One Stinking Flower: Cauliflower/Gobi Paratha

I was a typical headstrong, independent, strongly opinionated teenager who never hesitated to say “NO” for food cooked using particular vegetable or greens. With 90%+ vegetables and greens which belonged to my black list, it was not an easy task for my Amma to cook something which every family member loved. For me Green Leafy Vegetables were simply horrible to look at let alone taste it. Root Vegetables were loaded with little too much of carbohydrates for my taste. This strange piece of information I seemed to have picked from our Botany class taken by handsome lecturer with cute dimple on his left cheek whenever he smiled and I could see every girl in my college falling for!!! And there were not many vegetables which grew above ground level that caught my fancy. So what did I really eat as a teenager? If your answer is junk food containing lots of deep fried, greasy, spicy, bubbly, unhygienic food cooked every other place except home, then think again. Like many millions caring, smart mothers all over the world who knows what to cook for their opinionated kids, my Amma too smartly belonged to that category. Amma always made it a point to sneak vegetables in our diet without giving us much choice other than eat it grudgingly. Grudgingly because I knew it contained the greens and vegetables which I simply hated but still the taste made it for everything else. Amma made Uttappas, Stuffed Parathas, low fat Veggie Burgers, grilled Vegetables which I couldn’t resist in spite of not being very fond of veggies and greens. Now when I think of it I cant help but wonder how Amma managed to hide her smile when she saw me stuffing all these goodies one after another with a typical teenager ‘don’t you dare to laugh at me or lecture me’ look on my face. Its not easy being a cool and bindas teenager in India I say!
One vegetable I loved to hate was Cauliflower. I was never fond of this stinking vegetable and always rolled my eyes at people who would go gaga over its shape, texture and taste. It was great unsolved puzzle for me to see people adoring this vegetable which smells (read stinks) and tastes like cabbage, yet another vegetable that topped my hate list. As usual all my theories of why we should ban Cauliflower dishes went to deaf ears of my Mommy dear and as if I really had any fat chance of making her change her mind. Right when I was grumbling as how bad it smells, Amma grated it while I covered my nose with a hanky. My entire lecture on ugly cauliflower, how stupid it was to look at and how I had rather eat cow dung in its place, went to deaf ears. She gave me knowing smile and went on adding a pinch of this and a dash of that and with in few minutes this stinky vegetables dressed with aromatic spices was stuffed in a whole wheat dough and rolled flat. Cooked to perfection with little bit of Ghee on both the sides it smelled almost heavenly to my utter disbelief. She placed this perfectly round, hot, delicious smelling Gobi ke Paranthe with a small bowl of Yogurt and my favourite Pickle in front of me and asked me to taste it if I wanted. I not only tasted it but reluctantly asked for more.
Since then I am completely hooked to this delicious Cauliflower/Gobi Parathas which is second best thing to Aloo/Potato Parathas for me. Served simply with a cup of thick home made Yogurt and spicy Pickle, it sure to win every Cauliflower haters hearts. Amma, this is to you if you are reading it by any chance :) This Cauliflower/Gobi Paratha also goes to my dear friend Srivalli who is hosting Roti Mela after hosting successful Dosa Mela. Valli, I am eagerly looking forward for yet another wonderful round-up.

Cauliflower/Gobi Paratha

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Cauliflower/Gobi Paratha (Stuffed Indian Flat Bread with Spiced Cauliflower Gratings)
Prep Time: 20 mins
Cooking Time: 20-30 mins
Makes: 10 medium sized Parathas

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Ingredients:
For the Dough:
3 cups Whole Wheat Flour/Atta (I use Pillsbury’s Chakki Atta)
¼ cup Yogurt
Warm Water for kneading
Salt to taste

For the Filling:
2-2½ cups Cauliflower Florets, grated
1 small Onion, very finely chopped
2-3 Green Chillies, finely chopped (Adjust acc to taste)
1 tsp Jeera/Cumin Seeds
½ tsp Roasted Jeera/Cumin Powder
½ tsp Turmeric Powder
½ tsp Amchur/Dry Mango Powder or 1 tbsp Lime/Lemon Juice
½ tsp Garam Masala
¼ tsp Kitchen King Masala (Optional)
½ tbsp Kasuri Methi
1 tbsp Fresh Coriander Leaves, finely chopped
1 tsp Oil (If cooking the Cauliflower)
Salt to taste

Other Ingredients Needed:
Oil/Ghee to brush while cooking the Paratha
Little Atta/flour for dusting

Cauliflower/Gobi Filling

Method:

For the Dough:
Sieve atta and mix in salt to taste and yogurt.
Slowly add warm water as and when required and make stiff dough.
Cover and keep it aside for at least half an hour.

For the Filling:
For the Paratha stuffing you can either cook Cauliflower for few minutes or just mix in all the ingredients with out cooking and then stuff the Parathas. If you prefer to cook it a little bit then follow the following steps.
Heat oil in a pan and add cumin seeds. When it starts to sizzle, add finely chopped onions, green chillies and sauté it on a medium heat for about 1-2 minutes till onions becomes translucent.
Now add roasted cumin powder, turmeric, dry mango powder, garam masala, kitchen king masala and sauté it for about 30 seconds.
Mix in grated cauliflower florets, salt to taste and kasuri methi and sauté it for about a minute till all the spices are mixed well.
Turn off the gas and mix in finely chopped coriander leaves and let the stuffing come to a room temperature. It is important to make sure that the filling is completely cooled before stuffing as it might ooze from parathas while rolling due to moisture content.

For the Paratha:
Knead the dough again for a minute and make equal lemon sized balls.
Roll this dough ball in flour and roll them using a rolling pin into thick poories of 4 inch in diameter.
Place about 1 tbsp of filling in the centre. Cover and seal the ends and roll again, dusting flour if necessary, into ½ cm thick roties using rolling pin.
Mean while, heat a griddle at high flame and lower it to low-medium flame.
Gently dust off the excess flour and place Stuffed Paratha on griddle and cook on both the sides till its cooked and brown spots start to appear on top. Apply little ghee/oil if desired.
Serve hot Cauliflower/Gobi Parathas immediately with any curry or with plain yogurt and pickle of your choice and enjoy.

Cauliflower/Gobi Paratha

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Notes:

Always make it a point to see that the stuffing is as dry as possible. If not there is a high chance of it oozing out while rolling the parathas due to moisture content.
If you are a beginner, start with small amount of stuffing/filling and roll into parathas. Once you learn the technic and are comfortable with the process, you can gradually increase the amount of filling.
Other Parathas posted in Monsoon Spice

• Aloo Paratha
• Double Decker Paratha
• Mooli/Radish Paratha

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My blog is Yummy!!!
"Yummy blog award is given to the blog with most yummy recipes/photos".

