Methi Gota

We Gujaratis are by default foodies. The most popular Gujarati Dishes are Farsan and Snacks. One such dish is Methi Gota. Be it time for late evening snacks or elaborate lunch, these deep fried besan dumplings are everyone's favorite. 

Methi Pakora are quite famous all over India but what makes these Gota special is addition of Gujarati trademark - sugar. Sweetness from sugar combined with bitterness from methi seems to create some amazing taste chemistry. These sweet and savory crispy balls are always craved for especially on a rainy day.

Makes 30-35 pc

Preparation Time: 20 minutes

Cooking Time: 20  minutes

Ingredients
1 cup coarse besan
1/2 cup wheat flour

2 cup chopped methi
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1/4 tsp red chili powder
1.5 tsp sugar
2 tbsp yogurt
4 tbsp chopped coriander
1/2 tsp garam masala
1/4 tsp whole black pepper, coarsely crushed
1 tbsp whole coriander seeds

1 tsp sesame seeds

Pinch of asadfetida

1/4 tsp soda

Salt

Oil for frying

Procedure

1. Sieve both flours and mix them in a large bowl

2. Add methi and all the spices except soda. Add watee as needed.  Keep the batter on thicker side as it tends to get softer. Let it rest for at least an hour

3. Heat oil in frying pan. Add soda and 2 tsp of hot oil in the batter

4. Mix well and fry dumplings on medium flame until golden brown

5. Serve hot with your favorite chutney/ketchup. We like ours with yogurt chutney

Green Bean Kachori

Kachori is simply irresistible deep fried snack where pastry sheets ( made from plain flour dough) is stuffed with filling made of either potato, moong dal or pigeon peas. The one made with pigeon peas is quite popular in Gujarat. It is winter specialty and we eagerly wait for this time of the year when we have first of the season.

However, we do not get fresh peas here. So my mom taught me this green bean version where peas are simply replaced by beans with remaining ingredients exactly the same. In the beginning, I was bit hesitant  but thought it was worth a try. If we like it we can have them whenever we want as we get fresh beans at very reasonable price round the year.

Makes about 16-18 pc
Preparation Time: 1 Hour
Cooking Time: 30 Minute + Cooling Time

Ingredients

1 Lb Beans

1 tsp oil

1 tsp sesame seeds

Pinch of asafetida

1 tbsp green chili paste

2-3 cloves of garlic, minced (Best if Green Garlic is used)

1/4 tsp garam masala

1/4 tsp clove-cinnamon powder

1/2 tsp sugar

2 tbsp Coriander leaves

Salt and lemon juice as per taste

For dough,

2 cup plain flour

1 tsp whole wheat flour

1 tsp oil

Salt

Oil for frying

Procedure
1. Finely chop  green beans using chopper

2. Heat oil in skillet, add sesame seeds, asafetida and chopped beans

3. Cook it on low flame uncovered

4. Add chili paste, salt and sugar

5. Stir frequently so it does not stick to the bottom of the skillet

6. When it’s almost cooked, add lemon juice, garam masala and clove-cinnamon powder

7. Turn off the heat, add garlic and coriander leaves

8. Now stuff is ready, let it cool down thoroughly at room temperature

9. Mix flour, oil and salt and knead hard dough like puri

10. Roll two thin puris, fill in the stuffing between them and seal thoroughly

11. Deep fry on low flame until golden brown
12. Serve hot with tamarind and/or green chutney. 

Veg Paneer Kabab

During long weekend we planned a potluck picnic in a nearby park and my job was to prepare appetizers. I had to make something that can be prepared in advance, liked by kids and tastes good even when served cold and of course, something that is easy to carry. I asked for suggestions and people came up with ideas like cutlets or vegetable patties. (Last time I had prepared Alu-vada for the same group and was well received)

I liked the idea of cutlets and I thought to add tasty twist by increasing quantities of veggies, adding paneer and adding besan for binding instead of only conventional bread crumbs. Kabab is generally referred to middle eastern dish made of meat which is roasted, grilled or stewed or sometimes even fried. I replaced meat with mashed potatoes and here is my delicious version of veg kabab!

