Beetroot Cutlet

This is a semi sweet and yummy cutlet. All the members in my family like this very much. My son also who does not like to eat vegetables or beetroot if given in a curry form tastes this without any complaint. So I guess surely this can become a hit in ur house too. :)

Ingredients required are

Beetroot grated -2 nos
Mashed aloo -2 nos
Onion chopped- 1 medium
Curry leaves, Ginger and gharam masala as required.
Can also add other ingredients according to your taste .

To enhance the taste I have added Mayonnise to this .can add butter or cheese instead

Mix everything together, roll on a batter of egg white or Maida, roll on bread crumps and deep fry. Enjoy with ketchup/sauce.

Radish -carrot cheese cutlets

Tried this for My son's snack box recipe on one day. Was really good. Sorry that I couldn't click a better picture but the recipe is really worth trying

Ingredients :

Radish -1 big grated
Carrot -1 small grated
Onion -1 medium sliced thin or chopped
Mashed potato -as required
(I have used the ready made mashed potato available in markets)
Cheese -1 cube grated
gharam masala -1/2 tspn
red chillipowder -1/2 tspn
Bread - 2 slices
Bread crumbs - as required
Maida + salt + cheese (1/2 cube grated) -for making a thick batter

Mix together radish, carrot, mashed potato, onion, cheese grated and bread crumbs together to a thick dough. make small balls out of it and make the shape of cutlets. roll it on maida batter and roll on bread crumbs and fry in hot oil. serve with tomato ketchup.

Small onion Bonda (ulli vada)

Yummy yummy yummy.. Thats the only word by which I can express the taste of this snack

                        My Hot platter of Small onion Bonda with hot milk tea.

Ingredients:

Small onion -1 cup .( If small use as whole and if large split into two pieces)

Besan flour - Enough for a batter

Red chilli powder -1 pinch

Curry leaves -chopped - a few

Hing - a pinch

Salt - as required

Oil for frying

Make a batter of besan flour, hings, red chilli powder, curry leaves and hing. Roll the onion on batter and fry. Serve hot.

Egg Bonda

Egg bhajji or also known as egg bonda is a favourite delicacy in our place. We elders and kids are in our family equally love to have this. Once in a while forget about the calories and pamper your taste buds in a minimal way with such great and tastier snacks. 

Imagine how awesome it will be to have this with a hot cup of black coffee on a rainy day.. Craving?? me too. ;)

Ingredients required

Egg boiled and de shelled - 3 nos ( or as required)

Besan flour, Red chilli powder, salt and a pinch of hing - as required for a thick batter.

Cut the egg into two halves. Coat the batter over it and fry in hot oil. Serve as such for better taste or can have with any chutneys or sauces.

Paneer Pakodas

Very easy and simple Recipe for making Paneer pakodas. Excellent snack box recipe for kids.

Ingredients required are:

Gram flour , salt, a pinch of hing and red chilli powder  to make a thick batter.
Can add chopped small onions, green chillies etc to the batter if interested. 

Method:

Cut the paneer into desired shapes. Long strips or cubes. Mix in batter and fry in oil. Serve with tomato sauce.

Rice Fryms

This is my mom's Traditional recipe. She is always an expert in making a new dish out of scratch. This one is an 'always seen ' item in my mom's Kitchen. Before the rainy season arrives she will make this , dry under sun and keep it in store ( in the glass bottles) and we as kids always used to ask her to fry this with as side dish for rice.
My Son also love this now and in that way am sure this will become any child's favourite.
Another main plus point with this dish is the ingredients required .. This is made using the left over rice( you an make this with freshly cooked rice also)  and a few spices that are already available in your kitchen any time. So whenever you have free time you can make this in your own home. the only difficulty is in drying this under the sun. So be ready to make this when you have plenty of sunlight available ie; during summer :))

Ingredients

Cooked Rice , Red chilli powder, Jeera seeds ,Asafoetida and Salt

The quantity depends on the quantity of cooked rice you take.

