Showing posts with label Chickpeas. Show all posts

Kothimbir Vadi | Pan Fried Coriander and Chickpea Cake

Kothimbir Vadi Coriander Chickpea Cake cilantro garbanzo steamed baked savory maharastrian vada wada pancake vegan

A lot of my food cravings are thanks to the magazines I read. Recently, in one of them, there was this delicious looking Kothimbir Vadi or Coriander Vada photo. It had the traditional recipe following the photo where the vadas are deep fried after being steamed. I love deep fried vadas but they are a big bane to my weight loss program, so I try to modify the recipe to make it healthier.

Recently, I had made the Gujrati Handvo which is a pan fried thick cake, very similar to the recipe in this post. Bells went off in my head! I could try the same with this kothimbir vadi. And to my delight, it turned out very well. Everyone loved it at home and they went missing in minutes.

It tastes the best with some coriander and mint chutney, but goes equally well with tomato ketchup. It is a very good option for a packed lunch as it carries well in boxes. It is versatile, you can have it for breakfast or as a tea time snack.

Step by Step recipe:

1) Blend the ginger, garlic,green chillies and half the coriander leaves into a paste along with a little water.
2) Add it to the chickpea flour along with the semolina, yogurt, coriander leaves, turmeric powder, salt and baking soda.
3) Add a little water to loosen the batter, I added around 1/4 cup.
4) Mix well and keep aside for 10-15

5) Heat a small non stick pan or a kadhai.
6) Add around 2 tsp of oil to it.
7) Once the oil is hot, add the half the mustard seeds.

8) Once they splutter, add half the sesame seeds, half the carom seeds, half the asafoetida and half the curry leaves.

9) Now pour in half the batter.
10) Cover and cook on low heat for around 10-12 mins.

11) Now with the help of 2 spatulas, carefully flip the thick pancake.

12) Allow it to cook until the second side browns.

13) Remove from heat and cut into pieces. Serve hot with chutney or ketchup.

Kothimbir Vadi

Pan Fried Coriander and Chickpea Cake.

Recipe Type: Snacks
Cuisine: Indian
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook time: 45 minutes
Yield: 6-8 servings

Ingredients:

2 cups Besan / Chickpea Flour
1/2 cup Fine Semolina / Chiroti Rava
1/2 cup Yogurt / Curd
1 cup chopped Coriander Leaves
3-4 cloves of Garlic
1" piece of Ginger
2-3 Green Chillies
1/2 tsp of Baking Soda
1 tsp of Carom seeds / Ajwain
2 tsp of Sesame seeds / Til
1 tsp of Mustard seeds
1/2 tsp of Asafoetida/ Hing
1 tsp of Turmeric Powder
2 sprigs of Curry Leaves
4-5 tsp of Oil
Salt to taste
Water

Method:

Blend the ginger, garlic,green chillies and half the coriander leaves into a paste along with a little water.
Add it to the chickpea flour along with the semolina, yogurt, coriander leaves, turmeric powder, salt and baking soda.
Add a little water to loosen the batter, I added around 1/4 cup.
Mix well and keep aside for 10-15 mins.
Heat a small non stick pan or a kadhai.
Add around 2 tsp of oil to it.
Once the oil is hot, add the half the mustard seeds.
Once they splutter, add half the sesame seeds, half the carom seeds, half the asafoetida and half the curry leaves.
Now pour in half the batter.
Cover and cook on low heat for around 10-12 mins.
Now with the help of 2 spatulas, carefully flip the thick pancake.
Allow it to cook until the second side browns.
Remove from heat and cut into pieces.
Serve hot with chutney or ketchup.

Roasted Chickpeas with Spices

I miss last week. It was a short week with a long weekend and I was on vacation. Being back at work is soooo boring. I’ve barely had the time to cook anything this week. It’s been work all the way. But I did make this crunchy yummy spicy roasted Chickpeas. Who knew they were so easy to make at home, and here we were spending money to buy the packaged version at super markets. Not gonna happen anymore, na ah.

I started off with dried chickpeas, you can use canned if you are short of time. Dried just results in more prep time but the cooking time is hardly different. It only involves soaking the chickpeas overnight and then pressure cooking them for like 10 mins max. I cooked them until they were just about done, just one whistle in the pressure cooker. Mushy ones will not work well, but hey, mushy chickpeas make good Hummus. So waste nothing my friend.

I always soak a little more than required, as leftover chickpeas can always be used to make this amazing flavor packed salad. Recipe found here - it is perfect for an evening snack.

The best part about this recipe is you can customize it to suit your taste. I added cumin or jeera powder and garam masala. You can add all sorts of things like chaat masala or curry powder. It’s all up to you, after all, YOU are the chef.

