Raw Banana Vada

I am not a big fan o f Raw bananas but one day i ended up having more than 6 banana in the fridge and didnt knew how to complete them that is when i tried experimenting
inorder to finish them which
This is a very tasty and filling snack.
Can be taken as evening snack along with coffee or tea.
Can also be taken as starters in the parties


4 bananas
2 tbsp all purpose flour
2 green chillies sliced.
1 tspn besan/chanaga pindi/chick pea flour.
1/2 tspn cumin seeds/ jeera/jeelakara.
1 tsp coriander powder
Salt and turmeric as required
Few curry leaves
Onion - medium size - 1
Ginger garlic paste - 2tbls
Curry leaves - 1 sprig
Corriander leaves - small bunch
Mint leaves - 20 leaves

1 cup oil


Instructions:
1.Cut the raw banana into two, put in a bowl containing water and boil till it is done.
Then peel it and mash it thouroughly.

2. then add the sliced onion,sliced green chilli,besan,cumin seeds,
3. Now add the chopped coriander leaves, mint and curry leaves and mix all the ingredients well . If u feel the consistency is dry add little water to make the batter perfect to make the wadas.
5.now addd the salt, turmeric, corriander powder except oil and mix well.
6. Heat oil in pan , shape the dough in the form of cutlets and deep fry them till golden brown.
Serve hot with tomato ketchup or any chutney.

Note: you can serve with sambar like chips. It tastes good.

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Samosa Ragada

Whenever i go out i usually prefer eating chat as it really tastes good and especially when it is a rainy season having chat is a unique experience , but this time i wanted to try this at home as well and it tasted much more better than the chats served in bangalore. Though I had eaten it many times at roadside vendors, I had never attempted to prepare it at home until I came here. Since I dont like the chat served in bangalore so i thought of making it by myself . It was on one such rainy day that I made decided to make samosa chaat. I had Chickpeas, hence the twist in the tale is i didnt have samosas so i ended up using the ready made ones ,Chaat of any form amuses me a lot .My mouth is already watering while writing the recipe


here is what u need for ragada


1 cup Chickpea (Soaked overnight and pressure cooked until soft)
1 1/2 tsp roasted Cumin and Coriander powder
1/4 tsp Turmeric powder
1/2 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp chat masala
Salt to taste
1/2 tsp Oil


Home made or readymade samosa(2)
Onions - finely chopped(2)
Yoghurt/curd- fine paste, but not too thin.
Imli sauce or normal tomato sauce

Green coriander leaves, chopped finely.



Take a tawa or flat bottomed pan and heat oil in it.
now put half the onions and fry them
now smash the samosa and add the chickpeas to it and mix both of them together no add the turmeric, chilli,corriander,chatmasala and stir well by adding little water,
Add salt,,coriander leaves and allow it to boil till the gravy is semi-thick and then take it out in a bowl and keep aside.

In a bowl, take the samosa and peas mixture then add remaining onion pieces. Add the fine paste of curd or yoghurt and mix. Add Imli / tomato sauce. Garnish with green coriander leaves and sev .

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Pudina pakoda:

Ingredients: Pudina -1 bunch, gram flour-1 cup, onion-1 (chopped), green chilies -4 to5 (chopped), aloo-1 (boiled and mashed), chilipowder-1 teaspoon, coriander leaves - chopped, oil-for frying, salt to taste, garammasala-1 teaspoon.

Method: Separate the leaves of pudina and wash. Mash boiled Aloo. Fry Gram Flour for few seconds or just warm it. Later take a bowl, pour this flour, add pudina leaves, mashed Aloo, green chilies, salt, chili powder, garam masala, 2 table spoons of hot oil, water, onion, and mix well to the consistency of chappati atta. Heat oil in a kadai, make balls of this atta, deep fry in oil until golden brown. Serve it hot with chutney/ tomato sauce.

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METHI CHICKEN OR MURG METHI

This Saturday I was having plenty of time as my dh is off to work because of his project go- live and past from week he was under full pressure , so I planned to make some thing special inorder to surprise him and make him free from tensions( because my DH always says to win a mans heart is thru his stomach and especially when he is overloaded with work.) So I have planned to cook some chicken.
When I went to buy chicken I came across fresh methi leaves and I couldn’t resist myself from buying them as these days I I am more inclined to implement ayurveda techniques in my cooking .

