Perfect Potato Patties

Hello, my foodie friends..........I hope you all are doing great. Today in this blog post we will talk about a very healthy and scrumptious recipe which is an excellent snack item for all the members of the family. As the monsoon is in full swing our heart and mind always want to munch on something with the evening tea but amid the current situation, we are avoiding eating outside and even buying food items from outside. Sometimes we get bored with the regular snack items and we need something that is yummy and healthy too. 

Today's recipe is Potato Patties. This can serve as a great companion with your evening cup of tea. It is very easy to make and taste just awesome. There are two steps in making this recipe:

• Preparing the filling for the patties
• Making the wrapper

You can make these wrappers beforehand and freeze them too. So, when you want to have some snacks just take out the wrappers, stuff the filling and fry them. The most important and crucial step in this recipe is to seal the wrappers. If you don't seal the patties properly the filling will ooze out and everything will become a mess. So, be very careful while sealing the patties. Do try this recipe this monsoon season and let us know how do you like it.

So, let's begin with the recipe:

Potato Balls/ Potato Lollipops

As we have started a new series where I'm posting the replicas of our favorite food items which we get in our favorite restaurants like McDonald's, Dominos, Pizza Hut etc. I have already shared some recipes like:

• Chicken Nuggets
• Egg Tawa Burger
• Pizza McPuff
• Veg Pizza

You can click the links to read more about the recipes. Today's recipe is a variation of Chicken Balls. I have tried to make it vegetarian by using Potatoes. Therefore today's recipe is Potato Balls. This is a very healthy recipe as you can add or subtract any veggies as per your or your kid's liking. You can also add cheese to make it more appealing to your naughty toddlers.

So, without any further ado, let's begin with the recipe:

Spicy Chilli Potatoes

             

Hello Friends..... I hope you all are doing good. As we all know the summer season is here and along with that, all our kids are at home due to the summer vacation. It's always good to involve our kids in our day-to-day activities. All year round they are so busy with their studies and extra-curricular activities that it's hard to make them involved in the household chores.

Whether it's cleaning, dusting, cooking or washing make them involved. They can do their own bit and will learn gradually. My 3 year old loves to help me in the kitchen. Today, in this post I'll be sharing the recipe of Spicy Chilli Potatoes.

This recipe of Spicy Chilli Potato is extra special for me because I have made this recipe along with my 3-year-old son. He has helped me from peeling the potatoes, onions, garlic to adding the sauces in the dish. This is a very simple recipe which can be made in a jiffy.

You can also make this dish if you have any guests at your home and can earn some brownie points.

So, without any further ado let's begin with the recipe:

Instant Poha Uttapam

           

We all love South Indian Breakfast recipes, there are multiple options available starting from Idli, Dosa, Sambhar Vada, Panniyaram and the list goes on and on. Today in this post I'm going to share one more very common breakfast recipe and i.e. Uttapam.

One thing I love about South Indian cuisine is that it's very healthy and uses minimal oil. You can feed these dishes to babies, aged persons and even to the people on diet. I have already shared some of the delicacies from South Indian Breakfast recipes like

• Soft and Spongy Idli
• Suji Appe/ Paniyaram

Click the names and you'll be redirected to the posts.

Uttapams are South Indian breakfast recipe made with rice, lentil and topped with veggies. These are generally served with coconut chutney and sambhar. Generally, Uttapams are prepared from the leftover Dosa batter and toppings are added to balance the sourness of the batter. Personally, I like to make my Uttapams very colorful so I try to add different veggies which make the Uttapam not only colorful but gives it a nice texture too.

The traditional approach of making Uttapams is very tedious and time-consuming too. So, here I'm sharing a quick and instant recipe of Poha Uttapam. Apart from using Poha or flattened rice, we will also require Suji or Semolina and Curd/Yogurt. You can top the Uttapam with any veggies of your choice. Here I have used onion, capsicum, carrot and coriander leaves.

So, without any further ado let's begin with the recipe:

Sooji/ Rava Appe

           

Hello my Foodie Friends...........Winter has arrived in almost all the regions of India and the market is loaded with all the winter veggies. Whenever I visit the market I can't resist myself from buying them without giving a second thought what will I do with them. 

Winter is known for veggies like green beans, capsicum, carrots, cauliflower etc. You can enjoy them in number of ways but it's very tricky to feed veggies to our kids. Moreover if your baby is a picky or fussy eater then this task becomes more troublesome. We all struggle to come up with new ideas and recipes for lunch box and breakfast. Even if you give your kid's favorite dish in their lunch box the lunchbox is never empty. 

