Happy Sankrant Everyone ! Tilgul Ghya Goad Bola!!

It's that time of the year again folks, winter is in full bloom in Pune and it is deliciously cold. After experiencing the severe winters in UK for last  six years this mildly cold weather of Pune is a delightful change for all of us. I admit it still makes getting up early in the morning on school days very difficult, and almost everyday I am tempted to let my little one sleep and not bother him to go to school. Hmmm .... but that's not the way it works does it? If I give in to this temptation he would probably miss school every second day, and that is definitely a big NO NO.
Its also Sankranti time. One of my favourite festivals! I love tilgul and gulachi poli and halwa and the fact that the colour black is celebrated. I have a favourite black saree which I always make a point to wear on Sankranti. Sankrant is normally celebrated on the 14th of January,only this time it is on the 15th. So tomorrow I'll be preparing gulachi poli, and tilgul.

 As with most Indian festivals which are in one way or the other associated with the seasons of the year , Sakranti too has an association with the winter season. Sesame and jaggery the 2 main ingredients here both produce heat in the body and are the main heroes in all the sweets prepared for this event.
Many married women also invite other ladies to their homes for a haldi-kumkum ritual ,during which tilgul is distributed and each lady also gets a small gift to take home. That's the fun part of this programme. It's great fun going into the markets which are jam packed with different goodies you can buy for your haldikumkum function.
Today I am going to share with you the recipe for Gulachi Poli, which is a delicious sweet poli made with a filling of jaggery and sesame. Its to be eaten strictly with generous dollops of homemade ghee. That's a must.
So here goes:

Ingredients for 10 to 12 polis

1/4 kg plain jaggery (available at any grocery store)
1/2 cup of roasted sesame powder,
1/2 cup gram flour
1/4 cup oil to roast the gram flour
1/4 tspn cardammom powder

For the outer poli cover:
2 cups of wheat flour
1 cup plain flour
1/2 cup fine semolina
1/4 cup gram flour
1/2 tblspn rice flour
1 pinch of salt
1/4 cup of very hot oil
1/2 cup rice flour to dust the poli when rolling it out

To make the filling:
Heat the oil and roast the gram flour until it changes colour slightly
Grate the jaggery. When the gram flour cools down add to it the  jaggery and the cardammom powder and the sesame powder. Knead the mixture until it all blends well together. You could even pound it a bit. Keep it to one side.

For the cover:
Mix all the ingredients for the cover and knead into a slightly stiff dough.
divide the dough into 18 to 20 equal portions and the jaggery filling into 9 to 10 equal parts
Now for every poli you need two portions of dough and one portion of jaggery.
Roll out all three portions into small discs of equal size. Place the jaggery portion in between the two dough portions and then roll out all three together into a thin poli the size of the regular phulka or roti.
Roast it on the tawa .
These polis will not be soft like normal rotis . They are slightly stiff to touch and break easily into smaller pieces. That's the way they should be.
They keep easily for 8 days without refrigeration.
Serve with big dollops of ghee.

Other Sankrant special recipes on Food-n-More:
Sesame snaps

Tilgul

Wish you all a very Happy and Delicious Diwali

!! दीपावलीच्या तुम्हा सर्वांना खूप खूप शुभेच्छा !!

!! Happy Holidays to all on Food-n-More !!

It's just around the corner now!

Yes, it is ,isn't it? Diwali is almost here now and I am so excited. I am completely into the Diwali fever. And this is inspite of the fact that I am in the UK where things are definitely nowhere as exciting as they are back in Pune. I have started preparing the snacks and am also going to make a Aakash Kandil very soon to hang outside my door. Well maybe not outside but definitely inside my house.
I made two snacks today. I started with those that keep the longest. They are Chiwda and Shankarpale. Two classic Diwali snacks . And today I will share with you the Shankarpale I made.

These are All-Butter Shankarpale and believe me they just melt in the mouth. I know Shankarpale are normally made with ghee but try them with butter and you will love them.
So here we go:
Ingredients:
1 cup salted butter,
1 cup + 2 tblspns water,
1.5 cups sugar,
approx 750 gms plain flour
oil for deep frying

Method:
Put the butter ,sugar and water together in a heavy bottom pan and heat gently just until the sugar completely dissolves
Switch off the heat immediately,
Set aside and let this mixture cool down
When it is cool start adding the flour and go on adding it until you have a medium soft dough (Dough should not be too soft , nor too firm. I have stated the quantity of flour as 750 gms but that is only an approx measure)
Once the dough is kneaded cover it and and let it rest for 1/2 hour
Then divide it into equal sized parts and roll out each part thinly.
Cut out diamond shapes and fry on a moderate heat until light golden in colour.
Drain onto a paper towel and store in a air tight container when cool.

