Rajan loves cooking dishes from his native Indian cuisine. He likes to share his favourite recipes with his online readers.

Indian Flatbread With Bottle Gourd

Lauki paratha is an Indian flatbread prepared by incorporating grated bottle gourd, spices and flour into a dough. It is a healthy breakfast dish you must try.

Cautionary Note:

Taste the bottle gourd before grating as it is sometimes bitter. If it is bitter, do not use it as it is poisonous.

Cook Time

Ingredients

For the dough:

• 1 cup lauki (bottle gourd), washed, peeled and grated, taste the lauki and if bitter do not use it
• 1.25 cups whole wheat flour
• 1/2 tsp red chilli flakes
• 1 tsp coriander powder
• 1/2 tsp garam masala
• 1/2 tsp sendha namak (rock salt) or table salt
• 1 tsp kasuri methi (dry fenugreek leaves)
• 1 tbsp hara dhania (cilantro)
• 1 tsp ginger-garlic paste
• 1 chopped green chilli
• 1 tsp desi ghee (clarified butter), you can use oil instead

For rolling and frying:

• dry whole wheat flour, as needed
• desi ghee (clarified butter), as needed

For serving:

• dahi (yoghurt), garnished with mint powder, red chilli powder and roasted jeera (cumin seed powder)
• mango pickle

Instructions

1. In a paraat (kneading plate), measure the flour, grated lauki, red chilli flakes, coriander powder, garam masala, salt, kasuri methi, hara dhania, ginger garlic paste, chopped green chilli and desi ghee.
2. Mix and prepare a soft dough. Knead for 3-4 minutes. If the mixture is a bit dry add a little water. Smear a little desi ghee on the dough, cover with a lid and let it rest for 10-15 minutes.
3. Divide the dough into 3 equal-sized portions. Take 1 portion, roll it into a ball, dust with dry flour and roll it out into a round-shaped slightly thick paratha, about 6 inches in diameter. While rolling the paratha, sprinkle dry flour over it when needed to prevent it from sticking to the rolling pin or rolling surface.
4. Spread a thin layer of desi ghee over the paratha, then fold it as shown in the video to make a square-shaped dough. Dust with dry flour and roll it out into a square-shaped, slightly thick paratha.
5. Heat a tawa (skillet) on low-medium heat. Brush a little desi ghee over it and place the paratha over it carefully. Cook one side for about 15-20 seconds; then flip it over and raise the heat to medium and cook the other side for about 15 seconds.
6. Flip the paratha and spread a little desi ghee over it; then flip it once again and spread a little desi ghee over this side as well.
7. Cook the paratha by flipping it over repeatedly until it is roasted crisp with nice brown spots on both sides. Transfer to a plate and prepare the other parathas similarly.
8. Serve the parathas with dahi (yoghurt) and mango pickle.

How to Make Lauki Paratha (Bottle Gourd Paratha)

© 2021 Rajan Singh Jolly

Rajan loves cooking dishes from his native Indian cuisine. He likes to share his favourite recipes with his online readers.

Traditional Summertime Beverage

Lassi is a traditional North Indian, yoghurt-based drink. It is prepared in two different styles: salty and sweet. Today we are preparing the salted version of this beverage.

It is simple and quick to make—all you need to do is blend the yoghurt, some spices and water. Voila!

It is a very refreshing beverage for the hot summer months here in India. It is also very healthy, as it helps promote digestive health. Do try it and share your experience.

Cook Time

Ingredients

• 1 cup dahi (yoghurt)
• 1/2 tsp pudina (mint powder), or 15-20 fresh mint leaves
• 1/4 tsp kali mirch (black pepper powder)
• 1 tsp bhuna jeer (roasted cumin seed powder)
• 1/2 tsp kala namak (black salt)
• 1/2 tsp sensha namak (rock salt)
• 500 ml chilled water
• 6-7 ice cubes, crushed

Instructions

1. Put all of the ingredients into a blender jar and blend until well combined.
2. Transfer to glasses and serve immediately.

How to Make Namkeen (Salted) Lassi

© 2021 Rajan Singh Jolly

Rajan loves cooking dishes from his native Indian cuisine. He likes to share his favourite recipes with his online readers.

