Puran Poli

Ingredients
300gms. channa (yellow gram) dal
300 gms. jaggery (Gur)
1 teaspoon. cardamom powder
150 gms. plain flour
1 tablespoon. ghee
warm water to knead dough
ghee to serve

Method
Boil dal in plenty of water till soft but not broken.
Drain in a colander for 10-15 minutes.
Pass through a grater with your palm until the dal is mashed properly.
Mash jaggery till lumps break. Mix well into dal.
Put mixture in a saucepan, add a spoon full of ghee and cook till a soft lump is formed
Take care to stir continuously till it leaves the sides. Keep aside.
Mix ghee, flour, add enough water to make a soft dough.
Take a morsel sized ball of dough, roll into a 4" round.
Place same sized ball of filling in centre, life all round and seal.
Reroll carefully to a 6" diameter round.
Roast on warm griddle till golden brown.
Repeat other side.
Take on serving plate. Apply a tsp. of ghee all over top.

OR

Shallow fry on griddle like a paratha for a better flavour.
But this method will consume more ghee and therefore calories.
Serve hot with dal or amti.

Note: The water drained from boiling dal is used to make the amti. ( a thin curry made using black masala, garam masala and some mashed dal.)

Samosa Do Pyaaza

Bored of eating that typical “kaanda poha”?? How about wrapping it in an innovative wrap? That also calls for christening this snack. Shall we call it “Samosa Do Pyaaza”

Samosa Do Pyaaza

Ingredients:

For the Wrapping Sheets:
1 cup Wheat Flour
1 Cup Maida
2 teaspoon oil
Salt to taste

Mix the above ingredients with water as desired and knead it into soft dough and leave it aside for 15-20 minutes so that it becomes soft enough to roll into thin rotis. Take a portion of the dough and roll it thin and cook it slightly on a hot pan on both the sides. Don’t let the spots appear on the rotis like the normal roti. Quickly remove it and cut them into two rectangle sheets. Remove the side edges so that you get a proper shape as desired.

Also take one teaspoon of maida and two teaspoon of water and mix it into a paste. This is required for sealing the samosas.

For the Filling:
1 cup Beaten rice (Poha/Chiwra)
3 medium size onions, finely chopped
1 green chilly finely chopped
Juice of one lemon
½ teaspoon chilli powder
2 teaspoon fresh grated coconut
Chopped coriander leaves
Salt to taste

Simply mix all the above ingredients in a bowl and the filling is ready.

Method:

Take the flour/maida sheets roll it to a cone, seal the edges with the maida paste and fill the cone with the above filling. Apply some maida paste to the corners of the cone and wrap it properly in a triangle shape.

Heat oil in a frying pan and on medium flame fry these samosas until golden brown. Once done remove them from the oil and place them on the tissue paper so that the excess oil is absorbed. Serve hot with a nice steaming cup of Tea/Coffee of your choice...

Aloo Palak

Aloo Palak

Ingredients
3 cups chopped spinach
2 large onoins chopped fine
2 large potatoes boiled and peeled
1 tomato grated
2 green chillies
1" piece ginger
1 tsp. lemon juice
1/2 tsp. wheat or other flour
1 tsp. red chilli powder
1 tsp. cinnamon-clove powder
1/4 tsp. turmeric powder
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
2 pinches asafoetida
1/2 tsp. garam masala
1/2 tbsp. butter
4 tbsp. ghee
salt to taste

Method:
Put the washed spinach in a pan, add very little water (just a sprinkle) and a pinch of salt.
Cover and boil over a high flame for 2 minutes. Cool quickly, or hold under running water in a colander.
Put in a mixie, add green chilli and run for a minute. Keep slightly coarse, do not make very smooth.
Keep aside.
Cut the potatoes into big pieces. Heat ghee and fry potatoes till light brown.
Drain the potatoes, keep aside.
In the same hot ghee add the cumin seeds.
Add the ginger, onions and fry till very tender.
Add the tomato and further fry for two minutes.
Add all the dry masalas and fry till ghee separates.
Add spinach and potatoes.
When it resumes a boil sprinkle the flour and stir well. Boil for 2-3 minutes. Add lemon juice
Just before s erving heat butter in a tiny saucepan and add the asafoetida.
Pour over the vegetable and mix gently.
Serve hot with naan or parathas or even rice.

