Onion Pakoda

I have never believed that Pakodas are meant for rainy days and they're good with a hot cup of tea! :) I can eat pakodas any day, any time! I even save a few when I make them and eat it with Rice and Dal. Tastes awesome! Anyway, this past Monday evening I was pretty depressed that the long weekend was gone and so I made these to cheer myself up.

Ingredients

1. 1 big onion, finely sliced
2. 1/2 cup rice flour
3. 1/2 cup corn flour
4. 1/2 cup rava (sooji)
5. 2 tbsp chilli powder
6. 1 tsp ginger paste
   
7. 5-6 green chillies, finely chopped
8. 2 strands curry leaves, finely chopped
9. A handful of cashews broken in half
10. Salt to taste
11. Oil to fry

Method

1. Slice the onion really thin and sprinkle half the salt over it an keep aside for 10 minutes. This helps the onion leave all the water.
2. Mix the flour, remaining salt and the chilli powder together.
3. Add the green chillies, ginger, cashews and the onions.
   
4. Mix everything without using water. If you need a li'l extra moisture, add a couple tsps of oil. Use very little water if you have to.
5. Take a small amount of the batter in your fingers, press with your thumb to make them flat (but not like patties) and fry them in oil.
   
   

Aloo Methi

Now, who doesn't love potatoes? They are so versatile that you can add them to pretty much any dish with amazing results.

Aloo Methi is one of my favorite dishes. It's easy to make and tastes good with both Rotis and Rice. I grind the masala so it blends nicely with the Aloo and the Methi. This is an extra step that takes a bit longer, but does add to the flavor a lot.

Ingredients

• 3 Potatoes, boiled and cut into 1 inch pieces
• Methi, 2 small bunches, boiled and drained
• 1 big Onion, roughly chopped
• 4-5 Green Chillies, slit
• 2 Tomatoes, roughly chopped
• 4 cloves
• 1-inch Cinnamon
• 3 Cardamoms, peeled
• 1/4 bunch Cilantro
• 3 cloves Garlic, roughly chopped
• 1-inch piece Ginger, roughly chopped
• 1 tsp Garam Masala
• 1 tsp Dhania-Jeera powder
• 1 tsp Red Chilli Powder
• 2 tbsp Canola Oil
  
• Salt to taste
• 1 tsp Jeera
• 1 pinch Turmeric
  

Method

• Boil the potatoes and chop them into 1-inch pieces and set aside.
• Finely chop the methi (or buy frozen, finely chopped methi). Bring a pot of water to boil, add salt and transfer the chopped methi to the pot and boil for about 7-8 minutes. Drain and set aside.
  
• Save about a cup of methi water.
  
• Now, heat the oil in a pan, add jeera, turmeric, cardamom, cloves and cinnamon.
  
• Add the coarsely chopped onions, garlic, ginger and green chillies.
• Reduce the heat and saute for a few minutes until the onions are soft and translucent.
• Add the tomatoes and cilantro and saute for a few more minutes until the tomatoes are tender.
• Now add the dhania-jeera powder, garam masala powder, red chilli powder and mix well.
  
• Let cool for a few minutes.
• Grind this masala coarsely in a food processor and transfer it back into the pan.
• Add the boiled potatoes and the methi to it.
• Add about 1/2 cup of the methi water and boil on low heat for a few minutes.
  
• Serve hot with rotis or rice.

Bell Pepper Pizza and Aloo Pizza

When we went to Italy, apart from their awesome pasta, the one thing I loved were their pizzas. A big, thick slice wrapped in a bag to go and you were all set for several hours. What made their pizza really tasty was undoubtedly their sauce. Now you can make this pizza easily in a matter of minutes by using store bought Marinara Sauce. But you can also make authentic Italian sauce using the recipe I've posted here!

One other thing I liked that was unique was their potato topping. I tried it at home and loved it. So here goes. I also ate Bell Pepper pizza in the Amalfi Coast and the method is the same for any topping. The vegetables (or any meat topping too) are always cooked before they go on the pizza and it's a little more work, but tastes amazing!