Overnight oats are a quick and easy, healthy and delicious no-cook breakfast dish you can prepare the night before. In fact, you can prepare these oats on a Sunday and they will last all week—particularly handy if your mornings are busy.

Although chia seeds can be used unsoaked, I recommend taking the time to soak them. This is because soaking removes the phytic acids, which interfere with nutrient absorption.

A very nice feature of this recipe is that it's quite flexible. Once you have the oats, all of the remaining add-ins and toppings can be switched in or out. Go ahead and experiment!

Here is how I prepare it. Do try it and share your experience.

Cook Time

Ingredients

• 4 tbsp/30 grams old-fashioned rolled oats
• 1-2 tsp sabja (basil seeds or chia seeds), soaked in water for 1 hour and the water drained out
• 5 almonds, soaked for 1 hour and then sliced
• 5 cashews nuts, soaked for 1 hour and then sliced
• 5 walnuts halves, soaked for 1 hour and then sliced
• 5 pistachios, soaked for 1 hour and then sliced
• 10-12 raisins
• 1 tbsp honey, or as needed
• 150-200 ml milk
• mango pulp cubed, as needed

Instructions

1. In a jar or Mason jar, add the oats, soaked sabja (chia seeds), sliced nuts (save some for garnish), raisins, honey and milk. Stir to mix well, close the cap and keep in the refrigerator overnight.
2. The next morning, remove the jar from the fridge. Add mango cubes and garnish with the remaining sliced nuts.
3. Serve immediately or pack for breakfast on the go.

Overnight Oats Recipe

© 2021 Rajan Singh Jolly

Rajan loves cooking dishes from his native Indian cuisine. He likes to share his favourite recipes with his online readers.

North Indian Summer Drink

Doodh soda or milk soda is a popular North Indian summer drink. It provides much-needed relief during the extremely hot days of the summer season.

Rooh afza is an herbal rose-flavoured syrup concentrate. It relieves dehydration as it provides several minerals that help to cool the body and maintain the water balance. I use rooh afza during the summer season along with sabja seeds to help counter the excessive heat we have here in the North Indian state of Punjab.

It is very simple to prepare and takes but a few minutes. Do try it and give your feedback.

Note about the milk: We get raw (unboiled/unpasteurised) milk from the dairy farmer. Before using it we must boil it (this milk does not curdle when boiled). After boiling and cooling, we remove the cream and then use the milk. If you are using pasteurised milk then you may skip the boiling/cooling step.

Cook Time

Ingredients

• 200 ml milk (if unpasteurised, boil, cool and chill before using)
• 4 tbsp rooh afza syrup, or to taste
• crushed ice as needed
• 400 ml chilled club soda

Instructions

1. In a tall jug, add the milk, rooh afza and crushed ice. Stir until well mixed.
2. Add the club soda and mix again.
3. Check for sweetness, add more rooh afza if needed, stir and serve.

Doodh Soda (Milk Soda) Recipe

© 2021 Rajan Singh Jolly

Comments

Rajan Singh Jolly (author) from From Mumbai, presently in Jalandhar, INDIA. on July 25, 2021:

Yes, it is very refreshing Denise. Thank you.

Denise McGill from Fresno CA on July 19, 2021:

How interesting. I never thought of putting club soda in milk but I bet it is refreshing.

Blessings,

Denise

Rajan loves cooking dishes from his native Indian cuisine. He likes to share his favourite recipes with his online readers.

Jamun is a summer fruit that is both sweet and tart with an astringent aftertaste. In Hindi it is known by various names including jambul, jamli, jambul, jambolan, jambus and kala jamun. In English it has several names, as well, including Indian blackberry, black plum and java plum.

Jamun provides several health benefits because of its phytonutrient, vitamin and mineral content. The fruit can help lower blood sugar, relieve issues related to the stomach and promote heart, liver, skin and oral health.

Today we are preparing a jamun smoothie, which is a refreshing and cooling summer drink. Using a high-speed blender, the drink comes together in seconds. Do try this smoothie and share your experience.

Note: Jamun juice stains not only the hands but the tongue as well for a few hours after you consume it. Not to worry, the natural colour is harmless.

