APPE KAYLI--TAKOYAKI NABE

My first entry to a blog event .I hope i can make it in time as i jsut have a day to make it.

The picture i have here is called a "TAKOYAKINABE" in japanese.read it as (thaa- ko -yaa -ki-na-bae)

Place of origin is Japan.I got it from a local store in tokyo.

What do i use it for ?

Answer is simple to make appo or appe or Paddu or Paniyaram.

As i did not carry any appe kayli (kayli means pan in konkani) or the authentic pan for making appe,this has been my saviour.I have been using it make hot appes for breakfast .Which will be the next post i guess.As i didnt have much time.I was only able to make for the event which required only what i posesses in my kitchen.

In japan they use it to make "Takoyaki" meaning octopus dumplings .I know how it sounds ,well when it comes to seafood japanese love it all. There's also a saying that Japanese eat everything that swims or lives under the sea.And takoyaki is a delicacy here. You can knw more through this link

Well until now i have not tasted it though its a favorite street food here. And i am never going to attempt. The way they arrange it on a long plate with bonito flakes garnished on them,and adding some sauce to italways reminds me of panipuri stalls back in india.I miss the aroma spilling out of those tiny stalls and the palatte they have.

This post here I am sending it to Dibs ,to the kitchen treasure hunt event held by chitra amma's kitchen .

PUMPKIN HALWA

PUMPKIN HALWA

PUMPKIN PUMPKIN ORANGE AND FAT

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DONT U KNOW ITS HALOWEEN

SCARY FACES WILL BE SEEN

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GHOST COME ONE BY ONE BY ONE OOOOO

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TRICK OR TREAT, TRICK OR TREAT

GIMME SOMETHING GOOD TO EAT

Thats what my son's been singing every now and then from the last one month.

There was haloween party at my son's playschool and all families participating in it were given the task of carving a jack o lantern. The whole concept of haloween is new to me except that i had seen it in some english movies during my teens.I remember first time i came to know about it from my favorite movie Meet me in St.Louis.God knows how many times i have seen it back then.

I came home with a full 7 kilo Jack(pumpkin) to be made into Jack-o-lantern.My son was all excited about the whole carving and scooping.We had great time at the party too.And the best part was he won a prize for his costume.

And when it ended we were told to carry it back home.I had no idea what to do with it.I cut it and shared it with some of my friends.Then i began to make a series of dishes with it.Indira's blog MAHANANDI had the recipe for pumpkin halwa and it was a hit.We loved it.

Here's the recipe:

Pumpkin-grated-3 cups

Ghee or clarifies butter-2 tbsp

Almonds-soaked in warm water for 2 hours,peeled and powdered-1/2cup

sugar-1 1/2

whole milk-3 cups

cardamom powder-of 5 cardamom

cinnamon powder-1/4 tsp

saffron-a pinch

cashewnuts-of ur wish

Method

Grate the pumpkin.squeeze all the water and stuff it in a measuring cup.

The sugar quantity is 3/4th of it.A bit lesser than that was perfect for our sweet level.

Add sugar to the milk.And heat on medium flame,stirring slowly.

till it is reduced to half its quantity.Add kesar to it.

It was more of condensed milk than khoa and as i was a bit in hurry at that point the khoa was not much solidified,yet tasty.

Take a fry pan .Add ghee to it.fry the cashewnut pieces in it and remove.

In the same ghee Fry the grated pumpkin along with the water.let it cook in its water.when it loses all the water add the khoa stir it nicely.add fried cashenuts.

add cardamom,cinnamon powder.

remove it in a serving bowl.

garnish with your choice of nuts and raisins.

Its ready to be served.

DIWALI SPECIAL

Hope all my readers who celebrate diwali had a great diwali .And i wish them a very happy new year ahead.Diwali sweets and munchies are special.So along with all rangoli and sparklers i made some yummy chakkuli and phenori.The chakkuli version here is the easiest one i got from my mom,and i like it very much.I had bought the chakkuli press this time during my india trip.
here's the recipe:



CHAKKULI

Mungdal (dehusked split green gram)-1 cups

All purpose flour(Maida)-4 cups (sieved)

Jeera-1/2 tsp

Hing-1/4 tsp

chilli powder-1/2 tsp

Butter-1 tsp

Method

Wash the chakkuli press clean and wipe it dry.

