Gajar Halwa in microwave

I have posted a gajar halwa recipe earlier.That was made in a kadhai.

Since I have a microwave convection oven ,I thought of trying to make carrot halwa in microwave.I googled & got this microwave recipe here.And it turned out amazing ! Saved me, a lot of time.

I keep removing malai from my milk every time it forms on the milk.I buy Amul Taaza Milky Milk (with 3 % fat minimum & S.N.F.8.5% minimum ).I collect malai & keep it in freezer.I generally collect malai for nearly a month.Then ,use it for almond halwa ,doodhi halwa or carrot halwa.Carrot halwa is made only during  winters.

Ingredients : 4 cups de peeled & grated carrots , 3/4 cup sugar, 1 tsp cardamom powder, 2 tbsp ghee, 1 cup de frozen malai ( remove from freezer & let it remain outside to attain room temperature...almost 3-4 hrs ),dry fruits to garnish ( optional ).

Method : Take a microwaveable dish.Add ghee & the grated carrots. Microwave on high for 3 minute.Let it stand in microwave for 2 minutes.Remove the dish & add sugar, malai & mix in nicely with garted carrot ghee mix.Microwave on high for 10 minutes.Let it stand for 5 minutes in microwave.Remove dish & add cardamom powder.Mix nicely.Microwave on high for 2 minutes.Let dish be in microwave for 5 minutes. Remove from microwave.Serve in katoris or bowls .Garnish with dry fruits like almonds, pistachios & cashewnuts.

My daughter hates desserts with nuts added.Hence the garnish.

Microwave gajar halwa is a hit ! Loved it ! And what a lovely colour !

Eggless omelette

I remember as a child whenever we would go to a hotel ,one of the dishes ordered would be tomato omelette.We are vegetarians & we used to get a kick out of that ! I used to love the slices of bread  which would be sparsely buttered .After I grew up ,I hardly recall eating it in restaurants.

I was surfing the net one day.And came across this eggless omlette recipe.I thought of giving it a try.It is so simple & tastes great .Well , that is because anything made with chickpea flour or besan is simply tasty.I would say ,besan makes it effortless ! And, another bonus, is that dishes having besan are nutritious  as chana dal flour is full of protein.And hence, these besan cheelas make for  a very wholesome breakfast !

Ingredients : 1 cup besan , 1 tbsp rava or semolina, 1 tbsp atta or whole wheat four ( optional helps in binding the ingredients ) 1/4 tsp haldi, 1 tsp flaxseed meal , 1 tsp ajwain 1 tsp red chilli powder, 1 small tomato finely chopped, 1/2 cup washed & finely chopped spring onion green shoots ( this is optional - generally finely chopped onions are added ),  1/4 cup dahi, 3/4 to 1 cup water,salt to taste ,oil to grease the tawa.

Method : Take a bowl & mix all dry ingredients like besan ,rava , atta, haldi ,flaxseed meal , salt ,red chili powder ajwain etal.Add chopped veggies.Mix nicely with the dry mix.Keep aside.

Add water to dahi & make chaas.Add chaas to the dry veggie mix.Mix nicely drop by drop, till a dosa batter type consistency is obtained.

Heat a tawa on the gas.Grease with oil.Drop a ladle full of batter on tawa & try to spread it evenly on the tawa.As the pancake gets ready ,it will start browning on the edges after 2-3 minutes..Spread 1/2  tsp of oil on the pancake .Flip it up side down & cook it  for another 2-3 minutes.Remove from tawa on to a serving plate.Or keep it in a casserole so that they keep warm.

Make more pancakes similarly from the rest of the batter.Serve besan ke cheele with tomato ketchup or any chutney of choice.I had it just like that yellow on one side & brownish gold on another side !

Since I had used chaas, I found more of ajwain & red chilli powder was needed for the batter.The chilliness was found wanting.If plain water is used ( no curds are used ) then , 1/4-1/2tsp baking soda can be added to the batter.The cheelas can be made vegetable rich .Grated cabbage, grated carrots, finely chopped methi leaves, finely chopped spinach leaves, finely chopped fresh dhania leaves can be added as well.Cheelas will turn out more colourful & more wholesome !

Sprouted matki curry

I have posted a matki usal earlier. This time, I sprouted matki or moth beans & made a curry dish. I used fresh coconut for the gravy.

Ingredients : Sprouted matki 1/2 cup, 1 onion, 1 tomato , 1/4 cup fresh dessicated coconut, 1-2 green chillies, any  curry powder ( rasam or sambhar powder or sabzi masala powder ...even dhania, jeera, pepper & red chilli powder mix will do )  1/2 tsp , 1/4 tsp grated ginger, a sprig of curry leaves,1/4 tsp haldi, 1/4 tsp powder hing, 1 tbsp oil, 1/2 mustard seeds, salt to taste.

Method : Pressure cook matki ( with 1 cup water to which haldi & hing has been added )  for two whistles.Lower the flame & cook for 5-10 minutes,Put off gas.Let it cool.

Roughly chop onions, hari mirchi, grated ginger  & kadi pattas.Grind them in mixer.Keep aside.

In a kadhai , take oil.Put on the gas & warm the kadhai with oil.Add mustard seeds. When they splutter , add the ground onion -mirchi-adrak - kaddi patta mix .Let it saute in kadhai till raw onion smell goes away.

Roughly chop the tomato & grind it with the coconut.Pour this mix into kadhai.Saute for 10 minutes.Add some water from the pressure cooked matki to this in case ,the onion tomato ground mix starts sticking to the bottom of the kadhai.Add the curry masala ( sambhar rasam or a mix of the two or any other daily veggie spice  powder ) .Mix nicely.Add the pressure cooked matki with the water in which it has been cooked.Add salt.Bring it to a boil.Put off gas. Serve with rice and or rotis.This being of liquid consistency as compared to usal ,goes well with both rice as also chapatis.

