Veggie Quesadilla!!

What is Quesadilla??
A quesadilla is a dish in Mexican cuisine or Tex-Mex, which involves cooking ingredients, most importantly cheese, inside a corn or wheat tortilla or a wrapping of masa (cornmeal dough)). The word comes from Spanish, and literally means "little cheesy thing" (from queso, or "cheese", + ada, an adjectival suffix, + illa, a diminutive suffix).
[keh-sah-DEE-yah] A flour tortilla filled with a savory mixture, then folded in half to form a half-moon shape. The filling can include shredded cheese, cooked meat, refried beans or a combination of items. After the tortilla is filled and folded, it's toasted under a broiler or fried. Quesadillas are usually cut into strips before being served, often as an appetizer

As filling can be of any choice,being a vegetarian i choose to make Veg Quesadilla!!!
Ingredients
Large flour tortillas
Grated cheese - either mild or sharp cheddar, or Monterey Jack
Olive oil

Veggie:(Use whatever available in ur Kitchen)
I prefer:
1 Onion Cubed
2 Mushrooms Cubed
1 Green pepper(or/and any other colour pepper) cubed
1 Clove garlic
Green onions
1-2 Green chili
Salt
Black Pepper
pinch of oregano



Directions:
Heat a pan,add 1 tbs spoon of oil stir fry the veggie until soft(not completely it should be crunchy),add salt,pepper n oregano.Keep aside.
Sprinkle 2 tablespoons cheese over one half of a tortilla. Place Veggie mixture, barely overlapping, on top of cheese. Then sprinkle 2 more tablespoons of cheese on top of the veggies and fold the tortilla in half.Try to press the open side with the help of fork. Repeat with remaining tortillas.

Heat tawa over medium-high heat,sprinkle 1 tbs of oil and cook quesadilla until the cheese melts and the tortillas are golden brown on both sides, about 2 minutes per side. Repeat with the remaining tortillas.
Serve hot with Sour Cream or Ur choice of salsa..

Aloo-Methi Pakoda

So what does one do on a evening after it rains?
Yes.....craving for 1 cup of tea with some pakoda..
Yesterday it was raining here and i feel like eating sm pakoda.So thought of trying this Methi pakoda n they turned awesome
Here i go with the recipe...


Ingredients:
2 Potato-Boiled
Besan - 2/3 cup
Methi-2 block[i used the frozen one] else u can use 1 bunch of fresh Methi
Green chilli-2-3
Anardana-1 tbsp(if u dont have it then use 1tbs of Amchur Powder)
Rice Flour-1 tbs(optional it will make the pakoa crispier)
Red Chilli Powder - 1 tbsp
Dhania Powder - 1 tbsp
Salt to taste.




Method:
Mash the potatoes in a bowl(dont mash it completly)
Mix all the above ingredients.
Heat oil in a heavy frying pan.
Drop spoonfuls of batter into the oil.
Deep Fry the pakoras until golden in color.
When cooked, drain the excess oil on a sheet of brown paper or paper towels.
Serve hot with chutney.

I am sending this as my entry for RedChillies Herb Mania fenugreek

Dahi Vada

My Favorite Yummmy Lentil Dumpling in Yogurt sauce

Ingredients:
For the Dumplings:
1 cup moong dal (yellow lentils), washed
1/4 cup urad dal(white lentils)(Basically i take 1:4 ratio)
1 green chile
1 inch (2.5 cm) piece peeled fresh ginger
Pinch of asafetida
Salt to taste
Oil for deep-frying
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
Garnish: 2 Tablespoons tamarind chutney

For the Yogurt Sauce:
2 cups fat-free plain yogurt
1/4 cup water
1/4 teaspoon salt


Preparation:
Soak both the dal (lentils) in water atleast for about 6 hours(i usually soak it in night). Drain the dal.

