Different Strokes

Crispy Lentil Snacks - Daal Vada

2012-03-12T22:44:00.003-07:00

Any Indian meal is incomplete without tangy pickles, crisp poppadoms and some sort of deep fried accompaniments. And when my friend Prerna, Barbara and Kathy announced 'Indian Food Palooza' at their blogs, I thought of taking these Crispy Lentil Vadas along with me to join their on going event.

A perfect tea time snack, a popular street food and a must during most of the festive meals in India, these Daal Vadas or deep fired crisp lentil cakes are a real delicacy.
And I am sure each family has their own ways and proportions of making these snacks adopting to their taste buds. Some use more chilly, onion, garlic or ginger and greens in the recipe while for others its just a mix of lentil paste and spices.

At home my MIL makes two batches always during any festival period, one will be plain Vadas, while the other will batch will be bursting with sliced onions and garam masala powder.The first batch is cooked as the offering to God while the other is for us to savor.

Ingredients;
(makes 20-25 small pieces)

1/2 cup Bengal gram (channa dal)
1/2 cup split green gram (moong dal)
1 tbsp. fresh grated coconut
3 dry whole red chillies
1 tsp. salt
A few curry leave
A pinch of asafoetida powders
Oil for deep frying

Method; Wash and soak both the grams for about two hours.
Drain and keep a tbsp of soaked gram separately. Grind both the grams along with all the other ingredients except oil and curry leaves into a coarse paste. Try to avoid water while grinding the paste. The water in the drained gram will be adequate to grind it into a paste.
Add chopped curry leaves and the 1 tbsp of soaked whole daal (grams)kept separately in the paste and mix well.
Heat oil in a wok. Take a small batter and make a round ball of it, flatten it a little and drop it into the hot oil. Repeat the same till you are done with all the Vadas. Fry the Vadas for 2 minutes on high heat ad then reduce the heat and fry till they turn golden in color.

Serve hot with green coriander and mint chutney or with tomato sauce.

Notes;

This recipe has no onion, garlic and other spice as these is cooked as a offering to the God, but they taste delicious.
You could add one finely chopped onion, a little bit of garam masala and fennel powder to make it more aromatic and tastier.

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Chocolate Cupcakes Filled with Marshmallow

2012-02-04T06:52:00.000-08:00

Hello friends, its been a long time I posted a recipe on Different Strokes. Lite Bite kept me busy with a couple of projects and events I was involved in for the last few months. I know this does not sound a good reason to stay away from all my lovely readers here. Have done loads of festive cooking, tried many new and authentic recipes which are all treasured in the drafts.

This Chocolaty Marshmallow filled Cupcakes is one such treats I baked for the New year party. I just wanted to give a different look to the same old chocolate muffins and filled each one with store bought marshmallows. Needless to say these were a hit with all the children and adults as well.

Ingredients;

2 cups All purpose flour
1 1/2 cups powder sugar
1/2 cup cocoa powder
2 tsp. baking powder
1 cup milk
1/2 cup oil
2 tbsp. cup curd
1 tsp. vanilla extract
12-15 marshmallows

Method; Sift All purpose flour, cocoa powder and baking powder twice.

Whisk oil, curd, vanilla, milk and powder sugar in a large vessel till they are mixed well.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and fold it lightly.

Preheat oven at 190°C for about 10 minutes.

Grease a muffin tray with oil and pour 2/3 of batter into each mold. Insert a marshmallow in the center of each mold.

Bake at 190°C for 20-25 minutes till done.

Serve these Chocolaty marshmallow filled cupcakes wit chocolate sauce or just dust them with powder sugar.

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Eggless Chocolate Banana Cake - Virtual Bridal Shower for Nelly

2011-12-06T23:14:00.001-08:00

A Banana recipe and my virtual party is complete for the girl who loves chocolate, coffee, Nutella and banana more than her boy! After posting a recipe with almost all the favorite ingredients of Nelly, I noticed one of the most favorite s of all Banana was left out. We call ourselves banana sisters and our banana love often comes out on Twitter. Nelly even has a post with all banana recipes here.
The first two ingredients are taken care of in on my other blog with Coffee & Nutella Molten Lava cupcakes.

Check this post here for more about this fun Virtual Bridal shower party from food bloggers.

“And …I said YESSSSS!”

It happened one November midnight, in Twitterverse, we saw this tweet from our dear Nelly @nella22. Without missing a beat, we all knew Nelly had “said YES” to her beloved “M”,as she sweetly calls Brian Murray, her fiancé.

So here we are,Nelly dear, your friends in the food world, wishing you and Brian,all the best. And with our wishes, a simple recipe with an easy formula for a life of bliss, rich with EVERYTHING in it!

BLOGGERS RECIPE FOR NELLY ‘S WEDDED BLISS

Mix together: A lot of Love, Patience, Perseverance, Respect, Courage, Strength, Trust, Kindness, Honesty, Compromise & Great Sex. Stir in : Equal Parts of Love, Support, Faith, Fidelity, Hope, Validation, Friendship, Forgiveness, Communication.

Cook over slow simmer for the rest of your life. Dot daily with a Sense of Humor. Leave out the nagging, sarcasm, skepticism, doubts and stubbornness.

Serving Suggestions: Best prepared daily. Serve with flourish because Married Life is a FEAST. Live it with flavor, spice it with unconditional love, enjoy its richness.

Recipe Notes: Some ingredients won’t always be fresh or available. Or the heat may flare up and the anger spills over. Simmer down and douse the flames with all the LOVE you can throw in.

Enjoy the feast of marriage, love and life!

(Written by : Elizabeth @Mango_Queen)

Eggless Banana Chocolate Cake

Ingredients;

2 cups All purpose flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup butter
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 large overripe banana mashed
1/2 cup milk
2 tbsp. yogurt/curd
1 tsp. vanilla essence
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda

Method; Sieve All purpose flour (maida), baking powder, baking soda and cocoa together in a large vessel.
In another vessel add butter (at room temperature) & sugar and beat till it becomes light and fluffy. Add mashed banana, milk, vanilla essence and yogurt into it and mix well.
Grease a round cake tin with little oil and preheat in a oven at 190°C for 10 minutes.
Pour the wet mixture into the dry flour mix and fold it lightly to incorporate all the ingredients.
Pour the batter in the greased baking tin and bake at 190°C for about 35-40 minutes or till done.
Take out from the oven and let it cool completely.
Spread the chocolate frosting with the help of a blunt knife.

