veggie shopping march....

i went to the market and i got....some seasonal veggies.....of these two i bought for the first time....

longs thin wormy beans.....they are called phali perhaps...

ganthgobi - i have never eaten leave alone cooked...except in a sweet pickle...wonder if the leaves are to be eaten as well..for now i have disposed them off since they did not fit in my fridge's veggie bin.....is it to be peeled the ganth gobi......i would think so.....

and there is a cracked coconut i got as prasad from a temple....was looking to use it in cooking.....perhaps the beans with fresh grated coconut.....

holi brunch - mayuri's methi aloo chilla

this is a methi inspired recipe given to me by mayuri, and it is super...really easy to make...and delicious....

since i have never eaten leave alone made.....chillas this was a treat...i eventually got a hang of what it needs to look like...my first chilla looked a bit like an omelet...but for the second two i thinned the batter further with water..and they looked like crepes....and are very nutritious...and low on fat....with a good pan can be cooked without oil...

am pasting the recipe here exactly as i got it.......i made half this quantity...and made some changes....those i have identified in italics.....

1. prepare a mix of 1 cup of gram flour (besan) with water [ p.s 1cup is meant for about 6 roti- size cheela. ]... stir well so no lumps... mix shouldn't be too thick or too diluted...

u may also add 1/4 tspn of baking soda (eno) in the mix.

- made without soda...and 1/2 cup besan

2. add chopped green chillies, chopped onions 1 tbspn salt, 1/4 tspn red chilli pwd n 1/4 tsp amchoor pwd (if u like) to the mix. may also mix finely chopped dhaniya leaves (fr color n flavor)

- the amchoor adds a nice kick to the chilla.....all spices, salt i added according to taste...with a little extra red chillies to make up for not having any fresh green ones.....

3. now add 1/3 cup of washed, n grated/ chopped whatever vegs. - here methi n alu n kaddu- to the mix. (for vegs like aloo n carrots - boil n grate; methi ; just wash n chop'em like dhaniya/ palak).

...i used finely chopped methi, a little chopped onion, and finely chopped potato...did not bil or grate.....but grating potato would have given it a finer texture...but i enjoyed this way too...

4. rest the mix for 5 mins... check fr consistency... if u think its become thick, add some water n stir well....

the consistenty should be fairly watery.....to get the thin crepe texture...

5. pre heat the pan, medium flame, grease with oil and spread the mix over the pan.. start from the centre n spread evenly outside - much like dosa. i 'll suggest that u spread small portions, roti size, instead of trying the optimum dosa-style spread.. saves from cracking in the middle :P

6. when the up side turns brown/ golden brown, sprinkle some oil on this up side and turn it (so tht the greased side goes inwards, under the cheela)... keep turning the sides till they r golden brown (on both sides)

-what made this a really great recipe for me is that i really did not have to add to much oil...on a heavy bottom non-stick pan...i used barely any oil...and kept the lid on to help the chopped, un-boiled potatoes cook....

another suggestion i got from my mother was to add oil in the besan mix....and not add any while cooking....

i had my holi bruch of methi aloo chilla....with some lasun chutney, tomato chutney, though the chilla by itself was so flavour full that is did not need any chutneys....... all washed down by some tart and spicy...kanji....and butterscotch ice-cream to soothe my fiery tongue....yumm...am loving ghar ka khanaa....

much thanx mayuri....i ate all 3 chillas by my self ......and am greedy enough to look forward to more yummy recipes from you... ;]

methi wala kaddu.. and oven baked mathi

in my growing years, there was only one member of the gourd family that made an appearance on our dining table, very simply cooked, with just a smattering of methre/fenugreek. and i hated it -

so nothing could be more appropriate to inaugurate this blog with a recipe inspired from that plain old ghiya - methis wala petha....and it was so delicious...that i ate it...not in front of the tv...but quietly, relishing the subtle flavours, of my lunch....here is how it was cooked...

~`~petha/kaddu/sitaphal/ and methi ki sabzi

- cut the kaddu/petha/sitaphal/pumpkin into about 1 inch squares and remove the really tough skin and the soft seedy part on the inside - this was a bit of a challenge and needs a little show of strength, and skill to cut through the pretty tough skin of the pumpkin...and a really sharp knife..

- pick and wash the methi leaves....
quantity - i used equal volumes of pumpkin and methi, but for next time...would go for more, methi, since fresh methi is not all that strong...and after cooking almost disappears...

-in a heavy based pan....heat the ghee - now i was a bit torn whether to use sarson ka tel, which gives a nice pickle taste to the dish, but instead chose ghee...i usually let the pan, get nicely hot first and then add the oil/ghee..so as not to over heat and destroy the flavour of the fat.

- into the hot ghee...add....methre, i.e. methi seeds....to give depth to the methi flavour and aroma, full sized red chilles...and a small quantity of a mixture of - sauf, jeera, kalonji, rai....wait for them to splutter nd release there delicious nutty aroma...

- into this pop in the cubed petha...and toss around on high heat for a few moments...and then saute on mid heat....

