Laapsi porridge

This is a healthy dish as it has no milk .It can be called a water payasam.My mom makes this once in awhile for breakfast.It is quick & easy.Ingredients are few.

Ingredients : 1 cup laapsi rawa( use finer variety as it will cook faster ) ,1 tbsp ghee( optional ) ,1 cup jaggery, 1 /2 tsp cardamom powder,a few dry fruits  chopped  to garnish.

Method : Take a thick bottomed kadhai.Put the laapsi  & 3 cups  water in it.Mix nicely.Warm the kadhai by putting the gas on.Keep stirring with a spoon so that it does not stick to bottom.Always keep gas burner on slow mode.Slowly laapsi will get cooked.After 15 minutes or so add jaggery & mix nicely.Slowly jaggery will melt due to the heat.After Keep stirring with spoon so that no lumps of jaggery remain.After 10 minutes,all will have got alight brown colour.If you feel that it is very thick,add some water & mix nicely.Let it simmer for some more time.Put off gas.Add cardamom powder & mix nicely.Serve in bowls.Garnish with grated dry fruits like almonds ,cashews etc.

Add a tsp of spoon on the top if desired. If no ghee is added,this is a vegan dish.

Sprouted lentils usal

Lentils when sprouted are healthier.Mixed lentil sprouts can be made into usal or sprouts curry.This can be made watery or thick.Watery usal will go great with rice.This usal will be an excellent side dish to chapptis,puris,etal.Usal pav or misal pav  is a popular Mumbai or better still,a Maharashtrian street fare.Misal is usal which has been granished with liberal sprinkling of farsan like sev, chuda, namkeen ( chickpea flour or besan  flour savouries in numerous forms ).

Any of the lentils can be used.Since ,I had moong,amtki,chawli & white peas at home,I ued them.Even black chana,white kabuli chana,kala vattana,etc can be used.

Ingredients : 1.5 cup mixed lentils soaked overnight,for 1 night & then sprouted for 1 day in a cloth tied into knot or sprouted in the sprout container,1 medium onion finely chopped,1 medium tomato finely chopped,1 small carrot peeled & grated( optional ),1/2 red capsicum finely chopped,1/2 yellow capsicum finely chopped, a bunch of fresh coriander leaves cleaned & finely chopped, juice of half a lemon,1/2 piece ginger cleaned & grated,1 green chilli finely chopped, 1/2 tsp haldi,1/2 tsp hing,1tsp mustard seeds,1 tsp sambhar powder,1 tsp rasam powder,1 tbsp oil,salt to taste.


Method : Pressure cook on high flame, the sprouted mixed lentils for 2 whistles.Then lower down the flame & cook for 5-10 more minutes.Put off the gas.Keep aside.

Take a kadhai .Heat oil in kadhai.Add mustard seeds.After they splutter,add the chopped green chilli piecesfollowed by the haldi & hing.Now add the pressure cooked lentils to the kadhai.Mix all nicely.Add sambhar & rasam powder .Mix all the ingredients in the kadahi.The lentil mixture will be boiling now Add salt & mix nicely.Pleas see the water content .If you feel it is too watery ,let it boil for more time till it gives a a consistency desired.If water is too less ,add some water & let it simmer so that all is nicely mixed.Put off the gas.Add lemon juice & mix nicely .

Serve usal in bowls.Garnish with fresh veggies finely chopped.Top the fresh veggies with finely chopped dhania..Serve with chappatis or rice.

We had it just like that for a protein rich  breakfast !

Carrot salad

My mom is very partial to this salad or gajri ( Kannada for carrot ) kosambri ( salad ).Only a seasoning has to be added to grated carrots along with salt & it is ready ! Amma makes this as an accompaniment to methi theplas.

Ingredients : 3 medium sized carrots...peeled & grated,1 tbsp oil,1/4 tsp cumin,1/4 tsp mustard,1/8 tsp haldi,1/4 tsp hing,1 byadgi red chilli broken into 2-3 pieces,1 green chilli finely chopped, a few curry leaves,salt to taste.

For garnish : 2  tbsp cleaned,washed & chopped coriander leaves,2 tbsp fresh grated coconut( optional ).

