Cucumber Barley and Pomegranate Chat

I had some cooked barley with me. I wanted to use that to make a soup. First I thought of using it as a garnish for cold cucumber soup. But finally ended up making this as light and a refreshing chat. 

Barley is very good for health and this is one interesting way to include in the day to day menu.

I was very happy with my creation and my family really loved it:)

  
Ingredients 

Cucumber -3 medium sized

Cooked barley – 3 tbsps

Pomegranate- 3 tbsps + little fur garnishing

Chopped coriander – 1 tbsp

Roasted jeera powder- 1/4th tsp

Red chilli powder- 1/4th tsp

Salt to taste
For the dressing

————————-

Yogurt – 3 tbsps

Oil- 1/4th tsp

Red chilli powder- 2 pinches

Jeera powder – 2 pinches

Sugar – 1/4th tsp

Chat masala powder- 1/4th tsp

Salt to taste

Chopped coriander leaves and pomegranate for garnishing.

Method

Wash, peel and cut the cucumber into big pieces. 

Scoop out the centre to make it as a cup and reserve the pulp and the seeds.

  
Chop the scooped out pulp. 

In a bowl, add the chopped pulp, barley, pomegranate ,chopped coriander leaves, red chilli powder, jeera powder and salt to taste and mix well.

Fill the the cucumber cups with this mixture.

  
To make the dressing

Beat the yogurt well. Add all the ingredients mentioned for the dressing and mix well.

  

To serve the chat

Arrange the stuffed cucumber cups in a serving tray, pour over the dressing, garnish with chopped coriander leaves and pomegranate and serve immediately:)

   
   

Peanuts and Papad Chat

Yesterday, I had gone for a birthday party of one of my school senior. Had a very good time in the party. Food was also very good. There they had served this interesting starter. 

It was very tasty, healthy and light too unlike the usual fried snacks. It was very easy to guess the ingredients while eating it. Couldn’t wait to try it at home. And it is made with the ingredients that are usually available in most of our kitchens.

My daughter is studying hard for her school test. So, made this as a evening for her. Since it is a protein rich snack, it will give a instant boost to her energy 🙂 She really like it. Hope you all would like it too:)

  

Ingredients

Roasted peanuts- 1 cup

Finely chopped onions- 1 cup

Grated carrots – 1/4th cup

Roasted papad – 2

Lemon juice – 1-2 tsps

Chopped green chillies – 2 tsps

Red chilli powder – 1/4th tsp

Chat masala powder – 1/2 tsp

Chopped coriander leaves- 2 tbsps

Salt to taste.

Lemon slices – few

Method

Crush the roasted papad. In a large mixing bowl, add all the ingredients and mix well.

Serve immediately garnished with chopped coriander leaves, lemon slices and some papad 🙂

   
 

Biscuit Chaat

Summer snacks should be light, healthy and pertinently, hydrating and something that will cool down the body. Of course, it has to be interesting and tasty.

  

What can be better than a light, fresh and healthy Biscuit Chaat ( my creation) served with Iced Orange tea?

And the best thing about this is that it can be made in a jiffy:)

  

Biscuit Chaat

Ingredients 

Small sized salt biscuit- 11/2 cups

Moong sprouts- 1/2 cup

Chopped onions- 1/2 cup

Grated carrots – 1/2 cup

Chopped tomatoes- 1/2 cup

Dates and tamarind chutney- 2 tbsps

Red chilli powder- 1/2 tsp

Chat masala powder- 1/2 tsp

Roasted jeera powder- 1/2 tsp

Salt to taste

Chopped coriander leaves- 2 tbsps

Method 

Mix everything , garnish with coriander leaves and serve immediately:)

Can’t get easier than this, isn’t it? 🙂

 

Recipe for Iced Orange Tea

 https://anubala29blog.wordpress.com/2015/03/29/iced-orange-tea/

Aloo Tikki with Chole

Potato is known as Aloo in hindi and urulai kezhangu in tamil.

Chickpeas is known as Chole in Hindi and konda Kadalai in Tamil.

Tikki means cutlet or patties. Aloo Tikki with Chole is s very famous Chaat variety. My family is very fond of all varieties. It’s been a long time since I made this chaat. So I made this today. 

