Snacks – Page 2 – Meal Haven

Ragda Pattice/Patties (Potato Patties with White Bean Gravy)

A popular street food of Mumbai loved by people of all ages with potato patties and boiled white lentils. This tongue tickling dish is made up of 2 components, shallow fried crispy potato patties perked with desi spices and spicy ragda. A unique combination of spicy, sweet, tangy, crunchy and crispy textures and flavours.

Makes 8 patties

Ingredients:

For Ragda:

White peas – 1 cup

Mustard Seeds – 1/2 tsp

Asafoetida – a pinch

Curry leaves – 6-7

Green chillie – Ginger paste

Turmeric powder – 1/4 tsp

Chillie powder – 1/2 tsp

Lemon juice – 1 1/2 tsp or Amchur powder – 1/4 tsp

Garam masala – 1/4 tsp

Salt – to taste

Water – 2 1/2 cups

Oil – 3 tsp

For Patties/Pattice:

Potatoes – 3 big boiled

Coriander leaves – 1 tbsp chopped

Corn flour – 2tbsp

Lemon juice

Ginger-Green chillie paste

Salt to taste

Oil for shallow frying – 2 tbsp

Other ingredients for assembling the patties:

Sev – 4 tbsp

Chopped onions – 4 tbsp

Chopped tomatoes – 2 tbsp

Coriander leaves – 2 tbsp

Yogurt – 2 tbsp (optional)

Sweet chutney – 4 tbsp (recipe given below)

Green chutney – 3 tbsp (recipe given below)

Chat masala – 1/2 tsp

Fried Groundnuts/Peanuts – 2 tbsp (optional)

Preparation:

Ragda:

Soak the white peas in water overnight (pic 1). In the morning, drain the water and transfer it to a cooker (pic 2). Add 2 1/2 cups of water, turmeric powder and salt and cook it in the cooker for 20 minutes or 6 whistles (pic 3). Turn off the flame and when the pressure is released from the cooker, open and check if the peas are tender and cooked very well. Keep it aside. (pic 4)

Make a paste of ginger and green chillies (pic 9).

Heat a pan (pic 5). Add oil and when it is hot, add the mustard seeds, curry leaves and the asafoetida(pic 6 and 7). Mash the cooked white peas coarsely with a masher and add it to the pan (pic 8). Add the ginger-green chillie paste (pic 10), garam masala powder (pic 11) and red chillie powder (pic 12) and mix well. Add salt and lime juice or amchur powder and boil it once (pic 13). Once the raw smell disseappears, turn off the flame and keep it aside. The ragda should have a flowing consistency and should not be very thick.

Patties:

In a bowl, mash the boiled potatoes well (pic 14). Add the green chillie-ginger paste, coriander leaves, corn flour, lime juice, salt and mix well (pic 15). Knead it well into a dough mixture (pic 16). Divide them into 8 equal balls and flatten it between the palms of your hands, taking care not to break them. Arrange the patties on a plate (pic 17).

Heat oil in a tava or griddle. When it is hot, place the patties on it and cook them on medium flame for 3 minutes until they are golden (pic 18. Flip to the other side and cook until they are golden (pic 19).

Assembling the patties:

In a plate, pour 2 tbsps of radga on it (pic 21). Place 2 patties on the ragda (pic 22). Pour 2 tbsp again on the patties (pic 23). Sprinkle some chopped onions and fried peanuts on it (pic 24 and 25), followed by chopped tomatoes (pic 26), drizzle of green chutney (pic 27), yogurt (pic 28) and sweet chutney (pic 29). Top it with some sev and coriander leaves (pic 30 and 31) and serve (pic 33).

Green chutney: (pic 20)

Mint leaves – 2 cups

Coriander leaves – 1 cup

Green chillies – 3 chopped

Salt to taste

Lime juice – 1 tbsp

Ginger – 1/2 inch piece

Combine everything in a blender with 1/2 cup of water. Grind it to a smooth paste.

Sweet chutney:

Deseeded dates – 1 cup

Deseeded Tamarind – 1/2 cup tamarind pulp

Roasted cumin seeds powder – 1/2 tsp

Red chillie powder – 1/2 tsp

Black Salt/Rock Salt – 1/4 tsp

Salt to taste

In a bowl, mix tamarind and dates with 2 cups of hot water and soak for for 1 hour. Blend them in a mixie alongwith the water, to a smooth paste. Sieve it and keep it aside.

Heat a pan. Transfer the tamarind-dates pulp to it. Add rock salt, red chillie powder, salt, cumin seeds powder and cook for 2 -3 minutes. Boil once stirring in between. Put off the flame and let it cool. You can store this chutney in the fridge in an air tight container for a month.

