AUTHOR: dassana RECIPE TYPE: main CUISINE: indo chinese PREP TIME: 40 mins COOK TIME: 20 mins TOTAL TIME: 1 hour
indo chinese recipe of veg manchurian. INGREDIENTS (measuring cup used, 1 cup = 250 ml) for the veg manchurian balls:
1 cup grated carrot
1 cup finely chopped cabbage
½ cup finely chopped bell pepper
¼ cup finely chopped spring onion/scallion greens
½ tsp freshly crushed black pepper or black pepper powder or white pepper powder
2 tbsp all purpose flour/maida
2 tbsp cornflour
salt to taste
for the sauce:
2 tbsp onion or spring onion/scallion whites chopped
1 tbsp finely chopped celery (optional)
1 tbsp ginger/adrak
1 tbsp garlic/lahsun
1 or 2 green chilies/hari mirch
1 tbsp corn flour dissolved in 2 tbsp water
½ tbsp soya sauce
½ tbsp vinegar - i used balsamic vinegar
1 or 1.5 cup water or vegetable stock
½ tsp freshly crushed black pepper or black pepper powder or white pepper powder
salt to taste
sugar to taste
some chopped spring onion/scallion greens for garnishing
INSTRUCTIONS Preparing the veg manchurian balls:
mix all the ingredients listed under veg balls.
keep aside for 15-20 minutes.
shape into small round balls and shallow fry or deep fry till golden browned on a moderately hot oil.
drain on kitchen tissues and keep aside.
Preparing the sauce:
heat oil. fry the onions, ginger, garlic, chilies, celery on a high flame. there is no need to brown them.
add water or veg stock. add soy sauce, crushed black pepper,
mix well and add let the sauce simmer for 1-2 minutes.
add the cornflour paste to thicken the sauce.
thicken the sauce to your desired consistency.
add vinegar, salt, sugar and the fried veg balls. stir and simmer for a minute.
serve veg manchurian garnished with spring onion greens.
NOTES
The best part of any chinese dish is you can change the consistency as per your liking. if you want a thin consistency, add some veg broth or water. if you want a thick consistency, add a few teaspoons of corn flour paste. this dish thickens after it cools down. so when reheating you may have to add some water.
Ihave not added any msg to the recipe. if you want a more restaurant style effect, you can do so. but a word of caution. msg or mono sodium glutamate is not good for the health.
Remember to fry the veg balls on medium heat. if they are fried on a high heat, then the outside will get cooked and the inside will be not cooked leaving a doughy taste in the mouth.
If they are fried on a low heat, they will absorb oil and this will make them oily and soggy.
I like the sweet sour taste of indo chinese food and hence i have added sugar to the recipe.
Also as the soy sauce i use does not have any sugar added to it. you may avoid this or check the ingredients list in your soy sauce if sugar is there in it or not. you can also add tomato sauce for some tang and sweetness.
This soup tastes similar to a potato cheese soup, but it is lighter and better for you with all of the vegetables in there. I think cauliflower would be an amazing addition to this soup, but it is still on my list of things to experiment with. This is really yummy and perfect for lunch or dinner. Vegetable Cheese Chowder
4 cans, or 64 oz. chicken broth
4 cups water
1 bunch of broccoli, finely chopped
4 medium potatoes, finely diced
4 stalks celery, finely diced
1 small onion, diced
4 carrots, shredded or finely diced
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
2 cans evaporated milk (or I just use 2 cups regular milk)
2 1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
Method:-
Flour and water, one part flour to two parts water to thicken
Combine chicken broth and water in large soup pot and add diced vegetables. Simmer until the vegetables are tender. Add 2 cans evaporated milk.
Combine 1/2 cup flour with 1 cup water in a separate bowl and mix well with a whisk until all lumps are gone. Stir in flour and water mixture into vegetable broth mixture until bubbly. You may continue to thicken as needed.
When it has thickened to your liking, cook and stir one minute more to completely cook the flour, then simmer 15-20 minutes longer.
Add 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese. Simmer until cheese melts. Makes 16 one cup servings.
You may garnish with crumbled bacon on top, and serve with peasant bread.
The capital of India is one of the best place to have street foods, Delhi offers variety of road side food and stalls. Chole bhature is a Punjabi dish but very popular in major urban cities of India. Delhi is well famous for best chole bhature, commonly eaten for break fast or snacks other famous road side food from Delhi are rajma chawal, prathe and most famous mouth watering snacks item chaat.
Chole Bhature:- by SANJEEV KAPOOR.
