Crispy Corn

This I am sure is a very favorite recipe for all those who have dined at Barbeque Nation outlets in India . Along with the yummy and lavish spread of grilled food menu , this crispy corn is something that I always look up to munching on at barbeque nation.
It is very easy and quick to make at home, with just a few regular ingredients available in our pantry.
Only care to be taken is to be careful while frying the corn as it tends to splutter and burst when put in hot oil.

Preparation Time : 5 mins
Cooking time : 10-15 mins
Complexity : Medium

Base gravy for curries - no onion & garlic

The moment we think of paneer butter masala ,mattar paneer ,malai kofta ,Vegetable makhanwala etc , we can immediately visualise a lovely bright orangish  gravy with the perfect blend of spices and a hint of ginger garlic paste sautéed in tomatoes and onion .

What if I tell you , the same texture and taste can be achieved when you prepare without onion and garlic ?? Cannot believe your eyes ... worry not , I shall present to you the recipe for a basic gravy that you can prepare and modify it into any classic North Indian gravy .

Preparation time : 15 mins
Cooking time : 20 mins
Serves :2-3
Complexity :simple

Hayagreeva Maddi | Hayagreeva - Udupi Mutt Prasadam

Hayagreeva Maddi or Hayagreeva as this sweet is popularly called was offered to Lord Hayagreeva(an Incarnation of Lord Mahavishnu with a horse face) by a very devout devotee daily at the Udupi Mutt.

Hayagreeva maddi or Hayagriva mandi is a traditional offering made especially on Hayagreeva Jayanti . A very easy and a delectable sweet made using Channa dhall / bengal gram and jaggery with some ghee,dry fruits and fresh coconut .

 There is a myth that the Lord in the form of a white Horse would come and partake this Prasadam / Offering . Even to this day, this sweet is offered to the Lord as prasadam daily .

Who is Lord Hayagreeva ?

 Lord Hayagriva  /Hayagreeva is an Incarnation of Lord Vishnu with a horse face. Lord vishnu took this avatar to retrieve the vedas that were stolen by the Asuras / Demons . Haygreeva avatar is a lesser known avatar of lord Mahavishnu and is worshipped for being bestowed upon with good knowledge and intelligence.  Children are taught to pray to Lord Hayagreeva before commencing Education /schooling .

The day on which Lord Vishnu incarnated as Hayagreeva ,it is celebrated as Hayagreeva Jayanti and it is on this day that the Brahmins change their holy sacred thread (poonal) and this festival is known as Avani Avittam . 

Preparation Time : 45 mins
Cooking Time : 20-25 mins
Complexity : easy

Recipe credit - from chef Venkatesh Bhatt on a cooking show 

Ingredients

1 cup channa dhall / bengal gram
3/4 cup or 1 cup jaggery grated
2-3 tablespoon of ghee
1 tablespoon fresh grated coconut
pinch of cardamom / elaichi powder
handful of cashews and raisins

Method

• Wash the bengal gram well and soak it for about 10-15 mins and pressure cook until it becomes soft with a pinch of haldi .
• Mash the dhall coarsely using back of a ladle or a masher. Do not mash it too fine,let there be a few pieces of the dhall to get the bite when you eat the sweet.
• In a wide pan, melt the jaggery with a little water and let it come to a rolling boil. In case of impurities, filter the jaggery syrup using a sieve.
• Add the mashed dhall and coconut gratings to the jaggery syrup and mix it well with 2-3 teaspoons of ghee. 
• Cook the mixture on medium flame by stirring occasionally to prevent burning until it thickens and appears glossy . Turn off the stove.
• Add the cardamom powder, 1 tablespoon ghee along with roasted cashews and raisins and mix well.
• Garnish with some fresh grated coconut and offer it to the lord and enjoy the Prasad.

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Faraali Pattice - Vrat ka khana

Faraali pattice is a very popular Gujarati snack ,specially made for fasting / Vrat . The main ingredient is potato and this is stuffed with a tasty mixture of peanuts, cashews , raisins and fresh grated coconut.

Not necessarily, this has to be made only while you fast, it can be made as a starter to welcome your guests for a party or tea time snack  for a kitty party with your friends and because of the favorite veggie Potato, this surely will be a kid's delight always and will vanish away in no time.

If making this for vrat, make sure to use Shendha Namak / Rock Salt and ArrowRoot powder as binding agent .
On regular days one can use table salt and cornflour/maida for binding.

