Khatti mithi kaddu ki sabzi recipe

I had this khatti meethi kaddu sabji in my mind since a long time.But normally I used to end up making pumpkin poori/pumpkin paratha.
last weekend i got this bhopla aka pumpkin to make this delicious tasty fingerlicking sabji .khatta meetha means sour and sweet



Sweet and sour pumpkin (kaddu) subzi is a speciality of Rajasthan and Uttar pradesh.Both yellow and green peeled pumpkin can be used to make this delicious and tangy curry.This is usally served with khasta kachori ,daal poori bedvi,or parathas.Thickness of the curry depends on personal choice,some prefer to make it as a dry curry ,some like it to make semi thick like the way I made it.



I have followed exact recipe from maayeka only difference that i had used amchur powder as I didnt have raw mango with me

Do not skip methi seeds & badishep in the sabji for the unique flavour

Ingredients

Yellow Pumpkin – 400gm
Raw mango (Chopped) – 2.5 tbls
Sugar – 2.5 tbsp
Turmeric – 1/2 tsp
Chilli Powder – 1 tsp
Green Chillies- 2
Ginger – 1/2 tsp 
Mint leaves – 6 (optional)
Salt – 1 tsp

Tadka/tempering
Cloves -1
Mustard seeds – 1 tsp
Fenugreek – 1/2 tsp
Fennel seeds(badishep) – 1/2 tsp
Asafoetida – 1/4 tsp
whole red chilies-2
Oil – 3 tblsp

Method:
1. Wash and chop the pumpkin (traditionally, green skinned pumpkin is not
peeled, only yellow skinned pumpkin is peeled.)



2.Heat oil in a pressure cooker, add mustard seeds, fenugreek, cloves and
fennel seeds, and when they start crackling add asafoetida,whole red chilies and chopped
green chillies.

3.Now add chopped pumpkin, ginger, chopped raw mango and all the spices EXCEPT sugar.
Mix well and add 3/4 cup water and pressure cook for 2 whistles.



4.Then open the cooker and add sugar  and mint leaves and cover and cook for 5 minutes on low heat.
Garnish with fresh coriander leaves & serve with poori or khasta kachoris

 Tips

1 In case you dont have raw mango then add 1.5 tsp mango powder at the end in step number 4 
2-If you want to make it as a dry sabji then add  just 1/3 cup water.

Methi paratha

Making paratha is one of the easy ways to include methi in our diet.You can have it as a quick breakfast or a side accompaniment to any curry or sabzi.

these fenugreek flat bread are healthy alternative to plain parathas and packed with more flavors and 
This recipe can be used to make roti or layered paratha or even just simple paratha, anything you choose.

Fenugreek leaves or methi leaves are very good for health as they are rich in antioxidant, iron and also a good source of dietary fiber. It also has vitamin C, thiamine, riboflavin, vitamin B6, calcium, magnesium, potassium and selenium. It is beneficial to diabetic patients and also helps to alleviate the symptoms of both menstruation and menopause. 

In short fenugreek has numerous health benefits which can help in overall well being. So try to include it in your diet at least once in a week.Lets proceed to learn  how to make Methi Paratha  following our easy recipe.

Ingredients:

2 cups whole wheat flour/atta
1 cup tightly packed fenugreek leaves/methi
2-3 green chilies, finely chopped
7 to 8 small garlic cloves/lahsun, finely chopped or 1.5 tsp finely chopped garlic
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
1 tsp carom seeds(owa)/cumin seeds
1 tsp badishep
1 tbsp coriander cumin powder
pinch hing (asafoetida)
2 tsp oil
½ cup water for kneading as required
salt as required
oil or ghee as required for roasting


Method
1.rinse the methi leaves well. drain them completely. chop the methi leaves finely and keep aside.

2..Mix  methi leaves, red chilli powder,chopped garlic, turmeric powder, jeera/cumin/owa seeds,badishep,green chilli, salt and 2 tbsp of oil together keep aside for 10 minutes.Methi will leave water.After 10 minutes add wheat flour and very little water at a time only if required (as methi has already left water) and make a soft dough as shown in the picture below. Cover it and let it sit for 1 hour.



