Pavakkai Chips / Crispy Bitter gourd Chips with wheat flour – Karela Chips Recipe

 I learnt this crispy bitter gourd chips recipe from my MIL. During my recent visit to Salem, my MIL gave me some fresh, home grown bitter gourd (Pavakkai in Tamil, Karela in Hindi, Kākarakāya in Telugu, Hagalakayi in Kannada, Pāvaykka in Malayalam). She also suggested me to try this crispy pavakkai chips for Sendhil and Raksha. 

Usually pavakkai chips is made using besan flour, rice flour or Maida and corn flour. But I used wheat flour and rice flour as suggested by my MIL. It came out super crispy and tasty. We all loved it. It tastes less bitter as we are slicing the bitter gourd thinly and deep frying it. Also it stayed crispy for more than an hour. It is prepared without curd, maida or besan flour. If you want to avoid deep frying, you can bake them in an oven but taste varies. Friends, do try this crispy pavakkai chips and enjoy with sambar rice or as teatime snack !

Check out my white colored potato chips recipe, Raw banana chips and French fries too !

Pavakkai chips / Bitter gourd chips recipe

Pavakkai chips recipe / Crispy bittergourd chips recipe

Cuisine: Indian

Category: Snacks recipes

Serves: 3

Prep time: 10 Minutes

Cook time: 20 Minutes

Total time: 30 Minutes

Chitra Ganapathy

INGREDIENTS

Bitter gourd - 2 Wheat flour / Atta - 1/2 cup OR Wheat flour + rice flour - 1/4 cup each Ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp Red chilli powder - 1 tsp Coriander seeds powder / Dhania powder - 1 tsp Garam masala powder - 1/2 tsp Fennel seeds powder - 1/2 tsp Salt - as needed Water - to sprinkle Cooking oil - to deep fry

HOW TO MAKE BITTERGOURD CHIPS

1. Wash and slice bitter gourd thinly and take in a bowl.
2. In that bowl mix wheat flour, rice flour, gg paste, spice powders, salt along with bitter gourd.
3. Mix without water. Then sprinkle water slightly, coat the flour and bitter gourd.
4. Rest for 10 minutes. Then add remaining rice flour, give a good mix. Set aside.
5. Heat oil to deep fry. Drop each pieces separately and fry in medium flame till golden in color.
6. Flip and cook the other side till crispy. Remove and drain in a tissue paper.
7. Serve hot with sambar rice or as teatime snack.

BITTER GOURD CHIPS RECIPE - STEP BY STEP PICTURES

Wash and chop bitter gourd very thinly. Slicing thinly helps to remove bitter taste. In a bowl, take the sliced bitter gourd. Add wheat flour, rice flour, salt, red chilli powder, dhania powder, garam masala powder, fennel powder, ginger garlic paste. Mix well. Sprinkle little water to coat the bitter gourd and powders. Rest for 5 minutes. Mix well and its ready to deep fry. If needed sprinkle little rice flour n water. Heat oil to deep fry. Drop a pinch of bitter gourd and check if it rises to the top immediately. Now sprinkle the bitter gourd pieces one by one in oil. Do not clutter them. Cook in batches of 10 to 15 nos. based on the quantity of oil in the kadai.   Cook in medium to high flame till it becomes golden in color on one side. Keep tossing in oil. Flip and cook the other side till there are few bubbles in oil. Cook till crispy and golden in color. It takes more time to cook. Do not wait for all the bubbles to cease completely. Chips may burn. Rmove at the right stage. Check for crispy taste. Add more wheat flour or rice flour if necessary. Mix and make chips.  Remove the chips in a tissue paper and serve hot for crispy taste. You can serve with sambar / rasam rice or as tea time snack. This bitter gourd chips stays crispy for an hour if fried properly. Enjoy !

Note

You can use besan flour instead of wheat flour but taste varies. Deep fry the bitter gourd pieces by tossing it whenever needed and by adjusting the flame. It takes slightly more time to cook than other chips recipes. You can fry in high flame too but keep tossing and stay nearby else  it will burn. Color of this chips will be on the dark golden brown shade as we are using wheat flour. Adjust the quantity of wheat flour and rice flour as per the size of bitter gourd.

Try this crispy pavakkai chips and enjoy !

