Okra Fritters, Vendakkai Pakoras, Bhindi Fries

          Both my daughter and husband love okra/ vendakkai/ bhindi and they like all the dishes that I make with it, starting from sambar to curries. I have made these fritters/ fries long time back and after that whenever we had it, it was store bought ones as I usually make the vendakkai curry every time that I bought okra. This time I reserved some okra for making these fries, it's such an easy recipe and you'll love it, even if you don't like okra otherwise. This might not be a healthy way of eating okra, but deep frying it removes the sliminess from it and leaves you with a crunchy and yummy snack..

Need To Have

• Okras/ Bhindi/ Vendakkai - 15
• Onion - 1 big chopped finely
• Kadalai Maavu/ Besan Flour/ Gram Flour - 6 tablespoons
• Arisi Maavu/ Rice Flour - 3 tablespoons
• Milagai Thool/ Red Chilly Powder - 1 teaspoon
• Manjal Thool/ Turmeric Powder - 1/4 teaspoon
• Fennel Seeds/ Sombu  Powder- 1/2 teaspoon
• Curry Leaves - 10, roughly chopped
• Salt to taste
• Oil for deep frying

Method

          Trim the okra on both sides, slice it into half lengthwise, then the half into 2 or 3 slices, then chop them into 2" pieces. To this add the onions, besan flour, rice flour, turmeric powder, chilly powder, fennel seed powder, salt, curry leaves and mix it. Don't add water, the moisture from the okra and onions is enough, you'll be a having a lumpy, wet and dry mixture.

          Heat the oil for deep frying, add the mixture, a little at a time, fry it till golden in color, remove and serve it hot.

Other Okra/ Vendakkai/ Bhindi dishes you might be interested

• Okra Fried Rice
• Vendakkai Mor Kuzhambu
• Okra Kurma
• Simple Okra Curry
• Okra And Baby Corn Curry
• Bhindi Do Pyaza
• Aloo Bhindi
• Vendakkai Thayir Pachadi

Note
These pakoras are very crunchy when it's served hot, but might loose its crunchiness with time.
If you want them to stay crunchy for a longer time, then increase the quantity of flours, so that the okra pieces are completely coated with it and then fry in medium to low heat, so that it takes longer to turn golden and gets crispier in the process.
While adding the mixture to the oil, don't add it as a big lump, using your fingers, just spread it while adding, so that it falls in small pieces in the oil.
Oil should be medium hot, otherwise the flour will brown immediately and the vegetable will still have some moisture.
If you plan to do a large quantity, then do it in batches, if you leave the okra mixed with flour and salt for a long time, it'll start giving out water.

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Ompodi, Sev

          Ompodi/ Sev, this is one of the simplest snacks, in spite of having eaten it so many times, both store bought and homemade, this is the first time I tried making it. I have made other stuff like murukku, pakodas and mixture, but I don't know, for some reason I have never tried making this. The basic ingredient is besan flour/ chickpea flour/ kadalai maavu/ bengal gram flour and the other important ingredient which gives the flavor and also the name is omam/ ajwain seeds. It is very easy to prepare, in fact, it took me under 30 minutes from start to finish ( for the measurements given below ). This can be had as such or used as a garnish or topping on chats..

Need To Have

• Besan Flour - 1 cup
• Rice Flour - 1 tablespoon
• Ajwain Seeds - 1/4 teaspoon and a pinch
• Dried Red Chillies - 4
• Salt to taste

Method

          The murukku press with the ompodi mold and the ajwain seeds.

          Soak the ajwain seeds and red chillies in a little water for 15 to 20 minutes and grind it as smoothly as possible.

          Sift the besan and rice flours. Strain the ground chilly and ajwain mixture, add it to the flour along with salt and a teaspoon of hot oil. Mix it well, then adding water, prepare a smooth dough with it.

         Heat the oil for deep frying, grease the murukku press ( similar to a cookie press with different molds), fill it with dough and press it, releasing the dough directly into the oil, moving in a small circle, cut off the dough with your hand. Cook on both sides till golden and remove, repeat with the rest of the dough. Cool, break with your hand into small pieces and store in an airtight container.

