Veg Dumplings

Chinese is cooking on my blog today and its healthy.....something with lots of vegetables. Guess what??? Ya, its Vegetarian Dumplings, oh! I love to eat those. Even though, I had some idea how to make them, I wasn't very sure. I searched for Wonton Wrapers for a long time but couldn't find them in regular grocery stores. Thanks to my sweet husband, yesterday evening when we were coming back from the grocery store, thinking that we can never find them, he suggested to try this New Asian Super market, near our home. He went there and after 5 mins he came back with a bag in his hand, Oh! I was so happy to see those wrapers and decided to try them tomorrow itself and this is what I have come up with. Its my postcard from China to you....Enjoy..

Makes 16
Servings 8

Ingredients:
Wonton/Dumpling Wrapers (16, At Room Temperature)
Carrot (1, Finely Grated)
Green Beans (3-4, Very Finely Sliced)
Mushroom (3-4, Finely Diced)
Paneer/Cheese (1/4 Cup, Crushed)
Onion (1/2, Finely Chopped)
Garlic (4-5 Cloves, Finely Chopped)
All-Purpose Flour (1/2 Tbsp)
Salt (To Taste)
Black Pepper (Freshly Ground, To Taste)
Oil (1 Tsp)

Method:

1. Heat oil in a small pan and fry onion and garlic till golden brown.
2. Now add salt, pepper and all purpose flour. Mix well.
3. Mix the above prepared mixture with all the other ingredients accept Wonton Wrapers.
4. Now take one Wonton Wraper and put 1 tbsp of prepared filling in the center of it and with the help of a pastry brush, put a little bit of water on all the four corners. Try to put filling in an oval shape as shown in the picture below.

1. Seal all the edges and make a triangle shape. Now take a ravioli cutter and cut the edges to make it look pretty. Repeat the process for every wraper.
2. Boil 2.5 lt of water in a deep pan and put 1/2 tbsp of salt and 1 tsp of oil, thanput the dumplings in it and let them cook for 2-3 mins.
3. Once they are done they will become tranparent and you can see the filling inside them.
4. Serve them hot with Chilli & Garlic chutney.

Tip: You can use any type of vegetables that you like but they should be finely chopped. You can even make chicken dumplings by using grilled chicken, which is finely chopped.

Khasta Kachori...... Aaloo Matar Wali

You must have tried Khasta Kachori before but the one that I m going to share with you today is made up with fresh and spicy Potato & Peas filling and not with Dal/lentil filling. Its not as heavy as the dal one and is much more fresh. Its such a mouth watering snack that you cannot just eat one. After having this, with a nice hot cup of ginger tea, you will never crave for Samosa again.

Makes 50
Servings 25
Servings Size 2

Ingredients:

For Dough:
All-Purpose flour (7 Cups)
Refind Oil/Vegetable Shortening (1 Cup)
Salt (1 Tbsp)
Water (400 ml)

For Filling:
Potato (4-6 Large, Boiled & Mashed)
Peas (1 1/2 Cups, Boiled)
Green Chillies (7-8, Finely Chopped)
Ginger (2 1/2 Tbsp, Minced)
Coriander Leaves (1 Cup)
Oil (2 Tbsp)
Spices:
Turmeric Powder (1/2 Tbsp)
Red Chilli Powder (1/2 Tbsp)
Coriander Powder (2 Tbsp)
Amchoor Powder (1 Tbsp)
Salt (To Taste)
Oil for Frying

Method:

1. Start by making the dough or the crust for the Khasta Kachori. Put all the dry ingredients in the Food Processor and start pulsing.
2. Add Refind oil/ Vegetable shortening and pulse 5 times, so that it is mixed with the dry ingredients.
3. Now start adding water slowly from the feed tube and make a hard dough. The harder the dough will be, the crispier the Khasta will become.
4. Take out and keep aside for 30-45 mins, covered with a plastic wrap or a wet cloth. If needed, smooth the dough with hands.
5. For potato filling: In a large bowl mix mashed potatoes, boiled peas, coriander leaves, ginger and green chillies. Keep aside.
6. Heat oil in a pan and add all the spices accept Amchoor powder and fry them for about 1/2 minute.
7. Now add the potato mixture prepared before to the spices and sprinkle Amchoor powder over it. Mix well and let it cool for a while.
8. Take a small portion of dough and roll it in the shape of a circle. Put a little bit of potato filling in the middle of it, as shown in the picture below.

1. Roll it into the shape of Khasta Kachori, as shown below.

1. Heat oil for frying in a pan and deep fry them until they are golden brown on a medium low flame.
2. Serve hot with Coriander Chutney/ Tamarind Chutney.

Tips: You can freeze them after very lightly frying them. Keep them on a baking sheet and put them in the freezer overnight. Transfer them into a ziplock bag and freeze them again. Whenever want to serve them, keep them out for 6-8 hours and than fry them in heated oil until they are done. They will taste as fresh as ever.

To make it more crispy and a little more healthy, substitute 2 cups of flour with 2 cups of Semolina/ Rava.

You can also add some dry fruits like cashews and golden raisins to potato filling, to make it more attractive for special occasion.

Moong Dal Poha

Moong Dal poha.....reminds me of my childhood. On every Monday mornings, from the age of 8 yrs, my dad used to keep a fast for Lord Shiva, and he still keeps it till date, and my mom use to make this poha for all of us for breakfast and we (me and my brother) also used to take it to school for lunch time snack. Oh! what a wonderful good old days.

After getting married, today for the first time in 2 yrs, I cooked this for my husband and he was so happy to have it. You know what he said....., "Nidhi, its very healthy and tasty at the same time", and asked me to share it with you all. So here I am presenting you with a recipe good for breatfast or evening snack. Enjoy...

Serves 2

Ingredients:
Yellow Moong Dal Split (1 Cup, soaked for 1 hr)
Peas (1/2, Boiled)
Sweet Onion (1/2 Cup, Finely Chopped)
Tomato (1, Finely Chopped)
Green chilli (1 Finely Chopped, Optional)
Ginger (1/2 Tsp, Finely Chopped)
Corriander Leaves (1/4 Cup)
Curry Leaves (5-7, Finely Chopped)
Sugar (A pinch)
Oil (1/2 Tsp)

Spices:
Black Mustard Seeds (1/2 Tsp)
Red Chilli Powder (1/4 Tsp, Optional)
Turmeric (1/4 Tsp, Optional)
Salt (To taste)

Method:

1. Boil peas in a small bowl with 1 1/2 cups of water, a pinch of sugar and salt to taste, in the microwave for 2-4 mins.
2. Now wash dal and add 2 cups of water and salt to it and boil it in a microwave rice-cooker for about 12 mins.
3. Heat oil in pan, add mustard seeds and let them splutter. Now add ginger and green chilli and cook for 1/2 min.
4. Add curry leaves and all the other spices and fry for 1/2 min.
5. Now add dal and peas and mix well.
6. In a large bowl mix corriander leaves, onion and tomatoes.
7. Now add prepared dal into the onion mixture.
8. Serve hot garnished with curry leaves.