Almond Butter Stuffed Baked Karanji

Hello Dearies!! Diwali came and left with us wanting the festivity more. In my effort to learn a new faral/Snack item every year, this year it was a healthy nut butter stuffed baked karanji.

You will need;(Makes about 10-12 karanji's)

2 Store bought Pastry sheets.

Stuffing

2 Tbspns Almond Butter

1 Cup Dry coconut

1/4th cup roasted sooji/Semolina

Elaichi as per taste

Almond powder/meal 2 tbspn

Sugar as per taste

 Little milk to seal the edges.

To make the stuffing

Roast the dry coconut  and sooji separately  on a  low flame for 3-5 mins each, remove it in  a bowl. Add the almond butter, Elaichi powder, almond meal and sugar and mix well. make small portions of this mix with a spoon for equal measure of stuffing

Preheat oven to 350°F. 

Thaw and roll the pastry sheet into a dough. Make small balls out of this dough and make small poori. Stuff it with the above stuffing and apply little milk to seal the edges. Use fork to make design and press firmly. Remove the excess dough and use again. Similarly make the remaining karanjis. These can be made without the mold too. 

Place the karanjis on a parchment paper on a baking tray and bake at 350°C for twenty to twenty five minutes. Cool, store in an airtight container. These don't keep fresh for long, so eat it in 3-4 days.

Ratalyacha kees Waffle-Sweet Potato Hash Waffle

 


Hello Sweeties!! I have been making Sweet Potato Hash/Ratalyacha Kees for so many years, I fast for 9 days in Navratri and making Vrat or Fasting food for one person gets on my bones, so I am always looking for faster cooking processes and using Gadgets to cut my cooking time without compromising on taste and health.

The recipe for the Hash/Kees Mixture can be found here.

You will need;

2 large sweet potatoes, grated using a box grater

(**wash and dry with a dish towel before grating. It is advisable to soak the potatoes in cold water for few minutes and then brush it lightly with the potato brush and remove all the dirt hidden in the skin.)

1/2 cup roasted peanut powder

1 tsp red chili powder

1 tsp cumin seeds

Oil to spray the waffle maker

Salt and Sugar to taste

 

In a bowl, Mix all of the above and keep aside. 

Heat the waffle maker and make waffles as you please. Make thick Waffles as the hash will break down after cooking.

Homemade Khoya/Mawa from Milk powder--Easy and only 3 ingredients

Hello Dearies!!! I know you have missed me as much as I have missed being away from this space. But when things get too monotonous, I guess its best to take a break and come back refreshed. 

So here I am with a series of homemade sweets. To kick it off I am posting the recipe of the most essential ingredient in most Indian sweets, khoya, mawa or Khava.

This can be made and stored in air tight container in the fridge for 3-4 day, but this recipe measure does not make tons so make it as per the need and  use it up in the sweet.

You will need;
2 tbspn ghee-clarified butter
1/3 rd cup milk
1 cup dry non fat milk powder

In a pan on low heat; heat ghee and milk, then add the milk powder and let it cook till it starts collecting into a lump. Cook till the mixture turns into a ball. Cool  and mash the mava. Its ready for some pedas or modaks. Can it get any easier than this???

Minty Cauliflower

Hello Sweeties!! July is BBQ month. The basic quest for all vegetarian food lovers is what's there for us in the BBQ feast!!!!! There is Indian cottage cheese/paneer, roasted veggies corn on the cobs. So to add one more interesting item to your grand BBQ menu,. my sister has this Minty cauliflowers for you.

They can be made on the grill. in the oven or on the stove top. They will surely make you love your cauliflower and  push the good old greasy French fries to the side. 

You will need;
1 whole cauliflower tore into florets, wash and drain

Enough oil to lightly coat the florets

Sea Salt to taste

Mint paste

** Make a fine mint paste with mint,cilantro, cumin, garlic and green chilies

Coat the florets with some grape-seed oil, sprinkle salt and cook in a wok on high heat. The florets cook fast so it should take about 5-7 mins. stir continuously to avoid burning Alternatively you can also roast in a pre-heated oven at 400Degress, till the florets start browning.

 After the florets get cook reduce heat, add the mint paste till all florets get evenly coated. Minty Cauliflower is ready to be served.

Home made Ginger/Garlic and Ginger Chili paste

Hello Sweeties!!! How is the mausam vibhag/akka the weather department holding in your neck of woods.

