Eggless carrot dates cake

This year, for the sarvajanik ( Public )  Ganpati installed at the building where I reside, I decided on a carrot dates cake. I googled & came across many recipes. I decided to copy this recipe though I tweaked it a little & scaled it up.

The  original recipe uses atta or whole wheat flour. I used atta & added 1/4 cup of  maida ,as I believe that even a small amount of maida gives a good texture to cakes.

I used flax seed powder for the good fat & fibre  content that it provides. It also gives a nutty flavour to the cake.

I take out malai  which forms on low fat milk ( which we consume ) & freeze it on a daily basis. I used that frozen malai .It was nearly a cup of malai.

Ingredients : 13/4 cup atta, 1/4 cup maida, 1/2 cup white sugar, 1 cup grated carrots, 1/2 cup dates, 1 tbsp flax seed powder mixed with 3 tbsps water.2 tsp baking soda, a pinch of salt & extra water if needed.

Method : 

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees centigrade .

Keep aside the flax seed powder mixed with water aside.

Mix all dry ingredients ...atta, miada, baking soda,salt.Mix them all nicely many times over so that all dry ingredients are nicely mixed.Many times over, since I am too lazy to sieve the atta, maida, baking soda , salt, mix.Keep aside.

I have date paste brought from Gulf visits. Puree the date paste ( dates can be used as well ) with malai in a mixer.Keep aside.

Mix grated carrots & sugar & flax seed water mix. Add the dates malai puree to this mix. Mix nicely.

Make a well in the dry ingredient mix of atta maida soda salt. Pour the wet ingredient mix of carrot dates flaxseed malai sugar mix. Mix nicely. If the wet mix is insufficient , add water little by little to the mix, till an idli like batter consistency is obtained .Keep aside this cake batter.

Take a baking vessel.Line the bottom of the baking vessel with butter paper. Pour the cake batter into the baking vessel on to the butter paper lining.

Bake at 180 degrees centigrade for 45 minutes or till a toothpik poked inside the cake comes out dry.
Let the cake cool for half an hour.Take a plate & put the baking vessel upside down on to the plate. Carefully remove the butter paper lining the cake bottom. Turn the cake upside down on to the plate. The cake is ready for prasad.....

I forgot to add sugar while I mixed the batter. Then ,found that batter had not enough wet mix. So I was saved.I added water to the sugar & poured it into the batter. Mixed it nicely.The Lord himself saved my cake ! I added nearly 1/2 cup water to get idli like batter consistency .If I had added sugar to wet mix as needed , it would have needed less water.

OPOS recipe : Cabbage beans pulao

I tried this pilaf recipe , the OPOS way.Amember had shared this recipe in the OPOS support group on facebook. I changed it a little as I did not have peas & replaced peas with beans. I added cumin or jeera instead of fennel or saunf .Used green chillies & ginger instead of red chillies.

Ingredients : 2 cups shredded cabbage ( in original recipe, this  was 1.5 cups ), 1/3 cup chopped & stringed beans ( in original recipe , this was 0.5 cup peas ) , 1-2 green chillies roughly chopped, 1/2 tsp garam masala powder, 1/4 inch cinnamon, 1 bay leaf, 1 badi elaichi, 1/4 tsp turmeric, 1 tbsp oil, 1.5 tsp salt ( in original recipe , Himalayan salt used ), 1/4 cup fresh dhania or mint ( optional ) .

Method : Wash & soak raice for 30-45 minutes. Drain after 30-45 minutes.Keep aside.

Mix cabbage, beans, green chillies  & the garam  masala powder , turmeric & salt together .Keep aside.

In a 2 litre pressure cooker, add 1 tbsp oil.This is the first layer.

 Add bay leaf, cinnamon stick, badi elaichi & jeera. This is the second layer.

Add soaked & drained rice on top of the spices. This rice forms the third layer.

On the top of rice , add the cabbage- beans green chillies masala salt mix kept aside. This is the fourth layer. .

Add 1 cup water from sides...meaning pour one cup water from the sides of the cooker inside. Pressure cook for 3 whistles. Put off gas. Allow pressure to settle. Remove lid of cooker. Add mint or dhania .Mix dhania or mint with pulao. Put on lid again. Let it settle for 10 minutes more. Serve with raita or papad.