Roasted Chickpeas with Spices

Chickpeas marinated in spices and baked in the oven

Recipe Type: Snacks
Cuisine: International
Prep Time: 8 hours (Including soaking chickpeas)
Cook time: 90 minutes (Including boiling chickpeas)
Yield: 2 cups / 1 tin

Ingredients:

1 cup dried or 1 tin Chickpeas
1 Tbsp Olive oil
1 tsp Cumin/Jeera powder
A pinch Garam Masala
1 tsp Red Chilli powder
½ tsp Turmeric powder/ Haldi
Salt to taste

Method::

If using dried chickpeas, soak them for 8-10 hours in water.
Drain out the water.
Take enough water to cover the chickpeas in a cooker, add 1 tsp of salt in it and pressure cook it until they are just done. I cooked them in a pressure cooker for 1 whistle. This may change depending on your cooker and the amount of water. You can cook it in a sauce pan as well, but it may take longer.
Once they are done, drain out all the water and place them on a kitchen towel and pat them dry.
If you are using tinned chickpeas, here is where your work begins. Drain and wash the chickpeas and dry them on a kitchen towel.
Preheat the oven to 200 degree Celsius.
Mix the dry chickpeas with the oil and the spices.
Place them on a baking sheet in one layer and bake for 45-60 mins until they are nice and crunchy. I baked for almost 60 mins, but I started checking on them after 45 mins, you don’t want to burn them.

Bharwan Bhindi | Stuffed Okra Fry

It was a hatrick of stuffed bhindi two weeks ago. Bhindi(Okra) is our least favorite vegetable at home, so it is brought into the house once every blue moon. The way I can eat it, is the way hubby dearest hates it. The way he likes it, I don't. So tired of these bhindi wars, when I was grumbling to my friend about cooking bhindi, she gave me a couple of recipes. I tried her first one, and both of us seemed to like it. Next day, I tried something a colleague at office suggested, that tasted a little better... and finally i tried stuffing the bhindi with coconut and coriander as per Tarla Dalal (a variation also suggested by my friend), this version was our favorite of the 3 we tried...

Bharwan Bhindi | Stuffed Okra Fry

Okra/Bhindi stuffed with spice powders and pan fried.

Recipe Type: Side
Cuisine: Indian
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 45 minutes
Yield: 3-4 servings

Ingredients:

20-25 Bhindi or Okra
3 Tbsp grated fresh Coconut
2 Tbsp fresh Coriander leaves (chopped)
1 Tbsp Chickpea Flour or Besan
1/2 tsp Jaggery or Sugar
1 tsp Coriander powder
1 tsp Cumin powder
1/4 tsp Turmeric Powder
1 tsp Red Chilli Powder
1/2 tsp Amchur (dry Mango powder)
2Tbsp Oil
1-2 tsp Water
Salt

Method:

Trim the bhindi and make a slit lengthwise on one side of the bhindi.

Mix together all the ingredients for the stuffing.

Stuff the bhindis with the stuffing.

Add at least ½ - 1 tsp per bhindi.

Heat 1 tbsp oil in a flat pan or a tava with high edges.

Place the bhindi in a single layer in the pan. The bhindi should not overlap each other.

Pour the remaining 1 tbsp oil over the bhindi.

Keep turning the bhindi until they are cooked.

Serve hot with rice or roti.

Hummus

I simply love hummus, I can eat it with anything, pita bread, regular bread, chapati etc. I looked around in all the big gourmet food chains recently, but somehow none of them carried hummus. May be it does not sell well here or as it has a lower shelf life, they don't keep them. Anyway, I had this huge wish to eat hummus and pita bread, so I decided to make them both at home. Very simple recipe and you can vary it the way you like...

Hummus

Ingredients except Olive oil

Sesame paste I used instead of tahini

Enjoy with bread

Ingredients:

Chickpeas / Garbanzo beans /Kabuli chana - 1/2 cup (dried)
Olive oil - 2 tbsp.
Lime juice - 1-2 tbsp.
Garlic - 1-2 cloves (Optional)
Dried red chilli flakes / Red chilli powder - 1 tsp (Optional)
Tahini / Sesame / Til paste - 1 tbsp (Optional)
Salt

Method:

Soak the chickpeas for 7-8 hours.
Boil them in a pressure cooker with 1 tsp of salt until cooked. (Appx 15-20 mins)
Blend together the cooked chickpeas, 1 tbsp. Olive oil, 1 tbsp lime juice, 1 garlic, 1 tsp red chilli flakes, Sesame paste and salt. I used homemade sesame paste instead of tahini that is traditionally used. You can skip this if required. It does not alter the taste.
Add the remaining ingredients if required as per taste.
Blend into a fine paste. I added around 1tbsp of water to achieve a thinner consistency. Generally water is not used, more lime juice or olive oil is used.

You can vary it by putting cumin instead of garlic also. Roasted red pepper also is a nice addition.