Fresh Pineapple Salsa - Vegan Salsa

 This fresh pineapple salsa will be a super hit at the next summer party that you will be hosting. 

Pineapple salsa is colorful , crisp and most important very very delicious to say No. Even those who are not very fond of pineapples will want to snack on this. 

Kids ,adults alike;everyone would love to have this crunchy salsa with a big bowl of nachos or chips . Pineapple salsa goes well with any Mexican main course meal like Quesedilla or Mexican Bean Rice .

Pineapple salsa was on my mind ever since I made the Mango Salsa but somehow I could never put together the pineapple salsa ,but luckily I found some fresh salsa which was extremely tasty and sweet and quickly it made its way to this delicious salsa today.  I enjoyed eating this salsa as a salad which was absolutely filling and refreshing on a hot and sultry day that we are facing now. 

Pineapple salsa can be made in no time and there are hardly any fancy ingredients used . Please try to use fresh pineapple as canned pineapples are too sweet for the salsa also the crunch is missing as the canned pineapples are soaked in sugar syrup .

Preparation Time - 10 mins
Cooking Time - nil
Complexity - simple

Ingredients 

1.5 cups chopped fresh pineapple 
1/4 cup chopped red bell pepper
1/4 cup chopped green capsicum 
Lot of fresh corriander chopped
1 tsp sugar 
2 tbsp lime juice 
Pinch of salt 
1 tsp red chilli flakes 
1/4 tsp roasted cumin powder
1 small green chilli finely chopped

Method 

• Take all of the above ingredients in a wide salad bowl and toss it lightly. 
• Serve immediately else the veggies and fruits will go limp and lose the crispness. 
• Keep the salad bowl on an ice bath to retain the freshness when serving in summer for barbecue parties. 

Notes

• You can adjust the measurements of lime juice ,salt and sugar depending on your taste buds . 
• Chopped onions and tomatoes can also be added to the salsa for added crunch and taste .

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Vazhakkai (Artikaaya) Bajji | Kela Bajjiya | Raw Banana fritters - Restaurant style

Bajji is what we call in Tamizh for Bhajiya or Pakoras.  As much as we relish bajjiyas like Aloo Bajjiya , Mirchi Bajjiya ,Bread Bajjiya ,there is a very special place for Vazhakkai Bajji a.k.a Raw Banana or kela bajji. Artikaaya Bajji or Baalekaai Bajji are the names used in Telugu and Kannada for this lipsmacking and traditional tea time snack. 

Vazhakkai Bajji tastes heavenly with coconut chutney and strong filter coffee. It is very easy to prepare bajji at home if we have gram flour (besan) and rice flour handy . No extra spices except red chilli powder ,salt and asafoetida. 

Undoubtedly, my Amma and paati would make amazing bajjis at home but I have very fond memories of enjoying  these vazhakkai bajjis at a small yet very famous eatery in King circle ,Bombay.  Anand Bhavan is a very famous hotel which serves amazing South indian items on the menu. Even to this day ,the restaurant serves in steel plates and very simple and humble seating arrangement and presentation with taste par excellence . 

There used to be 3 to 4 pieces of kela bajji served on a small steel plate with tasty coconut chutney served on the side or to be precise the bajjiyas will served over a bed of coconut chutney .  Those days during my childhood eating out was a pleasure as it was  not  common as today ,also swiggy and zomato were non existent . These small things meant a lot of pleasure in my childhood. 

This month in our Facebook group of food bloggers, Aruna suggested we share recipe of restaurant style food ,but made at home . It indeed is a wonderful theme to replicate our favorite recipe from our favorite restaurant at the comfort of our home.  For a bajji loving family that we are ,I plan to try Aruna's Stuffed chilli bajji as I have some delicious Bajji Chillies in my fridge .bajji chillies are a special variety of chillies which hardly have any heat in them and is best for deep frying .

I had many recipes on my mind, but I finally zeroed down  on this yummy and crispy vazhakkai bajjis as the weather was little chilly and all at home were craving for something  deep fried and spicy. 

I was paired with Seema of Mildly Indian for the theme and she has dished out a delicious  Madras Curry / Vegan Cauliflower curry which is a famous menu in the restaurants of Australia. 

