Rice Chakkuli

Chakkuli, Chakli, Chakralu are all the different names for the same snack called murukku. There are varieties of chakkuli meaning many variations in the recipe - some use urad dal, rice, sago, fried gram, wheat flour, besan, etc. All of them have their unique flavor and texture!

My childhood memories go back to the Krishna Janmashtami where my mom used to make these delicious chakkulis. As a kid, the significance of this festival was only about many tindis  I would get to munch on. Excitement would build up when one of our neighbors - tamil pati would hand over her thali for us - view of those delectable dishes makes me drool even now :) - ghee appam, sweet seedai, salt seedai, tengol, nippattu, sweet poha and the list goes on. Believe me, the taste that these dishes have on that particular day is so unique maybe because we get them as prasadam from the lord - a gracious gift!
So here we decided to try one of the series of Gokulashtami tindis and it vanished in no time in our tindi poti family :))!

Ingredients
Rice flour fine - 2 1/2 Cup
Butter softened - 2 tbsp
Pinch of hing
Sesame - 1 tsp
Jeera - 1 tsp
Ajwain - 1 tsp
Kashmiri lal mirch - 1/4 tsp
Roasted gram dal/putani - 1/2 Cup
Salt to taste
Water to knead
Oil for frying

Method

• In a large bowl, place the rice flour, butter, hing, sesame, jeera, ajwain, salt, chilli powder.
• Grind the roasted gram dal into a fine powder.
• Add this powder to the above bowl with other ingredients. Mix well.
• Add water as needed and mix it, knead well to a soft dough. 
• Using a chakli maker, press the dough into a spiral shape onto a butter paper.
• Seal the ends so that they don't separate while deep frying.
• Take one chakkuli at a time and slide it into the hot oil.
• Flip the chakkulis and fry them on medium flame until crispy on both sides.
• Drain them on a kitchen roll to remove excess oil.
• Crispy chakkulis are ready to be served with hot chai or coffee!

Ragi Phulkas

Rotis, Chapatis, Phulkas are all inherent parts of the Indian diet. They are power-packed with energy - a good source of fiber too. It keeps you full for longer and thus can handle your hunger pangs so we prefer rotis over rice. Thus we keep trying variety here - Ragi roti, akki roti, thalipeet, jowar roti, etc.

Ragi roti is a nutritious way of eating Ragi or finger millet if one struggles to swallow the ragi mudde. Ragi is more healthy especially for diabetics as it's gluten-free and rich in Calcium + iron! I can't say it's easy to make - but yes once you get a hang of rolling and carefully lifting the rotis its definitely easy :).

Ingredients
Ragi flour - 1 Cup
Water - 1 Cup
Salt - 1 tsp
Oil - 1tsp

Method

• Heat water in a thick bottomed vessel. Bring this to boil.
• Next add salt and oil. Mix well.
• Then reduce the heat to low, add the ragi flour and mix well so that no lumps are formed.
• Transfer this onto a thali/plate. Let it cool a bit so that you can handle the dough.
• knead well to form a firm and smooth dough. If required grease your hands with some oil.
• Take a small portion of the dough and roll out using a rolling pin. You can use ragi flour for dusting.
• Roll it gently so that it doesn't stick to the rolling pin nor the board.
• Place this on a heated tava.
• Flip both sides and once you see those small bubbles on the roti, start pressing the roti with a cloth or a spatula. It will puff up like a poori.
• Serve hot with ghee or butter and choice of your subji.

Mexican Madness!

There are times when I feel lazy to make a proper meal and that's the time for quick Quesadillas :)! 

Quesadillas are basically a Mexican dish but somewhere read that long time ago Spanish brought their dairy products into to Mexico and hence the Mexicans turned up a cheesy dish out of it called Quesadillas. Queso in Spanish means cheese and  Queso + tortillas became Quesadillas!

Original Quesadillas are simply grilled tortillas with melted cheese sandwiched in it.
But we prefer whole-grain tortillas along with some veggies + lots of cheese to make it enticing and delicious :). And the speedy meal is ready in less than 10 minutes too!

