Gavaarichi Bhaji, vegetable made out of Cluster Beans and Niger Seeds.

Ingredients

250 gms gavaar or cluster beans, cleaned and roughly broken into pieces as shown in the picture, with very little water, pressure cooked to only one whistle
1/2 cup niger seeds, in marathi they are called kaarla,they are small black long seeds and we use them to make dry chutney powder
2 table spoons of grated jaggery
Salt to taste
Chilli powder to taste
1 tea spoon goda masala

Method

In a kadhai take little oil, add mustard seeds once they crackle add a pinch of asafoetida and a small spoon of turmeric powder. Then add the cluster beans, stir for a bit and add all other ingredients and cook covered. Does not take too long because the beans are already cooked, you only need to see that all the ingredients mix well, the jaggery melts and you get an aroma of the cooked vegetable. Now it is ready to be served garinshed with fresh coriander, with hot rotis.

Vegetable Paratha with a twist of cherry tomatoes and mustard sauce.

Parathas, the variety is endless and have learnt so much from my friends in a food group.

I would like to present one of my creations which I tried today for breakfast. My obsession for chillies!! I eat the parathas rolled with the chutney smeared on them, as shown in picture. I call them the Fiery Cigars. You can see the chilli I have drawn with the chutney on the side of the tray.

Ingredients

First step
2 and a 1/2 cups wheat flour
1/2 cup split bengal gram flour ( Besan)
1 big potato boiled and mashed
4 cherry tomatoes chopped into fours
1/2 cup finely chopped coriander
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1/4 cup finely chopped cabbage
1/4 cup grated carrots
1/4 cup grated beetroot
1/2 cup mashed cottage cheese
2 tspoons of mustard sauce
Salt to taste

Second step
Tempering made by heating 3 tablespoons of oil, adding 1 tspoon turmeric powder, 1 tiny spoon of asefotida, 6 green chillies finely chopped.
Method
Add all the ingredients from the first step mixing well, mashing the cherry tomatoes softly to mix them well with the other ingredients, once all the ingredients are mixed well, add the tempering which is prepared and mix to make a dough for parathas without adding any water as far as possible since there is so much moisture in the form of various ingredients. In place of amchur there is mustard sauce used which will make gives the sourness and the tempered chilli will give it the required heat. keep the dough to rest for about less than half an hour, after smearing a little oil on it and keep it covered.

Now make equal sized balls, roll them out and roast them well on both sides on a pan with clarified butter.

Akshay Tritiya Special --- Koshimbeer, Panha


Panha that is raw mango juice, Daalichi koshimbeer which can be called a salad, is made of  soaked  split bengal gram lentil and raw mango again. 

In summer when raw mango is available in plenty, this is an offering given to God in many Hindu homes. Specially on the festival of Akshay Tritiya this holds a special place in all our kitchens. Ladies are invited for a small get together called Haldi Kunku. They are given a snack together with the above mentioned dishes. An auspicious day spent together.

In my earlier blog I have given the recipe of the raw mango juice and today I will share the recipe of the Koshimbeer.

Ingredients

 2 cups chana dal or split bengal gram lentil, soaked for 3-4 hours and ground coarsely.

1/2 raw mango grated

1/2 cup freshly grated coconut

3 dry red chillies

Finely chopped coriander for garnishing

For the Koshimbeer we use chana dal which is soaked for 3-4 hours and then water is drained off, It is ground coarsely in mixi. In this salt to taste, scraped fresh coconut, grated raw mango are added and mixed well.

 Tempering is done with oil, mustard seeds, turmeric powder, asefoetida, and pieces of dry red chill, mixed well, garnished with finely chopped coriander. It is an accompaniment in your meals or can be had as a snack too.

Kokum Sharbat  ( Juice of  Garcinia Indica ) 

As the month of May approaches and the sun really starts burning down on you, this drink prevents you from having nausea, headaches and keeps you cool. 

This is made of a fruit called Kokum or Amsol in Maharashtra and is widely used in curries and many other dishes as a souring agent. it is also used in coastal curries all over india.

This can be made with the fruit which is dried and preserved by adding rock salt and is available in the market. The concentrate is also available which can be diluted in chilled water and had as a drink.
What I have done here is, boiled 5-6 kokums in three glasses of water with salt, sugar as per taste, people who can not have sugar can take it only with salt too, and cumin powder as required and strained it into glasses. U can chill this and have it.

Aloo Methi

Ingredients


3 potatoes boiled and peeled, chopped into squares
1 bunch methi, cleaned and finely chopped
1 spoon chilli powder
Salt to taste
3 tspns oil, a pinch of hing and a small spoon of haldi for tempering

Method
In a kadhai make tempering with oil, jeera, haldi and hing, put in the methi, stir well till cooked, add the potatoes, salt and chilli powder mix well cook for a bit and serve with roti or phulkas.

Egg Chutney Sandwich

This dish is the result of an unexpected experi-mental attempt, on a suggestion from my husband who is a fan of the green chutney. I was highly bored to cook, there were hardly any ingredients at home, what with maids on a holiday and no time to shop! Saw a few eggs,  a pack of whole wheat bread, some  fresh coriander and the thought of a dish came and was executed with success of the dish being tasty. Then came the thought of sharing with all of you.

Chutney is the combination of 1 bunch of coriander, few leaves of mint, a squeeze of lime, 6 green chillies, 4 garlic cloves, a piece of ginger, salt to taste and a big tomato roughly chopped. All this to be made into a chutney.

4 boiled eggs chopped into thin long pieces. 

Take each slice of bread, spread the chutney on it, arrange pieces of eggs and make the sandwich. Yummy dinner ready. 

Misal Pav

Misal Pav is a very tasty tongue tickler, which can be had at any time of the day, for breakfast, lunch, supper and dinner. A full meal in itself. A little indulgent yes, but nutritious too. I have skipped the pav and had it with brown whole wheat bread, which claims to be less harmful than the pav made of fine flour. Home made is the best no doubt, but this is available all over Mumbai, at the roadside stalls, small eateries and also a few restaurants which serve authentic regional cuisine. 

Ingredients

Ingredients

2 cups of sprouted Matki ( Moth Beans ) Pressure cooked to two whistles
2 onions finely chopped, 1 roughly chopped for grinding
4 green chillies
6 cloves of garlic
1 inch piece of ginger chopped
1 tomato roughly chopped
1/2 cup grated dry coconut
1 smal spoon of turmeric powder
2 tspoons of tamarind pulp
1 small bunch of coriander finely chopped
Salt to taste
2 tspoons of saar masala

To Make the misal you need  mixed farsaan,  thin variety of sev and some chopped onion, chillies finely chopped and finely chopped coriander, lime pieces to squeeze on top.

Method

In a mixer jar take 1 roughly chopped onion, ginger, garlic, coconut, tomato, chillies, turmeric powder, tamarind paste, some coriander and grind to a fine paste. Keep this ready.

 In a deep bottomed pan take some oil, add the 2 finely chopped onions, add some turmeric powder, saute till golden brown, then add the ground paste, add  salt, the saar masala, cook till it leaves the sides of the pan, add the cooked matki, add water and let it boil and cook well till it forms  a nice gravy. Add water only if required. 

Once the curry or usal is ready, in a bowl, take some usal, farsaan, finely chopped onion, chillies, and mix well, remove in a serving plate and garnish with some onion, sev and chopped coriander, add a dah of lime finally if you like it a bit more sour, savour it as it is or with whole wheat bread or pav. the choice is yours.