INDIAN COOKING CHALLENGE -- KHAMAN DHOKLA

When Valli announced Khaman dhokla for Indian cooking challenge, I was gone in to flash back. I had this dhokla in some restaurant in Gujarati thali and it was so soft and fluffy with spongy texture and my hubby liked it and I don't know how to make that (means I don't know the recipe).and I just wanted to try, then my first try was a big disaster because I didn't add any cooking soda or fruit salt that time. Those days Tarala dalal show is going on the TV, one day when I switch on the TV she is making this Khaman dhoka and the recipe was almost finished soon I miss the recipe... one fine day my hubby very surprisingly brought a book of tarala dala s, from that book I tried this dhokla recipe …….
Khaman dhokla is our first recipe in ICC- Indian cooking challenge so I was very exited with this recipe because this was little different then mine. I tried it for 2 times and every time it's just awesome. 2nd time when I tried last week it become more spongy, fluffy and soft and with that green chutney it was a super hit, here I go with the recipe……………..

INGREDIENTS:----
Bengal gram flour (senga pindi, besan) --- 250 gms
Curd – 1/2 cup
Water --- 1/2 cup
Cooking soda --- 1/2 tea sp
Oil – 1 tab sp
Turmeric --- 1 pinch
Green chili paste --- 2 (green chili coarsely paste)
Sugar – 1 tea sp
Citric acid --- 1/4 tea sp
Eno (green color fruit lime – 1 packet
FOR TEMPERING: ---
Sesame seeds – 1/2 tea sp
Mustard seeds – 1/2 tea sp
A few curry leaves
Grated coconut – 1 tab sp
Little water and oil to be topped on dhoklas

METHOD:----
1. Mix curd and water mix well and add besan and again mix well to get a lump less batter with Idli batter consistency. If you feel it is little thick then dropping consistency then add little more water mix well.
2. Then add cooking soda mix well and leave a side for 1 hour
3. Now pour water in an idli cooker or pressure cooker and place the plate which we use for steaming or you can use a thali too.
4. Now add citric acid, oil, salt, sugar, green chili paste, and turmeric powder and mix well. This has to be done just before pouring in to the plate
5. In the same time start boiling this water in the idli cooker or pressure cooker and bring to a full boil.
6. Now add eno to the batter mix gently (save some to dust the plate) now you can see bubbles coming out in the batter
7. Sprinkle eno on the plate, then immediately pour the batter in to the plate.
8. Place the plate in the cooker and cover with lid (if you are using the pressure cooker or pane no need to use the whistle.)
9. After some time (a few seconds) you will find the steam coming out.
10. Now keep the flame low and leave it for 5 to 7 min.
11. After 5 to 7 min remove the lid and check with a toothpick or knife .if your knife or toothpick comes out clean then your dhokla is done.
12. Then close it with lid again and leave for 1 more min. on flame, then switch off the flame.

13. Now mix 3 t sp water and oil in a small bowl, remove the dhokla plate from cooker and pour the oil and water mixture on top of it
14. Now heat oil add mustard seeds, sesame seeds let them popup and then add curry leaves and pour over the dhokla
15. If you want perfect shaped ones and not the crumbling, cut and handle gently.
16. Dhokla can also be steamed in a kadai filled with water and plated titled over it.
FOR GREEN CHUTNEY: ----
Green chilies – 5 no.
Coconut --- 2- 3 tab sp
Coriander leaves – 1 cup
Mint leaves – 1/4 cup
Cumin seeds --- 1/2 tea sp
Lime – 1 big
Salt to taste
Grind all above ingredients in to a fine paste
Remove and serve with dhoklas.

COCONUT BURFI

Coconut …… We Indians believe and use coconut in many auspicious occasions and cooking too. In South Indian cooking we use coconut a lot as chutneys, or as a masala for gravy s. coconut well known as naarikela fhalam in sanskit and naariyal in hindi, Kobbari kaya in Telugu is high in fiber and saturated fatty acids. And also very rich in B vitamin and Iron too. We make many sweets with coconut in that list this coconut burfi is one of my all time favorite.and here I go with the recipe…….

