Crispy chickpeas in airfryer

One of my recent innovations is airfried channa. One day, I was about to make some sundal (chickpea salad) out of the soaked channa and suddenly got an idea and tried a bowl of this. Though its crispy , it wouldn't be hard like the store bought uppu kadalai.

Ingredients:
Chickpeas (channa / kondai kadalai) - 1 cup
olive oil / or any cooking oil - 1 tbsp
rice flour - 1 tbsp (optional)
pink Himalayan salt / salt - to taste (1 tsp)
turmeric powder - 1 tsp
red chili powder - 1/2 tsp
curry masala powder - 1/2 tsp

Method:
Rinse and soak the white channa for 6-8 hours or overnight.
Drain the water.
Mix all other items given (salt, turmeric powder, rice flour, chili powder, oil, curry powder) using a spoon.
Preheat the airfryer to 400 F for 5 minutes (I do this while mixing the ingredients). Set the timer to  15 minutes.
My airfryer can handle 1 cup (presoaked quantity) of channa. So do it in batches, if needed.
Start the frying process. Airfry it for 5 minutes in maximum heat. Then reduce it to 375 and toss it and repeat for another 5 minutes. Take out , toss and repeat till it gets crispy.
Always keep watching after 10 minutes as it gets brown and hard if not tossed in between.

Take out. Spread over a broad plate and let cool. Then store it in airtight container.
Airfried channa is ready to snack on!

Microwave potato chips

Many years ago, I have seen my mom , chithi and grandma (Tuticorin) making deep fried potato chips and plantain chips in bulk during our holidays. Mom would store them all in a big yellow container and serve it along with variety rice like lemon rice , tamarind rice etc during our picnics. After that I had never cared much for chips till marriage. On seeing hubby's eager to have crispy chips, I started making them in Chennai, as buying a pack of air for a large money was not in my budget:). I used to fry the potato chips and give him as side dish for his lunch box. But US living has shown me how easy it is to buy a bag of chips in an affordable price:) So whenever we go to the grocery store Aldi, one of our biggest challenge is passing across that potato chips aisle:). That too summer time curd rice and chips lunch is a favorite in my house:) . But I control myself , as nowadays I refrain ourselves from packaged foods and would console us that I would make better fresh chips at home. Deep frying during summer is a very tough job for me, so I started making potato chips in microwave oven and conventional oven. Preparing homemade chips either baked or fried, gives us a lot of satisfaction, healthy chips, oil less or fresh oil chips, extremely economical , a new post for my blog and that is the only way our parents had enjoyed fresh foods. Do this and enjoy a easy less calorie spicy snack:)

Microwave potato chips

Ingredients:
Potato - 2
olive oil - 2 tbsp
salt - 1/2 tsp
red chilly powder - a pinch

We will need:
A microwave
2 or 3 microwaveable plates
a vegetable grater / mandolin / peeler

Method:
Wash the potatoes, scrub and remove skin. 
Slice the potato to very thin slices using a mandolin (very thin wafer chips) or vegetable peeler or knife (for thick chips).
I used the slicer / cabbage shredder portion in the 4 side  vegetable grater.
Put the slices in cold water for few minutes to remove starch. Squeeze them and let it air dry for few minutes.
Mix with salt and oil. Arrange the slices in single layer in the plate.
Microwave for 2 minutes on one side. Peel, flip and microwave for 30 seconds - 1 minute without browning them.

Take out and let it cool. The chips turn very crispy after few minutes (immediately after cooling).
Repeat for all the slices arranged in other plates.
Sprinkle red chilly powder and enjoy!
Microwave potato chips is ready!

Serving suggestion:
Serve as snack or side dish.
This chips stays fresh and crispy till next day. I didn't count after that, as we had finished it then:)

Note:
The microwave I have used is a GE brand. 1.58 Kw capacity. Normally the microwave ovens in USA are mostly made for reheating and defrost purpose only (unlike Indian microwaves with built-in grill mode). 

Corn and black bean salad

Corn and bean salad is another popular salad. This is a salad I often see in food network shows. There may be many variations but I customized it according to my taste and calorie need. Though the recipe is simple, I wanted to note down the way I prepare my own 'home made salad dressing'.  Here I have used the black bean. Black bean tastes similar to whole black gram (urad dhal). It can be substituted by red bean , rajma (kidney beans) or any bean of our choice.

