Wednesday, March 11, 2015

Soya Nuggets Manchurian...


               
With zero cholesterol and high protein content, soya bean is every vegan's delight. Today i am here with  a delightful recipe "Soya chunks Manchurian". It is a viable replacement for non-veg, because it replicates the taste and appearance of meat.
Soy Manchurian is a light version of the Manchurian chicken hails from almost every part of India, which is served in almost all the Chinese restaurants  as part of Hakka style.

Ingredients:

  1. 200 gms Soy nuggets/chunks
  2. 1inch piece Ginger,peeled and minced
  3. 9 cloves of Garlic, peeled and finely minced
  4. 1 medium Onion, finely chopped
  5. 1 spring onion stem ,chopped
  6. 4-5 Green chillies, finely minced
  7. 2tsp chilly powder
  8. 3tbsp Soy sauce
  9. 1tbsp Tomato ketchup 
  10. 3tbsp cornstarch
  11. 1/2 cup Maida
  12. 1cup water
  13. 1 cup oil
  14. Salt and pepper to taste.
Method:

  • Boil 1000 ml water in a sauce pan with little salt.Add soy nuggets and soak for about 15 minutes.
  • Drain the water from the nuggets.Squeeze it well to remove the excess water if any.
  • Marinate the soy nuggets with salt, pepper,1tsp chilly powder and half of garlic and ginger. Mix well to combine and let sit in the refrigerator for at least 30-40 minutes.
  • In a large skillet, add the oil and heat on medium. 
  • Combine the cornstarch,maida and the water. Mix thoroughly to create a smooth batter. Pour the mixture over the marinated soy nuggets and coat well.
  •  Fry the pieces until golden brown and crispy on all sides. This can be done in batches so as not to overcrowd the pan. Drain well and set aside until needed.
  • Remove excess oil from pan. Add the chilies, onion and the remaining garlic and ginger. Stir fry this for 4-5 minutes until the onions start to brown. 
  • Add the chilly powder, soy sauce and tomato ketchup. Reduce the heat to low and check the seasoning.
  • Add the crispy chicken pieces; they will soften slightly as they absorb the sauce.
  •  If your sauce is too thick, add water if needed. Garnish with chopped spring onion and serve hot.






Wednesday, March 4, 2015

Black eyed beans/Lobia Kurma


Amazing recipe-easy and delicious!
Amazing recipe-Easy and Delicious.This has been go-to black eyed peas recipe for a few years now. This dish is delicious by itself or pared with Ghee rice or roti.
Black-eyed peas get their names from their characteristic appearance. They are white legumes with a small black dot resembling an eye. The nutrition of the black-eyed pea makes it an excellent addition to any menu.If you are new to cooking beans,always presoak beans overnight.


Ingredients:
2 cups-Black eyed beans,pre soaked and cooked.
1onion,Finely chopped
1tbsp oil
1tsp Ginger Julienne for garnishing
1tbsp Coriander leaves freshly chopped for garnishing

For the Masala:
  1. 2 Onion ,chopped roughly 
  2. 10 Kashmiri red chillies
  3. 2 Tomatoes,chopped
  4. 7-8 Garlic cloves
  5. 1inch Ginger
  6. 5-6 Fenugreek/methi seeds
  7. 1tsp Cumin/Jeera
  8. 1/2tsp saunf
  9. 1/2tsp Black Sesame seeds
  10. 1/2tsp Turmeric powder
  11. 2tbsp oil 
 
 
 
 
 
  •  Heat oil in a pan,add Cumin,saunf,sesame seeds ,fenugreek seeds and saute till jeera crackles.
  • Add chopped onion and red chillies and saute again for 2-3 minutes on medium flame.
  • When onion changes to translucent add turmeric garlic, ginger and tomato,saute further 5 minutes and switch off the flame.
  • Let it cool completely before grinding it to a smooth paste with little water.
  • Kurma masala* is ready.

Method:

 

 
  • Saute the onion in oil till its changes to light brown colour.
  • Add the ground kurma masala* and saute for couple of minutes till the raw smell disappears.
  • Add the cooked beans and salt .Cover and cook over medium heat for 15 minutes to 20 minutes. Add additional water, if necessary.
  • Serve garnished with ginger julienne and coriander leaves.

