Besan Ladoo

Most famous North Indian dessert

Ingredients:1 1/2 cups gram flour (basen)
4 tablespoons sooji (semolina flour)
1/2 cup Ghee (clarified butter)
3/4 cups sugar
4 tablespoons sliced almonds (badam)
1/4 teaspoons ilaichi powder (grounded cardamom seeds)
Garnish:1 tablespoons sliced pistachios (pista)
10 resins

(Matki) Sprout Moth Beans

Moth beans, commonly known in India as Matki, are sprout lover’s friend. They are very easy to sprout. It takes just a day (approx 20-30 hrs depending on the climate) to sprout.

How to sprout Moth BeansWash the beans well. Mostly there is bound to be debris, dust and stones.
Rinse under cold water well until it runs clear.
Soak the beans in water overnight – about 6-8 hours.

Tie up the well soaked beans in a damp cheese or muslin cloth for sprouting for a day.

You will see it sprouting the very next day.

Use them in you food, cooked or as a salad.

Janhi Posta

Ridge gourd cooked with poppy paste

Ingredients:

Ridge gourd ( cut into large chunks, 1 1/2 cups )

potato ( cut into thin slices, 1/3 cup )

onion ( 1 small )

red chillis ( 2 nos )

garlic cloves ( 1-2 nos )

poppy seeds ( 1 tsp )

coriander seeds ( 1/5 tsp )

fennel seeds ( 1/5 tsp )

turmeric ( 1 pinch )

oil ( 2-3 tsp)

cumin seeds ( a pinch )

salt

Preparation:

Grind the poppy seeds without water to crush them.

Add the garlic cloves along with a little water and grind for 5 secs to get into a coarse paste.

Chattu - Shimla Mirch Tarkari

Ingredients:
Mushrooms( 250 gm)
capsicum ( 2 medium)
tomato ( 2 large)
onion ( 1 large )
garlic (7-8 pods)
mustard seeds ( 1 tsp)
cumin powder (1/3 tsp)
coriander powder (1/3 tsp)
green/red chillis ( 2 nos)
red chilli powder ( 1/2 tsp )
pancha-phutana (1/4 tsp)
grated ginger ( 1 tbs )
cooking oil (3-4 tsp)
turmeric (1 tsp),
finely cut coriander leaves ( 2 tbs ),
salt to taste.




Preparation:
Fill a large vessel with water and add turmeric. Immerse the mushrooms in the water and leave for 10 mins. Drain the turmeric water and wash the mushrooms with sufficient fresh water.
Cut the mushrooms, capsicum and tomato into medium sized chunks. Slice the onion into thin pices.

Channa Chadchadi

Ingredients:

Bengal gram (1 cup)

Onion (1 small)

Green chilies (1)

Coriander powder (1/5 tsp)

Roasted cumin-chilies powder (1/4 tsp)

Cumin seeds (1/4 tsp)

Mustard seeds (1/4 tsp)

Fennel seeds (1/4 tsp)

fenugreek seeds (1/8 tsp)

Oil (1 tsp)

Salt to taste

Chopped coriander leaves (1 tsp)

Preparation:

Soak the Bengal gram overnight

Wash and cook for 2-3 whistles in a pressure cooker. Drain the excess water and keep aside.

Chop the onion and green chilies into small pieces.

Buddha Chakuli

Ingredients:

Urad dal ( dehusked, 1 cup)

Broken basmati rice ( 1 cup)

Ripe banana (1)

Freshly grated coconut (1 cup)

Chenna or ricotta cheese (1 cup)

Sugar (6 tsp)

Cardamon (3-4)

Peppercorn (6-7)

Salt

Baking powder (1 pinch, not required if given 3-4 hours to ferment)

Raisins (1/3 cup)

Ghee

Preparation:

Soak the urad dal for 4-5 hours

Wash and soak the broken rice for 10 mins.

Drain all the water and ground into a fine paste.
Ground the urad dal with the rice flour, banana, 2 cardamoms & the peppercorns to get a smooth paste.

Atta Chakuli

Ingredients:

Whole wheat flour ( 1 cup )

Oats flour ( 1 cup )

Curry leaves ( 1 sprig )

Onion ( 1 small )

Green chilli (2)

Pancha-phutana

Salt

Oil ( 1 tsp per chakuli if cooked on a non-stick utensil).

Preparation:

Mix the whole wheat flour, oats flour, salt along with sufficient water into a smooth paste (consistency should be same as that of dosa/ pan cake batter).

Alu bhendi Bhaja/Charchadi

Ingredients:Ladyfingers (bhendi) (200 gm)
Potato (1 large)
Green chilli broken by hand into 2 pieces (1-2)
Cumin seeds (1/4 tsp)
Mustard seeds (1/4 tsp)
Turmeric powder(1/4 tsp)
Mustard oil ( 2 tsp )
Salt to taste

For the mustard garlic paste:
Mustard seeds (1 tsp)
Garlic cloves ( 4-5)

Preparation:Wash the ladyfingers and cut into small pieces.
Cut the potatoes into smaller pieces than the ladies finger so that they get cooked in the same time.
Grind the mustard seeds and garlic pods into a fine paste.