Vada Pav or Wada Pav : The Indian burger

What do you crave during cool & rainy days? For me, it's deep fried street chaat. It could be a plate of hot masala puri or some bhajiyas (fritters). When we talk of street foods, who do you think can resist street foods? There is not much fun when you eat the street food or chat at the airconditioned restaurants.(Raste pe chaat khane ki maza hi kuch aur hain na!). I can see many nodding heads :D But when you are away from all those pleasures of life, there is only option left. Make them at your home & relish.

Wada Pav is a famous street food of Mumbai. After pav bhaji, this is the most appreciated Mumbai street food at my home. Vada Pav does take more time, but if you plan in advance & then cook, it'll not be tiresome.

Preparation Time: 30 mins
Cooking Time: 15-20 mins
Serves: 3-4

Ingredients:

For the batata vada (stuffed potato fritters)
For the stuffing:
Boiled Russet potatoes: 3 nos, large (refer notes below)
Green chilli paste: 2 tsp
Grated garlic: 1 tbsp
Turmeric powder: a big pinch
Oil: 1 tbsp
Salt: As needed
Cumin seeds: 1/2 tsp
Asafoetida: a big pinch
Finely chopped coriander leaves: 2 tbsp
Lemon juice: 2 tsp

For the batter:
Besan/Kadle hittu/ Gram flour: 1 cup
Rice flour: 2-3 tbsp, optional but recommended
Salt: As needed
Chilli powder: 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder: a big pinch
Baking soda: a pinch
Water: As needed

Enough oil for deep frying the batata vada (stuffed potato fritters)

For the dry coconut chutney: 
Dry coconut: 1/2 cup
Red chilli powder : 2 tsp or about 8-10 dry red chillies
Salt: As needed

For assembling the burger | vada pav:
Pav or dinner rolls or burger buns: About 9-10
Dry coconut chutney: 2 tsp on each bun
Green chutney: 1 tsp on each bun, optional
Batata vada : 1-2 nos for each bun.

Method:
For the dry coconut chutney:
Blend together the dry coconut, chilli powder & salt in a blender until it is a coarse powder. Keep it aside.

For the batata vada:
Peel the skin of the potatoes & mash them roughly.
Heat oil in a broad pan. When oil is hot, add the cumin seeds. When cumin seeds turn golden brown, throw in the chilli paste & grated garlic. When garlic gets cooked, add the turmeric powder, mashed potatoes, salt & mix well. Add in the coriander leaves & lemon juice. Turn off the heat.
Mix & mash the cooked potato again.
Make lime sized balls from the potato mixture & keep it aside.

For the batter:
In a bowl, add the gram flour, rice flour, baking soda, salt, turmeric powder, chilli powder & mix well.

Add little water at a time to the gram flour mixture and prepare a batter. The consistency of the batter should be like a pancake batter or a thick milkshake.
Heat enough oil for deep frying the batata vada. When oil is hot, dip the potato balls in the gram flour batter & slide the raw batata vada in the hot oil.

Deep fry on both the sides until the vada turns golden brown. Remove the vada using a slotted spoon & drain it on a paper towel.

Arranging the vada pav:
Slice or cut the pav or burger bun in half.

Spread about 2 tsp of dry coconut chutney on one half of the burger bun.

**If needed, spread a teaspoon of green chutney on the other half of the bun. (I don't do this as we do not want the green chutney to over power the dry coconut chutney)
Place the hot batata vada on the dry chutney powder.

Cover it with the other slice.
Dig in!!

Notes:

• Use any potatoes of your choice.
• Vada pav is supposed to be garlicky & spicy. So, ensure to make the batata vada spicy & garlicky. 
• Make the dry coconut chutney spicy too. You could serve the vada pav with a slightly roasted green chilli too. 
• Ensure to serve the batata vada hot.  

PS: I'm sending this to Pari's event 'Only' Sandwiches, Burgers & Panini hosted by myself :)

Along with this, I have two other entries too.

Here they are:
Baby corn-bell pepper grilled sandwich
Grilled tomato cheese sandwich.

Quick Cauliflower Sabzi | Phool gobi ki sabzi | Indian Sauteed Cauliflower : Beginner Series

If you have noticed, I do not have many cauliflower recipes at my space. That is because of the love-hate relationship that I have with this vegetable. I have a similar relationship with okra too. I cannot take the strong smell of this vegetable. Hence, I only cook it in a couple of ways I like.

During the last potluck party, my friend Bharati got this gobi ki sabzi & I loved it so much. I got the recipe from her immediately & made it the very next day. Here is the recipe for you.

PS: Last couple of days left to win the give away. Do participate & win!!

