Mukhwas - Healthy Style

Few things just come to us from no-where! Actually they are supposed to be known to us....and that is how I got introduced to this Mukhwas during our recent trip to Daman and Silvassa. With thirsty throat when me and my son were waiting for my husband outside the Bom Jesus Church in Daman...He rushed to a nearby small stall to grab bottle of water. He returned and handed over the bottle to my son and few pouches named 'mukhwas' to me. Not being very fond of saunf or mukhwas unless it's the one made by my grandmother...I decided to slide those into my bag...just when he asked for one. As he ate it, he urged me to try. I opened a pouch and peeked into the ingredients. The brown Flax seeds grabbed my attention. As I poured it into my mouth....I could feel the crunchy sesame and ajwain/ carom seeds alongwith the flax seeds creating a magic in my mouth. Immediately I turned back to the pouch to check the ingredients. No saunf found to my surprise! Something new for my definition of 'mukhwas'! With limited number of pouches we had at hand...it was a hunt in Daman for more pouches including the place from where we bought it....No stock 😢 The cook in me took over deciding to make this on my return back home....Simplest ingredients readily available in pantry....But why didn't I ever think of combining them to this amazing healthy result to consume post lunch or dinner 🤔....Anyways here I am now with this simplest recipe with slight modification of adding coconut.... which would always stay in my cupboard rest of the years....

Ingredients:
1/2 cup flax seeds
3 tbsp white sesame seeds
1 tbsp ajwain/ carom seeds
2 tbsp desiccated coconut
Salt - as per taste
Sugar (powdered) - 1tsp

Heat pan and separately roast flax seeds, sesame seeds and ajwain on medium flame. You would feel the fragrance of each while it's ready to come out of pan. Set aside in a bowl.
Lastly add coconut with some salt. Roast slightly and add to bowl.

Add sugar. Mix everything well
Cool and store in an airtight jar.

Spicy Suran/ Yam Slices

This particular vegetable has been on my mind since I watched Rajesh Khanna in the movie 'Bawarchi'...
Being a cook of the house, he cooks Suran and the whole family licks their plates clean. How much I wanted to eat it since those days....
Somehow I never ever cooked it....but it was my husband who made me realize the other day that you have not cooked this vegetable ever....and there it was....challenge accepted....
My son was very much excited to know that there is some vegetable which we all are gonna taste together for the first time in our lives.....
Simplest recipe chosen to suit our taste buds, served as a side dish and relished by all means!

Serves: 4             Preparation Time: 30 mins (incl. soaking time)           Cooking Time: 10 to 15 mins        

Ingredients:

Suran/ Yam 250 gms - cleaned, thinly sliced and soaked in water
Rice Flour 4 tbsp
Tamarind marble sized - soaked in hot water
Chilly pwd 1 tbsp
Homemade Garam Masala 1/2 tbsp
Coriander pwd 1 tsp
Amchur pwd 1 tsp
Haldi 1/2 tsp
Salt as per taste

Soak the Suran slices in tamarind water for 15 to 20 mins (or more). This prevents an itching sensation in throat/mouth which might be caused due to Suran

Sliced Suran

Suran soaking in Tamarind Water

Mix all dry masala powders with rice flour. Add salt as desired

Heat oil in a wide pan
Dunk the suran slices in dry mixture (in batches) and arrange in hot oil

Let it fry on one side for 5 to 7 mins. Flip over and fry for another 5 to 7 mins.

You can use the fork to test if the slices are soft/ cooked
Fry till you achieve desired crispness
Serve warm

Notes:
Fine sooji/ rava can also be added to rice flour
Spices and their quantity can be adjusted as per choice

Moth Beans/ Matki Curry

Wait...wait....
Before you fire me with queries...
I am very much here.....cooking, baking, eating, feeding, chatting.... 😈
Yes, its been a while I have been away from this little space of mine....years actually.....
I have been through constant set of reminders from google, facebook, friends and followers.....
No, this was not a forgotten domain, but yes, was set aside in a hurry burry life...
We change priorities as per time, nature of work and circumstances....this could be one of those.
I started blogging for fun, to pass time, to enjoy my pre and post pregnancy days, to cherish my creations.....and I took a long blogging break to recover from my accident, look after my little champ, learn newer technology at office, change homes, sorting life....and the list is endless.
However, I always missed these food logs and yesterday when my better half (who had also taken a long blog break from his Marathi blog) decided to reinstate his blog (http://yogeshgeeta.blogspot.in/) with a new post, I thought when would be a better 'muhurat' to begin mine too....as per the marriage vows....you do it and I follow (and vice versa) 😍

A long post-break explanation....much needed, isn't it??
Well, so why THIS recipe and not something sweet or special after such a long break?? Yes, there is a reason, this is inherited from my Mother! Its real easy-peasy to cook with minimal ingredients, its close to every Maharashtrian's heart, its healthy and protein-rich, it comes from my roots 👈

So lets begin....

