Monsoon recipes: Sabudana Vada & Bird's Nest

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 two recipes that you can make this season.

Sowmya Vivek sends in her recipe for Sabudana Vada:

Ingredients:

• 2 cups sabudana (pearl sago)
• 3-4 green chillies
• 1 cup of peanuts
• 1/2 cup rice flakes
• Coriander leaves
• Salt to taste
• 2 teaspoon jeera powder (cumin)
• 1 cup curds

Method of preparation:

• Soak the sabudana in curds for 4-5 hours.
• Soak the rice flakes in a little water for 1 hour.
• Grind the peanuts, chillies, jeera powder, soaked rice flakes (dry grind, don't add water)
• Mix this with the soaked sabudana and add coriander leaves.
• Add salt to the mixture.
• Take a flat steel plate and spread some oil on it.
• Take the mixture and shape it like you would a small cutlet.
• Fry till golden and drain.

Akila V shares this recipe for Bird's Nest:

Ingredients:

• 3 potatoes
• 1/2 cup peas
• 1/4 cup vermicelli
• 3 tsp corn flour
• 1/2 tsp garam masala
• 1/2 tsp chilli powder
• Salt to taste
• Oil for frying

Method of preparation:

• Boil the potatoes and peas separately with salt.
• Mash the boiled potatoes.
• Add salt, garam masala and chilli powder to the mashed potatoes and mix well.
• Make small-size balls. In the middle make a depression to so that it looks like a cup.
• Mix the cornflour with water.
• Dip the potato cups in it. Then dip in vermicelli.
• Now deep fry the potato cups. This is nest.
• Place some peas in the cup (to look like eggs in the nest).
• Serve hot with sauce / mint chutney.

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!