Chocolate Frosting;

Ingredients;

1 cup icing sugar
1/2 cup butter
1tbsp. cocoa powder
1 tsp coffee powder (optional)
Little hot water to bind

Method; Beat butter and sugar with an electric beater tll light and fluffy. Add cocoa powder and coffee powder if using and mix well. Add water by drops to make it into a smooth and creamy frosting.

This is my recipe/post for the virtual bridal shower for Nelly hosted at Lite Bite.

Love and hugs to all the members for being such wonderful pals, will cherish this association for long!Special thanks to Heather for the logo, Elizabethfor the intro write up and to Junia for the spreadsheet. Last but not the least to thank are the threesome awesome men of the group- Brian, Alesio and Alan who kept the group in high spirits with witty jokes.

Follow the virtual party Tweets at

#NellysBigDay

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Kulcha - A Delightful Yeasted Indian Flat Bread

2011-11-10T01:20:00.000-08:00

Kulcha is a delightful Indian flat bread, normally fermented with yeast and baked in oven. Baked version is better off than the fried one as it is devoid of oil. Kulchas are very common street food of North India, and is generally served with spicy channa curry in bowls made of dried leaves.
I made the fried version ad served it with Cottage cheese curry - Paneer Jalfrezi.
The Kulchas taste quite different from the Pooris because of the yogurt and yeast in it.

Ingredients;

3 cups all purpose flour
1 tbsp. yogurt/curd
1 tsp. ghee
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. sugar
2 tsp. dry yeast
1 cup warm water
Oil for deep frying

Method; Sprinkle sugar and yeast over the warm water and leave it to rise for about 10 minutes. Sift flour and salt in a large vessel and make a well in the center. Pour the yeast and sugar mix, ghee and yogurt in it. Mix it well to incorporate all the ingredients together.
Cover the vessel with a damp cloth and leave it aside to rise for 2-3 hours.
Knead it again and divide the dough into 10-12 small balls. Apply a little oil over each and leave it for 10 minutes till the oil is hot.

Heat oil in a wok. Take one oiled ball and flatten it using a rolling pin with a little dry flour on the board. Make a round disc of about 1/4 " thickness.Take the round disc in hand and slightly elongate the round before putting it into the hot oil. Let it fry for a minute and turn to other side. These Kulchas will be almost white in color as against the Pooris which become golden brown when fried.
Serve these Kulchas hot with any spicy Indian dal or curry.

Notes;

Bake the Kulchas after rolling them into round disc at 160°C for 10 minutes.
Sprinkle poppy seeds or sesame seeds over the rolled Kulchas before frying them.
Fill the Kulchas with mashed potatoes or cottage cheese for a delicious stuffed version.

Serve these Kulchas with this exotic cottage cheese curry.

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Anarsay - An Easy Indian Traditional Sweet with Poppy seeds

2011-10-29T02:15:00.000-07:00

The peculiar look of this sweet studded with white pearls of poppy seeds makes Anarsay very special festive recipe. And it has been long time since I made this crunchy and scrumptious sweet at home. I wanted to make something different this festival which is easy and fuss free. A long telephonic discussion with mom resulted in zeroing upon Anarsay.
Except for the soaking hour the sweet is really very quick to make and tastes different from other traditional sweets.

Ingredients;
(makes 20 pieces)

1 cup raw rice
1 cup milk
1 cup powder sugar
1 tsp. cardamom powder
Oil for deep frying

Method; Wash and soak rice in milk for about 6-7 hours. You could also soak the rice n water for 2-3 days changing water every now and then. This will make the rice more soft and the Anarsay will be much softer. Drain milk and grind the soaked rice in fine paste, add milk is needed to make the paste.
Take the rice paste in a vessel and add sugar powder and cardamom in it. Mix it well. It should make a solid mass of dough. If you feel it is wet add a tsp. of rice powder in it.
Heat oil in a wok and spread the poppy seeds in a flat plate.
Take marble size ball from the dough and make a ball, flatten it a little and roll it in the poppy seeds. Make all the Anarsay in the same way.

Deep fry these Anarsay in hot oil on medium heat till it turn gulden brown in color.Drain on tissue paper and store all the Anarsay in an air tight container.

Notes;

You can use rice powder to make Anarsay if you don't have enough time to soak the rice.
Add a few saffron strands in the rice mix for a wonderful flavor and color.
A little bit of fresh coconut in the rice paste will make a tasty variation.

Try these low cal chickpea flour Fudge for a healthy sweet.

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Bridal Shower for Nithya: Chocolate Cup Cakes

2011-10-21T00:22:00.000-07:00

There are very few moments as cherished, as beautiful as the day you embark the new journey of life. Holding someone's hand, with dreams in heart and sparkle in the eyes. The day she started dreaming for, even before she knew its’ meaning. The day she has visualized so many times, that by now every detail is clearly itched in her mind. Yes the day a girl becomes a bride, is like no other.

Very soon one of our friends, a great blogger and a gifted photographer, is going to live her dream. And since I'm sure you read the header before reading this, you all know who am I talking about...Yes Nithya of 4 thsensecooking is getting married this November.

Thanks to the world of connectivity, distances have become a lesser shortcoming. Though nothing can reclaim the joy of celebration in person. Yet in absence of actually being with her during her most joyous period..here we are all, united, to wish her all the best. So today we are throwing this virtual bridal shower for Nithya to express our happiness and celebrate with her.

And what could be a better way to celebrate than with food, the subject, the emotion that binds us all...So we decided to cook it up, literally and that too Nithya's own dishes from her own blog - 4 thsensecooking. Hope she likes the recreation of her own favouite dishes and gets a taste of it through the world wide wide.

Cheers...This is for you Nithya and for all those visiting this virtual bridal shower!!

I decided to bake something with chocolate as my friend is a self confessed chocoholic and dream about chocolate everyday.