If you are using the left over rice of many days ,Keep it in fridge daily and when it comes to a large quantity you can make this.
Procedure:
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In a kadai heat the rice. Evaporate till dry. Add Red Chilli powder, Jeera seeds, Hing and salt as required and saute till it forms a lump. Keep on stirring to avoid charring.

Now when it is cooled grind it in a mixer to a thick paste. Using a spring hopper ( sevanazhi) squeeze it out through the 'murukku' stencil , to the desired shape on a flat plate with a cloth spread on it. Always remember to use Satin or silk cloth. dont use paper or cotton cloth as this will stick on to the fryms when dried and is unhealthy.

Now dry these in sunlight for 2-3 days or till it is breaking off easily from the cloth. Fry in hot oil and serve. We have it with rice. and it tastes excellent.

Vazhakka bhaji

Raw banana bhaji. This can be made as an evening snack or Kids snack box recipe. Its very difficult to make the kids eat raw banana. So in this way this is a difference. 

Ingredients
Raw Banana - 1 no cut into Thin long slices.
Gram flour  -enough to make a thick batter.
Red Chilli powder, salt , a pinch of hing to add on to the batter

Make a thick batter using the gram flour and dip the banana slices on it and fry. To add on the crispiness/crunchiness you can make a variation by rolling the pieces on bread crumbs and fry in hot oil. serve with Tomato ketchup

This is surely a nice evening Snack to be served with hot tea

Macroni Fritters

This is going to be yet another lunch/snack box recipe for kids. Kids would love to have macroni and pastas. so why dont you prepare it in a different way.

Recipe:


Macroni -1/2 cup.

Boil Macroni in water or pressure cook for 1 whistle with salt added. Strain and wash in cold water (2 times) Allow the water to drain. Make a batter of maida ( for vegeterians) or egg white ( for non veg lovers) with chilli sauce, salt, tomato ketchup (1/4 tspn) and soya sauce (1/4 tspn) . Mix well and roll over bread crumps and fry in hot oil

Vanilla wheat cake

Vanilla flavored pastry cake made using wheat flour and chopped almonds with apple green icing and grated chocolates
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 Recipe :

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Wheat flour - 180 gms
Sugar (powdered) 180 gms
Eggs -4 nos
Butter melted to room temperature -100 gms
Vanilla essence -2 tspns
Baking powder -1 tspn
Chopped almonds and tuti fruiti - as per ur taste

For icing
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( can follow the instruction on the pack for making cream) OR
Icing sugar 100 gms
butter-50 gms
Vanilla essence -1 tspn ( I used strawbery flavour for icing)
Food colour of ur choice - a pinch
Milk to make it pourable consistency

Method
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Sieve flour, sugar and baking powder.
Beat the egg white separately in a bowl until it becomes thick cream like texture.Beat the egg yolk in another bowl till it starts foaming. add butter to this and beat again so that it will become a thick texture. Now add essence and beat again. slowly add wheat flour and keep on mixing till there is no lumps seen.Mix chopped almonds and tuti fruiti

grease the tray and springle some chopped almonds on to the plate. Pour the cake mixture. keep it on preheated oven (180 deg) and bake for 35-40 min or till the knife inserted comes out clean..
Allow the cake to cool
For Icing
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Mix Icing sugar with butter. beat thoroughly . Add essence, and milk and make it to a pourable consistency.Pour it over the cake when cake is cooled. Allow the icing to set (approximately 1/2 hr)

Decorate with grated chocolates- white and dark . Decorate as per your imagination :-D

Pazham varatii ( Banana in Jaggerry)

This is a sweet dish that can be made easily. I saw it on a Television cookery show. Tried this out of my own imaginations and here is the recipe

Ripe banana -2 nos big ( I have used the Nenthran variety of Banana which is also called Kerala Banana)
Ghee -2 tspn
Jaggery - 1 ball medium sized grated
Elaichi powder -1 pinch
Jeera powder- 1 pinch

Grate the jaggery and melt in little water and strain to remove the dirt and impurities. Cut the banana to small cubes and roast it in melted ghee. Add the jaggery mix to this and mix till it thickens. Add elaichi and jeera powder and mix again.

