Category Archives: Snacks

Snacks

Red sauce pasta | Kids snack recipe | Easy pasta recipe

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Now that my kids have grown ( 9 and 6 years), their food taste is evolving and they no longer want the same food everyday. Though dosa and idli tops the list anytime, for evening snacks, they want something different and unique.

My brain after becoming a mommy runs overtime 😀 and I keep scanning the supermarket seeing what else I can buy to cook a dish which they like. So in that pursuit, I bought pasta shells few months back which they had never tasted before. Made white sauce pasta with wheat flour and they did not like it as much.

So next I tried this red sauce pasta with fingers crossed and to my happiness, they loved it so much that now, I get requests for it to be made regularly. My son specially has become a huge lover of this pasta. Though I have limited it to once in a week as I know if they eat more than that, they will get bored of it, I honestly feel happy when they enjoy eating what I make at home..

This pasta recipe is super easy yet tastes heavenly. I am not a pasta fan but I love this one. So you can definitely try for a change. Hope you all love it too. Happy and healthy cooking ❤️

RECIPE:

Ingredients: {Serves 2 to 3 people}

1 Cup = 240 ml

1 Cup Pasta shells of any shape you like

1 large Tomato

3 to 4 Garlic cloves

1 medium sized Onion

2 tsp Oil

2 tsp Butter

Red Chilli powder, to taste

1 tsp dried Oregano or mixed herb seasoning

1 Cheese slice or cheese cube

Salt to taste

Step by step recipe:

  1. Boil water with little salt and once it comes to a rolling boil, add pasta shells. Cook till it turns soft yet not fully cooked.

2. Now strain using a strainer and run tap water over it so that it stops the cooking process. Keep it aside.

3. Add garlic and chopped tomato in a mixer and grind to a paste. Don’t add water while grinding.

4. Now heat oil in a pan and add chopped onions. Fry till it turns translucent.

5. Add the tomato garlic paste along with red chilli powder and cook till the mixture leaves oil.

6. Now add butter, oregano and salt. Mix well.

7. Add cheese slice or cube and mix till the cheese melts. Adjust water consistency to make a thick sauce.

8. Add the cooked pasta and mix well, adjusting water consistency if necessary.

Red sauce pasta is ready! Serve hot and kids will love it..

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Notes:

  • I usually buy small sized pasta shells as it’s easy for the kids to eat. You can buy any pasta of your choice.
  • My kids love the red sauce pasta to be less liquidy. You can adjust the consistency as per your taste.
  • Red chilli powder, oregano and cheese can be adjusted to your taste too.
  • More snacks that I make for my kids:
  • Homemade Popcorn
  • Poha Vegetable Cutlet
  • Paneer Kathi Roll
  • Whole wheat Vegetable Pizza
Breakfast time, Konkani Recipes, Snacks

Kananga Usli – Theek phovu | Sweet potato stir fry – Spicy thin Poha | Konkani breakfast or snack

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The weather here in Qatar is so good now that winters have started and the hungry me is even hungrier during evening time. 😍 Specially since I walk atleast for an hour, late in the evening, I make sure I have ample energy for that. 😄 And what’s more filling than our own age old combination of Kananga usli and theek phovu or sweet potato stir fry with spicy poha. ❤️

The mushy sweet potatoes with spicy and slightly crunchy poha makes for a heaven made pair making me go nostalgic, reminding me of my childhood when Amma and Anama used to make it for me. I was, am and forever will be a huge fan of our amchi food. ❤️

Nothing satisfies my tummy and soul more than Konkani delicacies. I have also realized that our food is so easy and quick to make along with being healthy and tasty too. ❤️

So here is me, sharing my favorite breakfast or snack dish. Hope you try and love it too. Happy and healthy cooking ❤️

RECIPE:

Ingredients:

For Sweet potato stir fry:

3 Medium sized Sweet potato

3 to 4 Green chillies

A sprig of curry leaves

2 tsp Mustard seeds

2 tsp Cumin seeds

Pinch of Hing or Asafoetida

1 Tbsp Jaggery powder

2 Tbsp Coconut oil

3 Tbsp freshly grated Coconut

Salt to taste

For theek phovu:

2 Cups Thin Poha/ Aval/ Flattened rice

1/2 Cup Freshly grated Coconut

2 tsp Coconut oil

1 tsp Mustard seeds

A sprig Curry leaves

2 tsp Sambar powder

1 tsp Red Chilli powder or to taste

1 tsp Jaggery powder

Salt to taste

Step by step recipe:

  1. Take sweet potato as shown. Wash them well. Cut off the sides and cut into bite size pieces. I don’t peel it.

2. Now heat Coconut oil in a pan, add mustard seeds and cumin seeds. When mustard seeds splutter, add curry leaves and green chillies.

