Recipe Of Heeng Vaale Kaale Chane Ki Chaat | Asafoetida Flavoured Black Chickpeas Chaat | Step Wise

Hi All!

Today I’m sharing a recipe that’s a family favourite. I’ve been cooking the Kala Chana/ Black Chickpeas for ages now in several ways and whenever I made them, there  was never a hard and fast set procedure that I would follow. Whatever ingredient, spice fancied that day or came into my mind was added and the Chana cooked.

A few years back, on one such occasion I made the Chana a bit differently. I had taken the extra precaution to over cook the Chana so that it was cooked more softer and almost on the verge of getting mushy and then again I cooked it like the other times, whatever came into my head I just added and made the Chana. To my surprise and delight it turned out finger licking tasty. Every one in the family loved it to the core and DH decided to call it ‘Heeng Vala Chana’. He also demanded that I should make them  again the same way, very soon.

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Product Review Of Vegit Snack Mixes | Raw Mango & Mint Chutney |Summer Food | Gluten Free | Dairy Free

Hi all!!

Past one month my kitchen mixer was giving me trouble and I was not able to grind anything because of that. It was lying in the service centre, as a particular part which had got spoilt was not available. If one reads my previous posts one would realise I’ve not posted any recipe which makes use of the mixer grinder. I realised how much of my daily chores are dependent on the humble grinder.

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खस्ता परत पूरी/ Layered Savory Spirals | Winner of ‘Only’ Event Of November |Vegetarian | Tea-Time Snack

Hello all!!

Let me start off by asking, How are you all? I’ve been away from blogging for almost a month or more and while I sit and type this post, I’m not too sure how frequently I would post. All the plagiarism issue has left me shaken somewhere and I must confess, I’m a bit worried too as I do not know how many more have copied my work which I’m not yet aware of..

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Stuffed Dahi Vada

Hi all!

With the onset of summer my need for cooling foods has definitely increased and one important ingredient whose value has increased in my daily requirements is curds. I’m trying to eat curds in different ways, the most commonly made item definitely is the butter milk or Chhaas. 

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Corn on Wheat Canapés.. Fusion Chaat

Hi!

This month has been very hectic with the kid writing his summative for the first time, both of us have been neck deep in studies. My role largely was to push him to do his best and help him with his difficulties and he was to ensure that he is thorough with his subject and does his revision properly and efficiently. I have avoided giving him any outside food and made simple, tasty and ‘chatpata’ food which he likes and eats without making fuss. And to my delight this month’s Monthly Mingle theme just helped me cook more of the ‘chatpata’ kind.

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Sprouted Chatpata Chana in Sev Katori Chaat

Hi friends!

I am sharing another version of katori chaat today but this time it is not using APF but I have used gram flour to make Sev in the form of katoris and then filled it with stuffing. I had seen the Sev form of Katori on TV and had loved the idea. So I just used the idea of katori and then concocted my own version.

This one katori chaat is very filling and can make a great evening snack for kids. Using sprouts to make the filling makes it healthy and an interesting way to eat. One can make fillings of their choice and come up with their own versions.

I always find Chaat an easy and interesting way to introduce veggies/sprouts into my younger one’s diet and the ‘Only’- Chaat event happening here has given me a good platform to try more. If you have not sent your entries please send it now as the event ends today.

Ingredients

FOR SEV KATORI

a cup and a half of gram flour

2-3 tsp hot oil for shortening

1 tsp carom seeds

1 tsp cumin pwd

salt to taste

a pinch of turmeric

1 tsp red chili pwd

a pinch of asafetida

water to knead

FOR SPROUTED CHANA FILLING

a cup of parboiled sprouted chana

2 tsp chaat masala

1 tsp red chili pwd

1 green chili finely chopped

1/4 tsp rock salt

salt to taste

Garnish

Green Chutney and Nylon Sev

Method

TO MAKE SEV KATORIS

Make a dough using all ingredients under the heading sev katori and fill it in the Sev making machine ( Chakli machine with a Sev attachment).

Take a tea strainer and press out the sev into it’s depth so aas to form a katori.

Place the tea strainer in oil and fry the Sev katori on a medium –low flame.

Remove and cool.

 

For Sprouted Chana Filling

Mix all ingredients under the heading and check the seasoning. Adjust as per taste.

Assembling the Katori

Take the Sev Katori and put a spoon full of the filling into it. Garnish with green chutney and fine sev, serve immediately.

Sending this also to Priya’s Bookmarked Recipes Every Tuesday

Cone and Cup Chaat and the II dose of FEEL GOOD HORMONE for my 201 post

Hi!

