Snacks & Finger Foods – Page 2 – Vinaya's Culinary Delights

Masala Papad Recipe

Posted on August 23, 2018August 23, 2018 by vinaya

Served as a starter, loved as a snack, enjoyed by young and old alike, the Masala Papad is a short eat which adds zing to any meal. Garnished with finely chopped vegetables of choice, the Papad is usually fried, though you may roast it if you want, to keep it healthy. I personally prefer mine fried!

Ingredients :

All the below mentioned ingredients are as per requirement.

Papad of choice
Tomato
Onions
Cucumber
Sweet corn
Chaat Masala
Green chillies
Paprika/Chilly powder
Coriander leaves
Oil for frying the Papad

Method :

Heat oil in a pan. Deep fry the Papad till crisp. Drain and, store in an airtight container. Boil the sweet corn. Cool thoroughly. Chop tomatoes, onions, cucumber, green chillies and coriander leaves fine. Tip the chopped onions, cucumber and tomatoes along with the sweet corn into a bowl and mix well. Place the Papad on a plate. Top it with the chopped vegetables. Sprinkle Chaat Masala, Chilly powder and the green chillies. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve immediately.

Note: There is no salt used in this preparation as the Papad contains salt and so does the Chaat masala. The Masala Papad is to be served immediately as it turns soggy if allowed to stand, even for a few minutes.

Sweet Potato Cutlets Recipe

Posted on August 12, 2018 by vinaya

These Sweet potato cutlets are amazing. A good change on the days when one is fasting. Thankyou so much Venkatesh Swaminathan sir for sharing the recipe. I did tweak it a bit to cater to the family’s taste, as we are all garlic lovers. Planning to make some next week, the way you made them as we fast during the month of Shravan. One can serve them as starters during a get together or pack them in the children’s lunch box.

Ingredients :

200 gms Sweet potatoes
7 green chillies
1 inch piece of ginger
7 flakes of garlic
1/2 tsp Chaat Masala
Salt
Juice of half a lemon
Coriander leaves
Bread crumbs to coat the cutlets
Oil to roast the cutlets.

Method :

Pressure cook the sweet potatoes and peel them. Mash them with a masher. Grind the green chillies, ginger and garlic to a smooth paste. Drop it into the mashed sweet potatoes. Add the Chaat Masala, salt Lemon juice and chopped coriander leaves. Mix thoroughly. Shape them as required and roll them in the bread crumbs. Heat a tava/Skillet. Drizzle with a teaspoon of oil. Place the cutlets on the Tava. Drizzle some oil on the cutlets and shallow fry them till crisp and done. Serve with mint chutney or Tomato Ketchup.

Oil free Sabudana vada Recipe

Posted on August 1, 2018 by vinaya

This is an oil free and healthy version of the Sabudana Vada. Sabudana or Sago Pearl is commonly used in India on the days one fasts. The regular vada is fried. Here I made balls of the dough, but did not flatten them as I would, while frying the Vada. Made use of a non stick Appam pan to roast them. Serve with either a tomato ketchup or green chutney. Recipe Link to the preparation of the Sabudana dough is given below.

Sabudana Vada recipe

Snacky Peanuts Recipe

Posted on July 25, 2018July 25, 2018 by vinaya

Snacky Peanuts, Congress Kadlekayi Beeja, Spicy Peanuts are the various names given to this delicious peanut snack. One can go on snacking on it as the right amount of spices and the sweetness of the peanuts is irresistible!

Ingredients :

250 gms roasted peanuts, deskinned and halved
4 tsps oil
1/4 tsp Hing/asafoetida
4 sprigs curry leaved
1/4 tsp Haldi/turmeric powder
1 tsp Chilly powder
Salt

Method :
Heat the oil in a pan. Drop in the curry leaves and roast them on a gentle flame till they are crisp. Add the Hing, roasted peanuts, haldi, chilly powder and salt. Mix it well and continue roasting for a couple of minutes on the same gentle flame. Once it is cool enough to handle, crush the curry leaves thoroughly with your fingers. Mix well. Store when thoroughly cooled.

