Schezwan Vegetable Dosa

Hiiii friends,

After a while, I am here with a recipe, which is simple to make, spicy, yet delicious. Tried my hands for the first time and happy that the experiment was a success. My hubby was so impressed with this dosa. It got finished in no time. Myself and my hubby loves spicy foods. So, this one was like a big treat for both of us.

Please note: This recipe is solely dedicated for spice lovers. If you cannot stand spicy foods, then please reduce the amount of chillies used to make schezwan sauce.

If you want, you can add cheese in to this. But I avoided that step as we do not want to add much calories in our food this time. The choice of vegetables used in this is completely up to you. 

Try this recipe and I am sure you are going to love this.

Ingredients

For Dosa

• Dosa Batter - as needed to pour dosas
• Butter / oil - to smear on top of dosas
• Schezwan Sauce - as needed (Recipe given)

Vegetable filling

• Oil - 1 tsp
• Onion - 1, thinly sliced
• Cabbage - Julienne 1/2 cup
• Carrot - Julienne 1/2 cup
• Capsicum - any colour, Julienne, 1/2 cup
• Schezwan sauce - 1 tblspn

For Schezwan Sauce

• Dry red  chillies - 25 nos
• Ginger and Garlic - Both crushed, 4 tblspn each(15-20 cloves garlic)
• Tomato sauce - 1 tblspn
• Chilli sauce - 1 tblspn
• Soya Sauce - 2 tsp
• Freshly crushed black pepper - 1 tsp
• Salt - to taste
• Sugar - 2 tsp
• Oil - 2 tblspn

Method

For Schezwan Sauce

De-seed the red chillies and add in to a pan. Add a cup of water and allow it to boil for 5 minutes in a medium flame. The chillies might have become soft by then.
Allow it to cool and blend in to a smooth paste along with the water.
Keep it aside

Heat oil in a pan and add crushed ginger and garlic. Saute until it starts changing the colour.
Now add the chilli paste and give a good mix.
Add tomato sauce, chilli sauce and soya sauce. Mix good and cook for a minute or so.
Now add salt, sugar and pepper. Let it cook on a medium heat for 5-8 minutes. Turn off the heat.
Allow the sauce to cool down completely and then transfer it to a clean air tight container. Use as required.

For Vegetables

• Heat oil in a pan. Let the heat be in high.
• Add all the veggies together(even onion). Toss them in the pan for about 5 minutes. The veggies should be half cooked and the crunchiness should be still there on them.
• Now add salt and some schezwan sauce. Give it a good mix and turn off the heat. Your vegetable filling is now ready. Keep it ready

How to proceed?

• Heat your dosa tawa and spread the dosa batter as thin as possible. Make sure to keep the heat in medium in order to get crispy dosas.
• Drizzle some oil or dollop a tsp of butter.
• Spread a tsp of schezwan sauce all over the dosa, as evenly as possible. This step is completely optional. But tastes extremely good.
• Top it with the veggies. Add some grated cheese. (If you want. I did not add. But tastes great). 

• Let the dosas get crisped up. Fold and serve.
• You do not need any side dish for this. Tastes absolutely good just like that.

Honey Chilli Orange Cake

This cake has all the flavors in it. Sweet, spicy, sour and slightly bitter. My hubby wanted me to prepare the Orange cake, but for me, I wanted a twist. Now, I am so happy to prepare any eggless cakes, because, it comes out so perfect, moist and soft just by adding a tablespoon of Apple Cider Vinegar in to it. It makes all the difference when you do not want to include eggs in your cakes.

I first prepared the eggless orange cake, melted the jam meanwhile and added chilli powder and ginger powder to it, then prepared the honey syrup to pour on top of the cake. Honey, orange and ginger go very well together. It has very less fat, as there is no butter or eggs added to it. It is best had the next day.

