Crispy Parval(pointed gourd) with potatoes...

The parval or pointed gourd is something that i would not have picked up on my own... I ended up having this at Sonali's place a couple of times(of the innumerable lunches that i'v had there!) and thought i'd give it a try. Read more about this veggie here!

You need:

parval / pointed gourd thinly sliced - 2 cups
potatoes thinly sliced - 1 cup
onion sliced - 1 medium
dried red chillies - 2
cumin seeds - 1 tsp
a pinch of turmeic
salt to taste
oil for shallow frying
How to:
Heat about 3-4 tbsp oil in a wok. Add in the cumin seeds followed by the chillies when they start to sizzle. Add the onions and turmeric. Fry till lightly browned. Now add in the potatoes, parval, salt to taste and continue to fry them till they are done. The gourds tend to curl and turn crispy when done. Drain the excess oil and serve along with chapatis or rice.


Pointers:
- Use only tender gourds for this dish.The ripe ones are rubbery, orangish inside and have hard seeds.
- You could boil the potatoes in the microwave for about 5minutes before adding them to the wok, saving on cook time.

Oatmeal Cookies...

Been wishing for a satisfying oatmeal cookie ever since i got back on Indian soil... & the fact that we are holed up in Vizag does not help! So when i came across Joy of Baking's recipe, the cookie on my wishlist looked up at me, begging to be cut off! I did make a few changes though and skipped the cinnamon.
Herez the result! :) 

You need:
brown sugar, tightly packed - 1 cup
butter at room temperature 3/4 cup - i used salted
all purpose flour(maida)- 3/4 cup
oats - 3cups - i used Quaker
1 egg
Vanilla extract - 1 tsp
baking soda - 1/2 tsp
raisins - 1/2 cup
walnuts toasted and chopped - 1 cup 
chocolate chips (optional) - 1/2 cup


How to:

Preheat the oven to 200 degree C.

Beat the butter and sugar until creamy and smooth - i used an electric beater. Add the egg and vanilla extract and beat to combine well. 

Combine the flour and baking soda and add this to the creamed mixture. Mix well and stir in the nuts, raisins and chocolate chips. Add in the oats & mix well. 

Grease a baking tray and transfer the dough with enough spacing between the cookies- I used a scoop spoon for uniform cookies. Flatten the cookies lightly with the back of the spoon. You need to spoon out your portions keeping in mind that the cookies will flatten out and get bigger. Bake the cookies for about 12 - 15 minutes or till done. Remove from oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool. 

Yaaaayyyy!!! I now have my own batch of oatmeal cookies!! :) Another strike off from my wishlist - which by the way is growing forever! ;)

Papad Vadas!

Poppadom or Papad is typically served as an accompaniment to a meal in India. I did serve it as a starter with some salsa variants but never as a vada!! My scouting for quick fix eats got me here & glad that i tried out this ridiculously easy  snack! 

You need:

Any papad - i used Haldiram's Bikaneri papad which is seasoned with pepper & asafoetida
rice flour - 1/2 cup
gram flour(besan) - 2 tbsp
black sesame seeds - 2tsp or more
chilly powder to taste
salt to taste
How to:
Since i used large papads, i broke them diagonally till i ended up with 6 triangular segments. 

Mix all the ingredients listed above, excluding the papad with enough water to make a thick batter. The batter should not be runny. 

Heat enough oil in a wok to deep fry the papads. Once the oil is ready, dip the papad in the batter ensuring that it is well coated & drop it in the oil. Drain on paper towels when done.

Served with a steaming cup of tea... mmmmmnnn!!! :)

Watermelon sorbet... :)

The searing heat always drives me to the fridge.. On one such 'trips' i glanced at a box of watermelon chunks & set about making a sorbet - inspired by a picture posted by Nestle on facebook. 

