Bajre Ki Roti - Indian Flatbread (Pearl Millet)

Bajra / Bajri also known as Pearl Millet is an ancient food grain. India is the largest producer of Pearl Millet according to Wiki. It has numerous health benefits and recently it has gained more popularity because of it being gluten-free. 

Bajre ki Roti is more popular in the state of Rajasthan in India.  Because of its easy accessibility  it is more of a farmers food. Its highly nutritious and filling , so its a great food of choice for the humble farmers who relish these with raw red onion and Lahsun ki chutney(Garlic and Red Chilli Chutney). These could be paired with any vegetable side dish of your choice. Many enjoy them with just ghee and jaggery. Its food that is so simple, humble and yet Divine. A taste of Vibrant and Beautiful Rajasthan with each and every bite of this precious Barje Ki Roti.  

 Ingredients: 

• 3 cups Bajra Flour /Pearl Millet Flour 
• warm water
• salt
• Ghee/Clarified butter

Preparation :

• Making the Dough : Add salt to the bajra flour. Now make a little well in the center and add warm water. Mix the flour and water and knead the flour adding water little by little at a time. The moment the dough somewhat comes to together, its done. Do not add any more water. Knead this for a minute.   Divide the dough into 8-9 balls  The texture of this dough is a bit crumbly. Do not panic its going to be alright. I've been there. I saw my mom make these with such ease but when I tried them for the very first time I was panic stricken and I just wanted to quit and never make them again. So it does require a bit of practice. But its still doable if you are attempting these for the very first time. Kneading this Bajra  flour dough is a bit different than our regular wheat flour dough. Since this is gluten free there's  no binding agent in this dough. To make it a bit easier many add some wheat flour to the above recipe. That not only makes it easy to knead the dough but makes it much easier to roll out the Rotis.       

• Rolling the Rotis:  I have used a 1 gallon Ziploc Bag to make the Rotis. Cut the Ziploc bag on the 3 sides so that it makes 2 sheets. Now making this Bajre ki Roti is easy peasy.   Just flatten a ball of dough between the palms of your hands. Place this between the 2 cut sheets of Ziploc. Using a rolling pin roll gently so that it is about 6 " disc. These Rotis /flatbread are a bit thick. Now carefully remove the top plastic sheet and gently turn the the Roti from the bottom sheet onto your palm. Heat a hot griddle /Tawa. Cook this bajre Ki Roti on medium flame. Once the underside is cooked, turn it over and cook the other side as well. Apply ghee liberally and serve with any vegetable side dish. We enjoyed our Bajre ki Roti with  Aloo Baingan Ki Subzi (Potato and Eggplant Subzi) and Achaar(pickle)    

Adai Dosa - Rice and Lentil Crêpes

Adai is a healthy protein packed option for breakfast , lunch , dinner or maybe snack. These Dosa/Crêpes are very versatile and can be served with Chutney, Sambhar, Jaggery and even Ketchup.

In fact if truth be known, I heard about the existence of Adai dosa after I was married and learnt how to make them from my MIL. Since its so nutritious and I have a picky eater in my 5 year old kid, this has become a regular now. Though I have to admit I still love my regular dosa (Rice/urad dal), but once in a while I enjoy these Adai as well. My Kids enjoy them with ketchup or Mulaga Podi(chutney powder). Me and my hubby love our chutney. My MIL enjoys her Adai with  jaggery which was a little surprising to me as well. Yes, I wasn't aware of this combination. But believe me it does taste divine, hot adai just off the griddle with jaggery. My FIL loves it with Mulaga Podi.  So there you go everyone is happy.

 If you have some leftover batter just refrigerate it and use it when required. The batter is good for up to 5 days.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Rice *
• 1/4 cup Urad dal/Split Black gram
• 1/4 cup Tuvar/toor/split pigeon peas
• 1/4 cup Chana dal/Bengal gram dal
• 1/4 cup Whole green moong/moong bean
• 1/4 tsp Asafoetida(Hing)
• 2-3 whole red chilies
• 1 green chilli
• 1" ginger
• salt
• oil

* I have used Sona masoori rice in this recipe. Sometimes I use Pooni rice too.

