Chonka Muri (Puffed Rice Tempered?)

A quick snack for anytime. No preparations. Crunchy, yummy and pretty low on calories.

Stuff you definitely need:

Mustard Oil – 2 T
Puffed Rice aka Murmura aka Muri– 200 gm packet
Peanut – 6T
Roasted Chana Dal aka Putnal Pappu – 2T

Masalas

Salt - to taste
Turmeric – ½ t
Red Chilli Powder – 1 t
Dry Red Chilli Whole – 3-4
Mustard Seeds – 1 t
Cumin Seeds – 1 t
Chat Masala – 1 T

Steps:

1. Heat oil in a large wok.
2. Add mustard and cumin.
3. When it begins to splutter add the peanuts. On low flame fry it for a bit and then add the putnal pappu.
4. Add the Dry Red Chilli. Fry.
5. Add Turmeric, Red Chilli Powder, Chat Masala and Salt. Mix it and then add the Puffed Rice.
Leave it to cool and then store in an airtight jar or a Ziploc bag if you want to take with you on a trip.
Warning: This snack is highly addictive and you can’t stop eating it till it is finally all eaten.

(Crook saves time: It takes about 5-7 minutes to make and there is really no preparation. There isn’t much to save)

Fine tune:

Taste and adjust salt.

Serve:

Goes well with drinking sessions, long drives, travels, long blogging sessions, rainy evenings with tea, with mostly anything, I guess.
If you are so inclined and not feeling lazy, add copped onions, green chillies, coriander, tomato and lime and mix before serving.

More crooking:

None needed here!

Krrr... Kr... Moong Dal Pakoda

A quick snack, minimal preparations and very crunchy. This is for you esp, Deepika.

Stuff you definitely need:

Oil - half a wok full for the frying
Gram flour - about 1 cup
Moong Dal - 1 cup

Masalas
Salt - to taste
Turmeric - a pinch
Red Chilli Powder – 1 teaspoon

Veggies
Onions - 2 small, finely chopped
Green chillies - 2-3, finely chopped
Ginger - a 1 inch piece, grated

You can also add:

Coriander - a fistfull, chopped
Green moong dal - mix both dals to make 1 cup

Steps:
1. Wash and soak the dal or dals for 15 minutes.
2. Drain the water. Add the onion, green chillies, ginger, all masalas and mix it nicely with your hands.
3. Start adding the gram flour slowly and keep mixing till you get a thick pulpy mix. The mixture should be slightly pasty. Add a little water if you think it's too thick.
4. Add 1 spoon of oil to the mix and mix some more. Much better if you use your hands.
5. Take a kadhai / wok and heat the oil in it.
6. Take some of the mix in your hands and drop little bits into the oil. Fry till golden brown on low flame. Serve.

(Crook saves time: Hardly any preparation and really yummy.)

Fine tune:
Taste and adjust salt. (If you think it’s not spicy enough, add as much red chili powder as you want)

Serve:
Serve with chutney / sauce.

More crooking:
None needed here!

(This recipe was given to me by my cousin, Mamta, on the phone. And the result was a crackling success. Thanks Mamta)

Easy Potato Sabzi

Stuff you definitely need:

Oil - 3 teaspoons, go up to 6 teaspoons if you like (makes it yummier and unhealthier)

Masalas
Salt - to taste
Turmeric - 1/2 teaspoon
Coriander Powder – 3 teaspoon
Red Chilli Powder – 1 teaspoon
Urad Dal - 1 teaspoon
Mustard Seeds - 1 teaspoon

Veggies
Potatoes - 4 – boiled, peeled and cut into big pieces.
Curry leaves - 15-20

You can also add:

Dry Mango Powder (aka amchoor) – 1 teaspoon
Curry leaves – 10-12 leaves
Fresh Coriander – 1 bunch

Steps:
1. Take a kadhai / wok and heat the oil in it. (I make it in a heavy bottomed iron kadhai. The crunchy bits that cling to the kadhai can be scraped easily.)
2. Add urad dal, mustard seeds and wait for it splutter. Add the curry leaves.
3. Add the potatoes, turmeric, red chilli powder and salt. Mix nicely and cover for about 2 minutes.
4. Add the coriander powder and dry mango powder. Mix and let it cook on high for 3-4 minutes.
5. Garnish with fresh coriander leaves

(Crook saves time: Its so simple and quick. Only takes 8-10 minutes to make.)

Fine tune:
Taste and adjust salt. Add more coriander powder, if you like that crunchy taste. (If you think it’s not spicy enough, add as much red chili powder as you want)

Serve:
Garnish with coriander and serve with Chapattis / Rice. I love it with Rice and Dal. Nice with curd rice too.

More crooking:
Keep boiled potatoes ready in the fridge. Make it whenever you need.

Tomato Everything - Rice / Curry / Topping

Stuff you definitely need:

Oil - 2 teaspoons, go up to 6 teaspoons if you like (makes it yummier and unhealthier)

Masalas
Salt - to taste
Turmeric - 1/2 teaspoon
Sugar - 1 teaspoon
Urad Dal - 1 teaspoon
Mustard Seeds - 1 teaspoon
Jeera - 1 teaspoon

Veggies
Onions - 2 - sliced thin
Tomatoes - 6 or more - sliced thick
Curry leaves - 15-20
Green chillies - 6-7

You can also add:

Coconut - 1/2 - remove from shell and dry-mixi dry (you can grate it, if you have the patience)
Garlic - 7-10 cloves - peeled and sliced
Coriander - for the garnish

Steps:
1. Take a kadhai / wok and heat the oil.
2. Add urad dal, mustard seeds and wait for it splutter. Add curry leaves, green chillies.
3. Add the onions and fry.
4. Add garlic slices and fry for a minute or two.
5. Now add the tomatoes, sugar, salt, turmeric, mix nicely.
6. Cover for about 7-8 minutes till the tomato melts.
7. Add water (about 1/2 a cup) and let it cook for 2-3 minutes. Adjust to get the desired consistency.

(Crook saves time: I always chop the tomatoes first and cook it into the microwave for about 5 minutes. While the tomates are cooking, I chop the onions and the garlic and start cooking. You then need to cover and cook it for just a minute or two.)

Fine tune:
Taste and adjust salt, sugar as desired. (If you think its not spicy enough, add a little red chilli powder)

Serve:
Garnish with coriander and serve with Chapattis / Bread / Rice.
Papad / Chips make for good company

Tomato rice:
Put it all in the pressure cooker in the same order and add rice (about 1.5 cups) and water. You need not cover and cook the tomatoes seperately. Just put everything in and cook for 2 whistles. Yummy tomato rice in 20 minutes. Serve with curd and papad or chips.

More crooking - Same thing, different things:
Skip the coconut, make lots of it and keep it in the fridge.
Top on Bread for sandwiches.
Mix with rice to make tomato rice.
Add boiled babycorn, capsicum, peas, carrot, beans, potatoes - almost anything to make a quick sabzi.

Crook-ing

I am an incredibly lazy person and I love to eat. The catch is, I love to eat good homemade food. So when I can't con my mother or other relatives into inviting me and my family for food, then I have to enter the kitchen. From a did-not-know-how-to-make-rice-novice to an-amateur-will-try-cook-anything-vegetarian-only has been a long, eventful, not-disastrous journey for me. I will share simple recipes, improvisations and mother's recipes.

I promise that all of them will be quick meals, no fuss, with ingredients that are easily available or can be substituted.