One Day At A Time!

Hey everyone! Long time no see! Hope all is well in your world. I am back with a healthier Indian Mithai recipe. It is gluten free and protein rich. Vegans can use Coconut Oil instead of Clarified Butter. I made this for my picky 11 year old. My kiddo eats pretty healthy, but feeding vegan protein rich beans and lentils is a work in progress. Today's sweet treat is made with Chickpea Flour and Jaggery . Jaggery also called as Good in Hindi and Gool in Marathi is a less processed form of sugar. It is darker in color like molasses . Hope you enjoy making this delicacy for your loved ones. Ingredients: Ladu Besan/ Chickpea Flour - 2 cups Ghee/Clarified Butter - 3 - 4 tbsp Jaggery Powder - 1/4 cup + 1 tbsp Saffron/Kesar strands - a pinch Cinnamon/Dalchini Powder - 1/4 tsp Nuts for garnish if you like How to make Homemade Besan Gud ke Ladoo: In a heavy bottom pan, add ghee and besan. Roast it at low or medium flame until you get a roasted aroma. Ladu Besan is a coarse form of chick...

Hey everyone! Hope you are having an amazing day! Few days ago, I had blogged about Ragi Chakli . My kiddo loved the taste, but wanted the Chakli to look golden brown like French Fries. To suit my child's taste, I have started making Gluten Free Multigrain Chakli or Murukku with 5 varieties of flours and potato. Hope you all love it too. Ingredients: Rice Flour - 1/4 cup Ragi/Nachni/Finger Millet Flour - 1/4 cup Besan/Chickpea Flour - 1/4 cup Jwari/Jowar Flour - 1/4 cup Bajri Flour - 1/4 cup Boiled Mashed Potato - 1 big (about 1 cup) White Sesame Seeds/Til - 2 tsp Carom Seeds/Ajwain/Owa - 1 tsp Kashmiri Lal/Red Chili Powder - 1 tsp Ground Black Pepper - 1 tsp Dark Brown Sugar - 1 tsp Turmeric/Haldi Powder - 1/2 tsp Water - 1/4 cup Salt Olive Oil - 1 tbsp Oil for frying How to cook Glutenfree Multigrain Potato Chakli: In a big mixing bowl, add all flours, peeled mashed potato, sesame seeds, carom seeds, chili powder, black pepper, sugar, turmeric and salt. Mix well. Now add water, l...

Friday is here! Hope all is well in your world. I am back with a vegan gluten free snack. My Mom's Nachni Chakli recipe with potato and coconut milk. Fresh coconut milk is quite common in coastal Konkani cuisine. My childhood favorite Diwali snack. Now my 7 year old kiddo likes it. Hope you all love it too! Ingredients: Ragi/Nachni/Finger Millet Flour - 1 cup Boiled Mashed Potato - about 1 cup Besan/Chickpea Flour - 1/4 cup  White Sesame Seeds/Til - 2 tsp Carom Seeds/Ajwain/Owa - 1 tsp Kashmiri Lal/Red Chili Powder - 1 tsp Ground Black Pepper - 1/2 tsp Light Brown Sugar - 1 tsp Coconut Milk - about 1/4 cup Olive Oil - 2 tsp Salt How to cook Nachni Batata Chakli: In a big mixing bowl, add ragi flour, besan, peeled mashed potato, sesame seeds, carom seeds, black pepper powder, chili powder, sugar and salt. Mix well. Now add coconut milk, little at a time and knead to make a soft, non sticky dough. Lastly, add oil and knead again for few seconds. Cover the bowl with plastic food wrap ...

