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

Matar Paratha

What do you do when you got to finish off a packet of frozen peas lying in the freezer before leaving for a vacation? Matar(Peas) Paratha for RCI Punjabi Cuisine :) Its "the" best thing that can happen with peas! :) My display of love for Parathas continues ;) Similar to other parathas, this paratha can be served with curds, raitas or pickles! I served matar paratha with boondi raita.

Matar Paratha

What you need:

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

For the filling:
1 cup Peas, boiled and drained
3-4 Green Chillies
1 inch Ginger
1 tsp Corriander Powder
1 tsp Cumin Powder
Salt
Oil

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) Mince green chillies and ginger and keep aside
2) Mince peas
3) Heat 2-3 tbsp oil and add ginger chilli paste to it
4) Add minced peas and remaining ingredients
5) Cook for 12-15 mins until the mixture seems dry and then set aside to cool for 1-2 hrs

Putting it all together:
1) Divide the dough and filling in equal parts.
2) Roll each ball of 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 to size 7-8 inch in diameter using wheat flour
5) Roast on hot girdle on both sides till brown using butter/ghee/oil
6) Serve hot wit raitas, yoghurt or pickles!

Methi Paratha

Here's another paratha for RCI Punjabi Cuisine, the Methi Paratha! Methi(Fenugreek) is one sabji I strongly hate.. Its the same with most of the leafy vegetables :( But this is the only way used to eat Methi, in form of parathas.. Hence mom used to regularly make them for breakfasts or tiffins.. Methi paratha differs from other parathas since this does not need any stuffing. In methi parathas that I make, the methi is usually mixed alongwith the dough. Hence its easy to make this since its just the work of rolling it. As methi is directly added to the flour while making dough, the methi is neither cooked nor boiled. Hence, the vitamins (or whatever :D) provided by methi are totally preserved! So here's totally nutritious Methi Paratha for you!

Methi Paratha

Makes:

7-8 Parathas

What you need:

1 bunch Methi(Fenugreek)- picked and finely chopped
2 cups Wheat flour
2-3 tsp Red Chilli Powder
1 tsp Turmeric Powder
1 tsp Garam Masala
1 tsp Corriander Powder
1 tsp Cumin Powder
1 tsp Ajwain
1 tsp Ginger Garlic Paste
2 tbsp Yoghurt
1 tsp Sugar
Salt to taste
Oil

How to proceed:

1)Mix all ingredients and knead to a soft dough
2)Keep aside for 30 mins
3)Divide dough into 7-8 equal sized parts and form round balls
4)Roll each ball to thin parathas
5)Bake using oil/butter
6)Serve hot with Yoghurt or pickles!

Aalu Paratha

The first food item that comes to mind when talking of Punjabi food is Paratha. Parathas are stuffed breads, available in different flavours, depending on the ingredients of the stuffing, most famous being the Aalu Paratha. Aalu Paratha is stuffed bread with stuffing prepared from boiled potatoes. Back in Pune, one of the most famous joint for lajawaab(tasty) parathe is "Chaitanya Paratha" on FC Road. Lately they started another branch in Kothrud which is gaining even more popularity. The parathas served here are priced at Rs. 25-30 and are pretty affordable as one paratha serves as a meal. These paratahs are served with dahi(yoghurt), pyaaz(onion), achaar(pickles) and a yummy dollop of makkhan(Indian butter) which melts on these hot paratahs.. No wonder its always crowded on weekdays and noon time as well! Another famous joint is "Nandu's" on Dhole Patil road,but I had been there just once and always prefer Chaitanya for locality and some other reasons (my friends know better ;) )

Aalu Parathas serve a heavy breakfast as well as filling one-dish meals. Quick and easy to prepare, here's aalu paratha for RCI Punjabi Cuisine.

Aalu Paratha

Makes:

6 parathas

What you need:

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

For the filling:
4 Potatoes boiled
4-5 Green Chillies
1 inch Ginger
3-4 cloves of Garlic
2-3 tsp Ajwain seeds
1 tsp Corriander Powder
1 tsp Cumin Powder
2-3 strands of Corriander, finely chopped
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 potatoes
2) Put chillies, ginger and garlic in blender and blend to a paste, add this to mashed potatoes
3) Add the remaining ingredients and mix well
4) Divide the filling into 4-5 parts as desired [these should be of size same as dough]

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 to size 7-8 inch in diameter using wheat flour
5) Roast on hot girdle on both sides till brown using oil/ghee/butter
6) Serve hot wit raitas, curd or pickles!