Ingredients:
cooked sweet corn kernels- 1 cup
cooked black bean - 1 cup
tomato - 2
red bell pepper - 1
cucumber -1
white onion - 1/2
cilantro - handful

dressing:
Extra virgin olive oil - 1 tbsp
vinegar - 1 tsp
lemon juice - 1/2 fruit
salt - to taste
red chilly powder - 1/4 tsp
pepper powder - 1/2 tsp
sugar - 1 tbsp
garlic powder - 1/4 tsp
dried Italian seasoning herbs - 1 tsp

Preparation:
Soak 1/2  cup black bean in water overnight. Wash and  remove the water.
Add enough water to just immerse the soaked bean. Pressure cook for 3 whistles or cook in stove top till it is soft.
(or) Buy a can of cooked black bean. Wash well to remove excess salt.

Method:
Mix all the items given for dressing, shake well. Keep refrigerated until we need. we can keep this for 1 week (I have not tested more than that).
Cut the onion, cucumber, pepper, tomato into 1 inch size cubes.
Finely chop the cilantro.
Put them in a large bowl and add the cooked beans , corn.
Mix well. Add the required salad dressing , toss and serve.

Serving suggestion:
Makes a starter food or healthy snack.

Wheat oats Ladoo

Happy Dussera to my readers and friends!

Here is a semi-healthy snack to munch on:)

Ingredients:

Whole wheat flour - 1 cup
oats - 1 cup
puffed channa dhal (pori kadalai) - 1/2 cup
brown sugar / white sugar - 1 1/2 cup
cardamom powder - 1 tsp
ghee - 1 tbsp + 1 tbsp
cashew , raisin - 1 for 1 ladoo
milk - 1/2 cup
dry ginger powder (sukku) - 1 tbsp

Method:

Heat a wide frying pan with 1 tbsp ghee.
Fry the cashews , raisins in the ghee.

In the same wok fry the oats till it turns crispy and mild pinkish.
Once it gets cool, grind it to a fine powder. Keep aside.

Now add the remaining ghee and start roasting the wheat flour.
After some time, the flour will turn very loose and flavorful.
Roast it in medium flame till it starts turning mild pink.
Take it off the wok and let cool.

Grind the puffed channa dhal to a fine powder along with cardamom.

Powder the brown sugar / white sugar in a blender.

Mix the 3 flours, sugar, nuts, ginger powder and sprinkle some milk to moisten it.
Let it be just enough to make balls and not sticky as we are not going to knead it as a dough:)

Make lemon size balls. (It should be soft and powdery, but holding the shape).

Wheat oats laddu is ready!

Serving suggestion:

Serve as snack.
If made with 1/2 cup ghee instead of milk, it stays longer.
If made with milk it can be refrigerated for a week.

Sweet Paratha.

Belated Indian Independence day wishes to all my readers and friends. Here is a healthy dessert idea for the oncoming Vinayagar Chathurthi festival. Happy celebration to all!

This is a green gram based boli / poli/ stuffed paratha.

Some months back I prepared this  paratha, when hubby had a different work schedule. I prefer giving a homemade snack pack especially on such days, so that I can track what he eats:) The beauty of this paratha is the rich fiber content with some jaggery. As we all know how fiber gives a 'fullness' feeling for a long time and so this can be a perfect choice for an evening snack. I prepared the stuffing on the previous day and kept it refrigerated. The next day by early morning I prepared these parathas, let them cool and kept them in rubbermaid lunch box. I am glad that everyone liked it. I am sure this will be a great choice for kids who prefers stuffed parathas for lunch.

Outer layer:

Wheat flour - 1 1/4 cup
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
salt - a pinch
Sesame oil - to make paratha

Mix the flour, salt, Turmeric powder.
Add water little by little to get a thick chapathi dough like consistency. Coat it with little sesame oil and cover it with a wet cloth / clear wrap.We can prepare this dough and keep in fridge overnight.
Before making the paratha leave it in room temperature for 1/2 an hour. After that divide the whole dough into 12 (or equal size balls) portions.Shape them in to balls. Keep aside.

