LAL BHOPLYACHI KHEER / PUMPKIN PAYASAM

Pumpkin kheer or payasam recipe for festive season. It tastes delicious and looks colourful made with yellow pumpkin.  This pumpkin kheer would render the kheer the desired sweetness and creamy density. I am a payasam lover, so tried and shared so many recipes earlier. This pumpkin kheer also gets listed in my kheer collection. It was delicious with a wonderful aroma of both pumpkin and ghee. Turns out very rich, tasty and especially good when served chilled. This one of the festival recipe and can be served as an offering to God. Here is how to make the pumpkin kheer recipe with step-by-step photos. 

INGREDIENTS:
1 Cup Peeled Red Pumpkin / Lal Bhopla / Kashiphal
¼ teaspoon Cardamom Powder
¼ Cup Sugar [adjust according to your taste]
2-3 Cups Full Fat Milk
1 tablespoon Ghee
1 tablespoon Chopped Nuts
METHOD:
STEP 1 – Peel pumpkin, wash it thoroughly and cut in to big chunks.

STEP 2 – Put them in a bowl and steam in pressure cooker till it get cooked properly or until 2 whistles.
STEP 3 – Let the pressure release naturally. Remove pumpkin from cooker

and mash it well with a potato masher.

STEP 4 – Heat a pan with ghee in it, then add mashed pumpkin in it and roast well for few minutes.

STEP 5 – Add hot milk in it and mix.

STEP 6 – Add sugar as per your taste and mix well. Add chopped nuts and give a nice stir. Cook till sugar get dissolved completely. Take one or two boils and switch off the flame.

STEP 7 – Add cardamom powder and mix well. Your pumpkin kheer is ready to serve.

Serve it hot garnished with some nuts and relish.


 

VARHADI THECHA

Add some spice to your meal with this spicy and tangy Red Chilli Chutney Thecha or Varhadi Thecha…!!! Thecha with Jowar or Bajra Bhakri is all-time favourite Maharashtrian combo, and this chutney–like dish is often prepared in small batches and stored in the fridge for about 1-2 months. Varhadi Thecha is a traditional dish from Maharashtra. The wotd thecha translates to crushing. It requires very less time for the preparation due to simple and rustic method. Thecha is one such super-spicy dish that you’d often come across in rural Mahrashtra. It still relishes this condiment in lunch as well as dinner. Traditional recipe call for the ingredients to be crushed / pounded in metal or stone pastels but modern day kitchens often rely on grinding in modern-day food processors. So let’s prepare hot, flavorful and spicy Varhadi Thecha that would easily go with anything.    

INGREDIENTS:
100 grams ripe Red Chillies
10-15 Garlic Cloves
1 tablespoon Lemon Juice
1 tablespoon Vinegar [optional]
Salt as per required
1 teaspoon Cumin Seeds
1 tablespoon Oil
METHOD:
STEP 1 – Wash red chillies and let them dry on a kitchen towel.

STEP 2 – Add chillies, garlic, salt, cumin seeds, lemon juice and vinegar to a mixer pot and blend till smooth paste.

STEP 3 – Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a pan, add cumin seeds and let them crackle.
STEP 4 – Now add chilli paste in it and sauté it for 1-2 minutes. Varhadi Thecha is ready to serve.

  Serve Varhadi Thecha with chapatti, paratha, naan or you can enjoy it with dal-chawal or khichadi as a side dish and enjoy your meal.

NOTES: *Here I added vinegar just as a preservative, to keep my thecha good for a longer time.  But you can totally skip it.
               *Cool it to room temperature and then store it in a clean air-tight container. It will stay good for about 1-2 months when refrigerated.

GOL PAPDI / SUKHDI

This is a very quick, authentic Gujarati sweet dish prepared as a Prasad/ Naivedya/ Offering. It is actually very easy,simple and needs very less time to prepare. It is so simple to make and takes only 10-15 minutes from start to finish and is considered nutritious during winters. It is also known as Gur Papdi or Gud Papdi. In Sindhi it is also called as Sukhdi. Here gur/ gud is nothing but jaggery which is very healthy and iron rich. So gud papdi is thin sweetened pieces made with wheat flour. I was alwasys in the thought that the name for Gol Papdi is not so appropriate. I wondered it was square when the name suggested it was Gol - meaning spherical or laddoo shaped...!! Then my search on net made me realize that Gol was for the jaggery and not for the shape. It is very simple and require only three ingredients i.e. ghee, wheat flour and jaggery. The other flavorings and toppings are used based on preferences and can be used as needed. It is basically prepared during winter months to keep the body warm. It has a very addictive flavor and beautiful crumbly texture. As it is very healthy, you can take 1 piece of sukhdi in your daily breakfast, its best for growing kids.So here is the recipe with all measurements and step-by-step pictures which will definitely help you all.....So keep cooking and share suggestions below in the comment box. 

