.....From My Palate

Holi

Chatpati Palak Chaat

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Life is really unpredictable for obvious reasons now. In February I planted bulbs in my backyard on a sunny day without jacket and today, in May I am wearing a woolen robe with socks on my feet and still feeling cold. Gosh! Is there anyone who can tell me where we are heading to…?? All my woolens are washed, nicely folded and packed for almost 5 months of hibernation but instead of feeling happy, I am feeling stupid and cold! Golden rays of sun are welcoming us outside but cold wind pushing us inside saying “Spring is for me and I wanted to play alone”!!

Anyhow, Food is the only option that’s comforting and cheering our soul while dealing with this confusion. Chaat, a mix of crunchy, sour, sweet, savory taste all at once, tickle our palate, mind and soul. Chaat a synonym for happy, blissful and satisfied in one word. But only requirement is it should tastes good, getting a good plate of aloo tikki or pani puri is as rare as getting a partner made for each other. ;-0 I really crave for good chaat in US and its really difficult and looks like impossible so far. A good plate of chaat should be hot and crunchy with a good balance of cold sweet dahi, sour tamarind chutney, spicy green chutney and perfect seasoning.

Pani puri, aloo tikki, papdi chaat, dahi puri, dahi bhalle, bhel puri are all popular and in demand. The only chaat that tastes delicious but still lives an unappreciated life is Indian Popeye’s favorite Palak Chaat. The crisp Spinach fritters with yogurt, chutneys and garnished with pomegranate and sev. What a delight?

Well, I am not sure if its as healthy as it sounds because of spinach but I can vouch for its deliciousness. It is a good appetizer and can give a zesty start to any party.

 

 

Palak Chaat
Recipe Type: Chaat
Cuisine: Indian
Author: Bhawana
Ingredients
  • 10 Spinach leaves, washed and dried
  • 1/2 cup Besan (Bengal gram flour)
  • 1/4 tsp. Ajwain (Carom Seeds)
  • Red Chilli Powder as needed
  • Salt to taste
  • Water to make the batter
  • Oil- for deep frying
  • Green chutney
  • Tamarind chutney
  • Yogurt
  • Roasted Jeera Powder
  • Chaat masala
  • Red Chilli Powder
  • Salt
  • Pomegranate Seeds
Instructions
  1. Add besan, ajwain, red chilli powder, salt and make a thick and smooth batter with the help of water.
  2. Heat oil in a pan.
  3. Coat spinach leaf with the batter and fry in batches until golden and crisp from both sides.
  4. Repeat the step for all the remaining spinach leaves and put them on a kitchen towel to remove excess oil.
  5. Just before serving, place spinach fritter on a serving plate. Drizzle beaten yogurt, tamarind and green chutney.
  6. Season it with salt, chilli powder, jeera powder and chaat masala.
  7. Garnish with pomegranate seeds and nylon sev.

Moong Dal Burfi

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What a beautiful morning today!
Its been raining since morning, freshly cut (thanks hubby dear) lush green grass outside all around, young light green leaves on the tree, swaying slightly here and there with the direction of the wind. The wind chime on the tree making a music soothing for ears. Small, colorful, bright red, blue and white bird houses hanging with the branches of the tree, playing hide and seek with me. I am enjoying the whole outside view (without cribbing of course!) and appreciating the beauty of nature. The tranquility outside giving a sense of peace inside me. Its amazing to realize, how time and unknot mind changes the perception for things around you. Yes! its a relaxed, chores can wait and being at home day for me. Sitting with my morning tea and looking outside with a relaxed mind and realizing that drops of water while coming down, create musical chords when touched the ground. The same nature that was there yesterday, day before yesterday or everyday with its different colors, mood and beauty amazes me today!. Its true! “beauty lies in the eye of the beholder”. You need an eye to appreciate things, without that the same beauty turns in to the beast and create chaos in the life.

