Avacado Parathas

An invention dish, experi-mental one!! Avacado, I have eaten in many places in many dishes and liked it. I have made Guacamole and vegetables, sandwiches and a few more dishes with it. I tried the parathas and liked them. Thought I must share this one with all of you too. So....

Ingredients

A)
Pulp of 2 avacados
Salt as per taste
A bunch of parsley chopped
 2 tsp olive oil
1 tsp black pepper powder
3 crushed green chillies
1 tsp crushed ginger

B)
Whole wheat flour to be added  later as per requirement

Method

In a big mixing bowl take ingredients A), mix well with your hands, now add wheat flour B) step by step to make a dough which can be rolled out into parathas, once ready drizzle with olive oil and leave to rest for 10 minutes. Heat a pan, make equal sized dough balls, roll them out and roast drizzled with olive oil to a nice colour on both sides. This is tasty as is or if you want you could eat some fried chillies or any sauce. Mayo spread on it would taste great too. The choice is yours. So get ready to savour the parathas.

                                 
                                                      Slow Cooked Pigeon Pea Lentil

A Maharashtrian delicacy eaten with jowar bhakri, slow cooked lentil with some spices. It is called Dal Methicha Varan In Marathi. Tastes best with a tempering of green chillies and lots of garlic cloves brown and crisp. This can be kept separately and served in each serving to retain the crunch in the garlic or mixed with the dal. 

Ingredients

2 cups of pigeon pea lentil (toor dal), washed drained and kept ready

The ingredients can be crushed in a mortar pestle or they can be made into a coarse paste in the mixi jar
1/4 cup fresh scraped coconut
1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds
3 green chillies
4 garlic cloves
Salt to taste
Coriander for garnishing
10-15 garlic cloves whole, 3 slit green chilles, for the tempering (optional)

Method

In a pan take some oil and add mustard seeds, let them splutter then add turmeric, little more than we would regularly use, this is to give it the colour, add asafoetida, the crushed paste, saute it well till the raw smell goes away. Now add the lentil, add 2 cups of water and leave it to slow cook in the spice paste. You will have to keep checking and adding water till it cooks fully. You can cook it covered till it becomes mushy and then add salt and adjust the consistency. Enjoy with the garlic tempering, if you are a garlic lover then you are surely going to relish this one like I do. This picture below shows you the crisp garlic tempering.

                                   
                                                                       Guava Juice

Juice made of ripe guavas with some taste enhancers, recipe by Ashwini my daughter. We enjoyed it and will be regular feature with us guava lovers. My husband specially enjoyed the juice with a twist. This is how I made it....

Take in a vessel 2 ripe guavas chopped roughly, a pinch of red chilli powder, salt to taste, 1 tsp ginger juice, few mint leaves crushed, a dash of lime, few ice cubes and blend with a hand blender, transfer to a serving jug, add as much water as required without making it too thin, it would then lose its taste. Ready to have at any hour of the day. Keeps you satiated for quite sometime!!

                                                      Classic Scrambled Egg On Toast

This is one of the  classic American breakfast which  includes classic scrambled egg on toast, mashed potatoes, pan seared cherry tomatoes and a tall glass of milk or juice. Specially when we are travelling I thoroughly enjoy this combination. I have pictured only the egg on toast. The colour looked so good and I felt it would disturb the picture so, I skipped picturing the accompaniments!! The credit for this dish goes to children Sony and  Nidhi, they are  the ones who taught me to make many such dishes. This is how I made it......

Ingredients

2 eggs with 2 table spoons of milk beaten till fluffy
Salt and pepper to taste

For the  accompaniment
Some cherry tomatoes pan seared with butter and salt
1 potato mashed with salt, pepper and a little butter
Some chopped parsley to sprinkle on the toast (optional)

Method

In a pan take some butter, add the beaten egg, sprinkle some salt and pepper, stir very gently, let it set a bit and stir again and mix, do not let it dry, it should be soft, fluffy and moist. Now spread this on the toast and serve with the above mentioned accompaniments. 

                                                                       
                                                                        Egg Curry

A delicious dish to be savored with rice and roti or even bread would make a great accompaniment. Mildly flavoured yet a pleasure on the plate. Here goes my recipe....

