Gud (Jaggery) ki roti

Ingredients

For Dough

1 ½ cup whole wheat flour

¼ cup besan (Chickpea flour)

½ teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon ghee (clarified butter)

For Filling

½  cup besan (Chickpea flour)

1 cup Grated Jaggery

1 teaspoon roasted sesame seeds

½ teaspoon nutmeg powder

1 teaspoon milk

½ teaspoon ghee (clarified butter)

Method

Dough

Heat ½ teaspoon ghee in a Kadhai/Wok.

Add whole wheat flour to the kadhai and roast it for a while.

Empty it in a bowl and keep it aside.

In a same kadhai/wok heat ½ teaspoon ghee again.

Now add besan to it and roast it for a while.

Mix it to the whole wheat flour.

Add little salt to it and mix it well.

With the help of water, bind it to make a bit stiff dough.

Filling

In a Kadhai/Wok heat ½ teaspoon ghee.

Add besan and roast it for a while.

Remove from stove and cool it for about 10 minutes.

Mix grated jaggery, sesame seeds, and nutmeg powder to it. Mix it well.

Sprinkle a little milk over the mixture.

Bind the whole mixture together.

Preparation

Divide the dough in 6 - 8 parts and make small balls.

Divide the filling in equal number of parts and make small balls.

Roll the dough balls with the help of rolling pin into 4-5” diameter pancakes.

Place the filling in the centre of each pancake.

Now lift up the edges of the pancake inwards and towards the center, and press the edges down.

Now roll out the pancake into a 5-6” diameter circle with the help of a rolling pin.

Heat the non stick tava/frying pan.

Place the roti over tava.

Cook it over a slow flame (on a high or a medium flame, the filling may come out)

When one side gets cooked, turn it over so that the other side also gets cooked.

Apply ghee generously over it.

Serve while hot along with potato curry, any other Indian curry, Mix Vegetable, Undhiya (mixed vegetable in Gujrati style) 

Arbi ke patte ke Patode (colocasia leaves' snacks)

Ingredients

8 Arbi ke patte (colocasia leaves)

(If the leaves are large, divide them in two parts and treat them as individual leaf)

300 gm Besan (chickpea flour/Bengal Gram flour)

1” finely chopped ginger

1 teaspoon finely chopped garlic

1 tablespoon finely chopped coriander leaves

2 finely chopped green chilies
½ teaspoon sugar
juice of one lemon

½ teaspoon sesame seeds

½ teaspoon mustard seeds 

Salt to taste

A pinch of asafetida

1 tablespoon oil

Method

Wash the leaves properly.  Remove the stem from the leaves and clean them (Remove hard fibers from leaf). Keep it aside.
In a bowl, mix ginger, garlic, coriander leaves, green chilies, lemon juice, sugar, ½ tablespoon oil and salt with the besan. Mix it well.

With a little water make a smooth and thick paste of besan mix.

Place the leaves upside down (the smooth side of the leaf facing down and the rough side up).

Apply a  layer of besan paste over the leaf.

Place another leaf over this leaf upside down and apply a bit thick layer of besan paste over it.

Arrange 4 leaves like this one over the other and make 2 sets of 8 leaves.

Apply besan paste on top layers also.

Now roll the sets of leaves like Swiss rolls.


Steam the Rolls in a steamer for about 20-25 minutes, till the besan gets cooked.

Let them cool down for 10-15 minutes

Cut each roll in slices for about ½” width.

Heat oil in a kadhai/Wok.

Add mustard seeds and stir it.

Add sesame and again stir it.

Add asafetida and all the slices. Mix it well gently so that the slices don't break.

Remove from stove.

Serve it in a serving dish. Enjoy with tea or as it is.

Moong Dal Rolls

Ingredients

For Pancake

2 cup split green gram (dhuli moong dal), soaked overnight and ground to a smooth paste

Salt to taste

2 tablespoon oil

For Filling

½ cup carrot, grated

1 cup cabbage, finely shread

½ cup capsicum, cut length-wise in strips

¼ cup sweet corn kernels 

1” finely chopped ginger

1 tablespoon paste of garlic

1 onions chopped length-wise

½ teaspoon pepper powder

½ teaspoon mixed herbs

1 teaspoon mustard sauce

2 tablespoon grated cheese

1 tablespoon mayonnaise

Salt to taste

1 tablespoon finely chopped coriander leaves

1 tablespoon olive oil

Method

Heat oil in a Kadhai/wok.

