Vankaya Pakodi Koora (Eggplant with Onion Pakoda)

Vankaya Pakodi Koora (Eggplant with Onion Pakoda) is a traditional Andhra special. This spicy and crunchy dish is one of my favorites. Crunchy onion pakoda is added to eggplant which is cooked to perfection along with other spices.



Ingredients for making onion pakoda:-
Onion- 2 medium sized
Besan- 1 1/2 cups
Rice flour- 2 Tbsp
Water- 3/4 cup
Chilli powder- 1 Tsp
Salt- to taste
Oil- for frying

Procedure-
1. Slice the onions, add salt and chilli powder and mix.
2. Now add rice flour, besan and mix.
3. Add water little by little so that the batter is tight. Look in the picture below for a rough idea.






4. Now add the onion little by little and fry. Drain the pakoda on paper towels and serve. We will need about 2 cups of broken pakoda for the following dish. This recipe will yield you more pakoda than you need. Whenever I make pakoda it is hard to resist eating some so, I make some extra for eating as a snack. So, don't forget to save some pakoda for the recipe:-)











Ingredients for Vankaya Pakodi Koora (Eggplant with Onion Pakoda):-
Eggplant- 2 big (Japanese Eggplant)
onion pakoda- 2 cups(broken into pieces)
Onion- 1 medium
Green Chillies- 2
Ginger-garlic paste- 1 1/2 Tsp
Chilli powder- 1 1/4 Tsp
Salt- to taste
Mustard seeds- 1/4 Tsp
Cumin seeds- 1/4 Tsp
Turmeric- 1 pinch
Whole red chilli- 1
Curry leaves- 1 spring
Oli- 2Tbsp

Procedure:-
Add oil to a heated pan and add whole red chilli, mustard seeds, cumin seeds, turmeric and curry leaves. Wait until the mustard seeds pop. Add chopped onion and sliced green chillies. Cook for 5 minutes and add ginger-garlic paste. Cook for a minute and add chopped eggplant. Also add salt, cover and cook for ten minutes. Take the lid off and cook until done. Add chilli powder and mix. Add the onion pakoda, mix and cook for 2 to 3 minutes and serve.
You can serve this dish with rice or roti.

Baked Garlic French Fries

Yesterday after I picked up my kids from school, it was really cold. It was raining all day and the temperature was in 50s I guess. So, I made hot French Fries and Chakara Pongali (Sweet Pongali) to warm them up. Looks like Spring is still far away but until then, nice hot food gives some comfort on these cold winter days!

My son had a cooking elective last year in school. They cook a wide variety of foods ranging from breakfast to pizzas to desserts. Nice life skill right! So, on his dad's birthday, he gave a very precious gift to dad. Can you guess what? Yes, you are right he made a nice snack for him after work; French Fries. We can not forget that day forever. Like they say," Yesterday is always a memory". Special days like this are always sweet memories and they last for a lifetime! So today I will share that recipe with you.







Ingredients:-
Big Potatoes- 5
Oil- 4 tbsp
Garlic powder- 1 tsp
Salt- to taste

You will need 2 or 3 "greased" cookie sheets to spread the potatoes.

Process:-
Peel the potatoes and cut them into 3/4 inch thick strips. Once done cutting all of them, coat the strips with the oil nicely in a bowl. Preheat the oven to 400Deg F. Arrange the fries flatly on the cookie sheet one after the other. Pour any remaining oil on top of the fries after arranging them. Look at the picture below for a better idea on how to arrange them.



Bake at 400 Fahrenheit. Cooking time 25 minutes.

After baking for 15 minutes, take the cookie sheets out and sprinkle garlic powder and keep them back in. Once done, take the cookie sheets out and sprinkle salt. Let them cool down for 5 minutes before you take the fries out of the cookie sheet.

Corn and spinach Fingers

Corn and spinach are mixed in to a creamy sauce along with rice, cheese and spices and rolled into fingers and coated with bread crumbs. They are then fried to give this mouth watering snack a crunchy golden brown coating. Corn and spinach finger are very crispy on the outside and very rich and creamy in the inside. An absolute burst of flavors when you put them in your mouth.(A good way to use leftover rice.)







Ingredients:-
Corn- 3/4 cup
Spinach(finely chopped)- 1 1/2 cups
Rice cooked- 2 cups
Grated mozzarella cheese- 1/2 cup
Chilli powder- to taste
Salt- to taste
Oil for deep frying


For making the sauce
Butter- 2tbsp
Maida(flour)- 2 1/2 tbsp
Milk- 1 1/2 cups


For coating the fingers
Flour- 1/4 cup
Water- 1/2 cup
Bread crumbs






Procedure:-
1. Add the butter to the heated pan, once it's melted now add the flour and let it fry for a minute with out forming lumps. Now add the milk and keep whisking it to see no lumps are formed. Now let it thicken for few minutes. When you think it's really thick, turn the heat off. Add corn, spinach, rice,cheese, salt and chilli powder and mix it well. Wait until it cools and roll into the shape you like.

2. Mix 1/4 cup of flour with 1/2 cup water in a bowl. Take bread crumbs in a small plate.

3.Now dip each ball in the flour batter and roll in the bread crumbs and deep fry them until golden brown.

Tip:- Corn and spinach fingers can be shallow fried instead of deep frying.