Hot n Sour Yogurt Soup with Spinach Fritters(Palak Pakodi Kadhi)

Today Saturday morning 5 o clock lil A woke up...i have no choice but to wake up and play with her...she is down with cold and cough...still on recovery mode..its been about a month we all are suffering from sore throat,cold and cough..and its been almost like 3 weeks i made fresh curd...its lying there as we don't feel like eating curd with sore throat and all...what to do now.

 I decided to make palak pakodi kadhi today with the sour curd...also a change from melagu rasam ( peper rasam) which we have been thriving on for about a month now...today i decided to make some North Indian meal..of course we both enjoy best of both regions...now that's an advantage of an interstate marriage..hahaha..jokes apart...

Flavorful Kadhi is definitely a good option to get rid of the sour curd and sore throat :)..what say...ok here i go with my hot and sour yogurt soup with palak fritters :)

Ingredients

For Pakodi

2 cups of  spinach finely chopped

crushed coriander seeds--1 tsp

minced ginger green chilli paste about 1tsp

some salt to taste

Gram flour 3-4 tbsp

For Kadhi

2 cups of sour Yogurt

2 Tbsp of gram flour

1 tsp of minced ginger and garlic

1 green chilli

finely chopped fresh coriander leaves

salt to taste

For tempering

I Tbsp of Ghee

5-6  methi seeds(fenugreek seeds)

1/2 tsp of nigella seeds(kalonji)

1/2 of cummin seeds(jeera)

a pinch of asafoetida

2 whole red chillies

a pinch of red chilli powder

some curry leaves

Method

Mix spinach and salt and keep it aside for few mins.

After some time the spinach will leave its natural water.

At this point add  rest of the ingredients of pakodi.

Pour this onto oil coated pancake maker well this what i used( for less oil factor:))

cook it till done.

In another pan add lil ghee and lump free yogurt n gram flour mix.

Cook this  by constant stirring .

Once the kadhi comes to a boil and thickens a bit add the pakodi and bring it to a boil once again.

Switch off the stove garnish with the some coriander leaves and the tempering.

Vada sans Oil!

Well how does this sound " Vada sans oil". Here I am not going to give recipe for vadas ..I am sure each one of you is expert  in your own way..What I am going to share is how to make Vada without oil...can this  happen ?...The answer is YES !!!..My usage of oil  is very low...Making pooris itself is like a big celebration for B....I make it like once in 3 months that to when somebody visit us ...This gap is compensated by gulping few pooris here and there from the restaurants B visits during office lunch breaks:).

A's Cheethappa is here :) ..he just came to U.S few weeks back....He came from Seattle to celebrate A 's BDay...I had asked him to get couple of things from India..was waiting to get hold of them..what were they a mini cooker and our magical equipment Kuzhi paniyaram maker....if you don't have this you can also make these in cupcake pan that you get here.Friday i soaked extra urad dhaal for vada while preparing Idili batter...

Saturday was fun celebrating A's birthday with all our close circle of friends and relatives here.Thanks for coming and making the event all the more memorable.A's favorite cheethappa  is here from Seattle ...and one other friends had come all the way from Sacramento..i also met one of my school buddy after 8 yrs ..was really nice catching up with all... Thank you all..That was overwhelming. 

Here i  go with the recipe.

Method

-- Flavor vada batter with ginger green chillies and jeera paste

-- Pour it into paniyaram maker coated with little oil..cook it till done.

-- Soak it in hot water with a pinch of salt for few minutes and drain excess water and 
    keep it aside.
--  Refrigerate the vadas if it is not for immediate use.

For Garnishing Sambar vada

A bowl of hot sambar 

Some boondi and fresh coriander leaves

For Garnishing Dahi Bhallas (North Indian Style)

Some beaten sweetened curd

Some Green chutney (Mint with coriander leaves and ginger)

Sweet Chutney (Date and tamarind )

Roasted Cummin powder

Red chilli powder

Chat masala

Boondi 

Fresh coriander leaves

For Garnishing Thayir vada

Tempering with mustard seeds, asafoetida ,red chillies and curry leaves

Note-- These Vadas are great to make large batches of Dahi and sambar vada for parties...for authentic crispy vada use oil :)

I made  guilt free sambar vada today morning .  You will miss the hole in the vada but on the whole these were great on taste :)...Make as much as you want and eat ..and ya do lemme know once you try...chalo bye now:)

On rush with parathas..................

Hi Guys its Sunday morning:) ...we woke up late and me not in real mood to make a whole meal platter as we are going to head out for quick last min shopping for my little ones 2nd birthday and also some driving lesson from hubby dear...on such rush the only thing i think  to make are the parathas .. these are handy option to carry for the little one to feed on while in car. My little one love parathas .i usually make parathas on Friday mornings and Sunday late mornings.Friday lil A goes to activity school so these are easy and less messy things to carry and feed her.Needless to mention these have balance source of crabs from potatoes  iron from spinach and of course fiber from the whole wheat ...i make different kinds of stuffing for parathas...but for now I am sharing aloo with spinach combo..