My dad simply loved the taste of this curry.He praised my cooking ! In fact, the masala used is daily spice powder made  by my mom ,for sabzis, curries etal !

Palak rice

I was surfing Archana's Kitchen for recipes .I came across this simple recipe of Palak rice. I surfed on other food blogs as well.Everyone seemed to have their own version. I decided to do my own version as there are no limits to my laziness. You would have already realised this, by going through my recipes.

I made palak rice in pressure cooker.I simply pureeed palak without chopping it with ginger, green chillies & kadi patta ( for that South Indian touch ) !

Ingredients : 1--1.5 cups washed & unchopped palak, 1 cup tukda or broken basmati , 1/2 " cinnamon stick broken into two or three pieces, 1 bay leaf, 2 small poatoes deeeled & sliced roughly, 1 medium onion roughly sliced, 2 green chillies roughly chopped, 1/2' inch ginger roughly chopped, few curry leaves, 1/2 tsp jeera, 1 bada elaichi chilka  cut into smaller pieces, 1/4 tsp garam masala, 1/4tsp hing, 1/4 tsp haldi, 1 tbsp oil, 1-2 tsp lemon juice, salt to taste.

Method : Wash the rice & keep aside.In the mixer, take the washed palak, curry leaves, ginger & green chillies.

Add 1/4 cup  water & puree it nicely.Keep aside.

In a pressure pan , take the oil.Put on the gas & heat the pressure pan with oil in it. Add jeera.When they splutter add cinnamon stick pieces followed by badi elaichi chilka. After the spices start giving aroma,add sliced onions.Saute the onions till they start turning brown on the edges.Add sliced potatoes.Saute them Add haldi & hing.Mix nicely. Add rice & fry all the rice with onions & potatoes & spices. After 2-3minutes, add the pureed palak mixture to the pan.Mix the rice ,palak puree,onions & potatoes nicely. Add salt. Add garam masala. Mix nicely,Add one more cup water as the palak puree was nearly 1 cup water.Cover the pressure pan lid.Pressure cook for 3-4 whistles. Put off gas. Cool. Remove whistle.After 5-10 minutes.Open the lid.The spinach rice is ready.Squeeze a piece of lemon.Lightly fluff up the rice .Serve it with roasted papads, raita, achar ...endless possibilities !

I use spices in small quantities as I love subtle tastes.My family prefers it this way.If you want stronger taste of spices, add more amounts accordingly.In some palak rice recipes, mint as also coriander was used. Some added peas as well.I felt that mint would interfere with palak taste. I had no peas so skipped adding them. I added potatoes as potatoes go well with palak  a I added kadipattas as I had them & they add to the nutrition by their iron content.

Soup style rasam

I had come across this carrot tomato rasam some time back while searching some recipe. I found it very interesting. In some recipes, tur dal was added as well though quantity of toor dal was very less. I decided to make plain carrot tomato rasam today as my throat was irritating me.

Ingredients : 2 tomatoes, 1 carrot, 1 tsp rasam powder, a few curry leaves, 1//4 tsp grated ginger1/4 tsp mustard seeds, 1/4 tsp jeera, 1/4 tsp black pepper powder,1/4 tsp hing, 1/4 tsp haldi,1 byadgi mirchi broken into 2-3 pieces,  1-2 tsp oil or ghee for tadka, a bunch of fresh dhania washed & finely chopped for garnish,salt to taste,


Method : Pressure cook tomatoes & diced carrot  along with grated ginger for 2-3 whistles. Cool.Puree in mixer. Add 1 cup water. Add haldi & hing.Start heating this puree. Add rasam powder, salt & pepper powder. Bring it to a boil.Put off gas.

For vagar, take oil or ghee in a kadhai. Add mustard seeds.After they splutter add jeera.Then add curry leaves & pieces of byadgi mirchi.Put off gas. Pour this vagar on the boiled soup style rasam.Serve rasam garnished with finely chopped fresh coriander leaves.

I found that pepper was too less.Even some more amount of rasam powder would be fine.Since carrot was added, I skipped adding jaggery or sugar.

Even onion can be pressure cooked & pureed with carrot & tomatoes. I ate rasam like soup.I have made this earlier though forgot to post it.This goes great with rice.It can be drunk like soup as well !

Tamarind paste for tamarind rice

I have learnt to make tamarind paste by reading from various posts on the topic from various recipe blogs. I thought that now I was fine with putting my take on the recipe.I liked this recipe in particular.I did some changes .I have been impressed upon my mom that til or sesame seeds be added to the puliodare paste. And have added them in my recipe.

Ingredients : 1 lemon sized ball of tamarind soaked in water & pulped three  to four  times , 1tbsp jaggery,2 tbsp til seeds,2 tbsp chana dal, 2 tsp urad dal, 2 tbsp peanuts, 4 tbsp oil ( preferably til oil ), 1/2 tsp black pepper seeds, 1tsp methi or fenugreek seeds, 1 tsp urad dal,1 heaped tbsp dhani seeds or dhania powder, 10-12 red byadgi mirchis, 1/2 tsp hing, 1/2 tsp turmeric, 1-2 green chillies roughly chopped,few curry leaves,salt to taste,

Method : Boil the tamarind pulp for 10-12 minutes.Add jaggery as it boils. Put off gas.Keep aside.

