Super Delicious "Guilt-free" Dahi Vadas

Super Delicious "Guilt-free" Dahi Vadas

The thought of dahi-vadas reminds me of growing up in Delhi and enjoying countless varieties of chaats.....out of which dahi-vada was my absolute favorite! One thing that I miss living in the USA is the ability to just go out there and have any kind of street food, whenever you want!

Being a mom and a working professional, time is always a luxury. There are never enough hours in the day to get your work done. And cooking dishes that require you to stand by the stove-top for hours is not my idea of spending my weekends! Add to that the fact that I am unable to stand the smell and taste of fried things (not sure why!), forces me to try out my favorite dishes in a way that they are healthier and not so time consuming. 

So, I had been craving these dahi-vadas for a looong time and finally decided to bake them and see what happens. I was not sure if the texture will be good or not. So I decided to make a trial batch with just one cup of urad dal. The results was amazing!!!! I am in love with this recipe that recreates the traditional recipe with just one change- it replaces the frying with baking! SO here we go:

Ingredients: 

Urad Dal- 1 cup
Grated ginger- 1 teaspoon
Baking soda- one pinch
Yogurt- 3 cups

To Taste:
Red chili powder
Cumin powder (fresh roasted)
MDH Dahivada Raita Masala (optional- you can also make your own mix of kala namak, dhaniya powder, jeera  powder, if you don't have this particular masala mix)
Tamarind-Date Chutney (store bought)
Sugar-1/2 tablespoon
Salt

Oil- About 1/2 tablespoon to coat the muffin pan.



Process:

1) Wash and soak the dal in cold water and keep it overnight.
2) Next day, drain the water and grind it to smooth paste using a food processor or grinder.
3) Add the grated ginger and salt to the batter.
4) You can refrigerate this mixture if you are not making the vadas right away.
5) Make sure the batter is at room temperature when you are ready to make the vadas.
6) Preheat the oven to 350F.
7) In the meantime, take a muffin pan (I used a non-stick mini-muffin pan to get the desired shape) and coat each mould with oil.
8) Now add a pinch of baking soda to the mixture, mix well with a spoon and drop a spoonful of the the mixture into each mould. Make sure to not completely fill the mould. I filled each mould to about half-way to ensure the vada cooks well. 
9) Bake at 350F for 35-40 minutes- till you see a golden color on the vadas. Halfway through, in about 25 minutes, flip the vadas over so that the other side gets browned as well. Insert a skewer into a vada to ensure that it is cooked before taking it out of the oven.
10) Whip the yogurt well with salt, raita masala, chili powder, sugar. Taste and adjust the seasoning accordingly.
11) Just when you are ready to serve, take a bowl of drinking water and dip the vadas in int for a few minutes.
12) Take them out, squeeze gently to get the excess water out. Place 3-4 vadas in a serving plate,  pour the spiced yogurt on top.
13) Drizzle the tamarind chutney and sprinkle a pinch of roasted cumin powder and chili powder.
14) Enjoy!!

Protein Packed Kebabs!!

 Protein Packed Kebabs!!

Who wants to have a delicious, melt-in-your mouth vegetarian kebab?? Everyone in my family!!:-) It is perfect for a after school snack, an appetizer for a party or a complete meal if used as a patty for a burger!

So presenting my recipe of a very simple preparation using boiled kala chanaa and potatoes-that's it!!! Sounds simple? For sure it is-let's take a look at the recipe. 

Ingredients:

Boiled Kalaa Chanaa- 2 cups ground coarsely. 

Boiled Potatoes- 3 medium

Red Chilli Powder- 1 teaspoon or according to taste

Dhaniya Powder- 2 teaspoons

Chaat masala- 1 teaspoon

Black salt- 1 teaspoon

Garam Masala- 1 teaspoon

Chopped Mint leaves- handful

Chopped Coriander leaves- handful

Process:

1) Soak the kalaa chana overnight. The next day, cook the kalaa chana till soft but not mushy. I cook it in a pressure-cooker. Allow it to cool completely and drain all the water. I usually refrigerate the chanaas and make the kebabs the next day or so. This was you can be sure that they are completely cool and dry when you are ready to prepare the kebabs.

2) Boil the potatoes on stove-top or microwave and allow to cool.

3) Coarsely grind the chanaas in a mixer. Make sure the texture is coarse and not a complete paste. 

4) Add the boiled potatoes to this mixture. 

5) Add all the spices mentioned above and mix well. Taste and adjust salt or spice according to taste. 

6) Heat a non-stick pan and make medium size patties/tikkis of the mixture. 

7) Smear a little bit of oil on the patties/kebabas and taws-fry till they appear golden on both sides. 

8) Transfer on a serving plate and sprinkle some chaat masala. Serve with ketchup, tamarind chutney, raita, onion rings or other condiments of your choice.

9) Enjoy!! (The above mentioned ingredients will make 8 medium sized kebabs). 

