Khaman Dhokla

Like most all Gujarati snacks (such as Patra and Khandvi), the most important aspect of Dhoklas is their seasoning.  Yes, it is important to know how to make Dhoklas soft and spongy but without the right garnish, dhoklas will just be soft and spongy idlis, not dhoklas.  So before you commit to making a batch of dhoklas, check your refrigerator and pantry and make sure you have the ingredients necessary for garnishing and if not, make sure it will be available by the time the dhoklas come out of the cooker. 

Ingredients
For the Dhokla cakes:
1 cup chana dal
1/2 cup yogurt
2 tablespoons grated jaggery
3 green chillies (to grind in with the dal)
1 tablespoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder

For Seasoning and garnishing
1tablespoon mustard seeds
15 curry leaves
3 green chillies
Freshly chopped cilantro (to taste)
Soak chana dal in water for 6 hours. Now grind in a paste with yogurt and jaggery and green chillies. Cover and keep the paste in a warm place for 10 hours. Add salt. In a big vessel heat water when water starts boiling then in one table spoon oil add baking soda and turmeric and stir to make a smooth paste and add this paste in the fermented dough. Grease a plate with a high border and pour the dough. Keep the plate in the vessel with boiling water taking care that water does not enter into the plate. Cover the vessel and let it steam for 8 to 10 minutes. Switch off the flame and let it cool for next 10 minutes.  Dhokala stands are also available in the market which are easy to use.

                              

Remove the lid take out the plate.Let it cool for 20 minutes and then cut into required size.

                                        Steamed Dhokala Plate

 Put all the pieces in a big plate.
Seasoning:
In a big spoon add two table spoon of oil and when it is heated add mustard seeds, curry leaves cut longitudinally in halves and the whole green chillies.  When it starts sputtering, pour the seasoning over the dhokla cakes and toss all pieces gently so that every piece gets equally seasoned. Add the freshly chopped cilantro.  Serve dhokalas with dhaniya chutney and Imli chutney.

Tips:-

Never cut hot dhokalas let these cool otherwise desired shape will not be obtained.

Carrot sabzi

Carrots are rich in Beta carotene which protects vision specially night vision.  The antioxidants present in carrots help protect against cardiovascular diseases and cancer.  Carrots are harvested in winter and hit the markets around November in India. This is a very lightly cooked dish that is almost like a salad.  Grated carrots are juicier and tastier than larger chopped chunks and the lemon juice and light seasoning really brings out their flavor in this dish.
Ingredients:-
4 fresh carrots
2 green chillies finely chopped
finely chopped coriander leaves
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
2 tablespoon oil
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon
Grate the carrots. Put salt and turmeric,chillies on grated carrots.In a pan pour the oil and put on the burner.when the oil is hot put mustard seeds and then the grated carrots.Stir gently.Switch off the flame after 4 minutes.  Pour lemon juice and garnish with coriander.  Serve this sabzi with rotis or parathas.

Homemade Chocolate (Fudge)

Chocolate is a universal indulgence and I love chocolate as much as I love traditional Indian mithai. The same goes for my daughters and son. When they were quite young, I had experimented with the recipe to make it a part of my Diwali mithai repertoire. The "chocolate burfi" as it was known then, was really quite popular with them and their friends who came over to wish us happy diwali.  Recently on a visit to my son's house, I made a batch on his request. Although not as smooth in texture as the store bought bars, this fudge has a lot more flavour and an unmistakable Indian taste.

Ingredients:

3/4 cup All purpose flour - in India, we can use maida
3/4 cup Cocoa powder (you can also replace the powder with bars of your favorite brand)
3 cup sugar
1 can condensed milk or evaporated milk 
3/4 cup butter
1/4 cup roasted and broken nuts (almonds, cashews)
(If evaporated milk or condensed milk is not available then take 1.5 litre of milk and let it boil and evaporate till the volume is 400 ml). In the U.S. one can buy the condensed milk cans from the grocery store.
In a vessel pour evaporated milk+cocoa powder+all purpose flour+sugar. Mix it well with a hand blender to remove lumps. Now in a non stick pan pour this mixture. Keep it on a medium to high flame and start stirring to avoid lumps. After the mixture starts to boil, add butter and continue to stir for 20 minutes then the mixture will turn into a mass.

Stir well to remove all lumps

When it seems like a homogenous mass that's ready for rolling, then take the pan off the flame.

