Drumstick leaves Dal

drumstick leaves dal and square roti

Drumstick leaves are packed with vitamins and minerals especially vitamin A and C.Nutritional analysis show that the leaves are very high in protein and contain all of essential amino acids,including 2 amino acids that are especially important in children's diet. When my 11 year old son heard me telling all the benefits of it and he at once went and got me one huge branch of this tree and asked me to prepare some dal and from that day onwards he daily asks me to prepare something out of it.My mom too loves this leaves a lot so whenever i go to my native i do take some leaves and some flowers of drumsticks which is as tasty as leaves for my mom.

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 20 mins

Total time: 30 mins

Ingredients

• 1cup Chanadal/Bengal gram dal
• 2cups Drumstick leaves
• 7-8 Garlic cloves (crushed)
• 1/2tsp Turmeric powder
• 2 Green chillies
• 2-3 tsp Sambar Powder/Garam masala powder
• 1 tsp Mustard seeds
• 1/2tsp Cumin seeds
• 8-10 Curry leaves
• 2-3 tsp Oil/ghee
• Salt to taste
• 1 (marble sized) Tamarind ball

drumstick  leaves dal

Cooking Directions

1. Soak chana dal/Bengal gram dal for an hour in 1 litre of water.
2. Heat oil or ghee in a pressure cooker.
3. Add mustard and cumin let it splutter then add curry leaves followed by crushed garlic, green chillies,saute for a second.
4. Add roughly chopped drumstick leaves and turmeric powder, again saute for a minute or until you get the nice aroma of drumstick leaves.
5. Now Add sambar or garam masala Powder ( i have used sambar powder) and mix it well.
6. Soak Tamarind in hot water and squeeze out all the pulp
7. Now add chanadal along with the water,tamarind pulp and salt to taste.Now cover it with cooker lid and take 3 whistle .Let it cool before opening the lid
8. Spicy dal is ready to serve. Pour some ghee to enhance the taste.
9. serve hot with rice or roti

Easy way to make rose water

Rose water or Gulab jal is quite popular in india.The benefits of rose water can be enjoyed by simply making it at home.There are many ways of making rose water.Today i am here with an easy and simple method of making rose water at home.rose water has several benefits.You can use this in any face mask for that cooling effect and also helps to reduce wrinkles and moisturises your skin.It can be used on any skin type without causing much irritation. You can include this rose water in your daily diet too.All you have to do is just add some rosewater to your milk along with some gulkand to get that rich rose flavoured drink or you can use it in some other Indian desserts like gulab jamoon and pedas.You can even add this to your cakes,puddings and biscuits. Rose water is a well-known for its natural healing properties as a good anti-septic, anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory product and can be used in treating wounds. For sunburns, rose water can be gently rubbed over the affected area or when taking a bath, add a few drops and relax while the magic takes effect

Prep time: 10 mins
Cook time: 10 mins
Total time: 1 hour
Yield: 4 cups

Ingredients

• 2cups Rose petals
• 4 cups Distilled Water
• 1 glass jar (sterilized )

Cooking Directions

1. Freshly pick some roses from your garden which is pesticide and chemical free.
2. Make sure you to pick just opened flowers during early morning hours before the sun gets hot on the plants.
3. When it comes to choosing roses Red or pink roses are most commonly used to make rose water but other colors are acceptable as well Truly, it is more important that the roses be organic than that they be any particular type or color.
4. Pluck the rose petals and make sure to choose only the good ones. Put the rose petals in the bowl and wash thoroughly .
5. Now take one sterilized glass jar and add all the petals .
6. Now boil distilled water and pour this over the rose petals and cover it with a lid until the liquid is cool.You see petals have lost their colour,the water the water has taken On the colour of the rose petals
7. Carefully strain the water using the kitchen strainer and let it cool. You then have the option of adding alcohol like vodka to preserve your rosewater or as it is just add 1 part of vodka to 8 parts of rosewater

Tri colour pinwheel sandwiches

Recipe by Preethi baliga

India is celebrating 65th independence day today so thought of making tri colour sandwich using 3 colours of our national flag ie saffron,white and green.

