Potli Samosa/ Samosa bundles

 am back! I hope you all had a healthy, safe, enjoyable and restful holidays and oh yes don't worry about those holiday pounds, you got eleven months to get rid of 'em... lol. It is amazing how I have barely been able to wish family and relatives on the new year and we already are two days into it. That seems to be the trend in recent years, they seem to simply fly away. I sometimes still I like to think we are in 2005... yep that seems more reasonable... but the calendar tells me otherwise.
Shake it off, we've got samosas to fry - and not any ordinary ones, these cuties are still all dressed up for that one last holiday party in their little baggie outfits or 'potlis' made of dough. 'We eat first with our eyes' as they say and a bite into these potli samosa only reinstates that belief. The same yum samosa taste, for no technical reason all of a sudden tastes even better. Of course goes without saying, the compliments you get if you serve them when entertaining, doesn't hurt.
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Instant Jalebi!

realize this is a day after Diwali but festivity is still in the air, right! Hope all you guys had a very prosperous and fun filled Diwali!
Diwali or Deepawali is the Festival of Lights. It is a time that is much awaited all year round by children and adults alike. A time of celebration, prayers, holidays, family, fun, fireworks and of course food - lots of it. It is one of the most important religious and cultural festivals in India bringing family and friends together. Diwali is one of the biggest and most celebrated Hindu festivals. In my Chandrakala post on Dussehera a few weeks ago I spoke about Lord Rama and his victory over evil. After vanquishing the evil Ravana, Lord Rama along with his wife Sita and brother Lakshmana come back home after 14 years of banishment. Since then, that day is celebrated by Hindus all over the world as Diwali!

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Chandrakala/Stuffed Sweet Festive Pastries

ere is another recipe from me that gives me an intense sense of nostalgia.

The start of 'navaratra' marks the beginning of the festive season in India. Navaratra culminates in Dussehera after which comes the much awaited Diwali with Dhanteras and Chhath between and immediately after. These followed by Christmas and of course the welcome of the new year. Festivities in India are associated with pomp and fervor, family, dressing in your finest, prayers and worship, time off from school, carnivals, guests and of course food, lots of food. How is that for nostalgia!

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Pyaz Ke Pakode Wali Kadhi/ Onion fritters in spicy yogurt curry sauce

ou can cross the seven seas and eat the food served by the best chefs from the most celebrated lands but I believe my foodie friends will agree that there is nothing like a bowl of that most loved comfort food that you can snuggle up in the comfort of your home and feed your soul with.
You may think the above is too strong a sentiment for a bowl of kadhi, but that is how I feel about it. Comfort food doesn't have to be complex or even exotic, you cannot explain it. Just the aroma of a hot bowl of simmering kadhi gives me a strange sense of comfort. It always elevates my mood, pulls me out of the clutches of a bad day and reminds me of home, mom and good times spent with family. Give me a choice between the bestest dessert in the world and a bowl of hot kadhi trust me I will always choose the latter. That is how much I like it, you get the idea. Kadhi is classically paired with plain rice or 'chawal' and is especially pure bliss on a cold rainy day.

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Mung Dal Paneer Samosa/Lentil and Paneer Stuffed Pastries

Featured on Huffington Post

amosa or Singhada (as we call them where I come from) always makes me nostalgic. I remember buying and treating on hot samosa from school and college canteen (which to me still is the best I have eaten till date) almost every other day. For the time when I was enjoying these crispy goodies - atleast for sometime - it would help me forget the dread of science and math classes! When at home, I remember when guests would visit during evening tea, serving samosa with tea was almost a given. My brother (a well known samosa fanatic) would keep waiting and dropping hints on what a great idea it would be to get some hot samosas. Papa, pretending to catch the hint, would hand him a ten rupee note. He would run over to the halwai shop at the corner of the street and get a dozen fresh out of the fryer for everyone ~ ahh! Can you believe samosas were 75 paise each back then!

