Masala Vada | Paruppu Vadai

Masala Vada or masala vadai is one of those things that I make once in blue moon, urad dal vada or as we call it bada is more common in our place, I like masala vada as crunchy outside and soft inside it’s just perfect. and lucky for me I got the same effect too.   I made this for my in-laws on a weekend as they don’t know about masala/paruppu vade, as expected they liked it too.   And I thought it’s good to post this recipe for coming Tamil New Year, perhaps some motivation for me to make these beauties again.

Ingredients: [Makes 22-25 vadas]
Channa Dal/Bengal Gram - 1 1/2 Cups
Onion - 1 Large
Green Chillies - 3
Dry Red Chillies - 2
Fennel Seeds - 1/2 tsp
Ginger - 1/2” piece [optional]
Salt - to taste
Curry Leaves - 1 sprig
Cilantro Leaves - 4-5 sprigs
Asafoetida/ Hing - 1/2 tsp
Cooking Soda - a pinch [sodium bi carbonate]
Oil - To deep fry

Method:
1. Wash and soak channa dal in water for 2 hours or more, drain water, rinse dal 1-2 times. 
2. Keep aside 1tbsp of soaked dal and grind remaining dal with green, red chillies,  fennel seeds, ginger into coarse paste.  Add 1-2 tbsp of water only if required.

3. Finely chop onion, curry leaves and cilantro, add with grinded dal, mix everything well with salt, soda, asafoetida and reserve 1tbsp whole channa dal. Make small lemon size ball from dal mixture and flatten between both palms to shape it like cutlet/tikki.

4. In a deep pan/wok heat oil for deep frying, drop carefully 4-5 vada in oil and cook in medium heat until both sides becomes nice golden brown. 

Serve hot/warm with tea/coffee or with meal. 

And incase you have leftover masala vada then don’t think too much just go ahead and make Vade Curry. 

Variations:
1. You can add mint leaves, it adds good flavour to these vadas.
2. Instead of onion, you can try adding cabbage.
3. If you don’t want to deep fry then try it in paniyaram maker/pan but that will be slight change in taste.
Have a nice day ~~

Restaurant Review: Secret Recipe

I wanted to write restaurant reviews for yeas now but it was not happening due to various reason.  Thanks to few friends with their persistent nagging I manage start product review and today long over due restaurant review.  We went to secret recipe to celebrate one of our friend’s birthday and I clicked the picture in the hope that I will write review! 

Secret recipe is famous for it’s cakes & ice cream and has branches all over Singapore, Malaysia, it’s not really a restaurant but cafe-bistro type place to sit and catch up with friends.  I personally felt their dinning menu is limited and very limited for vegetarian (okie, let’s be happy at least they have vegetarian items), they have also removed few items from menu since I lasted visited them.   But as I said the place is for cakes, ice cream, shakes which has good selection. 

We started with curried pumpkin soup (served with a bun), which was delicious, this was one of the best pick of day.  And inspired from this I make my own curried pumpkin soup. 



Also we order French fries, which was better than I expected, served with tartar sauce which was damn good.



I ordered Chicken Satay, which was a total let down.  Menu says it’s a must try, but I am saying just ignore this you are not going to miss anything great.  The satay was like deep fried chicken with no taste and another let down was peanut sauce! There was everything wrong about this dish.



Main course was simple, both my friends are vegetarian so they selected Oriental Style Soba served with chilli sauce (sauce was good though), one of them liked it and another one didn’t!  I tasted soba noodles and it was okie type. 



I ordered fish and chip, fish was very oil, I couldn’t finish my portion. Below average for me.



For drinks, me and one of my friend choose Caffe Latte, which was okie.  By the time it arrived it was already luke warm!



Our another friend is big watermelon fan so as always she ordered watermelon juice.  I guess it was good.



And now comes the best part, Desserts.  I knew exactly what we going to order.  Secret Recipe’s most famous cake is their Chocolate Banana cake.  It just so good and they serve very generous portion.  You have to try this and you will love it too.



Their another best cake is White Chocolate Macadamia, I always order these 2 cakes.   White chocolate with crunchy macadamia is just so delicious.