Cook Time

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup jamun (black plum), sliced, deseeded and chilled in the freezer
• 1/2 cup dahi (yoghurt), chilled in the freezer
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1/2 lemon or lime, juiced
• 4-5 crushed ice cubes

Instructions

1. Wash and slice the jamuns and discard the seeds. Place the sliced fruit in the freezer for 30 minutes to chill.
2. Add the jamun slices to a blender jar and add all of the remaining ingredients, one after the other. Close the cap and blend until smooth.
3. Pour the smoothie in a glass and serve immediately.

Jamun (Black Plum) Smoothie Recipe

© 2021 Rajan Singh Jolly

Rajan loves cooking dishes from his native Indian cuisine. He likes to share his favourite recipes with his online readers.

Jamun, also known as Java plum or Indian blackberry, is a dark, purple-coloured, very succulent summer fruit that offers several health benefits—especially in terms of lowering blood sugar.

Jamun contains fruit phenolics, which are important dietary antioxidant and antidiabetic constituents. Interestingly, it has been found that fruit size is negatively correlated with antidiabetic, antioxidant activities, and phenolic acids. This means that small fruits have higher antidiabetic and antioxidant properties in their pulp, seed coat and kernel than larger ones.

The fully ripe fruit is quite sweet and has distinctly astringent undertones.

Today, we are going to prepare jamun shots, a very popular and refreshing summer drink. Usually, this drink is served in shot glasses; hence the name. Do try it and share your experience.

Cook Time

Ingredients

• 250 grams jamun (Java plums or Indian blackberries)
• 2 tbsp ground sugar, or to taste
• 1/2 lemon
• 3-4 ice cubes
• 1/2 cup chilled water, or as needed
• Chaat masala, or as needed, for garnish
• 1 lemon, juiced, for garnish

Instructions

1. Deseed the jamun and freeze the pulp until well frozen but not too hard (about 4-5 hours).
2. Add the frozen jamun to a blender and then add the juice of 1/2 a lemon, sugar and 3-4 crushed ice cubes. Blend well.
3. Add 1/2 cup (or as needed) chilled water and blend the pulp to a thick smooth puree.
4. Wet the mouth of the shot glass with lemon juice; then dip the moistened rim in chaat masala so it is well coated. Add the jamun shot and serve immediately.

Jamun Shots Recipe

© 2021 Rajan Singh Jolly

Rajan loves cooking dishes from his native Indian cuisine. He likes to share his favourite recipes with his online readers.

Dahi vada is a popular Indian street food that is also often prepared as a side dish with meals. This dish is made with deep-fried urad dal fritters dunked in plain creamy dahi (yoghurt) and topped with sweet and spicy chutneys as well as sprinklings of various types of powdered spices.

If you follow the tips provided in the instructions and recipe video below, your dahi vadas will turn out super soft every time you prepare them—without the help of yeast, baking powder or baking soda.

Do try them and share your experience.

Cook Time

Ingredients

For the vada batter:

• 1 cup urad dal (white lentils), soaked overnight in water and then drained
• 1-inch ginger, peeled and grated
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp red chilli powder
• 1 tsp coriander powder
• 1/4 tsp heeng (asafoetida powder)
• water as needed, to grind the urad dal
• 15-20 kishmish (raisins), optional
• 1 tbsp finely chopped hara dhania (cilantro)

For deep-frying the vada:

• vegetable oil, as needed

To assemble and serve:

• 500-750 grams of dahi (yoghurt), whisked until smooth
• 4-5 tsp ground sugar
• 1/4 tsp kala namak (salt)
• kala namak (salt), for sprinkling
• bhuna jeera (roasted cumin seed powder), for sprinkling
• red chilli powder, for sprinkling
• green chutney, for pouring on the dish
• imli chutney, for pouring on the dish