This rice tasted superb ! My husband kept on having it again & again !!!! Each grain was separate. 

OPOS recipe : Puffed rice upma

I have made hashi mandakki many times &  the recipe is same .Yet ,the process or method is different. It is OPOS recipe .OPOS stands for one pot one shot .

All recipes in this OPOS method are made in a two litre cooker, preferably steel.I have joined this OPOS Support grp on facebook.I was drooling over pictures of items prepared the OPOS way .Finally, my parents gifted me a 2 litre steel cooker & I tried gavar ki sabzi yesterday. I messed up.

Today, I thought , why not make this vagarne murmura , the OPOS way,.....I googled & came across this poha recipe to be made the OPOS way.Substituted poha with  murmura & made this !

Ingredients : 3 cups murmura washed & drained ( 3 cups dry murmura when washed & drained will shrink to two cups murmura )    , 1 tsp grated ginger,1/2 peeled , washed & grated carrot,1 small capsicum washed & roughly chopped, 1-2 green chillies roughly chopped, 1/4 tsp haldi, 1/4 tsp hing, 1 tsp jeera, 1-2 tsp  lemon juice, a few curry leaves,salt to taste, 1 tbsp daaliya powder or puttani chutni pudi ( optional ).

Method : In a 2 litre pressure cooker, add 1 tbsp oil.& 1 tbsp water .Add 1 tsp jeera & chopped green chillies as a layer. Spread the vegetable mix of grated carrot & chopped capsicum on this green chilli -jeeera layer. Sprinkle haldi, hing, salt, grated ginger , curry leaves.

Close the pressure cooker lid. Put the whistle on. Cook for two whsitles. Put off gas. Release pressure. Open lid. Mix the washed murmura into the cooker & give all ingredients a good stir. Put back the lid on the cooker with the whisrtle. Keep it like this with lid & whistle for ten minutes. Open the lid, add the puttani chutni pudi ( optional ) . Mix all the ingredients so that puttani chutni powder gets coated on each murmura. Sprinkle lemon juice on murmura & mix .

Breakfast is ready in jiffy !!!!

I noticed that I had added very little haldi & salt was not mixed properly. And remember, murmura has its own salt as also puttani chutni pudi or powder has salt...so go easy on salt.

Carrot palya

I had the good fortune of tasting carrot sabzi ( sabzi is palya in Kannada) at my in laws place.I loved it,. This sabzi  has a sweet flavour because carrots are sweet. In fact the summer carrots are good as they are firm, in comparison, to the red  carrots of winter.

Carrots have innumerable health benefits .I use them in making upma, sambhar, soup, pulao. etc.

I made it last week & my husband loved it too. The firm orange carrots are somewhat hard to chop finely & yet the efforts pay off when one tastes the sabzi !

Ingredients : 250-300 gm carrots- peeled & chopped into fine cubes, , 1-2 green chillies finely chopped, 1 byadgi or any other dry red chilli broken into pieces, 1 tbsp oil, 1/4 tsp urad dal, 1/2 tsp mustard seeds,1/4 tsp haldi , 1/4 tsp powdered hing, 1 tbsp fresh grated coconut,  a few curry leaves, salt to taste.

Method : Take a kadahi & put it on gas stove. Put on the gas on slow flame. Add oil to kadahi. Add mustard seeds.After they opo up, add urad dal. The urad dal will turn golden brown.Add powdered hing followed by curry leaves ( kadi patta ) & dry red  chilli  pieces.Mix all nicely with big spoon. Add chopped carrots & green chillies. Mix all ingredients nicely. Add haldi. Mix once gain so that haldi gets coated on all carrot pieces. Cover with lid & cook for two-three minutes. Add 1/4 to 1/3 cup water to kadahi by uncovering lid .Mix all again. Cover with lid & cook for 8-10 minutes on slow flame. In between , keep removing lid to see if water has dried up.

After water has nearly dried up, add salt .Mix again. Add fresh grated coconut. Mix all ingredients in kadahi again. Cover with lid & cook for 2-3 minutes. Put off gas.

Serve carrot palya with rotis or rice rasam combo.

