Rasmalai

Ingredients :

• Paneer [ prepared from cow's milk ] - 1 litre

For sugar syrup :

• Sugar - 500 gms.
• Water - 3 1 / 2 cups

For malai :

• Milk - 1 litre
• Sugar - 1 cup
• Saffron - little
• Blanched & sliced almonds,pistha - 2 tablespoon

Method :

Prepare paneer and knead it to a smooth dough. Then make balls and flatten it. Then cook it in sugar syrup like rosogollas. [ u can see the recipe in my blog. ] Cover and keep it in the syrup for at least 10 hours. Then boil 1 litre milk in heavy kadai, till it is reduced to half of its quantity. Add saffron, sugar, and stir well till dissolved. Then remove boiled ras malai from the syrup. Press gently to remove excess syrup. Put  in cold water and squeeze again. Then put it in boiling milk and cook for another 5 to 10 minutes. Remove from the fire. Garnish with fried almonds, pistha, Serve chilled in individual cups.

Apple Cinnamon Milk Shake

 "   An apple a day keeps the doctor away " also proves true for acidity. When whipped  up as a  milkshake, as chilled milk is known to over come acidity for some people.


Ingredients :

• 
  
• Peeled and chopped apples - 2 cups
• Chilled milk - 2 1 / 2 cups
• Sugar - 2 table spoon
• Cinnamon powder - 1 tsp
• Crushed ice - required to serve

Method :

Blend the apple and sugar in a mixer or blender to a smooth puree using little milk. Then add cinnamon powder, and remaining milk and blend again. Pour into 3 individual glasses and top with crushed ice. Serve immediately. Enjoy your yummy apple cinnamon milk shake.

Papaya Mango Smoothie

                  

Papaya and mango both are said to be alkaline by nature and good for acidity. do remember to try this when mango is in season.

Ingredients :

• Chopped papaya - 1 cup
• Fresh chopped mangoes - 1 cupSugar - 1 tsp [ optional ]
• Lemon juice - 1tbsp [ optional ]
• Crushed ice - required to serve

Method :

Combine all the ingredients except the ice in the mixer and blend till smooth. Then add some crushed ice into 2 individual glasses and pour the smoothie over it. Serve immediately.

Date and Banana Shake

Ingredients :

• Milk - 2 cups 
• Dates [ khajur ] - 1 / 4 cup [ deseeded ]
• Ripe banana - 1
• Sugar - 1 tsp [ optional ]
• Ice cubes - 6 to 7

Method :

Heat little milk in a vessel and soak the dates in it for 10 to 15 minutes till they soften. Keep aside to cool. Then combine the soaked dates, milk, banana and sugar with ice cubes in a mixer and blend till smooth. Pour into 2 individual glasses and serve immediately.

Make the most use of these alkaline bananas by whipping a shake early in the morning.

Amti [ Maharashtrian Toor Daal ]

Ingredients :

• Toor daal - 1 cup
• Jaggery - 2 tsp
• Tamarind paste - 1 tsp
• Red chilli powder - 2 tsp
• Kala masala - 1 1 / 2 tsp

For seasoning :

• Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
• Asafoetida - 1 / 4 tsp
• Turmeric powder - 1 / 2 tsp
• Oil - 2 tsp
• Grated fresh coconut - 2 tsp
• Curry leaves - little
• Onion -1 big [ finely chopped ]
• Garlic flakes 2 [ finely chopped ]
• Coriander leaves - little [ for garnishing ]

Method :

Wash the daal well. Cook in  plenty of water on medium heat till soft or cook in pressure cooker. Heat the  oil. Add seasoning, chopped onion, garlic and curry leaves, fry till the onion become brown. Then add the cooked daal and stir well. Add salt, jaggery,tamarind paste, grated coconut, and kala masala. Add some more water if required. Bring to boil in low flame. Allow to boil for 10 minutes. Then remove from the gas and garnished with fresh coriander leaves.Serve with roti, tepla.

Note :

Mung or masoor daal can be used instead of toor daal.