Technorati Tags: Bitter gourd chips,pavakkai chips,bitter gourd chips recipe,bittergourd chips,pavakkai chips recipes,karela chips,karela chips recipe

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Kondakadalai Masala Sundal Recipe – Black Chana Sundal Recipe

I learnt this kondakadalai masala sundal recipe from my neighbor. Last year during Ganesh Chaturthi I got this black chana sundal from her as prasadam. It was so flavorful and tasted yummy. Raksha loved it a lot. I asked the recipe from her and started making it regularly at home for Raksha’s sake. Generally, for offering God we need to make no onion no garlic sundal during Navaratri.

For every occasion, I make a portion of sundal without onion garlic, reserve it for pooja and make the remaining sundal by adding masala. For making this masala sundal, we are using onion and kurma powder / garam masala powder which enhances the taste and flavor. We can make this sundal using white kabuli chana / chickpeas or black ones based on our wish. Both tastes great. Friends, do try this masala sundal by reserving some soaked legumes. You will love it. Lets see how to make karuppu kondakadalai sundal / black chana sundal adding masala with step by step pictures.

Check out my other Sundal recipes too.

Black chana sundal recipe / Kondakadalai Masala sundal

Black chana sundal / Karuppu kondakadalai sundal with masala flavor

Cuisine: South Indian

Category: Sundal recipes

Serves: Serves 4

Prep time: 10 Minutes

Cook time: 20 Minutes

Total time: 30 Minutes

Chitra Ganapathy

INGREDIENTS

1 cup = 250ml Brown chana/ chickpeas - 1 cup Big onion - 1 (finely chopped) Garam masala powder / Kurma powder - 1/2 to 1 tsp Green chilli – 1(slit into 2) Salt - as needed Grated coconut - 1/4 cup Coriander leaves - to garnish To Temper Cooking oil - 1 tbsp Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp Urad dal - 1 tsp Cumin seeds - 1/4 tsp Asafetida / Hing - 1/8 tsp Curry leaves - Few

HOW TO MAKE BLACK CHANA SUNDAL

1. Wash and soak brown/ black chana in required water over night or 8 hours.
2. Drain the soaked water and pressure cook in low flame for one whistle.
3. In a kadai, heat oil. Splutter mustard seeds, urad dal, cumin seeds , hing and curry leaves.
4. When it splutters, add onion and green chilli. Saute till transparent.
5. Add garam masala powder, salt Mix well. for a minute in low flame.
6. Add cooked chana, mix well. Cook for minute.
7. Lastly add grated coconut. Switch off the flame.
8. Garnish with coriander leaves.

CHANA SUNDAL RECIPE - STEP BY STEP PICTURES

Wash and soak chana / chickpeas in a bowl adding enough water. Soak it for 12 hours or overnight for best result. The next day, drain the water and add the soaked chana in a pressure cooker. Add enough water to cover the chana. Pressure cook it for 2 to 3 whistles in low flame. Remove after the steam is released completely. Press to check it soft and well cooked. Drain the excess water if any and set aside. Heat oil in a kadai. Splutter mustard seeds, urad dal, cumin seeds. Add hing, curry leaves. Saute finely chopped onion and a  slit green chilli. Lower the flame completely and add the garam masala powder in oil. Saute quickly. Add the cooked chana, required salt and mix well. If necessary, add little water too. Let it boil in low flame for few minutes. Lastly add grated coconut, mix well and switch off the flame. Garnish with coriander leaves. If you wish, you can add some lemon juice too. Serve warm or hot ! Enjoy.

Note

You can use white or brown chana. White tastes the best but we use brown chana for festivals. To make the chana soft, you can add a pinch of baking soda while soaking in the water. Drain the soaked water completely, wash it twice and then pressure cook. For variations, you can add chilli powder in oil instead of green chilli.

Friends, do try this masala chana sundal for a variation and enjoy !

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Sundal Varieties For Navratri – Navarathri Sundal Recipes

In South India, Sundal is the most important and must prepare prasadam recipes during Navaratri. 9 varieties of sundal is prepared during these nine days / 9 sundal vagaigal (Nava means 9 , ratri is night) festival in Tamil nadu. Apart from tradition, there are some scientific reasons to consume legumes / navadhaniyam during Navratri days. Though we can make varieties of sweets and snacks, sundal recipes are mainly prepared and distributed as prasad to friends and relatives who visit our house Golu.

The most common sundal varieties are chana /chickpeas/  kondakadalai sundal using white and brown ones, peas/ pattani sundal, green gram dal / pachai payaru sundal, Cowpeas / karamani sundal, Field beans/ mochai sundal, Kidney beans / rajma sundal, moong dal/ paasi paruppu sundal, and 9 mixed legumes / navadhaniyam sundal. 