In a kadhai take 1 tbsp til oil.Heat it.Add 6-8  byadgi mirchis & fry them till they get crisp.Remove the mirchis.Next fry 1 tbsp  chana dal till they change colour.Remove the chana dal.Similarly fry 1tsp urad dal,Next fry the dhani till it gets aromatic.Remove the dhania.Now, roast the methi dana till they give out aroma,Remove the methi dana.Now Fry til till it starts popping.Remove the til.Roast few  curry leaves.till they get crisp.Finally roast the black pepper for a minute.Put off gas.After all the fried ingredients attain room temperature, grind all of them to fine powder in a mixture.Keep aside.

Add this spice mixture to the tamarind pulp.Boil the pulp containing spice mix for around 10 minutes.Keep stirring continuously as it has tendency to stick to bottom.

Take a small kadhai.Heat oil .Pop mustard seeds.Next fry peanuts followed by remaining chana dal & urad dalAdd hing & turmeric followed by green chillies, remaining curry leaves & 4-5 byadgi mirchis. Put off gas.Add this vagar to tamarind pulp-spice mix .This is puliodare paste , ready to mix with rice !

Use as much as needed for mixing with cooked rice..Rest can be stored in refrigerator for around two to three weeks.

Number of pepper corns can be decreased or raised as per taste.Even jaggery amount can be adjusted.

Mixed veggies stew : Rishi Panchami chi bhaji

My neighbor had shared with me years back this Rishi chi  bhaji. I simply loved it.And so was wanting to make it .Since Rishi Panchami comes once a year, only on that day ,can that veggies mix be brought conveniently in the city.

Last evening ,I went to market & forgot that the next day is Rishi Panchami ...it is the day after Ganesh Chaturthi.I went to market at around 11.15.One vendor told me to pick & choose.I went ahead. I spotted a Maharashtrian lady.She was selling Rishi Panchami veggies.I was thrilled that she will hand over me the mixed veggies & I just pay & come home & start cooking.Yet,she had just some veggies.Colcasia leaves or taro leaves or alu were missing.So also was lal math missing.The lady sitting next to her was selling green leafy veggies in bunches...alu leaves asa slo lal math.I requested her to give me 1-2 alu leaves & a small bunch of lal math.For a price, of course ! Mission accomplished, I moved to a grocer as the Rishi Panchami vrat needs a particular variety of rice to be cooked.I drew a blank.I decided that since I was making this stew just for my tast buds, I would have to make do with the rice at home.

Ingredients : 1-2 colcasia leaves or taro leaves or alu leaves washed & chopped, a tiny bunch of lal math ( Swiss chard ) washed &  chopped, 1 small piece of red pumpkin peeled & chopped, a small cucumber piece chopped,1-2  pieces of corn cob,4-5 big bhindis chopped, a small doodhi piece deseeded & chopped, 1 tiny karela deseeded & chopped, 1 small piece of shirali ( ridge gourd ) chopped, 1 small piece of goshali chopped  ( smooth gourd )  , some peas, some balck eyed beans from pods, etal ( The veggie vendor gave me a piece of avegetable which looked like a midget or tiny version of suran ...she told me to add it to the bhaji with other veggies .I roughly chopped it & pressure cooked with other veggies ), 1-2 green chillies chopped into 3 /4 pieces,1 teaspoon jaggery, 2 tsp tamarind pulp, 2 tsp ghee, salt to taste.

Method : I was in a hurry as I returned home at 12 noon.So I pressure cooked the veggiesincluding green chillies  for 3 whistles.

Take ghee in a kadhai.Add tamarind pulp .Add jaggery. Add salt to taste. Bring all to a boil.Add pressure cooked veggies.Let all the mixture come to a boil.Put off gas. Enjoy ! I ate this bhaji with rice. It will go well with chapatis as well.

My maid, whom I served this bhaji ,felt that I had simply boiled the veggies ! When I revealed that I had added jaggery , tamarind & ghee, she said it did not taste that it contained all that ! I guess, I added too little of the ingredients to maintain the subtelty of Rishi Panchami.Next time,I promise to add more of the ingredients ! 

Mixed veggies cheese toast

I want my daughter to eat more proteins.Since, cheese  & bread is something she loves,I googled & came across this vegetable cheese toast.

Ingredients : 1/2 capsicum finely chopped, 1 small onion finely chopped, 1 small tomato finely chopped, 4 bread slices, 2 cheese cubes , 1/4  tsp pepper.

Method : Microwave the bread slices in microwave oven for 10 seconds. Keep aside.

Mix all the finely chopped veggies that is capsicum, tomatoes & onions with pepper powder. Spread this mix evenly on each of the bread slices.Grate half a cheese cube on the veggies spread on the bread slice. Microwave each veggie cheese covered bread slice till the cheese melts. Repeat with the remaining bread slices.Serve with ketchup or sauce.

I made this for my teen's school tiffin & she loved it. Even her classmates liked this !

Microwave for less than 2 minutes...maybe one or 1.5 minutes microwaving is sufficient to melt the cheese.More microwaving may make the bread hard.

This can also be done on tawa or grill  or even baked in convection oven.Pl check tawa & grill versions here.

I skipped adding salt to the toast as bread has salt as also cheese. I used brown bread & Amul brand cheese cubes.

Eggless coffee pear cake

I had got tired of eating pears.Hence, thought of using pear in a cake.I googled & came across this coffee pear cake using yogurt.I tweaked it a little & my cake turned out beautiful !

Ingredients : 1 cup wholewheat flour, 1/3 cup brown sugar, 3/4 cup curd or dahi, 1/2  tbsp coffee powder ( used Nestle ) , 1 ripe pear  cut into thin slices ( deseeded )  1 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp baking soda,a pinch of salt, water as needed, optional :streusel topping .

