Pav Bhaji or Pao bhaji ....... both made at home , from scratch

When I made these beautiful pao breads some time back, B wanted to have Pav  bhaji .
So I made some. .

But with so many chores and other things to deal with, including ‘I don’t feel like doing anything today’ too, I spread out the preparation into a couple of days.
After I made the bread, I had to wait for sometime for the already cooked food in the fridge to get used up.

Meanwhile, I boiled the vegetables ( I used potatoes, cauliflower, green peas, tomatoes, carrots and some frencjh beans .... you can use whatever you have at hand ) and stored them.
I peeled garlic and stored them ( I do that anyway ) .
And then one fine day, brought out everything.

Heated the bread with a smear of butter .... B wanted the inside as is .... soft ... and not fry with butter.
Mashed the vegetables and tempered them with chopped garlic, chopped green chillies, turmeric and red chilli powder and store bought pav bhaji masala 
Added salt and sugar. 
Simmered till the extra moisture dried up and the mash turned thickish. .
.
Served with chopped onions, lemon and coriander leaves sprinkled.
And of course, a big blob of butter. .
Yummm 😋 .
.

Contrary to how rich it looks, homemade pao bhaji is actually very healthy as well as nutritious.
A great way of eating a lot of vegetables together, this bhaji was made with just one teaspoon of cooking oil.
I have eaten pao bhaji outside only once in my life.
One taste and I have never touched it again.
Not when eating out.
For me, the homecooked version is way better, much more tastier. 

Here is a look of the Ladi Pav that I had baked earlier. 

It is super yummyhot,  just out of the oven , with a good smear of butter.

A closer look! 😊
Tempting, eh? 

 

Masala Pav and Misal ..... quick cooking meals during the tough days of lockdown

The one thing that this lockdown has taught us, among others, is the value of time. 
As well as 'me time'. 
Which is possible only when we ration our time in the kitchen, while putting a proper balanced meal on our plates .... a huge necessity these days for good health and immunity. 

Life has been overwhelming of sorts these days. Even if we did not have much of house helps all our married lives, except for when I am down ill, it is with time .... and age .... that I am realising the need for one in our lives now. 

All the following of precautions, loads of laundry every time we go out .... which we have kept to the barest of minimum , not getting to buy the produce and things we are used to and having to make do with whatever is available online or at the nearest shop .... the list is endless, has been eating into my time, leaving me with little left to do what I love to. 
Or even to just plain rest.

All through the summer and the monsoons, I had to rack my brains to be able to put a full meal on the table using a limited number of vegetables. We had no options other than the bottle gourd, the okra, eggplants once in a while and potatoes. 

Monsoons, we avoid all leafy vegetables, and so were again confined to the above few and then some more. 

So I turned to legumes. 
Soaked, un soaked, sprouted, ground into a batter, fried dumplings, dosas / pancakes ..... numerous ways to use them. And way more healthy too. 
Sprouted Moong beans are a favourite of mine.
I use  them in salads, in stir fries, in khichadis, .... in almost everything. 

And since we both love Maharashtrian food, the Misal is also a regular at home. 
Usually B makes the misal .... see my insta stories. 
But this time I made it .... albeit using the same masala that he had used ( I had frozen the extra ). 

And paired it with some gorgeous Masala Pav .... the recipe I got from a friend.  The masala is so good ... I have already made it thrice ... and tastes great when paired with bread. Especially a day old bread, crisped up in the oven. 

Since I made a lot of changes to the original recipe ..... purely based on the availabilty of things in my pantry, I am writing down the recipe here. 

Also, although I have been baking a lot of bread and Pao during this lockdown ( again on my insta feed ), I have never got around to posting any here on the blog .... something I am going to correct soon, .... I have used store bought pavs this time. 

The Masala : 

Need : 

Tomatoes  - 3 medium sized 

Onions - 1 medium sized 

Garlic - 10 to 15 cloves 

Green chillies - 5 to 6 

Toasted Peanuts - half a cup 

Ginger - 1" 

Curry leaves 

Red chilli powder 

Turmeric powder

Jeera powder 

Salt - to taste 

Sugar - to taste 
Cooking oil - 2 tbsp 

How to : 

Make a coarse paste of everything except the powders and oil. 

Heat oil. 

Add the paste and cook till all moisture dries up. 

Store in an airtight bottle in the fridge. 

To assemble .... 

Heat butter in a flat pan. 

Slather the pavs with the masala and fry them on the pan till crisp on both sides. 

These are great as is with tea or with some bhaji on the side. 

The Misal : 

Need : 

Mung bean sprouts - 1 cup 

Chopped potatoes - half cup 

Chopped onions - 2 tbsp 

Ginger garlic paste - I used one cube of my homemade ones 

Turmeric powder

Red chilli powder

Cumin / Jeera seeds - 1 pinch 

Salt - to taste 

Cooking oil - 1 tbsp 

How to : 

Heat oil. 

