Handvo

This again is a gujarati staple. We are in love with this dish. You could eat it as a snack, or in brunch or light dinner. I prefer to make this atleast once every 10-15 days. Because we love Handvo so much. I am also using grated Dhoodhi (lauki, Ghian, bottlegourd), so it covers the "eat your veggies" part. I have tried adding corn, fresh methi leaves and other vegetables to it and it tastes good.

You have to do some prep work before you make this dish.

For preparation:

2 cups of rice (regular long grain rice)
1 cup chana dal

1 cup yogurt

Soak the rice and chana dal separately for good 4-6 hours. Then grind them separately using very little water. Rice should be finely grounded. And chana daal should be coarsely ground.

Then mix them together and add one cup yogurt

and let it ferment overnight.

If it's during winter months, I put the container near the heat vent to let the mixture ferment and, during summer I just let it sit on the kitchen counter to ferment it.

Now for the baking and tempering:

1 small dhoodhi (bottlegourd, lauki), grated.

4 cloves of garlic, crushed, or chopped finely

1/2 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp haldi

1 tsp mustard seeds

1 tsp sesame seeds

few curry leaves optional

few cloves and cinnamon optional

1/2 tsp hing

salt to taste

4-6 tbsp oil

Heat the oven to 400 degrees.

Once the batter is fermented, you can add salt and dhoodhi to the batter and stir well.

Then add the haldi and garlic. Again give it a stir. Now in a small pan heat the oil and add cloves and cinnamon (if using) then add mustard seeds. Once they pop add hing. Turn the heat off and then add curry leaves, chili powder and stir. Add half of the oil mixture to the batter and set the other half aside.

Now grease a pan (you can use any shape of baking pan either glass or metal or non-stick). I prefer to use glass pan as the Handvo doesn't stick to the bottom.

Add the batter to the greased pan and pour the rest of the mixture on top and spread it all over the batter.

Now sprinkle the sesame seeds on top all over and bake the mixture for 30-40 minutes in the oven. And you have a wonderful tea-time snack.

P.S.
For a different dish, I seasoned the batter with the oil and other seasonings and then I make pancakes (adai) out of it for a different feel of the dish and trust me it tastes wonderful.

Besan and drumsticks

Sorry for not posting anything since five days as my two year old was sick. He is much better now so here I am again with a new dish of mine.

Drumsticks are a regular in my family. In gujarati we call it Saragava ni Shing, in hindi it is known as Saijan ki phali.

This is a very unusual combination but we have been eating this in our house and my mom's for years. One more recipe from my comfort food list.



You will need:

1 cup besan (chickpea flour)
Water as needed (you need to make a not too thick nor too thin batter)
1 pound drum sticks (I used frozen ones)
salt to taste
4 tbsp yogurt
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp haldi
1/4 tsp hing
2 tbsp oil


If you are using fresh drumstick then you need to peel and wash and cut them in pieces and boil or steam them.


If using frozen ones than you just need to steam them in a steamer or boil them in salted water.


Now in a bowl take chickpea flour and add water and yogurt to make a not too thin batter, add salt to it.


Now heat the oil in a pan and add hing, then add haldi and chili powder, stir a bit and then add the chickpea flour batter and keep stirring, make sure it doesn't stick the bottom and there are no lumps in it. After about 10 minutes you will have the besan mixture cooked, it shouldn't taste raw. Now add the boiled or steamed drumsticks to it and give it a good stir. The dish is ready to eat with roti or rice.

Hummus scoops

I bought this Tostitos scoops 2 days ago and was thinking of what should I do with it apart from eating with just regular salsa. So after a bit of thought process, I came up with this idea.

Tostitos scoops filled with Hummus. And boy that tastes yummylicious!

Here is how I made it

For Hummus:

1 can of chickpeas
3 garlic cloves

(if you do not like too much garlic

you can use 2 or may be just one)
1/2 small red onion

handful of parsley leaves

handful of cilantro leaves

3 tbsp olive oil

3 tbsp lemon juice (preferably fresh)

1 tps ground cumin

1/2 tsp paprika

1 jalapeno chopped

1 tbsp tahini

Put all the ingredients in a food processor except olive oil. Turn the food processor on and while it's running drizzle olive oil from the feeder or you can just put everything in the food processor and run it. But drizzling olive oil while it's running will give you a creamier hummus.

