How to make Homemade Potato Chips | Step by Step Recipe to make Potato Chips at home

You can't stop with just one! I am sure you agree to that when it comes to potato chips or wafers. Especially when it is something you made at home. After pizza, burgers and cakes, these potato wafers or chips are something I enjoyed making at home during my college days.

I remember those days making tons and tons of these wafers at home, only to be disappeared within minutes. Then there were the days with French fries. Endless days of frying those thin crunchy fries, dipped into sauce was pure bliss. My brother got loads of potatoes that we have use up fast.

I remembered those chips that I used to make and wanted to make right away. Dad had got a mandolin for Amma which used to cut super thin slices and french fries. Amma gave it away without realizing. I thought I could use a similar grater and used the multi grater and slicer.

I knew if I don't click pictures right away I may not get even one for the pictures.

Step by Step Pictures

Ingredients Needed:

Potatoes - 4 medium
Salt to taste
Oil for deep frying.

Method to prepare:

Wash and peel the skin from the potatoes.

Using the slicer, slice the potatoes into thin slices. Soak them in water until you fry them. Else it will turn brown.

Heat a pan with oil. When the oil is hot, pat down the slices on a cloth and gently drop them in hot oil.

Drain them on a kitchen towel. Sprinkle salt when it is still hot.

Enjoy as a snack!

How to make Paneer | Making Indian Cottage Cheese at home ~ Quick Recipe

If you ask me what's the most frequent dish that gets prepare in our kitchen these days, without a hesitation the answer will be paneer! Ever since Athamma started making Paneer herself, she ends up making it pretty often. Plus with the weather aiding us, we really don't have to wait to spoil it, it gets spoiled itself and we end up making Paneer at home very often. I have already posted how to make paneer way back in 2008, but this method improvises on the other.

Hubby dear finally said enough of Paneer Butter Masala or anything paneer with the frequent entry of this dish on the table. So Athamma resorted to Paneer Pakora or Paneer 65 or whatever other innovations she can come up with. We don't have to worry about the Paneer not getting consumed. Konda loves it in any form. And you give her those tikkas, pakoras, she is very happy.

Her school reopened this week and I have been happy that I have managed to pack filling breakfast and lunch. Imagine my surprise when the first day Athamma called up to say Konda has not come in at the usual time. I called up and was told that since she is now in a higher class, the timing is increased with more subjects. But I realized that she will end up coming home very hungry. And next week school reopens for boys too. So you can expect me to be busy with planning menus again.

Coming back to this Paneer business, I once saw Paneer made to set very quickly by using Corn flour. I have been ever since wanting to try it. Finally I came around making a quick batch of Paneer by kneading method as followed in the Eastern part of India.

I sometimes make Spiced Paneer for making Paneer Tikka, by mixing in spices like crushed peppercorn, Red chili flakes, Coriander leaves and Mint leaves. It tastes great for making Tikkas. That reminds that I haven't posted it yet. But then it's a simple process. Before you set the Paneer, you can just add all the spices you need and set as normally method.

Thanks to Sharmila for the idea of getting Paneer set and used within 30 mins. Normal process takes more time for setting especially if you want nice cubes.

Follow the same method of curdling milk using either Lime Juice / Vinegar / Sour Curds.

You require

Milk - 1 liter
Ripe Lemon/Lime Juice - 1 full
Cornflour - 1 tsp
Pinch of salt.

Follow the same steps to make paneer at home

 Strain it over muslin cloth, allow it cool.

Take the chhena in a bowl, add about 1 tsp of corn flour, a pinch of salt and knead well.

  It forms a nice smooth dough.

Press it on a square plate or a cup. Freeze it for 10 - 15 mins or refrigerate for 30 mins.

Remove, cut into cubes, sauté in butter or ghee before adding to the gravy.

This method makes the whole process so simple that you really don't have to wait for long for your paneer to set.

I might come up with a dish featuring this paneer or something else..:)

Happy weekends!

Check out other Paneer Recipes

How to Make Rasam in 5 minutes | Thin Lentil Soup | Step by Step Recipes

And pack yourself to work in next 10 minutes. Well of course this post is not about how you can pack yourself to office. But it surely is about making Rasam, the famous South Indian dish. Many refer to this dish as a Soup, somehow I am not really comfortable. Though I have seen and known many who drink this as such. Rasam is an integral part of the Thali or even the regular meals.

Making rasam is an everyday affair in most South Indian and they won't consider making this a task beyond them. As I said in my Cumin Pepper Rasam, Amma is known for her lip smacking Rasam. Dad teases her that she makes it extra special when she has guests to entertain.

Though I have already posted Jeelakarra Miriyala Rasam/ Cumin Pepper Rasam, I am posting it again in clear step wise as few of my bachelor readers wanted to make at home. Hope this helps!

Rasam can be made with different combination. We normally add cooked dal to the rasam to give some thickness plus the required protein supplement. Mostly dhal is not added.