Add the jeera. 
Once it starts to splutter, add the  onions. 

Fry well and then add the ginger garlic paste. 

Add the powder masalas and the chopped potatoes and moong sprouts. 

Mix well and add enough water for a gravy. 

Cover and cook till done. 

Serve hot. 

Ideally it should be served with a topping of chopped onions, green chillies , any farsan or mixture, chopped coriander leaves and a good squeeze of lime juice. 


Like this one that B had made. 😊

He declared that his was better than mine. 
Well .... if one can judge by the looks, what do you think??  😉

Enjoy!! 

Stay home. Stay safe. 

Prawn Masala Fry and Prawn Rice ...... cooking a meal under thirty minutes

Yesterday I made a post on my instagram feed on one of my current knitting projects, as I was getting a lot of messages to share my works in progress. 
And I wrote about how this year has been for all of us. 
And could not help contemplating on it the whole day. 

I realised what I had written was just the tip of the iceberg. Given insta's limited word allowance per post, I am not always satisfied with writing there. Which is why I have almost stopped writing a good post. The hurried feel does not suit me. 

I like to write in a way that the reader gets the essence and the feel of not only the photo but also the setting , the prelude as well as the interlude and conclusion. 

So while I did mention how we all found out some hobby to hold on to for comfort in this difficult year, I felt a there is a lot more to it than what meets the eye. 
Like how we learnt to manage our days and to divide time among work and family and chores in a more balanced way.

How we learnt the real meaning of division of labour. 

And how to make the division of chores interesting .... focussing not only on the jobs getting done but also on  how to give the other person a break too. 

And the most important thing we learnt was how to manage the kitchen in the shortest possible time, how to cook up a nutritious meal for the family without getting exhausted and above all, how to come up with quick cooking ideas with the most basics of ingredients. 
And at the same time ensure that it is tasty to please every palate sitting at the dining table. 

No mean feat I must say. 

For me, it has been a long, difficult year when it comes to eating restaurant kind of food. 

Not that we used to eat out regularly. But I had a surgery last year towards the fag end of August and was on monitored food for almost 6 months. And just as we started to eat out a little .... we must have eaten out for exactly three times .... lockdown happened. 

And now it has been 8 months that I have been craving for some good Chinese food. Or a good Vada Pao. And Phuchka too. 

I have made every one of these at home too. And even more like baking breads, pavs, focaccia , cakes .... and so on. But it requires big work. Lots of effort. And at the end I feel so exhausted that actually enjoying the food becomes an effort too. 

So I have turned to cooking some spicy and masaledar food for myself recently. 

Any change to the tastebuds is welcome now. 

Recently, my fishmonger got me some very fresh and good sized prawns. 

They were so fresh that I wanted to keep the sweet taste with just a smattering of spices. 

And so made this beautiful fry. The coating was of spices and the inside held the juicy, sweet meat that was so good when bitten into. 

For the Masala Prwan Fry : 
 
Need : 

Prawns - 6 to 8 pieces, cleaned and deveined 

Ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp 
Jeera powder - 1 tsp 

Red chilli powder - 1 tsp

Turmeric powder - 1 tsp

Lemon juice - 1 tsp 

Rice flour - 2 tbsp 

Salt - to taste 
Oil - to stir fry 

How to : 

Marinate the prawns with the rest of the ingredients except for the oil. 

Keep aside for 15 minutes. 

Heat oil. 

Let in the prawns one by one and fry till done. 

Serve immediately. 

For  the Prawn Rice : 

Need : 

Leftover Rice 
Whole garam masalas 
Chopped green chillies 
Salt to taste 

How to : 

In the same oil that the prawns have been fried, add the garam masalas
and the green chillies. 

Let in the rice and toss well. 

Add salt and adjust the rest of the seasonings. 

Remove and serve hot. 

Enjoy!! 


Here is my link to the post on Instagram where the write up is even better. 
I am going crazy trying to keep track and coordinate my writings at both places. 
Hope to sort out the time management soon so that I can write the same post and thoughts in both places as well as share the links too. 

Pan fried Sabudana vada

" Koto deri hoye geyche! I need to make that sabu for b'fast! And it is already 9:30!", I exclaimed.

We were sitting ... no piling up on one another on the bed in the first guest room .... chatting and remicising, the cups of our morning tea and the biscuit jars still sitting on the tray.
I sat snuggled to Jethima. My cousin, her younger daughter, had already taken up my Ma's lap.
Another cousin stands near the bed, threatening and jostling with us for space.
Kakima sat in her usual pose with her legs straight in front of her, leaning on the head rest.
She was already onto her second paan.
Shejo kaku and Ranga kaku half sat, half laid at the other  end of the bed. Jethumoni was the only one who sat properly in a chair by the window.

