Sandwich Dhokla

I'm back in Ahmedabad after the pampered, relaxed month-long holiday in Bangalore. Its always difficult to get back to the routine after a holiday and the weather here was just not helping. And then getting my son ready to get back to school, back to the early morning alarms and the daily grind left me with no inclination to cook and no time to blog



So, here's one of what Ma made before I left Bangalore. Surprisingly, it is a popular dish of Gujarat. Pretty looking, super simple and a real crowd pleaser.



This is the simplest recipe here on this blog, and perhaps the laziest one, because it just involves assembling some ready idli batter and packed food. But it works like a charm.

Idli batter, a packet of instant dhokla mix and some chutney, which is the only place you need to put in some effort, and you're good to go! Instant dhokla packets are available at most stores, but if you can't find one, then use idli batter for both layers - works equally well.



I never bothered making dhokla at home, especially the super spongy khaman dhokla because I live in 'dhokla land'. Thats one thing available all through the day and every other store dealing with food and every third store here deals with food !
But I will make one, someday...

Have it with some roasted green chillies and a cup of tea.

What you need -

1.5 cup idli batter
1 packet instant dhokla

For the chutney -
3 green chillies
1 cup packed cleaned coriander leaves
1 tbsp peanuts
juice of half lemon
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp sugar

For the tempering -
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp oil
a pinch of hing
2 tsp grated coconut
2 tsp chopped coriander leaves
1 tsp sugar
3 tbsp water

What you do with it -

Grind all the ingredients listed under 'For the chutney' and set aside
Add a little salt to the idli batter and then pour it into a dhokla plate or shallow round vessel, to fill half the height of the vessel / plate
Steam for 10 mins till the batter is set
Take it off the heat and then spreads the green chutney over the steamed idli batter
Prepare the dhokla batter as per the instructions and then pour the batter over the chutney
Steam for another 10-15 mins
Allow it to cool
In a small pan, heat a little oil, add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, a pinch of asafoetida and small pieces of green chillies
Dissolve sugar in 3 tbsp of water and add it to the tempering
Pour this over the pieces of sandwich dhokla
Sprinkle chopped coriander leaves and grated coconut over it
Serve with roasted chillies and some hot tea

Gujarati Kadhi

Ever since I moved to Ahmedabad, my taste buds have started adapting to the sweetish Gujarati food. Adding jaggery is not uncommon in Konkani cooking, but it manages to balance with ingredients that bring the sour and spice into that dish.

I never really liked anything sweet, and definitely not when I had it with rice, so the Gujarati dal and kadhi were not exactly on my list of favourites. Over the last few years and over the many many Gujarati thalis that I have enjoyed, I have developed a taste for the sweetish kadhi and the dal and now, I actually enjoy it.



Kadhi is a staple in all Gujarati homes and generally had with khichdi and roasted papad. Its a soothing comforting meal, especially when the weather is a bit cloudy or cold. This kadhi is really fast to make and you have it ready in less than ten mins. So, its my quick fix dish in a food emergency.

Last week I met a friend for lunch and decided to make pooris for my little one, once I picked him up. I always have some shrikhand stocked at home, since my son adores it and loves it with pooris. TH was not supposed to be there for lunch. But as luck would have it, he called saying he was 5 mins away from and home and will have lunch before he proceeds for his next meeting.
Made khichdi, kadhi and pooris. Served this with pickle and shrikhand and it actually turned out to be one super fast yummy lunch for TH and my son.

