Staying in Seattle you get used to graying weather in winter months every single day. I mean literally every day. And this gloomy weather makes me crave more spicy foods and this dish tops the quick-cooking foods. Alugadda ellipaya Karam or Garlicky Potato fry is a quick and easy stir-fry served as a side dish.

             This Telangana Style Potato Roast is a gluten-free, vegan, spicy side dish. It gets ready in under 15 minutes and makes a perfect winter dish to cook on busy weekdays. The reason why I say it’s perfect for winters is the generous usage of garlic, as garlic is considered warming food. Warming foods produce more heat in your body and keep your body warm enough to endure the chilly winter. Hence we include warming foods like sesame seeds, garlic, ginger, chilies, etc in our diet. 

What makes this Alugadda ellipaya karam special ?

         Telangana regional cuisine is all about spice and garlic, and this dish just depicts the true flavors of this beautiful cuisine. Alugadda is a potato in the Telangana Telugu dialect and ellipaya karam refers to garlic spice. We eat lots of garlic and we make this special garlic spice Ellipaya karam every winter to have it in our daily meals. Some people call this dish Alugadda fry, vellulli alugadda vepudu or Alugadda vepudu. You can also call it Garlicky Potato Roast, Potato Stir-Fry, Aloo Fry, or crispy Indian potatoes. 

       In this recipe, potatoes are tossed in basic Indian spices and quick-roasted in the pan on high flame till they turn golden and crispy! Oh Yum! writing this I’m salivating already. There was a time in my life, I used to carry only potato fry and rice in my lunchbox every single day during my schooling days. That’s how much I love this dish and I promise once you try this, you’re going to love it. Also, contrary to many beliefs, potatoes are a source of good carbs when consumed in moderation!  So do include this Alugadda ellipaya karam in your weekly menu! 

Checkout more vegetarian sides and curries from my blog

Jackfruit ghee roast

Stuffed peppers in creamy tomato gravy

Dondakaya Barada

Lauki palak pakoda kadhi

Chana aloo masala

Potlakaya perugu pachadi

Munagaku podi pappu kura

Chamakura kadala pappu

Gobhi fry

Now let’s get into the recipe!!

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ALUGADDA ELLIPAYA KARAM

Alugadda ellipaya karam is a quick and easy potato stir fry, loaded with garlic and Indian spices making a best side for Indian meals.

Course Side Dish

Cuisine Telangana, Telugu

Keyword Side dish, vegan, Vegetarian

Prep Time 8 minutes minutes

Cook Time 12 minutes minutes

Servings 3 Servings

Author Shravani Abhishek

Ingredients

• 4 no Potatoes medium size
• 2 tsp Red chili powder
• Salt to taste
• ½ tsp Turmeric powder
• 8 cloves Garlic small size, coarsely crushed with cumin seeds
• ½ tsp Mustard seeds
• ½ + ½ tsp Cumin seeds
• 1 sprig Curry leaves
• 2 tbsp Desiccated coconut

Instructions

Let's prep the potatoes

• Wash and peel the potatoes. Chop the potatoes into medium size cubes.
• Add the chopped potatoes to a bowl of water to get rid of excess starch.
• Peel the garlic cloves and coarsely crush them with ½ tsp cumin seeds in a mortar & pestle.

Let's start making Alugadda ellipaya karam

• Heat a well-seasoned cast-iron or nonstick skillet, add oil and once it's hot add mustard seeds, cumin seeds and let them crackle.
• Add curry leaves and let them crisp up. Now add the chopped potatoes and on high flame toss it well.
• Sprinkle turmeric powder and salt. Toss the potatoes to the coat the spices and cook on high flame for 3 mor min.
• Add the coarsely crushed garlic cloves with cumin seeds and toss the potatoes.
• Keep the flame high and toss it regularly and roast it till the potatoes start crisping up and turning nice and golden brown.
• Now add in red chili powder and give it a good toss.
• Finally add in desiccated coconut / grated dry coconut and coat the potatoes.
• Turn off the heat and serve hot alugadda ellipaya karam with rice and dal/rasam of your choice.
  

Notes

• You can add ground coriander/dhaniya powder and garam masala for additional flavor.  

