Vegetable manchurian gravy recipe | Side dish for fried rice

I tasted vegetbale manchurian as starter first at Sangeeta’s home. I got the recipe and once tried too. Then totally forgot it. Then after many year, last year, once when me, Nags and Jey met at Mayura, we ordered veg manchurian gravy. It was really delicious and the manchurian balls were so soft and juicy. Then I really wanted to try it out again, next time I tried at Indian wok, it wasn’t that great, but I wanted to try at home. Even Aj was suggesting me to try it out and post it here in my blog . So I tried it few days back and we both loved it. Vj came late back from office, so I did not keep it as it wont be that good if we refrigerate it. Its not that complicated to make it at home, Once you make the manchurian balls, its ready in few mins. Only chopping veggies and garlic is something to do as work in this…

Vegetable Manchurian gravy recipe

Recipe Cuisine: Oriental  |  Recipe Category: Lunch
Prep Time: 20 mins    |  Cook time: 25 mins    |  Serves: 4

Ingredients

For vegetable manchurian balls

Cabbage, finely chopped -1/2 cup

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Carrot, finely chopped -1/4 cup

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Beans, finely chopped -1/4 cup

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All purpose flour/ maida -1/2 cup, heaped

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Corn flour -2 tblsp, heaped

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Black Pepper powder -3/4 tsp

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Soya sauce -1 tsp

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Salt & water -As needed

For gravy

Spring onion - 4 sprigs

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Garlic, big variety - 6 flakes, finely chopped

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Fresh red ripe chilli/ green chilli (optional) - 2

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Pepper powder - 1 tsp

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Soya sauce - 1 & 1/2 tblsp

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Chilli Tomato sauce - 1/4 cup

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Corn flour - 1 & 1/2 tblsp

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Water - 1 cup

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Oil - 2 tblsp

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Salt - As needed

Optional ingredient : Aji-no-moto

Method

1. First prepare veg Manchurian balls.Chop very finely all the 3 veggies. Add all the ingredients except salt and water, mix and sprinkle water little by little – the consistency must be like vada batter. Not too dry not too runny. Add salt just before you make and mix, otherwise it will leave water. 
2. Heat enough oil to deep fry and wet your hands, make small lemon size balls and deep fry in hot oil. Cook in medium flame to ensure even cooking. Do not make the balls too large or else inside wont get cooked properly. Deep fry until dark golden colour. 
3. Drain in paper towel, keep aside. Now to gravy. Keep all the ingredients needed ready. Heat oil add chopped garlic and fry for a minute in high flame. 
4. Add soy sauce, tomato chilli sauce, pepper powder and give it a mix. 
5. Dissolve the corn flour in water and pour it. Keep stirring until the mix starts boiling and changes into dark colour. 
6. Once the gravy is thick and shiny, add the fried manchurian balls and chopped spring onion and mix well. Switch off the flame and transfer to the serving bowl.

Notes

• I used extra hot tomato chilli sauce(maggi) . So it is sweet by itself. If using any other not so sweet sauce, I would recommend to add 3/4 tsp of sugar in the gravy.
• I did not add aji-no-motto as I had no stock, never buy due to its effects. But its a main ingredient for Chinese food. 
• Adjust water quantity if its too thick, as the water quantity may vary according to the heat and vessel you use.

Enjoy it hot with hakka noodles or fried rice as I did! soft, juicy, tangy, sweet, peppery, garlicky … Ok enough, delicious manchurian gravy is ready!

Technorati Tags: vegetable manchurian gravy recipe,vegetable manchurian balls,veg manchurian recipe,vegetable manchurian recipe,chinese

Easy channa pulao recipe | Lunch box recipes

Channa pulao always has been tricky to me. I have tried 4-5 times since I started cooking, but never turned out good. Then once Jeyashri only told it comes out delicious and invited for lunch to serve it. It was indeed delicious. Since then, I too got confidence of making channa biryani. She had made it in this Biryani style. I had once tried and came out good too. Aj too started liking since then. But this time when I was going through a handwritten cook book which had channa pulao – only ingredients list. I was surprised to see few ingredients and since now a days I am graduated in cooking to develop a recipe with its ingredients, I thought of giving it a try in that way this time. It was easy to make and yet tasted good. Both Aj and Vj had it without any complaints. So this could be a quick fix for your lunch box for office going people, since less cutting work. You can pack this with cucumber or vegetable raita and some fryums or chips.

