- 4 medium carrots/gajar, rinsed, peeled and grated
- ¾ or 1 tsp mustard seeds/rai
- 1 tsp sesame seeds/til (optional)
- 2 to 3 tsp oil
- 1 green chili, chopped
- a generous pinch of turmeric powder/haldi
- a pinch of asafoetida/hing
- few drops of lemon juice or as required
- salt as required
- heat oil. splutter the mustard.
- add the sesame seeds and fry for some seconds.
- add the chopped green chili and fry for few seconds.
- spinkle the turmeric powder & asafoetida and stir.
- now add the grated carrots. season with salt.
- stir and saute for 3-4 minutes on a low flame.
- the carrots should have crunch and crispiness in them and not be cooked completely.
- 20 medium sized colocasia leaves
- ½ inch ginger + 1-2 green chilies - made into a paste in mortar-pestle
- 1 tsp coriander powder
- ½ tsp red chilli powder
- ½ tsp turmeric powder
- 1 tsp cumin powder
- 1.5 tbsp seedless tamarind soaked in ¼ cup water
- 2 and ½ cups besan or gram flour
- 3 to 4 tbsp powdered jaggery or as required
- ½ to 1 tsp oil (optional)
- salt as required
- water as required
- 2 to 3 tsp sesame seeds
- 1 tsp mustard seeds
- ¼ tsp asafoetida powder
- 1 sprig curry leaves
- ¼ cup grated fresh coconut
- 2 tbsp chopped coriander leaves
- soak the tamarind in ¼ cup water for 30 mins.
- rinse the taro leaves well and wipe them dry.
- prepare them as shown in the pics above like removing the central vein and stalks etc.
- now squeeze the tamarind directly into the water and extract the pulp.
- take all the ingriedients for the batter in a mixing bowl.
- add the tamarind pulp and mix well to make a thick batter.
- add some water if required.
- check the taste and add more salt or powdered jaggery if required.
- the batter has to be really thick.
- for the first roll use 10 leaves and for the second roll use remaining 10 leaves.
- now spread the batter on each leaf and arrange them as shown in the above pics.
- roll the edges vertically and spread some batter on them.
- now roll horizontally and tightly.
- keep on applying the batter on each fold as you roll.
- place the rolls on a greased steamer pan.
- steam the rolls for 20-25 minutes.
- when warm or cool, slice them or temper them.
- or you can deep fry them and serve with green chutney.
- for tempering heat oil in a pan.
- pop the mustard seeds first.
- then add the sesame seeds, curry leaves and asafoetida.
- saute for a few seconds.
- then add the sliced rolls and saute till they get browned.
- you can also just pour the tempering mixture on the sliced rolls.
- sprinkle grated coconut and coriander leaves on the alu vadi or patra and serve hot or warm
- 1 cup regular rice or idli rava (i used basmati rice)
- ¼ cup urad dal/spilt and husked black gram
- ½ cup thick sour yogurt or khatta dahi
- ½ inch ginger/adrak, chopped
- 1 green chili/hari mirch, chopped
- 2 to 3 tbsp water for grinding
- ½ tsp oil to be added later to the batter
- 1 tsp eno fruit salt or ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ to 1 tsp oil for greasing the pan
- rock salt as required
- black pepper powder as required,
- red chilli powder as required
- roasted sesame seeds as required
- rinse the rice and urad dal a couple of times in water.
- soak them together or separately in enough water for 3-4 hours.
- drain them well and then in a wet grinder, add the drained rice and urad dal.
- add chopped ginger and green chili also.
- grind the rice and urad dal adding 2 to 3 tbsp water at intervals.
- the batter should be thick like the idli batter.
- when you feel the batter, a little grainy texture of the ground rice is preferable.
- pour the batter in a deep bowl or pan.
- add the sour yogurt and salt.
- stir well and keep the batter in a warm place to ferment overnight or for 7-8 hours.
- before preparing the dhoklas, grease the pan in which you will be making the dhokla with oil.
- add water in your steamer or pan or pressure cooker and let the water come to a boil.
- first add oil in the batter and stir well.
- then add the fruit salt or baking soda to the batter.
- be quick enough to stir well, so that the fruit salt or baking soda is distributed uniformly in the batter.
- pour on a greased pan. sprinkle with black pepper powder, red chili powder and roasted sesame seeds.
- place the pan with the dhokla batter in the steamer or pot or pressure cooker.
- cover and steam for 20-25 minutes or more till a tooth pick inserted in the khatta dhokla comes out clean.
- if using a pressure cooker, remove the vent weight (whistle) and cover the lid tightly and steam for the same amount of time.
- when done, remove and let the khatta dhoklas become warm.