Add ginger and garlic and stir it.

Now add carrots and stir it.

Add cabbage, capsicum, corn kernels and cook it for a while.

Now add mustard sauce, pepper powder, mixed herbs, cheese and salt. Mix it well.

Remove from stove and keep it aside.

Add salt to the dal paste.

Add a little water to this paste so that it becomes pouring consistency.

Heat a non stick tava or a frying pan.

Coat it with a little oil.

Now spread a thin layer of dal paste on the tava with the help of a spatula (Chamcha). Spread the dal paste in clockwise fashion from the center of the tava and spiraling outwards.

Sprinkle a little oil over it

Cook it on a medium or slow flame till it gets crisp on one side.

Now turn it over and cook the other side as well.

Now again turn it over and apply thin layer of mayonnaise over it.

Place the stuffing along the diameter of the pancake.

Fold the edges inwards and make it into a roll

Serve while hot with green chutney, tomato chutney or tomato ketchup

Raj Kachori

Ingredients

For Dough

500 gms all purpose flour or wheat flour or maida

½ cup Suji (Semolina)

½ cup curd

2 tablespoon oil

Salt to taste

Oil for frying kachori

For filling

1 cup urad dal, soaked in water overnight

½ tea spoon Aniseed powder

1 teaspoon coriander seeds

½ teaspoon coriander powder

½ teaspoon cumin powder

½ teaspoon chili powder

Salt to taste

1 tablespoon oil

For serving

½ cup white chole (soaked overnight and boiled

2 medium potatoes, boiled, peeled and chopped into small cubes

¼ cup green chutney (recipe for this can be found here : Green Chutney)

¼ cup tamarind chutney (recipe for this can be found here : Tamarind Chutney)

1 cup Curd, beaten till smooth

1 teaspoon roasted cumin seeds powder

½ teaspoon black salt

½ teaspoon red chili powder

2 finely chopped green chilies

½ cup pomegranate seeds
1/2 teaspoon chat masala

½ cup fine besan (chickpea/Gram flour) ke sev

Salt to taste

Method

Drain soaked dal and grind it coarsely.

Crush the coriander seeds.

Add aniseed powder, coriander seeds, coriander powder, cumin powder, chili powder and salt to dal and mix well.

Heat oil in a Kadhai/wok

Add dal to it and fry it on a low flame for about 15 minutes. Keep stirring it.

Keep it aside.

Add Suji and salt in the flour and mix it.

Add oil and mix it well with your fingers (the flour will look like bread crumbs).

Add curd and just enough water to make the dough firm and knead it well.

Keep it aside, covered for 15 minutes.

Divide the dough in 10-12 equal parts and roll them out into fairly thick circular shapes (like a pancake)

Divide the dal filling in 10-12 parts and fill each in the center of the pancakes.

Now lift up the edges of the pancake inwards and towards the center, and press the edges down.

Now roll out the kachori into a 3-4” diameter circle with the help of a rolling pin.

Heat oil in a Kadhai/wok.

Deep fry kachori in hot oil till golden brown both sides.

Serving Suggestion

Arrange all kachori in a serving tray.

Make a hole (about 1 - 1 ½”) on the top of each kachori by pressing it by your thumb.

Mix all ingredients, except 1 tablespoon  curd, 1 tablespoon  tamarind chutney , chat masala and besan sev, together in a bowl.

Fill this mixture in each kachori.

Garnish the kachori with  curd, tamarind chutney and besan sev.
sprinkle little chat masala over kachori

Orange ke pede

 Ingredients

2 large Oranges

2 cup full-cream milk

2 cup milk powder

¾ cup sugar

¼ teaspoon cardamom powder

Few strands of saffron

1 tablespoon ghee (clarified butter)

Method

Grate the Orange  rind and boil it in a microwave or stove for 2-3 minutes.

Drain the water.

Make sugar syrup by boiling the sugar in a little water.