 




A great recipe! If you're new to cooking beans, you should understand that altitude and the age of beans make a difference. I'm at 4800 feet above sea level, and I always pre-soak or quick-soak my beans
A great recipe! If you're new to cooking beans, you should understand that altitude and the age of beans make a difference. I'm at 4800 feet above sea level, and I always pre-soak or quick-soak my beans
A great recipe! If you're new to cooking beans, you should understand that altitude and the age of beans make a difference. I'm at 4800 feet above sea level, and I always pre-soak or quick-soak my beans. I had a ham bone, and cooked the beans with that, onions, and water until they were close to tender and then removed the ham bone, drained some of the liquid off and added the rest of the ingredients. Delicious!
Amazing recipe-easy and delicious!

Tuesday, March 3, 2015

Shenga unde/peanut laddu

 Shenga Unde or peanut laddu is very popular in Uttara Karnataka which is usually made during festivals.Spcially during Naaga panchami or nagara panchami. On this day here in belgaum,we make at least 3-4 types of laddus as a offering Naga deva ,later it is shared with the neighbors and friends.This time i have made three types of laddus ie Rava laddu,besan laddu and this pea nut laddu



Peanut laddus

Next time, When you are looking for something to satisfy that sweet tooth and a quick burst of energy, these peanut balls are sure to satisfy that craving . Relish them as many as you want without any guilt.

Ingredients:



  1. 500 gms Roasted peanuts
  2. 300 gms Jaggery/gud
  3.  1 tablespoon Clarified butter/ghee 
  4. A pinch of nutmeg power
  5. 1/4 Tsp Cardamom powder
  6. 1/2tsp Ginger powder (optional)

Process:
Preparation of the jaggery syrup 
  • Heat jaggery by adding 1 cup water and 1 spoon of ghee to prepare a syrup ( 1 string consistency – the syrup when stretched between the thumb and the forefinger should give only 1 string) 
How to make laddus:
  • Powder the peanuts to a coarse consistency and no need of peeling the skin off...just use as it is.
  • Now mix all the other ingredients except ghee in  the hot syrup.Switch off the fire and mix it well.
  • Prepare laddus while the mixture is little hot by applying little ghee  to the palms,shape into small round balls .

  • Note: One more method of testing jaggery syrup:Keep a small plate/cup with cold water ready by stove side.When you take a bit of hot syrup and put in in water,you should be able to make a ball of it.Then the syrup is ready.
  • In this recipe I have used organic jaggery which is dark brown in colour when compared to the usual jaggery which we get in grocery store.It gives a rich brown colour to the laddus.


Monday, March 2, 2015

Egg sukka...

Egg Sukka is a dry dish made with a beautiful blend of spices and lots of grated coconut.It tastes awesome with Brown Rice, Neer Dosa, Dosa or even with Chapathi.


 Ingredients:
  • 10 Hard boiled eggs
  • 1 onion chopped
  • salt to taste
For the 1st masala

  1. 1 medium size onion finely sliced
  2. 1/2 tsp  turmeric
  3. 3 cloves of crushed garlic
  4. 4 long red chillies
  5. 2 short red chillies
  6. 1-1/2 tbsp coriander seeds/Daniya
  7. 4-5 peppercorns
  8. 1/4 tsp fenugreek seeds/methi
  9. 1tsp cumin seeds/jeera
  10. Small marble size ball of tamarind or 1 tbsp tamarind paste
For the 2nd masala 
  1. 3 cups grated coconut
  2. 1/4 tsp cumin
 For the seasoning/tempering

  1. 1 medium size onion finely sliced
  2. 1tbsp ghee
  3. 2 spring curry leaves
Method:
  •  Heat a tawa/griddle and dry roast the sliced onion, garlic,red chillies, coriander, cumin, fenugreek, peppercorns and turmeric powder.Roast till you get the nice aroma of the spices and coriander changes to light brown.  Allow to cool and then grind all these ingredients to a fine paste.
  • Now heat oil in a pan add chopped onion and curry leaves and saute till onion turns to translucent. add the 1st masala paste and fry till its almost dry.
  • Add boiled and peeled eggs and salt and mix it well.Cook on a low flame for about 2-3 minutes
  • Now Grind coconut and cumin to a coarse paste and add it to the egg mixture.Cook again for couple of minutes or till its almost dry.
  • For the tempering, heat ghee in a smaller pan and fry the onions till golden brown,and add this seasoning to the Egg sukka.
  • Turn off the flame and serve hot.