Narendra Modi rocks! Last night got back from a late show of the movie Equalizer and couldn’t fall asleep immediately. One shouldn’t watch violence before bed time as sleep disappears. I decided to check out my facebook page and the first thing I see was the speech by Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi at the Madison Square Garden shared by a friend. http://goo.gl/47tJIi A true leader, a great orator and a humble man. His speech captivated the audience and was inspirational. For a person who wants to do so much for India its every Indian’s duty inside and outside India to support this great cause. We all dream of a better, cleaner India and if we put our minds to…
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Continue ReadingTINDORA NU SHAAK/ STIR FRIED IVY GOURD Tindora Nu Shaak/ Stir Fried Ivy Gourd is a simple but very delicious Gujarati side dish that is usually enjoyed as a part of a main meal. Usually, it goes well with tuvar ni dal or moong dal and rotis. This shaak or sabji does not require too many spices, allowing the slight khatta meetha taste of tindora to come out. A Bit About Tindora Tindora goes by the name tondli, tinda, tendli, ivy gourd, kovakai, scarlet gourd, gherkins. It is a tropical plant. Ivy gourd grows on a vine. It is used to prepare side dishes what we normally call sabji/shaak or for curries. Apparently it can be used even for soups. Do you know…
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Continue ReadingEvent: Foodies_Redoing Old Posts Recipe: Rajgira Sheera | Halwa Rajgira Sheera | Halwa is a gluten free, delicious Indian sweet dish that is prepared from amaranth flour, ghee, sugar and milk. Mostly prepared during fasting days like Ekadashi, Navratri, Shravan, Ram Navmi, etc, it is an easy recipe. However, go and make it whenever you feel like. It tastes really good when served hot or warm. I like preparing Rajgira Sheera or Halwa during Ekadashi fasting if I am not making Sabudana Kheer. What is Devshayani Ekadashi? Once in a while Ekadashi dates confuse all the Hindus. One such Ekadashi is the Devshayani Ekadashi which was on 8th and 9th July this year. Some observed the fasting on 8th and some on the 9th.…
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Continue ReadingHard work Esther, the lady who brings vegetables to our doorsteps daily is a petite woman, but very strong. When she started coming to our building last year, to sell vegetables, she was shy, meek and rarely smiled. As time has gone by she has become more confident, strong, smiles and even jokes with us. She will usually ring my neighbour’s and my door bell at the same time. The minute I greet my neighbour with Jay Shri Krishna, Esther too will respond and immediately tells us not to start our talk as she is getting late. She wants us to buy the vegetables quickly and disappear behind our doors. This morning I wanted to buy some tomatoes and told her that Ksh 100…
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Continue ReadingEVENT: FOODIES_ REDOING OLD POSTS #37 RECIPE: BAKED FARSI PURI/ MATHRI What is Baked Farsi Puri/ Mathri Farsi Puri / Mathri is a delicious fried snack that is popular in most parts of the Indian Sub Continent. Generally made from all purpose flour with spices or use salt, its usually served with tea or coffee. Farsi Puri is the Gujarati name for Mathri. The name Mathri is generally used in North India. Comparatively, farsi puri is much thinner than mathri. However, the preparation method is nearly the same. Some add just carom seeds (ajwain) and salt. Some add coarse pepper and salt. Every home has its own version of this delightful snack. Personally, I love both, the thicker mathri and the thinner farsi puri. Its…
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Continue ReadingGujarati Pudla | Chickpea Flour Pancake Gujarati Pudla | Chickpea Flour Pancake is a healthy, nutritious, instant, easy, gluten free savoury flatbread or pancake made from chickpea flour. It is usually enjoyed for breakfast or as a snack. Serve it with some pickle, chutney, tomato ketchup or yogurt. What is Gujarati Pudla | Chickpea Flour Pancake? Gujarati style pudla or puda are made from chickpea flour (besan, chana atta), yogurt, a few spices and fresh fenugreek. Commonly served for breakfast, as a snack or even as a light dinner option along with some salad. While I enjoy them piping hot, many love it cold. No wonder it is a popular lunch box item. Pudla are also known as chila in other parts of India. They…
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Continue Readingchatpata delight My all time favourite pickles are chundo and lemon. Chundo goes well with theplas, parathas, left over rotis, masala puris, plain puris and even as a spread for a sandwich. I find Tarla Dalal’s recipe for chundo absolutely perfect. However, I have made very small changes to by using a raw apple mango. I like using apple mango because firstly its not a stringy mango and because even when it is raw its not overtly sour. This means that I use a little less sugar than required. So whenever the mango season begins (we are lucky to have two seasons in a year), I make chundo. Small quantities remain fresh and I store it in the fridge for freshness. CHUNDO (SWEET MANGO PICKLE)…
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Continue ReadingRecipe: Gur Na Ladwa /Churma Laddoo Gur Na Ladwa /Churma Laddoo is a common sweet made during Diwali by most Patel homes. Made from wheat flour, ghee, milk with spices and nuts added to the mixture. These delectable, melt in the mouth laddoos are made either with jaggery or sugar. Diwali is incomplete without Gur Na Ladwa /Churma Laddoo When Nunu, my MIL was living in Mombasa, Diwali lunch for all our relatives would be at our house and the menu would be gur na ladwa, tuvar dal, rice, a green vegetable, chana nu shaak and some sort of farsan. I use to help Nunu make the ladwas but after she started spending Diwali in Vrindavan, I didn’t have the courage to make them…
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Continue ReadingDoodh Pak is a delicious, creamy milk based Gujarati sweet with a little rice added to it. It is usually served with puri, sabji, kadhi, gota and rice as a part of the main meal. What is Doodh Pak? Doodh in the Hindi or Gujarati language means milk and pak in Gujarati refers to a sweet dish. It is commonly made from milk, a bit of rice, sugar and nuts. These days rose petals and fresh fruits are added to make it more rich. Difference Between Doodh Pak and Basundi Doodh Pak is different from Basundi. Rice is not used for basundi and the milk is boiled till it becomes thick. After that fresh fruits, nuts and spices like cardamom, nutmeg are added. Unlike kheer…
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Continue ReadingI love kadhi Kadhis (yogurt curry) is made in numerous ways all over India.Some make kadhi thin, some make it thick. Some add pakoras(fritters) and some add vegetables to it. Whichever type it is I simply love kadhi with rice, parathas or rotlis. Years back when we discovered that my husband developed an allergy to chana (chickpeas), he was disappointed as he was unable to have a variety of foods. Its amazing how many things are made of chickpea flour. Initially whenever we made kadhi at home, we would make some dal for him. But obviously he missed his kadhi. One day my father in law remembered that when he was growing up in the village in India, his mum would make kadhi using millet…
