Cabbage Carrot Stir fry | Easy Side dishes for Rice

I prefer to use Cabbage mostly in stir fries than the curries as TH is not fond of soft cooked cabbage.Cabbage Paratha is again a favorite with the crunchiness of fresh cabbage bites in it.Cabbage can be paired with many vegetables like carrots,peas,potatoes,sprouts and also with various dals like moong dal,chana dal,chickpeas. I absolutely love all the combinations and also try new combinations sometimes.

You can check out various Cabbage recipes here.

 Cabbage Carrot Stir fry Recipe:
 Serves 2-3
 Prep time:10 mins | Cook time:15 mins | Total time:25 mins
 Cuisine: South Indian | Category: Side dish for Roti|Rice
  
 Ingredients:
 1 small Cabbage,shredded thinly
 1 large Carrot,grated
 5-6 Green chillies,slit
 2 tsp Chana dal
 1 tsp Urad dal
 1 tsp Mustard seeds
 a pinch of Turmeric powder
 a pinch of Asafoetida
 5-6 Curry leaves
 1 tbsp Oil
 Salt to taste

Method:

• Heat oil in a pan and crackle mustard seeds and add asafoetida.
• Add chana dal,urad dal and fry them until they turn golden in color.
• Add curry leaves,green chillies and fry them until they wilt.
• Now add shredded cabbage and fry well for 3-4 mins.
• Add grated carrots and,turmeric powder and fry for a couple of minutes.
• Cover it and cook for 5-6 mins.
• Add salt at the end and mix well.

 Serve it hot with Rice/Rotis.
  
 Notes:

1. You can add roasted peanuts(slightly crushed) at the end for extra crunch.
2. Green peas or sprouts can also be added to the curry.
3. You can replace green chillies with red chili powder in the recipe.
4. If you wish you can add grated coconut at the end.

You can check few stir fry varieties with cabbage here:

• Cabbage Stir fry
• Cabbage Pesarapappu(moong dal) Dry Curry
• Red Cabbage Stir fry with Peanuts

Technorati Tags: cabbage recipes,cabbage stir fry,carrot recipes,south indian stir fry,simple stir fry,stir fry,mixed vegaetable stir fry,poriyal

Read More»

Cabbage Muthia | Gujarati Snacks Recipes

My knowledge of Gujarati Cuisine was limited to only few varieties like Dhoklas , fafdas, khakras etc before marriage.I got a better exposure of Gujarati cuisine after shifting to Mumbai.There are numerous Gujarati restaurants and farsaan shops and I always manage to find something new every time I visit.Now I am completely in love with the Gujarati food ranging from their snacks like dhoklas, khandvi, pankis, theplas etc to the full fledged thali.

I was introduced to muthia by a friend after my marriage and she prepared lauki muthia in a microwave and I am hooked to it's taste from that time. I have posted a version of Muthia - Mooli Muthia,which is a healthy version using jowar flour and today I am posting the recipe of Cabbage Muthia which is prepared in a traditional way.

Muthias are steamed dumplings which is a good low fat snack which can be served at breakfast time or can be served as a tea time snack.I usually prepare them in large quantities and store them in refrigerator for 2-3 days and prepare the snack with it whenever required.I sometimes saute or shallow fry the muthias and add to the tomato- onion gravy to make a nice side dish or I also use them in kadhis.They taste nice in any of the forms.
Check out Cabbage Pakora recipe if you are interested.

Cabbage Muthia Recipe:

Serves 2

Preparation time: 15 mins | Cooking time: 20 mins | Total time: 35 mins + cooling time

Recipe Cuisine: Gujarati - Indian | Category: Snacks

Ingredients:

2 cups grated Cabbage

1/2 cup Besan(Chickpea flour)

2 tbsp Whole wheat flour

1 tsp Green chili paste

1 tsp grated Ginger

1 tsp Carom seeds(ajwain,optional)

2 tsp Kasuri methi

1/2 tsp Cumin seeds

1/4 tsp Turmeric powder

a pinch of Lemon Salt(citric acid)

a pinch of Cooking soda(optional)

1 tbsp Oil

1/2 tsp Sugar

Salt to taste

for Tadka:

1 tbsp Oil

2 Red Chilies broken

1 tsp Sesame seeds

1/2 tsp Mustard seeds

2-3 Green chillies,slit

few Curry leaves

Coriander leaves,to garnish

Method:

