Chawal Paratha

Not much of background of this dish.. but surely an invention lately while dealing with college, exams, assignments and cooking :D Better title for this post could be: cooking more quantity when u get time or husband cooks or cooking on weekends.. This rice paratha is a result of cooking more on a friday to have a lovely relaxed breakfast on Saturday.. My chawal/rice parathas prepared using leftover cooked rice hops over to Nandita for WBB#15-Leftovers

Chawal/Rice Paratha

Makes:

4-5 parathas

Preparation Time:

20-30 mins

What you need:

For the cover:
2 cup Wheat flour (Atta)
1-2 tsp Salt
1 tbsp Oil
Water

For the filling:
1.5-2 cups cooked Rice (Leftover stale rice is perfect)
4-5 Green Chillies
1 inch Ginger
3-4 cloves of Garlic
1 tsp Corriander Powder
1 tsp Cumin Powder
2-3 strands of Corriander, finely chopped
Juice of 1/2 lemon(optional)
Salt

How to proceed:

For the cover:
1) Mix all ingredients and knead into soft dough
2) Keep aside for 15-20 mins

For the filling:
1) Mash the rice properly to small pieces
2) Put chillies, ginger in blender and blend to a paste, add this to mashed rice
3) Add the remaining ingredients and mix well
4) Divide the filling into 4-5 balls of equal size

Putting it all together:
1)Divide the dough into 4-5 parts. [the size of each part should be nearly same to size of part of each filling]
2) Roll the dough to diameter of approx 4 inches
3) Put the stuffing/filling in the middle and get the ends of dough together and close so that the filling does not come out
4) Roll the parathas using wheat/rice flour
5) Roast on hot girdle on both sides till brown spots appear using oil/ghee/butter
6) Serve hot wit raitas, curd or pickles!

* The sticky rice works perfect for this! Btw, did I say that this is my first post from college PC drafted during lunch break! :D

Black Grape Sorbet

Something quick and yummy.. And so pleasing for the last summer days.. European weather has started showing its true colors and last 3-4 days have been really bad.. The weekend is predicted to be sunny and probably the "last" sunny weekend this year.. Thats possibly why I am taking some extra efforts to post today as I didnt wanna miss to post something that I prepared just for blog events.. Black Grape sorbet, a lovely sweet n sour combi with a oh so inviting color, for Swapna's AFAM-Grapes and Marta's FPM#4-Grapes..

Before I share the recipe, I would like to share some pics of grape yards in Luxembourg and Germany which we visited this year.. We own grape yards back in India and love to visit such places here..

The pic below is from Remerschen, Luxembourg, a lovely city in South Luxembourg from where we could see Germany to the left and France to the right from our hotel balcony.. That was sometime in April when the season of grapes hadnt started and we could just see the bare farms and support system of grape wines.. But we did not miss the cruise across the wone route and even visited a winery for wine testing :D

The snaps below are from Bensheim, Germany which we visited in July.. We were lucky to find grapes in their youth ;) Now is the best time to visit this place.. In the first week f September, the local farmers get together and organise an event dedicated to wine processing and is a treat for wine lovers!

Isnt it lovely to be so close to nature? I prefer to visit such places rather that castles, bridges and towers :D No more blah blah.. Let me get back to the main point!

Black Grape Sorbet

Preparation Time:

1 hour

What you need:

A bunch of Black Grapes
1/3 cup Sugar(approx)
Juice of 1/2 Lemon

How to proceed:

1) Cut the grapes(remove sedds if any) and defreeze for 30-40 mins
2) Add them to blender with sugar and lemon juice and blend well
3) Place again in refridgerator for 15-20 mins
4) Remove, scoop and take snaps/serve immmediately!

Modaks for Lord Ganesha

Happy Gansh Chaturti to all my blogger friends.. May Lord Ganesha always shower His blessings on you! Ganesha is one diety I worship regularly, and specially more during my exams :D And why shouldn't I? He's the lord of intellect and wisdom.. And since its his festival, one of my favourite festival-the Ganesh Utsav now, I had to please him more :) Or do I say I had to please myself with the sweets/naivedya?? ;)

In India, especially in Maharashtra,Ganesh Festival is celebrated with great pomp.. It brings along 10 days of joy, happiness and celebration.. At mom's place we used to have Ganesh idol for 5 days and used to have naivedya of Modak on the 5th day before visarjan(immersion).. Since I cant place a ganesh idol at my place here, I made it a point to make modaks yesterday as naivedya.. I made the modaks using my mom's recipe, a more simple one than the Ukadiche Modak I posted sometime back.. Modaks are usually offered in number of 21 but for small families or lazy/busy people 5 or 11 modaks are acceptable!