Wish you all a very Happy Diwali! Hope you all are having a good time.  This year's festival of lights is special for us, its our baby's first Diwali.  I could not spend much time cooking Diwali sweets or snacks, but I managed to make a few. One of them is Atte ka Laddoo , which we Konkanis call as Churmundo or Gava Pita Ladoo . Ingredients: Wheat Flour/Atta - 1 cup Powdered Sugar - 1/2 cup Ghee/Clarified Butter - 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp Green Cardamom/Elaichi - 2 pods Whole Cashews/Kaju - 4 (optional) How to make Wheat Flour or Atta Ladoo: Crush cardamom seeds in a mortar pestle to a fine powder. Heat 1/4 cup ghee in a kadhai or a pan. Fry cashew halves until slightly brown. Set it aside. If not cashews, you can use golden raisins or any other dry fruits of your choice. In the same pan, add wheat flour. Stir well and roast the wheat flour until it turns aromatic and color slightly darkens. This is the key step in making Atte ka Ladoo. You don't want that raw smell of ...

Happy Krishna Jayanti to all! Hope you all are celebrating with your loved ones. For this year, I made a 5 minutes Condensed Milk Coconut Ladoo . Yes, cooking time for this dessert is just 5 minutes in a microwave. Ingredients: Sweetened Condensed Milk - 14 oz (396 gm) Desiccated (Dry) Coconut - 1 1/2 cups + 1/4 cup Green Cardamom/Elaichi - 4 pods Ghee/Clarified Butter - 2 tsp Roasted Cashews - about 12 How to cook Condensed Milk Coconut Ladoo in a microwave: Crush the cardamom seeds in a mortar pestle to a fine powder. Wipe a microwave safe bowl dry. Grease the bowl with 1 tsp ghee. Add condensed milk and 1 1/2 cups desiccated coconut. Mix well. Microwave this milk and coconut mix for 3 minutes. Stop the microwave after every minute and stir. This will avoid burning. Next, add cardamom powder to the bowl and mix again. Microwave for 1 more minute.  Take a small portion of the cooked ladoo mixture and check if you can make a small round ball of it. If so, your ladoo mix...

I am sure you all are busy preparing Diwali special sweets and snacks for your loved ones. This festive season, I tried a new Bengali sweet - Kesar Sandesh also known as Sondesh . Generally, Sandesh is made of fresh Paneer .  As you know me, I look for ways to cut down cooking time. So, here is my easy microwave recipe of Bengali Sondesh using store bought Ricotta Cheese. Ingredients: Ricotta Cheese - 15 oz (425 gm) Sugar - 3 tbsp Green Cardamom / Elaichi - 3 pods Saffron / Kesar - few strands Milk - 1 tbsp Ghee / Clarified Butter - 1 tsp Pistachios or any other nuts - 5 How to cook Easy Ricotta Cheese Kesar Sandesh in a microwave: Crush cardamom seeds in a mortar pestle to a fine powder. Finely chop nuts of your choice. Microwave milk in a small bowl for 20 seconds. Add saffron to the warm milk and set it aside for 5 minutes. Grease a dry microwave safe bowl with ghee. Add ricotta cheese and saffron milk to the bowl. Mix it well.  Microwave...

As such, Thattai is a savory snack made on the festive occasion of Krishna Janmashtami. But, I made this along with many other goodies for our friends who are visiting us this weekend. Our weekend is going to be great with lots of fun stuff ... travel, chitchat and good food. Hope you guys have a good weekend too! Ingredients: Rice Flour - 1 cup Urad Dal / Split Black Gram Flour - 1/4 cup Desiccated (Dry) Coconut - 2 tbsp Ghee / Clarified Butter - 2 tbsp Chana Dal / Split Chickpeas / Split Bengal Gram - 3 tsp White Sesame Seeds / Til - 2 tsp Red Chili Powder - 1/4 tsp Asafetida / Hing - 1/4 tsp Sugar - 1/4 tsp Salt Oil for frying How to make Thattai: Soak chana dal in about 1 cup water for about 2 hours. Wash the soaked dal well. In a mixing bowl, add rice flour, urad dal flour, soaked chana dal, sesame seeds, chili powder, asafetida, sugar, salt and ghee. Mix well. Add water, little at a time and knead to make a slightly firm dough. Heat oil for...