We are still facing harsh winds and bouts of colds but this is a passing phase as spring is in the air, the trees are showing signs of good bloom and summer will be here soon.

Summer is a very active and busy season for us who get only about 10-12 weeks of sun and  heat, so it is spend outdoors to the max. 

Fast and easy one meal pots are welcome and minimum work in the kitchen is on my charts. To make my work easy and yet do a tasty meal, I prep ahead with chopping veggies, and making ginger garlic and ginger chili pastes.

You will need;
To make Chili-Ginger Paste-- The green paste in the picture.

1 and 1.2 inch ginger washed and peeled
20-25 small green chilies, chopped roughly
2 tbspn White distilled vinegar
2 tspn salt
1-2 tspn oil

Grind all the above with little oil. Spray with oil the plastic or glass container you will use and store the ground paste. This will stay in the fridge for about 2 weeks.

To make Ginger-Garlic paste-- The white paste in the picture
**Cool trick to peel garlic in less than a minute
Peel garlic in less than 10 secs-- This Actually works.
 
3 inch ginger washed and peeled
2 small bulbs of garlic, peeled
2 tbspn White distilled vinegar
2 tspn salt
1-2 tspn oil

Grind all the above with little oil. Spray with oil the plastic or glass container you will use and store the ground paste. This will stay in the fridge for about 2 weeks.
Indian cooking often calls for using such pastes and ginger and garlic are used widely in many recipes. These time saving things will help you with cooking everyday meals and take them a notch higher.

Mango Sheera/ Mango Sooji Halwa/Ambyacha sheera

Hello Sweeties!!! Back to back two posts, I must be shedding my lazy skin. But, it was Donut's Birthday yesterday. Big Digit demands big and new dessert.

 I made the Minion cake and put in the full day at work, I was sort of tired of making anything elaborate. Sheera or Sooji halwa is a staple in Ashland, when we have unannounced guests. This is no fail dish and every one loves it. Make it for prasad as god's offering or snack or dessert, it's  a hit every time.

The world of blogging and internet has made me try different combinations like using pineapple , banana and now mango. Hoping to try many new varieties maybe strawberry, what say, next time for sure.

You will need;

1 and 1/2 cup of sooji/ semolina/ cream of wheat, **I prefer Coarse sooji than fine sooji.

1 cup sugar

3 cups mixture of milk and water or use milk wholly.

6-8 tbspns Ghee-Clarified butter

1 Cup Mango Pulp-- I used canned

1 cup sugar

1 tsp Elaichi or Cardamom Powder

1 tbspn Cashew nuts powdered -Optional

1tbspn Raisins Optional

few Saffron strands-Optional

-In a pan/wok, heat the ghee over medium or low flame and then add the sooji, roast the sooji stirring continuously, till the sooji changes colour and the aroma fills the house. 

Simultaneously boil the milk+water mixture and once boiled, add the milk+water mixture to the roasted sooji and continue stirring...the sooji will be slightly wet, cover for 2-3 minutes, taking care that the sooji is not getting burnt, if needed reduce the time to about 1.5 to 2 minutes. 

After this add in the pulp and  let it get cooked with the roasted sooji, cover with the lid and steam it for anr 2-3 mins. 

Finally add in the sugar  and stir well, the mixture will be wet now, cover and lower the flame to low and cook for 5-7 minutes. 

Then add the saffron, elaichi and the raisins. Serve hot or cold. It's yummy either way.

Phodnicha Bhat- Tadka Rice-Kids School Lunch

Hello Dearies!!!! Life has Suddenly become busy with nice warm weather with a mix of rain. Weekends are spend outdoors catching up with friends young and old, get togethers and parties.

Such tired times requires some comfort food that can be whipped up in short amounts of time. Leftover rice finds its way into lunch boxes and kids have a great time eating the lunch. Here is how to go about making kids lunch in less than 10 mins on busy work mornings.

You will need;
2 Cups Leftover rice
1 Small Onion-Diced
1/2 big Tomato-Diced
1 Clove Garlic- chopped fine
1/2 inch ginger grated 
1 Tspn Kanda Lasun Masala
** This is a speciality masala that we get in Indian stores here, sold by Prakash. This is used commonly in Kolhapur areas of Maharashtra. Alternatively used Rajwadi Garam Masala
Salt and Sugar to taste
Cilantro to garnish

Tempering;
1 tbspn Oil
1 tspn Ghee/Clarified Butter
1 heaped tspn jeera/cumin seeds
1 tspn haldi/ Turmeric

In a wok, take the oil and ghee and add jeera. Let it sizzle. Then add the onion,, tomato, haldi, clove and ginger and fry till oil separates the sides. Then add the kanda -lasun masala, little water and fry till the masala gets fried for about 1 minute, add the salt and sugar, lastly add the rice, stir well, reduce heat to low and cover and let cook for 4-5 mins. Take care that the rice does not stick to the pan. Garnish with Cilantro before serving.

