pav bhaji

Pav bhaji

Pav bhaji is a  famous street side food originally from Mumbai cuisine. And I must say this is the simplest wholesome meal , as the bhaji consists of all the mixed veggies. I make sure to add wide variety of veggies to make the dish nutritious.
This is my cousin's (keerthi) favourite dish and of course she comes here to visit her nieces whom she is even more fond of. When ever keerthi visits us( Can count the no of visits though " Dr " keerthi !!) I make sure to cook this dish for her and every time it has turned out well.
Here goes the recipe
Recipe source Vah chef with some alterations.

Ingredients :
Veggies:
Potatoes- 2 med peeled and cut into half
Cauliflower -1 small
Carrots- 2
beetroot-1/2 piece of a small beetroot grated ( read the foot note)
green peas- 1/2 cup
beans - 5 to 6 finely chopped

For masala:
tomatoes - 2 nos finely chopped
Onion - 1 big finely chopped
Capsicum- 1 finely chopped
Oil/ butter- 2 tbsp
Jeera - 1tsp
Pav bhaji masala- 2 tsp
Amchur pwd- 1/2 tsp
Chilli pwd- 1/2 tsp

Pav buns
Butter for toasting the pav

Procedure:
Cook the vegetables 
Wash the cauliflower florets and let them stand in boiling salted water with a pinch of turmeric for few mins . Pressure cook all the veggies except capsicum, tomatoes and onions with water until cooked , for about 5 whistles.

Masala preparation
Heat oil/ butter in a wok add jeera once it splutters  add onions , cook until onions are well browned , add ginger garlic paste, fry for few mins, add tomatoes and cook until mushy and oil gets separated. Add capsicum and fry until it is cooked well.Add pav bhaji masala, amchur pwd  and chilli pwd.

 Add the cooked veggies along with water to the cooked masala and mash them using a masher . The veggies and the masala should be mashed really well.Add salt and more water if required  to adjust the consistency.A dollop of butter can be added now for that extra oomph. Salt and the masalas can be adjusted acc to taste.Garnish with finely chopped coriander leaves and switch off the stove.

Heat the  girdle and once its hot add butter and toast the pav buns on both sides . Serve the toasted pav buns with prepared bhaji , chopped onions and a slice of lemon.

Note:
Do not skip beetroot as it gives natural colour to the bhaji. Add just a small piece as the bhaji will get overpowered by beetroot flavour.

Avarekalu Nipattu

Avarekalu Nipattu


With the onset of winter comes the season of field beans(Avarekalu) . Namma Bengaluru is famous for avarekalu and its variety of dishes and to name a few, avarekalu upma, avarekalu Rotti, avarekalu huli, avarekalu Kodubale and nipattu . Avarekalu mela at food street ,sajjan rao circle ,is a treat for all bengalurians .


In this particular recipe we use hitakida avare bele( the outer skin of the bean is removed)

Here goes the recipe

Tender deskinned Field beans / Hitakida avarebele - 3/4th cup, boiled
Rice flour / Akki hittu - 2 cups
Roasted gram( hurigadale)- 1/4th cup, powdered
Peanuts- 1/2 cup ( coarsely powdered)
Chilli powder- 1 1/2 tsp
Salt-3/4th tsp
Hot oil- 2 tbsp
Oil for deep frying

Procedure:
In a large mixing bowl mix rice flour roasted, gram flour , coarsely powdered peanuts, chilli pwd ,salt  hot oil and boiled beans  using very little water. The mixture should be crumbly. Take the mixture in parts and add little more water. Make sure it is not too watery.The dough should be stiff. Take a lemon size ball place it in between  greased plastic sheets and press it using the roti press , I used my roti maker for this . Heat oil in a wok and when its hot drop the nipattu and deep fry until golden brown. Repeat the same with the rest of the dough.Cool and store in air tight containers.

Vegetable Biriyani

VegetableBiriyani


I love cooking rice dishes , reason being,chopping the veggies and putting things in place is the only effort needed and the dish is ready. Though our all time favourite rice dish is fried rice tried this one for the first time and it was a hit with my family. The original recipe is  here. 
Here goes the recipe.