Makes 50-55 kababs

Preparation Time: 30 Minute

Cooking Time: 1 hr

Ingredients

6 cup mashed potato (About 9-10 medium pc, approx. 2.5 lb)

1 cup chopped carrot

1 cup chopped green beans

1/2 cup peas

1/2 cup green pepper

1 cup paneer, crumbled

1/2 cup besan/gram flour

1.5 cup bread crumbs

2 tbsp green chili paste

1 tbsp ginger paste

2 tsp oil

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp sesame seeds

1 tbsp sugar

2 tsp lemon/lime juice

1 tsp garam masala

1/2 tsp clove-cinnamon powder

Salt

Oil for frying

Procedure

1. Boil and mash potatoes, keep them aside

2. Dry roast besan on low flame until it turns pink/light brown and add it to potato mixture

3. Heat oil in skillet, add cumin seeds, sesame seeds and all veggies

4. Lightly cook veggies uncovered on medium flame, stirring in between

5. Add paneer, mix well and turn off the heat

6. Once this mixture cools down, add it to mashed potatoes

7. Add remaining spices and bread crumbs, mix well

8. Make small patties (I made oval shaped) and shallow fry them on both sides until golden brown. If they fall apart or do not come out crispy, add more bread crumbs and/or besan

Serve warm with chutney (We had them at room temperature and they tasted perfect)

Hara Bhara Kabab

This kind of kabab has become quite common at restaurants and parties as an appetizer. For vegetarian version, use potatoes as base, then add veggies of your choice and mix bread crumbs/corn starch for binding and fry/grill, kabab is ready. I use different veggies ranging from carrot, onion, spinach, corn, pepper and peas and it tastes amazingly different if you just change type and quantity of these veggies. This time I wanted restaurant style ‘Hara Bhara Kabab’ so I used only spinach and peas. I stuffed them with cashew nuts and cheese to give a little ‘Royal’ touch :-)

Makes 16 kababs

Preparation Time: 15 Minute

Cooking Time: 30 Minute

Ingredients

3 medium potatoes (Should yield about 2 cup mashed potatoes)

½ cup peas

2 big handfuls of spinach (1 cup after boiled and chopped)

½ tsp cumin powder

1 tsp lemon juice

¼ tsp garam masala

¼ tsp clove-cinnamon powder

1 tsp green chili paste

3 tbsp corn flour

8-10 cashew nuts (optional)

3 tbsp shredded cheddar cheese (optional)

Salt

Oil for frying

Procedure

1. Boil and mash potatoes, keep it aside.

2. Heat water in a large pot, when starts boiling add spinach. Cook it covered for couple of minutes, then drain into colander and place it under cold running water to stop the cooking process. When it cools down, squeeze thoroughly to remove water (I used muslin cloth), chop and add to mashed potato.

3. Chop peas using chili cutter or chopper and add to potatoes.

4. Add all spices, corn flour and mix well.

5. Divide mixture into equal size balls. Now take a ball in your palm, flatten and stuff it with cashew nuts and cheese.

6. Heat oil in skillet and shallow/deep fry these kakabs on both sides until golden brown and crispy. If they fall apart while frying, add some more corn flour.

7. Serve hot with chutney.

Vada - Pav

I became Vada-Pav fan in my college days. College cafeteria served a delicious Vada-pav just for five bucks. They also had a royal version of it called Cheese Vada – Pav. Then a friend of mine introduced me to a few famous Vada-Pav joints in Ahemdabad. Later when I started working in Mumbai, it became a part of everyday food. Office cafeteria would serve it almost every Friday. I did not feel like having it in breakfast. But I did not have much of a choice and hence I would have only Vada. But they used to be so spicy that you cannot avoid bread!! Though Mumbai is an origin for Vada-Pav, I always love them better prepared in Gujarati way. In Maharashtra, they serve with plain pav and dry coconut garlic chutney. Hence it becomes very dry and I literally need juice/water to swallow it. While in Gujarat, they toast the pav with butter and serve with green chutney and garlic chutney.

So far I had always thought to use same vada as in Gujarati Alu vada. But it tasted very different than how vada-pav should be. Then I searched for an online recipe and here is my version and adapted to my taste.

Makes 20 Vada-Pavs

Preparation Time: 30 Minute

Cooking Time: 20 Minute

Ingredients

2 medium-large potatoes

20 pc pav **

1 tsp oil

½ tsp mustard seeds

8-10 curry leaves

½ tsp turmeric powder

Pinch of asafetida

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp lemon juice

¼ tsp garam masala

¼ tsp clove-cinnamon powder

½ tsp red chili powder

½ tsp green chili paste

¼ tsp ginger paste

Salt

For batter,

¼ cup besan

¼ tsp ajwain

Salt

Oil for frying

Butter/oil to toast the pav/bun

** Here we do not get fresh pav easily. So I use dinner rolls or hamburger buns. Even simple bread slice works just fine.

