Diwali Snack Thenkuzhal Murukku (Chakali)
Thenkuzhal Murukku is a popular snack usually made during the popular Indian festival of Diwali. This is one of the most popular savory snacks in southern part of India. There are lot of types of murukku (chakali) – kai murukku, thenkuzhal murukku, meti murukku, mullu murukku and ribbon murukku. And this one is my all time favorite snack. This diwali is bit special for me, because of my 7 months old little one. It’s his first Diwali! The holiday fun starts now. So more Diwali recipes are on the way to SpicyTasty. Ingredients: Rice Flour : 2 cups (sifted) Urda dal flour : 1/4 cup Split chick peas : 2 tbsp Butter : 1/2 stick or 3 tbsp (room temperature) Asafoetida : 1/4 tsp Sesamae seeds : 1 tsp (you can use cumin seeds instead of that too) Salt : required...
Read More
Onion Pakora
Pakora is a deep fried snack(fritters). It is made of besan (gram flour) and rice flour along with green chilies, curry leaves and spices. Different type of vegetables such as onion, eggplant, plantain, cabbage, cauliflower, chilies can be used for making pakoras. The one that I have prepared today is called pakoda in Southern India. Today I have made pakoda with onions. They are quick and simple to make and makes an excellent snack for the evening with chai. Here you go… Preparation time: 30 minutes No. of serving: 5 to 6 Spice level: 3 out of 5 Ingredients: Besan or Gram flour – 1 and 1/2 cup Rice flour – 1/4 cup Red chili Long green chilies – 2 Curry leaves – 7 to 8 leaves Coriander leaves or cilantro – 1/2 cup Sliced onion – 1/2 cup...
Read More
Chickpeas Sundal / Kondai Kadalai Sundal
Navarathri is a festival that is celebrated for nine days. In this festival we will arrange different idols on steps called Golu. On these nine days we will make different sundal on each day. Generally the procedure for making any sundal is same. Here is the recipe for the chickpeas sundal. Time of Preparation : 20 minutes Spice level : 3 No of Servings : 2 Ingredients: Chickpeas – 1/2 cup Turmeric powder – 1/2 tsp Salt – to taste For Seasoning: Oil – 2 tbsp Mustard seeds – 1 tsp Urad dal – 2 tbsp Asafoetida – a pinch Green chillies – 2 (finely chopped) Red chillies – 2 Curry leaves – a few Coconut – 1 tbsp (shredded) Method of Preparation: Soak the chickpeas for 6 to 7 hrs or soak them in hot water for 2...
Read More
Stuffed Bread Rolls
My friends visited my place for the long weekend. I got two packets of bread which I did not use. I did not want to waste them. One of my friends make bread rolls often. So I tried these bread rolls and they are as tasty as cutlets. They are really a wonderful snack with tea :). Time of Preparation : 45 minutes Spice level : 4 Number of pieces : 20 Ingredients: Bread – 20 slices Potato (medium size) – 4 (boiled and mashed) Peas – 1/2 cup (boiled) (optional) Onion (medium size) – 1 (finely chopped) Green chillies -4 (finely chopped) Garlic – 3 cloves (finely chopped) Ginger – 1 tbsp (grated) Turmeric powder -1/4 tsp Sambar powder – 1 tsp (adjust according to spice level) Red chilli powder – 1 tsp Coriander powder – 1/2 tsp...
Read More
Snake Gourd Fritters / Pudalangai Varuval
When I was a kid I used to have snake gourd only in this form..It is a easy and yummy snack. I like to add little ajwain in this as it has so much of medicinal value and gives a wonderful flavor. Ingredients: Snake Gourd – 2 cups (thinly sliced) Besan Flour – 2 cups Rice Flour – 1 cup Red Chilli Powder – 3 tsp (according to spice level) Salt – to taste Ajwain Seeds -2 tsp Oil – for frying Method of Preparation: Cut the snake gourd to thin round slices and keep it aside. Mix the besan flour, rice flour, red chilli powder, salt and ajwain seeds with water and make a thick paste. Heat oil in a wide vessel. Dip the sliced snake gourd pieces in the batter and deep fry till they become golden...
Read More
Paneer Cutlet – Stuffed Cottage Cheese Cutlet
Paneer is a fresh Indian cheese used to make delicious dishes from curries to desserts. It has a rich and creamy flavor. Paneer can be bought at super market or made at home. I bought this big block of paneer from an Indian store. It was refrigerated not frozen. Ask your store keeper if you can’t find it. Coming to this dish, my mom and I love to watch cooking shows. She got this recipe from one of the Tamil channels’ cooking show and asked me try it. The recipe was really interesting with the way, the paneer was used. I made a few changes to the original recipe and tried it. It passed with flying colors. Unlike the original recipe, I wanted it to be bite size since that will be easy to serve. Hope you all like it....