1. Cast iron griddle
2. Tarla Dalal Cookbook.

Preparation Time: 10 mins
Cooking Time: 20-25 mins
Serves: 3-4

Ingredients:
Cauliflower florets : 4-5 cups
Onion: 1 medium sized, finely chopped
Tomatoes: 2 nos, finely chopped
Oil: 1.5 tbsp
Cumin seeds: 1 tsp
Ginger-garlic paste: 1 tsp
Salt: As needed
Turmeric powder: a big pinch
Chilli powder: 1/2 tsp
Pav bhaji masala : 1 tbsp
Lemon juice: 2 tsp, optional
Coriander leaves: 1 tbsp, finely chopped for the garnish.

Method:

Cut the cauliflower into small florets.
Heat oil in a broad saute pan.

When oil is hot, throw in the cumin seeds.

When seeds turn golden brown, add in the onion & saute till the onions are soft & translucent.

Add the ginger garlic paste & saute till the raw smell of the ginger-garlic paste is gone.

Throw in the finely chopped tomatoes & mix.

Cook till the tomatoes become soft & oozes out oil.

Throw in the cauliflower florets, salt, turmeric powder, chilli powder, pav bhaji masala & mix gently.

Cook the cauliflower florets covered over a medium heat for 10-15 mins. Stir in between to ensure proper cooking.
There is no need to add water as cauliflower oozes out lots of water.
Cook till cauliflower is soft & yet holding the shape well.
Turn off the heat, add the lemon juice & mix.
Garnish it with coriander leaves & serve it hot with phulkas/rotis or chapathi.

Notes:

• You could add about a cup of frozen green peas for the attractive color combination. I didn't have any :(
• I do not advise adding coriander powder or any other spice powder other than pav bhaji masala.

Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes

For my son's birthday yesterday, I baked 5 dozen cupcakes, 1 9*13 cake, and 1 9 inch round cake. I was skeptical if I could do it alone, but gave it a shot & every one loved it. It was a huge success. I made about 30 vanilla cupcakes & 30 chocolate cupcakes. For the vanilla cupcakes, I followed this recipe. Some of you might have seen these cupcakes on my facebook already :)

This is one super easy cupcake recipe. It doesn't call for eggs, butter, milk or yogurt. I doubled the recipe to get about 33 cupcakes. Since the frosting is not vegan, I will talk about the frosting & the decorating part in the next post ;)

Here is my version of the angry birds cupcakes :) I am very happy since, it is my first trial with cupcake decoration!

PS: You have very few days left to participate in the giveaway. Do participate & win.

1. Cast iron griddle
2. Tarla Dalal Cookbook.

Preparation Time: 10 mins
Baking Time: 20 mins
Baking Temperature: 350F/180C
Recipe Source: Showmethecurry
Makes: About 15-16 cupcakes

Ingredients:
Dry ingredients:
AP flour/ Maida : 1.5 cups
Unsweetened cocoa powder: 1/4 cup
Sugar: 1 cup
Salt: A pinch
Baking soda: 1 tsp

Wet ingredients:
Hot water: 1 cup
Vinegar: 1 tbsp
Instant coffee powder: 2 tsp
Oil: 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp (I used olive oil)
Vanilla Extract: 2 tsp

Method:
Preheat the oven.
Line the cupcake tray with the cupcake liners.

Sift the all purpose flour, cocoa powder.

Mix in  the sugar, salt & baking soda to the sifted flour.
Scoop it onto a bowl.

Add the vinegar, instant coffee powder. vanilla extract, and oil to the hot water & whisk.

Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients & fold.

Add about 1.5 tbsp to 2 tbsp of batter onto each cupcake mould & bake it in the preheated oven for about 20 mins.
Keep an eye on the oven as each oven is different & baking time varies drastically from oven to oven. My cupcakes were done in 18 mins.
Remove the cupcakes from the oven. Let it cool in the tray for about 5 mins, before placing it on the wire rack.

Once the cupcakes are completely cool, frost them :)

Notes:
All the measurements mentioned above are leveled (for the dry ingredients).
How to check if the cupcakes are baked: A skewer inserted onto the center of the cupcake should come out clean.

Lima Beans and Zucchini Palya | Zucchini Sabzi Recipe | Zucchini sauteed with Indian spices

Though we don't own a vegetable patch, we were lucky enough to get fresh produce from friends this summer. I got home grown cucumbers, zucchini, mint leaves, french beans, and many more. Each zucchini that I got weight about two pounds & I didn't know how to use them. I used to use them in pastas only. As zucchini is my son's favorite vegetable, I made palya with it & everyone at my home liked it very much. Later on I tried making zucchini dal, zucchini thovve, and few more Indian dishes using zucchini.