Kantola stir fry

I had heard about Kantola  or Kakori vegetable that it has many health benefits . I got it in monsoons. Its available during monsoons & must be consumed during monsoons.I made it by asking my friends & googling for recipes.

My recipe is little different, as I used less oil & sprinkled some water as well.

Ingredients : 250 gm kantola, 3-4 tsp oil, 1/4 tsp turmeric, 1/4 tsp powdered hing, 1/4 tsp black pepper powder, 1/4 tsp jeera powder, 1tsp dhania powder, 1tsp red chilli powder, salt to taste.

Method : Wash the kantolas by immersing them in bowl of water for 10-15 minutes. If any dirt is sticking to the kantolas, please remove the dirt by scraping them off. Cut thin round slices of kantolas like one cuts thin slices of potatoes for pakoras or bhajiyas.If the seeds lining inside the kantolas are  hard and or orange in colour, remove the seeds .If the orange is too dark a shade, discard those slices.

Sprinkle pepper powder & turmeric on these thinly sliced kantola pieces.Stir them all so that pepper & turmeric gets coated on all the slices. Keep aside for ten to twelve minutes.

After 10-12 minutes, take a kadhai & heat it. Add oil & the pepper & turmeric coated kantola slices & stir fry them in the oil. After 5  minutes,add hing powder. Mix all nicely., give the ingredients a good stir. Add dhania powder & again mix all ingredients well. Sprinkle about 1 tbsp of water. Cook it covered with a plate. After another five minutes, add jeera powder. Stir all ingredients again so that jeera powder gets nicely mixed with all other ingredients. Let it cook for five minutes. Add red chilli powder. Mix all ingredients again.Add 1 tbsp water. Mix all nicely. Cook covered for about five minutes. Next remove plate cover. Add salt & mix all again. Cook till all water has evaporated. Put off gas.

Serve kakori or kantola fry with rotis or rice dal. It tastes very different .I love the taste !

Tiffin Sambhar

I came across this tiffin sambhar on the net. I got  interested . And then, I learnt that it is made from moong dal or a mixture of moong & tur dals. I read in the recipes that in hotel style sambhar, masoor dal is used.

I googled & liked this recipe by Kannamma cooks.I have made this recipe 3 times by now. I used moong dal the first time I made it,. Then the last two times, I made it using green split moong dal or chilke wali moong dal.

I have used ready made sambhar powder.Some recipes of tiffin sambhar use  freshly ground sambhar powder made at home .Some recipes even use fresh coconut for sambhar.

Yellow mung dal sambhar.

Ingredients : 1/4 cup heaped moong dal or green split moong dal,  assorted veggies ( beans, cabbage,tindora, white , red pumpkin, carrots,capsicum, etal), 1-2 green chillies roughly chopped, 2 -3 tomatoes roughly chopped or pureed or 1 tbsp  tamarind paste , 1 tsp sambhar masala,1 tbsp oil,1/4 tsp turmeric, 1/4 tsp hing powder, 1/2 tsp mustard seeds, 1/8 tsp methi dana, 1 byadgi mirchi broken into 2-3 pieces, 1 tsp jaggery ( optional ) , salt to taste.

Method :  Pressure cook the dal to two whistles along with assorted veggies & green chillies.
. Cabbage, pumpkin, beans, carrots tindora s can be added to dal & pressure cooked. Capsicum, tomatoes, need seperate cooking.Keep aside the dal veggie mix.

Green split mung dal sambhar.

In a vessel, take oil.Heat it. Add mustard seeds followed by methi dana. After they have turned aromatic, add brokemn byadgi mirchi pieces & curry leaves. Add powdered hing. Then add capsicum (optional ) .Saute  it all for some time.Then add tomato puree or roughly chopped tomatoes or tamarind paste. Mix all ingredients nicely. Add salt & jaggery ( optional ) . Let this all cook to a boil. Add sambhar powder. Mix. Let this boil for 3-4 minutes. Add 1/4 cup water. Bring to a boil. Add the dal veggie mix. Mix nicely. Let it all simmer for 5  minutes .Switch off gas.

Serve tiffin sambhar with idli, dosa and rice.