Method : Mix all dry ingredients that is mix atta, baking powder & soda, sugar ,salt & coffee powder together .I mix with a whisk many times over .This ensures that all ingredients are thoroughly mixed.Keep aside.

Line a baking dish with butter paper. I cut pear at this stage, as if cut earlier,pear slices must be rubbed or sprinkled with lemon juice lest they turn  brown.Keep aside.

Mix dahi & the dry mix of atta , baking powder,soda, sugar ,coffee powder & salt.I found that the dahi was inadequate for the batter.Hence, added water  bit by bit. The batter must be like idli or dhokla batter.No lumps should remain in mix. Pour the cake batter into the baking dish.Line the top of the cake batter with thin cut slices of pear. On the pear slices, sprinkle streusel topping  ( I had ready made struesel topping which was a ready mix part of a ready muffin pack ) .Alternatively ,after cake is removed from oven ,it can be sprinkled with powdered sugar or just a plain cake would look lovely with sliced pears !

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees centigrade.Bake  the cake at 180 degrees for 4-45 minutes or till knife poked into the cake comes out clean. To be doubly sure, bake in microwave mode for two minutes after the 40-45 convection baking is over. Let it cool. Take out the cake .Put it upside down on a plate.Turn it over.It looks splendid ...mine did...the snap proves that.Cut into desired shapes & serve !

I have replaced the oil with yoghurt in the recipe.Hence, this is guilt free ...oil free cake !

Atte ka halwa

I have always loved wheat flour halwa.I had tasted it many times over in temples & in homes of friends .Recently ,a close friend staying in the same building as me made it .I was tempted to try it.And so I googled about the most easy way to make it.I came across Rak's kitchen liked the recipe stated there.I am cautious as I want to try a very small amount before I get it right.

Ingredients : 1/ 3 cup whole wheat flour, 2 tbsp ghee, 1/4 cup sugar, 1/3 cup water, optional :a pinch cardamom powder.

Method : Roast the wheat flour in ghee in a kadhai till it slightly changes colour. Add water & sugar & mix.Actually ,both sugar & water  will get  absorbed very quickly & the halwa might start sticking to the bottom of kadhai.Hence, keep gas flame on slow from the beginning.

Put off gas.Sprinkle the cardamom powder on top of halwa.Before serving halwa, mix so that cardamom powder mixes nicely with all the halwa.

Dry  fruits like almonds & cashews roasted in ghee can be used a s a garnish on the halwa.Since ,this was my first attempt,I did the most simple version.Next time around,I hope to make this dish more rich .And trust that my snap of the dish will be much better !

Apple sauce cake

I have been thinking of getting back into baking since long. Yet ,with the Microwave convection oven that I have , I had failed many times.Sometimes, the baking soda & baking powder were not up to the mark.At other times, I had forgotten to pre heat the oven.This time around,I wanted to be careful as I baked the convection way.

I looked at cakes using applesauce, flaxseed & wholewheat flour.I did come across a few recipes using wholewheat flour, applesauce ,flaxseed etal.Yet,they used just one or two ingredients.So ,instead of atta, maida was used,I wanted to avoid it. Hence, used my experience & made my version of cake.

Ingredients : 1 cup wholewheat flour, 1 cup homemade applesauce,1/3 cup brown sugar, 1  tbsp flaxseed powder , 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp baking soda, ,a pinch of salt, optional :some streusel topping

Method : Cut 2 apples into 4 pieces each.Pressure cook them up to 3 whistles.Let the cooker cool.Take out the apple pieces. Depeel & deseed them.Alternatively , the apples can be de seeded & de peeled before pressure cooking them.Make pureee of the cooked apple pieces in mixer. Keep aside. Soak 1tbsp flaxseed powder in 3 tbsp water for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile mix atta with baking , powder & baking soda nicely with a whisk many times.Add brown sugar & salt.Mix thoroughly again.

Mix flaxseed water mix with applesauce.nicely.Pour this mix into the atta sugar baking powder soda mixture. Mix such that no lumps remain. Line a baking dish with butter paper. Pour this cake mix into the dish over the butter paper. Sprinkle  top of cake mix with  streusel topping .Preheat oven to 180 degrees.

Bake  in preheated oven at 180 degrees for 30-40 minutes or till a knife poked into cake comes out clean. If ,bottom of cake feels moist, bake in microwave mode for 3-4 minutes.

Cool.Put cake upside down .Cut into desired shapes .

The cake was very moist & dense. Next time around,while using flaxseed meal ,less flour needs to be used. I had streusel topping at home.It was leftover topping of ready made muffin mix. Powdered sugar can be sprinkled as a topping on cake or even shrikhand can be smeared as a topping ! This cake was just aptly sweet.Brown sugar is less sweeter than white sugar.

Rajbhog

I have been thinking of trying out rajbhog ( stuffed rasgullas ) .I thought of going innovative after reading many recipes on rajbhog. And perhaps ,I wanted to pat myself on my back .As rasgullas were turning out quite well in my hands ,I must graduate to the next level that is rajbhog.

I went through many recipes ..namely Easy rajbhog recipe ,Kesari Rajbhog  & some more. I even saw You tube video by Nisha Madhulika.

Ingredients : 1 litre toned milk ( 3.5 % fat ) lower the fat content , better it is for rasgullas, 1.5 cups sugar, 18-20 strands of kesar , 1 tbsp khajur paste,1  lemon cut into 2 halves, 8-10 almonds, 8-10 pistas, 1 -1.5 tsp maida, 1 tsp ghee.

