Jalapeno Cheddar Corn Bread | Mexican style cornbread

Soft, moist cornbread with pop-in the mouth corn niblets
11/11/2016 9:49:48 PM vindhyadesai

Generally most of us eat regular white bread or nowadays health conscious people eat whole wheat bread. But did you know that different countries especially like India, Mexico, Italy, France have their own specialty breads. In India, of course we have rotis, phulkas, chapathis, kulchas, naans, yes, the list is endless. Similarly in Mexico they have different types of bread like tortillas, corn bread etc. They are a corn loving nation and their corn tortillas are so good!
Corn bread is a very different bread and unique in taste. It is so moist and soft almost like a cake that it can be served just on its own without anything on the side. Here I have served it with guacamole, a Mexican condiment like our chutney. Corn bread has these pop-in the mouth corn niblets with tiny puddles of corn sweetness filled in them. Yum, to say the least! ... “Jalapeno Cheddar Corn Bread | Mexican style cornbread”

Masala Puri | Bangalore style masalpuri | Chaat Recipes

Piping hot masala puri for cold winter or rainy days
11/09/2016 6:55:13 PM vindhyadesai

Craving to eat a plate of piping hot masala puri on a cold rainy evening? Now if you are worried about having street food outside the house then why not try and bring the street food into the comfort of your living room.
Masala puri or masalpuri or masalapuri is a very famous chaat dish from South India. It is especially famous in Karnataka and Bangalore style Masala puri is simply the best! I learnt this chaat recipe from an aunt’s relative when I visited them in Mysore. ... “Masala Puri | Bangalore style masalpuri | Chaat Recipes”

Whole Wheat Papdi | How to make baked papdi?

Homemade whole wheat baked papdis/crackers for chaat
11/08/2016 9:51:16 PM vindhyadesai

Dreaming of a having a plate or two of some chaat (Indian street food) on a rainy day? Then you decide to rustle up some chaat at home, only to discover that you do not have papdis at home.
Papdis or crackers are an essential ingredient to chaats like bhel, papdi chaat, dahi papdi chaat, masala puri etc.  I say you can easily make these at home, whole wheat papdi, baked instead of deep fried.
You would probably be excited that now you can make chaat with ease. Make a batch of these and store them. This recipe yields up to 50-55, 1″ in diameter papdis.
Also this recipe can be easily doubled or tripled. You could also make this a fun activity by involving your family especially kids to carve out the papdis. Just store these in an airtight container and they are available when required. They stay good for a few months. ... “Whole Wheat Papdi | How to make baked papdi?”

Palak Pakoda | How to make palak pakoda? | Spicy Spinach Fritters

Crisp spinach fritters, a great starter/appetizer
10/30/2016 1:20:41 PM vindhyadesai

Palak ke pakode/palak pakoda are crisp spinach fritters made with besan batter mixed with subtle spices. These are crisp and very delicious and they make for perfect tea time snack. On a rainy day, these pakodas are simply the best!
These pakodas can be made for a festival like Deepavali. They are easy and simple to make and are ready in a jiffy. Try onion pakoda recipe to enjoy on a cold winter evening. Enjoy these delicious palak ke pakode 🙂 ... “Palak Pakoda | How to make palak pakoda? | Spicy Spinach Fritters”

Baked Shankarpali | Baked Shakkarpare | How to make baked shankarpali?

Crisp, salty, sweet, nutty, baked shankarpali, badam-kaju & ajwain-jeera biscuits
10/23/2016 10:31:36 PM vindhyadesai

During Deepavali/Diwali, making Shankarpali/Shakkarpare snacks is very common. They are deep fried biscuits which are crisp with both salty and sweet versions. How about trying baked versions of this famous snack? Baked shankarpali are easy to make and you can change the flavours as you want. Here I have used only butter whereas some people do use vegetable shortening (dalda) which does not contain very healthy fats hence I generally never use it.
These can be made in bulk and 1 cup of all purpose flour yields a lot of biscuits. Just store these biscuits in air tight containers and they last for a few days. The base for both versions is the same. I have illustrated the base for both biscuits and then extended them into their respective flavours.
The sweet version can also be made plain without any nuts but adding almonds-cashews gives them a nice texture and flavour. The salty ones can also be made plain or even ground black pepper can be added in place of ajwain-jeera. The choice is yours! Also try benne biscuit recipe. ... “Baked Shankarpali | Baked Shakkarpare | How to make baked shankarpali?”

Benne Muruku | Butter Muruku | How to make benne muruku?

