Zaiqa

After a good afternoon siesta during the humid and sultry Indian Summer days, a few Aloo Bondas along with a cup of warm tea while going through the days newspaper would be perfect. It is also savored during the rainy days in India. Oh, it brings back many cherished memories..

Aloo Bondas – Potato Croquettes

Aloo Bondas are balls of mashed lightly spiced potatoes dipped in chickpea flour and deep fried till golden brown. They are the most loved snacks in India, sold in most of the ready made food stalls, and also as a street food by the bandiwalas in small carts by the road side.

I often prepare Aloo Bondas for Iftaar in Ramadhan. These are our favorite snacks.

Aloo Bondas – Potato Croquettes

Makes -About 20

Ingredients:

For the Tempering/Baghaar:

• Canola Oil – 1 tbsp
• Split Black Gram/Urad Dal – 1 tbsp
• Black Mustard seeds/Rai – 1 tsp
• Dried Curry leaves – 6, crushed (optional)
• Ginger – 1 tbsp, finely chopped

For the Potato filling/Aloo:

• Potatoes – 4, medium sized, boiled, peeled and diced into 1/4 inch pieces
• Red chilli powder – 1/2 tsp
• Salt – 1 tsp
• Turmeric – 1/4 tsp
• Lemon juice – 2 tbsp
• Finely chopped Cilanto, Mint leaves and Small Green chillies/Hara Masala – 1/2 cup, loosely packed
• Roasted Cashewnuts – 1/4 cup (optional)
• Frozen peas (thawed) – 1/2 cup (optional)

For the Chickpea flour batter/Besan:

• Chickepea flour/Besan – 1 cup
• Water – 150 ml
• Canola Oil – to deep fry

Method:

Prepare Popato Filling/Aloo:

• Pour oil into a small frying pan at medium heat, and add the black mustard seeds, split dal and chopped ginger. Cover with a splatter screen. Saute for 30 seconds or until the seeds stop popping. Add the dried crushed curry leaves. Remove from heat. This is the ‘Baghaar’.
• Add red chilli powder, salt, turmeric and the prepared baghaar to the chopped potatoes. Also add the cashewnuts and peas, if using, and mix well. Take a little bit of the potato mixture at a time in your hands and shape them into walnut sized balls pressing them between your palms. Keep doing this until the whole potato mixture is completed. Keep them aside.

Prepare the Batter/Besan:

• In a bowl, add the chickpea flour, water, red chilli powder, salt and turmeric to it and whisk it till there are no lumps and it is a smooth, pancake or buttermilk like batter of pouring consistency.

Deep frying the Croquettes/Bondas:

• In a kadai or a wok at medium heat, pour oil and let the oil heat up. After a little while, drop about 1/4 tsp of the chickpea flour batter into the hot oil. If it floats on surface the oil is ready for deep frying.
• One at a time dip the potato balls into the chickpea flour batter. With the help of a tablespoon, bath them well so they are covered all over with the batter. (Note: The potato balls should be completely covered with the batter or else they will disintegrate during deep frying)
• Carefully drop them, one at a time, into the hot oil. Deep fry about 4-6 balls depending upon the size of the Kadai or wok. They need to be turned for even frying. Once they are golden brown in colour, remove them on a tray lined with paper towel. Continue doing this until all the potato balls are done. Discard excess chickpea flour batter. Serve warm.

Suggested Accompaniments: Enjoy them along with Tomato ketchup, Kothmir-Pudina ki Chutney or any of your favorite Chutney as a dipping sauce along with a cup of warm tea.

This goes to ‘Joy from feasting to Fasting’. Takecare everyone and enjoy your weekend!

Luv,
Mona

Upma is an another Indian dish which can be had as a snack or can even be had as a filling breakfast.  

