Party Menu 4 | Menu Planning | Indian Party Menus | Dinner Party

After what seem to be the most dullest moment here, I finally manage to get some something done. Though days pass away as quickly the come in, I am shocked we are already into March! Where did February go and I never came over here so much as I might have wanted.

We had a small dinner party over the weekend. And I as I said we tend to repeat certain dishes as they get more likes and we also try couple of new dishes. Overall it's a case of making sure you don't end up with all new dishes and nothing anybody likes. There is of course, no question on not liking it. All of Amma's recipes are always a hit. 

The starters were sort of changed, we always make sure have a paneer side dish for the vegetarians. So this time it turned out to be our favorite low calorie Paneer Butter Masala. The recipe that we currently make is so much different from the original recipe that I have shared. Nevertheless, you can still make that if you want.

This simple Vegetable Salad with just salt and pepper, at times I sprinkle Chaat Masala, is always the most sought out in any party. 

Party Menu 4

Venue : Home
Number : 8

Our Dinner Party Menu was:

Drinks
Mango Fruit Juice (Store bought)

Salad

Spicy Channa Sundal, Iyar Style
Onion, Cucumber, Carrot Salad

Veg Starters:

Pepper Fried Masala Cashew
Masala Vada

Non Veg Starters:

Chicken Nuggets (Store bought)
Chicken Pepper Fry

Main Dishes

Chettinad Chicken Kulambu, Tamil Nadu Style
Paneer Butter Masala
Parotta
Pepper Cumin Rasam,
Plain Rice
Curd Rice

Dessert

Vanilla and Butterscotch Ice creams

Both the Chicken Dishes were new and will be sharing shortly.

Pepper Salted Cashews

Fried Cashews have to be part of all parties for Daddy. So for a change we made it with Pepper

Pepper Fried Masala Cashew

Cashews Whole - 1/2 Kg
Pepper powder - 1 - tsp
Salt to taste
Oil to deep Fry

Heat the Oil and when it hot enough fry the cashews till they start turning colour.

Drain them on to a kitchen towel. Sprinkle pepper powder and salt. Cover and shake them well to make sure all the cashews get coated with the masala well.

Allow to cool and then store in air tight container

Party Menu 2 | Menu Planning | Indian Party Menus | Dinner Party

Last weekend, we had another house party totaling about 10 people. So for those of you who host parties at home, this menu would surely help. All the dishes were prepared at home, except for one chicken starter that was store bought and the ice cream.

We wanted to stick to just chicken kurma and chicken Roast, so got 2 kgs of Chicken. The main course was the Vegetable Fried Rice and the Peas Paneer Masala for the Vegetarians.

The welcome drinks and the starters ended up being very filling. So this main course being simple was all fine. I had tough time clicking away the pictures as I ended up making couple of the dishes on the go, and couldn't manage with all the dishes at one time. Our guests knew about the blogs and were amused that I was more keen on clicking away the food pictures than them. Infact I remembered to click pictures of the party only on afterthoughts!

Venue : Home
Number : 10

Our Dinner Party Menu was:

Drinks
Mango Juice

Salad

Peanut Chaat
Onion, Cucumber, Carrot Salad

Starters:

Fried Cashew Masala
Paneer Pakoras
Chicken Nuggets (Store bought)

Side Dish - Semi Gravy
Chicken Roast

Main Dishes

Vegetable Fried Rice
Chicken Kurma
Peas Paneer Curry
Rasam
Plain Rice
Curds

Dessert

Fruits
Vanilla Icecream

 Chicken Roast

Paneer Pakoras

Peas Paneer Curry

Groundnut / Peanut Chaat:

Boiled Peanuts - 2 cups
Onions, finely chopped - 1 cup
Coriander Leaves, finely chopped - 2 tsp
Chat Masala - 1 tsp
Lemon juice for seasoning
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste

Shell peanuts and boil for 10 mins. The peanuts should be crunchy and not over boiled.

In a bowl, take the boiled peanuts, add the salt, pepper powder, chat masala, onions, coriander leaves. Toss well. Squeeze in lemon juice and serve as starter.

