Vengaya Pakoda - Onion in Besan Fritters

Vengaya pakoda is a very popular snack in Tamil Nadu. Its hard to find any bakery or tea stall with out selling these. These crispy pakodas is the most sought after accompaniment with a cup of hot tea/coffee. In Kerala, you will find the bajji version more popular. Pakodas are crunchy where as bajjis are crisp and soft. Though both are besan based, the batter consistency makes the difference. At my home, Amma used to make this on most of the Sundays. Post marriage, my husband's family love to have these pakodas/bajji as side for dinner. With the onset of monsoon, these will be made often in my home. This is a favorite with my hubby. There isn't any recipe for this. I usually follow eye ball measurement. without any exact measurement followed, each time it is made, it has a unique taste.

1 medium sized onion, chopped

handful of besan flour - 2 measures

handful of rice flour - 1 measure

salt to taste

a big pinch of chilli powder

few shakes of hing

chopped coriander & curry leaves (optional)

Water to prepare the batter

Oil to deep fry

Method

Mix all the ingredients well. Add water little by little to get a thick batter. The batter should not be very stiff also. Adjust the salt and chilli powder to your taste.

Heat oil in a kadai. When hot, take some batter in your hand, crumble it into small pieces, directly into the oil. Be careful as you do this over the oil. Take care that your fingers do not go near oil. The idea is to get small pieces so that it will fry crisp else it will turn soft. This is a very forgiving recipe. Little more or less of any of the ingredients will not affect the taste but the crunchiness will vary. Too much of water or besan will give soft pakoras.

Drain on absorbent papers and when cool, you can store in airtight containers.

I am sending this to RFRU:Starters hosted by Sunshinemom, an event started by Ramki.

15 minute cooking @Spices etc.....

Do you have as little as 15 minutes to whip up something on a busy day? Join me in my kitchen and share your jiffy recipes! They can be anything from appetizers to desserts. A few examples of 15 minute recipes are milkshakes, sandwiches, salads, chutneys(thogayal), rotis, dhals(kootu), upma, kheer, dosas, microwave recipes etc. You can also send semi-homemade dishes. The aim of this event is to learn, share and store a collection of quick recipes(from different parts of India) in one place!

Here are the guidelines for the event:

Prepare any vegetarian dish(no eggs please) that will take no more than 15 minutes.
Post it in your blog between today and May 20th. There is no limit on the number of entries.
Link back to this announcement. Feel free to use the logo.
If you have already posted some quick recipes, make a fresh post along with this link.
If you don't have a blog, email me your recipes.

Email spicesetc@gmail.com with the following details on or before May 20th(9 PM PST).
1. Blog Name
2. Dish name and the URL
3. Picture of the dish(300 px wide)
4. Rename the picture to dish name.

The round up will be posted by May 31st.

I am expecting good response from you all :)

The time required to do advance preparation like soaking, grinding, fermenting, chopping veggies is not counted. But I would still prefer recipes that will take only 15 minutes from start to end.

Pal Payasam(Milk pudding)

Happy Tamil New Year to all my visitors and friends! Hope you had a feast on this occasion!



The addition of coconut in this payasam makes it delicious.

Serves:2-3

Ingredients:
Rice-2 tbsp
Coconut-1/4 cup
milk-1/2 cup
Sugar-5 tbsp
Roasted nuts and raisins-to garnish
Saffron-a few strands
Cardamom-1/4 tsp
Food color(optional)-a pinch

Method:
Soak rice in water for 15 minutes.
Grind coconut and rice together with little water to a coarse paste.
Heat 1 cup of water in a vessel. When it starts boiling, add the ground paste.
Stir now and then and cook for 10 minutes(the mixture will become thick and rice should have cooked well by now).
Add milk, cardamom, saffron, sugar, food color and simmer for 10 minutes.
Roast chopped nuts in 1/2 tsp ghee and add it in the end.
Serve cold or hot.

Isn't it easy enough to try?

This is my entry to CFK: Rice - May 2nd hosted by Trupti, started by Sharmi.