Preparation Time - 15 mins
Frying Time - 20 to 25 mins
Complexity - medium 
Serves - 3 to 4

Ingredients 

2 medium sized raw banana / Artikaya/kacha kela /vazhakkai 

1 cup gramflour/besan/kadalai maav

2tbsp rice flour 

1.5tsp red chilli powder

Pinch of asafoetida 

Salt as needed 

Oil to deep fry 

Method

• Sift the gram flour,  salt, rice flour, chilli powder into a wide mixing bowl .
• Add asafoetida and 1/2 cup water and make a thick batter of dropping consistency. Adjust salt and spice level if needed . Whisk /beat the batter to well to induce aeration.  This step makes the batter light and fluffy or you can add 1/2 tsp cooking soda . 
• Peel the skin of the raw bananas and slice them into medium thick long  slices (refer pic 1 in above image) using a knife or slicer. Soak it in cold water to prevent it from turning black. 
• Heat the oil in a deep thick bottom kadai/frying pan.
• Take 3 or 4 slices of raw banana from the water and drain excess water on a kitchen  towel .
• Dip the slices in the gram flour batter and drop it into the hot oil . 
• Turn the flame to medium and fry until the bajjiyas turn deep golden brown in color and the oil stops to sizzle .
• Drain in a colander or on kitchen  tissue and serve hot with chutney or sambar .

Tips 

• If you are unable to cut into long slices ,you can make round slices too .
• Donot overcrowd the kadai with too many bajjiyas as they won't get fried properly. 
• When you drop the bajjiyas into the oil the flame must be high,but gradually reduce it to medium else the raw banana slice and inner side of batter will remain u cooked .

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Urulai Bajji | Aloo Bhajjiya | Aloo Pakoras(Potato Fritters)

 Bajji , Bajjiya or Pakoras have an emotional connect with us Indians.As much as we love and relish snacks from various cuisines, these gram flour based traditional bajjiyas have a special place in our lives. 

Every region across India enjoys these bajjiyas all round the there . We just need a small reason to prepare bajjiyas and enjoy with hot chaai .

There is also a very funny anecdote that " when it rains the veggies are ready to coat themselves in gramflour and dive into hot oil" ,that is how much we love these fritters /bajjiyas.

Bajjis are  prepared in most Tambrahm homes on the eve of Diwali . DIWALI morning starts with a spoon of Diwali Lehiyam followed by piping hot Idli Sambar , Bajji and Coconut Chutney . This is more like a Diwali Day ritual and no one likes to skip on this delicious fare :-) 

 

There may be minor differences in the way the fritters are prepared but the base remains the same , gramflour batter , cut vegetables and oil for deep frying .

Potatoes ,raw banana,onions and special type of chilli known as Bajji Mirchi or Bajji Molaga are the preferred and sought after vegetables used for making bajjiya.  We can also make bajji using spinach leaves , brinjal and carrots too .

Today we will relish some piping hot ,crispy and spicy Aloo Bajjiya or Urulaikizhangu Bhajji as it is called in Tamil. 

Another interesting part is bajji and sojji (bhajiya and sheera ) were mandatory snacks served alongside filter coffee by the bride's family during the bride seeing event in Tamil homes.  The bride's culinary skills were judged by these two items served as it was believed that the bride has prepared them to serve her future family . Now.,things have changed and all these just remain funny anecdotes for us to remnisice and smile . 

Preparation Time - 20 mins 

Frying Time - 15 to 20 mins

Complexity - medium 

Serves - 2 to 3

Ingredients 

2 medium sized potatoes 
1/2 cup gram flour /besan /kadalai maav
2 tbsp rice flour 
1 tsp red chilli powder 
1/2 tsp haldi powder
Salt as needed 
Pinch of asafoetida 
Pinch of baking soda (optional)
Oil for deep frying 