I served aalo parathas with koshimbir/raita and tomato sabji

Bhatura

Punjabi food is my second favourite after Maharashtrian Food.. So now a month of Punjabi food is gonna be fun after a month of Matthu food :) Thanks to my maternal surname(Mahajan), people consider me to be a Punjabi.. Thanks to my looks (?) gujjus start talking to me in Gujrati :D Few more call me Kashmiri (???????) and a very very few call me Maharashtrian! :D Things are bit better now when people dont get confused with my looks as my only identity here in Pardes is an "Indian" :)

Punjabi food is very famous in all nooks n corners of India. Be it in posh restaurant in cities or on the roadside Dhabasa on highways.. There is always a rush of people wanting to please their appetite with the "rich" Punjabi food :) Since I am not a figure conscious person, I am an absolute fan of Punjabi food... The oh so rich Paneer items and the array of Parathas with a generous topping of ghee and makkhan.. Ufff... Whats the use of fasting today if I keep thinking of such things!!

Bhatura,a (fried) bread native to Punjab, is my first entry for RCI Punjabi Cuisine hosted by the lovely Richa.. Bhatura is usually served with spicy gravies but makes a perfect jodi with masaledaar chole.. Bhaturas seem to consume and retain less oil than Puris and hence I make them often! Easy to make with some preparation in advance, they are also more filling than puris or rotis.. 2-3 bhaturas make a good midday meal..

Bhatura

Makes:

7-8 Bhaturas

What you need:

1 cup Plain Flour (Maida)
1 tbsp Semolina
2 tbsp Sour Yoghurt
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp Baking Powder
Oil for frying

How to proceed:

1) Mix all ingredients with 1 tsp Oil and knead to a stiff dough.
2) Cover and keep aside for 4-5 hrs
3) Divide into small balls and roll bhaturas to desired size.
4) Deep fry on both sides
5) Drain excess oil on tissues and serve hot puffed bhaturas with spicy Punjabi Sabjis!

Jwarichi Bhakri

Make way for the humble bread from Maharashtra- Bhakri. Making bhakri is an art and needs lot of practice and patience to attain perfection. People in Maharashtra, especially the grannies, still believe that if a girl knows how to make bhakris, then she can learn to cook all other things. Though this seems an exaggeration, its not such a difficult task!

Bhakris are made from different flours in different parts of Mahrashtra. Mostly Jowar(called Jwari in Marathi) flour and Maize flour in Solapur side, Rice flour in Konkan area, Bajri and Nachni flour in Khandesh and Vidharbha etc. Bhakri used to be the staple food in some areas of Maharashtra, but things have changed over time and there are few households (mostly in rural areas) where bhakris are prepared regularly. A personal opinion: Bhakris take a lot of time and hence cooking chapattis seems easier and convenient. It took me nearly 1.5 hrs to cook 7 bhakris :( thanks to my electric hot plate!

Bhakris are typically prepared on a special type of tawa/ hot girdle prepared from iron/aluminium. It’s a bit deep and circular and hence gives the bhakris a good shape when they puff up. The bhakris are baked on tawa first and then transferred directly on gas to make them puff. I am not lucky to have puffed bhakris here, but am glad that I find bhakri flour here :)

I prepared Jwarichi Bhakri yesterday evening and am posting it here for RCI Maharashtrian Cuisine! I am also posting some tips and preparation method from my mom who makes awesome bhakris. On my next trip to India, I’ll make sure to take a video of full procedure of a perfect bhakri preparation and post it!

