Masala Corn Sev Puri

Source:  Kuty's Kreations

New year, new recipe, new camera, new resolution to post more recipes!

Wish you all a very Happy New Year!

The following was a late night creation due to laziness to go the grocery store/ determination to start using my overstocked pantry! 

Masala Corn Sev Puri

 Ingredients

• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 1 can corn kernels (I used baby corn because that's all I had in my pantry)
• 1 tsp red chili powder
• 1 tsp chat masala
• 2-3 tsp coriander leaves, chopped
• salt, pepper, lemon juice to taste
• 25- 30 papdis (small, deep-fried wheat-based crackers)
• 1/4 cup shredded cheese (optional)
• coriander chutney
• tamarind chutney
• 1/4 cup sev

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Heat 1 tsp butter in pan and saute onions
3. Add corn, chili powder, chat masala, salt, pepper and stir for 2-3 mins
4. Remove from heat and add lemon juice and coriander leaves
5. Place papdis on baking sheet and sprinkle cheese over them.  Bake in oven until cheese melts.
6. Layer papdis with corn masala, coriander chutney, tamarind chutney, and finally sev
7. Top with additional chat masala or red chili powder if needed

Kuty's Twist
This is a great recipe to make with whatever you have in your fridge and pantry.  If you don't have papdis, you can even try this with nacho chips, tortillas, or make a sandwich out of it!  The corn masala tastes great by itself too.

Rava Bonda

Source: Kuty's Kreations

What does one do when they have leftover idli batter and leftover oil from frying pooris?  Why they make bondas of course!  Thank you Gits!

Ingredients

• 1 packet Gits Rava Idli Mix
• 550ml thick yogurt
• 200ml water
• 1 handful chopped coriander
• 2-3 green chilies, finely chopped
• 1/2 red onion, finely chopped
• 1 carrot, finely chopped
• Oil for frying

Directions

1. Mix Gits Rava Idli contents with yogurt and water.  (My yogurt was really thick so I added water. If your yogurt is already watery you may not need to add water.)
2. Add coriander, green chilies, carrots, and red onions (you can put any vegetable you want)
3. Stir to form a smooth batter and let it sit for 10 mins.  (Since I used this mix to make idlis the previous day, I placed the leftover batter in the frig for a day before I used it to make bondas.  I'm not sure if makes a difference or not, but the batter should be quite thick.)
4. Heat oil and place small golf ball size portions of the batter into the oil.
5. Fry until brown to get crispy bondas.  Fry until golden brown to get softer ones.

Kuty's Twist

So this is a great way to use up your leftover idli batter.  If you make all of the batter from a Gits mix into bondas, you are going to have a LOT of bondas!  After making ~16 idlis and 20 bondas, I still have leftover batter from this mix.  I think I may water it down and try to make dosas next... stay tuned!

Dal Makhani

Source:  One Hot Stove

This past week I was traveling for work and as a result consumed all sorts of unhealthy foods.  I was dying to come back and eat some home cooked comfort food.  But I still had to stick to my new cooking resolutions which are: 1. Try to cook based on what you already have in your kitchen, 2. Cook healthier.  I looked at all of the dal sitting in my pantry and realized that I had not touched urad dal in a really long time... so that's how this recipe came about!  :-)  

This was just the perfect food to indulge in and not feel guilty about! 

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup red kidney beans
• 1/2 cup black urad dal
• 1/4 cup chana dal
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1 inch piece ginger
• 2 cups tomato puree
• 1 teaspoon tomato paste
• 1.5 teaspoon red chili powder
• 10 cashew nuts
• 1 teaspoon garam masala

Directions

1. Soak the beans and dals overnight (I ended up soaking them for ~16 hours), then rinse
2. Pressure cook the beans and dals along with 3 1/2 cups water
3. Heat 1 tablespoon butter and add cumin seeds, pinch of asafoetida, and fenugreek seeds.  After they splutter, add the ginger and garlic and simmer for a few minutes. (Add a little bit of water if it starts to stick.)  Note:  The original recipe said to use ginger/ garlic paste.  I used fresh ginger and garlic and just blended them into a paste.
4. Add the tomato puree and paste.  Cook for another 5-7 minutes, stirring often.
5. Coarsely mash the beans and dals and add them in. (I drained the beans/ dal and added them in, keeping aside the extra water.) 
6. Add salt and bring everything to a boil
7. Blend the cashew nuts and a little bit of the dal water to form a paste
8. Stir in red chilli powder and cashew nut paste.  Simmer for 10 minutes (add additional water leftover from the dal if it ends up being too thick)
9. Turn off the heat and stir in garam masala
10. Garnish with coriander leaves (and butter if you wish!) and serve with rice or rotis

Kuty's Twist

I slightly modified this to be a healthier version.  I used less butter and replaced the cream with cashew nut paste.  I also added tomato paste, which I feel gives dishes a bit more flavor.  If you have really juicy tomatoes, you may not need this.