Vegetable Strudel

Nutritional value of potato, leeks, carrots, green pepper, onions

- Fillo sheets thawed
- 1 cup finely diced carrots
- 1 cup diced potato
- 1/2 cup green pepper diced
- Half leek diced
- 1/2 cup onion diced
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 teaspoon garam masala
- Salt to taste
- Red chili powder to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
- Melted unsalted butter to brush the sheets
* You can add vegetables of your choice


1. Heat 1 table spoon oil, add cumin seeds and let crack
2. Add turmeric powder, red chili powder
3. Add onion cook for few minutes
4. Add other vegetable and garam masala and salt
5. Co0k for 7-10 minutes, let cool
6. On flat surface spread first fillo sheet on parchment paper/ cutting board
7. Brush the sheet with butter and sprinkle sugar, top with second sheet 8. Repeat the process up to 5 sheets
9. Pour vegetable mix and roll the strudel locking from sides
10. Once the strudel is tightly wrapped brush generously with butter
11. In 450 degree preheated oven cook for 10- 12 minutes, till golden brown
12. Let cool for then serve

Ragada Patty

This snack is vegetable patty served with split pea's soup ( known as ragada). Ragada can be made with green/yellow split pea (known as vatana/batani). The vegetable patty can be made with your choice of vegetables and to make this recipe half the less efforts, use the ready made patty or masala burger ( available at trader's joe's in USA). You can use my cutlet recipe as well. Bellow is easy ways to make patty.

You can top ragada patties with green chutney, sweet tamarind chutney, sev and other toppings. Top it with what you like. This is a very heavy snack and for us it serves as meals often. Cook and Enjoy!

Nutrition value of Trader Joe's masala burger

Nutrition value of Split Peas

Ragada

- 1 cup split green/yellow pea soaked in water overnight
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- Red chili powder
- Salt

- Vegetable oil 23 tablespoons

- Cumin powder 1 teaspoon

- Red dried chili 2 ( optional)

- few Curry leaves ( optional)

- Turmeric powder

- Garam Masala 1 tablespoon

- 1 onion finely chopped

1. Pressure cook soaked peas with some salt till properly cooked ( should break easily as you press)
2. Heat oil, add cumin powder, turmeric powder, red chili powder ( and curry leaves and Dried res chili if adding)
3. Add garlic and onion, cook for 5 minutes
4. Add cooked peas and garam masala
5. Season for salt and cook on medium heat till it becomes almost mushy

Patty

- 2 boiled potatoes mashed roughly
- 1/2 cup diced and cooked carrots
- 1 cup cooked green beans
- 2 cup peas
- Ginger and garlic paste
- Red chili powder/ or green chili paste
- Cumin seeds powder
- Salt
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
- 1 cup bread crumbs ( additional to roll patty)
- Oil to shallow fry


1. Mix all the above ingredients and kneed dough
2. Make small flat round patty
3. Heat oil in flat pan
4. Roll patty in bread crumbs and shallow fry till golden brown

To serve

- Ragada
- Patty

- Plain yogut ( beat to smooth texture ) add pinch of salt and pepper

- Chaat masala

- Sev

- Sweet tamarind chutney

- Pomegranate seeds ( optional)

- Red onion finely chopped

- Coriander leaves finely chopped

1. Take a shallow plate, keep patty at center
2. pour 2-3 spoons yogurt

3. Add ragada generously ( with respect to patties size)

4. Add sweet tamarind chutney

5. Sprinkle, onion, coriander, pomegranate and sev

6. Serve hot!

Medu Wada ( Deep Fried Lentil Snack)

This contribution of south Indian cuisine is very delicious. You can have a full meal with medu wada and sambar, or serve them with coconut chutney or make dahi wada from them.

And don't worry about the donut shape, you can use spoon to make them. They will still taste yummy! The key to have donut shaped wada is to have thick consistency of batter and avoid adding salt till you are ready to fry.

Nutrition value of Urad dal

- 4 cups split urad dal soaked in water overnight ( 6-8 hours)
- Ginger 2 inch piece
- Handful of Coriander leaves
- Green chili 1-2 (as per desired spiciness)
- Salt as per taste
- Oil for frying

1. Drain all the water from soaked Urad dal
2. In food processor grind soaked dal, ginger, chili and coriander leaves till its a smooth paste
3. Heat vegetable oil for frying
4. Add salt to taste
5. Wet hand in water, take small portion of batter, press flat and make a hole in center
6. Slide in hot oil ( wet hands make its easier )
7. Deep fry till golden brown on both sides

Salsa and Chips

Salsa is Mexican condiment. Salsa tastes best when made fresh. They are really simple to make the best part of making them at home is you get what you want in them. You can make salsa with tomato, mango, pineapple, avocado. They are usually served with corm chips. Its close to cachumber of Indian cuisine.

