Upvaas special danyachi amti...

I don't keep regular fasts; it's impossible for me to spend entire days eating nothing... More importantly,on the fast day.. you have to continuously watch yourself before popping anything in your mouth. That's so difficult. Open the cabinet, see the pack of chips, stuff some in your mouth. There goes your fast down the drain. Last year, I did something very bad. I was fasting for ganesh chaturthi and had spent the entire day on fruits... I met my best friend in the evening and enjoyed a plate of bhel with her:((. I had completely forgotten that I was fasting. Oh God, forgive me! So, it's more from the fear of breaking fasts that I don't do many.

However, there are a couple of fasts that I keep and abide by. There have been a couple of additions to the list since I got married. Last Saturday was Mahashivratri. On this very day we worship shiva-almighty,seek his blessings by visiting his temple...worship him by offering fruits..pray him by standing in long queue in rain but this happens only in India..In US it was not raining being summer, we just visited hindu temple of kentucky and worshipped god..This day also calls for a full-day fast. Now, I consider fasts as an excellent oppurtunity to eat my favorite items such as sabudana khichadi,sabudana vada,ratalyacha khees.On this day, I made sabudana khichadi,kakadichi koshimbir,varyache tandul and my favorite curry - Danyachi Amti. It is my favourite curry since childhood...I used to love danyachi amti prepared by my mom...Yesterday I missed her a lot when I prepared this...I wished I was in India with her and enjoying delicious amti prepared by her with her sweet hands.. I remember my colleagues complimenting its taste and uniqueness whenever I carried it in my lunch box.The curry is a Maharashtrain upvaas special...Here we go with the recipe...

UPVAAS SPECIAL DANYACHI AMTI

Serves: 2

Preparation time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

1 cup roasted and grounded peanut powder

1 cup water

Salt to taste

1/8 tsp tamarind pulp

3 green chillies chopped fine

1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 cup washed coriander leaves(optional)
few slices of potato or sweet potato
a pinch of hing
1 tsp of jeera
1 tsp ghee

Method:
Combine all the ingredients in a blender or grinder and blend till smooth. Heat a pan on medium flame. Transfer the curry to the pan and boil for 5-6 minutes. Stir frequently.To it add slices of cooked potato or sweet potato.

For the tempering:

Heat another pan and add 1 tsp ghee to it. Next, add 1 tsp cumin seeds and a pinch of asafoetida or hing. When the cumin seeds splutter, add this tempering to the above curry and mix well.

Serve hot with sabudana khichadi or varyache tandul.

Note:Coriander leaves are optional.It gives amazing color to recipe but some people do not eat coriander leaves on fast day so it totally depends on you whether to include it or not.My mother in law prefers it while my mom does not.So as per your family rituals you can use it or not for upvaas.

This is my contribution to WTML guest hosted by kalyani and wonderful event by Gayathri....

Solkadhi....Kokani cuisine

Special occasions call for really special treats, don't they?..Its very very true that Certain occasions and festivals remind us of certain dishes and tastes..Our marriage reminds us of angur malai, my sis engagement reminds us of mango shrikhand and list continues...


SolKadhi-a pink colored appetizer drink made from the kokam fruit and Coconut Milk reminds me of my best friends marriage where I tried it for the first time..and really felt in love with it! Once you try it, Iam sure you’ll be hooked to this unique Indian drink recipe.

I have observed that every marriage that happens in pune is incomplete without this solkadhi...Really puneites are fond and blessed with this!

Day before yesterday my husband was so very happy that he got all the raw material from patel brothers and instructed me to prepare the same...He only haunted for recipe on net and came out with this one...He was so very excited to gulp it sooner that within no time he made maximum preparations and started with the recipe.

And when we tasted end product..amazing... it came out really fabulous...We thought we never attempted making solkadhi at pune and here we just made it easily!..Our joy knew no bounds...literally felt like great achievement...