This zucchini palya or sabzi needs very minimal ingredients & yet tastes great. It goes well with both rice and roti (Indian flat bread). I added some lima beans to get some crunch to the otherwise soft zucchini. Make the zucchini sabzi this season. You won't be disappointed for sure.

Preparation Time: 10 mins
Cooking Time: 15 mins
Serves: 3-4

Ingredients:
Zucchini : About 2 lbs or 1 kg
Frozen lima beans: 3/4th cup, refer notes

For the tempering:
Oil: 1 tbsp
Mustard seeds: 1/2 tsp
Cumin seeds: 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder: 1/4 tsp
Coriander powder: 1 tsp
Red chilli powder: 1 tsp
Salt: As needed

Method:
Dice the zucchini & keep them aside.

Heat oil in a broad pan. When oil is hot, throw in the mustard & cumin seeds. When seeds crackle, add the diced zucchini & mix gently.

Add in the salt, turmeric powder, coriander powder, red chilli powder & mix well.

Throw in the lima beans. Mix.

Cook the zucchini covered for about 7-10 mins. Keep stirring in between.
Don't worry as zucchini will ooze out lots of water.

Once the zucchini is soft, turn off the heat & serve the palya hot with rice or roti.



Notes:

• You could replace lima beans with frozen or fresh green peas, chickpeas (cooked), frozen lilva beans or any other beans of your choice. 
• I did not add any other flavors to this sabzi. If you like, you could add garlic for a different flavor. 
• Note that zucchini shrinks a lot after cooking. So, two pounds is not much!

Chakkuli Recipe | Murukku | Easy and Quick Chakli Recipe : Festive foods.

Wishing you all a very happy Ganesh Chaturthi. 

Looks like September 2013 is a happening month for my blog. I am hosting the 'Only' Sandwiches, Burgers & Panini event, participating in one (signed in for VeganMoFo) and announcing a winner for my very first give away too. So, stay tuned....

I make chakkuli often but always get lazy to take step by step pictures to post it. Chakkuli preparation is not as hard as you think. It's just time consuming & needs some patience. I make chakkuli in many ways & this one is the easiest of all.

Preparation Time: 30-45 mins
Cooking Time: 30-45 mins
Makes around 60-75 chakkulis
Shelf Life: 10-15 days

Ingredients:
Rice flour: 4 cups
Gram flour/besan/kadle hittu: 1 cup
Hot oil: 3/4 cup (I used Crisco Vegetable Oil)
Salt: As needed
Chilli powder: 1 tsp
Asafoetida: 3/4 tsp
Sesame seeds: 2 tsp
Water: As needed

Oil: For deep frying the chakkuli.

Some tips to get perfect chakkuli:
Never skip sieving the rice flour & the gram flour.
Always prepare a small batch first to try.
I add 3/4 cup of oil & get perfect chakkuli every time. If you feel the chakkulis are turning out hard, try adding 2-3 tbsp more of oil.
Always keep the batter covered, else the batter would dry. If you use dry batter, the chakkuli will become brittle.
Do not press all the murukku/chakkuli at a time. Make it in batches.
Do not use very less oil for frying. These cannot be shallow fried.

Method:
Sieve the rice flour & gram flour separately. Mix the flours & sieve them again.
Add the salt, sesame seeds, asafoetida, chilli powder to the flour & mix well.

Heat the oil & add the hot oil to the mixture.

Mix it using a spoon first & then proceed to mix the flour using your hands thoroughly.
Add couple of tbsp of water at a time & prepare a smooth yet stiff dough.

Heat enough oil in a saute pan or sauce pan. (oil should be about 1 inch deep)
While the oil is getting hot, prepare the chakli mould.
Use the chakli plate.
Divide the dough into 5-6 parts (this depends on the mould used).
Add one part of the dough to the mould & press it. Close the mould & start pressing the chakli.

         

You could press the chakli directly on the hot oil or you could press it on the wax paper & flip it carefully in oil.

I prepared it on the wax paper & flipped it on to the oil. (Grease the wax paper if needed)
Do not press all the chakli at one go. Make it in batches. Depending on the amount of oil used for deep frying, press the murukkus. I could fry 5 chakli at a time & hence pressed only 5 chaklis each time.
Slowly slide in the pressed chakli to the hot oil.
Do not disturb the chakli for the first minute. Later you could slowly move the chakkuli.
Fry it both the sides on medium heat.
While the chakli is getting fried in oil, press the next batch of chakli.
Each batch took about 4-6 mins for me. Drain the chakkuli on a kitchen towel & allow it to cool.
Repeat the above procedure of pressing & frying the chakli.
Allow the chakli to cool completely. Once cool, store it in a air tight container. They stay good for 10 days.

Notes:
Generally the rice flour is prepared at home too. However, I use store bought rice flour.