Onion Pakora

Onion Pakora is a sheer comfort food. It is easy to make; moreover is gluten free snack, so everybody can enjoy it. It is a great finger food, or works equally well as a sandwich stuffing. If any leftovers (which is unlikely!) they will stay in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Serving: 5-8

INGREDIENTS

Onion (large, chopped thinly lengthways) – 2
Gram flour – 8 tbsp
Corn flour 2 tbsp
Chopped coriander Leaves – generous handful
Ajwain – 2 tsp
Baking soda – 1/4^th tsp
Turmeric powder – ½ tsp
Finger green chillies (Heat level 3)
finely chopped x 2
Water – to combine
Salt as per taste
Oil for deep frying + 2 tbsp hot oil 

METHOD

1.   In a mixing bowl, add the onions, gram flour, ajwain, coriander leaves, chopped chillies and baking soda. Heat 2 tbsp oil in a pan and add to the onion mixture.

2.   Squeeze the onion and flour mixture with hands in order to release natural waters; mix in just enough water to combine the mixture to a dropping consistency.

3.   In a separate pan, heat oil for deep frying, fry spoonful of the mixture in the hot oil until crispy and golden brown. Serve hot with your favourite dip; it tastes good on its own too.

Tip:

Gram flour is also known as ‘Besan’ and ‘chickpea flour’. It is gluten free flour with high proportion of protein and other essential nutrients. It is obtained from Bengal gram (Yellow chana dal). 

Mung Bean and Courgette Usal

Mung Bean Usal is a traditional Maharashtrian curry made with green mung means. These are available at your local Asian grocery store. In order to get the best out of these nutritious beans, you need to soak them overnight in water. Drain the water the next day and put the beans in a wet muslin cloth. This cloth needs to be tied and put away in a dark place such as a turned off oven or microwave overnight. This will result in the beans getting the sprouts which are supposed to enhance the flavour and nutrition of the final dish.

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS

1 cup sprouted Mung Beans
1 courgette, chopped
1 onion, finely chopped
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp asafoetida
3 tomatoes, finely chopped
1 tbsp. minced ginger and chilli paste
2 tbsp. Sunflower oil
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp garam masala powder
1 tsp. tamarind concentrate
Few springs of coriander leaves, chopped
Salt to taste
Spring onion to garnish- optional

METHOD

Cook the mung beans with turmeric and salt till done. This should take about 30 minutes on medium flame.

In a pan, add the oil, when hot enough, add the cumin seeds, mustard seeds, asafoetida. Once the seeds starts to pop, quickly add the chopped onions, stir till the onions are translucent. Add the chopped courgette and stir fry for a minute.  Add the chopped tomatoes and ginger chilli paste. Cook till the tomatoes are pulpy and a nice aroma emanates from the masala mixture. Add half a cup of water and let the courgette cook for 10 minutes on low flame.

Add the cooked beans and finish off with the addition of tamarind concentrate, sugar and garam masala. Finally, garnish with the chopped coriander leaves and spring onions. Enjoy with plain boiled rice.

Curry For Change Supperclub

Had a lovely supperclub with 11 attendees to support the humanitarian charity #curryforchange.

On the menu were dishes like sev puri, sandwich dhokla, chicken Bhuna, vegetable korma, khamnag kakadi, Mumbai aloo & Amrakhand...yum!

Here are some pictures...

POTLI REVIEW

I wanted to visit Potli ever since I came across it on TV's Alex Polizzi's: Chefs on Trial. Finally, I visited it today. Here is the review.

Lamb Biryani

Trio of Chicken Tikka

Aloo Tikki with Chana Masala



Indian Art in Toilet!

Food

This is what we ate: Lamb Biryani, Aloo Tikki coated with vermicelli and served with chana masala, Mango and coconut Lassi, Prawn Balchao and Trio of Chicken Tikkas and Mango Kulfi for dessert.
The food was well presented and tasty. The portion sizes were just right. The lamb in biryani was succulent and really well cooked, just as it should be for biryani. The only criticism was that there were far too many cardamom pods in the biryani! If you are on a date, this is a dish to avoid, as it is pretty unsavoury to watch your partner picking out cardamom pods from their mouth as they eat!!
The Trio of chicken Tikka was very good; they were slightly bigger in size than the chicken tikka I have eaten elsewhere. The Cucumber Raita was soothing and an ideal accompaniment to the biryani; Aloo Tikki was good too, the vermicelli coating made them crispy and different than our usual tikkis. There were complimentary condiments served with the meal, such as tamarind chutney, mango chutney, tomato chutney etc, all were packed with flavour.
Prawn Balchao was a extremely hot dish, so stay away from it if you do not like your food hot. It was spicy hot to the extent that it ruined the flavour of this dish and we were unable to eat it properly. However, the prawns in this curry were tasty and of excellent quality.
We finished the meal with Mango Kulfi, which is Indian ice-cream, it had a subtle hint of condensed milk and mango, ideal for summer.

Cost
A meal for two including VAT and a discretionary service charge of £12.5 % will be approximately in the range of £35- £50. The prices were competitive; mid-range.

Ambience
The décor was pleasant, a typical Indian home style cusions, Limca and Thumbs Up bottles, utensils, Indian art and décor made it pleasant and comfortable. There is interesting Indian banners throughout the restaurant, including in the toilet (See picture above)

Service 
The waitress, who served us was friendly, well presented and knowledgeable. The service was fairly quick too.


Overall, it is a lovely little restaurant, ideal for a business lunch, quick family meal or get-together.

Location

POTLI- An Indian Market Kitchen
319-321 King Street, Hammersmith, London W6 9NH
020 8741 4328
www.potli.co.uk

Nearest Station: Ravenspark Court (5 minutes walk)



Overview:
Food  4/5
Ambience: 4/5
Service  5/5
Value  4/5

Disclosure: I didn't receive any incentive to write this post. I paid for the meal.

SHAHI PANEER KORMA

Shahi (royal) Paneer Korma is a mildly spicy and indulgent paneer curry; fit for a king or a queen! It is a treat for vegetarians or even meat eaters. India being mainly a vegetarian country, paneer is a firm favourite and a meat substitute. It is easy to prepare at home too and if you are watching weight, you can even make it with semi skimmed milk. It is also readily available in most supermarkets.



© The Spice Angel

INGREDIENTS

250g paneer
100g thick yogurt
50g single cream
25g cashewnut paste (Blend soaked cashewnuts in equal amount of water until smooth)
1 tablespoon of green chilli and ginger paste
1 tsp kasuri methi
1 tsp roasted cumin seed powder
1 onion, finely chopped
2 cloves
2 cardamoms
1 cinnamon stick
1 tsp sugar
2 tablespoon Sunflower oil
Salt as per your taste

METHOD

1. Cut the paneer into 2 inch cubes. Marinate with the mixture of yogurt, cream, ginger and chilli paste and keep aside until you are ready for the next step.

2. In a pan, add the oil, when hot enough, add the whole spices and wait for 20 seconds, until a nice aroma develops.

3. Add the finely chopped onions and keep stirring till the onions are cooked and translucent.

4. Add the marinated paneer and cook till the mixture comes together. Add the sugar, salt, kasuri methi, roasted cumin seed powder, cashewnut puree and mix well. Serve with naan or roti.