Potato and Rice Flour Latkes..

Potato and Rice Flour Latkes....

 Latkes are potato pancakes that are prepared by Ashkenazi Jews as a part of the Hanukkah festival since the mid-1800s, but the connection actually goes back to at least the Middle Ages.

Latkes need not necessarily be made from potatoes. Earlier day before the potatoes were introduced, latkes were, and in some places still are, made from a variety of other vegetables, cheeses, legumes, or starches, depending on the availability of the local ingredients.  Numerous modern recipes call for the addition of ingredients such as onions and carrots. The word latke itself has derived from the Russian word 'ladka', 'oladka',"small pancake". The word leviva, the Hebrew name for latke, refers in the Book of Samuel to a dumpling made from kneaded dough, as part of the story of Amnon and Tamar. Some interpreters have noted that the homonym levav means "heart".

Net source... 

I have adopted this recipe for the net... 

Very quick and easy to make and ingredients are easily available in the kitchen. Taste good with garlic and mustard flavoured yogurt sauce. 

Ingredients

1 large potato peeled and grated and excess water squeezed out ( Here instead of the raw potato, I have used half boiled potato)

1 large onion chopped finely 

2 Eggs

1 cup Rice Flour

Salt to taste 

1/2 tsp Pepper powder 

Oil for frying

Method 

Take a mixing bowl, Add potato, onion, eggs, flour, salt and pepper. Mix well. Heat a skillet. Add a tbsp of oil. On a low flame, heat the oil. Place 1 large tablespoon of the batter on the skillet. Press and flatten the batter. Fry it until golden brown from both the sides. Drizzle more oil if required.  Remove it from the skillet and place on paper towels to drain excess oil. Continue with remaining batter until done. Serve it with garlic and dejon mustard Yogurt sauce...

Ingredients 

1/4 cup Yogurt 

1/4 tsp Garlic paste

1 tsp Dejon Mustard paste

Salt to taste

1/4 tsp Pepper powder 

Method 

Mix all the above ingredients well. 

Crab Masala Crispy Fry

Crab Masala Crispy Fry.....

Today the lady who works for me got me few land crabs (Gauti Crabs) available during the rainy season. They were medium in size. Since it is raining, I though why not fry it, instead of making curry... It goes well with steam hot rice and dal. 

For Cleaning the Crab....

Ingredients 

6 Medium whole Crabs

Salt to taste 

Boiled hot Water 

Method

Take boiled hot water, add salt. Deep the crabs in the water for 2 minutes. Remove it. Turn the crab and remove the soft shell. Crack open the crab from the centre.

For Marinating the Crab

Ingredients 

Crabs

Juice of 1 Lime

1 tbsp Garlic paste

1/2 tbsp Ginger paste

1/2 tbsp Chilli paste

Salt to taste

1 tbsp Curry powder

1 tsp Chilli powder 

Method

Take the crabs, add lime juice, salt, curry powder, chilli powder, ginger paste, garlic paste and chilli paste. Rub all the spices well into the crab and in between the cracked shell. Keep it for 30 minutes. 

For Frying the Crab

Ingredients 

Marinated Crabs

1/2 cup All Purpose flour

1/4 cup Fine Semolina 

3 tbsp Rice Flour

1/4 tsp Baking soda 

1/4 tsp Chilli Powder 

Salt to taste

Oil to fry 

Method 

Take a mixing bowl, add All Purpose flour, Semolina, Rice flour, salt, chilli powder and  Baking soda. Mix it well. Add little water at a time to make dropping consistency batter. Heat oil in a wok.  Take a crab, coat it well with the batter. Gently put the crab in the oil, fry on low medium heat till golden brown on both the sides. Serve it with lime and onions...

Piyaz Ki Kachori

Piyaz Ki Kachori 

It is a popular roadside dish of Rajasthan. Off let lots of post on piyaz ki kachori took me back to the time when I use to visit Kota. Me and my sister in law use to go for marketing. So after our shopping was over, we made it a point to eat piyaz ki kachori. It was served with chutneys, curd, chaat masala and sev. Extremely popular and delicious..