Therefore, we as mother's should come up with some new and brilliant ideas to feed veggies to our babies. The food should look interesting and cute that's the trick to allure the kids. 

So, today in this video we'll make Sooji Appam or Rava Appe which is loaded with veggies. It is very easy to make and just needs 15 mins of your time if you do the prep work beforehand.

So, let's begin with the recipe:

Instant Rava Dhokla

           

Hello Peeps....hope you all are doing great. We all know the importance of having breakfast daily but still there are many people who are always in a hurry every morning and they often skip their breakfast or have it in hurry. 

 The truth is that we should never skip our breakfast and should always sit and have it in a relaxed manner so that we can gain energy to work hard throughout the day. As far as my household is concerned; breakfast is must for us. Moreover I always try to make it healthy and filling. 

I can understand the problem of every Indian lady either she's working or non-working that how busy our mornings are. Having a healthy breakfast is as important as preparing it as soon as possible. So, here I'm sharing a recipe which is not only healthy but it can be prepared in a very less time.

Today's recipe which is Rava Dhokla is not only quick but healthy too.You can pack it in your kids tiffin box. They will definitely enjoy it. You can also make it in your evening snacks and enjoy it with your tea.

So, let's begin with the recipe:

Fried Masala Idli....An Innovative way to reuse Leftover Food

           

One of the most difficult things to deal in life is the Leftover Food. I feel very frustrated whenever I open my refrigerator and see leftover food is peeping at me.

I don't have the courage to dump them in the dustbin because there are so many people in the world who are not getting food to eat and we are wasting the food we are getting. 

That's the reason I always try to come up with some innovative ideas to deal with the leftover food so that my family doesn't feel that they are having the same old stuff and try to make it delicious.

In this post I have tried to reuse the leftover Idlis. My family loves Idli-Dosa but it always happens to me that I overmake the Idlis so I always have some Idlis as leftovers. 

Leftover Idlis don't taste that good as they lose their freshness. So, I came up with this exciting and delicious Fried Idli recipe which not only gives a new look to the leftover Idlis but makes it delicious too.

So, without doing any further ado let's start with the recipe.

Crispy Baked Buffalo Chicken Wings.....The Healthier

             

Who doesn't love Chicken Wings. They are crispy, spicy and full of flavors. When you lick those flavorful wings there is a burst of flavors in your mouth.

But every good thing has a bad side too and if you ask me about these Chicken Wings then I would say the calorie part. So, I decided to recreate this recipe but this time in a healthier manner. 

I decided to bake these chicken wings instead of frying them. I have used minimal oil here just to brush the wings and later on in the sauce. So we don't have to worry about the calorie part.

Buffalo Chicken Wings require minimal effort to cook just add in all the ingredients and  pop these wings in the oven. Prepare the sauce and coat these wings and you're sorted. 

Traditionally these wings are served with ranch, blue cheese and a side of carrots and celery. But; I like to enjoy them as it is and feel the burst of flavors while having them.

So, without any further ado let's jump right into the recipe:

Crab Croquettes

                         
Hello foodies, hope you all are doing good. It’s that time of the year when we all shed the layers of woolen clothes and get into some bright, beautiful colors of spring. Though, we don’t have official spring here in India but still I have seen many stores (clothing) offers discounts in the name of Spring……Lolzzzzz

Lately, it’s been too hot and humid here in Kolkata, West Bengal and I’m afraid how I’ll be surviving the upcoming months. I think the best way to deal with summer is to keep yourself hydrated every time. Drink as much as water you can which helps in releasing the toxins. Last year I had posted many summer special drinks and I’m sure they will help in quenching your thirst.

• Virgin Watermelon Sangria
• Aam Panna 
• Pinacolada
• Cucumber Lime Mojito
• Mango Kulfi
• Mango Ice-cream

Anyway I think I’m getting deviated from today’s post which is about Crabs. I haven’t tasted Crab until I went to US and trust me I didn’t like it much as I was getting a very weird kind of smell but when I came to India and found crab sticks in one of the superstores, I thought of trying it once again and the very first recipe which came to my mind was to make Croquettes out of those.

These Crab sticks are very hassle free to work with as they come ready to use. You don’t have to even crack the shells (that's the worst part of eating crab). The recipe calls for very few ingredients and the time it takes from pan to plate is less than 10 mins. Because it’s such a hassle free dish it works best when you have unplanned guests at your home provided you have crab sticks handy in your freezer. So, without any further ado let’s begin with the recipe:

Buffalo Style Chicken Wings......And Our Love For Buffalo Wild Wings

If anybody asks me what I miss most about USA then my one and only answer will be BUFFALO WILD WINGS!!!! It's an American casual dining restaurant cum Sports Bar which specializes in Chicken Wings and their 16 finger licking sauces.

