See you soon!

Im taking a break from my blog for a few weeks....In the meantime, please enjoy the recipes I've put up!! I'd really appreciate if you could leave some comments....it will only motivate me to post more recipes if I know the ones I've put up are liked!!

xo

Vegetarian Eggless Fritter 5: Aloo Tikki [Potato and Pea Cutlet]

Total time required to make: 30mins
Serves: 4

Aloo tikki are a versatile type of potato fritter/patty. They take no time to whip up and can be eaten as fritters, with chilli/mint chutney, in a hamburger as a patty or on top on a pea/chickpea ‘ragda’ which is a thick and spicy curry. My favourite way of eating is would have to be with ‘sev’, onion and tamarind/mint chutney and chaat masala sprinkled on top.

Ingredients:
6-8 medium potatoes, boiled
½ cup frozen peas, thawed and crushed
1 slice stale bread
1-2 medium green chillies, minced
2 tsp ginger garlic paste
2 tbs chopped coriander
1-2 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp dhana jeera powder [ ground coriander + ground cumin] [optional]
1 tsp turmeric [optional]
1 tsp garam masala/ kitchen king masala
Pinch chaat masala [optional]
1-2 tbs lemon juice [optiona]
Salt to taste

Method
Mash potatoes using potato masher.
Add crushed peas and remaining ingredients except bread.
Crumble the slice of bread to make breadcrumbs and add to mixture. If the mixture doesn’t come together you may need to use another slice.
Form mixture into patties and shallow fry until golden brown.
Drain well and serve.

Vegetarian Eggless Fritter 4: Potato Roshti/ Rosti [Swiss Potato Fritter]

Total time required to make: 25 mins
Serves: 4

I made these a few years ago and really liked them. Although simple, they taste quite different to any potato fritter I’ve had before. I think grating raw potato and frying it really brings to light quite a unique flavour, which is really delicious! I try to use as little oil in this as possible because the shredded potato tends to soak up a lot of oil. I’ve only ever used raw potato for this, but you can also try par-boiling the potatoes first, then grating and frying them. Good as an accompaniment [in place of rice or pasta] or for Sunday brunch with fresh salad. You can try the following recipe with other root vegetables such as sweet potato or taro [suran]…what ever is on hand! Let me know how your version turns out!

Ingredients:
4 medium potatoes peeled and grated.
Salt and pepper to taste
Oil for frying
Optional: Pinch chilli flakes/ paprika/ minced garlic

Method
Grate potatoes and wash under cold running water to remove excess starch. There will still be enough starch remaining to hold the shredded potato together in the pan.
Add salt and pepper to grated potatoes.
Shape into small, flat rounds [ or alternatively into one big pancake which you cut into wedges once cooked] and place in a lightly oiled pan.
Fry on both sides until cooked all the way through. [You could also experiment cooking them in an oven. Lightly grease a tray with butter or oil and cook rosti for 10-15 minutes, turning once].

Vegetarian Eggless Fritter 3: Crispy Indian Eggplant Fritters

Total time required to make: 15 mins
Serves: 3- 4

I don’t find eggplant to be the most versatile vegetable. Apart from typical dishes like the Maharashtrian ‘bharleli vangi’ [which is eggplant stuffed with a peanut paste], a simple dry curry, raita [ a summery salad] or it’s use in a ‘pulao’ [pilaf] of some sort, I usually can’t think of new dishes to make from it!
Eggplants tend to have minimum flavour of their own, so depend on other ingredients to impart their flavour on them, and being very absorbent, are good at doing so. Eggplant fritters can make some people think of eggplants dripping with oil...and if made in too much oil/ kept in oil for too long, that’s just what they will become. In this recipe, I cook most of the eggplant with as little oil as possible before adding a little oil towards the end for flavour. This means that the eggplants aren’t as oily and bad for your health as they could be! This dish is best served as an accompaniment to a main meal and taste great with cool yogurt to counteract the spicyness.

