Category: Any Time Foods

Chilli idli

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idli m

Leftover idlis are a rarity at my place. How will I have leftovers when I hardly make idlis at home?!! With just three of us at home, making dosa turns out to be an easier choice than hauling out the idli plates and waiting 15 minutes for the process to get over. So without doubt, dosa is a winner at my place.

But when I was in Chennai, idlis were regular. Just to make these chili idlis. People usually make these with leftover idls, but I used to make fresh idlis just so that I can pack for the kid’s lunchbox. These do have a bit of veggies on them, but not enough to be called a wholesome dish.

This was another recipe from my close friend there. I used to prepare this a lot when I moved to US also, more for memories than for the actual food. Like I always say, nostalgia is the best flavor for food. The one featured here is coming out of its drafts after a long time. The pictures take me to another era, one of the best in terms of memories for me.

Enjoy!

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Pictorial:

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Heat oil in a pan and saute one small diced onion.  Once its cooked a bit, add one teaspoon of ginger-garlic paste and cook for a minute or two.

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Dice half of a medium capsicum, add and mix well.

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Add in one small diced tomato and cook for a minute or two.

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Add 1 teaspoon tomato ketch up, 1 teaspoon soy sauce, 1/2 teaspoon chili powder and salt. Mix and cook until tomatoes are mashed a bit.

Whisk 1 teaspoon corn flour to 1/4 cup water until no lumps remain. Add that mix to the onion tomato mix and cook for a further minute or two.  I forgot to take a picture of this step.

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Add 3-4 diced idlis and mix well. You can use podi idli also. Cook until it all comes together and taste test to adjust seasonings. Take off the heat and serve as such or with ketch up on the side.

Serves : 1-2

Ingredients:

  • 4 idlis, diced or podi idlis 
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 1 small tomato, diced
  • 1/2 of a medium capsicum/bell pepper, diced
  • 1 tablespoon tomato ketch up
  • 1 tablespoon soya sauce
  • 1/2 teaspoon chilli powder
  • salt
  • 1 teaspoon corn flour
  • 1/4 cup
  • 1 tablespoon oil

Method:

  1. Heat oil in a pan and saute one small diced onion.  Once its cooked a bit, add one teaspoon of ginger-garlic paste and cook for a minute or two.
  2. Dice half of a medium capsicum, add and mix well.
  3. Add in one small diced tomato and cook for a minute or two.
  4. Add 1 tablespoon tomato ketch up, 1 tablespoon soya sauce, 1/2 teaspoon chili powder and salt. Mix and cook until tomatoes are mashed a bit.
  5. Whisk 1 teaspoon corn flour to 1/4 cup water until no lumps remain. Add that mix to the onion tomato mix and cook for a further minute or two.
  6. Add two diced idlis and mix well. Cook until it all comes together and taste test to adjust seasonings. Take off the heat and serve as such or with ketch up on the side.

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Hara samosa with roti

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3hara_roti_samosa

“Honey, your breakfast is ready for clicking. Will serve it to you soon.” is a dialogue you will hear only at a food blogger’s place. Mothers usually go,”Please don’t touch the food before washing your hands.” And I go,”Please don’t touch the food before clicking is over.”

Well, the family gets used to these quirks over a period of time. Though I gotta say I dish it out to my man than to my kid. For sometime now, I have been planning so that the photo shoots are done before 3 pm. So for most part, it doesn’t interfere our lives much. But every now and then you will hear the “All it needs is a little camera love” statement.

Like this morning!

Yesterday’s leftover chapatis were given a wonderful makeover with some coriander chutney to spice it up. I made a batch without chilies for my son’s lunch box. Then I added the power packed green chilis and gave another round in the blender for the two of us. The chutney tends to be watery, so a little standing time is good for the water to separate. But I just scooped the chutney from the thicker side and it was fine.

The recipe is from Vaishali’s space. She has stepwise pictures to make this even more simpler than it sounds. This post goes to Blogging Marathon #64 under the theme wheat based recipes.