Overall, if you visit secret recipe for their cakes, ice cream and drinks and you won’t be disappointed.   We went on a weekday for late lunch so the service was good as there were not many customer, if you visit during rush hours you can expect delay in service, we went to Plaza Singapura Outlet.

For 3 people we paid 80SGD.
Secret Recipe’s official website

Have a nice day ~~

Open-Face Plum Cake Recipe

I made this cake for my in-laws and couldn’t post it due to my blog break, now what better than to post a cake before Easter and the fact that this cake is so simple; makes it more appealing.  I always like plum and decide to bake something with it this time.   After little search I end up at Martha Stewart recipe, a very simple recipe.  I have halved her recipe and made one cake. 



I liked this cake texture, it was just so perfect, plum juice flowing all over the cake making it look so pretty and it goes without saying everyone liked it.  So if you are looking for some easy and quick tea time cake with fruit then this is for you.  Before moving over to recipe…wishing everyone Happy Easter and long weekend. 



Ingredients: [ Serves -6 ]
Recipe Source: Martha Stewart

Plain Flour/Maida - 3/4 cup
Baking Powder - 1 tsp
Sugar - 3/4 cup + 1 tbsp
Salt - 1/4 tsp
Milk - 1/4 cup
Vegetable Oil - 2 tbsp
Egg - 1
Plums - 5-7 [ I used black plum]
Cinnamon Powder - 1 tsp
Cold Unsalted Butter - 1 1/2 tbsp [cut into small pieces]



Method:

1. Grease a 8” or 9” pan with 1/2 tbsp of butter and 1 tbsp of flour. Dust of excess flour from pan.  Preheat oven to 400F or 200 degree. 
2. Wash, halve and pit plums.  Make sure not to use very sour plums or over ripen plums.  I used black plums here, you can use red/black whatever you wish.



3. Shift flour, baking powder, salt and keep aside.  In a wide bowl add 3/8 cup sugar, milk, oil, egg and whisk well to combine everything.  Add 1/2 tsp of cinnamon powder and mix.



4. Add flour in batches and fold gently.



5. Pour batter in prepared pan and arrange plums with cut side up, over batter.  Sprinkle remaining sugar, cinnamon powder over plums, dot with butter. 
~ I also inserted small pieces of plum inside pan, that’s why you can see red plum juice in cake.



6.  Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in centre comes out clean.  Mine took 40 minutes to bake.  Let the cake cool completely on a wire rack and cut in desire shape.



~ Cake taste better next day.  Look at the sauce on pan edges, so beautiful right? 



Would you like a bite?  And this goes to Radhika's I Love Baking Event..



Note:

1. Refrigerate and you can keep the cake for 1 day, more than that plum might get spoil or sour.
2. Try not to use very sour plums, it will spoil cake taste.
Have a nice day ~~

Adai | Rice and Lentil Crepe Recipe

I wanted to make Adai dosa for long time and it was not happening until I decided to make for breakfast during my in-laws stay here as I always run out of ideas for breakfast!  It was easier to make than I thought and tasted very good too, not to mention about the nutrition value adai has.  My in-laws also liked it very much and so DH, from then Adai is regularly getting features in my kitchen.



For those whom haven’t tried Adai or don’t know about this wonderful delicacy; it’s like dosa (thicker) made of rice & lentils and generally fragmented for very less period or not at all, so it’s more like chawal and dal ka chilla.  Generally served with Avial in Tamilnadu though it goes perfectly with any chutney, sambar or idly podi/powder.   Soft and cripsy adai taste very good.