Gavar ki sabzi

Gavar is called chavalikayi or gori kayi in  Kannada .It is cluster beans in English. I had a colleague in my office ( when I worked outside home ) who would make a lip smacking gavar sabzi. Lip smacking, because, I have never liked gavar . I asked her for recipe & did try it, some time. I liked it & yet, my un fondness for gavar disallowed me to making it often.

After my marriage I realized, that whatever sabzis I disliked, are liked by my husband. Like is, too mild a word. It should be loved.My husband loves veggies for which I have no liking .So, I had to start cooking gavar on a weekly basis. And I am eating it too, as gavar has numerous health benefits.

Here's my recipe or rather my colleague's recipe ....

Ingredients : 250 gm gavar ( stringed & washed &  broken into 1/2 inch pieces by hand), 1/2 tsp ajwain , 1 potato deskinned & chopped into cubes,1 tbsp milk, 1/2 tsp Mazeedar Maharashtra masala ( goda masala), 1/2 tsp red chilli powder ( optional ), 1/4 tsp haldi, 1/2 tsp hing powder, 1/2 tsp jaggery, 1/2  tbsp oil, 1 byadgi mirchi ( optional -a type of dry red chilli ) , salt to taste.

                                    

Method : I hardly ever chop gavar after  stringing them. I prefer to break them into smaller pieces by hand. I had read that vegetables handled with hands have more taste than chopped ones. So wherever, I can skip chopping, I manage with my hands or rather fingers.

In a kadhai, heat oil.Add ajwain seeds.Add hing. Let it all become aromatic. Add the byadgi mirch pieces ( optional ) ) Add in the cubed poatatoes & mix all nicely. Add haldi. Mix all nicely. The potato cubes would have become coated with hing, haldi & ajwain.Let it cook for about five minutes. Keep stirring after 2 minutes. Add the broken cluster beans pieces .Mix all nicely in kadahai. Cover with a lid & cook for five minutes. Add 1-2  tbsp water. Mix all ingredients nicely. Cover with lid & cook for five to ten minutes. Add milk. Give it a good stir so that all ingredients get nicely coated with milk.. Add jaggery & salt. Mix all ingredients again. Cook for another five minutes. Open lid & check if potato cubes & cluster beans have become tender & are cooked. Add Mazeedar Maharashtra powder to the kadahi .Give all the ingredients in the kadhai a good stir. Cook for another five minutes. Add a little water if the kadhai mix has got very dry. Cook for another five minutes by covering with lid. Put off gas. Gavar ki sabzi is ready to be served.

Another method is to pressure cook washed gavar pieces along with potato cubes to which haldi & salt has been added. Pressure cook for 2 whistles. Keep aside.

In a kadahi, add oil.Heat it up.Add ajwain seeds & hing. Add broken byadgi pieces. Give all ingredients a good mix. Add the cooked veggie mix of gavar & potato cubes.Add milk .Mix all ingredient again. Add jaggery, salt, red chilli powder & Mazeedar Maharashtra masala . Give the mix in the kadahi a good stir. Cook for five minutes with lid covered. Put off gas. Gavar sabzi is  ready to be served .

For a tangy flavour, one can squeeze a lemon on the sabzi .

Sometimes, I like to eat kadak rotis which have remained on hot tava . This sabzi, I like with kadak papad like roti .And maybe, a few slices of raw onion or cucumber !

Sabudana Khichdi

I have tried sabudana khichdi before & it had turned out lumpy .I ate it as I can't waste it . Of course, I did not post it.

I had decided that on Ashadhi ekadashi, I will make sabudana khichdi. I asked my friend who is quite an expert in making this khichdi .She told me that the sabudana or sago pearly must be just about immersed in water level for overnight soaking .And she is right ! My friend told me that peanuts must be used in moderation .I followed her advice & it tuned out too good !

I did tweak the recipe. I did not add potatoes as I was in hurry. I added flax seed  powder & til or sesame powder as per Sangeeta Khanna's sabudana khichdi recipe in HealthFoodDesiVideshi  

Ingredients : 1 cup sabudana washed & soaked overnight with water just enough to immerse the sabudana, 1/2 cup roasted peanuts , 1tsp roasted til, 1/2-1  tsp flaxseed powder, 1-2 green chillies finely chopped, 1tsp grated ginger, 1 sprig of curry leaves, 1 tsp cumin seeds or jeera, 1.5-2 tbsp oil or 1 tbsp ghee, juice of half a lemon, salt to taste.