Tip: Indian cuisine is versatile. Simple techniques and and a marriage of various kinds of spices and flavors makes the Indian cuisine flexible and sapid. Indian women know very well to use the left overs and whip up delicious meals using them. One such dish where I usually use the leftover curries is Upma. If the left over curry is a dry dish, I often mix it in the preperation of the Upma which makes it even more delicious and healthier. And if the left over curry is thin (soupy) in consistency, then I use it to serve along with Upma.  

Upma – Semolina cake, served along with leftover Colocasia/Arvi in a tangy sauce

Upma is comfort food for me. It is a filling healthy breakfast to start a new day, quite easy to prepare and gets prepared swiftly. Upma Rawa or Semolina or Sooji is available at many Indian stores very easily.

Serves – 4

Upma – Semolina cake

Ingredients:

• Semolina/Sooji/Upma Rawa – 1 1/2 cups
• Canola oil – 3 tbsp
• Black Mustard seeds – 2 tsp
• Whole dried red chilli – 1 
• Small Green chillies – 4, finely chopped
• Fresh grated ginger – 1 tbsp
• Fresh or dried Curry leaves – 10
• Urad Dal – 1 tsp
• Moong Dal – 1 tsp
• Turmeric – 1/2 tsp
• Yellow Onion – 2, large, finely chopped
• Salt – 2 tsp or to taste
• Water/Chicken or Lamb Stock – 3 1/2 cups
• Lemon juice – 3 tbsp
• Cilantro – 1/2 cup, finely chopped
• Fried Cashewnuts – 1/2 cup, chopped

Method:

• In a non-stick saucepan at medium heat, pour oil and as soon as it gets warm, throw in the mustard seeds. Cover the saucepan with a splatter screen and as soon as the seeds begin to pop, add in the green and red chillies, dals, ginger, turmeric and curry leaves. Saute them for 3 minutes and later add the chopped onion and salt to it. Let the onions sweat out a little. Fry them all for about 5 minutes stirring it continually. Add the Upma Rawa and fry the whole mixture for 5-8 minutes more again stirring frequently (if you have any dry curry left-overs, you can add it too at this stage, read the notes above)
• Now pour the water/stock and mix throughly to that no lumps form. Reduce the heat to low and cover the saucepan. Let it cook for 3 minutes more. 
• Remove from heat and add lemon juice, cashewnuts and cilantro. Fluff and mix it all using a fork and spoon the mixture into whatever molds you like, press the mixture well. Invert them onto warm serving plates and serve them for a yummy breakfast. 

Suggested Accompaniments: I and my family enjoy it along with Lemon/Lime or Mango pickle prepared Indian style, or with any thin (soupy) leftover Curry/Saalan. I also love to savor it along with Khatti Dal. My Mother used to serve it us when I was a kid along with a handful of shallow fried groundnuts. 

This goes as an entry to the event, Click Yellow for Bri, being held this time as a Cancer Fundraiser by Jai and Bee for Briana Brownlow.

This also goes all the way to Raaga of The Singing Chef for the WBB#23 Express Breakfast Event she is holding this month.

Luv,
Mona

Idli, also spelled as Idly or Iddly is a food native to Southern India. It is the most favorite South Indian breakfast next to Dosa, Wada and Samabar. Idlis have been compared to the moon and jasmine flowers in literature. They are steamed cakes of dehulled black gram dal and cream of rice or wheat. These soft and fluffy cakes are easy to digest and rich in proteins and carbohydrates. They are prepared in many hotels, homes and restaurants almost every day for the morning breakfasts especially in South India and elsewhere too. It is a healthy and nutritious probiotic pure South Indian breakfast.

Idlis served along with Sambar generously poured over them

The ‘Idli Rawa‘, which is the cream of rice or wheat is available in any Indian stores. The Idli mould is also easily available in most of the Indian stores, and are sold in almost every stainless steel utensils shop in India. The Idli plates in a Idli mould have depressions  to pour the batter in those. These depressions vary in sizes in different stores. I have a medium size Idli mould which is perfect for my family.

