EGGLESS FRUIT&NUT CAKE BALLS/POPS/TRUFFLES

How I came up with these?? :)
I had made Eggless fruit & nut cake and the cake got stuck to the pan. I was feeling bad and wanted to do something with the cake as the taste was great. While browsing I saw cake balls recipe. I bought cream cheese frosting, Milk chocolate, Butter Scotch and semi sweet chocolate chips to experiment. It took me 5 hours to make these cake balls and then coat them with chocolate layer and it involves refrigeration. They taste so great that it'll be worth the effort.
I made these for my hubby's b'day. He doesn't like sweets/chocolates but he loved these. I treated my friends to these and they all loved it so much that they all wanted the recipe ;). Try them!!
Note: You can even use condensed milk instead of frosting.
Recipe Reference: http://www.bakerella.com
Ingredients:
Eggless Fruit & Nut cake - 2 - you can use any cake
Frosting - I used store bought Duncan hines cream cheese flavor - 16 oz whole box - use lesser if using just one cake
Milk - 1/4 Cup [ Optional ]
Baking chocolate or chocolate chips of your choice. I used Hersheys Milk, Butter scotch and semi sweet Chocolate flavor.

Method Of Preparation:
Crumble the cake once its cool. You can refrigerate the crumbled mix until frosting is ready. This step is optional. I did it as I had to go to the store to buy the ingredients :)

Mix frosting to the crumbled cake and mix well until its moist. I added milk too. Now make balls according to the size you need. Refrigerate the balls at least for 20 - 30 mins. I left them overnight.

Melt the chocolate on low heat and dip the cake balls in it to coat. Refrigerate the balls for at least 2 hours. I used 3 varieties and
Milk chocolate: It was very difficult to melt and hardened easily. When it was soft, I used hands to coat the chocolate and make balls.
Chocolate: It melted easily and I just had to dip the cake balls to get chocolate coating.
Butter scotch : It melted easily and I just had to dip the cake balls to get the coating.

CHANA DAL VADA/CHATTAMBADE/KADLE BELE VADA

Ingredients:
Chana Dal/Split Black Gram/Kadale bele - 1.5 Cups
Onion - 1/2
Green Chillies - 4-5 [According to spice level]
Chopped Coriander leaves - 2 Tbsp
Curry leaves - 1 Strand
Grated Ginger - 1 Tbsp
Salt - 1.5 tsp
Ajwain/Carom seeds/om kalu - 1 tsp
Jeera/Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp
hing - a pinch
Rice flour - 1 Tbsp
Note: Finely chopped Sabsige Soppu/Fresh dill leaves can also be added. It is widely used in these vadas because of the flavor they induce.

Method Of Preparation:
Wash Dal well. Soak overnight or at least for 6 hours.
Grind dal into a fine/coarse paste according to your choice without adding much water.
Finely chop onions, green chillies, coriander leaves and curry leaves. Grate ginger. Crush carom and cumin seeds. Add everything together and mix well. Adjust salt and spice level.

Note: I added onions when I was ready to fry the vadas. Onions tend to leave water which will make the batter watery.  I kept mixing the batter before dropping the vadas in oil for each batch.

Keep oil in a pan for frying on High. When its hot, take batter in hand and drop them slowly. Increase the batter amount according to the vada size you want. I got around 34 vadas.
Let the vadas get fried properly and turn brownish. It took around 6-7 minutes for each batch.
Vadas turned out crunchy on the outside and soft inside. They tasted great. Try them.

CHEESE WAFERS/BISCUITS

I came across these while browsing and wanted to try them as the recipe looked very very easy with minimal ingredients. There were two variations of these, I tweaked my recipe to suit our taste buds. End product was a flaky biscuit/wafer/cookie. But I would go easy on the salt next time as after baking the saltiness from the cheese makes it saltier!!

Recipe Source: Cheese wafer and cheese biscuits

Ingredients:

Maida - 2 Cups

Cheddar cheese - 1 Cup

Salt - 1/4 -1/2 tsp [ Adjust]

Chilli powder - 1 Tbsp [ according to spice level]

Butter - 1 stick or 1/2 Cup

Chat masala - 1/2 tsp [Optional]

Pepper powder - 1/2 tsp

Baking powder - 1 tsp

Milk - 1/4 - 1/2 Cup

You can try adding

Chillies

Coriander leaves

Garlic powder

Method Of Preparation:

Pre-heat oven @400F.

