Koshimbir: A Maharashtrian Salad

Ingredients:
For approx. 4 servings
English cucumber – 1 Peeled
Tomato – 1
Sweet onion - 1
Green chili – 1 tsp finely chopped [OPTIONAL]
Fresh Cilantro – ½ cup finely chopped
Freshly ground black pepper – 1 tsp
Sugar – 1 tsp
Fresh lime juice – 1 tbsp
Chaat masala -  1 tsp
salt as per taste

Method:

• Cut cucumber, onions and tomatoes in small cubes. Keep aside.
• In a bowl, add all the cut vegetables, green chilies, black pepper, sugar, chaat masala, lime juice and salt.
• Mix well and let it refrigerate till chilled.
• Add fresh chopped cilantro, mix again and serve.

Enjoy this tangy salad with lunch or dinner.

Mutter ki Kachori (Green peas stuffed snack)

Happy Independence Day!

Mutter ki Kachori (Green peas stuffed snack)

Kachori is one of the most common western Indian snacks. This recipe has green peas as main ingredient for filling. It is great on its own with tea/coffee and even tastes better as assembled chaat.

Ingredients:
For Kachori shell:

• All purpose flour (Maida) - 2 cups
• Melted butter or ghee - 2 tbsp
• Water (enough to make firm dough)
• Cooking oil to fry
• Salt as per taste

For Filling:

• Green peas - 3 cups (fresh or frozen)
• Ginger garlic paste - 2 tbsp
• Green chilies - 2
• Shredded coconut (fresh or dry) - 1/2 cup
• Cumin Seeds (Jira) - 2 tsp
• Garam masala - 1 tsp
• Amchur powder - 2 tsp
• Salt as per taste
• Cooking oil - 1 tbsp

Method:
To prepare filling:

1. In the microwave, cook green peas with very little water for 6 minutes, keeping it covered.
2. In the food processor, grind these green peas coarsely with green chilies.
3. In a pan, heat cooking oil. Add cumin seeds. When it starts splattering add ginger garlic paste to it. Sauté for 2-3 minutes.
4. Now add green peas mixture and shredded coconut to it. Mix well. On medium low heat let it sit for 10-15 minutes. For fresh coconut it takes longer.
5. Once the mixture is all dried up, add amchur powder, garam masala and salt. Mix well.
6. Take it off the heat and let it cool completely before filling in the kachories.

To make Kachoris:

1. Combine all purpose flour, butter or ghee and salt. Mix evenly. Now add little by little water to make flaky dough.
2. Knead well to make it firm dough.
3. Keep the dough aside for 5-10 minutes.
4. Take small ball size dough. Roll it into small circles. Place 1 tbsp of prepared filling in the centre and bring the edges together. Make an even ball; flatten it a bit by pressing your thumb in the center gently.
5. Heat cooking oil for frying the Kachoris. Oil should be medium hot.
6. Deep fry kachoris very slowly till it is crisp and golden on both the sides.
7. Drain it on paper towel and let it cool down. Store it in an air tight container.

Serving Suggestions:
Assemble Mutter ki kachori as chaat. Place 2 kachoris on a serving plate. Garnish it with sweet tamarind-date chutney, green chutney and spiced yogurt. Also add chopped red onion, namkeen sev and chopped cilantro.
Mutter ki kachori is ready to be served.

Indian flag image source: http://perfecthdwallpapers.blogspot.com/2011/08/indian-flag-wallpapers.html

Chaat Special: Sev puri dahi puri (SPDP)

Chaat is the common term used for mouth watering street food in India. It has many varieties as gol guppe or pani puri, sev puri, dahi puri, chole tikki, papdi chaat, bhel puri. All of them has common mint-cilantro (green chutney) and tamarind (sweet imli) chutney. If you have all the ingredients, these chaats can be prepared in jiffy. I always keep green chutney and tamarind chutney ready in my refrigerator so preparing chaat is very easy.

