Sago snack (Sabudana Khichadi)

Level of difficulty: Medium

Prep time: Couple of hours

Cooking time: 20 minutes

Serves 4.

Many have asked me to post a Maharashtrian recipe so here's one! 






 

 

 Ingredients

 

Sago (Sabudana) - 1 full cup 

Roasted and ground peanuts - 1/2 cup

Boiled and diced potato - 1 medium
Cumin seeds (Jeera) - 1/2 tbsp.

Curry leaves - 1 sprig

Green chillies - 2 Salt to taste
Coriander for garnishing

Sugar - 1 tsp (optional)

Oil - 4 tbsp.

Ghee - 1 tsp. Water
 

Note: You can adjust the spiciness by increasing/decreasing the amount of diced green chillies.  Some prefer to cook the sago in only ghee (not oil), but being health-conscious, I primarily use oil and add a touch of ghee at the end - totally upto you! Also, the more oil/ghee you use, the tastier it is ;)
 

Procedure
1. Soak the sago in water for 3-4 hours. Make sure that all the sago is just submerged under water.

 

 

2. Place a non-stick frying pan on medium heat and add the oil. Add the diced chillies, chopped curry leaves, and cumin seeds. After a few seconds, add the diced potatoes and the ground peanuts.

 3. After a few minutes, add the sago to the pan.  If the sago feels a bit hard, that is ok - as it cooks over heat, it will start to get translucent.  I have also heard that at this point, if you are conscious of the amount of oil in this recipe, you can put it in the microwave for a few minutes.

4.  Cook covered on low heat - the steam should cook the sago through.  You can add the ghee to the pan now and sprinkle the chopped coriander, sugar (optional) and salt to taste. Once cooked, some people like the mixture to be left as-is in the pan so the sago that is touching the pan forms a crisp crust!

 

 

 5. This is a fairly easy recipe to make but it depends on the quality of sago that you use. Through trial and error, you will eventually get an idea of how much water and oil to use in this recipe to ensure that the sago does not end up lumpy/sticky - enjoy!

Crispy leftover rice pancakes

Level of difficulty: Super Easy

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 10 minutes

Serves 4.

Ever wonder what to do with leftover rice? Then this recipe is for you! A slight twist on a traditional south-Indian snack (Akki Rotti), this recipe is super easy to make! It is equally loved by kids and adults.






 Ingredients

Leftover cooked rice - 2 full cups
Plain rice flour - 2 full cups
Finely grated coconut/dessicated coconut - 3 tbsp.
Roasted sesame seeds - 2 tbsp.
Ground green chillies - 1 tsp.
Salt to taste
Sheet of baking paper
Oil
Water

Note: You can also add grated carrot or finely chopped onions or cumin seeds (jeera) to this recipe. You can also adjust the spiciness by increasing/decreasing the amount of ground green chillies.

Procedure

1. Mix all the ingredients together in one mixing bowl other than the oil. 

2. Mix into dough using plain water. It should be a dough slightly more solid than a pizza base. Best to use hands! If the dough is too sticky you can add more rice flour, if it is too hard to roll out, add more water. Divide into tennis size balls.

3.  Take one ball and flatten it on the palm of your hand. Use a bit of oil if it gets too sticky.

4.  Take a piece of baking paper and lay flat on counter.  Add a bit of oil/oil spray an place the flattened ball on top. Start to roll it out using the palm of your hand till you get a flat pancake (less thick will be more crunchy). Otherwise, you can always use another piece of baking paper on top and roll it out using a rolling pin.  Apply some oil to the top.

 5.  Flip on to a flat pan/griddle/tava on medium heat and take the baking paper (which was on the bottom) off. Now let one side cook and as it starts to crisp, flip it and cook the other side. If it breaks do not worry - since it is rice flour, it is very easy to join broken pieces using your fingers (just be careful not to burn yourself in this process)!  And that is it! Serve hot with ketchup, pickle, chutney etc.

 

Potato & Cauliflower Curry

Level of difficulty: Easy

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 10 minutes

Serves 5.

Another easy and quick recipe that many may already know. As with any Indian recipe, every family will have their own cooking method, and keeping tradition alive, I learnt this recipe from my mother.

Ingredients

Cauliflower florets -half a head

Potatoes (cubed) - 5

Roasted and ground cumin -2 tsp

Roasted and ground coriander - 2 tsp

Chili powder -1 tsp (to taste)

Turmeric - 1 tsp

Asafetida - 1/4 tsp 

Oil - 2 tbs

Crisco/Dalda- 1 tsp

Salt -to taste

A few sprigs of coriander/cilantro

Note: To reduce/increase the SPICINESS, decrease/increase the amount of chili powder.

Procedure

1. Add oil to a saucepan on medium heat. Add turmeric and asafetida to the oil.  If you are okay with using Crisco/Dalda, you may add that in this step.

2. Add cubed potatoes. Cover and let cook for a while till potatoes start to go soft and brown.

3. Add cauliflower florets, place cover back on and let cook. The florets do reduce in size somewhat as they cook.

4. After a few minutes, add the ground cumin, coriander, and chili powder. Stir and cover -turn the gas to low. Add salt last.

5. Tada!  Add chopped coriander/cilantro, and you are done! 

Potato Curry

Level of difficulty: Easy!
Prep time: 30mins Cooking time: 15mins
Serves: 8 people (1 potato/person - 'rule of thumb')

A south-Indian potato curry served frequently with Dosa (a rice and lentil pancake), and tastes equally yummy with rotis/puri/chapati, rolled up in a wrap, or made into a toasted sandwich - another recipe useful for packing in lunchboxes ;)  This curry is super easy to make - if you can boil potatoes (or even use boiled potatoes from the frozen section of your grocery store), you can make this in less than 15 minutes.