INGREDIENTS:

1 ¼ Cup Whole Wheat Flour

¾ Cup Pure Desi Ghee

¼ Cup Dried Grated Coconut/ Coconut Powder

2 teaspoon Poppy Seeds

½ teaspoon Cardamom Powder

¾ Cup Jaggery

For Garnishing:

½ teaspoon Poppy Seeds

½ tablespoon Grated Coconut

1 tablespoon Pistachio slivers

METHOD:

STEP 1 – Grease an aluminium tray or plate and keep aside.

STEP 2 - In a flat bottom pan, add whole wheat flour and dry roast it for about 4-5 minutes.

STEP 3 – Then add ½ of the ghee in it and mix it well and roast further. Keep adding ghee and roasting it continuously until the flour changes its colour to golden and gives a nice aroma.

STEP 4 – Roast it further for about 30-35 minutes stirring it continuously.

STEP 5 – Then add powdered coconut and poppy seeds in it and mix it. [see notes]

STEP 6 – Now add jaggery in it, mix it well and switch off the flame. Here you have to work really fast.  Keep stirring till the jaggery melts completely.

STEP 7 – Pour the mixture on to a greased plate or tray and spread the mixture evenly.Garnish it with some desiccated coconut  and pista slice and press it a little and let it set.

STEP 8 – When it sets halfly, cut the pieces with the help of sharp knife. You will not be able to cut pieces properly after setting it completely. 

STEP 9 – Now let it cool down for atleast 25-30 minutes.

STEP 10 – Cut into pieces and gol papdi is ready to serve.

Serve it as a dessert or store it in a clean and air tight container and use it further. Shelf life is adout 20-25 days.

NOTES: *Add grated coconut in a mixer pot and blend it for few seconds which results in fine coconut powder. This helps to retain the shape of the gol papdi properly while cutting it.

UPVAS CHI BATATA BHAJI / POTATO SUBZI FOR UPVAS

A very tasty dry potato bhaji made during fasting or vrat for festivals such as Navratri, Ekadashi, Janmashtami or Shravan Maas upwas. I prepared this potato subzi for navratri upwas and enjoyed it with sabudana thalipeeth. This recipe is a no onion no garlic recipe and you can have it with rajgira poori / shingada poori or mild sama ke rice. During upwas or vrat we make so many different varities of dishes that we do not include in our day to day diet. On the fasting day, we take break from usual roti-sabzi, dal-chawal and make some simple and easy to digest gluten-free dishes. Potato, Peanuts, Sabudana, etc are commonly used for fasting recipes. Farali Aloo Sabzi / Dry Potato Bhaji is a simple dish prepared with very simple ingredients like cumin seeds, green chillies, roasted peanut powder and fresh coconut which are easily available in our pantry. So do try this recipe this navratri once for a change and you would love it. 

INGREDIENTD:

2-3 Boiled Potatoes, cut in to cubes

1 tablespoon Ghee / Oil

2 teaspoon Cumin Seeds

1 sprig Curry Leaves [optional]

3-4 Green Chillies

1 tablespoon Roasted and Coarsely Crushed Peanuts

A pinch of Sugar

Salt as per taste

½ Lemon Juice

1 tablespoon Grated Coconut

METHOD:

STEP 1 – Boil potatoes, peel them and cut them in to cubes. Keep aside.

STEP 2 – Heat ghee /oil in a pan, add cumin seeds and let them crackle.

STEP 3 – Add curry leaves, chopped green chillies and

add cubed potatoes in it and mix well.

STEP 4 – Cook it for 2-3 minutes on medium flame stirring occasionally.

STEP 5 – Add crushed peanuts, sugar and salt in it and give a nice mix.

STEP 6 – Add grated coconut and lemon juice and mix it well. [I don’t have coconut, so not added here in my recipe]

STEP 7 – Cook it for another 1-2 minutes while stirring once or twice.

Potato subzi is ready to serve.

Serve potato subzi garnished with chopped coriander.

Make this in Navratri fasting and let me know how you like it. I am sure you will surely going to like it.

NOTES: *You can add little water to make gravy and enjoy rassewale aloo ki subzi.

                *Be careful while tempering, take care not to burn cumin seeds.