Aloo Ka Paratha

Indian bread stuffed with spicy potato filling

 

 

I am back after a lovely family vacation in England. I missed posting recipes on my blog. The weather has been quite chilly here in South Florida, but thank god, its a million times better than England. We had to endure 6 degree temperature and it was horrible. Imagine the condition of a Floridian in any cold weather. We love our warm and sunny Florida weather and its hard for us to survive in cold winters. But otherwise the trip was so much fun. Good food and good company made the trip totally worthwhile. After I came back I made delicious aloo paranthas with mint chutney. A regular breakfast dish in every Punjabi household, aloo waale paranthe with dahi/yogurt is a must at least once a week. These paranthas serve as a delicious and a satisfying hearty meal at the beginning of your day. Here is the recipe.

 

Ingredients:-

2 cups- whole wheat flour or atta plus more for rolling

4- medium sized potatoes boiled, peeled and mashed

3- green chillies ground in a paste

1 tsp- ajwain or bishop's weed

1 1/2 tsp- punjabi garam masala

1 tsp- amchur powder

1 tsp- anardana powder

Salt to taste

1- cup Cilantro finely chopped

Ghee/oil for cooking

 

1. Add water, salt and a tablespoon of chopped cilantro to the wheat flour. knead it to make a soft dough(similar to a roti dough but not too soft). (Add salt to the atta as per your taste, the dough should taste of a bit of salt but not too salty)
2. Mash the boiled potatoes and add ajwain, salt, green chilli paste, garam masala, amchur powder, anardana powder, rest of the chopped cilantro and mix properly.
3. Take small balls out of the dough. Roll it in a small circular shape like a puri.
4. Fill the center of the rolled puri with a generous amount of the potato filling and close it from all the sides tightly sealing it with your hands.
5. Add a little bit of dry flour on the rolling mat , press the dough slightly, dust the dough with the flour and roll it into a round or square roti. Make sure you do it with care so that the filling doesn't come out.
6. Place it on a hot tava or griddle, apply ghee/oil on both the sides and cook until the paranthas are nice and brown and fully cooked.
7. Serve with yogurt and mint chutney.

Mint chutney recipe.

Mint Chutney is very tasty and tangy. It can be served as a dip with appetizers for samosas, kebabs, pakodes,etc. or it can be used as a spread in sandwiches with cucumber, onions and tomatoes. Mint chutney along with date chutney makes an excellent combination for all kinds of chaats.

 

Ingredients:-

1 cup mint leaves firmly packed (washed)

1 medium onion finely chopped

2 green chillies chopped

Juice of half a lemon

1 tsp-sugar

1 tsp- cumin seeds

Salt to taste

1. Combine all the ingredients and puree it in a blender till the mixture is smooth and everything has blended well. You can add a bit of water while grinding.
2. Serve with the paranthas.

 

 

 

 





Fresh Homemade Pancakes with Chocolate chips and Blueberries

 

 

I know its always easy to make pancakes using the store bought ready to use pancake mix. But try this homemade batter and you will never buy pancake mix from the store. Why spend money on something that is lying around on the shelf with so many added preservatives when you can  make the same thing fresh at home and it tastes equally good. Just mix up the ingredients below, keep them in an airtight container and then every time when you are in a mood to eat fresh hot pancakes just scoop a bit of the mixture and mix with some fresh ingredients and serve it to your family. I read this recipe in Alton Brown's book "Good Eats". I just made a few changes of my own. These pancakes are super easy, super tasty and super fluffy.

 

Ingredients:-

6 cups All purpose flour sifted

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

3 tsp- baking powder

1 tblsp-salt

2 tblsp-sugar

 

Combine all the above mixture and store in an airtight container. Use within 3 months.

