Desi Fiesta

Recipes

Recipes Tested and Tried from my Kitchen.The recipes will include appetizers, sweets, main dish, side dish,vegan recipes all around the world.

Ice Halwa |Bombay Mahim Halwa Recipe | Bombay Paper Halwa

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Ice Halwa is an Bombay specialty sweet. The halwa is also know as mahim halwa or paper halwa. It is available all over India, and is a very famous sweet in mithai shops. These thin square slabs are melt in mouth kind of sweet, with the crunchy nuts topping this taste divine. Mahim is a island near Mumbai and this halwa is set to be originated there. I have some nostalgic childhood memories surrounding these , This halwa was and is my favorite sweet , though I am not a big sweet tooth this halwa used to be my favorite it is been years as tasted this halwa and finally I made them. Traditionally these halwa are made with cornflour ,I have tried making this halwa with cornflour, all purpose flour, and semolina .

When I was listing out recipes to do for the marathon  the first letter I chose  was ” I ” and I instantly wanted Ice halwa for this letter,Though I had no much time to make this prior finally made them and it kept for drying , Hubby did the QC already and told it taste so yummy as. I piece of halwa in your mouth will melt down and cool  the tummy , If you have tasted the halwa you will know what am talking about. Living in chennai we never missed this halwa as my papa used to bring these from mithai shops in sowcarpet. They are just perfect treat to the soul, I loved making them and experimenting them with all the possibilities. I make the yellow halwa with saffron flavor , the white one is rose flavored and the orange one is the crazy idea of mine to use custard pd a vanilla flavored ice halwa. I have experimented the white halwa with semolina flour , semolina flour is totally different from the white semolina we use in Indian cuisine..Semolina flour is yellow and looks fine than the semolina but when cooked gets gritty. Semolina flour are made which durum wheat. For this halwa fine variety of semolina works well but if you don’t have the fine but have the coarse variety then just grind it in the mixier and make it fine. This is my first recipe under my 4th theme which Indian sweets 🙂

Theme ~ Indian Sweets 

I for Ice Halwa

Ingredients 

  • Semolina  (Or semolina flour)- 1/4 cup
  • Ghee – 1/4 cup
  • Milk – 1 1/2 cup
  • Sugar – 1 cup
  • Rose Essence – Few Drops
  • Yellow color – few drops( optional)

Toppings

  • Cardamom pd
  • Pista and Badam chopped
  • Rose petal ( optional)

Method 

  • I had  some Coarse semolina so grounded the semolina in mixier to make fine semolina.
  • Tear a long sheet of parchment paper and keep it ready, also keep the topping ready to sprinkle before you start the halwa making process.
  • In a sauce pan Mix semolina, ghee, milk together and Mix them well.
  • Turn on the heat to medium and keep string continuously.
  • At one stage it will start to thicken and this is were you have be cautious and swiftly stir the mixture.
  • The mixture should start leaving the sides and should form a dough.
  • Turn off the stove and mix the mixture so that is thickens and also cools a little bit.
  • Transfer the mixture to the parchment paper , line another parchment paper on top and start lightly rolling the dough with a rolling pin.
  • Roll it slightly thin , not very very thin as the halwa might break easily after drying. Thin halwas taste better than thick ones.
  • Sprinkle the topping on the rolled dough , press or roll with a rolling pin so that the topping is well fixed to the dough and doesn’t fall.
  • Using a pizza cutter or a knife to cut the uneven ends and cut square or rectangle shapes.
  • Use a scissor cut the halwa with the parchment paper spread it over a plate .
  • Keep the Halwa in Refrigerator for 24 to 48 hours to dry .
  • These halwa taste yummy even before drying but for the best authentic taste dry them up .
  • Once the halwa’s are store it in a air tight container. It keeps well for a week.

 


4.8 from 11 reviews
Ice Halwa |Bombay Mahim Halwa Recipe | Bombay Paper Halwa
 
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Bombay Ice Halwa is a very popular sweet , and it is said to be originated in Mahim. This paper like halwa taste best when they are thin and dry well.
Author:
Recipe type: Indian Sweets
Cuisine: Indian Cuisine
Serves: 10
Ingredients
  • Semolina - ¼ cup
  • Ghee - ¼ cup
  • Milk - 1½ cup
  • Sugar - 1 cup
  • Rose Essence - Few Drops
  • Yellow color - few drops( optional)
  • Toppings
  • Cardamom pd
  • Pista and Badam chopped
  • Rose petal ( optional)
Instructions
  1. I had some Coarse semolina so grounded the semolina in mixier to make fine semolina.
  2. Tear a long sheet of parchment paper and keep it ready, also keep the topping ready to sprinkle before you start the halwa making process.
  3. In a sauce pan Mix semolina, ghee, milk together and Mix them well.
  4. Turn on the heat to medium and keep string continuously.
  5. At one stage it will start to thicken and this is were you have be cautious and swiftly stir the mixture.
  6. The mixture should start leaving the sides and should form a dough.
  7. Turn off the stove and mix the mixture so that is thickens and also cools a little bit.
  8. Transfer the mixture to the parchment paper , line another parchment paper on top and start lightly rolling the dough with a rolling pin.
  9. Roll it slightly thin , not very very thin as the halwa might break easily after drying. Thin halwas taste better than thick ones.
  10. Sprinkle the topping on the rolled dough , press or roll with a rolling pin so that the topping is well fixed to the dough and doesn't fall.
  11. Using a pizza cutter or a knife to cut the uneven ends and cut square or rectangle shapes.
  12. Use a scissor cut the halwa with the parchment paper spread it over a plate .
  13. Keep the Halwa in Refrigerator for 24 to 48 hours to dry .
  14. These halwa taste yummy even before drying but for the best authentic taste dry them up .
  15. Once the halwa's are store it in a air tight container. It keeps well for a week.

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Gatte Ki Thiyari ( No Onion No Garlic) | Gatte Ki Thali ~ Rajasthani Gatta Recipes

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Gatte Ki sabzi is a very famous Rajasthani yogurt based curry with no veggies No onion and no garlic. Gatta is a  spiced up chickpea dough shaped like a sausage and cooked in boiling water, they are then cut and made with yogurt based gravy. Not only sabzi we make many more dishes with gatta.Like the recipe, I am going to share here, Gatte Ki thiyari is a most loved dish in my home.  I make them often and it is a delicious variety rice with nothing fancy. I still remember My mom used to make this dish for every diwali with meetha chawal. This was a diwali special menu at mom’s place. There many varieties of thiyari but gatte is thiyari is a very traditional Rajasthani dish which is made only at home.Gatta as such can be made many ways such as paneer ke gatte, aloo ke gatte, Lauki ke gatte, Atte ka gatta and many more. We use leftovers very efficiently if we have leftover rice the first thing pops up is chawal ka gatta , I have been having it from my childhood. I had some other recipe lined up for G I told my hubby but he suggested Guntur Idli, I didn’t have proper ingredients. Letter G was following me where ever I go and Then this idea popped up to make our very own gatta and some variety gatta recipes which is a regular kind of food in our home. Don’t hit me  :p again I tend to overdo I know, I tried making gatte ki thali, which Included Gatte ki sabzi ( obviously), gatte ki kadhi, Gatte ki chakri, Gatte Ki Kadhi,Gatter Ki thiyari and I also make Gatte ki Tikki.

