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.