Khaman Dhokla - Steamed and Savory chickpea flour cake

This is a delicacy of Gujarat. Khaman Dhokla is a snack which could  very well make an awesome breakfast or have it with your evening tea. If you have guests coming over and want to make something which is quick, easy and delicious- think no further , this is the snack you should make. I made this for breakfast today and my kids and hubby loved it. Not to mention I was the most happiest as I  was craving for these for quite some time and today  was able to make them. Now, if you want a piece of this soft, spongy and delicious Khaman Dhokla, what are you waiting for..go ahead make them as soon as you can and enjoy. 

Ingredients:
For the Batter:

• 1 cup besan/chickpea flour/gram flour
• 1 tsp ginger - green chilli paste
• 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp Eno fruit salt
• 1/2 cup yogurt
• 1/2 cup water
• salt to taste
• 2 tbsp oil

For the tempering:

•  1 tbsp oil
• 1 tsp black mustard seeds
• 1 tsp sesame seeds
• 4-5 curry leaves
• 3-4 green chillies slit lengthwise.

Preparation:

• In a bowl mix together chickpea flour, yogurt, water, turmeric, salt, ginger-green chilli paste and oil. Mix it well and make sure there are no lumps. (At this point you are adding all the above Batter ingredients except ENO. - this will be added just before you are ready to steam your Khaman Dhokla.)
• Heat some water in a pressure cooker or steamer. Grease a deep plate/thali/container which should be able to fit into the pressure cooker/steamer with the lid being covered.  Keep it aside.
• Now to the above Khaman Dhokla batter,  add the most important ingredient- Eno fruit salt. Mix it well. Eno salt acts as a fermenting(Khaman) agent and instantly ferments the batter. Immediately pour the batter onto the greased  thali. Cover and steam cook for  12 -14 minutes. (If you are using a pressure cooker close the lid without the whistle ). Check if done by inserting a tooth pick or knife in the center of the dhokla. If it comes out clean , then its done. Take it off the heat and let it cool.
• In the meanwhile heat oil in a small  pan/kadhai. Add the mustard seeds. When they crackle add the sesame seeds. Add the curry leaves and the slit green chillies. Fry it for about half a minute. Take it off the heat and pour it over the Khaman Dhokla.  Garnish with freshly chopped cilantro. Now cut the Dhokla into squares or diamonds. Serve it with green cilantro chutney, tamarind and date chutney or ketchup.   

Black-eyed Peas with freshly ground spices

It is said that eating black-eyed peas on New Year's Day brings prosperity in the new year. Some believe it brings you good luck. I did make it couple days later. Hoping it still brings me and all my readers some prosperity and good luck. 

Ingredients:

• 2 cups dried Black-eyed peas /Lobiya/Chowli
• 1 cup tomato puree
• 1 tsp turmeric powder
• salt to taste
• oil

For the freshly ground Spice blend

• 1 tblsp coriander seeds
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 6 black peppercorns
• 4 whole dried red chillies
• 1/2" cinnamon stick
• 3 cloves 

Dry roast all the above whole dry spices in a pan.Cool and grind in a food processor until well blended. I like my texture to be a bit coarse. Keep this spice blend aside.

Preparation:

• Soak the dried black-eyed peas in about 5-6 cups water and keep it over night. If you are pressed for time as I was , I did the quick soak method. I heated 6 cups water in a pan and when it came to a rolling boil, got it off the flame and added the washed dried black eyed peas. Cover and keep this aside for about 30-40 minutes. In the time its soaking I had enough time to make my tomato puree and my spice blend.Now in a pressure cooker add the soaked black-eyed peas with the water. Add salt to taste and turmeric powder. Add 2 cups more water so that the black-eyed peas do not get burnt. Cook for 5-6 whistles or until the Black-eyed peas are tender. Take it off the heat and keep it aside. 

