Spicy Cashewnuts.

Salted cashews are a favourite the world over. Since the Indians love theirs sprinkled with spices, decided to make a batch this Diwali with a few spices added. They have turned out extremely crisp and delicious. Do take care while buying the cashewnuts. The large sized ones are the best . The smaller ones can be used in seasonings for Pulao or for making cashew paste.

Ingredients:

500 gms whole Cashews

2 tbsps chilly powder

1/4 tsp turmeric powder

Salt as required

2 tbsps coriander powder

1 heaped tsp cumin powder

1 tbsp asafoetida powder

3 tbsps corn flour

5 tbsps Besan/ gram flour

3 tbsps oil

Oil for frying.

Method:

Tip the cashews in a sieve and hold them under running water. Wash and drain thoroughly. Drop them into a bowl when they are still wet and add the salt, asafoetida, chilly, turmeric, coriander and cumin powder. Mix thoroughly. Add the oil, corn flour and besan and keep mixing till the cashews are evenly coated. Marinate for an hour. Microwave for three minutes just to dry them out a little. This also helps in the cashews absorbing hardly any oil while they are being fried. Heat oil in a pan. Drop in the cashews when the oil is medium hot. Remove them once they turn golden yellow and place them on a kitchen towel. They turn a beautiful golden brown by the time the next batch is fried. Do not allow them to brown in the oil as the heat roasts them even after they are removed. Finish off with the remaining cashews, allow them to cool and store in an air tight container.

Copyright © 2022 by Vinaya Prabhu. All rights reserved.

For more vegetarian recipes please join Vegetarian Culinary Delights by Vinaya on Fb.

Cucumber, carrot and raw mango salad.

This crunchy sweet and tangy salad of slivered cucumber, carrot and raw mango goes well with rice, roti or can be even enjoyed as is. I prefer mine rolled inside a roti as it makes for a healthy meal.

Ingredients:

1 large carrot

1 large cucumber

1 small raw mango

Juice of half a lime

Salt

A pinch of sugar

Pepper powder if required.

Method:

Wash and peel the carrot, cucumber and raw mango. Either slice it into thin long juliennes or sliver them as I have, with a peeler. Tip everything in a bowl and sprinkle with sugar and lemon juice. Mix and refrigerate. Season with salt just before serving.

Note: do not add salt before hand as the salad oozes water and turns limp.

Copyright © 2022 by Vinaya Prabhu. All rights reserved.

For more vegetarian recipes please join Vegetarian Culinary Delights by Vinaya on Fb.

Potatoshroom Masala

Mushrooms are a rich source of protein, selenium, vitamins and antioxidants. Button mushroom cultivation has become an alternative source of income for the Indian farmer and also a profitable one.

This post though is not about mushrooms. It is for those who are allergic to them as I am. I decided to prepare a Mushroom masala but with potatoes shaped into button mushrooms.

All one needs is an apple corer and a sharp knife. Just slice the tip of a potato and stick the apple corer about 2/3 into it. Cut it in a circle. You can feel the knife touching the metal.. Remove the corer and you are left with a pretty looking button mushroom.

Ingredients:

250 gms baby potatoes

2 large onions sliced

2 tomatoes chopped fine

7 cloves of garlic

1 inch piece of ginger

2 tbsps Kashmiri chilly powder

1 tbsp coriander powder

1tsp Garam masala

4tbsps curds whisked well

3 tbsps oil

2 tbsps ghee/ clarified butter

1tsp cumin seeds

Salt

Method:

Prepare the potatoes into the shape of a mushroom as mentioned above. Wash and drop them into boiling salted water. Switch off , cover and allow to stand till you are able to handle the potatoes. Peel the skin and keep aside. Roast them sprinkled with salta in a little oil so that they become firm. Heat the ghee and oil mixture in a pan. Drop in the cumin seeds and after they splutter add the sliced onions and ginger garlic paste. Saute till the onions are translucent and the raw smell of the ginger garlic disappears. Add the chilly, coriander and garam masala powders and saute for a minute. Add the tomatoes and roast till mushy. Drop in the whisked curd and mix thoroughly. Add enough water to bring it to a gravy like consistency. Drop in the potatoes and bring to a boil. Allow to simmer for a couple of minutes and check for salt. Add if required. Cover and cook for about five minutes. Switch off and keep aside for about fifteen minutes for the flavours to infuse. Serve with Jeera rice or roti.

Copyright © 2022 by Vinaya Prabhu. All rights reserved.

