Mooli ka Thepla / Radish flatbreads

It is quiet all around. Except for the birds ... flying and chirping and singing busily. The parrots are going crazy, screeching and playing around in the trees. There is a particularly large group living here and are the noisiest ones around.
It is a delight to watch them everyday and especially when it rains. ( I recently shared a video on Instagram of them bathing in a sudden shower. )
The sun has just come up from behind the little hillock in the east and I can see the brightness all around on the trees and their shining leaves ... but not the sun, not yet, as I am on my balcony in the west.
It is a gorgeous morning and still cold. And breezy too.
The rains are nowhere in sight but there are clouds, lazily passing by ... large puffs of white. An occasional dark one does pass by too, but it is too small to dim the brightness all around.
I take a sip of my Darjeeling tea. The breeze is strong and lulls the swing a little. Good ... since I did not want to move an inch.
Reclining on the swing, my feet to not reach the ground.
So I am grateful for the strong breeze.

A bulbul darts in and sits on the terracotta water bowl. I stay still.
Ever alert, it jumps up and down a little, looks this way and that quickly and jumps into the water.
Splashes around, gives a few quick dips and jumps up on to the rim again, shakes all over to throw away the excess water and is gone. Just like that ... in the blink of an eye.
I finally relax and move to wipe the water droplets on my arm.

It is a gorgeous morning.
I take another sip ... the steam is still coming out of the cup and curls upwards.
I am tempted to go back inside and get my half read book. I have just got my hands on Amish's Sita, finally, and am hooked to it ... just like I am to the rest of his books.
But I don't.
I love my time with myself and nature in the mornings and decide not to let anything else come in between. I can read later.
After all, the rains will start eventually. And I won't get to sit outside this way for sometime.

I will be away, at home.
Where it rains like all hell has broken loose. With thunder and lightening. With huge storm winds.
Where you see the sky turn ominously red, in the nights and know that it is going to pour soon. Pour incessantly; ceaselessly.
Where I will have to go back again and again, at this time of the year, when I rather would not.
When I would rather hide, burrow myself deep somewhere, or get lost somewhere where painful memories cannot reach me.
When I will have to relive those moments of agonising helplessness, relentless yet futile hope and the pain of seeing my father sink slowly into oblivion.
Where I will be reminded and mocked by life about the amount of time that has gone by, without him around me. And I can do nothing about it.
Where I will have to stay in those rooms and see him in every nook and corner of his beloved house.
Where I can see all his things around but not him.
Where my heart will burst with pain every single moment and yet I will be alive, with his memories and his absence.

The rains, that I had loved so much once upon a time, bring only pain to me now.

I have been trying to focus and bring myself to write a post before I leave, but the days are pure mayhem right now. The heart is heavy and yet, there are preparations to be made. I have been cooking in bulk and freezing. Then I need to pack too.
And to cap it all perfectly, we are having guests, relatives we cannot ignore.
So even a minute of a breather is welcome right now, but a far dream.

I will leave you with this thepla that makes for a filling breakfast as well as a dinner too.
I have made this mooli / radish, you can use any vegetable of your choice too.
A thepla is different from a stuffed paratha ... it has the vegetables kneaded in with the flours.
I say flours because I often add different kind of flours ... jowar, makka/maize, rice or a little besan. While the nutritional value does go up, the mutigrain flours add some extra flavours too.

Need :

Whole wheat flour - 8tbsp
Jowar / sorgum flour - 2 tbsp
Makka / maize flour - 1tbsp
Besan / Bengal gram flour - 1 tbsp
( If you do not have these flours, you can make with plain whole wheat flour too. )
Grated mooli / radish - 1½ cups
Ajwain / carrom seeds - ½ tsp
Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
Chopped coriander leaves - 2 tsp
Amchur / dry mango powder - 1 tsp
Salt - to taste
Oil - to fry , 1 tbsp to add to the dough while kneading
Water - to knead dough

How to :

Knead everything together to make a firm, not tough, pliable dough.