Ingredients
6 eggs boiled and peeled

4 onions chopped finely
2 tomatoes finely chopped
2 tspns tamarind pulp
1 tbsp ginger garlic crushed
Salt to taste 

For grinding to a paste 
1 onion
1 cup freshly scraped coconut
1 tsp mustard seeds
5-6 black peppercorns
A few fenugreek seeds (6-7)
4 green chillies
Some  fresh coriander

Method

In a pan take either sunflower oil or coconut oil, I used coconut. Add the onions, saute till golden, add the ginger garlic, fry till the rawness goes away, add tomatoes cook till mushy. Now add the ground paste and keep cooking till well done and the oil separates, lastly add the pulp of tamarind and salt, cook well. Add water and adjust the consistency, you can make it depending on whether you are eating it with roti or rice. Add eggs cut the way you can see in the picture. Garnish with fresh coriander and serve.

                                                                      Aloo Rajma

A post by my  sweet friend/inspiration, Shimpa Rathore, she always posts new dishes from the hills and valleys o of India. They are so inspiring and the pictures are so tempting that you feel like jumping on to the plate and just tasting what is in it!! I felt like all my friends should have the recipe of this dish which is from the pundits of Himachal and Kashmir. Aloo Rajma with no onion garlic. Served with soft piping hot white rice. Here goes the recipe followed to the T.......

Ingredients

Rajma 250 gms
Potatoes 4med
Mustard oil 2 tbsp
Hing 2 1/2 tsp
Deghi mirch 3 tsp
Garam masala powder 3 tsp
Saunf powder 1tbsp
Dry ginger powder 3/4 tbsp
Dahi 4 tbsp
Salt

Method

Soak rajma for 6-8 hours. Peel and halve each potato. Heat mustard oil in a pressure cooker, add the hing and potatoes. Once slightly browned,add the rajma, and all the masala powders and salt. Mix well. Add well beaten dahi and enough water. Pressure cook for 3-4 whistles and it’s done. Serve with fluffy white rice.

           
                                                                           Palak Pulao

Bored of eating dal and chawal everyday! I made this typically wintry green rice with matar and palak. Goodness of the sweet taste every pea brings into a bite, the spice of the aromatics and the freshness of the greens makes this dish a delight on the palette. Does not need any accompaniment. So here is the simple recipe .......

1&1/2 cups of basmati rice, wash drain and keep aside
1 cup of  fresh green peas

All the below ingredients to be blended into a smooth paste

10 leaves of spinach roughly chopped
1 small bunch of coriander roughly chopped
A few mint leaves
1/2 tomato roughly chopped
1 inch ginger chopped
4 garlic cloves
3 green chillies
1 onion roughly chopped
Juice of half a lime

Method

In a pressure cooker take some oil, splutter some cumin seeds, add turmeric just a bit for colour, now add the ground paste and saute till it leaves the sides, add the rice, mix a bit, add the peas, water as required so the rice becomes neither too sticky nor too separated, add water keeping in mind the moisture from the paste. Mix well, add salt, cook to 2 whistles and the dish is ready.

                                              Spiced Indian Flat Bread With Raw Papaya

I always get tempted with all the green and fresh vegetables in the market. Now since winter is setting in the vendors have a wide variety of vegetables. What attracted  me was the small cute raw papaya sitting in one one of the vendor's baskets!! Bought it, came home and thought of how to use it! I made parathas, one of my experi-mental dishes. Turned out good, worth a share. So here goes my recipe with some tips from my son.

Ingredients
1 small raw papaya peeled and grated
1 small bunch of coriander chopped
A handful of mint leaves roughly chopped
2 grated gooseberries
2 tbspns of crushed chilli
1 tspn of cumin powder
Salt to taste
Some oil
Wheat flour as required

Method

In a mixing bowl or a paraat take all the above mentioned ingredients except the flour, mix well with your hand. Leave it for about 15 minutes to release juices and also the papaya to absorb the spices. Now start adding the wheat flour, keep mixing till you get a nice firm dough. Drizzle with oil, make small balls, roll out the parathas, roast on a pan as shown in the picture, use oil or ghee. They are ready to be served with some home made yogurt, pickle and kadhi.

