Namak Pare

I had earlier blogged the recipe of shakkarpare, now this is the recipe of namak pare , which is the salty version of sweet shakkarpare.
Very easy to make, this is one of my favourite snacks to munch on. I had made this on this diwali. You can see in the picture, a hint of other sweets and savories I made this Diwali along with Namak Pare.

Ingredients:

• All Purpose Flour - 2 cups
• Whole Wheat Flour - 1 cup
• Carom Seeds ( Ajwain ) - 1 tsp
• Salt - to taste
• Red Chili Powder - to taste
• Oil - 2 tbsp
• Water - as required for kneading
• Oil - for deep frying

Directions:

• In a mixing bowl, mix all the ingredients and add water little by little and knead it into a pliable dough. The consistency should be little more stiffer than how we make for roti.
• Rest the dough covered for an hour.
• Heat the oil for deep frying.
• Divide the dough into 7-8 equal portions and roll them out slightly thicker than a roti.
• Pork thoughout with the help of a fork, so that they don't swell while frying. { Be gentle, don't show your frustration on it ;)  }
• With the help of a pizza cutter, cut it into strips.
• Cut through diagonally to form small diamond shapes.
• When the oil is hot, drop them and fry on medium heat. Keep stirring ocassionally.
• Cook till they turn golden and remove on the paper towel.
• Repeat with other portions of the dough.
• Store in air tight container and enjoy your snack along with chai ( tea ).

Kalakand / Milk Cake / Milk Barfi ( Microwave Method )

Happy Diwali to all of you :)
Kalakand is a delectable Indian sweet. It is made on various festivals. I made it on this Diwali.
There are various ways to make this sweet.
It is Traditionally made of whole milk which is made into chhana, mixed with home made khoya and sugar which easily takes 2-3 hours (stove top method ).
But making with store bought  ricotta cheese and condensed milk in microwave is a shortcut method and can be ready in half an hour. Who doesn't like to save some time afterall, in such a busy lifestyle ;)
So here's the procedure of making kalakand in microwave:

Ingredients:

• Ricotta Cheese – 15 oz tub
• Sweetened Condensed Milk – 14 oz can
• Rose Water – 1/4 tsp
• Cardamom Powder – 1/4 tsp
• Chopped almonds – 1/2 tbsp
• Chopped Pistachios – 1/2 tbsp

Method:

•  In a microwave safe bowl, mix the Ricotta Cheese and the Condensed Milk well with the help of a whisk so that there are no lumps.
•  Cook uncovered in the microwave for 5 min.
•  Take out and mix well. Clear the edges.
•  Microwave for another 12 minutes, uncovered taking out and stirring every 2 minutes, which means you would be taking out 6 times and stirring.
•  At the end add in the Powdered Cardamom and Rose Syrup and mix well.
• If you are using a square shaped or rectangle shaped dish, then you can let it be in the same dish, however if you used a round dish or bowl, then transfer it to a square dish or a flat plate.
•  Press down and flatten the mixture in square shape.
• Sprinkle chopped pistachios and almonds on top and press them down with the back of the spoon so that they hold on to the kalakand.
•  Let it sit for a couple of hours so that it sets.
•  Cut into squares or rectangles.

Enjoy your festival with this extremely delicious sweet.

Minapa Sunnundalu (Urad Dal Laddu )

Sunnundalu, a traditional Andhra sweet made of urad dal, sugar and ghee. I am making these on the occassion of Diwali.

So, Happy Diwali to all of you :) Have lots of sweets and have loads of fun on this Diwali.

It reminds me of my ammamma ( granny ) , she used to make the best sunnundalu in the world. Yummmm...

I tried to make many times but it never tasted like her's. Well, the ingredients are the same, the proportions are the same , hmmmm wonder what made her laddoos better than mine. Probably, 'Love' was her secret ingredient.

Well , no matter how much we try we can never make half as good as our moms or grandmoms. However, that should not stop us from trying.

So, here is my attempt:


Ingredients:

• Black Gram Lentil ( Urad Dhuli ) - 2 cups
• Grated Jaggery or Sugar - 1 cup ( Adjust to taste )
• Ghee ( Clarified Butter ) - 3/4 cup
• Cardamom Powder - 1/4 tsp ( optional )

Directions:

• In a wide pan, dry roast urad dal on low heat till golden color. Keep stirring often. Be careful not to burn the dal. Since it is being roasted on low heat, it would take a long time, but it is worth the patience.
• Turn off the heat and let it cool.
• In a grinder, grind urad dal and sugar together to fine powder. If sugar is already powdered you don't need to grind. But it is granules, then you need to grind along.
• If you are using jaggery then, grate it separately and them mix with urad dal powder.
• Add cardamom powder to the mixture of urad dal and sugar/jaggery and mix well till all the ingredients are well incorporated.
• You can avoid cardamom powder , if you are not a fan of elaichi flavor , like me.
• Melt ghee. Bring it to room temperature. Add melted ghee to the mixture slowly as required and keep mixing.
• When you see the mixture has begun to hold together, stop adding ghee. Do not add too much ghee, else it will drip while making the laddus.
• Make lime sized laddus out of the mixture.
• It can be stored in an air tight container for a couple of weeks.

Note: The taste of sunnundalu when made with jaggery is definitely different from that made of sugar, but both are equally good. You should try both and then stick to the one you like.

Enjoy the toothsome sunnundalu !!

Vegetable Tofu Stir Fry

Tofu is extremely nutritious which has many health benefits and is a very good source of protein for the vegetarians.  It is low in fat, calories and cholesterol. Isn't that amazing for people who watch their weight.
Tofu by itself is bland, but if cooked with various other ingredients and flavors , it is a treat to have.
So here is one of the many different ways to make a tofu appetizer.