Sometimes, we need to stop overstressing our mind, body and soul, take a pause and be thankful and appreciate things around us that we ignore in our day to day life. Appreciate and thankful are two beautiful words that can make any relationship stronger and happy. I am really thankful to the God, my parents, my family and friends for giving me love, care and concern in abundance so that I can return and share the same feelings with the world. I try my best to make my son understand that how important it is to earn love and care of people around you more than money and success. But the level of competition we are dealing with to survive in this time are diluting these words and giving tinge of artificiality in life.

Its time to cut the bitterness and appreciate the sweetness God has given us that we can relish with a thankful heart. Its not a secret anymore that how much I love sweets!! I truly believe that a piece of good sweet/dessert can instantly erase the bitterness, sadness or any negative feeling for some time. It is very important to have a piece of “sweetness” everyday in a life.

Moong dal halwa is a very popular winter delicacy in India. Its an important menu item in any winter weddings in north India. But another moong dal delicacy very popular for its earthy granular sweet taste is Moong Dal Burfi. Its real flavor comes with the amount of ghee and little effort that is required to make it. One need lot of patience and energy to cook dal in ghee on medium/low flame and stirring continuously until the kitchen is filled with the sweet aroma of cooked dal. This is hardest part else its a simple recipe. If you are on diet, savor a bite and enjoy the taste for rest of your life but do not try to make it without ghee. This sweet is for people who appreciate food in its organic recipe. I will rather eat little and enjoy the taste for longer than eat everyday with the twisted artificial recipe.
Regards,
Have a nice weekend.

 

Moong Dal Burfi
Recipe Type: Dessert/Sweet
Cuisine: Indian
Author: Bhawana
Ingredients
  • 1 cup yellow Moong Dal, soaked in water for minimum of 3 hours
  • 1 cup Ghee
  • 1 cup Sugar
  • 1 cup Water
  • 1 cup Khoya, grated or crumbled
  • 1/4 tsp. Green Cardamom Powder
  • 1/2 tsp. Rose Water
  • Silvered Pistachios and Vark for garnishing
  • Few strands of saffron or drops of yellow color
Instructions
  1. Grind dal coarsely using very little water.
  2. In a non stick pan, mix the ghee and dal, and cook until dal becomes dark in color and the fat separates.
  3. Remove pan from stove and add khoya, cardamom powder and mix it well,
  4. In another pan make a sugar syrup. Mix saffron or yellow color, rose water and dal mixture in the syrup.
  5. Mix it vigorously and cook until till it becomes sticky and ready to set for burfi.
  6. Transfer the mixture in the greased tray, spread it evenly and garnish with vrak and silvered pistachios. Keep it aside.
  7. When it cool and set, cut it in to squares and serve.

Lauki Ka Halwa

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Wow, we are already in the last week of winter. Winter has been really blessed and mild this year. Cannot complain!… but still looking forward to welcome spring this weekend. Crisp mornings, fresh green grass, tulips and daffodils peeking out of the soil, birds chirping around.. can’t wait to see mother nature back to life. There are three festivals lined up to celebrate other than spring. St Patrick’s day is on 17th this week. It is the time of the year when all green recipes are out and everywhere around blog-sphere.

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My recipe dedicated to this green day is thick confection of bottle gourd sweetened with sugar and make it more richer in taste with khoya and nuts. The light green color of gourd is enhanced with the food color that is purely optional. Lauki ka halwa is popular as a fasting sweet, when grain are not allowed to eat while fasting like Shivratri, Krishnaastami and Navratris.

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Besides its beautiful green color this dish tastes delicious, hydrates and gives instant energy to the body while fasting. The texture of the halwa is little crunchy and tastes delightful with coconut and other nuts.