                                           
                                                            Paneer, Kasoori Methi Poori

Fried Indian bread with the goodness of cottage cheese and some dried fenugreek, can be eaten as a breakfast, lunch or an evening snack. Tastes best as is or with chutneys, pickles and a bowl of fresh yogurt, freid  green chilli goes without saying!! Here goes my recipe.....

Ingredients
Whole wheat flour as per need
1/2 cup of semolina
200 gms of grated cottage cheese/ paneer
3 tspns of crushed kasuri methi
3 grated gooseberries/ amla
1 tspn of jeera powder
2 tspns of crushed green chilli
Salt to taste
No need of oil while making the dough since the paneer would be giving you the required oiliness

Method

In a large mixing bowl take all the ingredients other than the wheat flour, add whet flour stage by stage as you mix the dough, we are not using any water so the flour needs to be added to make a tight dough for pooris/fried Indian bread. Once the dough is made, leave it to rest for about ten minutes. Now make small balls, roll them out and fry them in oil as shown in the picture. Your dish is ready to savour with any of the above mentioned accompaniments.

                   
                                                                           Kadabu

That is the name given to this awesomely delicious sweet preparation from North Karnataka. Offered to the Elephant God Ganesha. The story goes that he ate 21 of these kadabus and went on a ride home on his vehicle The Mouse. He fell down because the little mouse could not bear his weight!! It was night and there was the Moon who burst out into a laughter seeing this. Lord Ganesha got furious and cursed the moon saying that people who looked at him on that particular day would get into trouble!!

 So we too eat many of these with lots of home made clarified butter during the festival and sleep away. Here goes the recipe for the same......

For the stuffing
1 cup of bengal gram lentil, soaked for 8 hours and pressure cooked to three whistles, water should be just enough for the lentil to submerge.
1/2 cup grated jaggery
1/4 nutmeg grated
6 strands of saffron
1/2 tspn of green cardamom powder
1 tspn of poppy seeds dry roasted

For the dough
2 cups of wheat flour
1/4 cup semolina
4 tbspns of oil
 1/4 tspn of salt

Oil for frying the Kadabus

Method

Make the dough like we make for pooris with the dough ingredients mentioned above, keep to rest till you get the stuffing ready.

Once the lentil is cool enough add all the ingredients except the saffron strands and poppy seeds, make a ground paste. Now in a pan transfer the paste,  add the saffron and poppy seeds, stir on low flame till it becomes a semi dry mixture. See that the consistency is such that the stuffing will not moisten the dough and break in the oil while frying.  Keep ready.

Now make small balls out of the dough, roll out each, stuff enough mixture, close and make folds the way I made them in the picture. Fry on medium flame to a nice crisp golden colour, enjoy with home made clarified butter.

                                                                   Paneer Palak Bhuna

An enjoyable accompaniment with roti, phulka or naan. Bhuna means sauteing the spices, the aromatics and the greens without using any water or salt which would give out moisture or even covering here while cooking is avoided. This I learnt from a friend. I like to eat bhuna in restaurants so tried making it and enjoyed it. Here goes the way I made it.....

Ingredients

1 bunch of palak cleaned and chopped fine
200 gms of paneer grated
2 onions chopped fine
1 tomato chopped fine
2 tspns of ginger garlic paste
1 tspn garam masala
1 tspn of chilli powder or as per taste
Salt to taste
Some chopped coriander

Method 

In a pan take oil, add chopped onion, saute till golden, add the ginger garlic paste, saute till done, now add the palak, wait till all the moisture goes away from the vegetable, that is to bhuno the vegetable, now add the tomato and the rest of the ingredients and stir well till the tomato becomes mushy and one with rest of the ingredients. Once done add the paneer and mix well, do not cook the paneer for long since it will become dry. Garnish with coriander and serve. 

                                           Whole Green Gram Curry With Mint And Garlic

A curry made with a lots of garlic cloves and lots of fresh mint. Can be eaten with phulkas, parathas, rice too. The taste of the caramelized garlic and the fried mint brings a new zest to the dish.

