Masala Utthappam

You all must have eaten masala dosa...but have u ever tired masala uttappam? I ate this first time in a restaurant near my place back in Thane. It was so tasty and yummy. So anytime u have the masala filling and dosa batter why not try this than the conventional Masala dosa..:)


Ingredients :

Dosa batter
Oil for cooking
Onion - 1 finely chopped
Chaat Masala - 2 tsp


For Spicy masala

Potaoes - 5 boiled and mashed
tomato - 1 chopped
Green chillies - 3 finely chopped
Ginger - 2 tsp
Garlic - 1 tsp (optional)
Fresh corinader leaves
Mustard seeds
oil
Salt to taste
Kitchen king masala - 1tsp (optional)

Method :

Firstly we will make the masala. Now this masal is similar to the masala dosa masala preparation. U can even use the leftover masala from masala dosa to make this. Anyways, In a kadhai take some oil and put in the mustard seeds. Let it splutter and add the green chillies, garlic and ginger. Go ahead and put in the chopped tomatoes along with all the powders. Mix well. Cook till the tomato is tender and the masala is cooked. Add in the boiled mashed potatoes and add to it a cup of water. Mix well and let it cool well. Garnish with fresh coriander leaves. Now ur spicy masala is ready.

Assembling the Masala utthappam. Pour a big laddle full of batter on the pan and spread it to make a nice thick dosa. Sprinkle the chaat masala and chopped onions. Let it cook for 1 minute and scoop in a spoonful masala on the utthappam and flatten it. Pour oil on the sides on the dosa. Let one side cook completely well and then flip it over to cook the other side. Pour oil to the other sides too and cook well. Ur masala Utthappam is ready now to relish.

Enjoy ! Have fun.

Sev Batata Puri

I am from Mumbai the chaat paradise of India. I love chaat items and I am lucky that my hubby enjoys it too....actually he is good at making these chaat items too. Will surely share few of his chaat Speciality with u guys later. So As we both like Chaat we often make it and sometime its our dinner...:) Unlimited chaat hehehe :P.

Sev batata poori is something i dont make that often mainly coz i dont get those flat pooris here that easily. And If I spot them in any shop... I stock my pantry with atleast 3 packs of these pooris hehehe :P. Sev is the thin noodles kind of snack made with gram flour. U can easily get it in any India store. Batata means Potato in Mumbai local language and Poori are normally small puffed hard shells but in this case....they r flat discs like canapes.

Anyways here goes the Sev batata poori recipe.

Ingredients :

Sev batata puris (flat ones) - 1 pack

Potato boiled and mashed -2

Garbanzo beans cooked and lightly mashed - 1/3 cup (optional)

Tomato finely diced - 1 cup

Red Onions finely chopped - 1 cup

Chaat masala - 2 tbsp

Salt to taste

Spicy Green chutney - 1/2 cup (optional) / u can even use red chilly powder :)

Sweet tamarind Chutney - 1/2 cup

Fine Sev - 1 1/2 cup

Fresh coriander leaves - 1 cup finely chopped

Method :

For Spicy green Chutney - Grind coriander leaves, green chillies and mint leaves together. Dont put too much water. Adjust the chillies according to ur spice intake. Ur green chutney is ready.

For Sweet tamarind chutney. Take tamarind water or tamarind concentrate mixed in water and boil it. Add jaggery and boil for 20 minutes.. once the chutney becomes a bit thick ur tamarind chutney is ready.

For the potato filling - Mash the boiled potatoes and the garbanzo beans together. Add salt, red chilli powder and little chat masala and mix well. Keep aside.

Making sev puri. In a serving plate arrange the pooris. Put a spoonful of the potato filling on the puri. Top the masala with a tsp of green chutney and a tsp of sweet chutney. Sprinkle onions, tomato, fresh sev and some chat masala on each poori. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and Serve.

Ur simple and easy Chat is ready...:)

Vegan Chocolate Cake

Vegan chocolate cake for a dear friend. My dear childhood friend Krithika visited me here in US for the first time and that too with her new born baby girl. The day she was going to come to my house was her birthday..:) I wanted to make something special for her....and wts better than a sweet treat. As she was coming with her mom, and granny I wanted to make something eggless.

I found this awesome Vegan chocolate cake recipe in Madhuram's blog and I was so glad. This recipe is so simple to make and can be made with the ingredients readily available at home. Cool isnt it? Here is the actual recipe. I will list down the recipe and the small changes I made in it. The icing is not vegan. I used ready made buttercream frosting and I didnt have much time I just sprinkled some colourful ice cream sprinkles on it...:P easy way to decorate :)

Ingredients :

All purpose flour - 1 1/2 cups

Sugar - 1 cup

Salt - 1/2 tsp

Baking Soda - 1 tsp

Unsweetened Cocoa powder - 1/4 cup

Vanila extract - 2 tsp

Canola Oil - 1/3 cup

Distilled Vinegar - 1 tbsp

Cold water - 1 cup

Method :

Preheat the oven at 375 degree F.

In a bowl mix all the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, salt, baking soda and cocoa powder) together. Keep aside.

In another bowl take the water and mix in all the wet ingredients to it (oil, vinegar, vanila extract). Whisk well. Add this mixture to the dry ingredients and mix well using a hand blender. Blend till a nice smooth batter is formed.

Grease a cake pan with some butter (I used wiltons cake release. Its very very good, and the cake out out so well.) Pour in this mixture into the pan and even it out. Bake in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes or until a tooth pick outs out clean. Off the oven and leave the cake in for 5 more minutes. Dont try to remove the cake from the pan now. The cake will break / crack. Let the cake cool well in the room temperature. Leave it for an hour or so.

Run a knife along the edge of the cake to remove it from pan. turn it upside down on a plate of serving tray and pat the bottom of the pan to loosen the cake.

Now u can serve the cake hot as it is with tea or coffee.

To frost the cake, let the cake cool completely. I left it out for another hour and Sliced it into 2 layers, then wrapped it with a plastic wrap and kept it in the freezer for 1 hour. Keeping it in the freezer helps the frosting to stay on the cake well. U can slice the cake into 2 layers if u want to frost in the centre.

Once the cake is cool. I frosted it with store bought buttercream icing and decorated with ice cream sprinkles..:) My friend loved it and I was so happy to see the smile on her face.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KRITHIKA :)

Eggplant Roll-ups

This is one amazing Appeatiser that I have made till date. Its so simple to make and so tasty.
I wanted to make something simple and light for my dad. He is visiting us from india. I am so excited about his visit and I want him to enjoy this stay...:) I just started this and went of building this recipe according to my taste and it turned out so nice...:) I am glad I tried to experiment..:)

Anyways getting back to my eggplant...here is the recipe for the same. I have made a chinese style filling u can alter the filling according to ur taste.

Ingredients:

Italian / Chinese eggplants - 3
Low fat Cheddar Cheese - 1 cup
Pam spray

For the stuffing:

Onion / Green onions finely chopped - 1/2 cup
Bean sprouts chopped - 1/2 cup
Carrot julliened - 1/2 cup
Green Bell Pepper finely chopped - 1/2 cup (optional)*
Soya sauce - 1 1/2 tbsp
Red Chili garlic paste - 3 tbsp (reduce it if its too spicy)
Ginger - 2 tsp
Tomato Ketchup - 2 tbsp
Sugar -1/2 tsp
Salt to taste
Red chilli flakes (optional)*
Sesame oil - 1tsp

Method :

Clean and make thin slices of the eggplant lenghtwise. U will get long strips of the eggplant. Rub light salt on both the sides of the eggplant slices. Heat a Tava / Pan and roast the eggplant slices. Roast to an extend that the slices r slightly soft and cooked. This step is important to make the slices tender and easy to roll. Spray pam on it if u desire. Keep them aside.

Preheat the oven to 375 Degree F.Prepare the filling.

In a Deep bottom pan heat oil. Add the ginger, chili garlic paste and suate for a min. Add the onions and saute well. Add the sugar and mix well so that the onions r slightly caramalised. Now add soya sauce and the tomato ketchup and mix well till the sauce is nice and hot. Add all the vegetables one by one and mix well. Cover and cook for some time till the veggies are tender. Add salt and chilli flakes according to taste. Once the filling is ready keep aside.

Arrange the eggplant slices one by one of a working surface. Add layer of cheese on the effplant. Spread a spoonful of filling on the Slices evenly, Leaving an inch of the slice on one side. Roll the slices into a swirl roll and put a toothpick to make the rolls stand. Make rolls out of all the slices. Spray pam on a cookie sheet and arrange all the rolls on it. Top each roll lightly with cheese and bake for 10-15 minutes in a preheated oven. Serve hot with Tomato Ketchup.

Serve Hot. Enjoy and Relish with tomato ketchup....:)