** you can even try adding shrimps in when you fry the onion-tomato before you add the kanda lasun masala. Since we are vegetarians, I did not add anything.

Kids will love you for such fast and healthy yet yummy lunch boxes, you will love them for finishing lunch boxes. Looks like a good deal to me!!!!!

Palak paneer Poori-Kids Lunchbox

Hello Dearies!!! Like me, You also must be having leftovers from either party or too many items in the menu, that few get ignored by the guests. Palak Paneer tastes amazing as is even after a day or so in the refrigerator, but when you have kids who die for porri's, you can also make it into one and finish the leftover food.

We live in a world where we must not be wasting any resources/food, kids are hungry even in the US of A. Need, I say more.

Indian food and recipes are  full of such leftover magic mingles, we use leftover rice and bread in number of ways, curries get transformed into poori's or parathas and rice into different types of tadkas opr pulav's.

Palak Paneer Recipe here.

You will need;
1 cup leftover palak paneer
** Mash and break the paneer cubes as fine as possible
2 cups Wheat Flour 

1 tbspn fine sooji or semolin)

1 tspn red chili powder

1 tspn turmeric powder

1 tspn cumin and coriander powder

1 tsp salt or as per taste

1/2 tspn sugar-optional

2 cups Oil for deep frying--Approx

water to knead the dough

**this dough is slightly hard and not like chapati so use less water to knead the dough, only if needed as the palak paneer will also be wet enough.

In a bowl, take the flour and semolina and add the dry powders, salt and sugar, add the palak paneer paste and knead into a hard dough . Keep aside for 10 mins.

In a wok, take oil for frying, take only as much as the pooris will immerse, I would say about 2-3 cups of oil, and heat it till it smokes once and then reduce the heat to medium.

Make small round balls of the dough and roll each one out (try rolling like thin cookies). 

Fry each one of them in the hot oil, one at a time. DO not rush and be extremely careful when frying. The ideal way to fry poori's is to slide the poori from one side of the wok. DO Not throw the poori's in the hot oil, the oil will splutter and splash and burn your hands.

Once you slide in the poori in the hot oil, let it puff up from one side, once it puffs up, turn it and let the other side puff up.. once both sides are puffed , drain them on some paper towels to remove excess oil and enjoyy them hot or cold, either ways they are delish.

These make for a quick kids lunch box or picnic food item along the way.

Khekda Bhaji-Onion Fritters

Hello Dearies!!!! What does rain, wind and storms bring to your mind? Do they want you to hide curl under the sheets and wait till the thundering pass, or do they  brighten your thoughts and you sort of look forward for happy family night outs in candle light and sipping hot chai with some fritters? 

People in Ashland are the second type, who make sure to relax after all heads are counted, i.e., everyone is settled at home, the party then starts. Be it snow storm, rain storm, the menu does not change. We make these onion fritters or khekda bhaji( Crab Shaped Fritters), Varan and bhat for dinner. If we are lucky to have power we enjoy a movie, if not we enjoy making shadow shapes with our fingers in candle light; Small things bring great joy.

You will need;
3-4 Onions cut in thin strips
Besan or chick peas flour to coat the onion, approx 2 cup 
1 tbspn fine sooji/rava/Cream of wheat
1Tbspn Red Cayenne pepper powder
1 tspn Haldi/Turmeric
1 Tbspn Coriander powder
1 tbspn Cumin powder
1 tbspn Cilantro chopped    
Salt to taste 
2 cloves Garlic- Optional 
Chat Masala to sprinkle-Optional
Little water to mix the flour
approx 2 cups oil for frying

In a bowl, take the onion and separate the strips as much as possible, salt it well, and keep aside for 10-12 mins. The onions will sweat, add the powders, garlic, and coat the onion well, keep aside for another 10 minutes. After the onions sweats and gives out some liquid, mix in the rava and the besan flour, stir well and let it sit for 5 minutes. Add the cilantro and water if needed. The mixture should be lumpy and not watery. Heat the oil till it smokes, then reduce the heat to medium. Use  a tablespoon to  drop the onion mixture in the hot oil, fry till they get cooked and  a nice brown color. Drain on the paper towel and sprinkle chat masala on them while hot. The fritters can be enjoyed with tomato ketchup or green chutney  or tamarind date chutney.