Challah Bread

Challah Bread

What an amazing feeling it is to bake a bread that you have been dreaming of for years!! I recently bought a baking book for my husband as his birthday present. We both love to cook together but baking is certainly his forte! Yes-lucky me!!:-) My hubby can bake all kinds of amazing and delicious desserts!! Me, not so much!:-) I have always been intimidated with baking and somehow felt that anything I try to bake-it will be a disaster!

So, with a lot of courage I decided to try to bake this bread that I had been drooling over for a long time! The newly purchased recipe book "Baking by Better Homes and Garden" had such divine pictures that I was motivated to try this bread!

And can I say what an amazing recipe this is!! If I can bake this, then anyone can- I really believe that!!:-)

I followed this recipe without any tweaks or modifications. So please go ahead and try this and let me know how it turned out for you!

This recipe makes: 3 loaves (48 slices) or 16 mini loaves. I made 3 loaves.

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cups warm water

Sweetener (choose one):
1/2 cup honey- (I used this option)
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup granulated sugar

2 packages active dry yeast (or 4 1/2 teaspoons)
4 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup fat (choose between melted butter, vegetable oil or olive oil) * I used olive oil.*
1 table spoon salt
Stir-Ins ( 4 cloves garlic, minced abd 1 teaspoon each of oregano and parsley flakes-crushed)
7 1/2 cups of all purpose flour
1 egg lightly beaten
1tablespoon milk

Method:

1) In a very large bowl stir together the 1 3/4 cups warm water, the Sweetener, and yeast. Let stand about 10 minutes or until foamy.
Using a wooden spoon, stir in the 4 eggs, the Fat, and salt. Add Stir-Ins. Gradually stir in as much of the flour as you can.
2) Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead in enough of the remaining flour to make a moderately soft dough that is smooth and elastic (5-7 minutes total). Shape dough onto a ball. Place in a lightly greased very large bowl, turning once to grease surface of the dough. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubles in size- 1 to 1 1/2 hours. (I placed it in the oven with the light on to give it some warmth).
3) Punch dough down. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide dough into three equal portions. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, lightly grease a large baking sheet (s).

4) Shaping: Braids- Divide each portion into thirds to make 9 pieces; roll each piece into a 24-inch rope; braid three ropes together. Repeat with the remaining portions.

I shaped the dough into 2 braided loaves and 1 spiral/circular loaf. Arrange on prepared baking sheets. I used one sheet for the 2 loaves and one sheet for the spiral loaf. Cover and let rise in a warm place until nearly doubles in size (about 30 minutes).

(I forgot to take pictures while braiding the loaves so I took a picture of the recipe from the book. Hope this helps you to see how to shape the loaves. The bottom right picture shows you how to make the circular/spiral loaf. You can click on the picture to zoom in).

5) Preheat oven to 350F. In a small bowl combine the 1 egg and 1 tablespoon milk, brush over shaped dough. Bake for 25-30 minutes  or until loaves sound hollow when lightly tapped.
Immediately remove loaves from baking sheet. Cool on wire rack.

Enjoy warm with herbed butter!!

Please try this recipe and provide your feedback in the comment box below! Thanks for stopping by!!:-)

Delicious and Protein-Rich Pesarattu

Delicious and Protein-Rich Pesarattu

Do you ever feel like having Dosa for an meal right away but can't because you don't have the batter? Try making "Pesarattu" instead! A quick, easy, delicious and nutritious dosa which is made with green moong dal. You can stuff it with usual aloo masala or roasted onions. I made a quick paneer bhurji and stuffed it in the pesarattu to make it even more healthy. And a "Paneer pesarattu" is something my 11 year old loves as a snack, breakfast or even dinner!!

So, here is the recipe:

Ingredients:

 Split Moong dal/Green gram - 2 cups cleaned and soaked for 2-4 hours



 Rice- 1/2 cup soaked for 2-4 hours 



 Green chillies - chopped to taste 



  Ginger- 1 medium piece (peeled)

  Salt- to taste

  Coriander leaves - chopped 
or dhaniya powder to taste

  

Oil for pan frying

Method

1) After soaking for about 2 hrs, drain the dal and rice.

2) Take a mixer/food processor and put the dal, rice, green chillies, salt, coriander powder and ginger and grind into a coarse paste. It is typically made into a coarse paste but you can also make it into smooth if that is what you prefer.

3) Add a little bit of water during the grinding and to make a dropping consistency batter. 

It should not be too runny. 

4) Mix the batter well, and heat up a non-stick tawa.

5) Spread the batter on the tawa and make thin dosa, starting by spreading the batter from center out.

6) Sprinkle a bit of oil on the edges to cook it.  Flip it over and cook the other side till you see golden brown spots on the pesarattu. 

7) You can stuff this with aloo masala, paneer masala, roasted onions or plain. 

8) Serve hot with plain yogurt, coconut chutney or any chutney of your choice.

9) Enjoy!

Note: You can also make this with whole moong dal instead of split. In that case you will need to soak the dal overnight and rest of the procedure will be the same.