Rainy Day Delights: 3 Mouthwatering Monsoon Snack Recipes

Monsoons are finally here! Rains mean crispy pakoras, steaming cups of masala chai, and your favourite sitcom. Monsoon snacks are comforting and flavourful, an experience we love to live every monsoon. Some recipes tantalize your taste buds and keep you craving for more every season. Get ready to embrace the rainy season with these delightful monsoon treats by Chef Sohail Karimi, Executive chef, Radisson Blu Resort and Convention Centre, Karjat

Rock Corn Tempura recipe

Ingredients for Rockcorn

American Corn – 100 gm

Tempura Flour – 50 gm

Chilled water – 50 ml

Spring onion green – 20 gm

Ingredients for Spicy Mayonnaise Sauce

Mayonnaise – 50 gm

Wasabi – 5 gm

Sugar – 10 gm

Lemon juice – 5 ml

Chilli Flakes – 2 gm

Salt – To Taste

For presentation

Lollo Rosso Lettuce – 10 gm

Shredded Nori Sheet – 1 gm

Spring Onion – 3 gm

Chilli Flakes – 1 gm

Method

To make mayonnaise sauce combine mayonnaise, wasabi, sugar, lemon juice, chili flakes and salt. Mix together and keep aside.

Make pouring consistency batter by mixing tempura flour and chilled water.

Combine corn kernel and chopped spring onion greens in a bowl sprinkle with flour to lightly coat it, add batter mix. Make small uneven shape balls and deep fry in oil on medium flame till golden brown and crispy.

Remove from oil, drain excess oil. Take rock corn in a tossing bowl, add mayo sauce and toss. Sprinkle chopped spring onion and chilli flakes.

Take a serving bowl, line it with lollo rosso leaf, put tossed rock corn tempura in the centre, top it with shredded nori sheets and serve.

Pesto Chicken Kathi Roll with Tomato Relish

Ingredients:

For tawa paratha Wheat Flour – 1 cup Oil – 15 ml (for kneading)

Salt – 5 gm

Oil – to roast the parathas

Ingredients:

For chicken tikka

Chicken Breast – 200 grams (cut into thin strips)

Hung Curd – ¼ cup

Tandoori Masala – 2 tablespoons

Lemon Juice – 1 tablespoon

Turmeric Powder – 1/2 teaspoon

Salt – 5 gm

Ginger – 1 teaspoon (finely chopped)

Garlic – 2 teaspoons (finely chopped)

Onion – 1 no (thinly sliced)

Green Bell Pepper – 1 no (thinly sliced)

Ingredients:

For pesto sauce

Fresh basil leaves – 2 cups

Parmesan cheese – 1/2 cup (freshly grated)

Extra virgin olive oil – 1/2 cup

Pine nuts – 1/3 cup (can substitute with chopped walnuts)

Fresh garlic – 3 cloves (minced, about 1 tablespoon)

Salt – 1/4 teaspoon

Other Ingredient :

Pickled onions – 1/2 cup

Chaat Masala Powder – to sprinkle

Whole Eggs – 2 nos (beaten)

Ingredients:

For tomato relish

Fresh red tomatoes – 1 kg

Onion – 1 large (finely chopped)

Sweet red bell pepper – 1 big size (finely chopped)

Mustard seeds – 1 teaspoon

Celery seeds – ½ teaspoon

White vinegar – 2 cups

Brown sugar – 2 cups

Salt – to taste

Ginger – 2 teaspoons (ground)

Cinnamon – 2 teaspoons (ground)

Allspices – 1 teaspoon (ground)

Cloves – 1 teaspoon (ground)

Nutmeg – 1 teaspoon (ground)

Method:

For pesto sauce

Place the basil leaves and pine nuts into the bowl of a food processor and pulse several times.

Add the garlic and parmesan cheese and pulse several times more. Scrape down the sides of the food processor with a rubber spatula.

While the food processor is running, slowly add the olive oil in a steady small stream. Adding the olive oil slowly while the processor is running will help it emulsify and help keep the olive oil from separating. Occasionally, stop to scrape down the sides of the food processor.

Add salt to taste.

Method: for chicken tikka filling

In a mixing bowl, combine the washed and cleaned chicken strips along with the yogurt, salt, turmeric powder, tandoori masala, and lemon juice. Allow it to sit for at least 30 minutes.

Heat a pan with oil on medium flame, to this add the ginger, garlic and sauté for 30 seconds, now add in the sliced onions and capsicum.

Continue to cook for another 3-4 minutes.

Now add the marinated chicken along with the marinade.

Cover and cook for 5-7 minutes until the chicken tikka masala has cooked through. We need our chicken tikka to be just about coated with the masala.

Turn off the flame, and transfer to a bowl and set aside.

Method: for tawa paratha

To begin making the tawa paratha, in a large bowl combine the flour, salt, a tablespoon of oil and knead adding little water at a time to make a firm and smooth dough.

Add one tablespoon of oil to coat the dough and knead again. Cover and set aside for 15 minutes.

