Layered Tikki Chaat & Vegetable Puffs ( Leftover special!)

How many of us struggle with the leftovers being passed around without anyone wanting to eat them. Every leftover can be spiced up ,altered and created into a brandnew dish without even knowing it was the leftovers from our earlier meals. Creativeness is key in this ,at the same time the nutrition has to be retained as we may be overcooking the food. Herez an example of my leftover special and also my entry to the   Left Over delicacies Event hosted by our friend  Chef of the Lounge @  http://spicylounge.blogspot.com/
Thanks for coming up with such a challenging event!

Layered Vegetable Tikki Chaat

      The tray of tikki's arranged and served right before the party


Ingredients
Left over Vegetable ( any dry (non gravy) ) vegetable would work
Potatoes Boiled and mashed 1
Boiled peas 1/2cup
raisins 2tbsps
onions diced 1/2cup
Dry masalas
Chaat masala 1tsp
dhaniya powder 1tbsp
salt
garam masala 1tbsp
Bread crumbs 1/2cup
oil/butter for pan sauting the tikkis

Method:
Mix the Leftover Vegetable along with the rest of the ingredients and make a mixture.
lightly dust in the breadcrumbs and pan saute the tikkis on each side until brown and crisps.

Serving the Tikkis:
U will need
Medium spiced Store brought salsa
green chutney
tomato ketchup
yougurt
sev
Arrange the tikkis on the platter.
on each of them layer the salsa,green chutney,tomato ketchup,yogurt and sev
serve hot!

Vegetable Puffs

The same ingredients are used in the Vegtable puffs
after making the mixture from the Leftover vegetables ,fill them in a thawed stored brought puff pastry sheet and bake according to the package instructions.
serve with the same chutneys and sauce.

Mumbai Usal

Mumbai Usal.

Usal is basically a spicy curry made with dried or sprouted legumes. The popular ones are Matki usal,Mattar usal and Moong usal. Usually Matki and Moong are sprouted before used to make usal. Today I am posting a recipe for Mutter usal,which can be substituted with matki or moong sprouts if u want.

Usal is usually served with pav,lemon wedges,onions and raw green chillies. Its exteremely tasty and poor man's food in Maharastra.Its extremely famous on the road side hotels, dhabha's on Maharatra highways ,canteens,railway station cafeteria and local bus stands ,as it is tasty and filling . Its served a lot during lunch and there is a twin called misal which is basically usal topped with farsaan and sev.Other variations include pakodi usal pav,where crisp onion pakoda's are crushed and toped over usal.,samosa usal ,wada usal and on and on. But the classic never gets worn out and its a popular favourite in my hometown....

Hope u make it and enjoy it!


Method
Part 1

Soak 1 cup of white peas(vatana) in 3 cups of water for 3hrs.

Pressure cook with salt,tumeric and a pinch of hing just for 2-3 whistles.(otherwise it will become very very mushy).

Part 2

Gravy

Ingredients:
chopped onions 1cup

chopped tomatoes 1cup

chopped ginger,garlic and green chillies 2tsp each

tumeric powder

garam masala powder 2tsp

chilli powder 1tsp

jeera seeds& mustard 1tsp each

salt

oil 1tsp


Method

Heat oil in a kadai.

add the jeera seeds & mustard and then onions. saute for 2mins. next add the ginger,garlic and chillies.

fry well.

Next add the tomatoes,add the masala powder,salt and the cooked peas.

add 2cups of water and simmer for about 30mins in medium flame.

at this stage u can serve it with pav or bread ,But traditionally,this is topped with spicy rasa or gravy and then served.Its taste is fully enhanced only if u serve it with rasa.

I like this to be served with rasa,because it reminds me of my college cateen and the golden days !!!


Part 3
Rasa(or spicy gravy)

oil 2tbsp(NOTE THAT ITS TABLESPOON NOT TEA SPOON)

onions finely chopped 1/2cup

chilli powder 2tsp

garam masala powder 2tsp

lemon juice 1tsp

corriander chopped 1/2cup


Method

Heat oil,add the onions. fry it till its golden brown.

now add the chilli powder, garam masala powder and immediately add 1cup of water.

add salt and allow it to boil for 5-8mins.

put off the flame.

add the lemon juice and the corriander chopped.





serving suggestion.

option 1

pour the rasa on the usal and serve.


option 2

Take 2 laddles of usal in individual serving bowls.

take 1 laddle of rasa and pour on top of the usal.

on the sides :pav/bread/naan.onions and lemon.

Red Pepper Chutney

I'm always fascinated with the different range of colored peppers that are available these days at our grocery stores. And we don't make much use of it except for stirfries . When I came across the goodness of Red peppers which has more vitamin c than an orange I decieded to make the best use of it in my kitchen. I made this chutney and it became a favourite, the natural sweetness of the redpepper makes the chutney more tasty!This recipe is particularly healthy since it has just a few drops of oil,and it doesn't over cook the pepper ,so its nutritional values are intact. Plus it just takes 10mins ,so before the rice is cooked the meal is ready!

RED PEPPER CHUTNEY

Ingredients:
1 Large Red pepper diced into cubes and seeds removed
5-6 dried red chillies (Add more for more spicy chutney)
salt
tamrind extract 2tsp
Hing a pinch
urad dal 2tbsp
oil 1tsp

Method
Heat oil,add the urad dal and red chillies and fry till they are roasted and golden
remove and set aside
now add the diced pepper in the remaining oil and fry until they are just soft
in a blender ,grind together the peppers,dal,chillies,tamrind paste,salt & hing into a thick chutney consistency.
serve with rice,dosa,idlies or chappatis.