Note: You may use boiled peas, boiled corn or paneer in the above dish, instead of potatoes.

Indian Spices - English Names

We come across loads of recipes here and there and we are tempted to try it out at home. Sometimes, we are caught up with the spice names as it what it could be or sometimes even get confused with the names. I have tried to list down names of few spices and ingredients that mostly rules all the traditional Indian Kitchens. Though this is not an exhaustive list, yet I am sure it would come handy to novices who try out cooking. I guess this would be of more use to those husbands who try to cook for themselves, when their wives are away...Enjoy..!!

Adrak= Ginger
Ajwain= Carom seed
Amchur= Dried Mango powder
Aanvla= Gooseberry
Anardana= Pomegranate seeds
Dalchini= Cinnamon
Dhania Dried= Coriander seeds
Elaichi Green= Cardamom
Elaichi, Badi= Black Cardamom
Gulab Jal= Rose Water
Haldi= Turmeric
Hara Dhania= Green Coriander
Hing= Asafoetida
Imli= Tamarind
Jaiphal= Nutmeg
Jeera= Cumin seed
Jeera Shahi= Black Cumin
Kala Namak = Black Rock salt
Kali Mirch = Black pepper
Kalonji = Nigella seeds
Kari Patta = Curry leaf
Kasuri Methi = Dried Fenugreek leaves
Kesar = Saffron
Khus-khus = Poppy Seeds
Kokum = Red Mango
Lehsun = Garlic
Laung = Cloves
Makhane = Popped Lotus seeds
Methi = Fenugreek Seeds
Mirch Degi = Kashmir Paprika
Mirch Lal = Red Chilly
Mirch Hari = Green Chilly
Mishri = Rock candy
Nimbu = Lemon
Namak = Salt
Podina = Mint leaves
Rai = Black Mustard seeds
Saindha Namak = Rock Salt
Sarson = Mustard seeds
Saunf = Aniseed
Sirka = Vinegar
Tej Patta = Indian Bay leaf
Tulsi = Basil leaves

Dhokla Halka Fulka

Whenever I wish to stay light on my snack or breakfast, all I can think about experimenting dishes with Sooji/Semolina. Also because they are easy on stomach and faster to cook. One can make dishes in minutes. Today, I would like to share with you one such variation of “Dhokla”

Dhokla Halka Fulka

Ingredients:

1 cup Sooji (Rawa/Semolina) 1 cup yoghurt
1 teaspoon ENO Salt
½ teaspoon turmeric powder 1 teaspoon grated Ginger
1 teaspoon finely chopped green chilly
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
8-10 curry leaves
2 teaspoon sugar
5 green chillies thin sliced
2 teaspoon oil for seasoning
2 teaspoon fresh coconut (grated) for garnishing
2 teaspoon coriander leaves (chopped) for garnishing

Method:

Take a bowl and add Sooji, yoghurt, ENO, turmeric powder, grated ginger, chopped green chillies. Add salt to taste. Whisk all the ingredients into a thick mixture and pour it into a greased pan. Place the pan either in a pressure cooker or a idli steamer and steam the batter for 7-8 minutes. Insert a fork in the pan to check if the dhokla is cooked or not. If the fork comes out clean, then its ready. Remove the pan and allow it to cool for 5 minutes. Cut it into square pieces.

Heat a Frying pan and pour 2 teaspoon oil, add mustard seeds, curry leaves, sliced green and sauté for a while. Add sugar and salt to taste and add ½ cup water and cook for 1 minute. Spread this sauce/seasoning on the dhokla. Garnish it with coriander leaves and grated fresh coconut (optional).

Make a quick coriander chutney, take one cup fresh coriander, 4 green chillies, 2 teaspoon ground nut, 1 medium size onion, juice of one fresh lime, salt to taste and blend it into a fine paste in a mixer. And the chutney is ready to serve...