• Take the grated cabbage in a bowl. Add all the rest of the ingredients(except the ingredients for tadka) and mix until it forms a very soft dough like texture.The water from cabbage would be enough to make the dough,if you need you can sprinkle some water to make it to a smooth dough,softer than the roti dough.If your dough becomes very soft add a couple of tbsp of besan to it and mix well.
• Make small oblong balls with the dough and place them on a greased steamer and steam them for about 20 mins.
• To check it whether its done use the toothpick method.Just prick them with the tooth pick,if it comes out clean then it is done otherwise it needs to be cooked for longer time.
• Let them cool completely. Cut them into bite sized pieces and keep them ready for the tadka.
• Heat oil in a nonstick pan and crackle mustard seeds.Add the slit green chillies,red chilies and fry them together.Add curry leaves and sesame seeds and let them splutter.
• Once the seeds start to splutter add the cut dumplings and reduce the flame to low and toast them for about 7-8 mins stirring often so that all sides gets crispy.
• Garnish with Coriander leaves.I did not use it,actually I forgot it.You can even add grated coconut for garnish if you want.

Serve them hot/warm with Green chutney and Meetha Chutney.

Notes:

• Prepare the mixture before you are ready to steam otherwise the dough will leave water if kept for long time.If the mixture becomes too soft add some more chickpea flour to it.You can even add a tbsp of fine rawa to the mixture.
• You can store the muthia in refrigerator for 2-3 days and can temper when needed.
• I add a pinch of cooking soda as it will make the muthia soft and fluffy.You can even use 1/2 tsp eno(fruit salt) instead of  cooking soda.It is entirely optional.
• I add carom seeds when I prepare anything with chickpea flour as it will yield in easy digestion.You can skip if you want.

Variations:

• You can use finely shredded radish or grated bottle gourd or grated zucchini instead of grated cabbage and follow the same process.
• You can also use jowar flour instead of besan(chickpea flour) for a healthy option.
• You can replace kasuri methi with the freshly chopped fenugreek leaves.

Technorati Tags: cabbage muthia,how make steamed muthia,gujarati snacks,low fat snacks,monsoon snacks recipes,low calorie snacks,gujarati snack varieties,cabbage muthiya recipe,easy snacks recipes

Read More»

Cabbage Pakora | Cabbage Pakoda(Fritters) Recipe

Monsoons have started and its pouring in Mumbai from the last couple of weeks.What would remind anyone if it is pouring heavily outside?Hot hot pakoras and garam chai right? exactly this is what we craved on one rainy evening and I prepared it immediately.Pakora|Pakoda or Bajji is a most popular road side snack in India and is loved by everyone.There are various kind of pakoras ranging from vegetables, greens to paneer, bread etc and the most popular ones are Mirchi Pakora|Mirchi Bajji,Onion Pakora ,Paneer Pakora and Bread Pakora.

My MIL is an expert when comes to pakoras,she can prepare a pakora out of any vegetable,such is her love for pakoras and the same love extended to her son.Though I prepare the pakoras very rarely as I do not like to prepare oil items more often but few times we cannot stick to our rules and during monsoons - I don't think that rule even works!!Today I am sharing a Cabbage Pakora(Cabbage Fritters) recipe which I prepared which few days before. 

Apart from Pakoras a bowl of hot piping soup and a warm bread is again a comfort food on the rainy days especially.If you are interested check out other Monsoon recipes ranging from tikkis, cutlets, chaats, soups, pakoras  and snacks recipe here.Clicking photographs has become a challenge these days,by the time I do my set up the rain starts and the whole house turns dark.If the weather permits with good lighting,I hope that I could add few more recipes to my monsoon special collection.

Check out few pakora recipes in my blog:

• Babycorn Pakora
• Stuffed Eggplant Pakora
• Stuffed Okra(Ladies finger) Pakora
• Oats Pakora
• Onion Pakoda/Crispy Onion Fritters

Cabbage Pakora | Cabbage Fritters Recipe:

Serves 2-3

Prep time:10 mins | Cooking time:20 mins | Total time:30 mins

Cuisine: Indian | Category: Snacks/Appetizers

Ingredients:

1 cup finely chopped Cabbage

1/2 cup Chickpea flour(Besan)

2 tbsp Rice flour

10-12 Cashew nuts,split into halves

2 Green chillies,finely chopped

2 tbsp chopped Coriander leaves

1/2 tsp Carom seeds(Ajwain)

1/4 tsp Turmeric powder

1/2 tsp Red chili powder

1 tsp roasted Cumin powder(optional)

a pinch of cooking Soda

1 tbsp hot Oil

Salt to taste

Oil,to deep fry 

Method:

• In a big bowl  take chickpea flour and rice flour.

