Most of us love potatoes. And why not, after all there are tonnes of dishes we can make using potatoes. One my favorites is Vada Pav. Born and brought up in Mumbai, I have developed a craving for the road side dish Vada Pav which is a favorite food for many Mumbaiites. It is nothing but Aloo Bonda sandwiched between a bun, topped with spicy green chutney, tamarind chutney and dried garlic chutney.  

After moving to United States I had to kill my craving for this road side favorite Vada Pav. I knew how to make it, but the thought of going through the elaborate procedure for only two pieces of potato balls was discouraging. Until one day my friend suggested that I could make a large quantity at once and freeze the potato balls and use as required.

So here is the recipe for Vada Pav and guess what, you can enjoy them instantly whenever you like. But before that we need to get the major work done – make the potato balls. For the Potato Ball (Also known as Aloo Bonda, Batata Vada):

1. Prepare a paste of 8-9 green chillies, 2-3 cloves garlic, 1 inch ginger. Alternately you can use ready paste as follows: 1 tbsp green chilli paste, 2 tsp garlic paste, 1 tsp ginger paste.
2. Take 3 big potatoes, boiled, peeled and mashed coarsely.
3. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a Pan. Add 3/4 tsp mustard seeds, 1/4 tsp cumin seeds, 1/4 tsp asafoetida.
4. When the seeds crackle add 8-10 curry leaves and the green chilli, garlic and ginger pastes and let it cook for a few seconds.
5. Then add 1/2 tsp turmeric and 1/2 cup finely chopped onion. Wait till the onions becoe translucent.
6. Fold in the mashed potatoes, 1/2 tsp garam masala, salt to taste, 1/4 tsp sugar, juice of 1 lemon and 1/4  cup finely chopped cilantro. Remove from fire. Cool.
7. Make small balls of this mixture, about the size of a ping pong ball. Leave aside.
8. In a separate bowl, mix 1 cup of gram flour (Besan), 1 tbsp rice flour (optional), 1/4 tsp turmeric, 1/2 tsp red chilli powder, salt to taste, a pinch of baking soda, and 2 tsp hot oil. Make a thick batter of smooth consistency using water.
9. In a frying pan, heat enough oil for frying the potato balls.
10. Dip the potato balls in the preprared batter and then fry in hot oil till golden brown.
11. Blot the extra oil on a paper towel.
12. The potato balls are ready to use.
13. If you want to store them in the freezer, wait till it is completely cooled down, and then store in airtight zip locks.
14.  Whenever you wish to use these frozen potato balls, thaw only the required number of pieces in a microwave and then toast lightly in a convential oven.
15. Serve as it is with green chutney and tamarind chutney or
16. Sandwich between regular buns ( best with pav bhaji bread  available in hot breads). Spread green chutney, tamarind chutney and dry garlic chutney on the innner side of the bun and place 1 or 2 potato balls in between. Serve Hot. You can lighly toast the bread as well.

Pickles are great accompaniments to regular food. But making pickle in traditional ways may take a lot of time, and sometimes days. Here is a simple and quick way of making carrot pickle.

Shelf Life: upto 3-4 Days in refrigerator.

Serves: 1 Cup

1. Pick 3 medium sized Fresh  carrots which have no blemish.
2. This step is very important for the shelf life of the pickle. Prepare the carrots by washing them thoroughly. Wipe them with a clean paper towel leaving no water at all.
3. Cut the carrots into thin stripes about 2 inches long.
4. In a bowl, add 1 cup of cut carrots.
5. Add 2 tsp. split mustard seeds. If this is not readily available,  lightly crush  regular mustard seeds and use that.
6. Add 1/1 tsp turmeric powder, 3/4 to 1 tsp chilli powder, 1/2 tsp onion seeds (Kalonji, Nigella seeds), 1 1/2 tsp crushed fenugreek seeds ,1/4 tsp asafoetida and 1 tsp salt. 
7. Mix well.
8. Heat 1 1/2 tablespoon of mustard oil in a small pan and then pour it over the carrot mixture.
9. Mix well.
10. Eat fresh or store in the refrigerator.

Carrot pickle goes very well with parathas, baturas, virtually anything.

Hope you like it.

I learnt this method of making tomato soup from my mother in law. It is extremely easy to make and brings out the natural flavors of juicy tomatoes. For best results use tomatoes on the vine.

 Serves: 2 Cereal Bowls

1. Boil  4-5 medium sized tomatoes untill the skin appears to start tearing. Remove from fire.
2. Peel the skin and extract the tomato soup using a sieve. (Avoid blenders).
3. In a small pan heat some butter.
4. Add 1/4 to 1/2 tsp. cumin seeds.
5. After few seconds pour the seasoned butter  over the tomato soup. Mix well.
6. Add about 1/4 tsp. sugar and  a few drops of ginger juice.
7. Bring to boil.
8. Serve hot with croutons, salt, pepper and lemon juice on the side.

Enjoy!

Hey folks! I finally found what I have been looking for – a cookery show dedicated only to vegetarian food.

