Veg Kulchara ,Veg Manchurian balls(Gravy) & Sarsaparilla(Nannari) Sherbet!!

Veg Kulchara was introduced to me by my friends during college days.Here, in a restaurant they serve this delicious chinese starter which is irresistable.Most of us love chinese food esp the manchurians.Kulchara is kinda manchurian that has lots of cashews and its drizzled with butter.Can you imagine how tasty it could be?Though I had this dish many times in restaurant,I never thought of recreating it at home.When I saw the theme for Lets go Nuts event for this month-'Cashew Nuts'..I  determined to make this Kulchara..Non-vegeterians can try chicken and fish Kulchara too.

Veg Manchurian Balls in gravy is very popular and it pairs very well with Noodles/Fried rice.We had with plain boiled rice.I have used Caramel for sweetening the gravy instead of sugar.This not only gives a nice color but also enhances the flavor.

Veg Kulchara :

You will need :

For Kulchara

1 cup grated cabbage

1 cup grated carrots

1/4 cup onion chopped 

1/2 tsp Ginger -Garlic paste

2 Tbsp Maida

2 Tbsp Corn flour

1 tsp Salt

1/2 cup Cashew Nuts,chopped

Oil for frying

For the sauce

 

1/2 tsp Ginger -Garlic paste

1 Tbsp Onion,Chopped

1 tbsp caramel(See note below to make caramel)

1 tsp chilli sauce

1 tsp soya sauce

1/2 tsp Vinegar

1 tsp corn flour 

A pinch of Aji-no-moto

Salt

1/2 tsp red chilly flakes

For garnish :

1 tbsp chopped Cashews

1 tbsp butter

chopped spring onions

NOTE :

For making caramel, add 2 tbsp of Sugar and 1/2 Tbsp of lime juice in a skillet.Keep in med heat until the sugar gets melted completely.Leave in low heat without stirring until you get a good amber color.

Remove the skillet from heat and pour 1/4 cup of water immediately (Be careful as it splatters! )

Caramel

Chop cashew nuts finely..

Mix together the ingredients of 'For Kulchara' together except cashew nuts.Do not add water,the water from the grated cabbage/carrot itself is enough to bind the mixture.

Make small  balls from this mixture and place them in a plate.

Heat oil for deep frying..Coat each kulchara balls with the chopped cashews .Make sure that all the cashew bits are adhereing to the kulchara balls.

Gently drop 2 or 3 kulcharas at a time,depending on the size of the skillet.And fry them in med heat until golden brown.

Do not fry them in high heat or else the inside of the kulchara will not get cooked properly.

In a pan,heat 1 tsp oil and fry onion,ginger garlic paste,and red chilly flakes..Add all the sauces,salt,aji-no-moto,vinegar.Let it bubble for 30-40 seconds.Add caramel ,corn flour mixed in 1 tbsp of water.Let it simmer for a min.Check for salt,sweetness or spicyiness.Add whatever sauce you want according to your taste.

The sauce is ready.Coat the fried kulchara balls in this sauce.Pour remaining sauce over the Kulcharas.

Fry 1 tbsp of chopped cashews in  butter. Sprinkle this roasted cashews over the kulchara .Pour the remaining butter  over the kulchara.Garnish with spring onions.

Sending this to Lets go nuts with Cashew nuts event guest hosted by Poornima Nair and intiated by Aquadaze.

Veg Manchurain in gravy :

The recipe is same as the kulchara except the use of cashews.

Only the measurements for preparing the sauce/gravy varies here.

For Manchurian balls :

1 cup grated cabbage

1 cup grated carrots

1/4 cup onion chopped 

1/2 tsp Ginger -Garlic paste

2 Tbsp Maida

2 Tbsp Corn flour

1 tsp Salt

Oil for frying

For the sauce/gravy :

1 tsp Ginger -Garlic paste

1 Onion,Chopped

1/2 cup capsicum,cut into strips

2 tbsp caramel

2 tsp chilli sauce

2 tsp soya sauce

1 tsp Vinegar

1 1/2 tbsp corn flour 

1 cup water

A  pinch of Aji-no-moto

Salt

1 tsp red chilly flakes

Mix all ingredients of manchurian balls and make a dough.Shape into uniformly sized balls and deep fry them in oil.

