Tofu "Paneer" Pakora 

(Tofu Fritters in a Chickpea-Flour Batter)

I made these using the Pakora batter from My Tasty Curry's Special Paneer Pakoda Recipe. A few days ago, I baked some firm tofu before adding half of it to a noodle stir-fry (not pictured). I decided to transform the rest into Indian Pakora (fritters in a chickpea-flour batter), but wanted a recipe to guide me. This batter seemed the best candidate of those I found, and indeed, it ended up cooking nice and crispy. (I shallow-fried rather than deep-fried, but that seemed to be enough.)

The first pic is the Tofu Pakora. There was still batter left, so I fried that, too! That's the second pic. The third pic features everything together. The leftovers reheated nicely in a toaster oven, on a toaster-oven-safe tray, the next day. I just had to watch that some of the thinner pieces didn't burn. This certainly is tasty!

My Tasty Curry Website, Special Paneer Pakoda Recipe

Steamed Instant Khatta Dhokla/Rava Dhokla

(Indian Savory Semolina Cake)

The recipe is from Shweta in the Kitchen. The results were delicious! 

This is a traditional Gujarati dish from western India. Although the batter does have to sit for 10 minutes before steaming, that is still instant, compared to the traditional method: soaking legumes and rice for hours, then grinding them, and letting them ferment, before steaming.

I made it in the Instant Pot (not sponsored), using IP instructions from Instapottin' with Poonam's method for Dhokla. I don't usually use Eno fruit salts for instant leavening (as in the recipe). Instead, I used a small amount of baking soda and baking powder, and the Dhokla was fairly light.

Shweta in the Kitchen Website, Instant Khatta Dhokla - Instant Rava Dhokla -  Savory Semolina Cake

Instapottin' with Poonam Website, Dhokla

Instapottin' with Poonam YouTube, Dhokla | Gujarati Snack

Baked Instant Medu Vada 

(Indian Savory Dumplings)

This is a combination of the batter for Instant Vada from Herbivore Cucina, baked (but in a mini-bundt pan), according to the method for Baked Medhu Vada of My Kitchen Adventures [Suji's Kitchen].

The batter contains urad dal (legume) flour and rice flour, with some baking soda and seasonings. (I did add a pinch of baking powder that wasn't in the recipe, to make the batter lighter.) It's the use of these flours, rather than soaking and grinding the legumes and grain, that makes the batter "instant."

The original baking method used a doughnut pan, which I don't have. I figured a mini-bundt pan would suffice, instead. I think it worked rather well, if I may say so. 😉 The taste was yummy, and the Vadas were fairly light. Almost as good as winning the Super Bowl? 

Herbivore Cucina Website, Instant Dahi Vada 

My Kitchen Adventures [Suji's Kitchen] Website, Baked Medu Vada

Pulao (Indian Rice Pilaf), 

with store-bought 

Bombay Bhel Mix (crunchy Indian snack mix)

The Pulao includes frozen peas-and-carrots, and is fairly simple in terms of seasonings: cumin seeds, turmeric, and salt. This makes a nice light meal, with whole-milk yogurt. 

Bonda 

(South Indian Potato-Veggie Dumplings)

I based this mostly on the recipe in Julie Sahni's Classic Indian Vegetarian and Grain Cooking. I used leftover instant mashed potato here. However, instead of just mashed potato, I also included frozen mixed veggies, defrosted and steamed in the microwave, and then put through a food processor. After the potato and veggies were mixed together, I dipped small portions in a chickpea-flour batter. These are usually deep-fried, but I cooked them in an ebelskiver pan. The dumplings were a little watery, so they weren't crispy, but I didn't care! I fried the leftover batter, too. Why not? 

Baked Samosas (Indian Savory Turnovers)

The shell is a (preservative-free) store-bought tortilla, and the filling is Aval/Poha Upma (Indian pounded-rice with veggies). (For more details on the Upma, please see my recent post.) I used a flour-water paste to seal the folded tortillas, and baked the Samosas at 350 F for about 25 minutes. It's fairly easy to make Samosas like this, with ready-made tortillas and whatever dry leftovers you can find in the fridge.

Chickpea Sambousek

Sambousek are Middle Eastern turnovers, like samosas. Here they are featured with crunchy Indian snack mix, whole-milk yogurt, and applesauce, for a light meal the other day. The Sambousek were leftovers that I'd frozen unbaked a while ago. All I had to do, was put them on a baking sheet, brush them with egg wash, and then bake about 30 minutes. (At other times, I've just sprayed oil on them, instead of egg wash.)

Almond Halwa, Biscuits, 

& Crunchy Indian Snack Mix

Teatime! featuring Almond Halwa, Biscuits, and a store-bought Indian snack mix. The Halwa contains coconut oil (instead of butter), semolina flour (instead of fine sooji), ground almonds, sugar, cardamom, and whole milk. Halwa recipe from Suneeta Vaswani in Easy Indian Cooking. The Biscuits are from Mom's Big Book of Baking, by Lauren Chattman. Lastly, the snack mix contains a spiced mix of crispy fried lentils and chickpea noodles. A nice way to recharge in the late afternoon.