What do people do to feel happy? Smile, laugh, play, amuse themselves, get a body massage done or exercise.  Every one has their ups and downs in life and people find different means to face it. I have told you my friends, that for me cooking good food is a big stress buster and when I cook something which is challenging,  trying it for the first time and I succeed in it gives me immense happiness.

Last few days I have been feeling very low for various reasons and I was really trying hard to smile and be pleasant to everyone but internally feeling shattered. In one of those days I went back to read  this post on Serotonins where I discussed the feel good hormone and was amazed to see the response. I can say it is one of my favourite posts as I felt that this post provided a platform for people to discuss. I thought of furthering this topic and discussion, which I am doing today and discussing another important topic “ENDORPHINS”.

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Ram Laddoo..A Street Chaat From Old Delhi

Hi!

Delhi is a place famous for it’s food and especially it’s chaats. Tourists never miss an opportunity to taste the chaat at Chandani Chowk/ Purani Dilli. To top the list is surely paani-poori , aloo chaat and dahi bhalla but another chaat which is extremely popular here is Ram Laddoo.

When I heard this name for the first time I thought it’s a sweet dish as the name  laddoo suggested that but later when I came across this chaat in a local market here, I realized it’s a savory dish. We thought of trying it, so ordered  a plate and then the taste simply caught us, we could not resist ordering a second one. Since then, we do make it a point to have this chaat whenever we visit the local market. It’s best to be eaten in winter as the hot dumplings melt in the mouth or in monsoon, enjoying the rains.

The laddoos are golden balls of lentils which are light and fluffy, crunchy on the top and soft inside. They are served with a spicy, tangy green chutney and grated radish. An amazing and lip smacking combination. I had been planning to attempt making them at home and  thought it would be an apt entry for my event ‘ONLY’- CHAAT hosted here.

The laddoos turned out excellent and needed a few precautions while making them. The lentils are ground coarsely and then beaten vigorously to get a light and fluffy mixture. It is very essential that the lentil be ground using minimum or no water to get the perfect texture, the mixture is so light that while frying it fluffs to almost double the volume.

These can make a great appetizer for parties, in that case they can be fried partly in advance and then re fried in hot oil just before serving. It is essential that these laddoos be served hot with chutney to relish them completely.

Ingredients

For the Ram Laddoo

1/2 cup dhuli moong dal/  yellow lentils

1/2 cup chana dal/ bengal gram

salt to taste

oil for deep frying

For spicy and tangy Green Chutney

1/4 cup mint leaves

a cup of coriander leaves

3-4 tbsp onion

2 garlic pods

5-6 green chilies

a tsp lemon juice

1 Indian gooseberry/ amla chopped

1/4 tsp rock salt

salt to taste

1/8 cup water

and

grated radish

Method

Wash and soak both the lentils separately for 3-4 hours. Decant the water completely and grind the lentils to a coarse paste.

Mix the lentils and then beat them till the mixture attains a white color and becomes light and fluffy. I used my beater to beat and it took almost 3-4 minutes to become light. One can compare the colour of the mixture before and after beating.

 

The mixture should have a dropping consistency like that of a cake. Heat oil and using a spoon  put the laddoos in the oil. The oil should be hot enough (use medium flame) so that when the laddoos are put they immediately rise to the surface. Deep fry from either side till golden in color, in batches of 7-8 laddoos per batch and remove on a kitchen towel.

 

Grind together all the ingredients under green chutney using water.

Serve hot with green chutney and grated radish.

Sending it to my event ‘Only’ Street Foods of The World hosted by Archana of Mad Scientist’s Kitchen.

Potato and Peanuts Chaat in Bread Cups

 

Hi!

The festive occasion of Diwali has begun with people celebrating Dhanateras all over the country today. I can see and read so many recipes across the blogosphere celebrating this festive moment.So many traditional and innovative recipes are shared by my friends in the last few days and I am enjoying peeping into them, though I must confess there are so many posts I am yet to check, but I will surely find time to have a look at all of them gradually and learn from them.

As you all know that there are no celebrations at my place so I have not made any festive sweets and savories but I do treat my family with palatable stuff. I am always on a look out to try snacks for kids as treating them with good stuff is surely what I enjoy and at the same time find it challenging too. The younger one has holidays and is hungry all the time, so Mommy dear has to keep providing him with something or other. Did I tell you that he is a big fan of Chaats and enjoys eating Paani Poori? Now, paani poori was surely not what I was aiming to make but  I surely  thought of concocting an interesting chaat for him which he did relish finally.

The kid likes potatoes as well as peanuts so I mixed both of them and inserted it in baked bread baskets and some toppings on top,and the chaat was ready. This is a perfect delight for an evening snack or a party and I can  bet ‘no one can eat just one’. I tried making the cups in two ways, a bite size and the other large one. The bite size are perfect as a party starter but is not very filling, the large one is what one should make for the family. Let’s read how….

