Vegetable Samosa

Samosas are always special and its favorite snack for most of us, it’s a perfect snack for a tea time. I love samosas and whenever I have it I thought the making would be tedious because of its structure and taste, and even when I start making it, I was little confused if I get the shape. I was surprised when I saw them perfect and it was very simple to make as well. The taste of samosa is ranked only by its stuffing. The stuffing is made in different types as some uses potato and some only with the peas and other vegetables. I have given few snaps for you to understand the rolling process which may help you to make it simple. 

I used the all-purpose flour for the outer cover, and just rolled it, but some people use to toast in a pan slightly the rolled dough. This process is not mandatory, it’s your choice if you want to toast or using it plainly. The toasting would make the samosa very crisp. I skipped doing it as I am not that fond of making the samosas crispy. It’s a fried or baked pastry with savory filling, such as spiced potatoes, onions, peas, lentils and sometimes ground beef or ground chicken. In Kerala most of the bakeries will have the beef or chicken as the stuffing. I wish you to get it perfect and enjoy your tea time :)
 

Ingredients:
 
For Stuffing:

• Potato- 2 Medium
• Peas (frozen)- ¼ cup
• Onion sliced- 1 Nos
• Green chilies- 1 sliced
• Grated ginger- ¼ Tspn
• Garam Masala- 1 Tspn
• Turmeric Powder- ¼ Tspn
• Coriander Powder- 1 Tspn
• Curry Leaves- few
• Coriander leaves- few chopped
• Salt- To Taste

For Outer Layer:

• Maida/All Purpose flour-1 Cup
• Oil- To deep fry
• Salt- To Taste

Method:
 
For Stuffing:

• Cook the potatoes separately in a pressure cooker for 2 whistles, after it set cool peel the skin and smudge the potatoes and keep aside.
• In a frying pan, pour oil, add the curry leaves, ginger and onion and sauté until it becomes translucent.
• Add the peas and sauté for 2 minutes add, garam masala, coriander powder, turmeric powder and salt and sauté until the masala smell goes from it.
• Lower the flame and add the smashed potatoes and stir well to combine everything.
• Add the chopped coriander leaves and set aside.

For Outer Layer:

• Make dough by adding water little by little to the all-purpose flour and set aside for about 10 minutes wrapping with a thin cover.
• Start working with the dough as shown in the below making pictures.

• In the hot oil, deep fry the stuffed samosas and transfer to a paper towel to remove excess oil.

Tips:

"If you are not using the frozen peas, soak overnight and cook it separately before you make the stuffing.

Do not compromise on the coriander leaves s it gives a nice flavor to the stuffing.

If you do not use the potatoes add other vegetables such as carrot and peas and you can add lentils as well."

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Kerala Special Fish Tapioca Cutlet

I know you may wonder I am posting lot of tapioca recipes in my blog, the reason being its used most often in Kerala families and its absolutely tasteful in anything you make with, but this recipe is something you will definitely love to have many, as its made of both the fish as well as the tapioca. You could use any type of fish for it. The process is very simple except removing the skin from the tapioca and cutting it into pieces, however if you don’t need tapioca in it, you could ignore using it and make with just the fish.

Cutlets are mostly liked by most of them, and even kids love it, if made it with less spice. Cutlets are common recipe, and fish cutlet is little more common however, just think of a fish and tapioca together in a cutlet. . Sounds interesting rite..yes we are using tapiocas to it, it gives a wonderful taste just like the potatoes in the veg cutlet. This delicious cutlet can be served as a patty or eaten as an appetizer or as a substantial meal; with no further delay here you go with the making :)

Ingredients:

• Any Fish (boiled and bones/skin removed) Shredded- 1 ½ Cup
• Tapioca- 1 Medium (skin removed and cut into medium size pieces)
• Onion- 1 finely chopped
• Ginger- a small pices finely minced
• Garlic-2-3 pods chopped
• Green Chilies- 3 Nos Chopped finely
• Chili Powder- 1 Tspn
• Turmeric Powder- ¼ Tspn
• Coriander Powder- 1 Tspn
• Pepper Powder- ½ Tspn
• Garam Masala- 1 Tspn
• Chopped curry leaves- few
• Bread Crumbs- 1 Cup
• Mustard Seeds- few
• Cumin Seeds- few
• Salt- To Taste
• Oil- To Deep Fry

Method:

• In a pressure cooker, add the tapioca and 1 cup of water and cook for 3 whistles.
• After its cooked well, smash it all together just like how you smash potatoes and keep separate.
• In a pan, pour oil, add the mustard,cumin seeds,chopped curry leaves and sauté.
• Add the chopped ginger, garlic, green chilies and sauté again for 2 minutes.
• Add the onions to it and sauté well until it becomes translucent.
• Add all the powders mentioned in the ingredients and salt and sauté again.
• After the masala smell goes from it, add the shredded fish to it and sauté again.
• Bring to low flame and add the smashed tapioca and mix everything well.
• After it sets cool, make shape out of it (your desired shape either as round, heart or oval), dip into the egg and spread the bread crumbs on the both sides and deep fry it until both the sides turns golden brown.

