Banana appe

Appés are small round fritters that are deep fried in a special tawa. This tawa has small depressions in it in which you can fry individual appés, this is what gives it their characteristic shape. I bought the appé tawa which I was coveting since a long time, just never got around to actually buying it. Finally the day I made it, they were all gone in just a couple of minutes.

Not just are they lusciously soft, but they carry that distinctly different sweetness of jaggery and banana. They taste best when eaten hot.

If you don't have the appé tawa, do not fret. Just deep fry it in the regular manner, just like you would do for bhajiyas.

Ingredients

• 2 cups uncooked rice
• 1/2 cup maida
• 1 banana
• 3/4th cup grated jaggery
• 1/2 tsp cardamom powder
• oil for frying.

 Wash the rice thoroughly and soak it in sufficient quantity of water for two hours. After two hours drain the water completely.

Grind the rice with banana, jaggery and cardamom powder. Use very little water, but grind it as fine as possible.

To the ground mixture, add the maida and mix well. Pour a little oil in each well of the appé tawa. Spoon out the mixture into each well. Fill up only 3/4th of the well. (If you are using a regular wok, you don't have to worry about this. Just spoon out a portion into the oil)

Fry on both sides till golden brown.

Serve hot!

Happy Cooking!

Besan Kachori

This time they puffed up. Each and every last one of them. And they were so crispy and crunchy, they were just right. Too bad, though. My husband's not going to come home tonight. He will just have to eat them tomorrow, re-heated in a microwave. Too bad.

Ingredients

For the covering

• 2 cups plain flour (maida)
• 1/2 cup semolina (rawa)
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp soda bicarb
• salt to taste
• 3 tbsp hot clarified butter (ghee) or vegetable shortening (dalda)
• water  

For the stuffing

• 2 cups gram flour (besan)
• 1 tsp cumin seeds (jeera)
• 1 tsp fennel seeds (saunf)
• 2 tsp coriander powder (dhania powder)
• 1 tsp dry mango powder (amchur)
• 2 tsp red chilli powder
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• 3 tsp oil
• a pinch of asafoetida (hing)
• 1 tsp sugar

First make the dough. Mix the plain flour and semolina with baking powder, soda bicarb and salt. Pile it up into a heap and make a deep well in the center. Pour hot ghee in this well and mix it all up. The flour should now look like bread crumbs.Mix water slowly to form a dough. The dough should be soft. Cover the dough with a damp muslin cloth and set it aside.

Now make the stuffing. Roast the cumin and fennel seeds and grind them to a powder. Roast gram flour till all its raw smell disappears. Now add all the dry spices except hing. Heat oil in a separate wok and add hing to it. Pour this oil into the besan and spice mixture. Add salt and sugar and a little water to make it moist.Just a little sprinkle of water should be enough.

Cool the stuffing mixture and divide into small portions. Make balls of each portion. Make equal number of dough balls.

Heat oil in a deep wok for deep frying. Now roll a dough ball into a thin diskette. Place the stuffing ball in the center of the diskette. Bring up the edges together and press them together firmly. Now press the ball slightly and roll it again carefully into a diskette about 5 mm in thickness.

Deep fry the kachoris till they are golden brown. Fry on medium heat for five to seven minutes so that the kachoris become crunchy or "khasta".

Happy Cooking!

Kothimbir Vadi

This will be my seventy-second post! I can't believe that in the last two and half months, I have made a different recipe everyday! Not a day has gone by when I didn't make something new.

I remember the time I was a numbed novice in the kitchen. My mother and my mother-in-law, both are excellent cooks, and by their standard I was nowhere. The only things I could make when I got married were tea and Maggie! I have come a long way since that time four and half years ago.

Back in those days, I would hate going to the kitchen. I felt like such a loser! Everything was out of control, and I hate losing control of situations. It would take me ten whole minutes to chop an onion and I am not exaggerating. I couldn't handle clinic and cooking both. So my mother-in-law would make one meal and I would make the other (lunch or dinner) but never both.

Looking at myself today, I can't help but feel good about myself. Today I can juggle cooking both the times, taking care of my daughter, juggling a job, being a writer, and cooking something new each day! I had never thought that it would be possible, but I actually look forward to cooking now, as I am equally intrigued with what I am going to make each day and how it will turn out.

Not all my recipes were successful. I must admit, there were some that were completely disastrous and I had to make something else in a haste so that I didn't have to post the disaster. But all in all the journey so far has been exciting.

My recipe for today is something I have wanted to make for a long time. It is a simple Maharashtrian recipe that I had heard a lot about. Finally I made it today, and the taste was absolutely fantastic. It has just the right hint of crispiness and softness. Crunchy, sour, spicy and sweet all at the same time, with the maximum flavor from the coriander. Do try this recipe if you haven't already and tell me if you liked it too.

Ingredients

• 2 cups fresh coriander (cilantro) finely chopped
• 1 cup gram flour (besan)
• 2 tbsp wheat flour
• 2 tbsp rice flour
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 2-3 tsp red chilli powder
• 1 tsp coriander powder
• 2 tsp cumin powder
• 2 tsp ginger garlic paste
• 1/2 tsp garam masala
• a pinch of asafoetida
• 2 tsp poppy seeds
• 2 tbsp sesame seeds
• juice of 1 lemon
• 2 tsp sugar
• salt to taste
• 2 tsp oil
• water

Mix all the above ingredients and add water slowly till you get a thick lump-free batter. Pour water in a steamer and place it over heat.

