Coconut chutney

Remember the dosas in India? the expert cook making crisp pancakes in the svelte ring heat of a udipi restaurant kitchen, bowls full of sambhar to dip dosas and eat like a soup when the dosa's no more, the spicy yet bland coconut chutney that proves to be the best accompanist to the mashed and spiced potatoes.
I'm not great at making dosas from scratch but can use a mix at its best, same goes for sambhar but chutney is a different ball game. So here goes a recipe for a simple coconut chutney south Indian style.



Ingredients

Chutney
1 cup coconut ( you can use fresh coconut and grate it or unsweetened dry flakes, try and avoid frozen)
6-8 serrano / indian chillies
1 tiny red onion or shallot
1/3 cup coriander and mint chopped)
1 tablespoon coconut milk or yogurt
1/4 cup of tamarind extract ( imlee or tamarind soaked in water)
¼ tsp of salt
Salt to taste


Baghar,tadka,tempering

1 tsp each of mustard seeds, cumin, urad dal, fresh curry leaves and few pieces of dried red chilli.


Method

Take all the ingredients under chutney and in a grinder and coarsely grind.

Taste and adjust spice level according to your taste

Take a small pan or kadhai heat two tablespoons of oil

Add the ingredients under tadka into the oil

Let them fry till dark, add to the chutney

Serve with dosa , idly ,upma , anything !

Chatpate Chicken kabab

This is a very simple dish that goes well as a snack as well in sandwiches. Its chicken kabab with a lot of sweet and sour masale. It does not require a lot of oil so I basically just added a few drops of oil and a good non stick pan to cook. Also its super quick to make.

Ingredients
1 pound minced chicken
1 tbl spoon chaat masala
2 tsp red chilli powder
1 tblspoon lemon zest
2 tsp amchur (dry mango)
2 tsp anardana powder (pomegranate seeds powder)
4 Green chillies chopped finely
salt to taste
oil for frying




The kneaded chicken



The kababs after frying

Method
1 In a big mixing bowl mix all the ingredients except for oil
2 Mix it well to make a uniform 'dough'
3 Make out small kababs in your desired shape
4 Heat a flat non stick pan to high
5 Reduce the heat to medium and add a few drops of oil
6 Lightly fry your kababs in the oil
7 Serve hot

Gobi Manchurian

I got a few requests for desi Chinese dishes. So here goes the first of the dishes. Please pardon my lack of pictures, I made this for a friend's dinner and was running late to click any pics.

1/2 pound frozen cauliflower florets
1 cup corn flour
5 Green serrano chillies
4-5 pods of garlic crushed
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 table spoon any hot sauce
1 teaspoon redchilli powder
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
Oil for frying


Preparation
1) Thaw and pat dry the gobi with paper towel
2) Heat oil in a kadai/ deep pan/wok
3) Take cornflour add salt , pepper and red chilli powder
4) Mix with water to make a streaming consistency batter
5) Add cauliflower in batches and deep fry
6) In the same wok using about 1 tablespoon oil fry , chopped chillies , add crushed garlic shallow fry till done .
7) Add the fried gobi
8) Add soy sauce and hot sauce
9) Adjust the spices and serve hot

Frittata

Frittata is a finger licking good breakfast dish that won't make you slog till lunch time. Very simply put its a baked omelet ! I used mainly bell peppers,mushrooms and herbs to make this but you can practically anything potatoes, sausages, spinach or chicken.



Ingredients
4 eggs
3 tablespoon milk
butter for greasing
1/2 a bell pepper chopped into small cubes
1 tomato diced
1 cup mushroom (Any kind) chopped
2-4 serrano chillies slit
salt to taste
pepper to taste
1 pinch oregano
2 springs thyme
1/4 cup chopped parsley + cilantro
(Any herb that you want to add)
A sprinkle of parmesan cheese



Method
1) Pre heat you oven ot 350 F
2) In a suitable dish whisk the eggs, add milk , salt pepper and all the herbs (parsley , cilantro,oregano, thyme )
3) OPTIONAL - you can lightly saute the vegetables in a pan if you are not a raw veggies person
4) Add all the vegetables ( bell pepper,tomato, mushroom and serrano chillies ),and mix in.
5) In a (preferably round) baking dish, apply liberal greasing of butter
6) Add the egg mixture
7) Place it in the middle rack of the oven, let it cook for 5-7 minutes
8) Add the sprinkle of cheese ( if done earlier the cheese sinks )
9) Bake for an additional 8-10 mins
10) Remove, cool for 3-4 mins and cut out wedges to serve

So enjoy your next brunch with a hearty frittata !