Cut out small balls and roll them into round parathas.

Heat a well seasoned tawa and fry them one at a time, smearing a little oil on both side to brown them.

Serve hot with raita and achar / pickle.
The achar in the picture is my home made Amla ka achar.

Enjoy!!
And have a happy monsoon filled with fun and food!

Gobhi ke Parathe / Fresh Cauliflower stuffed flatbreads

 I am just back from a whirlwind tour of Calcutta ... or Kolkata, if you insist.
This trip was not sudden. I was desperate to get away from everything and go on a break for a long time now but B was too caught up with work.
I seriously browsed the web, looking up places, even hotels, that would give me the much needed respite I was looking for.
I virtually toured Agra, Delhi, Rajasthan (or whatever places are left of it for us to explore), Kerala and even Kanyakumari.
Looked up flights. Planned for days.
But when it came to sitting down with B and draw a final blueprint, everything fell away.
And I was back to where I was .... looking forlonly at the open pages on my laptop while going about with my chores.

Until one fine January day ... nay, evening I guess, or maybe it was at lunchtime , that B asked "When is the book fair being held this year?"
My heart skipped a beat.
And so that is how our plan for the whole trip was made. Bit by important bits came together, days and evenings planned. Shopping lists drawn up. Writers' and books' names were listed.
Restaurants searched for. Street food corners zeroed in on.
Zomato reviews read and re read.
And so on.

My aim, very much like Arjun, was clear . But it was not a bird or even the eye of a fish.
It was the book fair. The Boi mela.
I wanted to spend as much time as I could there .... in leisure.
Soak it up ... the place, the feel, the look and smell of books ... everything.

And roam the streets of old Calcutta. And gorge on street food.
And do nothing else.
And that is what I exactly did.

B, despite being very apprehensive about the street food part, indulged me. Anything to take some of the ghastly time that I had gone through, off my mind.
Even for a few days.
Later, we can always get back to life and its pains.

And what a time I had! Books, books and books everywhere.
A book lover's dream come true ... that is what the Boi mela is.
I was like a child let loose in a candy store. Threw all caution of limited baggage weight in flights and picked up books to my heart's fill.
Since I cannot pick up heavy, hard bound books to read anymore, I picked up the smaller lighter copies when ever available.
I was dizzy with happiness.

I will have my detailed posts up on my travelogue very soon. Do stay tuned.

Before leaving for the trip, I had made this Gobhi paratha as there were fresh cauliflowers in the market in abundance.

For us, winter dinners or breakfasts have to have some kind of paratha, usually the stuffed ones, on the table.
May it be the Mooli ka paratha,  parathas made with left over stuff, the Methi ka paratha,
the Aloo parantha , the Bedai or Moong dal paratha, the Egg stuffed paratha, 
the Pyaaz ka paratha or this Gobhi ka parantha.

I hope I am not too late in posting this and winter is still providing the freshest of cauliflowers on your side of the world.
If it is the season of the vegetable being used, like cauliflowers and radishes in winter, I use them fresh.
Nothing like the fresh and moist flavours of the Gobhi mixed with the fried paratha and some green chillies in every bite.
During other seasons, like in the monsoons, , I lightly saute them with spices first.

 Need :

Fresh Cauliflower
Fresh Coriander leaves
Fresh green chillies
Cumin / Jeera seeds
Carrom / Ajwain seeds
Salt
Cooking oil to fry

Whole wheat flour or Atta - for the dough
Water - for the dough
A little salt - for the dough
1 tbsp oil - for the dough


I do not use any other spices and keep the taste simple. You can use coriander powder, some amchur powder and red chilli powder too.

How to :

Knead the atta with the salt + oil + water to make a soft, pliable dough.
Keep it covered and let it rest while you prepare the stuffing.

First, wash and dry the cauliflower florets well. There should be no water in them at all.
Grate them.

Add the spices, the green chillies and coriander leaves to it.
Add salt last ... just before you are about to stuff and roll them.
Never before that.

