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Broccoli Fritters with Spiced Yogurt

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BroccoliFritters_kadhipakora-2

Crispy broccoli pakoras simmered in yoghurt besan gravy. Perfect Comfort food!

Broccoli belongs to the cruciferous vegetable family, which includes kale. They supply loads of nutrients and also good for skin. It aids us to look younger. Who doesn’t appreciate that? :D

 

Kadhi is yoghurt besan based gravy and pakoras are fritters. It is very quick to make surprisingly. I thought it might take quite a lot time, I tasted this few times in restaurants and wanted to try it. So asked one of my friends who does it well, tried and now I just love it more than the restaurants ;).  After having at restaurants, I realized that many states of India have their own version of kadhi like Gujarati kadhi, Maharashtrian kadhi, Punjabi kadhi and so on. And this here is my version ;)! I am sure everyone has their own version with a few tweaks here and there like any other food. Some add veggies to it, but I heard the authentic recipe is just plain pakoras in besan yoghurt gravy. Make sure to simmer the kadhi for 2-3 minutes, so it soaks up some gravy and flavours. I have heard adding ghee making a lot of difference to the gravy and I always love ghee (Indian clarified butter) so I would say yes. Try and let me know! Even oil tasted perfect to me. I had this for my lunch with some parathas, plain hot rice and spicy potato roast.

Vegan note: Replace yoghurt with coconut milk or vegan yoghurt

Other Favorite North Indian curry: Pepper Paneer Do Pyaza, Trevti Dal/Three Lentil Dal, Mushroom Peas Spring Onions masala, Roasted bell pepper gravy, Paneer Makhanwala

BroccoliFritters_kadhipakora

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Broccoli Fritters with Spiced Yogurt
Author: 
Recipe type: Main
Cuisine: Indian
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 3 cups
 
Ingredients
  • • • For Pakora: (yields 7-8 pakoras)
  • • Broccoli Florets - 12
  • • Besan flour/ Gram Flour/ Chickpeas flour/ Kadalai maavu – ½ cup
  • • Chilli Powder – ¼ tsp
  • • Green chilli – 1, chopped finely
  • • Ajwain/ Carom seeds – a pinch
  • • Cilantro/ Coriander leaves – 2tbsp (finely chopped)
  • • Salt – to taste
  • • Water – ⅛ - ¼ cup as needed
  • • Oil – to deep fry
  • For Kadhi:
  • • Yoghurt – 1.5 cups (preferably sour)
  • • Besan flour – 2-3 tbsp
  • • Oil/ghee – 1 tbsp
  • • Asafetida - pinch
  • • Red Whole dry Chillies - 2
  • • Methi seeds – ½ tsp
  • • Cumin seeds – ½ tsp
  • • Ginger – 1 tsp (finely chopped)
  • • Garlic – 2 (finely chopped)
  • • Turmeric powder – ½ tsp
  • • Chilli Powder – ½ tsp
  • • Cilantro – 2 tbsp (finely chopped)
Instructions
  1. For Pakora/Fritters:
  2. Mix the chickpea flour, Broccoli Florets, ajwain seeds, chilli powder, green chillies, salt, curry leaves and coriander leaves. Make sure to add right mount fo salt, as it is going to absorb juices and flavour from the kadhi gravy later.
  3. Add water slowly by whisking the batter, so that there are no lumps in the batter. It should be light, thick and smoother than a pancake batter I would say.

  4. Heat oil in a pan and drop small portions of the mixture into the hot oil and deep-fry till golden brown. Drain on absorbent paper and set aside.

    For kadhi:
  5. Take a bowl, whisk together yoghurt and besan flour until its smooth. Authentic kadhi is thick, but if you want to thin it out, add some water and set aside. I added 1 cup of water as I was going to simmer for some time.
  6. Heat oil in a big wide pan on medium-low heat, add methi seeds, cumin seeds, red chillies, ginger, garlic, and asafetida. When the red chilli turns colour, add the besan yoghurt mixture, salt ( as per your taste) and turmeric.

  7. Turn the heat to low, bring to a boil and cook on low heat for about ten to twelve minutes, stirring occasionally.

  8. Add the fried pakora, and continue to simmer for two to three minutes.
  9. Switch off and garnish with coriander leaves.
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Mushroom Pepper Fry in 25 minutes

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This is a simple mushroom fry that will entice your sense. Pepper gives depth and immense flavour to this dish.

You absolutely require few ingredients to prepare this recipe, which remain not the case for most Indian recipes.I made this recently. It was extremely splendid to taste and quick to make. I wanted to share the recipe right away. I have a feeling that if I make recipes with pepper, it’s a hit and people are loving it. May be its true:)

Enjoy it with plain hot rice or Indian bread like roti or naan. Or make it with Indian spicy tomato rasam.

My favourite Mushroom recipes: Mushroom Biryani, Garlic mushroom spaghetti, Mushrooms in peanut sesame gravy, Creamy mushrooms and greens on toast.

