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shakarkandi ki chaat

If you don’t want to grill shakarkandi, you can just boil it till tender and prepare shakarkandi ki chaat by mixing the given ingredients to it. It’s really a mouth watering chaat and sweet potato is in season now. So, enjoy!

Recipe of shakarkandi ki chaat

1/2 kg shakarkandi (sweet potato)

1 tsp chaat masala

Black salt to taste

Lemon juice to taste

1. Wash shakarkand and pat dry. Smear some oil on shakarkandi. Pressure cook shakarkandi to 1 whistle.

2. Peel and cube shakarkandi. Line a baking tray with aluminium foil. Grease it. Place shakarkandi cubes on tray.

3. Grill them in a preheated oven till edges of shakarkandi becomes brownish.

4. Take out in a bowl and add black salt, chaat masala and lemon juice. Mix well and serve hot. You can also garnish shakarkandi chaat with coriander leaves.

Tomato Rice

Tomato rice is a delicious South Indian variety of rice. It is well loved by rice eaters. Tomato rice is a quick meal which comes as a saviour when you are short of time. Enjoy it with raita and papads.

Recipe of tomato rice

1 cup basmati rice

1 onion- chopped

1/2 tsp red chilli powder

Salt to taste

1/4 tsp turmeric powder

3 tomatoes- pureed

1/2 tsp mustard seeds

1 tbsp ghee (clarified butter)

Few curry leaves

1 tbsp chana dal (split Bengal gram)

2 cups of water

1. Wash and soak rice for 20 minutes. Drain. Place rice in a pressure cooker with 2 cups of water and cook to 1 whistle. Let the rice cool down by spreading it in a big plate or tray.

2. Heat ghee in a kadhai/ wok. Add mustard seeds and when they pop, add chana dal. Cook on a low heat till dal turns light brown.

3. Add onion and curry leaves. Sauté till onion becomes light brown. Take care not to burn the dal.

4. Add tomato puree. Add salt, turmeric and red chilli powders.

5. Cook on low heat till tomato turns dry and ghee begins to separate.

6. Gently mix tomato to rice stirring carefully because we don’t want the rice to break. Mix till well mixed. Serve hot tomato rice with raita.

Meethe chawal

I have come across many recipes of meethe chawal but this is by far the simplest one (my mom’s recipe). This recipe is so simple that even a beginner can try his or her hands at it. I simply love it and make it in a jiffy whenever craving sets in.

Recipe of meethe chawal/ sweet rice

1 cup basmati rice (chawal)

1/2 cup sugar (vary according to taste)

1 tbsp ghee (clarified butter)

2 cups of water

1/4 tsp elaichi (green cardamom) powder

1 1/2 tbsp chopped nuts like cashew nuts, raisins

Few strands of saffron or 1/4 tsp turmeric powder

1. Wash and soak rice for 20 minutes. Drain.

2. Heat ghee in a pressure cooker and roast cashews and raisins. Drain and keep aside.

3. If you don’t have saffron to give yellow color to the chawal, roast turmeric powder in ghee for 2 seconds.

4. Add rice, sugar, 2 cups of water, cardamom powder and saffron (if you are using it) to the pressure cooker. Let 1 whistle come. Turn off the heat. Take out on a serving platter and garnish with toasted nuts. Serve meethe chawal warm.

Bhatura

This recipe of bhatura is made without yeast. Those of you, who are making the bhatura for the first time, may find it difficult to roll out the bhatura as the dough sticks. So, an easy way out is to roll out between greased plastic sheets or a polythene bag teared into 2 halves and oiled. Keep one part on the rolling platform, place the dough ball on it and cover with the second half. Roll out and remove from the plastic sheet and fry. Bhatura tastes best with chole or chana masala.

Recipe of bhatura/ bhature

2 cups maida (all purpose flour)

3/4 cup curd (yogurt/ dahi)

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp baking powder

Oil to deep fry

dough after rising

1. Sieve flour (maida). Mix salt and baking powder to maida.

2. Mix yogurt and sugar in another bowl. Add this to maida.

3. Add lukewarm warm water to knead the flour into smooth, soft dough.

4. Keep the dough in a warm place for 3 hours so that the dough rises.

5. Heat oil in a kadhai/ wok. While the oil is heating, take a ball from the dough and flatten between your oiled palms. Roll out this ball on an oiled surface using rolling pin (belan) into a 5 inch round.

