Phanna Upkari - A very authentic GSB Konkani community fish curry from south of Karnataka is a mouth watering dish and every konkani will vouch for it 🙌 A curry where lightly marinated fish is simmered in sautéd browned chopped onions along with tangy paste of red chillies and tamarind in a Claypot cannot be taken for granted 💪! The whole experience of cooking it in a claypot itself is very exciting and joyful experience. Taste is also fantastic. Brings the rustic-ness to the forefront when you try making such dishes in a way it is suppose to be made.
It is also known as Pulimumchi, usually Mackerel is used in this dish. But in my case, beggars cannot be choosers, so I go with whatever good Indian fish is found and make the best of it. I have used Promfret in this recipe. You can also use shrimp as well.
Like all dishes have their own variations so does this curry! Every household has their own way of making it. Few add additional phanna/tadka at the end of the curry while few may add additional garam masala ingredients of their choice. So if you know your taste palate, please go for it! Make it your own!
This is my Mother-In-law's recipe - she makes it really yummy! My Mom always stuck with North Canara/Goa style fish tephala ambat (schezuan peppers/coconut/red chillies) and Kandya Ambat .My friends mom used to make this jhalke(means fish in konkani) phannaupkari curry and thats how I have tasted it before. After marriage, I have had this often at my in-law's place. Slurpicious Yummy Curry indeed!
Recipe is real simple- all you have to do is play with dry red chillies and tamarind [ spiciness and tanginess]
Let go to the Recipe:
Ingredients:
2 Pomfret (med size - cleaned and cut into pieces)
2 med size onion finely chopped
3 tbsp coconut oil
salt to taste
Marination of fish:
1/2 tsp chilli pwd, 1/4 tsp turmeric, salt to taste
To make Masala Paste:
12-15 dry red chillies [ Byadgi would be great as its less spicy and gives out nice color]
small lemon size ball of tamarind
2-3 pods of garlic
pinch fenugreek seeds (optional)
Preparation:
In a bowl marinate cleaned fish with chili pwd/turmeric/salt. Just sprinkle powder over the fish-massage lightly and keep aside.
In a pan add 1 tsp of oil- roast red chillies, fenugreek seeds if using and transfer it to a blender. Add garlic and tamarind. Make a paste by adding water sparingly. Taste it and feel free to adjust tamarind for more tanginess if needed.
Now place your claypot on a low heat, remember this is a slow process of cooking if you are using a claypot! You can do this in a non stick utensil too. Do your cooking on a med flame.
Add coconut oil, once its hot, add finely chopped onions. Saute it stirring regularly till it turns golden brown.
Add the ground chili masala paste to it - add a little water to blender cup to get all the paste into the pot. Mix everything nicely and cook till oil starts to separate. This curry is semi-thick, so add water accordingly. I usually add 1 cup first. Then add in increments as the curry thickens. Add salt.
Add marinated fish fillets and cook till its done. Around 8-10 min on low flame!
Enjoy it with your plain rice, or parboiled rice or just plain white bread! its YUMM!
NjoY!! happY cookinG!!
Your feedback is very important. Share your story or pictures if you make dishes from this blog!
Fish is usually rich in proteins, vitamins and minerals. Mackerel is high in omega-3 fatty acids and been proven to be very effective in lowering triglyceride levels. They help with blood circulation and lower blood pressure by allowing blood vessels to expand and be more elastic. Mackerel, have been known to reduce the pain, stiffness and swollen joints associated with arthritis. Several studies have found a correlation between fish oil and a reduced risk of depression, suicide, schizophrenia and Alzheimer's disease. Eating oil-rich fish like pomfrets regularly can help to keep the eyes bright and healthy. Not only does omega-3 help to protect the skin from the harmful effects of the UV damage.
Who doesn't enjoy a delicious lightly spiced flavorful coconut based egg curry? Egg is one quintessential breakfast food loaded with proteins- liked and consumed by all - good thing being a lot of vegetarians also consume it and are known as Eggetarians 😆 Eggs are the most nutritious food on the planet! There is no doubt about it! On top of everything else, they are also cheap, easy to prepare, go with almost any food and taste awesome.
Egg Curry from coastal southern regions of India is made using garam masala and coconut as its main ingredients. I have tried hard to get that exact taste like my mom's, but its tough 😊 I am close to it and have made my peace with it. ✊
I feel restless when I dont have eggs in my refrigerator. I have to stock it up as soon as I see around dozen left. Boiled eggs, scrambled eggs, puffs, egg burji, omelettes, french toast, cakes etc- thats how Eggs are consumed in a healthy and regular basis in my household. It comes to my rescue when I am short on meat at home or for that matter even veggies. There used to be this famous jingle in India- Sunday ho Ya Monday Roz Kaho Ande 🥚 ... a good one indeed :)
Back home Eggs are treated like a second class citizen 😂. No kidding, when I am chatting with my Mom and if I ask her- "what did you cook for dinner?" There is a sigh in her tone when she says.. just made some egg curry- followed by WHY that decision was made ---like didn't have time to get chicken OR no good variety of fresh fish was available in the market OR due to bad weather she was not able to go get fresh veggies etc etc. So you see what I am saying- justification on why egg curry was made ... 😛
Where as for me here - Egg curry day is like a celebration :) My son is thrilled as he is an ardent and loyal fan of eggs. My husband is neutral - he doesn't enjoy coconut curries so much ...yeh go figure 🙄 ! and Me- full focus on getting the curry taste right just like my Mom's... so its a fun affair.
As a kid, my sister and Mom loved full boiled eggs in the curry whereas me and my Dad loved fresh broken eggs in the curry. Till this date that has not changed. Separate 2 broken eggs always go in my funky-licious Egg Curry/Anda Curry!
I do not know anyone around me that dislikes eggs. I have a cousin who couldn't eat it due to allergies and I used to feel so bad for her. While growing up my younger cousins gang loved my version of Plain Omelette. My mom and aunts used to make us omelette loaded with onion/tomatoes/veggies which most of them did not like it then 😁 The same ones that we relish like crazy on Cruises now- 😎
Anyways, Lets get started with the recipe:
Please feel free to modify ingredient quantity as per your taste for spiciness and thickness of curry!
Ingredients:
4 boiled eggs + 2 fresh eggs
3 tbsp oil
1 big onion finely chopped
1 tomato chopped
1 tsp each ginger and garlic paste
salt as per taste
Masala Paste:
5 cloves
1 cardamom
3-4 black pepper
1/2 inch cinnamon
1/4th tsp cumin seeds (jeera)
1/4th tsp sesame seeds
1/4th tsp poppy seeds
3 tsp coriander seeds
7-8 red dry chillies [adjust as per your taste]
1/2 cup grated coconut + 3 tsp dry grated coconut
handful of cilantro leaves
1/4th tsp turmeric
Preparation:
Roast ingredients from 1-9 in a tsp of oil for few minutes till its fragrant and put it in a blender.
In the same pan roast coconut till it is slight brown in color on low heat and then add it to the blender. Add turmeric , cilantro and make a paste by adding water sparingly. Keep aside.
In a wide mouth utensil heat oil, add finely chopped onions and saute till light brown. Add ginger garlic paste and saute further till the raw smell goes away. Add tomatoes and cook till everything comes together.
Now pour the ground masala paste and mix everything nicely. Bring it to a boil. Let it simmer for few minutes. Adjust water and add salt.
Add the boiled eggs in the curry. You can lightly score the eggs from top to bottom with a knife or you can even lightly roast it in oil with garam masala powder [or chili pwd and turmeric pwd] before adding to the curry, or cut in halves and slide it in the curry- choice is yours!
Once the curry starts to simmer again - slowly break the remaining 2 fresh eggs and slide it in the curry. Leave it alone for 5-8 mins on low-med flame till the eggs are done. You can give it a light handed stir in between.
Enjoy it with rotis or just plain rice or jeera rice. It super yum!
njoY! happY cookinG!!
Your feedback is important to me. If you have tried any recipes from Pinch of Swad, feel free to share with us.
Incredibly nutritious food! In fact, eggs are pretty much the perfect food. They contain a little bit of almost every nutrient you need. Whole eggs are among the most nutritious foods on the planet, containing a little bit of almost every nutrient you need. Omega-3 enriched and/or pastured eggs are even healthier. Eggs are high in cholesterol, but eating eggs does not adversely affect cholesterol in the blood for the majority of people. Eating eggs consistently leads to elevated levels of HDL (the "good") cholesterol, which is linked to a lower risk of many diseases. Eggs are among the best dietary sources of choline, a nutrient that is incredibly important but most people aren’t getting enough of.
Kabab or Kebab has a nice ring to it, it brings a smile on my face whenever someone utters that word. My mind starts getting images of get-togethers, fun with friends, with some beer or wine in the vicinity(yaasss), jamming sessions, or a fancy restaurant, sometimes dhaba style restaurants too :) etc. etc. So in short, this dish brings happiness to me. It is served as an appetizer mostly during parties and get together's!
Of course, one shouldn't stop at that, make it at home, in your kitchen whenever you feel like :)
I call it a 'Happy Side Dish'
It is a cloudy rainy day today in my town and I was craving for some chatpata (spicy peppery) snack. Had some minced chicken in the fridge, thought of making these chapli kebabs. Very easy to make, use the spices on hand, make patties and fry it in the oil!
