Gobi Manchurian (DRY)

Last sunday i made Gobi Manchurian as a side dish for Fried rice. It came out very nice and hence sharing with you all...

Ingredients
Cauliflower florets- 1cup
Corn flour- 2tbsp
Ginger Garlic paste- 1 spoon
Tomato ketchup- 1tbsp
Dark Soy sauce- 1tbspn
Chopped onion - 1 big
Chopped ginger and garlic- 1 small cup
Ajinomoto (if preferred)- a small pinch
Spring onions - 2 bunches of leaflets
Green chillies - 3nos
Lime juice- 1tspn
Oil for frying
Salt

How to make:
1) Wash and cut cauliflower into florets and immerse them in boiling water for few minutes.
2) Prepare a batter with corn flour, ginger garlic paste, a pinch of salt, 1 spn lime juice.
3) Drain water from cauliflower and let it cool down.
4) Heat oil in a pan for deep frying and dip the florets into the batter and fry until golden brown
5) Strain the excess oil and meanwhile prepare the sauces. Heat 2 tbspn of oil in a pan and saute the onions, green chillies until half done then add chopped ginger and garlic. Let them be little crispy.
6)To that add tomato sauce and dark soy sauce, and add the fried fritters to the pan.
7) Spinkle some MSG (Ajinomoto), salt to taste and saute them well.
8) As a finishing touch, garnish with spring onions.

Serve hot with Fried Rice, Pulav etc.,

Bittergourd Masala Rings

I am a great fan of bittergaurd, however, i am bored to eat this as an usual sidedish. I tried this in a different method which turned out well and even my husband, a bittergourd hater, liked it.

Here goes the recipe,

Ingredients:
Bittergourd: 4nos.
Kadalai maav- 3tbspn
Rice flour- 2tbspn
Chilli powder- 1 tbsp
Ginger Garlic paste- 1spoon
Sesame seeds- 1 spoom
Salt- to taste
Oil- for deep frying

How to make:

1) Cut the bittergourd into rings and remove the seeds.
2) After washing, add water, a pinch of turmeric powder and boil it for 5mins till it becomes little soften.
3)Strain the water and wash in running cold water.
4) Add besan flour, rice flour, sesame seeds, salt, chilli powder, ginger garlic paste, Sesame seeds and mix well and water to be sprinkled. Do not make it batter.
5) Keep it in refrigerator for 1/2 hr.
6) Heat oil in a pan, and deep fry the rings until it turns golden brown.

Note: The boiling and draining is done to reduce the bitterness. If one likes to have it bitter, can avoid this step.

It goes with rice, side snack with tomato ketchup etc.,

Vendakaai Coconut Curry

Ingredients:
Vendakai (okra) - 500gms
Grated coconut - 1tbsp
Oil - 1tbspn
Mustard- 1tspn
Urad dal- 1 tspn
Redchilli - 3nos.
Salt - for taste


How to make:
1) Wash and cut the okras to 1/2 to 1 inch cm in length.
2) Put oil in a pan and splutter mustard, urad dal and red chillies
3) Then add okra to it and saute till it becomes soft.
4) Add salt and if you need it still hot, can add chillies powder while sauteing.
5) Then add the grated coconut to it and mix well.

Beans Paruppu Usili

Ingredients:
French beans - 500gms
Thuvar dal - 100gms
Redchillies - 4
Curry Leaves - a bunch
Mustard - 1tspn
Urad dal - 1tspn
Salt for Taste
Oil


How to make:

To grind:
Soak thuvar dal with red chillies for 1/2 hr. Then grind it coarsely with curry leaves. Don't grind to smooth as it would turn soggy when mixed with beans during cooking process.

To make curry:
1) Introduce oil in a pan, add mustard and after it splutters add urad dal and red chillies.
2) To this add the ground mixture and saute well in the oil, until it loses stickiness becomes dry.
3) Add a pinch of hing to the dal mixture.
4) Add halfcooked beans to the dal mixture and allow to cook well.
5) Add salt to it.


Alternatives:

Instead of sauteing the ground dal mixture directly, can also pressure cook the dal and mix with beans.

Half cook beans in a pressure cooker so that it will consume less time when cooking with dal. Use the strained water from beans to make sambar and rasam to avoid the wastage of proteins.

Capsicum Soy Toss

This i learnt from a chinese friend which is highly fresh and serves a side dish with rice.

Ingredients:
Capsicum- 3(1 red, 1 green, 1 yellow)
Cabbage- cut into big pieces
Chinese green chillies- 2
Spring onions- cut into pieces
Light soy sauce- 1tbspn
Salt and sugar(a pinch) to taste
Oil ( preferrably olive oil)
Black pepper powder- a pinch

How to make:
1) Wash and cut the vegetables, big pieces.
2) Chopp green chillies, spring onions.
3) Heat oil in a pan and saute green chillies.
4) To that, add the vegetables and add sugar, a pinch.
5) Add soy sauce and then toss the vegetables (or) gently stir them.
6) Do not over cook, retain the cruncher taste of the vegetables.
7) When serving garnish with spring onions and pepper powder.

Cabbage kariamuthu (or) thoran (or) poriyal

Ingredients:

Cabbage : 1/2 kg finely chopped

Green peas(frozen or fresh) : Handful

Coconut shreds : 2 tbsp

Urad dal: 1 tspn

Mustard seeds : 1 tspn

Red chillies : 2 big

Turmeric powder: 1 pinch

Salt : to taste

How to make:

1) Cabbage is chopped finely and washed.

2) Heat oil and splutter mustard, and fry urad dal and chillies.

3) Add cabbage, turmeric powder, salt. Close and cook for 2 mins till it become soft.

4)Add peas and shredded coconut to this cooked cabbage.

Other Alternatives:

1) Soaked channa dal can be added when cooking cabbage, which gives more taste.

2) Cluster beans and Cabbage duo will also be yummy.