Zucchini Onion Fritters- a hybrid of Ghiya/lauki ke pakorey

Hope you all have a splendid time on Janamashtami-Belated Janamashtami wishes to all of you.May God Krishna give his blessings to each and every one of us.
It’s been quite a while now I have updated here. Be prepared for my ramblings in this post friends.And if you are still interested then read on.
Schools have open up after a long summer holiday. Kids are off to school now. And suddenly there is numbness in my apartment during daytime.This has become so calm that sometimes I want my daughter, to be back with me from her school, screaming and playing all over the house just as she would do in her holidays. You know the irony is few days ago, I was complaining to my DH that she is making a mess of the house all this summer vacation with all her crafts work scattered –too much work for a child like her , paper clippings, paper cuttings and paper sheets, craft feathers, masks and Origami Crafts scattered here and there. And with her cartoons running most of the times on Telly-Humf, Mickey Mouse clubhouse and Timothy goes to school; I started wondering when my daughter will start her new session in school. Now that it’s all over, I mean summer vacation, I want her to be with me again. I am even more complaining now isn't, writing it in my blog here openly.

There was this special day when our little angel turned six recently.We both as parents are really blessed to have a sweet daughter like her. May God Bless Her with all the happiness in the world.

This is her birthday cake with six fondant flowers all hand made without any cutters or rollers or accessories. Made two cakes in 13*9 inch baking sheets and layered it with double cream+cherry+strawberry flavored gelatin. Recipe for black forest cake is Click Here.

Now to our travel update.Since this was a long weekend with an additional holiday on Monday, we thought perhaps it would be a nice idea to spend it outdoor traveling by train.

We were also utilizing this long weekend holiday, visiting new places in around London. From Sunday onwards weather was sunny .And when sun is shining mostly everyday which is quite a rare happening in this part of the world, who wants to remain indoor or logged on to internet for net surfing, at least I don’t like to.
And when we have good network of trains here .There are possibly hundreds of places to visit. This is our savior when we are just nagging about how to spend our time here particularly on long weekend holidays. Just board any train and enjoy the serenity of nature’s beauty. A perfect way to spend a good relaxing time with family. And I don’t need to mention grown-ups and children both enjoy train journeys even if they are meant for about an hour.

Henley-on-Thames has a small town charm. People have a relaxing mood here. Thames River looks so sparkling clean here. We sat near the bank of the river for sometimes, to soak up the tranquility of that place inside us and breathe fresh air.

People here do come for boating.One of Britain’s favorite way of spending  a relaxed weekend.

And to some other hobby-knitting updates.

Another hobby which has been keeping me occupied during these days- is knitting.Whatever time I am getting  after traveling and attending to my family, I like to utilize this time pursuing my new hobby.

I have made a small bag for my little daughter. Just cast on some 30-40 stitches and knit for two rows, then knit in Stockinette stitching for rest of the rows till the desired length is obtained.

Fold in half to check the breadth and length for the bag. Bind off when desired length is obtained. For the handle of the bag –cast on some 100-110 stitches and then bind off next rows.You can increase or decrease the stitch for a longer or shorter handle.

With the help of a sewing needle or blunt end needle, sew the sides for the bag and then handles. If you wish you may decorate the bag with some beads or some plastic flowers for the extra girlie effect.You can choose other type of yarns also,I choosed this white fuzzy yarn as per my daughter's wish.You may like to visit here for detailed instructions then -Click Here for the free pattern.

 Now finally it's time for cooking , which I do take earnestly.

Now to the recipe for Zucchini Fritters

I have always felt there are many vegetables which are still under-used in Indian cooking like zucchini. I have used zucchini in a normal stir/fry way and also made zucchini with posto or poppy seed paste, a recipe inspired from Ahaar by Mandira.
I have been trying out many recipes from Julie Sahni’s cookbook recently(last made murg shahi korma(Click here for the recipe)
This recipe of zucchini fritters is inspired by her zucchini fritters. In eastern UP, ghiya or lauki ke pakore is very famous. I do think zucchini has striking resemblance to lauki/ghiya/bottle gourd because of its water content. Grate zucchini as you would have grated ghiya/lauki and mix in with chopped coriander, onion and all the seasonings, fry it in hot oil and you are ready with zucchini bhajiyas/pakoda.A little different recipe for pakoda with vegetables but worth trying it.

Zucchini onion fritters/Zucchini onion pakoda

Recipe requirements
1 medium size zucchini
1 onion
3-4 green chilies
½ cup of chopped coriander leaves
¾ cup of yogurt
1 cup of besan/chick pea flour
2 tsp of red pepper powder
2 tsp of coriander powder
1 tsp of cumin powder
Salt as per taste
Method
Grate zucchinis and chop onion as finely as you can.
In a mixing bowl, add all the above-besan, yogurt, grated zucchini, chopped onion, green chilies, coriander and the seasonings-cumin-coriander powder, red pepper powder and salt.
Heat up a deep bottom pan/kadhai; add cooking oil up to half.
Heat up well, and drop one tablespoon of the batter to the hot oil and fry all the pakodas.
Drain over paper towel. Serve with a cup of tea and tomato ketchup.
Note-
You may use ghiya/lauki/bottle gourd in place of zucchinis.But it’s better to take the seeds out of the lauki from the middle and then grate.

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