Gajar Halwa / Carrot Halwa

This is authentic Punjabi dessert, one of the sweet treats which is healthy yet super simple to prepare.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of shredded Carrot
• 1/4 cup of Sugar
• 2+1 cups Milk
• Milk Paneer 1/2 cup
• Dry fruits(Cashews, Almonds, Raisins etc)

Gajar Halwa/ Carrot Halwa

Procedure: 

1. Boil 2 cups of milk till it reduces half to its quantity.
2. Boil 1 cup of milk separately until all water evaporates and mixture becomes a thick mawa.(You can use ready made khawa/khoya instead of making mawa from scratch.)
3. Now take a thick bottom and wide open pan/wok and heat 2-3 Tsp of ghee.
4. Add bites of almonds, cashew nuts and raisins to the ghee and fry them for 2 minutes.
5. Add Carrot, saute for a while and add the above milk.
6. Reduce the flame and keep stirring till the mixture becomes thick, add slightly crushed cardamoms. It usually takes around 10-15 minutes on low heat to cook the halwa.
7. Now add sugar and keep stirring for 2 minutes. 
8. Add khava/Mawa

Your gajar halawa is ready. You can top it with fried cashews and almonds for crunchy effect at the time of serving.

Kadakani - Dasara Special

Kadakani is made on the occasion of Dasara/ Vijayadashami in Maharashtra.

Ingredients : 

• 1/2 cup semolina.
• Powdered sugar - 1 cup
• All purpose flour - 2 cup
• Oil to fry kadakani
• Salt to taste.

Kadakani

Procedure : 
1. Soak semolina in some water for 20 minutes and then grind it in mixer.
2. Add powdered sugar to it and mix well till sugar melts.
3. Mix in all purpose flour to it. Add salt. Add some hot oil so that they will become crunchy.
4. Now make a dough out of this mixture. Make sure it is not too soft, or Kadakani will dissolve in oil while frying. Keep this dough covered and set aside for at least 3 hours.
5. Heat oil in wok/Kadhai. 
6. Make small balls of dough. Roll the balls with rolling pin to the size of poori making it as thin as possible. (use plastic sheet to avoid dough sticking to the board) and fry them one by one in oil.
7. Keep them aside for 15 minutes and then you are good to eat the festive special sweets.

Pithale (पिठले )

Here comes delicious, quick & easy to prepare food from Maharastra region! i.e. pithale!

Ingredients :

• Besan(gram flour ) – 5 spoons
• Onion – 1 finely chopped
• Green chilies – 4-5
• Curry leaves - 4
• Chopped coriander
• Mustered seeds
• Cumin Seeds
• Turmeric powder

Pithale

Preparation :

1.       Add some water to besan forming a smooth consistent batter without any lumps.

2.       Now, in a wok, heat some oil. Add cumin and mustered seeds and let them splutter. Add green chilies and curry leaves.

3.       Then add onion and saute till golden brown, add turmeric powder and saute for a while.

4.       Add 2 cups of water and let it come to boil.

5.       Now pour the besan mixture slowly in the boiling water. Make sure you are stirring continuously because besan tends to make chunks when hot.

6.       Keep it stirring for another 7-8 mins, or till you observe a silky texture of pithale.

7.       Strew  finely chopped coriander and serve hot with chapati, bhakari or hot rice.

Sabudana/Tapioca Khichadi (साबुदाण्याची खिचडी)

This is again an authentic Maharashtrian snack usually prepared on the day of fast.

                                     साबुदाण्याची खिचडी / Sabudana Khichadi

Ingredients:
1. Sabudana : 1 cup
2. Roasted peanut powder(Coarsely Grind) : 4-5 Tsp
3. Cumin Seeds : 1 Tsp
4. Green Chili - 4 to 5
5. Cilantro/Coriander 
6. Lemon Juice (optional) : 2 Tsp
7. Sugar : 1 Tsp
8. Salt to taste.
9. Ghee
10. Curry Leaves : 4 to 5


Procedure:
1. First, Soak Sabudana in water for 30 minutes, then drain all the water out and keep it overnight or for 7-8 hours. Soaking sabudana properly is the crux of this recipe. sprinkle spoonful of water on sabudana and mix it time to time so not to dry out completely.
2. When sabudana is soaked properly, mix it well at the time of preparing khichadi.
3. Now in a skillet, heat some ghee, then add cumin seeds. When they splutter, add green chili, curry leaves, finely chopped coriander leaves.
4. Then add sabudana, roasted peanut powder, salt, sugar and lemon juice(optional as per your taste). Keep churning it continuously for 7-8 minutes till sabudana changes its color and texture like shown in picture. (if sabudana left unattended without tossing or kept covered while cooking, it will stick to the pan and turn hard like a rubber.)
5. Remove from the fire and make sure to serve hot!

