Dahi Vada

 

Dahi Vada

 

This is an ideal snack/mini meal for the summer months. Here's how I make dahi vada:

Wash and soak 1/2 cup udad dal and 2 tbsp. mung dal in water for atleast 4 hours. Then drain and grind with very little water to make a smooth paste. Take the paste in a big mixing bowl and add salt, little ginger paste and black pepper pwd. Whisk well for 5 minutes.

At this point if you drop a blob of the paste in a bowl of water, it should immediately float up. This means the batter is light and airy and well whisked.

Heat oil to deep fry the vadas. And keep a big bowl of thin buttermilk ready. Add a little salt and red chilli pwd to the buttermilk. Drop spoonful of batter in the oil and fry on medium heat till golden brown. Drain and immediately put the vadas in the buttermilk. Fry all the vadas similarly in small batches.

To serve - whisk cold yogurt (I like to use Fage) with salt and sugar till smooth. Put the vadas in the serving bowl. Top generously with the yogurt. Sprinkle some red chilli pwd and cumin pwd. Add a dash of green mint chutney and dates-tamarind chutney. Finally garnish with chopped cilantro. You can also add little shev on top. Serve immediately.

Beetroot tikkis

Beetroot tikkis

This is a fairly easy and quick snack to put together, especially when you use canned beet and potato flakes like I do.

Start with a can of sliced beets (not the pickled variety). Drain and put in mixing bowl. To this add a cup of potato flakes, salt to taste, 1 tsp of ginger paste, 1 tsp red chilli pwd, 1 tsp cumin pwd, handful of chopped cilantro, and 1 tsp chaat masala pwd. Mix well. Shape as desired. Pop in the freezer for about an hour. You can make and keep in freezer for use when you have unexpected company.

To fry - in a bowl take 1 tbsp. plain flour mixed with water to make thin paste. In another plate take bread crumbs. Dip each tikki first in the flour mix, then in the bread crumbs and shallow fry on pan with a tsp of oil till golden brown on each side.

Serve warm with chutney of choice - mint chutney, dates chutney or ketchup.

Purple cabbage salad

Purple cabbage salad

This salad is a great way to highlight the beautiful color of purple cabbage. I took 1/2 head of a small purple cabbage and thinly shredded it. Then I steamed it for just 5 minutes in the pressure cooker with the whistle off. I am not a fan of raw cabbage, hence steam it. Then I added other veggies like cucumbers, tomatoes, onions/green onions, colored peppers. I tempered the salad with cumin seeds and hing in ghee. Topped it all off with crushed roasted peanuts, chopped cilantro, salt, pinch of sugar and black pepper powder.

Tastes great by itself.