Batate Chakkuli (Potato Chakli)

Batate Chakkuli is another recent try in my kitchen. Few months back I tried making this and somehow it didn't turn out as I wanted. Hence tried again with cutting down the potato amount. This time it turned out perfect. I adapted the recipe from a cook book written by Jaya V Shenoy.

Chakli/Chakkuli is one of our favorite snack. I enjoy making it at home just like my mother. I don't remember buying it from the stores atleast once. I always believe homemade chaklis(or any other snack for that matter) taste great. They are fresh and you know what went into it and which oil is used to fry them. It takes a little effort to make them but its worth at the end. Do try making this version and I hope you enjoy it. 

Ingredients:

• All purpose flour (Maida) - 1 1/2 cups
• Potato, small sized - 1 (yields about 1/2 cup)
• Red Chilli powder - 1 tsp
• Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
• Black(or white) Sesame seeds - 1 tsp
• Melted butter - 1 tsp
• Water - As required (I used 3/4 cup)
• Salt - To taste
• Oil - For deep frying

Procedure:

Take the flour (maida) in a cotton cloth and tie it tightly so that it is closed from all sides.

Now steam the mixture of flour (in cloth) for 15 minutes.

Once done allow it to cool for few minutes. It looks like this after steaming.

Once the flour is warm, it becomes easy to handle. Start breaking the lumps using your hand (because once it cools down completely, it hardens and hence more effort is required to break the lumps). 
Once done, steam cook the potato (I cooked mine in a microwave) and peel it. Then grate it using a grater.

Then sieve it in a large mixing bowl to get a lump free flour.

Now add in the grated potato, cumin seeds, sesame seeds, red chilli powder, salt and melted butter.

Mix it well and add water little at a time to get a non sticky, soft dough.

Keep the oil for heating on a medium-high. Now take the chakli making press. I used the mould plate having one hole.

Now divide the dough into two parts. Keep one part of the mixture closed (to avoid drying) and the other part in the mould. Now start rotating it in clockwise direction and make small/big chakli (the free end of the chakli should be sealed. Otherwise there are chances of  it opening up).

You can make chaklis on a parchment paper or banana leaf (as required for one batch. Don't make too much of them in advance. It will dry and fall apart while frying). I made 4-5 per batch (I made mini chaklis with half of the dough)

Then transfer it to hot oil carefully. 

Fry them evenly on both sides, until they turn light brown (another indication of the end point is the bubbles stop forming). Take it out and drain the excess oil on a paper towel.

Batate Chakkuli is ready!!

Allow them to cool then, store it in an air tight container.

Read More »

Mini Blueberry Muffins

Blueberry Muffins are one of the most popular muffins in the US. I enjoy eating muffins. I bake it once in a while to pamper myself. My husband hates any kind of berry..be it strawberry, blueberry etc. So we never buy berries. But few months back I felt like baking blueberry muffins and hence got blueberries. I decided to give this recipe a try. The muffins turned out very delicious. It was very moist with a crunchy top and not too sweet. The oil added keeps the muffins moist. I also decided to add vanilla bean paste instead of the extract and it did add a lot of flavor. Overall one of the best muffins I ever baked. I shared most of the muffins with my friend. She was very happy the way they turned out.

I decided to make the mini muffins as they look very cute and a very good size too. Do try making these muffins as the berries are in season. Trust me, nothing like a fresh, warm homemade muffin. I hope you enjoy as much as I do!

Ingredients:

• All Purpose Flour - 1 1/2 cups
• Baking Powder - 2 tsp
• Salt - 1/2 tsp
• Sugar - 3/4 cup + extra for topping
• Oil* - 1/3 cup
• Large egg - 1
• Milk - 1/3 to 1/2 cup
• Vanilla Bean paste (or extract) - 1 1/2 tsp
• Fresh Blueberries - 1 cup (170g or 6oz)

*Use any flavorless oil of your choice like canola, vegetable etc.

Procedure:

Set out the milk and egg for half an hour so that it comes to room temperature.
Wash the blueberries and pat it dry using a kitchen towel.
Now take the 'dry ingredients' in a bowl - flour, salt and baking powder. Give it a mix and set it aside until required.

Then take a measuring cup (preferably 2 cup or 1 cup capacity). All the 'wet ingredients' goes into this cup. Firstly, add in the oil. Then break in the egg, followed by addition of the milk until it reaches the 1 cup mark (a little more than 1/3 cup of milk). Finally add in the vanilla extract (I added vanilla bean paste for that extra flavor).

Now take a large mixing bowl. Add sugar and the 'wet ingredients' mixture and whisk it until combined.