Kala Masala [ Maharashtrian Recipe ]

       Kala Masala :

This is a typically maharashtrian masala and is so named because of its dark colour.

Ingredients :

• Coriander seeds - 3 cups
• Dry coconut pieces - 3 / 4 cup
• Seasame seeds - 1 / 4 cup
• Cumin seeds - 2 table spoon
• Asafoetida - 1 / 4 tsp
• Caraway seeds - 3 tsps [ shahjeera ]
• Cloves - 5 to 6
• Cinnamon - 4 to 5 pieces
• Bay leaves - 5
• Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
• Red chilli powder - 1 / 2 cup
• Salt - as required
• Oil - to saute above ingredients

Method :

Dry roast seasame seeds,saute the asafoetida and remove. In the same kadai add little oil, saute coconut pieces till lightly change in colour. Then remove.saute the rest of the ingredients separately. First grind seasame, coconut and asafoetida separately and then other ingredients. Mix all the powders and turmeric powder, red chilli powder and salt. Store the masala in a jar with an air-tight lid.

[ if this masala is required to be kept for several months, speard a little salt on top of the masala before closing the lid.]

Banana Chips

Ingredients :

• Raw banana - 2
• Turmeric powder - 1 / 4 tsp
• Salt - as required
• Oil -  for frying

Method :

Peel outer skin and cut banana into four lenth wise and then cut into thin slices. Mix salt, turmeric with the pieces and marinate for 1 / 2 an hour. Then heat oil in a frying pan, and deep fry one hand full of banana pieces each time. do not over fry. When it turns golden, remove and drain excess oil. Store it in a air- tight container.

Rawa Laddu

Ingredients :

• Bombay rawa - 2 cups [ heaped ]
• Sugar - 2 cups [ level ]
• Finely cut cashewnuts - 1 tbl.sp.
• Cardamom powder - little
• Fresh ghee - enough to make laddus

Method :

First dry roast rawa in a kadai without discolouring it. Then powder sugar in a mixie, add  rawa in that mixie and powder the rawa along with sugar.
Take it out from the mixie and pour it in a broad vessel. Add fried cashewnuts, cardamom powder and mix well. Then heat ghee in medium flame till it melts. Pour it over the powdered ingredients and mix with a ladle. When the mixture becomes luke warm make laddus [ form balls ] using hands.

Note :

For making larger quantity of laddus, mix roasted rawa and crystal sugar together. Send it to a mill for powdering. Store in a dry container. Take required quantity and mix with melted ghee. Make laddus whenever required.

Peas Gobhi in Gravy

Ingredients :

• Big potatoes - 3
• Cauli flower - 1 medium [ make into flowerettes ]
• Fresh peas - 1 / 2 cup  [ shelled ]
• Jaggery - 2 tsp
• Turmeric powder - 1 / 2 tsp
• Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
• Salt - as required
• Oil - 3 table spoon

For wet grinding :

• Onion - 3 to 4 [ peeled and cut into pieces ]
• Ginger - small piece
• Green chillies - 3
• Tamarind paste - 1 / 2 tsp
• Cardamom - 2 to 3
• Cinnamon - 1 / 2 inch piece
• Cloves - 2 to 3
• Big tomatoes - 2

For seasoning :

• Oil - 3 tsp
• Cumin seeds - 1 / 2 tsp

Method :

  Peel the potatoes, and cut into 8 pieces. In a frying pan add 2 cup water to the potato pieces and boil till 3 / 4 cooked. When the water is completely absorbed, add 2 table spoon oil, add cauliflower, peas and fry adding just enough salt. [ little ] When the potatoes are well roasted and the vegetables are tender, remove from the gas and keep separately. Grind all the ingredients together for wet grinding to a fine paste, adding tomatoes at the end. Then heat oil in a kadai, add cuminseeds. When it splutters, add ground masala. Add salt, turmeric, chilli powder and jaggery. Add the boiled and fried vegetables and mix well. Boil well, till the gravy gets a binding with the required thickness.
When the gravy gets ready remove from the gas. Serve hot with any pulao rice, puree, paratha or roti.