Procedure

1. Boil and mash potato, keep it aside

2. Heat oil in skillet. Add mustard seeds, asafetida, curry leaves, chili paste and turmeric powder. Stir it for a minute and pour this mixture to mashed potato

3. Add remaining spices to potatoes and mix well

4. Divide this mixture into small balls and keep them aside

5. Now in a separate bowl, mix besan, salt and ajwain. Add water and make a thick batter without any lumps

6. Heat oil in a frying pan. Dip each ball in besan batter and deep fry them on low-medium flame until light brown

How to serve,

1. Heat butter on griddle, when melted add garlic chutney (Add grated coconut to this chutey).

2. Toast bun in this mixture

3. Apply green chutney, put vada and cover the bun

Veggie Stuffed Vada

My mom shared this recipe a few days ago. She told me if I was tired of having Idli in a traditional way; try an alternative use of Idli flour to make this Vada. Due to soda bi-carb in store bought idli flour, it swells and looks like stuffed vada. These crispy vadas are somewhere between Alu-Vada and Cutlets. Ideally it should have a ball like shape and deep fried. Instead, I made flat patties and shallow fried them. They are quite filling and easy to prepare.

Makes 16-18 vadas

Preparation Time: 20 Minute

Cooking Time: 30 Minute

Ingredients

2 cup potato, boiled and mashed (About 3 medium pc)

1 cup idli flour

½ cup green beans, finely chopped

½ cup carrot, finely chopped

½ cup peas, coarsely crushed

1 tsp oil

½ tsp cumin seeds

½ tsp sesame seeds

1 tsp sugar

½ tsp aamchur

¼ tsp garam masala

¼ tsp clove-cinnamon powder

½ tsp green chili paste

¼ tsp ginger paste

Salt

Oil for frying

Procedure

1. Heat oil in skillet. Add cumin seeds, sesame seeds, beans, peas and carrots

2. Stir it on low flame until it becomes dry

3. Turn off the heat and let mixture cool down

4. Now mix these veggies with mashed potatoes and add remaining ingredients

5. Mix well and form small flat patties

6. In a separate bowl, mix idli flour with water so it forms thick, consistent batter without any lumps

7. Heat oil in skillet. Deep each pattie in batter and shallow fry on both side until brown and crispy

8. Serve hot with green chutney and tomato ketchup

બટાકાવડા

I guess this must be the most commonly made ફરસાણ among Gujaratis. It is quite easy to make, ingredients are almost handy, does not require any pre-preparation and most of all, it tastes delicious. I had to make an appetizer for our New Year Eve get-together. I was out of town for few days and was due home same day afternoon. I just had couple of hours to make something quickly and what could be better option? We were the only Gujaratis in the group and hence these aloo-vadas turned out to be a big variety hit. I have been making them consistently good, but this time I tried to make with measurement, hence wanted to note down the recipe.

Yields 60-65 Vada

Preparation Time: 45 Minute

Cooking Time: 45 Minute

Ingredients

For Vada,

6 pc medium-large potatoes (about 2 Lb)

1 tsp lemon juice

¼ tsp aamchur

1 tbsp sugar

1 tsp garam masala

½ tsp clove-cinnamon powder

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp sesame seeds

1 tsp fennel seeds

2 tbsp freshly chopped coriander leaves

2 tbsp freshly chopped mint leaves

1 tbsp chili paste

1 tsp ginger paste

1 tsp oil

Salt per taste

For Batter,

1.5 cup besan

1 tsp ajwain

Pinch of Soda

Salt per taste

Oil for frying

Procedure

1. Pressure cook/boil potatoes. Once cool down, mash them thoroughly

2. Heat oil in skillet, add cumin seeds, sesame seeds and fennel seeds, pour this mixture to mashed potatoes

3. Add remaining spices and mix well

4. In a separate bowl, mix besan with 1 cup water, add salt and ajwain. Stir well to make sure there are no lumps. When ready to fry, add soda

5. Divide potato mixture into small balls, dip each of them in besan batter and deep fry until golden brown

6. Serve hot with tamarind and/or green chutney

Cheese Patties

I am back after a temporary ‘Zombie’ state. Days were quite hectic and I did not get a chance to cook and/or post something new. I had to finish ricotta cheese and I had already used them in couple of Italian dishes. I was craving for something spicy and thought to mix cheese with potato and flour and then deep fry them. These patties turned out very delicious and filling. Now I have one more option for appetizers.