The recipe here is for Sev puri dahi puri also called as SPDP, in Pune, India. I'm using store bought pani puri shells. They are as good as home made ones; sometimes even better:). These shells are versatiel, can be used with pani to eat as golguppe/ pani puri  or can be prepared as sev puri dahi puri. The same recipe is also called sev batata puri beacuer the pani puri shells are filled with boiled potatoes. Enjoy this lip smacking snack.

Ingredients:
For Sev puri dahi puri: Approx. 4 servings

• Plain Golguppe (pani puri shells) – 24
• Fine namkee sev– 2 cups
• Potatoes boiled – 2
• Sweet onion – 1 finely chopped
• Fresh cilantro – 1/2 cup finely chopped
• Tamarind chutney – 3/4 cup

Link for Tamarind Chutney:
http://shvetasrecipes.blogspot.com/2011/06/sweet-tamarind-chutney-imli-chutney.html

• Green chutney – 1/2 cup [OPTIONAL]

Link for Green Chutney:
http://shvetasrecipes.blogspot.com/2010/03/mint-cilantro-chutney-green-chutney.html

• Yogurt (dahi) -1 cup (add some salt and sugar)
• Chaat Masala – 1 tbsp
• Red chili powder – 1 tsp
• Salt as per taste

Method:

1. Boil and peel potatoes. In a bowl, mash these potatoes roughly and add chaat masala and salt. Mix and keep aside.
2. Finely cut sweet onions and fresh cilantro, keep aside.
3. Prepare tamarind chutney and green chutney as directed.  Keep aside.
4. In a bowl, take yogurt; add some sugar and salt. Mix well. Keep aside.
5. Now for final chaat assembly; first take puffed plain golguppe or Pani Puri and make a small hole in each of them. Fill each puri with boiled potatoes.
6. Keep 6 Pani Puris in each plate. Add a ladle full of smooth yogurt mix on these puris.
7. Now add a tsp tamarind chutney and green chutney on each puri.
8. Top it off with chopped onions and fine namkeen sev.
9. Finally garnish with fresh chopped cilantro, chaat masala, red chili powder and salt.

Enjoy this mouth watering chaat as soon as assembled, or it will get soggy.

Sweet Tamarind Chutney (Imli chutney)

Sweet Tamarind Chutney
Tamarind or Imli chutney is a must condiment for any chaat snack. It can be prepared in advance and can be stored for days.
Ingredients:

• Tamarind (Imli) – 2 cups without seeds
• Jaggery (Gur) – 1 cup
• Sugar – 1 cup
• Pitted dates (Pind khajoor) – 1 cup [OPTIONAL]
• Roasted cumin seeds – 2 tsp
• Red chili powder – 1 tsp
• Garam masala powder – 1 tsp
• Rock salt -  2 tsp
• Water – 2 cups

Method:

1. In a heavy bottom pan, add tamarind, dates and water.
2. Boil it first and let it simmer on medium low heat for 15 minutes. Check, all the dates and tamarind become pulp. Cool it a bit and sieve the pulp through a thin strainer.
3. Put the pulp back in the pan; add jaggery, sugar and all the spices. Cook on medium low heat till the sauce starts to thicken.
4. Dip a spoon in the sauce, if it coats the spoon evenly and is not too runny, tamarind chutney is ready.
5. It can be stored in an air tight container, in the refrigerator for a month.

Enjoy tangy and sweet tamarind chutney with your favorite snack or in any chaat.

Tricolor Bread Pakora

 

 










Ingredients : For bread pakoras : 8 pieces

For stuffing:
Potatoes  - 2 boiled and peeled
Onion -  finely chopped
Green chilies  - 1 finely chopped
Cilantro - 2 tbsp finely chopped
Roasted Cumin powder - 1 tsp
Red chili powder - 1/2 tsp
Amchur powder - 1 tsp
Chaat masala - 1 tsp
Salt as per taste

To make cover:
Bread   -  4 slices
Besan (gram flour)   - 1.5 cup
Red chili powder  - 1/2  tsp
Turmeric  powder  - 1/2  tsp
salt as per taste