Our talks were all about memories, of the long gone days at Dadu's house and our childhood stories. Small bits and pieces of memories came up spread a warm blanket all over us.
A lot of what we were talking of does not exist anymore. Neither Dadu, nor Thamma, the house and our recent loss of Bapi and then Didi.
All gone.
Leaving us with memories; just happy memories.

And then I realized how late it was and jumped up to go to the kitchen to make breakfast of the Sabudana Khichdi.
And hearing me exclaim, Ranga kaku jumped up too.

"Sabu?!!"
"Yes!"
"Kar jor holo abar? Boudi tomar? "

I laughed.
Sabu or tapioca pearls means two things to a Bengali ... illness or a fast.
If you have fever, you have sabu cooked in milk. If you have an upset tummy you have sabu cooked in water with a little salt and lemon juice.
Every Bengali's 'ugh' memories of childhood will definitely have this ghost of boiled sabu.
And if there was a puja in the house and the ladies are fasting, they would make a mash of soaked sabudana with fruits and milk or curd.

I assured kaku that nobody is ill and I was just going to cook sabudana for breakfast.
"Eyi na na, ami oi sabu tabu khabo na!" , Kaku was truly worried by now.

I had planned to make the Sabudana khichadi and prayed that he liked it.

While writing about this, I was wondering what recipe to publish as I have already posted the Sabudana khichadi.
And then  I came across a few photographs of the Sabudana vadas that I had made once.

These vadas are not deep fried, as the traditional ones are.
Instead I have brushed them with a little ghee and toasted them on a pan.
They are very crisp on the outside and very soft inside.
Perfect melt in the mouth texture.
And guilt free too.

Need :

Sabudana or Tapioca pearls - 1 cup, soaked overnight in enough water
Boiled potatoes - 1, medium
Roasted and crushed groundnuts - 5 to 6 tbsp
Fresh green chillies - chopped
Red chilli powder
Salt - to taste
Sugar - to taste
Ghee - to brush the vadas with

How to :

Mash everything, except the ghee, together.

Shape into small flat tikkis.
The traditional ones are shaped round because they are deep fried.
We need to shape these flat so that they cook well on a flat surface.

Heat a flat pan or a tawa .... ( they should be well seasoned ).
Brush it with a little ghee and place the vadas on it.
You can cover them for a while too.

When one side turns brown, turn them over and brush them with some more ghee.
Let them cook till the outside is crisp and brown.

Serve hot with tea.

These vadas are very high in calories and hence very filling too.
A couple of them will take you through a good part of the day or evening easily.

They go great with this beautiful Amti on the side. A complete meal when you are doing a vrat or fasting.

Enjoy!!

And oh, the family loved the Sabudana khichadi.
Which is why I am going to make these vadas for tea time next.

Take care all.
See you again soon.

Phodni cha Bhaat / Stir fried left over rice

A few months back, February to be precise, my blog post "Savoury Poda Pithe" was selected as one of the top twelve food blog posts in India by Baggout.
I was happy. But was hesitant to go all out and shout from the roof tops. And promptly forgot all about it.
The days rolled on. I had guests.
I had the in laws visiting.
I had guests.
I went home on a short vacation.
I had guests.
And so on.
And suddenly remembered yesterday.
Went back to check if they still had my post with them or have given up and decided that somebody else cooks better.
Nah ... the post was right there.
Checked the mail and saw there was an offer and a choice of adding a badge to the blog too.
No forcing down the throat; unlike other sites.
So I decided I will put it up.
And so there is this badge proudly displayed.
While my readers and friends have always been happy to try out my recipes and given positive feedback, this little acknowledgement was welcome.
This is the first time, out side of the blogging world, that someone has taken note of Kitchen e Kichu Khonn.
And that made me happy.

 I have been posting way too many non vegetarian dishes of late. I wonder why. Since it is the vegetarian food that is cooked almost everyday in my house. Non vegetarian is rare.
No; wait. Not rare actually. Not any more.
But since it is mostly fish that I cook for my lunch, I guess I have been clicking to many photos in my enthusiasm to share them on Fb.
While the more varied vegetable dishes go unnoticed.
Another reason might be that B has his lunch earlier than me. So after I am done with the veggie stuff, I shift them to the dining table and get to work on the non vegetarian things.
By the time I am done, B has had his lunch and I am left with only the fish / poultry to click, if at all I have the energy left by then.

Hence decided to post a pure vegetarian recipe today.
Hunted around in my folders and came to this Phodni cha bhaat that I had cooked on a lazy day for lunch.
I was introduced to this as a Maharashtrian speciality but later came to know that Bengalis make it too. Only they call it Bhaja bhaat.
I don't know much since I never ate this back at home during my childhood.

Exactly three snaps, that too with the phone.
But I really want to share this wonderful, quick fix meal or snack with left over rice.
With the minimum of ingredients and the shortest of time, you have a beautifully flavoured, slightly spicy, tempered rice.