Method : Powder the roasted peanuts & seasame seeds in mixer. The powder must be grainy & not fine powder. Keep aside.

Mix the powdered groundnut powder, flaxseed powder, til powder with the ( overnight )  soaked sago pearls so that the sago pearls are coated with the powders. Add salt & grated ginger to this powder sago mix. Keep aside.

Take oil or ghee in a kadhai. I used oil. Heat it. Add jeera to it. When they crackle, add the green chillies  & curry leaves. Fry for a minute .Add the sago powder-ginger salt mix to the kadhai & mix all ingredients nicely. Keep cooking for four -five minutes.Mix again. Sprinkle some water over the mix in kadhai. Mix all ingredients in kadhai again. Cover the kadhai & cook for five minutes. The sago pearls will have become brownish or transluscent. Put off gas. Cover the kadhai with lid. After 5 minutes, uncover the kadhai. Squeeze lemon juice on the khichdi. Give the khicdi a good stir so that the lemon juice gets nicely distributed in the sabudana khichdi. Serve sabudana khichdi hot, in bowls or plates !

This khichdi was so moist and soft that I  was simply swallowing it ! Even my parents loved it !

Pineapple halwa

I have eaten pineapple halwa at hotels. I have liked it ...the aroma as also the flavour . I had seen it in some recipe blogs. I tried it & it turned out well. On Akshaytritiya, I decided to make it again.

I looked up the recipe on Veg recipes of India.  In another recipe ( I forgot the blog name )  of pinapple sheera, ghee used is 3 tbsps for making sheera using 1/ 2 cup rava. I decided to use this ratio of ghee to rava.

I got two packets of pineapple slices which is available on Mumbai streets now. Each packet costs 10 bucks & has 4-5 thin slices of pineapple .I used the pineapple slices of both the packets.

Ingredients : 8-10 slices of pineapple, 1/2 cup rava, 1/2 cup sugar, 3 .5 tbsps ghee, 1 cup water, kesar strands ( optional ) , 2-3 cardamoms ( powdered ) , assorted dry fruits thinly sliced ( optional ).

Method : Keep 1 cup of water needed, on slow gas for heating it up.

Cut the pineapple into bits. I pureed the slices. Some pieces ( the middle part ) remained like that only. Keep this mix of pureed & hard pineapple aside.

Meanwhile roast rawa in ghee in a kadhai. Roast it nicely. I had dry roasted rawa nicely earlier. So in ghee, I  roasted it for less than 2-3 minutes. Add the pureed pineapple & the hard pineapple pieces into the ghee roasted rawa in kadhai. Mix all nicely. Let it cook for 4-5 minutes. Keep a watch by constantly turning the contents of kadhai up & down with a large ladle so that nothing gets stuck to kadhai bottom. Add the heated  water to the kadahi. Mix all contents nicely.  After 2-3 minutes, stir up the contents & continue cooking for 2 -3 minutes. Uncover the lid. Add sugar.Mix all the contents nicely. Add kesar strands. Mix again. Let it cook for 2-3 minutes. Stir with the ladle.Add cardamom powder.Mix all contents nicely. Cook for 1-2 minutes. The sheera is ready. If water can still be seen in the kadahi , cook for 2-3 minutes more. Switch off gas.

Cut thin slices of assorted dry fruits & garnish sheera with the slices of dry fruits.I have garnished with thin slices of cashew nuts. Even almonds & pistas can be used as garnish. Some recipes raost dry fruits in ghee & add them to such halwas.

Igfelt that 1/4 cup ghee was a better ratio for making sheera from 1/2 cup sooji so that the sheera looks moist. Mine was some what dry.

Meth amba

I had been introduced to this tangy dish by my Mahrashtrian colleagues whilst I worked at office.I savoured it & was told the recipe. I wanted to try it years later. I googled it & got this recipe .I added a chopped green chilli to the dish .Rest of the recipe remains the same.

