Corn vadas- debras

Corn vadas- A gujarati snack made from corn meal, savory and tasty ideal for a teatime snack, lunch box or picnics.

Ingredients:

2 cup fine corn flour
1 cup wheat flour
1 cup natural yoghurt
1 teaspoon fresh ginger paste
3 fresh green chillies deseeded and finely chopped
1 teaspoon sugar
½ cup fresh chopped green methi (fenugreek)
1 tablespoon fresh chopped coriander
1 level teaspoon eno salts
1 tablespoon sunflower oil for dough
1 teaspoon red chilli powder
1/2 teaspoon carom (ajwain) seeds
1 teaspoon sesame seeds
1 tsp turmeric
salt to taste

sunflower oil for frying

Method:

1.Mix all the ingredients except the oil for frying and make a dough. Leave overnight or for 2-3 hours.
2.Next divide the mixture into small balls, place balls 5 at a time between two sheets of oiled polythene and pat them out into flat vadas , About 2 inch in diameter and 3 mm thick
3.Heat the oil for frying and deep fry vadas in batches on medium heat until golden brown. They should puff up.
4. Drain on kitchen paper.

Will keep in airtight container for 3-4 days

Serve with fresh natural yoghurt

Chole( chickpeas in gravy)

Chole-Kabuli chana (white chickpeas ) cooked in a thick punjabi style gravy with aromatic spices. Served with a fluffy fried indian bread called bhatura.
Ingredients:

1 can tinned white chickpeas (or 8 oz pre boiled (kabuli chana) white chickpeas)
1 teabag
2 medium ripe tomatoes
½ teaspoon cumin seeds.
1 teaspoon tomato puree
1 tablespoon oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon MDH chana masala powder
½ teaspoon chilli powder
½ teaspoon turmeric
¼ teaspoon coriander powder
¼ teaspoon cumin powder
2 green chillies
½ teaspoon ginger paste
½ teaspoon garlic paste
½ teaspoon amchur powder (dried mango)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh coriander for garnish.

Method:
1. Skin the tomatoes, remove seeds and blend to a fine puree. Keep aside
2.Place the teabag in 1 pint water and add the chick peas.Simmer for 5 minutes.Drain and keep aside. (This is to give the cooked chole dish its authentic brown colour)
3. Add the oil in a pan and heat.
4. When oil is hot add the cumin seeds and then garlic paste followed by ginger paste.
5. Add the tomato paste and tomato puree. Cook till oil starts to separate from tomatoes.
6. Add salt, chilli powder, cumin powder, coriander powder, turmeric.
7. Add 100 ml water and bring the gravy to boil, add the chickpeas and simmer for 5-10 mins until spices blend in and gravy is thick.
8. Stir in the chana masala powder and amchur powder. Cook for a further two mins.
9. Slit the green chillies and add to the chana masala.
10. Transfer to serving dish and garnish with chopped coriander.

Serve with Bhatura.

Bhatura

Bhatura - A soft and fluffy Indian fried bread, made from all purpose flour(maida).It is often eaten with a chickpea curry (sabji ) called chole.

Ingredients:

Ingredients:

450 grams self raising flour –maida (all purpose flour with added baking soda)
4 slices white bread.
½ cup yoghurt
½ cup warm milk
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon sunflower oil
Sunflower oil for frying.

Method:

1. Remove the crusts from the bread and soak it in the ½ cup milk. Keep aside for 5 minutes.
2. Sieve the self raising flour, add the sugar and salt and mix in.
3. Add the soaked bread, yoghurt and sunflower oil and make a soft dough.
4. Cover the dough with a tea towel and leave in a warm place for 1 hour.

5. Divide the dough into 12 pieces and make small balls.
6. Roll out each ball in to a 5 inch round and approx 3mm thick.
7. Deep fry in oil until golden brown on both sides. Remove and drain on kitchen paper.
Serve bhaturas with Chole (chickpeas)

Chocolate crunch Barfi

Chocolate crunch Barfi -A lovely sweet made with chopped cashew nuts, almonds,pistachio nuts, cereal-corn flakes,rice crispies ,cocoa and golden syrup .Topped with delicious smooth milk chocolate. Simple and easy to make using basic ingredients.
Ingredients:

125 g rich tea biscuits
250 g digestive biscuits
50 g butter
1/2 bowl rice crispies
1/2 bowl cornflakes
50 g desiccated coconut
250 g mixed chopped nuts (almonds/ pista /cashews)
250 g golden syrup
3 tablespoons cocoa
300 g milk chocolate

Method:

1. Crush the biscuits and cereal and add chopped nuts and desiccated coconut. Mix
2. Melt the butter, cocoa powder and golden syrup in a pan.
3. Add to biscuit, nut and cereal mixture, and mix thoroughly till everything is coated.
4. Place mixture in a greased thali, press it to pack it tightly in the thali, smoothing it out and leave to set.
5. Melt the chocolate and pour over the set mixture.
6. Leave to set, once set cut in slices and enjoy.

You may like:
Eggless double Chocolate chip cake.

Boondi

Boondi -A royal dessert made from besan(chick pea flour) sugar syrup and garnished with chopped nuts.Delicately flavoured with saffron and cardamon.

Ingredients:

For batter:

1 cup Besan
1 tablespoon melted ghee for batter

1 tablespoon melted ghee for final garnish
½ cup water
Pinch orange food colouring

For chasne (sugar syrup)

1 cup Sugar ¾ cup water
1 pinch Kesar(saffron)

1 1/2 teaspoons cardamom powder

Oil for frying
15 almonds cut into slivers
10 almonds blanched and skin removed
2-3 drops red food colouring 2 cups

Oil for frying

Method:

For the chasne (sugar syrup)

1. In a pan add the 1 cup sugar and ½ cup water bring to boil.
2. Add the kesar, cardamon powder and pinch of food colouring.
3. Turn off heat when all the sugar is melted and chasne reaches ½ thread consistency (1/2 tar)


How to make boondi laddu:

1. Sieve the besan flour to remove lumps and add a pinch of food colouring.
2. Add 1 tablespoon of melted ghee and make a thick batter using the ½ cup water.
3. Keep aside

4. Heat the oil in a frying pan.
5. Hold the sieve about 2 inches from the oil. Take a ladle full of the batter and pour small amounts on to the sieve with small round holes.

6.Batter should drop to form small round pearl sized balls.(If you find batter is dropping too quickly forming long strings, batter is too runny add more flour to the batter, on the other hand if batter is not dropping than its too thick so add a little more water to batter.

7. Fry these pearl sized balls in small batches. As soon as they are crisp remove then from the oil and add to the chasne (sugar syrup)
8. Repeat the procedure till all the batter is used up.
9. To blanch the almonds add them to boiling water and leave for 5 mins
Remove from water and skin will slide off. Split the almonds in to halves and than quarters.
10. To the blanched almond quarters add 2-3 colours red food colouring ,toss to coat the almonds to colour them red. Place on kitchen paper to dry.

11. Mix the boondi into the sugar syrup, coating evenly and leave for ½-1 hour for the syrup to penetrate the boondis.

12. After 1 hour pour over the soaked boondi 1 tablespoon melted ghee,add the almond slivers and the coloured red almonds and mix.
13. Transfer to serving dish. Boondi is ready.

NB: For boondi ladoos, divide the mixture into 8 parts and make small golf ball sized ladoos from the boondi.

You may like: Gulab jamun.