Category: Food Recipes

Samosa is an evening snack made out mashed potato with other ingredients stuffed in dough and then deep-fried. This crispy, flaky snack is a favorite to many in Asia. Samosa is eaten as a snack in many countries in Asia and is becoming popular all around the world.

Samosas can be both vegan and non-vegan. The triangular-shaped snack is filled with meat, vegetables, and also mashed potato making it a snack time favorite in many countries. Particularly in the Indian sub-continent, samosas have been prepared for long times and is seen as a snack time delicacy.

Samosa has originated from middle-east. During the Muslim rule of the Indian subcontinent, it spread in this region. This dish is gaining popularity in Europe and the West. Samosas are also highly popular in  Middle East. Samosas are found in almost all food shops in the subcontinent.

Vegetarians can enjoy vegan samosa made with vegetables used for stuffing. Air fried samosas have lower calories making them healthier. For meat-eaters, the stuffing of samosa can be made of meat and other ingredients. This is a very easy recipe and can be easily made in your homes.

To make the covering of a samosa we’ll have to use all-purpose flour, oil, water, carom seeds, and salt in quantity. For the stuffing, we have to use mashed potatoes, green peas, oil, ginger, chili, salt, and additional spices per your choice of flavor.

Samosa Recipe

Prep time : 15 m, Cook time : 15 m,  Course : Main Course, Cuisine : Indian, Servings: 5

INGREDIENTS

1 cup Flour
1 cup Refined oil
3 Potato
2 chopped green chili
1 chopped ginger
handful raw peanuts
1 tbsp ghee
1/2 tsp each ( red chili powder, coriander powder, garam masala powder , cumin powder , tsp carom seeds )

Salt to Taste

INSTRUCTIONS

Nutritional Value

Although samosas are exceptionally delicate in taste, they are not good for health. The stuffing is made of mashed potato which is rich in carbohydrate and fat. Deep-fried food is harmful to our bodies.

They delay the fat burning process by creating inflammation in the body resulting in fat and calorie build up. Although air frying, baking could help in less calorie build up and using vegetables for stuffing can be healthy for the body.

Samosa is a very delicious snack. For a good health daily consumption of such food can be avoided, though using healthy ingredients to make it can be worth the health risk altogether.

More Indian Snack Recipes

Besan Pakora Recipe

Aloo Tikki Recipe and Aloo Tikki Burger Recipe

Dahi Vada Recipe

Oatmeal is a staple food to many homes and is a highly nutritious one at that. Studies show oatmeal to be gluten-free making it a healthy recipe for those following a diet. Due to its high fiber content, people tend to eat oatmeal in a healthy diet.

Oatmeal is generally made from three kinds of oats which are whole oat groats, steel-cut oats, and old-fashioned oats. Oatmeal can be eaten any sort of toppings like almonds, peanut butter, cream, etc. giving the food more savory. We will give a general idea of this recipe of oatmeal.

Recipe

In this recipe, we’ll try to use old fashioned oatmeal. Also, we’ll have to use milk, salt, unsalted butter, and any topping as desired to make this dish tastier. The quantity of each ingredient would depend on the number of persons it is being made for.

Firstly we’d have to cook the oats with salt and unsalted butter on medium heat. The mixture should be stirred until the oats are thick and look creamier.

Depending on the individual, more milk or water can be added if the oats mixture is preferred to be thinner. In addition to all this sugar can be added including toppings like various nuts, peanut butter, jam, or even cheese if preferred.

Features

Scotland’s culinary traditions have a long history of growing oats because of their low temperature and high humidity.

Studies have shown this crop to have originated from these parts of the continent. It is completely a vegetarian dish. The nutritional value of oatmeal has prompted many to adopt it as their staple food.

Nutritional Values

Researches shows that oatmeal can lower the chances of heart disease and blood cholesterol. They are a good source of fiber, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. The dish has fame as a health food because of their nutritional values.

Oats are rich in soluble fiber making them efficient for appetite suppression and fullness of the stomach. Oats are also gluten-free and rich in protein making them reliable for a healthy diet. 

