One Day At A Time

Friday menu is always something special at our place. And when I say special, its high calorie goodness. Once in a while, treating oneself with fried food is okay, I guess. Today, its the famous Rajasthani Mung Dal Khasta Kachori. A savory Indian flaky pastry stuffed with lentils, with a distinct fennel flavor. DOUGH: All Purpose Flour/Maida - 1 cup Corn Starch - 1 tbsp Oil - 2 tbsp Salt MUNG DAL FILLING: Mung Dal/Split Green Gram - 1/4 cup Kasuri Methi/Dry Fenugreek Leaves - 1/2 tsp Fennel Seeds/Saunf/Badishep - 1/2 tsp White Sesame Seeds/Til - 1/2 tsp Coriander/Dhania Seeds - 1/2 tsp Cumin/Jeera Seeds - 1/4 tsp Garam Masala - 1/4 tsp Chat Masala - 1/4 tsp Turmeric/Haldi - 1/8 tsp Green Chilies - 3 Oil - 1 tbsp Salt How to make Mung Dal Khasta Kachori: MAKING DOUGH: In a mixing bowl, add all purpose flour, corn starch and salt. Mix well and add oil (or ghee). Mix well with your hands. Now add water, little at a time, and knead to form a soft, pliab...

Baking is such a healthier alternative for deep frying. Today's recipe is of a baked, low calorie, crunchy appetizer. You won't even miss your favorite fried chicken.  Even kids will love these chicken bites. Ingredients: Boneless Chicken - 1 pound Corn Flakes (Cereal) - 1/2 cup French Fried Onions - 1/2 cup All Purpose Flour/Maida - 1/4 cup Cayenne Pepper/Red Chilli Powder - 1 1/4 tsp Black Pepper Powder - 1/2 tsp Garlic and Herb Seasoning - 1 tsp Lemon Juice - 2 tbsp Cajun Seasoning - 1 tsp Egg - 1 Cooking Spray or Oil Salt How to bake Crunchy Chicken Wings: Line a baking tray with aluminum foil and grease it with cooking spray or oil. Cooking spray works best for me. Blend corn flakes cereal and fried onions in a food processor to a coarse powder. Add it to a big plate. Now add all purpose flour, 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper, fresh ground black pepper, garlic herb seasoning and salt. Mix all the ingredients well and keep it aside. In a small bowl, add egg, s...

We are living in a land of pancakes, pastas, pizzas and tacos. Eating out is fun here.. excellent variety of exotic food for us. But at times, we do miss our Indian favorites. The list of such food items is quite big... Pani Puri, Samosa, Kachori.. for now, lets taste an Italian pizza with a desi tadka.. Tandoori Paneer Pizza a.k.a Paneer Tikka Pizza. Ingredients: All Purpose Flour/Maida - 2 1/2 cups Olive Oil - 3 tbsp Active Dry Yeast - 2 1/4 tsp Garlic Powder - 1 tsp Sugar - 1/2 tsp Corn Meal - 2 tbsp (optional) Canned Tomato Paste - 1/2 cup Garlic - 2 big cloves Ginger - an inch piece Kasuri Methi/Dry Fenugreek Leaves - 1 tsp Tandoori Masala - 1 tsp Cayenne Pepper/Red Chilli Powder - 1/2 tsp Paneer/Indian Cottage Cheese Cubes - about 1 cup Tandoori Masala - 1/2 tsp Chat Masala - 1/2 tsp Cayenne Pepper/Red Chilli Powder - 1/4 tsp Black Pepper Powder - 1/4 tsp Lemon Juice - 2 tbsp Mozarella Cheese - about 1 cup Bell Peppers/Capsicum - about 1/2 cup O...