As part of my project of updating my old posts with pictures, I made this bread pudding again. This, surprisingly, is the most read post on my blog. Its a simple quick and healthy dessert. Give it a try. Check out my post here

Gujarati Kadhi

What you need -

2-3 tbsp besan / chickpea flour
1/2 cup curd / plain yoghurt
1-2 green chillies
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1 stick cinnamon
1/2" piece ginger
1 tsp salt
1-2 tbsp grated jaggery (depending on how sweet you like it)
3 cups water

Tempering

1 tsp oil
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
a few curry leaves
a pinch of asafoetida
1 red chilli broken into 2-3 pieces

What you do with it -

Mix the besan along with the curd in a bowl. Add the turmeric powder and water.
Beat this well using a whisk, electric beater or the simple Indian wooden churn
Slit the green chilli and slice the ginger. Add this to the bowl too
Add the salt and jaggery
Drop in the cinnamon and bring this to a boil, on a low flame, stirring every few minutes to ensure it does get too thick
Allow to simmer for 5 mins
For the tempering, heat the oil in a small pan and pop the mustard seeds and cumin seeds. Add asafoetida and then the red chillies and curry leaves
Take the kadhi off the heat and add the tempering
Serve hot with khichdi, pickle and papad

Aamras / Mango puree

The best thing about the summers in India is the abundance of mangoes. There are almost 70 varieties of mangoes cultivated across India. In Gujarat, the mango season starts as early as mid March and goes on till the first few weeks of July. The kesar is my favourite one, which is as good as the famous Alphonso, but not as exorbitantly priced..
I love eating mangoes as is, but a favourite combination is Aamras (Aam - mango, Ras - Juice) with puris. This is quite a popular dish in Maharashtra and Gujarat.



The thali places in Ahmedabad have aamras on their menu every summer. In addition to all the little bowls of vegetables and kadi, there is a bowl of aamras, which is filled every time you are nearing the end. My son is too small to have an entire thali, so he always gets a little plate for the puris and a bowl for aamras. The people serving are extremely attentive to him, despite the unending rows of people seated to eat and they fill up his bowl with aamras every time they pass by. He is always overawed with their service.

Here's a picture of a regular Gujarati thali. You will have more farsaan and sweets, in a fancier looking thali, if its a more upmarket restaurant


Pic Source: Sanjiv Khamgaonkar for CNNGo.com

My little fellow has been having mangoes after every meal these last few weeks. Ma made aamras puri when my cousins came over for lunch last week. He had that and then mango ice-cream for dessert. He is on a mango diet these days and totally loving it !!

The Raspuri variety is the best for the pulp, or you can use Alphonso, or a combination of the two. This time we used one Alphonso to add to the sweetness.



Aamras

What you need -
(Serves 4-5 people)

8 ripe raspuri mangoes
1 alphonso mango (This adds to the flavour, or you can just make do with the raspuri)
1 tbsp sugar, if required
1/4 cup water
1 cardamom (optional)

What you do with it -

Soak the mangoes in water for about half an hour - this makes it easier to remove the pulp
Peel the skin off the mangoes and soak in the water
Remove as much pulp as possible from the mango as possible, using your hands
If using the cardamom, peel it and add the seeds along with the pulp
Blend the mango pulp with sugar. Use as much sugar as required
Squeeze the remaining pulp from the skin of the mangoes and add to the blended pulp
Blend once more for a smooth consistency
Serve with hot puris, or refrigerate for an hour and serve cold as a dessert

Undhiyu - Winter special dish from Gujarat

Uttarayan celebrated on January 14th in Gujarat, is a time for kite-flying in and gorging on some delicious undhiyu, poori, jalebi and til chikki
My neighbour makes some amazingly crisp chikki with peanuts and sesame and I always get my share during Uttarayan...



Ahmedabad is almost distinctly divided into the old city or the walled area and the new Satellite area. The old area has houses that go up vertically, literally with one room on a floor, landing up in an open terrace. The shops in this area are big enough to hold in the shopkeeper and 2 customers, maybe. The new area has plush bungalows, high rise apartments and huge shopping malls sprouting everywhere.
All traditional festivals are celebrated with great gusto in the old area, as compared to the new areas. I have managed to go into the old areas twice during Uttarayan. Its like a different world out there, everyone is up on their terrace, with music players, dhols (drums) and whistles, or more recently, the vuvuzela look alikes...
Everytime someone manages to cut somebody else's kite, the music and whistling gets louder and the victorious shouts of 'kaipo che', which means 'we cut the kite' echo around...
If you have seen the Salman Khan starrer 'Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam', you know what I am talking about...
The mood is really upbeat and the radio channels have contests all thru the week that win you 100 kites !