Ingredients;

1.5 cup All purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 cup yogurt
1/2 cup any vegetable oil
2 tbsp. cocoa powder
1 tsp. vanilla essence
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda

Method; Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda and cocoa powder in a large vessel.
Take another vessel and add oil, yogurt, sugar and vanilla essence in it. Whisk it well till sugar is dissolved.
Preheat the oven at 190°C for 10 minutes.
Mix the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients and give a light stir so as to just incorporate the whole batter together.

Arrange cup cake liners in a muffin tray or small cup cake molds. Pour the batter in the liners up to 2/3 capacity.
Bake the cup cakes at 190°C for about 17-20 minutes till a skewer inserted comes out clean.
Serve the Chocolate cup cakes with chocolate frosting or dust it with icing sugar.

And here is wishing you good luck for the new chapter of your life, Nithya. May all your wishes turn out to be true and as chocolaty as your dreams are.

Party also being hosted at:

Anamika Arun - Taste Junction

Archana

Krithi - Krithi 's Kitchen

Priya Mitharwal - Mharo Rajasthan Recipes

Priya Mahadeven - Priyas Now Serving

Priya Suresh - Priya easy n tasty recipes

Priya Sreeram - Bon Appetit

Radhika - Tickling Palates

Revathy - Kaarasaaram

Vardhini - Zesty Palette :

Gulab Jamuns with Cottage Cheese - A Delightful Indian Dessert

2011-10-15T04:27:00.000-07:00

Yummy delight!

The festival of lights Diwali, brings back the memories of colorful sweets and bursting noisiest of crackers during our childhood days. Times have changed and now we hardly make any sweets at home.
But there are a few sweets which are a staple during the festive seasons at my home, and Gulab Jamun is one of them. These spongy balls made with reduced milk and dipped in sugar syrup is a delight to eat. You can avoid cottage cheese and make the same recipe with only thickened milk as the main ingredient.

Sugar candy in between

Ingredients;

11/2 cups Khoya or thickened whole milk
1/2 cup Fresh Cottage cheese
1 tsp. semolina
2 tsp. refined flour
A few sugar candy (optional)
3 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1 tsp. cardamom powder
Oil for deep frying

Deep fried balls

Method; Soak semolina in a tsp. of water for 10 minutes.Take a large vessel and add the thickened milk/mawa/khoya in it. Add soaked semolina & refined flour and knead all the ingredients well till it makes a soft dough.
Take a small marble size ball and roll it into a ball, flatten it and put a sugar candy in it. Cover from all the sides and roll it into a ball again. Make all the balls in the similar way and keep aside.
Heat oil in a thick wok and deep fry the above balls in small batches. Drain them on a tissue paper.
Take another thick bottom vessel and boil sugar, cardamom powder and water in it till the sugar is dissolved. Boil it further and make a one string sugar syrup.
Cool the syrup and add all the fried balls in it. Let it soaked till served.
Notes;

Add saffron in the sugar syrup for a flavorful dessert.
Cashew, pistachios and raisins could be rolled in the balls in place of the sugar candy.
Replace cottage cheese with Tofu for a healthy variation.
Serve the Gulab Jamuns topped with ice cream or any fruit syrup.

Happy Diwali to all of you, may this festival bring loads of happiness & prosperity in your life!

Peas & Cottage Cheese in Spicy Gravy

2011-10-08T08:22:00.000-07:00

A simple Peas and cottage cheese or Mutter paneer as is called in Hindi with wholewheat Indian flat breads is one such delightful meals I crave for during the weekends. There are many ways to make this recipe, you could make it more exotic with cashew nut paste or deep fry the cottage cheese cubes for the crunchy taste. But my favorite is this simple yet scrumptious recipe which is easy to cook and is a delight to savor.

Ingredients;
(serve 2)

1/2 cup cottage cheese cubes
1/2 cup fresh peas
4 tsp. of oil
Salt as desired
A pinch of asafoetida
1/2 tsp. of mustard seeds
1 cup water

Spices

1 tsp. red chilly powder
1 tsp. coriander powder
1/4 tsp, turmeric powder
1/2 tsp cumin seeds powder (optional)
1/2 tsp. garam masala

To grind

2 onions
2 tomatoes
4 garlic pearls
A small piece of ginger

Method; Peel and dice onion into small cubes. Wash and cut tomatoes into small pieces. Grind onion, tomato, garlic and ginger into fine paste.
Take a small bowl and add all the spices in it, mix with a teaspoon of water.
Cut cottage cheese into small cubes.
Heat oil in a wok and crackle mustard seeds. Add the ground paste, asafoetida, salt and the spice mix in the oil and fry it for about 10 minutes on low heat till the oil separates from the mixture.
Add water in the wok and let it boil. Add cottage cheese cubes and fresh peas in the wok. Cover it and let it simmer for 10 minutes on low heat.
Garnish with fresh coriander leaves and serve this delightful Cottage cheese and fresh peas hot with Indian flat breads, plain rice or buns.

Adhirasam - A Traditional Indian Sweet

2011-09-25T10:17:00.000-07:00

Come Diwali and you could smell jaggery, cardamom and coconut everywhere! There are many special sweets from South India which are uncommon in other regions, and Adhirasam is one of them.
This traditional sweet requires a little proficiency in making the exact dough which will hold its shape when fried in oil.

Ingredients;
(makes about 10-12)

1 cup Raw rice
3/4 cup Jaggary
1 tsp. cardamom powder
Oil for deep frying
1/4 cup water

Method;
1. Wash and soak raw rice in water for an hour, drain the rice. Spread the rice on a kitchen towel to let the water absorbed from it.
2. Grind the dried rice in a grinder and make a very fine powder.
3. Add water to the jaggary and heat the mixture in a thick bottom kadai. Remove any impurities from the jaggary syrup.
4. Heat the syrup till you get one string syrup. Take off the flame and add the cardamom powder in it.
5. Add this syrup to the rice flour little by little. Keep mixing the flour and the syrup with a ladle.
6. Heat oil in a wok. Take a small marble size ball from the above dough and make a circle.
7. Flatten the dough a little and drop it in the oil. Do remember to grease your palm with oil before making the Adhirasam.
8. Turn the Adhirasam to other side when it becomes golden in color.