Modak

Makes:

~11 modaks

Preparation Time:

25-30 mins (+3hrs for dough to be set aside)

What you need:

2/3 cup Plain Flour (Maida)
A pinch of Salt
Water

1/2 cup grated dry Cocunut
1 tbsp Poppy Seeds(KhusKhus)
1 tbsp Fine Semolina (Baarik Rawa)
1.5 tbsp Ghee
3-4 tbsp powdered Sugar
Chopped Nuts(kishmish, charoli, cashews, almonds)

Ghee/Oil to fry

How to proceed:

1) Add salt and water to plain flour and make a pliable dough. Set dough aside for 2-3 hrs
2) Slightly roast cocunut, poppy seeds and semolina separately
3) Coarsely grind the cocunut with hands on in a mixie.
4) Mix the remaining ingredients(except oil) to make the filling.
5) Divide dough into 11 equal sized balls
6) Roll each ball in circular shape to size of puri.. Place it on the palm and add 1-2 tsp of filling to it.. Then get the sides of the puri together at the center, bind them together to cover the filling.
7) Prepare the remaining modaks in similar fashion.
8) Once all modaks are done, heat ghee/oil and fry these modaks on medium heat till they turn golden brown.
9) Dont forget to offer as naivedya (prasad/offering) before popping them in your mouth :)


Just stumbled upon an event for festival foods for Ganesh Chaturti.. So my modak's go to Latha for Ganesha Chaturti Foods

Bhel

Anytime of the day(or night) you ask me whats my favourite snack, by default you'll hear "Any chaat item".. More specifically Bhel :) Then Paani Puri, Ragda Patties, SPDP, Dahi Wada... and the list continues :D I can live my entire life eating chaat.. There was a time I used to eat bhel every alternate evening during college times, that too when I used to stay home and get "maa ke haath ka khana" everyday.. The one thing I miss here is the bhel at "bheleshwar", a famous joint in Pune where I used to have bhel with my colleagues.. Spending hours there having bhel, then paani puri followed by malai kulfis.. How I wish Bheleshwar had a branch here in Belgium!!!!

I can enjoy bhel at any place, anytime... Though my husband doesnt like to eat bhel on roadside thelas (but who cares!!!!!), he doesnt mind homemade bhel.. The easiest snack on a sunday evening, mostly coz it is to be followed by a shortcut dinner ;) Bhel can be best enjoyed when its a bit spicy and has a proper balance of the sweet n sour tamarind chutney and the hot green chutney! My bhel hops over to Hima for the lovely event she started hosting this month-- WYF-Snacks!

Bhel

Serves:

3-4 (Only 1 if its me! ;))

Preparation Time:

5-6 mins

What you need:

2 cups Murmura/Mamra/Puffed Rice
1 cup Farsan/Shev Mix
1/4 cup Tamarind Chatni
1/4 cup Green Chilli Chatni
1/2 tsp Chaat Masala
1 tbsp roasted Peanuts
1 chopped Onion
1 chopped Tomato
2 tbsp chopped Green Mango (Kairi)
Salt to taste

For Garnishing:
Chopped onions, Tomato and Green Mango (Kairi)
1 tbsp Thin Shev
Few roasted peanuts

To make Chatnis:



Chatni 1:
Blend 3-4 chillies, corriander, salt, lemon juice with some water to make the hot green chutney!

Chatni 2:
Mix tamarind pulp, jaggery/sugar, some water to make the sweet sour tamarind chutney!

How to proceed:

1) In a big bowl, mix all the ingredients well
2) Serve in plates topped with chopped onions, tomatoes, green mango, corriander, some roasted peanuts and thin sev.



I prefer adding more of tamarind chutney to have proper ooli (wet) bhel and eat with potato chips which serve as my disposable (read as edible) spoons ;)

Mysore Pak

Last week was a start of a new phase in my life.. Its feels good to get back to student life :) Was dead busy throughout the week.. Early morning cooking, then full day college, then come back and cook again, then an hour infront of the TV and then the cozy bed waiting for me to just lie on and put me to sleep at that instant :D Did not get a chance to blog anything or visit my blogger friends.. This phase is gonna last long but I have decided not to give up blogging.. This was my only passion for last few months and I cannot abandon for some other priorities.. Blogging will remain a weekend chore and I'll make it a point to post atleast one recipe every weekend and visit my dear blogger friends during this time.. I apologize in advance if I'll not be able to participate in all events that keep rocking the food blog world... But will surely not miss the round-ups! :)

Mysore Pak is a famous sweet from the Karnataka Cuisine.. As the name suggests, this sweet comes from Mysore, acity in Karnataka famous for its palace. beautiful handicrafts and lovely silk sarees.. Mysore Pak is probably one of the easiest sweet which calls for minimal ingredients and is ready in no time... This is my second entry for Asha's RCI Karnataka Cuisine!