Chapli kebab is a Pashtun-style minced kebab, usually made from ground beef or mutton with various spices in the shape of a patty. It originates from Peshawar in Northwest Pakistan and is also known as the Peshawari kebab.
The chapli kebab is a popular barbecue and street food in parts of Northern India, Pakistan, as well as in eastern Afghanistan. It can be served and eaten hot with naan bread, rice, or in burgers and sandwiches such as a Bun kebab or stuff in Pita Bread. Or just have as an appetizer with chutney dip, sliced onions and lemon wedges on the side.
Can't wait to dig in, every time I make something like this!
Here is the recipe for Chapli Kababs,
Ingredients:
1 16 0z minced chicken pkt (or get chicken thigh or breast and grind using the blender)
1 med size onion chopped finely
2 tomatoes chopped finely (squeeze the water out)- I used cherry tomatoes :)
2-3 green chilies chopped
1 tsp ginger garlic paste
1/2- 1tsp chili powder flakes (if you don't have, take dry red chili and crush it)
salt to taste
1/2 tsp pepper powder
1 tbsp coriander seeds crushed in a mortar n pestle ( coarse coriander seeds pwd, a must step in chapli kababs)
1 cardamom crushed
2 cloves crushed
1 egg
2 tbsp whole wheat flour ( optional, if your mixture gets little soggy, add this)
Oil to fry
Deep fried chapli kababs
Shallow fried Chapli Kebab
Preparation:
Take a mixing bowl, add all the ingredients except oil. Patties mixture should be dry enough.
Take a bowl of water at the side to dip your hands, while making patties.
Heat a pan with little oil in it. You can either deep fry it, which will taste awesome or shallow fry it(I like it this way)
Take a small portion of the meat mixture and make patties by flattening it, you can give any shape you want. Traditionally it is given an oval shape.
Place in on the hot pan, it should sizzle. Let it cook for 3 minutes. Then flip and again cook for another 3 minutes or till done. Cook on medium flame.
Strain it out and place on the paper towel to absorb extra oil.
Health Benefits:
Chicken is one of the best non-vegetarian sources of protein. It is lean meat, which means that it contains more amount of proteins and less amount of fat. Apart from protein, chicken is rich in several minerals like phosphorus and calcium, that helps keeps bones in mint condition. Also, it has selenium which has been known to cut a risk of arthritis.Chicken has two nutrients that are great for reducing stress – tryptophan and Vitamin B5. It boosts immunity (remember how we eat chicken noodle soup when we are sick?) and promotes good heart health as it is rich in vitamin B6, plays an important role in preventing a heart attack. so I say YAY to chicken!
Zunka Bhakar immediately puts you in the rustic mode- a very traditional rural soul food preparation- no nonsense, nothing fancy, screams out less is more and very comforting food combo from the states of Maharashtra, upper Karnataka and Goa. I simply love this food and even today enjoy relishing it in the dhabas while travelling!
Zunka is a simple preparation of besan (gram dal flour) and onion with few other ingredients. Dry version is often called Zunka and thinner version (patal) is called Pitla. I usually tend to keep my Zunka little thinner so that I can enjoy it with my rice too. The taste is super awesome and when you serve it with Jowar Bhakri(Jolad roti)- it's like having a food orgasm, no kidding :P
Simplicity at its best- hold perfectly apt for this Zunka Bhakar combo!
Jowar or Sorghum bhakar or bhakri (flat bread) is not very easy to make. Wait don't panic or scroll down :)... Perfect way of making it comes only with the practice. Originally it is rolled out into a flat roundel using just the palms of your hands by tapping it on the ball of dough to make a bhakri. But I am not still there :) I use my rolling pin to roll it out and am happy with the results so far. Very healthy stuff and a good change from my regular phulkas and chapatis.
I have a very fond memory of this zunka bhakar from my childhood days. I had gone visiting my uncle in summer vacation to Mumbai and we were out doing some site seeing under the scorching sun. Me and my cousins were so hungry that day that we turned into mean little winners, our uncle took all the cousins to a dhaba kind of place where they served their speciality zunka bhakar and few other items. He ordered zunka bhakar for everyone without even asking us what we wanted and I still remember the way we hogged it all. Hunger, sun, tiredness and YUM SOUL food- calls for nothing less than but magical happiness!:) We literally licked our plates off :) and that memory is still so fresh on my mind.
Let us take a look at the recipe of Zunka Bhakar or Pitla:
Zunka (Pitla) Ingredients:
1/4 cup gram flour (besan)
2-3 cups water
2-3 green chillies slit
1 small onion chopped
10 curry leaves
pinch asafoetida (hing)
2-3 pods of garlic chopped
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp turmeric
salt at per taste
handful of chopped cilantro for garnish
2-3 tbsp oil
Preparation:
First take the besan (gram flour) and add little water to make a smooth paste and keep aside.
In a pan heat some oil. Add mustard seeds and jeera, as it splutters add chopped garlic, curry leaves, green chillies and saute quickly for few secs.
Add the chopped onions and saute till translucent. Add turmeric, salt and mix everything.
Once done add the besan paste prepared previously into the pan. Add about 2 cups of water ( if you want it dry add less water). Stir everything together.
Cook for about 5 minutes, till all the water evaporates and a thick yellow somewhat paste like residue is left, adjust quantity of water as per your preference.
Garnish with cilantro, chopped onion and serve hot with Jowar Bhakri or any kind of Roti.
Jowar Bhakri (Jolad Rotti) Ingredients:
1 cup Jowar flour (Sorghum flour)
1 tbsp rice flour
1/4-1/2 approx (water)
1/2 tsp oil
salt to taste
Preparation:
Take jowar flour, rice flour in a wide mouth mixing bowl or deep plate, to that add salt to taste.
Boil water on the stove with oil and slowly add this hot water into the flour mixture while you keep mixing it with a wooden ladle. Stop pouring water once you see a nice soft dough is formed.
Keep aside for the dough to cool down, say 10 minutes.
Once the dough cools a bit, start to knead it and continue to knead for at least 5 minutes. Give a nice massage to the dough as you knead it with the palm. It should be a soft dough. For best results gather all the dough and press it using palms of your hand.
Take a small portion from the dough and form a ball shape, keep it on a wax paper dust some flour and roll it out neatly and gently using a rolling pin. Don't put too much pressure as it will break. You can try patting it with your palms and flattening the ball into a round shaped roti. ( I usually pat it till its like 3 inches in diameter and then roll out with a rolling pin)
Doesn't matter if it the shape is not a perfect circle. :)
Heat a skillet or tawa, place bhakri, the side on which we applied dry flour it should face upward.
As soon as you place bhakri, apply water on the top of bhakri and spread water evenly all over bhakri. (I use a paper towel, soak in water and spread the water evenly over the bhakri)
Roast it just till the time water starts to evaporate from the top side of the bhakri.
Now flip the bhakri and cook from other side for a couple of minutes more. At this point of time you can increase the gas heat.
Now take the skillet away from the gas, lift the bhakri using tongs and roast it on direct gas heat from both the sides. ( you skip this step if not comfortable, just roast on the tawa on both sides)
Serve hot with a dollop of ghee/butter over it and your favorite vegetable Zunka or Non-Veg curry.
Besan (Gram dal): Gram flour or besan is a great remedy for keeping Diabetes under check. This is so because it possesses low levels of glycemic, which is essential for controlling Diabetes. Owing to the presence of soluble fiber, gram flour is really good for your heart. Again, owing to the presence of low glycemic index, besan helps in speeding up the process of calorie burn. It is a wonder ingredient for those who are allergic to gluten. So if you are allergic to wheat, replace it with gram flour. Besan not only tackles issues like fatigue and weight gain but also wards off iron deficiency. Apart from all these benefits, besan is good for tightening the skin and maintaining its elasticity.
jowar grain
Jowar (Sorghum): a diet rich in high-fiber foods like jowar may lower your risk of obesity, stroke, high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, elevated blood cholesterol and digestive problems like diverticular disease, colon cancer, constipation and hemorrhoids. You can increase the iron you absorb from jowar by eating it with meat or a source of vitamin C. Eating plenty of thiamine-rich foods may lower your risk of heart failure, neurodegenerative problems such as Alzheimer's disease and eye problems like cataracts.
Dosa is a versatile dish. Set Dosa with Saagu dish is like a couple made in heaven. They complement each other just perfectly. Set dosa is very spongy and soft in texture and is also known as Aval Dosa or Poha Dosa. The batter you get and the method to cook/roast is just like how we make the pancakes. While Saagu is a mixture of vegetables cooked in a thick textured curry where a blend of some interesting spices come together. It is one yummy curry!
Set dosa is similar to mushti pola (another Konkani style dosas) which is very soft and fluffy and has grated coconut ingredient in it. At home, my mom made it once in a while, as everyone loved Plain Dosas. My husband loves this combo so much that I am forced to make it and I prefer to have it for dinner instead of breakfast. It fits perfectly in the dinner menu. Filling and Yumilicious!!