To prepare Idli, I start its preperation from a day ahead. Like for example if I plan to prepare it on Sunday for breakfast or brunch, I start its preparation from Saturday morning. On the Saturday morning, I wash and soak the urad dal in plenty of water, and before I go to sleep in the night I drain away the water and grind the dal well, then mix it with the washed idli rawa in a bowl and keep the bowl in a warm and dark place to ferment night long. Then on Sunday morning the fermented batter is ready to prepare yummy Idlis. I use equal amounts of idli Rawa and dal for Idli preparation.

Idli – Steamed Rice-Lentil Cakes
Makes : approx 40 Idlis

Ingredients:

Urad Dal (or) Mask ki dal/Split husked Black gram – 1 1/2 cups
Cream of Rice (Idli Rawa) – 1 1/2 cups
Baking powder – 1/2 tsp
Salt –  1 tablespoon
Canola Oil – to grease the Idli Plates

Idli batter in the Idli Mould & Cooked Served Idlis

Method:
(Note: Read the entire post before you proceed to prepare the Idli)

1. Wash the Urad dal in several changes of water and soak it in surplus water for about 6-8 hours. Later, drain the dal. In a wet grinder, or a food processor, blend the Urad dal adding just a little of water to aid in the blending to a very smooth and fluffy paste. Do not add to much water, it should be added just so that the mixer/grinder motor runs smoothly. The fluffier the batter, the better it is, so grind well for 10-15 minutes. Transfer the batter to a very large stainless steel mixing bowl (as the batter will ferment and rise and overflow if the container is small).
2. While the urad dal is grinding, wash the idli rava with water about 2-3 times and drain it completely. There is no need to soak the idli rava in water. Make sure no excess water remains after draining the water. Add this to the urad dal batter. Also add baking powder and mix it all completely using a spoon without any lumps. The batter should be as thick as possible. Cover and leave the batter undisturbed overnight so that it ferments and doubles in size. If you are not living in India or live in cold temperature places, you could use the oven to ferment the batter: Set the oven on to minimum (lowest setting/warm) for about 5-10 minutes, then turn it off. Cover and keep the mixing bowl with the batter in the warmed oven so that it ferments for about 8-15 hours or overnight.
3. The next morning the batter should have fermented well and the volume almost doubled. Once the batter has risen it can be used immediately to prepare idlis. If you are not going to make idlis immediately, store the batter in the refrigerator or else the idlis will be very sour. Add salt to the batter and mix it well. The consistency of the batter should be like condensed milk, not too thick nor too thin. You can add more water if needed to achieve that consistency.
4. Grease all the Idli plates with a few drops of oil and pour about 2-3 tablespoon of batter in each depression in the Idli plates.
5. Before filling the idli plates, add some water in a large pressure cooker and switch on the stove. So by the time you are done with the batter the water will start boiling and you can place the idli stand in the cooker and close the lid. Make sure the water does not touch the lowest idli plate in the stand. The water level in the pressure cooker should be well below it. Close the lid of the cooker and do not put the weight on it. In about 10 minutes you will see steam escaping from the vent of the cooker. Using an oven mitt remove the idli stand from the cooker and place it on the countertop. Scoop the Idlies out of the plates using a spoon in a big serving bowl. Cover the serving bowl with lid to keep the idlis warm. Repeat this process with the next batch adding water to the cooker as necessary until the batter is all used up.

Suggested Accompaniments: Serve them hot along with Sambar, Coconut chutney, Hara Dhaniya aur Pudina Ki Chutney at breakfast or as a brunch or a snack.

