Potato balls with stuffing

Ingredients

Potato - 5nos

Onions - 2nos

Turmeric powder - 1/4tsp

Chilli powder - 1/2tsp

Garam masala powder - 1/4tsp

Dry mango powder - 1/4tsp

Mustard - 1/2tsp

Hing - little

Plain flour - 5tsp

Rice flour - 2tsp

Oats - 1/4cup

Salt - to taste

Filling

Coconut shredding - 5tsp

Green chilli - 2nos

Ginger - small piece

Sugar - 1/2tsp

Salt - little

Cashewnut - 10nos

Badham - 10nos

Outer coating
Plain flour - 5tsp
Turmeric powder - little
Salt - little
Water - little.

Method
1. Blend cashewnut and badham coarsely. Set aside.
2. Blend green chilli and ginger. In a mixing bowl, add coconut, sugar, salt, nut mixture, chilli mixture and mix thorougly.



3. Boil and peel the potatoes.
4. In a heated kadai, add oil and then add hing, mustard and to it add the onions and then the powders (turmeric, dry mango, garam masala, chilli), mix thoroughly. Add oats, mix and switch off the flame. For a different taste you can add lime juice.
5. To the above add plain flour, rice flour, salt and prepare like chapathi dough.



6. Take a small ball size of the dough, make a deep whole in the centre and keep a tsp of filling and close it. Flatten and make it into round shape. Prepare all the potatoes like the above.

7. In a bowl add plain flour, salt, turmeric and water and make a batter (little thick not too watery).
8. In a heated kadai, add enough oil and when it is hot, take a potato ball, dip it in flour batter and drop it in the oil. Turn both sides, when it is cooked or the color is golden remove from fire.
Serve hot with tomato sauce.

This is my submission for Potato Feast hosted by DK's Culinary Bazaar.

Also my submission for for "ode-t0-potato" hosted by sia of Monsoon Spice.

vegetable Pakoda

Ingredients

Mixed vegetables - 1cup

(carrot, beans, cauliflower, peas)

Onion - 2nos

Rice flour - 4tsp

Besan flour - 1/4cup

Corn flour - 3tsp

Green chilli - 2nos

Ginger - small piece

Hing - little

Salt - to taste

Turmeric powder - 1/4tsp

Garam masala powder - 1/4tsp

Sombhu - little

Corriander leaves - little

Curry leaves - little

Oil - to deep fry

Method

1. Cut vegetables into very small pieces. Cut onions lengthwise. Cut ginger and green chilli into very tiny pieces.

2. In a mixing bowl, put all the diced vegetables, onions, green chilli, ginger, curry leaves, corriander leaves, turmeric powder, garam masala powder, hing, sombhu, salt add little water and mix thoroughly.

3. Place oil in a kadai and when it is hot, put little by little the above batter and deep fry it. When done and golden brown in color, remove and serve hot with tomato sauce or chutney.

Carrot and Nuts Eggless Cake

I wanted to bake a cake for Valentine's Day. Though i am not good at baking, i wanted to give it a try. I found this receipe in a book when i was browsing at a bookshop. The final product had a good taste and finish but it was not spongy as the cake's that we get at shops. Being eggless might be the reason.

Ingredient

Self raising flour - 11/4cup

Nuts - 1/4cup

Carrots - 2cup

Oil - 1/2cup

Sugar - 2/3cup

Orange juice - 1/3cup

Orange rind - 2tsp

Cinnamon powder - 1/2tsp

Evaporated Milk - 40ml (instead of 2 eggs)

Method

1. Add the nuts in a blender and powder it coarsely.

2. Mix all the ingredients and place it in an oven preheated to 180deg. C for 13-15min.

3. Allow it to cool and transfer into a serving plate.

White pumpkin (Winter melon) Kurma

Ingredients

White pumpkin diced - 1 cup
Potato - 1no
Green chilli - 1no
Ginger - small piece
Garlic - 1pod
Onions - 2nos
Tomato - 2nos
Turmeric powder - 1/4tsp
Red chilli powder - 1/2tsp
Garam masala powder - 1/2tsp
dry mango powder - 1/2tsp
Sugar - 1/2tsp
Corriander leaves - little
Mustard - 1tsp
Jeera - 1tsp
Fenugreek - 1tsp
Salt - to taste
Oil - little

Method
1. Wash, peel and dice white pumpkin and potato. Cut onions and tomatoes.
2. Blend onion, ginger, garlic and tomato into a paste.
3. Heat the pressure pan, add oil and then put mustard, jeera, fenugreek and green chilli slit into half lengthwise. Fry for a minute or two. Then add the onion paste. To it add all the powders (turmeric, garam, red chilli, dry mango), sugar and mix thoroughly. Once all the water is absorbed and the oil seperates add the white pumpkin and potato. Add water (till the vegetables are soaked) and then add salt and cover the pan. Allow 3-4 whistles to come. Switch off and allow it to cool. Add just enough water. After opening the pan if u see the kurma to be very watery add little besan flour and keep it over the fire and stir. Garnish with corriander leaves and serve hot with rice or chapathi.

Note : for a different taste you can add tamarind water instead of dry mango powder and tomato. You can add the spices (cardamon, cinnamon stick, cloves, sombhu) directly in the oil while adding mustard instead of the garam masala powder. You can even add few drops of lemon juice at the end.

Pineappe Tarts

GONG XI FAI CHAI

Chinese New year is fast approaching. Everyone is eagarly waiting to celebrate and receive the year of rat. Chinatown is busy with people thronging to shop for their favourities. When i was shopping with my friend dhanam, we came across the pineapple tarts, one of the favourite cookies during this new year time. A small bottle costed an exorbitant prize, so we decided to bake it ourself. After sending our children to school we did the pineapple jam on one day and baking tarts the next day. I bet one needs a lot of patience and time to do this.

The following recipe was given to me by my friend Dhanam.

PINEAPPLE JAM

Ingredients
Pineapple - 3nos
Sugar - 600gms
Cloves - 3nos
Cinnamon stick - 1big

Method
1. In a heated kadai, add all the above ingredients and cook till there is no water. It is better to use a kadai with lid, so that you can avoid the jam spilling all over. (I used a rice cooker and when it came to keep warm, i transfered to a kadai and stirred for some more time till the jam came to one big mass). Doing this way made my job easier.

TO MAKE TARTS
Ingredients
Plain flour - 800gms
Butter - 500gms
Evaporated Milk - 1/4cup or Egg white - 1no
Sugar - 3tsp
Vanilla essence - 2tsp

Method
1. Mix all the above ingredients and make a dough.
2. Place it on a flat place and roll out thick. Use a tart cutter and make shapes. Place the pineapple jam in the center depression.


3. Preheat the oven at 180deg. C and bake the tarts made for 15min in electric oven and 4-5min in gas oven.

4. Remove and allow it to cool. Pack it in airtight cookie jars.