Dal Hari Bhari/ Pigeon Pea Lentil With Greens

An experi-mental dish by me which turned out super yum with the crunchiness of the chilli, garlic.The flavoured oil gave it an inviting aroma and the taste of the oil on top came out really awesome. Here goes the recipe.....

Ingredients below to be pressure cooker with 2 cups of water to 2 whistles

1) 
1 cup pigeon pea lentil or toor dal
7 to 8 mustard leaves cleaned and chopped fine
A small bunch of dill leaves (Sua in Hindi and Shepu in Marathi) cleaned and chopped fine
6 leaves of garlic chives without the garlic cleaned and chopped

2)
For the tempering 
Some oil
2 green chillies finely chopped
Small spoon mustard seeds
Small spoon asafoetida 
Small spoon turmeric powder

3)
A dash of  half a lime to be added later

4)
For the garnish
10 garlic cloves whole
3 green chillies cross chopped into medium sized pieces
1 small spoon mustard seeds 
1 small spoon asafoetida
Little turmeric powder
Keep this ready and add it just before serving

Note : In the tempering once the mustard seeds splutter,add asafoetida, turmeric powder, now first add the garlic cloves, let them turn a light golden and then add the chillies so they don't burn.

Method 

In a pan take some oil and make a tempering with ingredients from 2), add the ingredients from 1) salt to taste and the lime juice from 3), add water if required only, bring it to a boil. Once ready transfer to a serving bowl. While serving add the garnish made from ingredients from 4). Serve with roti, rice or any type of bhakri.

                                                         Vegetable Biryani My style

Being a big rice fan,  biryani which I make when I want it instantly is something like the one shown here. The procedure is a quick one with all the spices and some caramelized onion for the awesome garnish. Here comes the recipe...

1) 
2 cups of long rain basmati rice
1/2 cup of fresh broad beans
1/2 cup french beans chopped into thin long pieces
1/2 cup of carrots chopped into thin long pieces
1/2 cup of green peas

2) 
1 tspn of cumin seeds
1/2 tspn of turmeric powder
1 large onion chopped into long pieces to go in the temper
ing

3) 
2 onions chopped into very thin long pieces, caramelize, keep ready for the garnish 

4)
Ingredients for grinding into fine paste a paste

1big onion chopped roughly
1 large tomato chopped roughly
1 inch of ginger chopped roughly
8 cloves of garlic
1/2 a lime squeezed
3 cloves 
1/2 an inch of cinamon
1/2 a mace flower
1/2 a star anese
1 tspn of black peppercorns
1 tspn of cumin seeds
1 tspn of coriander seeds

In a  pressure cooker heat some oil and ghee/clarified butter, from 2) add cumin seeds, let them splutter, add onion and turmeric powder, once well done add the ground paste from 4) let it cook well till it leaves the sides of the cooker, add the rice and vegetables from 1), salt as per taste, add water double the amount of rice, give it 2 whistles. remove in a serving bowl and garnish with the caramelized onion from 3). Serve with either a salad made of onions, tomatoes and yogurt or as is. 





   

                       
                                                                     Hurda Misal

As winter seems to be coming to an end,  the awesome winter vegetables and other stuff in the markets is diminishing. I got this last lot of the hurda and made tangy, spicy, tongue tickling misal out of it. The sweetness and the crunch of the tender grains is a pleasure to savour. Here comes the recipe for you......

Ingredients

1)
50 gms of  raw tender sorghum
50 gms of raw tender wheat
These should be washed thoroughly, pressure cooked to 2 whistles and kept ready

2)
1 onion
1 tomato
1/2 cup grated dry coconut
 6 garlic cloves
2 green chillies
1 inch of chopped ginger
1/4 cup fresh coriander
2 tspns of tamarind paste
Grind the above ingredients to a fine paste and keep ready

3)
 For making the misal you need the ingredients mentioned below
2 onions finely chopped
2 green chillies finely chopped
Juice of a lime
Mix farsaan as per need
Sev as per need
Chopped coriander for the garnish

Method

In  pan take oil and add the ground paste 2), cook till it leaves the sides of the pan, add salt as per taste, add the hurda 1), mix water as per need and bring it to a boil. Your curry is ready.

Now for the misal

In a big mixing bowl take 2 ladles of the prepared curry, add little chopped onion, chopped chilli,a dash of lime, mixed farsaan and mix well, garnish with sev and the chopped coriander. Serve the sweet, sour spicy delight. 

                                                                 
                                                                       Bajrichi Bhakri

The bhakri as it is called in Marathi is an Indian flat bread variety made with pearl millet. The sesame seeds you can see on it give it an amazing crunch and a nutty taste. It is Sankranti special, Sankranti is the festival of the Sun God shifting his position and marking the start of longer days.One day before this is the Bhogi, which literally means that you should enjoy all the good things that are available to us in the season of winter. The ingredients which give warmth to the body naturally are all used  by us in winter. Here the Bajri bhakri, the Baingan bhaji ( curry made of small whole aubergines, Til laddoos ( balls made of sesame seeds, peanuts powder and jaggery) are offered to the Gods. Mom and grandmom made the best. I am trying my best. Here comes the recipe of bajri bhakri.....