Snack time at my place! Its been a while, I made any fried goodies. Thanks to last night's leftovers, I had plenty of time to make this savory Ribbon Murukku. We love such crunchy munchies with our evening cup of tea. Ingredients: Rice Flour - 1 cup Besan / Gram Flour - 1/2 cup Oil - 1 1/2 tbsp Red Chili Powder - 1 tsp White Sesame Seeds/Til - 1 tsp Asafetida/Hing - 1/2 tsp Sugar - 1/2 tsp Salt Oil for frying How to make Ribbon Pakoda: In a mixing bowl, add rice flour, gram flour, hot oil, chili powder, asafetida, sesame seeds, sugar and salt. Mix well. Now add water, little at a time and knead to make a stiff, non sticky dough. I added about 3/4 cup water. Divide the dough into 3 balls. Heat oil for deep frying. Heat the inner part of chakali / murukku maker with oil. Place the ribbon plate and add one dough ball. Close it with the lid. When the oil turns medium hot, hold the chakali maker above the frying pan. Carefully turn the handle so that the ribbon shaped mu...

In my part of the world, its still snowing. It doesn't feel like spring at all. Hopefully that will change soon. Until we see that sunny bright weather, we are relishing on hearty winter food.... hot soups, grilled sandwiches and all kinds of comfort food. And for teatime snacks, we love crunchy savory goodies, something like Chakli. Today, I am sharing a gluten free  snack, called as Jwari Chakali  in Marathi. Ingredients: Jowar/Sorghum/Jwari/Jola Flour - 1 cup Rice Flour - 1/2 cup Ghee/Clarified Butter - 1 tbsp Corn Starch - 2 tsp White Sesame Seeds/Til - 1 tsp Carom Seeds/Ajwain/Owa - 1 tsp Red Chili Powder - 1 tsp Turmeric/Haldi - 1/8 tsp Sugar - 1 tsp Salt Oil for frying How to make Jwari Chakli / Jowar Murukku: In a mixing bowl, add jowar flour, rice flour, corn starch, sesame seeds, carom seeds, chili powder, turmeric, sugar and salt to taste. Mix all the ingredients well. Add ghee and mix again. Now add water, little at a time and knead to...

Call it Chakali or Murukku or Chakkuli as we say in Konkani, this savory crunchy munchy snack is every one's favorite. One can make Chakali in many ways - with urad dal, roasted dalia (phutane), potato, maida (all purpose flour), rice flour. Of all the versions, I like the combination of rice and potato. Potato makes every snack flavorful. Ingredients: Rice Flour - 1 1/2 cups Boiled Potato (grated) - 1 cup Unsalted Butter or Oil - 3 tsp White Sesame Seeds/Til - 1 tsp Carom Seeds/Ajwain/Owa - 1 tsp Red Chilli Powder - 1 tsp Sugar - 1 tsp Salt Oil for frying How to make Rice Murukku / Chakali: In a mixing bowl, add the grated/mashed boiled potato. Add melted butter, sesame seeds, carom seeds, chilli powder, salt and sugar. Mix all the ingredients well. Lastly, add rice flour and mix well. Now add water, little at a time and knead to make a soft, smooth dough. I added about 1/2 cup water.  Divide the dough into 4 balls. Heat oil for ...

This was one of the new sweets I made this Diwali. Slightly different from the well known Kaju Katli . Its a good way to finish off those almonds lying in your pantry. Ingredients: Almonds/ Badam - 1 cup Sugar - 1/2 cup Water - 1/4 cup Milk Powder - 2 tsp (optional) Ghee/Clarified Butter - 1 tsp Saffron/Kesar - few strands Green Cardamom/Elaichi - 1 pod How to cook Badam Katli: Crush cardamom seeds and saffron in a mortar pestle to a fine powder. I have used Raw Almonds with skin for this Burfi. Discard the skin if you want your katli to look white or pale yellow. Grind  almonds in a dry blender jar to a fine or a slightly coarse powder. In a thick bottom pan, add sugar and water. Keep stirring until sugar dissolves. Add saffron and cardamom powder. Continue cooking until sugar syrup turns sticky. Touch the sugar syrup and check to see if it sticks to your fingers. Lower the heat and add almond powder. Continue stirring at low heat until no lumps are seen. Ad...