Khaman Dhokla/Steamed Gram flour appetizers

Posted on July 11, 2018July 11, 2018 by vinaya

A very popular dish from Gujarat, a state that lies to the West of India, the Khaman Dhokla is a highly nutritious snack served with a Green chutney. Healthy too because it is steamed and tempered with minimum of oil. Recipe link for the Chutney is given below.

Ingredients

300 gms Besan /Bengal gram flour
2 tbsp Rava/ semolina
4 tsp sugar
1 tsp ginger-green chilli paste
1 tsp lemon juice
Salt
1 tsp Eno fruit salt
3 tsp oil
1 tsp Mustard
1 tsp sesame seeds
A large pinch of Hing/ asafoetida
2 sprigs curry leaves
3 green chillies slit
Coriander leaves to garnish.

Method
Tip in the Besan, semolina, sugar, ginger-green chilli paste, lemon juice and salt into a bowl. Add around ¾ cup of water and mix well using a whisk to get a smooth batter. Keep the steamer boiling.
Just before steaming, add the fruit salt and mix lightly.
Pour the mixture immediately into a greased Thali. Steam in a steamer for 10 to 12 minutes or till the dhoklas are cooked. Keep aside. A knife inserted in the Dhokla should come out clean.
Heat the oil in a pan. Add the mustard seeds. When the seeds splutter, add the sesame seeds, asafoetida, curry leaves and slit green chillies and sauté on a medium flame for 30 seconds.
Remove from the flame, add ½ cup of water and wait for 5 minutes or till the water is absorbed completely.
Pour the tempering over the prepared dhoklas and spread it evenly.
Cut into pieces, garnish with coriander and serve immediately with All purpose chutney.

All purpose Chutney, Recipe

Toasted Sandwich with Tomato Omelette Recipe

Posted on June 15, 2018 by vinaya

This is one of my favorite sandwiches. Bread buttered, toasted and stuffed with a tomato omelette. Served with tomato ketchup, it is simply divine! Recipe link to both the Tomato omelette and the All purpose Chutney is given at the end of the recipe.

Ingredients :

4 slices of bread
Butter
1 tomato omelette
All purpose chutney
2 cheese singles

Method :

Butter the slices of bread on both the sides. Toast it well on one side. Apply some All purpose chutney on the toasted side. Quarter the tomato omelette and place two of the quarters on it. Place a cheese single over it and cover it with another slice of bread, the toasted side facing the cheese. Toast the sandwich on both the sides till golden brown and crisp. Cut into triangles and serve with tomato ketchup.

Tomato Omelette Recipe

All purpose Chutney, Recipe

Samosa Chat Recipe

Posted on June 14, 2018June 14, 2018 by vinaya

Samosa Chat is a street food popular all over North India and also in Mumbai, the business capital of India. Young and old like it because it is tangy, sweet and spicy all rolled into one. It can be served with Chole or without it. Posting the one without Chole today. The recipe below is to serve one person or to make one plate of Samosa Chat. Recipe link for the Samosa has been posted at the end of this recipe.

Ingredients :

1 large Punjabi Samosa
9 tbsps curds
5 tbsps sweet and sour tamarind chutney
4 tbsps green chutney
1 tbsp red chutney
1 tsp Everest Chat Masala
1/4 tsp Chilly powder
1/4 tsp roasted Jeera /Cumin powder
3 tsps sugar
Salt
1/2 onion
A fistful of Sev
Coriander leaves

Method :

Chop the onion and coriander leaves fine. Keep aside. Churn the curds. Add the sugar and salt as per taste and whisk well. Place the Samosa on a dish. Crush it. Pour the sweet and salty curds over it. Drizzle the tamarind, green and red chutneys. Sprinkle the jeera, chilly and chat masala powders. Garnish with finely chopped onions, Sev and coriander leaves.

