The Mad Scientist's Kitchen!!: snack

Showing posts with label snack. Show all posts

Friday, 19 June 2015

Gattibajje

The other day I was to meet Sharmila Rao as I was to pick up some books from her. Actually I think that books is just an excuse, I like to meet her.

We decided to meet at Carasid, a local joint for yummy food. I still have to get over the omellete pav stuffed with cheese and smoked chicken, not to forget the delicious Alsande Xauti Biryani that Sunil packed for us.

See start talking about food and I digress…

I happened to mention to Sharmila that I wanted a traditional fitter recipe, she is a traditional specialist by the way and she rattled this yummy recipe off. She mentioned that she was going to pack some of these for her kiddo in the hostel.

Was it yum? Well try and then you will know.

Gattibajje

Ingredients:

1 ½ cups rice flour
½ cup maida
½ cup butter
The oil from pickle (optional)
Salt to taste
1 spring curry leaves
Oil to fry

Method:

While this is mixed heat oil in a kadhai/wok.
Mix the rice flour, maida, butter, curry leaves and oil from the pickle if using. Check the salt use if needed.
Knead to a soft dough. Use water only if needed.
Pinch off small bits of dough in the hot oil.
Fry till light golden.
Store in a air tight container.

What else do we have?

Well come back on the 24th to see that…

Meanwhile today you can check my other friends

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 53

Hi! First time here? Well then you are Most Welcome! I hope you keep coming back for more here. If you are my regular visitor then Thanks, for you encourage me to experiment more!! I would like you to please click on my link below and like my Facebook Page. I will be happy if you can follow me on on Twitter too!

Thursday, 18 June 2015

Moong Vada/ Fried Moong Vada

While I am on my memories trip let me share with you what my MIL made many times these vadas and they were something she served with sauce. She also made some with rava but I just cannot remember them.

After a long time, in fact one Hindi movie with Katrina Kaif and Ranbir Kapoor reminded me of these vadas. I was on a look out to make them, as I said I could not remember how she made them for I was never in the kitchen when we fried stuff as I would start coughing.

She would fry them when I was away and keep some for me in the casserole. It’s been 18 long years since she has left for her heavenly bode but her memories still linger.

Then I found an old e-cookbook which had the recipe. Of course I have made adjustments in the ingredients to suit our taste. Needless to say these were first to disappear.

Moong Vada

Making time: 20 minutes (excluding soaking time)

Ingredients:

1 cup moong dal

½ cup coriander finely chopped

2 cloves garlic

3-4 green chillies finely chopped

Oil to deep fry

Method:

Wash and soak dal for 3-4 hours.

Keep 2 tbsp. dal aside, grind the rest, coarsely.

Mix all other ingredients, including whole dal.

Add 2-3 tbsp. hot oil to the mixture.

Heat oil.

Make small balls drop carefully into the hot oil.

Fry first one side then the other till golden brown.

Serve hot with green chutney, tamarind chutney, or ketchup.

What else do we have?

Well come back tomorrow to see that…

Meanwhile today you can check my other friends

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 53

Wednesday, 17 June 2015

Masala Vada/ Chana Dal Vada/ Chattambade

Childhood memories are these hot vada and tea and rains! Added to Ajji or Grandmother admonishing us,” enough now! You will get a stomach-ache if you eat any more of these.” Why she made them as snack when it rained I don’t know...

Else it used to be traditional meal served on the banana leaf when there were too many attractions to concentrate only on these beauties. Either way we hardly ate any...

Coming to Dal or pulses that we eat ...

Dal is a dried pulse (lentil, pea or various types of bean) which has been split.

Dal goes by various names called bele in Kannada and pappu, paripu or paruppu in Telugu and Tamil, daal in Marathi. Dal is a ready source of proteins for a balanced diet containing little or no meat.

To make the dal usually the outer hull is usually stripped off; dal that has not been hulled is described as chilka (skin), e.g. chilka urad dal, mung dal chilka.

The variety of dal we have are numerous we have chana dal, urid dal, toor dal, moong dal, masoor dal to name a few common ones…

Masala Vada/ Chana Dal Vada/ Chattambade

Making time: 20 minutes (excluding soaking time)

Makes: 15 vadas (approx.)