Mysore Pak

Preparation Time:

15-20 mins

Makes:

10-12 pieces

What you need:

1 cup Besan/Chickpea Flour (sieved)
3/4 cup Ghee
3/4 cup Sugar
1 cup Water
1/4 tsp Cardamom Powder

How to proceed:

1) Heat 1 cup of Water and add sugar to it.
2) Bring to boil till sugar syrup is formed (one string consistency test)
3) Now add ghee and cardamom powder
4) Mix well and slowly add besan..
5) Stir continuously while adding besan to avoid forming any lumps
6) Stir and cook till the mixture stops sticking to sides of vessel and ghee starts coming out from the sides
7) Remove from heat and pour in a flat plate greased with ghee and spread evenly.
8) After 5 mins, cut into desired shape and leave aside to cool for another hour..
9) Enjoy the yummy melt-in-the-mouth sweets.. These can be stored for 3-4 days!

BlackBerry Milkshake

I was introduced to this fruit called Blackberry 2 months back when we visited city of Bensheim in Germany. This city is famous for wine grapes and there were plenty of blackberry trees bordering the grapeyards.. Until then, I used to look at these as some wild fruits but when my friend just grabbed some and started feasting on them, I had to try it! And once I had some (luckily I found a big colony of sweet ones), there was no stopping.. I ate many along the way and also admired the lovely clustered structure till my husband declared that I unknowingly had 2 glasses of wine :D

Last week I found a pack of fresh blackberries at the fruit market and couldnt stop myself from buying them.. The plan was to prepare something for Meeta's monthly mingle.. But I ate some and then realised there were very few left for trying anything.. So on weekend, back I went to the fruit market and prepared blackberry milkshake the same day.. The end result aeemed lovely not just due to the tatse, but due to the lovely color! I am not sure if I can call this milkshake as I added some yoghurt as well alongwith milk.. But I surely cant call this lassi as there is more milk than yoghurt :D This blackberry Milkshake goes to Meeta for Monthly Mingle, this month's theme being "Liquid Dreams"

BlackBerry Milkshake

Preparation Time:

5 mins

Serves:

2 glassfuls

What you need:

1 Cup Blackberries
3 cups Milk
2-3 tbsp Beaten Yoghurt
2-3 tbsp Sugar

How to proceed:

1) Mix all ingredients in a blender
2) Place in refridgerator for sometime
3) Serve cold!

* I used Yoghurt to thicken the milkshake.. It can be left out to have thin milkshake!
* Chop few blackberries and put some pieces in milkshake
* Add 2-3 mint leaves to give a twist in the taste!

Hirvya Tamatyachi Bhaaji (Green Tomato Sabji)

Green/Raw Tomatoes have a different taste than the ripe red ones. I love tomatoes in any form..When it comes to ripe tomatoes, I can eat tomatoes any time of the day without any dressing or cooking.. From a plate of salad in front of me, its the tomatoes that vanish first, then cucumber, then cabbage, then carrots and then other things.. Olives and Onions mostly remain unfinished :D Other than salads, most of my soup creations include Tomato- tomato soup, rasam, sambar, tomato saar etc... Tomatoes make the base in all my gravy preparations and also spice up some rice dishes..

Hirvya Tomatochi Bhaaji is a maharashtrian vegetable prepeared using raw tomatoes.. This is my mom's recipe and she made it a point to bring these tomatoes whenever they were in market just to make this sabji or chutney! (which I am yet to prepare and post). I found these at the turkish shop here last week and decided to give it a try.. And it turned out real tasty.. A tangy taste as expected.. This Indian style stir fry vegetable prepared from green tomatoes goes to Chemcook for Fresh Produce of Month.. The theme for this month is Tomatoes!

Hirvya Tamatyachi Bhaaji

Preparation Time:

15-20 mins

Serves:

2

What you need:

3-4 Green Tomatoes chopped
1 Onion,chopped
1 tsp Mustard Seeds
1 tsp Cumin Seeds
1 tsp Red Chilli Powder
Pinch of Turmeric
2 tbsp Jaggery (can be replaced by 2-3 tsp Sugar)
Salt to taste
1 tbsp Oil

How to proceed:

1) Heat oil, add mustard and cumin seeds
2) When they start spluttering, add onions and saute till they turn translucent
3) Now add red chilli powder and turmeric and mix well
4) Add chopped tomatoes, mix and cook covered for 5 mins
5) Add salt and Jaggery, stir well and cook covered for some more time
6) Turn off when tomato is soft
7) Serve hot with rotis or bread!