POTATO BHAJI

Ingredients:
Potato – 4
Onion – 1 big, chopped
Garlic – 3-4
Ginger – 1”
Green chilies – 3-4
Curry leaves – 3-4
Mustard seeds – ½ tsp
Cumin seeds – ½ tsp
Methi seeds – ¼ tsp
Turmeric powder – ¼ tsp
Asafetida a pinch
Salt

Cooking Procedure:
Boil the potato, peel them and chop then into small pieces. Make ginger, garlic and green chili paste. Heat 2-3 tbsp of oil in a pan, add the mustard seeds. When the mustard seeds start to crackle, add the cumin seeds and methi seeds. Then add the onion and fry till they become translucent. Then add the green chili paste and curry leaves. Fry the paste for a minute. Then add the turmeric powder, asafetida and salt. Mix everything well and then add the boiled potato. Mix everything well, cover it and let cook on medium heat for 5-10 minutes. Garnish with freshly chopped coriander leaves. You can serve this bhaji with dosa, roti and also use in missal.

KOLHAPURI MISAL PAAV

Ingredients:
Muth beans – 1 cup
Mung beans – ½ cup
Peanut – 3 tbsp

For Usal:
Onion – 1 medium, chopped
Garlic – 2-3 chopped
Tomato – 1 small, chopped
Mustard seeds – ¼ tsp
Cumin seeds – ¼ tsp
Turmeric powder – 1/8 tsp
Pinch of asfoetida
Coriander powder – ½ tsp
Red chili powder – 1 tsp
Garam masala – 1 tsp
Salt

For Rassa/ Gravy:
Frozen shredded coconut – ½ cup
Ginger – 1”
Garlic – 3-4
Chopped coriander leaves – 3-4 tbsp
Onion – 1 big, finely chopped
Bay leaf – 3-4
Turmeric powder – ¼ tsp
Coriander powder – 1 tsp
Cumin powder – 1 tsp
Red chili powder – 1 tsp
Garam masala – 1 tsp
Kolhapuri masala – 1 tsp
Salt
Boiling water

Potato bhaji – 1 bowl

For Garnishing:

Onion - 1 big, finely chopped

Tomato - 1 big, finely chopped

Coriander leaves - 1/2 cup, finely chopped

Lime - 1

Cooking Procedure:
Wash the moong beans and muth beans in different containers till the water runs clear. Take three times more water to fill each container and soak them overnight. The other day drain all the water using a colander. Dampen two muslin cloths and put the beans in centre of the cloth. Gather all the ends in the center and tie them together, to form a pouch. Keep these pouches in a container, cover them and keep them in a warm place. You can see sprouts coming out of the cloth after 7-8 hours.
To make the usal, transfer the sprouted beans and peanuts to a big pot. Add three times as much water in the pot and bring it to a boil. Cook the beans till they get half cooked. Now separate the beans and water. Reserve the water for Rassa.
To make the usal, heat 2-3 tbsp of oil in a pan, and add the mustard seeds. When the mustard seeds start to splatter add the cumin seeds. Then add the garlic and sauté for minute. Then add the onions and Sauté till they become golden brown. Then add the tomatoes and sauté for minute. Now add the turmeric powder, asafetida, coriander powder, red chili powder and salt. Mix everything very well and sauté till the oil separates. Then add one cup of hot water and cook till the oil separates. Then add the cooked beans and mix everything well. Cook covered till the beans get completely cooked. Add little hot water if required.
To make the rassa, grind the coconut, ginger and garlic to a fine paste. Heat 2-3 tbsp oil in a pan and add the bay leaf and onions. Fry the onion till they become golden brown. Then add the coconut paste and fry till the oil separates. Then add turmeric powder, asafetida, coriander powder, cumin powder, red chili powder, garam masala, kolhapuri masala and salt. Mix everything well and add a cup of boiling water. Boil it till the oil separates. Then add 3-4 cups of boiling water and adjust the water as per your required consistency. Let the curry boil for 5-10 minutes. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves.

To serve the misal, place 1 tbsp of potato bhaji in the plate and then top it with the usal, then with onion, tomato. Then add the ladle full of rassa. Finally top it with sev and coriander leaves. Serve paav on the side.

APPE

Ingredients:
Rice- 2 cups
Chana dal – 1 cup
Urad dal – ½ cup
Thick poha – 1 cup
Green chilies – 6-7
Chopped coriander leaves – ¼ cup
Eno/ baking Soda – ¼ tsp

Salt

Cooking Procedure:
Wash the rice, chana dal and urad dal in separate containers till the water runs clear. Take three times more water to fill each container and soak them overnight. The other day remove the excess water and grind the rice, chana dal and urad dal separately into a fine paste. Use little water while grinding*. As you grind the rice and dals, remove the pastes in one big container. Mix everything well to form a cake like batter. Add salt and leave the mixture to ferment for about 6-8 hours or till it rises. I keep the batter in oven and keep the oven light ON, so that the heat from the lamp boasts the fermentation process.
Before making the appe, finely chop the green chilies and coriander leaves and add it to the batter. Mix the batter well. Crush the poha with hands, add it to the batter and mix well. Just before making the appe, mix in the soda. Heat the appe mould and add a teaspoon of oil in each mould. This how the appe mould looks like. I bought this in India. You can buy it in US as well and is called "Aebleskiver Pan".

Pour a spoon full of batter in each mould and cook it covered on medium heat for about a minute.

Remove the lid and flip the appe.

Let the other side cook till golden brown. Serve hot with coconut chutney. If you want to eat the appe later, I usually remove the appe and keep them on cooling rack to cool so that they remain crispy. When they cool down a bit, I transfer them to a container. You can reheat them in the microwave.

* I use oster blender to blend the dals or rice and add about ½ cup of any ingredient in the blender so that air can circulate and the blades don’t get jammed. If you add too much, the blades get stuck and the required consistency and texture of the batter is not achieved.