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Lauki Ka Halwa
Recipe Type: Dessert
Cuisine: Indian
Author: Bhawana
Ingredients
  • 2 cups Lauki (bottle gourd), grated and boiled
  • 1 cup Sugar
  • 3 tbsp. Ghee
  • 1/2 tsp. Cardamom Powder
  • 1 cup Khoya, grated
  • Silvered Pistachios and Almond
  • 1/2 cup Coconut, grated
  • Few drops Kewra Water
  • Green color (optional)
Instructions
  1. Heat 2 tbsp ghee in a heavy-bottom pan.
  2. Add lauki and saute for 7-8 minutes.
  3. Add Sugar and green color.
  4. Saute the mixture while stirring continuously until all the moisture evaporates.
  5. Now add khoya, cardamom powder, coconut and dry fruits.
  6. Add 1 tbsp. of ghee and cook it few more minutes.
  7. Add kewra water, mix it well.
  8. Serve hot or cold garnished with almond and pistachios.

Khasta Matar Kachori

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Welcome Back! New improved look of my blog has creatively recharged me to dive in and explore the infinite number of recipes I wanted to share with you. Recipes that I always wanted to try or already tried but never got a chance to take pictures and post. Yes! there are times when I cook and wanted to share it with the world but didn’t get a chance to take pictures. Cooking, styling food, taking pictures, editing, writing, and the list is long….all this work sometimes dampens my spirits and makes me lazy, and furthermore, I get little time to sit and enjoy the food with my family.

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But right now my spirits are high and creativity is bubbling inside me, pushing me harder towards the kitchen. Weather is also looks like working for me by making the day appropriate for the dish. Cloudy day with partial rain now and then, warm weather with sun playing hide and seek…confusing but making me sure to go back to my roots by cooking Chatpati Khasta Kachori Aloo.

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Kachori aloo is a popular holiday breakfast (with garma-garam Jalebis) in Uttar-Pradesh. On all my visits to India I make sure I have this breakfast at least once with my family. It brings back so many fond memories of the past.

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Kachoris are flaky deep fried delights that goes well with aloo ki sabji. I made matar ki kachoris instead, keeping in mind the likeness of my younger one. I sent the pictures to my mom on WhatsApp, to let her know that I am creating same memories in US too!
Thank you Mom.

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Khasta Matar Kachori
Author: Bhawana
Ingredients
  • Dough
  • 2 cups All Purpose Flour
  • 2 tbsp. Suji (Semolina)
  • 1 tsp. Besan (Gram Flour)
  • 1/4 cup Oil
  • Salt to taste
  • 1/4 tsp. Baking Soda
  • Warm water to make dough, as needed
  • Oil to fry
  • Peas Filling
  • 1 1/2 cup Peas, shelled.
  • 2-3 Green Chilies, chopped
  • 1 tsp. Ginger, grated
  • 2 tbsp. Oil
  • 1/2 tsp. Cumin Seeds
  • 1/4 tsp. Asafetida
  • 1/4 tsp. Turmeric Powder
  • 1 tsp. Coriander Powder
  • 1/2 tsp. Fennel Seed Powder
  • Red Chili Powder to taste
  • 1/4 tsp. Garam Masala Powder
  • 2 tsp. Besan (Gram Flour)
  • 1/2 tsp. Amchur Powder
  • Salt to taste
Instructions
Dough
  1. Mix flour, salt, baking soda, besan and suji.
  2. Add oil and mix it well.
  3. Now add warm water as needed and knead it to a firm and smooth dough.
  4. Cover it with wet cloth and keep aside for 30 minutes.
Filling
  1. Boil peas until soft (if using fresh peas).
  2. Drain and mash them coarsely with the back of the spoon
  3. Heat oil in a pan and add cumin seeds and asafetida powder.
  4. Add green chilies and ginger. Now add all the masalas and peas.
  5. Mix it well and add besan.
  6. Keep sauteing the mixture until all the water evaporates and the mixture is dry.
  7. Take a small portion of a dough and roll it in to a smooth ball.
  8. Flatten a ball with a palm and place the stuffing in the middle, cover and seal the ends.
  9. Roll it lightly with a rolling pin.
  10. Deep fry kachoris on medium/low flame till golden brown on both sides.
  11. Drain and serve hot with aloo ki sabji and chutneys.

