These raw banana fritters are usually an accompaniment to a meal. Called Phodi in my mother tongue Konkani, these are served with Dal rice and are prepared during a feast or on other ocassions where community feeding takes place.
Ingredients :
2 raw bananas
1 tbsp Chilly powder
1 tsp Hing/Asafoetida
Salt
Wheat flour to dust the Phodi
Oil for frying
Method:
Deskin the raw banana. Wash it thoroughly and slice it 2 cms thick. Sprinkle the chilly powder, salt and Hing, mix well and refrigerate for half an hour. Heat oil in a pan. Dust the slices with wheat flour and fry them on a medium flame till a golden brown and crisp. Remove and drain on a kitchen towel. Serve hot.
These cabbage and onion Pakoras can be made in no time. Serve them as a quick snack with tea or as an accompaniment to Dal and rice. They need no accompaniment like tomato ketchup or mint chutney as they have all the spices added.
Ingredients :
2 large onions sliced thinly
Cabbage the same amount as the onions
1 green chilly finely chopped
150 gms of Besan/Chickpea flour/ 3/4 cup
2 tbsps rice flour
1 tbsp oil
A large pinch of Ajwain /Carom seeds
1/4 tsp Hing/Asafoetida
1 tsp chilly powder
Salt
Oil to fry the Pakora
Method :
Take the Besan, rice flour, chopped green chilly, salt, chilly powder, Hing, ajwain and one tbsp oil in a bowl. Crumble and add just a little water to make a thick paste whisking all the ingredients well. Drop in the sliced onion and cabbage and mix thoroughly. Heat oil in a pan. Take a little of the mixture and keep dropping it all over into the hot oil. Do not overcrowd as the Pakora then doesnt turn crisp. Fry on a medium flame to a nice golden brown. Serve hot.
Most Hindus avoid onion and garlic during the ten days of Navratri. It is basically a kind of cleansing done to rid the system of toxins. Some even undertake a strict fast making a meal of only one vegetable throughout the nine days. These vadas are a blessing when children crave for something crunchy. Though these are sans onion and garlic they are super tasty. I thank my friend Bhama Narayanan who shared this recipe with me. I have added a couple of spices to enhance the taste.
Ingredients :
1/4 cup Chana Dal/Split Chickpea
1/4 cup Arhar Dal/Split pigeon peas
1 heaped tbsp Urad Dal/Split black gram
3 dry red chillies
2 green chillies
1 heaped tsp coriander seeds
5 pepper corns
1/2 tsp Jeera /Cumin seeds
A kidney bean size piece of Hing/ Asafoetida
2 sprigs curry leaves
3 tbsps coriander leaves
Salt
Oil for frying the vadas.
Method:
Wash and soak the three Dals in enough water for three hours. Drain well. Powder the coriander seeds, cumin seeds, pepper corns, dry red chillies, green chillies and Hing. Tip the powder into the large mixer jar and drop in the drained Dals. Grind the Dals to a coarse paste in batches, using pulse mode. Do not use any water to grind. Remove the dough into a bowl. Add finely chopped curry and coriander leaves. Add salt, mix well. Take a small portion of the dough onto your palm, roll into a ball and flatten it to form a vada. Heat oil in a pan. Gently slide in 5-6 vadas at a time and fry them to a golden brown on a medium flame. Remove and drain on a kitchen towel. Serve hot.
Ringna nu Paleta or Eggplant /Brinjal Paleta is a popular Gujarati dish which is served with Roti or rice. The Goan Vangyache Kaap or Konkani Vainganna Phodi are close cousins. The difference is in the masala used.
Ingredients :
One large Eggplant /Aubergine/Brinjal
1 heaped tbsp coriander powder
1 tsp Cumin powder
1/4 tsp Turmeric powder
1 tbsp Kashmiri chilly powder
A large pinch of Garam masala
5 flakes of garlic
2 green chillies
Salt
4 tbsps of Besan/Chickpea flour
Finely chopped coriander leaves
Oil to roast.
Method:
Slice the Brinjal into thin roundels. Grind the green chillies and garlic fine and apply it all over the pieces. Drop in all the remaining ingredients except the Besan and mix thoroughly. Dust each slice with Besan and place them on a plate. Refrigerate for an hour. Heat a pan. Drizzle with two spoons of oil. Place the slices in the pan and shallow fry them on a gentle flame, roasting each side to a golden brown. Serve hot.
Note: the entire process needs to be carried out on a very gentle flame as the masalas tend to burn if the flame is high and the Brinjal remains uncooked.
This Bonda has been made from left over Upma. To a cup of leftover upma I added one large finely chopped onion, two tbsps finely chopped coriander leaves, 1 tbsp finely chopped mint leaves, half a tsp of pepper powder salt and half cup of rice flour. Sprinkled a little water, mixed well, rolled it into balls and deep fried it to a golden yellow. You can serve it with a Chutney, ketchup or Rasam. Recipe link to the Upma is given below.