Ingredients : 2 tsp oil, 3/4 cup kairi chopped ( raw mango-used here is Totapuri raw mango ), 1 medium sized green chilli washed & chopped, 1/4 tsp powdered hing, 1/4 tsp haldi, 1/4 tsp  mustard seeds, 1/8-1/4  tsp methi seeds, 1/2 tsp red chilli powder, 2-3 tbsp chopped jaggery , salt to taste.

Method : Take oil in kadahi. Heat it on slow gas.Add mustard seeds.After they pop up, add methi dana. They will change colour & get aromatic. Add hing followed by chopped green chilli pieces. Fry for 10-15 seconds. Add chopped kairi pieces. Fry them nicely.Add hal;di. Mix all contents nicely. Add 2-3 tbsp water. Cover it cooked for 3-4 minutes. Add jaggery & salt. Mix nicely. I had added big chunks of jaggery. So added more water ( approximately 2-3 tbsp water ). Cook it for 10 minutes or till it gets almost dry. The mango pieces would be soft & mushy now. Put off gas. Add red chilli powder. Mix nicely all the contents with red chilli powder. Enjoy with roti & or rice.

This has to be stored in refrigerator.And that would be nearly impossible as this is so tangy that it gets over in no time. It will stay, just for 1 week, in the refrigerator but, believe me, it will get over before that ! It can also be used as a spread on bread.

I used totapuri kairi in this dish. If more sour varieties of kairi are used, jaggery & chilli powder & salt will have to be adjusted ( added more accordingly ) . Totapuri is sour & sweet too.

Pumpkin sabzi :North Indian style.

I have loved the Pumpkin sabzi that is served in Pancham Puriwala at CST, Mumbai. My north Indian friends make it as an accompaniment to puris on festivals.

I made this sabzi last week with green chillies, red chilly powder, methi dana ( fenugreek seeds )  & amchur ( dry mango powder which is a souring agent ),This time , I made this dish by following Sangeeta Khanna's recipe from banaras ka khana .I did add methi dana, jaggery and amchur though she has not added any of these in her dish.

Ingredients : 250-300 gm red pumpkin deskinned , washed &  cubed, 1/ 2 tsp jeera, 6 peppercorns, 1 badi elaichi, 1 green elaichi, 1 star anise, 1 small  cinnamon stick, 1/4 tsp powdered hing, 1/4 tsp haldi, 2 -3 byadgi mirchis broken into 2-3 pieces each, 2-3 tsp oil, 1 tsp amchur powder, 1 tsp jaggery sugar, 1/ 4 tsp methi dana, 1/ 2 cup water, salt to taste.

Method : Heat oil in kadhai. Add powdered hing. Add cinnamon stick, slightly crushed peppercorns, slightly crushed badi elaichi & green elaichi , star anise. Fry them for a few seconds.Add broken byadgi mirchi pieces, methi dana & cumin ( jeera ).Jeera & methi will get aromatic. Add Pumpkin cubes. Saute them. Add haldi. Mix nicely all contents of kadahi. Add half cup water. Mix all contents nicely. Cover kadahi with lid. Let it cook for 7-8 minutes. Add jaggery powder & am

chur powder to contents in kadahi. Cook for 4-5 minutes. Put off gas. The cubes must retain their shape & yet be soft enough to melt in mouth. Serve with rotis or puris.

Purple cabbage sabzi

I had chanced upon this purple cabbage in the marjket. I got it as I wanted to taste it. I shredded as small part of it & ate it raw with some poha which has been mixed with chutni powder & til oil & some finely chopped raw capsicum & grated carrot.This was my Ekadashi fasting recipe.It was fresh & crunchy.

Next I googled for a sabzi recipe using purple cabbage...its also called red cabbage...don't know why. Its not red at all. Though I think after cooking , it does turn red or rather pink as can be viewed in the snaps.

I came across this easy recipe which is sans coconut. I added green chillies to it &  added 1/ 3 cup water in installments to tone down the crunchiness !