Make all the Adhirasam and store in an air tight container for up to 15 days.
Notes;

My MIL adds a little coconut in the Adhirasam dough.
You can use store bought rice flour also for making the Adirasam.
Replace jaggary with sugar for a different version of Adhirasam.
Dry ginger powder and poppy seeds are also added in the dough for more flavors & taste to this traditional sweet recipe.

Do check in the on-going event on WWC and send in your entries for the same.

Cashew Fudge or Kaju Katli - A Melt-in-Mouth Indian Sweet

2011-08-10T08:50:00.000-07:00

Indian festivals and sweets are synonyms to each other. Festivals in India are not complete without a plateful of colourful sweets. These Cashew Fudge or Kaju Katli as called in Hindi is one of my favorite sweets and is a permanent feature in my house during all festivals.

There are many ways & recipes to make these cashew fudge, you can make it using cashew powder and sugar syrup or soak the nuts and make it. I like the later method and soak the nuts in milk before making the fudge.

Ingredients;

Cashew nuts 250 gms
Powder Sugar 200 gms or a little less
1 tsp. cardamom powder
1/4 cup milk
1 tbsp. clarified butter/ghee

Method; Wash and soak the cashew nuts in milk for about an hour. Drain the milk and grind the soaked cashew in a grinder to a fine powder. Add powder sugar and cardamom powder in the ground cashew nut and mix well.
Heat a heavy bottom wok and add 1 tbsp of ghee. Add the above cahew nut mix and keep stirring for about 10 minutes on medium heat mix till it makes a solid ball.
Take the dough out on a flat surface and cool it a little.
Flatten the dough using a rolling pin into a thin sheet. Use a butter paper to roll the dough if it is sticky.

Cut into diamonds and decorate with silver paper. Stays good for 10-15 days.
Notes;

You can make the fudge with other nuts such as Pistachios and walnuts using the same method.
If the dough is sticky to roll heat it for a little more time.
And if the dough becomes too hard, add a few drops of milk and roll it.
I have used edible silver paper here.
I add a little less sugar than mentioned, as sugar mars the taste of cashew and I prefer less sugar in my sweets.

Want to try Peanut Butter Fudge on Lite Bite;

Rice and Soya Granules in a Crispy Snacks

2011-07-06T01:48:00.000-07:00

Weekend is the most awaited time for my family who look forward to something crisp to munch upon during the evenings. And I like to experiment with various food ingredients to come up with something new and exciting from the normal snack recipes I usually make. This one is yet another scrumptious treat from my kitchen for you.

Ingredients;
(makes 10-12 pieces)

2 cups of cooked rice
1/2 cup of Soya granules
1/2 cup of mashed potato/potato flakes
1 green chilly
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. Garam masala
1/4 tsp. Turmeric powder
1/4 tsp. Red chilly powder
1/2 tsp. Chaat masala/dry mango powder
1 tbsp. fresh coriander leaves (shredded)
Water to soak the soya granules
Oil for deep frying

Method; Soak soya granules in water for about 10 minutes. Drain and squeeze the granules to remove excess water from it.
Boil and mash a small potato or use potato flakes as shown in the picture. Dice the green chilly finely.
Take a large vessel and add the cooked rice into it. Add all the ingredients except oil in the cooked rice. Mix and mash all the ingredients to make a soft dough from it.
Make small balls from the above dough, flatten them a bit and keep them in a plate.

Heat oil in a wok and add these balls in a batch of 2-3 into it. Deep fry till they turn golden brown in color.
Take out from the oil and keep them on a tissue paper. Serve these crispy snack of rice and soya granules with tomato sauce or any chutney of your choice.
Notes;

You can avoid the soya granules and make the snacks with just the potato and rice mix in it.
Coat the balls in fresh bead crumbs before frying for much crispier crust.

Would like to have some quick and healthy Rice recipes on Lite Bite;

Healthy Rice recipes

Join the WWC event on Reva's blog this month and cook with Corn in your kitchen.

http://litebite.in/event-wwc/

Crunchy Lentils - A Spicy Tea Time Snack

2011-06-20T09:18:00.000-07:00

Evening is the time everyone look out for something to munch upon with a hot cup of tea. I often bake muffins, wholewheat cookies and scones in advance and store them for a couple of days. At times we all feel like having something spicy and crispy to go along with the tea. The Crunchy Lentil snack below fits the bill perfectly.

A bit time consuming but believe me the recipe is worth giving a try. You can store the snack for about 15 days without refrigeration and more if you freeze it in zip lock bags.
Ingredients;

A mix of Lentils
Salt as desired
Chilly powder as desired
Chaat masala (optional)
1/2 tsp. Baking soda
Oil for deep frying

Method; The combo of lentils you can try for the recipe is Chickpeas (kabuli channa), dried peas, lentils (massor dal), green gram (moong dal), split chickpeas (channa dal), black eyed beans, soybeans etc.
Wash each lentil with clean water. Soak the bigger lentils (chickpeas, peas, soybeans, black eyed beans) overnight and the smaller variety for about 3-4 hours separately with the baking soda dissolved in water.
Drain the water the next day and spread the soaked lentils on a clean kitchen towel. Tap dry the lentils.
Heat oil in a wok and add a small batch of each lentil at a time. Fry for a few minutes till they change color and take out from hot oil.
Fry all the remaining lentils. Let it cool. Mix in salt, chilly powder and the chaat masala in the fried lentils.
Store and serve the crispy lentil snack with hot cup of tea.
Notes;

Try to soak each lentil in separate container.
Baking soda makes the hard lentils become soft and large, which makes them crunchy when fried.
Fry groundnuts separately without soaking and add to the fried lentil snack.
This Crunchy Lentil snack makes a perfect travel and picnic snack.