Take a small ball of the kneaded dough and lightly roll and flatten it with your hand.
Use some dry flour to make handling it easier.
Stuff it with some of the filling.

Cover it from all sides, gently pressing the joining part so that the filling does not come out when rolling it.

Very gently, roll out a paratha. Use a lot of dry flour so that it moves around on the rolling platform easily.

Heat a tawa.
Gently put the paratha on it. Let it cook on low heat for around a minute.
Then flip it over.

Brush some oil on both sides and fry it, flipping all the while, till the sides are golden brown in colour.

Serve hot.

These paranthas go best with some achar / pickles. Or with dahi / curd too.
And if you are like me, you will douse your plate with some tomato ketchup first.
Tear a steaming hot piece off, blow on the steam, dunk it in the ketchup and tuck it into your mouth.
And sit back and savour the flavours of fresh cauliflower combined with a bite of ajwain here and green chilli there.
Maybe you can have a cup of adrak wali chai or ginger tea on the side too.

Enjoy winter!
Or whatever is left of it.

Aloo Phulkopir Dom ar Porota / Alu Gobi ki subzi and Paratha - hearty winter breakfast

I love the quiet of mornings. Early mornings.
And the time I get to spend with myself.
Earlier, when I was young, I would get up very early and sit by the window with whatever book I would be reading then.
While staying up late into the night and reading has always been my favourite, rising early and getting to read in the quiet has a different charm of its own.
Especially during the summers.

My window overlooked our garden that always used to stay abundant with all kinds of flowers ... thanks to Ma. The biggest patch was of the roses.
Surrounded by the lawn, there were two big sized rounds that held the Dahlias.
During winters, these two circles held the largest Dahlias I've seen yet.
Beyond them was a patch that held different kinds of Chrysanthemums.
The lawn was bordered with two layers .... one of the yellow and white button chrysanthemums, and a reddish coloured shrub whose leaves changed colour every season ,,, that is four times in a year.
At the turn of a season they would magically turn into red, yellow, green and white .... all through the year.
They fascinated me.

Beyond these was the vegetable garden.
Winters would see fresh shiny leaves of the spinach and the coriander, glistening in the soft early morning sun.
There were carrots and beet shrubs too.
As there were green peas creepers.
On there right stood regally a lemon tree, providing us with a continious supply of lemons throughout the year.

And beyond all this, just in front of the garage, on a side, stood a grapefruit tree.
And that was one tree that I loved dearly.
Because it made my summer mornings so so special.
I would sit beside the window on early summer mornings, sometimes reading and sometimes looking out at the garden, watching the sun rays slowly lighten it up from the east ... the book lying half open in my hands.
I only half hear the birds and other small sounds coming in once in a while.
For I am too caught up with the fragrance in the air.
The fragrance of the flowering grapefruit tree.

Citrusy, light, heady ... all at the same time. Intoxicating.
The flowers of the grapefruit tree are beautiful .... white and yellow or cream.
But I was more enchanted with the smell.
I would sometimes walk down the lawn and stand underneath it.
Combining with the freshness of the morning grass, the lingering dew and the slowly turning warm sunlight, this is one fragrance that made those summer mornings of my childhood precious.
It will always stay with me.
Forever.

I have never come across another grapefruit tree ever since I left home.
And the one back at home exists no longer.
And I still love quiet mornings.
But I will never forget those summer mornings, quiet and heady with the fragrance of the flowers of the grapefruit tree, wafting in the fresh morning air and creating memories in a young mind.

From talking of summer mornings, let us turn to breakfast for winter mornings. 
I had made this lightly spiced Potato and Cauliflower dryish dish and some Parathas for a winter morning.
Bringing some old photographs to the light of the day again.

Since it was winter, I had made this slightly spicy with some onion+garlic masala.
Paired with the atta / whole wheat parathas or fried flat breads, it made for a filling breakfast.
I'm sure this was some weekend breakfast, after which we must have gone off for one of our long drives that we are so fond of.
Must have been ... it is such a long way back I hardly remember now.