Wash and clean Mungdal ,add two cups pf water to it and cook it till done in a pressure cooker.

Mash it nicely or transfer it into a food processor to get a smooth paste.

Take a washed and dry white cotton towel (or any clean cloth),

Heap the maida(flour) in the middle, gather the ends and tie it into a pouch so that tjhe flour doesnt spill.

Place it in a dry container and steam it in a pressure cooker without wieght fro 15 minutes

Remove and place it on a wooden board and crush it nice inside th epouch without untying.

Add jeera ,hing ,chilli powder ,salt to the mungdal paste.add the powdered maida.

knead into a dough.The dough should be soft as roti dough.

Make one small ball out of the dough and fill it in the chakkuli press.

Place a paper on the a flat wooden board or chopping board ,make chakkuli's on it.

Heat oil ,Remove the chakkuli from the paper gently using ur palms and fry them in batches till done.

Cool and store them in an airtight container.

Will post the phenori recipe soon ..

Guacamole

GUACAMOLE

Its been quite a while updating my blog .

A long vacation to india has got me back all recharged .

I had been wanting to post this simple ,awesome healthy low cal recipe for a long time.

Coming to tokyo we began to explore the various platters served from various countries.

We began to get more liking for restaurant food which were non indian.

The indian restaurants though are too many here ,lacked the taste what we used to have back home in india.

And we began to incline more towards thai ,mexiacan and japanese food.

And once when we visited the mexican resataurant few years back the appetizer named Guacamole was the one suggested by the steward.

And it looked strange when it arrived on the table ,as it was accompanied with a mortar and pestle .

The whole idea of preparing the dip there on the table fascinated me.

It was splendid for a spicy yet irresistable start for the menu .

I gave it a try making at home,so this is how i make it.

I make it at home with fork though.

The main ingredient ,avocado preferably ripe makes this dip perfect.

here's the ingredients

Ripe avocado-1

Ripe red chilli (or green chilli) chopped-2

Red onion -finely chopped-1 tbsp

Tomato-finely chopped-1 tbsp

Lemon wedges of half lemon

Sea salt`or coarse salt-as per taste

Tortilla chips-20 -(here i used store bought plain torltilla chips)

cilantro -for garnishing

Method:

Scoop the avocado after removing the seed,and put in a bowl.

Add salt ,chillis,and lemon juice.mash it well with a fork.

You can add the chopped onions to the same ,but i prefer it on top

of the chips.

Arrange it with a bowl of chopped onion and tomatoes and cilantro.

Serve it with a plate of tortilla chips.Or arrange it as shown above in the picture.

GOBI MANCHURIAN

GOBI MANCHURIAN

The whole week's been lousy .Thanks to the weather .It rains every now and then and the pleasant spring weather has taken a toss .Its cold ,and chill weather.

And the only hting that reminds me of this weather is something fried and savouring.

Cauliflower is a favorite of mine.And according to my hubby dear i am wasting the vegetable if i am not frying it.And myself prefer to waste the vegetable than fry it.

But this weather made me do it.I fried them and gave the vegetable its ultimate best by making manchurian.

Cauliflower should always be cleaned well before cooking,advice from amma.
and this is what she does before using it and i have been following the same .
Remove the leaves.Wash once with cold water the amount yiu want ot use.
cut it into florets and soak them in warm water with little salt and turmeric to remove it of all the dirt and minute insects,hidden if any.Soak for 5 minutes.
Remove and wash them with cold water.

Though it takes time but worth doing.
Keeping it done beforehand helps.
Coming back to the dish now.
I made a whole lot just to see it disappear from the plate within minutes.

Here's the recipe

Cauliflower-cut into florets-about 250 g

Corn flour-1/2 cup

all purpose flour-2 table spoon

chilli powder -1 teaspoon

salt-as per taste.

water-half cup or as much required to make the batter.

vinegar-1 teaspoon

ginger garlic paste-1 teaspoon.

For the seasoning

onion-finely chopped-1

green chillis-slit -2

Fennel seeds-1/2 tsp

garlic flakes-2 big(chopped)

ginger -julliens -1/2"

dark soy sauce-1 tbsp

tomato ketchup-1/2 tbsp

oil for frying

Method

Wash and cut cauliflower into small florets into desired size.