- once the petha begins to look a little soft....add the methi leaves...can add green chillies ere...full or chopped...i did not have any so skipped......add salt, some powdered jeera, dhaniya and red chilli, haldi, salt, a wee bit of hing, gently stir the vegetables so masala is evenly spread...

- now cover and leave to simmer....check occasionally....and scrape the bottom...a adjust a few spoon fulls, of water..if needed to prevent it from sticking to the bottom of the pan.....

- by the time i had prepared a salad, and dough for chapatis - the methi wala petha was cooked to perfection......that is....the petha is soft to touch....and is completely dry...

i ate my lovely meal with some.....onions pickled with vinegar...fresh mooli, tomatoes and ginger freshly cut and sprinkled with salt and lemon juice....

delicious...and so easy to prepare...i think it would have taken me all of 30minutes or so to cook this dish from scratch - for one person....

do try and let me know how it went for you....

~`~oven baked mathis

the oven baked mathis were a big hit...and so simple to make....i was rather skeptical about the taste- but they had all the flavour of a mathi without the deep fry....

- i took 2 1/2 cups of maida, sifted..with....3/4 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon ajwain, 1/4 teaspoon jeera...i did not add methi here was not sure whether to use fresh or dry...but today for holi i plan to make a fresh batch....this time i think i will try adding fresh methi....

...to this mix i added in 1/2 cup of oil, ideally this should have been ghee... since this was pure experiment, i was not sure of the end product and so did not want to waste ghee....but next time for sure will use ghee...

- knead well, with a little cold water...to make a hard dough....

-preheat oven i did at 220c

- break dough into small balls....and flatten to desired size, press in 2 peppercorns into each mathi....

-lay them out on a baking sheet...i used a pizza pan....and pop into the oven....for about 20 minutes at 180 - 200c and then for about 15 minutes at 220 to get that golden finish on the mathis...

i had about 15 small sized mathis with this quantity....and it took hardly 20 minutes to prepare plus the cooking time...too wonderfully easy..for the great taste.... i love a little savory with my evening tea...and these were just perfect....

methi

given an option i would love go buy fresh seasonal vegetables in the morning...and cook them up...the freshness of food is one of the ingredients that enhance flavour...however, i am too lazy yet....even though there is a nice mandi....within an effortful walking distance from my home...and i am not a morning person........

so a few days ago i bought some pumpkin, petha i think it is called in hind....thinking i would make some pumpkin soup...but there is also some fresh methi, and since it is seasonal....am thinking of marrying the two...

if methi can go with aloo....why not petha....which has a rich sweet...buttery denseness to offset the slight piquant bitterness of methi....and it would look so lovely together....hmmmm...my mouth waters....

matthi..or mathris.

i am also thinking of making some matthis.....i got some outside the railway station in haridwar, on my recent trip...and they were oily as hell and just not up to par....so am thinking ..using some of the methi for mathis...and instead of frying them.....make them more healthy by baking them

will check with my mom for baking temperatures....she makes some delicious almond biscuits...which come out dense and crisp......somewhat like mathri no.....flour...fat....and salt instead of sugar.....

ghar ka khanaa

- was a bad, boring thing when i was growing up...

it brings up child hood images of ghiya and an indifferent yellow daal....with chapatis........super dull and boring....however, my cook of 20 odd years...kamala...was a magnificent cook, with a small but incredibly delicious repertoire of everyday fare...i missed home cooked meals, and appreciated them...only when i moved away from home......

however, being a family of non-vegetarian, vegetables were viewed rather disdainfully by me...and my love of cooking was focused on exotic fare; mexican, italian, goan, thai......everyday cooking was left to the cook..until recently, about a year and a half, or two years ago....when i made a huge life style change and decided to do away with full time help...and decided to don the chef's hat full time

as a result...for a long time...i ordered in or ate out ;0] - a lot ...since my daughter studies in a residential school cooking for one did not make sense to me...and my daughter was too young really to try any thing new...so that ruled out experimentation....

but more recently since i turned completely vegetarian, and am just not going out that much any more.....so after eating raw foods, kheera, mooli and such like...and fruits and maggie noodles....

in the last one year or so....i slowly began cooking.....basic home food again....and i realise with the palate not clouded by the flavour of meats....it is more discerning of subtle flavour of different dals...of the finer nuances of flavouring in vegetables...and i have a desire to experiment more......

initially was a little lost because i have never learnt to cook...this regular, non exotic stuff.......nor had i the opportunity to sit watching a parent cook.......so i began to cook according to my palate....i made educated guesses...about the ingredients and masalas....and often i ended up inventing new stuff....to save time and effort.....and i loved the finger lickingly...yummy result....my lost passion for cooking is yawning and stretching...albeit lazily........

so here i am going to put down....my own creations...or other interesting recipes, that i gather from books, but have tried, tested, perhaps modified.....and other interesting food info i come across...

the basic ingredient for a flavourful dish i have realised is...love...any food prepared with heart....usually end up pretty yummy....so this is going to be a blog filled with love spiced, sexy vegetarian ghar ka khana....

bon appetite...