Ingredients: For Chole:
2 cup – Boiled chickpeas
2 tsp – Oil
1 – Bay leaf
3-4 – Cloves
1 tsp – Ajwain
3 – Cardamom
1 – Cinnamon stick
1 tsp – Whole black pepper
1 cup – Chopped tomatoes
1 cup – Chopped onions
1 – Chopped green chili
1 tsp – Chopped ginger
1 tsp – Chopped garlic
1 tsp – Turmeric powder
1 tsp – Coriander powder
1 tsp – Cumin powder
1 tsp – Cumin seeds
1 tsp – Chili powder
1/2 tsp – Asafoetida
1 tsp – Lime juice
1 Tbsp – Butter
Salt to taste
Chopped green coriander For Bhatures:
3 cups – All purpose flour
2 tbsp – Baking powder
10 tbsp – Thick yogurt
4-5 tbsp – Warm water
3 tbsp – Vegetable oil
Salt to taste
3 cups – Oil
Procedure: For Chole:
Heat a pan and add oil, bay leaf, cinnamon, cumin seeds, cloves, black pepper and cardamom.
Once it gets brown, add chopped onions and saute it.
After sometime add chopped ginger, garlic and green chilies.
Add turmeric, chilli powder, coriander powder, cumin powder, asafoetida, salt, ajwain and fry them well.
Add chopped tomatoes and fry it.
Add chole to masala, add water and let it simmer for sometime.
Add lime juice and butter.
Garnish it with chopped coriander leaves.
For Bhatures:
Take a big bowl and mix all purpose flour, salt and baking powder together.
Add oil, yogurt and warm water.
Combine all and knead it for 15 to 20 minutes.
Cover it with cloth and keep in humid place for 2 hours.
Make medium size balls and make small round shape thick rotis.
Heat oil in frying pan. Gently place bhatures and fry them one by one on medium heat.
Adai, an all-time favourite South Indian snack , comprises a mix of different dals soaked and ground along with rice and spices to make a batter, which is cooked into thick pancakes. Add Adai to your meal to elevate the protein quotient to great heights!
Ingredients
1/2 cup raw rice (chawal)
1/4 cup toovar (arhar) dal
1/4 cup chana dal (split bengal gram)
1/4 cup urad dal (split black lentils)
5 to 6 whole dry kashmiri red chillies , broken into pieces
a pinch of asafoetida (hing)
2 tbsp freshly grated coconut
1/4 cup grated carrot
1/4 cup finely chopped cabbage
1/2 cup finely chopped onions
1/4 cup finely chopped coriander (dhania)
1 tbsp finely chopped curry leaves (kadi patta)
salt to taste
3 3/4 tsp oil for cooking
Method
Clean, wash and soak the rice, dals and dry red chillies in enough water for 2 hours.
Drain and blend in a mixer to a coarse paste using approx. 1¼ cups of water.
Transfer the mixture into a deep bowl, add all the remaining ingredients and mix well.
Heat a non-stick tava (griddle), sprinkle a little water on the tava (griddle) and wipe it off gently using a muslin cloth.
Pour a ladleful of the batter on it and spread it in a circular motion to make a 175 mm. (7”) diameter thin circle.
Smear ¼ tsp of oil over it and along the edges and cook on a medium flame till the adai turns golden brown in colour and crisp.
Turnover and cook on another side as well.
Fold over to make a semi-circle.
Repeat with the remaining batter to make 14 more adais.
chicken 185 gramsChicken thighs - boneless skinless (~1 large thigh cut into bite-size pieces)
2 teaspoons Oyster sauce
1 teaspoon Shaoxing wine
1/4 teaspoon Black pepper
1/4 teaspoon Potato starch
1/8 teaspoon Five spice powder
chow mein sauce
1 tablespoon Water
1 tablespoon Oyster sauce
2 teaspoons Soy sauce
chow mein
1 tablespoon Vegetable oil
1 grams Garlic (~ 1 small clove minced) 40 grams
Carrots (~1/4 carrot peeled and julienned)
100 grams Bok choy (~1 head chopped) 325 grams
Ramen noodles - fresh (see note below par boiled) 20 grams
Scallions (~2 scallions sliced)
STEPS
Put the chicken thighs, 2 teaspoons oyster sauce, Shaoxing, black pepper, potato starch and five spice powder in a small bowl and mix well to combine. Let the chicken marinate while you prepare the other ingredients.
To make the chow mein sauce, put the water, oyster sauce and soy sauce in a small bowl and stir to combine.
Heat a wok or frying pan over medium-high heat until hot and then add the vegetable oil, marinated chicken and garlic. Spread the chicken into a single layer. Let the chicken brown and then flip.
As soon as you flip the chicken, add the carrots. Stir-fry until the chicken is cooked through and the carrots are tender.
Add the bok choy, noodles and sauce. If your noodles are stuck together, add a little extra water with the sauce, cover the pan with a lid and steam the noodles until they come apart. Otherwise stir-fry, until the bok choy is cooked through and the noodles are evenly coated with sauce.
