Soya-chunks Manchurian

I usually make manchurian using cauliflower or chicken. But I wanted to finish the soya chunks that had in my kitchen cabinet for months now. Then, I remembered on of my cousins talking about making Manchurian with soya chunks. And I wanted to give it a try and I am happy that I tried it because it turned out sooo yummy.I made this almost like my gobi manchurian. So, here is what you need ...

SOYA CHUNKS MANCHURIAN


Ingredients:

for the batter:
1-2 cups of Soya chunks,
4 tbsp of maida / all purpose flour,
2-3 tbsp of corn starch,
1 tsp ginger paste,
1 tsp garlic paste,
1/4 tsp black pepper powder,
oil for deep frying and
salt to taste.

for the sauce:
1 onion finely chopped,
5-6 cloves of garlic- finely chopped,
2 green chillies-finely chopped(optional),
2 tsp of white vinegar,
2-3 tbsp of tomato ketchup,
2 tbsp of chilli-garlic sauce,
2-3 tsp of corn starch,
2 tsp of soya sauce,
a pinch of red food color (optional),
a pinch of ajinomoto,
2-3 tbsp of oil,
1/2 cup of water and
1/2 cup of green onions.

Method:
Cook the soya chunks as per the instructions on the packet. After boiling the soya chunks/ nyggets, remove excess water and keep aside. To make the batter- take maida/ all purpose flour in a bowl, add corn starch, ginger-garlic paste, pepper powder(food colour, if adding) and salt to taste. Make a batter by adding water to this. Dip the Soya chunks in this batter and deep fry in oil, till they become crisp.
In another pan, Heat 2-3 tbsp of oil, add chopped garlic and chopped green chillies and saute for few minutes. Add finely chopped onions, and fry for few more minutes, till the onions are lightly browned. Now add tomato ketchup, soya sauce, chilli-garlic sauce and vinegar and mix well. Meanwhile mix the corn starch in 1/2 cup of water and add it to the pan and cook till the sauce thickens. Add the fried Soya chunks and the chopped green onions to the sauce and mix well to coat completely. Garnish with some extra spring onions and serve hot.Tips:
(1) Its always better to make the sauce first and then fry the Soya, this will help in maintaining the crispiness of the fried Soya chunks.
(2) Adding green capsicum to this munchurian makes it more flavorful. I couldn't, because I didn't have any at that time.

I would love to thank Aruna of veggie paradise for sharing this award with me. Thanks ARUNA.

Chocolate Dipped Strawberries

I had seen these chocolate dipped Strawberries at My Kitchen Treasures, and wanted to try it very badly :) .They didn't turn out as neat as I had expected :( But what really matters is, they were yummy and were gone within few minutes. My 2 1/2 year old son was soo happy and delighted to see these chocolate-dipped strawberries and now everyday he keeps me asking ''Mommy can you make more 'chookate chawberries'' . This is so easy to prepare and perfect to serve the family as a dessert after any meal.

CHOCOLATE-DIPPED STRAWBERRIES
recipe from My Kitchen treasures.

Ingredients:
24 ripe strawberries
8 oz bittersweet chocolate- chopped and
1 oz white chocolate- chopped

Method:
Rinse strawberries and gently pat dry. Set on a rack to dry completely. Melt bittersweet chocolate in a double boiler or in a microwave.keep stirring in between to prevent the chocolate from burning.

Dip strawberries in chocolate and shake off excess. Set to dry on a rack (on the tops as shown in the photos) or on parchment (on the bottoms which will give you a foot of chocolate) in a cool, dry location.
When chocolate has dried, melt the white chocolate and drizzle over the strawberries.

Note:
If in a hurry, one can put the chocolate dipped strawberries in the refrigerator for quick drying instead of drying them on the rack.

Aash / rice and lentil soup

Aaash is made very commonly during Ramadan in Bangalore. We used to always wait for our mom to make this yummy soup for iftar everyday.It is a very healthy and filling soup, especially after a long day of fasting.But, I always wondered why Bangloreans called it ''AASH'' until recently I came to know that 'AASH' is a Persian word for soup. So, its a soup made with rice, lentils and with /without minced meat. So, here goes the recipe for Aash.

AASH/RICE AND LENTIL SOUP

Ingredients:
500 grams of minced meat(optional),
160 grams of rice,
2 finely chopped onions,
1 finely chopped large tomato,
2-3 green chillies,
1 cup moong dal/ split yellow lentil,
1/2 cup of finely chopped mint leaves,
1 tsp ginger paste,
1 tsp garlic paste,
1/4 tsp turmeric powder,
1/4 tsp garam masala powder,
3-4 glasses of water,
3-4 tbsp of oil and
salt to taste.

Method:
Put the raw rice in a mixer and grind to make a coarse powder(like semolina/ sooji) and keep aside.Heat the oil in big vessel and add finely chopped onions and slit green chillies and add to the onions and fry them till the onions turn light brown in colour. Now add the ginger paste and garlic paste and saute till the spell of the ginger-garlic paste goes away. Add the turmeric powder and mix well and add chopped tomatoes mint leaves and cook till the tomatoes become soft. Now add the washed moong/ lentil and saute for 1-2 minutes. Add the washed minced meat, garam masala powder, some salt and mix everything well and cook for 5-10 minutes.
Now add 3-4 glasses of water to the vessel and bring it to a boil. Add more salt if needed. when it starts boiling lower the flame and add the powdered rice slowly, stirring it with the other hand to avoid getting lumps. Increase the flame to medium high and cook the soup by stirring it continuously till the rice is cooked. Add more water if it becomes very thick after adding the rice, to make it to the consistency of a soup. Serve hot garnish with some fried onions.

Note:
Semolina/ sooji can also be used instead of the coarsely powdered rice. But rice gives a better taste to this soup.

I am sending this to Aash to Think spice-Think Turmeric guest hosted by Sudeshna, event by Sunita.

Back to blogging with loads of awards from friends :-)

Hi dear friends,
I am back to blogging(finally) Phew!!! This blogging world is so wonderful and addictive and what makes it wonderful is the beautiful bond one shares with the good friends we makes through the journey of blogging. I just wanted a small break from blogging during the month of Ramadan, but I that small break turned into a very long break of more than 2 months :-( I was finding it so hard to get back..everyday I would tell myself that I am posting a recipe today no matter what happens...but, then I kept postponing it each day for weeks and months. But what matters for me now is that I am back finally and I want to thank all my friends out there, who showered on me so many awards,even when I was away from here and YES !! these ''awards'' have forced me to come back and start again. Thank you friends for all these awards and for all the appreciations that keeps me going and brings a smile on my face :-)

Now coming to the awards, Priya darshini of Priya's feast have passed this beautiful and colourful award. Thanks priya for this beautiful award.


Babli of Khana masala has passed these awards to me.I would like to thank babli for these lovely award and for being so sweet :-)





And I would like to convey tons of thanks to my new friend Asha latha of Asra ashaaon ka for passing me these beautiful awards. I am very delighted to get these awards dear. Thanks again.






And the last but not the least ;) is a sweet thank you from Priya Prashanth of Priya's recipes. Thank you Priya for this colourful and beautiful thank you.