Note
If doing more than a cup, do everything the same way till you mix the flour with oil, salt and the chill-ajwain mix, then divide into portions, take one portion, add water, make dough and do the sev, then do another portion and so on.
If the dough is too hard to press through the murukku press, then sprinkle little water and knead the dough and proceed.
The oil should not be too hot, add a pinch of dough to the hot oil, it should rise slowly to the top. Also, when you press the dough into the oil, it'll sizzle at first and gradually settle down, at that point, flip it slowly and cook on the other side the same way and remove, it'll take 1 to 2 minutes.
Use the mold that has the smallest holes.

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Black Eyed Peas Sundal, Karamani Sundal

          As I had said before, I am going to post only Navarathri recipes this whole week. So today's post is again another sundal, Black Eyed Peas Sundal/ Karamani Sundal. We can cook the black eyed peas and just do the simple seasoning with mustard seeds, asafoetida and curry leaves, in fact we can do this simple seasoning with all the beans or lentils. To make it a little different and to add a nice flavor, I have used some freshly ground spices and added it to the cooked black eyed peas, and also a little jaggery which gives a light sweet taste to this delicious sundal..

Need To Have

• Black Eyed Peas - 1/2 cup
• Mustard Seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
• Asafoetida - 1/4 teaspoon
• Curry Leaves - 5
• Salt to taste

To Grind

• Dried Red Chilly - 1
• Coriander Seeds - 2 teaspoons
• Jaggery - 1/2 teaspoon
• Grated Coconut - 1 tablespoon

Method

          Pressure cook the black eyed peas with some salt, drain the extra water and keep. Dry roast the red chilly and coriander seeds. Cool and grind it with the coconut and jaggery, don't add water.

          Heat some oil, add the mustard seeds, when it starts spluttering, add the asafoetida followed immediately by the cooked black eyed peas.

          Mix it well till all the moisture completely dries up, then add the ground mixture and the curry leaves and mix it well and remove.

Note
It takes approximately 15 minutes to cook the black eyed peas, after the first whistle in the pressure cooker.
Whenever you add curry leaves, slightly tear it and add, it gives a nice flavor.

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Verkadalai Sundal, Peanut Sundal

          I have decided that, this whole week, or at least till Friday, I am going to post some sundal or sweet dish only, so in line with that, today's post is going to be Verkadalai Sundal/ Peanut Sundal. This is one of my favorite sundals, usually I just do the basic seasoning with mustard seeds, asafoetida, red chillies and curry leaves. Today I have added some grated carrots, if your kids are like mine, likes peanuts but hates carrots, then I am sure, if you give them this way, they'll not mind the carrots in it. This can be had as a snack or even as a side dish or salad along with any meal..

Need To Have

• Dried Peanuts - 1/2 cup
• Grated Carrot - 1/2 cup
• Grated Coconut - 2 teaspoons
• Grated Ginger - 1/2 teaspoon
• Green Chilly - 1, finely chopped
• Mustard Seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
• Asafoetida - 1/4 teaspoon
• Curry Leaves - 5

Method

          Pressure cook the peanuts along with some water and salt. Once the pressure is released, drain the extra water from the peanuts and keep. Heat some oil, add the mustard seeds, when it starts spluttering, add the chopped chillies, ginger, curry leaves and asafoetida and mix it for 5 seconds.

          Then add the grated carrots, salt, keep sauteing on reduced heat, till all the moisture is absorbed and the carrots are cooked, it should take not more than 2 to 3 minutes, then add the coconut and mix.

          Finally add the peanuts, mix and remove.

Note
You need not soak the peanuts before cooking.
Usually in a pressure cooker, after the first whistle, it takes 8 to 10 minutes to cook the peanuts.
You can add some lemon juice and chopped coriander at the end, after switching off.

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Chickpeas Sundal With Sesame

          It's Navaratri time, though we don't celebrate this nine day long festival, I love to see the Golu at my friends'. I see that the festival mood has caught up with the bloggers too, I see a lot of sundals and other goodies in many of the blogs. I have a couple of them, in my space too,Chickpeas Sundal and Chana Dal Sundal, thought I'll share another one today. This is also made out of chickpeas, here I have made a small change to the regular sundal recipe. I have added sesame seeds which give a nice flavor to it, try it if you like sesame seeds..

Need To Have

• Cooked Chickpeas - 11/2 cup
• White Sesame Seeds - 1 teaspoon
• Grated Coconut - 1 tablespoon
• Red Chillies - 2
• Mustard Seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
• Asafoetida - 1/8 teaspoon
• Curry Leaves - 5

Method

          Roast the sesame seeds and red chillies in a few drops of oil, when the sesame seeds turn golden, remove, cool, make a coarse powder with the coconut.

          Heat some oil, add the mustard seeds, when it starts spluttering, add the curry leaves and asafoetida followed by the cooked chickpeas, ground powder and salt. Reduce the heat and keep mixing it for 3 to 5 minutes, till you get the nice sesame flavor. Remove and serve it warm.

Note
Soak overnight and pressure cook the chickpeas with some salt and use.
If you don't like sesame seeds, just leave it and use dry chillies and coconut alone.

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Date And Walnut Sandwich

          It's a known fact, dates and nuts go together very well, especially dates stuffed with almonds is very common. I wanted to try dates with walnuts and also I wanted to make a sandwich with it. To make a spreadable mix, I combined dates, walnuts and cream cheese together, and spread it on toasted bread slices, the result was delicious..

Need To Have

• Bread slices - 4
• Cream Cheese - 4 teaspoons
• Chopped Walnuts - 3 teaspoons
• Dates - 6, chopped finely
• Fresh Cream Or Milk - 1 tablespoon
• Honey - 2 teaspoons or to taste

Method

          Bring the cream cheese to room temperature, mix it with chopped nuts and dates using the fresh cream or milk to bring it together.

          Toast the bread slices on both sides, spread the date and mixture on one slice, drizzle a teaspoon or more of honey on top, cover with another slice of bread, slice and enjoy.

Note
Chop the nuts and dates as finely as possible, I have not done it so finely, hence it was difficult to spread.
Beat the cream cheese with the fresh cream, milk, then mix in the nuts and dates.
If you like, arrange a layer of sliced banana pieces, then drizzle with honey, bananas go very well with dates and walnuts.
The amount of cream cheese, dates, nuts and honey can be increased or decreased according to your taste.
Can also use maple syrup in the place of honey.

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Eggless Donuts

          This month, for our Eggless Baking Group, we had to make Eggless Donuts. Initially I thought of skipping it, since there was a lot of travelling and I hardly had a chance to cook anything, leave alone donuts. At the same time, I didn't want to miss it too, so finally I made it today morning, clicked and edited the pictures in the afternoon and posting it in the evening, all on the same day. Once again, I am happy I have joined this group, otherwise the lazy me would have easily postponed it for some other time. This time, I have used yogurt/ curd as a replacement for egg, and made the basic glazed donuts, they turned out really soft and fluffy and everybody loved it..

Need To Have
For The Donuts

• All Purpose Flour/ Maida - 5 cups
• Active Dry Yeast - 1/4 oz
• Powdered Sugar - 1/2 cup
• Vegetable Shortening - 1/3 cup
• Warm Milk - 1 cup
• Yogurt/ Curd - 1/2 cup
• Salt - 1 teaspoon
• Warm Water - 1/4 cup

For The Glaze

• Confectioners Sugar - 2 cups
• Butter - 1/3 cup
• Vanilla Extract - 11/2 teaspoons
• Hot Water - 4 tablespoons

You can check the original recipe here.

Method

          Add the yeast to the warm water and leave it for 5 minutes or more, till it foams up nicely. Take the flour, yogurt, sugar, salt, vegetable shortening, adding the 1 cup milk, little by little, make a soft dough.

          Place the dough in a greased bowl, cover and leave it for an hour, till it has doubled in size. Punch the dough, place it on a floured surface, knead it lightly and roll it out, 1/2" thick.

          Cut out donuts from the rolled dough, leave them covered for another hour, till they rise one more time.

