cookbypassion

Black udad dal is the lentil which has the highest protein content and is very nutritious. These lentils are used to make papad and Dal Makhni a very popular North Indians dish. The most popular Tirupati Vada is also made with these lentils but they are fried in ghee / clarifies butter instead of oil. This dish goes to week 4, day 3 of Blogging Marathon 110 under the theme " Make April Special Festival Food". Ingredients: Minumulu / Black gram / Black udad dal  2 cups Black pepper powder 1 tbsp Cumin seeds 1 tbsp Salt to taste Oil for deep frying Preparation: Wash and soak dal for 7-8 hours. Drain water and grind it along with cumin seeds, if required add 1 to 2 spoons water not more than that. Transfer to mixing bowl, add salt and black pepper powder, mix well. Heat oil in deep frying pan. Take a greased  zip lock bag or a wet cloth. Take small amount of batter/ dough and place it on the wet cloth. Gently flatten the dough using your fingers which are also greased with oil. ...

Vada is a deep fried savory snack which is very popular all over India, specially South India. Typically vada is made by soaking lentils, ground to paste and deep fried in oil till crisp. Traditionally  vada's  are made of  soaking lentils for about 6-8 hours. Today I will be preparing Instant vada's which can be made in just 30 minutes.  Instant Vada is made of sooji and curd as main ingredients. This recipe goes to Week 1 Day 1 of Blogging Marathon 107 under the theme " Instant dishes". Ingredients: Sooji / Semolina  1 cup Curd 3/4 cup Chopped green chili  1 spoon Chopped cilantro 1/4 cup Chopped onion 1/4 cup Chopped / Crushed ginger 1/2 spoon Chopped curry leaves 6-8 Cumin seeds 1/2 tsp Salt to taste Eno fruit salt 1/2 tsp Oil for deep frying Preparation: In a mixing bowl add sooji and curd.  Mix well, add little water to make a thick batter. Add chopped cilantro, ginger, green chili and salt to taste. Also add cumin seeds, chopped onion and set as...

Kalmi Vada is a delicious snack originating from Rajasthan. This snack has a crispy texture because of the coarsely ground chana dal. These vadas are crispy outside and soft inside. Kalmi  vadas are similar to  South Indian snack masala vada. These vadas can be made  ahead of time and re fried when you are ready to serve. This Rajasthani delicacy is a perfect accomplishment for tea or coffee on a rainy day or cold winters. Simple yet delicious vadas. You can also check out  my other Rajasthani snacks which I made couple days ago......  Rajasthani Pithore Jodhpuri Pyaaz ki Kachori Masala Mathri Suhaali Papad ki Churi Jodhpuri Mirchi Vada This recipe goes to day 23 of Mega Marathon 104 under the theme " Sweets and Snacks". Ingredients: Chana dal / Bengal Gram 1 /2 cup Moong dal 1/4 cup Boiled and mashed potato 1 medium size Crushed black pepper 1/2 tsp Crushed coriander seeds 1/2 tsp Chopped cilantro 1/4 up Green chili 3 Ginger 1 inch root Salt to taste Oil for de...

Spinach fritters is another version of spinach or palak bhajia / pakoda where the whole leaf is dipped in batter and deep fried in oil till crisp. These delicious and crunchy fritters taste wonderful with a cup of hot tea. Perfect snack for monsoon season too.  Spinach is a super food loaded with tons of nutrients. Its full of iron, calcium , vitamins and minerals. Its good to add this leafy vegetable everyday in your diet. Spinach fritters is a perfect snack to feed picky eaters like my kids. Try it out with your family too. This recipes goes to day 17 of Mega Marathon theme " Sweets and Snacks". Ingredients: Fresh Spinach leaves 10 Besan / chickpea flour 1/2 cup Rice flour 1 spoon Chili powder 1/2 tsp Turmeric powder 1/4 tsp Pinch of baking soda Salt to taste Oil for deep frying Preparation: In a mixing bowl add chickpea flour, rice flour, turmeric powder, chili powder and salt to taste. Add enough water to make smooth batter.  Add baking soda and mix once again. Wash  ...

Sabudana Vada also called as Sago is  a traditional snack from Maharashtra. Like all other vadas these are also crunchy and melt in mouth vadas. These delicacies from Maharashtra are a filling and nutritious snack usually served during festivals and consumed during fast / upvas, specilaly during Navratri. Adding roasted and crushed peanuts gives this vadas nice crunchy taste. THis makes a great snack to prepare during monsoon season too.  Sabudana vada goes to day 16 of Mega Marathon theme " Sweets and Snacks". Ingredients: Sago / Sabudana 1 cup Boiled &  mashed  potato 2 small Roasted & crushed peanuts 1/2 cup Chopped green chili 1 tsp Chopped cilantro 1/4 cup Grated ginger 1/2 tsp Cumin seeds 1/2 tsp Lime juice 1 tsp Chili powder 1/2 tsp Salt to taste Oil  Preparation: Wash Sabudhana thoroughly and soak for 3 hours. Drain water and set aside for 2 hours. Now add all the ingredients to sabudhana and mix well. Make lemon size equal balls with the mixture...

