Kukka Bonda/Chinese Potato Bonda

I started this blog as a database for all the recipes I get from my family and friends. Recently one of my very good friend emailed me if I am still blogging about my collected, tested and tried recipes. Well, I completely have stopped blogging after Stuti is born. She keeps me so busy all day long ! I thought I should kick start it again. Atleast couple of recipes a week :-)

Chinese potato is nothing but kukka which we get in Mangalore. DH loves it and so does DD. When I was talking to my SIL she mentioned about this being available in US and I thought we should give it a try. Now chinese potato has been my go to "quick side dish" every time I run out of time. I make sure I always have a stock of these in the freezer.

When I mentioned about its availability to my aunt she said I must try bonda. Though I am striving to maintain a healthy non-fatty food diet, I could not resist trying this. All the ingredients and methods are exactly same as aloo bonda I posted long ago. Worth a try !

Gobi Pakoda / Deepfried Cauliflower

One of the most unhealthiest preparation :-)...but I love it ! As a kid I always used to have porridge in the morning. Though I never liked the idea of eating porridge in the morning, my grandma was very strict about it. So I always hoped there will be something nice with porridge. In very rare situation gobi pakoda was prepared. Those were the golden days. I never used to worry about weight gain and "diet" at all. I used to have a full bowl of porridge without complaints :-). 

Now I am strictly on a "no deep fried" items. I made an exception to my diet last night. Prepared this for dinner as this is my husband's favorite too. A very simple and easy to prepare recipe.

Biscuit Roti/ Stuffed Poori

Its been over a year I haven't blogged at all. After Stuti is born I really never looked into blogging and also cooking in that matter. I prepare something simple and quick dishes whenever I find time only to avoid eating food from outside. 

Last week was my husband's birthday and I decided to prepare Biscuit Roti for breakfast. Biscuit roti is stuffed poori. The stuffing I have mentioned below is how I follow. You can make variations to it according to your liking. One of my friend said she makes toor dal stuffing which I am yet to try. Last time when we had been to Mangalore we had Biscuit Roti from famous "Balli" on carstreet and my husband became an instant fan of it. My preparation surely did not taste as wonderful as Mangalore ones but was good.

Potato/ Batata Bonda

Out of all bonda and bajji variety potato/ batata bonda and chatambade (masala vada) are my favorite. Though we dont prepare this often I hog a few whenever we prepare it :). I just forget gym and relish these little tasty fritters. I have had this even for breakfast at my in-laws. Mouth-watering ! Its been more than 3-4 months I haven't made it. I saw this photo today and realized I haven't yet posted the recipe. But this post is tempting me to make it soon. Probably during long weekend of this month which I am eagerly waiting for !

Plantain Stir Fry/ Kele Upkari

I love stir fry and I prepare it with all possible vegetables. Plantain stir fry is one such dish which is tasty and comes very handy during any festival or even busy days. I usually prefer dalitoy - kele upkari combo but very rarely prepare this with even rasam or kadi.

Fried Colocasia Patties/ Shakavrata Pathrode

Shakavrata Pathrode is straight from my grand mom's kitchen. She used to prepare this mostly during rainy season. The recipe is slightly different from steamed colocasia patties/pathrode which I posted few days back. I like this more than the steamed ones. Curd gives a very different taste after frying it on hot tava.

When I asked my aunt why was this dish named as "Shakavrata Pathrode",  she said "Shaka had this during vrata". Well I don't think there is any defined story behind this but I did read articles about Shalivahana Saka king and I came across an interesting article which said Hindus follow Shalivahana Calender. As far as I understand Shaka Vrata is followed during chaturyamasa and people should not eat red chillies, vegetables etc. It said red chillies can be substituted with peppercorns. Guess this dish has something to do with it ! We use couple of green chillies in this only to get spicy taste.

Pumpkin Shallow fry/ Duddhi Phodi

When I was speaking to my mom she mentioned my aunt prepared duddhi phodi. I wanted to prepare it immediately. Unfortunately I did not get duddhi for few days. Last week I made sure I pick up duddhi from the grocery store and try this simple tasty
fry.

Jackfruit Sweet Dish/Ponasa Mulik

Mulik means "modaka" in kannada which I believe is also called as "modak" in few other languages.

While shopping our weekly groceries we found nice and fresh jackfruit. My husband loves it ! He asked me if I can prepare mulik a snack for people with sweet tooth. Rainy evening was a perfect weather to relax at home and enjoy these little deep fried dumplings.


Ingredients:
15-20 jackfruit pieces
1 cup grated or powdered jaggery
cardamom for taste
1/2 cup grated coconut, fresh or frozen
1 cup rava (sooji)
pinch of salt
Oil for deep frying

Method:
Isolate jackfruit from its skin and seeds. Cut into small pieces.
In a mixer or blender make a thick paste of cut jackfruit, coconut, cardamom, salt and jaggery. Add water only if required.
To this paste mix sooji. Keep it aside for 15 minutes.
Make small balls and deep fry it on simmer.
Eat hot.

