Palak kanda bhajiya with dipping sauce

Saturday again! And though its sunny outside in the middle of monsoon, it still doesn't take away tbe cravings for pakodas!
So what do I have available? Some spinach...and some onions... perfect for pakodas!
Here is the recipe of this snack, of  which I was just about able to snap a pic before it disappeared...
Palak onion bhajiya
10-15 palak leaves
1 medium onion
4 tbsp of besan
Salt to taste
1 tsp of rock salt
2-3 tsps dhania jeera powder
2 tsps jeera powder
Pinch of turmeric
1 1/2 tsp red chilly powder
1/2 tsp of ajwain seeds
Water to bind
Oil for frying
Shred the palak into 1 cm stripes. Finely chop the onion and add to the palak. To this add the besan and all the masalas. Mix this dry mixture so all the vegetables get coated by the besan and the masalas. Slowly add the water and bind till the batter is just about wet.
Heat the oil for frying. Make small balls of the mixture using your fingers (like small morsels of food are made while eating). Fry on medium flame till golden brown on the outside and cooked inside. Serve hot with the dipping sauce (recipe follows).
Dipping sauce
10 corriander leaves
5 mint leaves
1/2 green chilly
5 tbsps tomato ketchup
A pinch of dhania jeera powder (the clincher!)
Finely chop the corriander, mint leaves and the green chilly and add to the tomato ketchup. Add the dhania jeera powder. Mix well and serve.

Sunday Evening Dinner: French Onion Soup

So its me and my bro again today for dinner since my mom and papa are fasting this month. I love cooking when its just me and my bro because he is pretty much open to trying new tastes and recipes that I want to try (maybe because I am good at selling whats in my mind to him!) and eats all of it with gusto. And he is also good at giving feedback... which I truly believe is an art!
I made my version of French onion soup today...a recipe which has been in my mind for a longggg time now! With some soft fresh bread to dip in it, it makes a great one-dish meal...well for people like me at least! :-)
French Onion Soup:
3 tbsp butter
1 medium onion
6 cups water
Salt to taste
1 seasoning cube (optional... I used the Maggi vegetarian one which is easily available nowadays)
P.S. Yes its just 5 ingredients!! You read that right!
Thinly slice the onions and separate them at the individual scales such that they are thin slivers.
Heat a pan and melt the butter in it. Add the onions and fry them on slow heat till they turn brown i.e. they are caramelised and release the wonderful buttery sweetish flavour. This takes about 10-15 minutes.
Add the water, salt and seasoning cube and bring to a boil. Voila! Hot lovely soup is ready to slurp!
I made two versions of the soup. I took some out for me before adding the seasoning as I love the flavour of the caramelised onions only and it's just brilliant!

Saturday Indulgence Cooking

I love cooking on Saturdays and trying out new recipes! Saturdays are a holiday, for just me and my brother at home and no compulsive need to cook something elaborate, just something yummy (of course!) and simple that the two of us can eat easily and chat over...
Here is another lovely snack I created today...
Fried Potato Rounders with Salsa Sauce and Aioli (Garlic Mayonnaise)
For the fried potato rounders:
3 medium potatoes
Oil for frying
Salt to season
Cut the potatoes (with the skins) and soak them in cold water into round slices about 1/2 cm thick. The soaking in cold water will prevent the slices from soaking up too much oil when frying.
Heat the oil well and fry (or half fry and refry) the potatoes till they are a wonderful golden brown. Remove on tissues to soak up the excess oil.
Season with salt while still hot.
For the salsa sauce:
2 medium tomatoes
1 medium onion
2-3 tbsps ketchup
15-20 corriander leaves
1 green chilly
2 pickled jalapenos
Salt to taste
Finely chop (very finely) the tomatoes, onions, chilly, jalapenos and corriander in a bowl. Add the ketchup and salt. I also added half a teaspoon of the pickling liquid used in the jalapenos that my friend had prepared for me with lovely flavours of the garlic, ginger and bay leaves in it...but this is optional if the jalapenos are store pickled in brine.
Let the salsa sauce rest in the fridge for 10-15 mins (maybe while frying the potatoes) for the flavours to mix well!
Garlic mayonnaise is readily available.
To serve, arrange the potato rounders on a plate, add the salsa sauce on each slice and serve with a small dollop of the aioli.
The crunchiness of the potatoes and the onions in the salsa sauce contrasts well with the creamy rich texture of the aioli and feels like an explosion of flavours and textures in the mouth.

6 o'clock Snack

The golden dewy syrupy sweetness of honey glazed onto bread toasted in butter that has been liberally slathered on it with a mug of hot strong 'when-I-want-tea-I-want-tea' tea... Ahhhhh!!

Comfort Food

Hot steaming rice (preferably basmati - the queen of rice!)... dollop of comforting flavourful ghee melting over it, into it releasing its fragrance into the rice a sprinkle of salt for added taste... And memories of my granny mashing it all together to feed me... Comfort food truly!!!

Misal Pav - Aadhi Potoba

I have a love-love relationship with misal pav... I mean what's there not to like? Soft pavs dipped in a spicy gravy followed by a spoonful of the pulses and farsaan... Heaven!

And I had to share this because I think I have the second best misal of my life... At Adhi Potoba.

Adhi Potoba (literally the stomach first) is a small unpretentious restaurant bang opposite the main gate of the Mumbai University Kalina campus. Its speciality ad its 'tag line' gharchi aathvan (memories of home) suggests is home style Maharashtrian food. Pithla- bhakri, masale bhaath - alu bhaaji, khichi kadhi papad, varan bhaath toop, shikran poli to ne a few. The best part is its quite brilliant on a college student's budget and the food isn't too spicy or oily.

So was with the misal pav... not too much pf tarri (oily layer floating on top of the gravy). This little dish of delight, with quantity enough for two like me, was built up with matar and matki usal with pohe and batata vada stuffing and of course farsan, onions and tomotoes with a side of freshest pavs I've had in a restaurant and a wedge of lemon for that extra
zing.

It also serves other cuisines such as dosas, punjabi food, chinese food which is also very well cooked - my foodie friend had a rawa sada dosa which was totally thumbs up!

So if you are near Kalina (or not) and are looking for good food on a budget, do visit Aadhi Potoba, and if you try the misal pav... do tell me!

Food Fun

For me food is about fun, if you can't enjoy the experience (cooking, eating, anything related to food!), you just can't say you like it! So I thought why not a fun post on food?!

So the other day I was thinking of free association as a technique (Psychology student and not a Kuch Kuch Hota Hai fan!) and was thinking what are the first words I would think of if given these words:

   Food: Love

Yep, for me food is all about love! It takes just one ingredient to make a good recipe great! And it takes a lot of love for anyone to make great recipes everyday for the important people in their life. And yes, if I have cooked for you, then I love you!

Spice: Cinnamon

One of my most favourite spices. It enhances the flavours of sweet as well as spicy food!

Beverage: Tea

No second guesses on this one!

Kitchen: Moti (my grandmother)

All my images, understanding, memories, learnings, of a kitchen come from my granny, who introduced me to this magical world where some alchemy turns raw grains, different colourful powders (spices), vegetables into wonderful dishes that everyone eats with such love.

Salt: Pepper

The classic and the basic combination!

Dessert: Fruits

The one type of dessert I can ALWAYS have. Sometimes it can be an entire meal for me! :-)

Cooking: Creativity

I don't think anyone ever cooks the same recipe the same way twice (unless you're the clinical Macdonald's or other such food chain!)

A fun post for all the wonderful fun food brings into life.