Caramelized Onion Dip

This is a recipe that I had jotted down a long time back from one of the magazines that I had borrowed from my local library. In the hustle and bustle of life, the scrap of paper on which the recipe was noted disappeared, and was completely forgotten about. It resurfaced recently when I was looking for something else and I decided to make it and post it ASAP.

I have modified the original recipe to such an extent that my recipe now looks nothing like the original!

So here it is- my onion dip...

Ingredients:

1 big Vidalia onion, thinly sliced
1/8 tsp dried mint
1/8 tsp dried thyme
3-4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 Tbsp oil
2 Tbsp yogurt (I used low fat)
1 ½ Tbsp light mayonnaise (I used Hellmann's)
1 tsp lemon juice
Salt
Pepper

Method:
Heat the oil in a pan, add the onions and dried herbs followed by garlic and mix well.

Cook the onions on medium heat stirring from time to time till they lose moisture, the sugar in them starts to caramelize, and they turn brown (takes about 15-20 minutes or so)

Allow the onion mixture to cool and grind to a paste.

In a bowl mix together the mayo and the yogurt.

Add the onion paste to the yogurt-mayo mixture followed by lemon juice, salt and pepper and mix well.

Chill and serve as a dip with your choice of raw veggies, chips or crackers or just slather on bread.

Off this goes to Radhika at Radhi’s Kitchen for JFI: Onion.


For an Indian version, do check out this Onion Chutney.

Onion Chutney

Here’s a recipe for a chutney that couldn’t be easier to prepare. It needs just two ingredients-onions and red chillies. This is something I learnt from my mother.
It serves as the perfect accompaniment to idlis and dosas.

Ingredients:
5 medium onions, chopped
7-10 red chillies
2 Tbsp oil
Salt

Method:
Heat oil in a large pan and add the chopped onions followed by salt. Sauté for 2-3 minutes and then add the red chillies. Continue to sauté on medium heat till the onions cook down and turn soft and brown. This takes almost 20 minutes.

Cool the mixture and grind to a smooth paste.

Serve with dosas.
This is my entry for Zorra’s Onion Day celebrations.

Pazham Pori (Plantain Fritters)

Pazham Pori also called Ethakkappam (Plantain Fritters), is a very popular snack in Kerala made using ripe plantains. ( This is what Keralites call Nenthrappazham/Kerala banana)

This has been one of my all time favorites. It is very simple to prepare yet so very tasty. It was the perfect accompaniment to our Saturday-evening tea.
Here’s how I made it.

Ingredients:
3 ripe plantains (Halve each plantain and make 3-4 slices from each half)
Oil for deep frying
For the batter:
1 cup all-purpose flour
½ cup rice flour
Sugar (add depending on sweetness of the plantain)
½ tsp baking soda
A pinch or two of cardamom powder
Salt to taste
Mix everything in water to form a thick batter that coats each slice really well.

Method:
Heat the oil for frying.

Drop about three to four pieces of batter-coated plantain into hot oil, one at a time. Proceed to fry the rest in four or five batches.( If you put in too many pieces at a time, it decreases the temperature of the oil & it takes longer to fry & the plantains will absorb more oil than they normally would)

Fry till golden brown. (This should take less than a minute if the oil is at the correct temperature)

Drain off the excess oil on paper towels.

Serve hot with tea.

This is being sent to Mandira of

Ahaar who is hosting JFI: Banana.
This is also my entry for “What’s your favorite snack?” - an event being hosted by Hima of SnackORama.




Onion Bhajjis(fritters)
I had some batter left over after making the plantain fritters, so I went ahead and made some onion bhajjis too.

I just peeled and halved an onion and used a mandoline to get thin slices from each half, mixed it into the batter and fried it till golden brown.


Note: I would normally use chickpea flour (besan) to make the batter for this kind of pakoda, and spice it up with some green chillies or chilli powder.