Instructions

1. Prepare the vada batter: In a grinder, add the soaked urad dal and the rest of the ingredients listed for the batter. Add water (only as much as needed) to grind the dal to a thick smooth paste. We used about 1/2 a cup of water. Do not make the batter thin. Transfer the batter to a bowl.
2. Add the raisins and mix well. Whisk the batter for 10-15 minutes in one direction only until the batter become fluffy.
3. Add the chopped cilantro and mix well.
4. Prepare a pan with oil on medium heat for frying the vadas.
5. Once the oil is a little hot, stir it a few times. Pour small portions of the batter in the pan. When the vadas puff up, flip them over and keep turning them over until they are fried golden. Transfer to a plate and fry the remaining vadas.
6. Dip as many vadas as you need in a bowl of water for 10-15 minutes; then press each one softly between the palms to squeeze out the water. Transfer to a plate. You can store the remaining vadas in the fridge for a day.
7. To the whisked dahi add 4-5 tsp of ground sugar and mix well. Add 1/4 tsp salt and mix again.
8. To serve the dahi vada, first spread a layer of dahi in a serving bowl. Arrange one layer of vadas over this. Next sprinkle some salt, roasted jeera powder, red chilli powder, green chutney and finally the imli chutney, one after the other. Now cover the vadas by pouring dahi over them.
9. Place the remaining vadas over this and repeat the process with the spices, chutneys and dahi as before.
10. Garnish with some roasted jeera powder and red chilli powder. Chill the dish in the fridge before serving.

Super Soft Dahi Vada Recipe

© 2021 Rajan Singh Jolly

Rajan loves cooking dishes from his native Indian cuisine. He likes to share his favourite recipes with his online readers.

Try this very delicately flavoured, cooling and refreshing lychee mojito mocktail. It is the perfect beverage to offer guests when they arrive at your next summertime get-together or party.

In the hot summer months it's always important to hydrate, and this fruity drink is a delightful way to do it. It can be prepared in minutes and enjoyed with friends. I've made a video that appears below the recipe to guide you through the process.

Do try it and share your experience.

Cook Time

Ingredients

• 20-25 fresh pudina (mint) leaves
• 1 1/2 lemons
• 2 tsp ground sugar, or to taste
• 200 ml fresh lychee juice, made by grinding 12 lychees
• Chilled Sprite (or lemon-lime soda), as needed
• 6 crushed ice cubes, or as needed

Instructions

1. Cut the half lemon into quarters. Cut the whole lemon in half and then slice each half into quarters. In total, you should now have 12 lemon quarters.
2. In a tall mug, add the mint, lemon quarters and ground sugar. With a wooden muddler, muddle the ingredients until they are crushed.
3. Add the lychee juice and crushed ice. Stir well to dissolve the sugar.
4. Top up with chilled Sprite, stir again and serve.

Lychee Mojito Mocktail Recipe

© 2021 Rajan Singh Jolly

Rajan loves cooking dishes from his native Indian cuisine. He likes to share his favourite recipes with his online readers.

Cooling Summer Drink

Kacche aam ka sharbat is a raw green mango drink. With its amazing mix of sweet and sour flavours, this beverage is a wonderful way to cool off during the summer heat. It's also very healthy.

When purchasing mangoes choose ones that have dark green skin and are firm to touch. This will ensure the mangoes have an immature seed.

Before using this fruit, it's important to remove any pesticides. To do so, wash well with water, soak in tamarind water for 10 minutes and then rinse thoroughly again under running water.

This drink takes just a few minutes to prepare and calls for only a few basic ingredients. Do try it and share your experience.

Cook Time

Ingredients

• 2 medium raw green mangoes
• 4 tbsp sugar, or to taste
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 10-15 fresh pudina (mint leaves)
• 1 1/2 cups / 375 ml chilled water
• 1 cup / 250 ml crushed ice

Instructions

1. Wash the mangoes and then peel off the skin. Chop the pulp into small pieces and discard the seeds.
2. Put the chopped pulp into a blender jar, add the sugar, mint leaves and salt. Pour in 1/2 cup of chilled water. Put on the lid and blend until the mango pieces, sugar and mint leaves are ground fine.
3. Pour in 1 cup of chilled water and blend it again for a few seconds.
4. Pour the mango sharbat into a jar, add in the crushed ice and stir well.
5. Serve the chilled, delicious, raw mango sharbat immediately.

Kacche Aam Ka Sharbat (Green Mango Juice) Recipe

© 2021 Rajan Singh Jolly

Rajan loves cooking dishes from his native Indian cuisine. He likes to share his favourite recipes with his online readers.

