Sevai

Realised I haven't posted a dessert recipe in a while now, so here goes - simple (and sweet) Sevai! :)

You'll need:

* 3/4 cup sevai (vermicelli)

* 1l milk (not skimmed; the taste won't be that good)

* 1/2 cup sugar

* 1 tbsp ghee

* 3 tbsp chopped dry fruits (cashews, almonds & raisins)

* 1/4 tsp cardamom powder

1. Get started by melting ghee in a kadhai. Once done, fry the sevai on medium heat till it turns golden brown.

2. Iske baad, add milk, cardamom powder & chopped dry fruits. Now bring it to a boil.

3. Then, simmer over low heat till it becomes thick & creamy. (Bihar/Jharkhand mein isey sevai ko aunttaana kehte hain) :|

4. Finally, add sugar & stir thoroughly.

Sevai is now done! You can either have it hot or you follow my TipToEat: Let the sevai go cool, refrigerate it for a while, add more chopped cashews to it & THEN have it. If it doesn't taste like a spoonful of heaven, mera naam badal dena ;)

Gatte Ki Sabzi

Although Gatte Ki Sabzi owes its origin to Rajasthan, I've attempted a Bihari version. You let me know how it turned out for you :)


You'll need:


- 200 gm gram flour (besan)
- 1 tsp coriander powder
- 2 tbsp ghee
- 250 gm curd
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tsp oil
- 2 tsp red chilli powder
- 1 pinch turmeric powder
- Jeera


1. Start off by mixing the besan with 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp red chilli powder, 1/2 tsp coriander powder & ghee.


2. Then, make a stiff dough out of this (mere haath dukh gaye par yeh hard nahi hua mujhse :| ho sakta hai aapse ho jaaye). Once done kneading, make 6 long, thin strips of the dough.


3. Iske baad, put these strips in boiling water & cook for 5 min. Then, cut these strips into small gattas.


4. Now, strain the curd in a strainer & add 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp red chilli powder, 1/2 tsp coriander powder, 1/2 tsp coriander powder & turmeric powder. Mix well (and avoid lumps!) :D Then add the little gattas to this.


5. Heat the oil in a kadhai. Add jeere ka tadka, followed by the curd-gatta mix. Cook this for 7 min, stirring constantly till it comes to a boil.


6. Get the flame to simmer & cook for another 7 min. Shut the flame & finally add the tadka of red chilli powder. GKS done!!


TipToEat: If you want to go the extra mile, you should serve Gatte Ki Sabzi with Missi Roti. But since rice is my soul food, I'd suggest piping hot steamed rice :)

Idli

Idli or Idly or Iddly owes its origin to 700 CE aka Calendar Era (I had to Google this) :| In fact, the whole process of steamed food stemmed from Indonesia, giving rise to the modern day Idli.

Idli has various alterations, but a rookie like me likes to stick to the basic version :D

You'll need:

* 2 cups rice

* 1 cup urad dal

* 1.5 tbsp salt

* A pinch of baking soda

* Oil for greasing

1. Sabse pehle, you need to pick, wash & soak the dal for 8 hrs.

2. Then, pick, wash & drain the rice. And grind it coarsely in a blender.

TipToCook - If you are a tad lazy or don't have the time or a food processor, you can pick up ready-to-use idli batter from a store, too :P But that's not what I did. Am serious!

3. Post 8 hours, grind the dal into a smooth & frothy paste. Then, mix the ground rice & dal together into a batter.

4. Iske baad, add salt to this & set aside in a warm place to ferment for 9 hours. (Yes, that's how long these little rice cakes take. I think.) :P

5. 9 hours baad, grease the idli stand with oil & fill each section 3/4 with the batter. Then, steam cook the idlis in a pressure cooker on a medium flame for 10 min.

