Aval Vilayichathu

 

Aval Vilayichattu is a sweet dish made with flattened rice flakes, coconut, and jaggery as the main ingredients. This is commonly made as a snack item in Kerala. This dish is also made as a prasadam/naivedyam/offering to God. The food group(Sshhhh Cooking Secretly) I am part of, decided to make a "festive" theme as part of the December. With the Ayyappa season in December, I decided to make this dish which is perfect as an offering to the deity. 

Ingredients:

1. Rice flakes/Aval/Poha - thin variety - 3 cups
2. Coconut-grated - 1 cup
3. Jaggery - grated - 1 cup
4. Cashews - 3 tablespoon
5. Raisins - 3 tablespoons
6. Black sesame seeds - 1 tablespoon
7. Roasted gram dal/Pottu kadala - 1/4 cup
8. Cardamom - 5 no.
9. Dried ginger - 1/2 inch piece
10. Cumin seeds/Jeera - 1/2 teaspoon
11. Ghee - 2 tablespoons

Method:

1. Boil 1/2 cup of water and add the grated jaggery. Strain the melted jaggery if you think there are impurities in your jaggery. 
2. Put the melted jaggery back into the pan. Add grated coconut and allow the liquid to evaporate. Boil for at least 5 minutes.
3. Add the rice flakes to this and mix well. 
4. In a small pan, heat a tablespoon of ghee and roast raisins, cashews, sesame seeds, and roasted gram dal. Add this to the rice flakes mixture. 
5. Grind the dried ginger, cumin seeds, and cardamom into fine powder. Add this to rice flakes.
6. Mix everything together and make sure all the liquid from the jaggery is evaporated. Add the remaining tablespoon of ghee and turn off the stove.

Allow the mix to cool before you eat. This tastes best when you eat it after a day. Aval vilayichattu stays good without refrigeration for a week. You can also store it in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 weeks. 

As part of "Sshhh Cooking secretly" challenge, a theme is selected at the beginning of the month by one of the participants. All the members are grouped in pairs. The participants will exchange 2 secret ingredients with their partners who are supposed to prepare a dish that matches the theme of that month. This month's festive theme is chosen by Priya Vijaykrishnan who blogs at Sweet Spicy Tasty. Do check out the recipe for Thiruvadhirai Kootu. 

Renu is my partner for this month. She gave me ginger powder and cardamom as my ingredients and I gave her sesame seeds and edible gum as her secret ingredients. Renu came up with a very delicious Gluten-free Bajra ladoo. Do check out her blog for a wide variety of healthy dishes. 

Ribbon Pakoda

Ingredients:

1. Chickpea flour/Besan - 1 cup
2. Fine rice powder - 1 cup
3. Kashmiri chili powder - 1 tablespoon
4. Fennel seeds/Saunf - 1/2 teaspoon
5. Turmeric powder - 1/4 teaspoon
6. Asafoetida/Hing - 1/4 teaspoon
7. Curry leaves - 1-2 sprig
8. Salt to taste
9. Oil for deep frying

Method:

1. Use a pestle and mortar or a small mixie jar to powder the fennel seeds. You can alternatively use fennel powder if you have that in hand.
2. Take a large mixing bowl and mix together chickpea powder, rice powder, chili powder, turmeric powder, fennel powder, asafoetida, and salt. 
3. Add water a little at a time and mix together to make a smooth dough(like a chapathi dough).
4. Grease the inside of the mold and use the ribbon pakkoda plate. See the picture below.
5. Fill the dough in the mold and squeeze it directly into the hot oil. 
6. Turn it a couple of times and remove it from the oil when it turns golden brown in color. 
7. Repeat for the rest of the dough.
8. Wash and dry the curry leaves. Fry them in the same oil and mix it with ribbon pakoda.
9. Break the ribbon pakoda into smaller pieces. 
10. Enjoy with a cup of hot tea.

Note:

1. These can be stored at room temperature in an airtight container for more than a week. 
2. I prefer to use coconut oil to get the authentic Kerala snack taste. But you can use any vegetable oil for deep frying.  