Ingredients : 250 gm shredded purple cabbage, 1/ 4 tsp mustard seeds, 1/4 tsp urad dal, 1 byadgi mirchi broken into 2-3 pieces,1-2 green chillies roughly chopped,8-10 curry leaves, 1/4 tsp hing, 1/4 tsp sesame seeds,1 tbsp oil, salt to taste.

Method : Heat oil in a kadahi. Add mustard seeds.After they pop up, add urad dal. Once urad dal turn golden brown , add the broken pieces of byadgi mirchi & curry leaves. Fry them for a few seconds. Add shredded purple cabbage & chopped green chillies. Give all ingredients a good stir by the ladle.Add 1/ 4 cup water. Mix all ingredients again. Let it cook for 5-8 minutes. Add salt to taste. Mix all ingredients again so that salt is nicely mixed up. Add remaining water. Again, give a good stir. Cook for 5-6 minutes or till almost no water is left in kadahi. Put off gas.

Toast sesame seeds in another kadahi till they start spluttering up. Alternatively  toast them in microwave for thirty seconds. Put off the microwave. Again toast them for another thirty seconds.

Garnish purple cabbage side dish with toasted sesame seeds. Serve as side dish for rotis and or rice.

My sabzi was not so crunchy as I wanted it to be softer .Hence, I had added water. It was a little salty. So I added, juice of a quarter of a lemon & then it was good.

Black peas amti

Black peas or kala vatana as it is called in Marathi is a flavourful lentil. I used to cook it earlier. I had not got it for almost ten years, maybe. So , I got some black peas & made this black peas amti .I used Mazedaar Maharashtra spice powder from Madhavi Spices. Goda Masala is named Mazedaar Maharashtra by Madhavi Spices.

I followed this kala vatana chi amti recipe though I tweaked it to suit my cooking.

Ingredients : 1/4 cup black peas, 1-2 tbsp fresh coconut grated, 1 medium onion, a few curry leaves, 1 tsp grated ginger, 1 green chilli , 1 medium tomato, 1 tsp goda masala ( Mazedaar Mahasrashtra of Madhavi Spices ) , 1/2 tsp mustard seeds,1 /4 tsp powdered hing, 1/4 tsp haldi, 1 tsp or more of powdered or grated jaggery( optional ),1 tbsp oil, salt to taste.

Method : Soak the black peas overnight.Next day, discard the water & pressure cook the black peas by adding sufficient  water & some salt to the black peas.

Pressure cook the black peas up  to two whistles & then on low flame for 20-30 minutes. Put off gas.

Make a paste of green chilli, curry leaves, ginger & onion in mixer. Keep aside.

Chop a tomato & make  tomato paste in mixer. Keep aside.

In a kadhai take 2 tsps oil.Put mustard seeds.When they pop up, add hing. Mix nicely. Add the green chilli, curry leaves, ginger-onion paste to the kadhai. Saute nicely till raw smell of onion disappears.Add haldi. Mix nicely. Add tomato paste. Mix nicely. Add salt to atste. Mix nicely. Keep cooking till, raw smell of tomatoes goes away. Add pressure cooked vatanas to the kadhai. Mix nicely. Add fresh grated coconut. Mix nicely. Add 1 tsp Mazedaar Maharashtra aka goda masala of Madhavi Spices to the kadhai. Mix nicely.Add jaggery at this stage to kadhai & mix  nicely. If the amti is too dry, add water to it. Depends on how , you want your amti, very watery or thick. Let it come to a boil.Simmer for 4-5 minutes.Put off gas.

Serve black peas amti with roti or rice. It goes well with both rice as also chapati.

Those who don't want to add onion, please skip the step of adding onion to mixer. Make a paste of ginger, curry leaves & green chilli. Add tomato paste as it is narrated in this recipe.Some people use tamarind paste or kokum as the souring agent instead of tomato. And follow other steps as stated.

Pineapple rasam.

My friend had been talking about pineapple rasam. And I knew I wanted to make it soon. So one morning ,I decided to go & buy pineapple that is available on streets.The pineapple slices-6-7 pieces in a   plastic packet which sells for 10 bucks.I got one packet for this rasam.

I googled & found this recipe on veg recipes. I made it like the recipe with some differences.