 

My lunch box : ) – My lunchboxes are not that fancy but solves the purpose. 

lunchboxrecipes

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Mushroom Pepper Fry in 25 minutes
Author: 
Recipe type: Main
Cuisine: Indian
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 2 cups
 
Ingredients
  • • • Mushroom- 300gms
  • • • Capsicum/Bell Pepper – 1, medium sized, finely sliced
  • • • Oil – 2 tbsp
  • • • Whole Red Chilli – 2, broken
  • • • Cumin seeds– 1 tsp
  • • • Onion - 1 cup, 1 finely sliced
  • • Garlic – 5, finely sliced
  • • • Ginger – 2 inch, sliced
  • • • Turmeric powder - 1 Tsp
  • • • • Salt – 2 tsp or as per your taste
  • • • Coriander leaves – 1 tbsp, finely chopped
  • • • Water – 100 ml

    To Roast and grind:
  • • • Pepper - 1 tbsp
  • • • Fennel seeds - 1 tbsp
Instructions
  1. • Dry roast the ingredient under "to roast & grind” in medium to low flame for 45 seconds. Cool them, grind them together and keep it aside.

  2. • In a pan, heat oil in medium flame, when it is heated, add red chillies, cumin seeds and when it’s roasted for 5 seconds, add onion and a bit of salt and sauté till golden brown.

  3. • Now add ginger, garlic and sauté for few seconds.
  4. • Add the mushroom, capsicum, turmeric, pepper fennel blended powder and sauté well for a minute

  5. • Lower the flame from medium a bit but don’t low it too much. It will take around 7-8 minutes for it to cook well. Don’t add water.

  6. • Keep sautéing it every 2 minutes. Add chopped coriander leaves and switch it off.
Notes
If you think the spice is high for you, reduce pepper by half.
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Indian Style Mixed Veggies stir fry/ Poriyal/ Thoran

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dal&cabbage-14Steamed veggies are seasoned and  garnished with fresh coconut in this classic south Indian stir fry. Perfect Vegan healthy dry curry recipe using all veggies!

Today I wanted to post a comfort food from my home. You can make this in few minutes. This stir fry is healthy and goes well with plain rice or any gravy. I always prefer individual veggies stir fry than the combination of few veggies. But this time I wanted to have it all healthy, and tried combining all veggies that I thought of which will go well together. I was not even fond of veggies few years back. But thanks to my boyfriend for making me like it. In India, my Amma( Mom) made sure that I always had healthy food. She used to incorporate veggies into my food somehow. My dad always makes sure I have fruits. He used to chop some fruits in the morning and give us. And also whenever we have Indian breads like chapathi, parathas he used to give some cucumber and tomatoes on sides. So I was never conscious about all that. Now I make it a point to have veggies 😀 life changes once you stay far from your parents.

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Healthy and tasty! Less oil, vegan and perfect for Saturday afternoon lunch. Today I wanted to post a comfort food from my home. You can make this in few minutes. I would say the main task is to chop those veggies. But pain is gain! Have to do something to make our life healthier. Poriyal/thoran is a preparation where the chopped or grated vegetables are sautéed in spices and topped with grated coconut sometimes. You can make poriyal/stir fry with almost all veggies like beans,carrot, cabbage, chow chow/chayote, bitter gourd/pavakkai,bottlegourd,beetroot,okra,potato,broccoli,zucchini, cauliflower, arbi/seppankezhangu , raw banana/ vazhakkai, cluster beans/ kothavarangai poriyal and so on.

I have been thinking of posting this recipe for a long time, then thought it’s too simple to post. But now I thought it can surely help beginners or bachelors. You can substitute this with any veggie you fancy and make this same stir-fry. You can even use frozen veggies, then you have to just 1 tbsp. of water, add the coconut and switch off. There is no need of boiling and the whole recipe just takes 5 minutes to do. It tastes best with rasam, dal,Onion kuzhambu/curry, spinach curry, pepper kuzhambu/curry or sambhar. You can also have this with roti or just with plain rice.

Other favourite stir fry recipes are here: STIR FRY/ DRY CURRY Recipes.

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Indian Style Mixed Veggies stir fry/ Poriyal/ Thoran
Author: 
Recipe type: Main
Cuisine: Indian
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 4 cups
 
Ingredients
  • • Mustard seeds – ½ tsp.
  • • Urad dal/split black gram – 1 tsp
  • • Asafetida – ¼ tsp
  • • Onion – ½ cup, chopped (1 small)
  • • Green chilli – 2, chopped
  • • Curry leaves – 1 spring
  • • All veggies - 4 cups, chopped, I used beans, cabbage, carrot and peas
  • • Turmeric powder – ¼ tsp
  • • Sambhar powder – ½ tbsp
  • • Salt – to taste
  • • Red chillies -3 , broken
  • • Fresh coconut – 1 tbsp
  • • Oil - ½ tbsp
  • • Coconut oil – 1 tsp
Instructions
  1. Heat oil in a pan, add mustard seeds, urad dal, asafoetida, red chilli and let it splutter. Add curry leaves and fry for a min. Now add chopped onions and green chillies and salt and sauté well till onions gets slightly browned.
  2. Now add the chopped veggies, sauté for a minute. Add the turmeric powder and sambhar powder. Mix it well. Add water till it is almost covered. Close the lid and let it turn soft and raw smell leaves.
  3. Once all the water gets evaporated, add dry coconut and give a quick stir fry. Finish off by adding 1 tsp of coconut oil and switch off.
Notes
1. You can substitute this with any veggie you fancy and make this same stir-fry.
2. You can use 1 tsp of coconut oil to garnish. It gives extra flavor.
3. You can use frozen veggies also, then you have to just 1 tbsp of water, add the coconut and switch off.
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Lentils with caramelized shallots/ Kutty Vengaya Dal

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Shallots dal

Hearty and comforting Indian dal with shallots.