Mold with Ribbon Pakoda plate

Punugulu

Punugulu is an Andhra dish made using leftover idli/dosa batter. The fermented batter is mixed with rice flour and semolina to make it a thick batter. Flavoring agents like onion, ginger and green chilies are added and then the batter is deep-fried in oil. This can be served with chutney or it can be eaten as-is. It is one of the easiest tea-time snacks one can make. 

Ingredients:

1. Idli batter - 2 cups
2. Rice flour - 2 tbsp
3. Rava/Semolina - 2 tbsp
4. Onion - finely chopped - 1/4 cup
5. Ginger - grated - 1 tsp
6. Green chili - 2 or as per your spice level
7. Curry leaves - 1 sprig
8. Coriander leaves - 1 tsp
9. Salt - to taste
10. Oil - for deep frying

Method:

1. Take the fermented idli batter in a large mixing bowl and add rice flour and rava.
2. Add finely chopped onion, ginger, curry leaves, coriander leaves, and salt.
3. Mix well until everything is well combined. Make sure there are no lumps of rice flour and rava.
4. Heat oil in medium flame and drop small lemon-sized balls in oil.
5. Fry on medium flame until it turns golden brown in color.

Serve hot with a cup of tea. 

"Shhhhh Cooking  Secretly" is a monthly challenge in the Facebook group. At the beginning of the month, a theme is chosen by one of the participants and all the participants are grouped in pairs. The participants will exchange 2 secret ingredients with their partners who are supposed to prepare a dish that matches the theme of that month.

This month's theme was "Monsoon treats" and it was chosen by Shobha Keshwani who blogs at ShobhasFoodMazaa. She made Drumstick leaves soup for this theme. Also, I can't wait to try her Rice and Mixed Dal Dhoklas. My partner for July 2021 is Aruna SarasChandra. She gave me ginger and onions as my secret ingredients. I gave her thuthuvalai(SOLANUM TRILOBATUM) and curry leaves and she made a very popular rasam from Tamil Nadu - Thuthuvalai rasam. Do check her blog for the recipe. Also, I cant wait to try her homemade chocolate recipe and Schezwan chutney. 

Odia Manda Pitha

Manda Pitha is a traditional sweet dish from Odisha. It is a coconut jaggery dumpling made with rice flour. It is very similar to dishes like Modak from Maharashtra, Kozhukatta from Kerala, and Kozhukattai from Tamil cuisine. 

This steamed dish is prepared during festivals falling on monsoon and post-monsoon seasons like Manabasa Gurubara, Durga Puja, Kumar Purnima, or Rakhi Purni. (Reference: wiki)

Ingredients:

1. Rice flour (fine) - 1 cup
2. Jaggery grated- 1/2 cup 
3. Coconut grated - 3/4 cup 
4. Cardamom pods - 2-3
5. Black pepper powder - 1 teaspoon
6. Salt - 1 pinch

Method:

1. Boil 1 cup of water and add a pinch of salt. 
2. Add rice flour to boiling water and turn off the stove. Mix it thoroughly until all the water is absorbed. 
3. Cover it and let the mixture sit for 5 minutes. When it is cool enough to handle, knead it thoroughly until it forms a smooth non-sticky dough.
4. Mix grated coconut, jaggery powder, black pepper powder, and cardamom powder and set aside. If you think there are impurities in your jaggery, melt it with a couple of tablespoons of water, strain it and transfer the liquid jaggery back to the stove. Boil it till it thickens and add grated coconut, black pepper powder, and cardamom powder.
5. To make the pitha, take a small lemon-sized dough. Flatten it on your palms, add around 2 teaspoons of filling in the middle and roll it back into a ball as shown in the picture. 
   
6. Repeat the process with the rest of the dough. 
7. Use a steamer and boil water in the bottom vessel. Place the pitha balls in the steamer rack and steam for 15 minutes.
8. Turn off the stove after 15 minutes and keep it covered for 5 minutes before serving. 

"Shhhhh Cooking  Secretly" is a monthly challenge in the Facebook group. At the beginning of the month, a theme is chosen by one of the participants and all the participants are grouped in pairs. The participants will exchange 2 secret ingredients with their partners who are supposed to prepare a dish that matches the theme of that month.

This month's theme was "Odia Pitha Series" and it was chosen by Sasmita Sahoo Samanta who blogs at First Timer Cook. Do check Sasmita's blog for a huge collection of Odia dishes and some of them worth mentioning include Chandrakanthi Pitha and Chaula Khiri. 