1hara_roti_samosa

Recipe source:  Ribbon’s to Pasta’s

Ingredients:

For grinding

  • 1 bunch coriander leaves, cleaned
  • 1 tomato, diced
  • 1″ piece ginger, peeled and diced
  • 1 clove of garlic, peeled
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 2 green chilies or per taste
  • salt

To serve:

  • 4 leftover chapatis/ tortillas
  • ghee/butter/oil for the pan

Method:

  1. Pulse everything from coriander to chilies together without adding any water.
  2. Take a chapati. Apply a thin and even layer of the ground chutney into it. Fold it into half. It will be a semi circle now. Apply some more chutney onto it. Fold again in half to get quarter of a circle shape.
  3. Heat this in a tawa with a little oil or ghee until its golden brown. Flip and cook both sides. Serve with ketchup or curd. Yum!!
  4. Apply chutney just before putting the samosa in the pan as the wet chutney might tear the folds if it sits for a long time.

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Veggie Burgers

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4veggieburger

This post is a part of  the mega Blogging Marathon and A-Z challenge. I have chosen ‘popular American dishes’ as my theme.

I can’t believe we are at the last leg of our journey here. My catching up with others journey will happen only next month, but yeah, for most part, we are almost there at the end. Four more posts and its over! The first thing I am going to do is schedule posts for the next three days. At the moment, the plan is to put everything up in the blog and be as prepared as you can be. Be ready! That’s the motto. I can already feel the change!

And you can already guess my intro for tomorrow. Its going to be about the forces in nature that prevented me from being on time. Why I was not able to schedule the posts or even get around editing the pictures or worse…what prevented me from getting the cooking done! Ah well.. I have always been a “last minuter” (I am coining that term if there isn’t one already) and I don’t see things changing anytime soon. It hasn’t changed for almost four decades now and we don’t have to rush and assume its going to change from tomorrow :D.

While I am getting ready with excuses for tomorrow, you can check out a fabulous veggie burger recipe. Nailed that ‘V’, didn’t I? ;-)

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Heat 1 teaspoon of oil in a pan.Saute one chopped medium red onion and one chopped red bell pepper. You can add carrots or any other veggies if you prefer. Set aside once its cooked. Mash 1.5 cups cooked black beans(or beans of your choice) with a fork or in a food processor. You want most of it mashed, but not all.

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Add the mashed beans to 3/4 cup cooked rice. Now add the cooked bell pepper mix, along with 1 teaspoon chilli powder, 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, salt and pepper. Combine everything well with your hands or a wooden spoon. Depending upon the moisture of the bean mix, you can add 1/4- 1/2 cup breadcrumbs.

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Add 1/4 cup oats if desired. It adds some texture to the patty. Divide the mixture into 4-­5 equal parts. Shape each one into a nice flat patty. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a pan and cook the patties on medium­-low heat. Cook both sides and drain on a kitchen napkin when done.

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Flip over, cook both sides and drain on a kitchen napkin when done. I made more smaller patties compared to 5 bigger patties. For sauce, mix 2 tablespoons of mayonnaise with 1 teaspoon each of ketchup and yellow mustard. At the time of serving, spread the sauce on the burger buns. Layer it with cucumber slices(you can make pickle out of it and use, I didn’t!), the patty, slices of tomatoes and onion and then top with the other half of the bun. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

  • 2-3 tablespoons oil, divided
  • one medium red onion, chopped
  • one medium red bell pepper, chopped
  • one medium carrot, chopped fine
  • 1.5 cups black beans(or beans of your choice), cooked
  • 3/4 cup cooked rice
  • 1/4 cup oats
  • 1/4 -1/2 cup bread crumbs
  • 1 teaspoon chilli powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • salt and pepper

To serve:

  • a sauce made of mayo, ketchup and mustard
  • burger buns
  • sliced cucumber, tomato and onions

Method:

  1. Heat 1 teaspoon of oil in a pan.Saute one chopped medium red onion and one chopped red bell pepper. Set aside once its cooked.
  2. Mash 1 cup cooked black beans with a fork or in a food processor. You want most of it mashed, but not all.Add the mashed beans to 3/4 cup cooked rice. Now add the cooked bell pepper mix, along with 1 teaspoon chilli powder, 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, salt and pepper.
  3. Combine everything well with your hands or a wooden spoon. Depending upon the moisture of the bean mix, you can add 1/4- 1/2 cup breadcrumbs. Add 1/4 cup oats if desired. It adds some texture to the patty.
  4. Divide the mixture into 4-­5 equal parts. Shape each one into a nice flat patty. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a pan and cook the patties on medium-low heat. Cook both sides and drain on a kitchen napkin when done.
  5. Flip over, cook both sides and drain on a kitchen napkin when done. I made more smaller patties compared to 5 bigger patties.
  6. For sauce, mix 2 tablespoons of mayonnaise with 1 teaspoon each of ketchup and yellow mustard. At the time of serving, spread the sauce on the burger buns. Layer it with cucumber slices(you can make pickle out of it and use, I didn’t!), the patty, slices of tomatoes and onion and then top with the other half of the bun. Enjoy!

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 63

1veggieburger

Uncrustables

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1Uncrustables

This post is a part of  the mega Blogging Marathon and A-Z challenge. I have chosen ‘popular American dishes’ as my theme.

Yes yes yes, I hear you…and I agree. This is no recipe. What I wanted for the ‘U’ was a classic American cake -the Upside down pineapple cake. I wanted to make it in the cast iron skillet like it was made long ago. But unfortunately, I didn’t have any of those beautiful red cherries to brighten up the cake. Or pineapples. Or eggs. Or flour.Or any other fruits in fact. All I have is, erm…the cast iron skillet :D.

Its time for grocery shopping, but before that I have to face the alphabet ‘U’. And that’s when I saw the last two slices of bread. Well, no lunch for my son tomorrow, but hurrah… I have something for you, I mean ‘U’!

More than desperation, a good reason for me to post this particular recipe is that I wanted to feature  peanut butter and jelly sandwich somewhere in this marathon. After all, that is one of the most popular food here! I wanted it somewhere in the list. I couldn’t leave it out from the marathon.

Uncrustables is a product from the brand Smuckers. Its a round sandwich with crust removed and sides sealed. There is a whole lot of Disney food art theme with these in the internet. My inspiration was from the space Like Mother Like Daughter.

The sandwich was a breeze to make, but I took a lot longer cutting/carving the our last apple in the house :-). Read on for this “recipe” before my grocery list grows any more longer!

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Idea inspired from Like Mother Like Daughter

  • Using a cookie cutter or a sharp lid, cut out circles from two slices of bread.
  • Add peanut butter on one slice and jam or jelly on the other.
  • Sandwich them together and press the edges with your fingers to seal it.
  • Cut out heart shaped pieces out of an apple and use them as balloons.
  • Cut out more slices for string, legs, hands and hips.
  • Use blueberries or chocolate chips for eyes and body.
  • Oreo cookies for ears.
  • Enjoy!

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 63

3Uncrustables

Sloppy Joes

12 Comments

3sloppy joes

This post is a part of  the mega Blogging Marathon and A-Z challenge. I have chosen popular American dishes’ as my theme.

When the month started, I was pretty confident about seeing the A-Z journey through pretty easily. But what I didn’t count was the visits we were making and the visits we were receiving. So out of the window goes the “smooth sailing” plan and now, I am just struggling to keep up the pace. Its a case I have lost already, but you just have to keep trying harder and harder, right?! Kind of like the candy factory scene from I Love Lucy.

There are recipes that I have cooked and clicked for this month, but not transferred to the computer and edited. More worrisome are the recipes that are yet to be clicked, or in other words, to be cooked. Luckily, they are few in number, but that doesn’t help. Because I am dragging my feet through the ones that are all ready. The ones that just needs to go out into the world with an introduction and the recipe details. Boy! I do hate that part :-((.