Anyway, back to the favourite topic of any self-respecting Amdavadi - Food !!

Undhiyu is a delicious mix of vegetables, mainly root vegetables, some beans and muthias cooked in a green masala. The traditional ones are cooked in an earthen pot over firewood, the ones in restaurants float in a lot of oil and here's my version which I learnt from a Gujarati friend here...



Here's what went into my Undhiyu - sweet potatoes, purple yam / kand, banana, baby potatoes, small brinjals, papdi / stringed flat beans, tuver dana the green masala and of course, the muthias from this post

Most of these vegetables are seasonal, and many may not be available outside of Gujarat. I have mentioned alternate vegetables that are more easily available, which can be used instead. And there are a whole lot of vegetables used, so a little of each makes quite a bit of undhiyu !

Undhiyu / Undhiya

What you need -

1 cup stringed broad beans / surti papdi
1 purple yam / kand or use yam or raw banana instead
5 baby potatoes
5 small brinjals / eggplants
1 sweet potato
1/2 cup tuver dana / fresh pigeon peas or use peas instead
1/2 cup fresh broad bean seeds / Papdi dana / avarekai
1-2 ripe bananas (try not to leave this out, it adds a lovely taste)
8-10 methi muthia
5-6 tbsp oil
1 tsp ajwain / carom seeds
salt to taste

Green masala

1.5 cup fresh grated coconut
1 cup cleaned and chopped coriander leaves
3-4 stalks of garlic chives / hara lasan (use garlic or can omit)
4-6 green chillies
1" piece ginger
1 tbsp dhania / coriander seed powder
1 tbsp jeera / cumin powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp lemon juice

What you do with it -

For the green masala
Chop and clean the green chillies and ginger and pulse without water to make a coarse paste. If using garlic cloves, grind along with the green chillies and ginger
Chop the green garlic if using mix all the ingredients listed under green masala and keep aside

Peel the purple yam / raw bananas, sweet potato and the baby potatoes
Chop the yam and sweet potato into large chunks. Rinse well and keep aside
Note: If you are using the purple yam, please peel, wash in a colander, without touching the yam, drain and keep aside. Washing the yam with your hands can cause a lot of itching
Cut the ripe banana with the skin on, into thick slices
Rub the green masala on the purple yam and sweet potato and ripe bananas and allow it to sit in the masala for about 10 mins
Wash the brinjals and the make 2 cuts, like a criss-cross on one end of the brinjals and baby potatoes
Use the green masala and stuff the potatoes and brinjals and keep aside

Heat 3-4 tbsp oil in a deep bottomed pan or a pressure pan / cooker. If you have the oil that you fried the muthias in, then that's the best to use here
Add the ajwain and then the papdi
Add the tuver dana / peas and avarekai sprinkle some green masala over this
Stir once or twice
Layer it with the yam and sweet potato
Then the stuffed potatoes and brinjals
Right on top, add the ripe bananas and methi muthias
Spread the remaining green masala, 1/2 tsp salt over this and then a tbsp or two of oil over it
If you are using a pressure cooker, then you layer it in this order, so the ones that need least cooking are right on top
In a pan, you may need to add each layer, cover and cook for about 5 mins before you add the next
Do not stir the vegetables at any point
Sprinkle a little water if needed at any point, but keep it to a minimum
I made this in a pressure pan and allowed it to cook for 1-2 whistles over a low flame
It could take over 20 mins in a deep pan
Once it done, spoon it out into a serving dish and serve hot with puris

You may land up with quite a bit of leftovers if its not too many of you eating this. To re-heat, I put mine in a pre-heated oven for about 5 mins. Tasted really good !