Thank you Swati and Dee for thinking of me and passing this award. I really appreciate your kind gesture. I pass this award to every food blogger as only we know how difficult it is to maintain and update your blog with new posts filled with yummilicious pictures and interesting recipes and articles. You all deserve a tight hug and pat on your back.

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From India's Bread Basket: Mooli Paratha with Lassi

There is a land that is drenched by five rivers, their shimmering magical water making it India’s ‘bread basket’. It’s the land that has its own colour, aroma and unique life style with cheerful and most lively people. In this same magical land there is one beautiful farm house with white washed walls and a large courtyard right in a centre of lively, lovely, golden mustard farm with delicate mustard flowers swaying with the cool breeze spreading their earthy aroma all around. It’s early morning time. Birds are singing their welcome songs as the sun rises and spreads his golden rays making everything to gleam and glitter as he touches them. Women of the house are up and awake even before the sun rays could touch the mother earth and they are found in the courtyard busy with their rolling pins. All ladies are busy as they roll thick poories and then stuffs them with a spoonful of spiced and flavoured vegetables and rolls again it into thick paratha. The Chulha in one corner cooks delicious flat breads one after another and with in no time you see stacks of parathas smudged with dollops of Desi Ghee. They hurry up as they know its just matter of time when the whole household will get up and get ready to face another morning. As one of the ladies cooks last few parathas, another starts making sweet/salty Lassi to go with the Parathas. In few minutes time all the members of the family sit together and enjoy home made delicious Parathas dripping with Desi Ghee and gulping big brass glass of Lassi. Who can resist second servings of these parathas served with dollop of mother’s love? The feeling of fullness, satisfaction and contentment that comes from eating these delicious parathas cooked with mother’s love is emotional family heirlooms for every kid and even grown-ups.
Whenever I make parathas this is the scene which comes into my mind! I guess I have been getting little too much of Bollywood dose these days. After all this is very common scene in most of the movies. Whenever I used watch those ladies (in real and reel life) squatting next to hot tava (griddle), slapping together dozens of roties for their family, I would always wonder if I could make at least one roti at that time period. With little bit of practice and patience I have come a long way from rolling geographical maps to round-puffed roties and neatly stuffed Parathas. Making perfect round shaped stuffed Parathas without the filling oozing is an art in its own way and I am still learning to master this art. We owe a lot to land of five rivers for giving us this opportunity to cook and explore this extraordinary culinary delight, fresh from home.
Paratha dripping with Desi Ghee and a big glass of refreshing Lassi is common breakfast item in Punjabi household. It might sound little odd and too heavy thing to have for early breakfast but Punjabi’s by nature are extremely industrious and helps them to sustain throughout the day. Cooked with different fillings depending on preference and availability of ingredients, these Parathas are one whole meal by itself. Serve them with plain Yogurt with Pickle or with any side dish, they are sure to win everyone’s heart.
This time I made these delicious Mooli/Radish Parathas flavoured with Chillies, Garlic, Garam Masala and Anardaana/ Dried Pomegranate Powder. This simple Mooli/Radish Paratha served with Chass or Spiced Buttermilk is my entry for Mansi of Fun 'n Food’s WBB-Blanced Breakfast.

Mooli/Radish Parathas

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Mooli Paratha (Indian Flat Bread stuffed with Flavoured Radish)
Prep Time: 20 mins (Excluding Resting time)
Cooking Time: 20-30 mins
Makes: 10 medium sized Parathas

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Ingredients:

For the Dough:
3 cups Whole Wheat Flour/Atta (I use Pillsbury’s Chakki Atta)
¼ cup Yogurt
Warm Water for kneading
Salt to taste

For the Filling:
1 large White Radish/Mooli (Approx. 2 packed cups), washed, peeled and grated
2 tbsp Red Onion, finely chopped
2-3 Green Chillies, finely chopped (Adjust acc to taste)
2-3 Garlic Flakes, finely chopped
1 tsp Jeera/Cumin Seeds, roasted and powdered
½-1 tsp Garam Masala
½ tsp Anardaana/Dried Pomegranate Seeds Powder
1 tsp Lemon Juice (Optional, I like it little sour)
1-2 tbsp Coriander Leaves, finely chopped
Salt to taste

Other Ingredients Needed:
Oil/Ghee to brush while cooking the Paratha
Little Atta/flour for dusting

Mooli/Radish Stuffing

Method:
For the Filling:
Mix salt with grated radish and keep it covered for about 30 mins to 1 hour. (Don’t forget to cover the radish properly if you don’t want your kitchen and house to smell of dead rat!)
Take handful of radish at a time and squeeze out the water (which can be used while kneading the dough) as much as possible. They should be as dry as possible or else the moisture content will make it difficult when rolling the stuffed paratha.
Mix in chopped onion, chillies, pomegranate seeds powder, garam masala, chopped garlic, lemon juice if using and roasted jeera powder and keep it aside.

For the Dough:
Sieve atta and mix in salt, yogurt.
Slowly add the sqeezed water from radish and warm water as and when required and make stiff dough.
Cover and keep it aside for at least half an hour.

For the Paratha:
Knead the dough again for a minute and make equal lemon sized balls.
Roll this dough ball in flour and roll them using a rolling pin into thick poories of 4 inch in diameter.
Place about 1 tbsp of filling in the centre. Cover and seal the ends and roll again, dusting flour if necessary, into ½ cm thick roties using rolling pin.
Mean while, heat a griddle at high flame and lower it to low-medium flame.
Gently dust off the excess flour and place Stuffed Paratha on griddle and cook on both the sides till its cooked and brown spots start to appear on top. Apply little ghee/oil if desired.
Serve hot Mooli Parathas immediately with any curry or with plain yogurt and pickle of your choice and enjoy.

Stack of Mooli Paratha

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Note:
Remember to cover the grated radish tightly as it has got very unpleasant smell when its raw.
Squeeze out as much of water as possible from radish to avoid from getting soggy parathas. If the water is not squeezed well then there is high chances of it getting difficult to roll them with out the stuffing oozing from the dough and breaking them.
If you are a beginner, start with small amount of stuffing/filling and roll into parathas. Once you learn the technic and are comfortable with the process, you can gradually increase the amount of filling.
Other Parathas posted in Monsoon Spice

• Aloo Paratha
• Double Decker Paratha

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The best drink to go with Parathas is Lassi or Butter Milk. I like Majjige as it is called in Kannada which is nothing but Spiced Butter Milk which is the quintessential summer drink in India. My Ajji (Grandma) had this big earthen pot of churned buttermilk which was offered to the visitors who would come to meet my Ajja (Grandpa) who was the village head. It would be an understatement if I were to say that I grew up drinking Majjige more than water. It still remains to be one of my most favourite drinks for summer and even winters. Although I have different recipes and variations for this Spiced Butter Milk, Sig darling wants us to try something from other blogs and post it. I tried Priya’s Healthy Yogurt Drink which turned out to be absolutely refreshing and delicious. Thank you Priya for the recipe which we enjoyed a lot. This goes to Sig of Live to Eat who is guest hosting this month’s MBP-Mixed Drink.

