by Currylicious | Apr 2, 2012 | Nandini's Food Court
One of the most humble dishes that tasted awesome was the (Punjabi Kadhi) or Vegetable Fritters in a Spicy Yogurt Sauce. I had never come across this dish until after our wedding. My husband was born and raised in the North of India and this dish was one of his favorites. Once when he had invited a group of his friends home for dinner, he wanted me to make this dish. I remember there was nothing left in the pan after they left! They loved it and I gave myself a pat on the back:)
I have tried this dish with several ingredients and have finally mastered a recipe with my variations and you can find it on my recipes section. I have mentioned a few tips and a few spices that I add to make this dish stand out from the others and taste Curryliciousssssssssss!
by Currylicious | Apr 2, 2012 | Nandini's Food Court
Growing up as a child, my mom would make hot crispy pakoras or vegetable fritters whenever we had guests over and I loved to snack on them with some nice green coriander chutney! Tasted delicious. Today, I am a mom and I make it for my kids and friends and they thoroughly enjoy the crunchy Pakoras with the coriander chutney.
This is one of my best sellers in appetizers on my catering menu. Also, is a big hit at home when its raining outside and my husband loves to eat them with his cup of Chai!
by Currylicious | Apr 2, 2012 | Recipes
For vegetable fritters:
Gram flour (besan) 3/4 cup
Onion, finely chopped 1 medium
Bell pepper, finely chopped
Dried Fenugreek leaves (methi) 1/2 cup
Freshly ground coriander seeds
Ginger,grated 1 inch piece
Cayenne powder 1 teaspoon
Salt to taste
Canola or Vegetable oil to deep fry
2 teaspoons buttermilk
For Spicy yogurt sauce (called Kadhi)
Yogurt 1 cup
Gram flour (besan) 1/4 cup
Turmeric powder 1 teaspoon
Salt to taste
Canola/ Vegetable Oil 2 tablespoons
Fenugreek seeds 1/2 teaspoon
Cumin seeds 1/2 teaspoon
Dried red chillies for garnish
Black peppercorns 4-5
Onion ,chopped 1 medium
Ginger,chopped 1/2 inch piece
Cayenne powder 1 teaspoon
Preparation of Vegetable Fritters: Take a big bowl and mix gram flour, salt, turmeric, dried fenugreek leaves, freshly ground coriander seeds and cayenne pepper. Mix in the chopped onions & bell peppers. Add about 1/4 a cup of water and mix well.
NANDINI s TIP: Add 2 teaspoons of buttermilk.
Cover the bowl and let it rest for 30 minutes. This allows all the flavors to blend well with the onions and peppers.
Heat sufficient oil in a pan, drop small portions of the mixture and deep fry till golden brown. Drain and place on an absorbent paper and set aside.
Preparation of Spicy Yogurt Sauce:
Take a bowl and whisk yogurt and gram flour well.
NANDINI s TIP: Sift the flour into the yoghurt while whisking in order to avoid forming lumps.
Blend thoroughly. Add turmeric powder, salt and three cups of water. Heat two tablespoons of oil in a pan Add fenugreek seeds, cumin seeds, black peppercorns and red chillies. Stir-fry for half a minute. Add onions, ginger and stir-fry for a minute. Add yogurt mixture. Bring to a boil and simmer on low heat for about fifteen minutes, stirring occasionally. Add cayenne powder.
Bringing together the dish:
Transfer the crunchy golden brown vegetable fritters to the yoghurt sauce and simmer for four to five minutes.
Picture 1: Spices required Picture 2: Preparation of fritters
Picture 3: Cumin, Coriander, Red Chillies &Tumeric
Picture 4:Transfer ginger-garlic Picture 5: Mix gram flour with yogurt
Picture 6: Transfer gram flour mix to the pan- Spicy yogurt Sauce
Picture 7: Fry the fritters Picture 8: Transfer fritters to a plate
Picture 9: Add the fritters to the spicy yogurt sauce
by Currylicious | Mar 29, 2012 | Nandini's Food Court
I run a home based catering business called “CURRY BAZZAR”and wanted to share some clicks of some simple delicious healthy vegetarian food that I prepare. One of the popular dishes preferred by healthy eaters is my Green beans, Cauliflower and Carrots sautéed with scallions, garlic,cumin, mustard seeds and garnished with fresh shredded coconut.
It is simple and very easy to prepare.
My kids love this dish and what better way to eat your veggies?
by Currylicious | Mar 29, 2012 | Recipes
Green Beans
Baby Carrots
Cauliflower
2-3 Scallions
3 cloves of garlic
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
Shredded coconut
Chop scallions and garlic finely. Then chop green beans and baby carrots very small and even. Break the cauliflower florets into smaller florets. Heat a pan and add sesame oil, then add a teaspoon of cumin seeds, mustard seeds and wait till you hear the sputtering. Now add the finely chopped garlic and scallions, salt to taste, a pinch of lemon pepper and some coriander powder. Saute till they turn golden brown. Add the beans, broken cauliflower florets and carrots. Sprinkle some water and keep covered with a lid till it cooks completely. If you run a knife through any of the veggies and it goes through or is soft then you know that it is cooked completely.
Now shred some fresh coconut and use to garnish on top.
Nutrition Facts:
Green beans
They are very low in calories and contain no saturated fat; but are very good source of vitamins, minerals, and plant derived micronutrients. They are very rich source of dietary fiber. Green beans contain excellent levels of vitamin A, and many health promoting flavonoid poly phenolic antioxidants such as lutein, zeaxanthin and ß-carotene in good amounts. They are good source of folates. They also contain good amounts of vitamin-B6 (pyridoxine), thiamin (vitamin B-1), and vitamin-C. In addition, beans contain healthy amounts of minerals like iron, calcium, magnesium, manganese, and potassium, which are very essential for body metabolism.
Cauliflower
They are very low in calorie and is very low in fat and contains no cholesterol. Its florets contain about 2 g of dietary fiber per 100 g; providing about 5% of recommended value. Cauliflower contains several anti cancer phyto-chemicals like sulforaphane and plant sterols such asindole-3-carbinol. Fresh cauliflower is excellent source of vitamin C and many essential B-complex group of vitamins such as folates, pantothenic acid (vitamin B5), pyridoxine (vitamin B6) and thiamin (vitamin B1), niacin (B3) as well as vitamin K. It is also good source of minerals such as manganese, copper, iron, calcium and potassium.
Carrots
They are rich in anti-oxidants, vitamins and dietary fiber; are exceptionally rich source of carotenes and vitamin-A. Studies have found that flavonoid compounds in carrots help protect from skin, lung and oral cavity cancers. Beta-carotene is the major carotene that is present in these roots and is one of the powerful natural anti-oxidant. Carrots are rich in poly-acetylene anti-oxidant falcarinol. They are also good in vitamin C. This root vegetable is especially contain good amounts of many B-complex group of vitamins such as folic acid, vitamin B-6 (pyridoxine), thiamin, pantothenic acid, etc that acts as co-factors to enzymes during substrate metabolism in the body. It also has healthy levels of minerals like copper, calcium, potassium, manganese and phosphorus.
