AAM KA JALJEERA

Jal Jeera is an Indain drink made with mint, coriander leaves, lemon and tamarind as main ingredients, along with some spices. Today I prepared it with raw mango and it came out so delicious. Tamarind is replaced by raw mango here in my recipe. It was very appetizing, aids in digestion as well. This is one drink that will shake you awake even when you are dog tried on a hot summer day…..!!! So what are you waiting for, mangoes are in season so just make it whenever you feel like. This is totally refreshing when served chilled. 

INGREDIENTS:

½ Raw Mango

10-15 Mint Leaves

Few Coriander stalks

1 Small Green Chilli

½ teaspoon roasted Cumin Seed Powder

1/8 teaspoon Black Salt

1 tablespoon Sugar

4 Cups Water

METHOD:

STEP 1 – Steam the mango in pressure cooker for 1 whistle. Once steam released open the cooker.

STEP 2 – Let it cool and scoop out the pulp.

STEP 3 – Then add the pulp, mint leaves, coriander leaves, green chilli, cumin powder, black salt, sugar and water in mixer pot and blend well.

STEP 4 – Drain the juice with a strainer and discard the pulp.

Refrigerate it for 1 hour.

STEP 5 – Add some more ice cubes and serve. [see notes]

NOTES: Consume the same day.  

HOT AND SOUR VEGETABLE SOUP

This restaurant style Hot and Sour Soup recipe is the best!!! It is quick and simple to make, easy to adopt to your personal taste preferences and is so delicious. This is traditional hot and sour soup is actually incredibly easy to make as well. Like it extra hot….add in more chilli sauce or like it more sour… add in more vinegar. Like the meat version……. just add in some pork. Trust me, this is one of those restaurant recipes that will taste just as good at home and is the best option on chilly winter weeks. Chinese hot and sour soup is a light meal or accompaniment that can be enjoyed any time of day. This is my most favourite soup, but I never attempted to do at home, as I feel that certain dishes will taste super yumm in restaurants only. But it was my hubby who insisting me to try it at home. So I searched for the recipe on Google and finally made my own making of HOT AND SOUR VEGETABLE SOUP!!! Soup recipes are always a big hit in my house and I prepare these especially before dinners. I have already shared sweet corn soup, manchow soup and the most favourite of all tomato soup recipes in my blog earlier.

INGREDIENTS:

1 Small / ¼ Cup Carrot, shredded

5-6 / ¾ Cup Button Mushrooms, chopped

¼ Cup Shredded Cabbage

¼ Cup finely chopped French Beans

1 Small Onion, chopped finely

1 teaspoon Garlic, minced

1 teaspoon Ginger, minced

2 teaspoon Celery [optional]

3-4 teaspoon Corn Starch [dissolved in 2 tablespoon water]

¾ teaspoon Black Pepper or White Pepper[see notes]

3 teaspoon Soy Sauce

2 teaspoon White Vinegar

2 ½ Cup Water or Veg Stock

2-3 teaspoon Chopped Coriander

1 tablespoon Oil

Salt as needed

METHOD:

STEP 1 – Rinse and shred the cabbage and French beans. Wipe out mushrooms with wet cloth and slice them. Keep this aside.

STEP 2 – Rinse, peel and grated the carrot, chop onion, ginger and garlic.

STEP 3 – Heat oil in a wide pan. Add finely chopped onion, garlic and ginger mince. Saute well till the raw smell disappears.

STEP 4 – Next add French beans  and sliced mushrooms in it and stir it well.

STEP 5 – Stir fry the veggies on medium –high flame till the mushrooms get little browned from the edges.

STEP 6 – Meanwhile, make a thin paste of corn starch and water and keep it aside.

STEP 7 – Once the mushrooms are lightly browned [5-6 minutes] add shredded carrots, cabbage and celery. Stir fry the veggies on high flame for 1-2 minutes.

STEP 8 – Add water or veg stock and give a nice stir and mix well.

After that add soy sauce and stir well. Season with salt. [see notes]

STEP 9 – Bring the soup to a simmer on medium flame. Allow it to thicken on a low to medium flame. Then add pepper or chilli sauce and vinegar in it and give a nice mix.

STEP 10 – Switch off the flame and garnish it with chopped coriander and onion greens and serve hot.

Serve the soup when it is hot and enjoy.

NOTES: *Instead of black or white pepper you can use ¾ teaspoon red chilli powder or green chilli sauce.

              *Be careful while adding salt because soy sauce already has a lot of salt.

