Bread Pakora (Fritter)

bread pakora

Bread pakora is one of my favorite fritters. I wonder why I didn’t post it earlier.  Bread pakora is a famous street food in India and is available at street vendors with their assortment of chutneys. You can watch the whole process of their making at these vendors.

Recipe of bread pakora/ pakoda

6 bread slices

1 cup besan (gram flour/ chickpea flour)

1/2 cup boiled and mashed potatoes

1/2 tsp red chilli powder

Salt to taste

1 inch piece ginger- chopped

2 green chillies- finely chopped

1/4 tsp garam masala

1/2 tsp amchoor (dried mango powder)

Oil to deep fry

1. Mix salt and red chilli powder to besan. Add water little by little so as to prepare a lump free batter. Batter consistency should be thick pakora (fritters) batter like.

2. Mix salt, garam masala, green chillies, amchoor and ginger in mashed potato.

3. Cut each bread slice into 2 triangular pieces to get 12 triangles.

4. Divide potato mixture into 6 portions. Place potato mixture on 1 bread slice and cover it with another.

5. Heat oil in a kadhai/wok or a frying pan. When the oil is sufficiently hot, turn the heat to medium. Dip each potato stuffed bread in beasn batter and deep fry in oil. Fry bread pakoda from both sides till golden brown.

6. Drain on an absorbent paper and serve bread pakora hot with chutney or tomato sauce.
You can also make small bread pakoras by dividing bread into 4 squares which makes it easy to make and easy to eat especially for kids. Pic is given below

bread pakora

Meetha Pooda (Whole Wheat Sweet Pancake without Syrup)

meetha pooda

Meetha pooda or sweet pancake is made in many parts of India including Punjab and Rajasthan. In Punjab, it is served as breakfast. You can also make meetha pooda as an anytime sweet.

Recipe of meetha pooda (chilla)

1 cup whole wheat flour (atta)

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 tsp saunf (fennel) powder

2-3 green cardamom (hari elaichi) - crushed

Ghee (clarified butter) or oil to shallow fry

1. In a bowl, mix all the ingredients except oil or ghee. Add water slowly mixing with other hand. Add enough water to make lump free batter of consistency thicker than that of pakoda (fritters). Beat well.

2. Heat a non- stick tava (griddle). To season it before making first pooda, pour a teaspoon of oil on the tava and wipe it with a paper napkin. Turn the heat to low. Pour a ladlefull or 2 tablespoon batter in the center of the tava.

3. Spread it gently in the outward circular motion like you would do for a chilla or an omellete. Spread it with the back of a ladle (karchhi). Turn the heat to medium.

4. After 2 minutes, drizzle some oil or ghee on the pooda. Remove it with the help of a wide, thin spatula and turn over.

5. Cook the other side also for 2 minutes and remove from the tava. Your meetha pooda is ready. Similarly make other poodas from rest of the batter.

Always spread the pooda on low heat and cook it on medium heat.

If the first pooda sticks to the tava, don't get disheartened. It usually happens with the first pooda. As the tava get seasoned, rest of the meetha pooda will turn out fine.

Bharwa Karela (Stuffed Bitter Gourd)

bharwa karela

Bharwa karela is a very tasty side with roti or any other Indian bread. They stay fresh for 3-4 days and make great travel food. Rubbing salt on them as suggested in the recipe helps reduce bitterness of karela. If you use mustard oil, then it's recommended for bharwa karela as it enhances their taste.

Recipe of bharwa karela/ stuffed bitter gourd

8-10 small sized karela (bitter gourd/ bitter melon)

1 tsp saunf (fennel seeds) powder

Salt to taste

A pinch of turmeric powder

1/2 tsp red chilli powder

1 tsp coriander powder

1 1/2 tbsp oil (preferably mustard oil)

1. Scrape karela by using knife or a peeler (do not remove a thick layer of outer covering). Wash and drain.

2. Make a slit lengthwise in all karele such that they are not separated. Remove any hard seeds and discard them while retaining the tender ones.

3. Rub 1 tsp salt on karela both outside and inside and set them aside for 1/2 an hour. Wash karela under running water and very gently squeeze them so that all bitterness is removed.

4. Mix salt and all the spice powders except turmeric powder in a small bowl. Stuff this spice mixture in all karela equally.

5. Heat oil in a pan and if you are using mustard oil, heat it to a smoking point. Add turmeric powder and spread it in the pan with the help of a spatula.

6. Add bharwan karela and reduce the heat. Cook covered till they turn brownish from underneath.

7. Turn over karele and cook from other side also till brownish. Serve bharwa karela with roti, paratha or puri.

Lauki Chana dal

lauki chana dal

My mom used to make lauki chana dal a lot. She calls it ghiya chane ki dal. My father and I shared same liking for bottle gourd so it was made often. My recipe is slightly different than my mom as unlike her, I temper it with onion, tomatoes and garlic. This dish has both vegetable and lentil so it makes wholesome meal with roti or rice.

Recipe of lauki chana dal

1 medium lauki (bottle gourd, ghiya, doodhi) of 200- 250 grams

1 cup chana dal (Split Bengal gram)

2 medium tomatoes- chopped

1 medium onion- chopped

3-4 cloves garlic

1 inch piece ginger

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

A pinch of asafoetida

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

1/2 tsp red chilli powder

Salt to taste

1 tbsp ghee (clarified butter)

1. Wash and soak chana dal for 1 hour. Peel, wash and cut lauki into 1/2 inch cubes. Crush garlic and ginger together.

2. In a pressure cooker, place channa dal, lauki pieces, enough water, salt, turmeric and red chilli powder. Cook till chana dal gets soft.

