Semolina (Sooji) halwa, and Bengal gram (Kala chana) dry preparation

Semolina halwa and Bengal gram (kala chana) dry preparation are made for Devi puja, especially during Navratri celebrations. 

Here’s the recipe for these lip smacking dishes:

Semolina halwa

Ingredients:

-         2 tbsps ghee

-         1 cup Semolina

-         1 cup sugar

-         4 cups water

-         ¼ tsp cardamom powder

-         1 tbsp cashew nuts

-         ½ tbsp raisins

Instructions:

-         Heat the ghee in a thick bottomed pan and add the semolina. Lower the flame, keep stirring and add the cashew nuts after about two minutes.

-         When the semolina turns to brown color, add the sugar and stir for a few seconds.

-         Add the water, mix well and add the raisins and cardamom powder. Cover the pan and let it cook for about three minutes.

-         When the consistency is semi solid, remove from the flame.

Bengal gram dry preparation

Ingredients:

-         1 cup Bengal gram (kala chana) soaked overnight and pressure cooked with salt and 1½ cups water for 18 minutes

-         1 tbsp oil

-         ½ tsp cumin seeds

-         A pinch of asafetida

-         ¾  tsp cut ginger

-         ¼ tsp turmeric powder

-         ¼ tsp red chilli powder

-         1 tsp coriander powder

-         ½ tsp garam masala powder

Instructions:

-         Drain the cooked Bengal gram and keep aside.

-         Heat oil in a thick bottomed pan and when it starts smoking, add the cumin seeds and asafetida.

-         Add the cut ginger and stir, let it turn brownish.

-         Add the cooked Bengal gram, and all the masala powders.

-         Stir well and keep on low flame for about two minutes and remove from fire.

Chicago pizza

This used to be a frequent dinner dish at hour home. Once children left for studies, it became rarer, one reason being our dinner now consists of only a bowl of seasonal fruits. After so many years, I baked this pizza on request of my daughter during her visit. Since I always note down the recipes, it was not difficult to use correct proportion of the ingredients.

Ingredients:

For the base

-         4 ½ cups of refined flour (for four persons)

-         1 ½  tsps of dried yeast

-         6 tbsps of milk

-         10 tbsps of water

-         Salt to taste

-         2 tbsps of ghee or oil

For the filling

-         10 big ripe tomatoes

-         3 Onions (or a bunch of spring onions) cut small

-         1 or 2 tsps of sugar (optional)

-         Salt to taste

-         2 tbsps of oil

-         1/3 tsp red chilli powder

-         ¾ tsp garam masala powder

-         1 cup cut cabbage

-         4 capsicums deseeded and cut

-         2 cups sliced mushrooms

-         ¾ cup deseeded, sliced olives

-         2 cups grated mozzarella cheese

-         1 tsp oregano

 Instructions:

 Base

-         Dissolve the yeast in lukewarm milk, keep covered for ten minutes.

-         Take the flour in a large bowl, add the salt to one corner and oil on one side.

-         Make a well in the center, pour the yeast milk mixture. Stir with a wooden spoon, starting from the center until the milk and some of the flour form a fairly thick paste. Cover the bowl with a towel or cling wrap and leave for 45 minutes.

-         After 45 minutes, slightly warm the water and add to it. Knead well to soft dough and leave covered in a warm place for 45 minutes to let it double in size.

Tomato puree

-         Grate the tomatoes, discard the skins

-         Heat the oil in a thick bottomed vessel and sauté the cut onions till they turn light brown.

-         Add the grated tomatoes, keep the flame low and let it cook and thicken, while stirring occasionally.

-         When it is slightly thick, add salt, red chilli powder and garam masala powder. Add the sugar if needed, to adjust the taste.

Sauté the cut vegetables (except the olives) one by one  and keep aside.

For baking

-         Roll the dough out, smear the baking dish with oil, and place the base over it. Pierce with a fork or a tooth pick all over its surface.

-         Spread the tomato puree evenly over it, then the grated mozzarella cheese.

-         Spread the sautéed vegetables and sprinkle oregano over it.

-         Bake in a preheated oven at 150 degrees for 20 minutes, and then increase the temperature to 160 degrees for 5 minutes.

-         Remove from the oven, make wedges and serve!

Tora/taikile leaves and jackfruit seeds sabzi

It was during couch surfing at Ganesh Kamath’s house in Padubelle that we got to taste this delicioius sabzi. His wife just went out, plucked these leaves and made the sabzi. My husband and I liked it. Then we were driving in Kerala and I saw many people stopping cars on the way to pluck some leaves from the road side. I got curious and asked one of them. He told it was to make sabzi and I saw that it was the same leaves that had in Padubelle.

On reaching back home, my husband located the plant growing in an empty plot near our house. He brought some leaves and since I had some jackfruit seeds at home, I prepared this sabzi.