For more vegetarian recipes please join Vegetarian Culinary Delights by Vinaya on Fb.

Makhana and toasted seeds Chivda

A healthy, delicious and extremely nutritious Chivda to make during Diwali this year. Makhana or foxnuts are a stellar Indian super food. Low in fat and sodium, and high in calcium and potassium. They are an ideal snack to munch on when one feels those mid morning or late evening hunger pangs.

I usually roast foxnuts with just half a teaspoon of ghee and a sprinkling of salt. I decided to make a chivda this year, adding a variety of seeds to make it more nutritive. The amount of fat used in this recipe is also extremely less. Enjoy it with your evening tea or pack it for your children in their tiffin boxes.

Ingredients:

100 gms Makhana

25 gms flax seeds

50 gms pumpkin seeds

25 gms sunflower seeds

2 tbsps sesame seeds

25 almonds

1/4 of a dry coconut/ copra slivered

1 tbsp chilly powder or paprika

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

1tbsp coriander seeds

1 tsp cumin seeds

1tsp sugar or Stevia

1 tsp Hing/ asafoetida

2 sprigs curry leaves

Salt

1tsp ghee/ clarified butter

Method:

Tip the Makhana into a wide mouthed pan or kadhai. Sprinkle salt, turmeric powder, curry leaves and add half a teaspoon of ghee. Mix thoroughly and switch on the stove. Roast on a gentle flame till the Makhana is crisp. Keep aside. Take half a teaspoon of ghee in a pan. Roast the coconut slivers to a golden brown. Keep aside. Roast the pumpkin seeds till they change colour and turn crisp. Remove and tip in the flax seeds. Roast till they splutter. Remove and add the sesame seeds. Roast till they splutter. Mix all the three roasted seeds and sprinkle a little salt over them when they are still warm. Mix thoroughly and keep aside. Roast the almonds till they change colour and keep aside. Powder the coriander seeds, cumin seeds, asafoetida and sugar. Heat a pan and add the roasted Makhana, the seeds, almonds and sprinkle the powdered spices. Drop in the chilly powder and heat the entire mixture till the spice powder coats the Makhana well … Allow to cool thoroughly and store in an airtight container.

Note: All seeds need to be roasted separately or they could burn as roasting time for each varies. The entire process of making the Chivda took me just fifteen minutes. Keep all the ingredients at hand so you do not lose time heating the pan over and over again. Do not roast the coriander and cumin seeds as you are powdering them along with the sugar. The sugar will melt and the resultant sticky mass cannot be used.. the asafoetida will give out it’s aroma when the mixture is being re heated.

Copyright © 2022 by Vinaya Prabhu. All rights reserved.

For more vegetarian recipes please join Vegetarian Culinary Delights by Vinaya on Fb.

Eggplant/ Brinjal Pulao

An extremely easy to make, delicious one pot meal, the Brinjal Pulav is ready in just half an hour. Serve it with some chilled raita or some sliced onions and a wedge of lemon. Wash it down with a glass of buttermilk… Divine!


Ingredients:

250 gms Basmati rice washed and soaked for twenty minutes.

250 gms Eggplant/ Brinjal/ aubergine cut into quarters leaving the stem intact

2 large onions sliced

1 large potato peeled and cut into fingers

1 tomato chopped fine

2 inch piece ginger

9 cloves of garlic

1 tbsp Everest Biryani Masala

1 tbsp chilly powder

1/4 tsp Turmeric powder

1 heaped tsp cumin powder

1 tbsp coriander powder

Salt

3 tbsps Ghee/ clarified butter

5 tbsps oil

Half a cup of curds

300 ml boiling water

Method:

Drain the Basmati rice and keep aside. Make a paste of ginger and garlic. Heat the oil and ghee mixture in a pan. Drop in the brinjal and saute for a few minutes. Remove and keep aside. Drop in the potato wedges and saute them too for a couple of minutes. Keep these too aside. Drop the sliced onions and ginger garlic paste into the ghee oil mixture. Saute till the onions turn translucent and the raw smell of the ginger garlic disappears. Add the Biryani masala, turmeric, chilly, coriander and cumin powder and roast on a gentle flame for a couple of minutes. Add the tomatoes and keep roasting. Whisk the curds and drop it inside this mixture. Within a couple of minutes the oil starts separating. Immediately add the drained rice and mix well. Pour in the boiling water, the eggplant, potatoes and salt. Bring to a boil, lower heat and allow the Pulav to on an extremely gentle flame. It is ready in exactly ten minutes. Check for salt and serve hot with a mixed veg raita.