The basic preparation of sundal recipes is very simple. For this, legumes are soaked overnight, pressure cooked, tempered with spices and finally garnished with grated coconut. Some sundal recipes like chana dal sundal, sweet corn, green gram, cowpeas, moong dal sundal recipes can be prepared instantly without soaking. 

All sundal recipes should be prepared without onion and garlic as we are offering to God. But nowadays people make variations by adding garam masala, sundal powder etc. So far I have shared more than 15 different types of sundal recipes in my blog. Lets see the list of all sundal recipes under one page in this post.

• Black Chana Sundal / Karuppu kondakadalai sundal

• Green peas sundal / Pattani sundal

• Green Gram Sweet & spicy sundal without soaking

• Chana dal sundal / Kadalai paruppu sundal

• Thengai mangai pattani sundal / beach style sundal

• Sweet corn sweet sundal & spicy sundal

• Cowpeas/ Karamani sundal without soaking

• Moong dal sundal / Paasi paruppu sundal

• Kidney beans / Rajma sundal

• Peanut sundal / Verkadalai sundal

• White cowpeas sweet sundal / Vella Karamani sundal

• Chickpeas sundal / Vella kondakadalai sundal

• Green gram masala sundal & sweet sundal

• Navaratna sundal / Rangoli sundal

CLICK FOR NAVARATRI RECIPES COLLECTION

CLICK THIS LINK ON HOW TO KEEP GOLU AT HOME.

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Eggless Wheat Flour Pancake Mix Recipe – Homemade Pancake Mix Without Eggs

Eggless wheat flour pancake is one of our favorite weekend breakfast recipes. We love to have it with chocolate syrup and honey. I have heard my sister and friends in abroad telling me about store bought pancake mix. I got tempted to try eggless homemade pancake mix and prepared it. It came out so well, soft and fluffy. Raksha and Sendhil loved it. Usually all purpose flour / Maida is used in store bought pancake mix. But I am happy that I tried it with some healthy alternative, whole wheat flour instead of Maida. I used Choco chips in my pancake batter. You can add blueberries, mashed banana for healthy variations. Friends, do try this easy pancake mix at home and make the pancakes instantly.

Eggless, homemade pancake mix recipe

Eggless, homemade pancake mix recipe with whole wheat flour / atta.

Cuisine: International

Category: Breakfast

Serves: 3 cups

Prep time: 10 Minutes

Cook time: 5 Minutes

Total time: 15 Minutes

Chitra Ganapathy

INGREDIENTS

For homemade pancake mix ( 1 cup = 240ml) Wheat flour/Atta - 3 cups ( I used Aashirvaad brand) Baking powder - 3 tsp / 1 tbsp ( use fresh powders for best result) Cinnamon powder - 1.5 tsp Salt - a big pinch Sugar – 3 tsp/ 1 tbsp To make pancake Pancake mix - 1 cup Water - 2 tbsp. Milk - 1 cup ( boiled, at room temp) Cooking oil - 1 tbsp ( use odorless oil, I used refined oil) Melted Butter - 2 tbsp Vanilla essence - 1 tsp Choco chips – 1 tbsp Wheat flour – 1/2 tsp ( mix with Choco chips to avoid sinking)

HOW TO MAKE EGGLESS PANCAKE MIX

1. In a wide bowl mix the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and sugar.
2. Store in a box. Homemade pancake mix is ready.
3. To make eggless pancakes, take 1 cup of pancake mix in a bowl.
4. Add milk, water, butter,vanilla essence and cooking oil.
5. Mix without lumps. To this batter, add 1 tbsp of choco chips mixed with wheat flour. Heat a tawa and grease with butter.
6. Pour a small ladleful of pancake batter. It should be thick and round.
7. Cook in medium flame. Flip and cook the other side too.
8. Remove and serve with honey / maple syrup.

HOW TO MAKE PANCAKE MIX AND EGGLESS PANCAKE AT HOME - STEP BY STEP PICTURES

To make homemade pancake mix, take wheat flour, baking powder, cinnamon powder, salt and sugar. Mix well. Store in an air tight box. Homemade pancake mix is ready. To make eggless pancakes with the mix, take 1 cup of pancake mix in a bowl. Add the mentioned quantity of melted butter, vegetable oil, vanilla essence, boiled milk at room temperature and water.  Mix well to make lumps free batter. In a small bowl, take choco chips and add 1/2 tsp wheat flour. Mix well and add to pancake batter. This step helps to avoid choco chips sinking in the batter.  Batter should be thick but flowing. Heat a pan / tawa. Grease with butter. Pour a small ladleful of batter. Do not spread it. Make it thick and small. Cook in medium flame till it bubbles on top. Flip the other side and cook till golden. Remove in a plate. Make the other pancakes and stack them.  Drizzle chocolate syrup or honey or maple syrup. Enjoy ! Enjoy !