3.now make equal sized balls out of it and roll the balls dusting a little flour into round shaped chapati with a rolling pin. you can even make a layered or square or a triangle paratha.

4.Heat a tawa and place the rolled out dough on it and cook for a minute.When bubbles start appearing, apply a little oil /ghee and flip it over to the other side. Let the other side also get cooked well. 

5.Apply a little ghee and serve it with lemon pickle or curd or raita or chutney or any side dish of your choice.

Tips:

1. can even add 1 tsp ginger garlic paste instead of chopped garlic
2.can add half cup of chopped coriander leaves to above recipe.

Khandeshi Takachi kadhi |Marathi style buttermilk kadhi

Whenever we are bored of eating dal or amti with rice we need something different.At that times kadhi comes to our rescue.Kadhi is a curry made using buttermilk & besan (chickpeaflour) ,few spices & then tempered.

In india kadhi is prepared in different manner in different states though the basic ingredients ie besan & dahi is common.

I have posted punjabi pakora kadhi & gujarati kadhi recipe

Todays kadhi is from khandesh region of maharashtra

In Khandesh the kadhi is made bit differently. Traditionally, ginger, garlic and green chilies are roughly ground together and mixed with ghee. 
Kadhi is made in earthen pot. And tempering is made with live coal. The ghee-masala ball is carefully put over coal and as ghee starts melting, lichen, mustard seeds and cumin seeds added. Once mustard seeds start spluttering, everything including coal is poured in boiling kadhi.


Dont skip lichen /dagadphool in above recipe as it imparts a different taste.I have followed exact recipe from VADANI KAVAL GHETA

Recipe source:http://www.vadanikavalgheta.com



Ingredients:

1 cup Yogurt (preferably sour)
3-4 tbsp Besan or Chick Pea Flour
Salt per taste
1-2 tsp Sugar
10-12 sprigs of Cilantro (chopped)

4-5 cups of water (use as needed)

Masala - 
2 Green Chilies (or per your taste)
1" Ginger Blob
3-4 Cloves of Garlic

Tempering -  
8-9 Curry Leaves
4-5 DagadFool (or edible Lichen) 
2 tbsp Ghee (solid)
1 tsp Mustard Seeds
1 tsp Cumin Seeds



Method:

1.grind yoghurt with besan in a mixer grinder along  salt, sugar so that no lumps remain in the mixture.Add about 2.5 cups to 3 cups of water to besan curd mixture & again grind it.


2.Now keep the this kadhi mixture on low-medium flame and keep stirring almost constantly . Do not increase the heat to make kadhi faster it can curdle. 

3.Grind green chilies, garlic and ginger into coarse paste without water. Mix  solid ghee with ginger garlic chilli paste  keep it in a plate. 

4Once kadhi/buttermilk mixture comes to boil, heat small kadhai/tadka pan,now add ghee-masala mixture to the hot kadhai. Ghee will melt with a minute then add dagadfool, curry leaves,  mustard seeds and cumin seeds. 

5.Once the mustard seeds start spluttering and ginger garlic turns golden brown, add this tempering to boiling kadhi. Let it boil just one more time and turn off the heat.



6.Garnish with coriander leaves.



Tips:
1.Don't add all the water at the same time instead check the consistency. It should be very similar to fat free milk.

2.In case you are using coal and earthen pot then boil kadhi is a steel utensil. Heat coal over and let it become completely red. Put this live coal in earthen pot, make tempering as per recipe above. Once tempering is ready, add the boiling kadhi over. 
Remove coal before serving or within half an hour. 

Bharli bhendi marathi style recipe|bharli bhindi masala

I am not a bhindi fan , though I like crispy bhindi & bharwan bhindi masala.
Todays recipe is maharashtrian style bharli bhendi.