Need :

Cooked rice (left over rice kept in the fridge works best) - 2 cups
Rai / Mustard seeds - ½ tsp
Jeera / Cumin seeds - ½ tsp
Haldi / Turmeric powder - ½ tsp
Red chilli powder - ½ tsp
Onion - 1, chopped
Fresh green chillies - 1, chopped
Curry leaves - 1 small sprig
Peanuts - 2 tbsp (optional)
Cooking oil - 1 tbsp
Salt - to taste
Sugar - to taste

How to :

Bring the rice out of the refrigerator and keep it in room temperature while you make the preparations.

Fluff it well, separate it well and add haldi , red chilli powder , salt and sugar.
Keep aside.

Heat an open faced, heavy bottomed pan well.

Add the oil.

Add the rai, jeera and the curry leaves.

Add the onions and the green chillies and fry till the onions turn pink.

Add the peanuts and fry some more.

Now add the rice.

Gently and lightly stir it well for everything to mix together.

Cover for only around a minute, on low heat.

Remove cover, give a good toss.

Serve hot with curd or raita or pickles and roasted papad.

This is a great way to use up left over rice.
Makes for a very filling snack or even a meal.

Enjoy!!


Other recipes with Left over rice -here.

Masala Pomfret - two different recipes, one post

It has been a whole month now since I made a post last.
 One fact is I was away, visiting home. One week was spent on preparation for the travel, read shopping, planning and packing ... yes, I am an organiser and need to be packed and ready at least two days before the actual journey date. Else I get all flustered and the heebie  jeebies.
The other fact is, ever since I have returned, I cannot muster up enough energy or the enthusiasm to actually sit down and type something ... anything ... that can be passed off as a decent post.
I have been cooking ... yes.
My camera is full of pictures, waiting to be uploaded and edited.
But I am stuck. With a god knows what block.
All I do now is keep calling up home ... Bapi was not well when I left ... and hang on to the sounds of familiar voices and noises from home. 

Or spend unending time on FB ... which of course results in wonderful culinary experiences.
Every time I give a shout out, expert friends jump in with helpful tips and recipes. Like this particular time, when I had brought home two good sized pomfrets.

I had seen them beautifully scored in one of Kalyan's posts and wanted to try my hand at that. While Kalyan's fish was expertly scored att he fish market, I think I did a pretty good job of doing so by myself.
I did end up with a cut finger but the way the fish looked, especially after cooking ,was worth all.

I asked for a suggestion as to what masala should I use to cook it with. I had already marinated it with some ginger paste, garlic paste and lots of lemon juice.
Kalyan suggested plain jeera and red chilli powder . This sounded perfect as I did not want too much of masalas or a gravy.
I have had tandoori pomfret earlier and have always loved the pomfret dryish and crispy fried.

Then Rhea of Euphorhea suggested that a malvani or a koli masala would be great too.
Now I was really tempted to try that too ... but unfortunately did not have any malvani masala. But I did have the Goda masala in my kitchen.
So it was decided .... one fish will have the jeera+chilli coating and the other will have the Goda masala and a dash of agal.
The discussion is here.


The fish is pan fried in minimum oil in both recipes. And I have the rice flour to give the coating an extra crispiness.  Both turned out to be the most wonderful pomfret recipes I have ever tried!
And I have already made them twice after this.

And these are phone photographs .... remember you guys had encouraged me saying it is the recipe that matters ... so there. :-) 

Need :

Pomfret fish - 2, cleaned and scored as shown
Ginger paste - 2 tbsp
Garlic paste - 2 tbsp
Lemon juice - 6 tbsp
Salt - to taste
Red chilli powder - 1 tbsp
Goda masala - 2 tbsp
Roasted jeera powder - 1 tbsp
Agal / Kokum juice - 2 tbsp
( If you don;t have Agal, then you can use a teaspoonful of tamarind pulp too )
Oil - 2 tbsp, for two fishes
Rice flour - 4 tbsp 

How to :

Marinate both fishes with a spoonful of ginger + garlic paste, 3 tbsp of lemon juice, the rice flour  and a sprinkle of salt, each.


Add the roasted jeera powder + red chilli powder + r2 tbsp of rice flour to one fish.
Add the Goda masala + the Agal + 2 tbsp rice flour to the other fish.

Keep aside for at least 15 minutes.

Heat oil in a flat pan.

Add one fish and cover. Cook till one side is brownish and crisp.
Flip and cook the other side too.

The pomfret is a very delicate fish and cooks very fast. Make sure you do not over cook it.

Remove and serve hot.

I had some marinade left, so tossed some onion rings in it and stir fried them in the same pan with the minimum residual oil.
Loved the sizzle and the slightly charred rings.
Were perfect with the fish.

The photograph on top is the one with the Goda masala marinade.

The one below is the one with the jeera powder.

Both tasted awesome! Super awesome!
I have made these for guests too.
You can use the tandoori masala and make Tandoori Pomfret in exactly this same way. Just add a little sour curd and a pinch of besan to the marinade.