Whichever way you make and enjoy, stay connected and drop me a line, we are now also on G+.

Experiments with Slow Cooker-Dal Makhani with no Butter no Cream

Hello Dearies!!! I am leaving on  a 10 day vacation. Where you ask?? Watch this space for the fun travel posts later. I am visiting family on the other side of the coast, so very eager to catch the warm and sunny skies. The past few days have been stressful. The last weeks peace was invaded by the school tragedy. I have still not come to terms with what I am feeling, and What I lost!!!!

Such mental state is not doing me any good, as I am not able to focus, am more forgetful than ever. This is a forbidden topic to talk at home specially when Donut is around. He is at that age where his  beliefs and confidence in the world, people in general is shaping up. We keep talking about how we can help improve our school, our friends and most importantly how effective we are as human beings. What difference does our existences make in someones lives? He has started questioning me at an alarming rate of why some of our good friends at one time left us alone when we were facing not so great days? why Mom Why??? What he asked has more than enough answers at my end, but is it needed for him to clutter his mind with this...Live and let live is all I teach him.

Donut loves Punjabi food. This is new for us. His sudden love for spicy and such foods has taken many by surprise. Munchkin is the risk taker when food is involved. Anything with moderate spices and garlic is his forte. Sibling rivalry played  a key role I guess here, that Donut has been begging for at least 3-4 Punjabi menu items over the course of the week. At times its the Palak Cilantro parathas with a paneer gravy or punjabi chole with bhatura or this trusted Dal.  This is a classic Punjabi or north eastern dish that is very popular in most Indian restaurants. No meal in a restaurant is ever complete without this creamy and rich makhani dal. Its the Protein powerhouse. The dals/lentils kidney beans with equal amounts of fat that is essentially to break the complex protein for easy digestion. This is one dish that needs its own sweet time to cook. The slower and longer it cooks, the better it develops. Its also called Maa ki dal to signify a moms patience and love for cooking and feeding her family. Since I belong to  a age where time is always at crunch, I am looking for easy and id possible, no cook recipes.

The new toy in my kitchen(Slow Cooker) has been helping me achieve my lazy target and what pleasure it is if you walk home from work, make rice and the dinner is served. Until, I got the slow cooker, this sort of thing only happened in my dream. I try to cut the fat for everyday meals and as this cooks for 12 + hours after being soaked for 8 hours, it qualifies for a leaner version of the Dal makhani. This is the way I made it in my 1.5 Qt slow cooker.


Makes around 3 cups of dal makhani.

You will need;

1 cup split black gram dal
2 tablespoons Red kidney beans (rajma)
Salt to taste
1 tsp Red chilli powder
2 inch piece Ginger,chopped
1 tbspn Oil
1 tsp ghee
1 tspn Cumin seeds

3 cloves Garlic,chopped

1 Large Onion chopped

Green chillies,slit 2
2 medium Tomatoes,chopped
1 Tspn Garam masala powder
Salt to taste

Wash and soak the rajma and the urad dal in the same vessel of the slow cooker for approx 8 hours. After the dal is well soaked, drain and prepare the tomato-onion masala.

In a wok, take the oil and the ghee, add the cumin, let it sizzle, then add the ginger and the garlic, add the onions and dash of salt. Let the mixture cook for 2 minutes, then ad the tomatoes and cook till the onion and tomato gets mashed well and oil starts separating from the sides. Add this to the soaked dal. Adjust the amount of water. I added water till an inch above the mixture, adjust the salt. add in the red chili powder, Green chillies and the garam masala. Cover with the lid and start the Slow cooker on High for 2 hours. After it boils, set it on Low and forget about it for a good 10/11 hours. Baby sitting a slow cooker is  a frustrating job, you have a life; go on about it. Trust me on that, it takes FOREVER to cook. So don't waste your time thinking about checking it every 30 minutes or so. The end result awaits you in a pleasing way if you learn to ignore it. (Apply this to some people and see the fun). Serve the dal with hot steamed rice or roti or paratha with a dallop of ghee. Enjoy your ride with a winning ticket to taste-heaven.

