Vada Pav

Last Sunday, Marathi Mandal Reading had organised it's annual cricket tournament and fun fair. We arrange this function every year, but this year, it was arranged for a very special reason. We had decided to support the Nepal earthquake Relief charity with the funds raised during this event.
       To support this noble cause, we also planned to put up a stall of Vada Pav. We always cook for our friends and families; but when you know that, all the efforts and time that you have spent for the cooking, is going to be utilised for the benefit of the people who have lost their everything in the disastrous natural calamity like earthquake, all the process of cooking gets transformed into a worship!!
         My parents and children were so excited that together we didn't even realise when we made all those Vadas and chutneys and all the other preparations like making the posters and all!! Today, I am sharing the same recipe with you all.

Ingredients and Recipe-
Approx. for 12-15 Vadas
Potatoes 4 big
Green chillies 2,garlic cloves 2-3,1/2 tsp cumin seeds,1" ginger- all crushed to a fine paste
Coriander leaves
Turmeric powder,salt, cumin and coriander powder, sugar as per taste
Juice of  1 lemon

For the outer covering-
Gram flour 1 cup
Salt, red chilly powder,turmeric powder, cumin and coriander powder as per taste

For Garlic chutney-
4-5 cloves of garlic
Dried coconut  1/2
Roasted peanuts 1/2 cup
Cumin seeds 1/2 tsp
Salt and chilly powder as per taste

Oil for frying
Buns, Tamarind chutney, Green chutney made of coriander and mint leaves

1) Wash, boil, peel and mash the potatoes to a soft pulp.
2)In this pulp, add the paste mentioned above and mix well.
3)Make lemon sized balls of this mixture and keep aside.
4)Next mix all the ingredients for the outer covering and bu adding enough water, make a batter little bit thicker than the Pakoda//batter.
5)Heat the oil in a deep pan and when it's boiling hot, add 2tsp of this oil to the batter and mix well.
6)Now take the balls of the potato pulp made earlier and one by one, dip each ball in the batter and then deep fry in the oil.
7) For the garlic chutney, mix all the ingredients and grind them to a coarse powder.
8)To serve, slit the bun horizontally and apply the tamarind chutney, green chutney,garlic chutney to it. press the vada in between the two ends of the bun just like a burger and serve with fried green chillies.
      All the Vada Pavs that we made for the Fun Fair were vanished within couple of hours and we could raise a substantial amount for the Nepal Earthquake Relief charity. This whole experience was very rewarding and satisfying!!

Narali Bhaat (Coconut rice)

               It's Rakshabandhan tomorrow. For my non-Indian friends, it is a festival celebrated all over India on a full moon day wherein sister ties a holy thread around the wrist of her brother and as a return gift, the brother promises to take care of her in all walks of life. It's a lovely festival celebrating the unique relation and bonding between a brother and a sister.
   This day also holds a special importance among the fishermen on the coast, because this is when they start their fishing season. So they celebrate this day by offering coconut to the sea and lots of singing and dancing.
    The special dish made on this day is Narali Bhaat, which is basically a sweet dish made with coconut and sugar or jaggery. So today I am going to share the same recipe for you all.

Ingredients & Recipe-
Basmati Rice 1 cup
Grated fresh coconut 1 cup
Sugar or Jaggery 1/2 a cup (I use the mixture of half sugar and half jaggery)
Cardamom powder made from 4-5 cardamoms
2-3 Cloves
Ghee 3tbsp
Saffron strands5-7 (soaked in lukewarm milk)
Cashew nuts, almonds and raisins for garnishing