Method

• Peel the potatoes ,wash and soak them in cold water for 5 mins. This helps remove the starch from the potatoes and tastes good while coating the besan and frying .
• In a wide mixing bowl sift the gram flour, rice flour ,chilli powder ,asafoetida and salt.  Add water little by little and make a batter of dropping consistency ,keep aside.  If using ,we will add soda just before we are ready to fry the bajjiyas.
• Using a slicer or knife, cut the potatoes into medium slices and keep the soaked in water for 5 mins .drain the water and spread the potato slices on a kitchen towel or thick tissue to remove excess water .
• Place a kadai with enough oil for deep frying and heat it up . At the same time add soda (if using) to the batter and mix it well . Leaving the batter for a long time after adding soda will soak up more oil while frying, so ensure you don't rest the batter long after adding soda. 
• Dip  each potato slice in the batter and drop into hot oil . Donot crowd the kadai .you can  add about 4 or 5 slices of potato depending on the size of your kadai. 
• Fry on medium flame and occassionally toss the bajjiyas using a ladle . Once the hissing or bubbling of oil stops ,you can carefully drain and remove from the oil . Repeat the same for all slices of potato .
• Serve hot with green chutney, coconut chutney or even tomato sauce and some piping hot filter coffee or masala chai .

You may also want to try out the other most famous and loved Vazhakkai Bajji / Kela Bajjiya .

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Kadhamba (Mixed) Sundal - Navaratri Special

 Kadhambam or Kadambam in Tamil means assorted or mixed. Sundal needs no special introduction ,but for those who are reading it first time ,sundal is a south indian delicacy prepared using various legumes or lentils and garnished with fresh coconut.  

Kadhamba Sundal is prepared using a mix of various legumes and lentils .The choice of lentils is left to you . In this recipe ,I have used brown chickpeas (karuppu kondakadalai) , white chickpeas (vella Kondakadalai) , green peas (pachhai pattani) and Moong Dhall (payatham paruppu).

To prepare this kadamba sundal ,you will need to soak the brown and white chick peas over night or if you have the cooked beans frozen ,you can use them as well.

As I am preparing this recipe as part of Navratri Prasad ,I prefer to soak the beans afresh and use them rather than the pre cooked ones .

The moong dhall and fresh/frozen peas can be cooked together in an open pot . Do not pressure cook the moong dhall as it will get mushy and too soft. Soaking the moong dhall for 15 minutes before hand helps in faster cooking.  

Other Sundal Varieties on the blog for your reference 

Kondakadalai Sundal (Chickpeas/Safed Channa ) 

Karuppu Kondakadalai Sundal (Brown Chickpeas / Kala channa) 

Verkadalai Sundal (Peanut / Moongfali)

Pachapayar Sundal (Green gram / Akha Moong ) 

Karamani Sundal (Lobia/ Cow peas) 

Kadalai Paruppu Sundal ( Bengal gram / Channa dhall)

Soaking Time - 6 to 8 hrs

Preparation Time - 10 mins

Cooking Time - 5 mins

Serves - 3 to 4 

Complexity - simple 

Ingredients 

1/4 cup white chickpeas 

1/4 cup brown chickpeas

Handful of frozen peas 

1/4 cup moong dhall 

3 tbsp fresh coconut 

2 dry red chillies 

1/2 tsp jeera

Few curry leaves 

Small piece ginger  (skip for Jain variant)

2 tsp oil 

1/4 tsp mustard 

Pinch of asafoetida 

Salt as needed

Method 

• Wash and soak both the chickpeas overnight. 
• Pressure cook the chickpeas until soft with a little salt .
• Soak the moong dhall in water for 10 mins,drain the water and cook in an open pot with 1 cup water and little salt until it is well cooked . If you press a dhall between your finger it should be firm at the same time must get mashed too. In this same pot cook the peas as well . 
• Dry grind the coconut, red chillies ,jeera,ginger and curry leaves using the pulse mode . 
• Drain the water from all the cooked beans and lentils through a colander .
• Heat oil in a pan , splutter the mustard seeds and asafoetida. 
• Lightly fry the coconut paste in this oil and add the cooked lentils and mix well.
• Adjust salt if needed and cook for 1 or 2 mins until the coconut gets blend with the lentils .
• Turn off and serve.

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Link

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Carrot Sambol | Easy Carrot Salad - Vegan Srilankan Recipe

 Carrots are my favorite vegetable when it comes to eating raw . I love adding carrots to my meal as a salad or as raita . The subtle sweetness from the carrot and crispness ,gives the salad a nice crunch .

Gajar Koshimbir / Carrot Kosambri  is the Indian version of carrot salad where grated carrots are seasoned with tempered mustard seeds, udad dhall , red chillies and garnished with fresh coconut . Likewise, Carrot Sambol from Srilanka is a close cousin of the Indian Kosambari . 

