One Day At A Time!

Whole Wheat Methi Thepla, a Gujarati Paratha is well known to many of us. Jowar Methi Thepla is not so famous as the wheat one, but its our family favorite.  Whenever I find a fresh Methi bunch, I know exactly what to cook. This paratha is more like a multi grain one.. you get to use a number of flours... corn flour, oats flour.  Skip wheat, oats and you have a nutritious gluten free bread . Ingredients: Fenugreek/Methi Leaves - about 4 cups Jowar/Sorghum/Jwari/Jola Flour - 1 cup Besan/Chickpea Flour/Gram Flour - 1/2 cup Whole Wheat Flour/Atta - 1/2 cup (optional) Yogurt/Curd/Dahi - 1/4 cup Ghee/Clarified Butter - 1 tbsp Shredded Coconut (fresh or frozen) - 1 tbsp White Sesame Seeds/Til - 1 1/2 tsp Cumin/Jeera Seeds - 1/2 tsp Green Chili Paste - 1 tsp Green Onions/Scallions - 5 Jaggery/Gud/Gul - 1 tsp Salt How to cook Jowar Methi Paratha: Heat a pan and dry roast the sesame seeds for about a minute, just until you get the roasted sesam...

If you have a sweet tooth like me and love nuts as well, this Indian sweet will definitely be your new favorite. Generally, Kaju Pista Roll is made with a Pistachio stuffing in a Cashew dough and is slightly time consuming for me. To save some time, I skipped the stuffing part. The stuffed Kaju Pista Roll looks more pretty, no doubt, but these Mixed Nuts Roll with Badam tastes even better. Ingredients: Kaju/Cashews - 1/3 cup Badam/Almonds - 1/3 cup Pista/Pistachios - 1/3 cup Sugar - 1/2 cup Water - 1/4 cup Milk Powder - 1 tbsp (optional) Ghee/Clarified Butter - 2 tsp Saffron/Kesar - few strands Green Cardamom/Elaichi - 1 pod How to make Mixed Nuts Roll/Barfi: Crush cardamom seeds and saffron strands in a mortar pestle to a fine powder. Grind cashews, almonds, pistachios in a dry blender jar to a fine powder. MAKE SUGAR SYRUP: In a thick bottom pan, add sugar and water. Keep stirring until sugar dissolves. Add powdered cardamom and saffron.  Continue cooking until...

Beans and lentils are the best sources of protein for vegetarians and vegans. And Bean sprouts are far more nutritive than beans. Today's salad is a light and wholesome meal.  If you are bored of the regular leafy salads and are looking for something different, this warm sprouts salad with a hint of mango and ginger is something you should try. Ingredients: Dry Mung Beans - 1/2 cup Red Onion - 1 small Tomato - 1 small Lettuce - about 1/2 cup Green Lime - 1 Ginger - 1/2 tsp Aamchur/Dry Mango Powder - 1 tsp Black Pepper Powder - 1/2 tsp Salt How to make Bean Sprouts Salad: MAKING SPROUTS: Soak mung beans in plenty of water for 8 - 10 hours. After soaking, beans will almost double in quantity. Wash the soaked beans well and drain the water completely. Make sure there is no water, or else sprouts might decay. Cover the vessel with a lid and leave it overnight in a warm place to sprout.  Alternately, you can tie the soaked beans in a cloth as well. ...

Though the Konkani term 'Polo' refers to a breakfast dosa/pancake, Sanna Polo is a side dish served with rice. The key ingredient of SaNa Polo is tender Bamboo shoots called as Keerlu/Keerla in Konkani. I generally make these savory pancakes with the veggies available and not necessarily with keerla. I grew up eating two versions of this, one involves soaking rice, grinding and stuff, an elaborate one. I prefer the second one, my Mom's hassle free recipe.  Some day I'll share the rice version too.

Some days I have a menu planned for our lunch and dinner. Other days, I have no clue what to cook and that seems like the biggest problem of the day. Turns out today, Salmon was my answer. And we enjoyed these zesty fish kababs with a salad and some Cheddar Biscuits . Ingredients: Salmon or any other fish - 2 pounds Cilantro/Coriander Leaves - few sprigs Ginger - 2 tsp Black Pepper Powder - 1 tsp Red Chilli Powder - 1 tsp Lime - 1 (zested and juiced) Oil - 2 tbsp Salt Vegetables - Bell Peppers/Capsicum, Onion, Zucchini Oil or Cooking Spray How to cook Fish Kababs: Soak 5 bamboo skewers in water for about 30 minutes. Dice the fish into inch size pieces. In a big bowl, add lime zest and juice, oil, freshly grated ginger, finely chopped cilantro, fresh ground black pepper, red chili powder and salt. Mix all the ingredients well. To this marinade, add fish pieces. Coat the fish well with the marinade. Cover the bowl with plastic food wrap and r...

There are some ingredients which I have not tasted yet or tried in my kitchen ..... quinoa, couscous, macadamia nuts. No particular reason. Maybe, in future, I might try and share some interesting recipes with you.  Yeast used to be one of those ingredients. I am not sure why, but I was quite apprehensive about using yeast. But not anymore. Here is a Vegan Tawa Naan bread, made of fiber rich whole wheat flour. Ingredients: Whole Wheat Flour/Atta - 1 cup + 2 tbsp Yeast - 1 tsp Warm Water - 1/2 cup Salt Oil How to cook Whole Wheat Tawa Naan: In a mixing bowl, add yeast and warm water. Stir with a spoon and set it aside for about 5 minutes. Add little salt and whole wheat flour. Add finely chopped or minced garlic, if you like Garlic Naan. Knead to form a soft dough. If the dough is too sticky, add few more tbsp of flour. Cover the bowl with a plastic food wrap. Let the dough rest in a warm place for 20 - 30 minutes or until the do...

Friday menu is always something special at our place. And when I say special, its high calorie goodness. Once in a while, treating oneself with fried food is okay, I guess. Today, its the famous Rajasthani Mung Dal Khasta Kachori. A savory Indian flaky pastry stuffed with lentils, with a distinct fennel flavor. DOUGH: All Purpose Flour/Maida - 1 cup Corn Starch - 1 tbsp Oil - 2 tbsp Salt MUNG DAL FILLING: Mung Dal/Split Green Gram - 1/4 cup Kasuri Methi/Dry Fenugreek Leaves - 1/2 tsp Fennel Seeds/Saunf/Badishep - 1/2 tsp White Sesame Seeds/Til - 1/2 tsp Coriander/Dhania Seeds - 1/2 tsp Cumin/Jeera Seeds - 1/4 tsp Garam Masala - 1/4 tsp Chat Masala - 1/4 tsp Turmeric/Haldi - 1/8 tsp Green Chilies - 3 Oil - 1 tbsp Salt How to make Mung Dal Khasta Kachori: MAKING DOUGH: In a mixing bowl, add all purpose flour, corn starch and salt. Mix well and add oil (or ghee). Mix well with your hands. Now add water, little at a time, and knead to form a soft, pliab...