Serves: 3-4
Prepartion time: 45 minutes


Note: I used upma rava. You can prepare it with idly rava also.

Fried Bamboo Shoot/Kirla Ambado

This recipe is very much like kirla sanna polo. In fact it is the same recipe, the only difference is here we make small balls out of the batter and deep fry it. However I posted this in a separate post as I wanted to neatly jot down everything I have tried and learnt from different people I have come across.


Ingredients:
1 cup chopped bamboo shoot
1 cup rice, soaked for 3 hours
5 red chillies
1/2 cup grated coconut, frozen or fresh
1/2 tea spoon tamarind extract
Oil for deep frying
Salt

Method:
Drain the water from rice and grind it with grated coconut, red chillies and tamarind extract into a smooth paste.
Chop bamboo shoot. Mix these pieces into the above paste and add salt.
Make small balls of this batter.
Heat oil in a pan and deep fry these balls.
Serve it as a side dish with rice and dal.

Serves: 3
Preparation Time: 30 mins(excludes soaking)

Note: I always soak bamboo shoot in plain water for 2 days before using it. Change the water once in a day.

Fried Shrimps/ Sungata Bajji

I love shrimps more than any other sea food. I learnt this recipe from one of my Aunt who is from Kundapur. I was kind skeptical in preparing this, but wanted to surely give a try. Both of us loved it and now the only reason to avoid preparing this is it is "deep fried" and we do not prefer eating too much of oily stuffs.


Ingredients:
15-20 shrimps
3 large tablespoons corn/chick pea flour
1 tablespoon corn starch (avoid this if you are using corn flour)
1 tablespoon chilly powder (increase or decrease depending on your taste)
1/4 cup water
Oil for deep frying
Salt

Method:
Wash and drain all the water from shrimps
Make a thick paste of corn/chick pea flour, corn starch, chilly powder, salt and water.
Heat oil in a pan.
Dip washed shrimps in the above paste and deep fry until shrimps are cooked.

Serves: 2
Preparation Time: 15 mins

Note: I used chickpea flour and corn starch. Corn starch will make this a bit crispy. If you are using corn flour, you can avoid corn starch.

Deep Fried Cauliflower/ Gobi Pakoda

A very simple gobi pakoda which goes well with rice for dinner/lunch or even as evening snacks with tea.


Ingredients:
8-10 cauliflower pieces
3 tablespoon besan
2 tablespoon corn flour/corn strach
1 tablespoon chilli powder
1/2 cup water
Oil for deep frying
Salt

Method:
Soak cut cauliflower in hot water for 3 mins.
Make a thick mixture of besan, corn flour/starch, chilli powder, salt and water.
Heat oil in a pan.
Dip cut cauliflower and deep fry it on simmer for 5-8 mins.
Serve hot.

Serves: 2
Preparation Time: 45 mins (inclusive of soaking time)

Fried Yucca/Maddi Phodi

I had seen yuca many times in both Indian and Japanese stores but was not sure what it actually means. Now I know we call Yuca as Maddi. It was long time back I had tasted this at my granny's place.


Ingredients:
6-7 yuca slices
3 table spoons rice flour
1 tea spoon chilli powder
pinch of turmeric powder
salt to taste
1/4 cup water
oil to fry

Method:
Cut yuca into desired slices
Make a thick paste mixing rice flour, chilli powder, turmeric powder, salt and water.
Dip yuca in this paste and fry it on a dosa pan with oil
Serve hot


Serves - 2
Preparation Time - 30 mins

Note: Yuca is very hard to cut, so be careful while cutting these. Yuca will have bitterness so it is better to soak it in warm water with salt for about 45 mins-1 hour.

Plantain Fry

There are different types of bajji we prepare from plantain. Though deep fry pakodas are the best, I avoid preparing those. This time with the same ingredients I fried this on a tava and it came pretty tasty.

Ingredients:
1 plantain, cut into slices
2 table spoons rice flour
1 table spoons corn flour or corn starch
1/2 cup water
1/4 tea spoon turmeric powder
1 tea spoon chilli powder
salt to taste
oil to fry

Method:
Wash plantain and cut into thin slices.
Make a thick paste of turmeric powder, rice flour, corn flour, chilli powder, salt and water.
Dip plantain pieces and fry it on simmer on a hot tava with oil.
Serve hot with rice.

Serves: 2-3
Preparation Time: 25 minutes

Plantain Rava Fry

I remember eating this at my granny's house especially during festival seasons. Now we get it very often. A simple rasam or dal with rice and plantain fry makes a good combo.

Ingredients:
1 plantain
1 tea spoon turmeric powder
1 table spoon cumin powder
1 table spoon coriander powder
water
pinch of salt
fine rava for dusting
oil to fry

Method:
Cut plantain into desired shapes and wash it in luke warm water.
Mix turmeric, cumin, coriander powder with water and make a thick paste.
Add salt.
Dip the cut plantain in this mixture and dust it with rava.
Fry these on a hot tava with oil.
Serve with hot rice and daal.

Serves: 2-3
Preparation Time: 20 mins