3. When green chillies start to change colour, add the chopped sweet potatoes. Mix well adding salt.

4. Add little water, cover and cook on medium flame till the sweet potatoes turn a little soft. Now add jaggery and hing powder.

5. Mix again, cover and cook till the sweet potatoes turn soft. Mash using masher to make it into slightly mushy consistency. It’s optional but we love our usli that way.

6. Remove from flame, garnish with fresly grated coconut and mix well.

Sweet potato stir fry or Kananga usli is done!

7. For the theek phovu or spicy poha, heat Coconut oil in a small pan and add mustard seeds and curry leaves. When the seeds splutter,remove from flame.

8. Now in a bowl, take freshly grated coconut, add the seasoning from step 7, sambar powder, red chilli powder, jaggery and salt.

9. Now add the thin poha, one cup at a time and mix well crushing it lightly with hands.

10. Do a taste test to see if you need to add more red chilli powder, jaggery or salt.

Theek phovu is done too!

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Enjoy Kananga usli with theek phovu. This sweet spicy combination will win your heart for sure ❤️

Notes:

Snacks

Homemade popcorn| Easy popcorn recipe from corn kernels

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Kids have gone to school today after many days of holidays due to semester break and then due to government holidays here in Qatar. What better to send in their tiffin than this favorite of theirs, popcorn. 😍

Two kids and three boxes, you may wonder! The third big box is for my daughter’s classmates who absolutely love the popcorn I make. So whenever I make popcorn for tiffin box, I send an extra box for the kids at school. Ashritha says, her friends come and finish it off in a jiffy. 😍

Cooking for others is my passion and kids are my love, so when kids eat what I cook, it’s sheer joy for me, which words can’t explain. ❤️

Woke up early this morning to take pictures too to share with all of you. Hope it’s helpful for atleast some of you. Happy and healthy cooking ❤️

RECIPE:

Ingredients: { Makes 5 to 6 Cups of popcorn }

2 Tbsp Ghee or Oil

Pinch of Turmeric powder

Salt to taste

1/4 Cup Popcorn kernels

This is how we get it in Qatar

Step by step recipe:

  1. Heat 2 Tbsp Ghee or Oil in a pressure cooker.  You can also make in a thick bottomed pan. Add turmeric powder and salt.

2. Add the popcorn kernels and saute for few seconds.

3. Cover the pressure cooker lid without whistle, not tightly and leave just a little bit of space for steam to come out. Keep the flame on high.

4. Once popcorn starts popping, in a while, reduce the flame to medium or low and allow all the kernels to pop. You will know it’s done when you no longer can hear the popping sound. Now remove from flame.

5. Serve in bowls or add into tiffin boxes. Homemade popcorn is ready!

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Notes:

  • The last few kernels in the pressure cooker may be half popped or not popped properly. So make sure to check before giving to kids.
  • You can add either ghee or oil but I prefer ghee for my kids as they love the flavour.
  • 1/4 cup of popcorn kernels gives about 6 cups of popcorn. So when making less quantity, make sure to add only couple of spoons of kernels.
  • If you want to add more flavoring like cheese powder, chat masala or red chilli powder, sprinkle on top after popcorn is done when it’s still warm. Mix well.
Chaat street, Snacks

Charmbure chuda | easy puffed rice mixture| Murmura chivda

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A blog after a long break and it’s not as easy as it seems. My son is sitting next to me chattering as he is eating this “chuda” (as we call it in konkani) and he’s asking me to write that it’s so yummy 😍😂 He calls me the best chef in the world. It was actually best “cooker” (which used to remind me of Prestige cookers 😅) till few months back but then he learnt the word chef at school. So nowadays cooker has become chef 😄

Today is Vijayadashami and Dussehra, so I had made ragi ladoos to celebrate the festival. My kids love it a lot and I make it regularly for them. Along with that, I planned to make this puffed rice mixture for their evening snack and also for their snack box at school tomorrow. It’s so easy and hardly takes few minutes to make. I too love it a lot.

