Merry Christmas & Happy New Year

Hi, our long awaited vacation is starting in just a while.  I hope it is fun-filled and memorable, see you all sometime in new year. 
Till then, wish you all Merry Christmas and a very happy, healthy & wealthy new year.

Chegodilu/Chekodilu for ICC

I heard and made this crispy crunchy irresistable snack for the first time.  I followed the recipe given by Srivalli for Indian Cooking Challenge.  So go ahead and give a try.  I am sure you will enjoy it.

Ingredients:

Rice flour - 3/4 cupAll purpose flour/ Maida - 1/4 cup

Ghee - 2 tbsp

Ajwain - 1/4 tsp

Red chilli powder - 1/4 tsp

Turmeric really a pinch

Salt as per taste

Oil to deep fry

Method:

Boil 1 cup water in a bowl, add salt to it.  When the water starts boiling, remove from stove, add ajwain, red chilli powder, turmeric and flours. Stir with a ladle to make sure it is mixed well. Pour ghee on it and cover.

Once it cools, knead it to form smooth dough.  Grease your fingers with oil and pinch out a small lemon size ball and roll between your palms to form a thick rope. Bring the two ends to together and press to form a rope. Ensure the ends are firmed pressed as not to give out during frying.

Continue with the rest of the dough until you are done with the entire batch. You can either cover it with a plate or a cloth to prevent the dough from getting dried.

Check if the oil is in the correct temperature, by dropping a tiny bit into the oil. Then gently slide the rings or the chakodis in batches of 4 -5. The flame has to be on high until the chakodis come up to the surface, then lower the flame to medium and cook till you get a golden colour on the chakodis.

When the chakodis are golden all over, using a slotted ladle, remove to a kitchen towel and cool. Store in an air tight container for longer shelf life. 

Dahi Batata Sev Puri

I am from Mumbai and I love chaat. I love chaat items and I am lucky that my hubby enjoys it too, my elder son can eat pani-puri for breakfast, lunch & dinner and this he can do for n no. of days.  So as we all love Chaat we often make it and sometime its our dinner...:) Unlimited chaat. 

Dahi batata sev puri is made rarely in my home since my picky elder one doesn't enjoy them much.  Sev is the thin noodles kind of snack made with gram flour. You can easily get it in any Indian grocery store. Batata means Potato in Mumbai local language, dahi is curd/yogurt and Puri is puri.

I think enough of my chaat puraan, lets go to the recipe.

What you need:

20-30 Puffed deep fried Puris (store bought or home made)
½ - ¾ cups Sev
1 Red Onion, finely chopped
1 tomato finely chopped
1/4 cup coriander leaves chopped finely
1 tbsp Red chilli powder (optional)
Potato Filling:
1 large Potato, boiled, cooked and mashed
Black salt
Chaat Masala
Table Salt to taste

Sweet Tamaring-Dates Chutney
Spicy Green coriander-mint chutney

Curd/Yogurt Filling:
2 cups Yogurt, beaten till smooth
1 tsp roasted Jeera/Cumin Powder
A pinch of Black salt
Table Salt to taste

How to assemble:
First boil the potato, peel and then mash it.  Add black salt, chaat masala and the salt to taste.

Beat the curd well if you feel it is too thick add little water.  Add the roasted jeera powder, the black salt and the table salt.

To Assemble the Dahi Batata Sev Puri:

Arrange puris in a plate, making small opening on top of each puri with the thum, big enough to add the fillings.

First fill each puri with a tsp of Potato filling. Add the chopped onion, and then the tomato.  Then fill it with ¼-½ tsp of both the chutneys.  Now start filling the puris with the yogurt mixture.  Then sprinkle some coriander and sev on each puri.  Sprinkle some more chilli powder if you like it hot like us.

Serve this delicious plate of Dahi Batata Sev Puri immediately as if kept for long it will become soggy. Remember to use your finger to eat it no spoon please.  Enjoy this finger-licking delicious Chaat.

Very soon I will post the recipes of the sweet tamarind dates chutney and the spicy green coriander-mint chutney.  But for now you can buy these from any Indian grocery store. 

No-Egg, No Butter Carrot Cake

Today I wanted to make something very simple, and was in the mood to bake.  I had some carrots and bananas which I wanted to finish.  Decided to make this cake from here. 

What I used :

2 Cups Maida/All Purpose Flour
2 Cups carrots finely chopped/grated
1 cup chopped walnuts

1/2 cup dessicated dry coconut unsweetened

1/2 cup golden raisins

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp cardamom powder

2 ripe bananas peeled and mashed

1/2 cup oil

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup milk

What I did:
Instead of grating the carrots I used mini food processor and chopped the carrots.  I chopped 5 carrots for the 2 cups of gratings.  I pulsed the walnuts before chopping the carrots.  In a big bowl, sieve the all purpose flour and the baking soda.  Mix together the carrots, coconut, walnuts raisin and the flour.

In another bowl, mash and beat the banana till fluffy.  Add 1 cup Sugar, 1/2 cup oil, cardamom powder and mix with a hand mixie.  Add the flour mixture to this mix and run the hand mixie on the speed of 1.  Add the milk and run the mixie. 

Preheat the oven at 350 degrees.  I poured the batter in a 8x8 tray and a 1 quart pyrex glass bowl.  Bake it for 25-30 minutes and a delicious with no egg or butter cake is ready to serve.   Since today's baking was unplanned I could  not do any kind of  toppings but surely next time I am going to do it.

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