Indian Pizza

Summer is the time to stay light on food as well, something that is easy to digest, be it a light snack or regular meals. Today, I would like to share with you one such snack that is a variant of South Indian Dosa. This is not that regular dosa which is cooked out of rice, so let’s name it “Indian Pizza”

Indian Pizza

Ingredients:

1 cup Sooji (Rawa/Semolina)

6 Bread Slices
2 teaspoon rice flour
1 cup yoghurt (whipped)

½ grated carrots

½ cup finely chopped capsicums

½ teaspoon each finely chopped Ginger & green chilly
(Soaked in water for 10 minutes)

1 teaspoon each Bengal gram & split black gram
1 medium size onion
2 teaspoon fresh coconut, grated
8-10 curry leaves
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
2 dry red chillies
2 teaspoon oil


Method:

Cut the edges of the bread slices and soak it in water. Make a thick paste of Sooji, rice flour & yoghurt. Add salt to taste. Squeeze the bread slices to drain off the excess water and add it to the batter. Blend the batter well in a mixer. Pour the batter into a large bowl.

Heat a pan and pour 2 teaspoon oil, add mustard seeds, curry leaves, red chillies, soaked Bengal gram and split black gram chopped green chillies and onion and sauté until brown. Let it cool for some time.

Add this seasoning to the batter along with chopped capsicum, grated carrot and coconut. Mix this batter well. Place a non-stick pan on medium flame and clean the same with wet cloth. Spread a ladle of batter on the pan and sprinkle few drops of oil on the batter and cover it. Once cooked, turn it and cook on the other side too until brown.

Serve this with an accompaniment of your choice. My preference would be to make red chilli coconut chutney. Here is quick recipe. Take one cup fresh grated coconut, 2-3 roasted red chillies, tamarind, and sugar, salt to taste and blend it into a fine paste in a mixer. And the chutney is ready to serve...

Aloo Dahiwale

Ingredients:
3 medium. potatoes boiled and peeled
1 cup curd or yogurt beaten
1 tsp. red chilli powder
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. dhania powder
1/4 tsp. turmeric powder
1/4 tsp. garam masala
2 pinches asafoetida
1 stalk curry leaves
1tbsp. coriander leaves chopped
1 1/4 cup water
1/2 tsp. each ginger, garlic grated
2 green chillies slit
1 tsp. each cumin, mustard seeds
1/4 tsp. wheat flour
1 tbsp. oil

Method:
Cut potatoes into big pieces. Mash 3-4 pieces fine with hand. Keep both aside.
Mix all the dry masala in 1/4 cup water.
Heat oil. Add the seeds (cumin and mustard). When they splutter, add ginger-garlic, chilli and curry leaves.
Add the masala mixture and fry for 2 minutes.
Add beaten curd and fry for 5 minutes or till the curd loses its whiteness. Stir continuously after adding curd.
Add the remaining water and all the potato and flour. Stir well.
Boil and simmer for 10 minutes or till gravy thickens
Garnish with chopped coriander.
Serve hot with wheat chappaties or steamed rice.

Garmi ki Shaam.....Aam ke Naam

When the mercury starts rising, all we look for is some respite and relief from the scorching heat to beat the summer. And we are all aware of most of the handy tips and precautions one should take to avoid any heat stroke or sun burns.

Come summers and it is time to savour mangoes. In the Hindu mythology mango is known as "food of the Gods". There are lot of dishes that can be made from mangoes like shakes, juices, jam, jellies, pickles and mango papad. Even raw mangoes can be used in chutneys (paste) and curries. So here we have collected few mouth watering dishes for you.

Aam Panna

Ingredients:

2 Large Raw mangoes
2 teaspoon cum powder
1 teaspoon pepper powder
¼ teaspoon asafetida (hing)
½ cup sugar
Black salt to taste

Method:
Wash the mangoes and cook them in a pressure cooker for two whistles. Once they have cooled down, peel the mangoes, deseed them and mash the mangoes gently to form a thick pulp. Strain this pulp through a strainer. Add cumin powder, pepper powder, black salt, and sugar. Mix well until the sugar dissolves. Add 1000ml chilled water and crushed ice cubes and serve.

Mango Chutney

Ingredients:

½ kg Green Mangoes1 cup Vinegar (Sirka) ½ cup Water 1 teaspoon Red chilli powder 500 grams Sugar 4 teaspoon Salt 2 teaspoon thin strips of Ginger2 cloves Garlic¾ teaspoon big Cardamom powder 50 grams Raisins (Kishmish)

Method:
Wash the mangoes and dry them. Peel and cut mangoes into very thin and long slices removing the seeds. Chop ginger and garlic into thin fine slices. Cook the mango slices, garlic and ginger in water on a low fire in a pan. When cooked add sugar, vinegar, Red chilli powder, cardamoms powder, salt and blanched raisins and stir until the consistency becomes thick and golden brown in colour. Remove from the fire, add raisins and mix well. Cool and put in an airtight jar. Store the chutney in a cool and dark place.