Make sure to serve hot.
Enjoy!!

I have a few other recipes that have resulted from discussing food with my friends on FB.
One is a wonderfully simple yet flavourful dish made from prawns / shrimps.
Coming up soon.

Stay tuned.

Gawar fali ki sabzi / Stir fried Clusterbeans

I am a Bengali. And a proud one too.
But I am also a part of three more different cultures. Which do not make me any less a Bengali, but have indeed taken me to new depths. I know much about those cultures, traditions, food, dress, rituals. In short, everything that makes me able to say that I am proud to know or be a part of these cultures.

But somewhere along the way my blog started to be called or known as a Bengali food blog.
And I ... a Bengali food blogger.
Nowhere at no time have I ever claimed that my blog has Bengali food only ... or authentic Bengali food.
I do cook Bengali food ... with as much authenticity as my phone calls home and my other food blogger friends' input allows ... also my memory plays a part here too.
But I do not like being dragged into being labelled as a 'Bengali food' blogger
I'd rather be the Bengali 'food blogger'.

One of the many kinds of food that I regularly cook is the Rajasthani food. Almost daily I make a dal ... which would have temperings that is far different from the Bengali temperings. There will be a sabzi or vegetable dish, which again reflects the Rajasthani home cooking than the Bengali one.

I have actually divided the two kinds into two categories.
On the days I make rice, I make the dal and sabzi with Bengali temperings ... say the paanch phoron or the jeera+ada baat/ginger paste or fried onions+radhuni. This is mostly on days I make fish.
And on the days I make rotis, the dal and the sabzis have a Rajasthani flavour .... like the hing+jeera or whole dhania+red chillies ... and so on.
Both sides of the family ... that is the two of us ... are fine with it. Which makes things much easier for me.
Dinner is always something more neutral ... like the aloo paratha, methi paratha, pulao, etc. etc.

Though I'd love to follow this trend every single day of the week ... I cannot. But do stick to it most days.
Weekends are not counted.

One vegetable I had never eaten before marraige is the Gawarfali / cluster beans.
In fact it was never cooked at home too. The first time I saw it was when I went vegetable shopping and B picked them up with much enthusiasm.
I had no idea how to prepare it. Result ... a call home.
Mummy patiently explained how to cut it, why we need to boil it first, ... and so on.
End of the day saw a good, new dish on the table that B polished off happily.
I did not touch it. I still don't.
But both B and the in laws agree that I make a decent gawar ki sabzi.
And am happy with that.

Cluster beans should be brought very fresh. So fresh that they should break easily when you snap them.
If dry, they'll neither cook well nor will taste good. In fact, the bitterness is more prominent then.

I make this sabzi exactly the way Ma in law makes it. No changes.

Need :

Fresh gawar / cluster beans - 250 gms, washed and broken into medium sized pieces
Potatoes - 1, chopped
Jeera / cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Hing / asafoetida - 1 pinch
Dhania / coriander powder - 4 tbsp
Red chilli powder - ½ tsp
Haldi / turmeric powder - ½ tsp
Peanuts powder (optional )
Salt - to taste
Oil - 1 tsp

How to :

Take enough water in a bowl. Add salt and the chopped gawar pieces.
Boil uncovered till the gawar is cooked. .
Remove, strain and cool ... this straining helps in getting rid of the slight bitterness the gawar usually has.

When cool, take them in bowl and mix in the haldi powder, the dhania powder, the peanut powder, salt and red chilli powder.

Heat oil in a kadahi.
Add jeera and hing.
Add the potatoes and fry well.
Add a pinch of salt ... just for the potatoes.
Cover and cook till the potatoes are done.

Remove cover and add the gawar.
Give a good stir and cook till everything comes together.
If needed, add a little water.
 Cook well till dryish.
Remove from heat.

 Serve hot with rotis and dal on the side.
Enjoy!!

I do make another version of the gawar ... will post soon.

Peanuts and Kokum Amti

 

It is a windy day. While the wind howls outside, threatening to blow away my freshly done laundry ... 

that I have entrusted so to the sun ... it is quiet inside the house.

Yes, finally ... even if it is  for a few hours.

I have the kitchen and Jagjit Singh all to myself.

Oh .. I do have Follet all to myself too.

But am multitasking ... and wouldn't want the guy to feel neglected.

So right now ... just my kitchen and Jaggu Singh it will be.

And my thoughts.

Recently I have been a little too rough on people.

But on only those who take me for granted.

I detest insincere people. And those who speak to please me ... I stay away from.

I mean there is a limit to repeating the same things over and over again ... when you don't mean to then why speak wind? 

Since I never expect anything from anybody, I detest anything that comes to my life free of cost.

And I am known for my knack for burning bridges.

Does not take me a moment to know just how well off would I be ... or just how clutter free my life would be ...  in the absence of a particular person or moment or thing.

And switch I off.

