Onion and Olive Bialy

In the rainy weather I get quite a craving for hot bread. This time i decided to do a bialy.

You need:

For the dough

1. Maida – 3 cups
2. Active Dry yeast – 1 tsp
3. Sugar – 1 tbsp
4. Salt – 1 tsp
5. Water – 1+1/4 cups
6. Parsley - 1 tsp (dried)
7. Oil – for brushing & greasing
8. Whole wheat flour – 4 tbsp (for dusting)

For the filling:

1. Onions - 3, medium, chopped
2. Black olives - 1 cup
3. salt to taste
4. pepper to taste
5. Olive oil - 1 tsp
6. Tomato ketchup - 1/2 cup
7. Sesame seeds for topping

How to:

Filling:

1. Heat the olive oil
2. Add onions and saute till they just start turning brown
3. Add black olives and cook for 30 seconds
4. Add salt and pepper, mix well, remove from flame and keep aside

Dough:

1. Heat water to lukewarm (make sure it's not too hot or the yeast will die)
2. Add yeast, salt and sugar to the water. Cover and keep aside for 5-10 minutes (till it starts frothing)
3. In a large bowl mix maida with this yeast mixture and knead for 10 minutes. Add parsley and mix well.
4. Coat with oil and cover and keep in a warm place to rise for 2 hours
5. When the dough doubles in size, punch the air out of it and knead a little. Divide in to 8 equal parts and roll in to a ball. Dust in wheat flour.

Assembly:

1. Flatten out the dough balls and keep on a greased baking tray for the second rising. Press the rounds in the middle to create a depression that will hold the filling. The sides should be risen. 
2. Prick the depressed center with a fork. This will ensure the center with the filling does not rise.
3. Cover and let them rise for another hour
4. Preheat oven at 230 degrees C
5. Spread a tsp or more of ketchup on each of the depressed center and place the onion filling on top. Brush some oil on the sides and sprinkle sesame seeds
6. Bake for 12- 15 minutes or till the crust turns golden brown. keep checking as the time will vary for every oven
7. Serve hot

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Apple pie

Apple pie is one of my favorite desserts and i've always wanted to bake one. But it looked so daunting that it took me some courage to attempt it. The below recipe it a bit of trial and error, (i'm a dab and dash kinds cook, so measurements are always a task for me) but posting it here due to popular demand :). So here goes.

For the crust you need:

1. 1 1/4 cup maida (or all purpose flour)
2. 1 tsp salt
3. 110 gms of butter - chilled and cut in to cubes
4. 1/4th cup ice water

To make the dough, mix the flour and salt together. Rub in butter till the whole mixture has a flaky texture. There should be no flour left without a bit of butter rubbed in. Slowly start adding ice water to bring the dough together till it forms a ball. Do not knead much. Wrap in cling foil and refrigerate for at least an hour and up to 2 days.

NOTE: With these proportions I was able to make 3 mini pies and 1 7" pie.

For the filling you need: (NOTE: This filling is only for the 7" pie)

1. 4 apples - peeled cored and cut in to thin pieces
2. 1 tbsp lemon juice
3. Raisins - a handful
4. Bread crumbs - 3/4 cup
5. Brown sugar - 4 tbsp (optional, I like the flavor so added it)
6. White sugar - according to taste (I added almost 1/4 cup. Keep in mind that the crust is not sweet, so adjust taste accordingly)

To make the filling, heat a non stick pan. Add apples, sugar, lemon juice and cook till the apples are tender. You can also add some orange juice if you like the flavor and reduce it down as the apples cook. Add raisins. Add the breadcrumbs slowly, just enough to soak up the excess liquid. Check and adjust for sugar again. Remove from flame and keep aside to cool.

To make the pie

1. Preheat the oven at 180 degrees
2. Grease a 7" pie tin with butter. Grease it really well otherwise the pie may stick.
3. Take half the dough and roll out a circle on a floured surface. Large enough to cover the pie tin.
4. Take the rolled dough and place it in the tin. Firmly pressing it on the bottom and the sides of the tin. Trim and extra dough from the sides.
5. Put the filling in and press it down, keeping a slight mound in the center
6. Take a smaller ball of the dough and roll out another thinner circle, just big enough to cover the top.
7. Cover the filling with this rolled dough and pinch together the sides with the base dough, firmly closing it in.
8. Take a knife and place some cuts on the top to let the steam escape
9. Brush the top with some milk and place the pie in the oven on the third rung from the top. 
10. Bake at 180 degrees for at least 45 minutes. If the top is browning quickly, cover it with some aluminium foil once it reaches the desired color. You'll have to check in after 20 minutes or so to do this.
11. After the pie is done, take it out from the oven and let it rest for a few minutes. Take it out of the pie tin and cool slightly on a wire rack before cutting.
12. Ready to serve with a dollop of cream or a scoop of icecream

Whole wheat bread

Are you a fan of warm just baked bread? Then you'll love this recipe. 