So let us take a look at the Set Dosa Recipe and Saagu Recipe as well.
Set Dosa Ingredients:
2 cups rice ( I use basmati because that is my staple rice)
1 cup parboiled rice of any kind
3/4 cup urad dal
3/4 cup thin poha (flattened rice)
1 tsp methi seeds
salt as per taste
1/2 - 1tsp sugar (optional)
oil for frying
Preparation:
Soak all the ingredients (preferably separately) except salt and sugar (duhh :)) for 6-8 hours or overnight. Drain the water and transfer to the blender.
Blend urad dal first by adding just enough water till it is immersed. Make a smooth paste and transfer it into a big bowl.
Then in 2 parts add rice and soaked poha, grind and transfer to the urad dal paste. Mix everything nicely.
Make the batter of pouring consistency not too thick nor running. Keep it in a warm place to ferment for good 8-12 hours.
Just before you are ready to make set dosas, add salt and sugar to the batter. Mix properly.Pre-heat a tawa till it's really hot, pour 2 ladles of batter (do not spread the batter like we do for plain dosas) and leave it to cook gradually over medium heat.
Drizzle some oil along the edges and let it cook for 2 more minutes or till nicely roasted. You will notice bubbles formation on it(see pictures) just like pancakes.
Flip the set dosa over (this is optional) and let it cook further for less than a minute or so till it is slightly roasted.
In a blender make a smooth paste by adding the ingredients under wet masala. Keep aside.
Then in a coffee grinder(maybe), make the powder using ingredients under dry masala.
Heat oil in a pressure cooker, add the mustard seeds and let them splutter. Add the onions and curry leaves and saute till transparent, just for a couple of minutes.
Add the mixed vegetables and combine well. Add salt and turmeric pwd and cook on medium heat for 2-3 minutes. Pour the wet ground masala paste, powdered dry spices masala and mix everything quickly. Add 1-1 1/2 cups of water, stir everything and pressure cook for 1 whistle, then simmer the gas and cook for 6-7 minutes. *
Switch off the gas, and wait for the steam to be released. Open the lid and your hot saagu is ready to be devoured.
Garnish it with cilantro leaves and serve with set dosa, poori, roti etc.
Notes:* You can cook it in a regular pan too. First, cook the vegetables till 3/4th done, then add all the masalas, water and cook till done. Health Benefits:
Dosa is a great source of complete protein for vegetarians as it is made of rice batter and urad dal (black gram lentil) Dosa contains healthy carbs which provide our body with the energy needed to carry out different functions. It is a good option for people on a weight loss diet as well. Cutting out carbs from your diet can make you lethargic, low on energy and also lead to depression in some cases. Protein is another essential nutrient required by our body. It keeps us full for longer as it slowly releases energy and also helps make our hair, bones, and muscles stronger. Lentils used in the Dosa helps us with that. It is a low-calorie dish. Saagu is a dish with healthy vegetables providing all adequate nutreints, minerals, and vitamins.
Here we are in lockdown and its getting hard to get by each day without going out and interacting personally with loved ones.. Thank God we are still getting supply of essentials.
It is such a heartache to watch the news with casualties spiking up at insane rate.
Masala Puri - Bangalore Delight!
So Food comes to my rescue. Lately am indulging in preparing and dishing out many chatpata meaning tangy, sweet, spicy street food from India. Along with fond memories it brings in the much needed warmth and comfort around the house. And it definitely makes for a hot topic that tops the list during video meets and chats with family and friends.
Many are enjoying baking, cooking a feast for their families and some getting out of their comfort zone and trying out new things. Me am stuck with fast food and comfort food for now :)
Masala Puri is a street food from south India. Hailed as Bangalore's delight, is loved by millions across the country and is now becoming an international fare. It is a famous south Indian fast food loaded with spicy, tangy, tart and thick sweet flavors all bundled up in one plate.
I say its Indian Nachos :) where a plateful of crushed puris is drenched in desi goodness like hot dried white peas curry followed by onion, tomatoes, green chutney, sweet chutney, sev etc ..innumerable toppings of your choice! Wait there is more, if any curry is left use it as a side dish to enjoy with your rotis.
Actually my kid pours all the deliciousness over his plate of spicy Doritos(No Kidding:)) It tastes great. Try it.
Doritos Masala :)
I have always been a Ragada pattis girl which is a street food from Mumbai. And I am actually surprised that I have not registered it on my blog yet! Point mentally noted. Have been enjoying this Masala Poori treat every now and then during our get togethers and festival meets. Finally thought of putting it up on my blog. Btw you may also check out Pav Bhaji, Vada Pav,Missal Pav too.
I am always looking for a quick, easy recipe that wont compromise on the taste and flavors. So after scanning through few recipes and trying out couple of times, came up with this combo of ingredients which screams less is more and gives out great flavors and swad that is sure to make your soul happy!
Lets get to the recipe:
Please be kind to leave message in the feedback box if you like this recipe: Ingredients:
Curry:
1 cup dried white or green peas (vatana) soaked overnight or 4-6 hours atleast
1 med size potato peeled and cut into big 3-4 pieces
1 bay leaf
3 tbsp oil
1 med size onion sliced
1 tomato chopped chunkily
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1 inch cinnamon stick
3 cloves
3-4 pods garlic chopped roughly
1 inch ginger piece chopped roughly
4 green chillies chopped roughly [adjust as per your spice level]
handful mint leaves [ 4-5 leaves will do too if you can]
handful cilantro leaves along with stem will do
big pinch turmeric pwd
1 tsp garam masala pwd
1/2 tsp chat masala pwd
1 tsp coriander pwd
1/2 tsp tamarind pulp [optional -[ if you feel your tomatoes are not sour enough]
1/2 tsp jaggery/sugar [optional]
salt to taste
Toppings:
finely chopped onion
finely chopped tomato
finely chopped cilantro
date tamarind chutney [store bought]
sev [store bought]
Puris [store bought] - can use Doritos spicy Chips as a substitute :)
Preparation:
Use Instant pot(IP) to pressure cook the soaked dried peas. Add 3 cups of water with peas, potato, bay leaf. Pressure cook on high manual - 22 min. QPR release after 15 min or let it NPR. If using pressure Cooker, let it blow 3 whistles. Let the cooker cool down and allow pressure to release. Take out the peas and mash gently. Keep aside.
In the mean time, take a pan, heat oil, add cumin seeds, cinnamon, cloves, add onion and saute for few minutes, once its translucent add ginger, garlic, green chillies, saute further for couple more minutes, add tomatoes and cook for 2-3 minutes more till tomatoes soften.
Transfer this cooled mixture in mixer along with mint and cilantro leaves. Grind to a paste- you get nice green color.
Now in the same pan, add little oil and on low medium add turmeric, garam masala, chat masala, coriander pwd and quickly stir. Pour the ground paste and mix everything.
Now add the cooked dried peas give it a nice stir, add water as required consistency then add salt.
This curry thickens as we have potato in it. Consistency should be on the med thinner side- pourable consistency over the puris.
Serving:
First lay out roughly crushed puris on a plate. Pour the warm vatana (peas) curry over it. Then add tbsp chopped onions, 1 tbsp tomatoes, 1 tbsp sev, little cilantro, date chutney[sweet], cilantro chutney and start relishing it! I promise you will wipe out in no time... :)
Please add any amount and kind of topping of your choice!! You are the King of your own tastebuds :)
India's very own street side vegetable burger! You cannot go to Mumbai and NOT have VADA PAV- its a mortal sin if you do that ...lol
VADA PAV
This snack is synonymous with the city of Mumbai, with almost every resident, from factory workers to college students to Bollywood stars, to Visitors are unabashed in declaring their love for it.This street side business has given life to hundreds and thousands of families. A Vada Pav cart owner may be a millionaire for all we know. It is a meal of a poor and snack of the rich. Fills every one's tummy with yumminess!
Vada Pav is a crispy, flavorful sandwich that is consumed in millions across India’s financial capital and largest metropolis every single day. It's made with potato as filling for the vada which is dipped in chickpea flour batter and deep fried. It is then kept in between pav[bread roll] and served with various spicy and tangy dry/wet chutney and fried green chillies. There was a time when I used to ask for extra dry chutney from the vendor. I then brought the leftover chutney home and ate with my roti... its super yummy!
I lived with my aunt in Mumbai for a couple of years when I started work. There used to be a cart by the gate outside the colony which was taken care by a lady who was a widow. She made such excellent Vadas- the taste still lingers on my tongue. To relish hot Vadas which is made in front of you has its own bliss.
Now when I think of it, during shopping breaks I preferred to have Pav Bhaji , Chatpata mumbai special sandwiches or Cheese loaded Sandwiches :) wonder why?
One will find a thela of Vada Pav outside every train station - I am sure thats the hottest spot that is there for a great business! Tired commuters who are always in a hurry to reach somewhere take a quick break indulging in a flavorful Vada Pav which will keep them full till next pang of hunger :)
Mumbai and Vada Pav are inseparable!
Thanks to my aunt who happens to be a great cook and my goto chef :) Its her recipe that I am sharing here.
So without any further delay lets check the recipe:
We will need following: please dont lose interest looking at the ingredients, :) it just has few steps but can be done in fairly good amount of time.