Method : Take a kadhai & heat oil.Add mustard seeds.After mustard seeds pop up ,add cumin followed by urad dal.As urda dla turns golden brown in colour,add curry leaves & green chilli pieces.Put off gas.Add byadgi mirchi.Add hing & haldi.Mix all this with a spoon.Add this to grated carrots in a bowl.Mix nicely Add salt.Mix nicely so that salt gets evenly distributed.

Garnish with chopped dhania & fresh coconut.Serve with methi theplas and or any pulao,biryani, et al  !

Beetroot carrot cake

When I was new to baking ,I had come across a  beetroot carrot cake.I tried it & I had messed it up.Now,that  I have  some what honed up my baking skills,I wanted to give it another try.I failed to get hold of that earlier recipe on the net.I saw & read some.I decided to do it myself as some had one fruit too many & others had very huge measurements.

Ingredients : 1.5 Cups multigrain atta ( I used Pillsburry ) ,1/2 + 1/3 cup brown grainy sugar( I get 1 under brand name Sunehra.... it is just like refined white sugar...except that colour is brown  in Sahakari Bhandar at BARC colony ,Mumbai) ,1/4 cup oil,1/4 cup dahi,1/4 cup apple sauce,1.5 cups grated beetroot & carrot mix,3/4 tsp baking soda,3/4 tsp baking powder,a pinch of salt.

Method : Chop an apple into two & pressure cook it for 1 whistle.After the cooker has cooled,puree the apple after removing the skin & seeds.Keep aside.

Take a vessel & put all dry ingredients .....multi grain atta,baking soda,baking powder & salt .Mix nicely.Keep aside.

In another vessel,mix all liquid ingredients ...oil,grated beetroot carrot mix,apple puree,dahi,oil .Add sugar.Mix nicely.

Make a well in the dry ingredient mix & pour the liquid mix into it.Whisk with a spoon so that no lumps remain.The cake batter thus ready must have drop down consistency.Add water if the batter is very thick. Keep aside.

Line the bottom of a a   microwaveable vessel with butter paper .Pour the cake batter into it.Microwave for 10 minutes.Put off the microwave.Let it cool for 10 minutes..Insert a knife in the middle of the cake.If knife comes out clean ,it is done.If not,microwave for 1-2 minutes more.Cool & check again.

Keep the cake out side for 10-15 minutes.Put it upside down on to a plate.Remove the butter paper .Cut the cake into desired shapes & serve.

Ragda patties

I keep searching for recipes on the net  which I can try.I chanced to see the ragda patties recipe & thought why not try it ? I tried it & found it quite easy to replicate.

Ingredients for Ragda  : 1 cup white vatana ( peas ) soaked overnight,1/2 tsp turmeric,1/2 tsp hing,1 tbsp oil,1/2 tsp red chilli powder,1/2 tsp dhania jeera powder,salt to taste.

Ingredients for garnish : a bunch of fresh dhania cleaned & finely chopped,1 cup thin sev ( available in market ) ,1-2 onions finely chopped.

Method : Pressure cook the white peas in 3 cups water for 3-4 whistles.After the 4th whistle ,slow down the gas . Keep the cooker on slow flame for 5 minutes.Put off the gas.Let the cooker cool.

In the meanwhile make the green chutni as given in sandwich dhokla recipe .Make kahjur chtni as in Sev puri recipe .

Patties can be aloo tikkis or vegetable tikkis ( opt out of using beet root as beet root will colour the tikkis a deep pink, which kids may not eat ).

After cooker has cooled,remove the ragda from the cooker.In avessel ,heat 1 tbsp oil.Add dhana jeera powder followed by red chilli powder.Pour the mashed ragda onto the spice mixture .Mix nicely Bring this ragda -spice mixture to boil.Add salt.Mix.Put off the gas.Keep aside.

Take 2 patties on to a plate.Pour 1/4 cup of ragda mix on top of the patties.Now put 1 tsp each of green chutni & khajur chutni on top of the ragda on the patties.Put chopped onions on top of the chtuni followed by the sev & top it up with freshly choppped dhania..This is quite a heavy chaat & fills tummies fast !