• Add finely chopped cabbage,coriander leaves,green chillies to it and mix well.Alternatively you can add salt to the chopped vegetables and leave it for 5 mins to let it release the water and then add chickpea flour and rice flour to it.
• Add all the masalas,cashew nuts,carom seeds,salt,cooking soda,ajwain and hot oil to it and mix well.

• Sprinkle some water to let the dough come together.Do not make the batter very thin as the cabbage mixture would leave some water.
• Meanwhile heat oil in a kadai for deep frying.
• Drop small portions of batter like pakora  into the hot oil and let them fry over medium flame until they are crisp.Flip them in between to let them fry evenly.Do no over crowd the kadai with pakoras,add 7-8 pakoras at a time.You can fry them for long if you want crisp pakoras or alternatively you can press the partially deep fried pakoras and deep fry again to get crisp pakoras.

• Drain the pakodas onto a kitchen tissue and repeat the same process with the remaining batter to make pakoras.

Serve them hot with Green chutney /Tomato sauce and Masala Chai.Enjoy!!

Notes:

1. Along with cabbage you can add finely chopped onion to pakora.
2. You can replace cabbage with onion or spring onion or greens like spinach, amaranth, fenugreek leaves with a combination of onions.
3. I love to add cashew nuts to pakoras,it is entirely optional.
4. You can add chopped curry leaves and grated ginger to the pakora batter.
5. The addition of hot oil will make sure that the pakors would not consume more oil and also to  make them crisp.
6. You can avoid cooking soda if you want in the recipe,but it ensures a crisp and fluffy pakora.
7. Pakoras can be prepared small or big,it is your wish.
8. For those health freaks,you can make it low calorie version by baking them.Line a baking tray with aluminium foil and grease it slightly and drop small portions of pakora batter leaving some space in between them.Bake them in preheated oven at 160 deg C for 20-25 mins.Turn it once in between.Keep an eye after 15 mins,if you feel the pakoras are dry add few drops of oil before turning them to the other side.

Check out various deep fried snacks and low calorie snack recipes here.

If you are interested check out other Monsoon recipes ranging from tikkis, cutlets, chaats, soups, pakoras  and snacks recipe here.

Technorati Tags: cabbage pakoras,cabbage recipes,various pakora recipes,pakoda recipes,cabbage fritters,vegetable pakora,how to make cabbage pakora,innovative pakora recipes

Read More»

Red(or Purple) Cabbage Stir fry with Peanuts | Red Cabbage Recipes

When I am lazy to cook anything I usually prepare some quick Stir fry and Rasam for lunch and I would say it is my most comforting food.Usually it does not take more than half an hour to cook this meal with rice,stir-fry and rasam and hence it is apt for a quick meal.I like this particular combination of cabbage with peanuts,the addition of peanuts not only adds taste but also the crunch to the stir fry.You can serve this as a salad or a side dish for rotis and rice,it goes very well.

Red(Purple) Cabbage Stir fry with Peanuts:

(Serves 2-3)

Ingredients:

1 small Red or Purple cabbage,finely shredded

1/2 cup roasted Groundnuts,skinned and halved

4-5 Red chillies,broken

a sprig of Curry leaves

1 tsp Cumin seeds

1/2 tsp Mustard seeds

Salt to taste

1 tbsp Oil

Method: 

• Heat oil in a kadai and crackle mustard seeds and cumin seeds.
• Add broken red chillies and curry leaves and saute again for a minute until they turn slightly crisp.
• Add shredded cabbage and fry on medium-high flame for 2-3 minutes and cover it and reduce the flame and cook for another 3-4 mins.Now the cabbage would start slightly change the color and is 3/4th cooked,it should be crunchy and not become soggy.
• Slightly crush half the peanuts in a mortar and pestle or do it using a rolling pin.
• Add salt and crushed peanuts and halved peanuts and stir fry on high flame for 2 minutes.

Serve it hot immediately with Roti/Rice.You can have this as a salad as well,it tastes nice too.