Have you sent in your recipe for the event WWC on Heather's blog..

http://litebite.in/event-wwc/

Crispy Green Gram Pooris an Indian Flat Bread Delight

2011-05-23T08:18:00.000-07:00

For the last one month my taste buds are adjusting with the drastic changes in the food habits. From the light and simple foods I am used to, to the lavish spreads mom is cooking daily. The whole month passed trying out some of her authentic curries, pickles, snacks and recipes I almost forgot.
Mom made these Wholewheat Green Gram Pooris or Indian flat bread with wholewheat and green gram which we took with us in our trip to the lakeside the other day. These are so crisp and scrumptious that you don't need any other accompaniments than a hot cup of tea with it.
I like her idea of adding whole green gram in the dough. The grams gave a crunchy look and feel to the flat breads.
Some of the favorite places to hang around in the evenings are these two lakes near my house.

My kids enjoy the morning walk with their cousin in the middle. The fresh air and the pollution free environ we miss a lot in metro life.

One another frequently visited places is this garden with boat rides. I would have lost a few kilos for sure paddling these boats for almost the whole of last month :)

Ingredients;

(makes 10-15 pooris)

* 1 cup wholewheat flour
* 1 tbsp. chickpea flour
* 1 tbsp. semolina (suji)
* 1/2 cup soaked split green gram
* 1 tbsp. fresh coriander leaves
* 1 tsp. salt
* 1 tsp. chilly powder
* 1/2 tsp. garam masala
* 1 tbsp. oil
* Oil for deep frying
* 1 cup water

Method; Take a large bowl and add all the ingredients except water and mix well. Add water and knead the flour and spice into a hard dough.

Heat oil in a wok. Take a flat board and a rolling pin. Take small balls from the dough and make it into a sphere, flatten it and do the same with the rest of the dough.

Sprinkle a little dry flour onto the board and keep a ball of the dough on it. Roll it into a circle using the rolling pin. Make all the pooris and keep them on a large inverted plate.

Deep fry each pooris in hot oil till they turn golden brown in color. Drain the pooris on a tissue paper and serve them with any chutney or tomato sauce.
Check out these Baked Spicy Buns on Lite Bite we took along during one of our visits to the lovely lakes in Udaipur.

A Crisp and Scrumptious Sago Snack

2011-04-09T04:53:00.000-07:00

Snack time is the most awaited time on a weekend. More so when there is a cricket match to follow and the kid and hubby look forward to eating something crisp and scrumptious. These Sago snack was one such treat for them last week.

Ingredients;
(makes 20 balls)

One cup Sago/sabudana
1/2 cup potato
1 small onion
2 tsp. red chilly powder
1 green chilly
1/4 tsp. turmeric powder
Salt as desired
1/2 tsp. roasted cumin powder
2 tbsp. Fresh coriander leaves
Oil for deep frying

Method: Boil potatoes in very little water till they are tender. Soak sago or sabudana in one cup of water for about 20 minutes. Take out the sago and put them in a large vessel. Peel and mash potatoes. Add all the ingredients in the sago vessel except the oil. Mash and mix all the ingredients well to form a dough.
Heat oil in a wok and make small balls from the above dough. Deep fry the sago ball in small batches till they turn goelden brown in color. drain them on a tissue paper.

Serve the Sago snacks with coriander, mint or tomato chutney.

Notes;

I have added various ingredients to the soaked sago to make different Snack. Cooked rice, soaked beaten rice (poha), sweet potato, yam and so on. And each tasted equally scrumptious!
Makes a delicious starter for your party.

Join the on-going WWC started on Lite Bite and hosted at Denise' blog about Quinoa for Dinner.

Spicy Brown Rice Pooris

2011-02-24T23:57:00.000-08:00

These Brown rice spicy pooris make a good lunch box meal when packed with a chutney or spread. Healthy and easy to make they can be taken for picnic or as a great travel food too. I often make these crisp pooris at dinner time and serve them with spicy curd potato or channa masala.

Ingredients;

(makes 10 puris)

1/2cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup wholewheat flour
1 tsp of chilly powder
1/2 tsp of cumin powder
3 tsp of shredded coriander leaves
1/4 tsp. of salt
4-5 tsp of curd
water to knead the dough
2 tsp. of oil
1/4 tsp. of Turmeric powder
Oil for deep frying

Method: Take both the flours in a big vessel and add all the ingredients into it. Make a hard dough for pooris. Heat oil in a kadai.

Take small marble sized balls from the dough and roll it into small circles. Make all the pooris like this to save time when frying them.

Fry all the pooris in small batches in the hot oil till they turn brown and crisp.

Serve these Brown rice spicy pooris with any chutney or tomato sauce. Try this Brown Rice Paella from Lite Bite;

This post goes to the event WWC -Brown Rice for Dinner on Siris' blog hosted on Lite Bite.

Jim Corbett National Park - A Perfect Date with Nature!

2011-02-02T23:50:00.000-08:00

Coming down the hill from Didihat to Ramnagar was easy this time, thanks to the timely advice from my friend and proper precautions against mountain sickness. The nearest staying option we could find was KMVN guest house in Ramnagar, which was well maintained and had good room service with all the basic amenities.

We were among the few privileged lucky travelers to Jim Corbett National Park or CNP who got the most coveted Jungle rest house Dhikala. After confirming the booking in Ramnagar and a night stay at KMVN guest house we hired an open Gypsy with a driver for 2 nights and 3 days. You need to show your bargaining prowess here to fix a good rate. And Rs. 2000/ for a day was not bad according to other co travelers.

It took about 25 minutes to reach to the main entrance of CNP gate. After completing the formalities we were provided with a few jute bags to carry during our safari. We rented out 2 binoculars from shop next to the main gate.

Dhikala rest house: Journey towards Dhikala itself is like a small safari with loads of herbivores grazing all over the place. The lush green thick forest, canopy of conifers and fragrant wild flowers transformed us to a different plane.

Dhikala is well protected with electric fences and is the only jungle guest house abuzz with human activities. It has accommodation in the form of cottages, huts and dormitories. Cottages being the premium and most comfortable of all.

After checking in at the reception counter we were taken to our cottage on the first floor just above the reception.
The rooms are quite spacious and with electricity! The most precious commodity in CNP.

This is the only spot where you are allowed to step down from your vehicle and watch the river and the crocodiles in the natural surroundings.

Kids were amazed to see huge crocs speedily crossing the river, and found it surprising that they can swim and move too :) Most will be sleeping like logs all day long in the crocodile park we have visited in our city.

