Bombay Street Food Special #1 – Batata Vada (Deep Fried Potato Dumplings)

by Trisha Vaz
I’m so excited to finally start of this Street Food Series. I’ve been wanting to do this forever, and I’m glad that I’ve FINALLY started off. For my first pick, I decided to make Batata (Potato) Vada (Dumplings). This is a yummy snack that should be served hot preferably soon after it is fried. Those pressed for time, can make the mixes a little ahead of time and then simply deep fry the dumplings just before serving. There’s something warm, hearty and comforting about these little vadas that my husband and I (along with atleast a few million people, I think) absolutely love. These dumplings can be served with some tomato sauce or the traditional sweet tamarind chutney, coriander chutney and the dry garlic chutney and deep fried salted green chillies. This time around I served it with tomato sauce but when I try out the other accompaniments, I will post about them as well. I hope you try out this simple snack and I’d love to hear what you think of it.

Here’s a peek at what it looks like – 

And here’s what the inside looks like –

Batata Vada
(Makes 7-8 pieces depending on the size of the potatoes used and the size of the vadas.)

2 potatoes, boiled and mashed roughly (You don’t want the potato mash to be creamy, leave it just a little lumpy)
A pinch of turmeric powder
Salt, to taste
1 tbsp. vegetable oil
A pinch of mustard seeds
2-3 curry leaves, roughly torn into 2-3 pieces each
1 green chilly, finely chopped (optional)
1 tsp. chopped fresh coriander leaves
1/2 cup besan (chick pea / garbanzo bean flour)
A pinch of red chilly powder (optional)
Water
Oil for deep frying

Add a pinch of turmeric powder and salt to taste to the mashed potato and mix well.

In a small pan, prepare the tempering or tadka. Heat the vegetable oil and add the mustard seeds. When it sputters, on a low to medium flame add the curry leaves, green chilly and saute a little till all the flavors are released, taking care to not burn the spices.

Add the potato mix to this and stir the oil and spices have mixed with the mashed potato, for a few seconds.

Take it off the pan and into a bowl. Add the chopped coriander leaves and using your hand mix it well. Check for salt and spice and adjust accordingly. Don’t under salt the potato mix.

Shape into balls and keep aside.

For the batter –

In a bowl, mix the chick pea flour, with a pinch of turmeric powder, chilly powder and salt to taste. Add a little water to form a batter. Make sure there are no lumps and the batter is nice and smooth.

The batter should have a pouring consistency but shouldn’t be too thin. It should be thick enough to form a nice layer around the vadas.

If it is too thick, add a little water to thin it out. If it is too thin and watery, simply add some more chick pea flour.

To make the vadas –

Heat the oil for deep frying. The oil should be hot but not smoking. One way to tell if your oil is hot enough is to carefully insert a drop of the batter into the oil. If it bubbles and rises to the top immediately, the oil is ready.

Dip the prepared balls in the batter and make sure that the batter coats the potato mix well. I think it easiest to use your hands for this.

Carefully insert the batter dipped vadas into the oil and let them fry on a medium flame till they are a nice golden brown. Turn them while they fry to ensure it cooks evenly on all sides. Don’t use high heat as the outside will burn without warming the insides through.

Drain off the excess oil and place on some kitchen paper to get rid of any oil on it.

Serve hot with some tomato sauce.

And oh, please don’t discard any of the pieces of excess batter that have broken away while frying the vadas. They are nice and crunchy. Simply drain them too while you’re extracting the vadas from the oil. My brother fights all of us for these scraps  🙂

Enjoy!!!

