Dill leaves Vada(ಸಬ್ಬಸಿಗೆ ವಡೆ)

Tried and tasted by Nivedita

Hi All,

Winter is saying bye... but, some snacks are always welcome, in any season, at any time, with something or nothing. As a side dish in full meals or just as a whole snack with a cup of tea in the evening.

And this snack comes under the same category.  This  is prepared using dill leaves and is a deep fried snack.

The dill leaves gives unique taste. This is again my mom's favorite. She will be waiting for me to say yes to make this( I am very strict daughter, who never allows her to eat oily things).

There is a person who has small moving cart like vehicle, I am seeing him from many years making these in the evening. And always there is a huge rush for this. I too used to eat from his shop when I was in college, Now a days, these hygienic things in my mind won't allow me to eat roadside stuff!!! (very funny)

A very common deep fried snack and I have seen many friends have posted the recipe. That was the reason I was delaying to post it even though I clicked this many months ago. May be the procedure and the ingredients are different.

Here is my way:

Ingredients :

Dill leaves :- 1 small bunch

Chana - 1/2 cup

Green chilly - 3 to 4

Curry leaves few

Salt to taste

Cumin seeds - 1 tsp

Rice flour - 1 to 2 tbsp

Oil to fry

Method :

• Clean the dill leaves. Wash and chop finely
• Soak the Chana for 2 hours.
• Drain the water and grind it to very coarse paste with green chilly and cumin seeds. 
• Add the dill leaves, rice flour and salt to it. Mix well. Add water if needed to make very thick paste. It should not be watery. Just enough water to combine the ingredients.
• Heat oil in a kadai. When hot, take a small portion in your palm, give a flat round shape and put into oil to fry.
• Fry in batches. Fry till golden brown.
• Enjoy it the way want..

In my house, the plate never stays full. I should hide few for me before I call others to have it.

Sending this to 

Radhika's event

Announcing My First Event ~ Deep Fried Snacks

Keep Smiling,

Chocolate Kheer

Tried and tasted by Nivedita

Hi All,

I always get inspired to cook something new dishes when there is an event announcement. It forces me to use my brain to try something new.

This Kheer took birth because of the event only. There are four  reasons to prepare this kheer. 

Kheer is my mom's favorite, and we make milk kheer often.

I wanted to use the chocolates which mom brought from Egypt few months back

I wanted to use the left over milk.

And I wanted to cook something for chocolate event.

No ingredients or method separately written. Its all in the down paragraph. Please read the full post to get the recipe.(I have typed the ingredients bold and in different color)

When I entered the kitchen, I was not sure how I am going to prepare this as I did not browse any blogs or websites. I had kept the chocolates out from the fridge. Mom brought a big box of chocolates from Egypt and all remaining in the box, as the chocolates are bitter. 

I just kept the milk(1/4 litre) to boil on one side. Another side, Ajjiri was making hot chapatis. I was thinking how to melt the chocolates???? Tinggg :-)  when I saw ajjiri finishes making chapatis and the tawa was hot.

I took little milk in another steel vessel and put the chocolates. Kept that vessel on the tawa. Viola!! The chocolates got mix with the milk and got nice choco milk. I added 2 tbsp of sugar to the milk and allowed it to boil on a low flame for 10 minutes. Now was the time for Cinnamon and Cardamom powder (1/2 tsp) to go into the milk.

Boiled it for 2 more minutes. Added the choco milk to it.  Stirred and again kept it to boil till the milk became 1/2 the quantity and it got the kheer consistency.It took another 10 minutes. But be careful at the end otherwise your milk will get burnt at the bottom.

Yummmmmmmmmmm!!! The chocolate kheer tasted heaven.

I could feel the chocolate flavor and the bitterness was totally missing.

I had the thick curdled cream melting in my mouth........

You want any more sin than this!!!!!!

I loved to have it hot, and my daughter has kept it in the fridge to have it chilled for tomorrow. :-)

Sending it to 

 Jyoti's (The Veggie Hut )

Lets Celebrate Sweets - Chocolate! An Event Announ...
which is started by Me.

Keep Smiling,

Chocolate Halwa(Food remake)

Tried and tasted by Nivedita

Hi All,

Trying to make some sweets adding chocolate. And suddenly remembered this halwa which I prepared few months back. It was Srivalli's recipe and I could not wait to make it. The photo was lying in my drafts.

Taking this chance to post it for the event.

Don't compare my click with Valli's. :-)

For the recipe visit HERE by  Srivalli. Thanks Valli, for this recipe.

This is a winner dessert for everyone at home.

Giving you the recipe in my words:

Ingredients:

Cocoa powder - 1/2 cup

Condensed Milk - 1 tin(400gm)

Sugar - 1/2 cup+2 tbsp more.

Butter - 50 gm

Nuts - as per your taste(chopped finely), you can skip this one.

I did a little variation, I did not roast the nuts.

I took 2 tbsp more sugar, as I knew the sugar I had was not so sweet.

I used Microwave.

Method:

Mix all the ingredients except the nuts, in a think bottomed M/W safe glass bowl.

Mix well.

Cook on HIGH in M/w for 1 minute.