3. Heat ghee in a pan and add cumin seeds. When they change color, add hing. Add onion and sauté till they are translucent.

4. Add ginger- garlic paste and sauté for a minute. Add tomatoes and cook till they are soft and pulpy.

5. Add this tempering (tadka) to the boiled dal and cover the lid. Simmer for few minutes and garnish with chopped coriander leaves. Serve hot.

Masala Dosa (Crispy Savory Rice- Lentil Pancake with Potato Filling)

masala dosa

Masala dosa or dosai is a popular South Indian breakfast. It’s eaten all over India. Dosa is a healthy breakfast or snack item. You can also make plain dosa with this recipe that is dosa minus the potato filling. I made masala dosa today and they turned out very crispy and tasy. We enjoyed them with hot sambar.

Recipe of masala dosa/ dosai

Batter

1 1/2 cup parboiled rice (sela chawal)

2/3 cup dhuli urad dal (split, skinless black gram)

1/2 tsp soda bicarbonate

Salt to taste

Oil for making dosa

Potato filling

4 medium potatoes- boiled, peeled and roughly mashed

1/2 tsp mustard seeds

Salt to taste

2 onions- chopped

1/4 tsp turmeric powder

1/2 tsp red chilli powder

Few curry leaves

2 tbsp oil

1. For batter, soak rice, urad dal together for at least 6 hours or overnight.

2. Drain and reserve the soaking water. Grind rice and dal to a paste using some of the soaking water. Add some more water from it to get medium pouring consistency. Batter should be such that it should coat a spoon thickly when dipped in batter.

3. Add salt and soda bicarb to the batter and mix well.

4. Keep the batter, covered in a warm place for fermentation for 3-4 hours. After fermentation batter will rise a little and smell sour.

5. Now make potato masala for the filling. Heat 2 tbsp oil in a kadhai/ wok. Add mustard seeds. When they pop, turn the heat to medium.

6. Add curry leaves and fry for 1 minute.

7. Add onion and sauté till transparent. Add salt and turmeric and red chilli powders.

8. Add the potatoes. Mix well and cook stirring for 5 minutes. Turn off the heat. Keep aside.

9. To make dosa, heat a non-stick tawa (griddle) on medium heat. To season the tawa, for the first dosa, pour little oil on the tawa and wipe with a potato half.

9. Turn the heat to low while spreading the dosa. Pour 2 tablespoons batter in the center of the tawa. Spread the batter gently in an outward circular motion with the back of the tablespoon or ladle (karchhi) just like you would spread a chilla or any pancake. Turn the heat to medium.

10. Wait till dosa gets a little cooked, pour some oil on it. Spread it with a spatula.

11. When brown spots appear from underneath, loosen the dosa from the tawa using a wide, thin spatula.

12. Place some potato masala in the center of the dosa and spread a little. Fold over. Remove from the tawa. Serve hot masala dosa with sambar.

Lauki ka Raita (Bottle gourd Curd Preparation)

lauki ka raita

Lauki ka raita is not just tasty but also very nutritious. If you use curd made from low fat milk, lauki raita can be a part of low calorie diet.

Recipe of lauki ka raita

2 cups curd (yogurt/ dahi)

1 cup grated lauki (doodhi/ ghiya/ bottle gourd)

Salt to taste

1/4 tsp red chilli powder

1 tsp dry roasted and coarsely ground cumin seeds

1. Boil grated lauki with 1 tablespoon water, covered, on a low heat for about 5 minutes.

2. Beat curd with a mathani or a beater till smooth and lump free.

3. Add lauki, salt and red chilli powder to curd and mix well. If the curd is too thick, add some water. Sprinkle ground cumin seeds over the raita.

4. In this winter season, serve lauki raita at room temperature and in summers, refrigerate and serve chilled.

Makki ki roti

makki ki roti

Makki ki roti reminds me of lush green fields and roadside dhabas of Punjab. Dishes of Punjab have liberal amounts of pure ghee and home made butter.

If you have difficulty in rolling out makki ki roti, that is, it sticks and breaks, then there is one solution.  Roll it between greased plastic sheets, it's much easier.

Recipe of makki ki roti

            1 1/2 cup makki ka atta (maize flour/ cornmeal)

            1/4 cup atta (whole wheat flour)

            Salt to taste

            1 cup chopped methi (fresh fenugreek leaves)-optional

            2 green chilies- finely chopped

            Ghee or oil for shallow frying

1. Mix all the above ingredients except ghee (or oil). Use warm water to knead them into medium soft dough.

2. Take a polythene bag and tear it into 2 halves. Grease them both on 1 side. Keep one piece on the chakla (rolling platform), greased side up.

3. Take 1 ball of dough and put on the polythene. Cover with other piece of polythene, greased side towards the ball. Roll out a roti between the greased polythene pieces.

4. Heat a tawa (griddle). Place makki ki roti on it and cook both sides brushing with ghee (clarified butter). Cook till both sides are golden brown.

5. Serve hot makki ki roti with a dollop of white butter on top.

You can also add grated mooli (radish) in place of methi leaves. Very finely chopped onions can also be added to the dough.