Where is everybody ?

What a khazana we have so far. The pictures are mouth-watering and the recipes are invaluable. But where are all the others? Smami from Jogeshwari (I have to say from where because all my mami's are Smami's :-) ), Rmam, Pachchi's recipes are all needed here. Dada is in mumbai and hopefully should be getting Aai's recipes back for us.



Samikism :
It was Samik's bday last week and the sky opened up to pour out blessings in the form of rain. And yes, his party was supposed to be in the park, of course. So, we had them all at home and were done with the party (bcoz samik refused to be "four" till he had a party !!!). That evening after he had looked at all his presents we asked him to choose two, to open and the rest to put away for another time. So, he opens the two, plays with it for a few minutes and a few minutes later brings the boxes back and starts shoving the pieces back into the box. " I am putting this back in the box now, amma." he says. "WHY??"I said. " Now, I can open two others, right ?" !!!! Thats Samik for you...

Sharu's delicacies - Wadis/ Khadis/ Barfis

I grew up in a 'sweet' household, where we were all sweet toothed and every meal had to end with a sweet - a wadi/khadi (barfi). Aai, thus has perfected the art of making wadis and has experimented and learned various kinds of barfis from friends and family. Here are some of my Baba's favorites. He was a true sweet lover and would relish food to aai's delight.


Coconut Barfi

400 g dessicated coconut powder
3oo g Sugar
200 g Mawa (Slightly roasted)
1 tspn Elaichi powder
a pinch of (saffron optional)

Make the sugar syrup with two string consistency. Add coconut, add the mawa and stir for a few minutes. Remove from heat and stir until it thickens. Pour the mixture over a flat tray(greased with ghee). Cut into desired shapes.

Cashew Barfi

250 g Cashew powdered
1oo g Sugar
1 tspn Elaichi powder
a pinch of (saffron optional)

Follow the same instructions as in the coconut Barfi.

Badaam Barfi

1 cup Badaam (pre-soaked in water, skinned and ground to a paste)
1 cup Sugar
3/4 cup milk
1 tspn Elaichi powder
a pinch of (saffron optional)

Mix all the above ingredients and stir on low fire. Stir until it leaves the sides of the pan. Pour and spread into a greased thali and cut into desired shapes.

Til wadi

1 and 1/2 cup roasted til powder
1 cup peanut powder
1/2 cup roasted cashew powder
2 cups Sugar
1 tspn Elaichi powder
a pinch of (saffron optional)


Make the sugar syrup with two string consistency. Add above ingredients.
Sir for a few minutes. When mixture has the right consistency pour the mixture over a flat tray(greased with ghee). Cut into desired shapes.

Dudhi Bhopla (bottle gourd) Barfi

2 cups grated Dudhi
1 cup thick milk or cream
2 cups sugar
1 tspn Elaichi powdera pinch of (saffron optional)

Cook Dudhi in milk. When it gets dried up, add sugar. When mixture leaves the sides of the pan, remove from heat and stir for a few minutes. When mixture has the right consistency pour the mixture over a flat tray(greased with ghee). Cut into desired shapes.

Note: This recipe can also be used to make carrots, peas (cooked and crushed) barfi.

Aamsani Gojju - a mouthwatering delight from Sheila kaki's Khazana of recipes

Some more recipes coming your way from the time tried recipes of Sheila kaki's kitchen. A very enthusiastic cook, and an very eager host, Sheila kaki has a khazana of recipes to offer. This is a just a small sampling of her recipes. Try this delightfully mouthwatering Amsani Gojju. The Phenoris are lightly sweet and flaky...every bite a 'crunchy delight' ...Ingredients. The Batatya Lonche too is a unique recipe.For teh right ingredients read on and enjoy...

Amsani Gojju

Tamarind one big lemon size ball
Byadagi Mirchi 10 to 12
Jaggery one big lemon size
Grated coconut one tablespoon
Fresh coriander leaves – 5 to 6 sticks
Salt to taste

Procedure :
1) Soak tamarind in sufficient water for one hour. Squeeze and make a thick slurry of tamarind free from fibres etc
2) Fry Byadgi Mirchi with little oil in a pan. ( preferably it could be roasted on open gas flame or hot plate)
3) Fry grated coconut in a pan for a while without any oil
4) Transfer grated coconut and mirchi in the mixer grind little bit without water.
5) Add tamarind paste and grind
6) Add jaggery and salt to taste and continue grinding
7) Add coriander leaves and grind till entire mixture is smooth