Try, and let me know how it came out for you

Ingredients

For the cake

• All purpose flour / Maida - 1 cup
• Baking soda - 1/2 tsp
• Baking powder - 1/2 tsp
• Salt - a pinch
• Oil - 1/4 cup
• Sugar - 3/4 cup
• Vanilla essence - 1 tsp
• Orange zest - From 1 orange
• Orange pulp / juice - 1/2 cup
• Thick curd(unsour) - 1/3 cup
• Apple Cider Vinegar- 1 tblspn

For the Jam

• Any jam of your choice (I used ginger jam) - 1/2 cup
• Red Food Coloring- a pinch (Optional)
• Chilli powder - 1 tsp
• Ginger powder - 1/2 tsp (Optional)
• Orange zest - 1/2 tsp

For the Honey syrup

• Honey - 1/4 cup
• Water - 1/2 cup
• Sugar - 1/4 cup

For garnish

• Almonds - skin peeled and sliced
• Dessicated Coconut 

Method

For the cake

• Preheat the oven @ 180 deg C
• Grease a 10 cm cake pan with oil/ butter, sprinkle some flour, and tap out the excess if any.
• Sieve all the dry ingredients for about 2 or 3 times; Maida, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
• In another vessel, take your wet ingredients; oil, sugar, vanilla essence, orange zest, orange juice, curd and apple cider vinegar and mix well.
• Add the wet ingredients to your dry ingredients, folding them gently in order to get rid of any lumps.
• Pour this mixture in to your cake pan and bake for about 30 to 40 minutes or until the toothpick inserted comes out clean.
• Once done, run your knife through the edges. Do not remove from the cake pan. Keep it aside

For the Jam

• Heat a sauce pan and add jam. Allow it to melt a little and then add chilli powder, ginger powder, orange zest and red food coloring. Mix well and keep it aside

For the Honey Syrup

• Boil water in a vessel. Add honey and sugar. Let it boil until honey is melted and sugar is dissolved completely. Turn off the heat.

How to Proceed?

• Pour the honey syrup over the cake (without removing the cake from cake pan), when it is still hot.
• Now spread the jam on top of the cake. Spread it as evenly as possible.
• Now sprinkle some dessicated coconut and arrange the sliced almonds.
• Cut and Serve.

Notes

• I have used All purpose flour to make this cake. But you can even use the whole wheat flour
• While taking the orange zest, just scrape the orange part of it. Do not scrape the white part, as it will give more bitter taste to the cake.
• In honey syrup, you can also add rose essence if you like the flavor of rose. I did not prefer adding, so skipped that step.

Mumbai Masala Toast

 

 

Mumbai street food has wide range of varieties like vada pav, dosa, pani puri, and the list goes on just like that.. One among them is Masala Toast sandwich.
Myself and my hubby used to have this from the street shops, which are freshly prepared in front of our eyes. I captured the method in my mind and since we moved out of India, I used to prepare all by myself. 
My hubby and myself are very fond of these street foods, so they are prepared very often at our home.

This sandwich is not only very tasty, but it is very simple to prepare. The combination of coriander mint chutney, potato masala and all crunchy thinly sliced veggies make an excellent combination. 

As I do not have a griller or a sandwich maker at home, I just toasted my bread in tawa. Even then, there was never a compromise in taste. If you have a griller or sandwich maker, then go ahead and use it.

Try and let me know how it came out for you.



Servings - 3

Ingredients

For Potato Masala

• Potato - 2, boiled, peeled and mashed
• Oil - 2 tsp
• Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Cumin seeds- 1 tsp
• Onions - 1, chopped very finely
• Green chilles - 2 or 3(or according to spice level) finely chopped
• Ginger paste - 1 tsp
• Turmeric powder - a pinch
• Coriander powder - 1 tsp
• Garam masala powder / Pav bhaji masala/ Sandwich masala - 1 tsp
• Coriander leaves - 1 tblspn, finely chopped

Vegetables

• Onion - 1, thinly sliced rounds
• Capsicum - Thinly sliced
• Tomato - 1, thinly sliced rounds

Other Ingredients

• Bread Slices - 6 (Sandwich bread preferred, wheat or white bread)
• Butter - for spreading and toasting
• Cream cheese- for spreading (Optional)
• Coriander mint chutney - for spreading
• Salt to taste
• Pav bhaji masala
• Chaat Masala
• Sev 1 cup
• Coriander leaves to garnish

