1001 Bondas ( Battered and fried Indian dumplings)

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Any edible flour can be made into a batter, into which a variety of goodies can be dipped in and deep fried. This is the logic behind all the fritters,  North Indian pakoras, Japanese tempuras, American hush puppies, South Indian bajji, North Indian bhajias, South Indian bondas, Japanese kakiage, South Indian pakodas, French beignets., Italian frittas and all such recipes, which exist in virtually every cuisine. 

Understanding the principle behind deep frying is the only way to cook a light and crispy deep fried snack every time. 

The base:
Though gram flour is commonly used for most bondas, different flours can be used to make a variety of bondas with a different flavours and textures. Column 1 lists some of them. By changing the base, the following bondas can be cooked up.

0.: Gram flour is used for the basic bonda.

1.: All purpose flour ( maida) and whole wheat flour give a chewy maida and godhi bonda.

3.: Nut flour (cashew / almond flour) give a delicately flavoured bonda.

4.: Yellow Corn flour & Finger millet flour cook into differently coloured and flavoured chola bonda and ragi bonda.                                

6.: Rice flour   gives a crispy Arisi bonda

7.: Cream of wheat is used for a gritty textured Rava bonda.

8.:  Almost all edible flours like water chestnut flour, soya flour, buckwheat flour etc. can be used for bondas. It is easier to use them mixed with gram flour / wheat flour as some of them can't be made into a clingy batter.

 The flavouring :
A range of flavouring agents listed in column 2 can be mixed in with the batter to cook up scores of variations. There are no rules here. Choose your favourite flavouring combination.

The goodies:
Anything that can be shaped into a ball can be used to make a bonda. A variety of goodies listed in column 3 can be dipped into the batter and deep fried. There are no fixed rules about the goodies & batter combination. Experiment with your favourite goodies! 

1.: Bread  is used to make the Bread Bonda.

2.: Hard boiled egg gives the Muttai Bonda.

3.: Paneer is fried into the Paneer Bonda.

4.: Kheema  ( minced mutton / chicken) gives the Kheema Bonda)

5.: Potato , the most commonly used additive gives the Batata Vada / Potato Bonda.

6.: Mixed veggies  give the Masala Bonda.

7.: Mushroom is cooked into the Kaalan Bonda.

You can experiment with grated tofu,  mozzarella, olives, sausages or use your favourite goodies shaped into tight, lemon sized balls to cook up an array of novel bondas. 

Fry safe! 

10 No cook pasta Soups

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This cookbook lists 10 simple pasta soups. The recipes are greatly simplified so that a first time cook can easily cook them.A variety of ingredients are blended together into a cold soup, boiled pasta is mixed in & the soup is garnished with grated / powdered parmesan and served. That's it !

The following recipes are listed in this cookbook. 

1.:  Macaroni Gazpacho

2.:  Green Gazpacho with Cappelletti

3.:  White Gazpacho with Rotini

4.:  Oriental Spaghetti Gazpacho

5.:  Farfalline Pineapple Gazpacho

6.:  Ditalini Tarator

7.:  Rotelle Salmorejo

8.:  Anellini Ajoblanco 

9.:. Water melon Conchiclie Soup

10.: Coconut milk Tripolini Soup 

And off this goes to Holler's No Croutons required event.

1001 Simple Pappu ( Andhra's Lentil stew )

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This cookbook lists 1000 simplified lentil stews, the Pappu, cooked in Andhra. Ten bases are combined with ten different additives and ten different flavouring to create a thousand different pappu varieties.  The building blocks are listed below: 

The bases:

The following dals as listed in column 1 are used in most pappu.

0.: Kandi pappu : Tuvar dal is used to cook most pappus

1.: Pesara pappu or mung dal  is the next most commonly used dal.

2.: Misore Pappu : Called Mysore pappu / Masoor dal, this pink lentil is not very commonly used.

3.: Senaga pappu : Bengal gram / chana dal takes longer to cook and is usually presoaked before cooking. This is generally paired with sour spinach ( gongura) to cook the gongura pappu.

4.: Mukkula pappu : A combination of dals can also be used for pappu.

5.: Ulava pappu : Though more famous for Ulava Charu, this earthy dal can also be cooked into a great pappu.

6.: Roast pappu : Roasting dals before cooking imparts a nutty flavour.

7.: Stir fried lentils : Stir frying dals before cooking imparts a nuttier flavour.

8.: Global Pappu A variety of quick cooking lentils are found around the world and all these can be turned into delicious pappu

9.: Combo : Any combination of the above lentils can be used for pappu.

The additives:
A variety of additives are simmered in a sour base to cook up various pappu. Column 2 lists the most commonly used additives in Andhra.