Phenori

Ingredients
Maida ¼ kg
Butter ¼ teaspoon
Ghee 200 gms
Finely Powdered sugar 200 gms
Vegetable oil 350 gms

Procedure :
1) Take maida add butter and little water and pinch of salt and make a smooth stiff dough
2) Make three equal parts of this dough.
3) Take one part of dough and make seven smaller balls of it.
4) Take one ball and roll it carefully with the help of little dry maida. The rolled circle should be as thin and uniform as possible. Place it on paper
5) Like this roll all seven balls in to circles and place them on paper
6) Melt ghee and keep it in liquid form.
7) Take one rolled circle apply one spoon of ghee spread it uniformly. Over this place another rolled circle in a little off centre way. Apply ghee on this spread and place third rolled circle. Like this make a sandwich of seven circles (rotis)
8) Carefully roll this sandwich in the form of a single roll.
9) Wet a thin muslin cloth and squeeze it tightly. Roll this e phenori roll with this wet muslin cloth and keep aside.
10) Keep it in this condition for half an hour. Mean time repeat the process for other two portions.
11) Add vegetable oil in a kadai and prepare for deep frying.
12) Take first roll and cut it in half inch length pieces
13) These pieces should be carefully rolled in to small 3-4 inch circles in such way that there is not too much of disruption of the sandwich layers created. Preferably it should be rolled lightly in a single direction towards your side. No dry maida should be used for this rolling. Collect 3 to 4 rolled circles
14) Fry the circles in hot vegetable oil till it attains light brown colour.
15) Take out the hot fried Phenoris in a plate kept slant to drain out excess oil.
16) Sprinkle powdered sugar on top of each phenori liberally so that sufficient loose sugar is seen on top.
17) Store in airtight container


Batate Lonche

Ingredients

Potato two small size
Byadgi mirchi 8 to 10
Grated coconut one teaspoon
Tamarind- cherry size portion
Vegetable oil
Rai ½ teaspoon,
Methi – 7 to 8 grains
Hing – small piece
Pinch of turmeric
Salt

Procedure.

Peel potatos with peeler. Cut them in the shape thin long cubical rods. Make these rods in to smaller ½ inch pieces. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon salt and mix and keep aside.
Squeeze potato cubes from salt.
In a small Kadhai take enough oil to fry the potion of potatos. Fry the potato cubicles till it becomes light brown.Dont deep fry. Store the fried potatos in a container.
Whatever left over oil to be kept aside
Roast byadgi Mirchi in same kadhai with little oil.
Take out mirchi and fry grated coconut till light brown.
Take a small kadhai. Put little oil.and add rai heat till it starts sputtering. Add methi and fry it till it becomes light brown on a low fire. Add hing and switch off. Keep aside.
Grind coconut bydgi mirchi turmeric tamarind and salt to fine paste with little water. Finally add the phodni mix kept aside to this and grind for a while.

Just before serving add fried potatos to this masala and mix well .
At last give a phodni with little rai Kadipatta three four grains of jeera and little hing

Konkani Khana American Twist

Lets start with some Upkaris...

Skaka said where are the Upkaris? So here we go...One of my favorites is the popular Tendli upkari. Most certainly on the menu in a traditional konkani wedding (atleast the ones I attended at Wadala, for instance), this Upkari or in other words, for the uninitiated, it is a dry sabji with 'Phanna' (classic seasoning).Who better but R kaka to enlighten us on 'Seasonings-Shanbhag istyle'...Are you reading R kaka? Aai tried another variation. We loved the result as shown below
(mixed veg. upkari). For the recipes read on..

Tendli Upkari

500 g Tendli
100 g Cashew (soaked and peeled)
2 potatoes (optional)
5 to 6 dry red chillies cut into small pieces
1 tspn mustard seeds (rai)
pinch of Hing (asoefatida)
1 tbspn oil
8 to curry leaves (washed and dried)
2 tbspn coconut gratings

Wash and cut Tendli into long thin slices. Apply salt and set aside for a few minutes. Squeeze the salt out of the tendlis. In a pan, heat oil , add mustard seeds. When the seeds splutter, add hing, and curry leaves, red chillies. Add the Tendlis, cashews and potatoes (cut similar to the tendli)
Cover and cook for a few minutes. When cooked add, coconut gratings and serve.