Ingredients:
Raw Rice - 1/2 cup
Idly Rice -  1 cup
Toor Dal/Split Pigeon Pea - 1/4 cup
Channa Dal/Yellow Split Pea - 1/4 cup
Urad Dal - 1/8 cup
Fenugreek Seeds - 1/4 tsp [optional]
Dry Red Chillies - 8-9
Onion - 1 large
Chopped Cilantro - 4 tbsp (or more if preferred)
Chopped Curry Leaves - 2 tbsp
Asafoetida - 1/4 tsp
Grated Coconut - 2 tbsp [optional]
Oil - To make adai
Salt - to taste



Method:

1. Wash and soak rice and dals separately, soak fenugreek seeds with dal for 2 hours.
2. Grind rice with red chillies first to coarsely and then add dal and grind to smooth batter with little water, batter will be thicker than dosa batter.  Add chopped onion, cilantro and curry leaves, hing, salt, coconut ( I didn’t use) and mix well. 
3.  Heat tawa and spread a ladle full batter in circular motion like dosa, adai will be thicker than normal dosa.
4. Drizzle oil around adai and let it cook for 2 minutes, turn over others ide to let it cook and it becomes crispy.  Repeat the same for rest of batter.
Serve hot/warm with chutney of your choice.  It goes well with jaggery too.

We had it with coconut chutney with tea, a perfect breakfast I say.



Have a nice day ~~

Curried Pumpkin Soup

DH brings pumpkin/kaddu/kumda/kumro quite often, there are few recipes which are very regular one of those is pumpkin dry curry or say stir fry, other one’s I shall post soon.   I wanted to make pumpkin soup for long as it’s one of the favourite at ‘The Soup Shop’ and after having it at Secret Recipe I decided to try it.   Exactly like Secret Recipe I made it as curried pumpkin Soup and as expected it was delicious, creamy with hint of spices.  This easy soup is filling and goes well with western, Indian or Chinese food, we had it with fried rice. Try this simple soup recipe and I am sure you will love this too as we did. 


Ingredients: [Severs 3-4]
Chopped Pumpkin/Kaddu/Kumda - 2 cups
Onion - 1 medium
Garlic - 1 tsp chopped
Ginger - 1/2 tsp chopped
Cumin Seeds - 1/2 tsp
Curry/Sambar Powder - 2 tsp
Curry leaves - 4
Oil - 1 tbsp
Vegetable Stock Cube - 1
Water - 1.5 cup + as needed
Salt - to taste
Pepper - to taste [if needed]
Cilantro - 2 tbsp chopped
Garam Masala  - 1/2 tsp [optional]


Method:
1. In a pan or pressure cooker heat oil, add cumin seeds and let it crack.
2. Add ginger and garlic and sauté.  Add onion and sauté until light brown.
3. Add pumpkin pieces and sauté for 2 minutes
4. Add curry or sambar powder, garam masala and mix well.
5. Now add 1.5 cups water, curry leaves, vegetable stock cube, salt and give a stir
6. Close pan with lid and cook for 10-15 minutes or until pumpkin gets cooked or pressure cook for 1 whistler.
7. Once pumpkin cools down, puree it in mixer or blender.  Bring it back to pan, add water 2 cups or as required and simmer for 3-4 minutes, adjust salt if required.   Add chopped cilantro and off flame. 
Serve Hot/warm and relish the soup.

Variations:
1. You can add 1/4 cream while simmering the soup for creamy soup.  But the soup itself is creamy I don’t find a need of adding any cream.
2. Quantity of water to add while simmering is depends on how you like your soup consistency.
3. Add pepper powder only if required, otherwise it really not needed.
4. If you are using curry powder you can avoid garam masala.
5. While serving you can add 1tsp of olive oil on top of soup if you prefer. 
Have a nice day ~~

Multi Beans Kurma

I have stocked up so many variety of beans and now my mission is to finish all!  I thought of making something different instead of usual rajma, chole, radga patties and decide to try kurma with different kind of beans.   As I did in my paneer butter masala, here too I used sesame seeds instead of cream or coconut and it was such a good decision.  Sesame paste makes the gravy rich with wonderful texture plus the bonus is it’s less fattening.  You can use any beans that fancy you and make this kurma.  It goes so well with rice, roti/parata or even with idli/dosa. 