Rajasthan is known for its culture and food, Most of the Rajasthani cuisine have yogurt added to it bcoz of the scarcity of water. People substitute yogurt to make the gravy. Most of the time there is a scarcity of veggie and fruits so they use pulse and dried veggies to make their curries. Most of the food is prepared to keep in mind it should last for days without heating. We follow a no onion no garlic and no greens diet for Paryushan parava ( Jains 8 days festival) which when it is tough to decide what to cook and gatta is an Instant option at all homes which doesn’t need soaking of pulses and can be made in a jiffy. Last month I share a No onion No garlic No green veggie Thali and everyone for Bm theme Indian Thali .  Here I am with a No onion No garlic marwari food again, As we made yogurt based gravies a lot and gattas are most loved yogurt based gravy I thought Why not I do a Gatte Ki thali for the letter G. My mom did share this recipe on Tv show we both did in pudhuyugam (konjam soru konjam varalaru) , that was proud moment for me to make her cook for TV ..Lets move on to the recipe..


G For Gatte Ki Thiyari and Gatte Ki Thali

Gatte Ki Menu

  • Gatte Ki Tikki

  • Gatte Ki Kadhi

  • Gatte Ki Sabzi

  • Gatte Ki chakri

  • Gatte Ki Thiyari

Ingredients 

For Gatta

  • Chickpeas Flour – 1 1/2 cups
  • Carom seeds/ Ajwain – 1/4 tsp
  • Oil – 1 tbsp
  • Red chilli pd – 1/2 tsp
  • Turmeric – 1/4 tsp
  • Salt to taste
  • Water as needed

For Thiyari

  • Basmasti Rice – 1 1/2 cups
  • Bay leaf – 1 No
  • Cinnamon – 1 “Inch piece
  • Cloves – 2 No
  • Cardamom – 2 No
  • Green Peas – 1/4 cup ( boiled)
  • Pomegranate – 1/2 cup
  • Ghee as needed ( to fry the nuts)
  • Cashew nuts – 2-3 No
  • Raisins – 2-3 No
  • Oil – 1 tbsp
  • Coriander Leaves – 2 tbsp ( chopped)
  • Green chillies – 2 slit
  • Red chilli pd – 1 tsp
  • Coriander pd – 1/2 tsp
  • Turmeric pd – 1/4 tsp
  • Garam Masala pd – 1/4 tsp
  • Lemon wedge

Method 

  • Wash and soak basmati rice for 15 mins and then cook them in boiling water till 75 % done.
  • Drain the water and fluff the rice.
  • In a bowl Mix chickpea flour, carom seeds, red chilli pd, turmeric powder, oil and mix them well.
  • Add little water at a time and knead it into a stiff dough.
  • Divide the dough into equal portions and form a sausage shaped elongated cylinders and keep it ready.
  • Boil water in a saucepan, once the water comes to a rolling boil drop the shaped gatta and cook them till a knife inserted comes out clean.
  • After the gattas boil in the water for 10 to 15 mins, drain the water and cut them into equal size pieces.
  • In a saucepan, heat oil add bay leaf, cardamom, cloves, cinnamon.
  • Add the cut gatta into the oil and saute them. Add red chilli pd, turmeric pd, coriander pd, garam masala.
  • Mix them well till it gets coated to the gatta, if you feel the masalas are getting burned sprinkle water if needed.
  • Add the cooked rice and mix them well, add the boiled peas as well.
  • In another pan with little oil/ghee roast the cashew and raisins. Add them to the rice as well.
  • Cover and cook the rice on low flame for 5 – 10 mins, till all the masala combine well.
  • Garnish with lots of chopped coriander, pomegranate and serve hot with lemon squeezed on top.
  • We usually have this rice with roasted papad but raita will go well too.

Notes

  • When we make this for a regular day we do add onion and garlic to this rice and it tastes yummy as well. But without onion and garlic still, it tastes the same.

5.0 from 11 reviews
Gatte Ki Thiyari ( No Onion No Garlic) | Gatte Ki Thali ~ Rajasthani Gatta Recipes
 
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Gatte Ki thiyari is a Rajasthani traditional rice variety. This NO onion and No garlic recipe is perfect for paryushan parva ( jain festival).
Author:
Recipe type: Rice Recipes
Cuisine: Rajasthani Cuisine
Serves: 3
Ingredients
For Gatta
  • Chickpeas Flour - 1½ cups
  • Carom seeds/ Ajwain - ¼ tsp
  • Oil - 1 tbsp
  • Red chilli pd - ½ tsp
  • Turmeric - ¼ tsp
  • Salt to taste
  • Water as needed
For Thiyari
  • Basmasti Rice - 1½ cups
  • Bay leaf - 1 No
  • Cinnamon - 1 "Inch piece
  • Cloves - 2 No
  • Cardamom - 2 No
  • Green Peas - ¼ cup ( boiled)
  • Pomegranate - ½ cup
  • Ghee as needed ( to fry the nuts)
  • Cashew nuts - 2-3 No
  • Raisins - 2-3 No
  • Oil - 1 tbsp
  • Coriander Leaves - 2 tbsp ( chopped)
  • Green chillies - 2 slit
  • Red chilli pd - 1 tsp
  • Coriander pd - ½ tsp
  • Turmeric pd - ¼ tsp
  • Garam Masala pd - ¼ tsp
  • Lemon wedge
Instructions
  1. Wash and soak basmati rice for 15 mins and then cook them in boiling water till 75 % done.
  2. Drain the water and fluff the rice.
  3. In a bowl Mix chickpea flour, carom seeds, red chilli pd, turmeric powder, oil and mix them well.
  4. Add little water at a time and knead it into a stiff dough.
  5. Divide the dough into equal portions and form a sausage shaped elongated cylinders and keep it ready.
  6. Boil water in a saucepan, once the water comes to a rolling boil drop the shaped gatta and cook them till a knife inserted comes out clean.
  7. After the gattas boil in the water for 10 to 15 mins, drain the water and cut them into equal size pieces.
  8. In a saucepan, heat oil add bay leaf, cardamom, cloves, cinnamon.
  9. Add the cut gatta into the oil and saute them. Add red chilli pd, turmeric pd, coriander pd, garam masala.
  10. Mix them well till it gets coated to the gatta, if you feel the masalas are getting burned sprinkle water if needed.
  11. Add the cooked rice and mix them well, add the boiled peas as well.
  12. In another pan with little oil/ghee roast the cashew and raisins. Add them to the rice as well.
  13. Cover and cook the rice on low flame for 5 - 10 mins, till all the masala combine well.
  14. Garnish with lots of chopped coriander, pomegranate and serve hot with lemon squeezed on top.
  15. We usually have this rice with roasted papad but raita will go well too.
Notes
When we make this for a regular day we do add onion and garlic to this rice and it tastes yummy as well. But without onion and garlic still, it tastes the same.

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Firi Firi Doughnuts Recipe | Tahitian Breakfast Doughnuts

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Firi Firi is a Tahitian breakfast recipe, These doughnuts have the coconut flavor and tastes delicious when had warm with some sugar coated over it. I am landing to french polyenesia today, these doughnuts are a very popular street food breakfast . Tahiti is one of the largest islands in polynesia , it is shaped like 8 .. This is the reason why traditionally the doughnuts are shaped 8 I assume.. Firi Firi can be shaped two ways the traditional way is to make it 8 shape or long strips or if you want you can shape them anyway you like. I opted for the long strips and I will post the 8 shaped too once I make them after the marathon gets over, the dough is the same but you need some patience to make them  8 shaped ones, as the dough is quite sticky to handle. The dough is shaped 8 for even cooking. I opted for a no messy hands way using a piping bag it  was a breeze to make. Tahitian cuisine is known for its tropical fruits and the array of jams they produce with  the fruits available.

When I was researching F I had a hard time choosing as there are so many recipes I wanted to try but I went with this easy  and delicious recipe which was a perfect breakfast to start a day.  I read so much about this country I had never came across and this is my first Tahitian recipe. I just fell in love with the cuisine , I will sure try some more from this cuisine and post it here. For my last day of the week I wanted to end it with a sweet and what is more better than doughtnuts. Here goes the recipe..