People have a knack of becoming friends first, get into your life second and then
tick you off when you do not react to their expectations
 in a predictable way.

And I am a sucker for people crying 'sad','lonely','hurt' ... etc etc. 

Recently a friend's wife left her marital home of one year, called me innumerable times to cry,

 to abuse the husband and his family, to basically lighten herself.

And I am left with the strain of calming her, explaining to her and hoping that she sees light.

All the while keeping in mind that the husband is our friend.

Suddenly ... all quiet.

Last heard ... she is back with the husband and is expecting a baby.

And that explained the husband refusing to return our calls.

Go figure! 

And I refuse to learn.

I still believe in people.

I still welcome them with warmth in my life. 

Soon left to wonder at the 'attitude' or the cold shoulder just recieved.

Soon become a trash can for their woes ... conviniently dumped on me as they walk ahead in life. 

And I am left with this bane of a good memory ... storing every bit of data ... returning to fill me with gloom once in a while.

How I wish at those times my feet reached my backside ... with a good force.

Anyway ... that explains my deleting people from my life.

People don't like it ... can't do anything.
Have to think of my peace of mind first.

Jagjit Singh is still crooning "Dhoop mein niklo, ghataon mein naha kar dekho ...".How true.

But am not in the mood for lectures right now.Got a post to make.

I have a good number of photographs that are waiting to see the light of the day.

But the hitch that comes is I never remember how I cooked that what.

So while I sit staring at the dish, trying to rake my brains to what went into it and how,
 the dish sits and look back at me helplessly.

Amongst them, there are a few ones that I had posted on the notes section of my fb page.

Picked up one today to post.

 I have always liked this aamti that is usually served with simple 'Vrat'  or 'Upwaas' fares.
This is also a part of the Mahaprasad served at the ISCKON temple.
But I had no idea what went into it.

So when Preeti of ISingcakes & More wrote on FB  that she had this amti as part of her lunch one day, I asked for the recipe.
She promptly gave it to me.

And here it is ... what a beautifully flavoured aamti this is.
The blend of fresh green chillies with the kokum gives it fresh as well as tangy flavour.
I have been making this over and over again for a while now.
Thanks Preeti!

Need :
Peanuts/ Groundnuts - half a small cup ( dry roasted and skinned )
Kokum - 3 - 4 pieces
Green chillies - 2
Ghee - half a teaspoon
Cumin seeds / jeera - a small pinch
Salt to taste
Water - a cupful

How to:
Grind the peanuts in a mixie ( I just half crushed them as I like the small bits in a spoonful)
Make a paste of the kokum and green chillies.
(Preeti grinds them together with the peanuts ... I did not ... which is why my aamti lacks the colour hers has)

Heat ghee in a pan. Add the cumin seeds. When they start to splutter add the peanuts and the kokum paste.
Add water and salt.
Bring to a boil and simmer for around 5 minutes.
Check consistency .. if needed add more water and bring to a simmer again. 

Serve hot with sabudana khichdi.
It is a great side with these beautiful Sabudana vadas too.
Makes a vrat worth looking forward to.
Enjoy!!

Roti ka Poha / Snack made from leftover rotis

 I have always wondered what is it with people when comes to waiting in queues. 

Especially long ones. 

Everybody is restless, fidgety.

Keep bending to their side and try to look ahead.

 Look here and there.

As if the rest of the world has stopped moving just because that one person has to stand and wait.

And the one behind you, given the chance, will climb on your shoulder and crawl down to stand in front of you.

You can hear his/her mumblings of impatience.

And get poked with whatever things s/he is holding.

As if it is your fault the line is not moving ahead.

If it is a counter for tickets or bill payment, the person managing it is declared as the most inefficient worker. 

If it is a traffic line, it is even bad.

If it is a narrow two way lane, it is worse.

People will honk horns as if they had just discovered their vehicle had one.

And will surely overtake those already waiting in line, giving them a look that says "what duffers!"

In the process blocking the whole road.

Nobody can come from the front and nobody from this side can move.

Deed done, despite getting stuck themselves,
will still look smugly around. 

It is worse at the airports.

I recently made a trip home and was waiting to board.

People had gathered and filled up every possible seat at the waiting area with themselves, their kids, their hand luggage ...
which interestingly varied from a book
to several small bundles of things
to two plastic mugs and a kadahi,
their kids' luggage ... if a small rucksack and a water bottle can be called that.

Well ... they have the tickets ... so they'll use the seats.

And wait.

That waiting keeps building their restlessness.

Nothing helps ... not talking on phones, reading papers,
getting up importantly to get a coffee and then deciding against it
and turning around to grab back their chair again ...

nothing helps.

When finally the boarding gate is readied to let you through,

you see the rush!

Everybody scrambles to get up, collect their belongings, grab the kids, jump over people

 and run to stand in the line.

I just sit back and watch ... fascinated.

The line forms.

A very long line.

With the last person standing far, far away from the actual gate.

