Whats Cooking!!!!

After a long time it rained here and this was this seasons first heavy rain. What's better than a plate full of hot vada with ghuguni and a hot cup of tea / coffee. Ingredients: Urad Dal : 1 cup Onion: 1 medium thinly siced Green Chilli: 2-3 finely chopped Ginger: 1/2 inch finely chopped Salt: 1tbsp Suji: 1/4 cup Oil for deep frying Procedure: Soak the dal in water for 4-6 hrs. Drain and grind the dal into a smooth paste using little water.  Don't use lot of water else the mix would be very runny. Add the sliced onion, chopped green chilli, ginger, suji and salt to the paste.  With a spoon mix it nicely in circular motion.  This way the batter would become fluffy. Heat oil in a kadhai. Take some oil in palm, take small balls of dough in hand, flatten it little bit and  with a small hole in the center add the vadas one by one .   Fry till golden all around. Technically this should give you perfect donut shaped vadas but in my case they n

Baigan Bharta is a popular punjabi dish. It takes on a lot of prep work and cooking. I should say all the work is worth it. Its really delicious. But in Orissa there we prepare a different version of it, that is quick and easy. Its very popular in every household and is enjoyed a lot. Ingredients: Baigana ( brinjal/eggplant ):  1 large Onion :   1 medium finely chopped Garlic: 4  cloves finely chopped. Green chilies:  2 Mustard oil -2 tbsp Salt to taste Procedure: Brush Baigana(eggplant) with oil and roast it on a medium flame. Frequently turn the eggplant upside down, until fully roasted. Once done , hold it under running cold water or in a bowl of water. Cool it and peel off the blackened skin. Mash the flesh. Add the finely chopped onion, garlic, green chilies, sorisa tela(mustard oil) ,salt and mix it well and serve.  In another version you can roast so dry red chili and use it instead of green chilli. It makes for a great side for pakhala bhata.