Poha cutlet - an air fryer recipe

The air fryer, as I mentioned in one of my previous posts, is the latest addition to my kitchen. Ever since we bought it, we've been trying out various dishes in it. In most cases, we've been able to replicate the taste of the non-air fryer version of the dish and are overall, quite satisfied with the purchase. These cutlets are something that I've never tried before buying the air fryer and so, I do not have anything to compare it with. However, the air fryer version turned out nicely browned and crisp and tasted really good. It is kid approved as well and quite a few were polished off by the kid, despite the fact that she doesn't usually like poha.

What you need:
Rice flakes/poha/aval - 1 cup
Gram flour/Besan - 1/3 cup
Green chilli - 2, minced
Ginger - a small piece, julienned
Red chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
Garam masala - 1/2 tsp
Curd - as required
Salt
Coriander - 1 tbsp, chopped fine
Groundnuts - 1/4 cup, coarsely ground

Take the rice flakes in a fine mesh colander and run cold water over it. Leave this aside to drain. I used thin poha, which only needed to be washed. If you use thick poha you may need to soak it for a few minutes and then drain it.
In a pan, dry roast the gram flour over a low flame until it turns aromatic.
Mix all the ingredients together in a large mixing bowl. Add curd, a teaspoon at a time and mix, until you have a stiff dough. Make small balls out of this dough and flatten them using your hands to shape. I used a round cookie cutter to get even cutlets.
Preheat air fryer to 350 degrees Fahrenheit for  5 minutes. Brush some oil over the cutlets and place them in a single layer in the air fryer. Fry for five minutes, then turn them over, brush some more oil and fry for another five minutes. Remove from the air fryer when they are brown and crisp. Timing may vary depending on your appliance. Do keep watch afterthe eight minute mark.
Serve hot with ketchup or chutney.

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This also goes to  Valli's Kid’s Delight event, guest hosted by PJ themed on Quick / Innovative Breakfast

 

Kanda Poha - a traditional Maharashtrian breakfast dish

One of the things I miss the most from my days of living in Mumbai is the street food. From vada paos to pani puris to idlis and dosas, everything was available on the streets and I used to absolutely love it. I was a frequent traveler on the infamous 'Mumbai local' while I lived there. The morning scene outside my destination station was always the same. A few local women with large steel dabbas would set up shop outside the station. Hot idlis with chutney and sambar, vada pao and kanda poha would be ladled out of these steel dabbas into paper plates. The taste of the poha that they used to serve is something that still lingers on in my mind. Though I make poha often, I feel that the one sold on the streets was so much better.

What you need:
Poha/aval/rice flakes - 1 cup, heaped
Oil - 1 tbsp.
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Urad dal - 1/2 tsp
Onion - 1 medium, chopped fine
Green chilli - 2, minced
Garlic - 2 cloves, chopped (optional)
Ginger - a small piece, julienned
Peanuts - a handful
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Juice of half a lemon
Coriander - finely chopped, for garnishing
Sugar - a little (optional)
Sev - a handful (optional)

Take the poha in a colander. Run cold water over it and wash it well. Let the water drain out completely. Wash and drain again. Let it stand for five minutes.

In a pan, heat some oil. Add the mustard seeds and urad dal. When the mustard seeds pop, add green chilli, ginger and garlic. Fry well. Mix in and roast the peanuts.  Add onions and saute over a low flame until translucent. Add turmeric powder and the drained poha along with salt. Mix well. Stir in the lemon juice. Sprinkle some sugar(less than 1/4 teaspoon) over this if you would like. I feel that the sugar really adds to the taste of the final dish and that is how it is served in Maharashtra. Garnish with chopped coriander and a handful of sev.
Enjoy with a hot cup of coffee or tea.

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School lunch box - Day 3

Day 3 saw the little girl taking this in her lunch box :

Breakfast break - Poha/Aval upma/Rice flakes upma
Lunch break - 2 rotis with grated carrot stir-fry
Snack break - 1 chopped mango

To make poha/aval upma/rice flakes upma, here's what you need:
Poha - 1 cup (*See notes)
Onion - 1, chopped fine
Tomato - 1, chopped fine
Ginger - a small piece, julienned
Green chilli - 1 or 2(keeping in mind your child's spice tolerance)
Juice of one lemon
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Corriander/cilantro leaves - some, chopped, for garnishing
Oil - 1 tbsp
Urad dal - 1 tsp
Chana dal - 1 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Curry leaves - a few

Note : * If you are using thick poha, soak it in water for 10 minutes. Drain all the water and then squeeze out any excess moisture from the soaked poha.
If you are using thin poha, take it in a colander. Wet it under running water. Let any excess water drain out of the colander and then squeeze out remaining moisture.
Heat oil in a pan. Add the urad and chana dal, mustard seeds and curry leaves. When the mustard seeds pop, add ginger and green chillies. Saute for a while and then add chopped onions. Cook until the onions turn translucent. Add in the tomatoes and fry for a minute or two. Reduce the heat and add the poha, turmeric powder and salt. Stir well and heat for 2-3 minutes. Add the juice of a lemon and chopped cilantro. Switch off heat and stir well to mix.
 

Begun chirer pulao - a side dish using brinjal and poha

Isn't the name begun chirer pulao, catchy? However, it is slightly misleading because it is not a pulao per se. It does not make a meal by itself but it does make a spicy, lip smackingly good side dish. The recipe is from Bong mom's cookbook. I have made changes to suit our palate.

What you need:
Brinjal/eggplant - 1 large, sliced into 1/2 inch thick rounds
Poha/flattened rice/aval - 1 cup
Thick curd - 1/2 cup
Turmeric  powder - 1/2 tsp
Kashmiri chilli powder - 1 tsp
Salt - to taste
Garam masala - 1 tsp
Green chillies - 2 or 3, slit lengthwise
Asafoetida
Oil - 2 tsp + some more for drizzling over the brinjal and poha

Wash the sliced brinjals well. Sprinkle some turmeric powder and salt over the slices and let it rest in a colander for 15 minutes. Squeeze out excess water, drizzle some oil over the slices and then bake in a preheated oven at 175 degree centigrade for about 10-12 minutes, turning over once halfway through, until the slices start to shrivel up slightly on the edges. Time will vary depending on your oven. I have an option called Crisp in my microwave, which is what I used and it took me about 12 minutes.
While the brinjals are in the oven, getting cooked, mix the turmeric powder, chilli powder and a little bit of salt to the curd. Mix well and set aside.
Drizzle some oil over the poha and heat this in the microwave for about 2 minutes until the poha turns crisp.

Heat 2 tsp of oil in a thick bottomed pan. Add  a generous few pinches of asafoetida and the slit green chillies. Saute for a minute. Now reduce the heat to low and add the curd mixture. Stir well and heat until you see oil separating from the mixture. Add half a cup of water and the baked brinjal slices. Mix well and let it come to a boil. When the mixture starts thickening and 3/4th of the water content has evaporated, stir in the crisp poha and the garam masala. Mix well and switch off the heat.
Serve immediately with rice/roti.
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