For gravy,heat a tsp of oil.Fry onion and capsicum for a 1 min or so.Add ginger garlic paste and fry for 30 secs.Add the sauces,vinegar,salt,aji-no-moto,red chilly flakes.Let it bubble in low heat for a 40 secs.Add the caramel and corn flour mixed in water.Let it simmer for 1/2 min or until the gravy appears glossy.Add the manchurian balls to the gravy.Garnish with spirng onions and serve.

Sarasaparilla/Nannari Sherbet :

'Nannari' Sherbet is a refreshing drink sold in carts during summer season in India.Nannari is a root which has the medicinal property of protecting the body from common summer aliments.It is a natural coolant and it  purifies blood,prevents stone formation in kidneys,controls tonsillitis and solve acidity and constipation problems.

Nannari root

Source :itrcenvis.nic

Nannari Syrup

The Nannari Syrup is easily available in India.So if you have the syrup in hand the drink can be easily prepared. 

You will need :

1/4 cup Nannari Syrup

Juice of one small lemon

A pinch of salt

2 glasses of water

Ice cubes

Mix all the above and check for sweetness.Add sugar if its not sweet enough.

Sip and enjoy the summer!

Sending this to Refreshing Drinks event for Summer hosted by Anu of Chandrabaga

I tried out the following recipes this week,

Asha's Bell pepper Korma - Bell peppers are my fav! And a rich korma with it is mind blowing.I wanted to try it immediately after I saw it at her blog.But I can't find the colorful Bell peppers in my town.So finally I made with the regular green ones.It was superb!We had with rotis .I also had this as a sauce for pasta.. The almond gravy with bell pepper flavor goes very well with pasta!Thank you very much!.

Priya of Sourahstrian Kitchen's Peanut Ladoos- This is the easiest ladoo recipe I have ever came across.I love peanut ladoos but making them at home is a real complicated thing.But this peanut ladoo is not only easy to make but also to eat.I would call it 'Melting-in-mouth' Ladoo.Instead of grinding them coarse and I powdered them finely.But there is no compromise in taste.I enjoyed it.Thank you very much!

Food Fanatic's Arbi fry -I love arbi but we always make only one recipe with it.And that is 'Arbi podimass' .Her Arbi fry looks crispy and yum.So I wanna try it.Yesterday ,we made this as a side dish for Rasam Rice.I boiled the arbi to peel the skins and it got mushy.By mistake I added spices and then baked it instead of baking first .But it was nice..The arbi got a nice curst on outside and mushy inside..I can't stop eating them..Finally me and my sis end up fighting for this yummy Arbi fry.Thanks a lot for the recipe,FF! 

Prathiba , Priya, Adlak and Shama shared with me this lovely award..Thank you,buddies :) 

Thats a sweet gesture!

I'm passing it to all my blogging buddies...I love all your blogs.All of you are so sweet and are really talented chefs.Kindly accpet this award,friends..

Now for the rules:

1) Add the logo of the award to your blog.
2) Add a link to the person who awarded it to you.
3) Nominate at least 7 other blogs (Only if you like).
4) Add links to those blogs on your blog.
5) Leave a message for your nominees on their blog.

Asha,Food Fanatic,Priya of Easy n tasty recipes,Vishali,Mangala bhat,Varsha,Cham,Deesha,Sriharivatsan,Uma,SuperChef,Lavanya,Divya Vikram,Indhu,Priya Sriram,

Srikars,Soma,Sia,Trupti,Sanghi,Suparna,Pooja,Jayasree,Raks Kitchen,Rekha,Akal,Usha Nandhini,Vrinda,Simran,Gayatri,Mahimaa,Ann,Rachel,Lisa,Pavithra,Ramya Vijayakumar,Kitchen flavours,Ranjani,Nithiya Praveen,Notyet01,n33ma,Aparna,Sharmilee,Swapna,Archy,Viki,Aruna,Vibaas,Sathya Sankar,Madhuram,Malar,Poornima Nair,Laavanya,Lavi,Nazarina,Anu Sriram,Aquadaze

Have a nice weekend!

Chocolate-Peanutbutter cookies & Muesli Cookies!

My internet connection was down for past few days.Got it fixed last night only.Forgive me,friends for the delay in commenting at your blogs.