So decided to share the recipe with all of you on this festive occasion. Hope I can share more such healthy recipes for you all. Wishing you a very happy Vijayadashami and Dussehra. Happy and healthy cooking!

RECIPE:

Ingredients: 1 Cup = 240 ml

2 Tbsp Coconut Oil

1/4 Cup Peanuts

1/4 Cup Cashews

1 tsp Mustard seeds

1 tsp Cumin seeds

A sprig of curry leaves

Pinch of Hing/ Asafoetida

1/4 tsp Turmeric powder

1 tsp Rasam powder (or Red Chilli powder)

4 Cups Puffed Rice / Charmburo / Murmuro

1 Tbsp Jaggery powder

Salt to taste

Step by step recipe:

  1. Heat Coconut oil in a pan and add peanuts. Fry till peanuts gets roasted and slightly brown. Now add cashews and fry till they turn light brown. Keep the flame on medium.

2. Add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, curry leaves and hing. Allow mustard seeds to splutter and curry leaves to turn crisp.

3. Add turmeric powder and Rasam powder. Fry for few seconds.

4. Now add puffed rice, one cup at a time and keep frying continually to medium to low flame for two minutes. When the masala has coated all the puffed rice kernels well, add jaggery powder and salt. Mix well. Done.

Serve warm puffed rice mixture as an evening snack or for kids’ snack box. Stays well in a moisture free air tight container for even till a week.

Notes:

  • Instead of coconut oil, you can use the oil you regularly use in your kitchen.
  • If making for first time and want to make less quantity, just use 1 Tbsp Oil, few peanuts and cashews along with 2 Cups of puffed rice.
  • For less spicy mixture, use rasam powder and for spicy mixture, use red chilli powder.
  • Store in an airtight container and use a moisture free spoon every time you remove it. It will last even till a week. My kids finish it even before that.
  • For Ragi Jaggery Ladoos, you can see the recipe here:
  • Ragi Jaggery Ladoos
Snacks

Guacamole Wrap | Avocado dip/ spread

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My husband’s company bus takes us to three of the oldest (and everyone’s favorite) malls in Qatar every Friday, alternating between City center, Villagio and Lulu. Although we only go sometimes due to husband’s busy shift work, kids absolutely love going to Villagio and City center as they both have huge play places.

If you ask me, I love Villagio just to look around people enjoying the boat rides inside the mall, few others posing for pictures and kids running around happily looking at the boats. ❤️ Food and shopping options are better at City center mall but Villagio does have Asha’s restaurant by Asha Bhonsle ma’am for great Indian vegetarian food.

Recently when we went to Villagio, I had already made dinner at home. So we were looking for light snacks there. That’s when I saw this guacamole wrap at Tea Time while waiting in their long queue for Karak tea ( I love love Karak 😍).

After tasting the wrap, I felt I could make it even healthier at home with our regular chapati. Few attempts later, I can now say, the guacamole wrap that I make tastes really super delicious.

To my luck, both Kenyan and South African Avocados are getting very cheap here and so in our weekly grocery, Avocadoes are a regular now. Kids enjoy its milkshake and love the wrap as well. For me too, it’s a filling, healthy snack before I go for my evening walk.

So this is how I make the Guacamole wrap and hope you all loved reading my short story. 😍 Do try it too when you get Avocadoes. Happy and healthy cooking ❤️

RECIPE:

Ingredients: {Makes about 4 wraps}

For the Guacamole:

2 ripe, soft Avocadoes

Juice of half a large lemon or to taste

1 small sized Onion

1 small sized Tomato

2 to 3 Green chillies

2 Garlic, peeled and finely chopped

3 Tbsp finely chopped Coriander leaves

Salt to taste

For the Wrap:

One chapati/ roti for each wrap

Step by step recipe:

1. Chop the stem part of the Avocadoes. I used Kenyan Avocadoes which are dark brown or black in colour.

2. Now it’s easy to peel off the skin like this.

3. Add to a bowl.

4. Remove the seed (one each) and mash both the Avocadoes using a fork till they are smooth in texture.

5. Add lemon juice and salt. Mix well. At this point, add lemon juice little by little, while tasting. You can also add more later. It takes me half a large green lime for two avocadoes.

