Home made Hash Brown

Always wanted to try making Hash brown at home and was always sure that it will taste way better that what you can get outside. One of the most simple dishes and yet it took me so long to try it at home. Well, I am happy that I did and thought you all might like it too...So enjoy!

Ingredients
    4 Idaho or Russet potatoes, washed and scrubbed thoroughly, with the peel
    Pinch of salt
    pinch of crushed black pepper
    pinch of Cayenne pepper flakes or Red chilli powder (Optional)
    1/4 tsp of Rice flour
    1 tsp Canola oil

Directions:
Place a 10-inch cast iron skillet or non-stick pan over medium low heat for 5 minutes.

While the pan is heating, grate the potato on the largest hole of a box grater. Squeeze the grated potatoes in a tea towel to remove excess moisture.

In a bowl add salt, black pepper, rice flour and Cayenne pepper flakes and mix them well.

Add oil to the pan and add a small scoop of the grated potato mixture and flatten them. Cook for 5 minutes without disturbing. Decrease the heat to low, flip the
potatoes, and cook for another 5 minutes. Serve immediately with Tapatio hot sauce. It tastes great with any kind of ketchup or hot sauce!

Notes:
Select potatoes with high starch content which will make it crispy.
Don't peel the potatoes. Skin is the best part and it adds to the crispiness.
Iron skillet adds to the taste, non-stick work well too.

Apple Jilebi

Ingredients:
    2 Granny smith apples, cored and sliced in thin rings
    3/4  cup all purpose flour
    1/2  teaspoon dry yeast
    1/2  teaspoon sugar
    A pinch of salt
    1 tablespoon oil
    Oil to fry

For Syrup:
    1 1/4 cup sugar
    1 cup water
    1/4 tsp lemon juice
    1/4 tsp cardamom powder
    1/4 tsp Cinnamon powder
    1/4 tsp Nutmeg powder
    a pinch of Kesar powder for color
    1/4 tsp Mixed fruit essence

For Garnish:
    1 tablespoon sliced Almonds

Method:

    Dissolve the yeast and sugar in ¼ cup warm water, and let it sit for about 5 minutes.
    Mix the flour and oil together.
    Add the yeast solution to the flour and mix. Make a smooth batter. Add water as needed. Consistency should be like pancake mix.
    Set the batter aside and let it sit in a warm place for max.half hour.
   
Syrup:
Boil the sugar and water together. Add the lemon juice to avoid crystallization of sugar and all the spice powders, kesar powder and the fruit essence. Boil the sugar
syrup for about 10 min until syrup is about ½ thread.

Making the jilebis:
    Heat the oil in a frying pan about 1 inch deep. To check if the oil is ready, put one drop of batter in the oil. The batter should sizzle and come
without changing in color right away.
    Dip the apple slices into the batter one at a time, making sure the slice is covered with the batter. Then, slowly drop the slices into the frying pan.
    Fry the jilebi in small batches. The jilebi will take about 4 to 5 minutes to cook.
    Turn them occasionally. Fry the jilebi until both sides are golden-brown.
    Transfer them into the warm syrup.
    Let jilebi soak in the hot syrup for a few seconds and take out over wire rack so excess syrup can be dripped from jilebi.
    Garnish with sliced Almonds.
    Serve hot as is or with Vanilla icecream