SNACKS | Saute Fry N Bake

Sesame cheesy chicken rolls

Preparation Time : 35 -minutes

Cooking Time : 20 minutes

Serving : 8 members

Description

The first day of the holy month of Ramadan where I had to present a snack that’s mind blowing, new and tasty with the condition that I cannot taste it as I am fasting. My mind was stuck to a few images I got to see that morning about casual truths of life with all emotions captured perfectly with no bar to caste, greed and colour. So I wanted to replicate that mood of mine on a plate. Well how do I do that ?? I made a white sauce also known as béchamel sauce which is the mother sauce in French cuisine that is used as the base for other sauces. Added cheese and Italian herbs for the Italian twist in it. For the universal touch added bread in it and used it for coating as well. Now every thing seemed to be very European…. Umm.. To get the Asian side in added black and white sesame seeds ( for the colour too ) to coat the rolls. Deep fried and asked my cook to taste it. She goes on to say” amma super”..That’s what she says for all the dishes given to taste. As usual this snack was disturbed to cousin’s and now our turn for testing.I waited until I get an approval from hubby dear. He was like after eating these chicken what ever… Every thing else tastes stale.My eyes popped out as this is what I wanted to represent in the plate for this was the same feeling I had in me after seeing those images. I tasted it and though it was a complete fusion of too many cuisine’s, they are fell in place comfortably with class. When food can do wonders, I guess we people all around the world also can do so. Isn’t it ???

ingredients

ingredients	Quantity
Boneless Chicken ( diced and cooked along with ginger + garlic paste	1/4 kg
Ginger + garlic paste	1/4 teaspoon, ( for chicken )
Boiled mixed chopped vegetables	1 cup ( beans, carrots, cabbage, capsicum,mushrooms, sweet corn, green peas )
milk	1 cups
refined flour	2 tablespoons
butter	2 tablespoon
Cheese slice	3 grated
salt	to taste
Chilli flakes	to taste
White pepper	to taste
Mixed dried herbs( oregano, thyme, rosemary, dill, basil )	a pinch of each
Bread slices	12 + 6 Grind to a coarse powder separately
Black sesame seeds	1 tablespoon
White sesame seeds	2 tablespoons
Oil	to deep fry

Method

Heat and Melt butter in a wide pan.add refined flour,saute a little and add the milk very gradually,stirring vigorously all the time making sure no lumps are formed.
Bring to a boil, lower the heat and simmer for 5 minutes, add the salt,white pepper,chilli flakes,dried herbs,chicken and boiled vegetables. Mix well and boil till a thick gooey sticky consistency is obtained.Add cheese slice grated and mix well. Remove from heat and cool completely.
Beat an egg with salt and pepper to taste. Mix fresh bread crumbs ( 12 slices ) with salt to taste , white and black sesame seeds. Place over a flat plate.
Add 6 bread slices coarsely powdered to the cooled chicken mixture and mix well. Check seasoning. Take a lemon size ball and roll into finger long round rolls with the help of greased hands.( the mixture might be sticky but it does get to the roll shape, you can add more bread coarse powder to remove some moister if you want )
Dip each roll into beaten egg with salt and pepper to taste.Then roll over the fresh bread crumb sesame mix , making sure it is well covered all over. Do the same to all the chicken mixture. Place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
Heat oil to deep fry over medium heat. Deep fry to a deep golden colour over medium heat making sure not to burn the rolls. Drain and serve hot with tomato sauce.

