BREAD BAJJI

                                                   BREAD BAJJI/PAKODA

INGREDIENTS

6 slices of bread

1 1/4 cup besan (bengalgram flour)

1/2 tsp red chilly powder

salt to taste

approx 1 cup water

Oil for deep frying

For filling

2 small onions finely chopped

1/2 tsp chilly powder

A pinch of garam masala

salt to taste

METHOD

In a mixing bowl mix the besan,chilli powder and salt.Heat approx 4 tsp of oil and add to the flour. Mix well.Slowly add water and mix to form a dropping batter.

Prepare a filling by frying the onions in a little oil. Add chilli powder, salt and garam masala and mix well.Now remove from flame and keep aside.

Cut the sides of the bread slices. Sandwich the onion mixture between two slices and press well. Cut each sandwich into  two to get a triangular shape. 

Heat oil in a deep frying pan. Dip the triangles in the batter and slide into the oil carefully. (Do not soak the bread for a long time in the batter.) Fry on high to medium heat till golden brown in colour.

Serve with tomato ketchup and steaming tea or coffee!

  

SPICY CURRIES

All these curries are semi solid in consistency and not do not have a gravy.
They taste very good with rotis or can even be relished with plain curd rice.                                                           
                                                   SPICY BRINJAL

INGREDIENTS

3-4 medium sized brinjals cut lenghth wise 

(Keep the sliced brinjals in a bowl of water to avoid blackening)

2 medium onions sliced
2 tomatoes chopped
1 green chilly slit into two
2-3 lavang (cloves) crushed
1 tej patta (bay leaf)
1/2 tsp jeera(cumin seeds
2-3 tbsp oil
A pinch of haldi (turmeric powder)
1/2 tsp chilly powder
a pinch of garam masala
Salt to taste

                                      
METHOD
Heat oil in a pan. Add the cloves and bay leaf. Then add jeera. When it fries add the green chilly and onions and saute till they become transparent. Add a pinch of salt to speed up the process. Add finely chopped tomatoes and fry till the water evaporates. Add haldi and chilly powder. Mix well and add the brinjals. Add salt and mix well. Sprinkle a little water and cover and cook on low flame. Keep mixing occasionally till the brinjals become soft. A little water can be added if the mixture is sticking to the bottom. Add garam masala and mix. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves(dhania patti).

                                 CABBAGE  AND POTATO SABJI

INGREDIENTS
3 cups chopped cabbage finely chopped
2 small poatoes cut into small cubes
1 medium tomato
A few chopped coriander leaves
1/2 tsp jeera
1/2 tsp dhania(coriander) powder
1/4 tsp jeera powder (cumin)
1/2 tsp chilly powder
A pinch of haldi(turmeric)
A pinch of hing(asafoetida)
A pinch of garam masala (optional)
2 tbsp oil

METHOD
Heat oil. Add the jeera and hing. Then add the chopped potatoes. Fry for a few mins.Then add the cabbage and mix well. Stir fry for a min or two. Add haldi and salt and cover and cook for some time. When the potatoes are almost  soft , add all the spices and mix well. Fry for a min. Then add chopped tomatoes and cover and cook till the water of the tomato evaporates. Add chopped coriander leaves and mix well. Sprinkle a little water to get the required consistency.

                                      POTATO IN A JIFFY !

I always make this when I am in a hurry or am not in a mood for patient cooking.
This small cute pressure cooker of mine helps me in this task. This was gifted to me by my mother and now I just can't do without it.

I do not use any measurements here. 
Keep the cooker for heating on a slow flame. Meanwhile peel and chop 2 potatoes, a tomato and a little bit of coriander leaves.
Add oil to the pressure cooker.Add jeera ,hing, potatoes,tomatoes.coriander leaves, haldi, dhania powder, red chilly powder and salt. Add some water. Cover the lid and pressure cook for 5 mins. Open the lid when pressure subsides and mix well.
Voila! the curry is ready to be devoured.

WEEKEND GETAWAY

Yelagiri or Elagiri is a small hill station in Tamil Nadu, about 200 km from Chennai and 160 km from Bangalore.

We were planning to start at 5.30 in the morning but, as it  generally happens, we started at 6.15. We took the route through Pallavaram, Pamal and Kundrathur. This reaches the NH 45 close to Sriperumbudur. From here it is a straight drive till Vaniyambadi and from there you have to take a diversion after Ponneri. We took short breaks on our way as we were travelling with our pet Veto. Veto enjoys travelling and never troubles us.

At Vaniyambadi, we were joined by my cousin and her family from Bangalore. After exchanging the pleasantries we again began our drive. The road is very good and we can see the yelagiri hills on the way.

The road is narrow so you cannot park your vehicle on the way up except for one or two places. We stopped at one place to watch the view of the valley.It really saddens me to see people throwing garbage at such places. There were broken glass pieces from bottles used for  "DRINKING AND ENJOYING WHEN ON A HOLIDAY". I wish people could show some consideration to Nature before spoiling it!

VETO ENJOYING THE VIEW

On the way we could see lot of monkeys and large bee hives hanging from the trees. Yelagiri is known for it's honey and jackfruit.

We had booked our rooms at HR Resorts  which is about 6 km from the town and is a  quiet place.  The place was very good with lot of open space. Veto was very happy as he could move around freely.

HR  RESORTS

We had our lunch and after a nap, we went out to see the Yelagiri lake. The lake is very big and has boating facility. I waited with Veto, in the Children's Park while the others went for boating. There are a lot of jack-fruit trees in the park. We spent some time in the park and and returned to the  resort. On arriving, Veto found a friend Frudo ,who had came from Bangalore. We spent the evening just lazing around.

YELAGIRI LAKE

VETO AND FRUDO

Anu , wanted to go for paragliding, but on enquiring we found that it  had been stopped now. So we planned to go for trekking the next morning.
People go to "Swamimalai" for trekking but we were not keen on that as we found out that it would be too tiring and none of us were so adventurous.
So Prakash who looks after the place said he would take us for a small trek near the resort.

We planned to start early in the morning and return before it got hot. We drove for about 3 km (we were supposed to walk :) ) and then began climbing the hill. The climb was not very tiring and we began to enjoy the trek uphill. The view from the top was breathtaking. On the top we found a small temple belonging to the local people . We could see some hamlets down below. 
It belonged to the "Malayali" people, who are the inhabitants of the mountains. They do farming and collect honey from the forests. 

THE PLACE OF WORSHIP

The walk back was very refreshing and we felt a sense of achievement  as, we were not confident that we would be able to complete the trek.

We were very hungry by now and were awaiting the breakfast which would be ready for us when we reached back.
But there was no breakfast! The cook was  still asleep!
We were in no mood to go to the town to have breakfast. Then our guide cum caretaker asked us to wait for 15 -20 mins. And there it was! Idly,vada,dosa, sambhar ,chutney as promised. We were amazed as to how he could do it in such a short time, with a little help from his assistants. We still wonder how he managed it.

We spent the whole day chit chatting and relaxing and then began our journey back. On the way we stopped to see the Nature Park which has lot of trees, an aquarium, an artificial waterfall and a lot of crowd! A musical fountain show is held here in the evenings.

We roamed the place for about half an hour and started for home.
We had a very relaxed weekend and came back refreshed.

So if you want a peaceful and calm location, far from the crowd ...
THIS IS THE PLACE!!