Methi Muthias - Gujarati snack

Uttarayan is a very popular festival here in Gujarat. It is celebrated on January 14th, the day that other parts of India celebrate Pongal, Magh Bihu, Lohri and Makar Sankranti

It is a big kite flying festival here in Ahmedabad. There is also an International kite festival held in Ahmedabad a few days before Uttarayan. Its great fun in the old areas of Ahmedabad, called 'Pols' where everyone is up on their terraces flying kites, blowing something like a vuvuzela, beating drums and of course, eating !!
Undhiyu, poori, jalebi and chikkis made of til and peanuts are on the menu for Uttarayan...



Undhiyu / Undhiya is a winter special made with a whole lot of root vegetables, tubers, beans and muthias and cooked with some fresh spices.
Muthias are Step 1 towards making Undhiya / Undhiyu, a very popular Gujarati dish, made in winters. It has a lot of root vegetables, which are available during winters. My next post will be on Undhiyu, so tune in again soon...

Muthias can be had as a snack too, with some chutney and tea !

What you need -

1.5 cups cleaned and chopped methi / fenugreek leaves
1 cup wheat flour
2 tbsp sooji / rava
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tbsp dhania / coriander seed powder
1/2 tbsp jeera / cumin seed powder
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
1 tsp white til / sesame seeds
1 tbsp oil
a pinch of fruit salt / eno (optional)
juice of half a lemon
oil for deep frying


What you do with it

Add the chopped methi leaves in a bowl
Add all the spice powders, salt and sugar and oil and mix well
Then add the flour and sooji and the lemon juice and knead into a stiff dough
Add eno if using at this point. I didn't use it.
Add as little water as required to bind the dough
Heat oil in a deep bottomed pan
Make small balls with the dough and then roll them into oblong shapes
Deep fry the muthias in oil
Drain the excess oil on an absorbent paper and enjoy with hot tea and chutney

Lilva Bataka nu Shaak - Gujarati style spiced vegetables

This is a halfway Undhiyu - a famous Gujarati winter dish..
The spices used here are pretty much the same, but the undhiyu has a lot more vegetables added to it - kand (purple yam), sweet potatoes, bananas and of course, muthias...



This shaak (with some vegetables added or excluded) is a must in all the Gujarati thalis (special meal served in a huge round plate) and I love the taste of it...Described the dish to my friend here, who then gave me this recipe...
It turned out exactly like the one we have in the restaurants and is really yum with some hot rotlis (Gujarati mini phulkas)..Thank you A, for this recipe - it really works !!

What you need -

1 cup Surti lilva(avrekai) or tuvar lilva
1/2 cup papdi / flat beans
12-15 baby potatoes
1/2 tsp ajwain / carom seeds
a pinch of asafoetida
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp dhania/ coriander seed powder
1 tsp jeera / cumin powder
1/2 - 1 tsp grated jaggery / sugar
salt to taste
2 tsp oil

To grind -

1/2 cup grated coconut
1/2 cup coriander leaves
3-4 garlic pods
3 green chillies

What you do with it -

Grind all the ingredients listed under 'To grind' to a smooth paste
Peel the potatoes and cook along with papdi beans and lilva, with a little salt added
Heat oil in a pan and add the carom seeds and asafoetida
Add turmeric powder and the ground paste
Saute the masala till it changes colour
Add the dhania powder, jeera powder, chilli powder and then add the cooked vegetables
(You can add brinjals too - adds a lot to the taste)
Mix well so that the vegetables are coated with the masala
Add the jaggery and salt and 1/2 cup of water and bring to a slow boil
Serve with hot rotlis and a salad

Fafda, jalebis and my 100th post !

The last nine days have been a big celebration in many states in India and in Gujarat, its been a really colourful one, with the nine nights of Garba for Navratri - the dancing starts around nine at night and goes on way beyond midnight. Every evening the enthusiastic dancers are out in their wonderfully colourful traditional costumes, with lots of accessories and chunky silver jewellery...

As with every other festival in India, food is of prime importance and there is special food associated with each religious occasion...In Gujarat, the Dussehra special is fafda and jalebis. On our way back home last night, we saw a lot of shops gearing up to handle the endless queues of customers for the famous fafda and jalebis...
My husband is not the sort who can ever wait for food. If we are asked to wait at any restaurant, we just drive away to the next one...But the temptation of the really hot and crisp jalebis made him go stand and wait for about 45 mins...It was so totally worth it !!