For pakora assembly:
Tomato Ketchup  - 1/2 cup
Green chutney -1/2 cup
Cooking oil for deep frying

 

Method:

• In a bowl, prepare stuffing, by adding boiled and peeled potatoes, Onions, green chilies, cilantro, roasted cumin powder, red chili powder, amchur powder, chaat masala and salt. Mash it all together. Keep aside.
• Take one bread slice, apply a thin layer of ketchup on it . Cover it with another bread slice. Now apply a layer of potato stuffing on it. Cover with another bread slice. On this slice apply a thin layer of green chutney and finally cover it with a bread slice.
• The whole sandwich should have following layers:  Bread  - ketchup - Bread  - Potato stuffing - Bread  - Green chutney - bread .
• Cut the whole sandwich in 4 quarters. Quarters are easy to manage while frying. Keep them aside.
• For the covering batter: In a bowl, take besan, red chili powder, turmeric powder and salt. Mix well. Now add some water to make a smooth batter. Batter should not be runny.
• Now take each sandwich quarter, dip evenly in the above batter and fry it in medium hot oil.
• When the pakoda looks evenly golden on all sides, take it out and drain it on the kitchen towel.
• Let it cool a bit. Now cut it diagonally to reveal all the layers.

Enjoy with a cup of hot tea or cool lemonade.

Ragda Patties (Potato cutlets and dry peas curry)

Ingredients : (For approx. 4 servings)
For Patties:
Potatoes  - 4 (boiled)
Bread slices – 4
Red chili powder – 1 tsp
Roasted cumin powder – 1 tsp
Cooking oil for shallow frying
Salt as per taste

For Ragda:
Dried whole peas - 1 cup
Onion – ½ cup finely chopped
Ginger – 1 tsp minced
Garlic – 1 tsp minced
Tamarind paste – 1 tbsp
Jaggery – 1 tbsp powdered
Cooking oil – 1 tbsp

Dry Spices for Ragda:
Jira (Cumin seeds) – 1 tsp
Hing (Asafoetida powder) – 2 pinch
Turmeric powder – 1 tsp
Red chili powder – 1 tsp
Amchur powder (dry mango)– ½ tbsp
Garam masala powder -1 tsp
Salt as per taste

Method: To make Ragda

• Soak the dried peas overnight or for at least 6 hours. Pressure cook the peas till done.
• Heat oil in a deep pan, Add cumin seeds and Asafetida powder. When it starts crackling, add onions. Sauté onions for a few minutes. Add the ginger-garlic paste and sauté for 3-4 minutes.
• Now add all the dry spices. Sauté for 2 minutes.
• Now add boiled peas, tamarind paste and jaggery. Mix well. Add 2 cups of water and let it simmer for 15 minutes on low-medium heat. Mix well and ragda is done.

To make Patties:

• Boil and peel potatoes. Grate potatoes for smooth texture. Keep aside.
• Take the brown edges off the bread slices. Now dip the bread slices in warm water, aand then squeeze out excess water.
• Add these bread slices to the potatoes. Also add red chili powder, roasted cumin powder and salt. Mix well and form a smooth dough if it.
• Make 8 equal portions of the dough. Take each portion in your palm make a tennis ball sized ball. Now flatten it to make tikki or patties. Patties can be round or oval shaped. Smooth out the edges of the patties and keep aside. [Apply little oil on your palms to avoid patties sticking on your hand].
• Heat griddle or pan, add 1 tbsp oil and shallow fry the patties golden brown on both the sides. Keep the heat medium high. Drain them on kitchen towel and keep aside.

Garnish and Serving Suggestions:
Place 2 patties on a serving plate. Pour 1-2 ladles full of ragda. Garnish it with sweet tamarind-date chutney, green chutney and spiced yogurt. Also add chopped red onion, namkeen sev and chopped cilantro.
Yummy Ragda -Patties is ready to eat.