Ingredients

For Bread Cups

Whole Wheat bread slices

muffin cups

butter

For Coriander-Yogurt Chutney

2 tbsp yogurt

a handful of coriander

one garlic pod

1 tbsp onion

salt to taste

3 green chilies

a tsp lemon juice

For Potato-Peanut Filling

3 boiled potatoes cubed

1/2 cup roasted peanuts

a tbsp chaat masala

1 tsp red chili pwd

salt to taste

2 tsp lemon’s juice

To garnish

Finely chopped onion and tomato

Method

 For Bread Cup Large One

Cut the edges of the bread and roll it flat using a rolling pin.

 

Apply butter and shape it like a cup inside a greased muffin cup.

For Small Cup

Repeat the first two steps like the large cups.

Using a cutter cut a circle and prick it. Apply butter and then place it in a muffin cup.

Bake the large cups in a 180C preheated oven for 20 mins and small for 15 mins. Remove, cool and use.

 

 For Chutney

Grind together all the ingredients under the heading with a little water.

Potato-Peanut Filling

Heat a tsp oil and add the potatoes, followed by chaat masala and red chili pwd. Mix in the peanuts and salt to taste. Cool and add lemon juice and mix.

Assembling

The bread cups put the potato-peanut filling followed by the chutney. Garnish with the chopped onions and tomatoes. If you like sweet taste do put some tamarind-dates chutney too. We prefer our chaat a bit spicy so avoided that.

Serve immediately once assembled.

 

Sending this chaat to my event ‘Only’- Chaat hosted here by me.

Also sending

Corn Chaat in Baked Corn Cups

Black Chana Chaat

WISHING ALL MY FRIENDS AND READERS A VERY HAPPY DIWALI.

Corn Chaat in Baked Corn Cups

Hi!

With  the onset of monsoon the vegetable market gets flooded with fresh produce of corn. Corn is such a versatile ingredient and can be relished in innumerable ways but my most preferred version is always the roasted corn on cob with lime, salt and butter on top. But that does not stop me from trying other versions…

In monsoon I avoid eating chaat outside as it invites many water borne diseases and especially in India, monsoon also sees the uncontrolled growth of house flies. So eat outs and that too street foods are a complete ‘NO’. My both the kids love chaat and since we are not eating that outside these days I thought of making it at home. With so much corn available now, it was an  obvious choice.

Initially I thought I will make corn pooris, fry them  and  later on stuff the chaat in it, but on second thoughts I decide otherwise as the calorie conscious person  inside me got awake and I decided to bake the cups/ baskets and I am so glad I did that as the cups are amazingly crisp and can be made in advance and stored in air tight container. They can be a good attraction for kids, a starter for party and not to forget extremely tasty and low in calorie too.

This chaat has used all versions of Corn.. fresh corn, Corn meal and Corn Starch, so it’s a perfect dish for Corn lovers….. It can be a great evening snack for every one, as for me I can stuff myself with this anytime.. What's best is that the cups are baked and not deep fried, so definitely lesser oil intake.

Sending this savoury corn karanji or gujiya as "an entry to the IFBM and Freedom Tree Baking Contest" sponsored by Freedom Tree

Ingredients For Corn Cups

1 cup APF
2 tbsp Corn Meal
2 tbsp Corn Starch
4 tbsp oil/ shortening
1/2 tsp salt
warm water for kneading
Method

Mix all the ingredients except water to get a crumbly mix. Add water gradually and knead a firm dough. Let the dough rest for half an hour. Keep the dough covered with a wet cloth to avoid it’s drying.

Take a  large marble size dough and grease it lightly. Roll it like a poori but as thin as possible without tearing the edges( about 10cm diameter).

Prick it with fork, this will avoid it’s puffing.

Grease muffin cups and insert these thin pooris into it. Fold it on the sides and press it properly at the bottom so that their are no air spaces.

Bake them in a preheated oven at 180C for 20 minutes or till golden in color. Cool  and then use them. These can be stored in air tight container at this stage for later use.

 

Ingredients for Corn Mix

2 cups corn boiled

3-4 green chilies

half inch of ginger

1/2 tsp cumin

1/4 tsp fennel seeds

1 tsp red chili pwd

1/4 tsp turmeric

1 tbsp coriander pwd

1 tsp cumin pwd

2 tsp chaat masala

salt to taste

few tsp oil

Method For Corn Mix

Grind about 1/4 cup corn with ginger and green chilies.

Heat oil and add cumin followed by fennel. Add the remaining corn and spices and mix thoroughly.

Add the ground corn and mix again. Cover and cook for two minutes.

Cool the stuffing and use later.

Assembling the Corn  Chaat  in Cups

Take a baked Corn Cup and put about 2-3 spoons of corn stuffing in it.

