Dal Baati Churma Thali or Rajasthani Thali ...... a full meal of delectable vegetarian food

I have been getting a lot of requests to post full meal plans on the blog. 
While I do post my daily meals regularly on Instagram as well as on my FaceBook page, I have not been regular in posting here because of the lack of time. 
To post here, I will need to be armed with complete details of the food. 
How, when, why, and then the full recipe. 
Which makes it easier for me to ignore. 

But the guilt overwhelms. 

I started off with the blog first, after all. 
So no matter how difficult it might be, I will try to post my full meal plates henceforth. 

Starting off with the much loved, glamorous Dal, Baati Churma thali that I cooked for B on his birthday last month. 
I make dal baati meals regularly at home ..... it is a huge relief getting a break from rolling out and cooking rotis. 
I just make the dough and set them in the oven to cook. 
Saves loads of time. 

On my plate here is - 

Gatte ki shukhi sabzi 

Cook the Gatte by following the recipe here. 

Cut them up into medium pieces. 
Temper ghee with jeera, hing and add the gatta pieces. 
Toss with turmeric powder, red chilli powder, amchur powder and salt, till all the spices coat the gattas well and everything comes together. 

Chatpata Kaddu / Spicy Pumpkin sabzi : 

This is a family favourite.
Fresh sweet pumpkin pieces cooked with dry spices to make it spicy and tangy.
You will find the recipe here. 

Aloo bhindi ki sabzi : 

Temper oil ( I use ghee ) with jeera + hing + ajwain and add sliced potatoes. 

Stir fry on high, add turmeric powder and red chilli powder and salt. 

Add cut okra pieces and cover and  cook till everything is done. 

Add some dhania powder, mix well. 

Gulab Jamun : 

You will find the recipe here. 

Jeera Rice : 

Heat ghee in a heavy kadahi. 
Add a big dose of jeera ... more than you would add to a sabzi .... and black cardamom. 
Add sliced onions and fry them on low heat till almost brown. 
Add washed and soaked rice, salt and fry for around 5 minutes. 
Add water, cover and cook till the rice is just done. 

Churma : 

You will find the recipe here. 

Makke ka Dhokla :  

You will find the recipe here.  

Another look. 

 How to serve Dal baat : 

Pour the dal into a serving bowl. 
Break a couple of baatis on it. 
Top with a dollop of ghee. 

Enjoy!! 

 

Narkel Kumro / Pumpkin with Coconut

I am dead tired these days. The house is perpetually filled with people.
A hectic birthday .... that did nothing more than remind me that I am aging ... a fact that has long been affirmed by the mirror that reflected the shiny strands with much impudence ... and then rejoiced at my inability to indulge in my only poison ... a Black forest cake.
I do not mind a luchi and mangsho menu. But a birthday without a Black forest cake is no birthday at all.
And no ... a Chinese dinner at the Hyatt did not console me.

I am not very forgiving ... and have resolved to make it up to myself in every possible way .... one day.
One day when I have a whole day to myself, when I can cook only for myself, listen only to Jagjit Singh and not someone screaming "Aaj blue hai pani pani pani".
One day when I will have my house back to myself, my favourite chair at my favourite place, the rugs not trampled upon, the beds do not look like being walked over by a thousand elephants.
One day. Surely.
I live in hope.

Until then I will take some time out for myself to make some quick blog posts.
After all, I need to breathe too.

Most times, the food that I cook is from memories. Rather, for memories.
Most times, I try to recreate a dish that I might have tasted somewhere and liked.
Given our numerous travels as well as our hunt for good quality food, I often come across that one dish or snack or street food that I want to hold on to .... its taste, its flavours and the memories along with it.

Like the plain Ghugni that we had at Konark, the Ramrochak tarkari of Jagannath, the prasadwali Khichdi that we had at a temple, the Dal Bati from our Rajasthan trips, the Jailsalmeri chana at Jaisalmer, ... the list goes on and on.

And then there is the nostalgia of holding on to the memories of food cooked by my loved ones ... Thamma, Kakima, Jethima, Boro Ma .... and many more.  My blog is full of them.

It was this same nostalgia and craving that made me cook this simple dish that I had at the Jagannath temple at Puri once. It came along with the Abhada Bhoga / prasad . And like every dish from the prasad, it was heavenly.
Lightly sweet, it had the flavour of ghee and a light pungency of mustard paste.
Very very simple, I had fallen in love with it that very day.
And have made it again and again at home .... mostly as an accompaniment to Khichuri or Luchi.

This time, when I made it, I decided to click some pictures and make a post after all.

