Crunchy evening snack

I dont make deep fried snacks often and my first kiddo was asking me for Karthigai vadai one evening. It was quite late in the evening, so i didnt want to make it. But, since my kids rarely ask for something, i made this, as this is quick to put together. They both loved it.  My cousin Aruna used to make this and she didnt have a name for this and i dont either. Lack of creativity runs in the family, i guess :) She used to make this with wheat flour. I added besan (chick pea flour) for some extra protein. I dont know if it really matters when it comes to deep fried snacks, but i try :)


Ingredients :

Whole wheat flour - 1 cup
Besan / Chickpea flour - 1/2 cup
Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
Salt to taste
Hing
Turmeric powder (optional)
Curry leaves (optional)

Method :

Mix all the ingredients well. Add water little by little and keep kneading till you get a pliable dough.
Divide them into small  pieces and roll them into rotis. Now poke them with fork so they dont puff up when you deep fry. Cut them into small pieces and deep fry.

Curry leaves and/or chopped methi leaves/spinach can be added to the dough.

Healthy Masala Peanuts (Microwave)

This recipe is adapted from Mallika Badrinath's microwave recipes book. My husband and my mil both love this. As it is low fat and rich in protein, i make it often as evening snack.




Roasted unsalted peanuts - 1 cup

Besan / Chickpea flour - 4 spoons

Redchilli powder - 1 spoon

Salt to taste

Hing - a pinch

Oil - 2 spoons

Water - few spoons

In a ceramic bowl, heat a spoon of oil in microwave for a minute. Add the roasted peanuts and heat it again for a minute or two. Make sure it is not burnt. Add besan, redchilli powder, salt, hing, another spoon of oil and mix well. Sprinkle some water to make sure the peanuts are coated well with this besan mix. Heat them in microwave till they are crispy. Heat in small intervals to cook them uniformly. Stir occasionally. Enjoy with a hot cup of tea :)

Okra with Kokum

I learnt this from a friend. I tried it for the first time at home and everyone liked it and this was so easy. You don't have to cut it thin or you can even use the frozen cut okra. That saves a lot of time and this doesn't reduce much in quantity either, when it is cooked.

Ingredients :
Okra - 500gms (cut into 1 inch pieces)
Onion - 1 medium
Kokum - 4 pieces (cut into smaller pieces)
Redchilli powder - 1 tsp (adjust as per your taste)
Salt - to taste
Mustard seeds, curry leaves and hing for seasoning

Method :

Soak the kokum in couple of spoons of warm water for few minutes. In a pan, heat a spoon of oil and when it is hot, add mustard seeds and let it splutter. Add curry leaves and hing and saute for few seconds. Add cut onions and kokum and saute till the onions are translucent. Add the okra, red chillipoweder, salt and cover and cook for few minutes, until the okra is well cooked. Remove the lid and cook for some more time till you get a dry curry.



Goes well with both Rice and Roti.

Kokum has sour taste like tamarind and is considered to be better than tamarind as it has some medicinal properties and is used in maharashtrian and konkani cuisine.

Low Fat Banana Bread

I am not a big fan of banana, but i like it if it is given in the form of Banana nut bread :) Another good thing about this is, it is a quick bread - no yeast, no waiting. Perfect for people like me! :)

I adapted this recipe from Joyofbaking. I reduced the sugar and oil and it was still perfect. A little bit of guilt free eating there!







Ingredients :
Ripe bananas - 2
Baking soda - 1 tsp
Low fat Yogurt - 1/2 c
Canola oil - 1/4C (Original 1/2 C)
Sugar - 1/2 C (Original 3/4 C)
Egg - 1 (Sorry didnt find a good eggless recipe!)
Flour - 1.5 C (I used whole wheat pastry flour)
Baking powder - 1 tsp
Salt - a pinch



Method :

1. Mash banana with fork and mix baking soda and Yogurt to it.

2. In a separate bowl, whisk oil, sugar and egg.

3. Combine 2 with 1.

4. Add flour, Baking powder, Salt and mix well. Transfer the mix to a bread loaf pan and bake it at 350F for 45-55 minutes.


You can add walnuts to it. Mine has a handful of chopped walnuts in it.

Chilli Paneer

My kids never gave paneer a try until recently. Now they are both big fans of paneer. They love it so much that my little one said that i should only send Paneer and Mangos for lunch, every day! :) How did they change? Mean mommy scared the little one with this-

They love Paneer Tikkas a lot and once we had Chilli paneer at Woodlands and they loved it and i tried to recreate it at home with no clue about the recipe and it turned out to be quite close.



I like this better than paneer tikkas as it is easier to make this. I use Nanak paneer that we get in the indian grocery store. I usually transfer it from the freezer to fridge few hours before i am planning to make and let it thaw in the fridge. When i am ready to make it, i put the unopened pack in hot water for few minutes to make it soft. Once the paneer is soft, cut it into small cubes.



Ingredients :



Paneer - 400gms

Capsicum - 1

Onion (Medium sized) - 1

Ching's Chilli Soy Sauce - 3 spoons

Salt - as required

Spring onions - 5 (finely chopped)

Green chillies - 4

Ginger - 1 small piece (grated)




Method :

First, heat a non stick tawa and spread a spoon of oil on it. Now toast the paneer cubes in medium-low for couple of minutes and toss them gently. Toast till they are golden brown.

In a pan, heat a spoon of oil and add the grated ginger and green chillies. Now add the onion and cook till they are translucent. Add the chopped capsicum and spring onions. Keep some aside for garnishing and add salt and cook it for sometime. The capsicum can be slightly crunchy. Now add the paneer and toss it and add the soy sauce. Reduce the heat and cover the pan and cook it on low for about 10 minutes. Now remove the pan and cook some more if you want it to be dry.

Garnish with springonions.