Bhari hui mirchi

I spotted big  green chillies in the vegetable market during the weekend shopping & brought some.I knew that they are not spicy.They can be made into chilli fritters by deep frying them.My mom on seeing them said that we can make ahealthier alternative...bhari hui mirchi.I agreed.I have looked up the recipe from @http://mharorajasthanrecipes.blogspot.in/2010/05/besan-bhari-hari-mirch-green-chillies.html
I have omitted some ingredients like onions as it is Tuesday & I keep Tuesdays onion free at home.

Ingredients : 10-12 green chillies, 1/3 cup besan,1 tsp red chilli powder, 2 tsp dahi,1 tsp til,1/2 tsp ajwain,1/2 tsp haldi,1/2 tsp hing,1-2 tbsp oil,salt to taste.

Method : Dry roast the besan.Keep aside.Let it cool.

Wash the green chillies & slit them in the middle vertically.Keep aside.

Add 1 tsp oil,til,haldi ,hing,red chilli powder,ajwain,til & salt to besan.Mix nicely.Add dahi .Mix nicely to get a dry dough type consistency.Fill this mixture into the slit mrchis through the slits.Take care ,not to break the chillies.

Take a pan.Put 1 tbsp oil.Put the stuffed mirchis on the pan .Put the remaining oil on the mirchis. Cover with a lid & cook them on slow gas.Uncover lid after 5 minutes.Turn the chillies on the sides.Cover with lid.Cook for 5 minutes.Uncover lid.They would have browned & become shiny & mushy.Turn again & cover with lid.Cook for 5 mniutes.Put off gas.Bharwan mirchi is ready.Serve with rotis or parathas.

Healthy bread pakoras.

My kid is always yearning for pakoras.. Potato & bread pakoras are her favourites .I am petrified of frying & so I avoid making pakoras.I came across this shallow frying of bread pakoras at Priya's versatile recipes.I tried it & my kid just loved it.I made some changes.

Ingredients :1 cup besan,1/2 cup dahi,4 tbsp oil,1/2 tsp red chilli powder,1/2 tsp ajwain,1/4 tsp hing,1/4 tsp haldi,salt to taste,a pinch of baking soda,1 tbsp rava or sooji, 1tsp flaxseed powder ( optional ) , 4 bread slices,water to make batter consistency appropriate.

Method : I used brown bread slices.Even white bread can be used.Cut each bread slice diagonally into 4.Keep aside all  cut bread slices.

Take besan .Add sooji, flaxseed powder , red chilli powder,ajwain ,haldi,hing ,salt & mix .Now add dahi to make batter.If batter is not drop down consistency,more water or dahi can be added.Mix batter nicely till no lumps remain.

Take a shallow tawa or non stick tawa & put oil on it.Spread the oil on the tawa so that the whole surface of tawa gets coated with oil.Heat the tawa with oil in it.As the oil gets heated up ,dip bread slices in the besan mix & put them on the tawa.Fry the slice on one side.Turn it upside down after some time & fry the reverse side.Take it off from the tawa.Repeat with other bread slices.

Serve with tomato ketchup  or any chutni.

Patudi -Uttarakhand recipe.

I have joined Rushina Munshaw Ghildiyal, who is a food blogger par excellence on facebook.I read about this recipe from a link she had shared @ http://www.livemint.com/2011/09/09220318/Uttarakhand--Patudi.html#.TyFl9f3mVeA.facebook

As I am petrified of frying ,this recipe is a boon for me ! I used ajwain instead of garlic as we do not use garlic at home.

Ingredients :1 bunch palak or methi leaves,1 green chilly,2 tsp ajwain ( carrom seeds),3-4 tbsps besan , oil to shallow fry ,salt to taste.

Method : Clean & wash the leafy bunch & green chilly.Finely chop the green leafy veggie & the green chilly.Now add salt.Mix.Now add besan & ajwain  to this mixture.Apply little oil on palms & shape this besan -leafy mix into flat patties.Take a tawa or flat pan & spread some oil on that.Now gently drop the patties on to the tawa.Cook on slow to medium flame till the edges start turning golden brown.Flip them & cook on the other sides.Take them off the tawa when the edges turn golden brown.Serve them with achar or sauce .

Corn bread tikkis

This was tried by my mother today morning.

Ingredients : Corn cobs from one & another half corn ( corn kernels removed from 1 1/2 corns).Two bread slices ( the topmost & bottom ones in a loaf of bread ),the bread crusts from all sides of the bread slices in a loaf of bread,a few sprigs of kadipattas,2 hari mirchi,1" inch adrak (ginger),1/2 tsp red chilli powder( optional ) ,2 tbsp oil,salt to taste.

Method : Boil the American sweet corn in cooker.Grind the corn into a coarse mixture by adding the finely cut hari mirchi,adrak,kadipatta leaves & red chilli powder.Keep aside.

Take the bread slices & crusts & cut them. Now soak this in water & squeeze out the water.Now crush this wet bread mixture.

Mix the corn & bread mixture nicely after adding salt.Apply a little oil on the palms & take a small part of the corn bread mixture & shape them into flat round tikkis.Take a tawa & shallow fry the tikkis on the tawa .Reverse the tikkis & shallow fry them again.Now both the sides of tikkis have become golden brown.
Alternatively,the tikkis can be baked in microwave oven for 4 minutes on each side of a tikki  to brown the tikki.So ,this will take a total of 8 minutes.

The tikkis can be eaten plain and or accompanied by tomato ketchup or dhania ki chutney.

Tips : One can add 1 tsp lemon juice to add tanginess.Even grated carrot can be  mixed in the bread corn mixture.The bread used in this recipe was brown bread.Even white bread can be used.

Aloo ki tikki

I tried this dish as I felt,this will be definately eaten by my daughter who loves aloo parathas & all ki sabzi.The recipe I followed is from Sanjeev Kapoor's khana khazana on the net.But I used hari mirchi instead of lal mirch powder.I also added a thin slice of bread to the mashed potatoes.Bread is not an ingredient in Sanjeev Kapoor's recipe.

Ingredients : 3/4 medium potatoes,1-2 bread slices( brown /white ),1 hari mirch,1/4 inch ginger,a few sprigs of fresh coriander ( washed ),1tsp garam masala,2 tbsp oil,1/4 piece lemon,1/4 tsp haldi,1/4 tsp hing & salt to taste.

Method : Boil potatoes nicely .Peel them & mash them so that no lumps remain.Make a paste of the green chilly & ginger.Add this to the mashed potato.Add the bread slices to the mashed potato.Agin mix thoroughly.One option is to wet the bread slices & squeeze the water & then add it to the potato.I added only a thin slice & so I added it just like that without wetting it.Now add haldi,hing,garamm masala , finely cut fresh coriander ,lemom juice of the lemon piece & salt & mix the whole mixture again. Take a little oil on the palms & a small amount of the potato mixture & press it to get a small flat round shape.Repeat with the rest of the mixture.Take a tawa & put the flat round aloo tikkis on the tawa & put a little oil on each of them.Shallow fry on the tawa.Turn the tikkis upside down & shallow fry again.Serve the aloo tikkis with green chutney or tomato sauce.