The high concentration of protein and beta-glucan links it to multiple health benefits. It is also rich in vitamins and minerals such as manganese, phosphorus, copper, iron, selenium, magnesium, and zinc. Overall oatmeal can be consumed to have a fit body and have a healthy life.

Oatmeal is a very easy recipe to make. Having multiple health benefits this food can be quite effective for our daily lives. As it satiates hunger and helps in keeping our gut health we must try to keep it in our meals every day.   

The Gobi in the “Gobi Manchurian” translates to cauliflower. It is a traditional Indo-Chinese recipe made from cauliflower covered in batter, fried and then cooked in a sweet, spicy Manchurian sauce.

The chemistry of the cauliflower florets and the delicious Manchurian sauce makes it a highly desirable food recipe. The Manchurian sauce is prepared with sautéed spring onion, a paste made from ginger, garlic, soy sauce, tomato ketchup, chili sauce, and capsicum.

Gobi Manchurian can be served with Manchurian gravy as an entrée or can also be served stir dry which is known as dry Gobi Manchurian. We will discuss more on this wonderful dish below.

This dish would require cauliflower florets which is the main ingredient. In addition batter will be prepared to fry the florets and Manchurian sauce will be prepared to dip the fried florets.

Gobi Manchurian

Prep Time : 10 m

Cook Time : 25 m

Total Time : 35 m

Course : Appetizer

Cuisine : Indian

Serving : 3

INGREDIENTS

250 grams cauliflower florets
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
3 tbsp corn flour
1/4 tsp red chili powder
1/4 tsp black pepper
Salt to taste
Oil for fry
1 tbsp Soya Sauce
2 tbsp Red Chili Sauce
2 tbsp Tomato Sauce
1 tbsp each ( Oil, Chopped Garlic, Chopped Ginger )
1 (Chopped Green Chili, Chopped Onion ( Small ) )

1/2 Cup Bell Pepper
1/2 tsp Red Chili Powder
1/4 tsp Black Pepper
1/2 tbsp Vinegar
1 tbsp Sugar

Origin and popularity

This dish is believed to have originated in Kolkata by a Chinese family living there during the British colonization of the Indian sub-continent. It is a fusion of Indian and Chinese food style.

The subcontinent is highly famous for fried foods and the Manchurian sauce is obviously a Chinese delicacy. This food recipe is now a favorite to many all around the world. The dry Gobi Manchurian serves as an appetizer and the classic gravy Gobi Manchurian serves as an entrée.

Nutritional Value

 Gobi Manchurian is entirely a vegetarian dish although non-vegetarians add meat  to it for extra taste. It is rich in protein, carbohydrate, fiber, and soluble fat.

It’s also rich in vitamin A, B1, B2, B3, C, E, and Folic acid making it a healthy food for everyone. This is an exceptionally nutrient-rich food and can help keep the fitness of our day to day lives.

This Indo-Chinese recipe has been renowned all over the world for its excellent taste, textures, and flavor variety. Not only that its richness in nutritional values makes it a highly nutritious  food and should at least be tried on once.   

Chana Dal Recipe

Chana Dal is the Hindi word for “Bengal Grams” and its fry is a traditional sub-continental cuisine. This food is commonly eaten throughout the Indian subcontinent and very common here. It is usually eaten with steamed hot rice, some gravy dish making it a healthy meal.

It is obtained from black chickpeas. This food is highly effective for people on diets and chronic diseases like blood pressure, diabetes, etc. Here is a brief discussion on the popular recipe of chana dal fry.

Prep Time : 1hr

Cook Time : 30m

Total Time : 1hr 30m

Cuisine : Indian

Servings : 3

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 cup chana dal

  1 cup water

  ghee

  1/2 tsp cumin

  1 chopped onion

  1 green chili chopped

  1 tomato chopped

  1/4 tsp turmeric powder

  1/4 tsp red chili powder

  1/4 tsp garam masala

  1 tsp lemon juice

  Little coriander leaves

  1/4 tsp kasuri methi

INSTRUCTIONS

Origin and Popularity

There is no specific origin of this food recipe as Bengal grams is a staple food in the Indian sub-continent. Besides, it can also be seen to grow in Mediterranean, Southern Europe, Northern Africa, and South America making it a common food recipe in these regions.