Preparation:

• Wash and Soak the rice and lentils/dal in about 4-5 cups water for 4 hours. Soak the red chilies with it too. Drain the water and grind the rice/lentils coarsely along with the red chilies, green chilli and ginger.  Just add enough water for grinding. The consistency of the batter should be like pancake batter. Now add salt and asafoetida. Mix it well. 
• Heat a Dosa Tawa or griddle. Keep it on medium heat. Now take a ladleful of the batter and pour  onto the Tawa/griddle. Now using your ladle spread the batter in a circular motion. You can  make the crêpes as thick or thin as you desire. I like mine to be  medium thick. Traditionally they are a little on the  thicker side. Apply some oil around the Adai. When its cooked turn it and let it cook on the other side as well. Continue making the Adai in the same manner. 
• Your Adai is ready to be served. This recipe yields 16-18 medium size Adai Dosa. 

Shalgam Aur Mutter Ki Subzi - Turnip And Peas Subzi

This reminds me of my childhood when mom made this subzi. I couldn't resist buying it on my  visit to the  local produce market. When I saw these fresh turnips I had to buy them. Many a times I'm guilty of impulse buying. But I'm glad I bought these and made Shalgam Aur Mutter Ki Subzi for my family. This gave me an opportunity to share a few memories from my childhood with my kids. Also I made this Subzi in my cast iron skillet and the taste was  phenomenal.

Ingredients:

• 4 medium Turnips(Shalgam) washed , peeled and cubed
• 1 cup frozen peas 
• 2-3 green chillies slit lengthwise
• 1 large tomato chopped
• 1" ginger grated
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp red chili powder  
• 1 tbsp Coriander-cumin powder
• salt to taste
• oil

For the garnish

• freshly chopped Cilantro
• 1 tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice 

Preparation : Heat oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds, when they splutter add ginger ,chopped tomatoes and slit chillies. Fry for about 2 minutes. Then add the dry spices (turmeric, red chilli, coriander-cumin powder, salt). Give it a good stir. Add the cubed turnips. Mix it well. Add about 1/4 cup water and let it cook covered on medium heat till its almost cooked (8-10 minutes).Do check it from time to time and stir it as well. Add the frozen peas and mix it well.  Cook covered till the turnips are fully cooked.(About 4-5 minutes). Take it off the heat and add lime juice. Mix it well. Garnish with freshly chopped Cilantro. Serve with Phulkas ,Roti  or Parathas.  Could be served as a side dish along with dal and rice as well. This recipe serves 4-6. 

Eggless Chocolate Avocado Cake - Vegan Chocolate Avocado Cake

Though I have a few chocolate cake recipes on my blog, I always get requests for recipes of Eggless Cakes. So I'm always on the lookout for new recipes. This recipe which I tried from Joy the baker is a keeper . I loved the cake and the fact that it uses Avocado and unless someone told you wouldn't even know it has avocado. It just so happened that I had a couple Avocados, and I was looking for a cake recipe and this is what I found. This is a great cake for Valentine's Day ! I would even fill and frost it with chocolate ganache. I'm still not too sure about the Avocado butter cream yet. Maybe someday , I might give it a try. Until then enjoy this almost guilt free treat. 

 Ingredients:

• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 6 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/4 tsp salt *
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 2 cups sugar
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup mashed avocado( about 1 medium Avocado)
• 2 cups water
• 2 tbsp white vinegar
• 2 tsp Vanilla Extract

* The recipe calls for 1/2 tsp salt, I cut it by half.   She has used Avocado Butter cream frosting and I have frosted my cake with chocolate butter cream frosting. These are the only changes I have made. 

Preparation: 

• Preheat Oven to 350 degree F . Grease and flour  two  8"or 9"  round pans.
• In a big bowl Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cocoa together and keep it aside. 
• In a another bowl add oil, water, the mashed avocado,vinegar and Vanilla extract. Mix it well. Add sugar and whisk it well.
• Now add the wet mix to the dry and whisk it until smooth. 
• Pour  the batter into the greased cake pans. Bake for 30-40 minutes until the tooth pick inserted comes out clean. 
• Allow the cakes to cool for about 15 minutes. Then invert them onto cooling racks to cool completely. 
• This cake can be enjoyed as is or you could frost and fill it with the icing of your choice. I have used Chocolate butter cream. Joy the Baker has frosted her cake with Alton Brown's Avocado Butter cream frosting.  

Cinnamon - Ginger and Chocolate Chip Pull-Apart Bread

It was such a beautiful experience to be able to bake this Pull-Apart Bread. This is my entry for January's  "We Knead To Bake" bread event. I was inspired by the enthusiastic, creative and passionate bread bakers of  "We knead to Bake". I'm so proud to be part of this group.    