 Ready to roll

 Spread it on a wooden board or a chakala used to roll rotis.
Roll it with the help of a rolling pin and garnish with nuts. When it is cool then with the help of a pizza cutter cut into desired shape and size.
TIPS
If condensed milk is used then reduce the amount of sugar to 2 cup only as the condensed milk being sweet.
Exact timing for switching off the flame is very important, if its too early the chocolate will be too soggy to roll or cut and if it's too late, the ball might become too dry and crumb like.

You can tune the recipe by experimenting with different types of cocoa sources.  The one I used here is the Hershey's cocoa powder.
But there are other chocolate powders out there and you can make it as gourmet or as simple as you like.  I would really like to try the Ghiradelli's cocoa as their chocolate is quite popular in the bay area and I loved the chocolate when I visited their factory in San Francisco.
My daughter claims that Scharffen Berger cocoa is superior and they deserve a mention here.  So here is a small spectrum for you that you can pick from. But if you are in India, you could just buy the Cadbury's Cocoa powder.

Portland in Oregon

                               पर्वतों के बीच में बसा पोर्टलैंड  

यों तो देखा जाये तो सारा अमेरिका देश ही बहुत सुंदर    हे| बहुत  अधिक  क्षेत्रफल होने के कारण भोगोलिक विभिन्नताए बहुत  हे | रेगिस्तान से लेकर बर्फीले पर्वत सब इस देश मेंहे  मिल जायेंगे|
   लेकिन कुछ स्थानों पर तो लगता हे की कुदरत अत्यधिक मेहरबान हुई हे|.इनमे हे देश का पश्चिमी तट जो प्रशांत महासागर के किनारे किनारे चलता है  पूरा कैलिफोर्निया प्रान्त इसके किनारे बसा हुआ हे उसके उत्तर में ओरेगोन  प्रान्त हे जिसका मुख्य  शहर है  पोर्टलैंड|. यह शहर एक तरफ से प्रशांत महासागर से घिरा हुआ है  और  दूसरी और पर्वतों से|शहर के बीच में से गुजरती है  नदी विला मेट|  सर्दी  के मौसम  में यह शहर स्कीइंग एवं स्केटिंग  में रूचि रखने वालों के लिए उपर्युक्त है .और गर्मी में दर्शनीय स्थानों की सूची  में इसका स्थान प्रथम है |
एक तरफ समुद्री तट और दूसरी तरफ पर्वत श्रंखला कास्केड पर्वत श्रेणी| सर्दी में यह पर्वत पूरी तरह से
बर्फ से ढक जाते है .लेकिन बसंत ऋतू आते ही यह बर्फ पिघलने लग जाती है  और वृक्ष फूल और पत्तियों से खिल उठते हे| इस शहर के पास से गुजरती है  कोलुम्बिया नदी जो कि रौक्की पर्वत  श्रेणी से आरंभ होती है  और  दो हजार  मील का सफ़र तय करती हे|
                                        

                                                                    columbia river gorge
 .इस दोरान यह नदी कनाडा एवं washington  राज्य से गुजरती हुई
ओरेगोन में प्रवेश करती है  फिर   प्रशांत महासागर में गिरती है |पोर्टलैंड के आस पास में  बहुत ही सुन्दर झरने है  जिनकी ऊँचाई ६०० फीट तक की है  .इसी में एक हे multnom झरना
यह दो झरनों से बना हुआ हे
यह झरना ऊंचाई से एक चट्टा न पर गिरता है और  फिर उस  चट्टान से पानी फिर नीचे गिरता हे

                                                                  multnomah  fall with it's bridge
किंवदंती हे कि यह झरना किसी राजकुमारी के स्नान के लिए बनवाया गया था जिन दो चट्टानों के बीच से यह झरना गिरताहे उनके ऊपर एक पुल बना दिया गया हे जहाँ से इसका नजारा देख सकते है 

                                                                                mt Hood   
 
यहाँ से पूर्व में  साठ मील क़ी दूरी पर ही बर्फ से ढकाहुआ mount हुड पहाड़ हे जो क़ी गर्मी में भी बर्फ से ढका हुआ रहता हे यह पहाड़ समुद्र ताल से 7000 फीट क़ी ऊंचाई पर हे
पोर्टलैंड के पश्चिम में mount st helens  हे जो क़ी  राष्ट्रीय  वोल्कानिक मोनुमेंट हे १८ मई १९८० को सुबह यह ज्वालामुखी सक्रिय हुआ  एवं उसका लावा बहुत नुकसान दायक   था इसमे ५७ लोगों की जान गयी थी

