piplipak- khatta made out of indian long pepper

Pipli(Indian long pepper) is known for its numerous medicinal values, in curing fever, cold, nausea......
the list is perhaps endless.

In rajasthan, it is consumed very often or almost everyday in different forms of khatta. In a marwadi home You will always find atleast 3 to 4 varieties of khatta ready to serve in a dryfruit box or airtight containers any time of the day. It is a practice to eat in small quantities after meals. Now a days these are so popular that you can even find them at the entrance of most of the shopping malls.
Many ladies make khatta at home out of preserved lemon peels or  dates, but pipli is the most important ingredient in all of them. It tastes like pepper but is much more pungent & leaves a tingling feeling on your tongue.
I had some leftover rasgulla syrup with me so I thought of utilizing that to make piplipak. This was my first trial, I was scared that it might turn out hard, but it came out perfect and disappeared in a single day.

1 cup rasgulla syrup or  sugar syrup(1/2 cup sugar+1/4 cup water boil until sugar dissolves)
1/2 tsp pipli powder
1/2 tsp rock salt
1/4 tsp black pepper powder
1/4 tsp clove powder
1/4 tsp cardamom powder

Boil the syrup stirring in one direction continuously until its frothy & almost ready to set. You can check its consistency by taking a drop between two fingers, press & release a few times if you see atleast two prominent threads in between your fingers its ready. Add all the dry ingredients and switch of the flame.
At this point you can check the taste & can add more salt or pepper as per your choice. Continue stirring until it starts hardening. (stirring will make the piplipak softer to melt in mouth)
Immediately pour it into a greased metal plate. when it slightly hardens cut into squares or diamonds(just the knife marks) & release the pieces only after it hardens.
Store in an airtight container.

Beetroot Cutlets

I saw this recipe on a food channel & wanted to try it immediately as beet is one of the most common vegetables disliked by children and another reason is a rare combination of addition of amla(goose berries) to it .It is fried yet a healthier option for a snack as we all know the benefits of both beetroot & amla. Here I've changed the proportions of ingredients as I too don't prefer beetroot taste much so I have used potato & beetroot equally.

makes :6 cutlets
1 small beetroot boiled, grated
1 small potato boiled or baked in microwave, mashed
1 green chilli(finely chopped), optional
2 amla grated
1/2 onion finely chopped
1/2 tsp rock salt
salt as per taste(if required)
1/2tsp red chilli powder
1 tbsp corn flour
bread crumbs for coating
oil for shallow frying

Combine all the ingredients and shape them into cutlets. If the mixture is too moist then add extra bread crumbs.
Coat cutlets with bread crumbs & shallow fry on both sides until golden brown.

gharkirasoi tip: instead of grating & chopping the ingredient put them all together in an electrical chopper.

Serve immediately with green chutney.

My entry for
Foodabulous Fest Event organized by Simply Tadka