Peppery curd fruit chat

Preparation Time : 25 minutes

Cooking Time : 10 minutes

Serving : 10 members

Description

The quest for healthy food on the table is always a nerve racking business for me. As any thing that’s high in calories and is extremely fatty is what my taste buds want always. So my brain always lets me use fatty culprit Ingredients. Every year on the holy month of Ramadan, I make sure to stick on to healthy way of eating but it prolongs just for a day or two. So this year made sure to have at least one dish that’s healthy and not deep fried. A dessert every day after our night prayers is a must at home while fasting. Usually I make some thing with fruits, China grass or custard which is light with no eggs added to the dish. So I made up my mind to come up with a fruit chat that I remember eating at the food court at the express mall in chennai with my best buddy sulu a few years back. Tried my best to replicate the dish. Looked similar but was not as colourful as in the food court as I used all fruits with similar colour code. yet again no tasting as I was fasting and my cook with her regular “AMMA SUPER” answer made me feel even worse. I felt the addition of cracked black pepper was a big mistake. I didn’t have the patience to wait until our night payers so gobbled a spoon while breaking our fast. Awesome fruit chat where the cracked pepper was the hero saying “hey, I can get along with any one you silly” to me.which resulted in me smiling and hubby dear asking me why are you smiling ??? I know, if I tell him the fact of what was in my mind.. I will be put to shame. As he thinks I am obsessed with food and it is my first husband. So just mentioned about some thing else instead. Oops a lie.. While breaking my fast. Had to tell him the truth and yet again was ragged by him making a call to the kids with all them laughing at me. Happy me as, I am sure this will be a cherished memory that I have given to my loved ones through food.

Ingredients

Ingredients	Quiantity
Hung Curd	3 cups
Banana	1 chopped
Apple	1 peeled and chopped
Ripe Mango	1 peeled and chopped
Tinned Pineapple	3 slices chopped
Sugar	to taste
Corn flour	2 tablespoons
Milk	1 cup
cumin powder	1 teaspoon
Black pepper corns	½ teaspoon crushed
Fresh coriander leaves	1 tsp chopped
Mint leaves	10 chopped
Lemon juice	1/2 a lime
Black salt (kala namak)	1/4 teaspoon
Chaat masala powder	1/4 teaspoon + to sprinkle
Salt	to taste
Tinned cherries	to decorate

Method

Bring milk to a boil and add cornflour diluted in a little milk to it while stirring.
Keep stirring while the milk is simmering and the mixture thickens to a thick saucy consistency with out lumps .
Take it off the heat and cool. Add salt,crushed pepper, cumin powder and chat masala powder. Taste and adjust seasoning.
Mix all the fruits in a bowl, add lemon juice and sugar, mix well.Pour the cooled milk – cornflour mix over the fruits and toss well.
whisk the hung curd. Add the whisked hung curd little at a time to the mixed fruit and keep mixing to get a thick consistency mass of fruit with a saucy textured curd. Taste and adjust seasoning,sugar and other ingredients.
Garnish it with chopped green coriander leaves and mint leaves. Sprinkle chat masala powder over and top with a cherry to add more glamour. Chill and serve.

Notes

You can add any fruits of the season for this dish like grapes, guava, pears etc…
I have used fresh pineapple chopped and boiled with sugar to taste and water for 10 minutes. Cooled it completely and mixed with the chopped fruits as I didn’t have tinned pineapples.
You can add tinned mock tail fruits also. Make sure the curd you use is not sour.

Rice pearl balls

Preparation Time : soaking of rice for three hours + 25 minutes

Cooking Time : 25- 30 minutes

Serving : 8 members

Description

Mesmerised me…. After Watching chef vikas Khanna in master chef India season -2, I could not wait to see his first cooking show twist of taste in the telly. I made sure to be free at the time of its first telecast… All ready with a pen and paper to take note of the deeply seductive twists in his recipes. The first recipe to be shared was tuna flowers with apricot jam. My, my I was flattered with each twist in the dish. He sure is a genius as there are too many ethos of innovative ideas and creativity he implements to dishes that have made me feel so dum about myself. Well no wonder he is a Michelin starred chef. Here I have borrowed the idea of coating soaked rice and made a few changes to my liking and to suit the food habits at home. I made sure to substitute fish with chicken first , then a few bits and pieces of alterations here and there as always. My first try in round one was a big flop show as the rice was really grainy and the filling I used smelled eggy. Second round trial…. Again a few errors to be corrected and went ahead. This time I soaked the rice for 3 hours instead of 1/2 an hour as in the original recipe. And made another filling as well. Waited nervously not wanting to go in for another round of trial and error. Tasted the first batch out and it tasted delicious when eaten hot immediately. The rice coating does get a bit dry when served after a while. I recommend this dish to be served immediately once cooked. This ingenious steamed dish is sure to satisfy even the heartiest appetite, very impressive too and apt to be included to any menu during parties at home. By doing so you get to be spoke dining at the cheek list of a button.. Wooing your guests for sure.