Kesar Layered Burfi

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Festival season is in full swing and so is the mood to enjoy and celebrate our culture and traditions. Karwachauth is tomorrow and Diwali in just two weeks. In our culture no matter how health conscious we are, but no festivity is complete with out sweets. Sweet is the integral part of our hospitality and festivals. But in the times when the outside sweets are laden with synthetic khoya and unhealthy additives its hard to maintain this tradition. Thanks to the technology, with the little work and google:-), easy to make, simple and elegant sweets are possible freshly made at home.
Today i am sharing recipe for elegant 2 layered burfi. With little patience its easy to make and has all the deliciousness to make the day special.

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Kesar Layered Burfi
Author: Bhawana
Ingredients
  • Plain Burfi
  • 2 cups Khoya, grated at room temperature
  • 3/4 cup Boora or Powdered Sugar (adjust accordingly)
  • 1/2 tsp. Cardamom powder
  • Few drops Gulab or Kewra essence (optional)
  • Kesar Burfi
  • 1 1/2 cup Khoya, grated at room temperature
  • 5 tbsp. Boora or Powdered Sugar (adjust to taste)
  • 1/2 tsp of Saffron crushed and soak in tbsp of warm milk
  • Silvered Pistachios and Almond for garnishing
  • Few drops Gulab or Kewra essence (optional)
Instructions
  1. Grease the tray to set the burfi.
  2. Heat non-stick pan and roast khoya, boora or sugar, cardamom powder and essence.
  3. Roast until the mixture is light pink in color, thickens and start to leave the sides of the pan.
  4. The mixture should be consistency of soft lump.
  5. Spread it evenly on greased tray and let it cool.
  6. For the kesar burfi again heat non-stick pan and roast khoya, boora or sugar, saffron and essence.
  7. Cook it until the desired consistency as above.
  8. Spread the kesar mixture on top of the plain burfi.
  9. Spread it evenly with the help of greased parchment paper.
  10. Garnished with nuts and set aside to cool.
  11. Cut in to desired shape and serve.

Khajoor Mewa Roll

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Gifts, new clothes, mithais and lot of happiness and exuberance around….yes! that’s what festivals gives us while breaking the monotony of work and busy life. If festivals are not there our lives will be like robots with no emotions and feelings to share with family and friends. Festivals are regular days, just an excuse to rejoice and spend special time with loved ones. These are the days to break rules, diets and enmity whereas strengthens the bonds of love and responsibilities for each other. One such day to celebrate the emotional bonding between brothers and sisters is around the corner. A very very Happy Raksha Bandhan to all of you in advance.
I wanted to dedicate this post to my brother. Happy Raksha Bandhan Bhai!

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Any festival is incomplete without sweet. And in the time of healthy, sugar-less sweets, this sweet will be a perfect treat for a health conscious, exercise freak, brother. This roll is like an energy bar with dates and nuts. Khajoor rolls are not new to me, my friend in UK introduced this recipe to me almost 8 years back. This is a quick recipe with hardly any work and looks delicious.
What will be a more healthier way to celebrate “bond of love” ? Be ready with an extra box to pack this yummy treat for your brother.

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Khajoor Mewa Roll
Author: Bhawana
Ingredients
  • 2 cups Khajoor (Dates), pitted & chopped
  • 1 cup mixed Dry Fruits, toasted & chopped
  • 1 tsp. Desi Ghee
  • 1/2 tsp. Cardamom Powder
  • Few drops Rose Essence (optional)
  • Shredded coconut for garnishing
Instructions
  1. Heat ghee in a nonstick pan. Add khajoor.
  2. Cook khajoor while mixing it well.
  3. Cook until they are soft.
  4. Mix dry fruits, cardamom powder and rose essence.
  5. Mix it well and let it cool for sometime.
  6. Roll the mixture into a thick log.
  7. Roll it on shredded coconut and wrap it tightly in cling film.
  8. Refrigerate it until firm.
  9. Cut it in to slices and serve.