Fenugreek is a very common herb used in most Indian cuisines. These herb has many health benefits.the seeds of this fenugreek are also used for several ayurveda and medicinal purposes like lowering cholestral and mouth ulcers.

Methi leaves enhances the chicken flavour,when cooked together gives a enhancing taste the dish a very Methi chicken is also very popular by name murgh methi in Hyderabad. It is important to pick just the leaves and discard all the stems for this dish.

•INGREDIENTS:
Chicken, ½ kg.
fresh Methi (fenugreek) leaves, 2 bunches.
2 large onions
2 tomatoes
Ginger-garlic paste, 1-2 teaspoon.
Cumin seeds, 1 teaspoon.
Chili powder, 2 teaspoon.
Coriander powder, 2 teaspoons.
Garammasala powder 1 tea spoon

Green chilies 5
.Coriander leaves
Salt as per taste.
3 whole (broken) green cardamom pods
2 cinnamon sticks of about 5 cm
3 cloves

preparation :
Remove skin and wash chicken well . Marinate with turmeric, red chili powder , ginger garlic paste , garam masala .coriander powder and set aside for 15 minutes.

Grind cardamom, cinnamon and cloves to a fine powder.

Wash the methi leaves and chop them well .

Take a pan , heat little oil and now add the methi leaves and fry them till the raw smell .
Allow it to cool and now grind the methi leaves along with the spices powder and the chopped tomatoes.
In a wide-based pan, heat the oil and sauté the onions until they brown lightly. add the green chillies and saute them well.
Now add the ginger, garlic and turmeric. Stir and cook on a medium-high heat and fry till raw smell leaves.
Add the mariented chicken pieces. Stir them around until they turn golden brown. Now add little chili powder at this stage if u like make the dish bit spicy.
Now add the grounded paste of methi and mix it well so that it coats all the chicken well and cook it till it gives the methi flavour
Now add 1 cup of water and salt as per taste and cook under closed under medium flame for 12-15 minutes or until the chicken is well cooked.
Allow it to fry with occasional stirring till the oil starts separating.now add the coriander leaves and allow it to cook for few more minutes.
Turn off the stove and serve hot with plain rice , variety of rice or rotis.

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PEPPER RASAM OR MIRYALA CHARU

Charu is nothing but plain Rasam .Rasam can be made of different ways and different types. Today i planned to make pepper rasam .
Peppers are the native of India and it is know as the king of spices.
The medicinal value of black pepper is well known.Freshly ground pepper is more aromatic than packaged powders.It is very good for digestion and also to relive from cold.
Pepper rasam is very effective in clearing up nose and throat when you are caught up with cold . Hot pepper with pungent ginger garlic is a great combination for this spicy rasam.

Ingredients

2tsp of black pepper powder ( freshly made)
1 tsp of coriander powder
1tsp of oil
3 green chillies
1 tsp jeera
1 tsp of gingergarlic paste
1 tsp of mustard seeds
curry leaves
coriander leaves
2 dried red chillies
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
salt to taste
2 cups of dilluted tamarind juice

In a small frying pan add oil and fry the seasoning mixture, allow jeera and mustard seeds to crackle, add red chilies and fry till they darken in color.add ginger garlic paste and saute well. Add the curry leaves and ground pepper powder along with turmeric and coriander powder. Fry them on low flame until it gives out nice flavour.Add the tamarind juice and bring to boil. Adjust the taste, by adding salt by ocassionally stiring it. Garnish with coriander leaves and turn of the heat.

