Mint Pakoda

Mint Pakodas

It was one of those days when I got the best mint bunches from the market. We generally do not get good mint bunches. I had made mint chutney and had kept the remaining stuff and was not sure what to make....I could not resist from making them. It is so easy and simple to make...takes less than half an hour to make it from the scratch.

Ingredients:

1 Cup - Besan Flour
1/2 Cup - Rice Flour
2 Tsp - Ghee
1/2 Tsp Red Chillies
3/4 Tsp Salt
2 Mint  Bunches
1 Green Chilly
1/2 Tsp Baking Soda
Chopped Cashew
Oil for frying

Recipe ............

Wash the mint and chop it well.
Mix the besan and rice flour together.
Add salt, red chilly powder, baking soda, cashew, chopped green chilly and mint.
Add the ghee and mix the flour well.
Important point while making any pakodas is to mix it in batches. Do not mix the entire quantity.
Heat the oil.
Take one portion of the dough and sprinkle little water and mix the dough.
Take the dough and press them in your finger tips (they need not have proper shape) and drop it in the oil.
Fry it until they are brown and crisy.
Serve it with ketchup or chutney of your choice!

Oven Baked Samosas

I wanted to try something in my new oven. I made vegetarian lasagna with oven ready lasagna sheets but I did not find time to take the picture. Will make it one more time and post it. The weather was already dull and boring...wanted something hot and yummy...pakoras, samosas...but did not want to make any fried items...not that am on diet..but the smell of oil keeps lingering in the house. So there I decided to make samosas by baking it. Enjoyed it without guilt!

Ingredients:

I used equal quantities of maida and wheat flour 1 1/2 cups
Water
6 Medium Sized Potatoes peeled and boiled
1/2 Cup Frozen Peas and microwave for 3 mintues
Salt to taste

Roast them in a teaspoon of oil and grind after it cools down - 1/2 Tsp Channa Dhal, Coriander seeds, 1 inch cinnamon stick, 1 bay leaf and 1 Tsp Jeera

Mash the potatoes and peas. Add salt and the masala powder.

Make a dough using the flour. Divide the vegetable and the dough into equal quantities.

Roll the dough like roti. Cut it into half (like semi-circle). Take a semi-circle and keep the veggie ball and fold it like a triangle.. Press it with the fork and seal. Since we are not frying this in oil you need not be too much worried about the veggie coming out of it.
Finish the rest of the samosas the same way. Coat these samosas with oil before popping into the oven.

Pre-heat the oven upto 400 degree F. Bake the samosas till they turn golden brown.
Enjoy them with chutney or ketchup...