Zucchini Masala Vada Recipe | Zucchini Masala Vadai | How to make Zucchini Masala Vada

Zucchini Masala Vada is a spicy traditional vada made with Zucchini or Summer Squash along with chana dal and other added ingredients. This recipe was in my draft for months & finally today I was able to press the publish button for this dish. As mentioned I made them long back ago for a magazine. My mom was visiting us in USA & she helped me in making this dish. 

This deep-fried masala vada's are so delectable that you can never stop from munching on more of these. For a healthy version you can shallow fry or pan fry to enjoy them without any guilt. We enjoyed these masala vada's a lot & I hope you would too. 

You can accompany these Zucchini masala vada's along with a cup of your favorite drink for a relaxed evening.

You may like this too:

Masala Vada {Baked}
Onion Samosa

Prep Time - 2hr 30mins 

Cook Time-15mins

Serves – 3 to 4 people

Ingredients

1Zucchini

3/4Cup chana dal

1/2Cup finely chopped onions

4Garlic cloves

1Tbs grated ginger

5Green chili’s

1/2Cup finely chopped mint

Salt to taste

Oil for deep-frying

Directions

- Soak chana dal for minimum of 2hrs.

- Grate Zucchini & add a pinch of salt to it. Leave for 10mins. Use a cheesecloth to squeeze out extra water & keep aside.

- Grind garlic, ginger & green chili’s. To that add chana dal & mint. Coarse grind the mixture.

- Transfer it to a bowl along with salt & onions. Mix them well.

- Heat oil for deep-frying. Take a scoop of dal mixture & make a patty out of it.

- Drop it slowly into oil & add in another few patties to oil. Don't over crowd the pan. Fry them crisp on both sides. 
- Place them on to a kitchen towel to remove extra oil out of them. Repeat the same with rest of the dal mixture.

- Serve them with ketchup or with your favorite chutney.
Note

- You can shallow fry or pan fry theses vada’s. They may not be as crisp as deep-fried one’s but tastes awesome & sure are healthy.

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Masala Corn Chaat Recipe | How to make masala corn chaat

Masala Corn is a tempting chaat for cold winter evenings. This is a easy & kid friendly chaat which can be made in very less time. In process of making it you can use a microwave to finish it off easily or you can also pan fry corn in making this dish. You can simply leave onions & carrots out of this dish to make it buttery sweet & flavorful. I love carrot in any chaat, so added a little more than needed. Enjoy this healthy chaat !!! 

Prep Time-5mins 
Cook Time-2&1/2mins 
Serves-2People
Ingredients
1Cup fresh corn kernels or frozen
1Tbs butter
1/2Cup grated carrot
1/4Cup finely chopped onions
1/4Tsp garam masala/Chaat masala
1/2Tsp chili powder 
1Tsp lemon juice {Adjust as needed}
Salt to taste 
Chopped coriander leaves for garnish
Directions 
- In a microwavable bowl take corn kernels & sprinkle with little water. Microwave for 2mins on high. Check if corn kernels are cooked soft.
- To the same bowl add butter, garam masala, salt & mix them. Microwave for 1/2min & remove from microwave. Cool the mixture before adding onions. 
- Add in onions, carrot, chili powder & lemon juice. Mix them well. Adjust taste if needed. 
- Garnish with coriander & serve right away.
Note
- I used garam masala instead of chaat masala. It's your choice.

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Achari Paneer Tikka

Achari Paneer Tikka's are a delectable snack bites. The word achar means pickle & the spice mix that is used here in making these tikki's is used in most of the Indian pickles. This spice mix adds flavor to paneer when mixed in marination. While making the spice mix I fried spices a little crisp to get fine powder rather than coarse. I oven baked  these tikki's, but you can also pan fry them for a quick finish. To extend this recipe you can make a creamy tikka masala using this tikka's. For now I'm sharing this tikka recipe with you all. Here is a recipe for pan-fried Paneer Tikka dish, which can also be converted as a baked dish. 