Ingredients
Whole grain flour tortilla - 10
Butter for brushing the tortillas
Grated cheese of your choice (i use cheddar) - 2 Cups
Sweetcorn kernels - 1 Cup
Green / Red Peppers finely chopped - 1
Onions finely chopped - 1
Green chilies finely chopped - 1
Salt to taste
Black pepper powder - 1/2 tsp 

Paprika - 1 tsp
Oil - 2 tbsp

Method

• Heat oil in a pan, add chilies, Onions and saute for a few minutes.
• Then add all the other veggies and saute for a minute or two.
• Add salt, paprika, and pepper powder and mix well. Transfer this into a bowl.
• Once this cools, add the Cheese.
• Heat the tava and brush some butter.
• To prepare the quesadilla - spread the veggie mixture on 1 roti and top it with extra cheese (if you want to make it stretchy and cheesy) and cover this with another roti.
• Place this on the hot buttered tava and roast on low flame.
• Flip it over and roast until golden brown.
• Cut it into the desired shape and serve hot with Salsa.

Veg Manchurian

Our summer holidays used to be with reading books, visiting book stores, borrowing books from a library, or cursive writing (popularly termed as copywriting) and not to forget storytelling. Of course along with all the playtime and cooking experiments etc :).

Now we have transferred that love for books to our kids! And we buy books quite frequently. But when the lockdown came in, we started looking out for other options to get access to the reading material. We were amazed to see the hidden world out there - audiobooks, documentaries, etc. But nothing can beat the thrill of holding a book and reading it none the less still enjoyed the online version.

With this, our older one loves storytelling and the younger one is an ardent listener to her brother. He comes up with all the audio/visual effects and makes it enjoyable. They go on and on whether its a mythological or a fairytale. We felt this comes naturally to a few of them - just let go of yourself and not self-conscious, you can tell a story. I guess that's how our folktales and other traditional stories came up. Especially when you don't have access to books, storytelling becomes a sharing of quality.
Technology is for now but when sharing happens it's for life! "This is the best investment we can make for our kids".

And thus, a time for virtual cuddle ups - introduced my son for story writing on https://radiancestories.blogspot.com/ and he is enjoying penning down the tales in his own words.

Ingredients
For Manchurian balls
Carrot grated - 1
Cabbage shredded - 5 tbsp
Spring Onions chopped - 5 tbsp
Onions finely chopped - 1/2
Ginger garlic grated - 1 tsp
Chilli sauce - 1 tsp
Salt - 1/2 tsp
Plain flour/Maida - 2 tbsp
Cornflour - 2 tbsp
Oil for deep frying

For gravy
Oil - 2 tbsp
Ginger grated - 1 inch
Garlic grated - 3 cloves
Green chillies slit - 1
Spring Onion chopped - 4 tbsp
Onion finely chopped - 1/2
Capsicum sliced - 1/2
Vinegar - 2 tbsp
Soya sauce - 2 tbsp
Chilli sauce - 1 tsp
Tomato sauce - 2 tbsp
Pepper powder - 1/2 tsp
Salt to taste
Water - 1 1/4 Cup

For slurry
Corn flour - 2 tbsp
Water - 1/4 cup

Method

• In a large bowl, place the Carrots, Cabbage, Onions, Spring Onions, Ginger, and Garlic.
• Next, add the Salt and Chilli sauce. Mix well.
• Further, add Maida and Corn flour and mix well. Form this into a soft dough.
• Now shape the dough into small balls and deep fry them on medium heat until golden brown in colour.
• Drain them on a kitchen towel and keep it aside.
• In another large wok, heat oil and saute the ginger-garlic, chilies and spring onions.
• Add Onions and stir fry on high flame.
• Next to this add the capsicum and further stir fry.
• Then add the Soya sauce, vinegar, tomato sauce, chilli sauce, pepper powder, and salt. Stir fry making sure all the sauces are combined well.
• To this add the water and boil on medium heat.
• Now, in another small bowl, mix together the cornflour and water to form a smooth paste.
• Add this to the above gravy and continue to boil until the gravy thickens and is glossy.
• Add in the fried veg manchurian balls and remaining spring onions and mix well.
• Veg Manchurian is ready to be served with fried rice!

Crispy Bhindi

Crispy bhindi is a delicious dish made differently from the normal method. 

Bhindi is one of our favourite vegetable and holds most dear position on our cooking :)! We love anything to do with this ladyfinger - gojju, palya, majjige huli, pakoda etc With each variety boasting its flavour it would be unfair to choose one over the other. So we did complete justice to this appetizing dish flavoured with some peanuts and cashews to give a crackling effect! Here's what we did for crispy bhindi...