These Crunchy Balls were a mix of everything that was remaining. I had a little left over cooked rice, a couple of boiled potatoes, three slices of bread and some Chickpea flour. I wanted to finish it off and thus decided to mix everything and turn them into a snack. You can enjoy it plain or with a Ketchup or Mint chutney. I enjoyed it with some Chipotle Dip.
Ingredients :
One bowl of cooked rice
2 Boiled potatoes
4 tbsps Besan/Chickpea flour
4 slices of Bread
6 green chillies
2 inch piece of ginger
7 garlic cloves
2 tbsps finely chopped coriander leaves
Juice of half a lemon
1 tsp Jeera/Cumin
Salt
Oil to fry the Crunchy Balls
Method:
Dip the bread slices into water. Squeeze out all the water and crumble them in a bowl. Mash the boiled potatoes and cooked rice and tip it into the crumbled bread. Make a coarse paste of green chillies, ginger and garlic. Drop it along with the finely chopped coriander leaves, salt and the jeera into the bread rice and potato mixture. Add salt, Besan and lemon juice. Mix thoroughly. Make balls of the mixture and keep aside. Heat oil in a pan. Fry them four at a time on a medium flame till nice and crisp. You may fry them to a slightly dark brown or to a golden brown as shown in the picture. Both taste equally good. Serve with chutney, ketchup or a dip.
This is another variety of Cauliflower and Potato Pakora that is absolutely delicious. It can be had as a snack or as a side dish with Dal and Rice.
Ingredients :
300 gms Cauliflower broken into florets
2 small potatoes deskinned and sliced thinly
200 gms Besan/Chick pea flour
2 tbsps rice flour
5 green chillies made into a paste
1/2 tsp Jeera/Cumin seeds
1/tsp Hing/Asafoetida
1/4 tsp Chilly powder
A large pinch of Haldi/Turmeric powder
2 tbsps finely chopped coriander leaves
Salt
Oil to fry the Pakora
Method:
Wash the Cauliflower florets and sliced potato thoroughly. Dry and keep aside. Tip the Besan, rice flour, green chilly paste, chilly powder, Haldi, Jeera, Hing, Coriander leaves and salt in a bowl. Mix thoroughly. Add enough water to make a thick batter which easily coats the vegetables. Heat oil in a pan. Dip the vegetables one by one into the batter and drop them into the hot oil. Fry on a gentle flame till golden brown and crisp. Remove and place on tissue paper. Serve hot as is or with a mint chutney.
These vegetarian Lollipops are very popular as starters or when the children are hungry. Easy to make and in goes a large dose of vegetables for children who are fussy eaters. These can be baked too, but of course the real taste lies in frying them!
Ingredients:
3 large potatoes pressure cooked
1 carrot grated
A fistful of cooked peas
10 French beans minced
6 slices of bread
7 garlic cloves
6 green chillies
2 inch piece of ginger
2 tsps finely chopped coriander leaves
Juice of half a lemon
1 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp Jeera/ Cumin seeds
3 tbsps bread crumbs
Salt
Oil for frying.
Method:
Peel and mash the potatoes well. Drop in the grated carrot, minced French Beans and the cooked peas. Gently mash everything together. Grind the ginger,green chillies and garlic to a coarse paste. Add it to the mashed vegetables along with the lemon juice, coriander leaves, cumin seeds and coriander powder. Mix thoroughly. Finally add the salt. Mix and mould them into desired shape. Roll the lollipops into the bread crumbs and refrigerate for about 15 mnts. Heat oil in a pan. Drop in the lollipops two or three at a time and fry them on a medium flame to a golden brown. Serve with tomato ketchup and mint Chutney.
You can use tooth picks to hold the lollipops or can serve them as is.
These are instant Methi/ Fenugreek Leaves fritters which taste absolutely delicious. I usually soak Chana Dal/Split Bengal Gram and grind it to a coarse paste and then mix the chopped Fenugreek Leaves. Here I have used Besan/Chickpea flour. Easy, simple and simply irresistible!
Ingredients :
1 cup packed Fenugreek Leaves
1 large onion
1 heaped cup Besan/Chickpea flour
1 tsp Jeera/Cumin seeds
1/2 tsp Asafoetida
3 green chillies
1 inch piece of ginger
7 cloves of garlic
1/2 tsp chilly powder
A large pinch of Haldi/turmeric powder
A pinch of soda bicarb
Salt
Oil for frying
Method :
Clean the Fenugreek Leaves. Retain the tender stems. Wash well, drain and chop fine. Chop the onions fine. Make a coarse paste of the green chillies, ginger and garlic. Tip the paste, chopped onions and the Fenugreek Leaves in a bowl. Add the chilly powder, Asafoetida, turmeric, cumin seeds, soda bicarb and salt. Add just enough water to make a batter of dropping consistency. Mix well. Heat oil in a pan. Drop small dumplings of this mixture into the hot oil. Fry to a golden brown. Serve hot with tomato ketchup or green chutney.