Ingredients

2 cups of whole green gram pressure cooked to three whistles or as per your pressure cooker
20 cloves of garlic
A handful of mint leaves
1 tspn chilli powder
1 tspn of amla poedre
Salt as required
Garnish either with extra fresh mint or  fresh coriander

Method

In a pan take some oil add mustard seeds let them splutter, add turmeric and asafoetida. Add all the garlic cloves and fry them till crisp, now add the gram, all the other ingredients adjust the water and let it boil on simmer till you get the required curry consistency. Garnish with fresh mint leaves or coriander leaves. The dish is ready to serve. 

                                                              Potato Carrot Patties

Simple yet tasty, crisp and spicy. this is an ideal tea time snack. Made with easily available simple ingredients.

Ingredients

For pressure cooking to 2 whistles using as less water as possible
3 potatoes grated
2 carrots grated

Additional Ingredients

Salt to taste
1 tbspn of chilli powder to taste
Lime squeeze to taste
1 tspn cumin powder
Small bunch of coriander chopped
3 tbsp of  flour of corn which is used for making makke ki roti

Method

In a large bowl take the pressure cooked ingredients after draining out all the water, mix the rest of the ingredients to make a nice mixture, make equal sized balls, shape them into patties, shallow fry them on a pan with a little oil. Make them golden crisp on both sides and enjoy the delicacy on a rainy evening with adrakwali chai.

         
                                                                    Tomato Gojju

Tomato Gojju is what we called it in Kannada. It can be called a chutney or a sauce, can be eaten with chapati or phulka. In the south it is eaten with dosas. The addition of onion makes it even more tasty though I personally prefer it made only with tomatoes. The slight crunch and the sweetness of the jaggery and  onions, the sourness from the tomatoes and the spice from the saar masala makes the dish a treat!! Here goes my recipe, infact my Ajji's recipe. Hers was the tastiest one I have ever eaten in my life. I could never bring the punch that she brought in certain dishes. Miss her immensely for all those specialities!!

Ingredients

3 tomatoes chopped finely
3 onions chopped into small squares
Small bunch coriander chopped into small squares
Salt to taste
1/4 cup grated jaggery
1 tspn saar masala (my recipe on my page added previously)
1 tspn chilli powder

Method

In a pan take oil add mustard seeds, let them splutter, add asafoetida, turmeric powder and then the onions, let them turn golden, add all the rest of the ingredients, mix well, let them become mushy and well cooked, do not cover and cook since we do not want any water in the recipe. Once done transfer into a serving bowl ad coriander for garnishing. Serve hot with chapati, phulka and dahi bhat that is curd rice. 

                                                        Baby Aubergine Potato Curry

A spicy curry which can be eaten with roti, bhakri or rice. Made with baby aubergines. Should be made with freshly bought ones else they wont cook well. Here goes my recipe.

Ingredients

12-14 baby aubergines or brinjals given a slit on either side, each slit should be on the opposite direction taking care to see that it does not go too deep. Note: The aubergines need to be kept in water refrigerated  for about an hour after splitting so they open up well.
2 potatoes chopped into medium sized squares
3 onions chopped fine
2 tomatoes finely chopped
2 tspn of ginger garlic pounded 
1 tspn chilli powder
2 tspns of goda masala
1/2 tspn sugar 
1 tspn lime juice
Salt to taste
Chopped coriander for garnishing

in a pan take oil, addthe potatoes and aubergines, add 1/2 cup water, 1 tspn goda masala, salt and 1/2 spn of chilli powder, cook coverd till almost done. Remove and keep aside.
In the same pan take some oil add onions, saute till golden, add the ginger garlic, let it turn light brown, add the tomatoes, the remaining masala, chilli powder, salt to taste and also the sugar. Now wait for it to become  a mushy mix, tomatoes should get well mixed, at this stage you can add the potatoes and aubergines. Add water as required, cover and cook till well done. transfer to a serving bowl, decorate with freshly chopped coriander. Your dish is ready to be savoured.

