Baked Veggie Empanadas Baked Veggie Empanadas, made using a wholewheat pastry with a filling of fresh red beans, potato and corn. Serve as a snack or as a meal with a salad and homemade Tomato Salsa. What are Empanadas? Empanada is one and several are empanadas. They are stuffed pastry or bread which are either fried or baked. Originally from Portugal, empanadas are made in several South American countries. The filling varies from region to region. Generally beef is the choice, but these days its easy to find chicken, fish, other meat, vegetables filled empanadas. Also sometimes a sweet filling is used like apples, cream cheese, jam, pumpkin, etc. Interestingly, they are similar to the Italian Calzone, but are smaller in size. Also yeast is…
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Continue ReadingWhat is Matar Turia Nu Shaak? Matar is the Hindi/ Gujarati word for peas and Turia is Ridge Gourd. Matar Turia Nu Shaak is simply a mixture of both stir fried together with simple spices. This stir fry, sabji, sabzi or shaak is usually enjoyed as a part of a meal. The meal can consist of a flatbread like roti, phulka and dal or as my family loves with khichdi and kadhi. What is Turia? Known as Turia, Turiya, Turai or Ridge Gourd, it is a dark green ridged long vegetable. Generally used to make stir fries, chutneys or added to dals (curries) and rice dishes. Usually the ridge part is peeled before cutting the vegetable. Some like to peel the skin of completely…
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Continue ReadingRecipe: Sun Dried Vadi Nu Shaak Sun dried vadi nu shaak is a Gujarati style protein rich, vegan side dish which is generally enjoyed with khichdi or roti. Easy to make, this side dish comes in handy when you don’t have fresh vegetables at hand. The sun dried nuggets are made from lentils (dals). What Is Sun Dried Vadi? Also known as badi or mangodi in some parts of India, lentil lumps are sun dried for few days. The type of lentils or split dals used to make vadi or badi varies from state to state. Some make it using only urad dal, others use moong dal. Or mixed lentils are used. Usually made during the summer season, vadis are then stored to last a…
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Continue ReadingRecipe: Tuvar Dal Khichdi Tuvar Dal Khichdi is a simple, healthy, comforting nutritious one pot meal. It is basically split pigeon peas and rice cooked together with some spices. Generally it is served with kadhi, a yogurt based curry and a shaak or vegetable curry. We like to have it with Bateta Ringad Nu Shaak which is a potato eggplant curry. On the side we serve some roasted papad, Kachumbari and any pickle of one’s choice That makes a perfect filling lunch for lazy Sunday afternoons. After a meal of khichdi, kadhi and shaak you will surely feel drowsy and want to snooze for a bit. Sometimes my mum would prepare Moora Ni Bhaji as it also goes well with khichdi. For those who follow…
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Continue ReadingI hated tindoras Before going to Sophia High School, Mt Abu, I was not too fussy about my vegetables. I pretty much ate whatever my mum cooked. Living in a large family, one did not have the luxury of being fussy. Whatever was served, one ate. However, taste buds changed the minute I stepped into the dining hall of the boarding school in Mt Abu. My once favourite vegetable became my enemy. I loved the way my mum made tindora or ivy gourd (indian gherkins) in a simple gujju manner. But at school it was just a mass of boiled tindora with no flavour and just too soft for my palate. So there began a mission to get rid of the tindora as fast…
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Continue Readingaromatic delight A few weeks ago I had a request from one of my neighbours… can you please teach me how to make an egg biryani. That got me thinking. When was the last time I actually made egg biryani? I just couldn’t remember. It’s also not a recipe that I had written down so I couldn’t just give it to her to follow. So we got tinkering in the kitchen and as we went along, wrote down the ingredients we used. I must say it turned out pretty yummy and the neighbour’s family too were happy with the end result except that they found it mild. Cooking rice has its own charm. After the smell of bread, I think my other favour aroma is…
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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…
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Continue Readingrich and creamy A few days ago my sister in law Rakshabhabhi sent a few pieces of the granola bars she tried out and a very tender and fresh bottle gourd. The granola bars were yummy and tasted different from mine as she had added dried apricots and dried dates (khajur) to the mixture. As for the bottle gourd, doodhi or lauki, it probably landed up at my house for a specific reason. The reason was a kofta curry. twice I had bought doodhi or lauki from the market and twice it was a bit seedy so it was used up in dangellas and theplas. This time, the lauki was really nice with no seeds and very tender. So today, I gathered rest of the…
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Continue ReadingDrumstick Curry/ Saragva Nu Shaak Drumstick Curry/ Saragva Nu Shaak is a gluten free, delicious, side dish prepared using drumstick pods in a yogurt curry. Notably, this Gujarati style curry or shaak is commonly enjoyed with hot plain parathas. In fact, drumstick curry is a delicious way to enjoy the superfood. What is Drumstick? In general, drumstick is a long slender and triangular pod that grows from the branches of a tree whose biological name is Moringa Oleifera. Also known as moringa tree, drumstick tree, horseradish tree (the roots taste like horseradish) or benzolive tree (named so because of the oil from the seeds). Generally, these trees are commonly found in the tropical and subtropical regions of South Asia, Middle East and some parts…
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Continue ReadingRECIPE : Bajri Na Dhebra/ Millet Fenugreek Flatbread What is Bajri Na Dhebra/ Millet Fenugreek Flatbread? Bajri na Dhebra/ Millet Fenugreek Flatbread is a famous Gujarati snack prepared from pearl millet flour and loads of fresh fenugreek. Generally enjoyed hot for breakfast or as a snack. Usually Bajri na dhebra are served with some pickle and plain yogurt or masala tea. Bajri na dhebra can be carried as travel food. Long journeys many years ago meant that one had to carry travel food to enjoy on the way. Generally, Bajri na dhebra stay fresh for 2-3 days depending on the weather. However, if prepared as travel food, tamarind pulp is added instead of yogurt. Memories I remember my mum packing a pile of the dhebra…