It is a thin base made with tomatoes, tamarind and other spices. Rasam is very good for digestion. Since I mostly send Dal rice for my boys, I make it every day. Though cooking the dal, soaking the tamarind etc right then will not take much time, it is always convenient to have certain things. I tried making the rasam everyday, some days it gets too hectic. That time I used to wish I had some short cuts. I never liked refrigerating the rasam for the next day.

So the next best option was having the ingredients ready on hand for a quick Rasam to get prepared.

Following are the ingredients you need to have ready, if you really wish to make the Rasam in 5 minutes. Don't worry I have timed it exactly many times.

1. Have cooked Dal ready at hand.
2. Tamarind Paste/ Extract
3. Cumin Pepper Powder
4. Coriander Leaves and stacks, Scissors.

For getting the entire recipe, check out Cumin Pepper Rasam,

Lets see how this can be done so very quickly!

Toor Dal can be cooked on Sundays or even on Mondays. I normally cook bulk amount on Mondays and store through the week. Take the dal water you get and make rasam. Else scoop out a half a ladle as in the pictures. Rasam powder is made to last me 5 days.

In a bowl, take the cooked dhal, finely chopped tomatoes, Tamarind extract.

Mash the dal, tomatoes and tamarind very nicely to get everything mixed up. ..Update..see in the hurry to get this done, I forgot to mention that you should add Salt at this stage..Thanks Anon...

For Seasoning, this is what you need. Rasam Powder, Crushed garlic. It is always said that you should crush the garlic and allow it to breathe, this way it is supposed to be very healthy.

Here's where you need the scissors. Wash and clean the coriander leaves. Chop down the coriander leaves very finely over the cooking rasam.

In a deep botton pan, heat a tsp of ghee. We normally add Ghee/ Clarified butter. Then add the ingredients kept aside for seasoning. Saute well.

Then gently pour the mixed dal and tomatoes on this. Be very careful at this stage as it might splutter.On top of the rasam, chop in fine coriander

Allow to start boiling. Rule of thumb is never to disturb the cooking process.

It is coming up...

spilled over..well I don't' normally allow it spill over, but all for a photo!

When you have all the other ingredients on hand, this hardly takes only 5 minutes. Since most of the ingredients are pre-cooked, this rasam will not taste raw or  uncooked or some thing.

Do try this at home and let me know. Happy Weekend!

Basic White Sauce Recipe ~ Step By Step Recipe!

Imagine you decide to convert yourself into Vegetarians and that's then the world decides to create all those delectable cakes, burgers and what not!

I tell you even in India being a pure Vegetarian is tough. I meant sometimes it becomes very difficult to get pure Veg dishes even here when you happen to be eating out in a non veg hotel, and you are never sure! And then there are these tempting dishes that come being made with eggs like Burgers Pizzas etc!

I emphasis on pure because Dad says that there can't be a status of pure vegetarianism, it's either you are or you are not! I remind him gently that some include eggs in vegetarian diet. And this has caused me being ever precarious to check the labels or ask couple of times to confirm if the dish offered contains eggs in disguise or not.

Some of my friends who are vegetarians eat cakes and other dishes that has eggs in them. When I ask they say it is fine with them since they don't see the egg. But for the bane of me, I haven't been able to accept that. So result is I have never tasted those sinful desserts. 

Necessity is the mother of creation, somebody said right! I finally resorted to finding out ways to taste those temptations. Since I don't know how that original dish should taste, I conclude that whatever I created substituting the eggs, are the best created dishes! Talk about inflated egos

Thanks to all those wonderful people who enjoy my creations and ascertain that these resemble the original in taste and look!

Coming to the recipe for today, I know many of you must be making this White sauce regularly. This was one of those first recipes I started making trying to replace egg based recipes. Works so very well all the time.

I use this for Burgers, Pastas. Previously I used to make this and store.

Basic Recipe for White Sauce:

All purpose flour / Maida - 1 cup
Milk - 3 cups
Butter 1 tbsp
Salt to taste
Pepper powder - 1 tsp

Method to prepare:

Mix the flour with milk, add salt and pepper. The mix should be watery and without lumps.

Melt butter in a non stick pan. Slowly add this flour mix and whisk briskly to ensure the liquid doesn't get solidified.

 

Keep stirring till the sauce reaches a bit thickness. It should not become very thick as the sauce tends to become very thick once it is cooled. 

At times the sauce tends to clog, you can whisk with a masher, to get a smooth paste.

When the sauce starts boiling remove, and allow it to cool before storing it in a bowl.

Notes: As I was busy with the camera, I almost allowed the liquid to get settled. Because of that I ended up getting lumps in the sauce.

Once it cooled down, I pulsed it couple of times to get a smooth thick sauce.
I only added salt and pepper, but you can add as many other spices you want.

It really gave such a wonderful taste to the burgers!

Check for the Vegetarian Burger Step by Step Recipe, Indian Style at Beyond Curries, which happens to be the 100th post!!!