Easy to make Bakarwadi!

"Bakarwadi" is a favorite Maharashrian snack namkeen, liked by big and small and suits for afternoon tea time snacks.
I love to devour them to overcome my hunger pangs at any time or for that matter any occasion ;-)

To make Bakarwadi, you need to focus your efforts to make 1)the filling and 2)the outer covering.
Ingredients for Bakarwadi filling:-
1 1/2 tsp poppy seeds
1 1/2 tsp sesame seeds
1/4 bowl grated fresh coconut
1/4 bowl grated dry coconut
1/4 bowl sev
1/4 bowl chopped coriander leaves
1 tsp garam masala powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
1/2 tsp amchur powder
some oil to help bind it together
salt to taste
sugar to taste

For the outer covering, we need:
1/4 cup maida
2 tsp besan
1 tsp rava/sooji
ghee used as mohan
salt to taste
and water to roll the above ingredients in the form of a stiff dough, not very soft

Now comes the fun part!!!
After the dough rests for some time (15- 20 mins), make small balls of dough and roll out flat in circular shape (like rolling out roti/chapatti)
Then with the help of a spoon, spread out the filling on top of the rolled out maida evenly.
Start with one end of  flat maida rolling it and tucking the filling inside the maida to form a cylindrical shape roll.
Cut small pieces of the rolled dough in size of your requirement or your preference and deep fry in frying utensil on medium-high till the turn light brown.

Enjoy hot bakarwadi !!!

 

Paneer Club Sandwich

Hi Friends,
Sharing recipe of a yummy sandwich which is quite filling as well.


The Paneer Club Sandwich!


Ingredients:

• Paneer- cut in medium sized cubes
• Tomato paste- 2 tsp
• onion - 1 medium sized finely chopped
• 1 tsp garam masala powder
• 1 tsp red chilli powder
• salt to taste
• fresh cream - as per liking
• fresh coriander- finely chopped
• mustard seeds
• oil - 1 tsp
• 3 bread slices ( sourdough bread tastes best)
• butter
• sliced onions cut in round
• slices tomatoes cut in round
• slices of boiled potatoes cut in rounds
• pepper - as per liking
• green chutney - made out of freshly grated coconut, 2 green chillies, fresh coriander leaves, mint leaves, salt, sugar and 2 tsp lemon juice

Method:
For the paneer filling:
Get a cooking pan and put some oil. Once the oil is hot, put in the mustard seeds and let it splutter. Add the chopped onions and fry till light golden. Once onions are golden, add in the tomato paste and fry till tomato paste is cooked. Once cooked add in the paneer cubes. Add in garam masala, red chilli powder and salt.
Let it cook.


Once the gravy thickens, add in some water. Let paneer cook in the gravy.


Then once cooked, add in the fresh cream.


Simmer for 5 mins and then turn off the heat.


Garnish wish freshly chopped coriander.


Now take 3 pieces of bread, apply butter on one side of each bread.


Place one slice of bread on cooking board. Place slices of onions, tomatoes and potatoes and sprinkle some pepper powder and salt. Sprinkle grated mozzarella cheese on it. Now on the 2nd bread slice, on the other side on which there is no butter applied, apply the green chutney. Place it over the 1st slice of bread.


On top of the 2nd bread slice, now place the paneer mixture that was readied. Cover it up with the 3rd slice of bread.


Put the layered sandwich in the Panini maker or grill and grill on medium heat till top of sandwich is golden brown.


Apply some butter on top and serve hot with Green chutney or tomato ketchup.


Enjoy!

Gilroy Ginger, Ginger Gilroy!!!

Hmmm Gilroy!

So have we heard about Gilroy?

Oh yes we have!!!

So what do we know about Gilroy...

Yes, all about its gardens, reservoirs, car showrooms, factory outlets and yes not to forget its golf stretches:-)

Gilroy is not just a city in Santa Clara County in California but is also known to be the Garlic Capital of the world!

Another hidden treasure (not so hidden may be)of Gilroy is Mount Madonna!

This mountain painted in the redwood forest and grassland overlooking Monterey Bay, between Santa Cruz and Monterey, in Northern California provides you with a scenic view.