                                                                   Mt St Helens   

पुरी दुनिया के विभिन्न इलेक्ट्रोनिक उपकरणों में काम आने वाली सिलिकॉन चिप बनाने वाली कंपनी Intel भी इसी शहर में स्थित हे   यहाँ पर स्थित .तिलामुक डेरी के उत्पाद जैसे कि चीज ,मक्खन ,आइस्क्रेंम ,पूरे देश में लोकप्रिय हे

                                                                   लवेंडर फार्म

                 लवेंडर  एवं गुलाब   के पौधों के लिए यहाँ की जलवायु उपयुक्त हे बसंत एवं गर्मी में lavender के पौधे गर्मी में फूलों से लादे हुए सड़क किनारे भी मिल जायेंगे  इस शहर को सिटी ऑफ़ रोसेस भी कहा जाता हे
इसके अलावा detroit डेम जो की कुछ ही दूरी पर हे हरी भरी पहाड़ियों से गिरा हुआ बहुत ही रमणीक जगह  पर
हे .

                                                                           fall colors
फाल के   रंगों के लिए भी यहाँ की जलवायु उपर्युक्त हे|अक्टूबर  आते ही पेड़ों की पत्तियां रंग बिरंगी हो जाती हे |यह एक तरहका रासायनिक परिवतन पेड़ों में आता हे |
इस शहर की सुन्दरता का वर्णन जितना करे उतना ही कम  हे|








                

Kheer sewaiyan ki

Here's another quick and easy Mithai recipe.

Kheer is the integral part of Indian festive thali.The main ingredients of kheer is milk.And the taste can be varied by changing the combination. It can be of rice .makhana ,sabudana ,and sewaiyan..Let us make sewaiyan kheer.
Ingredients:

 whole milk 1 litre
sewaiyan   or vermicelli  1/2 cup
1 table spoon ghee
Sugar  1/2 cup
saffron  a pinch
10 almonds
10 pistachios
6 pods of cardamom
Soak the saffron in a cup with 2 teaspoon of water
micowave the almonds and pistachio for 20 minutes and then break  or cut into pieces .Remove the cardamom seeds from the pods and ground in fine powder.

In a non stick pan pour ghee and put it on the flame. Add sewaiyan and start stirring till the sewaiyan turns golden brown. It will take less than 5 minutes. Remove from the flame.

Pour the milk in big thick bottomed pan and put it on the flame. When milk starts boiling then pour roasted sewaiyan in the boiling milk. Stir occasionally taking care that it does not stick to the bottom.Let it boil for next 10 minutes so the kheer gets a thick consistency. Now remove from the flame add soaked saffron,cardamom powder.Stir and then garnish with almonds and pistachios.
Kheer can be served hot or cold depending on the time of the day and personal preferences.  Either way, you can not serve a more festive mithai!

Poha

Poha is par-boiled and flattened rice that can be revived by just soaking in water. It is typically eaten in the coastal regions both in the west and the east. In Maharashtra, it is a snack time delight, the most popular city version being Kande Pohe, or Onion Poha. However, the non-Onion poha tastes very delicious and the key flavours here are the cumin, curry leaves and peanuts in the poha and the garnish of fresh cilantro and lime juice.  The best part about poha is just how quick and easy it is to make, and how universally loved the dish is.

Poha

Ingredients required                     
For 4 people
2 cup thick poha
4 medium size potaoes

6 table spoon peanuts
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoon jeera (cumin seeds)
2 tomatoes finely chopped
2 teaspoon mustard seeds

20 curry leaves

finely chopped green coriander leaves 2 table spoon
finely chopped green chillies 1 teaspoon
1 lemon
5 table spoon oil
Wash the poha in a colander under running water.Keep aside. Keep sprinkling water three to four times in between. Microwave potatoes for 6 minutes. 

Remove the skin and cut in 1/2 inches cubes.

In the poha colander put the potato cubes and salt and turmeric powder.

In a non stick or thick bottomed pan pour oil and put on burner. When oil is hot 



enough to then put jeera ,mustard seeds and peanuts. Stir till the peanuts are fried and then mix in the soaked poha and potato and tomatoes .Gently fold the poha until the spices and ingredients get mixed. Now squeeze in the juice of one lemon. Add curry leaves, green chilli and coriander leaves. Turn upside down 

with a spatula once. Poha is ready to serve.