6. Once done, use a butter knife to remove the idlis. And enjoy with sambhar or chutney or ketchup (whose recipes am not posting here; yet.) ;)

Sultani Dal

I donno why, but each time I read the words SULTANI DAL, I think of Razia Sultana :P Like this dish was made especially for dacoits or rebels or something :D But that's also probably because the dish is from U.P. & I recently watched Gangs of Wasseypur (which isn't in U.P. but was shot there).

You're gonna need the following:

- 1.5 kg arhar dal
- 500 ml hot milk
- 125 gm cream
- 250 gm curd
- 8 cloves of garlic
- 1 tbsp cumin seeds
- 1 tsp saffron
- 1/4 tsp chili powder
- Salt to taste
- 25 gm pure ghee
- 2 green chilies
- 1 betel leaf
- 10 cardamoms
- Mint leaves
- 6 cloves
- A muslin cloth
- A piece of charcoal :D

And here's how to make it:

1. Wash & soak the dal for 10 min.
2. Strain the milk, cream & curd through the muslin cloth & keep in a cool place.
3. Grind the cardamoms & cloves to a paste.
4. Finely chop the chilies & mint leaves, then cut fine slivers of the garlic (the garlic for the baghar).
5. In a patila, take 5 cups of water & boil the dal, salt & chili powder; keep this covered & cook on a slow flame till the dal is done.
6. Once cooked, drain the extra water. Follow this up by mashing the dal till it becomes consistent.
7. Now, place the betel leaf on the dal & put the charcoal in it (Just don't ask me how I managed to get the charcoal; I just did) :P Then, pour 1 tsp ghee in it, cover & keep for 10 min.
8. Add the milk-cream-curd, clove-cardamom, milk & saffron to it. Then cover & simmer for 5 min on a super slow flame.
9. Finally, for the baghar - heat the remaining ghee in a karchi, add the cumin seeds & garlic. Once it turns pink, immediately put the karchi in the patila & cover.
10. Then stir lightly & garnish with mint leaves. Voila! The dacoit dal is done :D

Dal Baati

Khama ghani & hello from Rajasthan. Today I bring Dal Baati, a somewhat staple diet of Rajasthan & Malwa region in Madhya Pradesh. Had made this weeks ago, but finally posting the recipe now!!


Gather the following for the dal:


* 3/4 cups tuvar dal (soaked overnight with a pinch of soda bicarb)
* 3 finely chopped onions
* 2 finely chopped tomatoes
* 2 tsp garam masala
* 2 tsp chili powder
* 1 tsp turmeric powder
* 1 tbsp ginger garlic paste
* 2 green chilies, slit lengthwise
* 2 tbsp cream
* 4 tbsp ghee (there goes my weight loss plan) :|
* 1 cup finely chopped coriander leaves
* Oil
* Salt to taste


You'll need the following for the baati:


* 5 cups aata
* 1 cup melted ghee
* 2 tbsp curd
* Salt to taste


Let's get started:


1. We'll take care of the dal first - pressure cook the tuvar dal till it becomes soft. Then, in a kadhai, heat 4 tbsp of oil, add the onions & fry them till they turn brown.


2. Then, add the ginger garlic paste & tomatoes and fry for a bit. Follow this by adding the garam masala, turmeric powder, tuvar dal & finally salt. Simmer this till all blend well, and ensure that the dal's consistency is thick.


3. Finally, pour the cream & garnish with green chilies & coriander leaves. But this you can do right before serving also :)


4. Now, for the baati - knead a dough with the aata, ghee, curd, salt & water. Key word - soft!


5. Then, make lemon-sized balls :| out of it. Cover & keep for an hour.


6. Here's the tricky part - see if you can get an angeethi; baatis taste best when roasted on coals. If not, you can use a microwave, too. That's what I did. Just place the baatis on a rotisserie grill till they begin to puff up & turn golden :)


7. Voila - DB done!! You can serve them with rice or pudina chutney or mango chutney or chaas or churma laddoo, whose recipe I posted a few months ago ;)


Tip to Eat: In typical Rajasthani fashion, people normally prick a hole with their thumbs in the middle of the baati, pour ghee into it, then dip the baati in the dal & finally sink their teeth in it :D

Mooli Paratha

Today, for the 1st time, I cooked something in someone else's kitchen - my masi's, to be precise. And I was even more nervous, because like most women  in my family  (me not included) ;) my masi too is an excellent cook!!