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Lassi (Spiced Butter Milk)
Prep Time: 5 mins
Cooking Time: -
Makes: 2 Glasses

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Ingredients:

½ cup Yogurt (preferably sour)
½-1 tsp Green Chillies, chopped finely (Adjust acc to taste)
¼-½ tsp Ginger, crushed
1 tsp Coriander Leaves, finely chopped
2 cups Water
½ tsp Roasted Jeera/Cumin Seeds, Powdered
1 tbsp Lemon Juice (Optional)
Salt to taste

Lassi/Spiced Buttermilk

Method:
Place all the ingredients in a blender and blend for about a minute.
Strain and place it in a fridge till required. Serve chilled garnished with coriander leaves or mint leaves and enjoy this refreshing drink.

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An Award:

Surprise surprise!!! Little birdy just came and told me my recipe of Badane Ennegai has won an award of Most Authentic Recipe-Brinjal hosted by my dear friend Pooja.

Thank you Pooja for this wonderful event and thanks to all you people who voted for my recipe. And congrats to Gattina & Pooja for winning other two awards.

Click here for the Badane Ennegai Recipe.

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One is Not Enough: Double Decker Paratha

Have u ever been obsessed with anything? Something you can’t stop thinking about it. You see it everywhere even with your eyes closed. You dream of it when you fall asleep and still day dream about it when you are wide awake. Yes, that type of obsession and my current obsession is rolling Parathas. Not just plain parathas but some mean stuffed parathas. It feels good when you master (no place for modesty here ;) something which you thought to be impossible to make let alone master. No, actually it doesn’t feel good… It feels great!
I can already visualise many of you shaking your head and some even banging it against the wall. I am very well aware of the fact that many of you skilfully roll hundreds of these stuffed parathas everyday with ease. I salute all you Aunties. ~ducks her head ;) ~ But it’s a different paratha story for me. I feel like a small baby who just learned to walk without any support and happened to be enjoying this new found freedom!
After my successful attempt with Tofu, Aloo, Gobi, Mooli etc stuffing I wanted to make little different parathas. With little bit of googling (Long Live Google!!!) I came across very unusual recipe from none other than Indian cooking diva Mrs. Tarla Dalal’s blog. Although I don’t own even single book of hers (I really can’t call my single digit cook books as my cook book collection) and never cooked any of her recipes, I have had seen many of her creations being recreated and appreciated in blog world. More than everything what attracted me to this particular recipe of hers is the challenge involved! It was not some usual stuffed paratha. It was unique paratha which she calls Double Decker Paratha where two different fillings are used to create two layered paratha. One look at the recipe I knew I am not gonna rest until I make them. And that’s what exactly what I did on last weekend after postponing my spring shopping!!! For a shop-o-holic, I didn’t regret even for a moment to stay at home and create these babies. Although taste wise it might taste similar if you had to combine these two fillings and make just a usual stuffed parathas, it was gorgeous to look at. Two thin layers of parathas stuffed with crunchy carrots and sweet green peas were lovely to look at. For a foodie they were nothing less than a stunning piece of jewellery studded with corals and emeralds!!!
Click here to view the original recipe. I used the same main ingredients used by Mrs. Dalal but made few changes to suit our palette. I am planning to follow same technique and use different ingredients for my friends during Easter break. Yeah, what can I say? I am a big show off ;) I am sending this to dear Suganya who is guest hosting WBB-Healthy Eats. With colourful raw vegetables and just few drops of oil, I think it does qualify for healthy breakfast eats. Sug, I hope you like it:)

Double Decker Paratha

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Double Decker Paratha
Prep Time: 30 mins
Cooking Time: 30 mins
Makes: 4-5 Large Paratha
Recipe Inspiration: Mrs. Tarla Dalal

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Ingredients:
For the Dough:
3 cups Atta/Wheat Flour
¼ tsp Salt
Warm Water for kneading

For the Carrot Stuffing:
1½ cups Carrot, grated
1-2 Green Chillies, finely chopped
½ tsp roasted Jeera/Cumin Powder
¼ tsp Red Chilli Powder
½ tsp Anardaana/Pomegranate Seeds Powder
1-2 tsp Lime Juice
1 tbsp Coriander Leaves, finely chopped
Salt to taste

For the Green Peas Stuffing:
1 cup fresh/frozen Green Peas, boiled and mashed
2 tbsp Onion, finely chopped
1 tsp Ginger-Garlic Paste
½ tsp Aamchur/Dry Mango Powder
½ tsp Kitchen King Masala
1 tbsp Mint Leaves, finely chopped
Salt to taste

Other Ingredients:
Little Atta/Wheat Flour for rolling
Ghee/Oil for Cooking (Optional)

Carrot and Green Peas Stuffing for Paratha

Method:
For the Dough:
Place atta, salt and warm water in a bowl and mix well to form smooth dough. Keep aside for at least 30 mins covered with a wet cheese cloth.

For the Carrot Stuffing:
Mix grated carrot with all the ingredients listed and keep it aside.
Original recipe instructs to cook carrot for 2-3 minutes but I just mixed the raw ingredients to retain its colour and nutrition and also its crunch. And also it gets lightly cooked when you pan fry the Paratha over medium heat. So the choice is yours.

For the Green Peas Stuffing:
Mix cooked and mashed green peas with all the ingredients listed and keep it aside.
Again the original recipe instructs to cook the ingredients for few minutes.

Step-by-Step Instruction for Assembling the Paratha - Clock-wise from Top Left

Assembling, Stuffing and Rolling the Paratha:
Heat the tawa/griddle at high flame and reduce to low to medium flame.
Knead the dough for another minute or a two and divide it into 12 or 15 equal sized balls (for 4 or 5 Parathas respectively).
Roll them into equal sized discs and cook 4 or 5 chapattis lightly (for 4 or 5 Parathas respectively) and keep aside. Let them cool completely before you proceed.
Now place one uncooked chapatti on a surface and spread about 1 tbsp of carrot stuffing evenly leaving 1-1½ cms in the end.
Cover this carrot stuffing with a cooked chapatti and spread 1 tbsp green peas stuffing evenly on top of this.
Now place the second uncooked chapatti on top of this and seal the edges by pressing it lightly with your fingers. Make sure that you seal the edges well.
Place this Double Decker Paratha on tawa and cook on a very low heat by applying little ghee/oil if desired. Cook till the both the sides are cooked well and brown spots starts to appear.
Cut them into quarters and serve hot with a curry or just plain yogurt and enjoy.