Baked Vegetables

Ingredients :

• Carrot - 100 gms
• Beans - 100 gms
• Cabbage - 200 gms
• Peas - 50 gms
• Cauliflower - small one
• Onion - 1 medium size
• Capsicum - 1 [ small ]
• Potato - 1
• Grated cheese - 2 tbl. sps.
• Aji-no-moto - 1 / 4 tsp

To make white sauce :

• Butter - 2 tbl. sps.
• Corn flour or maida - 1 tbl. sps.
• Milk - 1 cup
• Black pepper powder - as required
• Salt - to taste

Method :

For white sauce :
Melt butter in a sauce pan on low flame, add cornflour stirring constantly add milk little at that time.Stir constantly to avoid lumps. When sauce become thick remove from the gas, add salt, pepper, little sugar and aji-no-moto. Mix well and keep aside.
Then cut all the vegetables finely and steam in pressure cooker with out adding  water. Cut onions and capsicum in to long pieces. Take a baking dish, put the steamed vegetables in it. Pour the white sauce to cover that, garnish on top with cut onion and capsicum. Sprinkle grated cheese on top and bake in hot oven till the cheese turns into light brown in colour [ approximately ] 20 minutes. Serve hot with tomato sauce and chilli sauce.

This not dish. Serve hot as it is with sauce sprinkled over it. Even children will like it well.

Fresh Peas Subji

Ingredients :

• Fresh peas - 1 cup [ shelled ]
• Onions - 2 to 3 big
• Tomatoes - 3 [ medium sized ]
• Tamarind paste - 1 / 2 tsp
• Jaggery - required
• Salt - as required

Fry in oil :

• Dhania - 1 tbl. sp.
• Cumin seeds - 1 / 2 tsp
• Pepper - 4 to 5
• Red chillies - 6 to 8

 [ fry all these in a tsp of oil and grind with 1 / 2 cup of scraped fresh coconut. ]

Method :

Cut onions and tomatoes into 1 inch pieces.  Then heat 3 table spoons of oil in pressure pan, or in cooker body itself and add cumin seeds. When it splutters, add onions and fry till it become translucent. Mix peas and fry for a minute, then add ground masala. Fry for a few more minutes. Add tamarind paste, salt, jaggery, cut tomatoes with enough water and cover with lid. Reduce the flame. Cook for 10 minutes or keep till 2 whistle comes. Dry peas also can be substituted here, which is soaked 7 hours previously. In that case cook for few more minutes. It goes well with rice flour chappathis and maida chappathis.

Vegetable Kurma

 Ingredients :

• Potatoes - 3 [ cut into  cubes ]
• Carrots - 3 [ cut into cubes ]
• Tinda - 2 [ peeled and cut into cubes ]
• Tomatoes - 2
• Ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp
• Onions - 2 to 3
• Raisins - 1 tbl. sps.
• Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
• Turmeric powder - 1 / 2 tsp
•  Salt - asrequired
• Garam masala powder - 1 tsp
• Cumin seeds - 1 / 2 tsp
• Sugar - 1 tsp
• Oil - 3 tbl. sps.
• Coriander leaves - little

Method :

Mix the vegetables together, adding salt, turmeric, and required water. Boiled them till it become soft. Drain the excess water and keep aside. Then heat 3 tbsps oil in a deep pan. Add cumin seeds. When they pop, add onions, ginger garlic paste. Fry till it  change in to brown colour. Then add turmeric, chilli powder, raisins and boiled vegetables. Check salt and  add salt, sugar and garam masala powder and 2 cups of water and cook till the vegestables mix well and the gravy becomes little thick. Garnish with coriandre leaves and serve with puris and rotis.
Addition of coconut paste add into kurma in south. Addition of rich nuts paste add into kurma in north.