Note

This pancake mix stays good for a month. Consistency of the batter should be thick, smooth but flowing. Cook the pancake in low to medium flame patiently.

Try this homemade, eggless pancake mix and enjoy !

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Karnataka Idli Recipe – Soft Idli With Idli Rava

Karnataka style idli rava idli (also known as rice rava idli) became my favorite when I tasted this idli with sambar in my School moms group friends Megha’s house. As a big fan of idli recipes, I love to eat only pillow soft, spongy idli. But Idli rava idli has a grainy texture. It will crumble if you dip in sambar which I didn’t like it in early days. So I used to make idli rava idli by grinding idli rava / rice rava along with urad dal to a smooth batter. I made a detailed blog post too. Please check this link.

We can make super soft idli and crispy dosa with that batter. But the authentic and traditional Karnataka style idli recipe that is prepared in home and hotels is very easy to make and tastes different. This batter can be prepared using a mixie. Here people use Idli rava and urad dal in the ratio of 3:1. All we have to do is to soak idli rava and urad dal separately for 1 to 3 hours. Grind urad dal to a smooth batter and mix the soaked idli rava. Make the batter and ferment it. Batter doubles beautifully the next day. Just mix well, add salt, baking soda (optional) and make idli. Idli comes out super soft and white in color.

The only disadvantage in this recipe is you can only make idli with this batter. Dosa cannot be prepared with idli rava as the batter is very coarse. It will come out hard. Friends, do try this easy and yummy Karnataka hotel style idli recipe with step by step pictures and video. Soon I will post Karnataka hotel idli sambar.

Check out my Bangalore style watery coconut chutney recipe too !

Karnataka idli recipe - Idli rava idli recipe

How to make soft idli rava idli recipe in Karnataka hotel style

Cuisine: Karnataka

Category: Breakfast

Serves: 40

Prep time: 10 Minutes

Cook time: 20 Minutes

Total time: 30 Minutes

Chitra Ganapathy

INGREDIENTS

1 cup = 250ml Idli rava / Idli sooji - 3 cups Urad dal - 1 cup (I used white, round urad dal) Water - to soak & grind Salt - as needed Cooking soda / baking soda - a pinch

HOW TO MAKE KARNATAKA IDLI RECIPE

1. Wash and soak idli rava in enough water for 1 to 3 hours.
2. Wash & soak urad dal in 3 cups of water for 1 to 3 hours.
3. In a mixie jar, grind urad dal to a smooth batter adding the soaked water.
4. Take the batter in a big vessel. Drain the excess water in soaked idli rava.
5. Squeeze it gently and add the idli rava to urad dal batter.
6. Mix both well. Ferment overnight. Batter will double in quantity.
7. Add salt, baking soda and mix well.
8. Steam water in idli pot. Pour idli batter in greased idli plate.
9. Steam it for 10 minutes till its cooked.
10. Remove the idli plate and rest for 2 minutes.
11. Scoop the idli and enjoy with sambar or chutney.

HOW TO MAKE IDLI WITH IDLI RAVA - STEP BY STEP PICTURES

In a bowl, wash and soak idli rava / rice rava in enough water for 1 to 3 hours. In another bowl, wash and soak urad dal in 3 cups of drinking water for 1 to 3 hours. Take the urad dal in a big mixie jar. Add the soaked water and grind to a smooth paste. Batter should be thick, smooth, not too thin and watery. So adjust the quantity of soaked water accordingly. Transfer the batter to a bigger sized vessel. Now take the soaked idli rava. Drain the excess water carefully by sliding the vessel. Squeeze the idli rava gently and add to urad dal batter. Do not squeeze hard to remove all the water content. There should be some water while mixing with urad dal batter. Squeeze and mix all the idli rava to the urad dal batter. Mix well with your hands to aid fermentation. Consistency of batter should be like regular idli dosa batter. Do not add salt now. Salt curbs fermentation process. So we are going to add the next morning after fermentation. Close the batter container and set aside for fermentation. Keep it overnight or minimum 12 hours based on the weather. The next morning batter would have doubled in quantity, sometimes overflowing too. Add required salt and a pinch of baking soda (optional). Mix well with a ladle. Heat water in an idli pot. Take an idli plate and grease with sesame oil. Pour the batter in each mould. Steam it for 10 to 12 minutes till idli is cooked well. Dip your finger in water and make a hole in the idli. If your finger comes out non-sticky, idli is cooked else cook for more time.  Switch off the flame. Remove the idli plate. Rest for 2 minutes. Then remove the idli using a flat, big spoon. Enjoy with hot sambar or watery chutney !