INGREDIENTS:---
Coconut --- 2 cup
Sugar --- 1& 1/2 cup
Double cream – 1/2 cup
Cardamom powder --- 1 tea sp
Saffron --- a big pinch
Ghee -- 1tab sp
Almond – 1 tab sp chopped
Pistachio – 1 tab sp chopped

METHOD:---
1. I got nearly 12 pieces with this measurement if you want more can just double the ingredients.
2. Heat ghee in a deep frying pan add coconut and fry till nice aroma comes out mix double cream and leave a side.
3. Mix water and sugar in a heavy bottomed pan, boil till it gets 2 string consistency
4. Now stir the coconut mixture in the sugar syrup and stir till it leaves the sides of the pan.
5. Now add saffron and cardamom powder mix well
6. Take out the half quantity of coconut mixture and add a few drops of red food color mix well and pour this in to a grease try and spread evenly.
And sprinkle half each chopped almonds and pistachio s
7. Now pour the Wight mixture on the top of the colored mixture and spread with a knife or a flat spoon evenly, sprinkle the rest of the chopped nuts on top and allow it to cool.
8. Now cut the burfi in to desired shape pieces.
And here is the coconut burfi is resdy
THIS DELICIOUS COCONUT BURFI GOES TO LETS GO NUTS BY PJ AT
SEDUCE YOUR TASTE BUDS AND EVENT BYAQUA
And also for priti and purva s FESTIVE FOOD ~ RAKSHA BANDHAN EVENT at Priti s INDIAN KHANA

KADALA CURRY

Chick peas ….. Well known as Kala Channa or kadala or nalla senagalu in Telugu and also well known as desi channa in India. This small nice brown colored Legume is a very good source of protein for vegetarian s and also very high in dietary fiber, very low in fat. In Andhra we use these black chick peas as a type of salad but in other parts of India people make so many delicious recipes with these chick peas. In that list this Kadala curry from Kerala is very famous as a side dish for Puttu or Aappam in the breakfast and here I go with the recipe….. Traditional KADALA CURRY…….
INGREDIENYS:----
Kadala (black chana) ---1 cup
Onions--- 2 nos
Clove--- 4 nos
Cinnamon stick-- 2 inch piece
Small onion--- 5 nos
Garlic chopped--- 1/2 tsp
Chilly powder ---1 tsp
Coriander powder--- 2 tsp
Turmeric powder--- 1/4 tsp
Grated coconut--- 1/2 cup
Curry leaves a few
Salt to taste
coconut oil – 1 tab sp

METHOD:---
1. Wash and Soak Kadala (black chana) overnight.
2. Cook in a pressure cooker, for 4 whistles.
3. Heat oil in a pan. Add cinnamon, clove and then add grated coconut and fry till coconut turns to brown in color.
4. Add small onion, garlic chopped, chilly powder, turmeric powder and coriander powder.
5. Allow it to cool and grind to a fine paste.
6.Heat oil in a pan.
7. Add sliced onion, and fry, till the onions turn brown.
8. Add few curry leaves and the grind masala and fry.
9. Then add cooked Kadala with water.
10 Let it boil, till the gravy becomes thick.
11. Serve hot with puttu.or Appam even this will go very well with plain rice or pulao (plain)

PULIYOGARE --- KARNATAKA STYLE TAMARIND RICE

Tamarind rice, Pulihora or Puliyogare is a traditional rice recipe which we south Indians prepare for some special occasions like festivals and marriage functions, but with little difference in the recipe. We Andhra people makes it with plain tamarind juice with out any masala, in Tamilnadu and Karnataka they make it with a flavor full masala powder. As Asha said there are many version s in this recipe and here I tried Asha s Karnataka style Puliyogare (Karnataka style tamarind rice) Thank you so much Asha for this aromatic yummy Puliyogare recipe we enjoyed it. And here is the recipe I didn't change any ingredient. Here I gooo………..
INGREDIENTS:----
FOR PULIYOGARE POWDER: ---
Coriander seeds – 2 tab sp
Cumin seeds – 1 tea sp
Dry red chilies – 3 no.
Mustard seeds – 1 tea sp
Fenugreek seeds – 1 tea sp
Channa dal --- 2 tea sp
Urad dal – 1 tea sp
Pepper corns – 1 tea sp
Turmeric powder – 1/2 tea sp
Asafetida – 1/4 tea sp
Roast all above ingredients with out oil in a fry pan and grind in to a fine powder and leave a side