          In the meantime, to make the glaze, warm the butter, add the sugar and vanilla extract and mix, add the 4 tablespoons hot water, little by little, till you form a thick glaze, not a watery one.

          Heat some oil for deep frying, add the donuts, fry on both sides and drain them. When it's cold enough to handle, dip it in the glaze and place it on a wire rack till the glaze dries up.

Note
I got 38 medium sized donuts.
When you make the glaze, it should be really thick, otherwise it'll not dry up, it'll be wet and sticky ( learnt it from experience ).
Fry the donuts on low heat ( the oil temperature should be around 175 C ).

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Vegan Chocolate Chunk Cookies

          Chocolate Chip Cookies, though I have baked it a couple of times, never blogged it, so I thought it's high time that I added this to my bakes. I had initially thought of doing it as half oil and half butter version, but then I had bought some tofu the previous day and I wanted to use it, so went ahead and made a vegan version. To tell you the truth, I was not sure of the result, made a very small batch of just 7 cookies, ready to trash it, if something went wrong. But at the end, they turned out to be really very good, soft and guey, otherwise I wouldn't be blogging it, right. Since I ran out of chocolate chips, I've replaced it with chocolate chunks, hence the name Chocolate Chunk Cookies..

Need To Have

• All Purpose Flour - 1/2 cup
• Powdered Sugar - 1/6 cup
• Chopped Chocolate Chunks - 1/6 cup
• Oil - 21/2 tablespoon
• Baking Powder - 1/8 teaspoon
• Baking Soda - 1/8 teaspoon
• Vanilla Extract - 1/4 teaspoon
• Crumbled Tofu - 1 tablespoon
• Water - 1/2  teaspoon

Method

          Sift together the flour, baking soda and baking powder. Take the oil and sugar and beat well, add the vanilla extract, salt, followed by the sifted flour and tofu.

          Bring it all together to form a dough, at this point, if needed, add the 1/2 teaspoon of water. Finally mix in the chocolate chunks. Divide into 6 or 7 portions, shape it into balls and flatten it slightly. Bake them at 180C for 15 to 20 mins. Let it cool and remove.

Note
The next time I am baking this, I am going to reduce the oil, since once I added the chocolate chunks, the dough became pretty oily, I think it's because of the cocoa butter in the chocolate, if you are using chocolate chips, I think this amount of oil should be fine.
The baking time should vary anytime between 15 to 20 mins, remove the cookies, when it's still soft, it hardens as it cools.
The cookies stay good for 2 to 3 days, after that they tend to harden a bit, also after 3 days, better to refrigerate since it has tofu. 

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Quinoa Patties With Chickpeas Gravy

          Many of us are familiar with the famous Ragda Patties, this is a slight healthy twist to this delicious dish. Ragda is the chickpeas or peas gravy that is served with the potato patties. Here I have reduced the potatoes and replaced it with the healthy quinoa and sauteed cabbage, they tasted really awesome. The chickpeas gravy that I have used here is slightly different, in that I have added some tamarind and jaggery, to give it a sweet and sour taste. The Quinoa Patties, topped with the Chickpeas Gravy, with a sprinkle of sliced onions and green chutney, made up for a wholesome and healthy meal, try this next time you cook quinoa..

Need To Have
For The Patties

• Quinoa - 1/2 cup
• Potatoes - 2 medium, boiled and mashed, came to 1 cup
• Shredded Cabbage - 2 cups
• Grated Ginger - 2 teaspoons
• Turmeric Powder - 1/4 teaspoon
• Red Chilly Powder - 1/2 teaspoon
• Coriander Powder - 2 teaspoons
• Asafoetida - 1/4 teaspoon
• Garam Masala - 1/4 teaspoon
• Salt - to taste

For The Chickpeas Gravy/ Chole

• Chana/ Chickpeas - 1 cup
• Tamarind - 1 large grape size
• Turmeric Powder - 1/4 teaspoon
• Red Chilly Powder - 1/2 teaspoon
• Coriander Powder - 2 teaspoons
• Jaggery - 1 teaspoon
• Cumin Seeds - 1 teaspoon
• Cloves - 2

To Grind

• Onion - 1 small
• Tomato - 1 medium
• Cooked Chickpeas - 2 tablespoons
• Garlic - 3 cloves
• Ginger - 1" piece

To Assemble

• Quinoa Patties
• Chickpeas Gravy
• Sliced Onions
• Green Chutney ( store bought or home made)

Method
Quinoa Patties

          Cook 1/2 cup quinoa as per the instructions on the bag or refer here, it should be cooked, but not mushy, cool it. Heat some oil, add the cabbage and salt, and saute it till it's cooked but still retains a little bit of the crunchiness.

