MASALA KHICHDI MOONG DAL

Khichdi has always been a part of our Sunday lunch. Since childhood Sunday afternoons were spent eating moong dal khichdi with lots of ghee, achar, papad and curd. Khichdi has always been the comfort food.
When I got married my husband found the plain old khichdi very boring and something that is to be eaten only when one is not well. So I decided to give a makeover to our good old khichdi and added spices, vegetables and tadka to it. I've only added tomatoes and onions here but vegetables like carrots, beans, peas or any vegetable of your choice can also be added. So here it is my good old khichdi with a makeover 😊

INGREDIENTS

Boil together

1/2 cup moong dal

1/2 cup rice

3 cups water

salt to taste

1/2 tea spoon haldi (turmeric powder)

1 tomato chopped

For tadka

2 table spoons ghee (clarified butter)

1 tej patta (bay leaf)

1 badi elaichi ( black cardamom)

1/2 tea spoon lehsun (grated garlic)

1/2 tea spoon jeera (cumin seeds)

1 onion chopped

1-2 hari mirch (green chillies)

METHOD

1. Take dal and rice in a bowl and rinse them with water couple of times. Add dal along with water to a pressure cooker with salt, haldi powder and chopped tomato.

2. Put on the lid and cook for 5-6 whistles. Once the pressure drops down, open the lid.

3. In a kadai add ghee. Once the ghee is hot add jeera, tej patta and badi elaichi. Let the jeera crackle.

4. Add grated garlic and green chillies. Cook till the raw smell of garlic goes.

5. Add the chopped onions and saute till translucent.

6. Add the boiled khichdi to the kadai.

7. Mix everything well. Sprinkle lemon juice if you prefer.

8. Garnish with fresh green coriander. Serve hot with curd, pickle and papad.

PICTORIAL GUIDE

1. Take dal and rice in a bowl and rinse them with water couple of times. Add dal along with water to a pressure cooker with salt, haldi powder and chopped tomato.

2. Put on the lid and cook for 5-6 whistles. Once the pressure drops down, open the lid.

3. In a kadai add ghee. Once the ghee is hot add jeera, tej patta and badi elaichi. Let the jeera crackle.

4. Add grated garlic and green chillies. Cook till the raw smell of garlic goes.

5. Add the chopped onions and saute till translucent.

6. Add the boiled khichdi to the kadai.

7. Mix everything well. Sprinkle lemon juice if you prefer. Garnish with fresh green coriander.

8. Serve hot with curd, pickle and papad.

                               HAPPY COOKING!! 😊

KADHI RECIPE WITH ONION PAKORAS

Kadhi Chawal another comfort food of Northern part of India. Kadhi is a thick gravy dish made of besan (gram flour or chickpea flour) and sour curd. Fresh curd can also be used but sour curd brings out the distinct flavour of kadhi.

There are different versions of kadhi which are found in different regions of India so we have Gujarati kadhi, Rajasthani kadhi, Sindhi kadhi, Punjabi kadhi and many more with various regions having a distinct taste of their own.

Kadhi can be made with or without pakoras. At my place kadhi is always made with plain besan pakoras but various people make kadhi with vegetable pakoras or methi pakoras or onion pakoras. In this recipe I've made kadhi with onion pakoras.

Kadhi is usually served with plain rice but you can also have it with rotis.

INGREDIENTS

for onion pakoras

1 onion chopped finely

1/2 cup besan (gram flour or chickpea flour)

1/2 tea spoon red chilli powder (lal mirch powder)

1/2 tea spoon turmeric powder (haldi powder)

1/2 tea spoon garam masala powder

1/2 tea spoon salt

water as required to make the batter for pakoras

oil to deep fry the pakoras

for kadhi

1 cup curd

1/4 cup besan (gram flour or chickpea flour)

3-4 cups of water

a pinch of heeng (asafoetida)

1/4 tea spoon methi dana (fenugreek seeds)

1/2 tea spoon jeera (cumin seeds)

1/2 tea spoon lal mirch powder (red chilli powder)

1/2 tea spoon haldi (turmeric powder)

1 table spoon oil

1 tea spoon chopped or grated garlic (lahsun)

1-2 dry red chillies (sabut lal mirch)

10-12 kari patta (curry leaves)

1 tea spoon salt or as required

fresh coriander leaves (hara dhaniya) to garnish

METHOD

for pakoras

1. Take besan in a bowl, add salt, red chilli powder, turmeric powder, garam masala and the chopped onions. Add water slowly to get a thick batter for making pakoras.