You need:

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 tsp dry active yeast

1/2 cup milk - lukewarm 

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp salt

1 tbsp butter

2 tsp oil (I used olive oil)

How to

- add yeast and sugar to the lukewarm milk. Make sure the milk is not hot else the yeast will die. Leave it to proof for 3-4 minutes

- in a bowl mix flour, salt, oil and butter. Crumb it well so the butter is mixed well with the flour.

- once the yeast has bubbled up, add the milk to the flour and mix well to form a dough

- knead well for 10 minutes

- coat with some more oil and leave to rise in a warm place for 20 minutes ( if you are in a hurry. Else leave it for 45 min or till the dough doubles in size)

- punch te dough down and knead some more. Shape in to 6 balls and arrange on a geased baking tray. Leave to rise some more

- meanwhile pre heat the oven at 180 degree centigrade

- put the rolls in the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes till they are well browned 

- serve hot with butter 

Bean and Rice Burritos

Here is my take on bean and rice burritos made from stuff lying around at home. Took me 1 hour to make everything, so doable for dinner

You need

For the tortillas

• Wheat Flour - 1 cup
• Olive oil - 1 tsp
• Salt - 1/ 2 tsp
• Water

For the rice

• Brown rice (not red rice) - 3 handfuls - boiled well
• Salt - 1 tsp
• Yellow bell pepper - 1/2 - finely chopped
• Red bell pepper - 1/2 - finely chopped
• Spring onions - 2-3 - finely chopped
• Red chilli sauce - 1 tsp
• Chilli vinegar - 1 tsp 
• Olive oil - 1 tbsp
• Pepper - 1/2 tsp

For the bean filling

• Black or red beans (Rajma) - 1 cup - soaked overnight and boiled (drain out all water)
• Onion - 1 - chopped
• Garlic - 4-5 cloves
• Salt - 1 tsp
• Olive oil - 1 tsp
• Salsa sauce - readymade - 1 tbsp
• Jalapenos - I used 4-5 slices from a bottle and chopped them finely

For the guacamole (more like yogurt guacamole. I didn't have sour cream for a separate topping so I added yogurt to the guacamole and it turned out fine)

• Avocado - 1 ripe - peeled and chopped
• Juice of 1 lemon
• Garlic - 1 clove
• Curd/ yogurt - 1 tbsp (must be thick, of a dip consistency)
• 2 tbsp chopped onion
• 2 tbsp chopped tomato
• salt to taste

For the garnish

• Cheese slices - 4 (this is what I had, if you have better cheese, use that)
• finely chopped tomato
• finely chopped green onion
• Readymade salsa sauce
• coriander leaves

How to

Bean filling

1. Heat olive oil in a pan
2. Fry onions till translucent
3. Add garlic and fry some more
4. Add the beans and mash them really well. Add some water if necessary to make a loose pasty consistency
5. Add salt, salsa sauce and jalapenos and mix well
6. Keep aside

Rice

1. Heat olive oil in a pan
2. Add the chopped peppers and stir fry
3. Add the rest of the ingredients except rice and stir fry 
4. Finally add the rice and toss well
5. Keep aside

Guacamole

1. Toss everything in a mixer and give a quick churn to make a chunky sauce

Tortillas

1. Mix everything and knead into a tight dough
2. Divide in to 4 equal portions and roll out thin tortillas
3. Heat a griddle and cook till lightly brown on both sides

Assembling

1. While the tortilla is still hot on the pan, add a slice of cheese to melt it slightly
2. Take off from the flame and in to a plate.
3. Spread the guacamole in one long line
4. Then spread the rice along the same line
5. Add the bean filling on top of the rice following the line
6. Top it up with rest of the garnishing 
7. Fold the tortilla tightly to make the burrito 
8. Serve hot with some additional guacamole and rice

Fried Idlis

Since I've moved to Bangalore I've been making a lot of Idlis and Dosas. I especially love mini-idlis with hot sambar. But often, inevitably some idlis are left over. And well, you can't really have the same breakfast twice. So I've found a snack that works best for me with my evening chai (or coffee if you prefer). It's quite simple really.

