When my mom shared this recipe with me the other day, I wanted to try it instantly. As it was late night I had to wait for the next day to give it a shot. I tweaked my mom’s recipe as her recipe called for chicken or meat and I made it vegetarian. I had cauliflower, so made a filling using cauliflower, potato and some seasonings which resembled to cutlet filling.. Rolled the cauliflower filling, wrapped it in bread slice and fried it. The fried rolls came out of the oil crispy and crunchy. This roll is supposed to be eaten when it is still warm, if it’s kept for a long time it would loose its crispiness. Hello, who’s going to wait for a long time to devour this? I am sure it’s going to be finished before you know.

You could make the filling with chicken or any other meat as well. Cauliflower and potato did give a meaty texture to the filling and the rolls tasted marvelous. A perfect evening snack, it would taste even more delish with a cup of hot cardamom tea.

Cauliflower Bread Rolls

Ingredients:

For making filling:

• Oil- 1 tbsp
• Cumin seeds- 1 tsp
• Cauliflower- 1 small chopped
• Onion, chopped small- 1
• Ginger-Garlic paste- 2 tsp
• Green chilly, chopped- 1 or 2
• Chilly powder- 1 tsp
• Turmeric powder- 1/4 tsp
• Coriander powder- 1 tsp
• Fennel powder- 1 1/2 tsp
• Garam masala- 1/2 tsp
• Water- 1/3 cup
• Potato large, cooked- 2 no’s
• Cilantro, chopped- 1/3 cup
• Salt- to taste

For stuffing:

• White Bread slices, cut off the sides- 1/roll
• Water- to dip the bread slice
• Vegetable oil- enough for frying

 Preparation:

• Wash a small cauliflower under running water, chop it with a knife into very small bite sizes.
• Place a large pan over medium heat, add oil, when it gets hot add cumin seeds, saute for a second.
• Add onion and salt saute till translucent, add ginger-garlic paste and green chillies, saute for a minute.
• Add chopped cauliflower to the onion, cover with the lid and cook till cauliflower turns very tender.
• You could add 1/3 cup water if the mixture turns dry and cook for some more time.
• Add chilly powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder, fennel powder and garam masala, combine well and cook for another 2 minutes.
• In the meantime, cook 2 large potatoes in the microwave or in boiling water till it has cooked well.
• Add the cooked potatoes to the cauliflower mix and mash the potatoes into the mix using a wooden spoon.
• Taste and add more salt if needed.
• Sprinkle cilantro over it. Let the filling cool down.
• Make small balls out of the cauliflower filling and keep aside.

How to wrap in bread:

• You need 1 bread slice for each rolls.
• Cut off the sides of the bread slices.
• Have a cup of water ready in a bowl.
• Dip the bread in water and take it out immediately.
• Don’t immerse the bread in water for long, you just need to dip it for a second and take it out.
• Squeeze the bread and remove any water from it.
• Spread the bread on a cutting board and place the cauliflower roll on to the center of the bread slice.
• Roll the bread slice over it, it will be like a glue so you could paste any gaps that is formed while rolling it.
• Repeat with the rest of the filling and keep aside in a plate.
• Heat a frying pan with enough oil for frying.
• When the oil turns hot, place the rolls into the oil and fry till it turns golden brown in color.
• Transfer to a paper towel and serve immediately when it is still warm.

Tips:

• You could use any of your favorite veggies: mushroom would be great too.
• You could even use chicken filling used for making cutlet, here is the recipe.

Gluten Free Version:

Waking up naturally to the sound of birds chirping and trees swaying, staying up late night and getting a sound sleep as soon as my head hits the pillow, these are some of the moments I enjoy during a long weekend. We are having a quite relaxing long weekend, with everyday motorcycle ride to the beach and other neighboring fun places. It was a few days ago I thought that finally summer is in its peak, and yesterday morning I woke up to heavy rain, thunderstorm and lightning. I was relived when the sky eventually turned blue and when the sun started to shine, which tempted us to hit the beach. We had a beautiful evening at the beach. On our way back home, all of a sudden dark clouds carpeted the sky, which in a split second poured down to heavy rain, the sky thundered and the lightning flashed. The rain didn’t seem to slow down and we continued our ride and enjoyed the ride in the rain. Hope everyone out there is having a fun weekend as well.