When it comes to blogging, the planning of dishes and researching recipes interest me, cooking and clicking excite me, editing is something I manage without whining, but its the pen that kills me at the end! I hate the part where I have to sit and write the recipe (least favorite) and the introduction (don’t like it if there is no personal touch to it – which is what happens when I am in a hurry to send it out. Not enough love for the post, get what I mean?! ).

Its all sloppy at the moment now. Just like these sandwiches. Sloppy Joes! Its a popular meat based sandwich, the vegetarian version is made either with lentils or beans of your choice. The dish was there in almost all cookbooks about American cuisine and in the internet as well. Sloppy though it is, it is quite popular. So here it is for the alphabet ‘S’.

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Pictorial:

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Cook 3/4 cup dry green lentils (whole masoor dal) or beans of your choice with enough water. Drain and set aside. Heat one teaspoon olive oil in a pan. Saute one medium chopped red onion and one small yellow bell pepper.

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Once the onion and bell pepper is cooked, add 1 teaspoon yellow mustard, 2 teaspoons tomato ketchup, 1 teaspoon paprika/chilli powder, 1 teaspoon vinegar, salt and pepper. Mix well. Now add one can of crushed tomatoes or 4 medium juicy tomatoes chopped into fine small pieces.

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Add the cooked lentils. Mix well and bring it to a simmer. Taste test and adjust the seasoning per taste. Serve as a filling for burger buns.

Ingredients:

  • 3/4 cup green lentils (or lentils/beans of your choice)
  • 1 teaspoon olive oil
  • one medium red onion, chopped
  • one small bell pepper, chopped
  • 1 teaspoon yellow mustard
  • 2 teaspoons tomato ketchup
  • 1 teaspoon paprika/chilli powder
  • 1 teaspoon vinegar
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 can crushed tomatoes or 4 medium tomatoes, chopped fine
  • burger buns for assembling

Method:

  1. Cook 3/4 cup green lentils (whole masoor dal) or beans of your choice. Drain and set aside.
  2. Heat one teaspoon oil in a pan. Saute one medium chopped red onion and one small yellow bell pepper.Once the onion and bell pepper is cooked, add 1 teaspoon yellow mustard, 2 teaspoons tomato ketchup, 1 teaspoon paprika/chilli powder, 1 teaspoon vinegar, salt and pepper. Mix well.
  3. Now add one can of crushed tomatoes or 5 medium tomatoes chopped into fine small pieces. Add the cooked lentils. Mix well and bring it to a simmer. Taste test and adjust the seasoning per taste. Serve as a filling for burger buns.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 63

2sloppy joes

Quesadilla

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1quesadilla

This post is a part of  the mega Blogging Marathon and A-Z challenge. I have chosen ‘popular American dishes’ as my theme.

Quesadilla (pronounced keisadiya) is not an American dish. It has Mexican origins, but its part of American cuisine in a big way. Mexican food as such is very popular with enough changes to suit the American palate.

Recipes as simple as this can be modified anyway you want. What I have here is a very basic and very simple quesadillas.  I usually prefer veggie and beans filling for quesadilla, but my son loves it this way with only cheese as filling and nothing else.I have used ready made flour tortillas, but you can make your own at home. Even better, use a whole wheat chapati. Cheese filled chapatis do sound good to me!

Fun thing about this post is the textiles used here. Its from my blogging friend Pavani. Last week, we had a mini BM meet. Pavani, Usha and Mireille had come over and we had a wonderful time which included a photo session and small shopping trip to Christmas tree shop near by. Any meet that includes food prop shopping is fun and this was no exception. But Pavani sent me on a sugar high when she gave all of us some textiles from her collection. I was so happy that I don’t even remember whether I thanked her at that point of time! Given that my current prop obsession is kitchen napkins for taking pictures, it was a timely and well appreciated gift.

Thanks a ton girls, you make my life so much better with your company and now, with textile pieces as well :-)!

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Pictorial:

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Place a pan on medium heat. Add one tortilla with 1/3 cup shredded cheese it. Cover it with another tortilla.