You'll need:

• Leftover idlies - 4 if they are mini, 2 if they are regular
• 1 medium onion - julienne
• 1/2 tsp mustard seeds 
• 2-3 curry leaves
• 1 dry red chilli
• 1 green chilli - sliced long
• 1 tbsp oil 
• 1/2 tsp red chilli powder
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• 1/2 tsp sambar powder
• Salt to taste
• 1 tbsp fresh grated coconut (you can also use dry grated powder that is readily available)
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• A pinch of sugar (optional)

How to

• Cut the idlis in to bite size pieces
• In a bowl, mix chilli powder, turmeric powder, sambar powder, salt and the grated coconut. If you are using sugar add that too. Mix well. 
• Add idlis to this bowl and rub the spice mix over them. Keep aside.
• Heat oil in a pan (preferably non stick). When hot, add mustard seeds, curry leaves, dry red chilli, green chilli and the chopped onion. Stir well and fry till onion turns golden brown.
• Add the spiced idlis and mix well. Cover and cook on a simmer for 1 min. Keep stirring in between to ensure that the spices are getting cooked well and do not burn
• Turn off the flame. Add lemon juice and mix well
• Serve hot. You can garnish with some fresh coriander leaves and grated coconut

Spaghetti in cheese & cream sauce

So this one is a real quick fix and doesn't really need any fancy ingredients. It's quite a flexible recipe and very easy to play around with depending on what you have at home. I made it for dinner today and munched on it with a can of happiness (read Coke).

For one person you definitely need:

• Spaghetti - A handful ( I just grabbed enough to fit my fist and it was just a slightly bigger portion that what I usually can eat)
• Cheese - Any kind really except mozzarella/ stringy cheese. It should basically melt in the sauce. I had 2 cubes of processed cheese and a few smallish (1/2" inch) chunks of cheddar. And I like my pasta cheesy so I put it all in. You can cut down on cheese a bit if you want
• Italian seasoning - Use anything really. I had some leftover oregano and chilli flakes from a pizza I ordered yesterday. So in went 1 small pack (abt 1 tsp) of oregano and a similar portion of chilli flakes
• Olive oil/ butter - 1 tsp
• Milk - 1/2 cup with some cream in it
• Onion - 1 small - finely chopped
• Salt - to taste

How to make it:

1. Heat a large pan of water and add spaghetti to it once it comes to a boil. Cook for 10 minutes approx. Check often to see how much you want it cooked. Some want it al-dente and some like it slightly softer. 
2. Drain spaghetti and put in a pan of cold water.  
3. Meanwhile, heat oil/butter & fry the onion till translucent
4. Add milk and cheeses and cook till the cheese melts
5. Add oregano, chilli flakes and salt. Bring to a boil. 
6. Add spaghetti and toss well
7. Serve hot with a slice of garlic toast

Tips to make it better

If you have some more ingredients you can mix and match and make it better

• Got any garlic? Crush and fry it with the onion (step 3 above)
• Fresh coriander? I feel it really goes well with pasta. Give it a quick whirl in the blender, without water. Add to the sauce in step 5 above
• You can use black olives as garnish while serving

Imli ki Chutney

Had a few friends over for dinner and wanted to make some chaat. Figured out my stock of mom's chutney is over so had to whip this up myself.

You need:
- Imli (Tamarind) - 1 cup (soak for 2 hours)
- Gud (Jaggery) - 1 cup (or less if you want it more sour)
- Salt - to taste
- Red chilly powder - 1 tsp
- Raisins - a handful - soaked
- Dry ginger - 1 tsp
- Jira (cumin seeds) - 1 tsp - roasted

How to:
- Sieve the pulp from the tamarind in a pan, add as much water as needed to make it soupy in consistency.
- Add jaggery and bring to a boil.
- Add everything else and cook on low flame till the chutney thickens.
- Taste and adjust spices if needed

Tip - leave a chutney slightly runny as it will thicken when cold

Poached pears in red wine

I think I need classes in food photography, this looked much better than it does in the picture.

Anyway, for those of you who need a guilt free dessert, poached pears to the rescue. And it's quite simple too.