This tandoori arbi tikka masala dish is a delicious and fragrant taro root curry with a smoky flavour infused in it by red hot charcoal. Enjoy it as a stand-alone dish with tandoori roti, laccha paratha, plain roti, paratha or rice.

Do try it and share your feedback.

Cook Time

Ingredients

For marinating the arbi:

• 500 grams arbi (colocasia or taro root)
• 1 cup / 200 grams dahi (yoghurt), whisked until smooth
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp dhania (coriander powder)
• 1/2 tsp red chilli powder
• 1/2 tsp garam masala
• 1 tbsp garlic paste
• 1 tbsp ginger paste

For the gravy:

• 8 medium tomatoes, chopped
• 1 green chilli, broken into 2-3 pieces
• 1 inch ginger, peeled and chopped into small pieces
• 1 medium onion, sliced

For shallow-frying the arbi:

• 2 tbsp oil
• 1/2 cup / 100 ml milk or water (optional)

For preparing the dish:

• Tomato puree (prepared above)
• Shallow-fried arbi (prepared above)
• 2 tbsp oil
• 4 tsp shahi, paneer masala
• 1 tbsp tomato ketchup
• 3 tbsp fresh malai (cream)
• 1-2 tsp hara dhania (cilantro), chopped
• 2 pieces charcoal
• 1-2 tsp oil for smoking the dish
• 1/2 tsp chopped hara dhania (cilantro), for garnish

Instructions

1. Boil the arbi in a pressure cooker by giving just 1 whistle, then strain out the water and let it cool down. Remove the skin and then flatten it by pressing between the palms. Prick it all over with a fork and place it in a mixing bowl. Set aside.
2. Prepare the marinade: In a mixing bowl, add the dahi, salt, coriander powder, garam masala, red chilli powder, ginger paste and garlic paste. Stir until everything combines well.
3. Pour the dahi mixture into the bowl containing the arbi. Gently mix until all of the arbi is well coated with the marinade. Cover with a lid and let it marinate for 1 hour.
4. Prepare the gravy: Keep a pan on medium heat. Add the chopped tomatoes, green chilli, ginger and sliced onion. Stir a few times then cover with a lid. Dry-roast until the tomatoes become soft (about 7-8 minutes). Transfer the tomato mixture a plate and let it cool down completely.
5. Shallow-fry the arbi: Keep a pan on medium heat, put in the oil and let it heat up. Add the marinated arbi and mix well. Cook the arbi until one side is well roasted then flip it over and cook until the other side is also well roasted. Keep stirring at regular intervals.
6. When the dry-roasted tomato mixture has cooled down, put it in a grinder jar. Add the milk or water and grind to a fine puree. Strain out the puree through a sieve to strain out the tomato skins and seeds. Set the puree aside.
7. When the water in the marinade dries up completely and the arbi is well roasted and brown on both sides, transfer it to a dish and set aside.
8. Final dish preparation: Keep a pan on the stove and pour the tomato puree into it. Add the oil. Keep the heat on medium and cook the puree for 8-10 minutes. Keep stirring at regular intervals.
9. Simultaneously on a side burner, place 2 charcoal pieces on a wire mesh placed on direct flame. Rotate the charcoal pieces at regular intervals until they turn red hot. Prepare the dish while the charcoal is heating up.
10. After 8-10 minutes, the tomato puree is done. Add the shahi paneer masala and stir it in. (If you do not have this masala, you can add salt, red chilli powder, coriander powder and garam masala instead, as per taste.)
11. Add the tomato ketchup and mix well. Keep the heat on low.
12. Add the fresh cream and mix well. Keep the heat on low to prevent the cream from splitting. Cook for about 1 minute.
13. Add the fried arbi and mix well over low heat. Add the hara dhania and mix again. Cover with a lid and let the dish cook for 4-5 minutes, checking frequently.
14. After 5 minutes the dish is ready to be smoked. Put off the heat, place a steel bowl in the centre of the dish and carefully place the red hot coals in it. Pour some oil on the coals. As these start smoking, cover the pan with a lid and seal the vent in the lid with some dough. Let the dish remain covered until the smoke dies down, about 8-10 minutes.
15. Remove the bowl used for smoking and transfer the dish to a serving bowl. Garnish with a little hara dhania.
16. Serve with naan, lachha paratha, roti, plain paratha or rice.