Hariyali Bhel Puri[Mumbai style street food/ Chaat]

Bhel puri or Bhel is a very common Western Indian Street food. This bhel is named Hariyali bhel as it calls for more Green Mint-cilantro chutney than the sweet tamarind chutney. Also it has abundant fresh cilantro for great flavor.

Ingredients:
For Hariyali bhel puri [6 servings]

Dry Ingredients:
Puffed rice – 2 cups
Papdi – ½ cup crushed [home made or store bought]
Ratlami sev – ½ cup
Namkeen mixture – ½ cup
Nylon sev – ½ cup

Wet Ingredients:
Boiled potatoes – 2 cups chopped
Sweet Onions -1 cup finely chopped
Tomatoes -  1cup finely chopped
Cucumber - 1cup finely chopped
Cilantro -1/2 cup finely chopped
Raw mango – ¼ cup finely chopped [if available]
Green Chutney – 3/4 cup
Sweet tamarind chutney -1/4 cup

Spices:
Chaat Masala* – 1 tsp
Red chili powder – ¼ tsp
Salt as per taste

Method:
Green Chutney : Pls. follow the link for Green chutney recipe.
http://shvetasrecipes.blogspot.com/2010/03/mint-cilantro-chutney-green-chutney.html
Tamarind chutney : Pls. follow the link for Tamarind chutney recipe.
Papdi : Pls. follow the link for papdi recipe.
http://shvetasrecipes.blogspot.com/2010/03/namkeen-papdi-for-papdi-chaat.html


For preparing Hariyali bhel puri:

• In a large bowl, add all the dry ingredients. Mix well.
• Now add all the wet ingredients and spices. Mix well. Garnish with chopped cilantro and Nylon sev.
• Serve immediately or it will get soggy.

Enjoy this quick recipe as your evening snack.

*Chaat Masala, Nylon sev, Ratlami sev, Papdi and Namkeem mixture is easily available at all Indian grocery stores.

Raj Kachori

Kachori is one of the most common western Indian snacks. It is great on its own with tea/coffee and even tastes better as assembled chaat. It lasts for a couple of weeks if stored properly in air tight container, so it is a great anytime snack.

Ingredients:

For Raj Kachori [Approx 15 pieces]

For cover:

All purpose flour [Maida] – 2 cups
Melted butter or ghee – 2 tbsp
Water (enough to make firm dough)
Cooking oil to fry
Salt as per taste

For Filling:

Moong dal [Yellow split] – 1.5 cups
Saunf [Fennel seeds] – 1 tsp
Ajwain [Carom seeds] – 1 tsp
Jira [Cumin seeds] – 1 tsp
Hing [Asafoetida powder] – 2 pinch
Turmeric powder – 1 tsp
Red chili powder – 1 tsp
Amchur powder – ½ tbsp
Garam masala powder -1 tsp
Cooking oil – 2 tbsp
Salt as per taste

Method:

To make filling:

• Soak moong dal for at least 4 hours.
• Steam moong dal till its half done. Keep aside to cool. In the food processer, coarsely ground the moong dal.
• In a pan, heat cooking oil. Add cumin seeds. When it starts splattering, add hing and steamed moong dal. Also add red chili powder, turmeric powder, garam masala, amchur powder and ajwain. Mix well.
• Cook till the filling is all dry. Keep aside to cool.

To make Kachoris:

• Combine all purpose flour, butter or ghee and salt. Mix evenly. Now add little by little water to make flaky dough.
• Knead well to make it firm dough.
• Keep the dough aside for 5-10 minutes.
• Take small ball size dough. Roll it into small circles. Place 1 tbsp of prepared filling in the centre and bring the edges together. Make an even ball; flatten it a bit by pressing your thumb in the center gently.
• Heat cooking oil for frying the kachoris. Oil should be medium hot.
• Deep fry kachoris very slowly till it is crisp and golden on both the sides.
• Drain it on paper towel and let it cool down. Store it in an air tight container.

Note: Kachoris can have different fillings such as peas, mawa filling as dessert etc.

