Sabudana Vada

Wrapping up the year 2009 blogging with this vada made with sabudana and potato, which is a popular Marathi fasting snack. During fasting there are certain restrictions followed in the food preparations. Like for this vada, addition of onion and coriander leaves will add good flavor and taste. But during fasting these are avoided. Do add onion and coriander leaves to suit your taste. Even without them this vada tastes good.
There was a lot of changes in my life during 2009 and it reflected on my blogging slowing down [ If any one noticed :) ] a bit. Hoping the brand new year 2010 brings in new opportunities , positivity and prosperity. Here i wish all my readers a happy new year in advance. Hope you guys and gals have a good year ahead.

Ingredients

1.5 cup - Sabudana/ sago
3 to 4 medium size - Potato, boiled & chopped to small bits
1/2 cup - Roasted & ground peanut powder
5 to 6 - Green chili, finely chopped
1 tsp - Jeera seeds
1 to 2 sprigs - Curry leaves, chopped
Salt to taste
Oil for deep frying

Method

1 ) Soak sago overnight in water and drain into a colander in the morning. Keep aside to drain for an hour or 2 . Drain off all the water very well. Soaking time can be for 3 to 4 hours.

2 ) Into a mixing bowl add, sago, potato, jeera, chili, peanut powder, curry leaves and salt to taste. Combine all the ingredients and make small equal size balls. Take one ball at a time, place it in the center of one palm and flattened with the other palm.

3 ) Heat enough oil to deep fry on medium heat. Once the oil is hot, fry the vada till both sides turn golden brown. Drain off the oil and transfer to a plate.

Serve with tea and if needed with your choice of chutney.

Mushroom Soup

Happy holidays, everyone ! With the cold weather outside, you can warm up with a cuppa soup, cozying up in a couch. Or you can serve this soup along with your Christmas feast. Mushroom soup was one soup i loved as a kid and still a favourite. Try this homemade mushroom soup and let me know what you think.

Ingredients

1 +1 cups - Chopped Button Mushrooms

1/2 cup - Shallots, chopped

6 flakes - Garlic, crushed

2 tbsp - Maida / All purpose flour

1 cup - Milk

1 - Bay leaf

3 cups - Chicken stock Or water

1 to 1.5 tsp - Lemon juice

Salt and Pepper to taste

1 to 2 tbsp - Cream / half and half

Garnishing

5 - Shallots, diced

1 tbsp - Chopped Parsley

Method

1 ) Heat 2 tbsp to 3 tbsp butter in a big pan. Fry the shallots for garnishing to a brown and crisp on medium heat. Drain off the butter and set aside. Now add 1/2 cup chopped shallots and garlic and fry till they soften. Now add 1 cup of chopped mushroom to the pan and fry till they soften and starts to fry a bit. Now stir in 2 tbsp of flour, mix well and cook for 3 minutes.

2 ) Remove pan from fire and gradually add the 3 cups chicken stock or water, bay leaf, salt and pepper powder to taste and bring to a boil. Now simmer, cover and cook for 15 minutes. Turn the stove off and cool a bit.

3 ) Sieve or liquidize and strain the soup.If you are liquidizing the soup, add the contents to a blender to liquidise only after the soup has cool down a bit. Otherwise there is all possibility of the hot contents splashing out of the blender. It happened to me and i learnt my lesson, so just a word of caution here.

4 ) Pour the strained soup back into the pan and keep it back on fire. Now add 1 cup milk, 1 to 1.5 cup water and 1 cup chopped mushrooms. Bring to a boil and adjust salt and pepper to taste. Simmer and cook covered for 10 minutes. Turn off the stove. Now add lemon juice, stir in and then cream.

5 ) Garnish with fried shallots and parsley.

Serve hot and enjoy. You can reheat the soup, but do not bring it to a boil.

To clean Mushroom : Mix a spoonful of cornflour in water and wash mushroom with this. This will remove all the surface mud.

Chakka / Jackfruit Avial

Getting to see young unripe jack fruits in the market now. The young small ones will be good to make, thoran, avial, idichakka and like dishes. Jack fruits are found in abundance in kerala, during the season. Ripe and unripe fruit is used to make different dishes. Buy a small unripe jack fruit to make jack fruit avial.

Ingredients

4 cups - Unripe jack fruit, chopped to small pieces
1/2 to 1 tsp - Turmeric powder
4 to5 tsp - Curds
2 sprigs - Curry leaves
2 tbsp - Coconut oil
Salt to taste

Grind to a coarse paste

1 cup - Freshly grated coconut
1/4 tsp - Jeera
4 - Green chili
5 - Shallots/ small onion
2 flakes - Garlic
1 sprig - Curry leaves

Method

1 ) Cook jack fruit with turmeric powder and salt till soft. You can pressure cook in cooker for one whistle or simmer and cook in a pan with enough water. Add a little coconut oil when the water boils.

