KADHI

Kadhi is the famous Indian dish made from yogurt or buttermilk and gram flour/ besan. There are so many varieties of this simple dish. People across india cook this dish in different ways. For example Gujarati Kadhi version, Punjabi Kadhi, Rajasthani Kadhi, etc. In states of Uttar Pradesh and Punjab kadhi is also served with fried fritters/ pakora and hence the dish is known as Kadhi Pakora. Fried pakora make it quite heavy to digest yet delicious in taste. Gujarati kadhi differs from other and it is sweeter in taste and little thinner also. It is usually eaten along with plain rice, jeera rice or roti / chapatti. Here I am sharing a Maharashtrian version of Kadhi which is prepared using sour buttermilk which give its distinct sour taste. The chickpea flour is mixed with buttermilk / yogurt to prepare the base for kadhi and served with rice/ khichdi. Maharashtrian version of kadhi is not sweet and tempered with mustard seeds, cumin seeds and curry leaves. Spice it up by adding green paste with ginger, garlic and green chillies. Kadhi is considered to be light on stomach and is ease to digest. While making any kadhi one thing you should keep in mind is that always mix besan flour in yogurt/ buttermilk and make sure that there are no lumps in it. Even after pouring the mixture in the tempered spices continuously stirring is very important till the kadhi gets one boil or else the curd will get split. When done, serve hot kadhi with steamed rice/ khichdi, papad and any pickle of your choice and enjoy.     

INGREDIENTS:
About 2 Cups Buttermilk
2 tablespoon Ghee
2 tablespoon Besan / Gram Flour
½ teaspoon Turmeric Powder
½ teaspoon Sugar
¼ teaspoon Asafoetida
½ teaspoon Mustard Seeds
½ teaspoon Cumin Seeds
2 teaspoon Green Chilli-Ginger Paste
1 sprig Curry Leaves
Salt as needed
METHOD:
STEP 1 – In a mixing bowl, add buttermilk, turmeric powder and besan flour.  Then add salt, sugar and mix well.

 Add about 1 cup water and continue to whisk till mixed and no lumps there.

 Keep this mixture aside.

STEP 3 – Heat ghee in a pan or wok on medium heat.

STEP 3 – Then add cumin-mustard seeds and asafoetida in it and let them crackle.

STEP 4 – Add green chilli-ginger paste, curry leaves and give a nice stir. Saute for 30 seconds to 1 minute.

STEP 5 – Pour the reserved buttermilk mixture into the kadai. Stir it and cook it.

STEP 6 – Bring it to boil.

STEP 7 – Then allow to simmer for next 5-10 minutes, stirring it in between.

STEP 8 – Cook till it get thickened slightly. [see notes]

STEP 9 – Remove from heat and serve it.

Serve piping hot kadhi with chapatti / roti or rice and enjoy.

NOTES: This kadhi should be not so thin or thick in consistency.

RAJGIRA HALWA / SHEERA

Rajgira which means royal grain, truly justifies its name, as it is a powerhouse of nutrition. It is known by many names and different names having different meanings….Amaranth which means undying, Ramdana means god’s grain. With several names, this grain has gained popularity over the years in various regions such as Rajgira in Western and Southern parts of India, Ramdana in eastern parts of India. Amaranth contains more than three times the average amount of calcium and is also high in iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium and it is the only grain which contains Vitamin C.   Rajgira or Amaranth flour is one of the many ingredients that are acceptable for the Navratri, Ekadashi and other fast to make delectable stuff like puris as well.  It is very easy and simple to make. I made this for Maha-Shivratri Vrat few days back and sharing it with you all today. Amaranth is gluten-free and very healthy flour made from Amaranth are slightly coarse compare to singhara or kuttu flour which gives more texture to the halwa. Rajgira Sheera needs very few ingredients to make it. The halwa can be prepred with either milk or water. It is rich because of milk and ghee used and therefore eaten in small quantities. It tasted just so delicious, whether fasting or not this makes a wonderful dessert. This recipe is perfect for those fasting people who got bored eating sabudana dishes, like sabudana vada, khichdi, etc and need some healthy treat on fasting days. Not a tricky one to prepare but needs patience while roasting the flour in ghee without burning it until it turns light brown. You can use jaggery instead of sugar as a sweetener. The consistency of Rajgira Halwa is more smoother as compared to the sooji halwa since flour is the base here.