So here's what we had for our breakfast, thanks to the husband's patience with the store called Gwalia, down the road from our place...



crisp hot jalebis, fried in ghee and dipped in sugar syrup - tastes awesome, but you will need few more hours on the treadmill after this !
raw papaya salad / chutney - shredded raw papaya with a lot of green chillies



fafda - besan / chickpea flour and some spices made into a dough, spread out with base of the palm and then deep fried

This is my 100th post !! Though I began blogging with great enthusiasm, the posts havent really been frequent, of late, so I honestly didnt think I'd make it this far...

Thank you all for reading my posts, its a great inspiration to continue blogging...

Wish you and your familes a very Happy Dussehra

Handvo (Baked version)

One thing you can never run short on in Ahmedabad is FOOD - fancy restaurants to roadside carts with some amazing food dished out all thru the day. My favourite is the awesome Gujarati thali, and there are restaurants at every corner serving these thalis. Its convenient, you dont need to order, just sit and a stream of people queue up to serve you in the this really big round thali / plate(my little one can easily sit in it), with a minimum of 7 bowls placed neatly in it.
There is this order in which people come to serve you and each item goes into the designated bowl.
'Farsaan' is a common word for a snack, which could be deep fried like kachori, samosa or somthing like khamman dhokla, sandwich dhokla, and is a integral part of every thali.



Handvo is a snack which you dont get so easily in these restaurants or the 'Ganthiya' stores. Its more of a regular home made healthy snack.
My friend here had made handvo once, it looked more like a well-done uttapam and was made in a deep pan /kadai
My aunt (whose husband is Gujarati) was visiting and she told me she baked the handvo, it takes lesser oil and tastes much better !

Now that sounded really nice..
I found this 'handva nu loth' / handvo flour at the flour mill close by, and tried the handvo. It turned out so good and was a real healthy snack with a whole lot of vegetables. I've bought a lot more of the flour now and I'm sure this will be made more often at home...The flour is a mixture of various dals made into a coarse powder



What you need -

3 cups handvo flour
(you can blend 1 cup rice, 1/4 cup moong dal, 1/4 cup ural dal, 1/4 cup chana dal and 1/4 cup tur dal into a coarse powder if you cant find any ready handvo flour)

2 cups curd / enough to soak the handvo flour
1 medium sized bottle gourd
2 carrots grated
1/2 cup coriander leaves
1 cup corn kernels
1 tsp ginger-green chilli paste
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
a generous pinch of asafoetida
1 tsp sesame seeds
1/2 tsp chilli powder
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp oil

Seasoning

2 tsps oil
1 tbsp sesame seeds
1 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp chilli powder

What you do with it -

Soak the handvo flour in curd and mix well. Allow to ferment overnight

Mix the ginger-green chilli paste and turmeric in the fermented batter and mix well
Add the chopped coriander leaves and salt to the batter and keep aside

Peel and grate the bottle gourd and carrot. Squeeze the water from the gourd
Add the gourd, grated carrot and corn kernels to the batter
Heat a tsp of oil and add 1/2 tsp chilli powder in it. when it sizzles, pour it into the batter and mix well

Prepare the seasoning with the mustard seeds, sesame seeds and chilli powder

Preheat the oven to 190 C

Grease a pan with oil or butter and pour the batter into it
Add the baking powder and baking soda in 1/2 tsp oil. Mix and pour into the batter
Mix well, add the seasoning and immediately transfer it to the oven

Bake for about 40 mins at 190 C
Cut into squares or triangles and serve with coriander-mint chutney

Khatta Dhokla

Uttarayan (same day as Sankranti / Pongal) is celebrated with flying colourful kites here in Gujarat. Most people in the old city are up on their terraces the entire day flying kites and its like this big war zone, with people trying to cut each others kites and yelling away.
My son seemed to thoroughly enjoy all the noise and tried his hand at flying kites too.