Jwarichi Bhakri

What you need:

1 cup Jowar Flour (for 2 bhakris)
Warm Water

How to proceed:

1) Take a cup of flour and add warm water to it
2) Knead well to soft and pliable dough.
3) To test softness, press the dough gently with a finger. This should leave an impression on the dough. [If it leaves a hole, then dough is too soft]
4) If the dough is not kneaded well, the bhakris will develop cracks at corners.
5) Divide this dough in 2-3 parts
6) Heat the tava
7) Apply little water to both palms and put a part of dough in between palms and shape well to a ball and then flatten it.
8) Now spread dry flour in a large flat plate (normally a vessel called “parat” is used for this process) and put the falttened dough onto it.
9) Apply flour on one palm and using this palm, gently press the dough to flatten it
10) While flattening the dough, move it in circular pattern to ensure that bhakri does not stick to the plate
11) When the bhakri is flattened and ready, flip and lift it on both palms and place the bahkri on tawa [The side that was flattened should be baked first]
12) Now lower the heat and take some water in hand. Apply water over the full surface of upper side of bhakri.
13) Now raise the heat to normal. When this water starts drying, flip the bhakri to cook the other side
14) When the bhakri starts becoming brownish on the other side, remove from tawa from gas and directly put the bhakri on gas
15) If you are lucky, the bhakri will puff well. On gas, cook both sides till they get dark brownish stains.
16) Take off the heat and place tawa back on gas. If the sides of bhakris seem uncooked, cook the sides on tawa.
17) Hush.. Bhaikri taiyar! (ready to eat) :)

Tips for good bhakris:

* The flour should not be very fine, but a bit coarse
* Use luke warm water for kneading
* Knead knead knead
* Knead the flour in batches for 2-3 bhakris, not all the flour at one time

Puran Poli

After the lovely gulpoli for the first important festival- Makar Sankranti in Maharashtra, lets move to the second next important festival.. the festival of Holi, which comes sometime in March and (in food) is famous for the yummy Puran Poli, a very famous marathi dish that I specially prepared today for RCI Maharashtrian Cuisine.. Holi is incomplete without the naivedya (prasad) of Puran Poli. It is served with katachi aamti whose recipe will follow soon.

Holi in Mahrashtra is celebrated on full moon day in the month of Phalgun- sometime in early March. On this day, a bonfire is made using a branch of eucalyptus tree, wood and dungcakes and this bonfire is worshipped by presenting a naivedya (prasad/offering) of PuranPoli and cocunut.. The bonfire symbolizes the destruction of evil and bad thoughts. Scientifically, the bonfire provides with some relief from the cold in March :D On the second day, Dhuliwandan, people play with colors and water. In Maharashtra, the festival of colors is less observed on this day, but is celebrated with full josh on the day of “Rang Panchami” which comes 20-21 days after holi... Actually schools and colleges have holiday on RangPanchami and not on Dhuliwandan.. But who cares... People like me used to celebrate Dhuliwandan in college with friends and Rang Panchami with relatives and friends later.

I have been eating this puran poli from childhood.. not just on holi but on special occasions/festivals such as Gudhi Padva (Maharashtrian New Year), Bail Pola (a festival where farmers honor the bullocks used at farms) or as a “shahi bhojan” for visiting guests. But this was my first chance to try my hands at it.. I had a tough time making these.. the pictures can say more.. but I didn’t have time and patience to make it again.. so decided to post the recipe wit the sad pictures.. will change the pics next time I make better ones which I dunno when coz my hubby doesn’t like puran polis and I am too lazy to take so many efforts to prepare it just for myself… Actually the taste was perfectly as expected but the looks and profile were not as expected ;) Thought of ditching it, but then had planned it for RCI. As long as I can promise the sincerity in taste, I am sure u'll excuse me for the pics :D

Puran Poli is bread stuffed with a sweet chana daal mixture called puran. In the early days before the invention of mixers and puran machine, a stone grinder called "pata warwanta" was used to make the puran. Hence puran poli might have been a big fuss in earlier days, but not anymore thanks to so many inventions popping up every other day! :) The process of making puran differs within parts of Mahrashtra. My mom directly mixes the boiled chana daal with sugar/jaggery and then grinds it in a mixie while my mummy(MIL) again cooks the boiled chana daal while mixing it wit sugar. Use of sugar makes the polis soft while adding jaggery is better for calorie conscious guys ;) I usually mix them in equal amounts for a win-win situation. :) Only one of then can be used according to desired sweetness.. doesnt matter for gourmets!! ;) The puran poils are usually of size of normal roti, but in Northern Mahrashtra region (known as Khandesh), the puran polis nearly 3-4 times the size of normal roti, say 10-12 inches in diameter. They are prepared on the earthern gas- “chulha” using a special eathern vessel called “khapar” as the base for cooking/roasting the puran poli. These puran poils are called “khaparachya puran polya” and are usually folded after cooking so as to ease the eating process. In the summer season, these are served with Aamras (Mango pulp mixture) while at other times with rice kheer. In the other regions of Maharashtra, puran poli is served with katachi aamti, the perfect combo! For the time, enjoy Puran Poli, katachi aamti will soon follow :)