6. Place the bhatura in the hot oil. Press with a slotted spoon (pauni/ chhari), it will puff up. Turn over and fry form other side also. Deep fry this round or bhatura in the hot oil till golden brown from both sides. Drain on an absorbent paper using the same slotted spoon. Similarly make other bhature from rest of the dough.

7. You can also roll out the bhatura in an oval shape. Serve hot bhature with chole and sliced onion sprinkled with salt and lemon juice.

chole bhature

Mixed dal

This mixed dal was made in my home when 1 day, my husband came home bitten by cooking bug. He was in an experimental mode, opened the kitchen cupboard and started mixing from all the dals and legumes available in the home. He soaked them all and the next morning made this unique and tasty dish. Since then, I started making this mixed dal since it’s not only tasty but also packed with different types of proteins. This dal definitely has a protein punch!

Recipe of mixed dal

1 tablespoon rajma (red kidney beans)

1 tablespoon kabuli chana (chickpeas)

1 teaspoon lobia (black eyed beans)

1 tsp arhar dal (toor dal/ split pigeon peas)

1 tsp masoor dal (black lentil)

1 tsp lal masoor dal (red lentil)

1 tsp dhuli moong dal (split green gram)

1 tsp dhuli urad dal (split black gram)

1 tsp split moong dal with husk

1 tsp split urad dal with husk

Salt to taste

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

1/2 tsp red chilli powder

Tadka (Tempering)

2 medium onions- chopped

4-5 garlic cloves- chopped

1 inch piece ginger- chopped

4 medium tomatoes- pureed

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

A pinch of hing (asafoetida)

1 1/2 tbsp ghee (clarified butter)

 1. Wash and soak all the dals (lentils/pulses) and legumes overnight. Drain. Pressure cook them with enough water, salt, turmeric and red chilli powders. Boil till chickpeas or kabuli chana is tender.

2. For the tadka or tempering, heat ghee in a pan and add cumin seeds. When they change color, add hing. Add onion and sauté till light brown.

3. Add garlic and ginger and fry for 1 minute. Add tomatoes and cook covered till tomatoes are soft and mushy.

4. Pour this tadka over boiled dals and mix. Simmer mixed dal on a low heat, covered, for 5-6 minutes. Serve hot with roti or rice.

Lauki and mangodi sabzi

This lauki and mangodi sabzi is rather an unusual combination but trust me lauki and mangodi go well together. Mangodi is sun dried lentil dumpling. Here the lentil used is split skinless green gram or dhuli moong dal. I have used granular mangodis in this recipe but bigger sized mangodis can also be used.

Recipe of lauki and mangodi sabzi

1 small lauki (bottle gourd/ ghiya/ doodhi) - peeled and chopped

1/2 cup mangodi (sun dried lentil dumplings)

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

A pinch of hing (asafoetida)

2 tomatoes- pureed

1 inch piece ginger- chopped

Salt to taste

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

1/2 tsp coriander powder

1/2 tsp red chilli powder

2+2 tsp oil

1. Heat 2 tsp oil in a pressure cooker and fry mangodis in it. Roast mangodis till they turn reddish brown. Drain and keep aside.

2. Heat 2 tsp oil in the same pressure cooker and add cumin seeds. When they change color, add hing. Add ginger and sauté for 1 minute.

3. Add tomato puree and all the spices and salt. Fry till masala begins to leave oil from sides.

4. Add lauki pieces and mangodi. Add enough water and close the lid of the cooker. Let 1 whistle come. Then turn the heat to medium. Let 3 more whistles come. Open the lid of the cooker when pressure drops down naturally. Serve hot lauki aur mangodi ki sabzi with roti or boiled rice.

Kuttu poori with curd

I made kuttu poori during ‘Navratras’ but somehow forgot to post it on the blog. You can also make kuttu pooris with kuttu atta only. Singhadi atta is optional. Singhadi atta binds well and also rich in Calcium. Also my mom says kuttu atta is hot on body so mixing singhadi flour leads to cooling down effect.

