Chatpata Rice

Diwali is gone before the excitement died.. the party weekend was snowed on the East Coast this year and the houses that would have otherwise been glowing with Diwali and Halloween lights were darkened by power cuts. Nonetheless, we had hungry mouths to feed and then make up for the cancelled holiday parties, we decided to have a party at home with the leftover snack/faral items and this rice for lunch and then end the party with mouth watering Kalakand. Some days are good to be alone with your family without the hustle and bustle of kids running around, yelling, fighting and acting weird. This was the first Diwali when we did not meet many friends that we usually meet and visit during the festival, exchange a lot of faral boxes, but we did miss them and miss tasting their goodies and I am thankful for those precious friends who came all the way with the boxes and gifts for me, you guys rock my world!!!

Back to the post and the main reason you all are reading this blog.

You will need;
2 cups cooked rice/ vegetable pulav or jeera rice (good way to use the leftover rice)
1/2 onion chopped
1 small tomato
1 cup mixture of corn, broccoli and carrots-- diced and steamed in a microwave for 2 minutes.
1 Tsp Ginger/ Garlic paste
1 Tsp pav bahji Masala
2tbspn Green Cilantro chutney
Oil for tempering
Water as needed
Salt and Sugar--as per taste

In a pan over medium heat, heat oil, add the ginger garlic paste, add the onions, tomatoes fry for 2 mins , then add the vegetables, add little water and let cook for 1 minute, then add the pav bhaji masala and green cilantro chutney, mix well, add salt and sugar, mix well and lastly add rice with little water. Stir well and cover. Cook for abt 3 mins. The rice should not be liquidy but slightly sticky. once you get to this stage, the rice is done...garnish with Cilantro or Spring Onion, add a dash of lime if needed and Njoii Chatpata Rice.

Traditionally this is a Street food, which I have hogged on many years, when I was in college in Amchi Mumbai. Here in US, I still miss those days...but I have come a long way from then!!!

Sending my entry to Edible Entertainment and My Tasty Curry's Healthy Lunch event.

Love Ash.

Malai Peda

The festivities of Diwali have gone now and i am left with some yumm yumm snacks and mithai. There is a huge Desi junta/population in Central NJ and if you plan on buying mithai from the Indian sweet shops, be ready to stand in the line for more than an hour at times, Phew. I mean why will I waste that precious time when I can simply Google the recipe and make double the amount in half the price. I chose the second option and went the DIY way!! Being  a blogger also helps in the motivating department and DIY is the way to go. Another benefit is that I will use the best and freshest ingredients, make smaller portions as to not feel guilty of eating a sweet mava and sugar loaded goodie and be proud in parties as "I Made it with my own hands" slogans. if you look at it this way, you will find that making your own sweets at home is a breeze. Believee me this is very very simple..all you will need is only 2 main things, rest will depend on your creativityy and level of expertize.

I had already made Kalakand once this Diwali, so I had the Ricotta cheese and Condensed milk on hand, I put the my lazy bones to work..

You will need;

1 can condensed milk-14 oz** I used the milkmaid brand

1 can Ricotta cheese-15 oz

a Microwave safe deep glass bowl

1Tsp elaichi or cardamom-Optional

1tbspn Pista Powder-Optional

Saffron and cashew nut powder-Optional

1 tspn rose water-Optional but highly recommended

In a  safe Microvabeable deep glass bowl, combine the ricotta cheese and the condensed milk and stir till it is well incorporated. then;

microwave it on high for 5 minutes. Remove and stir.

Then again microwave it for 3 minutes, remove and stir.

Microvave it for 2 minutes covered.. remove and stir

Keep doing this, i .e microwaving the mixture in batches of 2 minutes; till you get a reasonable crumbling mixture.. I had to do this for about 18 minutes in total..

When you have a crumbly mixture, add the pista powder, elaichi (and saffron if desired), mix well and keep aside..When it reaches room temperature, keep it in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours. Then roll out the pedas. Note these pedas are not hard like other pedas and are very soft and can easily loose its shape.. hence make them in bite size pieces, I used mini cup cake liners to serve each peda. I felt extra special and very festive serving it like this.

Sending this entry to Srav's Festive Food event

Love Ash.