Knead once again and divide the dough into 4 portions. Preheat the iron skillet on medium heat. Roll the dough portions into balls and flatten them with the palm of your hand. Toss them on flour and roll them out into circles of approximately 8 inches in diameter.

Continue the same process of rolling with the remaining dough portions.

With skillet on medium high heat, place a rolled out paratha on the skillet. After a few seconds flip on the other side

At this point flip the plain paratha and add some oil. Cook until almost done.

Now spread two tablespoons of the beaten egg on one side of the paratha and flip.

Cook for about a minute till the egg is cooked. Remove from the tawa and place it on a plate.

To assemble the Chicken Tikka Kathi Roll

Spread pesto sauce on egg side of the paratha, then place the prepared chicken tikka masala filling on one side of the paratha, place pickled onions next to it and sprinkle some chaat masala.

Fold like that of a roll and serve.

Serve Chicken Tikka Kathi Roll along with tomato relish sauce

Method: for tomato relish

In a large saucepan, bring 8 cups water to a boil. Add tomatoes, a few at a time, boil for 30 seconds. Drain and immediately place tomatoes in ice water. Drain and pat dry, peel and finely chop. Place in a stockpot. Add chop onions and chop peppers.

Place mustard and celery seed on a double thickness of cheesecloth, bring up corners of cloth and tie with string to form a bag. Add spice bag and the remaining ingredients to the pot. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 60-75 minutes or until slightly thickened. Discard spice bag.

Vada Pav

Ingredients for Potato Dumplings

Potato – 2 ½ cup

Green Chillies – 2 to 3 no

Ginger – ¾ inch

Peeled Garlic Cloves – 3 to 4 no

Cooking Oil – 1 tbsp

Hing – 2 pinch

Curry Leaves – 1 sprig

Turmeric – ¼ tsp

Finely Chopped Coriander Leaves – 3 tbsp

Method:

Boil or steam 3 to 4 medium size potatoes just until tender cooked. Make sure they are not mushy or water logged. Cool them and crumble. Set aside. Make a paste of ginger, garlic cloves and green chili.

Chop coriander leaves and set aside. Heat oil in a pan. Regulate the flame to low and add mustard seeds, when they pop up, add in curry leaves. When the leaves turn crispy add in ginger garlic and green chilli paste. Sauté till the raw smell goes off.

Add in salt, hing, turmeric powder. Mix everything well without burning. If your pan is too hot add a splash of water to avoid burning the spice.

Add boiled and crumbed potatoes and chop coriander leaves. Turn of the heat and mix well. Taste test to adjust the salt level.

Cool completely and divide the potato mixture to 8 portions. Roll them to balls.

Ingredients for Batter & Frying Besan – ¾ cup Rice Flour – 2 tbsp Salt – ¼ tsp Hing – a pinch Turmeric – a pinch Red Chilli Powder – a pinch (optional)

Method:

Mix all the ingredients well. Add 4 tbsp of water and begin to make a thick batter, adding more water only if required. Adding a lot of water at a time will make the batter watery and lumpy. Don’t make the batter runny as the covering will turn very thin. Add a pinch of soda – bi- carbonate and mix well.

Heat oil in a deep kadai on a medium flame. When the oil is hot enough, test by dropping in a small portion of the batter to check if the oil is hot. The batter has to sizzle and rise up to the surface, this indicates that the oil is hot enough. Drop the potato balls in the batter and coat it well.

Gently drop the coated potato balls in the oil. Do not disturb for 2 minutes as they tend to break. After 2 minutes keep stirring and fry on a medium heat until golden.

Remove them and set aside in a cooling rack or colander. You fry in small batches if using a small kadai.

Ingredients for Green Chutney: Coriander leaves – 1 ½ cup Roasted Cumin Seeds – ½ tsp Hot Green chillies – 2 no Garlic Clove – 2 no Lemon Juice – 2 tsp Water- 2 tbsp Salt – ¼ tsp Roasted Channa Dal – 1 tbsp

Method: Blend all the ingredients to make a smooth chutney

Ingredients for Dry Garlic Chutney:

Garlic Clove – 6 to 8 no Dry Red Chillies – 6 – 8 no Dry Grated Coconut – 1 cup Peanut – 1 tbsp Red Chilli Powder – 3 tbsp

Method:

Skin the garlic and dry roast them for 2-3 minutes. Add in the red chilies and roast until crisp. Transfer them to a plate and cool. Dry roast the peanut on a low flame until golden and aromatic.

First powder the red chilies with red chili powder and salt. Then add garlic and blend once. Then add in the roasted peanut and dry roasted coconut. Powder them little coarsely and set aside.

Assembling the Vada Pav:

Slit each pav to sandwich it. Make sure one side in intact. Smear green chutney on both the inner sides of the pav. Sprinkle garlic chutney. If you want smear tamarind chutney on the other side of the pav.

Place the batata vada. You can also flatten the vada first and then place it in the pav.

Serve vada pav with green fried chilies.