In Srilanka, carrot sambol is served as a part of breakfast with Sevai /String hoppers and some stew . Many a times, lunch also has this healthy sambol as part of the menu .  

Carrot Sambol is very easy to make and can be prepared in a jiffy . Except for pepper powder and chopped green chillies ,there is no other spice element . The overall salad is crunchy and mildly spiced garnished with fresh coconut and mixed with tomatoes and onions.  While I was reading up about Srilankan cuisine, I found out another variant of Carrot Sambol ,prepared in the Jaffna region of Lanka. In that version, some amount of yogurt is added to the salad which resembles the Carrot Raita from Indian Cuisine.

Carrots are a powerhouse of nutrients and there will seldom be anyone who would hate carrots . From the childhood we have been told that , carrots are a good source of vit A and regular consumption of carrots help in preventing the deficiency of vit A . The orange color of carrot is got from Beta Carotene which is metabolised into Vit A . It addition to vitamin A , carrot is also a rich source of vit K and Vit B complex which are very much essential for our overall growth and health.

Carrots are widely used across cuisine all over the globe . Indian and Asian cuisine also make use of carrots widely in many recipes like stir fries, salads, fried rice , desserts , soups etc .  

Come winters;Gajar Halwa & Carrot Kheer are the most popular never to miss seasonal desserts that every household will dish out and serve . The warm serving of Halwa or kheer is perfect for the chill winter days.

Thai Style Carrot Salad is another lipsmacking and refreshing salad option I have bookmarked from Priya's blog "the world through my eyes" .

Preparation Time : 10 mins
Cooking Time : Nil
Complexity - easy
Serves : 2 to 3

Ingredients

3 - 4 orange carrots
2 green chillies
2 tsp pepper powder
3 to 4 tbsp fresh coconut
salt to taste
2 medium sized tomatoes 
1 small onion 
1/2 fresh lemon

**Can be made as a saatvik / No onion No garlic version by skipping the Onions.

Method

• Peel the carrots and grate them using a grater or food processor.
• De seed the tomatoes and chop them into small cubes
• Chop the onions.
• Mix the carrots,onion and tomato in a wide mixing bowl along with coconut,pepper powder and green chillies .
• Add the lemon juice and salt just before serving. Toss it lightly and serve immediately.

Tip : Never add the salt and lime juice before hand in any salad, as it will tend to release the juices and the salad will turn soggy and lose the crunch.

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Dal Kebab | Dal Kababs

Kebabs are native of Mughalai cuisine a wonderful culinary gift from the Moguls to us

 .Originally, Kababs were made out of minced meat mixed along with a whole lot of aromatic and exotic spices and then either grilled or deep fried . As always, recipes and cuisines  undergo various innovations and changes over time to suit to the native taste buds and thus evolved the various vegetarian version of Kababs . 

Kababs are one starter which I unfailingly order everytime we dine out . Seekh kababs,hara bhara kebabs ,dal kebabs ,dahi kababs are some of my all time favorites.  Kababs if made well ,are soft ,juicy ,succulent and melt in mouth often paired with a delicious Imli chutney or Spicy Hara Dhaniya Chutney .

 My blogger friend Sujata ji's blog was an inspiration for me to try my hands on making Kababs at home . Her Rajma Spinach Kabab was my inspiration post which gave me the confidence to prepare kababs at home.  You must also definitely try out the innovative Ivygourd Channa Kabab / Tendli Channa Kabab by Preethi . 

We are celebrating Kabab Special in our food group Shh cooking secretly challenge for the month of August  and am linking these Delicious Dal Kebabs to this month's event. 

Dal kababs are rich in protein and easy to make for a beginner . Dal kabab is more or less a close cousin of the Masala Vada except for a few extra ingredients like whole spices and masalas that go into the making of the kabab batter . Kids will definitely love these mildly spiced kabab and these will be a super hit at any kind off get togethers. With a little pre planning and preparation you can make delicious melt in mouth Dal Kababs at home and your family cannot stop with one .

