Ragda patties

Ragda patties - as the name suggests are patties made of potato and the ragda is a mishmash of spicy green peas. This dish tastes good when accompanied with sweet chutney,green chutney and tossed with some sev and finely chopped onions.

Ingredients:

Boiled dry green peas --- 50 gms
juice of tamarind -------- 2 table spoons
onion paste made from 2 big onions
red chilli powder--------- 2 teaspoon
Dhania powder------------ 2 teasoon
ginger- garlic paste------ 1 teaspoon
turmeric ----------------- 1 teaspoon
coriander ------- for garnishing
salt for seasoning

Patties:( to make 10)

potato(big)------- 4
red chilli powder
dhania powder
salt to taste
ginger powder(optional)
bread crumbs (to coat the patties)
cooking medium for shallow frying.


Method:( for patties)

Boil the potato and mash them. To the mashed potato add the spices and mix them well till they bind well.

Now shape them like small cutlets and coat them with bread crumbs.

shallow fry the patties on a tava till they turn brown. Lay them on a serving tray.

Method: ragda

Soak the dry green/white peas overnight.
Boil them well in a pressure cooker.
When done mash them.

In a wok, add a table spoon of cooking oil.
Add jeera and after it splutters, add ginger- garlic paste , after some time add onion paste and saute them till they cook in the oil. Add red chilli powder, haldi, dhania powder and allow it to cook well in the oil

Now add the tamarind juice and cook for 2 minutes. Add the mashed pea puree into the wok when the raw smell of tamarind disappears and cook till done.

Serve them with green chutney( made of coriander, pudina and green chilli) and sweetchutney( made from tamarind,jaggery,dates and raisins).

serving tip:



Take a patty in a bowl/ plate
Ladle the required amount of ragda over the patty.
serve green chutney if you want it spicier or sweet chutney if you want it milder or both chutneys if you want to enjoy it spicy-sweet.
Toss over some finely chopped onions and sev and it is ready to relish

Ideal for kids parties.

(My children make this dish with my help)

Thenkuzhal

A fried teatime snack.

Ingredients:
Raw rice -----1/2 kg
Roasted urad dal ----- 200gms
Roasted sesame seeds ---------- 2 spoon
50 gms ----- dalda/butter
Salt to taste
Cooking medium for frying

Method:

Dry grind the rice and roasted urad dal together in a flour mill.
Sieve the flour. To this add salt and sesame seeds and mix it with butter/dalda and water to make a pliable dough.

Put a fistful of dough in the thenkuzhal extruder( available in the market ), extrude circular patterns in the pre -heated cooking oil and cook till the sound drowns.

Tip: Resting the dough for a longer time yields darker thenkuzhals, so mix the dough and use it immediately to have white thenkuzhals.

Somasi/karchikai

A fried sweet stuffed with sweet filling.

Ingredients:
for outer covering
Upma Rava(semolina)-- 1 cup
a pinch of salt

for filling

sugar------ 1 1/2 cup
gratings of copra( dessicated coconut) --- one
poppy seeds---- 2 table spoons
fried grams--- 1/2 cup
cashew nuts(optional)----- 5 nos ( cut into small pieces)
a teaspoon of cardamom powder

Method:
For outer covering.
Mix rava with enough water and little salt and bind into a tight dough (like chappati dough). Rest the dough for half hour.

for filling.
Dry roast poppy seeds, fried grams,copra gratings and grind them with sugar and cardamom powder in a mixie. To this add roasted cashew nuts.

Now take a big marble sized dough and roll it into a small chappati. Add enough filling into the chappati and fold into semicircles. Twist/punch the edges with your fingers to tightly bind the edges.

Deep fry them in cooking medium.







P.S: MIL says the outer covering dough was usually pounded in a pestle and mortar in olden days, so that the dough would bind well.

Avial

A medley of vegetables cooked in coconut milk. A traditional tamil dish.