Notes:

1. Always add peanuts at the end otherwise they will loose their crunch and it does not taste that good.
2. In case you are preparing this stir fry ahead of time do not add peanuts in it,add the peanuts jsut before serving and give a quick stir on high flame.
3. You can replace red chillies with green chillies in the recipe.
4. Regular cabbage can be used instead of red cabbage and follow the same recipe.
5. Grated carrots can also be added along with carrots in the recipe.

Read More»

Sprouts Fried Rice Recipe | Easy Lunch Box Ideas

Fried rice is an easy lunch option for me on weekdays as it is the most convenient one pot meal to prepare.While most of the times I prepare Chinese Vegetable Fried rice as it is the best way to consume lots of vegetables, I also prepare Sprouts fried rice if I have sprouts at hand.It is almost prepared in the same way as we prepare fried rice,but here in this recipe we use larger quantities of sprouts relative to vegetables to enhance the flavor of the dish.It is an ideal recipe even for lunch box.

Moong Sprouts Fried Rice Recipe:

(Serves 2)

Ingredients:

1 cup Basmati Rice

1 cup whole Moong Sprouts(Green gram)*

1/4 cup Cabbage,shredded

1/2 Green/Red Capsicum,finely chopped

3-4 bulbs of Spring Onion whites,sliced thin

3 stalks of Spring Onion greens,chopped

1 tsp Garlic,finely chopped

1 tsp Ginger,finely chopped

1 tsp Soya sauce

1/2 tsp Vinegar

1/2 tsp Black pepper powder

Salt to taste

2 tbsp Olive Oil

1 tbsp Sesame Oil

Method:

• Wash and soak basmati rice for 10 mins.Cook it in a pot full of water over open flame until done and drain the rice or pressure cook the rice with 1 and 3/4th cups of water for 1 whistle and cook for 4-5 mins on low flame.Spread the rice on a wide plate and apply 1 tsp of olive oil to it so that the rice grains remains separate and let the rice cool completely.
• Heat olive oil and sesame oil in a big wok and add finely chopped garlic and ginger and fry well.You should do this rice in high flame,so keep all the ingredients ready before you start and saute the ingredients quickly.
• Add sliced spring onion whites and fry for a minute.
• Add shredded cabbage and finely chopped capsicum and fry again on HIGH flame for 1-2 minutes.
• Now add moong sprouts and spring onion greens and quickly saute for another minute.
• Add soya sauce,vinegar,salt and pepper powder and quickly saute now.I usually add a pinch of sugar now which balances the sauce taste.It is your wish to add sugar or not.
• Add cooled and separated cooked rice and quickly stir fry the rice so that it mixes with the vegetables nicely.Do this gently and take care that you would not mash up the rice.Stir fry or toss it on high flame for 2 mins.

Serve it hot with Tomato sauce/Ketchup or as it is.

* To make Moong sprouts  - Wash and soak whole green gram(moong) in water overnight for 12-14 hrs.Drain all the water and tie the sprouts in a thin muslin cloth and hang it to a stick(or nail) for 15-16 hrs or bit longer until you see the sprouts.Keep sprinkling some water in between to keep them moist.

Notes:

• In chinese cooking Ajinamoto(chinese salt) is added to give extra taste,I have not added to it as it is supposedly not good for health.If you would like to add feel free to add 1/2 tsp Ajinamoto along with pepper powder.
• It is always better to use finely chopped ginger and garlic bits in the recipe instead of Ginger-Garlic paste as a bite into crisp ginger adds a nice taste while eating fried rice.
• I recommend you to refrigerate the cooled rice at least for half an hour which helps the rice in holding the shape while frying.
• The entire cooking is to be done over a high flame which helps in retaining the crispiness of vegetables and sprouts and the flavor of the dish,so you should be quick while sauteing the veggies and rice.
• I have used dark soya sauce in the recipe,if you are using light or regular soya sauce increase it to 1 tsp soya sauce.
• You can use bean sprouts instead of moong sprouts in the recipe.

 

Read More»

Cabbage Pesarapappu Podi Kura | Cabbage Moongdal Dry Curry

I prepare various dry curries to go with rice for our lunch and this Cabbage-Pesarapappu podi kura(dry curry) is one of my favorites which I prepare quite often.If you do not like cabbage do give this combination a try,the addition of moong dal and coconut makes this curry extremely delicious and pairs well with rice or roti.You can find a similar version of podi kura with amaranth leaves here, Thotakura Pesarapappu Podi kura which is again my personal favorite.

