Sabudana Khichdi

I learnt his recipe from my dear friend Urvi, who is an amazing cook.

Ingredients:

• Soaking sabudana:
• Sabudana/ sago: 1 cup (medium sized pearls)

Fig: Raw sabudana (before washing and soaking)

• Water (any amount in which sabudana can soak)
• Colander

• Masalas - to be mixed in raw sabudana
• salt ( only for sabudana)
• Sugar- a pinch
• Jeera pwd
• Roasted (peeled) Peanuts pwd/ Almonds pwd: 1/4 cup
• lemon juice
• Tempering:
• Curry leaves
• Green chilli: 1-2 (slit from centre or cut in small pieces)
• Potato: 1 ( medium sized pieces) (You can take boiled potatoes as well)
• salt ( only for tempering)
• Cumin seeds
• Oil- 1/4tsp- 1/2 tsp
• Coriander leaves

Method:

• Soaking Sabudana-
• Wash sabudana in running water (for 2-3 mins) and soak in ample water for  1/2 hour only. (Don't soak more than half an hour)
• Drain water after half an hour and cover sabudana with plate for 6-8 hours or more.
• Next day, stir sabudana with hands make it fluffy and separate each pearl. Sabubdana will be dry and each pearl will be separate from each other.

Fig: sabudana after 10-12 hours

• Masalas to be mixed in raw sabudana:
• Just before cooking- Sprinkle salt, sugar ( a pinch), roasted ground peanuts, lemon juice and  roasted jeera pwd . Mix well with hands.

• Tempering:
• Heat oil in non stick pan.
• Add jeera, curry leaves and green chilli. Cook for 1 min.
• Add potato, salt. Cover and cook on low flame till potatoes are done.
• Lower the flame.
• Add sabudana. Mix well. (Flame should be slow.)
• Cover and cook for 5 mins. 
• Turn off flame. Mix well.
• Cover and let it rest for 5 mins.
• Add coriander leaves.
• Ready to serve.

PS:

• If you do't have enough time- then wash and soak sabudana for half an hour. Cover and let it rest for 2 hours min, if not more. Then follow other steps as such.

Wheat Flour- Rava Modak recipe (No steam, oil free Modaks)

Qty: 10 modaks
Shelf life: 1-2 days ( if refrigerated)

Modaks are one of the favourite sweets of Lord Ganesha (Ganpati Bappa). They are made on opportune day of Ganesh Chaturthi. Although they are made from rice flour but I wanted to try with wheat flour and rava. Undoubtedly, they tasted really yummy, the shape isn't perfect as I didn't use mould.

Ingredients:

• For stuffing:
• Grated fresh coconut: 1/2 cup (I used dessicated one)

  

  Dessicated coconut and Jaggery

• Jaggery: 1/4 cup
• Chana daal :1/8 cup (optional) (Soaked overnight)
• Green cardamom pwd: 1/2 tsp
• For outer covering/ dough:
• rava/ semolina: 1/8 cup
• wheat flour: 3/8 cup
• Vegan milk: 1/2 cup
• Water: 1/2 cup
• Vegan ghee/ oil (optional): 1/4 tsp 
• Moulds for modak (optional- you can prepare without moulds as well)

Method:

• Stuffing:
• Boil chana daal in ample water. Strain it and let it cool. (If you want, you can mash it as well- I didn't mash as I like it as such)
• In a pan, add jaggery. Mix well. Cook it on low flame until jaggery starts to melt.
• Add chana daal, coconut and cardamom pwd.
• Keep stirring continuously. Cook until mixture becomes dry. It will take approx 6-8 mins (may take a bit more).
• Turn off the flame.
• Let it cool.

• Dough/ outer covering of modak:
• Dry roast rava on low flame until it changes colour to light brown. (it will take approx 7-8 mins).

roasted rava

• Dry roast wheat flour on low flame and keep aside.

roasted wheat flour/ atta

• Remove on the plate and let it cool.
• In a pan, add water, milk and ghee (if using). Turn on the flame and keep the flame to medium.
• Let it boil. Keep stirring.
• Once the milk starts boiling, add roasted rava and wheat flour. Mix well.
• Keep stirring continuously. The mixture will start to thicken within a couple of minutes.
• Once the mixture starts to form dough like consistency, turn off the flame. (it will take approx 2-4 mins)

• Let it cool down a bit.
• Preparing modak:
•  Now, transfer the mixture on the plate and knead to form a dough before it completely cools down. (if needed, slightly grease your hands)

• Now, using moulds or without moulds, prepare modak by putting stuffing the centre.
• Preparing modak without moulds: 
• Take a small ball on the hand. Flatten it a bit. Give it a cup shape inside your palm. Put stuffing in the centre and bring all the sides together (You can make pleats, if possible) and seal it, giving it a good modak shape.

• Preparing modak with moulds ( You might need to grease the mould)
• Take a small ball and place it in the mould. Make a little space (hollow) in the centre of the stuffing. Fill some stuffing in the centre and seal with the dough. Carefully open the mould and remove the modak.
• Ready to serve.

PS:

You can also make modak with more wheat flour (little less than 1/2 cup) and 1 tbsp rava as well. In this, dry roast atta and rava separately as above. But instead of mixing wheat flour and rava in Boiled milk, you knead a soft dough with milk (boiled).

Rest follow as above.

