles adding required water. Peel the skin and mash it well.
  • To this mashed potatoes, add maida, finely chopped mint leaves, all the spice powders, powdered poha, salt & lemon juice. (use crushed cumin seeds if you don’t have roasted cumin powder). Make a smooth, non sticky dough. 
aloo kurkure step1
  • Mix well. Powder the rice flakes slightly coarse & take it in a plate. Set aside. Mix maida, little salt and water & prepare the batter for outer covering. The consistency of batter should be such that it should be able to coat the balls well. Do not make the batter very thick or thin. It should fall like a ribbon.
aloo kurkure step2
  • Make big lemon sized balls out of the potato mixture and coat it in the maida batter. Again roll it in the ground poha which you kept in the plate. Do it twice for better binding.
aloo kurkure step3
  • Heat oil to deep fry. Add a pinch of ball. If it rises immediately, oil temperature is just right. Now drop the balls in batches and deep fry them till golden brown.
aloo kurkure step4
It tastes crispy outside and soft inside!!
Enjoy with tomato sauce !


Note

  • Grind poha to a slightly coarse powder to make the balls coat well. Deep fry in medium to high flame.  As we are using boiled potatoes,these balls gets cooked quickly. So remove when the outer cover changes to golden brown.
  • U can use bread crumbs if you don’t have poha in hand.
  • U can add 1/4 tsp of ginger garlic paste to the above masala.
  • Make sure you have prepared enough maida batter & ground poha to cover the balls well. It takes more quantity.

Yummy,crispy Aloo kurkure is ready to gobble with tomato sauce !
Aloo kurkure


Check out my other easy kids snacks recipes

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July 29, 2014

BENGALI MISHTI PULAO RECIPE/SWEET PULAO-BENGALI RECIPES


Bengali mishti pulao recipe
Eid Mubarak to all my friends and readers ! As Ramzan special post,i thought of sharing a sweet recipe with u all.So here comes a delicious Bengali special sweet rice recipe, Misti pulao/sweet pulao.This is a very easy and flavourful traditional Bengali rice recipe.It is also called as “Holud Pulao/Basanti Pulao or yellow pulao”.U can find this dish in most of the Bengali occasions & weddings.When i wanted to prepare Bengali thali,i found that sweet pulao recipe should be present in their authentic lunch menu.So i referred few blogs and finally tried it from Deepasri’s blog.It came out very well.Actually Bengalis use Gobindo bhog,a special fragrant rice variety to make this pulao.U can also substitute with jeera rice or Basmati rice.As i basically love the combination of sweet and spicy taste,i liked this rice very much when i had it with Chanar dalna(yet to post) & Begun bhaja.I read Bengalis have this rice with spicy mutton curry as accompaniment Smile.
bengali-mishti-pulao

Mishti pulao recipe


Mishti pulao Mishti pulao recipe – Bengali special sweet rice recipe!
Cuisine: Indian
Category: Sweet
Serves: Serves 4
Prep time: 10 Minutes
Cook time: 20 Minutes
Total time: 30 Minutes


INGREDIENTS

  • Gobindo Bhog Rice Or Basmati - 1 cup
  • Peas - a handful
  • Sugar - 2 -3 tbsp
  • Raisins/dry grapes - 2tbsp
  • Cashews - 2 tbsp
  • Chopped Ginger - 2 tsp
  • Turmeric powder - 3/4 tsp
  • Cinnamon- 1 no
  • Green cardamom - 2 nos
  • Javitri - 1/2 no
  • Saffron – few strands( soak in little milk)
  • Cloves - 2 nos
  • Black pepper corns - 1/2 tsp
  • Bay leaves - 1 no
  • Salt to taste
  • Ghee - 2 tbsp
  • Water - 1 cup
METHOD

  • Wash and take the rice in  a bowl draining the water.Add turmeric powder,mix well and spread the rice in a plate till use.
mishti pulao step1
  • In a broad kadai,heat ghee and saute all the spices given above.Lastly add cashews and dry grapes and fry till the cashews turn golden brown and dry grapes bulge.Then add green peas and rice & saute for few minutes.Do in medium flame.Take care nothing gets burnt.Add sugar & required salt.
mishti pulao step2
  • Now add 1 cup of water.When it comes to boil,mix well and simmer the flame.Cover the kadai with a lid and cook till the rice turns fluffy and soft.
mishti pulao step3

Enjoy !


