Walnut Shortbread

I came across Macadamia shortbreads in The Modern Bakers cookbook, instead of macadamia I used walnut and it turned good.

Ingredients:

Cookie Dough:
Sugar	½ cup
Walnut crushed	1 ½ oz or 50 gms
All purpose flour	2 ¼ cup
Baking powder	½ tsp
Unsalted butter (cold)	1 ½ stick or 12 Tbsp
Topping:
Unsalted walnut crushed	¾ cup
Sugar	⅓ cup
Yields: 24 2" square cookie

 

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven for 325ºF; line a 9ˣ13 inch pan with butter foil. For dough, combine sugar and nuts in food processor and grind finely.
2. Add baking powder and flour and pulse several times to mix, add butter and pulse until butter is finely mixed in. The mixture should be powdery.
3. Transfer the flour mixture to prepared pan, distribute it evenly all over the bottom of the pan and use the palm to press it.
4. Use a brush to sprinkle the top of the dough generously with one tablespoon of water.
5. Mix sugar and nut for topping, scatter the nut mixture evenly on the dough and use the palm to press them.
6. Bake the cookie until they are golden and firm, about 30 minutes.
7. As soon as you remove the pan from oven, grip the foil and lift the baked dough onto a cutting board.
8. While the dough is still hot, use a sharp and long knife to cut them into 2 inch squares.
9. Let the cookies cool and they will become crispy.

 

Note:

• For crushing the walnuts use heavy bottomed pan.
• If you find your cookie is not crispy after cooling return them to pan and bake them for another 10 – 15 minutes at 300ºF.

Linking to : Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#28

 

 

Sanna Pakora / Sindhi Pakora

Pakora or Pakoda is a very famous snack food all over India. Main ingredient is basen flour, adding spices to flour and make a thick batter and deep fry until crispy, the spices will vary according to the regions eg. Kongunadu we don’t use cumin seeds and coriander seeds but in north they use to add this. Coming to this Sindhi Sanna pakora the specialty is adding dry pomegranate seeds and this pakora is a double fried one.

Ingredients:

Besan flour (gram flour)	1 cup
Onion finely chopped	½ cup
Green chili	1-2
Cumin seeds	1 tsp
Coriander seeds	1 tsp
Pepper powder	1 tsp
Coriander leaves finely chopped	½ cup
Mint leaves finely chopped	¼ cup
Salt	as per taste
Oil	for deep frying

 

Directions:

1. Add all the dry ingredients in large mixing bowl, heat oil in kadai.
2. Mix the dry ingredients well and add little water and mix like a thick batter.
3. Add one tablespoon full of hot oil to the batter and mix well.
4. Once the oil is hot, take two tablespoon full of batter and drop gentle in oil.
5. Reduce the flame to low and cook well until it turns golden brown.
6. Drain the excess oil and allow it to cool completely. Repeat the same process for rest of the batter.
7. Break the fried pakora’s to bite size pieces and again deep fry until crispy.
8. Serve with ketchup and green chutney immediately.

 

Note:

Since I didn’t have any pomegranate seeds I didn’t add that. You can add 1 tsp of that if you have.

 

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Cholam (Sorgham/Jowar) Muruku

Today I am going to share my grandma recipe, cholam muruku this is one of the main savory for pongal in my grandma’s place. My dad always says when eating muruku we need to hear “karaku muruku” noise, my grandma’s muruku will be like that. This is the first time I am trying this even though it was not exactly like my grandmas it turned very close. In actual recipe they use to soak rice and grind with chili to fine paste but I tried with rice flour.

Ingredients:

Rice flour	2 cups
Cholam mavu/ Sorgham flour	1 cup
Butter	2 Tbsp
Asafetida	a pinch
Sesame seeds	½ Tbsp
Salt	as needed

 

Directions:

1. Mix all ingredients except butter and add water little by little and mix well like a dough, finally add butter and mix well. The dough should not be too loose or tight it should be easy to press.
2. Heat oil for frying, using the three or five hole muruku mold, make small muruku’s and deep fry them in hot oil until brown on both sides.

 

 

Tip:

• Don’t use start or other thick molds wont cook and chances for busting.
• I didn’t add chili powder if you need you might add.

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Medu Vadai / Ulundu Vadai

Toady I am going to post next important food in our wedding occasion, yesterday I posted a sweet, today its going to be a savory one. Its vadai, there are two type of vadai parru vadai which will be mainly served for lunch and other one is medu vadai will in breakfast or dinner.

Medu Vadai is made out of urad dhal which is to be grinded to smooth batter and deep fried in hot oil.