Tips:

1. If you live in warmer places, you need not add baking soda to the batter.
2. If you live in a cold place,  it happens that the batter has not fermented at all. If the batter has not fermented and doubled in size by next day, do not use it for Idli. Instead make Dosa out of it.
3. If you do not find Cream of Rice, you can even use Cream of Wheat as the Idli Rawa.
4. This is the basic recipe for the prepartion of Idli. You can alter it by adding a few chopped french beans, carrots, cilantro to the batter.
5. Adding a dollop of butter to the steamed idlis while having them hot along with sambar makes it even more delectable.
6. These Idli moulds are the traditional methods to prepare Idli at home. If you are somehow not able to find the Idli Mould, you can use little metal bowls which can be kept in a steamer or an egg poacher or tiny aluminium molds for cakes and muffins. I have however never used these. I only use the Idli Mould each time I prepare Idli.
7. You don’t need a pressure cooker for steaming idlis. Simply use any vessel with a vent on the lid which is big enough to fit the idli plates stand you are using. Add some water to the vessel and heat it while you fill the batter. Place the stand inside the vessel and close it with a lid. If the lid does not have vent for the steam to escape, leave a small portion of the vessel open. Steam it for 10-15 minutes. Insert a toothpick or a knife in the center of the idli and if it comes out clean the idlis are ready. Switch off the stove and serve it after a couple of minutes.
8. You can even freeze the leftover idlis to be used some other day. Simply place cooled idlis on a tray seperately and let them freeze for 3 hours. Once frozen, transfer them all to a zip lock freezer bag and store until needed. When you want to have them, simply place the frozen idlis in a plate and microwave for 2 minutes approx.

Luv,
Mona

Dahi means Yogurt, and Vade, or Vada (vada is a single deep fried lentil ball and vade or vadas is the plural of vada) are the deep fried lentil balls shaped differently according to the recipe in which you are adding them. Different kind of vade are added in different dishes. In this particular recipe the vada are shaped like little doughnuts and added to the Yogurt relish. Dahi-Vade are one of the most favorite snacks enjoyed by Indians. And Muslims in Hyderabad usually prepare it in Ramadhan for Iftaar, when they break the fast.

My version of the Dahi-Vade is simple. I combined the recipes of my Mother and Mother In Law here. Soak the dal a day ahead, then then I go to the kitchen an hour before the Iftaar time to prepare it so that they are just ready before the Iftaar time.

Dahi-Vada – Lentil cakes in Yogurt Sauce

Ingredients:

For the Yogurt Relish-
Yogurt – 500 gms
Water – 1 1/2 cups
Salt – 1/4 tsp
Green Chilli paste – 1 tsp
Sugar – 1/2 tsp
For the Vade-
Urad Dal/Black Gram dal – 1 cup
Green chillies – 2, very finely chopped
Salt – 2 tsp
Water
For the Baghaar
Dry Red Whole Chillies – 2, broken in half, and seeds removed
Mustard seeds – 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder/Haldi – 1/4 tsp
Canola Oil – 2 tbsp
Cilantro – 1 tbsp, finely chopped

Method:

1. Wash and soak the dal in 2 glasses water overnight.
2. In a large and wide tray, pour in the yogurt, add salt, sugar, water, and green chilli paste. Whisk to mix the yogurt for 5 minutes till the mixture is well blended. Keep in the refrigerator.
3. About 30-40 minutes before you plan to serve the Dahi-Vade, drain the water from the dal and grind them into a smooth and fairly thick batter along the salt and water. Add water drops, as little as possible at a time, just to assist in grinding the dal. The grinded mixture should be fairly thick in consistency as you will be shaping them into vada. Pour the grinded mixture into a bowl. Add the chopped green chillies and mix well.
4. Heat oil to deep fry the vadas in a pan or a kadai. (Never deep fry in a non stick pan)
5. Wet your palm with a few drops of water and spoon about a heaped tablespoon of the mixture onto your wet palm. Wet your index finger and insert it into the centre of the batter to form a hole so that they look like doughnuts. Gently and carefully slip/drop this shaped doughnut into the hot oil and deep fry the vadas in hot oil on both sides until they are nicely golden brown in colour. Remove with a slotted spoon to a plate lined with paper towel. The vadas are ready.
5. Once all the vadas have been fried, drop them in a bowl of warm water. Let them soak for 2 minutes. Gently squeeze excess water from the vadas carefully pressing them lightly between your palms. This is done to soak out the oil. Transfer the soaked and squeezed vade into the earlier prepared cooled yogurt relish. Arrange the vade in the yogurt relish so that each one is nicely dipped into it. Cover the tray and transfer it into the refrigerator. Leave it to soak for 10 minutes.
6. Just before you serve, prepare baghaar. In a small pan, pour the oil and add the ingredients under the heading ‘for baghaar’ except cilantro. Let the spices splutter. Pour this onto the Dahi-Vade all over. Also garnish with cilantro, Serve immediately.