Thandai

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What an invigorating drink this is!
Made with mix of nuts, saffron, rose petals, poppy seeds and my another favorite fennel seeds, “Thandai” is my all time favorite milk based Indian drink. All my growing up summers, this used to be my morning delight. Halidiram’s Mishrambhu, can’t even count number of bottles I have consumed.  Holi, Festival of colors is incomplete for me without Thandai.  In US, where temperature is not quite appropriate for this drink, still on holi, with Gujiya, Thandai always remains on my must- to do list.

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Thandai tastes good when served chilled and is a very refreshing summer drink. Due to its ingredients it stated as a high calorie drink but in humid summer days when people perspire a lot, it act as a instant energizer. Some people like the Thandai to be spicy( increase the amount of black pepper corns or add any spice of choice that goes well in the drink) or nutty and sweet.

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Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup Almonds
  • 1/2 cup Cashew nuts
  • 20 -25 Kali Mirch (Black peppercorns)
  • 1/4 cup Raisins
  • 20 Choti Elaichi (Green Cardamom)
  • 2 tsp Khuskhus (Poppy seeds)
  • 2 tsp Saunf (Fennel seeds)
  • 2 tsp Khabuje Ki Giri (Melon seeds)
  • 4-5 cups Milk
  • 1/2 cup Sugar (or as per taste)
  • 1/4 tsp crushed Kesar (Saffron) soaked in milk
  • few drops Rose essence (optional)
  • Sliced Pistachios and rose petals for garnishing

Method

  • Soak almonds, cashew nuts, peppercorns, raisins, cardamom, poppy seeds, fennel seeds and melon seeds in 2 cups of water for overnight.
  • Grind everything in a blender to a smooth paste.
  • Add little water if required while grinding.
  • Add chilled milk, sugar, soaked saffron and rose essence (can use rose water too)
  • Mix it well in the mixer.
  • Strain the mixture.
  • Pour it in to serving glasses.
  • Garnish with rose petals and sliced pistachios.
  • Serve and enjoy….

Moong Dal Halwa

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If you think of a winter wedding, moong dal halwa is a must item in a menu. I still remember big, wide iron skillet with ghee laden moong dal halwa garnished with nuts in all winter weddings in India. Its already spring in US but the winter is still staying strong with its chillness and wind. I take this as a opportunity to make this sweet winter dish Moong Dal Halwa before saying adieu to winter with a promise to meet again.

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Moong dal halwa is a lentil based sweet cooked with generous amount of ghee. it is believed that the halwa keeps the body warm and protects it from the harshness of winter. This is a claasic rajasthani dish which demands lots of patience and strength to sauté the dal on medium low flame stirring continuously whole time.

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Ingredients

  • 2 cups Moong Daal (split yellow lentils)
  • 1 cup Ghee (if u want to make it more rich use 2 cups of Ghee)
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 cups water
  • 1/2 tsp Green Cardamom Powder
  • 1/2 cup Khoya
  • 1 cup finely chopped mixed nuts of your choice
  • (I used Almond, Pistachios and Cashew nut)

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Method

  • Wash moong dal thoroughly and soak it in water, overnight.
  •  Grind it to a smooth paste in a food processor.
  •  Heat the ghee in a heavy-bottomed non-stick pan on a medium flame.
  •  Add the moong daal paste to the ghee and mix it well.
  • Cook the moong daal, stirring frequently till it begins to turn golden and release its aroma.(for me it takes almost an hour)
  • In the mean time prepare simple sugar syrup by mixing sugar and water.
  •  Add the khoya and mix well. Cook for another 2-3 minutes.
  •  Now add sugar syrup and cardamom powder. Mix it well.
  •  Cook on a medium flame for another 5-7 minutes, stirring continuously till you can see ghee on the sides of the pan.
  • Add the mixed nut and taste for the sweetness. (Add more sugar and cook for another 5 mins if needed)
  • Garnish with chopped nuts and serve warm.