These two cookies were made long time back and it was in draft to get posted.I think this is the right time to post them.Thanks to Srilekha for coming up with the wonderful theme-'Cookies'.I love cookies especially the one loaded with chocolate.I had a last batch of crunchy peanut butter in my fridge.I used them to make this chocolate-peanut butter cookies.It was great and I love the tiny peanut bits in it.I have no idea how I created the recipe and I just followed my instincts and got these lovely cookies.I baked them for a bit longer and it got  little dark .But there is no compromise in the taste.

The muesli cookie recipe was taken from thatslife.com.It turned out to be chewy,wholesome cookies.

Chocolate-Peanut butter Cookies :

You will need :

2 cups of All purpose flour/Maida

1/2 cup butter,melted

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup castor sugar

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 egg

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 cup Peanut butter

1/2 cup chocolate chips

Beat together sugar(castor and brown sugar),butter and oil.

Break in the egg and add vanilla essence .Beat well.

Sift salt,baking soda and flour.Add this flour to the egg/sugar mixture.Combine well.

Dump in the peanut butter and chocolate chips.Mix well .

Drop cookie dough using a tablespoon on to the baking tray giving 2 inch of spacing for each cookies.Bake in 250 C preheated oven for 20-25 mins.

(This one is taken with flash-on whereas the first picture is taken under sunlight without flash..hence the difference)

The cookie will be soft when removed from the oven.Once cooled down they become crunchy.Store in a air tight container.

Muesli Cookies :

You will need :

1 cup or 80g butter,at room temp

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 egg whites

1 tsp vanilla essence

3/4 cup maida/All purpose flour

1/4 baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

1 3/4 cup of muesli

Place the butter,sugar,eggwhites and vanilla essence into a bowl and beat with electric beaters until creamy.

Sift in the flour and cinnamon ,and mix with a wooden spoon.Add the toasted muesli and mix to combine.

Roll 2 teaspoons of the dough into a ball.Flatten slightly and place on prepared baking sheets.Repeat with remaining mixture.Bake in 250C preheated oven for 8-10 min or until golden.Allow cookies to cool on trays before storing.

Along with Chocolate-Peanut butter cookies & Muesli cookies,I'm also sending the following cookie recipes from my archives to EFM-Cookies event hosted by Srilekha,

Nankhatai

Raisin bars & Raisin rocks

My chocolate-Peanut butter cookies goes to Poornima's For the Love of Chocolate event.

Tried out the following recipes this week and they were just amazing..

Sriharivatsan's Cluster bean rice-A very unique rice with cluster beans and we liked the flavors of it.It was spicy and just right.I should try this rice with capsicum.Thanks,Sriharivatsan :)

Vishali's Cabbage stir fry-Loved this so much and I had it with rotis for dinner.I made it again for sandwich the next morning.Both were so good .Thanks ,Vishali :)

Deesha's Bread Poha-I found this recipe through google's search which is eventually at Deesha's place.The recipe is so simple and sounds very delicious so I tried it immediately.It tasted great..Thanks,Deesha :)

Have a great weekend!

Dum ki Biryani & Kaddu ki Kheer!

Dum ki Biryani and Kaddu ki Kheer(Bottle gourd pudding) are two famous dishes of Awadhi cuisine.I'm sending these two royal dishes to RCI-Lucknow event hosted by Lavi of Home Cook Recipes which is originally started by Lakshmi.Its so kind of her to extend the deadline untill April 6th.I adapted the Dum Biryani recipe of Chef Sudipto Battacharya,Radisson Hotel at ndtv cooks.I made some changes to suit my palate.This is my first attempt in making these two dishes and I'm happy with the result.

I thought of making a mughlai curry to go with the Biryani but due to lack of time I settled with simple cucumber raita.

These brass and bell metal bowls  are some of the treasures I inherited from my grandmas.

Okay before I start blabbering about my obsession for metal wares lets begin cooking!

Kaddu Ki Kheer 

You will need :

2 cups grated bottlegourd

1/2 litre milk

1 cup Sugar

1/2 cup Khoya

1 tbsp chopped pistachios

2 tbsp chopped Cashews nuts

few almond slices

1 Tbsp raisins

A pinch of saffron

1/2 tsp Caradamom powder

1 tbsp ghee

In a heavy bottom vessel bring the milk to boil.simmer for 10 mins to thicken the milk.