2. In a kadai, heat oil. Once the oil is hot enough, with a spoon or your hand drop the pakora batter into the oil.

3. When the pakoras are partly cooked from one side, flip them over and fry from the other side.

4. Once the pakoras turn golden and crisp, remove them on a kitchen paper towel so that the extra oil is absorbed.

for kadhi

1. Whisk the curd well, add besan and water to it and whisk well.

2. Add  haldi powder, lal mirch powder and salt to the curd mix. Keep aside.

3. In a large kadai, heat a table spoon of oil. Add heeng, methi dana and jeera. Let the jeera crackle.

4. Add sabut lal mirch and kari patta. Add lehsun and cook for a few seconds till the raw smell goes.

5.Reduce the flame to minimum and add the beaten curd and besan mixture to the kadai. Stir very well so that no lumps are formed.

6. Increase the flame to medium and let the kadhi come to a boil. Keep stirring at regular intervals so that it does not stick to the bottom.

7. Once the kadhi comes to a boil, lower the flame and let it simmer for 5-7minutes. 

8.  Add pakoras to the kadhi and let it simmer for a few more minutes till it thickens.

9. Switch off the flame and add fresh coriander leaves. Serve hot with roti and rice.

PICTORIAL GUIDE

for pakoras

1. Take besan in a bowl, add salt, red chilli powder, turmeric powder, garam masala and the chopped onions. Add water slowly to get a thick batter for making pakoras.

2. In a kadai, heat oil. Once the oil is hot enough, with a spoon or your hand drop the pakora batter into the oil.

3. When the pakoras are partly cooked from one side, flip them over and fry from the other side.

4. Once the pakoras turn golden and crisp, remove them on a kitchen paper towel so that the extra oil is absorbed.

for kadhi

1. Whisk the curd well, add besan and water to it and whisk well.

2. Add  haldi powder, lal mirch powder and salt to the curd mix. Keep aside.

3. In a large kadai, heat a table spoon of oil. Add heeng, methi dana and jeera. Let the jeera crackle.

4. Add sabut lal mirch and kari patta. Add lehsun and cook for a few seconds till the raw smell goes.

5.Reduce the flame to minimum and add the beaten curd and besan mixture to the kadai. Stir very well so that no lumps are formed.

6. Increase the flame to medium and let the kadhi come to a boil. Keep stirring at regular intervals so that it does not stick to the bottom.

7. Once the kadhi comes to a boil, lower the flame and let it simmer for 5-7minutes. 

8.  Add the pakoras to the kadhi and let it simmer for a few more minutes till it thickens.

9. Switch off the flame and add fresh coriander leaves. Serve hot with roti and rice.

                                         HAPPY COOKING!! 😊

RED SAUCE PASTA RECIPE

Pasta is an all time favourite at my place be it red sauce pasta, white sauce pasta or simple indian style cooked pasta with veggies.
This is a simple and quick recipe of Pasta which requires basic ingredients which are usually available at home.

If you want you can add vegetables of your choice to the pasta. I mostly use red and yellow bell peppers, boiled sweet corn and broccoli. My kids however do not prefer much of vegetables so I cook the pasta without the vegetables and simply stir fry the vegetables along side for the two of us.

INGREDIENTS

for boiling pasta

1 cup Pasta (you can use any variety)

4 cups of water

1 tea spoon salt

1 tea spoon oil

for the sauce

1 table spoon olive oil ( or any cooking oil)

1/2 tea spoon grated or minced garlic

1/2 onion finely chopped

2-3 tomatoes roughly chopped

1 table spoon tomato puree (home made or ready made)

1/2 tea spoon oregano

1/4 tea spoon black pepper

1/2 tea spoon dried basil or 2-3 fresh basil leaves

1/4 tea spoon red chilli flakes (optional)

salt to taste

1/4 tea spoon sugar

METHOD

1. In a large pan boil 4 cups of water. Add salt and oil to the boiling water. Add the pasta to the boiling water. Cook pasta until al dente or just cooked.

2. Remove a cup of pasta water and keep aside. This can be used to adjust the consistency of the sauce. Strain the pasta and spread it on a plate or tray so that they don't stick to each other and cool down.

3. In a pan heat oil, add the grated or minced garlic. Once the raw aroma of garlic goes add the onions. Cook for a minute.

4. Add the chopped tomatoes and cook till they turn mushy. Add a table spoon of tomato puree.

5. Add oregano, black pepper, basil, red chilli flakes and sugar.

6. Add the pasta water to adjust the consistency of the sauce. Check salt as pasta water too contains salt.

7. Toss the boiled pasta in the sauce and mix everything together till the sauce coats the pasta well. Switch off the gas. Serve hot.