1) Ingredietnts
2 cups of bajri atta (pearl millet flour)
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
A pinch of salt

2) 
1/2 cup of sesame seeds to put on the balls later

Method

Mix all the above ingredients 1) in a mixing bowl, you need not keep this to rest since it can dry up and become hard to roll. So make equal sized balls, flatten it a little press it down in the sesame seeds so they stick to the ball, roll them out on a rolling pin,  as you keep rolling the sesame seeds too will keep spreading, these are actually made only by hand, pressing down to spread with fingers and the palm. Any bahkri is made in this way. Now put the rolled bhakri on the pan with sesame side portion below, smear little water on the upper side, flip it only when the water evaporates, roast well on both the sides like a phulka. serve with a dash of home made butter, curry and we have the thecha (spicy chutney made of green chillies) as a spicy accompaniment.    

                           
                                                                    Kashmiri Saag

The saag in this picture is sarson, that is mustard leaf. I made this in the Kashmiri way since we are not able to get the same saag from there that actually grows in the Dal Lake. The pictures below are taken on a shikara ride in the lake,  Riyaz Bhai in whose houseboat we lived showed us how they grow them right in between the lake. It had an awesome unique fresh taste. Riyaz's aunt and cousins, cooked breakfast and meals for us. I learnt so many things from them in their kitchen. One of them was the Kashmiri Kehwa too. Coming up here is the recipe of the saag cooked by Rukaiya ......

Ingredients

2 bunches of saag cleaned of stalks, they use the whole leaf as it is, no chopping is required
2 inions chopped into thin long pieces
4 cloves of garlic
2 green or dry red chillies, use as per your chouice
Salt to taste

Method 
 In a pan take some mustard oil, heat it till it smokes, add garlic cloves let them turn golden, add the chillies, saute for a bit, now add the onions and saute till golden, add the leaves, salt and water as required, cook covered till the leaves change colour. Eat with any kind of roti, I had it with the roti made of finger millet  (ragi, nachni) with a dash of white butter. awesomely tasty combination!!
   

                                                   Vaangyachi Bhaji With Saar Masala

The aubergine with tomato is an experi- mental invention dish, made by me and loved by all in my family. This came out as a super spicy dish that goes well with phulkas and also curd rice. Minimal ingredients but very enjoyable. Here goes my recipe....

Ingredients

250 gms of aubergines, the purple variety with thorns on the stalks, they are called kaateri vaangi in Marathi
2 large tomatoes
2 tspns of saar masala, the recipe for which is there on my Gkk page as well as my blog 
Salt to taste
1 tspn of chilli powder, not Kashmiri since we want the hit not colour
1/2 cup freshly chopped coriander

Method 

Wash the aubergines, remove the stalks till the soft  green portion and let the green portion remain since it tastes good, chop the aubergines in medium sized long strips, put them in water so they don't get oxidized
Chop tomatoes too in the same way, long medium sized strips

In a pan take some oil make a tempering of mustard seeds, turmeric powder, asafoetida, drain and     add the aubergines, while draining see that there is little water left, little salt, saar masala, keep covered till half cooked, now add the salt if required, chilli powder, some of the chopped coriander and the tomatoes, cook till mushy, garnish with coriander and serve hot with phulkas. 

                                                        Sarson Da Saag Makke Di Roti

Now come winter and the market is overloaded with the green leafy vegetables, Sarson being one of them. It is the leaf of the mustard plant widely used in the Northern part of India. A winter delicacy with the goodness of a dollop of home made butter (Makkhan). Makkhan comes on both the roti and the saag. Here goes my recipe......

For the saag

1 bunch of sarson
1 bunch of bathua or chenopodium (chakvat in Marathi)
1 bunch of spinach
4 cloves of garlic
1/2 tspn grated ginger
2 slit green chillies

All the above ingredients to be pressure cooked with very little water and ground to a coarse paste with no added water, kept ready 

2 tspns of  the flour of the corn to add later while cooking the vegetable

For the tempering

add later while cooking the vegetable,you need to heat mustard oil, add some turmeric powder, add the ground paste, some salt, at this stage add the flour of the corn and mix well,  let it cook for sometime. Now it is ready to serve.

For the makke di roti 

 In a large mixing bowl or the paraat as we call it, take 2 cups of the flour made of corn, not the packed corn flour we use as a thickening agent. This will look lemony yellow in colour. 1 cup of whole wheat flour, 1 tspn of kasuri methi or dry fenugreek leaves, 1tspn of carromseeds crushed between palms, a little salt and make a semi soft dough. This is usually flattened by hand, using the palm and the fingers. I have seen the pizza base being made in a similar way. This should not be a sthick as the pizza though. Now on a pan roast each one to the colour shown in the picture. Use butter while roasting or while serving. Your makke di rotiis ready too. 

Now the platter is ready to be savoured.