Amboli (आंबोळी)

Amboli/आंबोळी

You will need  - 
2 Cups of rice flour.
2 Tsp yogurt
Water
Salt to taste.


Preparation -
1. Mix up rice flour, yogurt and add some water till it becomes just thin batter but of pouring consistency. Keep it aside for at least 1 hour.
2. Now heat a non-stick pan on medium flame. Sprinkle over some oil.
3. Pour half ladle of batter in pan and spread it to thin round shape. Make sure you keep the flame low/medium all the time. 
4. Cook on both sides till become golden brown and little crispy. 
5. Serve with Potato Sabji/Coconut Chutney/ or any type of Pulses/Beans Sabji.

Bread Chivda (ब्रेडचा चिवडा)

Bread Chivda / ब्रेडचा चिवडा

Ingredients : 

8/10 Slices of bread cut into small bite-size squares

1 Onion finely chopped
1/2 tomato finely chopped

2/3 spoons lemon juice

1.5 tsp Sugar

1/2 Tsp mustard seeds

Salt to taste

4 tsp oil

handful of coriander

4/5 curry leaves

1/4 tsp Turmeric

green chili - 3/4

Preparation :

1. Heat oil in pan. Add mustard seeds. when they sizzle, add green chilies, onion and saute till onion become golden brown.

2. Now add tomato and saute till they become tender.

3. Add turmeric powder, lemon juice and sugar. (Adding sugar and lemon juice while cooking onion will make it glazing and transparent. You can see that color in above picture).

3. Now add in bread and salt. keep adding salt in smaller quantity as the bread already contain some salt in it.

4. Sprinkle coriander and saute till all pieces of bread are covered with turmeric and oil.

5. Serve hot.

Apple-Melon Shake.

1. One big Apple.
2. Water Melon slices - 4/5 
3. Sugar 2 Tsp or as per taste.
4. Milk 1 cup
5. Ice Cubes

Apple Melon Milk Shake

Preparation :

• First add apple and melon slices into mixer and beat it well till apple slices make paste. then add milk and sugar and blend in the mixer for another 2-3 minutes.
• Now pour the shake in glasses.
• Add some crushed ice and serve cold.

Stuffed Eggs

Stuffed Eggs

This recipe is for the folks who don't like eating boiled eggs & like their dishes on spicier side.


Ingredients:

1. 4 Eggs
2. 1 Onion
3. 1 Tomato
4. 1 Green Pepper/ Capsicum
5. Salt
6. Mozzarella Cheese
7. Cilantro
8. Cumin seeds
9. Oil - 2Tsp
10. Chat Masala

Preparation: 

1. Boil the eggs
2. Cut the eggs in half & remove the yellow part(yolk) and keep aside.
3. In a pan take 2 tbsp of oil , once heated add cumin seeds & onions, add salt. After sauteing for 3 minutes add tomato,capsicum. Heat till they are tender , no need to cook them fully.
4. In a bowl mix the above mixture & egg yolk thoroughly to make a stuffing. 
5. Gently fill the eggs with above stuffing.
6. Spread mozzarella cheese on top the eggs & heat in microwave for 1 minute.
7. Serve hot.

