Zhanzhanit Thecha

Zhanzhanit- meaning extra spicy in marathi is an exclusive word used for chilli preparations , mostly the ones that are so hot that it makes one cry while eating. :D Thecha is a chutney prepared from green chillies for which this adjective suits perfectly! Thecha is called so due to its process of preparation. Deep roasted green chillies and garlic are pounded (called "thechana" in marathi) to make this chutney.. This goes for Nupur's "Z of Indian Vegetables" and "JFI for August-Chillies" hosted by Nandita!

Thecha

Preparation Time:

15 mins

What you need:

10-12 Green chillies
5-6 cloves of Garlic
2 tbsp roasted Peanuts
Salt
Oil

How to proceed:

1) Remove the heads of chillies.
2) In a skillet, take 1/2 tsp Oil, and add chillies and garlic to it
3) Roast them uniformly on all sides till you see brown black spots over them
4) When done, pound these alongwith peanuts and salt as required using a mortar pestle (mixie will do, but mortar pestle works best)
5) Add a bit of oil while serving, and some salt(this will reduce the spiciness a bit).
6) Serve with bhakris!

Thecha can be stored for 4-5 days in fridge.

Ratalyacha Sheera (Yam Halwa)

Feels so nice to get back to blogging after a break.. Had been to Austria and Germany for 10 days.. Was real fun to experience the adventure of camping :D Unplanned trips are great fun sometimes. ;) Saw "The Simpsons Movie" first day evening show as well.. a good way to get down your frustration level if your laptop is not working when you really need it after a long break!

Getting back to the important thing- food.. "Ekadashi.. duppat khashi" - a saying in Marathi meaning "eating double on day of the ekadashi fast".. So true... Yesterday was "Ashadi Ekadashi"- a big fast for Maharashtrians according to Hindu Calendar.. I call it big fast bcoz its full day upwaas, and ends the other day with proper full meal! When I am the only one fasting at home, its usually fruits and juices for me.. Also eating fasting food(sabudana khichadi, varyache tandul, potato etc.) go against the actual motives of fasting.. But I decided to please myself and made yummy sheera/halwa using sweet potato yesterday.. a typical maharashtrian dessert called Ratalyacha Sheera, it becomes Yam Halwa when it goes for Nupur's "Y of Indian Vegetables" :)

Ratalyacha Sheera

Makes:


2-3 servings


What you need:

2 big Sweet Potato/Yam/Ratale (~400 gm)
2 tbsp Ghee
4-5 tbsp Sugar
1 tsp Cardamom Powder
1/2 cup Milk
2-3 tsp chopped nuts(optional)

How to proceed:

1) Boil sweet potato in cooker till soft (~ 3 whistles)
2) When cold, remove the skin and mash the sweet potatoes
3) Heat ghee in a pan and add mashed sweet potatoes to it.
4) Cook till ghee starts separating corners of the pan
5) Now add cardamom powder and sugar. Cook for another 5 mins
6) Now add milk and nuts. Stir continuously and cook for another 5-10 mins
7) Serve hot or cold.

* Remove the hairy part of sweet potato if possible. Dunno exactly what you call them! :D

Xtra Rich Patiala Lassi

Patiala Lassi is a rich Punjabi drink prepared from Yoghurt. It probably gets its name from the place where it came from originally, Patiala, a district in Punjab. It is usually served in long steel glasses. This lassi(like others) is a filler, as its difficult to finish a glassful even after a light meal. Weight watchers.. Beware.. This is absolutely not recommended for you guys.. This is just for carefree people like me :) This Xtra rich Yoghurt Drink makes its way to Nupur’s “X of Indian Vegetables” and Richa’s "RCI Punjabi Cuisine"!

Patiala Lassi

Makes:

1 glassful

What you need:

2 cups full Yoghurt
2-3 tbsp Milk
2-3 tbsp Sugar
½ tsp Cardamom Powder
¼ tsp Nutmeg Powder
½ cup Crushed Ice
4-5 Saffron strands
Chopped dry fruits like pistachios, almonds, cashews

How to proceed:

1) Beat the yoghurt until smooth
2) Mix all remaining ingredients except Dry fruits
3) Blend again to dissolve sugar
4) Serve fresh topped with chopped dry fruits!

* You can optionally add vanilla /rose /pista essence!

Watermelon Popsicles

Jai and Bee have chosen a lovely fruit for this month’s AFAM-Watermelon. Due to its high water content (95%), summers are incomplete without watermelons…Atleast for me :) I can have watermelon for breakfast, lunch as well as for dinner in summers… I am one person who doesn’t drink much water regularly (just 2-3 glasses), but eat loads of watermelon n cucumbers in summer.. That’s the reason I can bear the summers. :D I was planning for another watermelon drink or snack, but then thought of some way which would be pleasant and inviting.. Here are lovely watermelon popsicles for AFAM Watermelon!

Watermelon Popsicles

Makes:

6 popsicles (of size of Kulfi/Ice-Candies)

What you need:

1 cup Watermelon Juice
¼ cup Sugar
¼ cup Water
1 tsp Lemon Juice
2 tsp Chaat Masala (Optional)
A pinch of Salt

How to proceed:

1) Deseed watermelon and run through blender to make juice
2) Mix sugar and water. Heat for 2-3 mins
3) Remove from heat and add the remaining ingredients to it
4) Add to kulfi moulds/ ice trays and make popsicles of desired shape n size
5) Freeze for 3-4 hrs!