 

Recipe is Adapted from here

Ingredients

  • All-purpose flour – 2 1/2 cup
  • Sugar – 3/4 cup ( I used castor sugar)
  • Coconut Milk – 1 cup
  • Water – 1/2 cup ( Lukewarm)
  • Dry active yeast – 2 1/2 tsp
  • Oil – for Deep Frying
  • Granulated sugar – 1/2 cup ( to coat)

Method

  • In a bowl of lukewarm water add the yeast and 1 tbsp of sugar. Mix it well and set aside.
  • Let it stand for 10 mins or till it gets frothy and the yeast gets activated.
  • In a mixing bowl add all purpose flour, sugar, the yeast mixture, coconut milk, salt and form a thick batter.
  • Cover and let it rest for 2 hours in a warm place. If you living in a cold country preferably in the oven with the light on.
  • Heat oil in a pan. Meanwhile, in a piping bag with a round nozzle fill in this batter and keep it ready.
  • Take granulated sugar in a plate and keep it ready.
  • Pipe the batter into the hot oil cutting out (about 4 to 5 inches long) with the help of a knife.
  • I fried 5 at a time, depending on the size of your kadai fry them till golden brown from both sides.
  • Transfer the doughnuts to a kitchen towel lined plate and then roll the doughnuts in the plate of granulated sugar when they are still warm.
  • Serve them warm with any jam or as it is with coffee.

 

5.0 from 11 reviews
Firi Firi Doughnuts | Tahiti
 
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Firi Firi is a Tahitian breakfast recipe, These doughnuts have the coconut flavor and taste delicious when had warm with some sugar coated over it.
Author:
Recipe type: Breakfast
Cuisine: Tahitian Cuisine
Serves: 20
Ingredients
  • All-purpose flour - 2½ cup
  • Sugar - ¾ cup ( I used castor sugar)
  • Coconut Milk - 1 cup
  • Water - ½ cup ( Lukewarm)
  • Dry active yeast - 2½ tsp
  • Oil - for Deep Frying
  • Granulated sugar - ½ cup ( to coat)
Instructions
  1. In a bowl of lukewarm water add the yeast and 1 tbsp of sugar. Mix it well and set aside.
  2. Let it stand for 10 mins or till it gets frothy and the yeast gets activated.
  3. In a mixing bowl add all purpose flour, sugar, the yeast mixture, coconut milk, salt and form a thick batter.
  4. Cover and let it rest for 2 hours in a warm place. If you living in a cold country preferably in the oven with the light on.
  5. Heat oil in a pan. Meanwhile, in a piping bag with a round nozzle fill in this batter and keep it ready.
  6. Take granulated sugar in a plate and keep it ready.
  7. Pipe the batter into the hot oil cutting out (about 4 to 5 inchs long) with the help of a knife.
  8. I fried 5 at a time , depending on the size of your kadai fry them till golden brown from both sides.
  9. Transfer the doughnuts to a kitchen towel lined plate and then roll the doughnuts in the plate of granulated sugar when they are still warm.
  10. Serve them warm with any jam or as it is with coffee.

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Ejja ( Libyan Frittata) Recipe | Eggless Frittata Recipe

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Ejja is Libyan Breakfast Frittata .Libyan cuisine is a combination of Mediterranean and african cuisine. From their breakfast they have Bazin with is prepared which barley flour. Pastas and seafoods are most commonly eaten, the capital of libya has Italian cuisine influence. So no wonder the Italian frittata has taken its place here.Frittata is traditionally an egg-based omelet which has some meat and veggies added to it makes it a protein and carb-rich breakfast.In Italian Frittata means Fried, This is a skillet version of omelet which is not folded and all the ingredients are mixed in the eggs and then cooked. I have been looking for Eggless versions of Frittata or quiche recipe for so long but most of the recipes called for  Nutritional yeast, which I didn’t have available so tried by hands with egg replacer.

These are cooked in low heat when made in the skillet but some people opt to bake it once the bottom side is cooked It saves time and there is no need to flipping.Flipping was challenging I even ripped the top part too :D..As a vegeterian who doesn’t eat egg I have to tweak some international recipe in my own version . This is one such experiments I did yesterday , I was so sure about the recipe won’t fail. I had a long wish to make eggless frittata and to try an eggless version of quiche.  I have never used egg replacer in a savory dish before this is the first time am doing it..This tasted just like our pakodas and soft chilas, I never knew potato will go so well with this Frittata it was amazing. I even made Misrati (Libyan bread) to have with these.

 

Do Check My A- Z series till Now

A for Andhra Lunch Menu

B for Beach Sundal

C for Chebab ( Emirati Pancakes ) and Emirati Breakfast Table

D for Dahi Bara Aloo Dum Ghugni

E for Eggless Ejjja

Theme – Breakfast Recipes

Recipe Adapted from Here

Ingredients

  • Chickpea flour – 1 1/2 cup
  • Egg Replacer – 3 tbsp + 9 tbsp warm water ( mix it well with no lumps)
  • Potato – 1 no medium ( chopped)
  • Tomato – 1 no small ( chopped)
  • Onion – 1 no medium ( chopped finely)
  • Spinach – 11/2 cup ( chopped)
  • Green chillies- 2-3 ( chopped)
  • Coriander leaves – few chopped
  • Baking pd – 1 tsp
  • Turmeric pd – 1/4 tsp (optional)
  • Fresh Bread crumbs – 2 tbsp
  • All-purpose flour – 3 tbsp
  • Salt to taste
  • Pepper to taste
  • Oil – 2 tbsp

Method

  • In a pan heat 1 tbsp oil add some chopped onions.
  • Saute them well until translucent, add the chopped green chillies and saute them as well.
  • Add the chopped potatoes stir fry them, add very little water . Cover and cook them till they are soft.
  • After potatoes cook add the spinach and cook them till they shrink a little.
  • Now add the chopped tomatoes and saute them well.
  • Meanwhile in a bowl Mix chickpea flour,  bread crumbs, all-purpose flour, turmeric pd,the egg replacer mix , baking powder, salt , pepper pd  and mix them well.
  • Add water little by little and make a thick batter , Now add the sauteed veggie mix to the batter and mix well.
  • If you are using cast iron you need to heat the pan before you start, to cook evenly. Add 1 tbsp oil and grease the inner part of the pan well.
  • Pour in the frittata batter , cover an cook in a low flame, Once you see well-browned corner take a plate keep it on the pan and flip frittata on it.
  • Transfer the frittata again top side bottom so that it gets cooked well from the top and inside. Do the cooking in low heat.
  • Once the frittata is reading serve them as is with tomato sauce or with shorba or just wrap it in Iptat the traditional libyan way.