 

Now for instant pancakes:-

1 cup instant pancake mix

1 egg-beaten

2 tblsp melted butter

1 cup buttermilk or milk

1/2 cup fresh blueberries

1/4 cup chocolate chips

Butter for greasing the pan

1. Heat a pan or griddle, grease it with butter.
2. Combine together buttermilk, egg, melted butter, chocolate chips and pancake mix  in a large mixing bowl. Using a whisk, mix the batter just enough to bring it together. If the batter is too thick you can use more milk or buttermilk. 
3.  Don't overbeat or try to  smoothen all the lumps. It's ok to have a few lumps.
4. Check to see if the pan is hot but not too hot. Gently pour the pancake batter and sprinkle with fresh blueberries.
5. When bubbles begin to set around the edges of the pancake and is golden underneath, gently flip the pancake. Continue to cook 2 to 3 minutes or until the pancake is fluffy and done.
6. Serve hot with maple syrup and fresh strawberries.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Urad dal and Corn Vade

(Skinned black gram and corn fritters)

 

 

 

 

It was cold rainy day today in South Florida, infact the weather here is nice and chilly for the past few days. So much better than most of the country where people are freezing in bitter cold. Anyways, a nice excuse to eat something fried. So myself and my neighbour "aunty rani" thats what we call her got together and made these crispy fried fritters. If you have urad dal and corn at home, you can throw in a few ingredients and make these vades on a cold rainy day.

 

Ingredients:-

 1/2 cup corn kernels - drained from a can and washed.

1cup Urad dal soaked for 2 hours

1/2 an onion finely sliced

1 tblsp clinatro leaves finely sliced

2 stalks of scallions finely chopped

A thin slice of ginger finely chopped

2 green chillies finely chopped

1 tsp cumin seeds

Canola oil for frying

Salt to taste

1. Blend urad dal in a blender using little water. Make a smooth paste.
2. Take the urad dal out and blend corn kernels coarsely
3. Mix the rest of the ingredients and press to make small flat balls
4. Heat oil in a wok
5. Drop into hot oil and fry in medium flame till both sides turns golden brown. You can fry three to four vadas in each batch.

Enjoy these hot crispy Vades with ketchup, mint chutney or just plain coffee/tea.

 

 

Tips/notes:-

Check the temperature of the oil before you start frying. If the oil is too hot the Vades will turn brown quickly and remain uncooked from inside. To check the temperature drop a tiny piece into the hot oil and it should rise immediately. Reduce the flame and then start frying.

 

 

 

 

Instant Urad Dal Oatmeal Dosa with Coconut Chutney

 

 

 

 

 

 

I love south indian food and dosa idli is my all time favourite. But sometimes its too much work to soak the lentils and rice, grind and wait for the batter to rise. It needs a lot of planning. And even if I get myself to do all that half the time my batter doesnt rise because either I didnt follow the  measurements correctly or the temperature wasn't right for the batter to ferment. I always keep looking for different instant dosa recipes so that I can make dosa as and when I feel like. I tried various recipes from the internet but this one is my all time favourite. Urad dal oatmeal dosa with coconut chutney. I know it sounds weird but trust me its simple, its delicious, its healthy and you can make it in minutes with just two simple ingredients. My neighbour who is a south indian gave me this recipe and its a big hit in my house. Plus its a good way to get my baby girl to eat oats.

 

 

Ingredients for the dosa :-

1 cup Urad dal (skinless black gram lentil)

1 cup rolled oats

Oil for making the dosa

 

1. Soak urad dal for 1 1/2 hour and then wash
2. Soak oats for just 5 minutes
3. Add the dal and oats and blend into a smooth batter. The consistency should be like the dough for pancakes.
4. Heat the tava, add about a tsp of oil and make thin dosas. This batter makes about 5/6 dosas.

The dosas turn out nice and fluffy and tastes so much like the regular dosas we make. I normally make coconut chutney with it, here is the recipe.

Ingredients for the chutney:-
1 cup unsweetened coconut flakes . ( You can  grate fresh coconut or use store bought packet)
1/2 cup roasted chana dal
Quarter of an onion - sliced
1 small piece of ginger
1 green chilli ( you can add more as per your taste)
salt to taste
1/2 tsp sugar

Blend all of the above with little water and enjoy with hot dosas.