Method

For Potato Masala

• Heat oil in a pan and crackle mustard and cumin seeds. 
• Add green chillies and ginger paste and saute for few seconds. Now add the finely chopped onions.
• Cook until the onions are translucent. Add salt to speed up the process.
• Add coriander powder, garam masala/pav bhaji masala/sandwich masala. Sprinkle some water to avoid the masalas from getting burnt and to get a semi soft consistency to the masala.
• Add the boiled and mashed potatoes. Mix well until everything is combined. Sprinkle coriiander leaves.
• Turn off the heat and allow it to cool down completely.

How to proceed?

• Take a bread slice and apply butter and cream cheese. Spread both evenly on the bread. You can either use cream cheese or butter. I used the combination of both.

• Now spread a teaspoon of coriander mint chutney all over the bread.

• Apply a thick layer of potato masala evenly using butter knife.

 

• Place the thinly sliced veggies over the masala

• Sprinkle some chaat masala, salt and pav bhaji masala

• Take another slice of bread and spread cream cheese and butter (or either of these), facing downwards to cover the other bread.

 
 

• Apply butter on both the sides of the bread and grill or toast it. If you are toasting it, make sure to keep the heat in medium to low, inorder to get a nice color and crispiness. Make sure not to burn them.
• Once done, take out of the pan. Apply some coriander mint chutney over the sandwich and sprinkle a generous amount of sev and little chaat masala. Garnish the entire plate with coriander leaves and serve immediately with tomato sauce and coriander mint chutney

 
Notes

You can add boiled/frozen green peas to the masala if you wish to. Add after sauteing the onions

Brinjal Curry - Udupi style

I started liking this vegetable very recently, when we visited croatia a few months before. In hotels, they make so many varieties with this. Since then, I used to try those at my home as well.
This is anot any dish which I had from Croatia. This is an authentic dish from Udupi. It is flavorful, spicy, tangy and sweet and goes well with hot steamed rice.I was grown up with this kind of yummy dishes prepared by my mom and grand ma.
I used to prepare this using brinjals, raddish, beetroot, raw banan etc. The spices are roasted and ground along with freshly grated coconut. The measurement of the spices added in this curry is very important for its unique taste.
I have no words to express my happiness when my pregnant friend who had this was blown away by the taste.
It hardly takes 15 minutes to prepare this dish. So, let's start on this recipe.

Ingredients

• Brinjal - 4 medium sized
• Turmeric powder- a pinch
• Salt - to taste
• Tamarind - 1 small lemon sized
• Jaggery - 1 tblspn

To Grind

• Coriander seeds - 2 tsp
• Red chillies - 4 (or according to spice preference)
• Split black gram dal (Urad dal) - 3/4 tsp
• Bengal gram dal - 3/4 tsp
• Cumin seeds -3/4 tsp
• Fenugreek seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Curry leaves - a few
• Fresh coconut - 1/2 cup
• Oil - 1 tsp

To temper

• Oil - 1 tsp
• Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
• Urad dal - 1 tsp
• Red chillies - 1 or 2, broken
• Curry leaves - 1 spring

Method

• Wash the brinjals well and cut them in to cubes or length wise. All the brinjal pieces should be even in size, to get the even cooking. If not using immediately, keep it soaked in water until use.
• In a vessel, combine brinjal , tamarind, turmeric powder and water up to the level of brinjals. Cook until brinjals are soft
• Meanwhile, heat oil in a pan and roast coriander seeds, red chillies, urad dal, bengal gram dal, cumin seeds, fenugreek seeds and curry leaves. Roast until the lentils turn slightly brown.
• Once done, turn off the heat and mix coconut. Allow the mixure to cool completely and grind it smoothly.
• Add this prepared paste to cooked brinjals along with some salt and jaggery. 
• Bring this just to one boil and turn off the heat.
• In a seasoning pan, heat oil and crackle mustard seeds. Add urad dal and fry till golden brown. Then add red chillies and curry leaves. Pour this seasoning in to the curry and mix well.
• Serve hot with hot steamed rice.

