Beach sundal ( a lentil stirfry sold in beach)

Lentil stirfries are called 'Sundal' in tamil. This  protein packed dish is famously made at home with different lentils on the 9 days of  Navaratri. They are made with moong dal, channa dal, chick peas etc each one on different days of the  9 days  but the most famous sundal outside home is on the Beaches of  Madras. and this is called Maanga Battani Sundal.

Ingredients:

soaked and boiled green peas - 1 cup

finely Chopped mangoes( totapuri) -- 1/4 cup

grated coconut - 1 tablespoon

grated carrot  - 2 table spoons

grated ginger - 1 tea spoon

green chillies finely chopped /ground from 2 nos

( or you can use chilli powder too to suit your taste)

salt to taste

coriander for garnishing

For tempering;

oil  - 1 table spoon

mustard - 1 tea spoon 

a pinch of asafoetida

Method

Heat a pan, add a table spoon of oil.
add mustard and allow it to splutter in the heat. Add, hing, green chillies, ginger  and stir fry.
now add the boiled peas( drain excess water)  and stir fry till the mixture is dry. Add salt to taste and mix well.
( if you are using dry chillli powder...do it now)

Switch off stove and mix in the remaining ingredients like chopped mangoes, grated carrot, and coconut. Garnish it with coriander and some raw ginger,   tastes  best when served in paper cones like in beach:)  I love the tangy taste of mango and the zing of raw ginger with every bite of soft peas.

                               garnished with home grown organic coriander

Vada pav

 Vada pav - the indian version of burger has many   kiosks now .  The vadas in the kiosks are fried under automated  fryer pans , stowed into the buns.  But for me,  their tastes  nowhere matches the chachaji's bandi where the vadas are handmade right in front of you.

Chachaji's bandi @ Sindhi colony is where i first discovered this famous street food of Mumbai. It was one of our weekend outings and when it was time to return back home we stopped at Sindhi colony. We found a  bandiwallah doing brisk business. Chachaji and his wife who is beautiful and neatly dressed, work like an automated machine catering to the various customers around the bandi.  While chachaji is busy chopping onions /making hot vadas or toasting  the buns, it is  aunty  who stows the vada into the  pav buns  slots which are  slathered with garlic chutney,  tops it with chopped onions and hands over to the customers. At any point there are nearly 20 customers around the bandi that they wind up their business by 8 or 8.30.

The vada pav's are delicious and filling . Just one will do but if i still feel  like eating one more then i opt for the Dabeli. The dabeli story i will tell later now i will share i how made the vada pav's at home.

Ingredients:

1 pav bun packet

 for Garlic chutney:

2-3 table spoons of chopped garlic

2-3 roasted dry red chillies or chilli powder  1 teaspoon

1/2 cup copra powder

salt to taste

Method:

Grind all the above ingredients to chutney consistency

For the vadas:

  Ingredients for filling: 

6 Potatoes

2 green chillies

salt to taste

coriander chopped -2 tablespoons

mustard for seasoning

haldi- a tsp

asafoetida - 1/2 tsp

Method:

Take a kadai and heat it. Add a tablespoon of oil,  when it heats oil, add mustard. let it crackle.

Then add chillies and asafoetida. follow it up with haldi and salt. 

next add the mashed potatoes and blend all the ingredients.

Finally add the coriander and allow the curry to cool.

When cool, take equal proportions and roll them into a lemon sized ball.

for batter

1 cup of besan 

a pinch of baking soda

salt to taste

a spoon of hot oil

water to mix

To make batter

Take a bowl. Add besan, baking soda and salt and mix well. To this add a spoon of hot oil. Mix them all with water to make a besan batter.

Method For vada

Now take the  lemon sized potato balls and dip them into the batter till they are coated well. Deep fry them in a kadai of  hot oil till they turn golden. The vadas are now ready.

Assembly of vada and pav.

Take a pav and make a slit big enough to slide the pav. Toast them on a tava with some butter without breaking them into two.

Smear the red chutney into the slot and stow in a vada

Garnish it with finely chopped onions.

                                       

Stuffed capsicum fritters

One of my favorite food memories takes me to sastri nagar near yediyur lake in bangalore.  There was this bhajjiwalah who used to sell fritters on the road side at 6 in the evening.  Tempo travellers, mini office buses and cars would stop at this place on their way back from work. He would make hot fritters which complemented the then cool climes of bangalore.

I tried to recreate those bhajjis at home on a recent winter evening:
:
 Ingredients:
Capsicum/bell peppers (small size) - 6 nos

for the outer covering:
 Besan - 2cups
rice flour - 1 cup
salt to taste
chilli powder to taste
hing powder a pinch.

Add all the above ( except bell pepper) and mix it with water to make a  batter of pouring consistency. It should be thicker than dosa dough so that it can stick on the shiny surface of the capsicum.

For the filling:
Boiled and peeled potatoes - 6 no
chilli powder - 1 teaspoon
dhaniya powder- 1/2 teaspoon
salt to taste
chaat powder - 1/2 teaspoon
amchur powder - 1/2 teaspoon( i used amla powder)
ginger powder or finely chopped ginger - 1 teaspoon

Mash the potatoes and mix in all the ingredients  to make the filling and keep aside

For garnishing:
finely chopped onions - 4 table spoons
grated carrots - 2 tablespoons
chopped coriander
chaat masala to taste

Method:

1. Make a small square from the sides of the capsicum, scoop out the seeds and smear some chat powder inside.
2. Now, put in the filling. Cover it with the cut square, dip it in the batter and fry in the cooking medium till done.
3. Serve hot by chopping it and garnish it with chat powder, finely chopped onions, grated carrots and coriander.