 

 

5.0 from 9 reviews
Ejja ( Libyan Frittata) Recipe | Ejja with Iptat
 
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Ejja is a Libyan breakfast frittata, Traditionally had with shorba / Libyan soup or wrapped in Iptat ( Libyan bread.
Author:
Recipe type: Breakfast Recipes
Cuisine: Libyan Cuisine
Serves: 4
Ingredients
  • Chickpea flour - 1½ cup
  • Egg Replacer - 3 tbsp + 9 tbsp warm water ( mix it well with no lumps)
  • Potato - 1 no medium ( chopped)
  • Tomato - 1 no small ( chopped)
  • Onion - 1 no medium ( chopped finely)
  • Spinach - 11/2 cup ( chopped)
  • Green chillies- 2-3 ( chopped)
  • Coriander leaves - few chopped
  • Baking pd - 1 tsp
  • Fresh Bread crumbs - 2 tbsp
  • All-purpose flour - 3 tbsp
  • Salt to taste
  • Pepper to taste
  • Oil - 2 tbsp
Instructions
  1. In a pan heat 1 tbsp oil add some chopped onions.
  2. Saute them well until translucent, add the chopped green chillies and saute them as well.
  3. Add the chopped potatoes stir fry them, add very little water . Cover and cook them till they are soft.
  4. After potatoes cook add the spinach and cook them till they shrink a little.
  5. Now add the chopped tomatoes and saute them well.
  6. Meanwhile in a bowl Mix chickpea flour,  bread crumbs, all-purpose flour, the egg replacer mix , baking powder, salt , pepper pd  and mix them well.
  7. Add water little by little and make a thick batter , Now add the sauteed veggie mix to the batter and mix well.
  8. If you are using cast iron you need to heat the pan before you start, to cook evenly. Add 1 tbsp oil and grease the inner part of the pan well.
  9. Pour in the frittata batter , cover an cook in a low flame, Once you see well-browned corner take a plate keep it on the pan and flip frittata on it.
  10. Transfer the frittata again top side bottom so that it gets cooked well from the top and inside. Do the cooking in low heat.
  11. Once the frittata is reading serve them as is with tomato sauce or with shorba or just wrap it in Iptat the traditional libyan way.

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Dahi Bara Aloo dum Ghungni Recipe | Dahi vada Aloo Dum ( Orissa Street food)

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Dahi Bara Aloo dum  Ghungni is a famous street food of Odisha, This is very popular cuttack special chaat and people would there are fond of dahi bara aloo dum more than any other chaat. They can have this chaat anytime a day be it breakfast, lunch , snack, or dinner. The are so many hawkers selling this dahi vada all over odisha and each one has their own taste . After going through so many vlogs about this street food in youtube I came to know that Bidanashi Dahi vada in Cuttack is most popular they don’t have any fancy topping but still, they taste good. But I did add some topping they tasted yummy without any topping. The Interesting part about eating this dahi bara in cuttack is they don’t give a spoon to eat them and you have to eat with your fingers. I also read that some places the ghungi is skipped and just served with a watery aloo dum. I would love to go and experience the dahi bara aloo dum in cuttack some day. Till then I will make them at home frequently. The soft vadas are placed on the leaf bowl and topped with some hot ghugni and aloo dum.

Street food is happiness overloaded as it has something new to experience in any place. The small vendors who sell these amazing delicacy are always the best and even though we might try to recreate sometimes would still go search for the street food which they make, it is the taste that matters when it comes to street food and there something new always makes anyone curious about how it is going to taste. Today am here is a Orissa street food which I made yesterday for my D. It was a  busy day , Had to pack lunch box in the morning so forgot to soak the dal for vada . Lil one has spring break and wants me around all the time. She was getting bored so took her to the library I just soaked my dal for vada and went. It was already 2 pm when I came back .  I quickly ground the vada batter , made the ghugni which I had soaked overnight and aloo dum side by side. I fried all the vada and soaked them in the buttermilk by 4 and they soaked well for 1 1/2 hour. It was already 5.30 pm, yesterday was a rainy day , though I enjoyed the rain the light was playing hide and seek. Somehow I managed to click the pictures before all the light vanished. These are really different take on the normal dahi vada giving it some spice and tang .. It tasted delicious and I would make them again for sure.. People even drink the chaas as is after having these delicious chaats like we have the pani after having pani poori :D.. Coming to the recipe

Ingredients 

For Bara / Vada 

  • Urad dal / skinned black gram dal – 1 1/2 cup
  • Salt to taste

For Ghugni 

  • Dried Yellow/White peas – 1 cup ( soaked overnight)
  • Onion – 1 no Medium ( finely chopped)
  • Tomatoes – 1 small ( finely chopped)
  • Ginger garlic  paste – 2 tsp
  • Green chillies- 2 no ( finely chopped)
  • Red chilli pd – 1 tsp
  • Coriander pd – 2 tsp
  • Turmeric pd – 1/2 tsp
  • Cumin pd – 1/2 tsp
  • Garam masala – 1/2 tsp
  • Coriander leaves – few finely chopped
  • Baking soda – a pinch ( optional)
  • Bay leaves – 1 no
  • Cloves – 2 no
  • Cardamom ( whole) – 2 no
  • Cinnamon – 1 inch size
  • Oil – 2 tbsp
  • Salt to taste

For Aloo Dum

  • Potatoes – 2 no medium sized
  • Onion- 1 no medium ( finely chopped)
  • Tomatoes – 1 no medium ( finely chopped)
  • Ginger garlic paste – 2 tsp
  • Green chillies – 2 no ( finely chopped)
  • Red chilli pd – 1 tsp
  • Coriander pd – 2 tsp
  • Turmeric pd – 1/2 tsp
  • Cumin pd – 1/2 tsp
  • Garama masala – 1/2 tsp
  • Bay leaves – 1 no
  • Cloves – 2 no
  • Cardamom ( whole) – 2 no
  • Cinnamon – 1-inch size
  • Oil – Needed to shallow fry
  • Coriander leaves – few finely chopped
  • Salt to taste

For Chaas /Buttermilk

  • Curd / Plain yogurt – 2 cups
  • Water – as needed
  • Green chillies – 3 no ( small)
  • Ginger paste – 2 tsp
  • Mustard seed-  1/2 tsp
  • Curry leaves – few
  • Cumin pd – 1/2 tsp
  • Coriander leaves – Few chopped
  • Salt to taste

For Toppings

  • Onion – 1 no Medium ( chopped)
  • Coriander leaves – Few ( finely chopped)
  • Ompodi
  • Green chillies – Thinly chopped
  • Black salt to sprinkle
  • Red chilli pd to sprinkle
  • Cumin pd to sprinkle

5.0 from 9 reviews
Dahi Bara Aloo dum Ghungni Recipe | Dahi vada Aloo Dum ( Bengali Street food)
 
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Author:
Recipe type: Street Food Recipe
Cuisine: Orissa Cuisine
Serves: 5
Ingredients
For Bara / Vada
  • Urad dal / skinned black gram dal - 1½ cup
  • Salt to taste
For Ghugni
  • Dried Yellow/White peas - 1 cup ( soaked overnight)
  • Onion - 1 no Medium ( finely chopped)
  • Tomatoes - 1 small ( finely chopped)
  • Ginger garlic  paste - 2 tsp
  • Green chillies- 2 no ( finely chopped)
  • Red chilli pd - 1 tsp
  • Coriander pd - 2 tsp
  • Turmeric pd - ½ tsp
  • Cumin pd - ½ tsp
  • Garam masala - ½ tsp
  • Coriander leaves - few finely chopped
  • Baking soda - a pinch ( optional)
  • Bay leaves - 1 no
  • Cloves - 2 no
  • Cardamom ( whole) - 2 no
  • Cinnamon - 1 inch size
  • Oil - 2 tbsp
  • Salt to taste
For Aloo Dum
  • Potatoes - 2 no medium sized
  • Onion- 1 no medium ( finely chopped)
  • Tomatoes - 1 no medium ( finely chopped)
  • Ginger garlic paste - 2 tsp
  • Green chillies - 2 no ( finely chopped)
  • Red chilli pd - 1 tsp
  • Coriander pd - 2 tsp
  • Turmeric pd - ½ tsp
  • Cumin pd - ½ tsp
  • Garama masala - ½ tsp
  • Bay leaves - 1 no
  • Cloves - 2 no
  • Cardamom ( whole) - 2 no
  • Cinnamon - 1-inch size
  • Oil - Needed to shallow fry
  • Coriander leaves - few finely chopped
  • Salt to taste
For Chaas /Buttermilk
  • Curd / Plain yogurt - 2 cups
  • Water - as needed
  • Green chillies - 3 no ( small)
  • Ginger paste - 2 tsp
  • Mustard seed-  ½ tsp
  • Curry leaves - few
  • Cumin pd - ½ tsp
  • Salt to taste
For Toppings
  • Onion - 1 no Medium ( chopped)
  • Coriander leaves - Few ( finely chopped)
  • Ompodi
  • Green chillies - Thinly chopped
  • Black salt to sprinkle
  • Red chilli pd to sprinkle
  • Cumin pd to sprinkle