Now what is  "We knead to Bake" you might ask.  Aparna Balasubramanian who is the author of  the blog - "My Diverse Kitchen" came up with this brilliant idea of getting like minded food bloggers together who needed some kind of motivation to be able to bake bread on a regular basis. So this group was created to share our experiences and  enjoy this process of bread making.  She gave this group a beautiful and fitting name " We Knead to Bake ". 

We are required  to bake one bread a month and this month's theme is "Pull-Apart Loaf".  You can find more details here. She gave us the recipe and we could use any filling of our choice. I have used Cinnamon, Ginger and chocolate Chip filling. I made this bread keeping in mind what my kids would like as its no point baking something and everybody at home cannot enjoy it.  Also I was sure if  I just add chocolate chips to this recipe its guaranteed to be an instant hit with the kids. They were as excited as I was and they couldn't wait to pull this bread apart. LOL ! Thankfully I baked two loaves, as I had a smaller loaf pan. I was extremely pleased by the outcome. I was very nervous to begin with but now I'm hoping to bake more of this delightful pull-apart bread.  Next time though  I want to bake a savory bread for myself and hubby. For the kids I'll bake a sweet version again.   

         

Ingredients:

For the Dough

• 1/2 cup warm milk
• 1 tsp sugar
• 2 tsp active dry yeast
• 2 3/4 to 3 cups All purpose flour
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 1/2 tbsp butter soft at room temperature
• 3/4 cup milk (+ 2 tbsp to brush over the bread)

 For the Filling

• 1 tsp Cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup Chocolate chips
• 3 tbsp melted butter 

Preparation:

• In a bowl dissolve 1 tsp sugar and 2 tsp yeast in 1/2 cup of warm milk. Keep it aside for 5 minutes or until the yeast mixture bubbles up. 
• I used a food processor to knead the dough but you could knead it by hand as well. In the food processor bowl , take 2 3/4 cups flour , sugar , butter and pulse a few times to mix. Add the yeast mixture and 3/4 cup milk and knead  till you get a soft , smooth and pliable dough. If the dough is sticky sprinkle little flour at a time  until you get a non-sticky dough. (I did add a little  dough as my dough got a little sticky).  
• Shape the dough into a ball and place it in a well oiled bowl, turning the dough  so that it is coated with the oil as well.  Cover and keep it aside to rise for 1 to   1 1/2 hours till it is almost double in volume. 
• Lightly dust the work surface with flour. Now deflate the dough and shape it into a square. Next roll it to a 12" X 12" Square. Brush the square with melted butter. Next sprinkle the mixture of brown sugar ,cinnamon and ginger. Now sprinkle your chocolate chips. Use your rolling pin to lightly press your topping onto the dough. 
• Use a pizza cutter and slice the dough from top to bottom into 6 even strips.(Don't panic, they do not have to be perfect). Now stack each strip on top of the other one by one with the topping facing upwards. You could use the 1st and the last strip and  stack them in the middle so that it looks neater and almost perfect.  
• Using a sharp knife cut straight down through the stack into 6 equal stacks.  
• Grease and lightly flour a  9" X 5" loaf pan or in my case I have used two 7" x 3" loaf pans. Layer the square slices cut sides down into the loaf pan(s). Cover the loaf pan (along with the slices) with a towel and keep it aside to rise for 1 hour.
• Lightly brush the top of the loaf with some milk. Bake at 350 F (180 C) for about 30-40 minutes until the  top is golden brown.

Rava Idli- Steamed and Savory Semolina Cake

This recipe is another favorite of mine as it can be prepared in a jiffy. This is a quick and easy recipe to make Idlis. This requires no soaking,no grinding and no fermenting .No making any preparations ahead of time. This is an excellent goto recipe if you are out of ideas and need something which could be prepared in minutes and everybody would love it at the same time. This could be made for breakfast, lunch , dinner, brunch or just  for snack. Idlis are very versatile in this regard. Just serve them with chutney or ketchup and you are good to go. This can also be packed for school lunches as well or take it to work. They travel so well and if you have leftovers which I doubt  just steam  them in a microwave for 25-30 secs and they are good as freshly made.

In my house my younger one who is five has a  newly acquired love for Idlis and Mulaga Podi (chutney powder). He is  my picky eater. So I keep coming with creative ways for him to enjoy his meals. In these Idlis you could add grated carrots and other veggies as well. Add them towards the end, just before you add the Eno fruit salt. And, yes I love Eno fruit salt. It makes fermenting so easy- Just a matter of seconds and makes our life so easy. 