You need:

1. 2 pears
2. 1 cup dry red wine
3. 1/2 cup orange juice
4. 1/4 cup sugar (adjust according to taste)
5. A small stick of cinnamon

How to:

1. Take a deep pan and add the wine, sugar, orange juice and cinnamon.
2. Bring to a boil and then simmer for 2-3 minutes
3. Peel the pears without removing the step
4. Remove some portion from the bottom to make it flat so that the pear can stand
5. Put the pears in the simmer liquid. Cover and cook till the pears are cooked but firm. Turn the pears from time to time to ensure even cooking
6. When cooked, remove from flame and let the pears rest in the liquid. When cool, put in the fridge to chill. 
7. Before serving, bring the pear to room temperature, thicken the sauce on a flame if needed. Serve the pear with a spoonful of the sauce. 

Banana walnut cake

I was looking out for some eggless cake recipes on the internet and found many options. Made a few tweaks, experimented a bit and came up with this one.

You need:
Dry ingredients

1. All-purpose flour (maida) - 1 cup
2. Icing Sugar - 3/4 cup
3. Baking powder - 3/4 tsp
4. Baking soda - 1/3 tsp
5. Salt - 1/4 tsp
6. Cocoa powder – 1 tbsp
7. Cinnamon powder - 1 pinch
8. Walnut pieces - 1/2 cup

Wet ingredients

1. Ripe Bananas - 1 medium
2. Buttermilk (unsalted) – 1/2 cup
3. Melted Butter or vegetable oil - 1/2 cup
4. Vanilla essence - 1 tsp

How to:

1. Sift maida, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cocoa powder and cinnamon powder and keep aside.
2. In a bowl add oil (I used vegetable oil, you can use melted butter also) and butter milk and mix well. (I gave it a quick whisk in the blender for a smooth finish)
3. Either mash or cut the banana into really small pieces and add to the liquid. Also add the vanilla essence.
4. Fold the flour mix into the liquid now. Don’t beat.
5. Dust the walnuts in some flour and add to this mix. Fold in. The mixture will be of a thick consistency.
6. Preheat the oven to 180⁰ C for 10 minutes. (You can turn it on while starting the preparation for the cake)
7. Pour the mix in a rectangular tin. You can add walnuts on top as garnish. Bake at 180⁰ C for 35-40 minutes. Do a check at 30 minutes as the cake may bake earlier if your layer is thinner.
8. Remove from oven and let it cool. Remove from the tin and cut into thick slices. Dust with some icing sugar.

Dessert topping

Quick and easy to do :) and you can store it for later use. Can also be used as a filling in chocolates for that extra crunch.

You need:

A handful of cashew nuts ( or groundnuts)

A cup of sugar

How to:

Grind the nuts to a grainy powder. Heat a  nonstick pan and caramelise sugar. When it's turning a nice golden brown, remove from the flame and quickly add the powdered nuts and stir well. In a greased plate pour this mix out as small dollops and wait for it to set.

Once it's cool and hard. Give it a turn in the blender to a coarse consistency. Ready to be sprinkled!

To store keep in a sealed container and refrigerate 

Sabudana Vada

Most people eat it during fasts, but i just love the snackiness of it :). It does take some prep time though since the Sabudana needs to soak. So you need to plan at least 2 hours in advance.

You need:

1. Sabudana - 1 cup (soak for at least two hours)
2. Boiled potatoes - 4 small or 2 medium
3. Green chilli - 1 - finely chopped
4. Roasted unsalted peanuts - 2 tbsp (optional)
5. Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
6. Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
7. Salt to taste
8. Bread crumbs/ Maida/ Rice flour  - whatever is available to coat the vadas before frying
9. Oil to deep fry

How to:

1. Wash the soaked sabudana till all the starch is gone and only the pearls remain
2. Crush the peanuts
3. Mash the potatoes
4. In a bowl mix all ingredients (except the coating ingredients)  and knead well till it sticks together
5. Make small patties and roll them in the bread crumbs
6. Heat oil in a deep pan. When it's really hot, add the vada's to fry till they are a darker shade of brown
7. Serve hot with green chutney 

Aate ka halwa (Kadah Prasad)

The simplest and quickest sweet dish to make in my opinion. Plus it tastes yum.

You need:

1. Wheat flour - 1 cup
2. Ghee (clarified butter) - 1/2 cup
3. Water 2 cups
4. Sugar - 1/2 cup
5. A handful of raisins and cashew nuts (optional)

How to:

1. Put ghee and wheat flour in a pan over a medium flame. Stir continuously to cook the flour evenly
2. In another pan add water and sugar and leave to heat on a low flame
3. When the flour is a dark chocolate brown (not burnt!) quickly add the dry fruits and give a stir. 
4. Quickly add the water and sugar mix and stir furiously till its a smooth finish. Make sure there are no flour lumps.
5. Cook till the ghee leaves sides.
6. Ready to eat :) 

Bhindi Masala

Again a very simple recipe and my favorite dish.