Ingredients:

1 cup yellow gram (chana) dal
½ cup coriander finely chopped
1 spring curry leaves
3-4 green chillies finely chopped
Oil to deep fry

Method:

Wash and soak dal for 3-4 hours.
Keep 2 tbsp. dal aside, grind the rest, coarsely.
Mix all other ingredients, including whole dal.
Add 2-3 tbsp. hot oil to the mixture.
Heat oil;
Make small balls and flatten to with moist palm.
Let carefully into the hot oil.
Fry first one side then the other till golden brown.
Serve hot with green chutney, tamarind chutney, or ketchup.

Masala Vada/ Chana Dal Vada/ Chattambade

What else do we have?

Well come back tomorrow to see that…

Meanwhile today you can check my other friends

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 53

Thursday, 4 June 2015

Nachos and Salsa

Nachos is a Tex-Mex dish from northern Mexico. The dish can be as simple as tortilla chips (totopos) covered with cheese or cheese-based sauce fr a snack. Want a main course add more stuff.

Nachos were first created circa 1943 by Ignacio "Nacho" Anaya.

In the city of Piedras Negras, Coahuila, Mexico, just over the border from Eagle Pass, Texas, In 1943, the wives of U.S. soldiers stationed at Fort Duncan in nearby Eagle Pass were on a shopping trip, and arrived at the restaurant after it had already closed for the day.

The maître d'hôtel, Ignacio "Nacho" Anaya, invented a new snack for them with what little he had available in the kitchen: tortillas and cheese. Anaya cut the tortillas into triangles, added shredded cheddar cheese, quickly heated them, added sliced pickled jalapeño peppers and served them, called them "Nacho's especiales". As word of the dish travelled, the apostrophe was lost, and Nacho's "specials" became "special nachos".

When I choose my theme I had visions of serving nachos with different fillings all the pictures of nachos I see were dancing in front of my eyes. I knew how I wanted to serve them right down to photographing them…

;( But I could not. Not because I was lazy, me have a lazy bone in my body? Of course not… but it was too hot, no maid, the kitchen lights conked off, the kitchen fan was not working …..

Anyway we had store brown nachos and store brought salsa and a very funny movie. So much that finally hubby told me take your picture before everything gets over….

Nachos and Salsa

What else do we have?

Well come back tomorrow to see that…

Meanwhile today you can check my other friends

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 53

Wednesday, 3 June 2015

Popcorn

Popcorn, also known as popping corn, is a type of corn or maize that expands from the kernel and puffs up when heated.

Grains like amaranth grain, sorghum, quinoa, millet and corn are able to pop because, their kernels have a hard moisture-sealed hull and a dense starchy interior and some oil. When heated, pressure builds within the kernel, and a small explosion (or "pop") is the end result.

There are various techniques for popping corn. The commercial popcorn machine was invented by Charles Cretors in the late 19th century. Now we have along with pre-packaged popcorn can be prepared in a microwave oven, pressure cooker plus we have there are small home appliances for popping corn.

Some consider popcorn to be a health food it can also be used from holiday decorations to packaging materials.

Corn was first domesticated in Mexico 9,000 years ago from a wild grass. A few thousands of years later it then made its way across Central to South America. Popcorn is one of the oldest forms of corn; evidence of popcorn from 3600 B.C. was found in New Mexico.

Corncobs found at two ancient sites in Peru (Paredones and Huaca Prieta) may date from as early as 4700 B.C. This suggests that people living along the coast of northern Peru were already eating popcorn by that time.

Do you know that ….

In popcorn jargon, a popped kernel of corn is known as a "flake". Two shapes of flakes are commercially important. "Butterfly" or "snowflake" flakes are irregular in shape and have a number of protruding "wings". "Mushroom" flakes are largely ball-shaped, with few wings.

"Mushroom"-shaped popcorn, left, is less fragile and less tender than "butterfly"-shaped, right. Courtesy: Google

Popcorn is eaten by movie goers either salted or sweetened. In the 1800 century popcorn, milk and sweetener were breakfast in USA. Popcorn balls (popped kernels stuck together with sugary "glue") were hugely popular around the turn of the 20th century. Cracker Jack is a popular, commercially produced candy that consists of peanuts mixed in with caramel-covered popcorn. Kettle corn is a variation of normal popcorn, cooked with white sugar and salt, traditionally in a large copper kettle.

(Courtesy: Wikipedia).

Small wonder that when movies are watched we have popcorn….

Here I have just popped the pre-packaged corn in a pressure cooker without the whistle.

Delicious popcorn ready in minutes…

What else do we have?

Well come back tomorrow to see that…

Meanwhile today you can check my other friends

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 53

Wednesday, 25 February 2015

Devilled Eggs/Deviled Eggs/Eggs Mimosa

Do you have trouble getting your kids to eat boiled eggs?

I have!

Okay they are fit enough to eat fried eggs everyday but that too gets “boring”!

So I tried this eggs I have not made a long long time now.

Devilled eggs as they are spelt in UK and Deviled eggs in the US, these are also called eggs mimosa.

In the west they are served with the yolk mixed with mayonnaise and mustard, but many other variants.

Devilled eggs are usually served cold. They are served as a side dish, appetizer or a main course, and are a common holiday or party food.

Needless to say they disappeared as I was clicking pictures and elder one complained that she got none. Must be the younger one had finished her share also. So plan accordingly.

Devilled Eggs/Deviled Eggs/Eggs Mimosa

Ingredients:

6 eggs, hard boiled
1 onion, chopped fine
1 green chilli, chopped fine
1 tblspn tomato ketchup
Salt
Red chilli powder

Method:

Shell the eggs and cut them in two.
Remove the yolk and mix with onion, green chilli, ketchup, salt and red chilli powder.
Check the seasoning.
Stuff the egg yolks in the egg white cavity.
Serve.

Devilled Eggs/Deviled Eggs/Eggs Mimosa

Linking to Varadha’s and Srivalli's Kid's Delight.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#49

Thursday, 5 February 2015

Cheese Straws

Like I said I goofed up big time when I forgot what my “Say Cheese” theme was. So here I am the day the post has to go up trying to meet the deadline. Struggling to make my stuff, write, click and all the background stuff we bloggers do.

So today I am making Cheese Straws! Since I had absolutely no planning I had no maida except 25 grms forget the self rising flour. No Cheddar other than the 50 grams the girls had forgotten about thank goodness Apeksha has not bothered to taste Gouda!

Next time I plan to make more, for these are hardly anything.The girls know I am worked up so they have not come to check out the end product. They will wait, as one of them has said,” Let the camera eat first!”

Cheese Straws

Recipe Source:

Ingredients:

25 grams maida
25 grams whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
25 grams butter, softened
50 grams cheddar
50 grams Gouda cheese
Pinch of red chilli powder/cayenne pepper
Salt and pepper
Water

Method:

Preheat oven at 180°C.
With a whisk mix the flours. I also added the salt, pepper and chilli powder.
Rub the butter into the flour mixture till it resembles a bread-crumb type mixture.
Add in the finely-grated cheese.
Add a tablespoon of water until it comes together as a dough. (I forgot about it so had to knead a lot still my dough was not as smooth as I would have liked it to be).
I rolled out on a baking tray to about 5mm thick circle.
Cut into thin strips.
Bake for 10 minutes or till golden in colour.

Linking to PJ's event "Say Cheese" for Srivalli's Kid’s delight.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#49

Tuesday, 3 February 2015

Cheese Toast

Most morning Monday mornings I find myself in a fix.

What to pack for the kid for snack?

Actually I should be better prepared but most of the times I am not. Maybe because half my Sunday is spent in trying to play catch… catch up with pending jobs, from washing to marketing, on the move.

Where is the time to get down to planning, even if I have I have planned the girls have some requests.

Okay let’s quit no more excuses I am clueless… call it Monday morning blues, whatever…

Monday mornings I generally pack Cheese Toast for the girls and their father and grandfather are very happy to have them too. So come Mondays you will see Cheese Toast on the breakfast table.

So let’s get down to making Cheese Toasts which I make with eyes that are barely open. Between my many visits to wash my eyes open breakfast and Tiffin box is ready in time. Ahhh what an achievement!

Why this syndrome of “barely open eyes” catches up with me on Saturday and Monday mornings only I don’t know but I am thankful to Cheese Toast!

To make a Cheese Toast you will need ideally a toaster, a sandwich toaster either electric or gas friendly. In case you do not have both, do not despair use the non-stick tava/skillet and a heavy object to weigh down the other slice of bread. Works fine!!

Cheese Toast

For 1 sandwich

Ingredients:

2 slices of brown bread
1 slice of cheese
1 tsp of tomato ketchup( optional)
Some ghee for the toaster

Method:

Apply the ghee to the toaster.
On bread slice lay the cheese slice.
Apply the tomato sauce and close the sandwich with the second slice.
Cook till browned on both the sides till browned.
Serve.
Tastes best hot with a cup of tea or coffee.