Which is your most favorite snack? Chips, Nachos, Roasted Nuts or Fresh Fruits. We like to snack on nuts.. sometimes roasted, sometimes deep fried Masala Peanuts . Nowadays, I find microwave cooking as a good alternative to deep frying. You might have read about Microwave Potato Chips - less oily, yet crunchy. Spicy crunchy Cashews cooked in a microwave is also something we love to binge on. Ingredients: Raw Cashews/Kaju - 2 cups Chickpea Flour/Gram Flour/Besan - 4 tbsp Corn Starch - 1 tsp Coriander/Dhania Powder - 1 tsp Cumin/Jeera Powder - 1 tsp Chat Masala - 1 tsp Cayenne Pepper/Red Chilli Powder - 1/2 tsp Cooking Spray or Oil Salt How to cook Masala Kaju in a microwave: In a mixing bowl or a big plate, add cashews, chickpea flour, coriander powder, cumin powder, chat masala, cayenne pepper and salt to taste. Mix all the ingredients. Add about 2 tbsp water and mix with your hands to coat the cashews well. Cashews will appear slightly moist. Lastly, add corn star...

Regular readers might have noticed how I keep including local American vegetables, spices, cheese in our everyday Indian cooking... any ingredient which is readily available. You might have read my previous posts about  Ricotta Cheese Mithai .  Mexican Corn Tortilla Chips is also one of the ingredients I love.  This time its a variation of Mumbai Street Food - Shev Puri , Dahi Puri  a.k.a Dahi Papdi Chat . If you love desi chaat, you must give it a try. These crunchy tortilla chips add a nice corn twist to popular Indian street food. Ingredients: Tortilla Scoops Onion - 1 medium Tomato - 1 medium Potato (Boiled) - 1 medium Cilantro/Coriander/Dhania Leaves - few sprigs Yellow Peas (Dry) - 1/2 cup Turmeric/Haldi - 1/4 tsp Asafoetida/Hing - 1/2 tsp Coriander Mint Chutney/Teekhi Chutney Dates Tamarind Chutney/Meethi Chutney Curds/Yogurt/Dahi Chat Masala Shev/Sev How to make Shev Puri and Dahi...

December is here .... the holiday season with gifts, cakes, cookies and the festive spirit. Snickerdoodles are  Cinnamon Sugar coated soft cookies, especially made during this festive season of Christmas. When it comes to baked goodies, we enjoy the eggless version more. Hope you guys like it too. Ingredients: All Purpose Flour/Maida - 1 1/2 cups Sugar - 1/2 cup Sour Cream - 1/2 cup Unsalted Butter - 1/4 cup (4 tbsp) Vanilla Extract - 2 tsp Baking Powder - 1 tsp Baking Soda - 1/2 tsp Sugar - 2 tbsp Ground Cinnamon/Dalchini Powder - 2 tsp Ground Nutmeg/Jaiphal Powder - 1/8 tsp (optional) How to bake Eggless Snickerdoodle Cookies: In a mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients - all purpose flour, baking soda and baking powder. Add about 1/4 tsp salt too, if you like. Mix and keep it aside. In a big mixing bowl, add (room temperature) softened butter, sour cream, 1/2 cup sugar and vanilla extract. Mix all the ingredients well, using a whisk or a spoon. If y...

Most of our weekend meals are special delicacies, loaded with calories.... high carbs, something cheesy, oily, fried. On Mondays, we crave for something simple, less spicy home cooked desi food. Such days, we like to relish good old Konkani food - Dal Rice, Upkari, Papad and Lonche (Achar).  Upkari is a simple veggie stir fry with a coconut flavor.

Weather is so gloomy around here. All you feel like is to have a cup of hot tea.  What goes better than crunchy fried goodness? Some  Aloo Pakoras , some crunchy Pyaaz ke Pakode with spicy and sweet chutneys, for a nice evening tea time snack. Ingredients: Onion/Kanda/Pyaaz - 1 big Spring/Green Onions - 6 (optional) Green Chilies - 4 Coriander/Cilantro Leaves - few sprigs Chickpea Flour/Gram Flour/Besan - about 1/2 cup Rice Flour - 1/4 cup Coriander/Dhania Powder - 1 tsp Turmeric/Haldi - 1/4 tsp Salt Oil for frying How to make Kande Bhajji: Julienne slice the onion. Any kind is fine - Red or Purple onion, Yellow Vidalia onion or White onion. Finely chop green onions, green chilies and cilantro. In a mixing bowl, add onions, green onions, chilies, cilantro, coriander powder, turmeric and salt. Mix and set it aside for 20 minutes, so that the onions turn watery. When onions turn slightly soft and watery, add rice flour. Now add chickpea flou...