Savoury Pancakes with Shrimps

Mix One Egg, 3tbs All purpose flour, some shrimps (chopped or whole),2 tbs chopped spring onion,1 green chilli chopped, 1tsp minced ginger, salt and pepper to taste and some water, to a pancake like mixture.

Heat 1tbs oil in a non-stick pan. Add spoonfuls of the mixture, and cook both sides till light brown, on medium heat.

Enjoy it with sweet chilli dipping sauce....!

Baguette Pizza

Cut the Baguette horizontally 
and spread some Ketchup.
Add chopped Veggies (Onion,Bell Pepper, Cabbage,Tomato) and some grated Cheese.
Sprinkle salt, pepper and Oregano/Italian seasoning. 
Grill in the Microwave or Oven for about 5 mins...
Yummy snack is ready in no time..!!

Baked Samosa

Mash some boiled Potatoes and add some chopped spring onion, shredded ginger, chopped green chillies, salt, cayenne pepper, turmeric, chat masala, amchoor powder.
Heat 1 tsp oil and saute this mixture till potatoes are slightly brown. Cool it.

Cut the (store bought) thawed Puff Pastry into 8- 12 rectangles. You can also make the puff pastry at home....

Put a little filling in the center. Dab the sides with a little water....

Close it and press it down with a fork to seal....
At this point you can also freeze it for later use.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20- 30 mins...
Serve the Baked Samosa with Coriander or Mint Chutney.

Savory Snack....Namak Para

 Ingredients:

• 2 cups All Purpose flour (plain flour or maida)
• 1/2  cup sooji (semolina )
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ajwain(carom seeds)
• 4 tablespoons oil
• 3/4 cup lukewarm water (use as needed)
• Oil to fry

Mix all the ingredients except the water.

Add the water little at a time, kneading into a firm dough.

Divide the dough into about 2 equal parts.

 Take each part of the dough and make a flat ball shape. Roll them into 28-30 inch circles.

Cut diagonally into strips.. .
the strips can be thinner or smaller in shape...

1. Heat the oil in a frying pan on medium heat.
2. The frying pan should have atleast 1 1/2 inch of oil.To check if the oil is ready, put a small piece of dough in the oil. The dough should make the oil sizzle and come up slowly.
3. Fry a few namak paras at a time. Make sure to place just enough to cover the frying oil.

 Fry the namak parass until both sides are a light golden-brown.

 Take it out on a kitchen towel.

cool and serve


Namak para can be stored for a couple of months in airtight containers.

Murukku Recipe

INGREDIENTS:

Rice Flour--------------1.5 Cups

Besan/Gram Flour-----1/2 Cups(Both in 1:3 ratio)

Ajwain seeds-----------1/4 tsp crushed

Red Chilli Powder------1/2 tsp

Salt--------------------to taste

Oil---------------------1 tbp + for deep frying

DIRECTION:

1.Ina bowl combine both the flour, Salt, Red chilli powder, Crushed Ajwain and mix well.

2.Add 1 tbsp of slightly heated Oil to the above flour mixture and make a crumble mixture.

3.Now add enough water and knead into a soft dough. Heat Oil in a frying pan.

4.Place the dough in presser with medium sized round holes disc fixed to it and when Oil is ready slightly press the presser to release the dough into the oil.

5.Fry them till nice light brown in batches on medium flame and place them on tissues to absorb oil.

Cabbage Dumplings recipe....

Ingredients :
1/2 of a medium cabbage, chopped finely
1 cup idli rava
1 cup grated coconut
5 to 6 roasted red chillies
1 marble sized tamarind
1/4 tsp haldi
1 tsp hing
Salt

Method :

Soak idli rava in water for 15 minutes. [The water should just cover the top].

Grind grated coconut, red chillies, turmeric powder and tamarind, with very little water - just enough to get a smooth paste. Drain any extra water from the idli rava, add to the above and grind again. Do not add too much water. The batter should be thick.

Add salt and hing and mix well. Add chopped cabbage into the batter [only as much cabbage as the batter can accommodate]. Shape into balls.
Grease the steamer basket lightly. Place undis atleast half an inch apart as they will slightly increase in size. Steam undis for 25 minutes, or till toothpick inserted comes out clean. [You can even use an idli stand to steam].

To serve - In a bowl, pour some coconut oil, mix a pinch of hing. Pour on top of the undi.

Savory pancake....Palak Dosa

Ingredients

Par-boiled rice: 1 1/2 cups
Chana dal, Tuvar dal, Moong dal and Urad dal (combined) : 1 cup
Curry leaves: 5
Jeera 1tsp
Dry red chillies: As per taste(optional can be made without them too)
Spinach : 1/2 cup, chopped
Onion: 1/4 cup, finely chopped
Salt: to taste


Method:
Soak rice and dals seperately for 4 hours. Grind rice and spinach and make a smooth batter. Coarse grind the dals along with curry leaves, jeera and dry red chillies. Mix dals, finely chopped onion to the rice batter. Then make dosas (pan cakes) out of it.