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Gobhi 65/Spicy Cauliflower Tempura Indian Style

ummer is at its peak and the sun scorches the earth every day. Its almost midnight here and its 86 degrees outside *phew*. In the relentless heat however the rain gods do peek in every other day to provide some very welcome relief.
It was such an afternoon on Saturday this past weekend when the rains were especially merciful. As it rained cats and dogs, we sat on our patio on a Saturday afternoon - which usually means shopping afternoon - and marveled on how beautiful nature was (yes hubby and I still get corny sometimes about that stuff). Somehow the conversation changed very quickly to food (are you kiddin' me) and we were talking about how nice it would be to get something hot and crispy to munch on. I was immediately like 'lemme go and make some pakoras'. Hubby not being that much a fan of pakoras, I instantly sensed that on his face. That is when I was reminded of this fabulous appetizer that we had had at an Indian restaurant during our last vacation a couple of months ago. I had totally loved it then and my analyzing taste buds had read the recipe right then and there and kept it somewhere in my head. Yes I recalled it then and here's the result for you to see and enjoy.
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Imarti

ave you ever wondered what the royalty of yesteryears ate. Especially in India where the land has seen its fair share of kings and queens of over the last couple of thousand years. If you think what they ate had to be rich, tricky to make, used expensive ingredients and extremely delicious, you are absolutely right.
The Imarti is one such sweet dish. It originated as a dessert for the royals in the ornate state of Rajasthan. Legend has it that this delectable sweet dish was created as a gift by the Rajput kings for the Moghuls during the Moghul invasion of India over four hundred years ago. The dish is now ever popular all over the country although in some parts of the country it is known as Jangri. It is almost as popular as its even more popular cousin the Jalebi. So much so that every sweet shop around the corner of every street that makes jalebi will most certainly also have imarti.
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Stuffed Paneer Kofta Curry with Tandoori Roti

oftas especially fascinate me as somehow I relate them to exotic curries. Unfortunately though Indian restaurants in the US (atleast the ones I have been to) more often than not fail to do a good job in making kofta dishes (and most others too). They are either not seasoned appropriately or overly laden with cream and butter. Hubby and I both love koftas so I prefer to make it myself. Me being me, I use no cream, very little oil and I have given an option to alternatively bake the koftas rather than deep fry them. I totally admire them. To me they are exotic with the different layers as they unfold when you bite into them. Simmered into a spicy and creamy gravy simply makes them irresistible.
A little general knowledge doesn't hurt, here's some about koftas-  Kofta or kufteh, köfte, keftes, kufta, ćufta… have a heavy presence over various cuisines in the South Asian sub continent. They are essentially the distant cousins of American meat balls. The concept of the kofta is that a ground form of particular ingredients are mixed with various spices (according to what herbs and spices are predominantly available in that country) and rolled into a certain shape. Now, they are usually rolled into spherical shapes but in some Arab counties they are shaped rather like long kebabs, therefore the concept obviously varies according to where it is being made. Kofta can be fried, steamed, grilled or baked according to what ingredients you added to the mix. Vegetarian koftas are also very popular especially in India and different vegetables like bottle gourd, cabbage, potato other mixed vegetables are used and of course the very much liked ingredients by us veggies the evergreen Paneer!

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Spinach Mushroom Cutlets

hat to make for our daily evening snack always gets me thinking. I try to go for something quick, nutritious as well as fun. The 'fun' part is especially important to get my little princess excited to try it out and obviously I care about the nutritious aspect. In short that is the basis on which I came up with this cutlet. It turned out to be a good way to get spinach into my little one. Hubby was sure enough onboard as he mostly is with anything fried :) You can dip them in your favorite sauce or chutney and eat them as is or stick them inside a bun and enjoy as a sandwich.

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Gujiya - Holi hai!

ujiya is a traditional indian sweet dish made typically during the festival of Holi. The sweet delicious filling inside the crunchy flaky pastry covering tastes out of this world and makes you want to grab some again and again. Gujias slightly vary from region to region. In the Northern parts of India, the filling is made with sweetened khoya and dry fruits and nuts while in South Western States, it consists of shredded coconut, nuts and jaggery or sugar. I of course like this the way my mom makes them.