Mango Salsa

- 1 cup firm ripe mango peeled and chopped
- Red onion finely chopped
- 1/4 cup fresh chopped coriander leaves
- Lemon juice
- 1 jalapeno finely chopped
- 1 firm red tomato finely chopped
- Salt
- 1 spoon olive oil

1. Mix all the ingredient expect for salt
2. Just before serving add season with little salt
3. Serve with corn chips

Tomato Salsa

- 2 tomato
- 1 cup finely chopped onion
- 1/3 cup fresh chopped coriander
- Fresh lemon juice
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 medium hot jalapeno
- Olive oil
- Salt

1. Chop one tomato finely
2. Heat 1 tablespoon oil ad roast garlic slit jalapeno and other tomato for 5-10 minutes
3. Let cool and grind the roasted ingredients in blender to smooth paste quickly
4. Mix onion, chopped tomato, coriander, lemon juice and the paste from step 3
5. Season with salt and serve with corn chips

Pineapple salsa

- 1 cup peeled and chopped pineapple pieces
- Red onion finely chopped
- 1/4 cup fresh chopped mint leaves
- 1/4 cup finely chopped red bell pepper
- Lemon juice
- 1 jalapeno finely chopped
- Pepper
- Salt
- 1 spoon olive oil

1. Mix all the ingredient expect for salt
2. Just before serving add season with little salt
3. Serve with corn chips

Avocado Brushells

- 1 avocado cut in pieces
- 1 pound tomato cut
- 1 Red onion chopped
- 2 tablespoon parsley
- 2 tablespoon basil
- 2 cloves of garlic minced
- Lemon juice
- Salt
- Pepper

1. Mix all the ingredients
2. Server with French bread pieces

Pakode

Pakoda's are one of most general snack prepared in almost all over India in one form or the other. These are quick to make and best enjoyed with tea.

There are many vegetables you can use to make pakoda's. In addition to vegetable you can use slices of breads, paneer cubes, cheese or sliced boiled eggs. Explore more with this recipe by introducing your own favorites and your imagination. A platter full of mix pakoda's is more inviting.

While most of the vegetables like, potato, cauliflower, zucchini, spinach are used as slices, florets or whole to dip in flour paste, there is different way of using cabbage or onion for making pakode. You can mix chopped onion or shredded cabbage with flour and other ingredients to make a thick paste and then fry small portions.

For adding more crisp to your pakoda's you can add pinch of baking soda, but i leave this ingredient out.


Flour paste

- Chickpea flour 1 cup
- Salt as per taste
- Red chili powder ¼ teaspoon
- Ajwain crushed by hands ( bishops weed)
- ½ cup water
- Oil for deep frying

Vegetables

- Cauliflower florets and/or
- Spinach leaves and/or
- Potato peeled and cut in thin circles and/or
- Paneer (a.k.a. cottage cheese) cubes and/or
- Bread slices cut in half

1. Mix flour, salt, pepper and water to make a paste
2. Dip the vegetable/paneer/bread in paste and deep fry
3. Server hot with ketchup
4. Sprinkle with mixture of grounded cumin + salt + chaat Masala + red chili powder (optional)

** for crisper onion pakode (a.k.a. Bhaji) cut onion and mix with salt and keep aside for 15-20 minutes. Mix in flour only to absorb moisture released and add other ingredients.

Surli chi wadi ( chickpea flour rolls)

This snack is known mostly in state of Maharashtra. I am glade I know how to make it, its that good!.

This snack is very easy to make and tastes fabulous. Its ready in minutes and worth a try! Plus it's healthy.

'Surli chi wadi' is basically chickpea flour roll filled with fresh chopped coriander and fresh grated coconut and topped with cracked mustard seeds. The roll just melts in your mouth and you got to try it. At my mom's place she has to make more than one batch because as she starts rolling them we start eating them.

Nutrition value of Chickpea flour

- 1 cup chickpea flour (besan)
- 3 cups liquid ( 3 cups butter milk or if the butter milk is too sour 2 cups of butter milk and 1 cup water)
- Salt
- Red chili powder 1/2 teaspoon
- 1 teaspoon oil
- Chopped coriander leaves 1 cup
- Grated fresh coconut 1 cup
- Flat steel tray/plates 10'
- 3/4 tablespoon Mustard seeds
- 3 tablespoons oil separately