One of the new sweets I tried this festive season. The natural sweetness of dates and crunchy nuts make this treat a healthy one. And this Homemade Nutrition Bar cooked in a microwave does not require any sugar or sweetener. A guilt free, sugar free Barfi for this Diwali. Ingredients: Dates/Khajur (Pitted) - 1 cup Almonds/Badam or any other nuts  - 1/4 cup White Sesame Seeds/Til - 1 tsp Poppy Seeds/Khuskhus - 1 tsp Unsalted Butter - 1 tbsp How to prepare Khajur and Nuts Roll: Wipe a microwave safe bowl dry. Add almonds or walnuts or any other nuts of your choice to the bowl. Microwave for 1 minute. I used raw almonds with skin. Almond skin is rich in nutrients, but discard them if you don't like. Keep the roasted almonds aside. Check for seeds in the dates. Add dates to the bowl and microwave dates for a minute. You will notice that dates soften a little after heating. Microwave for one more minute. Add the dates to a dry blender/food processor jar and blend i...

Since I started blogging, every year I try some new delicacies for Diwali. For now, here are some sweet and savory snacks posted over the last 3 years.  I have one week to prep for this year's festivities and I'll keep you folks updated with this year's special treats. Mithai / Sweets Kaju Katli / Cashew Burfi Badam Katli / Almond Burfi Atta Ladoo/Churmundo/Gava Pita Ladoo Rava Naralache Ladoo Nevri / Karanji Microwave Badam Burfi Microwave Coconut Burfi Microwave Condensed Milk Coconut Ladoo Microwave Doodh Pedha Ricotta Cheese Pedha Microwave Kalakand Oven Baked Ricotta Kalakand Kalakand Microwave Mango Kalakand Rasmalai Ricotta Cheese Rasmalai Rasgulla Milk Powder Gulab Jamun Ricotta Cheese Gulab Jamun Shahi Tukda / Double ka Meetha Microwave Khajur (Dates) and Nuts Roll / Barfi  (Sugar free) Kardantu / Antina Unde / Dinkache Ladu / Gond ke Ladoo Shenga Chikki / Peanut Brittle Chocolate Barfi Microwave White Chocolate...

Indian Cashew Fudge popularly known as Kaju Katli or Kaju Barfi . At least twice a month, I prepare some sweet in my kitchen - cake or kheer or halwa. Although, I love most sweets, I prefer Barfi ,  Pedha or a small Ladoo  where one piece after a meal satiates my sweet tooth. Ingredients: Cashews/Kaju - 1 cup Sugar - 1/2 cup Water - 1/4 cup Ghee/Clarified Butter - 2 tsp Saffron/Kesar - few strands How to prepare Kesar Kaju Katli or Burfi: Raw/unroasted and unsalted cashews work best for this barfi. Grind cashews in a dry blender jar to a slightly coarse or fine powder. In a thick bottom pan, add water and sugar. Keep stirring until sugar dissolves. Add saffron strands. You can use green cardamom/elaichi powder as well. Continue cooking until sugar syrup turns sticky. Touch the sugar syrup to check if it sticks between your thumb and index finger. Also, see if a single thread forms between your fingers. Lower the heat and add cashew powd...

Bakarwadi are crispy, savory spring rolls from the state of Maharashtra. Growing up in Mumbai, this used to be one of our evening snacks. Sometimes store bought, sometimes homemade. Though time consuming, my Aai used to make these rolls for us. Once again, here I am sharing one of my Mom's recipes from my US kitchen. You can try this crunchy munchy snack for Diwali as well. Ingredients: All Purpose Flour/Maida - 1 cup Chickpea Flour/Gram Flour/Besan - 1/4 cup Turmeric/Haldi - 1/4 tsp Cayenne Pepper/Red Chili Powder - 1/2 tsp Cumin/Jeera Powder - 1/2 tsp Oil - 2 tbsp Cilantro/Coriander Leaves/Kothimbir - about 3/4 cup Shev - 2 tsp Desiccated (Dry) Coconut/Sukka Khobra - 2 tsp Sesame Seeds/Til - 1 tsp Poppy Seeds/Khuskhus - 1 tsp Fennel Seeds/Badishep/Saunf - 1 tsp Ginger/Ala/Adrak - 1 tsp Green Chilies - 1 tsp Chat Masala - 1/2 tsp Sugar - 1/2 tsp Garam Masala - 1/4 tsp Salt Oil for deep frying How to prepare Bakarwadi: Prepa...

