Kodbale - Deep Fried Rings with Spicy Tangy Dip

Kodbale was introduced to us, when my mother had been to her friends place. There she tried these and then got to know about these deep fried rings and wanted all of us back home to savour this treat.

   Kodbale is usually a crisp deep fried snack available in the South. Now a lot of companies sell it as well. BUT...I am not talking about these snackies.. The one's I'm talking about are like onion rings (only the feel), which can only be consumed and enjoyed fresh, when its crispy and of course piping hot with this super spicy and tangy at the same time dip!

 So obviously we couldn't have it the ''Andra Ishtyle'' , hence the modified recipe for the not-so-spicy eaters like us at home. And yes if you love the red face, teary eyes and the burning tongue, go ahead and add those EXTRA chillies :)

All I can say about these mouth watering beauties are- they are a divine combination of crispy rings paired with the hot and tangy dip. Different from the regular starters or snacks you must have had. Try these and you will make sure you make them regularly at home (cos of the demands you see ;) )

So lets get started.

Recipe Source- Jaishree Ostwal


Ingredients

• Rice Flour- 2  Cups
• Maida- 2 Tbsp 
• Curds - 250 Ml 
• Grated Coconut- 1 Cup 
• Lemon Juice- 1 Tablespoon 
• Cumin Seeds- 1 Tsp 
• Green Chillies - 2 ,finely chopped
• Salt - To Taste
• Oil- For Deep frying

Method

Take a heavy bottom pan and add curds, lemon juice, grated coconut, cumin powder, green chillies, salt and bring it to a boil.

Mix maida and rice flour and add it slowly to the boiling curd mix and mix continuously so that there are no lumps .Simmer the gas now.
Cover partially with a lid and let it steam for about 3 mins.

With a ladle mix all the ingredients to form a dough.
Oil your palm and knead the dough till it binds and forms a chapati like dough.

Leave it to cool.

Now shape it into thin logs and join them to form rings.

Heat oil in a kadhai and deep fry till they are golden brown.

Spicy-Tangy Dip/Chutney

As I have mentioned, this is a pretty spicy and tangy at the same time dip, which will confuse your taste-buds for the first time. It's a deadly combo though , both are strong flavours which equally speak for themselves!! This is going to be a thick dip, it is suppose to be that ways. Below is the recipe.


Ingredients

• Tamarind- 1 lemon size  ball
• Red Chillies - 2-3, dried 
• Jaggery- 1 Tbsp 
• Cumin powder- 1 Tsp 
• Salt - to taste

Method

Add all the ingredients to a mixer grinder and blend to make a paste with very little water to make a
thick dip.


A Few Tips

• You can prepare the dough a day in advance and refrigerate. And remove it an hour before you want to use it. It should be at room temperature.

• Always knead the kodbale dough well. Else they will break while rolling. They might also break while frying.

• My mother always makes the dip in a large quantity and refrigerates it. It's got a pretty long self life.

• This dip can be had with Roti Crisps(Khakras), nachos.. It tastes amazing. Try it.

Do try this and leave me a comment!

Dark Chocolate Truffles

Truffles are one of the most sought after sweet treats, popular around the world.

What are truffles?

A chocolate truffle is a type of chocolate confectionery, traditionally made with a chocolate ganache centre coated in chocolate, cocoa powder or chopped toasted nuts (typically hazelnuts, almonds or coconut).

Their name derives from their traditional shape, which resembles the truffle, an edible part of the tuber fungus.

History of Truffles

The chocolate truffle is thought to have been first created by N. Petrucelli in Chambéry, France in December 1895..
There are now three main types of chocolate truffles: European, Swiss, and American:

The "French truffle" is made with fresh cream and chocolate and then rolled into cocoa or nut powder.
The "Belgian truffle" or praline is made with dark or milk chocolate filled with ganache, butter-cream or nut pastes.
The "Swiss truffle" is made by combining melted chocolate into a boiling mixture of dairy cream and butter, which is poured into moulds to set before sprinkling with cocoa powder.
The "California truffle" is a larger, lumpier version of the French truffle, first made by Alice Medrich in 1973 after she tasted truffles in France.
The "American truffle" is a half-egg shaped chocolate-coated truffle, a mixture of dark or milk chocolates with butterfat and, in some cases, hardened coconut oil. Joseph Schmidt is credited with its creation in the mid-1980's.
The "European truffle" is made with syrup and a base made up of cocoa powder, milk powder, fats, and other such ingredients to create an oil-in-water type emulsion.
The "vegan truffle" can have any shape or flavor, but is adapted to vegetarian diets by replacing dairy with nut milks and butters.

So now, lets move on to the recipe...