White bread

Yipee this is my first bread !!! yes an actual bread that you make sandwich from .I got the recipe from the this website and here is the modified version. The bread turned out pretty decent for a first time albeit a little bland but who cares the doors of bread baking are open!!!

Ingredients

* 2 1/2 cups water (105-115 F)
* 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
* 1 tablespoon sugar
* 7 cups bread flour or all-purpose flour
* 1 tablespoon salt
* 1/4-1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

Directions

1.Pour 1/2 cup of the water into a bowl and mix with yeast and sugar til foamy.
2.Let sit for 5 minutes until creamy.
3.Put the yeast mixture, rest of the water and 3 1/2 cups of the flour into the mixer with the dough hook.
4.Mix slowly until blended then add the rest of the flour.
5. Add salt and mix at medium speed for 10 minutes (or do half in mixer and half kneading) til dough is smooth and elastic. ( you can do all this by hand too
6. Back in mixer add butter 1 tbsp at a time (dough may come apart, but mixing will pull it back together).
8Turn dough out on lightly floured surface and shape it into a ball then place in a large buttered or oiled bowl.
7.Turn dough so it is completely coated in the fat, then cover in plastic for 45 minutes to an hour (I did an hour and half), til it has doubled in size at room temperature.
8. Roll out into a 9 x 12-inch rectangle.
9.With the short end facing you, fold the dough into thirds like a sheet of paper to go into an envelope, creating a roll.Place on a aluminum foil sheet.
10.Cover the loaves with buttered plastic wrap and allow to rise again in a warm place (80°F) for 45 minutes, until they double in size.
11.Preheat the oven to 375°F and put the rack in the center of the oven.
12.Bake for 35-45 minutes til they are honey brown.
13.Immediately turn out of pans onto a rack to cool.

Aloo sabzi with kalonji

INGREDIENTS :
Potatoes - 500 gm.
Nigella seeds - a pinch.
Green chilies - 6 gm.
Sugar - 4 gm.
Poppy seeds - 20 gm.
(heaped)
Oil - 30 ml.
Ghee - 25 gm.
Red chili powder - 5 gm.
Salt to taste.
METHOD :
Heat oil and add nigella seeds. Add diced potatoes and fry lightly for 10 mins. Grind poppy seeds with a little water and add to the potatoes. Cover with lid, stirring occasionally and adding 2 tbspn. of water. When water dries and potatoes are done, add green chilies, sugar, salt and red chilly powder. Top with ghee and allow to cook for one minute. Serve hot with rice.

Happy Earth Day

Yesterday was world earth day. Over the past years 'saving our planet' and 'going green' has gained prominence but beyond the big words and fancy jargon is a simple concept of using your share of the earth. This link contains the bigger picture the ugly turn of events perpetuated by us, the dwellers of planet earth.

But question is how can we help, what can we do and how will it help ? Most people associate being environmentally friendly with fancy organic products at exclusive markets or high priced green products, but the problem can be tackled at an even more basic level than that. Take a look at this you tube video which simply demonstrates little changes we can make and also see what Oprah has to say on this.

Here are a few on my suggestions for being kind to the environment.

1) Use a tap fitted water filter, its so much better and cheaper than buying water jars at the grocery store. Trust me its really worth it, the cost and convenience aside the water is safe pure and available to you as desired.

2) Recycle plastic,metal,paper,fiber,cloth and anything reusable. Recycle jam and sauce jars to store spices, grocery bags to throw out trash, old worn out fabrics to wipe surfaces, aluminum foil can be used more than once, the list is endless.

3) Plan your grocery shopping is such a way that you don't end up wasting food. Have a good idea about your consumption to buy and cook only as much as you consume.

4) Do away with the extras while eating out, share meals to avoid wastage, do away with accompaniments that you never eat ( like sticky rice in a Chinese restaurant). Use your disposable crockery with discretion ,you don't need 5 sets of plastic spoons for two people and why bother take those chopsticks when you are never going ot use them.

5) While doing laundry try to do a full load and try to be judicious with what goes for laundry (that scarf you wore for 2 hours need not be washed).

