masala dosa

Ingredients:

Dosa shell:
1 1/2 cups rice
1/2 cup urad dal
salt to taste
Oil
Masala Filling:
2 large potatoes
1 medium onion (chopped)
1/2 teaspoon yellow split peas
1/2 teaspoon mustard seed
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1-2 green chili
1 tablespoon oil
salt to taste

Preparation:

Dosa shell

• Separately soak rice and urad dal at least 6 hour or overnight in water.
• Grind to paste.
• Mix together, add salt with water to make batter.
• Leave in room temperature overnight.
• Mix onion and chilies to the thin batter.
• Heat pan or griddle with little ghee or oil.
• Spread the mix on pan in circular motion to make thin Dosa.
• Cook on both the sides, if desired.

Masala Filling (Spicy Filling):

• Heat oil. Add mustard seed, peas, onions and spice.
• Fry for about 5 minutes on medium heat or/until onions are turned into golden brown
• Add potatoes and mix and cook some more Serve
• Add filling inside Dosa and roll. Serve hot with Chutney.

Rasgulla

Rasgulla is a very popular Bengali Sweet dish. Here is Rasgulla recipe.
Ingredients:

• Milk - 1/2 litre
• Refined flour (maida) - 2 tsp
• Citric acid dissolved in water or lemon juice - 1/4 tsp dissolved in 1/2 cup water or lemon juice 2-3 tbsp.
• Sugar- 1 cup
• Water- 1 cup
• Rose essence or cardamom powder - 2-3 drops or 1/4 tsp

Method:

• Heat milk in a pan and bring it to boil. Remove from heat.
• Add citric acid or lemon juice.
• Stir slowly and gently until white curd forms on the surface and separates from whey.
• On straining this milk, the curd that is obtained is called "chenna". Wash chenna well under cold running water and twist the cloth that was used for straining to extract water.
• Knead chenna to make a smooth dough. Add flour and knead again.
• Make small balls of equal size (6-7) of the dough and keep aside.
• Next make sugar syrup. Mix sugar and water in a saucepan and bring it to boil.
• Add chenna balls to the syrup and cook for 15 minutes with lid partially covered. Chenna dumplings will puff up.
• On cooling, add rose essence.
• Refrigerate and serve chilled.

Pav Bhaji

Ingredients

For the pav
8 ladi pavs
4 tbsp butter
1 tsp pav bhaji masala (optional)

For the bhaji
1 1/2 cups potatoes, boiled and mashed
1 cup cauliflower, finely chopped
1/2 cup green peas
1/2 cup carrots, chopped
1 cup onion, chopped
1/2 cup capsicum, finely chopped
2 1/2 cups chopped tomatoes
1/2 tsp turmeric powder (haldi)
1/2 tsp chilli powder
1 1/2 tbsp pav bhaji masala
1/2 tsp black salt (sanchal)
4 tbsp butter

To be ground into a chilli-garlic paste
3 to 4 whole dry kashmiri red chillies , soaked in warm water
4 to 6 cloves garlic (lehsun)

For serving
1 large sized onion, chopped
4 lemon wedges
1 tbsp chopped coriander (dhania)

 

Method

For the bhaji

1. Boil the cauliflower, peas and carrots till they are soft. Drain out the excess water.
2. Heat the butter in a large pan, add the onion and capsicum and sauté for 2 minutes. Then, add the prepared chilli-garlic paste and sauté till the onion softens.
3. Add the tomatoes and simmer till the oil separates.
4. Add the turmeric powder, chilli powder, pav bhaji masala, black salt and salt and cook for 2 to 3 minutes.
5. Add the boiled vegetables and potatoes and mash thoroughly using a potato masher, adding ½ cup of water if required.

For the pav

1. Slice each pav into 2 horizontally. Apply a little butter to each side and sprinkle with a little pav bhaji masala, if desired.
2. Heat a large tava and cook the pav on both sides till the pieces are lightly browned.

How to proceed

1. Serve the hot bhaji on 4 individual plates and top with the onion and coriander.
2. Serve with the hot pav and lemon wedges.

Tips

1. Pav bhaji masala is a spice blend which is readily available at most grocery stores.