Believe me it is very simple...and tastiest appetizer we ever tasted!..Looking at the kadhi only will make you refreshing...Indeed it is light, rejuvenating and divine in taste...It is a cooling drink with a light coconut base and a hint of kokum...made from dried outer rind of the kokum fruit, solkadhi is a very popular Konkani drink.Tangy with a hint of sweetness (from the coconut milk), its delicate flavour and what it does to the palate is very tough to describe in words.....this is something you need to drink to really appreciate.... Traditionally, it is served as an appetizer before meals, or as a digestive after a particularly heavy meal- no matter when you choose to have it, one thing is certain - the delicately tangy flavour of solkadhi will leave you craving for more!

This Summer Special SolKadhi is really made with heart and soul..And so, to me, this is absolute "soul" kadhi!!..It is a common dish across konkan belt in Maharashtra so also it is famous as malvani cuisine also!

You can enjoy it with steamed rice.It tastes awesome with moong dal khichadi too...So also it helps in food digestion. People also drink solkadhi after heavy food.

Yesterday when we had Solkadhi after our dinner we were literally in heaven...just fantabulous.

SolKadhi is also referred to Kokam curry... Kokam,also called as Garcinia Indica in scientific term,is dark purple or black in color...which is available readily at any indian store.

Kokam has great properties which is why it is beneficial for health. It is used for treating skin rashes, indigestion. It has cooling properties. In Ayurveda Kokam also controls pitta level in our body...so I suggest you to try this as it is very useful for our body...

Don’t just read this make it! I promise You will love this SolKadhi.I love the color, aroma and texture of Sol Kadhi. There are some more version of SolKadhi you can prepare it with tempering which is referred as saar in marathi or you can enjoy it without tempering...We just love the second version of it!

Now here we go with the recipe!

SOLKADHI

Ingredients:
Kokum - 8-10 petals, soaked in warm water for about 1 hour
Coconut milk - 200 ml,say entire tin that you will get in indian store
If you are going to use homemade coconut milk then you need entire coconut-extract milk from entire coconut.
Garlic - 2 cloves
Green chillies - 2
Salt - to taste (rock saltis mostly prefered)
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp, roasted and pound to a coarse powder
coriander leaves - for garnishing
Ghee-2 tsp(optional)
a generous pinch of hing/asfoetida
cumin seeds-1 tsp

Method:
1.Pound garlic and chillies finely together in mixie,add it to the coconut milk.
2.Strain the juice of the kokum or else you can grind kokum in mixie or blender,pass it through sieve..and then mix it to the coconut milk.
3.Season with rock salt and hing... Chill, garnish with coriander leaves and a pinch of the cumin seed powder and sip.
4.You can also opt for tempering prepared from ghee,hing and cumin seeds and pour it on solkadhi to enjoy it as saar with khichadi or plain rice...

Note for reference : Do check the balance of flavours - sol kadhi is not overwhelmingly sour, it has just that little hint of tanginess; it is not very coconutty either, so do keep that in mind when mixing the two.

This is my entry to cool summer sips, hosted by Jyoti...

Jump' N Jive @ Icypritz, hosted by preeti...

SHOWCASE- Fun in the Sun, a wonderful event started by Divya...

Cottage Cheese in Spinach Gravy.....

We seem to have purchased some kind of magical spinach from the SAMS store. I used it twice to make vegetables like patal bhaji/curry...I tried palak pakoras,made palak parathas.. still it hasn’t got over. It’s as if everytime I keep it in the fridge, it increases in quantity. Now, I am a big palak fan. But, I can’t eat it everyday. Then, there’s the dread that if I neglect it, it will wilt and die. Yesterday, in another futile event to use up the spinach, I made palak paneer. It turned out very good, but the mission remained unaccomplished.

As my entry for Spotlight:Curries/Gravies...hosted by Chandrani and Indrani.. I am sending this curry / vegetable / gravy that’s a beautiful medley to two of my favorite foods. Palak and Paneer join hands to create Palak Paneer....