Sandhesh [ Bengali Sweet ]

Ingredients :

• Cow's milk - 1 litre
• Fresh curds - 1 cup
• Sugar - 1 cup
• Milk masala - little [ for  garnishing ]

Method :

Boil milk. Allow to cool and remove the cream. Again heat the milk up to boiling point. Allow to boil for a minute and remove from the fire. Then add fresh curds little by little, and stir gently till milk curdles. Stop adding when it curdles completely and yellowish whey water is separated. Keep thin muslin cloth, over a vessel and pour this to collect paneer in the cloth.Twist the cloth, keep it under running tap water for 2 minutes till paneer comes to room temperature. Hang the cloth over a nail for 1 hour to remove excess moisture. Take our paneer from the cloth, and kneed it well. Add sugar and kneed again for few minutes. Then put the mixture in a heavy kadai, and stir in low flame for a minute for the sugar to dissolve. [ do not over cook, which makes the paneer hard ] Remove from the fire, and allow it to cool completely. Put it in mixie to make it smooth. Add any colour, essence and prepare different shaped sandhesh.  Before serving garnish with milk masala and powdered sugar.

Besan Laddu

Ingredients :

• Roasted bengal gram dhal - 1 cup
• Powdered sugar - 1 cup
• Ghee - 4 tbl. sp
• Cardamom powder - little
• Broken cashew nuts &
• melon seeds - as required

Method :

Powder dhal in mixie and pass it through a fine sieve. Fry it in melted ghee till good aroma comes from that. Then mix it with powdered sugar and cardamom powder.  Fry cashew nuts, melon seeds in ghee and add to the flour. When it is still warm, make lemon sized laddus.

Moor Melakai [Especially prepared during Peak Summer !!]

Ingredients:

• Green chillies - 30
• Curd - 2 cups [preferably sour]
• Fenugreek seeds - 1 tsp
•  Water - 1/3 cup
•  Salt - 1 tbsp 

Method:

Wash the green chillies properly. Slightly cut in the middle or at the end of the chillies, not fully. This will let the chillies to absorb the curd. No need to cut trim the head of chillies let it be. 

Soak the fenugreek seeds(methi seed) whole night and then grind it into smooth paste by adding water. 

Whip the curd and get a thick buttermilk (along with the butter). Add salt to the curd and the grinded fenugreek seed paste ,mix well. Drop the chillies and mix well with the curd mix and make sure that the chillies coated well in curd mix.keep it aside for the whole day.

Next day morning drain the curd and spread only the chillies in a clean cloth and let it in the hot sun for the whole day. Reserve the curd in the fridge. Same day evening take out the chillies from the cloth and again drop the chillies in  the reserved curd and let it to soak for the whole night.

Next day morning dry it out again in a cloth. If the chillies are completely dry in second day itself then you can remove it from the sun and store it in a air tight container.

Whenever require take little quantity of dried chillies and deep fry it in oil and serve. You can also store the deep fried dried chillies in bottles for about 2-3 days.

Mor millagai goes well with curd rice.

Variations:

Use the home made curd for the preparation because we will get the thick curd with much cream/butter in it, which will reduce the heat of the chillies.

You can try this with other varieties of chillies also, the fat and short chillies are very good for making this.

Manathakkali Vathal

Ingredients :

• Green manathakkali - 1 kg.
• Salt - as required
• Sour curd - 1 cup

Method :

Wash manathakkali in enough water and drain. Then mix salt and curd and keep for 4 days. In between stir once daily. Then dry in hot sun for 5 days till it becomes completely dry and crisp. Then store in air- tight container.

Sundakkai Vathal

Ingredients :

• Green sundakkai - 1 kg
• Salt - as required
• Sour curd - 1 / 2 cup

Method :

Crush the sundakkai slightly once so that it opens but remains round in shape. Then wash these with water and drain. Add salt and soar curd and mix well. Leave it for 4 to 5 days, shaking once a day. If the sundakkai is very bitter you may add more curd. Then dry in hot sun until it becomes completely dry and crisp. Store it in tight container. Fry in little oil before serving.