Pure Veg Cooking by Anu

Pure Veg Cooking by Anu Hi Everyone,
Welcome to my Page!! Go ahead and explore the world of Vegetarian food :)

06/22/2021

Sihi Boondi / Sweet Boondi (No Baking Soda)

Don’t miss the Notes/Tips at the end of the recipe

Ingredients :

1. Besan flour / Kadale hit - 1 cup
2. Sugar - 3/4 cup
3. Water -1/3 cup
4. Cesari / Saffron - 1 pinch
5. Cream of tartar - 1/4 tsp (or lemon juice - 1 tsp)
6. Cardamom pods - 2
7. Ghee - 1 tsp
8. Cashews - 2 tbsp (chopped)
9. Golden raisins - 2 tbsp
10. Pistachios and Almonds for garnish (optional)

Procedure

1. For the sugar syrup, add sugar, water, cream of tartar and cardamom pods and let it boil.
2. After it comes to a 1 string consistency, turn off the heat and add saffron. Stir well and keep it aside.
3. For boondi batter, in a bowl, sift the besan flour.
4. Add water little by little and mix well making sure you don’t form any lumps.
5. Now add a little more water and get it to consistency which should be a little thinner than the dosa batter consistency.
6. If you are using an electric whisk, whisk it for 30 seconds. Take a bit of batter with your finger and drop it in a cup of water. If it comes up (floats) in the water, then it is ready to be deep fried. Keep whisking until this happens. (It will)
7. Add yellow food coloring and mix well.
8. Now heat the oil on medium - high heat.
9. Put a small drop of batter in the oil. It should come up immediately without changing color. That’s when you know the oil is ready.
10. Take the slotted spoon / Boondi ladle and hold it about 5 inches above the oil.
11. Pour the batter slowly over the slotted spoon and let the batter drip completely.
12. Add more batter if you see there is place for it on the surface of the oil (*check notes)
13. Keep a bowl below the spoon and take it off the pan.
14. As soon as you notice the bubbles have reduced, you can take the boondis out.
15. After the boondis cool, let them soak in warm sugar syrup for 10 minutes(or more if needed) *check notes
16. Fry the cashews and raisins in ghee and add at the end.
17. You can garnish with pista and almonds and more saffron and enjoy!

Tips

* If you do not have cream of tartar, you can use lime/lemon juice. This is to prevent the sugar from crystallizing.
* f you do not have an electric whisk, use a normal whisk and whip the batter. It will take longer to achieve the lightness (just like whipping cream). You can use your hand and mix too!
* If you are making a big batch, use a wider pan.

Notes

* We have to whip the batter to make it lighter. This is how you can get the perfectly round shape of the boondi without adding any baking soda. When you put a drop of the batter in water, it has to float. If it doesn’t, then you will end up with flat boondis. Make sure the batter is not too watery / too thick. Watch the video for reference.
* When you ladle the batter, make sure you check how much space is left on the surface of the oil while frying. If the batter drops on some more batter in the oil, they will stick together and make a lumpy mess. Using a wider pan can help you prevent this.
* Make sure either the boondis are hot or the syrup is warm, when you soak them. That way the boondi absorbs the syrup quickly. If both the syrup and boondi are cold then it won’t absorb any syrup and will taste bland in the end.

Music by : audionatutix.com

06/13/2021

Cabbage Chutney

Ingredients

1. Cabbage -2 cups (chopped)
2. Chana dal / Kadalebele - 1/3 cup
3. Guntur Red chillies - 3
4. Byadgi Red chillies - 4
5. Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
6. Methi seeds - 1/4 tsp
7. Curry leaves - 2 -3 sprigs
8. Desiccated coconut powder - 1/3 cup
9. Jaggery powder - 1 tbsp
10. Tamarind extract - 2 tsp
11. Olive oil - 2 tbsp
12. Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
13. Asafoetida - 1/2 tsp
14. Salt

Procedure :

* In a sauce pan add the chopped cabbage and 1/2 a cup of water and let it cook completely(until it is soft).
* You can also pressure cook it for 2 whistles.
* In the meanwhile, take a sauté pan and add Chana dal, chillies, curry leaves, methi and cumin seeds and keep roasting on low-medium flame until the dal turns golden brown in color.
* In a mixie jar add the roasted ingredients and cooked cabbage along with coconut powder, jaggery powder, tamarind extract, Asafoetida, salt and some water.
* Grind everything into a smooth paste.
* For tempering, heat some olive oil and add mustard seeds. Once they splutter, add it to the prepared chutney and enjoy it with hot rice, dosa idly, anything!