Prep Time-2hrs {1hr 30mins marinating + prepping}
Cook Time-20mins
Serves-2People
Ingredients
12 to 15 pieces of paneer
2Tsp oil
For marination
1/2Cup curd
1/2Tsp turmeric
1Tbs ginger garlic paste
1Tbs corn starch
1Green chili
1Tsp lemon juice
Salt
Achari mix
1/4Tsp jeera
1/4Tsp mustard seeds
1/2Tsp dhaniya
1Tsp fennel seeds
2Red chili's
Pinch of methi seeds {6 to 7 seeds}
Directions 
- Heat pan & add achari mix ingredients to it. Briefly fry them for few seconds. Switch off heat & cool them. Grind them to smooth powder & keep aside.
- In a bowl add in marination ingredients.  Next add in grind achari masala powder & mix them.
- Fold in paneer pieces in to marination. Close it with a lid & allow it to sit for minimum of 30mins.
Baked Version
- Pre-heat oven @350F & line a baking sheet with foil or parchment paper.
- Line paneer pieces in a row & bake @350F for 10mins. Brush oil on all sides. In to the oven for another 10mins.
- Paneer pieces will be lightly browned on top & all the masala will be dried up.
- Remove from oven & cool them. 
Stovetop Version 
- Heat a pan & spread oil on it. 
- Lay few paneer bites on pan individually.  Fry them till they are brown on both sides. 
- Repeat the same with rest of the paneer pieces. 
- Enjoy as they are or serve with ketchup.

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Gobi 65

Gobi 65 is a easy to make quick snack. My favorite version of 65's is Paneer 65 & always loved to order it or make it at home. This time I tried baked version of gobi 65 & interestingly it turned out to be great. As I have mentioned in my blog many times, I'm not a fan of deep-fried foods. I love shallow frying anything & everything. It kinda gives me a satisfaction that I'm taking control on what I dump in to my tummy. So with that inspiration I made Gobi 65 in both baked & shallow frying versions. I liked both the versions, but loved the shallow version as it has right amount of crispiness & oil to it. Sharing both versions of this dish here. Enjoy them as you like.

Prep Time- 45mins {30mins marinating + 15mins}
Cook Time-30mins
Serves-2people
Ingredients
30 to 40 Cauliflower florets
4Tbs oil {for shallow frying}
2Tsp {For baking}
Water
Batter 
1/2Cup corn flour
2Tbs all-purpose flour
2Garlic cloves grated
1Tsp grated ginger
1/4Tsp turmeric
1Tsp red chili powder
1Tsp garam masala powder
2Tsp lemon juice
Salt to taste
Directions
Marination
- In a bowl take all the ingredients under batter. Add in little by little of water to make a some what thick batter. Adjust taste if needed.
- Now add in florets to batter & coat them well. Allow them to sit in batter for 30mins.
Baking 
- Pre-heat oven @350F & line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Lay marinated florets in line on the sheet & in to the oven for 10mins.
- Remove from oven & by now the batter should be dried out. Brush oil on the florets on both sides & again in to oven for 15mins.
- Now you can see a nice crust on top of the florets.
- Remove from oven & cool them off on counter.
Shallow Frying
- Heat pan with 4tbs oil. To pan add few battered florets & fry them on both sides.
- Remove them on to a paper towel & repeat with rest of the florets.
- Serve them with ketchup & enjoy.
Note
- Chili powder I use for cooking is extra hot & spicy. Adjust it in recipe as needed.
- You can replace garam masala with chat masala powder.

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Kanda Poha Recipe | Kanda Pohe | How to make Kanda Poha

Kanda Poha is a traditional Maharashtrian breakfast dish. It is simple yet filling breakfast dish to start fresh mornings. While growing up my mom made this as a snack & some times she even served it for dinner too. Like my mom I make this dish for dinner as it is easy to make & also love making this dish on hot summer nights as it consumes very less time in making. This recipe can be customized according to your taste easily. The best part of this recipe is it is a microwave version & consumes less time than the stove-top method. 
You can also check the other recipes for Kanda Poha Maharashtrian Kanda Poha & Madhya Pradesh version of Kanda Poha by clicking the links. 

Prep Time-10mins 
Cook Time-6mins in microwave 
Serves-2people 
Ingredients 
2Cups thick poha {Flatten rice or beaten rice}
1Onion finely chopped 
1/2Cup broccoli florets 
2Green chili's slit into half 
Few curry leaves 
Lemon juice for taste
2Tbs grated coconut
Coriander leaves for garnish
Salt for taste 
Tempering 
1Tbs oil
1Tsp jeera 
1Tsp mustard 
2Tsp urad dal 
Directions 
- Take a strainer & add poha to it. Under running water wash poha & keep aside.
- In a microwave bowl add oil, jeera, mustard & urad dal. Microwave for 1min. 
- Next add in finely chopped onions, green chili's, turmeric & curry leaves. Microwave for 1min & mix with a ladle. Back into microwave for another 1min.
- Next add in salt & broccoli florets to bowl. Microwave for another 1min & mix with a ladle. Back into microwave for another 1min. 
-  Add in poha & salt to bowl. Microwave for 1min & you are done. 
- Mix in lemon juice & grated coconut. Taste poha & adjust salt, lemon juice if needed. 
- Garnish with coriander leaves {I skipped} & serve warm. 
Note
- You can add in grated carrot, potato & green peas to make it much yummier. 
- I skipped adding coriander leaves as they were non available at that time. Add it for a much flavorful dish.

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Baked Green peas

Baked Green Peas is a guilt free snack & it is also a sister dish of Fried Green Peas. This fried peas are widely available in Indian stores, but the sad part is they are deep-fried with god know's what oil they have used. I'm too reluctant in buying any kind of snacks from out side & that gives me a chance to experiment these dishes at home. I made this baked green peas to make them healthy & at the end result was yummy as the deep-fried one's. Try making this guilt free snack & enjoy !!! 

Prep Time-30mins {Thawing + Drying}
Cook Time-30mins 
Serves-2people
Ingredients
1/2Cup green peas 
1Tsp oil 
Salt & chili powder for taste
Directions
- If using frozen pea's then thaw them & fresh peas are the hero then cook them ahead. 
- Dry peas on a kitchen towel & make sure they are dry before baking them. 
- Pre-heat oven @400F & line a baking sheet with parchment paper. 
- In a bowl take peas, oil, salt & chili powder. Mix them well & make sure that peas are well coated.
- Layer up the arranged baking sheet with green peas by leaving a little distance in between them.
- In to the oven @400F for 30mins or until green peas are crisp.
- Remove from oven & cool them on counter. 
Note
- Store them in an airtight container. 

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Masala Vada {Baked}

Masala Vada is a popular Indian tea time snack. This vada is crisp & crunchy in texture. This is originally a deep-fried dish, but here I'm sharing a healthier baked version of this snack with out loosing the goodness of deep-fried version. This recipe can be customized easily with your choice of ingredients. Other than baking & deep-frying you can also shallow fry them with out loosing any goodness of this vada. 

Prep Time-40mins {30mins of soaking + 10mins}
Cook Time-30mins
Serves-8 to 10 vada's
Ingredients
1/4Cup channa dal
1/4Cup toor dal
2 Tsp jeera
2Green chili's
2Tsp grated ginger
1/2Cup chopped onions
Few curry leaves
1Tbs oil
1Tsp chili powder
1/2Tsp baking powder
Salt to taste
Directions 
- Soak chana dal & toor dal for minimum of 30mins & maximum of 3hrs. 
- Pre-heat oven @350F & line up a baking sheet with parchment paper. 
- Strain water from dals & add them to a blender along with jeera, green chili's, ginger, curry leaves & onions finally. 
- Coarse grind the mixture & transfer to a bowl. Mix in salt, chili & baking powder.
- Scoop up a small ball of batter & lay it on the baking sheet. Press a little to make a nice round shape as shown above. Repeat the same with rest of the batter. 
- Place sheet in oven & bake them for 10mins. Remove from oven brush on little oil on each side of the vada's. Back in to oven for another 15mins or less @400F. 
- You can see a brown crust on top & when you flip it will be light brown too. 
- Remove from oven & allow them to cool on the counter. 
- Serve warm with ketchup or any spicy chutney of your choice. 
Note
- I changed the temp of oven as it will help in perfect baking. 
- You can bake @400F thru out but the bake time will be sure reduced. Keep an eye to prevent from burning vada's.
- In addition to the ingredients you can add in 1Tbs of ginger garlic paste for more flavorful vada's. 
- Don't add extra water for grinding. We need a thick batter for crisp vada's.
- You can replace curry leaves with coriander or mint leaves. It's your choice.

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Fried Moong Dal

Fried Moong Dal is an amazing tea time snack which is crunchy & addictive. I'm sharing two versions of making this snack. The actual recipe for fried moong dal requires moong dal to be deep fried in oil, but the microwavable recipe for this snack reduces the oil content in it & tastes the same as deep dried one. To keep this snack fresh & crisp store it in a air tight container & it should be good for 1week. As said this is very addictive snack & sure you will not be able to stop with little bites.

