tried & tested recipes

 Pumpkin/ Lal kaddu /Lal Bhopla is a familiar vegetable for all of us. Actually I had made this post for RCI, but could not post it.These puris are a favorite with my family.

The best part is, these puris can be carried  while travelling. they don’t get spoilt.  But mine don’t last that long as they finish the moment I make them.They taste superb when hot.

INGREDIENTS-

1 cup grated pumpkin

Wheat flour approximately 1 cup

1 tsp pure ghee

1/2 cup jaggery

2 tsp oil

pinch of salt

A pinch of cardamom powder 

oil for deep frying

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Heat 1 tsp ghee in a pan, add the grated pumpkin stir and cover with a lid.

After the pumpkin softens and is cooked add the jaggery and mix well.

Let the mixture cook till most of the moisture dries up. Add the cardamom powder.

Do not over cook.

Add 2 tsp oil and a pinch of salt to the pumpkin mixture.

Let the mixture cool. Add the wheat flour a little at a time to make a stiff dough. Do not add water.

Cover and let it rest for sometime.

Divide the dough in small portions. Roll each portion into a big circle .It should be rolled slightly thick.

With a cookie cutter cut rounds and deep fry in medium hot oil.

Store when they are cool.

Sorry for the last minute entry Sharmi. I hope I make it in time.

This recipe is adapted from Tarla Dalal’s recipe.

Pour 2 Table spoon orange squash in a tall glass. Fill it up with Limca or any lemon flavoured fizz drink. Add one table spoon of vanilla ice cream and stir. Be careful the whole thing rise up.

Add chopped fruits. Serve chilled.

This is my entry for AFAM hosted by Sharmi of Neivedyam.

First of all I wish to thank Lakshmi of VeggieCuisine  for starting this wonderful event and Nupur of One Hot Stove for hosting this event for the month of June. 

This is my last entry for RCI. 

 Both the recipes are typical of Maharashtrian cuisine. Lasnichi chutney is  a dry garlic  chutney  which  can be safely stored outside, does not require referigeration.  It is eaten with  meals or snacks like Batata wada/ Vada Pav.Those who love garlic will love this chutney.

Varadhi Gravy is Chef Vishnu Manohar’s recipe, he showed on ETV Marathi. Making and storing gravies is not part of Maharashtrian cuisine. 

With our busy schedules this gravy comes in handy.This gravy can be used as a gravy for any vegetable, or can be used as stuffing for vegetables, or can be eaten as it is.

I have never frozen this gravy , but I feel it should not be a problem.

LASNICHI CHUTNEY-( recipe from Ruchira)

INGREDIENTS- 

1 cup grated dry coconut

10 cloves garlic

2 tsp red chilli powder

1 Table sp Roasted peanut ( powdered) 

Salt to taste

1” piece tamarind dry and NOT soaked  (OPTIONAL)

Sugar to taste (OPTIONAL)

METHOD-

Lightly dry roast the grated coconut only.

Mix all the ingredients ,coconut, garlic cloves, chilli powder ,peanut powder,salt, tamarind, sugar,and pound it or blend it coarsely in a grinder.

Store it in an air tight jar. 

 VARHADHI  GRAVY

 Ingredients

3 large onions

2 tea sp  ginger garlic paste

3 Table sp oil

1 -2 Table sp  thick Tamarind pulp 

A small piece jaggery

1 tea sp  goda masala/ or garam masala

1 tea sp  red chilli powder 

Fresh coriander leaves for garnishing

FOR PHODNI/TADKA -1/2 tsp rai ,1/2 tsp hing 1/2 tsp haldi.

TO BE ROASTED AND POWDERED

2 tea sp Til /sesame seeds

2 tea sp Jeera  /cummin seeds

2 tea sp  roasted peanuts ( skin removed)

2 tea sp khus khus

2 tea sp grated Dry Coconut

2 tea sp coriander seeds

Method–

Roast the til  for one to two minutes on slow fire , add jeera roast  for another minute.Keep adding the ingredients in the sequence given above. Roast every thing so that you get a nice aroma and coconut turns golden brown.

Cool and powder it in the grinder.

Cut onions finely or grate them.

Heat oil and add rai , ginger garlic paste, hing . saute for 1 -2 minutes.

Add onions, sprinkle salt and  saute till onoins become pale golden in colour.

Add the roasted powder , chilli powder, haldi,  salt , tamarind pulp, jaggery  , and some water to make it to gravy like consistency. Cook till oil separates and rises up.

Adjust seasonings , tamarind pulp and jaggery to your taste.

Garnish with fresh coriander leaves.