But my main recommendation is not just Mount Madonna which would be a great hiking and camping place too, but is in fact is the The Sankat Mochan Hanuman Temple!

This is a project sponsored by the Hanuman Fellowship and is located within the grounds of the Mount Madonna Center for the Creative Arts and Sciences, a residential private retreat and conference center.

It was established in 1978 by the students of Baba Hari Dass, and offers a community designed to nurture the creative arts and the health sciences within a context of personal and spiritual growth.

The Hanuman  temple holds you in captivation as you find yourself in a quiet, soothing  and friendly environment. It helps you connect to your self as well with the supreme power and nature.

Do visit Mount Madonna and the Sankat Mochan Hanuman temple. A prebooked appointment for a Saturday visit is best way  to ensure that you do not miss the chance! Link to appointment page(http://www.sankatmochanhanumansangha.org/visitors/login)

Another hidden treasure  for us Foodies is definitely the Ginger Cafe in Gilroy.

Do stop and enjoy porcupine custard buns, pineapple rice, chilly chicken rice. The Garlic butter noodles-Kids menu is super yummy too!

You don't know what you can actually like unless you try it!!!

Gilroy, though the Garlic Capital of the world is Ginger (cafe)Gilroy  for me;-)

Spicy crab masala

A lovely Sunday morning to all!

In todays post I wanted to share my love-sea food. I am a sea food fan and practically love all kinds of it:-)

One such dear crustacean friend of mine from this world is someone who is so versatile (soft shelled, hard shelled)that you will fall in love with it...familiar to many as their own sunsign and not so familiar to many being also the name of a small city in India!

He is known as khekda, curlya, chimbori and more commonly as the Crab!!!

This little buddy is full of protein, vitamins(especially Vitamin B12) minerals (salt and potassium) and assures you to rock your taste buds.

You can taste this magnificent shiny explosion of taste in multiple formats.

Use in salads, or add it to your favorite soup or stew recipe. Use it as a filling in sandwiches or stuff it in your whole chicken recipes...you can also try the way I like the best in which the crab is definitely standing out as the shining star...

The crab curry!!!

For this instance i picked up crabs from the Fremont Ranch 99 outlet. Always fresh!

My spicy crab masala recipe begins:-

Ingredients

4 crabs
1 cup onion paste
1 cup fresh coconut grated, fried and ground  into a paste
1 tea spn coriander seeds
5-6 red chillies
5-6 peppercorns
5-6 cloves
1 tsp ginger garlic paste
2-3 finely chopped garlic
1 tsp garam masala powder
1 tsp red chilli powder
½ tea spn tamarind extract
Oil 2 tea spns
Salt to taste

Instructions

Clean the crabs. If the crab is big, cut them into 2 pieces

Heat 1 tea spn of oil in a wok.

Fry coriander seeds, peppercorns, cloves and grind them with red chllies.

Heat remaining oil and fry onions till they are slightly brownish.

Grind the onions and coconut to a smooth paste

Now in the wok,add ground masala, garam masala, ginger garlic paste, chopped garlic, onion-coconut paste,tamarind pulp and add salt, red chilli powder and cook for 2-3 min. Add some water.

Now add the crabs and cook for around 12-15min.

Enjoy the spicy crab masala with rice or appam or neer dosa!

Ganpati Bappa Morya in California

Ganpati bappa morya!!!

A very happy celebration having Ganpati Bappa at our abode in California this year.

Though it has been only few weeks of me being here, the warm welcome that the state has extended has been overwhelming.

The ease at which welcoming bappa at our place was unimaginable.

You will find Ganapati Bappa idols ready for sale around 10-12 days before Ganesh Chaturthi at any of the places mentioned below:-
1)India Cash n Carry
2)Namaste Plaza
3)Namaste India amd many other India  Stores.

There are also specific shops like the "Pooja Store" in Fremont which offer Ganapati idols on sale as well as all the other things required to fulfill the Ganesh pooja at home. Banana leaves, mango leaves, beetle leaves, Suparis, diya, as well as all of the other puja material is available.

As the time approaches to bid Ganpati bappa adieu, one would wonder how to do the Ganesh visarjan.