Ingredients

Ingredients	Quantity
Basmati rice	1 cup
Ground boneless chicken	2 cups
Egg white	1
Light Soya sauce	3 tablespoons
Sugar	1 teaspoon
Vinegar	1 tablespoon
Green chillies	3 or more to taste , blitzed coarsely
Garlic	2 cloves crushed
Spring onion greens chopped	3 tablespoons
Salt	to taste

Method

Wash and Soak rice in water for 3 hours . Drain and dry the rice.
Mix ground chicken with egg white, soya sauce, sugar, vinegar, salt, garlic, green chillies and spring onion greens together.
Divide into equal portions . With the help of greased hands roll to balls .
Spread the rice in a flat plate . Roll the chicken balls over the rice making sure it has coated well all over by pressing lightly.
Arrange over a wax paper or greased foil paper lined steamer little apart from one another.
Cover and cook over boiling water in medium heat for 30 minutes.
Serve hot immediately with dip of your choice or else the rice tends to get hard.

Bread cones

Preparation Time : 40 minutes

Cooking Time : 3-4 minutes of using an oven , 1 1/2 minutes if using a microwave

Serving : 6 members

Description

Bread has always been something that I have relished and enjoying in some form or the other. From having bread slices being soaked in piping hot chicken stew for dinner at my grand parents place in Palghat to eating freshly baked bread two weeks a day with home made ( oops boarding school mess made ) jam, omelet or egg curry . The mighty bread is taken for granted here at my in – laws place not sure why ? The bread is just not accepted as a staple that can be enjoyed in any form. But my love for bread has just got more and bigger as I started to bake more. Words can’t be expressed to explain at seeing simple ingredients bonded together creating magic as bread and not to forget the aromatic scent of baking bread that fills the entire house, road to the streets as well . I do try my best to cheat all at home to some how come up with new ways to impress them with bread based dishes. This bread cone idea was borrowed from a fellow foodie friend of mine . Made this stylish party starter for a high tea party at home and it was a super hit among the guests. As usual the others at home were like ” it’s bread “. Well my fresh idea to cheat with a delicious treat of bread didn’t work this time too. No way am I ready to give up as dollops of love is put into each dish of mine. So some day I believe and hope that the love will prove its way to all the hearts at home.

Ingredients

Ingredients	Quantity
Sandwich bread slices	6
Flour / maida	4 tablespoons
Salt	to taste
Water	very little
Butter at room temperature	4 to 6 tablespoons

Ingredients Filling

Ingredients	Quantity
Boneless chicken	1/4 kg
Thin Coconut milk	1/4 cup
Ginger garlic paste	1/4 teaspoon each
Salt	to taste
Turmeric powder	1/4 teaspoon
Onions	5 big chopped
Green chillies	4 chopped
Mixed vegetables	carrots , beans , cabbage , green peas chopped and boiled in water with salt - 1 cup
Mint leaves	few
Coriander leaves	one hand chopped
Pepper powder	to taste
Oil	2 tablespoons

Method for chicken filling

Pressure cook cleaned chicken, coconut milk, salt, turmeric powder and ginger garlic paste for one whistle.
Bring to boil and Reduce the water.
Cool completely and shred the chicken to treads ( I run it in the food processor for a second ) .Heat oil in a non stick board pan.
Add onions and fry to translucent.Add green chilies , boiled chopped mixed vegetables, shredded chicken, mint leaves, coriander leaves, salt and pepper to taste.
Mix well and lower the flame and keep stirring for 3 minutes letting all the flavours infuse together.Remove from heat, cool and set aside.

