Sandwich dhokla

I have become quite adept at making dhoklas - white as also yellow.So ,the next step is to make sandwich dhokla.I tried it once & though it was fine,the sandwich pieces kept coming apart.This is my second attempt. I was partly successful. I am posting this, so that may many get awed by my growing culinary skills.

Ingredients :

For white dhokla :1/3  idli or dosa batter,1/3 cup dahi ,1/4 tsp hing,1tsp oil,1/8 tsp black pepper powder,1/2 sachet of  eno fruit salt,salt to taste.

For yellow dhokla:1/4 cup besan,1/4 cup rava or sooji,1/4 cup idli or dosa batter,1/4 cup dahi,1/4 tsp haldi,1/4 tsp hing,1 green chilli finely chopped ,1/4 inch grated ginger,1tsp oil,1/2 sachet  eno fruit salt,salt to taste.

For green chutney : A bunch of hara dhania( fresh coriander),1 green chilli,1/4 piece of ginger,2 tbsp dry roasted peanut powder or 2 tbsp daalia or roasted gram ( roasted chana with skin removed )   ,1 tsp lemon juice,1 tsp cumin seeds,salt to taste.

For vagar : 1 tbsp oil,1/2 tsp mustard seeds,1/4 tsp hing,1/2 tsp white sesame seeds,few kadi patta.

Method : Soak  white & yellow dhokla batters in the night by mixing the batter with dahi & oil and batter with besan ,rava ,dahi & oil respectively..Both the batters must have drop down consistency or in other words idli batter consistency.Keep them both overnight.

In the morning ,add the grated ginger & finely chopped green chillies,black  pepper powder salt ,hing & haldi to the respective batters.Remember to add haldi only for the yellow dhokla batter.No haldi for white dhokla. Keep aside.

For chutney,grind together  wash & finely chop  hara dhania & green chilly..In the mixer, add the dry roasted peanut powder,finely chopped hara dhania,grated ginger,green chilly,jeera ( cumin ) ,salt & lemon juice.Blend all nicely into a paste.

Now, take a flat vessel with sufficient height for sides so that the dhokla does not spill.Grease the inside of the vessel with oil.

Take cooked & put sufficient water into it-nearly 1 inch.Put the gas on so that the water in the cooker gets  boiling .Keep a stand in the cooker so that the dhokla vessel can be kept on that.

I wanted white dhokla at bottom of sandwich.So take white dhokla batter.Add eno in little water .It will froth.Immediately add it to white dhokla batter & mix.Pour this into the greased vessel.See if the water in the cooker is boiling.Now keep the vessel on the stand.Close the cooker lid & let it steam for 3-4  minutes.

Put off the cooker.Let it cool for 5-10 minutes.Remove lid & take out vessel.

Take chutney & spread it evening on the white dhokla batter which has partly cooked .Spread chutney evenly all over the surface of the white dhokla.Meanwhile add eno water mix to yellow dhokla batter & mix.Pour the yellow dhokla batter on to the chutney which has been spread over white dhokla. Put on the cooker lid.Light up the gas .Steam for 10 minutes.After five minutes,remove lid & insert knife to see if dhokla is ready.If knife is clean ,it is ready.Otherwise steam for 5 more minutes.

Prepare vagar by heating oil.Add mustard seeds .When they splutter add , jeera followed sesame seeds.Add kadipatta. Add hing.Put off the gas.Pour this vagar on the dhokla.

Cut the dhokla into desired shapes & serve.I cut up the dhokla sandwich & then tried to turn it on to a plate & the white & yellow dhokla pieces separated  So ,next time around,I will get the entire dhokla upside down & then add vagar .Then only will I cut it.

Optional : Finely chopped fresh dhania can be a garnish for this.Optional as I am too lazy to clean up the dhania.

Aloo matar

I love aloo matar -it is a curry type dish,My kid has it -only aloos & no matar.I am surprised that kids nowadays rarely eat peas.I still eat peas while I am opening the pea pods.They are so tender & fresh -so juicy !

Ingredients : 2-3 large potatoes.1/2 cup peas,2-3 tomatoes, 1 small carrot, 1 medium onion,1-2 green chillies, 1/2 inch ginger,1 sprig of  kadipatta,1 tsp dhania powder, 1/2 tsp jeera, 1/4 tsp pepper powder ( optional ),1/ 4  tsp garam masala powder( optional ) ,1/4 tsp haldi,1/4 tsp hing,1 tbsp oil,salt to taste.