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Cover with a lid (optional, but it helps melt the cheese better) and flip when the bottom side is lightly brown. Take off the heat when both sides are lightly brown. Cut into eight triangles and serve with salsa. Recipe below.

Ingredients:

  • 2 ready made tortillas
  • 1/3 cup shredded cheese

Method: 

Place a pan on medium heat. Add one tortilla with 1/3 cup shredded cheese it. Cover it with another tortilla. Cover with a lid (optional, but it helps melt the cheese better) and flip when the bottom side is lightly brown. Take off the heat when both sides are lightly brown. Cut into eight triangles and serve with salsa.

For fresh tomato salsa, mix finely chopped tomatoes(2 medium) and red onions(1/2 medium). Add salt and pepper to taste, a squirt of lemon juice if preferred and 2 handful of chopped coriander if you have them (I didn’t!). Top with a dollop of sour cream for a guilty pleasure :D.

2quesadilla

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 63

4quesadilla

Mac N Cheese

18 Comments

1MacNcheese

This post is a part of  the mega Blogging Marathon and A-Z challenge. I have chosen ‘popular American dishes’ as my theme.

We are exactly at the middle of this alphabetical journey. M for middle, huh!! But in America, M is for Mac N Cheese! I didn’t look for another option for this alphabet. Mashed potatoes might come close, but nah, M is for Mac N cheese.

Its a surprise that my kid is not a big fan of this dish. Well, he is at a stage where in he is not a fan of food at all!! He is more into cookies and the ready made foods nowadays. He does like salads though, so I shouldn’t start complaining…yet!

I have to say that the journey till the middle alphabet was a smooth one. I was almost done with posts for the first two weeks. But for the next week I will have to do some pretty quick cooking to see me through this. Boy, its gonna be bumpy! But in the meanwhile mmmm….for M!

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Heat oven to 350F/180C. Cook macaroni as per the package instructions. Drain and set aside. For four people, you will need about 200gms or 2 cups uncooked macaroni.

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Melt 1/4 cup(4 tablespoons) butter in a pan. Add 2 tablespoons flour. Mix until no lumps remain.

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Slowly add 3 cups milk and whisk it in. Season with salt and pepper. Bring it to a boil and let the sauce thicken.

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Add 2 cups shredded cheese. Stir until it melts. Turn the heat off and add the cooked pasta. Stir to combine well.

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Grease a cast iron skillet or a baking pan with some butter. Pour the mac n cheese. This can be topped with 1/2 cup roasted bread crumbs or 1/2 cup shredded cheese. Bake for 30 minutes or until bubbly. Let it cool a little before serving.

Recipe source: All recipes

Ingredients:

  • 8 oz/ 2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni
  • 1/4 cup butter
  • 2 tablespoon flour
  • 3 cups milk
  • 2 cups shredded cheese
  • salt and pepper

Optional topping:

  • 1/2 cup cheese
  • Or 1/2 cup breadcrumbs browned in 2 tablespoon butter

Method:

  1. Heat oven to 350F/180C. Cook macaroni as per the package instructions. Drain and set aside. For four people, you will need about 200gms or 2 cups uncooked macaroni.
  2. Melt 1/4 cup(4 tablespoons) butter in a pan. Add 2 tablespoons flour. Mix until no lumps remain. Slowly add 3 cups milk and whisk it in. Season with salt and pepper. Bring it to a boil and let the sauce thicken. Add 2 cups shredded cheese. Stir until it melts. Turn the heat off and add the cooked pasta. Stir to combine well.
  3. Grease a cast iron skillet or a baking pan with some butter. Pour the mac n cheese. This can be topped with 1/2 cup bread crumbs browned in 2 tbsp butter or 1/2 cup shredded cheese. I added a bit of both.
  4. Bake for 30 minutes or until bubbly. Let it cool a little before serving.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 63

4MacNcheese

French Fries

21 Comments

1French fries

My intros are usually as far as they can be from food. I talk about my son, my everyday life and anything and everything that goes in my mind at that point of time. But for this marathon, I have been sticking mostly to the food.