Method : Heat the milk. Put some 8-10 kesar strands into the  milk.After it has boiled, put off gas.Add lemon juice to milk & mix nicely.Milk will start curdling. Slowly ,clear water will clear & cheena will separate out from the milk. This will take 10-15 minutes. Pour this onto a thin muslin cloth kept in a perforated vessel on top of a big vessel to drain the water. The drained chenna water which is  yellowish in colour can be used to make chapati dough & can be added to cook rice. It is rich in proteins.After the chenna has collected in the muslin cloth, wash it by running tap water for some time.This is to rid the chenna of lemon juice flavour. Take all edges of the muslin cloth & make a potli containing chenna. Squeeze all the water out. Keep a heavy vessel on the potli so that remaining water gets squeezed out slowly.Keep aside for 45 minutes to one hour.

Meanwhile boil 1 cup water. Drop badam & pistas into it. Put off gas.After 10-15 minutes, remove badam pistas & peel off their skins.Chop them finely.I had readymade khajur paste. I micxed kahjur paste with chopped badam & pista& kept aside.

If you do not have khajur paste, khajur can be soaked in milk for 1 hour or so.Khajur  will become soft. Drain the milk.Add chopped badam pista into the softened khajur & make it into a dough.  Keep aside.

Take a wide bottomed pan as rasgullas need lots of space.Put sugar. Add 2 cups water.Put on gas on slow flame. Add 8-10 kesar strands. The syrup will get ready as one prepares chenna balls.

Take the chenna which was kept aside. Remove the muslin cloth & drop the chenna on to a plate.Make chenna soft by repeatedly moving palms & fingers as one makes chapatti dough. Continue kneading for 10-15 minutes. This will make chenna very soft. Grease hands with ghee.Add a tsp of maida to the chenna & mix nicely.This will prevent  chenna balls from breaking. Take a small amount of chenna on to the palm.In the centre ,take atiny amount of khajur badam pista dough or mix .Now enclosed the kahjaur badam pista dough from all sides with chenna.Make this into a nice chenna ball by rilling repeatedly in your palms.Keep aside. Repeat by stuffing remaining khajur badam pista stuffing into chenna balls as stated before. By this time ,syrup would be ready as it would be boiling .Drop chenna balls into the syrup.Cover with lid. Let it continue till 5-10 minutes. As lid is removed, chenna balls will have doubled in size.Add one more   water to syrup.Cover with lid & cook for 15 minutes. Put off gas.Let the lid remain.

After 15-20 minutes, remove lid.Let it cool. Refrigerate. Enjoy rajbhog with family & friends !

I observed that I had rolled chenna balls onto maida before dropping them in syrup.This made balls sticky when I took them out from syrup.Next time,I am not going to roll them in maida. The rasgullas or the chenna balls were less spongy,I felt.So ,I must make chenna dough more softer next time around.

Saatvik chhole.

I had read about this authentic chhole recipe in Sangeeta Khanna's blog banaras ka khana.I had tried it before .I had skipped posting what I tried.I had used grated raw mango in place of aam chur. I tried it again .This time I made use of kairi preserve or raw mango preserve.

My mom realised that many kairis had been given to us by our neighbour who has planted mango trees at their factory grounds.Since,mango pickle is not relished  throughout the year.this is because , somehow,the mango pickle loses its crunchiness as , she thought of grating the kairis.Then she added salt,haldi & hing to the grated kairi.And we bottled this kairi preserve to add to dishes as a souring agent in dishes if a change in sour taste was needed.The bottled kairi preserve is stored in refrigerator.

Ingredients : 1 /2 cup kabuli chana &  1 tbsp chana dal soaked overnight, 1 tsp kairi preserve, 1 hari mirchi roughly chopped,1-2 byadgi mirchi broken into pieces, 1bay leaf,3-4  peppercorns,1 clove, 1/2 inch grated ginger ,1 tsp dhania powder , 1/2 tsp jeera powder, salt to taste, 2  tsp oil.

Method : Pressure cook the soaked chana & chana dal with salt for 2-3 whistles.Then slow down the gas & cook for 15 minutes.Put off gas.


Grind all dry spices.Add adrak & hari mirchi to dry ground spice mixture & grind again.

Take oil in kadhai.Heat the oil.Drop the ground spice mixture in that.After the aroma wafts across, add the pressure cooked chana chhole mix to the spices in kadhai.Mix nicely.Add raw mango preserve.Mix nicely.Let it all boil for 10 minutes.It will start thickening .If you need it to be watery,add water. Put off gas.Serve with rotis,naan ,bhature and rice.

This came out so nicely that I am thinking of making it again & again. No bother of chopping onions & tomatoes .And the taste is so authentic !

I added amla candy piece to the water in which the kabuli chana & chana dal was being cooked.This gives the chana the brown tinge .No haldi was added.Even a teabag can be added to water or tea in a small potli ( a thin piece of cloth with tea wrapped & bound ) can be dropped in the water which pressure cooks the chhole.Using tea bag gives the same brown tinge to chhole.I added a pinch of baking soda to the chhole chana dal mix while it was pressure cooked so that the kabuli chana & chana dal are cooked mashably well !

I did not have badi elaichi & so skipped using  it. In the original recipe ,it is added.I added both byadgi mirchi as also 1 hari mirchi as byadgi mirchi has little pungency .

Tomato rice.

I had been served tomato rice in Chennai. They even sell tomato pickles there. This tomato pickle can be mixed with rice & consumed if one feels lazy to cook rasam or dal to go with the rice. Very handy for someone lazy like me.