1. Mix chickpea flour, liquid, salt, 1 teaspoon oil and red chili powder to form smooth paste
2. Start cooking this mixture while stirring continuously on medium heat, till it forms a thick paste. This takes about 5-8 minutes.
3. If you have 10' plates you can divide cooked paste in 3 parts
4. Spread the cooked paste evenly on plates (Keep the remaining paste on low heat while spread on one plate)
5. Make 4 to 5 cuts with knife to make 1.5 inch wide strips on each plate
6. Spread coriander and coconut on each plate
7. Heat 3 tablespoon oil, when hot add mustard seeds and let crack
8. Pour with spoon evenly on each plate
9. Roll each cut strip slowly

** Buttermilk should be sour for this recipe
** There is no need to grease the plates

Coriander Wadi ( Deep Fried Corinder and Chickpea Flour Snack)

Nutrition value of Coriander Leaves

- One bunch of coriander, chopped finely
- Ginger (3 inch) and garlic(3 large cloves) and green chili (3) grated
- Cumin seeds
- Salt
- Turmeric powder
- Cheek pea flour 1-2 cups

1. Mix all the ingredients and kneed tight dough by adding little water at a time
2. Split portion in 4, Roll each to a long 1-1/2 inch Roll
3. Grease each with oil and cook for 15 minutes in steamer
4. When cool cut each roll in 1 inch pieces
5. Deep fry and sprinkle chat masala
6. Serve hot with ketchup

** Divide dough in more than 4 portions in case your steamer vessel is small and you can steam cook in more than one batch
** You can store excess steam cooked wadi in refrigerator and fry them before you need
** You can shallow fry instead of deep fry

Batata Wada

The same recipe can be used for making wada pav: serve fried wada in between cut pav (Bread) with fried green chili sprinkled with salt. A vairation can be made by applying filing between cut bread slices, dip whole sandwitch in flour paste and deep fry: called pav wada.

Filing

- 2 Large potatoes boiled peeled and diced
- Green chili, garlic, garlic, 10-15 curry leaves in blender
- Mustard seeds
- Diced Onion ½ cup
- Oil 3 table spoon
- Salt
- Turmeric powder
- Pav ( dinner roll like bread)
- Green chilies to fry

1. Heat oil and add mustard seeds, let crack
2. Add onion and paste of ginger, garlic, curry leaves and green chilies
3. Sauté add turmeric
4. Add potato and salt and stir will
5. Let cook for 5 minutes
6. When cool make 3 inch flat patties keep aside

Flour Paste

- 2 cups chickpea flour
- Salt

- Ajwain (Bishop's Weed)

1. Mix together with water to make a thick paste (consistency like sauce)
2. Dip the patties in this paste (coat all over) and deep fry till golden brown

** Before you fry green chili make a long slit in chili and then fry, this is important otherwise the chili will crack open in hot oil splattering hot oil.

Upma

Nutrition value of Semolina

- 1 cup roasted Suji (semolina)
- 3 cups boiling water
- Turmeric
- Mustard seeds
- Salt
- Lime juice
- Salt
- 1 small onion chopped
- Green peas ½ cup
- 5-6 curry leaves
- Fresh grated coconut and coriander to garnish
- 2 green chili cut in 1 inch pieces

1. Heat oil, add mustard seeds and let crack
2. Add chili, curry leaves, sauté
3. Add onion and turmeric powder, cook for 3-5 minutes
4. Add peas and boiling water
5. Add salt and Lime juice, when water starts bubbling, add semolina slowly while stirring continuously
6. When all water is gone, lower heat cover and cook for few minutes.
7. Server hot topped with coconut and coriander

Watli Daal

Nutrition Value of Chana Dal

- 2 cup Chana dal (a.k.a. gram dal )soaked in water for 5 hours
- Green chili 2
- Raw mango grated ½ cup ( If available)
- Coriander
- Fresh lime juice
- Ginger 1 inch
- Salt
- ½ teaspoon sugar

1. In food processor blend, drained dal, green chili, lime juice, ginger and salt
2. Stir in Raw mango

** use either raw mango or Lime juice

Variation : Sukhi dal

- 2 cup Chana dal soaked in water for 5 hours
- Green chili 2
- Cumin seeds
- Coriander
- Fresh lime juice
- Ginger 1 inch
- Salt
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- Oil 4 tablespoon
- Turmeric powder
- Hing (asafoetida) 2 pinch

1. In food processor blend, drained daal, green chili, lime juice, ginger, cumin and salt
2. Heat oil, add hing (asafoetida) and turmeric
3. Add blended daal
4. Stir well, cover and cook for 10-12 minutes, stirring in between
5. Break loose if any lumps are there
6. Garnish with coriander and grated fresh coconut

Taro / Arvi leaf Wadi

Nutrition value of Taro

- 4 big Taro leaves stem and rib removed and washed
- Chickpea flour (Besan ) 1- 2 cups
- Salt
- Red chili powder
- Cumin seed grounded
- Tamarind thick paste 1-2 table spoon
- Oil for deep fry
- Chaat masala