Bottle Gourd Thalipith (दुधी भोपळ्याचे थालीपीठ)

Ingredients: 

• Bottle Gourd
• Different flours of your choice. (I used 2 big spoons of Wheat, Rajgira and Shingada)
• Semolina or Idli Rava - 3 to 4 Tsp to add crunchiness to Thalipith.
• Green chilies - 3-4
• Onion - 1 - Finely chopped
• Coriander - 1/2 Cup - Finely chopped
• Sesame Seeds (Teel) - 1 Tsp 
• Cumin Seeds - 1 Tsp
• Chili Powder - 1/2 Tsp
• Turmeric - 1/4 Tsp
• Salt to taste 

दुधी भोपळ्याचे थालीपीठ

Preparation :

1. Mix all the ingredients with some water and make a soft dough. 
2. Take a thick plastic paper or a wet cloth, (If plastic paper used, oil it generously).
3. Divide the dough into small balls and line it on the cloth or plastic paper by patting the dough ball with the palm of your hand. Make holes in the thalipith to avoid puffing. Meanwhile, heat the non-stick pan on gas. Grease it with some oil. 
4. Take the thalipith in your palm carefully and place it on non-stick pan. Smear few drops of oil in the holes. Cover the pan and cook for 2 minutes. Turn and cook both sides till crisply cooked.
5. Serve hot with yogurt or unsalted butter(Ghee) or a blob of homemade white butter(Loni/Makkhan). It tastes yum!!

Notes : 

1. If you like you can add flour and vegetables of your own choice like cabbage or leafy vegetables like spinach, Fenugreek leaves(Methi) etc. 
2. I like the soft thalipiths so I don't use chickpea/gram/rice flour. You can add if you want. 

  

Orange Cranberry Cake

I wanted to bake a basic maida cake. I came across a variation of it here. Had plenty of Oranges in home so decided to give a shot and it came out very well.

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup unsalted butter(I used Ghee), softened, plus more for buttering pan
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 1/2 cup sour cream(I haven't used sour cream but it turned out tasty. Adding it here as per the original recipe.)
• 1 tablespoons freshly grated orange zest
• 1 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cups dried cranberries

Orange Cranberry Cake

Method

1. Preheat oven to 330°. Butter a 6-cup-capacity loaf pan.
2. With an electric or standing mixer on medium speed, cream butter and sugar together in a large bowl until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each. Add orange juice, sour cream, orange zest, and vanilla; mix until blended.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Add flour mixture and cranberries to wet ingredients and mix just until dry ingredients are absorbed; do not over-mix.
4. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan. Bake for about 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of bread comes out clean.
5. Let the loaf cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then remove and transfer to a cooling rack set over a large baking sheet.
6. Let the loaf cool completely before slicing.

Badam Kulfi (बदाम कुल्फी)

Badam Kulfi / बदाम कुल्फी

Ingredients:
•Almonds (Badam) - 1 cup
•Milk - 4 cups
•Sweetened Condensed Milk - 1 can

•Saffron - few

•Sugar - as and if needed

Method:

•Soak the almonds overnight.

•Remove the skin and grind it to a coarse paste.

•In a big pan, add the milk and bring to boil.
•Add some saffron and boil the milk till it reduces to half its quantity.
•Add the Almond paste and condensed milk.
•Check for sugar and add some sugar if you need.
•Stir continuously so that milk does not stick to bottom pan.
•When it becomes some more thicker, switch off the gas.

•Allow to cool for sometime.

•Pour it in a bowl and keep in freezer.

•Garnish with saffron, nuts and chocolate chips.

•Serve it cool.

Serving Tip : You can pour the mixture in kulfi molds and make it a shape of kulfi or simply scoop them in ice-cream bowl.

(This recipe is derived from here - http://akilaskitchen.blogspot.com/2010/08/almond-icecream.html)

Sambar

Ingredients:
Toor dal

Oil

Cumin Seeds - 1 Tsp
Mustard Seeds- 1 Tsp
Onions - 1 Big

Minced Ginger

chopped Garlic - 4-5 cloves
Turmeric - 1/2 Tsp
Chili powder
Sambar masala (I use MDH) - 1 Tsp
Thick Tamarind pulp - 2 Tsp
Tomato - 1
Asafoedia(Hing) - 1/4 Tsp
Vegetables – eggplant, carrot, potatoes, coli-flower, drumsticks etc
 

Sambar

 
 
Procedure:
1. Cook daal in pressure cooker with asafoedia and turmeric powder. Give it 3 vessels.
2. When daal cooks, make sure to beat it to make it smooth.
3. In a vessel, put oil and add the seasoning of mustered and cumin seeds, when they splutter, add onion and saute till it becomes golden brown.
4. Add salt, chili powder and 1 Tsp sambar masala.
5. Add tomatoes and chopped vegetables, add water.
6. Boil it for at least 20-25 mins to cook the veggies .
7. Add tamarind pulp.
8. Adjust salt as per taste. and add 1 Tsp of sambar masala again and boil for some more time.