               
                                                                       Bread Upma

Bread Upma is what we call this all time dish, it usually is liked by all. Some variations and additions have been made by me but the main recipe is the regular one. This normally should be made with stale bread so that it does not become sticky. Ayi made it the best. Fresh bread does not bring out the right taste. So here goes the way I prepared it.....

Ingredients

6 slices of brown whole wheat bread, preferably a day old, broken by hand into very tiny pieces
3 onions chopped into medium sized squares
1 mud sized tomato chopped into small pieces
4 green chillies chopped 
A sprig of curryleaves
Salt to taste
1/2 tspn of sugar
1 ladle of milk
Juice of 1 lime
Chopped coriander and freshly grated coconut for the garnish

Method

in a pan take some oil and add mustard seeds, asafoetida, turmeric powder, now add the chillies, curry leaves, wait for a bit, add the chopped onions, drizzle little salt, saute till golden, add the tomatoes, now add the bread, salt to taste...note that bread already is salty and we added salt to the onions so add carefully, sugar, lime juice and the ladle of milk to give it the softness. stir to mix well, keep for about four to five minutes. transfer to a serving bowl. serve garnished with coconut and coriander. Some people like sev too for garnishing. This is an all time dish, can be eaten anytime of the day.

Batatavada..... 
Topped With  Kat Misal

Batatavada is the favourite of every Mumbaikar, a quick snack available at every nook and corner of the metro. All stratas of society would have definitely eaten this tongue tickler at some point of time, if the person denies, then he is not telling you the truth!! Just joking, anyway, there are variations to this dish too, like the vada tucked inside a pav with chutneys, it becomes the special vada pav. My husband likes the combination of vada with kat misal, the misal is a pulse curry, extremely spicy, eaten with every bite of the vada, mixed with mixed farsaan, some coriander and chopped onion with a dash of lime squeezed on it. Here goes the way I made the super spicy Usal for the Misal.....

Ingredients for the Misal

1 cup of  matki/turkish gram /moth beans sprouted and pressure cooked to 2 whistles

For the Gravy you need to grind all the ingredients to a smooth paste
8 cloves of garlic
3 cloves
1 piece of cinnamon
1/2 a spoon black pepper corns
4 green chillies
1 inch of ginger
2 chopped onions
1/2 cup of grated dry coconut
Few sprigs of coriander

Salt, lemon juice to be added later as per taste
Fresh coriander chopped for garnishing

Method

In a kadhai or a pan take some oil, add the ground paste, cook till the oil leaves the paste, add some salt, some lemon juice, the sprouted gram, add 3 cups of water, wait till it boils well, transfer into a serving bowl and make a platter as shown in my picture above. The second picture shows some mirchi bhaji which I love and made as an accompaniment. Now mix the mixed farsaan, chopped onion, coriander into the curry, your misal is ready and eat each vada morsel along with the misal. you have a choice of adding chopped chilli and a dash of lime while eating. 

                                                            Honey Chilli Baby Potatoes

Potatoes are an all time favourite of all. I am not too fond of them though unless the vegetable is the one eaten with pooris or the crisp sauteed type which is a common dish among Maharashtrians, the french fries which I love, specially the ones with herbs and truffle oil!! The baby potatoes made into a dry starter kind is what I enjoy. I have tried a new way of making them, sharing the same with all of you ......here goes the way I made them as an accompaniment with the Egg Schezwan Fried Rice. The dish gets a black and shiny, crisp texture and tastes awesome.

Ingredients

250 gms of baby potatoes, boiled, peeled and chopped into fours, squares to be precise
2 tbspns of soy sauce
10 cloves of garlic finely chopped
2 tspns of ginger crushed
1 tspn of white pepper pounded freshly
1 tspn of chilli powder or adjust as per taste
2 tspns of flour of corn (makki ka aata) used for makki di roti
Salt to be used sparingly since the soy sauce has enough amount of salt
2 tbspns of olive oil
1 tspn of honey

1/2 cup finely chopped coriander to be added two minutes before taking the dish off the fire

Method

In a pan take live oil, add garlic, saute till golden brown, add the ginger and saute, now add the potatoes, mix well, add the rest of the ingredients except the honey, once the potatoes look fully coated, add the honey and the coriander. Now wait till the flour of the corn is coated on all the potatoes and they start to look crisp. The dish is done and can be had a s a starter or to go with any Chinese preparation. We relish it with phulkas also.  

