Cabbage Vada - Pan Fried Cabbage Fritters

Cabbage Vada is an amazing Konkani delicacy prepared with cabbage. This recipe can also be prepared with drumstick flowers instead of cabbage. As drumstick flowers are very seasonal, sometimes it’s difficult to get drumstick flowers in the place I live. But I get a chance to taste drumstick flowers vada whenever I am in my home town. To relish my taste buds, I often make these vada using cabbage.  These vada can be served along with rice, dal or with roti too.

INGREDIENTS

• Shredded Cabbage – 1 cup
• Fresh grated coconut – ½ cup
• Onion, finely chopped – ½ cup
• Rice- 1 tbsp (soaked for 30 mins)
• Toor Dal (split pigeon peas) – 2 tbsp (soaked for 30 mins)
• Coriander seeds – 1 tsp
• Urad dal (white dal) – 1tsp
• Jaggery – 2 tsp
• Red chilies- 4 nos
• Salt to taste
• Oil – for frying
• Fine Variety Semolina (Rava or Sooji) - Used to coat vada before frying

 METHOD

• Soak rice and toor dal into a water for at least 30 mins
• Heat 1 tsp of oil into a pan.
• Add coriander seeds and urad dal and fry them on low flame till you get a nice aroma.
• Combine soaked rice and dal, roasted coriander seeds and urad dal, fresh grated coconut, red chilies, jaggery and salt into a mixer. Grind everything to thick paste using little amount of water.
• Do not add more water while grinding. Remember we want a thick paste for making vada.
• Transfer the thick grounded paste into a bowl. To that add shredded cabbage and finely chopped onion.
• Mix everything together well.
• Make small balls and flatten them in between your palms. Roll them in the semolina evenly on all the sides.
• Heat a frying pan on the medium flame and evenly spread oil all over it.
• Place the semolina coated flatten vada in the pan and smear few drops of oil over the vada.
• Shallow fry them till you get nice crisp texture on it.
• Here we go Cabbage Vada is ready to serve.
  

Chow Chow Bhath - The Popular Breakfast Combo Dish

Chow Chow Bhath is the popular breakfast dish served in almost all hotels of Bengaluru. This breakfast consists of three dishes which is savory Rava Bhath, sweet Rava Kesari and Coconut chutney.

This breakfast combo idea can be prepared for breakfast or for brunch. The combination of three dishes is too good. The savory, sweet and spicy compliments each other equally. Every home has its own recipe to create these basic dishes (Rava Bhath, Rava Kesari and Coconut Chutney). Even I got my own recipe to create these dishes but was never satisfied with its taste. With few variations in the recipe, finally I was able to get the taste in the dish that I was looking for. If u really looking for that restaurant style taste into dishes, do try out my recipes. You will be amazed  with the results. Coconut chutney is already posted in the blog. Do checkout the recipe of chutney here

Rava Bhath

INGREDIENTS

• Semolina or Rava (use fine variety) – 1 cup
• Cumin seeds –  1tsp
• Mustard seeds – 1 tsp
• Bengal gram (Chana dal) – 2tsp
• Black gram (Urad dal) – 2tsp
• Onion – 1 small (chopped)
• Green chilies – 2 nos (chopped)
• Ginger – ½ inch piece (crushed)
• Curry leaves – 6 nos (fresh or dried)
• Cashewnuts – 10 pieces (do not skip this, cashewnuts bring out taste while cooking with semolina)
• Ghee – 2tbsp
• Water – 3 cups
• Milk – 1 cup
• Salt – ¾ to 1tsp

 

METHOD

• Dry Roast semolina or rava on the low flame until you get nice aroma from it.  Also add cumin seeds while roasting semolina. This will make Rava Bhath tastier. Keep it aside for later use.
• Heat ghee into a frying pan, add mustard seeds, bengal gram and black gram. Fry them for around 30 seconds.
• Then add chopped green chilies, crushed ginger, curry leaves and cashew nuts. Fry for another 30 seconds.
• Then add 3 cups of water and 1 cup of milk.  Mix everything well and let the mixture come to boil.
• Once the mixture starts to boil, lower the flame.
• Add salt in the roasted semolina before adding to the mixture. If salt is added directly into the mixture, milk might get curdle.
• Now slowly add roasted semolina into the mixture and stir continuously until the mixture thickens.
• Turn off the flame and cover the pan with the lid. Let the mixture rest for another 5 minutes.
• Here we go Rava Bhath is ready to serve. Rava Bhath tastes best when served with white chutney.

 Rava Kesari 

INGREDIENTS

• Semolina or Rava (use fine variety) - 1 cup
• Ghee – 4 tbsp
• Raisins – 1 tbsp
• Cashewnuts – 2 tbsp
• Cloves – 2 nos
• Cardamom – 2 nos
• Hot Water – 4 cups
• Sugar – ¾ cup
• Orange color – a pinch
• Cardamom powder – ½ tsp (optional)
  

 

METHOD

• Heat ghee into a frying pan and add semolina (rava). Fry semolina on low flame until its color slightly changes it to creamish in color.
• Also add raisins and cashewnuts along with semolina while roasting. Otherwise raisins and cashewnuts can be fried separately.
• Add hot water in the roasted semolina and stir it continuously to avoid forming any lumps.
• Then add sugar and cardamom powder. Mix well until sugar melts into the mixture.
• After adding sugar, semolina mixture might look little thin.
• Cook the mixture for another 5 minutes or until the mixture slightly thickens. Turn off the flame.
• Rava Kesari is ready to serve.
  

 

Tausalli (Steamed Cucumber Cake) - A Konkani Sweet Dish

There are many such unique recipes which have been in no picture until we know it from our mother or grandmother about its existence. This is one of those few recipe which I learnt from my grandmom. Happy to carry the legacy forward and share my knowledge with all of u. Tausalli is the konkani sweet steamed cake  prepared using cucumber. Traditionally this dish was prepared mainly during festive day along with variety of other dishes to complete the festive thali.

The word Taushe means cucumber in konkani and idli means steamed cake. Hence name Tausalli  comes from taushe(cucumber) and idli (steamed cake).

Some people also prefer this dish to have it in breakfast along with spicy chutney. But we prefer to have it when piping hot with small dollop of ghee on every idli. However u eat, the unique taste of this recipe will make to prepare this dish again and again.

 

INGREDIENTS

• Semolina (Thin or Thick variety, as available) - 1&1/2 cup
• Fresh cucumber, grated - 2 cup
• Sugar - 1/2 cup (This quantity is enough for given measurement, if want you can add 2 tbsp more)
• coconut powder or wet scrapped coconut -1/2 cup
• Cardamom powder - 1 tsp
• Turmeric powder -1/4 tsp (for that beautiful colour)
• Ghee - 1tbsp
• Dryfruits (cashewnut, raisins) - 1/4 cup
• Water - 1cup 

METHOD

• In a large bowl, add in semolina, fresh cucumber, coconut powder, cardamom powder, turmeric powder, dry fruits, ghee and water. Mix everything well and leave it aside for atleast 30 minutes.
• Then grease the idli cooker plate and pour in 2tbsp of batter into each cavity.
• Steam the idlis for around 10 to 12 minutes.
• Here we go tausalli is ready to serve hot with small dollop of ghee on each of those mouthmelting goodies.
• Do try this recipe and let me know in the comment section..Till then bye bye.