Cabbage Pesarapappu Podi Kura | Cabbage Moong dal Dry Curry:

(serves 2)

Ingredients:

1 small Cabbage,shredded or finely chopped

1/3 cup Moong dal(yellow lentils),soaked

1/3 cup grated fresh Coconut

5-6 Green Chillies

a pinch of Turmeric powder

1 tbsp Chana dal

1 tsp Urad dal

1/2 tsp Mustard seeds

a sprig of Curry leaves

Salt to taste

2 tbsp Oil

Method:

• Soak moong dal overnight or for 1-2 hrs.
• Heat oil in a kadai and crackle mustard seeds.
• Add chana dal,urad dal and curry leaves and fry well.
• Add curry soaked moong dal,shredded/finely chopped cabbage and turmeric powder and fry well for 2-3 minutes.
• Cover it with a deep lid and pour water over it which enables steam cooking for the vegetable to get cooked.Keep it on low flame for 12-15 mins until the cabbage and moong dal is cooked.It would be a dry curry with slight moisture.Cook for another couple of minutes if needed.
• Meanwhile grind grated coconut with salt and green chillies in a mixer to a coarse paste.
• Once the cabbage moong dal is cooked add the ground coconut mixture and mix well and stir fry for 2 minutes.

Serve it hot with steamed rice/roti/chapati.

Variations:

1. You can add grated carrots along with cabbage and follow the same recipe.
2. You can substitute cabbage with grated carrots or grated beetroots in the recipe.The cooking time may vary accordingly.
3. Moong dal can be substituted with Chana dal and follow the same recipe,even this tastes nice.

 

Read More»

Easy Cabbage Paratha | Cabbage Chapati

My usual weekday dinners would be either roti-sabzi-dal or paratha-pickle-raita-salad combos. While I plan the menu ahead most of the time there are few instances that I would be lazy enough to either plan or do the preparations ahead.Then comes these kind of easy peasy parathas like cabbage paratha,bottle gourd paratha,methi paratha and onion paratha based on the availability of vegetables in my refrigerator.
If your kids are fussy about these vegetables,this is the best way to make them eat those healthy vegetables.These piping hot parathas when paired with an achaar and dahi makes a wholesome meal.

This is a very simple recipe as it does not involve any stuffing business;grated veggies are added inside the dough which makes our job easier.My mom used to make a similar version of cabbage chapati and onion chapatis for breakfast while I tweeked it a bit to give a typical North Indian touch to them.My mom always add sesame seeds to onion chapatis saying that they give a nice taste to it and it is true,even I like the taste of sesame seeds while eating the paratha.There are no hard and fast rules about the ingredients in this paratha,you can actually play with the ingredients and make it according to your family preferences.I have mentioned a few variations to the recipe to give you few such ideas.
Cabbage Chapati | Cabbage Paratha Recipe:
(makes 10-12 parathas)

Ingredients:
2 cups Wheat flour
1/4 cup Besan(Chickpea flour)
3/4 cup finely chopped or shredded Cabbage
1/4 cup finely chopped Onions
1/4 cup finely chopped Coriander
4-5 Green chillies,finely chopped
1/2 tsp Ginger-Garlic paste or 1/2 tsp grated Ginger
2 tbsp Sesame seeds
1 tsp Coriander-Cumin powder
1/2 tsp Amchur powder
1/4 tsp Garam masala (optional,I did not add)
2 tbsp Curd
2 tsp Oil
Salt to taste
Oil for frying parathas

Method:

• Finely chop or grate the cabbage and drop it in a bowl.
• Add finely chopped onion,chopped green chillies and coriander, all the masala powders, salt and sesame seeds to the chopped/grated cabbage and mix well.
• Add chickpea flour and wheat flour and now mix again.
• Add curds,oil and add little water to the dough and knead into a smooth and pliable dough.Take care that the dough should not be very sticky,it should be bit stiff while kneading so that it would become little soft when we start rolling.Leave it aside for 10-15 mins.Do not leave the dough for longer time as the cabbage leaves water.
• Take a big lemon sized ball and roll into a thin paratha(as thick as chapati or slightly thicker than chapati) and fry it on tawa on both sides applying either oil or ghee over it and roast until you see the brown specs on both sides.