Some more tasty starters from my blog 

Oats Tikki 
Aloo Matar Tikki 
Kothimbir Vadi 
Sabudana Vada 
Moong Bhajjiya
Bread Pakoras 
Falafel 

Soaking Time - 2 hrs

Preparation Time - 30 mins

Frying Time - 20 mins 

Makes about 10 to 12 kababs 

Ingredients 

1 cup channa dhall 

2 medium potatoes 

2 green chillies 

1/2 tsp saunf/fennel seeds 

Handful of fresh corriander 

Few mint leaves 

2 tsp lemon juice

2 tbsp bread crumbs 

1/2 tsp haldi powder

1/2 tsp red chilli powder

1 tsp garam masala 

1/2 tsp amchur powder/ chat masala

Small piece of ginger 

Oil for deep frying

Salt to taste 

Method 

• Wash and soak the channa dhall in enough water for 2 hrs. 
• Boil and peel the potatoes . 
• Drain the water and add the dhall to a blender along with green chillies, corriander ,saunf and mint leaves and grind to a fine paste . Donot add too much water while grinding else the batter will become runny .If need be , sprinkle water while grinding .
• Transfer the ground paste to a mixing bowl , add salt , grated potatoes,  bread crumbs,  haldi powder ,red chilli powder ,garam masala , amchur powder,  lemon juice and mix it all well .
• Rest this batter in the fridge for 20 to 25 mins . This step ensures that there is no extra water and the salt also coagulates well into the kabab mix. The kababs will hold good shape if the dough is refrigerated.
• Heat the oil in a deep frying pan .
• Take the kabab batter out of fridge and pinch out small roundels and shape them into Tikkis or flat cookie like and deep fry in the oil on medium flame until the kababs turn crisp and golden brown .
• Serve it hot with chutney of your choice. 

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Rava Pakoras | Semolina Fritters

 Onset of monsoon is a pleasure in many ways . The weather becomes pleasant, the foliage looks fresh , rivers and dams start overflowing and most of all it is a good opportunity for enjoying family time over a cuppa hot tea , soothing music and some snacks . Deep fried snacks are preferred in most homes as they instantly pep up your mood . 

Last couple of days the city where I live has been experiencing wet spells on and off making it  perfect for enjoying some crispy and soft Rava Pakoras . These rava pakoras are my mom's speciality and she would dish it out for me when I would have sudden cravings for a fried item or when me and my friends came home famished and hungry after our classes .  Amma would add in finely chopped pudina , spinach/palak or even fresh methi/fenugreek leaves to the pakora batter and the taste would be fantastic. 

Rava/ Semolina is a versatile ingredient and is always present in any Indian Kitchen. We can dish out many amazing recipes ,sweets as well as savories using this magical ingredient.  Since rava cooks easily and also tastes delicious, it is the most sought after ingredient for a quick snack .

In today's recipe,  I have used kasuri methi (sun dried fenugreek leaves ) instead of fresh methi which was one of the secret ingredients along with rava given to me by Swaty for our gourmet secret challenge cooking group  .

Rava is not gluten free ,so pls exercise caution if you are allergic to Gluten or following a GF diet . 

Some traditional and classic recipes using Rava / Semolina published on my blog for you all to try and enjoy !! 

Sweets

Kesari  Baath

Sajjige / Sheera

Banana Sheera

Mango Sheera

Rava Payasam/Kheer

Savories

Rava Upma 

Rava Idli 

Rava Dosa 

Tomato Rava Dosa 

Maddur Vade 

As it is monsoon time, we all keep looking for some delicious snacks to munch on  and if you love trying some new recipes, you must look up my friends' Shobha ji and Swaty's blog without fail . These two blogs are a treasure chest of exotic and amazing recipes from world over .

I have bookmarked shobha ji's Rice and dal dhoklas to try soon while Swaty's delicious Ginger  Tea with a host of exotic and therapeutic ingredients is very refreshing for a chill evening. 

