Tag Archives: north indian

All Posts, Breakfast, Mains

Bajra Khichdi with Vegetables

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There are some things that bring a deep, deep sense of fulfillment during winter. Bajra khichdi is one of them. It just needs to be planned ahead due to the soaking time.

Serves 2
Cooking Time: 30 min

Ingredients:

1/2 cup bajra
1/2 cup mung dal
2 cups water
1 tbsp mustard oil
1/2 tsp jeera (cumin seeds)
1/2 tsp haldi (turmeric powder)
a pinch of hing (asafetida)
1 small potato, peeled and chopped
1 small carrot, peeled and chopped, 
1/2 cup peas

Procedure

  • Soak bajra overnight, combine with mung dal, water and pressure cook for 4 whistles.  (Note: Some people like to pulse the bajra in a blender a few times before cooking, to crush it. I skipped this step and liked the crunch. Up to you what you like)
  • Heated some mustard oil, added jeera and when it splutters, add hing and haldi
  • Then add chopped potatoes, carrots and peas. 
  • Cook until done and mix it into the khichdi. 
  • Serve with a dollop of ghee and gud dahi or crispy pakodas 🙂 I added some raw sliced onions, and sliced ginger and chili with salt and lemon juice.

Most internet recipes talk about only bajra and dal but I wanted some more nutrition in it. Hence the veggies.

All Posts, Desserts

Mung Dal Halwa

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I first ate this at a Marwari wedding, and I was bowled over. A big fan of rich, decadent desserts, I had to eventually learn how to make this as I couldn’t find it anywhere nearby. The traditional recipe involves soaking the dal and then grinding it using minimal water. This is a very painful process and I hesitated everytime. Until I figured a way out. Now, I grind the powder to the desired consistency and then soak it. The advantages are many – the grinding is more uniform, you don’t have to spend an hour removing all the sticky particles from the blender, and most importantly, it cuts down hugely on the soaking time.

If you eat this at a traditional halwai, it will almost be swimming in ghee, so if you’re underweight, you can pretty much use as much as you like. Always, always serve small portions because it is very heavy.

Serves 6-8
Time taken: 1 hour

Ingredients

1 cup mung dal (yellow)
½ cup milk
1 cup sugar
A generous pinch Saffron
1 cup ghee
½ cup dry fruits (cashew nuts, raisins, almonds, pistachio)

Method

  • Grind the mung dal into a coarse powder. Soak it in water and let it sit for about half an hour.
  • Soak saffron in hot milk.
  • Blanch almonds in boiling water for 5 min. Cool, peel and slice them. Set aside.
  • Heat ghee in a thick-bottomed pan and add the dry fruits. Once golden brown, add the mung dal paste.
  • Cook over a low flame with constant stirring, until the dal turns brown.
  • Add sugar and saffron milk
  • Stir well till they are thoroughly incorporated and the halwa is of dropping consistency.
  • Serve hot. For an extra dose of richness, cover the top with a layer of silver foil just before serving.
All Posts, Mains

Baingan Bharta with a Twist

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Even though my mother makes great food, I still attribute my training in traditional Indian cooking to a lovely neighbour Nita, who I’d spend many hours watching as we gossiped about nothing. I like almost everything I make, but this particular dish really stole my heart, I’d crave for her to make it so much, that I eventually had to ask her for the recipe – I simply couldn’t seem to recreate it at home.

I love the strong Punjabi version very much, but this is quite different – subtle, and flavoured very differently. The peanuts give it a lovely crunch and the spring onions give it a flavour one doesn’t encounter very frequently in Indian cuisines. It is also  very easy and quick to make.

Time taken: 20 min
Serves 3-4

Ingredients

2 big brinjals (the big dark purple ones)
¼ cup peanuts
3-4 cloves of garlic,
1 green chili
½ cup chopped spring onion leaves
a fistful of coriander leaves
½ tsp cumin seeds (jeera)
½ tsp mustard seeds (rai)
½ tsp carom seeds (ajwain)
a pinch of turmeric
1 tbsp groundnut or sunflower oil
salt to taste

Instructions

Roast the brinjals over fire or charcoal until the skin is burnt and sort of hard. Make sure you turn it every few minutes so that it is cooked evenly on all sides.

Let it rest a few minutes and then peel off the burned skin.

Mash the garlic and green chili together.

Now add the brinjal and gently mix it in, mashing it gently. Add salt, spring onion and coriander.

Now heat the oil in a pan, and add cumin and mustard seeds.

Add peanuts and roast for 2-3 minutes.

Add the carom seeds and before it starts to burn, add the turmeric and the mashed brinjal.

Cook for 5 minutes, and then let sit covered for a few minutes for the flavours to mix.