This recipe is linked to –
Recipes I Can’t Wait to Try @ At Home With Haley
My Meatless Monday @ My Sweet and Savory
Just Another Meatless Monday @ Hey What’s For Dinner Mom?
Meatless Monday @ Midnight Maniac
Mouthwatering Mondays @ A Southern Fairytale
Rook No.17

Trisha Vaz

This post was posted in Goan Recipes, Recipes, Sides, Snacks, Starters / Appetizers, Vegan

Date Rolls

by Trisha Vaz
Typically, I make date rolls around Christmas time. They make a lovely addition to the Christmas platter. But these little rolls are really good any other time of the year as well. This recipe is also ideal for those watching their sugar intake – simply leave out the sugar from the dough recipe and the sweetness of the dates is sufficient to make these into a delightfully healthy treat.



Date Rolls
(Make 35-40 depending on the size)


200g all purpose flour
100g butter
60g fine sugar
200g dates, cut into strips
200g walnuts, sliced (optional)
1 egg
Yolk of an egg for glazing

Beat the butter till fluffy.

Add the sugar and beat till fluffy again.

Add 1 well beaten egg and beat till incorporated with the sugar and butter.

Fold in the flour and mix till well blended. Knead lightly till it forms a dough. If the dough is too soft, refrigerate for around 10-15 minutes before rolling it out.

Roll it out to a rectangular piece to a 1/4″ thickness. Cut into 1 1/2 – 2″ squares.

Put 2 strips of date and walnut (if you’re using walnuts) on each roll and roll it up. Apply a little water to seal the edges.

Place on a well greased baking tray leaving about an inch of space between any 2 pieces.

Using a pastry brush, brush the top of each roll with egg yolk for a glazed look.

Bake for 10-15 minutes  at 160ºC.

Cool completely before storing in an airtight container.

This recipe has been linked to Sweets for a Saturday @ Sweets as Sugar Cookies, hosted by the lovely Lisa. 

You should spend some time browsing her blog. She makes some lovely treats.

Also, don’t forget to check the others have submitted this week.

Trisha Vaz

This post was posted in Cakes, Cookies & Desserts, Christmas Recipes, Cookies, Recipes

Scrambled Cottage Cheese – Paneer Bhurji

by Trisha Vaz
Today I’m going to share with you one of my all time favorite super-quick meal recipe. This takes about 10-15 minutes to throw together and is a vegetarian alternative to scrambled eggs. Don’t let that deceive you. Even though it is a vegetarian option, if you love cottage cheese like I do, you will love this. For all you egg lovers out there, just substitute the cottage cheese with eggs. And within sheer minutes, you will be sitting down to a warm, hearty and healthy meal.

Scrambled Cottage Cheese – Paneer Bhurji

(Serves 4)

250g Cottage Cheese / Paneer
1 medium sized onion, chopped
1 green chilly, chopped (Adjust the amount of spice to your liking)
1 small tomato, chopped
1/8-1/4 tsp. turmeric powder
2-3 tbsp. fresh coriander leaves, chopped
Salt, to taste
Freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
1 tbsp. oil

Heat the oil in a pan.

Saute the onions and green chilly till onions turn soft and are lightly colored.

Add the turmeric powder and stir well.

Add the tomato and let it cook off for a minute or so.

Now crumble the cottage cheese into the pan and stir well to mix with the rest of the ingredients in the pan.

Add salt and pepper to taste.

Cook uncovered for a few minutes till the liquid has dried up.

Lastly, add the coriander leaves and stir well.

Serve with hot chapatis or bread.

This recipe has been linked to –
Decidedly Healthy or Horridly Decadent @ Ceo a’s draiocht
Fun With Food Friday @ Paisley Passions
Whats Cooking Thursday @ Feeding Four

Trisha Vaz

This post was posted in Breakfast, Mains, Recipes, Sides, Vegetarian

Gaajar ka Halwa

by Trisha Vaz
Gaajar ka Halwa, Carrot (Gaajar) Halwa or Carrot Pudding is a very popular dessert in India. There are loads of recipes you will find being using to whip this up. Some serve it warm, some serve it cold, some recipes will result in a richer version, but I’d like to think of mine as a slightly more health conscious variant which still results in a delightful dessert. This can also be kept in an airtight container in the refrigerator for a long time. But truth be told, it’ll get gobbled up much sooner.