Peas Flower Potato Stir Fry/Bhaji- Straight from Moms kitchen.

Hello Dearies!! Its officially the end of the year and the winter setting in. The cold air cracks my bones and all I yearn is for some hot and home cooked food. The bitter cold and the short days  make me lazy and put me in no mood to cook. Memories from the past; my moms humble kitchen make its appearance more often than I wish. They do offer solutions and ideas to quickly assemble dinner but they do leave a strong impact on the way my dishes taste poles apart than my moms. I always blame it on the produce we get here. The fruits and veggies from back home always have a fullness in them, the flavors are intact and they do not seem fiddled with. Few memories of my growing up food habits were the hot Phulka with ghee smeared on it from the stove to the plate, at times too hot to handle, stuffed with vegetable of the day with a cup of chai. This was my breakfast most days. We did not have pancake and waffle or even cereal at breakfast with fruit yogurt by the side. Fruit yogurts and parfaits were unknown to our narrow minds. Mixing sugar with yogurt meant only shrikhand and only fruit allowed to mix with yogurt was mango to make amrakhand.

 I make cauliflower bhaji just like how  I remember my Aai making it. Cauliflower was  a regular on our weekly menu. It cooks fast, absorbs any spice you add to it,  can be made into a curry or a stir fry, and is relatively easy on the pocket also. Adding peas and potato to it was just the need of the hour, you have more hungry tummies add another potato, picky eaters add peas. There are many ways to make the Cauliflower bhaji. Today I am bringing you one of the ways it was cooked at my moms home. This is an everyday subji, so the masalas are kept to a minimum. The flavor and taste comes essentially from the curry leaves and green chilies and at times from ginger-garlic. I come from a humble brahmin family where use of eggs and meat was prohibited. My Family was very modern and secular in thoughts and way of living, that we were never forbidden to eat eggs or meat or fish in the name of religion. We were allowed to taste in restaurants and if we liked we were allowed to eat them. It was however not cooked at our home mainly because my mom had no clue on how they need to be prepared, marinaded and cooked. Once I grew up, I got the fish from the fisher women, she showed me how to clean it, marinate it and make delish recipes from it. They say people teach you in many ways if you are willing to learn. All I needed was to tell her how much I loved Fish and she became my teacher. I had friends all over the market, as I started doing the household vegetable shopping from very young age, so when I accompanied my mom, she was amused at how the vendors got different and fresher produce for me from inside the shacks, asked about my studies and school and how they chatted with me like we are old lost friends. She was even treated to a cup of tea by one of the vendors. Its a big thing for all the demand is respect for their work and some care on your part. Mutual respect is a trait that we are slowly forgetting as we move ahead in science and prosperity. The richer we get, more self centered we become. More on that later, Phew!!! Do my rants ever end!!!!

You will need;
1 whole  Head Cauliflower diced into strips
** Use your judgement on the size of the cauliflower and the size of your guests at the dinner table. The measure I am giving are for roughly 2 cups of diced cauliflower
1 Medium Potato Diced
1/2 cup boiled peas
Salt to taste
1 Tbspn Cumin and Coriander powder
Cilantro to garnish

Tempering
2 Tbspn oil
1 tspn Mustard seeds
1 tspn Cumin seeds
1/2 tsp Haldi/Turmeric
1-2 cloves garlic
1/2 inch ginger grated
5-6 curry leaves
2 medium hot green chillies

Take a bigger bowl and immerse the diced cauliflower in salted water to remove dirt and any worms. Drain after 10 mins. Keep aside. In a wok, heat the oil, add the tempering one by one in the same order, after you add the green chilies, add the diced cauliflower, potato and peas and add little water if needed. Cover and let cook for 10-12 minutes. Stir in between to avoid burning. once coked, add the salt and cumin-coriander powder and stir again. Take care as to not mush the florets. This stir fry tastes better if the cauliflowers retain some crunch and the potatoes do not mush. Cook on low to medium heat, and keep stiring in between. Garnish with cilantro and enjoy with some hot phulkas with a dallop of ghee. This was the way my mom served it., this is the way I serve it.

