Vegetable tempura

In keeping with my Japanese theme I decided to make vegetable tempura to go along with my sushi. I followed a food network  recipe for the batter and went rogue on the vegetables/ fruits I used to make tempura. I’ve always thought that tempura was similar to Indian pakoras without the heavy batter on the vegetables. Looking at the history I noted that tempura was introduced to Japan by the Portuguese living in Nagasaki in the 16th century. Per my Wikipedia research - ‘The name "tempura" originates from the Latin phrase quatuor anni tempora, which refers to the Ember days, during which no meat is consumed’ 

Ingredients:

All purpose flour - 1 cup 

Cornstarch - 1 tbsp 

Seltzer water - 1.5 cups 

Salt - to taste 

Vegetables: any cut into desired thickness and length 

I used : onion, carrot, sweet potato , avocado, green beans , asparagus, broccoli , mango and pomegranate

Vegetable / canola Oil 1 cup - 2 cups for deep frying 

Sauce :

Soy sauce - 3 to 4 tbsp

Brown sugar - to taste 

Apricot jelly - to taste 

Water - to dilute to desired consistency 

Instructions 

1. Mix all the ingredients of the batter together in a large mixing bowl 
   
   
   
   
   
   
2. Dip the vegetables or fruit in the batter to coat them thinly and then deep fry them until golden brown. 
   
   
   
3. Tempura is ready to serve. I made a quick sauce with soy sauce , water, brown sugar and apricot jelly mixed together to use as a dipping sauce which was quite tasty 
   
   

Tip: if you have left over tempura you can heat it up in the air fryer at 350 for about a minute to two to get tempura that tastes just like when you pulled it out of fry pan ! 

Appam

Appam

A lot of Indian sweets are complex to make however appam is relatively easy to make. It is made with common ingredients such as all purpose flour and cream of wheat. A lot of Indian sweets are very sweet but this one is mildly sweet and is a perfect snack that can be eaten any time of day. 

Ingredients:

Mix the following dry ingredients in a bowl 

Maida ( all purpose flour)- 1/2 cup

Rava ( sooji/ cream of wheat)- 1/4 cup 

Sugar- 1/4 cup 

Cardamom- 2 pods (powdered)

 

Add 1/4 cup of milk (cold) 

and  1/4 cup water to the above and whisk to a batter consistency 

Instructions: 

Heat oil in a fry pan

Add (~ 1 to 1 1/2 tbsp) of the  appam batter to the hot oil  to about 2 inch size diameter circle 

Wait for the appam to turn golden brown 

Turn the appam over and wait for another minute or so 

Takeout the cooked appam, drain excess oil and leave on paper napkin

Appam is now ready to serve. 

Vegetable or paneer bajji (pakora/ fritters)

 Bajji is a South Indian snack. Any vegetable or Indian cheese (paneer) can be dipped in a batter and deep fried . This is very similar to state fair foods in the US.

Ingredients for the batter:

Besan flour (chickpea flour) - 1/2 cup

Rice flour - 1/2 cup

Red chili powder - 1/2 tsp

Salt- 1/4 tsp

Asafoetida- a pinch

Baking soda- a pinch

Water

Other ingredients 

Vegetable you want to fry : choose your vegetable or paneer

Onion - cut into thin rounds or into long thin slices

Potato - cut into thin rounds

Carrot - cut into 2 inch thin strip

Plantain cut into two and then into thin vertical slices

Paneer ( if frozen thawed) cut into small cubes - 1 cup

Oil for frying about 3 cups - can use canola/vegetable oil

Instructions

1. Mix all the ingredients for the batter in a large mixing bowl
   
   
   
2. Add water ( take a cup of water) to it slowly some at a time and mix the batter. You want the batter not too thick but not runny . You should be able to coat the vegetables in it.
3. While doing this place the oil in a deep saucepan (or use a deep fryer set to 375 F) and place on high heat until the oil is heated (about 375F). If you don't have a thermometer take a little bit of batter and put in the oil and you will know it is the right temperature if the batter cooks without burning and rises to the top slowly ( if it sticks to the bottom the oil is not hot enough and if it burns and comes to the top too quickly then the oil is too hot). Once the oil is heated well reduce to medium heat.
4. Now take the vegetables or the paneer and dip in the batter with your hands until it is coated well
   
   
   
   
   
   
5. Next drop the dipped vegetables/paneer in the oil gently ( make sure you slide it in the oil making sure not to drop it from a height since this will cause the burning oil to splash on you and cause burns)
   
   
   
6. Fry until one side is golden brown, then turn over with a skimmer spoon ( stainless steel spoon with holes in it to drain the excess oil) so the other side is golden brown.
   
   
   
7. Place the bajjis on plate with paper towels on them to drain the excess oil
   
   
   
   
   
   
8. Serve with tamarind sauce/coconut chutney(coconut chutney)/ketchup

Medhu Vadai (savory fried snack)

Growing up I enjoyed medhu Vadai as a treat during festivals. Later in life we made it whenever we had a hankering for a savory fried snack or when we saved some of the urad dal batter used in making idli batter.

Ingredients:

Whole Urad dal ( skinned black gram)- 1 cup

Salt - 1/2 tsp ( to taste)

Onion - 1 medium cut into small pieces

Ginger - 1 inch cut into small pieces

Green chillies - 2 to 3 de-seeded and cut into small pieces

Curry leaf - 4 to 5 leaves

Cilantro - a few leaves ( without the stem)

Rice flour ( optional) - 1 to 2 tbsp

Baking soda - 1 pinch

Water

Oil - 2 to 3 cups for frying

Ziploc bag, or plastic wrap ( in India we use a banana leaf)- used to form the vadas

Instructions:

1. Wash the urad dal and then soak it in water until completely submerged. Soak for at least 3 to 4 hours
2. Drain the water out
3. Grind the urad dal without adding too much water - add a few tablespoons to begin with and grind ( you can use a blender or a Indian wet grinder).
4. Grind until it is a smooth fluffy paste.
5. Pour into a bowl and mix it with your hands or a spoon for a few minutes to make it airy
6. Add the cut onion, ginger, chillies, curry leaf, cilantro, baking soda to the batter. Optional : You can add a few tablespoons of rice flour, this makes the vada crispy 
7. Heat oil to 375 F ( in fryer) , if using a saucepan heat up oil- and test the temperature - it is at the correct temperature when you add a little glob of batter to the oil and it turns golden brown and rises up slowly. ( note : oil is too hot if the the batter gets black and rises up too fast , too cold if the batter sticks to the bottom). Turn down the heat to medium.
8. Add a little oil to the ziploc bag and spread it around in a thin film. Take the batter and place it on there and flatten it. Make a small hole in the middle to resemble a donut.
   
   
   
9. Slide the vada slowly into oil. Fry until golden brown and turn it over to make sure both sides are cooked until golden brown.
10. Take the vada out with a skimmer ( app on with holes) to drain the oil and place in a plate lines with paper towels to drain the oil.
11. Vada is ready to serve with coconut chutney (coconut chutney)