Ingredients :
Shahi Jeera- 1tsp
Cinnomon- 1" piece
Clove-2 nos
Onion- 2 Medium  Thinly sliced    
Tomato- 1 big finely chopped
Paneer- 200 Gms Cubed( I just used  few pieces of cubed paneer)
Ginger Garlic paste- 1 tsp
Chopped Mixed Veggies- 1 Cup ( Carrots, Beans, Potatoes,Peas)
Green Chillies finely chopped-2 nos
Ghee - 2 Tbsp ( Divided Use)
Oil- 1 Tbsp
Coriander powder- 1 tbsp
Chilly powder- 1 tsp
Turmeric powder-3/4th tsp
Basmati rice -1 1/4th  cups
Garam masala- 1tsp


Soak the basmati rice for 20 mins.In a deep bottom pressure cooker heat a tbsp of ghee add jeera,cinnamon,cloves, saute until jeera splutters. add oil and when it gets hot  add finely sliced onions and fry until well cooked. Add ginger garlic paste,chopped chillies and fry until the raw smell goes off. Now add tomatoes , cook until tomatoes are soft and cooked well and oil starts separating Add Coriander powder, turmeric powder and chilli powder ,mix well . Now the entire mix will look like a smooth paste.  add about a tsp of ghee at this stage and cook for a min. now add the chopped vegetables and garam masala, mix well and add `about a little more than 1 and a 1/2 cup of water cover the lid and cook the veggies until 3/4th cooked. Add a tsp of ghee and a tsp of oil. Strain the basmati rice and add it now . I also added paneer pieces at this stage .Cover the lid and place the weight and cook on a low flame for 15 mins.Switch off the flame and serve once the pressure goes off.Can be served with Salan, or any gravies or just simpe raita .

Kadai Paneer

Kadai Paneer


Paneer is one of favourite dishes in our family. Anything spicy with paneer is a treat. Kadai paneer is one such spicy paneer dish.All the ingredients(paneer, tomato gravy) are kept ready and stir fried in a wok(kadai) . Hence the name kadai paneer. here goes the recipe.

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Ingridients

Onions - 2 nos Cubed
Capsicum- 1 Cubed
Ginger Garlic paste- 1 tsp
Butter/Oil- 1 tbsp
Green Chillies- 2 nos Slit( more acc to taste)
Paneer - 200 gms cubed
Salt- as per taste.

Roast and dry grind

Coriander seeds - 1 tbsp
Cumin Seeds- 1 tbsp
Clove- 2

For gravy
Onions -2 Thinly sliced
Tomato- 1 no finely chopped
Oil-1 Tsp
Dry Mango Pwd- 1tsp

Procedure:
In a thick pan roast the coriander seeds cumin seeds and cloves grind them and keep it aside. In  the same pan take about a tsp of oil add thinly sliced onions and saute them until brown. Now add the finely chopped tomatoes and cook until tomatoes are soft and cooked well.Switch off the flame once the  onion and tomato mixture gets cooled take it along with the roasted ingredients, add the dry mango powder and blend into a smooth paste by adding little water.
Now take the same pan add 1 tbsp of oil or butter to this add ginger garlic paste, green chillies fry for a min then add the cubed onions saute them until translucent, add the capsicum and fry for 5mins or until half cooked. Now add the blended pasted along with some water , add salt and cook for few more mins until the capsicum is cooked well. Now add the cubed paneer pieces. Adjust the consistency of gravy by adding more water if required.cook for a minute and switch off the flame. Garnish with fresh chopped coriander leaves.Serve hot with rotis.

Coconut Burfi/Kobri Cake

Coconut Burfi/Kobri Cake

Coconut is the soul of south indian cooking .It  is used in garnishing almost all the dry subzis. It can be ground into paste and added to the puddings for enhanced taste.Can be added to sambars and rasams and dals and the list goes on.... with grated coconut being used in so many dishes, coconut burfi had never occurred to my mind. Once I was left with bulk quantity of grated coconut and decided to make this dish.And it was a hit with my family. Thanks to my sis (Who tried this recipe beforehand and gave it to me) and my grand mom for this wonderful recipe.

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Ingredients:

Fresh grated coconut -3 cups

Sugar -2 1/4 cups

Milk -1/4 cup

Elaichi pwd-  A generous pinch

Grease a plate/cake tin with ghee and keep it aside.Take a deep nonstick pan.Mix togeather fresh coconut , sugar and milk on a medium flame.The mixture becomes watery once the sugar starts melting. Keep mixing it continously until the mixture solidifies   and starts leaving the sides of the pan.Now add elaichi powder and mix. Switch off the flame and pour the contents into the greased pan. Cut them into squares.Let it cool and then serve.

