Khamman Dhokla

A Light and healthy snack . A very popular Guajrati  dish I learnt years back from Tarla Dalal,s TV show. 

makes 16 pieces

for the batter:

1 cup besan(gram flour)

1 1/2 tbsp suji(semolina)

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp citric acid

3 tsp sugar

1 1/2 tsp fruit salt(regular eno)

1 tsp ginger-green chili paste(optional)

for the tempering:

1 tbsp oil

1 tsp mustard seeds

a pinch hing(asfoetida)

3 green chilies cut lenghtwise into two

1/4 tsp citric acid or 1 tsp lime juice

1/4 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp sugar

3/4 cup water

for garnishing :(optional)

chopped corriander leaves and grated coconut 

1. Mix in all the ingredients of the batter with 1 cup water (reserve nearly 2 tbsp water from it) .

2. Keep the steamer on gas and grease a metal thali( plate with atleast 1 inch high corners) which can fit in the steamer.

3. Add the fruit salt (one and half sachet of eno) and cover with the reserved 2 tbsp water and mix in one direction. pour in the greased thali. Fill only half leaving space for it to rise.

4. Keep the thali in the steamer and steam for 10 to 12 min. make sure the water from the steamer does not get into the batter. Avoid opening the steamer in between . Knife inserted comes out clean when cooked.

5. cool and cut into squares.

To steam, idli cooker or a kadai with proper lid can also be used. When using kadai the steaming time may differ, usually it takes 15-20 min depending on the size.

Microwave:

To cook in a microwave pour the batter in an greased microwave safe flat dish with lid and microwave on high for 2 to 3 min.

Heat oil for the tempering and add mustard seeds. once they crackle add hing and green chilies.  Cover it immediately and switch off the gas to avoid chili seeds spluttering up. Add 3/4 cup water and switch on the gas again. Add salt and sugar and bring it to a boil. Switch off the gas and add citric acid or lemon juice. Check the taste for a combination of spiciness sweetness and sourness and adjust accordingly.

Pour the tempering just before serving. The dhoklas absorb the liquid which keeps them moist and soft.

Serve with green chutney.

Bajri Dalia- Pearl Millet Porridge

A desi alternative for ready-made cereals/cornflakes.
It can also be served during illness as it is rich in fiber and easy to digest.

The flour for Bajri daliya can be prepared at home. Grind the Bajri/pearl millet in a mixie, don't make it too fine, the texture should be somewhat like semolina. Pass through a sieve just to make sure no whole grains are left. Store in refrigerator.

serves: 2
ingredients:
3 tbsp bajri daliya flour
1/2 tsp salt
a pinch turmeric powder
300 ml water
To serve:
milk/yogurt/ghee

Boil water and slowly add bajri daliya flour stirring continuously so that no lumps are formed.
Add salt and turmeric powder. Bring it to a boil and simmer for 10 min. stirring frequently so that it doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan or overflow.

Serve hot with milk or ghee and at room temperature when serving with yogurt.

Related recipes:
Dova ki Rabdi
Bajra Roti-flat bread from millet flour


Sending this recipe to Kid’s delight – Cooking with whole grains happening at My Cooking Journey and to Srivalli’s page.

Lauki Muthias- Steamed Bottle gourd Dumplings

Food processors have made life easy. Grating , chopping all time consuming jobs can be done in no time especially during early morning rush when you have to get your children ready for school, prepare their breakfast, lunchbox....
Lauki Muthia makes a healthy breakfast and also can be packed in your child's lunch box.
It was a time consuming dish earlier but now thanks to the chopper instead of grating the bottle gourd and chopping or grinding other vegetables I just put them all together in a chopper to do the job for me.