2ND POWDER:--
Sesame seeds – 1 tab sps
Dry coconut – 2 tab sps
Dry roast these two ingredients too and grind in to a powder and leave a side.
FOR RICE:--
Sona masoori rice – 2 cups
Wash and soak rice for 10 min and cook till done and spread on a plate to cool.
FOR TAMARIND JUICE:--
Tamarind juice – 1/2 cup
Salt to taste
Sugar to taste
FOR SEASONING:--
Oil --- 1 tab sp
Mustard seeds – 1/2 tea sp
Chanadal --- 1 tea sp
Peanuts – 2 tab sp
Dry red chili – 1 broken
Few curry leaves
METHOD:----
1. Heat oil in a fry pan add mustard seeds let them popup then add chana dal, pea nuts, dry red chili and curry leaves let them fry till light golden color then add the tamarind juice and boil till raw smell disappears.
2. Now add the 1 masala and cook till it become thick and oil floats on top.
Then now add the 2nd powder, salt to taste and sugar mix well and remove from heat and let it cool
3. Add this puliyogare paste to cooked rice (according to your taste, if any left over puliyogare paste is the after you use just keep it in the fridge and you can use it when you want.) mix well to combine the rice and puliyogare paste mix well and serve with plain curd. (Yogurt)
CHECK MY ANDHRA STYLE PULIHORA HERE
THIS KARNATAKA STYLE PULIYOGARE IS FOR TRIED AND TASTED HOSTED BY ZLAMUSHKA'S AND THIS MONTH'S GUEST HOSTED BY ASHWINI'S SPICY CUISINE

VERUSENAGAPAPPUCHEKKA ---- PALLI CHIKKI (PEANUT BRITTLE)

Chikki is a traditional sweet across India is usually made by jaggery and peanut s or ground nuts. Some chikkis are made by using a combination of other nuts like almond, pistachios and cashew nuts also.ground nut chikki is an Indian brittle but there is a difference between brittle and Indian chikki. Generally brittle is made by sugar, corn syrup and nuts and chikki is made by jaggery and nuts, jaggery well known as Gud or Bellamu in Telugu is a traditional unrefined sugar which is made from sugar cane juice what we use in many traditional sweets in India.jaggery is a rich source of iron and it contains 50% sucrose. As per ayurveda jaggery is very beneficial in treating throat and lung infections. According to our Hindu tradition jaggery is considered auspicious in India when we are going to do a good work or starting a new or important job if you eat a of piece of jaggery and then start the work it is belief. Any way that’s about jaggery and the other ingredient in this delicious chikki is pea nut or ground nut are a rich source of protein.
Hear in this chikki recipe I used jaggey and sugar both. Because jaggery gives a soft texture and delicious taste and flavor and sugar gives a brittle ness to the chikki so…. And yeppeee this is my 400th post. Here is the recipe for verusenga pappuchekka akka palli chikki (peanut brittle)…………
INGREDIENTS:-----
Pea nuts (verusenaga pappu, pallilu, ground nut) --- 2&1/2 cups
Jaggery --- 3/4 cup
Sugar --- 1/2 cup
Water – 1/4 cup
Cardamom powder --- 1/2 tea sp

METHOD:---
1. Roast pea nuts and remove the skin and leave a side
2. Now in a heavy bottom pan combine sugar, jaggery, water and boil till jaggery and sugar dissolves in to water.
3. Now remove from the heat and strain this syrup in to another heavy bottom pan (this processes is to remove any stones or any dart from the jaggery and sugar).
4. Now bring back this syrup to the heat and bring to a full boil now you can see lot of bubbling and rising to the surface stir continually and cook till when you drop a bit of this syrup in to cold water it will solidify like a ball.
5. When syrup reaches this stage immediately add nuts and cardamom powder.
And immediately pour this in to a greased plate or try.
6 .When it is hot, make lines with a knife and leave it to cool.
7. When cooled break this in to pieces.
THIS VERUSENAGA PAPPUCHEKKA GOES TO JFI - PEANUTS AT PAVANI 'S COOK'S HIDEOUT EVENT BY INDIRA OF MAHANANDI

VEGETABLE BATH FROM FOODIE'S HOPE

This recipe I have adopted from Asha's Foodie's Hope who is well known as Ashakka. She is the inspiration for every new blogger and a great cook. I like her blog because of her traditional Karnataka recipes not only Karnataka recipes and also many international recipes we can find in her blog. Thank you so much Asha for this delicious Vegetable Bath recipe.
Asha says this one is her mom's recipe which is rice and vegetables are cooked in spicy aromatic coconut masala. And we can keep this masala in the fridge for 2 days hummm good idea.. And here I go with the recipe……….
I didn’t make any changes.