Iyengar Bakery Style Khara Biscuits

This Indian recipe is from Easy Bites Online. They're supposed to be spicy, with fresh chili pepper, but as I have to be careful with that for now, I left it out.  I also substituted coconut oil for the butter. The recipe describes these as "savory shortbread cookies." I assumed from that, that these would be "biscuits" in the British sense (= cookies), but the dough also reminds me of U.S. "biscuits." When I make those latter biscuits, I just pat out the dough by hand. That's what I'll do the next time I make these khara biscuits. Anyway, I do like these, although I couldn't make them spicy. They are a nice snack by themselves, or as part of a light meal!

Easy Bites Online Website, Iyengar Bakery Style Khara Biscuits

Snack-Plate Dinner 

(Egg, Indian Spiced Potato Canapes, 

Papdi Gathiya, & Papad)

My late light dinner last night, consisting of leftovers and snacks: Puffy Microwave Egg Omelet, Indian Spiced Potato Canapes, Papdi Gathiya (store-bought, chickpea-flour chips), Papad (store-bought, of urad-dal, puffed in microwave), and whole-milk yogurt.

I didn't think I'd post anything today, as I didn't make anything new. Not to mention, it was also evening when I took the photo, and I don't like the way my nighttime shots look. However, when I saw my snacks/late dinner plate on the counter, I wondered how it would look from my phone. To my surprise, it looked better than my usual night photos, so I decided to share it here.

Indian Spiced Potato Canapes, 

Bonda-style, 

with Mustard Ginger Tempering

The original recipe, from Vegan Richa, is for smashed potatoes, but she also included a "quicker version." I sliced a few potatoes, put them on a parchment-lined baking sheet, sprayed them with oil, and sprinkled salt on them. I baked them at 425 F for about 25 minutes. Meanwhile, I made the tempering, of oil, mustard seeds, chopped onion and ginger, salt, turmeric, cilantro, and a little water. I took the potatoes out, topped the slices with the tempering, and put them back to bake for a couple of minutes. When they were finished, I added a little fresh lemon juice to the slices I was eating just then. The potatoes were so good, that I ate several slices. A winner!

Vegan Richa Website, Spiced Smashed Potatoes with Mustard Ginger Tempering

Vegan Richa Facebook

Mumbai Masala Matzah/Matzah Bhaji 

(Indian Snack Sandwich with Spiced Veggies)

This recipe is based on Rekha Kakkar's Mumbai Masala Pav [Pav Bhaji] recipe, as seen in her recent Instagram post. This was a very quick and simple way to prepare the veggies, with matzah used here as a substitute for the pav (roll). I did have to use oil instead of butter (too rich) to cook the veggies, but ventured to try a little coconut oil for the actual "sandwich" with the matzah. I liked the results, and hope to try this again soon, either with pav rolls, or with any other kind of bread which I have handy. 

@rekhakakkar Instagram, Mumbai Masala Pav video

Rekha Kakkar Photography Facebook

Chivda (Indian Snack Mix)

This is my version of chivda (Indian snack mix). I was inspired by Tickling Palates Instagram photo of last Oct. 25 and her recipe for Cornflakes Mixture/Corn Flakes Chivda, as well as by MadhurasRecipe Marathi on YouTube. I used an organic "frosted flakes cereal" that's a little sweet, but works well here, as well as kettle-cooked potato chips (40% less fat). First, I pan-roasted a cup of aval/poha (beaten flat rice) and some ground cashews in a little oil, with some turmeric, onion powder (as I didn't have hing/asafetida), salt, and sugar. Next, I mixed in the cereal, and then potato chips. It was delicious!  Salty and sweet, with a little something else, and also crunchy.

Tickling Palates Website, Cornflakes Mixture Recipe 

MadhurasRecipe Marathi YouTube, Patal Pohe Chivda 

MadhurasRecipe Marathi YouTube, Bhajake Pohe Chivda

Potato & Broccoli Samosas in Egg Roll Wrappers

Samosas, with a filling of seasoned mashed potato and broccoli, in a shell of 1/2 an egg roll wrapper, folded. To help seal the edges, I used a flour & water thin paste. I pan-fried, rather than deep-fried, in oil. If you use a vegan egg roll wrapper, this is vegan.

Potato & Broccoli Samosas in Egg Roll Wrappers

Samosas, with a filling of seasoned mashed potato and broccoli, in a shell of 1/2 an egg roll wrapper, folded. To help seal the edges, I used a flour & water thin paste. I pan-fried, rather than deep-fried, in oil. If you use a vegan egg roll wrapper, this is vegan.