Serving Suggestions:

Assemble Raj kachori as chaat. Place 2 kachoris on a serving plate. Garnish it with sweet tamarind-date chutney, green chutney and spiced yogurt. Also add chopped red onion, namkeen sev and chopped cilantro.

Raj kachori is ready to be served.

Chole tikki: An utimate Chaat

Chole Tikki: An ultimate Chaat
Chole tikki is one of the most common mouth-watering street foods. It is a kind of Chaat [Spicy and tangy snack] which is flavorful and filling at the same time.

Ingredients:
For the Aloo tikki: [Approx 8 tikkies]
 

Potatoes –3 medium [boiled and peeled]
Bread – 2 slice [cut the brown sides and use the white part only]
Green chilies –2 finely chopped
Cilantro – 2 tbsp finely chopped
Roasted Cumin powder – 1 tsp
Black pepper –1/2 tsp
Salt as per taste
Oil for shallow frying

For Chole:
Kabuli Chana or Chole [Garbanzo beans]dry – 1.5 cup
Tea bags- 2
Dry Ingredients for gravy:
Whole garam masala – 1 tbsp
Red chili powder – 1 tsp
Turmeric powder -1/2 tsp
Coriander powder – 1 tbsp
Garam masala powder – ½ tsp
Chana Masala -1.5 tbsp

Wet Ingredients for gravy:

Onion -3/4 (pureed or finely chopped)
Tomato puree -1 cups
Ginger paste – 1 tbsp
Garlic paste – 1 tbsp
Green chili -1 tsp (finely chopped) [Optional]
Olive oil – 2 tbspn
Salt as per taste

Method: to make Aloo Tikki

• In a bowl, take boiled and peeled potatoes. Add bread, green chilies, cilantro, cumin powder, black pepper and salt. Mix very well and form a smooth dough if it. 
• Make 8 equal portions of the dough. Take each portion in your palm make a tennis ball sized ball. Now flatten it to make tikki. Tikkies can be round or oval shaped. Smooth out the edges of the tikkies and keep aside. [Apply little oil on your palms to avoid tikkies sticking on your hand].
• Heat griddle or pan, add 1 tbsp oil and fry the tikkies golden brown on both the sides. Keep the heat medium high. Drain them on kitchen towel and keep aside.

Method: to make Chole

• Wash dry Kabuli Chana or Chole a couple of times and soak them overnight in water.
• Add soaked chole, turmeric powder, salt and 4 cups of water and tea bags in the pressure cooker. Pressure cook it for 30 minutes on medium heat.
• For gravy, heat olive oil in a pan. Add whole garam masala. Let it crackle. Then add pureed onions and sauté it, till turns light golden. Add ginger paste, garlic paste and chopped green chilies (optional). Cook for 2 minutes.
• Add tomato puree, red chili powder, garam masala powder, coriander powder in the gravy and let it simmer for 5-6 minutes on medium-low heat.
• Discard the tea bags from the boiled chole. Add the gravy to the boiled chole and add a cup of water and simmer it on low heat for 10 minutes.
• Finally, add chana masala and let it simmer for 2 more minutes.
• Chole is ready to serve.

Garnish  and serving suggestions:
Place 2-3 Aloo tikkies on a serving plate. Pour 1-2 ladles full of Chole. Garnish it with sweet tamarind-date chutney, green chutney and spiced yogurt. Also add chopped red onion, namkeen sev and chopped cilantro.

Yummy Tikki-Chole is ready to eat.

Namkeen Papdi (For papdi chaat)

Namkeen Papdi (For papdi chaat) 

Namkeen papdi is a versatile snack. It is great on its own with tea/coffee and tastes even better as papdi chaat. It lasts for few weeks if stored properly in air tight container, so it is a great anytime snack.

Ingredients: [For namkeen papdi]
Whole wheat flour – 2 cups
Vegetable oil – 2 tbsp
Cumin seeds – 1 tsp
Ajwain – 1 tsp
Salt as per taste
Water (enough to make firm dough)
Cooking oil to fry

Method:

• Combine whole wheat flour, cumin seeds, ajwain seeds, vegetable oil and salt.  
• Mix together well and add water very slowly to make dough. Knead well to make it a little firm dough (puri kind).  


