Chaat, just hearing the word makes your mouth water. This tangy street food is very famous all over India and loved by everyone. There are many types of chaats like samosa chaat, dahi poori chaat, chana kachori chaat, aloo tikki chaat and so on. I have already shared papdi & papdi chaat recipes earlier. This is a variation to the actual papdi chaat as I have added mini papdi baskets instead of plain papdi. Mini papdi basket is made using all purpose flour, rava and some carom seeds. I have used vegetable shortening however you can use butter or ghee instead. In order to make crispy crunchy papdi baskets, the dough should be tight and after adding shorting it should be mixed very well. To give it a basket shape, I have used mini tin tart molds. The basket can also be baked instead of deep fried. This recipe is a perfect finger food for your gatherings or parties. The papdi basket can be prepared ahead of time and stored in air tight containers to keep it crispy.
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Garlic Naan Without Yeast
Naan is a very famous Indian flat bread across India and now even in other part of the world. My kids are big fan of naan and kulcha. There are many type of naan you can find, like plain naan, butter naan, garlic naan, paneer naan and so on. The garlic naan is made using all purpose flour(maida), yogurt, baking powder, baking soda which is kneaded with warm milk. This recipe is without yeast but also you can make naan using yeast. The garlic naan is topped with chopped garlic, coriander leaves and Kalongi (nigella) seeds. You can also make it using normal wheat flour however the texture and taste would be different. Traditionally, naan is made in a clay tandoor however generally we won’t have it at home so we can use a stove or oven. This naan is prepared using iron tava and cooked on stove flame/heat. The texture and taste is very close to the clay tandoor. To make soft and fluffy naan leave the dough for overnight after preparing. You may have to try it few time before it starts coming up nice. Enjoy restaurant style naan at home with your favorite curry.
Tricolor Parfait
Wishing all my Indian friends a very Happy Republic Day!!
This Tricolor Parfait recipe is inspired by the beautiful colors of the Indian Flag. This day brings a lovely childhood memory when it was celebrated in schools with flag hosting, various cultural functions and at the end of celebration sweet especially Motichoor Ladoos were distributed to every one. The recipe is prepared using mainly three ingredients using lauki (bottle gourd), sweet yogurt and sweet fine boondi. The green cardamon, rose and kewra essence gives an amazing taste to the recipe. The three layers arranged in a fancy glass container make this recipe very soothing to the eyes and appealing. Some of the process are lengthy like getting hung curd so plan ahead for those. I have separately posted the recipe for Motichoor Ladoo which is required for this recipe. However I have mentioned the ingredient for boondi here for easy reference.
Egg-less Pumpkin Cupcake
Pumpkin cupcake is all time favorite of my kids. These are perfect treat for kids. Super moist, fluffy and flavorful pumpkin cupcakes are very delicious. This recipe is egg-less variation cupcake for those people who don’t eat egg. Instead of egg I have used egg replacer which is available in grocery stores. For people who eat egg can replace it with egg. These cupcakes are decorated with tangy and sweet yogurt base frosting, you can use cream cheese instead of hung curd if you like it.
Motichoor Ladoo
Motichoor ladoo is a delicious mouthwatering sweet which is famous in Northern part of India. Ladoo is commonly offered to GOD during worship as well as served on festival or occasions. These ladoos are all time favorite of my kids favorite. The ladoos are made from batter made of besan flour and deep fried in oil/ghee, then simmered in sugar syrup to thicken for final preparation. The laddos are flavored with rose essences and cardamon powder. The most important part of the recipe is the batter consistency and temperature of oil/ghee. Batter consistency should be medium thin so that it easily pass through Jhara. The process is little complex as you need to tap Jhara over the heated oil/ghee pot at a consistent speed to get the boondi shape. To make fine boondi you need Jhara with fine holes.
Motichoor laddo and boondi ladoo are little different with each other as boondis for motichoor is much finer than boondis of boondi ladoo. Preparing these ladoos is a bit time consuming and involved process and requires little practice and patience to get it perfect. I was able to get it right in my second attempt. I prepared these for Diwali and it came out perfect.
Non-Fried Veg Tofu Manchurian Dry
Vegetable Tofu Manchurian is an Indo-Chinese dish. It is a very flavorful, tangy and sweet & sour dish which everyone loves. Generally Manchurian balls are deep fried however this recipe tries a roasted Manchurian ball which gives exactly the same flavor and texture. The grated vegetables, bell peppers and tofu tiny balls, flavored with ginger-garlic and coated with varieties of sauce makes it delightful recipe. I have used Appam pan to roast the vegetable tofu balls however if you don’t have Appam pan you can either use any pan to roast for even bake it in oven. Similar to other Manchurian recipe this can either dry Manchurian or with gravy. Gravy Manchurian goes very well with Chinese fried rice or just plain rice. The dry one is perfect appetizer for your party or gathering. Also see other Manchurian recipe Gobhi Manchurian and Mix Vegetable Manchurian.
Baked Bhakarwadi
Bhakarwadi is a tea time snacks item which is traditionally a spicy Maharashtrian snacks prepared using hot spices and deep fried in oil. In this recipe instead of deep frying, I have baked it in oven however both of them tastes similar. The fillings for the Bhakarwadi can be customized to your taste. Generally it has sweet and sour taste and nice aroma of spices. The outer crust is made either from all purpose flour or a mixture of besan and regular wheat flour. If you don’t like the baked one, you can just deep fry instead of baking. Bhakarwadi can be store in a air-tight container for weeks and goes well with cup of tea.
Mix Veg Pakora
Pakoras are mouthwatering snacks and everyone loves it. Pakora recipe is very simple recipe. Mix of veggies coated with besan (gram flour) & spices batter and deep fried. Specially on a rainy day it goes very well with a cup of masala tea. There are varieties of pakora recipe like Poi Leaves Pakora, Spinach Pakora, bread pakora, onion pakora, paneer pakora, chili pakora and so on. The process of making all of them are similar however with little tweak depending on main ingredient. This recipe uses mix of vegetables like Lauki (bottle gourd), Baingan (brinjal), Zucchini, Potato, Bhindi (okra) for pakora. You can add any of your favorite vegetables. Pakora can be prepared on any occasion or just as a tea time snack. Adding rice flour makes pakora more crispy. The spicy pakora when served with tamarind & mint-coriander chutney tastes awesome.