1. Mix chickpea flour, salt, red chili powder, grounded cumin and tamarind
2. Add water to make a thick paste
3. Spread taro leaf on kitchen counter, right side down
4. Apply thin layer of pate on back side
5. Roll in 2 inch flat roll
6. Grease with oil and steam cook for 15 minutes
7. When cool cut in 2 inch wide pieces
8. Fry in medium heat, Leaves will burn if you fry on high heat
9. Sprinkle chaat masala

Okra Fry

Nutrition value of Okra

- Okra cut in long thin slices
- Oil for deep frying
- Lemon juice
- Salt
- Pepper
- Tomato chopped
- Onion Rings
- Coriander
- Red chili powder

1. Deep fry okra, drain on paper towel
2. Mix quickly all the other ingredient with okra and toss
3. serve hot

Garbanzo Bean Bhel

This is easy to make snack and nutritious as well, You can use canned garbanzo beans for this recipe to make it instantly.

Nutrition value of Garbanzo

- Cooked garbanzo beans ( salted) 1 cups
- Red onion chopped ½ cup
- Coriander leaves chopped
- Grounded cumin seed
- Tamarind sweet chutney
- Green chili minced 1
- Shev 3-4 tablespoon ( fired chickpea noodles)
- Yogurt with salt and pepper
- Chaat masala

1. Mix beans, onion, chili, grounded cumin seed and coriander
2. Sprinkle shev
3. Put yogurt , then chutney and chaat masala

Dahi Wade

Nutrition value of yogurt
Nutrition value of Urad Dal

- Soaked Slip Urad daal 1 and ½ cup ( soak overnight)
- Green Chili
- Ginger
- Salt

1. Grind all the above ingredient in food processor without water,
2. Deep fry small portions (spoonful)from batter
3. Pour fired wade in water at room temperature
4. Let soak for a minute, squeeze without destroying shape and add them to spicy yogurt

Spicy Yogurt

- 300 ml yogurt (not very sour) or more to soak all fried wade
- Mustard seeds
- Curry leaves
- Ginger
- Red chili powder
- Cumin seed Grounded
- Coriander leaves
- Oil

1. Mix yogurt with 1 cup water, if too thick add more water
2. Add ginger and stir
3. Heat 1 tablespoon oil
4. Add mustard seed let crack add curry leaves
5. Add this to yogurt stir
6. After wade are added to this yogurt sprinkle red chili powder and grounded cumin seed
7. Top with coriander leaves

Cutlet

A nice way to eat all vegetables. You use vegetables of your choice

- Bread Crumbs of fresh bread ( or form packet) 1cup
- 1 large boiled and peeled potato
- 1 cups cauliflower
- 1 carrot diced
- ½ cup peas
- Green beans ( optional)
- Cumin seed grounded
- 2-3 Tablespoon chopped coriander leaves
- Read chili powder
- Salt
- 2-3 tablespoon corn flour
- Turmeric powder ( optional)
- 1 green chili grated

1. Boil Cauliflower, carrot and peas ( and beans if using) in boiling water for 10 minutes
2. Place all vegetable in bowl, mash with boiled potato
3. Mix all the other ingredients and mix loosely
4. Make patties id desired size
5. Coat with extra bread crumbs ( optional)
6. Shallow fry in vegetable oil
7. Serve hot with ketchup

Brochette

A healthy and yummy snack.

Nutrition Value of Tomato

- French bread slices / baguette slices 10
- Extra virgin olive oil 1/ cup
- Salt
- Pepper
- Fresh garlic 1-2 large cloves crushed and minced
- Dried Oregano crushes
- Tomato diced ( seeds removed)
- Parsley chopped 1 tablespoon

1. Mix Oil, salt, freshly grounded pepper, crushed oregano and garlic
2. Spread one spoon on each slice
3. Bake bread for 5 minutes at 400 degree preheated oven
4. Top each bread with tomato and parsley and little olive oil
5. Bake for another 3 -5 minutes
6. Remove from oven and one light sprinkle of salt and freshly grounded pepper
7. Serve hot

Poha

- 3 cups poha (puffed Rice), wet by washing with water in a strainer

- Red onion chopped

- Green chili chopped

- Potato diced

- Curry leaves

- Turmeric powder

- Mustard seeds

- Salt

- Oil

- Lime juice

- Shev (fried Chickpea noodles, it’s a ready snack available in any Indian grocery store)

- Coriander

1. Heat oil, add mustard seeds, let crack add chili and curry leaves

2. Add onion and turmeric powder

3. Add potato and cover to cook for few minutes

4. Add poha and stir well.

5. Add salt and lime juice and cover for few minutes

6. Top with shev and coriander and serve hot