Ingredients

• 1           cup basmati rice
• 1           cup long grain ice
• 1/4        cup chana daal
• 1/4        cup moong daal
• 1/4        cup Toor Daal
• 1           cup yoghurt
• 1/2        cup water
• 1           tsp ajwan(ajma)
• 1           tablespoon Sesame seeds
• 1           tsp chilli powder(optional)
• 1           tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1           tsp freshly ground cumin(jeera)
• 1/2        tsp turmeric powder
• 1           tsp ground garlic
• 1           tsp ground ginger
• 1           tsp ground jalepino
• 2           tbsp sugar
• 1           cup sliced onions
• 1/4        cup fresh chopped cilantro
•              juice of 1 lemon or
• 1/2        tsp citric acid
• 1           tsp eno or baking soda

For Tempering(Vagar)

• 1/2        cup vegetable oil(or oil of your choice)
• 10         curry leaves
• 1/2        tsp mustard seeds
• 1/2        tsp fenugreek seeds
• 1/2        tsp cumin seeds
• 1           red chilli (dried or fresh)(optional)

For Decoration

• 2           tablespoon sesame seeds
•              a few onion rings
•              a few cilantro leaves

Instructions

1. Rinse and soak the rice and daal for 5 hrs or overnight.
2. In the morning drain the rice and daal.  In a blender or a food processor puree this with yoghurt and water to a thick paste.  Let it stand overnight.
3. In the morning add the rest of the ingredients except eno and mix well.
4. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Grease the baking pan with pam or butter.  Line the pan with baking paper.
5. Make the vagara,
6. Heat the oil in a fry pan.  When the oil is hot add curry leaves, and the rest of the vagaries ingredients.  When the seeds start to pop, add this to the mix.  Add the eno and mix well.
7. Pour the mix in the prepared pan. decorate with sesame seeds, onion rings and cilantro leaves.
8. Bake on the middle shelf for 1 hour till the top is brown and when you insert a bamboo stick it in the middle, it comes out clean.
9. Serve with Garlic Chutney or Sambaro.

The base is made with roasted potato slices that are topped with a crunchy walnut taco meat,
cashew sour cream, and salsa.  If you do not have time to layer everything individually,
try plating the potato crisps on a large platter and layer everything all at once.
The walnut taco meat and cashew sour cream can be made a day or two in advance to save
some time.  The crisps also make a fun and kid approved dinner.

Ingredients
2                                russet potatoes, sliced into 1/4” slices
1                                tbsp grapeseed oil(or oil of your choice)
                                  Fine grain sea salt and freshly ground pepper

For the Walnut Taco Meat

1                                 cup walnuts toasted, (if preferred)
1 – 1/2                         tsp chili ipowder
1/2                              tsp ground cumin
1/4                              tsp fine grain salt
1/8                              tsp cayenne pepper

To Assemble

• 1                       recipe cashew sour cream(recipe to follow)
• 1/2 to 3/4          cup salsa
• 2 – 3                  green onions, thinly sliced
•                          freshly ground pepper

Vada is a savoury fritter-type snack from south India.  Vada is made with mung daal which is soaked overnight and pureed in a food processor with the herbs and then deep fried.  You can use a soup spoon, your fingers or a falafel maker to shape the vada..  Although vadas are deep fried, the finished product should not be too oily if prepared correctly, since steam build-up within the vada pushes all oil away.

Vadas are a snack food served with Amli(tamarind chutney) and coconut chutney.  It can also be served with chana batata.  Vada  tastes  good eaten freshly fried, while still hot and crunchy.

At home vada and passion fruit juice was a Saturday morning snack at small cafes.

Ingredients

• 2              cup mung daal with skin
• 1              medium onion
• 2              tsp green masala
• 1/2           tsp salt
• 6              cups vegetable oil  for frying

Directions

1. Soak daal overnight in  6 cups of cold water.
2. Remove husks by rubbing, and washing several times with several changes of water.  Drain.
3. Blend drained daal in a food processor.
4. Blend onion in a food processor and add to the daal mix.  Add rest of the ingredients and mix well.
5. Heat oil in a karia or a deep frying pan to medium hot.  The oil is ready when, if you put the handle of the wooden spoon in oil and bubbles start to form around  the spoon.  You can use a falafel maker,  or a spoon to slide the mixture into the oil.  You can use your damp hands to form a 1” ball and make round wadas or  flattened slightly into a patty.
6. Fry on both sides  until golden brown.  The wada will puff up.  Drain on paper towel.
7. Serve with coconut chutney and tamarind chutney.

This is iron and fibre-rich snack made with fenugreek leaves and bajro flour from Gujarat.  It is served as yoghurt plain or chutney as an afternoon snack.

If you are making it first time then you have to keep in mind that it is sticky dough and you have to be gentle with it.  Because of the bajro it will not be a perfect round, you will have rough edges.

This can be cooked over a tava or frying pan but then it is masala rotla, not dhebra.  Dhebra is best deep fried, so forget the healthy diet and enjoy it fried.

This is my grandmother’s recipe and I have used it for a long time.  You will find different version of this recipe.  This mixture has to rest overnight or at least 5 hrs.  If you make it instantly the texture will be different.  We had always used fresh methi in Africa, but it is not always available in the western countries so now I use the frozen methi.  Frozen Methi and bajro is found in an Indian grocery store.  You will also find different brands of bajri(millet flour), I use Jalpur.

Ingredients

• 2             cups bajra no atta (millet flour)
• 1             tbsp sugar
• 1             tsp salt
• ½            teaspoon haldi
• ½            tsp crushed garlic
• ½            tsp crushed green chillies
• ½            tsp crushed ajma
• ½            tsp crushed cumin
• ½            tsp crushed black pepper
• ½            tsp sesame seeds
• 2             tbsp chopped cilantro
• 1             cube frozen methi(fenugreek leaves)optional
• 3/4          cup  yoghurt
• 2             tbsp oil

• 3             cups oil for frying

For Decoration

• 1/4          cup sesame seeds for decoration

For Serving

• 1              cup yoghurt

Directions

1. Put everything in a bowl and make a stiff dough with yoghurt.
2. Leave it overnight or at least 5 hours.
3. Make small balls about an inch round, roll this in sesame seeds
4. With your fingers and on a kitchen towel, flatten the ball into a patty about 2” round.
5. Deep fry this in a medium- hot oil. You can fry about 6 – 8 at a time.
6. Serve this with Yoghurt
7. You know the oil is hot when you put the handle of a wooden spoon in the oil and the oil bubbles around the handle.
8. Use a coffee grinder to crush Ajma, Cumin and Black Pepper.
9. You can make a chutney with garlic, Green Pepper and Cilantro.
10. Use a little chutney in the yogourt and serve this with the dhebra