Diwali Sweets & Snacks 2015

 Hope everyone had a nice Diwali. Here are the sweets and snacks I prepared this year.

 Maida cake/burfi

 Dry gulaab jamoon

Murukku

Mixture

Click on the names to get the recipes..Will post the sweet recipes soon. 

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Bread vadai

Ingredients

Wheat bread - 5 slices

Chopped onion-1/4cup

Green chilly -2 (adjust according to spice level)

Chopped cilantro - 3tablespoons

Chopped ginger-1teaspoon

Few curry leaves

Rice flour - 1/4cup

Thick yogurt- about 1/2cup

Salt

Oil to deep fry

Method

Cut/Tear off the bread sliced into small pieces.

Finely chop the ginger, green chilly and cilantro.

Combine the bread, onion, cilantro, green chilly and salt in a bowl.

Add in the rice flour..

Mix everything well and add the thick yogurt.

knead it into a smooth dough. The dough should be little stiff, as it becomes soggy after some time because of the yogurt and onion we are adding, so be careful with the addition of yogurt. [Keep adding yogurt in small quantities so that u don't end up with soggy dough.]

Now make small golf sized balls out of the dough. Mean while heat the oil for deep frying.

Flatten the balls, and fry them in oil until vadai turns golden on both the sides.

Enjoy with your favorite sauce or chutney and a cup of hot tea!

Recipe Source : HERE

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Methu Bonda

Ingredients

Gram Flour -1/2cup

Rice Flour-1/2tablespoon

Baking Soda-1/4teaspoon

Butter-1tablespoon (softened/room temperature)

Chopped onion-1/4 cup

Chopped green chilly-2

Chopped ginger-1teaspoon

Salt

Oil to deep fry

Method

Take butter and baking soda in a bowl and beat it until its creamy and frothy. 

Add all other ingredients (except oil), mix it well. Add a tablespoon( or less) water, mix the batter. 

The batter should be thick. (thicker than the batter you make for idly)

Heat oil on medium heat. 

Drop small amount of batter in the hot oil, fry the bonda until it turns golden. Drain the excess oil in a paper towel. 

Serve hot with a hot cup of tea or coffee.

Recipe Source : HERE

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Murukku/Chakli - புழுங்கலரிசி முறுக்கு/பொட்டுக்கடலை முறுக்கு

Ingredients
Boiled rice - 1 cup
Pottukadalai/Daliya -little more than 1/2cup
Ajwain-/2 teaspoon
Black sesame seeds-1teaspoon
Butter-1tablespoon
Salt
Oil - to deep fry

Method
Wash and soak the rice for 4-5 hours. Grind it with little water to a smooth paste.
Powder the pottukadalai/daliya in a mixer and sieve it.

Combine all the ingredients, except oil, and knead it to a smooth ball.

Take some dough in the murukku press/chakli press and press it into spirals. Meanwhile heat the oil on medium heat.

Carefully drop 4-5 murukkus in hot oil, fry them until the sizzling sound of the oil settles down.

Remove and strain the excess oil in  a paper towel.

Crunchy and delicious snack is ready. 

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Easy Murukku/Easy and Quick Maida Murukku & Diwali Wishes!

Ingredients

Maida/All purpose flour-1/2kg

Ajwain seeds/Omam-2teaspoon

White sesame seeds-2tablespoons

Hing/Asafoetida-1/4teaspoon

Salt

Water-120 to 150ml

Hot Oil-2tablespoons

Oil-to deep fry

Method

Sieve the maida/all purpose flour and steam it in a steamer/idli cooker for 5 to 10 minutes or a nice aroma emanates.

The steamed flour would be a tight mass. Let it cool completely, then rub it with your fingers.

Add the omam, sesame seeds, hing and salt. 

Add water little by little and knead it into a soft dough. Add 2 tablespoons of hot oil to the dough and knead it. Keep it covered.

Heat enough oil to deep fry the murukku.

Put the dough into the murukku press/chakli press and press them into circular spirals.

Drop the murukku's carefully into hot oil, fry until both the sides turn golden in color.
Take them out and keep it on the paper towel.

 Quick and crunchy murukku is ready. Store the murukku's in airtight containers and enjoy!

~~~

Wish you all a very happy Diwali!

~~~

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Onion Puffs

Ingredients for the stuffing

Thinly sliced onion-1

Cumin seeds-1/2teaspoon

Curry masala powder-1teaspoon

Chopped cilantro-1tablespoon

Salt

oil

Puff pastry sheets

Milk-1tablespoon

Method

Thaw the pastry sheet according to the instructions on the pack.

Heat a teaspoon of oil in a pan, add the cumin seeds and let them splutter.

Add the sliced onions and sauté on medium heat. 

Once they are transparent, add the salt and curry powder, give it a quick mix and switch off the stove.

Finally add the cilantro and let it cool completely.

Preheat the oven to 400F.

Cut the pastry sheets into desired shape.

Keep the stuffing in each sheet. 

