Shankarpali / Shankarpole / Shakarpara (Video Recipe)

Aren't road trips so much fun??? :D

Not knowing where you may end up, what you may end up eating is so thrilling.

We, hubby dearest and I, have more differences than similarities, but in this one matter we are made for each other. Come long weekend, and off we go. No clue of the destination, only the direction. No planning, no hotel booked, no real map in hand and no real food to eat. All we have is a hurriedly packed bag of clothes, my trusted camera, bottles of water and of course, my iPod and we are all set.

We've done instant trips to Ooty, Wayanad and our latest was to Belur. We had a long long weekend last week. I miss it already, We started on the most peaceful day of the year - Oct 2nd, with our basic necessities dumped in the car. When we started out we weren't sure if we were planning to go north or west. Finally thought of west and I'd never seen ShravanBelgola, so that became Destination number 1, With some Kunigal Tatte idlis in our tummies, we scaled the hill to see the Bahubali statue. 

Halebeedu became destination number 2. The beautiful architecture of that temple puts to shame even the best architects today I think. The workmanship is awesome. If you haven't seen it, it's time to visit. Belur was our next destination. Similar to Halebeedu, the architecture is simply amazing. The only sad thing was by the time we reached Belur, night had fallen, so we could not really spend a lot of time there.

Bangalore was 5 hours away, it was 7pm, crazy as we are, we decided we should go ahead instead of returning, So off we went to Karkala, hubby dearest's hometown and spent our extremely looong weekend there.

Back to my recipe now, Monday was a holiday for me. Alone on a holiday gets boring sometimes, So what better to occupy myself than cook, right? I've been wanting to make Shankapali for a long time now. This is a traditional Maharastrian fried sweet made especially during the festival of lights - Diwali. 

I'd gotten multiple recipes from my mom, mom in law, sister, her mom in law etc. I think you get the picture. I finally mixed them up and made my own recipe that turned out pretty great. Really! And I could not believe it is so easy to make. Only tricky thing is the temperature of the oil, Once you get that correct, you needn't worry about anything, 

The below recipe makes 150-200. Don't worry, they are sooo yummy, they won't last too long. They stay fresh for weeks in stored in air tight container.

Video Recipe

If you made this recipe, let me know! Leave a comment here or on Facebook, tag your tweet with @oneteaspoonlife on Twitter and don't forget to tag your photo #oneteaspoonoflife on Instagram. You can also email me at onetspoflife@gmail.com. I'd love to see what you are upto. 

If you like this recipe, do not forget to share it with your friends and family! 

You can follow One Teaspoon Of Life is there on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and Google+ or you can subscribe to One Teaspoon Of Life and receive all the latest updated via Email (How convenient!!)

If you liked this, you may also like:

• Modak - Steamed dumplings stuffed with coconut and jaggery.
• Khova Peda - Peda (fudge) made with milk from scratch.
• Coconut Laddoo - Easy to make laddoos with only 4 ingredients.

Shankarpali / Shankarpole / Shakarpara

Light and crisp bite sized sweet snacks 

Recipe Type:  Dessert / Snacks
Cuisine:          Indian
Prep Time:     60 minutes (Includes resting of dough)
Cook time:     60 minutes
Yield:              250-300

Ingredients:

6-7 cups Maida / All purpose flour
3/4 cup Chiroti rava / Fine semolina
1 cup Milk
1 cup Ghee / Clarified butter
2.5-3 cups Powdered Sugar
1 tsp Salt
Oil for deep frying

Method:

Mix the milk and ghee and microwave on high for 30 seconds until the ghee melts. You can do this on stove too, just don't heat it too long or the mix may curdle. If the ghee is already liquid, skip this step.
Add the sugar to this mix and stir until it dissolves.
Add salt, semolina and the flour by the spoonfuls. Stir to remove lumps.
Once all the flour is added, knead the dough using your hands for 2-3 mins until it is one shiny mass.
If after kneading the dough, you feel it isn't sweet enough, then take a little milk and dissolve the required amount of sugar in it.Add this to the dough and knead well. Add a little more flour if needed.
Cover and allow it to rest for at least half hour.
Divide the dough into smaller balls and roll them out to approximately 3-5 mm thickness
Cut into diamond shape with each side of appx 1.5-2cm. You can use the crimped cutter, pizza cutter or a knife. Don't worry if the shape or size is not consistent. It does not change the taste.
Heat oil in a thick bottomed kadhai.
The oil should not be too hot or too cold. I test fried a couple to get the temperature right. Between Low to Medium heat works well. If the oil is too hot, the shankarpali will turn brown but will not be cooked, too low will make them oily.
Remove them when they turn golden brown and crisp.