Makes about 18-20 small patties

Preparation Time: 20 Minute

Cooking Time: 30 Minute

Ingredients

1 cup ricotta cheese

1 medium potato, boiled and mashed

4 tbsp gram flour **

2 tbsp corn flour **

1 tbsp chili-ginger paste

1 tsp sesame seeds

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp fennel seeds

1 tbsp sugar

1 tsp aamchur

1 tsp oil

Salt

Oil for frying

** Adjust quantity to make crispy patties

Procedure

1. In a bowl mix ricotta cheese and mashed potato

2. Dry roast besan until it turns light golden brown

3. Add besan and corn flour to cheese mixture

4. Heat in skillet, add cumin, sesame and fennel seeds and pour them over cheese mixture

5. Add remaining dry ingredients and mix well

6. Divide mixture into small balls and pat them gently to give patty like shape

7. Deep fry patties on low flame until golden brown

8. Serve hot with tamarind and green chutney

લીલવા કચોરી/ Tuver Kachori

Even middle of the night if I am asked to name my favorite dishes, it will top the list. Not only I, but also my parents and brother love it like anything. We grow તુવેર in our backyard almost every year and hence ultimate dish is very savory and delicious. When I was a kid, my mom would pick fresh green તુવેર, peel them and make all possible dishes. Though here I have to work with frozen ones and taste is not as good as the fresh ones, I still make કચોરી quite often. Probably, it strongly defines my attachment to home or this is how I try to keep memories afresh!

Makes 20-22 pc

Preparation Time: 1 hour + cooling time

Cooking time: 30 Minute

Ingredients

1 pack of frozen pigeon peas (10 oz)

2 tsp oil

1 tsp sesame seeds

Pinch of asafetida

1 tbsp green chili paste

¼ tsp garam masala

¼ tsp clove-cinnamon powder

2 tbsp chopped green garlic

2 tbsp chopped coriander

Salt, sugar and lemon juice as per taste

For dough,

2 cup plain flour

1 tsp whole wheat flour

1 tsp oil

Salt

Oil for frying

Procedure

1. Thaw pigeon peas at room temperature and chop them using hand chopper

2. Heat oil in skillet, add sesame seeds, asafetida and chopped peas

3. Cook it on low flame covered with dip dish filled with water

4. Add chili paste, salt and sugar

5. Stir frequently so it does not stick to the bottom of the skillet

6. When it’s almost cooked, add lemon juice, garam masala and clove-cinnamon powder

7. Turn off the heat, add garlic and coriander leaves

8. Now stuff is ready, let it cool down thoroughly at room temperature

9. Mix flour, oil and salt and knead hard dough like puri

10. Divide the dough into balls, roll them into thin puris and fill with stuff

11. Deep fry on low flame until golden brown

Serve hot with tamarind chutney. I added chili-ginger paste and coriander leaves in chutney.

Khasta Kachori

This kachori reminds me of my childhood days. We knew a Marvadi cook who was expert at making snacks and farsan He would come probably 3-4 times a year to make different types of snacks. Whenever he would come, we made sure to ask him making this kachori and he would prepare both versions – one you can eat right away and another you can save for a month or so like other dry snacks. Mom would make us a kachori chat by adding tamarind chutney, green pudina chutney, curd, chat masala and sev, which was simply irresistible.

This time when I went to India, mom made a simpler and less complicated version of this kachori. Couple of days back I tried myself and both of us indeed enjoyed it.

Makes about 20 kachoris

Preparation Time: 30 minute

Cooking time: 90 minute

Ingredients

For Filling

250 gm store bought moong dal snack

Whole spices

1.5 tsp whole coriander seeds

1.5 tsp whole cumin seeds

1.5 tsp fennel seeds

1.5 tsp sesame seeds

1.5 tsp kalonji seeds

1 tsp ajwain

Powdered spices

1.5 tsp aamchur

1 tsp black salt

2 tsp red chili powder

1 tsp garam masala

1 tsp clove-cinnamon powder

Salt

For Dough

1.5 cup maida

1 tbsp oil

Salt

Oil for deep-frying

Procedure

1. Make a puri-like dough and keep is aside

2. Coarsely grind moong dal

3. Roast whole spices for about 8-10 minute and grind them, add to crushed dal

4. Mix all powdered spices

5. Divide dough into equal portions.

6. Roll puri, add filling, cover the ball and gently roll it again to give a flat shape

7. Deep fry these kachoris on low flame on both sides until they are golden brown

8. Serve hot with chutneys.

This filling can be refrigerated for 3-4 months.