Taro...Colocasia...arbi Cutlets

Ingredients

* ½ kg Arbi (Taro Root))
* ¼ kg Potato
* ¼ kg Paneer
* 2 tbsp Corn Flour
* 1" piece Ginger, finely chopped
* 6-7 Green Chilies, finely chopped
* Coriander Leaves, finely chopped
* 1 tbsp Amchur (Mango Powder)
* 1 tsp Red Chili Powder
* 1/2 tbsp Roasted Cumin Seeds Powder
* Salt, to taste
* Oil, to deep fry

Method
* Peel off the arbi and cut into small pieces.
* Deep fry them in to the oil.
* Mash it when it is little hot.
* Boil the potatoes and mash it too.
* Grate the paneer and mix it with mashed potato and arbi.
* Add coriander leaves, green chili, ginger, salt, cumin seeds powder and corn flour.
* Mix all the ingredients well and prepare small pieces in the shape of cutlets.
* Heat the oil in a pan and fry all the cutlets.

Pinwheels...Spinach and Cheese

An easy no mess finger food....

Ingredients:

2 puff pastry sheets
1/2 cup mix of cheeses like Monterey jack, provolone, mozarella, cheddar (you can use which ever you like)

egg wash ( 1 egg beaten with 2 tbsp of water)
Baking sheet lined with parchment paper

For Spinach Curry:

1 packed cup of frozen spinach (you can use fresh too)
1 large clove of garlic, chopped
1/2 chopped onion
few drops of oil
1/2 tsp chilli powder
1/2 tsp cumin powder
1/2 tsp coriander powder
salt to taste
few chopped coriander leaves


Method:

To make spinach curry:

Heat oil in a pan.
Add the onions and garlic, saute for 2 minutes.
Add the spinach along with salt, cumin, coriander and chilli powders.
Cook until all the rawness is gone and spinach is cooked.
Remove from heat, and let it cool down completely before putting into the puff pastry.
Cooling is very important, otherwise it will make the puff pastry soggy.

Assembly:

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F
Thaw the puff pastry sheet accordingly to directions on the box.
Lightly flour the surface and place the sheet on the flour.
Brush the Sheet with egg wash.
Sprinkle the Spinach curry on the sheet evenly covering all corners.
Sprinkle the cheese on the spinach.
Now slowly starting from one corner, start rolling the sheet, brushing with egg wash on the exposed side, rolling it in.
Now brush the whole roll with egg wash.
Cut in 1/2 inch pieces and place them on the baking tray lined with parchment paper.
Again brush them lightly with egg wash on the top of the pin wheels.
Bake for about 15 minutes, till golden brown.

Serve with ketchup or any chutneys.

Khandvi...Gujrati Recipe

Ingredients:

1/3 heaped cup of gram flour / besan / chick pea flour
1/3 cup sour yogurt (I added a tbsp of lemon juice to make it sour)
1 cup water
salt to taste
1 tsp sugar (adding sugar is optional but adding it gives a balance between salt, sour and sweet)
2 tsp of ginger-green chilli paste (I added like 4 tsp...cos I like it spicy)
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1/4 tsp asfoetida, hing, inguva
3 tbsp any cooking oil

For tempering and garnishing:

2 tsp cooking oil
1 tsp mustard seeds
2 tsp sesame seeds
2 tbsp grated coconut
2 tbsp chopped fresh corainder leaves

Method:

Grease a back of a thali, a plate or any flat surface. I use the back of a baking tray.

Mix the Besan, water, yogurt and ginger-green chilli paste together with a wisk, so as that no lumps remain.
Add sugar, salt, hing, turmeric and wisk again.
Heat oil in a kadai, and pour this mixture in and stir continously. For this I thought using a wisk (one which is suitable for a non-stick kadai, if using one) is better , so it mixes properly and does not allow any lumps to form.
Wish or keep stirring for atleast 8-10 minutes on medium heat. You will see that the mixture immediatly will thicken and then keep its form for sometime while stirring. But will change its color to a darker shade. It will also keep thickening.

((To check if its of the right consistency to roll, I took a small amount to the mix, flattened it and rolled it. If it didn't flatten smoothly, it has to be cooked more. Be careful of not over cooking it like into a dough form, cos it will not flatten out easily.))

When you think its of the right consistency, pour it onto the greased back of the plate and flatten it with a laddle like a dosa. It doesn't have to be smooth, but try to keep the same thickness throughout.
Once it is rolled out, wait to couple of minutes to cool down and then cut into strips of desired length.
Roll them into tubes.

Heat oil in a pan for tempering.
Add the mustard seeds and sesame seeds, let them splutter.
Pour this onto the rolled Khandvi.
Sprinkle the grated coconut and chopped coriander leaves.
Serve as is or warm as a snack at tea 

Wrapped Prawns...

Ingredients

500g prawns, roughly chopped
4 tbsp cornflour
1/4 cup chopped chives
1 tbsp sesame oil
salt
spring roll wrappers
oil

Method

1. In a mixing bowl, combine prawns, cornflour, chives, sesame oil and salt.
2. Place one tablespoon of the prawn mixture at the end of a spring roll wrapper, start rolling resembling a long cone until it reaches the other end, moisten the other end and fold to seal.
3. Prepare a deep fryer and deep fry until each prawn twisters change to golden brown in colour.

Cheesy Garlicky Baked Snack

INGREDIENTS

1 cup allpurpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup margarine cubed
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup chaddar cheese
egg white ( or) cream for applying on top

For topping

2 tbs soft butter
1 tsp garlic powder
salt

Mix soft butter and garlic powder with a pinch of salt and keep aside

METHOD

.

Take food processer add all purpose flour, salt , baking powder and margarine cubes

.
Pulse 3 to 4 times then add milk and pulse 2 more times

.

Take out in to bowl ,add chaddar cheese and mix well

.

Preheat oven to 425

.

Grease cookie sheet , drop a spoonfull

of battar on baking stay

.

Apply egg white ( or) cream with

pastry brush

.
Bake for 10 to 12 min until golden on top

.

Remove from oven apply garlic butter on each of them

.

Zucchini Fritters

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup beer

1 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup Kalamata olives, pitted

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

2 medium zucchini

Vegetable oil for deep frying

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Directions
1. Whisk 1 cup of the flour with the beer in a large bowl until smooth. Pour through a strainer into another bowl and let stand for 1 hour. Thin with additional beer just before frying if thicker than pancake batter.


2. Meanwhile, mix the mayonnaise with the olives and lemon juice in a small bowl. Thin and 1 to 2 tablespoons water, if you like.


3. Keep covered in the refrigerator until ready to serve the zucchini.


4. Cut the zucchini into sticks that measure 1/4 inch wide and two inches long. Heat two inches of oil in a large deep saucepan until a deep-fat frying thermometer reaches 35 degrees F.


5. Combine the remaining 1/2 cup flour with salt and pepper in a shallow bowl or pie plate. Add the zucchini and toss to cover in flour.


6. Transfer to a strainer and shake to remove excess flour. Working in batches, dip in the batter, letting the excess drip off.


7. Fry in batches until golden brown and crisp, about 3 minutes. Drain on paper towels and sprinkle with salt. Serve the olive mayonnaise on the side for dipping.

Cheese and Chorizo Rolls

Ingredients

• 8 ounces  fresh goat cheese
• 1 cup  chopped dry chorizo
• 1 1/2 tablespoons  minced chives
•   Salt and freshly ground pepper
• 9   12-by-16-inch sheets of thawed phyllo dough
•   Melted butter, for brushing

Directions

1

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper. In a bowl, combine the goat cheese, chorizo and chives; season with salt and pepper.

2

Lay a sheet of phyllo on a clean, dry work surface and brush it with melted butter. Top with 2 more phyllo sheets, lightly buttering each sheet as you go. Cut the phyllo into 6 rectangles. Place a tablespoon of the goat cheese filling at the base of each rectangle and roll up the phyllo, folding in the sides. Set the rolls on the prepared baking sheets. Repeat twice more to make 18 rolls total. Brush the rolls with butter; bake for 10 minutes, until golden. Serve hot.

Sauer Kraut Balls... Deep Fried Snack

Ingredients

• 1/2 pound  bulk pork sausage
• 1/4 cup  chopped onion
• 1 16-ounce can  sauerkraut
• 2 tablespoons  fine dry bread crumbs
• 1/2 of an 8-ounce package  cream cheese, softened
• 2 tablespoons  finely snipped fresh parsley
• 1 tablespoon  sweet-hot mustard
• Dash  garlic salt
• Dash  pepper
• 1/3 to 1/2 cup  all-purpose flour
• 2   eggs
• 2 tablespoons  water
• 1/3 to 1/2 cup  fine dry bread crumbs
•   Cooking oil for deep-fat frying

Directions

1

In a large skillet, cook sausage and onion until sausage is brown, breaking sausage into small pieces. Drain.

2

Drain sauerkraut, pressing out as much liquid as possible. In a large mixing bowl, combine sauerkraut, sausage mixture, the 2 tablespoons bread crumbs, the cream cheese, parsley, mustard, garlic salt, and pepper. Cover and chill for at least 3 hours or up to 4 hours.

3

Put flour in a shallow container. In another shallow container, beat eggs and water until combined. Put bread crumbs in a third shallow container.

4

Using about 2 tablespoons for each, shape sauerkraut mixture into balls. Roll balls in flour, then in egg mixture, then in bread crumbs. Fry a few at a time in deep, hot fat (365 degree F) for about 2 minutes or until brown. Remove from fat with a slotted spoon; drain on paper towels. Transfer to a baking sheet with sides; keep warm in a 275 degree F oven. Makes 24 to 30 balls.

MAKE-AHEAD TIP

Shape Sauerkraut Balls as above. Cover and chill for 24 hours. Proceed as above.