Double Decker Paratha

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Notes:
Make sure that the chapattis are completely cooled down before you proceed with assembling the paratha as if assembled when it is still warm may tear the uncooked paratha due to moisture produced.
If you are a beginner, you can start off by making small parathas and not stuffing too much of filling.
You can also cook these parathas in Quesadilla maker.
Try using different ingredients for stuffing and follow the same technique to create different flavoured parathas.

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Reminder!

An Ode to Potato ends on 15th of March. Send in your entry before the deadline and join us in the singing. Bake, boil, mash, fry, sauté, grill, stuff, cook... The choice is endless.

Deadline: 15th March, 2008

Please go through the guidelines and include all the required information in your post and mail when sending me your entry. Don't forget to add Your Name, Your Blog Name, Name of the Dish you cooked, Perm Link of the entry along with the gorgeous Photo of Potato dish.

Click Here to find out more information on this event.

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Finally... I did it: Aloo Paratha

I have had seen his larger than life pictures in many blogs, glossy cookbooks and magazines, cooking shows. He had tempted and seduced me enough to touch his well toned body, caress his face, and smell his heavenly fragrance! Oh!!! How badly I wanted him. He was always out of my reach and it was my friends whom he favoured. I envied them and the way they seemed to compliment each other. He never seemed to mind the way my friends treated him and never complained about it when most of them seemed to take him for granted. I never knew I was capable of loving someone so much but all I could do was admire him from distance. I was scared of rejection and couldn’t bear the thought of him or my friends laughing at my poor attempt to attract him. I had attempted few times to lure him and failed miserably until two months back… Yes, at last I conquered my fear of rejection and I can’t stop beaming stupidly. It was just few weeks back that I got hold of necessary ingredients to get his attention and since then there is no looking back. Like every fairly tale or M&B's it is happily ever after for me and my round, dark, handsome Paratha!!!
Mastering the art of making perfectly round, well shaped Paratha is not an easy task. And it’s more so when you make stuffed parathas. My Roties and Chapattis are (in)famous among my friends as they use them as examples for Geography classes. It seemed I somehow didn’t manage to inherit ‘perfect round chapatti rolling’ genes from my Amma. To make things worst, it seemed I skipped making ‘soft chapatti’ genes too. There was no trick and tips that I didn’t follow to get soft, round chapattis and the more I tried, the more it resembled some country map. Just when I was thinking of shooting the person who said ‘practice makes perfect’ everything changed drastically. Nope, I didn’t stop making chapattis. I just happened to find the purr-rrr—fect Atta (whole wheat flour). Well, I am not kidding when I say that 90% of credit goes to Atta for delicious Roti/Chapatti/Paratha I make. Using good quality Atta has always been the secret for soft, fluffy roties which you can tear using your thumb and fore finger. Three brands which Amma likes in India are Pillsbury Chakki Fresh Atta, Annapurna and ITC’s Ashirwad. I use Pillsbury Chakki Fresh because that’s the only brand I get in my Indian grocery store and I am happy with the soft, fluffy chapattis it makes. And since then it’s been stuffed Parathas at our place every weekend. Don’t be surprised if you see Stuffed Paratha Parade coming in Monsoon Spice because I am kind of enjoying (read obssesed with) making stuffed parathas these days. And please do share about the brand of Atta, little tricks and tips you follow at your home to make soft, fluffy roties. :)
Today I am posting Aloo Paratha. I used Fresh Green Peas in Atta to give it colour, taste and also little boast of nutrition. The green chillies give bit of heat and mint leaves gives little kick of freshness to the dough. The filling I used is usual mashed potatoes flavoured with kalonji and jeera powder. You can also add Garam Masala if needed but I like the subtle flavours of pungent garlic and hing which compliments sweet taste of potato. This Aloo dish is my humble entry for my an Ode to Potato event and lovely Dhivya's The Potato Fe(a)st.

Stack of Aloo Paratha

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Aloo Paratha
Prep Time: 20-30 mins
Cooking Time: 15-30 mins
Makes: 10 Medium Parathas

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Ingredients:
For Dough:
3 cups Chapatti Atta/Whole Wheat Flour
1 cup Fresh Green Peas
2 Green Chillies
Few Fresh Mint Leaves
Salt to taste
Warm water to knead

For the Stuffing:
2 large Potatoes
2 tbsp Onion, finely chopped
2 Green Chillies, finely chopped
1 tsp Garlic, finely chopped
¼ tsp Amchur/Dry Mango Powder
¼ tsp Nigella Seeds/Kalonji
A big pinch Hing/Asafetida
½ tsp Jeera/Cumin Powder
½ tsp Turmeric Powder
½ tsp Jeera/Cumin Seeds(Optional)
1 tsp Oil
Salt to taste

Aloo Stuffing

Method:
For Dough:
Grind fresh/frozen green peas with green chillies and mint leaves to smooth paste adding very little water.
Sift chapatti atta, salt to taste and make stiff dough by adding green peas puree and warm water as needed. Cover the dough with wet cheese cloth and keep it aside in a warm place for at least half an hour.

For the Stuffing:
Cook potato chunks with little salt and turmeric powder. Drain water, cool completely and mash it with a wooden masher without leaving any lumps.
Mean while heat oil and add jeera and kalonji. When they sizzle add finely chopped garlic, green chillies and onion and sauté for few seconds. Switch off the flame and mix jeera powder and amchur.
Transfer these contents to mashed potatoes and mix well. Make small lemon sized potato balls and keep aside.


Aloo Paratha- Work-in-Progress

To Make Stuffed Paratha:
Take dough and knead again for about minute and make big lime sized balls.
Dust it with wheat flour and roll it into thick poories of about 4 inch in diameter.
Place the Potato balls in center. Cover and seal the ends and roll again, dusting flour if necessary, into ½ cm thick roties using rolling pin.
Heat a griddle at high flame and lower it to low-medium flame.
Place Stuffed Paratha on griddle and cook on both the sides till its cooked and brown spots start to appear on top. Apply little ghee/oil if desired.
Serve hot Aloo Parathas immediately with any curry or with plain yogurt and pickle of your choice and enjoy.

Aloo Paratha

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Note:
Before mashing the potatoes let them cool completely. This way the filling will remain dry and filling will not ooze out from covering.
Make sure that the potatoes are mashed without leaving any lumps. This helps in rolling the parathas with even surface.