In a food processor/blender, grind together the dal, green chile, ginger, asafetida. if necessary add a tablespoon of water to make the blending easier, (try to avoid adding water). Place the mixture in a bowladd lil salt and whisk as much as u can,this will make the dumplings softer and fluffier.The more u whisk more softer it will be.
TIP:Way to check that it whisk well is drop a lil mixture in the bowl of water if it comes up fully then its done and if its still half in water n half out of water u need to whisk it more

Heat the oil in a wok over medium heat. Drop a teaspoon of the dal mixture into the oil; if it rises to the top immediately, the oil is ready. Working in batches and not crowding the dumplings, place a tablespoon of the dal mixture in the oil and fry, turning, until golden brown, about 1 minute. Drain the dumplings on paper towels. Repeat until all the dal mixture is used up.

Soak the dumplings in a bowl of hot water for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the yogurt sauce. In a medium bowl, whisk together the yogurt, water, salt until smooth.

Drain the dumplings. Squeeze each one between the palms of your hands to remove excess water. Do not squeeze too much

In a small skillet over medium heat, toast the cumin seeds, stirring frequently, untl fragrant and dark brown it will take about 1 minute.

In a serving dish, arrange the dumplings in rows. Pour the yogurt sauce over the dumplings. Garnish with the cumin seeds, and the tamarind chutney.Recipe for tamarind chutney is here...
Serve it in a chat party or serve with main course..

Besan ke Ladoo

Laddoo can be made from many different ingredients, besan ones are probably the most popular and most commonly home-made laddoo in India. Besan is a flour made from small, black chick peas.




Ingredients

2 cup gram flour or besan (laddoo gram flour/besan is granular, not smooth, like the usual besan
1 Cup ghee
2 Cup castor sugar
Nuts Chopped(almonds, cashew nuts, pistachio-any or all) adjust to taste


Pocedure
1. Heat ghee in a heavy bottomed wok or kadhai.
2. Add gram flour or besan.
3. Fry on medium heat, stirring constantly, until besan changes colour to reddish brown and emits the roast aroma. Ghee also separates from the besan at this stage. Do not be in a hurry. Besan must be properly fry-roasted on medium fire.
4. Now add sugar and mix thoroughly.
5. Add Nuts and mix thoroughly.
6. Take the pan off the fire and let it cool, enough to be able handle the mix in your palms.
7. Take approximately 1-2 tbs. of the prepared mix in one hand.
8. Squeeze and roll it between the palm and fingers of that hand, to make it into small but firm ball. Squeezing is necessary to make the laddoo compact enough to hold together. Continue until all laddoos are made.
9. Place on a tray until completely cool.
10. Store in an air tight boxes.

Vada Pav/Batata Vada

The most popular street-food of Mumbai – potato vadas served sandwiched in pavs and served with a spicy chutney


Ingredients

Potatoes, boiled and mashed 6 large
Garlic paste 1 tablespoon
Green chilli paste 1 1/2 teaspoons
Turmeric powder 1/2 teaspoon
Asafoetida a pinch
Lemon juice 1 tablespoon
Fresh coriander leaves, chopped 1/4 bunch
Salt
Pav 8
Gram flour (besan) 1 1/4 cups
Soda bicarbonate a small pinch
Red chilli powder 2 1/2 teaspoons
Oil 1 tablespoon + to deep fry
Dry coconut (khopra), grated 3 tablespoons
Garlic 4-6 cloves
Boondi 1/2 cup


Method


For red chutney, grind together in a mixer, grated coconut, two tablespoons of red chilli powder and garlic. Heat oil in a pan and add this mixture to it and sauté for a minute, add the gram flour crumbs and mix well and remove from the heat. Season with salt. Set aside to cool.

In a bowl, mix mashed potatoes, garlic paste, green chilli paste, one forth teaspoon turmeric powder, asafoetida, lemon juice, chopped coriander leaves and salt.

Make eight equal sized balls of the above mixture. Set aside.

Take gram flour in a bowl, add soda bicarbonate, remaining turmeric powder, half a teaspoon of red chilli powder and salt. Heat one-tablespoon oil and add it to the gram flour mixture. Add just sufficient water to make a coating consistency batter. Rest it for fifteen minutes.

Heat sufficient oil in a kadai. Dip the potato mixture balls in the batter and deep fry in hot oil till golden brown in colour. Remove and place on an absorbent paper.

Slit Pavs horizontally not slicing it completely, spread the red chutney on the inner sides of the pav and stuff it with hot vadas. Serve hot.