You can also add chopped nuts or badam or modify the recipe as per your own imaginations.

Peanut Ladoos

Cracked Peanut with grated coconut and a mix of cashew nuts gives this a nice flavour. To add on the taste this is made in milk maid. But you can also try it in Sugar syrup and milk.
This is how I made it -

Ground nut - 1 cup roasted and cracked in a mixer
Grated coconut -1/2 cup

Rava - 2 tspn roasted   
Milk maid - 1 tin (200 ml)
Milk -1/2 cup
Raisins and cashew nuts roasted ( as per your taste)
Sugar -2 tspn



Roasted the grated coconut in ghee, added roasted rava & cracked ground nut,sauted the whole till it gave a nice aroma..Then added milkmaid .Pour milk little by little (just to wet the whole mixture) added sugar too. You can adjust the quantity of sugar according to 

the amount of milkmaid u use.Put off the flame. Add raisins and cashewnuts to this. In the meanwhile also roasted 2-3 tbspn of grated coconut in another pan till the moisture is gone. Make ladoos out of the roasted mixture(coconut/groundnut ) when it is warm.roll it on the roasted coconut in another pan.

Ladoos are ready to serve. Decorate with tuti-fruitis

Paav bhaji masala

Paav baji is a traditional delicay of North India. I do not know the conventional preparation of recipe for Paav bhaji but I have invented my own version of making a masala and this goes well with the taste of our palates.
Here is how I make this

Potato -2 nos chopped
Onion - 1 big chopped
Garlic and ginger -1 tspn each chopped
green chillies -1 tspn chopped
dhaniya leaves few and curry leaves also few

Pressure cook all these for 3-4 whistles with a pinch of turmeric, 1/2 tspn red chilli powder, 1/2 tspn coriander powder and 1/2 tspn gharam masala. Once it is done mash all these to thick coarse paste.

In a kadai heat some oil, splutter some mustard, saunf ( perumjeerakam) , add the cooked vegetables , spinkle some chat masala and mix well.

For the paav bun - I sue the ready made paav buns available in market. Split into two half till retaining the joints and add butter in between, and on sides , roast the buns on tava (take care not to charr the butter) . Serve hot with the masala and a hot cup of tea.

Jalebis

Hot and Crispy Jalebis Made using Urad daal ( very simple and easy one) --- Courtesy Vanita Magazine and Dr Lakshmi Nair

Urad Dhal - 1 cup (soak in water for 1 hr)

Food colour - 1 /4 tspn
Oil - as reqd for frying
Sugar - 2 cups
water - 1 1/4 cup
Rose water- 1 spn

Grind the soaked dhal in mixer without water. Add food colour to this.
In a pan make the syrup of the sugar. once the sugar is dissolved reduce the flame to simmer and keep it ON throughout as the syrup needs to be hot always. and if the syrup thickens can add water in between to loosen the consistency. Please note that the sugar NEED NOT be thickened. Add rose water to the syrup.

Heat oil in a pan for frying and squeeze out the jalebis to the oil and fry both sides and immediately dip it in the sugar syrup. keep it in sugar syrup for 10 minutes and then spread it on a plate for cooling.
U can make a hole in a cloth and pour the batter to this and by folding the cloth squeeze out the batter to desired shapes.


Tips :
1 ) Its better to use a sauce bottle than a cloth as it is much easier and can avoid dangers.
2 ) The oil has to be MEDIUM hot otherwise the batter will spread in oil and wont get the shape correctly. You can remove the pan out of fire and squeeze 2-3 jalebis on to the oil and then put it back as this is much easier . and always take care to keep the flame on medium
3 ) If added 2 tbspn of rice flour to the batter it will come out more crispier
4) Also after grinding the batter using the hand or a spatula beat it upside down so as to give proper aeration for easy flowing. or else it will come out as sprays.

Immediately after taking out from sugar syrup the jalebis might find a little softier but dont worry when it gets cooled it will be crispier and yummier

Mango Cake

This is my own innovation using mango pulp . No essence or artificial colours are used in this.

