PAV BHAJI

Pav bhaji is a North Indian dish, which has lot of fans in South India. It is a very easy & tasty dish to make.

Preparation Time: 10 mts Cooking Time: 30 mts Serves: 2

Ingredients:

Pav bun - 2 nos

Potato - 250 gms

Big onions - 1 no

Tomato - 1 no

Cumin seeds (jeera) - 1/4 tsp

Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp

Chili powder - 1/2 tsp

Dhania powder - 1/2 tsp

Cumin powder - 1/4 tsp

Ginger garlic paste - 1/4 tsp

Pav bhaji masala - 1/2 tsp

Refined oil - 2 tsp

Ghee - 2 tsp

Coriander leaves - 2 tsps

Salt - to taste



Method:

Boil the potatoes, mash it & keep it aside. Slice the onions & chop the tomatoes in to small pieces. Heat oil in a pan & fry the jeera. Add the sliced onions & saute till it is brown in colour. Add the tomato & fry well. When the tomatoes are mashed well, add the ginger garlic paste & fry till the raw smell goes off. Then add the turmeric, chili, coriander & cumin powders & saute well. Then add the mashed potatoes & mix it all well. Add enough water & bring it to a boil. Then add the pav bhaji masala & let it simmer for a few minutes. Garnish with coriander leaves & masala is ready.

To serve:

Heat a tawa. Slice the pav bun in to half & open it up. Put a little ghee in to that & roast it in the tawa. Turn it on the other side & repeat the same step. Let both the sides become a little brown. In a plate, keep the pav bun, little masala, little chopped onions & a small piece of lemon & serve it with a spoon.

Variations:

We can add grated carrots &boiled peas to the potato masala.

Taste it & enjoy.

CHENAI TAWA ROAST ( YAM ROAST )

Chenai is known as Elephant Foot Yam in India. It is a favourite vegetable of the Keralites & is used in a lot of their dishes. It is grown in the backyard of almost all the houses in Kerala. The recipe i am giving today was given to me by my Sister-in law who got it from her grand mother. It is a yummy dish & is a vegetarian substitute for fish fry.

Preparation Time: 15 mts Cooking Time: 20 mts Serves: 2-3

Ingredients:

Chenai - 250 gms

Tamarind - small lime sized ball
Besan flour (kadalai mavu) - 2 tbsp

Rice flour - 1 tbsp

Chili powder - 1 tsp

Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Refined oil - 2 tbsp

Salt - to taste

Method:

Remove the outer skin of the chenai. Slice it in to thin 1 inch square pieces. Squeeze the tamarind in 1 cup of water. Mix the besan flour, rice flour, chili powder, turmeric powder & in a plate. Put the chenai pieces in the tamarind water & boil till the chenai is cooked. Drain the water & immediately roll it in the mixed flour. Heat a tawa & grease it with oil. Keep the pieces on the tawa. Pour oil all around & fry it on both sides till it

is golden brown. Chenai tawa roast is ready.

Variations:

Instead of making tawa roast, we can deep fry it in oil. The flour mix should be made in to a paste. The pieces should be dipped in to the paste & fried.

Tips:

1. We can add asafoetida powder to the flour mix to give a nice flavour.
2. Make sure that the chenai stays firm & is not over cooked.
3. Sometimes the yam will be very hard. In such case, it can be cooked in a pressure cooker.
4. Chenai has to be boiled in tamarind water or else it will irritate the tongue.

Taste it & enjoy.

KUZHIPANIYARAM

India is famous for its snacks. Each state has its own version of tea time snacks. Some of them are fried, some steamed, some baked, but all are very tasty. Kuzhipaniyaram is a fried snack which originated in the southern state of Tamil Nadu.

Preparation Time: 10 mts Cooking Time: 20 mts Serves: 2

Ingredients:

Dosa Batter - 1 cup
Big Onion - 1 no. cut in to fine pieces

Green Chillies - 2 nos.

Refined Oil - 4 -5 tbsp

Method:

Cut the onions & green chillies into fine pieces. Mix them well in the dosa batter. Place the kuzhipaniyara pan(wak in the small picture) in the stove & heat it. Pour 1 tsp. oil in each kuzhi. When it gets heated, pour the batter into that with the help of a small ladle. Wait for it to cook on one side. Then turn it slowly & cook on the other side. Drain the oil & take it out. Repeat this process again till the batter is over. Kuzhipaniyaram is ready to eat. Eat it with coconut & coriander chutney.

Variations:

This is the basic batter for this snack. We can make this by adding some gram flour (besan) to the batter. Maida or refined flour can also be added instead of gram flour. Instead of dosa batter, we can use just maida & rice flour (4:1 proportion) & add onions & chillies & fry them.

Tips:

1. While preparing the batter, add 1 tsp. of soaked gram Dal (kadalai paruppu) to it. This will give it an added taste.
2. We can also add some finely chopped coriander leaves (cilantro) to the batter. This will give a nice aroma to the snack.
3. If the batter is old, we can add a pinch of soda bi carbonate to the batter. This will make the batter taste nice & fresh. Don't add too much because the kuzhipaniyaram will then absorb lot of oil.

Taste it & enjoy.