0.:  Plain boiled dal tastes delicious without any additives. Eaten as Mudda Pappu , it is mixed with cooked rice, drizzled with ghee and is accompanied by a pickle.

1.: Raw Mango gives us the famous Mamdikkaya pappu

2.: Tomato is cooked into the Tomato pappu

3.: Spinach : A variety of spinach varieties are cooked into delicious pappu like  Aakukoora  Pappu/ Thota koora pappu  / Gongura pappu  .

4.: Dosakka. The much loved vegetable in Andhra gives us the  Dosakka Pappu.

5.: Tamarind leaves . It is in Andhra we see the use of tender tamarind leaves being cooked into the  Chinta chiguru pappu   

6.:  Red Pumpkin is boiled with dal into the Gummadikaya Pappu

7.:  Ridge gourd  with mung dal gives us Beerakkaya pesaru pappu 

8.: Bottle gourd is cooked into the Sorakkaya Pappu

9.: Fusion. A variety of fresh vegetables / spinach / herbs can all be cooked into delicious pappu. A combination of the above additives can also be used. 

The flavouring:
Pappu is a simple stew and does not need elaborate flavouring. Usually a simple garnish of fried mustard, red chili and curry leaves is sufficient. But a variety of different flavouring techniques are used as listed in Column 2 .

And this is reposted for Suganya's Vegan Ventures and My legume love affair, an event started by Susan.

Separate logic from content

One insight that has greatly helped me to cook a variety of dishes is this - The logic is separate from the content. This principle is widely used in many fields, including software programming, where it is a cornerstone of good design.

What this means in culinary terms is this - all recipes are built on a core logic.  For example, all Indian rotis are built around the logic that flour becomes edible when kneaded into a dough, shaped and heated on a skillet / tandoor. This core logic never changes - however the content does. That is, the types of flour used, the kind of shapes they assume, the kind of additives/ flavouring/ stuffing - all can be changed.

I believe it is a cook's job to isolate this core logic, which then can be converted into innumerable recipes. One page cookbooks are built on this concept. Each book is built on a piece of core logic and showcases how different 'content' can be hung on this frame, creating innumerable recipes.

Understanding this principle has changed the way I cook.

1001 Samosas ( Stuffed & Fried Indian pastries)

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This cookbook lists 1000 simplified samosas (deep fried Indian stuffed pastries).Ten different bases are paired with ten different additives and ten stuffings to create a thousand different samosas. These recipes are graded from easy to tough, with 000 being the easiest and 999 being the toughest. 

The base:
Though refined wheat flour (maida) account for most samosas cooked across India, we can make samosas from a variety of flours. As many of these flours cannot be kneaded easily into a dough, they are mixed with wheat flour to make kneading easier. Each flour will change the flavour and texture of the samosa. Rice flour would make it crispy, gram flour would make it chewy, semolina would make it gritty and so on. Try experimenting with various flours.

The additives:
A variety of spices or herbs as listed in column 2 can be kneaded into the dough.

The stuffing:
Anything without too much moisture can be used to stuff a samosa. Potatoes, paneer and dal make easy stuffing whereas cauliflower or radishes take time to master, because they have more moisture. Though non-veg stuffings are not as common, they can be cooked into delicious samosas.

Combining a variety of stuffing with a variety of bases and additives would give you an endless list of samosas. Experiment and fave fun !

10 simple Variety rice

This cookbook lists 10 simple variety rice cooked across South India. The recipes are greatly simplified so that a first time cook can easily cook them. For more variations, check out 1001 variety rice. The following recipes are listed in this cookbook.

1.: Curd Rice (Thayir Sadham) )

2.: Lemon rice (Elumichai Sadham)

3.: Mango rice (Manga Sadham)

4.: Mint rice ( Pudhina Sadham)

5.: Tomato Rice (Thakkali Sadham)

6.: Coconut Rice(Thenga Sadham)

7.: Sesame Rice ( Ellu Sadham)

8.: Pepper- cumin rice (Milagu Sadham)

9.:. Tamarind Rice (Puliodharai)

10.: Eggplant rice ( Vangi Bhat)

Off this goes to Srivalli's Rice Mela

1001 One pot mutton curries

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This cookbook lists 1000 one pot mutton curries, greatly simplified, so that a first time cook can easily cook them. The principle is simple – 10 different bases are combined with ten different flavourings and 10 different additives to cook up a thousand different recipes.  The bases are listed below. 

0.: Onion - An extra dose of onions is used as a base in the famous Dopyaza ( Double onion curry)

1.: Nuts / Seeds - Using nut paste and milk as a base is another hallmark of  the Mogul cuisine. This is usually used to cook the Mutton Korma.