And they keep jostling
so that the they can move a wee little more ahead.

I still sit and watch.

And get looks of pity.

They talk to themselves or wonder ... poor girl, travelling alone.

Doesn't know boarding has started.

The line moves painfully slow.

The people finally get to board the bus in batches.

Those who get to have a look of triumph on their faces.

Those who cannot and have to wait for the next bus to move forward, have a look of defeat.

And they keep glancing at me.

The line has grown shorter ... what is she doing?

She'll miss the flight!

When there are exactly three people left to move through, I get up.

Board the last bus with the final group.

Just when I enter the plane, I glance around.

And see the disapproving looks and frowns.
After all, they'd been in the queue first!
And had to wait!

And hear a stage whisper ... "Itna late karenge toh desh kya hoga?"

!!!!

This is a wonderful way of using up leftover rotis from last night's dinner.

I wanted to  call this the upma but decided against it as upma has water added to it
while this is a very
dryish dish.

You can add some water to this if you want it very soft ...
but that too will be just a sprinkle.

I love this dry.
So dry that some pieces of the crushed roti will be crispy.

But it still won't be too dry as the onions and tomatoes add some softness to it.

And if you are like me ... have to have some egg  for breakfast,

you can just scramble up some and mix it in.

 Need

 Left over rotis

Onions - chopped

Tomatoes - chopped

Green chillies - chopped

Curry leaves

Mustard seeds - for tempering

Cooking oil

Salt - to taste

Sugar - to taste 

Tumeric powder - a pinch

How to 

Lightly crumble the rotis, rubbing them between your palms.

The pieces should be coarse and not too fine.

Heat some cooking oil.

Add the mustard seeds and wait for them to start spluttering.

Add the onions and the chilles and stir fry for a while.

Add the curry leaves.

Add the tomatoes and fry well till cooked.

Next add the roti and mix well.

Add the tumeric powder, salt and sugar.

Stir fry for a while and mix well.
If you want it soft and not crispy, sprinkle some water and cover it for a while. 

Serve hot with a steaming cup of tea.

Enjoy !!

Kolhapuri Chicken

( Vegetarians & vegans can try this masala with any vegetable of their choice. )

The last couple of months I had been on an almost no cooking mode ... read plain cooking, eating and resting. Rested I a lot.
I also caught up with my reading and a whole lot of music that had taken a backseat in the rush.
I embroidered a lot. Cut up a lot of kurtis to make cushion covers. :p
And I also drank a lot of water ... well ... does not make sense putting that in the list ... but that was one thing I did really well. My life depended on it ... ok ... I may be exaggerating .. but I wanted to live pain free ... so the only option I had was to drink ... H2O.

I also forgot that my blog turned two ... and poor Kichu Khon went without a party and a cake.

I also went through a lot of my old mails ... and hung my head in shame. There have been so many requests I cannot even start to list them. Advice and discussions on a particular recipe I get back to promptly ... but for requests, I need to cook the food first, sample it and then post it. Which was not at all possible on my part for the past few months.



Dear readers and followers, please forgive me my illness. I am getting back to my normal diet and will soon start to post all ... I promise ... all your requests. And if you have not left comments here I understand perfectly well.

I also have had non bloggers who have sent in their recipes for me to try out. No, none of them have asked me to post them ... they just wanted to share their food with me virtually. But I promise them too ... not only will I try them out, I'll post them too.

So friends ... peace. :-)

God knows I value your comments ... any blogger will know what comments mean to us ... and have no grudge against anybody who hasn't left a line here.

But since I know you were here ... and for how long ... looking for what ... what you read ... what you liked ... and what you have disliked ... I thank you.
Just for being here.
Kichu Khon owes you loads of great recipes. :-)

As mentioned earlier, am slowly getting back to normal diet. Fish and eggs are still off limits, but am allowed a little chicken now.
The first two times I stuck to my stews and soups. And then promptly went back to my favourite recipe ... that is spicy and ... well ... spicy.

I do not make the Kolhapuri masala at home, thanks to N Bhabi who is originally from Kolhapur, Maharashtra. But if I ever run out of it, I just buy a packet of Katdere Kanda Lahsoon masala ... easily available off the shelves. It is almost the same ... but remember .. it is different from Goda masala ... which has a completely different look, taste and flavour.



The fun of using this Kolhapuri masala is you do not have to use almost anything else. Just throw in a few chopped onions ... that too if you want your gravy to have some body ... and this masala. Most Maharashtrian dishes have a slightly watery yet a very flavourful gravy.

I did not use any extra garam masala or tomatoes or anything else. And if you want your chicken tender, add it only after adding water.
Too much of frying / bhuno ing results in touch chicken pieces.

Need :

Chicken pieces
Chopped or sliced onions
Lemon juice
A little sugar
Salt to taste
Cooking oil
Water

I made it this way :

Apply lemon juice to the chicken pieces and keep aside.

