VIRUNDHOMBAL

Cauliflower fry is a popular and delicious dish. Today, we'll see a crispy cauliflower fry recipe. A blend of gram flour, rice flour, and corn flour provides a satisfying crunch and texture, while ginger garlic paste and seasonings add plenty of flavour.  Here are some essential tips to make a tasty cauliflower fry  Use fresh and tender cauliflower florets. Avoid soaking cauliflower in hot water for more than 5 minutes. Fresh ginger garlic paste brings a burst of freshness and flavor; always opt for fresh paste. For maximum flavor, marinate the coated cauliflower florets to allow seasonings to penetrate deeply. Ensure the coated batter is thick enough to coat but not too dry (which makes it hard) or watery (which leads to poor results). Deep-frying the coated cauliflower florets on medium heat yields the perfect taste. Allow them to cook thoroughly in medium-heated oil, then flip for even cooking. Check out my other Evening Snacks Recipes Vazhaikkai (Plantain) Bajji  Caul...

Capsicum onion pakoda  is an easy tea time snack made using onions, capsicum, besan flour, rice flour, chilli powder and garlic. When we were in the US, I frequently prepared these pakodas with tri-colored capsicums as a starter for potluck parties. This pakoda tastes yum with our meals also.  To make onion capsicum pakoda, you need to cut them uniformly. You need to cut the onions and capsicums into slightly thicker pieces. Discard all the seeds and the thin white layer in the capsicums and then slice them equally. After slicing the onions and capsicums you are left with just mixing the flour, chilly powder, crushed garlic and frying it until crispy and golden. Now let's see how to make this onion capsicum pakoda with step by step pictures.  Check out my other Evening Snacks Recipes Vazhaikkai (Plantain) Bajji  Cauliflower Fry    Nullikai urundai - Urid dal balls Kara Vadai -  Pattani Paruppu (Yellow Split Peas) Bonda Sabudana Vada -  Javarisi Va...

Cauliflower fry - flavourful and crispy snack with cauliflower. This fry is a crisp fried snack made with maida, corn flour, ginger garlic paste, chilly powder, garam masala powder and lemon juice. There are different methods of making this cauliflower fry. The recipe shared here is a typical bakery style cauliflower fry which stays crisp for a longer time. You can also prepare street style Gobi fried rice with this cauliflower fries. This cauliflower fry is an amazing side dish for fried rice, biryani, pulao and also as an appetizer for parties.   Tips to make Cauliflower Fry Cauliflowe r - always try to use fresh cauliflower.  Try to separate equal sized florets because it helps to fry uniformly. Just immerse the cauliflower florets in salted hot water for 2 to 3 minutes and drain the water completely using a colander.  Ginger Garlic Paste - for this fry grind ginger &  garlic coarsely without any water. I always use fresh ginger garlic paste and if you do...

Tawa Brinjal Fry - easy and tasty dish with brinjal with simple cooking methods. You can serve this as a side dish for lemon rice, tamarind rice and curd rice. Just like other roast and fry dishes this tawa brinjal fry has many variations. In this recipe, the brinjal slices are dipped in thin buttermilk and then coated with seasoned besan flour and then fried in tawa. Some versions would skip the dipping, some would also use other ingredients like rava for crispy outer layer. If you use tender brinjals with less seeds it tastes so good. My son Siva who's not a big fan of brinjal, likes this tawa brinjal fry very much. I personally enjoyed this tawa brinjal as a snack but sometimes stuffed on dosa sprinkled with chilli flakes.  Similar Recipes Baby Corn Fry - Fried Baby Corn Senaikizhangu Chops - Elephant Foot Yam Roast Mushroom Fry Cauliflower Fry Paneer 65  Tawa Brinjal Fry - Tawa Kathrikkai Varuval Recipe Prep time : 20 minutes Cook time : 15 minutes Serves : 4 Category : si...

Potato bonda - a tasty snack with potatoes which are readily available in most of the tea shops around 4pm. The batter prepared with besan flour is filled with our classic potato masala. I have already posted tapioca bonda which is a super hit snack in our family.  For tips click on the link to view the details. Now we will see how to prepare the potato stuffing for the bondas.Usually for stuffing dishes I prefer potatoes with brown skins, which will be easy to mash and holds the shape perfectly. The potatoes with white skins, take more time to cook and it won't give perfect texture for the stuffing. Always choose potatoes by same size for consistent cooking. One of the best flavorings for the potato stuffing are the ginger and green chillies. Finally,  I have splashed chilly powder and garamasala powder which gives a subtle flavour in the bonda. Now we will see the recipe in detail with step by step instructions. Similar evening snacks recipes Vazhaikkai (Plantai...