Ingredients:
Dipping Batter
1/2 cup besan / chickpea flour
1 tbsp rice flour [for crispness]
big pinch turmeric powder
1 tsp chili pwd
salt to taste
A pinch baking soda
water
In a mixing bowl, add all the above ingredients except water.
give it a toss - let everything mix.
Add water slowly taking breaks while you whisk the batter together. Let there be no lumps and get medium consistency batter. I dont like it too thick. Now let the batter rest for 15 plus minutes atleast while you get other things lined up.
For Dry Red Chutney
4-5 cloves garlic fried in oil
1 tbsp red chili powder [adjust as you like]
1/2 cup peanuts slow roasted
1/2 cup boondi [ either store bought or while you make vadas, try to do some boondi with besan batter and use that]
Salt to taste
Grind coarsely all the above ingredients and your red dry chutney is ready!! Can be made before and kept. Also this can be used as a condiment and can reside happily in your kitchen pantry for other purposes :)
Red Dry Chutney
Vada Stuffing and Frying
3 med size boiled and mashed potatoes
1 tbsp oil
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
pinch asafoetida (hing)
10 curry leaves
1 tbsp of green paste [For me this is the USP of any Vada: 1/2 inch ginger, 3-4 garlic, 2-3 green chili , 1 cup cilantro ground to paste]
1 small onion finely chopped
1/4 th tsp turmeric powder
salt to taste
1/2 tsp lemon juice
1 tbsp chopped Coriander leaves for garnish
oil for frying
Preparation:
Heat oil in a pan on a medium heat.
Add mustard seeds, as it splutters- add asafoetida, curry leaves
Add onion and saute for 2-3 minutes till translucent. And turmeric pwd, green paste. Stir for a minute.
Add salt, then boiled potatoes. Mix every everything nicely.
Add lemon juice, coriander leaves and mix well. Try not to add water, if need be add very little so that potatoes gets nicely mixed with the seasoning. Stuffing is ready.
Let it cool a little.
Take small portion of stuffing and roll it in the shape of ball [makes around 8 balls] - as seen in the pic
For Frying
Heat the oil and always fry the Vadas on medium heat.
Stir the dipping batter that has been resting well.
Dip the potato ball (Vada) in the batter. Coat the batter from all sides hold it on top of the batter bowl till excess batter drops down then slowly slide it in the oil and fry it from all the sides until you see nice fried orange color on it probably couple of minutes on each sides.
Using a slotted spoon take out the Vadas and place on paper towel to drain out excess oil
Serving:
Take a Pav, slice it in the center, slather dry red chutney, place your Vada and couple fried chillies with it.
Shepuchi bhaji is a well known Maharashtrian dish. Very popular food amongst villagers and farmers. It falls under the category of either you Love it or Hate it, more or less like Karela (bitter gourd). It has a cult followers of its own if you ask me heheh and I am one of them. I can polish off my plate when I get served these cult vegetable curries like karela, shepu(dill), bitter beans etc. My husband is just the opposite, he doesn't like it at all. One other reason I look forward to make it as I make it once in a while :)
It is used as a herb in western countries. Dill has been used for culinary and medicinal purposes for hundreds of years.Apart from giving a strong, tangy, appetizing flavor and taste, it possesses plenty of medicinal properties. It is very good for health and has a pretty green color on it. Used these days for garnish, flavoring and for styling food plates to present on Internet handles, it is has multipurpose value- so Dill ain't going anywhere soon :)
I have enjoyed it so much while growing up- eating it with jowar bhakri or rice bhakri elevates its taste 10 folds more. I sill get all nostalgic when I visit my hometown in Belgaum and step into our family friends home, that aroma always lingers in their house. Have you ever experienced that? Every house has its own typical aroma and energy around it.
Anyways coming back to Shepu- my moms fav dish is shepu Idlis...well that is one thing which I am not a great fan of maybe because we add loads of jaggery in it... my tastebuds go crazy where ever it finds spice. Even now when I visit home there is a list of things that I want from my moms kitchen and Shepuchi, methichi bhajis are one of them. I am actually drooling as I am writing this as its dinner time and I cant wait to get my hands on it :)
Lets check the simple recipe:
Ingredients:
2 bunch of Dill leaves (about 21/2 cups of chopped dill)
4-5 garlic pods chopped (large in size)
3 green chillies slit
1 onion med size chopped
1/4th cup toor dal soaked for 30 mins (or split yellow moong dal)
1 tbsp grated coconut for garnish
1/4th tsp jaggery
3 tbsp oil
salt to taste
Preparation:
Clean and wash Dill leaves for a couple of times. It is usually muddy by the roots, so clean it nicely.
Chop the leaves and keep aside.
Soak the toor dal in little water for about 30 minutes and drain the water.
Heat oil in a pan, then add garlic, saute for a few seconds. Add onions and chillies, saute and let it cook till onions are translucent.
Add toor dal and mix it well, add 2 tbsp water and cook it covered for 5-6 minutes.
Now add the dill leaves, salt, jaggery and mix everything nicely. Close the lid and let it cook for another 5-6 minutes. Do not add water. It gets cooked in the steam that gets generated. If need be then add very little water.
Garnish with grated coconut and serve hot with roti, yogurt, rice etc
Njoy cooKing!
Health Benefits:
Dill is packed with micronutrients that provide health benefits. It is a good vitamin A intake that helps you to maintain healthy vision, skin, immune function, growth, and reproductive health. You'll also get a significant boost of vitamin C, an important antioxidant that helps your body to resist infection. Dill is also a good source of fiber, folate (important for cell division and production of DNA), calcium for healthy bones, riboflavin for cell function and development, manganese, and iron.
Dill has been used for centuries in traditional Asian and Ayurvedic medicine. Currently, people use dill for certain medicinal purposes, including: Gastrointestinal disorders Loss of appetite, Kidney disease, Flatulence, Fever and colds, Cough, Bronchitis, Urinary tract disorders, Hemorrhoids, Insomnia and other sleep disorders.
Summer time and Popsicles are inseparable. Simple joys of life is what I say! A sense of happiness, coolness, liveliness, and all that goodness bundled on a stick! Not to mention all the pleasing colors and flavors (of your choice) will definitely bring out the happy child in you. As summer holidays kicks in this season, what better way to start treating kids than a healthy fruity popsicle(s)? You may see many such colorful additions on my blog this season.
I am not an ice cream or a popsicle person (yes call me weirdo :)), but I take immense pleasure when I watch people enjoy it! Though these days I have taken a liking for eating Godiva and Magnums ice cream bars a lot!
My kid is a crazy fan of popsicles. Any day better than other calorie loaded sweet treats. So thought of kickstarting it with watermelon berries popsicles. Watermelons have become synonymous with summer and picnics, and for a good reason. Their refreshing quality and sweet taste help to combat the heat and also provide a guilt-free, low maintenance dessert for kids and adults alike to enjoy. One of the easiest treats one can make for their kids :)
So here we go to check the recipe:
Ingredients:
2 cups watermelon roughly chopped
2 tbsp yogurt (dahi)*
1/2 cup berries (took black and blue berries half and half)
2 tbsp honey (or add 1 tbsp sugar as per your taste)*
Preparation:
Blend all the ingredients together. (pour it over a sieve to take out any coarseness or seeds)
Fill 3/4th of the popsicle mold.
Add 4-5 whole blueberries in the molds.
Freeze it for a couple of hours till it is set and ready to eat.
njoY!! happY cookinG!!
notes:* adjust the quantity of honey(sugar) depending on how sweet you want and also the sweetness of fruits that you are using. You can also substitute any ice cream in place of yogurt.
Health Benefits:Watermelon is considered as a nutrient dense food, a food that provides a high amount of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants for a low amount of calories. Watermelon, because of its water and fiber content, helps to prevent constipation and promote regularity for a healthy digestive tract. Made up of 92% water and full of important electrolytes, watermelon is a great snack to have on hand during the hot summer months to prevent dehydration.
Blueberries are believed to contain the highest antioxidant capacity of all commonly consumed fruits and vegetables. Low in calorie and high in nutrients, who doesn't want that in this diet conscious era:) They are so good for our health that just add it in your cereals, pancakes or just munch on it! But get it in your system :)
So sit back and enjoy this yumilicious treat guilt free!
Famous dalitoy (sound toy as tou-yee, close to the original sound :)) of konkani cuisine, hands down is the slurpicious simple dal curry. It is staple and mostly loved by all. It's so funny that even though it's such a simple recipe, it's like making tea. Every house you visit, the taste of tea/chai is different and unique. Everyone puts in their own twist when it comes to making dalitoy. The one that is served in the temple's, is the ultimate one 😀
DaliToy A konkani Dal Preparation
I was surprised to get many messages and comments from my close friends who tried it out and loved it. It then occurred to me that I had never mentioned this recipe to anyone before- thinking that everyone must be knowing it and that's how a basic dal preparation is! I was wrong and so here is a post on this super simple yet powerfully delicious dal- dalitoy!