Hara Bhara Kebab- Jain Special, no Onion, no Garlic no Ginger, no Potato

Hello Sweetpeas!!! Happy Diwali and a joyous new year to you all. Diwali and holidays brings a air of peace and joy in the air. We all automatically find time to shop and dress for the events and even deck up our homes. Holidays also means meeting old friends, spending time with them and family reunions. Most Hindu homes also find themselves refraining to cook with onion, ginger and garlic and eat only satvik food, that are comfort foods. My granny uses to lay importance of such foods especially after Diwali time where we hog endlessly on sweets, fired snacks and rich gravy based food. As we all know India is a rich country with its vast culture and many castes and communities. It is believed that the language and food changes every 100kms distance. So true, its always My home its cooked in this way and my village its cooked in this way...each house strongly holds to its recipes, spices and traditions.Since we had a family who practices Jain Religion and adopts their food habits, we  had to accommodate the special food restriction for them. One such religion is the Jain religion where no food is consumes that is grown below the earth like roots, potatoes, yams and such, this would also include onion, garlic and ginger.

 As per Wiki; Jainism 
is an Indian religion that prescribes a path of non-violence towards all living beings. Its philosophy and practice emphasize the necessity of self-effort to move the soul toward divine consciousness and liberation. Any soul that has conquered its own inner enemies and achieved the state of supreme being is called a jina ("conqueror" or "victor"). The ultimate status of these perfect souls is called siddha. Ancient texts also refer to Jainism as shramana dharma (self-reliant) or the "path of the nirganthas" (those without attachments or aversions).

Each religion has its norms and suggested food habits. Hinduism relies strongly on principles based on Ayurveda which emphasis on consuming all senses of taste in our food, sweet salty, sour and spicy each has a job to play in our mood, digestion and well being. Food is like a language that we speak differently yet communicate well beyond set national boundaries and walls.  

For Potlucks, we try and please everyone by making some dishes that are essentially Jain recipes meaning no onion, no potato, no garlic.  I was allotted the appetizer part of the dinner menu. Now if you know me, I am handicapped if I have to cook with no potatoes, no garlic and no onion. I always use these specially for the appetizers. I troubled my trusted blogger friends Manasi of Cook @Heart and Neelam of Kanes Coop for ideas. They gave me multiple options, making me think of how lucky I am to be around such amazing chefs. Only if I was half as talented as these girls. I take time to plan, sort and  weigh my options. They work like a light bulb spreading light at the switch of the button.

I decided to take 2 appetizers for a crowd of about 10 adults and 6 kids. Since I was bringing along store brought Spring rolls, that all our kids love, I decided to do a onion/garlic free appetizer. This Hara bhara kebab is truly a keepsake recipe and believe me, it is fast to make as no deep frying and no need of boiling potatoes and grating ginger and garlic is called for. I liked Sanjeev Kapoor's recipe better than Tarla Dallal except for the fact that he used boiled potatoes for binding. So I combined the two recipes and  used the ingredients form both of them as per my need. The taste and the texture was to die for. The kebabs tasted light and mildly spiced making it great  as a starter and yet not filling our tummies as to not indulge in heavenly dinner spread.So the next Potluck you are invited to or any starter that you may need, don't look back, make and enjoy these kebabs.

You will need;
1 cup chopped blanched spinach,  drained
1 cup green peas boiled for 3 mins in microwave
1/2 cup boiled drained, chana dal/ Gram Dal/lentil
 ** To make the chana dal, take the 1/2 cup dal with enough water and pressure cook til AL-dente and once the pressure cools off, drain and remove the water as much as possible.
1/2 cup bread crumbs
5-6 sprigs Basil
2 tspn sesame seeds
2 tspn Amchur/Dry mango powder
1 tsp Coriander powder
2 tsp Jeera /Cumin Powder
1 tsp Garam Masala
1 tsp Red Cayenne  Chili Powder
Salt to taste
Oil to fry 

In a mini chopper, chop the boiled spinach and peas, alongwith the boiled drained chana dal and pulse it a few times to incorporate an even mixing..

Take the mixed spinach and green peas with the dal mixtures and add the sesame seeds, bread crumbs, basil, spices powder and adjust salt. In a shallow fry pan, grease the pan well, and fry the kebabs of the mixture. I needed to make uniform kebabs so I opted to make them in a cookie cutter and shallow fry them. But you can also deep fry them, but the bread crumbs soak a lot of  the oil and make it not so healthy.