Tips:

"If you are finding hard to mix the smashed tapioca with the fish ingredient, switch off the flame, let it become cool and then mix it by hand.

Adjust the spice level as per your spicy level.

Oil should be medium hot when you drop the cutlets else it will darken the cutlets.

As I said it’s your choice, if you need just the fish cutlet you could ignore adding the tapioca to it.

You can make it with any fish variety but look for fishes in which bones can be easily removed, fishes like sardines may give little difficulty as it may have small bones which are not easy to remove."

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Sakarai Pongal

Here comes the trademark recipe for Pongal celebration. It doesn’t need anything to describe and no introduction needed. Though the recipe sounds to be a simple one, to get the exact taste is the biggest challenge. Say, the one you get from the temples differs from the one prepared at home. I tried making it several times, however sometimes it doesn’t turns good taste, but this time when I tried I got the best taste and we had a perfect pongal celebration as well.

Though at my home we never celebrated Pongal like how the Tamil people does, my Amma makes pongal at the early morning at the sunrise.. As it’s a day to worship the sun.The one I have presented here is the Temple version, the adding of milk makes the difference. I wish all my readers a very happy pongal :)
 

Ingredients:

• Raw Rice: 1 Cup
• Moong Dal- 4 Tspn
• Jaggery- 1 Cup
• Milk- 1/4 Cup
• Cardamom Powdered- 2 Tspn
• Cashews- few
• Raisins-Few
• Nutmeg Powder- a pinch
• Edible Camphor- a pinch (optional)
• Ghee- 5 Tspn

Method:

• In a pan, add ¼ tspn of ghee , add the moong dal and fry it till golden brown.
• Pressure cook the dal and the rice for 4 whistles along with 3 cups of water and keep aside.
• Add the powdered cardamom,nutmeg powder and mix well with a ladle.
• With medium flame melt the jaggery with little water and make a syrup out of it and keep it separate.
• Pour the jaggery syrup to the rice and mix well
• In a separate pan add ghee roast the cashews,raisins and pour it to the rice and give a stir.

 

Tips:

"Jaggery syrup is not needed to be very thick; if you keep it in the medium flame for 10 minutes will be fine.

Adding milk is optional, however it’s the secret to get the temple version’s pongal :)"

 

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Kozhikaal / Tapioca Fritters - A Pure Vegetarian Snack!!!

I know you may get confused by the title. Let me make it clear, it’s a 100% vegetarian snack which got the name as “Kozhikaal” just because of its appearance. If you are from Thalassery I don’t want to say much as I am very sure that would have known and tasted it. Yes, this is an authentic Kerala recipe from the region of Thalasseri. You can find this if you go to any beach sides there. Thalassery is not just the hub of spices but also different Malabar recipes, I would say if you want to taste the right Malabar authentic dishes this is a right place for you.

One among those recipes is the kozhikaal, I know anyone will think that it’s made out of chicken legs; however it’s a very easy snack which is prepared out of tapioca. It’s a same recipe like the banana fritters but there are little more ingredients to add in it. For the making, slice the tapioca as thin for about 5 cm lengths. It tastes absolutely great when served with hot tea in a rainy evening!! :) Here you go with the making of it from the Paris of Kerala- Thalasseri recipe :)
 

Ingredients:

• Tapioca- 1 Medium size( sliced as thin pieces)
• Besan Powder- 5 Tspn
• Fine Rice powder- 3 Tspn
• Asafetida powder- 1 ½ Tspn
• Kashmiri Chilli Powder- 2 Tspn
• Green chilies sliced- 1
• Onion- 1 medium finely chopped
• Curry Leaves- Few
• Cumin Seeds- ½ Tspn
• Salt- As needed
• Coconut Oil- To Fry

Method:

• Make a thick batter out of all the ingredients.
• Grab 3-4 slices of tapioca pieces together, dip into the batter and fry it until it turns crispy.
• Transfer to a paper towel and serve hot.

Tips:

"You can add cumin as powder as well as it gives you an extra taste.

Adjust the chili powder as per your spice level."