Read More
Mangalore Adai (Sweet Lentil Crepes)
I came across this recipe in a South Indian TV channel food show. I used to make kara adai, paruppu adai and thavala adai. But this sounded like a different recipe so I ended up trying it. It’s absolutely worth a try. Everyone in my family loved this recipe. It came out really tasty. Adai (Rice pancake) is a popular south Indian breakfast dish and can also be had for dinner. It is made with variety of lentils and rice. It’s actually rich in protein and good for health. Preparation Time: 30 minutes No of servings :4-5 Ingredients: Toor dal : 1 cup Channa Dal : 1 cup Raw rice : 1 cup Shredded coconut : 1 cup Jaggery : 500 gms (crushed ) Cardamom Powder : 1 tsp Ghee: as needed Method Of Preparation: Soak toor dal, chana...
Read More
Marie Biscuit Chocolate Sandwich
When I was a kid, my aunt used to make this biscuit sandwich. I got a huge pack of swissmiss long back. I wanted to try this biscuit sandwich with that and it came out yummy!!!. If you don’t have any chocolate flavored powder there is another option using cocoa powder and sugar. Definitely kids will love this biscuit sandwich :). Time of Preparation : 20 minutes No of Servings : 5 Ingredients: Marie Biscuits – 20 Unsalted Butter – 4 tbsp Swissmiss / Drinking Chocolate – 5tbsp Instant Coffee Powder – 1/2 tsp Powdered Sugar – 1/2 tsp Milk – 1/4 Cup Method of Preparation: Make a paste with butter and the Swiss miss (chocolate drink powder). Warm the milk and mix the coffee powder and sugar. Take 4 biscuits in the milk and spread the paste between...
Read More
Paneer Cutlet
All my friends here met in my place last week. I wanted to try this Paneer cutlet for a long time. It came out really good and my friends liked it a lot. It is real easy and tasty too. Time of Preparation : 1 hr Spice level : 3 to 4 No of Pieces : 30 Ingredients: Green Chillies (Finely chopped) – 3 Onion (Finely chopped) – 1 cup Ginger (Grated) – 2 tbsp Carrots, Beans and Peas (Boiled) – 1 Cup Potatoes (Boiled and mashed) – 2 Cups Paneer (Grated) – 1 Cup Red chilli powder – 1/2 tsp Turmeric powder – 1/4 tsp Coriander powder – 1 tsp Pepper powder (Freshly ground) – 1/2 tsp Garam masala – 1/2 tsp Salt – to taste Oil – for frying All purpose flour / Maida – 1 cup...
Read More
Vazhakkai Bajji (Plantain Fritters) and Coconut Chutney
I am going to let you in on one of the most favorite appetizers of many million people. Bajji! I am not too sure about the rest of the country but south Indians have had a long lasting love affair with this delightful appetizer. In south Indian bajji is most popular as street food near beaches and with road side food vendors. If you are in chennai you should definitely have some bhaji in marina beach or Elliott’s beach or if you ever get a chance to go to chennai don’t miss those places to eat this yummy snack. Bajji is prepared by dipping any sliced vegetable in the besan(gram) flour batter and deep frying it. Vazhakai (plantain/raw bananas) Bajji is one of the most popular versions although you could make Onion bajji, potato bajji and egg bajji with...
Read More
Baked Jalapeno Poppers
Jalapeno Poppers is a wonderful appetizer for any party. I made this recently for the Super Bowl party. My husband and my friends liked it very much. I came across this wonderful recipe from SkinnyTaste when I was looking for a new and tasty appetizer in the internet. The main ingredients used are low fat and hence it is suitable for diet/weight watchers too. Here you go… Remember not to touch your eyes or lips while or after handling the Jalapenos. Or you can wear gloves and work. Preparation time: 60 to 70 minutes Spice level: 4 out of 5 No. of servings: 8 to 10 Ingredients: Jalapeno peppers – 10 Light cream cheese – 1/2 cup Low fat shredded cheddar cheese – 4 tbsp Green onions – 4 Egg whites or egg beaters – 1/2 cup Panko crumbs –...
Read More
Kalakala Sweet (Diamond Biscuits)
I had such a great time with my best friends Nithu & Arthi (the other 2 ST authors) here last week. It was such a relaxing and fun-filled week. Now I am really missing them. I learnt this recipe in a Christmas party from our good friend Julia. It’s an easy South Indian snack. It can be prepared in a short time and kids and adults would love it alike. You can store it in air tight container and use it up to couple of weeks. Ingredients: Maida/All Purpose Flour : 1 cup Sugar : 1/2 cup (adjust according to your taste) Butter : 5 tbsp Egg : 1/2 (optional) Cardamom: 1/4 tsp water : 1 cup ( for making dough) Oil (for deep frying) Method Of Preparation: Mix the above ingredients together (except oil) and make a dough...
