Upma

Ingredients:

• One cup Semolina
• One big Onion
• 3-4 green chilies finely chopped
• Udad daal
• 2 tsp of peanuts
• Half tomato finely chopped
• Ginger (optional)
• half tsp mustered seeds
• Pinch of asafoetida
• 5-6 Curry leaves
• 1 tsp Ghee
• 3-4 tsp oil
• salt to taste
• 2 cups water

Upma

Preparation:

1. Heat 1 tsp ghee in a pan and saute semolina in it for 5 minutes in slow flame. Take it out in a bowl.
2. Now clean the pan and add 3-4 tsp of oil in it. Heat the oil and shallow fry peanuts in it till they become golden brown.
3. Take out the peanuts in another bowl. Now add mustered seeds, let them crackle. Then add green chilies, curry leaves, asafoetida, ginger. 
4. Then add finely chopped onion and saute it till becomes transparent and slightly brown, add 1 tsp of sugar if want.
5. Then add 2 cups of water and bring it to boil. At this point add salt. 
6. Now add the semolina slowly. Keep stirring continuously while adding semolina so that the mixture wont form any lumps.
7. Stir continuously till the mixture become thick. Then cover the pan for 3-4 minutes. Garnish the upma with coriander and server hot with or without coconut chutney.

Note: 

You can add turmeric if you want your upma of yellow color.

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.

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. 

  

Misal-Pav (मिसळ पाव)

Misal-Pav

Ingredients for Usal

3 cups sprouted - Mataki, Moong, Masoor (any one or two or all)
3 medium size Boiled Potatoes (peeled & cut into cubes)
1 tbsp red chili powder or as per taste.
1 tsp sugar
Salt as per taste
1 tsp chinch/tamarind pulp
3-4 tbsp oil For Tadka- rai, hing, haldi 

Grind to powder -
1tsp Jeera, 2 tsp coriander seeds /dhane, 2 cloves/lavang, 2-3black peppercorn, ¼ inch cinnamon/dalchini piece

Grind to paste -

½ cup chopped onion, 4 garlic cloves, ½ inch ginger piece, 10-15 pudina/mint leaves, ½ or 3/4 cup grated coconut

Other Ingredients for Misal

2 cups Chivada/pharsan

2 cups Shev
1 cup chopped tomato
1 cup finely chopped onion
½ cup chopped fresh green coriander
1 cup dahi/curd/ plain yogurt (optional)
Slices of bread or Pav

Sprouted Pulses

Method for the Usal

1) Heat oil in a pan or kadai, add mustard seeds, when it starts to crackle add hing, Turmeric.
2) Add ground paste and saute till the oil starts loosing out of the masala, then add ground masala powder, red chili powder, tamarind pulp and salt. Saute for 2-3 minutes.
4) Add mashed potatoes and cook them for 3-4 minutes.
5) Add finely chopped tomatoes and again cook for 5 minutes till tomatoes cook well.
6) Now add sprouted pulses, saute them for a while.
5) Add warm/hot water and cook on a low flame for another 10 minutes.

 

To Serve the Misal

1) Place a couple of spoonfuls of Usal in a bowl. Top it with a spoonful of chivada/pharsan/shev. Garnish with 1-2 tsp chopped onion, coriander; fresh curd(optional).
2) Add bread/pav on a side dish.
 And your spicy tasty dazzling misal is ready! :)