Your hot, spicy and tasty Sambar is ready :)

इडली (Idli)

साहित्य:

• २ वाटया तांदूळ,
• १/२ वाटी उडीद डाळ
• १/४ चमचे मेथ्याचे दाणे
• मुठभर पोहे / तयार शिजवलेला भात (optional)

कृती :
तांदूळ आणि उडीद डाळ वेग-वेगळी भिजत घालावी.उडीद डाळीबरोबरच मेथ्याचे दाणे भिजवावेत. साधारण ६ ते ८ तास भिजल्यावर mixer मधून पहिल्यांदा तांदूळ मग उडीद डाळ आणि मग दोन्ही एकत्र बारीक करून घ्यावे. तांदूळ बारीक होण्यासाठी  जरा जास्त वेळ लागेल.

वरील मिश्रण १० ते १२ तास भांड्यात झाकून ठेवावे.
इडली करताना त्यात चवीप्रमाणे मीठ आणि २ चमचे  कढवून गार केलेले तेल घालावे. मग  इडली पात्राला तेल लावून त्यावर मिश्रण घालावे म्हणजे इडल्या खाली चिकटणार नाहीत.

१५ ते २० वाफवल्यानंतर बाहेर काढून सांबार आणि नारळाच्या चटणी बरोबर खायला द्याव्या. 

टीप:

१. उडीद आणि तांदूळ जेवढे जास्त वेळ mixer मध्ये फिरवाल तेवढी इडली मऊ होते.

२. उडीद डाळ आणि तांदूळ mixi मध्ये फिरवायच्या आधी तासभर मुठभर पोहे भिजवून तेही वरील मिश्राणाबरोबर बारीक करून घ्यावेत. पोह्याच्या ऐवजी तयार भात घातला तरी चालेल. त्यामुळे इडल्या हलक्या होतात. 

Oven roasted chicken drumsticks

Ingredients:

• 6 chicken drumsticks (leg pieces)
• 1 eggs 
• 1 cup bread crumbs 
• salt and chilly powder to taste.
• Butter 
• 3 Garlic cloves

Over roasted chicken drumsticks

Preparation:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• In bread crumbs add salt & chilly powder , you can add whatever spiced you want.
• Beat the egg & add salt & chilly powder to it.
• In a pan melt the butter, add chopped garlic
• Pour melted butter garlic mixture over the chicken. Dredge the chicken piece by piece in the egg, then the bread crumbs, until all pieces are coated.Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes, then turn pieces over and bake for another 15 minutes. Remove from oven and drain on paper towels. Enjoy!

Curd Rice

I have one South Indian colleague in my office who always bring rice in her lunch box and mostly it is curd or tomato rice. I will post the recipe of tomato rice in other article separately.

Today after heavy breakfast and with the lazy weekend mood, I decided to prepare something light for lunch and the idea of curd rice came to my mind and thought of trying it for the first time. It is very easy-to-make recipe with the guarantee that it will never go wrong. It is specially good to eat in the summer as it can provide soothing feeling to your stomach.

Curd Rice

Ingredients:

• Thick yogurt/curd: 2 cup
• Rice: 1.5 cup
• Green Chili : 3
• coriander

For Seasoning:

• Ghee/Oil: 2-3 Tsp
• Cumin seeds: 1 Tsp
• Mustard seeds : half Tsp
• Asafoetida (Hing)
• Red chili - 2
• Finely chopped ginger : 3/4 Tsp
• White gram (Udid Daal) : 2 Tsp
• Salt to taste
• Sour cream or heavy whipping cream as per taste.

Curd Rice

 Preparation :

1. First whistle the rice in pressure cooker for 3 whistles. Add more water than usual while cooking to make it softer. Let it cool down completely.