Note

  • Adding green peas is completely optional.
  • U can use jeera rice in place of basmati rice.
  • Adjust the quantity of sugar as per ur tastebuds.
  • Do not fry rice for long time.It makes the rice firm and hard.

Enjoy this sweet pulao recipe.It tastes different and yummy !!
mishti-pulao

Do check out my other bengali recipes


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July 28, 2014

HOMEMADE PANEER RECIPE–INDIAN COOKING BASICS

 

homemade paneer recipe

I would like to share some yummy paneer recipes in the upcoming weeks.Before that,i wanted to post this basic homemade paneer recipe.As u all know,making homemade paneer is very easy,healthy,hygenic,nutritious as well as low in cost when compared to store bought paneer.All u need is just a litre of milk,two lemons and a cheese cloth.Generally i use low fat milk to make paneer.It comes out super soft and stays good for a week when refrigerated in an air tight box.I have been following this method from Mrs.Mallika badrinath’s cook book for long time.I have tried with curd,vinegar and lemon juice too.Every time it comes out perfect.I am yet to try with citric acid.I have shared all the tips & tricks i learnt from my experience and observation. I hope it would be useful for beginners in cooking.I will try to upload a full video recipe soon.Lets see how to make paneer at home easilySmile.

Homemade-paneer

 

Homemade paneer recipe


Homemade paneer recipe Homemade paneer recipe using lemon juice
 
Cuisine: Indian
Category: Cooking basics
Serves: 15 cubes
Prep time: 15 Minutes
Cook time: 2Hours
Total time: 2H15Mins
 


INGREDIENTS

  • Low fat milk - 4 cups
  • Lemon juice - 2 to 3 tbsp + equal quantity of water
  • Salt - a pinch
  • Cheese cloth or muslin cloth or any cotton cloth - 1 no
  • Water - 1 cup or ice cubes – few
  • Maida – 1/2 tbsp (optional)
METHOD

  • Squeeze lemon juice from 2 lemons and add equal quantity of water & set aside.
  • Boil milk till it froths & rises to the top.As soon as it starts to boil,switch off the flame and leave it untouched for 30 seconds.

homemade paneer step1

  • Now add 1 tbsp of lemon juice and stir the milk.Milk will start to curdle.Again add another 1 tbsp of lemon juice and keep stirring the milk.Milk will completely curdle and u could see the greenish whey separating from the milk.
  • To this,add 1 cup of plain water or few ice cubes and let it sit for few minutes.Whey will float on top and the chenna settles down.

homemade paneer step2

  • Take a colander and cover it with the cheese cloth or cotton cloth.I used my cotton dupatta.Pour the curdled mixture & strain it by keeping a bowl underneath the colander.Collect the whey water & set aside.U can use this whey for curdling the milk,making rotis etc.

homemade paneer step3

  • Now tie the cloth & squeeze it lightly.Be careful,it would be hot.Hang the cloth under the cupboard or in a closed tap for about 30 minutes.Now all the excess water would be removed.
  • Remove the chenna & add 1/2 tbsp of maida.Knead it well for 2-3 minutes.Paneer will become very soft.Make a square share or round shape as u desire.

homemade paneer step4homemade paneer step5

  • Keep it in the cloth again & close it.Place the cloth on a plate and keep some weight( a bowl of water) over the cloth and set aside for one hour.When u remove after one hour,paneer would be well set.Remove the extras,cut into cubes and store in a box.Stays good for a week when refrigerated !

homemade paneer step6

  