                             
                                                             Sol Kadhi Or Amsol Saar

Sol Kadi is comfort food for the summers. It is a tasty, tangy because of the Kokumin Hindi, Amsol in Marathi or Gracia Indica as it is referred to in English, nutty and creamy because of the coconut milk, chilled beverage which gives relief from the heat, prevents prickly heat, nausea and is so yum that it can be just had as an accompaniment in a meal. Amsol is a fruit which is dried, halved and sold for medicinal and culinary use. It gives a deep reddish purple colour and sour taste to the food in which it is added. The coconuts sent to me by my good friend Rachna, grown right in her backyard at Goa. I have extracted the milk from the freshly scraped coconut for this drink. Thanks to her for, I have been able to make a few curries, chutneys too with coconuts. The recipe is here.......

Ingredients

8-10 amsols to be boiled in two cups of water till all the sourness comes through in the water, rest it for sometime and strained

Milk extracted from 1 huge coconut, this is done by adding enough water into the scraped coconut, running it through a mixi jar, straining the extract through a strainer or a thin cloth. This should be done at least three to four times. The remain would be only dry tasteless scraped coconut.

Salt to taste
Asafoetida to taste
Cumin powder to taste

Method

In a jar take the coconut extract, the amsol extract, add all the dry powders and salt, mix well, chill and drink. The quantity above would make at least eight cups of the soothing drink.

 
                                                                  Tandoori Aloo My Style

Got very nice looking baby potatoes, couldn't stop myself from buying them. Came home and thought of what to make. I just boiled them and then started my process on an impulse. Here goes my impulsive recipe......

Ingredients

250 gms of boiled peeled baby potatoes
2 tspns of clarified butter
1 tspn of cumin powder
1/2 tspn of black pepper powder
1/2 tspn of chaat masala
2 tspns of ginger garlic chilli pounded roughly together
Salt to taste
2 tspns of thick yogurt
1/2 cup chopped coriander
Some clarified butter for drizzling over while putting the dish into the otg

Method

In a pan take 2 tspns of clarified butter add the potatoes, stir for a while, then add all the ingredients other than the yogurt, wait till the masalas get well mixed and change colour. Now add the yogurt and mix well to cook for some time. After this transfer them to the  otg tray laced with aluminium foil, preheat the oven for a bit before doing this. Keep on grill ode for about ten minutes or more depending on how crisp you would like the outer layer to be. Once crisp, the dish is ready to be evoured with your tea, coffee or as a starter before meals.

                             
                                                                 Idli With A Twist

The Idli here has some ingredients which made it very soft and tastier than the regular idlies. I would like all of you to try this variation. The three coloured peppers, carrots, home grown green chillies and some spinach all finely chopped. The main variation is the split bengal gram lentil soaked in the same quantity as the black gram lentil that is usually soaked and ground, a handful of beaten rice (poha) too. Now i will give you the detailed making of the dish with the ingredients. Don't miss the chilli flower and the plant behind.

Ingredients
The process should start one evening before you want to prepare the idlis

1)
To be soaked for three hours and ground to a fine paste and keep aside for fermentation overnight
1 cup of split bengal gram lentil (Chana dal)
1 cup split black gram lentil (Udad dal)
A handful of the thin variety of beaten rice (Patla poha)

2)
3 cups of idli rava which is available in the market needs to be washed well, drained and kept overnight

3)
Vegetables to be finely chopped are 
4 green chillies
5 spinach leaves
1/2 cup carrots
1/2 cup mixed bell peppers like red, yellow, green
This can be done the next morning, just before adding them to the idli mix

Method

Once the ground mixture is ready and fermented overnight, mix all the ingredients from 1), 2), 3) add salt as per taste and 1/2 tspn of edible soda. Adjust the consistency by adding water if required and make idlies in the idli vessel. Serve hot with chutney and sambar. A dash of  white butter melting away on the idli would take the taste to the next level. 

