Jul 25, 2012

Stuffed Mushroom Bajji/bonda

Long back I have seen this recipe in a TV Show. In that show they stuffed Mushroom with potato curry. I tried that many times but some how i think that filling heavy. So i tried with mixed vegetable curry from that i keep on changing the filling for this bajjis. Once i tried with crumbled paneer and spinach, that taste really great. For todays post i really wanted to make that spinach and paneer stuffing, I did not get spinach so I changed it to capsicum and corn. This combination also taste great. This is one of my favorite snack because they are juicy and flavorfull in side and besan and mushroom gives a nuty flavor to the outer layer. If you make with potato filling that will not give a juicy texture in side and you do not get any crunchy texture in the filling.
                                       Take care when you dip stuffed mushrooms in the chickpea flour mixture. Make sure that batter should coated all over the stuffed mushroom . Otherwise the fill may come out and spoil the oil. When you add salt to the chick pea batter keep in mind that we ass salt in the filling also.Ok lets check the recipe....
stuffed mushroom bajji INGREDIENTS:--
Mushrooms  --- 10
Besan (chick pea flour) --- 1 cup
Carom seeds (ajwain, vamu) --- 1 tea sp
Salt  ---- 1/4 tea sp
Red chilli powder --- 1/2 tea sp
Water  ----  1/4 cup to 1/2 cup
FOR FILLING:----
Oil ---- 1 tab sp
Capsicum  ---- 1/2 cup chopped
Corn kernels  --- 1/4 cup
Onion ----- 1 small finely choped
Green chutney (what we use for chat)  --- 1 tab sp
Cumin seeds  --- 1/2 tea sp
Ginger garlic paste  --- 1/4 tea sp
Salt  to taste
Oil for deep frying
1. Rinse mushrooms in running water and wipe with a kitchen towel, remove the stem  and set a side.
2. Heat  one tab sp oil in a pan add cumin seeds let them fry for a while then add choped onion and fry for 2 minutes.
3. Now add choped capsicum, ginger garlic paste mix well and cooke for 2 minutes then add cornkernels, green chutney, salt to taste mix well and cook for 2 more minutes.
Remove from heat and set a side.
4. Now mix a batter with chick pea flour, red chilli powder, carom seeds, salt and water.
This batter should be little thick the regular bajji bater hummm should be like a cake batter consistency.
5. Heat oil  in a deep frying pan.

6. Fill the vegetable mixture in mushroom.

7. Keep a tea sp full vegetable mixture in the mushrom hole and pres lightly with a spoon. So that the filling go in side the mushroom properly.
8. Now dip this stuffed mushroom  in the chick pea batter. Make sure that the batter should cover all over the stuffed mushroom.
9. Slowly drop this stuffed mushroom in to the hot oil and fry till they turn in to golden color.
Serve hot with Green chutney and tomato ketchup
This is my second recipe with the theme of Stuffed dishes for blogging marathon 18 th edition at Vallis spice your life lets check blogging marathon page

Jul 24, 2012

Vegetable stuffed Idli

Idli s are my all time favorite breakfast but i not with coconut chutney. I like to have them with any spicy chutney or with kurma (potato kurma). I do not know how i like that combination idli with Alo kurma and even i like to have dosas with kurma instead of any chutney. From there this stuffed idli recipe was born. In the filling I have used ginger garlic paste and garam masala so that we can get the kurma flavor.
For to days recipe I used carrot, green beans and cauliflour. You can make stuffing with only cauliflower or can make a combination of potato, green beans and carrot, or mushroom and capsicum. These are the combinations what i tried before If you have any Idea let me know will try that.
For idli batter I used the idli batter which I grind with 4 cups idli rice and 1 cup urad dal that is regular idli batter. Or you can soak 1 cup urad dal for 6 hours and grind in to smooth paste then add 2 cups of  idli rava(soaked for 1 hour and squeeze the water and add to urad dal batter and mix well. Set in warm place for 8 hour to ferment the idli batter to make the soft idlis.
Actually I don't want any side dish for this Stuffed idlis but my husband like to have this with coconut chutney so that is your choice. 
stuffed idli INGREDIENTS:---
Idli batter  ---  3 cups that is 500ml (check idli batter recipe here.)
Oil  -- 1 tab sp
Cumin seeds  -- 1/2 tea sp
Onion  -- 1 medium chopped
Carrot   --- 1 big chopped
Green beans  --  1/2 cup finely chopped
Cauliflower  --- 1/2 cup chopped
Ginger garlic paste --- 1 tea sp
Turmeric powder  -- 1/4 tea sp
Red chilli powder  --- 1/2 tea sp
Garam masala powder  --- 1/4 tea sp
Salt  --- 1/4 tea sp
Coriander --- 1 tab sp choped
METHOD:---
1. Heat oil in a pan add cumin seeds let them popup then add chopped onion and fry for 2 minutes.
2. Add ginger garlic paste give a good stir then add chopped green beans, chopped carrot, salt, turmeric powder mix well cover and cook in a very low heat for 4 minutes.
3. After 4 minutes remove the lid and add chopped cauliflower mix well again cover cook till vegetables are cooked ( I did not add any water if you feel can sprinkle a tab sp water).
4. Remove the lid add red chilli powder, garam masala, chopped coriander mix well and switch off the heat and set a side. 
This curry should be a dry curry because we are going to stuff this curry in Idlis so do not add much water.
Vegetables are half cooked also don't worry because we are going to steam it with idli batter again.

