Shakkar Pare (Sugar Coated)

Ingredients 

• Flour(maida) - 200 grams (2 cup)
• Ghee - 50 grams (1/4 cup) to put in flour
• Sugar - 200 grams (1 cup)
• Ghee - for frying

- How to make Suger Coated Shakarpara

Filter the flour and keep in any utensil, put Ghee in it and mix the flour properly with your hand.
Knead a hard dough(little more hard than Puri dough) using water. Cover the dough and keep aside for 20 minutes allowing it to ferment.

Break the dough into 2 pieces. Take 1 piece and roll it into a ball then flatten it with a rolling pin into a 1/4 cm thick Puri that is 10-11 inches in diameter. Cut this Puri with a knife leaving 1/2 inch gaps, similarly cut from the other side making square shape Shakarpare's. Also roll the other piece and cut Puri into desired shapes of Shakarpare.

Put Ghee in a frying pan(kadhai), put as many Shakarpare that can fit in hot Ghee. Fry these till they turn brown on all sides and take them out. Always fry Shakarpare on a low flame. Similarly fry the remaining Shakarpare.

- How to make Chashni

Put sugar in a pan then add 1/2 cup water to it, place pan on the gas to boil. Cook Chashni till sugar is dissolved completely. Pour 1 drop of Chashni in a bowl, try sticking it between your thumb and index finger. A thread like substance should be visible when the 2 fingers are separated. Prepare Chashni with 2 threads then turn off the gas.

Put the fried Shakarpare in this Chashni and mix rigourously with a spoon till the Shakarpare are coated all over with Chashni. Then allow Shakarpare to cool off properly. Fill them in an air-tight container and have these Sugar coated Shakarpare whenever you want to for 2 months..!!

Namak Pare

Ingredients 

• Maida  -  500 gms.
• Oil - 125 gms.
• Salt - 1 tea spoon.
• Cumin seeds or Carom seeds - 1 tea spoon.
• Chat Masala - 1 tea spoon.
• Oil - to fry.

Method - How to make Namak Pare

Take out Maida in a plate and add Oil, Salt, Cumin or Carom seeds to it. Mix them well and knead it with Luke warm water. Keep the dough aside covered for 15 minutes.

Divide the dough into 6 equal parts and make balls of it. Take one ball and roll it into 1/2 inch thick disc on a rolling board. Cut this roll into small squares and separate each pieces. Repeat the step with other 6 balls.

Take a pan and heat Oil to fry. Put the cut pieces into the pan and deep fry them. Take them out with the help of perforated spoon once they turn Brown in colour. Fry rest of the Namak Pare and sprinkle 1 table spoon Chat masala on them.

Serve the Namak Pare with tea or coffee. You can also store them in an air-tight container for up to 2 months.

Rava Dosa (2 Methods)

Method 1 from Archana's Kitchen

Recipe Yields : Makes 6-8 Dosas
Ingredients :

1/2 Cup Semolina/Rava

1/2 Cup Rice Flour

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1/4 cup onion finely chopped

2 green chilies finely chopped

1/4 teaspoon asafoetida

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

1 teaspoon crushed black pepper

oil for making the dosa

2 tablespoons finely chopped coriander leaves

salt to taste

Method

1.In a large bowl combine the Semolina, flours and salt. Stir 2 cups of water to make a thick batter. Allow the batter to rest for about 10 minutes.

2. Stir in the remaining ingredients except the oil/ghee. Combine well. Finally add more water to the batter to make it of thin pouring consistency. It is thinner than the pancake/dosa batter.

(when the batter is thin, it spreads like wild on a heated skillet, producing holes in the dosa and making it crisp)

4.Heat a iron skillet or dosa tawa on high heat.  Make sure the skillet is very hot. To test the heat, sprinkle some water on the skillet, it will sizzle loud. This is when you know you skillet is ready to make the Rava Dosa.

Pour a ladle of the batter in a circular motion starting from the outer edges. The batter will flow towards the centre. Fill in the batter where there are gaps. Although allow the dosa to have a few holes.

Turn the heat to medium, if you want a nice crisp dosa. The slower it cooks, the crispier it gets.

5.Drizzle about 1 teaspoon of oil or ghee around the dosa and allow it to cook for 2-3 minutes on medium heat. Once cooked turn it over and allow to cook for another minute. At this stage the dosa will be thin and crisp, with one side golden brown in color.