Ingredients:

Boiled potatoes - 8 (peeled)
Red onion chopped - 1 large
Curry leaves - 1 sprig
Ground green chillies - 1/2 tsp. (or to taste)
Ground ginger - 1/2 tsp. (or to taste)
Coriander leaves - a few chopped sprigs
Juice of half a lemon  
Salt to taste

Tempering:
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp.
Black gram dal (Urad0 - 1 tsp.
Bengal gram dal (Chana) - 1 tsp.
Turmeric (Haldi) - 1 tsp.
Asafoetida (Hing) - 1/2 tsp.
Oil - 2 tbsp.

Note: To reduce/increase the SPICINESS, decrease/increase the amount of ginger & green chilli 
 

Procedure:

1. Boil potatoes till soft and tender. Then peel and keep aside.

Boil and peel potatoes

2. Place a large non-stick vessel on medium heat and add oil.  When hot, add mustard seeds, Black and Bengal gram dal.  The seeds will start to splutter and the dal will start to go red in colour.

Mustard seeds, Black and Bengal gram in oil

 3. To this add turmeric, asafoetida, curry leaves, green chilli and ginger paste (I use paste so one does not eat pieces especially if some kids cannot tolerate the heat of chilli pieces or dislike pieces of ginger). Fry for a minute or so.

Added turmeric, hing, curry leaves, green chilli and ginger paste

4. Add chopped onion to the pan and fry till the onions are translucent (cooked).

Add chopped onions and fry till cooked

5. Finally, crush the boiled potatoes in the palm of your hand and add to the pan. Try to ensure there are no huge chunks (if there are, you can always break them up with the ladle).

Add mashed potato

6. Add salt and lemon juice (both to taste), and give a good stir.  Place lid and let the curry cook for 2-3 more minutes. Stir once more and sprinkle chopped coriander. That's it!

Add salt and lemon juice and stir

Leek & Potato Curry

Level of difficulty: Easy!
Prep time: 15mins Cooking time: 10mins
Serves: 5 people

This curry is easy to make and takes only 15-20 minutes! It is not only healthy, but is also yummy as a wrap for lunch boxes or tastes good in a toasted sandwich ;)
Credit for this recipe goes to my friend Anita.





Ingredients

Finely chopped Leeks - 2 stems
Cubed Potatoes - 3 big size
Oil - 2 tbsp
Tumeric - 1/4 tsp
Cumin/Jeera - 1 tsp
Curry powder - 1 tsp (to taste)
Garam Masala - 1 tsp (to taste)
Hing/Asaefotida -  1/4 tsp (optional)
Coriander - a few sprigs

Note: To reduce/increase the SPICINESS, decrease/increase the amount of ginger & green chilli 
    


Procedure

1.  This is what leek looks like if you haven't bought one before! Chop off the green part and only cook this recipe with the white part. Wash the ends under water as sometimes it will have some soil.

Leek & Potato

 2. Finely chop both stems and potatoes.

Chopped leeks

2.Put oil in a pan on medium heat and add cumin, turmeric & asaefotida.

Spices sizzling in oil

3. Add the chopped leeks and fry them for a few minutes till they start to soften and brown.

Add leeks

4. Place cubed potatoes on top and cook till potatoes are done on low heat (close pan with lid to fasten the cooking time) - stir once in a while.

Add potatoes and cook till they go soft

5. Add curry powder, garam masala and salt (to taste) and stir and cook for a few more minutes. I just used an Australian Curry powder (Keens) - use any brand you can get - should be in the spice or Indian food aisle in the supermarket...

Add spices and finish cooking!

6. And that's it!!! Garnish with some chopped coriander on top :D

Ready to eat!

Ambode - Chana dal/Bengal gram vadas/fritters

Level of difficulty: Moderate
Prep time: 5hrs Cooking time: 30mins
Serves: 4 people (1 potato/person - 'rule of thumb')


This is a yummy snack that is relatively easy to make - a sure hit at most parties!








Ingredients (will make about 20 vadas/fritters)

Chana Dal/Bengal gram (1 cup)
Onion finely chopped - 1/2
Green chillies - a few as per howspicy you want the vadas to be
Methi/Fenugreek leaves or Fresh coriander/cilantro - handful
Curry leaves - 4-5
Grated coconut - 1 tablespoon (dessicated will do)
Oil to fry
Salt to taste

Note: To reduce/increase the SPICINESS, decrease/increase the amount of green chilli

Procedure

1. Soak the dal in water for 4-5 hours.

Soaked dal

2. Chop the chillies, curry leaves, and coriander. If you are using frozen Fenugreek (Methi) leaves (available at most Indian stores or in vegetable markets), microwave it first and bring it to room temperature.

Chillies, curry leaves and coriander/cilantro

3. Drain the water from soaked dal, and put 3/4 of total quantity into a blender/food processor. Grind it with as minimal water as you can.  If you find that you do have to add water, then you can thicken the mixture afterwards by adding some rice flour.  The ground mixture should not be an absolute smooth paste, but should be a bit rough.  Add the remaining unground dal to the mixture, along with the chopped greens, chopped onions and coconut. Once this mixture is ready, you should fry it soon or they will not be crisp.

Final mixture should look like this

4. Place oil in frying vessel to heat (not way hot).  Take about a tablespoon of mixture into your palm, and using your other hand, shape them into oval balls. Make them kind of flattish...

Shaping vadas

5. Drop them in oil and fry until golden brown on both sides. Keep the flame on medium heat so they crisp really well. Turn over and fry till both sides are crispy.

Fry in oil on medium heat

6. Drain excess oil on paper towels and serve hot!

Ready to eat!