While I have met and interacted with many families in California who have had Ganpati bappa at their homes for years, I have learnt:-
1) some worship the Ganesh idol at home year after year but dont do visrajan but welcome bappa home and chant "ganpati bappa morya pudhchya warshi kavkar ya" at the end of 1 and a half or 5 or 10 days as per their family tradition with same enthusiasm and excitement
2) some bring new Ganesh idols every year but dont do visarjan/immersion in water
3) Some do the visarjan in small water pool in their own backyards or some like I did
4) leave their dear Ganesh idols in safe custodies of the various Hindu temples in the area who then on the end of 10th day I.e. on Anant Chaturdashi, do the visarjan of all Ganesh idols in San Francisco bay.

Some temples like the Vedic Hindu Temple, Fremont or the Sankat mochan Hanuman temple in Fremont, also allow you to join the cruise into the Pacific Ocean and do the visarjan in person.

Charges for safe custody and in person visarjan are USD 51/-

The Indian communities also arrange for a variety of cultural activities ad competitions for children amd adults. Some of the interesting ones are those arranged by the Marathi Mitra Mandal of Bay Area. Do visit their websites to gather more information.

Hope this blog provides you with some information on how the Indian community celebrates the Ganesh festival in California.

Also sharing some photos from my celebration!

The Mumbai Food Festival

Hi Everyone,

Today's feedback I plan to share with you all is about The Mumbai Food Festival which was held in Mumbai from 9th to 11th May 2014. It was a twin expo with another Fashion Expo on the side.

The Venue was the MMRDA ground at the Bandra Kurla Complex, Mumbai.

With much excitement and anticipation I visited the Festival and though I won the Prize at the cooking competition which was also held as part of the event, that exuberance was overridden by the lack of the variety and scale of culinary Indian and International dishes that were promised of the event.

Few of the stalls which showed promise were the

·         Samudri Kanya - Seafood specialty

·         Fruitilicious – handcrafted fruit bouquets 

Some other stalls covered kitchen equipments for demo and sale which I personally felt were overtly priced.

The Don Bosco culinary school of Kurla had a wide spread of savoury and sweet and baked goodies with some unique food items like the Chicken Donut! Contact details were of Ms. Rebello.

Overall, the Festival could possibly have been much more as I personally felt it had a great potential but lacked stronger commitment and participation from stakeholders of the food industry and fell short on good execution!

I however look forward to the next in the series with my fingers crossed, hoping for the best!

P.S: Sharing some pictures of my dish and the event.

TheStarFoodies this week - our little ones!

Crispy chips with 3 yummy dips

For the chips

Ingredients:

½ cup nachni flour(rich in calcium), ¼ cup wheat flour (protein, carbohydrate, fibre), ¼ cup corn flour ((protein, carbohydrate, fibre), pinch of salt, 1 tea-spoon cooking oil, fresh pepper powder, water to mix

Recipe:

Mix all the above ingredients to form smooth dough. Let it rest aside for 15 minutes.

Roll it into a chapati. Cut into 8 pieces and deep fry till crispy chip like formations.

For the dip:

Dip1: Strawberry surprise

Hang one bowl of curd overnight to form hung curd.

Take the hung curd and strawberry crush to it. Add a spoon of honey. If curd found to be a little stiff, add milk to make it flow.

Mix well and strain, if required for smooth consistency of strawberry dazzle. Garnish with pomegranate seeds.

Dip2: Potato and Cream

Ingredients:

1 mashed potato, 2 spoon sour cream, 2 spoons cheese spread, 3 crushed peppercorns, and salt to taste.

Recipe:

Mix all the above ingredients and take it out of a blender to form a sooth mixture

Dip3: Hummus

Ingredients:
1 cup kabuli chana-soaked over night, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil, or more as needed, plus more for garnish
Juice of 1 lemon

½ spoon chilli powder
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh coriander leaves, plus more for garnish
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
salt to taste
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
1 spoon jeera powder
10 black pepper
1/4 cup water

Recipe:

Put in mixer and combine all the above ingredients. Keep cut coriander leaves to be used for garnish. Blend on low speed until smooth.
Remove in dip bowl and sprinkle cut coriander leaves, drizzle lightly with olive oil and serve.

            LOVE FOOD!