Holi me Bachka

Come Holi, the festival of spirit, colour, joy and happiness. The first thing that we all ever think of this festival and relate to is typically assortment of sweets and bhang/thandaai to drink...

For a change, I thought of sharing a slightly different recipe here that one must try during this festive season. I had read about this dish on one of the sites and felt it must be interesting for us to try out. I am told this dish is popularly cooked in Bihar. I am putting in my effort to replicate this dish here, not knowing how much justice I would do.. So, here we go.

Bachka

Ingredients
1 cup bengal gram
2 onions
2 teaspoon finely chopped coriander leaves
2 green chillies
1 tea spoon grated ginger
salt to taste

Method: Soak the grams over night. Pour it into a mixer and grind it coarsely with salt and little water. Add finely chopped onions, coriander leaves, ginger and green chillies.

Spread the dough mixture on our palm slightly greased and shape it in any form of cutlet, round or heart shaped and leave it on a heated non stick pan. Layer it with a teaspoon of oil around the cutlet. Shallow fry the cutlet on both sides till it turns brown. Keep adding oil as required. Leave the cutlets on low flame till it is crisp and cooked. Serve it with coriander/mint chutney.

Gobhi Ka Keema

A Recipe from Mother’s Kitchen : Dedicated to the memory of our beloved Aunt and a Wonderful Mother Late Smt. Shreeda Srivastava.

Ingredients:
1 Cauliflower medium size
1 Bowl fresh green peas
1 Onion
1/2 Teaspoon grated garlic
1 Teaspoon grated ginger
1 Tea spoon desi ghee

Oil, Cumin Seeds and Spices of your choice for seasoning
And Salt to taste

Method:

Grate the cauliflower and saute it on medium flame with one teaspoon desi ghee till the moisture evaporates and its semi cooked. Remove it from the pan and put it aside.

Prepare the seasoning (Chaunk) in the pan. Heat oil in a pan, add cumin seeds, finely chopped onions, garlic and ginger and fry until brown. Add spices to taste like chilli powder, turmeric, coriander powder and pepper powder. Add Green Peas and cook it for two minutes. Finally add the half cooked grated cauliflower, mix well and cook for 2 minutes. Pour the keema into a serving bowl and garnish it with freshly chopped Coriander Leaves.

Here the dish is ready to be served with plain paranthas.

Tip: The leftover keema makes a good filling to make gobi/mutter parantha also.

Assorted Cooking Methods

Roasting: This method is generally used to roast herbs, spices and nuts before grinding them into a powder or paste to be used during cooking or for seasoning after cooking. For e.g cumin seeds (jeera) roasted is often used in Raita or butter milk. Today we have also resorted to roasting papad instead of deep frying.

Saute: Basic sautéing is done when vegetables half cooked have to be cooked further with just a dash of oil(especially olive oil). Boiled vegetables sautéed in olive oil was a pinch of salt and pepper powder, along with an accompaniment of mint/coriander chutney can substitute for a nice light lunch for those who watch and count their calories..

Shallow Fry: This is a popular cooking method in our most of the traditional Indian cooking as well. Food is normally cooked on medium flame on a flat frying pan with adequate oil. In North India, Aloo ki Tikki is one perfect example of stir frying.

Deep Fry: Come festivals and our cooking is incomplete without deep frying. Cooking is done only with oil on high flame. All assortments of pakoras are dished out by deep drying. Especially in monsoons and winters consumption of deep fried food is comparatively on the higher side.

Steaming: It is a method of cooking using steam wherein first the water is brought to boil, which evaporates into steam that carries heat to the food that has to be cooked. Once again a cooking method preferred by health conscious people, because in this method no oil is needed. This method also retains the nutrition level of the food because lesser nutrients are destroyed in the water, which we normally throw away after normal boiling. In south India idlis are cooked using this method in a steamer which has a lid that is placed on the top of the container during cooking and this allows the steam to cook the idlis.

