Bhendi fry

I like to watch the channel now known as TLC and one day I happened to watch one of Anjum Anand's episodes "Indian Cooking made easy". I had till then not heard of her and I just went under hook, line and sinker. I now make it point to watch all the reruns and Google her recipes.
In one of her episode she has shown "fried okra ". Okra / lady finger/bhendi is one of my favourite vegetables so I tried it out.


My Mom had always drilled that washing bhendi makes them slimy while cooking so I run the kitchen napkin dampened a bit on the length of the bhendi and then repeat the same with the dry end. Time consuming but very effective.


Now Anjum Anand cut her bhendi lengthwise I prefer round ones. She deep-fried her bhendi in lot of oil I fry them but in lesser oil. She applies all the masala later to the bhendi I prefer to marinate the bhendi so to speak.


Ingredients:
½ kg bhendi ,cut
2 tsp Jeera/cumin powder
1 tsp dhania/coriander seeds/haviza
I tsp amchur/ dry mango powder
Red chilli powder (adjust as per taste)
Salt
A little sugar
2 tbsp besan/kadli hit/chana daal atta
Oil to fry
Method:
1. Apply all the dry ingredients to the bhendi and let it stand for 20-30 minutes.
2. In a deep kadhai heat about 2 tbsp oil .
3. In the hot oil add about a tsp of the bhendi mixture and let it fry a little.
4. Move the bhendi to the sides around the oil and add the next batch.
5. Repeat till all the bhendi are done. Always moving the centre ones in the oil to the edges.
6. When the bhendi at the side becomes crisp remove them in a bowl. So you need not use absorbent paper and your bhendi is well-drained. Also there is no leftover oil that you have to throw out.
Serve hot tastes good with rice or just as a plain snack.

Bread Upit or Bread Upma

There is nothing like "Bread Upit" and filter coffee for breakfast,  here is the way I like "Bread Upit" the best.
Ingredients:
4 slices of bread (1-2 days old is better)
1 onion, chopped
1 tomato, chopped
1-2 green chillies
1 spring Curry leaves
2 tsp Oil
Mustard
Jeera
Urid daal
Hing/asafoetida
Coriander, chopped
Salt
Sugar to taste
Lemon (optional)
Method:
1. In the mixer with the dry blade add the bread slice torn a bit. Grind to get fine crumbs.
2. Heat oil in the kadhai, crackle mustard, jeera add the urid daal .stir till the daal reddens then add hing/asafoetida, green chillies, curry leaves.
3. Stir fry the onions till soft. Add the rest of the ingredients except the coriander Stir.
4. Cover and cook for approximately 5 minutes.
5. Let it stand cover for about 5 more minutes. Then stir in the coriander and serve hot.

Reposting Franky or Wraps

The basic wrap(no salads at all)

Since we were supposed to visit friends and I had to cook only for my FIL.

 I cannot cook for one person and hence the Peas Palak that I had made was too much for him and for the rest of us to finish in the evening. As I did not want to throw it out I made "Franky"(basically I am reposting Franky)  as we called it in the past. Now I would prefer to call it "Wrap" but the name "Franky" is stuck with the kids and hence we and  so franky it is!

You can use the Hara Bhara Kabab Recipe and make the same cutlets. Only today ground the peas palak with green chillies and added 1 1/2  cup of rolled oats to the dough to make the dough into a smooth and not too free flowing. The cutlets I made are longish and I rolled them in oats. The shallow cutlets are wrapped in chappati smeared with cheese spread and tomato sauce. 

 The only photographs I had taken were when Akanksha, my younger daughter was eating there are no salads in it. You can add tomatoes, onions and capsicum. They taste better!!

Longish cutlets ready for the fry pan

My younger daughter's wrap getting ready(no salad lots of ketchup)

P.S. You can also use green chutney and tamarind chutney as a spread.

Garlic chutney and dates chutney.
I am sending this entry to Priya's Priyas's Easy N Tasty Recipes  Cooking With Whole Foods - Oats and Kiran of Sumudra's Cooking with Whole Foods(CWF)

I am sending this entry to http://torviewtoronto.blogspot.com/

Til/sesame seeds Chikki

Chikki is something we like to eat a lot. Many times my husband and I eat Chikki as our dessert but I had never tried making it myself.

I had all the ingredients Chikki jaggery, til/sesame seeds the recipe and I made chikki .

Ingredients:

150 grms Jaggery (Chikki),cut in small pieces

150 grms Til/sesame seeds

1 tblspn ghee

1 tblspn sugar

Method:

1.       Keep ready a well greased rolling pin, a small bowl of water and your kitchen platform cleaned.

2.       In a kadhai add the ghee and add the jaggery. Stir a bit.

3.       The jaggery will immediately melt when it melts put a drop of the melted jaggery in the bowl of water. Now fish it out and press it between your fingers. When it forms a hard ball you jaggery is ready.

4.       Put off the gas and add the til/sesame seeds and sugar. Stir quickly as the mass solidifies immediately.

5.       Transfer to the platform and roll with the rolling pin.

6.       I have cut the chikki too soon hence the pieces are not very even let it cool slightly and cut the pieces.