Put curds over it. The curd has been made by mixing a little rock salt, roasted cumin pwd, sugar, common salt to it and the consistency adjusted by adding water.

Put the sweet tamarind chutney and green chutney (I made Mint and Coriander Chutney) over it.

Spread some finely chopped onion and fine sev .

Add chopped cilantro and serve immediately. ( Adjust the Curds, spices and Chutneys as per your taste). Personally I like my Chaat spicy and less sweet, how do you like yours?

I have developed a penchant for making low calorie stuff or to make a high calorie stuff, as much low calorie as possible. Would love to know do you find that interesting, worth noticing and noting down?

Sending this to Mita’s  MM- party treat event guest hosted by Saraswathi of Sara’s corner.

and also to my event ‘Only’- Kids delight

Black Chana Chaat

Chaats are Indian appetizers and snacks, found widely all throughout India at casual restaurants, street stands, and parties. Chaat means ‘to taste’ in Hindi, and most of it are small dishes. Chaat took advantage of the variety of spices available in India ranging from spiced crisp breads called puris to a very spicy parathas or stuffed bread which may be filled with almost anything. Like most Indian cuisine, chaat is a varied dish. Most Indian regions have their own specialties of chaat. The Wiki says, that Chaat has the origins in the North West Gujarat of India but Uttar Pradesh is equally famous for it now.

Deep-fry is the most common method of preparation of most chaat dishes, such as samosas and Pakoras, and they may be savory and sweet. Designed as finger food, eating chaat can be a messy and noisy experience. Many chaats are made stuffed in bread, while others go with side bread that is used to scoop up the chaat. Wide variety of dipping sauces like spicy ground chili dips or yogurt raita are served with chaat, along with various garnishes and relishes.

Rebecca of Chow and Chatter had asked me to write a guest post on Black Chana Chaat a few months back and it completely slipped out of my mind. While going through my old emails I  was reminded about this but as I was very very late I did not have the guts to ask her again, so  thought of making this for her. I am genuinely sorry Rebecca and this post is especially for you. I hope you will enjoy reading the recipe as much as we enjoyed eating it.

Black Chana is extremely nutritious and a good source of Zinc, Folate and Protein. They are also very high in dietary fiber and hence a healthy source of carbohydrates for people with insulin sensitivity or diabetes.

I usually make the very dry version of black chana for lunch box but this method requires the Black chana to be coated and covered with the spices with a hint of moistness. The chana should not be overly spiced but at the same it should not be bland. What needs to be ensured is that the chana is cooked properly to a very soft texture so that it imbibes all the spices. With chutneys on top and the various garnishes this dish just tastes awesome.

Here goes the recipe…

Ingredients For Chana

3-1/2 cups boiled Black Chana
oil for cooking
1/4 tsp baking soda
3-4 tbsp coriander pwd
3 tsp red chili pwd
1/2 tsp turmeric pwd
2 tbsp amchoor pwd
1/2 tsp garam masala
1 tsp jeera pwd
Ingredients for green chutney
1 cup coriander
1 cup mint
2 garlic pods
1/2 lemon’s juice
2 tbsp onions
salt to taste
Ingredients for curds
7-8 tbsp thick curds
salt to taste
black salt
water
sweet tamarind chutney
other ingredients
chaat masala
finely chopped green chilies (optional)
red chili pwd
roasted cumin pwd
chopped coriander
fine sev
chopped onions
chopped tomatoes
Method of making Black Chana Masala
Soak the chana in water for 7-8 hrs. Cook it in a pressure cooker along with some salt and baking soda till it’s very soft.
Heat oil, put turmeric pwd and then immediately put the boiled chana with some water. Add all spices mentioned under Chana, mix properly and cook covered for another 10 mins till  most of the water dries and the spices are well coated on the Chana.
Assembling the Chaat (please adjust the spices and chutneys according to your taste)
In a dish take some  Black Chana Masala. Put 3-4 tbsp curds followed by 2 tsp of sweet chutney and 4-5 tsp of green chutney.
Put chopped onions and tomatoes, some chopped green chilies.
Sprinkle some red chili pwd, chaat masala, roasted cumin pwd.
Now put enough Sev to cover the entire chaat.
Finally put some chopped coriander to garnish.
Serve it immediately.


I had made this as an evening snack for the family and all of us enjoyed it thoroughly. Right now too looking at the pics my mouth’s watering as I am reminded of the taste. It is an extremely healthy and filling snack item for kids. Chane ki Chaat aur Swaad Laajawab!!!
Sending it off to Asankhana’s Lets Celebrate with Colours- Holi Event and MLLA-21 guest hosted by Mirch Masala and is the brainchild of Susan.