Surna Adgai /Konkani Style Yam Pickle /Chena Achar

 Surna adgai/ Yam pickle /Chena achar is a konkani style spicy pickle made with deep fried elephant yam pieces, roasted red chillies, roasted mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds, and tamarind goes well as a side dish with dosa, idli, appam and rice. The following ingredients are needed to prepare Surna Adgai / Konkani Style Yam Pickle / Chena Achar.

Ingredients:
Yam pieces chopped.-1 cup
Dry red chillies.        -10
Mustard seeds.          -1tsp
Fenugreek/Methi.     -1/4 tsp
Asafoetida / Hing.    -1tsp
Tamarind.-a gooseberry size
Salt.                           -to taste
Coconut oil.        - for frying

For Seasoning:
Mustard seeds.    -1 tsp
Curry leaves.       -1 sprig
Asafoetida / hing.-1/4 tsp
Coconut oil.         -1 tsp

Instructions:
1). Cut and remove the outer skin of elephant yam and chop the yam into 1/2 inch lengthy small pieces. Wash and clean the chopped yam pieces in water and keep them in a colander to drain water completely from it. Apply little salt on yam pieces and keep aside for 30 minutes to marinate. After 30 minutes squeeze out water from yam pieces. Deep fry the squeezed yam pieces in hot oil until crisp and golden brown. Keep aside the deep fried crispy yam pieces.

2).Soak a gooseberry size tamarind in little boiled and cooled water for 5 minutes.

3). Heat 1tsp coconut oil in a small pan and roast dry red chillies in hot oil till crisp on low flame. Remove the roasted red chillies from oil and transfer to a plate. In the same small pan add 1tsp mustard seeds and 1/4 tsp fenugreek seeds /methi seeds and roast on low flame for few seconds. Do not burn them. Add  1 tsp asafoetida / hing powder into the pan and mix well for a second. Switch off the flame and remove the roasted mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds and asafoetida from small pan and transfer to a plate.

4). In a small mixie jar add roasted dry red chillies and soaked tamarind and grind together to a smooth paste adding 1tbsp of boiled and cooled water. Add roasted mustard seeds, fenugreek /methi seeds, asafoetida/ hing and little salt into the small mixie jar and grind again for 2 rounds.

5). Transfer the ground red chilly tamarind mustard fenugreek asafoetida mixture to a small vessel. Wash the mixie jar with little boiled and cooled water and add the washed water into the small vessel and mix well. Check for salt and add required salt if needed. Mix the chilly tamarind paste mixture in the small vessel and give a boil. Switch off the flame.

6). Heat 1 tsp coconut oil in a small pan for seasoning and splutter mustard seeds. Add curry leaves and saute in oil. Add 1/4 tsp asafoetida / hing powder and stir well. Switch off the flame and pour the seasoning into the boiled chilly tamarind paste mixture in the vessel.Cover the vessel with a lid and keep aside to cool.

7). When cooled add the deep fried crispy yam pieces into the boiled chilly tamarind paste mixture in the vessel and mix well.

8). After 1 hour Surna Adgai / Konkani style Yam Pickle /Chena Achar is ready to serve with dosa, idli, appam and rice.

Besan Rice Flour Dosa

Besan rice flour dosa is very easy to prepare instant and crispy dosa made with besan /gram flour, rice flour and rava /semolina and can be served with coconut chutney for breakfast. The following ingredients are needed to prepare Instant Besan Rice Flour Dosa.
Ingredients:
Rice flour.          -1 cup
Rava.                  -3/4 cup
Besan flour.        -1/4 cup
Green chilly.       -3
Shallots.              -4
Turmeric powder.-a pinch
Mustard seeds.    -1 tsp
Cumin seeds.       -1tsp
Curry leaves.       -few
Salt.                     -to taste
Water.                 -as required
Coconut oil.       -1tsp
Ghee          - for roasting dosa 

1). In a vessel add rava /semolina and 2 cup of water and soak for 15 minutes. Add rice flour and besan / gram flour into the vessel and mix everything using your hand. Add more water and make a loose batter.

2). Heat coconut oil in a small pan for seasoning and splutter mustard seeds and cumin seeds. Add thinly chopped green chillies, thinly chopped shallots and thinly chopped curry leaves and saute in ghee. Pour the seasoning into the dosa batter and mix well using a ladle.

3). Heat a dosa tawa and apply little ghee on tawa. Mix the dosa batter well.Take a ladle of loose dosa batter and pour it on tawa and make a thin round dosa. Don't spread dosa on tawa using the back of the ladle. Cover and cook dosa on medium low flame.

4). Apply little ghee all over dosa and flip it to cook the other side on low flame.

5). Remove the well roasted dosa from tawa and transfer to a serving plate. Repeat the process and roast besan rice flour dosa with the remaining dosa batter.

Instant and crispy Bessn Rice Flour Dosa is ready to serve with coconut chutney for breakfast. 