Check out this show called Delicious TV featuring Toni Fiore. It is totally about Vegetarian food and it airs on PBS stations but not in all cities. You will have to check with your local PBS station guide. Here is a link to the delicious TV website.

http://www.delicioustv.com/

The season 2 will air soon, but they have links to the earlier season episodes.

The recipes look delicious! Will post my comments once I try them out. Feel free to post your comments.

I found some great vegetarian recipes on this website http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/search.php?collections=VEG.

Try them out!

Dhan = grains ( rice and lentils in this case) and Shak = Vegetables.

Dhanshak is a wholesome Parsee dish packed with lots of nutrients coming from the dals and vegetables. Cooking Dhanshak doesn’t require much effort to cook. The only extra time it might take is in collecting the ingredients. So, lets dive into the making of this power packed all- in-one ‘Meal in a Bowl’.

This recipe makes 4 servings.

Notes

1. Garam Masala  and Sambar Masala are easily available in Indian Grocery Stores.

I saw this great tip the other day on a food network show called ‘Good Eats’. The episode was about making some chicken dish, but what caught my attention was the way Alton (the host of the show) used the oven. 

Most ovens are built to halt heating for some time once it reaches the set temperature and then restart heating. This process would sometimes take a  very long time if we plan to bake or broil something very dense or thick or simply want to grill kebabs. What Alton did was, he temporarily disabled the automatic temperature control process by keeping the oven door slightly open to fool the oven and keep the heating on constantly. The entire chicken was done in very little time than it would take otherwise.

 Isn’t it a great way to make the oven work more efficiently and be more effective in lesser time?

Here is the link to the recipe that Alton was making in this episode and in the fifth paragraph are his instructions for the oven. http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,1977,FOOD_9936_141,00.html

A very simple recipe to make delicioiusly spicy Tandoori Paneer Pizza. You can make this on your choice of base. If you are looking for the Indian style 8 inch pizza base, I know that in many cities, Hot Breads makes good pizza base. Here is a link to their website. http://www.hotbreads.com/Location.asp

I have always used the pizza base from Hot Breads, cause that is my favorite. Following is the recipe for the pizza sauce and the Tandoori Paneer topping.

1. Firsly we need to marinade the Paneer. To make the Paneer refer to the following post. http://cookeasy.wordpress.com/2006/11/05/make-paneer-at-home/. It can also be found using the basic recipes link on the right.
2. Cut small cubes of Paneer almost 1 cm size. Marinade according to the marinaiton recipe posted earlier. Here is the link to the post. http://cookeasy.wordpress.com/2006/11/05/paneer-tikka-marination/. It can also be found using the basic recipes link on the right. Do not bake it yet.
3. Leave the marinated Paneer aside for atleast 1-2 hours. 
4. Make the pizza sauce as follows:- 
   • Heat 2 tbsp butter in a pan and add 1/2 cup finely chopped onions. Stri fry for some time.
   • Add 1 cup of tomato puree and boil.
   • Add 1 tsp garlic paste, 1/2 tsp red chilli powder, 1/4 tsp cinnamon-clove powder, 1/2 tbsp sugar,  1/4 tsp oregano, 1 1/2 tbsp tomato ketchup, and salt to taste. Simmer for few minutes.
   • You can cook this sauce on a slow flame till it become thick as you like, or add cornflour mixed in water to it to make the sauce thicker. I prefer slow cooking.
   • The sauce is ready to use. You can make this a day in advance.
5. Other preparations for the toppings are:-
   • Thinly sliced Onion
   • Thinly sliced Capsicum/ Bell Pepper
   • Sliced Tomatoes
   • Finely chopped green chillies
   • Finely chopped cilantro, lots of them.
   • Juice of Lemon.
   • Grated cheese.
6.  Finally time to bring all this together. Spread some pizza sauce on the base. Then arrange a few slices of onions and bell peppers. On top of that spread some paneer cubes, sprinkle some green chillies, cilantro, and few drops of lemon juice. Top it with grated cheese. Bake in a pre heated oven at 300 degree F for about 15-20 minutes. Check to see if the cheese has melted and bake furthur if you like it crispier.
7. Serve hot.

Notes:

• To make Paneer- refer to the following post from the basic recipes section. http://cookeasy.wordpress.com/2006/11/05/make-paneer-at-home/
• To make 1/2 cup thick yogurt- put a little more 1/2 cut yogurt on the sieve and leave it in the fridge for about 1/2 an hour.
• The other indian spices are readiliy available in Indian Grocery stores.

To make 2 cups of Paneer:

1. Boil 1 litlre milk,
2. Mix 2 tbsp of white vinegar with 500 ml of water.
3. When milk reaches boiling point add the vinegar mixture to the milk. Lower the flame. Milk should start separating.
4. When the leftover water over becomes translucent drain the water and cover the milk mixture in a muslin cloth and leave it aside with some weight on it for about half an hour. Cut as desired.
5. Paneer is also readiliy available in Indian grocery stores.