For the Aloo Phulkoi'r Dom :

Need :

Aloo / Potatoes - 2 medium sized, cut into cubes
Phulkopi / Cauliflower - 1 small, broken into big sized florets
Onion - 1 big, cut into slices
Ginger paste - 1 tbsp
Garlic paste - 1 tsp
 Tomato - 1 big sized, grated
Haldi / Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
Garam masala powder - ½ tsp
Salt - to taste
Sugar - ½ tsp
Water - enough to cook
Cooking oil - 2 tbsp ( I use mustard oil )
Whole garam masala - 2 cloves, 1 small piece cinnamon, 1 green cardamom ( broken ), 2 whole red chillies(broken)

How to :

Heat oil.
Add the whole garam masalas.
Add the onion slices and fry on low heat till they start to turn brown.
Add the ginger and the garlic paste.
Stirring all the while, add the haldi powder+red chilli powder.
Add the potatoes + the cauliflower.
If needed, add a little water.
Give a good stir on high heat.
Add salt and water. Cover and cook till the vegetables are done.
Add the tomato, sugar and some more water.
Cook well.
Sprinkle the garam masala, cover and simmer for around a minute.
Remove from heat.

 This was accompanied with the Tinkona or the triangle parota.
Why triangle? Because there are the square and round parathas too.
Hence the mention.

For the Paratha :  ( I'll update this with some photographs sometime later )

Need :

Whole wheat flour / Atta - 1 big sized cup
Warm water - to knead
Salt - 1 tsp
Cooking oil - 1 tbsp, and some more for frying
Dry flour - to roll the parathas

How to :

Mix everything, except the water, well.
Now slowly add the water and knead well to make a soft yet firm dough.
Keep covered for around 10 minutes.
Divide the dough into medium sized balls.

 Take a ball of the dough and roll it between your palms to make it smooth.
Dust the rolling place with some flour.
Now roll out a circle from the dough.
Apply oil on one side of the circle and fold it in half.
Apply some more oil on one side of the half and fold it to get a triangle.
Now dust it with some more flour and roll it to a paratha of medium thickness.

Heat a tawa or flat pan.
Put in the paratha and let one side cook. When it turns slightly dryish, flip it and cook for some more time.
Now raise the heat and apply oil to one side and cook till it turns brown. Flip and apply oil and cook the other side too.

Keep on flipping twice or thrice till it turns a lovely brown all over.
Remove from the tawa.
Reduce heat before adding in another one.

Serve hot to enjoy the crispiness.
Or keep covered in a tightly covered box to keep it hot and soft.

This hearty breakfast needed something sweet on the side ... as all Bengali breakfasts are wont to.
I just had some jam and so made do with it.
Lovely.

Enjoy all !!

Soru Chakli Pithe with Sada Aloor Chorchori / Rice flour Crepes with a simple Potato curry

Winter means Pithe. Or Pitha.
I know, I know. Winter is still a far way off.
But I am lucky to be staying in a place that has beautiful weather the whole year through.
So, other than the month of May when it does turn very hot, the slightly cool weather and low temperature of this city helps hugely when it comes to making and enjoying dishes that you want to make and not worry about the right time of the year for them.

I do make the Soru chakli pithe quite regularly. But like many other dishes, never got around to make a post out of it for lack of time or energy.
And since this is made for breakfast, time is more the reason here than energy.
Ma used to make this Soru chakli pithe too. But only on holidays.
Winter holidays or winter weekends.
And served it with the Sada Aloo'r chorchori. Or plain potato curry.

But what I remember most is the Chakli pithes at Dadu's house.
Thamma would make them on the mati'r unoon or the chulha .... a hot tawa sitting on the reddish coal embers inside the dark kitchen, that went 'ssssssss' with every ladleful of batter on it.
White smoke curled out as Thamma expertly flipped the pithas and plonked them on our plates, one by one.  It was a quick process as the pithes are required to be soft and not cooked for long.
One side done ...  flip ....  the next side done.
Plonk on a plate held out by a small hand.