Brush some water on the edges of the pastry sheet, and seal the edges.

Brush the sealed pastry with milk, and keep them on a lined baking sheet. 

Bake the pastry in the preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes. Flaky and delicious quick tea time snacks is ready!

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Healthy Channa Salad

Ingredients
Black channa/Karuppu kondai kadalai-1/2cup [Soak it over night and cook it with enough salt]
Chopped red onion-1tablespoon
Chopped tomato-1tablespoon
Chopped green chilly-1
Chopped cilantro-2teaspoons
Lemon juice-1 or 2 teaspoons
Olive oil-1/2teaspoon
Salt-a generous pinch

Method
Take all the ingredients in a bowl.

Toss them well and serve immediately.

Healthy and delicious filling snack!
~~~

Linking this post to "Dish it out-Onions and Chillies" event hosted at Krithi's kitchen, and started by "Cooks Joy"

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Thavalai vadai / Rice and Dals Fritters

Ingredients

To soak 

Raw rice-1/4cup

Boiled rice-1/4cup

Thoor dal-1/4 cup

Channa dal-1/4 cup

Urad dal-1/4 cup

To grind initially

Red chillies-3

Green chillies-2

Hing/Asafoetida-1/4teaspoon

Salt

To temper

Coconut oil-1tabelespoon

Mustard seeds-1/2teaspoon

Urad dal-1teaspoon

To add in the batter  

Few curry leaves

Chopped ginger-1/2teaspoon

Coconut bits-2 tablespoon

Chopped green chilly-1

Soaked split moong dal-1/8cup

Oil to deep fry

Method

Wash and soak the rices together for 2 hours.

Wash and soak thoor dal and channa dal together for 2 hours.

Wash and soak urad dal separately for 2 hours.

Wash and soak split moong dal separately for 2 hours.

Take the red chilies, green chillies, hing and salt in a mixer or food processor and grind it coarsely.

Then add soaked rice (without water), grind it coarsely.

Add the soaked thoor dal-channa dal, grind everything to a coarse paste, and keep it aside.

Grind the urad dal separately to a nice smooth bateer (with little water) as we do for urad vada batter. 

Take the rice-dal batter, urad dal batter, chopped coconut-ginger-green chillies-curry leaves in a bowl.
Make the tempering with given ingredients and pour it in the bowl.
Add the soaked split moong dal as well.

Mix everything well, close the bowl and keep it aside for 10 minutes. 

Heat enough oil to deep fry the vadas.

Take a spoon full of batter, and deep fry it until golden brown.

Crispy and spicy thavala vadai is ready to serve. Serve hot with coconut chutney as a tea time snack.

Recipe Source : here

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Bread Uppuma

Ingredients
Wheat bread slices-4
Chopped onion-2tablespoons
Green chilly- 2 (adjust to your spice level)
Mustard seeds-1/2teaspoon
Urad dal-1/2teaspoon
Channa dal-1/2teaspoon
Grated coconut-1tablespoon
Oil-1tablespoon
Salt-1/4teaspoon

Method
Grind the bread slices in a mixie jar (or) a food processor into a coarse powder.
Heat oil in a pan, make the tempering with mustard seeds, let them pop-up. Then add in the channa and urad dal, fry till they become golden color.

Add the chopped onion, green chillies and salt. 

Saute the onions till they become transparent say 2-3 minutes.

Now reduce the heat to low and add the bread crumbs. Stir it for a minute so that it will get combined with the onion. 

Add the coconut, mix it and put off the stove. 

Healthy and delicious bread uppuma is ready to serve. 

Serve it hot as evening tiffin or morning breakfast.

Note

Don't cook the uppuma long time after adding the bread. It will make the uppuma dry.
As bread already has salt, go easy on salt..just for cooking onions. 

Recipe Source : HERE

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How to re-heat Vada-Pav?

Hubby dear brought some vada-pav's on the way back home from an Indian store. But since it was too late, we couldn't finish them off, so I refrigerated them. The next day, I wanted to reheat them and was wondering how to do that.. and searched the net for some hints. Couldn't find any useful tips on the net, hence I came up with an interesting post. :)

I have tasted vada-pav once here in a Marati friend's place and the store bought one's were not even close to them. So made some missing! ;)) side dishes and we had a nice snack! 

How to reheat the vada pav? 

Pre heat the oven to 250F

Place the vada pav's in a baking tray and bake it for 10 minutes, turning the plate once in between. 

Garlic chutney

Desiccated coconut- 1/4cup

Red chilles-2

Garlic-2 cloves

Salt

Grind all the things in a small jar of a mixie. 

Fried Green chillies

Select the tender thai chillies. Slit them. 

Heat some oil, deep fry the chillies carefully.[Chillies might pop up, so be cautious]

Add little salt to the fried chillies and toss them nicely.

Serving suggestion

Plate the vada pav's, along with 2 fried chillies, some garlic chutney. Serve along with a hot cup of tea.  

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