1) Wash and soak the rice in the water and keep aside for half an hour.
2)After half an hour,cook these rice al dente' and drain the excess water, cover and set aside for 10 minutes. The rice gets cooked with the steam trapped in the vessel and thus each grain of the rice separates.
3) Heat 2tsp ghee in a pan and add cloves to it. Add chopped almonds and cashew nuts and fry for a few seconds. Now add grated coconut and mix well.
4) Add sugar or/and jaggery to it. When the sugar/jaggery dissolves and the mixture starts getting thicker, add the cooked rice very carefully and turn the heat off.
5) Add raisins, saffron soaked in milk and pour the rest of the ghee from the sides of the pan, cover and leave for 10-12 minutes.
6) Mix the rice well before serving, take it out in a serving bowl, garnish with chopped nuts and raisins and serve hot.3) Heat 2tsp ghee in a pan and add cloves to it. Add chopped almonds and cashew nuts and fry for a few seconds. Now add grated coconut and mix well.
4) Add sugar or/and jaggery to it. When the sugar/jaggery dissolves and the mixture starts getting thicker, add the cooked rice very carefully and turn the heat off.
5) Add raisins, saffron soaked in milk and pour the rest of the ghee from the sides of the pan, cover and leave for 10-12 minutes.
6) Mix the rice well before serving, take it out in a serving bowl, garnish with chopped nuts and raisins and serve hot.

        My childhood buddy and a regular reader friend of 'Abhiruchi',Vaishali Deshpande had sent a recipe of savoury coconut rice. I didn't get a chance to try this yet: but I am sharing her recipe with you all.
   First of all cook the rice in a same way as given above and keep aside.
Heat oil in a pan and make a tempering with mustard seeds, cumin seeds, asafoetida,curry leaves,urad dal,peanuts. Add grated fresh coconut to it and saute' for a few minutes. Now add the cooked rice and salt and mix well. Coconut rice is ready to serve!!
        Try these recipes and double the joy of this beautiful festival with your loved ones!!

     

Mukhvaas (Mouth Freshener)

Mouthfreshener is a must after a sumptuous meal, irrespective of which cuisine you are having.
    In Maharashtrian food culture, there is a type of Paan or Betel leaf called 'Trayodashaguni Veeda', which means a paan which has got 13 different items in it which aid to digestion after the meal. Betel leaf,Betel nut, calcium hydroxide or Chuna, Catechu or Kattha,fennel seeds or saunf, cardamom,cloves,nutmeg,cinnamon,coconut, camphor are few of the ingredients used in it. Each item in  works as an Ayurvedic medicine for different ailments related to digestion.
    In Western world also, mint is consumed as a mouth freshener after meals. Special chocolates made with peppermint in it are served at the restaurants after meal.
     In India, there are special shops which sell these betel leaf mouth freshener on every corner of the city or village. The man selling them has got all the ingredients arranged attractively in different containers around him and the fineness with which he makes that 'Paan' as it is locally referred, is really mesmerising.
    One more type of mouth freshener is called 'Tambool', which is a mixture of coarsely ground betel leaves along with some other ingredients. My friend Rashmi's mum makes one of the best tambools I have ever had. She painstakingly cuts the betel leaves with scissors and gives us jars full of Tambool every time she come to the UK.
     One more type of mouth freshener is called as 'Supari'. My mum makes very yummy supari. Very few betel nuts are used in it whereas the other children friendly ingredients are used more, so no worries for the mums if their children eat it. When me and my brother were younger, we used to love it a lot; may be that's why mum had invented this modified version. I am going to share that recipe with you all today.

Ingredients and Recipe-
Betel nuts or Supari
Fennel seeds or Saunf
Cloves
Cardamom
Mulethi or Jeshtamadh (a type of liquorice) powder
cinnamon sticks
Dried coconut
Carom seeds or Ajwain
 There is no typical proportion of the ingredients for this recipe. Saunf is the main ingredient, so take a large portion of it and then add the other ingredients as per taste. If you prefer it sweet, add more Mulethi powder.

1) Cut the betel nuts and dried coconut into small pieces.
2)Dry roast fennel seeds and carom seeds.
3)Now take half a tsp of ghee in a pan and fry coconut pieces,betel nut pieces,cloves,cardamom pods and cinnamon sticks in it for 3-4 minutes and then let it cool down completely.
4)Coarsely grind all the ingredients in the mixer.
5) take this powder in a mixing bowl and mix well together  so that the flavours of all ingredients are incorporated in each other.
6) Once again, quickly grind this mixture in the mixer and the Mukhwas is ready to eat!!

