Beans n Sweet Corn Fritters with some Veggies.

Last week, i posted some similar kind of americanized dish--guess wat?? its Bean Pockets. This time i came up with different kind of filling, i.e, entirely indianized. For this dish, i used 1: 1 ratio of beans n sweetcorn. Last Saturday, we invited Vishnu's frnd Jon to dinner. He like Indian food very much. So, i made this as an appetizer along with main course as lamb curry with a side of pulkas n of-course my fav Rasmalai as desert.They jus loved Rasmalai. He even took some to his home. 
Coming to recipe, to make it indianized, i added onions n spices. Instead of using entirely beans, this time i tried with a combination of beans n sweetcorn. It tasted even better than the beans pockets. Spicy on one side, little bit sweetens on other side, made this fritters fabulous. The main thing i like about this beans n corn fritters is, they wnt absorb oil-which makes a healthy dish n as we all know the imp of beans n corn in our daily life. Kids sure will love this beans n corn fritters as they are served on a bed of colorful veggies.

So here is the recipe for hearty healthy beans n corn fritters:
Ingredients:
Canned Pinto Beans: 1 
Canned Corn: 1(U can use fresh corn too, jus to make it simpler i used canned beans n corn)Tortilla's: 10(1 packet)
Onions: 1, small chopped finely
Green chili: 2-3, finely chopped
Cumin seeds: 2 tsp
Fennel seeds: 1 tsp
Chili powder: 1 tsp
Coriander powder: 1tsp
Garam masala: 1/2 tsp
salt: to taste
Oil: 1 tsp
Oil: To deep fry
Corn Flour/Maida: 1tbsp
Water: As needed


For topping: 
Cheddar cheese
Sour Cream
Lettuce: chopped 
Carrot: sliced
Cucumber: sliced


Preparation:
1) Strain the water from canned beans. Now grind the beans into a coarse paste without adding any water. Don't grind them into a paste. If you can mash them with hand, go ahead n do that. Mashing or grinding beans helps you to make pockets out of tortilla's n also easy to  eat.
2) Now heat oil in a pan. add cumin seeds n fro for 30 secs. Now add onions n green chili. cook for 3-4 mins or until onions are transparent. Stir in fennel seeds, n spices. Fry for 1min. Now add pureed beans n corn to make our filling for pockets. Cook for 10 mins or until water evaporates. The filling has to be dry, otherwise u cannot make pockets n while frying  filling will get double in size. So filling will come out of the pockets.
Making beans paste dry is very important.

3) Now warm tortilla's. This is important because, tortilla' s from packet are dry n you can't make pockets out of dry tortilla's. so jus warm them as per package instructions or jus heat them as you do for chapathi. Don't brown them. Jus heat for 1min or until they are soft enough to make pockets.
4) Make a paste out of Corn flour/ maida by adding little water n keep aside.
5) Now take a scoop of beans n corn paste n put in center of tortilla. 
6) Fold one end of tortilla to the center. Now apply Flour paste all around the edges of tortilla. 
7) Now fold the sharp edges of tortilla towards center. Apply paste as needed.
8) Now cover the center with the other end of tortilla.
All i am trying to say is, jus fold the tortilla in envelope style.
9) Repeat the same process for remaining
10) Now heat oil for deep frying at medium heat.
11) Fry one at a time for 2 mins on each side or until golden color.Repeat the process for remaining.

Serve this delicious n healthy Beans n sweet corn Fritters on the bed of lettuce served along with carrots n cucumbers topped with cheese n sour cream. If u wish u can top them with jalapeños too. 


Here you can check for another kind of filling for beans pockets

This is going to be a part of My legume love affair guest hosted by Ruchikaooks started by Susan and also to my own event Vegetable marathon-Beans

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Bean Pockets

Hello Guys,
Its been a while that i posted a recipe on my blog.. Been busy with some other stuff going on in my life,,
These Bean Pockets are my fav n been sitting in draft since 3 weeks. Sound's healthy, its very simple to make these Pockets. Instead of soaking overnight n then boiling n straining, i used canned beans n made this heart healthy n tasty pockets in minutes..
These simple bean pockets say NO to Soaking, Boiling &Straining,and also NO to Mixing Dough, Rolling Dough.
To make the process simpler use canned beans n a packet of tortilla's. Thats it u r ready to go..