My partner for May 2021 is Poonam Bachhav. She gave me jaggery and cardamom as my secret ingredients. I gave her jaggery and black pepper and she made Suji Kakara Pitha. Her blog has a wide collection of delicious healthy recipes. Some of them which I want to try to make include Karachi Fruit Biscuits and Whole Wheat Nankathai.

Kadala Mittai | Peanut Chikki

 

Ingredients:

1. Peanuts - 1 cup
2. Jaggery - 3/4 cup
3. Ghee - 1 teaspoon
4. Cardamom powder - 1/4 teaspoon

Method:

Dry roast the peanuts on medium flame until they are crisp.

Allow the peanuts to cool for a while and rub them against your palm to remove the skin. Separate the peanuts from the skin. 

Lightly break the peanuts into half by pressing the peanuts with the base of a steel bowl.

Grease the marble countertop or wooden chopping board with little ghee. Also, grease a rolling pin(chappati roller) and spatula with ghee and keep it ready.

In a heavy bottom pan, melt the jaggery along with 1/4 cup water. Boil it till the jaggery melts. At this stage, you can sieve the syrup to remove any impurities. 

Transfer the syrup back to the stove and keep boiling on low flame.

Drop few drops of syrup in a bowl of cold water and it should crystalize and become brittle immediately. This is the desired consistency. You should keep checking for the right consistency when the syrup starts to bubble. Initially, the syrup will be elastic and soft and if you keep boiling for some more time it becomes brittle. Getting this syrup consistency is very crucial in chikki making. 

Once the desired consistency is reached, add the cardamom powder, a teaspoon of ghee, and crushed peanuts.

Give it a quick mix and transfer it to the greased surface. Gently press the mixture with a rolling pin and give it a rectangular shape with a spatula.

Cut the chikki into the desired shape while it is still hot.

Cool completely and store in an air-tight container.

Oats Chocolate Cookies

    

Oats Chocolate Cookies are gluten free cookies made using oats flour. These cookies were a hit in our home and it vanished as soon as I baked them. As a sweetener, I used honey and brown sugar but we can substitute the brown sugar entirely with honey. If you like chewy textured cookies, I suggest you bake it for 15 minutes and if you wish for a little crumbled ones, bake it for little longer (3 minutes more).  

I made this dish as part of the "Shhhh Cooking Secretly Challenge".  As part of this challenge a theme is selected at the beginning of the month by one of the participants. All the members are grouped in pairs. The participants will exchange 2 secret ingredients with their partners who are suppose to prepare a dish that matches the theme of that month. 

This month's theme is Chocolate and it was suggested by Mayuri Patel from Mayuri's Jikoni.  

Mayuri's blog has a wide variety of cuisines from all over the world. I have bookmarked a couple of  her desserts to try soon which includes "Nectarine and Blueberry Crisp" and "Coffee and Walnut Cake".

My partner for this month is Narmadha and I gave her milk and cashew and she made Biscuit Truffles. She gave me butter and salt and I made these oats chocolate cookies. Narmadha blogs at Nam's Corner and she has a wonderful blog with wide variety of vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes. I am in love with her Fish Popcorn recipe and would love to try them very soon. Also do check out her Butter Murukku recipe. 

Let us take a deep dive into the oats chocolate cookie recipe now.

Makes - 15 medium sized cookies 

Ingredients:

1. Oats flour - 1 cup
2. Baking soda - 1/2 tsp
3. Salt - 1/4 tsp
4. Cocoa powder - 1 tbsp
5. Butter - 2 tbsp
6. Egg white - 1
7. Vanilla extract - 1/2 teaspoon
8. Milk - 1 1/2 tsp
9. Honey - 3 tbsp
10. Brown sugar - 3 tbsp

Method: 

1.   To make oat flour, use either quick cooking or rolled oats and powder it in a blender.

2.   Take 1 cup of the oat flour in a mixing bowl along with baking soda, salt and cocoa powder. Sieve them all together twice to remove all the lumps and to mix them together.

3.   Beat a egg white in a different bowl and add melted butter, milk, vanilla extract, honey and brown sugar. Give it a good mix. 