Sieve together the flours with salt and chilli powder.
Make a batter with enough water so that the it is not too runny.
add vinegar and ginger garlic paste to the batter.
If the florets are dipped in ,it should hold the batter.

Heat oil for frying .dip each floret in the batter and deep fry them.
remove and drain on a paper towel to remove excess oil.

Take care not to eat them ,as there will not be enough left to continue.

Now take a wok ,or a frying pan which is deep.Take a table spoon of oil used for frying.
heat it.add fennel seeds,when they sizzle add garlic chopped and ginger julliens.add the green chilli.saute.
Add the onion ,and increase the flame.saute well .till they turn light gold.
add the fried florets.keep mixing them.add the soy sauce all over .mix well.
then add the ketchup.mix once again,such that the sauce coats evenly.
remove on a plate.garnish with fresh chopped cilantro(coriander leaves).

Serve it hot with tomato chilli sauce.

PATHRODE

KOMATSUNA PATHRODE (Using Japanese mustard leaves)

Pathrode is a konkani dish made from taro leaves.7 to 10 leaves are used to make a roll and cut into spirals.They can be steamed or fried.A delicacy during rainy season and a hot favorite of konkanis.I never got my hands on taro leaves in tokyo ,though taro roots are abundant in stores.

Might be available in the suburbs but didnt find any recipes from japanese frineds.

So once my friend got me a bunch of field grown komatsuna(Japanese mustard leaves)when they visited a village far from tokyo.

And they were pretty huge than the normal ones.Seeing the width of the leaves i thought why not give a try and make some pathrodes out of them.

And i made them .They were delicious.

Here is the recipe.

Komatsuna leaves(deiscard the stem) -10(Wash and pat dry )

rice -1/2 cup

mungdal(split green gram)-1/2 cup

red chillis-10

tamarind-small marble sized

salt-1 tsp

asafoetida-a pinch

turmeric-a pinch

coconut-1 tablespoon(fresh or dessicated)

Method

Wash rice and mungdal.Soak it in water for 3 hours.

Dry roast red chillis in a pan on a sim flame fro 2 minutes.turn off..

Grind it with rice ,mungdal,coconut,asafoetida and red chillis to a not so smooth paste.

Take one leaf preferably largest of all the leaves,spread it on a clean surface,(i used a foil),such that the vein part is upside.

The front of the leaf,the smooth side should be on the foil.

now take a spoonfull of the paste and spread it all over the leaf in a thin layer.

place another leaf over it.

Spread another spoonfull of paste over the second leaf.Continue with all the leaves.

When done,roll it from one end like we roll a carpet.

Steam it for 15 minutes in a pressure cooker or a steel steamer.

Remove and cut into spirals of ur choice.

They can be consumed as a side dish with rice and dal.

Further they can be pan roasted too.Roll them in ric flour andpan roast with a teaspoon of olive oil (coconut oil in case you used taro leaves)drizzled over them.

They tasted well, even though they were not the original with taro leaves.

The same recipe stands for Taro leaves and colocassia leaves.

BIBBE UPKARI

BIBBE UPKARI (Raw cahewnut dry curry)

Bibbo means raw cashewnut in konkani.We call it "kajubi" for cahewnut.And the name kaju is derived from portuguese,as they called cashewnut tree caju.

This piece of information was from amma.Tendle bibbe upkari(tindora and raw cahsew) is a must in all konkani ceremonies.and i was bored of eating it in childhood.somehow i did not like the combinaiton and would wonder why people like it so much. and that was only thing leftout on my leaf whenever i attended these functions.so i would much prefer a buffet lunch so that i would not have to waste food (as my list of nolikings goes on).