These are just a few of the little changes in our lifestyles that can go a long way in creating a better planet for tomorrow.We have been using up more than our share of resources so its time now to give back to the environment.

Chocolate cake for someone special

It was my darling husband's birthday three weeks back and I decided to bake him his favorite - chocolate cake. I went to the local grocery store and picked up all that I needed only to forget the main ingredient chocolate powder ! So there I was with roughly two hours to bake a chocolate cake with no chocolate. I turned to my food guide the food network website and found this cake recipe which used hersheys' syrup instead of powder. And since it was a Paula Deen recipe I took the liberty of using only half the original quantity of syrup. The cake turned out to be yummy, nice and moist but firm and the chocolate content was just right. I used store bought frosting to give it the birthday look.

Cake:
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
1 cup sugar
4 eggs
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
8 ounce hershey's chocolate syrup (the original recipe asked for 16 ounces)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 13 by 9 by 2-inch pan.

Baking the cake
Using an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Sift flour, baking powder, and salt together in another bowl. Add to creamed mixture, continuing to beat. Add vanilla and chocolate syrup to batter and mix well. Pour into prepared pan and bake for 25 to 30 minutes. Just before cake is done, prepare frosting.

Fig and date halwa

This was a very middle eastern inspired halwa. It turned out to be super sweet and uber yummy like most middle eastern desserts. Next time I'm going to try reducing the amount of sugar because the figs as well as the dates are both laden with sweetness.


5 big dried figs (chopped)
8 medium dates (pitted and chopped)
1/2 a stick butter
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup dried shredded coconut
7-10 Elaichi(cardamom)




1) Add the frozen butter stick in a non stick pan to melt slowly on medium
2) Meanwhile make a coarse wet paste of the dates , figs and half the coconut.
3) Add Sugar to the butter, take care not to burn it, cook for 3-4 mins
4) Add the paste and elaichi powder
5) Just when the butter gets incorporated in the halwa add the rest of the coconut
6) Serve warm or cold.


So this was my a fabulous meal> I hope to create something similar soon.

Feast of love V - Vinegar and tamarind sauce

This was a watery sauce that I served with the fish. It was extremely tangy and went well with the fish which although spiced were mild. Even with plain rice the sauce tasted amazing. Although I prepared it impromptu with any recipe in mind I'll just jot down the ingredients with out the proportions .

White vinegar
Lime juice
Tamarind extract ( Its dark paste available at most desi or oriental stores)
Salt
Sugar
Grape juice ( I used welch brand )
Ginger (1 inch piece cut into slivers)
Green chillies (cut into a thin pieces)
Red chilly powder

Mix the ingredients in a proportion that suites your tastes. Chill and serve.

Feast of love part IV - Tandoori fish

The main dish of my meal was a simple tandoori flavored fish. I marinated the fish for about 4-5 hours which resulted is mild fishy odor with a great tandoori smokiness. Although I'm not a big boxed masala person but in certain preparations they really enhance the flavor, tandoori dishes for instance.



Ingredients

6 big pieces of trout
3 tablespoon yogurt
1 Tbls spoon salt (the marinade has to be salty)
2 Tbl spoon Shaan tandoori masala (love this brand it has food color already added)
1 tblspoon dhanya zeera powder
1 tblspoon green chilli paste
1/2 tbls spoon redchilli powder
oil



1)Take all the dry ingredients and green chilli paste and mix it with enough yogurt to form a semi dry paste its shouldn't be too runny just wet enough to coat the fish.

2)Marinate the fish in a closed container in the refrigerate for as long as 6-8 hours.

3)Pre heat your oven to 350'

4)Take a flat baking sheet lined with aluminum foil and grease it with oil

5)Place the fish pieces on the sheet and dribble oil over it.

6)Bake it for 30 - 45 mins just before serving.

My next post will be about the tangy sauce to go with it.

Feast of Love Part III - Vegetables in garlic butter

delectable


Second on my feast of love series is a very simple yet very delectable dish that can be eaten as a side too. It's got elements from Italian cooking as well as southern cooking.Its a blend of vegetables lightly baked in garlic butter seasoned with just salt, parsley and pepper.

