Tasty tiffins , Tastier snacks!

Onion Diamonds - Perfect tea-time Snack!

Small onions give the best flavour. If not available, use big onions.
Mince fine or grate.

Maida - 1 cup

Grated onions - 1 cup

Green chillies, mince - 1 tbsp

Coriander & curry leaves, minced - 2 tbsp

Hot oil - 4-5 tsp

Salt

Oil - to deep fry

In a big plate take onions & the other minced ingredients.

Add salt & knead well with your palm very well to release all the water from the onions.

Next add hot oil & knead.

Add maida gradually, kneading till you get a stiff dough.

Roll into big chappathis, cut & deep fry.

Add pieces when oil is hot & after 2 mts, simmer the gas.

It will become dark bron on high flame because there is more onions.

Wait till the bubbles stop, remove, cool & store.

 

Oats Adai - Again, inspired by, You Know Who !

Soak for 2 hrs, after washing together


Gram dhal - ½ cup

Tur dhal - ¼ cup

Urad dhal - 1 tbsp

Red chillies - 3,4

After draining, grind to a coarse paste the above with 2-3 green chillies, hing & salt.

Add


Oats - 1 cup (without soaking)

Give one run, just to blend them thoroughly.

Make adais immediately, using very little oil.

Serve with any side-dish of your choice.

 

Cheese Puris - deliciously different!

Wheat flour - 75 gms

Maida - 75 gms

Potatoes - 150 gms

Onion - 50 gms

Ginger - 1”

Green chillies - 2

Lime juice - 2-3 tsp

Cheese - 50 gms

Ghee - 1 tsp to rub

Salt

Oil - to fry

Boil, peel & mash potatoes.

Chop onion, green chillies and ginger fine.

Heat 2 tsp oil & sauté onion.

Add remaining ingredients, salt & lime juice to taste.

Mix well & remove.

Add grated cheese & mix with sieved flours.

Knead with water to a stiff dough.

Knead well till smooth.

Set aside for 30 tmts.

Roll into 3” diameter puris & deep fry in hot oil.

Makes 30 no:s.

Serve with any sabji or as a plain snack.

 

Patnam Bakoda - as it is “fondly” known as, in Madurai!

For sbs photos, please go to
http://www.indusladies.com/forums/967796-post26.html

This is a famous dish in a leading restaurant in Madurai & my most favourite as well!
I tried this recipe by various combinations, by the trial and error methods and arrived at the right one.
This is ideal to give for navarathri.

Fresh besan - 1 cup

Cooking soda - ¼ tsp

Ghee - 3 tsp (or 4, is better)

Minced green chillies, ginger & curry leaves - each 2 tsp

Chopped cashews - 2 tbsp

Salt

Oil - to deep fry

In a big plate, take ghee, soda & salt & rub vigorously with your palm to get a paste. This step is very important.

Add minced ingredients, cashew & knead well.

Add besan & mix thoroughly.

Add water little by little till you get a soft ball.


Form small balls and deep fry till golden in hot oil.

Serve with chutney.

Can be served in individual cups, as a snack.

 

Khasta Kachori – yet another, less common chat ! -1

For SBS photos, please go to
http://www.indusladies.com/forums/968250-post27.html

Outer covering:

Maida - 2 cups

Warm ghee - ¼ cup

Cold water, salt

Rub ghee in maida till beadcrumb consistency.

Add salt, cold water & knead to a soft but tight dough.

I did this in the food processor.

Keep covered with damp cloth.

Filling:

Moong dhal - ½ cup

Oil - 2 tbsp

Jeera - 1 tsp

Hing - ½ tsp

Garam masala - ½ tsp

Dhaniya powder - 2 tsp

Chilli powder - 1 tsp

Saunf powder - 2 tsp (optional)

Amchur - 2 tsp

Salt

To serve:

Sweet chutney, green chutney, sev, coriander leaves, jeera powder

Soak moong dhal in water fir 1 hr .

Drain & grind to a thick paste.

Heat oil, fry jeera, add paste & all masalas.

Saute till dry.
Divide dough & filling into equal no” of portions.


Roll each part of the dough into the circle of 50 mm (2") diameter.


Keep one part of the filling mixture in the centre of the rolled dough circle.


Cover the filling mixture with the dough by slowly stretching it over the filling mixture.



Close the ends tightly by pinching them together and if necessary, remove the excess dough.


Roll each part into a circle of 62 mm. (2½") diameter.

Also make sure that the filling does not spill out.


To be continued.....

 

Khasta Kachori - 2

For SBS photos,please go to http://www.indusladies.com/forums/968255-post28.html

Lightly press the centre of the kachori with a thumb.

Deep fry in a hot oil over a slow flame till they puff up and turns golden brown on both sides.

This will take 3,4 mts on first side & 3,4 mts on second side.

They should become quite crisp.

Cool and keep aside. This can be served, as such, for tea.


To serve:

Keep one kachori on a plate.


Spread on it 3 to 4 tbsp of the beaten curds.


Put the green chutney, date chutney, chilli powder, jeera powder, salt and sev
on the top of the kachori.


Sprinkle sev on top.

 

Vegetable Vadai - why not try this for Sarasvathi Puja?

Vegetables like cabbage, carrot, peas, french beans, tender avarakkai, temder brinjals can be used.

Very finely chopped vegetables - 2 cups

Medium potatoes - 3 (boil, peel & mash)

Besan - 1 cup

Rice flour - ½ cup

Salt

Oil - to fry

Grind together:

Green chillies - 7,8 ( or to taste)

Coriander leaves, chopped - ½ cup

Knead all ingredients together, adding just sufficient water to form a dough.

Pat into vadais & deep fry in hot oil to golden brown.

 

Kara Thenkuzal - ideal “karam” for deepavali!

This can be made with store-bought flours. Sieve very well befor using them.

Rice flour - 4 cups

Besan - 1 cup

Chilli powder - 2 tsp

Salt, hing

Oil - to deep fry

Butter - refer to Tips for Savouries

Knead the dough as usual and press in the thenkuzal press in hot oil.

Deep fry, cool and store airtight.

 

3 in 1 thattai - very easy to make!

Maida, wheat flour, besan - each 1 cup

Butter - as given in Tips for Savouries

Salt, red chilli, powder, hing

Oil - to deep fry

Knead as given.

Roll into chappathis, cut into rounds with a biscuit cutter & deep fry in hot oil.

 

Channa Dhal Crispies - Easy to make, crunchy and tasty!

For SBS photos,please go to http://www.indusladies.com/forums/968262-post29.html

This is very famous in all "bakshana kadais" (snack-shops) in Madurai & called "Nei kadalai".

Channa dhal - 1 cup

Small cashew pieces - 2 tbsp

Curry leaes - few

Salt, red chilli powder, hing

Oil - to deep fry

For this, a strainer with a handle and whch will sit inside a kadai is very essential. Please go to
Oil-Draining Ladles


Small batches can be immersed in the strainer, inside the oil and deep fried. There is no waste of dhal, scattered in the oil.

Wash well & soak the channa dhal in plenty of water for 4 hrs.

Drain completely & dry in a cloth in shade for 2 hrs.

Heat oil & deep fry in batches of ¼ cup at a time, keeping the strainer in hot oil.

When well fried & light brown, remove to a tissue.
Finally, deep fry cashews & curry leaves the same way.
When the fried dhal is still hot, add 1 tsp melted ghee, red chilli powder, salt & hing.

Mix thoroughly, cool & store airtight.