Note

  • U can use curd in place of lemon juice.In that case,use 1/4 cup of slightly diluted curd.Remaining procedure is the same.
  • We should add equal quantity or even little more water to the lemon juice.By doing this way,the sourness of lemon would be reduced and the paneer wont taste sour.U don’t have to wash the paneer after straining.Its optional.
  • U can follow the same procedure for vinegar too.But i guess u may have to wash the paneer after straining as the vinger smell is powerful than lemon.
  • Do not boil the milk after u add lemon juice because paneer may become hard when u over boil the milk.
  • And u must add some plain water at room temp or ice cubes after the milk is curdled completely.This will help the whey and chenna to separate.This is optional though.
  • Do not use polyester cloth for straining paneer.Its better to use thin cotton cloth.
  • Adding maida is optional while kneading.U can skip it if u don’t like.
  • I usually make paneer using 2-3 days old boiled milk by refrigerating it.

 

homemade paneer

 

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July 24, 2014

POORI MASALA RECIPE - HOTEL STYLE POTATO MASALA FOR PURI - POORI KIZHANGU

Poori masala
Poori masala with potato/ Aloo masala in Hindi / Urulaikizhangu masala in Tamil is the best side dish for poori. Last year I posted onion masala without potato which is my mom’s special recipe. But poori tastes the best only with potato masala or potato kurma as served in restaurants / Hotels. In Tamil we say this as “Poori Kizhangu” and in Hindi it is called as bhaji. In Tamilnadu, Saravana bhavan hotel poori masala is very popular. Iam yet to taste it. But the one I have shared here is also hotel style poori masala that is served in most of the restaurants in Tamilnadu. Yes, addition of besan flour is the secret for hotel style recipe. I made puri and this south Indian hotel style potato masala for our breakfast yesterday as my birthday special recipe. Some people use this potato masala for stuffing masala dosa too. But I make that masala slightly different. Soon I will post it here. You can do so many variations in this recipe by adding tomato, carrot, peas and making it without onion, besan flour etc. I have listed them in “Note” section.It tastes good in all the ways. Here is our method of making this yummy side dish for poori. Lets see how to make hotel style poori masala @ potato masala for poori with step by step photos.

Do check out my potato kurma recipe for poori , Karnataka style veg sagu , Saravana bhavan veg kurma

Poori masala recipe


Poori masala recipe


Rava payasam recipe Poori masala / Poori kizhangu masala - Tamil nadu hotel style recipe, Best side dish for poori using potato
Cuisine: Indian
Category: Sidedish
Serves: Serves 3
Prep time: 15 Minutes
Cook time: 15 Minutes
Total time: 25Minutes


INGREDIENTS
To Pressure cook
  • Potato - 3 nos
  • Big onion - 2 nos
  • Green chillies - 3 nos
  • Ginger – 1 inch piece
  • Hing - 1/8 tsp
  • Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
  • Besan flour – 2 tsp
  • Salt & water - as needed
To temper
  • Cooking oil - 1 tbsp
  • Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
  • Urad dal - 1 tsp
  • Chana dal - 1 tbsp
  • Curry leaves - few
METHOD

  • Wash and cut the potatoes into 3-4 pieces.Pressure cook them adding a pinch of turmeric powder for 4-5 whistles in high flame.Remove and peel the skin.Mash it roughly into big pieces.Dilute the besan flour adding 1/4 cup of water and set aside.
Poori masala recipe step
  • Slice onions,chop ginger,Green chillies and curry leaves.Set aside.
  • In a wide kadai,heat oil and do the seasoning part as given above.Then add onions,finely chopped green chillies ,ginger bits & curry leaves.
Poori masala recipe step1
  • Saute till onion turns transparent.Now add 1 cup of water,turmeric powder,salt and hing.Allow it to boil.Meanwhile add the roughly chopped potatoes and diluted besan flour.(I transferred everything to a small cooker and cooked for one whistle in high flame for quick cooking of onions.Its optional.U can do it in kadai too.)
Poori masala recipe step2
  • Boil well for few minutes till onion gets cooked well & masala reaches semi solid consistency.Switch off the flame.Add some coriander leaves if necessary.
Poori masala recipe step3
Potato masala is ready to serve with hot puffy puri !
NOTE
  • For variations,u can add finely chopped carrots and a handful of peas while sauting onions.U can also add half of a finely chopped tomato.
  • U can add besan flour or skip it if u don’t like tat flavour.But i add it to give the restaurant touch as well as to give a creamy texture.
  • This masala thickens when it cools.So make it slightly watery before switching off the flame.
  • Adjust the quantity of chillies as per ur taste.I don’t chop the chillies finely for my daughter’s sake.So i slit and add.But in hotels they do add them finely chopped.
  • To make this as kurma,add some finely chopped garlic cloves and 1/2 tsp of garam masala powder.



