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.

METHI PALAK MUTHIA

Ingredients:
Chopped Methi Leaves - 2 Cups
Chopped Palak Leaves - 3 Cups
Wheat Flour - 1/2 Cup
Besan - 3/4 Cup
Rava - 1 Tbsp
Salt - 1 tsp
Sugar - 1/2 Tbsp
Green Chilli - 1
Ginger - 1/2 inch piece
Jeera - 1 tsp
Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Amchur powder - 1/2 tsp
Temper:
Oil - 1 Tbsp
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Til/Sesame seeds/ Ellu - 1/2 tbsp
Coconut flakes/grated coconut - 1 Tbsp

Method of Preparation:
Wash palak & methi leaves well. Finely chop them and keep aside.

Crush green chilli, Jeera and Ginger. Mix all the flours, spice powders, salt, sugar & chopped leaves. Do not add water. If required sprinkle little water.

Make small balls. Prepare a pressure cooker for steaming. or you can use steamer. Keep the dough balls in a steel vessel or in idli molds and steam cook for 20-25 minutes on medium high heat without putting the whistle on.

Switch off and let it cool for 5-10 minutes. Cut into small pieces.

Heat 1 Tbsp of oil in a vessel. When its hot add mustard and til seeds. After they splutter add muthia pieces and coconut flakes. Fry for 2 minutes.

Serve. I like to eat muthias along with curd rice :)

PAV BHAJI

Ingredients:
Potato - 4
Capsicum - 1
Carrots - 1 Cup
Green Beans - 1/2 Cup
Peas/Matar/Batani - 1/2 Cup
Cauliflower/Gobi - 1.5 Cup
Tomato - 2
Onion - 1
Ginger-Garlic paste - 1 Tbsp
Oil/Ghee - 3 Tbsp
Butter - 1/2 Cup or 3/4 Stick
Pav Bhaji powder - 3 Tbsp
Chilli powder - 1 tsp
Garam Masala - 1 tsp
Note: I used Catch pav bhaji powder. It called for garam masala. Go by the instructions given on the brand you are using. I guess in MTR no need for garam masala.
Lemon Juice - 1 Tbsp
Chopped coriander leaves - 1 tbsp [Optional]

Method Of Preparation:
I had pre-boiled potatoes. You can do that or else cut potatoes, carrots, capsicum into chunks.
Wash and remove cauliflower florets.

Cook all the vegetables till soft. I cooked in pressure cooker with 1 cup of water for 30 minutes.

Mash the cooked veggies really well.

Heat 3 tbsp of oil in a pan. Add chopped onions and ginger garlic paste. Fry for 2-3 minutes.

Add chopped tomatoes. Fry for a minute. Add all the powders and mix well.

Add mashed vegetables to masala. Mix well. Add 1.5 Cups of water. Adjust water according to bhaji consistency of your choice.

Cook for 5-7 minutes. Add butter. After it melts, add lemon juice. Mix well. Garnish with coriander leaves.

Heat a tawa. When hot, toast butter applied buns/Pavs.

Serve pav bhaji with finely chopped onions and lemon juice. 

EGGLESS TEA RUSK BISCUITS

Hmmmmm...who doesn't like rusk.  I love to dunk my rusk in tea/coffee/milk and eat.

I wanted to try making rusk at home. Well! browsing for a rusk recipe, you'll end up with recipes with yeast or eggs.  And as I don't eat eggs, I had to come up with a recipe which didn't use eggs.
Earlier, I had tried my hand at making rusk by making a cake and then double baking cake pieces on a cookie sheet. I had made chocolate rusks and they were like britannia crispy rusks.Pretty decent for an eggless attempt!
But, I wanted something crunchy. So this time around, I went by all the ingredients mentioned on the eggless cake rusk you get in Indian stores. I can say they turned out yummy. They don't look like rusk but the taste & feel when you dip them in your tea was just too good. Try them and let me know. :)

I already made an other batch with only wheat flour and less oil. But I made the mistake of baking them a little longer and they turned out crispy!!. Anyways, I'll be making these over&again for sure!! :)

Ingredients: - Made around 12
Wheat Flour - 1 Cup
Maida - 1/2 Cup
Corn Flour - 1/2 Cup
Vegetable Oil - 2 Tbsp
Canola Oil - 2 Tbsp
Butter - 2 Tbsp
Note: I went by the assumption that 1 cup = 16 Tablespoons
MTR Badam Mix - 1 Tbsp [Optional]
Elaichi/cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp
Sugar - 1/2 Cup
Baking powder - 2 tsp
Update: I used milk to make the dough. You can use water too.

Method Of Preparation:
Mix all the flours, baking powder, almond powder mix, elaichi powder and sugar together. Add butter and oil.

Mix everything till its crumbly.

Make a dough. After making the dough my hands were greasy. I felt I could have reduced the amount of oil or butter. As it was my first attempt I didn't want to use less oil.
Try adding just a Tbsp of butter for the second batch :).
Update: Now, I feel reason could have been the milk. You can use water instead of milk and add same amount of oil.

Pre-heat oven at 325F.
Line a cookie sheet with aluminium foil. No need to grease the sheet.
Press the dough to make a rectangle/square. Adjust on the thickness. Mine was around 1 inch thick.
Cut them into logs. I made 12 pieces. you can decrease or increase the number.

Bake them at 325F for 35 minutes. Then turn them around for even browning.

