Bhindi ki sabzi

                                                                     Delicious bhindi 

Bhindi or Okara is an  Asian vegetable mostly available during summer    It is called lady finger in English..Because of the mild flavour it is the favorite sabzi for kids and grown ups.It contains dietary fibres and antioxidants and vitamin A.the pods are green in color and about 2" to 4"in lengths

                                                                      Bhindi
It can be cooked at short notice as it very tender  takes little time to cook.
For making bhindi ki sabzi ingredients required are

250 gms bhindi
 3    tabspoon oil

 1.      2  teaspoon dhania powder
  2      2  teaspoon chilli powder
  3       1  teaspoon turmeric powder
  4         1      teaspoon amchur powder( dried mango powder)

A pinch of hing powder

1 teaspoon salt

Wash bhindi and wipe with a kitchen towel to soak water .Any moisture left will turn bhindi into a sticky mass.remove the cap of bhindi and then cut it into 1/4 " pieces horizontally.
In a thick bottom or non stick pan heat oil and after 2 inutes  add hing.
Add bhindi and gently stir.After 2 minutes add all the spices from 1 to 4 and stir .Do not cover let it cook openly . 5 minutes after adding spices add salt and stir  .Bhindi is ready to serve .Serve it with roti , paratha or puri.

Tips

1 By cooking it open  is to allow water vapor to escape and bhindi will not turn into a sticky mass.

2 Adding salt in the last is also for same reason.Salt makes the vegetables to release water content.

lauki with chana dal

Lauki or bottle gourd is a vegetable which is very soothing to our alementary canal.It easy to digest.It has lot of water content in it .And this is available throughout the year.Therefore lauki with chana dal is a good combination.We can get vitamins from lauki and protiens from chana dal.

Ingredients required

1.   One lauki


2. 1/2 cup  chana dal


3.  2 medium size tomatoes


4 .2 tab spoon oil


5.1 teaspoon  cummin seeds


6.1 teaspoon mustard seeds


7.2 teaspoon salt                           |      


8.1/4 teaspoon chilli powder|


9.1/2 teaspoon  turmeric powder||


10. 1 teaspoon coriander powder|
11. 1" piece of ginger finely chopped


12.1 green chilli finely chopped


13. 2 tablspoon green coriander leaves finely chopped


14. a pinch of hing powder




Wash chana dal and with 1 cup of water let it  pressure cook for 2 whistles.Peel the bottle gourd and chop into pieces of 1 or 1/2 ".Chop tomatoes into 1" pieces.
Remove dal from the cooker when pressure is decreased.Now wash the cooker and put it on the burner.Pour oil add cummin and mustard seed and when these starts spluttering then add hing and pour tomatoes with chilli turmeric,coriander powder.Add chopped ginger and green chillies.       Stir well and add salt.


Now add lauki and boiled chana dal in it.Add 1/4 cup of water and let it cook till 1 whistleOpen the cooker and garnish it with  green chopped  coriander .


Serve it with roti/rice/paratha.

Handavo

Human nature always strive for something new in every field.Either food ,clothing or entertainment. In every sphere of life novelty is required to keep your life interesting..Dishes cooked for lunch are not as exciting in the dinner Of course with the increase in the percentage of working women this luxary is not affordable in many households..As our country has vast culture and food to offer for so one  never runs out of new dishes to try.I was looking for some healthy baking dish and here is one handavo the gujarati dish.This  is a nutritious   dish as it contains lentils and vegetables .It does no require any deep frying so less oil is used..

Today we will bake handavo in our oven which is a baked savoury of rice ,lentils and vegetables

Ingredients required

    1   Rice  1 1/4 cup
    2   Tuvar Dal    1/4 cup
    3   chana dal 1/4cup
    4   moong dal 2 tab spoon
  . 5 urad dal    4 tab spoon

Mix all the ingredients and soak in water for 5 hours.
Now grind to a paste.

                                                       Fermented dough +other ingredients
The alternative for this is readymade handava flour available in stores.
For ingredients 1 to 5  you can use handavo flour .