Preparation Time - 5 mins
Frying Time - 20 to 25 mina
Complexity - easy 
Serves - 3 to 4 

Ingredients 

1/2 cup fine rava /sooji / semolina 
2 tbsp chick peas flour /besan 
1 tbsp rice flour 
2 tbsp kasuri methi 
Handful of finely chopped corriander 
Pinch of carom seeds/ajwain/omam 
1-2 finely chopped green chillies 
1/2 tsp red chilli powder 
Salt as needed 
Pinch of turmeric 
Water as needed 
Oil for deep frying 

Method 

• In a wide mixing bowl , add all the dry ingredients including the kasuri methi and corriander except for oil and water. 
• With your fingers mix it well so that all ingredients get mixed well .
• Sprinkle water little by little and bring it together to form a dough . Donot add too much water else it will become too watery and the pakoras will absorb oil while frying . 
• If you happen to add extra water by chance, add in some rava to the mixture ,rava will absorb the extra water .
• Heat oil in a kadai , randomly pinch out small portions from the pakora dough and drop it into hot oil carefully .
• Flip it over and fry carefully until the pakoras turn crisp and golden brown. 
• Serve hot with green chutney, tamarind chuney or tomato sauce. 

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Sev Batata Puri | Paapri Chat | Papdi Chat

Sev Batata puri is one of the famous and sought after street food items from Bombay alongside Bhelpuri,  Paani Puri and Pavbhaji .

 Sev (सेव) is deep fried string hoppers made using gram flour, Batata (बटाटा) in Marathi is potatoes and Puri or paapdi (पूरी / पापडी) are small deep fried discs made using All purpose flour / maida . . 

Well,not only is this famous in Bombay,it is also famous all over the Northern India popularly know as Paapri Chaat or Paapdi Chaat .  Though there is a slight difference in the chutneys used,  the end result is always too good to be put in words . With each bite you can feel an explosion of flavors and various tastes in your mouth which needs to be experienced and enjoyed :-) 

 We can also make these discs using whole wheat flour .  For this recipe today,  I have used store bought puris which were made out of maida .

You can look up my video link  below to prepare whole wheat puris at home . I generally prefer to use a slightly spicy version of the puris as it adds up to the taste of the chaat .

If we have all the ingredients ready ,it hardly takes 15 mins to put this snack together else you will need about 1-  2 hrs to prepare the potato filling , chutneys, chopping of onions , tomatoes ,corriander etc. 

Preparation Time - 1hr
Assembling Time - 5 mins
Serves - 2 
Complexity - Simple 

Ingredients 

14 puris / paapdi
2 medium sized potatoes boiled and mashed 
1/2 cup onion finely chopped  (skip for the No Onion No garlic version)
1/2 cup tomato finely chopped 

1/2 cup khajoor imli chutney / dates tamarind chutney 

1/2 cup green chutney / hari chutney 

1/2 cup nylon sev 

Chat masala to sprinkle 

Finely chopped corriander for garnish 

Method 

• Arrange 7 papdis each on 2 set of plates.
• Season the boiled and mashed potatoes with some salt and red chilli powder and mix them well.
• Place about 1/2 tsp of potato filling on each puri.
• Place some onions and tomatoes over the potato filling.
• Top the puris with 1/2 tsp each of dates tamarind chutney and green chutney. 
• Sprinkle some chat masala and garnish with a lot of sev and finely chopped corriander. 
• Delicious sev Batata puri is ready to be served.

Serving Suggestions/ Tips 

• Keep all the ingredients ready before you start assembling the sev puri .
• Serve it soon after assembling, else the puris will lose the crunch due to the chutney and the charm of biting into the crunch will be lost. 
• You may also add some boiled whole moong beans or black channa (black chickpeas) to the potato mixture. 
• You may add or reduce the amount of chutney you top up on the potato mixture depending on how spicy or mild you like the chaat to be .

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Kunukku Paniyaram | Dal Appe | Lentil Dumplings - Vegan Snack

Kuzhi Paniyarams , Appe, Paddu, Ponganalu are different names for a very tasty shallow fried snack made in India.  This snack is made in a special vessel called as "Paniyarakal" , " Appe Patra"  or "Aebelskeiwer Pan" .  It is also known as "Appakaaral" in Tamil.

The pan is traditionally a very heavy one made out of cast iron with small fissures or moulds. 

Over the long time usage ,the pan gets seasoned very well and acts almost like a nonstick pan . When cooked on slow fire , the paniyarams or appams turn out crispy from the outside and soft from inside . Modern kitchens make use of Nonstick appe pans too for ease of handling ,cleaning and maintainence.

This time for the 285th week of Foodie Monday blog hop , it was my turn to suggest the theme , and the Paniyram Pan won over hands down against Welcome drinks which was another option I had suggested for voting.  

Come back to my Facebook space and check out the various innovative and lipsmacking recipes dished out by my co bloggers using the paniyram pan .