Music by : audionautix.com

06/07/2021

Benne Murukku / Butter Murukku

Ingredients:

1. Roasted split gram/ Kadale pappu - 1 cup
2. Rice flour - 1 cups
3. Salt
4. Asafoetida - 1/2 tsp
5. Red chilli powder - 3 tsp or more (depending on how spicy you like)
6. Softened Butter - 2.5 tbsp
7. Canola oil for deep frying

Procedure

* Grind the roasted gram into a fine powder.
* In a bowl, sift the ground gram powder and rice flour. Whatever is left in the sieve, grind once again and add it to the mixture.
* To the flour, add salt, red chili powder and asafoetida and mix well.
* Now add the softened butter and mix well with the flour, making sure the butter is completely part of the mixture without any separate lumps.
* At this point, you can taste a pinch of the mixture and add more salt or chili powder, if needed.
* Add water to a portion of the mixture and form a soft pliable dough.
* Take star jali and oil the inner side of the cylinder and get the chakli press ready.
* Fill the chakli press with the dough. Heat the oil for deep frying.
* Press the dough gently over hot oil and deep fry on low-medium heat.
* As soon as the bubbles reduce, take them out and put in a bowl lined with paper to soak excess oil.
* Let it rest for 10 minutes and then enjoy them as an evening snack with a hot cup of coffee.

Notes / Tips:

* The chili powder I have is very mild. I have added more than what I have shown in the video, to get the level of spiciness my family likes. You can add your desired amount of chilli powder.
* DO NOT add melted butter. The butter should be softened and not melted.
* For this ratio of flour to butter, my grandma advised me to use “lemon sized” amount butter. The size of lemon in the US is more like the size of an Indian Orange :D . After a couple attempts, I have figured that 2.5 tbsp works perfectly for this amount of flour.
* Too much butter make the murukku crumbly and absorbs lot of oil. Less butter with make the murukku hard and not crispy. The right amount of butter is the key to this recipe.
* The murukku tastes a lot better the next day as the flavors settle.
* Thats it, make it! :)

05/18/2021

Masala Puri

If you are missing going out and having Masala puri, try this recipe. You will not be disappointed.

Ingredients

For the gravy :

1. Dried green peas - 1.5 cups
2. Onion - 1
3. Tomato - 1
4. Cinnamon stick - 2 inches
5. Star Anise - 1/2
6. Cloves - 2
7. Fennel seeds - 2 tsp
8. Coriander seeds - 2 tsp
9. Ginger Garlic paste - 2 tsp
10. Green chillies - 4
11. Coriander leaves - 1 cup / a medium bunch
12. Salt
13. Vegetable oil / Olive oil - 3 tbsp

For the chaat and garnish

1. Flat pooris / Papdi
2. Finely Chopped onion
3. Finely chopped tomato
4. Grated carrot
5. Coriander leaves
6. Fried mixture / sev

Procedure :

* Wash and soak the dried green peas in water, overnight.
* Drain all the water and add 3 cups of water to it.
* Cook in the pressure cooker for 5 whistles. If using an Instant pot, Cook on manual mode for 5 minutes and NPR
* Take 1 cup of cooked peas and keep it aside.
* In a big pot, heat the oil and add fennel seeds. Then add the cinnamon, cloves and star anise.
* Add chopped onions and sauté. Then add the ginger garlic paste and sauté until the raw smell is gone.
* Add Coriander seeds, green chillies and tomato.
* Sprinkle some salt and add water so it cooks faster.
* Now add the remaining cooked peas and coriander leaves.
* Grind the whole thing into a smooth paste.
* Assemble the chaat as shown in the video.
* Enjoy the hot Masala Puri, at the comfort of your home.

After a lot of attempts, I found this method the easiest and tasting closest to the Bangalore style masal puri.

Tips
1. Don’t substitute the dry green peas with any other peas. It just won’t taste the same.
2. Use flat pani puri (the unpuffed poori). If you are in the US, and can’t find these easily, you can substitute them with Stacy’s baked pita chips(thin) They go pretty well with this.
3. For garnish, use mixture instead of sev. Adds much more flavor and the peanuts here and there are added bonus ;)
That’s it… do make it!

