Onion Pakoda

Pakoda is one of my favorite snacks from childhood. We used to make a beeline to the kitchen every time she made it. Yesterday my daughter wanted to have them for snack. We had a mother-daughter time together making it.

Ingredients:
1 large onion, chopped
2-3 green chili, chopped
2 T chopped fresh cilantro
1 T chopped fresh mint
1 T chopped fresh curry leaves
2 T peanuts
1 T cashew nuts(optional)
1/8 t turmeric powder
1/2 t chili powder
little asafoetida
salt to taste
1/2 C besan(chick-peas flour)
1 C rice flour
1t ghee
oil to deep fry

Method:
1. Heat oil for frying.
2. Mix the first 11 ingredients in a large bowl. Leave it for 5 minutes.Add the rice flour and besan. Mix well. Sprinkle little water if needed. Add ghee and 1 tablespoon hot oil; and mix.

3. When the oil is hot enough add pakoda mixture with hand(sprinkle over oil). Cook till golden brown. Repeat the process with the entire mixture. Serve with ketchup(kids love it) or green chutney and sweet chutney.

Gongura Pappu

Couple days ago my neighbor gave me a bag of Gongura leaves from her garden. I was skeptical about using it because the leaves are very sour. I did not know how much it will be liked by my family. It is very popular in Andhra, where they make a pickle out of it. There are 2 types of gongura, one with green stem, which is slightly bitter and one with red stem. I had the green stem leaves. My husband looked for a recipe online and read it out to me and I made it for lunch. It was not well received by my kids, but my husband enjoyed it.

Ingrdients:
1 onion, chopped
1 small tomato, chopped
2 green chili, slit
1 t sambar powder
1/2 t chili powder(optional)
1/2 t turmeric powder
salt to taste
3 C chopped Gongura leaves
1/2 C cooked toor dal
For seasoning:
2 t oil
1/2 t mustard seeds
1/4 t urad dal
1/4 t cumin seeds
1/8 t asafoetida
2 red chili

Method:

1. Heat oil in a pan to medium. Add the ingredients for seasoning. Add onion and green chili and cook till translucent. Add tomato, sambar powder, chili powder and turmeric powder; cook for a 5 minutes.  Add chopped gongura and salt; pour enough water; cover with a lid and cook. Stir in cooked toor dal; cook for 2 more minutes and remove from stove. Serve as a side dish with rice and sambar.