Preparation Time : 40-45 mins
Cooking Time : 15-20 mins
Serves : Makes about 8 pattice
Complexity : Medium High

Potato Crispies | Crisp Golden Fingers

This is the name I have given for this recipe, you can call it potato fingers, golden crisp potatoes or whatever you like.
I had tasted this in a house warming ceremony of our friend and fell in love with this ever since. I tried to replicate the taste and texture at home and slightly tweaked the recipe to suit our family palate. These crispies can be served as a tea time snack or as a starter for parties and even goes well with Bisi Bele Baath or regular Rasam rice or any kind off variety rice .

Preparation Time : 10 mins
Cooking Time : 20 mins
Complexity : Medium
Serves : 2-3

Pani Puri - The famous street side delicacy

Call them as Pani Puri, Puchka , Golgappas , Gup Chup, Paani k Baatashe are all different names for the same street food snack. These are very popular all over India and are known by various names and vary slightly in taste depending on the Paani ( spiced flavor water) that is used to fill in the small puris .

Some places, it is purely tamarind water with some spices that are used along with some potato stuffing that are used to fill in the puris, while some use boiled black beans (kala channa) + potato stuffing and some tamarind + dates water with spices.

Since,I hail from Mumbai ,  the taste of pani puris is very different there because of the combination of two different types of Paani that are used to fill in the deep fried puris with boiled sprouted moong or plain boondis or ragda as the filling . Ragda is soaked and boiled yellow peas that are mildly flavored with some spices.

The vendors use a Spicy version called as Theekha Paani(spicy green chutney) made using corriander,mint and green chillies and a Sweet and Sour version called as Khatta Meetha Paani made using Dates, Tamarind and little jaggery. There is a very fresh and a palate cleansing flavor that lingers in the mouth after having eaten these water filled little puris . You can adjust the sweet and spice level by increasing / decreasing the quantity of the flavored water that you pour into your puris.

I am presenting both the versions of this paani in this post. You can make them and store in the fridge and use it as and when you like.

Preparation Time : 6 to 8 hrs

Cooking Time - 40 mins

Complexity - easy

Theekha Paani 

Ingredients 

1/2 bunch corriander leaves 

10-12 mint leaves (optional)
3-4 green chillies
1 tsp black salt
1 tsp regular salt
2-3 tsp lemon juice

Method

• In a blender , add in the cleaned corriander leaves, mint leaves, green chillies and some water and blend it well .
• Strain this juice through a strainer and collect only the liquid part and discard the unground part.
• This juice will be very concentrated and spicy. You will have to add water to match your level of spice and then to this add the salt, black salt and lemon juice.
• You can adjust the quantity of salt as per your taste.
• Keep this water for chilling in the fridge and take it just a while before you are going to make pani puris. The chilled water inside the puris tastes heavenly.

Tip :

• Before adding water to the concentrate, take out some of the thick concentrate and keep aside.Incase it gets too diluted you can adjust the spice level by adding this reserve stock.
• If there is no black salt, you can use chat masala , but as far as possible try to use black salt to get the authentic taste.

Khatta Meetha Paani

Ingredients

lemon sized tamarind

8-10 dates - remove the seed or use seedless
2-3 tablespoon powdered jaggery
1-2 tsp roasted jeera powder
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
pinch of salt.

Method

• In a big vessel, add the dates and tamarind with 1/2 cup water and bring to a boil for 5 mins. Let it cool well.
• Put them in a blender and grind it well and sieve it through a strainer.
• To this thick extract, add the jaggery , red chilli powder,salt,jeera powder and about  1 cup water and bring it to a slight boil .
• Dilute the concentrate same as you would do for the theekha paani and use it for making the pani puris.
• Once it cools down, you can refrigerate this paani. 

Tip :

• Before adding water to the concentrate, take out some of the thick concentrate and keep aside.Incase it gets too diluted you can adjust the spice level by adding this reserve stock.

How to make Ragda ? 

• Soak 50gms dried yellow peas or vatana for 8-10 hours .
• Pressure cook the yellow peas in 2 cups of water along with one peeled potato  and little salt and haldi for 7-8 whistles or until mashed well .
• Once the pressure releases , mash the peas and potato well adding some water if needed .
• Heat a little oil in a kadai, splutter jeera and add asafoetida .
• Add in the mashed peas and add 1 cup water along with red chilli powder , 1 tsp garam masala and lots of fresh coriander. 
• Let it boil well until all the flavor infuses into the peas . Adjust water if you feel it is getting thick .
• Lastly add some black salt and turn off the stove.

Serving suggestions

Make hole in the fried puris , add a spoon of this warm ragda, followed by the spicy theekha paani and then the meeta paani ..take the entire puri and stuff into your mouth and relish the burst of flavors .

Note

I have used ready to fry pani puri papads available in super markets.  You can use them or the already fried puris available in stores to make pani puris .

If you are salivating over this post , then don't forget to pin it !! :-)