Music By Mahesh Raghvan
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewtjjkVqfy4

04/26/2021

Pineapple Saaru / Rasam

Ingredients :

1. Toor Dal - 2 tbsp
2. Pineapple chunks - 1 cup
3. Freshly grated coconut - 2 tbsp
4. Green chili - 1
5. Jaggery powder - 1 tbsp (or more)
6. Tamarind extract - 1 tsp (optional)
7. Rasam powder - 1/2 tsp
8. Cumin powder - 1/2 tsp
9. Curry leaves - 2 sprigs
10. Coriander leaves - a small bunch

For tempering

1. Ghee - 1 tbsp
2. Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
3. Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
4. Asafoetida - 1/2 tsp

Procedure

1. Cook toor dal in pressure cooker with 1:2 ratio dal : water for 5 whistles.
2. In a mixie jar, add the cooked toor dal, 1/2 cup of pineapple chunks, grated coconut and green chili and grind into a smooth paste.
3. In a saucepan, add the ground paste, small chunks of pineapple and 2 cups of water.
4. Add Ingredients 5-9 and let it boil on low-medium heat for 5-8 minutes.
5. Turn off the stove and sprinkle the coriander leaves.
6. For the tempering, heat some ghee and add mustard seeds and once they splutter, add the cumin seeds and asafoetida.
7. Add the tempering slowly to the rasam.

This can be served as a drink or can be eaten with rice.

Note : If you like your rasam on the sweeter side, add more jaggery.
My pineapple was tart enough so I have not added the tamarind extract.
If your pineapple is sweet / bland, add tamarind paste to give some tartness to the rasam.

Music by : Mahesh Raghvan
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCv4sD5M4GkeuNY6HRlDxhGQ

04/19/2021

Kodubale / Spicy rice flour rings

Ingredients:

1. Rice flour - 1.5 cups
2. Fine Sooji / Chiroti Rave - 1/2 cup
3. Vegetable Oil (Hot) - 1/3 cup
4. Guntur dry Red chillies - 3
5. Byadgi Red chillies - 4
6. Asafoetida - 1/2 tsp
7. Freshly grated coconut - 1/2 cup
8. Salt
9. Oil for deep frying

Procedure

* In a bowl add the rice flour, rava and salt and mix well.
* In a mixie jar, add the coconut, chillies asafoetida and water and grind into a smooth paste.
* Now heat 1/3 cup of oil and add the hot oil to the flour mixture. Mix it carefully with a spoon.
* Then add the ground coconut paste and mix thoroughly.
* You can taste a pinch of this dough and check it needs more salt and adjust accordingly.
* Now mix water to only a small part of the dough and keep the rest of the mixture dry.
If you add water to the entire mixture, it may get dry and mess up the texture if you try to add more water later. So mix water as you go to keep it fresh.
* The wet dough should hold its shape but should not be too wet.
* Press and make a small ball and roll the dough on a flat surface. You can use a smooth cutting board or the back of a steel plate for this.
* The oil in the dough should be sufficient for you to roll it smoothly.
* Roll it to your desired thickness and length and form a spiral shape. You can also form small rings and fry.
* Make 8-10 such rings and deep fry on medium heat.
* If you fry it on low for a long time then they get very hard. If you fry on high, then they get dark on the outside and stay undercooked.
* So its very important to fry on medium heat.
* Remove them from oil when they turn reddish in color.
* They taste the best if eaten the next day. But if you can’t wait, like me :P enjoy it immediately with a hot cup of coffee.

Tips :

* If the dough is breaking while rolling, don’t worry. Start over. :D
* You will get the hang of it after 2 or 3 times.
* If you don’t, then flatten them and make nippattu ;)

Music by Rajhesh Vaidhya : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLcS5DfVMHo

04/13/2021

Kadalebele chutney / Chana dal and Pudina chutney

Ingredients

For the chutney

1. Chana dal / Kadalebele - 3/4 cup
2. Fenugreek seeds / Mentya - 8-10
3. Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
4. Gunture red chillies - 3
5. Byadgi red chillies - 4
6. Curry leaves - 2 sprigs
7. Pudina leaves - 1 cup
8. Desiccated coconut - 1/2 cup
9. Tamarind extract - 1 tbsp
10. Salt

For Ingina nene / Asafoetida oil

1. Vegetable oil - 1/2 cup
2. Mustard seeds - 2 tsp
3. Urad dal / Uddina bele - 3 tsp/1 tbsp
4. Asafoetida - 1/2 tsp
5. Salt - a pinch

Procedure

For the chutney

* In a pan, add Chana dal, fenugreek seeds, cumin seeds and red chillies.
* Roast on low- medium heat until they become aromatic.
* Then add the curry leaves and roast until the Chana dal turns orange in color.
* Turn off the heat and transfer the roasted dal to a bowl.
* While the pan is still hot, add the Pudina leaves / min leaves and just warm them up so they become fragrant. DO NOT let them brown.
* Now add the Pudina leaves and the roasted dal and chillies to a mixie jar along with the desiccated coconut and tamarind extract.
* Add water grind the into a smooth chutney.