Cool and store in the fridge / freeze or use it straight away .

HOW TO USE THIS GRAVY

1.To prepare  a curry-

Saute any vegetable or combination of vegetables  in a little oil till cooked add the gravy and water if required. Check the seasonings. You can add steamed vegetables too.

2.You can use it to stuff any vegetable.

3.Eat it as it is with bhakri or roti if you are in no mood to  cook. 

The name of the dish may sound stylish but it is made from all left overs. I had some left over idlis, wanted to convert them into upma, but then I remembered The Cookers Waffled Idlis !

Her waffled idlis inspired me to grill these left over idlis in my sandwich maker, so that they got the same golden check look.

I slit both the idlis into two halves.

First Idli- I put some left over potato sabzi and garlic chutney(I will be giving the recipe in the next post) on one side of the idli. Then covered it with the second half.

Second Idli– I put some grated cheese, some finely cut green chilis, crushed black pepper, finely cut coriander leaves.Covered this with the second half piece of idli.

Dribbled the grill plate with some oil. Placed the idlis on it. Dribbled some drops of oil on the top side of the idli, and closed the sandwich maker lightly. Grilled till they were golden and crisp.

Serve with tomato sauce or chutney.

This is my entry for WBB-12 a popular event started by Nandita and now hosted by Trupti.

The theme for Monthly Blog Patrolling MBP June is ‘Going Lite ‘ conducted by Coffee.

This month I took the theme too seriously with a record break of making four lite recipes from my blogger friends.After last month’s waist bulging recipes it was fun making these lite recipes.

RICHA’S Misal was so tasty with all the chutneys and farsan. It was a meal and yet a chat item. We had it with sandwiches instead of Pav to make a meal.

I followed her recipe , it is perfect.

SIA’S Grilled Vegetables were again tasty and healthy. But I think I over grilled them that made them limp.

But Sia’s vegees are looking just right, with lovely presentation.

BHARATHY’S Sambhar was really yummy ! We had it with rice.

This is the first time my sambhar tasted like sambhar.

Her sambhar recipe is flawless plus it does not require fresh coconut etc, just the basic ingredients.

She gave the recipe of sambhar podi too .So I followed both the recipes ( sambhar podi and sambhar) to get this delicious sambhar.

ANITA’S Matar Kulche were again too tasty and chatpata and yet oil free. Her recipe is very easy to make .

I got kulche from the stores and it was a filling meal for us.

So Coffee what is next month’s theme ? You have managed to control our weight , thanx :))

Fasting is a ritual followed all over India. Every state has its own specific fasting foods.

In Maharashtra too certain food items are allowed during fasts. In vegetables preparation made from potato , lady’s finger, red pumpkin, suran (yam), sweet potato , cucumber, lemon are consumed.

Green chillis and fresh coriander can also be used. Curry leaves are not used

Roasted peanut powder is an integral part of our fasting food.It is added in almost all the dishes.

Milk and curds are used too .

Rajgira, Sabudana, Variche tandul ( vrat ke chawal as they call in North India ) make up the main meal.

Cooking medium is pure ghee, oil is avoided .

Yesterday I saw Trupti’s post on Vari che Tandul, a fasting food recipe. This reminded me that I had not made this dish for long. Like I had said earlier in my previous post there is some magic in her post. This time again I headed towards the kitchen to make that dish.I did not stop here I also made Potato bhaji (fasting), and Cucumber koshimbir to compliment Vari che Tandul

So this was our dinner last night.

For VARI CHE TANDUL RECIPE click HERE.

POTATO BHAJI -For Fasting

2 big potatoes or (250-300 gms potatoes) Boiled peeled and cubed.

2 tsp ghee ( you can use less )

1/2 tsp jeera /cuminseeds

2 green chilis slit or chopped

2 Tbsp roasted peanut powder

fresh coriander leaves

1/2 tsp red chilli powder (optional)

1 Tbsp lime juice.

salt to taste

METHOD-

Heat ghee, add jeera. Once the jeera changes colour add green chillis , boiled cubed potatoes, salt, red chilli powder, fresh coriander leaves. Saute for few mintutes. Add lime juice and mix well and serve hot with Vari Che Tandul.

KAKDI CHI KOSHIMBIR ( Cucumber raita for fasting)

Firstly remove extra water from finely chopped cucumber.

Mix together 1 cup of chopped cucumber with 1 cup thick fresh curds, salt and sugar to taste.

Add 1 green chilli finely chopped or slit, some fresh coriander leaves, 1 Tbsp roasted peanut powder.Mix and chill.

You can make this without curds too.