Traditionally the kuzhi paniyarams or uppu appams are made using fermented batter prepared  with soaked udad dhall and rice or even left over idli batter .  I frequently make paddus with left over idli  batter by adding some vegetables and freshly prepared tempering.  The recipe can be accessed by clicking here .

The sweet variety is  known as Nei Appam or unni appam and is made using rice flour or wheat flour  and jaggery is used for sweetening. 

You must definitely try out Watermelon Nei Appam which I have on my blog . It can be served as a dessert during any special occasion. 

Now a days , lot of varieties are being made using millets , oats , quinoa as well .

We can also  make vadas , sabudana vadas,kothimbir vadis etc to avoid deep frying keep up with healthy lifestyle and relish some guilt free indulgence.   I have tried to make kothimbir vadis too using the appe pan and it was a super hit. The recipe will be posted soon on my blog .

Today's recipe is a protein rich appe made using various lentils. The lentils are soaked and ground to a fine batter along with chillies and curry  leaves,later fried in the appe pan. We can call this a no fried version of Kunukku - a traditional deep fried  South Indian snack ,the recipe which is already on my blog .

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Pinterest link - https://pin.it/4fUESiW

Soaking Time - 45 mins to 1  hr 

Preparation Time - 20mins

Cooking time - 20 min per batch 

Complexity - easy 

Ingredients 

3/4 cup channa dhall /bengal gram dhall /kadalai paruppu

1/4 cup thoor dhall /pigeon peas /thuvaram paruppu 

1/3 cup moong dhall/split yellow lentil

2 tablespoon rice 

2 tablespoon  udad dhall /ulutham paruppu (for softness)

3 to 4 dried red chillies

2 green chillies

1 tablespoon grated fresh coconut 

Salt as needed

Pinch of hing/asafoetida  (skip for gluten free)

10 to 15 curry leaves /kadipatha 

Handful of finely chopped corriander

Oil as needed 

Method 

• Wash the dals and rice multiple times and soak it for 45mins to 1 hr . The water used for soaking should be 1 inch above the dhalls and rice after washing. Soak the dried red chillies also along with the dhalls. This will make the chillies soft and will grind easily. 
• After 45mins, drain the water and add it to a blender along with salt , grated coconut, asafoetida and few curry leaves.  Reserve the balance for adding to the batter .
• Add water little by little and grind to a semi thick batter . The batter has to be smooth and of dosa batter consistency. Only then it will be easy to pour in the appe pan.
• Transfer the batter to a mixing bowl, add in the chopped corriander and curry leaves and mix well . You can add some finely chopped cabbage ,mint leaves or chopped onions also if you like . I have not added. 
• Heat the paniyaram pan and pour tsp of oil in each of the holders and let it heat well 
• Once , the oil is heated slowly pour a small amount of batter into each kuzhi/holder carefully and let it cook nicely from the downside .
• Now with a spoon carefully flip it over and let the other side also turn crispy and golden brown.
• Drain it carefully and repeat another batch until all the batter is over . Serve hot with some chutney or it can be had as is with some piping hot filter coffee or masala tea.

Notes

1. Incase you are unable to prepare paniyaram after soaking, drain the water and keep it in the fridge and you can grind it the next day and make it.
2. Never leave the soaked dals outside as it will ferment and give out a foul smell .
3. You can also grind the batter and keep it in the fridge and use it later for frying . Try to consume within 24hrs as the batter will begin to turn sour and the sour taste may not be liked by all .

Bread Bhajiya | Bread Pakoras

 Bread Pakoras or bread bhajiyas are very famous as street food special across the northern part of India. The snack is filling all by itself that many people have it even as a lunch option if they are pressed for time or have no restaurants close by. 

Bread slices are dipped in gramflour batter which is spiced using red chilli powder , finely chopped chillies and the slices are deep fried in oil.  

Apart from the simple variant, there are many variations like stuffing two slices with potato filling and then deep frying the gram flour coated bread or at times slices are layered with green chutney and sauce and then deep fried

Street food culture basically came into existence to help people especially laborers have some food which can be affordable and they can easily grab a meal as they keep working..but over the time it so happened that Street food became everyone's choice due to various varities , options and tasty choices being made right in front of your eyes and at a pocket friendly price too. 