PICTORIAL GUIDE

1. In a large pan boil 4 cups of water. Add salt and oil to the boiling water. Add the pasta to the boiling water. Cook pasta until al dente or just cooked. Do not over cook you should feel a bite.

2. Remove a cup of pasta water and keep aside. This can be used to adjust the consistency of the sauce. Strain the pasta and spread it on a plate or tray so that they don't stick to each other and cool down.

3. In a pan heat oil, add the grated or minced garlic. Once the raw aroma of garlic goes add the onions. Cook for a minute.

4. Add the chopped tomatoes and cook till they turn mushy. Add a table spoon of tomato puree.

5. Add oregano, black pepper, basil, red chilli flakes and sugar.

6. Add the pasta water to adjust the consistency of the sauce. Check salt as pasta water too contains salt.

7. Toss the boiled pasta in the sauce and mix everything together till the sauce coats the pasta well. Switch off the gas. Serve hot.

                                             HAPPY COOKING!! 😊

WHOLE WHEAT TUTTI FRUTTI CAKE

Cakes are a favourite at my place, both my daughters just love to eat cakes. Though I usually make maida cakes for occasions but I do try to make whole wheat cakes for consumption at home as I know the two little ones at home are going to gobble up the whole cake.

I was a little skeptical at trying whole wheat cakes but I luckily chanced upon the group Ovenderful Mom Bakers Community (OMBC) and that is where I got to know that we can bake a lot of healthy stuff using various healthy flours.

Luckily for me, my daughters enjoy the cakes baked with whole wheat flour as much as the maida (all purpose flour) ones. I'll surely try to substitute all purpose flour with whole wheat flour in more recipes that I'm going try and will share them with all of you.

This one is a simple Tutti Frutti cake that I've made with whole wheat flour. Whole wheat flour cakes are usually a bit dense than the all purpose flour cakes.

While making whole wheat cakes remember to sieve your dry ingredients really well, like for maida cakes I sieve them 2-3 times but for whole wheat cakes I sieve the dry ingredients 6-7 times.

Do not over mix the batter just combine till the time the wet and dry ingredients come together.

INGREDIENTS

2 cups whole wheat flour

1 cup powdered sugar

2 eggs

2 table spoons butter

1/2 cup tutti frutti

3/4 cup milk

2 tea spoons baking powder

1 tea spoon baking soda

2 tea spoons vanilla essence

2 table spoons whole wheat flour to dust the tutti frutti

                                                 The eggs are missing in the picture.

METHOD

1. Sieve the whole wheat flour, baking powder and baking soda 6-7 times. Keep aside.

2. Sprinkle the 2 table spoons whole wheat flour over the tutti frutti so that they are coated nicely.
3. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C. Grease and line a 6 or 7 inch baking tin and keep aside.
4. Add butter to powdered sugar and mix lightly till it resembles a bread crumb texture.
5. Add the eggs one by one and mix well.
6. Add the milk and vanilla essence and mix well.
7. Now add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture. Mix till the dry and wet ingredients come together. Do not over mix.
8. Add the dusted tutti frutti to the cake batter. Keep some aside to sprinkle on the top.
9. Pour the batter in the greased and lined cake tin.
10. Bake in a preheated oven at 180 degrees C for 30 - 35 minutes. After 30 minutes check with a toothpick. If the toothpick comes out clean the cake is done, if not keep it for another 5 - 10 minutes.

PICTORIAL GUIDE

1. Sieve the whole wheat flour, baking powder and baking soda 6-7 times. Keep aside.

2. Sprinkle the 2 table spoons whole wheat flour over the tutti frutti so that they are coated nicely.
3. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C. Grease and line a 6 or 7 inch baking tin and keep aside.
4. Add butter to powdered sugar and mix lightly till it resembles a bread crumb texture.

5. Add the eggs one by one and mix well.

6. Add the milk and vanilla essence and mix well.

7. Now add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture. Mix till the dry and wet ingredients come together. Do not over mix.

8. Add the dusted tutti frutti to the cake batter. Keep some aside to sprinkle on the top.

9. Pour the batter in the greased and lined cake tin.
10. Bake in a preheated oven at 180 degrees C for 30 - 35 minutes. After 40 minutes check with a toothpick. If the toothpick comes out clean the cake is done, if not keep it for another 5 - 10 minutes.

                                         

                                  HAPPY BAKING!! 😊