• Heat oil in a thick bottomed pan or Kadai. Add the tomato puree and let it cook on medium flame for about 3-4 minutes. Stir from time to time. Soon the oil will separate which indicates the puree is cooked. Add your freshly ground spices. Mix it well. Add the cooked Black-eyed peas along with the cooking liquid into the pan. Mix it well. Adjust the salt. (If you are planning to serve this with rice, I do add about 1-2 cups water at this point and then bring it to a boil.) Cover and cook on low heat for about 7-8 minutes. 
•  Black-eyed peas with freshly ground spices is ready to be served. Garnish with fresh chopped cilantro. Serve it with cumin rice or plain rice. Goes well with hot phulkas/roti/chapati (Indian flat bread) as well. This recipes serves 6-8. If you happen to have leftovers , it tastes just as good. Especially on a cold wintry day, just enjoy a warm bowl of this Spicy black-eyed peas with some chopped red onions, chopped tomatoes, cilantro, and some freshly squeezed lemon juice. 

Badam aur Gajar ki Kheer - Almond & Carrot Kheer

Wishing you all a very Happy New Year.  

 

What better way to begin the new year other than with this lip-smacking and  delicious dessert !!!   Badam kheer or almond kheer is best enjoyed during winter in India. The consistency is not as thick as Rice Kheer or Semiya Kheer (Seviyan).  You could also call it Badam Milk - Almond and Cardamom infused Milk. Traditionally they use Saffron. It gives it a beautiful color and makes it more exotic. Since I did not have saffron,  I have used  grated carrot for that beautiful color and perhaps making it healthier in the process. 

Ingredients:

• 3 cups milk
• 1/4 cup almonds(Badam)
• 1/4 cup grated carrot
• 1/2 cup sugar
• handful broken cashews
• 1/4 tsp cardamom powder
• 1 tbsp Ghee/unsalted butter

 Preparation :

• Soak the almonds in boiling hot water for about 10-15 minutes and peel them. (Be very careful here as to not burn yourself with the hot water).
• Next grind the grated carrot and peeled almonds to a paste. Use 1/4 cup milk as well. This makes the grinding much easier. 
• In a thick bottomed pan /Kadai  melt the ghee and fry the cashews. Next add the almond/carrot paste. Fry on low-medium heat for about a minute. Now add the remaining milk. Bring it to a boil on medium flame. Add sugar and cardamom powder. Let it simmer on low heat for about 6-8 minutes.  
• Badam aur Gajar Ki Kheer is ready to be served. This could be served warm or chilled. It just tastes divine either way. 

Broccoli and Cheese Soup

I know I say this too often now, that this again is another of my quick and easy recipe. What can I do I just fall in love with recipes which could be made in a jiffy and still taste delicious. I have used Ragu cheesy double cheddar sauce in this recipe. You could use Cheddar cheese or Velvetta cheese if you do not have this. Enjoy this soup. 

Ingredients :

• 3 cups Broccoli florets (steamed or blanched) *
• 1/2 cup Ragu Cheesy double Cheddar sauce
• 1 small red onion finely chopped
• 2-3 cloves of garlic minced
• 2 1/2 cups vegetable broth
• 1/4 cup All purpose flour
• 2 cups low fat milk
• 2-3 tbsp butter
• black pepper
• salt

* If you want to save some more time, just cook/steam the broccoli in microwave for 3-4 minutes. I just wash the broccoli and cook/steam it covered. No need to add any water as when you wash the broccoli it will retain some water. 

Preparation :

• In a saucepan melt butter on medium heat. Add onion and garlic and saute till you no longer get the raw smell.
•  Add  flour and mix it really well and cook it for about couple minutes ( Keep stirring continuously or else the flour will stick to the bottom of the pan and will burn easily.) The flour will get a beautiful golden color
•  Add milk and mix it well making sure no lumps are formed. Next add the vegetable broth and bring it to a boil. Add your broccoli and season with salt and pepper. Cover and let it cook for about 4-5 minutes.     
• Finally add the Ragu cheesy double Cheddar Sauce. Mix it well. Let it simmer for about 2-3 minutes. Your Broccoli and Cheese soup is ready to be served. This recipe serves 4.    