- slice and serve the khatta dhokla or white dhokla with coriander chutney.
- ¾ cup arhar dal/tuvar dal/pigeon pea lentils
- 1 green chili + ¾ inch ginger, crushed in a mortar pestle to a paste or about 1 tsp ginger green chili paste
- 2 tbsp peanuts/moongphali
- ½ tsp turmeric powder/haldi powder
- 2.5 cups water for pressure cooking
- 1.5 to 2 cups water to be added later
- 2 tbsp organic jaggery powder or grated jaggery
- 3 to 4 dried kokums * check notes
- salt as required
- 1.5 tbsp ghee
- ½ tsp mustard seeds/rai
- ½ tsp cumin seeds/sabut jeera
- ¼ tsp fenugreek seeds/sabut methi
- 2 to 3 small dry red chilies or 1 regular to large dry red chili, halved and deseeded
- 6-7 curry leaves/kadi patta
- a generous pinch of asafoetida/hing
- 3 to 4 cloves/lavang
- 1 inch cinnamon/dal chini
- first pick the dal for stones etc. then rinse the lentils thoroughly in running water for 4-5 times.
- add the dal in a pressure cooker along with 2.5 cups water, turmeric, ginger-green chili paste and peanuts.
- pressure cook for 7 to 8 minutes on a medium flame till the dal has turned mushy and cooked very well.
- mash the dal with a wooden spoon. then add 1.5 to 2 cups water to the dal.
- add the jaggery powder, kokums and salt and simmer the dal for 7 to 8 minutes on a low to medium flame.
- for the tempering, heat the ghee in a small pan. crackle the mustard seeds first.
- then add the cumin and fenugreek seeds and fry till they are browned... just a few seconds.
- then add the curry leaves, red chilies, cloves, cinnamon and asafoetida.
- stir and fry for some seconds. pour this tempering on the simmering dal and continue to simmer for 5 to 6 minutes more.
- you can garnish the dal with coriander leaves if you prefer.
- serve the gujarati khatti meethi dal with steamed rice or jeera rice.
- 1 kilo/kg raw unripe green mangoes/keri/kairi/kachcha aam
- ¾ cup whole fenugreek seeds/methi ka dana or 1 cup split fenugreek seeds/methi kuria, about 125 grams
- ½ cup split mustard seeds/rai kuria, 50 to 60 gms
- ½ cup red chilli powder/lal mirch powder, 50 gms (i used kashmiri red chili powder)
- 2 tbsp turmeric powder/haldi, 25 gms
- ½ tbsp asafoetida/hing, 5 gms
- ½ cup heaped rock salt, 140 gms
- 3 to 3.5 cups sesame oil or mustard oil, 750 to 875 ml, add more if required
- take the fenugreek seeds in a grinder jar.
- pulse and grind, till the seeds split and you get a coarse mixture. don’t make a powder. ¾ cup of whole fenugreek seeds, will roughly yield 1 cup split fenugreek seeds.
- if you can get ready split fenugreek seeds from the market, then skip this first step.
- rinse the mangoes and then dry them with a clean kitchen towel. there should be no trace of moisture on the mangoes. chop the mangoes into bite sized pieces or cubes. chopping is a bit tough, so use a good knife and be careful of your hands. you can also ask the vegetable vendor to chop the mangoes for you.
- take all the chopped mangoes in a mixing bowl or pan.
- add the coarsely ground fenugreek seeds and split mustard seeds.
- add turmeric powder, red chili powder, asafoetida and rock salt.
- mix very well with a clean spoon.
- now add this pickle mixture in a sterilized glass jar. you can also use a bharni.
- pour sesame oil. there is no need to heat the sesame oil.
- if using mustard oil, then heat the mustard oil, till it reaches its smoking point. switch off the flame and cool the mustard oil completely. add the cooled mustard oil to the pickle mixture
- the oil has to float at least 2 inches above the top.
- close the jars tightly and keep them on your kitchen counter for 10 to 12 days, till the mangoes soften a bit and become tender. stir the jar after every 2 to 3 days with a clean sterilized spoon.
- once the mango pickle is ready, you can serve them. whenever the amount of oil becomes less on top, add some more oil.
- 1 cup besan/gram flour, 100 gms
- ¾ cup sour curd/yogurt, about 150 gms + 2.25 cups water
- OR 3 cups sour buttermilk/chaas
- 1 tsp ginger/adrak + green chili paste, about ½ inch ginger & 1 green chili crushed in a mortar-pestle
- ¼ tsp turmeric powder/haldi
- ⅔ tsp salt or add as required
- a pinch of asafoetida/hing
- 2 tbsp fresh grated coconut
- 2 tbsp chopped coriander leaves/dhania patta
- 1 tbsp oil
- 8 to 10 curry leaves/kadi patta
- 1 tsp mustard seeds/rai
- 2 tsp white sesame seeds/safed til
- 1 green chili/hari mirch, chopped or ½ tsp red chilli powder
- take the yogurt in a bowl. add water and stir well till smooth.