Morning safari: After a good night sleep a knock at 5 am woke us up. A regular wake up call by the staff of Dhkala with a pot of tea. Life is bliss...hot cuppa without going to the kitchen! By 6.20am we were ready with water bottles, camera and binoculars for our morning safari. The gate opens at 6.30 am for 2 hours in the morning.

If you are a nature lover than CNP is the place for you. Our most exciting and a little scary moment was a close encounter with the Tuskers.

The first incidence occurred when all of a sudden our driver slowed down the jeep and asked us not to stand. We could not make out the reason as there were no animals in the vicinity, but were soon breathless when a large group of elephants rolled down the mountain and stopped in front of us. We were dumb struck and sweating in the chilly morning!

The elephants just starred at us and went down the hill near the water hole.

The water hole where all the animals come down for water.

A wild Chase: When I started panning about our CNP trip 3 months in advance many friends laughed away the idea of going to a jungle and watching animals when we can do the same at the Zoo also. For them spending a good fortune and looking out for just deer, rabbits and a few rodents was a waste of time and money.

But after our 3 wonderful jungle safaris, given a choice I would love to visit a sanctuary again any day to any other tourist place.

Evening safari started at 5 pm and was quite pleasant, till we came to a point where we saw a couple of safari vehicles standing. It was next to a large grassland area. And we could see a herd of elephants with 4-5 big tuskers.

Our driver also stopped the jeep and asked us to take pictures, after a couple of shots we saw the herd go berserk and started chasing the first jeep in front of us.

During such incidences of wild chase the experienced drivers come handy. Normally they will reverse the vehicle and drive fast in the opposite direction. But in our case there were 2 other vehicles standing behind us already and he couldn’t do that.

The driver in front of us shouted and asked our driver to accelerate and follow him. He did the same and we crossed the wild animals with just a few feet away. The picture shows the Tuskers chasing us.

The other travelers were caught and started honking their vehicle till the elephants got scared and turned back.

We stopped our vehicle a little further and watched the animals in action again.

Another thrilling moment of our evening Safari!

A Peaceful afternoon at the Machan: Morning Safari closes at 9.30 am in the morning and we had lots of time in hand. Our driver suggested we spent the time at the machan. And it surely was a good decision. We could watch various activities of animals for longer time. It was a stark difference between the noisy city life and a quite surrounding of the wild. Barring a few monkeys who were hopping inside the machan for the crispies and cookies that kids were eating.

You need to book for the elephant safari the previous night. I forgot to take my charger for the Uttaranchal trip and had to make do with the mobile photos.

An altogether different experience sitting at the back of this majestic animals and rambling in the wild.

I am there again soon to luxuriate in the simple yet sublime pleasures of nature & wild.

Check out these sites for more help on Corbett Bookings and other details;

KMVN

Getting to CNP

CNP

The other articles about the Uttaranchal trips can be seen here;
Uttaranchal II - A Road less Traveled

Uttaranchal I - A Road less Traveled

Seven Cup Cakes - An Indian Delicacy

2011-02-02T23:46:00.000-08:00

As the name suggests this Indian sweet 7 Cup Cakes is done with exactly 7 cups of ingredients. This is a long due post and the very first post in 2011. My co-sister S made the sweet during Diwali festival. Though she was not quite happy with the results as she thought the mix got overcooked and did not taste exactly like what she wanted. But I thoroughly enjoyed the slight caramelized version of this delicacy and would love to do it this way if I am making it again :)

Ingredients

Chickpea flour or besan - 1 cup
coconut (could use dessicated) - 1cup
milk - 1 cup
ghee - 1 cup
sugar - 3 cups (can reduce it to 21/2 need be)

Method: Heat a thick bottom kadai and dry fry the chickpea flour or besan till the raw smell disappear. Take the flour out in a plate and keep it aside. Heat the ghee in the same kadai and add the flour, fry it for a few minutes and add milk into it.

Keep stirring the mix till it becomes thick and starts separating from the sides of the kadai. Add the sugar & coconut and keep stirring.
Spread a little ghee on a flat plate and pour the mixture over it. Make marks of any shape you desire using a knife and let it cool. Cut into piece and store 7 cup cakes in an air tight container.
Note:
The mixture was too thin and was cooked for couple of extra minutes which gave the slight golden brown color to this sweet.

Light Vanilla Cake and New Year Wishes!

2010-12-31T01:54:00.000-08:00

December is the time for all cakes & bakes. All the food blogs are abuzz with loads & loads of scrumptious baked goodies. This egg less light Vanilla Cake is a treat from Different strokes to all the friends and bloggers.

Ingredients;

250 gms Refined flour
180 gms Condensed milk
50 gms melted Butter
100 ml Milk
100 ml Soda water
1 tsp. Baking powder
1/2 tsp. Baking Soda
1 tsp. of Vanilla extract

For icing;

1 cup of powder sugar
1 tbsp of water
2 tsp. of butter
1/2 tsp. of Vanilla extract

Method; Sift the flour, baking powder and baking soda together for at least 2 times in a large vessel. Add butter, vanilla, condensed milk and plain milk in another vessel and give a good stir.
Mix the liquid ingredients into the dry flour mix little by little. Mix it with light hand.
Preheat the oven at 180°C for 10 minutes. Grease a round cake tin with a little butter.
Add the soda water in the last, and bake the cake at 180°C for 35-40 minutes or till done. Check the cake by inserting a knife into it, if it comes clean the cake is done.
The cake is very light and moist due to soda water in it.

Make icing by mixing the powder sugar with hot water and rest of the ingredients. Beat it till it looks creamy and shining. Decorate the light Vanilla Cake with the icing and serve.

Check out the event on Lite Bite;

Event-WWC

Lentil and Rice flour Snack

2010-12-21T03:49:00.000-08:00

These crisp and spicy circles make a very interesting tea time snack. The crunchy whole pepper in every bite gives a fiery taste. Very common in South India, these are called Tattai in Tamil. Easy to make these snacks stay good for many days.