Need : 

Pumpkin - grated, 1 big cupful
Coconut - grated, 5 tbsp (more if you like) ( Fresher the coconut, better the taste )
Mustard paste - 1 tsp
( I use the yellow mustard seeds that are not too strong; make sure you soak them well before making the paste.
Also I do not add salt or green chillies when grinding them. )
Ginger - grated, 1 tsp
Jeera / Cumin seeds - ¼ tsp
Haldi / Turmeric powder - ½ tsp 
Whole dry red chilli  - 1, broken
Cooking oil - 1 tsp
Ghee - 1 tsp
Salt - to taste
Sugar - to taste ( for Jagannath prasad, they use jaggery)

How to :

Heat the oil and the ghee in a heavy bottomed kadahi or pan.

Add the jeera.
When it starts to splutter, add the broken red chillies.
Add the grated ginger and the haldi powder.
Fry for a while, but not for too long.
Just give a few stirs and add the pumpkin.

Stir well and add the coconut.

Fry well.
Add salt and cover.

Cook till the pumpkin is done, but there is still some moisture left.
Remove cover and add the mustard paste and sugar.
Stir well and cover.
Cook for five more minutes.

Remove cover and wait till all moisture dries up.
The whole thing will turn into mush.

Serve hot with a little more sprinkle of ghee, if you want to.

This is great with Luchis, Parathas or Khichuri.
At the Jagannath temple, this is served with rice though. Or Khichdi.

Enjoy!!

Aloo Kumror Chechki / Stir fried Potatoes and Pumpkins

It has only been 10 days since my last post and yet I feel like it has been ages.
The reason lies in the fact that I was away on a short vacation.
I was in a new place,with  new people, new surroundings, discovering new things, eating local food and listening to local language.
I was in the land of Sarson da saag te Makke di roti.
I was in the land of tandoori chicken and  lassi and kulfi and samoses.
I was in the land of exquisite phulkari works and carpets.
I was in the land of kind, happy and jovial, large hearted people.

I was in Amritsar, Punjab.

And now I am back to my old city and home. To my routine life.
To my kitchen.
It has been simple food at home now for the past few days ... after all that gorgeous, butter laden Punjabi dishes. The night we reached home, it was very late. And yet we did not even think of ordering from a restaurant. I had put in some rice and potatoes with plenty of water and a pinch of salt on the stove. And by the time we had freshened up, steaming hot fyana bhaat, every Bengali's ultimate comfort food, was ready.
A good sprinkle of ghee and the potatoes mashed up with a healthy dose of raw mustard oil + chopped onions + chopped green chillies, into a perfect  Aloo bhate and we had a very satisfying and  soothing meal.
Nothing can beat such soul warming comfort food.
The perfect thing to come home to at the end of a vacation.

After returning, just as much as I was caught up with straightening the house and the kitchen, I was equally busy in editing a big number of photos to be able to share with my friends on FB.
At the same time, I had to make some posts on my travel blog too ... before I forgot the smaller details of my trip.
So got down to make a quick post there ... one post done and two more coming up.
And before I get caught up with those two posts and the rigmarole of editing and arranging photographs, writing down the details and then editing the post again, I though I'd make a quick post here on Kichu Khonn too.

So here is a quick vegetable stir fry, tempered with Kalo jeere / Nigella seeds and fried in Mustard oil.
A bhaja. A chechki. A chenchki. You can call it anything.
No overwhelming masalas. Nothing spicy.
Just the natural flavours of the vegetables, the sweetness of the Pumpkin with the hint of the nigella seeds and green chillies coming through.
Tastes simple. Tastes good.

Need :
Pumpkin - around ¼ kg
Potatoes - 2 medium or 1 big sized
Onion - 1 big sized
Fresh green chilli - 2
Mustard oil - 1 tbsp
Haldi / Turmeric powder - a little
Red chilli powder - a little ( optional )
Salt - to taste

How to :

Wash the pumpkin.
Using a knife, peel it but not completely ... leave some of the skin on ... like so.

Cut it into thick, longish slices.
Cut the potatoes in the same way ... thick and longish.
Slice the onions.

Heat mustard oil in a kadahi / wok.
Let in the nigella seeds and the green chillies.
Then let in the onions and fry till the raw smell goes away.

Then raise the heat and add the potatoes.
Give a good stir, lower heat and add the turmeric powder and salt.
Cover and cook till the potatoes are half or almost done.

Remember to stir once in a while.

Remove cover and add the pumpkins, cover and cook till all the vegetables are done.

Remove cover and stir the vegetables on high heat for a while.
Remove from heat and serve hot.

This bhaja  or fry is a dry preparation .... so water is added during cooking.
If you have a batch of stubborn potatoes that take time to cook, make sure you cook them on low heat till well cooked and then add the pumpkin pieces.