These crispy onion pakodas are prepared with onions, besan flour, green chillies and for flavours we add ginger, fennel and curry leaves. As we all have onions all the time in our kitchen, so with minimal effort you can prepare this quick evening snack for your family. In the current situation as we are lockdown, you can prepare this snack quickly and easily for your family. This pakodas pair well with curd rice too. The most important part of the dish is mixing the onions with correct amount of water. The flour should stick to the onions tightly so that it would be easy to fry. If you add more water, then it becomes like bajji batter and you will get soft pakodas. To make the pakodas soft, we have to add 2 tbsp of hot oil and then we have to mix it evenly. The pakodas must be fried on medium heat and after a few minutes, turn them frequently with a spoon as the onions will turn black quickly. Similar snack recipes Vazhaikkai (Plantain) Bajji  Cauliflower Fry...

Baby Corn Fry - baby corns are mixed with a seasoned flour and deep fried till golden. Baby corns have a hard texture that takes more time to cook when compared to paneer and mushrooms. So I have precooked the baby corn pieces in a separate vessel for 5 minutes. Do not cook more than 5 minutes because it will absorb more oil. Then the cooked baby corn pieces are mixed with the flours. Here also I have used the besan flour, rice flour, corn flour and maida. The flours are seasoned enough with all the flavours to bring a restaurant taste for your kids. It starts with garlic paste, red chilly powder, garam masala powder, chat masala powder, pepper powder and lemon juice. Just mix all the ingredients to the baby corn along with the flours and required salt. Sprinkle a handful of water and mix them gently. Here I will tell you some important tips for Crispy baby corn fry. 1. Adding corn flour and rice flour gives you a crispy texture without being oily. Do not add more quantity b...

Vazhaipoo vadai is a  popular evening snack in Tamil Nadu. They are made with ground chana dal, chopped vazhaipoo, onions, curry leaves and asafoetida. These vadas are packed with fiber from vazhaipoo and protein from chana dal. You won't feel hungry for a few hours after eating these vadas. This vazhaipoo vadai is very easy to make but you have to follow the steps carefully to get the authentic taste. The first step is to soak the chana dal in a plenty of water for 3 to 4 hours. After 3 hours, drain the water completely using a colander.   Take a big mixer jar and grind the fennel seeds, green chillies and red chillies and then add the drained chana dal to it.  Grind the chana dal mixture coarsely without any water and transfer it to the mixing bowl. If it is difficult to grind it without water, just sprinkle a few drops of water and grind it. Do not add more water because it will not hold up and will separate in the oil while frying. For best results gr...

Bondas are a popular evening snack, which are served along with white coconut chutney. They are so good with a cup of warm filter coffee for evening snacks. Bondas are a type of snack similar to ulundha vada. Although both the ulundha vada and bonda include the same ingredients, these two differ in the making process. For bondas we don't add chopped onions but we add chopped ginger, green chillies and few coconut bits. After grinding the batter, simply mix all the ingredients together and fry the bondas.As I told in my medu vada post, for bondas also I recommend to grind it in a wet grinder. Because it gives you a soft texture for the bondas. Grind it in a wet grinder for 20 minutes until smooth and fluffy. If required just add 1/4 cup of water while grinding. Also, do not add salt during grinding because it makes the batter watery then you can't able to make the balls. If you are grinding in a mixer jar, try to soak for 3 to 4 hours and then grind it by sprinkling a ha...

Sweet corn pakoda - yummy evening snack for your kids. Usually we prepare masala corn for them with a very few ingredients and it is a favourite snack for kids. Now a days sweet corns are available throughout the year, so you can prepare this easily without much effort. This pakoda is also a great starter for family get togethers and potlucks. I prepared this dish for 30 varieties Potluck dishes for the Aval Vikatan magazine . The sweet corn kernels are cooked in a pressure cooker for 10 minutes. Then the cooked sweet corn kernels are grounded in a mixer jar. I have tested the recipe without cooking the corns but this method tastes good. You can also steam the corns in a steamer. For this pakoda, just a little effort like cooking and grinding works are required, but you will get a tasty pakoda with different taste and flavours. After grinding the corns you have to mix all the remaining ingredients and then start preparing the pakodas. I have not used any other addi...

Tapioca bonda - soft bondas prepared with mashed tapiocas and besan flour. We had this yummy bondas in a  small tea shop in Thrissur. The bondas were very tasty and I asked the recipe from the master. He explained the recipe clearly with simple steps. Then I prepared this bonda for a potluck lunch as a starter and everyone liked it. And also I prepared this bonda for my 30 varieties potluck recipes for the Aval Vikatan magazine. This is the perfect starter for parties and potlucks.  If you like tapiocas, then definitely you must try this bonda for your family. Make it for your next weekend evening snack. How to make the tapioca stuffing Try to use fresh tapiocas which are firm without any soft spots.  After a day or two the tapioca will be hard to cook and after cooking it won't be soft like the fresh tapiocas. Peeling the skin is the tough job, but you can easily peel it with a knife. Use a sharp knife and slightly tear it in the centre of the root and peel the...

