GAJARACHE SANDGE[ SUNDRIED CARROT DUMPLINGS]

Sandge is nothing but the vegetable or dal cutlets / dumplings. In Maharshatra, in every family people use to make moongwadi, chana dal and mutki dumplings. They all are made by soaking the dal overnight and then grinding . But here I am sharing a recipe which my sister living in Bhusawal, Jalgaon used to make . This is very easy recipe but through the years she is only sending me parcel of this sandge. My daughter and I like it a lot. As I was eager to try them myself , so I made them here at my place .Here I am sharing an interesting recipe with grated carrots and flattened rice . This is very tasty and goes well with the simple khichadi . You may store them for yearly purpose like curd chillies and your moongodi.    

INGREDIENTS:

500 Grams Carrots

250 Grams  Flattened Rice [Patal Pohe]

Red Chilli Powder

Salt

Turmeric

Cumin Seeds

 2 Tbsp Garlic Paste

 METHOD:

STEP 1 – First wash and grate the carrots.

STEP 2 – Now add the flattened rice and other ingredients to it and mix well and make a dough. No need to use water for a dough .

STEP 3 – Now wet your palms with water  and make the small cutlets /tikkies with the dough. Likewise make all the tikkies and let them dry directly in the sunlight for three-four days. Use plastic sheet for drying as we use traditionally .

STEP 4 – You can feel whether they dried completely or not .  After dried well store them in a clean, air tight container for yearly purpose.

           

          At the time of serving fry them well in hot oil and serve as the side dish or in Marathi we call it as tondilavne ,with your meal.  

BATATA RASSA BHAJI

Batata  bhaji is one of my favourite bhaji. Generally we do this bhaji for offering to God as naivedyam or bhog .You can do this with boiled potatoes or without boiling.  Just temper with a little spices and within few minutes your batata  bhaji is ready to be served .The humble potatoes get a lovely makeover, this dish taste great with pooris. This can be made with garam masala or simply with red chilli powder, turmeric and salt. This could be a breakfast, brunch, quick meal, side food or a complete meal if clubbed with rice or chapatti.  It’s also known as patal curry or rassa in local language of Maharashtra.

INGREDIENTS:

2 Big Sized Potato

1 onion

5-6 Garlic Cloves

1 Inch Ginger

3 Tsp Red Chilli Powder

½ Tsp Turmeric Powder

1 ½ Tsp Salt

1 Tsp Cumin-Mustard Seeds

Water

Oil

METHOD:

STEP 1 – Chop the potato small cube sized pieces. Chop the onion and make a paste of ginger garlic in motar-pastle.

STEP 2 – Take a deep pan , add oil ,crackle the cumin-mustard ,add ginger-garlic paste and onion and sauté for short period or till the rawness of onion disappear.

STEP 3 – Add the turmeric powder and red chilli powder with the salt. Roast spices well .

STEP 4 – Now add potato in it and cook for a minute or two with lid. Uncover it and mix well with the spices and add water .

STEP 5 – Add sufficient water to cook ,adjust the consistency as per your choice. It will take hardly 5-10 minutes to cook .

STEP 6 – Check it whether cooked or not and switch off the heat if cooked properly. Add fresh, chopped coriander and serve to your dear ones.

Serve hot with chapatti ,dal –rice or on festivals with the crispy pooris.

EGG BHURJI

Egg /anda bhurji is an easy,quick , delicious and common Indian breakfast dish. The procedure is same till the addition of soya, but here we add eggs instead of soya granules. Break the eggs beat them and add to cooked onion -tomatoes. Cook well stirring continuously otherwise it will stick to the bottom of the pan. Once cooked properly, off the flame and add fresh coriander . You can enjoy egg bhurji with chapati, bread or pav .......enjoy .

INGREDIENTS:

4 Eggs

2 Big Sized Onions

1 Big Sized Tomato

1 Tsp Cumin ,Mustard Seeds

Turmeric

Red Chilli Powder

Garam Masala Powder

Salt

Oil

Coriander

METHOD:

STEP 1 – Take a wide pan with oil . Crackle cumin, mustard seeds and add chopped onion to it and sauté it well .