INGREDIENTS:---
Rice -- 2 cups
Mixed vegetables – 2 cups (I used carrot, potato, cauliflower, peas,)
Onion – 1 medium sliced
Oil and ghee mix – 1 tab sp
Salt to taste
For masala:--
Grated coconut – 1 cup
Green chilies – 3-4 (according to your taste)
Cloves – 4
Cinnamon – 1 inch piece
Ginger – 1 inch piece
Garlic – 5 cloves
Few curry leaves
Coriander stems --- 6 (this is to avoid green color and give a nice aroma to the rice)
Mint – 20 leaves
Add a little water to all above ingredients and grind in to a coarse paste and leave a side.

METHOD:---
Now let us see how to make this aromatic vegetable bath.
1. Wash rice and add 3 and 1/2 cup s of water and soak for 10 -15 min then cook and spread in a plate to cool and leave a side.
2. If you are using frozen vegetables the thaw them to room temperature, if you are using tin vegetables then drain the water, or if you are using fresh one s then cut them in to small cubes and cook in a little water and a pinch of salt till tender and keep a side.
3. Peel wash and slice the onion
4. Now heat oil and ghee mix in a pan add onion slices and fry till light brown color now keep the flame low and add ground masala and cooked vegetables and mix gently and cook in a low flame for 5 min.dodn't fry just heat nicely till the masala gives a nice aroma.
5. Add this masala with salt to taste to rice and mix gently to combine well.
Just add as much as masala you need and rest of the masala you can keep it in the fridge and you can use it for 2-3 days
Serve this delicious aromatic vegetable Bath with raitha and salad.
I served this with dal, raitha and pappad.
This is my entry for the event TRIED AND TASTED HOSTED BY ZLAMUSHKA'S AND THIS MONTH'S GUEST HOSTED BY ASHWINI'S SPICY CUISINE

ANDHRA PELLI BHOJANAM(SHADI KI THALI)

Marriage is a turning point in every body s life. In India most of the marriage s is arranged marriages so people start doing shopping and all other works 1 month before itself. Women in the house starts making masala powders, vadiyalu (sun dried rice or urad dal wafers) and pickles. Especially sweets Laddoo is one of the favorite sweet in pelli bhojanam(shadi ki thali, marriage feast) and also one more sweet in Andhra is famous in this feast is Ariselu. In savory s masala vada and kaarapposa (a savory snack made with chick pea flour) and bajji s will serve with rice and other Currys. Now coming to the curry s Mudda pappu (plain tour dal cooked with little salt and nicely mashed) is the dal which is must in Andhra Shadi ki thali.


Here is a lovely song about Pelli bhojanam (marriage feast)
And here I go with simple Mudda pappu recipe..........
INGREDIENTS FOR MUDDAPAPPU:----
Tour dal --- 1 cup
Ghee – 1 tab sp
Salt to taste
Heat ghee in a sauce pan or in a pressure cooker and add tour dal and fry till nice aroma comes out then add 2 cups of water and cook till dal become soft.
Now remove from the heat add salt to taste and mash it with a potato masher or a back side of the spoon, mash well and serve with hot rice and ghee and aavakaya.
And here is a traditional Shadi ki thali from Andhra

1 – Gongura pachadi (sorrel leaves chutney)
2 – Salt
3 – Bajji
4 – Masala vada
5 – Laddoo
6 – Rava kesari (semolina halwa (sweet)
7 – Aavakayi (mango pickle)
8 – Aritikaya Kura
9 – Charu (rasam)
10 – Mukkala pulusu (vegetables cooked in tamarind gravy)
11 – Paala talikalu (rice sevai payasam)
12 – Perugu (curd)
13 – Mudda pappu
14 – Vadiyalu (sun dried wafers)
15 – Plain rice
16 – Pulihora (tamarind rice)
17 – Paramannam (chakkara pongali)
18 – Majjiga
19 – Ariti pandu (banana)
This traditional pelli bhojanam goes to priyanka s shadi Ki Thali event