Somehow coming to college i began liking it.Amma would get few packs from mangalore and store it in fridge.And she gave me a pack when i visited india,me too stashed it in the fridge.My hubby dear remind me evreytime and i would i will prepare.I dont get tindora here in tokyo so i browsed through some blogs and found out capsicum added in small amount along with potato would be nice.hence i followed the same.

here is the recipe

Bibbo-100 g

capsicum-2 small, chopped into thin long strips

potato-1 chopped into thin long sritps

mustard seeds-1/2 tsp

redchili-1

greenchilli-1

hing (asafoetida)-a pinch

coconut scraped finely

salt -as per taste

olive oil for seasoning(konkanis prefer coconut oil )

Soak the raw cashewnuts in warm water fro 8 hours ,previous night soaking does this .Peel the skin ,divide them and put them in fresh water ,be careful as the stains make fingers black a lil bit of cocnut oil rubbed on ur fingers will help.put them in fresh water and clean twice.

If u get frozen raw peeled cashews then u can directly start to cook.

Method.

Heat oil for seasoning.Add mustard when it splutters add cumin seeds ,asafoetida.

Then add the chillis.saute.add potato,stir once then add capsicum.stir again.let it cook for a minute.then add the cashewnuts.close lid and cook till done.add salt and stironce again.do not overcook.when done u can add fresh grated coconut for garnishing.

It is served with rice and dal.The best it is with puris.Konkani style :-).

Using a small pressure cooker can make this dish more yummy.Just one whistle and the curry is done.

Brinjal chutney

Lunch Box

Chapathi,Brinjal chutney and cabbage curry .

Brinjal chutney is new to me .It is not a konkani recipe and i had never tasted it backhome or at any of my friends placein india.A few months back when my friend P's in laws had come to stay with them,her mom in law had made this .P got it for me in a bowl and asked me to guess tasting it.I could not guess it though the very instant i liked the taste of it.I asked her mom in law for the recipe and forgot to note it down coming home.I am not sure about the origin of this recipe i liked it so felt like sharing it.

Brinjal is called NASU in japanese and available all the time in vegetable shops.It is long purple ones found in regular markets.Thai brinjals green small ones are found in chinese markets,which i buy once a month when we friends plan to go there.It is a summer vegetable here as it cools the body.No much takers in my house as both son and father dont have a liking for the vegetable. I buy a pack and make only aloo baingan out of it.So I made this chutney remembering and trying all the ingredients that i add for ridgegourd chutney .I also tried searching in some websites.Hubby says brinjal tastes better this way.yes here it is yummy brinjal chutney making its way into his lunchbox .To be accompanied by cabbage upkari,for chapathi.one can have the chutney with rice and dal too.

For chutney u need:

Brinjal-2 (purple long ones)

green chillis-2

chanadal-3tsp

urad dal2 tsp

redchilli-1

mustard -1/2 tsp

jeera-1/4 tsp

garlic-4 flakes

tamarind-small marble sized

tomato-small half

turmeric powder-1/4 tsp

salt-as per taste

oil -for seasoning

asafoetida-less than 1/4 tsp

METHOD

Wash and chop the brinjals into squares,and put them in a bowl of fresh water.keep them dipped for a while.

Heat oil for seasoning ,add mustard ,green and red chillis,hing.,garlic flakes.Add chanadal when it turns light brown add uraddal.saute and add brinjal pieces squeezed out of water.

add salt and turmeric powder.close lid and let it cook without water added for 5 minutes

open lid add tomatoes.saute again and close lid.let it cook for few minutes till doen.open lid and check if brinjal is cooked.cool it and grind to smooth paste with tamarind.

Finally season with heating oil.add mustard seeds,and curry leaves.This step is optional.

u can serve and also store for two to three days in fridge.

SPRING TIME

Describing tokyo to someone who has never been here is really difficult.when someone asks how is it ?i just cant find words.what i like about it so much cannot be given with a word.I began to like it slowly and began to fall in love with it.

The most important part is i began to appreciate nature and its beauty.without makeup...

The seasons here make it more special and also the way the people treat the seasons.

Be it fall or spring they love to go with their families to huge parks which adorn tokyo.

Spring is a season they look forward fro the cherry blossoms (SAKURA) to bloom.They go to view them and they call it HANAMI(HANA=flower ,MI=see)in japanese.People here make it a point to have their lunches packed ,and sit below the widely spread blooms and enjoy the lunch or dinner underneath.First time i felt this strange, imagine we going and sitting below mayflower tree and having lunch backhome....

But now its a part of our life ,we like all others waited the flowers to bloom ,had our picnic baskets packed ,searched for a place in the crowd where we could spread our sheet and had the delight of sharing the happiness of the season.