How to proceed

Flatten sandwich bread slices with a rolling pin. Mix flour, salt and little water together to get a paste.
Fold the flattened bread slices to a cone shape. Seal the edges with flour paste . Keep aside for ten minutes.
Fill the cones with cooled chicken filling pressing with your finger or the back of spoon to reach the end of the bread cone.
Top with grated cheese. Brush cones with butter all over.
Preheat oven to 180 degree Celsius and bake for 3-4 minutes placing over a greased foil lined baking tray or can microwave for 1 to 1 1/2 minutes on high by placing the cones in between the round stripped microwave grill vertically. Serve hot.

Notes

Any filling of choice can be used. I use left over noodles, mashed potatoes, anything to everything possible.
Vegetarians can omit the chicken, use panner or soya chunks instead and follow the same recipe for a vegetarian version.
Can top with a dot of tomato sauce, grated cheese , olive etc ..

Crispy noodles bhel

Preparation Time : 35 minutes

Cooking Time : 30 minutes

Serving : 4 members

Description

I think I have around four versions of this same recipe in my hand written cook books . But never have I tried even one recipe , the reason being ” I don’t know ” . Having my first cook book launch with few friends of mine , being nervous and having a million butter flies in my tummy. Had to decide a menu for the event that has to be hassle free as well . Crispy noodles bhel popped up in my mind from no where out of a sudden. Went through all the four recipes and made up a recipe of my own combining one another together. Made the sauce and the crispy noddles a day before. The next day while assembling the dish, it was hassle free and done in seconds. Among the grand spread, the crispy noodles bhel was the stand out dish where most of the guests made sure to take away as well. From then on, I have both the crispy noodles and the sauce ready in hand stored. The first thing that’s on the table when I have sudden guests this dish is one that I rely on the most for a quick fix as all you need is some flavored beauties to make your guests swoon. So get smart with this idea that is simple yet drop dead impressive with entertaining factor becoming a cinch

Ingredients for noodles

Ingredients	Quantity
par boiled Chinese egg noodles	1 packet drained and dried on a kitchen towel , cornflour - 1/4 cup
flour / maida	1/4 cup
salt	to taste ,
Vegetable oil	to deep fry

Method for crispy noodles

Mix corn flour , flour / maida and salt together. Sprinkle over the dried out par boiled noodles well making sure all the noodles are not stuck to one another .
Heat oil to deep fry in a large pan. To Fry one cup noodles, reduce the flame to medium high and deep fry to crisp and golden in color.
Drain in absorbent paper and repeat with the rest of noodles. Cool a bit and store in air tight container until needed to be used .

Ingredients for sauce

Ingredients	Quantity
Oil	1/4 cup
Garlic	1/8 cup grated
Ginger	1/8 cup grated
Celery	1/8 cup grated chopped stem and leaves
Tomatoes ground	1/4 cup ( around 2 small tomatoes )
Red chilly powder	to taste
Salt	to taste
Vinegar	1 teaspoon
Sugar	1 teaspoon
Tomato sauce	4 tablespoons
Light Soya sauce	1/2 teaspoon
Red chilly sauce	1/2 teaspoon
Green chilly sauce	1/2 teaspoon
Ajinomoto	a pinch ( optional )

Method for sauce

Heat oil to smoky. Reduce the flame and add celery, ginger and garlic . Sauté for thirty seconds .
Top with ground tomato purée and Stir continuously until oil floats on top. Add all the other ingredients one after the other.
All the way stirring once in a while. Taste and adjust seasoning and boil until oil separates and gets to a red thick sauce.
Remove from heat and cool completely

Other ingredients

ingredients	Quantity
Red + green + yellow bell peppers / capsicums	1/4 each chopped Cabbage - 1/4 cup shredded
Cabbage	1/4 cup shredded
Carrots	1 small chopped
Spring onions	1/4 cup chopped
Celery	1 tablespoon chopped
Salt	to taste

How to proceed

For four cups of crispy fried noodles . Mix red + green + yellow peppers, carrots, cabbage,
celery and half of chopped onion stem together. Add 1/4 cup of cooked sauce and mix well.
Taste and adjust seasoning by adding more salt if needed. Toss the crispy fried noodles over the above mix just before needed to be served.
Making sure the sauce and veggies are coated well. Garnish with remaining chopped spring onions and serve immediately .