Ingredients:

Urad dhal	1 cup
Raw rice	1 ½ Tbsp
Onion finely chopped	¼ cup
Green chili	2
Ginger finely chopped	½ tsp
Black pepper	½ tsp
Curry leaves	few
Cilantro	few

 

Directions:

1. Wash the urad dhal and rice and soak in 2 cups of water for 2 hours.
2. Using a wet grinder or blender grind to smooth thick fluffy batter. Transfer it to another bowl, bet the batter in hand for couple times it will increase the fluffiness.
3. Add chopped onion, pepper, green chili, ginger, curry leaves and cilantro mix well.
4. Mean while heat oil for frying. Wet your left palm and right fingers take a big lemon size batter place this in left palm and flatten it lightly and make a hole in center.
5. Drop this in hot oil and deep fry until golden brown on both sides. Again wet the hand and repeat the same for rest of the batter.
6. Drain the excess oil and serve with sambar or coconut chutey.

 

Tips:

• Leave the urad dhal in refrigerator for soaking time. It helps to raise the batter while grinding. Don’t add too much water while grinding approximately ⅓ - ½ cup water, add little by little.
• Batter should be smooth and fine paste if you drop a little batter in a cup of water it should float immediately this is the right consistency.
• How to check oil? When you add a small part of batter in oil it should start to bubble immediately.
• For best result start to fry as soon as grinded, add salt and onion just before you deep fry.
• Adding raw rice makes the vadai crispier. Instead of raw rice you can also add rice flour. If your batter is little water add teaspoon rice flour.
• If using blender stop frequently and mix the batter.
• If you feel hard to use your hand for making shape wrap a plastic wrap on a flat bottomed bowl and wet that wrap and try or take small lemon size batter and drop in oil. But this is the traditional shape.

 

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Kathirikkai Baji / Aubergine (Eggplant) Fritters

Baji is one of the famous deep fried snacks in Tamil Nadu. Actually when we by this in shop we use to place this baji in between paper and squeeze the excess oil, I remember a comedy related to this. We can use different vegetable for this plantain, chili and onion are most famous for this type of Baji’s, and this will be a quick snack if we are having a craving for deep fried foods. Last week, same thing happened for me due to this weather, and ended up with this crispy eggplant baji, this is the first time I tried with eggplant.

Ingredients:

Chinese eggplant	1
Besan flour (Kadalai Mavu)	1 cup
Rice flour	2 -3 Tbsp
Chili powder	2 tsp
Baking soda	a pinch
Salt	as per taste
Oil	for deep fry

 

Directions:

1. Heat oil for deep fry, sieve both flour together, add salt chili powder and mix well. Add water little by little and mix well consistency should be like idli batter.
2. Finally add backing soda and mix well, cut the egg plant to small disc, dip in batter and fry in hot oil until golden brown.
3. Serve hot with any chutney.

Tips:

• Cut the egg plant just before you dip in the batter or else it will turn brown.
• Instead of baking soda and rice flour you can add dosa batter 2 Tbsp.
• If your batter is watery it will take lot of oil.

 

Sharing to: Nupur's Event, Kid's Delight Event

 

 

 

 

Thenga Manga Pattani Sundal (Beach Sundal)

For this weeks BM I choose Kids Delight - Street Food which is hosted by Preeti. As soon I saw the name street food first thing came into my mind was beach, we use to get lot of food there. When ever we are going to beach we don’t mind about healthy foods, we use to eat all junk that day. I remember we use to skip our meal because of these junk foods.

Coming to today’s recipe it’s a nice rhyming one Thenga Manga Pattani Sundal. No need to explain the ingredients hope the name says everything. I remember another recipe, similar to this which we use to get in Ooty and Kodaikanal Masal kadali soon will post that it's our family favorite one. I came across this recipe in cookery show but I couldn't recollect so did in my own style.

Ingredients:

Dry Green Peas (Pachai Pattani Payaru)	1 cup
Chili powder	1 tsp
Turmeric powder	¼ tsp
Mustard seeds	1 tsp
Curry leaves	few
Salt
Oil
Topping:
Coconut small pieces	¼ cup
Raw mango finely chopped	¼ cup
Carrot grated	¼ cup
Onion	¼ cup
Lemon juice	1 Tbsp
To Grind:
Mint leaves	one handful
Coriander leaves	one handful
Onion finely chopped	⅓ cup
Garlic pods	2
Ginger	1 inch
Cinnamon	1 inch
Green chili	1-2
Fennel seeds	1 tsp
Coconut	3 Tbsp

Direction:

1. Soak Peas for 4-5 hours pressure cook for two whistles with little salt.
2. Grind all the ingredients in the list to a course paste with little water.
3. Heat oil in a kadai, Splutter mustard seeds and curry leaves add onion and sauté them until soft with little salt.
4. Add grind paste and cook until raw smell leaves add turmeric and chili powder and again cook for 2 minutes.
5. Next add peas and 2 Tbsp of water (water from peas cooked) cook for 2 -3 minutes. Turn off the stove.
6. Transfer this to serving bowl and sprinkle the topping one by one and add few drops of lime juice on top and serve.

Note:

This sundal should not be dry like our regular sundal.

If you need you can add chat masala.

Sharing to: Nupur's Event, Kid's Delight Event,  Cook Like a Celebrity Chef event by Food Corner

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