May, 2018 - Vinaya's Culinary Delights

Water Apple Juice Recipe

Posted on May 8, 2018May 8, 2018 by vinaya

Water apples are in season, and I was lucky to get some juicy and luscious ones! Fruits are best eaten as is, but the colour was so tempting that I decided to juice them. Cool and refreshing!!

Ingredients :

12 Water apples
1 heaped tbsp Sugar free
A pinch of salt
A pinch of pepper
Juice of one lemon
500 ml cold water

Method :

Wash and slice the Water apples. Blend them to a paste in the mixer. Add water and pass the paste through a seive. Add sugar free, salt pepper powder and lemon juice. Serve chilled with ice cubes added.

Upma with Bell Peppers Recipe

Posted on May 8, 2018May 8, 2018 by vinaya

Upma is an easy, quick to make dish. A saviour when there are unexpected guests. One can make a variety of them, and each of them taste delicious because of the fragrance of the vegetables and the seasonings added. I have added three varieties of Bell peppers along with finely chopped coriander leaves. Today is the fourth variety of Upma that I have posted in this website.

Ingredients :

250 gms Rava/semolina
600 ml boiling water
6 green chillies
1 tsp Hing/asafoetida
3 sprigs curry leaves
1/4 each of Green, Red and Yellow Bell peppers
Coriander leaves
3 tbsps ghee/clarified butter
5 tbsps oil
1 heaped tsp mustard
1 heaped tsp urad dal/ black gram dal
Salt
Juice of one lemon

Method :

Chop the Bell peppers, green chillies and the coriander leaves fine. Place the pot of water to boil. Heat the ghee and oil mixture. Drop in the mustard and after it splutters add the urad dal. After it turns golden brown drop in the hing, chillies and curry leaves. Toss. Add the Rava and roast on a gentle flame for about three to four minutes. Add salt, the chopped bell peppers, half of the chopped coriander leaves and the lemon juice. Immediately pour in the boiling water and mix well. Cover and cook till done. Garnish with the remaining coriander leaves and serve hot.

Potato Bhajia/ fritters Recipe

Posted on May 7, 2018 by vinaya

Potato Bhajia is an all time favourite short eat, served at get togethers or as a snack at tea time. It is quick, easy to make and delicious as well. The children will simply love it!

Ingredients :

4 potatoes
150 gms Besan /Chickpea flour
50 gms Rice flour
1tsp chilly powder
1tsp Hing/asafoetida
A large pinch of ajwain /carom seeds
Salt
Oil to fry the Bhajia

Method :

Deskin the potato and wash them thoroughly. Slice them thinly. Mix the Besan, rice flour, salt, chilly powder, hing and ajwain. Add enough water to make a batter which is neither too thick nor runny, so that it coats the potato slices well. Heat oil in a pan. Dip the potato slices in the batter and drop them a few at a time in the hot oil. Deep fry to a golden brown and crisp. Serve hot.

Chole Bature Recipe

Posted on May 7, 2018 by vinaya

Who can resist a Chole Bature with the sliced onions and lemon wedges in tow? The fragrance of the Masala being roasted, the fluffy softness of the Batura and the crunch of raw onions with every bite of this delicious dish is simply out if this world!! Posting the recipe for Batura today as I have already posted the recipe of Chole on this website.

Ingredients :

500 gms Maida/All purpose flour
1/4 tsp soda bicarb
1/4 tsp baking soda
Curds
2 tbsps oil
Salt
Oil for frying the Batura

Method :

Sieve the Maida, baking soda and baking powder together. Add salt and bind a hard dough as for poori with the curds. Knead well for about five minutes. Drizzle oil and knead again for a minute. Cover and keep aside for 6 hours. Pinch 18 balls of the dough. Grease the rolling board with a little oil and roll out the Batura neither too thick nor thin. Heat oil. Drop in a little piece of dough to check if it the right temperature. The dough should immediately rise to the top. Slide in the Batura gently into the hot oil. Fry to a rich golden brown. Flip. Fry on the other side too. Drain on a kitchen towel and serve with Chole.

Chole Recipe

Madgane/Manganem/ Bengal Gram Paysam Recipe

Posted on May 6, 2018 by vinaya

Madgane is traditionally prepared on Ugadi/Gudi Padva which is New Year in Karnataka, Andhra and Maharashtra. The Goans too make this delicacy, but call it Manganem. The aroma of roasted Chana Dal/Bengal Gram Dal and of cashews in this coconut based dessert is simply divine!!

Ingredients :

200 gms Chana Dal/Bengal Gram Dal
50 gms Cashew nuts halved
50gms kishmish
One large coconut grated
200 gms jaggery
1 heaped tsp Cardamom powder
A tbsp of ghee/clarified butter

Method :

Dry roast the Chana Dal to a rich golden brown. Wash and pressure cook to three whistles. Add jaggery and cook till the jaggery dissolves. Extract thick and thin milk from the grated coconut by grinding it to a smooth paste and then sieving it. Roast the cashews and kishmish in a tbsp of ghee. Add the coconut milk, jaggery, the roasted Cashew and kishmish to the roasted Chana Dal. Boil well. Add Cardamom powder and keep aside for half an hour for the flavours to infuse.