Prep time: 20 mins
Cook time: 0
Total time: 20Mins
Yield: 12
Ingredients

• 12 slices Sandwich bread
• 1/2 cup Green chutney
• 1/2 cup Tomato chilly sauce
• 2 Potato( boiled)
• 1 Cucumber( grated and squeezed)
• 1/2tsp Pepper powder
• Salt to taste
• 2tbsp butter

Cooking Directions

1. Grind 1/2 cup coriander leaves,1/2 cup mint leaves 1 lemon sizec ball of tamarind, 2green chillies and salt and sugar to taste.Grind all the ingredients to fine paste and your green chutney is filling is ready
2. Method of making potato filling 1st mash potatoes and mix it with grated cucumber.Now add some salt and pepper and mix it well.your second filling is ready now.
3. Now its time to make the sandwiches ,Cut crust off and then arrange 3 slices in a row at a time for each sandwich roll.
4. Put water on the edge of each slice and put another slice on it and roll with a help of rolling pin .Spread with butter
5. Now spread green chutney on 1st slice then potato filling on the 2nd slice and on the 3rd slice spread some tomato chilly sauce.
6. Now gently roll the bread slices and use and aluminium foil to roll your sandwiches.
7. Put in the freezer for 5 min or in the refrigerator for an hour .
8. Now take it out from the fridge and cut into 3-4 pieces and serve.

Cow's colostrum Kalakand...a famous Indian sweet

Recipe by Preethi baliga

Kalakand is a famous indian sweet of Uttar Pradesh and some parts of Rasjasthan prepared from milk and milk cheese/Paneer.But here i have used Cow's/bovine colostrum milk to prepare this dish as it is very healthy and good for growing kids.Colostrum is the early milk produced for a few days after delivery. In cows, it's called bovine colostrum. This milk is apparently rich in immunoglobulins which are certain types of protein involved in promoting the immune system and fighting germs. There are other types of compounds in it such as growth factors, nucleosides, etc., that are not found in regular milk.It really boost your immunity.

Prep time: 0
Cook time: 30 mins
Total time: 30 mins
Yield: 11/2cups
Ingredients

• 1cup 1st day cow colostrum milk
• 4 cups 2nd day cow colostrum milk
• 1cup sugar
• 1tsp cardamom powder
• 1tbsp Pistachios( chopped)
• 1/4tsp Kesar/saffron

Cooking Directions

1. Mix both 1st and 2nd days milk and pour this in a Sauce pan
2. Now start boiling the milk and keep on boiling till the water dries up completely.
3. when the mixture is almost dry add sugar and continue stirring for 10 mins or till its dry and leaves the side of the pan.
4. Add in Cardamom powder,crushed pistachios and saffron and mix it well.
5. Now transfer this mixture to a round plate and flatten it with a spoon and let it cool completely .
6. Cut into desired sized pieces and serve chilled

Kacchi dabeli masala

When i think about street food in india one things comes to my mind that is paani puri or gol gappas.But few years one of my neighbour intruduced me to  this "Kacchi dabeli" it was awesome.I really started liking this more than bhel puri which was once upon a time was my favourite .Dabeli is nothing but a stuffed pav/burger with potato,ground nut , pomegranate and lots of shev with sweet and sour chutney.
  Today i am posting only the masala powder which is used in dabeli.Actually i  have prepared  this masala specially for some of my friends  who keep asking me about this masala.So thinking of preparing this weekend.

Ingredients:

Coriander-1/2cup

Jeera-1/4 cup

Saunf/fennel -1tbsp

Mace/javethri-2 small pieces

Cloves-1tbsp

Cinnamon-6-7(1" pieces)

Red chillies(preferably kashmiri)-20

Method:

• Dry roast all the ingredients till all the masala's are roasted well.
• Let it cool for a while then ground to fine powder .
• Store this in an air tight container

You can use this masala for any other dishes instead of garam masala and chilly powder.

Tomato rice

This dish is very popular in south india prepared with ripened tomatoes.This rice goes well with plain yoghurt or yoghurt salad.