Ingredients:

Multi Beans - 2 Cups [ I used Rajma, Butter Beans and Dried Peas]
Potato - 1
Onion - 1 Large
Tomato - 1 medium
Tomato Paste - 1/2 tbsp
Bay Leaf - 1
Red Chilli Powder - 1.5 tsp
Coriander Seeds Powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp
Garam Masala Powder - 1 tsp
Salt - to taste
Oil - 2 tbsp
Water - as needed
To Grind
White Sesame Seeds - 1 tbsp
Fennel Seeds - 1/2 tsp
Cumin Seeds - 1/2 tsp



Method:

1. Wash and soak all beans overnight and pressure cook for 3 whistles with potato.
2.  Peel and dice boiled potato, slice onion and tomato.
3. Grind all the items listed under ‘to grind’ with little water to smooth paste and keep aside.
4. In a pan or wok heat oil, add bay leaf and sauté for 30 seconds.  Add sliced onion and sauté until light brown.
5. Add chilli, coriander and turmeric powders mix well.  Add tomato and cook until tomato gets mashed.
6. Now add tomato paste, salt and stir well.  Add 1.5 water and bring it to boil, add boiled beans and potato and simmer for 4-5 minutes.
7. Add sesame paste, garam masala powder & mix well, adjust salt and simmer for 5 minutes in slow flame or until oil floats on top. 

Serve with roti/parata or rice. 



Note:
1. You can use coconut paste instead of sesame.
2. Use any beans of your choice.

Have a nice day ~~

Seb Suji ka Halwa |Apple and Semolina Pudding

Apple Suji Halwa or Apple Kesari whatever we might call it but the one thing remain same is the wonderful taste this simple dessert has.    I wanted to try rava and apple combination for a long time and at last I made it when in-law’s were here.  It’s so easy and quick to prepare and something change from usual suji halwa/rava kesari.   I didn’t added any food colour but if you wish you can add to make it more attractive.

Ingredients: [Serves 4]
Apple/Seb - 1 large
Suji/Semolina/Rava - 1 cup
Ghee - 2 tbsp
Sugar - 3/4 cup heaped [to taste]
Cardamom Powder - 1/2 tsp
Chopped Fry Fruits - 2 tbsp [I used almonds, raisins, cashews]
Water - 1 1/2 cup



Method:

1. Wash, peel, core and dice apple. Roast suji/semolina until raw 2-3 minutes or until raw light golden brown, transfer in a plate and keep aside.



2. In a wok or pan heat ghee, add apple and sauté for 4-5 minutes or until apple is almost cooked. 



3. Add semolina and fry until it starts to change colour.



4. Add water and sugar and mix well, cook in medium flame until water is soaked fully. Add cardamom powder, dry fruits and mix well.  Cover and cook for 2 minutes and off flame.



Serve hot or cold and enjoy the halwa



Note:
1. You can add 1 cup sugar or to taste
2. Add food color if preferred.

Have a nice day ~~

Mango Delight | Summer Special

How you all doing?  I know I did the disappearing act but something urgent came up and once a break it’s get’s difficult for me to be back on blogging, my usual story! Thanks to dear friends and reader whom persistent pressure love made me to sit back and do this post.  As summer is here and mango is summer king, this post seems perfect for a come back.  So, today’s special is Mango Delight, oh don’t wonder too much on the name it’s given by yours truly as I just came up with this recipe on my own .  This is a very simple drink and taste wonderful, it will wow your guest for sure, it did for mine.  Try this once and  you will make this again and again as it’s easy, simple, refreshing and additive!



Ingredients: [Serves 2]

Mango Pulp/Puree - 1/2 cup
Soda Water - 1 can [300ml]
Lemon Juice - 2 tbsp
Lemon Wedges - 2 [optional]
Sugar Syrup - 4 tbsp [ to taste]
Ice Cubes - as required


Method:

1. In a tall glass add 1/4 cup of mango pulp or puree, 2 tbsp sugar syrup, 1 tbsp lemon juice and give a stir.

2. Add ice cubes and then soda, top with lemon piece.  Repeat the same for another glass.

That’s all our refreshing drink is ready.



Variations:

1. You can also use fruity/mazaa instead of mango pulp or puree.
2. You can use sweet lemon soda and avoid lemon juice & sugar syrup, this way it’s very quick to fix drink.
3. Don’t skip lemon, it’s add the extra kick to the drink.
4. Add small mango pieces to bite while drinking.


Have a nice day ~~