This recipe has been adapted from sanjeev kapoor khazana..a youtube video...Believe me it tasted perfect as in restaurant...My hubby said "Now no need to order palak paneer in restaurant as you have mastered in it" Thanks for the video....

Here we go with its preparation...This can be also referred as spinach delight, palak bahar etc.

COTTAGE CHEESE IN SPINACH GRAVY

Ingredients:

2/3 tbsp of Oil

1 tsp cumin seeds

20-30 Garlic pods

4/5 green chillies

2 medium onions chopped giving straight cut like one which we chop for bhaji's

1/2 cup curd or dahi and 1/2 cup whipped cream

1 tbsp of coriander powder

1/2 tsp of turmeric powder

salt as per your taste

black salt if available a generous pinch

250 gms of paneer cubed one...

2 big cups of boiled spinach

1 big tbsp of coriander leaves paste

1/2 lemon's juice

Method:

1.Boil palak or else deep leaves in boiling water for 2 mins and immediately rinse palak under cold running water.This method is called refreshing of palak.This helps retaining of green color of palak.

2.Now place this in blender or grinder and make its smooth paste.

3.Also make paste of coriander leaves and keep aside.

4.Now heat oil in pan,add cumin seeds,allow it to turn bit brown then add finely chopped garlic pieces.Dont make paste of garlic.

5.Add finely chopped green chilles and saute it for few seconds.

6.Now add chopped onion strings and fry till it becomes translucent meaning lose their original structure and become crunchy fussy and golden brown.

7.Add 1/2 cup curd and mix it nicely.

8.Now start adding spices to it...say coriander powder,turmeric powder and salt as per your requirement.

Black salt enhances taste so try adding it.Allow it to simmer on low flame

9.Meanwhile cut paneer in to desired cubes.

10.Add spinach puree followed by coriander leaves paste.

11.Mix it thoroughly and add paneer cubes to it.

12.On top of it add lemon juice which helps in digestion a lot.

13.Garnish with whipped cream and grated paneer .

Your palak paneer is ready to serve with either naan.fulka, plain paratha, Malaysian paratha or kulcha

Note:Serve hot.Addition of coriander paste makes this recipe different from other one!

Add chopped garlic pods which enhances taste..add it in greater quantity it tastes awesome,,,dont grind it in mixie...addition of black salt makes it unique...so also try adding lemon juice at the end in all green leafy veggies including salad...it not only tastes better but aids in digestion...some believe that addition of acid to greens makes it unacceptable for consumption but believe me it is not so!

Paneer Makhanwala.....

Of all the letters in A-Z, “P” happens to be my one of the favorite letter. The reason–is that it is such a versatile letter that I thought of many, many dishes starting with P which are loved and liked by me and my hubby both! Pani-puri, pav-bhaji, Pizza, Pasta, Paneer, Papad, Pakoda, Paratha, Pulao, Pohe, Palak, Puran-poli, Peas, Paan and the list goes on...

Among all... Paneer is just unavoidable! We both love this paneer Makhanwala so very much that we can eat this almost every day, but last saturday, our cravings were at a peak-time high as there was light rain outside. Everyone knows I just love Paneer Recipes, and that time I decided to make our all time favourite... eternal one Paneer Makhanwala, that velvetty-smooth gravy that has all the goodness of indian spices combined with cubes of cottage cheese and garnished with cream and coriander! 

So also there are variety of Health benefits of Paneer as follows:

1.Paneer is a good source of calcium, which helps build strong bones and teeth, and also prevents osteoporosis. Cheese provides 25% of the calcium in the food supply.

2.Paneer in moderation, is associated with lower body weight as well as reduced risk of developing insulin resistance syndrome.

3.Paneer is a good source of protein and it reduces cancer risk.

4.Paneer can prevent stomach disorders and even help with your bones as you get older, especially in women.

5.It also helps in lower, back and joint pain.

So you can enjoy it anytime...

First we will start with ...How to make paneer?