On Friday, while preparing a chicken dish for lunch, I saved some marinated chicken to fry later in the evening. When I took the chicken out of the refrigerator and was about to give it a fry, I had a second thought and my hands swiftly moved into the pantry and took the rice flour out of it. Coated the marinated chicken first with beaten egg whites, then with rice flour and I fried them in hot oil. Voila! an impromptu chicken nuggets were made. I was so thrilled to see the crispy chicken nuggets that came deep fried out of the oil. I then had a question raised in my mind: Where is the dipping sauce?

My eyes wandered into the pantry and refrigerator for some inspiration and I got hold of dates from the pantry. I was reminded of the dates chutney my mom always make to serve with biryani. I tweaked that recipe and made my own version of dates dipping sauce which I thought would be perfect for chicken nuggets. I added tamarind and chilly paste to the sauce which gave a sweet, sour and spicy taste to the dates sauce.

I wanted to make this chicken nuggets gluten free so that my husband can enjoy this, so I had to coat the chicken with rice flour. Chicken nuggets were crispy and the slightly spicy marination along with the dates dipping sauce made it an incredibly delicious evening snack. Of course, we both snacked till the last piece.

Chicken Nuggets

Ingredients:

• Chicken breasts, boneless, cubed- 1/2 pound
• Oil- enough for frying

For marination:

• Ginger-Garlic paste- 1 tsp
• Chilly powder- 1 tsp
• Turmeric powder- 1/8 tsp
• Garam masala- 1/2 tsp
• Fennel powder- 1 tsp
• Ground pepper- 1/4 tsp
• Salt- to taste
• Lemon juice- 1 tbsp

For coating:

• Rice flour- 1 cup
• Egg whites, beaten- of 2 eggs

Preparation:

• Marinade the chicken with the above mentioned ingredients for marination for 1-2 hours in the refrigerator.
• Spread the rice flour on a plate and beat the egg whites of 2 eggs in a bowl.
• Place a frying pan over medium heat, add enough oil for frying.
• Dip the chicken first in egg white and then coat it with rice flour.
• Deep fry the chicken till it gets golden brown and crispy.
• Transfer on a paper towel.
• Serve hot.

Dates Dipping Sauce

Ingredients:

• Dates, pitted- 12 no’s
• Tamarind juice- 3 tbsp
• Soy sauce- 1 tbsp
• Chilli paste- 1 tsp
• Water- 1/4 cup+1/4 cup
• Salt- to taste

Preparation:

• Combine dates and 1/4 cup water in a saucepan.
• Cook the dates till it gets mashed up.
• Soak 2 inch slice fresh tamarind in 3 tbsp warm water, squeeze the tamarind into the water and strain it.
• Add 3 tbsp of tamarind juice to the dates mixture and let the mixture come to a boil.
• If you are using concentrate tamarind paste, you wouldn’t need 3 tbsp, add little and taste it.
• Remove from the heat and let cool down.
• Grind the mixture in the blender.
• Add soy sauce, chilli paste, salt and 1/4 cup more water while grinding to smooth paste.
• Taste it, adjust the salt and spice level.
• Serve in a bowl along with the chicken nuggets.

This is the first time I made fritters out of okra. Fried okra in yogurt (Pachadi, a kerala side dish) is one of my favorite side dishes. Other than this I often make stir fries using okra. I don’t like to buy frozen okras, I need the okra to be fresh and crisp. Fresh okras are always available in some of the Indian stores and in Asian supermarkets.

You can find a lot of Indian recipes using okra. The other day, while searching for a kool okra recipe, I came across Vahchef’s Okra Jaipuri. It was an easy recipe and hence thought of trying it. I had chives too, so used both okra and chives to make the fritters. You could use just the okra.

Okra and Chive fritters:

Ingredients:

• Okra, evenly cut small- 2 cups
• Chives, evenly cut small- 1 bunch (8 stalks)
• Cumin seeds- 1 1/2 tsp
• Chilly powder- 1 tsp
• Vinegar- 2 tsp
• Gram Flour or Besan- 3/4 cup
• Water- little
• Salt- little
• Oil- enough for deep frying

Preparation:

Chives:

• Evenly cut the okra and chives, make it thin and small.
• Add cumin seeds, chilly powder, salt and toss well.
• Sprinkle vinegar on it.
• Add the gram flour and coat it evenly.
• Sprinkle little water to have the flour coat well on okra and chives.
• Heat a frying pan, add enough oil for frying.
• Fry the okra and chives in oil till golden brown.
• Transfer the fried fritters on a paper towel.
• Serve as a side dish or as a snack.