Sabudana Vada (Sago Seed Patties)

Children are having their summer holidays these days. It's a big challenge to keep them occupied. If there is nothing to do, they feel hungry!!
   My parents being here this summer, children are getting spoilt by my mother. They know very well that if mum says 'No' to something, grandma is always there to fulfil their demands!!
  It was one of the Hindu festivals the other day, so the plan was made the make Sabudana Vadas.Normally I rarely  make deep fried food,so this was a special treat for all of us and we all made the most of the opportunity.I am sharing the same recipe with you all.

Ingredients and recipe:
Sabudana(Sago Seeds) 1cup
Potatoes 2
Roasted peanut powder 1/2 cup
2 green chillies and 1 tsp Cumin seeds ground to a paste
Salt,sugar,lime juice as per taste
Oil for deep frying

1)Soak  the sago  seeds 6-7 hours before making the Vadas. For soaking them, you need just a little bit of water in it. Wash them with water and take out all but just a little bit of water, cover and leave it for 6-7 hours.
2)Boil and mash the potatoes.
3)Take the sago seeds and add mashed potatoes,roasted peanut powder,salt,sugar,paste of green chillies and cumin seeds and lime juice and knead into a dough. If the mixture is too dry, then add just a little bit of water.
4)Now take a lime size portion of this dough and flatten it in between your palms to make a patty and make a hole in the centre.
5)Make all the Vadas and then deep fry in the hot oil till they turn golden brown.
6)Serve the Vadas piping hot with plain yogurt or a dip made of yogurt, green chillies and roasted peanut powder.
    If you are spoiling your family members by making the hot Vadas for them, make sure to save some dough for you, because they will disappear in a jiffy ;)

Misal Pav

Misal pav is one of those dishes which is very close to the hearts of all the Marathi people. Nowadays, the world has become a global village, so the foods from different parts of the world are so well adapted by everyone's palates, that Misal Pav is one of the favourite items of my non-Marathi or even British friends. Now that Misal Pav has bagged an award for being the most nutritious vegetarian dish, we foody Maharashtrians are on cloud nine these days.
      In Maharashtra, Misal Pav from Kolhapur is very famous. Now it is widely available all over the Maharashtra; but the fiery hot Kolhapuri Misal has still got it's own charm!!
       Misal has got four important parts-
1) Curry made from sprouted Moth beans
2) Kat (Spicy sauce made using loads of spices)
3) Dry potato curry
4) Farsan, chopped onion,tomato,chutneys etc for garnishing
   But in our busy lives, these days, it's not always possible to make everything from scratch. So I have twisted the original recipe to an easy version. I make the Misal by adding all the ingredients in the sprout curry.Today, I am sharing the same recipe with you all.

Ingredients & Recipe-
Sprouted Moth beans 2cups
Cinnamon stick 1",Clove 1, Black peppercorns 3-4, Dessicated coconut 2 tsp. -dry roast all and grind to a fine powder
Goda Masala 1tsp (readily available all over Maharashtra and some Indian stores in the UK)
Onion,tomato,potato 1 each
Ginger-garlic paste 1tsp
Tamarind pulp 1tbsp
Jaggery 1tbsp
Red chilly powder,salt,coriander powder, cumin powder 1/2tsp each
For tempering- Oil, mustard seeds,cumin seeds,asafoetida,turmeric
For garnishing- Farsan, finely chopped onion,tomato,coriander leaves,green chutney tamarind chutney,yogurt

1)Soak the Moth beans in water overnight and the next morning, drain the water and tie the beans in a muslin cloth or keep in an air-tight container for sprouting. It takes around 24 hours for the beans to sprout.
2) Heat oil in the pressure cooker and make a tempering with mustard seeds, cumin seeds, asafoetida and turmeric.
3)Add finely chopped onion,ginger-garlic paste and sauté. Now add chopped potato and sauté.
4) Add goda masala, red chilly powder,the spice mix made earlier,salt, cumin and coriander powder, tamarind pulp and jaggery and mix well.
5) Now add sprouted Moth beans and 2 cups of water and close the lid of the pressure cooker and take 2 whistles.
6) Open the lid when pressure is released and add some more water if needed.
7) While serving, take the curry in a bowl. Add green chutney, tamarind chutney, Farsan, finely chopped onion, tomato, coriander leaves and yogurt on it and serve with a hot bun.

