Garam Masala Tuesdays: Vegetarian Kebabs

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Vegetarian Kebabs | The Novice Housewife

Vegetarian Kebabs | The Novice Housewife

When I was in Allahabad during my last trip to India, the cook at my parents place would make these vegetarian kebabs for us to snack on with drinks. Good times, I tell ya! Since I could not get the cook back with me to the US of A, I asked my parents’ cook to give me the recipe.

Now most of us don’t measure when we cook, so the cook gave me an approximation of the recipe. First time I tried it, I had to make quite a few changes to the recipe to get the right consistency to be able to stick together. I made them for the new year’s party at our house and they were a big hit. Luckily I had noted the changes, so it was perfect the next time I made them.

You could deep fry these, like I chose to for the party, or you could bake them basted with a little oil as well. Of course the deep fried version are always tastier, but the baked version is almost equally good as well.

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GMT : Pyaaz ki Kachori (Pastry stuffed with spicy onion filling)

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Pyaaz ki kachori (Deep fried Pastry stuffed with spicy onion filling)If you have been following my blog since I started it then either you are one of my friends B, the Pious Hippie or G, or my mother or V.

My point- I have posted this recipe for Pyaaz ki kachori before. Way before. Three and a half years back. Just a few days after I started this blog.

Kachoris are flaky, crispy deep fried pastries that are filled with different savory fillings and served as a snack in India. Pyaaz is the hindi word for onions, and pyaaz kachoris are very popular in the western Indian state of Rajasthan.

Since it has been such a long time and since most of you hadn’t even heard of my blog then, I decided to repost the recipe with a little update about it, instead of just updating that recipe with new pictures and a print friendly recipe. If you would like to check out the original recipe, pictures and what I was up to on August 3rd, 2010 you can check the original post here. Else continue to read on here.

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Garam Masala Tuesdays: Kothimbir Vadi or Cilantro Cakes

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Another few days and I will be back to the US. I should be more excited given that I have been away from my home for more than 3 months, but its a mixed bag of feelings. I always hate leaving India. Though I have friends and my husband in the US, India is still the place I would truly want to be. Family is here. Friends are here. Life is here. Both countries have their own charm, but being an Indian at heart, I have never been the kinds who has been able to stay away from India for extended periods of time. And that is why whenever I come, I stay in India as much as I can (since I can afford to). Thankfully I have a husband who understands that and for the sake of my (and his) sanity lets me spend as much time as I want here.

Since I am almost ready to go, I thought I will get some recipes from the awesome cook we have at my parent’s place. Plus, its a delight to be able to take step by step photographs of someone else making the stuff, in comparison to what I have to do in the US, where I stop midway, clean my hands, take a picture, get back to the next step and repeat the same process of cleaning, capturing and then moving on to the next step.

So now I have a lot of masala for Garam Masala Tuesdays and hopefully unlike the past few months where this series was put on a back seat, we will see some seriously good stuff on the blog. Read More →