Ragda Patties

Different varieties of chaats are available all over India.Chaat is a savory snack that contain four flavors like sour, sweet, spicy and tangy in one plate, which is loved by all.

In my family these chaats have a special place.In India, when we used to roam around, we used to have unlimited pani puri. I ended up having 20- 25 in one go and my daughter’s was the record. She likes these chaats a lot and will eat how much ever is possible.

Today I made ragda patties, which I tasted once and loved the flavors and texture that got blended well with each other.

In this ragda patties the potato patties are topped with dried green peas gravy along with sweet chutney, green chutney , curd, onions and sev. Here I didn’t use green chutney, as my husband is not a big fan of coriander leaves.

In Kerala, chaats are not so famous. They have their own delicacies. Now a days this chaat business is growing up slowly. As I grew up in Andhra, I love all different varieties of food and so chaat is one of them.

After coming here I have started preparing these different variety of chaats at home and enjoying a flavorful, healthy savory. The process of preparing this ragda patties look time consuming, but if you have all the ingredients handy then it is very simple and easy to make.Just try this out and you will come to know how easy it is to prepare them at home.

Ingredients for the Patties:

1. Boiled Potatoes- 3 nos
2. Corn Flour- 3- 4 tbsp
3. Salt- as required
4. Red Chilli Powder- 1 tbsp
5. Oil- for frying

Method for Potato patties:

1. Mash the boiled potatoes, add the corn flour and salt. Mix well. If the mixture looks loose, add little more corn flour and mix.
2. Make medium sized balls, flatten them into round patties. Keep aside.
3. Heat oil in a skillet for shallow frying and fry the above made potato patties till it becomes golden brown in colour and crisp. Remove on a kitchen towel.

Ingredients for Ragda:

1. Dried green Peas- 1 cup
2. Salt- as required
3. Red Chilli Powder- 1 tbsp
4. Turmeric Powder- 1 tsp
5. Asafoetida- a pinch

Method for Ragda:

1. Soak the dried green peas overnight, drain and cook  this dried peas along with turmeric powder, red chilli powder and required amount of salt in a pressure cooker along with water.
2. After about 10- 15 minutes switch off the cooker and open the lid when the pressure falls.
3. The ragda should not be very thick or too watery. Keep this aside.

Sweet Chaat Chutney/ Tamarind Date Chutney:

1. Tamarind- 2 big lemon size
2. Dates- ¼ Cup
3. Jaggery- ¼ Cup
4. Water- 1 Cup
5. Cumin Powder- ½ tsp
6. Coriander Powder- ½ tsp
7. Salt- a pinch
8. Red Chilli Powder- ½ Cup

Method:

1. Boil tamarind and dates in 1 cup water for about 10 min.
2. Add jaggery, mix and let it thicken a bit.
3. Add all the spice powders and cook for about 2-3 min. Switch off the flame.
4. When it gets cooled grind this mixture to a fine paste and store this tamarind- date chutney in an airtight bowl and store this in refrigerator. Use this when required.

Remaining Ingredients for garnishing Ragda Patties:

1. Onions( finely chopped)- 2 nos
2. Tomatoes( chopped)- 1 no
3. Coriander Leaves( chopped)- ¼ Cup( optional)
4. Curd- 1 Cup (with a little sugar mixed)
5. Sev/ Mixture- 1 Cup
6. Cumin Powder- 1 tbsp
7. Chaat Masala- 1 tbsp
8. Lemon Juice- as required

Method for assembling:

1. In a small bowl place two potato patties. Top it with 2 -3 tbsps of ragdas.

1. Over this add the tamarind- date chutney.

1. Top this with sweet curd then with chopped onions, chopped tomatoes.

1. Sprinkle with cumin powder, chaat masala and a few drops of lemon.
2. Sprinkle the chopped coriander leaves and end this amazing chaat by sprinkling the sev/ mixture.

Mysore Masala Dosa- a filling tiffin….

When we were in Bangalore, on lazy weekends our breakfast used to be from hotels and mine and my daughter’s preference would be masala dosa and I once had this Mysore masala dosa and that became my favorite.

There is a lot of difference between plain masala dosa and mysore masala dosa. Right from the batter to the filling inside the dosa. I loved the red chilli garlic chutney that is spread on the dosa.