You get fried Chicken Wings coated with their wide variety of sauces along with 6 different dippings to choose from. You can enjoy them with carrots and celery on the side. As I said they are specialized in Chicken Wings but you also check out their Burgers, Sandwiches, Quesadillas, Fries etc.... 

I have many memories linked with that restaurant: we celebrated our first weekend dining there, our first New Year and so many similar events. We were so much fond of that restaurant that we ate there than any other restaurant in Portland. 

They have their line in America, Canada, Mexico and Philippines. Unfortunately we don't have B-Dubs (that's a nick name given to Buffalo Wild Wings) in India. As I always rave that being a foodie is a blessing and a curse too. I crave for Buffalo style Chicken Wings so much in India that it enforced me to look for a recipe of it. Finally after many trials and errors I can say that I'm able to somewhat recreate that taste.

If you're living in USA then you can get their sauces readily available in their restaurants. You just have to make the wings and coat them with the sauces. Otherwise follow the recipe to enjoy Buffalo Style Wings at the comfort of your home.

I had grilled the wings in the microwave by just brushing them with little bit of oil. It's much healthier option than frying the wings. If you want you can deep fry them too. So let's start with the recipe:

Papdi Chaat

 

I'm a die hard fan of Indian Chaat or Indian Street Food and you? I know nobody can say "NO" to these mouth-watering dishes whether it's a child or an adult we all love them equally.  There are so many options in this genre, starting from Pani Puri, Bhel Puri, Dahi Puri, Vada Pav, Egg rolls, Chow mein, Dahi Vada to Papdi Chaat: we just love all of them. 

The exact place to enjoy the taste of any "Indian Street Food" is on the Indian Streets. But, sometimes the health conscious soul inside me wakes up and forces me not to have these roadside chaat and all those alluring foodstuffs and the little child inside me gets disappointed. So, in order to make that child happy the foodie inside me gets up and tries to recreate the taste of Indian Street Food in my very own kitchen but in a hygienic way. As a result me and my soul both are happy.

Yesterday, I had a very serious craving for some Papdi Chaat and as usual I was not in the favor of having it from the roadside shops. So, I decided to make it at my home. Making "Papdi Chaat" at home is very simple but you need to do some prior preparations like boiling chickpeas and potatoes etc. The crunch of the Papdis, the tanginess of the yogurt and the sweetness of the tamarind chutney is simply irresistible. 

I know this recipe will make you drool. So, without any further ado let's begin with our recipe:

Palmiers.......Cute Little Hearts Cookies

Palmiers is a French Pastry which is also known as Elephant Ears or Angel Wings because of its shape. It is extremely light, flaky, caramely and buttery. Each time I bake Palmiers, I just fell amazed that how effortless and painless its recipe is. It's a perfect snack to munch on when you want something to eat during those odd hours of the day. 

These cookies are made up of puff pastry which is a dough wrapped around butter so the butter gets completely enclosed within the dough which is then rolled and folded over to double the number of layers and then the whole process is repeated. The number of times you repeat this process the more flaky your pastry will become. But making puff pastry at home is a very time consuming process and needs a lot of elbow greasing. Thanks to the frozen puff pastry sheets available at the supermarkets these days.

Making Palmiers at home becomes super easy if we have frozen puff pastry sheets in our freezer. You just need to thaw them, roll them, sprinkle granulated sugar and bake them. Ta-dah you're done! I know it's very difficult to resist until they cool down. I myself can't stay away from them for long. 

So let's get started:

Khaman Dhokla in Microwave

Few days back my Sister-In-Law who happens to be the first follower on my Facebook page requested me for the recipe of Dhokla. Since we are in the mid of winter so I did not get chance to make the batter and ferment it. So I came up with this no ferment and instant recipe which can be made with just a blink of your eye. 

Dhokla is a soft, fluffy melt in mouth savory cake made from Gram flour (Besan). It is a very popular snack which originated in the western state of India i.e. Gujarat. However these days it can be found across India.

It is a dish which has undergone many disasters in my kitchen. But soon I realized making a perfect dhokla is not a rocket science. All you need to have is the right proportions of the ingredients and VOILA you are ready with one of the softest food items ever.

My Mom makes the best dhokla I have ever had. She's also known as "Dhokla Aunty" in her neighborhood. The texture and flavors she gets every time is  just incredible. 

There are many variations of dhokla. The traditional recipe calls for rice and urad daal (lentil). But here I'm going to share an instant version made with gram flour (besan). It is perfect for your tea time or when you have unexpected guests at your home.

So let's get started: