- What’s Cooking? by P.S. Lakshmi Rao
Alu Tikki Fingers
Filling
2 Russet or Idaho potatoes (medium size). Cut potatoes into half with skin and cook until soft. Remove the skin and mash.
3 slices white bread with ends removed and torn in to small pieces
½ cup chopped fresh or frozen spinach (cook and squeeze the water out)
½ cup finely chopped fresh coriander (cilantro) leaves
¼ cup finely chopped onion
2 long hot green chilies finely chopped
1 teaspoon kasoori methi leaves
1 teaspoon coriander powder
½ teaspoon curry powder
1 teaspoon red chili powder
1 teaspoon mango powder (amchur)
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
½ teaspoon cumin seeds
½ teaspoon paprika (optional)
1 teaspoon salt or to taste
Mix all the above ingredients with mashed potatoes. Make a small lime sized ball and shape it like a green chili. If the dough is soft and difficult to make chili shape mix one or two more bread slices. Repeat with rest of the dough and keep the potato fingers aside in a large tray.
Batter
3 cups chana flour (gram flour)
½ cup rice flour
1 ½ cups water
1 teaspoon salt or to taste
1 teaspoon red chili powder
½ teaspoon ajwain seeds (vamu)
1 pinch soda bicarbonate
Mix chana flour and rest of the above ingredients together without any lumps until creamy.
Cover a cookie sheet or pizza plate with three layers of paper towels for fried potato fingers.
2 cups oil for frying
Heat oil in medium heat in a frying pan. Dip each potato chili in to the chana flour batter and drop it carefully into the hot oil and turn them over quickly and remove them from the oil with slotted spoon on to the prepared paper towels. Repeat with rest of the potato fingers and let them cool.
Mix one tablespoon of water into the chana batter if it is too thick at this time. Dip each chili in to the batter and fry them again until light brown. Keep them on the paper towels.
Tastes good with cilantro, date, or ginger chutney.
Quick Peach Dessert
- Quick Peach Dessert
2 large ripe peaches
4 cups water
1tablespoon honey
2 tablespoons powdered sugar (confection sugar)
Boil four cups of water in a saucepan. Drop peaches slowly into the water. Turn them over after thirty seconds with slotted spoon. Remove peaches from the water and drench them in to ice cold water or wash them with cold water. Take peaches out of water and peel the skin.
Cut the peach in to half and separate them into two sections gently, being careful not to squish them. Remove the seed. Cut each section in to nine pieces. Keep them in a serving dish. Repeat this process with other peach and half.
Drizzle honey over peach slices. Sprinkle one tablespoon powdered sugar and gently mix them together. Keep them in the refrigerator. Just before serving sprinkle rest of the sugar
(1 tablespoon) and eat.
You can eat just peaches or with ice-cream.