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Bending the Rules: Tofu Stuffed Kulcha

Me: What? You can't be serious!
He: Why not?
Me: I am not sure…
He: Common, no one will know…
Me: I am scared!
He: Trust me.
Me: What if someone comes to know?
He: I am sure we are not the only one who has done it.
Me: But it’s not right. Society will never accept it. Oh! It’s a sin.
He: Now, now… look at me. Do you want me to die without experiencing how it would have been?
Me: No!!! Please don’t say that…
He: I have got only 2 more days to live. Won’t you fulfill my last wish?
Me: Oh!!! Of course I want to…

And that’s how he left this world, just two dates before his expiry date. And oh!!! If you are wondering whether it’s some scene from Bollywood movie then you are wrong. I call him Mr. T with love who is known to rest of the world as Tofu. He left this world knowing he had left wonderful memories for me.
Tofu, also known as soybean curd and bean curd is made from curdled soy milk. This custard like white block is high in protein, low in salt and calories and has no cholesterol. By itself Tofu is quite bland and hence it readily picks up the flavour of other ingredients that are cooked with it making one pleasurable, guilt free indulgence.
After cooking Tofu with different techniques pairing it with different ingredients using different regional recipes, I wanted to try something new. Since couple of months back I am using Tofu in Indian cooking and it is pure pleasure to watch it beautifully blend with Indian spices and take us on a roller-coaster ride in taste department. It tastes great when used in Chinese and Thai recipes and it excels when blended with rich Indian spices. Initially I started experimenting by replacing Paneer, Indian cottage cheese, with Tofu. Slowly I started using it boldly with different traditional recipes which our ‘Purist’ cyber aunties would disapprove of and ban me from posting it.
Soft, delicious and aromatic Tofu Stuffed Kulcha is a winner recipe. With much less calories and high in protein content, this recipe was created at nth moment. At spur of a moment I made these Kulchas as I was left with half a pack of left over Tofu which had less than two days of shelf life. And boy!!! Am I happy or not! Although I was little hesitant to use tofu this way the end result was much more than we could ask for. This recipe is a keeper for sure. Served with delicious and spicy Mushroom Curry (Recipe follows soon) it was one satisfying weekend meal.

Tofu Stuffed Kulcha

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Tofu Stuffed Kulcha
Prep Time: 20 mins (Excluding resting time)
Cooking Time: 10-15 mins
Makes: 6-7 Medium Kulchas

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Ingredients:
1 tsp Nigella Seeds
1 tsp Sesame Seeds
Little Ghee/Oil (Optional)

For Outer Covering/Dough:
1 cup Whole Wheat Flour
1 cup All Purpose Flour/Maida
2 tbsp Yogurt
¼ cup Warm Milk
½ tsp Cooking Soda
½ tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Salt
Warm Water to knead
1 tsp Oil

For Stuffing:
1 packed cup Tofu, crumbled
1 small Red Onion, very finely chopped
¾ tbsp Garlic, very finely chopped
2-3 Green Chillies, finely chopped
1 tbsp Mint Leaves, finely chopped
1 tbsp Coriander Leaves, finely chopped
½ tsp Jeera/Cumin Powder
¼ tsp Amchur/Dry Mango Powder (Optional)
1 tsp White Pepper Powder (Optional, use any spices/masala of your choice)
Salt to taste

Tofu Stuffing

Method:
For Dough:
Sift wheat flour, maida, cooking soda, baking soda and salt.
Make a well in center and add yogurt and warm milk.
Knead the dough adding little water at a time to make soft pliable dough.
Apply oil on the surface of dough and keep it wrapped in cotton towel or cling film.
Let it rest for at least one hour.

For the Stuffing:
Squeeze as much of water as possible from tofu as the water content in tofu will make the kulcha go soggy.
Once it’s done, crumble the tofu with hands, and take about one packed cup of tofu crumble.
Take all the ingredients in a vessel and mix well. Remember to chop the vegetables very finely so that it becomes easier to stuff and roll.

To make Stuffed Kulcha:
Take dough and knead again for about minute and make big lime sized balls.
Dust it with wheat flour and roll it into thick poories of about 4 inch in diameter.
Place about tbsp of tofu mixture in center. Cover and seal the ends and roll again, dusting flour if necessary, into ½ cm thick roties using rolling pin.
Sprinkle little nigella seeds and sesame on top of roties and lightly press them using rolling pin.
Heat a griddle at high flame and lower it to low-medium flame.
Place Kulcha on griddle and cook on both the sides till it’s cooked and brown spots starts to appear on top. Apply little ghee/oil if desired.
Serve hot Tofu stuffed Kulchas immediately with any curry or your choice and enjoy.

Tofu Stuffed Kulcha

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Note:
Keep the stuffing as dry as possible. If it has too much of moisture/water content then it becomes difficult to roll them as the moisture will make the Kulchas soggy and they might tear while rolling oozing the stuffing.
Keep the center of Kulcha little thicker than the ends before stuffing as when you cover and seal the ends you will get even thickness at both the sides.
Resting the dough for at least an hour makes soft Kulchas.
Usually an egg is added when making the dough but I usually avoid adding it.

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Mushroom-Rajma Curry with Mint Chapatti & Spiced Butter Milk

Well, well… I never knew my blogger friends had patience to read my bragging all these days until I was tagged for 7 & 8 Random Facts MeMe by Bee, Arundathi, Richa and Priyanka. Thanks ladies for tagging me :) Initially I thought all I have been doing these days were talk about my memories, me and everyone who is connected to my life in one way or the other. Looks like you smart people want me to talk more about myself and talking is what I am exactly gonna do ~smiles wickedly~ Don’t blame me if you fall asleep in middle and start to have second thoughts as why you asked me to write this MeMe. I am just a simple human being who is fulfilling my friend’s wish ;) Those who are not interested in reading all this bragging can scroll down (a lot) and read the delicious Mushroom-Rajma Curry with Mint Chapatti and Spiced Butter Milk. Those who still want to test their patience level are welcome to read my 8 Random Facts about me, me and only me :)

1. For the first few months of our married life, Krish and I both survived with just 2 ancient vessels to cook and 2 mismatching plates from his student life. Along with those two vessels and plates we were the proud owners of few mismatching coffee mugs and an ancient gas burner and refrigerator which made enough ice in freezer to cover our backyard. It was after few months we received a big parcel from India which contained a pressure cooker and mixer grinder along with full batch of different masalas and pickle jars and a cook book. Thinking about those days and looking at our over flowing kitchen cabinets with different gadgets and cooking ingredients I don’t know how we managed to cook and survive all those days.

2. First dish I ever cooked was Gobi Manchurian when I was in my early teens. I remember coming home after school and had serious craving for Gobi Manchurian. Mom was not at home and I had no clue as what goes into the recipe. Just going with my instincts I mixed some ingredients and voila!!! It was ready within half an hour. Although it was not the proper recipe for making Manchurian it did taste very close to Manchurian. After my first venture and adventure I started cooking Indo-Chinese once in blue moon without necessarily following any recipe or instructions. Even today I am not sure if my family loved eating what I cooked or ‘pretended’ to eat ;)

3. From my early teens to till I got married I lived in hostel and hardly entered kitchen during my semester holidays. I didn’t know the difference between one dal to other when I came here after marriage. I remember using toor dal instead of channa dal for tempering/tadka and using masoor dal in place of toor dal. According to me cooking was not a big deal and all I needed was to chop few onions and tomatoes and cook some vegetable with ginger-garlic paste and garam masala for any north Indian food and cook few chunks of vegetables with dal and sambar/rasam powder and season it with mustard curry leaves tempering for south Indian food. I give all credits to 3 important people in my life, my Amma, Atte and Krish, who made me realise cooking is not just a chore but an art. It was my husband who taught me to cook sambar and rasam and then slowly I picked up some basic recipes from my MIL and Amma. They were my 24X7 helpline for the 1st few months (even now) and thanks to them now I have found whole new meaning and respect to cooking.