Tips


    1. Roasted peanuts are available then  frying of peanuts is not required.So after jeera(cummin seeds) ,and mustard seeds add poha and potatoes and then mix peanuts .

    2 Onion lovers can put finely chopped onion after adding   Cummin seeds and mustard seeds sauté for  2 or 3 minutes and then add poha.

Shimla Mirchi Besan Wali (Capsicum with besan)

                                                 

Mirchi/Peppers are an important part of Indian cooking imparting both heat and flavour to the dishes. One can rank peppers in heat and flavour and often the ones that are low in heat(acidity) are very high in flavour. Indian Shimla mirchi or capsicum is one such pepper.

Shimla mirch can be cooked in a number of different ways.  The most popular Shimla mirch dish is with potatoes (I will post the recipe later) but a very Marwari way of making Shimla mirch is to cook it with Besan.  Here is the recipe. 
Ingredients :

                                                        Ingredients

2 medium sized Shimala mirchi
4 table spoon besan (chick pea flour)
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 teaspoon amchur powder
1 teaspoon salt
4 tabespoon oil
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
a pinch of hing powder 
Cut shimala mirchi in 1/2 inch pieces and remove the seeds.
In a nonstick pan pour the oil and put on burner or stove.
When oil is hot enough then put  hing and mustard seeds and when mustard starts crackling add mirchi pieces and stir.After a minute add besan and remaining spices.Now stir and keep the heat at lowest.After 10 minutes capsicum pieces will become tender.Switch off the flame .  This dish is ready to serve with roti or paratha.
Tips :-
The amount of oil required is proportional to the quantity of besan used.Calorie watcher can reduce the amount of besan .

Dry moong mogar (faraka mogar)

 Dals (Lentils/legumes) are good source of protien for vegetarians.The kind of dal eaten in a particular region is the one which is grown there in plenty. In Marwar area moong dal is grown in plenty and that is why most of the popular dishes are made of moong dal like papad,vadi etc.Even halwa is also made frim moong dal.The recipe for that is in mithai section.
This particular dish is dry moong dal as it does not have any gravy

Ingredients

1 cup yellow Moong dal (boiled)

2 table spoon oil

1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder

1 teaspoon coriander powder

2 teaspoon red chilli powder

1 teaspoon of jeera and fennel seeds each

pinch of hing powder

salt to taste
In the boiled moong dal add turmeric,coriander powder,chilli powder .
In a pan put oil and heat add hing,jeea,fennel seeds and add moong dal.Stir and let it cook for 3 to 4 minutes so that all spices incorporate with dal.

Now transfer to a serving bowl and garnish with finely chopprd mint and green coriander leaves.

Tips

Moong dal should not be boiled too much otherwise the dish will turn into a paste.

Potato Mash - My grandson's favorite snack

My 7 year old grandson has made an invaluable contribution to his grandmother's cooking blog: a recipe to his all time favorite snack or breakfast food, that he can make all by himself!

Ingredients required

2 potatoes
salt to taste
4 table spoons tomato sauce    
1/4 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon butter
Wash and then microwave potatoes for 3 minutes.
Take them out and run under cool water, then peel. Mash them with a masher.
Add milk and then mix with potatoes. Add butter. Sprinkle salt and then pour tomato sauce. Serve it hot/warm and if you like then you can sprinkle black pepper powder.

Matar Paneer

Ingredients
Paneer          250 gms
Green Peas   250 gms (shelled)
Yogurt           125 gms
Spices:
1  teaspoon red chilli powder
1 teaspoon coriander powder
1/4  teaspoon turmeric powder
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
A pinch of hing powder
3 tablespoon Ghee (clarified butter)
For making thick gravy
2 tomatoes
10 pieces of cashew
Thaw the paneer after taking out of freezer for 30 minutes.Now cut into 1/2 " cubes and keep aside.
yogurt gravy
Put the pan on heat and pour ghee in it .When it is hot then add hing powder +all the spices and then add yogurt.Stir well till yogurt gets fried with spices and then add two cups of warm water in it.Let it simmer for 3 to 4 minutes.
Gravy with tomato and yogurt
Cut two tomatoes in small pieces.
Make paste of 10 cashews in a mortar pestel.
Put the pan on heat and pour ghee in it. When it is hot then add hing powder +all the spices and tomato pieces then add yogurt. Stir well till all the ingredients  gets fried with spices. Now add cashew paste and stir. Add two cups of hot water and let it boil.
Now add paneer cubes and peas to it. After 5 minutes when peas and paneer absorbs the spices then switch off the flame or heat.
Pour the sabji in a serving bowl and garnish with finely chopped fresh green coriander leaves. Serve it with roti or paratha.
Tips etc.:
1. Thawing the paneer is necessary for getting good cubes and not the crumbs.
2. Cashew paste will help in changing the consistency of the gravy and will give a  buttery taste.