 If you’ve tried this recipe, please share your valuable feedback in the comments below. Also, you can Tag your photo and share it with #mycurryveda on Instagram @mycurryveda  or on Facebook. Also follow @taste.of.telangana on Instagram for more traditional recipes, culture, and stories.

The post ALUGADDA ELLIPAYA KARAM appeared first on mycurryveda.

Banka laddu, made using edible gum resin (banka/gond), cashews, almonds, khajoor, and all the wintery goodness. A quintessential winter food, which is utmost divine, delicious and nourishing which keeps you warm in chilly winters. These energy balls are rich in calories and nutrients and hence ideal for kids and the elderly. Also, these are given to Lactating or postpartum mothers to regain strength, helps in speedy recovery and provides nutrition. Hence these laddus are more of a medicinal confection than indulgent food.

What is Banka or Gond ?

Banka or Gond is an edible gum collected from hardened sap sourced from wild-growing acacia plants. Banka is a Telugu(more in Telangana) term for glue or gum substances, hence the name. 

Edible gum has a lot of medicinal value. It not only cures heat-stroke yet it even combats constipation, improves the health of skin and hair along with increasing our overall immunity. My grandmother used to say that winter is the perfect time when your body has the maximum capacity in absorbing calcium. And this edible gum helps in soothing inflammation, lubricates joints, and reduces joint stiffness caused by arthritis. Besides protecting against cold, gond is used to heal wounds. It is also known to treat cardiovascular ailments and chronic kidney diseases. 

More about Banka laddu

 Banka laddu or Dinkache ladoo or Gond Ke laddu, as the name suggests are prepared with Gond or Edible Gum. It is a popular sweet, that is made in Many regions across India during winters. 

The recipe I’m sharing here is an heirloom recipe that has been passed down from many generations. And our version of Edible gum laddu calls Dry Fruits, Nuts, Seeds, and lots of ghee. This laddu is usually looked at and served as a medicinal food rather than a delicacy. Hence it is mostly served with a glass of warm milk first thing in the morning. 

These nourishing energy balls are considered very healthy to consume in Winters due to their rich ingredients which are warm and keeps our body protected from the chilly winters. Also, these are made for postpartum mothers or lactating mothers, which helps to keep the body warm and helps in lactation. These Banka laddus are great nutritious snacks for kids and toddlers, as they are rich in iron, calcium, and protein.

Ingredients needed for Banka laddu

• Banka / Gond –  Edible gum sourced from the Acacia plant. It is quite odorless and tasteless. 
• Nuts – Nuts are the essential part of these laddus and I have used Cashews, marking nut, Pistachios, and walnuts here. 
• Dried fruits – Traditionally we use khajoor powder(dried dates powder), as I could not find the dried dates here, I used Medjool dates instead.
• Ghee – Ghee acts as the binding agent here, so do not skip on the ghee. It adds richness, flavor, and essential nutrition to the ladoo.
• Seeds – I have used Almonds and Melon seeds here. You can also add poppy seeds for extra nuttiness and richness. 
• Dry Coconut – We add a little amount of dried coconut here, which adds a lovely coconut flavor and nutrition.
• Spices – We are going to add Ginger powder(sonti podi/ saunth), pepper powder, and Nutmeg. They provide flavor and helps in providing warmth to our bodies. 
• Sugar / Jaggery 

How to make these Banka laddus?

 With diverse cultures and cuisines across India, the foods have regional influence and hence it varies with each region. You can see many Gond ke laddu recipes on the internet, where some add whole wheat flour, and some just use dried fruits and nuts. Unlike many recipes of Gond ke laddu you find on the internet, we don’t roast or puff of gond crystals. Instead, we just grind them as is, and we do not roast any ingredient too, just powder up everything and add piping hot ghee to shape the laddus. 

Check out more delicious desserts and Indian sweets from my blog.

Sunnundalu

Shakkarpara

Motichoor laddu

Shegala payasam

Sabudana payasam

Palm jaggery whole wheat biscuits

Penilu

Badusha

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BANKA LADDU

A quintessential winter laddu made of edible gum, dry fruits, nuts, seeds, ghee and jaggery.