Now add in the 'dry ingredients' leaving 2-3 Tbsp of the flour mixture.
Add the blueberries in the 2-3 Tbsp of flour mixture and mix in until it gets coated with flour (this step helps in preventing the blueberries from sinking to the bottom of the muffin).

Now mix in the dry and wet ingredients until it comes together. 

Then add in the blueberries along with the little flour and fold in gently until you don't see any flour. Don't over mix the batter as it will result in tough muffins.

Now preheat the oven to 400F (200c). Then line the mini cupcake pan with the liners. 
Add the batter in each mould. Then top it off with little sugar on top. The sugar makes the top crunchy, once baked.

Then bake the muffin in a preheated oven until the tooth pick inserted in the centre of the muffin, comes out clean. My muffins took 12 minutes. 

Leave the muffins in the pan for 2-3 minutes and then transfer it to cool on a cooling rack.
Mini Blueberry Muffins are ready!

Serve it warm or at room temperature. Above measurement makes 24 mini muffins.

Read More »

Celebrating 450th Post With Meyer Lemon Pound Cake

Pound Cake is one of my favorite cake. I make it once in few months as it is a very rich cake. I love citrus flavor in my baked goods. Hence thought of trying pound cake flavored with meyer lemons. Meyer lemon is a cross between lemon and orange. I always wanted to buy meyer lemons but couldn't find it in any stores. Few weeks back I finally found them and hence decided to make a good pound cake. I settled down with this recipe. First time I tried without glaze but poured the sugar syrup. I didn't like it with the syrup. Hence tried it again with any glaze or syrup and it turned out the way I wanted. A perfect rich, buttery cake with a citrus kick. Do try making this and let me know how it turned out for you :-)

Ingredients:

• All purpose Flour - 1 1/2 cup
• Baking powder - 1/2 tsp
• Baking soda - 1/4 tsp
• Salt - 1/4 tsp
• Unsalted butter, softened - 113 g (1/2 cup)
• Sugar - 1 cup
• Yogurt - 1/2 cup
• Vanilla extract - 1/2 tsp
• Large eggs - 2
• Meyer Lemon juice* - 2 Tbsp
• Meyer Lemon zest - 1-2 tsp (from 1-2 lemons)

*You can also use lemon or orange, if you can't find Meyer lemons.

Procedure:

Preheat the oven to 350F (180C).
Prepare the loaf pan by applying butter or oil. You can also place a parchment paper for easy release of the cake.
Take all purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl and mix it 9this is dry mixture).
Now in another bowl, take yogurt, eggs, vanilla extract and meyer lemon juice. Give a good mix until everything comes together. Set them aside (this is wet mixture).

Now take a large bowl. Add the softened butter, meyer lemon zest and sugar. 

Whisk it for 4-5 minutes until the butter looks creamy and light (I used my stand mixer).

Then add half the dry mixture and half the wet mixture to the butter mixture. Mix until combined. Then add the remaining wet and dry mixture. Mix until combined (don't over mix the batter as it will result in a tough cake).

Pour the cake mixture into the prepared loaf pan.

Bake it the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted comes out clean (It took 50 minutes for me). Once done, allow it cool for 10 minutes.

Then remove the cake out of the pan and allow it to cool completely on a cooling rack.
Cut into the cake only after cooling.
Meyer lemon Pound Cake is ready!

Above measurement serves 6-8 people.

Read More »

Rice Krispies Chivda / Chooda

Rice Krispies Chivda is a recent try in my kitchen. The recipe was given to me by a dear friend S. Few days back I ate this snack at her place. I liked it very much and hence asked her the recipe. She gave me a box of homemade chivda along with a hand written recipe. It was so nice of her to do that. The chivda was so tasty that I finished eating it within two days. 

This Chivda is very easy to put together. It is just a three step process - Frying the nuts in tempering, adding spice powder and then finally rice krispies. There is no deep frying involved and much healthier than the store bought ones. This can be served along with your evening tea /coffee or as a 'after school snack' for your kids. Give this a try and let me know how you liked it.

Ingredients:

• Rice Krispies Cereal - 3 1/2 cups*
• Peanuts, whole - 1/4 cup
• Cashew nut, broken - 1/4 cup
• Raisins - 1/4 cup
• Oil - 2 Tbsp
• Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Curry leaves - 1 big sprig
• Sugar - 1 tsp
• Salt - To taste

Spice Powder:

• Cumin powder - 1/2 tsp
• Coriander powder - 1/2 tsp
• Red chilli powder - To taste
• Garam masala - 1/2 tsp
• Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
• Amchur powder - 1/2 tsp
• Asafoetida (hing) - 1/8 tsp

*The recipe called for 3 cups of cereal and 1/2 cup of sev. Since I didn't have sev on hand, I just increased the amount of cereal to 3 1/2 cups. You can also substitute other cereal like corn flakes, plain cheerios etc.