As seen from snap,I did not have thin nylon sev.I got some bhujia sev which was available nearby.I felt that my ragda was not mashy enough ( like thick tur dal consitency ) ...next time on ,I will cook it more till it has more even consitency & post new pictures !

Rasgullas

I simply love rasgullas ! Recently I learnt that rasgullas are full of protein ! Hence ,I am elated.Moreover ,the rasgulla syrup is less dense in sugar than that of gulabjamuns ! So many positive points ! No oil is used in making rasgullas ! So fat free,low sugar & protein rich !

I searched for recipes & came across two which I combined & made rasgullas.The two recipes I picked up are rasgulla recipe at LiteBite   & Divya's rasgulla recipe These  recipes are so easy that my love for rasgullas has multiplied many times over !

Ingredients : 1/2 litre low fat milk ( I get Amul Taaza Milky Milk with 3 % fat minimum & S.N.F.8.5% minimum ),1/2 cup sugar,2 -3 tbsp dahi,1/2 tsp cardamom powder( optional ), 1 tsp ghee to grease palms to make rasgulla loddoos.

Method :Open the milk packet & pour the milk into the container.Boil the milk.After it has boiled,slow the burner to sim or slow.Now add 2-3 tbsp dahi & keep stirring the milk.Milk will start curdling.Let it continue.Keep stirring & simmering the milk on the gas for 10 minutes.Switch off the gas.By this time ,the clear water ( whey ) of the milk & milk solids would have seperated.

Collect the milk solids onto a thin & large  cotton cloth piece.Collect all the milk solids on to the cloth.Then tie up the loose ends of the cloth into a knot tightly.This is to squeeze out all the remaining water from the milk solids. Hang the cloth from a hook .Better on the cloth knot,put some vessel which has weight so that it helps in squeezing out water.Rub some ice on the part of the cloth which contains the milk solids.Keep rubbing ice for 5 minutes.Keep aside the milk solids in the cloth knot for half an hour.

After half an hour,remove the milk solids which would have formed a mass of white colour from the cloth.This is cottage cheese or channa. Knead this mass nicely for about ten minutes till no lumps remain.It will become very soft after kneading for 10 minutes.Apply a little ghee to the palms & make small balls out of the channa. Repeat the process to make more balls till all channa gets over.Keep aside.

In a vessel take 1/2 cup sugar.Add 1 cup water .Boil till, all sugar dissolves. Cardammom powder can be added while it is boiling.Put off the gas.

Drop the channa balls into the sugar syrup.Take a pressure cooker & put the vessel containing channa balls in sugar syrup in the cooker.Pressure cook till 1 whistle.Then lower the gas & cook for 5 minutes on slow .Put off the gas.I released the pressure after this step by slowly lifting the whistle .Then after the cooker's whistle almost went away,I removed the whistle.

Then remove the lid of pressure cooker.Take out the vessel containing rasgullas & keep it in a bigger vessel containing some water to cool off.

After an hour or so ,one can relish the rasgullas !

Next time on ,I am just going to let the cooker cool on its own, without releasing the pressure by lifting up the whistle.It is so much effort ! Maybe ,rasgullas will become more juicy ,then !

Pineapple raita

I love raitas.They rarely need cooking .So ,they are ready in a jiffy ! I cam across pineapple raita  in restaurants & was hooked.

Nowadays as I have become lazy & tend to stay at home,I try recipes to bring in variety.So I got pineapple slices available at a street fruit seller.It is priced at Rs 10/ only for 5 slices & decided to make this raita.

Ingredients : 5-10  pineapple slices roundly cut,1/2 tsp  cumin seeds ,1/2 tsp red chilli powder,1/2 cup yoghurt,salt to taste.

Method : Roughly chop the pineapple slices into chunks.Keep aside.Take yoghurt & whip so that it becomes like cream.Add salt & mix nicely.

Add the chopped pineapple chunks into the dahi.Mix nicely.Keep aside.

Dry roast cumin seeds on tawa on low flame for 1-2 minutes.Let it cool.Roughly powder them with a pestle.Sprinkle this powder on the pineapple dahi mix.Sprinkle red chilli powder on the raita as well.Enjoy with pulav,roti Or just by itself !

This is a sweet-tangy raita ! And immensely popular !