Ridge Gourd Tomato Potato Curry

Ridge gourd tomato potato curry is a simple and easy to prepare tasty curry goes well with rice. The following ingredients are needed to prepare Ridge gourd Tomato Potato Curry.
Ingredients:
Ridge gourd.      -1
Tomato.              -2
Potato.                -2
Green chilly.       -4
Asafoetida/ hing.-1/4 tsp
Water.                  -as required
Salt.                     - to taste
Coconut oil.         -2 tsp

Method:
1). Remove both the ends and spiny ridges on the ridge gourd. Chop the ridge gourd into thin 2 inch lengthy pieces. Peel and chop potatoes into thin 2 inch lengthy pieces.Chop tomatoes into thin 2 inch lengthy slices. Keep aside.

2). Heat 2 tsp coconut oil in a wide bottom pan and splutter mustard seeds. Add half slit green chillies and saute in oil. Add asafoetida / hing powder and stir in oil.

3). Add thinly chopped tomato slices and thinly chopped potato pieces into the pan and saute well.

4). Add thinly chopped ridge gourd pieces, required salt and 3/4 cup of water into the pan and mix well. Cover and cook on low flame until tomato, potato and ridge gourd pieces become soft. Switch off the flame. Transfer the ridge gourd tomato potato curry to a serving bowl.

Ridge gourd Tomato Potato Curry is ready to serve with rice.

Pattanam Pakoda

Pattanam pakoda is a deep fried south Indian street food snack made with gram flour, rice flour, powdered roasted gram dal, onion, green chilly, garlic, curry leaves and spices.. Deep fried pattanam pakoda is very tasty, crispy and crunchy outside and soft inside.The following ingredients are needed to prepare Pattanam Pakoda.

Ingredients:
Gram flour/ Besan.-3/4 cup
Rice flour.              -1/2 cup
Roasted gram dal powdered.-1/2 cup
Onion.                    -1
Red chilly powder. -1/2 tsp
Hing powder.          -1 tsp
Ginger.                    -1/2 inch piece
Garlic cloves.          -2
Green chilly.            -2
Fennel seeds.           -1/2 tsp
Curry leaves.           -few
Coriander leaves.     -few
Baking soda.            -1/4 tsp
Water.                       -as needed
Salt.                          -to taste
Ghee.                        -2 tbsp
Oil.                -for deep frying

Instructions:
In a mixer grinder grind roasted gram dal (pottukadala) to a smooth powder and keep aside the powdered roasted gram dal .

2). Coarsely crush together ginger, garlic, green chilly and fennel seeds in a mortar and pestle. Keep aside the coarsely crushed ginger garlic green chilly fennel seeds mixture.

3). Finely chop onion, curry leaves and coriander leaves. Keep aside.

Method:
1). In a mixing bowl add 2 tbsp ghee and 1/4 tsp baking soda and mix together for 2 minutes using your fingers and make a soft cream.

2). Add 3/4 cup gram flour (besan), 1/2 cup rice flour, 1/2 cup powdered roasted gram dal (pottukadala podi) and required salt into the mixing bowl and mix with creamed ghee.

3). Add coarsely crushed ginger garlic green chilly fennel seeds mixture into the mixing bowl and mix well.

4). Add finely chopped onion, red chilly powder, hing powder (asafoetida), finely chopped curry leaves and finely chopped coriander leaves into the mixing bowl and mix with the flour mixture.

5). Sprinkle required water little by little into the mixing bowl and knead the flour mixture and make a medium thick dough.

6). Take a small lemon size portion of the dough and keep it in between your palm and roll it into small round ball. Repeat the process and make small dough balls with the remaining dough and keep them on a plate.

7). Heat enough oil in a deep frying kadai. Once the oil is hot drop the prepared small dough balls in hot oil. Deep fry them in batches on medium flame until golden brown.

8). Once done remove the deep fried dough balls from hot oil using a slotted spoon and transfer to a tissue paper  to absorb excess oil.

Very tasty and crispy deep fried Pattanam Pakoda is ready to serve as a snack.

Ridge gourd Bajji / Peechinga Bajji

Ridge gourd bajji also known as Peechinga bajji in malayalam and Peerkangai bajji in tamil is a deep fried crispy south Indian teatime snack made with ridge gourd slices and spicy gram flour batter. The following ingredients are needed to prepare Ridge gourd Bajji / Peechinga Bajji.

Ingredients:
Ridge gourd.           -1or 2 tender
Besan /Gram flour. -1 cup
Rice flour.               -2 tbsp
Red chilly. Powder.-1tsp
Turmeric powder.   -1/4 tsp
Baking soda.           -1/2 tsp
Salt.                        - to taste
Water.                   -as needed
Oil.                 -for deep frying

Method:
1). Wash ridge gourd, trim both the ends, peel and remove the hard ridges and cut the ridge gourd into medium thick round slices. 

2). In a mixing bowl add besan /gram flour, rice flour, red chilly powder, turmeric powder, required salt, baking soda and mix well. Add required water little by little into the mixing bowl and mix all the ingredients in the mixing bowl and make a smooth and medium thick gram flour batter.

3). Heat enough oil in a deep frying kadai. Once the oil is hot dip the ridge gourd slices one by one in spicy gram flour batter and drop them into hot oil and deep fry on medium flame. 

4). When one side of the ridge gourd slices become golden colour flip them over in hot oil to cook the other side.

5). When both sides of the ridge gourd slices become crisp and golden colour remove them from hot oil using a slotted spoon and transfer to a paper towel to absorb excess oil.

Crispy Ridge gourd Bajji / Peechinga Bajji  is ready to serve.