Jammunu oru jamun!

This sunday we had lots of fun. We invited our friends over for a patio party (funky work for having our evening tea on our deck). Now I had already planned for masala vada but I thought why not add a little sweet touch to it. Last week I had got MTR Gulab Jamun mix in the hopes that I would try them out sometime. Well why not for the party.It was my first time making jamuns so was so tensed that it should be alright. Guess what they came out really YUMMY :-) my hubby is not a sweet-lover and he had three big jamuns. I was so happy.

The recipe is pretty simple as its written in the back of the MTR packet. Still it takes sometime to make. So anyone thinking what sweet to make on a sunday afternoon try this out for fun.

Simple and Easy

Last friday evening I had a completely joyful mood to cook. So thought would do something easy and different. I looked into my freezer and saw that I had few cups of corn pellets and peas left. Aha!! An idea. Why not try different sabzi instead of the standard aaloo stuff. This is what I did


1. I took a kadai and pour 3 tsp olive oil (Here I use that. Any other usual oil can be used). Added some cumin seeds (Jeeragam), waited for it to start frying.
2. Then I added finely chopped onions (aroung 1 cup) and chopped green chillies (2). Along with it added some ginger-garlic paste, 1 tbsp garam masala powder, 1 tsp coriander powder, 1 tsp cumin powder, 1 tsp chilli powder, a pinch of hing (perungayam) and salt to taste.
3. Once they are fried nicely, I added aroung 3 tbsp of tomato puree and mixed them well. Then along with all this added around 1 cup peas and 1 cup corn pellets.
4. I added a big glass of water and allowed it to boil the vegetables. Finally added few coriander leaves and here is what I got.........

Saboodhana Vadas - A Sensational hit

Anyone who has been to the Mahalakshmi temple in Mumbai would have noticed that there is a shop in the praharam that serves hot Saboodhana vada. I just love it. It is so crispy and yummy that it steals your heart right away. I am sorry that I am telling about the vada instead of Goddess Lakshmi but this is my cooking blog right ;-)). So for a long time making these vadas have been a unrealized dream for me. Guess what today it finally came true and they came out really well that I had almost six of them. My hubby is a saapaattu priyar (loves to eat) so he rejoiced it just as much even though he does not like jevvarusi (Saboodhana).

Here goes the recipe that I tried out. You can make around 14 vadas with this recipe. Its all experimental but with proven results (See attached photo). You can make them within 30 min max apart from the time required to soak the Saboodhana. So if you are really thinking about what to do about an evening snack, add this to your list.

Ingredients –  (Makes 14 vadas)

• Saboodhana – ¾ cup (I used 1 cup and felt it was a bit too much)
• Raw Potato – 2 medium-sized
• Onion – 1 medium – sized
• Green chillies – 3
• Coriander leaves – Chopped
• Curry Leaves – Chopped
• Rice Flour – ¼ cup
• Red Chilly powder – 2 tsp (I used 1 tsp was a bit less spicy)
• Garam Masala powder – 1 tsp
• Hing/Asaphortida powder (Perungaya powder) – a pinch for aroma
• Cinnamon Powder – a pinch for aroma
• Salt to taste
• Oil (Canola/Vegetable/Corn/Refined)

Preparation –

1. Soak the saboodhana in water for 3-4 hrs. Once it becomes soft, drain all the water and keep it aside. Alternatly you can add hot water and soak for about one and half hour.
2. Peel the potatoes and grate them nicely. Remove any moisture that is present. Alternately you can boil the potatoes and mash them as well. Grating is much simpler.
3. Finely chop the onions and green chillies.
4. Now mix the saboodhana, grated potatoes, chopped onions, chillies, coriander and curry leaves. Add the red chilly powder, garam masala powder, hing powder, cinnamon powder and salt and mix well. Ginger-garlic paste can also be added if desired.
5. Based on the mixture add rice flour to absorb the excess moisture that is present.
6. Mix well and make small patties (like cutlets)
7. Place the oil in the stove in medium flame for about 3 to 4 min until it has reached the proper temperature for frying.
8. Place the patties one by one into the oil so that they don’t stick to each other. Make sure not to drop them into the oil because the oil will splatter causing burns. Fry them till you can see the onions turning to a shade or light brown or the patties gaining a golden brown color.
9. Serve hot with tomoto ketup

So finally today I am really happy and proud of my vadas that I am looking forward to more in future.

A Journey Begins

There is a saying that goes "The best way to a man's heart is through his stomach". As a Engineering graduate who went to college from home and four years of experience as an IT Professional I learn quite a bit of things but there was something that was missed out. :-)) I never stepped into the kitchen. My mom is a home maker so she takes care of everything in her kitchen and my dad takes over if she is caught up due to something. Then I got married and what do your know even then I did not have a necessity to get into the kitchen to cook. I just cut veggies or helped with grinding or things like that. The order in the kitchen would be like -

1. My hubby's paatti
2. My Mother-in-law / Father-in-law
3. My hubby
4. Myself

As you can see it would be really a rare occasion that I get to cook. But now for the past four months I have started on my cooking expedition as My husband and me are currently in Atlanta and I am a home maker for now.

I used to know the default recipes of the kitchen like Sambar, Rasam, Vathakozhambu and kaai but trying to master the specialities one by one.