Kulkul - Goan Christmas Sweet

Kulkul- Goan Christmas Sweet

Today's recipe is Kulkul/ Kalkal- a traditional Goan Christmas sweet. This sweet snack is undeniably good with the right amount of sweetness and a crispy bite. You want it sweeter and more festive? Then dip it in sugar syrup or dust them with powdered sugar or cinnamon sugar. Different colored kulkuls are available in bakeries during Christmas. Well, it is Christmas and goodies made for holidays need to be extra fancy!

This is the third recipe I am sharing with all of you for Christmas. This snack is perfect for the holidays. Holiday cooking need not be stressful. Holiday gift-giving and a party can be fun for kids too. If you are a parent like me, you know how important it is to have fun family cooking involving our little helpers? Well here is one recipe for you. All they need is a fork and they will enjoy rolling and shaping the dough. You can make Kulkuls in large batches well in advance. But these are quite addictive and they will be gone before you realize. It is simple and fun to make.

Kulkuls is an old fashioned snack- it is buttery, flaky pastry style dough deep-fried to crispy golden. The pastry dough is shaped like shell curls using paddles or with the back of a fork. It is a very traditional recipe for Christmas in Goa and Mangalore. Kuswar is a term used to refer to Christmas goodies of the Goan Catholic community. Traditionally twenty-two items are made during Christmas and Kulkul is one among them. Kulkul can trace its origin to the European fried pastry dough. It is not surprising as the cultural and culinary traditions of Goa has strong Portuguese influence.

Kulkul brings back memories of childhood and I have a vague memory of this sweet snack. I tried to recreate that taste and flavor in my kitchen. Kulkul has the intense flavor of coconut and ghee. The dough is made with all-purpose flour, powdered sugar, semolina, ghee, and coconut milk. Semolina adds crispness and ghee adds depth of flavor. Ghee is clarified butter which is melted and cooked till it reaches a light amber color, but you don't need to cook it as much as brown butter. You can also add butter, but it is ghee that does all the magic! It is gently laced with the flavor of cardamon. You can also add spices like cinnamon and nutmeg. Kulkul can be made with or without eggs, but there will be a difference in texture. It is very similar to gavvalu and seepu appam. But kulkuls have a taste of its own, mildly sweet, crispy and with the intense flavor of ghee and coconut.

How to make Goan Kulkul

Cooking time-25 minutes
Recipe type- Snack
Cuisine- Goan /Indian

Ingredients
All purpose flour- 2 cups
Semolina- 1/2 cup
Egg- 1
Coconut milk- 1/2 cup
Powdered Sugar- 3/4 cup
salt - a pinch
Ghee- 3 tsp
Cardamom powder- 1/2 tsp
Oil for frying- 3 cup

In a bowl add flour, semolina, powdered sugar, salt, and cardamom powder. Whisk it together till well combined. Add room temperature ghee into the flour. With a pastry blender or with your fingers rub ghee into the flour until the flour resembles a coarse sand-like mixture. 

Whisk together egg and coconut milk. Add this little by little into the flour. Continue mixing until all the dough comes together. Press it into a ball, and knead it a few times to be sure all of the dry ingredients are blended into the dough. Cover and let it rest for half an hour.

Make small tiny marble sized balls out of the dough. Press and flatten one ball to the back of a spoon. Gently lift one side of the dough and start rolling into a curl from one edge to the other and seal the end. Continue making the rest of the balls into small shell-shaped curls. Cover it with a damp cloth so that it does get dry.

Heat oil in a pan in medium flame. When the oil is hot gently slide in a few shaped doughs into the oil. Fry till golden brown on both sides. Drain into paper towels. Dust with powdered sugar. Allow it to cool down completely before transferring into airtight containers. 

If you want to dip in sugar syrup, reduce the amount of sugar in the dough. Add a cup of sugar and 1/2 cup of water and bring it to a boil. Allow the sugar syrup to thicken to one thread consistency. Add 1 tsp of lemon juice into the syrup. Add the fried kulkuls into warm syrup mix and after 30 seconds, drain with a slotted spoon and let it rest for 30 -40 minutes before serving. When it cools down completely store in airtight containers

You might also like,
Maida Butter Murukku
Kappalandi Mittayi /Peanut Ladoo
Diamond Cuts
Aval Vilayichathu
Brazilian Truffles
Bread Pakoda
Butter Biscuits

Try it,
Hope you will all enjoy!