20 minutes Badam Barfi

                                          Badam Barfi

Some of the sweet dishes require long preparation and because of that we do not try them so often. Here is the recipe of this sweet dish which is very quick. One does not have to do special grocery for it as all the ingredients are available in your pantry.Diwali is around the corner so let us celebrate with  this quick  20 minutes barfi.



Ingredients:
One cup samolina
one cup grated almonds




one cup milk
one cup ghee
Two cup sugar
A pinch of saffron
8 cardamom pods

Grate the almonds in a grinder. Soak the saffron in water. Powder the cardamom. Keep a greased plate or tray ready to set the barfi.
In a thick bottomed or non stick pan place samolina ,ghee,powdered almonds,and sugar. Now keep the pan on stove  with a medium heat and add milk. Start stirring the mixture intermittently. Taking care that it does not stick to the bottom. The samolina and almonds will start getting cooked in ghee.Within ten minutes good aroma will
be released. Add saffron and cardamom powder. Next five minutes when it becomes of a  thick consistency.How much thick is a question for all.So the indicator is that while stirring it stir it from bottom to top and when the caramalising process of sugar is visible then switch off the flame.There will be a formation of net like texture different from top layer.Now for 1 to 2 minutes stir well to make the mixture homogenous .Spread on a greased plate.

 Within ten minutes cut into desired size. Store in an air tight container.
Tips:
1. Milk should be added after switching on the flame otherwise the samolina will start dissoving in milk and will result in a sticky mixture.
2. If it is cooked for more time than the result will be crumbs instead of barfi.So flame should be switched off before the mixture starts drying.

Mirchi bada

In Marwari (Jodhpur in particular), we say "If you throw a stone in the air, it will land on a Snack/sweets shop" and the snacks always include Mirchi bada, Kofta , Kachori and Samosa.
Mirchi bada is the quintessential marwari snack. A description of Marwar is incomplete without mirchi badas and bandhani (tye and dye work). Passengers at Jodhpur air port wearing safari suits and carrying beat up brief cases often have bags full of mirchi badas in their carry ons. These are Jodhpur expatriates who will bring a slice of Marwar with them as they return to far flung places like Mumbai and Madras. Mirchi Bada defies economic boundaries, much like the Vada Pav in Mumbai, as the Jodhpur proletariat and the bourgeoise, crowd the same stores seeking mirchi badas as an accompaniment to their evening chai. The key flavors in a mirchi bada are the tartness, or khatai of the mashed potatoes, and the fresh flavors of the mirchi, the pepper. In Jodhpur, the best peppers come from Mathania, an agricultural community on the outskirts of Jodhpur. Almost sweet in flavor and about 5-6 inches long, these peppers dont have the sharpness of the little Indian chillies, and thus lend themselves very happily to this snack.

Recipe

Ingredients

Four medium sized potatoes

Two cups Besan

Two teaspoons salt

Two teaspoons red chilli powder
Two teaspoons cumin seeds

Two pinches of hing

Oil for frying

Long Green chillies 15
Process

Boil and peel potatoes and mash. In a pan on a medium flame, add one tablespoon of oil, heat and put cumin seeds and hing and after sputtering, put mashed potatoes. Turn the stove off. Add one teaspoon of salt and one teaspoon of cumin seeds.

Mix all and make 15 balls of the mixture.  Slit the chillies or peppers vertically without removing the top caps (or tails if you will). In a bowl of boiling water, dip the pepper and cover with a lid, then switch the stove off . After two minutes take the peppers out and drain the water. Keep them on a napkin or a cloth to reduce the moisture. Prepare the batter of besan adding salt, chilli powder, cuminseeds, hing and water.Mix well with the help of a whisker so that there are no lumps in the batter. The batter should have the same consistency as a Kofta batter. Fill the potato stuffing inside the slit and around the chillies. Fill all the chillies. Now dip these stuffed chillies in the besan batter and holding them with the cap, gently slide them into the kadahi and deep fry .

