Ashadhi Ekadashi (An Auspicious start to blogging again)

A very big Hello to all my dear readers. Yes, I am back with Food-n-More after a year long break . And boy what an year it's been. It's brought about  huge changes for me and my family. As I already mentioned in my previous post, Food-n-More now comes to you from India and you bet I am very excited about that. Blogging from my home in India is going to be great fun for me. There is so much more I can experiment with here. I have my mom close by from whom I can take live demos from for all those dishes that I find daunting and besides having access to all the brilliant  ingredients available at my local grocer , I am also very excited about all the loads of crockery I have in my cupboards that I can use in my pics. My crockery is one thing I used to miss very badly when I was away.So much so that hubby used to say that I miss it more than I miss my parents, but I think most of my culinary buddies will relate to that feeling we have about our precious possessions in the kitchen.

Let me tell you that I spent a lot of time thinking about what I could blog about in my first post after so long. I kept thinking it had to be something extraordinary , something that would blow everybody way but then I altered my thinking and felt that it was also so much nicer to share something that I love eating myself, which is basically what I have always done  . And it is this thought that made it so much easier for me to start off.

I started writing this post yesterday as it was Ashadhi Ekadashi .Although not a very religious person at heart I thought it was a  good auspicious day to restart blogging. That's the reason behind the picture above of Lord Vitthal and Rukmini.. Ashadhi ekadashi is a religious procession festival and is celebrated during the months of June- July.  People consider the two eleventh days, "Ekadashi", of every month to be of special importance. But the eleventh day (bright) of Ashadh is known as the great Ekadashi or Mahaekadashi. This Mahaekadashi is also known as Shayani Ekadashi, because on this day Vishnu falls asleep to wake up four months later on Prabodhini Ekadashi in the Kartik month. This period is known as Chaturmas and coincides with the rainy season.

Now Ashadhi Ekadashi is a day of fast and on this day people go walking in huge processions to Pandharpur singing the Abhangas (chanting hymns) of Saint Tukaram and Saint Dnyaneshwar to see their God Vitthal. The yatra starts in Allandi and ends on Guru Poornima day at Pandharpur.

For me and my family Ekadashi is a day on which we enjoy all the foodie treats that are allowed on a day of fasting. Not for us a fast which comprises of eating only fruit or having only liquids .... oh no we love our "fast" food too much :)) So I made a couple of things yesterday, out of which I managed to photograph only one and that is my favourite Dahi Sabudana.

Now inspite of being my favourite it's surprising how rarely I make this dish. I don't know why. But I made it a point to make it yesterday and we all loved it, even my 9 year old who had it for the first time. It's one of those things which prove the saying "The simplest things in life sometimes give you the most pleasure" Well Dahi Sabudana definitely ticks all the boxes for me. What you need is:

Ingredients:

1 cup sabudana (Sago seeds)

1/2 cup crushed roasted peanuts

3/4 to 1 cup plain  yogurt

1/4 cup milk

4 tblspns finely chopped coriander

2 tspns sugar 

Salt to taste

For the tempering:

3 tblspns oil

2 green chillies finely chopped

2 tspns Jeera (cumin)

Method:

• You need a bit of prepping the day before you make this dish or in the morning if you would like to serve it in the evening .
• As this is a dish eaten cold and the sabudana is not actually cooked we need to roast the sabudana well before leaving it to soak.
• So roast the sabudana on a low to moderate flame for at least 15 to 20  minutes.
• Let it cool off completely before soaking it
• Once it has cooled soak it in water (water level should be only 1/2 a cm above the sabudana) for at least 6 to 7 hrs or overnight.
• To prepare the dish first prepare the tempering and leave it to cool.
• In a large bowl mix all the items listed under Ingredients and then add the cooled tempering to it. It is very important to have cooled the tempering before mixing it with the sabudana.
• Garnish the dish with more chopped coriander and crushed peanuts
• And that's it really .Dahi sabudana is ready to eat .  

Eat it at breakfast, as an evening snack or even as a light supper on the day of fasting. Or better still don't wait for a day of fasting enjoy it anyway. :))

A Super Bowl (Veggie Lentil Curry with Jeera Rice)

Hi guys!! I know I know , I have been as bad as ever. Neglecting my blog again for days now. Just got caught up doing other things (like playing Farmville!!) . But now I am back and have something wonderful to share. Wonderful yet very very simple to make , but very nutritious ,mind you. I made this dish just 2 days back. Got the recipe from a diet magazine and the picture in it was so good that I had to make it immediately.
This dish is perfect for those days when you have the middle of the week dinner blues and can't think of what to put on the dinner table that day. Well this ones a winner. It's fast to cook and very little washing up to do later as it can all be eaten from a single bowl.