I follow the recipe of Mrs. Tarla Dalal to make Chole.

To make crispy aloo tikkis, I took some tips from a video posted by Bharatzkitchen( Crispest Aloo Tikki Recipe) specially the ingredients used for binding.

  

For Aloo Tikki

Ingredients 

Boiled and grated potatoes ( Aloo) – 3 cups

Rice flour- 2 tbsps

Poha- 1/4th cup 

Red chilli powder- 1/2 tsp

Dry mango powder- 1/2 tsp

Jeera powder- 1 tsp

Chat masala- 1/2 tsp

Salt to taste 

Oil- 2 tsps

Chopped coriander- 2 tbsps

Oil- for shallow frying 

Method 

Wash and soak Poha in 2 tbsps of water.

I used the thick variety. So I had let it soak for 10 mins,

In a mixing bowl, add all the ingredients and mix well to form a dough. Chill it in the freezer for 10- 15 mins.

 

Before starting to shape the tikkis, grease your hands with the cooking oil.

Divide the dough into equal portions. Take one portion. Roll it into a smooth ball and flatten to gently to shape it into tikki. Similarly make tikkis with the rest of the portions.

  

Heat a tawa and brush it with generous amount of oil. Gently place the tikkis on the tawa. Cook till the underside turns golden. Flip it gently and cook till the other side turns golden.

 

 Remove from the tawa and keep it aside.

For the Chole

Chole-  1 cup

Onion- 1 medium sized

Garlic- 3-4 pods

Ginger- 1 inch

Jeera- 1 tsp

Oil- 1 tbsp

Red chilli powder- 1 tsp

Dry mango powder- 1 tsp

Coriander powder- 2 tsps

Jeera powder- 1 tsp

Turmeric powder- 1/4th tsp

Chole masala powder- 2 tsps

Salt to taste.

Chopped coriander leaves- 1 tbsp 

Method

Wash and soak white chana for 8-10 hrs.

Drain the water, add fresh water, salt to taste and one tea bag. Pressure cook the chana for 6-7 whistles. It should be cooked really soft.

Peel, wash and chop onion and ginger finely.

Peel, wash, crush and chop garlic finely.

Heat oil in a pan. Add the jeera. When it starts spluttering, add the chopped onions, ginger and garlic. Sauté till the onions turn slightly golden brown.

 

 Reduce the flame. Add all the powder masalas. Sauté for few seconds and then add a cup of water. Mix well and let it cook got few mins.

  

Add the cooked chana and mix well. Check the seasonings. Add more salt if required.

Mash the chana gently and let it simmer on a low flame for 10- 15 mins.

  

To serve the Aloo Tikki with Chole

Ingredients

Aloo tikkis

Chole

Dates and Tamarind chutney

Chopped onions

Sliced lemon 

Chopped coriander leaves

Red chilli powder 

Chat masala powder

Method

Arrange the aloo tikkis on a serving plate.

Pour the Chole over the tikkis. Top it with dates and tamarind chutney, garnish with chopped onions, sliced lemon and coriander leaves. Sprinkle little red chilli powder and chat masala powder and serve immediately:)

   

  

 

Chatpata Popcorn and Sprouts Chaat

Kids demand more snacks when they are at home,  especially when they are studying. I prefer to serve them something healthy and light instead of fried and store bought snacks.

Popcorn comes very handy in these times. It’s healthy and can be made in a jiffy. But I wanted to make it more filling and healthier. I had enough of sprouts and salad vegetables and the chutnies used for make making chaat all stocked up in my fridge. I used all that to whip up a healthy chaat in a jiffy:) 

I was very happy to serve them a healthy snack and my kids loved it:)

 

 

Ingredients

Popcorn- 11/2 cups

Sprouts- 1/2 cup

Chopped onions- 1/2 cup

Grated carrots- 1/4th cup

Chopped capsicum- 1/4th cup

Puffed rice( murmure)- 1/2 cup

Chopped coriander leaves- 1tbsp

Masala peanuts- 1 tbsp

Garlic chutney- 1 tsp

Green chutney- 2 tsps

Dates and tamarind chutney- 2 tsps

Method 

Add everything in a bowl, mix well and serve immediately:)