Rest of the recipes will follow.

Moong Dal Carrot Vada , Uddi Bonda | Ganesh Chaturthi Recipes

Meddu Vada  or Masala Vada is mostly made during all festivals. For a change we think of making different varieties. I had plans to make Maddur Vada, but Athamma had soaked Urad Dal so decided to make something with that itself. 

Amma had the same problem too. Dad was very much against the same Meddu Vada being made. So she opted for this tasty fritters, though it's deep fried I guess you can indulge one in a while. 

Today being Sunday kids have been enjoying their holiday, it's been a lazy day all together. Not much of cooking done, as we went for fresh salad and simple rasam. After the heavy festival eating, I felt this simple meal was refreshing.

Moong Dal Carrot Vada | Pesara pappu Carrot Vada

Ingredients Needed

Split Yellow Moong Dal / Pesara pappu -  1 cup
Carrot - 2 medium, grated
Onion - 1 medium
Coriander leaves
Curry leaves
Salt to taste

To be ground :
Garlic - 1/2" , Green Chilies 2 nos, Whole Cumin seeds - 1 tsp

How to make Moong Dal Carrot Fritters

Soak the moong dal for 2 hrs. Drain and grind it coarsely.

Mix in grated carrot, finely chopped onions, finely chopped coriander leaves and curry leaves, salt and the ground paste.

Heat a pan with enough oil to deep fry.

Drop in balls, or flatten as a discs. Cook on all sides, drain on a kitchen towel.

Uddi Bonda | Urad Dal Fritters

Urad Dal / Uddi pappu - 1 cup
Green Chillies - 3 medium
Salt to taste
Oil for deep frying

How to make Uddi Bonda

Soak the Urad dal for 2 hrs, drain on a colander.

In a mixer, take the green chilies, urad dal and grind to a smooth mix. Add salt.

Heat a pan with oil, scoop in balls and gently drop into hot oil. Cook on all sides by turning it around.

Drain on Kitchen towels.

Notes: Finely chopped onions, coriander leaves and curry leaves can also be added.

Coconut Vada | Coconut Fritters Indian Style

It's been so hot this entire week, you can imagine how hot if 6.30 am looks 10 am. So it's been such a pleasant surprise to have the sudden showers blessing us. Since last night it's been raining and the city dwellers were in for a nice day. Most of them enjoyed the entire day by going out and I am sure it will continue so for couple of days. I dread the hot summer again.

Today being a holiday for the boys, they were out of ideas on how to spend the whole day. Athamma was worried how they will manage their summer vacation that will soon start shortly. Though they look short of ideas, you will be impressed on how they keep themselves so well occupied. Peddu made his breakfast clear saying he wants Appam, while Chinnu wanted Chocos, their latest addiction. Seeing him opt for that, Peddu cancelled his order and wanted the same as his brother.

Konda has thought them to say "Order Order" when they all sit down to eat. Which only happens for couple of dishes. Rest you can either see Athamma running around or me doing the honours of feeding them. They eat themselves only if its appams and when one is done, they will call out Order Order, they even tip me after their meal. So it's kind of fun to see how they go about. 

Coming to recipe today, since it's raining, I thought I might post this deep fried delight. An innovative dish that Athamma thought of and we ended up making it often.

It's made with Freshly grated Coconut with Besan and spices. You can shallow fry it, if you want to avoid the oil. Else it tastes great.

Ingredients Needed:

Fresh Coconut, grated - 1 cup
Ginger Garlic paste - 1/2 tsp
Besan / Gram Flour - 3 tbsp
Red Chili powder - 1 tsp
Fried Gram flour / Putnala podi - 1 tbsp
Ajwain Seeds/ Vamu - 1/4 tsp
Bread Crumbs as required
Corn Flour - 2 tbsp
Salt to taste
Oil for deep fry

Method to prepare:

Grate the coconut fresh. Take it in a bowl along with ginger garlic paste, red chili powder, besan, fried gram flour, corn flour and Vamu. Mix well

Sprinkle little water just enough for it to hold together. Divide into equal balls, and flat them into round vadas. Make sure they hold their shape.