DaliToy with Plain Rice and Pickle
Here is the recipe of the magical and most common dalitoy. Ingredients:
1 cup Toovar(toor) dal [for healthier version I use yellow split moong dal]
2 green chillies slit
10 leaves of curry leaves
1 tsp mustard seeds
big pinch asafoetida (can increase the quantity if you like)
1/2 tsp turmeric
2 cups water
1 tbsp ghee or oil
1/2 tsp salt or as per taste
handful chopped cilantro as garnish
2 tsp grated coconut [optional]
DaliToy Ingredients in pic
DalliToy after Tadka
DaliToy after cilantro garnish
Preparation:
Wash dal and keep it soaked for 30 min. [Always soak lentils and pulses before using, helps to reduce the gas formation in the stomach :)]. You can skip if in a hurry.
Add dal and water in a pressure cooker and cook the dal for 2 whistles. [for toovar dal 2, for moong dal 1] One can also cook on stove top, takes a little longer and need to keep an eye as its getting boiled. Usually will take 20 + minutes on stove top[or till dal is fully cooked].
Let the cooker cool down, check the dal, mash it a little bit if needed with a spoon. I use traditional wooden handmasher, ghotni :)
In a vessel, heat ghee/oil, add mustard seeds, once it starts to splutter add green chillies, curry leaves, stir quickly, lower the gas to sim, then add turmeric and asafoetida(hing)
Into this immediately add the cooked dal, give it a stir and add more water to adjust the consistency of the dal as per your requirements, some like it thick and some like it thin.
Add salt and bring to a quick boil. Switch off the gas and garnish it with a handful of chopped cilantro and grated coconut(optional).
While serving with rice, top it with little bit of ghee OR lemon juice it tastes super yum!
Notes:
*You can have variations while making dalitoy. One can add tomatoes and green chillies while pressure cooking the dal.
* You can also add 2 inches of ginger roughly chopped either in your tadka or while cooking dal.
* You can give garlic tadka too.
njoY!! happY cookinG!!
Nutrition Facts: Lentils is a mighty member of legume family, it's a good source of cholesterol-lowering fibre. It has good amount of folate and magnesium which is needed for a healthy and loving heart :) It replenishes our iron stores. Light on body, a good source of protein for vegetarians. Lentils Rule :)
Dalimbi or Val, also known as butter beans or Bitter Beans and some call it field beans is a very staple pulse in Maharashtra state, Gujarat state etc. Its funny that in most of my posts I have to mention various names of 1 ingredient - such is the culture and global influence we live in today! It can be cooked as a nice dry Usal or as a nice slurpy Rassa. Some even make it with full fledge ground coconut masala called Birde. This is basically my Mother In Laws recipe, which she makes fondly for her ladla beta ..yes.. you heard me right :) Intentional or not the biaseness oozes out in one form or the other hehe.. Well thats how most moms are. Who knows I may turn out the same way, only time will tell :)
Dalimbi Rassa
Frankly at my home while growing up this dish was not cooked very often but I had tasted it at my neighbors home and I simply love anything that is slurpicious with exquisite red color along with that oil floating on top of the curry. I will never say NO to that, cross my heart. After I married, and as my husband loved it so much, I started getting a bag of split Val or whole Val at home. Usually I get split one. But right now beggars are not choosers applies to us because of lockdowns in most of the states. Just grabbing whatever is found :) in the aisle or in shopping cart online.
Veg Thali
Coming to the recipe, I have already posted Dalimbi dry Usal on my blog. You can take a look if interested. I like Curry style with more Rassa any day. This particular beans has a nice soft bitter taste to it which has to be complimented with sweet so the usage of gud/jaggery is important and as well as sourness, so kokum water is used in this recipe to give that particular unique flavor to the curry. Use of ginger/chillies and goda masala are few other ingredients that bring out a lovely taste to it.
Lets take a look at the recipe:
Ingredients:
3/4 cup val (or butter beans)- soaked and sprouted preferably- yields approx 2 cups
1 sprig curry leaves
1 tsp cumin seeds
2 tsp jaggery
4-5 kokum petals - washed and soaked in 1/2 cup of warm water for 10 min
2 tbsp oil
1 tsp cumin seeds
pinch of asafoetida (hing)
1 tsp chopped ginger
1 small onion chopped
1 tsp red chili powder
big pinch turmeric powder
1 1/2 tsp goda masala (or onion masala or garam masala pwd)
handful cilantro finely chopped
1 tbsp fresh coconut for garnish (optional)
salt to taste
Boiled Butter Beans
Kokum Petals
Chopped other ingredients
Preparation:
Soak the val beans in the water overnight or for 8 hours. If you want to make sprouted val beans (which is more nutritious) then drain the water and keep it to sprout for 8 hours in a muslin cloth tied up.
In a saucepan add enough water till val beans is immersed and on med heat cook for 15-20 minutes. Keep a close eye after 15 minutes. It must be just soft. ( It gets mushy quickly and we don't want that). Switch off the gas and drain the water out. Keep cooked val beans dal aside.
During this time also soak kokum in half cup water and keep aside for 10 min.
In a pan, heat oil , add cumin seeds- once it starts to splutter add curry leaves, then add hing and then chopped ginger - saute for couple of min on med flame.
Add chopped onion, saute onion till light brown, then add the powders, red chili pwd, turmeric, goda masala - stir quickly on a low flame.
Transfer the cooked butter beans to this mixture, add kokum water and discard the kokum leaves, add jaggery, salt to taste.
Now add 1 cup + more water as per your required consistency and let the curry simmer for few minutes where you will see a nice red color and some oil floating on top!
Add cilantro and grated coconut(optional) Your curry is done, serve hot with rice or rotis.
Val or Lima beans (butter beans), like any other beans, are rich in dietary fiber. It is a slow burning complex carbohydrate. Val Beans gives you much energy to burn while stabilizing blood sugar. Also, has a good amount of Iron which is very crucial for the body. It is a power packed protein. A good source of manganese and folate along with potassium and has low sodium content.
We are going through a history where the world is witnessing a pandemic episode of Covid-19. As the world reels in the #StayAtHome concept lots of new ideas are popping up on internet to keep oneself busy and sane. One of them being Baking YES... Baking Breads, Cakes, Muffins, Brownies, Pastries is at its peak and is being enjoyed thoroughly across the globe as we silently fight against the Virus and pray that it dies down.
Irish Soda Bread
I venture into baking once in a while. This time it was so tempting for me to just not to ignore the call of baking a bread. But sigh!! I had to be patient as I did not have yeast in my pantry. Going to grocery stores at the drop of the hat is a big NO NO now, to add to it I kept forgetting to add that ingredient on my list of next home delivered order.
So I was left with no option but to look for something that used no Yeast. Something that was quick, simple and no fermentation recipe for my bread as I craved to make one!
And voila came across Irish Soda Bread in a 5 year old magazine which I was browsing while having my tea. As befitting many of the best breads in the world – Irish Soda Bread is a traditional Irish speciality- it was made with only the most basic of ingredients: flour, baking soda (used as a leavening agent instead of yeast), soured milk to moisten and activate the soda, and salt. Irish Soda bread remains an international favorite. Before baking, a cross was cut on the top with a knife, to ward off the devil and protect the household. Something about it, when you mark that X just before the bread goes in the oven, makes you smile and you know it will come out right :)
You are going to love it I promise.
Made this in like 50 mins [included baking time] and it was ready to be relished with your butter/jam/marmalade.....
Here goes the recipe:
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cup +2 tbsp - all purpose flour
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
2 tbsp regular rolled oats
1/2 tsp baking pwd
3/4 tsp baking soda ( preferably fresh)
3/4 tsp salt
2 tbsp cold u salted butter cut in small cubes
3 tbsp honey
1 1/4 cup buttermilk
1 egg
2 tsp orange zest ( optional)
1/2 cup nuts or dried currents or cranberry
Preparation:
Take all dry ingredients in 1 bowl and mix it with cold butter. Keep mixing the flour with butter till all cubes crumbles n become one with the flour ( you can flatten the butter with a spatula or use hands as you mix the butter with flour)
Then in another bowl take egg, honey, buttermilk and whisk till everything comes together. Add nuts, zest and give a stir.
Pour this mix into dry flour ingredients. Bring everything together with a spoon.
On a parchment paper transfer the dough n knead it gently (sprinkle flour on top if needed) should be soft and little sticky.
Give the dough any size you want like rectangle or round or square. Then with a knife make X sign on the loaf.
Bake it on 350F/180C for 40-45 min ... Let it cool down before u slice and enjoy this beautiful loaf of bread.
Street food, it's the best way to experience a local culture by eating the everyday food that the common man eats and relishes. And it's usually always hot and fresh and has taste that hits the spot sending you to the ecstacy land, if you know what I mean :) Another important fact being it usually cost less avoiding making a hole in your wallet😀. Most of us try so hard to recreate that magic by cooking at home and fail miserably... I can imagine you nodding head with me:) We have our days, and it is a journey of trial and error to get the exact taste like that of a street vendor.
My aunt is an expert (according to me) when it comes to making few chaat/street food dishes. This is her recipe and we love it at home. I did not have mix chiwda(farsan) for topping so just added plain sev on it.
This particular Missal Pav is a famous Maharashtrian chaat food where it has a 2 part preparation. One is Matki(moth beans) usal (dry sabji) and other is thin spicy red gravy Kat (coconut based). Then you can garnish it with the toppings of your choice. It is accompanied with Pav or Bread.
Dunk the pav in slurrpy kat with moth beans usal and toppings! You tend to soak the Kat using pav and finish eating very soon so they always provide you with extra kat in a katori on your plate.
It is very very yum dish!
Let us check out the recipe:
Ingredients:
For Matki Usal
2 cups boiled sprouted matki (moth beans)
2 tbsp oil
1 tsp mustard seeds
1/4th tsp asafoetida (hing)
1/2 tsp turmeric (haldi)
1/2 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp goda masala ( or garam masala)
salt to taste
For Kat (wet gravy)
<A>
8 peppercorns
6 cloves
1 tsp jeera
1 tsp coriander seeds
4-5 dry red chillies
1/2 tsp turmeric (haldi)
1/4 inch cinnamon stick
1/2 tsp sesame seeds
1/th tsp fennel seeds
1/4th cup grated coconut
2 tsp oil
<B>
4 big garlic pods
1/2 inch ginger
1 onion chopped
2 tomatoes chopped
2 tbsp oil
<C>
1 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp goda masala ( or garam masala)
salt as per taste
For Toppings:
1 onion finely chopped
1 cup cilantro chopped
1 cup sev (or mix dry farsan)
2 lemon cut in wedges
Preparation:
Mataki Usal:
In a pan heat some oil, add mustard seeds, after it splutters add all the ingredients under Mataki usal except matki (moth beans) and saute quickly.
Now add the cooked* sprouted matki, salt and mix everything together. Cook for about 5 minutes and switch off the gas.
Keep aside.
Kat (wet curry):
In a frying pan, heat oil and ingredients under <A> except coconut.
Saute lightly till it starts leaving aroma for about a minute or 2. Add this to a blender.
Now in the same pan, roast coconut and add it to the blender as well. Make a paste and keep aside.
In a cooking utensil, heat oil and add other ingredients under bullet <B> in the order of ginger, garlic, onions saute till brown and add tomatoes.
Fry everything till it becomes one mushy mixture. Switch off the gas as oil starts leaving from the sides.
Let this mixture cool. Add to the blender and make a paste.
In the same pan, add some oil, add <B> paste and bring to a quick boil. Add coconut paste <A> and cook for about 10 minutes.
Now you can adjust the taste by adding more chilli powder and goda masala under bullet <C>. Adjust salt too.
Add 3-4 cups of more water and bring to a boil.
Simmer the Kat on low flame till you see oil floating on top!
Now this is how you serve, take a soup bowl, add 3-4 tbsp mataki usal, then pour the kat generously over it, add chopped onions, squeeze lemon juice, add chiwda or sev on top and dunk your pav/bread in it and savor all the goodness!
You can see in my plate I have kat more as I like it that way :)
njoY!! happY cookinG!!
notes*: How to cook sprouted matki (moth beans)-Soak 1 & 1/2 cups of moth beans in 5 cups of water overnight or for 6 hours. Drain all the water and keep in a warm spot for another 6 hours or so for it to generate sprouts. You can also tie it in a muslin cloth and leave overnight. Boil it in 3-4 cups of water for about 25 minutes or till done.
Health Benefits:
Moth Bean seeds are a good source of proteins and other essential minerals and vitamins. It can make an excellent protein supplement to Vegetarian diet. Maximum benefits can be reaped when it is soaked and sprouted. The coconut base thin spicy curry has all the masala ingredients that provides adequate minerals and nutrients to our body. If we use the oil sparingly (if you are making this dish often) it will prove to be a more healthier dish.
Many names and one magical sweet dish that melts in the mouth. Holi, festival of colors and Puran Poli go hand in hand, it is a must to do dish during this festival in the state of Maharashtra. It is offered into the fire which is lit for Holika Dahan and after that everyone gets to eat and enjoy it. It is a fun dish and one may need a little practice to roll out these stuffed polis. It basically contains 2 parts, puran(huran) the stuffing (chana dal/jaggery mixture) and all-purpose flour dough called kanik. It feels like an accomplishment when you make these polis successfully :)
Let's quickly check the recipe:
Ingredients:
1 cup chana dal
1 cup jaggery (grated)
1 cup all-purpose flour (maida)
2 tbsp whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp turmeric powder (haldi)
4 tbsp Oil (vegetable)
1 tsp cardamom powder
puran and dough
Preparation:
In a pressure cooker, add 3 cups of water and washed chana dal. Pressure cook for 3 whistles, then switch off the gas and let the cooker cool down.
Open the pressure cooker, strain the cooked chana dal and reserve the water. This water can be used to make katachi amati. Drain water completely from the dal. Then add this dal into a deep pan.
Add jaggery in it and let this mixture cook over medium heat. Keep stirring over medium heat until the mixture becomes thick (keep stirring for like 7-8 minutes).
Let it cool down a bit. Then using a mesh strainer try to gather all the smooth mixture and keep aside else you can use mixer to blend this mixture smoothly too or if you feel lazy you can skip this step, just see to it that dal and jaggery is nicely mixed.
Add cardamom powder and mix. * Keep aside, this is your puran.
In a mixing bowl take all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour and turmeric pwd. Add 4 tbsp oil and mix well. Now add water little by little and make a smooth consistency dough.
Knead the dough until the it becomes very elastic. Put this dough into a bowl and cover it with lid. Let it rest for 30 minutes atleast.
Make small balls of the stuffing. Then make balls (smaller than stuffing) of the dough. Grease your fingertips and spread one dough ball gently to make a small round disc. Put one stuffing ball on it. spread the dough gently over the stuffing with fingers and cover the stuffing. Use dry rice flour to roll the poli. Heat the frying tawa, place rolled roti in the center and roast on both sides over medium heat, add little ghee while roasting. Serve hot with Ghee. Puran-poli tastes good with cold milk too.
These puran polis stay fresh for approximately 1 week at room temperature.
njoY!! happY cookinG!!
Note*: The huran has to be nice and dry for rolling out the Poli without breaking it. If you feel that the huran has moisture you can either freeze it for some time or microwave it for a couple of minutes stirring it after every minute. Knead the kanik nicely for couple extra minutes before making balls and rolling out.
I made one batch with 3/4 cup whole wheat flour and 1/4 cup maida without adding turmeric, see the picture below.
Maida Poli are more fluffy and soft.
HAPPY HOLI Making of Puran Poli in pictures:
Soft Ubbati
Health Benefits: Puran Poli made with whole wheat is rich in complex carbs, fibre and certain minerals. Jaggery used in the preparation is loaded with iron, calcium, phosphorus minerals. It digests slowly and hence helps to release energy slowly. Cardamom used also aids in digestion.
Colocasia/Taro/Alu leaves are seen in abundance in the tropical region. It adapts well to hot, marshy, humid climate. Very popular dishes are made using these leaves in the southern and western regions of India. Many households grow these beautiful plants in their backyards. They have so big leaves that it contributes to the lush greenness in the yard. Also known as Alu paan, this recipe is called Alwati, it's very tasty and can be made with the various combination of other ingredients like peanuts, jackfruit seeds, corn, channa dal etc. I consider this recipe exotic due to its unique taste, look and feel of the dish :) These leaves are also used in making the famous dish called Patrode or Patra.
HomeGrown Leaves
It is very easy low maintenance plant to grow in your backyard. You can either grow it in a big pot or directly in the soil. Get taro roots from the supermarket and soak it in water for a couple of days till you see small roots popping out of the root. Now all you have to do is plant it about 2-3 inches down in the soil. Water regularly and see this gigantic nutritious leaves coming out in a couple of weeks.
Let's check out the recipe:
Ingredients:
6-7 good size Colocasia leaves
3/4 cup grated coconut
1 small marble size tamarind
2-3 green chillies
1 inch ginger
2 corn cobs cut into pieces
4-5 buttermilk chillies (taka mirsang) - optional
salt to taste
For the tempering:
1 tbsp oil
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
pinch asafoetida (hing)
10-12 curry leaves
Preparation:
Chop colocasia leaves along with the stem. Pressure cook leaves and corn cobs for 4 whistles (or cook till corn is done).
Make a paste by grinding coconut, tamarind, green chillies and ginger.
Take a pan, add this paste along with cooked corn and wilted colocasia leaves and bring to a boil.
Add salt and simmer for few more minutes.
For the tempering, in a tadka pan add oil, 1/2 tsp mustard seeds, once it splutters add curry leaves and hing. Pour it over the cooked colocasia mixture. Stir gently.
In the end, add fried buttermilk chillies in the curry and serve hot with roti's or rice. Your aromatic, healthy dish is ready!
njoY!! happY cookinG!!
recipe credit to Anuradha Mudalagiri, my fellow foodie.