3ROJULA DOSA - 3 IN 1 DOSA

A few days back as my bloger friend Prathibha said making dosa is an art yes I totally agree with her, but very few people make very perfect dosa s. I can make dosas but not very perfect (I think).The Dosas one of the favorite breakfast in South India, basically dosa is a crepe made by rice and black lentils which is originated from our own southern state of Karnataka, but also very popular in all other south Indian states In Andhra cuisine dosa s are well known as Attu, Minapattu and pesarattu these two varieties are very popular. But also pullattulu and 3 rojula atlu (3 days dosa) also is a very traditional variety in Andhra break fast. Especially this 3days dosa I learn this recipe from my friends mother. You can make 3 varieties of dosas with this batter, and here I go with the recipe……………….

INGREDIENTS:---
Rice --- 3 cups (any raw rice or dosa rice but not basmati rice)
Urad dal --- 1/2 cup
Tour dal – 1/2 cup
Coconut – 1/2 cup
Salt to taste
Oil for frying dosa s
METHOD:---
1. Wash and soak rice for 3 hours
2. Wash and soak dals in water for 1 hour
3. Then grind dals in to a very soft paste
4. Grind rice and coconut in to a coarse paste and mix with urad and tour dal paste add salt to taste and mix well and leave a side for fermentation (for 8 hours or over night)
5. Heat a skillet or dosa pan in a medium heat and pour 1 ladle batter on hot pan and spread it in to a circle drizzle a little oil along the edges and let it cook for 1 min.
6. Then flip the dosa the other side and let it cook for 1more min.
7. This dosas will be very soft so be care full when you are flipping the dosa and make little thick then normal dosa
Serve with coconut chutney.

SECOND DAY:---
Make thick dosas like oothappam and add chopped onion and green chillies on top and fry both sides till nice golden color
Serve hot with coconut and fried chick pea chutney (kobbari putnala pachadi)
THIRD DAY:---
Grind 1 small onion and 3 green chilies and 1 tea sp cumin seeds in to a coarse paste and add this paste to the dosa batter mix well and make little thick dosas and fry both sides and serve hot
THIS IS MY ENTRY FOR PADMA S DOSA CORNER EVENT

DAALI THOY AND SOREKAI BOLU KODHEL FROM MANGALORE

After those two delicious and creamy Swiss dishes today I am here with typical South Indian recipes from one of the most beautiful place in South India Yes Mangalore. I like Mangalorean cuisine because it is almost like our Andhra cuisine, tangy spicy but only difference between these two cuisines is, in Mangalorean cuisine they use coconut oil for seasoning in Andhra cuisine we use ground nut or sun flower oil and in Andhra cuisine we use a very less coconut. Coming to the recipe here I am with simple Mangalore thali which include s a simple Dali thoy simple dal with coconut oil seasoning and Bolu Huli or Bolu Kodhel which is plain spicy vegetable curry/soup with Vaighanache upkari brinjal stir fried with spicy curry powder, which is almost like our Vankaya podi kura and we enjoyed the thali. And here I go with the recipes………….

DAALI THOY:---
This recipe I have adopted from Shilpa s Aayi's Recipes and here are the Ingredients for this delicious, simple Daali Thoy
Toor dal --- 1 cup
Green chilies – 3
Ginger – 1 inch piece
Turmeric --- 1 pinch
Coriander leaves – 1 tab sp (optional)
Mustard seeds – 1/4 tea sp
Asafetida – 1 pinch
Curry leaves --- 10 no.
Salt to taste
Coconut oil --- 2 tea sp (you can use any other oil but coconut oil gives a special aroma to this daal)

1. Cook dal with turmeric, green chills and finely chopped ginger and cook till dal become soft.
2. Then add salt to taste and finely chopped coriander leaves and remove from the heat.
3. Now heat coconut oil in a pan and add mustard seeds and let them popup then add curry leaves, red chilies and then Asafetida fry for a sec. and add this seasoning to the daal mix well
4. Serve hot with rice and ghee.
SOREKAI BOLU KODHEL:---
And the second recipe is SOREKAI BOLU KODHEL: A simple curry with vegetables (as per Sia s recipe here I used Bottle gourd) and I picked up this recipe from Sia s Monsoon Spice.
Bottle gourd --- 1& 1/2 cup 1 inch pieces
Rasam or sambar powder --- 1/2 tab sp
Jaggery -- 1/4 tab sp
Tamarind --- 1 inch pieces 2 no.
Green chilies – 2no.
Coriander leaves --- 1 tab sp finely chopped
Coconut oil ---- 1 tabs or 1/2 and 1/2 ghee and oil
Mustard seeds --- 1/2 tea sp
Dry red chili --- 1 no.
Asafetida – 1 big pinch
Curry leaves --- 10 no.
Garlic cloves --- 3 no. sliced

