Crispy Rice and Corn Balls

An instant snack to go with a cup of tea.
when hunger strikes and dinner time is far away and you have got only some leftover rice in your fridge....

 
1 cup boiled rice
1/4 cup frozen sweet corn(thawed) or boiled corn
1/4 capsicum, finely chopped
1 green chili, finely chopped
4 flakes garlic finely chopped
2 tbsp thick white sauce
 (heat 1tbsp butter add 1 tbsp white flour and saute for 2 min. add 1/4 cup milk stirring continuously)
salt and pepper to taste
corn flour for dusting
oil to deep fry

I have used white sauce here which acts as a binding agent as well as gives a creamy taste to the dish.
Mix all the ingredients except corn flour and oil.
Mash with your hands and Make small balls out of the mixture.

I tried to fry as it is but the corn started popping up, it didn't work.

So I dusted the balls with the cornflour .
Its always a good idea to keep them in the fridge for a few minutes after dusting , if you are not in a hurry so that the flour doesn't spoil your oil.
Deep fry in hot oil .

Crisp golden balls were ready in no time and no one could make out that they were made out of rice.
Serve with ketchup.

piplipak- khatta made out of indian long pepper

Pipli(Indian long pepper) is known for its numerous medicinal values, in curing fever, cold, nausea......
the list is perhaps endless.

In rajasthan, it is consumed very often or almost everyday in different forms of khatta. In a marwadi home You will always find atleast 3 to 4 varieties of khatta ready to serve in a dryfruit box or airtight containers any time of the day. It is a practice to eat in small quantities after meals. Now a days these are so popular that you can even find them at the entrance of most of the shopping malls.
Many ladies make khatta at home out of preserved lemon peels or  dates, but pipli is the most important ingredient in all of them. It tastes like pepper but is much more pungent & leaves a tingling feeling on your tongue.
I had some leftover rasgulla syrup with me so I thought of utilizing that to make piplipak. This was my first trial, I was scared that it might turn out hard, but it came out perfect and disappeared in a single day.

1 cup rasgulla syrup or  sugar syrup(1/2 cup sugar+1/4 cup water boil until sugar dissolves)
1/2 tsp pipli powder
1/2 tsp rock salt
1/4 tsp black pepper powder
1/4 tsp clove powder
1/4 tsp cardamom powder

Boil the syrup stirring in one direction continuously until its frothy & almost ready to set. You can check its consistency by taking a drop between two fingers, press & release a few times if you see atleast two prominent threads in between your fingers its ready. Add all the dry ingredients and switch of the flame.
At this point you can check the taste & can add more salt or pepper as per your choice. Continue stirring until it starts hardening. (stirring will make the piplipak softer to melt in mouth)
Immediately pour it into a greased metal plate. when it slightly hardens cut into squares or diamonds(just the knife marks) & release the pieces only after it hardens.
Store in an airtight container.

Paneer Tikka

A vegetarian Barbeque.

for marinade:

3 tbsp curd

1 tsp garlic paste

1 tsp ginger paste

1 tsp green chilli paste

1 tsp cornflour

1/2 tsp cumin powder

1 tsp kasoori methi

1 tsp lime juice

salt to taste

Paneer & Vegetables of your choice

I have used:

1 capsicum

1 onion

1 tomato

• Cut all the paneer & vegetables into big pieces
• Mix all the ingredients for marinade & put the paneer & vegetables pieces in it. Mix in so that the marinade coats them evenly.
• Marinate for atleast 30 min.
• Remove the pieces & insert them in a skewer or tooth picks.
• Grill until slightly browned in a hot oven.



• Sprinkle chaat masala on top & serve hot.

Left overs- Dried-Fried Rice

Its just another way of using the leftover rice other than making some sort of vegetable pulav the next morning.. My family enjoys it as an accompaniment to rice & dal in place of papad & its also great for appetizer bowls for any party.

To make this I just spread them evenly in a plate & place it under sun until dry (one or two days depending on weather conditions). You can store the dried rice in air-tight container for any period of time . When required fry them little by little in very hot oil. The fried rice will rise up in the oil when done. Drain immediately to prevent burning. Sprinkle with salt & red chilli powder immediately. Cool & store.

Vegetable stuffed Puff Pastry

Finally, I got the perfect recipe!

I tried several recipes to make puff pastry dough but nothing worked for a perfect pastry. While surfing the internet I came across a recipe for puff pastry. I found that its actually the method which you use plays an important role in making perfect puffs .This method seemed quite easy compared to other recipes where you have to brush the dough with fat several times. Here you only need to roll & fold, no brushing again & again. One very important thing I learnt is that while making pastry the temperature of the dough should be always maintained cold & the butter or margarine which ever you use should not be allowed to melt in the process. So here's my tried & tested recipe for puff pastry. Its actually very easy to make the pastry dough only thing scary about it is that its time consuming. So make the dough ahead when you have enough time & store it in Freezer for instant snacks.

makes: 20 medium puffs

for the pastry dough

2 cups plain flour

250 gms margarine (you can also use butter)

1/2 tsp vinegar

1 tsp salt

extra flour for dusting

for vegetable stuffing:

2 potatoes, boiled & mashed

1 1/2 cup boiled mix veg(chopped carrots, beans or peas)

3 green chillies finely chopped

2 onions chopped

1/2 tsp turmeric powder(optional)

1 tsp chilli powder

1 tsp lime juice

salt to taste

2 tbsp oil

for vegetable stuffing:

Heat oil & saute onions until light brown.

Add the spices, mix veg, potatoes & salt. Mix well & cook for 3 min.

Remove from fire & add lemon juice.

For the pastry dough:

1. Cut a small strip from the margarine about 40gms & mix it to the flour along with salt & vinegar. Knead the flour into a soft dough using some water.
2. Cut another thin strip from the margarine about 20 gms & keep aside. This we can use for brushing purpose.
3. Now crush the margarine lightly & assemble again like a dough & roughly form into a square shape. Remember, the margarine should not melt while you are handling it.
4. Flatten the dough & place the assembled margarine block on it & wrap the dough around it.



5. Sprinkle some flour & roll the dough into an oblong shape. Don't press at once else the margarine will pop out of the dough. So gently roll it.
6. Now fold it into three parts as shown in the picture.
7. Keep it in the Freezer for about 10 min. (If the quantity of the dough is more you will have to increase the Freezing time also.)
8. Take ou the dough & roll again into an oblong shape & agin fold it into 3 parts.
9. Put it back in the Freezer. Repeat this process for 5 to 6 times.
10. Finally take out the dough from Freezer & roll it into oblong shape to a thickness of 1/4 inch & cut into small squares depending on the size required by you for your pastry.
11. Fill the stuffing in the squares & fold it either into a triangle or rectangle shape by pressing the edges together.
12. Arrange the puffs on a greased baking tray . Brush the top with the melted margarine we kept aside in the begining.
13. Bake in a preheated oven at 220 degrees for first 15 min.
14. Reduce the temperature to 180 degrees & bake for another 10 min.

Variations: You can make any stuffing of your choice for these puffs like cheesy puffs, sweet puffs etc.