Ingredients:

3 cups of Tora leaves, cleaned, washed and cut

1 cup of jackfruit seeds, cooked, peeled and cut into four

1 tbsp oil

½ tsp mustard seeds

6 flakes of crushed garlic

Salt to taste

1/3 tsp turmeric powder

½ tsp red chilli powder

1 tsp coriander powder

½ tsp garam masala powder

½ tbsp tamarind pulp

Instructions:

- Heat oil in a pan, add mustard seeds. When they splutter, add the cut leaves. Stir for a minute, add the seeds and all masala powders, salt, tamarind pulp.

- Cover and cook till done.

Pay attention:

There is another plant with very similar leaves but it is not edible. Tora has six leaves on a branch and this plant has eight.

Tora leaves are shiny, thicker and the non edible leaves are thinner and sort of leathery.

Tora leaves have smooth tips and the other one has pointed tip.

Tora leaves remain fresh after plucking, whereas the non edible leaves become pliable in a matter of minutes.

When you break the stem of tora leaf, it has a nutty smell. The other plant has a fruity smell.

Goan Bread

Just about three hours drive from Belgaum, Goa used to be our frequent destination to chill out and to have sea food. While the three of us were enjoying the delicious spread, my husband, being a vegetarian, had to be satisfied with Goan bread and tomato curry. But those breads used to be awesome too.

Later we found another shack owned by a husband wife couple, who would bring mixed vegetable curry to be served with pav for breakfast. I always wondered what is it that makes the Goan baked items so special. And then one day, I had an urge to try out the Goan bread. I searched the net and came across this site : http://peppermill-miri.blogspot.in/2007/11/poee-goan-bread.html

I adopted this recipe as my base and tried it out yesterday. It came out well and here it is:

Ingredients: for 9 breads

1 ½  cups wheat flour

2 cups refined flour

1 ½ tsps dried yeast

1 tsp sugar

Salt to taste

½ cup milk

¾ cups water

Instructions:

-         Dissolve sugar in ½ cup lukewarm water, add the yeast and leave aside for 10 minutes.

-         Take the wheat flour, refined flour, and salt in a large bowl, add the yeast mixture, milk and water and knead well for about five minutes.

-         Make it into a large ball and allow it to double by keeping it covered with a wet cloth in a warm place for an hour.

-         Knead the dough again, divide it into 6 portions. Roll each portion into a ball and flatten it slightly. Make a vertical slit on the top of each one with a sharp knife, and gently pull the dough apart with your fingers on either side of the slit.

-         Oil aluminum foil and keep all of these on top of it, cover with the wet cloth and leave for half an hour to rise.

-         Sprinkle a bit of dry flour on the surface of each one and bake for about 20 minutes at 200 degrees C.

-         Put the buns upside down and bake for further 5-10 minutes.

-         They are fine as a breakfast item and are equally great with a curry for lunch.

Sooji (semolina) cheela

This is a very quick and delicious breakfast item. I really love the crisp, crunchy bites that goes well with fresh butter, tomato ketchup or coconut chutney.

Ingredients

2 cups Sooji for 6 cheelas

Salt to taste

½ cup grated coconut

1 tbsp finely cut coriander leaves (optional)

1tsp sesame seeds

½ tsp cumin seeds

Water

Ghee or oil

Method

-         Mix all the ingredients together into a thick batter.

-         Heat a non stick pan. Remove it from fire, spread a ladleful of batter to a thin round and keep the pan on medium flame.

-         When it is cooked, pour some ghee on the top and turn it upside down to cook the other side.

-         Serve hot.

Mung dal dry preparation

Ingredients:

1 cup mung dal

Salt to taste

1 tbsp oil

A pinch of asafoetida

½ tsp cumin seeds

1/3 tsp turmeric powder

1/3 tsp red chilli powder

1 cup water

Instructions:

-         Wash the dal, drain and keep aside.

-         Heat oil in the pressure cooker and add asafetida and cumin seeds. When they splutter, add the dal, salt, turmeric powder, red chilli powder, salt, stir nicely, and add water.

-         Pressure cook for two and a half minutes.

-         Cool and open the pressure and it is ready to be served alone with chutney or ketchup for breakfast or as an accompaniment for steamed rice.

Sweet and sour mango chutney/curry

Ingredients:

3 medium size raw mangoes

1 tbsp oil

A pinch of asafetida

¾ tsp fenugreek seeds

1 tsp aniseeds

½ tsp turmeric powder

1/3 tsp red chilli powder

½ tsp coriander powder

Salt to taste

Sugar or jaggery, or both

1 small tomato (optional)

Instructions:

-         Wash and clean the mangoes. Cut them into large cubes.

-         Heat oil in a thick bottomed pan; add asafetida, fenugreek seeds and aniseeds. Sauté ( if you are adding tomato, do it now) and add the mango pieces.

-         Stir for a few seconds, add turmeric powder, chilli powder, coriander powder, salt, sugar, or jaggery, or both.

-         Let the mangoes cook, it takes about six minutes.

-         Remove from fire, cool and store in a bottle. It will stay for a few days. If you are making chutney, don’t add the tomato.

-         Alternately, you can also add water and cook to make a curry for immediate use.