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!!!