Bharli means stuffed & bhendi means ladysfinger or okra.
key ingredients of the stuffing are grated coconut,sesame seeds & peanut powder along with goda masala/kala masala & few other spices.
you can use desiccated coconut instead of fresh coconut too. if you do not have goda masala than you can even use garam masala.
garlic and fresh coriander leaves used in this recipe give a really good taste and flavor to the stuffing.


this is a dry bhindi recipe ,easy to make ,only stuffing will require some time

Ingredients:

Okra/Bhindi/Bhendi -20-25
1 Onion slice
1/2 cup roasted Peanut powder
1/4 cup fresh/dessicated coconut
1/4 cup Sesame seeds
1 1/2 tsp Red Chilli powder
6 tsp oil
1 tbsp ginger garlic paste
5 to 6 Curry Leaves
1 tsp Amchur powder / lemon juice
1 tsp Garam Masala / goda masala
1 1/2 tsp Coriander powder
1/2 tsp cumin powder
pinch sugar
2 tbsp chopped coriander leaves
Salt to taste
1/4 cup Water


Method:

1. rinse 20 to 22 medium sized bhendi/okra/bhindi in running water for a couple of times. Dry them completely with paper towel or by keeping them under fan.Cut the tips off on both the sides. Slit each Okra from one side. Do not cut into two pieces while slitting.

2.Mix peanut powder, sesame seeds,grated coconut, garam masala,,ginger ralic paste,coriander leaves,sugar, red chilli powder, coriander powder, salt, amchur powder in a bowl, mix well.Add 1/4 cup of water and mix well to make thick paste.Stuff this mixture in each Okra, also dust okra in this mixture. Reserve remaining Spice blend for later use.



3.Coat pan with oil and shallow fry bhindi from both the sides till it is cooked. Cover with lid and let the Okra cook. Give a nice stir after 3 to 4 minutes which will avoid burning Okra at the base.


4.Heat oil in a pan add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, curry leaves, onion. Now add sliced onion and fry till it gets nice golden color.




5.Add leftover stuffing and roast for 3 to 4 minutes.Add cooked bhindi and mix carefully without spilling stuffing and cook for 5 mts.Garnish with coriandar leaves.

Ragda Recipe ,How to make Ragda Recipe for Ragda Pattice

I guess most of you like ragda pattice or ragda patties which is most popular fast food in India. Most commonly it is a street food from Mumbai.
 For my family ragda pattice is like a full meal. I usually make this on weekends for dinner.



 Ragda is also used in Pani Puri instead of boiled chana, moong and potatoes. One can make many Indian snacks and variety of Indian chaats with hot and spicy ragada. 
used in chaat items like Pani Puri, Ragda Puri, Ragda Pattice, Dahi Ragda Puri,ragda samosa and ragda cutlet or Ragda Chaat.

Ragda is made coneventionally using safed vatana /dried white peas .But you can even use hirwa vatana /dry green peas for making it .vatana should be perfectly cooked & soft to make a good ragda pattice.I normally pressure cook for 7-8 whistles so that white peas are cooked perfectly.

Do not  forget to soak vatana day before. And boil some potatoes earlier. Today we are learning how to make ragda ie white peas curry which is used for ragda pattice.
you can check out ragda patties recipe here

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup dry white or green peas/safed or hirwa vatana  soaked overnight
1 tsp cumin seeds,(jeera)
1 tsp mustard seeds(rai)
1 onion chopped
4-5 curry leaves
1 tsp red chilli powder
1 tsp dhania jeera powder(cumin coriander powder)
1 tsp kandalasun masala /marathi kala/goda masala
1 tsp ginger garlic paste
1/4 tsp asafoetida,
1 tsp turmeric powder,
1 tsp jaggery or sugar,
salt to taste,
1 tsp tamarind pulp or 2 kokum,
coriander leaves/cilantro,
1 tbsp oil

  
METHOD

1. Wash and soak the dry white or green peas/safed or hirwa vatana  in plenty of water for 7-8 hours. 
2.Rinse and pressure cook till soft and mushy around 7-9 whistles.
3. Heat oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds,cumin seeds. When they splutter, add asafoetida,curry leaves,half red chilli powder turmeric powder and ginger garlic paste Add onions pieces and fry till they look translucent.
4. Add boiled beans followed by some water for desired consistency,remaining chilli powder, kanda lasun masala/goda masala,dhania jeera powder

5.Once  curry reaches the boiling stage, add ground paste, tamarind, salt and jaggery. Mix well and cook covered further for 5 minutes.Mash few peas with spoon & simmer the curry till you get the consistency you want.  If required, add some more water.
6. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve with rice or chapati or can be used as a ragda for making ragda pattice




Tip

 Use kashmiri chilli powder for bright red colour
You an add boiled potatoes in curry.
Substitute kanda lasun masala with any other curry masala /garam masala of your choice.