Read More
Aloo Bonda
I usually make bhajji when it comes to deep fried snack. I like bondas and that too aloo bonda a lot. I love aloo bonda with coconut chutney. Finally I made it and it was very tasty 🙂 Preparation time: 30 minutes No of Servings: 2 to 3 Spice level: 3 Ingredients: Potato – 1 (large size) Onion – 1/2 (small size)(finely chopped) Green Chilly – 1(chopped) Red Chilli Powder – 1 tsp (according to spice level) Coriander Powder – 1/2 tsp Turmeric Powder – 1/4 tsp Coriander – 1 tbsp (chopped) Salt – to taste Gram flour – 1/3 cup Rice flour – 2 tbsp Oil – for frying Method of Preparation: Boil the Potato and smash it. Mix onion, green chilly, 1/2 tsp red chilli powder, coriander powder, tumeric powder, coriander and salt Make smooth round shaped...
Read More
Masala Vada – Spicy Lentil Dumplings
I was wondering what to cook on saturday because I felt like eating some spicy snack with hot tea. I soaked some chana dal to make some urundai kozhambhu but suddenly I remebered this uber-popular South Indian that goes great with tea – Masala vada. Masala vadai is a staple food in all breakfast menu as well in a lot of festival platters. It is even more popular as street food and is usually available in any street corner tea shop. Having Masala vada with hot tea on a rainy day is pure bliss. Ingredients: Oil : 2 cups ( for deep fry) Chana dal/Black gram dal : 11/2 cup Dry red chilies : 7-8 (according to your spice level) Urda dal : 1 tbsp Cumin seeds : 2 tsp Garlic : 3-4 Onion : 1 1/2 cups (Finely...
Read More
Vegetable Manchurian
Vegetable Manchurian is a popular Indo-Chinese appetizer. This is one of my all time favorite. I always thought the procedure is hard and time consuming. It was true the first time I made it. But from the next time, it was as easy as any other dish. The fried vegetable balls soaked in a saucy gravy makes me go crazy. I hope you like the recipe and please share your thoughts. Here you go… Ingredients: For Veggie Balls: Shredded Carrot – 1/2 cup Shredded Cabbage – 1/2 cup Shredded Cauliflower – 1/2 cup Shredded Beans – 1/2 cup Shredded Bell Pepper – 1/2 cup Green Chilies – 2 (adjust to taste) Chopped Ginger – 1 tbsp Chopped Spring Onion – 2 tbsp Corn Flour – 4 tbsp Pepper Powder – 1/2 tbsp Soy Sauce – 1 tsp Red Chilly...
Read More
Spicy Macaroni Recipe
This recipe is from my sister’s (Suja’s) kitchen. She made this spicy macroni for her 4 years old son. It’s no secret kids love Macaroni & Cheese like it’s the next best thing to chocolate. But, how do we get them to eat veggies. My sis tricks my nephew by adding a lot of vegetables and spicing up the Macaroni and creating this tasty dish. Spicy Macaroni is very easy to make and it can be made for dinner or even as an evening snack. Ingredients: Oil : 2 tbsp Onion : 1 Tomato : 1 Green chilies : 3-4 (according to your spice level) Garlic : 3 (chopped) Ginger : 1tsp (chopped) Garam masala : 1 tbsp Maggi masala Powder : 1 tbsp(optional) salt : required to taste Vegetables: 1 cup(I’ve added bell pepper, green peas and carrots)...
Read More
Indian Diwali Snack Murukku (Chakali) Recipe
Murukku is one of the most popular snacks in South India and it is even more popular at Deepavali (aka Diwali) festival time. It has been long been the tradition at most homes to make delicious snacks such as Murukku, Thattai, etc. along with some special Indian sweets for Deepavali. I am going to be spending over 3 months with my family in India starting next week. But, don’t you worry! I am going to learn, experiment and continue making more variety of Indian dishes and will be sharing my experiences and recipes in the coming months straight from India! So stay tuned. So, I wanted to make some special Diwali snacks for my hubby and made Murukku. It came out very nice (as you can see), crunchy and tasty. 🙂 Although like most things we haven’t tried, making...
Read More
Gokulashtami Special – Vella Seedai/Sweet marbles
Today is Gokulashtami. This festival is celebrated for lord krishna and it’s his birthday. This festival is called in different names as “krishna jayanthi”, “krishnashtami”,” sri jayanthi” and “janma ashtami”. Last year my Mother-in-Law was here with us so she made it easy for me. This year I tried out my family recipes for the festival. This is one of the most popular festival in India. Today I made “paal kozhukatai/Sweet Rice Pudding”, Vella Seedai/Sweet marbles”, “Sundal/chick Peas Fry”, “Medhu vadai”. I was planning to make two more dishes but I don’t have time to do it. Now I am sharing the Vella seedai(Sweet marbles) recipe here. This dish is used to make especially for the Gokulashtami festival. This is pretty popular snack in South India. I got this recipe from my sister and this is the first time...
Read MoreChristmas Recipes
Recent Comments