Vada Pav

Vada Pav, a bombay roadside delicacy that is the most favourite snack of my mum's. There are several variants of the vada itself and this recipe is of course what my mom makes. Pair a hot vada with a well toasted pav, mint and tamarind chutney and the chilli-garlic powder and trust me it can beat any pizza or pasta. To me the chilli-garlic chutney (kandya lasnachi chutney) is an essential ingredient and my folks got it for me from India. Vada pav isn't the same without this:D:D

Ingredients:

For chilli chutney that goes in the vada filling

1. Green chillies - 10
2. Corriander leaves - 1 bunch
3. Ginger - 1 inch
4. Garlic - 3/4 pods
5. Salt

For filling

1. Potatoes - 3/4 big, boiled and mashed
2. Onions - 1, finely chopped
3. Chilli chutney - 3 tbsps
4. Salt
   

For batter

1. Besan - 1 1/2 cup
2. Chilli powder - 1 tbsp
3. Salt
4. Water

For frying

1. A frying pan full of vegetable oil

For final assembly

1. Pav - slit into half and toasted with a little butter
2. Mint chutney
3. Tamarind chutney
4. Chilli-garlic powder

Directions:

1. Grind all the ingredients for the green chilli chutney together

2. Mix the ingredients for the filling together and make into small balls

3. Mix the ingredients for the batter together and dip the potato ball in it and then deep fry until golden brown

4. Put the fried vada in between the slit pav along with the chutneys and eat hot!!

Masala Macaroni

I call this the desi version of mac and cheese. Typical to desi food it has a lot of spices and just a little cheese to retain the Italian effect. The cheese again is Amul cheese which is as desi as cheese can get:). I used to make this a lot when I was in India and I think the origin was something similar that my friend used to bring for lunch. My mom likes this much better than the authentic versions and I love making this for her:) This is also an easy way to feed veggies to kids as they have an inexplicable bond with mac'n'cheese.



Ingredients:

1. Elbow macaroni - 1 packet
2. Carrots - 2 chopped into small pieces
3. Beans - ~25 chopped into small pieces
4. Onion - 1 big sliced
   
5. Peas - 1 cup
6. Ginger - 1 inch piece chopped fine
7. Garlic - 3 pods chopped fine
8. Amul cheese slices - 3 or 4 chopped into small pieces
   
9. Garam masala - 1/4th tsp
10. Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
11. Dried red chillies - 2
12. Curry leaves - 8
13. Lemon
    
14. Oil - 1 tsp
    
15. Salt

Directions:

1. Boil the elbow macaroni in hot water until it is a little underdone. Drain and keep aside.
   
2. Heat oil and add the curry leaves, dried chillies, ginger and garlic and let it cook for 1 min.
   
3. Add the sliced onion and cook until golden brown.
4. Add the rest of the veggies and cook until a little soft.
5. Add the garam masala, salt and chilli powder and the cooked macaroni. Mix well and place a lid and let it cook for 2 mins.
6. Turn off the gas and add half the cheese and mix in. Squeeze some lemon juice and mix in. Use the rest as a garnish before serving and enjoy hot!

Note: If you want this dish healthier, you can skip the cheese altogether and this dish would still taste yummy. You can also use a whole wheat version of the macaroni.

Paneer Capsicum

The inspiration for this dish came from a paneer tikka recipe that I have used previously. It is pretty simple to make if you have the mint chutney. I usually buy it frozen and use and it comes out really well. Good to ear with hot rotis.

Ingredients:

1. Slab of paneer cut into cubes
2. Mint chutney - 1 cup
   
3. Yogurt - 1cup
4. Ginger paste - 1 tsp
5. Garlic paste - 1tsp
   
6. Tandoori Masala - 1 tsp
7. Red chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
8. Salt
9. Capsicum - 2/3 chopped
10. Oil - 1tbsp
11. Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
12. Jeera - 1tsp
13. Haldi - 1/4th tsp
14. Curry leaves - 8
15. Green Chillies - 4 slit lengthwise

Directions:

1. Mix the yogurt, mint chutney, tandoori masala, ginger paste, garlic paste, chilli powder and salt and marinate the paneer cubes in it for a couple of hours in the refrigerator. Overnight is even better.
2. Heat oil in a pan and add murtard seeds, jeera, turmeric and let it sputter.
3. Add the green chillies and curry leaves and sautee for some time.
4. Add the marinated paneer cubes after draining away the liquid and stir fry until they brown around the edges. Save the marinade.
5. Add the capsicum and stir until they are a little cook. They do not need to be soft and fully cooked so that there is some crunch to the dish.
6. Add the left over marinade and cook on high heat for 2 mins and turn off the gas. Enjoy with rotis or just by itself. Trust me its yummy!