In the mean time,peel the bottle gourd,remove seeds and grate them.

Squeeze out any excess water.

Add the grated bottle gourd and sugar to the milk.Let it cook for 5-8 mins.

Parallely in a small kadai heat ghee and fry the nuts and raisins.

Mix the Khoya and dissolve them in the boiling kheer.

Add the caradamom powder ,saffron and fried nuts and raisins.Stir well and turn off the heat.Serve hot or cold!

Dum Ki Biryani

You will need:

For the rice :

2 cups Basmati rice

2 cups water

2 green cardadmoms

1 stick of cinnamon

2 bay leaves

1 tsbp rose water

1 tsp ghee

Salt

For the Vegetables :

2 cups vegetables (I used chopped potatoes,cauliflower florets,carrot,beans and onion)

4 tbsp oil

5 tsp garlic n ginger paste

2 green caradamom

2 cloves

1 cinnamon stick

1/2 cup curd

1 tsp chilli powder

1/4 tsp turmeric powder

1 tbsp lemon juice

1/4 cup fresh cream

1/4 tsp nutmeg powder

A pinch of fennel seed powder

salt

For Garnish:

1 Tbsp thinnly sliced ginger

2 green chillies,slit

1/2 cup mint leaves

1/4 cup coriander leaves

1 cup thinnly sliced onions

Oil for frying the onions

5 almonds

10 cashew nuts

1 tsp saffron

4 tbsp milk,lukewarm

2 tbsp ghee

Wash the bastmati rice once and soak them in enough water.Soak saffron in milk.

Heat 2 tbsp oil and fry the vegetables for 10 mins.

When the vegetables are frying,mix all the rest of the ingredients under the 'For the vegetables'  section.After 10 mins,add the fried vegetables to this curd/spice mixture.Mix well and set aside.

Drain the water completely from the soaking rice.In a deep pan,bring 2 cups of water to boil and add all the spices ,salt and ghee given under 'For the rice' section.

Add the drained rice and simmer and cook covered till done.

Heat 2 tbsp oil and fry the marinating mixture for 5-7 mins.

When its frying ,slice 1 big onion..Heat 5 tbsp oil and then add the onions..

Fry them till they become brown and crisp.

In the same oil fry the cashew nuts in low flame.

In a large oven proof bowl,layer a portion of  fried vegetable mixture and then a layer of cooked rice.Do this step until you get finished up with all the vegetable mixture and rice.Gently mix them only once.

Top it with coriander,mint,green chillies,fried cahsews and onions(reserve some for garnishing at the end),almonds,and the soaking saffron along with milk.Drizzle 2 tbsp ghee .

Cover this using a aluminium foil and cook in 250 C preheated oven for 25 mins.

Or cover them with a plate and seal the air gaps using chapati dough.

If you don't have oven,place a tawa over flame and when it got heated up,place the sealed bowl over the tawa and cook in low flame for 30 mins.

Note:Traditionally,Dum cooking involves imparting smoky flavour to the dish.If you like this flavor ,you can do it by placing a small piece of  live charcoal in the center cored onion or betel nut leaf.Place this  over the biryani and keep it covered for 10 mins.

Once removed from oven,open the biryani bowl and give a gentle stir .

Transfer in a serving dish,garnish with the reserved browned onions,cashews and coriander leaves.

I'm also sending the following dishes from my archived posts to RCI - Lucknow event,

Navratna Korma

Shahi Tukre

Malai Kofta 

This week I tried Malar's Green plantain fry.Its very different from the usual plantain fry we make at home.I liked the spicy,tangy taste in it.Thank you ,Malar for the wonderful reicpe :)

Y'day I made the lemon bread featured at Cham's Spice-club.The bread is a super hit ,Cham.Thanks for  posting it in your blog.The bread came out so perfect and my cousins were not believing that I made it :(  I had to swear them that they aren't the store-bought ones.Its so yummy-scrummy!

I used pistachio's instead of walnuts.

And also ,I tried the basic white bread from Nags Edible garden.This is my second successful attmept in baking bread.It came out so well like yours.Thanks for the step-by-step tutorial,Nags :)

Have a happy weekend!