          Now in a bowl, take the cooked quinoa, mashed potatoes, sauteed cabbage, grated ginger, turmeric, red chilly and coriander powders, asafoetida, garam masala and salt. Mix it well with your hand, and shape into small patties, I got 16 patties.

          Heat some oil, and shallow fry the patties till golden brown on both sides, remove and drain the excess oil.

Chole/ Chickpeas Gravy

          Pressure cook the chickpeas with salt, till soft, it takes about 8 to 10 minutes in the pressure cooker. Grind together all the ingredients given under ' to grind '. Soak the tamarind in 1 cup hot water, squeeze and take the extract, strain and keep.

          Heat some oil, add the cloves and cumin seeds, when it starts sizzling, add the ground paste, turmeric, chilly aand coriander powders and salt, saute it on medium heat for 5 to 7 minutes, till the raw smell goes away, if it sticks to the pan, sprinkle some water and keep sauteing.

          Now add the tamarind extract, mix well, then add the cooked chickpeas and the jaggery, if needed another half cup of water and simmer for another 7 to 10 minutes, now your chickpeas gravy is ready.

To Assemble
          Place 2 or 3 patties, pour a little chickpeas gravy on the side and top, top it with the sliced onions and the green chutney. Do this just before serving.

Sending this To Zesty South Indian Kitchen for the Hearth And Soul Blog Hop event and
                    To My Culinary Trial Room for the Hearty And Healthy event.

Note
The patties can be made ahead of time and can be warmed in the oven or on stove top, just before serving, even the chickpeas gravy can be made the previous day and refrigerated.
If the quinoa is overcooked, then the whole dish will become very mushy, then you'll need other dry ingredients like bread crumbs to bring it together.
Generally they also serve a sweet tamarind or date chutney along with the green chutney, but I don't find the need here, since I have added the tamarind and jaggery to the chickpeas gravy itself.
You can serve this as a snack or appetizer or also as a complete meal by itself.

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Vegan Chocolate Mug Cake

          Chocolate Mug Cake, finally I got to post it, and a vegan version. I've tried it so many times, sometimes it had turned out good and then sometimes, like a flab of rubber that I had to throw away. It was when I was making the Eggless Cauldron Cakes, I had some leftover batter, that I poured in some ramekins and microwaved, it came out very well, so I stuck to that. Then yesterday, I tried a vegan version, using orange juice and oil, the result was very good, ideal for those days, when you want a chocolate cake, but then, lazy to bake a big one..

Need To Have

• All Purpose Flour - 3 tablespoons
• Sugar - 2 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon
• Hershey's Unsweetened Cocoa Powder - 11/2 tablespoons
• Baking Soda - 1/4 teaspoon
• Orange Juice - 2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons
• Oil - 21/2 teaspoons

Method

          Take all the dry ingredients in a mug, add the juice and oil, whisk it well.

          Microwave it for about 1 minute 45 seconds to 2 minutes. Let it cool and enjoy.

Note
I've given the time from 1 min 45 secs to 2 mins because it might vary with microwaves.
Don't microwave it too long, the cake will lose all the moisture and turn out very dry.
The cake batter should be thinner than that we use when we bake in a regular oven.
The sugar level was fine for us, if you like your cake very sweet, then add a teaspoon more.
Remove it while the cake is still moist, it dries up, as it cools.
I've used a small mug, so that the cake would come to the top ( for photos), so I had to keep an eye that it didn't overflow, the batter usually bubbles up, but finally it doesn't over flow, if needed, stop and start the microwave.

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