 5. Boil 1 cup water in idli cooker.
6. Grease idli moulds with little oil or ghee.
 7. Pour 1tab sp batter in each idli mould.
8. Place a tea sp full vegetable curry in the center of the idli batter.
 9. Pour 1 table sp idli batter over the vegetable curry to cover it.
                                                                          
10. Place the idli moulds in idli cooker.
11. Cover and cook in high heat for 2 minutes then reduce the heat and cook for 6 minutes

12. After 6 minutes switch off the heat, remove the idli moulds from idli cooker.
13. Let them sit for 2 minutes then take out the vegetable stuffed idlis from moulds.
Serve hot with coconut chutney and coriander chutney.
This is my first recipe with the theme of Stuffed dishes for blogging marathon 18 th edition at Vallis spice your life lets check blogging marathon page

Jul 19, 2012

Steamed Potli Samosa


This recipe i have inspired by Sanjeev Kapoor Potli samosa (deep fried). Samosa is one of the favorite snack which we love to have any time not only tea time. Normally samosa is a deep fried snack and made by maida(allpurpose flour). I have seen in some food websites they made this deep fried snack in a baking version. But i wanted to try this snack in much more healthy way. So tried I them steamed my first attempt is with maida. I mixed the dough maida and prepared just like how we make for deep fried samosa. I use the filling also same like as deep fried samosa filling with potato curry. I must say this attempt is a failure because the puri which i made was thick like normal samosa. And stuffing is potato curry is so soft without any crunches. When we deep fry samosa the out side crust will be crunchy so if the fill is soft also the out side crunchy crust will give a tempting taste to samosa. Now when we steam them the out side crust will not be crisp it will be soft. And when we make the crust thick like normal samosa that the  in side of the samosa dough did not cooked properly . I find that raw taste in that samosas.
This time I changed the flour to wheat flour to make the crust and made a very thin puri. For filling I used mixed vegetables like carrot and beans along with potato so that you can find the filling crunchy.So do not over cook the vegetables for this steamed samosa. Serve this delicious and healthy potli samosa with chili garlic sause. Because the filling is less spicy so you have to serve a dip which is spicy. They did not  taste like deep fried samosa but the filling will give you a  feel like that you ate samosa. I want to make them more healthy way so i used wheat flour. You can use All purpose flour(maida) also but make the crust as thin as possible. So lets check how I made them....
potli INGREDIENTS:---
Atta (wheat flour)  --- 1 cup
Salt  to taste
Water  --- 1/4 cup
Onion --- 1 big finely chopped
Carrot  --- 1 finely chopped
Green beans  -- finely chopped 1/2 cup
Potato  --- 1 medium finely hopped
Green chillies  --- 2 finely chopped
Ginger  --- 1/2 inch piece finely chopped
Garlic cloves  --- 5 finely chopped
Oil  -- 1 tab sp
Cumin seeds  --- 1 tea sp
Salt  --- 1/4 tea sp
Garam masala  --- 1/2 tea sp
Chat masala  -- 1/4 tea sp
Dry mango powder   -- 1/4 tea sp
steamed potli METHOD:--
For filling:--
1. Heat oil in a pan add cuminseeds let them popup then add chopped onion, green chillies, ginger, garlic fry till onion turn into trasperent.
2. Add choped potato, salt mix well cover and cook in a low heat for 5 minutes by the time potato will be half cooked.
3. Then add chopped cattot, beans cover and cook till vegetables are cooked.
4. Open the lid and add garam masala, chat masala, dry mango powder mix well and remove from heat and set a side.

5. Now take atta in a mixing bowl add salt sprinkle water and knead a little stiff then chapathi dough.
6. Knead well and make small balls out of this dough


7 . take small portions how we do for puris.
8. Press this dough ball in to very thin circle.


9. Press this puri as thin as possible like how i made check the above picture you can see my finger shadow trough the puri.

10. Now apply little water on the edeges of the thin puri.

11. Keep a table spoon full curry in the center of the puri.

12. Bring up the edges and lightly press to stick and give a bundle shape (potli)
13. Press well to make sure that stuffing should not come out.