NEVRI or KARJIKAAY

NEVRI or KARJIKAAY or KARANJI



My childhood memories are refreshed with this crunchy sweet stuffed delicacy.My grandparents would visit us in summer sometimes .And they would carry two big aluminium dabbas with them .one filled with nevri other with chakkuli or tinglod.I would wait for mamama(maternal grandmother in konkani) to open the dabbi and arrange them on plate.My granny would call it karanji and as it was a new name for me i would call it karinj ,even today when I made it, I called her and told i made karinj mamama.
Its made mainly during diwali and ganesh festival.As most of my friends here were making gujiya (as they call in hindi for nevri) for the holi festival i too got into the mood of making it.

To ask the ingredients i had called amma and noted it down.She told to give it to her grandson more. yes he had them and liked it because they had raisins.


INGREDIENTS

MAIDA--2 cup

SUGAR-1 cup

CASHEWNUT-10

FRIED GRAM-2tbsp

RAISINS-2tbsp

POPPYSEEDS-1 tbsp

COCONUT-2tbsp fresh or frozen.

OLIVE OIL-1tbsp for kneading

OIL -for frying

SALT -1/4 tsp

CARDAMOM-5 warmed in microwave


METHOD


For the outer cover.


Sieve maida ,add salt to it.Heat olive oil and add to it.Knead it with water into a stiff dough.Keep aside for half an hour with a wet cloth or wet kitchen paper.


For the stuffing


Powder grind the sugar with cardamomseeds.clean poppy seeds under running water in a tea sieve, and spread on a kitchen towel.


Dry roast cashewnuts, fried gram (hurigadle) and poppy seeds .the poppy starts real poppy at this point. close a lid.for a second.and switch off the flame.


roast coconut grated till pink and remove.


roast raisins with little olive oil or ghee for nice aroma.

grind the cashewnuts and fried gram .combine the powders,coconut,poppyseeds and raisins with sugar.
The stuffing is ready.


Make 1" balls out of the dough.Flatten each into thin circles.
place a teaspoon of the stuffing in the left half and wet the edges with water.wrap over the other end and close it to a semicircle.press the edges.
make a batch of 10 likewise.heat oil in a deep pan.and fry them both sides till light gold.finish the dough and stuffing in batches if doing alone.thats wat i did.

remove and drain on a papertowel to absorb the extra oil. when cooled store in airttight containers.munch them for a week or more if they are left.

Few minutes on air

Soon after coming to tokyo i began to miss the radiocity backhome in bangalore.I would turn it on in the morning and it would be going on till the time we sleep.I got so much used to it that i felt tokyo silent.And wud sing on my own at home to kill the silence.not that i didnt have music cd's but was much hooked on to radio's nonstop RJ's .

A little search on the net and tips from some friends we got online radio.but among all of them we liked the radio dubai city 101.6.It was superb.It had the groove.Its been more than 2 years now since we started to hear.i know u wilbe finding it wierd me sitting in tokyo and listening to dubai radio.I like RJ kritika and had written her a mail long back which she had promptly replied.So yesterday she had a show fro international listeners.she said we can send an email and she wud call us back.I sent my mail and phone number and here she calls me.

Nervous though ,it was an exhilarating experience.I still cannot believe i spoke to her on air 5 and half minutes.Hey krithika thanks.

BATATA PUDDI BHAAJI

BATATA PUDDI BHAAJI


This is a dish prepared during upvaas or fasting.when u cannot have onion garlic in u r menu.Made solely from potato ,a simple and tasty dish.
Amma makes it during shivrathri.we dont eat rice ,onion garlic on that day.There are different methods in different regions for shivrathri . and also recipes for vrath.
and the best part is we end up eating more than the normal days on the fasting day.
She makes chapathi ,puddi bhaaji,ragi juice,and shevai paaysu.Not to forget a huge watermelon,bought and consumed the same day.Will post ragi juice once i learn it from her this time in india.