Serves: 3 to 4               Preparation Time: 10 mins               Cooking Time: 20 mins               

Recipe Source: My Mother

Ingredients:

250 gms sprouted Moth Beans/ Matki + 2 tbsp whole ground nuts (optional)
1 medium onion, finely chopped
3 to 4 minced garlic cloves
Fresh spring of curry leaves
1/2 tbsp red chilly powder
1/2 tbsp homemade masala
Salt as per taste
Oil (a big extra always work better) 😆
Water (as required)
Tadka ingredients - Mustard, Cumin seeds, Haldi, Hing
Coriander leaves - for garnishing

Wash and rinse the Matki and groundnuts
Heat oil in a pan, add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, hing
Add minced garlic and curry leaves
Once golden, add onions and saute till pink
Add haldi, red chilly powder, garam masala and saute
Add sprouts and groundnuts, salt and mix well
Add water as desired
Cover the pan (place water in the plate above for better cooking), and let it cook for 10 to 12 mins
Take a little amount (1 tbsp) of half-cooked sprouts in mixer jar and grind it smooth (no water required)

Mix it back to the boiling curry. Add more hot water (from the plate above) to adjust the consistency.
Let it cook uncovered for another 5 to 7 mins

Garnish with coriander leaves and serve with chapatis, bhakri or rice
As promised, minimal ingredients, isn't it? 

NOTE:
Adjust the consistency of the gravy as per taste using more/less amount of half-cooked beans for grinding to the paste. I have used less as we prefer thin gravy. 

Scrambled Egg Curry

Have you ever come across a situation when you wish to eat some egg curry & have few eggs at hand any many takers?? This particular dish will run for your help during such kind of situation. It is really easy to prepare and will also satisfy your demand of eating eggs even after facing the shortage issue :)

My husband is not fond of this and loves egg curry itself so on his working day (Saturday) and my holiday, I prepared this for me & my toddler who enjoyed it a lot & made me happy :D

Scrambled Egg Curry

Serves: 1-2                   Preparation Time: 5-10 mins           Cooking Time: 10 mins

Ingredients:

1 egg

1 medium onion, finely chopped

1 small tomato, finely chopped

1 tsp ginger garlic paste

1 tsp red chilly pwd

1 tsp black masala or 1/2 tsp garam masala

a pinch of haldi

mustard & cumin seeds for tempering

3 tbspn oil

salt as per taste

1 cup water

chopped coriander leaves for garnish

Scrambling the eggs as mentioned in Step 5

Step 1: Heat oil in a kadhai. Once hot, add mustard seeds & cumin seeds.

Step 2: Add chopped onions & fry till pink.

Step 3: Add ginger garlic paste, tomato & salt. Saute till it is nicely smashed & the oil separates.

Step 4: Add red chilly pwd & masala. Saute for a min.

Step 5: Break the egg and scramble it will till its cooked. Do this on a medium flame.

Step 6: Add water and let it cook for another 3 mins. 

Step 7: Garnish with coriander & serve with chapati/ bhakari or rice.

Til/ Sesame Wadi

It was a long break from blogging!! However, I do have some excuses for the same :)

We shifted to our new 'Home' on 6th day of March. We had a small house warming ceremony & all ladies out there will surely be able to wonder what kept me busy! New place, new furniture, shopping, arrangements & what not. Its not all over & is still going on but had a guilt of not blogging anything since many days & my hands took the hold of the keyboard!!

What keeps me at my seat today is also the Quarter Finals between India & Australia! I wish India luck & wish they achieve a golden victory.

I had prepared this sweet in the month of January. It was for the Sankranti festival and the photos were lying in my mobile since then!

Its very easy to prepare but needs lot of attention during preparation & time management as well. But the end result is a crunchy sesame/ til wadi which will surely win appreciation.