6. Now add all the other ingredients like onion, tomato, green chillies, garlic and coriander leaves.

7. Mix everything and do a taste test for salt and lime. Guacamole is done! You can use it as a dip or as a spread.

8. For wrap, take a regular chapati. I make it triangular in shape so that it’s easy to hold the guacamole inside. Spread the guacamole evenly over the chapati as shown.

9. Roll to make the wrap.

10. Done!

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Notes:

* In Guacamole, as per me, lemon juice and garlic are the most important ingredients. When I ate the wrap at Tea Time, Villagio, I felt the taste was slightly bland as the lemon juice was less for me and they had not added garlic. In my first attempt too, I skipped garlic and I felt it was not as flavourful.

* So I checked many authentic Guacamole recipes and found garlic in all of them. So I too added it and how wonderful does it taste with garlic and a little extra lemon juice. 😍 However if you are not a sour taste lover, you can add lemon to your taste.

* Green chillies can be added to your taste as well.

* Kenyan Avocadoes are so soft in texture and easy to peel as well as compared to Green Avocadoes. If using green ones, look for ripe ones and scoop the pulp using a spoon instead of peeling the skin like I showed above.

* For chapati, just knead whole wheat flour, salt and water to make a firm, soft dough. Keep it to rest for atleast 30 mins. Roll and make chapatis adding ghee while flipping in the pan.

* You can also try:

Paneer Tikka Wrap

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Breakfast time, Desserts, Millet recipes, Snacks

Ragi Ela Ada | Steamed Finger Millet snack | Vegan, Gluten free and Oil free

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Kids’ schools have started after Eid holidays and days have started flying again. Waking up early, preparing their snack boxes, sending them to school, morning walk, cleaning the house, relaxing till they come back and after that hearing about their day at school, teaching them, walking again in the evening while they play outside, finally preparing for their next day at school and putting them to sleep.

Days are super busy but I would not want it any other way. I have realized being busy is actually great than sitting idle and overthinking. So it’s a blessing in disguise for me. ❤️

In midst of this, is cooking which I love and which brings me happiness. I listen to bhajans and songs while cooking which makes it so peaceful. Music is truly therapeutic. ❤️

Apart from breakfast, lunch and dinner, there is one meal of the day which is most difficult for me – Snack time. Finding a quick, healthy and tasty snack which the kids also love is very hard. So when I tried this Ragi ada inspired by my Kochi memories of the regular ada and it came out so well that we all loved it, I knew I had to share it with all of you too. ❤️

I don’t know why some people think Ragi is bitter. Ragi is such a tasty millet and I use it regularly in my cooking. It is tasty and very healthy too. Have shared all the recipes that I make using Ragi in the notes section towards the end. Do try and I think if you follow the recipe well, adapt it in your cooking, in few days, you will love Ragi too, just like we do. ❤️

Happy and healthy cooking ❤️

RECIPE:

Ingredients: { to make about 5 adas }

1 Cup = 240 ml

Banana leaves to make the ada

To make outer covering:

1 Cup Ragi flour ( finger millet powder)

Salt to taste

Approx 1 Cup hot water

To make inner filling:

3/4 Cup Jaggery

3/4 Cup freshly grated Coconut

1/4 tsp Cardamom powder

Step by step recipe:

1. Dry roast Ragi flour ( do NOT add oil while roasting) on medium flame till you get an aroma of the flour and it changes colour to a darker tone.

Note: Even if you have roasted ragi flour with you, dry roast for few minutes as it enhances the flavour a lot.

2. Transfer it to a bowl. Add salt.

3. Now add hot water, little by little. Mix as you add water.

4. As you add hot water, little by little, after mixing, the dough will look like this. Do NOT add water after this.

5. Now the dough will be warm. Using hands, mix together to form a smooth and soft dough.

6. Now make the inner filling. Take coconut and jaggery in a pan. Heat it together on medium flame till the jaggery melts and coconut will stick to jaggery. Remove from flame. Add Cardamom powder. Mix well.