The pumpkin pieces will release water and so eventually the dish will turn moist while cooking. Do remember to dry it up by removing the cover and cooking on high heat for a little while before serving.
Do remember to keep an eye on it while on high heat ... we want the vegetables to caramalise a little and turn brown .... definitely not burnt. :-)

The pumpkins impart a natural sweetness to this bhaja.

It  goes great with rotis, parathas or luchis.
It is great as a side too ... with dal and rice. Makes for a perfect comfort meal.

Enjoy!!

Crispy Kumro / Crispy fried Pumpkin slices

 It rained last night.

Washing away all the dirt, the hurt, the pains.

Washing away all the nooks and corners of life, of our days, of our hearts.

Blissful rain.

On a parched soul. A tired soul.

A soul that soaked up the cool and the soothing spray with much thirst.

And when it swiped an already wet cheek with a much wet palm of air, the soul found a resting moment.

It had been a long, tired day.

With some hurt sprinkled on.

So the rain brought a sense of calm. A sense of peace.

And I found solitude ... after the longest time.

In the quiet of the night, I found my thoughts back.

Had been flowing along aimlessly too much these days.

Letting people and life take me along.

Where ever they went.

Tonight ... in the soothing sound of the pouring rains ... I found my thoughts back.

 Have been bobbing on the waves of life a little too much recently.

No directions, no path ways.

Do not know what I have been waiting for all these days.

Trying to settle in ... in life ... is way too difficult.

Especially after change.

So realised a little too late.

But that is what life is all about.

Lulls you into a sense of familiarity ... a sense of belonging.
And then ... wham!

Wakes you with a jolt .... calling you 'worthless!'.

'Go make a name, do something!'.

That is life.

But my jolt was a cushioned one.

On a cooling, rain soaked night.

So here I am ... ready to face another day ...

but this time with solitude.

A solitary soul on a solitary path. :-)

 These crispy fried pumpkin slices are the tastiest in the list of simple foods.

Fried here is healthy fried.

Like a sprinkle of oil on a tawa.

Flip these around a couple of times and you have the crispiest slices that have a natural sweetness of the pumpkin inside.

Coating vegetables with rice flour, instead of besan, is common in Orissa.
It is know as pithau bhaja there.

That way, they stay crisp longer. Even after they have cooled down.

Need :

Pumpkin - thinly sliced

Rice flour - enough to coat the slices

Salt - a little

Oil - to fry ( I used mustard oil )

How to :

Mix everything together, except the oil.

Heat a flat tawa and smear it well with a little oil.

Use very little ... the pumpkin slices will release back the oil after they are fried.

Place the slices on the tawa and cover.

When one side has lightly browned, flip them over and cook the other side too.

Serve hot.

Great on the side of any meal.

Or on their own with a hot cuppa, on a rain soaked evening.

Enjoy!!

Another great crispy fried vegetable is my
Crispy fried Parwal / the Pointed gourd

Kumror Chokka / Pumpkin with Potatoes

( Vegans can skip the ghee. )

Too many things on my mind these days ... and too many things to get done.
So in no mood to ramble ... yeah, can hear that sigh of relief from you guys. :-)
So straight to my recipe today.

But before that can't resist mentioning that I did get the first Ilish or Hilsa of the season
and had a great leisurely lunch last afternoon ...
... read had enough time on my hands to sit back and
pick through the fine bones
and munch on some great Ilish maach bhaja ...
and lick my plate clean while savouring the Ilish maacher ambol.

Also made some Chorchori with the maatha and
my very own home grown pui ...
yes I did chop off a few stems and leaves.
Was great! :-)

Still have a few pieces left ... am trying out all my Ilish recipes that I posted last year.

Today's recipe is a simple veggie dish that I make very often.

This is my way of making the Kumro (pumpkin) r Chokka or Kumror Chakka ...
... fuss free and not too much of spices.
I do not know why it is known by this name ... so do not ask me.

I like to throw in some kala chana / bengal gram ... so soak a few if am planning to do this dish.
If you are making it impromptu and do not have them ... no problem at all.

And this is one of those rare Bengali dishes in which I use Hing ... am not too fond of the thing ... so usually use it only in the Rajasthani dishes.

But it does give a wonderful flavour to this otherwise simple dish.

You can use coriander and jeera powder with this too ...
I did not.
And I did not use the bay leaf / tej patta to as I had
run out of it.

Need :

Kumro / Kaddu / Pumpkin - cut into medium biggish cubes
Potatoes - cut into a little smaller size than the pumpkin
( can use boiled ones too )
Kala chana / Whole Bengal gram - soaked overnight
( better if you can boil them with a pinch of salt ... just run it in the MW at 60% for 10 mins )
Whole Jeera / Cumin seeds
Grated or paste of fresh ginger
Haldi / Turmeric powder
Hing / Asafeotida
Whole dry red chillies
Oil to cook ( I use mustard oil )
Salt to taste
Ghee

How to :

Heat oil in a deep kadahi / wok.