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Kara Sev

I know most of you would have done with all your sweet preparation, how fun it would be to spending time with family friends, sharing sweets, oil bath, crackers :) I really miss my family.. wish I could make it atleast next year.. this post is for someone who still looking to prepare some snacks..Kara sev is the most easiest snack to make and it’s a favourite for most of the people.

My Amma likes kara sev very much and she was much surprised when she heard that I made it rite. Those days they use to make kara sev out of the big ladle holes, but I just tried making it by the three hole idiyappam press which I have which made my job very easy as well. Store the kara sev in a air tight container so that the pepper and asafetida will mix up well and gives a good flavor to it. Here you go with the making. I wish all my readers a very happy diwali :)
 

Ingredients:

• Gram Flour- 1 Cup
• Rice Flour- ¾ Cup
• Turmeric Piwder- a pinch
• Asafoetida- ¼ Tspn
• Cumin Seeds- ¼ Tspn
• Pepper grinded coarsely-1/2 Tspn
• Salt- To Taste
• Butter- 2 Tspn
• Oil- For Frying

Method:

• Melt butter and mix with all the powders with enough water and to make a stiff dough.
• With the help of three hole muruku press gently the dough into the hot oil.

Tips:

"Make the dough stiff, as if its loose, it may not come out properly from the hole."

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Pazham Pradhaman / Banana Payasam

Happy Onam to all my readers. Hope you all are having good times with your family :) You may wonder about the picture, it was a just a time pass painting which I made.. thought of clicking a picture of it with my recipe :).Here I come back with the yet another Onam special recipe “Pazham Pradhaman” - Banana Payasam. Onam is not complete with Sadya and Sadya is not complete unless it ends with a tasty payisam. This is my payisam from my Amma’s cookbook after my Chakka Varatti Payasam 

The variety of payisam is the highlight recipe among the entire Kerala cuisines. The kerala banana and the coconut is the asset of making any Kerala sweet recipes. Today I prepared the pradhaman with my Amma’s oral instruction, I wasn’t so sure about the taste when I started doing it.But was surprised and felt so proud when my BF just loved it.. Hope you will also enjoy making it. 




Ingredients:

• Ripe Bananas(Kerala Banana)- 2 Large
• Jaggery- 1 Cup
• Coconut Thick Milk(1st milk)- 1 Cup
• Coconut Thin Milk(2nd Milk)- 1 Cup
• Pearl Sago(sabudana)- 1 Cup
• Coconut pieces- half Cup
• Cashews/Raisins- Few
• Powdered Cardomom- Few
• Ghee- 3 Tspn

Method:

• Steam cook the banana until its baked well, smash it and keep aside.
• Soak the Sago for atleast 3 hours, pressure cook it for a whistle and keep aside.
• In a heavy bottomed pan, add ghee, when it heats up, add the smashed baked banana and sauté well until the banana melts and nicely cooked(sauté for 5 minutes approx).
• Add the jaggery to the banana and sauté again, until it melts well and completely mixed with the banana.
• Add the coconut 2nd milk to it and heats up, until the mixture gets thick(approx for 5-10 minutes).
• After it becomes thick, add the coconut thick milk(1st milk) and boil it again (approx for 3 minutes).
• Add the cooked sago/sabudana to it and boil it again for 2 minutes.
• In a separate pan, add ghee, and when it heats up add the coconut pieces, cashew and raisins and sauté until it becomes brown.
• Add the cashews to the payisam and stir well.
• Add the powdered cardamom to it and give a stir again.

Tips:

"The exact taste comes only if you use the kerala bananas.

You could adjust the jaggery if you want to reduce or increase the sweet."

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Tapioca Vada

My all time favourite is Tapioca called as Kappa/Maricheeni in Malayalam and Maravalli Kilangu in Tamil. As already I have given the nutritious facts of tapioca in my Tapioca Sweet pancake post skipping to the recipe.

This is a unique recipe prepared in Tamli nadu and the easiest part in it is doesn’t involves with any grinding part and no extra effort is needed like making the normal vada and it tastes great while chewing it. Here is my marichini vada/Maravalli kilangu vadai for you :)

Ingredients:

• Tapioca- Half Lb or 1 Small
• Small Onions(Cut into small pieces)- 10 Nos
• Green Chillies- 5 Nos
• Rice Flour- 2 Tspn
• Besan flour- 1/2 Cup
• Ginger pieces-Few
• Curry Leaves- a Bunch
• Pepper Seeds- 2 Tspn
• Cumin Seeds- 1 Tspn
• Asafetida- Half Tspn
• Salt- To Taste
• Oil- To Fry

Method:

• Cut into pieces and wash the tapioca and pressure cook the tapioca for a whistle.(It should be not fully baked)
• Smash the half baked tapioca and keep aside.
• Add the cut onions,ginger and green chillies along with other ingredients to the smashed tapioca and mix well.
• Try making the vada shape and drop slowly into the hot oil.
• Flip both the sides and set into the paper towel to remove the excess oil in it.