Puran Poli

What you need:

For the covering:
1 cup Maida(Plain Flour)
1 cup Atta(Wheat Flour)
½ tsp Salt
Oil
Water

For the filling (puran):
1 cup Chana Daal
1/2 cup Jaggery, grated
1/2 cup Sugar, powdered
* 1 cup just Sugar/Jaggery can be used if the other is unavailable
1 tsp Cardamom Powder
½ tsp Nutmeg Powder
Ghee for roasting

How to proceed:

For the covering:
1) Sieve both flours and mix well
2) Add salt and a tsp oil and knead to a really soft dough and keep it aside in another plate
3) In the kneading pan, spread some oil, add some water and then spread the dough evenly over it and cover with a thin wet cloth and keep aside for an hour

For the filling (puran):
1) Cook chana daal with ample quantity of water in cooker for 2 whistles
2) When cooker cools, remove daal and place in a strainer to remove water. *Retain* this water for Katachi Aamti. This water is called Katache pani.
3) Add grated jaggery, sugar, cardamom powder and nutmeg powder to the daal. Cook in a pan for 10-12 mins stiring constantly
4) When cold, put in a puran machine/mixie. Thin smooth lumpfree puran is ready for puran poli
5) If the puran is watery, tie in a cloth and hang it for sometime to remove water from it.

Putting it all together:
1) When its time to make puran polis, knead, knead and knead the dough to mix the added oil and water and to make the dough lump free(if any)
2) Take some dough and knead it well. Now roll it using rice/wheat flour. When its as big as a puri, put a big ball of puran at the center and close from the sides so that puran does not come out.
3) Roll to size of roti taking care that puran does not come out (this happens with first timers like me :D)
4) Put some ghee on hot girdle and place the puran poli over it.
5) Add ghee on sides and when cooked, flip to cook on other side as well.
6) Serve with spicy katachi aamti!

Amrakhand Puri

.. coz special occasions need something special!!

Today is a special date 05/06/07.. a special day for me.. and hence posting a special Maharashtrian combo of Amrakhand Puri for RCI Maharashtrian Cuisine!

Amrakhand is a very popular dessert from Maharashtra.. also known as mango flavoured Shrikhand.. The most common brands in Pune for Amrakhand are Chitale Bandhu, Amul, Warana and now Aarti's ;) Thanks to these people, my mother never happened to prepare it at home.. And so this was my first trial at it.. and its really a very very easy task(preparing) and later very very yummy and easy task (finishing off! :D).. Being a milk product, it can also be eaten on fasting days.. Needs some preparation though.. but all the efforts are paid off once you have the first spoonful!! :)

Amrakhand is a popular dessert for Maharashtrian wedding, others being jilebi, bundi laddu, gulabjamun etc.. It can be eaten alone, but then you tend to eat very little. Maharashtrians serve it with hot puffed puris! I served it with simple Puris and batatyachi bhaaji!

Amrakhand Puri

What you need:

500 gm Full Yoghurt

200 gm Kesar Mango Pulp

1 cup Powdered Sugar

1 tsp Powdered Cardamom

1/2 tsp Nutmeg Powder

8-10 strands of Kesar

How to proceed:

1) Place the yoghurt in a thin cloth/odhani and tie it

2) Hang it for 5-6 hours till all water from Yoghurt drains off

3) If there is still some water, place it under something heavy to drain excess water

4) Now remove the yoghurt and add sugar to it and mix well in a large bowl

5) Add cardamom powder, nutmeg powder and kesar to it

6) Finally add mango pulp and mix well

7) Keep to cool in the refridgerator

8) Remove 5-10 mins before serving.

9) Enjoy Amrakhand with hot puris!

To make the most simple Maharashtrian Puris: Add a tsp of turmeric, salt and oil to wheat flour and knead to soft dough. Roll into puris and fry in oil.

GulPoli

This was my first recipe on net, at the time when I didn’t have my own blog. It was my entry for My Dhaba’s FAHC Campaign. Since this is one of the well-known festival foods in Maharashtra, I decided to post it here for RCI-Maharashtrian Cuisine.

