Home made Goatmilk Lavender Soap

 

Hello Dearies!!! I am like most crafty girls. Anything new I see my friends doing, I Need to know how and what they did. Creating with my hands de-stresses me like no spa can. I mean I like pampering and all that comes along with it, a sap day out, with friends and then chit chat with snacks is my dream day. But with busy jobs and hectic life, such things are a dream for few of us. I saw my friend N do these soaps. I simply awed at her skills, the bar of soap never looked so pure and unique. A weekend trip to Amish Village in PA, USA also added insult to injury when I saw the homemade soaps they were selling for $3 each. The stuff used for flavoring and scent were our daily spices and oils. There were clove oil soaps along with some peppermint soaps. I have few of these oils in my pantry for various reasons like some old medicinal uses. Indian homes believe strongly in home remedies. Clove oil is recommended for toothache and eucalyptus oil for cold and sinus.
The wonderful world of soap looked too good to miss out. So I visited my local arts and crafts supply store. With my 40% weekly store coupon, I came back with the goat milk base and the mold. I had few essential oils and olive oil at home. My SIL had gifted me the aromatherapy oil set with the guide book, and the bottles.

I am all set. The wonder never ceases as I can mix and change according to my mood and fancy. Its as easy as 1-2 -3. Video link for melt and pour.
1- Melt
2- Add and stir
3. Pour and set in molds.

This batch I made is of lavender oil and cedarwood oil. Next batch is likely to be with lavender oil and Shea butter along with some sesame oil. Wish me luck and join me in this wonderful world of home made soap. The options and combinations are endless. If I get good feedback from the free samples I am giving away;  I can even do a small giveaway around Diwali time. So stick around to enjoy a piece of my craft.

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.