2.: Herbs -  A variety of herbs are used across India as a curry base. Mint mutton , coriander mutton and gongura mutton are regional delicacies.

3.: Coconut milk is widely used as a curry base in all the coastal cuisines, especially in Konkan, Goa and Kerala.

4.: Yogurt is cooked until dry and is used as a curry base in the Kashmiri cuisine.

5.:  Spinach is used as a base to cook up a greenish curry,  the Saag Mutton.

6.: Tamarind is used as a base in the southern states of Andhra, Tamilnadu and Karnataka to cook  Mutton Kulambu.

7.:  Onion – garlic - Tomato is a widely used curry base across the country.

8.: Boiled pulses are cooked along with mutton to cook up the Sindhi curry Mutton Dhansak and the Tamil curry, Mutton Salna.

Ten different flavouring combinations are listed in column2. You’ll note that each flavouring technique calls for a different type of oil. However, you can safely substitute refined vegetable oil in place of other oils.

0.: Mustard + Red chili  fried in coconut oil is chiefly used in Kerala cuisine       

1.:  Cumin + Ginger- Garlic  is a flavouring common in Muglai cuisine    

2.: Mustard + Asafetida  fried in sesame oil is commonly used in Tamil cuisine

3.:  Panchphoran  fried in mustard oil is the standard flavouring used in Bengali / Oriya cuisine    

4.: Mustard + Curry leaves + Fenugreek  is another south Indian flavouring combination.

5.: Cloves – Cinnamon  with ginger garlic paste and garam masala is commonly used in North Indian cuisine.     

6.:  Using readymade mutton masala is one of the easiest ways of flavouring.     

7.: Using ginger powder and cardamom is a Kashmiri flavouring technique.

8.: Chili garlic paste mixed with dhania and turmeric powder is used across India as a flavouring agent. 

Additives
A wide variety of goodies can be cooked along with mutton. They absorb the flavour from mutton and become extra delicious. Certain regions have their own preferred additive. Turnips are cooked with mutton in Kashmir, drumsticks are preferred in Andhra, coconut in Kerala and shallots in Tamilnadu. A mix of various vegetables are used to cook the Sindhi curry mutton Dhansak. There are no hard and fast rules here. You can safely use your preferred additive.

100 Easy Mutton Curries

This cookbook lists 100 Mutton curries, greatly simplified, so that a first time cook can easily cook them. The principle is simple – Mutton is pressure cooked  and  is combined with ten different bases and 10 different flavouring techniques to create a hundred different recipes.  The ten different bases are listed below :

0.: Onion An extra dose of onions is used as a base in the famous Dopyaza ( Double onion curry)

1.: Nuts / Seeds Using nut paste and milk as a base is another hallmark of  the Mogul cuisine. This is usually used to cook the Mutton Korma.

2.: Herbs -  A variety of herbs are used across India as a curry base. Mint mutton , coriander mutton and gongura mutton are regional delicacies.

3.: Coconut milk is widely used as a curry base in all the coastal cuisines, especially in Konkan, Goa and Kerala.

4.: Yogurt is cooked until dry and is used as a curry base in the Kashmiri cuisine.

5.:  Spinach is used as a base to cook up a greenish curry,  the Saag Mutton.

6.: Tamarind is used as a base in the southern states of Andhra, Tamilnadu and Karnataka to cook  Mutton Kulambu.

7.:  Onion – garlic - Tomato is a widely used curry base across the country.

8.: Boiled pulses are cooked along with mutton to cook up the famous Mutton Dhansak, from  the Parsi cuisine 

Ten different flavouring combinations are listed in the cookbook. You’ll note that each flavouring technique calls for a different type of oil. However, you can safely substitute refined vegetable oil in place of other oils.

0.: Mustard + Red chili  fried in coconut oil is chiefly used in Kerala cuisine       

1.:  Cumin + Ginger- Garlic  is a flavouring common in Muglai cuisine    

2.: Mustard + Asafetida  fried in sesame oil is commonly used in Tamil cuisine

3.:  Panchphoran  fried in mustard oil is the standard flavouring used in Bengali / Oriya cuisine    

4.: Mustard + Curry leaves + Fenugreek  is another southern flavouring combination.

5.: Cloves – Cinnamon  with ginger garlic paste and garam masala is commonly used in North Indian cuisine.     

6.: The mixture of fried & ground coriander seeds, pepper and cumin is used across India.        

7.: A special blend of roast & ground Spices is used in Goa for the fragrant Xacuti.

8.: A variety of readymade spice powders ( Mutton Masala) can be used .