Once a week, I prepare either a sweet or a deep fried snack. Today's deep fried snack is savory North Indian Mathri which is quite similar to Shankarpali .  These fenugreek and carom seeds flavored Mathris turn more flaky with all purpose flour/maida. But I prefer healthy and fiber rich whole wheat flour. Ingredients: Whole Wheat Flour/Atta - 1 cup Semolina/Rava/Sooji - 2 tbsp Kasuri Methi/Dry Fenugreek Leaves - 2 tbsp Carom Seeds/Ajwain/Owa - 1/2 tsp Black Pepper Powder - 1/4 tsp Sugar - 1/4 tsp Baking Soda - 1/8 tsp Oil - 3 tbsp Salt How to prepare Whole Wheat Methi Ajwain Mathri: In a mixing bowl, add whole wheat flour, semolina, carom seeds, fresh ground black pepper, salt, sugar and baking soda. Crush kasuri methi leaves between palms and add it to the bowl. Mix all the ingredients well. You can use all purpose flour/maida as well. Add oil and mix well. The dough will turn crumbly. Oil will make the mathris flaky. Now add water, little at a time to ...

Chickpea flour battered fried peanuts/groundnuts with a hint of Indian spices.

Crisp savoury snack made of rice cereal.  Less oily, crunchy and tasty. Ingredients: Rice Cereal - 5 cups Peanuts/Groundnuts/Shenga - 1/2 cup Dry (Desiccated) Coconut Slices - 1/4 cup Dalia/Roasted Gram Dal/Roasted Chickpeas - 1/4 cup Curry Leaves/Kadipata/Karbeo - a sprig Cayenne Pepper/Red Chili Powder - 1/2 tsp Mustard Seeds - 1/2 tsp Asafetida/Hing - 1/4 tsp Turmeric/Haldi - 1/4 tsp Powdered Sugar - 1/2 tsp Salt Oil How to prepare Savory Rice Cereal Chivda:   Wash curry leaves and pat them dry. Heat about 2 tbsp oil in a big pan. Add peanuts and fry them till they slightly darken and turn crunchy. Save them for later. Similarly, fry coconut slices and dalia as well. You can also add fried sesame (til) seeds, cashews or any other nuts if you like. In the same pan, add 1 tbsp oil. Add mustard seeds and curry leaves.  When mustard seeds pop, add turmeric, asafetida and cayenne pepper. Sauté for a minute or so and turn off the heat. A...

Festivals are all about good food, right? I love both savory snacks and sweets like Rava Ladoo made during Diwali. This year, one of the crunchy snacks I made was Kadboli . Some call this gluten free ring shaped snack as Kodbale .

Rava Naralache Ladoo are sweet balls made of semolina and coconut. Though coconut is added, these are also known as Rava Ladu . Generally, these ladoos are made in a sugar syrup. But I have used sweetened condensed milk instead, which I find easier as compared to sugar syrup. The only drawback is that condensed milk ladoos need to be refrigerated. Ingredients: Semolina/Rava/Sooji - 1 cup Desiccated (Dry) Coconut - 1 cup + 1/2 cup Sweetened Condensed Milk - 400 gms (14 oz) Walnuts/Akrot and Pistachios - 1/4 cup Green Cardamom/Elaichi - 2 pods (seeds only) Saffron/Kesar - few strands How to make Condensed Milk Rava Naralache Ladu: Heat a heavy bottom pan and add semolina. Once the pan heats up well, lower the heat. Roast the semolina at low flame until it turns aromatic and turns slightly golden brown. Turn off the heat and add 1 cup desiccated coconut. Mix well.  Crush the cardamom seeds to a fine powder in a mortar pestle. Roast the walnuts and...