Thursday, 31 May 2012

HOW TO MAKE BREAD CRUMBS AT HOME | HOMEMADE BREAD CRUMBS



You may have wondered how you can make bread crumbs. So often recipes call for bread crumbs, and you may feel like you need to rush out to the store and go purchase some bread crumbs. Did you know you can prepare these at home?
Today  I'm with a simple recipe of making breadcrumbs. You can use breadcrumbs for cutlets, tikkis ,pattice ,corn balls,coat chicken with, or even to put in a meat loaf etc for binding. I used brown bread you can use white bread too.



Ingredients:

Left over Bread - 4 to 5 slices


Method:

1. Cut  corners of the bread slices with knife .This is optional, you can use the corners also.  Toast the bread in tawa until crisp .The bread should be perfectly crisp when you remove it from the tava/griddle.  It should snap when you break up the pieces of bread.  Place bread into either a mixer or a blender, and process until the bread crumbs have a fine texture.



2. Preheat oven at 180 deg C for 10mins, place the bread slices in the try and bake it 5-7 mins until the bread slices turn golden brown.Place bread into either a mixer or a blender, and process until the bread crumbs have a fine texture..

3.You can store your bread crumbs for up to six months.  Store in an air tight container in the freezer.  You don't even need to let the bread crumbs thaw before using.

4.Alternately  wrap  the bread slices in a plastic wrapper and keep it in the freezer for about an hour the bread will become dry then you can pulse it.



VARIATIONS

•You can season the bread crumbs before storing.To make flavoured or seasoned bread crumbs, toast the bread cubes on a tawa in low heat until golden brown. Cool down and pulse it along with the seasoning of your choice - garlic powder / pepper powder / italian seasoning / oregano etc.

Moong Dal Bhajiya(pakora)|Crispy less calorie Vati mung vada


These go really good with Evening Tea .when you don’t want to have something  heavy  switch to these petite moong dal bhajjis. The crushed peppercorns and coriander seeds give these crisp dumplings their characteristic flavour. It calls for minimal ingrediants, but the taste is maximum..It has a crispy exterior and fluffy interior..You can have it with ketchup or any of the chat chutneys..

I wanted to make this bhaji since a long time but today I made it in appam maker (photo below) to reduce the oil & reduce calories thus making diet moong dal bhajji.Pls note I had added 2 tsp of besan chickpea flour to pakodas you can skip the same .





Ingredients :

Moong dal                                                      2 cups
Onions                                                             1 no (finely chopped )
Fresh coriander leaves/kothimbir              1/2 cup  ( finely chopped)
Green chillis                                                   3 nos  ( finely chopped)
Red chilli powder                                          1 tsp
Turmeric powder                                        1/2 tsp
coriander seeds( sabut dhania/dhane)/Coriander powder      1 tsp
Cumin powder                                              1 tsp
black pepper/kali miri                                1/2 tsp
Salt                                                                  to taste
Oil                                                                   For frying



Method :

1. Soak the moong dal for 2-3 hrs minimum,drain water  & grind it coarsely with  green chillis,coriander seeds,pepper.


2. In a bowl mix the grind moong dal , all the masalas,chopped onion,  coriander leaves ,salt.

















3. Grease appam maker with oil .Place a spoonful of batter in the groves of appam maker.Cook till brown.
appam maker

4.Now turn the bhajias with help of spoon.add 1 drop of oil in each groove & let it cook till bhaji is browned.

5.Drain it in a paper towel.
4. Serve hot with green chutney, tamarind chutney or tomato ketchup.


Variation:
1.Alternately heat oil in fry pan or kadhai & fry the bhajiya. Fry them in small round size.
2.Add a tsp of besan to bhaji

Sabudana chikodi |sabudana chikwadya recipe|Upwas sago papad fryums-Odiyalu



Sabudana chikodi as we call it in marathi  is prepared with tapioca (sago) & used as one of the fasting snacks . This can be either prepared plain or with food colours added. Also tomato or mint juice can be added to get different flavors.My mom used to make this during summer vacation.