And then pour the golden, beautifully fragrant jhola gur or Nolen gur on each pithe.

We sat around the unoon, soaking in the warmth while once in a while a gush of bitterly cold air would come in through the door and make us jostle and sit a little more closer to one another.
That was our time ... Thamma and us grandkids ... together. Jethima, Ma, Kakimas, not even the helps were allowed in then.

Years later, after I had mastered the art of making the batter, fermenting it properly and make a decent dosa, I introduced this pithe to the man.
He took to it and I heaved a sigh of relief.

 

The Soru Chakli pithe, or the Soru Chakuli pitha as it known in Orissa / Odisha, is made from a batter made by soaking rice and Urid dal. 

Soru means thin. The pancakes are very thin hence the name. 

I use the same batter that I use for my idlis. 

You may or may not ferment it. I do. 

Gives the batter a good resting time that way.

Ma makes another version of this pithe. I'll try to make a post of it another time.

Need : 

Rice - 2 cups  

Urid dal (dehusked ) - 1 cup 

Salt - 2 tbsp 

Grated ginger - 1 tbsp 

Cooking oil - 1 tbsp 

How to : 

Wash well and soak the rice and dal for around 3 to 4 hours. 

I soak it overnight. 

Grind in a mixer to a smooth paste. 

Add a little water at a time when grinding. If you add too much water in the begining, it will be difficult to make a smooth paste. 

The rice will stay as stubborn grains.

Add salt and keep it covered overnight to ferment. 

To make the pithes, take a well seasoned tawa. 

A heavy, cast iron one is best. 

If you use a non stick one, then season it well with oil and water and wipe it clean. 

Keep a clean, wet cloth at hand. 

Take the amount of batter needed in a deep bowl and add water and a little salt.
Add the grated ginger and 1 tbsp of oil.
Mix well. 

The batter should be thin but not too runny. 

 

Heat the tawa well. 

Put in a drop or two of oil and wipe it with the wet cloth. 

Heat again. 

Now pour a ladleful of batter on the tawa and slowly move it on the batter to give it a round shape.
Cover it for around a minute.
Remove cover and flip and let it cook for around a minute.
Remove from the tawa and keep in a slotted bowl, so that it does not turn soggy in its own moisture.
Wipe the tawa clean with the wet cloth before pouring in another ladleful.

The pancakes will be thin ... almost crepe like.
Do not keep them on the tawa for long as they might turn crisp.
No harm in that. But the Soru Chakli pithe is supposed to be paper like thin and soft.

They go best with an equally soft aloo ki sabzi. Or the Sada ( white ) Alur chochchori.
Very simple, very light in flavours, no masalas, not even turmeric.
This torkari is the perfect accompaniment to these light crepes or pancakes.

Sada Aloor Chorchori 

Need :

Potatoes - cut into long slices
Kalo jeere / Kalonji / Nigella seeds
Whole red chillies - broken
Black pepper powder
Oil - I use mustard oil
Salt
Water

 How to :

Heat oil in a kadahi.
Add the Kalo jeere / kalonji and the red chillies.
Let in the potato slices and stir well on high heat for around a minute.
Add enough water to submerge the potatoes.
Add salt and cover and cook till the potatoes are tender.
Check to see there is enough water in between.

When the potatoes are well cooked, add the black pepper powder and give a good stir.
Remove from heat.
This dish should have a thin gravy or the potatoes should be cooked till very very soft.
Mine looks dryish because I was busy clicking the pithes.

Most people use fresh green chillies in the tempering.
I had run out of them so used the red, whole ones.
And I'm so glad I did.
The chillies give a wonderfully smoky flavour to the potatoes and mixed with the flavour of the mustard oil and the kalonji seeds, they took the simple torkari to a different level.