* Addition of chaat masala gives it a tangy flavour.. Reminded me of the “barf ka gola” sold in India :)

Dahi Wada

I am an avid fan of chaat items(do i need to say that again???) and miss them here in Belgium. Although I try to prepare some chaat items at home, the taste of the ones served at roadside chaat corners in India is ohh so yummy!!! :) When I settled down here, I decided to try n cook as many chaats n snacks as possible at home so that I do not sacrifice my love for these foods :) If I would have not tried, I would have been extinct by now :D

Dahi Wadas are fried dumplings prepared using Urad Dal(Split Black Gram Dal) and served with loads of dahi (Yoghurt). Dahi wadas are my top favourite in chaat items and I am glad to say that my dahi wadas turn out equally good as the ones served in restaurants! :) Its a easy to prepare (with some preparatins before time) and a quick n appetising Punjabi snack which goes for RCI Punjabi Cuisine!

Dahi Wada

Makes:

8-10 wadas!

What you need:

1 Cup Urad Dal
2 tsp Cumin Powder
Pinch of Sodium Bicarb
Salt to taste
Oil to fry
1 kg Plain Yogurt
4-5 tbsp Sugar
2 tsp Roasted Cumin Seeds
Red Chili Powder
Sweet Tamarind Sauce*

How to proceed:

1) Wash and soak Urad Dal overnight.
2) Grind into smooth batter and add cumin powder, sodium bicarb and salt to taste, set aside for 10 mins
3) Beat the yoghurt and divide it in two portions. Leave one portion as is(normal yogurt) and add sugar to other portion to make sweet yoghurt
4) Heat oil in a pan, take handful of batter and slide into hot oil
5) Deep fry the vada on medium heat till crispy and golden brown
6) Drain excess oil and soak the vada in water for 10 mins
7) Press each vada to drain off excess water and soak in normal yoghurt for 10 mins
8) Put the soaked vadas in serving dish and cover with 2-3 tbsp of sweet yogurt
9) Garnish with roasted cumin seeds, red chilli powder, cumin powder, salt and tamarind sauce (optionally Corriander)

*Add tamarind pulp to water and mix sugar/jaggery to make sweet tamarind sauce

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!

"Tour De France 2007" in Gent, Belgium

A life time opportunity is what I would call it :) Watching the world's best known cycling race.. The "Tour de France".. The 3 week long race started in London on 7th July as completed the first stage yesterday. Today the 2nd stage in Dunkirk and ended in my own city "Gent", and the best thing- the end point just 300 meters from my apartment :D Though the streets seemed less crowded today, we had to be sure we left pretty early to catch a good place to get the best view.. The end point was so crowded that we preferred going a little ahead... Though I didnt know any cyclists (except David Miller), I just didnt want to miss an opportunity to see the race.. There were two Belgian cyclists whom we had to cheer ;) Sharing some snaps of the lovely experience...

Click on the pics to view high resolution

The teams had their buses in Gent a long time before the race ended.. This is the first thing we came across after we left our appartment.. At about 3:30 pm

Two hours before the end.. Seems no one wanted to miss anything so everyone has left early :)

Now this is height of enthusiasm.. Atleast spare the signals.. There's still a lot time from them to arrive!! :)
Center of attraction ;) There was not one high place left for me ;)

Some carnivals to entertain the crowd till the real entertainment comes in...

The scene an hour before.. I envy the guys standing on the terrace of their appartmets!

Police patrolling ...

Why to miss a golden opportunity to advertise your products? ;)

The aerial cameras..

Now this is real money making business... Selling soveniers for "oh-my-god" prices!

Above to arrive.. everyone is on thier tows.. some on other's shoulders ;)

Did not get to click the snaps of the first batch of cyclists as I just didnt want to miss "the" moment by clicking snaps.. Soon got a good place and some good snaps as well.. here they go...
Here come the local favourites.. the Belgian participants!

Some others follow as well...

Everyone being cheered.. be it in batches or all alone.. A warm welcome n lotsa cheer is an important factor for them to keep going!

The best part.. the cyclists, though competitors, seemed so friendly n comfortable with each other.. chatting along n cheering up each other as they made it to the finish...

God.. how can they seem so fresh after cycling so much!! :)

The cyclist on the extreme left (in yellow jersey) is "Fabian Cancellara", who's leading currently (combining timings for last 3 days).. Seems he had a tough time today after falling in the crash.. Details a bit later..

Some more cyclists...

And more...

And finally the last one! :)

The support system makes thier way as well :D

I suppose this was much needed today.. There was a crash just 3 km from the end point in which nearly 170 cyclists suffered.. Hence the second batch and the others arrived much later than the first...

Time to go towards the finish...

Had a tough time making way back home...

The media.. saw some real editing being done in these huge buses n caravans..

The freshened-up participants after the 168.5 km drive.. Phew!

Thats all from me :) Read rest in papers! ;)