5 Minutes Bread Bonda

Snacks

An easy and quick snack which can be served to guests and liked by kids and adults alike.

Makes 12-13 bondas

Ingredients:

Bread – 5 slices + 3 slices (white or brown)

Onions – 1 big finely chopped

Coriander leaves chopped – 1 tbsp

Green chillies – 2 finely chopped

Chillie flakes – 1 tsp

Rice flour – 2 tsp

Yogurt – 3 tbsp

Salt – as needed

Oil for frying

Preparation:

Cut the 5 bread slices into pieces and grind it coarsely in the mixie. Keep it aside. Coarsely grind the 3 bread slices and keep it separately.

In a mixing bowl, add the ground bread slices (the 5 pieces), onions, rice powder, yogurt, red chillie flakes, coriander leaves, green chillies chopped, salt and knead it into a pliable dough. Keep it aside for 5 minutes.

Make 12-13 round balls of the dough.

Transfer the coarsely ground bread pieces (3 pieces) onto a plate. Roll the balls in the bread flour and deep fry.

Heat oil in a pan. Drop the balls gently in the oil and deep fry until they are golden in colour.

Masala Vadai or Paruppu Vadai

Snacks

A crispy, spicy tea time snack which is very popular in the Southern part of India. A hot favourite during the monsoons, these crunchy vadas are served with a hot mug of chai or filter coffee.

Ingredients:

Bengal gram dal/Chana dal – 1 cup

Udad dal – 1 tbsp (optional)

Onion – 1

Green chillies – 4

Aniseed – 1 1/2 tsp

Ginger – 1 inch piece

Curry leaves – 1 sprig

Coriander leaves – 2 sprigs

Salt to taste

Oil for deep frying the vadas

Water – 3 cups (to soak the dal)

Preparation:

Wash and soak the bengal gram dal in water for 2 or 3 hours. After 3 hrs, drain the water through a colander and keep it aside.

Chop onion fine and chop the coriander leaf and curry leaves.

Meanwhile, in a mixie jar, add the aniseed, ginger and green chillies and grind it without adding water. The ground mixture may be slightly coarse which is perfectly fine. Remove the mixture and keep it separately.

Now, in the same jar, add 1/3 of the soaked and drained dal and grind it coarsely without adding water. Remove the ground gram and add the other 1/3 rd of the dal and grind it again very coarsely. Repeat it for a third time and keep the ground dal separately. You may particularly note that the gram should not be ground to a fine paste.

Now add the ground mixture of (green chillie, ginger and aniseed paste) to the dal mixture and add salt. Also, add the chopped onion, coriander leaves and chopped curry leaves. Combine it well. Make balls and slightly flatten them in the middle.

Heat oil in a kadai or a small wok. To check if the oil is at the right temperature, drop a tiny bit of the dal mixture into it. The dal mixture should come up immediately. This indicates the vadas are ready to be fried in the oil.

Gently slide the flattened vadas in it. Keep the flame on medium-low and flip the vadas to the other side when it turns golden. Once both the sides turn golden, remove and drain it in a kitchen tissue and serve it with coconut chutney.

Using Air Fryer to make the vadas:

Place the vadas in the airfryer as mentioned in pic 1. Brush the vadas with oil. Heat the airfryer to 200 degree C for 20 minutes and turn the vadas to the other side. Cook for another 10 minutes. Make sure to check the vadas in between. It should be cooked to light brown and crisp on the outside.

KFC Style Fried Chicken

Non-Vegetarian, Snacks

When a friend asked me to try this one, I never expected it to be so finger licking good….. Here, I have made some variation to suit my palette and the result was that it tasted as good as KFC, if not even better. The flavourful crust with the succulent pieces is so darn delicious.

Ingredients:

Chicken thighs – 1/2 kg

Egg – 1

Red chillie powder – 1/2 tsp

Buttermilk – 1/4 cup

Salt as needed

Oil for fying (sunflower or corn oil)

For the coating

All Purpose Flour – 2 cups

Garlic powder – 1/2 tsp

Red chillie powder – 1/4 tsp

Pepper powder – 1/4 tsp

Dried Oregano – 1/4 tsp (optional)

Dried Basil – 1/4 tsp (optional)

Salt

Preparation:

Clean and cut the chicken into medium sized pieces. Marinate the chicken in buttermilk, chillie powder, egg and salt. Mix it well and let it marinate for 2 -3 hours.

Meanwhile, in a bowl, mix the ingredients for the coating together well. Do not add water to it.

When you are ready to fry, take a chicken piece from the buttermilk and make sure to drip the excess liquid and dust it well all over with the flour. The chicken should be well coated with the flour. Repeat the process for other pieces too.

