Murrawala

Amla and its benefits does not require any introduction. It is a very rich source of vitamin C, richer than a orange. This Indian gooseberry has infinite benefits and including it in our daily diet is must. 
At my home we have murrawala all the time and mom makes it sure that we have it. . .

Ingredients

1. 2 cup amla (grated)
2. 3 cup sugar

Method

1. Put the grated amla in a air-tight steel container and place it in a pressure cooker.Make sure the container is completely dry.
2. Let it have 3 whistles.
3. After that remove it out and transfer it to a kadhai when hot. Turn on the flame. Again the kadhai should be completely dry.
4. Immediately add the sugar to it. Sugar will melt.
5. Cook it well till the mixture doesn't come together as a lump. (Hint: It forms a 3-string syrup).When it does, put off the flame.
6. After it cools down fill it in an air-tight jar and keep it for about 8-10 days.
7. You can refrigerate it or keep it out at room temperature, but either of them - if you refrigerate once then keep it so always and If you keep it out then don't ever refrigerate.

This recipe is NOT for diabetic people (seeing the sugar amount). 
You can have it with your meals, or as chavanprash in the morning. :)

And I'll soon post amla pickel...

Onion Paratha

Onion paratha was my first experiment in the kitchen... 
Although that 1 1/2 hr experiment left my mom's kitchen in a mess, it was worth the effort...
It is made as any other stuff paratha.... with onion stuffing.

Ingredients

<Stuffing>

1. 2 onion (medium, finely chopped)
2. 2 tbsp coriander (finely chopped)
3. 2-3 drops of lemon juice
4. 1/4 cup groundnut (powdered)
5. 2 tsp red chili powder
6. salt to taste

<Dough>

1. 1 cup wheat flour
2. 1 tbsp oil 
3. pinch of salt
4. water to kneed the dough

Method

<The Dough>

1. Add salt and water to the wheat flour and mix well.
2. Now add water in little proportions and keep mixing it at the same time, so that only needed amount of water is added.
3. Kneed the dough until soft but stiff. Keep it aside.

<The Stuffing>

1. Take onions in a bowl.
2. Add salt, chili powder, coriander and lemon juice to it.
3. Mix it well and let it rest for about five minutes.
4. Now add the groundnut powder to the mixture so that the moisture gets soaked in. 

<The Parathas>

1. These parathas are made the same way we made the Green Pea Parathas earlier.
2. You can have these parathas with ketchup, pickle or imli chatni.

Specially for onion lovers!! :)

Ukad

"Shumu, aaj nashtyala kye karte??"

"Aaj nagpurcha nashta ahe...."

"Ukad-pendhi??!!!!"
the very above sentence caught my attention... 

I asked aai how could dad guess what u were making. She said that ever since she came to Mumbai after marriage, nagpurcha nashta IS 'ukad'!!
n 'pendhi' because once she added double the amount of water to it and it formed a lump (pendh).... so 'pendhi' - 'ukad-pendhi'!!

Ingredients

 

1. 1 cup jowar flour
2. 1/3 cup green peas
3. 1 medium onions (finely chopped)
4. 2 medium tomatoes(finely chopped) 
5. 1 string of curry leaves
6. 4 green chilies (strong, cut in halves)
7. 1 tbsp lemon juice
8. 1/4 cup coriander(finely chopped)
9. 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
10. 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
11. 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
12. 1/3 cup oil + 1 tbsp oil (vegetable oil)
13. 1/2 tbsp sugar
14. salt to taste

Method

1. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a vessel, preferably a khadai.
2. Roast jowar flour in it for about 5 min then take it out on a plate.
3. Heat rest of the oil in the same khadai. When it is heated, add the mustard and cumin seeds and let them go tad-tad tad-tad...
4. When the tad-tad stops, add the curry leaves and green chilies.
5. After they both are done, add the onions and cook till pink.
6. Once they turn pink, add green peas.
7. The peas will make a 'puhsss' kinda sound. When it stops your peas are done.
8. Add tomatoes.When tomatoes become soft, put turmeric.
9. After a few seconds, add 1 cup water. Bring it to a boil.
10. As the water boils we add salt, sugar and lemon juice to it.
11. Put the roasted jowar flour in the boiling water.
12. Keep stirring continuously on a medium flame.
13. When the water dries up, let it cook with lid closed for about 5 min.
14. It doesn't form a lump, rather it  forms upma kind of texture.
15. Turn off the flame. Sprinkle the coriander and mix well.
16. Serve hot.

The 'nagpurcha nashta' is ready.

This recipe is a must try. It just tastes awesome!!

