Vada Curry - Old Recipe With New Pictures

This is one of the initial recipes I posted as soon as started my blog. Though the pictures are not so good this remains the most popular recipe of this blog till date. So when I got a new SLR camera this weekend, I got all excited and planned to give the pictures for this recipe a makeover .

Click here to read my old post.

This is one my Mom's classic and she never fails to make this whenever I visit. This recipe is different from the hotel version calorie wise as the vada's are not deep fried instead made by crumbling thick Adai/Dosa, which gives a unique flavor to the dish. It doesnt take muchtime, if we plan a little ahead. My mom alwys soaks the dhal and makes the adai the previous day night, and then crumble them in the morning to make this delicious side dish. I am re-posting the recipe here.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup channa dhal (soaked for two hours)

1/2 cup Thoor dhal
1tsp fennel seeds
1 tsp jeera

1 inch cinnamon strip
3 cloves
1 bay leaf

1 tsp fennel seeds

3 tblsp ginger garlic paste
 2 green chillies , slit

1 medium sized onion chopped finely
2 medium sized tomatoes chopped finely
1 cup chopped coriander leaves
1tsp chilli powder
2 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp tumeric powder
salt as needed

Method:
For Vada/Adai:


 Soak the channa dhal for two hours and grind it coarsly along with fennel seeds(like we do for masal vadai).Heat a dosa pan and make thick adai's(about 2 inch thickness) by adding little oil on the sides.Keep the heat in medium and allow it to cook well, until browned on both sides(as shown in picture above).Cool it and scramble it into tiny pieces.You can do this the night before, store it in refrigerator and use it the next morning. 

For Curry:
Add 2 tsp of oil in a sauce pan.

Add cinnamon, cloves , fennel, and bay leaf to it.

When the cloves pop add the chopped onions and fry till translucent.

Add the ginger garlic paste.Fry well till the raw smell goes.

Add the chopped tomatoes to it and fry till mashed well and the oil leaves the surface.

Now add all the powders and stir well till the masala mixes well with the tomatoes.

Now add about 4 cups of water.It should be very watery at this stage.

Close with a lid and allow it to boil. After 10 mins, add the scrambled adai/vadai pieces to this liquid and mix well.

Simmer in very low flame for 10 mins.

The chana dhal mixture will soak up all the liquid. Add the chopped coriander leaves and stir well.

Enjoy with hot steaming idlies or spongy dosa's

Mini Heart Shaped Apple Pies

This post was intended to be posted on Feb 14th, got caught up in the usual working day routine so much, that I was not even able to get near the laptop. Hope you all had a great valentines Day.

Coming to the recipe, this is a super simple one which could be made in minutes if you have couple of apples and any type of pastry sheet in hand. I used the Empanada sheets which tasted crisp and just perfect. This dish can be made for any occasion with different shape and also different fillings, strawberry and ricotta cheese is another great combination. 
I am already thinking about many variations for fillings, both sweet and savory.

Ingredients: 

1 Apple , peeled and chopped 

1 tblsp brown sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp melted butter

1 tsp lemon juice

Any type of pastry sheets. cut into heart shapes.

(I used empanada shells , frozen)

Method:

Preheat the oven to 400F

Mix the brown sugar, cinnamon, melted butter, lemon juice and apples, keep aside for 10 mins.

Place about a table spoon of the apple mixture in the centre of the cut out pastry sheet.

Cover with another cut out pastry sheet. press the edges using a fork.

Place them in a parchment lined cookie tray. Prick the top with fork, couple of times.

Beat 1 egg in a small bowl and brush the top of the pastry with beaten egg

Bake for 15-20 mins.

Cool before serving. Enjoy with Chocolate syrup or Ice cream.

Note:

Do not over fill the pastry, else it will ooze out.
 If the apple mixture is watery, filter the water out of it.
Set the oven temperature as per the instructions in the pastry sheet that you are using. Mine said 400F. 