Take it out, Mix again and Cook till you feel the nice aroma of the Cocoa powder turning into choco flavor.It may take another one or two minutes depending on your M/W settings.

Take care not to make it thick. Otherwise it will become hard.

Garnish with nuts and serve it with cold ice cream or enjoy it like that only

Sending it to 

 Jyoti's (The Veggie Hut )

Lets Celebrate Sweets - Chocolate! An Event Announ...
which is started by Me.

Keep Smiling,

This is how Oats is used in my kitchen...

Tried and tasted by Nivedita

Hi All,

Without much introduction about oats and its preparations I will give the recipes.

First is 

Oats and Poha dosa:

Ingredients:
Oats - 1 cup
Thick or medium Poha - 1/2 cup
Salt to taste
Wheat flour - 2 tbsp
Fresh curds - 1/4 cup
Method:
Put the oats and poha in a grinder and make it a powder.
Add salt, wheat flour and  fresh curd. Add the powder and mix well.
Keep the tawa to heat.
Take big spoon of batter and spread it on tawa. 
Cover and cook both the sides.
Second is 
Oats and onion pakoda: Avery common snack which is posted in most of the blogs, here is my version(many of us follow the same recipe) which I love to make for a quick snack with a hot cup of tea or coffee.

Ingredients:
Oats - 1 cup
Gram flour -1 cup
Onion - 1 big, finely chopped
Curry leaves few
Fresh coriander - handful
salt to taste
Green chilly - 1 or 2 big, finely chopped
turmeric powder  a pinch
Hot oil - 1 tbsp


Oil to fry
Method :

Mix all the ingredients(Except oil to fry) in a bowl with little water to make thick batter.

Heat oil. 

When its very hot, reduce the flame and take small portion of the batter and put into the oil. Fry the pakodas till golden color. 

Remove on a kitchen tissue and serve hot.

Third one is 

Rava and oats Dosa

Ingredients:

Fine semolina or rava - 1 cup

Oats - 1/2 cup

Jowar atta - 2 tbsp

Salt to taste

Water to make the batter.

Cumin seeds - 1 tsp(optional)

Oil for each dosa - 1 tsp

(The onion kept aside, helps for dosa to spread properly, a very old tip from granny)

Method:

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl with more water to make it very thin batter.

Heat tawa. 

Spread or actually you should throw the batter on a very hot tawa to get thin dosas. YOU CAN NOT SPREAD THIS BATTER WITH A SPOON.

Put oil. 

Cook both the sides till crispy on  medium flame.

Serve with potato sabji.

The last one (As I have time limitations :-(  ) is
I know I have given 3 dosa recipes, but I feel its the best way to feed my kids the oats.
Oats uttappa:
Ingredients:

Idly batter - 1 cup( a day old is also fine, best way to finish the batter)

Oats - 1/4 cup

Onion - 1 big, finely chopped

Green chilly - 1 finely chopped

Curry leaves - few, chopped finelly

Cumin seeds - 1 tsp(optional)

Grated ginger - 1 tbsp(my daughter loves the taste, you can skip if you don't want)

Oil for each dosa

Method:

Again

Mix all in a bowl except oil.

Heat tawa, spread the batter to make thick uttappa.

Cover and cook on both the sides.

I enjoy it just like that with a spoon of ghee over it :-))))))'

Even though there are three recipes for dosas, each dosa tastes different.

I wanted to post few more recipes as oats is very common thing for me in the kitchen. 

But sorry, I am not able to manage the time to post the recipes.

Hopefully, will post few more in coming months.

The last minute entry to 

Priya's Announcing Cooking With Whole Foods - Oats 

(Which was started by Kiran.. )

Keep Smiling,

Egg and Spinach Curry

Tried and tasted by Nivedita

Hi All,

As all of you know I am an eggatirian! I keep on trying new recipes with egg. This one is one of those trials which was mainly for my younger daughter who does not eat spinach at all. 

I will come directly to the recipe, (Its last day of the month for many events, but could not post most of the recipes as I got stuck with some other works)

Ingredients:

Eggs - 4 boiled

For gravy:

Spinach - 1 bunch

Onion - 1 big, peeled and cubed

Tomato - 1 big, cleaned and chopped

Green Chilly - 1

Ginger - 1" piece, cleaned and chopped

Cinnamon - 1/4" piece

Cardamom - 1 small

Oil - 1 tbsp

Salt to taste

Red chilly powder - 1 tsp

Method:

• Clean the spinach, wash and cut. Add all the ingredients except oil, salt and red chilly powder.
• Boil together for 5 minutes.
• Once cool, grind it into a fine paste.
• Cut the boiled and peeled eggs into desired sizes or shape
• Heat oil in a kadai.
• Add the spinach puree. Cook it for a minute. Add salt and chilly powder. Mix well. 
• Add a glass of water. Cook for a minute. Adjust the seasoning.
• Add the eggs. Cover and cook for few minutes.
• Egg and spinach curry is ready to serve with rice, chapati, dosa or bread.

Sending this to 

Akila's  event 

DNSW:E - Jan 1st to Jan 31st

Keep Smiling,