      Handavo flour            2 cups
     Yogurt                         1 cup
     Grated jaggery             2 tablespoon
    Grated bottle gourd      1/2 cup
    Grated  carrot             1/2 cup
     salt to taste
     turmeric                           1/2 teaspoon
     red chilli powder                   1/4 teaspoon
     Lemon juice                     2 teaspoon
     Baking soda                    1/4 teaspoon
     Oil for seasoning           3 tabspoon
     Ingredients for sesoning

     Mustard seeds                 2 teaspoons
     Ajwain                             1 teaspoon
     Cloves                            6
     sesame seeds                  1 teaspoon
    black pepper                    1 teaspoon
    curry leaves
    hing


In a bowl mix yogurt and rice dal paste /  handavo flour+ water+ jaggery
Mix well and keep aside for fermentation for 14 hours.

Now grate the crrots and white gourd(Lauki) and mix in this fermented paste.Add salt, lemon juice,chilli  powder and turmeric powder in it and mix well with a laddle.Pre heat the oven at 350 .

In a teaspoon oil mix the baking soda well and add it to the paste and stir gently.
Keep a  greased baking pan ready  .Pour the mixture in pan.Heat oil in a pan for seasoning and add mustard seeds,ajwain,cloves,hing.Pour this seasoning evenly over the mixture.

                                                 
                                                                Ready to bake

Now bake it for 40 minutes.
Let it be in the oven for next 15 minutes.Take it out and keep on a plate.Cut into desired shape and serve with any sauce or can be eaten as it is..

                                                             Baked Handavo


Tips    seasoning has to be done twice
1 Add seasoning in the paste before pouring the mixture into baking dish.

2  Either over the baking dish at the time of putting into oven or  when handwa is out of oven then pour seasoning over it before cutting into desired pieces.





           

whole wheat bread

After cooking so many dishes  all the time on my stove I have decided to take a break from cooking So no more cooking .But something has to be done .Let us do some baking.

Today I will bake  bread in my oven.Breadwala comes daily at my doorstop and we get fresh supply every morning.  He has all varieties of bread different sizes and tastes but one.That is the home baked one  Everybody in the family loves this variety so let us bake one. I am sure baking at home has lot more fun and the outcome  is delicious.It vanishes quickly .

                                                              Home baked bread loaf

                                                                Ingredients required

                                                         

                                                               For one loaf of bread
                                                       
 3 cups                     Whole wheat flour which we use for making roti and puri

 1 3/4 cup                water

1/4 cup                    milk

2 table spoon           sugar

2 tablespoon           honey

2 tablespoon           olive oil or any  cooking oil (I used olive oil)

1 teaspoon              salt

2 teaspoon              Active yeast

1 pan for baking      Approax 9" by 4"

                              An electric oven


In a bowl pour water and add sugar ,honey,oil,milk.Mix well.Now microwave this for 1 minute.
Now add 2 teaspoon of active yeast.Stir well with a spoon.Let it stay for 20 minutes.
The liquid will start looking frothy with small bubbles in it.

                                                         Frothy liquid ready for kneading the flour

Add salt to the flour and mix well.Now knead the flour and cover it with  a wet cloth.

                                                            Kneaded dough to rest for 35 minutes            

wait for 35 minutes.The  dough will become double in size in 35 minute as seen in the picture.

                                                         Dough rose to double of it's size


Till then grease the pan with oil spray and then gently spreading the dry flour on it so the dough does not stick .
      Now knead the dough again for 5 minutes  by punching it as it is very sticky at this stage and transfer it to the baking pan.Let the dough rest again for 30 minutes till it will rise in the pan.

                                                           Dough doubled  in pan

 Pre heat the oven at 350  and bake it for 35 minutes Switch off the oven.

But let this bread be in the oven for next 5 minutes.Now take it out and let it be in the pan for next 10 minutes(the baking process still goes on with the heat of oven and the pan.Take it out on a wire rack and let it cool for another 20 minutes.Now it is ready to be cut in slices.Do not cut slices before letting it cool .Hot bread if cut then it might turn into crumbs.