Rice 1 cup
Chana Dal 1 Cup
Urid Dal 1/2 Cup
Pohe 1/2 Cup
Green Chillies 3-4
Ginger 1/2 Inch
Corriander Finely Chopped
Salt As per taste

Preparation:

Soak rice, chana dal, urid dal together for 5-6 hours. Soak pohe for 15 minutes. Wash rice and dals thouroughly. Grind with pohe to a thick batter consistency. Keep for fermentation for 10-12 hours. Grind green chillies and ginger to a fine paste. Add this paste, salt and chopped corrianer to the batter. Mix well. Heat the pan for appe. Add little oil in each mould. Add above mixture till it fill half of the mould. Cover and cook on a medium flame. When the batter comes up and it is cooked from one side, turn with the help of spoon. Dot the sides of each appa with little oil. Serve hot with coconut chutney.

Ingredients:

Onion Finely chopped  2
Green Bell pepper finely chopped   1
Potatoes boiled & mashed      3
Cauliflower boiled  1 cup
Green Peas boiled 1 cup
Tomatoes puried  3
Oil  4 tbspn
Butter  2 tbspn
Pav Bhaji Masala  3 tspns
Kasuri methi  1 tspn
Asafoetida  a pinch
Lemon Juice  2 tspns
Salt  As per taste

To be ground in paste
Red Chilli powder   2 tspns
Garlic Cloves   8/10
Ginger  1 inch
Tomato puree from above 2 tbspns

To serve
Bread
Corriander Leaves finely chopped
Onion finely chopped
Butter

Preparation:

Heat one flat pan or big tawa on medium flame. When hot, add green bell pepper and saute. Add tomato puree leaving behind 2 tbspn. Saute some more. Add potatoes, cauliflower and peas. Mix well. Add salt, 1 tspn pav bhaji masala, 1 tpsn ground paste and mash with a masher. Mash nicely till all ingredients make homogeneous paste. Add some water and let it cook for a while.

In another pan put oil and when it is hot, add onions. Fry onions till light brown. Add the remaining ground paste and fry some more. Add tomato puree and fry some more. Then add remaining pav bhaji masala, kasuri methi, lemon juice, asafoetida and a little salt. Fry some some more time. When it start leaving oil, add butter and the mashed vegetables. Mix well. Add water, if required, to adjust consistency . Reduce the heat, cover and cook for 5 minutes so that the masala blends well with the vegetables. Remove the lid and mix.

Serve with bread fried in butter and chopped onion. Garnish with chopped corriander and a dollop of butter.

For filling:
Onion finely chopped 1
Capsicum finely chopped 1
Carrot grated 1/2
Green peas boiled and mashed 1/4 Cup
Beans finely chopped 1/4 cup
Potatoes boiled and grated 2 medium
Ginger Paste 1 tspn
Green chillies finely chopped 2
Oil 1 tspn
Salt as per taste

For cover:
Whole wheat floor 2 cups
Oil 4 tspns
salt a pinch

Prepration:
Heat oil in kadhai. Add finely chopped onion and fry. Add ginger paste and green chillies when it changes colour. Fry some more. Add finely chopped capsicum, grated carrot and finely chooped beans. Add salt. Mix. Cover and let it cook for some time. Remove the lid. Fry for some more time till water evaporates. When the mixture cools add grated potatoes and mashed peas. Make 6 balls.

Add oil and salt in wheat floor and make dough like for chapati. Take a small ball. Roll it a little. Put the filling ball in the center. bring edges together to cover the filling. Press with hand. Put some dry wheat floor on the platform. Pat the ball to make it flat. Roll it a little. Do not make the paratha very thin. Place the paratha on hot tawa. Roast it till brown from both side. Put some oil or butter and shallow fry from both sides. Serve with curd or pickle.