Many might not usually think about using shallots as a vegetable, but I am sure everyone would agree that it is flavorful and nuanced in taste than onions. It adds a more subtle, sweet aromatic flavor to dal, stews, and salad dressings or even for savories like bacon onion bun or paneer bun. They are a bit more expensive than onions but surely worth every penny. I even have shallots roasted with some veggies, or cooking shallots by tossing them with extra virgin oil and grilling them. You can always even roast them in an oven. If you substitute in most dishes by substituting shallots than onion, you would surely know the meaning of the delicious ingredient.

Shallots dal
I make dal always at least once in a week. But I really do not take pictures of it as it will be very late for me for have the food. I always feel it is delicious and comfort food. And also it is very healthy. Dal can be made in different ways using different dal like Normal simple dal, dal tadka, dal fry using different dal. I really love to make dal because it is simple and very comforting food. I make sure I make them once in a week at least. I usually make them on a weekday because it just takes 10 minutes for me in a kitchen. I pressure cook them, meanwhile I chop some veggies for side dish. You can replace the dal with any dal you want. the idea is to make using three dal/lentils. I made this with cabbage peas curry. I usually make my dal with potato roast as sides. I have a collection of mouthwatering potato recipes that you need to try.

 Vegan Note: use any oil in this recipe instead of ghee. 

My other Favorite Dal recipes: Lasooni Dal Tadka/ Garlic Tempered Lentils, Trevti dal/ Three Lentil dal, Gujarati Surati dal/ Peanut Tomato Lentil Recipe, Chana dal Paratha/ stuffed Lentil Paratha, Tomato dal Rasam/ Tomato Soup, Indian Style Lentils/ South Indian sambar, Bisibelabath/Hot spicy lentil Rice, crunchy lentil nuggets/Uppu seedai, spinach with lentils/ Keerai Moolagootal.

Shallots dal

5.0 from 2 reviews
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LENTILS WITH CARAMELISED SHALLOTS/ KUTTY VENGAYA DAL
Author: 
Recipe type: Main
Cuisine: Indian
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 2.5 cups
 
Ingredients
  • • Tuvar dal/pigeon pea lentils – 1 cup
  • • Green chillies – 3, chopped roughly
  • • Turmeric – 1 tsp
  • • Tomato – 1, chopped finely
  • • Salt – as needed (around 1 tbsp)
  • • Water – 3 cups for pressure-cooking the lentils
  • [For tempering]
  • • Ghee /oil – 3 tbsp (mix of both)
  • • Cumin seeds – 1 tsp
  • • Garlic – 4, chopped
  • • Ginger- 2 inch, julienne or grated cut
  • • Red chilli – 2, broken
  • • Asafetida/hing – pinch
  • • Shallots – 8, skin removed
  • • Red chilli powder – 1 tsp
  • • Amchur powder – 1 tsp
  • • Sugar – a pinch
  • • Dry methi leaves – ½ tbsp, crushed
  • • Coriander leaves - 1 tbsp finely chopped for garnish
  • • Lemon – squeeze a little for garnish
Instructions
  1. Add washed tuvar dal, tomatoes, green chillies, turmeric and salt in the pressure cooker with water.Pressure-cook the lentils for 5-6 whistles till you get a mashable smooth consistency.
  2. Meanwhile in a small sauce pan, heat up the ghee or oil in medium-low flame. Add the cumin seeds, when it crackles, add the whole red chillies, shallots,sugar, garlic, ginger, curry leaves and let them cook in low –medium flame till the shallots gets roasted or caramelized. Turn off the heat and add the red chilli powder, dry methi leaves, asafoetida and amchur powder.


  3. When it’s pressure-cooked, open the cooker and check if the consistency is good. If not mash it, add little water and boil for two minutes. Or leave it.
  4. Add the tempering of shallots to the pressure cooked lentils.
  5. Garnish with chopped coriander and squeeze lemon. Check for salt and serve this shallot dal hot with steamed rice and a potato fry. You can also serve this with rotis/naan.
Notes
1. Vegan Note: use any oil in this recipe instead of ghee.
2. Hing or asafetida is a strong, aromatic spice. It gives unique flavor to daal. But it is optional.
3. If you do not have a pressure cooker, us a heavy bottomed pot with lid and cook for aroung 30-40 minutes in medium low flame.
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Shallots dal

Taste great with Breads like paratha, or with rice and dry curry/stir fry or simple exotic potato roast sides.

 

Shallots dal

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