I looked up many versions of tomato rice on the net. I felt ,I must make my own version .

Ingredients : 1 cup cooked rice  ( rice cooked in pressure cooker ) , 1 tbsp oil,2 tomatoes roughly chopped, 1 onion ,thinly sliced, 1-2green chillies finely chopped, 10-12  kadi patta leaves, 1 small cinnamon stick, 1bay leaf, 1/2 tsp mustard seeds,1/2 tsp garlic ginger paste or ginger paste,1/2 tsp urad dal or chana dal or both, 1/4 tsp haldi, 1/4 tsp hing,1 byadgi mirchi broken into two three pieces, 1 tsp rasam powder, salt to taste.

Method : Spread the pressure cooked rice in a large plate. Keep aside.

Heat oil in a kadhai. Add mustard seeds.When they pop,add urad dal and or chana dal .After the dal has turned golden brow, add byadgi mirchi & kadi patta.Add garlic ginger paste or ginger paste. Mix nicely.Add onions & hari mirchi.Fry nicely.Add cinnamon stick & bay leaf. Mix nicely.Add haldi & hing. Add chopped tomatoes & salt.Mix nicely.Within 5-minutes, tomatoes will start getting mushy.Let it cook for 5-10 more minutes. Mix nicely. It will become a puree now. Add rasam powder now. Mix nicely. Put off gas.

After 5 minutes. Add this spicy puree to rice & mix nicely.Tomato rice is ready .It can be eaten with dahi or raita or with papd or chips.

My tomato rice was just right for my taste buds...not spicy at all.One can add sambar powder as well.Or even garam masala or maybe more chillies.

Mango rasgullas.

I have tried strawberry rasgullas as also orange rasgullas though have not yet posted the recipes.

Since mangoes are the flavour of the season ,i thought of trying mango rasgullas. I googled & came across two recipes.....one at Priya's Versatile recipes & another at boldsky.

I mixed up the two recipes.

Ingredients : 1/3 cup mango puree ( used Kesar mango puree ....home made from kesar mango ), 1/4 cup sugar, 1/2 litre fat free milk ( Amul ), juice of 1/2 - 1 lemon, 1-2 strands kesar, ghee for greasing hands, 1/2-1 lemon
.
Method : Boil half a litre of milk.Add kesar strands.As soon as malai starts forming ,add lemon juice by the spoonful ..Keep mixing the lemon juice with milk with a spoon. The milk will start curdling. Keep adding lemon juice & mixing till milk is curdled completely.This stage is when clear greenish water can be seen separated from lumps of solid white milky mass.The milky mass is chenna.

Keep a big white thin cotton cloth over a strainer.Keep this on a big vessel so that the clear water gets collected in the vessel.Strain the curdled milk with chenna on to the cloth on the strainer. The chenna will get collected in the cloth. Add 1 tbsp mango puree to the chenna. Mix nicely. Now wash the chenna with water 3-4 times  to remove all traces of lemon juice. Tie the cloth into a tight knot .This will squeeze remaining water from the chenna. Keep a heavy bottomed pan on the knotted cloth .Keep aside for half an hour to 45 minutes.

Meanwhile, boil 1 cup water in a  pressure pan .Add sugar.After sugar has dissolved inwater, put off gas. Add remaining mango puree .Add 1 cup water. Keep aside.

After 45 minutes of keeping chenna, it will have lost most of the water. Start kneading the chenna. Knead it for a good ten minutes. It will get softer & softer just like chapatti dough. Grease hands & start making small balls of the soft kneaded chenna. Drop these balls in the sugar mango syrup. Pressure cook upto 1 whistle. Then slow down the gas. Let it be on slow flame for 5 minutes. Put off the gas after five minutes.

Let the cooker cool.Remove lid & lo ,the mango rasgullas in mango puree are ready !

Let them cool to room temperature.Refrigerate the rasgullas & enjoy cold mango rasgullas !

I used Kesar mangoes as they are more sweet than alphansos.The sweetness was just right or maybe less sweet. Next time around, would love to try this without adding any sugar & using just pulp with water .

Langar ki dal

I love langar ka khana.The feast is so simple & yet fulfills sumptuously.I have been thinking of trying the dal which is served at langars for quite some time. I choose two recipes .....one from divinetaste & another from vegrecipesofindia.I mixed the two & made this dal.

Ingredients : 1 /4 cup split urad dal + 1 tbsp chana dal soaked for 2-3 hours, 1 small onion finely chopped, 2-3 small tomatoes pureed in mixer , 1 green chilly finely chopped, 1 tsp grated ginger, 1/2 tsp red chilli powder, 1tbsp dhania powder, 1/2 tsp whole jeera , 1 tbsp ghee, 1/2 tsp haldi, salt to taste.

Method : Pressure cook the dals with haldi upto   1 whistle.Then cook on slow flame for upto 15-20 minutes, Put off gas Let it cool.

In a kadhai take ghee.Heat it.Add jeera.When they splutter add finely chopped onions ,grated ginger & hari mirchi.Nicely shallow fry till the onions start turning brown.Add tomato puree. Mix nicely.Cook for five minutes. Then add dhania powder followed by red chilli powder. Mix nicely.Add the cooked dal. Add water if consistency is too thick.Add salt.Mix.Let it simmer for 5 minutes or till it thickens.Put off gas .Serve with garnished fresh dhania.This goes well with rice as also rotis.

I generally make a paste of chopped onions ,grated ginger & chopped hari mirchi & put it in kadhai.Then I make a puree of tomatoes & put it in kadhai.I am not good at chopping finely & so this shortcut.

I loved the langar ki dal Will make this often now.