Potato and Peas Samosa Recipe

Recipe for a Variety of Chutneys

Khandvi / Chickpea Rolls Recipe

Posted on June 13, 2018 by vinaya

Khandvi is a popular snack made in the Western region of India. Nutritious as it is made of Besan/Chickpea flour which is high in protein and absolutely delicious! This recipe calls for very little oil, as this is a steamed preparation. The only oil that is used, is for seasoning.

Ingredients :

200 gms Besan/Chickpea flour
500 ml Buttermilk
4 green chillies
A pea sized piece of Hing /Asafoetida
1/4 tsp Haldi/turmeric powder
Salt

For the seasoning

3 tsps oil
1tsp mustard
1 tsp jeera/cumin seeds
1 sprig curry leaf
Coriander leaves

Method:

Grind the hing and green chillies together to a smooth paste. Add it to the Besan along with the buttermilk, salt and haldi and mix thoroughly. Pressure cook this mixture to three whistles. After the pressure is released, whisk the mixture well with an egg beater or whisk and spread it thinly on the back of a flat dish. You can also use the kitchen counter top to spread the mixture. Allow to cool. Cut into thin strips with a knife and gently roll them. If the strips are too long, you can cut them to the desired length. Arrange the rolls on a dish. Heat oil. Add the mustard. After it splutters add the jeera, followed by the curry leaves. Drop the seasoning over the rolls and garnish with coriander leaves.

Potato and Peas Samosa Recipe

Posted on June 10, 2018June 10, 2018 by vinaya

Samosa is a favourite tea time snack, and enjoyed with a mint chutney and tomato ketchup. Today I have posted a potato and pea samosa though you can always use a filling of your choice.

Ingredients :

750 gms Maida/all purpose flour
5 tbsps ghee/clarified butter
3/4 tsp Ajwain / carom seeds
Salt
Water
Oil to fry the Samosa

For the Samosa Filling:

3 boiled potatoes
A handful of cooked peas
1 heaped tsp Garam masala
4 green chillies
2 inch piece of ginger
Juice of one lemon
A pinch of turmeric
1 tbsp oil
1tsp Jeera/cumin seeds
1 tsp coriander seeds ground coarsely
Coriander leaves
Salt

Method :
Take the all purpose flour in a bowl. Drop in the ajwain, salt and ghee and mix well till you get a crumbly dough. Add water little by little to the dough to form a hard and firm dough. Allow it to rest covered for about twenty minutes. Meanwhile mash the cooked potatoes gently. Add the cooked peas to it. Grind the ginger and green chillies coarsely. Chop the coriander leaves fine. Heat oil in a pan. Drop in the cumin and coriander seeds and after they splutter add the ginger green chilly paste. Toss for half a minute. Add the garam masala, Turmeric powder and salt. Drop in the potato and peas mixture. Mix and heat thoroughly. Add juice of lime and the chopped coriander leaves. Keep aside.
Uncover the dough and knead it well. Pinch balls of the dough and roll them into circles of six inch diameter. These circles should neither be too thick nor thin. Cut the circle into half. Take one of the semi circles and shape it into a cone. Fill it with the potato and pea mixture. Apply a little water to the edges to seal the cone. Similarly finish off with the rest of the dough. Heat oil in a pan. Drop in two to three of the samosas at a time and fry to a rich golden brown. Drain them on tissue paper. Serve them hot with mint chutney and tomato ketchup.

Banana fritters (sweet) Recipe

Posted on May 15, 2018 by vinaya

These Banana fritters are made throughout India with a little variation. Mullik, Pitha, Bora or Gulgule are the names depending on the region where they come from. Easy and quick to make they make an excellent tea time snack.

Ingredients :

2 ripe elaichi bananas
2 tbsps jaggery syrup
1 tbsp grated coconut
A pinch of salt
1/2 tsp Cardamom powder
Rice flour enough to bind them
Ghee to fry the fritters.

Method :

Puree the bananas with the grated coconut . Add the jaggery syrup, Cardamom powder and the salt. Mix thoroughly. Add the rice flour little by little to form a pliable dough. Roll them into desired shape. Heat ghee in a pan. Gently slide in four of the fritters at a time and deep fry to a rich golden brown.