That's my first recipe for you this Diwali . I plan on making a few more snacks which too I would love to share with you so do come back again soon and check them out.

!!!Happy Diwali Cooking!!!

Happy Holi everyone !

The Spring Festival of India, Holi which is on the 10th of March this year is a festival of colours. Celebrated in March or April according to the Hindu calendar, it was meant to welcome the spring and win the blessings of Gods for good harvests and fertility of the land. As with all the Hindu festivals, there are many interesting legends attached to Holi. It is the second most important festival of India after Diwali.

Special sweets are prepared on Holi with the Puran Poli taking the place of pride and in the evening friends come together around a bonfire which is a representation of burning away all that is evil and starting afresh. It is a festival of fun and frolic and the exuberance and the festivity of the season are remarkable. The day after Holi is called Dhulwad in Maharashtra and is celebrated by splashing colours and water on each other. This is particularly popular with teenagers and collegians who are seen going around the city in large groups on their bikes and scooters having a fantastic time.

So coming back to Puran Poli this is what I have for all of you today. Puran Poli is the like the heart and soul of Maharashtrian cuisine and and it's a true test of your cooking skills. It's a skill not just learnt from a cookbook but something that is handed down generations. The best Puran Poli I have eaten is the one made by my mother-in-law. They are just the ultimate and I really have to keep a check on how many I eat . Having said that I also take great pride in saying that my own Puran Polis come out beautifully as well considering the fact that I make them only once or twice a year. My family loves them and we can never have enough. So I have to share them with all of you, don't I?

For those to whom Puran Poli is a new dish, Puran is basically a sweet stuffing made from chana dal and jaggery. Poli is a flat bread. This puran is stuffed in dough and then rolled out gently to make Puran Poli which is eaten with loads of melted ghee. It is heaven on earth.

Here's how I go about it:

Ingredients for the Puran:

1.5 cups chana dal

1 cup jaggery

1/2 cup sugar,

1/4 tspn grated nutmeg

1/4 tspn cardammom powder,

1/8 tspn saffron strands soaked in warm water

1/4 tspn salt,

3 cups water to cook the chana dal

Ingredients for the outer cover or Poli

1 cup wheat flour finely sifted

1 cup plain flour (maida)

1/4 tspn salt

8 to 10 tblspns of oil to knead the dough,

1 cup rice or plain flour to dust while rolling out the poli

Method for cooking the Puran:

Ideally the chana dal is cooked in a open saucepan till it gets soft and mushy but I prefer to cook it in a pressure cooker as that is much faster and and I don't have to watch it all the time. So place the chana dal with double quantity of water and pinch of turmeric in a pressure cooker container and then pressure cook it . I cook it for a little longer that I would cook normal dal .

While this is cooking prepare the dough for the poli. Mix the 2 flours and salt and form a soft dough by adding enough water. Pour all oil and knead well. The quantity of oil seems a lot but believe me it is necessary to make a delicious puran poli. Leave the dough covered for 1 to 11/2 hour.

When the dal is thoroughly cooked and mushy remove the container from the cooker and drain the excess cooking liquid from the dal. This is called Kat and is used to make a delicious spicy soupy meal accompaniment called Katachi Amti.

What I do now is blend the dal well with a hand mixer still it is smooth with absolutely no grainy texture. Then place this dal ,the jaggery and sugar in a heavy bottom pan and cook it on a low flame stirring frequently till the mixture thickens to the point where if you insert a serving spoon in it , it will stand in the mixture. This is how experts test it. Finally add the nutmeg , cardamom powders and the soaked saffron and give it all a good mix . Switch off the gas. Stirring the mixture frequently is important as it sticks easily to the bottom of the pan.

After the Puran has cooled you can rolling out the Puran polis by taking a ball of dough and thrice as much puran . Roll out the dough a little then place the Puran over it and pulling all the edges to the centre close the mouth of the dough. Dust a small amount of flour on the surface and on the rolling pin and gently roll the poli ensuring that the puran is evenly spread inside without breaking out of the dough.