7. Now cut the banana leaf into rectangle pieces as shown. Clean it with water and wipe it dry.

Also divide the ragi dough into equal sized balls. If you have taken 1 Cup (240 ml) of Ragi flour, you will get 5 balls.

8. Take a ball of ragi dough and spread it using slightly wet fingers as thin as possible.

9. Take a spoonful of the filling and place it on one half side. Spread it on the half side using spoon as shown in the image below.

10. Fold the banana leaf while closing both the halves as shown.

11. Seal the edges of the dough using fingers so that the filling does not come out.

12. Repeat the same with the rest of the dough balls. Place it on a idli steamer.

13. Steam for 20 to 25 mins on high flame till the ada cooks thoroughly. Remove from flame. Allow it to cool for 5 mins.

14. Now peel off the banana leaf, discard it and enjoy the warm Ragi ela adas. 😍

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Just look at the inside of the ada. Sweet, juicy and so delicious 😍

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Notes:

* As you can see from the above picture, the ada is of the right thickness and also steamed fully. This is due to spreading the dough thin over the banana leaf and also steaming for atleast 20 mins.

* Even if you have roasted ragi flour with you, dry roast for few minutes to get perfect aromatic ragi adas.

* Do use only hot water while preparing the dough. It took me around 1 Cup hot water for 1 Cup Ragi flour. Add only 1/4 Cup at a time and mix well till you get the dough as in step number 4. Then mix using hands to form a smooth dough.

* Don’t add a lot of water while making dough. It will be difficult to spread if dough is too soft.

* For 1 Cup Ragi flour, 3/4 Cup coconut and 3/4 Cup jaggery made the right filling for me. If you add a lot of filling, it will be difficult to seal the edges. So add only a spoonful to cover half of the ada.

* I have not made this without banana leaves. So can’t say the alternative to it. Spreading the dough on the leaf is easy and the ada turns aromatic too. So try to get the leaves if you can.

* These adas are best eaten soon after they are steamed but tastes yummy even after few hours too. So you can carry it in tiffin box and during travel too.

* A similar recipe with coconut jaggery filling is this Kerala style Nendrapazham nirachathu or stuffed Nendran Bananas..

Nendrapazham nirachathu

* I make many dishes using Ragi flour. You can check the recipes here:

Instant Ragi Rava dosa

Ragi Set Dosas

Instant Ragi Idlis

Ragi Urad Idlis

Ragi Malpuas/ Ragi Pancakes

Ragi Jaggery Ladoos

Ragi Butter cookies

Eggless Ragi Chocolate Cake

Chaat street, Curry house, Snacks

Ghugni | Bengali Matar Ghugni | Peas curry/chaat

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Chaat of any kind has been my favorite since a child, may it be the eating waala spicy, tangy chaats or the talking waala chatting. 😂😂 In fact talking my heart out while eating chaats with my loved ones is my dream kind of outing. During my college days, me, my brother and parents used to go out to eat chaats on Saturday evenings. It used to be so much fun and I still cherish those memories. ❤️

Now, whenever we go out and there are chaats available, my first order would definitely be atleast one among the various chaats in their menu. 😍 Karnataka style Masala Puri is my favorite among all chaats followed by Dahi Puri.

Bengalis make a similar chaat like our masala puri with peas, which can be had as a curry too. I had shared it in my old blog and I am happy to share it here too. This Chaat is very flavorful and so easy to make that you will be tempted to try it as soon as possible.

