Vada !

I don't think i need to give an introduction to this Indian snack. There are a number of vadas in Indian cuisine but if you ask me, then i'll say "East or West, Uzhunnu vada is the best!"
This vada is made of black gram and is known by different names like Urud Vada / Medhu vadai / Uzhunnu Vada. You get the best ones from a Tamil or Udupi restaurant or from the pantry of Southern Indian railway..lol!

The other day evening it was raining outside and i craved to have some. But i was helpless as i didn't know any place where they do a home delivery of my favourite snack. Then i thought why shouldn't i try making some. I rushed to the recipe book and here goes the output.

I didn't get the doughnut shape, so i took the batter in a teaspoon and poured into the hot oil one by one.



Ingredients:

1. Black gram / Urud dhal / Uzhunnu parippu - 300 gm

2. Green chilly - 3 no.s
Ginger - 1 inch
Onion - a small one
Curry leaves - a few

3. Salt - to taste
Pepper powder - a pinch
Asafoetida - a pinch

Preparation:

Soak black gram for half an hour and grind it into a fine paste. (Use no water or very less water for grinding). Chop all the ingredients in the section two. Mix it with the batter and add the ingredients in the section three. Mix well and check salt. Put a little batter in water to check the consistency. The consistency is correct if the batter is floating.
Heat oil in a deep frying pan. Make small portions of the thick batter into ball shapes and put a hole in the middle. Otherwise make small sized balls. Put these balls into the boiling hot oil. When it is half done (white colour), take them in a strainer spoon and hold for a while till the oil in the pan becomes boiling hot again. Put them back in the hot oil and take out when they turn into golden brown colour. This two time frying will help to get the inside also cooked well and also it will drink less oil. Your crispy hot vada is ready! Have it with coconut chutney.

Courtesy: 'Veettammaykkoru Kaithozhi' by Sr.Dolorus Kannambuzha.

Beef Biriyani

( will post the recipe soon )

A simple embroidery!

Remember? an year ago i wrote about the Panthean street in Chennai and the materials i bought from there. I still have few bits untouched in my cupboard. Once in a while i take a piece out and make a dress. This light green cotton material too was bought from there. Hope a few lines of chain stitch and lazy daisy could add some colour to this kurti.



(A closer look to the embroidery)

Pork Vindaloo

Vindaloo or Vindahlo is a dish from Goa, but the name is said to be originated from Portuguese. In Portuguese "Vin" is wine and "Ahlo" is garlic, the two main ingredients they used to prepare meat, especially pork. As it reached Goa, red wine got replaced by malted vinegar though the name remained the same.
And as we all know "Aloo" is potato in India, some started using potatoes too and the name became "Vindaloo".

Everytime when we go to our meat shop i get too tempted to buy pork but the picture of a tapeworm in my biology text book back in school always prompted me to change my mind.
The other day, anyway i have decided to buy some. And yes, finally our tummies delightedly accepted that delicious Goan dish.



Ingredients:

Pork (preferably fatless) - 1 kg diced.
Salt

Kashmiri Chilli or powder - 10 to 15 numbers or 3 / 4 tablespoons.
Vinegar

Onion - 2 big ones
Garlic - 1 bulb (10/12 cloves)
Ginger - 1 inch

Cumin / Jeera - 1 teaspoon
Cinnamon - 1 inch
Black Pepper - 6
Cloves - 6

Preparation:

Wash the meat well and dry it with a clean cloth.
Soak kashmiri chilli in vinegar for sometime and grind to a smooth paste or make a paste of kashmiri chilli powder and vinegar.
Grind the masalas (cumin, cinnamon, cloves and pepper) to a fine powder.
Blend together the chopped onions, garlic and ginger in a mixer.
Pour each mixture to the pork pieces one by one and mix well. Add salt. Also add more vinegar if you feel so.
Marinate it for one hour or so.

Take a deep pan or pressure cooker, dry fry few spices like cinnamon, cloves, pepper. Add the marinated meat to it and stir well. Pour water and close the lid and cook well. Remember the picture in my biology text!? So COOK WELL!

I kept it for 40 minutes in pressure cooker. If you are using a pan you can open the lid to stir it in between and check if it is cooked well. Open the lid and your fiery red pork vindaloo is ready. The red colour is because of the kashmiri chilly used in it. The gravy depends on the amount of onion, chilly and vinegar you used.
I used less chilly and more onions. They say the vindaloo dish always tastes better the next day. So i kept it for a day in the refrigerator and also added a little tomato sauce while serving it. Also i garnished it with fried onion and potatoes. Usually it is served with white rice but we liked it with chapatti. It was yummy!

Break my fast!!

Good Morning!!
Here goes an easy breakfast especially for bachelors who are far away from home. Okay now talking about bachelors, I would like to dedicate this breakfast to my dear friend Tom who is in Canada right now.
Bread, oats and some fruits. So never skip your breakfast, this is an easy one to make and healthy too.