 

Method

For Bara/ Vada 

  • Soak urad dhal in water for 5-6 hours. After they get soaked well wash them a couple of times till you see a clear water.
  • In a mixie fill 1/4 of the jar with dal and grind them with very little water. Don’t get tempted to pour more water just 1 tbsp at a time.
  • Grind the dal well to fine paste-like consistency and it should look like a  fluffy white batter. Don’t let the Mixie heat up otherwise your vada will turn hard.
  • Grind the rest of the dal and transfer the batter to a bowl. .
  • Now add salt and whip the batter well with your hands to incorporate air. The more you mix the more your vada will turn soft and fluffy from inside.
  • To check if your batter is perfect in a bowl of water drop a little batter , if it floats then the matter is perfect if it sinks then you need to whip it more.
  • In a bowl fill some warm water and keep it ready.
  • Heat oil in a kadai and let it reach the frying temperature.
  • Keep a bowl of water to dip your hands nearby. Wet your hands well before shaping the vada
  • Take a small portion of the batter and make ball with your wet hand, then make a cavity or a hole using your thumb.
  • Drop this to the hot oil. Just turn your hands and the shaped vada will fall in the oil. If you feel this is not working then wet a plastic or ziplock drop a ball of batter and try to shape them and drop the shaped vada to the oil.
  • Do the same with rest of the batter . You can fry up to 5 vada in one go depending upon your pans/ kadai size
  • Fry them in a medium heat so that it cooks well from inside.
  • I kept them light in color as dahi vada are not usually browned up and made crispy.
  • Once they are light golden brown , drain the oil and transfer the vadas to the water.
  • Fry the rest of the vadas and do the same.

To Make Buttermilk/ Chaas

  • In a bowl churn yogurt and water like we do for making buttermilk .Add cumin pd,salt,green chilli paste, ginger paste and mix well.
  • Prepare a tadka wih oil mustard seeds and curry leaves and drop it in the buttermilk.

Press the vadas and remove the excess water if any, drop them in the chaas/Buttermilk  and let it rest for 1 – 2 hours.

To make Ghugni

  • Pressure cook the soaked peas with some salt and baking pd for 1-2 whistles depending on your pressure cooker but not more that 2.
  • In a pan heat oil add cloves,bay leaves, cardamom, cinnamon. Add onion and saute them well until translucent.
  • Add Ginger garlic paste, Green chilli paste and saute till the raw smell goes off.
  • Add the tomatoes and cook they till they are mushy.
  • Add allspice pd’s and saute them well till you can smell the nice aroma of the sauteed spice.
  • Add the pressure cooked peas , also add salt and Mix them well.
  • Add some water to dilute the gravy and let it boil for 10 -15 minutes.

 

To Make Aloo Dum

  • In the pressure cooker boil the potatoes for 3 whistles. After the pressure subsides remove the potatoes and peel them.
  • Heat some oil to shallow fry , Cut potatoes to medium sized pieces and fry them till slight browning here and there.
  • Transfer the shallow fried potatoes to a kitchen towel to drain the excess oil.
  • In a saucepan heat oil, add bay leaves , cloves, cardamom, cinnamon.
  • Add the chopped onions and saute until translucent,
  • Add the ginger garlic and green chilli paste and saute.
  • Add the tomatoes and cook until mushy.
  • Add allspice pd’s and saute them well till you can smell the nice aroma of the sauteed spice.
  • Add the shallow fried potatoes and ,  add salt and Mix them well.
  • Add some water to dilute the gravy and let it boil for 10 -15 minutes.

To Assemble 

  • By this time the vadas must have soaked well and would have turned soft.
  • Press the vada lightly and place is a serving bowl or plate .
  • Add Ghugni some ghugni and some aloo dum on top of the vada.
  • And add the topping to them. Some chopped onions, ompodi, coriander leaves , Black salt,cumin pd, red chilli pd.
  • Serve them immediately. People drink the buttermilk as is too.

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Chebab ( Emirati Pancakes) With Date Syrup | Emirati Breakfast Recipes

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Chebab is Emiriti Breakfast pancakes, which is had with some date syrup drizzled on top. Emirati cuisine is a combination of cuisine from middle east and Asian. I wanted to explore this cuisine 4 years back when I was doing april marathon and finally, here I am with a breakfast spread for this cuisine. The Most popular Emirati breakfast bread include raqaq, Khameer, and Chebab. These breads are generally served with dates syrup, eggs,or chami ( made with hung curds) / cheese. Chebab come from the name cheb which means flipping over, As this pancake is flipped over and cooked they are Chebab. Saffron and cardamom are more used in this cuisine so you might find almost all the recipes using them especially if it a sweet. The traditional recipe calls for egg but used egg replacer making it a eggless version.This bread is similar to the Moroccon Baghrir , except for the cardamom and saffron flavor.  Another very famous breakfast is Balaleet which is sweetened vermicelli again flavored with cardamom and saffron, some recipes also call for rose water. It is served with egg omelet but here I skipped it. Balaleet is a traditional dish made during Eid , Ramadan for Iftar. Khabeesa is another dessert which is had for breakfast too, it is made of roasted wheat flour which is blended with hot caramelized sugar syrup with cardamom and saffron. There is an another version of Khabees with semolina / Rava which made more often. Saw few videos in youtube and made them.

I had some sweets planned for letter C but this cuisine was yet to explore so went with it. I wanted to create a breakfast table spread so added the two famous dessert breakfast to the pancakes. Khabeesa was more time consuming that chebab its tastes was completely different from our usual wheat flour halwa. I made the dates syrup from scratch and as I read all over it tasted delicious with them I made some cream cheese filling to go with the pancakes too. Spread some sweetened cream cheese filling in a pancake sandwich them with other and take a bite it is addictive. My pancakes are made in a hurry so they might not look pretty but they taste is worth trying. We had our pancakes as a snack though it is a breakfast recipe, sometimes this happens I think to every blogger breakfast recipe is served for lunch and lunch for dinner he he he 😀 I also added some Karak chai to complete the breakfast table though we are not tea people.. Breakfasts are an essential meal in a day, I am trying to implement.  For my Letter B I chose to make a breakfast here I am with my first breakfast from the theme .Tomorrow is the D day, I mean letter D day till then enjoy this letter C.

Do Check My A- Z series till Now

A for Andhra Lunch Menu

B for Beach Sundal

C for Chebab ( Emirati Pancakes ) and Emirati Breakfast Table

Emirati Breakfasts

  • Chebab ( Emirati Pancakes)

  • Khabeesa ( Wheat flour version)

  • Balaleet ( vermecilli sweet)

  • Karak ( Cardamom and saffron infused Chai)

Adapted from Here

Ingredients

All-purpose Flour – 2 cups
Non- fat Milk pd – 2 tbsp
Active Dry Yeast -1 tsp
Sugar – 1/4 cup
Warm Water – 3 cups( or less depending on the consistency)
Cardamom pd – 1/2 tsp
Saffron – Few strands soaked in warm water.
Baking soda – 1 tsp
Salt a pinch
Egg replacer -3 tsp (mixed in 4 tbsp warm water)
Oil or ghee – as needed to make the pancakes.