Ingredients: 
Precooked Rice-4 cups
Ripe tomatoes-3-4( chopped)
Sambar masala-1tbsp
Cardamom-1
Cinnamon-1" piece
Onion-2(sliced)
Cumin-1tsp
Garlic-2 crushed(optional

Method:

• Heat 1tbsp of ghee +1tbsp of oil,in that add cardamom,cinnamon and cumin and if you are using garlic add that also.
• Now add in sliced onion and saute until its turns to golden brown color.
• Add in tomatoes  along with sambar powder,salt and sugar( optional) and let the tomatoes cook until mushy.
• Now add precooked rice ( you can use left over rice too) and mix it well with the tomato masala.Cover it with a lid and cook on low flame for about 5-6 mins.
• Its ready to serve.

Serve hot with  thick plain yoghurt ...You can pack this in your kids lunch box  too.

Naral vadi with a twist /coco-beet burfi

We Hindu's celebrate many festival during month of Shravan.Today on the full moon day (purnima) Throughout  maharashtra  people celebrate this day as Naral purnima. naral means coconut which is offered to sea god.The festival also marks the beginning of the new fishing season.So many people prepare this  coconut wadi on this occasion.Apart from naral purnima we also celebrate Raksha bandan and Nulu hunnime/sutta punnav.So on this special occasion  thought of preparing this popular dish of maharashtra with little twist.In this burfi i have used beetroot to get that nice pink color.

Ingredients:
 Fresh grated coconut-2cups
Sugar-13/4cup
Beet root grated-1/4cup
Milk-1/4cup
Cardamom -4-5
Fresh cream-1/2cup
Cashewnuts -8-10(  lightly crushed)

 Method:

• Mix all the ingredients and make a coarse paste in a mixer.

Now transfer the ground paste to a kadai/pan and keep on stirring on medium flame so that it does not stick to the bottom of the pan .It will take about 15- 20 mins to become thick.

   

Let it cook until its starts leaving the sides of the pan.Now immediately   transfer this to a greased plate/thali.

Now with a help of a rolling pin roll into a 1" thick layer.Cut into desired shape pieces.Let it cool and its ready to serve.

Allam pachadi(ginger chutney) Andhra style

I have prepared this  ginger chutney with Pesarattu(green gram dosa)  a type of dosa which is very popular in Andhra pradesh .This ginger chutney has a perfect blend of flavours like sweet ,sour and hot ! typical Andhra style chutney goes well with south indian dosas,idlis or even with hot steaming rice.

Ginger-4 (1" pieces)

Tamarind-1 lemon sized ball

Jaggery -1/4cup

Kashmiri red chillies-7-8

Coriander seed- 3tsp

Fenugreek seed-1/2tsp

Urad dal-1tsp

Bengal gram dal-1/2tsp

Garlic-5cloves

Mustard seeds-1tsp

Curry leaves-2spring

Oil-2 tbsp

Method:

• Soak tamarind in 1/4 cup of hot water for15- 20 mins.
• Wash ginger and peel them and wipe it with a clean cloth.Let it dry completely.Then make into tiny pieces and fry with a tsp of oil for a minute on low flame.
• Remove fried ginger and add 1tbsp of oil in a  same pan.In that add urad dal,bengal gram dal,Coriander seeds,red chillies,cloves and fenugreek one by one.Saute till bengal gram turns to light brown.
• Now grind all the ingredients along with jaggery and salt to smooth paste.
• Take a small pan and add remaining oil for tempering .Heat oil ,in that add mustard and let it splutter,then add curry leaves and switch off the gas.Pour this over the ground paste,mix it well and its ready ...

Note: This chutney can be stored in a  sterilized jar for 1-2 weeks without refrigeration.

Mochar ghonto/banana flower dry dish..Popular begali dish

Bengalis love their food so much so that they just don't waste any part of the vegetable like us .We konkanis too prepare so many dishes from banana plant.I got one nice banana flower from our garden and wanted to try something other than konkani dish because i have tried two dishes before with this flower.So when i was searching some recipes relating to banana flower i got this beautiful dish which i really liked a lot.Though i have not followed the exact recipe because i always try to cook according to my hubby and kids taste in mind before trying something new dishes.So i always advice  never blindly follow any recipe unless you are 100% confident about the taste.You can do some changes here and there according to your taste.