Serve hot with rice,

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GOBHI MUSSALAM( CAULIFLOWER MUSALLAM)

I had this cauliflower sitting for a week in the veggies box . Many recipes came to my mind but was not ready to make the usual ones so wanted to try out something different this time with the cauliflower. At last I made up my mind to do Gobhi Mussalam but by adding little masalas and methi leaves to enhance the flavour and taste which will go well with the plain rice and thus I ended up making this dsh
ingredients

1 medium Cauliflower
Ghee for frying
1 Tsp Cumin Seeds
2 to 3 Tbsp Ginger garlic Paste
3 Green Chillies, sliced
1 onion sliced
2 Tsp Red Chilli Powder( as per taste)
2 Tsp Cumin Powder
1 tsp coriander powder
2 Tbsp Garam Masala
½ cup beaten Curd
3 Tsp dried Fenugreek Leaves (Methi)
½ cup Water
curry leaves
Salt to taste


Garnish
Chopped Coriander Leaves
preparation :

Break cauliflower in small florets run through water several times and drain them
deep fry in hot ghee. Drain well and set aside.

For making the gravy,

Heat 2 Tbsp oil and add cumin seeds , mustard seeds and Allow them to crackle, then add ginger paste, green chillies, onions , curry leaves and fry them well
Add the kasoori methi leaves and fry them well
Now add , , turmeric powder , cumin powder, half the garam masala and saute well .
Now add the fried cauliflower and saute them
Now add the red chilli powder, coriander powder, and salt and mix well.
Allow them to get cooked till the flavour of masalas goes into the cauliflower
Now add the beaten curd and mix well.
Add a little water and let the gravy simmer well. serve hot garnished with coriander leaves

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RUMALI ROTI

Ingredients

Wheat Flour (Atta) - 1 cup
White flour (Maida) - 1 1/2 cup
Baking powder - 1/2 teaspoon
milk -1/4 cup(optional to make a soft dough)
Salt to taste
Oil - 2 tablespoon
luke warm Water - As required

preparation

Mix wheat flour, maida, salt and baking powder and sieve them together.
Pour oil in the flour ,milk and add water bit by bit and make a smooth dough and keep aside covered with moist muslin cloth for 30 minutes or more .
Now make small balls of the dough and roll like a very thin chapati using little dry flour .(Whatever practically can be achieved)
Heat an inverted tawa and place the rumali roti carefully over it and cook till done.
serve rumali roti with any gravy

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PANEER MASALA

Paneer Masala,is one of the most popular main course in north Indian cooking.paneer is cooked in tomato sauce by adding spices to enhance the taste and the flavoured with ground spices to make it more enriched



250 gms paneer – diced into cubes
2 big onions chopped finely
4- chillies split into two
1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
1 tsp red chilli pwd
3 big ripe tomatoes(,de-skin and puree)
3 tbsps cashewnut paste
2 tspss groundnut paste
½ tsp coriander pwd
turmeric pwd
1/2 tsp kasuri methi (dry fenugreek leaves)
garam masala pwd
salt to taste
2 tbsps fresh cream(optional)
Whole spices
Cardmom,cloves,cinnamon

preparation

First saute the paneer in ghee till golden brown, remove them and add a cup of hot boiling water to the fried paneer and let them sit in it for 2mts,then drain the water and keep them aside
Heat 2 tbsp of oil in a pan, add the green chillies and the whole spices and fry them till the flavour goes into the oil and chillies
Now add onion and sauté till brown. Add ginger-garlic paste. Saute for 2 minutes. Add chilli pwd and combine,followed by the cashew and ground nut paste and fry till the raw smell goes.
Add kasuri methi,coriander,haldi,chili powder ,garam masala and sauté for a minute
now add the tomato puree,Stir and let it simmer for 4-5 mts,or till u can see the oil floating.
Add little water and allow it to cook
Add the paneer and simmer for 4-5 minutes. Add a small cup of water and let it cook on medium heat till you get the desired curry consistency .
Remove from fire,
Fresh creamc an be added additionally if required
Garnish with coriander leaves. Before serving .
Serve hot with rotis or with plain rice or any rice variety

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SHAHI BIRYANI

Shahi Biryani is a very popular Indian dish. It is a delicious main dish from Mughlai Cuisine. Shahi Biryani goes well with any korma, but it can also be eaten with any starters .