Enjoy your breakfast !! :D

Masale bhat

Masale bhat is what we make at home when we run out of ideas for dinner. We generally refer it to as rice with masala rather than any type pulav... or biryani for that matter.

Ingredients

1. 2 cup basmati rice
2. 3 onions (medium, diced)
3. 2 potatoes (medium, diced)
4. Any other vegetable of your choice [tondli, french beans, carrot, green peas, cauliflower] (any 1, diced)
5. 10-12 garlic cloves(finely chopped)
6. 1/4 cup coriander(finely chopped)
7. 3 tsp kala masala
8. 1 tsp garam masala
9. 1/3 cup oil
10. salt to taste

<cooking time : 20-25 minutes>

Method

1. Wash the rice thoroughly. Give about 4 to 5 washes. Drain excess of water and keep aside, moist.
2. Heat oil in a vessel big enough to accommodate the cooked rice. 
3. When the oil is heated, add chopped garlic. Let it be for a minute.
4. Then add onions. Cook in oil until pink.
5. Add the potatoes and the vegetable of your choice.The idea behind only one vegetable is that the rice gets a mild flavor of that vegetable which we usually don't get in other types of rice.
6. Saute them well.
7. Now we add the spices, garam masala and kala masala to the oil itself and the rice also at the same time. Stir it well, keep stirring.
8. Kala masala - the key ingredient in this recipe - comes from vidharbha situated in the east of maharashtra. It is added in almost every recipe there.
9. After about 5 minutes, put 4-5 cups of water in it.
10. Now add salt and coriander, stir and let it cook well with lid closed.
11. Check occasionally to see whether the rice is coked. Let the water dry completely.
12. When the rice is done turn off the flame. Let it rest as it is for about 10 minutes, with lid closed. It assures that the rice is cooked well.

Your done!!

Enjoy your masale bhat with salad, papad and lemon pickle, even mix pickle will do.

:)

Kutlelya Tilachye Ladu

Makar Sankrant reminds me of the different colors, shapes and sizes of kites flying up high in sky and the sweet aroma of til-gud which is.. just everywhere...
But not everyone enjoy those hard-to-crack laddus. So for them we have some really soft and awesome til-gud laddus here...

Ingredients 

1. 3 cup white sesame(til)
2. 1/2 cup groundnut
3. 1/2 cup dried coconut(grated)
4. 1 cup jaggery (softened)
5. 5-6 pods of cardamom (choti elayachi)

Method

1. Sesame now a days can be used directly but I love the way my granny does it.
2. First we wash the sesame thoroughly, drain out the water, dry it in afternoon sun for 2 hrs then roast until all the moisture is gone...(just taste it now!!). 
3. You even can roast the sesame as it is without washing.
4. Grind the sesame to make a coarse powder. It's ready!
5. Now we roast groundnuts. While they are roasting we remove the cardamom from the pods.When groundnuts turn brown, take off the flame and let them cool down.
6. Grind them along with cardamom. Keep it granular.
7. Roast the grated coconut a bit, till it turns golden brown. This improves its flavor...
8. Add the groundnut and coconut to the sesame powder. Mix it.
9. Now add jaggery to it and mix it well.
10. Make laddus of approx. 3 cm diameter.

Your mouth watering til-gud laddus are ready!!

"Til-gud ghya ana good good bola !!!" :)

Multi-grain-pulse flour

As the name suggest it is a flour made up of many types of grains and pulses...

It is difficult sometimes for us to include them in our diet. This flour is a healthy way to do so and also brings a different flavor to your dishes.

We use this flour specially for making thalipeth - the Maharashtrian style paratha....

Ingredients 

1. 11/2 kg rice (washed and dried)
2. 1/2 kg jowar
3. 1/2 kg bajra
4. 100 gm chickpeas (dal)
5. 100 gm dried yellow peas
6. 100 gm black urad (whole)
7. 100 gm moong (whole)
8. 100 gm masoor (whole)

Method

1. Rice is sprayed with pesticides, hence we need to wash it first and then dry it in the afternoon sun for almost 2-3 hrs.
2. We have to roast the grains and pulses  one by one...take a heavy bottom vessel for roasting.
3. Let's start with rice. Roast it on a medium flame until the rice starts getting golden brown in color.
4. When the rice is done take it out in a wide container and let it cool.
5. Similarly, roast the jowar, bajra and other pulses, each separately.
6. After roasting, add them to the container having rice.
7. When they cool down, mix them well and grind the mixture in a flour mill.
8. Your multi-grain-pulse flour is ready!!

You  see ... a lot of nutrients !!

This flour can be used in making parathas, puris and more...

And thalipeths are just coming!!
Enjoy :)