Note

Urad dal should be soaked a minimum of 1 hour. Its ok if you soak for 3 to 4 hours too. This idli crumbles if you try to dip in sambar. So its better to serve as shown in the picture below. You should use a spoon to eat this idli. You cannot make dosa with this batter. Make sure idli batter consistency is not thick. It should be pourable like usual batter. You can refrigerate this batter and use up to one week.

Enjoy this easy Karnataka style idli rava idli with sambar or watery chutney !

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Pori Upma – Puffed Rice Upma Recipe

Pori upma/ puffed rice upma was in my try list for long time. I usually make kara pori and bhel puri at home. Recently my friend was telling me about this easy pori upma for breakfast.

 Last time when I went to Salem, I got a bag of puffed rice. As I wanted to empty the pack soon, I tried this pori upma for our breakfast yesterday. The best thing about this upma is it can be made in jiffy because the cooking time is very less. It tastes super soft like aval upma and flavorful too.

 For 2 persons, you need to use 5 cups of puffed rice. It shrinks as soon as we wash and add to upma. So this upma is the best way to finish off the leftover, excess puffed rice. If you have leftover puffed rice at home after the festivals like Ayudha poojai / Saraswathi pooja, you can try this upma. 

This recipe is ideal for bachelors and working women to whip up a quick breakfast or dinner. Ok, Lets see how to make this easy, yummy and quick pori upma recipe for instant breakfast.

Check out my other Bachelors recipes.

Pori upma recipe / puffed rice upma

Pori upma recipe / puffed rice upma for instant breakfast, snack and dinner

Cuisine: South Indian

Category: Breakfast

Serves: 2

Prep time: 10 Minutes

Cook time: 20 Minutes

Total time: 30 Minutes

Chitra Ganapathy

INGREDIENTS

1 cup = 250ml Puffed rice / Arisi Pori / Mandakki - 5 cups Big onion - 1 (finely chopped) Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp Green chilli - 1 (slit into two) Sambar powder or red chilli powder – 1 /2 tsp Coriander leaves - to garnish Lemon juice - few drops Salt - as needed Water - to wash the puffed rice To Temper Coconut oil or cooking oil - 1 tbsp Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp Urad dal - 1 tsp Chana dal - 1 tsp Asafetida/ hing - 1/8 tsp Red chilli – 1(cut into two) Roasted peanuts – 2 tbsp

HOW TO MAKE PORI UPMA

1. Heat oil in a kadai. Temper mustard, urad, chana dal, roasted peanuts and curry leaves.
2. Saute onion, green chilli till transparent.
3. Add turmeric powder, sambar powder and salt.
4. Saute for a minute in low flame.
5. Wash the puffed rice and squeeze gently.
6. Now add the squeezed puffed rice.
7. Mix gently and cook till its heated. Switch off the flame.
8. Add lemon juice and mix gently. Serve hot !

PORI UPMA RECIPE - STEP BY STEP PICTURES

Heat oil in a kadai. Splutter mustard seeds, urad dal, chana dal, roasted peanuts and curry leaves. Add finely chopped onion, green chilli , red chilli. Saute till onion becomes transparent. Add turmeric powder, red chilli powder or sambar powder, salt. Saute for a minute in low flame without burning. Take puffed rice. Add water to cover it. Squeeze gently and add to the kadai. Toss gently to coat the masala. Cook till puffed rice is heated and reduced in quantity. Switch off the flame. Add lemon juice and garnish with coriander leaves. Enjoy hot for best taste.

Note

Puffed rice reduces in quantity after cooking. So you need to use minimum 2 cups for 1 person. For variations, you can skip sambar powder / red chilli powder and use slit green chillies. Do not add the pori without washing and squeezing the water. Puffed rice become chewy. For healthy options, you can saute finely chopped carrot, beans, potato and frozen peas till cooked and then add puffed rice.

Try this interesting pori upma with excess puffed rice at home. You will love it.

Technorati Tags: pori upma recipe,pori upma,puffed rice upma,puffed rice recipes,puffed rice,leftover pori recipes,leftover recipes,easy breakfast recipes,upma varieties

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