2. Now add curd, chopped coriander and green chillies and mix it well. and keep it aside.

3. For Seasoning, Heat the pan and lower the flame. Then add some ghee or oil as per the choice. Ghee gives better taste though. When ghee becomes hot, add cumin seeds, mustard seeds. Let them splutter then add red chillies, chopped ginger, some udid daal and hing.

4. Pour this seasoning to the curd mixed rice.

5. If available, you can add some sour cream or heavy whipping cream. It will give nice rich flavor to your rice.

Notes :

1. Udid daal will give crunchy effect to the rice.

2. If you want to make your rice with more curd-gravy, add some water to your curd before mixing it in rice. If you put sour/whipped cream, it will also solve the purpose.
3. Curd rice tastes great with any pickle, chatni, rayata or even with any daal or meat dish!

Varanphal

Chakulya( Varan Phal)
Ingredients:

For Varan:

• 1 cup toor daal
• 1 tsp kala / goda masala (use red chili powder in case)
• 1/2 tsp garlic chopped
• 1 Tsp Tamarind
• 2 tbsp grated jaggery
• 5-6 curry leaves
• 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
• 2 pinches of asafoetida
• 1/4 tsp mustard seeds
• 2 tbsp oil
• salt to taste

For Phal:

• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 tbsp oil
• salt to taste

Method: Soak tamarind and jaggery in 1/4 cup water. For phal dough mix wheat flour with oil and salt and knead firm dough. Keep aside till daal gets ready.

Cook Dal with turmeric powder in pressure cooker till soft. Mash it and mix with soaked ingredients. Now heat kadhai with oil and add mustard seeds and asafoetida. Now add curry leaves, dry coconut, garlic and masala (do not let it burn). Immediately add daal in it. Add salt and water and bring it to boil, simmer. This varan should be thinner than regular daal.
Now at the same time start rolling small portion of dough like chapati but little thicker than that. With the help of knife cut the chapati into diamond shapes ( like shankarpale), crosswise. Put these shapes in boiling daal. Repeat the same procedure immediately. Let this boil on low flame till the phal completely cooked. Add water if required.
Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve hot with ghee.

Jeera Rice

Soak Rice for 40 minutes before you start working on this recipe.

Ingredients:

• Rice - 1 Cup
• Water - 2 Cups
• Cumin Seeds - 1 Tsp
• Green Chilies - 4
• Oil- 1 Tsp

Preparation : 

1. Heat oil in a pan
2. Add cumin seeds,green chilies , and coriander.
3. Add water twice the amount of measured and bring the it to boil 
4. Add salt.
5. Add pre-soaked rice bring it to boil till 90% of water is absorbed add fried onion and saffron color
6. Reduce the flame to minimum and cook covered for 5 more min and you will have awesome jeera rice

Spinach Soup

Ingredients -

Bay leaf - 2
Ghee - 2 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp

Garlic cloves - 3 

Green chillies - 1

Milk - 0.5 cup

Oil -  2 tsp
Salt - to taste
Small Onion- 1
Small Tomato - 3
Spinach - 1 bunch
Water - 3 cup
Whole black pepper - 8

Preparation:

 Use fresh spinach leaves for that yummy taste. 


1) Wash spinach leaves with water and chop them roughly. 

2) Crush garlic cloves, chop green chili, onions and tomatoes. 

3) Heat oil in a nonstick pan, add black pepper first and 1 pinch hing. Add crushed garlic cloves, green chilies and then onions. After onions are little transparent, add tomatoes.

4)Once tomatoes cook for some time (in 2 mins) add chopped spinach and let it cook in the open pan for some time (4-5 mins). Do not overcook spinach also do not cover the pan otherwise soup will lose its green colour as well as the taste. 

5) Once the above cooked mixture is little cold, blend it in the mixer with some water. Do not add all the water now, as it would be difficult to blend the mixture with too much water. 

6) Once the mixture is nicely blended, add some water to make the mixture to the soup consistency.

7) Now in another pan, add some ghee, then cumin seeds, 1 pinch of hing, bay leaves and then pour the pureed mixture in the blender. Add salt according to your taste. Add water according to how you want the soup thicker/thinner. Add some milk and let the soup boil and then simmer for some time (2 mins) before serving.

8)Soup is ready to be served. While serving sprinkle some black pepper powder and a dash of cream if you want.

Enjoy this hot yummy and healthy spinach soup.