Ingredients
Bhindi washed, wiped and chopped - 2 Cups
Oil for deep frying
Oil - 2 Tbsp
Garlic pods - 4
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Chana dal - 1/2 tsp
Urad dal - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Hing - 1/4 tsp
Peanuts - 1/4 cup
Cashews split - a handful
Curry leaves - a handful or more
Kashmiri red chilli powder - 1 tsp
Dry Mango Powder / amchur - 1/2 tsp

Method

• Heat oil in a pan, deep fry all the bhindi on medium flame until crisp. Drain them on a kitchen towel and keep it aside.
• Deep fry the curry leaves, cashews and peanuts separately until they become crisp and slight dark in colour. Drain them on the kitchen towel.
• Heat oil in another pan, add the mustard seeds, dals, Haldi, hing and Garlic pods.
• To this add the fried Bhindis, nuts and the curry leaves.
• Toss it with some salt, chilli powder and amchur powder.
• Mix well and ready to be served as a starter/ snack or even a side dish!

 

Pita Bread

Pita bread is a Meditteranean cuisine.

We love the falafels and hummus combo + fresh Salad with Pita pockets. They are so compact and easy to hold/ carry - makes a perfect protein-filled lunchbox meal!
It's a very straight forward recipe and comes out best when homemade :). Watching them puff on the tava or in the Oven is a culinary magic at its best :):)! Here's what we did to get those fluffy pockets....

Ingredients
Warm water - 1 Cup
Active dry yeast - 1/2 tsp
All-purpose flour - 2 Cups
Whole wheat flour - 3/4 Cup
Salt to taste
Sugar - 1 Tbsp
Olive Oil - 2 tsp

Method

• Firstly, take the water, sugar, and yeast in a bowl. Mix well and let it sit for about 5 minutes until the yeast gets activated.
• In another large bowl, add the flours, Salt, Olive Oil. Mix well.
• To this add the yeast water and mix well until a shaggy dough is formed.
• Transfer this on a clean work surface. Sprinkle some flour on the surface and knead the dough until smooth for about 6-8 minutes.
• Next coat the mixing bowl with a thin layer of Olive Oil, set the dough in the bowl and turn it until its coated with the Oil.
• Cover this with a clean cloth or a plastic wrap and keep it aside for 1-2 hours or until the dough has risen double the size.
• Gently deflate the dough and transfer it on a floured surface.
• Divide the dough into equal size balls and gently flatten each ball into a thick disk.
• Sprinkle some more flour on the disks and cover and keep aside.
• Using a rolling pin, roll the disks into 6-inch circles with about a 1/4 inch thickness.
• Sprinkle the flour as needed.
• Let this final shaped dough rest for 2-30 minutes or until slightly risen.
• Heat the skillet on medium-high heat.  
• Drizzle a bit of Oil on the skillet, place the rolled out Pita on the skillet and bake for about 30 seconds until you see some bubbles. Flip and cook another 1-2 minutes on the other side.
• Flip again and cook another 1-2 minutes to toast on the other side. The pita should start to puff up by now. (You can press the surface gently to puff up the Pita).
• Keep the cooked Pitas covered with a clean dishcloth while you do the remaining Pitas.
• Soft homemade Pita is ready!

Pitas are best when eaten immediately after cooking. Even if you get Pitas that don't puff, you can tear them into pieces and use them for dipping in hummus

Pineapple Salad

Pineapple Salad is a perfect way to enjoy the summer fruits. It's easy to make and simply delicious!

The sweetness of the Pineapple is balanced out with some pungent garlic + fiery chillies along with Soy Sauce as the dressing. Trust me every time I make this for any get-togethers, we come back every second for this - yes, it's an eye-catcher :)! It's so colourful, the bright yellow of Pineapple and dark green toppings of Coriander leaves draw all your attention to the salad bowl :)).

It's a great dish to choose when you have less time, yet want something tasty to go with your main course! Be it for just your family, a potluck or a BBQ/ parties this dish will surely be a super hit!

Ingredients
Pineapple - 1 chopped into small chunks
Soya Sauce - 1 Tbsp
Garlic grated - 4 cloves
Sugar - 1 tsp
Green chillies finely chopped - 2
Roasted Peanuts deskinned and coarsely crushed - 1/2 Cup
Coriander leaves finely chopped for garnishing - handful (you can garnish with any greens you like - mint, Spring Onion greens)

Method

• Place the pineapple chunks in a large bowl.
• In another small bowl, add the Soya sauce, garlic, chillies, sugar. Mix well and keep it aside.
• Dry roast the peanuts on a Tava.
• Wait for it to cool, then rub the peanuts to deskin them.
• Coarsely crush the peanuts in a grinder.
• Now, add the dressing i.e soya mixture to the Pineapple and mix well.
• Add the Peanuts and greens just before serving.
• Mix well and the crunchy salad is ready to be served!