4.   Add the dry ingredients to the egg mixture and mix gently.

5.   Preheat the oven to 325 deg F.

6.   Line a parchment paper on baking tray and scoop a tablespoon of cookie dough on the tray and gently press them with the back of a spoon.

7.   Bake for 15 minutes for chewy cookies or 18 minutes for crisp ones.

Vattayappam - Kerala Style Steamed Rice Cakes

Vattayappam is a very soft and spongy steamed rice cake popular in Kerala. 

Vattam in Malayalam means "round" and appam translates to pancake. Hence the name 'Vattayappam' for these round spongy cakes.  This traditional snack is a oil free, vegan and gluten-free. It is made by grinding rice and coconut. The batter is fermented and then steamed. Sugar is added for sweetness and cardamom for flavoring. This sweet cake is usually eaten as an evening snack or dessert. It can be made savory by omitting the sugar and can be served with curries. 

Ingredients:

1. Raw rice/Sona Masoori - 1 cup
2. Coconut grated - 1 cup
3. Cooked rice - 1/4 cup
4. Instant Yeast - 1/2 teaspoon
5. Sugar - 3 tablespoon
6. Cardamom - 3
7. Salt - 1/2 teaspoon
8. Oil for greasing

Method:

1. Wash and soak raw rice for at least 4 hours. 
2. Grind soaked rice, grated coconut, cooked rice and cardamom into smooth paste. The batter should be thick as that of idli batter.
3. Add salt, sugar and instant yeast to the batter and mix well until sugar dissolves.
4. Set aside the batter for fermentation for around 3 hours.
5. Use a round vessel for steaming the vattayappam. Grease it well with oil (preferably coconut oil).
6. Pour the batter in a round vessel and place it in a steamer. Steam for 20 mins or until a toothpick inserted at the center comes out clean.
7. Cool for 15 mins and then invert the vessel to remove the vattayappam.
8. Cut into wedges and serve.

Note: 

1. The round vessel to steam can be either a deep steel plate, wide mouthed steel tiffin box, round pyrex box or even a cake pan. 
2. You can replace cooked rice with thin poha. Soak the thin poha for around 5 minutes before grinding.
3. With 3 tablespoon of sugar, this snack is mildly sweet. You can adjust the sweetness according to your preference. 
4. For the sweet version, you can sprinkle cashews and raisins to the batter before steaming. 

I made this recipe as part of the "Sshhh Cooking Secretly" event. This is an event started by Priya of Priya's Versatile Recipe. At the beginning of the month a theme is chosen by one of the participants and all the participants are grouped in pairs. The participants will exchange 2 secret ingredients with their partners who are suppose to prepare a dish that matches the theme of that month. 

I got the opportunity to choose this month's theme and I selected "Steamed Foods". 

My partner for this month is Archana Gunjikar Potdar and she shared me coconut and cardamom as my secret ingredients and I gave her flour and water as her ingredients. She made "Kankiche Dive". Do visit her blog to check out an amazing collection of recipes. She also has a wide variety of exotic desserts like Easy Mocha Semifreddo, Popcorn Rocky Road Dessert, Layered Angel Cake the British Version to name a few. 

Avalakki Upkari | Udupi cuisine

Udupi cuisine is a cuisine of South India. It forms an important part of Tuluva-Mangalorean cuisine and takes its name from Udupi, a city on the southwest coast of India in the Tulunadu region.

This Udupi style preparation of flattened rice is one of the easiest dish you make in less than 15 minutes.

Ingredients:

1. Thin poha/Thin flattened rice - 3 cups
2. Onion - 1 small sized
3. Green chilies - 2
4. Dried red chilies - 2
5. Peanuts - handful
6. Mustard seeds - 1/2 teaspoon 
7. Cumin seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
8. Coconut grated- 1/2 cup
9. Cilantro/Coriander leaves - 2 tbsp chopped
10. Oil - 1 tablespoon
11. Salt to taste

Method:

1. Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a pan and roast peanuts. Set aside. 
2. Add 1 teaspoon of oil in the same pan and splutter mustard seeds and cumin seeds.
3. Add slit green chilies, dried red chilies, curry leaves, salt and chopped onions. Saute till onions turn soft. 
4. Switch off the flame and add poha, grated coconut, roasted peanuts and around 2 tablespoon of water. Mix well till everything is well combined. Check for seasoning and add more salt if required.
5. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve. 