Ingredients:

vegetables cut into 1" pieces lengthwise ---- 2 cups (vegetables like carrot, french beans, cluster beans,drumstick, green peas,potato, capsicum, ash gourd, pumpkin, raw banana)

Gratings of 1/2 coconut
green chillies--- 4 nos( if you want it spicier add 2 more)
jeera ---------- 2 teaspoon
curd --------- 1/2 cup( for sour taste)
edible coconut oil -- 1 table spoon(for garnishing)
salt to taste

Method:
Grind coconut gratings, jeera and green chillies in a mixer.
In a dish boil vegetables with salt.
When the vegetables are boiled, add the ground coconut mixture into the dish.
Switch off the stove when the vegetables and coconut mixture have blended.
When cool, mix in the curd into the vegetables.
Finally garnish with coconut oil.

P.S: Never reheat avial, since it has curd.Garnish it with plain coconut oil.
Vegetables like raddish,lady's finger and brinjal are not used for avial.

Thavalai adai

A traditional tiffin item with rice and dals, patted like cutlets

Thavalai adai

Ingredients:

Raw rice --- ½ cup

Parboiled rice(puzhangarisi)—1/2cup

Urad dal ----- 2 spoon

Channa dal --- ¼ cup

Tuvar dal ------1/4 cup

Dry red chilli ---- 6 nos

Grated coconut --- 4 spoon

Curry leaf ----- 1 sprig

Mustard ----- 1 tea spoon

Salt ( according to taste)

Method:

Dry grind rice, parboiled rice,dals and red chillli coarsely like rava.

Take a wok. Add a table spoon of gingelly oil and splutter mustard seeds.

To this add curry leaf, asafoetida coconut gratings and fry lightly.

Add 2 cups of water to the above along with salt.

When the water starts boiling, add the coarsely ground rice and dal mixture to make like a upma.

When done cover it with a lid.

After a resting period of 10 minutes.

Take the dough and pat like small patties or shape them like cutlets.

Put them on a pre- heated iron wok/tava( non-stick can also be used) drizzle a tea spoon of oil around the patties and cover the wok/tava with lid and cook on slow fire for 4 minutes till they turn crisp.

Flip them over for another 4 minutes until crisp and they are ready to serve.

Thavalai adai can be eaten plain or to the accompaniment of coconut chutney or any chutney of your choice.

choco-cashew katli ( micro-wave)

choco- cashew fudge for my son's birthday today.

Ingredients:

Cashew nuts ----- 2 cups
sugar ------------ 1 cup
water ------------ 1 cup
chocolate powder -- 2 table spoon

Method:

Grind 2 cups of cashewnuts into powder. (don't add water).
Microwave sugar and water in a bowl for 3 minutes or till the sugar dissolves in water.
Now add cashew powder and choco powder in the bowl and stir in the sugar solution to dissolve the lumps.
Micro wave for 3 minutes or till it bubbles up.
Now pour into a greased plate.
Cut them into fudges when cooled.

Macaroni

Macaroni in red sauce and white sauce

Ingredients:

Macaroni --- 1 packet

Red sauce:

Puree of 2 tomaotes

1 medium sized capsicum

1 medium onion

1 crushed garlic pod

Sugar 1 tea spoon

2 packets of chilli flakes( generally comes with home delivery pizzas,store them for use)

2 packets of oregano

Olive oil/butter

Salt to taste

White sauce

Cheese ---- ¼ cup grated

Milk ---- ½ cup

Maida ---- 1 table spoon

Black Pepper powder --- 1 table spoon

Butter/olive oil

Method:

To make red sauce:

Take a table spoon of olive oil(butter) and when heated sauté finely chopped onion and capsicum.

To this add a crushed garlic and fry lightly.

Add tomato puree and sugar to the above mixture and cook well till all the ingredients bind.

Add chilli flakes,salt and oregano and cook for 2 minutes and your red sauce is done.

To make white sauce:

Melt a table spoon of butter on a low flame.

Add the maida and roast lightly.

Add milk to the maida and stir without forming lumps.

Add cheese to the above mixture till the cheese melts into the mixture. Spice the sauce with pepper

Cook macaroni in boiling water till done. Drain the water and wash them with cool water.

Separate the cooked macaroni into two portions.

Mix one portion with the red sauce and the other portion with white sauce.

Recipe courtesy: My 14 year old daughter

P.S: My daughter is an avid follower of cookery shows. She has tweaked and twisted to suit her taste.