STEP 2 – Now add chopped tomato in it . Stir properly and cook onion ,tomato.

STEP 3 – Add the spices , mix it and roast for a minute.

STEP 4 – Add the eggs one by one and mix well. Cook for at least five minutes stirring continuously. At last add garam masala and mix once and switch off the heat.

STEP 5 – Finely garnish it with coriander and serve your egg bhurji/ anda bhurji/scrambled egg with chapatti/ bread/ pav.

                       Serve when it is hot for better taste.    

HIDE N SEEK TREAT

This recipe is just discovered by my younger daughter before 4-5 years. She was just of 11 at that time. She is really mad for ice-creams, chocolates, etc. So she invented this as her comfort dish . No need of preparations, just with few ingredients and it is complete. My other family members always demand her for this. The name is very unique and is discovered by her,herself. Here today I am going to share this with you all.

INGREDIENTS:

15-16 Hide n Seek biscuits

400 Amul Low Fat Cream

Powdered sugar

For garnishing:

Cherries

Chocolate Chips

Butterscotch Nuts

 Powdered Sugar

[ You can last layer with a dollop of ice cream also.]

2 Tbsp Chocolate Syrup
2 Tbsp Chopped Dry Fruits

METHOD:

STEP 1 - Decorate a glass with chocolate syrup and keep it in refrigerator for 5 mins.

STEP 2 - Take fresh cream in a bowl and add some powdered sugar in it. [ It should not be too sweet].

STEP 3 - Take Hide n Seek biscuits and crush them finely in a mixer.

STEP 4 - Add some hide n seek biscuits powder.  Cover it with the cream layer and over it a little chocolate syrup.

STEP 5 – Repeat this till the glass fill ¾ . Then you may add ice cream dollop at the top with some sprinkles, cherries and your dessert is ready. Add the chopped dry fruits on the top or you may add them while layering.

STEP 6 – Chill it for 5-10 minutes in the refrigerator and serve it chilled.

                 Serve the dessert chilled.

TAWA BESAN

In Maharashtra , you can find so many versions of this simple pithla.  Even at my home I used to make it by two ways : one is thick and made directly on the griddle/ tawa so this is  known as ‘Tawa Besan’ and the other one is semi –liquid . It is one of the well known and liked recipe here in Maharashtra. You require a few ingredients  to make this . My husband didn’t like this besan before some days but now a days ,this is his one of favourite recipe.

INGREDIENTS:

1 Cup Besan Flour [ Gram Flour ]

1 Sliced Onion 
1 Tomato, chopped

5-6 Garlic Cloves

5-6 Green Chilies [ Depends upon the spiciness ]

1/2 teaspoon Turmeric Powder

Salt as needed

Water as required

2 tablespoon Oil

1/2 teaspoon Cumin-Mustard Seeds, each

Chopped Coriander

METHOD:

STEP 1 – Take a bowl , add besan flour ,water, turmeric ,salt and little coriander and mix well and form a semi liquid batter.

STEP 2 – Take a griddle / tawa , put it on heat with oil .Crackle cumin –mustard seeds .

STEP 3 – Add chopped onion, tomato, green chilies and chopped garlic to it and cook for just 2-3 minutes till the raw flavour of onion vanish .

STEP 4 – Now add the besan batter over it and immediately mix it with the back of spoon .

STEP 5 – Continuous mashing and mixing is necessary here .

Cook well for 4-5 minutes and garnish with coriander and switch off the flame.

Serve it hot with chappati or bhakri.

NOTE: In winters / when available , you may add chopped spring onion to it which definitely enhance the taste.

VEG FRANKIES

Veg Frankie, a popular and cheap version of the hi-fi wraps and rolls! Veg Frankie is a delicious Indian recipe served as a snack. Normally, maida chapatti is used for the Frankie but here I used the homemade whole wheat chapattis. You may add egg, potato instead of the veggies I used here. Everybody will surely like it.  