 

Tips:

"As it does not mixed with any other flours it may not turn out with a good shape.

You can also add few powdered channa dal to the vada to make the vada thicker."

Tapioca should not be over baked, as it may separate from oil when frying it, so baking it just for 5 minutes will suffice.

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Banana Walnut Shortbread with Choco chips

This is one of my favourite shortbread as often seen at Starbucks!. Thought to make on my own the same cake and fortunately Minu’s Kitchen done it very well too :) Here comes very easy and simple but delicious banana walnut shortbread with choco chips in it. I said it’s easy to make as it doesn’t need any electric mixer to make the dough and it can be done only by mixing the proper measurement of the ingredients and even it involves all the basic ingredients and doesn’t involves with any special requirements.
 

It taste great with coffee and you can store in refrigerator and have it. You could also exclude the Chocó chips if you don’t like in it or you don’t get it. If you are a banana lover I bet you would definitely like this shortbread. The only simple requirement to make this shortbread is just to use ripened bananas.
 

Ingredients:

• Butter- 1 Cup
• Eggs- 2
• Sugar-3/4 Cup
• Vanilla Extract- 1 Tspn
• All Purpose flour/Maida- 1 1/2 Cups
• Salt- a Pinch
• Ripe bananas- 3 Large
• Choco chips and walnuts- half Cup
• Baking powder- 1 Tspn
• Baking soda-a Pinch

 

Initial Specification:

Temperature:350 Degrees F(180 Degree C)
Time:50-60 Minutes
Pan Used: a 9 x 5 x 3 inch (23 x 13 x 8 cm) loaf pan(Butter it and keep it for a while)

Method:

• Smash the bananas and keep aside.(Step 1)
• Melt the butter and let it cool for sometime
• Fry the walnut for 1 minute in stove just to remove the raw taste from it and mix with the chocolate chip and keep aside .(Step 2)
• Mix well the flour,sugar,salt,baking powder and baking soda and keep separate(Step 3)
• Mix the roasted walnut and the choclate chip to it .(Step 4)
• Add the eggs to the smashed banana .(Step 5)
• Mix and beat a little smashed bananas,butter,eggs and vanilla extract well and keep aside. (Step 6)
• Mix both both the dry and the liquid ingredients together well with a ladle(Step 7 and 8)
• Pour the dough to the pan and set into the oven with the above mentioned initial specifications (Step 9).
• Bake until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean completely, transfer to the wire rack to set it cool (Step 10)

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Elai Appam

Elai appam is a recipe made out of chakka varatti. This is very easy to make and made out of banana leaves that’s why it’s called so. Before started doing this the vital part is you need to do set the banana leaves flexible as it may not get folded and it may get tear at the sides of the leaves so to avoid Keep a leaf at a time on the gas flame for few seconds, flipping and turning the leaf so that the leaf is slightly wilted. This step helps in making the parcel easy. Care should be taken as showing directly to the flame may burn the leaves. Doing this, the leaves will turn dark and flexible.

 

Ingredients:

• Chakka Varati/Jack fruit jam- 4-5 Tspn
• Coconut shredded- half Cup
• Rice flour-half Cup
• All purpose flour/Maida-Half Cup
• Salt- ¼ Tspn

Method:

• Mix the chakka varati and the coconut and keep aside(this is the filling used)
• Cut the wilted banana leaves (as stated above) to big square shape and keep aside.
• Make dough of rice flour, salt and Maida adding little water and keep aside.
• In the wilted leaves, spread the ghee and gently press the dough and make a circle.
• In center of the circle keep a scoop of the filling and press gently for a small circle.
• Fold the leaves like a parcel.
• Keep the parceled leaves into the idly cooker and bake it for about 20 minutes.

 

Tips:

"The dough should be loose so that it spreads easily into the leaves.

Care should be taken while folding the leaves, so it’s better to pack loosely and transfer immediately into the cooker.

While making the dough touch wet your palms with water often so that it wont stick into your hands."