Add the scallions, toss to distribute evenly and then serve immediately.
Bhatoora, bhatura or batoora, is a fluffy deep-fried leavened bread from North India. It is often eaten with chickpea curry, chole or channe, making the traditional dish chole bhature. INGREDIENTS (measuring cup used, 1 cup = 250 ml)
1.5 cups maida or all purpose flour
⅓ cup sooji/rava/fine semolina or ½ cup rice flour
½ tbsp oil or ghee
½ tbsp fine sugar
½ tsp salt or as required
¼ tsp or ½ tsp baking soda
½ cup yogurt/dahi
water for kneading as required
oil for deep frying
INSTRUCTIONS
Sieve the maida/all purpose flour with baking soda and salt.
Add the sooji and sugar. mix well. add the yogurt and mix again.
Add very little water, just about ½ tbsp and begin to knead.
Knead the dough, adding water as required. make a smooth and soft dough.
Cover the dough with a wet napkin and keep aside for 2 hours.
Heat oil in a kadai or pan for deep frying.
Make small to medium sized balls from the dough.
Roll the balls between your palms to make them even.
Keep the balls covered with the wet kitchen napkin.
Take a ball and flatten them. apply oil on both sides and with a rolling pin roll, the ball into oval or elongated shape.
Make neither thick nor thin bhaturas.
Rotate the rolling board while rolling the bhatura as it much easier than lifting it, since we are not using flour to roll them.
When the oil is hot enough, place the rolled bhatura gently into the oil. the bhatura will puff up.
Aid in puffing the bhatura by appling light pressure on it with a slotted spoon.
When the oil stops sizzling, turn oven and fry the other side.
When the bhatura is light golden, remove and drain on kitchen paper towels.
PREP TIME: 30 mins COOK TIME: 15 mins TOTAL TIME: 45 mins SERVES: 1-2 INGREDIENTS (measuring cup used, 1 cup = 250 ml) Main ingredients:
½ cup fine variety of rava or sooji, 100 grams
½ cup water
3 tsp lemon juice
¼ tsp baking soda or ⅛ tsp eno (fruit salt)
salt as per taste
oil or ghee for greasing the pan & drizzling
optional ingredients:
1 small onion, chopped or 5 to 6 pearl onions, thinly sliced
1 small tomato, chopped
1 green chili, finely chopped
INSTRUCTIONS
Mix the rava and water in a bowl.
Keep the batter to rest for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile when the batter is resting, you can slice or chop the onions, tomatoes and green chilies.
Mix the chopped veggies and keep aside.
After 30 minutes, stir the batter again.
Then add 3 tsp lemon juice, salt and ¼ tsp baking soda or ⅛ tsp eno (fruit salt).
Stir and mix very well.
Heat a tawa or griddle and spread some oil. you can also use a non stick pan.
Take the batter in a large serving spoon.
Pour the batter and spread it gently. don't spread too much.
When the batter is still raw from the top, add the onions-tomatoes-green chilies mix. gently press the onions-tomatoes with the spatula, so that they stick to the batter.
Drizzle some oil on the sides and the top.
When the base is cooked and lightly browned, flip gently.
Cook till the onions and tomatoes are light golden or golden.
Flip and serve hot. if you want you can flip a couple of times too for even cooking.
For making plain rava uttapam, cook the uttapams without any toppings.
serve rava uttapam with coconut chutney or coriander chutney. they also go well with tomato ketchup.
Capsicum Egg Fry is a simple stir fry. Capsicums are easy to cook as it does not require much time. The delicate taste and pleasant flavour of capsicums when paired with eggs makes a delicious stir fry. Ingredients:
4 boiled eggs
2 capsicums
2 onions
2 tomatoes
2 tbsp ginger garlic paste
1tsp. mustard seeds
2 tsp. chilly powder
1 tsp. coriander / dhania powder
1/4 tsp. turmeric
Few curry leaves
Salt as required
Oil - 2 tbsp.
Cooking Method:
First chop onions and tomatoes lengthwise. Slice the capsicums too removing the seeds and white part of the vegetable. Keep them all aside.
Heat oil in a heavy bottomed wide pan and add mustard seeds. Once this crackles, add onions and cook until transparent.
Add ginger garlic paste and cook this along with curry leaves under low flame.
Add tomatoes until it gets mushy. (Cook tomatoes with the lid closed under low flame)
Now add sliced capsicums along with salt and cook till the capsicums are half cooked around 5 minutes.
Add chilly powder, coriander and turmeric powder and mix well. Sprinkle 1/2 glass of water for all the ingredients to incorporate well and keep the lid closed to lock the flavor a for around 3 minutes.
Now finally add the boiled eggs cut into half and simmer it for 5 minutes.
Garnish it with coriander leaves and serve this as a side dish for rice or chapathi.