6.Remove the dosa off the tawa and fold from both sides.

7.Repeat to make the remaining dosas. Serve hot with sambar and tomato chutney.

Note: Do not try to spread the batter like we do for the normal dosa. The batter should be thin enough to flow and spread itself on the tava and form shape on its own. You can turn the skillet around to help form a shape without using a laddle.

Method 2 from Manjula's Kitchen

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup fine semolina (fine Sooji)
• 1/4 cup rice flour
• 1/4 cup all purpose flour (plain flour or maida)
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds (jeera)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt adjust to taste
• Pinch of asafoetida (hing)
• 1 tablespoon chopped cilantro (hara dhania)
• 1 green chilly finely chopped
• Approx. 2 cups of water

Method

1. Mix all three flours including semolina, rice flour and all-purpose flour. Make a thin batter using little water at a time and avoiding any lumps. Batter should have pouring consistency like buttermilk.
2. Add all other ingredients to the batter including cumin seeds, salt, asafetida, cilantro and green chili. Mix it well. Let the batter stand for about 30 minutes.
3. Heat the skillet on medium high. To check if skillet is ready sprinkle few drops of water over skillet water should sizzle. Wipe the skillet with few drops of oil.
4. Pour the batter with ladle on the skillet in a circular motion starting from the periphery to the center. Keep pouring the batter till it covers the whole skillet.
5. Note: pour the batter on the skillet from about 3 to 4 inches height. Don’t try to spread the batter otherwise the characteristic and appearance of Rava Dosa will not come. Rava Dosa should have holes like swiss cheese or have lacy look.
6. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon of oil around dosa.
7. Cook Dosa over medium heat for about 2 minutes or until Dosa becomes golden brown. Then turn the Dosa using spatula.
8. Let Dosa cook for about 1 minute from other side. Dosa will be golden brown on one side and light color on other side.
9. Thin and crispy Rava Dosa is ready to serve.

Chana Masala Snack

Ingredients

1. Bengalgram dal – 1 Cup

2. Peanuts – 1/3 Cup

3. Chilli powder – 1 Teaspoon

4. Turmeric powder – 1/2 Teaspoon

5. Pepper powder – 1/2 Teaspoon

6. Black salt powder – 1/4 Teaspoon

7. Curry leaves – A few

Method

1.     Wash and soak Bengalgram/chana dal in water over night. Drain and dry it for about an hour on a dry cloth or in a colander shaking every now and then. While soaking, I usually place a spoonful of saunf packed in a cloth along with the soaking chana dal. The saunf seeds enhance the crispiness of the dal and lend a special aroma.

2.    Dry roast curry leaves in a skillet till crispy, but make sure it does not change colour. When cooled, crush/powder a few curry leaves.

3.    Place a skillet with one cup cooking oil on medium flame. When hot, place a holed-spatula in it and fry the soaked chana dal in spatula till crispy. Repeat the process in batches for the remaining dal too. Adjusting the flame of your burner to ensure that the dal isn’t over-fried/burnt. Transfer to a colander to allow excess oil to drain out.

4.    In the same oil and spatula, fry peanuts too till crispy and transfer it to the same colander.

5.    Transfer fried chana dal, peanuts to a skillet and add chilli powder, turmeric powder, white pepper powder, black salt powder, salt and few roasted curry leaves and and curry leaves powder from step-2 to it. Fry over simmering flame and stir for a few seconds. Enjoy with with upma, bhel or even as a snack by itself !

6.    Transfer it to an air tight container – it will remain fresh and crispy for more than a week.

Makhane Paag

by Nishamadhulika

Ingredients for Makhane ka Pag

·         Makhane - 100 gms.

·         Ghee - 200 gms.

·         Sugar - 500 gms.

·         Milk - 1 table spoon.

Method 

Cut Makhane into four parts. Take a pan and heat ghee into it. Fry the makahne, till they turn light pink in colour. Fry all the Makhane in the same manner.

Take a pan and grease it with ghee.

To make sweet syrup (chashni) take sugar and 1/3 water of the quantity of sugar. Boil it till the sugar dissolves completely, and then add milk into it. You will see a brown colour foam forming at the top of the pan, take it out with the help of a ladle. Prepare a 3 string syrup. 3 string syrup is extremely thick and freezes instantly on the spoon.