Home-grown Colocasia leaves
Health Benefits: Colocasia leaves are loaded with potassium and several minerals and vitamins. Helps to build a strong immune system, fights fatigue problems, helps lower blood pressure, helps in anti-aging process as it has a high content of hyaluronic acid. It's a low glycemic index food. These are home grown Colocasia leaves :)
Fish curry preparations from the Coastal areas are hands down the best curries in the whole wide world. Reason, fresh fish, fresh coconuts and fresh stock of dry red chillies...:) My ancestors are from coastal region and have known to survive on rice and seafood for their whole lives.:) My grandmother made the best fish dishes ever, she added just those 2-3 fresh ingredients like coconut, dry red chillies and tamarind to freshly caught and cleaned fish by using her signature eyeballing method(:)) to make a fingerlicking gooooood curry!! Since she was an expert, everybody simply loved it!
The highlight of our visit to my grandparents house was mostly "FOOD" and all that simple life around the house. She loved pets so much that all the dogs and cats of the neighborhood used to be at her house :) She loved feeding and talking to them. Wonder none of her kids got those genes passed down hhehehe :(
Few years back my youngest cousin (was 8 yrs then) had visited my grandmother and even he gave her the certificate of excellence :) saying that it was the best fish curry he had in his life (it was actually so cute that it is now a must to be mentioned story whenever we talk about my grandma)....so we all remember her with these loving memories that she has left behind.
Coming to the fish preparation, we have various kinds of fish curries that are very prominent amongst Konkani clan. Northern Karnataka is known for Teppal ambat (schezwan peppers/coconut curry) and Kandya ambat (onion/coconut curry) and in the south of Karnataka they make Phanna ambat (onion tempered curry), Alle piyav ambat/ghashi (onion/ginger curry).. so these are the few variations one will see. Goan preparation is again little different where they use garam masala (whole spices) in the curry. As we move to the north east side of India, one can see the fish preparation in mustard oil and mustard paste etc. So it's unlimited variety :)
Once you get a hang of making these coconut curries, there is no going back- I am telling ya :)
Let us take a look at this Konkani Fish Curry of Kandya Ambat recipe:
Ingredients:
1 cup fresh grated coconut (or frozen coconut)
1 onion finely chopped
2 big size pomfret/pompano (makes 8-9 pieces/fillet)
1/2 tea spn tamarind extract or kokum or small marble size ball of tamarind
1 green chili slit optional
7-8 red chilies (byadgi/kumti chillies preferably)
2 tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp turmeric
2 tbsp oil
salt to taste
Preparation:
Clean the fish, apply 1/2 tsp turmeric, salt and keep aside.
Lightly roast dry red chillies in 1/2 tsp oil, transfer to a blender. Then in the same pan roast coriander seeds and transfer to the blender. Then add grated coconut and roast it very lightly (do not brown it) before you put it into the blender. Add tamarind, turmeric and make a fine paste by adding little water.
Adjust the taste if need be, sometimes the chillies may not be very spicy, so depending on how spicy you want adjust accordingly. Color of the curry also depends on the quality of the chillies you are using.
Take a wide mouth pan, heat oil and add chopped onions. Saute till it turns just light brown.
Now add the ground paste and stir everything nicely. Add slit green chili, salt. Bring the curry to a boil and then simmer for 5 minutes.
Add water sparingly to get a nice flowy consistency of the curry. Do not make it too thin. Now add fish fillet gently into the curry and let it simmer further for another 5-6 minutes.
Don't keep stirring the fish, as it will break, gently move around so that the curry also breathes :) Switch off the gas once the fish is cooked and you see nice red color on the curry.
Serve hot with Rice, parboiled Rice, Roti etc. Curry tastes even better after few hours or the next day!
njoY!! happY cookinG!! Note: This method of curry preparation is used mostly for lean and bland fish , also shrimp can be used. Vegetarians can make it by adding potatoes in it. Tastes delish.
Pomfret is a delicious, lean white fish that has a wide variety of associated health benefits, including its ability to help reduce weight, boost overall metabolism, speed up repair and growth throughout the body, build strong bones, reduce the risk of various chronic diseases, lower triglyceride levels, prevent arthritis, protect against cognitive decline, prevent various types of cancer, reduce signs of aging, boost the health of your hair, and strengthen your immune system. It is a very good source of protein. It's no coincidence that fish-eating Inuit populations in the Arctic have low levels of heart disease; seafood is low in saturated fat and high in omega-3, (which can both) protect the heart from disease and lower the amount of cholesterol in the blood. One study has even suggested that an extra portion of fish every week can cut risk of heart disease in half. Eating oil-rich fish regularly can help to keep the eyes bright and healthy.
These Boondi or Bundi ladoos are the most beautiful looking ladoos that are there in the market. That light yellow /orange color makes it look so beautiful and festive! It is a collection of tiny pearly balls of gram flour, first fried then dipped in sugar syrup and then rolled into a ladoo. Boondi ladoo is a very delicious treat and is seen served on almost every joyous ocassion in India.
Never in my wildest dreams, I thought that one day I would be making this treat in my kitchen! I always thought it is a difficult dessert to make. No one made these back at home either, we always got it from the store and have eaten plenty at weddings and pooja ceremonies :)
But one day I simply pulled up my socks, said a small prayer in my mind and started making these goodies. To my surprise, they came out so good that my joy had no bounds! From then on there was no looking back. I look forward to make boondi ladoos every Diwali festival. Another reason to learn this exotic ladoos was my son, yes, he saw boondi ladoos from that Krishna animation series and wanted to have it along with rasagulla, sandesh, and besan ladoos :) Thanks to that series, my kid pushed me to do the needful and I couldn't be more happier with the end results!!
This recipe is adapted from manjulas kitchen site.
Let us take a look at the recipe:
Ingredients:
1 cup gram flour (besan)
1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon water adjust as needed
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 cup water
1 tablespoon sliced almonds
5 green cardamom pods crushed
Oil to deep fry
Preparation:
Add the water and sugar in a saucepan and bring to a boil on medium-high heat. When the syrup comes to a boil, turn the heat down to medium and stir to dissolve the sugar. Let it simmer until the syrup is about half thread consistency.
Mix the gram flour with water to make a smooth pancake-like batter or slightly thicker than dosa batter. You can test by pouring little batter on a perforated ladle(which we use to serve rice) and see drops of batter coming out. If it is runny you will have to add little more besan, if it's too thick add little more water to the batter.
Heat the oil in a frying pan on medium high heat. The frying pan should have at least 1 1/2 inches of oil. To test if the oil is the right temperature, drop a pinch of batter into the oil, if it rises immediately without changing the color then the oil is ready to start frying the boondi.
Hold the skimmer(perforated ladle) about 1 to 1 1/2 inches above the oil over the center of the frying pan with one hand. With your other hand pour some of the batter onto the skimmer to cover all of the holes without spilling over the edge of the skimmer. If you hold the skimmer higher than 1 1/2 inches above the oil boondi will not be round.
The batter will start dropping through the holes into the oil. Drop enough boondi into the oil so they just cover the surface of the oil in frying pan in a single layer
Fry them until the sound of sizzling stops and boondis are light gold in color but not crispy. Lift the boondi out of the oil with a slotted spoon (this allows excess oil to drip back into the frying pan) and put them directly into the warm syrup and mix.
Before making the next batch of boondi, wipe clean the skimmer. This helps to keep the boondi round.
Repeat the process of making boondi and adding to the syrup with rest of the batter. You may have to adjust the heat in between making boondis.
When finished frying the boondi, let them soak in the syrup for few minutes.
Add the crushed cardamom seeds and sliced almonds to the syrup.
Now drain off the excess syrup.
If the boondis are still hot, let them sit only until they are warm enough to handle but don’t let them to cool off. If the boondis become cold you will not be able to form them into ladoos.
Grease your hands with some ghee, to make the ladoos, scoop up some of the boondi mixture into your palm with a spoon. Gently squeeze the mixture between both palms to shape into a round ball about the size of a golf ball. As you are squeezing some of the syrup will come out. Dont worry about it.
Repeat the process till all the boondi is used up to make ladoos.
As the ladoos cool to room temperature they will become firm but they should still be moist.
Serve it as a dessert or snack.
njoY!! happY cookinG!!
Notes:* If the syrup is not of the right temperature, you will not be able to form the ladoos. If the boondis cool down to room temperature before being shaped into balls, the sugar will crystallize. If you are not able to make ladoos, don’t worry. You can still enjoy them as sweet boondi or use it in boondi raita without adding the fried boondi to the syrup.
Getting back to blogging after a short break, feels so good to be back in my comfort zone :)
It was Monday, Presidents day a long weekend in USA. Had a busy rest of the weekend having too much fun! Thought of lazying around while cleaning up the house and at sharp 11:08am had a craving to eat pav bhaji after my eyes wandered on the potato bag in the pantry :) Got lucky as I had all the ingredients in the fridge except pav (Indian bread). After begging for 5 minutes to my Pati-dev who thinks weekends are his right to be a couch potato, sent him off to the store to get the pav while I geared myself to make some YUMM-O street food.
This dish is a big hit at my house and relished amongst my friends. I got this recipe from a Juhu beach vendor in Mumbai on Youtube some years back. Can't go wrong, right? I have customized the recipe just a little bit as per my convenience. I was actually surprised to see couple of ingredients that went into it like kasoori methi and hing. Well, it only adds more great flavors to say the least.
Another huge USP of this dish, can add as many variety of vegetables you want and kids will not even know :) because potatoes overpowers the rest of the clan :)- So yes, Moms can go YAY!!