Ingredients:
Canned Beans: 2-1big+1 small ( I used 1 400g Great Value Chili Kidney Beans n 1 250g Pinto beans)
Tortilla's: 10(1 packet)
Oil: To deep fry
Corn Flour/Maida: 1tbsp
Water: As needed

Preparation:
1) Strain the water from canned beans. Now grind the beans into a coarse paste without adding any water. Don't grind them into a paste. If you can mash them with hand, go ahead n do that. Mashing or grinding beans helps you to make pockets out of tortilla's n also easy to  eat.
2) Now heat a pan n add mashed beans. Cook for 10 mins or until water evaporates from beans.
Making beans paste dry is very important.
3) Now warm tortilla's. This is important because, tortilla' s form packet are dry n you can't make pockets out of dry tortilla's. so jus warm them as per package instructions or jus heat them as you do for chapathi. Don't brown them. Jus heat for 1min or until they are soft enough to make pockets.
4) Make a paste out of Corn flour/ maida by adding little water n keep aside.
5) Now take a scoop of beans paste n put in center of tortilla. 
6) Fold one end of tortilla to the center. Now apply Flour paste all around the edges of tortilla. 
7) Now fold the sharp edges of tortilla towards center. Apply paste as needed.
8) Now cover the center with the other end of tortilla.
All i am trying to say is, jus fold the tortilla in envelope style.
9) Repeat the same process for remaining
10) Now heat oil for deep frying at 400degrees.
11) Fry one at a time for 2 mins on each side or until golden color.Repeat the process for remaining.

One thing i love about these pockets is , they don't absorb oil. 
Serve this crispy, healthy n yummy beans with ketchup or eat as it is..


This is going to be a part of 
Sunday snacks-Healthy snacks of Dilse hosted by Divya
My legume love affair guest hosted by Ruchikaooks started by Susan and also to Sri Lekha's SWEETS AND SAVORIES FOR DIWALI last but not least to my own event Vegetable Marathon-Beans

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Pesarattu/Moong Dal Dosa

Pesarattu is  a typical Andhra dish..Basically it is made with moong dal n rice soaked over night. This dosa doesn't need fermenting of batter. Although there are many versions for making moon dal dosa, popular one is Pesarattu topped with onions, coriander leaves, finely chopped green chili n peanuts served along with Upma n Ginger Chutney..This type of dosa has popular name called MLA Pesarattu. I don't know exactly, why they gave this name. But it tells the importance of Pesarattu in Andhra region..place..
When i was in undergrad, while CBN is C.M. of AP,there was a project to project Pesarattu as a Andhra's identity in culinary filed..

"If Tamil Nadu can bring imageries of soft white idlis to the mind, Kerala fluffy `idiappams' and Karnataka sweet n' sour `bisi bele bath', we thought why not Andhra Pradesh have its own distinct culinary identity," says Mr. Rao. After all, "pesarattu is the Andhra contribution to the varied and stimulating Indian cuisine."

Ingredients:

Moong dal: 3 cups

Rice: 1/2 cup

Ginger: 2 inch piece

Green Chili: 5-6, If green chili is spicy one lower the number..

Salt: To taste

Cilantro: 1/2 cup chopped

Dry Roasted Peanuts: 1/4 cup,, broken pieces

Green Chili: 2, finely chopped

Preparation:

1) Wash and Soak moong dal n rice in plenty of water overnight.

2) In morning, grind it to a smooth batter by adding ginger n green chili's along with little water. Batter should be medium thick. Don't make it watery.. Keep it aside.

3) Now heat a griddle at 400 degrees F. to check whether griddle is hot or not-- sprinkle some water. if it sizzles into bubbles then tawa is ready.

4) Now pour 1 ladle of batter onto hot griddle. In a circular motion, spread the batter, making into a thin circle. The thinner-the better for dosa

5) Sprinkle some oil around 1 tsp starting from edges to center. When the edges are getting brown, with flat spatula reverse it n cook the other side( this will be back of the dosa). Frying dosa takes appx 2 mins on both sides

6)Now again reverse it top n sprinkle cilantro, peanuts n green chili. 

7) Now spread 1 scoop of Upma, on one half of dosa. By using flat spatula, cover the Upma with  the other half. Press it gently n remove on to a plate.

8) Repeat the same procedure for remaining batter.

Serve Hot MLA Pesarattu with Ginger Chutney.

Tips:

* Use cast iron or non stick Griddle

* If making Upma, make it r8 before you start making dosa's. Add 1/2 -1 cup more water than usual. add 1tsp of gee to the Upma n mix well. For 1 cup semolina use 3-4 cups of water. 

This is going to be a part of Cooking Basics Event of Mahima's Kitchen, Jihva- Break fast  guest hosted by Veggie platter of suma started by Indira of Mahanandi, MLLA 21 of Mirch Masala started by well Seasoned Cook,  Kids Delight- Whole some Break fast event by srivalli of spice your lifeand Vegetable Marathon- Beans event  hosted by me..