Ingredients:

• Dark Chocolate- 25o Gm 
• Fresh /Heavy Cream - 500 Ml
• Instant Coffee - 1Tsp (Optional)

Coating

Dark Chocolate- 1 Cup (melted)

Decorations

• Chocolate Vermicelli
• Melted Dark/Milk/White Chocolate Drizzle
• Sprinkles
• Dessicated Coconut
• Roasted Nuts(Almonds/Pistachios/Hazelnuts)
• Cocoa Powder
• Edible Gold/Silver Dust

Method

Take a heavy bottom pan, add the cream and bring it to a boil or until you see small bubbles at the rim. Do not boil the cream. Take it off the flame.

Take a glass bowl and add the roughly chopped dark chocolate to it.

Once you  take your cream off the heat, add it to the chocolate, let all the chocolate sink in the cream and leave it undisturbed for about 2-3 minutes.

Now take a whisk and mix the choco-cream mix until its smooth and has a flowing consistency. Once creamy, leave it covered on the kitchen counter or refrigerate for atleast 5-6 hours.

Once it completely chilled take an ice cream scoop of 1'' diameter or a tablespoon. Scoop out the chilled ganache and roll it into a ball.

Dip this in melted chocolate and leave it as is or decorate/roll it with nuts,coconut,cocoa powder, sprinkles anything you like and place them on a tray covered with parchment paper . Get creative!!

Refrigerate these fudgy balls just until they are firm .Enjoy!!

A few Tips

• You can definitely add Fruit fillings, Caramel/Toffee sauce, Liqueur, Candied Fruits, Nuts, Coffee, Rice Crisps, Jelly ,what ever you want.
• You can add coffee to the cream when you put it on the stove. Coffee just enhances the flavor of chocolate.
• You can cover the truffles in white chocolate too.
• To dip the rolled truffles in chocolate, you could use a toothpick. Insert the toothpick in the ball and dip in the chocolate and coat them with the decorations and remove the toothpick. This is a no mess trick.
• You could even use lollipop sticks to hold the ''TrufflePops'' !!
• You can make the ganache with white chocolate and ratio being 1:3 . Roll the fudge with a roasted almond inside and coat it with white chocolate and cover it with coconut. You will love it!!!!
• As suggested, you can go crazy decorating them with all the decorations mentioned above. So they are ready for a party as well.

• You can refrigerate them upto a 1 week in an airtight container.

Sorry I couldn't post all the pictures of the fillings and decorations I had made, as they get over in no time and leaves me with no images. But as they say- there's always a next time!

Do try them and leave me a comment!

Mascarpone Oreo Cookies

I had made some mascarpone at home and i know it works well in a dessert form, but  I knew I had to try it in these cookies. So i started searching for a lot of recipes and finally stumbled upon this one recipe which was unique and caught my attention. I have tweaked the recipe to make it more simple. I have used homemade mascarpone which resulted in fantastic cookies with the chewy Oreo bits, extracting the best flavor from the cookies.

Mascarpone cheese is so enchantingly smooth and creamy. Its the base for most cheesecakes and some frostings too.

It’s actually pronounced - ''mas-car-poh-nay''.

The addition of mas-car-poh-nay cheese makes these cookies incredibly rich, dense, and chewy. I cannot say enough good things about these cookies!

Recipe Source - Kevin and Amanda

Ingredients

• Butter - 1 Cup  

• Mascarpone Cheese - 3 oz 

• Sugar - 1 Cup 

• Egg Substitute - 2 Tbsp Water + 1 Tbsp Oil + 2 Tsp Baking Powder = 1 Egg (Add all these ingredients in a bowl in the same order and beat it well till it becomes frothy)

• Plain Flour - 2 Cups

• Wheat Flour - Half Cup

• Vanilla - 1 Tsp 

• Oreo Cookies Crushed - 5-7 

Method

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Beat the butter and mascarpone cheese for about 3 minutes. 

Slowly beat in the sugar until light and fluffy. 

Stir in the egg substitute and vanilla, then on low speed slowly beat in the flour until just combined. 

Now just lightly crush the Oreos. Stir in the crushed Oreo cookies in the batter with a light hand.

Scoop or spoon cookie dough on to a cookie sheet and bake at 325 degrees for 12-15 minutes.

A Few Tips

• I will post the recipe for homemade Mascarpone Cheese in a separate post. 
• You could bake them longer for about 10 more mins if you like your cookies crunchy.

• You can avoid wheat flour and add the same amount of plain flour or try 50-50 ratio.
• You can use eggs instead of the substitute. This substitute is for 1 Egg.
• And they keep fresh for a long time.
• You can refrigerate this dough upto 2 weeks.

Do try this and leave me a comment!