Mushroom pepper fry - deliciously easy mushroom dish made with onions, ginger garlic paste, curry leaves, button mushrooms and seasoned with coarsely ground pepper and fennel. I learnt this recipe from one of my neighbors and it was delicious. You can also pair it with some rice varieties like fried rice or jeera rice. You can also have this as a quick appetizer too.

Sambar vada - easy and tasty  homemade sambar vada with simple cooking methods. For this Diwali, we prepared a lot of medhu vada and sambar for morning breakfast. In the evening, my husband came into the kitchen and quickly prepared a tasty sambar vada for us with the leftover sambar and vadas within 15 minutes. Everyone was so happy with the tasty sambar vada and we were not able to stop at just one vada.  Before that, I haven't prepared sambar vada. After a week, I prepared this sambar vada and it came out really well.

Cauliflower fry is a favorite evening snack for my son Siva. This cauliflower fry is a deep fried snack, which many of us will order as a starter in restaurants. This cauliflower fry is an easy dish to prepare, but it requires some little attention to get perfect results. The ready made mix for snacks are slowly entering in many of our kitchens for cooking easily without much effort. But it's not healthy as it includes artificial colour, preservatives and monosodium glutamate. Actually, preparing homemade snacks is very easy and healthy too.

Masala Vadai - delicious evening snack prepared with chana dal or yellow split peas as the main ingredient. This masala vadai is not only an evening snack, but it is also a favourite side dish for our lunch too. Really, I enjoy this masala vadai with lemon rice and curd rice. Most of our traditional snacks are easily  prepared with healthy ingredients using simple methods. Masala vadai requires simple preparation works like soaking and grinding the dals. These two methods require some attention so be careful while preparing the dough.

Vegetable Cutlet - favourite evening snack for many of us. There was a time we had this vegetable cutlets whenever we visit our Rema aunt's house. She is an expert in preparing this vegetable cutlets and many kid's friendly dishes. Her native place is Nagercoil , so all of her dishes taste good with a touch of Kerala cuisine. Soon I will post many of her traditional dishes in my blog. It was  a long time interest for me to prepare perfect vegetable cutlets like my aunt's cutlets. She taught me to prepare perfect vegetable cutlets with important techniques. Preparing these types of appetizers will take around an hour or more to spend in your kitchen. But once in a month you can spend time for these kind of snacks for your kids so that they can enjoy restaurant style snacks in our home itself. Before proceeding with the recipe we will see some important tips and techniques.

Kara Vadai - simple evening snack for your weekend and party appetizer too. This Kara Vadai is very easy to make using very few ingredients. It is made with pattani paruppu (yellow split peas), urid dal and rice flour. The vadais are flavoured with green chillies, coriander leaves, mint leaves and onions. Kara Vadais with crispy outer layer and tender texture make this as a special one. I learnt this recipe from our relatives at Nanguneri . They are experts in cooking a variety of meals, tiffin varieties, evening snacks and cater for small family functions too.

Sabudana vada is a perfect evening snack for your kids with simple ingredients in your kitchen. I learnt this recipe from Chef Prabhakar Prajapati. I actually cooked this vada for the first time and it was so yummy. It's perfect for an evening snack, potlucks and also for poojas. I prefer serving this vada with a simple coconut chutney or tomato ketchup, but you can serve it with anything.

Plantain (Vazhaikai) bajji with a cup of hot masala tea is an all time favourite evening snack for many of us. Among the evening snacks like vada, pakoda, bajjis are an easy snack which is much easier to master. Before you begin, let's see some tips and tricks to make a perfect bajji. Mixing the batter Preparing batter for bajji is actually a simple process, but we must focus carefully when adding water. Before you proceed to mix the batter, it is a good practice to sieve the besan flour. For 1 cup of besan flour 1/2 cup of water is perfect for dipping the plantains. The batter should have an idli batter like consistency. In order to puff a pinch of sodium bicarbonate is added to the batter. After combining the batter to the right consistency leave it undisturbed for 10 minutes. If you are using readymade bajji mix measure the flour using the measuring cup and then add the water. Flavours for baji For a flavourful bajji we add a good amount of garlic and as...

Puzhungal arisi (boiled rice) kozhukattais are one of the most popular evening snacks in Tirunelveli. We can prepare this kozhukattai either by grinding the rice or by using good quality rice flour. Kozhukattais prepared by grinding the rice are softer than the kozhukattais made with rice flour. If you plan to make kozhukattais with rice flour, use hot water for kneading the dough so your kozhukattais will be soft and easy to cook. If possible, choose fresh curry leaves and fresh coconuts for this kozhukattai. For most of the kozhukattais we use fresh coconuts which adds an exotic taste to it. If you use coconuts which have water content fry them along with the sauted ingredients and then add the ground rice batter. If it has less water content, you can add the coconuts in the end. Making kozhukattai is one of the interesting part in this dish. You can make medium balls or after preparing oblong shaped balls a slight press is made in the centre to prepare kozhukattai. Now let...