Hope you all will try it for your next evening snack and enjoy it with your cup of tea or coffee. Enjoy cooking and eating with your loved ones. It is these moments that we remember all our life. Happy and healthy cooking ❤️

RECIPE:

Ingredients:

1 Cup dried Green peas/ white peas

1 Tbsp Oil

2 tsp Ghee

1 Bay leaf

2 Cloves

1 inch Cinnamon stick

1 Cardamom pod

2 Dried Red chillies

1 inch Ginger, grated

2 Green chillies, finely chopped

1 medium sized Onion, thinly sliced

1 medium sized Tomato, diced

1 medium sized Potato, peeled and diced

1/4 tsp Turmeric powder

1 tsp Cumin powder

2 tsp Coriander powder

2 tsp Red chilli powder or to taste

3 Tbsp finely chopped Coriander leaves

1 green chilli and few finely chopped onion pieces, for garnish

Salt to taste

Step by step recipe:

1. Wash well and soak the dried peas in enough water overnight or for atleast 8 hours.

2. Drain the water completely and wash again. Add the peas to a pressure cooker with fresh water to the level of about 2 cm above the peas level. Pressure cook till soft. Take care to not overcook it.

In my electric stove top, I keep on high flame for 10 mins and it gets very soft.

3. Now heat oil + ghee in a pan. Add bay leaf, cloves, cinnamon, cardamom, red chillies, ginger and green chillies. Let it cook for few seconds.

4. Now add sliced onion and fry till it turns translucent. Add potatoes and fry in the oil for few seconds.

5. Add tomatoes and mix well. Let it turn soft.

6. In a small bowl, add turmeric powder, cumin powder, coriander powder and red chilli powder. Add about 2 to 3 Tbsp water and make a smooth paste with it mixing well with a spoon.

7. Add this to the pan and mix well stirring continually for few minutes till the powders cook.

8. Add the cooked green peas along with salt. Also add water if needed to get the desired consistentency. I prefer it thick, so don’t add much water. Cover and cook for about 10 mins on medium flame till the gravy thickens.

9. Remove from flame. When serving, garnish with chopped onions, green chillies and coriander leaves.

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Notes:

* You can use dried Green or white peas to make Ghugni. Frozen or fresh ones will not give the same taste.

* Do soak the peas for atleast 8 hours so that it gets digested well by the body.

* Don’t overcook the peas that it gets mashed. We need it go be soft yet retain it’s structure.

* You can enjoy Ghugni as a Chaat or like a curry with rice or chapati.

* For Ghugni Chaat, you can make additions like tamarind chutney/ coriander leaves- mint chutney and sev or bhujiya as topping but I love it just as it is.

* The gravy can be thick or thin like how you prefer but Ghugni is usually had thick.

* With leftover Ghugni, I add paneer cubes to make it Matar Paneer. Tastes so yum too. 😍

My favorite Chaat recipes:

* Masala Puri Chaat

* Bhel Puri Chaat

* Sprouted Moong Chaat

* Paneer Pav Bhaji

Salads, Snacks

Tri colour Capsicum Salsa | Easy Capsicum salad/dip recipe

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Tri colour Capsicums always attracted me when I went for grocery shopping but it used to be super expensive and I never felt like buying it. Recently Qatar has been growing a variety of veggies locally and hence we have been getting even expensive vegetables like Broccoli and coloured capsicums considerably cheaper. Also just see how fresh they are! 😍

So, whenever I get my hands on them, it’s either this salsa or fried rice. Both ways, it is consumed happily by my kids which is most important for me whenever I cook something. With salsa, I present it to them with nachos for evening snack and they munch it on happily. ❤️

Also, these capsicums are best when they are had raw with their flavours intact. Cooking them leads to make it soft and is not as fresh. So my preferable way to use these capsicums is by making this salsa which we have as an accompaniment with rice meals as well. Tastes so yum. ❤️

Hope you all try and love it too. Happy and healthy cooking ❤️

RECIPE:

Ingredients:

1/2 a medium sized Green Capsicum

1/2 a medium sized Yellow Capsicum

1/2 a medium sized Red Capsicum

1 medium sized Onion

1 medium sized Tomato

3 Green chillies

1/4 tsp Pepper powder

Salt to taste

Juice of 1 Indian lemon or half of large lemon

Finely chopped Coriander leaves, for garnish

Step by step recipe:

1. Finely chop the three capsicums and add to a mixing bowl.

2. Now add finely chopped Onion, tomatoes and green chillies to it.

3. Add finely chopped Coriander leaves, salt, pepper powder and lemon juice. Mix well. Taste and adjust the lemon juice and salt as needed.

4. Done! Enjoy as a salad or as a salsa with Nachos. ❤️

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Notes:

* The above measurement serves 4. If you are making for more people, just use three whole capsicums and about two tomatoes and two onions.

