Carrot Sugian [Sweet Carrot fried in batter]

Ingredients :

• Dosa batter - 3 cups
• Jaggery or brown sugar - 1/2 cup
• Carrots  - 3 to 4 [ grated ]
• Cradamom powder - 1/2 tsp
• Fresh ghee - 3 tsp
• Oil - for deep frying

Method :

Add 1/2 cup of water to jaggery and melt over, in a low flame. Strain to remove dirt. Again keep  the jaggery syrup to the flame, add the grated carrot and cook in a medium flame stirring continuously for 5 minutes. Scrape on the sides and the bottom with landle. When it leaves the sides of the pan and becomes a sticky mass, add the cardamom powder and ghee. Mix well and remove from the gas. From that make small small balls. Dip these balls in the dosa batter and when coated well on all sides, deep fry in oil in a low flame. Turn gently until it turns light golden on all sides.

Note :

If you need thick batter, then add a tablespoon of rice flour.

Keerai Dosai [ spinach pancakes ]

Ingredients :

• Dosa batter - 3 cups
• Spinach - 1 / 2 bunch [ washed and chopped with stem ]
• Onion - 1 big [ chopped ]
• Asafoetida - 1 / 2 tsp
• Salt - as required
•  Fresh coriander leaves - 2 table spoon
• Oil - 1 / 4 cup

Method :

Stir the spinach in a teaspoon of oil for 2 minutes, till it shrinks and become soft. Then add onions, asafoetida, and salt. When the onion is transparent and soft.  Grind this in mixer and mix with  batter along with coriander leaves.  Then heat a non- stick pan or an iron tawa , lightly grease with seasame oil. Keep the heat on medium throughout. Pour a ladle of batter.  Spread the batter thinly, pour oil around edges of dosai and top with light hand. When the bottom of the dosai is crisp and golden, turn it over and let the other side be done. Serve with sambhar and idli milagai podi mixed in seasame  oil.


Note :

This is a tasty and healthy variation and you will be left with wanting more.

Doodhi ka Muthiya [ gujarati dish ]

Ingredients :

• Wheat flour - 1 cup
• Gram flour [ besan ]  -1 cup
• Grated doodhi - 200 gms
• Oil - 6 tbsp.

Masala :

• Salt - as required
• Turmeric powder - 1 / 2 tsp
• Coriander cummin seed powder  -1 1 / 2 tsp
• Ginger chilli paste - 2 tbsp
• Chilli powder - 1 tsp

For tempering :

• Green chillies - 2 to 3
• Fenugreek seeds - 1 / 4 tsp
• Mustard seeds - 1 / 2 tsp
• Asafoetida - a pinch
• White seasame seeds - 1 / 2 tsp
• Chopped coriander leaves - little

Method :

Mix the wheat flour, besan, oil and masalas.Grate doodhi finely. Apply salt. Add this salted doodhi to the flour. Prepare a soft dough by adding water. Apply little water on the palm. Prepare three to four rolls from the dough. Place each roll on a greased thali or a metal seive. Steam the muthias till tender by placing the seive on a stand in a large vessel filled with water. When cool cut them in to small pieces. Then heat oil for tempering in a kadai, add mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds, green chilli pieces. When the seeds splutter, add asafoetida and cuury leaves. When done, add muthias. Keep on a medium flame, stirring constantly till the muthias turn red and crisp.  Before serving sprinkle fried seasame seeds and chopped coriander leaves.

Carrot Hopper [ fresh juice ]

Ingredients :

• Fresh carrot - 1 / 2 kg.
• Beetroot - 100 gms.
• Ginger - 1 / 2 inch piece
• Honey - 1 / 2 tsp
• Salt - a pinch
• Palm sugar [ panam kalkandu ] - 2 tsps.

Method :
Wash carrots in warm water using a vegetable brush for cleaning. [ do not scrape the skin. More vitamins and minerals are present under the skin.] Remove top and tail portion and cut in to big pieces. Scrape thin skin from beetroot and cut in to big pieces. First put peeled ginger in to the juicer and follow with other vegetables. Mix salt, honey and palm sugar to the juice. Serve in small glass topped with crushed ice.

[ always use fresh carrots to obtain more juice.]

Aloo Bonda [ batada vada ]

Ingredients :

For stuffing :

• Cooked potatoes - 1 / 2 kg.
• Minced green chillies - 2 tsps.
• Chopped ginger - 1 tsp
• Chopped tomatoes - 1 / 4 cup
• Salt - as required
• Turmeric powder - 1 / 2 tsp
• Chopped coriander leaves - little
• Oil - for frying
• Lemon juice - 1 tsp

For seasoning :

• Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
• Bengal gram dahl -1 / 2 tsp
• Curry leaves - little

For the batter :

• Bengal gram flour - 1 cup
• Rice flour - 1 / 3 cup
• Salt - as required
• Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
• Cooking soda - 2 pinches

[ mix all the ingredients as mentioned and prepare a thick batter by mixing  required water. ]

Method :

Peel outer skin from cooked potatoes. Mash well when it is still warm. Heat oil in a frying pan, add mustard seeds, when it pop add bengal gram dhal fry for few minutes and then add minched chillies, ginger and curry leaves. Then mix mashed potatoes with salt and turmeric. Stir in high flame till moisture is absorbed completely. Squeeze lemon and add coriander leaves and remove from fire. When cools  down make medium sized balls.  Dip the balls one by one in the batter and put in hot oil. [ few at a time ]  Deep fry till golden brown.

Aloo Kababs

Ingredients :

• Potatoes - 1 / 2  kg.
• Bread - 5 slices.
• Minced green chillies - 1 1 / 2 tsp.
• Chopped coriander and mint
• leaves - 2 tbl. sps.
• Garam masala powder - 1 / 2 tsp.
• Dhania powder - 1 tsp.
• Turmeric powder - 1 / 2 tsp
• Rice flour - 3 to 4 tbl.sps.
• Am chur - 1 / 2 tsp.
• [ dry mango powder ]
• Salt - as required
• Oil - enough to fry.

Method :

Pressure cook potatoes. Peel and mash thoroughly  when it is still warm. Then soak bread slices one by one in water and lift out immediately. Then squeeze extra moisture and add to mashed potatoes with all other dry ingredients. Make balls and shape in to kababs. Deep fry in hot oil till crisp and brown.
Serve hot with sauce or chutney.

Melon Quench

Ingredients :

• Water melon - 300 gms. [ cut into pieces ]
• Mint leaves - few leaves
• Ginger - 1 / 2 inch piece
• Salt - a pinch
• Lemon juice - 1 tbl. sps.
• Kala namak - a pinch
• Honey - 2 tsps.

Method :

Use blender 

Remove seeds and outer skin from water melon, cut into pieces. Crush peeled ginger along with mint leaves in blender. Add water melon pieces and blend well. Strain through large eyed strainer. Then mix salt, lemon juice, honey and kala namak. Pour in a decorative glass with crushed ice on top. Serve immediately.