What you need:
2 medium onions chopped
2 medium sweet potatoes peeled and cut into chunks
1 cup of uncooked masoor dal (split red lentils)
1 cup of green beans cut into pieces
1 cup of cauliflower florets
1/2 cup of green peas
1 tblspn each of garlic and ginger paste
1 heaped tspn mustard seeds
1 tspn cumin
1 tblspn hot curry powder
1 tspn chilly powder (more if you like)
1/2 tspn turmeric powder
Oil to cook
coriander to garnish


Method:


Heat about 3 to 4 tblspns of oil in a pan and add the mustard seeds first. When they begin to splutter add the cumin and fry for about 30 secs.
Next add the onions and the ginger- garlic pastes and fry well
Add to this the curry powder, chilly powder and turmeric
Now add the lentils and the vegetables, salt and 3 to 4 cups of water.
Bring to a boil and then lower the heat to simmer.
Cover and cook until the veggies are cooked and the lentils are mushy. The beans take the longest to cook , so if they have cooked , rest assured that the rest of the veggies have cooked.
Adjust the seasoning according to your taste and garnish with chopped coriander


Have this curry with a rice of your choice. I made simple jeera rice and  just made a salad to go with it. It makes  a quick and power packed supper with minimum hassle.


Right! Now  after that spicy curry here's something completely different. Recently I was introduced to the GrazeBox. What is a GrazeBox?  Well it  is just what it sounds like . It's a box which contains 2 or 3 types of nibbles which you can graze on throughout the week. It's the best thing to have to control those  4o'clock hunger pangs .It contains delicious things like nuts, raisins, seeds  dried fruit ,fresh fruit and even some exotic spicy nibbles.  This is what a graze box looks like from the outside. 

And this is my box from last week. I ordered  a graze fresh box and got all this delcious stuff in it. Believe me it's supposed to last you for atleat a week but it  was gone in minutes.

So if you are in the UK and interested in ordering one yourself  or would just like to know more about graze then  do visit http://www.graze.com/

If you feel like ordering one then please use the promotional code below. That will give you your first box free.

free box code: LYLD625A

So go Grazing!!

Delicious Kesar Pedhas (Delights of Blogging)

Hi all ! Hmmm ... I must say I was a bit disappointed to see only one comment to my Mango Moods post. I am  sure though that many of you have read it and are also giving  a good thought to what you can make and send in . So do that people and send in as many entries as you like . Let me tell you entries have actually started trickling in. So I can see light at the end of the tunnel.

Anyway let me get back to this post because this too is  a special post. I call it my "Delights of Blogging" kind of post and that's because it is a recipe I have followed from someone else's blog and has turned out delightfully well. All the credit for this recipe  goes to Ramya of Foodie Catalog. Thankyou Ramya for this awesome recipe I have always been on the lookout for a good recipe for Pedhas. I just love Pedhas and always wanted to make some at home especially as the ones we get here in UK come nowhere near the ones I am used to eating in Pune. So when I saw Ramya's recipe and her photos I just had to make some. I barely managed to wait until I could go out and buy some condensed milk.

The verdict on the Pedhas?  SUPERB !! Simply Superb!! They taste  so fresh and delicious. I shared some with a couple of friends and they were full of praise. One of them even said that had I not told him that they were homemade he would never have known. So there you are.

Now me being me I had to tweak the recipe a little, for the usual reason of not having one or the other ingredient at home . This time it was the butter. I did not have any, so I used ghee. That's it .

Ingredients:

Milk Powder – 2 cups

Condensed Milk – 1 can (14 OZ)

Ghee – ½ cup

Saffron – few strands

Water – 2 tsps

A pinch of salt

For decoration I used  milk masala , which is nothing but a combo of crushed pistachios, almonds, cardammom and saffron

Method:

1.Take a large wide mouthed microwave safe bowl and heat the ghee just until it melts.

2.Now add both the condensed milk and milk powder and microwave on full power  for 4 –5 mins stirring after every minute.

3.Heat water and add saffron. Mix with the dough and microwave again for another 4 to 5  more mins. The mixture kind of begins to thicken and also rise up . Be very careful when microwaving the hot mixture. Do not forget to stir frequently.

4.Cool the mixture  for a good 10 mins until it  is warm enough for you to handle . It get's the consistency of  chapati dough.

5. Now roll the pedhas. If tyou do this while the dough is still warm the Pedhas will roll into smooth balls. Give the pedhas a slight dent in the centre so that they look like the shop bought ones. Sprinkle with my suggested milk masala or any other dry fruit of your choice.

These Pedhas taste even better the next day. After a day or two store them in the fridge so they keep longer. Just microwave as  many as you want for 5 secs before eating or serving and they will taste fresh again. Next time you have a Pooja at your place amaze your guests with this Prasad.

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!!!

Kutcchi Dabeli

You all probably know from many of my previous posts that we friends have regular tea get-togethers on Fridays. It gives the kids a chance to have a great time on the last day of the school week and it gives us ladies an excuse to meet and chat and eat tasty snacks. Well this week it was my turn and my choice of snack was this ever -popular Kutcchi Dabeli. For those of you who aren't familiar with Kutcchi Dabeli ,it is a Gujarati snack ,it's name being derived from the place Kutch in Gujarat. But it is a very very popular street food in Maharashtra and is probably just one place below Vada-Pav which tops the best-seller list of street-food.