Could not resist posting the picture of the chilli flower from my tiny balcony.

                       
                                                                        Summer Salad

A very eye pleasing satiating salad, a summer special one. Has all the healthy, tasty ingredients, an easy to make dish.

Ingredients

1/2 a cup of chick peas soaked overnight, pressure cooked to 2 whistles with a pinch of edible soda and a pinch of salt. After draining the chick peas the water can be used in any soup or curry, so preserve it. I also make my dough with the water sometimes.

1/2 cup thin julliens of cabbage
1/4 cup thin julliens of red bell pepper
1/4 cup cucumber thin long pieces
1/4 cup tomatoes chopped into bite sized pieces
1/2 cup of spinach finely jullienned
1/2 cup of cottage cheese chopped into long thin pieces
4-5 olives roughly made into pieces
Olive oil, mixed herbs, apple cider vinegar, garlic powder, as per requirement
Cheese shavings can be used as an indulgent topping, I have skipped them since mine is a healthy salad

Method

In a mixing bowl take all the ingredients, add all the above ingredients, skip salt since there is salt in the chick peas and sometimes even the cottage cheese is salted. Mix everything well gently. Keep to rest for at least two hours. You can keep it at room temperature or in the fridge. Choice is yours. This makes for a good healthy mid time meal. 

               
                                                               Rabadi, Padwa Special

Anything to do with cream, butter, yogurt, I simply love!!  As a youngster, I would always pick up the whole layer of the thick cream  that formed on the milk, once my mum would heat the milk. My grand mum would churn the buttermilk and keep one blob of the yummy white butter reserved for me. She would make clarified butter and also make puran poli on the same day so we could dip it in ghee and eat it. My brothers called me Billi which means cat, always ready to pounce on the creamy stuff at home. True to my name I would scratch them with my long nails which were polished with nail paint. Those were the days........today after a long time as my son Nidhi wished to eat it, I made rabadi at home for the Padwa which happens to be our New Year. Recipe follows.....

Ingredients

1 litre of whole cream milk
Sugar as desired
8 strands of saffron
Powder of half a nutmeg

Method

In a wide bottomed pan take the milk,  add the saffron and the nutmeg powder, bring it to a boil, stir to mix the creamy layer that has formed without breaking it too much, this way when each layer forms you need to gently mix it and again let the next layer form. By the end of the process you get chunks of cream in every bite. Once you get the nearly desired thickness by reducing the milk, add sugar and wait till it mixes and melts and then again you need to boil it till it thickens with the sugar. this dish is enjoyed chilled or with hot hot puris. 

                                                   
                                                          Vegetable Made of Kand

Kand is a root vegetable like the yam, purple yam, potato, sweet potato. This is one of the yam family, white inside, not as sticky as the yam, does not soften too much on boiling too. The pieces chopped into fingers remain firm enough to be enjoyed in every bite. The recipe below is my own experi-mental one.

Ingredients
250 gms of yams, I took about three of them, peeled and chopped into fingers, boiled to a firm texture

2 onions chopped into long pieces, well separated
Some fresh coriander chopped
Salt to taste
Squeeze of a lime

For the gravy

1 onion  roughly chopped
1/2 cup fresh scraped coconut
1 tspn of poppy seeds
1/2 tspn of black pepper corns
2 green chillies, adjust the number since the other aromatics here also give enough pungency
1small piece of ginger
1 tspn of cumin seeds
1 tspn of coriander seeds
 Grind all these together to a smooth paste

Method

in a pan take some coconut oil, I use this to get a fresh nutty aroma in the dish. Once heated add the ground mixture, keep coking till it leaves the sides of the pan, add the boiled yam, stir to ix well, add the required quantity of water, mix well, let it cook for a while, now add the 2 onions that are chopped into thin long pieces, coriander and let it boil well together. Now add a dash of lime, very little, else the nutty taste would get killed. Mix and serve with any type of roti, puri, paratha or even bread tastes good. 

                                            
                                                                     This is the one I used

                                                      Holi Special Puran Poli My Way

This is an Indian bread stuffed with sweet mixture made of lentil, jaggery and some aromatics.