If you are wondering why am I talking of street food , then let me tell you this week my namesake who blogs at Photowali, suggested we share popular Street food recipes for the 283rd week of FMBH . Priya has shared everyone's favorite Pav Bhaji as part of the theme posting.

Bread or paav is widely used in street foods all over India. Children as well as adults both love to munch on delicacies made using Bread. 

If you are a bread lover like me, then you must definitely check out these special street foods of Bombay which are too hard to resist. 

Mumbai Special Toast sandwich 

Vegetable Cheese Grill Sandwich 

Buttery Paav Bhaji 

The other famous street food delicacies from Mumbai is also on my blog , do try them and I  promise you will be spoilt for choices 😉  . The links are added below here 

Bhelpuri

Pani puri 

Kothimbir Vadi 

Sabudana Vada 

Moong Bhajjiya / Moong Pakoras

Masala Khichiya papad

At home we  like our bread pakoras plain and spicy without any stuffing . I generally make the batter a little spicy by adding some extra chilli powder . The bread slices are either cut into triangles or small squares  , both of them taste equally delicious.  I retain the bread crust and don't cut the edges . These edges when deep fried in oil gives a very nice crunch while we take a bite of the pakora . Sprinkle some chat masala over the bajjiya and serve it with hot masala tea.

Preparation Time- 10 mins

Frying Time - 20 mins

Complexity - simple

Serves - 3 to 4 

Ingredients 

6-7 bread slices 

1 cup gram flour/besan

2 tbsp rice flour

2 tsp red chilli powder 

Salt as needed

1/2 tsp ajwain/carom seeds 

Pinch of asafoetida 

Chat masala to sprinkle.

Oil to deep fry

Method 

• Cut the bread slices in to triangles or small squares the way you like .
• In a wide mixing bowl , add the gram flour , rice flour , salt, chilli powder ,carom seeds and asafoetida with water and make a batter . The batter should be off dropping consistency like that of dosa batter .
• Heat the oil in a deep kadai. 
• Dip these bread slices in the gram flour batter and drop them into the oil carefully. 
• Fry them on medium flame until the oil ceases to sizzle and the bhajiyas are fried to golden brown color and look crisp .
• Drain them on an absorbent paper and serve hot with some green chignrybor tomato sauce with a dash of chat masala sprinkled over .

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Peanut Masala | Warm Peanut Salad - Vegan Salad

Sometime back , I got totally fresh peanuts/groundnuts from my vegetable vendor and it was too tempting to not buy them.  I quickly bought around 1/2kg of it and relived my childhood days by cooking them with some salt and then enjoyed eating them by removing the shell and popping out the peanuts from them .

Some of the boiled peanuts is reserved to make something as the weather in my city is playing a little hide and seek with us . The days are warm while as the evening sets in, it begins to get chill as the cool breeze blows . Such is the time when we start craving for something spicy and sizzling to go along with the evening tea.

 With the fresh groundnuts that I had bought, I made some delicious warm peanut salad or peanut masala as it is called colloquially  . This salad is very filling and healthy too . They can be served as one of the starters or appetisers during any parties .

If you donot have the fresh groundnuts,you can always  soak and boil the store bought raw groundnuts and use them.

Fun facts 

In Bangalore ,it is an annual ritual to have a huge farmer's market called "Kadlekaai Parishe" during the months of November/ December.  It is a 2 day event held in an area called Basavanagudi .Here, one can find cart loads of fresh groundnuts directly from the fields and also some interesting and innovative delicacies made using groundnuts and various other snacks and traditional stuff. 

Preparation Time- 5 mins

Cooking time - nil

Complexity - Simple

Serves - 3 to 4 

Ingredients 

250gms boiled peanuts/groundnuts

1 medium sized cucumber 

2 medium sized tomatoes 

Juice from 1 lemon

Pinch of salt 

Chat masala as needed 

1 finely chopped green chilli

Fresh corriander finely chopped 

Method

• Peel the cucumber and cut them into small cubes 
• De seed the tomatoes and cut into small cubes
• In a large salad bowl , add the boiled peanuts, green chillies cucumber, tomatoes, salt and chat masala and toss it well.
• Lastly garnish with fresh corriander and lemon juice.  
• You may also add some finely chopped onions or boiled corn to the salad .

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