We had this for our breakfast today.
And I raced against time and my painful hand to make this post.

Enjoy!!

Mooli ke Parathe / Radish stuffed flatbreads

 

 After ranting for the nth time in my last post, I was feeling pretty ashamed.

So have decided there won't be any more ranting ... 

at least not for a while.

I'll try to stay focused. 

Try ... I said.

 :-)

Winter is still around ... even if the day and night temperatures are swinging like a clock's pendulum.

And so are the beautifully fresh winter vegetables.

One of the best seasons to have different kinds of parathas and fried food,

winter becomes even more enjoyable when you have fresh vegetables to cook with.

I make all kinds of parathas during winter.

Usually for dinner.

And stuffed parathas rule.

A good stuffing encased in wholesome wheat, they turn out to be very filling.

All you need is some achar/pickle or a raita or plain ketchup.

And you are full in no time.

No spending too much time in the kitchen ... that too in this cold.

And I sometimes do not turn on the kitchen exhaust.

Love the warmth and fragrance, of parathas frying, spreading through the house,

enveloping one with a sense of coziness.

Making a house feel like a home.

In no time, I am curled up on the sofa with a plateful of hot, fried and tasty paratha.

The mooli or radish is one thing that is best enjoyed in winter.

I am not too fond of this vegetable for the usual reason ... the smell.

But lately have learnt that the smell is a lot less in baby radishes.

Earlier I used to grate and squeeze out the moisture.

But now that I get good baby radishes, there is a whole lot of moisture.

So I needed to cook it with the spices to dry it out.

And then used it as filling.

 Need :

Fresh mooli / radishes

Ajwain / carrom seeds

Haldi / turmeric

 Red chilli powder

Fresh coriander leaves, chopped

Salt

Oil to fry

Dough of atta / wheat flour
Some use cumin powder and garam masala ... I do not.

How to :

Wash and peel the mooli.

Grate.

Use a not too fine a grater. I mean it should not turn the mooli into a paste.

Make sure you use fresh radishes. If using from the fridge and they have started to dry out, cut them into pieces and soak them in water for a good while.

Now heat oil in a flat pan ... 

( do not use a kadahi if possible ... an open pan helps in drying out the moisture quicker)

Add the ajwain and the grated mooli.

Stir for a while.

Add the rest of the ingredients and keep frying till all moisture dries out.

If it has too much moisture and turns into a lump ( happened to me once) ... 

just add a spoonful of besan and keep frying.

Will dry out in no time.

Take small balls of the atta dough and stuff them with the filling and roll out round parathas.

Well .. I should just  say parathas.

For one who cannot roll out perfect round ones, I must not have too much of expectations.

You can check out the stuffing, rolling and frying of the parathas from here.

Heat a tawa or a griddle.

Fry the parathas with a little oil till both sides are browned.

And ... enjoy!

Serve hot though ... with some cold raita on the side.

Or salad. Or pickle.

I have recently been introduced to the taste of Thokku ... 

so enjoyed mine with some spicy Mango thokku on the side.

:-)

Long live winter. Just don't last too long.

Cheerio all!

Other Parathas on Kichu Khonn - 

to try out this winter

Aloo Paratha

Egg bhurji Paratha

Parathas with leftover Dal

Methi Parathas

Moong dal Parathas

Sarson ka Saag & Makke ki Roti

It surprises me that I have never made a post of this favourite meal of ours inspite of
blogging food
for so long!

Sarson ka saag means Mustard greens/leaves.
Makke di roti means flatbread made from maize flour or corn meal.

Every winter, this is one dish that becomes a regular on my table.
While this city is pathetic when it comes to
the availability of fresh greens,
winter is one time when we do get some fresh bunches of methi, palak
and sometimes the sarson.

Last year, when I had cooked this, I had clicked some snaps.
But never got 'round to making a post.
So this time, instead of making this for dinner, I made it our lunch.
So could click ... and hence this post.