* You can skip green chillies if making for small kids. I remove green chillies before giving to my kids.

* You can also add a dash of red chilli powder for more spice but we love this as it is.

* I also serve it as a side along with rice meals and the salad gives a nice, fresh crunch to the meal.

* The other salads that I make regularly:

Mixed Bean Salad

Carrot Kismuri

Moong dal Kosambari

Cabbage Kosambari

Mixed Vegetable Salad

Khamang Kakdi/ Cucumber salad

Barley Salad

Banana Stem Salad

Purple Cabbage Coleslaw

Breakfast time, Healthy Meal Ideas, Snacks

Methi Thepla | Easy, soft, flavourful theplas with fenugreek leaves

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As my son is sleeping after coming back tired from school, I have finally sat down to write this recipe of Methi Theplas which are his favorite 😍. He loves variety of dosas, bhakris, parathas and his recent love is this Methi Thepla. ❤️ It’s winter now in Qatar and we have fresh methi (fenugreek) leaves growing in our tiny kitchen garden, handled very lovingly by my husband. Here are the tiny yet pretty and very healthy leaves 😍

These leaves are plucked when my son demands for Theplas and love how homegrown leaves have an amazing flavour of it’s own. Farm to kitchen lifestyle is really the best way to enjoy and respect food. ❤️

Though I also make Alu methi and methi dal, these Theplas have become more regular as my kids love it. It’s also very easy to make and hardly takes 30 mins from start to finish.

They also stay well at room temperature for few hours and remain soft. So, in case there are leftovers, they still taste yum when enjoyed later.

Do try this delicious and healthy variation instead of rotis or parathas and you will definitely love it. Happy and healthy cooking ❤️

Ingredients: { Makes about 7 Theplas }

1 Cup = 240 ml

1 cup finely chopped Fenugreek leaves/ Methi leaves

2 Cups Wheat flour / Chakki ka Atta

2 tsp white Sesame seeds / Til

2 tsp Oil ( I use coconut oil)

1 tsp Red chilli powder

1 tsp Coriander powder

1/4 tsp Turmeric powder

A pinch of Hing/ Asafoetida

Salt to taste

Approx 1/2 cup water to make the dough

Oil or Ghee to cook the Theplas

Step by step recipe:

1. Take finely chopped methi leaves in a large mixing bowl (I chop the tender stems too along with the leaves. You can chop only the leaves if the stems are thick). Add sesame seeds, red chilli powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder, salt, oil, hing.

2. Now add wheat flour and mix everything well. Add water little by little and form a soft dough just like chapati dough.

3. Now divide the dough into equal sized balls as shown.

4. Using dry wheat flour, dust each of the balls and roll just like chapatis.

5. Heat a pan and fry the Theplas, both sides while applying oil or Ghee. Cook till brown spots appear on either sides of the Thepla.

6. Enjoy hot Theplas with curd and pickle or even as it is. Tastes so yum ❤️

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Notes:

* You can also enjoy them after a while as they remain soft for many hours. Hence they make an excellent lunch box option or to make and carry during traveling.

* Just pack them tightly in a steel box or a hot case.

* The ratio of 1 : 2 for methi leaves : wheat flour works well for me. If you change the ratio, it might be difficult to roll the Theplas.

* Remove thick stems from methi leaves before adding to Theplas. I add thin, tender stems finely chopped and you can never feel them in the mouth.

* Make sure to cook both sides of the Theplas well with oil or Ghee which makes the Theplas soft.

* I also make Theplas adding yogurt which is another method you can try. I make Bottlegourd or Dudhi/ Lauki Thepla that way. Here is the recipe : Bottlegourd Theplas

* For growing your own methi leaves, just sprout regular methi seeds and add them to soil. You can also grow in pots of you don’t have the space for direct soil. It takes about two weeks for methi leaves to grow completely once sowed in soil. I have shared the detailed blog on how to sprout methi seeds in this blog. You can check HERE.

