Nasuha Blog

Vegetable spring roll is a classic Indo Chinese dish perfect for evening snacks or entertaining guests. These are very easy to make and with the easy availability of the spring roll wrapper sheets in the market, it is a very good option to make when you have guests at home or you want some snack ready within no time. You can fill and roll the rolls beforehand and cover and refrigerate for 2-3 hours and can deep fry them when ready to eat. Here is how I make mine.


All you need is

Spring roll sheets - 15-20
All purpose flour \ Maida - 2 tsp
Water - 2 tbsp
Oil - 2 tbsp and for frying
Garlic - 2 tsp ( finely chopped )
Ginger - 2 tsp ( finely chopped )
Onion - 1\2 cup ( finely chopped )
Cabbage - 1\2 cup ( finely chopped )
Capsicum - 1\2 cup ( finely chopped )
Carrot - 1\2 cup ( finely chopped )
Salt to taste
Black pepper powder - 1\4 tsp
Soy sauce - 1\2 tsp
Red chili sauce - 1\2 tsp
Ajinomoto - 1\2 tsp ( optional )



Method of preparation

Take out the spring roll sheets from the freezer, approximately 45 minutes before you want to make the rolls.
Mix all purpose flour and water in a bowl and keep aside.
Heat 2 tbsp oil in a wok.
When the oil is hot, add ginger and garlic and fry for a few seconds.
Add onion and fry till translucent.
Add cabbage, capsicum, carrots, black pepper powder, salt, red chili sauce, soy sauce and ajinomoto.
Add 1\4 cup of water and cook for 3-4 minutes.
Increase the eat and cook till all the water is evaporated and the filling is dry.
Remove the wok from heat and let the filling cool.
Take one spring roll sheet and keep a tbsp of filling at one corner.
Roll until you reach the center.
Fold the sides inside.
Apply little maida mixture on the other end and roll till you reach the end.
Make all the spring rolls in the similar way.
Heat oil in a pan.
Deep fry all the spring rolls on medium heat till they are golden brown.
Drain on a tissue lined plate.
Serve hot with chili dipping sauce.

My mom made this Roti just a few days back but since I was playing LAZY, I did not even bother to take pictures for the blog. The roties turned out so good that they made it to my  list of TO- MAKE- THINGS. Made these for lunch today and enjoyed them with a left over curry. These roties are healthy, easy to make and go very well with the Indian curries. Here is how to make these.

Mathri is a snack which is mostly found in all Indian homes and is enjoyed with morning or evening tea. There are many variations to make mathris and each house has it's own recipe passed on through generations. In the earlier times when there were so little ready made options available, home made snacks were relished with great pleasure. I remember having a small cabinet in my dining room specially used to store all the home made snacks and pickles. Ladoos, mathris and home made namkeens were always there along with a range of pickles. When the festivals approached, this cabinet used to be packed with variety of stuff which was made specially during that particular festival. Now that holi is around the corner, I thought to make all the special treats that we enjoyed as a kid during this time. The list is long and I will try to make maximum number of things, but to start with here is the easy recipe of crispy and crunchy Methi mathris which can be stored for a few days in an airtight container. You can make it a few days ahead of the festival and save yourself some time. Here is the recipe.



All you need is

Maida \ All purpose flour - 2 cups
Sooji \ Semolina - 1 tsp
Fresh methi leaves - 25 gm ( Finely chopped ). Or you can 2 tsp kasuri methi if fresh methi is not available.
Green chili - 1 ( Finely chopped )
Salt - 1 and 1\2  tsp
Ajwain \ carom seeds - 1\2 tsp
Oil - 1\4 cup and for frying
Warm water for kneading



Method of preparation

Mix maida, sooji, methi leaves, green chili, salt, ajwain and 1\4 cup oil in a pan.
Mix well with your finger tips.
Knead with warm water to make a tight dough.
Cover and keep the dough aside for 10 minutes.
Make small balls from the dough and press them between your palms to flatten them.
Roll the mathris slightly with a rolling pin.
Heat oil in a heavy bottom pan.
When the oil is hot, add the mathris and simmer the heat.
Do not overload the pan. Fry the mathris in small batches.
Fry the mathris on low heat till golden brown from both the sides.
It will take 15-20 minutes to fry one batch.
Remove the fried mathris on a tissue lined plate.
Cool and store in an airtight container for up to 15 days.

Crispy and crunchy namakpare are a great snack to enjoy with a cup of hot ginger tea. This snack takes me back to my childhood. There always used to be a box full of namakpare in the house and every evening with tea, my nani used to  keep these with other dry snacks in huge plates for all of us to munch on. I too always make namakpare for Diwali and Holi, though in a very small amount. The trick to make crunchy namakpare is to knead the dough, as tight as you can and fry them on very low heat. Here is the recipe.


All you need is

All purpose flour \ Maida - 1 cup
Semolina \ Fine sooji - 2 tbsp
Salt - 3\4 tsp
Carom seeds \ ajwain - 1\2 tsp
Clarified butter \ ghee - 2 tbsp
Lukewarm water - to knead
Oil for frying


Method of preparation

Mix maida, sooji, salt, ajwain and ghee in a bowl.
Mix nicely.
Add a tbsp of lukewarm water at a time and mix to make a tight dough.
Cover and keep the dough for 10-15 minutes.
Heat oil in a heavy bottom pan.
Divide the dough in 2 parts and roll each in a thin circle.
Cut the circle in long rectangles or diamonds.
When the oil is hot, simmer the heat.
Fry the namakpare on low heat till golden brown.
Keep in mind that these will continue to brown a bit even after taking out from oil.
Remove from oil on a tissue lined plate.
Cool and store in an airtight container for up to 10-15 days.