4. Spice Corner was born out of my boredom and home sickness. Although I had another general blog where I used to pen down all my rants I thought of having another blog to jot down all the recipes given by my Amma and Atte. It was easier to write down the recipe in blog than in a piece of paper which I would keep some where and loose. It was much later when I realised there are whole bunch of food blogs in blog-sphere while googling for few recipes. First blog I stumbled was Anita’s My Treasure and My Pleasure and since then it’s history. I never ever thought of making friends in this cyber space and even today I feel I am still dreaming. For a person who usually gets bored of everything after some period and loves change, I have surprised myself with sticking to Spice Corner all these months. Eventually I might get bored with food blogging but for now I am enjoying what I am doing.

5. Unlike my Amma and MIL who have beautiful garden, I don’t have green thumb. Last year was the first time I tried my hand in vegetable gardening and it was a complete disaster. It was our first gardening experience and we did what most people do, ignore the instructions in seeds pack. We did get few crops of carrots, tomatoes but I didn’t have a heart to cook them after watching them grow everyday. This year we started our very ambitious vegetable gardening but unfortunately weather seems to be not on our side. Will wait and see what happens in the coming year.

6. I am a trained Bharatanatyam dancer and Carnatic Classical singer. I started my classical dance training when I was just 6 years old and continued it till I joined my degree class. After that I kind of completely lost touch with it. During my school and college days there was not a single annual day where I did not perform on stage. I loved the lights, stage, music and performing in front of hundreds of people. I do regret sometimes for not continuing my passion for dance. Now I do different kind of performance, giving presentations and seminars ;)

7. I am a hoarder. I can’t stop buying things for kitchen and home. Every time we go out for shopping I end up buying few more kilos of rice or dals or pickles or any such things which I can hoard for months. With the items we have in our pantry we can survive for 2 months without spending a penny on any items. My hoarding issue doesn’t limit to cooking items. I still have got big box filled with the entire greeting cards I received from family and friends on special occasions and all the letters from my parents and friends I collected till date. I treasure each and every small item which for me is the most precious things than any expensive metals or stones. I can’t let things go so easily and like Bee pointed I still have many single earing whose pair is lost some where, long time ago;)

8. I am a big movie buff. I can watch even the most boring movie till ‘The End’ sign pops up on the screen. Same thing applies when it comes to reading. Once I start reading a book I will make it a point to finish it in one sit even if the author bores me to death. I don’t understand my obsession with finishing any thing which I have started and may be that’s the reason I have read hundreds of M&B’s in spite of same kind of stories and very predictable ‘they lived happily ever after’ endings. Back in my school days I remember reading comics and story books hidden in between text books during class hours. I love to watch cartoons and at any given chance, I prefer animated movies to dishum-dishum violent types. I guess my kid will be the luckiest one because I am the happiest kid when I am watching my favourite Tom and Jerry show or The Simpsons (I have already taken a leave from office to watch the first day first show of The Simpsons movie ;) or any cartoon shows.

1,2,3,4,5,6,7 and 8… Yayyyyy… I did it! If you are still awake after reading my almost never ending bragging let us talk about food. OK, I will not take long. So stop yawning there!

Mushroom-Rajma Curry with Mint Chapatti & Spiced Butter Milk

Here is my contribution to this month’s RCI-Punjab which celebrates the cuisines from different regions of India. Regional Cuisines of India is a brainchild of Lakshmi and this month it is guest hosted by our lovely Richa. Around seventy percent of the menu in most of the North Indian restaurants is from Punjab-the land of five rivers. When ever I think of Punjab I think of Bhangra (lively folk dance), legendry Punjabi Kisse (folk tales of love and honour), golden mustard fields and Punjabi food. Think about those lovely paronthes (Indian stuffed bread) smeared with desi ghee and dipped in Mah Di Dal and Sarson KA Saag. Then you have big glass of Ganne ki juice (sugarcane juice) or Lassi (sweetened Yogurt). Who can resist this kind of temptation? Not a mere mortal like me. Just the thought of food is enough to make all your senses come alive.
I went to make my all time favourite Rajma and realised I didn’t have enough Rajma to Serve four hungry people. Then ended up adding mushrooms to Rajma (Red Kidney Beans) and every one seemed quite happy with the end product as I had empty vessel and nicely licked plate to deal with. The refreshing Mint Roti with Mushroom Rajma Masala and a big glass of Spiced Butter Milk was the perfect meal to serve.

Mushroom-Rajma Curry

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Mushroom Rajma Masala
Prep Time: 15 mins (excluding soaking time)
Cooking Time: 30-40 mins
Serves: 3-4

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Ingredients:
1 canned Rajma/Red Kidney Beans or 1 cup of Rajma soaked in water overnight
2 cups Mushrooms, quartered
1 large Onion, chopped roughly
2 large Tomatoes, quartered
2 Green Chillies, slit
1 tsp Ginger Garlic Paste
½ tsp Red Chilli Powder
½ tsp Turmeric Powder
¼ tsp Coriander Powder
½ tsp Amchur(Dried Mango Powder)/Anar daana(Pomegranate Powder)
½ tbsp Garam Masala
½ tbsp Kitchen King Masala
5-6 Cashew Nuts
1 tsp Sugar
1 tsp Jeera/Cumin Seeds
2-3 tbsp Coriander Leaves, chopped finely
½ + ½ tbsp Ghee/Oil
Salt to taste

Mushroom-Rajma Curry with Mint Chapatti

Method:
Drain the water from canned kidney beans and keep aside. If you are using a dried beans then soak them in enough water over night and pressure cook for 10 minutes or 1 whistle.
Heat ½ tbsp of ghee/oil in a pan and add chopped onion. Sauté this onion for about 3-5 minutes in a medium flame till it becomes transparent.
Now add ginger-garlic paste and sauté it for a minute or so till its raw smell is gone.
Transfer this mixture to a food processor and add tomatoes, cashew nuts, chilli powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder, amchur/anar daana powder, garam masala and kitchen king masala. Grind it to a smooth paste without adding any water and keep aside.
Heat ½ tbsp of ghee/oil in a pan and add jeera. When cumin seeds starts to sizzle and pop add mushrooms and slit green chillies. Sauté the mushrooms in a high heat for 2-3 minutes till they starts to leave little water.
Now add the ground mixture and mix well. Reduce the heat and keep stirring for about 3-4 minutes.
Add cooked or canned rajma, salt to taste, sugar and about ½ cup of water.
Simmer and cook covered for another 5 minutes till all flavours blend well stirring in between so that the gravy don’t stick to the bottom of the pan.
If you feel the gravy is too thick add little more water to get the required consistency. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and serve hot with roties or rice.