- add ginger-green chili paste, turmeric powder, asafoetida and salt.
- if using fresh yogurt, then to add the sourness, add about ½ tsp of lemon juice.
- add the gram flour/besan. with a wired whisk, keep on stirring and mixing till all the lumps are dissolved and you get a smooth batter. there should be no lumps in the batter. you can also use a hand held beater to mix the batter.
- spread oil on plates or boards or tray. large steel lids or thalis work very well. you can also use the back of a large baking tray or your kitchen counter top.
- also mix the chopped coriander leaves and grated coconut. keep aside.
- pour the batter in a sauce pan or a broad frying pan. switch on the stove top and keep the flame to the lowest. begin to stir.
- keep on stirring when the khandvi batter is getting heated up. lumps begin to form and you have to continuously stir so that the lumps don't form.
- the batter would thicken and keep on thickening. keep on stirring. best to use a wooden spatula or a heat proof silicon spatula.
- the batter also should not be allowed to stick at the bottom. so you have to stir continuously.
- do a plate test when the batter has thickened well.
- spread a few teaspoons of the batter on a greased plate. let it cool a bit and then begin to roll. if you are unable to roll, then the batter needs to be cooked more.
- the final consistency of the khandvi batter is shown in pic 17 above. it took me 17 minutes to get the correct consistency on a low flame. the timing will vary depending on the intensity of the flame, the thickness/thinness of the pan and the size of the pan. just do the plate test and when you can form the rolls, then the khandvi batter is ready. if the batter becomes too thick, then it becomes difficult to spread and you don't get thin layers in the rolls. in this case, still spread the batter. you will get thick slices, but still they taste good.
- quickly pour about ½ to ⅔ cup of batter on a large plate and spread thinly & evenly with a spatula. you have to be quick with the remaining batter too. since even a bit of cooling and the batter becomes likes blob, difficult to spread.
- allow to cool and then sprinkle the coconut + coriander leaves mixture sparingly. you can also skip this stuffing part and directly garnish with the coconut and coriander once you temper the khandvi rolls.
- cut into equal sized strips.
- gently roll each strip tightly. then place them in a serving tray or plate.if the tray or plate is large, then you will get large rolls. in this case after you finish rolling half, just cut horizontally and make a second roll.
- arrange the khandvi rolls next to each other or stack them up neatly in a plate or tray.
- heat oil and crackle the mustard seeds.
- then add curry leaves, green chilies and fry for a few seconds.
- add the sesame seeds and when they change color & crackle, pour the hot tempering mixture along with the oil on the khandvi rolls evenly.
- you can garnish khandvi with some more coconut and coriander leaves, if you prefer. serve khandvi with coriander chutney or coriander mint chutney.
- 4 medium potatoes - 350 gms, about 2.25 cups of cubed potatoes
- 1 tsp ginger+green chili paste, ½ inch ginger and 2 green chilies, crushed to a paste in a mortar-pestle
- 1 tsp mustard seeds/rai
- 1 tsp cumin seeds/jeera
- 5 to 6 small to medium sized curry leaves/kadi patta
- ¼ tsp turmeric powder/haldi
- ¼ tsp kashmiri red chilli powder
- ½ tsp coriander powder/dhania powder
- ½ tsp cumin powder/jeera
- or 1 tsp coriander-cumin powder
- a pinch of asafoetida/hing
- ½ tsp lime juice or as required, optional
- 1.5 tbsp oil
- ½ to 1 tsp sugar or as required optional
- salt as required
- rinse & peel the potatoes. the potatoes have to be chopped into small cubes. the smaller the size, the faster they cook.
- heat oil and crackle the mustard seeds first in a shallow frying pan.
- add cumin seeds and saute till they crackle.
- add ginger and green chilli paste and curry leaves.
- saute till raw aroma of ginger goes away. saute on a low flame so that the ginger and green chilli paste does not burn.
- add potatoes and stir. then add turmeric powder, red chili powder, coriander powder and cumin powder.
- stir well and add salt.
- cover and cook the potatoes on a low flame till they are tender and crisp. stir the potatoes whilst they are cooking, so that they don't get burnt. since no water is added while cooking the potatoes, you have to stir them quite a number of times. after stirring, cover with lid and then again continue to cook.
- the cooking process takes about 20 to 25 mins on a low flame.