Carrot chutney

 

Carrot Chutney, though not a regular menu at our house, I make this whenever I run in short of coconut/ tomato. This is my husband's one of the favorite chutney, as it has a sweet taste. The sweetness from the carrot.

I have added 7 pods of garlic for this chutney. But you can reduce it if you dont like the garlic flavor. You can also add 1 small piece of ginger instead of garlic, which also gives a good taste.

Sometimes I add coconut while grinding the chutney and have along with hot steamed rice. It will taste heavenly delicious.

If you do not have sweet tooth, you can increase the red chillies in order to compensate the sweetness from the carrot.

Ingredients

• Carrot - 1 cup, finely chopped
• Oil- 2 tsp
• Asafoetida - a pinch
• Urad dal - 2 tsp
• Red chillies - 3 or according to your spice preference
• Garlic - 6-7 cloves
• Onion- 1/2 cup, roughly chopped or small onions
• Tamarind - 1 small gooseberry size
• Salt - as per taste
• Curry leaves - 1 spring

Method

• Heat oil in a pan and add urad dal.
• When it starts to change its colour, add red chillies, Asafoetida and curry leaves. Saute for 5 seconds and then add the onions and garlic.
• Fry them until onions become translucent and garlic becomes cool. Add salt to ease the process.
• Add the carrot now. The cooking time of the carrots depend on how big / small you chop the carrot. To make the cooking easy, I chopped it finely. Do not add water to cook the carrots.
• Keep sauteing it until the carrot is cooked and soft. Once it is done, switch off the flame and add the tamarind / tamarind pulp. Mix once. Close the lid and let it cool.
• Once it is cool, grind it to a smooth paste. Add water if necessary. 
• Your chutney is now ready. This chutney will be little sweet and goes well with dosa, idli, paddu / panniyaram etc.

Try and let me know your feed back

Sweet Corn Khara Panniyaram

If you are bored of eating idli / dosa, try making this. You will definitely love this dish. My mom used to spice this up by adding onion, ginger and green chillies. My hubby is not a big fan of ginger flavor. So, I do not add ginger in making this. They are crispy from outside and soft from inside.
Here I made khara panniyarams by adding onion, green chillies and mainly sweet corn. Adding sweet corn gives a unique flavor to your panniyarams. Once I prepared this for my hubby's clients and they totally loved it.

Ingredients

• Idli / Dosa batter - 2 cups
• Oil - 1 tsp
• Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Urad dal - 1 tblspn
• Channa dal - 1 tblspn
• Green chillies - 2 , finely chopped
• Curry leaves - 1 spring, finely chopped
• Onion - 1, finely chopped
• Salt - as per taste
• Asafoetida - 1/2 tsp (powder)
• Boiled sweet corn kernals - 1/2 cup
• Coriander leaves - 1 tblspn, finely chopped
• Oil - to prepare panniyarams

 

Method

• Heat oil in a pan and crackle mustard seeds. When it splutters, add channa dal, urad dal and asafoetida.
• When the lentils become golden brown, add green chillies, curry leaves, onion and salt. Saute until onion becomes translucent.
• Now, add the sweet corn kernals and fry for 2 minutes. Add coriander leaves and turn off the heat.
• Add this in to the dosa / idli batter and mix well.
• Heat your appe pan. 1st keep the heat in high. Once it is very hot, change the heat to medium-low.
• Pour 2 - 3 drops of oil in each of the cavities of your appe pan.
• Fill each cavities with the batter. Make sure fill it just 3/4th.
• Cover and cook for few minutes. You can see the bottom part is crispy.
• Turn carefully with a skewer or spoon and let the other side also get cooked. Add 1/4 tsp of oil in each cavity.
• Do not cover and cook at this stage. Flip again and cook if you need it a little more crispy. When they are golden from all the sides, transfer it to a hot case box, so that it will remain hot until you are done with the next batches.
• Serve along with any chutneys / idli podi

Potato basket chaat

These are baskets which are made of grated starch free potatoes and are filled with tawa fried chick peas, onion, tomato, chutneys and well beaten yoghurt. If you are looking for a chaat item for a party, this is one good option. 

