Kutu Ke Pakodi (Buckwheat Flour and Potato Fritters)

Kutu ki pakodi is deep fried fritters and a feast on the days of fasting :-).

It's made of Kutu ka aata or buckwheat flour. It is eaten with yogurt. I love this dish. Since I have been working out more than religiously for the past week, I decided to reward myself with a little bit of oil and salt ;-)
These fritters are eaten after being dipped in flavoured yogurt (Chaach). However some people like to eat it by itself or with some condiment or just ketchup.
This is my Mom's recipe. So far I had only had it in India made by her. It never occured to me that I should also learn the recipe. Then, I moved to North America. My mom sent me some Kutu ka Aata all the way from India as she knew I loved these fritters. So, I then had to call Mom to ask her all about this dish and learn up the recipe. Here it is:

Ingredients for the Fritters:

1. Kutu ka aata (Buckwheat flour)
2. Potatoes, minced
3. Salt
4. Red chili powder
5. Some water.

Ingredients:

1. Mix everything together.

The consistency should be like that of a hard dough.

Directions:

1. Deep fry in batches until they turn brown.

Ingredients for the Yogurt:

1. Yogurt.

2. Red chili powder

3. Salt

4. Water

5. Oil

6. Cumin seeds.

Directions:

1. Whisk yogurt.

2. Add salt.

3. Add water.

4. Add red chili powder.

5. Heat oil and put some cumin seeds in it.

6. Let the cumin change colour, then temper this oil and cumin into the yogurt.

Chinese Noodles

I am in love with Chinese food. There was a phase when I raved over Chinese dishes but then the passion gradually died. I have had my ebbs and tides with this cuisine. But the fever is back again.

As a kid, my mom would make Chowmein noodles at home and it was my favorite. Then my sister had her own recipe for it and I loved that even more. But I did not have my own recipe. And I did not have an authentic recipe. So, I asked my Chinese friends how they make their noodles. The reply would be: add vegetables, noodles, and soya sauce. I would think, really? Is that all? How come their noodles are so delicious? They must be forgetting to tell me the secret ingredient that makes the difference. But then I spoke to my co-worker R about her recipe and also came across this blog, and thought maybe that is all. Let's try and see. So, I relit the fire in my kitchen. I decided I would go by the book and as I was directed - use only the essential ingredients. Less is more.


Ingredients:
1. Bean sporuts, 50 gram or less
2. Carrot, green pepper, cabbage - finely shredded
3. Mushrooms, sliced (optional)
4. Spring onion, chopped.
5. Olive oil
6. Soya sauce
7. Red chili sauce
8. Noodles, blanched.

Directions:
1. Heat a wok.
2. Add olive oil
3. Throw in the vegetables including the bean sprouts and spring onion
4. Cook for a couple of minutes.
5. Add in soya sauce and chili sauce.
6. Mix well and cook again.
7. Add in the noodles.
8. Cover and let simmer on low heat until the flavours blend into the noodles.

Serve warm.

The results were quite pleasing. I know now that it's not the number of ingredients but the quality of ingredients that make a dish taste good. Just like this one did. The trick is to add authentic vegetables. For example, use spring onion instead of red onions, don't forget bean sprouts and so on :) Little things make a difference. Just like how in life they do....

Macaroni Pasta Indian Style

Hi All,

I have slowed down on blogging since I am juggling a number of things these days. Life is getting busy but it is good. Thanks to those who still stop by. I'm sorry for the disappointment of not seeing a new post very often. I'm aiming to post at least 2 posts per month. I think I might be running out of recipes too :)
But the best part of food is that there are so many cuisines. You could cook up a typical dish or you could do fusion. I love fusion especially when it comes to Chinese.
The other day I went to my friend's house. She had made Indian style pasta. It was the first time I had Indo-Italian! I was surprised how good it tasted! She didn't give me the recipe but mentioned that she added curry powder.
I had heard of pasta with curry powder before but had always been skeptical of how it would taste. Therefore, I never braved it out to try cook in my kitchen. After having tried it at my friend's house, I gained confidence that it can't be so bad. I was more worried that Mr. Husband would not relish this recipe. Hesitatingly, I proceeded with my own invented recipe. The only thing I specially bought for this recipe was curry powder. Other ingredients that I used were those that were readily available at home. Here it goes:
Ingredients:
1. Macaroni pasta or any other of your choice
2. Red onion, chopped
3. Alfredo sauce
4. Cheese sauce
5. Asorted vegetables (I used frozen beans and peas and fresh tomatoes)
6. Curry powder
7. Salt to taste
8. Olive oil
9. Basil and oregano
10. Dried red chili flakes
11. Garlic, minced

Directions:
1. Boil water and cook the macaroni until al dente. Set aside
2. Heat a deep bottomed vessel.
3. Add olive oil
4. Throw in garlic and onion and fry until they change colours.
5. Add alfredo sauce, cheese sauce, oregano, curry powder basil, and red chili flakes.
6. Mix well and bring to a boil.
7. Add in vegetables and cook on low to medium flame.
8. Add the macaroni and mix well.
9. Add salt to taste if required.
10. Adjust the seasoining to your taste.

Serve cold as a salad or warm as a main course dish.
Mr. Husband loved this dish. Thanks to my friend D!