7 Cup Barfi

.                 These days, my mum is spoiling us with lots of yummy food with a added dose of love in it. And we are not complaining at all!! To hell with the calorie count, we are enjoying every bit of it ;)

                 My mum has a mastery in making different types of barfis. To be honest, I try to avoid making barfi as much as I can, because I find making the sugar syrup very tricky. But this recipe from my mum's treasure chest is so simple that within 20 minutes, you have the barfis ready to eat!!

Ingredients and Recipe-

Gram Flour, Ghee(clarified butter),Dessicated Coconut and Milk - 1cup each

Sugar-3 cups

(Use the same cup to measure all the ingredients. The size of the cup can be changed depending on the quantity of barfis you need)

1) Heat the non-stick pan and add all the ingredients.

2) Sauté on medium heat, stirring continuously for 10 minutes.

3) Now the mixture changes its' colour and starts thickening. Simmer the heat and stir for further 3-4minutes.

4)Grease a tray or a thali with some ghee and pour this mixture in it and spread evenly.

5)Cut the barfi shapes (either squares or diamonds) while it's still warm.

6)After 3-4 minutes, 7 cup barfis is ready to serve!!

   Quick, simple and delicious!! Try this recipe and I am sure, it will be a big hit in your family!!

Rainbow Cupcakes

Both my children love baking. So in every school term break, we make it a point to spare a day for baking. Actually, I am not a big fan of baking. I find it quite a hassle in fact to measure each ingredirnt accurately and using all thosr eqipments and clearing it later on. But its one of those things for me you have to do if you are a 'Mum'!!
     This half term, we baked Rainbow cupcakes. My children absolutely enjoyed making them Another funny incident that occurred that day is, I forgot to buy the whipping cream needed for icing . So I sent my son to buy some and he came home with a pack of single cream. While I was wondering how to decorate the cupcakes with the single cream, the clarification that he gave made me laugh. He thought that his calorie conscious Mum would not approve if he buys full fat double cream loaded with calories😀😀
   So eventhough we could not decorate our cupcakes to perfection, we had loads of fun, which is more important, isn't it??
     I have followed the recipe from one of the food magazines and haven't made any changes to the original recipe.

Ingredients & recipe-
For 12 cupcakes
125 gm plain flour
250 gm condensed milk
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
85 gm butter
1.5 tsp baking powder
Red, yellow,green and blue food colours
For icing-
Whipping cream
Icing sugar
Decorations of your choice like fresh fruits, glazed cherries or hundreds and thousands etc

1)Preheat the oven on 180°,gas mark4
2)Mix all the ingredients for the cakes and beat them well with a hand mixer.
3)Split the batter in 5 different bowls.
4)Add different food colour in each bowl and leave one bowl with the original batter in it. So now we have cske batter in 5 different colours.
5)Line the muffin tray with cup cake cases and pour a spoon each of each coloured batter in it.
6)Bake the cupcakes in the pre-heated ovem for 15-30   minutes.
7)Once they are cooled down completely, decorate them by mixing the whipped cream with icing sugar and toppings of your choice.

Mango Pickles

A reader friend of 'Abhiruchi', Rupali Nemade had requested for the recipes of different types of pickles. So today I am sharing the recipes for. 2 different types of mango pickles.
         Last week, my parents came here to visit us from India. So our house is filled with all the lovely goodies sent by our near and dear ones back home. One of my favourite thing among those  are the raw mangoes from the tree in the backyard of our house in India. The fragrance and sight of these green mangoes literally makes me drool!! So whole last week we are being pampered by my mum with yummy mango items made by her like different types of Pickles,chutneys and Aam Panna!!
     