Recipe:
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All purpose flour (maida) -1 1/2 cup
Sugar - 1 & 1/2 cup Powdered

eggs -3 nos
baking powder- 1 tspn
butter -1 cup full (at room temperature)
sunflower oil -1/4 cup
Fully ripened mango - 3 small
milk just enough to make the mango pulp to a smoothie.

Peel and slice the mangoes and make a smoothie out of it. sift together maida and baking powder. beat butter and sugar till fluffy, beat eggs one by one with this mixture. Add mango pulp and again beat together. Add the flour-baking powder mixture slowly and beat till no lumps are left.

Grease a baking tray and bake at 180 deg for 30 -35 minutes .Cool the cake . you will get a rich yellow colour mango flavoured cake.No extra essence is added in this as the flavour of mango stands out in this cake.

For cream icing
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Fresh cream 100 gm
icing sugar -150 gms

beat the cream and icing sugar together and spread it on cooled cake. I have added less than a pinch of yellow food colour also to the icing mix. wait till icing is set and refrigerate for one whole day

Raw banana Fritters

Crispy and yummiest finger fries or fritters using Raw banana thus making it healthier to Kids. generally they try to avoid eating vegetables. I struggle too much with my son and hence this dish came out of one crazy imagination of mine to make him eat the raw banana

Recipe is very simple
Cut the raw banana lengthwise like the potato fries of Mc Donals. Roll on maida paste made using maida, salt , garlic paste and some sauces of your choice (either green chilly sauce or tomato sauce/ ketchup)

roll on bread crumbs and fry in hot oil. Believe me my son finished this whole plate within few seconds with ketchup

Strawberry cake

This is one of my favourtie cake among the cakes I have made so far.. Can say its the best I have made with icing on top.. I made this on demand by my 4 yrs old son and we loved tasting it.

Strawberry cake with icing -eggless with yoghurt- Recipe by Sajna Basant...
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I made a small cake with just 1 cup flour .you can adjust the quantity according to you requirement.

Maida -1 cup

sugar powdered -1/2 cup
Yoghurt -1/2 cup (thick without water)
butter and oil( together) - 1/2 cup
baking soda -1/2 tspn
strawberry essence -1/2 tspn
red food colour - 1/4 tspn
Milk -1/4 cup

Method:
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Beat yoghurt for few seconds till it become creamy. Add butter to this and beat again. Add oil and beat. finally add sugar. beat for few more seconds till it is completely dissolved. add essence and food colour and mix
Add sifted flour and baking soda to this mix slowly.. slowly fold in till everything is thoroughly mixed. Add milk slowly to loosen the batter

grease a baking pan and pour the mix evenly on the pan. bake in a preheated oven @ 180 deg for 25 minutes. ( adjust the oven temperature according to your oven settings or bake till the skewer comes out clean)

Icing:
Beat butter and icing sugar together ( can mix it and keep in fridge a day before also). Spread it evenly on cooled cake.

Mysore Pak

Am so happy to share this recipe with all of you here as I got it successfully this time with full shape and taste.  I became a bit kanjoos on adding the ghee part as have already have enough calories in store ..lol.. But I truly recommend to make it even more smoother and tastier you definitely need to have more ghee. Well see my recipe and very importantly follow the tips I have shared here. Becoz I have had flops in making this three times and finally at the fourth attempt got it right. :D

Gram flour -1 cup
Sugar -1& 1/2 cup
Ghee -1 cup ( you can increase the quantity of ghee or can aded 1/2 cup of oil too to make it more softer)

Water -1/2 cup

The ingredients and recipe seem to be simpler .But the most toughest part is to get the right consistency.