Mixed dal bhajia |No onion mixed dal pakora marathi recipe

Todays recipe is maharashtrian style moong dal pakora /bhajia .I have already posted one version of marathi moong dal bhajiya .the difference in todays recipe is that it doesnt contain onion  and I have crushed cumin,green chilli ,ginger & garlic coarsely to form a paste & added that paste to mixed dal batter



I have posted rajasthani moong dal bhajia ,gujarati vati dal bhajia & moong spinach dal pakora recipe earlier.

Todays mixed dal bhajia /vada is marathi style which doesnt uses crushed peppercorns and coriander seeds but instead has onion,green chilli ,cumin seeds & coriander & ginger garlic paste
Mixed dal Vadas are also known as pakoras, bhajias or fritters. This is a spicy delicious snack crispy outside and soft inside. Mixed dal vada is a popular tasty treat.




Ingredients:

Moong dal (yellow) – 1/2  cups
chana dal - 1/2 cup
urad dal -  1/2 cup
Cumin seeds – 1 tsp
Asafoetida powder- 2 pinches
Green chilies – 3-4 finely chopped
Cilantro/Coriander leaves – ½ cup finely chopped
garlic -3-4 cloves
coriander cumin powder - 1 tbsp
Ginger – 1 inch
turmeric haldi powder
1 tsp sugar
Cooking oil to fry
Salt as per taste

For serving

 Tamarind Chutney –1 cup
 Green Chutney – 1 cup


Method:

 1.Wash moong dal,chana dal,urad dal, thoroughly and soak it in water for minimum 2-3 hours.crush cumin,green chilli ,ginger & garlic coarsely to form a paste


 2.Drain water from dal & Grind soaked dal with using very little water. Add asafoetida powder,haldi powder,salt, green chilli,cumin, ginger garlic paste,cumin coriander powder,sugar cilantro to the batter. Mix the batter for few minutes in clockwise direction with a spoon this will help bhajias to become fluffy.

 3.Heat cooking oil for frying the vadas.add 2 tsp of hot oil in batter .

 4.Take small marble size batter in a spoon and drop it in hot oil .fry it in the oil till it turns golden brown from both sides .Repeat till all the vadas are done. It should be golden and crispy.


 5.Serve warm and crispy with a cup of tea, and with green chutney and tamarind chutney.



Tip

you can add crushed peppercorns and coriander seeds to above batter if you like.
you can even soak 1 cup urad dal & 1 cup moong dal & make these bhajias.

How to cook brown rice

Rice is a food staple and primary crop grown all over the world. There are several different types of rice — including long-grain basmati, black rice, white rice and sticky (or glutinous) rice — but in terms of health benefits, not all are created equal. Brown rice is one of the healthiest and most-studied types of rice.

White rice was once brown rice, but the hull and bran around the kernel are removed to make it white. With brown rice, only the hull of the rice kernel is removed during preparation. This leaves most of the rice kernel’s nutrition value intact. Brown rice can be turned into white rice by removing and polishing more of the kernel — but with that process comes a loss in nutrients.
The complete milling and polishing that converts brown rice into white rice destroys 67% of the vitamin B3, 80% of the vitamin B1, 90% of the vitamin B6, half of the manganese,half of the phosphorus, 60% of the iron, and all of the dietary fiber and essential fatty acids. Brown rice retains all of the iron, vitamins, essential fatty acids and fiber that is removed from white rice in the milling process.
Cooking brown rice is easy and basic, but it takes a little more water and time than regular white rice. 