Tandoori Arbi Tikka Masala Recipe (Smoked Taro Root Curry)

© 2021 Rajan Singh Jolly

Rajan loves cooking dishes from his native Indian cuisine. He likes to share his favourite recipes with his online readers.

Traditional Summertime Drink

Lassi is a traditional Punjabi beverage made with curd or yoghurt as the main ingredient and prepared in two versions: sweet and salty.

Both versions of lassi are very cooling and refreshing to have in the hot summer months. Today we are going to prepare sweet lassi.

Do try and share your experience.

Cook Time

Ingredients

• 250 grams chilled dahi (curd/yoghurt), made from full-fat milk
• 6 tsp powdered mishri or sugar
• 1 to 1 1/2 tbsp fresh malai (milk cream)
• 1 to 2 pinches kesar (saffron powder) plus more for garnish
• 1/2 cup ice cubes, crushed

Instructions

1. In a blender jar, add the dahi, ground sugar, malai, kesar and crushed ice cubes. Blend until the sugar dissolves.
2. Transfer to a glass, garnish with a little saffron and serve. Enjoy this refreshing beverage!

Punjabi Meethi (Sweet) Lassi Recipe

© 2021 Rajan Singh Jolly

Rajan loves cooking dishes from his native Indian cuisine. He likes to share his favourite recipes with his online readers.

Cooling Summertime Beverages

Sattu is roasted Bengal gram flour, which is made from brown chickpeas. Unlike garbanzo beans, which are white in colour, Bengal gram is brown in colour. They are much smaller than garbanzo beans and are as much a part of Indian cooking as are the white chickpeas. To differentiate between the two, in India, the brown chickpeas are called "chana" while the large white chickpeas are called "chole."

Today, we will be preparing a summer drink with sattu that not only effectively cools the body but also provides a lot of energy because it contains a lot of protein. It's no wonder that sattu is also called a poor man's protein shake.

Bengal gram, and therefore, sattu, is also rich in B-complex vitamins and has substantial amounts of several minerals.

Sattu powder, which is roasted gram flour, is easily available in Indian shops so you can purchase it and make this drink. However, if you do not wish to purchase sattu flour you can buy brown chickpeas and roast them at home. Let them cool down completely, then remove the skins and grind them fine. Sieve out the ground flour before using it.

We are preparing two types of sattu drinks:

• Sweet sattu drink
• Salty sattu drink

Do try these beverages and give your feedback.

Cook Time

Ingredients

For the salty sattu drink:

• 3 tbsp chana sattu (roasted gram flour)
• 50 ml + 200 ml chilled water
• 1 tbsp hara dhania (cilantro), finely chopped
• 1 tbsp onion, finely chopped (optional)
• 1 tbsp pudina (mint leaves), finely chopped
• 1/4 tsp kala namak (black salt)
• 1/4 tsp sendha namak (rock salt), or to taste
• 1/2 to 1 green chilli, finely chopped
• 1/2 tsp bhuna jeera (roasted cumin seed powder)
• 1 lemon, juiced
• Ice cubes (optional)

For the sweet sattu drink:

• 3 tbsp chana sattu (roasted gram flour)
• 50 ml + 200 ml chilled water
• 1/4 tsp/to taste kala namak (black salt)
• 2 tsp ground mishri (table sugar)
• 1 lemon, juiced
• Ice cubes (optional)

Instructions

1. To make the salty sattu drink: Put the sattu flour in a mixing bowl. Add about 50 ml of water. Stir until the flour disperses completely.
2. Add 200 ml chilled water as well as the other ingredients: chopped cilantro, mint, onion, green chilli, roasted cumin seed powder, black salt and rock salt. Stir until all the ingredients are mixed nicely. Add the lemon juice and mix again.
3. Pour in a glass, add ice if necessary and serve.
4. To make the sweet sattu drink: Put the sattu flour in a mixing bowl. Add 50 ml of water and stir until the flour disperses well.
5. Add the black salt and ground mishri (sugar) and lemon juice. Stir until well mixed.
6. Pour the sattu drink in a glass, add ice if necessary and serve.