• Keep the dough aside for 10-15 minutes.
• Divide the dough into 4 parts.  
• Take one part and make a ball of it. And then with the help of rolling pin, roll it into thin sheets. Cut the papdi in desired shape or size and prick it with the fork so that it will not puff when fried.  
• Repeat the process with the remaining 3 parts of dough.
• Heat cooking oil for frying the papdi.  
• Deep fry the papdi till it is crisp and golden in color.  
• Drain it on paper towel and let it cool down. Store it in an air tight container.  

Serving Suggestions:
Enjoy just papdi with the tea or make papdi chaat.

Quick and easy Papdi Chaat

“Chaat” word itself makes your mouth water. Usually it takes little time and effort to make “papdi” at home, so I tried this quick and easy version and got almost the same yummy results. Great for summer snacks. Kids love this tangy chaat too!

Ingredients:
For Papdi Chaat [6 servings]
Tortilla scoops (chips) – ½ packet
Potatoes – 2
Sweet Onions -1
Tomatoes- 2 (optional)
Cilantro -1/2 cup
Garbanzo beans – 1 can
Green Cilantro chutney – 1 cup
Imli sweet chutney – 1 cup
Thin sev – 1 cup
Yogurt- 1 cup
Sugar – 1tsp
Dry Ingredients:
Chaat Masala – 1 tbsp
Red chili powder – 1 tsp
Roasted Cumin seeds – 1 tsp (powdered)
Salt as per taste

Method:
Preparation for papdi chaat:

• Blend yogurt into smooth consistency by adding a little milk (not to runny). Add salt, sugar and half chaat masala to it. Keep aside.
• Prepare green cilantro chutney and Imli chutney and keep ready. (You can also fine these chutneys in Indian grocery stores.)
• Boil, peel and mash potatoes. Finely chop sweet onions and tomatoes. Clean and chop cilantro finely as well.
• Take the garbanzo beans in a colander and wash thoroughly.

Assembling the Papri chaat:
In a plate, arrange the tortilla scoops evenly. On each scoop add potatoes and garbanzo beans. Now add one big spoon of beaten yogurt on the filled scoops, all over the plate.
Then add green and imli chutney over it. Top it off with fine sev, chopped onions, tomatoes (optional), chopped cilantro, chaat masala, red chili powder and salt.
Serve immediately and enjoy this lip smacking snack anytime .

Refreshing Corn Salad…….spring is almost here!

Refreshing Corn Salad…….spring is almost here!
Salads are the best compliment to any meal. Since this morning I saw new life to my plants, bright sunny sky and fresh breeze, I crave for something fresh and tangy for my palate. So here comes the simple yet flavorful recipe of Corn salad.

Ingredients:
For Corn Salad [4 servings]
Corn kernels – 3 cups (frozen or fresh)
Potatoes – 2
Sweet Onions -1
Tomatoes- 2
Cilantro -1/2 cup
Lime Juice – 2 tbsp fresh

Dry Ingredients:Chaat Masala – 1 tbsp
Black Pepper – 1 tsp
Roasted Cumin seeds – 1 tsp (powdered)
Sugar – 1 tsp
Salt as per taste


Method:

• Thaw frozen corn kernels in microwave for 2 minutes.
• In a covered sauce pan, cook the fresh or thawed corn kernels for 5 minutes. Cool it down.
• Boil the potatoes, peel and cut into small pieces. Chop sweet onions and tomatoes finely. Clean and chop cilantro finely as well.
• In a salad bowl, add cooked corn kernels, chopped sweet onions, potatoes, tomatoes and cilantro. Mix gently.
• Now add lime juice, chaat masala, freshly grounded black pepper, roasted cumin seed powder, sugar and salt. Mix the salad again.

Serve fresh with any meal or just as an anytime snack