Very surprisingly though I never ate Kutcchi Dabeli when I was in college. Never even once. I ate it the first time here in England when a friend made it . I just loved it and have ever since wondered why I never ate it earlier. I mean if it tastes so good at home it must be great when eaten on the road-side, right?? Well I definitely will find out the next time I am in Pune ,which unfortunately is not so soon. So till then I will keep making it at home.

Now Kutcchi Dabeli needs a special Masala /Spice Mix which is easily available back home, but not here in UK. The most popular brand is Siddhi Masala , so I had my sister bring me a few packs of that when she last visited. But it can be substituted with cumin-coriander powder and garam masala which is also a blend of the same spices just probably in different proportions.
So now on to the actual process :

Ingredients for approx 12 Dabelis:
12 soft rolls /buns
1 kg potatoes boiled ,peeled and mashed,
1 pack of Dabeli Masala (100 gms) OR
2 tblspns each of coriander and cumin powder, 2 tblspns of garam masala, 1 tblspn of chilly powder,
Salt to taste (you don't need any salt if you are using the dabeli masala . It has everything in it.)
Date and Tamarind Chutney,
Red chilly and garlic chutney (blend red chillies, garlic salt and sugar together in a blender with a little water)

For the garnish:
Seeds of one or two pomegranate,
Sev,
2 finely chopped onion,
Salted/spicy peanuts
Finely chopped coriander

Method:

• Boil and mash the potatoes and keep aside,
• In a pan heat 4 to 5 tbslpns of oil , add to that the mashed potatoes and all of the 100 gms of dabeli masala or the alternative spice powders with the salt. (Remember no salt if using the Dabeli Masala) and mix it all well. Your filling is ready.
• Spread out this filling evenly on to a large plate and garnish generously with all the garnishings as you see in the pic. It looks very pretty.

To serve:

Split a bun in half and spoon both the chutneys in it first, then put about 2 tblspnfuls of potato filling on top .

• Put some more salted nuts and sev if you wish.
• Top again with date and tamarind chutney and close with the top part of the bun.
• Butter the bun on both sides and brown it nicely on a tawa/flat pan.
• Serve hot

Wheat and coconut cream pudding

A couple of days back my good friend Kavita left UK and went back to India for good. Before leaving she gave me a bagful of groceries that she had left over and obviously couldn't finish before she left. This is a normal practice amongst us friends . Whenever one of us is leaving for good we kind of have a grocery distribution programme between us . The person who is leaving accumulates all the store cupboard groceries that she cannot use up and asks us to take what ever we fancy . So everyone kind of gets to explore her groceries which is fun . Although of course it is no fun to have one of your group leave forever. It leaves a kind of empty void that is very difficult to get used to.

So this time along with other things I got something that I had never used before. She had a container full of hand-threshed whole wheat from her family farm back home in India. So it was of the best quality ever. K said her mom-in-law and sisters in law make a kheer out of it although she had never tried it herself it UK. My initial enthusiasm on recieving it faded a bit when I saw the whole grain and wondered how I would cook it. I have cooked bulgar wheat before but this was something else altogether.

So I tentatively cooked it in my pressure cooker with some water. Thankfully it cooked beautifully and the kheer or pudding that I made from it turned out just fabulous. I cooked it in coconut milk and the taste was mind-blowing. So thanks to K for that! Bulgar wheat being widely available and imparting the same taste is my recommendation as a substitute to the wheat I used for this pudding

Ingredients:

3/4 cup Bulgar Wheat,

1 can of coconut cream

1/2 cup fresh grated coconut,

3/4 cup jaggery (or use light brown muscovado sugar)

a generous pinch of saffron,

1/2 a tspn of cardammom powder

1/2 cup approx milk (to thin the kheer if needed)

2 tblspns ghee (clarified butter)

Method:

Cook the Bulgar wheat with the grated coconut and some water in a pressure cooker for 3 whistles.

In another pan heat the ghee and add the cooked wheat and stir for a couple of minutes

To this add the coconut milk/cream from the can and stir it in well,

Next add the jaggery/sugar and the saffron . (you can soak the saffron in warm water or milk for some time but it's not neccessary)

Now simmer the kheer /pudding for a good 20 to 25 minutes on a very low heat, stirring occasionally so it does'nt stick to the bottom of the pan.

If you would like it a bit thinner in consistency add the milk. Remember it becomes thicker and thicker as it cools down, so it a good idea to have it a bit thinner than you would like when it is hot.

Switch off the heat after 25 mins and sprinkle the cardammom powder and stir it in well.

This pudding tastes good warm or chilled. We love it chilled. So I chilled it in the fridge for an hour before serving. To serve decorate with cashews or almonds or any dry -fruit of your choice.

Mango Mastani (It's seriously addictive)

My memories of enjoying a Mango Mastani go back a long long way, right to the time when I was about 10 years old. I mean today Pune has some fabulous Mastani places where the Mastani is sold in many different flavours but back then my dad used to take us to a small place , a stall actually, located at Saras Baug (readers from Pune will know the location ) . It was called Vasant Cold Drink House . It belonged to a friend of my dad's and he and sold the most awesome Mango Mastani made from fresh Alphonso mangoes and made in a hand turned ice cream maker. Eating this Mastani was a luxury and at a price as low as Rs.10.00 per glass it was practically free considering today's prices. A Mastani today costs around Rs.60.00 to 70.00 at Sujata Mastani in Pune .

