Hing kachori is a famous street food in Kolkata served along with chana dal or aloo sabji.It is common outside Dakshineshwar Kali temple or Belur Math(this is where I had it for the first time).I was so much impressed with the piping hot kachoris that thought of giving it a try.So I made them for Durgashtami this year(sorry for posting this so late :p) and the combo was just awesome-Hing er kochuri and niramish Aloo Dum :-)
Ingredients - urad dal/kaali dal/split black lentil(1cup) ginger(small piece) fennel seeds/saunf(1/2 tspn) asafoetida/hing (1/2 tspn) green chillies(3-4) salt to taste sugar(a pinch) oil wheat flour(2cups) water for kneading
Method - Wash and soak the urad dal in water overnight or for 6-7hours. Grind the urad dal with green chillies to a paste. Make a paste of ginger and saunf separately. Heat oil in a non-stick kadai. Add hing,ginger and saunf paste. Then add the dal-chilly paste. Stir it continuously,adding salt and sugar. Cook for sometime until the mixture drys up. Knead the flour with some oil and water. Make small balls out of the flour. Stuff in the mix inside the ball and roll it into a puri. Similarly stuff and roll all the puris. Heat oil in a pan for deep frying. Fry the kachoris till golden brown. Serve hot kachoris with aloo dum/potato curry of your choice.
Muga gathi as it is called in konkani is a famous vegeterian whole moong dish which you would find in any religious functions specially Ganesh Chaturthi.This is a favourite amongst almost all Goans :) Apart from being tasty, this dish is very very healthy as it is made out of sprouts.So if you have never tasted sprouts other than in salads it is time to try this out..
Ingredients - whole moong sprouts(2 cups) freshly grated coconut(1 cup) red chillies(2-3) turmeric powder(1/2 tspn) tamarind extract/paste(1/2 tspn) coriander seeds(1/4 tspn) cloves(2) black peppercorns(2) mustard seeds(1/4 tspn) asafoetida/hing oil/ghee curry leaves/kadi patta salt to taste jaggery(1/2 tspn)
Method - Soak whole moong overnight.Next day morning place them in a muslin cloth,tie it close for the entire day.Again soak them in water for overnight.In this way you will get sprouted moong the next day morning. The above procedure can be followed to make sprouts at home or you can buy it.I prefer making at home. Pressure cook the sprouts till soft. Grind to a fine paste-coconut,haldi powder,red chillies,tamarind paste,coriander seeds,cloves and peppercorns. Heat some ghee in a non-stick kadai. Add hing,mustard seeds and curry leaves. Add the above ground mixture.Then put in the cooked sprouts. Add jaggery and salt as per taste. Let it cook for about 2 minutes. Serve hot moong sprouts gravy with chapati/puri or steamed rice :-)
French toast is basically bread soaked in eggs.It can be served as a sweet dish or just as a snack.This is a very simple and tasty dish which can be made when you don't have anything much in your pantry and you are running short of time :) Ingredients - bread slices(4) eggs(1) milk(1/2 cup) sugar(3tbspn) vanilla essence(1 drop) butter/oil for frying
Method - Whisk the egg well in a bowl. Put in the milk and sugar and mix. You can add a drop of vanilla essence to it but this is optional. Grease a non-stick pan with butter. Dip in each bread slice into the above mixture and fry on the pan. Fry on both sides till golden brown. Yummy french toast is ready to serve :-)
Sandesh/sondesh is a bengali sweet which is famous all over.Kachha gola/kacha golla is one kind of sandesh in which the chena/paneer is not cooked.Hence the name kacha meaning uncooked.These balls of chena mixed with sugar taste delicious..
Method - Heat the milk in a saucepan. When it comes to boil add lemon juice mixed with some water. Now you would see the milk solids separating out from the water.Do this on a low flame. Drain out the water and wash the chena/paneer with water to remove the lemon smell. Collect the paneer in a muslin/soft cloth and keep some weight over it so that the excess water goes out.Keep it for an hour. Now knead the paneer with the palm of your hand for about 5min. Mix in the sugar and knead again for 5min till the sugar and chena are mixed well. You can add elaichi powder or rose water/gulab jal for flavour. Make round balls out of the chena. Refrigerate them for 2-3 hours. Sandesh or Kacha golla is ready to serve :-)
Rice-prawn fish curry is a very famous combo in Goa.Prawn curry with drum-sticks gives it a unique taste and flavour which just cannot be described.. :)There are other variations of prawn curry too which I shall post sometime later..till then you can try and enjoy this one.