Ingredients;

1 cup of Rice flour
1/4 cup of De husked Black gram flour (urad dal)
1 tbsp de husked Green gram (Moong dal)
3 tsp. of whole black pepper
2 tsp. of Sesame seeds
1/2 tsp. asafoetida
A few sprigs of Curry leaves
salt as desired
Water to knead dough
Oil for deep frying

Method: Wash and soak the green gram for 10 minutes. Take a large vessel and add both the flours into it. Mix in salt, black pepper, curry leaves, sesame seeds (til) and asafoetida (hing) with it. Make a well and add 2 tbsp. of oil into it, and rub the whole mix together.
Add about 3-4 tsps. of water and start kneading the dough. The dough should be little hard in texture.
Take a plastic sheet and grease it lightly with oil. Take a marble sized dough and keep it on the plastic sheet. Dip your fingers in water and press the ball lightly to make a small circle. The circle will not have even edges as the dough is hard and brittle. Make all the circles using the remaining dough.
Heat oil in a wok and deep fry these circles one by one. Drain it on a tissue paper and store them in an air tight container.

You may like the Healthy Snacks on Lite Bite.

A Crispy Lentil Snack - Murukku

2010-12-06T23:50:00.000-08:00

A crisp and scrumptious lentil snack - Murukku is a very common savory dish during festivals and special occasions in south India. Murukkus are traditionally made with hands and needs a lot of patience to constantly twist and turn the dough for that spiral look.

Ingredients;

2 cups of rice
1/4 cup of de-husked black gram
1/4 tsp of asafoetida or Hing
1 tsp cumin seeds/Jeera
1 tsp.of Salt
1/4 cup of unsalted butter
Vegetable oil for deep frying

Method:

For making rice powder: Clean and pick the rice and dry roast it slightly for a few minutes in a wok. Wash and soak the rice for about 1 hour. Drain the rice and spread it on a clean kitchen towel, and let it dry. Grind the rice into fine powder and keep it aside.
Similarly dry roast the De husked black gram (dhuli urad dal) for a few minutes till changes to light brown in color. Cool the gram and grind it into a fine powder.
If the powder is not very fine, sieve both the powders together using a muslin cloth.
Take a big vessel and add both the powders in it, mix in the salt, cumin seeds, asafoetida and the butter into it. Rub the whole mix thoroughly, and make it into a semi solid dough using very little water.

How to shape the Murukkus: Spread a news paper for keeping and shaping the Murukkus. Take a small ball of dough and make a round ball from it. Roll the ball into an elongated tube. Using thumb and index finger twist this tube slowly with, make spiral shapes and make a full circle with this spiral. Make all the Murukkus the same way.
Heat oil in a wok, take the Murukkus with a flat spatula from the news paper and fry these Murukkus in small batches till light golden brown and crisp from outside.

Keep the Murukkus on tissue paper for letting the excess oil to drain out. Store in an air tight container.

These crispy snacks -Murukkus stays good for almost a month if kept in an air tight container. Makes a good after school snack for the kids.

Healthy Snacks on Lite Bite

A Crispy & Easy Tea Time Snack - Veggie Fritters

2010-11-30T21:37:00.000-08:00

Tea time snacks are the most awaited time during rainy days and on weekends. These Veggie Fitters aka Pakoras fit into the bill perfectly. Easy to make, crispy and delicious snack which can be transformed into many new varieties with different vegetables and flours in it.
This veggie fritter is the most common way to make these scrumptious snack. And using the same batter you can make fritters with any vegetable of your choice.

Ingredients;
(makes 30 35 fritters)

1 cup of chickpea flour/besan
3 tsp. of rice flour
1/4 cup of yogurt/curd
Vegetables of your choice
1 tsp. of chilly powder
1/4 tsp. of Turmeric powder
1/4 tsp. of Garam Masala
1/2 tsp. of Cumin powder/Jeera
A pinch of asafoetida
Salt as desired
Water to make the batter
Oil for deep frying

Method: For making these fritters vegetables such as capsicum, potato, brinjal, okra, onion, peas, corn, cauliflower, ridge guard, bitter guard etc are very good option.
Wash and cut the vegetables in very thin slices.

For making the batter, take a big hollow vessel and add chickpea flour and rice flour in it. Add all the dry spices and powders into it and mix thoroughly.
Pour the yogurt and add water little by little to make a thick batter.

Heat oil in a skillet and dip a piece of vegetable in it and leave it into the hot oil. Deep fry the fritters for about 1-2 minutes till it is crispy and golden from outside.
If you are using corn or fresh peas, mix them in the batter with sliced oninon and then deep fry them using a small spoonful of this batter in the oil.

Note;

Do not remove the skin from vegetables which are fresh and have thin skin.
Rice flour in the batter gives crisp texture to these Veggie fritters.
Serve the fritters with green chutney or tomato sauce.

Healthy Snack on Lite Bite.

Egg less Orange Muffin Recipe

2010-11-21T21:41:00.000-08:00

Muffins are great breakfast to start your weekends on a sweet note. These egg less Orange Muffins are soft and light, and can be packed in the snack box for your kids. I think I am now done with oranges, with 3 baking recipes with oranges in a row :)

Ingredients;

1 cup refined flour
2 tbsp. of sugar
1 tsp. Baking powder
A pinch of salt
1/2 cup of orange juice
1 tbsp of yogurt or 1 egg
3 tsp. of oil

Method: Sift the flour and baking powder together and add salt to it. Mix sugar, oil, yogurt and the orange juice in another vessel and beat it till the sugar is dissolved.
Preheat oven at 180°C for 10 minutes and grease muffin molds with oil.
Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and fold it into a batter. Do not over mix the batter.
Pour the batter in the muffin molds and bake it for 15-20 minutes at 180°C.
Take out from the oven and let it cool for 10 minutes before taking the muffins from the molds.

Serve the muffins with fresh cream or sprinkle powder sugar over the orange muffins. Since these egg less orange muffins are made with refined flour or maida, these are very light and fluffy.
These muffins stays good for about a week. I normally avoid using refined flour for baking. But since Different Strokes is for indulging in food, with no diet rules to follow, these orange muffins have got their place here.

Look out for Healthy Baking and Healthy Recipes in Lite Bite.