So we are going to talk French fries today.When we think about food in US, the first thing that comes to mind is McDonald’s burger and fries. You can love it, you can hate it, but you can’t deny it – McDonald’s is kind of the American food icon for the rest of the world.

Fast food is very popular in US, but there are a lot of other options also. A lot of people, including my family, are not McD fans. But I love their french fries. There were so many other options for this alphabet, most of which started with ‘fried’. So I thought I can as well do french fries :D.

French fries are usually double fried, but I came across this ‘freeze ahead’ version which worked really well for me. I froze them ahead only for 3-4 hours, but I am guessing it’s going to work for potatoes in the freezer for longer times also. The main advantage was that I could freeze them in packets according to the portion size needed. That was a bonus for me.

This post is a part of  the mega Blogging Marathon and A-Z challenge. I have chosen ‘popular American dishes’ as my theme.

Read on for the recipe.

4French fries

Pictorial:

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Peel and cut potatoes into finger-long French fries style pieces. Keep them immersed in water until the water is not cloudy anymore. You may have to change the water once or twice. Basically, you are looking for the starch in the potatoes to go away. Two medium potatoes make three small servings.

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Bring water with salt to a boil, add the potatoes and cook until they are half done, about 4-5 minutes.

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Pat dry the potatoes and freeze portions in Ziploc for at least 3 hours. When you want to make the french fries, take off the freezer and pat dry to take the moisture/ice off.

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Heat oil and deep fry in batches. Drain in paper towels, toss with salt and pepper. Serve with ketchup.

Recipe source: Sanjeev Kapoor

Ingredients: 

  • 2 medium big potatoes for 3 small servings
  • Water and salt
  • Oil to deep fry
  • salt and pepper

Method:

  1. Peel and cut potatoes into finger-long French fries style pieces. Keep them immersed in water until the water is not cloudy anymore. You may have to change the water once or twice. Basically, you are looking for the starch in the potatoes to go away. Two potatoes for three small servings.
  2. Bring water with salt to a boil, add the potatoes and cook until they are half done, about 4-5 minutes. Drain them in kitchen towels. Pat dry the potatoes and freeze portions in Ziploc for at least 3 hours.
  3. When you want to make the french fries, take off the freezer and pat dry to take the moisture off.
  4. Heat oil and deep fry in batches. Drain in paper towels, toss with salt and pepper. Serve with ketchup.

3French fries

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 63


2French fries

Chilli Gobi

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gobi_chilli2

The tea time snacks I have been bringing to the blogging table started off with a healthy cucumber sandwich. Next was a shallow fried potato and broccoli patties and now I am here with the big bad deep fried chili gobi.. And yes, it was a success because I managed to make it without any incidents. No burns, no spills, no howls from the kitchen, so that’s a definite success for me!

Coming to the chili gobi here, there is it’s almost the same as gobi Manchurian. This is a little bit more on the spicier side and is not usually served as a gravy – but other than that I don’t see any difference between the two.

Winter has set its foot here in US and now clicking pictures needs a bit more of planning than before. I never thought I would see a day where I would check the weather before cooking for the blog!! These were taken at 5 PM and it was already getting dark. It made me realize that I need to plan better from now on wards.

Winter is here and lets all warm up to that…with some chilli gobi, to begin with :-)!

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Recipe source: Yummy Tummy

Blogging Marathon theme: Tea time snacks

Ingredients:

For the cauliflower part:

  • 1 medium cauliflower, cut into florets
  • pinch turmeric powder
  • salt
  • water
  • oil to fry

For the batter to dip:

  • 1/2 cup maida/ all purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup corn flour
  • 1 teaspoon chili powder
  • salt to taste
  • water to make the batter

For the sauce:

  • 1 medium onion or 4 spring onions
  • 1 small green capsicum, diced
  • 2 teaspoon ginger garlic paste
  • 2-3 green chillies, sliced into half (optional 0r adjust per taste)
  • 1 teaspoon chili powder
  • 1 tablespoon soya sauce
  • 1 tablespoon tomato ketchup
  • salt
  • oil

