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.

Arikkin Nada

The reason it is called arikkin nada is because in olden days, there used to be a lantern called Hurricane lamp. This lamp had a wick shaped like a flat ribbon and this wick looks like a tape( nada )and so arikkin is the tamil version of hurricane. Arikkin nada is also called as Ribbon pakoda or nada thenkuzhal. An easy to make snack served usually during the 3'o clock tea time at tambrahm houses, but it is an any time snack.

Ingredients:
rice flour: 2 cups
Besan: 1 cup
hing powder/hing dissolved water - 1/2 tsp
salt to taste
chilli powder to taste
butter - 50gms
Oil for frying:

Method:
Mix all the ingredients( except oil) and make a dough of chappati consistency.
Take a dollop of dough and put it into extruder which has the mould of ribbon pakoda
Extrude in circular motion in the heated oil. Fry till the sound of the oil subsides. flip it over and remove it when it turns golden brown.

variations: You can also variate by substituting 1 cup of besan with ragi flour/soya flour.

Moist flax cake

My daughter wanted to celebrate my son's b'day with the new Ibaco icecream cake. She initially was told by the store owner it costed Rs 300/kg which was way cheaper than her Melanie aunty's Chocalate haven cake of rs 450/kg. Next day,  when she went to place the order at Ibaco, she was told it would  cost 540/kg. She immediately came back home and said she would order cupcakes from Melanie aunty. We anyways were not throwing a birthday party(pre-board time)  and she felt  4 pieces at rs 60 each and that would suffice for the family. 

I and my husband felt Melanies cakes were too sweet, creamy and moreover we had to travel to her place to get the cake. My husband instead suggested we would order the cake from Vacs.( they are superspecialist  and their cakes  are to die for)

All the  above discussions were two days prior to the birthday and finally all of us forget about the cake due to the pre-board preparations or whatever reason like  last minute shopping for dresses or may be because of the late night outing.

Finally, on the birthday moning, my husband left for his morning walk and daughter and son were fast asleep. I decided to get into the kitchen to bake a cake.  I flipped through my cake journal to narrow down on the choice. Rainbow cakes was my ideal choice, but i did'nt have many colors, No ingredients to make the black forest cake or the plum cake. I had  almonds to make the almond cake but no other ingredients like milk maid. I had to make do with the available ingredients, since most stores are closed at 6a.m.  And so. I started substituting most ingredients and finally ended with my own innovation and named it the  Moist  flax  cake. Now over to the recipe,

Ingredients:

1. Aashirwad Multi grain flour  (to which I added a spoon of sprouted soya flour and barley flour)– 1 cup
2. Powdered Demerera sugar – 1 cup( you can even use ordinary sugar)
3. Baking soda – 1 tsp
4. Olive oil – ½ cup
5. 2 tspoons flax seed powder ground with 6 spoons of water
6. Raisins – 2 teaspoons(optional)( you can add walnuts, cashew nut or almond too)
7. Vanilla essence to suit your taste
8. Sprinkles for decoration

Method:

1. Sieve  the multigrain flour to which baking soda and cinnamon powder has been added.
2. In a separate bowl mix the demerera sugar , olive oil, vanilla essence and flax seed and beat well. 
3. Now fold in the sieved flour into the sugar mixture and beat well till they blend.
4. Put the mixture in a greased  cake tray and place it in a microwave oven for 10- 12 minutes. While it is half way through around 5 minutes, sprinkle the raisins
5. Poke the cake with a skewer to check if done.
6. When done, put it on a plate and decorate with rainbow sprinkles or any other topping like powdered sugar or sweetened cream etc.

                                         multigrain, barley, soya flours along with baking soda and cinnamon powder

                                        The end product taken side ways

                                                                 top view

                                                              half gone

                                        can you see the texture? not too spongy, not too crumbly but soft and moist.

The cake lost its shape while I tried to topple it on a plate and was not spongy like the regular cake but it was moist. It was'nt beautiful like Ibaco's,chocolate haven or vac's cakes but looked rustic and homemade. Tastewise it was simply great, not too sweet, not too crumbly, not loaded with fat. Moreover there was health in every bite and it makes a great tea cake minus the cream.  Most of all, I had the satisfaction of churning out a simple cake with some healthy ingredients in a normal microwave oven  just before the teens woke up.

Mixed Vegetable sizzler

Mixed Vegetable Sizzler is one of our favorite appetizers. This when accompanied with toasted bread or noodles becomes our main dish too. This also tastes good with rice.

Ingredients:

Beans  - 100 gms( cut to 1" piece)
Carrots - 100 gms (cut to 1"Piece)
Potato - 4 ( 1 1/2 " piece
Capsicum (red, yellow and green) - 1 each cut length wise like fingers "
sweet potato - 1" (10 no)
Cauliflower - deflowered, blanched in boiling salt water. Drain the water and keep aside.

