Dahi - Aloo Chaat

Chaats, a savory snacks is quite famous in our country from road side stalls to hi-5 restuarant, you can find this in the menu. It is assortment of spicy, sweet-tangy flavour.

You Need:

Potatoes - 2 small nos

Puri's - 6 nos

Onion - 1 no 

Chilli powder - 1 1/2 tsp

Garam masala - 1/4 tsp

Salt - To taste

Curd - 5 tbsp

You Need - For Sweet-tangy sauce

Dates - 20 nos (Small Pieces)
Jagerry - 1 1/2 cups (Grated)
Tamarind (adjust) 1 lemon size ball
Chilli powder - 1 tspWater 2 cups.
Salt - A pinch
Chat masala - 1 tsp (Optional)

Aloo preparation:

Peel the potatoes and cut them into small pieces. Take a non stick pan, heat 2 tsp of oil. Once heated, add onions and fry till golden brown color. Then add potatoes, chilli powder, garam masala, and salt. Add little water and cook covered till the potatoes are well cooked and mashed. The water should be evaporated. Potatoe masala is ready now.

In a non stick pan, add the tamarind along with the water and bring to a boil until it becomes thick paste. Once cooled down, grind tamarind mixture along with dates to a fine paste. Pour this tamarind-date paste back to non stick pan,cook for 10 mins on medium flame. Add the grated jaggery and allow it to melt with the tamarind date mixture.  Add all the spice powders and pinch of salt. Continue to cook till it becomes little thick, approx 20 mins on medium low flame. Turn off heat and allow it to cool. Sweet tangy sauce is ready now.

Take a serving plate, break the puri's, add potatoe masala and top it with sweet-tangy sauce and curd. Sprinkle chilli powder and serve these delicious chaat as evening snacks.

Basboosa / Semolina Cake

Basboosa..as the name sounds different, this dessert tastes unique. This is an Egyptian dessert. Also called as semolina cake.

You Need:

Plain sooji  / rava - 1.5 cup

Butter - 1 stick 

Curd - 1 cup

Baking powder - 1 tsp

Sugar - 1 cup

Lemon juice - 2 tsp
Vanilla extract - 1/2 tsp (Optional)

For sugar syrup:

Sugar 1 cup
Water 1 cup
Lemon juice - 1 tsp

Take a bowl, add butter and sugar, mix well. Add curd and vanilla extract if required. Mix untill combined well. Add the baking powder and rava and mix well untill it has dough like consistency. Let it rest for 30 min. 

Preheat the convection oven to 375F. Grease a baking dish with butter and pour the dough into it. Level it with spatula. Bake for 20 min.

Take out and cut into squares or diamonds or whichever shape you like. Keep one almonds or cashew nut in each piece (Optional)

Now bake for another 12 to 15 min or till the edges are turned brown. Now put it in broil mode till the surface will turn golden brown for 2 to 3 min. 

Mean while prepare the sugar syrup until the sugar dissolves and has syrup consistency. This should not take more than 5-10 min. Add lemon juice - 1tsp to the syrup. Take the hot basboosa from the oven and pour this syrup over it.  If less butter is used or over baked, it may become little hard.

If you can resist from eating, well and good. But it tastes best after 24 hrs.

Deep fried potatoes

This is different potato fry. Tastes similar to french fries which you get in McD but it is masala coated.

You Need:

Potatoes - 2nos

Chili powder - 3 tsp

Maida flour - To coat the potatoes

Salt - To taste

Oil - To fry

Peel, wash and cut the potatoes into one inch long cubes. Mix chili powder, salt in separate bowl.  add very little water to make a thick paste. Apply over the potatoes. Leave aside for one hour. Roll the potatoes in maida flour and deep fry in the oil.

Drain the excess oil by using tissue paper.

Yummy potatoes are ready now. Isn't your mouth watering now..;)

Mutton Liver Fry

I'm a pure non-vegetarian, yet i hate mutton liver. My mom used to make mutton liver curry (Check recipe here), which I don't like till today. But I learned that recipe coz my hubby loved it when my mom prepared. 

You Need:

Liver  - 1/4 kg 
Onions - 2 small  nos
Dry Red chilli - 1 no

Pepper powder - 2 to 3 tsp ( according to your spice level)

Coriander powder - 1 1/2 tsp

Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp

Ginger- Garlic paste – 1 tbsp

Curry leaf - few leaves
Salt - To taste
Oil – For fry

Chop the mutton liver into small pieces. Cut the onion into small pieces and grind into fine paste. Take a non stick kadai, add oil to fry the onions. Fry till color is changed to light golden brown color. Add curry leaves and stir for few more min.

Add ginger garlic paste and stir for a min. then add all the spice powders and salt. Add little water and cook covered till the masala raw odour has been removed.

The masala should be well cooked. Now add the mutton liver and add water for the liver to cook. Don't overcook as it becomes hard. That's the reason, masalas are first cooked and then liver is added.

All the water should be evaporated and masalas should be well coated with the liver.

I saw fry recipe from other food blog...I thought of giving it a try. Since then, I started to do this dish frequently. Trust me, Mutton liver fry is the most mouth watering recipe one can have.

Goes well with rasam and curd rice. 

Fish varuval (Kerala Style)

Fish, is the one of the few things which strikes as when you hear "Kerala"...Fish roast even in the road side shops taste as good as in hotels. Check this traditional Kerala style fish fry:

You Need

Fish ( I used vanjaram in tamil) - 1/2 kg ( slices)

Chilli Powder - 2 to 3 tsp or as per spice level

Ginger-Garlic paste - 2 tsp

Curd - 3 tsp

Chilli chicken masala / Tandoori masala (Any brand) - 2 tsp

Salt as per taste

Mix all the ingredients and make a smooth paste. Add little water if required. Apply evenly on both sides of fish and marinate for about 30min to one hr. Shallow fry the fish till it is cooked and turned golden brown on both sides.

Delicious fish fry is now ready.