Prep Time- 30mins {minimum or overnight}
Cook Time-6mins
Serves-2people
Ingredients
1/2Cup moong dal
1/2Tsp baking soda
1Tsp oil
1/4Tsp chili powder
Soft Salt to taste
Oil for deep frying
Directions
- Soak moong dal along with baking soda for minimum of 30mins & maximum to overnight.
- Strain water from dal & allow it dry on a towel. Dal should be dry. It will take 10mins to dry.
Microwave version
- In a microwave safe mix dal & oil.
- Microwave it for 1mins & mix. Then microwave it for 1more minute & mix.
- Repeat the same procedure for another 4 more minutes. If you see any lumps break them while shuffling the dal.
- You can see a fried moong dal which is fried & crisp.
- Mix in salt & chili powder. Enjoy this snack as it is.
Deep Frying Version 
- Heat oil for deep frying. Mean while arrange a plate with paper towels.
- Dal should be dry with no drops of water left to it. Once oil is hot add little by little of dal to pan & fry them to puffed shape. 
- Dal doesn't have to turn brown in color. It should be puffed & you are ready to remove it on to the paper lined plate. 
- Repeat the same with rest of the dal.
- Transfer the fried dal to a bowl. To that add in salt & chili powder. Mix it well & enjoy the snack.
Note
- For every 1min mix the dal to fry it evenly.
- Add a 1/4 tsp of chat masala to flavor it up.
- Make sure dal is dry before deep frying it.
*** Pictures represent the microwavable version.

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Onion Samosa

Samosa is a popular and favorite snack of India. This snack is originated from central asia, with a presence world wide. This snack is available as deep fried one in the markets but to make it healthy you can bake it too. So here I'm sharing both ways (deep-fried & baked) of making this dish with my one of my favorite fillings. You can make the layer from scratch or can use store bought wonton wraps to make this snack.
I'm not so crazy about these store bought samosa's with the traditional filling, but my favorite one's & those I go crazy for are sold in trains. Yes...I know they aren't made in hygienic conditions & the oil used has no words to explain. They are small in size & the onion filling makes them so tasty.
Filling is the main part of samosa. The classic filling in samosa is made of onions, potatoes & peas. You can play with fillings of your choice & can enjoy this snack. I used onion poha filling in this recipe as it is one my favorites & also a yummy filling.

Prep Time-30mins
Cook Time- 30mins to 40mins
Serves - 12
Ingredients 
For filling 
1Onion finely chopped
1/4Cup poha
Few curry leaves
1/4Tsp turmeric
1Tsp red chili powder
2Tbs oil
Salt to taste
For Outer layer 
1Cup all-purpose flour + some flour for dusting
1Tsp lemon juice
Pinch of salt
Water
For flour paste 
2Tbs all-purpose flour
2Tsp water
Directions 

Onion Filling
- Heat pan with oil. To that add onions & curry leaves. Fry them till onions are translucent.
- Add salt, chili powder & turmeric. Cook for 1min & switch off heat.
- Add poha & mix them well. Balance salt & chili powder if needed.

Making the outer layer
- Mix ingredients under out layer by adding little water at a time & form a smooth dough.
- Cover dough with a wet cloth & allow it to sit for 15mins before making roti's.
- Divide dough in to 6 equal balls. Dust the base where you are rolling the roti with little flour.
- Roll a thin roti out of the dough as seen above & keep aside. Repeat the same with rest of the dough balls.
- Heat a wide pan & allow it to get hot. Now lay a roti on hot pan & cook on both sides till the wetness disappears as seen above.
- Remove from pan & repeat the same with rest of the roti's.
Flour paste
- Mix flour & water to form a smooth paste.
Making Samosa
- Cut roti's into half as seen above. Layer the flour paste to the straight line of roti & fold it to cone shape. Press the edges a little to make sure they are stuck together.
- Now place spoon full of stuffing it to the pocket & stick the edges using flour paste. Now samosa is ready to be fried or baked. Repeat the same with rest of the stuffing & cut roti's.
For Baking 
- Pre-heat oven @400F & line up a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Arrange samosa's on the baking sheet with a little gap in between & brush them with little oil on both sides.
- Bake them @400F for 15mins & by now they should be mildly brown in color. Flip samosa's to other sideBake them for another 10 to 15mins. You can see a brown crust on top of samosa.
- Remove them from oven & cool them on counter.

Deep Frying 
- Heat oil for deep frying. Add in uncooked samosa's to pan & fry them on medium to low heat till they are nice & brown in color. You can fry couple of samosa's or more at a time depending on the pan size.
- Remove them onto a paper towel once they are golden in color on both sides. 
-Serve them hot as they are or along with green chutney or ketchup.
Note
- You can use your favorite filling instead of the one shared here.
- Brush a generous amount of oil on both sides of samosa's before baking them. This will give you crisp samosa's when you bake.
- Baked samosa's are crunchy when they are warm & are less crunchier after 1hr.

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