For the Stuffing 

Ingredients 

2 cups Onions finely chopped 

2 Green chilli chopped 

1 tsp Garlic chopped 

1/4 tsp Nigella seeds 

1/4  tsp Fennel seeds 

1/4 tsp Carom seeds 

1/4 tsp Coriander powder 

1 tsp Lime juice 

2 tbsp Besan

1 tsp Coriander powder

1/2 tsp Chilli powder

1/4 Garam Masala powder 

1/4 tsp Asafoetida 

Salt to tate 

2 tsp Oil 

Few Coriander leaves chopped

Method

Take oil in a pan, let it heat. Add the nigella seeds, fennel seeds, carom, coriander seeds. Let it crackle. Add onions, garlic and green chillies. Sauté and cook the onions till light brown. Add asafoetida, salt, coriander powder, chilli powder, garam masala powder. Stir and mix it. Add the lime juice, stir and mix it, add the besan and mix it well stirring it for 2 minutes. Add coriander leaves, mix it. 

 

For The Dough

2 1/2 cup All Purpose Flour 

Salt to taste

3 tbsp Ghee

Cold water as required 

Method

Take mixing bowl, add salt, ghee and flour. Mix it well. Add water as required into the flour and knead it into a hard dough. Keep it covered for 30 minutes. 

Make equal portions of the dough. 

To make the Kachoris

Ingredients 

Stuffing

Dough

Oil for frying 

Method

Take a portion of the dough, knead it well. Roll the dough into round disc. Take 2 tsp stuffing and add it into the center of the circle. Seal the dough from the edges properly. Flatten the dough and roll it lightly once more around 4 inch. Heat oil. Keep it on low flame.  Fry the kachori on a low medium flame fry till it become golden and crispy. Take out on an absorbent paper. Serve the kachori hot with some coriander chutney, tamarind chutney or sauce.

Meat Loaf....

Meat Loaf......

This was on my bucket list... Finally today... Wanted to make it simple with the ingredients easily available in the Indian kitchen.. 

Ingredients 

150 grams Meat Minced 

1 Onion minced 

1/2 cup Tomato puree 

1 tsp Garlic minced 

1/2 tsp Ginger minced

1 tsp Chilli chopped 

2 tbsp Carrots finely chopped 

2 tbsp Capsicum finely chopped 

Few Coriander leaves chopped 

1 tbsp Tomato Ketchup 

1 tsp Garam Masala powder 

1 tsp Cumin powder

1/2 tsp Pepper powder 

Salt to taste 

2 Eggs

1 cup Bread Crumbs made from stale bread 

1 tsp Oil

Method 

Combine all the above ingredients except for tomato ketchup together. Take a loaf pan and grease it. Add the meat in the pan. Bake it at 180 degrees celcius for 45 minutes in a preheated oven. Take it out and spread the tomato ketchup from top. Cool it before slicing.

Enjoyed having the meatloaf with French fries, toast and sunny side up... A perfect breakfast for the day... 

Cornflakes and Jackfruit seed Chaat

Cornflakes and Jackfruit seed Chaat

This is a unique chaat.. An innovation in my kitchen for healthy snack. Since this is the season for Jackfruit, most of us like ripe Jackfruit. The seeds from the ripe Jackfruit are equally tasty and has health benefits. We make sabji and dal out of it, but this Jackfruit seed Chaat is very delicious and healthy to be served as evening snack. 

Ingredients 

1 bowl of Cornflakes 

3/4 bowl of Jackfruit seeds boiled, skin removed and chopped 

1 or 2 Green Chillies chopped 

2 tbsp of Onion chopped 

1 tbsp Coriander Leaves chopped 

2 tbsp Green Chutney (1 tbsp Coriander Leaves, 1 Green Chiili, Salt to taste and 1 small piece of Raw Mango, ground together) 

1 tsp Lime Juice

1/2 tsp Chaat Masala 

Method 

Mix all the above ingredients together and serve it immediately...