 This takes me down the memory lane of my childhood days when I stayed in uran .Summer is the season when women (especially in  maharashtra)prepare their yearly stock of pickles,moramba (mango jam),mango chunda   & walwan  ie dried items like papad ,sabudana chikodi, potato wafers ,sabudana aloo chakali (murukku) which can be used for fasting too ,kurdaya ,sandge, mirgunda, walaveli tondli etc.

I remember my aaji  (moms mausi) used to fill big glass jars with pickles & handover jars to all her daughters .

She would even prepare ambepoli ( wadi prepared from alphonso mango pulp), sun dried kokam sherbat,amboshi ,papads ,kurdais.My  mom prepares variety of pickles all round the year.

 



As a child I  too was a part of this program especially batata papad ,sabudana chakali ,sabudana chikodi & potato wafers (all can be eaten during fast (vrat/upwaas)  which my mausi used to prepare.

My work was to dry these items on a cot ( a bed made of wood  &  coconut coir),turn the papads & keep a watch on sparrows,crows & silky (my favourite pamerean dog) that tried to feast these delicious dishes.In fact in uran the women used to schedule papad & collectively gather at each others place & make different kinds of papad. We get tasty urad ,poha,batata & sabudana papad in PEN a small town near alibag which is famous for ganesh murtis.

Updated post with sabudana chikodi made by me in april 2013 in bangalore in which i have used red ,orange & green food colour




 

 
I love all four dishes but today want to post about sabudana wafers /chikodya/chikwadya.you can even call them sabudana papad

Here I have added cumin seeds to get a wonderful taste and red,green & orange food colour to make tricolour chikodis .




Ingredients:

Sago/sabudana /tapioca-  1 cup
Water - 2-3 cups
Green chilies 3-6
Cumin seeds 2-4 spoons
Salt
Food color (optional)




Method:

1.Wash Sago & Soak  in water for 5 minutes .

2.Then grind the chilies to a  coarse paste

3.In a sauce pan, boil water. Add sago to it. Continue cooking over low-medium heat...with constant stirring.dont forget to stir. You will notice it turning to translucent to glassy appearance, much like a glue.. Then remove from heat.










4. Now add salt,cumin seeds & green chilli paste . Mix well now add 1/4 of this mixture in 2 separate bowl & add pinch of  green colour & orange colour respectively to sago mixture & mix well.



5.Take a clean plastic sheet  or one could use cotton churni/cloth also. Place this sheet under direct sun rays.place some weight on the plastic sheet  so that  it will not get blown by wind.




6.Now carefully take a spoon full of sago porridge and uniformly place on the sheets.Spread it in the form of circle with the help of spoon. Leave enough gap between 2 chikodis. Now sun dry them for couple of days to a week or until they are dry completely without any moisture.





7.Remove these from the sheets and store in an air-tight container.

8.heat oil in a pan. When the oil is hot enough...fry few fryums at a time... it takes less than 20 seconds to get fried...so remove immediately using slotted spoon. 

ORANGE CHIKODI
GREEN CHIKODI
WHITE CHIKODI


9.Serve as snacks or on upwas /fasting day or as side dish with dalfry rice/sambhar rice /rasam rice.

Tuesday, 29 May 2012

ALOO METHI BHAJI


Its said  beauty lies in simplicity .Very true  sometimes recipe with simple ingredients turn out to be supper duper hit & delicious.Today I AM POSTING ONE OF SUCH RECIPE which is easy to make,fast,simple & can be made with the ingredients normally available in our kitchen.
All  naughty children  who dislike eating any vegetable like methi share another common interest. All of them like potatoes. This is the magic of the potatoes. You will hardly find anyone who dislikes them. Good option for kids lunch box/lunch. the combination of methi & aloo is fantastic.