1. Soak tamarind in water and extract juice with1 cup of water and add 2 more cups of water to this tamarind juice and leave a side.
2. Cook bottle gourd pieces with salt to taste, turmeric, jaggery, tamarind water, cook till they are half cooked.
3. Now add Rasam or Sambar powder and slit green chilies and adjust the seasoning and water as per your taste (here I added 1 cup water to the gravy) and cook in a medium flame for 10 more min. s. or cook till water reduced to 2/3 rd and bottle gourd pieces are well cooked.
4. Now heat oil in a pan add slice garlic and mustard seeds, broken red chilies, curry leaves and asafetida fry till mustard seeds popup then add this seasoning to KODHEL mix well and remove from the heat, cover with a lid and leave a side for 10 min. then serve.
5. Serve hot with hot rice and papad


THIS DELICIOUS MANGALOREAN THALI IS ON THE WAY TO RCI - UDUPI & MANGALOREAN CUISINE AT SIA S MONSOON SPICE EVENT BY LAKSHMI OF VEGGIE CUISINE

SAFFRON RISOTTO

Risotto is one of the traditional rice dish in Italian cuisine and also from the Italian part of Switzerland like Ticino. This creamy rice dish with nice saffron aroma is typically from Ticino. I adopted this recipe from here and the only one thing I change in this recipe is traditionally they use white wine in this recipe I didn't use wine.And here is the recipe.....

INGREDIENTS:---
Oil --- 1 tab sp
Arborio rice --- 1 cup
Onion --- 1 medium finely chopped
Garlic -- 1 clove minced
Saffron --- 1 tea sp or 1 pak(not ground)
Chicken or vegetable stock ---2 and 1/2 cup s
Half- and- half ---- 4 tsp
Cheese --- 100 gms finely grated
METHOD:----
1. Heat oil in a pan add finely chopped onions and minced garlic and fry till soft take care that onions should not change the color.
2. Now add the rice and stir till rice turns in to translucent stir continuously.
3. Now add 2&1/2 cups of stock, saffron stir well cover with a lid and cook in a low flame for 20 min. no need to stir in between because it is cooking in a low flame, let it cook well till rice becomes soft.
4. then add cream and grated cheese mix well, check and adjust the season.
5. Serve immediately with a meat dish or salad.
I served it with some fried chicken.
This Risotto is also goes to A.W.E.D -SWITZERLAND AT CURRY LEAF S Experiments,Emotions,Experiences with food EVENT BY DK OF CHEF IN YOU

SWISS OATMEAL SOUP

Oats........ normally we use oats as a cereal for breakfast which is very good for health. they contains a very high quantity of soluble fiber, it reduce bad cholesterol and reduce the risk of heart disease. Generally oats considered as a health food because of its fiber. This healthy grain is nearly equivalent in quantity to soy protein and also equal to meat and egg protein. When I was searching for Swiss recipes for AWED- Swiss, I find this recipe from here. Normally I have oats with milk and fruits but here it is a soup with potato which is taste great and they says this is traditional recipe from Swiss. In this traditional recipe they use only potato but I think we can use carrot and fresh peas also that may make this more like a full meal any way will try that next time. And here I go with the recipe for SWISS OATMEAL SOUP

INGREDIENTS:------
Oatmeal --- 1/2 cup
Salt to taste
Butter – 2 tab sp
Water --- 6 cups
Potatoes --- 2 peeled and cut in to slices
Grated Swiss or emmenthaler cheese – 1/2 cup
Nutmeg – 1 dash (optional)