2 ) Just coarsely grind ingredients listed to be ground. Add this mixture to the cooked jack fruit. Add salt to taste and bring to a boil. Then simmer, add curds and stir in.

3 ) Crush some curry leaves and add to the pan then pour coconut oil on top, stir and close with a lid. Take off stove and serve.

Serve as a side dish with rice.

Kanda Poha

Delicious, healthy and filling breakfast to start the day with. A maharastrian breakfast dish, where kanda means onion in marathi.

Ingredients

2 to 3 cups - Thick Poha / Beaten rice

1 medium - Potato, cut to small bits

1 big - Onion, chopped

1 to 2 - Green chili, chopped

1/2 of a - Lemon

2 to 3 sprigs - Curry leaves

Salt to taste

Seasoning

1 tsp - Mustard Seeds

1 tsp - Urad dal

1 tsp - Channa dal

1/4 tsp - Turmeric powder

Garnishing

1/4 cup - Coriander leaves

1/4 cup - Freshly grated coconut

Method

1 ) Wash poha in water and drain in a colander. Set aside to drain off the water.

2 ) Heat oil in a kadai / wok, add mustard, urad dal, channa dal and let the mustard pop and the dals brown a bit. When done, add onion, turmeric powder, curry leaves, green chili and fry for a minute or two on medium heat. Now add potato and salt to taste to the pan. Stir and fry well. Close with a lid and cook on low heat. Occassionally stir in between. Cook till potato has cooked and browned a bit.

3 ) Now add the drained poha and mix in well with the ingredients in the kadai. Garnish with coriander leaves, coconut, adjust salt to taste and stir well. Close with a lid and swtich off the gas. After 5 minutes open and sprinkle lemon juice. Stir in well.

Serve for breakfast.

Note - You can add boiled green peas while adding potato. Tomato can be used instead of lemon juice. If you like peanuts, add peanuts along with urad dal and chana dal and fry it.

Njandu / Crab Coconut Masala

How about a nice crab coconut masala to go with rice ? Now in this recipe the coconut is not dry roasted before grinding. Crab is coated with the coconut masala when you bite into it. This is more of a dry preparation with little gravy, that coats the crab.

Ingredients

10 - Big Crab, wash & cleaned
1/2 cup - Shallots, chopped
2 to 4 - Green chili, slit in center
5 flakes - Garlic, make a paste
1'' piece - Ginger, make a paste
3 pieces - Kudampuli, Wash & clean
1 tsp - Turmeric powder
3 sprigs - Curry leaves
1 tsp - Mustard seeds
Salt to taste

Grind to a smooth paste

2 flakes - Garlic
5 - Shallots /Small onion
5 - Dry red chili
1/2 tsp - Fennel seed
4 tsp - Coriander powder
1/2 cup - Freshly grated coconut

Method

1 ) Heat coconut oil in a manchatty / earthen pot, add mustard seed and let it pop. Then add shallot, green chili, curry leaves, fry for a minute. Then add ginger and garlic paste and fry till it browns lightly.

2 ) Now add turmeric powder, kudampuli and the ground coconut masala paste, fry for a minute. Then add little water for gravy, salt to taste and the cleaned crab pieces. Bring to a boil, simmer and cook till crab is cooked. Finally add some curry leaves and coconut oil on top. Take off the stove and serve.

Serve hot with rice.

Masoor - Ma - Gosh

A parsi delicacy, that is cooked with masoor dal and mutton. The combination brings out a delightful taste, with the help of the spices cooked along with it. Makes the dish more healthy with the use of whole masoor dal. A dish that you can enjoy, served hot with roti.

Ingredients

3/4 cup - Whole masoor dal
1/2 kilo - Mutton, Use leg or shoulder cut pieces
2 - Onions, chopped
1 big - Tomato, chopped
1/2 tsp - Turmeric powder
1/4 tsp - Jeera
3 to 4 sprigs - Curry leaves
Salt to taste

Grind to a paste with vinegar

6 - Red chilies
4 medium - Green chilies
1 tsp - Jeera / Cumin
1 big flake - Garlic
1'' piece - Ginger
1 to 1.5 tbsp - Vinegar

Method

1 ) Wash and soak masoor dal in water for an hour. Put into a pressure cooker along with mutton pieces, salt, turmeric powder, jeera and salt to taste. Add 2 to 3 cups of water and pressure cook for 2 to 3 whistles.

2 ) Heat oil in a pan, add onion, curry leaves and fry the onion till it turns golden brown in color. Now add the ground masala and fry till the oil separates. Add tomato, fry and cook till it is soft on low heat.

3 ) Once tomato is done, add cooked masoor and mutton mixture to the pan, simmer and cook till the flavors blend in.

Serve hot with chapathi /roti.