INGREDIENTS

Whole wheat flour ----- 2 cups

Salt                      ------ 1 tsp

Carrom seeds(Ajwain) ---1/2 tsp

Water as needed to make stiff yet soft dough

For Stuffing

Boiled mashed potatoes 1 large

Grated ginger/garlic       2 tsp

Spinach                        1 cup

oil                                1 tsp

Cumin seeds (Jeera)       1 tsp

Coriander powder          1 tsp

Cummin powder             1 tsp

Chat Masala                   1/2 tsp

Amchur                         1/2 tsp

Gram masala                  1/2 tsp

Chilli powder                 1 tsp 

METHOD

Heat oil it pan . Add jeera ,ginger then add clean cut spinach and saute for about a min.

Next add boiled mashed potato and all the dry spices and saute for about a min or so till it releases all its flavors.

Switch off the stove and set this aside till the mixture cools down.

Make equal sizes of the wheat dough or as you require.To this add the aloo spinach mix.Usually the stuffing should be little more than the dough.You need to feel the tasty tangy mix of the stuffing rather than the paratha .The proportion should be such.Now set these aside for few mins before rolling into parathas..this standing time makes it easy to roll.

Heat tawa...place a paratha...once it cooks on one side..this is usually indicated by small air balloons..add oil and toss on the other side..cook on medium flame till they are golden brown.

Serve them directly into the plate.

Else transfer them onto  a bowl or something .Placing one on one may make them soggy.

Crisp parathas taste better than soggy ones so please do it this way and then store.

Note- The spinach can be replaced with methi as well  as soy greens( dill leaves).They also taste excellent. Traditional aloo parathas calls for roasted and crushed coriander  and anardana seeds instead of coriander powder and a handful of fresh coriander leaves instead of the greens. 

I usually make lots with dill leaves..One should be aware of the numerous benefits of dill.Dill or dill weed belongs to the same family as parsley, bay leaf and cumin. It originated from the Mediterranean region and has been used to flavor foods and to treat various ailments since ancient times. Dill contains substantial amounts of iron, manganese and calcium. It also contains flavonoids which are powerful antioxidants with anti-viral and anti-inflammatory properties.

Bye for now :).. see you soon with my next recipe :)

An Ode to Karachi Biscuits!!!!

what better way to start my blog with one of my favorite biscuits ...I am not a great fan of cookies...i love pastries and cakes though...but this one is my all time lovable biscuit and  I am sure it is same for most of you too...but these are not easily available especially not in U.S ....you need to go to Hyderabad to get real hold on these..i wanted to relish these biscuits...they came into my mind and the only way to get it out is bake it...today afternoon soon as my little one went to bed i did the prep work for the biscuits ...chopped some assorted nuts and fruits for the biscuits... here you get all kinds of cookies...but this one has a unique flavor .....the slight sweetness of fruits with a ting of salt and mild rose aroma takes us to a different level when we relish these with a cup of good Chai....here i go...

INGREDIENTS

All purpose flour(Maida)--- 1 cup
Vanilla Custard powder --- 1/2 cup
Milk Powder              ----- 1/3 Cup
Unsalted butter             --- 1/2 cup

Sugar                           ---  1/2 cup

Rose water                   --- 1 tsp
Salt                              ---- 1/2 tsp
Baking Powder              ---- 1 Tsp
Assorted fruit and nuts

(golden raisins,red and green cherries,cashew and almonds)    ---- 1 1/2 cup

Milk as required for knead a dough about 3 -4 tbsp

METHOD

Mix sugar and butter until they are light and creamy.

Add in Milk powder,rose water,  and assorted fruit and nuts and mix it.

Then add sieved flour and Custard powder and milk as required and make it into  a dough .

Next take a butter paper/parchment paper or even aluminium foil which ever available.Place the dough mix and give it a cylindrical shape.Roll the foil and give it a nice shape as required. Refrigerate the dough at least for an hour .

Whenever  required preheat oven for about 180 deg c(app 350 deg F) and bake the cut biscuits for about 15min.

Note- Keep and eye after 5 mins as the temperature may vary depending on the oven.  

The biscuits turned out yum...my little one simply enjoyed it with her evening milk.She was asking I want some more ..some more :)..which was so satisfying to me..And now for the best part to share these can be refrigerated for about 1 -2 months.Pullout and bake fresh as needed .Hope you guys enjoy these and never miss those Karachi biscuits from Hyderabad :).