Masala Peanuts - Spiced Peanut Snack

Masala Peanuts- Spiced Peanut snack - Spicy Groundnuts

Masala peanuts are the ever popular Indian snack made with peanuts and coated with a spicy chickpea flour batter. It is a zesty, crunchy snack, deep-fried to crispy golden. I love the simplicity of these old fashioned snack recipes. Many of these get overlooked for fancier ones in bakeries, but there are times you crave for something simple, crispy and spicy. This delightful vegan snack is a perfect combination of heat and spice. It tastes just like the store brought ones and you will be surprised how easy it is to make them at home. It is a versatile recipe for snacking at home or as a party treat or as a cocktail snack.

I love making these peanuts in big batches and just keeping them handy. But trust me they will be gone before you realize. It is so addictive! Back home my mom stocks up on these types of goodies almost whenever we have guests at home. Masala peanuts invoke nostalgic memories of childhood. Back then Sunday evenings were movie time and snacking while watching movies was like a ritual in my family, which I still follow to this day. Dad buys goodies from the bakery in the corner street or mom whips up some quick snacks like magic, and it is movie time! Masala peanuts were always my favorite and with hot piping tea, it is delicious.

This recipe has some regional flavors added to it. It is inspired by the Kerala bakery-style peanut fry. Coconut oil and curry leaves, crushed garlic add lots of flavor to these crunchy snacks. Added to this is the sweet flavor of fennel seeds. If you like you can add chaat masala or garam masala for an extra kick. What you add to it is totally up to you. It will taste really good! Give this recipe a try, you will surely love it.

The ingredients to make crispy masala peanuts

To make masala peanuts you do not need to roast the peanuts, you can use raw peanuts. Add raw peanuts to the batter, mix and fry in medium heat. 

The flour used in this recipe is chickpeas flour and rice flour. Rice flour adds crispiness to the batter. The batter has to be thick and almost crumble like to get the crispy crunchy texture that everyone likes. 

Add chilly powder according to your spice preference. An important ingredient in this recipe is asafetida/hing. It has a unique pungent flavor and when fried in oil it can elevate the flavor of any dish. Well, a little goes a long way! So just a pinch!

Fennel seeds are another spice that has a sweet aroma. Slightly crush the fennel to enable it to release its flavor while frying. Alternatively, you can use cumin or garam masala powder. Crushed garlic and curry leaves are added while frying to enhance the flavor.

Also, add a pinch of baking soda and a teaspoon of sugar to give a balanced taste.

How to make Masala Peanuts

Cooking time- 20 minutes
Recipe type- snack
Cuisine- Indian

Ingredients
Peanuts- 2 cups
Gram Flour/Besan- 1 cup
Rice flour- 3 tbs
Baking soda- a pinch
Ginger-garlic paste- 1 tsp
Garlic crushed- 2-3 pods (optional)
Fennel Seeds- 1/2 tsp
Cumin- a pinch
Turmeric powder-1/3 tsp
Kashmiri Chilly powder- 2 tsp
(or according to your spice tolerance)
Asafotida/hing- a pinch
Curry Leaves- a few
Salt to taste
Sugar- 1 tsp
Coconut oil for frying- 2 1/2 cup

In a bowl mix besan/gram flour, rice flour, baking soda, turmeric, chilly powder, hing, and salt. Add peanuts, crushed fennel seeds, cumin, crushed garlic, and curry leaves. Drizzle a teaspoon of oil and mix everything.
Sprinkle water little by little( Not more than 1/4 cup of water) and mix well till the flour attains almost crumble like texture. It should not be watery, but a sticky dough able to stick to the peanuts and holds shape when it is dropped into the hot oil.
Heat oil in a pan to medium heat. Drop small portions and try to make sure it does not clump together. Do not overcrowd the pan, and fry in batches. When one side turns golden brown then using a slotted spatula turn and cook on the other side for another two minutes. Remove from the oil using spatula and drain on paper towels. Repeat with the remaining batter. Keep oil temperature medium and fry in batches. Serve with tea. When it is completely cool, store in an airtight container.

You might also like,
Kappalandi Mittayi/Peanut Ladoos
Sesame Brittle/Ellu Mittayi
Kerala Spicy Mixture
Maida Butter Murukku
Sabudana vada/ Sago pearls vada
Spinach Onion Pakoras

Try it,
Hope you will all enjoy!

Sabudana/Sago Pearls Vada- Gluten free snack

Sabudana/Sago Pearls Vada

Vadas are crispy fried snacks perfect for munching at tea time with hot tea. Combine it with any kind of spicy or sweet chutney/sauce, vada is a delightful savory snack. In South India vadas are also served for breakfast. I often make parippu vada and uzhunnu vada, both made identically by grinding lentils and deep-fried into crispy golden fitters.

