Alu Bonda (Alu Pakora)

This is an all time favourite snack, again more seen in the south Indian areas than north, but regardless - it tastes great. It's also a great way to use up any left over potato stir fry, or pani puri stuffing or dry alu korma. The placement and decoration credit goes to Jyotsna who changed my mind from not posting this photo to posting it and decorating it :)

Ingredients:
For batter:
1 cup besan (gram flour)
pinch of salt
pinch of baking soda
1 tsp red chilli powder
1 tsp cumin powder
For filling:
3 medium sized potatoes
1/2 onion chopped finely
1 tsp crushed ginger
1 tsp cumin powder
1/2 tsp coriander powder
2 green chillies cut in small pieces

Preparation:
Boil the potatoes until done.
In a pan, heat 1 tbsp of oil, add the onions, green chillies and ginger.
Stir until onions turn slight golden.
Add the potatoes, cumin and coriander powder and salt to taste.
Stir for 5 minutes on medium heat.
Once done, let the mixture cool down.
On another deep frying pan, add oil and heat. A good test to check the temperature is to drop one small drop of the batter and see if it immediately floats. If the oil is not ready, it will just touch the bottom and not cause the same reaction.
Prepare the batter by mixing all ingredients mentioned above to a thick consistency.
Make small balls out of the potato mixture, dip these balls in the batter and fry.

Serve with coriander chutney or just onions and lime.

Mirapakaya Bajji (Stuffed pepper pakora)

This is a mouth-watering dish mostly prevalent in Andhra Pradesh (Vijayawada, Guntur & neighbouring areas). The very mention of this dish makes me feel nostalgic of my college days - our most loved evening snack! I am sure many of those are reading this post know what I am talking about :)
This past sunday, my husband and I went to a friend's (Raji & Krishna) place to watch the 2 playoff games on TV, and this whole cooking session became a discussion of the different ways to make the filling etc. Will try out the other suggestions and post as variations later..

Ingredients(serves 6):
8 Anaheim peppers
For batter:
1 cup besan
2 tbsp cornflour (for crisp-factor)
1 tbsp cumin+coriander powder
1/2 tsp salt or to taste
a pinch of baking soda

For the filling:
3 tbsp white til(nuvvulu) - powdered.
1 tsp amchur
1 tsp cumin+coriander powder
pinch of salt

Preparation:
Mix the contents of the batter to a thick consistency (kinda like the pancake mix). Don't thin it down too much, else it wont stick to the peppers.
Mix the contents of the filling in a small bowl.
Slit the peppers on one side like a pocket, and spoon in the filling in all the peppers.
Heat peanut oil in a frying pan.
Dip the stuffed peppers in the batter, cover all sides.
Place them one by one in the frying pan.
Don't turn to the other side until the bottom side is completely done.
Pat with paper towels to get off extra oil, once you take them out.

Serving suggestion:
Cut into bite size pieces and sprinkle some chat masala on the pieces.
Cut the red onion into small pieces, and sprinkle 1 whole lemon.
Eat the bajji pieces with a nice helping of onions & lime squeeze.
mmm...delicious!!

Cauliflower and Peas Stir Fry (Gobhi Matar Masala)

Cauliflower is a vegetable I have seen mostly popular in Northern part of India, some parts in East and West too. Though not as popular in the south, I still see most restaurants serving cauliflower based dishes.

Ingrediants (serves 3)
1 Cauliflower
1/2 cup green peas
1/2 red onion
1 tbsp ginger garlic paste
3 green chillies
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp red chilli powder
Tadka/Chonk/Popu:
2 tsp cumin, 1 tsp black mustard seeds, 5 curry leaves

Cut cauliflower into desired shapes.
Chop a medium size onion into thin slices.
In a pan, add some oil, heat it. Tip: Dont let the oil heat up too much..
Once oil is mildly hot, add the tadka materials and let them pop.
Add the onions and green chillies, stir until onions are golden brown.
Add ginger garlic paste if available, else skip this step.
Stir for a minute.
Add the cauliflower pieces, mix it up once and then onwards mix it every 2 mins. No need to continuously stir it, it will break up the cauliflower so it doesnt remain a full slower anymore.
I usually dont cover with a lid, as again I dont want too much moisture to be trapped inside which makes the cauliflower break up.
After 10 mins, add the peas.
Sprinkle turmeric, chilli powder and stir.
Sprinkle 1/2 tbsp coriander(dhaniya) powder OR for a stronger flavour, sprinkle 1 tbsp garam masal powder instead.
Salt to taste.
Mix it up, cook until cauliflower is slight browned on some sides.
Stir every 2-3 mins on medium to high heat until cooked.

Total preparation time: 25-30 minutes.

Serve hot with parathas or rice.

Beerakaya Thokku Pachadi

This is a great quick recipe that hardly needs any preparation and tastes delicious with idlis or hot rice+ghee! What more, it's a good source of fiber too. So whenever you make anything with the turai, save the chilka/skins for this chutney.