Gaajar ka Halwa
(Makes about 14-16 servings)

1 kg carrots, grated
1 (400g) tin condensed milk (I used Milkmaid)
1/4 cup milk
2 tbsp. ghee or clarified butter
2 tbsp. sugar (please adjust this to suit your taste)
Seeds of about 15 green cardamom pods, pounded to a fine powder
A few almonds, slivered

In a heavy bottomed pan, heat the ghee.

Add the grated carrots and stir well. Let the carrots sweat a little.

Add the milk and let it cook off for a couple of minutes on a medium flame.

Add the condensed milk. Stir well. After a few minutes add sugar to taste. Stir well.

Leave it uncovered on a medium flame, stirring occasionally till all the liquid evaporates. You may need to turn the heat down towards the end of the cooking process.

When its almost done, add the powdered cardamom seeds and slivered almonds. Mix well and take of the heat.

Garnish with a few slivered almonds and serve.

Once it has cooled completely, you can refrigerate the rest.

Note: When adding the powdered cardamom and slivered almonds, you can also throw in a few raisins and/or some chopped pistachios if you want.

This recipe has been linked to
Sweets for a Saturday #1 hosted by Lisa of Sweet as Sugar Cookies

Please spend some time and check out what the others have brought to the table this week.

Trisha Vaz

This post was posted in Cakes, Cookies & Desserts, Dessert, Recipes

Prawn Chilly Fry with Coriander Speckled Rice

by Trisha Vaz
Folks, one of my fondest childhood food memories is when my Mommy used to whip up this Prawn Chilly Fry with Coriander Speckled Rice for us. I ♥ prawns in any form and in the days to come, I will share a few more of my prawn recipes with you. I have wanted to try making this dish forever, but did not get around to it till a couple of days ago. I picked up some gorgeous, fresh prawns and I knew that I just had to finally whip this up. There was just one little problem, I didn’t have my mother’s recipe and my parents were on holiday and I really didn’t want to bother her by calling. So I decided to put it together from memory, trying really hard to remember what the flavors were like. And boy,oh boy! I was thrilled with the result. This meal is going to make many more appearances in my home, for sure.

Prawn Chilly Fry with Coriander Speckled Rice
(Serves 3-4)

For the Rice  – 
1 cup basmati rice
1-2 bay leaves
4 cloves
2 cardamom pods
6 peppercorns
1″ cinnamon
1-2 tbsp. Ghee or clarified butter
Salt, to taste
A bunch of fresh coriander leaves, chopped (This will be used while assembling the meal.)

Heat the ghee in a vessel and add the whole spices.

When the ghee had released the aroma of the spices, add the washed rice. Stir gently just until the rice is coated with the ghee.

Add 2 cups of water, salt to taste and stir a little. Make sure you don’t stir it too much as the grains of rice will breakdown.

Cover and bring to a boil on medium heat. On low heat cook till all the water has been absorbed. Make sure you don’t stir the rice during the cooking process.

Once all the water has been absorbed, use a fork and loosen the grains of rice and make sure that all the water has evaporated. Keep covered.

For the Prawn Chilly Fry – 
250 gms. fresh prawns, shelled and de-veined
1 large onion, chopped
4-5 curry leaves
1 large tomato, chopped
1 tbsp. vegetable oil
2 green chillies, cut into 1/2″ pieces (Please adjust this to taste. We like our food spicy.)
1/2 tsp. turmeric powder
3/4 tsp. red chilly powder
Salt, to taste
A dash of lime juice
2-3 tbsp. fresh coriander leaves, chopped

Marinade the prawns with a little salt and a dash of lime juice and keep aside.

Heat oil in a pan.

Add the curry leaves and when they release their flavor, add the onions and green chilly. Saute till the onions are light golden brown.

Add the turmeric powder and chilly powder. Stir well.

Once its mixed well, add the tomato and stir well.