14. Heat 1 cup water in a pan.
15. Place a idli plate in that pan and grease with a drop of oil.

16. Place the potlis in the greased idli plate.



17. cover and cook for 7 minutes

After 7 minutes when you remove the lid they looks like this with a shining like in the above picture.
Serve this healthy steamed potlis with chilli garlic sauce.
This is my third recipe with the theme of deep fried snack made healthy by baking or steaming for blogging marathon 18 th edition at Vallis spice your life lets check blogging marathon page

Jul 18, 2012

Baked Mixed Vegetable Pakodi

One more snack that we all want to munch is Pakodi . Pakodis are all time favorite  tea time snack for Indians. The ingredients what we use for pakodi is healthy, but the way we cook them is not a healthy way, That is deep fried. I wanted to change this unhealthy way of cooking in to healthy way  our favorite snack. First I made them in a paniyarm pan that also took 1/4 cup oil to cook. I am not happy with this exprement, because when we deep fry also they suck the same amount of oil which i used in paniyaram pan.
Then I tried them baked first I made onion pakodi, they came out realy good and taste delicious. After some time again tried with cabbage they came out well after that i stop deep frying pakodi. Now lets check how i made baked mixed vegetable pakodi ....  
baked pakodi

INGREDIENTS:-
Chick pea flour (besan, senagapindi, kadalai mavu) --  1 cup
Rice flour  --- 1 tab sp
Red chilli powder  --- 1/2 tea sp
Salt --- 1/2 tea sp
Baking powder  --- 14 tea sp
Carom seeds  -- 1/2 tea sp
Ginger and green chilli paste  --- 1 tea sp
Carrot  --- 1/2 cup finely chopped
Beans  --- 1/2 cup finely chopped
Potato -- 1/4 cup finely chopped
Capsicum  --- 1/2 cup finely chopped
Onion --- 1 big cut in to very thin slices
Olive oil --- few drops for toping (optional)

1. Chop all vegetables in to fine pieces I used carrot, capsicum, potato, green beans you can add finely chopped cabbage and leafy veges like amaranth leaves, spinach and cauliflower also.
2, Cut onion in to thin slices and take all the vegetables in to big mixing bowl.

3. Add chick pea flour, rice flour, red chilli powder, salt, baking powder, carom seeds, ginger and green chilli paste, mix well to combine evry thing well so that the flour mixture should coat on every piece.
4. Sprinkle little water and make a batter like showen in the above picture. Sprinkle very little water because we are going to bake them. If you add more water it will take more time to bake.
Heat oven in 200 degree C. for 10 minutes.

5. Greas a baking try with little oil.
6. Take small portions from flour and vegetable mixture and place them on the greased baking try.

7. Place this pakodi try in pre- heated oven and bake for 10 minutes.

8. After ten minutes remove the try from oven drop 1 drop of olive oil on each pakodi and again place the pakodi try in the oven and bake for 7 more minutes.




9. After seven minutes remove the try from oven by the time your healthy baked pakodi s are ready to serve.
Serve the healthy pakodi s with a cup of chai or coffee. For me they taste even delicious then deep fried, can not stop eating.....
This is my second recipe with the theme of deep fried snack made healthy by baking or steaming for blogging marathon 18 th edition at Vallis spice your life lets check blogging marathon page

Jul 17, 2012

Baked Muruku

This week my theme for BM is Deep fried snacks made healthy by baking or steaming. Isn't it challenging?, Yes it is challenging for me. When i saw this theme in BM themes  immediatly picked it. But that time i do not have any idea what to do! The theme was deep fried snacks made healthy by baking or steaming. Most of the snacks in Indian cuisines are deep fried once so I made a list of deep fried snacks. Like Muruku, pakodi, bajji, bonda, vada and many more and i picked some from the list. Muruku is the top on that list, whenever i make muruku this idea will come to my mind. Every time i keep that idea a side like ok will do that next time.....
                                                                   Last month when i make muruku i set a side some dough and baked some murukus in the oven. That time they came little hard because in that dough i used very little butter and mixed the dough with more water. That is what we mix the regular muruku dough. The flours i used in that dough is  2 cups of rice flour with 1/2 cup urad dal flour. I did not add baking powder, that time may be because of all these reasons those muruku came out hard.
                                                               This time I wanted to make my baked muruku little more healthy. I made muruku with wheat flour and fried chanadal powder (daliya or veyinchina senagapappu, porikadalai). And added baking powder and butter like how we make cookies. But this dough is little harder then normal muruku dough so little difficult to press out the murukus from the muruku press. Instead of muruku press you can use a piping bag with a star nozzle To make the muruku. Oven heat depends on your oven, mine is an otg that i am using from last 15 years. For me it took 15 minutes in 150 degree C. and i preheated the oven on 200 degree C for 10 minutes before. Now lets check how i made Baked Muruku......
baked muruku INGREDIENTS:---
Wheat flour  --- 1 cup
Fried chickpea flour --- 1/2 cup
Rice flour  ----- 1 tab sp
Salt   ---- 1/4 tea sp
Cumin seeds  --- 1 tea sp
Red chilli powder  --- 1 tea sp ( you can reduce this according to your taste)
Baking powder  --- 1/2 tea sp
Butter  --- 50 gms
1. Take 1/2 cup fried chick peas add 1 tea sp cumin seeds and grind in to a fine powder.
 2. In a big plate or in a mixing bowl take 1 cup wheat flour and add 1/2 cup ground fried chick pea and cumin flour. 