Read more ...

Gobi Manchurian

The first time I had this, I loved it. It was in a cafe, we friends went to after our tuition in the 10th standard. It cost us Rs.20 back then in a moderately priced cafe. Back then, we did not have it as an accompaniment, we ate it as the main meal. Spicier than home food and newer flavors, it tingled our senses. And it has been tingling ever since...

Gobi after frying

Gobi Manchurian

An Indian Chinese appetizer of deep fried cauliflower in a spicy sauce

Recipe Type:  Appetizer
Cuisine:          Indian Chinese
Prep Time:     20 minutes
Cook time:     40 minutes
Yield:              3-4 Servings

Ingredients:

200 gms Cauliflower
2 Spring onions or 1 Onion
2 Tbsp chopped Spring onion greens
1.5" piece Ginger
4 cloves Garlic
2 Green Chilli (Slit length wise)
2 Tbsp Capsicum (finely chopped)
2 Tbsp Carrot (finely chopped)
2 Tbsp Cornflour
1 Tbsp Flour / Maida
3-4 Tbsp Soy sauce
1 tsp Chilli sauce
1/2 tsp Vinegar
2 tsp + 2 cups Oil
1/2 tsp Ajinomoto / Maggi magic cube
Salt
Water

Method:

• Crush and grind the ginger and garlic into a fine paste. Alternatively, use ginger-garlic paste. I prefer using fresh as I feel it gives it a better fragrance.
• Mix the cornflour and flour with 1/2 cup water. Add 1 tsp of the ginger garlic paste, 1 tbsp soya sauce and salt. Add more water if needed, the consistency should not be very thin, it should be sufficient to coat the cauliflower
• Break the cauliflower into smaller florets
• Heat 2 cups Oil for deep frying in a kadhai
• Dip the cauliflower in the batter and deep fry until golden brown and keep aside
• Heat 2 tsp oil in a kadhai, add the onions and once they are translucent, add the ginger garlic paste and fry until fragrant
• Add the other vegetables and continue frying until they are done,
• Now add the remaining batter prepared for the cauliflower. Add more water to get a gravy. If you want it dry, you may not need to add any water.
• Add all the sauces, vinegar, ajinomoto / maggi magic cube and salt and cook for 2-3 mins.
• Add the cauliflower and cook for 1 more min.
• Garnish with spring onion greens and serve hot

Read more ...

Nippattu | Thattai

Same story as my Kaju Katli post. I asked hubby dearest what khara/ namkeen/ spicy snack should I make for Diwali and the reply was Nippattu. Again, I had tried this earlier and it was something I couldn't brag about. Tried it again and presto! it tasted good this time. I did struggle a little initially even this time, but I got the correct advice from multiple people and managed to salvage my nippattu mission. I was not rolling them thin enough and hence they were not cooking properly in the center giving them soft centers and crispy sides. After about 7-10 turning out soft, I took the advice and patted them out evenly and thinner and they turned out nice and crisp. The recipe made close to 40 nippattus.

Nippattu | Thattai

Spicy flat South Indian crisps made from Rice flour

Recipe Type:  Snacks
Cuisine:          South Indian
Prep Time:     30 minutes
Cook time:     45 minutes
Yield:              40

Ingredients:

2 cups Rice flour
1 cup Maida / Flour
1-2 tsp Red chilli powder
50 gms or 3 Tbsp Butter
2 Tbsp Oil (hot)
2-3 sprigs Curry leaves
2 Tbsp Coriander leaves (chopped)
1/2 cup Peanuts
1/4 cup Puthani / Roasted gram
1/4 tsp Asafoetida / Hing
A pinch of Cooking soda
Salt
Water
Oil for deep frying

Method:

• Dry roast the peanuts and peel them. Crush the peanuts into 2-3 pieces, just be careful not to powder it.
• Mix the rice flour, maida, red chilli powder, butter, chopped curry leaves, coriander leaves, peanuts, roasted gram, hing, cooking soda and salt.
• Heat 2 tbsp of oil and add to the mix.
• Add water and knead into a smooth dough.
• Cover and keep aside for 10-15 mins
• Take a small ball of dough and place it on a butter paper or any other greased surface and pat it down into a disk using your fingers. The disk should be around 2mm in thickness. Make sure it is evenly thick.
• Heat the oil in a kadhai for deep frying. After the oil is hot, reduce the stove to medium flame.
• Deep fry the nippattu on medium flame until they are brown on both sides.
• Allow it to cool a little to check if they have crisped up.
• Allow it to cool and then store in an air tight container.

Read more ...