Notes

The remaining sauce can be stored in air tight glass jars and refrigerated up to one month and used as a dip, can be used for cooking any Chinese dishes of choice or at times ,
I toss my left over idlis, Kuli paniyarams in this sauce and serve. Sky is the limit for imagination to come up with ideas.
In case you have left over crispy noodles , store in air tight containers at room temperature.
Keeps well for a month or two. This can be used for garnishing soups, along side ice creams with a toss of honey, for American chopsuey or to make another batch of crispy noodles bhel itself .
Can add pineapple chunks, sweet corn or any veggie of choice towards your liking also .

Sweet potato dhahi chat

Preparation Time : 35 minutes

Cooking Time : 30 minutes

Serving : 4 members

Description

The entire world revolves around being loved . Love is a universal language that has no explanation as how it makes you feel . But each human being does get to experience what it feels like for sure through our parents , siblings , children , friends , relatives etc…. Like wise I have very few people who shower their love over me just for the reason of liking me with no connection at all . One person among them is “poongothai ” who is a live in help from hubby dears ancestral village . When ever she comes to visit me , she makes it a point to get some thing or the other for me and most of the time it’s the seasons local produce . Last time she visited me it was sweet potatoes that she had got . Fed up of just boiling and eating it the regular way , remembered taking note of a savoury dish in one of my cook books . Searched and found the recipe and started of with it . As prepping for the dish , I started to crave for a chat dish . Being a chameleon changed my mind and decided to do a fusion dish of sweet potato chat . Made a dahi chat with the savoury sweet potato balls and served it to hubby dear ( poor rat of my kitchen laboratory . A big yes from his side , that led to parcels being sent over to my in- laws and my friends in the gym . A sure fire hit with every one . Just a spoon full will let temptation take over to blast your senses . In a few days , my mother – in – law asks me for the recipe which took me to cloud nine as my culinary guru ( my mother – in – law ) asking for a recipe happens only once in a blue moon

Ingredients for sweet potatoes

Ingredients	Quantity
Boiled sweet potatoes	1/4 kg ( peeled and mashed )
Ginger + garlic paste	1/4 teaspoon
Chick pea flour	1/4 cup
Fennel seed powder	1/ 4 teaspoon
Cumin seed powder	1/ 4 teaspoon
Onion	1 chopped
Turmeric power	1/4 teaspoon
Cinnamon	1/4 inch piece powdered
Cloves	1 powdered
Red chilly power	1 1/2 teaspoon or to taste
Mint + coriander leaves	few chopped
Salt	to taste
Oil	1 tablespoon + to deep fry

Method

Heat oil one tablespoon in a non – stick vessel . Add ginger + garlic paste and fry to brown .add onions and fry to translucent.
Top with fennel seed powder , cumin seed powder , cinnamon powder , clove powder , salt , red chilly powder and turmeric powder. Mix well .
Add the cooked , mashed sweet potato and mix well in low flame for a minute or two . Remove from heat and cool completely. Add chopped mint , coriander leaves and chick peas flour . Mix well .
Roll this mix into lemon sized balls . Heat oil to deep fry .
Drop the balls in batches of 3 to 4 balls at a time and deep fry to a golden brown color.
Drain and set aside . (On lazy days , I omit the deep frying part and use the sweet potato balls as it is )

Sweet chuntny

Ingredients	Quantity
dates	8
jaggery	1 table spoon
black salt	1/4 tea spoon
tamarind pulp	2 table spoons
salt	to taste
chilli powder	1 tea spoon
cumin powder	1/2 tea spoon

Green chuntny

Ingredients	Quantity
green chillies	10
coriander leaves	1/2 cup
mint leaves	1/2 cup
cumin powder	1/2 tea spoon
chat masala	1/2 tea spoon
salt	to taste
lime	1/2

Method For sweet chuntny

Boil all the ingredients together with little water for 8 minutes .
Cool and blend to a smooth paste . Keep aside .

