Fried Bhindi (Okra)

     Updating my blog after a very long time with this simple yet tasty recipe.. Ladies finger always tastes good in any dish. Here is the simple recipe..

Ingredients:

Ladies finger - 15 to 20

Gram Flour - 1 cup

Coriander Powder - 1 tsp

Cumin Powder - 1 tsp

Chilli Powder - 1/2 tsp

Salt to taste

Oil for frying

Method:

Take gram flour in a bowl. Add Coriander, cumin, chilli powder and salt to it. Mix well.

Heat two tsp of oil and add it to the mix. Add water and make batter. Slit the ladies finger lengthwise and dip it into the batter. The batter needs to be coated very thin.

Heat oil in a pan and fry the ladies finger (bhindi) till golden brown. Enjoy with coffee/tea.

Note: Choose small size ladies finger as they are convenient to fry.

Enjoy Cooking... :) 

Carrot Halwa

             Carrot Halwa or Gajar ka halwa whatever you call it, it just melts in your mouth. This is one such dessert that requires very less ingredients but some effort.

               

Ingredients:

Carrot - 3 to 4 approx

Milk - 2 cups

Sugar - 1 1/2 cup

Ghee(clarified butter) - 2 tbsp

Cardamom - 2

Method:

Peel the carrots and grate them. You need two cups of grated carrot. So choose them accordingly.

Heat a heavy bottomed pan, and add 1 tsp ghee to it. Add the carrot to it and mix well.

Pour in two cups of milk into pan. Mix well and allow it to cook on medium flame.

Keep stirring regularly. This requires around 15 mins approx. Once the carrots are cooked just enough, add sugar and mix. 

Cook on low heat for another 5 mins. Crush the cardamom and add it to the pan. Also add the rest of the ghee to it. 

Once it cools down, refrigerate it and serve it with Vanilla Icecream.

Note:

1. Once the sugar is mixed well it leaves some amount of water. Hence add it when the carrots are just cooked. 

2. You can also cook the carrots in water and add milk later. But halwa tastes best when cooked in milk.

Happy Cooking... :)

Veggie Pan Pizza

What can be better than to make your own pizza right from the scratch... It will be healthy and also nutritious.... :)

Ingredients:

For the base:

Wheat Flour - 2 cups

Yeast - 2 tsp

Sugar- 1 tsp

Salt - 1 tsp

Oil - 2 tsp

For the sauce:

Tomato - 1 

Onion - 1 

Garlic pod - 2 

Sugar - 1 tsp

Salt to taste 

Coriander - 2 tsp

Oil - 2 tsp

For the topping:

Capsicum
Onion
Cheese grated

Method:

Mix sugar, salt and yeast in luke warm water. Cover it and keep it aside for 5 mins till the yeast foams up.

Add this to the flour. Also add the oil and mix well. Add enough water and make a soft dough. Cover it with a wet cloth and leave aside for 1 hour. The dough doubles up in size.

Heat a pan and add oil to it. Add roughly chopped onion, tomato and garlic to it. Add salt, sugar and coriander and saute it till the tomatoes are cooked properly. Cool this mix and grind it to smooth paste.

Now knead the dough well with your fist till the dough becomes smooth. Add little dry flour while kneading.

Take enough amount of the dough and roll it till it is about half a centimetre thickness.

Place the rolled dough on a pan. Spread the sauce on it properly. Cut the capsicum and onion into small pieces and place them on the pizza base. 

Now spread lots of cheese on it as per your taste. 

Heat a flat tava preferably dosa one and place the pan with pizza on the flat tava. Cover it with a lid and cook on low flame till the base is cooked properly and the cheese melts.

Serve hot with Italian seasoning and ketchup.

Note:

1. Don't place the pan directly on flame. This can burn the pizza base. 

2. You can add more toppings on the pizza or simply spread only the cheese and still have a great taste.
3. You can roll the dough based on the thickness that you need for your pizza.
4. I have used wheat flour, you can also use maida or all purpose flour. That would taste great too.

Enjoy cooking :)

Hirekayi Bajji / Ridge gourd Fries

      This dish needs no introduction. It is simple and very easy to prepare and is best to be eaten on a rainy evening... 

Ingredients:

Ridge gourd - 1
Gram Flour - 1/2 cup
Rice Flour / Corn Flour - 1/2 cup
Cumin powder - 1/2 tsp
Coriander powder - 1/2 tsp
Chilli powder - 1 tsp
Salt to taste
Oil for frying

Method:

Peel the skin slightly and cut the ridge gourd into thin slices. Mix gram flour and rice flour together.

Add the cumin, coriander and chilli powder to it. Also add salt and mix well. Add enough water and make a semi thick batter.

Heat oil in a pan for frying. Once it it hot, add one tsp of hot oil to the batter and mix.

Dip the ridge gourd slices in the batter and fry on medium flame till they are golden brown. 

Serve hot with tomato ketchup :)

Note:

1. You can replace corn flour for rice flour since I have only added them to make the bajji's crispy.

2. You can avoid using soda by adding a tsp of hot oil to the batter.