Cabbage pakoda/Crunchy, crisp cabbage fritters

These are easily some of the best pakodas that I've made. Easy to make, these deep fried delights stay crisp and crunchy for a really long time. The only major chore involved is chopping cabbage, which I am usually not too fond of, but the recent addition of a chopper to my kitchen makes this snack a breeze to make.

What you need :
Cabbage - a small one, chopped thin and long (I measured and got approximately 4 heaped cups of cabbage)
Gram flour/besan - 1 cup (approx)
Rice flour - 2-3 tbsp
Red chilli powder - to taste
Salt - to taste
Onion - 1/4 cup, chopped fine
Ajwain/carom seeds - 1 tsp (optional. I am fond of the flavor and tend to throw this in wherever I can)
Oil - for deep frying

Take the chopped cabbage in a bowl. Sprinkle salt over it and leave aside for 10 minutes. The cabbage would have released quite a bit of water in this time. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well to form a thick dough. You will not need to add any extra water, but if you feel that your dough is too dry and crumbly, sprinkle a tiny bit of water and mix until it reaches a thick, just moistened consistency.
Heat oil in a kadai. Pinch out small bits of the dough and deep fry on medium heat until well browned and crisp. Drain on to a paper towel.
Serve with ketchup or chutney.

This is my second entry to Week 3 or Blogging Marathon #53 under the theme Fritters.
Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing this BM

Cabbage thoran - a Kerala sadya staple

A sadya (feast) in Kerala without a thoran(stir-fried vegetable) is unimaginable. It is simple dishes like these that make a feast memorable and complete.

What you need :
Cabbage - a small one, chopped fine
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp (optional)
Salt - to taste
Grated coconut - 1/4 cup
Green chilli - 2
Curry leaves - a few
Red chilli - 1
Oil - 1 tsp
Urad dal - 1 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Heat oil in a pan. Add the urad dal, broken red chilli and mustard seeds. When the seeds pop, add the chopped cabbage, turmeric powder, salt and just enough water to cover it. Cover and cook on a low flame.(*) Grind the coconut, chilli and curry leaves coarsely without adding any water. When the cabbage is almost done, add the ground mixture to it, stir well and cook uncovered until well cooked and all the excess water has evaporated. Serve hot.

Note : * The process of cooking cabbage can be quickened by cooking it in the microwave or steaming it in the pressure cooker.
Check once in a while to ensure that there is sufficient water for the cabbage to cook in.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#45

Seven years of blogging and savoury muffins

This blog completed seven years of existence on June 30th. I remembered, but just didn't have the enthusiasm to sit down and type out a blog post to commemorate this milestone. Every now and then, I go through a stage where though I have a lot to say on the blog, I just don't feel like sitting and typing it all out. How I wish there was a software that would create a blog post just by listening to me speak. Now that would be truly something, wouldn't it?
I am hoping to shake off the inertia by participating in Blogging Marathon #31. The theme I have chosen is Non-Indian breakfasts and that is what you will see on the blog for the next three days. 
Breakfast, to me, has to be something filling and nutritious. No Chocos or Corn flakes for me - I cannot stand eating something sweet in the morning. These savoury muffins are nice to look at, soft and moist in texture, and taste really good. Your imagination is the limit when it comes to deciding what goes into this muffin. Here's a look at all that went into my muffins.

What you need:
All purpose flour/maida - 1.5 cups
Grated vegetables - 2 cups (I used cabbage, carrot and onion)
Curd - 3/4 cup
Olive oil - 1/3 cup
Salt - to taste
Cumin powder - 1 tsp
Red chilli powder - 1/2 tsp (or to taste)
Oregano - 1/2 tsp
Egg - 1
Baking powder - 3 tsp
Baking soda - 1/4 tsp

Take the flour, baking powder and grated vegetables in a large bowl. To this, add cumin powder, red chilli powder, oregano and salt
In a separate bowl, beat together the egg, curd and oil. Add this mixture to the flour mixture. Mix well. Add baking soda and mix gently but thoroughly.
Preheat oven to 175 degrees centigrade. Grease a muffin pan and spoon in some of the mixture into each depression. Sprinkle some sesame seeds or rolled oats on top of the batter and bake for 15-18 minutes.
These can be baked beforehand, refrigerated and then warmed up the next day for breakfast.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#31

Tomato soup

I started this blogging marathon with a soup and today, on the last day of the marathon, I have another bowl of soup to serve.
My daughter, like many other kids her age, often gets cold and cough. When she falls ill, she refuses to eat rice. At these times, soup comes to the rescue. Lentils, vegetables, even a little bit of rice.....all these can be added to make a healthy soup. The soup that I have made today is a basic one that includes some vegetables. The vegetables can be changed according to your choice.

