Purna Che Saar

Recipe: 

Ingredients:

Ghee - 2 tsp
Chana Dal - 1 small cup
Coriander Seeds - 1 tsp
Pepper Balls - 5
Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp
Cloves - 5
Red Chilly - 3
Dry coconut powder - 4 tsp

For Tadka:
Ghee - 2 tsp
Mustard Seeds - 1 tsp
Hing - a pinch
Red Chilly - 1
Curry Leaves - 6

Red Chilly Powder (optional)

Preparation:

1. Boil Chana Dal and keep aside.
2. In a pan, heat some ghee. 
3. Add coriander seeds, pepper balls, cumin seeds, cloves, red chilly and let it fry.
4. Then add dry coconut powder.
5. Grind it in a mixer once it cools down.
6. After it is ground to a fine powder, add the boiled dal (after it cools down) and grind it.
7. For tadka, heat ghee in a pan. Add mustard seeds, hing, red chilly and curry leaves. Add some water and the boiled dal paste.
8. Adjust the seasoning - add salt, jaggery, tamarind water. If you want it more spicy, then adjust with the red chilly powder accordingly.

Serve it with rice.

* 1 small cup = 1 idli vati

Pudina Tamboli

Recipe: 

Ingredients:

Ghee - 4 tsp
Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp
Pepper balls- 4
Hing - pinch
Tamarind - small ball
Green Chilly - 1
Grated coconut - 1 small cupMint leaves (Pudina) - 1 bunch
Salt - to taste
Yogurt (Curd) - 1 small cup

Preparation:

1. Heat ghee in a pan
2. Add cumin seeds, pepper balls, hing, tamarind, green chilly, grated coconut, pudina and add salt as per taste.
3. Grind the above mix into a fine paste with some water.
4. Add yogurt and mix well.

Serve it with rice.

* 1 small cup = 1 idli vati

Mirchi Bajji

Mirchi Bajji (chilly fritters) is a very popular spicy Indian snack which is usually served with sweet and tamarind chutney. Prepared in a variety of ways, each recipe has its own unique taste. This is very famous in Rajasthan where they stuff the chillies with  mashed potato mix and deep fry them.


My mom prepares yet another version of this dish without any stuffing and this one is my all time favorite. It has this tinge of tangy sweetness that makes you want to eat more of this while keeping them really light in your tummy.

Recipe: 

Ingredients:
Pakoda Mirchi - 12
Chat Masala - optional

For Frying batter:
Oil
Besan - 1 cup
Water - 1/4 cup (or as necessary for a thick consistency
Salt - to taste

For Stuffing:
Tamarind paste - 1/2 cup
Jaggery - 1 tsp
Curd - 1/4 cup
Lemon - 1/2
Hing - a pinch
Ajwain - 1 tsp
Salt - to taste
Water - 1 tsp

Preparation:

1. Mix the ingredients under the stuffing section well (tamarind paste, jaggery, curd, lemon juice, hing, ajwain, salt and a bit of water.
2. Take the pakoda mirchi and slit it.
3. Stuff the tamarind mixture into each chilly and keep aside for 1 hr.
4. Make the batter for dipping the chilly. For this, mix the besan, water and salt into a thick consistency.
5. Heat oil in a pan for deep frying.
6. Dust each pakoda with some dry besan and then dip it in the batter. The dusting helps the batter to evenly coat the chillies when frying.
7. Deep fry the chillies till they are well cooked. Once cooked, remove them and serve.
8. Optionally, you can sprinkle some chat masala powder while you serve it.

You can serve this with rice or eat it just like that as a snack.

Thoushe Koshimbir (with Moong Dal)

Thoushe Koshimbir, which is an Indian Cucumber Salad is one of the healthy side dishes served at every meal in Indian households. I got this recipe from my mom-in-law and it tastes great with Chapathi or rice.

Recipe: 

Ingredients:
Moong Dal - 1/2 cup (~ 1 small idli vati) - Soaked for 30 mins
Cucumber - 4 small
Salt - 1 tsp
Sugar - 1/2 tsp
Coriander leaves - 1 handful
Grated Coconut - 1/2 cup
Green Chillies - 1
Lemon - 1/2

For Tadka:
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Hing - Pinch
Ghee - 1 tsp
Red Chilly - 1

Preparation:

1. Soak moong dal for 30 mins.
2. Chop cucumber into small pieces.
3. Take grated coconut, coriander leaves, green chilly, salt, a pinch of sugar and make a paste (without water).
4. Put this into the chopped cucumber.
5. Squeeze lime juice to this.
6. For tadka, heat ghee and add mustard seeds, hing and red chilly.
7. Put the tadka to the cucumber mix.