Paneer is quite easy to make at home. Bring 2 litres of fresh whole milk to the boil. Add 2 table spoons of vinegar or lemon juice or curd and stir well. Put aside. After the milk has curdled, wrap it in a clean muslin cloth or cotton cloth, rinse with fresh water and drain well. Form a ball and place it under a heavy saucepan for approx. 20 minutes. 200 g of your paneer is ready.

Now do I have your attention??! Paneer Makhanwala is similar to other paneer gravies, except that as the name implies, it is more rich due to butter and the gravy is thickened by using onions, tomatoes and cashew paste rather than just cream. You cannot go wrong with this, try it for yourself and see!

Believe me, paneer is such a versatile ingredient in Indian cooking, you could make an entire meal using just this, right from appetizers to main course to dessert!

Again Paneer Makhanwala is popular punjabi gravy based dish made from butter and fresh cream..so taking an oppurtunity to affiliate this to Spotlight:"Curries/Gravies" hosted by Chandrani. and event by indrani...

Great efforts and good idea..Loved it!

I have made bit changes to this recipe...traditionally onions and peas are not used but I have used along with dahi and cashews...Taste this recipe...Iam sure all paneer lovers will go mad!

I would be the happiest person in this world if they will paneer as the next secret ingredient for Iron Chef!:) Till then, try this mouth-watering recipe (adapted from harpal singh's youtube) at home and enjoy its taste as it lingers on your tongue and your senses!

PANEER MAKHANWALA

First we will have a look at ingredients for onion-cashew paste:

1 tsp oil
1 tsp butter
2 medium onions finely chopped
8 cashewnuts
water if required
1 tbsp of curd

Then ingredients for Gravy:
1 tbsp of oil
1 tbsp of butter
250 gms of cubed paneer
2 tsp of ginger garlic paste
1/2 cup cooked or boiled peas
1/2 tsp of green chilly paste
1 cup of tomato puree
1/2 cup of above prepared onion-cashew paste
1 tsp of red chilly powder
1/2 tsp of turmeric powder
1 tsp of garam masala( homemade or of kepra)
salt as per your taste
1 tsp of kasoori methi
1 tbsp of honey
1 cup fresh heavy whipped cream.

For Garnishing:
Chopped coriander leaves
Fresh cream
Crumbled paneer

Procedure:
To make onion-cashew paste:
1.Heat Oil +butter in pan.
2.Add chopped onions and fry it till golden brown.
3.Now add cashews and saute for 2 mins.
4.Allow the mixture to cool and then add curd to it.
5.Now blend it in mixer or grinder and make its smooth paste.
6.Add water if required and Keep it aside.It is used later on in gravy.

To make asli Gravy...yummy and magical paneer makhanwala!
1.Again heat oil+butter in pan.
2.Add ginger garlic paste+green chilly paste and saute it for few mins.
3.Now add tomato puree.Cook till oil starts releasing from gravy.
4.Now add above made onion-cashew paste and cook for 2-3 mins.
5.Then add red chilly powder,turmeric,garam masala,salt and honey.
6.Crush kasoori methi a bit by using belan or simply pressing by your palms and mix it well in the gravy.
7.Now its time to add fresh cream and simmer it on medium flame for 2 mins.
8.Now add paneer cubes followed by boiled green peas.
9.Cover and cook till paneer is soaked nicely in gravy and becomes soft on low flame for 8-10 mins.
10.Transfer it to serving dish.
11.Garnish it with fresh coriander leaves,crumbled paneer and drizzle fresh cream on it.
12.Serve hot with indian breads like roti,naan,plain paratha or kulcha...and enjoy!

Note:
1.To make paneer soft before adding allow it to soak in warm water for few mins.
2.If using homemade paneer no worries....It is soft one only...
3.You can increase or decrease the spice level as per your likes and dislikes...but using these all ingredients in mentioned quantities only, your gravy is going to be nice...Trust me you will surely desire to make it "n" number of times..
4.You can also make use of sour cream or milk powder that you will get in market...

Hope you will surely try this mouthwatering recipe....Enjoy it to full extent as we did on rainy day!