Serve with phulkas or parathas.

All Posts, Desserts

Methi Dana Laddoo (Fenugreek Balls)

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During the training period when I had just joined a company as a software engineer, we’d attend training in a room where the AC was turned to really low, and we’d find ourselves freezing most of the times.

Then one day, a colleague brought methi laddus that his mother had parcelled him from home. It was just so awesome (I have a fondness for bitter things, and among all things bitter, methi laddu is probably the tastiest). When he didn’t turn up one day, was when I realised that on the days when I had a laddu in the morning, I wouldn’t feel as cold as the others. It was a startling realisation, and doubled my love for the laddus.

I tried making some to take long with me when I visited Kailash, but I guess I just chanced upon the wrong recipe, they were so soft that they ended up looking more like methi paste. Now, in the middle of one of the coldest Bangalore winters in the last few years, I was inspired to try again. And oh what a delightful decision it was.

I searched for methi laddu recipes, and it was only halfway through a recipe on tarla dalal’s website, that I realised that I was following a methi dana laddu, where one doesn’t grind the methi. It worried me a bit, but they turned out just fine, and I don’t think I’m going to bother grinding them the next time around either.

Time taken: 40-50 min
Makes 12-15 laddus

Ingredients

⅓ cup (50 gm) fenugreek (methi) seeds, soaked overnight
1½ cup  whole wheat flour
¾ cup ghee
¾ cup jaggery, grated/ powdered
⅓ cup crushed almonds (can also mix in chironji, cashews, walnuts, raisins)
3 tbsp powdered edible gum (gond)
½ tsp cardamom (elaichi) powder
½ tsp dried ginger (saunth) powder
a pinch of nutmeg powder

Instructions

Dry roast the whole wheat flour until fragrant, and set aside.

Heat the ghee in a pan, add the methi seeds and roast over low heat until golden brown.

Add the edible gum and roast until the spluttering stops.

Now add the almonds/ nuts and the whole wheat flour.

Mix in the jaggery and turn off the heat once it seems to have melted and blended. Add the spice powders.

Let it cool until it can be handled, and shape into laddoos. It is best to do this while it is still quite warm.

Store in an airtight container. It is best eaten along with a glass of milk,

All Posts, Mains

Pudina (Mint) Rice

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When we were returning from a friend’s house at Koppal, his wife packed lunch for us as a surprise. When we had it on the way, I was blown off by its flavor and taste. On reaching home, I asked her for its recipe and she obliged.

Mint is one of the oldest and most popular herbs that is grown around the world. It can bring that extra zing and unique flavor to almost any thing you cook. Pudina is packed with antioxidants and phytonurients that can work wonders for your stomach. It relieves  acidity and flatulence. The strong antioxidants present in mint leaves leaves the skin with a natural glow and rehydrate dull and dry skin.

Ingredients:

1 cup Rice

Salt

2 ½ cups of water for sona masuri rice (1 cup water if you use Basmati rice)

To grind:

1 cup, lightly packed mint leaves

A small bunch of coriander leaves

½ inch piece of ginger

6,7 garlic flakes

1 green chilli

½ cup grated coconut

To season:

2 tbsps oil

½ tsp cumin seeds

1 bay leaf

3 cloves

1 mace

3 cardamoms

1 small piece cinnamon

To garnish:

1 tbsp cashew nuts roasted in 1 tsp ghee

Method:

  • Soak the rice for 15 minutes.
  • Heat oil in a pressure cooker; add cumin seeds, bay leaf, clove, mace, cardamom, cinnamon, saute for a while.
  • Add the ground masala and roast lightly.
  • Pour water, salt and bring to boil.
  • Add the soaked rice and cook on medium flame for two minutes.
  • Close the cooker and pressure cook for five minutes.
  • Serve hot with cucumber raita.

Pudina rice

All Posts, Desserts

Makhane ki Kheer (Foxnut Pudding)

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I had heard about makhane ki kheer, and people spoke of it in such a special way, like it was a delicacy. But when I tried making it by myself, I couldn’t understand why anyone would want to eat it. Or I must have done something wrong.

It was over a chat with a Lucknowi friend that she told me what I had done wrong – ‘chop them up!’ she said. If the quality of the makhanas is really good, you can get away with using them whole. Otherwise, roast slightly, chop up into pieces, and you’ll have on your hands a seriously yummy, creamy, melt-in-your-mouth kheer.

Time taken: 20 min
Serves 4

Ingredients

50gm makhanas (foxnuts)
1 liter milk
2 tbsp sugar (I like to use badam milk powder instead)
1 tbsp ghee
2 tbsp slivered almonds
a pinch of saffron
a pinch of nutmeg powder

Instructions

Bring the milk to a boil, and let it simmer gently, getting thicker. Stir frequently to prevent it from sticking to the bottom.