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Methi Bajji

Yesterday, i made this methi bajji as our evening snack.. Even though this snack is deep fried, it falls under healthy food. As, methi is bitter in taste, it helps to clean the digestive system..It is also a good source of  minerals like potassium, calcium, and iron. Fresh leaves comprises 3 to 5 % of protein. 

Instead of consuming methi with dal or as a curry, try this methi bajji. Methi bajji will be a gr8 substitute for deep fried snacks n its healthy too. 

Ingredients:
Methi: 1cup-fresh-tightly packed or 1 cup frozen
Gram flour: 11/2 cup
Rice flour: 1 tbsp
Coriander seeds: 1 tsp, make it into rough coarse powder
Ajwain/Carom seeds: 1/2 tsp, powdered
Cumin seeds: 1tsp
Green Chili: 2-3, finely chopped
Red chili Powder: 1tsp
Coriander n cumin powder: 1 tsp
Salt: To taste
Oil: to fry.


Preparation:
1) In a bowl, mix all the ingredients except oil with water adding little by little. Make it into a thick batter, like dosa batter. U should be able to drop round balls into oil... Dont make it either too thick or to watery.
2) Heat oil at medium heat. Drop small dumplings of batter into hot oil. Fry until golden brown. With a slotted spoon drain oil n place them on paper towels.

Enjoy methi bajji with chili or tomato sauce


These is going to be a part of  For the Health Nut Challenge 4 : Bitter Better Health of  Health Nut

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Samosa

Samosa is the most popular India's snack or appetizer all over the world. samosa doesn't need any introduction, as it is a fav for many people...Samosas are available everywhere and  varies wherever  it is found. You can make Samosas in so many different ways. Samosa's can be made either by deep frying or by baking . For samosa's,  u can make the crust all by yourself or u can but them from store.  If u wish to deep fry samosa's, then use Filo pastry or if u want to bake them, use Puff pastry. Baking samosa's is easer n healthier..

Ingredients: 

For Crust:

All Purpose Flour: 2 cups

Sooji/ Semolina : 2 tbsp

Ajwain Seeds: 1 tsp

Salt: 1 tsp

Water: 1 cup luke warm 

Oil: 1 tbsp

For Filling:

Potato: 4 large, boiled n chopped into small cubes

Green Peas: 1 cup, frozen

Cashews: 1tbsp, broken

Green Chili: 2, chopped finely

Cumin Seeds: 1 tsp

Coriander Powder: 1 tsp

Garam Masala: 1 tsp

Amchur Powder: 1 tsp

Oil: 1 tbsp

Salt: 1 tsp

Lemon Juice: 2 tsp

Preparation:

For crust:

1) Mix all the ingredients for crust by adding water little by little.

2) Knead the dough for about 2-3 mins to make it smooth.

3) Cover it with damp cloth n keep it aside for 15-20 mins.

For Filling:

4) In a pan heat oil, add cumin seeds.

5) Add green peas n green chili's. Fry for 1 min.

6) In a bowl mix all the spices n powders with little water. Add this to green peas..

7) Add potatoes n mix well. Fry for 5 mins. 

8) Adjust spices n amchur powder according to your taste. Let it cool.

Lets step to the main part: Making Samosa:

9) Take a 1/2 cup of water n keep aside.

10) Knead the dough for 2 mins. Take some all purpose flour into a plate n keep it aside

11) Now take  a portion of dough and dust it with flour. Roll it into a circle, jus like chapathi.

12) Cut into 4 equal portions.

13) Now apply water all along the edges of a single portion. 

14) Now make a triangle by holding the edges of long side together by overlapping the edges.

15) Now stuff it with filling.

16) Cover the top of samosa with third edge i.e top. Make sure it is completely sealed without any gaps.

17) Repeat the process for remaining dough..

18) Heat oil for deep frying.

19) Now drop 2-3  samosa's at a time. Fry until golden brown in  color on both sides at  medium heat.

Enjoy this authentic Indian snack -Samosa with green chutney or ketchup..

Tips:

1-To make bigger samosa's, jus cut the circle into two portions.

2-Dont fry on high heat.

3-Always cover dough n samosa's with damp cloth before frying.

4- To store samosa's for longer time, fry samosa's until u saw light brown spots coming up. Remove imm n place them on paper towels. 

Once cooled, wrap them in plastic wrap individually. These helps samosa's stay fresh n doesn't stick together. If u put them in a ziploc bag without wrapping, when you thaw samosa's, dough will be little watery n saggy. So wrap n store them in ziploc bags n freeze. Can be stored upto 1 month.