Where I come from, we call it Pedukiya. These are made in most households during the festivities of Holi like it was in ours. They always take me back in time to those days when on the morning of the festival, you would wake up and go out on the streets armed with all your paints, colors and gulal. Any person you find young or old, whether you know them or not, you make sure you get them painted beyond recognition. Of course you get the brunt of it too so much so you would not recognize if you saw yourself in the mirror... lol. While you did all that, you would sneak an occasional peak in the house and pick a taste of all the goodies mom was busy cooking up. I remember how my mother and aunts used to make it and how all of us children would huddle up in the kitchen and be curious and all excited, waiting for the treat. The sweet aroma of festivity, sounds of laughter, the deep frying, chit-chat, gossip... I miss them all... here in my kitchen when alone I cook something like this there is not someone always to taste as it comes hot off the frying pan, the chit-chat... but the aroma of cooking the warmth of festivity makes me feel at home again. I have the sweetest and the most caring man in the whole world who is my sous chef my taster my food critic, my everything. With him and my our little bundle of joy everyday feels like a festival and keep me going!

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Papdi Chaat from scratch with Tamarind and Date Chutney

his again is a story related to me coming to the US after getting married.

Ask anyone who has grown up or lived in India for a while (especially the female kind :) and they will swear by the taste of this roadside delicacy and will have a story or two to tell you with a twinkle in their eye (while their taste buds start to tingle). And my dear friends, that is no exaggeration.

During my college days, I got my fix of chaat atleast once every week. I took it for granted as it was available everywhere. When I got married and was preparing to come to the US with hubby, he gave me this shocker (among a few others). Very calmly he announced that I should get my fix of as much chaat as possible as I would not find it in the US. I was taken aback but underestimated the truth in his statement, after all there were Indian restaurants in the US and they sold chaat... I was gonna be okay. Never had I been so wrong. I found the so called chaat here to be not even close to being worthy of being called chaat. It simply was some papdi with boiled potatoes and a chutney that tasted like tomato ketchup :o

Anyway, long-story-short, I decided to make my own. Here goes the recipe. If you really want your chaat to taste awesome, pay special attention to the chutney recipe.

Chaat is a generic name for a plate of savoury, spicy, tangy snack, typically served at road-side stalls or carts in India. Originally a street food, now it can be found in high end restauarants too. There are dozens varieties of chaat like pani puri or phuchkas, dahi bhalla, sev puri etc. All these are made with almost the same ingredients (with a different base), main one being the tamarind dates chutney. It is a thick tangy, spicy, sweet and sour sauce made out of tamarind pulp, dates and jaggery. Papdis are deep-fried pastry roundels that add the crunch to the chaat.

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Paneer Manchurian

love Chinese food but when it comes to Chinese-fusion food, I have a certain bias towards Indian-Chinese (indo-chinese) cuisine. We Indians have had a long-lived love affair with Chinese food. Long before the pizzas and burgers and junk food became popular, it was Chinese food that most of us wanted when we craved something exotic and different. Indo-chinese is not very close to authentic chinese food. It has been totally adapted and  flavored to suit an Indian palette. Who knew the marriage of a little soy sauce with Indian spices could be so delicious! A big bright star of the Indian Chinese cuisine and it has always been one of my favorites are the chilli and manchurian varieties. “Manchurian” dishes may be made with cauliflower, paneer or chicken and are extremely popular in India. The sauce has no basis in the historical Chinese region. In India this ever popular dish is served at glamorous restaurants as well as by the street side vendors and is consumed with vigor and excitement among all class of people.

The paneer has a crispy coating and is tossed with a mouth-watering spicy sauce. These are perfect for appetizers or may even be served as a side dish.

Use a toothpick or a fork as you please and enjoy with cocktails during or before a meal.
These are really easy to make at home, taste awesome and are always a big hit with guests. They are often paired with Chinese style fried rice. These are great for potluck parties and will be gone in seconds! It can be made dry or with gravy, the recipe below talks about both versions. Food coloring is normally used to give this dish a brighter appearance, I have used a little beet juice instead. I was pleased with the color but it is obviously optional.

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Kathal ke Kofte/Jackfruit kofta curry

I speak to my mom in India quite often. We talk about a lot of things. The other day she happened to mention that Jackfruit was back in season in India. This time of the year they have the small raw ones that are really good for curry (aah my mouth waters just as I think about the it). I cannot find fresh jackfruit anywhere in stores here but they carry the canned ones in the local oriental markets. While I was talking to her, I got reminded that I had a few cans sitting in my pantry and I'd made up my mind I would make these koftas. If you remember my kathal spree from a few moons ago, I'd gotten a whole ten pounder from a local farmer except I had to drive a couple of hundred miles to get it. Believe it or not I tried calling the guy but it appears that they are not in season yet here in the states. I keep a few cans handy as I like to make different things with jackfruit and they come in handy. And handy they came indeed as I succumbed to my kathal craving.