Course Dessert, Snack

Cuisine Indian, Telangana

Keyword Laddu, Vegetarian, Winter special

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes minutes

Total Time 20 minutes minutes

Servings 25 Laddus

Author Shravani Abhishek

Equipment

• Blender
• Saucepan

Ingredients

• ¾ cup Banka or Edible Gum
• 1 cup Cashews
• ½ cup Almonds
• ½ cup Khajoor or Dried dates or use medjool dates
• ¼ cup Dried coconut
• ¼ cup Pistachios
• ¼ cup Walnuts optional
• ¼ cup Jeedi palukulu or Marking nuts optional
• ¼ cup Melon seeds optional
• 1 cup Jaggery powder Or use powdered sugar
• 1 cup Ghee

Spices

• 1 tsp Pepper powder
• 1 tbsp Sonti podi or ginger powder
• 2 pinches Nutmeg powder

Instructions

Preparing laddu base

• Grind the cashews, almonds, pistachios, walnuts to a fine powder and add it a large mixing bowl.
• Now grind the dried dates to a fine powder and add it to the mixing bowl.

  Notes : If using medjool dates, just chop them up, grind to a smooth paste and fry the date paste in ghee for 4-5 mins until it loses its raw smell and turns into a lump.
• Now grind the dried coconut, marking nuts, melon seeds separately and add it to the mixing bowl.
• Now the crucial ingredient, Banka or Gond or edible gum Add it to the blending jar and grind to a fine powder. And transfer this powder to the mixing bowl.
• Time to add in pepper powder, sonti podi or ginger powder, ground nutmeg, jaggery powder to the mixing bowl with all ground nuts and seeds. Give everything a really good mix.

Heating the ghee

• Now heat a saucepan, add ghee and bring it to a smoking hot point. Turn off the heat.

Let's roll some BANKA LADDUS now!!

• Take 3 cups of laddu base ie., all the powders to a smaller mixing bowl, make a well in the center and add few tbsps of piping hot ghee.
• Start bringing the laddu mixture and ghee together, and try to bring everything together to a tight sticky dough consistency.
• When the laddu mixture is still hot and pliable, take a heaped size portion of it in a spoon or in your palms. Roll the mixture and Shape in a round laddu. 

  Note : In case the laddu mixture is too hot intolerable, then do wait for some minutes. Avoid burning your hands. If the mixture does not hold shape, then add 1 to 2 tablespoons of hot ghee.
• Place the rolled laddus onto a wide plate, and repeat the process for the remaining laddu mixture.
• Leave the rolled laddus to dry overnight or 4-5 hours at room temperature.

Storage instructions

• Transfer the dried banka laddus to a clean and dry Airtight container. These laddus stay good upto 6 weeks.
  

Serving suggestions

• Serve laddu with a warm glass of milk or just as is.
  

Notes

• If you cannot find dried dates, use medjool dates instead, just chop them up, grind to a smooth paste and fry the date paste in ghee for 4-5 mins until it loses its raw smell and turns into a lump.

 If you’ve tried this recipe, please share your valuable feedback in the comments below. Also you can Tag your photo and share it with #mycurryveda on Instagram @mycurryveda  or on Facebook . Also follow @taste.of.telangana on Instagram for more traditional recipes, culture and stories.

The post BANKA LADDU appeared first on mycurryveda.

 Bread Bonda is a deep-fried Indian snack with spicy potato filling wrapped in a moist bread slice and deep-fried until crisp and golden brown. This is one of the nostalgic tea time snack I have grown up eating.  I remember tasting this irresistible snack at home, when amma saw it on a cooking show and tried at home. We all loved it, although we love eating traditional Aloo bonda that we grew up eating, this bread bonda has surely made its special place in our hearts.

What is Bread Bonda ?

Bread Bonda, an indulgent deep-fried snack, which is utterly crispy bread on the outside and flavor-packed soft filling on the inside. This dish is a twist to the traditional snack, Aloo Bonda which is also known Potato Vada, is flavor-packed with Indian spices. That one bite of these hot and crispy Aloo Bondas will surely make you fall in love with them. 

While You find Aloo Bonda in almost all the tiffin centers and in Many Indian restaurants across Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka popularly served for tea time snack. Bread bonda is more kind of made only at homes. This tea time snack will surely make your day brighter on rainy days. Also, this bread bonda makes a great snack to serve for guests or get togethers. 

What all ingredients do we need ?