Roll these vadas over bread crumbs and deep fry them in hot oil. Remove these are fried on both sides

Notes:

Add just enough water for the mix to hold the shape.
In the pan, add very little oil for the vadas to be immersed and not as you deep fry your regular fritters.
You will feel the crunchy taste of Coconut when you bite into it.

Enjoy your Vadas with a cup of coffee!

Have a great weekend ahead.

Pazham Pori | Banana Fritters | Step By Step Recipe

Pazham Pori is also known as Ethakka Appam as I am told. The mere mention of Pazham Pori conjures of memories long forgotten, of childhood delights, of youthful indulgence and a mature fantasy. Well for all the adventures we have had, the conquest of Pazham Pori remains the one of the top. And my fondness to this delightful snack remains untarnished.

If you can understand how much of an impression these Pazham Pori has had on my "snack disliker" hubby dear, who  got these Nenthra Pazham, you can know how great these tastes. I think I have some deep connection with Kerala and its cuisine as I love all their dishes. Growing up on these dishes during our many summer vacations, made us love the cuisine. In fact most times I am mistaken for a malayali and addressed in Malayalam.

Ernakulam is one city we must have visited many times. When Dad was the Medical Director, in-charge of the south zone, he used to take us along for vacations. All those wonderful trips down south, surely brings back many nostalgic memories. We could be sure of getting treated to the best of what the place had to offer. And these tempting, delicious Pazham Pori were a must on the list when we visit Ernakulam. Of course Pazham Pori is available across the state, yet I can relate this more to this place than anything else.

Hubby dear just decided he wanted to eat Pazham Pori and got some Nenthra pazham. And it was pretty late when I got down making these. We managed to finish some and even had some spared for my colleagues.

How to make Pazham Pori in Step By Step

Nenthra Pazham before peeling. I used only two of these.

After peeling cut into two horizontal pieces.

Then proceed to cut vertically into thick pieces

 Like this..

Dip the banana pieces into the batter made with all purpose flour, sugar, soda.

Make sure the fruit is coated on both sides.

 Gently drop them into hot oil.

Cook on both sides.

Drain using a colander ladle.

Pazham Pori | Banana Fritters

Ingredients Needed

Nenthra Pazham - 2 big ones
Maida / All purpose flour - 3/4 cup (can use more)
Sugar - 3-4 tsp
Cooking Soda - 2 pinches
Turmeric - a tiny pinch.
Rice flour - 1 tsp (opt I didn't use this time)

Oil for deep frying

Method to prepare:

Peel the banana and cut in the middle horizontally. Then proceed to cut vertically into think strips.

Take the flour, sugar and cooking soda in a bowl, mix well. Then slowly add the water to get a thick batter. Whisk it well so that it rises up. You wont actually see the rise but you can see froth coming out during whisking.

Heat kadai/pan with oil. When it is hot, dip the banana strips into the batter on both sides and gently drop into the hot oil. If the banana/plantain is over ripe, it will slip very badly, so got to hold it tight!

Once it turns lightly golden flip to the other side. When done, remove on a kitchen towel to drain excess oil.

Notes:

• The fruit has to be ripe, yet not too ripe for you not be able to handle the cutting.
  When you use rice flour, the batter tends to come out little crispy.
  Take care not to lower your fingers close to the oil, it has happened few times to me.
• I added a bit of turmeric, in fact more than necessary by mistake during the first batch. The fritters turned out pink! So if you want a little yellow hue, add a small pinch and not more.
• The proportion of Rice flour depends on how crispy you want. Without this flour the fritters tend to become soggy. 

We enjoyed the Pazham Pori and it transported me to my childhood days. Do share which dish brings your childhood to memory!

Happy Weekend and enjoy!

Potato Peas Mini Samosa | How to make Mini Samosas | Step By Step Samosa Recipe

One of the many things I love about my city is its unpredictable weather at this time of the year. It can be quite hot during the day and without a clue it will pour. Literally the downpour will be so much that you can’t believe it was scorching hot minutes ago. Even more exciting will be when you are on a bike. One moment you can feel the sharp drops hitting you, within minutes the sky will be clear. If like me, you love getting drenched in rain, then I am sure you will love the experience. Everyday Athamma will remind me to carry my raincoat; I cite my rush hour for forgetting to carry and get back home fully drenched.