INGREDIENTS:

1 Cup Rajgira Flour

 1 Cup Full Fat Milk

½ - ¾ Cup Sugar

½ Cup Ghee

1 tablespoon chopped Nuts [almonds, cashews, pistachios, raisins]

Pinch of Cardamom Powder

METHOD:

STEP 1 – First add 1 tablespoon ghee in a heavy bottomed pan. Add chopped nuts and fry until light brown in colour. Remove and keep aside. Likewise, add raisins and fry for few seconds. They get puffed after frying. Remove and keep aside with fried nuts.

STEP 2 – Now add remaining ghee in the same pan and add rajgira flour 

and roast well on low flame till it becomes dark brown and aromatic.  

STEP 3 – While roasting flour, keep milk for boil, once it comes a good boil, switch off the flame.

STEP 4 – Once the flour get roasted, add boiled milk in it and stir with the help of flat spatula to avoid lumps.

STEP 5 – Once the mixture becomes thick,

 add sugar and mix well for sugar to combine. [I have used jaggery powder here]

STEP 6 – Cover it with a lid for about 4-5 minutes.

STEP 7 – Finally add chopped nuts and cardamom powder and mix well.

Reserve some nuts for garnishing. Serve hot.

Serve hot Rajgira Halwa garnished with some chopped nuts and enjoy.

SOYA CHUNKS CURRY

Today I am going to share you an easy and quick way to make spicy and tasty soya chunks curry. Soya chunks is also known as Soya Wadi/ meal maker / soya nuggets which is very rich in protein and make a wholesome meal. My daughters loves soya chunks in any form. I often make a simple soya chunks stir fry or soya bhurji with soya granules which is my younger daughters favourite. They are very tasty and healthy and can be cooked in many ways. Soya chunks curry recipe which can be eaten with chapati, rice, biryani or pulao. These are used widely in the Indian food as they are considered very healthy, and a good alternate to those who want to refrain from eating meal. You can also add the chunks in fried rice to make soya chunks fried rice and which tastes delicious. Here I made a medium thick gravy/ curry but it's totally your choice of to make the curry thin or semi thick. It turned out super yumm as I added little amount of soya sauce and tomato ketchup in the curry. Hope you like it...if yes then give a try and let me know about your experience and suggestions.

INGREDIENTS:
500 ml Water
1 Tea Bag [see notes]
1 Bowl Soya Chunks
1 tablespoon Ginger-Garlic Paste
2 Green Chillies
1 Big Onion, chopped
2 Tomatoes
½ Capsicum, chopped
¼ teaspoon Black Pepper Powder
1 teaspoon Coriander Powder
1 teaspoon Garam Masala
 ½ teaspoon Red Chilli Powder
1 teaspoon Soya Sauce
½ tablespoon Tomato Ketchup
Salt as needed
1 tablespoon Oil
1 tablespoon Butter
½ teaspoon Kasuri Methi
Chopped Coriander for garnishing
METHOD:
STEP 1 – Heat water in a pan, add a tea bag [potli] in it and boil it.

STEP 2 – Then add soya chunks in it and boil for 1 minute.

STEP 3 – Remove the soya chunks from heat, drain water from it

and squeeze them with a back of a spoon. Keep aside.

STEP 4 – In a mixer pot, add tomatoes and ginger-garlic paste and blend to form a smooth puree. Keep it aside.

STEP 5 – Now heat a pan with oil and butter,

add chopped onion in it and roast well until raw smell vanish and onion turn light golden brown.
 STEP 6 – Add slit green chillies and saute.

STEP 7 – Then add tomato puree, mix well and cook for 3-4 minutes.

STEP 8 – Add all spice powders, except garam masala and mix it well. Cook it for ½ minute.

STEP 9 – Add soya sauce, tomato ketchup and give a nice mix.
STEP 10 – Now add chopped capsicum, mix and cook for 1-2 minutes.

STEP 11 – Then add soaked soya chunks and give a nice stir so that soya chunks get mixed with the masala and get coated well with the masala.

STEP 12 – Add some water [according to your loving consistency] .

Cook it 4-5 minutes covered with a lid.
STEP 13 – Last, add garam masala and crushed kasuri methi and mix. Then add ½ teaspoon butter and cook the curry for 1 more minute.

STEP 14 – Remove from heat and garnish it with chopped coriander and serve.

Serve hot, protein packed soya chunks curry with any Indian bread / steamed or Jeera rice and enjoy.

NOTES: I don’t have tea bag, so I made a potli with some tea powder and put a piece of cinnamon in it.