Mixed Veggies Upkaris

250 g Cabbage
250 g Cauliflower
100 g Beans
100 g peas
100 g carrots
5 to 6 green chillies cut into small pieces
1 tspn cumin seeds (jeera)
1 tspn jeera powder
1 tspn Dhania powder
1/2 tspn red chili powder
1 tbspn oil
8 to curry leaves (washed and dried)
coriander leaves to garnish

Wash and cut all vegetables into small pieces. Apply salt and set aside for a few minutes. Squeeze the salt out of the tendlis. In a pan, heat oil , add jeera and green chillies. When the jeera turns brown, and curry leaves, red chillies. Add the vegetables. Cover and cook on a low fire for a few minutes. When cooked add salt, jeer and dhania powder, and red chili p0wder Garnish with dhaniya patta and serve.





Hope you enjoy for we have more for you from Shaila kaki's kitchen...Here goes.... Dekho, banao and khao Jee bhar ke...

From Shaila kaki's Files..

Batate Song

Ingredients

Onions
Vegetable oil
Potatos
Mirchi powder
Turmeric
Tamarind paste
Salt to taste

Procedure : Cook 2-3 potatoes separately in a pressure cooker steam. Cool, and peel off the skin and crush into small pieces. Do not make it into a paste or it will become a "gojju". Keep aside.

Cut 2-3 onions in to small pieces ( not lengthwise).
Take a Kadai and add 5 tea spoon full of vegetable oil and keep it on gas or heater on low flame. Add the cut onion and fry it till it becomes light brown in colour. Add a pinch of turmeric powder and 2-3 spoons of Chilli powder and fry for another 1 minute.
Add water and half a spoon of tamrind paste. Add salt in required quantity and let it boil. In this boiling mixture add crushed potatoes and continue boiling for some time.
Your Batate song is ready.

DAM ALU


Ingredients

Mini size potatoes[10-12]
2 medium size onions
1 teaspoon finely chopped garlic
tomato purree or finely chopped tomatoes
Chilli powder

Method

Peel the potatoes and prick with fork and fry and keep aside. In the part of the oil used for frying add chopped garlic and fry for a while. Then add finely chopped [lengthwise] onions and fry. Then add ginger garlic paste and fry.add tomatoe puree or finely chopped tomatoes and fry. Add mirchi powder haldi powder garam masala powder and just fry. Lastly add salt to taste and little beaten curd and switch off the gas. Before half an hour to serve add fried potatoes and finely cut dhania.


Bhendi Talasan

Cut 10 to 15 Bhendi's lengthwise into thin slits. And then cut into 2 inch long pieces.
Take 10 -12 pods of lasoon crush it lightly.
Take a Kadai and add 5 spoons of vegetable oil add add crushed lasoon and fry it slowly till it becomes brown in colour.Then put bhendi, little mirchi powder,pinch of turmeric,and salt to taste. Cover the Kadai with lid.Let it cook on simmering heat.After five minutes uncover it and stir frequently and continue cooking till it softens. ( No water to be added)

Bhendi Sabji

Cut bhendi in to small pieces. Prepare Phodni with Vegetable oil,Rai,Hing powder, Dry mirchi pieces (or Mirchi powder). Heat the Phodni mixture and wait for rai to sputter.Put the cut pieces of Bhendi in to phodni.Add little salt and cover the vessel and allow it to cook on simmering heat.Uncover after 5 minutes and stir frequently continue cooking till it softens. At last add little grated coconut. (no water to be added)

Alu Methi

Cut Methi in to small pieces. Take twenty pods of lasoon and crush it lightly. Take kadai and add sufficient oil (little more) and fry lasoon till it becomes light brown.Add cut Methi in to lasoon and fry for little longer.Then add 1-2 teaspoon of jaggery,mirchi powder,little garam masala powder, pinch of Haldi powder, salt and stir for some time without water.
Seperately boil baby potaoes,if you dont get baby potatos take medium size potatoes.Peel the skin of boiled potatoes and cut into small pieces.Mix the potato pieces with methi and cook for some time. Stir frequently.

Tendli Upkari

Cut Tendli into thin slices lengthwise.Cut one medium size potato (skin removed) into thin length wise pieces. Heat little oil and add rai and heat till it sputtering is complete.Add little udad dal green chillis little hing & cook for some time . then add tendli and potato cut pieces. Sprinkle little water and salt and little sugar.Cover it up and allow it to simmer . Mix it after some time. When cooked add little grated coconut.


Bhendi Kolambo

Cut 4 to 5 Bhendis into 1 to 2 inch pieces. Take about 50 gm dal wash in water & cook in pressure cooker. Fry bhendi pieces in little oil for 5 minutes. Then mix the cooked dal add some water and cook for ten minutes. Cut a tomato in bigger pieces and add to bhendi and dal mixture. Add sufficient amout of salt Kolambo powder fresh dhania cook for some more time.