Serve them hot with North Indian style Aam ka Achaar or Stuffed Chili pickle and masala raitha.
I made alu-spinach raita with lots of walnuts to go with the parathas.The combination was truly divine and yumm.
Notes:

1. Always make dough just 10-15 mins before making parathas,otherwise it would be difficult to roll the parathas.As cabbage leaves water the dough would become sticky which is difficult while rolling them .
2. Addition of chickpea flour is optional but I like to use it in theplas and these kind of parathas which are not stuffed.
3. If you feel that cabbage smell is dominating in your parathas you can even saute them in a tsp of oil for a couple of minutes before making the dough.
4. If you are making this for kids,try to replace chopped green chillies with 1 tsp of red chili powder in the recipe.You can even avoid garam masala.
5. They stay soft and good up to 3-4hrs and so it is ideal for lunch boxes.
6. These parathas will not give clean edges and hence I used a round cutter to give a clean shape to cabbage parathas,but it is optional to follow this method.
7. For a Vegan version avoid curd in the recipe.

Variations:

1. You can add grated carrots or chopped methi along with cabbage to the same recipe.
2. You can easily replace cabbage with grated bottle gourd or grated radish and follow the same recipe to make Bottle gourd parathas and Radish paratha.
3. If you do not like cabbage ,replace cabbage with onions in the above recipe and make Onion chapatis.

I just love to eat a meal like this..in short it is a simple and wholesome meal for me..How about you ??

Read More»

Chilli Parotta

I rarely have left over parottas/rotis at home and recently I had some two left over tandoori rotis from the previous night's heavy dinner.What better way to use them other than making this chili parotta for breakfast and I must say it was a simple and spicy one pot meal and we both enjoyed this.I have used pav bhaji masala in the recipe which is the star ingredient of the dish making it extra tasty and giving a nice punch to the recipe,So do not miss this masala in the recipe.This is a real spicy one and is definitely a pleasure for the taste buds.Try it out to believe what I have said about this recipe.
Chilli Parotta Recipe:
(serves 2)

Ingredients:
2 frozen Parottas or left over parottas/rotis/chapati
1/4 cup shredded Cabbage
1 big Capsicum,sliced
1 Onion,diced
1 Tomato,finely chopped
2 Green chillies,finely chopped
3-4 Garlic pods,finely chopped
1/2" Ginger,finely chopped
2-3 tbsp chopped Coriander
4-5 Curry leaves
2-3 Spring onion greens,finely chopped(optional)
juice of half Lemon
1 tbsp Tomato sauce
3/4 tsp Pav Bhaji masala powder
1/4 tsp Garam masala
1/4 tsp Red chili powder
a pinch of turmeric powder
salt to taste
3 tbsp Oil(you can even use Olive oil)

Method:

• Cut or torn roughly the parottas/rotis into bite size pieces and keep them aside.If you are using frozen parottas,make sure you roast them well until crisp on a tawa before you use.
• Heat oil in a big kadai/wok and add finely chopped garlic and ginger and saute them over a high flame.
• Add finely chopped green chillies,curry leaves and diced onions and fry them until they turn slight pink.
• Add shredded cabbage and capsicum and fry them over high flame.Maintain the crunchiness of the vegetables by just sauteing it for few minutes.
• Add pav bhaji masala,garam masala,turmeric powder,chili powder,salt and tomato sauce and fry until the raw smell of masalas goes away.
• Add torn parotta/roti pieces to this and give a good stir until all the masala has coated the parotta pieces nicely and let it roast for 1-2 mins on medium to high flame.
• Add spring onion greens,coriander leaves and lemon juice at the end and mix well.

Serve it piping hot as breakfast or dinner or evening snack with some onion raitha or as it is.

Variations:

1. You can even add grated carrots in the above recipe.
2. You can even add colored bell peppers along with capsicum in the recipe.
3. You can even add eggs to make it chilli egg parotta.Add the eggs(yellow+white) along with the other masalas and fry until the eggs are done.
4. You can make this in Chinese version,avoid adding dry masalas and instead add soya sauce and pepper powder in the recipe.
5. This recipe is slightly spicier,if you want you can avoid chili powder and reduce the quantity of pav bhaji masala powder in it.