Method

  • In a mixing bowl sieve the flour, baking pd and milk powder.
  • Add yeast, sugar, salt, cardamom pd. pinch of salt and mix them well.
  • Add the wet ingredients to them saffron syrup and Egg replacer mix. You can add lemon yellow color to the batter if you want to . I added just a drop.
  • Mix them well and add water little by little to make the pancake batter. Preferably use warm water to make the batter.
  • The batter must be not too thick like our normal pancakes nor thin like dosa batter.
  • Cover and keep it in a warm place for the yeast to react for 1 hour 30 minutes.
  • After 1 1/2 hour the batter will rise and get fermented. You can see the batter fermented by the froth and smell of the yeast.
  • Heat a tawa or a pan, Mix the fermented batter well.
  • Once the tawa is hot , grease it with ghee or oil and pour in a ladle of batter and gently rotate the ladle on the batter clockwise like we do for dosa.
  • Cook on one side once lightly browned flip and cook the other side and transfer them to a plate.
  • Do the same for the rest of the batter.
  • Enjoy this soft pancake with dates syrup or cream cheese or Nutella.


5.0 from 13 reviews
Chebab ( Emirati Pancakes) With Date Syrup | Emirati Breakfast Recipes
 
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Chebab is a traditional Emirati breakfast had with dates syrup. These yeasted pancakes are perfect breakfast to relish.
Author:
Recipe type: Breakfast Recipe
Cuisine: Emirati Cuisine
Serves: 4
Ingredients
  • All-purpose Flour - 2 cups
  • Non- fat Milk pd - 2 tbsp
  • Active Dry Yeast -1 tsp
  • Sugar - ¼ cup
  • Warm Water - 3 cups( or less depending on the consistency)
  • Cardamom pd - ½ tsp
  • Saffron - Few strands soaked in warm water.
  • Baking soda - 1
  • Salt a pinch
  • Egg replacer -3 tsp (mixed in 4 tbsp warm water)
  • Oil or ghee - as needed to make the pancakes.
Instructions
  1. In a mixing bowl sieve the flour, baking pd and milk powder.
  2. Add yeast, sugar, salt, cardamom pd and mix them well.
  3. Add the wet ingredients to them saffron syrup and Egg replacer mix.
  4. Mix them well and add water little by little to make the pancake batter.
  5. The batter must be not too thick like our normal pancakes nor thin like dosa batter.
  6. Cover and keep it in a warm place for the yeast to react for 1 hour 30 minutes.
  7. After 1½ hour the batter will rise and get fermented.
  8. Heat a tawa or a pan, Mix the fermented batter well.
  9. Once the tawa is hot , grease it with ghee or oil and pour in a ladle of batter and gently rotate the ladle on the batter clockwise like we do for dosa.
  10. Cook on one side once lightly browned flip and cook the other side and transfer them to a plate.
  11. Do the same for the rest of the batter.
  12. Enjoy this soft pancake with dates syrup or cream cheese or Nutella

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Beach Sundal with Masala Vadai Recipe | Beach Sundal Gravy with Masal vadai

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Beach sundal gravy is an amazing street food of Tamilnadu, India. Though there are n number dry sundals we make at home my heart always ask for this street food sundal gravy. If you are traveling Chennai this is one of the must-try street food in marina beach which is one of world’s longest beach. Marina beach is the best tourist attraction, be it a national holiday or not you will find this beach always filled with people and there are street food vendors who always make hot piping food.  My mouth is salivating writing this be it molaga bhaji, raw mango sprinkled with salt and red chilli pd, Corn, Hot peanuts sundal, thengai magai sundal, beach sundal are few of the street foods you can find. Today am here to share with one such very famous street food from Chennai which is beach sundal kozhambu or beach sundal gravy. These are technically not only found in the beach’s but found all over Chennai were small vendors sell these sundal, bhajis and vadas for an evening snack. These are made with white peas / white pattani, they are perfect to indulge on a rainy day with some masal vada crushed on them and some onions sprinkled over.

This is called beach sundal because they are most popular beach snack. As a chennaite, I have tasted these sundals with masala vada a lot of times. A vendor who was a family friend used to make this sundal on the same street I lived, they always made sure to crush some masala vada , Sprinkle some onions , coriander leaves and ompodi over this yummy gravy. Whenever we felt hungry in the evening my mom used to allow us to do takeout this yummy sundal which was just 10 Rs for 2 servings and we would relish them at home . On a rainy day, it is a wonderful scene to watch those steam flying away from the hot plate of sundal on the stove, in the tea stall some hot vadas are being fried , and the mesmerizing way the tea master pours the tea from one glass to other .. I enjoy all the little things happening  on a rainy day, in this busy world we forget to enjoy those little things. Me, my lil one and hubby make sure whenever it rains we sit on our patio and enjoy the rain thoroughly. Coming back to the recipe I tried to make these pattani sundal my way and they tasted delicious with that masala vadai. I have a masal vadai already posted and here is the Pattani sundal recipe..I am doing A-Z series for the mega-marathon this month. So for my Letter B I landed on to my home state Tamilnadu.

Do checkout my yesterdays post too where I posted My Letter A.

A for Andhra Lunch Menu and A for Alasanda Vada

B for Beach Sundal Gravy

 

 Ingredients

Dried white peas / Pattani – 1 cup
Tomato – 1 no Medium (hopped)
Onion – 1 no Medium(chopped)
Ginger garlic green chillies paste – 1 tbsp
Red chilli pd – 1 tsp
Turmeric pd – 1/4 tsp
Coriander pd – 1/2 tsp
Garam masala – 1/2 tsp
Fennel powder – 1/2 tsp
Oil – 2 tbsp
Salt to taste
For Topping
Masala Vada  (Recipe here)
Chopped Onions and Grated carrots
Chopped Coriander leaves
Ompodi

Method

  1. Soak the white pea in water overnight or 5-6 hours.
  2. You can either boil them in water or pressure cook them for 2 whistles.
    After the pressure releases drain the cooked peas .
  3. Grind onion and tomatoes in a mixture. and transfer them to a bowl.
    In a saucepan heat oil add the GGG paste saute them well.
  4. Add the onion tomato paste and saute them too till the raw smell goes off.
  5. Add the red chilli pd , turmeric pd, coriander pd, garam masala, fennel pd and mix them well.
    Cook the gravy till the oil separates and raw smell of the masala goes off.
  6. Add 1/2 of the cooked peas and some water to make the gravy thin.
  7. Let the gravy boil and combine well, add the remaining sundal and cook them for some more minutes till the consistency is slightly thick. This sundal is usually kept watery as it thickens up as it cools.
  8. Add some chopped coriander leaves and mix well.
  9. While plating don’t forget to crush some crispy vadas on the sundal gravy , some chopped onions, some coriander leaves and ompodi.

