EVENT: SHHH COOKING SECRETLY THEME: MANGO MANIA RECIPE: FAJETO | GUJARATI MANGO KADHI Fajeto | Gujarati Mango Kadhi or mango curry is a delicious, sweet, tangy and spicy mango and yogurt curry. In fact, Fajeto is often made along with aamras. Also, aamras or thick mango puree or pulp is often enjoyed as a part of a thali. Usually, Shaaks or sabjis, poori or rotli, a farsan/farsans, plain rice, a dry lentil preparation and kadhi are prepared to go with aamras. Instead of plain kadhi, fajeto is prepared. In regards to fajeto, I feel the recipe probably came about as a way of not wasting any bit of the tasty and sweet mango when in season. In fact, I remember after cutting the mangoes into…
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Continue ReadingEVENT: FOODIEMONDAY/BLOGHOP THEME: #273 MY FAMILY FAV RECIPE: SABUT MOONG DAL/ GREEN MOONG CURRY What is Sabut Moong Dal/ Green Moong Curry? In brief, Sabut means whole and Moong is known as Green Grams in English. Clearly, every Indian household world over has its own version of Sabut Moong Dal. In fact, its one of the most popular dals or curries that is enjoyed with some rice, roti or paratha.Surprisingly, Sabut Moong Dal has not been featured on my blog as yet. Interestingly, though I cook it at least once a week, I’ve not jotted the recipe down till now. However, as they say, there is a time and place for everything. Perhaps, this recipe was meant for this week’s FoodieMonday theme. But, I’m not…
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Continue ReadingEVENT: MEGA BLOGGING MARATHON#92 THEME: A-Z FLATBREADS AND MORE – INDIAN FLATBREADS What is Mega Blogging Marathon? Well, its a group of bloggers who get together to post a dish for 26 days according to the chosen theme. For more details check out the initiator Srivalli’s page here. For this theme we had a choice of 3: 1. A-Z Indian Flatbreads that are not made using batter e.g. like rotis 2. A-Z Indian Flatbreads using batters e.g. dosa 3. A-Z International Flatbreads. I decided to opt for option number 1. India has such a huge variety of flatbreads to offer that are made on the stove top, in the tandoor, in the oven, under the grill or fried. Its going to be a challenge to…
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Continue ReadingEVENT: FOODIEMONDAY/BLOGHOP THEME: #160 DAALS OF INDIA What is a dal/daal/dhal? Basically made from split lentils like chickpea, cowpeas. green grams, black grams, Puy lentils, pigeon pea, dried peas, whole lentils or beans, its a spicy soup like or stew like preparation which is usually eaten with some rice or roti, parathas. Dals can be thick or watery, they can have added vegetables or meat too or can be plain. Its a great way to incorporate some protein in your diet especially if you’re a vegetarian. Before I had begun blogging I would prepare tuvar dal, moong dal, dal makhani and kadhi on a regular basis – at least 5 times a week. We knew which dal would be made on which day. Its only…
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Continue ReadingEVENT: SHHH COOKING SECRETLY THEME: KARNATAKA CUISINE For the month of August the theme was Karnataka cuisine and I realized that though I lived in Bangalore, what’s now called Bengaluru for 4 years, I didn’t get to experience so many dishes that are famous in Karnataka. As a non South Indian I usually stick to the more comfortable dosas, idlis, vadas, sambhars. My neighbor on occasions would share with me crispy maddur vadas. I’ve tasted bisi bele bath once. Next visit to Bangalore, I’m definitely going to try out more of the local cuisine. For this month my partner was the friendly and humble Aruna who blogs at ãhãram. I love her blog because its got quite a few traditional recipes especially from the Andhra…
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Continue ReadingRECIPE: RASIYA MUTHIYA Rasiya Muthiya or Rasawara Muthiya is a traditional Gujarati recipe where instead of steaming muthiya they are added to kadhi and allowed to simmer till done. Usually, the muthiya are made with leftover rice or khichdi. This dish is served as a side dish with bhakrior rotla. Or enjoy it on its own as a light meal option like my family does. Memories Actually, Rasiya Muthiya is not a dish that I grew up with though it is a traditional Gujarati dish. I guess my mum did not make them as probably the family didn’t like them. First introduction to this delicious, slightly sour and melt in the mouth muthiya dish was after my marriage. Introduction to Rasiya Muthiya My mother in…
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Continue ReadingEVENT: FOODIES_REDOING OLD POSTS Recipe: Andhra Style Palak Dal Andhra Style Palak Dal is a simple, but ultra comforting and healthy dal or curry loaded with spinach. Best enjoyed with rice and a dollop of ghee. Dal means any curry prepared using legumes or pulses. Indian cuisine uses a variety of legumes. We tend to use moong, urad, split chickpeas, peas, pigeon peas and a variety of beans. Each state of India prepares dal or legume curries in a different way. While for most the basic ingredients are same, the variation comes in the spices and herbs used. Generally dals are enjoyed with rice but some can be enjoyed with roti or paratha. Palak is the Hindi word for spinach. So this Dal is loaded…
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Continue Readingkunde na nazi Besides red kidney beans(maragwe), red cowpeas (kunde) are cooked often by the local people of Kenya. In the coastal region it is usually cooked in coconut milk (nazi). I love the nutty flavour of cow peas or what Gujaratis commonly call it.. chora. I wanted to make a different curry a few days ago. Rachael suggested coconut. However, I did add my own flavours to it as the one made by local people here is not spicy. They use onion, ginger and green chillis only. If they can afford then a bit of garlic is added. However, garlic is pretty pricey! Just a coconut base may make the curry a bit watery so to thicken it up a bit I added…
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Continue ReadingRECIPE: RAJMA MASALA | RED KIDNEY BEAN CURRY Rajma Masala or simply known as Rajma is a popular North Indian curry dish which is usually enjoyed with rice. Red Kidney Beans, onion, tomato, garlic and spices makes this rajma comfort for so many. Besides rice it is also served with hot roti. But my family loves it with plain rice. Rajma masala is a healthy, filling and protein rich meal with rice or roti. Evidently, cook Rajma Chawal for my son in law and he is the happiest person on Earth! MY EXPERIENCE WITH DRIED RAJMA Don’t know what it is, but whenever I buy dried kidney beans, be it in India or Kenya, they never turn out soft on cooking. Yes, I soak them…
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Continue Readinggetting high on protein Finally the rains have decided to pay us a visit and the temperatures have dropped, it’s cool but a bit humid and the evenings are very pleasant. A rainy day calls for pakoras, soup or some delicious hot dal (lentil curry). I decided to make mixed dal with rice. I love making mixed dal because it does taste different from the other dals. This dal is also known as panchmel, panchratna or panchkuti dal. This simply means a mixture of five different dals or lentils. Don’t need to soak any of the lentils overnight. Different regions of India make mixed dal in different ways. Some add more onions or more tomatoes. Some make it really spicy. Some make it…