Now coming to my own creation…Tadaa…. Here is my Mint Roties or Chapattis, whatever you wish to call. Tasted great with Mushroom Rajma Curry with little hint of minty taste. I am happy with the way they puffed and looked. After my unsuccessful attempt at making puffed chapattis I had almost given up making them at home. Last month I got a bag of Pillsbury Atta and now I know the problem was with the Atta I used before not with the way I kneaded it. The below recipe will make around 8 good sized chapattis.

Mushroom-Rajma Curry with Mint Chapatti

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Minty Chapattis
Prep Time: 15-20 mins
Cooking Time: 15 mins
Serves: 4-5

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Ingredients:
3 cups Atta/Wheat Flour (I used Pillsbury) and little more for dusting
1 tbsp Mint Paste
¾ tsp Salt
½ cup Warm Milk
Little warm Water
Ghee for smearing the surface of each chapatti

Method:
Place flour in a bowl and add salt, mint paste and milk to it and start kneading well.
Knead well for 5-6 minutes by adding little water at a time so that you get soft dough.
Leave to stand for at least 15 minutes or so and knead a little again.
Make a golf ball sized balls and roll it using rolling pin by dusting each ball with little atta so that it don’t stick to the surface.
Chapatti should be rolled from centre out so that the surface has equal thickness and usually the sides of the chapatti should be little thinner than the center. This way the chapatti nicely puffs like poories when cooked.
Place the rolled chapatti on hot griddle and turn it over when you see a few blisters on the surface. Cook the other side same way.
Pick the chapatti with tongs and transfer it on the direct flame (medium flame) or in a grill. Move it around continuously so that it doesn’t get burnt.
Transfer it to the serving plate and smear its surface with ghee which will keep them soft for long time. Serve hot chapattis with any curry of your choice.

The Punjabi meal will be incomplete without a big glass of Lassi (sweetened Yogurt) or Chas (Buttermilk). So my hubby dear was ready with a chilled Spiced Buttermilk and here is his recipe.

Mushroom-Rajma Curry with Mint Chapatti & Spiced Butter Milk

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Spiced ButterMilk
Prep Time: 5 mins
Cooking Time: -
Serves: 2-3

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Ingredients:
2 cups Yogurt, little sour one is better
½ inch Ginger, grated or chopped very finely
1-2 Green Chillies, chopped very finely
2 tbsp Lime Juice
1 tbsp Coriander Leaves, finely chopped
½ tsp Salt
2 cups Cold Water

Method:
Place yogurt, salt, lemon juice, ginger and water in a food processor and whiz it for 15 seconds or so till u get a bubbled drink.
Mix in finely chopped green chillies and coriander leaves and chill it in fridge for at least 15 minutes before serving.

Thalipeeth with Okra Raita and Aamras

Purani jeans aur guitar
Mohalle ki vo chhat
Aur mere yaar
Vo raaton ko jaagna
Subah ghar jaan
Kood ke deewar
Vo cigaretee peena
Gali mein jaake
Wo karna daanton ko
Ghadi ghadi saaf

Pahunchna college hamesha late
Vo kehna sir ka
"Get out from the class!"
Vo bahar jaake hamsha kehna
Yahan ka system
Hi hai kharaab
Vo jaake canteen mein
Table bajaake
Vo gaane gaana
Yaaron ke saath

Bas yaadein yaadein
Yaadein reh jaati hain
Kuchh chhoti chhoti
Baatein reh jaati hain
Bas yaadein…

Remember this song of Ali Haider? This song has been our college anthem;) and it always takes me down the memory lane. College canteen, mimicking our lecturers, bunking the classes, late night parties, birthday bums, ragging, internals, last minute study, lab sessions, hostel warden, hostel food, Sunday telephone calls from home, long Q in STD booths (when mobile phones were very rare and looked like TV remotes;), another long Q for Sunday special breakfasts, new year parties, tapri/dhaba food… Oh yes… How I miss my college and hostel days! Hostels, my home away from home where I made very good friends, and the memories of ragging my juniors, fighting with warden, jumping from compound walls after curfew hours, chewing bullet proof chapaties, drinking watery coffee, Friday night’s beauty session with all colored face packs, Saturday night’s eating out at Kamat’s or Sagar’s, visits to Café Coffee Day, counting the days to go home(for me from the day I returned from home;), stuffing last inch of our bags from Maggi noodles to hair pin, attacking the supply of home food from friend’s bag, reading M&B in zero watt bulb, bunking first session of the day coz of late night reading, listening to music till wee hours of morning, heating water with candle light to make Maggi noodles, birthday parties, pajama parties, Sunday laundry sessions… Yes… I can go on and on with my memories of hostel days.
When it comes to hostel days, hostel food is integral part of every hostilities memory. It is not a joke to cook and feed hundreds of hungry tummies every day; morning, noon and night. With usual bullet proof chapaties, sticky dal, watery milk, hot as hell subjis, oily curries, it was like breath of fresh air when we get invitation for home cooked meals from our localite friends. No wonder I used to feel home cooked meals are like oasis in hot desert ;) One of my friend’s mother was an excellent cook and her specialty was Marathi Cuisine. I still remember all delicious chat-pata chats, spicy Kaap (Pakoda), aromatic Bhaaji’s (Vegetable dish) with simple Koshimbir (Salads) and Poli’s she used to churn in her small kitchen and serve. There were the days when aunt would send us big stack of delicious Bhakries which we homesick souls would dip in sweet and creamy Shreekhand or Spicy Thalipeeth with Yogurt and Spicy Pickles. And how can I forget all those Puran Poli, Basundi, Gul Polies which we would gulp during Ganesha Chaturthi.
When lovely Nupur of One Hot Stove announced RCI-Maharastrian Cuisine for this month’s of RCI which is the brainchild of Lakshmi of Veggie Cuisine, I knew what I wanted to contribute. It’s been ages since I had Thalipeeth and decided to serve it with Okra Raita and Aamras.
Thalipeeth is a multi-grain mildly spiced pancake which is not only tasty but also healthy and nutritious. I remember aunty using Bhajani, flour mixture of different grains which are slightly roasted and ground. After unsuccessful hunt for bhajani, I made thalipeeth using the flours in my pantry. Adjust all the ingredients according to your taste and preference. The recipe below makes 6 thalipeeth.
If you are a lover of Maharashtrian Cuisine like me and want to try some of the best Marathi food then look no further. Our this month's hostess for RCI, Nupur of One Hot Stove has her blog dedicated to authentic A-Z Maharashtrian Cuisine and here for Nupur's recipe for Thalipeeth. Her Bombay Pav Bhaji is something which I love the most.

