My Cooking Wonders

Boiled peanut chat is a spicy, tangy, delicious, lip smacking Indian street style food. This is one versatile dish that can be served as a snack or appetizer or salad or just as side dish for drinks. Being away from these are the kind of foods I miss a lot and I try to recreate them at home. Preparing this chat is super easy and always makes me feel nostalgic. Give the recipe a try and I bet you will be hooked... Ingredients 1 cup raw Peanuts(already shelled peanuts) 4 tbsp grated Carrot 1/4 cup finely chopped Onion 1/4 cup finely chopped Tomato 2 tbsp finely chopped Mint 4 tbsp finely chopped coriander leaves Juice of 1 lemon(Use extra lemon if you like it tangier) 2 Green chilies finely chopped Salt per taste Method Soak peanuts in water for about an hour. Pressure cook peanuts with little salt and water for upto two whistles. Once the pressure is off, open the lid and drain all the water. Let the peanuts cool.  Add in all the ingredients and give i...

Masala vada.... This is a popular South Indian snack traditionally made of chana dal(split bengal gram). Well, I am kinda gal who had a tad bit of rebel streak in her and sometimes(I say sometimes but my mom might not agree) like to go against the rules. So, I went a non-traditional route and made my vadas with mixed dals and lots of mint and coriander leaves. I luv luv luv mint flavor. This recipe I am sharing today is inspired by mom's with twists of my own. The speciality of masala vada is that they have deliciously crunchy exterior and even more delicious soft interior, just like me ja ja ja ja. Enjoy! Ingredients 4 Green Chillies chopped finely 3/4 cup finely chopped Onion pinch of baking powder 1/2 tbsp cumin seeds 1/2 cup Besan/Chickpea flour(use as needed only if batter is runny or watery just to tighten up the batter) Coriander Leaves and Mint leaves finely chopped( I love mint and coriander leaves and so used 1/2 to 3/4th cup chopped of each leaves. Adjust per...

This weekend I was organizing my freezer and saw a pack of wonton wrappers and the first thing that came to my mind was wonton soup. But I was not at all in a mood to have soup.. so thought of doing something different and finally made Onion Samosa . Onion samosas are crispy, sweet and savory tiny pockets packed with tons of taste. While I was a child, back in India, onion samosas are like pop corn to us whenever we go watch a movie.  The ones they used to sell at the movie theaters are bite size and I used to eat 10 of them easily at a stretch. Good old memories..... Here is a simple and easy recipe to make onion samosa with a very few ingredients on hand. Give it a try :) Ingredients Wonton sheets Oil for Deep Frying For Filling 1 cup sliced onion 3/4 cup pressed rice/Poha/Atukulu 2 green chillies minced handful of chopped coriander leaves/Cilantro 1/2 tsp ginger garlic paste 1 tsp red chili powder 1/2 tsp cumin powder 1/2 tsp chat Masala or 1/2 tsp lemon...

Today I made Uggani, one of the special dishes prepared in Rayalaseema. It is often paired up with Mirchi Bajji in seema. Uggani is made with puffed rice(Maramaralu) and tastes really good even served on its own.. Well, the way I prepared this dish might not exactly be the authentic seema way but trust me, it did taste YUM!!! Just give it a try and find it for yourself :) Ingredients 4 cups puffed rice(Maramaralu) 4 tbsp Roasted chana dal(putnala pappu/veyinchina senagapappu) 1 medium sized onion 1 big tomato 7 to 8 green chillies Salt for taste 1/2 lemon Tempering 1 tbsp oil couple pinches of turmeric 1 tbsp chana dal 1 tsp mustard seeds couple of sprigs of curry leaves Method Soak the puffed rice in big bowl of water. Let sit for 3 to 4 minutes and then squeeze off all the water and set aside. Do not soak the puffed rice more than 5 minutes and try to squeeze as much water as you can. Grind the roasted chana dal to fine powder and set aside. Mince the gr...

Today I made crispy chicken keema balls. These chicken balls can be served as a quick snack item or can be made into yummy kofta curry with leftovers which I will be posting later. Adding rice to the keema will help absorb the moisture. These balls can be baked in the oven if you feel guilty to eat deep fried food :). Give this a try!! Ingredients 1 lb ground chicken 1 cup cooked rice 4 tbsp finely chopped onion 4 tablespoons chopped Coriander leaves 1 tsp ground turmeric 1 tbsp ginger garlic paste 1/2 tbsp red chilli powder (adjust per spice level) 1 tsp garam masala powder 1 tbsp lemon juice 1 egg 1 tsp Salt(adjust per taste) Oil for deep frying Method In a bowl beat the egg well. In another big bowl, combine all of the ingredients except for oil and mix well and set aside for 20 to 30 minutes. Form the mixture into balls. In Oven Preheat the oven to 350 degrees . Spray a baking sheet with not stick spray. Place the balls on the baking sheet. Bake unti...

Do you have left over Dosa batter sitting in your refrigerator and you are not in a mood to eat dosa? No worries..Here is a simple dish which can be served as breakfast or snack...Give it a try :) Ingredients 2 cups Dosa batter 3 tbsp sooji(Upma ravva) 2 tbsp rice flour 1 tsp cumin seeds 4 green chillies chopped real fine 1/2 onion chopped real fine handful of coriander leaves chopped real fine Salt per taste couple of pinches of baking soda(may be 1/8th tsp) Oil for deep frying Method In a bowl mix all the ingredients except for oil. The batter should be thick. Line a plate with paper towels. Heat oil in a kadai or thick bottomed sauce pan. Take a small amount of batter, form into a ball and drop gently into hot oil and fry till golden brown. Take them out and drain them on a paper towel. Serve hot with any kind of chutney. I made Pudina chutney to go with these yummy snacks..Enjoy!! Note You can add more sooji and rice flour if you want to thicken...