Some Tips:

• For this recipe the lentils are to be soaked before hand, preferably overnight, and grinded. People usually grind the lentils and store the mixture some time ahead of preparing the Dahi-Vade. Here, I suggest NEVER to do so, because I have learnt from my experience, that if you grind it beforehand and keep the mixture at room temperature or in the fridge and you fry the vada out of the mixture later on, they tend to absorb more oil, it becomes thirsty for oil. I have noticed it every time I tried to simplify my work and grind and keep the lentils, when I am free, to deep fry it later on. So I have stopped doing it since and grind it only just before I plan to fry and serve the Dahi-Vade. Or you can grind and deep fry the vadas then and there, ahead of time, and store the fried vadas in the freezer for upto 3 months in an air tight container. When you want to prepare the Dahi-Vade, you simply will have to soak the vadas in warm water for the specified time and then in the yoghurt relish.
• If you end up with many vadas, some people put all the vadas in the yoghurt relish even if they know they will all not be eaten up by your loved ones in home, which results in soggy Dahi-Vadas the next time you feel like having the left over Dahi-Vadas. Instead.. Count the number of people at home whom you are going to prepare and serve this dish, and the number of vade prepared. Do not soak all vade in water and then put them into the yoghurt, instead, store the excess vadas in the freezer. The next time you want to have them, make the yoghurt relish again, and dip the vadas, now in warm water for the specified time, and then in the yoghurt relish. Also NEVER prepare the yoghurt relish before hand too as it turns sour. Always prepare everything fresh for best results and good taste.

Asha of Foodie’s Hope has requested me to send this recipe for RCI Karnataka Cuisine because she says this recipe is very similar to Mosaru vade, which they prepare in Karnataka, So, here’s my recipe Asha, all the way to you!

Luv,
Mona

Tomatoes are rich in Lycopene. And a very important ingredient in an Indian kitchen.

Fresh Tomatoes

This One-Dish meal is healthy and nutritious, and a hit with kids. When you feel tired and do not feel like being in the kitchen for a long time, this recipe goes well, as it does not need any accompaniments, and you can prepare this in a jiffy. You will love it. Comfort food it is! Try it out, and enjoy.

Chatpata Tamatar Chawal – Spicy Tomato Rice
Serves: 5

Ingredients:

Rice – 4 cup
Tomato – 6 medium
Tomato paste – 2 tbsp
Ghee – 1 tbsp
Split Black gram/Urad Dal – 1 tbsp
Split Bengal gram/Chana Dal – 1 tbsp
Small Green chillies – 8, finely chopped
Red Chilli powder – 1/2 tsp
Yellow Onion – 4, medium
Turmeric – 1/4 tsp
Salt – To taste

Method:

1. If you have left over plain rice then you can use it or else cook the 4 cups rice with about 2 tsp salt and keep aside.
2. Slice green chilles, onions, and tomatoes finely.
3. Heat ghee in a pan and add split black gram and bengal gram along with onions, tomatoes, green chilles. Fry well stirring until the dal gets a reddish tinge. Add salt, tomato paste, red chilli powder and turmeric powder and stir well. Cook and let cook for a few minutes until the tomatoes are slightly mushy.
4. Remove in a large bowl and add cooked rice to it and mix it throughly and gently. Reheat it before you serve.

Luv,
Mona