Monsoon recipes: Palak Pakodas & more

We invited Get Ahead readers to share rainy-day recipes with us -- pakoras, samosas and every other kind of tasty preparation that has you smacking your lips during the monsoons. We've been flooded with responses and as part of an ongoing series, present three recipes that you can make this season.

Sandhya Singh sends in this recipe for Palak Pakodas:

Ingredients:

Method of preparation:

• Chop the onions, shallots, cilantro and chillies.
• Mix salt, cumin powder, pepper powder, turmeric, parsely in gram flour.
• Once mixed properly, add all the chopped ingredients and garlic.
• Add some water to make the mix a little thinner.
• Add cilantro.
• Heat oil in a pan, dip the palak leaf in the mixture and drop in to the oil.
• Cook it for few minutes and take it out on a tissue paper (to absorb the excess oil). Repeat this with all the leaves.
• Once ready, garnish with some grated coconut and cilantro.
• Serve it with tomato ketchup or any chutney.
• If you want to add some crunch, add some broken papad in the mixture.

Rajeev Kesavapillai sent in a recipe for a Cashew snack:

Ingredients:

• 1 cup rava (semolina) 
• 1 cup rice flour
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 10-15 cashew nuts
• 5-6 chopped green chilles
• 1 spoon coconut
• Small pinch of ginger
• 1-2 curry leaves, finely chopped
• Cooking oil for frying
• 3/4 tsp salt

Method of preparation:

• Grind cashew, chilles, ginger, curry leaves, coconut, salt finely adding some water.
• Mix the paste with the flours.
• Make small balls and deep fry in oil.
• Serve hot with hot tea/coffee.

Sunil Dagia shares his recipe for Paneer Cheese Crisp Samosas:

Ingredients:

• 2 cup maida (refined wheat flour)
• 100 gm paneer (cottage cheese)
• 100 gm cheese cube
• 1/2 tsp garam masala powder
• 1 small, finely chopped onion
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp jeera powder (cumin) 
• 1/2 tsp chaat masala powder
• 1 small green chilly, finely chopped
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1/4 amchur (dried mango powder)
• Oil for frying

Method of preparation:

• Cut paneer and cheese into very small cubes.
• Mix onion, green chilles, paneer, cheese, salt, jeera powder, chat masala powder, amchur.
• Knead the maida, salt and black pepper into a dough.
• Make 10 very thin rectangles of the dough, around 10x2 inches each.
• Place a spoon or two of the mixture at one end of a rectangle and fold into a triangle. Go on folding, making at least 5-6 layers.
• Heat oil in a pan and deep fry samosas on low to medium heat.

Do you have any special monsoon recipes that you'd like to share with us and other readers? Simply write in to getahead@rediff.co.in (subject line: 'Monsoon Recipes') with instructions on how to prepare lip-smacking rainy-day foods and we'll publish your recipes right here on rediff.com. Make sure to include your name, age and hometown and try to come up with the hottest, tastiest snacks you can this rainy season.

We're smacking our lips and waiting, so write in right away!