Ingredients:
1 medium potato
1 small onion finely chopped
3 cups methi finely chopped leaves (2 big bunches )
1 small tomato chopped
1/2 tsp red chili powder
1 tsp dhania jeera powder
Tempering
1.5 tbsp oil,
2 pinch mustard seeds
1 pinch cumin seeds
1 pinch hing
1/4 tsp turmeric
2-3 green chillies slit lengthwise
salt to taste



Method:
1. Pick methi leaves from the stem and wash very well. Drain and set aside.
2.In a kadhai, heat oil. Next add hing .Add the cumin seeds,mustard seeds and let these splutter in the oil.
3. Add the green chilies and fry for a minute.Add the onion & saute for few minutes till onions get cooked. Add the potato cubes and mix it well with the cumin seeds and chilies. Cover with lid & cook till potato is done.if required add little water. stir in between to avoid sticking
4.now add the chopped tomato & cover with lid & cook till tomatoes becomes soft .
5.Sprinkle the turmeric powder, red chili powder,dhania jeera powder .
6.Now add chopped methi ,salt  mix well  & stir fry over high heat till water content is reduced & methi shrinks in size .
7.Serve hot with chapati.




Variation:
1.Add 1 tsp ginger garlic paste
2. Add boiled potatoes in end after adding methi.
3. Add garam masala .

Tandlache (tandulache) Ghavan-ghavane |Instant Rice marathi Dosa


No need to spend a hours and hours to make dosa batter. This was a regular breakfast at my mom's home, when hunger strikes and there is not enough time to make anything elaborate. this is best option  This is best when eaten hot, from pan to plate.Tastes great with Coconut Chutney!





Preparation time : 5 mts
Cooking time : 10 mts
makes about 4-5 ghavan

Ingredients:

 1 cup Rice Flour (tandalache peeth/ chawal ka ata)
 1/4 cup Yogurt
 Salt to Taste
1 tsp cumin (jeera seeds)
1 finely chopped Onion (optional)
 2 tsp finely chopped Coriander leaves 





Method:
1) Take rice flour in a deep bowl, add yogurt, salt to taste and mix well.

2) Add water, mix and make a thin batter. Consistency should be little thin than normal dosa or similar to rava dosa. Let is stand for 15-20 min.
3) Add onion,cumin and coriander leaves.


4) Heat skillet/tava on medium to high heat. When hot, reduce flame and Pour a tsp of oil and spread it over skillet.
5) Quickly pour a cup full of batter in the centre and move the tawa (using handle or tongs) in circular fashion to spread it evenly. Try to make it as thin as possible. (If you see bubbles coming from the batter, you are progressing correctly)


6)Let it cook covered for few seconds till the bottom side is golden brown.Flip and fry the other side.
7) Serve hot with coconut chutney or garlic chutney or mango pickle of your choice.


CLOSER LOOK
Tips:

1) For soft dosas make a thick batter .






BLACK GRAPES SUMMER COOLER |THUNDER WONDER PARTY DRINK |BLACK GRAPES THUMPSUP FIZZ DRINK | black grapes coke float


Black grapes summer cooler drink / black grapes party drink / black grapes fizz / black grapes coke float / black grapes sherbat / serbat.

Very interesting ,divine ,& heavenly summer cooler / black grape mocktail. I had seen this cooler on gujarati rasoi show .I couldnt resist myself from attempting this drink on last saturday .




Ingredients :

100 grams black grapes (about 1 cup )
1 1/2 cup water
1 pinch chat masala
1 cup vanilla icecream
1 bottle thumps up / coke /cocacola/pepsi  cold drink
2-3 ice cubes / crushed ice 1 cup

Method :
1. Clean & wash black grapes & grind them in a mixer with 1 1/2 cup of water  & strain the juice using a strainer .Chill in refrigerator.
2.  Pour the black grapes in a bowl ,add a pinch of  chat masala & add vanilla ice cream & blend with blender .
3. While serving add crushed ice in tall wine glass ,add 1/2 glass of black grape syrup mixed with vanila ice cream in step 2 . 
Now pour chilled coke /thumpsup in the remaining glass & serve immediately.