Heat oil in a pan. When it is smoking hot, drop the chicken pieces into it. Reduce the flame to medium low and fry for about 5 minutes. When it is golden brown, flip it to the other side and fry well. Remove and transfer the chicken pieces onto a kitchen tissue or plate.

Vegetable Cutlets

Snacks

A delicious snack made with vegetables and potatoes which can be baked or shallow fried. It is mainly served as a snack in the evenings with a cup of tea or coffee.

Ingredients:

Beans – 6 to 7 pieces

Cauliflower – 3 or 4 small florets finely chopped

Peas – 1/4 cup

Carrot – 1 finely chopped

Onion – 1 medium chopped fine

Potatoes – 3 big

Green chillies finely chopped – 5

Ginger Garlic paste – 1/2 tbsp

Coriander leaves – 5 stalks

Garam masala powder – 1/4 tsp

Bread slices – 2 crumbled

Salt- as needed

For crust:

Maida – 2 tbsp

Pepper – 1/4 tsp

Salt -as needed

Water – 2 tbsp

Bread crumbs – 1 cup

Oil – 2 to 3 tbsp

Preparation:

Boil potatoes in water, until soft. When it is cooked, remove skin and mash it and keep aside.

Heat oil in a pan. Add finely chopped green chillies, saute followed by onions. When the onions becomes translucent, add ginger-garlic paste and fry until the raw smell of onions disappears. Then add finely chopped carrots, saute and then, the finely chopped beans and stir for 2 minutes on high heat. Add chopped cauliflower and the peas and stir again.

When it is cooked al dente (not fully cooked, 3/4 th cooked), take it off the fire and add finely chopped coriander leaves, add 2 pieces of fresh bread crumbs, mashed potatoes, salt and garam masala powder.

Divide them into equal balls.Then flatten them slightly to make thick patties and keep them aside in a plate.

In another plate, put half of the bread crumbs and keep them aside.

In a small mixing bowl, add maida, salt, pepper and water and make a thin batter. If you want a thicker crust, the batter should be slightly thick.

Keep the patties, bread crumbs and the batter together, close to each other.

Next, dip the patties in the batter and place them on bread crumbs. Turn it and coat the other side also with bread crumbs.

Place it on a plate and continue with all patties until it is well coated with the crumbs.

Heat 2 tbsps of oil in pan and place the crumb coated patties and shallow fry them in oil on both sides, until it turns golden brown.

You may also bake the patties for 15 minutes in the oven at 180 degree Celsius. Serve it with tomato ketchup.

Sabudana/Sago vada

Snacks

A Maharastran evening snack made with sago (tapoica pearls), potatoes and peanuts, which is crisp on the outer side with a soft texture inside.

Ingredients:

Sabudana/Sago/Tapoica pearls – 1/2 cup

Water – 3/4 cup for soaking sago

Roasted peanuts – 1/4 cup

Potatoes – 1 big or 2 medium sized

Green chillies – 2 finely chopped

Cumin seeds/Jeera – 1/2 tsp

Corainder leaves – 2 stalks chopped

Rice flour (optional if needed only) – 1 tbsp

Preparation:

Soak sago in 3/4 cup water for 2 hrs. Some sago may require longer time. You can find out by pressing the sago. If it is soft, it is soaked well or else, soak it for longer time.Drain it well in a colander and keep it aside.

Powder the roasted peanuts coarsely.

Boil the potatoes and mash them well. Do not overcook the potatoes.

In a mixing bowl, add the mashed potatoes, sago, coarsely powdered peanuts, green chillies, jeera, coriander leavess, salt and mix well.

Shape them into vadas or patties. They should not be too thick or too thin.

Heat oil in a pan. When it is hot, slip the vada into the pan. If it starts to break, add 1 tbsp rice flour to the dough, mix again and fry on medium flame. When it turns golden brown on one side, flip it to the other side. When it is done, take it off and drain it in a kitchen tissue and serve.

Dal Dhoklas

Snacks

I once had these at a Gujarati friend’s place in Bahrain in 1998 and have been hooked to it ever since. Now universally popular, these dhoklas just melt in the mouth……

Ingredients

Chana dal – 1 cup

Udad dal – 1/2 cup

Enos fruit salt – 3/4 to 1 tsp

1/4 cup curds/yogurt

Green chillies – 2

Ginger – 1 inch piece

Coriander leaf chopped – 1 tbsp

Sugar – 1 tsp

Salt to taste

Shredded coconut – 1 tbsp

Seasoning:

Mustard seeds – 1 tsp

Curry leaf – 1 sprig

Soak both dals for 4 hrs and grind it to a smooth paste. Make a paste of green chillies and ginger and add to it. Add curds/yogurt and ferment it overnight. After it is fermented, just before u steam the batter, add sugar, salt and enos fruit salt to it and mix it well. The batter will start to froth. Pour it into a greased plate and steam for 10 mts. Once it is cool, add the seasoning of mustard seeds and curry leaves. Sprinkle chopped coriander leaf and shredded coconut on top.