This is the first time I am making Sabudana/sago/tapioca pearls/chowari vadas and found that they are relatively easy to make.Sabudana Vada/tikkis is a Maharashtrian snack usually made and served during festivals and vrats or fasting. The best part of this recipe is that it is a vegan gluten-free snack. This recipe also calls for roasted peanuts. It adds an extra crunch. I got this recipe idea from Vah chef youtube channel. I instantly fell in love this these vadas, especially its spicy and crispy crust.

Back home we only used sabudana/sago to make puddings or payasam. So for me, sago was only for desserts. But there is a whole range of savory recipes that can be made with sago/tapioca pearls. Now, these beautiful white pearls is a must-have in my pantry. I use them for breakfast, snacks, salads, and desserts. So if you are looking for economical ways to feed a family and still have various recipes, stock up on sabudana/sago. Now coming to this recipe, these vadas can be eaten anytime and at all times and tastes best when freshly made. Warm vadas have a crispy crunch to it that you will surely love. It has a taste all to its own and is quite addictive. Give this recipe a try, you will surely love it.

Sago Pearls/ tapioca pearls

About the ingredients.. 

Sago/tapioca pearls need to be washed before soaking it. You need to soak it for 5-6 hours. I found some recipes which call for soaking overnight. But I feel 5-6 hours will be enough. It will become soft but still hold shape and won't be mushy.
This recipe also calls for potatoes. You can use either raw potato or cooked ones.
Now coming to spice tolerance, you can use either chilly powder or just finely chopped green chilly.
Peanuts add a crunch to the vadas, but it is optional.
For detailed recipe keep reading...

How to make Sabudana Vada

Cooking time- 25 minutes
Cuisine- Indian
Recipe type- snack
Serves - 6

Ingredients
 Sago pearls- 1 cup
Potato- 1 large
Green chilly- 2
Chili powder- 3/4 tsp
Green Chili- 2
Shallot- 2 chopped
Ginger- 1inch thick
Fennel seeds - a pinch
Hing- a pinch
Curry leaves- a few
Chopped coriander leaves- 3 tbs
salt to taste
Oil for frying-1 cup

To make Sabudana Vada:

Wash and rinse the sago. In a large bowl add 4 cups of water and soak sago pearls/sabudana for at least 5 hours. Drain in a colander and set aside.
Wash and peel potatoes and using a grater finely shred it and add to the soaked and drained sabudana.
If it is boiled potato mash and add to the sago.
Finely chop green chilly, shallots, ginger, curry leaves and coriander leaves. Now add this along with chilly powder, hing and fennel seeds. Make sure all ingredients are well combined.
Heat oil in a frying pan or a heavy bottom pan.
Take lemon sizes balls of the mixture and flatten it in between your palm in the form of small thin patties. Make thin even patties for even frying. Carefully slide into the hot oil, after a minute reduces the heat to medium. Otherwise, it will crispy on the outside, but the inside will not be fully cooked. When one side turns a golden brown flip and turn and fry till both sides become evenly browned up. Remove from oil to a paper napkin. Serve with tea.

Like this recipe, try similar recipes from this blog...

Uzhunnu Vada/Urad Dal Vada
Parippu Vada/Dal Fitters
Bread Vada
Rasa Vada
Mango Sago Pudding
Chowari/ Sago Pearls Payasam


Try this
Hope you will all enjoy!

Maida Butter Murukku

Maida Butter Murukku

Happy Diwali to all my friends and readers! 

Murukku is the perfect tea time snack, crunchy and savory. Murukku is often made for Diwali.In my house murukku is everyone's  favorite. This recipe is shared by my aunt Suma. It was my late grandmother's recipe. The best part of this recipe is that it is easy and can be made in a jiffy. It is made with maida and butter. With this recipe you can make 15-18 murukku. If you want a larger batch you can use half kg flour and 50 grams of butter. This is a crunchy and delicious murukku. Try this,you will surely love it.