Add the orange rind  in the sugar syrup for 5 minutes and keep it aside.

Cut the orange (the fruit) into slices. Take the pulp out of it and separate its fibers.

Mix the milk powder in the milk and boil it in a nonstick Kadhai/Wok.

Add the boiled orange rind pieces along with the sugar syrup in it and cook on a slow flame.  Keep stirring it.

Add saffron to it.

In about 20 minutes the mixture will reduce in volume and turn into a soft dough.

Now add the orange pulp to it. Orange pulp will release water and dilute the dough.

Cook it again for about 20 minutes on a slow flame till the whole mixture becomes soft dough.

Now add ghee to it and again cook it for 5 minutes. Keep stirring it.

Add cardamom powder to this mixture and mix it well.

Cool it at room temperature

Now refrigerate it for about half an hour.

Take it out of the refrigerator.

Make small balls out of this dough and press them with your palms to give it a circular shape.

Serve it cold.

Khajoor (Dates) ki Barfi

Ingredients

2 cup dates

2 cup full-cream milk

1 cup milk powder

1 tablespoon crushed cashew nuts

¼ teaspoon cardamom powder

1 tablespoon ghee (clarified butter)

Method

In a microwave safe bowl take the dates, add 1 cup milk to them and microwave for 5 minutes.

The dates will absorb the milk and will become very soft.  Now remove their seeds.

Add remaining milk and milk powder to dates and mash them in a food processor.

Pour the whole contents into a nonstick Kadhai/wok and cook on a slow flame. Keep stirring it.

In about 15 minutes the mixture will reduce in volume and turn into a soft dough.

Now add ghee to it and again cook it for 5 minutes. Keep stirring it.

Add cardamom powder to this mixture and mix it well.

Now pour the contents in a flat-bottomed, greased dish and spread it evenly.

Garnish it with crushed cashew nuts.

Cool it at room temperature and then refrigerate it.

After an hour or so, cut it into squares or diamond-shaped barfi with the help of sharp knife or pizza cutter.

Lauki (Bottle Gourd) ki Barfi

Ingredients

1 cup peeled and grated Lauki (Bottle Gourd)

1 cup full-cream milk

1 cup milk powder

1 cup sugar

10-12 raisins

1 tablespoon sliced cashew nuts

1 teaspoon sliced pistachio

¼ teaspoon cardamom powder

1 tablespoon ghee (clarified butter)

Method

Boil the grated lauki and drain excess water out of it.

Mix the milk powder in the milk and boil it in a nonstick Kadhai/Wok.

Now add the prepared lauki to it and cook it on a slow flame. Keep stirring it.

Add sugar, raisins (my kids love raisins so I end up adding a lot of it, you can try it too if you wish to) and cashew nuts to it and again cook on a slow flame.

In about 20 minutes the mixture will reduce in volume and turn into a soft dough.

Now add ghee to it and again cook it for 5 minutes. Keep stirring it.

Add cardamom powder to this mixture and mix it well.

Now pour the contents in a flat-bottomed, greased dish and spread it evenly.

Garnish it with sliced pistachios.

Cool it at room temperature and then refrigerate it.

After an hour or so, cut it into squares or diamond-shaped barfi with the help of sharp knife or pizza cutter.

Vegetarian Manchurian

Ingredients

1 cup finely (shred as fine as you can) shred cabbage

½ cup grated carrots

½ cup finely chopped capsicum

2-3 spring onions, finely chopped

2-3 finely chopped green chilies

2 tablespoon corn flour powder

1tablespoon soya sauce

1tablespoon Manchurian sauce

1teaspoon black pepper powder

1 teaspoon sugar

Salt to taste

1 tablespoon finely chopped coriander

1 tablespoon oil

Oil for frying

Method

Mix carrots, cabbage and capsicum together.

Add salt, half of the black pepper, half of the chopped green chilies and half of the corn flour powder.

With the help of little water bind this mixture together and form small balls.

Heat oil in a Kadhai/wok.

Fry all balls in the oil till golden brown and keep aside.

Heat oil in a pan.

Add garlic paste to it and stir it.

Now add chopped spring onions and green chilies to it and stir it.