Ingredients
Mushrooms chopped 2 cups (I used baby portabello , you can use regular shitake or a mixture )
Potato - baby, fingerling, yukon 1 cup chopped
Broccoli cut - 1 cup
cauliflower florets - 1 cup
parsley chopped - 1/4 cup
garlic - sliced - 2 table spoons
garlic powder 1 tsp (If you dont have this add extra garlic slices)
Butter - 3 table spoons
Salt - to taste
black pepper - freshly ground - to taste

Take all the vegetables, wash them add a little water and microwave them till for just a few minutes , the crunchiness should be intact.

Meanwhile set the oven to 350' , place a glass baking dish big enough for the vegetables add butter , parsley and garlic slices to it and place in the oven as it preheats.

Add the steamed vegetables in the melted butter and cook for 10 mins.

Toss the vegetables and add salt, garlic powder and fresh pepper.

Let it cook further for 15 mins, add more butter if required.

The aroma will lets you know that the dish is done !!!

Vegetables......................



.................all steamed up

Feast of love Part II - Tomato juice ceviche

I've had ceviche a few times being an essential component of Caribbean and Mexican food. Ceviche is essentially seafood marinated in sour juices served in single servings. The shrimp oyster or fish in most cases is raw but I decided to roast my shrimp before marinating. So here goes my tomato juice ceviche.

Ingredients - for two servings
2 Tbl spns - small shrimp or if you have large shrimp chopp them up
2 tbl spns - tomato juice from a can of diced tomatoes
2 tspoons - diced tomato piece
2 tsp - white vinegar
2 tsp - lime/lemon juice
pepper to taste
salt to taste




Preparation
Roast the shrimps on a hot very non stick pan in order to minimize the smell.
mix all the ingredients in a small sealable box
Add extra salt and pepper if u want it stronger
Refrigerate for 3-12 hours
serve in small bowls or a china soup spoon

You should have a taste for raw seafood to enjoy this,you can also add more vegetable like cucumbers to dilute the fishy taste.

Feast of love Part I

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I decided to take our weeknight dinners to a different level this week. By preparing a gourmet four course meal of fusion dishes. I had been watching a lot of food network and browsing loads of food blogs lately so I decided to come up with a meal with each course inspired by a different cuisine. The end result was fabulous and I felt really proud of myself.
The appetizer a tomato ceviche chilled till the last moment which was mexican inspired of course, followed by a side of herb and butter vegetables which was my southern influence, the main course was tandoori fish which is indian but served with an interesting thai inspired chutney along with light cinnamon and cardamom pulao. The dessert was an middle eastern food inspired date and fig halwa.
Watch this space in the coming posts for these recipes !

Costwoe

Me and my husband IJ did our groceries from costco this weekend. Our neighborhood grocery publix was proving to be a little expensive so like a samajhdaar housewife I suggested costco. I'd heard that they have bulk items at low prices so with the help of a well wishing friend who had the store membership we embarked upon a 30 minute drive followed by an hour long shopping round that resulted in us bringing home mattress sized kitchen towel pack, gallons of mouthwash and a bag of sugar that we could use beyond the rest of the year. Ok it wasn't all bad, after a point I did get used to the big sizes, but what I did not like was that the store was not convenient at all, I had to hunt around the whole expanse for a box of yoghurt which I did not find although I found the flavored yoghurt in some corner nowhere close to the milk. Also there was no concept of low fat or fat free and most of items I know which have a fat free version were displayed in their full fat glory. I've been living in the US for close to three years now the northwest earlier and now Miami. Back as a student my haunt for food was walmart or winco I never thought I'd say this but I miss the full grocery small town version of walmart. In a nut shell costco is great when you are a) doing supplies for household stuff like paper towels or laundry detergent b) you are a family of 4 or more heavy eaters c) or if you throw enough dinners and lunches to feed the whole town. The only thing I was really excited about getting home was Eckhart Tolle's A New earth at a bargain price!!

Unrelated but significant; my recipe got published on the JHIVA for ingredients event check it out here

Banana Pecan cake

Banana isn't a fruit that one would associate with romance, but this valentine's day when its all about stawberries and cherries I opted for this banana cake for the sake of practicality, I later made up for the lack of chocolate in this recipie by adding a drizzle of hershey's syrup and making some frosted strawberries and coconut truffles on the side.
I took the recipie from the food network website and made some changes to scale it down . Here goes what I did exactly

Cake:
Butter, for greasing pans
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pans
1 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder (original recipie said baking soda)
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 eggs, beaten
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2large ripe bananas, mashed into a liquidy consistency with no lumps
1 cup chopped pecans
1 teaspoons vanilla extract


Butter cake pan; set aside. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Cake:
In a mixing bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Add the eggs and oil and stir just until the dry ingredients are moistened; do not beat. Stir in the banana, pecans, and vanilla. Divide the batter among the prepared pans and bake for 30 minutes in intervals of 1o mins each , or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool the cake layers in the pans for 10 minutes, and then turn them out onto a rack to cool completely.