I made some mirchi bajji this weekend and I had left over batter. So I decided to make some potato bajjis. Other good options to make bajjis with this batter will be whole sprigs of curry leaves, pan leaves, raw banana slices etc. Some time soon I will try to post curry leaf bajjis which my mom used to make all the time. For now I only had potatoes on hand and went that route. Below is the simple recipe for a quick snack. Ingredients 1 big Potato peeled 1 1/2 to 2 cups Besan (Senaga pindi) 1 tbsp Rice Flour (Biyyam pindi) 1 tsp Aijwan powder(vaamu podi) 1 tsp red chilli powder pinch of baking soda Salt per taste Oil for Frying Method Cut the potato into thin circles and put them in bowl of water to prevent the potato slices from discoloration. Mix Besan, rice flour, Aijwan, Salt, Baking soda, red chilli powder in a bowl. Adding water, prepare medium thick batter (thick enough to have a generous coating on the potato slices). Line a plate with paper towels and keep...

Egg puffs are one of my all time favorite snacks next to mirchi bajjis. Thinking of this snack brings back lot of memories from my college days. In India this tasty treat used to be available only in Bakeries or super markets. If you have a oven at home making this mouth watering snack is a breeze.The process goes like this..   Ingredients 9 hard boiled eggs 1 package of Puff pastries (usually includes 2 sheets for package) Salt Ground black pepper Chat Masala   Method Thaw the puff pastry as per the directions. Preheat the oven to 400F. Line the baking sheet or center rack of the oven with aluminium foil. Take boiled eggs and  cut into half length wise. Sprinkle pepper powder, chat masala and salt on the yolk side of the eggs. Take puff pastry sheet and cut into 9 parts 3 length wise and each again into 3 parts.  Take a sheet place the sprinkled egg, yolk side up, on top of the sheet and pinch the edges applying little water as shown in the pict...

As the title say, this is really a simple snack to make. Do not laugh at what I am posting today :). When I first came to US, the stove I had in my apartment was electric. I tried to roast the corn on the cob on the stove like my mom used to do back in India and it tasted really bad. So this is for people like me who might be wondering how to roast a corn on the cob. It is quick, pretty easy and tastes awfully good. Ingredients 4 corn on the cob couple of table spoons of melted butter pinch of salt (if using unsalted butter) Method Preheat the oven to 400F. Husk the corn. Take aluminum foil and cut four sheets, each sheet little bigger than the corn and 4 times wider than the corn as we will be rolling the corn in the aluminum foil sheet. Now place one corn cob in the center of one sheet, brush with butter and sprinkle the salt.  Roll the foil like you roll a candy as shown below. Now line the corn in the oven seam side up. Let them bake for 30 minutes and v...

Pungulu is one of the simple snack item. They can be made N number of ways. They come in handy when there is any left over batter(like idli or dosa batter) in the fridge. Today I am posting one version of Punuglu which can be served on their own with no chutney or pickle needed. I made garelu yesterday and had some left over batter. So I decided to make punugulu. Below is the entire process from scratch for making this version. Ingredients 2 cups Urad dal(Minapapappu) 3 Green Chillies + 4 green chillies chopped Small piece of Ginger 1 1/2 large onion finely chopped 1 small bunch coriander leaves finely chopped 1 tbsp cumin seeds Salt per taste 1 tsp baking soda(Optional) 5 tbsp Rice flour 3 tbsp All purpose Flour (Maida) Oil for deep frying Method Soak Urad dal in water over night. In a mixer/grinder grind the urad dal, 3 green chillies, ginger and salt, without adding water to little bit tight/thick paste. Grind in batches. Take the batter into a bowl and add on...

Mirchi bajjis are popular street food in India. The only thing that comes to my mind when I see plumpy green chillies at the Indian store is the most famous mirchi bajji. It is one of my favorite snack especially in rainy season. When it rains having a plate of bajjis to eat is a bliss..I bet you all will agree with me :).  If done right they taste out of this world. Stuffed with onions, dash of lemon and pinch of chat masala makes it taste even better. Here is my version of Mirchi Bajjis..Enjoy!! Ingredients 12 healthy plump green chillies (Serrano peppers will be a good substitute) Oil for deep frying For Filling 3 tbsp coarsely grounded ajwain/carom seeds (vaamu) 1 tbsp besan flour(senagapindi) 1/2 tbsp ghee or softened butter Salt per taste For the batter 2 cups besan flour 1 tsp coarsely ground ajwain/carom seeds(vaamu) 1 tsp cumin seeds couple of pinches of baking soda(1/2 tsp) 1 tsp red chilli powder Salt per taste Method For Filling In a bowl m...

I am a big fan of finger foods when it comes to appetizers. I love foods which can be picked up and can be finished in one single bite without any mess. Here is a simple recipe which is super easy yet looks fancy and which makes you a super hero in front of your guests. Ingredients For Cups 10 Phyllo sheets cooking spray For Filling 1 2 big potatoes 1 green chilli 1/4 large onion salt per taste 1 tsp red chilli pwd 1 tsp cumin seeds 1/2 tbsp olive oil 4 sprigs cilantro For Filling 2 1 cup cooked boneless chicken breast 1/2 cup celery 1/4 cup low fat mayonnaise 1/2 tsp sugar 1/2 tbsp lemon juice 1 tbsp sun dried tomatoes (optional) (drain the oil if you bought sun dried tomatoes in oil) salt and pepper per taste Method For Cups Preheat the oven to 375F.Take the muffin pans and spray with cooking spray. Take a phyllo sheet and lay it on the working surface. Lightly brush the sheet with butter or oil to prevent it from drying out. Be careful because ...