Ingredients - prawns drumsticks freshly grated coconut -1/2cup turmeric powder -1/2tspn whole red chilly -3 whole coriander seeds - 5 tamarind - 1tspn black pepper -2 onion -1(small) asafoetida/hing -a pinch oil salt
Method - Wash the prawns well and apply salt. Grind the following to make a fine paste - grated coconut,haldi powder,red chillies,tamarind pulp,coriander and pepper seeds. Heat oil in a non-stick pan. Chop the onion.Peel the outer skin of the drumsticks and cut them to finger-size sticks. Add onion to the pan and saute. Put in the prawns and drumsticks and add sufficient water so that the drum-sticks and prawn cook. Once done add the ground paste and salt as per taste. Add a pinch of hing to this. Cook for about 2-3 minutes. Serve hot fish curry with rice :-)
This is yet another easy and delicious snack which is healthy as well as filling.This pattice has got a unique savoury taste along with the sweetness of corn... :-)
Ingredients- sweet corn - 1cup potato - 1(small) onion - 1(small) green chillies - 3 ginger - small piece garlic -1clove turmeric powder red chilly powder coriander powder cumin powder fresh coriander leaves salt bread crumbs/sooji oil
Method - Boil the sweet corn with water till soft.Boil and mash the potatao. Mix the mashed potato and corn with salt. Chop onion,green chillies and coriander finely. Make a coarse paste of ginger and garlic. Heat oil in a non-stick pan. Add chopped chillies,onion and saute. After a minute add ginger-garlic paste. Once ginger-garlic paste is cooked add all the masala-haldi,mirchi,dhaniya,jeera powder. Add salt as per taste and coriander leaves. Let this mixture cool a bit. Apply some oil to your palm and make tikki/cutlets out of this mixture. Roll the tikkis in bread crumb or sooji and roast on both sides on a non-stick tawa. Crispy corn cutlets are ready to serve with ketchup/chutney of your choice. Hot cutlets go well with a cup of tea :-)
I am posting this sweet today on the eve of Raksha Bandhan/Rakhi.This festival celebrates the relationship between brothers and sisters and is celebrated almost in all parts of India.Since potato is an item which is always present in our homes this burfi can be made without much prior preparation.And if you have never heard of this sweet before and are wondering how this would taste then please do try it :)
Ingredients - potatoes(2) sugar freshly grated coconut(2 tbspns) cardamom/elaichi powder(1 tspn) ghee for greasing Method - Wash and boil the potatoes with the skin and mash them. Measure this mixture in a bowl.This is important because you need to take the measure of sugar from this. Take exactly the same quantity of sugar as the mashed potato. Heat a pan,add the sugar and potato mixture to it. Stir it continuously till the mixture gets hard. After its alomst done add coconut and sprinkle elaichi powder. Grease a plate with ghee. When the mixture is done transfer it to the greased plate. Flatten it with a spatula and cut into desired shapes. Once the mixture hardens it is not possible to cut it hence cut it when hot. Once cooled potato burfis are ready :-) You can refrigerate and store the burfis.
Puran poli is a type of sweet flat bread which is made in the states of Maharashtra,Goa,Gujarat and Karnataka.This dessert is served during auspicious occasions like Holi or Gudi Padwa.The stuffing is known as puran and the outer cover is known as poli.So if you have never tried this one out then you are definitely missing on a very yummy Indian sweet :)
Ingredients- split bengal gram/chana dal-1cup jaggery/gur grated-1cup cardamom/elaichi powder all purpose flour/maida-2cups oil water turmeric powder-a pinch salt-a pinch ghee for serving
Method- Wash the chana dal and soak it overnight or for 7-8 hours in water. Grind the dal and jaggery together to form a paste. Heat a non-stick pan. Add this mixture to the pan and keep on stirring till all the moisture evaporates. Add elaichi powder to it and continue stirring. The mixture should be dry and a little hard.This is called as puran. To prepare the dough - Add a pinch of salt and turmeric powder to the maida. Add water and start kneading. Use oil while kneading so that you get a soft dough. Make small balls out of the dough. Take one ball of dough and make a small roti with the help of a rolling pin. Take a ball of puran and place it in the center of the roti. Seal the edges and roll into a roti. Heat a non-stick tawa. Cook the roti on both sides. Once done apply ghee on both sides and serve hot :-)
This is a very easy and simple dosa which can be made within no time.You actually don't need to plan ahead since there is no fermentation etc..and these dosas do not have a particular shape as you just need to spread the batter on the pan. Ingredients- sooji/rava -1cup rice flour -4tspn cumin seeds/jeera-1tspn green chillies-2 oil salt water
Method- Mix sooji,rice flour,jeera and chillies. Add lots of water and salt as per taste. Let this batter stand for about 20-30min. Sooji absorbs water so the batter will thicken. Add more water to make the batter watery. Heat a non-stick pan and drizzle some oil. Take a laddle full of batter and spread it from outside(opposite to the normal dosa). Let it cook on both sides. Crispy rava dosas are ready to serve :-)
Note-Add some chopped onion to the pan and then drizzle the dosa batter on it to make onion rava dosas.
Oats are 100% whole grain, and a natural source of carbohydrates and dietary fibre.They also contain beta glucan soluble fibre that helps reduce cholesterol.This is a very easy way of including these healthy oats in your daily diet...
Method- Grind the oats and jaggery to a fine powder. Add cardamom powder to it. Now add ghee and start preparing laddus. Cashew nuts or raisins can be added to the ground mixture.I did not add as I like them plain. Healthy and delicious laddus are ready in no time :-)
