Rajasthani Mirchi Vada Recipe | How to Make Rajasthani Mirchi Vada | Indian Street Food Recipes

Rajasthani Mirchi Vada #Recipe

Rajasthani Mirchi Vada, as the name says is a popular deep fried fritter from the state of Rajasthan. Large green chillies are stuffed with a spicy potato filling and covered in a chickpea flour batter and are then deep-fried to perfection. An ideal snack to munch on during monsoons.

Almost every year to go to Jodhpur en route our visit to the shrine of our kul diety in Osiyan, Rajasthan. When in Jodhpur, you cannot do without enjoying its local street foods and this Rajasthani Mirchi Vada is one that tops the list, of course along with a glass of Makhanya Lassi. So, for the 2nd day BM #89 with chosen theme 'stuffed dishes' - I couldn't think of any other better recipe to share here.

Pune had its first pre-monsoon showers a few days back and with it, I was in a mood to enjoy some fritters with some 'kadak adrak wali chai'. So, I made these Rajasthani Mirchi Vada and enjoyed it with a cup of tea with my friend and neighbour.

Khandvi Recipe | How to Make Khandvi | Savoury Chickpea Flour Rolls | Gujarati Recipes

Khandvi - Gujarati Chickpea Flour Rolls #Recipe

Khandvi is one of those dishes which you will either love or hate. I belong to the former group. This Gujarati delicacy requires a bit of patience to make. With some practice, you can get thin layers which literally melts in the mouth when you eat it. Even if you don't get super thin layers don't worry. Believe me, it doesn't really make much difference to the final taste. My maternal grandmother makes a similar dish which we call 'pithod' or 'patindri'. She makes it in a single thick layer and cuts them in diamond shapes. It is then topped with tadka and the garnishing.

One has to prepare the batter for khandvi and cook it until it is just right to spread. If you do it wrong there, the batter won't set at all. I do a simple test to know if the batter is cooked enough. For that, I just drop a small spoonful of the cooked batter and spread it. If it sets in one minute then I know that the batter has cooked enough for spreading.

Onion Bhajji Recipe | Onion Fritters Recipe | How to Make Onion Bhajji | Indian Street Food Recipes

Onion Bhajji/ Onion Fritters #Recipe

Onion Bhajjis are Indian savoury onion fritters; they a crowd pleaser. It is one of the popular street foods in India. I love to have them hot with a cup of tea.

I had made them to take it to my work place and every body enjoyed it a lot. Few of them even remarked that they were really moist and flavourful unlike the ones you get in shops, which tend to be very dry when cold. The secret to it is adding a pinch of baking soda to the batter, it gives the inside of the bhajji a soft texture. I also add a couple of spoons of rice flour in the batter which gives a crispy crunch outside.

Without much ado, let's check out the Onion Bhajji recipe

Onion Bhajji Recipe

Ingredients:

1 cup chickpea flour, shifted.
1 cup sliced onions (About 2 medium onions)
3 tbsp rice flour
1 green chili, de seeded and chopped
11/4 tsp salt
1 tsp red chilli powder
1/2 tsp roasted cumin powder
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
A handful of chopped coriander leaves
1 tsp ajwain/carom seeds
2 tsp crushed kasoori methi (dried fenugreek leaves)
2 tsp oil
1/4 tsp baking soda.

Process:

1. Peel the onion and cut it into four halves. Slice them thinly. Put the sliced onions in a large bowl and toss with the salt. Set aside for 10 minutes.
2. Add the chickpea flour, rice flour, chile powder, cumin, turmeric, ajwain, coriander leaves, baking soda,kasoori methi, green chilli and stir well. Add a couple of tablespoon of water to form a thick batter. Do not add water add water all at once, add spoon by spoon and stir with a spatula to check the consistency.
3. Heat 500 ml oil in a frying pan. When bubbles appear at the bottom of the pan lower it to medium. Drop tablespoon of batter into the hot oil. Fry 5-6 bhaajis at a time. If the pan is too crowded they will not cook evenly. Fry them till they are golden in colour. Stir it occasionally so that they are fried evenly.
4. Remove them with a slotted spoon and drain them on paper towel. Serve hot with coriander chutney or tamarind chutney. It can also be served with ketchup, pairs best with a cup of hot tea or coffee.

Notes:

1. Shifting chickpea flour helps in avoiding lump.
2. Make sure baking soda also has no lumps. Once the batter is made, don't let it sit for too long. Start preparing the bhajis in 5-7 minutes.
3. It is best to drop the batter in the oil using your finger. It can be a bit messy but helps in getting uniform shapes which in turn helps in uniform frying.
4. You can make them in advance and heat them in the microwave before serving.