I never try to make this dish ... a complete meal ... at one go.
Becomes quite overwhelming that way.
What I do is ...
work with sarson ka saag one day ...
I clean, wash, boil in water, puree it ..
and freeze it.

Work on the palak next, when I get some time.
Exactly the same way ... and freeze it.
So, on the day I decide to make this dish, all I need to do is get the purees and cook!
Easy and quick again !!

I love the coarseness in the mustard greens' paste ...
so usually add the stems along with the leaves.
If you feel that will add to the sharpness
of the sarson,
just add a little more of the palak paste.

And I never use chopped onion or garlic in this.

And the fried garlic gives it a wonderful rustic flavour.
Pair it up with butter, and this dish is something that you will want to make again and again.

If you cannot make the makke ki rotis, you can still enjoy this with plain rotis.
But then, of course, it won't be the same.

I am posting the recipe the way I make it.
I do not claim this to be the traditional way it is cooked
in the North or the Punjab.
And so I do not want any rude comments on how this is not the authentic way, etc.etc.

Makke ki Roti


Need :

Makke ka atta / Maize flour - 1½ cups
Atta / Wheat flour - ½ cup
Cooking oil - 2 tbsp
Ajwain / Carrom seeds - 1 tsp
Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
Salt - to taste
Lukewarm water - to knead
Maida / apf - to roll the rotis

How to :

Knead all the above ingredients together into a soft but firm dough.
Keep aside, covered, for around 15 minutes.

Divide the dough into medium sized balls.
Roll out slightly thickish rotis ... use dry maida to roll them.

Heat a tawa.
Cook the rotis, flipping occasionally.
Use the spatulla or a thick, folded cloth to apply slight pressure on the rotis
so that they puff up slightly.
When done, remove and apply butter on them.

Serve hot.

The Sarson ka Saag / Mustard Greens

Need :

Sarson ka saag / Mustard leaves (boiled and pureed ) - 1 big sized cupful
Palak / Spinach leaves - ( boiled and pureed ) - ½ cup
Garlic - around 10 - 12 cloves
Ginger - 1" piece
Green chillies - 2
Kasuri methi / Dried Fenigreek leaves - 1 tbsp
Salt - to taste
Sugar - to taste
Oil - 2 tbsp
Corn meal - 1 to 2 tbsp


How to :

Crush the garlic, ginger and the green chillies into a rough paste ... seperately.
( Use a mortar and pestle for this).

Heat oil in a deep kadahi.

Add the garlic and on slow flame let them turn brown.
( Do not raise the heat ... let them cook slowly. )

Add the ginger and the chillies and fry well.

Now add the pureed palak and sarson.

Add salt and sugar.
Fry well for a while.

When it starts to boil,
add the corn meal and keep stirring so that no lumps are formed.

Add the crushed kasuri methi and cook till it turns thickish.

Remove from heat.Serve hot with a dollop of butter.

Keep this dish low on salt and
add the sugar to keep it very subtly sweet.

We enjoyed this rustic meal with a few green chillies crushed with sea salt.
And raw onions.

A perfect winter meal!

Another look !

Enjoy!!

Leftovers Paratha with Onion Chutney

The days are flying by and am suddenly so busy that am falling short of both time and deadlines. There are certain things that demand time and you cannot postpone them. My work I can manage .... but other's schedules I can't.

Like my friend D's visit home from Dubai. She spent a good part of the last month here .... and I just had to be with her. So went gallivanting 'round the city for days ... not to mention a good amount of shopping too. Trying out new restaraunts and shopping for dresses can be indeed stressful ... what say? So to destress we visit more malls and eat more icecream. ;-)

Then of course there is the stressful job of designing our own clothes. ;-p
Like Ma Durga's visit to her earthly abode. I can't change her schedule too. So have to spruce up the house, plan when not to cook and when to. And what namkeens and mithais are to be made for Bijoya .... so stock up on maida, sugar, gur, coconut, etc etc .... all the stuff that comes with a festive preparation.