So every time I think of Mastani I always remember that small place which gave me my first taste of this beautiful beautiful dessert. No wonder it's also got this royal name . Mastani was a danseuse and wife to Bajirao Peshwa . She was a stunning combination of beauty and bravery that history recollects and it is said that her skin was as smooth and delicate as porcelain. Well our Mastani is just as beautiful, don't you think?

So here's my version of the Mango Mastani:
As it the Mango season I used fresh mangoes but otherwise just go ahead and use canned mango pulp, but preferably Alphonso mango.

To make 2 tall glasses of Mastani you need:
Pulp of 1 large Alphonso Mango or 2 medium ones (or of course the equivalent in canned pulp)
1.5 glasses of cold whole milk,
4 tpns sugar
lots of ice cubes
And good quality mango icecream or mango kulfi (I used kulfi)

Method:
Whizz up the milk ,mango , sugar and ice in a blender until thick and frothy. Pour out into tall glasses upto three quarters. Then put in 2 scoops of mango icecream on the top and decorate with cubed mango and some whipped cream . Put in a straw and a long spoon and serve chilled. Or drink it and go straight to heaven.

Other good variations are :
Rose milkshake and mango icecream,
Rose milkshake and pistacchio icecream,
Strawberry milkshake and vanilla icecream
But of course nothing comes close to the total mango version.

Five Star Dal Fry

See guys I have kept my word and am posting every few days now. In fact I keep rushing to take pics every time I have a dish ready to serve. I just hope I can keep it up.

So this is a dal that I have for you today . I make this quite frequently for dinner as it is a good change from the regular Amti (a maharashtrian dal preparation) that we make practically everyday . I call it 5 star dal fry not because I first ate it at any 5 star restaurant or something but because it is a combination of 5 different dals, which makes it a powerhouse of protein. The special touch comes from cooking it in pure ghee rather than everyday sunflower oil. The ghee even when used in small quantities imparts a delicious taste and aroma to the dal which has everyone helping themselves to seconds and thirds. I very often cook this dal when I am out of fresh veggies . As there are 5 lentils in here it more than provides all the nutrition to make a balanced meal and as it is thick in consistency it is also very filling

Currently as it is the mango season we try to have aamras (fresh mango pulp) for dinner whenever possible. In India we have it each and every day in summer until the Alphonso is in season but here in England we are not so fortunate although this year we have got some of the best Alphonso which we bought in Kingsbury , London. So with aamras on the dinner plate vegetables tend to take a back seat which none of us really mind as it is temporary. So on such occasions this dal really completes the meal beautifully.

So here goes:
Ingredients needed:
Fill a cup with equal quantities of :

• Toor Dal,
• Yellow Moong Dal,
• Masoor Dal,
• Whole masoor and
• Chana Dal
• 1large tomato chopped,
• 1 onion chopped,
• 3/4 cloves of garlic minced,
• 2 to 3 dry red chillies,
• 2 tspn coriander powder,
• 3 to 4 tblspns ghee,
• 2 tspns jeera (cumin seeds)
• 1/2 tspn hing (asafoetida)
• 1 tspn turmeric powder,
• 1 tspn chilly powder (optional)
• 8 to 10 fresh curry leaves,
• salt to taste
• Fresh coriander to garnish

Method:

• Wash the dals together and cook with double quantity of water and a pinch of salt and 1 tspn of turmeric powder in pressure cooker as you would for any dal.
• In a pan heat the ghee and temper it with the cumin seeds, hing, and red chillies and curry leaves,
• Next add the chopped onion, and garlic and fry on moderate heat until onion turns light golden in colour.
• To this add the chopped tomato and cook further for a few more minutes,
• Now add the coriander powder, and a little turmeric powder and cook further . Add a little amount of water at this stage.
• Next add the cooked dals and stir well. Add more water to make it as thin as you like and bring it to a boil. When it begins to boil turn down the heat and let the dal simmer for about 20 mins.
• Check the seasoning, you might want to add more salt and also more chilly powder to the dal at this stage.After 20 mins on simmer switch off the heat . Turn out the dal into you serving bowl and garnish with fresh coriander and enjoy with rice , chapatis or parathas.

You can even add a dollop of butter to the dal just before serving . It's sinfully indulgent but tastes simply awesome.

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.

White peas with Sweet Potatoes (Some simple cooking after a very sweet Christmas)

Hi and a very bright and beautiful New Year to all my avid readers. May all your troubles this year be as short-lived as your New Year's resolutions:>)

So! ! I am back again from one of my long breaks . I know I have been taking so many long breaks between posts that I think you all are probably tired of hearing my reasons. But please hear me out one more time. The break in blogging started because of the Christmas holidays. 2 weeks of sheer relaxation. I like Christmas holidays particularly as it is a holiday without having the stress to celebrate the festival as we don't celebrate Christmas . Well we do it a little bit just for my son who still believes in Santa and reindeer and all the Christmassy bits that are so important and delightful to a child . So we have some fairy lights in the house and of course he has a Christmas stocking and his Christmas present of course.