Poori kizhangu masala



Puffy poori with this potato masala tastes like heaven for morning breakfast.Do try & feel it !!

Don't forget to check out my puffy poori/Puri recipe with tips n tricks !

Potato masala for poori




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July 22, 2014

VAZHAIPOO VADAI RECIPE/BANANA FLOWER VADA–BANANA FLOWER RECIPES

Banana flower vadai
As I mentioned in my Vazhaipoo kuzhambu post, I made vazhipoo vadai for the first time with the tender banana flowers.It was so nice and crispy. Basically we love anything when deep fried. So when I made this Vazhaipoo vadai, Sendhil & Raksha were double happy to have a healthy deep fried snack for their tea time. It was a good change for me from the usual vazhaipoo usili or poriyal & I am happy that I’ve  got yet another yummy banana flower recipe in my list. I got this vazhaipoo vadai recipe from my MIL. I made few changes to make it in an easier way & prepared this vada. Ok, lets see how to make this vazhaipoo vadai easily.
Vazhaipoo-vadai

Vazhaipoo vadai recipe


Rava payasam recipe Vazhaipoo vadai - Healthy, yummy snack recipe using Banana flower. 
Cuisine: Indian
Category: Snacks
Serves: 8
Prep time: 3 Hours
Cook time: 15 Minutes
Total time: 3H 15M


INGREDIENTS

  • Banana flower/Vazhaipoo – Two handful (approx 40nos) 
  • Chana dal – 1/2 cup
  • Toor dal – 1 tbsp (optional)
  • Red chillies – 3-4 nos
  • Ginger – 1 inch piece
  • Hing/Asafetida – 1/4 tsp
  • Water – As needed
  • Fennel seeds – 1/4 tsp
  • Small onions/Big onion – 20 nos / 1 no
  • Curry leaves - few
  • Cooking oil – to deep fry
HOW TO MAKE VAZHAIPOO VADAI - METHOD

  • Wash and soak chana dal & toor dal for 3 hours.
  • Wash and clean Vazhaipoo. Remove the stamen part in the flower and keep the flowers immersed in buttermilk till use. No need to chop them.
  • First coarsely grind the banana flowers along with pinched red chillies, hing, ginger , fennel seeds and salt.
vazhaipoo vadai step1
  • Drain the water in the soaked chana dal and grind it without adding water. The water content in vazhaipoo itself is enough to grind.
vazhaipoo vadai step2
  • Take the vada batter in a wide bowl. Finely chop onions,curry leaves & add to the batter. Mix well. Take a lemon sized ball and pat it to make masala vada shape
vazhaipoo vadai step3
  • Heat oil to deep fry. Add a pinch of batter. If it rises immediately,oil is ready. Now drop the vada and deep fry both sides till the onions turn golden brown.
vazhaipoo vadai step4
  • Remove and serve with sauce or coconut chutney !
NOTE
  • Do not add water while grinding.Soak chana dal for minimum two hours.
  • Adjust the quantity of chillies based on your taste.U can also use green chillies in place of red chillies.
  • Adding soambu/Fennel gives a nice flavor to the vada. U can also skip it if you don’t like.
  • No need to chop the banana flowers as we are grinding it coarsely.
  • The color of vada is generally black.
  • Check out my detailed post on “How to clean Vazhaipoo” with stepwise pictures soon.

