Pepper Fritters( മുളക് ബജ്ജി )

I love spicy food. This was, actually, one of my favorites dishes when I was pregnant. The first time I ate this was at the Thrissur Pooram  Exhibition (a major event in my hometown similar to a state fair). This is one of the staple foods sold there and I used to go to the exhibition just to eat them. In India, they use a special pepper which we get in our part of the world. But here in the US, I use either the Hungarian peppers or Banana peppers to make this.

Difficulty level: Easy

Preparation time: 5 min

Cooking time: 20 min

Makes: 18 pieces

Ingredients:

Hungarian peppers: 3,big

Besan( chickpea flour): 1 1/4 cups

Turmeric powder: 1/8 tsp

Salt to taste

Oil: for deep-frying

Cut the peppers into three pieces width-wise and then each in half, lengthwise. So each pepper will give 6 pieces. De-seed them completely, or if you are brave enough leave some seeds behind. 

Make a thick batter of besan with turmeric powder and salt, adding enough water. Dip the pepper in the batter and deep-fry until golden brown. Serve hot with tomato ketchup or chilli sauce or chilli chammandhi.

Mysore Pak ( chickpea sweet bars)

This is one of the most popular sweets of South India. This sinfully rich and decadent sweet needs just three ingredients - Besan (Chickpea flour), Sugar and Ghee. In spite of the simplicity of the ingredient list, it is still not easy to get the soft, smooth texture. There are really no short-cuts to getting the melting-in-the-mouth consistency, especially no cutting back on the ghee. Or you will end up with a hard yellow sweet block.

This recipe is from mother's aunt, who is one of the greatest cooks I have ever known.

Ideally, all the ingredients have to be of equal proportions. But if you don't like it reaaally sweet, reduce the sugar to your taste. But, it tastes best when made this way.

When I was chatting with my brother a few days ago, he mentioned how he felt like eating this. So here is the recipe as my dear sister-in-law had wanted.

Difficulty level: Medium

Preparation time: 10 min

Cooking time: 30min

Makes: 34- 35 pieces

Ingredients:

Besan (Chickpea flour): 2 cups, sifted

Ghee (clarified butter): 2 cups + for greasing the dish to set

Sugar: 2 cups

Heat sugar and 1 cup water until it boils. Continue doing this until it gets to one-string consistency. Reduce heat. Pour the ghee and flour in a steady stream (or add in batches) while stirring continuously. Cook until the ghee starts leaving the sides of the pan, mixture starts to thicken and turns to become porous and golden color. Immediately pour into a greased dish and level it out with a spatula. While it is still hot, cut into diamond shapes.

Paneer pudina tikkis (cottage cheese patties with mint)

My neighbour once mentioned that she had never tried Paneer before. She was doing a garage sale and so I decided to make her some snacks for tea. I decided to make her Paneer tikkis with pudina (mint leaves) and cilantro (coriander leaves). Both the mint and cilantro were fresh from my backyard vegetable garden.

The original recipe, from Tarla Dalal, called for only pudina but I decided to add some cilantro as well, for a change.

Difficulty level: Easy
Preparation time: 10 min
cooking time: 10 min
Makes: 10 tikkis/ patties

Ingredients:


Grated Paneer: 1 1/3 cup,without pressing down
Mint leaves: 2 tsp, finely chopped
Cilantro: 2 tsp, finely chopped
Corn starch/ corn flour: 2-3 tsp
Green chillies: 5-6, finely chopped
Salt to taste
Oil: for deep-frying
Chat masala: to sprinkle while serving(optional)

Mix all the ingredients except for oil and chat masala well. Make 10 balls of the same size. Flatten it a bit to form patties/ tikkis. Deep fry them in medium hot oil until golden brown. Drain on a paper towel. Serve hot sprinkled with chat masala. Goes well with tomato ketchup.

Vegetable Noodles

The inspiration for this came from the buttered noodles my son has at school. I decided to make it a bit more healthy and filling.

Difficulty level: Easy
Preparation time: 10 min
Cooking time: 5 min
Makes: 2 toddler servings

Ingredients:


Noodles: 1/2 cup cooked, according to package instructions
Carrot: 1/4 cup grated
Cooked vegetables: 1/4 cup (cooked in lightly salted water)
Butter/ clarified butter(ghee): 1 tbsp
Turmeric powder: 1/8 tsp
Salt: to taste

Heat the butter/ ghee in a skillet and add the turmeric powder. Saute for a minute and add the grated carrots. After a minute, add the rest of the veggies. Saute for a minute before adding the noodles. Sprinkle salt,if needed, at this stage. Use two wooden stirrers to mix the whole thing well. Serve warm.