Kofta (as they are usually referred to in the South Asian Subcontinent) have a heavy presence over various cuisines. The concept of the kofta (or kufteh, köfte, keftes, kufta, ćufta…) is that a ground form of particular ingredients are spiced (according to what herbs and spices are predominantly available in that country) and rolled into a certain shape. Kofta can be fried, steamed, grilled or baked according to what ingredients you added to the mix. Koftas are traditionally made of minced meat however it is not uncommon to find koftas made of paneer, bottle gourd, mashed potatoes etc.

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Beetroot cutlets

utlets is a famous street food that is found almost all over India, with minor differences in ingredients here and there. It is often overshadowed by its close and notoriously famous cousin, the Samosa. I personally have always preferred these over the samosas. Whenever I think of them, I go back to my college days and to my college canteen, they served the meanest cutlets.. they were to die for.. yum! Hubby also remembers it as his favorite street food from his home town. An absolute favorite with everyone, they are very versatile too; serve them with some ketchup or chutney as an appetizer or for a change, stuff them inside a bun and it morphs into an amazing veg burger and a quick fix meal. You can also serve them as chaat with some chhole and chutney and enjoy the compliments. They can be made using different vegetables or whatever you have in your refrigerator (except I think the beets are a must, its a beet cutlet after all ;) Perfect for a rainy day they are addictive.

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Kachdee / Lentil Fritters

couple of weeks ago it rained here almost each day of the week as it got colder and colder. We even had to turn on the heat in the house which by the way is quite unusual for around here. One evening as I sat at my workstation looking through the big window at the drizzle outside, it had me completely nostalgic of the rainy evenings back at home in India. It used to get pretty cold there too and we used to huddle up in blankets. Those cold evenings where when we really craved for spicy and fried food to perk us up.

Kachdee is a traditional Bihari (from the Bihar region of India) snack. If belongs to the Pakora family except it is made with chana daal (Bengal gram lentil). It is basically a coarsely ground lentil paste mixed with spices and deep fried to get a nice crispy exterior.
Everyone in the family was a fan, dad and grandpa alike and so were we. So while we snuggled up in our blankets, one of us would innocently suggest "wouldn't it be nice if we could get some nice hot Kachdee from somewhere" and mom, a good sport as she always is when it came to cooking, would willingly volunteer to fry up some.
I still love 'em. Hubby is not a big fan of pakoras so I do not make them very often but this time around I just could not resist.

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Dalpoori aur Aloo Tamatar ki Sabji / Lentil stuffed fried bread with potato curry

This is a very traditional recipe of lentil stuffed poori from my native Indian state of Bihar. It is typically made during festivals and special occasions. One such special occasion is the arrival of a new daughter in law in the family as that is seen as the arrival of goddess Laxmi (I have seen this tradition in my family at least). This poori is also considered auspicious and mom used to make it on festivals like Anant Chaturdashi, Dusshera and Deepawali. The usual accompaniments of these pooris are raas wali aloo sabji (gravied potato curry), tamatar ki meethi chutney (sweet tomato chutney) and kheer. The dalpoori I learned from mom and the aloo sabji recipe is probably one of the simplest curry recipes.

I made these pooris during Diwali this year when my brother was visiting. Hubby and bro both enjoyed them thoroughly. I got cool compliments including that they felt they were sitting at a local halwai's shop and enjoying these pooris. Made my day.