For the Covering: Bread slices

For the Stuffing

• Potatoes
• Spices – Turmeric powder, green chilies, salt
• Onion
• Curry leaves
• Cilantro
• Lemon/lime
• Mustard seeds
• Cumin seeds
• Ginger
• Garlic

You can adjust the amount of green chilies, as per your taste. If making for kids, you can avoid adding green chilies and add some grated paneer or cheese.

Please check out more delicious festive treats and tea-time snacks from my blog.

Bebberla garelu

Chegodilu

Odappalu

Makka garelu

Palm jaggery whole wheat biscuits

Perugu wada

Vegan millet cutlet

Vegan potstickers

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BREAD BONDA

An indulgent deep-fried Indian snack with crispy exterior of bread and soft spicy potato filling.

Course Appetizer, Snack

Cuisine Indian

Keyword plant based, Tea time snacks

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Total Time 30 minutes minutes

Servings 10 Bondas

Author Shravani Abhishek

Equipment

• Pressure cooker
• Deep frying pan / Kadai / Wok
• Skillet

Ingredients

For the covering

• 10 slices Bread

For the stuffing

• 3 Potato boiled and peeled
• 2 tbsp Cooking oil
• 1 Onion
• ½ tsp Mustard seeds
• ½ tsp Cumin seeds
• 1 inch Ginger minced
• 3 cloves Garlic optional, minced
• ½ tsp Turmeric powder
• Salt to taste
• 3 Green chilies finely chopped
• 1 sprig Curry leaves
• 3 tbsp Cilantro finely chopped
• 1 tbsp Lemon / lime juice

For deep-frying

• Frying Oil

Instructions

Prepping

• Boil the potatoes, peel the skin and keep them aside.
• Chop the onions finely, coarsely mince the ginger and garlic, finely chop the green chilies, cilantro.

Let's prepare some flavor-packed Potato stuffing

• Heat a wide skillet, add oil and once its hot add in mustard seeds, cumin seeds and let them splutter.
• Now add in minced ginger minced garlic(if using), curry leaves, chopped green chilies and fry for until raw smell of ginger fades away.
• Now add in finely chopped onions and cook until they turn translucent.
• Add in turmeric powder, salt to taste and give everything a good mix. Gently mash the potatoes with your hands and add them to the onion mixture.
• Give everything a really good mix and cook until have absorbed all the flavors.
• Time to add in finely chopped cilantro, mix it and turn off the heat.
• Now add in lemon/lime juice and mix until everything is well combined.
• Let this stuffing cool down to room temperature. Later divide the stuffing into equal portions and roll them into balls.

Time to make Bread bonda now!!

• Heat the wok / kadai, add oil enough for deep frying.

  Note : Use oil suitable for frying like sunflower or peanut or canola.
• Now trim off the sides of the bread neatly using a knife. Give the bread, a quick dip on one side and take it out.
• Take a broad vessel(wide enough to dip the bread) and add water say 1 inch high. Give the bread, a quick dip on one side and take it out.
• Keep the rolled potato ball on the dry side of the bread and cover it as you squeeze it and roll into ball/ bondas. While shaping, make sure to squeeze out the water too.
• Place the rolled bread bondas on a plate until oil is hot enough for deep-frying.

  Note : Oil shouldn't be fuming hot, else the inside remains uncooked and the outside burns easily.
• Gently slide few rolled bread bondas into the oil at a time and keep turning gently with ladle to ensure even browning. Cook in medium flame to get crispy outside. 
• Drain the deep-fried bread bondas on to a paper towel. 
  

Serving suggestions

• Serve hot bread bondas with the dipping condiments of your choice. We love to have it with szechuan sauce, but these taste great with ketchup or mint chutney too.
• Dig in and Enjoy. Bon Appétit.
  

Notes

• If you are making for the kids, adjust the spice level according to their taste preference.
• If you are comfortable with using diary, then add some grated paneer or cheese to make it more fun for the kids.
• For added nutrition, you can also add in some steamed veggies like carrots, beans, green peas, beetroot to the stuffing.

If you’ve tried this recipe, please share your valuable feedback in the comments below. Also you can Tag your photo and share it with #mycurryveda on Instagram @mycurryveda  or on Facebook . 

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