Event 1

I’m hosting my first event. This is just to get myself back into blogging, as my commitment to this blog over the past year has been quite abysmal! The topic I’ve chosen is ‘Eggless Fritters’ because most of the hits to this blog have been through people googling these two words! The fact that this blog appears as the first or second search result in reality means that there are either a lack of blogs having recipes for these fritters, or that my fellow bloggers have given their fritter recipes too specific names which don’t appear in a simple search. Plus, a search for ‘vegetarian fritters’ usually returns with fritter recipes containing egg. I have yet to find one blog which has a collection of eggless fritter recipes, so why not start one myself? Anyway, Wikipedia defines a fritter as being ‘any kind of food coated in batter and deep fried’. I’ll agree with the first half of the definition, but I think I’ll experiment with the deep frying bit! If I can get away with shallow frying or even baking I’ll give it a go!!

So why are fritters so popular? Because they are so easy to make, so comforting and so versatile! Fritters can be used in a entrée, as a side dish or as in my case, when guests pop around. They can be made with almost anything [vegetarian in our case] and you can always experiment with the type of batter you make. Most fritter recipes contain egg as the binding ingredient, so I’ve always tried experimenting using different ingredients to serve the same purpose. In most of the recipes I’ll be showcasing, I’ll be using 1 of 4 of the following types of batters:
1. Besan [chickpea flour] and spices [chilli powder, turmeric, salt, asafoetida, cumin seeds, ginger garlic paste]
2. Breadcrumbs
3. Flour: Rice flour, cornflour or Self raising flour
4. Cornflakes/Polenta [haven’t tried this yet…hopefully it works!]

I encourage anyone that wants to contribute to this event do so. Your recipes can be of any types of fritters and from anywhere around the world …be innovative! The only condition is that they must be eggless!

I hope you enjoy this collection!

Eggless Corn Fritters

Ingredients
1/2 Cup Chickpea flour (besan)
2-3 Tbs Self Raising Flour
1/2 Cup Corn Kernels
1/2 medium Onion
2-3 curry leaves chopped finely
1-2 green chillies, minced
spice mix: turmeric, coriander powder, cumin, chilli powder
2 tbs coriander finely chopped

1 Tbs lemon juice

Asafoetida (optional)

Salt to taste
approx. 100ml water

Method:
1. Mix all ingredients with water. The consistency of the batter should not be too runny or too dry.
2. Fry in oil for about 3-4 minutes each side. Vary the size of the fritters as preferred.

Spicy Chinese-style Paneer

Ingredients:

250 gram paneer cubes1 Large Onion, sliced into strips
1/2 Green Capsicum, sliced
2-3 green chillies, chopped
1 Tbs garlic-ginger paste
4 Tbs Soya sauce2 Tbs Tomato Sauce
A pinch ajinomoto1 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp coriander-cumin spice mix (optional)
1 Tbs plain flour/cornflour dissolved in 1/4 cup water

Method

1. Heat oil in a pan. Add sliced onion, capsicum, garlic ginger paste and chillies .Saute till onions and capsicum are cooked.
2. Add paneer pieces and cook for 3-4 minutes, or until the paneer the browned.
3. Add the remaining ingredients and cook for a further 5 minutes. Serve warm.

Serves 3-4

Eggplant Raita

1 large Eggplant

1 small onion (or half a medium), diced
1 tomato, diced
1/2 cup yogurt
coriander, chopped finely
chaat masala
black salt
3-4 green chillies, chopped finely
cumin powder

Method:
1. Roast whole eggplant on stovetop or wrapped in gladwrap in the microwave.
2. When cool, remove the skin and mash coarsely.
3. Add remaining ingredients and spices to taste. Chill.

Dahi Wada

Urad Dal; 2 cups
Salt; to taste
Garlic ginger paste; 1tsp
Green Chillies; 3-4
Curry leaves

Yogurt; 2 cups
Dahi Wada raita masala: 1 Tbs
Date chutney : 1 Tbs
Coriander: 1 Tbs
Sugar; to taste
Black Salt; to taste


1. Soak Urad dahl in water overnight.
2.Blend it in portions to a smooth paste using a blender. Grind it until it appears shiny and no graininess is felt when you touch it.
3. Add salt, chillies, garlic ginger paste and curry leaves to the last batch before blending.
4. Leave batter in a warm spot for about 30 minutes.

5. Heat oil for deep frying. Fry tablespoon size wadas until they are golden brown in colour.

6. Place the wadas in cold water for about 3-4 minutes before taking each one out and squeezing the water out.

To made Dahi:

1. Blend the yogurt with a small quantity of water until it is smooth. Add sugar, salt, coriander, dahi wada masala and date (or tamarind) chutney.

To serve, pour yogurt mixture over 6-7 wadas. Garnish with extra coriander and chilli powder/flakes.