Method : Cut onions ,green chillies,ginger Blend them in a mixer .In a pressure cooker or  pressure pan  , take oil.Heat up the oil.add jeera. When they splutter, add the green chillies-ginger-onion mix.Let it be on slow gas.

Dice the carrot into small pieces.Add diced carrot pieces in mixer.Run the mixer.The carrot will get diced into smaller pieces.Add roughly chopped tomatoes & run mixer again .After 2-3 grinding in mixer, there will be smooth carrot tomato puree.Meanwhile the smell of raw onions would have gone away from the pressure pan  where the green chilli onion ginger mix is getting heated.Add this carrot tomato puree to the pressure pan .Mix nicely.Add dhania powder.If adding black pepper powder, please add at this stage.Mix nicely.Add haldi powder.Mix.Add salt .Mix. By this time,smell of raw tomatoes would have gone away. Please keep gas on slow mode.

Add washed peas to the pressure pan Cut potatoes .Add these potatoes to the pressure pan.Mix all ingredients nicely in pressure pan.Add 1/2 to 3/4 cup water water to mixer grinder .so that whatever puree is sticking to grinder insides is mixed with water.Add this water to pressure pan.If adding garam masala powder, please add in end ....just before closing the pan with lid & whistle. Put on lid of pressure pan with whistle.Increase gas to high mode.Pressure cook for 1 whistle .Then lower the heat ( make gas on slow mode ) & cook for 10-15 minutes on slow gas.Put off gas.After cooker cools,remove lid.The aloo matar is ready to be served.

Remove lid.All matar curry is ready to be served-garnished with grated cheese and or fresh dhania.

If a thinner curry is desired ,then more  water can be added to the pressure pan before pressure cooking.In the alternative, if the curry is thick after opening lid of pan ,add water & bring it to boil once.

If curry has got very thin, 1/4 tsp flax sed powder or more ( not more than 1 tsp ) can be added & mixed. After 15-20 minutes, curry wil get thicker. Or one can add roasted gram powder to curry. Mix nicely so that no lumps remain. Bring curry to a boil by stirring occasionally so that no lumps are formed. Alternatively, one can add 1 tbsp chickpea flour ( chana dal flour ) to thicken the curry. Bring curry to boil while stirring so that no lumps get formed.

For those who do not eat onions, skip adding the onions.

Eggless strawberry bread

I had strawberries &I had made strawberry cake before,I needed a new recipe.I came caross this strawberry bread @ http://priyaeasyntastyrecipes.blogspot.in/2011/06/eggless-whole-wheat-strawberry-bread.html

I made some changes & baked it !

Ingredients : 1 cup multigrain atta ( I used Pillsbury ),1/4 tsp baking soda,1/4 tsp baking powder,a pinch of salt,
1/2 cup sugar, 1/3 cup strawberry puree,1/3 cup dahi,1/2 tbsp vinegar,1 tbsp oil,some strawberries to line the bottom of the bread( optional ).

Method : Pureesome strawberries in a blender.Add  sugar & blend again.Keep aside in abowl Add vinegar & dahi & oil.Mix again.Keep aside.

Mix  multigrain atta,baking powder,baking soda & salt nicely.Make awell in the centre of this mixture.Pour the strawberry puree mix into this well.Whiskthis all so that no lumps remain.The batter must have drop down consistency.If batter is thick ,add some more dahi.Mix agian. Keep aside.

Take a glass vessel & line the bottom  with butter paper.On the botter paper ,line with thin slices of fresh strawberries in any fashion as you please.Pour the batter into the glass vessel lined with strawberries .Bake in  microwave for 8 minutes.Put off microwave.Let it cool.

After 10 minutes,remove vessel from microwave. Prick the cake with fork or knife.If it comes out clean,cake is done.If not bake for 1-2 minutes more.Cool.

After the vessel is out of microwave,let it cool for 15 minutes.Then put the vessel upside down on to a plate. The cake will drop down on to the plate.Remove the vessel.Let the cake cool for 5 more minutes.Now cut into desired shapes & serve.

The bottom slices of strawberries was not a good idea.They had become mushy.The sugar ,I used was of a very sweet taste- of some prasada ( temple offering ). The only strawberry taste, I detected, was from the thin slices of strawberry at the bottom of the cake.At the next attempt,I must add more strawberry puree to cake batter & maybe ordinary or even brown sugar.