You need:

• Bhindi (Ladyfinger) - 250 g
• One small onion - optional - cut into quarters
• Cooking oil - 4 tbsp (sorry folks - this is a high oil dish, you can use lesser oil, but then make sure to use a non-stick pan)
• Mustard seeds (rai) - 1/2 tsp
• Cumin seeds (jeera) - 1 tsp
• Asafoetida (hing) - 1 pinch
• Salt - to taste
• Red chilly powder - 1 tsp (If you want it spicy, add another 1/2 tsp)
• Coriander powder - 1 tsp
• Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
• Dry mango powder (amchur) - 1/2 tsp - option (i.e. if you like your food with a slight tang)
• A pan (preferably non stick) that can be covered

How to:

• Remove the top and tail of the ladyfinger and slice into 4 pieces vertically (lengthwise)
• In the pan, heat oil. Once hot add asafoetida, cumin seeds and mustard seeds. 
• When they start crackling, add the chopped ladyfinger. Mix well so that the oil coats all pieces and cook for a minute.
• Add all the spices except Amchur, cover and cook on a low flame for 15 minutes. Keep stirring well after every few minutes to avoid the masala burning or sticking to the pan
• Once the ladyfinger is cooked, add Amchur and stir well. Remove from flame, cover and keep aside. 
• After 5 minutes, move the ladyfinger to the serving dish. In the cooking pan there will be some oil and masala left over. Heat the pan again, add chopped onion and cook till it is nicely translucent.
• Use as a garnish on top of the Bhindi Masala
• Serve hot with rotis

Aloo Pyaz ki Subzi (Potato and Onion curry)

This Rajasthani delicacy is quite time consuming to make an exceptionally heavy on the tummy. But tastes divine with hot rotis. I'm not going with the original version but using my edited version that is simpler to make.

You need:

1. Potatoes - 2 large
2. Onions - 6-7 small onions and 2 medium onions
3. Tomatoes - 3-4
4. Garlic - 10-15 cloves (you can use less if you want less garlicky flavor)
5. Ginger - 1" piece
6. Green chillies - 1
7. Curd - 1 cup (preferably sour)
8. Black Cardamom (badi ilaichi) - 1
9. Cinnamon (Dalchini) - 1 stick
10. Peppercorns (kali mirch) - 2-3 corns
11. Cloves (laung) - 2-3
12. Salt - to taste
13. Red chilli powder - 1 1/2 tsp
14. Coriander powder - 2 tsp
15. Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
16. Garam masala - 2 tsp
17. cumin seeds - 1 tsp
18. Asafoetida (hing) - 1 pinch
19. Oil to fry
20. Fresh coriander to garnish

How to:

1. Remove the peel of small onions and make a slit lengthwise
2. Peel potatoes and chop lengthwise in to thick slices (like french fries)
3. Heat oil in a pan and deep fry the small onions and potatoes. Keep aside
4. Make fine paste of the medium onions, tomatoes, green chillies, garlic, and ginger in a mixer.
5. Heat 6 tbsp of oil in a pan. Add asafoetida and cumin seeds and temper
6. Add the tomato-onion paste. Cover and cook well for 30 minutes. Stir occasionally and add water if needed
7. Tie the cardamom, cinnamon sticks, peppercorns and cloves in a muslin cloth and add to the pan
8. Mix the remaining spices in the curd. Add this to the pan and mix well.
9. Cover and cook for another 30 minutes till the oil leaves sides. Stir occasionally and add water when needed.
10. Remove the muslin cloth of spices.
11. Add the fried potatoes and onions and cook for another 15-20 minutes.
12. Garnish with fresh coriander and serve hot with rotis.

Palak Tamatar ki sabzi - Spinach and tomato curry

Coming home after a hectic day and cooking can be quite a pain sometimes. So I mostly try quick fix stuff. This one cooks in a jiffy and is doable for the health buffs too. Just moderate the oil - 'cause I don't.