Anyway, I didn't want to do anything complicated (& then eventually ruin it) :P So I made something very basic - mooli paratha. Don't you dare make any flatulence jokes :P

Here's what you'll require:

For the stuffing -

- 3 radishes 

- Salt to taste

- 1/2 tsp red chili powder

- 1/2 tsp coriander powder

- 2 finely chopped green chilies (in case the red chili powder hasn't upped the spice quotient for you)

- 2 tbsp coriander leaves

- Cooking oil to fry the radishes

For the dough -

- 2 cups wheat flour

- Salt to taste

- Water (as per the need)

- Cooking oil to make the parathas

And here's the recipe!!

1. First of, sieve the flour & salt. Add water & knead, till you get a stiff dough. If you want, you can knead it soft, too; no issues. Once done, cover & keep aside.

2. Now, peel & grate the radish. Make sure to drain out the excess water.

3. Then, in a kadhai, add the cooking oil & fry the radishes till they turn a light brown. Then add salt, red chili powder, green chilies & coriander powder & mix well. And then set to cool.

4. Once the stuffing has cooled, take some dough make a small roundel out of it (no am not going to use the word ball here) :P In the center of the roundel, put 2 tsp of the stuffing & close and cover from all sides.

5. Once sealed, roll it out into a paratha. Do the same for the remaining of the dough & stuffing.

6. Now, heat a tava & place each paratha one by one on it. Add cooking oil to both sides & let cook evenly. Tip: I like my parathas crispy, so I tend to add a tad more oil while cooking, and keep the flame on high.

7. Voila! Mooli parathas are done. You can serve them with curd, raita, pickle or my favorite paratha buddy - salsa!! ;)

Dala Khechidi

Sorry sorry SORRY about the 2 month absence!! Just drifted away, I guess. Anyway, am back now. So please expect a little more action ;)

Tonight, I bring you Dala Khechidi - dal khichdi Orissa style. Yes, I've made khichdi in the past - but this one's a smidge different than my Bihari version :)

Really REALLY simple & quick to make. Precisely 30 min!

You'll need:

* 250 gm rice
* 200 gm moong dal
* 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
* 1 tbsp cumin seeds
* 100 gm pure ghee
* 4 red chilies
* 2 bay leaves
* 2 inches cinnamon
* 6 cardamoms
* Salt to taste

1. First of, was the rice & dal (2-3 times with fresh water each time). Then, add 2 tsp of ghee & the turmeric powder. Mix this well with a spatula & spread it on a place. Let dry for 10 min.

2. In the meantime, crush the cinnamon & cardamoms to make a powder. Damn this can be quite a task if you don't have a pestle & mortar! I actually crushed these with a rolling pin :P

3. Now, heat a pressure cooker. And add 1 tsp of ghee, followed by the cumin seeds. Top this with the red chilies, bay leaves & a pinch of turmeric powder.

4. As this starts to crackle, add the rice-dal-ghee-turmeric powder mix to the cooker. And stir for a minute.

5. Now, add water. Keep in mind that the quantity of the water should be double of the quantity of the rice-dal mix.

6. Put some salt, as per your taste. Followed by the cinnamon-cardamom powder. Now, close the lid of the cooker & turn the flame to medium.

7. After the cooker blows 1 whistle, turn off the flame. And open the lid of the cooker after 2 min. At this point, you may want to add more ghee to it (unless you want to burst at the seams) :P

DK is now done. Please pretty please have it hot!

P.S.

At the moment you open the lid of the cooker, if your kitchen (and eventually your house) don't smell of ghee (in a good way), please feel free to change my name :D

P.P.S.

And to those (like me) who didn't add enough salt, there's always a backup called mango pickle :)