Method For green chuntny

Grind all the ingredients except for lime to a smooth paste adding little water . Boil till raw smell goes .
Cool add lime juice . Taste and adjust . Keep aside .
Blend together and keep in refrigerator.

Other ingredients

ingredients	Quantity
Hung curd	8 cups
Sugar	to taste
Salt	a pinch
Onion	2 chopped finely
Coriander leaves	few chopped
Sev	1 cup

How to proceed

Blend hung curd , sugar and salt together to get a creamy semi thick following consistency liquid .

Assembling

Place two fried sweet potato balls on a serving plate .
Pour around 1/2 cup or more of hung curd mixture over the sweet potato balls .
Pour one tablespoon of green chutney over the sweet potato balls .
Pour one tablespoon of sweet chutney over the green chutney .
Sprinkle chopped onions , coriander leaves and sev over and serve immediately.

vegetable pakoda

Preparation Time : 15-20minutes

Cooking Time : 2-3 minutes for each batch deep fried

Serving : 3-4 members

Description

My secret love affair with un – healthy deep fried snacks go way behind to my childhood days . Since then , till date this one affair is going steady and strong with no misunderstanding or change . My taste buds have been evil towards me to like such stuff … Adding a hell lot of calorie where I end up with a battle of deep fried snacks verses healthy alternatives. Obviously the deep fried snacks do take over most of the time . At an age of innocence where I knew nothing about food , healthy eating , staying fit etc … I remember eating hot deep fried home made pakoras non stop . That night was the first time that I had indigestion and an uneasy feeling in me not letting me sleep . The final result was I vomited and only then did I know what over eating does . Crazy breed me . My gal is just the opposite of me . Always alert about what to eat and what not to but there are times when she does treat herself . Like wise this was one experiment that we did together while she was here at my place for a holiday . We snuggled up with this comfortable snack on a rainy day that was perfect for a quick bite guaranteeing to notch up our snacking with memories to cherish of our mother – daughter time together .

Ingredient

Ingredient	Quantity
Carrot	1 big cut into thin strips
Potato	1 big
Capsicum	1/2
Cabbage	shredded to thin and long 1 cup
Onion	1 big sliced
Ginger	1/4 teaspoon grated
Green chilly	1 chopped
Curry leaves	5 chopped
Red chilly powder	1/4 teaspoon
Salt	to taste
Chick peas flour / besan / kadalai maavu	1/4 cup
Water	two sprinkles with hand
Soda salt	two pinches
Oil	to deep fry

Method

Cut carrot , potato and capsicum into thin , long strips like we cut for noodles .
Mix all the veggies together along with onion , ginger , curry leaves and green chilly .
Top with red chilly powder , salt , chick peas flour and soda salt . Mix well . Sprinkle one hand of water Over the vegetable pakoda and mix well .
The mix might seem too thick but the veggies will let out its water and give moister to the mix . Set aside for ten minutes covered .
Heat oil to deep fry in a wide kadai. Roll the pakoda mixture into lemon sized balls and drop into medium high heated oil in batches of four at a time . Fry for 3-4 minutes to a golden color and crisp texture .
Drain and serve hot with tomato ketchup or coconut chutney . Vanishes off the plate with out a dip actually .

Unda puttu

Preparation Time : 40-45 minutes

Cooking Time : 40 minutes

Serving : 5-6 members

Description

The first year of my food blogging and I made sure to avoid deep fried treats for Iftar while breaking my fast . The little successful recipes I came up with was shared to you all . In one such post , a fellow sauté, fry n bake member suggested an authentic malabar kannur dish known as unda puttu . The first time that I got to know about this dish . Got to know more about this dish in the following few months when a fellow foodie friend of mine ameera safi posted images with the recipe . Saved the recipe ( all credits to her for this recipe as I have made no changes at all ) and waited the following year’s holy month of Ramadan to try this wicked treat . Gave a try and it was sublime with brownie points of being steamed not deep fried . The absolute winning dish just vanished away in seconds from the table . The main secret benefit Being the left over prawn filling was served as a side along the main course meal . Delighted me as one recipe being used in two different avatars . Well that’s the magic of authentic recipes from fantastic food destinations.

