Bonda with coconut chutney

Bonda, a typical South Indian snack, is spicy potato filling dipped in gram flour batter and deep fried in oil. On a lighter note, the term bonda is also used to refer to someone with a chubby physique - (although I would not use it on a Tamilian you do not know that well :) )!!! Coming back to the topic on hand, bonda in Tamil Nadu is usually made of potatoes. Kannadigas make a different version - the Mysore bonda- which mainly consists of gram flour balls deep fried in oil. In Madras, bondas are commonly served for 'tiffin' with coconut chutney and sambhar on the side. In Mahrashtra, the potato bonda is known as the batata wada and is served like a sandwich with bread and some spicy chutneys.



To satisfy our spicy-fried-starch craving we decided to make it last night. (Ahhh! who is going to look like a bonda now?, I can hear you smirk!)

For the filling:
I boiled 4-5 large potatoes in my pressure cooker. I peeled the boiled potatoes and mashed them, letting some chunks remain. Next, I took 2 -3 tbsp of oil in a kadai (wok). When the oil was hot, I added some mustard seeds (2 tsp). I let the mustard seeds splutter and then added 2 -3 tsp of urad dal. Urad dal can burn quickly, so be careful there. In went some some finely chopped green chillies and 1 finely cut onion. I sauted till onions were transparent and then added the mashed boiled potatoes. I seasoned the potato filling with salt, turmeric powder and some grated ginger and let it cook for 5 - 10 mins. If necessary you could add some water so the filling does not crumble. I made small ping pong sized balls with the potato mixture.

For the batter:
I mixed 2 cups of besan/kadalai maavu/gram flour, 1/2 cup of maida/all purpose flour and a pinch of salt with water. Add water little by little so the batter remains sufficiently thick to coat the potato balls (almost like umm... maybe custard conistency).

Making the bondas:
Heat some oil in a shallow thick bottomed vessel. The oil shoud be able to cover atleast half of each bonda. Once the oil is hot enough, coat the potato balls with the batter and deep fry (in batches)till a golden crust forms.

For coconut chutney:
I ground together a handful of freshly grated coconut, 2 green chillies, few peanuts and some fresh cilantro with salt, in a blender with little water. Took 1 tbsp of oil for the tadka. When the oil was hot, I let some mustard seeds splutter and added the tadka to the chutney.

Serve the bondas with chutney. Bondas can also make great appetizers.

Chocolate Biscotti

I am no baker. I hesitate when I have to bake anything except for the quick cake out of the box, since for some reason making cookies or other goodies from scratch does not appeal to me as much as cooking. This could be because when I grew up, we did not bake much at home, other than the occasional cake and we bought our good old "biscuits" or cookies as they are called here from the store. Then came my affair with the biscotti. These crunchy yet mellow pleasures left a void that needed to be filled frequently. One biscotti for $2.50 at Starbucks? Thats a rip off! And thats when I stumbled across this recipe at Smita's and decided to try making them at home. I never realized that making biscotti was this quick, simple and cheap. I followed this recipe here, modified it a little bit by adding chocolate chips instead of cinnamon and hazelnuts. They turned out as good as you would get them outside. Nothing better on a lazy evening like a book and a biscotti!

Vegetable Couscous

I have usually eaten couscous outside but never made it at home. Couscous is a coarsely ground semolina wheat, a staple food of many North African countries. It is eaten as breakfast cereal, salad, main entree or even dessert. Traditional couscous requires considerable preparation time but there are tonnes of instant couscous available in every grocery store which take only minutes to prepare. I am not a big fan of this healthy dish which reminds of rava upuma, which I categorize as 'blah', but after AJ's repeated hints about making couscous at home, I finally gave in and decided to test the waters.
The results were very tasty, even if I say so myself, thanks to Rachel Ray's basic recipe with modifications of my own. I had expected it to turn out bland but the different spices and the veggies blended well with it and made it very flavorful and satisfying enough to be a wholesome meal on its own. This is my contribution to the Monthly Mingle's One Dish Dinner.

Assemble
2 tbsp olive oil/butter
1 bay leaf
1 medium onion, chopped
1 medium tomato, chopped
1/4 yellow squash, diced
1/2 cup shredded carrots
2 tsp cumin powder
2 tsp coriander powder
2/3 cups couscous
1 cup water
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
Some sliced almonds to garnish
Salt and pepper to season

Method
Heat the oil/butter over medium heat. Add the bay leaf and onion, saute till the onions turn transparent. Add the squash and carrots and saute till cooked. Now add the cumin and coriander powder, fry till you loose the raw smell. The total saute time, from when the oil is heated, should take approximately 10 minutes. Add water and bring to a boil. (I used an Express couscous mix which specified 1 cup of water to 2/3 cups of couscous. Make sure to use water as directed on the box). Add couscous to the water, stir in salt and pepper, cover and remove from heat. Let stand 5 minutes. Remove lid from the pot and fluff couscous with a fork. Add the chopped tomato, cilantro and almonds; toss again with fork to combine. The couscous is ready to serve.