Surti Papadi Upkari

Cut surti papadi in to thin pieces.
Prepare Phodni with Urad dal, rai green chilli, hing powder and sufficient vegetable oil. Allow the rai sputtering be complete and add cut Surti papdi and cook. Don’t add water. Put little jaggery salt to taste pinch of haldi powder and cover. Cook on simmering gas. Last add some grated coconut.

Kidney been Kodel without masala

Take little quantity of Kidney beens and soak in water over night. Cook this soaked kidney beens in pressure cooker.
Cut 9-10 cloves of garlic in small pieces and fry on slow flame with sufficient oil till it becomes light brown.To this add tamarind paste mirchi powder and salt add little water and cook to make gravy. Add cooked beens and boil it for some more time.

Jeere Mire Kadi

Take two spoonful of ghee in Kadai and keep it on heater.When it turns hot add one teaspoon of Jeera and 4-5 mire (pepper). When it turns golden add two green mirchis. Fry for awhile and then add half vati of Soyi (grated coconut) and fry for awhile.keep aside cool and grind it with small quantity of chinch in mixer. In a Kadai fry 7-8 flakes of Lasoon with ghee till it becomes golden brown. then add this masala and little water salt to taste and bring it to boil. Serve hot with hot
rice. Remember ghatkopar and eat.

Ghosale Chatni,

Peel the ribs of Ghosale and cut into pieces. Half bake it in Microwave. Take 1 medium size onion and cut it lengthwise and fry in little oil with two green chillies. When it turns light brown add half baked Ghosale. Fry for a while. Switch off the heat. Put only two raw garlic flake little tamerind, salt, and transfer into mixer. Just whip the mixer. Keep the content course. No need to add water any where. The same Chatni could be made with Brinjal. Bake Brinjal covered with aluminium foil on gas. Follow the above steps using brinjal instead of Ghosale.

Kaccha Tomato Chatni.

Take a Kadai add little oil and little jeera. Heat till jeera turns light brown. Then put two three table spoon of peanuts. Fry for a while. Add cut three four medium kachha tomatoes , two three green chillies two garlic flake and fry till tomato turns soft. After cooling add salt and transfer this to mixer. Grind slightly to coarse paste. No need to add tamarind.

Beet root Upkari

Take three medium size beat root and cook in pressure cooker. After cooling peel the skin and cut in to small pieces. Make usual phodni with Udad dal rai green chillies hing powder. Add beet root to the phodni and add salt little sugar and soi and cook for a while

Beet root Gojju

Boil one beet root peal and cut into pieces. Take one wati of soi add two green chillies little salt and grind. When the grind is nearly done add one fourth tea spoon of raw jeera and grind. Lastly add the cut beet root pieces and whip to coarse mixture. While serving add one table spoon of dahi and put phodni of rai and Kadipatta.


Pumpkin Bharit

Cut pumpkin in to small pieces remove the skin. In Kadai add spoon full of oil and little rai. Heat till the rai spluttering stops. Add cut pieces of pumpkin two sliced green chillies and little water little salt and cover it up and cook till it becomes soft.

Take small vati of soi take the cooked green chilly from above and little piece of tamarind little raw hing little salt and grind to a paste. In this paste smash coarsely the cooked pieces of pumpkin. ( Do not smash to smooth). This will taste good with Dali toi.
or chapatti.

Pumpkin Gojju

Cut pumpkin in to small pieces remove the skin. Cook the pumpkin pieces in microwave.
Cool and smash coarsely. Add to this finely cut small medium onion one cut green chilly little soi, add salt. Mix this by hand thoroughly and mix with pumpkin crush. While serving add Dahi.

Imli Bhat

Take one vati of left over or fresh cooked rice.
In Kadai take 4 spoon of oil and little ghee and make a phodni with rai little jeera two spoon of chana dal one green chilly pieces, Byadgi mirchi pieces and hing. Stir for some time for chana dal turns light brown.

Seperately keep ready tamarind slurry by mixing one small lemon size portion of tamarind and little water soak it for some time. Squeeze it by hand and separate unmixed remains of tamarind. Add this slurry in the above phodni. Cook slightly till whole thing becomes thick gravy.

Mix rice and salt and little haldi powder and add to the slurry. Stir till every thing gets mixed.

Pumpkin Phodi

Follow same procedure for making Baingan phodi. Do not over cook.