Shenga Holige

Shenga holige is a north Karnataka dish. Shenga means Peanuts, so its Peanut holige.

We are a family of great liking for sweet-tasting foods. We have been almost following the restrictive lifestyle strictly but failed to social distance from pet pooja :-p.
So we had this ellu bella remaining from Sankranti and got bored of munching them. I thought of a plan to keep my little one occupied and also get over with the mixture. She was happy to separate the peanuts, jaggery and sesame from the mix and made shenga holige with this!

We declare that shenga holige is a healthy dessert free from any extra Oil and full of good cholesterol + Vit and minerals :). So pamper yourself with this irresistible Shenga holige rather than a handful of plain peanuts :))!!!!! Here we go.....

Makes - 
Ingredients

Peanuts roasted - 2 Cups
Sesame roasted - 1/2 Cup
Jaggery - 2 Cups
Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp
Plain flour - 2 Cups
Chiroti Rave / fine semolina - 1/4 Cup
Salt - pinch
Hot Oil - 1 tsp
Water for mixing

Method
For the kanaka (dough)

• In a large bowl, add the Plain flour, Chiroti rave, Salt, Oil, and mix well.
• To this add the Water little by little and mix well to form a dough.
• Let it rest for 3-4 hours.

For the hoorna (filling)

• Grind Peanuts, Sesame, and Jaggery to a powder.
• Place this mixture in a bowl. To this add the Cardamom powder and mix well.
• Add a bit of hot water to the above mixture and mix well to form a dough. (Add the hot water at this stage only if required else just mix the powder and form a dough).

To make the holige

• Take a small portion of the dough, flatten it a bit.
• Take a handful of hoorna and stuff it in the flattened dough.
• Pull the dough from the edges and cover it over the hoorna and make sure you seal it well.
• Dust this in some flour and roll it gently into thin circle.
• Place this on a hot tava and cook on both sides on low flame.
• This doesnt need any Oil on the top as the nuts and sesame Oil is sufficient for cooking it.
• Serve hot with ghee!

Indulgence at its best :)!!!!!!

Curd Paratha/Dahi ke Paratha

Finding your inner peace......When our mind is pure then the joy follows like a shadow that never leaves us. We are so busy with our daily routine, sometimes we tend to miss out on basic acts like being kind, affectionate, gratitude etc.

I think lockdown has taught us a good lesson - nature has its own way of dealing with things and we must honour it. 

We learnt to live every moment as if there was no tomorrow. Many of us get trapped with the past and future - always cribbing about things or planning well ahead.....

Best is to focus on the present - else we will miss out on most of our life. Thankful to be awake every morning - just plan the day, live each day and cherish every moment! 

I hope this will lead us to a meaningful life :)!

So today we knock up another dish here....Curd Paratha and mooli Raita.

Ingredients

Wheat flour - 2 Cups

Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp

Kashmiri red chilli powder - 1/2 tsp

Green chillies finely chopped - 2

Ginger grated - 1 tsp

Coriander leaves finely chopped - handful

Pudina or mint leaves finely chopped - handful

Pinch of Hing

Salt to taste

Oil - 2 tsp

Yogurt - 3/4 Cup

Method

• In a large bowl, add all the ingredients other than Yogurt and mix well.
• Next, add the Yogurt little by little and mix well to form a soft but firm dough. Add Water only if needed. Let this rest for at least 10 min.
• Take a small portion of the dough, dust some flour and roll it into thin squares or circles.
• Place this on the hot skillet. Flip once and apply some Oil on both sides.
• Press and cook well on both sides.
• Serve hot with any Raita and Pickle of your choice!

Moolangi Raita / Mooli Raita

Ingredients 

Moolangi grated - 2

Yogurt / Curds - 4 Cups

Greens of the Spring Onions for garnishing - handful

Oil - 1 tbsp

Mustard Seeds - 1/2 tsp

Kadlebele / Chana dal - 1 tsp

Uddinabele / Urad dal - 1 tsp

Cumin seeds - 1 tsp

Hing - 1/4 tsp

Green chillies split - 1

 Method

• Place the Mooli in a bowl.
• To this add the Salt.
• Make the tempering, by heating Oil in a small pan, add mustard, both dals, Cumin seeds, Hing, and Chillies. Let this cool.
• Then add the tempering to the Mooli. 
• To this add Yogurt and mix well.
• Garnish with greens and serve chillied.

 

Happy Cooking!!!!