To roast you need the tawa (skillet) just moderately hot. Roast on one side then flip once and the poli is done. Do not over cook. This is a delicate creation and treat it accordingly. To serve melt ghee and spoon generously( and I mean really generously) over the poli and with some warm saffron flavoured milk alongside. Serve hot.

Wishing You All A Very Bright And Sparkling Diwali

Hello people! I hope you all have a fabulous and fun-filled Diwali .

Finally it took a big event like Diwali to get my blog out of hibernation. It's been a whole month since I blogged. That must be my longest ever no-particular-reason break I have taken. But no more. I am very much back. Last whole week I have been practically tied to the kitchen counter concoting all different kinds of Diwali snacks and although it's been a bit tiring I have enjoyed every moment of it. It's really only once a year that I devote so much of my time to the kitchen and so it's really welcome. I love the challenge and am thrilled when the end products turn out well. Seeing friends and family members eat the treats and rave about them is priceless. And I am very lucky to have friends who are very generous with their compliments.I feel so happy to recieve the compliments that I can hardly eat any of the snacks myself. I am completely filled with joy at just seeing people enjoy the food that I have worked so hard to make.

Karanjis made with fresh coconut filling

Now every year it is my ambition to make one such thing for Diwali that I have not cooked ever before. Mind you it doesn't always get achieved, but it is something I hope to do every year. This year I had my heart set on Bakarwadi. For those of you who are not familiar with it , it is the snack that you see on the left in first pic above. It's a savoury snack which is a speciality of Pune my hometown. I don't think there exists a single soul in Pune who has not eaten Bakarwadi. It is something we Puneites adore and are very proud of. Visitors from other cities always have the Bakarwadi at the top of their shopping list to take back home . Its popularity has even taken it to the US . Unfortunately I have not yet seen it anywhere in the UK markets and it is something we get to eat only when a friend goes on a visit to India and gets back some for all of us here.

So I thought it would be nice if I could make some at home. And so I tried. Verdict? They turned out quite nice and went much beyond my expectations. The taste mind you was not exactly the same as the shop variety but hey it was my first attempt and I am sure they will turn out better with every attempt.

Here's how I made them. I followed the recipe from a Marathi Cookbook called Swayampak by Sindhutai Sathe. The recipe although not difficult has several components and so many ingredients which need to be combined.

Ingredients:

For the outer cover:

3 Cups plain flour, 2-3 drops orange food colour (I did not have this so did not put any), 4 tblspns very hot oil, 1/2 tspn salt, 1 tspn red chilly powder, water to form a dough.

For the Filling (which is called Bakar):

3 tblspns toasted poppy seeds, 3 tblspns toasted sesame seeds, 1 cup roasted dessicated coconut, 1/2 cup finely chopped coriander, 1 tblspn grated onion (squeeze out all the onion juice completely ) 1 tblspn lemon juice, 3 tblspn sugar, 1 cup fine sev.

Seasoning:

3 tspn red chilly powder, 6 cloves of garlic finely crushed , 1 inch garlic finely crushed, 8 to 10 leaves of fresh mint, salt to taste.

Spices:

1 tblspn coriander powder, 1 tblspn cumin powder.

Method:

Combine all the above components in a dry grinder and grind them coarsely. Give it a taste and adjust seasoning. The taste should be a combo of sweet, sour ,salty and spicy.

Mix all the ingredients for the outer cover and form a moderately stiff dough. The hot oil in the dough makes the rolls crisp on frying. Make dough balls the size of a golf ball . Taking one dough ball at a time roll out into a thin roti and spread the filling to cover the entire roti. Then roll up tightly like a cigar. Hold the roll vertically in your palms and press it gently to elongate it further. Place it back on the platform and cut into one inch pieces.

Similarly make all the wadis and then deep fry them slowly at a moderate heat. Frying them at a moderate heat in important to make them crisp.

Try them .

Other Diwali treats on Food -n-More are:

Coconut Laddoos

Jhatpat Chiwda

Chitale Bandhu Mithaiwale in Pune have been the pioneers in making the most delicious Bakarwadis for decades now . To see some mouth-watering sweets and snacks and a clip of how Bakarwadi is commercially made click here.

***WISH YOU ALL ONCE AGAIN A VERY GRAND DIWALI ***

Happy Gudi Padwa 2008

Wish you all a very very happy and prosperous New Year!!