  Ghanta means finely chopped veggies or minced veggies dry dish.You can prepare this with any of the veggies or with some mixed vegetables too.

Ingredients:
Banana flower-1
Potato-1
Cumin seeds-1/2tsp
Red chilly-2
Crushed ginger-1tsp
Turmeric powder-12/tsp
Cardamom-2
Cinnamon-1"piece
Clove-2
Coconut -1/4 cup(grated)
Salt and sugar to taste
Mustard oil-2tsp

Method

First remove outer dark coloured leaves ,at least 3-4 layers of leaves you have to remove to reach the heart of the flower.

Inside every layer you will get these tiny flowers which need to use that florets also so keep all the florets and  clean and finely chop them along with the main flower.Before handling the banana flower apply some coconut or mustard oil to your hands to protect your hands from that sticky juice.Once you are done with the chopping soak it in the water for a while.

• Powder cardamom,cinnamon and cloves to get fine garam masala powder and keep aside.
• Now heat oil in pan add cumin and Red chillies and saute for a second.
• Add crushed ginger followed by diced potato.Stir fry potatoes till it cooks to light brown.
• Now its time to add chopped banana flowers.Before using the flowers do not forget to squeeze all the water out.
• Saute for a minute then add turmeric ,sugar and salt and mix it well.
• Cover it with a lid for 5-7 mins or until the dish is almost dry over a low flame.
• Then add powdered spices and grated coconut,mix it well and switch off the gas.
• Serve hot with steaming hot rice and dal.

Kakarakaya vepudu(bittergourd stir fry masala)..An authentic Andhra dish

This dish is from Andhra where people love to eat rich and spicy food.Vepudu means fried.Mostly deep fried dishes are known as vepudu but in this dish i have just shallow fried my bitter gourd which makes this dish very healthy and tasty too.

Ingredients: 

 Bitter gourd-2

Onion-3

Green chillies-2

Garlic -6-7 cloves

Tamarind-1 lemon sized ball(make pulp by using 1/4cup of water)

Turmeric-1/2tsp

Lemon juice-1tsp

Cumin-1/2tsp

Black gram dal-1/2tsp

Mustard-1/2tsp

Curry leaves-1spring

Oil-2-3tsp

Ingredients for curry powder:

Ground nuts-2tbsp

Cumin-1tsp

Coriander seeds-2tsp

Bengal gram dal/chana dal-1tbsp

Red chilly-4-5

Method of preparing curry powder

• Heat 2tsp of oil in a pan and roast all the ingredients till its changes to light brown colour

.

• Now coarsely power all the roasted ingredients in a mixer grinder.Curry powder is ready .Now lets start our main dish.

• Thinly slice bitter gourd and marinate it with salt ,Turmeric and lemon juice for 30 minutes.Just before using squeeze the bitter gourd and discard the water .This reduces bitterness of the gourd .But personally i like the bitter taste so i never strain the water from gourds. 

• Heat oil in a pan in that add cumin,mustard,uraddal.when it changes colour add curry leaves,chopped green chillies,crushed garlic and onion chopped.Saute for sometime or until onion changes to light pink color.

                                     

• Now add sliced bittergourd and saute for 2min,cover and cook on a low flame till its done.In between  keep stirring and check for seasoning as we have used salt in the marination also.So its better to check salt after every step.you can add salt if necessary after adding curry powder.
• Once the gourd is cooked add the masala powder and  tamarind pulp,mix it well.Saute for 2-3 mins and switch off the gas.
• Serve hot with rice or roti

Note:Those who want have plain stir fried gourd then no need of curry powder just have it like that.

Patholi/patholeo/steamed sweet rice dumpling in turmeric leaf

Happy Nagpanchami to all my readers!!

