Kheer/Payasa with Dodhi/Bottle Gourd & Sago

I have brought a bottle gourd. It was the smallest and the tenderest one the bhajiwala had but was still big enough to fill to big Tupperware boxes when cubed. I made bhaji once but then since I wanted a change I decided to make kheer/payasa.

This could also be because the boys in the opposite cubicle at work were discussing how make kheer out of bottle gourd. They, very authoritatively told me 2 methods one the regular with milk and another with coconut milk. They were insiatant that I use sago or sabudana which I never use.  I am sure both don’t even know where the kitchens at home are but their passionate cooking without flame here in office made me make this kheer,  With milk will try the coconut milk one later. I was supposed to carry it to work but I plain forgot. It’s still in the fridge. 

The ingredients used are approximate.

Ingredients:

1 cup bottle gourd, peeled and cubed to fine pieces

1 tblspn ghee

Few cashew nuts

2 tblspn sago or sabudana, soaked in ¼ cup water

½ cup sugar

¾ litre milk

4 elichi/ cardamom

Few strands of saffron (optional)

Method:

1.       Heat a steel bowl on the gas. When it is hot switch off the gas and drop the saffron strands in it. The strands shrivel add a tblspn or two of milk and keep aside.

2.      Heat the ghee and fry the cashew nuts till golden. Drain and keep aside.

3.       In the same ghee add the bottle gourd and stir fry till the cubes are translucent.

4.       Add the milk, soaked sabudana with the water and bring to boil. Boil till the bottle gourd is well cooked.

5.      Add sugar and continue boiling for a few minutes.

6.      Add the cardamom powder, saffron strands, cashew nuts mix well and switch off the gas.

7.      Serve hot or chilled. Plain or with chapatti or poori.

Sending this to  Radhika's Let’s Cook ~ Scrumptious Breakfasts

Mom Chef's event (Vrat ka Khaana) 

MAledi--Chapatti Ladoo

I      love sweets and it was my staple diet till my marriage. Then since my family does not like them much I have started cutting down on them because it is lonely to eat sweets alone. But now I have found a perfect solution. Make them and carry them to work. Satisfying and my colleagues also eat some too!

  

Yesterday I remembered one sweet that Amma used to make and call MAledi. It used to be for our short break but before leaving for school we made it a point to eat some along with milk.

It can be made out of leftover chapatti but here I have made it out of fresh ones.

You will need

 4 Chapattis, broken into fine pieces

1 tsp khus khus or poppy seeds

2 tblspn dry coconut, grated (I used only 1)

1 tblspn puthane

1 tblspn ghee

½ cup jaggery, grated (adjust as per taste)

3 cardamoms, peeled and powdered

Method:

1.   Dry roast the coconut till a bit reddish. Transfer to a plate.

2.   Dry roast the khus khus till bit reddish on low flame. Take care that it does not burn. Transfer to the plate of dry coconut.

3.   Mix the puthane, cardamom powder, roasted khus khus and coconut.

4.   In a kadhai/wok heat the ghee. On low flame add the grated jaggery. Stir gently.

5.   When the jaggery bubbles on the sides of the kadhai/wok switch off the gas and mix all the ingredients.

6.   Stir well till all the chapatti pieces are coated with the mix.

7.    Apply a little water to your hands and make small laddoos of the mixture.

8.   You can roll them in the some more coconut if you feel like it. As I had run out of it I have not.

I got 4  & ½ ladoos out of 4 chapattis well appreciated by my colleagues.

Archana

Healthy Savoury Dosa~Bloghop Wednesday

There are 2 events around which my kitchen revolves these days they are ….
First is my Event – The Lets Get Stuffed ~Bell Peppers or Capsicum and second is The BlogHop Wednesday!

I expect all of you my dear friends to don your thinking hats and send me exiting entries for stuffing the Bell peppers or Capsicum. Here are some of mine.

And yes I am a part of this exciting experiment started by Radhika of Tickling Palates. We are paired with different partners every other Wednesday and this week I am paired with Kalyani also known as Mom Chef!
 