Mix everything except milk and make a crumbly mix. Now add milk as required to form a dough. 

make small balls and press them gently. Bake at 400F for 15-17 minutes. I baked them for 20 minutes. Let them cool and enjoy salty snack.

GOLI KADUBU MASALA

Find the recipe for Goli Kadubu here.

Ingredients:
Coconut - 1 cup
Coriander leaves - 1/2 cup
Jeera/ Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Garam Masala - 1 tsp
Salt - 1 - 2 tsp
Green chillies - 2-3
Onion - 1/2
Garlic - 2 cloves
Ginger - 1 inch
Tamarind - 1 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Oil - 1 Tbsp

Method of Preparation:
Grind all the ingredients together except for mustard seeds and oil.
Heat the oil in a pan and add mustard seeds when its hot. Now, add the ground masala and fry till the raw smell disappears. It will be done in around 15 mins.
Now, add the kadubus and mix well. Let it cook for 5-10 minutes. Serve!

GOLI KADUBU

I really don't know what they call these.  They look like small pebbles, known as 'GOLI' in kannada, so the name 'GOLI' kadubu :). The method of making these kadubus is the same as Unde Kadubu just that they are smaller. These kadubus take some time to prepare because of their size.
Kadubus are mixed in masala gravy and eaten. Find the recipe for the gravy here.

Ingredients:
Idli Rava - 1 cup [ use store bought or else you can make this rava by dry grinding Rice]
Salt - 1 tsp
Water - 2 cups

Method of Preparation:
Boil the water. Add salt and the idli rava. Mix well till it thickens and cook for at least 10 mins on low flame.
When it is warm enough to handle make small balls out of it.
Once all the dough is over, keep the balls in a vessel and steam cook for at least 15 mins.
Kadubus are ready!

ALOOGADDE/POTATO PALYA

Ingredients:
Potato - 3
Onion - 1
Green Chillies - 3
Peas/Matar - 1/4 cup [optional]
Salt - 1.5 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
Mustard Seeds - 1/2 tsp
Chana Dal/kadle bele/Bengal gram - 1 tsp
Urad Dal - 1 tsp
Oil - 1 Tbsp
Curry Leaves - 5 -6
Chopped Coriander Leaves - 1 Tbsp [Optional]
Grated coconut - 1/4 Cup [Optional]
Lemon Juice - 1 Tbsp

Method of Preparation:
Boil the potatoes. Peel the skin. Mash and keep aside.
Add oil in a pan. When its hot, add mustard seeds. After it splutters, add chana dal & urad dal. Fry for 10 seconds. Add curry leaves, chopped green chillies, Onions, turmeric powder and salt. Fry well for 2 minutes.  Add peas and mix. Let it cook for 5 minutes. Now, add mashed potatoes and mix well. Adjust salt and cook for 5 minutes.

Add grated coconut, lemon juice and chopped coriander leaves. Mix well. Enjoy along with Dosa and chutney.

Note: You can use left over palya to make aloo parathas. 

LOW FAT MALAI KOFTA

Please find the recipe for koftas here

Ingredients:
Stage 1:
Onion - 1
Tomato - 1
Tomato Puree - 1/2 Cup
Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp
Chilli powder - 1 1/2 tsp
Sugar - 1 tsp
Salt - 1 tsp
Chat Masala - 1/2 tsp
Coriander Cumin powder - 1 tsp
Garam Masala - 1/2 tsp
Ginger Garlic Paste - 1 Tbsp
Oil - 2 Tbsp
Stage 2:
Cashews+Almonds+Raisins+Poppy seed ground mix - 1/2 Cup
[Cashews - 5-6, Almonds - 5-6, Poppy Seeds - 1tsp, Raisins - 1 Tbsp, Almond Butter - 1 tsp]
Shredded Paneer+Bread Crumbs - 2 Tbsp [Optional]
Milk - 1/2 Cup [ You can use Cream]
Evaporated Milk - 1/4 Cup [ You can use Cream]
Ghee - 1 tsp
Raisins - 1 Tbsp
Note: After tasting this, one of my North Indian friend suggested that the malai kofta should be more on the sweeter side and creamier. She suggested me to use less tomato or drop the tomato puree to avoid the sourness.