You need:

• 1 large bowl of washed and chopped spinach
• 1 large tomato - diced
• 1 large onion - finely chopped
• salt to taste
• red chilly powder - 1 tsp (if you like it spicy make it 1 1/2 tsp)
• turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
• coriander powder - 1 tsp
• cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
• asafoetida - 1 pinch
• Oil - 1 1/2 Tb sp (you can use lesser if you want)

How to:

• Heat oil in a pan. Add asafoetida and temper the cumin seeds
• Add onions and sautee till translucent
• Add chopped spinach and tomato and stir well
• Add all the spices - cover and cook till the spinach and tomatoes are soft and the curry leaves oil at the side. Stir occasionally to avoid it sticking to the pan
• Ready to eat - yummy with hot paranthas

Strawberry Coulis

We shifted to our new place this week and things are pretty much in a test mode; including the fridge. On a shopping spree drooled over some strawberries and bought a couple of packs. Came home to find out that the fridge had decided to go on a strike. So now I was stuck with more strawberries that we could possibly eat in one night and to waste them would be a shame! Decided to experiment a bit and came up with the following that we enjoyed with pancakes the next morning.

You need:

Strawberries - 2 cups - chopped
Sugar - 1/2 cup (will depend on how sweet the strawberries are)
Water - 1 cup
Juice of one lemon

How to:

In a non stick heavy bottomed pan put the strawberries, sugar and water. Cover and cook for 5 minutes. Remove the cover and cook till the coulis achieves pouring consistency. Remove from flame and stir in the lemon juice.

Easy peasey!

Quickfix chocolate icing

I did this for a friend's birthday cake. Turned out pretty decent.

You need:

1. Approx 60 g of milk chocolate ( I used Cadbury's)
2. 1 cup of cream ( I used the layer of cream on milk and churned it a bit in the mixer)

How to:
Melt the chocolate in the microwave. Add the cream and mix well. Should be of icing consitency. If you want add a capful of rum. All set to be put on the cake now :)

Pineapple Raita

A nice accompaniment to a heavy meal. Very simple to make.

You need:

• canned pineapple slices - 3
• Thick curd - 600 gms
• Black salt - 1 tsp
• Canned pineapple syrup - 1/2 cup
• Sugar - 1 tbsp
• Fresh coriander leaves

How to:

• Tie the curd in a muslin cloth and hang it to let excess water drip
• When the curd is really thick, sieve it through to remove any lumps
• Chop the pineapple slices finely
• Mix the salt, sugar, pineapple syrup, and pineapple slices in the curd
• Serve chilled garnished with fresh coriander

Aloo Tikki (Spicy Potato Fritters)

A tasty evening snack to be enjoyed on a nice rainy day. There are two versions to it, plain tikki and tikki chhole. I am going to write about the plain tikki in this post and follow it up with tikki chhole (ideal for a kitty party) in the next one.

It's fairly easy and quick to make :)

You need

1. 4 large potatoes - boiled
2. Salt to taste
3. 1 cup of Oil for frying
4. Bread crumbs for coating
5. Sweet tamarind chutney
6. Green coriander chutney
7. Red chilly powder to garnish
8. Chaat masala to garnish
9. namkeen (optional)
10. Finely chopped onion (optional)

How to:

1. Grate the potatoes. Add salt and mix well.
2. Shape the potato mixture into round balls and flatten in the middle to make patties
3. Roll in the bread crumbs to give an even coating of crumbs and keep aside
4. Heat the oil on a griddle and deep fry the tikkis in the center of the griddle. As they turn golden move them away from the center and arrange onto the sides. Cook till crisp and serve hot.
5. For serving - Crush the tikki slightly and garnish with sweet tamarind chutney and green coriander chutney. Sprinkle some red chilly powder and chaat masala. Can also add some namkeen and finely chopped onions.

Pav Bhaji

This Mumbai delicacy is easy to make while being a veggie fix for the kids. Just the thing when you want to eat something warm and spicy.

You need:

• 1 large potato - diced into cubes
• 1 cup of mixed vegetables - peas, carrots, cauliflower, beans, capsicum
• 2 large onions - finely chopped
• 2 large tomatoes - finely chopped
• 5-6 cloves of garlic - crushed
• Oil - 3 tbsp
• Butter - 2 tbsp
• Red chilly powder - 2 tsp
• Pav bhaji masala - 3- 4 tbsp (available ready made in the market)
• Salt to taste
• Lemon slices and chopped onion to garnish

How to:

• Boil the potato and mixed vegetables together till soft (one steam in a pressure cooker will do)
• Heat the oil in a deep pan and saute till lightly brown. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the tomatoes and cook till soft.
• Add the pav bhaji masala, salt and red chilly powder and cook till the oil leaves the sides
• Mash the steamed vegetables well and add to the onion mixture. Mix well and add water if needed to make it a thick paste.
• Add the butter and stir well
• While serving add lemon juice and chopped onion. Serve with lightly roasted Pav ( a kind of bun)