The title suits her to the T or should I say C? Amazing recipes & pictures!

I was totally at sea for I was just seeing each recipe seemed better than the earlier one! Finally I choose the simple Healthy Oats Dosa or The Savoury Oats Dosa!!

Here is Kalyani’s recipe …

Here is mine as usual I had to fiddle with the ingredients. My husband’s my best critic and friends words not mine so I was expecting a total failure in the system so I was quite amazed at the results!!

My daughter, the younger one loved it and polished off 3 small ones. Mind you I am not complaining she is most welcome it is a BIG COMPLIMENT! The “kurkur kombdi“ that is the loosely translated as the brooding hen or clucking hen eating without complaints!

Ingredients:
1 cup Oats, crushed
1 tblspn rice flour
½ cup Rava
1 tblspn barley flour (optional)
¼ cup besan/kadli hit/chana daal flour
Salt
Chopped green chilies (optional)
Chopped coriander
1 onion, finely chopped
½ cup butter milk
Oil
For tempering: Mustard seeds, jeera/ cumin seeds, and hing/asafetida

Method:
1. I soaked all the dry ingredients in the butter milk and since the batter was not the consistency needed for dosa hence I added water.
2. Let it stand for 15-20 minutes.
3. Make the tempering by heating the oil and spluttering the mustard, jeera/cumin seeds/jeerigi and hing/asafoetida. Pour in the batter. Mix well.
4. In the batter add the chopped onions, coriander, chillies and salt.
5. To make the Dosa: add a ladle full of the batter on the non-stick tava lightly greased.
6. Spread lightly. Cover and cook.
7. Flip on the other side cook and serve with chutney or as kiddo had with tomato ketchup.
After the first Dosa I did not use oil at all.

Thanks Kalyani for this wonderful inclusion in my daughter’s diet and Radhika for I have the opportunity to meet new friends and try different recipes!

Please do send me some entries for my event here.

Archana

Drumsticks/ Shevgya che Shenga /Nuggekai/ Shango Curry

Just imagine your friend asks for something and since it is not readily available you decide to give it later and then you forget…!!

Unforgivable!!

This is exactly what I have done but I hope my friend Mythreyi does forgive me!!

She had posted some drumstick recipes and wanted some more of curry recipes with them. Drumsticks/ Shevga che shenga  /Nuggekai/ Shango as they are know in English/ Marathi/ Kannada/ Konkani  are a rich source of calcium and potassium. Read about it here.

I was quite surprised that I had not posted this curry that I make often. In my mom’s place it is used only in sambhar, my mother-in-law used in kadhi, I have not made the kadhi yet but will try it out soon. 

This recipe is what my friends’ mom used to make and since the kids loved it I copied it.  You can as in the original recipe add prawns which taste yummy but I am clueless about cooking them.  You are the expert if you are using prawns but I will guarantee the taste!

The Ingredients are simple:

5 drumsticks, chopped the size about 2 knuckles

½ a coconut, freshly grated

1 tsp rasam powder or sambhar powder (adjust as per taste)

A small ball of tamarind

½ tsp turmeric

½ tsp chilli powder

3 cloves garlic (optional)

1 small ball of jaggery

1 tsp oil

Mustard

Hing/asafoetida

Salt

Coriander

Method:

1.       Place the drumsticks in a wide vessel use just enough water to cover all the drumsticks mix salt. Cover and par boil.

2.       Meanwhile grind the coconut, the masala powder, tamarind, turmeric, chilli powder, garlic (if used) and jaggery to a very fine paste using little water. Many times I grind the masala only after I have boiled the drumsticks and I use the water from the drumsticks only.

3.       Pour over the masala over the drumstick and bring to a boil. Adjust the seasonings.

4.       In a small pan heat the oil, splutter mustard, then hing/asafoetida.

5.       Pour over the drumstick curry. Cook till the drumsticks are done.

6.       Serve with steaming hot rice.

  

Drumsticks Curry

Archana