Method Of Preparation:
Stage 1:
Chop onions and tomato.
Heat oil in a vessel. When its hot, add onions and fry them well for at least 7-8 minutes.
Add Ginger Garlic paste and fry till raw smell disappears.
Now, add chopped tomatoes, tomato puree and mix well. Add rest of the spice powders and salt. Fry for 5 minutes. Add a cup of water. Let it cook for another 5 minutes.

Switch off the stove and let it cool down for at least 5-10 minutes. Grind this mix to a fine paste.

Stage 2: 
Soak cashews, almonds, raisins and poppy seeds for at least an hour. Grind them to a fine paste.

Stage 3:
Heat Ghee in a vessel. Fry raisins till they puff up.
Add ground onion tomato mix and washed water. Add ground nuts paste and crumbled paneer +bread crumbs mix.

Add milk, evaporated milk. Mix everything well. Check for salt and sweetness. Add more if required. Let it come to a boil. Your kofta curry is ready.

Malai Kofta:
Add gravy in a serving dish and drop koftas in it. Garnish with coriander leaves.

LOW FAT ALOO PANEER KOFTAS

Instead of deep frying these koftas, I opted for low fat version of making them using 'Paddu maker/aebelskiever pan'.  The idea of using this pan occurred while browsing the malai kofta  recipe here@redchillies. You can read more about the pan here
Bake/Broil the koftas if you are looking for a healthier version.
You cannot find any difference in the taste except that these were softer.  They lack that crunchiness compared to deep fried ones.
Try them and let me know.. :)

Ingredients:
Kofta: - Made around 35 koftas
Potato - 2
Paneer/Cottage Cheese - 1 Cup
Chopped Coriander Leaves - 2 Tbsp
Chopped Green Chillies - 1 Tbsp
Chilli powder - 1 tsp
Amchur powder - 1/2 tsp
Garam masala - 1 tsp
Corn Flour - 2 Tbsp
Bread crumbs - 2 Tbsp
Salt - 1 tsp
Maida/APF - 1tsp

Bread Crumbs - 2 Tbsp for rolling the koftas

Method Of Preparation:
Boil and mash potatoes.
I used home made paneer. If you are using store bought block paneer variety, then shred it.
Mix mashed potatoes and paneer well. Add rest of the ingredients and make a mix.
Note: [mine turned out a little mushy. So make sure there is no water content in potato and paneer. I had to add a little more bread crumbs and corn flour to make firm balls]
Taste the mix and add salt and spice if required.

Note: If deep frying then keep oil ready over medium to medium high heat. When hot, drop enough number of kofta balls and deep fry them till golden.
Keep fried koftas on a tissue till the curry is ready.

I used paddu/appe pan. Make small balls out of the mix.I rolled them on bread crumbs. [You can use maida]

Keep paddu pan over medium high heat. When its hot, add little ghee in paddu holes.
Place kofta balls in each hole. Let them cook for around 5 minutes. Do not close the lid.

Turn them around and add very little ghee in each hole. Again cook them for 3-4 minutes.
Remove when they are done and repeat the process.

I prepared these before hand. Just re-heat them before serving along with kofta curry.

METHI PALAK CHAPATI

Ingredients:
Chopped Menthe soppu & Palak - 2 Cups
Green Chilli - 1
Ajwain/Carom seeds - 1/2 tsp [Optional]
Salt - 1 tsp
Sugar - 1/2 tsp
Curd - 2 Tbsp
Wheat Flour - 3 Cups

Method Of Preparation:
Wash Methi & Palak leaves well. Finely chop them.
Note: We can add leaves directly and make the dough. I pre-cooked them.
Add leaves and green chilli in a vessel. Do not add water. Close the lid and cook for 5 minutes.
Let it cool. Once cool, grind along with sugar, salt, ajwain and curd to a paste. Add water if required.
Take wheat flour in a mixing bowl and make a dough with the paste. Keep aside for 5 minutes.
Make small balls and make chapatis the usual way.
Note: Take a ball and roll it to make a medium circle. Apply ghee on the rolled circle and fold it in half. Fold it again to make a triangle. Now, roll it to make parathas. Apply ghee/butter while frying.

I served along with Pav-Bhaji style curry.