Filling ingredients

ingredients	Quantity
Small prawns	1 cup cleaned
Onion	3 chopped
Green chillies	4 chopped
Garlic	6 cloves chopped
Ginger	1 inch piece chopped
Coriander leaves	2 tablespoons chopped
Tomato	2 chopped
Curry leaves	few chopped
Red chilli powder	1 teaspoon
Coriander powder	1 teaspoon
Turmeric powder	1/2 teaspoon
Garam masala powder	1/2 teaspoon
Coconut oil	2 tablespoons
Salt	to taste

Method for filling

Marinate cleaned prawns in 1/2 teaspoon chilli powder , 1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder and salt to taste for 15 minutes .
Cook the prawns with little water until the water drains and the prawns are cooked through . Heat coconut oil , sauté onion to brown .
Add tomato , green chillies , garam masala powder , coriander powder , red chilli powder and turmeric powder and mix well .
Top with ginger , garlic , curry leaves ,coriander leaves and salt to taste . Mix well .
Add the cooked prawns and stir well . Cook over low heat for 5-6 minutes letting the flavours infuse together

Remove from flame and cool completely .
Ingredients for cover

Ingredients	Quantity
Rice flour / iddiappam flour	3 cups
Fennel seeds powder	1 teaspoon
Coconut grated white part alone	2 cups
Hot boiling water	3 cups
Salt	to taste

Method for cover

Mix rice flour , fennel seed powder and salt together .
Add hot boiling water and knead to a dough using a wooden spoon first to get it together .
Quite a difficult task but just dip your hands into a bowl of cold water once in a while in between while kneading the hot dough .Then by hands when hot itself .

How to proceed

Make lemon sized with the rice flour dough . Make small Palm sized discs with oil greased hands .
Bring the edges of the rice flour disc towards the middle and roll into a ball .
Do the same with all the dough and prawn filling . Roll each prawn filled ball over grated coconut .
Steam in an idli cooker or any vessel of your convenience for 15 – 20 minutes . Serve hot . Place one tablespoon of cooled prawn filling in the middle .

Chicken cigars

Preparation Time : 35- 40 minutes
Cooking Time : 10 minutes for filling + 1-2 minutes for each batch deep fried
Serving : 6-8 members

Description

The first time I got to see these cigars ( vegetarian though ) made was in master chef India ( can’t remember the season ) at a team challenge in the palace of Rajasthan . This was the winning dish in the episode as well . Did store the idea in mind then but was forgotten like always . A few months back just before the holy month of Ramadan could start , I had a chat with my friend Anisa Arif and as usual the foodie in us took over and ended up discussing food . It was her that reminded me about these cigars again while our chat . Made sure to try it out immediately for all the lost time stored and forgotten from my mind . Anisa did ask me to apply flour paste all around the edges of the cover and just to roll up the cigars with the filling and deep fry . I was not confident with her version as felt the filling might just all come out once dropped into hot oil . So I went with my instincts being more safe by applying flour paste over both the sides of the rolled cigars . Wolla , it worked perfect and was a perfect snack to munch about with such ease that endeavoured to capture the soul of our regular local chicken samosa but in an innovative , tasty way . All thanks to the spice queen Anisa Arif for bringing back the long lost cigars in to experiment at my home kitchen and I hope it continues at all your kitchens too .
Ingredients for chicken filling