Method:

  1.  Prepare the cauliflower : Bring a pot of water to boil. Add salt as needed and a pinch of cauliflower. Add the cauliflower florets and let it boil for 5 minutes. Take off the heat and drain the water off.
  2. In a wide bowl, add 1/2 cup maida, 1/2 cup corn flour, 1 teaspoon chili powder, salt as needed. Add enough water to form a batter of cake batter or dosa batter consistency. When we dip the cauliflower in the batter, it should coat it and not drain off completely.
  3. Heat oil for deep frying. Dip the cauliflower in the prepared batter and deep fry. Once all the florets are fried, set it aside.
  4. Remove all but one tablespoon of oil from the pan. We are going to prepare the sauce for the florets.
  5. Add one medium chopped onion and 2 sliced green chilies and let it cook. Add 2 teaspoons of ginger garlic paste and saute until the raw smell goes off. Add one tablespoon of soya sauce and one tablespoon of tomato ketchup.
  6. Tip in one finely diced capsicum. Cook for 2-3 minutes. Add 1 teaspoon (or per taste) chili powder and required amount of salt.
  7. Let everything cook together for 3-4 minutes. Taste test and adjust seasonings.
  8. Add the fried cauliflower florets and mix gently without breaking it. Take off the heat.
  9. Garnish with spring onions and serve as an appetizer of a tea time snack.

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Potato broccoli patties

9 Comments

broccoli patties

Tea times are far more interesting when there is something to nibble on. The unhealthier the nibble is, the happier I am :D! It doesn’t mean that the healthy ones don’t satisfy the craving, but the deep fried ones hit the taste buds faster.

Here is something that isn’t quite healthy as a sandwich, but something that isn’t dripping in oil as well. These patties make their way into my son’s snack box frequently. Its a great make ahead dish. You can make and even shape the patties and refrigerate until the time to prepare.

I have been trying to take pictures with darker backgrounds and this was one of the first successful attempts. There is a picture of the setting below in case you are interested in checking it out. All you need is some black cloth, a salwar top in this case, and you have your dark background! I didn’t try to diffuse the light, that’s for the next trial.

Read on for the recipe.

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Pictorial:

Pressure cook 2 medium potatoes and 1 cup broccoli together for 2 whistles. Once its cooked, drain the water completely.

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Dip one bread slice in a plateful of water. Take out immediately and squeeze out excess water.  Add this bread piece (or 1/4 cup bread crumbs) and 1/4 cup of thawed spinach or methi with salt and pepper as needed to the potatoes and broccoli.

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Mash everything well together until no lumps remain. Check the seasonings and adjust if needed.

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Make patties and keep it ready.

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Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a shallow pan.

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Add the patties. Let it cook and become golden brown on the bottom.

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Flip over and cook the other side.

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Take off the heat and place on a paper napkin.

Recipe adapted from Always Hungry

Makes about 10-12 medium patties

Ingredients:

  • 2 medium potatoes
  • 1 cup broccoli
  • one slice bread
  • 1/4 cup spinach or methi
  • salt and pepper
  • 2 tablespoons oil

Method:

  1. Pressure cook 2 medium potatoes and 1 cup broccoli together for 2 whistles. Once its cooked, drain the water completely.
  2. Dip one bread slice in a plateful of water. Take out immediately and squeeze out excess water.
  3. Add this bread piece (or 1/4 cup bread crumbs) and 1/4 cup of thawed spinach or methi with salt and pepper as needed to the potatoes and broccoli.Mash everything well together until no lumps remain. Check the seasonings and adjust if needed.
  4. Make patties and keep it ready. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a shallow pan.
  5. Add the patties. Let it cook and become golden brown on the bottom. Flip over and cook the other side.
  6. Take off the heat and place on a paper napkin. Serve with ketchup.

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The set up for the photo shoot. Black cloth is the background and a brownish black table on the front.

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Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 58