Note : Enos Fruit Salt is essential to make this recipe.

Dahi Vada with a twist

Snacks

Fried doughnut shaped dumplings made out of lentils. It is usually served as a snack alongwith tea. It is an India street food and is part of many festive menus. This recipe is slightly different than the usual dahi vadas or thayir vadas.

Ingredients

Split Urad dal-1 cup

Besan or Gram flour – 3 tbsp

Raw Rice – 2 tbsp

Curds – 1/2 cup

Green chillies – 2

Onions – 1 big chopped fine

Whole pepper corns – 10

Salt – as needed

Black salt- as required

Spices- Chat masala, kashmiri red chilli powder, jeera powder

Seasoning:

Mustard seeds – 1 tsp

Green Chillies – 2

Ginger – 1 inch piece chopped

Curry leaf – 1 sprig

Asafoetida – a pinch

Cashews and Ompudi (Sev) for garnish

Preparation:

Wash and soak dal for 5 hours. Grind it to a smooth batter in a mixer or grinder. Sprinkle very little water. Continue to grind until the batter looks fluffy and white. Add only a tbsp of cold water again, if required to grind. Add required salt. To check if the batter is ground to the correct consistency, drop 1/2 tsp of batter into the water. It should float on top of the water. Now, transfer it to a bowl. Add chopped onions, green chillies cut and whole pepper (you can skip if you do not like it). Lastly, add besan to the ground udad dal batter and mix well.

Heat oil in a kadai. Dip your fingers in water to moisten your fingers. Take small portions of the batter and shape it like a ball and make a hole in the center. Gently slide the vadas in the hot oil and deep fry the vadas. Once the oil is really hot, reduce the heat to medium and fry the vadas. Take it out when both the sides turn golden brown.

When the vadas becomes slightly cold, drop them in a bowl of warm water once, dip it and squeeze it well .Beat the curd well add little salt to it and add the seasonings and keep it ready. Now pour the beaten curd mixture on each of the vadas which have been arranged in a serving plate or bowl. Sprinkle Chat, jeera powder, red chilli powder, black salt. Garnish with sev and coriander leaves. Enjoy!

Medhu Vadai

Breakfast, Snacks

An authentic South Indian breakfast item ! No celebratory breakfast is complete without the awesome combination of idli, vada, pongal. It is a South Indian fritter, light and fluffy, shaped like a donut and made from udad dal lentils. Tastes good with sambar and coconut chutney.

Ingredients:

Whole white urad dal – 1 cup

Rice flour – 1 tbsp

Oil to deep fry

Onion – 1 big

Green chillies – 2 (chopped into pieces)

Curry leaves – 1 sprig (chopped)

Coriander leaves – 2 sprigs (chopped)

Whole Peppercorns – 1/2 tsp (optional)

Ginger chopped – 1 tsp

Salt – 1/2 tsp or as required

Preparation:

Wash urad dal thoroughly and soak for two hours.

Drain and grind urad dal using very less water, in a wet grinder. If you are using mixie, use ice water for grinding to avoid heat generation. Grind as a thick fluffy batter by sprinkling very little water only when needed. Keep adding just 1/2 tbsp of water at a time to grind. To check if it has the right consistency, take a bowl of water. Drop 1/2 tsp of the ground batter into the water. The batter should float on the water and not sink. If it floats, you can remove the batter and transfer to a bowl.

Add chopped onions, ginger, peppercorns, chopped green chillies, chopped curry leaves, coriander leaves, salt and add it to the batter.

Heat enough oil to deep fry the vadas.

Check the temperature of the oil by dropping a small pinch of batter. If the batter rises immediately to the top, the temperature of the kadai is right. Now, reduce the temperature to medium flame and start dropping vadas carefully.

Take some water in a bowl, dip your fingers. Scoop out small ball size of vada batter with your wet fingers, flatten slightly, and make a hole and gently slid it into the hot oil. When both the sides turn golden brown, take the vadas out of the oil. You can fry 3 to 4 vadas at a time depending on the amount of oil. Serve with coconut chutney or sambar.

Notes: If the vada batter is not thick and is a bit watery, add some more rice flour to it. Do not soak the udad dal for more than 2 hours.