BENDEKAYI/LADIES' FINGERS/OKRA PALYA/FRY

Ingredients:
Ladies Finger/Bendekayi - 1/2 kg
Onion - 1/2
Green Chillies - 2
Mustard Seeds - 1/2 tsp
Urad Dal - 1/2 tsp
Oil - 2 Tbsp
Grated coconut/coconut flakes - 1/4 cup
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Salt - 1 tsp
Curry Leaves -  4-5 leaves
Coriander Leaves - 3-4 strands
Lemon Juice  - 1 Tbsp

Method of Preparation:
Wash ladies finger and pat them dry. Chop them into small pieces.
Heat 1 Tbsp of oil and shallow fry the ladies fingers till light brown.This would take at least 15 minutes.  Keep aside. [you can even microwave them for 10 mins. This will reduce the stickiness.]

Finely chop onions and green chillies. Heat remaining 1 Tbsp oil in a vessel. When its hot, add mustard seeds. After they splutter, add Urad dal, broken curry leaves and fry for 15-20 seconds. Add Chopped onions & green chillies. Fry for 2 minutes. Add turmeric powder, salt and fried bhindi pieces. Mix well. Close the lid and let it cook for 10 minutes. Stir in between.  Add chopped coriander leaves, grated coconut and mix. Adjust salt if required. Let it cook for 2 more minutes. Add lemon juice and mix well.

Serve along with Chapatis/Rice. 

TOMATO GOJJU

Ingredients:
Tomato - 4
Onion - 1
Curry Leaves - 5-6
Green Chillies - 3
Tamarind concentrate - 1/2 tsp
Sambar powder - 1 tsp
Salt - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Urad Dal - 1/2 tsp
hing - a pinch
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Crushed garlic cloves - 1 tsp
Jaggery/Brown sugar - 1 tsp
Oil - 1 Tbsp
Chopped coriander leaves - 2 Tbsp
Grated coconut - 1/4 cup

Method Of Preparation:
Chop onions, tomatoes and green chillies.

Heat oil in a vessel. When its hot, add mustard seeds. After they splutter, add hing & urad dal. Fry for 10 seconds. Add broken curry leaves, crushed garlic cloves, chopped green chillies, onions & Salt. Saute well for 2-3 minutes. Add chopped tomatoes, tamarind pulp, turmeric powder and sambar powder, grated coconut & coriander leaves. Mix well. Let it cook for 10 - 15 minutes. Stir in between. Adjust salt.

 Add jaggery. Mix well and cook for 5 more minutes. Goes very well with rice and curd rice.

TONDEKAYI/IVY GOURD POTATO CASHEW PALYA

Ingredients:
Tondekayi/Tendli - 1/2 Kg
Potato - 1
Cashew - 1/2 Cup
Coconut - 1 Tbsp
Mustard seeds/Sasive - 1/2 tsp
Jeera/Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
Urad Dal - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves - 3- 4
Green chilli - 3
Oil - 1 Tbsp
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Salt - 1 tsp

Method Of Preparation:
Wash tondekayi and slice them into thin pieces. Wash and peel potato and chop into thin pieces.

Heat oil in a pan. When its hot, add mustard & cumin seeds. After they splutter, add urad dal. Fry for 10 seconds. Add broken curry leaves and finely chopped green chillies. Fry for a minute. Add the vegetables and cashew pieces. Fry for a minute. Add turmeric powder, salt and 1/2 cup water. Mix well and close the lid.

Let it cook for 20-25 minutes until the vegetables are cooked. Stir in between. Check for salt and spice. Add more if required. Add grated coconut or coconut flakes and mix. Serve hot with chapatis or rice. 

 

RAGI ROTTI/FINGER MILLET ROTTI

Ingredients:
Ragi Flour - 1 Cup + 1/2 cup for dusting and kneading.
Salt - 1/4 tsp
Water - 1 Cup
Oil - 1 Tbsp
Note: Refer to preparation of Jolada rotti

Method of Preparation:
Heat water in a vessel. When hot, add 1/4 Cup of  flour, 1/2 tsp oil and salt. Mix well.
Keep stirring. When it starts to thicken, add remaining flour and mix. Keep stirring for a minute.
Close the lid and let it cook for 5 minutes. Remove from the stove.
Let it cool for 15 mins. When its warm enough to handle, knead the dough. Use extra flour if required. Take a small ball, roll on a plastic sheet using little oil. Cook well on both sides on a hot tawa.