Note: Adding couple of tablespoons of water to poha will make it soft and easy to chew. 

I made this recipe as part of the "Shh Cooking Secretly" event. This is an event started by Priya of Priya's Versatile Recipe and now being taken forward by Mayuri of Mayuri's Jikoni.  At the beginning of the month a theme is chosen by one of the participants and all the participants are grouped in pairs. The participants will exchange 2 secret ingredients with their partners who are suppose to prepare a dish that matches the theme of that month. 

This month's theme is "Udupi Cuisine" and it was chosen by Jayashree Trao of "EverGreenDishes". My partner for this month is Aruna SarasChandra and she shared Green chilies and Coconut as my secret ingredients and I shared her Fenugreek and coconut as her ingredients. She made Udupi Saaru, an Udupi style preparation of Tomato Rasam. Do visit her blog "Vasu's Veg Kitchen" to find this  recipe.

Masala Kadala | Masala Peanuts

Ingredients:

1. Peanuts (roasted) - 2 cups
2. Besan/Gram flour - 1/2 cup
3. Rice flour - 3 tbsp
4. Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
5. Kashmiri chili powder - 1 tsp
6. Fennel seeds/Saunf - 1 teaspoon
7. Garlic cloves - 4
8. Asafoetida/Hing - 1/8 tsp
9. Oil - for deep frying
10. Salt to taste

Method:

1. Roast the peanuts on stove top or using a microwave. Check out this method of roasting peanuts in microwave. 
2. Crush the fennel seeds and make a paste of garlic.
3. In a mixing bowl, take roasted peanuts, besan, 2 tablespoon rice flour, turmeric powder, chili powder, crushed fennel, garlic paste, hing and add salt as per taste.
4. Sprinkle water 1 tablespoon at a time and mix everything together. Add enough water till the flour is all wet and the peanuts are well coated.
5. Heat oil for deep frying on medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add peanuts in batches and deep fry till they turn golden brown.

Note: If you want more reddish colored masala peanuts, omit the turmeric powder and increase the quantity of Kashmiri Chili powder.

Chocolate Cookies

Ingredients:

1. All purpose flour/Maida - 1 cup
2. Cocoa powder - 1/4 cup
3. Sugar - 1/2 cup
4. Baking powder - 1 and 1/2 tsp
5. Oil - 1/4 cup
6. Egg - 1 
7. Vanilla essence - 1/2 tsp
8. Coffee powder - instant - 1 tsp (optional)
9. Salt - 1/4 tsp

Method:

1. Sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, salt and coffee powder and set aside.
2. Take the mixing bowl and add egg, sugar, oil.and vanilla essence. Beat well till everything is well combined.
3. Add the flour mixture and mix gently to form a dough.
4. Preheat oven to 350 deg F(180 deg C) and place a parchment paper on the baking tray.
5. Take small portion of the dough and make a ball. Place the ball in baking tray and flatten it using a fork. Makes around 15 medium sized cookies.
6. Bake for 12 min and allow it cool for 10 minutes.

Delicious chocolate cookies is ready to serve.

Atta Murukku | Whole Wheat Murukku

Ingredients:

1. Wheat flour - 2 cups
2. Black sesame seeds - 1 tsp
3. Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
4. Asafoetida/Hing - 1/4 tsp
5. Red chili powder - 1 tsp
6. Hot oil - 2 tbsp
7. Salt to taste
8. Oil for deep frying

Method: 

1. Take wheat flour in a clean white cotton cloth and tie in a bundle.
2. Steam it in a steamer for 15 minutes.
3. After steaming, the flour forms a big lump. Powder it in mixer-grinder to form a fine powder.
4. Take the steamed flour in a mixing bowl and add salt, chili powder, cumin seeds, black sesame seeds, asafoetida and 2 tablespoon hot oil. 
5. Mix everything together and add enough water to make a dough.
6. Use a star plate of murukku maker and deep fry murukku on medium flame. 
7. Wait for the murukku to cool down and enjoy these soft, crunchy and delicious snack.

Check out the video recipe on youtube.