Blanching : To make the food a little tender to use, blanching is the method, where slight cooking is done before using it further. This method comes very handy in case of tomatoes when the skin has to be peeled off , in case of preparation of tomato soup. Leave the tomatoes in boiling water for 5 mins and the skin peels off easily. Blanching can be also done in case of Palak when you wish to retain the green colour without over cooking while making Palak Soup.

Makar Sankrant. . . Till ke Laddu

Staying in Jaipur for over a decade and a half now, Makar Sankrant is one festival that I have witnessed here in North people celebrate it with so much of enthusiasm by people of all age groups, which is worth the watch. First thing that comes to our mind is but of course Kites. Celebration of this festival is worth witnessing throughout the entire month here. Come January and one can see the sky painted with colourful kites. The extreme weather conditions gives all the more reasons for each one of us to spend more and more time basking the sun while most of them indulge in kite flying...

Kite flying festival is not only celebrated as an entertainment part but it has a psychological reason attached to it. While the kite romances in the air, one has to constantly keep their eyes up on flying kites, which raises their confidence level. This is also said to be a natural remedy to overcome nervousness and depression. And also motivates people of think high. The confidence level of a kite flier also sky rockets as kite moves up in the sky. It also enhances concentration of the kite flier.

Makar Sankrant here means nothing but kite flying accompanied by savoring variety of mouth melting dishes the women of the house dish out. One sweet that is very popularly in Rajasthan like in Maharashtra, is Til ke Laddoo. Here, though the ingredients and cooking method looks simpler, yet the taste largely depends on the skill. So why don’t you too give it a try?

Ingredients:
Sesame seeds-Til (unpolished) 1 cupJaggery/Gud 1 cup
Water ½ cupRaw Peanuts or Cashew or almond 1/2 cup) optional

Pure desi Ghee 4 table spoon Cardamoms 8-10

Method:
Roast the sesame seeds in a pan on medium fire till it turns light golden brown and leave it aside. Roast the peanuts/cashew/almonds separately. Once the nuts are cooled pound them into pieces so that in case of ground nuts or almonds the skin would peel off.

Boil the water and jaggery in a separate pan and bring it to boil till it arrives to a thick consistency. You can check the consistency by dropping a drop of the syrup in a bowl of cold water. If the drop of syrup forms into a lump then it is time to pour the roasted sesame seeds, nuts, and cardamom powder. Mix it well.

Use a little ghee to coat your hands take a piece of the warm mixture and form small balls/ladoos, 2 inches in diameter. Store in a air tight container. It will stay for a long time.

Let's Get Tangy with Tomatoes

Background: This red fruit/veggie contains Vitamin C which increases as it ripens. It also consist some amount of Vitamin B and A which is a good source of calcium and iron. Absolutely low calorie content hence is normally recommended for those who wish to shed those extra kilos because it does not add calories but at the same time fulfills the mineral and vitamin requirement of the body.

India is the fourth largest country of tomato cultivator across the globe.

When we think of fresh plum, juicy, tomatoes, first thing that comes to our mind is Tomato Soup.. Nothing can taste better than a bowl of thick hot steaming soup.
Sharing with you a few recipes here. . .

TOMATO SOUP:
Ingredients:4 large tomatoes
1 medium size Onion
1 teaspoon butter
2 teaspoon fresh cream
Salt and Pepper to taste
Mint leaves and fried bread cubes for garnishing

Method: Cut the tomatoes and onion and blend it into a thick paste in a mixer. Sieve the paste through a strainer to separate the seeds and skin of the tomato. Add three cups of water (600ml) and boil it on medium flame for 5 minutes. Add salt and pepper powder to taste. Pour the soup in a serving bowl. Add a cube of butter, half a spoon fresh cream. Garnish with bread cubes and mint leaves and the soup is ready to serve.

Here are some add-ons while cooking to enhance the taste or add that extra flavor to the soup.

• Try adding some fresh green peas or variation of any other veggie of your choice.
• Try adding maggie and spring onion to give that chinese touch.
• Add two large table spoon of cooked arhar dal and half a tea spoon pepper powder to serve the soup in rasam style.