Ingredients:
Peas: 1 /2cup
Onion: 2 chopped finely
Chillies -6
Carrot and potato diced 1 cup
Basmathi Rice: 2 cup
Ghee/Clarified Butter: 2-3 tbsp +/-
Coriander Leaves
Pudina leaves
Tomatoe puree 1- cup
curd-1/2 cup
chilli powder.
Turmeric
Dhaniya powder
Fried onions
Salt
Kesar( put kesar in 2 tsp of milk)(optional)


Whole Spices:
Cinnamon
Cloves
Cardamom
Shah Jeera
Bayleaf
Biryani leaf
cumin
Peppercorns(optional)

to ground spices
Cinnamon
Cloves
Cardamom
Shah Jeera
Ginger 1 inch
Garlic 5-6 pods

Preparation:

Wash the rice and let them soak in water for 30 minutes and then drain and keep aside
Chop the vegetables
Grind all the ground spices to a fine paste.
clean rice and cook it -half or three-fourth cook –(parboil)by adding little salt.
Boil all the vegetables, drain them and keep aside

Heat oil in a deep bottom non stick pan and add the whole spices and saute for a minute
Now add the green chilllies split into two , and pudina leaves
Now add the onions and fry them till they reach brown and crisp.
Now add the ground paste and fry it well
Now add the coriander powder and all other masalas at this stage
Now add puree of tomatoes and Cook till oil separates.
Add pulav masala (optional)
Add ½ cup curd and allow it to cook well tilll the raw smell goes
Now add the cooked vegetables and cook till the flavour goes into them
Add required amount of salt and little coriander leaves
Take a separate utensil, put ghee and 1 tbsp of oil, half quantity of semi-cooked rice, half quantity of fried onions.
Put the cooked vegetable mixture on top of it and then cover it with the remaining semi-cooked rice.
pour 1 tsp ghee and the kesar milk
Garnish with coriander leaves and rest of the fried onions.
Tightly cover the utensil and cook for another 10 -15 minutes. On low flame
Serve hot with ,lemon , salad or papad

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DH birthday

This week is an experimenting week for having so many celebrations around 13 being my husbnad s birthday and as it is on friday and followed by valentines day s o all the weekend gows in celebrating and making delicious meals to win my husbands heart or i indirectly making him buy me lots of gifts[:)]
so this time i started making the delicious feast start fro m thursday itself so for day 1 the menu list goes like this

1. shahi birayani
2. hara bhara kabab( not the usual recipe)
3.paneer masala curry
4. rumali roti
5. pinapale oranje juice and
6. masala papad

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Lemon dal or Khatti Dal or Nimmakaya Pappu Recipe

Dal is such a must for in every part of my meal. Dal along with rice and veggies are always my first course. And since we have dal almost everyday , I always plan to make a variation in the recipe. Lemon dal is one such variation.
The lemon lends a tangy taste and the tomatoes and chillies with the spices give a nice aroma and enhances the floavour along with the taste





Preparation: 15-20 mts
Serves 4-5 persons
Cuisine: Andhra
.
Ingredients:
1 cup yellow moong dal/pesara pappu
big pinch turmeric pwd
juice of a small lemon
salt to taste
3 cups water

For seasoning/popu/tadka:

1-2tsp of oil
1/2tsp of mustard seeds
2-3 green chillies, slit lengthwise
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 red chily
curry leaves

1.Wash the dal, with several changes of water. Drain.
2.In a pressure cooker, add the dal and 2 cups of water and the turmeric.
3.Close the lid and cook for rwo whistles of the pressure cooker
4.Then remove the pressure and cook on stove top by adding tomatoes , cook till the dal is semi soft., add a cup of water and salt. You can add more water if you want a watery consistency. Cook on slow to medium flame for 4-5 mts. Turn off heat. And allow it to cool
5.Add lemon juice and combine. Keep aside.
6.Heat oil in a pan, add mustards seeds and as they splutter, add cumin seeds, green chillis, red chillis and curry leaves and stir fry for a few seconds. Add asafoetida and turn off heat.
7. Add this to the dal and combine. Serve with white rice or rotis.
Note: Always lemon juice should be added once the mixture is little cold. If the lemon juice is added when it is too hot, dal can become bitter.

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Andhra Meal

This a typical andhra meal at my place which is simply yummy.
I prefer this meal everyday as its so delicious !!
Rice ,Tomato dal with cabbage curry served with buttermilk

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