   We celebrate Nagpanchami during the month of Shravan.It is a festival of snakes celebrated on the 5th day of shravan month one of the auspicious month for hindus.we celebrate so many festivals during this month like Nagapachami,rakhsha bandan,Narali purnima,sutta punnav / pavitraropana, gokulashtami / krishnashtami,Mosaru kudikey/dahi handi and so many other small puja's and rituals.

  We konkanis prepare lots of sweets and savouries by using seasonal veggies. Today i have prepared some steamed  sweet rice dumpling in turmeric leaf  .We call it patholi or kadubu(kannada) which is quite popular in south india and some parts of west bengal..In goa people call it patholeo.They use dark goan jaggery which tastes superb and gives rich brown colour. We prepare this specially for this day along with some other sweets too.But this  sweet dumpling is a must on this day.when i was a kid i just used to wait for this day to relish this divine dish!

Turmeric leaves are very aromatic and has got very unique flavour.This leaf is very useful in cooking as it is medicinally very good for health because of its antiseptic property.

Ingredients:

For the rice covering:

Raw rice-11/2cups

Beaten rice-1cup

Turmeric leaves-20 (medium size)

Salt -1tsp

For stuffing:

Coconut -2cups(grated)

Jaggery-1cup

Soak rice and beaten rice for 2 hours.Drain the water from rice and grind both the ingredients to smooth paste without adding too much of water.I have added only 11/2cup of water to the batter while grinding.If you feel the batter is little watery then add some rice flour to adjust the consistency.The batter should be thicker than Dosa/ pancake batter.

Now prepare the stuffing with grated coconut and jaggery.Heat  a pan /wok add jaggery and 1/2 cup of water and let it dissolve completely.Now add grated coconut  and mix it well.Cook till it becomes dry and all the moisture evaporates.If  you prepare the stuffing like this then you can keep the patholis for couple of days without refrigeration.One short cut  method is just add grated jaggery and mix it well with the coconut and your filling is ready.But i always prefer 1st method.

 

• Clean all the leaves in under running water,wipe them with kitchen towel and now its ready for stuffing.

 

• Now boil some water in the idli steamer

• Now arrange all the leaves in a row and start spreading the batter.
•  Spread a table spoon of batter in each leaves as shown in the picture.You have to spread the batter evenly for the better results.

• Now take some stuffing and nicely spread it in a single line.The stuffing should be in the centre.If you want more sweet then you can add little more stuffing.

• Proceed the same with all the leaves.Once done its ready for steaming.

• Now keep all the patholis in a steamer and close the lid.Let it steam for about 15mins or till done.
• Serve hot with ghee.

Note: Its better to trim the leaves on both the ends and if your leaves are too big then its better to make it half so you can arrange the patholis easily inside the steamer.One more important tip is always arrange the patholis in such a way the steam passes through each and every patholi while cooking.

Kanchipuram Idli

Kanchipuram is a famous temple city in Tamil nadu But whenever I think of Kanchipuram the first thing that comes to my mind is silk saries,beautiful hand loom saries and dress materials.It is also know as silk city. Today apart from its sarees this small town is famous of its cusine .One of the famous dish is special kanchipuram Idli.It is a colourful seasoned idli.The seasoning gives a nice flavour and aroma to this idli .

Ingredients:
Par boiled rice-1cup
Raw rice/dosa rice-1/2cup
Urad dal/Split black gram dal-1/2cup
Dried ginger/shunti/saunt powder-1tsp
                  or
Fresh ginger-1"piece
Yoghurt-1cup
Green chillies-2(finely chopped)
Turmeric-1/2tsp(optional)
Salt to taste

Ingredients for tempering:
Mustard seeds-1tsp
Chanadal-1tsp
Cumin-1/2tsp
Asafoetida-1pinch
Curry leaves- 2spring( chopped)
Black pepper corns( coarsely crushed)- 1/2tsp
Cashew nuts- 5-6(chopped)

Method:

• Soak Dal for about 6hours.
• Soak both the rice together for 6-7 hours.
• First grind urad dal to smooth paste  and keep aside.
• Now grind both the rice to semolina consistency
• Mix both the batter well.Add salt to taste and let the batter ferment over night.
• Next day add yoghurt,chopped green chillies,dry ginger powder or chopped ginger and mix it well.
• Now prepare for tempering.
• Heat a small pan ,add some oil or ghee.In that add Chanadal,Muatard seeds,cumin seeds,Black pepper corns,Cashewnuts,asafoetida  and Curry leaves one by one.
• Now add this to the batter and give a quick stir.Let the batter stand for 30 mins.
• After 30 mins heat water in idli steamer .In the meantime grease the idli moulds and then fill it with idli batter and steam on high heat for about 15 mins.
• Let it cool off a bit before taking it out from the mould.
• Serve hot with chutney and sambar 

Bikkanda song(spicy jackseed masala)..a seasonal konkani delicacy

I am here with one more dish which is our family favourite konkani seasonal dish with jackseed.We call it Bikkanda song... Song is a type of dish  in konkani ,which is a spicy dish.In this we use only chilly and tamarind along with coriander and methi for the masala.

Ingredients:
Jack seed-2cups
Onion-4(sliced)
Dry red chillies-8-9
Tamarind-1 big lemon sized ball
Coriander seeds-1tbsp
Methi/fenugreek-1/2tsp
Salt to taste
coconut oil or any veg oil-2tbsp

Method:

• Remove the outer layer of jackseed and then thinly slice all seeds.
• Now roast chillies with a tsp of coconut oil and keep aside.
• Same pan roast coriander when its turns to light brown add fenugreek and fry for a second and switch off the gas.
• Now grind roasted chillies,coriander and fenugreek along with tamarind to smooth paste.
• In a shallow frying pan add oil and fry onion till they turns to light pink color.
• Now add sliced jackseeds and salt to taste.Mix it well and add the ground masala and a cup of water.
• Cover it with a lid and cook on a low flame till jackseed becomes soft and tender.
• Now open the lid and cook until the dish is semi dry.
• Serve hot with rice and dal

Horse gram masala dosa

One more dosa for my dosa feast!! This dosa is bit different from our usual masala dosa because i have used horse gram in this which makes this dosa more healthy and tasty too.Normally we make thick pancake type dosas with this batter which we call kultha(horse gram)doddak but for the first time i tried this crispy dosa with potato masala like our usual masala dosa.

Ingredients:
Horse gram-1cup
Raw rice/dosa rice-3cups
Urad dal /split black gram-1/4
Salt to taste

Ingredients for potato baji(masala):
Boiled potato-5 medium
Onion-3 sliced
Green chilly-3-4 chopped
Curry leaves-2spring
Mustard-1/2tsp
Split Black gram /urad dal-1tsp
Chana dal/Bengal gram dal-1/2tsp
Turmeric-1/2tsp
Oil-1tbsp

Method of making baji(potato masala)

• Cut potatoes into cubes.
• Heat a kadai/pan add oil and let it heat for a second
• Add some urad dal,mustard ,chana dal let chanadal and uraddal change its color to golden brown.
• Now add curry leaves followed by slice onion and chopped green chillies.Saute for 5 mins.
• Add turmeric powder and mix it well.
• At this stage add 1cup of water and let it boil.Now add  boiled potato pieces and salt to taste.Cover it with a lid and cook on a low flame for couple of seconds.Now switch off the gas and its ready to go with your dosa or chapati.

Method of making dosa batter:

• Soak horse gram and urad dal together overnight or 7-8 hours
• Soak rice separately overnight or 3-4 hours
• Next day morning grind all the ingredients together to smooth thick paste.
• Add salt to taste and mix it well.

Method of making dosa

Now heat dosa pan and now pour a ladle full of batter onto the pan and lightly use the ladle to spread the batter into a circular shape from centre outwords.Drizzle with a oil and cook till golden brown

Now put some potato masala in the middle of the dosa.

Now fold the dosa from one side as shown in the above picture.

Now fold the other side too.

Now fold the 3nd side to form a prefect triangle and take it out and serve hot with sambar and chutney of your choice.