But basically what the holidays mean is husband and son at home . (i.e son for 2 weeks of course and husband only for the long Christmas weekend and on New Years.) , no getting up early to pack lunches and no nagging them both to get out of the house on time for school and office late brunches and generally a sense of taking everything easy . I was practically getting up at half past eight everyday. Felt guilty sometimes but I easily pushed the guilt away. That was not difficult at all.

Before the Christmas weekend we made sure that the fridge and store cupboard were well stocked , made a trip to the library for some good books and magazines and DVDs to loan and we were set. What more does one need? Right? Christmas Day and the next two days were spent playing Monopoly with our son. It was great . The three of us really enjoyed our time together. I also did quite a lot of cooking (you have to cook a lot when all of you are at home). But that meant I could not find the time to blog. All the time was spent by the three of us together, eating , playing games, going out, visiting friends and of course visiting the sales on Boxing Day.

But now it's back to routine. I am alone at home again doing my thing while hubby and son have gone to their respective places of duty. The festivities are over and everything is back to normal which includes the cooking. No more puddings and cakes and mince pies in my kitchen. We have had our fill. Since a couple of days I have started googling the name of whatever vegetable I have in my fridge and checking what the net has to offer . It's the best way to come up with different combos and different ways to cook that same old veggie.

This time I had soaked a cup or two of dried white peas ( that's not chana ) and wanted to cook them with another veggie. Normally I use dried white peas only to make Ragda Patties . But yesterday I cooked them with sweet potato and the result was delicious to say the least. All three of us loved it with chapatis. It was simply cooked with no fuss and minimum spices. The dish looked beautiful too because of the sweet potatoes which are a beautiful coral colour.

Here are the ingredients :

• 1.5 cups of dried white peas to be soaked overnight (they increase in quantity to a little more than 2 cups after absorbing the water)
• 1 medium sized sweet potato cubed (keep them immersed in water until you need them so they do not discolour)
• 1 small onion chopped,
• 3 cloves of garlic finely crushed,
• 1 large tomato chopped
• 3 tblspns oil,
• 2 tspns mustard seeds,
• 1/2 tspn hing (asafoetida),
• 1 tspn whole cumin (jeera),
• 1 tspn each of coriander and cumin powder,
• 1/2 tspn turmeric powder,
• 1 tspn sugar,
• some fresh chopped coriander,
• salt to taste.

Method:

• Cook the peas in a pressure cooker with some salt and the turmeric powder.
• In a pan heat the oil and temper it with the mustard seeds, hing and cumin,
• Next add the chopped onion and garlic and fry for a few minutes on moderate heat,
• Now add the tomatoes and cook further,
• Add to this all the spice powders (coriander,cumin, chilly and some more turmeric). Cook these on low heat for a further 2 minutes.
• Now add the 2 star ingredients : Cooked white peas and the sweet potato cubes, add 2 cups of water
• As the peas are already cooked and sweet potato cooks very fast you will need to cook these further for a very little time just until the sweet potatoes are done and the spices are nicely mixed and absorbed in the whole curry. Add more waterwhile cooking if you find it getting too thick . Stir in most of the chopped coriander into the dish and use the remaining to garnish just before serving.

Eat with hot rotis or jeera rice. It makes a very simple but hearty and healthy meal.

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 ***

Ganapati Bappa Moraya

A very big Hello !!! to all my dear readers and blog friends. I am back after a very very long break and believe me I am now really really ready to blog again. My trip to India was super. It was one big social event. I was visiting friends and family left ,right and centre. Visited some nice restaurants too and ate lots of delicious stuff and inspite of all the hogging I did there I lost some weight. Isn't that amazing? I am very happy.

And here I am with my latest dish that I have just prepared minutes ago and is fresh off the stove. I couldn't have chosen a better day than today to start blogging again . Yesss! It's Ganesh Chaurthi today . That special festival of Maharashtra which is celebrated for 10 days with great pomp all over the state. Before starting any new venture we believe in praying to Lord Ganesh or Ganapati Bappa as he lovingly called in Marathi. It is believed that Ganapati can remove any obstacles that may be a hindrance in your way to success and that is the reason why any new venture is first started by praying to Lord Ganapati.

So I am definitely starting on a very good day. What I have for you today is also a very special dish made particularly on Ganesh Chaturthi as it is Ganapati Bappa's favourite. It is Modak. The one I have for you today is the fried version



Ingredients:
For the outer cover
1 cup Plain Flour,
2 tspn Fine Semolina,
3 tblspn very hot oil
A pinch of salt
Ingredients for the filling:
210 gms fresh shredded coconut
1 cup jaggery (palm sugar)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tspn cardammom powder
1/2 tspn nutmeg powder

Procedure:
Filling: (Filling can be prepared one day in advance and kept ready)
1. In a heavy bottom pan mix the coconut, jaggery and sugar on a moderate to low heat . Keep stirring until the the mixture loses moisture and becomes slightly dry. This takes about 10 t0 15 minutes
2. Switch off the gas and then sprinkle the two spice powders and mix well. The mixture is ready. Optionally you can make it richer by adding raisins, broken cashewnuts etc. Keep the mixture covered until you need it.