For the muthias:
1 medium sized bottle gourd
1 onion
2 green chilies
1" piece ginger
1 cup whole wheat flour/aata
1/2 cup beasn/gram flour
1/2 cup semolina/suji
3 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp turmric powder
1/2 tsp sodium bi carbonate
juice of 1 lemon
salt to taste

for the tempering
1 tbsp oil
1 tsp mustard
1 tsp white seasame seeds/til

corriander leaves for garnishing
green chutney to serve

for the muthias:
you can either grate the bottle gourd, chop the onion, chilli and ginger finely
or
put all these things together in an electrical chopper and chop.
Usually the liquid from the grated vegetable is sqeezed out while making muthias but I don't want to squeeze out the vitamins so I skip this part.
Add all the other ingredients and mix.
If the mixture is too moist and diificult to handle then you can add some more wheat flour to it.
Just before steaming its better to check the taste for seasonings as per your appetite.
Now shape like small muthiias using your fist, but gently and either steam in a steamer for 10 min. or microwave on high for 2 min. with a standing time of 1 min.
you can check if the muthias are cooked by inserting a toothpick in the centre if it comes out clean it means the muthias are cooked else cook for some more time.

for the tempering:
Heat oil and add mustard seeds and allow to crackle, now add seasame seeds and switch off the gas.
Apply this on each muthia and serve garnished with corriander leaves and green chutney.

Cabbage Parathas

Its impractical to measure the quantity of water to be used while kneading the dough, to measure the salt etc. Likewise for each and every thing we don't use measured quantities of ingredients.  With our experience and practice we know how much of a particular ingredient is to be used in a particular dish . Cabbage Paratha is also one such recipe where I haven't measured anything but just followed my instincts.

I put nearly half of a cabbage along with some green chili, ginger, corriander leaves in an electrical chopper.
Now to this veggie mixture I add salt, turmeric powder, cumin seeds and 2tsp of oil.
Add some whole wheat flour slowly(as much as the veggies could handle) to it and knead into a semi-soft dough. I didn't add any water while kneading as the moisture in the veggies was enough to knead the dough.
Now pinch out  small portion of the dough and roll using some flour into a paratha. Put this on a hot griddle or tava , when the lower side is slightly cooked flip and apply 1tsp of oil, flip again and cook pressing lightly until small brown spots appear on the paratha. once again flip and cook on the other side likewise.
Repeat with the remaining dough and make more parathas.

Serve with any dip or pickle.

Capsicum Toast

This recipe is probabaly one among my first experiments during my good old school days. I learnt about it from a friend of mine and wanted to try it. Though the recipe is very very simple, myself being a complete stranger in kitchen ended up with lumpy dough like uncooked white sauce. Well good old memories.

makes: 4 sandwiches
1 capsicum, any color (or a mix of green, yellow, bell pepper), diced
1 medium onion, diced
1 tomato sliced into rounds
2 tsp plain flour
1 cup milk
3 tbsp butter or olive oil (I prefer butter)
salt & pepper to taste
For Indian spicy taste you can also add 1 chopped green chilli

8 White or brown bread(for health counscious people) slices

1. Heat half of the butter, add diced capsicums & onion & saute them for 2 to three minutes so that they are slightly cooked but still crispy.Remove.
2. Heat remaining butter & saute the plain flour . You can see it foaming when done. It will again take 2 to 3 min.
3. Add milk little by little stirring continuously prefarably with a whisk, so that no lumps are formed. Cook until thick (spreadable on bread). Add seasoning & sauted vegetables. Mix well.
4. spread some of the white sauce mixture on a bread slice, place tomato slice on top & cover with other bread. If you want you can brush the outer parts of the bread with butter for a buttery toast. Repeat foe remaining breads.
5. Grill in a sandwich maker until brown. Serve warm with ketchup or any sauce of your choice.

Spinach-Besan Paratha

Whole wheat parathas stuffed with spicy spinach & gram flour stuffing.

When talking about north Indian breakfast & especially in Rajasthan no breakfast is complete without parathas. Paratha is a must in any type of breakfast whether a simple daily breakfast made at home or a special table laid for the guests.

There may be hundreds of varieties in parathas.
Different people make spinach paratha in different ways. Some of them knead spinach & spices together with the dough, which is another easy way avoiding all the stuffing mess. When it comes to masala paratha for real spice lovers I prefer this method.

makes: 10 parathas

for the dough

1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 tsp salt

1 tbsp oil

for stuffing

1 big bundle spinach

1/2 cup besan, gram flour

4 green chillies, finely chopped

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp chilli powder

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

salt to taste

1 tbsp oil

10tsp oil to fry parathas

for dough:

Mix together all the ingredients of the dough & knead using water. Don't knead the dough too soft as will not hold the stuffing properly.

for stuffing:1. Remove stems & wash spinach leaves. Drain thoroughly or towel dry the leaves as spinach leaves out its own juices while cooking.