Sesame/Til Wadi

Preparation Time: 10 mins               Cooking Time: 3 mins          Making Time: 3 mins

Ingredients:

1 cup roasted sesame/ til

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 tbspn ghee + some for coating the rolling pin and base

Check the consistency

Step 1: Grease some surface with ghee (I cleaned & used the granite which works best) to pour the mixture. Also grease a rolling pin & keep it ready.

Step 2: Heat a pan. Add half the sugar. Keep stirring till it turns into syrup.

Step 3: Add half the ghee & half the sesame/ til. Mix well for the sesame/ til to get well coated with the syrup. 

Step 4: Pour the mixture on the greased surface & start rolling with the rolling pin. Be careful at this stage. Make it as thin as possible.

Step 5: Repeat the same with rest half the til/ sesame.

Step 6: You can break the sheets later & store in air tight containers.

Note: 

Few roughly crushed roasted groundnuts can also be added to til/sesame. You can also add some chopped dry fruits of your choice!

The most surprising thing of this sweet is the color. They look like they are prepared using Jaggery/ gul, but the color is of the sugar! 

Aloo-Methi Puris

On the last lazy Sunday, wanted to prepare something quick & still different from the regular preparations. Was really bored eating regular roti/chapati/phulka & thought of frying some Puris which are very rare in my house since Y does no prefer anything which is deep fried!! (I always wonder if he actually does not like them or he avoids it for me...he's my weight watcher ;)) But that was the day when I had made up my mind to just go for it!!

In my hostel days, I used to enjoy batata-puri in the mess.  They were mostly prepared on Sunday & we used to have a real heavy breakfast that day & used to sleep and directly wake up for 'feasty' lunch served specially on Sundays!! Lovely days!! These one's which I have prepared are still the same with slight variation of 'methi' but taste the same.

Aloo-Methi Puris

Serves: 3-4                  Preparation Time: 10-15 mins               Cooking Time: 10 mins

Ingredients:

2 cups whole wheat flour + more for rolling puris

2 large potatoes, boiled, peeled & mashed

3 tbspn crushed kasoori methi

2 tbspn sesame seeds

1/2 tsp ajwain

1 tsp sugar

1/2 tbspn red chilly pwd (adjust as per taste)

1/2 tsp haldi

1 tsp chaat masala (optional)

salt as per taste

oil for deep frying

water for kneading

Step 1: Mix all the above ingredients & knead into soft dough using very little water at a time.

Step 2: Set the dough aside for 10-15 mins. Till then heat oil in a kadhai.

Step 3: Prepare puris & deep fry in oil on medium heat. Place on a tissue paper to drain excess oil.

Step 4: Serve 'garma-garam' with sauce or pickle.

Note: For rolling the puris, I rolled a big chapati & then cut the puris with the help of one katori. This reduces the rolling time & all puris are of the same size then :). You can also roll each puri separately.

Healthy Idlis

I was never ever so much health conscious or diet conscious in my past life. But ever since I have become a Mom, I have always been keeping any eye on how do I provide the correct nutrition to my toddler, which is the most basic question all mothers face since they are all fussy eaters & above all its important to keep their interest in food sustained!! Along with him, we also get to enjoy all the nutritional & health benefits from the food ;)

Last Sunday, I prepared these Idlis for the breakfast which my little one enjoyed with tomato sauce (his favorite these days). They were so easy to prepare without much preparation in advance & will surely become a routine breakfast for us now!! 

Healthy Idlis

Serves: 3-4            Prep Time: 10 mns (excluding soaking time)       Cooking Time: 15-20 mns

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup rice

1/2 cup urad dal (black gram dal)

1 cup mix vegetables of your choice

(I used sweet corns, green peas, french beans, carrot, capsicum)

 few chopped coriander leaves

3-4 green chillies, finely chopped (adjust as per spice level)

2 tsp Eno fruit salt

salt as per taste

Oil for greasing the pan

Idli Batter

Before Steaming, added grated carrot in between just for fun!!

Step 1: Soak the rice & urad dal separately, overnight or approx 5-6 hrs.

Step 2: Drain the water completely & grind the dal & rice together.

Step 3: Transfer to a bowl. Add salt, chopped coriander & vegetables. Mix well.

Step 4: Grease the Idli moulds with oil. 

Step 5: Add Eno fruit salt. Mix well & you will find the bubbles appearing in the batter.

Step 6: Pour the batter in the moulds & steam the Idlis for 15-20 mins.

Step 7: Serve hot with green chutney or sauce.