Chill rainy evenings are when you would want to bite into hot spicy pakodas or samosas. When I think of samosas, I can feel so many fond memories washing by. Samosas are my all time anytime favorite thing. Infact there was a time when if offered at anytime I was all ready to eat it.  I think I spoke about the samosas we used to get from my College canteen. The stuffing was with onions and the outer crispy part was so greasy all the time. Yet it used to be so delicious.

Infact the samosas that I used to make at home was so perfect with no traces of oil, yet I loved the shopwala one better. Don’t we all do that! That reminds me of the article I was reading today on deep frying. The article spoke about things I always believed in. It was about how deep fried food should not be actually greasy. If it is greasy, it means it wasn’t cooked at the right temperature. This applies to frying pooris too. When you get the oil to the right temperature and fry them, the pooris are never oily.

Coming to the Samosas, Amma told me that Konda asked her for Samosas and that she planned to make it for the evening. She asked me if I cared to join her in making them. Well I didn’t need a second invitation. She was planning to make Potato Peas stuffing and was remembering the many occasions when I used to make it years ago. There is no time like cooking together. I have always enjoyed cooking with Amma. The tidbits she shares, the stories we remember from past. The events related to the dish we are cooking, everything comes to mind and we ponder over each and savour the moment all over again. I am looking forward to the time when Konda will join us.

For the recipe part, we normally used to make it with only All purpose flour. But we thought we could make it a bit healthier by making it more of Wheat flour and a bit of APF in it. I am hoping to make the other stuffing we make too. Since this was for the kids, we made it mini sized ones.

I always felt it very hard to explain the folding while making a samosa, so felt taking in steps will be much clearer!

Ok I guess its enough right, I usually keep to two but these were really so cute in all different angles I couldn't resist sharing them!

Boil the potatoes and get the stuffing ready!

 Divide the dough into small equal balls.

Dust the rolling board and roll it out to a thin layer

Using a knife, cut vertical strips like this. We made even thinner ones for smaller Samosas.

Scoop a teaspoon of stuffing and place on the dough as shown in the picture.

Well one is already done!

First start from one side.

Press it done to ensure the stuffing is fully covered.

Turn to the other side like in the picture.

Continue folding the stuffing on both sides.

You will almost reach the end soon..

Then shape them correctly making sure nothing peeps out!

Heat a pan with oil. Once the oil is hot, reduce the flame, cook on low flame till it is golden in colour.

Cook on both sides.

 

Potato Peas Mini Samosas

For the dough/Outer Layer

Wheat flour – 1 cup
All purpose flour/ Maida – ½ cup
Salt to taste
Oil – 1 tsp

For the Stuffing

Potatoes – 250 gms
Fresh Peas – ½ cup
Onions – 1 medium
Cumin Seeds 1 tsp
Salt to taste
Green Chilies -1
Milk  ½ cup

For more spicy stuffing

Red chili powder ½ tsp
Garam Masala – ½ tsp
Roasted Cumin powder – ½ tsp
Oil – 1 tsp

Oil for deep frying

Method to prepare

For the dough

In a bowl, take both the flours and mix well. Slowly add water to knead into a stiff dough.  Rest it aside covering it with a wet muslin cloth.

For the stuffing

Boil potatoes to soft, peel and mash well.

Heat a pan with oil, sauté onions till brown along with green chilies. Then add the peas, fry well. Add milk and cook till the peas are done. This needs to be done in low flame.

Then add the mashed potatoes. Add the rest of the ingredients if you want to make it spicier. Simmer with lid covered for 5 mins.

Remove and allow cooling.

For making the Samosas

Pinch out small equal balls from the dough. Roll out one ball into thin layer, cut vertically into small strips of 3” as shown in the picture.

Scoop small portions of the stuffing on each layer.

Starting from the end closer to you, roll it diagonally over the stuffing. Press the sides. Then fold the layer upward towards the left. Continue doing this till you are completely done.