Ingredients:

1 cup brown basmati rice
3 cups water ( I like soft rice so have used 3 cups water for 1 cup brown rice,you can even use 2.5 cups-3cups of water for 1 cup of brown rice)


Method :

1.For softer rice, soak the grains in cold water for 45 minutes to an hour before cooking. This allows the water to penetrate the outer bran layers.



2.Select a large saucepan (with a big circumference)  with a tight fitting lid so that it will not allow the steam to escape.
3.Add the soaked rice with water to the pan.

4.Bring the water to boil.Then reduce the heat to low and simmer, covering the saucepan with a lid, until the rice is tender and the majority of liquid has been absorbed. 
5.Allow it to be covered for 10 minutes after which Fluff with fork and serve.

Pudina Poori |Mint puri recipe

I love to eat pooris.hence you will find different types of poori recipes on my site like

Regular poori
Dal bedvi poori
Methi poori
Palak Poori
Beetroot puri
Rajgira poori
Singhare ata poori

Todays recipe is made using pudina or mint leaves.



In this a paste is made using mint leaves & spices ,which is then kneaded with wheat flour to make a dough .



Ingredients :

1.25 cup wheat flour
1 tsp sugar

For Pudina Paste :

3/4 cup mint leaves (pudina)
1/2 Cup coriander leaves
2 green chilies
1 tsp cumin seeds
half inch ginger
1 tbsp lemon juice/chat masala

Method:

1.Grind the ingredients mentioned under pudina paste in a mixer to fine paste adding little water.

2.Combine wheat flour, salt,sugar and pudina paste in a mixing bowl. Knead to a smooth dough ( add water only if required). Keep aside for 30 mins.

3.Make small lemon sized balls of the dough. Take a ball and roll it on wooden board using roller pin. Similarly roll all the remaining pooris.



4.Heat oil in a kadhai and when it is hot, fry the pooris from both sides till it puffs & is light golden brown.drain on tissue to absorb extra oil.



5.Serve with chana masala or boondi raita the way I did

Sev Tameta Nu Shaak Recipe

Simple ingredients can create a tasty dish .Best example of this is the Gujarati Sev Tameta Nu Shaak Recipe .Basically spicy, sweet and tangy tomato curry topped with crisp sev.sev is are crisp fried gram flour vermicelli.

 In this recipe, first tomatoes, onion and spices are sauteed in oil and then steam cooked with water, sev is added only toward its final stage of preparation.

Shev/sev contributes  lot of flavor, taste and texture to the dish. Serve it with paratha and thepla for a delicious meal.




Ingredients
5 medium size Red Ripe Tomatoes, chopped
1/4 cup yellow Nylon Sev or Thick Sev
1 medium size Onion( finely chopped)
1/2 teaspoon Cumin Seeds
1/2 teaspoon Mustard Seeds
1 teaspoon Ginger-Garlic Paste
1 Green Chilli  chopped
1 teaspoons Sugar
1/2 teaspoon Red Chilli Powder
1/4 teaspoon Turmeric Powder
1 teaspoon Dhania, coriander Powder
1/4 teaspoon Garam Masala
2 tablespoons Coriander leaves for garnish
2 tablespoons CookingOil
 Salt to taste
1/2 cup Water

Method:
1.Heat oil in a kadai over medium flame. Add mustard seeds and cumin seeds; when they begin to splutter, add chopped onion and sauté until it turns light brown. Add ginger-garlic paste and chopped green chillies, sauté for 15-20 seconds.

 

2. Now add red chilli powder, garam masala, dhania powder .Add chopped tomatoes and sauté them for a minute.Add and mix salt, sugar and turmeric powder. Cook on medium flame for 2-3 minutes.



3.Add 1/2 cup water, mix well and cook on low flame until tomatoes become soft roughly 4-5 minutes. Stir in between occasionally.



4.sprinkle sev on tomato sabji just before serving & serve immediately so that the sev doesnt get soggy.  if you want you can add the sev when the tomato gravy is done and cook them for a minute or two.

5.Garnish with coriander leaves and serve the sev tameta nu shaak with phulkas, chapatis or methi thepla or bajra rotis.