Heat a little cooking oil in a kadahi or deep pan. ( Remember the Kolhapuri masala has enough oil in it ).

Add the sliced onions and fry for a while.

Now add the Kolhapuri masala and stir well. If you like your food spicy, the be generous with the spoonfuls ... else add only a couple of teaspoonfuls.

Add enough water.

Add the chicken pieces.

Add sugar and salt ( remember the masala will have salt in it ).

Cover and cook till chicken is tender.

Remove cover and serve hot.



Goes great with plain rice, rotis or parathas.

The next couple of weeks will be rush rush for me as one part of the family is visiting.
Then the monsoons start.
Even if it is already wonderfully cool here ... and the nights definitely cold ... can't wait for the monsoons.
Then the other part of the family will visit.

But I will be around folks. With my ridiculously simple recipes.
And all your requests. :-)

Take care all !!

And thank you for all your good wishes. :-)

A few other Chicken recipes on Kichu Khon

Quick Stir Fried Chilli Chicken
Doi Morich Chicken

Stir Fried Chicken with Vegetables

Narkel Chicken

Masala Chicken

Tangy Chicken

Hasslefree & Simplified Thalipeeth

The Thalipeeth is a nutritious snack that any Maharashtrian is familiar with. Made of a combination of a flours and legume powders, it is very filling too.

To my knowledge, the mix for the dough ... known as bhajani .... is usually made from jowar, rice, gram flours to which sometimes legumes like chowli or dals like urad is added too.

Everything has to be dry roasted and then ground to a powder. I however have always depended on dear N bhabhi's gift of this mix which she personally gets made ... or sometimes buy the readymade version ( K-Pra's bhajani is very good .... so have always stuck to it).

I have never been a fan of the thalipeeth only because of the way they have to be made. The patting of the dough on a tawa/griddle or a small kadhai is still ok. But then you will have to use 2 ... use one to make ... while waiting for the other to cool ... so that you can pat in a second one again.
Not to mention burning a few fingers in the process too.

Check out this place for the way they are usually made .... the holes are mandatory to soak up oil .... read drink up oil ... without which the thalipeeth will be coarse and very dry.
In the process it does not stay that healthy any more.

So I .... as I do with most recipes .... gave my thalipeeth a twist. It not only made it faster and easier to make .... it needs very, very less amount of oil too.



All I did was.... not make it into a tight dough .... as it is usually made .... I just added a lot of water to it and made a batter of pouring consistency. :-)

And added a lot of vegetables to it. N bhabhi had given me the idea of adding fresh greens to the mix too. I do that .... and sometimes use leftover dals in it too.

Now I make the thalipeeth for breakfast very regularly .... on weekdays too ....without any second thoughts.

One thing to keep in mind is ... if you are using the readymade mix, they already have salt and spices. So go easy on them.

Need : Thalipeeth mix ( I use K-Pra's ), chopped onions, chopped green chillies, chopped freah greens like palak / methi leaves ( optional ), cooking oil, water.

For the vegetables I used grated cauliflower, cabbage, tomatoes and carrots. This is optional ... you can make plain ones with just onions and chillies.

How to : Make a batter of pouring consistency with the mix and water.

Add the rest of the vegetables and a tablespoonful of oil .... I always do this .... soaks less oil when cooking.
Heat a tawa / griddle and smear a little cooking oil on it.

Now pour a ladleful of the batter and cover. After a while remove cover and flip it over to cook the other side till brown and crisp.


Done! Serve hot with butter or chutneys or achaar or fresh curd.

I was a little worried if it will turn crispy ... but then .... well ... the snaps say it all. :-)
Just don't keep it for a long while as the veggies in it make it soggy.

Enjoy !!

If you are a Maharashtrian and are here .... then please do let me know what you think of this experiment of mine ... am open to all constructive criticism. :-)

This goes to Divya Vikram's event Show Me Your Breakfast .

Bread Thalipeeth

Too many things on our minds and much more in our life has been bogging us down for a while now. Hectic days and work pressure has been stifling ... we just could not take it any more. Has been quite a while that we had taken a break ... so took an impromptu break at our favourite beach getaway.Came back fresh after a heady dose of the salt air and water. :-)



This is another great way to use leftover bread. As a healthier option I use atta or jowari ka atta to bind the soaked bread. This can be done real fast ... with just chopped onions and green chillies. You can also grate in vegetables if you want to or add chopped methi / palak.
Great as a snack.


Need : Well soaked bread pieces (in water), a little atta, chopped onions, chopped green chillies, haldi powder, red chilli powder, salt, a little cooking oil.


How to: Knead everything, except oil , into a soft and sticky dough. Wet hands and take a medium sized ball of dough and flatten it on a cold non stick kadhai / tawa. Make small holes in between and place it on the stove.




Let it cook for some time. When it starts drying up sprinkle / spray a little oil and flip it over.

Let it cook for some more time .... till brown.
Serve hot with dahi / butter / achar.