After coming here, it became difficult to get our desired masala dosas, so thought of making this at home and prepared this for a Sunday breakfast. If every ingredients are kept handy, then we can make this within minutes. I prepared the red chili, garlic chutney the day before, boiled the potatoes before hand and on the day of making this dosa, it was easy to prepare.

In this Mysore masala dosa , the dosa will be crisp from outside and soft like sponge texture inside and have a nice golden brown color too. Just try this out and you will love them.

Ingredients:

Dosa Batter:

1. Rice- 3 Cups
2. Urad Dal- ¾ Cups
3. Fenugreek Seeds- 1 tbsp
4. Cooked Rice- ¼ Cup
5. Salt- as required

Red Garlic Chutney:

1. Dried Red chillies- 5 nos
2. Roasted Chana Dal- 1 tbsp
3. Garlic- 7-8 cloves
4. Water- to soak the red chillies
5. Salt- as required

Potato Filling:

1. Boiled Potatoes- 4 nos
2. Chana Dal- 2 tbsp
3. Grated Ginger- 1 tbsp
4. Green Chillies (chopped)- 2 nos
5. Onions (sliced)- 1 no
6. Curry leaves- few
7. Turmeric Powder- 1 tsp
8. Lemon juice- 1 tbsp
9. Salt- as required

Method:

For making dosa batter:

1. Soak the rice, urad dal and fenugreek seeds for about 4-5 hours and grind to a fine, smooth, batter consistency by adding enough water along with cooked rice.
2. Transfer the dosa batter in a large bowl and add salt.Cover this and let this ferment overnight.

For preparing Red garlic chutney:

1. Soak the dried red chillies in warm water for 30 minutes.
2. Along with garlic, add the soaked red chillies, roasted chana dal and grind to a fine paste by adding little water. Adjust salt and keep this aside.

For the Potato Filling:

1. Heat oil in a pan. Splutter mustard seeds. Add the onions,curry leaves, chana dal, Green chillies, ginger and mix well.
2. Add turmeric powder and adjust the salt.
3. Atlast add the boiled and mashed potatoes and lemon juice.
4. Switch off the flame and keep this aside.

Preparing the Mysore Masala Dosa:

1. Heat a griddle and pour one medium sized spoonful of batter. In circular motions, spread the dosa batter from the center to the edges.
2. Sprinkle some oil and cover the dosa so till the base becomes light brown in colour.
3. Spread 1 or 2 tsps of the red chilli, garlic chutney on the dosa. Over this place 2 tbsp of potato filling and spread lightly.
4. Fold into half and serve along with coconut chutney and sambar.

Freshly made Strawberry Jam

On my son’s first birthday my friend brought a small jar of homemade strawberry jam. That was the first time I tasted homemade jam, which was so juicy, slight tangy and with luscious red colour. I thought of making this, so one day gave a try and this amazingly delicious soft, spreadable jam is made with very less ingredients, with not much hard work and within less time.

Bubbling on the stove

Thick Strawberry jam

I have added sliced strawberries, so my jam gives chunky pieces in between, if u want a smooth jam, just blend the strawberries well in a blender and make it. We won’t use jam very often, so I never tried making it at home. But after this I started to make different varieties of jams with different fruits. You can make it without any artificial colours or preservatives and a much healthier version at home rather than buying it from store.

It is so easy to make that just add all the ingredients together and stir once in awhile till you get thick jam like consistency and transfer into sterilized jars. Try this out and you will come to know how easy it is to make a delicious and healthy jam by simply sitting at home.

Ingredients:

1. Strawberries( chopped)- 2 cups
2. Sugar- ½ Cup
3. Lemon Juice- 1tbsp

Method:

1. Heat a nonstick pan and chopped strawberries, sugar and lemon juice, one after the other.
2. Keep this on medium flame and once the strawberries starts to leave the juice simmer the flame and mix in between.
3. Stir in between, otherwise it will get stuck to the bottom. The jam to get ready will take about 20- 25 minutes.
4. When the mixture starts to leave the sides of the pan means it's ready, or else to check whether it is ready or not just put a small portion of jam on a plate and when it is cooled it will set without any water left. This means the jam is ready to take out.
5. When it is cooled, transfer the jam into a sterilized bottle and enjoy delicious and yummy jam within minutes.