Now, you can make the tempering with mustard seeds and hing and add it to the chutney and serve with idly or rice.

But if you are serving it with idli, I highly recommend making this Ingina Enne. It gives the flavor of hing and the crunch from Urad Dal. Urad Dal when added to the chutney becomes soft after a while. But if you keep it separate, the crunchiness remains and that’s the best thing about it :)

For Ingina Enne

* In a small pan, heat the vegetable oil.
* Keep the heat on low, and add mustard seeds. before they start to splutter, add the Urad Dal.
* Keep frying on low heat.
* After a few seconds, add the asafoetida / hing and a pinch of salt.
* As soon as the dal turns slightly orange, turn off the heat.. coz they get darker later with the remaining heat in the oil.

Now serve the tempering and chutney separately with hot idli’s and ghee and enjoy!

Music by : Mahesh Raghvan
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCv4sD5M4GkeuNY6HRlDxhGQ

04/05/2021

Carrot Hesarubele Palya / Carrot and Moong Dal Sabzi / Poriyal

The carrots can be substituted with cabbage or kohlrabi.. they will taste great too!

Ingredients:

1. Carrots - 3 large / 4 medium sized
2. Moong Dal / Hesarubele - 1/2 cup
3. Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
4. Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
5. Urad Dal - 1 tsp
6. Chana dal - 1 tsp
7. Dry red chillies (Guntur) - 3
8. Ginger paste / Grated ginger - 1 tsp
9. Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
10. Curry leaves - 1 sprig
11. Salt
12. Olive oil / Vegetable oil - 3 tbsp
13. Grated fresh coconut - 1/2 cup

Procedure :

* Wash the moong dal thrice and soak in water for 1 hour.
* Wash, Peel and chop the carrots into triangles.
* In a pan, heat the oil and add mustard seeds.
* Once they splutter, add cumin seeds, Urad Dal and Chana dal.
* Once they turn orange, add dry red chillies, ginger curry leaves and chopped carrots. (Add the ginger and curry leaves along with the carrots so they don’t splatter everywhere)
* Add the soaked moon dal and mix well.
* Add the turmeric powder and salt and mix well.
* Pour 1 cup of water and close the lid. Cook on low-medium heat.
* Keep checking and add water little by little coz if you add too much it will make the carrots mushy.
* Turn off the flame and add the coconut gratings.
* Serve with some hot rice. Even better if you pair it with mango pickle and some ghee.

Music by Mahesh Raghvan
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YwUI14Pqsw

03/28/2021

Vegetable Puffs (Bakery style)

Ingredients :

1. Puff Pastry sheets - 2
2. Onion - 1 medium sized (diced)
3. Green beans - 2 cups (Chopped)
4. Carrots - 2 (peeled and diced)
5. Potato - 1 (peeled and diced)
6. Frozen Green peas - 1 cup
7. Ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp
8. Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
9. Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
10. Garam masala - 1 tbsp
11. Salt
12. Vegetable oil - 3 tbsp

Procedure

* Thaw the puff pastry sheets according to package instructions.
* Preheat the oven to 400°F / 200°C.
* In a pan, heat the oil and add onions.
* Add ginger garlic paste and Sauté until the onions become translucent.
* Add the green beans, carrots and green peas.
* After they are half cooked, add the diced potatoes.
* Add salt, turmeric powder, red chili powder and garam masala.
* If needed, add a little water and cook the veggies completely.
* Take the thawed pastry sheet on a board and roll it to stretch it. (Flour your board or the pastry might stick to it)
* Cut the pastry sheet into 6 equal rectangles.
* Place the cooked veggies on one side of each rectangle .
* Apply a little water on the corners to seal the puffs.
* Now place them carefully on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
* Bake them for 15 to 18 minutes. (Depends on your oven temperature so keep checking)
* Enjoy the hot puffs with some hot tea!

Music by : audionautix.com

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