Procedure:

Heat oil in a big pan. Once hot, add mustard seeds. After it pops, add peanuts, curry leaves and cashew nuts. Once it gets slightly toasted, add in the raisins. Once they turn golden brown, lower the heat to minimum (this is necessary as high heat can burn the spices and they can taste bitter).

Now add asafoetida, turmeric powder, cumin powder, coriander powder, garam masala, amchur powder, sugar and salt. Mix well. Turn off the heat.

Now add the rice krispies and toss them gently until everything comes together. 

Rice Krispies Chivda is ready!

Once they cool, transfer into an air tight container.

Read More »

Piyava Bajo (Onion Fritters)

Onion and Garlic are my favorite ingredients in my kitchen. They add a lot of taste and flavor to many dishes. I love onion so much that we always get a big bag for two of us!! Onion Pakoda (or bajji or bajo) is a very popular Indian fritter. Sliced or chopped onions are coated in batter along with few spices and then deep fried. They taste 'The Best' right out of the oil. They taste so amazing that you can eat couple of batches. 

There are so many variations of these fritters available on internet. I love many recipes but somehow feel that they (not all) are greasy (the reason being - Onion tends to leave some moisture after a while when mixed in the batter. This makes the mixture little watery and hence the fritters absorb more oil). Hence I tried making it without adding any water. It turned out very good. I roughly adapted my mother's recipe. Do try making the fritters without any water and find out the difference :-)

Ingredients:

• Onion, roughly chopped - 2 cups
• Besan (chickpea flour) - 1/2 cup
• Rice Flour - 1/2 cup
• Coriander seeds, coarsely powdered - 1 1/2 tsp
• Red Chilli powder - To taste
• Asafoetida - A big pinch
• Hot Oil - 2 tsp
• Salt - To taste
• Oil - For deep frying

Procedure:

Chop the onion roughly and transfer them in a bowl. Add some salt and let it sit for 10 minutes so that it lets go off moisture.

Then add rice flour, besan, red chilli powder, asafoetida, coriander powder, hot oil.

Mix well until everything comes together. Don't add any water.

Then drop small amount of batter at a time in preheated oil.

Fry until it turns golden brown. Then remove and drain the excess oil on a paper towel. 

Piyava Bajo is ready!!

Serve it hot. Above measurement serves two people.

Read More »

Lemon Sevai (Lemony Rice Noodles)

Lemon Sevai is a quick and simple South Indian breakfast. In Southern part of India, people make rice noodles at home and the left over noodles generally gets transformed into lemon sevai. Recently we had this for breakfast at our's friend's place and I was inspired to post this recipe. I used the dried rice noodles from International market for this recipe and it turned out very good. I adapted the recipe from here.

Do try making this for breakfast or for lunch box or you can also serve this as an evening snack for your kids.

Ingredients:

• Rice Noodles - 150 g
• Oil - 2 Tbsp
• Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Curry Leaves - Few
• Green Chilli - 1-2
• Dry Red Chilli - 1
• Peanuts (or cashew nut) - 2 Tbsp
• Chanadal (split chickpeas) - 1 1/2 tsp
• Urad dal - 1 tsp
• Asafoetida (Hing) - 1/8 tsp
• Grated Ginger - 1 tsp
• Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
• Lemon Juice - From half a lime (or to taste)
• Sugar - 1/2 tsp (optional)
• Salt - To taste

Procedure:

Heat enough water and when it starts to boil, add in the rice noodles.

Then turn off the heat and close it with a lid. Let it sit for 3-4 minutes. Now the noodles are cooked (since they are very long and difficult to eat, I cut them randomly using a kitchen scissors).

Transfer the noodles in a strainer to remove excess water. Then pour cold water and let it drain completely. 

Now take a pan and heat oil. Once hot, add mustard seeds. Once it pops, add curry leaves, cut green chilli, red chilli and peanuts. Fry for few seconds.

Then add in chanadal, urad dal, asafoetida, grated ginger and turmeric powder. 

Once everything is toasty and light brown, add in the cooked rice noodles, salt and sugar.

Mix it gently. Finally add in lime juice and toss it well. Taste the noodles and add more salt or lime juice, if required. Then turn off the heat. 

Lemon Sevai is ready!!

Serve it hot. Above measurement serves two people.

Read More »