Diwali breakfast

Thanks Vee and Smi for bringing all those wonderful memories back. I remember getting up early and wearing my new dress and going down to burst Phataki with all my friends and come home only when my cousins would come home to wish their mama and mami and cousins for Diwali. We would all then go and have a wonderful breakfast of Pohe and chavalichi usal..I would have Aai post these recipes too. And ofcourse all the wonderful pharal which we would never get tired of eating. Then we would all go and visit Kaka and Atya and ofcourse eat more pharal. My fondest food memories are of eating Besan Ladoo and Chivda that Aai made ....they were the best...so here is the recipe and a picture of the ladoos too before they are all swiped off by R...I also loved Atya's mande ..oooooh and Kaki's Chirote...Anyway for now here is the recipe for the ladoo...

Besan Ladoo
- 4 watis besan
- a little rava
- 3 watis powdered sugar
- 1/4 wati milk
- 1.1/2 to 2 watis ghee
- elaichi
- Badam
- khismis

1. Roast besan in ghee till chnges colour,when ready sprinkle milk and fry for some more time,
2. Add 3/4 wati sugar, elaichi, khismis, badam and mix nicely and make ladus.
(This recipe was sent to me by Baba as told to him by Aai)

Chaklis

Ah...Reading Smi's post has put me back into those days. Thinking of those times is like taking a sip of something exquisite, it just relaxes your mind and soothes every sense. There are so many memories to share, so many people to talk about...all in good time. Diwali for me, was a time to wear new clothes, get your stash of fireworks (I remember the phataki mam coming every year, getting a bunch of phulzhadis and what not and then making exactly 3 parts for Dada, Akka and myself, and then judiciously using it so they would last all 4 days !!), waking up at some un-earthly hour so you could be the first one in the building to light a fire-cracker. Aai's mandes,ladoos and chivda were a treat then and now a far-away luxury.

Thanks to San for the Rava Wadi recipe. Sounds very delicious, got to try it soon. That reminds me of Sharu mami's boondi ladoos...oooh delicious and Shaila mami's phenoris and Shamala mami's chaklis and ...the list goes on. Hopefully we can get our hands on all those recipes. Are you reading this Mami's?

Back to the reason for the post, My attempt at chaklis. They turned out pretty good unfortunately do not have my digital camera handy to take a picture before they are all gone. So, here we go....


3 cups rice flour
1 handful of udad dal
1 cup besan
2 spoonfulls of Chilli powder
1 spoon sugar
1 spoon til
1 stick of butter
a dash of hing
salt to taste

Dry roast the udad dal and make a pitti of it. Make sure you run it through the seive before adding it to the rest of the ingredients.

Mix all of the above ingredients well enough so that the butter is thoroughly mixed into the flour. Add water to make a fairly stiff dough. Chakli should be fried on medium high to a golden brown color...

Diwali in Ghatkopar

What a gastronomically delightful site this is going to be Vee. Aai and me are excited about it and aai is feverishly looking through all her recipes and is all ready to contribute her recipes.
We couldnt have started at a better time than this either. Its the season to be jolly lalala, its the season of Diwali....With wonderful memories of our Diwalis in Ghatkopar, the fragrances wafting from the 'faraal', my mouth drools as I try to recreate a visual picture. But try as I may, those fun days are hard for Samar and his generation to picture. So this will be a wonderful way to revisit those days and relish and relive all my festive fun and frolic days. I remember the days when the 'patriarchal head foodie' in the family- Abbu and his brother Appani abbu talked about the food they ate and missed from their hometown of Gokarn. Most of their talk was usually about their favourite food .....Bangdya -thepla ambat....Abbu called it the 'Raja' fish.

Oh! I have digressed from Diwali. Will get started on the eats soon...Watch out for teh next post!! Until then a very Happy and Joyous Diwali from all of us to all of you

Rava Wadi

Ingredients

Milk--- 3 cups
Rava --1 cup
Sugar--4 cups
Ghee---1 cup
Mix all the ingredients together and keep stirring for about 45 minutes on medium.
The mix should now start coming together as the ghee separetes and dries out. Place this on a greased plate and spread it with a bowl. Apply some ghee on the bowl to help spread evenly and smoothly. Cut it in squares on diamonds. Let dry for sometime till the vadis come off the plate easily.

We did it...

Finally...After months of talking about it, we finally did it. Got this Blog going, i mean. The brainchild of Vee but the seeds were sowed by Cousin Smi. And Of course, she was the one who came up with the name. What a lovely idea to get all of us together, talking about the one thing we all love to do : make and eat good food:-) especially the ones that are created from our mom's and mami's and kaki's recipes. Hopefully the second generation that is us, will contribute some recipes that are adapted to our new style of cooking and living. So, whatcha waiting for...lets get started.