TOMATO JAM:
Ingredients:6 large tomatoes
2 teaspoon oil
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
250 gms sugar
2 red chillies
Pinch of salt to taste

Method: Chop the tomatoes finely. Heat oil in a pan add mustard seeds and red chillies, and add the chopped tomatoes and sauté for 2-3 minutes on medium flame. Add sugar and salt cook the tomatoes until the water evaporates and the sugar syrup becomes slightly thick in consistency. Cool it and store in a jar. This can be used as a jam on bread slice or can be served as sweet tomato chutney with paranthas.

Tip: A face pack of tomato paste mixed with a teaspoon of lemon juice will give you a soft and glowing skin.

G for Goodness of 2Gs Ginger n Garlic

Even if you are a vegetarian can you imagine cooking Chinese food without Ginger and Garlic?? It is difficult to trace the origin of garlic, though it belongs to the family of onions. Some experts believe it originated in Russia's Siberian desert and then spread throughout Asia, the Mediterranean and finally Europe. But whatever its birthplace, the Chinese were using garlic by 3,000 BC. As for ginger, experts say it is probably native to south east Asia and I believe the Chinese must have been using garlic and ginger since ancient times.

Ginger and garlic are the two basic key ingredients that rules most of the Indian kitchen. Ginger and Garlic enhances the flavour of the dishes that we cook. But normally when we think of garlic, we relate it to bad breath. Agreed that bad breath is a drawback of garlic, but its health benefits far outweighs its drawbacks.

The positive effect of garlic is on the blood pressure which reduces the blood fats, and also brings down the cholesterol levels. It is also believed that Garlic even helps to prevent cancer! One German study had shown that garlic reduced cholesterol levels by 20 percent in all the test subjects. These reasons put together are more than enough for you to start eating more garlic?

Ginger on the other also provides excellent benefits for your health. This herb has been widely grown and used for thousands of years in China. It not only adds flavour to the cooking but has large medicinal values!

The greatest ever benefit of ginger is its capacity to fight our digestion problems. Besides being used in cooking dishes, its more prominently used in our morning cuppa that we start with, yes our good old desi chai..adrakwali.!!! Something that helps you fight the spine chilling winter, is a mug of hot steaming, ginger tea. Moreover Ginger also helps open blockages in arteries, and also instrumental in lowering the cholesterol levels.

Tip: Garlic should always be stored in a dry place.

Introduction to Traditional Indian Cooking

Background: In our country the good old traditional cooking place was treated with utmost purity, something close to temple, let’s say. In olden days there has been restriction as to who can enter kitchen and what kind of attire they should adorn and so on. The biggest taboo was even the woman of the house was not allowed to enter the kitchen during her menstruation days since she was considered impure then. The traditional kitchen, the Chulha or Angithi or stove – the old cooking mediums were worshipped on a few occasions connecting them to a festival.

The traditional Indian cooking is qualified by adding variety of herbs and spices to our home grown vegetables and pulses keeping in mind the widely practiced vegetarianism across many parts of the society in our country. Each section has their unique cooking technique with a wide collection of cuisines which varies from one province to other.

History:Going by the history we find that our land has experienced widespread migration from one region to other in search of livelihood primarily through ages and our cuisine is largely benefited from this diversified cross culture food influences. Different weather conditions in the regions varying from subterranean stifling humid to high altitudes has fairly helped us widen the range of ingredients in our cooking. As I have mentioned above the medium used for cooking and fire are worshipped with faith attached to it, similarly food has also been a indicator of social and religious identity with varying prohibition and choices. Say, for instance Jain community would not eat roots or any vegetable that is grown below the ground level like ginger, garlic, onions beetroot, zaminkand or suran (Amorphophallus paeoniifolius, a botanical name) and potatoes. Since ancient times, vegetarianism has strongly influenced over Indian foods with section of our Hindu, Jain and Buddhist communities. The data does say that people who follow a strict vegetarian diet make up 20–42% of the population in India, while less than 30% are regular meat-eaters. Though there has been a cross cultural change in the food habits too, the present modern urban population has become more health and physique conscious and are turning vegetarian.

Though the urban population has resorted to various modern cooking methods, gadgets and all sorts of ready to use paste and even cooked food which is just at a microwave distance, yet even today, I strongly believe the goodness, the richness and the aroma still lies in our basic traditional cooking that we have inherited from our mothers and if we strive to retain it, we can hand it over to our generations ahead too..