Makar Sankranti is the first important festival in Maharashtra wrt to English calender, and is celebrated on 14th January every year. Its an occasion to visit near and dear ones and distribute tilgul saying "Tilgul ghya, god god bola" (take tilgul(sweet) and talk sweet! :D) Makar Sankranti is a special festival for newly wed girls as well. On the first Makar Sankranti after marriage, the girl comes back to her parents place and is presented with various ornaments made from halwa/white tilgul called "halwyache dagine". Ladies also get a chance to wear black sarees on this day which is usually considered unauspicious on other good occasions/festivities.

Since Makar Sankranti falls during mid winter in India, the food prepared for this festival is such that it keeps the body warm and gives high energy. Hence til (sesame seeds) and gul (jaggery) are basically used in the preparation of sweets for this festival. Gulpoli is a traditional dish prepared on this day in Maharashtra as an offering to God. Other festives include tilache ladu(sesame balls), tilachi wadi (sesame squares), murmura ladu(mamra/rice flakes balls) etc. These sweet and crisp breads taste better when eaten on the second day.

GulPoli

What you need:

For the dough:
1/2 cup Plain flour(Maida)
1/2 cup Wheat flour (Atta)
2 tbsp cooking oil
Luke warm water
A pinch of salt

For the filling:
1 and 1/2 cup Jaggery
4 tsp Sesame seeds
2 tsp Poppy seeds
3-4 tsp Gram flour
1 tsp Cardamom powder
1 tsp Nutmeg powder
4-5 Cashewnuts
1-2 Almonds

How to proceed:

For the dough:
1) Sieve the flours so as to avoid lumps
2) Mix the flours. Prepare a hollow space in the center to put oil.
3) Heat oil and add it to the flour.
4) Mix hot oil with flour using a spoon.
5) Add a pinch of salt.
6) Add luke warm water and make a soft dough.
7) Leave aside covered by wet cloth for 2 hrs.

For the filling:
1) If the jaggery is soft, break it in small lumps by hand. If hard, just grate it.
2) Roast poppy seeds, sesame seeds and gram flour separately.
3) Grind poppy seeds, sesame seeds, cashews and almonds together to a smooth paste.
4) Mix Jaggery, gram flour, ground paste, cardamom powder and nutmeg powder.
5) Make 4-5 small balls about one inch diameter for filling.

Putting it all together:
1) Knead the dough well. Make 4-5 equal parts of dough
2) Roll the dough on rolling board till it becomes 3-4 inch in diamater.
3) Place a ball of filling in the center and close it by getting the edges together at top. Take care not to let the filling come out.
4) With the use of flour, just press the dough by both palms so as to equally spread the filling inside towards the edges as well.
5) Using flour, roll it to nearly 7-8 inches in diameter.
6) Heat the frying pan and put some ghee.
7) Roast the gulpoli on the frying pan on both sides using ghee till it turns brownish.
8) Serve hot with ghee or eat crispy gulpoli later.

Mind a look at the entire stock??

Watermelon Pancakes

"Summer Fruits" is the theme for WBB#11 hosted by Padmaja. The first fruit that comes to mind thinking of summer fruits is the king of fruits-Mango! But the genuine taste of mango is best enjoyed when eaten as is! So I decided to leave the Mango all alone and move on to the next favourite summer fruit- Watermelon. (Confession: The real reason is that I didnt find Indian mangoes here:( )

Watermelon is famous as a summer fruit for its high water content. I used Watermelon to flavour up the usual pancakes that we make for breakfast. Crisp and tasty watermelon pancakes served as a tasty and appetising breakfast and different than the usual pancakes!

Watermelon Pancakes

What you need:

¼ kg Watermelon pieces (deseeded)
½ cup Plain Flour/Maida
1 Egg
4-5 tbsp Powdered Sugar
2 tbsp Milk
Oil

How to proceed:

1)Blend the watermelon pieces to juice
2)Put flour in a bowl, add sugar, egg (discard the yolk), watermelon juice and milk; mix well
3)Add more milk if required to make the batter consistent and as thick as dosa batter
4)Put oil/butter on hot girdle and pour spoonful of batter over it
5)Spread the batter in circular pattern to form thin pancakes
6)Put oil on sides/corners to make them crispy
7)When cooked on one side, flip and cook on other side.
8)Serve hot with a cuppa of tea!