Now add fried makhane into the syrup and stir it continuously with the ladle. Put this mixture into the greased pan. Within half n hour the mixture will settle down.

Makhane Pag is ready. Break the makhane into small pieces and store it in an air-tight container. Makhane Pag can be stored in the refrigerator for 20 days. Take it out from the refrigerator and eat it whenever you like.

Bhakarwadi

from Nishamadhulika

Ingredients for Bhakarwadi

Ingredients to knead the flour

·         Gram flour - 100 gms. (1/2 cup)

·         Maida - 100 gms. (1/2 cup)

·         Oil - 50 gms. (1/4 cup)

·         Salt - 1/2 tea spoon.

·         Turmeric powder - 1/4 tea spoon.

·         Carom seeds - 1/2 tea spoon.

·         Oil - to fry

Ingredients to make the filler.

·         Sesame - 1 table spoon.

·         Coconut - 1 table spoon. (grated)

·         Khaskhas - 1/2 table spoon.

·         Ginger powder - 1/2 tea spoon.

·         Red chilli powder - 1/4 tea spoon.

·         Garam masala - 1/2 tea spoon.

·         Cumin seeds - 1 tea spoon.

·         Coriander powder - 1 tea spoon.

·         Salt - 3/4 tea spoon (or according to the taste)

·         Sugar powder - 2 tea spoon (or according to the taste)

·         Coriander leaves - 1 table spoon (chopped)

·         Imli water or lemon juice - 1 table spoon.

Method - How to make Bhakarwadi

Sieve the maida and gram flour in a bowl. Put salt, turmeric powder, carom seeds and oil into the flour. Mix the ingredients well and knead the flour. Make sure that the flour is hard and tight. Cover the dough and leave it for half an hour.

How to prepare the filling for the Bhakarwadi. Tamper the sesame and khaskhas in a small pan. Roast them well and then add grated coconut to it, roast it also. Put the roasted masala into the mixture and grind it. Take out all the spices in a plate and mix them well and divide it into 4 parts.

Press the dough with hands and divide it into 4 parts making 4 round balls of each. Now take one ball and roll it like a chapati into a flat disc of 8-9 inches. apply imli water over the roll and put 1 part of the masala on it. Spread the masala evenly and start folding it into a roll. Stick the corners with the help of little water.

Cut the roll into pieces of 1/2 inch and keep them on a plate. Prepare the other rolls in the same manner and cut them into pieces.

Heat oil in a pan and put the cut pieces into it. Put as many as you can in one go. Fry the pieces on medium or low flame until they turn brown. Now take them out on a plate ans fry rest of the pieces in the same manner.

Ingredients:
All Purpose Flour/Maida - 1 cup
Chickpea Flour/Gram Flour/Besan - 1/4 cup
Turmeric/Haldi - 1/4 tsp
Cayenne Pepper/Red Chilli Powder - 1/2 tsp
Cumin/Jeera Powder - 1/2 tsp
Oil - 2 tbsp

Cilantro/Coriander Leaves/Kothimbir - about 3/4 cup
Shev - 2 tsp
Dessicated (Dry) Coconut/Sukka Khobra - 2 tsp
Sesame Seeds/Til - 1 tsp
Poppy Seeds/Khuskhus - 1 tsp
Fennel Seeds/Badishep/Saunf - 1 tsp
Ginger/Ala/Adrak - 1 tsp
Green Chillies - 1 tsp
Chat Masala - 1/2 tsp
Sugar - 1/2 tsp
Garam Masala - 1/4 tsp

Salt
Oil for deep frying

How to prepare Bakarwadi:
Preparing Dough:

• In a mixing bowl, add all purpose flour, chickpea flour, turmeric, cayenne pepper, cumin powder and salt.  Mix well.
• Heat 2 tbsp oil in a small pan.  Add this extremely hot oil to the mixing bowl.  Mix all the ingredients well with a spoon.  When it turns cool enough to handle, add lukewarm water, little at a time and knead to form a firm dough.  Cover the bowl with food wrap and let it rest for about 30 minutes.