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Pazham Pori / Ethakka Appam / Banana Fritters

It’s a Stamp of all kerala snacks. I don’t think not much words are needed to explain this snack more!! Where ever you go in any tea shops in kerala you can find this served with hot tea. This is a snack which my Amma makes for me ever since from my child hood. Most of the non-keralites also may know about this snack as it is quite famous in other states too. For a perfect result, you need use with bananas with max sweet and also with the coconut oil. It’s purely simple and taste heavenly. Here you go with the making method. 



Ingredients:

• Ethapazham / Nenthram pazham / Ripe plaintain – 1 Nos
• Baking Soda-a pinch
• Maida/All purpose flour-5 Tspn
• Rice Flour-2 Tspn
• Sugar-2 Tspn
• Turmeric Powder-1/4 Tspn
• Coconut Oil- To Deep Fry

Method:

• Mix all the ingredients with little water and make loose dough.
• Dip the banana into this dough and drop into the hot oil.
• Flip both the sides until the color changes and transfer to paper towel to remove the excess oil.

Tips:

"Adding rice flour is optional but you can add it if you need it more crispy

You can fry it in normal oil also, but it comes out well when cooked with coconut oil"

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Onion Bonda/Vada

I never thought making a onion bonda or vada would be this easy. Its just like a readymade food and involves no process of draining the rice for hours nor a lengthy process as well. It goes well with coconut chutney and best for a Tea Time . It’s the most important and often seen cuisine in most of the Indian Tea shops.

Ingredients:

• Gram Flour/Kadala Maavu- 100 Grams
• Rice Flour- 2 Tspn
• Rava- Half Tspn(Optional)
• Onion- 1 Large(Cut to lengthy pieces)
• Green Chillies- 2 Nos
• Curry Leaves- 10 Nos(Optional)
• Coriander leaves- 10 Nos
• Asafetida- Half Tspn
• Salt- To taste
• Oil- To Fry

Method:

Mix all the ingredients by adding water and mix well.

Deep fry it in hot oil by flipping it both the sides and transfer it to a paper towel and set dry.

Tips:

"Adding curry leaves is optional.

Adding rava is also optional but it turns the vada to crispy.

You can add a little of baking powder if you want even more crispy."

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Masala Vadai

A cup of Tea and masala vada cant be replaced with anything to eat while raining outside. During Winter at evening times,my bf will be very desperate to reach home early from office as he knows i would ve prepared it.It goes well with coconut chutney. I like Rasa vada more than masala vada as my mom makes "Rasa Vada". Rasa vada is made out of masala vada immersed into hot rasam for an hour, the taste is awesome and i love that with hot idly.

Ingredients:

• Rava/Sooji-1 Tspn
• Onion-1 (Finely Chopped)
• Green Chillies-4 Nos
• asafoetida- half tspn
• Fennel Seeds- half Tspn
• Ginger- 1 Small pieces 
• Garlic- 5 Small nos

Method:

Soak Channa dal atleast for 5 hours, drain completly the water and grind it not fine mixture, and not very rough too.
You will get the mixture if you grind it without adding much water.

Grind ginger,garlic,green chillies coarsely.

Now, mix the ginger garlic mixture with the channa dal,add finely chopped onion,asafoetida,fennel seeds,rava.Make the mixture as
Vada shape and keep aside.

Deep fry in hot oil and flip both the sides, until it becomes golden brown and transfer it to the paper towel.

Tips:

"Adding rava will make the vada crispy and good taste and its optional too.

Oil should very hot while dropping the vada into it, else it will get seperated from the oil.

You can add a pinch of baking soda as well if you need to make it more crispy.

As i mentioned above, if you want rasa vada, you can make masala vada and immerse in hot rasam for atleast half an hour."

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Ribbon Pakkoda

Ribbon Pakkoda is famous in Tamilnadu made in most of the festivals at home, and the idea of making this came from my MIL as she calls this as Ola Pakkoda. It’s very easy to prepare and kids usually love this as it’s not spicy and it is crunchy like chips.

Ingredients:

• Rice Flour – 2 cups
• Gram Flour (Kadala Mavuu) – 1 cup
• Pepper (Coursed) – 1 Tspn
• Butter – 2 Tspn
• Salt – To taste
• Asafetida – 1 Tspn
• Oil – to deep fry

Method:

Mix rice, gram flour, pepper, butter, salt and Asafetida with little water

Add water little by little and make non-sticky dough (just like how you make for poori)

Press the dough through the muruku press and push gently to the boiling oil in the vessel.

Deep fry it. Let it be in the oil for a minute and transfer it to paper towel and dry out excess oil.

Tips:

"Water should be added little by little, as excess water will spoil your dough and it may not come out from 
the muruku press.

Pepper should be course texture, as it well tastes better.

You can add red chilli powder instead of pepper."

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