Whizzed up the pulp of one medium watermelon with about half a tin of sweetened condensed milk (used milkmaid), passed it through a sieve and set it in an ice tray. The rest was set in a bowl & scraped to serve, topped with fresh mint leaves. Needless to say, the fridge was raided more often! ;) 

Grape mousse... :)

Been wanting to try this mousse for about an year now & so rushed into making them when the first batch of black grapes hit the market. Been sitting in my drafts since.. posting this before the grapes go back to being scarce! :)
This recipe has two parts - the base & a glaze. Best served in a glass dish to show off the vibrant colors! :) * * * For the base * * *
You need:
250 gm black grapes - seedless
200 gm cream - i used Amul
1/2 tin sweetened condensed milk (taste & add more if desired)
4 tsp gelatin
1.5 cup water + more to dissolve the gelatin

Boil the grapes in 1.5 cups water & let it cool. Blend this into a smooth paste and run it through a sieve. Reserve 1/2 cup grape extract for the glaze.
To the rest of the grape juice extracted, add in the lightly beaten cream, condensed milk and mix well. To this, add the gelatin dissolved completely in 1/2 a cup of warm water. I used an electric beater to combine all this. Now pour this into a serving dish - i used shot glasses. Leave enough place to top the mousse with the glaze.
Let this rest in the refrigerator for about an hour or two. Prepare the glaze once the mousse has set.

* * * For the glaze * * *
You need:
1 tsp gelatin
1/2 cup grape juice (reserved initially)
sugar - according to taste

To the warmed up grape juice, add in the gelatin and mix well till it dissolves completely. Add in the sugar according to taste, let the mixture cool & then, top the mousse. The mousse would have been set by now & so you will end up with two distinct layers. Return it to the fridge till the glaze sets - about an hour should do.
ScOoP n EnJoY!!!! :)

Adapted from a recipe here & the lazy-me made quite a few changes, using it as a guideline. :)

Snack Time ~ Rice crispies...

Since we planned to put a hold on munching bags of store-bought goodies, made these as a substitute! ;) You need:
2 cups rice flour
1 tsp carom seeds (ajwain)
3-4 tbsp butter/ghee(clarified butter)
salt to taste
chilly powder to taste (skip this & you'll get white crispies)
water to mix in all the above
oil for frying
How to:
Mix all the dry ingredients. Add in the butter & mix. Now add enough water for the ingredients to come together and form a soft dough.
Heat oil in a deep vessel. Pass the dough through a string-hopper maker and drop them directly into the oil. Fry them till golden, turning over to make sure they are cooked evenly. Drain on a paper towel. Crunch-munch & save the rest in air-tight containers. :) Owing to the additional butter added here, sans chana dal, this snack is a little brittle when compared to a similar one made with chana dal and rice flour. You need to be gentler when you fry these.
Recipe source: Sonali.. :)

Coconut Brittle... Chikki - with dessicated coconut...

I gobbled up doughnuts that a friend had bought for us from a local store.. though not from MOD, i still ended up devouring the whole lot without saving them for T (which NeVeR happens!)..
Once i was done, i HAD to make something that T liked to brush away the guilt - what else but chikki? Made them with something that T had actually asked for - dessicated coconut. I now have a stack that i can munch on & go hmmmmmnnn.... trying hard not to finish them too! ;) :D
You need:
dessicated coconut 1 cup, tightly packed - i used store-bought ones
sugar 3/4 cup - you don't really need brown sugar - normal works just fine
clarified butter(ghee) 1 tsp + extra for greasing the plates

How to:
In a wok, heat the sugar with about 2tbsp water till all the crystals dissolve. In a few seconds, it will take on a brownish hue & start to caramelize. Stir, making sure that it does not burn. Add in the coconut & stir well. To this, stir in 1tsp of ghee.
Mix well & transfer onto a well greased plate, marking lines halfway through - as in chocolate bars. Now let them cool - the brittle hardens during cooling. Pop them out of the plate once cooled & break along the indent. Store in air tight containers.
Pointers:
>> I toasted the coconut till it browned a bit and gave off a nutty aroma.
>> Found it easier to work with granulated sugar rather than powdered sugar while making these.
>> Ensure that you don't skip greasing the plates.
>> Caramelize a wee bit more for a different taste & darker shade.
EnJoY!! :)