Thalipeeth with Okra Raita and Aamras

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Thalipeeth
Prep Time: 15-20 mins
Cooking Time: 10-15 mins
Serves: 2-3

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Ingredients:
1½ cups Jowar Flour
½ cup Wheat Flour
2 tbsp Rice Flour
2 tbsp Gram Flour
1 tbsp Semolina
1 medium Onion, chopped very finely
1-2 Green Chillies, chopped finely
3-4 tbsp Coriander Leaves, finely chopped
½ tsp Jeera/Cumin Powder
½ tsp Coriander Powder
½ tsp Red Chilli Powder
¼ tsp Turmeric Powder
Salt to taste
Oil/Ghee for frying

Thalipeeth

Method:
Mix all the ingredients except oil/ghee and knead it into stiff dough using water. The dough should be of chapatti consistency. While kneading the dough, rub some oil or ghee to your palms to keep from sticking.
Keep this dough aside for 10-15 minutes covered with wet kitchen towel.
Again knead the dough and make golf ball sized balls.
Take a clean plastic sheet or banana leaf and grease its one side with some oil or ghee.
Flatten one ball in the palm of your hand and place it in the center of the sheet. Pat the ball with palm and the fingers. If the dough is too sticky, dip fingers in water to make the patting easier. Keep flattening in circular motion to make a round flat disc but make it sure that the thalipeeth has even thickness.
make one small hole in the center with finger which will help to cook the thalipeeth evenly.
Heat the griddle or non-stick tava and gently remove thalipeeth from plastic sheet and place it on tava.
Apply little oil or ghee at the edges, in the center hole and on top of the thalipeeth and cook on both the sides until it turns crisp and light brown in colour.
Serve hot thalipeeth with yogurt or raita with pickle and sweet Aamras.

Thalipeeth with Okra Raita

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Bhindi/Okra Raita
Prep Time: 10 mins
Cooking Time: 5-10 mins
Serves: 2-3

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Ingredients:
6-7 Okra/Bhindi, cut into thin slices
1 small Red Onion
2 cups Yogurt
½ tsp Green Chilli, finely chopped
A Pinch of Jeera/Cumin Powder
1 tsp Oil
Salt to Taste

Method:
Heat oil in a pan and add finely chopped onion. Sauté it till they turn translucent.
Now add okra and green chilli and sauté it in high flame till it becomes crisp and brown.
Beat the yogurt and mix sauted okra and onion and cumin powder and salt to taste and mix well.
Chill the raita for at least half an hour before serving.
If desired you can add little bit of chat masala. But I like the sweet taste of fried Okra with tanginess of yogurt.

Thalipeeth with Okra Raita

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Aamras
Prep Time: 5-10 mins
Cooking Time: -
Serves: 2-3

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Ingredients:
3 Ripe Mangoes(I used Alphanso)
1 tbsp Sugar(acc to taste)
1 cup chilled Milk
A pinch of Cardamom Powder
Ice Cubes

Method:
Peel the mangoes and take out the pulp. Discard the skin and seeds.
Blend this pulp with milk, sugar and ice cubes.
Add cardamom powder and chill it before serving and enjoy.

Thalipeeth with Aamras

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Did You Know?
The saying 'Anna he poornabrahma' aptly summarises what Maharashtrians feel about the food they cook. They consider 'anna', or food, equal to 'Brahma', or the creator of the universe. Food is God, to be worshipped. Little wonder that Maharashtrian cuisine not only fills the stomach, but also fills the soul - with content!
The cuisine of Maharashtra has its own distinctive flavors and tastes. It can be divided into two major sections–the coastal and the interior.
A major portion of Maharashtra, which lies on the coast of the Arabian Sea, is loosely called the Konkan and boasts of its own Konkani cuisine, which is a homogeneous combination of Malvani, Gaud Saraswat Brahmin, and Goan cuisines. Besides the coastal cuisine, the interior of Maharashtra—the Vidarbha area, has its own distinctive cuisine known as the Varadi cuisine.
The people are known for the aesthetic presentation of food, which adds extra allure to the feasts. For instance, in formal meals, it is a practice to sing sacred verses to dedicate the meal to God. The guests sit on floor rugs or red wooden seats and eat from silver or metal thalis and bowls placed on a raised 'chowrang', or a short decorative table. Rangolis or auspicious patterns of coloured powder are drawn around the thali or the chowrang. To avoid mixing flavours, each guest is given a bowl of saffron scented water to dip the fingers in before starting on the next course. There is a specific order of serving of savouries and sweets, curries and rice or rotis, and a person who does not know this is not considered to be well trained in the art of hospitality. Agarbattis spread fragrance everywhere and the host believes the satisfaction of his guests to be his true joy.
(Source: wiki and www.maharashtraweb.com)

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Thalipeeth with Okra Raita and Aamras

Dhal Palak

Weekend lunch... And this time I went for very light and healthy food, Dhal Palak. It took me 15 minutes to prepare this wonderful dish. There is no grinding or cooking for long time. Everything is quick and fast. I served it with Rooma's Jhatpat Aloo Paratas. So this very easy and delicious recipe i'm passing to my buddy Pooja for her vegetable of the week:) Hope you all enjoy it as much as we did:)

Quick And Fast Dhal Palak

Ingredients:
2 bunches of Palak/Spinach
1/2 cup Masoor Dal/Red Lentils
2 medium Onion, chopped finely
2 large Tomatoes, sliced thinly
1 inch Ginger, chopped finely
1 tsp Jerra/Cumin Seeds
1/2 tsp Turmeric Powder
2 tbsp Lemon Juice
1 tsp Garam Masala
3 Green Chillies, sliced
Salt and Sugar to taste
1 tbsp Oil

Dhal Palak

Method:
Cut Palak finely and cook with little water.
Cook Dal with little turmeric powder in pressure cooker.
Heat oil in a pan and season with jeera.
When it splutters add onions and fry till golden brown.
To this add chopped ginger and sliced chilli and fry for a minute.
Now add sliced tomatoes and fry for 1-2 minutes.
Add cooked palak and dal and pour enough water, salt, sugar, garam masala and turmeric powder.
Boil for few minutes and then add lemon juice just before removing it from flame.
Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and serve hot with rice/chapati/roties.

Dhal Palak

Variations:
You can use fenugreek leaves instead of palak.
While seasoning add few red chillies, garlic and fenugreek seeds.

Final Verdict:
It turned out to be big hit with my hubby. This was the first time I cooked Dhal Palak and my hubby insists that it should be in our weekend menu for atleast once a month:)

Dhal Palak served with Rooma's Quick Aloo Parata

Thanks Rooma for your wonderful recipe of Jhatpat Aloo Paratas. It was delicious and we enjoyed it a lot:)