Copyright © 2022 by Vinaya Prabhu. All rights reserved.

For more vegetarian recipes please join Vegetarian Culinary Delights by Vinaya on Fb.

Drumstick/ Moringa leaves Sanna khotto/ dumplings.

There are a couple of varieties of Sanna khotto posted in this website. Sanna khotto are nothing but steamed dumplings or also can be termed as spicy idli… One can add finely chopped greens, veggies onions or even make them plain with asafoetida added for flavour. You can also make them with rice or with equal measures of rice and arhar/ toor dal. Posting a Sanna khotto flavoured with healthy Drumstick/ Moringa leaves today.

Ingredients:

250 gms raw rice

1/2 of a large coconut

6 roasted Byadgi chillies

6 roasted Guntur chillies

1tbsp tamarind paste

Finely chopped Moringa leaves as required

Asafoetida as per preference

Salt

Method:

Wash and soak the rice for three hours. Tip it into the mixer jar along with the grated coconut, asafoetida, roasted chillies and tamarind. Grind it to a semolina/ rava like consistency. The batter should be slightly more loose than of dropping consistency. Pour the batter into a bowl. Add the finely chopped Moringa leaves, salt and mix well. Grease katoris/ steel cups with oil. Pour the batter into them and steam in a steamer for about fifteen minutes. A toothpick inserted should come out clean. Remove from flame and allow to cool. De mould and keep covered in a container. Serve drizzled with coconut oil along with rice and Dal.

Copyright © 2022 by Vinaya Prabhu. All rights reserved.

For more vegetarian recipes please join Vegetarian Culinary Delights by Vinaya on Fb.

Beetroot raita -2

This is the traditional beetroot raita made in South Indian households… Also called a Pachadi. The difference in the North Indian and South Indian raitas is that the South Indian ones are always seasoned. The North Indians prefer it plain. You can find the plain one that I had posted earlier in the ‘Salad’ section of this website.

Ingredients:

1 medium sized beetroot peeled and grated

250 ml thick curds

1 green chilly chopped fine

1 inch piece of ginger grated fine

2 tbsps Ghee/ clarified butter

1tsp mustard seeds

1tsp urad dal/ split black gram

1 sprig curry leaves

1dry red chilly broken into half

1tbsp finely chopped coriander leaves

Salt.

Method:

Saute the grated beetroot in one tsp ghee for a minute. Remove from flame and tip it into a plate. Allow to cool thoroughly. Whisk the curds well and add a little water to thin it down a bit. Add the grated ginger, finely chopped green chilly and salt and mix thoroughly. Heat the remaining one tsp ghee in a pan. Drop in the mustard seeds and after they crackle add the urad dal. Once the urad dal turns golden brown add the broken red chilly. Toss and add the curry leaves. Saute and immediately pour the seasoning into the curds. Add the cooled beetroot and mix well. Garnish with finely chopped coriander leaves. Serve chilled.

Copyright © 2022 by Vinaya Prabhu. All rights reserved.

For more vegetarian recipes please join Vegetarian Culinary Delights by Vinaya on Fb.

Menthe dosa

Karnataka is known for it’s jasmine, sandalwood and the Menthe/ Fenugreek seeds dosa. Fragrant with the flavour of Fenugreek seeds,the Menthe dosa is usually accompanied by a chutney and jaggery syrup called Joni Bella with a copious amount of ghee. The amount of Fenugreek seeds varies depending on family preference. Adding more can ruin the taste of the dosa.

Ingredients:

500 gms raw rice

2 tbsps Methi/ Fenugreek seeds

100 gms patla poha/ thin variety of beaten rice

Salt

Oil or ghee to roast the dosa

Method:

Wash and soak the raw rice and methi seeds together for five hours. Soak the poha separately. Grind the poha first to a smooth paste and then tip in the rice and methi seeds. Grind it to a smooth batter. Tip it into a vessel, add salt, mix well and allow to ferment for eight to ten hours. Mix and pour a ladleful of the batter on a hot tava/ skillet. Do not spread the dosa too much. This dosa is always slightly thick, porous and soft. Drizzle with oil or ghee. Cover and roast to a golden brown. Flip and roast on the other side as well. Remove and serve with chutney and jaggery syrup.

Copyright © 2022 by Vinaya Prabhu. All rights reserved.

For more vegetarian recipes please join Vegetarian Culinary Delights by Vinaya on Fb.