Stuffed chilli bhajjis

For those who have visited the Marina beach in chennai , one thing that immediately comes to mind is the' milagai bajji'. Light green chillies are tied like garlands in front of the bajji stalls . These chillies are then dipped in besan flour paste ,deep fried in hot oil and served with red chutney .Needless to say that they are mouth watering... isn't it?

My neighbor prepares this stuffed chilli bajjis often and Iam giving her recipe here. There are many varieties of mild chillies with which u can make these bajjis. I used this type and they were very mild.

This is my entry to the' JFI chillies ' created by Indira of Mahanandi and hosted by Nandita of saffrontrail.

Ingredients

Long green chillies- 6

Salt- little

oil for deep frying

For stuffing

Potatoes- 2 medium ,cooked and mashed

Cumin seeds- 1/2 tsp

Coriander leaves- a few chopped finely

Turmeric powder- less than 1/4 tsp

Ginger grated- 1/2 tsp

For the batter

Besan/gram Flour - 1 cup

Rice Flour-2 tsp

salt to taste

chilli powder- 1/4 tsp

water to make a thick paste

Method

Wash the chillies ,make a slit in the center and remove all the seeds. Rub little salt inside the chillies. The chillies I used were very long and so I had to cut them into two.

Mix all the ingredients for stuffing and then stuff the chillies with it.

Mix all the ingredients for the batter( U can use Sakthi masala's bajji bonda mix too) .

Dip the stuffed chillies into the batter and deep fry in hot oil.

Serve hot with ketchep.

Curry leaves powder

I have been eyeing on Sailu's 'curry leaves powder' for a long time. When I got fresh curry leaves in Indian store last week ,I made it at once. It tasted soooooooooo great with rice and its going to be a regular dish in my house hereafter. This is my entry for coffee's MBP 'Preserve it' for the month of july( its a bit late and I hope she will accept it.)

I have never tasted or tried this recipe before. Back in India there is a curry leaf tree in my house. Now here in US, I get a very few sprigs of curry leaves for one dollar. I always thought this was expensive ...Any how Iam going to make this powder often, as I like it very much .

I followed sailu's original recipe and it was really good. Check out for the recipe here. Thanks Sailu for the wonderful recipe.

Toast with Oats

Oats are not only the perfect way to start your day with , but also the best way to manage your weight too. Check out the health benefits of Oats here.This recipe is a tasty and easy way to include oats in our diet and this is my entry to WBB #13 (Weekend breakfast blogging) 'OATS' for the month of july, hosted by Madhuli of 'My Foodcourt'. Richa's 'Malai Toast' inspired me to make this recipe.

Ingredients

Bread slices- 6

Yogurt- 3 tbsp

Milk- less than 1/4 cup

Oats- 1/2 cup roasted and ground coarsely

Chilli sauce

Carrot- 1/2 grated finely

Salt and pepper to taste

Butter- 1tbsp

Method

Add all the ingredients except bread in a bowl and mix/whisk well. The batter should not be very thin or very thick, so adjust milk accordingly.

Cut the bread slices diagnolly and dip in the mixture.

Heat tawa and add little butter. place the bread slices , simmer the flame and cook until golden brown on both sides.

serve hot with tomato sauce or mint chutney.

Check out my other recipe of masala oat pancakes .

Methi matar malai

Punjabi cuisine is popular not only in other states of India butallover the world too.Tandoori chicken, stuffed parathas,paneer dishes, lassi,naans, dal curries are my favourite punjabi dishes(sure to be the favorites for most people). I have never been to punjab , don't have a punjabi friend either but love most of their dishes. Taken back by the taste of their rich and creamy gravies, I used to try cooking a few dishes at my home and now many has become regular.I was really surprised to read that punjabis cook rice occasionlly.... Read more abt their cuisine here.

Methi matar malai was one dish I wanted to try for a long time, but I was not sure how it would taste, as methi is a bit bitter,and as I had not tasted this dish before...

But beleive me ....it tasted sooooo good and I liked the richness in it.

This is my contribution to the RCI punjab Hosted by Richa of 'As dear as Salt'.

Ingredients

Methi leaves- 1 bunch cleaned and chopped finely

peas- 2 cups

Heavy or light cream- 1/2 cup

milk- 1/4 cup

oil- 2tbsp

ghee/butter- 1 tbsp

cumin seeds- 1/4 tsp

kasoori methi- 1/2 tsp

kitchen king masala- 1/2 tsp

salt- acc to taste

to grind

onion- 1 chopped roughly

poppy seeds- 1 tsp

cashews- 5

ginger- 1" piece

curd- 1 tbsp

turmeric powder- a pinch

green chillies- 5

cinnamon- 1 small piece

cardomom - 1

cloves- 3

Method

Heat ghee and oil in a pan and add cumin seeds, when it turns golden add the ground paste.

Fry for 3 to 5 mins till the raw smell of the onion disappears . Add the chopped methi leaves and peas. Fry for some time and then add the cream+ milk. Allow it to boil and add kasoori methi and kitchen king masala. Simmer the flame , cover it with a lid for 5 to 10 mins till the peas and methi are well cooked.Serve hot with rotis or parathas.

note

U can omit kasoori methi and kitchen king masala if u do not have it, but adding that gives a very nice flavour to the dish and tastes like restaurant food.

Watermelon Punch

Watermelon is a nutritious and delicious fruit packed with lots of vitamins and minerals. Iam from chennai ,where summer is really sultry and hot.U can see loads of watermelons on roadsides of Chennai to beat the summer heat. Its really fun to eat the ripe,red and juicy flesh of the melon.

picture courtesy- chennailist.com

Check out the health benefits of watermelon here.

This is a simple recipe which I learnt from my friend's mom during my college days. The ginger and lemon juices comined with melon turns out to be an excellent summer drink.

This is my contribution to the AFAM this month hosted by Bee of Jugalbandhi.

Ingredients

Watermelon chunks- 4 cups (deseeded)

lemon juice-2 tsp

ginger juice- 1 tsp

sugar-1tbsp

Method

Remove the seeds and the rind from the watermelon and cut them into cubes. With all the other ingredients blend until smooth in a blender . No need to strain the juice and no need to add water. Serve chilled or pour into ice trays ,insert a tooth pick and serve like a fruit pop.

Check out this interesting watermelon art .