I’ve always loved participating in this joust which makes me think and cook something out of the box, each time with different ingredients. When I found out that the joust is back after a short break I felt quite thrilled. It’s obvious from the name of this post that the two of the ingredients for this joust are spinach and cheese. And the third ingredient is egg. I screamed out of joy seeing these ingredients for this month’s joust, as this time I don’t have to do any special shopping. I felt I had so many ways to combine these simple ingredients, but when it came to real cooking I felt quite challenged.

As one of the ingredients is egg, first thought that hit me was to combine everything and make an omelet, that would be the easiest dish I could ever make with these ingredients. On second thought, I felt this is a joust and I’ve to be creative and should come up with something unusual.

While peeping into my freezer I came across puff pastry sheets and I grabbed them out as the first step. I got inspired by the recipe given on the pepperidge farm puff pastry box which called for spinach, eggs and cheese. I made few changes and made my own spinach cheese rolls. I’ve been a puff pastry lover ever since I was a kid. When it was stuffed with spinach and cheese it tasted even more delicious. It’s crispy, crunchy and makes a perfect evening snack or for brunch just like the sweet puff pastry.

I am off to India for two months. I can’t wait to spend time with my wonderful family and my cute niece. So in India it’s going to be “cooking with my mom” for the next two months. Well, this is so not true, it’s going to be “Thas gobbling up mom’s yummy food”. Whenever I get a chance I’ll post more recipes from India. Till then, everyone have fun cooking and baking!

Spinach Cheese Rolls

Ingredients

• Puff Pastry sheet- 1
• Egg- 1
• Ground cinnamon- 1/4 tsp
• Grated Parmesan cheese- 1/2 cup
• Raisins or dried cranberries(optional)- 2 tbsp
• Spinach, frozen or fresh- 1/2 bag

Preparation:

• If you are using frozen puff pastry sheet, thaw the sheet at room temperature for about 30 minutes or so.
• Preheat oven to 400 F.
• Lightly grease 2 baking sheets.
• Beat egg and ground cinnamon using a hand whisk and keep aside.

• If using frozen spinach, thaw and drain it well.
• If using fresh spinach, rinse it under running water and pat dry it.
• Place the puff pastry sheet on a floured surface.

• Brush the top of the sheet with egg and cinnamon mixture.

• Top with grated parmesan cheese.

• Spread spinach and raisin over the cheese layer.

• Roll up the puff pastry sheet.

• Cut the roll into 1/2 inch slices.

• Arrange the slices on the baking sheets.

• Brush the slices with egg mixture.
• Bake for 15 minutes or until golden.

• Flip the rolls to the other side and bake for another 3-5 minutes, make sure not to burn the rolls.
• Serve immediately while it’s warm.

Crispy, crunchy Jack fruit chips fried by my mom in a different continent, packed well and saw off at the Trivandrum airport, waited in many lines to go through the security clearance in couple of airports, after 24 hours of flying, finally it reached me safe and sound in another continent…

I lack words to describe how much pleasure I had while devouring each one of these chips. None of the food I had in the past 4 years can stand face to face with this jackfruit chips fried by my mom. While having each fries I felt the love and care with which my mom had fried it. There wasn’t even a single burned or limp chips. All of the chips were fried to perfection and tasted way better than the store bought ones. That’s what happens when you do with love and care, you’ll never go wrong.

Jack Fruit chips is my favorite fried snack. If you are in Kerala and if you get the craving for jackfruit chips, you don’t have to rush to any nearby store to get it. You could pluck the raw fruit from the tree, which is found in almost every backyard and then fry it in your kitchen. In less than an hour, you will be seen sitting among the jackfruit chips and the melodious sound of chewing the crispy chips will break any silence in the house and brings a festive mood.

During jackfruit season, home made jack fruit chips are found in almost every house, stored in an airtight container. Knowing this is my favorite snack, my grandma used to fry whenever she finds the right jackfruit for frying. It never lasted even for a day, I would snatch the bags and will devour it even after my tongue gets stiff by over chewing. And I turn into a selfish eater when jackfruit chips are in front of me. Homemade chips always tasted well than the store bought ones. So, in my house we never bought these from the store, all you get in my house is home made fresh and crispy jack fruit chips fried by my mom:)

More about Jack Fruits: an excellent vegetarian substitute for meat. In fact, canned jackfruit (in brine) is sometimes referred to as “vegetable meat”.

For frying, you need to have the right raw jackfruit, especially raw firm ones which are suitable for frying. There are many varieties of jackfruit, two general types are soft fleshed and firm fleshed. The firm fleshed type is highly tasty, sweet and crisp. In South India, they are called Koozha chakka (the fruits of which have small, fibrous, soft, mushy, but very sweet carpels) and Koozha pazham (more important commercially, with crisp carpers of high quality known as Varika) respectively.

In Asia, jackfruits ripen principally from March to June, April to September, or June to August, depending on the climatic region, with some off-season crops from September to December, or a few fruits at other times of the year. In the West Indies, many ripen in June; in Florida, the season is late summer and fall.

This blog post is extra special to me, as these jack fruit chips are fried by my mom and I am honor-bound to share the recipe of this simple yet tasty jack fruit chips to all my dear readers and foodie friends.

Mom’s Jackfruit Chips

Ingredients:

• Raw jack fruit- 1 whole fruit or half (depending upon your needs)
• Turmeric powder- 1/2 tsp
• Salt- to taste
• Water- 3 tbsp
• Vegetable oil- enough for deep frying

Preparation:

• If using fresh jackfruit, it’s a good idea to oil your knife and hands first before cutting, as the fruit has sticky latex in it.
• First cut the fruit into half and remove the central core from it.
• Pull out the flesh bulbs from the rag and remove the seeds from it.
• Cut the fruit into thin long wedges; make sure to cut all the fruits evenly for better frying.
• Combine the turmeric powder, salt and water in a small bowl and keep aside.
• Heat a deep fryer or a frying pan in medium-high, add enough oil for frying, wait till the oil is heated through, add the cut fruits and fry it stirring constantly.
• While frying, add about 1/2 tsp of turmeric, water, and salt mix and give it a stir.
• When adding the turmeric mix, step back as the oil will bubble up making a slight sound; don’t panic, it will settle down soon.
• Fry until the chips turn golden brown and transfer it to a platter with paper towel on it.
• When it cools down, don’t even wait for another second, grab a handful and start chewing the crispy chips.
• If you find that you are being selfish and feel like emptying the chips ASAP – it’s quite natural, it happens to me all the time : P

Start your New Year with these cinnamon raisin rolls fresh from the oven, and you will be sweet like these rolls for the entire 2010…

When I baked these rolls, my house was filled with the aromatic and mesmerizing aroma of cinnamon. I couldn’t help but keep inhaling all the aroma that I even forgot to exhale. Cinnamon rolls are my favorite, the flavor of cinnamon is really addictive that I can just live on cinnamon rolls for few days, no kidding. I’ve never tried making cinnamon rolls in my kitchen, as I thought it was kind of tricky to make the perfect rolls. So I always get these from Cinnabon, which are usually found in the shopping malls. But, couple of days ago, I suddenly had the craving for these rolls, it was on a late snowy night. In order to fulfill my late night cinnamon roll craving, I didn’t have any other choice but to bake it in my oven. I found a really good recipe for making these and without any further pondering I got indulged in baking. It wasn’t that hard as I thought, but had to wait an hour long and an extra 45 minutes for the dough to rise. Finally, when I curiously had the first bite of this roll, I felt that the wait was absolutely worthy. I had 3 rolls in a single sitting and this kind of abated my craving.

Cinnamon rolls with the hint of raisins and topped with the vanilla-sugary glaze on it was beyond my taste buds expectation.

Cinnamon Raisin Rolls:

• Recipe Courtesy: Rachael Ray
• Preparation: 45 Min(plus rising)
• Bake: 25 Min

Ingredients:

For making the Dough:

• Dried Yeast- 1/2 ounce( 2 envelopes)
• Lukewarm water-1/2 cup
• Milk- 3/4 cup
• Butter, melted-7 tbsp
• Granulated sugar-3/4 cup
• Egg, large-1
• Salt- 1tsp
• All purpose Flour- 4 to 4 1/2 cups
• Light Brown Sugar-1 cup
• Ground Cinnamon- 2 tbsp
• Raisins-3/4 cup

For making the Sugar-vanilla  Glaze:

• Confectioners sugar-2 cups
• Milk- 3 tbsp
• Vanilla Extract-1/4 tsp

Preparation of the Dough:

• Combine the yeast and lukewarm water and set aside for 10 minutes.

• In a small saucepan, heat 3/4 cup milk over medium-low heat.
• In a large bowl, combine 4 tbsp melted butter and the warm milk.

• Using a standing mixer fitted with a dough hook, mix the dissolved yeast into the milk-butter mixture on low speed.
• Mix in 1/2 cup granulated sugar, the egg and salt.



• Add 4 cups flour, 1/2 cup at a time, and mix until smooth.

• If the dough is sticky, add up to 1/2 cup more flour.
• Knead the dough on a floured surface for 5 minutes.
• Place in a bowl, cover with the plastic wrap and let rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

• Stir together the brown sugar, the remaining 1/4 cup granulated sugar and the cinnamon.

• On a floured surface, roll out the dough to form a 12-by -24-inch rectangle.

• Brush with the remaining 3 tbsp melted butter and sprinkle the brown sugar mixture and raisins on top.
• Starting with the long side, roll up the dough jelly roll style, then cut into 1- inch slices.

• Place in greased baking sheets, let rise for 45 minutes.

• Preheat the oven to 350F. Bake the rolls until golden, about 25 minutes.

Making the Vanilla-Sugar Glaze:

• Stir together the confectioners sugar, vanilla and remaining 3 tbsp milk.
• Drizzle this glaze over the rolls taken from the oven, serve warm.

Tips:

• Knead the dough until really smooth for 5 minutes so that the resulting cinnamon rolls will be soft.
• Drizzle the Vanilla-sugar glaze according to your needs, the more the tastier.

Gift your dear ones with these homemade Chocolate cookies topped with not one but two goodies: marshmallows and chocolate frosting, for this Christmas…

If you are still looking for a cookie recipe to make for this Christmas, you can now stop looking, get into your kitchen and start baking these phenomenal chocolate cookies topped with marshmallows and chocolate frosting. From kids to adults, are going to go wild for this cookie.

Today, I attended the cookie meet up group and met some incredible foodies who are passionate about food and cooking. As cookie was the theme for the meet up, I had to search for some fun cookie recipes online and within seconds I bumped into many, after browsing through few recipes I settled down on these eye-popping cookies. I picked these cookies as these are topped with extra goodies: marshmallows and chocolate frosting. As soon as I came across this recipe in Martha Stewart website, I couldn’t wait any longer to make this. It was last night that I baked these and got wildly excited when it came out good. It was soft and velvety inside with a bold look outside, marshmallow made it even more delish and the chocolate frosting made it insanely yummy.

Chocolate Marshmallow cookies:

Yields: 22 cookies

Ingredients:

• All-purpose flour-1 3/4 cups
• Cocoa powder- 3/4 cup
• Baking soda- 1/2 tsp
• Salt-1/2 tsp
• Butter, unsalted, softened-1/2 cup (1 stick)
• Sugar-1 cup
• Egg, large-1
• Milk-1/2 cup
• Pure vanilla extract- 1 tsp
• 12 large marshmallows, cut in half horizontally
• Chocolate frosting- 1 cup, recipe follows

Preparation:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
  
• In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt; keep aside.

• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
• Add egg, milk, and vanilla, and beat until well combined. Add reserved flour mixture; mix on low speed until combined.

• Using a tablespoon or 1 3/4-inch ice cream scoop, drop dough onto a greased baking sheets, about 2 inches apart.
• Place the baking sheets on the middle rack in the oven and bake until cookies begin to spread and become firm, about 10 minutes.

• Remove baking sheets from oven, and place a marshmallow, cut-side down, in the center of each cookie, pressing down slightly.
• Return to oven, and continue baking until marshmallows begins to melt, for 2 minutes.
• Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely before topping the frosting.

• Spread about 1 tablespoon of chocolate frosting (recipe follows) over each marshmallow, starting in the center and continuing outward until marshmallow is covered.

Chocolate Frosting:

Ingredients:

• Confectioners’ sugar- 2 cups
• Butter, melted and cooled- 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick)
• Cocoa powder-1/4 cup
• Milk-1/4 cup
• Pure vanilla extract- 1/2tsp

Preparation:

• Place confectioners’ sugar in a medium bowl.
• Add butter and cocoa powder.
• Whisk the butter, cocoa powder and sugar together using a hand mixer.
• Add milk and vanilla, and whisk until well combined and soft peaks are formed.

Tips:

• If you don’t have an electric mixer, you can use hand mixer instead.
• If you are not fond of marshmallows, avoid that and top the cookie with just the chocolate frosting.
• The cookies taste incredible with the chocolate frosting, so don’t skip making the frosting.

“When CHUKKAPPAM and CHICKEN FRY were united in the holy matrimonial”…

Nobody knew they would reign the hearts of so many snack freaks, irrespective of their taste buds, appetite or desire.  If you are someone who knows about Chukkappam, you might as well know that Chukkappam and chicken fry got married, date and venue still uncertain, it would have happened some centuries ago for sure. And still they are together and leading a happy blissful married life. An ideal couple in the food world, their everlasting relationship and love is looked upon with much respect and envy by almost all other couples.

A Crispy, Crunchy, Spicy, button shaped snack, often visited my house along with my grandma. When my maternal grand parents visited us, we could blindly expect many snacks, made by my grandma from scratch. My grandma would start frying and cooking snacks and other sweet treats for her grand children, as soon as she gets her dates confirmed to visit us. We never had to give her our favorite list of what we wanted, she read our mind with so much ease and clarity even at that old age. When she comes, we never got disappointed, everyone would get their favorite snacks and treats we had craved for. All the time, she brought a huge bag packed just with snacks that she had made. In that snack bag, one snack we would find at any cost was “Chukkappam”. And the amazing part was, she never forgot to bring the the chicken fry, to chew along with this crispy goodness. According to her, chukkappam is incomplete without chicken fry and she was always right about this. Next thing we the snack freaks did was, with lightning speed we would unwrap all the snacks and devour each and every snack. The sound of cracking and chewing the crunchy snacks would fill the house and I often found this as a melody to my ears. We ate until our mouth got stiff and no longer able to open wide for any further chewing

Besides my grandma frying and packing this snack for us while visiting us, I also have a vivid memory of all my family members making this snack on almost all family reunion. During summer holidays, all the 7 amazing children of my grandparents gathered at my grand parents house(Tharavadu). I don’t have to write much about how it would be when everyone met under one roof. After few minutes of hugging, kissing and greeting, we all would fall into the grant celebration mood. All the ladies, would automatically fled in to the kitchen, they will be seen busy with cooking and frying their specialties. For them, this was the perfect opportunity to prove their culinary expertise and to earn few credits from others. On the other side, super lazy male beings would be undoubtedly seen resting on the couch in the living room, mostly whining about their work and boss and almost everything in the world, and some of them were even found dozing off as soon as they hit on the couch, for an extra crunch they even add their musical note of snooringg..( I often used to think, Goshh..why are these male beings all alike and my thinking still continues..). Teenagers, trying hard to show off their fashion sense and endlessly boasting about how they made guys go crazy over them, would stick together under a different fantasy roof. Needless to say, I would be the caption of this group. Kids, would be seen roaming around in between all the above 3 groups.

In those days of family reunion, the aroma and the flavor from the cooking and frying happening in the kitchen would spread the entire house and eventually everyone would be seen crowding in the kitchen. Kitchen was the center of attraction or the hot spot in my grandparents house, especially during such gatherings. Even now I remember, how everyone gathered around the huge table in the kitchen to make Chukkappam, this being the favorite snack of all the family members. Everyone volunteered actively in different activities. Some were seen kneading the dough, few rolling the dough, many shaping up the dough and others frying the Chukkappam. My grandma gave special instructions and tips to everyone. Even the kids were enthusiastic in shaping the dough. I get super excited during those occasions and hence will be seen volunteering in all possible activities. Finally, when the Chukkappam, comes out deep fried out of the bubbling hot oil, it would get a special place on the middle of the table and in no time everyone starts snacking it. This would continue until all the snacks were fried, gobbled and if any left they would be stored. Those were the sleepless nights of fun, snacking, cooking and entertainment.