Ingredients (serves 2-3):
Beerakaya thokku from 2 large beerakaya (comes to approximately 2 cups)
1 tsp of tamarind paste (I always prefer using fresh tamarind pulp for these kinds of recipes for that extra zing, but it's really up to you and how time you have in hand)
1 tsp chana dal
4 dry red chillies
Chonk/Popu materials
1/4 cup onions
4 garlic cloves peeled and cut
Salt to taste

Preparation:
Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a pan.
Add the popu ingredients (mustard seeds, cumin seeds, curry leaves).
Add the red chillies, chana dal and garlic, stir.
Add the onions and stir until onions turn slight brown and let go of the moisture.
Add the beerakaya thokku and stir for 5 mins.
Empty contents into a plate and let them cool down.
In a blender, add the cooled contents from the pan, some water and tamarind paste.
Blend to a smooth consistency.

Serving suggestion:
Best with hot rice and ghee!

Turai Sabzi (Beerakaya Kura)

This is one of my favourite vegetables, very simple to make and the flavour is amazing when cooked with garlic. So for all the garlic lovers, this is a treat! Imagine hot rice and a side of this vegetable.. its just mouth watering !;)

Ingredients(serves 2-3):
2 long Turai peeled off and cut into small pieces (save the skins for beerakaya thokky pachadi - yummy!)
1/2 medium sized red onion chopped
5 garlic cloves peeled and chopped
2 green chilles
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp cumin powder
Chonk/Popu for seasoning (Mustard seeds, cumin seeds, curry leaves, urad dal)

Preparation:
In a pan, heat 1 tbsp of peanut oil/vegetable oil.
Add the chonk ingredients, garlic and onions.
Stir until onions are light-brown.
Mix in the Turai, turmeric powder and cumin powder.
Stir until the turai is rid of all water and is very slightly browned.

Serve with hot rice and enjoy!

Breakfast Taco

Austin is THE place for some amazing breakfast spots.. and living in Texas, one cannot avoid tex-mex food. Mahesh and I sometimes just love to drive to Taco deli and get a breakfast taco with their Salsa Dona as the sauce.
When we don't feel like driving first thing in the morning, this is how we make it at home.

Ingredients (serves 4):
3 eggs scrambled
1 can of black beans mashed
1 small packet of instant garlic mashed potatoes
Salsa (medium hot or hot - your preference)
Flour tortillas

Preparation:
Empty the contents of beans on a hot pan, add a pinch of paprika
Optional: 1 tsp cayenne pepper to add some spice
Stir until hot, may need to add 2-3 tbsp of water
Prepare the garlic mashed potatoes according to the packet instructions

Heat a tortilla on a pan on both sides.
Add a layer of beans, potatoes and eggs.
Add salsa and enjoy your yummy taco!

Garlic Herb Pasta with Chicken and Shrimp

After coming back from work, sometimes I just don't feel like reaching out for the cutting board and start chopping.. And that's when I reach out for the IQF(Individual Quick Freeze) based frozen goods. One issue to solve though is to cook them in a manner that just gives it a made fresh from scratch taste and suits our respective taste buds. Mine and my husband's taste preferences are lots of flavour and spice, so my recipes are all full of both elements ;)
This is one of my favourites!

Ingredients:
1 packet of frozen "Penne pasta with chicken, shrimp and garlic herb sauce" (The brand I like is 'Viola' however go down the isle of frozen meals and pick up any packet that refers to a pasta meal with garlic herb sauce and if you follow the instructions below, you will most certainly get good results.)
1 chicken breast cooked & seasoned (again - look for this in the frozen foods, this is one thing you can very quickly get used to, and will love it forever!)
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried rosemary
1 tsp lemon-pepper
salt
1 chicken bullion
1 tsp crushed red pepper
1/2 cup penne pasta or garden rotini

Preparation:
Sprinkle 2 tbsp of water on the frozen chicken breast and heat for 1.5 minutes in the microwave. Allow it to cool down
Cut in half and slice it into thin strips
Optional step: Saute the chicken strips on a pan with some lemon pepper and crushed red pepper
In a deep dish, cook the garden rotini/penne pasta until done, drain and set aside
On medium heat, in a separate cooking pan, add 1 tsp olive oil
Add the thyme, rosemary and crushed red pepper
Now follow instructions to cook the frozen pasta on the stove
Once the frozen pasta is half thawed on stove, add a chicken bullion cube to the mix and 1/4 cup water
Add the lemon pepper and cook until the sauce, pasta is completely thawed and almost done.
Add the additional pasta that you just boiled and set aside with the rest of the frozen pasta mix.
Add chicken to the pasta and mix
Serve hot!

Serving suggestion:
Garnish with some fresh parmesan cheese and chopped parsley