Mango pickle Type 1-
This is a kind of instant mango pickle which does not need any ripening after preparing it. But make sure not to make it in large quantity as it does not last very long.
Ingredients & Recipe-
Raw Mangoes 3-4
Red chilly powder,salt,cumin powder,mustard powder 1.5 tbsp each
( Quantity of these ingredients can be increased or decreased depending on your taste)
Turmeric 1/2 tsp
Asafoetida 1/2tsp
Oil 2-3 tsp
Mustard seeds and cumin seeds for tempering
1)Wash,dry and chop the raw mangoes as shown in the picture below.
2)Take  the mango pieces in a mixing bowl and add salt,chilly powder,cumin powder,mustard powder  and mix well.
3)Heat oil in a small pan and make a tempering with cumin seeds,mustard seeds,turmeric and asafoetida.
4)Let the oil cool down completely and add it to the mango pieces. Mix well and fill up in a glass jar.

Mango pickle type 2)
Takku-
   Since my childhood, I am quite curious about the funny name 'Takku' given to this pickle. But it is undoubtedly one of my favourite pickles.
Raw mangoes 2
Fenugreek seeds(Methi Dana) 1 tsp
Salt,red chilly powder as per taste
For tempering-
Oil,turmeric,asafoetida,mustard seeds,cumin seeds
1) Sauté Methi seeds in few drops of oil and grind it.
2)Wash,dry and grate the raw mangoes.
3)Add salt and red chilly powder to it.
4)Heat oil in a small pan and add mustard seeds,cumin seeds,asafoetida,turmeric to it and pour it over the grated mango and mix well.

Tip-
Any type of oil can be used for making these pickles. Both these types taste well in sunflower,mustard or olive oil.

Aloo Paratha

.                      Last few weeks, the week days and the weekends had been so busy  on both, home and work fronts.  So for a welcome change, when we had last Saturday completely to ourselves without any prearranged engagements, we made the most of it!!

                        So after having a nice lie down in the bed in the morning, we decided to have a Aloo Paratha brunch.Actually, I am not a very big fan of Aloo Paratha. So I find making it also a bit boring. So it's not very frequently made dish in our house. But the good thing about it is you don't need to make any accompaniments with it. If you have yogurt in your fridge and some pickle or chutneys in your store cupboards, that's it!!

                     Here is my recipe of Aloo Paratha. I am sure, you all must have tried Aloo Paratha in your households as well. So if you have any useful tips; please feel free to share them in the comments section.

Ingredients & Recipe-

(For 10-12 medium sized parathas)

For the stuffing-

Potatoes 6-7

Paste of 3-4 Green chillies and 1"ginger

(I don't like garlic in my Aloo parathas, you can add 2-3 cloves of garlic to this paste if you like the taste)

Coriander leaves,finely chopped

Salt per taste

Cumin and coriander powder,Amchoor powder 1tsp each

Turmeric,garam masala and chaat masala 1/2tsp each

Juice of 1/2lime

For the outer covering-

Wheat flour 3laddleful

Salt1/2 tsp

Oil 1/2 tsp

1)Boil,peel and mash the potatoes.

2)Mix all the ingredients for the outer covering and knead it into a medium soft dough.

(Some people use plain flour instead of wheat flour to make parathas more soft. But I try to avoid using plain flour in my kitchen).

3)Add chilly-ginger paste, finely chopped coriander leaves,all spices, salt and lime juice to the mashed potato and mix well.

4)Make the equal sized portions of this stuffing, approximately the size of a lime.

5)Make same number of balls from the dough.

6)To roll the paratha, first make a small roti of the dough ball, put the stuffing in the centre and bring the sides together. Press together in the centre and roll the paratha very lightly.

7) Roast it on a hot skillet by applying oil on both sides. 

8) Serve piping hot with yogurt and pickle/chutney of your choice!!