 


5.0 from 9 reviews
Beach Sundal with Masala Vadai
 
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Beach sundal gravy is a very popular street food made with dried white peas and is served with some crushed masala vadaion top.
Author:
Recipe type: Street Food Recipes
Cuisine: Tamilnadu Cuisine
Serves: 4
Ingredients
For Sundal Gravy
  • Dried white peas / Pattani - 1 cup
  • Tomato - 1 no Medium (hopped)
  • Onion - 1 no Medium(chopped)
  • Ginger garlic green chillies paste - 1 tbsp
  • Red chilli pd - 1 tsp
  • Turmeric pd - ¼ tsp
  • Coriander pd - ½ tsp
  • Garam masala - ½ tsp
  • Fennel powder - ½ tsp
  • Oil - 2 tbsp
  • Salt to taste
For Topping
  • Masala Vadai
  • Chopped Onions and Grated Carrots
  • Chopped Coriander leaves
  • Ompodi
Instructions
  1. Soak White peas/ Pattani overnight or for 5 to 6 hours.
  2. Drain the water and pressure cook them for 2 whistles.
  3. Grind onion and tomato to a smooth paste.
  4. In a saucepan heat oil add GGG paste and saute them well.
  5. Add the onion tomato paste and saute them for few minutes.
  6. Add Red chillipd, turmeric pd, coriander pd, garam masala, fennel pd and stir them well.
  7. Cook the gravy till the raw smell goes off and the oil separates.
  8. Add half the cooked pattani/ white peas Mix them well and add some water to make the gravy thin.
  9. Let the sundal boil well and add the rest of the sundal to the gravy.
  10. Add salt and boil the gravy well. The longer it boils it taste delicious.
  11. To plate in serve the sundal with some crushed masala vadai topped and some coriander and onion sprinkle over.

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Andhra Lunch Menu Ideas (No Onion No Garlic) | Alasanda Vada Recipe

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Today am here with a Lunch menu idea from Andhra the twist is with No onion or Garlic used. In Jain culture, we do follow no onion no garlic diet since I have already posted a jain thali last month ( with no onion no garlic)  I just wanted to try other Indian cuisine options and here I am with my first No onion no garlic meal in the series. I chose to make a hearty meal this weekend and made this Andhra special meal for our lunch. I planned 2 sides, 2 sides to go with rice, One variety rice, one starter and one fried sweet for this menu. With the ingredients available in my kitchen, I started cooking very late by 11.30 A.M and completed cooking by 1.30 P.M I was dragging like a sloth in the kitchen 😀 Oh yeah this was our Sunday meal. Sunday meals are always special as I try to cook at least 5-6 dishes in the thali, my hubby loves to try elaborate thali so I love to cook for him always.

 

We are a group of Bloggers doing mega marathon blogging this month. I am always happy and glad to participate in the blogging marathon, it is a food adventure which I and my family enjoy. I always try my best to plan my cooking ahead but it never happens, I call it adventurous for a reason as I cook on the same day or the before day of posting it is a real challenge to cook, photograph and post on the same day. I try my best to bring something new for the marathon and on my trying I have learned so many new cuisines. My hubby is so excited than me that am doing the marathon this month. On the other hand, I am getting the exam fever and so scared, wishing that I complete this marathon in a smooth way. I am doing 4 themes for this marathon so sprinkling all 4 themes in my A-Z series for 4 weeks.   I didn’t plan to make an Andhra meal, before I had another plan for the letter A but ended up making a mini thali menu again.

Andhra Pradesh Cuisine has rice and rice varieties for the main meal. The state is well known for its red chillies from guntur.I thought of including puliyohare which is an important festive food in Andhra. The puliyohare are made with green chillis in Andhra version.
The veg dishes includes Koora which is a lentil gravy, Saaru which is rasam,Pulusu is a tamarind and lentil stew, Vepudu is any kind of fry for side dish. I had shared an Andhra thali for mega marathon 4 years back for april bm again am starting the mega-marathon with an Andhra Lunch menu it was just a coincidence  :). Though Andhra and Telangana may have some recipes similar there is some difference in the ingredients used.

So here My A for Andhra Lunch Menu and A for Alasanda Vada 

Moving on to my Lunch menu :

  • Alasanda  Vada|Lobia beans Vada (Rayalaseema special)  -Appetizer 

  • Plain Rice and Puliyohare – Variety Rice

  •  Tomato paruppu- Side to go with Rice

  • Majjige Pulusu or (Saaru in karnataka)| Buttermilk rasam – side to go with Rice

  • Dondakaya Vepudu | Ivy gourd fry- Vegetable side dish

  • Kandagadda Vepudu | Yam fry-  Root vegetable side dish

  • Chandra kaanthalu  – A Festive sweet

My personal favorite was chandra kaanthalu this is very different fried sweet I have ever had with yellow moong dal. I enjoyed making them and they tasted so delicious. With only 3 simple ingredients used this sweet was my favorite and I was able add a sweet dish quickly to the menu. I saw this recipe in a Tv show and adapted the measurements according to us.

How I prepared this meal?

  1. I didn’t soak the lobia/ Black eyed peas beans (for vada) overnight so I did the quick soaking technique. Boiled some water and soaked the beans covered and rested it for about 2-3 hours till I finished my rest of the cooking.I also soaked some Moong dal for chandra kanthalu.
  2. I have a 4 stove kitchen range so it was a breeze for me still I tend to use only 2 at a time. In a pressure cooker cooked the paruppu/ Lentils and tomatoes and on the other had chopped the Dondakaya / Ivy gourd lengthwise.
  3. While I was chopping I also dry roasted some podi / powder to go in the puliyohare and a Peanut spice mix for Dondakaya.
  4. After dry roasting and chopping the veggie, I kept the dry roasted ingredients to cool and started peeling and chopping the yam.
  5. In the meantime opened the pressure cooker and mashed the dal and tomato.
  6. Made a tadka for the dal , poured it over and kept it boil for some time and continued Peeling and chopping the yam.
  7. In a pan made a tadka and threw in the Ivy gourd to saute and cook. Covered it and let it cook.
  8. In another pan filled it with water to boil and added some turmeric and salt for cooking the yam.
  9. Once the water started boiling threw in the yam for cooking and started grinding the dry roasted ingredients.
  10. Tomato paruppu was all boiled and ready, Ivy gourd was cooked so added the dry roasted peanut spice mix and sauteed it well for few mins and turned off the flame.
  11. Yam was cooked, drained the water and coated it with masala for tawa roasting.
  12. Churned some buttermilk , added some green chilli paste and prepared tadka .Keep it to boil in a low flame.
  13. Drained the Moong dal and ground it into a coarse paste. Lobia beans were soaked as well so drained and ground them too.
  14. Majjige saaru / buttermilk rasam was ready. In a saucepan kept oil to heat.
  15. At the same time drizzled oil in a tawa and started roasting the yam side by side.
  16. In a pan added some ghee and cooked the moong dal paste with constant stirring. Added some sugar and again stirred them till formed a lump. Transferred it to a greased plate and shaped them into rectangles, using a cookie cutter cut them into crescent shapes.
  17. Oil was hot fried the crescent-shaped 2 at a time. Meanwhile Chopped some cabbage , green chillies, ginger to go for the vada. Mixed all the ingredients for vada .
  18. Once I was done frying the chandra kanthalu I shaped the vadas and started frying them. Seeing me working Hubby offered me help with the dishes (I don’t use dishwasher. ) 😀 and he did the vacuum as well ( am blessed to have him beside me ).. I always love keeping my workspace clean, I try to clean while I cook so the dirty dishes don’t pile up but if I do an elaborate platter it does pile up sometimes . The OCD bug has passed to me from my hubby , he is one hygiene freak 😀 ..

I had some crazy idea of making all the Andhra dishes starting with letter A ( Letter A thali :D) but I didn’t plan well so went with this simple meal. I made sure I have at least one recipe from The Andhra menu to start with A so I chose to make this vada after googling all the possibilities as it was very similar to our very own masal vada but the only difference is making with beans. I always get tempted to add onion and garlic in any dish, this by itself is a challenge. I was skeptical about how the vadas would taste without onion so I replaced the onions with cabbage. They came out super crispy and they are perfect to indulge with spicy gravy.This vada is very popular in Rayalaseema region and is prepared with cow peas / Black eyed peas. This vada is enjoyed with some spicy gravy and traditionally chicken gravy. Some people even shape them Like medu vada , as I grounded the vada coarsely I flattened them up and fried. This vada is prepared for festivals like Sankranti, we at our home too make vada for Sankranti but this vada was a very new version for us. I always have hard time photographing a thali , it is so tough to keep everything in focus , I tried my best. Moving on to the recipe now.

