Ola pakoda/ Ribbon pakoda

Continuing with the recipes for Diwali, I am adding a second savory today to my recipe list. Ola Pakoda, is a real treat and very easy to make. This snack is really delicious and a definite balance with the sweets.

Ingredients:


2 cups of Besan/ gram flour
1 cup of rice flour
1/4 tsp of asafoetida
1/2 tsp of red chilly powder(~spice level)
1 tbsp of butter (@ room temperature)
salt as required
oil for deep frying

Preparation:

1.Sift the rice flour and besan well. Mix all the above ingredients together and add the required amount of water to knead them into the dough. 
2.Make the dough a little soft so that the it can be squeezed easily from the murukku maker.

2.Heat oil in the kadai. Smear the inside of murukku maker with little oil. Make a ball and put in the murukku maker and press it directly in the oil.

3.As they turn light golden brown, turn to the other side. Remove ola pakoda from the oil and place it on the plate.

Murukku/ thenkuzhal/ Chakli

     First of all, I wish you all a very Happy Deepavali. My mom always makes murukku, ola pakoda, mixture etc. for Deepavali. I miss my mom more during these festivals :( . So this time I thought why not make some delicious murukku. My son is a great fan of this item, so this is a real treat!

Ingredients:

3 cups of rice flour
1/4 cup of urad dhal flour
1/4 tsp of asafoetida
1/2 tsp of cumin seeds
2 tbsp of butter (@ room temperature)
salt as required
oil for deep frying

Preparation:

1.Sift the rice flour well. Mix all the above ingredients together and add the required amount of water to knead them in to the dough.

2.Heat oil in the kadai. Smear the inside of murukku maker with little oil. Make a ball and put in the murukku maker and press it on the back of the ladle.

3.Once the oil is hot, transfer the murukku in to the oil. As they turn light golden brown, turn to the other side.

4.Remove murukkus from the oil and place it on the plate.

Malai kofta / Vegetable kofta curry

  Friends, this blog is achieving a significant milestone as I am posting my hundredth recipe. I appreciate all the support and encouragement from you. To celebrate this milestone, I wanted to share one of my favorite recipes. Ever since I got introduced to Malai Kofta, it has been one of my top picks at restaurants. While the texture of the kofta gives it unique identity, I admire the way it beautifully blends with the gravy. 

 Ingredients:

2 potatoes

1 cup cottage cheese /paneer

1 cup cauliflower 

1 cup cabbage
1 small cup of sweet peas

2 green chillies

2 tbsp of besan/ Gram flour
1/2 tsp red chilly powder

salt as required
oil for deep frying

For the Gravy:

1 inch of cinnamon stick
3 cloves
2 Elaichi/ cardamom
1 cup of tomato sauce
1 tbsp of grated ginger
1 tsp of red chilly powder
1 tsp of cumin powder
1/4 tsp of  dry fenugreek leaves/ kasoori methi
1 tbsp of grated coconut
10 pieces of cashewnuts
1 tbsp of heavy cream
1 tbsp of butter

Preparation:

1.Boil the potatoes, peel the skin and mash them. Grate the paneer.
2.Grate both cauliflower and cabbage and saute them with chopped green chillies, chopped coriander leaves and peas. Cook till the water dries up.
3.Mix the paneer, potatoes, sauteed veggies, salt, red chilly powder and besan all together.
4.Make lemon-sized balls and keep it aside.
5.For the gravy, add the butter to the skillet. Once the butter starts melting add cinnamon stick, cloves and cardamom.

6.As the nice aroma comes, add the tomato sauce and ginger.

7.Add 2 cups of water and add red chilly powder, cumin powder and salt.

8.Cook well till the raw smell disappears and add powdered cashewnuts and coconut. Cook for 5 minutes and add heavy cream. Gravy is ready.

9.Fry the prepared vegetable balls in the preheated oil. As they turn golden brown, transfer to the prepared gravy and mix gently.

10.Garnish with kasoori methi. Serve with roti/ paratha.