When the ingredients in the pan have been sauteed well and you see the oil starting to separate, add the prawns and cook on medium heat. Still well and cook uncovered till the prawns are done.

Sprinkle the chopped coriander leaves and stir till combined.

To Assemble – 

Layer about half the rice on the serving platter on in individual plates.

Spoon the prawn chilly fry over it. 

Add another layer of the remaining rice.

Sprinkle generously with the chopped coriander leaves. Don’t be shy while topping the rice with coriander leaves. Its a generous sprinkling of the coriander leaves that brings the elements of this dish together and makes it one finger-licking meal.

Serve hot.

Enjoy!

This recipe is linked to –

Fun with Food Friday
Decidedly Healthy or Horridly Decadent

Herbs and Flowers in my Platter” – Coriander leaves/Cilantro

Trisha Vaz

This post was posted in Goan Recipes, Mains, Recipes, Seafood

Coconut Pancakes

by Trisha Vaz
Those of you who’ve been following this blog, know that I love coconut. Today, I’m going to share with you one of my all time favorites, the coconut pancake. From what I know, the coconut pancake has its roots in Goan cuisine. It uses Goan jaggery which is a lovely sweetener and is much healthier compared to sugar. So yes, its Decidedly Healthy and at the same time what I would consider Horridly Decadent. Its fairly easy to make and it is a wonderful treat. These are the pancakes that we make year after year on Pancake Tuesday. You can choose to use store bought crepes or make your own. I hope you enjoy these pancakes as much as we do.

Coconut Pancakes

For the Pancakes –

1 cup flour
1 egg, beaten
A pinch of salt
1 tbsp. sugar, optional
Milk

Put all the ingredients except the milk in a mixing bowl. Mix well. Add milk gradually to get the batter to the consistency ideal for making crepes. It should flow smoothly but should also be able to coat the back of a spoon.

Brush some oil on the pan.

Ladle the batter onto the pan and swirl the pan around to spread the batter. When the top of the crepe is no longer sticky, flip it over. Once this side has cooked as well, take it off the pan.

Repeat the oiling of the pan after each crepe is taken off and continue with the rest of the batter.

For the filling –

Freshly grated coconut (about 1/2 a coconut)
Grated Goa jaggery, to taste

Mix both adjusting the amount of jaggery to get the desired amount of sweetness.

To assemble the pancakes –

Once the crepes have cooled, spoon some of the filling onto the crepe and roll it up, making sure to tuck in the sides to stop the filling from falling out.

The pancakes are now ready to serve.

This recipe has been linked up with –
Decidedly Healthy or Horridly Decadent Saturday Party
Fun with Food Friday

and
Breakfast Club  – Guest Hosted by Krithi’s Kitchen

Do stop by and check what the others have made.

Trisha Vaz

This post was posted in Cakes, Cookies & Desserts, Dessert, Goan Recipes, Recipes, Snacks

Final Week of 12 Weeks of Christmas Cookies: Jujups

by Trisha Vaz
Yes folks, here we are, at the final week of an amazing 12 week journey. A journey where so many wonderful bakers, cooks and bloggers put up some wonderful treats each week. I know I’ve learned so much from them. Their work has truly been inspiring. My ever growing ‘to bake’ list just got a whole lot longer and I can’t wait to try out some of these treats myself.

Considering how close we are to Christmas and how swamped I am with things that need to be done around my house and in my kitchen, I haven’t baked anything for this weeks round up. Now that doesn’t mean I didn’t bake anything. There’s a load of stuff happening in the kitchen … more on that later. However, it also doesn’t mean that I’m going to skip this weeks submission. This week I’d like to showcase what we in India call ‘Jujups’. This is a lovely sugary treat that can be made in a number of flavors and colors. Its quite a hit with kids. I haven’t yet made jujups this year, so I’m going to add a picture from last year. I will add a better picture when I make it this time around.