Ingredients	Quantity
Boneless chicken	1/4 kg
Thin Coconut milk	1/4 cup
Ginger garlic paste	1/4 teaspoon each
Salt	taste
Turmeric powder	1/4 teaspoon
Onions	5 big chopped
Green chillies	4 chopped
Mixed vegetables	carrots , beans , cabbage , green peas chopped and boiled in water with salt - 1 cup
Mint leaves	few
Coriander leaves	one hand chopped
Pepper powder	to taste
Oil	2 tablespoons

Method for chicken filling

Pressure cook cleaned chicken , coconut milk , salt , turmeric powder and ginger garlic paste for one whistle .
Bring to boil and Reduce the water . Cool completely and shred the chicken to treads ( I run it in the food processor for a second ) .
Heat oil in a non stick board pan . Add onions and fry to translucent .
Add green chilies , boiled chopped mixed vegetables , shredded chicken , mint leaves , coriander leaves , salt and pepper to taste .
Mix well and lower the flame and keep stirring for 3 minutes letting all the flavours infuse together .
Remove from heat , cool and set aside .

Ingredients for the cover

Ingredients	Quantity
Readymade spring roll or samosa sheets	12 to 15
Flour / maida	1/4 cup
Water	little
Salt	to taste
Oil	to deep fry

How to proceed

If using spring roll sheets , cut one sheet into two equal rectangle strips .
Mix flour / maida with salt to taste and little water to get a smooth paste like consistency .
Place about two tablespoons of filling over the rectangular sheet one inch away the top edge .
Apply the flour paste all around the edges of the rectangular spring roll / samosa sheet .
Roll from the top end of the rectangular sheet tightly making sure the chicken filling is intact with out scattering away .
Apply little flour paste on both the ends of the cigars .
Do the same to all the sheets and filling . Heat oil to deep fry in medium heat .
Drop the chicken cigars in batches and fry to golden brown in colour . Drain and serve hot with any dip of choice .

Notes

Vegetarians can avoid the chicken and use potatoes instead along with the other vegetables following the same for the filling .
I always press the filling by hand to get a log shape . Then place over the rectangular sheet and roll tightly . This way the filling stays intact .
I usually follow this recipe up to the rolling of cigars and store in the freezer for 2 to 3 days . De freeze and deep fry when ever needed .

Crispy noodle balls

Preparation Time : 15 minutes

Cooking Time : 4-5 minutes for each batch deep fried

Serving : 4 members

Description

Every year during the holy month of Ramadan I make sure to come up with exciting bite – sized treats that are easy to make and high in taste . Ditching the regular deep fried treats once in a while through out the holy month with fillings and names varying from the regular does work as a sure fire pleaser . Like wise , this was one such treat that I made to finish up the chicken + veggie filling I had made for samosas the previous day . The instant noodles cooked with its taste maker , mixed with this left over filling and spiked with other few ingredients . Then deep fried resulted in a soft , moist inside contrasting with the crispy crunchy outside . The joy in breaking down left overs and taking it to another level by mixing and matching to create new jaw dropping creations is delightful always . All you need to do to hide the left over’s used in a dish is to lift the sinful treat straight to the table confidently and serve with lots of love . That’s my secret mantra and it works always :-)) .

Ingredients

Ingredients	Quantity
Maggi noodles	1 small packet cooked to packet directions and cooled completely
Boiled shredded boneless chicken with salt + pepper powder to taste	1/4 cup
Boiled chopped vegetables	1/4 cup ( mix of carrot , cabbage and beans )
Red chilli flakes	to taste
Corn flour	1 tablespoon
Maida / flour	1 tablespoon
Ajinomoto	a pinch ( optional )
Spring onion greens	1 teaspoon chopped
Salt	to taste
Oil	to deep fry

Method

Mix all ingredients together except for oil to deep fry . Roll into lemon size balls gently making sure not to mesh up the noodles .
Heat oil to deep fry . Once the oil is hot ,Drop in 4 noodle balls at a time and fry to a light golden colour and crisp .
Drain and serve hot with a choice of dips .

Notes

Vegetarians can avoid the chicken used for a veggie version or substitute with soya chunks or panner .
Can do the same with prawns as well .