Creamy Mattar Paneer

~~Peas and Paneer in a creamy sauce~~

I made this last night. An incredibly easy dish to make with ingredients straight from the freezer.

Ingredients:
2 large onions
4 cloves garlic
2 large tomatoes, diced
10-12 Cashew nuts
3 cups Frozen peas
250g Paneer Cubes, fried separately.
2 Tbs yogurt

1 tsp garam masala
2 tsp chilli powder
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp cumin seeds
salt to taste
oil
ghee

1. Finely dice onion and garlic, and saute in oil/ghee until transparent.
2. Add cumin seeds and saute.
3. Crush cashew nuts and add, along with tomatoes.
4. Cover and let simmer for 10 minutes.
5. Blend with yogurt until smooth in a food processor. The smoother the consistency, the better!
6. Heat more oil in a pan and add the mixture.
7. Add all the spices, the above mixture, salt and peas. Let simmer for 10 minutes, or until peas are cooked. You can add a small amount of water at any stage to prevent burning.
8. Add the fried panner cubes. Let simmer for a few minutes longer. Serve.

Serves 4

Tip: Placing paneer into warm water immediately after frying keeps them moist and prevents them from drying out.

PS: I think this version of mattar paneer tastes great, but my only wish is for its colour to be more red as it is in restaurants. If anyone knows how I can achieve a more vibrant colour, let me know!

Something Different...

Indian-style Nachos

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Ingredients:

For the sauce:

1 can Mexican beans (I use borlotti beans in a mild tomato sauce)

1 onion, diced

1 clove garlic, minced

1 red capsicum, diced (optional)

4 Tbs tomato based pasta sauce

1 large tomato, diced

1Tbs Taco spice mix

1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp turmeric

1/2 tsp chilli powder

1/2 tsp garam masala

1/2 tsp chat masala

Plus:
300 g corn chips

1 cup mozarella cheese, shredded (or any that you prefer)

Sour Cream

Lettuce, shredded

Cucumber, diced

Avocado, diced

Pineapple, diced
Tomato, diced

Chat masala

Chilli flakes or sweet chilli sauce.

Method:

To make sauce:

1. Heat oil in pan and saute onion, capsicum and garlic until transparent.

2. Add all spices and saute.

3. Add pasta sauce and diced tomatoes and let simmer for 5 mins.

4. Add canned beans, taco spice mix and salt and simmer for 5 mins, or until thick and fragrant.

To arrange:

1. Arrange corn chips in a single layer in a microwave-proof dish.

2. Top with a single layer of sauce and then a layer of shredded cheese.
3. Microwave for 2. 5 minutes on medium, or until the cheese has melted.

4. Take out of microwave and arrage lettuce, cucumber, avocado, tomato and pineapple and top it off with dollops of sour cream!

5. Sprinkle with some chat masala and chilli flakes (or drizzle on some sweet chilli sauce) for that Indian touch!

Makes 2 large plates; Serves 4-6

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Not a meal for everyday....but perfect for that lazy Sunday afternoon...!

Note: I prepare extra sauce and keep it in the fridge to use later down the track. It keeps well for atleast 2 weeks, so its perfect for when you feel like a little nibble!

Upma

Upma, originally hailing from the southern parts of India, is a quick and simple dish to make. It requires minimal ingredients and provides a light and nutritious breakfast.

Ingredients:

2 cups Coarse Semolina

1 medium onion
3 or 4 Red or Green Chillies, chopped
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
Curry Leaves
1 Tbsp Ghee
Salt
For Garnish: Coriander, sesame seeds, 1/2tsp sugar


1. Heat oil in a pan and add mustard and cumin seeds and saute until they crackle.
2. Add onion and sauté for a couple of minutes.
3. Add chillies, salt and curry leaves and saute minimally before adding 4 cups of water.

4. Let the water boil and add semolina gradually whilst mixing.
5. Allow the mixture to thicken.
6. Add garnish of chopped coriander, sugar and sesame seeds. Serve Hot.

Kanda Pohe

'Kanda' meaning onion, and 'pohe' or flattened rice, is a snack made commonly in my home state, Maharashtra. It is commonly served to guests and is also the most dish served when the two families meet to arrange a marriage. This event itself is commonly known as 'kanda-pohe'!

Serves 4

Ingredients:
3 cups thick poha
1 Large onion, diced
3 green chillies diced
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp turmeric
curry leaves
2 tbs lemon juice
salt to taste
1 tsp sugar
Oil
Garnish: coriander, desicated coconut

1. Wash and drain pohe in water for approximately 5 minutes.
2.Heat pan and saute mustard seeds, cury leaves, green chillies, turmuric and onion cook for about 5 minutes.
3.Add soaked pohe and mix into spice mixture. Cover and let cook for 5 minutes.
4. Remove from heat and garnish with coriander, coconut and lemon juice. Serve.