Making filling for these baskets are all your choice. You can add paneer / Sprouts / cheese etc, according to your taste. I have seasoned the potatoes with pepper, tandoori masala and cumin powder. But the choice is again up to you. You can season them or just keep it plain.

Always try to use starch free potatoes / old potatoes in order to make it crispy.

You can store this in room temperature for about 1 or 2 days prior or you can store it in an air tight container and freeze it for about a week. 

I will show you the baked version of potato baskets. There is another option also to make these baskets by frying them

Ingredients

For tawa channa

• Channa / Garbanzo beans - 1/2 cup
• Oil- 1 tsp
• Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
• Onion - 1/2 no, finely chopped
• Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
• Tomato / Tomato puree - 1/4 no / 3 tsp
• Ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp
• Chilli powder - 1 tsp
• Coriander powder - 2 tsp
• Garam masala powder - 1 tsp
• Coriander leaves - to garnish
• Salt - to taste

For Potato Basket

• Potato - 2 cups , Grated
• Salt - 2 tsp
• Water - 2 cups
• Corn flour / All purpose flour - 1 tblspn
• Chilli powder - 1 tsp
• Pepper powder - 1 tsp
• Tandoori masala powder - 1 tsp
• Cumin powder - 1 tsp
• Oil - to sprat on muffin trays

Other Ingredients

• Onions - 1/2 cup, finely chopped
• Tomatoes - 1/4 cup , finely chopped
• Chaat masala powder - 2 tsp
• Dry mango powder - 1 tsp
• Cumin powder - 2 tsp
• Yoghurt - 1/2 cup, well beaten
• Salt - 1 tsp
• Sugar - 1 tsp
• Sweet chutney - 1 tblspn
• Chaat green chutney - 1 tblspn
• Coriander leaves - few, finely chopped
• Lemon juice - 1 tblspn

Method

For Tawa Channa

• Soak chick peas over night or for about 6 hours minimum. Pressure cook until soft.
• In a tawa, heat oil and crackle the cumin seeds. Add ginger garlic paste and chopped onions and salt. Fry till onions become transparent and raw smell of ginger and garlic is gone completely.

• Sprinkle some chilli powder , garam masala powder, coriander powder and turmeric powder

• Add tomatoes and cook till mushy.

• Now add the garbanzo beans and cook for a minute. Mix everything well and turn off the heat.

• Garnish with coriander leaves and keep aside.

For Potato Baskets

• Preheat the oven @ 200 deg
• Grate the potatoes and soak them in warm water for about half an hour. Squeeze out the water completely from them. You can use either the fine grater or medium ones. But make sure to squeeze out as much water as possible to get crispy potato cups

 

• Add cornflour, pepper powder, chilli powder, cumin powder and tandoori masala powder. Mix everything really well

 

• Grease your muffin tray with some oil

 

• Place the potato filling in each muffin mold. With the help of your fingers, move them to sides and make the shape of a basket. Spread hem as evenly as possible.

 

• Bake them in the preheated ovenfor about 25 to 30 minutes or until it becomes crispy.
• Remove from the oven and let it cool for about 10 minutes.
• With the help of the fork, carefully take out the potato baskets from each muffin molds.

• Let it cool completely before you tranfer them to air tight containers.
• You can freeze it up to a week. When you are ready to make the chaat, preheat your oven @ 200 deg, and bake for about 10 minutes or until it is crispy again.

 How to Proceed?

• In a bowl, whisk the curds well. Add salt, sugar, cumin powder, chat masala powder and dry mango powder. Mix well.
• Take 1 potato basket. Start by filling the tawa fried garbanzo beans. Place 2 or 3 garbazo beans. Then add chopped onions and tomatoes
• Top them with chaat green chutney, sweet chutney, coriander leaves, yoghurt and sev. 
• Finally sprinkle some chaat masala, salt, dry mango powder, cumin powder and chilli powder. Squeeze some fresh lime juice on top

• Repeat the same for all and serve