Grease a steamer bowl with a little oil and pour the batter in it. Place in the steamer and steam for ten to fifteen minutes till a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

Cut the vadis into small cubes and shallow fry them till they are golden brown and crisp on all sides. Serve hot, hot, hot with ketchup or mint chutney. I did prefer to eat them as they were without any ketchup.

Happy cooking!

Nachos with Spicy Tomato Dip

Swapping sob stories with my assistants in clinic today, I realized how better off I am with respect to my husband and my in-laws. Truly, I am blessed. The stories that they share with me, sometimes sad, sometimes poignant and sometimes downright hilarious! But what truly touched me is their ability to smile and laugh inspite of all the wrong that has happened to them. Is it because of their pain-bearing capacity, or because of their ignorance? It struck me as odd  that they should think that husbands hitting or slapping their wives is 'Normal'! What's even worse, they think that if a husband beats his wife, then she must have definitely done something to deserve it!

I did my bit to make sure that they understand that deserving or otherwise, no husband has authority to beat his wife. It did make me realize one thing though. All my so-called grievances and complaints towards my husband are without any merit whatsoever. My husband is infinitely better than all these wife-bashers.

Armed with this altered perspective about the goodness encompassing my life, I decided to make something nice and entirely different today. I have always wanted to make nachos. Today was the day I decided to make it.

Pretty soon, I am going to make Marie Biscuit No-Bake Cake. Needless  to say, I'll post it when I make it.

Ingredients

• 1 cup corn meal (Makki ka atta)
• 1 cup plain flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 3 tomatoes finely chopped
• 1 medium onion finely chopped
• 9 to 10 pods garlic minced
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 6 to 7 slices of jalapeno 
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• 1/2 tsp tobasco sauce
• 2 tsp mixed Italian herbs
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander
• salt to taste
• grated cheese (optional)

For the tortilla chips, mix the corn and plain flours with baking powder and salt. Now add water slowly and knead well to form a soft dough. Divide the dough into ten equal portions. Roll out each portion thinly with a rolling pin and cut with a knife into desired shapes.

Heat oil in a deep wok, and deep fry the tortilla chips till they are nice and crispy. Remove from the oil and drain on kitchen towels.

For the spicy tomato dip, mix all the remaining ingredients except the cheese, and refrigerate. Garnish with grated cheese and serve chilled with the corn chips.

Great as a starter, or snacks!

Happy Cooking!

Corn, Peas and Potato Sandwich

There is nothing great about making a sandwich. Or, that is what I used to think. Until I had a taste of my friend Sucheta's sandwich. Sucheta is a great cook (albeit vegetarian) and makes wonderful recipes on Sundays for her family. I was lucky to be a part of few of those and taste her awesome sandwiches. Not to mention, my kid loved the sandwiches. What a great way to get some veggies into her tummy!

This morning, I made  sandwiches with corn, peas, cottage cheese and potatoes. Also, I always use brown bread instead of white bread unless absolutely necessary. Switching to brown bread means switching to health.

The best part is, Saee gave me a thumbs up! I got my reward already :-)

Ingredients

• 10 slices of brown bread
• 2 medium potatoes boiled and peeled
• 1/2 cup peas, boiled
• 1/2 cup corn, boiled
• 1/2 cup grated cottage cheese (I make mine at home)
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp red chilli powder
• 1/2 tsp dark soy sauce
• 1 to 2 tsp barbeque sauce
• 1 tsp mixed dry herbs
• 2 tsp olive oil
• butter
• salt to taste

Heat a little olive oil in a wok. Stir in the chopped onion and saute till the onion becomes translucent. Add the corn and the peas and toss around a little bit. Now add the mashed boiled potatoes and give it a good stir in the wok. Lower from the heat.

Now add the grated cottage cheese, turmeric, red chilli powder, mixed herbs, dark soy sauce and barbeque sauce. Add a little salt to taste. Mix it up well with hands.

Now butter both sides of the bread, and spread a little of the above mixture on one slice. Place the other slice above the spread and toast the sandwich till it browns on both sides.

Cut into triangles and serve with green chutney or tomato ketchup. A healthy breakfast is ready!

Happy Cooking!

Papad Parantha

The simplest breakfast ever! I remember seeing the recipe once on a cookery show on TV. This parantha is a specialty of a paranthawala in Delhi where he concocts all sorts of recipes for his paranthas and they are a huge hit. Of course, he makes this recipe with dollops of ghee which I very thoughtfully omitted. You may use the ghee if you like.

Ingredients

• 6 papads
• 2 cups wheat flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp oil for kneading the flour
• 1/2 cup oil for frying the papads and then for the paranthas

I generally use papads which have different spices in them already, so you needn't season it anymore. Deep fry the papads and drain them on kitchen towels. Crush them into fine pieces.

Take the flour in a large dish. Make a well in the center and add the salt and 2 tbsp oil. Mix it well till it resembles bread crumbs. Now add the water slowly and knead well to form a firm dough.

Take a portion of the dough and make a ball from it. Make a deep depression in the center using thumbs and index fingers of both hands. Spoon out a portion of the papad mixture into the depression and seal the edges of the dough shut. Dip it in dry flour and roll out using a rolling pin. You can't make this parantha too thin as it has a tendency to tear.

Now heat a griddle and spoon out a tsp of oil on it. Place the parantha on the griddle and fry well on both sides till it becomes nice golden brown colored. Serve hot with chutney, ketchup or pickle!

Happy Cooking!