Now when I look back, one thing that continues to amaze me, is the unity with which all the family members made Chukkappam, and how everyone stood as one solid group without any debates and arguments while making Chukkappam. When I made Chukkappam in my kitchen for the first time, I was all alone, but these memories are still with me as if it had happened yesterday…

I dedicate this blog post to all my wonderful family members…

Chukkappam:

Ingredients:

• Rice Flour, roasted- 1 3/4 cups
• Coconut milk- 1 can, 13.5 fl oz (400ml)
• Garam masala-3/4 tsp
• Chilly powder-1 3/4 tsp
• Fennel powder- 2 1/2 tsp
• Ginger/Garlic paste- 1 tsp
• Curry leaves- 5/6
• Rice flour- 1/2 cup ( while kneading)
• Egg- 1
• Vegetable oil- for deep frying

Preparation:

• Combine, Coconut milk, Garam masala, Chilly powder, fennel powder, Ginger/garlic paste, Curry leaves in a deep bottomed large pan/vessel.
• Heat the above mixture, when the coconut milk starts to boil, add the 1 3/4 cups rice flour and mix everything with the back of the wooden spoon, until well incorporated.

• Let this mixture cool down.
• Combine, 1/2 cup Rice flour and 1 Egg together and keep it aside.

• When the flour/coconut mixtures cools down, start kneading it with clean hands.
• Add Riceflour/egg mixure to this while kneadingand continue kneading to make a soft and smooth dough.
• You have to knead the dough thoroughly to make it soft and smooth.

• Discard the curry leaves from the dough and add the curry leaves in the oil while frying, this gives nice flavor to Chukkappam.
• Make long thin strips out of the dough.

• Take each long strips and make very small balls out of it, flatten each balls in between the palm of your hands to give it a button shape.

• Make uniform and small button shapes out of the dough, this helps to cook it evenly.
• You could even make different shapes out of this dough, you could even roll the flattened balls on a veggie grater to give it a different shape; button shape being the classic shape of Chukkappam.

• Once all the dough is made into button shapes, deep fry it in batches.

• Fry until it turns golden brown and inside is cooked through. Check whether the inside is cooked through by tasting one of the Chukkappams from each batch.
  
• Transfer the fried Chukkappams on a paper towel.

• Let cool and begin snacking with Chicken Fry.

Tips:

• Use roasted Rice flour, you can roast it in the oven at 350 F for 10-15 minutes or roast it on stove top on a wide wok or pan.
• Knead the dough really well until soft and well incorporated.
• Make uniform button shapes out of the dough, it helps in even frying.
• Store it in an air tight container and it will stay longer.

It’s munch time..

If there’s anyone who hates to munch, then they should try this crunchy, chewy biscotti filled with almonds, coconut and chocolates. Every bite makes you trip into the the delish world.This was the first time I baked biscotti, as soon as I got the recipe, one glance at the recipe and the ingredients it had, made me wait for not even a single second and there I started baking this. I love almonds and coconut in almost anything, oh yeah not to miss the chocolate goodness. You could make this just for you or if you are having a tea party this would be the perfect biscotti to have with coffee or tea. This will soon become the favorite snack of your family. This recipe is adapted from the magazine”Fine Cooking”.

So let’s trip into the delish world with these biscotti…

Ingredients:

• Unbleached All-purpose flour-2 1/2 cups
• Baking powder-1 1/2 tsp
• Table salt-1/4 tsp
• Unsalted butter, softened-1/2 cup(4 oz)
• Firmly packed light brown sugar-3/4 cup
• Eggs( at room temperature)-2
• Vanilla extract-1 tsp
• Sweetened shredded coconut-1/2 cup
• Chopped toasted almonds-1cup
• Semisweet mini chocolate chips or chocolate bar, cut into small slices-1 cup

Preparation:

• In  a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt.
• Beat the butter and sugar with a hand mixer or in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, on medium speed until light and fluffy, 2 to 3  minutes.
• Add the eggs one at a time, mixing on medium speed after each addition until incorporated.
• Mix in the vanilla and then the coconut until well combined.
• With the mixer on low speed, gradually add the flour mixture and mix just until combined. The dough will be sticky.
• With the mixer still on low, mix in the almonds and chocolates chips.
• Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

• Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 350F. Line a large cookie sheet with parchment.
• Divide the dough into equal halves and place on the cookie sheet.
• Working on the sheet, shape each half into a loaf about 10 inches long, 3 inches wide, 3/4inch high.

• Bake until the tops are browned, cracked and crusty and spring back slightly when gently pressed, 30 to 35 minutes.
• Take out of the oven and cool about 30 minutes on the cookie sheet.

• Reduce the oven temperature to 325F.
• Transfer each loaf to a cutting board and with a sharp serrated bread knife, cut 1/2 inch slices crosswise on the diagonal.
• When slicing, hold the sides of the loaf near each cut to keep the slices neat.