Masala Curry

This is one of my brother's favorite dishes. It is traditionally made with either potatoes or bread-fruit (കടച്ചക്ക) and is a great complement to rice. My husband likes it with chapathis though.           

Difficulty level: Medium
Preparation time: 10min
Cooking time: 20 min
Makes: 2- 3 servings

Ingredients:


Potato: 1 small, cut into small pieces and half-cooked with some salt & turmeric powder
Shredded coconut: 2 tbsp
Oil: 1 tsp + 1 tsp
Whole red chillies: 4
Asafoetida: 1/8 tsp
Coriander powder: 5 tsp
Turmeric powder: a pinch
For tempering: Green chillies: 2, cut in half, lengthwise
Onion: 2 tbsp, finely chopped
Curry leaves: of 1 sprig

Heat 1 tsp oil and roast the coconut until light brown and keep aside. In the same  skillet, saute the red chillies and saute until they turn slightly pale. Add the asafoetida and coriander powder. Continue sauteeing until the raw taste has gone. Cool completely and grind this together with the roasted coconut to make a fine paste.

Transfer the ground paste to a skillet along with the half-cooked potatoes and about 3/4cup water. Cover and cook for 5 min. Allow excess water to evaporate, if needed. Remove from the fire and add the tempering (heat 1 tsp oil and saute the onion, green chillies and curry leaves, until the onion turns light brown) on top. This curry with slightly thick gravy can be served hot with rice or chapathi.

Stuffed Capsicum/ Bell pepper

I have seen this being made in many different ways, with a variety of ingredients. Here is my version.

I used among others, a mixture of corn, edamame, carrots and broccoli for the veggie-stuffing. You can use some of the top part of the capsicum to dice, to be used in the stuffing. Also note that the baking time may vary as each oven is different.

Difficulty level: Medium
Preparation time: 20 min
Cooking time: 20 min
Makes: 3 servings

Ingredients:


Bell peppers/ capsicum: 3
Potatoes: 250 gms, cooked with salt and cut into tiny pieces (You can also grate it), I used purple potatoes to get some contrasting colors
Boiled veggies: 1/2 cup
Onion: 1/2 of a medium, cut into tiny pieces
Capsicum: 2 tbsp, finely chopped
Oil: 2 tbsp+ 2 tbsp
Garam masala: 1 tsp
Cumin powder: 1/2 tsp
Chilli powder: 1 tsp
Pepper powder: 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder: a pinch
Grated cheese: 2 tbsp + 1 tbsp for topping

Pre-heat oven to 325 degree F.

Cut the capsicum in to halves &  remove the seeds completely. Use only the bottom half for this dish. Place on a baking dish, bottom side up and drizzle 2 tbsp oil uniformly on top. Bake for 15 min.

In the meantime,  heat 2 tbsp oil in a skillet. Saute the chopped onion and capsicum until the onion turns light brown. Add the spices and veggies and mix well, until the raw taste of the spices have gone. Switch off the flame and keep aside. After it is slightly cool, mix in the grated cheese.

Fill the roasted capsicum halves with the stuffing and add some grated cheese on top. Transfer the baking tray back to the oven. Bake for 10- 12 min, until the capsicum is completely cooked.

Variation: You can press down the filling, add a layer of bread crumbs and then sprinkle some gated cheese before you bake it for the second time. This can be served as an appetizer.

Chicken Puttu/ Steam-cake

I have seen this concept being used in many recipes, by a lots of people. But this particular one is the result of my experiments.

Difficulty level: Medium
Preparation time: 20 min
Cooking time: 10-11 min/ puttu
Makes: 7-8 long puttu

Ingredients:


Puttu podi/ puttu mix: 1 cup, moistened according to package instructions
Shredded coconut: 1 cup
Salt, warm water: as needed

For the chicken layer:

Chicken: 325 gms, cut into 1/4" pieces
Onion: 1/2 of a medium, cut into 1/4" pieces
Meat masala: 4 tsp
Chilli powder: 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder: a pinch
Curry leaves: leaves of a sprig
Oil: 1 1/2 tbsp
Cumin: 1 tsp
Salt, water: as needed

Heat the oil in a skillet and saute the onion. Once it turns light brown, add the spices and curry leaves and saute well until the raw taste of the spices have gone. Add the chicken and mix well, adding enough salt. Add about 1 cup water, cover and cook until completely done (about 10 min). Remove the lid and allow excess water to evaporate. But make sure you have some gravy left to be used a curry with the puttu later. Separate some chicken (drained of the gravy) from the curry and keep aside (It shouldn't be too dry just not drenched in gravy).