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Rava/ Sooji / Semolina
• 1/2 cup yogurt
• 1/2 + 1/4  cup water *
• 10-12  cashews
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 1/2 tsp white urad dal
• 2 green chillies chopped
• 2-3 curry leaves
• pinch of hing (asafoetida)
• salt to taste
• 2 tbsp oil
• freshly chopped cilantro
• 1 tsp Eno fruit salt

* First add 1/2 cup water and if the consistency is too thick, add a little bit of water at a time (not more than 1/4 cup though). For my recipe, I used the entire 1/2 cup water  + 1/4 cup water =3/4 cup water. Its always easy to add water but once its added cannot be removed.)

 Preparation

• Heat oil in a skillet /Kadhai. Add mustard seeds, when they splutter, add urad dal,  followed by curry leaves and cashews. Next add the green chillies. Fry for about 30 seconds. Add Hing and immediately add Rava/Sooji and roast on medium to low flame for about 2 minutes. Transfer it to a bowl and allow it to cool.
• In the meanwhile get the Idli maker /steamer ready. Add water in the steamer and allow it to boil.  Make sure you add just enough water  and not too much so that it  does not touch the bottom most plate/tray of the Idli maker. Grease the Idli plates/trays.
• Add yogurt and water to the roasted and seasoned Sooji. Whisk it well. Make sure there are no lumps.  Add freshly chopped Cilantro leaves and salt to taste.
• Now the Eno fruit salt is added just before you are ready to make the Idlis. Add it to the Idli batter. Mix it well.  Spoon the batter into the rounded moulds of the Idli plates. This recipe yields 12-16 Idlis depending on the size of the Idli plates/trays. Carefully place the Idli stand into the Idli Maker/ Steamer/. Cover and let it steam cook for about 10 minutes.
• Insert  a knife/tooth pick into the center of the Idli and check if Idlis are done. If the knife /tooth pick comes out clean , they are ready. Take it off the heat. Let it cool. Using a spoon, scoop off the Idli's from the Idli trays and serve. These could be served with your choice of chutney, sambhar or Mulaga Podi (Chutney powder).

 

Broccoli Ke Pakode - Broccoli Fritters

On a dull, gloomy and rainy day what's the first thing which comes to your mind,especially if you are a foodie like me - Garma garam pakode(piping hot fritters) with a cup of hot and steaming adrak wali chai (ginger tea). Made these Broccoli fritters and cardamom and ginger tea to make this dull day into somewhat of a happy day.

Ingredients :

• 1 1/2 cups Besan/chickpea flour/gram flour 
• 2  1/2 cups broccoli florets (about 20 florets)
• 1/4 tsp turmeric powder 
• 1 tsp red chilli powder 
• 1/2 tsp amchur powder (dry mango powder) 
• 1 tsp cumin-coriander powder 
• 1/2 tsp baking soda (optional) 
• salt to taste 
• 1/2 to about 3/4 cup water 
• Oil for frying 

Preparation:

• Heat oil in a frying pan/ kadai . Make sure there's enough oil to deep fry these pakoras/pakode/fritters. 
• In a bowl mix all the above ingredients except broccoli and Oil. Mix it well making sure there are no lumps. Start by adding only 1/2 cup water. You are looking for a thick consistency so that the batter gets evenly coated onto the broccoli florets. Now add the broccoli. Mix it well. Adjust the salt. (If you think the batter its too thick feel free to add just a little water maybe 1 tbsp at a time is a good idea).  
• To check for oil to be at the right frying temperature .For this take a small piece of bread or maybe a drop of this batter and carefully drop into the oil. If it touches the surface and rises up very quickly, the oil is too hot. Reduce the heat and wait for the oil to get to a lower temperature(heat). If the bread/batter is still at the surface and takes too much time to float then the oil is not hot enough.Increase the heat and do the temperature check again ( I know it sounds a bit primitive , but believe me it works.) Ideally I would say if the bread crumb touches the surface and comes up in about 20-30 seconds, its at the right temperature. 
• Now very carefully drop a spoonful of this fritter batter into the oil, one a at time. Do not over crowd, Add about 4-5 fritters/pakode at a time. Fry till they are a beautiful golden brown color. Use a slotted spoon to remove them and place it on a plate covered with about 2 layers of paper towels to absorb all the excess oil. Repeat this process until done.
• Serve these piping hot Broccoli ke Pakode /Broccoli fritters with mint and Cilantro chutney or ketchup. It goes well with steaming hot cup of ginger and cardamom tea. This recipe serves 4(or not ) and you get about 20 medium size fritters.