Bread Omelette

Serves - 1

Ingredients:

1. Bread - 2 slices
2. Egg - 1
3. Onion chopped - 2 tbsp
4. Curry leaves - 5-6 
5. Green chilies - 1
6. Salt and pepper powder to taste
7. Butter - 1 tsp

Method:

1. Beat an egg and add finely chopped onion, curry leaves, green chili, salt and pepper.
2. Heat a tawa on medium heat and spread a teaspoon of butter.
3. Spread the egg mixture evenly.
4. Place 2 slices of bread side by side. Cook on both sides.
5. Fold the omelette in such a way that the egg is between the bread slices.

Koat Pitha - Mizoram cuisine

Koat Pitha is a sweet snack from Mizoram. These fritters are made using rice flour, jaggery and banana.

For the month of March, the theme for "Shhhhh Cooking Secretly" event is a cuisine from Mizoram.
Mizoram is one of the North Eastern States of India. The name is derived from "Mizo", the name of the native inhabitants, and "Ram", means land, and thus Mizoram means "The land of the Mizos".

For the event, I am paired with Pavani Gunikuntla who gave me rice flour and banana as my secret ingredients. I gave her green chilies and ginger. She blogs at "Pavanis Kitchen". Do check out her blog for a wide collection of recipes.

Recipe source: betterbutter

Ingredients:

1. Rice flour - 1 cup
2. Jaggery - 1/2 cup
3. Banana - 1 (I used Chiquita/robusta banana)
4. Water - 1/4 cup
5. Salt - a pinch
6. Oil - for deep frying

Method:

1. Melt jaggery in 1/4 cup water and sieve to remove any impurities. Allow it to cool down.
2. Mash the banana with a fork into a smooth paste.
3. Add in rice flour, jaggery syrup and a pinch of salt to the mashed banana. Mix well and make a thick batter.
4. Heat oil in a pan and drop in a tablespoon of batter in hot oil. Fry on medium flame until the pitha turns golden brown in color.
5. Drain the excess oil on a paper towel and serve. 

Indori Poha

Indori poha is a famous street food and breakfast dish of Indore, Madhya Pradesh. This poha so much different from the typical Maharashtrian version. The difference lies in the way it is prepared and served. Fennel seeds are added which gives a nice aroma and sweet flavor to the dish. Indori poha is usually topped with raw onion, pomegranate seeds, peanuts and Sev.  It is also served with Jalebi.

For this month's "Shhhhh Cooking Secretly" event, we have chosen the theme of Madhya Pradesh cuisine. My partner for this month is Vidya Narayan who gave me Fennel and Peanuts as my secret ingredients and I made this poha for the event. I had given her Masoor Dal and Garlic, of which she made an authentic MP dish "Indrahar Ki Kadhi". Vidya blogs at Masala Chilli. Do browse her blog for a collection of delicious recipes.

Ingredients:

1. Poha/Flattened rice (medium thickness)- 2 cups
2. Onion - 1 finely chopped
3. Curry leaves - few
4. Mustard seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
5. Fennel seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
6. Turmeric powder - 1/4 teaspoon
7. Green chilli - 2 or as per your spice level
8. Peanuts - a handful
9. Cilantro - little for garnishing
10. Lemon - 1
11. Salt - to taste
12. Sugar - 1 teaspoon
13. Oil - 1 tablespoon

Method:

1. Wash and soak poha in water for a minute. Drain the water completely and set aside. Soaking for longer time will make the poha mushy. If you are using thick poha, then you might have to soak for around 5 minutes. 
2. Heat a tablespoon of oil and saute peanuts till they are golden brown. Fish out the peanuts and set aside in a plate.
3. To the same oil, splutter mustard seeds, followed by fennel seeds. 
4. Saute onion till they turn translucent.
5. Add chopped green chillies, curry leaves and turmeric powder. Give it a good mix.
6. Add soaked poha, salt to taste and sugar. Mix well and cover and cook for 5 minutes on low flame.
7. Finally add roasted peanuts, chopped cilantro and a teaspoon of lemon juice.

 

Breakfast smoothie

Serves: 1

Ingredients:

1. Banana - 1
2. Apple - 1/2
3. Strawberries - 3 large
4. Spinach leaves - 1 cup 

Method:

• Put all the ingredients in a blender along with 1 glass of water and blend into smooth paste.