METHOD:-----
1. Fry oatmeal with half butter till golden and then add water bring to a full boil and reduce the flame and cook in a low flame till oatmeal become like gruel (ganji).
2. Now add the slice potato and cook till potatoes are tender.
3. Now add remaining butter and grated cheese, nutmeg
4. If you fell it looks little thick then you can add required hot water to the soup.
Serve hot.
5. This soup it self is a full meal so I think no need to serve any bread with this if you like you can serve with any bread you like.
This soup goes to A.W.E.D -SWITZERLAND AT CURRY LEAF S Experiments,Emotions,Experiences with food EVENT BY DK OF CHEF IN YOU

ALOO STUFFED MIRCHI BAJJI

Mirchi bajji means green chilies stuffed with some spices and dipped in the chickpea flour and deep fried in hot oil.These mirchi bajji s are very famous in India as a tea time snack but every one makes it with a little different stuffing Amma (my mom) use to make it with ajwain(vamu) and fried chickpea(veyinchina sengapapu, porikadali) and little salt she use to grind all these ingredients in to a fine powder and stuff it in to the slit green chilies. After deep frying again she use to slit the bajji and again stuff with chopped onion with little lemon juice. But my MIL use to makes this in almost the same way but she use to mix the filling with very thin tamarind juice my MIL wont add onion to this, she use to say if you add onion then you don’t find the real taste of mirchi any way that is her opinion. And one more person who makes the mirchi bajji very delicious that is a tiffen center fellow near my house in vijayawada. He is a MSC degree holder, he didn’t find the job then he started tiffen center morning he makes idlis and dosas and in the evening from 4 o clock he starts making mirchi bajjis and punugulu believe me those mirchi bajjis and punugulu taste just perfect but after 6oclock you don’t get any thing all of them will be finished by that time.

And coming to this aloo stuffed mirchi bajji I learnt this from a Chat Bandar fellow in Jaipur. Last year when I went to Jaipur for tour one evening I went for shopping, I finished shopping and when I coming back I saw this Chat Bandar fellow who is making mirchi bajji with stuffing of aloo . First I was surprised he is stuffing aloo in mirchi bajjis and he is making them very super fast means he is frying 50 or more bajjis at a time. So I was very impressed with how he is making bajjis and also so very tempted with the aroma of mirchi bajjis .so I went to there and ask that fellow can you tell me the recipe first he didn’t agree to give me the recipe. But I am not going to leave this person with out knowing the recipe. I gave him a100 rs and told him that I am not from Jaipur, I am from Andhra so his business wont effect and I liked this bajjis very much and I wanted to make them at home After this he gave me this recipe. Thanks a lot to that Chat Bandar owner for this delicious snack. And here I go with the recipe………….

INGREDIENTS:-----
Green chillies --- 10 no. ( you can use any bajji chilies like banana peppers or any long variety green chilies)
FOR STUFFING:----
Potatoes ---- 2 big
Green chillies – 3 finely chopped
Salt to taste
Red chilli powder – 1/2 tea sp
Coriander leaves --- 1/2 cup finely chopped
Dry mango powder (amchoor) ---1/2 tea sp
Onion --- 1 medium finely chopped
FOR BATTER:---
Besan (chick pea flour, sengapindi)
Salt to taste
Red chilli powder --- 1/2 tea sp
Baking powder – 1 pinch
Water for making batter
METHOD:-----
1. Slit the green chilli its entire length and remove seeds and leave a side.
2. Boil potato and peel and mash well and mix all other stuffing ingredients and mix well and divide in to 10 small parts and stuff this aloo mixture in to chilies
3. Now mix chick pea flour, salt to taste , red chili powder, and baking powder then add water and make a batter like fitters batter or thick dosa batter
4. Now heat oil for deep frying in a deep frying pan to check the oil heat drop a small drop of batter in to the oil and see if the batter comes up immediately the oil is ready for frying.
5. Now dip the stuffed chilies in this batter and slowly drop them in to hot oil and fry till nice golden color.

6. Remove from the oil and set a side for few min. s and again cut them in to 2 inch pieces and fry this bajji pieces in hot oil in a low flame till crisp remove from the oil and sprinkle some lemon juice on them and serve with slice onion
7. Serve with green chutney or imli chutney .
8. If you want to serve this mirchi bajji after a long time then after removing them from the oil keep them a side and again fri one more time in hot oil till crisp and golden color just before you serve.
This MIRCHI BAJJI S are going to participate in JFI - CHILLI event at Cardamom - The Queen of spices and event by Indira of Mahanandi.