Keerai vadai

• Prep time: 30 min
• Cook time: 20 min
• Serves: 12

Main Ingredients:

1. urad dal
2. spinach

Ingredients

• Urad dal - 1 1/2 cups, soak in water for 2 to 3 hours
• Onion - 1, medium, finely chopped
• Spinach - 1/3 cup, chopped and packed OR amaranth leaves/thotakura
• Fresh coriander leaves - 1/3 cup, chopped and packed
• Fresh mint leaves - 1/3, cup, chopped and packed
• Curry leaves - 1/4, cup, chopped and packed
• Green chilies - 4, finely chopped
• Ginger - 1" knob, finely minced
• Cumin - 1/2 tsp (optional)
• Salt to taste
• Oil for deep frying

Method

1. Drain the water from the soaked urad dal and grind to a coarse paste adding very little water, approx 4-5 tbsps only. You should feel small bits of dal in the batter.
2. Place the ground urad dal in a large bowl. Add the chopped onions, green chilies, ginger, spinach, coriander, mint and curry leaves. Add salt and beat the mixture with you hand for a minute.
3. Heat oil for deep frying in a heavy bottomed vessel. Wet your hand in water, take a large ball of the urad dal mixture in your hand and place it on a moistened plastic sheet. Shape into a flat vadai and make a hole in the center.
4. Carefully place the shaped vadai in the hot oil. Reduce flame to medium high and make one or two more vadai in the same manner and place in the hot oil. Cook on medium high heat on both sides. You can increase flame towards the end of the cooking process and cook the vadai till crisp and golden brown.

Tips

• A tip I'd like to share regarding the shaping of the vadai. After making a ball of the batter, place this ball batter on the moistened plastic sheet with a throwing action. This will help thin out the batter evenly on the sheet. Now shape it further and make a hole in the center.
• Add salt and onions to the batter just before frying the vadai.
• Once you grind the urad dal, use it immediately to make vadai. Otherwise refrigerate it till you use it to make vadai.
• To test if the oil is hot or not, drop a small ball of batter in the hot oil. If it sizzles and floats up, it means the oil is ready for deep frying.
• The batter should not be runny. It should be thick and aerated.

Pav Bhaji

Ingredients:

1 large carrot, cubed

2 potatoes, cubed

1 capsicum, chopped

1 cup cauliflower florets, chop

8-10 french beans, string and chop

1/4 cup green peas

2 onions, finely chopped

2 green chillis, slit length wise

1 tsp ginger-garlic paste

1/4 tsp turmeric pwd

1/2 tsp red chilli pwd

1 1/2 tbsps Pav Bhaji Masala

3/4 tsp sugar (adjust)

salt to taste

2 tomatoes, finely chopped

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 tbsp low fat butter (vegans can avoid butter)

fresh coriander leaves for garnish

1 1/2 tbsps oil

16 lightly toasted in butter, pav bread (vegans can use vegan butter substitute)

1 Pressure cook potatoes, cauliflower, peas, beans and carrot along with 1 cup of water, till soft. Drain any left over water and keep aside. Mash all the cooked vegetables using a masher.
2 Heat oil in a vessel, add the green chillis and onions and saute for 4 mts. Add the ginger-garlic paste and saute for another 3 mts. Add capsicum and saute for 2 mts.
3 Add the chilli pwd, turmeric pwd, pav bhaji masala, sugar and salt. Combine well. Add the tomatoes and cook until soft, approx 5-6 mts.
4 Add the mashed vegetables along with a cup of the drained vegetable stock and cook on high for a mt. Reduce flame and simmer for 14-15 mts.
5 The gravy will begin to thicken. Adjust the salt, if required. Turn off heat and add butter and lemon juice and combine. Garnish with fresh coriander leaves.
6 Serve hot with lightly toasted pav/pau and sliced onions.

Note:

You can use 2-3 vegetables also while preparing the bhaji. I have not used cabbage and beetroot since I did not have them on hand at the time of preparation. Using beetroot will lend a deep reddish purple color to the bhaji.

Quesadilla

Ingredients:

For flour tortillas:

1 3/4 cups flour

2 tbsps butter

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking pwd

approx 1/2 cup warm milk or water

For the vegetable filling:

onions, cabbage, beans, carrots, capsicum, baby corn, sweet corn, green peas, mushrooms, spring onions or any vegetables of your choice

salt to taste

red chilli flakes

3/4 – 1 cup grated cheese

1/2 cup sour cream (optional)

1 First combine all the ingredients except milk. Now slowly add the warm milk or water to knead to a soft dough, kneading well for 4-5 mts. Keep aside for 15 mts and during this sitting time of dough, prepare the vegetable filling.
2 Make lemon sized balls of the dough and using a rolling pin to roll out like very thin rotis of approx 8″-9″ size.
3 Pre-heat a griddle and place each tortilla on the hot griddle for only 4-5 seconds on each side and remove. They shouldn’t be roasted brown at this stage. Keep aside all the lightly toasted tortillas.

For the vegetable filling:
4 The vegetables I used were grated carrots, finely chopped cabbage, capsicum, baby corn, onions, sweet corn, grated paneer, tomatoes and coriander leaves. Saute the garlic first followed by the vegetables in olive oil for 3 mts, season with salt and red chilli flakes. (you can skip the saute part).

5 Take the vegetable filling and place in the centre of each tortilla, spread a tbsp of sour cream, sprinkle grated cheese and wet the edges of the tortilla with water. Place another tortilla on top and press the edges. Take a fork and press along the edges as shown in the picture above.
6 Pre-heat a griddle and on medium heat roast both sides of the quesadilla flipping over to toast both sides. Ensure that you cook it over medium heat, you want the cheese to melt inside. Drizzle some oil if you want while frying the quesadilla. Remove quesadilla onto a serving plate, slice into triangles with a pizza cutter and serve hot with salsa or tomato sauce.

Butter Paneer Masala

Ingredients:

250 gms paneer Рcubed and saut̩ in a tbsp of ghee till golden brown, remove into a dish and add a cup of hot water to the fried paneer cubes and let them sit in it for 5mts,then drain the water and keep aside
2 big onions (blanch for 10 mts and puree)
1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
1 tsp red chilli pwd (I used kashmiri chillis) you can increase to 1 1/2 tsps
3 big ripe tomatoes (blanch ,de-skin and puree)
3 tbsps cashewnut paste
1 tsp coriander pwd
1/4 tsp haldi (turmeric pwd)
1 tsp kasuri methi (dry fenugreek leaves)
garam masala pwd (make a pwd of 3 cloves,1 green cardamom and 1” cinnamon)
salt to taste
3 tbsps butter
2 tbsps fresh cream

Heat 2 tbsp of butter in a pan, add the onion paste and sauté till light brown (approx 8-10 mts). Add ginger-garlic paste. Saute for 3 minutes. Add chilli pwd and combine, followed by the cashew paste and combine.

Add tomato puree, crushed kasuri methi,coriander pwd, haldi, garam masala and salt. Stir and let it simmer for 4-5 mts.

Add the paneer and simmer for 4-5 minutes. Add a small cup of water and let it cook on medium heat for 10 mts or till you get the desired curry consistency. Remove from fire, stir in remaining butter and fresh cream.

Let the curry sit for 10-15 mts before serving. Garnish with coriander leaves. Serve hot with rotis, naan , paranthas or simple steamed white rice.