Some of the Baking recipes with oranges

orange-honey-eggless-cake

eggless-orange-bread/

Crispy and fluffy Savory - Khaja

2010-11-16T07:18:00.000-08:00

Khaja is a crispy and very light snack popular in the North India. Care should be taken when you buy these snacks from the bakery or super market. As most of the times these are made with Trasfats, a kind of vegetable fat which is very dangerous to health but gives a light and flaky texture and more shelf life to such goodies.

Ingredients;

1 cup of refined flour
5-6 tsp of butter or ghee
1 tsp.Caroms seeds or Ajwain
Salt as desired
Oil for deep frying
Water to knead the flour
2-3 teaspoons of Rice flour

Method: Take the refined flour or maida in a big vessel and add salt, caroms seeds seeds and 3 teaspoons of butter into it. Rub the whole mix lightly with your fingers. The mixture should resemble dried bread crumbs..
Add water in small quantity and knead the flour into a pliable dough.
Take a big size dough and make a circle using a rolling pin. Spread 1/2 tsp. of butter on to the circle and sprinkle 1 tsp. of rice flour on it. Fold it again into a ball and repeat the same process twice with same quntity of butter and rice flour in between. Repeat the same process with the rest of the dough.
After the third rolling fold the dough in a rectangle and refrigerate for 1 hour. Take out the rolled out dough and cut it into small roundels using a sharp knife.
Heat oil in a wok and deep fry all the roundels in it till they are golden brown in color.

Note;

The process of applying butter and the rice flour will give flaky texture to this snack.
The shelf life of this crispy snack is very long and can be stored for about a month in an air tight container.

Savory Recipes

Some Healthy Snacks on Lite Bite

Nutty Chandrakalas - a delicacy worth indulging

2010-10-30T01:46:00.000-07:00

The sweet looks and taste as beautiful as its name - Chandrakala which might have got its name due to the crescent shape similar to moon (chandra). The shape and the stuffing may vary from one region to other region, but the sweet is surely a delicacy worth indulging in. Moreover these sweets can be prepared ahead of time and kept, saves loads of time during the hustle & bustle of festive seasons.
Normally Chandrakala has the stuffing of mawa or the condensed and thickened milk, I prefer the filling of nuts and honey.

Ingredients;
(makes 25-30 pieces)

2 cups of refined flour or maida
2 tsp. of semolina or suji
1/4 cup of oil
A pinch of salt
A pinch of saffron or orange color
Milk to knead the dough
Oil for deep frying

For stuffing:

Assorted nuts
1 tbsp. Honey
A pinch of Saffron

For the sugar syrup:

1 Kg sugar
1 lt of water

Method: Take a big vessel and add the refined flour and salt in it. Make a well in the center and add the 1/4 cup of oil in it. Mix it lightly till the flour resembles bread crumbs.
Add water and make a pliable dough of soft consistency.
Make small balls and roll them into thin circles, or make a big ball from the dough and then make a big circle and cut it into small circles of 4 cm.

Filling:
Cashew, Almonds, Pistachios, figs, raisins and blueberries goes well as a healthy and exotic filling. Make a coarse powder of the assorted nuts. Heat a skillet and add honey to it, add saffron and the assorted nuts powder to it. Cook the above mix for a few minutes and take off the flames. Cool the mixture.

Sugar syrup: Be the water and add sugar into it. Make a 2 string consistency sugar syrup.

Assembling the Chandrakala:
The below two methods are more common in making Chandrakalas;
1. Full moon shape: Take a small circles made with the dough and spread a spoonful of the above mix over it, cover this with another small circle.Pinch the sides of both the circles by twisting and turning the dough.
2. Crescent shapes: Take one circle and fill the stuffing, twist and turn the edges to close the circle. I made the crescent shaped Chandrakalas.

Heat oil in a wok and deep fry these Chandrakalas in it till they turn dark brown in color. Dip these cooked Chandrakalas in the sugar syrup and take them out. Decorate these scrumptious Chandrakalas with silver foil and store them in an airtight container.

These Nutty Chandrakalas are a delicacies worth trying out this festive season. Try mawa or cottage cheese stuffing mixed with the nuts and get another delicious version of these sweet indulgence. Festive wishes to you all. Take care.

Try these healthy wholewheat delights from Lite Bite;

Wholewheat Delights

A Sweet Indulgence - Imarti

2010-10-19T22:22:00.000-07:00

The next few days are going to be sweet indulgence with festivals around the corner. The women folks are all geared up to plan for the variates they are going to prepare this Diwali. Sweets, sweets and more sweets!
Normally I avoid making sweets on festivals, but my hubby insists that I make a few sweets so that the kids get to know of our traditions and customs.
My mom always makes this traditional sweet Imarti on festivals, it looks similar to Jalebis but taste different and requires a little extra effort.

Imarti is made with de-husked Black gram (Dhuli urad dal). The ground batter should be soft and light in consistency.

Ingredients;

2 cups of Dehusked Black Gram (Dhuli urad dal)
2 cup of Sugar
1 cup of water
1/2 tsp. of Cardamom powder
A pinch of Saffron
Oil or Ghee for deep frying
Piping bag

Method: Wash and soak the de husked black gram for 3 hours. Drain the water and grind in into very fine paste, using very little water.
Take the batter in a big vessel and beat it vigorously usnig hand or a ladle to incorporate air and make the batter fluffy.
Soak the saffron in a teaspoon of milk.

Add the soaked saffron and cardamom powder in the batter and mix it thoroughly.
Fill a piping bag with this batter. I was lazy to take out my piping bag and used a Zip lock instead. Fill the batter in the Zip lock and make a very small cut at the end.
Heat oil in a flat skillet.
Pres the bag full of batter lightly over the hot oil and make small circles in it. Let it fry till the Imartis turn golden brown in color.
Make a sugar syrup of one thread consistency and keep it aside.
Dip the fried Imartis in the sugar syrup for 5-10 minutes and take them out.

Note:
The batter I made was too frothy and the Imartis were becoming plump and soft, it was hard to get the perfect shape. I added 2-3 tsp. of Chick pea flour (Besan) to the batter and I got crispy (the first picture) Imartis.

This sweet goes to the event - Traditioanl Festive Recipes on Tasty Bites;

Some other sweet you may like on Lite Bite;