Sol Kadhi Recipe

Posted on May 5, 2018 by vinaya

Sol Kadhi is a digestive made from Kokum/Garcinia Indica extract. A coolant and a delicious drink, the seasoning to the Kadhi depends on individual preference. Some prefer to season it with hing/asafoetida and some like it with a tempering of mustard seeds and curry leaves. I like mine with crushed garlic and green chillies and garnished with coriander leaves. It can be served as an appetizer or along with a meal.

Ingredients :

1/2 of a large coconut
3 tbsps Kokum agal/extract
2 green chillies
5 garlic cloves
Salt
Coriander leaves

Method :

Grind the coconut to a fine paste with water. Extract the coconut milk. Strain and keep aside the first extract. Add half a glass of water again to the residue and grind. Strain again and add the first and second extract together. Crush the green chillies, garlic and salt and after straining it, tip it into the coconut milk. Add the Kokum agal , salt and chopped coriander leaves. Serve chilled.

Batata vada/Aloo/Potato Bonda Recipe

Posted on May 4, 2018May 5, 2018 by vinaya

Batata Vada or Aloo Bonda is a famous Mumbai street food, but today it is popular all over India. Served either with a spicy garlic chutney, or with a mint and coriander one, it can be relished on it’s own as it has all the spices added to it.

Ingredients :

6 potatoes
8 green chillies
2 inch piece of ginger
7 garlic cloves
Coriander leaves
3 tbsps oil
1 tsp mustard
2 sprigs curry leaves
Juice of half a lemon
Salt
1 heaped cup Besan/ Bengal Gram flour/Chickpea flour
3 tbsps rice flour
1/2 tsp Haldi/turmeric powder
A pinch of soda bi carb.
1/2 tsp Asafoetida /Hing
Oil for frying

Method :

Pressure cook the potatoes. Deskin them and mash them roughly. Make a coarse paste of the ginger garlic and green chillies. Heat 3 tbsps oil. Add a spoon of mustard and after it splutters add the curry leaves. Drop in the ginger, garlic, green chilly paste and sauté for a minute. Drop in 1/4 tsp of haldi and immediately add the mashed potatoes. Add salt. Mix thoroughly and heat well. Add the chopped coriander leaves and lemon juice to it. Mix and keep aside to cool. When cool make balls out of the potato mixture. Keep aside. Take the Besan, rice flour, 1/4 tsp haldi, soda bi carb, asafoetida and salt in a bowl. Add enough water to make a batter which is thick enough to coat the potato balls. The batter should not be runny. Keep aside for ten minutes. Heat oil in a pan. Drop the potato balls in the batter, coat them well and then gently slide them into the hot oil three at a time. Deep fry to a rich golden yellow. Serve with chutney or ketchup.

Aamras Poori Recipe

Posted on May 2, 2018 by vinaya

Aamras Poori is yet another delicacy in Western India. Sweetened Mango pulp is enjoyed with Poori. Any ocassion is incomplete without serving Poori Aamras during the Mango season. The recipe of Aamras/Mango Puree as well as that of Poori can be found in this website.

Aamras /Mango Puree Recipe

Poori Recipe

Aamras /Mango Puree Recipe

Posted on May 1, 2018 by vinaya

Aamras or Mango Puree is a favourite with Indians. The best Aamras is from the Ratnagiri Alphonso Mango. Fragrant and sweet, it is a class apart! Here Mango is deskinned, chopped and run through a sieve to get thick pulp. Powdered sugar is added as per requirement. A mix of two varieties of mangoes is also preferred by some. Aamras is enjoyed with Poori or used in milkshakes and smoothies.

Ingredients :

12 Alphonso Mangoes
Sugar as per taste

Method :

Deskin the mangoes. Chop them and place them in a sieve. Keep rubbing them with your fingers or with the back of a spoon. The smooth pulp runs through the sieve. Collect it in a vessel and add required amount of powdered sugar. Mix thoroughly and refrigerate.

Note: Never use the mixer or blender to puree the mangoes. The heat of the gadget ruins the taste of the mango puree.

Jackfruit and Semolina Fritters Recipe

Posted on May 1, 2018May 1, 2018 by vinaya

The aroma of ripe Jackfruit fried in ghee is simply tantalizing!! Posting sweet jackfruit fritters today which are crunchy on the outside but have a soft melt in the mouth inside!!! They can be had as a dessert or served as a tea time snack too.

Ingredients :

12 segments of Jackfruit
2 tbsps grated coconut
Semolina/Rava
Jaggery
Cardamom powder
Ghee/clarified butter
Salt

Method :

Remove the seeds from the Jackfruit. Grind the Jackfruit along with the coconut to a smooth paste. Add a pinch of salt and as much jaggery as per your preference. Tip in semolina a little at a time, so that you can bind it together. Add Cardamom powder as per requirement. Keep aside for ten minutes. The semolina absorbs the moisture. The batter should be slightly more stiff than dropping consistency. If you find the batter still a little too soft, add more semolina and set aside for another ten minutes. Heat ghee in a pan. Drop in tiny portions of the batter into the hot ghee and fry on a medium flame to a deep golden brown.