Notes:

Set the oven temperature as per the instructions in the pastry sheet that you are using. Mine said 400F. 


Sending this post out to Priya's "Valentine's Day Contest" 

Baby Boots Cake - Baby shower cake.

Here is a picture of a baby shower cake in the form of baby booties. I made these for a friend of mine who delivered a beautiful baby girl last weekend.
I made this cake from two loaf cakes cut into two halves. Decorate by piping squiggles on the cake imitating the knitting patterns. Let me know what you guys think.

Peanut Blossoms Cookie

Feels great to blog after a long time. I tried many news recipes during the break, took pictures and stacked them all in folders, waiting for the right moment I guess. Finally today I got the interest to just type a new post in my beloved blog.I wish my spirit continues this way the rest of the year.
I tried out this peanut blossom cookie couple of months back, during the holiday time from a Pillsbury recipe contest book that I borrowed from the library. 
Try this out. This is a great cookie recipe to bake with kids.

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cups All purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 tsp Baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup Shortening /Butter
1/2 cup peanut butter
2 tblsp milk
1 tsp Vanilla essence
1 egg
Sugar for sprinkling
48 Kisses Candy drops

Method:
Preheat the oven to 375F
Whisk in flour, baking soda, and salt.
In a large bowl add all the ingredients and mix in low speed until stiff dough forms.
Shape into 1 inch balls and roll in sugar.Place 2 inch apart in a baking sheet and  bake for 10 - 12 mins
Immediatly after taking out from the oven top each cookie with one milk chocolate,  presing down firmly so that the cookie cracks down.

Enjoy with a glass of milk.

Spicy Flax Meal Podi and Spinach Rice.

Flax seeds was something new to me when I saw bloggers using them in their baking as a replacement for egg. I started trying this in my baking experiments and to my surprise the baked goodies turned out super soft and moist. I got over excited and got a big bag of Flax meal from whole foods couple of months back.Though Flax seeds is a good source of Omega 3 fatty acids, it has very poor shelf life. So I always keep it sealed in the refrigerator. In my quest to find different ways to use that bag of flax meal , I came across this recipe for FlaxMeal and Peanut Podi from Usha's VegInspirations. Needless to say about her blog, she has so many recipes anything healthy :)
We use this podi as multipurpose podi for rice, Idli, dosa etc.,


I did not use Jaggery as in her recipe,except that I followed the same::
Ingredients: 
1 cup raw unsalted peanuts.( I used the roasted , lightly salted ones)
1/2 cup sesame seeds (white)
1/2 cup Channa dhal
1/2 cup blach gram dhal with skin( I used whole urad dhal)
1/2 cup flax seed meal
8 red chillies ( I used very less compared to her recipe, add more if you like it really spicy)

How to make the powder:
Dry roast each of the ingredients one by one in a low flame.Switch off the stove and add the Flax meal in the pan and give it a toss. Cool all the ingredients and powder it your dry/spice grinder.Do not make it to smooth powder. Store it in an airtight container.

This Spinach rice is one of my recipe which I experimented with this podi...The peanuts in the podi and spinach compliments each other. Perfect lunch box dish.

Ingredients:
1 cup cooked rice
2 cups roughly chopped spinach
1/2 cup chopped onions
2 cloves of garlic finely minced
1 tsp jeera/cumin seeds
curry leaves (optional)
turmeric optional (I did not use this)
2 tblsp of Flaxseed podi
1tsp lemon juice

Method:
In a wide pan add 2 tblsp of olive oil, 
To this add cumin seeds and wait till it splutters.
Now add the onions and chopped garlic  fry till slightly brown
To this add the chopped spinach and stir fry till wilts completly.
Add salt and turmeric, mix well.
Now add the cooked rice and mix well.
Switch off the stove, add the Flax seeds podi and mix well to combine.
Finally add the lemon juice and gently stir the rice.
Serve with Raita.
.