Spinach Pakoda | Palak Pakoda

Serves:  2

Ingredients:
1. Spinach/Palak (cleaned and tightly packed) - 1 cup
2. Onion - 1 medium
3. Chickpea flour/besan - 1/2 cup
4. Rice flour - 1 tablespoon
5. Ginger grated - 1 teaspoon
6. Red chilli powder - 1 teaspoon
7. Carom seeds/Ajwain - 1/4 teaspoon
8. Curry leaves - few
9. Oil for deep frying
10. Salt to taste

Method:
1. Thinly slice the onion and cut spinach into fine pieces. Put them in a large mixing bowl and add rest of the ingredients except oil and mix well.

2. Sprinkle little water and mix together to form a thick paste.

3. Heat oil for deep frying in a heavy bottom vessel.

4. Drop a spoonful of pakoda mix in hot oil and fry on medium flame until golden color.

Serve with a cup of hot tea.

Cabbage Pakoda

Serves: 3

Ingredients:
1. Cabbage, shredded - 1 cup
2. Onion - 1 medium
3. Chickpea flour/besan - 1/2 cup
4. Rice flour - 1 tablespoon
5. Ginger grated - 1 teaspoon
6. Red chilli powder - 1 teaspoon
7. Carom seeds/Ajwain - 1/4 teaspoon
8. Curry leaves - few
9. Oil for deep frying
10. Salt to taste

Method:
1. Thinly slice the onion and put in a large mixing bowl. Add rest of the ingredients except oil and mix well.

2. Sprinkle little water and mix together to form a thick paste.

3. Heat oil for deep frying in a heavy bottom vessel.

4. Drop a spoonful of pakoda mix in hot oil and fry on medium flame until golden color.

Serve with a cup of hot tea.

Linking this recipe to "Shhh Cooking Secretly Challenge", an event started by Priya. For the month of June, I am paired up with Shobana Vijay who gave me Cabbage and Onion as my secret ingredients.
Shobana blogs at http://shobasdelight.blogspot.in/

Bread Vada

Makes: 6 vadas

Ingredients:

1. Sandwich bread - 4 slices

2. Onion - 1 medium

3. Curd - 2 tablespoon

4. Green chilly - 1

5. Ginger - finely chopped - 1/2 teaspoon

6. Curry leaves - few

7. Baking soda - 1 pinch

8. Rice flour - 1-2 tablespoon

9. Salt to taste 

10. Oil for deep frying

Method: 

1. Cut the bread into small pieces and to this add finely chopped onion, curd, finely chopped green chilli, ginger, curry leaves and baking soda. Add salt to taste and 1 tablespoon of rice flour and mix well to form a dough. Add more rice flour if the dough is little loose.

2. Heat oil for deep frying. When oil is hot, take small portion of mixture, flatten it between your palms and make a small hole in the center. Drop them in oil and fry on low-medium flame until golden brown.

3. Once done, take out from oil and drain excess oil in a paper towel. 

Serve hot with tomato ketchup and cup of tea.

Kayappam | Undampori | Bonda

Kayappam is easy-to-make and one of the popular snacks in Kerala tea shops. It tastes best when  served with tea.

Ingredients:
1. Wheat flour - 2 cup
2. Banana - 1 medium or 3 small bananas
3. Jaggery - 1/2 cup
4. Cardamom powder - 1/2 teaspoon
5, Salt - 1 pinch
6. Baking soda - 1 pinch
7. Oil for deep frying

Method:
1. Melt jaggery with 1 cup of water. Strain the syrup to remove any impurities and allow to cool.

2. In a large mixing bowl, take wheat flour, cardamom powder, salt and baking soda and mix well.

3.  Peel and mash the bananas with a fork. Add the mashed banana to dry ingredients along with jaggery syrup. Combine well to form a very thick batter. It more or less should be like a sticky dough.

4. Allow the batter to ferment for 4-6 hours.

5. Heat oil in a frying pan on low-medium heat. Wet your hands by dipping in a bowl of water, take a lemon sized batter, roughly shape into rounds and drop in hot oil. Fry on low-medium heat until the outside turns dark golden color.

6. Drain excess oil in a tissue and serve with tea.

This can be stored in an airtight container for 2 days.

Check out the video of how to make kayappam in youtube.