Veg Hakka Noodles

Veg Hakka Noodles

My little one turns 2 and this post is dedicated to her. Wanted to make something which she really enjoys eating.Time flies and mommy is  still in a stage of judging her likes and dislikes. I took a chance by preparing veg hakka noodles and she savoured it. It takes very less effort and simple recipes to please kids, sometimes. Her expression,when she said "Yummy", after eating it was priceless. Thank you my dear.
Here goes the recipe

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Ingredients 

Hakka noodles - 300 gms( I used chings and cooked as per the instructions on it)

Oil- about 4 tbsp + extra to brush the noodles after cooking and straining .

Garlic- 2 big cloves finely chopped

Onion - 1 med sized thinly sliced

Green chillies- 4 slit  (I made mine less spicy can alter to suit taste)

Carrot - 1 small Cut into thin strips

Spring onions-  2 cups finely chopped  (can be altered acc to taste)

Green bell pepper / Capsicum - 1 med cut into strips

Cabbage - about 1/2 a cup shredded.

Vinegar- 1 tsp

Chilly Sauce-2 tsp

Salt and pepper pwd - to taste

Cook the noodles as per the instructions on the packet or boil water in a big container with a tsp of oil and salt when it starts bubbling add the noodles and just cook it for 2 to 3 mins or till done, taking care not to over cook it. Once cooked strain it in a colander spread it on a wide plate and apply about a tsp of oil to prevent it from sticking together. Keep it aside.

heat  a big skillet on a high flame  add oil and once hot add chopped garlic then add sliced onions , green chillies once the onions are cooked , add Vinegar, chilly sauce,salt and pepper then add carrots and once carrots are half cooked add capsicum and cabbage. Cook until veggies are little crunchy. Do not over cook the veggies. Add spring onions cook for about 2 to 3 mins.Add  Then add cooked noodles to this and mix well. Serve hot with tomato ketchup or any cornflour based sauce .

This recipe serves 3

Note: 1. Adding Red bell peppers  to the dish  will give a nice colourful  dish.

          2. Soya sauce can be added when adding vinegar and chilly sauce. I Didn't add as i wanted white noodles.

         

Tondekayi Batani Palya( Ivy gourd and green peas curry)

Tondekayi Batani palya( Ivy gourd and green peas curry)


Posting here after a vv long time.
Had been to Melukote(Mandya dist) near Mysore. It was a very hectic trip with 2 kids and having had to climb 500 steps up and down.Had a wonderful darshan of lord Yoga Narasimha. As  the tradition goes we didn't eat our breakfast as we were visiting the temple.
Our hungry tummies started rumbling but we didn't find a place to eat near by. We were craving for a good south indian thali and Vasudev Adigas on Bangalore Mysore highway was on our mind ,which was about 100 kms from there Sigh!!!!..It took about 2 hrs for us to reach the place , all the more hungry. But the food was worth a wait. Had a scrumptious meal. Poori with Tondekayi Batani Palya was on the menu.
Now coming to the point,yes,this story was an introduction to my recipe. We tasted it first time there and wanted to try the same at home.It came out very well and this had to be on my list .

The original recipe is here . The original recipe has kabuli chana which i have replaced with green peas.

                                                                                                                                            

Ingredients:

1 cup Tondekayi, chopped length wise

1/2 cup green peas
1/2 cup Grated coconut
2-3 Dry red chillies (I used the less spicy ones)
1/2 tsp Coriander seeds
1/2 tsp Jeera
2 -3 tsp Oil
1/2 tsp Mustard seeds
4-5 Curry leaves
1 tsp Lemon juice
A pinch of haldi
A pinch of hing
Salt as per taste

Cook tondekayi and green peas in a pressure cooker for 2  to 3 whistles or until soft adding very little water.Once the pressure goes strain it and keep it aside.

Grind together  dry red chillies , corriander seeds and jeera seeds . Once powdered well add grated coconut and grind further to make a coarse powder.

Now heat oil in a kadai , add mustard seeds, turmeric , hing and curry leaves. Now add the powder prepared in the previous step and saute for a while.

Add cooked tondekayi and batani add salt and mix well for 5 mins. switch off the stove and add lemon juice. Serve hot with rice or rotis.