Bread Slices 5
Rice floor 2 tblspns
Fine rava 1 tblspn
Onion finely chopped 1
Capsicum finely chopped 1
Carrot grated 1/2
Green chillies finely chopped 2
Corrinder finely chopped a few strands
Salt as per taste
Yogurt 2 tspns
Oil 2 tblspns

Preparation:

Grind bread slices in mixer to make powder. Add 1/2 cup water and yogurt and grind again to get smooth paste. Take the paste in a pan. Add rice floor, rava and mix. Add onion, capsicum, carrots, green chillies, corriander and salt to the batter. Adjust the consistency with water. The batter should not be very watery.

Heat griddle spread some oil over it. Put 2 spoonful batter in the center and spread it with spoon to make dosa. Do not make dosa very thin. Dot with oil. Cover and let it cook on a low flame.
Turn when brown from down. Dot with oil. Remove from griddle when brown from both sides and serve.

Notes:

1. Use of brown bread makes it more healthy.
2. This is a good option for breakfast or tiffin for kids.
3. Does not require accompaniments like chutni.
4. This can be made for utilizing left over bread.

Ingredients:

Uttapam batter 1 Cup
Onion finely chopped 1
Capsicum finely chopped 1
Carrot grated 1/2
Green chillies finely chopped 2
Corrinder finely chopped a few strands
Salt as per taste
Sambar Powder little to sprinkle
Oil 2 tblspns

Preparation:

Add onion, capsicum, carrots, green chillies, corriander and salt to uttapam batter.
Mix well. Heat griddle make small uttapam of 1 inch diamter. 7-8 uttapam should fit on a regular griddle.
When the batter is still wet sprinkle each uttapam with sambar powder. Dot with oil.
Turn when brown from down. Dot with oil. Remove from griddle and serve.

Notes:

1. This is a good option for breakfast or tiffin for kids.
2. Does not require accompaniments like chutni.
3. It is bite size so can be eaten one piece at a time.

Ingredients:

Green Tuwar dana 250 grams
Green Val dana 250 grams
Surati Papadi split 500 grams
Small Potatoes 8
Small Brinjals 8
Sweet Potato / Ratalu 2
Ripe Bananas 2
Corriander for garnishing

Carom Seeds / Ajwain 1/2 tspn
Turmeric Powder 1/2 tspn
Red Chilli Powder 1/2 tspn
Sugar 2 tspn
Salt As per taste
Oil 1 Cup
Mustard Seeds 1/4 tspn
Asafoetida pinch

To be ground in paste:
Green Garlic 1/2 Cup
Green chillies 3
Green Corriander 1/2 Cup

Masala for filling:
Besan/ Gram flour 1/2 Cup
Ground Paste 1 tspn
Jaggery 1 tspn
Tamarind Pulp 2 tspns
Red Chilli Powder 1/2 tspn
Turmeric Powder 1/4 tspn

For Muthiya:
Methi leaves chooped 1 Cup
Besan 1/2 Cup
Wheat flour 1/4 cup
Jowar Flour 1/4 cup
Ground Paste 1 tspn
Red chilli powder 1/2 tspn
turmeric powder 1/4 tspn
Salt as per taste

Preparation:

Grind the ingredients for paste in mixer. Keep the paste in a bowl. Smear some of this paste over tuwar, val and papadi. Mix the masala for filling. Cut potatoes and brinjals from one side taking care not to break then. Cut sweet potatoes in big pieces. Fill the masala in potatoes and brinjals. If there is any leftover masala, smear it over brinjals, potatoes and sweet potatoes. Keep all these in a plate.

Mix all the ingredients for muthiya. Add water as required. Do not make the dough very soft. Heat oil in kadhai. When hot, add 2 tspns of oil in the mixture. Knead well. Make small balls or oblongs. Deep fry in oil.

Put same oil in a deep and thick bottomed pan for making undhiyo. Add mustard seed. When they crackle add asafoetida, carom seeds, 1 tspn of ground paste, turmeric powder and a pinch of chilli powder in oil.
Then add the beans. Add little salt and chilli powder. Mix and cover with a lid. Let it cook for 5 mins. After that remove the lid. Mix once again. Add potatoes, brinjals and sweet potatoes. Cover and let it cook for another 5 mins.