Pesarattu

Thanks to RCI, I try my hand at something different than regular cooking. This month's state is my Andhra Pradesh hosted by Latha. My entry for RCI Andhra is Pesarattu.

Bloggers from Andhra, a genuine request!! Please don’t curse me for the way my Pesarattu’s turned out. I can never(seriously!!!) make a thin dosa. I tried to make it as thin as possible. This was the best I could do. I know I am supposed to make it look like a dosa, but this has turned out to be somewhere between a dosa and an uttapam. But 1 thing I am sure of is that the taste of the pesarattus is simply mind-blowing! And I'll surely keep trying and hope to improve my dosa skills!! Well, I am sure it wont take more time to improve since we just loved this dish and I'll have to prepare it more often now! :)

Pesarattus are breads prepared from whole Moong(green gram) and are normally served with Upma. While making Pesarattus(and obviously enjoying its taste simultaneously :D) they seemed so yummy and tempting that I was sure they wouldn’t remain in the plate until I prepared upma. Hence I served it with takku (raw mango chutney) and nimbu ka aachar (hot lemon pickle).

Pesarattu

What you need:

1 cup Whole Moong (Green Gram)
2-3 tsp Rice flour
4-5 Green Chillies finely chopped
2 tsp Ginger Garlic paste
Salt to taste
Oil

How to proceed:

1) Wash and soak the moong overnight
2) Drain the water and grind the moong, add water to form a paste of medium consistency
3) Add rice flour, chillies, ginger garlic paste, rice flour and salt to taste
4) Keep the mixture aside for 5-10 mins
5) On a hot girdle, put some oil and add a spoonful of batter. Spread the batter in a circular motion to form thin dosas/uttapas
6) When the pesarattu seems to be cooked on one side, add some oil on the corners to make the corners crisp.
7) Turn and shallow fry on the other side as well
8) Serve hot with chatnis or pickles.

Nutritious Doodhi Paratha

Nupur's "N of Indian Vegetables" for A-Z of Indian Vegetables allows a very few dishes to choose from. The options were either Nimbu(Lemon) or Naaral(Marathi word for coconut) which are used in selected few common recipes like Nimbu ka Achaar(Lemon Pickle), Nimbu Paani(Lemonade), Narali Bhaat(Cocumut Rice) or Naralachi Burfi(Cocunut Fudge) etc. Navalkol (mini version of cabbage) is one N vegetable cooked in Maharashtra, India, but its next to impossible to find it here. So I decided to try something Namkeen or Nutritious and finally settled for Nutritious Doodhi Paratha.

Doodhi (Bottle gourd) is one vegetable most people don’t like. Children usually make excuses to avoid eating Doodhi. Doodhi Paratha is one bread my mom used to prepare to make me eat doodhi without me realizing what it is made of. This paratha is tasty and nutritious as it is prepared by combining various grain and lentil flours. I served the dish with Tomato Chutney and Nimbu Pickle.

Nutritious Doodhi Paratha

What you need:

1/4 kg Doodhi (bottle gourd)
1 cup Wheat Flour (Atta)
1/4 cup Jowar Flour
1/4 cup Bajra Flour
1/4 cup Chikpea Flour (Besan)
1/4 Cup Coarse Corn Flour
2-3 tsp Red Chilli Powder
1 tsp Cumin Powder
1 tsp Corriander Powder
1 tsp Ginger Garlic Paste
A pinch of Turmeric
1 tsp chopped Corriander
Salt to taste

Oil for roasting

How to Proceed:

1) Grate Doodhi when ready with other ingredients at hand (to avoid grated doodhi from changing color to black)
2) Mix all the flours and other ingredients with grated Doodhi and knead into a soft dough.
* Combination of other flours can be used in prop of 1:4 to wheat flour
3) Divide the dough into balls of 2 inch diameter
4) As the dough is soft, its difficult to roll he paratha. Place a wet cloth/ plastic sheet on the rolling pin and then roll the paratha using oil to the size of roti/chapati.
5) Put a tsp of oil on hot girdle and place the paratha. When cooked, turn and roast on the other side.
6) Serve hot with chutneys or pickles.