Drain them well and serve with your favourite chutney/ketchup.

Bach baras(vatsa dwadashi)

                                                        

Vatsa dwadashi is celebrated by worshipping cow and eating bajara roti and beere ka sag(sprouted beans) Dwadashi following janmashtami is vatsa dwdashi.Dwadashi is the 12th day of a fortnight as per hindu calender.This year vatsa dwadashi is on 14th of august.

Beere ka sag

Sprouted beans are rich in vitamins and protiens.These are rich in digestive energy ,amino acids.  One can make them at home .When these are ready these can be made into sabji as well.
Sprouting 
1 cup of moong
1 cup moth or mataki
1 cup chick peas
Soak in water for 12 hours. Now drain the water and tie the soaked beans in a cean cloth and keep it in a colander.  Colander helps in draining excess water.Keep sprinkling water on it periodically for next 12 hours. It will take total 24 hours after soaking in water to sprout them properly.
These beans will look like the in picture .

                                      Sprouted beans(Beere)

Ingredients:
1 cup sprouted beans
1/2 cup yogurt
Spices
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon chilli powder
1/2 teaspoon coriander powder
1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
pinch of hing powder
2 table spoon oil
Add 1/2 cup water to the sprouts and microwave for 8 minutes.
Keep a pan on stove and  add oil and when it is hot add  all the spices from 1 to  5.Immediatey add yogurt and stir till the yogurt is beaten well and spices get mixed with yogurt.et it cook for two minutes and add microwaved sprouts and a cup of warm water.After it starts boiling cook for three or four minutes and switch off the flame .

Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and chopped green chilli and ginger. Beere ka sag is ready. Serva it with roti or paratha. On Vatsa Dwadashi (also called bach baras in Marwari) which falls  four days after Janmashtami this sabzi is made in every Marwari house and is served with roti made of bajara(millet) with gur(jaggery) and ghee. This menu will be incomplete without a serving of fresh yogurt too. For eating beere ka sag always plan ahead and get the sprouts going.

Bajare ki roti

Ingredients 

3 cup bajare flour
1/4 cup ghee
1/4 cup grated jaggery

Before making roti flour has to be kneaded into a dough by adding water to it.
While making wheat flour roti we prepare the dough once .But bajara dough is to be made in batches the reason for that is bajara flour dough is less elastic and it looses its elasticity if kept for longer period.

Knead the flour for 3 to 4 rotis at a time.Rolling of these rotis is also somewhat tricky.This dough does not handle the pressure of the rolling pin .it has to be spread by the movements of hand .Take a piece of dough make a ball put it on the rolling flour which is sprinkled with dry flour.Sprinkle dry flour on ball.Now gently tap the  ball with your hand by moving the dough in a circular motion.when done then roast it on a hot tawa just like wheat flour roti.apply ghee and serve hot with beere ka sag,yogurt and grated jaggery.

Tips

  1 bajara flour should be freshly grounded. 
  2 For those who find it difficult to roll roti can mix little amount of wheat flou     to get some elasticity in dough.

Gajar Halwa (carrot halwa)

This being lower in calories than other sweet dishes is more popular .During winter best quality of carrots are available.This is the best dessert one can have in winter without being bothered about calories as amount of fat is very less.

Ingredients:-

                             




                        
Carrots  1 kg 

milk 11/2 kg

sugar 1 cup

10 pods of cardamom 

roasted and sliced almonds and pistachio

wash carrots and scrape and Grate 

In a non stick thick bottom pan pour the milk and add  grated carrots

Let the milk boil and evaporate  this mixture of carrots and milk.Keep stirring occasionally so that it does not stick to the bottom of the pan. It will take 50 minutes for milk to evaporate .This will turn into a semi solid mass.Now in another pan put 4 table spoon ghee and add this semi solid mass.

Stir it for ten miutes and then add 1 cup of sugar.Now add cardamoom and mix well.Switch off the flame and garnish with dry fruits.

Enjoy gajar halwa on a winter lunch or dinner.

Dahi bade

Summer in marwar is very harsh.It becomes difficult to eat even when you are hungry.all one wants is cold water....But if some one offers a plate of dahi bade with ice cold yogurt and some sweet chatani nobody refuses. Here is the recipe for Dahi bade.