Feast on your labour of love !

Kheema

This is a simple everyday recipe that goes well with roti, rice, bread, pasta! My husband is a big kheema guy he absolutely loves it. Since I'm gonna be traveling away for a week I thought I 'd make a good quantity for him to savor morning noon and night!

Ingredeints
1 pound kheema/minced meat (I use lamb but you can use beef as well)
1 medium onion chopped small
2 medium tomatoes
1 table spoon ginger garlic paste
1 teaspoon zeera seeds(cumin)
2-4 dried red chillies
2-3 green chillies
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp red chilli powder
salt to taste
3 tblspoon oil
cilantro for garnishing


1) Thaw, wash and drain the water from the kheema and keep aside
2) In a skillet or pan heat the oil
3) Add the ginger garlic paste fry for a min
4) Add the chopped onion and fry till translucent
5) add the green chillies, red chillies, salt, turmeric and zeera
6) Add tomatoes and fry
7) once the tomatoes a done add the kheema and fry it over medium for 15 min
8) once the oil leaves the sides add water and cook further
9) Adjust the spices and let water dry
10)Serve hot with coriander

Haleem

I made haleem a couple of weekends back . My first real Hyderabadi dish after getting married !

Ingredients:

Onion 2 sliced very flinely into thin rings
Cracked wheat – ½ pound
Chicken kheema 1 pound or boneless chicken
Youghurt 1.5 cups
1/2 tsp red chili powder
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
2 tblsp ginger garlic paste
8 cloves
2-3 tblsp Redchilli powder
1/2 tsp cumin
1 quill cinnamon
whole pepper 5-7
Juice from 2 limes
1/3 cup oil
Salt to taste

To serve

Melted ghee (optional)
Ginger cut into thin strips
1/2 cup chopped cilantro and mint
Lime wedges to serve

1) Cook the wheat by boiling it with enough water for about 15 mins or so till its soft
2) Meanwhile in a pressure cooker put chicken ,water youghurt , redchilli ginger garlic paste,and a tablespoon of oil. Let it cook for about two whistles
3) Heat oil in a kadai and fry the onion in batches on high flame till its crisp
4) Using a wooden spoon smoothen out the wheat to form a paste
5) If using chiken pieces not kheema ,with your fingers and break apart the boneless pieces
6) Add the chicken to the wheat do not throw out any of it
7) Leave in on medium to cook for 15 mins , add water if needed
8) Add the spices and half the fried onions crushed by hand
9) Cook till the raw taste is gone add lime juice just at the end
10) Serve hot swith the green leaves ,ginger limejuice and fried onions

This is a meal in itself so u dont need any bread or rice to go with it !

A Different Kind Of ABC, To Get To Know Me

A - Available? - No

B - Best Friend - Myself

C - Cake or pie - Cake

D - Drink of choice - Water

E - Essential thing used everyday - Has to be toothbrush and toothpaste.

F - Favorite Color - Blue

G - Gummi bears or worms - Bears

H - Hometown - Hyderabad

I - Indulgence - Rich Food!!

J - January or February - January, celebration month

K - Kids and names - None.

L - Life is incomplete without - My Husband

M - Marriage Date - 30th Dec

N - Number of siblings - One brother and two sisters.

O - Oranges or apples - Oranges

P - Phobias or fears - many

Q - Quote - Dreams are today's answers to tomorrow's questions.

R - Reason to smile - Time spent with dear ones

S - Season - Summer

T - Tag three people - I have no readers, so maybe the first reader

U - Unknown fact about me - I'm left handed

V - Vegetable you don't like - yam /arvi coz I mistake it for aloo and its not as yummy

W - Worst habit - Laziness.