Because of its rich nutritional values, it is popular amongst patients with a chronic illness like hypertension, diabetes, cholesterol, etc. It is eaten as a side dish alongside rice, meat, or fish gravy and bread also.

Nutritional facts

This food recipe is completely a vegetarian meal. Since it is consumed as a side dish, people don’t add meat or fish to this recipe making it completely vegetarian.

This recipe is highly rich in protein, fiber, vegetable fat, vitamin-A, and minerals making it a healthy food for those on a diet. Chronic illness patients can consume this food and remain healthy without worrying about being sick.

This food recipe is not that hard to make or too complex. In addition to our daily food, this food recipe can increase our nutritional content keeping us healthy. People on a diet can rely on this food. Thus making it people favorite everywhere.

Dal Makhani

Dal makhani is a lentil-based stew that is made using soaked black lentils boiled and cooked with lots of butter and cream. Dal stands for lentil and Makhani refers to cream and butter, hence “Dal Makhani”. It is a famous delicacy of North India.

It is a recipe mostly prepared on occasions of joy, happiness in those regions. Since lentil is a staple food in the Indian Sub-continent this recipe is popular in this region. The flavor and texture of this magnificent recipe has earned the praise of many renowned chefs all around the world.

The dal makhani is cooked slowly for a prolonged time giving it a creamy, thick buttery feeling making it a very tasty dish. The intricacies of this dish will be discussed below.

INGREDIENTS

1 cup black lentil
1/4 cup rajma
3-4 cups water
1 tbsp ghee
3 tbsp butter
1 chopped onion
1 cup tomato puree
1 tbsp ginger garlic paste
1 tsp red chili powder
1 tsp garam masala
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp kasuree meethi
1/2 cup cream
1 bay leaf ( whole spices )
1 green cardamon ( whole spices )

INSTRUCTIONS

Origin and Popularity

This food was first brought out to the public by Kundal Lal Gujral, the founder of the restaurant chain known as Moti Mahal. He made this recipe famous by giving it a thick creamy and buttery texture which is now renowned all over the world.

He was an inhabitant of undivided Punjab during the partition of the Indian sub-continent and moved to India where he opened his famous restaurant chain and gave his famous recipe Dal-Makhani to the world. Due to its creamy, buttery textures, it is a famous delicacy and has earned a lot of praise from people all over the world.

Nutritional value of the dish

This is entirely a vegetarian dish and meat is not included in it whatsoever. This fact makes it more popular for everyone irrespective of their food choices. This food is rich in protein, carbohydrate, fiber, fats, vitamin A, B1, B2, B3, C, E, folic acid, and minerals.

Since lots of cream and butter are used in this recipe it is also high in cholesterol. But overall it is nutritionally rich food for everyone.

This recipe is indeed an Indian delicacy. People have traveled to India from far and wide to taste this magnificent recipe. Indeed it is an excellent example of the combination of flavor and food texture and the subtle art of cooking.

This food recipe is a specialty of northern India. It is made from split pigeon lentils and split pink lentils. This north Indian cuisine can be found in roadside restaurants in India and is a specialty there.

This cuisine brings in a combination of lentils and the amazing spices found in India making it a popular food. Like Dal makhani, this recipe also is a beautiful creation from the northern part of India.

This dish is highly famous in India and also the sub-continent region. Since lentils are a staple food in this region, people love this food dearly. Because of sub-continental restaurants in Europe and the North America, people there love this food recipe love it too.

This food recipe is known to be available in roadside restaurants (Dhaba) in India. This dish is entirely a vegetarian dish as no meat or fish is used in this recipe. It can be consumed with steamed rice, vegetable, or meat gravy. Vegetarians and people on diets can consume this food because of its nutritional values.

Dal Tadka

What does Dal Tadka mean

Hindi term for Dal is lentils.

Tadka is a Hindi term for tempering. This technique is mostly used in preparing Indian cuisine.