Ingredients : 1/4 cup tur dal, 1 packet pineapple slices ( cost Rs 10 ), 1-2 tsps rasam powder, 1 /2 tsp jeera, 1/4 heaped tsp black peppercorns, 1 large tomato chopped fine & pureed in mixer, 1tbsp ghee, 1/2 tsp mustard seeds, 1 red dry chilly, 1/4 tsp powdered hing, 1/4 tsp haldi, few kadipattas,salt to taste.

Method : Pressure cook tur dal with haldi & hing for two whistles & then on slow gas for up to 10 minutes. Put off gas.after the cooker has cooled off, mash the tur dal Keep aside.

Take half of the sliced pineapple pieces & puree in mixer. Keep aside.

Remaining slices of pineapple are chopped finely & kept aside.

In small grinder jar, grind the jeera & black peppercorns to a coarse powder. Keep aside.

In a vessel, add 1 tbsp ghee.Put on gas. As the oil heats up, add mustard seeds. After they crackle, break the red chilly into some pieces & add to the oil.Add the curry leaves now. Now add the pureed tomatoes to the vessel.Allow it to come to a boil.Add salt. Mix nicely. Add the coarsely ground jeera black peppercorn mixture to the vessel,.Mix nicely with the tomato puree .Let it cook for a minute or two.Add the pineapple puree now. Mix nicely. Add the mashed tur dal now .Mix nicely.Add rasam powder now. Add water depending on the kind of rasam that is needed...thin or thick.

Add the finely chopped pineapple pieces to the rasam now. Bring it to boil.Put off gas.

Serve pinapple rasam with rice .

I forgot to add jeera pepper powder to the ghee in vagar & hence, added after tomato puree had boiled. And I added pineapple pieces at the end. In the recipe, these are added after tur dal is added.Maybe , if you follow recipe, it would turn out more flavorful.I have used smaller quantities of jeera & peppercorns as I am not used to very pungent flavours.

Vegan Lemon Cake

I had been thinking of making a lemon since a pretty long time. I had gone through many recipes. When I finally got down to making it, I choose two recipes....a vegan version & another an eggless version.

I took some steps from both the recipes & tweaked a little. Here is  my recipe.

Ingredients  :

Cake 
1 cup whole wheat flour, 1/2 cup maida , 2 tbsps flax seed powder, 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar, 1/2 cup jaggery sugar ( Patanjali brand ) , 1/4 cup oil,1tsp lemon zest, 3 tbsp lemon juice, 1tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp baking soda, a pinch of salt.

Icing : 2 tbsp lemon juice, 1 cup powdered white sugar .

Method : Preheat oven to 180 degrees centigrade.Line a baking vessel with butter paper. Keepa side.

Add 6-8 tbsps warm water to 3 tbsp flax seed meal .Mix nicely &  keep aside.This is the flax seed egg mix.

Mix all dry ingredients ..whole wheat flour, maida, baking powder, baking soda, salt.Mix all these with a spoon or fork or whisk many times over so that they get nicely mixed. This is the dry mix Keep aside.

Mix oil, apple cider vinegar nicely. Add the jaggery sugar to this mix. Some chunks of sugar may have to be broken up & mixed nicely. Add the lemon zest & lemon juice to the mix. Add the flax seed egg mix to this mix. Mix al;l nicely.This is the wet mix.

Make a hole in the dry mix & pour the wet mix into it .Mix both wet & dry mix nicely so that a batter is obtained.If the batter is not getting formed, add some water drop by drop. The batter formed must have idli batter consistency.

Bake in convection mode at 180 degrees centigrade for 45 minutes or till a toothpik inserted in cake comes out clean. I bake in microwave mode for 4-5 minutes  after this convection baking to ensure that cake is fully baked.

Take 2 tbsps lemon juice & add 1 cup powdered sugar to it. It will become like a white grainy liquid. Pour this over the cake after the cake has cooled & reached room temperature.The icing got so much that it was poured over the whole cake & so much so that not even a little space of cake was dry .

I should have used just 1 tbsp lemoin juice with 1/2 cup white powdered sugar. Cut the cake into desired shapes & serve.

The cake turned out fluffy, moist& soft. Yet, I found lemon zest wanting. Of course the lemon sugar icing taste makes up somewhat for the lemon zest !