Tuesday, July 12, 2016

Ritz cracker shev puri

Ritz cracker shev puri

Here the traditional puri is replaced with ritz crackers, it tastes awesome.

Boil 1 potato, peel and mash. Add finely chopped onions, colored bell peppers, handful of corn and cilantro. Add little salt, chaat masala, green chutney, dates-tamarind chutney. Mix well.

Heap the potato mix onto the crackers. Top with shev generously.

Serve immediately.

Friday, July 8, 2016

Instant Bread Medu Vada with Tomato Coconut Chutney

Instant Bread Medu Vada w/Tomato Coconut Chutney
Instant Bread Medu Vada is a great quick snack option and a good way to use up bread. Any kind of bread works well, I've made it with white, multigrain, bread rolls etc. Its a winner always.

Here's how I make Instant Bread Medu Vada:

Crumble bread slices in the food processor (my preferred way) or by hand. For 4 cups of bread crumbs add 1/2 cup rice flour and 1/4 cup fine rava (sooji), 1/2 cup finely chopped onions, handful of finely chopped cilantro, 1 tsp ginger paste, 1/4 tsp cumin seeds, 1 tsp salt or to taste and 1 tsp pepper pwd (or few chopped green chillies). Add 1/2 cup yogurt and mix well. The batter should be pliable but able to stick together. If needed add little more yogurt. If you end up with a loose batter add little more rice flour or rava and adjust seasonings. Then take a small lemon sized ball of the batter and shape into medu vada (donut shape) on your palm. Deep dry in hot oil till brown on both sides.

Serve hot with chutney of choice.

 In the above picture I've made tomato coconut chutney, here's how I made it:

Heat 2 tsp oil in a pan. Add 1 tsp chana dal, 1 tsp udad dal, 2 dry red chillies and 1/4 cup chopped red onion. You can also add few curry leaves. Fry 5 mins. then add 2 chopped tomatoes. Fry till softened. Add 1/2 cup grated coconut and fry 5 more minutes. Add 1 tsp jaggery, 1/4 tsp tamarind paste and salt to taste. Take off heat, cool a bit and grind. Take the chutney in a bowl. Make tempering by heating 2 tsp oil, add 1/4 tsp mustard seeds, when they stop popping add 1/8 tsp asafetida pwd (hing). Pour hot tempering over chutney.

Wednesday, July 6, 2016

Roasted Phool Makhana

Roasted Phool Makhana
This is a healthy snack alternative, similar to pop corn, made from puffed lotus seeds. Very easy to make and you can't stop at one. Phool Makhana is available in Indian grocery stores.

Dry roast the phool makhana in a wide pan over low heat for 8-10 minutes stirring occasionally. Towards the end add 2 tbsp. ghee, salt and black pepper pwd to taste. Stir to coat evenly. Take off heat and sprinkle some chaat masala. Stir well. Cool and store in airtight box.

Enjoy with tea/coffee.

Tuesday, July 5, 2016

Avocado dip/dressing

Avocado Dip/Dressing
An easy yummy dip for veggies, chips etc or dressing for salad. Here's how I make it:

Blend together pulp of 1 avocado, 1 tbsp. yogurt, 1 tbsp. salsa, salt & sugar to taste, 1/2 tsp cumin pwd, 1/2 tsp paprika pwd and 1 tsp lemon juice. Check taste and adjust seasonings as desired.

Use immediately.