Jujups
Ingredients –
500g sugar
30g unflavored gelatin
1 sour lime
1 cup water
A few drops of essence
A few drops of color
Castor sugar for coating
A pinch of cream of tartar
Method – 
In a steel vessel, add ¾ cup water, sugar and the cream of tartare to make a sugar syrup. Keep on a high flame and stir till the sugar dissolves. Then on a low flame and let it cook to a 2 thread consistency approx. about 20 mins. While this is cooking, use ¼ cup of water and dissolve the gelatin in it. Add the juice of 1 sour lime and mix well. Let it soak for about 5-10 minutes. 
Once the sugar syrup is ready, add the gelatin mix to it and stir well. Let this concoction warm through for a minute or so. Add the color and flavoring as desired and mix well. Grease a tray with olive oil and pour the mixture through a metal strainer into it. Leave it to set undisturbed. Once it cools you may keep it in the fridge overnight. The next day, bring the mix to room temperature and then loosen the edges using a knife. Unmould the jujups on a board covered liberally with castor sugar. Cut with a greased knife and roll the pieces in castor sugar. Cover and keep in an air tight container.
Colour & Essence Chart –

Here’s a handy dandy chart to guide you when trying out different flavor and color combinations. This is the assortment I made last Christmas. Feel free to experiment and make it your own. If you do try any flavors that aren’t mentioned here, let me know how it goes, so that I can add to this list.
Color      –   Flavor
Pink / Red – Strawberry
Yellow – Pineapple / Lemon
Purple – Black current
Green – Mix fruit
Orange – Orange
NOTE: Cream of tartar is used to prevent crystallization of sugar in the sugar syrup. Make sure you use a very small pinch – if excess is used, the jujups won’t form.

Don’t forget to check out what the others have put up this week!

Week 12 Twelve Weeks of Christmas:

Trisha Vaz

This post was posted in Cakes, Cookies & Desserts, Christmas Recipes, Dessert, Goan Recipes, Recipes

Week 11 of 12 Weeks of Christmas Cookies: Nankatais

by Trisha Vaz
It’s hard to believe that we are almost at the end of this lovely 12-week long adventure. Before we reach the end, I’d like to say “Thank You” once again, to April of Abby Sweets for this wonderful idea. Its been a fun 12 weeks, challenging sometimes, but a lovely opportunity to meet some lovely people make some wonderful friends along the way.

This week, I’d like to showcase something that is quite popular in India during Christmas. Its a little cookie called the ‘Nankatai’. It has a lovely taste and is a favorite with kids and adults alike. Today, I will share with you one of the recipes that I use for this cookie. Please forgive the image quality, a mobile phone camera was used to capture this.

Nankatais

Ingredients –
300g all purpose flour
200g powdered or superfine sugar
200g Dalda (This is a brand of vegetable shortening, also called vanaspati. If this is not available, you can use clarified butter)
¼ tsp. Baking powder
½ tsp. Rose essence
Method –
Heat the Dalda to dissolve the grainy portions the previous night. Don’t let it smoke. Leave it to cool overnight. Cream the Dalda with the palm of your hand in a steel plate. Add sugar creaming well. Then add flour, baking powder and rose essence. Knead into a dough. Keep for a few hours. Then shape as desired and bake in a moderate hot oven, approx 150°C for 15 – 20 minutes. To check if done, check the bottom of a cookie for slight brownness. Immediately take out of oven. Don’t let the nankatais change colour. 
NOTE: Add the sugar and the flour gradually, creaming continuously. Place the nankatais on a tray that has been greased with clarified butter and lightly dusted with flour. 
If you choose to decorate the cookie, here’s a recipe for royal icing that I use. Please ensure that the cookie has cooled completely before icing.
Royal Icing
1 egg white
A few drops of lemon juice or citric acid
A few drops of essence
Icing sugar
Method –
Beat the egg white. Add lemon juice and essence. Gradually add icing sugar a little at a time till stiff peaks form. Cover and keep till ready to use. Add food coloring as desired. Use this to decorate the cookie. 

Don’t forget to spend some time to check out what the others have come up with this week!