Read More»

Chinese Veg Hakka Noodles

Chinese cuisine is like a love-hate relationship to me,I love Chinese if it is done properly otherwise I would not even think of taking second bite of it.The authentic Chinese food is loaded with lots of flavor and the crunchiness of vegetables is maintained which makes every bite delicious. I generally avoid eating Chinese food in all restaurants as it involves liberal usage of oil and also the MSG added in it to make it delicious,though I can ask them not to add MSG to food but I cannot control the usage of oil in it.The best option for me is to recreate the restaurant style Chinese food at home where I can control all these factors and still enjoy the taste of it.Sesame oil is the best option to use in Chinese cooking as the oil has a nutty flavor in it and that is why it is used in authentic Chinese cooking.But for health freaks Olive oil is the best alternative as a few more tbsps of Olive oil does not hurt us much when compared to any other oil.I strongly recommend either sesame oil or olive oil than using any other oil in Chinese cooking as they enhance the flavor of Chinese food.

Coming to today's recipe,Hakka noodles is one of the most popular and favorite dish of Indo-Chinese cuisine and is very popular among all the age groups especially with the kids.This is one of my most favorite Indo-Chinese dishes which I order regularly in Chinese joints.It is even popular among the road side eateries and is generally served along with Gobi manchurian which is equally famous and also a very nice combo.

Chinese Hakka Noodles Recipe:
(Serves 2)

Ingredients:
1 pack(200 gms) Vegetarian Hakka Noodles
1" Ginger,julienne into thin strips
3-4 Garlic pods,finely chopped
1 tsp ground Black pepper/White pepper
1 tsp dark Soya sauce
1/2 tsp white Vinegar
1 tsp Green chilli sauce(optional)
4-5 tbsp Olive oil
Salt to taste

veggies needed:
1 cup finely shredded Cabbage,lengthwise
1 big Carrot,julienne into thin strips
1 Capsicum,julienne into thin strips
12-15 French beans,thinly sliced diagonally
6-8 Spring onions,whites-sliced thin;greens-finely chopped

Method:

• Bring 7-8 cups of water to a boil in a pan and add salt and a tsp of regular oil to it and add hakka noodles and cook according to the instructions.The noodles should hold its shape and firm to bite,this process should take 8-10 mins.Keep an eye at the end so that the noodles will not become soggy.
• Drain the noodles in a colander and pour cold water over it and wash the starch completely from the cooked noodles,this helps in retaining non-sticky noodles.
• Heat olive oil in a big wok over a high flame and then add ginger strips and chopped garlic and saute it well.
• Add finely sliced spring onion whites and shredded cabbage and fry in high flame.
• Add julienne carrots,beans and fry well until they are half cooked.Take care not to loose the crunch of vegetables,they should be firm to bite.
• Add capsicum strips to it and toss it again.
• Add salt,pepper powder,soya sauce,vinegar,green chilli sauce and fry for a minute.
• Add cooked noodles and chopped spring onion greens and toss well until it is mixed properly and toss on high flame.

Serve it hot with any manchurian gravy side dish or tomato sauce.

Notes:

• The entire process would be done under 8-10 mins,so be quick while sauteing the vegetables and noodles and also take care not to loose the crunchiness of vegetables.
• You can use white pepper powder or black pepper powder and it is preferred to use freshly ground black pepper in the recipe.
• Be liberal in using oil as it helps the noodles not to turn sticky and in Chinese cooking it is always advisable to use more oil.
• I have used olive oil in the recipe as it gives a nice flavor and even the liberal usage of olive oil does not hurt me as the normal oil does.If you do not have olive oil in hand the best substitute for olive oil is sesame oil in Chinese cooking as sesame oil is primarily used in Chinese cooking as the oil itself has nutty flavor which enhances the taste of Chinese dishes.
  
• In Chinese cooking ajinamoto(tasting salt) is added for extra taste,I do not use it in my cooking and hence not mentioned in the recipe.If you are using it,add 1/2 tsp of ajinamoto while adding salt and sauces to the wok.

Variations:

• You can even add chopped celery to it which gives very nice flavor to the noodles.
• You can even add bokchoy(Chinese greens) while sauteing the other vegetables.
• You can add 2-3 tbsp of schezwan sauce along with other sauces and toss it to make Schezwan noodles.Adjust the spiciness according to your taste.
• You can add red chilli paste along with other sauces and also add 2 tbsp finely chopped garlic in the recipe to make Chilli Garlic noodles.Reduce the amount of vegetables in the recipe and also avoid green chili sauce in the recipe.
  

I am sending this entry to Pari's 'ONLY-Pasta/Noodles/Pizza' event which is guest hosted by
Jeyashri.

Read More»