Now add soya sauce, Manchurian sauce, black pepper powder, salt and 2 cups of water and boil it.

Mix the remaining corn flour powder with a little water, pour it to the pan and stir it so that it mixes well and gives a uniform thickness to the liquid.

Now add the fried vegetable balls to it and cook for 2-3 minutes.

Pour the content in a serving dish and garnish with chopped coriander leaves.

Serve while hot with rice or noodles.

Khoye ki Gujia

Ingredients

½ cup Khoya, grated

½ cup whole wheat flour

1 tablespoon chopped cashew nuts

1 tablespoon raisins

¼ teaspoon cardamom powder

½ cup bura sugar/sugar powder

1 cup Maida/All purposed flour

1 ½ tablespoon ghee (clarified butter)

Oil for frying

Method

Take Maida (all purpose flour) in a bowl and add 1 tablespoon ghee to it and mix it well with your fingers.

Make some stiff dough with the help of a little water, cover it and keep it aside.

Heat the remaining ghee in a Kadhai / wok.

Add whole wheat flour to it and roast it.

Add grated khoya to it. Mix it well and again roast it till golden.

Now add chopped cashew nuts, raisin and remove from stove.

Now add bura sugar and cardamom powder to this mixture and mix it well.

This will be the filling for Gujia.

Out of the dough make 12-14 small balls.

Roll out each ball to 3-4” diameter thin pancake.

Take the pancake in your palm and place a spoonful of filling in the center of it .

Now apply a little water to its edges so that it can be sealed properly and on frying filling does not come out in oil.

Fold the pancake in half. Now this is a Gujia.

Place the Gujia in a Gujia mold and cut out its edges.

You can also use a Gujia cutter or a pizza cutter, or you can also seal its edges with your fingers in a decorative way.

Prepare all Gujia like this.

Heat the oil in a kadhai/wok.

Fry all Gujia till golden from all sides over a medium flame.

Drain the oil.

Enjoy it with tea or as a sweet dish.

These Gujia can be stored at room temperature for about 2-3 days.

Origin of the Humble Dal-Bati

Dal - Bati

             Dal - Bati is a very traditional and staple Rajasthani dish of India. It is believed that  during the war of King Maharana Pratap of Udaipur against the Mughals, Bati was made for the Army of Maharana Pratap. They were very easy to make and to carry. They are high energy yielding and require very few ingredients. Also, the left over batis could be crushed and mixed with powdered sugar/bhura and ghee and eaten as churma.

            Traditionally, they are made on dried cow-dung cakes. The bati is made with whole-wheat flour and cooked by burning dried cow-dung cakes.  Later on the ash is removed from them and all the batis are dipped in ghee and served along with mixed-dal and gatte ke sabzi (made from besan, also known as gram dal flour or chick pea flour).


            However, nowadays, batis are being made in homes on a tandoor or an oven or steamed and then cooked with ghee.

I, being Rajasthani, am very fond of eating dal-bati, and would like to share recipe with you.

(Dal-bati can be viewed here: Dal Bati)

My first experience of Momos

Momo is the street food of Sikkim and Darjeeling region of the Himalayas in India.

During my family’s visit to Sikkim and Darjeeling, we had visited a tea garden located on the road side, on the way from Sikkim to Darjeeling.  There was a small tea stall along the tea garden. 

            The owner of tea stall was preparing momos on a bamboo basket which he had placed in a steamer. The steamer was on a stove made from mud and he was burning coal and wood under the stove to keep it hot. The momos were both vegetarian, filled with freshly shred cabbage, as well as non vegetarian, served with garlic-mustard sauce and tomato sauce. They  were piping hot and very delicious.

            It was a truly  memorable experience. To be able to savour the scintillating scenery, the fresh morning air, being surrounded by the majestic peaks of the grand Himalayas covered with lush green tea gardens: it is an experience of a life-time. And to enjoy freshly prepared delicious and hot momos, that is one of the rarest treasures that I have witnessed.


          I would like to share the recipe of momos with you; however the filling is quite different from what I had eaten. I have tried to give it a tangy twist in my version of Momos.  If you like it, do let me know.


Momos with tomato sauce