- the potatoes have a crisp texture as they get roasted & browned while cooking.
- lastly garnish with coriander leaves and serve batata nu shaak hot with rotis or parathas or even with bread. you can also drizzle some lemon juice on top while serving.
- ¾ to 1 cup grated lauki/dudhi/opo squash
- 1.5 cups whole wheat flour/atta
- 3 tbsp gram flour/besan
- 2 tbsp curd/dahi/yogurt, add 1 or 2 tbsp more if required while kneading
- 1 green chili + ½ inch ginger, crushed to a paste in mortar pestle or 1 tsp ginger-green chili paste
- ½ tsp coriander powder/dhania powder
- ½ tsp cumin powder/jeera
- ½ tsp red chili powder/lal mirch powder
- ¼ tsp turmeric powder/haldi
- 1 tbsp oil
- ¾ tsp salt or add as required
- oil for roasting, as required
- first rinse, peel and then grate the lauki in a bowl or parat/large plate. grate about ¾ to 1 cup lauki
- add the spices - 1 tsp ginger-green chili paste, ½ tsp coriander powder, ½ tsp cumin powder, ½ tsp red chili powder, ¼ tsp turmeric powder and ¾ tsp salt.
- mix the spices & salt very well with the grated lauki and keep covered aside for 5 minutes. the lauki will release its juices.
- then add 1.5 cups whole wheat flour and 3 tbsp besan or gram flour. if you don't have gram flour, then skip. just make the theplas with whole wheat flour. mix well.
- add 2 tbsp yogurt and 1 tbsp oil.
- mix and then begin to knead into a dough.
- make a smooth soft dough.
- make medium sized balls from the dough.
- on a dusted rolling board, take each ball and begin to roll it.
- sprinkle some more whole wheat flour, if required while rolling.
- roll to a round of about 5 to 6 inches in diameter.
- place the rolled thepla on a hot tawa or griddle.
- when you see bubbles on the thepla, flip it.
- spread some oil on the thepla all over.
- flip again.
- spread some oil on this side now. if making for tiffin or picnic lunches, then add some more oil, so that the theplas stay soft.
- flip once or twice till the lauki theplas are well cooked. make all theplas this way.
- serve the lauki thepla hot, warm or at room temperature with mango pickle or curd/yogurt.
- 4.5 cups fresh full fat dahi (curd made from 1 litre milk), about 1.125 kg or 1.125 litres
- 8 to 9 tbsp sugar or powdered sugar, add as per taste
- ½ tsp cardamom powder or 4 to 5 green cardamoms crushed finely in a mortar-pestle
- 2 pinch saffron strands
- ½ tbsp warm milk
- 7 to 8 crushed or chopped pistachios for garnish, you can use any dry fruit of your choice
- first line the strainer on a deep bowl. then line a muslin cheesecloth or kitchen cotton towel on the strainer.
- pour the fresh curd. i added 4.5 cups of curd (made from 1 litre of full fat milk, about 1.125 kgs). do use fresh curd and not sour one.
- bring the four edges of the muslin together and tie one edge tightly around the rest.
- gently press and you will see the whey dripping.
- now place a heavy bowl or lid or tray on the tied muslin. if you have a hook, you can also hung the muslin in your refrigerator. now keep the whole thing in the fridge for 4 to 5 hours or overnight. i kept for 24 hours. do use a deep bowl below, so that there is some distance between the curd in the strainer and the collected whey. otherwise the whey will touch the strainer as well as the curd. thus there will be some whey in the curd.
- next day the whey will be drained and the hung curd will be ready. use the collected nutrient rich greenish whey in your everyday food like preparing chapatis, gravies, rice dishes, dals etc.
- with a silicon spatula, collect the hung curd in a container or lidded bowl if not using it. cover with its lid and then refrigerate. with the hung curd you can now proceed to make the shrikhand.
- take ½ tbsp warm milk in a small bowl. add 2 pinch of saffron strands. stir and keep aside.
- in a mortar powder 4 to 5 green cardamoms. keep aside.
- take the chakka or hung curd in a bowl.
- add fine sugar. lightly stir with a spatula or spoon. you can also use powdered sugar.
- then add the saffron dissolved milk and powdered saffron.
- using an electric beater, begin to whip the hung curd. you can also beat the hung yogurt in a blender.
- whip till smooth. the sugar should also dissolve. check the taste and add more sugar if required.
- with a silicon spatula scrape the beaters' sides and edges of the hung curd and add to the bowl.
- you can chill the shrikhand in fridge and later serve. while serving top with some sliced dry fruits. you can also top shrikhand with crushed dry fruits. i added some crushed pistachios for garnish.