Taat lavne / sajavne / vadhane.

I have uploaded this from 'Annapurna' by Mangala Barve. It depicts how a meal should be served. Sorry to those people who can't read marathi! PS; click to enlarge.

Maharashtrian Pav Bhaji

This recipe contains no onion or garlic so is perfect for the strictest of vegetarians. Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

1 large red capsicum
1 small cauliflower
3-4 medium potatoes
2 tomatoes
1 tsp ginger paste
2 tsp cummin seeds
1 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp garam masala
2 tbsp 'pav bhaji masala'
salt to taste
oil
coriander for garnish

1. Boil cauliflower and potatoes until a mashable consistency. In a pressure cooker, approx 4 whistles.
2. Heat 2 tables spoons of oil in a wok. Add cummin seeds and capsicum diced into 1cm square pieces.
3. After sauteing for a few minutes, add ginger paste, followed by chilli powder, garam masala and pav bhaji masala, and let saute further.
4. Add diced tomotoes and cauliflower and mash.
5. Add diced potato and mash until 80% of the potato is mashed finely.
6. Add salt and let simmer for 5-10 minutes.
7. Garnish with coriander.(Adding a little butter at the end also tastes great!)

Notes:
-- This 'bhaji' is eaten with 'pav' ie, bread. I use small hamburger rolls. Spread these with butter and heat in fry pan.
-- If you eat onion, add finely diced onion as a garnish.

Besanchi Poli

A quick meal for those on the run. Basically a vegetarian omlette!

1 cup besan
1 small onion, diced
2-3 green chillies, minced
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp chilli powder
1/2 tsp garam masala
salt to taste
Water
coriander and curry leaves,cut finely, if available.

1. Combine all dry ingredients with enough water to make a thick mixture (about 1 cup water).
2. Fry in a frypan as you would an omlette. On using a low flame, 5 minutes on each side is sufficient.
3. Serve with bread and sauce.

Shrikhand

This is my all time favourite sweet dish. As I have time before class begins, I would love to share a recipe for it.

Ingredients:

1 L natural yogurt
1 cup sugar
1 tsp cardamon powder
1 Tbsp crushed each of pistachio and cashew nuts
Few strands saffron
1 tbsp milk

1. Tie yogurt in a fine muslin cloth, preferably overnight. This will separate the curds and whey, leaving the thick curds required for the recipe.
2. Mix sugar with the curds. An approximate guide is usually 1 part curd to 1 part sugar. This can be adjusted according to taste.
3. Soak saffron in some warm milk. Add to curd mixture.
4. Add cardamon powder and crushed nuts.
5. Refrigerate for atleast 1 hour before serving to allow sugar to dissolve.

Notes:
--If the mixture is too hard to work with, add a few teaspoons of milk.
--Adding a few tablespoons of mango pulp will add a terrific flavour. This variation is also know as 'Amrakhand'.

Sweet!

To mark the starting of my blog, I thought I'd start with something sweet! Although I plan to travel through each part of India & write about their contribution to Indian cuisine, I've decided to first talk about one of my favourite aspects of Indian food....sweets!

India!!

India is the land of diversity. Every nook and cranny of my homeland shows extravagant diversity through it culture,religion people, language, environment, and most importantly in our case, FOOD! North, south, east or west, India provides the best, most scrumptious and most flavoursome culinary delights. Come with me as I guide you through some of the food I have grown to love and savour!

What is Vegetarian, what isn't?

Vegetarian= grains, grains, pulses, nuts, seeds, vegetables, dairy products

Not Vegetarian= eggs, common animal ingredients such as gelatine (in marshmallows),lard, tallow, suet and rennet(some cheeses).

It's vital to check the ingredient list of any food product you may buy and ask for a list at take away outlets and restaurants ( as most waiters probably wouldn't know that mayonnaise contains egg or the eggless cake has a gelatin containig jelly filling!)

Vegetarian?

Vegetarian =
A vegetarian is someone living on a diet of grains, pulses, nuts, seeds, vegetables and fruits with or without the use of dairy products and eggs.
A vegetarian does not eat any meat, poultry, game, fish, shellfish or crustacea, or slaughter by-products.(vegsoc.org)

However, tired of people classifying eggs as vegetarian when I dont believe them to be, my reference to 'vegetarian' henceforth, refers to something void of both animal/animal products and egg. This diet is typically what is refered to as 'pure vegetarian' in India.

Sizzling vegetarian recipes....

Its been over one year since my conversion from an ovo-lacto-pollo-pesce-tarian to a lacto-vegetarian. Many factors influenced this change, but I now feel that my life is better for it. Whatever your reasons may be for eating vegetarian, I aim at bringing you some of the best, easiest and most delicious vegetarian recipes from around the world, but in particular, India, the land of vegetariansim. I hope you enjoy my tantalising journey through the tastiest cuisine on this earth.