Then press the sides to make sure there are no openings left. Seal by pressing the sides into small triangle shape.

Meanwhile heat the pan with oil. When it reaches the right temperature, lower the flame.

Always fry in small batches so that the temperature is always at the correct degree. Gently slide the samosas and fry them in low flame. Flip and cook on both sides.

When you see that golden colour on the samosas, you are sure its done.

Drain on a kitchen towel.

Stuffing can be very innovative as per your liking. Check out the Keema Samosa that I did many months ago.

Notes: For that crispy outer layer, frying it at the right temperature is very important. If the oil is too hot, the dough tends to get browned very quickly and soggy within minutes.

The wheat flour didn’t make this any less tasty. Infact it was as crisp as the regular one. I made the stuffing spicier for hubby dear.

Kids enjoyed every bite of these mini samosas.

Konda was telling me that I should next make with other stuffing. What stuffing do you remember when you think of samosas?

Low Calorie Sambar Vada | Medu Vada in Sambar | Indian Vegan Recipes

On Friday I finally made the Khichidi again. That was after many weeks absence and thought it was agreed it was going to be part of a regular Saturday menu. I am a person who never bored with routine. But looks like even I have skipped my Menu Planners.

This results in dire situations when I am frustrated not to know what to cook. Then I had to resort to the life saver the Khichidi. Yes I am yet to blog on that. Will get around doing it someday. Having done this on Friday, I realized I had nothing for Saturday. So it was Sambar Vada. Remembering that I am planning to take up my diet regime again seriously, wanted it to be a low calorie one.

Sunday was wonderful. The breakfast was the usual Channa Masala with Poori. Then seeing Konda not being best of her health, hubby dear said he will take us for the beach. The rounds of applause and the roaring sounds that followed would lead anyone believe that we don't take the kids anywhere, which is not the case. Still with a outing in  question they were so excited.

The day promised to be very cool. So we set out for an outing to the beach. Kids took their footballs to play on the beach. Seeing the horse flying by, they were eager for a ride. But after their return, Konda and Chinnu declared they don't like the horse ride, as the ride was very fast and they were jostled so much that their back ached. Soon it turned to be very windy, we decided to leave after spending couple of hours.

Rest of the day just passed in a blur, I went to help Amma cook for our relatives who came for dinner.

Back to the Sambar Vada that I made on Saturday, I wanted to try making it low cal as it was anyways going to be dunk in Sambar.

I ground the batter for Medu Vadas same as always in the mixer. But anytime grinding it in the grinder gives you a Medu Vada that is soft and fluffy inside and crisp on the outer. I confirmed this when I ground the batter on Sunday for our guests. 

If you are using the Mixer to grind and want to use the Appey Pan for these Low calorie Vadas, I suggest you add a pinch of cooking soda or allow it to get more water once you add the onions.

I knew the difference as I made the vadas first time without any of those Onions for the kids. They were a bit hard. But since you soak these in hot sambar for a while, they become soft and taste the same, well almost!

I can vouch that the taste was the same, except you won't get to feel that crispy outer skin that you normally associate with deep fried vadas.

I will have to get around the sambar somebody other day!

Once the vadas are fried, soak them in hot Sambar for making them get all soft.

Have a great week ahead!

Baigan 65 / Baingan 65 ~ Another Deep fried Love!

It can't get any better, seriously. Since Sunday the climate has been so awesome, drizzling most of the time. How different it was from last week, it was scorching hot, sweating profusely, panting for breath. While this week it was simply too wonderful for words. Such days makes you feel lazy, wanting for scrolls that you can take imaging yourself transported to a hill station. Well reality shows something different. Our roads hardly suit for a stroll nor for a leisure outing.

Anyways we are enjoying till it lasts. We went for a Tamil movie Singam and had a fun time feeling the flying experience. Konda was literally rolling over the antics and thoroughly enjoyed herself. Luckily it didn't rain while we ventured out. With the weather being so good, you obviously crave for hot snacks. But I wasn't really in the mood to prepare anything.