• Put the slices cut side down on the cookie sheet and bake again at 325F, until the biscotti are dried and the cut surfaces are lightly browned, 15 to 20 minutes.
• Transfer the cookie sheet to a rack and let the biscotti cool completely.

• The biscotti will harden as they cool.

Tips:

This recipe yields about 20 biscotti, store in an air tight container and it will stay longer.

Cheesy, Crispy, Crunchy Samosas…..

If someone asks me what was my favorite snack while growing up, I would say instantly without any further pondering: Samosas. Yes, this was and is my favorite snack, especially to munch on in the evenings along with a cup of hot tea. This crispy, crumbly triangle shaped stuffed pastry with either veggie or non-veg filling gained a special place in my heart. My mom used to make this most of the days, especially on weekdays so that my sis and me could have this after coming from school. On those days, coming back from school, first thing I did was to rush into the kitchen and eat the samosas, it was hard for me to stop with just 2 or 3. I ate as if I were on a samosa eating competition. If I had participated in a real competition, I would have won for sure. Most of the times I fought with my sis over the last one. Many times I won the fight, but my conscious wouldn’t let me have it all by myself, so had to share with my sis, and this made the last samosa taste the best.

This snack is often considered as the street-smart snack in India, sold by street vendors. Not just sold on streets, there wouldn’t be any cafeteria without samosas on their menu, mostly placed on a huge tray piled up with this crispy treats. As soon as we enter the cafeteria, our eyes would start starring at this and the order will be placed in no time.  Now this doesn’t limit on just streets or cafeteria, this can be found on the menu of any fine dining restaurants as well. Without a question, samosas have become the favorite snack of all.

I usually make samosas with non-veg filling, here is the recipe for non-veg filling: http://thasneen.com/cooking/stuffed-poori/

But this time I wanted to make the filling in a totally different way. Hence I made a cheesy filling for my samosas. Here are the step-by-step instructions for making the pastry and the filling.

For making the Filling:

• Onion chopped-1
• Green pepper, chopped-1/2
• Canned corn, rinsed-1/2 of the can
• Jalapeno chopped-1
• Garlic mined- 1tsp
• Ground cumin-1tsp
• Ground coriander-1tsp
• Ground black pepper-1/2 tsp
• Cheddar cheese shredded-1/2 cup
• Cilantro chopped-1 handful
• Salt- to taste
• Oil- 2 tbsp
• Vegetable oil for frying

Preparation:

• In a large skillet, heat 2 tbsp oil over medium heat.
• Add onion, salt and saute till translucent.
• Add garlic and jalapeno to this and saute for few minutes.
• Add green pepper and corn to this and let it cook.
• Now add, ground cumin, ground coriander, ground pepper and give it a stir.
• Add cilantro to this.
• Finally add the cheddar cheese and mix everything well.
• Turn off the flame and close it with the lid until we make the dough.

To make the Dough:

• All-purpose flour or Maida- 1.5 cups
• Salt- 1/4 tsp
• Water- enough for kneading the flour

Method:

• In a large bowl, combine flour and salt.
• Add water little by little and knead the flour, add only just enough water to make a soft dough.
• Add oil to this, combine well, wrap it and set aside for 20 minutes.

• After 20 minutes, make small lemon size balls out of the dough.

• On a floured surface roll each balls into a thin circle using rolling pins.

• On a flat skillet or tawa, heat the rolled dough on both sides, just for a second.
• Don’t over heat the rolled dough, edges should be still soft.

• Cut the heated rounds into 2 halves.

Making the Glue:

1. All-purpose flour- 1tbsp
2. Water- little

• Mix flour and water together and make it into a smooth paste. It shouldn’t be watery.
• Working with 1 piece at a time, apply the above glue on half of the cut edge.
• Form cone shape by overlapping the cut edges.

• Fill the cone with 1 tbsp of veggie-cheese mixture.

• Apply glue on top inside edges of pastry; press to seal. Trim jagged edges. Crimp with fork if needed.

• In a wok or deep saucepan, heat oil to 350°F.

• Fry samosas in batches until golden in color about 4 minutes.
• Remove to paper towel–lined tray.
• Serve Warm with tomato ketchup or with the quick salad.

Tips:

• For a healthy version, use fat free cheddar cheese and bake at 350F for 20-25 minutes