Pav Bhaji was invented as a midnight dish by street food vendors, made with all the leftover vegetables from the day, mashed up together, with loads of added spice, and butter. Bhaji is the Marathi word for a vegetable dish, and pav probably comes from the Portuguese word for bread.
All I can say is try it and see if you like it.
Ingredients: For the Bhaji:
2 big potatoes boiled, peeled and mashed lightly
4-5 ripe tomatoes chopped ( if not sour enough, add extra tbsp of tomato paste)
1 capsicum chopped
10 flowerets of cauliflower (roughly chopped)
1 small carrot chopped (optional)
1/2 cup peas boiled
1 1/2 tsp ginger garlic paste
1 tsp Kashmiri chili pwd (to give more color than spiciness)
2 tbsp butter
1/4th tsp turmeric pwd
1- 2 tbsp pav bhaji masala (everest or mtr)
handful chopped cilantro leaves
1 tbsp fenugreek leaves
pinch asafetida
2 tbsp of oil
food color orange 1 pinch ( if you want that gorgeous color :))
To Fry the Pav:
Butter
Cilantro leaves
Prepared Pav Bhaji
Garnish Ingredients:
Chopped onion
Sev
Lemon pieces
Dallop of butter on it
6 Pav (store bought for now) Minimum 2 Pav each person to relish all that goodness of buttery bhaji :)
Preparation:
In a non stick pan, heat oil, add capsicum, cauliflower, (carrots if using it) and quickly saute it for 2 to 3 minutes.
Add ginger garlic paste and let it cook for little bit more till the raw smell goes away. Add asafetida, kasoori methi and cook for a minute.
Now add chopped tomatoes and saute it for couple of minutes. You can add 1 tbsp butter now and let it cook till you see some oil coming out from the corners. Stir in between.
Add masalas - turmeric pwd, chilli pwd and pav bhaji masala, salt mix everything together quickly.
Add boiled potatoes and with a masher, start mashing everything together. Add water little by little till you get the consistency of thickness/thinness you want. It is always semi thick. Potatoes basically absorb water.
Taste it and see if it needs adjustment, if your tomatoes are not sour enough, add lemon juice.
Add food color if you want.
Let it cook on sim flame for about 7-8 minutes. Keep stirring in between and add water as you like. Add another tbsp of butter :)
Garnish it with Cilantro and switch off the gas.
How to fry the Pav just before serving:
Cut the Pav in the centre and semi open it.
On a frying pan, add butter, as it sizzles add bhaji, cilantro and place the pav face down and cook for few sec. Drizzle some butter or oil on top and serve hot.
How to Serve Pav Bhaji:
Serve good amount of bhaji in a compartmented plate, chopped onion, cilantro and lemon slices on one end, you can add onions, sev and butter on top of the hot bhaji, and masala fresh pav on the other side.
Trust me, eating is much easier than writing how to serve Pav Bhaji :):) (joke)
Due to the increased interest in foods that are low-carb or low-glycemic index, the potato has unjustly earned a bad reputation. Potatoes consumed in simple roasted, grilled, boiled, steamed manner with little or no oil/butter is very healthy and nutritious for health.
It is loaded with calcium, phosphorus, zinc, magnesium, iron that helps in having strong bones.
It has vitamin B6 which supports heart health.
Choline is a very important and versatile nutrient in potatoes that helps with sleep, muscle movement, learning and memory.
Perfect curry to make when you have no veggies left in your fridge :) All you need is tomatoes, yogurt and papad as main ingredients. A delectable curry will be ready in no time. It is a famous Rajasthani dish, most of us know about it and yes, it is cooked in 10 different ways:) I have tried making it both ways, with and without onions and I like it better with no onions. My husband enjoys this papad ki sabji a lot more than I do actually :) so this curry is here to stay in my household. It goes well with khoba roti or any other paratha or simply with the plain rice.
Making papad (thin, fried accompaniment) is a summer affair and I am sure every kid of my generation must have spent their few days of summer vacation helping out their moms and aunts in rolling, spreading, drying papads in the backyard or on the terrace under the scorching heat and then having a cold beverage like lemon sherbet or sol kadi to cool themselves. :) Real fun days it used to be :)
Let us check out the recipe.
Ingredients:
4 big papads dry roasted or fried or done in microwave*
2 tomatoes
2-3 green chillies
1 inch ginger
1 tbsp oil
1/2 cup curds/yogurt room temperature
1/2 cup water
1 tsp cumin seeds (jeera)
pinch of asafoetida (hing)
1 tbsp kasuri methi (dry fenugreek leaves)
1/2 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp garam masala
salt to taste
handful of cilantro chopped
Preparation:
In a blender, grind tomatoes, chillies and ginger, keep aside.
In a wide mouth pan, heat oil, add cumin seeds till they splutter, add hing, kasuri methi and saute for a minute or so.
Add tomato mixture along with the chilli pwd, coriander pwd and garam masala.
Mix everything and let it cook till oil separates from the tomato gravy.
Now sim the gas and add whisked yogurt plus water slowly while you keep stirring the gravy, else it will curdle in the gravy. Bring it to a boil, add salt as per taste.
Now take the fried/roasted papads, make med-small pieces and slowly add to the gravy. Cover and cook for a couple of more minutes till the papads soak in the gravy.
Your gravy is ready. Serve it with kobha roti or with rice.
Notes:* Papads can be roasted or fried anyway you want. You can also add raw papad cut in pieces and cook till done.
njoY!! happY cookinG!!
recipe adapted from nisha madhulika's website.
papad
fried papad
Health Benefits: This curry is made with tomatoes and yogurt as a base with little spices. The debate that tomato is a fruit or vegetable is still on :), nonetheless, it is considered as a superfood. It is rich in antioxidants. It has lycopene which helps in fighting chronic diseases and helps in delivering other health benefits. It is an excellent source of Vit C, potassium and cholene. Yogurt is no. 1 probiotic food. It is known to be helpful in digestion and is a good source of calcium. Papad is mainly made from peeled black flour (protein), it is seasoned and consumed in either fried, roasted or deep fry form.
Chakli (also known as chakkuli or chakali) is a very staple savory tea time snack found in most of the Indian households. When it comes to making chakli, there are numerous recipes out there. Previously I updated my blog with a recipe that called for crunchy chakli and this recipe calls for a more softer and crunchy chaklis. This is our home recipe. You gotta try it to believe it :)
My favorite kind is soft and crunchy chakli mixed with lots of spice. But now I appreciate less spicy kind too :) Ingredient phutani(dalia) that is used in this recipe is delicious in taste, nutritious and can be digested easily. It is commonly mixed with sugar and distributed to the devotees in temples as God's offering.
Getting the spirals right(it is a big deal:)) while you press on the dough using a chakli press maker, surely gives you a kick and cheap thrills :) If it won't come out neatly (or breaks) please don't overreact like a hindi serial mother-in-law hehe... absolutely don't worry, I do have few tips up my sleeve which is mentioned in the notes below.
The first time you make it right, that moment, that satisfaction, that simple pleasures of life are not to be forgotten! :) (at least in my case) I cannot thank the techno-era we live in where I can simply share my kitchen achievements/stories, mishaps, success any darn thing with my mom, sister or a friend instantly.
Let us take a look at the Chakli recipe,
Ingredients:
1 cup rice flour
1/4th cup roasted gram dal (also known as dalia, phutani)
1 tsp chilly powder, (more if you like spicy)
1/2 tsp turmeric (haldi)
1/2 tsp cumin seeds (jeera)
2 tsp sesame seeds (til)
1/2 tsp coriander powder (dhania pwd)
1/2 tsp cumin powder
2-3 tbsp butter at room temperature
salt as per taste
1/2 - 3/4th cup approx. water (to knead the dough)
oil to fry
Preparation:
Mix all the above ingredients except water and mix everything with your fingers.
Then slowly add water little by little and make a chapati/roti like dough. Keep aside for 20-30 min, covered.
Take some portion of the chakli dough, knead it some more and place it in the chakli press, start making spirals on a newspaper sheet or wax paper.
Heat oil in a kadai, once the oil is hot bring the flame to med. Slowly slide the chaklis in the kadai using piece of wax paper or slide it on plain spatula and transfer slowly in the hot oil and fry nicely till it is brown on all sides on med-low flame.
Take it out and place on the paper towel to absorb the extra oil. Nice soft and mild crispy chaklis are ready.
Let it cool down completely before you store it in an airtight container.
njoY!! happY fryinG!! :)
Notes:* Always fry chakli on low-medium flame. If you see that the spirals are breaking while making chakli, try to work with little dough at a time, knead it well, add couple drops of water, knead well and place it in the chakli press. It works for me that way. If your dough is too soft, add little all-purpose flour and knead well before you start making the spirals. If still it isn't working just directly add the spirals in the oil (carefully) and fry. Spirals or no spirals, snack is yummy anyways! :)
Health Benefits:
Roasted gram dal (dalia) is high in fiber and helps to lower cholesterol. It also has a very low hypoglycemic index, which is important for those with diabetes. Chana dal is a helpful source of zinc, folate, calcium and protein. It is low in fat and most of it is polyunsaturated.
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