SABUDANA KHEER / SAGO PAYASAM / TOPIOCA PUDDING

Simple but heart-winning this creamy kheer made with sabudana / sago which is easy and quick and absolutely delicious. This recipe of kheer is an Indian favorite and I am yet to come across anyone who doesn't like it in some form or the other. This kheer or payasam is very simple to make and doesn't involve any special techniques. You just need a bit of patience to thicken the milk to rich creamy consistency. We always use to make kheer with rice or lentils and nuts but today's recipe uses another popular ingredient that is sabudana. The kheer recipe is so simple and quick and the starchy sago pearls acts as a natural thickening agent here. Sabudana is widely used in India as a fasting food as it's easier to digest, it make a good food and has more starch. It provides instant energy on fasting day and that is the reason we use sabudana on fasting days and sabudana kheer is the commenest type of sweet dish enjoyed during fasting. So here is the simple step by step recipe of how to make sabudana kheer, hope you all like it...!!! 

INGREDIENTS:

100 gms Sabudana / Sago

3 Cup Milk

½ Cup Condensed Milk

500 ml Water

1 tablespoon Ghee

¼ teaspoon Cardamom Powder

Few strands Saffron, soaked in 1 tablespoon milk

8-10 Cashews, halved

1 tablespoon Raisins

METHOD:

STEP 1 – Soak sabudana in enough water for about 2-3 hours. Strain the water and keep it aside.

STEP 2 – Heat milk in a wide kadai, when it comes to boil, add sabudana in it

 and cook till soft.

STEP 3 – Heat ghee in a pan, fry raisins and cashews in it till golden in colour and keep aside.

STEP 4 – Add condensed milk in it, mix it well and allow to simmer for a few minutes.

STEP 5 – Add dry fruits in the sabudana mixture.  Add saffron strands and mix well..

STEP 6 – Sprinkle cardamom powder, mix well and remove from fire.

Sabudana kheer is ready to serve.

Serve it hot or cold on fasting or non-fasting days as a dessert and enjoy.

DAL BATTI / DAL BAFLYA

Today I am sharing a very popular dish from Maharashtra which is known as Bafla Batti, which is made with whole wheat flour, steamed and then deep fried. Batti is mostly enjoyed in Marathi Month ‘Shravan’. It is mostly famous in Vidarbha and Kandesh region of Maharashtra. There are many varieties of this recipe like fried batti, tandoor batti. Today I am sharing a simple recipe which my mom used to make it i.e. Ghadichi Batti, layerd batti and enjoyed with dal.  Varan- Batti  includes Varan [yellow lentil daal], simple and spicy eggplant curry.  Or you can enjoy crushed batti with jiggery and lots of ghee which is known as churma. I remember my baba use to make it and then share it among all of us. Batti is made with whole wheat flour and deep fried in vegetable oil or vanaspati ghee. My mom used to make it very tasty. Serve it with lots of ghee and dal. Though simple, this dish promise to leave you licking your fingers. It is on heavier side, after eating it will simply put you to sleep.

INGREDIENTS:

3 Cups coarse Whole Wheat Flour [see notes]

Salt as needed

2 teaspoon Cumin Seeds

1 ½ teaspoon Carom Seeds

2 tablespoon Oil for dough + For deep frying

1-2 tablespoon Curd [optional]

METHOD:

STEP 1 – In a bowl add whole wheat flour, cumin seeds, carom seeds and salt and mix well. 

STEP 2 – Heat 2 tablespoon oil in small pan. Make a well in the center, add the hot oil in it and mix it carefully or use spoon for mixing it.

STEP 3 – Add curd and water and knead well to make hard dough. Rest the dough for minimum ½ an hour and cover it with a thick, wet cloth.

STEP 4 – Knead further to soften the dough and split it in small balls.

STEP 5 – Take one ball, flatten it or roll it on rolling board with rolling pin. The shape should be rectangular.

STEP 6 – Apply vegetable oil on the surface. Now fold the sides lengthwise as shown in the picture below. Again brush it with little oil and fold them to make a small rectangle. Press it gently with light hands.

STEP 7 – Likewise make all the battis with the rest of the dough. 

STEP 8 – Now grease a vessel with little oil, keep the battis in it and pressure cook for 3 whistles. [see notes]. Do not add water in the vessel in which we kept battis. 

STEP 9 – Let the pressure release naturally. Open the pressure cooker, remove the vessel carefully.

STEP 10 – Remove the battis, cut them with a knife as shown below and keep aside. You can cut them in desired shape and size.

STEP 11 – Heat oil in a wide kadai, deep fry battis till nice crispy and golden brown in colour.

STEP 12 – Drain excess oil from it on a kitchen towel and serve hot.

Serve piping hot battis with lots of sajuk toop on it with varan [dal] and vangyachi bhaji [baingan masala/ spicy eggplant curry].

In some place it is served with ambat-god varan, or dal with a tempering of green chillies, curry leaves and hing.

NOTES: *Tell your girniwala bhaiya to grind wheat for batti coarsely. Or otherwise, if you have fine wheat flour then add 2 tablespoon rawa/ semolina in it.

               *My mom use curd while kneading a dough which makes the batti soft from inside.

               *This is my mom’s version to cooking the battis in pressure cooker but you can steam them in steamer or on a strainer. For this heat water in a wide pan, put a greased strainer on it and put batti in it. Cover it and steam them for 10-15 minutes.