Meanwhile, heat the ghee and add the makhanas. Roast until crispy.

Chop the makhanas into pieces, or blend coarsely.

Add the makhanas and almonds to the milk once the milk is as thick as you’d like it. Simmer for 5 min.

Add the sugar, saffron and nutmeg powder and take off the heat.

All Posts, Salads

Chana Chaat/ Chickpea Salad

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chana chaat

Well, this isn’t exactly the chana chaat you get on the streets of Lucknow. This has a lot more things. It is just wonderful eaten cold on hot summer days. Don’t overdose though, because chickpeas are a tad hard to digest and the digestion is a bit weak in summers.

Time taken: 30 min
Serves 4

Ingredients

½ cup chana or chickpeas
1 large potato
1 small cucumber
1 tomato
½ green mango (optional)
½ cup coriander leaves
1 green chili
1 tsp chaat masala (or jeera pd + hing + anardana pd + kala namak)
2 tsp lemon juice
salt to taste

Method

Soak the chickpeas overnight and then pressure cook along with the potatoes until done, about 10 min. (Skip this step if you’re using canned chickpeas)

While the chickpeas are cooking, chop the cucumber, tomato, mango (if using), chili and coriander.

Once the chickpeas are cooked, carefully release the pressure and open the cooker. Peel and chop the potatoes.

Toss everything together, chill and serve!

All Posts, Mains

Pumpkin Rice

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Rice is a fundamental food in many cultural cuisines around the world. It has ability to provide fast and instant energy, regulate and improve bowel movements, and stabilize blood sugar levels, while also providing an essential source of vitamin B1 to the human body. Do you know that rice slows down the aging process? When I learned Vedic meditation from Tim Mitchell (http://www.vedicmeditation.eu/en/ayurveda/), he told me that after the age of fifty, one should eat rice and not wheat.

We love rice and I am always on the look out to create new preparations with rice. Here is a nice dish that combines pumpkin with rice.

Ingredients:

1 cup rice
200 gms pumpkin
Salt
2 tbsps Oil
1 Bay leaf
½ tsp grated ginger
1 green chilli cut fine
A few curry leaves
¼ tsp Cumin seeds
¼ cup roasted and ground pea nuts
1 tsp sugar
2 tbsps water

Method:

• Cook the rice and keep aside.
• Clean and cube the pumpkin, smear with oil, add salt, roast in the pre heated oven at 250 degrees for ½ hour to 45 minutes. Keep a small bowl of water in the center of the pumpkin pieces so that they won’t dry out.
• Cut the roasted pumpkin into small pieces.

pumpkin
• Heat oil in a thick bottomed vessel; add cumin seeds, when they splutter, add the bay leaf, grated ginger, cut green chilli, and curry leaves. Stir for ten seconds.
• Add the pumpkin pieces, sugar and mix well.
• Add the cooked rice, salt, roasted and ground peanuts, and 2 table spoons of water.

ground nut
• Mix well and remove from the fire after about 4 minutes. Serve hot.

Pumpkin rice

 

Mains

Dal Baati Gatta Churma

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As children, we’d wait for our mother to make this mouth-watering Rajasthani dish. Traditionally baked over charcoal, we would bake it in an oven, and I still remember the excitement every time she would open the oven door.

My mom stuffed it with different fillings – potato, cheese, and that would only add to the excitement. The fact that this is served with two curries, one of which happens to be a favourite – gatte ki subzi, only made things better. Most of the times the meal would end with churma, which we would somehow manage to stuff into our very full stomachs simply because it was so tasty.

If you ever have an opportunity to eat this dish in a village or a Marwari household, skip breakfast and lunch and go for it. It is sometimes served with the baatis dunked in a bucket of ghee, but it is an experience you won’t regret!

So, here goes mom’s recipe for one of my favourite childhood memories.

Ingredients:

Baati

400 gm whole wheat flour (atta) [can add 2 tbsp sooji. we don’t)
⅓ tsp baking soda
2 tbsp ghee
Salt to taste
Water

Dal

Green gram, split, with skin – 1 cup
Green gram, split, without skin – 2 tsps
Udad dal ( black gram without skin) – 2 tsps
Bengal gram (chana dal) – 3 tsps
Salt to taste
Asafoetida – a pinch
Turmeric powder – ½ tsp
Coriander powder – 1 tsp
Water – 2 ½ cups

To season:
Ghee – 1 tbsp
Garlic – 5 flakes cut into small pieces
Ginger – ¾ tsp cut into strips
Red chilli powder – ½ tsp in 1 tbsp water

Gatte ki Subzi:

Besan ( Bengal gram flour) – 1 cup
Baking soda – a pinch
Salt to taste
Oil – 2 tsps
Water
Cut coriander leaves and garlic – 1 tsp each (optional)

For gravy:
Ghee – 1 tbsp
Mustard seeds – ½ tsp
Tomatoes -2 big, grate them
Curds – ½ cup
Turmeric powder – 1/3 tsp
Red chilli powder – ½ tsp
Coriander piwder – ¾ tsp
Garam masala powder – 1/3 tsp
Coriander leaves to garnish

Churma:

Baked baatis (in flattened shape) -2
Sugar -75 gms
Melted ghee – 1/2 cup
Cardamom powder – 1/2 tsp

Instructions:

  • Sieve the wheat flour with baking soda and add salt and ghee.
  • Pour water little by little and knead into stiff dough.
  • Divide into eight portions.
  • Roll each portion between the palms with some pressure and make into a ball.
  • Make a depression on one side with your finger tip.

Two of the portions can be flattened, to make churma later.

  • Preheat the oven to 170 degrees.
  • Put all the prepared balls on an oil smeared aluminum foil, with the depression on the top, and the two flattened ones and bake for 30 minutes.
  • Now turn them over and bake for another 15 minutes.

  • You can make stuffed baatis too. Make the potato filling that you prepare for aloo paratha, and fill the battis. I like cheese stuffed baatis very much!
  • Traditionally, Rajasthanis keep the baatis dipped in ghee for some time, then take out, break them between the palms, put on the serving plate and pour more ghee over it. Since it used to be a regular dish for us and we didn’t want to consume too much ghee, I never did that.

Dal:

  • Clean and wash all the dals, put inside the pressure cooker. Add salt, asafetida, water and all the masala powders.
  • Pressure cook for 8 minutes, cool and open.
  • Heat the ghee in a seasoning vessel. Add the cut garlic and ginger.
  • When they brown, close the flame, add the chilli powder in water, mix and pour over the cooked dal.
  • Serve with lemon; it has to be squeezed into the dal before eating.

Gatta sabzi

  • Put two cups of water, with a drop of ghee in it to boil.
  • Mix the first five (or six) ingredients into a smooth dough, divide into four portions.
  • Roll each portion between the palms into long rope. Meanwhile the water is boiling.
  • Reduce the flame and drop each rope into the boiling water and keep medium flame for about ten minutes. You will see the crust forming on the surface, which means they are cooked. Remove from heat, take out the ropes and keep on a plate. Don’t discard the water, we will use it for the gravy.
  • Cut the ropes into roughly ¾ cm rounds.
  • Mash about 6 pieces until smooth.

  • Heat ghee in a thick bottomed pan, add mustard seeds. When they splutter, add the grated tomatoes and let it cook for some time.
  • Add all the masala powders, stir, add the beaten curd. Mix well.
  • Add the gatta pieces, mashed gattas, stir and add the water in which gattas were cooked, add salt.
  • Let it simmer for ten minutes on low flame.
  • Garnish with coriander leaves before serving.

Churma

  • Break the baatis into pieces and let them cool.

  • Add the cooled baati pieces to the powdered sugar in the grinder, along with cardamom powder
  • Take it out on a plate, add the melted ghee and mix well
  • You can add mava (khoya) also and mix, if you want to make it more rich.

Dal baati gatta sabzi, churma

Looks like too many things to make? It just needs a little bit of planning, and you can have the entire meal ready within an hour and a half.

Let’s go through the steps. Knead the flour for baati with all the ingredients, place them in the oven and set a timer for 30 minutes. This is important because we are going to be busy with other things and it is easy to forget to turn the battis upside down for further fifteen minutes of baking.

Put  all the ingredients for the dal in the pressure cooker and pressure cook it for eight minutes

Keep the water for boiling gattas on the stove and mix the besan with other ingredients and by this time, the water is boiling. Reduce the flame and slide the besan ropes into the boiling water.

Meanwhile the dal is cooked for eight minutes in the pressure cooker. Remove from the flame and let it cool. Chop the ginger, garlic and put the red chilli powder in water.

Grate the tomatoes. Beat the curds for gatta sabzi.

The besan ropes have developed the crust by now (takes about eight minutes). Drain them from water and cut them into slices.

The timer will go off now. Open the oven and turn all the baatis upside down and keep the timer for fifteen minutes now.

Go ahead and finish making the gatta sabzi.

Open the pressure cooker and season the dal.

The baatis are ready now, so are the dal and gatta sabzi. Set the table with all the things, and before you sit down to eat, break the two flat baatis into pieces and keep on a plate to cool down. After you finish your dal baati gatta sabzi, go ahead and make the churma and enjoy the sweet dish now!