For the outer cover:
1. Mix all the ingredients and knead into a firm dough. Keep covered for at 30 minutes.
2. Before using soften the dough by drizzling a bit of Ghee (clarified butter) on it and pound it in a pestle and mortar. This is very tedious but very neccessary. It makes the dough pliable.
3. Now make small balls of dough. Roll out one ball at a time into a thin puri.
4. Place it on your palm and put a tspn full of filling in the centre. Pinch the sides of the puri at regular intervals and close the modak firmly from the top. Place the modak on a plate and cover the dish with a clean wet cloth so that the modaks do not dry out
5. Make all the modaks in the same way.
6. Deep fry 3 to 4 modaks at a time on a moderate to low heat. Let cool and then store a container.
This will make appoximately 21 modaks. The other version of Modak is the steamed version which is even more delicious. For the recipe click on the picture on the right side bar.

• Have also updated Chintu cartoon strip after a very long time. Sorry for not having updated for so long. Do scroll down and take a look.

The delights of blogging: Funke/Waffole

From the day I became a blogger I have seen so many different varieties of foods from all over the globe. I have even tried out a few and loved them. But for a few weeks now I have been Googling away on the Internet like never before for something not global but very close to home. The reason behind it is this very interesting project that I am doing with a group of friends. The project is to create an attractive display of Maharashtrian Culinary Delights (in pictures of course) for our local library. Everyday as we are prepare for this I realise what a vast variety of Maharashtrian recipes there is to choose from and it is mind boggling having to choose which ones will go up on the display and which ones won't. And this is the case inspite of the fact that we are dealing with only one state of India. God knows we would probably have gone crazy had it been a project about Indian Cuisine in general. Now Maharashtra being a large state (as the name itself denotes) boasts of a cuisine so varied that some of the dishes that are commonly cooked in the north of the state are not even heard of in the south and vice versa of course. I must say this project has provided the perfect opportunity for us to explore the delightful cuisine of our own state.

Just a couple of days back while I was on one such culinary journey on the net I discovered this fabulous and very very simple recipe from Khandesh. Khandesh is an area to the north of Maharashtra and Khandeshi cuisine is particularly known for it's earthy and spicy flavours. I read the original recipe on Aarti's Corner and it was the simplicity of the recipe that really appealed to me. I made just a couple of changes. Firstly I reduced the number of chillies so my son would not make a fuss , secondly I mixed in the sesame seeds along with all the other ingredients in the dough and I also added a bit of sugar .

You need:

1 cup Toor Daal

2 onions finely chopped

1/3 cup coriander, finely chopped

1 inch ginger minced( or use a tblspn of store bought bottled minced ginger)

3 cloves garlic minced

2 green chillies minced

4-5 tsp sesame seeds

1 -2 tsp lemon juice

1/2 tspn sugar

salt to taste

Method:

1) Soak Toor Daal for 1-2 hrs

2) Drain all water and coarsely grind it

3) Mix all the remaining ingredients and knead together

4) Make small dumplings of any shape you like

5) Put these dumplings in a steamer/cooker and steam it for 15-20 mins .

The healthy version of this dish is the steamed one . But if you are in an indulgent mood like I was you can fry the dumplings. Eitherway they are irresistable.

If any of you have any typically Maharashtrian recipes that could be used for my project ,do mail me your suggestions . I would be more than happy to research them.

Spicy Bhindi Fry {Stir-fried Okra}

As much as I love to taste food from different cuisines there are times when I crave the simplicity of roz-ka-khana or simple day to day home cooked food. All through this week I cooked a variety of foods like couscous with veggies and chicken, pasta and garlic bread, pita bread pizza etc etc etc . These are all my favourites and very filling .But the satisfaction that my family and I get when we eat a typical simple Maharshtrian meal is something that cannot really be explained. Today was one such day when I needed my dose of a complete Maharshtrian lunch which included

1. Poli, (Chapati)

2. Bhendichi bhaji,(the one you see above)

3. Aamti,(a spiced up Dal)

4. Koshimbir,(Maharshtrian salad)

5. Limbacha loncha,(Sweet and sour lemon pickle)

6. Taak,(buttermilk)

7. Varan Bhaat (Rice and Dal)

8. Rawyacha Ladoo (A sweet treat ,recipe here)

I wish I had photographed the entire plate served but I guess photography was the last thing on my mind then. So what I have for you today is the bhindi fry which you will love.