Instead of double baking them, I baked them at 325F for 45 minutes. They were crunchy and nicely browned by then. If you want crispy then bake them for 50 minutes not more than that!!

Try them and let me know :)

RAVA IDLI

Ingredients: -- Makes around 20 idlis
Roasted Rava - 2 Cups
Salt - 1 tsp
Sugar - 1/2 tsp
Mustard seeds/sasive - 1/2 tsp
Chana dal/kadle bele - 1 tsp
Urad dal/uddina bele - 1 tsp
Green Chilli - 2
Chopped coriander leaves - 2 Tbsp
Oil - 1/2 Tbsp
Curd - 2 Cups
Water - 1 Cup
Eno Salt/Soda - 1/2 tsp

Method Of Preparation:
You can use pre-roasted rava.
or Heat oil in a pan. When its hot, add mustard seeds. After they splutter, add chana dal and urad dal. Fry for 10 seconds. Add finely chopped green chillies. Fry well. Add rava and roast for around 8 minutes. Keep aside for it to cool down.

Mix 2 cups of curd and a cup of water to make a paste. Add sugar, salt and coriander leaves.
Note: You can add grated carrots, cashew pieces and curry leaves too.

Mix curd and rava together. Keep the mix covered for at least 15 minutes. [Max 30 minutes]

After 20 minutes; [If you feel the batter is too thick add water/curd. The consistency should be little thicker than idli batter.]

Keep water in the pressure cooker for steam-cook. Prepare the idli molds by greasing them.
Add eno salt/soda to the batter and give it a quick stir. Add batter in each idli mold.

Steam cook them without the whistle for 12-15 minutes.

Turn off the stove. Open the cooker lid after 5 minutes. Remove the idlis after a minute.

Enjoy rava idlis along with vegetable saagu or coconut chutney.

BAKED SWEET CORN VADA

Ingredients:
Frozen Sweet Corn - 1lb packet - 1/2 kg
Salt - 1 tsp
Green Chilli - 1
Chilli powder - 1 tsp
Onion - 1/2
Black salt - 1/2 tsp
Crushed Ajwain and cumin - 1 tsp
Til/Sesam seeds - 1 tsp
Pepper powder - 1 tsp
Cumin coriander powder - 1/2 tsp
Corn flour & Besan - 2 Tbsp [ Optional ]

Method Of Preparation:
Cook corn for 5-10 minutes or as directed on the package.Strain the water.

Once it has cooled down, grind corn along with all the spice powders except til/sesame seeds and onions.  Mix finely chopped onions and til seeds to the ground mix.
You can even add chopped coriander/Dill/mint leaves.
Make a dough. [Mine turned out a bit soggy. I did not want to add corn flour or besan, so make sure there is no water when you are grinding corn]

Pre heat oven to 400F. 

Line a cookie sheet with foil and spray with cooking oil or coat with little oil. Make small patties and line them on the cookie sheet.

Bake for 20-30 minutes. After 20 minutes check for doneness. Turn the patties around for even golden color. Take out of the oven and let them cool for 5-10 minutes.

Serve along with chutney or sauce.

GOBI/CAULIFLOWER MANCHURIAN

Ingredients:
Gobi Pakora:
Gobi/Cauliflower - 1 Medium head
Oil for Deep frying
Batter:
Corn flour - 1/2 Cup
Maida/APF - 1/2 Cup
Salt - 1 tsp
Chilli powder - 1 tsp
Soy Sauce - 1 Tbsp
Ginger Garlic paste - 1 tsp
Manchurian Masala:
Capsicum - 1 small
Green Chillies - 4
Onion - 1/2
Chopped Garlic cloves - 1 Tbsp
Grated Ginger - 1 tsp
Red cabbage - 1 Cup [Optional]
Chopped Spring Onions - 1 Tbsp [Optional]
Salt - 1/2 tsp to 1 tsp
Oil - 1 Tbsp
Soy Sauce - 1 Tbsp
Masala Sauce - 1 Tbsp
Tomato Puree/Tomato Sauce - 1 Tbsp
Chilli Sauce - 1 tsp [Optional]
Vinegar - 1 tsp
Corn flour /Corn starch - 1 Tbsp diluted with 1/4 Cup water
Brown sugar - 1 tsp

Method Of Preparation:
Gobi Pakora:
Wash and separate cauliflower into florets.

Prepare the batter using water. [Prepare similar to bonda batter. It should be thick enough to coat the florets]

Heat oil in a pan over medium high heat.
Once the oil is hot, dip cauliflower florets in the batter to coat thoroughly and drop in the hot oil.
Deep fry till the florets are well cooked on both sides. Should take around 3-4 minutes for each batch.
Repeat the process. Place the fried florets on tissue to soak up the extra oil.

Manchurian Masala:
Heat oil in a vessel. When its hot, add finely chopped garlic cloves and grated ginger and slit green chillies. Fry for a minute.
Add chopped capsicum and onion. Fry for 5 minutes.
Add Red cabbage and saute for 2-3 minutes.
Add salt and rest of the sauces and diluted corn flour mix, brown sugar.  Mix everything well and let it cook for 3 minutes. The masala will start to thicken.

Add fried cauliflower florets and mix so that all the masala is coated well.
Garnish with finely chopped spring onion. [I didn't]

Enjoy :) 

Check for baked version here