Parippu vada/Dal Vada

Yet another favorite tea time snack. This is one of the default items which would be present in small tea shops and thattu kadas in kerala and the smell of these freshly fried vadas bring water to my mouth . It can be made with either toor dal or channal dal. I used channa dal.

Ingredients

Channal dal  -1 cup soaked in water for atleast 2 hours

Onion minced - 2 cups

Green Chillies  - 3 tablespoons finely chopped

Ginger - 2 tablespoons  finely chopped

Salt - to taste

Curry leaves  - 2 sprigs finely chopped

Oil  - 3 cups for frying

Method

Soak the dal in water for at least 2 hours. Once the dal is soaked and ready, it  would be around 2 cups. Drain it and make sure there is no water left out. You can either cut onions/green chillies/ginger or put all these items in food processor and chop till the pieces are small. Put  dal also in the mixer/food processor and  grind until a coarse mix is formed. Remove the mix leaving around 1/4 cup in the food processor itself. Grind it to a fine paste. This helps the mix from breaking apart while frying. Mix all the ingredients and make sure all the items are incorporated well. Make small balls the size of the lemon . Take each ball and place it in one hand and with the other hand flatten it to a round shape. 

Heat oil in a deep pan and when the oil is hot, gently transfer the vadas and deep fry them until both sides are golden in color. Remove them from oil and place them on a paper towel so that excess oil is absorbed. Serve hot with tea.

Beef Cutlet

Cutlets are famous appetizers and would be present without fail as part of most non veg menus in kerala. My hubby would be waiting for me to finish frying and by the time I am done with all , half of them would be disappeared from the plate :). Its a bit time consuming task, but it is well worth the effort. So here goes my version of the same ..  

Ingredients

Beef - 1lb
Potatoes - 1 medium sized
Onion - 1 cup finely chopped
Green chillies - 4 finely chopped
Ginger Garlic paste - 1 teaspoon
Pepper Powder - 2 teaspoon
Chilly Powder - 1.5 teaspoon
Turmeric Powder - 1/4 teaspoonMeat Masala - 2 tablespoon
Coriander Powder - 1 teaspoonOil - 2 tablespoon + 1 cup for deep frying.
Salt - to taste
Egg - 2
Bread Crumbs - 1 cup

Method

Boil the potatoes in pressure cooker until 4 whistles. Peel of the skin and mash it nicely with spoon or hand. Make sure that there are no lumps. Cut the beef into cubes of one inch length. Soak in vinegar for 10 minutes and wash the pieces thoroughly and drain it. In a pressure cooker put the beef pieces and add 1 teaspoon of pepper powder , a pinch of salt and turmeric powder and cook till 2 whistles on medium heat. Allow it to cool. Open the pressure cooker and if there is any water left out in the meat , heat it until the pieces are dry. Mince the pieces in blender or food processor. Mix together the mashed potatoes and minced meet. Heat a bottom wide pan and add 2 tablespoons of oil. When the oil is hot, add the chopped onions and green chillies. Saute them until the onions are translucent . Add ginger garlic paste and saute till onions are golden brown in color. Add all the remaining masala powders and saute till the raw smell goes . Add the potato-meet mixture and mix well. Add salt to taste and cook for another 3 to 4 minutes until the masala is fully incorporated. Allow it to cool down for 5 minutes. Now to make bread crumbs, u can either buy the crumbs or as I did u can grind the tea rusk to a medium coarse powder. Also beat the eggs well and keep it aside( I used only egg white) . Make lemon sized balls of the meat mix and shape it in to round or oval . Dip each ball in egg mix and then roll in the bread crumbs and keep it in a plate. Continue the process with all the balls. Now heat one cup of oil in pan and  deep fry the cutlets in medium heat till both sides are golden brown. Drain them in paper towel and serve hot with sauce :)


Note : You can also use shredded or minced beef instead, that will save you a lot of time.

Manga Mappas - Mango in coconut milk

Yet another mango dish. I love mangoes and I always find a reason to put them in what ever dish possible. This is a simple and tasty dish made of raw mangoes.

Ingredients

Raw Mango - 1 Medium size, Cut in to small pieces
Onion - 1 cup sliced
Green Chillies - 5 cut diagonally
Dry red chillies - 3
Curry leaves - 2 sprigs
Mustard - 1/2 teaspoon
Fenugreek Seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
Turmeric powder - 1/2 teaspoon
Chilly Powder - 1.5 teaspoon
Coriander powder - 1 teaspoonCoconut milk Thick - 2 cups
Water - 1 cup
Salt - to taste
Oil - 2 tablespoons

Method

Heat oil in a pan and when the oil is hot add mustard seeds and fenugreek. When they pop , add dry chillies and saute for 10 seconds. Add the sliced onions and salt and saute till they are translucent. Add green chillies and curry leaves and saute till onions turn golden brown. Add the spices and saute till raw smell goes. Add the mango pieces and saute till the mango pieces are coated with masala. Add water just enough for the mango pieces to be cooked. Once the mango pieces are cooked and translucent, simmer the heat and add the coconut milk. Bring the entire mixture to a boil and then remove from stove. Allow it to cool and serve with rice.

Fish Fry

Its a long time since I posted a recipe. Has been busy with my work and then got kind of lazy also. So finally though of restarting with my favorite dish :)

Fish is the favorite non vegetarian  item  in our house. I love fish in any forms, be it curry or fry . So here is what u will need.

Ingredients

Fish - tilapia fillet (3 pieces)
Small Onions (button onions) - 5
Chilly Powder - 1 table spoon
Coriander Powder - 1 teaspoon
Fish Masala powder ( I used grandma's fish masala) - 3 tablespoon
Pepper Powder - 1 teaspoon
Lemon Juice - 1 table spoon.
Salt - to taste
Oil for frying

 Marination

Grind the button onions with a little water to form a fine paste.Mix all powders in a bowl with warm water and add the onion paste to this.Mix it together until it forms a thick paste.

Clean the fish pieces( put in vinegar for around 15 minutes, that will remove any bad smell if it has) and cut into pieces of desired size. Make small cuts on both sides of the fish so that masala is absorbed. Marinate the pieces in masala until a  think coating of masala is formed. Keep the marinated fish in freezer for 30 minutes so that the masala will not fall off from the fish during frying.

Frying

You can either deep fry the fish in oil or bake in oven .

If you are deep frying , heat enough oil in a frying pan to cover the fish pieces . When the oil has heated up add the fish pieces. Make sure the pan is not over crowded. Continue frying the pieces on both sides until the pieces are crisp.

If you are baking , then cover the baking tray with aluminum foil and then spread a tablespoon of  oil evenly over the tray. Then keep the fish pieces in the tray and pour few drops of oil on the top of the fish pieces.Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and then keep the tray in the middle rack for 20 minutes. Take out and turn to the other side and bake for 10 more minutes
After that take a frying pan and add 1 tablespoon of oil and carefully transfer these fish pieces from the tray and fry until both sides are brown.