 Big cabbage leaf - 4 numbers
Pineapple -   1. 1/2 inch piece (10 no)
BBQ sauce -  4-5 table spoon

Toasted bread - 4 slices
Iron tava*

1) Steam the beans, carrots, potato and sweet potato .
2) Deep fry the potato and sweet potato and keep aside

In a tava, add one tablespoon of cooking oil and saute the steamed vegetables till it is dry. Saute the cauliflower similarly till it is slightly grilled.  Season them with salt and pepper.

Also Season the potato and sweet potato with salt and pepper.

Heat the iron dosa tava on a high flame and brush the surface with cooking medium. Place the cabbage leaves till they llightly charr. Place the sauted beans, carrot and cauliflower. Arrange the potato and sweet potato on one side.  Remove them from stove. While serving drizzle the BBQ sauce over the veggies. The iron tava sizzles when sauce is poured over it.

Serve it with toasted bread.
*I don't have a sizzler plate and so used the iron tava.

Homemade chocolates

Ingredients:

1/2 kg Morde chocolate bar
a few almonds


Fillings:

For Ganache:
Cream  - 1/2 cup
grated chocolate - 1/2 cup
a pinch of salt

For finishing
Mould plate
chocolate wrapping foils
a few almonds
Method:
Grate the chocolate bar.

Morde or selborne chocolate bar( available in market)

Choclate gratings

                                                        Melted in the double boiler method

Melt the gratings in a double boiler. Heat water in a vessel. In another vessel add the grated chocolate and place it in the vessel with hot water.

When the chocolate melts, pour them in the moulds of your choice readily available in market or spoon them on a greasy surface like plate to form your own patterns.


To make a ganache chocolate filling

Heat the cream, add the grated chocolate and salt to make a ganache mixture.

Pour the melted chocolate to fill half  the mold, place a spoon of ganache and cover again with the melted chocolate.

                                 Heat the cream( amul) or even the home collected cream

                                               

                                      Pour the half cup heated cream over half cup chocolate gratings and add a pinch of salt

                                           Mix well to make a creamy ganache


To make an almond filling chocolate.

Pour the melted chocolate  in the mould, place an almond and cover the almond with some more melted chocolate.

                                                           chocolate with almond filling

                                                    Chocolate with ganache filling

           

The chocolatiers licking their creations

                                                              The chocolates after getting dislodged

WRAPPING

 When cooled, dislodge the chocolates form the mould and wrap them in the colorful foils of your choice.
The above chocolatey affair was done by my son and daughter with a lot of disagreements, kicks, licks, mess and love thrown in.

                                              Being wrapped

                                                           Grab them now before its gone

Bonus:
The end product was awesome no doubt. I relished the chocolates made by my children and went to sit on the  dining chair when i found a blob of gooey melted chocolate on the upholtery.

When i showed this to my son, my son said. Don't worry ma, I will give you the upholstery polisher's number. He will do the shampooing job.

Wheat carrot cake with flax seeds

Ingredients
2 cup multigrain wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
3/4 cup olive oil
3/4 cup honey
flax seed paster* (instead of 4 eggs)
2 cups grated carrots
1 cup unsweetened crushed canned pineapple, drained(optional)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Directions:
Combine dry ingredients( except flax seeds)
Add oil, honey and flax seeds mix well
Stir in remaining ingredients
Bake the mixture to eat a guilt free cake loaded with goodness of honey, carrots, wheat and flax seeds.

The cake was moist and spongy. forgot to click in the beginning, only the crumbs are what you see

To replace one egg:
1 tablespoon ground flaxseeds
3 tablespoons water (or other liquid)

Stir together until thick and gelatinous.

You can also use whole flaxseeds:

1 tablespoon whole flaxseeds
4 tablespoons water (or other liquid)

Process seeds in a blender to a fine meal, add liquid and blend well.

You can make a bigger batch by increasing the ingredient amounts. Store in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.

Thakkali thokku

Thakkali thokku is a tangy and spicy traditional saucy pickle made of tomatoes. Best when mixed with rice. tastes good with curd rice, dosa , roti or idli. It can be used as a bread spread too. my mom is a specialist in making oorgais( pickles) and thokkus( chutneys) . 

Ingredients:

Tomatoes  - 1 kg( chopped and ground to pulp)
thick tamarind juice  (extracted from lemon size)
ginger(optional) -  2" piece chopped and ground
red chilli powder - 2 1/2  table spoon Or according to the degree of spiciness can be increased or decreased.
asafoetida - 1/2 teaspoon
fenugreek seeds  - 1 teaspoon(roasted and ground)
turmeric powder - 1/2 teaspoon
salt to taste
Gingelly oil -- for cooking 3 table spoon
Jaggery(optional) - To balance the taste of spice,tanginess, and salt

Method:
Grind tomatoes,  tamarind and ginger in a mixer.
Heat a kadai and add gingelly oil, when it reaches smoking point,Add the ground mixture and saute for a while in the oil.
Now add turmeric, and redchilli powder.
When the sauce bubbles add salt, roasted fenugreek and asafoetida powder and allow it to thicken  till the sauce leaves the sides and the oil floats to the top.
Allow the mixture to cool and transfer it to a clean dry container.

Has a shelf life of more than 3 months when cooked in oil properly and stored in an airtight container



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