Recipe source : My aunt Suma Padmanabhan

Ingredients
Maida/All purpose flour- 2 cups
Butter- 2 1/2 tbs
salt to taste
Sesame seeds- 1 tbs
Carom seeds/Aijwan- 1/8 tsp
Oil for frying

The first step is to steam the maida/all purpose flour. Place the flour in a thin cloth, tie into a small pouch and steam in a steamer/idli cooker for 5-7 minutes. Transfer this into a bowl and allow it to cool down.
When cool break the flour into small pieces with a spoon and sieve the flour to remove any lumps.
Into this add salt and room temperature butter. With a pasty blender or with your fingers rub it into the flour until the flour resembles course sand like mixture. (Do not add too much butter or it will crumble and will not retain shape when frying). Add sesame seeds and carom seeds and mix. Add water little at a time to make a smooth stiff  dough. Cover with a damp cloth and allow it to rest for 10 minutes.

Heat 2-3 cups of oil in a pan. Grease the inside of the murukku press. You can use the plain or star holed plate /mullu acchu. Fill the murukku press with the dough and press in circular motion into the oil or back of greased ladle. Drop carefully into the oil and fry in medium flame till it is slight golden. Drain into paper towels and allow it to cool. Fry murukku in batches.

You might also like,
Ellu Unda/Sesame Seeds Ladoo
Sweet Diamond Cuts
Chakka Vattal/Jack fruit Chips
Kappalandi Mittayi/Peanut Ladoo
Chegodilu
Aval Vilayichathu/Sweet Poha


Try this,
Hope you will all enjoy!

Vada Pav

Vada Pav is a very popular street food in India. Road side food joints of Bombay is the best place to get this yummy and filling snack. This is a home made version of the vada pav. Vada pav is basically batata vada served with spicy chutney and bread/pav.I wanted to try this for quite some time and had book marked Tarala Dalal's vada pav  recipe. I found pav bread in our Indian grocery and so decided to give it a try. If you are looking for fresh home made pav bread recipe, check here.

Ingredients 
Pav- bread- 6

For the Vada filling
Cooked and mashed potatoes- 2 large
Ginger garlic paste- 1 tsp
Green chilly paste-3/4 tsp
Curry leaves -a few
Hing- 1/8 tsp
Turmeric powder-1/3 tsp
mustard seeds- 1/3 tsp
Chopped coriander leaves
salt to taste

For the batter
Chick peas flour- 1 cup
Rice flour- 1 tsp
Baking soda- a pinch
salt to taste
Turmeric powder- a pinch
Hing- a pinch
Hot oil- 1 tsp
Oil for frying- 2 cup


 Chilly garlic chutney
Coconut- 3/4 cup
Garlic- 8-10 pods
Hing- a pinch
Kashmiri chilly powder- 1 tbs
Oil- 1 tsp
salt to taste

For the green chutney
Coriander leaves- a hand full chopped
mint leaves- a hand full
Green chilly- 2
Ginger- 1 thin slice
Lemon juice- 1/2 lemon
salt to taste

To make green chutney add all the ingredients listed along with salt and lemon juice into a blender. Make a smooth paste and set aside.

To make the garlic chilly chutney. Heat a pan and add one tsp of oil. When it is hot add chopped garlic and coconut. Fry till it changes color to golden brown. Finally add chilly powder, hing and salt and stir for a few more seconds. Switch off the flame and let it cool down. Put this into a mixer and make this into a course powder.

To make the vada filling. Boil and mash potatoes and set aside.Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds.When it splutters add curry leaves, ginger garlic paste and green chilly paste. Saute till the raw flavor disappears. Add hing and turmeric powder and then the boiled and mashed potatoes and mix well.When it cools down  make small potato patties and set aside.

To make the batter. In heavy bottom pan heat two cups of oil. In a bowl add besan/gram flour, rice flour, pinch of baking powder, turmeric powder,hing and salt. Mix well. Add one tsp of hot oil and enough water to make a smooth batter. Whisk till there is no lumps and the batter should be neither too thick nor too thin. Take each potato patties and dip in this batter and gently slide into hot oil. Fry in medium heat till one side changes to golden brown. Flip to the other side and continue frying till both sides are evenly crispy in the outside. Drain into paper towels and set aside.Continue the process and fry the rest of the patties.

To assemble.Heat a tawa.Slice pav/bread into two slices.Coat with ghee and toast the bread. Spread a layer of green chutney and a layer of garlic chutney on both slices. Place one potato vada in the center and serve. Enjoy with tea.

You might also like,
Bread Pakora
Potato Paneer Bonda
Spinach Onion Pakoras
Sri Lankan Prawn Vada
Sabudana/Sago Pearl Vada
Paneer Pakora
Roti Jala/Net Pancake

Try this
Hope you will all enjoy!