Substitute the curds for Lemon juice around 1Tbsp juice and accordingly adjust the sugar.

How to make roasted peanut powder-

Microwave a handful of peanuts for 2 minutes. Cool, remove the skin and powder coarsely.

For short cut take ready made salted peanuts without skin and powder.

RCI was first started by Lakshmi of Veggie cuisine, and now it is guest hosted by Nupur of One Hot Stove .

This is my second entry for RCI.

This is my first entry for RCI-June Maharastrian Cuisine kindly hosted by Nupur. (One Hot Stove)
This event was initially started by Lakshmi. (Veggie Cuisine).

Gole Bhat and Kadhi also means Gatte Rice with Kadhi (besan dumplings with rice and kadhi)

This rice preparation is a speciality from Nagpur region (Vidarbha).

This region being away from the coastal area, and to the interior and north of Maharashtra has its own distinctive cuisine known as Varadhi cuisine.

Distinguishing feature of Varadhi cuisine is the use of dry coconut , peanuts , tamarind , jaggery in dals and curries. Also the use of besan ( bengal gram flour) is prominent.

Another feature of this cuisine is the use of raw peanut oil or tadka/ phodni made from peanut oil.

The tadka/tempering consists of heating some peanut oil, adding whole red chillis , some garlic cloves, rai (mustard seeds) and hing.

This hot tadka/phodni is poured liberally over the finished dish as a final garnish on dals , rice , green leafy vegetables (patal bhaji) etc

Like Goley bhat there are two more types of rice preparations eaten Vada bhat ,and Bhajji bhat.

In vada bhat lentil vadas are crushed and mixed with plain rice and in Bhajji bhat besan bhajjias are crushed and mixed with plain rice.

All these rice dishes are incomplete without the final sizzling phodni mentioned above.

INGREDIENTS FOR GOLEY BHAT-

1 cup basmati rice

3/4 cup besan (bengal gram flour)

salt to taste

1/2 tsp red chill powder

3/4 tsp coriander seed powder , 1/2 tsp jeera powder

a pinch of ajwain

3-4 Tbsp oil

1/2 tsp hing and 1/2 tsp haldi

lime juice-1tsp

fresh coriander leaves

For tadka -

6-7 Tbsp oil for phodni /tadka to be poured finally on the top of cooked rice .

1/2 tsp mustard seeds, 1/4 tsp hing

2-3 whole dry red chillis

5=6 cloves garlic peeled

METHOD_

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Wash and soak the rice for half an hour.

Heat 3 Tbsp oil add pinch hing and 1/4 tsp haldi . Add the besan and roast it slightly.

Remove from fire add the red chilli powder, coriander and jeera powder, salt to taste, fresh coriander leaves and pinch of ajwain .

Sprinkle some water and lightly bind the besan. Make small dumplings from the besan and keep aside.

RICE-

Heat 1Tbsp oil add 1/4 tsp hing and 1/4 tsp haldi . Add the drained rice and roast for few minutes. Add 2 and 1/4 cup of hot water over the rice.Add lime juice and salt to taste.

When the rice is half cooked, put the gatte/goley in the rice and cover with a lid.

TO PREPARE THE PHODNI /TADKA-

Prepare the phodni at the time of serving.

Heat the oil, add rai ( mustard seeds).

When the rai splutters add the hing, garlic cloves, and whole red chillis.

Let the garlic turn light golden . Remove from fire and immediately pour on the crushed gatte and rice.

KADHI-

INGREDIENTS-

2 cups curds

2 tsp besan ( bengal gram flour )

2 tsp Sugar ( or according to taste) and salt to taste

1/2 ” crushed ginger

Fresh coriander leaves for Garnish.

FOR THE TADKA-

1 tsp ghee

1/4 tsp methi seeds

!/2 tsp jeera

small piece 1/2” cinnamon

Few curry leaves 2 green chilli slit

A pinch haldi/turmeric powder (optional)

METHOD-

Add 1 Tbsp of water to the besan to make a smooth paste.

Add this paste to the curd, and beat well.

Add approximately 2 cups of water to the curd mixture and mix well.

Add crushed ginger.

Make the tadka by heating ghee, add jeera.

When the jeera changes colour add the hing , curry leaves,green chillis and lastly cinnamon.

Also you can add a pinch haldi (optional) .

Pour this tadka over the Kadhi.

Boil the Kadhi stirring all the while. Then add sugar and salt to taste.

Serve hot garnished with fresh coriander leaves.

HOW TO SERVE GOLEY BHAT-

Take some rice along with gatte/goley. break the goley. Pour sizzling Tadka over the rice and goley . Now eat it with hot Kadhi.