Palak Poori

Poori is usually the breakfast we plan for weekends. May be it's because we feel we can digest all the oil over the weekend or that if it makes us feel drowsy, we have the weekend in hand to sleep tight :) Like every other dish, this too would need a variation than the usual. The next type of Poori I want to try is to add more masala to the dough; may be some green chillies, lemon, jeera & dhaniya powder & more.. Here's the recipe for Palak Poori.

Ingredients:
1 bunch of Palak/Spinach
2 cups wheat flour
Salt
WaterOil for deep frying

Preparation:

• Steam/Boil spinach & grind it to fine paste.
• In a bowl, add wheat flour, ground spinach paste, maida (1:1 wheat: maida optional) & salt; mix it well to make dough. If required add water.
• Make small lemon sized balls of dough.
• Roll dough (a bit thicker than usual, as done for plain poori) using rolling pin.
• Deep fry them & place them on tissue paper to soak excess oil.

Serve with Sagoo or any side dish.

Cabbage Soup

Soups, not just as appetizers but are good alternatives when you want to cut down on eating junk in late evenings.

Ingredients:
(serves for 4)
3-4 cloves of garlic - finely chopped
1/2 onion - finely chopped
1 cup cabbage - finely chopped
2 tbsp corn flour
Salt
Pepper powder
Garlic powder

Preparation:

• Add 4 cups of water with finely chopped garlic, onion, cabbage, green chillies (optional) & allow it to cook
• In a separate bowl, mix corn flour with 1/4 cup water
• Add corn flour thin paste to boiled cabbage, stir well ensuring no lumps are formed
  
  

Serve soup adding salt, pepper & garlic powder.

Ragi Dosa

Most of the people know what Ragi (Finger Millet) is, by the famous Ragi Mudde. Well, for people who didn't know this, Ragi is not only consumed in the form of Mudde but also as dosa & malt (with water, milk or buttermilk).

Ingredients:
1 cup Urad dal
2 1/2 cups Ragi flour
1 tbsp salt
Oil for cooking

Preparation:

• Soak urad dal for a couple of hours & grind to smooth paste.
• Mix Ragi flour with ground urad dal paste, add water if required to make batter.
• Store this mix overnight to ferment.
• Heat tava, pour batter to make dosa.
• Apply little oil & cook turning sides.

Optionally, you can add chopped onions & green chillies to the batter, just before making dosas.
Serve with chutney and/or any side dish.

Bread Bonda

It's a heavy snack. If you eat it late in the evening it can fill your stomach & leave no room for dinner.

Ingredients:
5-6 slices of bread
Oil for frying
Salt
For stuffing:
2-3 potatoes - boiled & mashed
1 onion - chopped
2-3 green chillies - chopped
1/2 tsp jeera powder
1/2 cup coriander leaves - chopped
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp oil
For batter:
1 cup besan/gram flour
1/2 tsp ginger-garlic paste
2 pinches of Ajwain
3/4 - 1 tsp chilli powder

Preparation:

- Stuffing:

• Heat oil in a pan.
• Add chopped green chillies, onion & saute.
• Add mashed potatoes, salt, jeera powder & mix it well.
• Add chopped coriander leaves, lemon juice & turn off heat.
• Mix it well & make into small lumps - ready to be stuffed.

- Batter:

• Add besan, salt, chilli powder, ajwain.
• Heat a tbsp of oil & add to the mixture.
• Add water, mix & make batter.

- Bonda:

• Heat oil in a deep pan for frying.
• Dip slice of bread in water, squeeze out the water keeping bread slice between your palms.
• Place potato stuffing in the bread slice, cover it up round.
• Roll stuffed bread in batter and put in oil.
• Fry them till golden brown.

Serve with tomato ketchup or chutney.

Vangibhath (Brinjal rice)

It's a nice treat when you have invited family/friends over for lunch. Varieties of bhaths can be prepared using the same masala - Vangibhath powder. Add capsicums to this and you have the variety as Capsicum & Brinjal bhath. For these bhaths we first prepare the base & then mix with rice.

Ingredients:
2 cups rice - cooked/steamed
2-3 brinjals - washed & cut to long pieces
1/4 cup peanuts or cashew nuts
1 tbsp chana dal
1 tbsp urad dal
1/2 tsp mustard
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
3-4 tbsp Vangibhath powder
1/4 cup curry leaves - chopped
Salt
3 tbsp oil
1/2 cup dry coconut (optional)
1 tsp lemon juice/tamarind juice (optional)

Preparation:

• Heat oil in a pan, add mustard seeds & let it splutter.
• Add chana dal, urad dal, peanuts/cashew nuts & fry them till golden brown.
• Add turmeric powder, curry leaves & sauté.
• Add brinjal, salt; mix well & allow it cook for a few minutes.
• When brinjal starts to soften, add Vangibhath powder, coconut and lemon/tamarind juice & allow it to cook for 4-5 minutes.
• Mix the base with hot rice.

Serve with a Raitha.

A quick & usual Raitha to prepare:

Ingredients:
2 cups curd
1 onion - chopped
1 tomato - chopped
1-2 green chillies - julienned
1 tsp oil
1/2 tsp mustard
salt

Preparation:

• Add salt to curd & beat.
• Heat oil, add mustard seeds & let it splutter.
• Add green chillies & saute.
• Add chopped onions, tomatoes, the seasoning of mustard seeds & chillies to curd. Mix well.