Thaw them for 4 hours before u fry..

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Gram Flour Pakora

Gram Flour Pakora is so simple to make yet gives very rich delicious taste to fry's.. They are not good as snacks, as gram flour causes gas..

Ingredients:
Gram flour: 1 cup
Rice flour: 1tbsp
Chili Powder: 1tsp
Salt: 1tsp
Coriander Powder: 1tsp
Garam Masala: 1tsp
Food Color: 1tsp( optional)

Preparation:
1) Mix all the ingredients in a bowl with water. Mix without any lumps until u get a thick butter milk consistency.

2) Heat oil for deep frying in a deep pan.
3) Drop Gram Flour batter dumplings little by little in hot oil.
4) Fry for 2 mins or until golden brown..Strain them onto a paper towel..
5) Repeat the same process for remaining batter.
6) Store in a air tight container for up to 2 weeks in fridge.

Add Gram flour pakora to fry's for that restaurant effect.

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Naked Onion Pakoda/Pakora

Its cold outside n hungry stomach's are craving for some hot food. I thought of frying pre-prepared samosa's from my fridge. But, Vishnu asked for onion pakora. 
Everyone loves pakoda's or pakora's. Onion Pakora is made in a variety of consistency's. But the popular variety is  thin onion pakora n i call it as --"Naked Onion Pakora" . This pakora is very thin in consistency yet very crunchy..Most of the sweet shops in India will have this onion pakora.
Onion pakora is so easy to make. It can be ready in 15-20 mins.. Spicy in taste, goes very well with tea or coffee or as jus pakora's.


Ingredients:
Onion: 1 Big, finely sliced
Green chili: 1, finely chopped
Gram flour: 3 tbsp
Rice flour: 3 tsp
Ginger Garlic Paste: 2 tsp
Red chili powder: 1-2 tsp
Salt: 1tsp
Coriander Powder: 1tsp
Garam Masala: 1tsp
Turmeric: 1/2 tsp


Preparation:
1) Cut onion into thin slices. Spread  them on to a plate. Sprinkle some salt over the onions. Leave for 10 mins.

2) Sprinkle all the ingredients except gram n rice flour over sliced onions. Mix n leave it for 2 mins.

3) Heat oil for deep frying.
4) Add gram flour n rice flour to onion's. Adjust flours to the water content in onion. Don't add water to mix.  Mix flour with the water in onion itself. You should mix onions n gram flour in such a way that u have to see clearly onion strips.

5) Drop onion batter  into hot oil as small dumplings. Fry for 2-3 mins or until they are brown in color . Strain them n place on a paper towel to drain excess oil.

6) Repeat the same process for remaining onion batter.

Enjoy this spicy crunchy onion pakora with tea or coffee.


This is going to be a part of Easy Crafts Tea Time Snack.

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Bread Fritters

This is my favorite snack when it comes to tea time..I like it for 3 reasons.. It tastes very good-- Easy to make -- and the important thing is---  a healthy snack. The best part of this Bread Fritters is-- it doesn't absorb any oil.

All you need to have, to prepare this delicious healthy snack is bread , spinach and cilantro with a touch of chili powder n salt and the main base ingredients -- Gram flour n Rice flour.
Here is the recipe for Bread Fritters.
Ingredients: 
Bread: 3 Slices
Cilantro: 1cup, Finely chopped
Oil for deep frying
Spinach: 1/2 cup finely chopped(optional)
For batter:
Gram flour: 11/2 cup
Rice flour: 2tbsp
Chili powder: 1tsp
Salt: to taste
Coriander seeds: 2tsp, Make into a coarse powder, don't use pre made powder. it doesn't taste good.
Ground Pepper: 1tsp
Water1-2 cups

Preparation:
1) In a heavy bottom pan, heat oil at 350 degrees.
2) Remove the edges from bread n cut into half.
3) In a bowl mix all the ingredients for batter. Mix well without any lumps by adding water little by little. Don't make  it too watery or to thick. Batter should be like,when u immerse bread slice, it has to stick to bread.

4) Stir in cilantro and spinach
5 Take a halved bread slice and coat with batter on both sides.
6) Check whether oil is hot or not by dropping a drop of batter. If it comes up imm then oil is hot enough for frying.
7) Carefully drop a battered bread slice in hot oil. Fry for 2 mins or until it turns into golden color on both sides.

8) Take it out with a slotted spoon. Place it on a paper towels to drain the excess oil, if  any.
9) Repeat the same process for remaining slices.
10) Serve with ketchup or green chutney.

Enjoy Bread Fritters as  tea time snack..

This is going to be a part of Easy Crafts Tea Time Snack

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