Instant Unniyappam

My mom's version of instant unniyappams have been always a hit. It always helps to bring down our cravings for unniyappams and to finish off the overripe bananas. And the word instant is so apt. As it doesn't need any soaking of white rice and hence no delay in making it.

Whenever we have guest who pay a surprise visit and I have hardly anything to serve them to snack on, I choose to make it. It has been a hit. Make it and let me know if you loved it.

Peanut Masala Fry/ Masala Kadala

I would call it a time pass snack. Peanuts are best associated with snacking while you are out tripping on a beach etc. You are sure to get some from the vendors to munch on. This peanut fry just adds on to the flavor of peanut and gives it a bit spicy and crunchy texture that you just can't stop munching. 

Fry and stock it for the rainy days ahead so that you get a handful of it while you go rain watching by the side of your bedroom window 😊

Chengodilu

The weather has been so unpredictable recently. Last week, I thought that summer was almost here when it was too hot during the afternoons. And all of a sudden it is raining today and will be raining for the rest of the weekend too. So we are stuck at home. 

Its spring break here and with the kid also at home, we have been doing so many activities together; even cooking. And he loves it. One way to make someone eat something that they hate is to make them cook it, so that they appreciate the effort it takes to make it and the thought of having worked on it makes it interesting. So the same is the strategy that I have been doing with my kid too. Thankfully he will not get to know, untill he learns to read it here so I am safe... he he.

Rice Murukku ~ Spicy version

With Diwali approaching, you might be spending a lot more time in the kitchen preparing all the snacks and sweets for your family and friends. Sweets are one important thing on the menu and so are snacks. I still remember having Dahi Vadas, Chaats, Chakli etc along with the sweets, which our neighbor aunty used to serve us for diwali. Yum they were. Years have gone by but those days and memories are still so fresh. This spicy version of chakli is something that you should try to add a little variety to usual murukku/chakli that you make. If your family loves spicy food then I bet this would definitely be a hit.

This recipe just happened when I was trying out some other snack and it usually takes a lot of time, but I had to head to some place in an hour and just thought of giving it the murukku avatar instead. It wasn't a flop at all. My lil one loves spicy food and when I made it, he kept coming back to me asking "Eruvulla murukku Tharamo" meaning "Can you give me the spicy murukku". 

Dahi Vada or Indian Savory Donuts in Yogurt Sauce

My love for Dahi vadas get linked back to the Holi celebrations while I was a kid. Our neighbour aunty used to make these during Holi. Apart from all the sweets that she would serve for us, I used to love these. The taste still lingers around my tastebuds.

The perfect time to eat these vadas dipped in the yogurt sauce is summer. Its so refreshing and filling that you just forget to crib about the hot summer. The recipe to the amazingly yum dahi vadas is here.

Bread Pakoda

When I was a kid, I remember my mom would ask me to wait at the gate having heard the ringing of a cycle bell. My job would be to call up the guy by the time mummy would fetch the money to be handed over. It would be bread wala bringing in fresh bread and buns from the bakery. The packets would still have some vapours trapped in them and still a little hot.

Mummy would then make hot bread pakodas out of the hot bread. Or it may take the shape of sandwiches or French toast etc to be packed for tiffin to the school.

Sabudana Vada

Rains are here and last weekend it just didn't stop pouring. It was just wet everywhere because the rain is just drizzling throughout. So its cold and the only thing one would want to go is sit idle in a cozy place and read. But one can't. Because when its cold, you tend to get hungry everytime or would crave for something to munch on. We don't usually give in to fried stuff at home. But my lil one likes it and so we do make them sometimes.

Some sabudana had been sitting in my pantry for sometime and everytime I open the cabinet, I think of putting it into use. So finally today, I gave in my laziness and made these vadas for our tea. They were just perfect to pair with some ginger tea.

Tamukku ~ A Banana Delight !

This recipe, unlike other overripe banana recipes is for you if you are lucky to have too much of banana produce at home or got lots of bananas at a hugely discounted price and wondering what to make out of them to prevent getting spoiled or simply because, you love having Tamukku. In our case, the love for tamukku is the primary reason for making it.

Back at home, whenever we have a huge produce of bananas, apart from distributing and redistributing among relatives and friends and also having it every day for breakfast with puttu, upma, Aval villayichathu etc. we would make this tamukku. They are truly addictive. It is also sometimes given away in churches as Nercha. My intension of making it also had another reason and i.e. to make my lil banana hater, have bananas.

Potato Sandwich

The most filling, easy and made with regular ingredients is what I could associate potato sandwich with. Pack it for tiffin for school, serve it for breakfast or for tea time snack, include it in Party or picnic menu - they never loose their charm. It's always a hit. 

Served with some tomato chilly sauce they are perfect to tickle the taste bites. Here is how I make it. 

Paneer Pockets

Having something for tea time snack is just so fulfilling. It's not a must in our family though. Just tea or milk with some biscuits or fruits would serve the purpose. But I love to see the happy faces when served with some home made snacks. All the more I come from a family where my mom used to make an effort to serve us something hot and homemade to munch on snack with our milk. I used to love it and I try to continue the same.

Now the other day, my intension was to make a fried paneer pocket. But then I had a packet of bread bought the previous day which I had to use up before it goes dry and bad. So I ended up making these and named them paneer pockets because they look like them, don't they.

Aval vilayichathu

Aval vilayichathu is one among my favorites. My grandmother used to make these for us to take with us while we travelled back after our vacation, so that we could have it in train. She used to make it with lots and lots of coconut in it. We used to love having it. The very thought of it is so nostalgic and mouthwatering. My aval vilayichathu would come nowhere close to hers.

Jacob doesn't like it, so this was made exclusively for me. I being a fan, thoroughly enjoyed it. I have always been a fan of it. There is another uncooked version called aval nanachathu, that I am fan of. While in hostel, we used to get it for evening snack and not many of us used to like it. However, I used to be a happy soul when it was served. And people who didn't like it used to donate their share. So I sometimes used to end up having some portion of the donated ones too :P. Here is how I make it.