Cheese Toast

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#49

Linking to PJ's event "Say Cheese" for Srivalli's Kid’s delight.

Sunday, 5 October 2014

Sada Fort Trek and Kelya che Kappa

We had been on a trek to Sada Fort; it’s on the Karnataka and Maharashtra border. See here we are straddling the border post.

It’s a small village here called Sada village its picturesque is it not?

But the villager at whose house we had this delicious meal said there in no work here, for small things we have go to Dodamarg, we walk it down we buy our necessities and climb back.

There was a fort here now it’s in total ruins. There were two cannons here but now one of them is robbed. This is a step well the villagers still use the water for drinking. Yes there are no pipelines as yet here.

After we had our meal and on our way back we saw bananas, green bananas or raw bananas! There was an old lady who sold them to us; she sold them @ Rs.5/- per plantain. All of us brought them as in Panaji they are sold @Rs.10/- per piece.

So the next day all Eco trekkers had either kelya che kappa or kelya che bhaji!!

We had Kappa as to how to make it? Well frankly there is no recipe.

First oil your hands lightly and peel the bananas with a peeler.
Make thick pieces of the raw banana, you can make circles or male long wedges but they should be about ¼ inch thick.
Wash the pieces and apply salt, red chilli powder and haldi/turmeric powder. Set aside for 10 minutes. Mine were resting for about ½ an hour.
Next dredge the banana piece in either thick rice rava or semolina or the fine Bombay rawa. I have used fine idli rava here. The rava will stick to banana pieces.
Arrange them on non-stick tava/skillet drizzle with about 1 tblspn oil, any oil, I use rice bran oil. Cover and let the pieces cook on low flame.
After about 5 minutes the pieces are done on one side. Flip them over and cook on the other side. Use 1 tsp oil if needed. I needed more than 1 tsp.
Once done transfer them to a paper napkin.
Serve hot as a snack but they are eaten in Goa with rice, dal like Toi and vegetable like Chana cho Ras.
Enjoy!!

Kelya che Kappa

Linking this to Valli's 'Cooking from Cookbook Challenge: October -- Week 1'.

Tuesday, 16 September 2014

Savoury Corn Fitters from New Zealand

Savoury Corn Fitters

Now that school has reopened I have a problem what do I give in the kiddos tiffin box?

To add to my woes she does not have a breakfast, barely gulps down a small cup of milk.

She comes home for lunch but she wants something delicious in her tiffin box. Her idea of delicious and mine are mine are poles apart.

The day I give something she does not want we end up having the tiffin uneaten but loaded with excuses like I had to go to the staff room as I am the CR etc.

About this time I was researching recipes for this trip around the world. I fell for the simplicity of these delicious corn fritters. It also what doctor ordered an egg…

Sorry those who do not eat eggs replace it with 1 tblspn of egg replacer or 1/3 cup of cream.

The original recipe has cheese and ham included but I did not add as I did not have time to grate the cheese and ham I do not do. Please feel free to use them if you like it.

Also the original recipe used flour or maida, APF I replaced it with oats. Another thing she refuses to eat.

The whole thing went down well with tomato sauce. Infact she ate one of the fitters before she left for school… Ahhhhhhh relief!!

Savoury Corn Fitters

Cuisine: Kiwi Cuisine

Recipe Source:Kiwi Faves

Ingredients:

¼ cup red capsicum/pepper, chopped
¼ cup yellow capsicum, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped fine
1 ½ cup oats
¼ cup spring onion chopped
Salt and pepper
1 eggs
1 can cream style sweet corn,1 tin
½ tsp baking powder
rice bran oil for frying

Method:

In a large bowl mix together the capsicum, spring onion, onion, salt and pepper mix well.
Add the sweet corn, mix well.
Add the oats and give it a nice good stir. Check the seasoning.
Add the egg/ egg replacer, baking powder. Mix well.
If you feel the batter is dry add a tblspn or two of water. The batter should be of dropping consistency.
The original instructions said “Heat 2 tblspn of oil in a non- stick pan add a tableful of batter in the hot oil.” I did that but then preferred the method of adding the ladleful of batter on the hot pan and then adding oil to the sides of the batter, much like how we add oil to a dosa but of course I need a little more oil than the dosa needs. And I did that from the second batch that I made on the same pan. Suit yourself.
Fry till golden on both sides.
Serve them with tomato sauce.