Bread Pakoda

Bread Pakoda/Pakora

Bread pakora is simple and easy to make a recipe. Are you looking for an easy and comforting snack? Pakoras or pakodas are made throughout the length and breadth of India. Indians love their crispy fried pakoras. There is a high level of creativity when it comes to ingredients to make pakoras- an uncanny ability to turn anything available at home into pakoras. There is nothing that can beat spicy pakoras and hot piping tea during the monsoon season. Are you already picturing in your mind enjoying the rains with a cup of tea and a crispy snack?

 Here is my attempt to recreate a popular street food. Now some call these bread pakora snacks others call it is breakfast. But to me, it represents the best of Indian street food. It has a taste all to its own and is quite addictive.Pakoras are delightful savory snacks. I had vague memories of having bread pakora as a child, but somehow completely forgot about them till I saw this recipe in a magazine. It brought back some childhood memories. This one has an interesting twist to it. It has a filling that takes this simple snack to the next level. It is like a bread sandwich with a yummy potato filling. Combine it with any kind of spicy or sweet chutney/sauce and the flavor profile of this snack will amaze you and you cannot stop munching.

Potato stuffed bread pakoras is a hassle-free recipe and you can whip up with very little ingredients. Now let's talk about the batter. Bread pakoras can be made by dipping bread slices in spicy flavorful batter and deep-fried. The batter is made with chickpeas flour, chilly powder, flavored with hing and cilantro. The batter has to be a perfect consistency, not too thick and not to thin to get the best crispy bite. 

Now coming to the filling it is mashed potatoes spiced with ginger, green chilly,asafetida, coriander leaves and chat masala. You can get creative with the filling. Try mashed beans, cheese, paneer, eggs or any kind of filling of your choice.
Now let's talk about the other fun part of this recipe. It is the chutney. The chutney is optional, but it adds depth of flavor. It is not like the sweet chutney for the chutney sandwich. But it is a zingy flavorful chutney made with mint and coriander. It adds freshness and flavor with a kick from green chilly. You can also get creative with the chutney. If you are not a fan of spicy chutney you can substitute with dates tamarind chutney which is sweet and mildly spicy or tomato chutney.

Bread Pakoras/Pakodas

Cooking time- 25 minutes
Recipe type- Snack
Cuisine- Indian

Ingredients
Bread slices-8
Gram flour-  1 1/2 cup

Rice flour- 1 tbs
Chilly powder- 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder-1/8 tsp
Asafetida- a pinch
Ginger garlic paste- 1/2 tsp
Chopped coriander leaves- 2 tsp
Salt to taste
Oil for frying

For the filling
Boiled potatoes- 2 medium
Turmeric powder- 1/8 tsp
Onion chopped- 1/2
Ginger chopped- 1 tsp
Green chilly finely chopped -2
Asafetida- a pinch
Coriander leaves chopped- 1 tbs
Chat masala- 1/2 tsp
Cumin powder- a pinch

For the chutney
Coriander leaves chopped- 1 cup
Mint leaves- 1/2 cup
Green chilly-3
Ginger- 1 inch thick
Shallots- 2
Tamarind- a small ball
salt to taste

To make the filling heat oil in a pan and add chopped onions, ginger and green chilly. Saute till slightly golden. Add turmeric, asafetida, salt and cumin powder and saute for a minute. Add mashed potatoes and mix well. Sprinkle chaat masala and coriander leaves and mix well. Allow this mixture to cool down. If you do not have chaat masala you can add 1 tsp of lemon juice.

To make the chutney grind all ingredients under chutney into a fine paste. Start with coriander and mint leaves. When it is a fine paste add the rest of the ingredients and make a fine paste.

Now you need to make the batter. Mix gram flour, rice flour, chilly powder asafetida, and salt well. Add water little by little to make a smooth lump-free batter. It should not be too thick or too thin. Add the chopped coriander leaves and ginger garlic paste and whisk well.
Heat 2 cups of oil in a pan.
Cut edges of the bread and make it even. Spread the chutney evenly on the bread slices. Place the filling in an even layer and then one bread slice on the top like a sandwich. Stick the edge using a little water with your fingertips. You can also cut the bread into an equal part. Dip each sandwich in prepared batter, coat evenly and gently slide into hot oil and fry this on both sides till it is evenly crispy and golden brown on both sides. This will take around three to four minutes on medium flame. Once fried place on a paper towel so that the excess grease is removed.
Serve this with dates and tamarind chutney or tomato ketchup along with tea.

You might also like,
Spinach Onion Pakoras
Samosa
Vada Pav
Masala Peanuts
Bread Vada
Paneer Pakoras

Try this
Hope you will all enjoy..