Ingredients:
1 large eggplant, cut into 1cm rounds
3-4 tbs rice flour
2 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp dhana jeera powder [coriander seed- cumin seed powder] (not essential)
Pinch of turmeric
½ tsp ginger-garlic paste
Salt to taste.
Oil for frying


Method:
1.Cut the eggplant into rounds and salt them immediately to stop them going brown.
2.Make a mix of the rice flour, spices and paste.
3.Heat a non stick pan and add no more than 1 teaspoon oil to coat the pan. Dip each eggplant round into the spice mix and place into pan.
4.Let the rounds cook for 3-4 minutes on a very LOW flame on each side without adding any oil.
5.To test if they are cooked, cut one in half. When they are almost cooked through, add about 1 tablespoon of oil and increase the flame to medium-high. Cook for a further 1-2 minutes on each side while continuously shaking the pan to prevent sticking.
6.Drain well and serve with minted yogurt.

Vegetarian Eggless Fritter 2: Bread Pakora [Bread Fritter]

Trust the Indians to come up with something new! Just use the same besan batter as in Eggless Fritter 1, dip slices of bread [halved or quartered] in it and fry. Great for using up stale bread.

Vegetarian Eggless Fritter 1: Kanda Bhajji [Spicy Onion Fritter]

Total time required to make: 25-30mins
Serves: 4

This would have to be my favourite type of bhajji/pakora/fritter. Coming from a Maharashtrian family, these bhajjis are made regularly in my house, especially when there are no vegetables left in the fridge! There is nothing better on a cold and rainy day than to sit indoors next to a heater eating hot kanda bhajji and tea! It’s one of the most comforting combinations. Kanda bhajji is really simple to whip up as well as quick, so it’s perfect when unexpected guests drop by. They are also a good side to any Indian meal, or simply sandwiched in between 2 slices of bread with tomato sauce. I recently tasted some Burger King ‘Onion rings’ while in transit in Singapore. Despite having a similar concept, they were they blandest tasting onion fritters to my tastebuds! And why wouldn’t they be, after being accustomed to this spicy Indian version all my life!
The besan [chickpea] batter used can be used to make fritters from any vegetable possible; onion, cauliflower and potato being most commonly used.

Ingredients:

2 Large onions, halved from root to top and sliced thinly

1 cup chickpea flour (besan)
1 tsp ginger garlic paste

1 tsp chilli powder

1/2 tsp turmeric

1/2 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp cumin seeds
½ tsp ajwain (not essential)
Pinch asafoetida

Salt to taste

Oil for deep frying

Method:

1. After slicing the onions vertically and thinly, mix them in salt and leave for 10-15 minutes. This draws out the water from the onions and allows them to become soft enough to come together with the batter mix.
2. Add besan and spices to the onions. Add a little water at a time to make a thick batter. The batter should not be too thick or too runny. If too runny, the fritters won’t form, and if too thick, they will taste too doughy.

3. Heat oil in a wok and add teaspoons of batter into the oil. I usually use two teaspoons; take a dollop of batter into one, and use the other to slide the mixture into the oil.
4. Fry on a low heat till bhajjis are golden. [The oil should not be too hot or too cool…if its too hot, the fritters will burn [and you will get bitter fritters]; if cold, they will absorb a lot of oil. I first heat the oil until boiling, and then turn the flame right down so that it’s only just boiling. This means that the bhajjis will cook slowly but completely, and remain moist.
5. Drain well on paper towels and serve hot with tomato sauce/ chutney of your choice.

The two other variations use the same principles as above. If you are using potatoes, its essential to slice them in rounds as thinly as possible as they will only be in the oil for 3-4 minutes and need to completely cook in this time. You can also try boiling the potatoes first. Boil a couple of potatoes in water until they are just cooked. Slice them thickly [approximately 0.5 cm thick], dip them into the batter and fry like above. Both these types taste great.
Cauliflower bhajjis are also quite common. Cut half a small head of cauliflower into small florets [2cm diameter], dip into batter and fry. These may take a few minutes longer to cook depending on the size of the floret.

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

lll

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

lll

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!