Crispy Cheese corn Balls

Crispy cheese corn balls make a great appetizer, be it special occasions or just an ordinary day. It would also make a perfect evening snack for kids. Wow! Who would'nt love to have a bite of this hot, stringy cooey cheese corn balls? I have put together this recipe after watching a couple of videos on youtube.

Ingredients:
Boiled corn- 1 cup
shredded Mozzarella cheese- 1/2 cup
boiled potato- 1 (medium size)
corn flour- 1 tbsp
bell pepper(capsicum)- 1/4 cup , chopped
chilli flakes- 1 tsp (optional)
dried oregano- 1/2 tsp
maida(all purpose flour)- 2 tbsp
bread crumbs- 1 cup
corriander leaves(cilantro)- 1 tbsp, finely chopped
salt to taste
oil for frying

Method:

• Mash the boiled potato. Add bell pepper, corn, chilli flakes, dried oregano, corn flour, cilantro leaves and salt. 

• Add salt only for the above mentioned ingredients. 

• Then add cheese and combine them well.

• Grease your hand with a little bit of oil and roll them into small balls.

• Heat oil in a deep frying pan.

• Combine water with all purpose flour to a pouring batter consistency.

• Dip the balls in the batter so that is gets coated on all sides and then roll them on the bread crumbs.

• Roll them between your palms to make sure that the breadcrumbs is well coated on all sides.

• Fry them until golden brown and collect them on a plate with paper towel to drain the excess oil.

• Serve them out with tomato ketchup.

Notes:
* Avoid chilly flakes if you are making it for kids.
* If you want to make it more spicy try adding finely chopped green chillies or Jalapeno
*If you want to make it more cheesy be generous in adding cheese.
* Fry the balls on a medium flame to get the desired golden brown color.
* Chopped parsley is a part of this recipe which I have omitted it as my family is not a big fan of        parsley leaves.

Spinach Vada/Spinach Fritters

Vadai is a southindian fried savoury originating mainly from Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, traditionally prepared during festivals and weddings. This lentil based item is often served along with breakfast items like idli, pongal etc or even good with any scrumptious meal. This is a variation of one of the many fritters recipe made especially in the Southern parts of India. Its the same vada with additional ingredients.



Ingredients

¾ cup Urad dal
1 ½ Green Chilli
1 inch Ginger
Salt to taste
¼ tsp Asafoetida
¾ cup spinach
Curry leaves one string
Cilantro few



Preparation

Wash and soak the lentils for 2-3 hours.
Filter the Soaked Urad dal in a sieve.Grind it with Green chilli,Asafoetida, ginger and salt into a coarse paste. Avoid using any water and only add 1 tsp or so if having trouble grinding it. Drop the blended mixture in a bowl n add the rest of the ingredients .Mix it well till combined.
Take a little dough and shape into a ball.Place it on a well greased Zip Lock bag/ Plastic sheet/ small plate and pat it down to a patty.Poke a hole right in the center with your finger to make a doughnut.
Now carefully transfer this to your hand and drop them in hot oil (med-hot).Turn until well browned.Remove them from oil and drain them on a paper towel .Serve them warm and as soon as possible since they taste the best when made. They go well with almost anything - Coconut chutney, spicy tomato chutney or the most obvious ketchup

You can also Bake at 350 degrees.

Rice flakes (Aval) Uppuma

This is my favourite uppuma. I have always had this dish made by my mother and it will be ready in a matter of 20 minutes. I tried this one fine day and it came out well. Now I don’t wait till I go to my mum’s place to have rice flakes uppuma. The mouth watering combination for this is coconut chutney. Please keep in mind that you always have to serve this dish hot else the rice flakes will be become dry and hard.

Ingredients

Aval (Rice Flakes) - 1 cup
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Split channa dhal – 1 tbsp
Urad dhal - 1/2 tsp
Green chillies – 2 Split into two vertically
Asafoetida – 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Tamarind water – 3 tbsp
Lemon – ½
Curry leaves - few
Salt to taste

Method :

Squeeze the lemon juice and mix with the tamarind water. To this add the turmeric powder and salt. Clean and wash the rice flakes. Mix and soak rice flakes in the tamarind water mixture for 10 Min's. Heat oil in a wok and add the mustard seeds and urad dhal. When it splutters add channa dhal, asafoetida, curry leaves, green chillies and fry well. Add the soaked rice flakes to it and mix well and cook on low flame for 2 Min's and serve hot immediately.

Baby Corn Pakora

I loved doing experimenting the pakoras recipe, this time used baby corn.I made this over the weekend while we were mostly in a mood to take deep fried snack. A very quick snack if you happen to have some baby corns in your fridge.
whenever , i prepare pakoras remember my office colleagues. I was working in India for a few years before moving to the U.S, and we all friends at office used to enjoy going out for a short coffee break! There were plenty of snack shops in the canteen and we used to enjoy hot pakoras ,samosas, veg. puffs etc with Tea. To me that was a good fun time with friends. I miss those good old days. Well, about this recipe. It's really a perfect snack for the evening.

Ingredients

Baby Corn - 20 (cut into thin Strips)
Ginger - 1 inch
Red Chili - 1
Green Chili - 1
Cilantro leaves - 1tbs
Gram flour / Besan Flour - 1 cup
Corn Starch - 1/4 cup
Carom Seeds - 1/4 tsp
salt to taste
water for binding
Oil for deep frying



Method

Cut the baby corns lengthways into two, set aside.
Grind together the green chillies,red chilli, cilantro and ginger to make a fine paste adding little water.
Combine maida, cornflour,carom seeds, salt, blended paste,and water to form a soft batter.
Take a skillet and heat oil in it.
Dip each baby corn in the batter and fry until crisp and golden.
Baby Corn Pakodas are ready to serve.