Take the hummus out in a bowl and taste, adjust the seasonings and serve with pita chips or serve the way I serve it. One picture is with olives on top and the bottom picture also shows the scoop with salsa. I couldn't believe how good hummus tasted alongwith salsa.

Orange Burfi

My entry for Coffee's monthly blog patrolling event.

I have religiously followed the recipe for "Orange Burfi" from the blog indianfoodrocks.

The only thing I want to mention is that the original recipe calls for zest of two oranges, which I personally think is too overpowering.

If you are making this recipe I would suggest, just use zest of one orange.

Broccoli-Green Pepper and green peas

I don't know about others but I have to be in a mood to cook broccoli and eat broccoli. I kinda think of broccoli as a delicate vegetable, which needs an expert touch to cook.

I don't consider myself as an expert but I have a certain way of cooking broccoli.

If you really want to have all the benefits of eating broccoli, do not microwave it or boil it in water, as both the techniques will kill all the vital nutrients from broccoli. "Always, always steam the broccoli" (hear the echo)!

I love this combination because the green pepper gives it a nice background and green peas gives it a sweet balance of taste.

You will need:

1 pound broccoli florets (fresh or frozen) fresh tastes much better

1 green pepper

1/2 cup green peas

1 medium onion chopped

2 tbps tomato paste

1 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

salt to taste

2 tbsp oil

If you are using fresh broccoli, you got to steam it. If using frozen (please do not thaw in the microwave). Just let the broccoli sit on you counter to thaw till you do the other preparation.

Heat the oil in a pan and add cumin seeds and let it splutter, now add the chopped onion and saute till its translucent, now add the chili powder and saute for another minute or two and add the tomato paste, now the technique is to caramelize the tomato paste, it's going to stick to the bottom but you have to constantly stir and caramelize it.

This imparts such a nice flavor to the dish. You can add just a bit of water if you think it's sticking too much.. Now add the green pepper and stir fry till the green pepper is kind of soft, then add the green peas and fry for another minute and now add the steamed broccoli and salt and cover just till the masala incorporates into the vegetables. This is kind of a stir-fry vegetable so, serve it on a bed of plain rice. You can also eat with regular chapati, dal and rice.

Chickpea and Corn salad

This is an all time favorite salad in my home. Not only is the salad healthy, it is very simple to make also.

You will need:

1 can chickpeas or ( 1 cup boiled chickpeas)

1/2 can of corn (1 cup corn if using frozen or fresh)

1/4 cup of fresh cilantro chopped

1/2 cup chopped cucumber (optional)

1 tsp minced jalapeno

1/2 cup chopped green onions (scallions)

salt to taste

1 tbsp Extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp lime or lemon juice

Whisk olive oil and lime/lemon juice together, add salt and mix well. Now add rest of the ingredients and adjust seasonings. You can use chili powder and black pepper for a different kind of heat in the salad. You can serve it at room temperature or serve cold. Tastes equally good.

Enjoy!

Cabbage and Tuvar Lilva shaak

Here is another variation to the regular boring cabbage sabji.

It tastes really good and it's not too complicated to make.

I love tuvar lilva (pigeon peas) in any form. Be it along with eggplant, or by itself, or in khichri or with papadi.

Here is the recipe:

3 cups shredded cabbage

1 cup tuvar lilva (pigeon peas) canned, frozen or fresh.

3 cloves garlic sliced

1 tsp mustard seeds

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 tbsp oil or more if you like the sabji oily

salt to taste

1 tsp chili powder

1 tsp dhania powder

1/2 tsp haldi.

Boil the tuvar lilva separately in a pressure cooker with little water and salt As they take more time to cook. Don't need to boil the lilva if you are using canned stuff.
Now heat oil and add mustard seeds, as they pop add cumin seeds, once they crackle, add garlic and saute for about 1 minute then add haldi and the shredded cabbage and stir fry for a minute and than add chili powder and dhania powder and saute till the cabbage wilts. Add salt and boiled tuvar lilva and cook the sabji for 10 mintues. Serve with roti, dal and rice.