Ingredients:

• Extra Firm Tofu - 1 packet
• Olive Oil - 1 tbsp
• Chopped Green and Red Bell Pepper - 1/4 cup
• Chopped Spring Onions - 1/4 cup
• Garlic Paste - 1 tsp
• Salt - to taste
• Pepper - to taste
• Soy Sauce - to taste
• Chinese Chili Sauce - to taste
• Stir Fry Sauce ( Any Flavour ) - 2 tbsp
• Sesame Seeds - 1 tbsp

Directions:

• Drain water from the tofu.
• Wrap it with a paper towel and let is stand for 5-6 minutes so that all the liquid is soaked up.
• Cut it into bite size cubes.
• Heat oil in a pan, add tofu pieces and stir fry till golden brown on all the sides.
• Push the tofu on one side of the pan , and add garlic paste in the oil and stir it for a few seconds.
• Add chopped vegetables ( bell peppers and spring onions ) and toss them along with tofu.
• Add soy sauce, chili sauce, stir fry sauce, little salt and pepper and sesame seeds. Mix well and cook for a couple of minutes till the vegetables are half cooked. Let the veggies remain crunchy. No need to cook till soft.

Variation: 

• You can make the same recipe without any veggies as well. Or You could add more veggies of your choice like onions, broccoli, carrots, snow peas etc .
• You can add plain stir fry tofu to salads or pasta or chinese fried rice or chinese noodles.

Enjoy  !!  :)

Candied Sweet Potato

Sweet potatoes cooked with jaggery syrup makes an excellent dish for a quick sweet tooth.

Ingredients:

• Sweet Potato - 1
• Jaggery - 3/4 cup
• Water - 1.5 cups
• Cardamom Powder - a pinch

Directions:

• Clean and peel the potato. Slice them or cube them.
• Boil them in water in a pan till soft. Don't overcook them, else they will turn mushy.
• Drain and keep aside.
• Boil jaggery in water. Let the jaggery dissolve in water. Strain this jaggery water to remove dirt.
• Boil this clean jaggery water , keep stirring . Cook till the jaggery syrup thickens.
• Add the potato chunks and cardamom powder to this thick and sticky syrup and mix well but gently making sure not to mash up the potatoes.
• Cook for a couple of minutes till all the potato pieces are well coated and caramelized with the jaggery syrup. Turn off the heat.
• Serve warm.

Tip : If the potatoes are mashed up accidentally, do not worry , it still tastes great. Or you can eat it with a scoop of ice cream on it.

Besan Puda / Besan Dosa

Besan Puda is a savory pancake made of chickpea flour or besan and few other ingredients.
Perfect for breakfast or brunch.

Ingredients:

• Besan - 1 cup
• Sooji ( semolina ) - 2 1/2 tbsp
• Rice Flour - 1 tbsp
• Carom Seeds - 1/4 tsp
• Cumin Seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp
• Yogurt - 1/2 cup
• Water - 1 1/2 cup or as required
• Grated Ginger - 1 tsp
• Finely Chopped Onions - 1/4 cup
• Chopped Cilantro - 3 tbsp
• Chopped Green Chillies - 1 -2
• Salt - to taste
• Oil Spray
• Baking Soda - a pinch

Directions :

• In a mixing bowl, mix besan, suji, rice flour, turmeric, salt, cumin seeds and carom seeds ( ajwain ) .
• Add water and yogurt and mix well with a whisk. Make sure there are no lumps.
• Adjust water to make batter of the consistency of pancake or dosa batter.
• Add in chopped onions, green chillies, cilantro, ginger and give it a good mix.
• Add and mix baking soda just before you start making pudas.
• Heat a skillet, spray oil all over.
• Pour a ladleful of batter on the skillet and spread it thinly like a pancake.
• Let it cook for a couple of minutes till the bottomside turns brown.
• Spray some oil over the puda and flip it over.
• Let it cook till the color changes to golden brown and it turns crispy.
• Serve immediately with any chutney or dip of your choice.

Variation:  You can add some more veggies to it, like grated carrots or chopped spring onions or grated zucchini or chopped spinach or anything you can think of.

Achari Gobhi

Cauliflower cooked in achari masala has a similar flavour to a pickle. Who doesn't like pickle.
The main ingredients to get the flavour of Indian Pickle are Kalonji, cumin seeds, fennel seeds, Mustard seeds and fenugreek seeds.
Also the secret is cooking it in the mustard oil.

Ingredients:

• Cauliflower - 1 ( cut into medium sized florets )
• Kalonji Seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Cumin Seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Mustard Seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Fennel Seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Fenugreek Seeds - 1/4 tsp
• Red Chili Powder - to taste
• Salt - to taste
• Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp
• Lemon Juice - 1 tbsp
• Mustard Oil - 3 tbsp
• Green Chili - 1-2
• Chopped Cilantro - for garnish

Directions:

• Heat oil in a wide bottom pan and add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, fennel seeds, fenugreek seeds and kalonji. Let them sizzle.
• Add slit green chillies and turmeric powder.
• Add cauliflower florets, salt and chili powder and give it a good mix till all the florets are nicely coated.
• Add very little water, say 2-3 tbsp , and cook covered on slow heat, mixing in between.
• Cook till the cauliflower is tender and the water is all evaporated.
• Add lemon juice and cook for another 2 minutes and turn off the heat.
• Do not overcook, the cauliflower will turn mushy .
• Garnish with chopped cilantro.

Tip :  You can also add 1 tbsp of pickle paste to the curry for a stronger pickle flavour.