Week 11 Twelve Weeks of Christmas:

Trisha Vaz

This post was posted in Cakes, Cookies & Desserts, Christmas Recipes, Cookies, Recipes

Week 10 of 12 Weeks of Christmas Cookies: Holiday Meringues

by Trisha Vaz

Its December, can you believe that? I’m so happy. This is my favorite month of the year, and we get to celebrate my favorite holiday – Christmas. And speaking of favorites, today I stumbled on something that flew right onto my list of favorites – Meringues. I can’t believe I hadn’t made this before. Actually, I did try it out before, but they turned out flat and stuck to the baking paper and so it ended up in the trash, but don’t tell anyone that. **wink wink** Anyway, this was a few years ago and I never considered making meringues again. However, in the last few weeks, I’ve been toying with the idea of making a Pavlova. According to me, it falls in the same category as the meringues, so I was a little apprehensive and it has been on hold since. For some reason, I felt brave this morning and decided that it was time to give meringues another shot. I knew that if I couldn’t make meringues, making a pavlova would be quite questionable.

This attempt was better than the previous, but I still have some kinks to work out. Maybe some of you can help me understand what I can do differently the next time. Oh yes, I’m going to make these again, because even though they weren’t visually very appealing, I loved the taste and texture. It was light and airy, crisp on the outside and a little chewy on the inside. They just melt  in you mouth. I know for a fact that the next time, I will need to add more color and flavor, because what I used this time wasn’t nearly enough. Some of the meringues cracked a little. Can anyone tell me how this can be avoided? I’d love to hear from you. I tried the kisses and wreaths and I wanted to create something that looked like Christmas trees, those didn’t turn out too well, some cracked and some tilted. I used inspiration from here, here and here.  I couldn’t settle on any one so here’s what I did.

Holiday Meringues

Holiday Meringues

2 egg whites
1/2 cup sugar
A pinch of cream of tartar
Green food coloring
Peppermint extract
Sprinkles, or sanding sugar to decorate

Preheat the oven to 160°C.

Whisk the egg whites and cream of tartar together till it gets light and foamy. Gradually add the sugar and keep whisking till it reaches a stiff peak consistency.

Add food coloring and flavor extracts of your choice. I used green food color and peppermint extract and mix well. Prepare a piping bag and use a star shaped icing tip and pipe out the meringues onto some lightly greased baking paper. Bake at 160°C for about 20 minutes and then at 140°C for another 20 minutes.

Cool and decorate as desired. I used a mix of red sanding sugar and some crumbled cinnamon jelly beans.

I can’t wait to try this again and hopefully get visually better results.

Go ahead and take a peek at what the other wonderfully talented folks have made this week.

Week 10 Twelve Weeks of Christmas:

Print

Week 10 of 12 Weeks of Christmas Cookies: Holiday Meringues

Recipe by Trisha VazCourse: Cakes, Cookies u0026amp; Desserts, Christmas Recipes, Cookies, RecipesCuisine: American
Servings

4

servings
Prep time

10

minutes
Cooking time

40

minutes

Holiday Meringues

Ingredients

  • 2 egg whites

  • 1/2 cup sugar

  • A pinch of cream of tartar

  • Food colouring

  • Peppermint extract

  • Sprinkles

Directions

  • Preheat oven to 160°C
  • Whisk the egg whites and cream of tartar together till it gets light and foamy.
    Gradually add the sugar and keep whisking till it reaches a stiff peak consistency.
  • Add food coloring and flavor extracts of your choice.
  • Prepare a piping bag and use a star shaped icing tip and pipe out the meringues onto some lightly greased baking paper. 
  • Bake at 160°C for about 20 minutes and then at 140°C for another 20 minutes.

Notes

  • Cool and decorate as desired. I used a mix of red sanding sugar and some crumbled cinnamon jelly beans.

Trisha Vaz

This post was posted in Cakes, Cookies & Desserts, Christmas Recipes, Cookies, Recipes