Stuffing:

Green gram - 3/4 cup
Jaggery - 3/4 cup
cardamom powder - a pinch
shredded coconut - 1/4 cup (optional)

Method:

Soak the dhal for 2 hours. Cook and remove the water. Mash the moong gram. (We can use the water to make rasam / soup). Mash the dhal to fine paste using a mixie / a spatula. Heat 1/4 cup water and dissolve the jaggery in it. Then filter any dust / sand present. Mix the jaggery solution with mashed dhal and heat it in a wok. Add coconut and powdered cardamom now. Let it loose all the moisture and become a thick mass.
Switch off stove and let it cool. Divide it in to equal size balls.

To prepare paratha:

Take one 'wheat flour ball'. Apply oil to it. Using a rolling pin flatten it to a circle. Do not use flour to spread the circle. Instead apply oil generously to spread it.
Take one 'stuffing ball'. Place it on the center of the circle.
Now fold it with the covering dough closely , so that no stuffing can be seen from outside.
Now again apply some oil and carefully spread it to a thin circular shape (approximate diameter should be 5 - 6 inch). Don't worry if you see some pooranam from inside in this stage, as it will become fine after frying.
Heat a dosa tawa. Evenly apply sesame oil on the tawa .Reduce flame and fry the bolis on both sides till we see some brown dots all over.
Again increase the heat, apply little oil, reduce heat and fry the bolis in lesser heat.
Take out , let cool and store in a container.
Like wise proceed with the rest of the dough.
Sweet paratha is ready!

Serving suggestions:

Serve as meal or evening snack.
Makes 12 numbers (approx) .
The leftover boli (if any) can be wrapped in ziplock covers and kept refrigerated for a week.

Note:

Like wise we can make numerous verieties of sweet stuffed bolis like, coconut boli , date fruit boli, sesame boli, fruits boli, ghee boli, Jeera boli (boli soaked in sugar solution) etc.

Sundal

Here is a well known healthy snack, the sundal. In India sundals are very regular during festivals,  temple offerings etc. It occupies a major role in Navarathiri pooja, a prominent Hindu festival in India. The Navarathiri or Dhasara is celebrated 10 days continuously. It is a celebration of Goddess Ambal's victory .The ladies arrange Golu (scene depicting culture using idols)  and offer these sundals to the God and distribute to the guests as prasatham.

Memories: It varies from region to region and  depends on which God they consider as their main deity . In my native place (dad's home town), the major Goddess is Bagavathy Amman and so Navarathiri is celebrated to honor the ladies of a family. The unmarried girls are considered as Goddesses and offered many gifts while participating in the function. In my dad's family the aim of the  function is to welcome the daughters who are given in marriage and to pamper the homesick girls , of course with her husband too:) Some do the fasting the whole day (9 days and the 10 th day is full of feasts) , powder the rice manually (using ural + ulakkai), make rice flour lamps (mavillakku) , sweet dumplings (kolukkattai) and in the evening there will be singing and poojas and a lot of yummy goodies to all:) .

Konda kadalai sundal.

Ingredients:

White or red chick peas - 100 gm (1 coffee mug full)
coconut oil - 1 tsp
shredded coconut - 2 tbsp
dry red chillies - 3
curry leaf - 2 sprig
mustard seed - 1 tsp
salt - to taste
water (to cook) - to immerse and 1 cup standing over.

Method:

Soak the chick peas over night.Fast Soaking can be done in hot water for 6 to 8 hours along with some baking soda. The peas will double in size after soaking.

The easiest way is to buy a canned one, but I prefer the home cooked ones better .

Remove the soaked water (must). Wash again and add some more water. Pressure cook the peas with more water to stand above the peas. Let it whistle once, then reduce the flame and cook in low flame for 15 minutes. Release pressure and take out. Add salt, drain the water.

Heat oil in a wok. Splutter the mustard seeds. Reduce flame and add the red chillies, curry leaves and wait till the chillies turn dark red. Add the cooked channa and stir fry till it looses all the water. Check the salt and put lot of freshly grated coconut. Switch off immediately.

Serving suggestion:

Serve as snack with tea / coffee.
It is my habit to make some chundal with variety rice like puli saatham (Yummy!).
This is a very healthy protein rich snack with nearly 100 calories per cup.
We can make many chundals like this from various lentils like whole green gram (pachai payaru), channa dhal (kadalai paruppu), moon dhal (paasi paruppu), cow peas (thattam payaru), field beans (mochai /val) etc.

Poom paruppu Sundal

Sundal (Tamil) is a kind of spicy snack made of lentils. It is often considered a very healthy snack to have with evening tea or munch throughout the day. Also it is served during important Hindu functions as offering to God (Prasadam).