Gudi Padwa is celebrated on the first day of the Chaitra month, and is celebrated as New Year's Day by Maharashtrians .
This is also first day of Marathi Calendar. This festival is supposed to mark the beginning of Vasant (spring). According to the Gregorian calendar this would fall sometime at the end of March and the beginning of April. According to the Brahma Purana, this is the day on which Brahma created the world after the deluge and time began to tick from this day forth. This is one of the 3 and a half days in the Indian Lunar calendar, whose every moment is considered auspicious.

While the people of Maharashtra use the term Gudhi Padwa for this festival and the Konkanis use Sanvsar Padvo (sanvsar derived from samvatsar meaning year) the people of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka term the same festival, observed on the same day, Ugadi. The Sindhi festival of Cheti Chand is celebrated same day.

Gudhi Padwa is especially dedicated to the worship of Lord Brahma. Many legend states that this festival is celebrated to commemorate the victory of Rama over Ravana.
Some Maharashtrians see the gudhi as a symbol of victory associated with the conquests of the Maratha forces lead by the great hero Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. Gudhi is also displayed as they are expected to ward off evil and invite prosperity and good luck into the house.

The gudhi, Brahma’s flag (Brahmadhvaj) is hoisted in every house as a symbolic representation of Rama’s victory and happiness on returning to Ayodhya after slaying Ravan. Since a symbol of victory is always held high, so is the gudhi (flag).

A bright green or yellow cloth adorned with brocade (zari) is tied to the tip of a long bamboo over which gathi (a type of sweet), neem leaves, a twig of mango leaves and a garland of red flowers is tied. This is then hoisted by placing a silver or copper pot placed in the inverted position over it. Beautiful designs with special powder of soft, white stone (rangolis) are drawn on the floor in front of it. Everyone eagerly waits to usher in the new year. Then uttering meaning, ‘I offer obeisance to the flag of Lord Brahma’ one should ritualistically worship the gudhi with a resolve. Since Lord Brahma created the universe on this day, this flag is called ‘the flag of Brahma’ (Brahmadhvaj) in the scriptures.

Some also refer to it as ‘the flag of Indra’ (Indradhvaj). On Gudhi Padwa, you will find gudhi hoisted out of window or otherwise prominently displayed in traditional Maharashtrian households.

Info Credits: Wikipedia

Diwali Wishes

Wishing all of you a fantastic Diwali !

Leaving you with a few Diwali Treats I made during the last couple of days. I think it's a bit late to share the recipes now ,but do let me know if you want any particular recipe from the pic below and I'll be more than happy to post it.

Ganesh Chaturthi

!! GANAPATI BAPPA MORAYA !!

Wishing all friends coming over to Food-n-More a very Happy Ganesh Chaturthi.

Hi all, thanks for your good wishes. Sorry I have not blogged about any recipes recently. Have been very busy with the Ganapati Festival. Yes, the picture above is of the Ganapati idol at my place this year. Have had friends come over everyday for aarti . It's been a fabulous week with people coming over for Darshan. I have really enjoyed making all the diffrent items for Prasad. I'll get back to active blogging sometime next week. I promise !

Ukdiche Modak (JFI Rice)

15th September is Ganesh Chaturthi and I am already in a tizzy. We are celebrating the Ganpati Festival this year at our home in the UK for the first time and boy are we excited about it. I have always celebrated this festival with the rest of my family so there was always either my mother or then later my mom-in-law who were in charge .This is the first time that I am going to be completely responsible for the way things turn out. So I am excited as well as nervous.

I already have visions of how I am going to decorate the room in which the Ganesh idol will be placed and what kind of sweets I can make for the daily Puja and Aarti. Speaking of sweets brings to mind the Show Stopper of the Festival Lunch,which are these Ukdiche Modak.

Ganesh Chaturthi and Ukdiche Modak have to go hand in hand. I cannot celebrate this day without these delicious creations. So best way to ensure that you can make these, is to take a trial run a few days before the actual day of the festival. And that's exactly what I did today. This was also my idea of a perfect entry for Sharmi's event JFI Rice .

Of course like every year I called Aai for the recipe and for the important tips to remember while making them. Although the recipe is very simple the actual procedure requires a bit of practice.