Now, to make the puttu, add about 1 tbsp shredded coconut to the long puttu-maker. Add about a handful of the puttu mix, then 2 tbsp of the chicken (from the chicken kept aside), then 1 tbsp of the coconut, continuing the same pattern until you get to the top(a word of caution:.Don't fill the puttu maker to the top. Sometimes, the puttu has a tendency to rise and you may end up having to clean, more than normal). Steam them for 9-10 and serve them hot, with the chicken curry you made.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

My kids love the store bought chocolate chip cookies. So, instead of allowing them to eat all the preservatives contained in them, I decided to make them at home. This easy recipe is from The Hershey's Kitchens.

Difficulty level: Easy
Preparation time: 15 min
Cooking/ baking time: 8-10 min/ batch
Makes: about 60 cookies

Ingredients:


Butter: 1 cup, softened
Sugar: 3/4 cup
Light brown sugar: 3/4 cup
Vanilla extract: 1 tsp
Eggs: 2
Baking soda: 1 tsp
All-purpose flour/ maida: 2 1/4 cups
Salt: 1/2 tsp
Milk chocolate chips: 2 cups
Chopped nuts: 1 cup, optional

Heat oven to 375 degree F.

Beat the butter, sugars and vanilla in a large bowl, with a whisk until creamy. Add eggs and beat well. Sift together baking soda, flour and salt. Gradually add to the butter mixture and beating well until well blended. Stir in chips and nuts, if needed. Use a cookie drop to drop  the cookies about 2 inches apart. If you don't have that fancy gadget, just use the teaspoon as the measure.

Bake 8 to 10 min, or until lightly browned. Cool slightly; remove from cookie sheet to a cooling rack. Cool completely.

1. 
   

Instant Ripe Mango Pickle

My grandmother used to make this dish all the time, when mangoes were in season. As a child, I would start eating this as soon as she prepared them, and my poor grandfather would be left with only a little bit by the time he sat down for lunch. However hard I try, I just cannot get the taste just right. It never comes close to my grandmother's preparation. That's the case when grandmothers and mothers cook for you,right?

You may be need to adjust the amount of spices depending on the size and sweetness of the mango.

Difficulty level: Easy
Preparation time: 5 min
Makes: 1-2 servings

Ingredients:


Ripe mango: 1
Turmeric powder: a pinch
Chilli powder: 3/4 tsp
Coconut oil: 1 tsp
Salt to taste

Cut the mango to 1/4" pieces. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well, using your fingers ( preferrably). The mango pieces may start to fall apart, and that is exactly what you want. But don't press or squish the mangoes. Dig in.

Goes well with rice. You can also have it as such, on its own, like me!!!

Bruschetta

For the first few months after arriving in the US, I was on a quest to find vegetarian dishes that suited my taste in the different types of popular restaurants here. After all, how long can one survive on Indian restaurants as the only option to eat out!!! Italian was an early favorite and bruschetta was one of the reasons why. It is a simple but tasty dish and while it is considered an appetizer there is no reason why you can't treat it as a meal.

Difficulty level: Easy
Preparation time: 15 min
Cooking time: 5 min
Makes: 5-6 servings

Ingredients:


French baguette/ french bread: 400 gms (about a loaf)
Tomatoes: 4 medium
Olive oil: 1 tsp + for brushing
Grated cheese: 3 tbsp+ more to add on top, if needed
Dry basil: 1/2 tsp
Italian seasoning: 3/4 tsp
Salt, pepper: to taste

Cut the tomatoes into really tiny pieces and add 1 tsp olive oil, the grated cheese (I used a mix of Parmesan , Romano and Asiago), the dry herbs, salt and pepper. Mix well until the cheese and oil are uniformly distributed.

Cut the bread into 1/2" thick slices and lay on a baking tray. Apply some olive oil on the entire surface facing up, using a pastry brush. This helps to get a nice brown colour and a crispiness on the outside. "Broil" this in the oven until light golden brown (about 2-3 min, depending on the oven). Remember to keep a very close eye on this as it can get burnt very easily.

To assemble, take a slice of the bread and put some tomato topping on top. Sprinkle some more grated cheese, if needed. Serve immediately, or it will start getting soggy.

Eggless Vanilla Cake

I have been thinking of making a Vanilla cake for a while now. While I was looking through my recipes, I found this one from Tarla Dalal. Interestingly, the cake is made with no eggs and it is made in a microwave.

It came out really nice and soft. My kids loved it too.

The cooking time could vary as each microwave is different. Mine cooked in 6 1/2 min. Also, if you do not have sour curd, add 1 tsp lime juice to your yogurt to make it sour.