Channa pulao recipe

Recipe Cuisine: Indian  |  Recipe Category: Lunch
Prep Time: 12 hr soaking time    |  Cook time: 20 mins    |  Serves: 3

Ingredients

Basmati rice - 1 cup, heaped

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Channa (white) - 1/2 cup

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Onion - 1

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Ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp

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Green chilli - 3

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Channa masala powder - 1 tsp, heaped

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Lemon juice (Optional) - from 1/2 of lemon

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Coriander leaves, chopped - 2 tblsp

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Salt - As needed

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To temper

Oil/ ghee - 2 tblsp

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Cinnamon - 1 small piece

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Cloves - 2

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Cardamom - 2

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Bay leaf - 1

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Star anise - 1

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Method

1. Soak channa over night. Soak basmati rice for 30 minutes before cooking. Slice onion lengthwise and slit green chillies. Heat a small pressure cooker with oil/ ghee and temper with the items given under ‘To temper’ table. Add onion, green chillies and fry till transparent. Add ginger garlic paste.
   

2. Fry until raw smell goes away, but make sure not to over fry/ burn it. Add channa masala powder and give a quick stir. Add soaked rice drained from water, soaked channa and add salt. Mix well.
   

3. Add 1 & 1/2 cups of water and bring to boil. Keep in lowest possible flame and cook for 12-14 minutes. You can also pressure cook for 2 whistles in medium flame. Once done open the cooker, add chopped coriander leaves and lemon juice if desired and mix gently.
   

Notes

• I always prefer fresh ground ginger garlic paste or homemade ginger garlic paste than store bought.
  
• Just soaking the channa is enough, it will get cooked as the pulao gets cooked. No need to cook it separately.
  
• You can also add few mint leaves after frying onions.

Goes well with raita and chips or fryums. We had with onion raita and some store bought fryums.

Technorati Tags: channa pulao,channa pulao recipe,easy channa pulao,easy indian lunch box recipes,lunch box ideas

Lunch menu 29 - Quick lunch (HSB Style)

Today’s lunch menu is inspired from HSB’s quick lunch C. One day we went to Sentosa when my in-laws were here last month and for lunch we stopped at Vivo city Saravana Bhavan. It is an outlet inside the Food court. We ordered for this quick lunch C. Which had – Main dish – choice of sambar sadam or Biryani, a vegetable side dish (poriyal/ sabji), Chapati, kurma, appalam (papad), pickle, mor milagai and payasam. I loved that spread. So I wanted to make it at home once. I had with the choice of biryani while the rest of the family had it with sambar sadam. Today I made it with sambar sadam. Though the name is quick lunch, its only for eating varieties in one lunch. Its not for preparing the lunch quickly. But since its a variety lunch combo, I made the menu (recipes) that are simple and quick to make. Yes, apart from sambar sadam, I made vazhakkai poriyal, which is very easy to prepare (no onion), thakkali kurma – just onion and tomato, microwave fine vermicelli payasam – can be made within 10 mins and curd rice. It took only 1 hr and some 45 mins to complete the spread.

Lunch menu 29 (Indian lunch recipes)

Recipe Cuisine: Indian   |  Recipe Category: Lunch

Prep Time: 30 mins | Cook time: 1 Hr 15 mins | Serves: 4

1. Pressure cook dal (little less than 1/2 cup) for sambar rice, with a dash of sesame oil and a red chilli for easy cooking.
   
2. Prepare dough for phulkas with a cup of atta (makes 6 phulkas). Keep aside. Soak tamarind (small lemon size)
   
3. Cut vegetables – first for sambar sadam – half of a drumstick, 1 brinjal, half a carrot, 4 beans, few pieces of yellow pumpkin and a really small potato. Keep immersed in water aside.
   Peel and cut plantain (1) and keep immersed in water.
   Chop onion for sambar –1, tomato 1 and onion 1 for tomato kurma.
   
4. Keep the other ingredients ready like coconut for kurma and poriyal, curry leaves, coriander leaves and green chillies. Extract tamarind juice.
   
5. By now dal would have been done. In the same cooker (small pressure cooker) keep 1 & 1/2 cup rice for sambar rice and curd rice. Once done, cool it down for sambar rice and curd rice. That 1 cup rice should be for sambar sadam and 1/2 cup rice is for curd rice.
   
6. For both sambar rice and curd rice, it should be cooled down before mixing. If its hot and we mix, it will get thicker as it cools down, so keep everything at room temperature while mixing. Mix one tsp of ghee for sambar rice as it cools down. If you want you can mash the rice for curd rice. I do not mash the rice for both the rice.
   
7. Boil drumstick, carrot, beans first and when its almost done add the other veggies. In another vessel boil the plantain for poriyal.
   
8. Heat up the kadai roast ingredients for sambar(powder) sadam , then temper for curd rice, transfer to the cooling rice, then for sambar and add it to the boiling veggies., prepare poriyal as it takes only less time.
   
9. Mean while prepare sambar, powder the sambar powder ingredients. Lastly prepare the thakkali kurma, grind for kurma.
   
10. As kurma boils, prepare payasam in oven. Heat oil in kadai for frying papad and mor milagai.
    
11. Mix both sambar rice and curd rice. For sambar rice, make sure the rice is without any lumps and just gently mix in the sambar, without mashing up the veggies.
    
12. Lastly before serving, make phulkas and serve the spread.

Quick lunch spread just like HSB is ready – Phulka – tomato kurma, sambar rice – plantain poriyal + appalam, curd rice –pickle and homemade mor milagai, fine vermicelli payasam for dessert.



Check out the link for the recipes in the above plate.

1. Phulka recipe
2. Tomato kurma recipe
3. Sambar sadam recipe
4. Vazhakkai poriyal recipe
5. Curd rice recipe
6. Pickle recipes
7. Mor milagai recipe (coming up soon)
8. Fine vermicelli payasam (microwave) recipe

You can replace the sambar rice with Biryani or pulao too.
Make easy poriyals to go with this which doesn’t need lot of chopping or frying too much.
Check out the full list of payasam recipes here.
You can make mixed vegetable kurma or potato kurma or channa masala too in place of tomato kurma.
So who is with me for this super lunch menu? Have a great weekend!

Technorati Tags: quick lunch ideas,quick lunch c hsb style,saravana bhavan style quick lunch,indian lunch menu ideas

CHILLI ONION CHUTNEY | SPICY CHUTNEY RECIPE FOR IDLI DOSA

 
Am here with a quick post. Easy recipe. Nothing can beat hot idlies and a spicy chutney breakfast. I am hot and spice lover. I want everything hot! And I always look for different chutney recipes to try as I hate to repeat the same chutney every time. So few days back, a reader friend- Dharini Umapathy (who calls me akka and shares her life events too) told me this simple chutney, her grandma used to make and I instantly loved it. Coz its simple, sound spicy and flavorful too. So I tried the very next day and loved it a lot. We make a similar one sans garlic and curry leaves. But this tempted me to try. So here’s the recipe without my blah blah blahs.

Spicy chilli onion chutney recipe

Recipe Cuisine: Indian  |  Recipe Category: Breakfast
Prep Time: 5 mins    |  Cook time: 5 mins    |  Serves: 3

Ingredients

Small onion/ chinna vengayam	8
Red chilli	8
Garlic	1 flake
Curry leaves	1 sprig
Salt	As needed

To temper

Oil	2 tsp
Mustard	3/4 tsp
Urad dal	1 tsp

Method

1. Peel onion, garlic and place all the ingredients in the mixer. Grind it to a slightly coarse paste with 3 tblsp of water.
2. In a kadai, heat oil and temper with the items given under ‘To temper’ table and pour the ground chutney. Stir for just a minute and transfer to serving bowl.

Notes

• Shallots (small onions/ chinna vengayam) works best.
• Do not let it boil for long time as the raw smell of onion should be there to taste good.
• Grind coarsely for enjoying a good texture.

Serve with hot hot idlis and you will never know how many idlies you ate. சில பல இட்லிகள் உள்ள போகும்!

Technorati Tags: spicy chutney for idli dosa,chilli onion chutney recipe,chilli chutney with onion,onion,ciurry leaves,chutney recipes,easy

CANAPES CHAAT | CANAPE CHAAT RECIPE | INDIAN STARTERS

      
I had this canapes chaat for the first time at my friend Snageeta’s house. And instantly fell in love with it! No wonder a chaat lover liked this unique and tasty chaat variety. She made it with ease and it became a hit of that get together. Everyone loved it. Then she showed how she made it and introduced this canapes. That was the first time I tasted green chutney and came to know, its very easy to prepare at home too. So I owe her a lot when it comes to introducing north Indian food varieties. And after that, I started to look for the canapes to make at home, but in vain. When ever I order Kailash Parbhat’s chaat platter, the corn chaat comes in canapes and I enjoy that too and keep wondering how I could get those canapes.


Before my friend left US for good, she bought these canapes boxes and couriered it to my in-laws home at Chennai. She and her sis-in-law even packed it so that nothing gets broken. And yes, it reached here Singapore when my in laws came here last month as such she sent. Thank you so much Sangeeta. I made this today to post here in my blog and so so happily enjoyed eating these too.
I know many of you going to shoot questions asking where it is available in Chennai. She had got this in Nuts N Spices-  Sorry I wrongly said NILGIRIS  And I am going to buy these here after when ever I visit Chennai.
I made this in two ways. You can use this as guidance and use your imagination to make in your favorite way to suit your taste. This can be a great starter for kitty parties and get togethers.
Disclaimer: This is not a paid post/ promoted post for any product or shops!

Canapes chaat recipe

Recipe Cuisine: Indian  |  Recipe Category: Snacks
Prep Time: 25 mins    |  Cook time: 20 mins    |  Serves: 4

Ingredients

Canapes	As needed
Potato	1
Corn (frozen)	1 cup
Onion	1
Tomato	1
Red chilli powder	1 tsp
Chaat masala powder	1 tsp
Lemon	1
Coriander leaves, chopped	3 tblsp
Sev	As needed
Green chutney	As needed
Red chutney	As needed

 

Method

1. Here, this is the pack she sent and its whole without breaking too!

2. Deep fry it in oil as we do fryums and vadams. Make sure you fry it well from all sides. That is use your ladle to immerse and fry it evenly. But make sure you don’t change the shape of it as when it is hot, it easily changes its shape. Drain in paper towel keep aside.

3. Chop onion finely, de-seed tomatoes and chop it finely as well. And assuming you have both the chutneys ready (you can grind and keep refrigerated the previous day) and corn can be cooked in microwave at no time. Even if you want you can cook potato in microwave too. Gather all other ingredients, keep everything ready.

4. Mix onion, tomato, chaat masala, red chilli powder, lemon juice and coriander leaves. Mix a quarter part of it with the cooked corn. If you want, you can add salt in corn. At the time of serving, arrange the fried canapes in a large tray, place either potato + onion tomato mix or corn mixture in the canapes.

5. Add a dash of red chutney and green chutney and top with sev.

Notes

• Green chutney, red chutney and sev can be made the before day itself. Or you can use store bought too.
• Adding lemon juice, chaat masala and red chilli powder is according to your own taste.
• Fill the canapes only at the time of serving.

Serve immediately after filling the canapes. Once all the ingredients are ready, this is so easy to serve and tastes like heaven!!

Technorati Tags: canapes chaat,canapes,canapes recipe,canape chaat,canape chaat recipe,corn chaat in canape,easy indian party starter recipe,easy indian starter recipes

Pesarattu with upma, Filter coffee - Breakfast menu 2

This week it’s breakfast menu. Yes, I am back in track with this one for my lunch/ breakfast menu series. I really really wanted to make this when my in-laws were here. But when I asked mami, she said, why you are doing two things, just keep it simple. I was skeptical if they would like this or not, so I  avoided making this. In-fact, I myself have not made this combo so far – pesarattu + upma together. I very well know it’s a combo meant for each other and its also known as MLA pesarattu. I have also tasted this combo back in Chennai at ID Sathyam cinemas. And I loved it too. Rava upma is my most favourite, so is there any better reason needed for me to like it?  It’s not that complicated to make it too… You can spend less time in kitchen, still make your family/ guests a special breakfast, that is filling. Here’s how I made.