Have a nice weekend. Thank you for stopping by! Cheers!

Nimki/ Namakpaare Recipe | Papdi Recipe | How to Make Nimki and Papdi using the same dough

Nimki/ Namakpaare Recipe | Papdi Recipe

Nimki or Namak Paare are diamond shaped savoury fried crackers. They go very well with tea. Using the same dough that is used to make nimki, I also make papdi, the round crackers that are quite used in Indian Chaats. In this post, I am showing you how to make nimki as well as papdi.

I have lots of memories attached to these Nimki. My mom makes the best Nimki in our home. I remember her making them in big batches during the festive season and we, kids used to poke around the kitchen to grab a few to munch on.

Even though I make them now myself, I still have not got the shapes perfect. Not that it matters when it comes to taste, but evenly shaped nimki looks way better.



Papdis are essentially same as nimki, they just differ in shape. I use the same dough to make both of these. The best papdi are those which are crunchy and yet breaks easily. Nimki are more crunchy, their shape helps in their texture. Papdis are the most essential elements of the most popular Indian snacks like Papdi Chaat and Sev Puri. Today, I am sharing how I make 'Nimki' and 'Papdi' with the same dough.

This recipe makes about 50 Papdis.

How to Make Nimki/Papdi/Namakpaare

Ingredients:

1 cup maida or all purpose flour
1/4 cup semolina
2 tablespoons oil
½ teaspoon salt
½ tsp black onion seeds.
Water to form a firm dough

Oil for brushing the dough and for frying

Process:

1. Mix maida or all purpose flour, semolina, salt and black onion seeds. Add the oil and use lukewarm water to make a firm dough. Keep it aside for 15-20 minutes before working on it.

2. Divide the dough in about 50 equal parts and roll them individually into 2 1/2 inch even rounds. Prick with a fork in about 4 to 5 place.

3. Heat the oil in a frying pan over medium heat. The frying pan should have at least 1 1/2 inch of oil. Fry the papdi on medium to medium-high heat until both sides are light golden-brown in colour.

4. Transfer them to a paper towel so that excess oil is soaked out. Let it cool completely before storing. They can be stored in airtight container for 1 month.



Nimki is same as papdi but different in shape. To make them make the dough as made for papdi and follow the instructions below.

1. Divide the dough into five equal parts and shape them into smooth balls.

2. Roll one dough ball at a time into thin chapati like discs. Using a knife or a pizza cutter cut thin strips of the dough and cut the strips diagonally to get diamond shaped pieces.

3. Fry them in medium hot oil till they are golden brown in colour. Do the same with rest of the dough balls. Keep the rest covered when you are rolling one.

4. Cool them completely before storing.

Here is a link to video of making nimki to help you understand the process of making them, even though the recipes are not same.

They are great to munch with afternoon tea.



Thank you for stopping by! Cheers!

Dahi Vada Recipe | How to Make Dahi Vada | Holi Recipes

Dahi Vada is one of the must prepare dishes for Holi. Soft urad dal dumplings are soaked in spiced yoghurt and are topped with tamarind chutney and a special dahi vada masala.

At the very outset wish you all a very happy, safe and colourful Holi. Today is also International Women's Day. So, to all ladies out there, have a great day, celebrate womanhood! Cheers!

I guess people in India are celebrating Holi with full fervour. We too will have our share of celebrations but not until the weekend. Till then, I can obviously gorge on the Holi special delicacies. I had made this Thandai Syrup sometimes back and have been enjoying it since then. DH has asked me to make these Samosas. I have more snacks and sweets on the menu! Food is such an integral part of our festivals that you can't simply do without them.

These Dahi Vadas are a hit in my house and holi is just an excuse to make them one more time. As both of us are 'nuts' lover, I throw a handful of chopped cashews and raisins into the vada batter. If you don't like them, you can leave them out. I always made them in excess as they keep well for 2-3 days in the fridge. Let's hop over to the recipe now.

Dahi Vada Recipe

This recipe makes 8 servings.

Ingredients:

3/4 cup Urad Dal (Skinless, Split Black gram)
1/4 cup chopped cashews
1/4 cup chopped raisins.
1 tsp of minced ginger.
2 green chillies chopped finely.
Salt to taste.

Oil to Deep Fry

750gm yoghurt
1/2 cup water
2 tbsp sugar
salt to taste

To Garnish
Tamarind Chutney
Roasted crushed cumin seeds
Red chilli powder.

Process:

1. Soak the dal/lentils for 3-4 hours.

2. Drain off all the water and churn it in a mixer grinder with little water to a fine paste. The consistency of the paste must be thick. Whisk it to incorporate air and fluff it up. Add the chopped cashews, raisins, chopped ginger and green chilli. Add salt as per taste.