Difficulty level: Medium
Preparation time: 10 min
Cooking time: 7-8 min
Makes: 6-9 portions

Ingredients:

All purpose flour: 1 cup
Baking powder: 1 tsp
Sour yogurt/ curds: 4 tbsp
Baking soda/ soda bi-carb: 1/2 tsp
Melted butter: 1/2 cup (microwave butter on high for 1 min)
Powdered sugar: 3/4 cup
Vanilla essence: 1 tsp


Sieve the baking powder and flour and keep aside. Mix together baking soda and the curd and keep aside. Combine butter, sugar and 1/2 cup water in another bowl and whisk well. Add the curd, vanilla essence and flour and mix well, to make a smooth batter. Batter is ready when it is of a pouring consistency. If the batter is too thin, add 2 tbsp flour and mix well. Pour the batter into a greased shallow 7" diameter (minimum) glass (or any other microwaveable) dish. Microwave on high for 4 min. Cook for more time if needed, in 30 sec increments. The toothpick inserted at the center should come out clean. Remove from microwave, cool slightly and unmould. 

Kesar Kulfi

If you haven't figured out by now, my husband has a sweet tooth. One of his favorite desserts is Kulfi. Apparently, growing up, his mom used to make sure that there was either Kulfi or Gulab Jamun or both in the fridge at all times.

Kulfi is one of the easiest desserts to make, yet everyone would think you spent hours making it. It looks like ice-cream, and so the kids would love it too. I use some Kulfi moulds ( the ones that used to come free with Milkmaid) and some Ice cream pop molds to freeze the kulfies in.

If you don't get evaporated milk in your stores or don't have it handy, just use the regular milk and reduce it to three-fourth the original quantity. Just note, the creamier the milk that you use the softer the kulfi. The more water there is, the more icy it becomes.

Difficulty level: Easy
Preparation time: 10 min + 2-3 hrs to set
Makes: 8- 10 servings

Ingredients;


Evaporated milk(or milk): 650 ml
Sugar: 3/4 cup
Saffron: 4-5 strands

Heat the milk and sugar, until the sugar has completely dissolved. Add the saffron and mix well. Allow to cool slightly and pour into moulds. Freeze until set.

You can try variations every time you make it.

Mango Kulfi: Add 3 cups mango pulp and mango essence, if needed.

Pista  Kulfi: Add a few drops each of green colour and pista essence. You could also add finely crushed pista to the mix. The nuts usually settle to the bottom but it makes for an interesting contrast in texture. Note to mix the milk before pouring into each mold, else all the nuts will be distributed unevenly across the different kulfies of the batch.

I do not have a picture, as I have not made this recently.

Mango Milkshake

There would be very few of us who do not like a nice cool Mango mik shake. The Mango milk shake and its cousin the Mango Lassi, have become staple dishes at a typical Indian restaurant. It is actually very easy to make and there is no reason why you can't enjoy this at home.

Difficulty level: Easy
Preparation time: 10 min
Makes: 3-4 servings

Ingredients:


Mango pulp: 1 1/2 cups
Milk: 2 cups
Vanilla ice cream: 1 cup
Ice cubes: optional

Mix everything well and pour into glasses. Serve garnished with mango slices or mint leaves.

Crispy Fried Bell Pepper / Capsicum

I forget where I got this recipe from. But since I looove bell pepper/ capsicum, I decided to make it when I came across it. It is a dry dish and so was extra-excited seeing this.

Difficulty level: Medium
Preparation time: 10 min+ 1 hr. for marinating
Cooking time: 45-50 min
Makes: 4- 5 servings

Ingredients:


Bell pepper/ capsicum: 2 big
Chick pea flour (besan): 1 cup
Ginger-garlic paste: 1 tbsp
Oil: 1 tbsp+ for deep frying
Garam masala: 3/4 tsp
Pepper powder: 3/4 tsp
Turmeric powder: 1/4 tsp
Chilli powder: 1/2 tsp
Salt to taste
Water: 4-5 tbsp
Onion: 2  big, grated

Cut the bell peppers into 1" square pieces. Make a thick paste with the chickpea flour and ginger-garlic paste, adding enough water. Add in the pieces of bell peppers and mix well. Leave it in the refrigerator for at least 1 hr.

Deep fry the pieces of bell peppers like you would make a pakoda and keep aside. Add 1 tbsp oil from the same oil to a skillet. Fry the grated onion until golden brown. Keep some aside to garnish. To the rest of the onion, add red chilli powder, turmeric powder, black pepper powder, garam masala and salt. Add 2 tbsp water and cook the masala. Now put the fried bell pepper pieces and mix well, taking care not to break them. Add a little water, cover and cook for 2 min. Stir-fry until the water evaporates completely.