Like being there for our guests from abroad to make them feel at home.And also taking them shopping ... that too 'downtown ... to get that feel of the place'. Sigh.
And then hubby's shopping is another unique story. For his shopping I have to go on cajoling and pleading for days till one day, just at the start of the festivals he would graciously say yes .... and then would start the mad rush from place to place, hurried trying outs and frayed tempers. And I have to keep in mind to include Diwali shopping too .... I don't have the nerve to mention 'shopping' again in 15 days.
So amidst all this .... am going through the almost no cooking phase. There were a few leftover sabzis the other day .... so hurriedly made some parathas.

And this onion chutney is so delicious I keep it stored almost always now.

I had come across this recipe from a blog during my initial blogging days. Unfortunately I cannot remember which blog. Went through most blogs that I frequent .... found it nowhere.
So if anyone of you feel that it is your recipe .... please do let me know so that I can give your blog name and link back to it. I will be very grateful.

I do remember the blog has a white background. :-(
This chutney is not my recipe. I do it exactly the way the recipe and blog owner has done it .... so it will help you to know who it belongs to.


The Parathas :Need : Any left over sabzi / curry / dal, atta. If you want to, you can add chopped onions and green chillies.

As the sabzis usually have masalas and salt, no need to add them.

How to : Knead the atta with them to make a soft dough.

Roll out parathas and fry them till crisp.

The Onion Chutney :

Need : Chopped onions, chopped tomatoes ( a good amount) , some curry leaves, whole dried red chillies, a few garlic cloves, a little cumin seeds / jeera, a little cooking oil, a pinch of sugar and salt to taste.

How to : Heat a little oil in a kadhai. Add the red chillies.

Add the chopped onions & garlic and fry till translucent and lose the strong smell.

Add the tomatoes , curry leaves, jeera, salt and sugar.

Fry till soft and watery.

Remove and cool. Grind in a mixer coarsely.

This chutney tastes great! .... which is why I want to know the blog I got this from ... the recipe owner deserves the credit.
See you all after Dussera. Wish everybody a great time this Navaratri and happy Dussera !!!


And Subho Bijoya in advance to all !! :-)

Egg Bhurji stuffed Paratha

Eggs are my favourite ... cooked any way ... poached, boiled, soft boiled ... but my fav is scrambled, with milk and slightly sweet with a dash of black pepper.... reminds me of very cold winter mornings at home. Better if sandwiched in toasted bread. Hubby can eat eggs only if made into a bhurji ... cooked and battered and spiced to the point of turning it into a sabzi. :-(

So I make the bhurjis at home ... and as usual do not leave a chance to dunk in some veggies. And on principle do not add haldi/mirchi/garam masala. I love the white, fluffy eggie(?) part of the bhurji ... and also the lovely bright coloured veggies.



It was the first day of the weekend and that means eating out for two whole days. I had some kneaded atta in the fridge that I did not want to waste ... besides which I decided that if we have a really heavy breakfast, at least we can skip eating lunch out.

So made egg bhurji stuffed parathas. They actually tasted great. And the pics looked so nice that I uploaded every snap. :-)

Need :

2 eggs beaten,
1 small onion chopped,
1 green chilli chopped,
veggies of you choice( I used finely chopped carrots and tomatoes and some green peas,
salt to taste
1 tsp cooking oil.
And of course kneaded atta.

How to :

Heat oil.

Add the onions and the chillies.

Fry for a little while.

Then add the veggies and salt.
Cook till the veggies are done (but should not be brown and limp).

Now add the beaten egg and keep stirring till lumps form. Keep stirring till they break into smaller lumps and the whole thing looks about done.
Keep aside to cool.

Roll out a roti from the atta and place 2 spoonfulls of the egg mixture and fold over from both sides.
Very carefully roll out just a little, using enough dry atta.
The point is to keep the paratha from opening up.



Heat a tawa and fry parathas with a little oil till brown and crisp on both sides.



Serve hot with ketchup.