Breakfast time, Konkani Recipes, Snacks

Batat Phovu| Kanda Batata Poha | Easy Breakfast recipe with rice flakes

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Whenever I ask my husband what breakfast he would like to eat when there is no dosa or idli batter, he immediately says “Batat Phovu”. 😄 And to imagine that he used to simply dislike potatoes when we got married. I used to beg him to please get us some potatoes as it used to be my favorite vegetable. Yes, “used to be” 😂 Now I have joined him in not liking potatoes so much but he is slowly liking them in some dishes and one of them is this Batat Phovu. 😍

In fact, it is he who suggested me that I should definitely share this recipe on the blog while I was sceptical as this is quite a well known recipe. “Everyone makes this and everyone knows the recipe..”, I told him. “But don’t think anyone can make it as perfectly as yours!”, was his reply instantly. (This man really loves what I cook 😂😂)

So I decided to share the recipe on the blog. Because if it helps even one, I will consider my efforts worthwhile. Though I am not a perfect cook in any way, some dishes I cook comes out really tasty and Batat Phovu is one among them.

Here’s sharing the simple recipe for those who don’t know yet. Hope it’s helpful for you. Happy and healthy cooking! ❤️

RECIPE:

Ingredients: {Serves 2 to 3 people}

1 Cup = 240 ml

2 Cups Thick Poha / Rice flakes / Beaten rice

2 Tbsp Coconut Oil

1 tsp Ghee

1 tsp Mustard seeds

1 tsp Cumin seeds

2 Tbsp Peanuts

Few Curry leaves

3 Green chillies

1 medium sized Onion

2 medium sized Potatoes

1/4 tsp Turmeric powder

A pinch of Asafoetida/ Hing

2 tsp Sugar

Salt to taste

2 Tbsp Coriander leaves, for garnish

2 Tbsp freshly grated Coconut, for garnish

Juice of 1/2 an Indian lemon

Step by step recipe:

1. Heat oil + ghee in a pan. Add mustard seeds and cumin seeds. Allow mustard seeds to splutter. Now add peanuts, curry leaves and finely chopped green chillies. Fry for few seconds till peanuts get roasted.

2. Now add finely chopped Onion and fry till onions turn translucent.

3. Add peeled and finely chopped Potatoes and turmeric powder. Mix well and fry the potatoes for a minute. Now add few spoons of water. Cover and cook till the potatoes turn soft. Will take about 5 mins.

4. Meanwhile take Thick Poha in a bowl. Note to take thick variety of Poha and not the thin variety of Poha.

5. Now wash it well once or twice to remove impurities from it. Drain water completely after washing. Poha turns soft now. Add salt, sugar and hing powder. Mix well.

6. Once potatoes turn soft, add poha to it and mix well continually till the mixture combines. Cover and keep for 5 mins on very low flame.

7. Now remove from flame and garnish with finely chopped coriander leaves and grated coconut. Drizzle lemon juice on top. Mix well. Serve hot. Done! ❤️

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Notes:

* We like the Poha soft and moist. So I wash really well and also cook after adding to the pan. If you don’t like it soft, you can wash only once and just mix in the pan and remove from flame without covering it.

* Batat Phovu is best had hot when freshly made. If kept for long, it tends to get dry. In case you have to make ahead, just sprinkle few drops of water while reheating before serving. That makes it moist again.

* You can skip potatoes if you don’t like and make simple Kanda Poha with only onions.

* Some people also add carrots, capsicum and peas to this making it Vegetable Poha which is even healthier but my family loves Batat Phovu the authentic way only. Just shared as I thought it’s a great idea.

* I add oil + ghee to enhance the flavour of the Batat Phovu. You can add only oil if you like.

* Thick Poha is used to make Batat Phovu and not Thin Poha. Thin Poha is used in dishes like Godu Phovu (sweetened rice flakes) and Bhajjil Phovu (roasted rice flakes).

* I mix salt, sugar and hing in the washed Poha instead of adding in the pan as I have seen it results in even mixing and tastes really good.

* The thick Poha I use does not need soaking at all and turns soft when I wash it twice. If your Poha is very hard, you will need to soak for few minutes to make it soft before use.

* You can also try my other Poha recipes:

Kobi Pohe (Satwik version of Pohe with Cabbage)

Poha Vegetable Cutlet

Instant Poha Idlis

Instant Oats Poha Dosa

Other Breakfast Ideas