Breakfast menu 2 (South Indian breakfast recipes)

Recipe Cuisine: Indian   |  Recipe Category: Breakfast
Prep Time: 12 hrs     |  Cook time: 40 mins    |  Serves: 4

1. Soak whole green moong (paasi payaru)-1 cup overnight in a big enough vessel and enough water as it absorbs a lot of water and becomes double.
2. Morning on wake up, grind it in mixie to keep it simple. Its lot easier than grinding in grinder. This time I ground it smoothly. Though it doesnt need any standing time, I keep it for 2 hours aside.
3. Grate coconut for chutney – I usually grate bulk in my ultra wet grind coconut scraper attachment and store in small zip locks. Defrost and use when ever I need.
   Chop onions, green chillies for rava upma. Chop 2 onions for spreading over pesarattu as well. Peel required ginger for the chutney and if needed for upma too.
4. Fry the onion slightly, meant for spreading over pesaratuu and keep a side. Season for chutney in a bowl. Roast rava (1 cup) for upma and prepare upma. Grind chutney.
5. At the time of serving breakfast, make pesarattu, spread some onion, then a laddle full of upma and fold into a triange as I have done here in this dosa or just fold as we do for the usual masala dosa.

Serve hot with the best combo ginger chutney and our own filter coffee!



Follow the links below for the recipes :

1. Pesarattu and ginger chutney recipe
2. Rava upma recipe
3. How to make Filter coffee

Hope you all are enjoying the weekend. Lets meet with another interesting recipe!

Technorati Tags: pesarattu with upma,mla pesarattu,south Indian breakfast recipes,southindian breakfast menu,pesarattu,rava upma,filter coffee

Bread bajji - Bread pakora recipe | Easy Indian snacks

I have heard about bread pakora/ bread bajji , but until I tried, I had no idea of how it would taste or about the texture. When my in-laws were here, I asked mami how it would taste and she told it turns out delicious. So one day, for evening snack I made this along with chilli bajji. To my surprise, it was tasting great, I could not guess the thing inside bajji and it was super pillow soft too. How cool! No veggies needed to make bajji! I know this can be made by sandwiching green chutney too, but for the first time, I wanted to make it simple. So tried it plain. Also the shape can be differently cut with a cookie cutter to please the kids. So here’s the simple bread pakora recipe.

Bread bajji/ pakora recipe

Recipe Cuisine: Indian  |  Recipe Category: Snack
Prep Time: 5 mins    |  Cook time: 15 mins    |  Serves: 3

Ingredients

Besan/ kadalai maavu/ gram flour - 1/2 cup

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Rice flour - 1/4 cup

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Cooking soda/ sodium bi carb - 2 pinches

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Asafoetida - A generous pinch

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Ajwain or jeera (optional) - 1 tsp

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Ghee - 1 tsp

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Bread slices - 3 (or as needed)

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Salt - As needed

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Oil - For deep frying

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Method

1. In a mixing bowl, mix besan, rice flour, cooking soda, asafoetida, ajwain (if adding), ghee and salt with water to make a batter. Let the batter be thick but the consistency should be enough to easily spread, coat the bread slices. So adjust the consistency accordingly.
2. I used instant bajji mix my MIL brought. So colour may vary from above. Cut off the edges of the bread and I cut them into triangles as shown in the picture. The way you cut is your choice according to your choice of shape. Mean while heat oil.
3. Dip each piece of bread in the batter and fry in hot oil. Cook both sides over medium flame. For each batch, while dropping the pakoras, keep the flame high.
4. Fry both sides until golden in colour and drain in paper towel.

Notes

• Use this only as guidance and you can make lots of variations with green chutney, potato stuffed,etc..
• Use bread knife for cutting the bread. Also cut the bread gently without pressing too much to maintain the spongy soft texture.
• If oil is not hot while you drop the pakoras, it will drink oil. So make sure oil is hot.

Serve hot with green chutney or simply with tomato chilli sauce. Perfect for tea time, especially easy to make when you have guests.

Technorati Tags: bread pakora recipe,bread bajji recipe,how to make bread pakora,how to make bread bajji,easy indian snacks,easy evening snacks recipe