Kuzhi Paniyaram / Vellaiyappam

Just in case, you had guests and you werent expecting anyone!! Just in case your hubby / child comes home... and asks you to fix a snack immediately !!! Heres the answer...

Learnt this age old trick from amma... "Just In Time" Recipes... where she used to make absolutely yummy snacks from the left over stuff and the basic ingredients she used to have in store.... 

What I used

1 cup of left over Idli / dosa batter 

1 tbsp of Channa flour (kadala maavu)

1 tbsp of Rice flour

1 finely chopped onion

1 green chilli ginely chopped

A small piece of ginger finely chopped

Corriander and curry leaves.

A pinch of salt

A wee bit of crushed pepper

A few drops of oil for frying ;)

How I made it

Mix all the ingredients and taste for salt. Add a little water to thin it out, so that it is a little thicker than the idli batter. Heat the non-stick paniyaram pan. Add two or three drops of oil in each  mold. Fill up  3/4 with batter and let it cook for 2 - 3 minutes until its golden brown. Use a skewer to turn it on to the other side. Add another drop of oil and let this brown for another 2 minutes. Remove and serve hot.

Serve this with tomato / mint / coconut chutney...

Healthy Bhel Puri

Chaats... how can one not like them...Its my all time favorite snack... I have been experimenting on various chaats these days, and people in my neighborhood... call me the "Chaat lady"... hehehe...Here is my recipe for a healthy bhel puri... or should I just say.. healthy bhel...:)

What I used
2 cups of bhel (pori)
1/2 cup grated carrot
1/2 chopped cucumber
1 tomato finely chopped
1/2 onion finely chopped
a handfull of roasted peanuts
2 tbsp of sev (oma podi)
corriander leaves for garnish
1tbsp of mint chutney
1 tbst of sweet n sour chutney
A pinch of salt
A pinch of chilli powder
A pinch of chaat masaala.

For the Mint Chutney

1/2 a cup of mint leaves
1/2 cup of corriander leaves
1 green chilli
Juice of a lemon
A pinch of salt
A pinch of chaat masala

For Sweet n Sour chutney

Tamarind ( size of one lime)
2 tbsp of jaggery
2 dried dates
A pinch of salt
A pinch of chilli powder
A pinch of chaat masala

How I made it

Mint Chutney : Wash and chop the mint and corriander leaves. In a blender add all the ingredients specified above, sprinkle a little bit of water and grind it into a chutney. Keep this aside in a small bowl.

Imli Chutney: Soak the tamarind in 1/4 cup of boiling hot water. After 15 minutes, extract the puree. Add the other ingredients and grind in a blender. Remove this and heat this mixture until it comes to a boil. Cool this chutney and strain it.

For the Bhel:

Add all the veges, peanuts & bhel and the chutneys, and mix well. Check for taste and add the chaat masala, chilli powder and salt. Garnish with Sev and corriander leaves.

You can also add some crushed puris or mathis.

This recipe is simple, healthy and very tasty... Try it ... :)

Sweet Somasi

This recipe has been passed down 3 generations... Paaru paati, then amma... now me... I vividly remember paati... making a sambadam ( box) full of somaasis for all the kids.... and amma used to make them every now and then... I was suddenly craving for these and made exactly 10 of these yummy treat :)...

What I used

1 cup of rava
1 tbsp of maida (all purpose flower)
a pinch of salt
1/4 cup of water
Oil for frying
For the filling
1/2 cup of roasted split gram (pottu kadalai)
1/2 cup sugar
2 cardamoms
1 tbsp of chopped nuts (optional)

How I Made it

Mix the rava, maida, salt and sprinkle water and make this into a smooth dough. Set this aside for an hour. (Just sprinke water, and make it a little hard, this way the somasi stays crispy). For the filling, grind the gram dal, sugar and cardamom into a powder. Check for taste and add more sugar if needed. Mix in the chopped nuts.

Divide the dough into 10 parts. Roll out the dough into small puris ( Use a round cookie cutter / lid of any jar and trim the edges). Add 2 tsp of the filling in the center of the puris and fold them in half. This forms a semi circle. Seal the edges using a fork. Deep fry these in oil until golden brown. Cool these and serve. You can also preserve these in air tight containers. This makes a wonderful evening snack :)

Tricks:
1. The dough consistency - if it is too soft, the somasi will not be crispy, if it is too hard, the somasi will become hard.
2. while frying, the oil should be on medium heat, if it is very high, they will brown immediately.
3. Just place the correct amount of filling and ensure the edges are sealed properly, else they may open while you are frying and spoil the oil.
4. Fry only 2 - 3 in a batch. This helps them cook evenly.

Maddur Vada

This yummy treat was my favorite during my stay in Bangalore...I tried this recipe at home, and it turned out to be a major hit.

Ingredients

1 cup Fine Suji or Fine Semolina (Rava)
1/2 cup Rice Flour
1/4 cup Maida or All Purpose Flour
1 tsp Red chilli powder
1 tbsp Hot oil for kneading
1 big onion finely chopped onions
1 tsp Fennel seeds (saunf)
2 tsp channa dal or chopped peanuts
1 small bunch Coriander leaves Finely chopped
1 small bunch Curry leaves Finely chopped
2 Green chillies finely chopped
2 tsp salt (or to taste)
3 cups oil for deep frying

Method

In a mixing bowl add rice flour, maida, rava, red chilli powder salt and hot oil and mix well. Knead this well until it becomes a thick dough. Add the chopped - onions. Coriander leaves, curry leaves, fennel seeds, channa dal and chillies and sprinkle a little bit of water make this into make a thick dough. Take a golf ball size of this mixture and flatten on your hand (apply a little oil over your hand before you do this) or a greased plastic sheet. Drop into hot oil and deep fry until golden brown. Serve with coconut / mint chutney

This is a great recipe... You will definitely love :)

Tips: You may want to knead the plain dough in a food processor / mixie . This gives a uniform dough. Do not add a lot of water, as the onions may also release some water when mixed in. This might make the vada very oily. You can also roll the dough out into 1/2 inch thick sheet and cut using a cookie cutter.