You need:

1 kg lady's fingers (bhindi),

1 large potato,

5 cloves of garlic,

4 tblspns chickpea flour (besan)

1 tblspn ground peanuts,

1/2 tspn turmeric powder,

1 tspn and a little more chilly powder,

1 tspn coriander seed powder,

1 tspn cumin powder,

1 tblspn sugar,

1 tspn lemon juice,

salt to taste,

For the tempering :

5 to 6 tblspns oil

3 tspn mustard seeds,

1 tspn asafoetida (hing)

2 tspn cumin seeds,

Method:

1. Before starting the actual cooking wipe each bhindi clean with kitchen paper towel. If you must wash it then do it the previous night and spread out the bhindi on a tea towel to dry thoroughly. Cooking wet bhindi is inviting disaster as it turns horribly stringy.

2. Cut each bhindi into 2 or 3 pieces. I normally cut them at an angle .

3. Cut the potato , crush the garlic cloves and keep aside.

4. Now in a large pan heat the oil and first add the garlic, when it turns light brown add the mustard ,asafoetida and cumin,

5. Next add the bhindi , and potatoes, stir fry these on a medium heat,

6. Add to this the spice powders and the salt, continue cooking the vegetables on low to med heat without covering the pan.

7. Once the bhindi and potatoes have cooked add to that the peanut powder and the besan. The besan will immediately absorb any excess oil in the pan. Now cover the pan so the besan will cook.

8. At the last stage add the lemon juice , give it a taste and garnish with chopped coriander.

A small tip: If during cooking despite all efforts the bhindi does get stringy just add the lemon juice at that stage. The acidity of the lemon juice will cut through the strings.

Mix Vegetable Pickle (A must-make in winter)

I call this a must-make (a word I just conjured up) because it used to be a winter must-make in my Aai's (mom's) kitchen all through my school and teen years. She still makes it ,though probably in smaller quantities as my sister and I are not there anymore to hog it with every meal.This is a winter specialty as the vegetables are always so much fresher and appealing then ,than in the hot summers in India.

So I am continuing the tradition even in England where funnily enough it is cold for almost three quarters of the year if not more. The cold weather somewhat demands that I make this hot and spicy pickle .

It's terribly easy to make and can be made even as a last minute addition to spice up a meal. Infact it's so easy that I had second (and even third) thoughts about posting it as a recipe on my blog, but something so delicious has to be shared. Right? So here goes:

You need:

2 carrots finely diced,

1 cup small cauliflower florets,

juice of one lemon,

6 green chillies cut into small pieces,

1/2 cup green peas

approx 1 tblspn readymade pickle masala (easily available in Indian grocery shops)

1/2 tspn salt

What do you do with these?

Very simple. Just mix all the ingredients and leave for about 30 mins until the pickle releases its juices

Give it a taste and adjust the pickle masala ,lemon juice and salt according to your taste. Make it spicy.

Well that's it. It's ready to eat. It tastes better the next day so it's a good idea to make it one day in advance although it tastes beautiful even when made at the last moment as I said earlier

.

Serve at as an accompaniment with your meal,like any other pickle

Note: Needs to be stored in the fridge and finished in 3 to 4 days which is not at all difficult.

My Food-Stall (A Fantastic Experience)

About 130 Surali Wadis that I made for the Event

Since my school days I have had one belief firm in my mind and that is if you really really work hard at something it always pays . Be it an exam, a talent contest or a sports event if you pour your heart and soul into preparing for it ,it has to give you positive results and my belief was once again proved right this last weekend.

It was a Family Picnic cum Cricket Match event organised by the Marathi Association in my city. One of the chief highlights of this event was the food stalls. Anyone interested could book themselves a food stall and sell some food items there. You had to make enough for about 50 to 60 people. The task was a bit daunting because I have never cooked on such a large scale and initially I was really not sure whether I wanted to get into it . But with a lot of encouragement and support from my husband I decided to go ahead and give it a try. Going ahead meant I was cooking food for two days and constantly worrying whether it would be enough .

But before the actual cooking the difficult task was to identify what I would like to sell. We were not allowed any kind of heating facilities at the venue, so the item/s had to be such that would taste good even when eaten cold. So after a lot of brain-racking we decided on Suralichi Wadi (which is an authentic Marathi dish) and Mango Flavored Sheera(or Suji Halwa as it is called in Hindi).

Boxes packed with the goodies all ready for sale

Along with the food we had to carry a portable table to arrange all the stuff on, disposable plates,spoons ,paper napkins,bin bags, the signs advertising what we were selling and for how much,a tablecloth, some old newspapers and some plastic carry bags. It was quite a lot of stuff to carry .

At the venue after we set up our little stall the only thing to do was wait for people to come up and buy something from us. Initially very few people came to our stall. There were 2 main reasons for that . Firstly the event started at 2.30 p.m so everybody had had lunch at home and them come and secondly the stall next to me sold Wada-pav which is a very popular item so most people were obviously attracted there first.

But slowly people started approaching my stall too and die-hard marathi food lovers can never say no to suralchi wadi which is made very rarely now a days even at home. So once the word got around that I was selling Suralichi Wadi and Mango Sheera and that they tasted awesome my sales picked up. Everyone loved the two items and I even had a few ladies ask me how I had prepared the two and so on. Boy did I enjoy all the attention.

Our Little Helper who disappeared as soon as he found a play area close by.