Kerala Moru Curry...

Happy B'day to the cooking doctor!

This one’s for you Jehanne.. as you celebrate your blog's b'day. Since the time I have seen your blog, I have admired it for the plethora of recipes and the superb photographs.

Many thanks for this lovely theme of Kerala . Most of us (including me) likes South-Indian dishes a lot. But when it comes to competition or event.. idlis,dosas,appums,imli curries these very common ones should be avoided and something different should be made..so also when I saw kerala cuisine I remembered our honeymoon trip to Munnar...there we ate puttu...

As I remembered those exciting golden days...I informed my hubby that I would surely like to participate in this wonderful event...

Thus I started haunting for recipe as I could think only common recipes...and I wanted to learn and cook something different..

All the while I was thinking that maybe there’s something popular that I am not remembering right now but will remember later. I waited for a few days, hoping for a miracle to happen but.. Alas, nothing did.....
I also tried the following options:-
1.Ate my hubby’s head to come up with something that we tried during our trip but alas he suggested same options idlis and dosas…
2.Also asked my mother-in-law...I thought she would surely suggest one as she is south indian but Again, no positive outcome as she knows karnataka cuisine well.
3.Searched for good one from cookery books but found nothing suitable.
4.Google search showed some positive results...there I came to know that there are many yummy recipes which are worth trying...but I was unable to choose good one as majority of them were non-veg recipes which I didnt wanted...so it was again disappointing for me.
5.Then I thought of cheating and renaming some dish, but again couldn't think of any:(
6.Finally my mom suggested me with brilliant idea...that you can ask your school's best friend S who is from kerala.Her mom would surely provide you with one...

I remembered ohh la la those amazing days ..Everytime when we were done with our exams we used to visit her house.Her mom used to cook various delicacies from kerala..we simply used to admire and enjoy those..I decided this weekend I would call her and ask for some good recipe and would jot it down.But the sad part was that her mom could hardly speak and understand Hindi or English and Marathi toh was out of question...So we set about my interview by me asking my friend questions in Hindi, she translating to her mom in Mallu, her mom replying back in Malyalam, and S translating back in Hindi. Meanwhile, I was furiously scribbling all this information in my notebook for fear of forgetting it. Here's what I learned about kerala cuisine from them...

Me:I explained my friend about my participation in the event...and asked her initially...What kind of dishes are famous in kerala cuisine?
S:Kerala cuisine has a multitude of both vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes prepared using fish, poultry and meat.

Me:What kind of spices are generally used?
S: The main spices used are cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, green and red peppers, cloves, garlic, cumin seeds, coriander, turmeric, and so on.Owing to the weather and the availability of spices, the Kerala cuisine is richly spicy especially the hot ones -chili, black pepper, cardamom, cloves, ginger, and cinnamon.

Me:How would you define a kerala breakfast?
S:Kerala cuisine offers many delicious vegetarian breakfast dishes that are often relatively unknown outside the state. These include Puttu (made of rice powder and grated coconut, steamed in a metal or bamboo holder) and kadala (a curry made of black garbanzo beans chana), idli (fluffy rice pancakes), sambar, dosa and chutney, pidiyan, Paal-Appam, a circular, fluffy, crisp-edged pancake made of rice flour fermented with a small amount of toddy or wine, etc. Idiyapam and Paalappam are accompanied by mutton, chicken or vegetable stew or fish moli (the most common dish is black pomfret in a coconut based sauce).

Me:Ok...What does typical kerala lunch and dinner consists of everyday?
S:The staple food of Kerala, is rice.Many people in Kerala prefer parboiled rice (Choru) (rice made nutritious by boiling it with rice husk). Kanji (rice congee), a kind of rice porridge, is also popular. Tapioca, called Kappa in Kerala, is popular in central Kerala and in the highlands, and is frequently eaten with fish curry.