Like any other Indian festival, food is the other big attraction. Undhiyo, jalebi and chikki are the Uttarayan favourites. We were invited for kite flying and lunch (of course) and it was a real treat.

I always liked Gujarati farsaan (snacky stuff, often served as part of a meal) and after coming here its been an overdose of eating all of it. Tried my hand at a few and not all were successes. A friend of mine here offered to teach me how to make 'khatta dhokla'.
There's also the khamman dhokla(which is more spongy and I have yet to learn that one)
This one is khatta dhokla, which is real easy and made from idli / dosa batter which is good for me because this is invariably available at home.
So all the credit goes to my dear friend Rupa who is a fabulous cook and loves to live in her kitchen.



Sending this in as an entry to FIC- Yellow hosted by sunshinemom of Tongueticklers.

What you need -

2 cups of idli / dosa batter (preferably 2-3 days old)
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp chilli powder
a pinch of asafoetida
1/2 salt
1/2 tsp baking soda / eno (antacid powder)

For the seasoning -
1 tsp mustard seeds
10-12 curry leaves
1 handful chopped coriander leaves

What you do with it -

Stir in the turmeric, chilli powder, salt and asafoetida to the idli / dosa batter
Add in the eno / baking soda and immediately transfer to a shallow dish and place in a steamer
You can sprinkle a little more chilli powder and coriander leaves on the dish
Allow to steam for 10-15 mins
Once its done, keep aside to cool and then cut into bite sized pieces
Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds, curry leaves and the dhokla pieces
Toss a bit and add coriander leaves
Serve with coriander/mint chutney

Hara chana (green chickpeas) with muthias

We were in Bombay two weeks back for a family get together and a cousin had invited us over for lunch. She had this absolutely wonderful spread laid out - a complete treat for vegetarians and non-vegetarians. And though I simply love fish (she made 3 varieties of that), i still gorged on this absolutely lovely dish of hara chana with muthias.

Muthias are little dumplings of besan / wheat flour with spices and greens or vegetables. These can be had steamed or fried.
Muthias are also an essential part of 'Undhiyo', a winter special dish of Gujarat.

When I got back to Ahmedabad, I found green chanas in abundance here in the markets, so quickly called her up to get the recipe. Its adapted from Tarla Dalal's 'Rotis and Subzis' and really doesnt take too long to make...

Tasty and healthy dish which is delicious with hot phulkas / rotis




Sending this to JFI-Chickpea hosted this month by dear ms of SometimeFoodie.
Read the JFI now and thought this fits in well. Jihva for Ingredients(JFI) is the wonderful creation of Indira of Mahanandi.
Also sending this to My Legume Love Affair - Seventh Helping, the brainchild of Susan, hosted this month by Srivalli.

What you need -

2 cups of fresh green chana (can use the dried ones soaked overnight)
1 onion
1/2 cup coconut milk

for the chutney -
a handful of coriander
4-5 green chillies
1/2 inch piece ginger
5-6 pods of garlic
a handful of chopped spinach leaves
juice of half a lemon

for the muthias -
1 cup methi(fenugreek) leaves chopped
1 cup of wheat flour
a pinch of hing(asafoetida)
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp salt

What you do with it -

Boil the chana in hot water or cook in a pressure pan if the chana is not fresh.

Grind the ingredients mentioned for the chutney. Spinach leaves need not be blanched for this, just chop and blend with all the other ingredients.

Mix together all the ingredients mentioned for muthias. Add very little water so that the dough doesnt get too sticky.
Make small balls of this and deep fry in oil.

Heat oil in a deep bottomed pan. Add chopped onions and fry till they turn brown.
Add the chutney and then the chana.
Adjust salt. Cook for 4-5 mins.
Add coconut milk just before you take it off the stove.

Add the fried muthias 5 minutes before serving. That way it remins crisp and still gets the flavour of the curry. Keep it longer if you like it soft.

Serve hot with rotis / phulkas