Crisp and crunchy snack, butter/benne muruku
10/20/2016 10:04:26 PM vindhyadesai

Crisp and crunchy benne/butter muruku has to be one of the tastiest snacks ever. It is a favourite in most households and can be made during many festivals like Ganesha Chaturthi, Sri Krishna Janmasthami and Deepavali/Diwali. In our childhood days, we used to look forward to celebrations of Deepavali/Diwali, along with buying and wearing new clothes and bursting crackers (which we no longer do for Mother Nature!) we also enjoyed eating these crunchy savoury snacks all day long! Of course along with swallowing up some sweets 🙂
Benne muruku is made from rice flour and butter as the main ingredients. Adding butter makes the muruku very crisp and light. Addition of too much butter makes them very brittle and there is a good chance that they will disintegrate while frying. So add butter with caution. Sesame seeds and carom seeds(om/ajwain) give nice flavour and aroma. Enjoy these with a cup of tea/coffee. Try other tea-time festival snacks like chivda and nippattu! ... “Benne Muruku | Butter Muruku | How to make benne muruku?”

Baked Aloo Samosa | How to make baked aloo samosa? | Baked Samosa

Mouth-watering super tasty and healthy whole wheat baked samosas
10/17/2016 10:12:41 PM vindhyadesai

Dreaming of eating hot samosas on a rainy evening or a cold winter? Want to bite into one but worried about the calories. Then this is the recipe for you, of course it is not completely devoid of calories as it does have potatoes as the main ingredient for the filling and also a bit of butter smeared over the samosas. But that is hardly anything compared to the calories one gets from deep fried ones. Moreover the outer covering is made  entirely from  whole wheat (atta) which makes it that much more healthy and guilt free. Ditch those office samosa parties and make them at home.  Follow stepwise to see how to fold into samosas. I am not an expert in making perfect samosas, I have tried to illustrate easy ways of folding the samosas. Doing it a few times will give you confidence. These can even be deep fried in hot oil on medium temperature till golden and crisp.
Enjoy these hot samosas with homemade green and sweet chutneys. I had made these when I had made Amrkhand at the end of last winter. The turn to post these yummy samosas has only turned up now! Dear readers, click on the links for more baked goods and more potato recipes. Try more snacks like baked nippattu. ... “Baked Aloo Samosa | How to make baked aloo samosa? | Baked Samosa”

Sabudana Tikki | How to make sabudana tikki? | Navratri Recipes

Soft and crisp sabudane ke tikki with khatta-meetha chutney
10/02/2016 12:57:41 PM vindhyadesai

Sabudana or tapioca pearls are the most common ingredient used during vrata/vrat. It is extracted from cassava root and root vegetables are considered to be healthy to be eaten during fasting festivals. Phaalar or falaari dishes are easy on the stomach and generally simple to make. One would definitely like recipes that are easy to prepare during vrats. Sabudane ki tikki are made from sabudana (obviously), potatoes. To bind everything together I have used arrowroot powder (easily available in grocery shops) which is similar to tapioca flour and is a starch obtained by a root. Arrowroot powder is a permitted ingredient for vrats. You can use lightly roasted besan or even cornstarch or cornflour if you are preparing this on non-vrat days. The main flavouring is from peanuts/groundnuts and other spices. Here I have served with khatta-meetha chutney, serve with falaari chutney on vrat days. ... “Sabudana Tikki | How to make sabudana tikki? | Navratri Recipes”

Mediterranean Platter 1

Mix and match Mediterranean nibbles and snacks platter with dips
09/30/2016 9:52:55 PM vindhyadesai

Mediterranean cuisine is a very vast cuisine. It covers various regions with a wide variety of dishes. Over the last few days I have posted recipes which are simple dips from the Mediterranean cuisine. These dips can be easily converted into a big party platter, forms a great starter with simple nibbles to munch on. The dips included Hummus, Roasted Red Pepper Hummus and Tzatziki. This platter is great for parties or potlucks. Very easy to prepare, easy to put it all together and is very portable. Nibbles and snacks can include very simple things like sliced avocado, pita chips and even tortilla chips (ok may be not Mediterranean but tastes awesome!). Other common things from the Mediterranean region like olives, some Greek Feta cheese (available in most supermarkets) all make up for great snacks on this platter. Include other things if you want to like slices of toasted pita bread, roasted aubergines etc. Restaurant quality dishes at home ready in few minutes. Easy on the stomach and on your pockets! A colourful photo fest below 🙂 ... “Mediterranean Platter 1”

Tzatziki | How to make Greek Tzatziki dip?

Cooling, refreshing Greek Tzatziki dip
09/29/2016 10:58:53 PM vindhyadesai

Tzatziki, (pronounced ta:t:si:ki) is a yogurt based dip from Greek cuisine. It is very similar to cucumber raitha differing only in the addition of certain ingredients like, olive oil and vinegar. Aromatic herbs like mint, dill (sabsige) are added to make the dip even more delicious. Mint leaves can be cut into chiffonades (mint leaves stacked up, rolled and then cut into thin long strips) or the dill leaves can be finely chopped and added to the dip. This emerald light green coloured grated cucumber dip is very refreshing and cooling. Make this for your Mediterranean platter, recipe up next on FOI. From top left, roasted red pepper hummus, plain hummus and tzatziki. As promised, I am posting the part of the photo of the mega Mediterranean platter. Perfect for the upcoming weekend. ... “Tzatziki | How to make Greek Tzatziki dip?”