Rice is usually consumed with one or more curries. Accompaniments with rice may include upperis (dry braised or sauteed vegetables), rasam, chips, and/or buttermilk (called moru). Vegetarian dinners usually consist of multiple courses, each involving rice, one main dish (usually sambar, rasam, puli-sherry), and one or more side-dishes. Kerala cooking uses coconut oil almost exclusively.
Popular vegetarian dishes include sambar, aviyal, Kaalan, thoran, (Poduthol (dry curry) etc. Vegetarian dishes often consist of fresh spices that are liquefied and crushed to make a paste-like texture to dampen rice.

Me:Wow its very nice and informative dear....So also name few desserts ..This is all for my event...
S:Kerala does not have any indigenous cold desserts, but hot/warm desserts are popular. The most popular example is undoubtedly the payasam: a preparation of milk, coconut extract, sugar, cashews, dry grapes, etc. Payasam can be made with many base constituents, including Paal payasam (made from rice), Ada payasam (with Ada, broken strips of baked starch from various sources), Paripu payasam (made from dal), Pazham pradhamam (made from banana), Gothambu payasam (made from wheat) etc. Ada payasam is especially popular during the festival of Vishu and Onam. Jaggery or molasses is a common sweetening ingredient, although white sugar is gaining ground. Fruit, especially the small yellow bananas, are often eaten after a meal or at any time of the day. Plantains, uncooked or steamed, are popularly eaten for breakfast or tea.

Other popular sweets include Unniappam (a fried banana bread), pazham-pori (plantain slices covered with a fried crust made of sweetened flour), and kozhakkatta (rice dumplings stuffed with a sweet mixture of molasses, coconut etc.). Cakes, ice-creams, cookies and puddings are equally common. Generally, except for payasam, most sweets are not eaten as dessert but as a tea-time snack.

Me:oh...Iam really amazed to hear all this...Now as I got lot of information about kerala cuisine...I remember ur mom cooks the best...so please suggest me some recipe for my event.It should not be too common but should be easy one..and also loved and like by maharashtrian people also
S:You can opt for...Kerala style chutney for idlis or dosas,Kerala Moru Curry,Easy Batata Palya or Kerala Easy Potato curry and list goes on.these all for marathi people like you..but among all these I would prefer you go with Kerala moru curry which is easy simple quick and tasty...every-one will surely love it...I will mail recipe to you today itself.

Me:Ok...Thanks a lot dear for your valuable information and time both.Its very nice that I called u and got in detail information about kerala cuisine...Iam really very happy to know this all...
S:Bye then

whole credit of this goes to my dear mom...thanks a lot mama...love you!
Well, I am sure you have a lot of information after reading this and finally I got the recipe and my mission was accomplished.Thanks to S mom also.
This is my entry for the amazing event...The Kerala Kitchen... hosted by Jehanne.. .Also linking the same with The Kerala Kitchen Page

Initially I was having very little bit knowledge about kerala cuisine, but we all took great efforts to dig up one mouth-watering recipe.
Here is the recipe of Kerala Moru Curry(Buttermilk curry with coconut)

KERALA MORU CURRY

 

Ingredients:
Buttermilk
Grated coconut-1/4th of entire coconut
Small onions refered as Kunjulli-3 or 4
Cumin seeds or Jeerakam-1 tsp
Red chilles or Kollamulaku-2 or 3 in number
Turmeric-1/4th tsp
1 tbsp of oil or coconut oil
Mustard seeds-1/2 tsp
Fenugreek seeds or uluva-a pinch
curry leaves-2-3 strings
salt as per your taste.

Procedure:
1.Grind Cumin seeds,coconut,turmeric curry leaves in a blender to a fine paste.
2.Pour this to a vessel which contains curd or diluted buttermilk with salt.
3.Heat it on low flame and keep stirring.
4.See to it that it has become warm dont boil it.
5.Heat oil in another pan.
6.Add mustard seeds and allow it to splutter.
7.Now fry onions in it untill they are brown.
8.Add curry leaves,fenugreek and red chillies and saute it again.
9.Add buttermilk to this
10.Serve hot with plain rice.



It tastes awesome!