Poom paruppu is a regional name given for the most renowned kadalai paruppu sundal. The meaning is poo - flower ; paruppu - lentil. More specifically, 'A sundal made with the lentils cooked till they bloom like a tender flower'. Isn't it attractive?

So, enjoy the summer evenings with this beautiful sundal along with a cup of tea:)

Ingredients:

Bengal gram (channa dhal / kadalai paruppu) - 1 cup
mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
coconut oil - 1 tsp
dry red chillies - 2
curry leaf - few
salt - to taste (little only)
shredded coconut - 1/4 cup

Method:

Wash and clean the dhal twice.
Soak the dhal for 30 minutes and cook it over stove till it becomes tender (not mushy).
If we don't have time to soak, then we can pressure cook it to 2 whistles with water just to immerse the dhal (not more than that).

Remove the excess water. Mix some salt to taste. Keep aside.

Heat oil in a wok. Add the mustard seeds and let it splutter.
Then add the dry red chillies (broken), curry leaves and stir for a few seconds till the chilly swells.

Immediately add the cooked dhal, shredded coconut and stir well.

Put off fire.
Poom paruppu sundal is ready!

Serving suggestions:

Serves three.
Serve as snack with tea or coffee in the evening.
Sometimes I make it as side dish for puli saatham / lemon rice etc.

"Fibre rich " susiyam / sooyam (sweet stuffed balls)

Susiyam or seyyam or sooyam is an all time favorite for my husband . So i make it for festivals.Susiyam is traditionally made with channa dhal.But for a change , i tried making susiyam with germinated Green gram and cowpea and it came very tasty than ever.These sprouts are good for health also .

Ingrdients:
Green gram - 1 cup
cow pea (karamani)- 1/2 cup.
Jaggery - 150 gms (8-10 small cubes)
oil - 200 ml (to deep fry)
maida / All purpose flour - 3 spoons
rice flour- 2 spoons.
salt - 1/4 tsp.
tumeric powder- 1/4 tsp.
cardamom- 4.

Method:
(1)Soak the dhals for 4 hours and drain the water. Tie them loosely in a clean cloth and allow it to germinate for a night.
Now our dhals are loaded with vitamin E and vitamin C.
Pressure cook them with 1 cup water for one whistle . Take them out and mash them by a spoon.
(2) Add 1/4 cup water to jaggery and heat it. wait until it dissolves. Strain the jaggery solution and discard any sandy leftover at the bottom.
(3) Now add the jaggery solution to the mashed dhal and heat them in a vessel , until the mixture loses any moisture and becomes easy to handle.Add powdered cardamom.
(4) After the dough becomes cool, make small balls of the size of a "small Key lemon".
(5)Mix rice flour, all purpose flour , salt, turmeric powder, with 1 cup of water to get a thin batter.
(6)Heat corn oil in a frying pan . Take a ball , coat it with the batter by soaking . Then deep fry the coated balls for a 1 minute.
Take care not to char the balls.

Serving suggestions:
Makes 30 susiyams. It can be served as a dessert or a festive time snack.

Oats and Raisin cookies. (eggless version)

Everybody knows oats is good for health. So here is a cookie with oats. we can replace an unhealthy snack with this flavorful Oats and Raisin cookies.

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cup uncooked oats.
3/4 cup All purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar .
1/4 cup raisins.
1/2 stick butter (1/3 cup softened )
1/4 cup milk
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
1/2 tsp baking soda.
1/2 tsp cream of tartar or 1/2 tsp white vinegar / lime juice.
1/4 tsp salt

Method:

Preheat oven to 375 deg F.
Gather everything in a big mixing bowl by hand. Keep it inside refrigerator for easy handling.
After 10 minutes spread an aluminium foil over a baking tray.
Roll the dough into small balls (size of a big gooseberry) and flatten them on the tray by using the bottom of a glass tumbler .
Place all cookies 1.5 inch apart , because the tiny cookies will swell and become big cookies , occupying more diameter.
Bake 9 minutes in 375 deg.
Take out and let it rest , so that it becomes stiff.(take the cookies out ,once the bottom seems mild brown in color. At this
stage the cookies will be soft , but after a few minutes outside they turn stiff.)
This cookies will be more soft and a bit chewy.
variation:
If you want to get more stiffened cookies add 1 egg instead of cream of tartar.

Serving suggestion:
makes 25 cookies.