Garnish and serve hot with parathas.

Egg curry

I have friends asking me to post a recipe for an egg curry, and here it is.

Difficulty level: Easy

Preparation time: 15 min

Cooking time: 15 min

Makes: 2- 3 servings

Ingredients:

Eggs: 3, boiled and scored

Onion: 1 small, thinly sliced

Oil: 2 tbsp

Shredded coconut: 2 tbsp

Ginger-garlic paste: 1 tbsp

Egg masala powder: 2 tbsp

Curry leaves: leaves of 1 sprig

Cumin: 1 tsp

Heat 1 tbsp oil and saute cumin, shredded coconut, onion & ginger-garlic paste, until it turns light brown. Add the egg masala powder and curry leaves. Continue to saute until the raw taste of the masala is gone. Grind to a fine paste after cooling.

Heat 1 tbsp oil and add the eggs. Saute for a while, until the outer portion is light brown. Keep aside and cut in halves.  To the same oil, add the ground paste along with 1/2 cup water. Bring to boil, and slowly slide the eggs (cut in half) into the skillet, taking care not to break it. Allow to simmer for 2 min. Garnish and serve warm.

It goes well with rice, chapathi, naan, vellayappam or nool puttu.

Tomato curry

This is my version of a dish that I used to love as a student. My friend, Bindu, used to share this with me for lunch. We were very close and used to be together pretty much all the time. I had contact with her until a few years ago, but now I don't know where she is but every time I make this dish, I think of her and the great times we used to have.

I forget when I tried to make this dish for the first time, but it continues to be a favourite dish of mine. Some of my friends here too like it and I used to make it for them when they were not feeling well.

Difficulty level: Easy
Preparation time: 10 min
Cooking time: 20 min
Makes: 5-6 servings

Ingredients:


Tomato: 3 medium, cut into tiny pieces
Onion:1 small, cut into thin slices
Ginger- garlic paste: 2 tsp
Oil: 1 tbsp
Turmeric powder: 1/4 tsp
Meat masala: 3 tbsp
Coriander powder: 1/2 tsp
Chilli powder: 1/2 tsp
Green chillies; 3, cut in half length-wise
Curry leaves: 1 sprig
Salt: to taste

Heat the oil and saute the onion and ginger-garlic paste, until the onions turn light brown. Add the dry spice powders and saute for 2 min. Add the leaves of a sprig of curry leaves and saute well. Add the green chillies and tomato pieces and saute. Add a cup of water, cover and cook for 10 min. Remove the lid and allow excess water to evaporate until it gets to the desired consistency.

Serve hot with vellayappam, noolputtu, chapathi or naan. I like it with rice, though.

Grilled chicken

When we grill in our house, the menu is usually, grilled paneer (posted separately), grilled corn and grilled chicken. Talk about a balanced meal!!!! It is just that different people eat different things. Can we claim a balanced meal if it is balanced across the family!!!!

Just like I mentioned in the 'Grilled Paneer Skewers', note that I used Patak's Tandoori paste (Mild, spicy ginger and garlic flavor) this time. When we were in Chicago, I used to have a few options in Tandoori pastes and I think there was another brand I liked better. It was a Deep brand but I forget the full details.

Difficulty level: Easy

Preparation time: 10 min + 1 day min. to marinate

Grilling time: 15- 20 min, depending on the grill

Makes: 4 servings

Ingredients:

Chicken breast: 8 tenderloins(about 500 gms)

Yoghurt: 1/2 cup

Tandoori paste: 3 tbsp

Hot sauce: 3/4 tsp

Salt: 1/4 tsp

Water: 1/8 cup

Cooking oil spray

Put all the spices and water into a ziploc bag along with chicken pieces. Close the bag and mix it really well. Leave it in the refrigerator for atleast 1 day.

Heat the grill to high heat. Spray cooking oil generously over the part of the grill where you plan to cook on (Be careful that you don't burn your eyebrows!). Put the chicken on the grill. Let it sear on one side, turn them over and sear the other side. Be patient. If you try turning them over early, they will just break apart. If the chicken is thick,you may want to reduce heat and cook for sometime so as to make sure the chicken is cooked through. My husband usually likes his chicken a bit well done (charred) so he leaves it on the grill a bit longer than needed. If you like a less charred chicken, you will need to make sure that it is cooked through using a thermometer. I would not recommend you eating undercooked chicken!! 

Remove when done and serve hot with cilantro chutney.