3. Heat oil for frying. Drop spoonful of batter into hot oil, fry them till they are light golden brown. Keep the vadas on paper so that the excess oil is soaked out. Then transfer them to a bowl containing cold water.

4. Beat the yoghurt with water, sugar and salt so that it is smooth and has no lumps in it.

5. To serve to squeeze out excess water from the vada by placing it between the palms. Place the vadas in a bowl. Pour the yoghurt over it. Sprinkle the roasted cumin and red chilli powder over it. Garnish it one teaspoon of tamarind chutney.

Wishing you all once again a very happy Holi! Thank you for stopping by! Cheers!

Thank you for stopping by! Cheers!

Samosa Recipe | How to Make Samosa at Home | Indian Street Food Recipes

Samosa #Recipe

Samosa is a pyramid-shaped pastry stuffed with a savoury potatoes peas filling. It is calorie rich, deep fried, famous Indian appetizer/roadside snack. In this post, I am going to share a samosa recipe.

I know books are not featuring in my posts for a long time now. Of late I have been blogging about food only. I can't help it when the season is so festive. With Christmas over, we are on the cusp of the new year.

Yeah! I can't really believe that 2011 is going to be over in just a few days and I am sure most of us are making some new year resolutions or other. I know many would say, new year resolutions are crap, no one sticks to them. But, at the back of our mind, we do set some goals for ourselves. Wondering where this conversation is heading towards when you actually have a luring 'Samosa' picture at the beginning of the post!

I am ACTUALLY thinking of abstaining from deep fried food at least for the first month of 2012, so thought it was a good idea to indulge in these yummy samosas, one last time this year.

And why was I tempted to make them after all?

For Blog Hop Wednesdays, a bi-monthly event by Radhika, I am assigned Sukanya's Saffron Steaks, a beautiful blog about food and travel. As I was browsing through her space, I found she blogs from Kolkata. She has posted a number of recipes and when I saw this, I knew I had to make it soon. I have just tweaked the filling from being cauliflower based to potato based.

Check out what blog hoppers are up with

Samosa Recipe | How to Make Samosa at Home

This recipe makes 8 samosas.

Ingredients:

Dough:

1 1/2 cup AP flour.
1/2 tsp salt.
3-4 tbsp oil.
1/2 tsp carom/ ajwain seeds.

Filling:

3-4 large boiled potatoes peeled and mashed finely.
½ tsp cumin seeds
2 chopped green chillies
½ tsp garam masala
½ teaspoon mango powder.
½ tsp turmeric powder.
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons oil
½ cup green peas.
1 small carrot grated.
2 tsp grated ginger.
2-3 tbsp peanuts
A handful of fresh coriander leaves chopped.

Process:

1. For the dough mix the AP flour, ajwain seeds, salt and oil together to make a dough. Use water little by little and knead the dough for about 1 to 2 minutes to make it smooth. Set the dough aside let it sit dough sit for at least 15 minutes before using it for the samosa.

2. For making the potato filling, heat the oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat. Add cumin seeds, as it cracks, add green chillies, grated ginger and sauté for few seconds. Next, add the peanuts and cook for a few minutes.

3.Add the mashed potatoes, grated carrot, peas and all the spices and cook for about 4-5 minutes. Add the chopped coriander leaves and mix well. Take the pan off the gas. Let the potato masala cool down.

4. Now to make the samosa knead the dough for a minute and divide it into 4 equal balls. Roll each of it into 6-7inch diameter round discs and cut each of them into half.

5. Now fold the half roti into a cone shape. Pinch the side of this cone so that it is completely sealed. Use some water at the edges to help in sealing. Fill the cone with 3-4 tablespoons of filling. Press this filling down with your fingers. Now close the top of this cone into a triangle shape, pinching the top edge so that it is completely sealed.

6. Heat oil in a deep pan on high heat. Once heated turn it to medium and after a minute add the samosas. Fry the samosas on medium-high until they turn a light golden-brown colour on all sides. Turn them when one side is done so that it is fried evenly on all sides.

7. Put samosas 2-3 at a time so that the pan is not crowded or it depends on the size of the pan. Once fried put the samosa on a paper towel so that excess oil is soaked out.

Serve Hot with Tamarind Chutney, Green Chutney or Tomato Ketchup. Enjoy it with a cup of Tea or Coffee!

Notes:

1. Fry them over medium heat only. If the oil is too hot bubbles will form on the shell of the samosa and the samosa shell will not be crisp enough.

2. The oil added to the dough is important. Do not skip it, otherwise, the samosa shell will not be crisp.

3. Add the filling to the dough pastry only after it has cooled down to room temperature.

Thank you for stopping by! Cheers!