Add the jeera, hing and the dry red chillies.

Add the ginger paste and stir for just a little while.

Add the potatoes and stir well ... till the sides turn brownish.

Now add the pumpkin, haldi and salt.

Cover and cook till the vegetables are well done.
If needed add a little water so they do not burn.

When the vegetables are done, remove cover and throw in the boiled kala chana.

Give a good stir to mix everything well.

Cover for some more time ( take care not to burn ).

Serve hot.
Top it with a little ghee just before serving.

This dish should be slightly mushy, which the pumpkin will turn to anyway and will get the natural sweetness of the pumpkin.

Goes great with luchi/puri, rotis or parathas.
Or even with dal and rice too.

If you do want some spices in it, you can sprinkle some garam masala or roasted jeera powder on the top before serving.

Enjoy !!

Chorchori / Mixed vegetables cooked the Bengali way

Ok ... this is a hurried post. And am posting this very common traditional Bengali dish in the absence of anything better ... haven't really got the time to click my dishes these days. They go straight from the kitchen to the waiting plates and get devoured.

Chorchori or charchari is a great way to use up leftover vegetables from the fridge ( at least I do so). But it tastes great with fresh vegetables though .... no two ways about it. Once upon a time I would not touch a chorchori if it did not have fish. But now I have come to love the flavours of different vegetables fused together.

I sometimes use Boris / bodi / vadi in it ... and even though I love chorchori made of the Pui / Pohi saag ... have to use the Palak / Spinach as I do not get Pui here. Many people use a little ginger paste in it ... I do not.

Check out Sandeepa's blog for some great writeup on the Charchari.


Need : Palak / Spinach leaves ( I use the stems too ) cleaned and chopped,
chopped onion [ optional ] , diced vegetables like the potato, pumpkin, brinjal, any kind of string beans, sweet potato, potol / parwal ... basically any vegetable you have will do,
paanch phoron, dry red chillies, haldi / turmeric powder, a little cooking oil ( I prefer mustard oil ) and salt to taste.

How to : Heat a little cooking oil in a karahi / wok. Add the paanch phoron and the chillies.

Then add the vegetables and stir well.

Add the haldi / turmeric powder and salt ... remember .... palak is salty ... so add the salt accordingly.

Cover and cook till the vegetables are done. The vegetables will release a lot of water ... so no need to add any.

Remove cover. If using fried boris / bodi / vadi , add them now. Simmer till all water dries up.


I like my chorchori slightly sweetish ... so sometimes add a pinch of sugar too. But if the pumpkin is very fresh and good , it does impart some sweetness that makes the use of sugar unnecessary.

Goes great with hot rice and dal .... makes a simple plateful. :-)

I might get a little irregular with my posting .... but will try to blog hop and check out all your lovelies being dished out.

Take care all !

Chatpata Kaddu / Spicy Pumpkin

The most lovable of all gods ... our golu-molu Ganpati Bappa is here. :-) The day has already started with a festive note ... the rains have abated and the day is bright and clear. The notes of Ganpati bhajans are already wafting in the air ... a few lines from this side merge with a few others from other sides.

And it won't be long before the strains of "Sukhakarta Dukkhaharta ..." will fill the air twice a day ... for ten whole days.

For me it is doubly exciting as Durga puja is just around the corner. :-)

So decided to post something veggie ... inspite of a whole lot of non-veg recipes are lined up in the waiting line.

This kaddu ki sabzi is from hubby's side and I learnt it from my sis-in-law. The novelty of this is the beautiful fragrance that the methi seeds combined with hing give it.

Need : Pumpkin cut into slightly big pieces, with the skin on,
methi seeds,
a pinch of hing,
amchur powder ( just enough to give a tangy taste) ,
dhania powder,
red chilli powder,
haldi powder,
 whole green chillies,
salt to taste and a little cooking oil.

How to :

Heat oil.

Add the methi seeds and wait for sometime ... do not brown them ... just long enough for the oil to soak up the flavour. 

Now add the green chillies and hing. Add the pumpkin pieces and fry for some time. Add haldi powder and salt and cover. 

Cook till the pumkin is completely done .... it will leave a lot of water. 

Remove cover and add the red chilli powder, dhania powder and amchur powder. 

Keep tossing till the spices blend in well and all water dries up. 

Serve hot with rotis / parathas. 

May the good Vighnaharta keep all 'vighna' and troubles away from everybody's life. :-)