It was at that strategical moment I got a call from Amma that she made something she happened to read about. On closer look, the dish surely looked like baigan and knew it was deep fried. It beckoned us to promptly eat, but I exercised a bit of refrain and controlled enough to click few pictures. So don't blame if the pictures are not clear enough to make you drool, but the taste is sure enough.

I asked Amma about the name, she said it is called Baingan 65 and has no clue why the 65 was tagging along the name. Who really cares? The dish is simple enough and tasty. Of course you got to first have deep fried love okay!

Baingan 65

To be deep fried

Brinjal - 250 gms
All purpose flour/ Maida - 3 tsp
Besan / Gram flour - 2 tsp
Red chili powder - 1 tsp
Garam Masala - 1/2 tsp
Salt to taste
Oil for deep frying

To be fried

Green chilies, slit - 3 nos
Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp
Curds/ Yogurt - 1/2 cup
Oil - 1/2 tsp

Method to prepare:

Wash and cut the brinjal into long pieces. In a bowl, mix the flours along with red chili powder, salt, turmeric, garam masala along with brinjals. Sprinkle just enough water to get the flour stick to the baigans.

Heat a pan with oil, deep fry the baigans till crispy. Remove, keep aside.

Heat another pan with 1 tsp of oil, add slit green chilies, cumin seeds. When the cumin seeds starts crackling, add the curds, and cook till it thickens. Ensure the flame is low.

When the curds is almost done, add the fried brinjals and continue cooking till it becomes dry.

Serve hot with sauce. You really don't need the sauce, believe me!
The brinjal doesn't get soft because you got to really cook the curds and then add the fried brinjal

Especially when you saute the green chilies and they almost loose their spice level, it tastes really delicious!

Best way to eat I would vouch, is to take a bite of the green chili along with the baingan!

Aloo Matar Tikkis Recipe ~ Potato Peas Patty Recipe Step by Step

I never realized so many things can happen almost at the same time. One moment you are overjoyed, the next moment upset over illness.

This is what happens when you are high or rather loose track of events. Saturday was full of spirits as I was trying to make 5 different dishes for the book, only to know kids will be back by 1 pm. You know how time flies right. And the phone never stopped ringing. Hubby dear was most amused knowing so many friends called in to wish me. While most of them were my childhood friends, it pleased me no end to realize how many wonderful friends blogging got me. I was really touched with those lovely 4 blogger friends who called me in to wish me.

After the crazy cooking, managed to click some pictures. I was really happy that the day was productive. Konda had planned for some gala birthday party. I refused to let her invite elders, saying I no longer feel like a teenage gushing to celebrate birthdays. When finally it was over, we went out for dinner and a movie in the open air. But when we came back home we saw that Peddu was not keeping well. He threw up whatever he ate which was only a cake. Sunday was spent washing up everything, finally we had to take him to hospital. Thank God, he is doing fine today. Still we didn't send him to school, and Chinnu missed him so much at school, when I called him in the morning.

Missing out on work the past two days, I really had so much to do. So I thought I will share this simple aloo matar tikkis that I made for the burgers. This recipe is something like you just make with whatever you have.

Aloo Matter Tikkis Recipe

Step by Step for those of you who wanted to learn!

Boil Potatoes, peas and Carrot till tender

  

In a pan saute onions ginger garlic paste, coriander leaves, green chili paste till done. then add boiled vegetables.

  

After the onions are browned, remove to a bowl and allow to cool. Then add about 1 tbsp of All purpose flour!

  

Mix everything together.

  

 Then make big balls and flatten over your left palm.

  

 Continue with the rest of the mix

  

You will have like this ready

  

Then make a batter of Maida/ All purpose flour with water. The batter should be quite thick. Then have bread crumbs ready.

First dip the Alo batter in the Maida batter, then press over the bread crumbs till you have the tikkis are rolled up like this!

  

 Flatten using your palms

  

 Heat a non stick pan with little oil, place the tikkis over it.

  

 

Simmer till each side is well done. It will turn colour like this.

 When you have the colour like the above you are done!

As I said this is a very simple recipe, but anybody wants in exact proportions, just leave comment, else I will assume the pictures are self explanatory!

Have a good week ahead.