Cabbage Pakoda and some scenic pictures from Austria

Last week was pretty exciting  for us as we went on a 5 day trip to Austria and Venice.
Austria was gorgeous and Venice was too beautiful. With nothing much to say, I want to share a few pictures from the trip  for you all to see what we saw and a recipe for quick snack.

Snow Clad Alps...

Bright and sunny Venice..

Now coming to recipe...

Cabbage Pakoda:

2 cups shredded cabbage.
1/2 cup thinly sliced onions
1 cup Besan flour
1/2 cup rice flour
1/2 tsp chilli powder
1 green chilli finely chopped.
1 tsp crushed coriander seeds.
1/2 tsp chat masala(optional)
Curry leaves(optional)

Method.

Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl along with the required amount of salt.
Sprinkle 1/2 cup of water and mix gently.
Heat up oil in a deep sauce pan in medium high heat.
Drop the cabbage mixture in irregular shapes , 4-5 at a time.
Fry till golden brown.Enjoy with a cup of tea.

Have a nice week ahead

Family Favorites - Masal Vadai Kuzhambhu

I thought of writing about the dishes that I loved growing up, ones that brings back memories every time I make them at home(even now), ones that are favorites of a particular member of the family , ones that amma makes often on repeated requests from us..ones that are Grandma's special..well , the list continues...Hence this family favorite series. This is my second post in this one, but honestly this kuzhambhu should have been in the first post.
Generally any tamarind based gravy with a main ingredient is referred to as 'Kuzhambhu' and it forms an integral part of any Tamilian Menu. This one is prepared with the Masala vadai as the main ingredient. The paruppu vadai soaked in the tamarind gravy is a delicacy and its such a favorite at our home.My mother makes this as a special dish, whenever we have some vegetarian guests for lunch.
You dont have to make any side dish or veggies, just some papads will fulfill the entire meal, because I am sure that your guests will not reach out for the rasam or curd to end the meal.

For the Masala Vadai:
Ingredients:
1 cup Channa dhal
1 green chili
1 tsp sombu/fennel seeds
1 medium onion
curry leaves

Method.
Soak the channa dhal for atleast 3 hrs.
Grind the dhal along with sombhu and salt, without adding water.
The mixture should be coarse in texture.
Slice the onion thinly and add to the dhal mixture.
Add the finely chopped chilli and curry leaves.
Mix well and make equal sized balls.
Heat oil in a pot, flatten each ball and deep fry them in medium heat.
Note:
The vadai's should be thick and soft inside, not thin and crispy.

For the Kuzhambhu
Ingredients:
Lemon sized tamarind
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped tomato
1 green chilli
1 inch ginger finly chopped
few curry leaves.
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp urad dhal
1 tsp fenugreek seeds
11/2 tsp chilli powder
3 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
salt to taste

Method
Soak tamarind in 1 cup of water
Extract the pulp completely and add 3 more cups of water to it.
To the extract add all the dry powders and salt.
Take 2 tblsp of oil in a wide bottomed pot.
Add mustard, urad dhal, fenugreek, and curryleaves.
When the mustard pops, add the thinly sliced onion, ginger, green chilli and fry till translucent.
Add the chopped tomatoes and cook till mushy.
To this add the tamarind mixture and close with a lid.
let it boil for approximatly 10 mins or until the raw smell goes.
Reduce the heat to minimum and add all the vadai's.
Switch of the stove after 2 mins. Close with lid.
Let it sit for an hour before serving.

Note:
If the kuzhambhu is watery, crush one or two vadai's to help thicken the gravy.
Check for salt before adding the vadai's.
You can also use 3tsp of sambhar powder instead of chilli pwd and coriander powder.

Bread Rolls/Parcels

Though I have read about bread rolls several times in many cookbooks, magazines, blogs, and foodwebsites I have never tried it until recently for a potluck lunch. It didnt soak much oil as I initially thought and it retained its crispiness even after few hours.I have made it twice after that and it came out very well each time. Makes a great party starter.

The recipe for the filling is very versatile, and you can make it according to your tastebuds. This is how I made it.
This recipe make 10-12 bread rolls

For the Filling:
Ingredients:

4 medium potatoes 
1 tsp ginger garlic paste
1 medium onion chopped

1 tsp jeera
1 tsp chilli powder
1/2 tsp garam masala powder
1 tsp chat masala powder.
1 tblsp lemon juice

Method.
Boil the potatoes, peel the skin and mash it .
Add 2 tblsp oil in a pan and add the cumin seeds.
When it crackles add the chopped onion and saute well.
To this add the ginger garlic paste, and all the dry powders and fry till the raw smell disappears. Sprinkle some water if necessary.
Now add the mashed potatoes, and mix well with the masala.
Finally add salt, chopped coriander leaves  and lemon juice, mix well to combine.

For the Rolls:

Ingredients.

12 slices white bread.

a bowl of water.

2 cups bread crumbs

oil for frying

Method:
Trim the edges of the bread and keep aside.
Take each slice , dip in the water, keep inbetween your hands and squeeze out the water.

Spread the sqeezed bread slice on a flat surface, place the filling towards one edge, roll it and seal the edges by slightly pressing them.
Roll it over the bread crumbs and fry in hot oil.

Note: The oil should be hot , not smoking hot. Coat the rolls well with bread crumbs and pat it your palms before dropping it in oil.This helps in shedding the excess crumbs, that might clog the oil.