Diwali Sweets- Ladoos

Happy festivities !!! If you are looking for a recipe for Ladoos, look no further. Have five different kinds of ladoos to choose from. If you are like me and still looking around for last minute ideas for Diwali sweets, these recipes could come handy. Hoping all of you have a joyous Diwali.  Shubh Deepawali  

Besan Rava Ladoos- Ladoos made of Chickpea flour and Semolina

Besan Ladoos- Chickpea flour ladoos

Rava ladoos - Semolina/Sooji Ladoos

Poha Ladoos- Aval/Flattened Rice Flakes Ladoos

Dalia Dal Ladoos- Roasted Gram/Maladdu

Dalia Dal Ladoos / Maladdu

Wishing you all a Very Happy, Prosperous and Safe Diwali.

It's that time of the year already. Time does have the tendency to go unbelievably fast. This used to be and still is my favorite festival of all. Diwali is a time when I'm so thankful for the gift of family here and back home. Growing up in India I remember making preparations for Diwali a month in advance. People cleaning their houses and maybe getting them painted. Everybody looked forward to wearing their festive best clothes on Diwali day. Lots and lots of delicious sweets and savory snacks. Of course as kids we had fireworks  Kids and  adults would get together in the evening and light all the fireworks. It would be a beautiful display and the sky would be all lit up magnificently. It is the festival of lights so its an usual sight to see the houses have diyas lit up. Some have the diyas adorning the entrance to the house or apartments. Not to forget the beautiful Rangolis welcoming you to their house. Its a five day festival. People exchange sweets and visit family and friends. Have lots of happy and sweet memories. How my heart yearns to just magically be transferred to my beautiful and vibrant India(Mumbai) and be with my extended family this Holiday season. 

Ingredients:

• 2 cups Dalia dal - Roasted Gram
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 cup warm ghee
• 1/4 cup cashews fried in 1 tbsp ghee

Preparation: 

• Dry roast Dalia dal on medium heat for about 3-4 minutes. Grind and keep it aside. Grind the sugar so as to make it a super fine consistency. 
• Now add the ground dalia dal  , sugar, fried cashews and the warm ghee.
• Mix it well and make ladoos immediately. This makes 21 ladoos.  

Kakdi ki Subzi - Tangy and Spicy Cucumber

I always associated Cucumbers with Salads and Raitas(Dip). I would never have thought about cooking with  cucumbers/kakdi. This is my sister's recipe. Once on a phone call with my sister I happened to mention to her I have no vegetables in the house and it was almost time to make lunch. I said my fridge just has some cucumbers, tomatoes and jalapenos. She said make Kakdi (Cucumber) ki subzi. That was the first time I heard of such kind of subzi. I made it and it was super delicious and super easy to make. I've been making this subzi since then and its become a regular at out house now. It  goes well with hot phulkas (Indian bread). 

Ingredients : 

• 2-3 medium sized Cucumbers (Kakdi) peeled and chopped
• 1 large tomato chopped
• *2 jalapenos chopped
• 2-3 curry leaves
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• 1/2 tsp red chili powder
• 1 tbsp cumin-coriander powder
• salt to taste
• oil

* You can reduce the heat of this dish by just using 1 jalapeno. If you do not have jalapenos use 2-3 green chillies instead.

Preparation:

• Heat oil in a pan. Add cumin seeds. When they crackle add curry leaves followed by tomatoes and chopped jalapenos.Let it cook on medium heat for about 2 minutes.
• Now add the dry spices- turmeric powder , red chili powder, cumin-coriander powder and salt. Give  it a good stir. Add the chopped cucumber and mix it well. Cook covered on medium-low heat for about 7-8 minutes. Just keep stirring from time to time and sprinkle a little water if required. 
• When cooked take it off the heat and garnish with freshly chopped Cilantro. Serve this tangy and spicy Kakdi (Cucumber) Ki Subzi with hot phulkas.