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Shakarpala and Chivda - Diwali Treats

Us Indians know our festivals. Just to give you an idea, if you were to just add the major national and regional festivals, you will atleast have a list of a dozen. Festivals are always celebrated with much zeal, pomp and show in India. Among these, the arguably biggest festival is Diwali or Deepawali or the Festival of light. Biggest or not, it is definitely my favorite. People clean their homes, decorate entire houses with flowers, rangolis, electric lights and the more traditional diyas (earthen lamps). On diwali night kids and adults alike light firecrackers. You basically keep at it into the night till mom yells out of the window demanding you to return. Yes of course and how can you forget the food! During Diwali you can smell, shakarpala, namkeen, ladoo, mathri, nankhatai etc from every kitchen when you walk around the block. All these goodies also make for a wonderful homemade gift. I remember when I was a little girl, mom making loads of these and then packing individually in gift boxes and she would arrange them in a basket and give to me distribute in the neighborhood. I dressed in my brand new diwali dress would go door to door to deliver this goodies and always come home with basket full of goodies as return gifts. I used to love it :)
Even though these dishes are traditionally made during diwali, these home-made snacks can infact be made anytime as they come handy when unexpected guests drop in. Out of the several dishes as I mentioned, I picked Shakkarpala and Chivda as they are my favorites.
Chivda is a combination of toasted flattened rice, roasted peanuts, cashews, dalia and any of your favourite ingredients. Make this crispy, crunchy snack ahead of time and store in an air-tight container. It's perfect for times when you have an attack of the munchies. A warning: this stuff is addictive!

Shakarpala is deep fried flaky and crispy dough cubes that are coated with sugar syrup almost like a doughnut glaze. Not to mention it is my papa's most favorite snack ever.

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Methi Mathri/Indian fenugreek crackers

This is a crunchy crispy snack that I always try to keep handy. It is the most common snack that I can have any time and even sometimes as a whole meal with mango pickle :) Mom made it all the time as she knew I totally loved them. Now whenever I visit her in India, among all the goodies she packs for me to bring back, this mathri is definitely included (and a reasonably large pack of it). But again as you probably guessed, I run out rather quickly. Now that I am on my own, I always missed having them around until one day I decided to make some of my own. I now know this is going to be a regular in my snack drawer.
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Malpua

Malpuas... whenever I think of them, the festival of Holi and Dussehera comes to mind... and along comes some sweet childhood memories. I remember my mom making these along with loads of other delicacies on festivals like pedukiya/gujhiya, nimki, dahi vada... and our home would be filled with the sweet and wonderful aroma of warmth and festivity! Growing up, it was a family tradition to make at least malpua and dahi-vada for Vijaya-Dashmi.

Despite some regional variations and versions, I think the original and authentic malpuas come from my native Bihar and Bengal. It is an Indian pancake made with flour, milk, khoya, mashed bananas, nuts, cardamom powder, deep fried and then soaked in sugar syrup. I don't have a sweet tooth (other than chocolate) so I don't care much for them, but my hubby is head over heels in love with them since time immemorial... he can eat like 10 of them in one go... I am not kidding... he really does!! Also, this was one the first few dishes I made for him after we got married and he was mighty impressed :) All the credit goes to my mom for this wonderful recipe.
Extending the family tradition, this Vijaya-Dashmi I made them too.Being caught up with the festivities, I did not get a chance to post. Here's how we do Malpuas. Will follow soon with Dahi-vada.

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Palak/Spinach chaat

I vividly remember my first time going back to my mom's place or my "mayeka" from my in-laws place a few days after we were married (funny I started thinking of it as my mom's place as only a few days back I always referred to it as 'my place'). Being the first and the only son-in-law, hubby was being pampered big time with all the best dishes that mom knew that hubby liked. There was festivity, food, people coming to meet us and family sitting together and chatting away till the wee hours of the morning. It was an overload of good food and tons of fun. Among all that, hubby and I always found time to sneak out of the house to go walk around the city streets with the 'newly-married' tag painted all over our faces, shopping, talking about our favorite places and mostly stocking up on street food we knew we were gonna miss so much in a few days. 
The speed with which the local 'chaat walas' prepared their delicious goodies is just amazing. Apart from the regular favorites, there was always something new they had to offer. Spinach chaat was one of them. We both loved it.
Coming to the US, I was excited to see that the Indian restaurants also offered the basic chaat on their menu. Tried it at a few places but was rather disappointed as it did not come even close to the real deal. That is when I decided to do my own. I have posted the more common form of chaat before, the Aloo Tikki Chaat. This past weekend I got reminded of the spinach chaat and hence this post. This is kind of like papdi chat only palak pakoda is used in place of papdi, also it is very easy to make and a lot more healthier. Hope you guys like it as much as I liked making it and we did eating :)

Here goes-

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