Preparing Stuffing:

• Pat the washed cilantro leaves dry.  I used about half a bunch of cilantro leaves and I added tender stems too.
• Heat a pan and dry roast sesame seeds, poppy seeds and fennel seeds.  Roast at low flame until it turns aromatic.  Keep them aside.  In the same pan, roast dry coconut at low flame until it turns slightly brown.  Let the roasted ingredients cool.
• In a dry blender jar, add the roasted ingredients, cilantro leaves, ginger, green chillies, chat masala, salt, sugar and shev.  I used Batata/Potato Shev.  Blend all the ingredients to a coarse powder. 
• Taste this stuffing and add more sugar, chat masala to suit your taste.  I used Chat Masala for a slight tanginess.  You can use Aamchur/Mango Powder or tamarind/imli/chinch as well.

• Knead the dough well again and divide it into 3 round balls.  Apply few drops of oil and roll each one evenly, as thin as a chapati.
• Spread 1/3 rd of the stuffing evenly on the rolled chapati.  Roll it as tightly as possible.  Slightly press the stuffed roll, so that the stuffing sticks to the dough.  Cut off the edges where there is no stuffing.  Using a sharp knife, cut the roll into about one inch pieces.
• Deep fry them in medium hot oil until they turn golden brown and crisp.  After cooling completely, the rolls will turn more crisp.
• Repeat the same for the other 2 dough balls.
• Totally, you'll get around about 25 pieces.

Enjoy crunchy munchy Bakarwadi fresh or store them in an airtight container after cooling completely.

Ingredients

• Wheat flour 120 Gram 
• Coriander leaves100 Gram, chopped
• Grated coconut100 Gram 
• Gram flour240 Gram 
• Poppy seeds60 Gram 
• Sesame seeds60 Gram 
• Sugar1 Pinch 
• SaltTo Taste 
• Oil2 Cup (32 tbs) (For frying) 
• Asafoetida1 Pinch 
• Black masala powder1 Teaspoon 
• Red chilli powder1 Teaspoon 
• Tamarind1 Small (soaked in lillte water)

Mix together Gram Flour and Wheat Flour. Add salt, asafoetida, 60 ml hot oil and enough water to it.
Knead it to a stiff dough and keep it aside. Roast the grated coconut, sesame seeds and poppy seeds and
grind them to a powder. Add sugar,salt,red chilli powder,finely chopped coriander leaves to the masala powder to prepare the filling for bhakarwadi.
Add tamarind pulp and black masala powder and mix well. Divide the dough into small portions and roll each portion into a thin rectangular shaped chappati.
Now spread the filling all over the chappati and roll up the dough with the filling into a tight cylindrical shape. Seal the edges with a little water. Cut it into 3 cm long pieces and deep fry in hot oil till they are brown and crisp. Remove them from oil and store them in a airtight container.

Shakkarpare

from NishaMadhulika

Shakarpare coated with sugar are very delicious, these can be prepared for any festival or occasion or any other time you want and have them whenever you crave for something time.

-  Ingredients for Sweet Shakarpara

·         Flour(maida) - 200 grams (2 cup)

·         Ghee - 50 grams (1/4 cup) to put in flour

·         Sugar - 200 grams (1 cup)

·         Ghee - for frying

- How to make Suger Coated Shakarpara

Filter the flour and keep in any utensil, put Ghee in it and mix the flour properly with your hand.

Knead a hard dough(little more hard than Puri dough) using water. Cover the dough and keep aside for 20 minutes allowing it to ferment.

Break the dough into 2 pieces. Take 1 piece and roll it into a ball then flatten it with a rolling pin into a 1/4 cm thick Puri that is 10-11 inches in diameter. Cut this Puri with a knife leaving 1/2 inch gaps, similarly cut from the other side making square shape Shakarpare's. Also roll the other piece and cut Puri into desired shapes of Shakarpare.

Put Ghee in a frying pan(kadhai), put as many Shakarpare that can fit in hot Ghee. Fry these till they turn brown on all sides and take them out. Always fry Shakarpare on a low flame. Similarly fry the remaining Shakarpare.

- How to make Chashni

Put sugar in a pan then add 1/2 cup water to it, place pan on the gas to boil. Cook Chashni till sugar is dissolved completely. Pour 1 drop of Chashni in a bowl, try sticking it between your thumb and index finger. A thread like substance should be visible when the 2 fingers are separated. Prepare Chashni with 2 threads then turn off the gas.

Put the fried Shakarpare in this Chashni and mix rigourously with a spoon till the Shakarpare are coated all over with Chashni. Then allow Shakarpare to cool off properly. Fill them in an air-tight container and have these Sugar coated Shakarpare whenever you want to for 2 months..!!