Here's how I went about it:

Ingredients (For 7 to 8 Modak):

For the outer cover:
1 katori (see pic) very fine Rice flour (sieve the rice flour to get a fine and soft flour),
1 katori water,
a pinch of salt,

Ingredients for the sweet stuffing:
2 cups fresh grated coconut,
1 cup jaggery (palm sugar)
1/2 tspn cardamom powder,
1/2 tspn grated nutmeg

Steel Katori used in all maharastrian homes


Procedure for Outer Cover:

1.In a steel container mix the rice flour ,water and salt to make a smooth paste(see pic)

2. Pressure cook this paste like you would do for dal in a pressure cooker, (thats about 3 whistles and simmer for 5 to 7 mins)

3. Let the pressure cooker cool for a while before opening it.

Uncooked Rice Flour Paste

Procedure for the stuffing:

1. While the pressure cooker cools down prepare the stuffing.

2. In a heavy bottom pan mix the grated coconut and jaggery and cook the mixture for 20 to 25 mins on a very low heat, stirring frequently

3. After switching off the heat add the cardamom and nutmeg. Let the stuffing cool

Coconut and Jaggery Stuffing

4. After the rice flour dough which is called Ukad has cooled down enough to handle ,oil your palms well and knead this dough till it becomes very pliable and soft enough to fill and shape into a modak. Along with oil also use water on your hands to further assist you with this.

5. Now make a lemon size ball of dough ,place it between two oiled plastic sheets and spread out the dough with your thumb to the size of a puri (see pic)

6. Place this puri on your wet palm and place a tblspn full of stuffing in the centre. Make vertical pleats in the dough by pinching it at regular intervals between your thumb and forefinger (I wish I could show you a pic but I was struggling so much at this stage that holding a camera was simply impossible)

7. Now close the modak from the top by creating tapering shape .(Gosh! I am so bad at explaining this) But I guess all marathi readers will know what I am taliking about and for others the final product should look like the modak in the main pic and the pic below. )

8. To steam these I used an idli cooker and idli moulds. Use any kind of good steamer. At home in India we normally place a soft muslin in a colander ,put all the modaks in it and then place the colander just inside the rim of the pressure cooker and steam for 15 to 17 mins. Alternatively they can be steamed in an electric rice cooker too. Imp Note: Before steaming, dip each modak quickly in water and then place in the steamer. This prevents the modaks from cracking

Serve with generous dollops of homemade ghee. No ! don't say no to Ghee. You must have Ghee (or Sajuk toop as we call it) with Modak.

I hope my post inspires many of you to try them out this year, that's the reason why I wanted to post these a little before the 15th and secondly let me now go over to Sharmi's for JFI: RICE

India celebrating 60th Independence Day Anniversary

WISHING ALL MY INDIAN BLOG PALS A HAPPY 60TH INDEPENDENCE DAY ANNIVERSARY !

Today I would like to share with you something that my dear friend Rasika has put together. Its such a great compilation that it deserves to be seen and enjoyed by all of us on the blogosphere. Thank you Rasika.


These are some videos which we grew up watching.
They evoke a sense of nostalgia in our minds about the times when our families used to sit and watch these shows and commercial on Doordarshan.
Old Advertisements/Jingles



Mile Sur mera tumahara – Original
Hamara Bajaj ad
Milcent Aata ad
Tata tea
Doodh Doodh ad
Cadbury ad
Ek Anek Chidyaa

Audio Tracks
He Man – Audio Track (Original)
Chanakya Title song – Audio Track (Original)
Byomkesh Bakshi Opening Sound track (Original )
Title music of “Darpan”
Download Link 1 / Download Link 2 – Tipu Sultan ( Remix not original)

Old TV Shows
Malgudi Days – Watch Online [Courtsey- Rajshri Website]
Surabhi Episodes [ Chk out more stuff on http://www.amul.tv/amultv/viewtvshows.php?episode=surbhi259
MahaBharat http://www.rajshri.com/mahabharat/nowplaying.asp?band=low&fileID=tvshowsMythological1
Paying Guest [ Chk out more stuff on http://www.rajshri.com ]

Amul Ads
Amul Cheese
Amul Pizza Cheese
Amul- That’s an Order
Library Ad
Hamara Bajaj

Enjoy them!

Wish you all A Fantastic Christmas!!!!

Here's wishing all my dear dear bloggo-buddies A Very Very Happy and Grand Christmas from all my family and these two guys here!!!! Happy Holidays

Santa is just around the corner.