Rajgira Roti

It can be eaten in Ekadashi Vrat or Navratri Vrat or Janamasthmi Vrat. It is basically a grain-free meal.

Rajgira Roti served with Samak ke chawal ki kheer and avial

Ingredients:

• Rajgira Flour : 1 cup
•  Gajar Aloo subzi: 1 small bowl (Mash it)
• Green chilli: 1-2 (chopped)
• Ajwain:1 tsp
• Salt: to taste
• Red chilli pwd: to taste
• Oil: 3-4 tbsp
• Aluminium Foil paper  (20cm x 20 cm approx )

Method:

• Mix all the above ingredients except oil . 
• Add a little warm water to bind them together.

• Take a little mixture on hand and make a round ball.
• Place the aluminium foil on the rolling board and tuck the foil under it.
• Wet the surface of foil with a little amount of water. (This help protect roti from sticking to the foil)
• Now take a small ball of dough and pat the dough ball to make roti with hand (Don't use rolling pin) on the foil.
• Heat non-stick pan/ tawa.
• Put roti on tawa. Flip when it is slightly cooked (nearly after a few seconds).
• Flip again after a few seconds( when parantha turns slight brown). Now oil the top of parantha and flip it again.
• Oil the other side also. Flip it and heat for another few seconds till done.
• Put butter on it and serve hot.

Homemade Masala for Tea

I learnt this recipe from my friend Teena.

Ingredients:

• Ginger powder
• Black pepper pwd / Kali mirch(Qty should be a little less than other ingredients) 
• Cloves/ laung: 6-7
• Black cardamom/ Badi(Moti) Ilaichi : 4-5 (Remove the outer skin)
• Cinnamon pwd/ Dalchini pwd

Method:

• Take all the ingredients in equal quantity (except black pepper pwd) and grind to form a powder.
• Store in air tight container.
• Add a pinch of this masala while making tea.

How to make Boondi/ Kara Boondi

Shelf Life: 7 days (At room temp )
Ingredients:

• Besan/ Gram Flour: 1 cup
• Perforated ladles: 2 (ladle with holes in it) (See pic on the right)
• Ghee: 1-2 tsp
• Salt: to taste (optional)
• Red chilli pwd: to taste (optional)
• Oil: for frying

Method:

• In a bowl/ pan, sieve besan. Add salt and red chilli pwd. Make batter by adding a little water at a time and stirring it continuously. The consistency of the batter should neither be thick nor thin. (consistency should be like Dosa Batter)
• Heat oil in pan.
• Take a perforated ladle and place it above the oil.
• Now pour 2-3 tbsp of batter on the perforated ladle and gently tap the ladle (or stir the batter on ladle with spoon). The small drops of batter/ boondis will fall in the oil.
• When the boondi is  fried/ golden brown, take it out and place it on the tissue paper. 
• When it cools down, Store in an air tight container.

PS:

• You can sprinkle dry crushed mint leaves on boondi (after frying) to enhance the flavour.

Dry Pomegranate Seeds (Anardana)

Anardana is nothing but dried seeds of  Pomegranate (Anar). Its used in various dishes like paranthas to enhance the taste. Anardana can also be used in powdered form. Its easily available in the market in form of dry seeds and powder.

Ingredients:

• Pomegranate: 1-2

Method:

1. Take out the seeds of pomegranate.
2. Keep them under the sun for 25- 30 days until they dry up .

PS:

• For Anardana Powder, dry the pomegarante seeds, roast them and grind to make powder.
• Store the powder in an airtight container.

Ashtmi Prasad

'Ashtmi/ Ashtami' is the 8th day of Navratra (9 sacred days of Goddess Durga). After fasting for 7 preceeding days, we break our fasts after morning puja and prasad offered to Goddess Durga. The prasad includes Halwa, Poori, Chana and nariyal (coconut). On this day, we worship little girls as 'Kanjak' (As little incarnations of Goddess Parvati) and offer them prasad.
Some people celebrate 'Navmi' (last day of Navratra).

+

Annakut

Annakut' - Its a special prasad, cooked in Delhi after 6 days of Janamasthmi (Krishna's birth). The day is called 'Chhati', as per belief Kanhaji is 6 days old. For this, a special mix- veg is prepared which is served with rice and kadi. The whole prasad is prepared without onion and garlic.

Mix -Veg:
Ingredients:

• Mooli: 1/2
• Tomato: 1
• Aubergine/ Brinjal: 1 
• Potato: 2 (medium sized)
• Beans: 1/4 cup (chopped)
• Salt: to taste
• Red chilli pwd: to taste
• Mango pwd/ Amchur: 1/2- 1tsp
• Cumin seeds: 1 tsp
• Coriander pwd: 1 tsp
• Turmeric pwd: 1 tsp
• Oil: 1 tsp

Method:

1. Wash and chop tomato, brinjal and potatoes, without peeling them.
2. Peel, wash and chop raddish.
3. Heat oil in pan. Add cumin seeds. Let them splutter.
4. Add potatoes, tomato, raddish and brinjal.
5. Add salt, red chilli pwd, coriander pwd, turmeric pwd. Mix well.
6. Cover and cook on low flame till vegetables are done.
7. Turn off the gas.
8. In the end, sprinkle mango pwd.
9. Read to serve with kadi, rice and poori.

PS:  You can add any vegetables but raddish, brinjal, tomato and potato are main ingredients.