2.Heat a pan & Roast the gram flour while stirrring until it leaves a nice aroma.

3. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan, add cumin seeds. Add green chillies, chilli powder, turmeric & spinach. Cook on high until almost all the water has evaporated .Add salt & the gram flour which we already roasted to avoid raw flavour & mix well. Take care to add salt, the mixture should be slightly more salty as the dough will obsorb the extra salt when stuffed.

process:

 

1. Divide the dough & stuffing into 10 equal balls . Make a depression in the dough ball & stuff each with spinach stuffing & roll in a round shape.

2. Put the rolled paratha on a hot griddle & cook on both sides using 1 tsp oil (Add oil only after cooking lightly on both sides, Then cook both sides again by putting little pressure with the spatula or paratha press.)

3. Repeat for remaining dough.

serve hot with raita, pickles or just plain curds.

Vegetable Poha-Power-packed nutritious breakfast

Poha or Chiwda or Beaten Rice or rice flakes is very rich in Iron content. It is said that 100gms of poha provides the iron required by an adult/day.
I like to eat poha even just with yougurt & sugar. It also makes an instant & healthy break-fast for me except for the addition of sugar .
Vegetable poha is also one of my favourites. It a complete meal in itself with cereal & vegetables.. During lazy hours usually this one is on my top-list even for lunch or dinner.

 Serves: 4

2 cups poha or rice flakes

1 potato, chopped finely

1 onion, chopped finely
1 carrot, chopped finely
2 to 3 green chillies, finely chopped
1 broken red chilli
1 inch piece ginger, grated
1 tomato, chopped (optional)
juice of half lemon
few corriander leaves, chopped
1 tsp mustard seeds
few curry leaves
1/2 tsp turmeric powder

2 tsp oil

salt to taste

Bhujiya sev for topping(optional)

1. Wash rice flakes 2 to 3 times under running water. squeeze excess water & keep aside.

2. heat oil, add mustard seeds & allow to crackle. Add curry leaves & red chilli.

3. Add all the vegetables except tomato & corriander leaves. Cover & cook on low heat for 10 min. or until the vegetables are tender (but still crunchy). (here you can also use chinese syle of stir frying on high flame).

4. When the vegetables are cooked add turmeric powder, salt, tomato & poha. Mix well. cook for 2 to 3 min.

5. Switch of gas & add lime juice & corriander leaves. Mix well.

6. Serve warm garnished with bhujiya sev. Health councius can omit bhujiya topping.

vegetable Rosti

This is another interesting & easy to make snack which I learnt from a Korean friend. I am not sure whether it could rightly be called as Rosti or pancakes. Correct me if I am wrong, but its easy & nutritious and my family especially my child loved it.
I was served the rostis with soya-vinegar sauce , I'll post you soon the recipe for it.
I modified the recipe slightly by adding green chillies to give it a spicy Indian taste.


In this recipe you can use any combination of vegetables like potatoes, carrots, cabbage, spring onion, spinach, etc. and cheese too. In short make them with whatever veggies you have in your refridgirator.



makes: 18

What I used:
2 cups grated mixed vegetables( I used 2 potato, 1 carrot, 1 radish & few spring onions)

2 green chillies finely chopped

1/2 cup plain flour
oil to shallow fry.
salt to taste




How I made:
Mix in all the ingredients. Heat a heavy bottomed non-stick pan & grease it . Put small ball sized portions of the mixture & flatten them with the back of a spoon .If you find it difficult to do it in the pan you can prepare flat disks in between your palms & then put it in the pan. Flip them to cook on both sides using very little oil.

Serve hot with soya-vinegar sauce.

My entry for
Sunday Snacks - Chaats/Indian Street Food hosted by Pallavi