Well to cut a long story short at the end of 5 hours we had SOLD OUT. Yes , we sold everything. I was so thrilled. We also made a profit which we are going to spend by treating ourselves to something special .

I am so looking forward to the next event now

It is Kobichi Wadi !

Nupur's guess was the first and it hit the nail on the head. It is Kobichi Wadi or Steamed Cabbage and chickpea cakes if I may call it that in english. Many of you did guess that it had something to do with besan or chickpea flour. I really enjoyed the game.

For the recipe its almost the same as that of kothimbir wadi which I have already posted. But I'll share it with you again .

Ingredients:

4 cups chopped fresh coriander,

1 cup besan (chickpea flour)

1/2 cup wholewheat flour ,

1/2 cup semolina,

1.5 tspn chilli powder,

1 tspn salt ,

1/2 tspn turmeric powder,

1 tspn sesame seeds,

1 tspn powdered fennel seeds (saunf) ,

1/2 tspn sugar,

2 tblspn oil

Procedure :

Mix all the above ingredients and form a dough by adding very little water at a time ,

If you find the mixture too sticky just oil your palms well and then handle the dough,

.

You can divide the dough into 2 or 3 portions,

.

Shape them into elongated logs and place them in an oiled steel vessel . (Imp Tip: Just in case you add too much water and you cannot form elongated logs simply turn out the batter into an oiled steel vessel ,one in which you normally cook dal or rice in the cooker and spread it out evenly),

.

Pressure cook this mixture for the same duration as you would for dal and rice,

.

Let the cooker cool down a bit and then open it,

.

Also let the steamed dough cool,

.

After it has cooled completely cut it into slices as thick or thin as you want,

.

Heat some oil on a tawa(griddle) and shallow fry these pieces (Wadis).

If you are on a diet eat these wadis without shallow frying them and only steamed. They can be eaten as a snack with tea or as part of an entire meal.

Suralichi Wadi (As traditional as it gets)

This one is completely dedicated to my mother. An hour back I had no idea how to prepare these wadis. One phone call back home and lo and behold my dish is prepared ,served and ready to eat. And its all thanks to that one superwoman ,my Aai. I had all kinds of apprehensions in my mind about this dish. I have eaten it umpteen times made by her at home but never dared to make it myself ,but today in a matter of minutes she had me convinced that I could make it and also gave me the perfect recipe there and then. She assured me again and again that it was not as difficult as it seems and I must give it a try. She had more confidence in my cooking skills that I had myself.

So I tied my apron and started off with still some doubts at the back of my mind. I followed the steps meticulously and to my absolute delight I could do it. You are simply amazing Aai !! Had you not encouraged me I would never have made them.

Now a little about the dish. Its a traditional maharashtrian snack which was initially mostly made at home but has now found its way on restaurant menus and is also a popular item at weddings and other dos. Those who have eaten it will vouch for its delicious taste and texture. Its healthy too as the main ingredients are steamed.

Now lets get down to the recipe:

Ingredients:

For the outer roll:

1 cup chick pea flour (besan),

1.5 tspn plain flour,

1 cup buttermilk,

1 cup water,

6 to 7 cloves garlic,

3 green chillies,

1 tspn salt,

1/4 tspn turmeric powder

For the filling:

3/4 cup grated fresh coconut,

3/4 cup fresh coriander finely chopped,

1tspn powdered sugar,

salt to taste

For the tempering:

3 tblspns oil,

1 tspn mustard seeds,

1/2 tspn asafoetida,

7 to 8 curry leaves

Procedure :

1. In a grinder crush the garlic ,chillies and salt together.

2. In a mixing bowl mix the besan,plain flour, water ,buttermilk, and the crushed garlic-chilli paste very well. Give it a taste to check if you need more salt or chilly.

3. Strain this mixture as we need a smooth batter .

4. Cook the batter in a pressure cooker for upto 3 whistles or for as long as it takes you to cook rice and dal in your pressure cooker.(Every pressure cooker differs a bit here and there)

5. In the meanwhile prepare the filling by mixing the grated coconut and coriander, sugar and salt and keep ready. Also keep 5 steel or melamine plates at hand to spread the batter.

6. To the cooked batter add about 3 tblspns of hot water to loosen it up a bit and give it a brisk stir.

7 Immediately while the batter it still hot start spreading it evenly onto the plates like shown in the pic below. Keep your strokes in one direction only to get it evenly done. This needs to be done very fast.

8.After finishing all the batter mark out rows with a knife or a pizza cutter,

9.Now spread the coconut filling on the batter on the marked rows .

10.And now comes the best part. Start rolling the wadis like shown in the pic below. They roll beautifully. Please do not oil the plates initially. Place all the wadis vertically close to each other in a container.

11.For the tempering heat the oil in a small wok or kadhai.

12.Add the mustard ,asafoetida and curry leaves.

13.Spoon the tempering into each of the vertically placed wadis.

To serve garnish them with some of the coconut and coriander mixture and spoon any left tempering all over.

So what do you think? Are you game?

This is also my entry to Nupur's event RCI Maharashtrian cuisine.