Melt the ghee and add 2-3 tbsp of hot ghee to the gram flour and mix thoroughly using hand.. In a pan caramelize the sugar by adding water to a single thread consistency. Add the gram flour slowly in 2 batches to avoid formation of lumps.Keep on stirring. Add ghee slowly 1 to 2 tbspn at a time and continue stirring. One main thing to remember while making mysore pak is u have to stir continuously and dont take your hand out of the pan. once the flour forms the shape of a chappathi dough it is ready to take out. If you keep a little more it will become lumps and the desired shape wont be got. Also if the time is lesser then it will become like a halwa. so take it out when it start separating from the sides of the pan and forming a dough shape.
Spread it on a greased plate. Allow it to cool for 5 minutes. Cut while hot into shapes. Take it out once it is cold.
Enjoyyyyy

Urad dhaal vadav-- Namude swantham Uzhunnu vada

 How about some Hot Urad dhaal Vadas for evening Snack ? Here it goes the recipe to make it. Please dont forget to remember the tips I have shared here as I learnt that out of my failure experiences in making Urad dhal vada.
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Ingredients :

Urad Dhal - 1 cup (for 6 small vadas)

raw rice - 2 tbspn ( or can add rice flour after grinding the dhal batter)
Salt , crushed pepper corns, Chopped curry leaves, Dhaniya leaves (optional), chopped onions - as required
Oil - as required for frying.

Soak the urad dhal + raw rice for 4 hrs. Grind this dry without any water.

Very important : To get that fluffy vadas u need to beat the batter in upside down strokes so as to give proper aeration. Leave it for 10 to 15 minutes.(if more quantity of batter is grinded leave for few more minutes).No need to ferment the batter but I have found that out of my own experience , it tastes better and will be crispy if allowed to stay for a few minutes.

Add salt and other ingredients as per your taste. Mix well.
Heat the oil in a kadai.


Now is the important part of shaping the vadas. Keep near you a bowl of cold water. Just smear some water on your left hand palm and pour a spoonful of batter on top of it. Dip your fingers in water and shape the vadas and make the hole. This dipping of fingers in water will help you avoid sticking of batter to the fingers and also it helps in giving the perfect shape. Smearing of water on palm helps in easily detaching the vadas into the oil.

Cook till golden brown. Serve with mint/coriander/coconut chutney. or even with Sauce or tomato ketchup

Note : Please give attention that the water smeared shouldn't be dripping off from palm as it can cause danger if the water drop falls on oil .Take care and Enjoy the taste of crispy hot vadas.

Dont forget to post me the feedback too :))

Pazham pradhaman

Pazham pradhaman -- (Banana- Moong dhaal Paayasam ) 
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Pradhaman is a typical Kerala dish made on Special occasions/ celebrations like Onam, Vishu etc. Its a variety of paayasam made with coconut milk and jaggery.. there are variations in making a pradhaman as many items like chana dhaal, Kerala banana, moong dhaal , Ada (rice flakes cut to square) are used in the preparation of a Pradhaman.. Here I have tried making a pradhaman using Kerala variety of  Banana called Nenthran and for that crunchiness have added roasted moong dhaal too.

Ingredients:

Ripe Banana ( Nenthran variety/ Kerala banana) - 2 nos boiled
Jaggery- 1/2 kg
Coconut milk Extracted out of 1& 1/2 coconut.. Take the second extract and First extract 
Moong dhaal - 1/2 cup

Jeera powder- a pinch
Cardamom Powder -a pinch
Nuts and raisins as required
Dried coconut - roasted a tbspn

Boil and peel the bananas. Mash the bananas using hand to fine paste.
Melt the jaggery with little water and strain. In an Uruli ( a bronze vessel) heat 2-3 tbspn of ghee. Can also use a kadai if uruli is not there. Wash the dhaal and roast it in ghee till crispy. Add mashed banana now. Saute till ghee is coated very well. Add melted jaggery into this. Allow it to boil and thereby cook the dhaal. After 5 minutes add the second extract of coconut milk. Allow it to boil for few minutes. Add the first extract of coconut milk towards the end.Add elaichi and jeera powder and mix well. Add roasted coconut, cashew nuts and raisins to the boiled paayasam. 

Serve hot with fried papad and banana.. Yummiest paayasam with the soft taste of boiled banana and crunchiness of dhaal.. Generally this paayasam is made without dhaal.. I have made it with a difference to get that crunchy taste and it was super yumm.

Beetroot Halwa

Not heard of it? Juts try it and find out the taste.. ;)
Recipe is same as that used for carrot halwa. Please seemy recipe given in the sweets and snacks section