Mavinkayi anna

My mom uses raw mango to make flavoured rice during the mango season. I thought that since I had a small kairi in the refrigerator,why not make use of that.I googled for the recipe.I came across one at Padhu's kitchen .

 Ingredients : 1 cup washed rice , 1/4 cup raw grated mango, 1 tbsp peanuts, 1 byadgi mirchi broken into 2-3 pieces, 1/2 tsp mustard seeds,1 tsp urad dal, 2-3 green chillies chopped roughly, a sprig of curry leaves washed,1/4 tsp haldi,1/4 tsp hing, 1-2 tbsp oil,1/2 tsp sugar ( optional ) , salt to taste.

 Method : Pressure cook rice. After the cooker has cooled down ,spread rice in a large plate so that grains are separated. Keep aside.

 In a kadhai ,heat oil. Add mustard seeds.After they splutter add peanuts.Let them brown a little.Add urad dal.After the dal gets golden brown ,add curry leaves followed by byadgi mirchi & chopped green chillies.Add grated mango. Add haldi & hing .

Mix all nicely.Let it cook for 2-3 minutes.Add salt to taste & if you like. 1 tsp sugar  .Let it all cook for 1-2 minutes. Put off gas. Pour the vagar mix of grated mango on to the spread out rice. Mix nicely so that the grated mango vagar coats all rice nicely.Serve with raita or papad.

 

 It looks just like lemon rice except for those translucent flakes of grated kairi or raw mango . And kairi is a cooling food.Enjoy !

Kosambri

This is a salad. This requires minimal cooking. It is specially good for summers & very light on the tummy. It is a must in feasts as well as it is is considered to be shubh for festivities.It is one of the dishes offered as prasad on Ram Navami ,the other being Panaka.Panaka is lemon sharbat or shikanaji falvoured with elaichi & saffron. 

This is generally served as Haldi kumkum snack in households in Karnataka & Maharashtra & parts of Goa. It is known as koshimbir in Maharashtra & Goa.

Kosambri is a must in all feasts in temples & even at social functions like weddings, etal. It is considered auspicious.

Ingredients: 

1/3 cup mung dal or split mung ( soaked for 2-3 hours in water ) ,

1 tbsp grated raw mango

1 small cucumber grated ( 1/4 cup grated cucumber )

1 small carrot grated ( 1/4 cup grated carrot ) .This is optional.

1 byadgi mirchi ( red dry chilly of byadgi variety )

1 finely chopped green chilli

8-10 curry leaves ( kadipatta )

1/4 tsp mustard seeds

1/4 tsp jeera

1/4 tsp hing

    1/4 tsp haldi

1 tbsp oil

salt to taste

1 tbsp Fresh grated coconut ( optional ) .

1 tbsp finely chopped dhania

Directions: 

Take the soaked mung dal & discard the water. Add grated carrot,cucumber & mango to it. Add green chillies & salt.Make vagar by heating oil.Add mustard to heated oil. After they splutter add byadgi mirchi ,curry leaves & jeera. Add hing & haldi. Put off gas.Pour this vagar over the mung dal veggie mix.Kosambri is ready !

Footnotes: 

Garnish with fresh grated coconut topped with hara dhania.

In case raw mango is unavailable, it can be replaced by lemon juice.

Raw banana curry

My hubby loves raw plantain curry.I generally try to make it once a week.This was my grandmom's favourite too when I was a kid though I hated it then. Nowadays,I like it. Especially  ,it is a good accompaniment to rasam rice.

Method : 2 raw bananas chopped into triangular thin pieces, 2-3 green chillies roughly chopped, a sprig of curry leaves, 1/4 tsp mustard seeds, 1/4 tsp urad dal, 1 byadgi mirchi broken into 2 to 3 pieces, a pinch of hing ,1/4 tsp haldi, 1 -2 tbsp fresh dessicated coconut, 2 tbsp oil,salt to taste.

Method : In a kadhai heat oil.Pop mustard seeds.Add urad dal.When they turn golden brown ,add hari mirchi,kadipatta & red chillies..Add the raw banana pieces. Mix all nicely so that the oil hari mirchi spice mix gets coated on the banana pieces. Cover with lid & cook for 5 minutes. Remove lid. Add few drops of water. Mix nicely. Let it cook for 5 more minutes. Add some more drops of water if banan starts sticking to bottom of kadhai. Add haldi & hing. Mix nicely with banana slices. Add salt. Mix nicely. Let it cook for 2-3 minutes.Add fresh dessicated coconut & mix nicely.Let it cook for 2-3 minutes. Put off gas. Cover with lid. Serve after 5 -10 minutes .

Akhi Masoor ki dal

• I had some masoor  in my kitchen.I had not made it for quite some time. Sangeeta Khanna had shared a recipe on this lentil.I thought why not try it out .And it turned out to be so satisfyingly yummy ! 

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• Sangeeta Khanna has given many versions of sabut masoor ki dal.I tried only one of  the many recipes.
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• Ingredients : 1/3 Cup sabut masoor, 1/4 tsp pepper powder, 1/4 tsp roasted jeera powder, 1/4 tsp grated ginger,1 small onion chopped,1 small tomato chopped, 1 green chilly chopped, 1/4 tsp haldi,1/4 tsp hing, 1 tsp ghee,salt to taste.

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• Method : 
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• Make puree of chopped onions,tomato ,hari mirchi & adrak.Add this puree  to washed masoor .Add haldi ,hing & salt to taste.Add 1 cup water ( 1 cup water to 1/3 cup dal...proportion is 1 : 3 ) .Pressure cook on high up to 1 whistle.Then lower the flame & cook for 10-15 minutes.Put off gas.When the cooker cools,remove whistle followed by  the lid.Serve masoor with roti and or rice.