                                       



Ingredients
One cup white urad dal   ( cup with a volume of 250ml)
two table spoon yellow mung dal
750gms fresh yogurt
oil for frying
For garnishing
roasted and powdered cummin seeds
red chilli powder
dried and powdered mint leaves
Ingredients for Sweet chutney
25 gms 
25 gms jaggery grated
salt,red chilli powder  1/2 teaspoon each.
a pinch of garam masala(   optional  if you like it spicey ) and a pinch of ginger 

powder.
two table spoon of raisins and pieces of  dates each.
Making chutney
Soak the tamarind in water for 30 minutes.Then squeeze the pulp .Now in a pan add pulp ,jaggery,and salt and chilli powder.Put it on the stove and stir.After  it starts boiling add raisins and dates switch off the burner after two three minutes.Let it cool.
                               
Making batter and frying vada
Soak the both dal in water for three hours .
Now   drain the excess water.
Grind  it to  make batter taking care that it should not be too fine and too coarse.

                                           
The consistency should be thicker than the pakora paste.Add  1/2 spoon of salt to it and stir it with a ladle swiftly to make the dough fluffy.This will trap air in between the batter which in turn help bada to become soft.
In a pan put oil and start frying vadas .For droping the paste in oil I recommend  use of  a  wet tablespoon .This will prevent the batter to stick on the spoon and will help the batter to slide smmothly in the oil

Keep a bowl of water handy to dip the spoon in water after one or two droppings.This will keep the spoon
clean and will make it easy to drop the paste smoothly in oil.

Fry the vadas till these are golden brown.

                                            fried vada

Now soak these vadas in a bowl of warm water for ten minutes.
In a bowl add one cup of water  and mix with 1/4 cup of yogurt.stirr well.Now take out the soaked vadas out of water and press these gently between your palm and put in the bowl of yogurt water.Let these vadas soak in yogurt water for 30 minutes .  You will see badas have soaked all the water .
Remaining yogurt should be stirred and add three teaspoons of sugar .Beat the yogurt and keep it in fridge.
Serving
In a plate put two badas and add sweet yogurt.Now pour two teaspoon of chutney.Then garnish it with chilli powder and cummin powder and mint powder.
Tips
1.Always use fresh yogurt.
2.Serving of this dish is also  important.The plate should look tempting.So use your art in garnishing the dish with three different color of spices viz Red (chilli powder),Brown(roasted cumin powder),green(dried mint leaves powder).
As summer is approaching enjoy your home made dahi bade.

Lauki/Ghiya/Dudhi ke Kofte ki Sabji

Lauki or the white gourd is a very easy to digest vegetable.It is rich in vitamin B and C. We can cook it as a simple sabji.It can be mixed with yogurt to make raita.Lauki halwa is also very tasty and is easy to make.But this kofte ki sabji is really very yummy.
This dish can be prepared in two steps

                                            Grated Lauki

1   making of koftas

2   Preparing gravy

Ingredients required:-
One lauki of medium size
one cup besan
ginger and green coriander leaves

salt
red chilli powder
dhania powder
turmeric powder
one cup yogurt
two medium size tomatoes
oil to fry
        Making koftas

                          Grated lauki+Besan+Spices                  

                                                           Kofta Dough ready to fry

Peel and grate the lauki
Cut tomatoes in half inch pieces .
Cut two green chillies in pieces
mix  the besan and 1/2 teaspoon  each of  salt, red chilli powder,cummin seeds to grated lauki.and stir well.No water is required as the juice released from lauki will hold besan.
In a kadahi put oil and fry small balls of this paste which has a consistency of pakora.on a medium heat.Take the balls out when these are golden brown.Koftas are ready.

Turn off the burner .

Ready to take the plunge

Making gravy  
Make tomato puree in a grinder by adding diced tomatoes and a piece of ginger and pieces of green  chillies.
In the remaining oil put one teaspoon of salt,chilli powder,dhania powder,and 1/2 teaspoon of turmeric
 powder, a pinch of hing powder and  pour tomato puree.Stir for a minute and then  add yogurt. Now mix well with a spoon and stirr. When this mixture starts leaving oil  then add two cups of hot water. Let it boil and add fried koftas .Let it cook for three minutes .Switch off the flame and cover the pan.After five minutes open and garnish with finely chopped coriander,green chillies and ginger finely chopped.  Sabzi is ready to serve.It can be served with hot paratha, roti or rice.

Tips

After adding salt to grated lauki do not keep the mixture for long.This will make lauki to release it's moisture content and  it will change the consistency of dough.