What you need:
1 large, juicy tomato
1 small carrot
Cabbage - a few large pieces
Pepper corns - to taste
Salt

Microwave the tomato, carrot and cabbage for 5 minutes or until well cooked. Let it cool. Add peppercorns and salt. Blend till smooth. I usually do not strain my soups or remove the skin of the tomatoes. You can do that if you choose to. Also, the soup I serve for my daughter is thicker in consistency than what I would make for myself because I feel that it is easier for her to drink and less messy.
Warm the soup up and serve topped with some butter or a dollop of cream.

Do take a look at my fellow marathoners' kitchens....Srivalli,
Azeema, Bhagi, Champa, Gayathri Anand, Gayathri Kumar, Harini, Kamalika, Meena, Mina, Padma,  Pavani,PJ, Priya Mahadevan, Priya Suresh, Priya Vasu, Rujuta, Santosh, Saraswathi, Savitha, Shanavi, Smitha, Sowmya, Suma, Usha, Veena

Restaurant style gobi manchurian

Whether you call it Gobi manjoori or gopi manjurien, this is one dish that you'll be hard put to find in an authentic Chinese restaurant. In fact, I clearly remember the patronizing look that a waiter gave me at one of the popular Chinese restaurants here when I asked if they had this dish. He then went on to tell me that they only serve "authentic" Chinese food.
So, how did this Indo-Chinese fusion food that is unique to India originate? A google search yields several viewpoints on how this dish came into being. One site, though, hits the nail on the head when it says that this is one dish that is not South Indian, not North Indian and most certainly not Chinese. Be that as it may, there is no doubt about the popularity of this dish.
I usually follow Meena's recipe that I've talked about in this post, but when I saw a different way of making it in a recent TV show, I just had to try it out.

What you need:
Cauliflower - cut into small florets, 1 cup
Cabbage - 1/2 cup, shredded into long pieces
Onion - 1, chopped
Ginger - a small piece
Garlic - 4-5 cloves
Green chilli - 2 (adjust to taste)
Spring onions - a few, chopped (chop the leaves as well)
All purpose flour - 3/4 cup (I may have used a little more 'coz I just kept adding flour until I felt the consistency was right. So use your judgement)
Rice flour - 1/2 cup
Salt
Soya sauce - 3 tbsp (use more if the batter is too dry)
Red chilli sauce - to taste
Oil - for deep frying

Grind the ginger, garlic and chillies into a smooth paste.
Take the cabbage, cauliflower, spring onions and onions in a large, wide mouthed bowl. Add the ground paste to this. Add salt and let it rest for a few minutes. Now add the sauces and mix well. Add the flours little by little, mixing well until the flour is just moistened. The dough should not be very smooth like chapati dough.....it should be more like the batter that you make for pakodas. You will not need to add any water as the salted vegetables would have released some water and the sauces will also help to bind the flour. Keep this covered until you are ready to make manchurian.
Remember, the longer you let the mixture stand, the more pronounced the flavours will be and the tastier the manchurian. However, if you live in a very hot place, let it stand for an hour or two and then if needed, refrigerate until you are ready to make it.

To make manchurian:
Heat oil in a kadai. Take small portions of the batter and deep fry it in oil until well browned on both sides.
Garnish with spring onion leaves before serving.


Note :
It is very important that the flour should only just be well moistened.....it should not be watery. The vegetables will give out water while the batter rests and this will make it just the right consistency before frying.
While deep frying, keep the flame low so that both the inside and outside are evenly cooked.
This mixture can be refrigerated for up to two days.

Cabbage thogayal

Thogayal was standard fare while I was growing up, but there were only two kinds of thogayal that we made - coconut and mango. Needless to say, those are my top two favourite thogayals. However, once I started wielding the ladle, true to the name of this blog, I started experimenting with different ingredients and now make thogayals with almost any veggie. The basic recipe is almost always the same.

What you need:
Cabbage - chopped into large chunks - 1.5 cups
Red chilli - 3 or 4 (adjust to taste)
Urad dal - 3 tsp
Tamarind - a small gooseberry sized piece soaked for 5 minutes in just enough water to cover it
Salt
Asafoetida - a little (optional)
Curry leaves - a few sprigs
Oil - 1 tsp

Take the red chillies, curry leaves and dal in a microwaveable bowl. Pour oil over it and heat on high for 2 minutes or until the dal turns reddish. Stir in the cabbage and heat for another 4 minutes. Let it cool completely. Add the other ingredients and blend adding as little water as you possibly can to a coarse paste.This goes best with rice, but can also be enjoyed with dosa/idli.