INGREDIENTS:

1 Cup Mix Pepper [All Coloured Capsicum]

1 Chopped Onion

1 Big Sized Tomato

1 Tsp Ginger-Garlic Paste

4-5 Cubes Paneer

1 Tsp Oregano

1 Tsp Dry Mix Herbs

Turmeric

Red Chilli Powder

Salt

1 Tbsp Tomato Sauce

2-3 Tbsp Grated Cheese

Butter [ For roasting ]

1 Tbsp Oil

METHOD:

STEP 1 – Chop the tomato very fine. Take a pan with oil and add the ginger –garlic paste in it and roast it for a while and add the finely chopped tomato.

STEP 2 – Cook the tomato till it get dry . Mash it while cooking and add the oregano and herbs to it and mix well.

STEP 3 – By that time chop the onion as well as the pepper finely.

STEP 4 – Now take a chapatti , apply the tomato mix we had made earlier and put some veggies and crumbled paneer over it . Drizzle  a little tomato sauce over it .

STEP 5 – Add grated cheese with a little oregano and fold the chapatti.

STEP 6 – Now heat the non-stick tawa ,add butter and roast the frankies on it till golden brown colour.

        

            Serve the hot frankies with tomato sauce.

TACOS [INDIAN VERSION]

Think of Mexican and the first dish that comes to the mind is tacos. Instead of tortillas ,here I used the homemade chapatti. This dish is the perfect dish for weaknight meal. It has a variety of ingredients on the plate .Here in my recipe I used McCain Aloo Tikkies but you can use homemade tikkies or simple filling of vegetables or Chicken sausages .

INGREDIENTS:

2 McCain Aloo Tikki

1 Chapatti

1 Tbsp Mayo

1 Tbsp Tomato Sauce

½ Tbsp Butter

Some Grated Cheese

Oregano

METHOD:

STEP 1 – Fry the aloo tikkies and let them cool.

STEP 2 – Now take the chapatti , with the spreader ,spread the mayo and tomato sauce over it.

STEP 3 – In one half of the chapatti , put your tikkies side by side.

STEP 4 – Put the grated cheese on the top with some oregano.

STEP 5 – Fold the chapatti half the way and roast it on the non-stick griddle with some butter and enjoy your homemade yummy tacos.

      

       Serve your tacos with or without tomato sauce.

MOONG DAL HALWA

Moong dal halwa is an excellent ,popular and rich halwa recipe from North India. It is relished specially in rajasthan during winters because it helps to keep the body warm. This recipe needs time, patience and energy. It is a rich ,creamy and pudding like desert which tastes yum when served hot with a scoop of vanilla ice cream . You can store it refrigerated for several weeks. Just add a little milk before reheating it.

INGREDIENTS:

1 ½ Cup Moong dal [ split yellow lentil ]

1 ¼ Cup Sugar

1 ½ Cup Milk / Water + 1 Tbsp Warm Milk

¾ Cup Clarified Butter

5-6 Saffron Strands

A pinch of Cardamom Powder

Desired Dry Fruits

METHOD:

STEP 1 -  Wash and soak the dal for 5-6 hours. After that drain the water from it completely.

STEP 2 – Now grind it in mixer to a rough paste without using water. Keep it aside.

STEP 3 – Dissolve the saffron strands in 1 tbsp  warm milk.

STEP 4 - Heat the non-stick pan , add  clarified butter to the pan

and after heating it add the paste of dal paste to it and cook it.

STEP 5 – Stir it continuously for approximately 15-20 minutes

and will have a sweet, mild aroma when it is cooked. Assure that no lumps are there.

STEP 6 – Switch off the stove flame and add the warm milk to it.

The mixture will splatter as you add milk , so be careful or cover the pan when it is added.

 Switching off the flame helps to mix the milk well and stop lump formation.Mix it well with the back of the spoon.

Add the saffron strands with the milk.

STEP 7 – Remove the cover, give a nice stir and add the sugar and mix well .

Cook for next 5-7 minutes additional. No lumps should be there.  

 Cover the pan and cook further for 5-6 minutes. Or you can adjust the time according to the consistency you like.

STEP 8 – Turn off the heat and garnish the halwa with the dry fruits.

Serve it to your loved ones.

Halwa tastes best when it is served hot separately or with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.