I had forgotten to add ghee while cooking.I added ghee when I removed the lid. The taste of dal was awesome. And texture superb ! I am going to make this often .

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Chitranna

Chitranna is what we call Lemon rice in Kannada.It is a quick rice that is part of feasts.On festive occasions like Ugadi,it is this  flavoured rice, that is part of the spread.

I love it as it is quite easy to make & is quick too.Moreover,the lemon juice brings it a freshness which is so invigorating.

Ingredients : 3/4 cup rice,1 tbsp oil, 1/ 2 a lemon 1 tbsp peanuts,1/4 tsp mustard seeds, 1/4 tsp urad dal, 1-2 chopped green chillies ,1 red byadgi mirchi broken into pieces, a sprig of curry leaves,14 tsp haldi,1/4 tsp hing, salt to taste.

Method : Pressure cook rice for 3 whistles.Take care to prepare rice by using lesser quantity of water than otherwise as the rice grains must be all separate for this dish.

I cook for 3 whistles. Then I put off gas.After the pressure is off,I remove the rice & spread it on to a plate so that rice grains are not sticking to each other,Keep it aside.

In a kadhai take oil. Put on the gas.Add mustard seeds,When they splutter,peanuts,Let the peanuts brown alittle.Add urad dal ,byadgi mirchi,chopped green chillies, curry leaves.After 1 minute.put off gas.Add haldi & hing to kadhai & mix.The oil ,peanuts,urad dal ,chillies,kadi patta mixture is all yellow .Keep it aside.

Take the spread out rice.Squeeze half alemon on the rice & mix nicely.Pour the yellow oily vagar prepared by using peanuts,urad dal etal over the rice. Add salt to rice & mix all the things with a spoon.The chitranna is ready.

Chitranna can be garnished with fresh finely chopped dhania & fresh grated coconut. I am too lazy to do all this .Moreover ,the aroma of lemon rice keeps beckoning me to savour it & I simply comply.

If the tanginess is found wanting ,more lemon juice can be added.Some even add 1/4 to 1/2 tsp sugar while mixing vagar with lemon juice.

Masala peanuts.

I attended microwave cooking demo class this week.The chef taught masala peanuts .It was simply amazing as this recipes makes no use of oil.And as far as I know ,this is deep fried snack.I knew that I had to try this.

I tweaked the recipe as the chef had used water .I used chaas,The chef had omitted use of ajwain or carom seeds.I added that as well.

Ingredients : 1 cup peanuts, 1/4 cup besan ,1/4 cup chaas ( not very thin ) ,1/4 tsp ajwain ,1/2 tsp red chilli powder,1/4 tsp haldi,1/4 tsp hing,salt to taste.

Method : Mix all ingredients nicely.If you feel the mix is too dry,add some more chaas or drop by drop water.Mix.

Take a microwaveable vessel.Put the mix in that.Turn on the microwave at full power.Put timer for 5 minutes.Keep the microwaveable vessel with mix in microwave.Turn on microwave.After 1 minute,press pause button.Take out the vessel & with aspoon try to seperate out all peanuts from each other.They would be sticking in bunches.Again keep in microwave for 1 minute.Puase.Take out & try to separate out bunches.Repeat this till 5 minutes get over .By the end of this ,the vessel will be in & out 5 times.Put off microwave.Take out the vessel.Let it cool for 5 minutes.Take a peanut & taste.It will be crisp & crunchy.If it i soft ,keep vessel in microwave on full power for 1 more minute.Put off microwave.

The snack was just apt for my consumption .My mom who eats less salt now said it was a tad bit salty.My friend said that more red chilli & ajwain could have been added.Accordingly ,more chilli powder n ajwain can be added.Same for salt.

Pudina pulao

I love pudina.It smells awesome & tastes great ! Especially the pudina paani or the mint water which adds the kick to the pani puri is simply irresistible ! So, when I came across Pudina pulao,I gave it a try.I used very little pudina & it turned out quite bland.So ,this time around,I took care to use sufficient quantity of mint.

Ingredients : 1.5 cups basmati rice, 2 cups of cleaned & cut vegetables (  beans,green peas,carrots, capsicum is optional ,potato), 1tsp grated ginger,2-3 green chillies finely chopped, 1/3 cup cleaned & chopped hara dhania , 1/2 cup cleaned & chopped pudina leaves, 1/2 tsp jeera, 1-2 cinnamon sticks,2 bay leaves, 2 lavang, 5-6 peppercorns, 2 small elaichi,1 tbsp ghee,salt to taste.

Method : Make a green paste of green chillies,grated ginger ,hara dhania & pudina by adding some water.Keep aside.

In a pressure pan ,take ghee & warm it up.Add the jeera.When jeera sputters,add cinnamon .Slightly pound the peppercorns ,lavang & elaichi & add them as well.Add the mixed vegetables.Slightly fry them.Add the bay leaves & mix nicely.Next add rice & mix nicely.Let it be for 5 minutes.Now add the green paste.Mix nicely.Add salt.Mix.Add 2.5 cups water .Close the pressure pan lid.Pressure cook upto 2 whistles.Slow it down & let it cook for 5 more minutes.Put off gas.

When it cools,remove the whistle.After 5-10 minutes,open the lid to smell the aromatic pulao ! Serve with papad ,raita or salad of your choice.

My rice got a little mushy .Maybe too many veggies made it so .Maybe I added more water.Or perhaps,I should not have slow cooked it after reducing the gas.Next time around ,I will be more careful.