3. Add rice flour, red chilli powder, salt, baking powder, to wheat flour and chickpea flour.

4. Mix all this ingredients well with your hand to combine every thing well.



5. Make a well in the center and add butter to this flour mixture.
6. Mix the flour mixture with butter and this mixture should turn in to bread crumbs constency as showen in the above picture.


7. If you hold this butter and flour mixture in your hand that should form like a ball like  in the above picture.

8. Now sprinkle little water and make dough. This dough should be like in cookie dough consistency. You can see in the picture i took full cup water and used that much means 1/4 cup water i used to make the dough.


9. In the mean while pre-heat your oven in 200 degree C for 10 minutes.

10. Place a star nozzel in your muruku press.


11. Divide the dough in to two portions and place one portion in muruku press and close.
12. Grease a baking try with few drops of oil. Press the dough trough muruku press in to small circles on the greased baking try.


13. Now place the muruku try in the middle rack of the oven and reduce the temperature to 150 degree C., set the time for 15 minutes.



14. After 15 minutes remove the try from oven and let it cool. To check the murukus are done or not. Wait for 5 minutes after you remove them from oven, break one piece eat and see if you find any raw smell then bake them for 5 more minutes.

 I am sure they will be ready in 15 minutes. When you bake this murukus with in 10 minutes your house will fill with the aroma that is the first thing that you should understand that your murukus will be ready in 5 minutes.
Enjoy the crisp murukus with a cup of chai or coffee...
This is my first recipe with the theme of deep fried snack made healthy by baking or steaming for blogging marathon 18 th edition at Vallis spice your life lets check blogging marathon page

Jul 16, 2012

Patishapta A Bengali Delicacy

This recipe I wanted to try from long time but some how I could not make it. When I saw this recipe in this months ICC, I just wanted to take this challenge. Thank you so much Valli for the recipe. Patishapta is one of the traditional Bengali sweet, which is not much Popular like other Bengali Sweets. This sweet crepes I made for todays break fast we like the insted as a desert . I reduced the sweet and added some dry fruits like raisins, cashew nuts. I served it with condence milk and chocolate sauce, That was perfect for me yummm....
                                                                     I made them in a small amount so I reduced the amount what Valli has given. Thanks Valli for this delicious challenge. 
Patishapta      INGREDIENTS:---
Coconut    --- 1 cup(grated I used fresh coconut)
Khyoa   --- 100gms
Sugar  ---  1/4 cup
Raisins --- 1 tab sp
Cashewnuts  -- 10 cut in to small pieces
Cardamom  --  3 powderd.
Ghee  ---- 1/2 tea sp
FOR CREPES:---
Maida (All purpose flour)  ---  1 cup
Sooji  or fine semolina ----  1 tabsp (i used fine rava(chiroti rava) so i didn't grind the rava. IF you are using normal rava then grind rava to make it fine rava)
Rice flour   ----- 1 tabsp
Milk    ----  2 cups
FOR SERVING:
Condenced milk ( i used chocolate sauce also)
METHOD:---
1. Heat ghee in a pan fry raisins and cashewnuts till golden remove and set a side.
2. Grind sugar and cardamom seeds in to a fine powder.

3. Add grated coconut to the same pan mix for a while.


4. Add powdered sugar to the  coconut and give a good stir.



5. Now add khoya mix well to combine every thing
6. Add fried cashewnuts and raisins mix well.



7. Now take Allpurpose flour, rava, rice flour  and a pich of salt in a mixing bowl.


8. Add milk to the flours mix well to make a thin batter.

9. Make sure there should not be lumps in the batter.

10. this batter should be like ravadosa batter



11. Heat a pan keep the heat low and pour the batter, spread like a circle (like pan cake).
Let the pan cake cook littel golden on the down side then slowely flip the pancake other side and cook for a while.


12.  Now spread a tab sp full coconut mixture in the center of the pan cake and fold from both sides to close the filling.
13. Serve Patishapta with sweetend condenced milk.