Notes:

I used the circular cookied dough cutter that i kept on the tava/ skillet and added the batter in it to get the perfect sized round shaped.

Savoury Corn Fitters

An InLinkz Link-up

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 44

Monday, 8 September 2014

Potato Pancakes

Potato Pancakes

Potato pancakes are shallow-fried pancakes of grated or ground potato, flour and egg, often flavoured with grated onion or garlic and seasoning. Potato pancakes may be topped with a variety of condiments, ranging from the savoury (such as sour cream or cottage cheese) to the sweet (such as apple sauce or sugar), or they may be served without any garnish. Potato pancakes are sometimes made from mashed potatoes to produce pancake-shaped croquettes.

Maybe I am doing a disservice by posting potato pancakes under Germany, in my trip “Around the World in 30 Days”, for they are associated with cuisines of many European and Middle East.

Potato pancakes are an old traditions in Austrian , Belarusian , Czech, German , Hungarian , Iranian, Jewish , Yiddish, Hebrew, Latvian , Lithuanian , Luxembourg , Polish, Russian, Slovak , Ukrainian and any other cuisines. It is the national dish of Belarus.

In Swiss cuisine, the Rösti differs as it never contains egg or flour. It is a traditional favourite in southern Indiana during holiday festivities.

In the North-East of England (particularly County Durham), there is a popular dish known as tattie fish, because the pancake resembles a deep fried piece of fish. The pancake consists of flour, eggs, shredded potatoes and onions. You may add tomato or cheese to the mix. A form of potato pancake known as boxty is a popular traditional dish in most of Ireland. It is made in a similar way but using more starch. The British also brought the potato pancake to Zimbabwe, Africa when Zimbabwe was a colony of Britain. They are still eaten today too.

The Swedish version of unbound potato pancakes is called rårakor When prepared with a batter of wheat flour, milk, egg, and shredded potatoes and fried like thin pancakes, they are called raggmunk, the word "ragg" means crispy and "munk" derives from the Swedish "munkpanna", which is literally translated as donutpan. Both kinds are enjoyed with fried pork and lingonberry jam.

In Germany, potato pancakes are eaten either salty (as a side dish) or sweet with apple sauce, blueberries, sugar and cinnamon; they are a very common menu item during outdoor markets and festivals in colder seasons.

Poutine/ Fries and Gravy from Canada

Poutine

Welcome to day 3 on The Blogging Marathon “Around the World in 30 Days”!

Let’s stop at alphabet C today…

Actually I had planned a different Country beginning with C, cooked it too but then Canada kept popping in my head continuously!

My fascination was because I heard my teacher talk about the country from inside the class when we were doing world geography. Either she forgot to throw me out or gave up on me realizing that I will never be able to draw maps to her satisfaction! Then there were Mills n Boon and instead of reading the antics of the fair damsel and the dark hero and the villain thrown in I used to love to read about the countryside….!!

Gastronomically I got interested since Manali went to Canada for a year long course. Vivek, her husband and she told me about warm people who live there and the different foods, authentic food available not like our Indo- Chinese, they have described the Japanese etc. food available too.

So C-Canada naturally won out!

The Mad Scientist's Kitchen!!

Pages

Friday, 19 June 2015

Gattibajje

Gattibajje

Thursday, 18 June 2015

Moong Vada/ Fried Moong Vada

Moong Vada

Wednesday, 17 June 2015

Masala Vada/ Chana Dal Vada/ Chattambade

Masala Vada/ Chana Dal Vada/ Chattambade

Thursday, 4 June 2015

Nachos and Salsa

Wednesday, 3 June 2015

Popcorn

Wednesday, 25 February 2015

Devilled Eggs/Deviled Eggs/Eggs Mimosa

I have!

Devilled Eggs/Deviled Eggs/Eggs Mimosa

Thursday, 5 February 2015

Cheese Straws

Cheese Straws

Tuesday, 3 February 2015

Cheese Toast

Cheese Toast

Sunday, 5 October 2014

Sada Fort Trek and Kelya che Kappa

Tuesday, 16 September 2014

Savoury Corn Fitters from New Zealand

Savoury Corn Fitters

Ingredients:

Method:

Monday, 8 September 2014

Potato Pancakes

Wednesday, 3 September 2014

Poutine/ Fries and Gravy from Canada

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