Recipe of kuttu poori

1 cup kuttu atta (buckwheat flour)

1/2 cup singhadi atta

3-4 medium sized potatoes- boiled, peeled and mashed

3 green chillies- chopped finely

Salt to taste

Oil to deep fry

1. Mix salt and green chillies to potato. In a bowl, mix kuttu and singhadi atta.

2. Mix potato mixture to kuttu and singhadi flour. Use potato to knead the flour into stiff dough. Add water only if there is a need. Let it rest for 5 minutes.

3. Take lemon sized ball from the dough and roll out on a lightly oiled surface, into a 3-4 inch round.

4. Heat oil in a kadhai/wok. To check whether the oil is hot enough, put a small portion of dough into the oil. If it sizzles and comes to surface, your oil is ready. Turn the heat to medium. Gently place the rolled poori in the oil.

4. Press the kuttu ki poori with a pauni (slotted spoon/ chhari). The poori will puff up. Turn over and fry from other side also. Drain the poori using the same slotted spoon on an absorbent paper. Similarly make rest of the kuttu ki puri from the dough. Serve hot with curds.

Low calorie bread pakora

This low calorie bread pakora is my neighbor’s recipe who used to be my walking buddy. Since her husband has heart ailment, she refrained from giving him anything deep fried. So, she found out an innovative idea of satisfying his cravings for pakoda. I tried it out myself and liked it.

Recipe of diet (low calorie) bread pakora

Makes 6 bread pakoras

3 bread slices

1/2 cup besan (chickpea flour/ gram flour)

Salt to taste

1/2 tsp red chilli powder

Oil to shallow fry

1. Take besan in a bowl and mix salt and red chilli powder in it.

2. Add water little by little, mixing with other hand to get pakora batter like consistency.

3. Spread the besan batter on 1 side of bread slices using a spoon. Heat a non-stick tava (griddle) and smear it with oil. Place bread slices on it with the batter side down. Turn the heat to medium.

4. While the lower side is cooking, spread the batter on upper side also.

5. When the lower side is done, turn over and cook from other side also. Cook till golden brown. Cut the bread slices into triangular halves. Serve hot with tomato sauce.

Peacock feathers collected from my terrace

Lobia curry

Lobia is not such a popular dish in Indian kitchens but its taste really depends on how it is cooked or exactly how it is seasoned. If you cook it as per the recipe given below, you will find it a welcome change from the routine meals. It’s a protein packed dish and quite nutritious.

Recipe of lobia curry

1 cup lobia (black eyed beans/rongi)

1 medium onion- chopped

2 medium tomatoes- diced

1 inch piece ginger- chopped

3-4 cloves garlic (optional) - chopped

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

Salt to taste

1/2 tsp red chilli powder

1/2 tsp coriander powder

1 tbsp ghee (clarified butter)

1. Soak lobhia in water for 2 hours. In winters, soak in warm water. Drain. Boil in a pressure cooker.

2. Heat ghee in a pan and add cumin seeds. Let them crackle. Add onion and sauté till light brown.

3. Add ginger and garlic and fry for 1 minute.

4. Add tomatoes and salt and all the spices. Cook till tomatoes become soft and pulpy.

5. Add this tempering or tadka to the boiled lobia and mix. Cook lobia curry covered on a low heat for 5-7 minutes. Cook till you get the desired gravy consistency. Garnish with coriander leaves. Serve hot lobia curry with steamed rice or roti.

Khichdi paratha

Masala khichdi paratha is a delicious paratha with which you don’t need any side dish. It tastes great by itself. You can also serve it as a breakfast. It’s also a great way of using leftover khichdi.

Recipe of khichdi paratha

1 cup leftover khichdi

1 1/2 cup atta (whole wheat flour)

1/4 tsp turmeric powder

Salt to taste

1/2 tsp red chilli powder

1/2 tsp cumin powder

1. Take leftover khichdi in a bowl and add salt and all the spices. Add flour and knead into pliable dough. There is no need to add water. Use khichadi to knead the dough. Adjust the quantity of atta required to knead. Set aside for 20 minutes.

2. Take a ball (peda) out of the dough and roll out into a 5-6 inches round dusting with dry flour while rolling.

3. Heat a tava (griddle) and cook this round or parantha on it from both sides brushing with oil. Cook till golden brown from both sides. Similarly cook other khichdi parathas. Serve hot masala khichdi paratha with curds and pickle.