Ingredients

Blacked Eyed Peas- 1 cup
Cabbage – 1/4 cup ( chopped)
Green chillies- 3 Nos
Ginger – 1 inch chopped
Fennel seeds – 1 tsp
Curry leaves – 1 sprig
Turmeric pd – a pinch
Salt to taste

Method

  1. Soak the black-eyed peas overnight or for 3-4 hours. As I said earlier I used the quick soaking method for the beans.
  2. Drain the water, and grind them coarse without adding water. Don’t get tempted to add water else your vada will have more moisture and will absorb more oil.
  3. Add chopped green chillies, ginger, cabbage, curry leaves and mix them well. As I was doing No onion No garlic theme I opted for cabbage else the traditional vadas are made with onion in them.
  4. Also add fennel seeds, Turmeric pd,salt and mix the vada batter well. Turmeric pd is optional if you are a person like me who loves the yellow inside in your vada then you can add them.
  5. Heat oil in a kadai or saucepan. Check the oil if it is hot by dropping a tiny piece of vada batter and it should sizzle up once you drop it.
  6. Divide them into equal sized balls, once the oil is hot flatten the ball in between your palm and slide them into the hot oil.You can grind the vada more and try to shape them like medu vada with a hole in the middle. As I had ground the batter a bit coarse I kept it flattened.
  7. You can fry 2-3 vadas at a time, so do the same for all the batter.Fry the vadas in medium flame as it will be uncooked from inside if you fry them in high.
  8. Serve the vada with any spicy curry or gravy. We enjoyed the vada as is but it will taste best with a spicy gravy .

 


5.0 from 12 reviews
Alasanda Vada Recipe
 
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Lobia | Blackeyed peas vada is a traditional recipe from Rayalaseema region in Andhra Pradesh. It is traditionally had with spicy gravy. Onions are added to the vada but I made them with cabbage.
Author:
Recipe type: Appetizer
Cuisine: Andhra Cuisine
Serves: 10
Ingredients
  • Blacked Eyed Peas- 1 cup
  • Cabbage - ¼ cup ( chopped)
  • Green chillies- 3 Nos
  • Ginger - 1 inch chopped
  • Fennel seeds - 1 tsp
  • Curry leaves - 1 sprig
  • Turmeric pd - a pinch
  • Salt to taste
  • Oil for frying
Instructions
  1. Soak the black-eyed peas overnight or for 3-4 hours.
  2. Drain the water, and grind them coarse without adding water.
  3. Add chopped green chillies, ginger, cabbage, curry leaves and mix them well.
  4. Also add fennel seeds, Turmeric pd,salt and mix the vada batter well.
  5. Heat oil in a kadai or saucepan.
  6. Divide them into equal sized balls, once the oil is hot flatten the ball in between your palm and slide them into the hot oil.
  7. You can fry 2-3 vadas at a time, so do the same for all the batter.
  8. Serve the vada with any spicy curry or gravy.

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Rose Peda Recipe | Rose Shaped Peda

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I am so excited to share this peda which I made it is a simple peda but I gave it a unique shape. I love to play with clay and the peda dough was perfect for me to play with it so made it more interesting by giving this simple peda a unique shape. I had this in mind to make different shaped sweets for so long if you follow my fb page or insta you will be knowing this picture of mine .

This is a sweets spread I made for 2016 diwali and it was loved by everyone so much. From then am loving to make different shaped sweets like store brought. “It doesn’t only look good but taste equally good” – this is what the feedback I got from the people who actually had these. So I am including one more to my collection of sweets today which is red rose peda. I made this keeping in mind of valentines day but never got to post it here. Simple ingredients used very easy to make peda but with a twist. I am happy to share these here. Thanks to  the theme I chose this week emptied 3 of my draft posts, hope  everyone liked it.

I remember making golap pithe for mega marathon and from then I had this idea of making some rose shaped sweets again and here I am with the recipe.

5.0 from 7 reviews
Rose Peda Recipe | Rose Shaped Peda
 
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An Innovative take on the usual peda , giving it a rose shape and flavor.
Author:
Recipe type: Sweets
Cuisine: Indian Cuisine
Serves: 8
Ingredients
  • Butter - 1 Stick
  • Condensed milk - 1 tin
  • Milk Powder - 2 cups
  • Rose essence - few drops
  • Red food color - few drops
  • Silver vrak- For garnish ( optional)
Instructions
  1. In a microwave-safe bowl take butter , melt it for 30 seconds.
  2. Add condensed milk, milk powder and mix it well with no lumps.
  3. Microwave this mixture for 3 minutes.Remove it after every 1-minute stir and microwave it again.
  4. After 3 minutes of cooking add red food color and rose essence to the mixture and combine it well .
  5. The peda mixture should come together and form a dough this is the right consistency.
  6. After the peda dough cools down completely, Pinch a small portion of the dough to make the bud.
  7. Take another small portion of the dough, make a ball and flatten it to form a petal.
  8. The top part of the petal should be thin.
  9. Stick this peda to the one side of the bud and keep continue wraping the petals around the bud till you are happy with your rose.
  10. Make as many roses possible with the peda dough.
  11. Garnish them with silver vrak.

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Malai Peda | Indian Sweets Recipe

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Making pedas takes a lot of patience but it is worth the patience ( especially when you make homemade khoa) and work after all you get to taste this melt in mouth peda which is heaven for the soul. I am here with yet another peda today, it is my version of malai peda. After I got to experiment a lot of peda’s , I came up with these white beauties, the challenge was keeping the pedas white which was the tricky part, though it doesn’t look pure white.  This peda turned so well and was really happy, the QC tester ( my H) also approved with double thumbs up so this has to be posted. Peda is my favorite Diwali sweet. In my childhood we used to wait for Diwali to get those delicious pedas, I used to admire the shape and the chakra designs on the peda it amazed me as a kid. Sometimes small things bring a lot of happiness, and little things matter a lot to me, hubby took this peda and the mango peda to the office and all his friends just enjoyed and showered me with compliments, glad to have such friends around who appreciate all the little things I do. I love making sweets a lot though I don’t have a sweet tooth, I am a spicy food lover. Moving on to the recipe now.


5.0 from 6 reviews
Malai Peda | Indian Sweets Recipe
 
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Malai peda is melt in mouth kind of sweet, which is milk based and takes patience to make them.
Author:
Recipe type: Sweets
Cuisine: Indian Cuisine
Serves: 10
Ingredients
  • Paneer - 1 cup
  • Milk- ¼ cup
  • Heavy Cream-1 cup
  • Sugar -1/4 cup
  • Sweetened Khoa - ½ cup
  • Cardamom pd - ¼ tsp
  • Slivered Pistachios and Rose petals - for garnish
Instructions
  1. In a mixie grind the paneer and milk mixture coarsely.
  2. Heat a pan and pour in the paneer and milk mixture.
  3. Add sweetened khoa, heavy cream, sugar, cardamom pd to it and stir constantly.
  4. In a medium flame cook the milk mixture till it reduces and leaves the sides of the pan.
  5. Turn off the heat and transfer the peda dough to a plate.
  6. Let it cool completely and then divide them into equal portion.
  7. Form a ball and then flatten them into disc shapes.
  8. Do the same for all the peda dough.
  9. Garnish them with pistachios and rose petals.


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