Festivals are incomplete without  medhu vada, tamarind rice and sweet pongal, specially in  Andhra Pradesh, India. I might have made Medhu Vada  at least 5 times in last 3 weeks for Vara lakshmi Vratam, Ganesh Chaturthi any few family events. Kids were bored of eating the same vada again and again. So for a change I have added some chopped spinach to the batter  instead of chopped cilantro. The quantity of spinach you add is totally up to you. As I was trying it for first time, I added very little to the batter. This is a good way to feed kids who do not like spinach and a great snack to pack for kids lunch box or evening snack once they are back from school. For the final day of Week 4 of Blogging Marathon 79, my dish for the week is Medhu Vada with spinach under the theme Kids Delight- Hide and Seek with Veggies". Here goes the recipe......... Ingredients: Udad dal 1 cup Rice flour 2 spoons Fenugreek seeds 10 Chopped spinach 1/2 cup Chopped ginger 1/2 spoons Choppe...

Janmashtami or Krishna Ashtami is a annual Hindu festival that celebrates the birth of Lord Krishna. It is a very important festival specially to the Vaishnavism tradition of Hinduism. Devotional singing through the midnight,when krishna is believed to have been born , fasting, a night vigil and a festival on the following day are a part of the celebration. It is celebrated particularly in Mathura and Vrindavan, along with other states of India. On this auspicious day the devotees of Lord Krishna observe fast and offer prayers in their own unique ways. 2 types of fast are observed on this day, Nirjal fast and Phalahar fast. Nirjal fast is who observe fast even without taking single drop of water. Phalahar fast is allowing devotees to consume water and fruits. During fast only certain kind of grains and flours are used. Sabudana kheer, dal  vada, ladoo, vrat ka halwa, are few dishes prepared on this day. Today we are starting with 2nd week of Blogging Marathon 78. My theme for the w...

Today we are going to the land of  Indonesia. In this country assorted fritters are called Gorengan. Many kinds of fritters are made with various kinds of ingredients which are battered and deep fried. Bakwan usually refers to vegetable fritter commonly sold by street vendors in Indonesia. Because of its similarity Bakwan is often interchangeable with " perkedel" . For example Indonesian corn fritters are often called either 'perkedel jagung' or ' Bakwan jagung' . Today for day 2 under the theme " bring on fritters" I have made a yummy fritter/ cake from Indonesia. These corn cakes are sweet and savory.  My son specially loved these corn cakes. These are fried and served with palm sugar syrup which is added on top just before serving. Found this interesting recipe on You tube. Click here for the original recipe. Here goes the recipe...... Ingredients: Corn Kernels  1 1/2 cup Shallots 4 Garlic 2 cloves Ginger 1 inch thick piece Black pepper powder 1...

Today's fritters are from Burmese Cuisine. Burmese includes dishes from various regions of the Southeast Asian country Burma which is now known as Myanmar. Burmese Cuisine is influenced by Indian, Chinese and Thai Cuisine. Baya kyaw is a popular snack found in Burma. These are  simple to make and  very tasty.  These crispy fritters are made with  Yellow Split Peas paste with some simple spices.  These look and taste some what similar to Indian Masala Vada which are also made of lentils. Baya Kyaw are served with red chili  sauce or Tamarind sauce. Baya Kyaw can be served as an appetizers  or snack in parties. Had  these crispy fritters on a rainy day which a cup of hot Tea. Believe me they taste soo good.  This recipe goes to the 3rd day of BM 53, under "Bring on Fritters". Found this interesting   recipe on you tube. Here are the ingredients and preparation for this recipe.... Ingredients: Yellow split peas 2 cups Onion  chopped ...

Fritter is a name applied to a wide variety of fried food. These fritters consist of a portion of batter made of flour or bread which is filled with bits and pieces of meat or vegetables or fruits. Some  are crispy and some are soft, they can be sweet or savory, depending on what kind of fritter you are preparing. Fritters are made all over the world with different names like Bhajji, cakes, pakoda etc.         Today I am here with African Banana Fritter. This is famous in West Africa where bananas are mashed and mixed with flour, egg and spice powder. These delicious fritters are served as a breakfast and as a dessert too. Simple and easy recipe which can be made in no time. This dish goes to the 1st day of BM # 53, week 1, under the theme " Bring on Fritters". You will be seeing 3 different kinds of fritters from 3 different countries for all 3 days. So for day 1, here goes the delicious fritter from Africa.   Source of this recipe: YouTube....

Beetroot is the root portion of the beet plant. The deep purple root of the beet is eaten either boiled or raw. It is also used as a food coloring and as a medicinal plant. The green leafy portion of the beet is also edible.  My  theme for this weeks BM  is Kids Delight -Snacking all the way. This a perfect and healthy snack for your kids and also grownups. Perfect snack to pack for their lunch boxes. You can consume this tikki in between breads or can be made as a Beetroot tikki Burger. How does that sound? But my kids loved it as it is and had these cute beet hearts with Ketchup. Me and hubby dear rolled these tikki's in lettuce adding some  sliced onions and ranch. We just loved the beet lettuce wrap. Will post that recipe soon. For now enjoy these cute little   hearts....Here goes the 1st post for this weeks Marathon...                     ...

We need: Bobbarlu/ black eye bean 1cup Onion 1 small Green chilies 3 Ginger 1inch long Cumin seeds 1sp Cilantro 1/4 cup Salt to taste Oil for deep frying Method: Soak beans over night. Drain water and transfer them to mixer or grinder. Add onion pieces, green chili, ginger, cilantro, cumin and salt. Grind it the thick paste. (Do not add water) Heat oil for deep frying. Now take little quantity of the bean mixture and flatten them with your hand. Or else you can take a plastic cover apply little water to it and add some bean mixture and flatten with your hand. Remove and drop them in oil. Fry the vada's till nice and crisp. Serve hot with any chutney or pickle. Check to see what my fellow bloggers are cooking for BM 21.