Open the lid and chek if potatoes are cooked. If not, keep covered for some more time. Once potatoes are cooked, add salt and sugar as per taste. Then add big pieces of ripe banana and muthiya. Cover and let it cook for some for time. After that remove the lid. Mix the vegetable properly. Adjust salt, sugar and red chilli powder as per taste. Garnish with corriander leaves. Serve hot.

Ingredients:

Cashew nut powder 1 cup
Sugar 1/2 cup
Saffron/Kesar 10-15 strands
Milk 2 tspns
Ghee 1 tspn and some for greasing
Yellow food colour 2-4 drops

Preparation:

Put cashew nut powder in a plate. Add 2 tspn of milk and 1 tspn of ghee in it. Mix well to make a ball. Dissolve saffron in 2 tspns of water.

In a non stick fry pan put sugar and half cup water. Keep stirring it on a medium flame. When sugar melts and bubbles start appearing add saffron and yellow food colour. Then add cashew nut mixture in it. Mix well so that there are no lumps. Keep stirring till the mixture leaves sides of the pan. This will take approximately 4-5 mins. Put off the heat. Keep stirring the mixture for approximately another 10 minute. After this a ball of cashew nut and sugar will form.

Grease a flat surface like platform and rolling-pin. Put the ball on the greased surface and roll it with rolling-pin to the desired consistency. Let it cool for a while and then cut in diamond shape.

Notes:

Cashew nut  powder can be made by grinding cashews in mixer.  Care should be taken while grinding the cashew nuts. If they are ground for long time, it becomes oily.

Ingredients:

Dalda / Veg. Shortening 4 tbspn
Corn flour 2 tspn
Maida / All purpose flour 2 Cups
Cumin seeds / Jeera 1 tspn
Carom Seeds / Ajwain 1 tspn
Rock salt 1/2 tspn
Salt as per taste
Oil to deep fry

Preparation:

Beat 2 tbspns of dalda and cornflour together till it is light and fluffy. Keep it aside.
Heat remaining dalda in a vessel. Put maida in a plate. Mix jeera and salt in it. Make well in maida mixture. Put hot dalda in it and slowly mix it with maida. Add water as required to make a stiff dough. Keep it covered in a bowl for atleast an hour. Mix it again with hand or in a food processor. Add little water if required so that the dough can be rolled nicely. Grind ajwain in a mixer and make powder. Add rock salt to this powder and keep aside.

Make8 balls of dough. Roll one ball in a thin round. Spread the mixture of dalda and cornflour over it lightly. Then sprinkle little of ajwain and rock salt mixture over it. Fold the round in the middle and then fold again to make a quarter. Roll it gently again. Cut into diamond shapes with a serrated cutter. Deep fry in oil on medium flame. When the colour changes from white to light pink remove from oil. Follow the same procedue for remaining balls. Allow to cool and store in airtight container.

Notes:
1. Quantity of salt added in maida should be little less than normal as later on we sprinkle it with rock salt.
2. Folding and adding dalda mixure gives a layered texture to shankarpale. But it can be made without folding too.

Ingredients:

Chana Dal 1 Cup
Finely chopped corriander 2 cups
Green chillies 4
Garlic 3 cloves
Turmeric 1/2 tspn
Sesame Seed 1 tspn
Salt as per taste
Oil for greasing and frying

Preparation:

Soak chana dal in water for atleast 4 hrs. Remove from water and wash thoroughly. Grind it in mixer with green chillies and garlic. Do not make very fine paste of chana dal. It should be corse. Transfer it to a bowl. Add chopped corriander, salt and turmeric powder. Grease a tray with little oil and spread the chana dal mixture in it evenly. Sprine sesame seed over it. Steam it in a steamer or cooker for 15 minutes. If cooker is used do not put the whistle. Remove the tray from steamer and allow to cool. When it is at room temparature cut in square pieces.

Fry it in a fry pan with little oil. Alternatively it can be deep fried too.

This also can be stored in deep freezer and can be fried as and when it is required. Stays good for 1 month in deep freezer.

So enjoy my experiments with cooking…