Aloo Paratha-Spcied Potato Flat Bread

 Hello Sweeties!! Today I bring to you from my kitchen hot hot aloo paratha. My kids swear by these and till recently I heard my younger Munchkin explain his friend that his mom cannot make aloo paratha and how lucky his friend is to enjoy them at home. It is an all time favorite and  you would seriously doubt if they are born in maharashtrain homes  for all they love is spicy punjabi food. The same levels of spice bothers them and they run with open mouths on fire with marathi food, but bring on tangy chole and spicy  parathas, and there is nothing but absolute bliss on their faces. I messed up many times on aloo parathas. every few weeks I make up my mind and gather all courage to make them for my kids. I follow the recipe to the T, change the type of potatoes every now and then, to see if there is a problem with the starch, but hell no, nothing ever comes to calling it a an aloo paratha. Most often it gets changed to making patties or batata wada. I even consoled myself that not all things are easy for all, I can make most difficult dishes so not being able to roll out a simple aloo paratha does not make me less. But all these thoughts changed yesterday when I rolled out not one but 7-8 parathas with ease and no hassle. The buns for burgers were also ready  just in case I messed up and goofed again. Always have a  'Plan B' when dinner is a short notice away. Hopefully the jinx is lifted and my donuts will be able to enjoy the aloo aprathas at their homes too now.


 For the stuffing;
2 medium boiled potato mashed
1 tspn crushed garlic
1 tspn red Chili/Cayenne powder
1 tspn Cilantro chopped
salt to taste
1tspn Garam masala

Mix the potato, garlic, cilantro, garam masala, red chili/cayenne powder and salt,  to make it into a soft pliable dough. Keep aside.

 For cover;
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 tspn salt
1 tbspn oil
water as needed to knead into a soft dough

In a bowl, mix the oil and salt and water and knead into a soft pliable dough.


Making the parathas,
1. Make equal size balls of the cover and stuffing
2. Roll a small round of the cover and put the stuffing in it and fold from all sides and roll that in some flour, dust the rolling surface with some flour and
3. Roll into a small round roti or paratha.

Heat a pan/skillet/tawa and roast it on both sides applying little oil or ghee on it . When it gets cooked, serve with yogurt/pickle/ketchup or sour cream., salad or just enjoy these with hot chai.

Shev Batata Puri

Hello dearies, So are you ready with the 2 chutneys that we made earlier. Great, now we are set to make the shev batata poori and the en-number of tasty chaats and mouth watering treats by mixing and changing few ingredients. We will make bhel, pani poori and even dahi ragda poori in the coming posts. so now lets get started. A quick recap of the 2 star chutneys before we get to making shev batat poori.

Green Chutney- Mint chutney

You will need;

2-cups of fresh washed cilantro leaves

1 cup Fresh Mint leaves

2-3 green chilies

2 tspn jeera/cumin seeds

Salt to taste

1 Tbspn Lime Juice

2 Tbspn oil

water as needed for grinding into a thick paste

In a grinder/food processor take all of the above cilantro, chili, cumin, lime juice and salt and take little water enough to grind it into a thick paste, grind it and when storing add the oil and mix well. The oil along with the lime juice prevents the cilantro from turning black and increases the shelf life. Store in a refrigerator, it would stay good for about 7-10 days.

Dates-Tamarind Chutney-Mithi/Sweet chutney

You will need;
1 cup dates soaked in 1/2 cup water
2tbspn tamarind Concnetrate-Tamicon
1 cup water
1/2 cup jaggery or 3 tbspn Brown Sugar
1 tbspn Roasted Cumin powder
1 tspn Cayenne pepper powder
Salt to taste

Grind the soaked dates and the tamarind pulp together to get a nice smooth mixture. Take this mixture mixed with 1 cup water in a deep saucepan, and heat over medium, to this add the jaggery, the cumin powder and the cayenne powder and salt, Keep Stirring till the mixture gets coked and sticky and starts to gather and froth near the spoon. The Chutney is ready. Switch off the stove and cool down. Once cool, fill in the sterile glass jar and store in a refrigerator.

To Assemble the sev puri's,
You will need;
 Boiled poato, mashed
onion finely chopped
green chutney
Date Chutney
Fine Shev
Lightly cooked Moong Sprouts
Chat Masala to sprinkle
Store Brought poori';s

In a plate arrange the store brought poori. Break the poori to make a small opening. add in the boiled potato mash, lightly boiled moong sprouts, onion and the 2 chutneys. sprinkle the fine shev over the pooris along with   little chat masala. Enjoy the Shev batta poori anytime of the day or the night or even for breakfast.