INGREDIENTS

Toor Dal
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp Turmeric
1 tbsp ginger chopped
1 tbsp garlic chopped
1 tbsp onion
3 green chilies chopped
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp Red Chili Powder
1 tsp Kasoori Methi
1 tsp Garam Masala
1 tsp ghee
1 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp hing
1 tsp Garlic
5 Dry Red Chilies
Cilantro ( Coriander )

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Add dal, turmeric, salt and water to a pressure cooker. Mix well and pressure cook for a few minutes.

2. Heat ghee in a pan.

3. Add cumin seeds, ginger, garlic, onion, green chilies and saute for a few minutes till onions are golden brown.

4. Now add tomatoes, red chili powder, kasoori methi, coriander leaves and mix well

5. Now add the pressure cooked dal and water to the mix and saute for a few minutes

6. Add garam masala to the mix.

7. Cover the lead and cook for a few minutes. Dal is prepared

8. Now I will prepare the tadka

9. Heat ghee in a new pan

10. Add cumin seeds and hing to the new pan

11. Now add garlic and dry red chilies to the the new pan. Cook till the garlic turns brown.

12. Now add the tadka to the newly prepared dal.

13. Dal Tadka is now ready

Variations

Lentils Used

Generally dal tadka is made from toor dal or arhar dal. Even moong dal can be used to make the dal tadka.

Nutritional Value

Dal tadka is very healthy food. Lentils are rich in protein, fiber, and vitamin B1 making it a perfect food choice for people on fitness regimes and people with chronic illness.Overall this is the perfect food to keep in our food style and remain healthy.

All recipes made from lentils are healthy and have been reputed to be unique in flavor combinations. People can make this recipe easily at home using the ingredients. The seasoning makes it tastier giving it a sense of elegance and grandeur.

Notes

Adjust the spice level by increasing or decreasing the proportion of red chili or green chili powder.

Flavor of the dal will be enhanced by tempering with ghee.

The recipe tastes great when prepared when its slightly thick.

Dahi vada is another North Indian delicacy and is popular all around India. It is eaten appetizer/snack with yogurt making it a healthy food. This recipe is also known as Dahi Bhalla in North India.

Dahi vada is lentil fritters eaten along with sweet or sour yogurt. The recipe is garnished with spices like cumin, chili, and other spice powder making it a very tasty snack or appetizer.

While the north version of this cuisine uses yogurt sprinkled with a seasoned sauce made from tamarind, chili, etc. The South Indian version uses yogurt mixed with coconut and green chili paste. It is called thayir vada.

It is believed that during the Mughal rule in Indian Subcontinent, this recipe was developed view to increasing to improve digestive power. This dish has no inclusion of meat like items making it a vegetarian food item.

Furthermore, vegans use a type of vegan yogurt making this recipe completely vegan. A non-veg version of this cuisine is not at all available. This food item is highly popular in the Indian sub-continent and can be found in most restaurants.

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup urad dal
1 green chili
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp ginger
2 cup Dahi
Oil
Hing

INSTRUCTIONS

• Wash urad dal for soak for about 5 hours.

• Separate the dal from the water place in a blender.

• Add ginger, cumin, green chili, hing to the blender

• Add little water and blend again until the batter turns soft.

• Separate the batter to a bowl and beat it for a few minutes.

• Pour the oil to a pan and fry the vadas

• Put the fried vadas to a bowl of water.

• Pour dahi over the vadas and allow it to rest for sometime.

• Put chutney over the dahi vadas.

• Sprinkle chat masala.

• Dahi Vada is ready.

Nutritional Value

Dahi Vada has an estimated 70 calories in a single serving. Besides, it is also rich in proteins, minerals, and carbs. The yogurt acts as a balance between the fried vada, giving a boost to the digestive power.

Air frying the vada could be healthier making this recipe even healthier. This recipe is highly regarded for boosting digestive capabilities. This makes it an inclusive food for a healthy diet.

Overall Dahi vada is an excellent food recipe. This food has been regarded highly for having digestive boosting capabilities. This food recipe is highly popular in India and the sub-continent and is renowned all around the world.