X - X-rays you have had- Dental, hand

Y - Your favorite food - Chinese

Z - Zodiac - Capricorn

Jerk seasoned chicken with redchilli and lime sauce

     a


Biryani, khorma,tandoori chicken, kababs, kheer,haleem , jalebi, 20 different kind of shrimp dishes, kofta,as newlyweds (got married a month back) this is just a sample of the pleasures our tastebuds received .Unfortunately our digestive system and worse our waistlines did not take to kindly these delicacies.
So we resolved to go low fat/low calorie, in our everyday dishes. With zero expectations from Indian cuisine I rushed to cook up some thing american. At the foodnetwork website I came across a bunch of jerk seasoned recipes, made my own taking something from each and used for my grilled chicken. But the proportions were too low so my chicken turned out bland so I made the sauce to go with it. I've fixed the proportions so hopefully it should turn out ok.

4 limes
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 white onions finely chopped
2 green chiles
2 tbl spoon cups low sodium soy sauce
2 chicken breasts cut into smaal pieces
3 tsp black pepper
2 tsp redchilli flakes
1 tsp garlic powder
3-4 strips capsicum
salt to taste
oil if not using non stick grill

For sauce

red chilli flakes + tomato sauce or red chilli sauce
salt to tase
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp garlic powder

Preparation

1) Wash and cut chicken,apply salt and leave aside till you make the rest of the seasoning . The salt helps reduce the smell.

2) Cut the lime into two and microwave for a min . The rind oils should come out . Leave aside after microwaving to cool and squeeze it out. Grate some zest in.

3) mix all the other ingredients except oil and grind in blender to make a paste .

4) Leave cover and marinate for 2-4 hours

5) I used my foreman grill(see pic) coz I can grill with out oil i love tht thing

6) Meanwhile mix the sauce ingredients to gether to make a paste , adjust the flavour according to your taste .

7) Serve hot with rice or bread

Dahi Wada/Vada

    


So, here goes the first post on my blog its an excellent evening snack/party dish. I remember someone asking me once if it was a south Indian or a north Indian dish? Since its a vada based dish it could be south Indian but it comes under the chaat category which typically in north Indian. Anyway who cares as long as it tastes amazing!

Dahi Vada
Serves 2-4 (Depending in your appetite!!!)

Urad ki dal/mash ki dal (the white one)- 1 cup
Yoghurt (can use fat free ) - 4 cups
Green chillies -2
Zeera /Cumin -2 table spoons
Rye - 1 tea spoon
Dried red chillies -2-3
Fresh coriander - 1/2 cup
Mint leaves -4-6
Red chilli powder - to taste
Chat masala - 1 tbl spoon
Sugar - to taste
Salt - to taste
Black pepper - to taste
Oil


Vadas

• Soak the urad dal in water for an hour. Really don't need a longer soak because we want to retain the coarseness to a certain extent.
• Take the drained urad dal with equal amount of water in a mixer/grinder/food processor. Add salt, 1tsp red chilli powder, mintleaves , half the coriander, green chillies and 2 tsps Zeera .
• Grind the mixture adding additional water till a thick falling consistency is achieved . Be careful to not make the mixture runny.
• In a kadai heat oil ,when done make vadas by using a deep table spoon or one of those spoons used to serve dal .
• Reduce the flame to medium and turn it up only at the end to make the vadas brown.
• Lay out on tissue paper to soak out the oil

Dahi

• Take the yoghurt in a bowl , add salt and sugar and whisk it with a spoon till a smooth consistency is achieved you should not need any extra water.
• Add chat masala , pepper,red chilli powder

Setting the dish

• The best dish to serve would be a flattened glass baking dish or a casserole
• Add half the yoghurt to the dish
• Take a small bowl or a plastic storage box and fill in with water
• Add the vadas few at a time in to the water , yes you heard it right into the water
• Leave it in the water just till the crispiness is gone
• Flatten the vada out with your two palms
• Lay in out in the yoghurt dish
• Lay out the rest of the vadas and add yoghurt between layers save some for the end
• At the end add the remaining yoghurt

Tadka /baghar / tempering

• After the whole dish is set take a small pan and add 1 table spoon of oil
• When its hot add the following in this order few seconds apart - dried redchillies followed by rye seeds finally the remaining zeera
• Once its fried add it over the dahi vada and spread
• Sprinkle the rest of the coriander
• Serve immediately with tamarind chutney

Ah A Food Blog

I wanted to have my own food blog for the longest time, finally got my self one. Yipee!!! its like having your own cookery show, ok maybe that was an exaggaration but never the less its exciting. And for this feat to turn into a feast stay tuned to this page .