ingredients

Potato-4
Jeera-1tsp
Mustard1/2tsp
Curry leaves-a sprig
cilantro-for garnishing
fresh or frozen coconut finely grated-1 tbsp
fresh lemon juice-2 tsp
green chilli-2
uraddal-1tsp
hing-1/4 tsp
turmeric powder-a pinch
salt to taste.
oil-for seasoning


method

steam potatoes in cooker.Not too soft.remove,peel and powder it with hands such that small bite sized lumps are formed.
Heat a kadai with oil for seasoning.add mustard,jeera,hing,urad dal.
when dal turns pink add green chillis.turmeric powder.Immediatly next add the powdered potatoes.mix well.add salt,saute and sprinkle little water .close the lid.
let it cook for 5 to 8 minutes ,mixing in between.add grated coconut.
finally sprinkle lemon juice ,mix once again and turn off the heat.garnish with cilantro.
u can have it with rotis.also goes well with rice and dal.

Somen in spinach tomato broth

The first thing coming to japan that worried me the most was the food.Had heard from many friends that it is not spicy as indian food,but my hubby after having a welcome japanese dinner went on and on about the delicacy.Being a seafood lover this was a place we could make the most for our tastebuds.Yet i was a bit reluctant when he said going out for a japanese lunch.believe me after lunch i felt an immense pleasure of tasting japanese food.Its been three years now and japanese food has made a place in my kitchen.thanks to my wonderful friends here who taught me the recipes.I indianised some of it accordingly as a token of indo japanese friendship.


My son loves any japanese dish.As long as its either vegetarian or seafood.

This is one of his favorites. Somen in hot broth of spinach and tomato ,with a flavor of miso makes this simple and delicious dish a perfect winter food.

Here is the recipe

Dried somen noodles-1 bundle

spinach-half bunch

tomato-1

miso paste-3 tsp

sesame seeds-fro garnishing

onionhal small and chopped finely

Method

Boil enough water for the somen noodles.Add somen when at a rapid boil.Stir noodles briefly to separate.Cook for 2 minutes, then taste a noodle. It should be soft but not mushy.Immediately remove the noodles and plunge them into cold water.Run under cold water until noodles are cold and seperable.

meanwhile prepare miso soup cooking tomato ,onion and spinach with one cup water.when cooked add miso paste,mix well. swith off the flame before it boils.

Add the cooked soup on on a bowl of somen.garnish with powdered sesame seeds.serve hot.

COCONUT BURFI

Yes finally i made it.Burfis are something that i am not good at.I have been trying to make a perfect burfi from a long time ,and everytime i end up with pieces that are very tasty but cannot be passed as burfis.It takes place somewhere between duddali and burfi.Either too soft or hard and chewy ,u keep licking the stuff like candies...my son loves that way so that he can hold it for a long time..as sweet tooth runs in the family finishing it off has been no problem for me.Hubby says" no probs its sweet right!".

Hmm..Amma told me keep trying it and u will make it perfect one day...and so did my freinds here.They got used to this varieties i make called burfis...and one day i make it .yippeee..

Yummy and easy coconut burfis were a bit chewy as i had added milk and the constant stirring had made it like khowa.But they were

here is the recipe

coconut milk -200 ml

milk -200 ml

sugar-100 g

ghee-2 tbsp

cardamom powder

I used tinned coconut milk here ,could not make much difference with the original burfi.

Method

Arrange all the required ingredients near stove.Grease a deep dish plate with ghee .

Heat a kadai .add both the liquids .add sugar and keep stirring continuosly till the water evaporates and it forms into a lump in the center of the kadai.it took me about 20to 30 minutes on medium heat.take care not to char it .the mixture changes color from white to cream .

add ghee on top mix once and switch off.transfer it to the greased plate.flatten it with a rolling pin.cut once it comes to managable temperature.cool it .And its ready to be hogged.

My hubby and son loved it.I am gonna try again with other burfis and yes and post them too.

GYOZA--Japanese dumplings

GYOZA

I had first tasted gyoza in bangalore's chinese restaurant (forgot the name)and was just bowled by the taste it had and ofcourse wondered how they made the outer layer so thin yet crispy...

After coming to tokyo my hubby got veg gyoza's from a restaurant closeby.Though it was tasty yet it lacked the spice level which we had back in bangalore.After searching verious recipes over net .By making trial and errors i asked my friend "P".She told me an easy method ,and i just added it up all to get the end result.And here it was an easy way of making yummilicious japanese inspired indianised gyozas with a filling which even my son finishes without much effort.

