Vegetable Tempura

This is a good snack for people who can not eat chana flour (besan) This is a very healthy dish because of the white gourd and other vegetables.

1 lb white gourd (boodida gummidi kayi or kaddu) peeled
and cut in to thin strips
1 small carrot grated
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1 stem chopped curry leaves (kari patte)
2-inch piece of chopped fresh ginger
3 or 4 chopped green chilies (mirchi)
1 cup chopped fresh spinach leaves or callaloo leaves (thotakoora)
1 teaspoon cumin seeds (jeera)
1 teaspoon salt or to taste
1/2 teaspoon coarsely crushed black pepper
1/2 teaspoon red chili powder( optional)

Mix all the above ingredients together and let them soak for an hour or over night.

1 cup all purpose flour (maida)
1 1/2 or 2 cups of oil for deep frying depending upon the size of the frying pan

Mix 1 cup all purpose flour to the vegetables and taste to see if salt and pepper are enough. Add more maida as needed to bind the vegetables together.

Heat oil in a medium frying pan on high temperature and drop the vegetable batter into the hot oil like pakodas and fry until light brown and crisp.

Note: Batter should not be too thick or too thin. If the vegetables have too much water squeeze some water out and save it before mixing with flour so that you don’t have to add too much flour. If you put too much flour, tempuras will not be crisp. You can add a little onion as well, but the batter might become too watery.

Since the tempuras are spicy enough, they can be relished without chutney..


White Gourd Idlies

1 cup urad dal ( soak for 2 hours)
1 1/2 cups idli rava ( wash and soak for two hours)

Day before:

Wash urad dal and blend it fine with as little water as possible..
Remove the water from rava and mix with urad dal dough. Keep this idli batter covered over night until the dough ferments.

Next day:

1 pound white gourd, washed, peeled and cut in to small pieces
4 green chilies cut in to small pieces
1/2 table spoon of cumin seeds
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
1 pinch of hing (optional)

Add 1/2 teaspoon of salt to the white gourd pieces, mix and squeeze the water. Reserve the water if you need to make the idli dough to be little thin. If you don’t squeeze the water idli dough might become too thin.

Mix white gourd pieces, remaining 1 teaspoon of salt and rest of the ingredients with idli batter.

Grease or rub some oil or ghee on the idli plates. Fill the idli cups with idli batter 3/4 full. Steam in a pressure cooker without the weight at high for 5 minutes and low for 5 minutes. Turn the heat off and let the idlies cool for few minutes in the cooker before removing them from the idli plates..



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