Enjoy this crispy vazhaipoo vadai with Ginger Tea or Coffee ! Tastes yum !
Vazhaipoo vadai

Also check out my other vadai recipes


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July 21, 2014

MILLET LADDU RECIPE | MIXED MILLET LADOO - MILLETS RECIPES

millets laddu recipe
I am happy to share my first post on millet recipes/Siruthaniya unavugal(in Tamil). As I wanted to start with a easy sweet recipe, I tried this mixed millets laddu adding jaggery (Siruthaniya ladoo in Tamil) / Multi millet laddu. It came out very well. Sendhil loved it a lot. I have seen millet laddu recipes using ragi or thinai /Foxtail millet. 

For a change, I used all the millets like thinai, kambu, kuthiravali, saamai, varagu, ragi and in addition I used yellow moong dal and barley to make it like sathumaavu urundai/Health mix powder balls to get all the health benefits of millets. I made this laddu keeping Diabetic patients in mind. So I skipped sugar & used jaggery as I din’t have karuppatti/Palm jaggery in hand. U can give this ladoo to your kids too if they like jaggery flavour. Else make it with powdered sugar. 

U can store this laddu for weeks and give your kids one laddu a day. I am sure they will get all the nutrients required for them. Try this power packed easy millet laddu recipe for your family and enjoy the health benefits of all the millets in one go !

Do check out my detailed post on Millets varieties, how to identify them and where to buy it etc.

Millets ladoo

Mixed Millets laddu recipe



Mixed Millets laddu recipe Mixed Millets laddu recipe with jaggery – Healthy snacks recipes !
Cuisine: Indian
Category: Sweets
Serves: Yields 15nos
Prep time: 15 Minutes
Cook time: 10 Minutes
Total time: 25 Minutes

INGREDIENTS
  • Thinai /Foxtail millet– 3 tbsp
  • Kambu /Pearl millet– 3 tbsp
  • Ragi /Finger millet– 3 tbsp
  • Kuthiravali /Barnyard millet– 3 tbsp
  • Varagu / Kodo millet– 3 tbsp
  • Saamai /Little millet– 3 tbsp
  • Moong dal – 2 tbsp
  • Barley – 1 tbsp
  • Grated jaggery – 3/4 –1 cup
  • Cardamom seeds– 4 nos
  • Melted Ghee – 6 tbsp (adjust)
METHOD - HOW TO MAKE MILLET LADDU

  • In a wide kadai, take all the millets, moong dal, barley and cardamom seeds. Dry roast it in medium flame till you get a nice roasted aroma. Roasting takes 10 minutes based on the flame you keep. Make sure you don’t burn the millets while roasting. (If you want, you can roast the millets one by one).
Millets laddu recipe step1
  • Allow it to cool. In the mean time, grate the jaggery and melt the ghee & roast the cashews. Now grind the roasted millets to a fine powder. Sieve if necessary.
Millets laddu recipe step2
  • After its ground smooth, add the grated jaggery and again grind it to a fine powder. Check for sweetness. Add more jaggery if you need.
Millets laddu recipe step3
  • Now take the ground mixture in a wide bowl. Make a dent in the center. Add the melted ghee and roasted cashews. Mix well with the ladle as the ghee is hot.
Millets laddu recipe step4
  • Once the mixture is warm, mix well with your hands and make balls. Add more ghee if needed OR you can also add few drops of milk or water if you want to reduce the quantity of ghee. But the shelf life of laddu will be reduced if you add milk. So use it accordingly.
  • Make all ladoos and store in an air tight box. Enjoy. It stays good for weeks.
Millets laddu recipe step5

Note
  • Adjust the quantity of grated jaggery as per your sweet buds.
  • If you add less jaggery, you may need to add more ghee.
  • Sieving the ground flour is completely optional. If you don’t sieve, you may get some crunchy taste while eating not very smooth.
  • U can also add a handful of fried gram dal while roasting millets. It gives a nice flavour and an added benefit for kids.
  • U can also replace jaggery with sugar if you want to make it for kids.

Make this easy and healthy millet laddu, enjoy eating and reap its health benefits !
Millets


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