There are two recipes for the gyoza dough and the filling.I just buy the readymade gyoza covers and prepare the filling at home.

These are the ingredients for the filling

Cabbage-grated finely half cup
green onion-finely chopped half cup
carrot-grated or finely chopped 1 small
greenpeas-2 tablespoon
tofu -crumbled 1/4 cup
ginger garlic paste -1tsp
pepperpowder-1/4 tsp
greenchilli-1
salt 1/2 tsp
jeera-1/4 tsp
sesame oil-1/2 tbsp
soy sauce-1tsp
and not to forget
Shop bought Gyoza covers-20




Method.

grate cabbage ,finely chop onions ,carrots.crumble tofu
crush greenchilli
Heat a pan ,add 2 teaspoon sesame oil to it.add jeera .when it changes color add the cabbage onion s to it.
then add ginger galric and greenchilli.saute well .
add finely chopped carrots,green peas,crumbled tofu.

add little salt as soy sauce is added and pepper .soy sauce saute well .
till it becomes dry and soft.keep it to cool.

Now to make the gyoza:

Hold the gyoza cover in ur palm ,put a teaspoonful of filling iionto it.
Moisten half the circle with water,close the other end over it.make fringes with ur fingersas we do .make 8 gyozas same way.
Then the cooking part,its called MUSHIYAKI.(baking food in covered pan).
take a shallow frypan.drizzle it with sesame oil.heat it and place th egyozas neatly onit.
when it starts sizzling add water til the gyozas are half immersed.
turn the flame high and place a transparent lid to know the water is reduced.remove lid after two minutes and wait till all water evaporates.
remove the gyoza by inverting the pan over the plate.
serve it dippin sauce made of soy sauce and vinegar 1 tablespoon each.

You can try a variety of fillings .maybe skipping all the veggeis and sticking to cabbage and onion ,u can add prawns too.filling of ur choice.

capsicum masala

Capsicum masala

Its been a long time since i posted any recipes now .As i am from karnataka and have a taste for akki roti its been a part of my breakfast back home.Amma makes a variety of curries to go withit,or else a variety of chutnies.i like the huchellu chutney the most of it.Well as i cud not get it here in japan,i make curries to go with it.One of the curries is here.capsicum has a different opinion from many people.I add it to most of my gravies coz i like it and its got the goodness of fibres with it.

capsicum -2 big(i used red bell pepper here)

onion-1

mustard and jeera for seasoning both 1/4 sp

curry leaves-as much u like

green peas (fresh)-1/2 cup

haldi - apinch

redchillipowder-1/2 tsp

olive oil-for sesoning

ginger garlic paste

garam masala -1/4 tsp

dhania powder-1/2 tsp

coconut fresh or frozen optional for garnishing

method


Heat oil in kadai,add the mustard jeera and curry leaves for seasoning.

add onion saute well.add a pinch of haldi .

add all the powders.saute again.

add ginger garlic paste.fry till raw smell fades.

chop capsicum into squares and add to the kadai.saute well .

add the fresh peas,cover and cook .check in between and add water if required.

add salt and cook for few more minutes.finally add coconut saute and turn the gas off.

serve hot with hot akki rotti.

Dipavali specials

DIPAVALI SPECIAL SNACKS OR MUNCHIES
Shevo(Om pudi),chakkuli(chakli), carrot halvo(carrot halva)

yellow chrysanthumums (shavnthe)from mother nature


I know its high time after dipavali ,christmas and new year.Thanks to my timing i am posting quite late ,but what matters to me most is that i post it rather than keeping it under covers.
so here i am posting some diapvali snacks that i made with all my than man dhan..
i really mean all the three ..i was damn tired once i finished making all this...iodex zindabad..exaggeratign right hmmmmmmmm.
rememberd amma making it in huge aluminum dabbi's .i remember me and my sister counting chaklis like 60 ..70..100 .with all my time and effort i cud make 45.Was all happy to share it with two very close indian friends" P "and "S" and a close japnese friend "M". my two friends liked it.my japnese friend was all happy to take home some for her two sons.

Thanks "P" for ur chakli press and all the cheers.