Matar Kofta curry |GREEN PEAS PANEER KOFTA CURRY


I had made this recipe almost an year back but had forgotten to blog.so decided to write about this post which was lying in my drafts since months. You surely make Aloo matar, Matar Paneer, Matar fry ,but when you desire to make something different heres the answer Green Peas(Matar) Kofta Curry recipe which is very tasty.



Ingredients 

MATAR KOFTAS

Green peas(matar) - 500 grams (1 cup peeled)
1/2 cup paneer (optional)
 Potatoes - 2
 Arrowroot/ gram flour/cornflour -  1 tbsp
 Green chillies - 1 to 2 (finely chopped)
 Ginger - 1 inch long piece (grated)
 Salt - Add to taste( 1/2 tsp)

Gravy /TARI

Tomatoes - 3 (medium sized)
onion-1
 Green chillies - 2
 Ginger - 1 inch long piece
 Oil/Ghee - 1 to 2 tbsp
 Jeera(cumin seeds) -  1/2 tsp
 Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
 Coriander(dhaniya) powder - 1 tsp
 Cream/malai - 2 tbsp
 Red chilly powder - 1/6 tsp
 Garam masala - less than 1/4 tsp
 Salt - add to taste(3/4 tsp)
 Green coriander -  2 tbsp (finely chopped)
 Oil - to fry Koftas

 

Method :

1.Wash peas and boil them. Boil the potatoes, peel and mash them. Drain water from peas & grind the boiled peas to make a granular paste.
2.Mix pea paste,paneer potatoes, gram flour, salt, green chilli, ginger properly together.

3.Take a little amount from the mixture, shape them into round balls(lemon sized).

 
4.Pour oil in a heavy based pan(kadhai) and heat. (To test if the oil has heated: break a piece from the dough and put it in oil, if oil is hot the piece will immediately rise up to the surface else it will sink to the bottom).
5.Put 4-5 Koftas in hot oil and fry till they turn brown then keep the fried Koftas on a plate.
6. Repeat the process till you have fried all of the Koftas. Koftas are ready. Keep aside



Gravy :

1.Make a fine paste of the tomatoes,onion,green chillies and ginger. 
2.Pour oil in a frying pan(kadhai) and heat, put Jeera, turmeric powder and coriander powder in hot oil. Fry the spices till they seem granular in texture or oil starts to float over them.
3.Now add cream(malai) to the spices and fry for 2 minutes. Pour water as per consistency of gravy thick or thin you want the Tari.
4.Add salt to taste, red chilly powder and garam masala. After water comes to boil cook  gravy  for another 2-3 minutes.
5. Turn off the gas, put in the Koftas you have prepared and cover the pan and keep for 2 minutes.



6. Matar Kofta curry is ready, take it out in a bowl and garnish with green coriander. Serve hot Matar Kofta curry with parantha, chapati, naan or rice.

Variation:

You can make the Matar Koftas without the potatoes. Gently boil the peas, make a coarse paste, mix the pea paste with gram flour and your mixture is ready. Make Koftas in the above given manner followed by the curry.

Health & Nutrition Benefits of Eating Green Peas
  • Being low in calories, green peas are good for those who are trying to lose weight.
  • Green peas are rich in dietary fiber, making them good for those suffering from constipation.
  • Studies have indicated that green peas might prove beneficial for those suffering from the problem of high cholesterol.
  • The high amount of iron and vitamin C in green peas has been found to help strengthen the immune system.
  • The lutein present in green peas helps reduce the risk of age-related macular degeneration and cataracts.
  • Green peas slow down the appearance of glucose in the blood and thus, help keep the energy levels steady.
  • Green peas have been found to aid energy production, nerve function and carbohydrate metabolism.
  • Green peas provide the body with those nutrients that are important for maintaining bone health.
  • The folic acid and vitamin B6 in green peas are good for promoting the cardiovascular health of an individual.
  • Being rich in antioxidants, like vitamin C, green peas can help keep cancer at bay.