The colourful festival of Holi and  what comes to mind is the Puran Poli. I made it too, a little late in the day though! Like a good teacher I was busy teaching my students.....hehe...now since the exams are almost ending I am here with a special Maharahstrian recipe. Used the seasonal flower Tabibuia  Rosea to decorate my Poli. They are trumpet shaped purple flowers found in large numbers forming awesome flower beds in my colony........ Now here comes my recipe.....

Ingredients

For The dough
2 cups of whole wheat four
1 table spoon of semolina
2 table spoons of oil
A dash of salt
Mix all the above ingredients to a dough which is neither too firm nor too soft. Smear some oil, cover and let it sit for about half an hour.

For the stuffing
2 cups of split gram lentil/ chana dal pressure cooked with double the water to 5 whistles
2 cups of grated jaggery
1 tspn of green cardamom powder
1 tspn of nutmeg powder
Once the lentil is cooked, let it cool, drain ( this water can be used in your dals or a special soup is made with this which is called Katachi Amti in Marathi) and then mix the rest of the above mentioned ingredients and grind to a smooth mixture.

Transfer the ground mixture into a pan and cook till almost all the moisture evaporates, it should come to a consistency to make into balls to be stuffed in the dough. Leave it to cool. 

Method of making the poli

Make equal sized balls with the dough, stuff the mix into the dough, cover well, roll it gently and roast on a pan with oil or clarified butter or toop as it is called in Marathi, to a colour shown in my picture. Savour with a bowl of ghee. We love to dip each morsel in the lovely fresh home made ghee and stuff ourselves to satisfaction. You must try this too. 

                   
                                                                    Gajar Moong Tikki

                                     Patties Made Of Carrots And Split Green Gram Lentil

This patti is an experi-mental one. I made these because I like the sweetness of the carrots and the taste of the split green gram lentil. Addition of potatoes gave it a nice taste, i used plain oats for the binding  instead of bread. 

Ingredients

1)
2 carrots grated
1 cup split green gram lentil soaked for half an hour in water
2 green chillies
1/2 spoon grated fresh turmeric
Salt to taste
Fresh coriander chopped 

2)
2 potatoes pressure cooked
2 gooseberries grated
1 cup oats soaked in just enough yogurt
Fresh chopped coriander

Method

First take a pan and make a tempering of oil, mustard seeds asafoetida, add chopped chillies, grated turmeric, saute, add the carrot, add the soaked lentil, salt, add water enough for the lentil to cook soft, cook covered. Keep stirring in between  to check if the lentil is soft and cooked then the mixture is ready. There should be no water remaining in it.

Now in a mixing bowl take the ready lentil carrot mix, add the potatoes, coriander, salt if needed, gooseberry grated, drain out the water and add the oats. Mix well, make equal sized balls, make patties and shallow fry or pan fry on both sides till golden and they are ready to be enjoyed as a tea time snack. 

                                                      Parathas Made With Fresh Haldi
                                                  Indian Flat Bread With Fresh Turmeric

The parathas I am talking about have a distinct flavour and colour of fresh turmeric. The pungency hits the throat after you finish your morsel. The kitchen is filled with the aroma of fresh turmeric as soon as you start to peel and use it. The awesome yellowish tinge of the parathas comes from the same magic ingredient too.  I have not used any other aromatics since they would spoil the fun of the turmeric. Here goes my recipe.... 

Ingredients

 All the ingredients mentioned her need to be put in a mixi jar, ground to a coarse mix
2 cups of green peas
2 inches of turmeric peeled and chopped roughly
4 green chillies
Juice of 1 lime
Few sprigs of fresh coriander
Few leaves of mint 

Method

In a paraat, that is a big flat vessel which we use for making dough, empty the mix, add some oil, add only the required amount of wheat flour, salt as per taste, we will not be using water here, the only moisture will be from the ingredients. make a firm dough, rest it for about fifteen minutes, make equal sized balls, roll out thinly, roast with oil on both sides. They are ready to be served with any sauce, chutney or yogurt.  This picture shows you the beautifully coloured dough.