Cheese Corn Toast

Cheese Corn Toast

It was the end of the week, my groceries were well used this week and by end of it I only had some potatoes and frozen corn in my fridge. So I knew had to make something using these 2 as my core ingredients. I have made Supremely spicy Mushroom Toast and Hummus flavored Chickpea Toast before.

Sprouts Cutlet/Tikki

Sprouts Cutlet/Tikki

Just the other day I made Indian Quesadilla where I used moong sprouts as the filling. I had some sprouts leftover which gave rise to my today's recipe. I was in mood to eat something spicy and crispy. So I decided to give my sprouts a makeover!
These are shallow fried so you need not feel guilty eating them. Its packed with proteins, high in fiber and low in calories. Thus making it a must have in a vegetarian's meal. Not to forget they are good to taste as well. They can even be eaten raw in a salad.

Moong Dal snack - Microwave recipe

Moong Dal snack - Microwave recipe

One of my favorite snack to munch on while watching TV or on a picnic is Haldiram's Fried Moong Dal. I just love the taste of it. One can easily say that I am addicted o them and it is one of my comfort food. :)
Whenever we go on a trip, KR (my better half) makes it a point to add this to our snack list. He knows me too well. They act as my 'between meal fillers'. I am not very particular about the brand though. It never really occurred to me that I could actually make this at home until I saw a lady (Sandhya Ramakrishnan)post this recipe on her blog - My Cooking journey. I immediately bookmarked it to try for later. So today on the occasion of crossing 200 likes on my Facebook page, I decided to treat myself with some fried moong dal! It is a fairly simple and easy to follow recipe with very few ingredients. This is made in the microwave. After having this home made snack, I am never going to pick up this Haldiram snack from the store ever!!

Dal and Puffed rice wadas

Dal and Puffed rice wadas

We had invited few friends with their visiting family over for dinner yesterday. Since they love South Indian food, I decided to include at-least one item in the menu from my hometown. While I was looking out for some authentic recipes online, my friend's mom made this dish and shared the pic with me on whats app. I was hooked onto it immediately. I made up my mind to add this to my menu and I was not disappointed at all. It was an instant hit. They loved it and took the recipe from me as well. :) It had the South Indian flavor to it which they devoured upon.
It's said that recipes are meant to be shared, specially the ones made by mom. So cheers to all moms out there who are an inspiration for all of us. We exist because you exist. This post is dedicated to my friend's mom. Thank you aunty. :)

Ragda Pattice Bombay Isshtyle!

Ragda Pattice Bombay Isshtyle!

When you are living far away from your hometown, you miss everything about that place, specially if that city is Bombay! Apart from your home, your family and friends you miss the street food. All of you must have that one street food vendor who would be your go to person when you are craving for some tasty food. All these street foods taste better when eaten by the street rather than in some fancy restaurant. Ragda Pattice is one such dish. It just cant taste the same if eaten in a hotel. It is a very simple dish, the main trick is the assembly and the chutneys need to taste right. This dish totally resonates with the attitude of Bombayites - simple to make, classy to look at and unbeatable taste!

Coriander chips

                                                  Coriander chips

My husband enjoys all fried snacks. Since we are on a diet check, he doesn't get to eat them often. Usually it's the Indian store to the rescue as he stocks his weekly cravings from there. I stumbled upon this recipe by Jinal Momaya on one of the food groups I follow on FB and it looked so easy that I decided to make it the very moment. This was my surprise for my hubby today. Thankfully I had all the ingredients available at home. So I got down to my business. We both finished it the very same day! That goes on to say how tasty it was. Do try it at your home. Perfect snack for teatime.

Sukha bhel

Sukha bhel

What do you do if you have some leftover kurmura and sev but no chutneys to make bhel? Well, I make sukha bhel of course. A very quick and easy yet filling snack which takes you back to the streets of Bombay with the first bite! There are many variations to this, you can feel free to add anything to this sukha bhel to make it more tasty and healthy.

Cabbage and Onion Pakoda in Appe Pan

Cabbage and Onion Pakoda in Appe Pan

When you need to make some starters for a large group,appe pan comes to the rescue. It is really so much simpler and healthier than deep frying. I love this miracle pan. :) There are numerous recipes floating in the cyber world using this pan. I decided to give the traditional medu vada a twist. My mom used to add onions to the medu wada batter sometimes, so I took my inspiration for her. Plus I can never get the shape right so the appe pan kind off makes it look good ;)
I made around 60 wadas so my measurements below are according to that.

Bombay Special - Vada Pav

Bombay Special - Vada Pav

It will always be Bombay for me. Mumbai doesn't connect with me as much as Bombay does. Well, I am true Bombayite!! If you have obviously been to Bombay or lived there, you would not have missed tasting this extremely famous street food called Vada pav. It looks like an easy dish to make, I mean, after all, its just a batata vada in a water roll (pav). Actually, its quite a process to make this dish a success. First, if you are out of Bombay, missing your home, missing this delicacy, you have to emotionally prepare yourself to make this yourself and also to the fact that you are not going to be able to order it from a local food stall near your house. The next stage is when you begin to feel nostalgic about your days back then, when your dad used to get these hot vada pavs on his way home from work for the entire family, no evening walks with friends were complete without gorging onto atleast two vada pavs if not three or just enjoying it as part of your main course dinner! The last step is actually making it. You know, we had a local vendor near our house, who made the most awesome vada pav. We knew him by his first name and since we were his regulars, we had an account with him and he even gave us free home delivery! So today this post is dedicated to him.. :)
My husband loves it too, in fact that is the first thing we have when we land in Bombay. Well, I can go on and on about my love for vada pav to an extent that this may sound like an essay on it. So let me shut up and straight away go to method of making it. That is why you are here after all!

Kurmura Chiwda

Kurmura Chiwda

A very quick and easy snack to make for those lazy afternoons where you are tempted to hog on to all those unhealthy fried snacks. Try this instead. This snack takes me back to my childhood where during diwali, every second house was filled with the aroma of this snack in the making. I used to keep checking with my mom on when this chiwda would be ready from me to eat. Now I make this with just a little variation, I don't add peanuts, curry leaves. dried coconut or raisins. You may add if you wish to. 

Baby corn fitters

Baby Corn Fritters

This is an easy & tasty snack on a dull evening. Baby corn when fried with this batter, it tastes yum. Eat them when still hot as they tend to get softer once they cool down.