Ingredients

- 1 cup Marinara Sauce
- 1 Pizza base
- 1 big Potato, finely chopped (Or yellow, red and green peppers thinly sliced)
- 1 tbsp crushed red pepper
- 2 tbsp Olive oil
- 1 1/2 cups Mozzarella Cheese, grated
- Salt and Pepper

Method

- Preheat the oven to 425 F
- Spread the chopped potatoes on a aluminum foil covered pan. Sprinkle salt and pepper to taste. Drizzle the olive oil to evenly coat all the potatoes. Do the same thing if you are using peppers.
- Bake the potatoes in the oven until they're tender, about 8-10 minutes. (May take longer if you cut your potatoes bigger) (About 6-8 minutes for bell peppers)
- Remove the potatoes from the oven and let it cool.
- Mix the crushed red pepper flakes with the Marinara Sauce and spread it evenly on the pizza base.
- Spread the potatoes or the bell peppers evenly on the pizza.
- Cover the entire pizza with the grated Mozzarella Cheese.
- Pop the pizza in the oven and bake it at 425 F until all the cheese melts and starts turning brown at the edges.
- Cut it into equal pieces using a pizza cutter.

Enjoy!

Marinara Sauce

Ingredients

- 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 small onions, finely chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 2 carrots, peeled and finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 (32-ounce) cans crushed tomatoes
- 2 dried bay leaves

Method

- In a large pot, heat the oil over a medium-high flame.
- Add the onions and garlic and saute until the onions are translucent, about 10 minutes.
- Add the carrots, and 1/2 teaspoon of each salt and pepper. Saute until all the vegetables are soft, about 10 minutes. Add the tomatoes and bay leaves, and simmer uncovered over low heat until the sauce thickens, about 1 hour.
- Remove and discard the bay leaf.
- Season the sauce with more salt and pepper.
- Use it immediately or cool and refrigerate.

Canned Tomato Tip

Use imported tomatoes from Italy. Look for San Marzano tomatoes. San Marzano is a kind of tomato, not a brand name. Make sure the can says 'Imported from Italy' and NOT 'grown in California'. I love the Bella Terra brand myself. They are a little more expensive, but they make amazing sauce. They don't give you the sour taste coz the canned tomatoes imported from Italy have very little or no Citric Acid.

Chitranna (Lemon Rice)

This is one of my all time favorite dishes...extremely easy to make and very tasty!
Now, usually you use onions to make this. But my Mom makes it this way on festivals and I love it!
You can make this with leftover rice or fresh rice and it's also great for your lunch box.

Ingredients

- Rice - 4 cups
- Turmeric - A pinch
- Curry leaves - 5 or 6
- Green Chillies - 5 or 6
- Cilantro - For garnish
- Cashewnuts - 1/2 cup (you can also use Peanuts)
- Green Pepper - 1
- Ginger - 1-inch crushed
- Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
- Urad dal - 1 tsp
- Channa dal - 1 tsp
- Oil - 3 tbsp
- Lemon - 1/2
- Salt - To taste

Method

- Chop the green pepper into small pieces. Slit the green chillies in half. Chop the cilantro finely. Break cashewnuts in half.
- Heat oil in a deep pan. Add mustard seeds, turmeric, channa dal, urad dal and cashewnuts and fry till the cashews become golden brown.
- Now add the green chillies, curry leaves, ginger and the green pepper.
- Add salt and cook till the green pepper completely cooks...about 7-8 minutes. Adding the salt helps the pepper leave it's juices and cook faster.
- Mix the rice and the lemon juice.
- Garnish with Cilantro.

The Pilot

Hello there and welcome to my kitchen! :-)

Well, I've been thinking of penning down all my favorite recipes for a while now and here I am...finally!

Your comments and suggestions are always appreciated. I'd love to hear from you if you try one of my recipes and also about the changes you made to it.

I am a staunch Bangalorean and I just lovvee South Indian food. I'll be posting some authentic South Indian recipes. My other favorite cuisine is hands down Italian!! Having just come back from a long vacation in Italy, I'm more geared up than ever to try my hand at making more Italian dishes.

I'll be back soon with one of my all time favorite recipe...Lemon Rice.

See you then!