Sweet and Salty Sattu Ka Sharbat Recipes

© 2021 Rajan Singh Jolly

Rajan loves cooking dishes from his native Indian cuisine. He likes to share his favourite recipes with his online readers.

Cooling Summertime Beverage

Thandai is a popular Indian drink prepared with body-cooling herbs, spices, milk, dried nuts and sugar. It is consumed during the hot summer months for its cooling benefits, and it is also a traditional festival beverage for Holi and Mahashivratri, both of which occur during the summer season.

In the recipe below, we have added rose flavour by adding gulkand (rose petal preserves) and rose syrup, but you can omit these ingredients to make a plain thandai, if you prefer. Just add sugar to taste.

Try it and share your experience.

Cook Time

Ingredients

• 500 ml + a little extra full cream milk (the extra is for grinding the gulkand)
• 10 badam (almonds), soaked in water for 2 hours, skins removed and water discarded
• 10 kaju (cashew nuts), soaked in water for 2 hours and water discarded
• 1 tbsp kharbuje ke beej (melon seeds), soaked in water for 2 hours and water discarded
• 1 tbsp + 1 tsp khuskhus (poppy seeds), soaked in water for 2 hours and water discarded
• 1/2 tsp cardamom powder
• 1/2 tsp black pepper powder
• pinch kesar (saffron)
• 2 tbsp gulkand (rose petal preserves)
• 2 tbsp rose syrup

Instructions

1. In a grinder jar, add the almonds, cashew nuts, melon seeds and khuskhus. Add just enough milk to help grind the ingredients to a fine paste.
2. In a pot or wok, add the milk, nut paste (from step 1), cardamom powder, black pepper powder and saffron. Heat it until it comes to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer until it thickens, about 5 minutes.
3. While the thandai mixture is simmering, grind the gulkand with just enough milk to make a fine puree. Strain out the gulkand milk and set aside.
4. When the thandai mixture has thickened a bit, strain through a sieve and let cool completely.
5. Blend the thandai mixture with the rose syrup and the gulkand milk for a few seconds. Then chill the thandai in the fridge for a few hours before serving.

Rose Thandai Recipe: Indian Summer and Festival Drink

© 2021 Rajan Singh Jolly

Rajan loves cooking dishes from his native Indian cuisine. He likes to share his favourite recipes with his online readers.

Sweet and Tangy Side Dish

Aam ki launji is a mango relish prepared with raw mangoes. It is a sweet and tangy side dish that is often served with roti or rice as a replacement for pickle. In fact, if you have this relish with rice or roti you will not miss not having another side dish.

It is very easy to prepare and once stored in the fridge will keep well for up to five to six months. In this recipe, we have replaced sugar with jaggery to make it healthier, but you have the option to use sugar if you prefer.

Do try it and share your experience.

Cook Time

Ingredients

• 500 grams raw mangoes, peeled, seeds removed and cut into medium-sized pieces
• 300 grams gur (jaggery), or 250 grams sugar
• 1 1/2 tbsp sarson ka tel (mustard oil)
• 2 tsp saunf (fennel seeds)
• 1 1/2 tsp jeera (cumin seeds)
• 1 tsp sabut dhania (coriander seeds), crushed coarsely
• 1 tsp methi dana (fenugreek seeds), ground coarsely
• 1 tsp deghi mirch (red chilli powder)
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp haldi (turmeric powder)
• 1/4 tsp heeng (asafoetida powder)
• 1/2 tsp kalonji (nigella seeds)

Instructions

1. Heat the mustard oil in a pan over medium heat. Reduce heat to low and add the heeng, jeera, saunf, crushed coriander seeds, kalonji and coarsely ground methi dana.
2. Raise heat to low-medium and roast the spices until they give off their aroma (about 2 minutes).
3. Add the mango pieces and stir well until they are coated with the spices. Keep the heat on medium-low.
4. Reduce heat to low. Add in the red chilli powder, turmeric powder and stir until well mixed, about 1 minute.
5. Add in the crushed gur and raise heat to low-medium. Keep stirring and mixing until the gur melts then reduce heat to low and cover with a lid.
6. Keep checking and stirring every 2-3 minutes until the mangoes are soft, turn translucent and the mixture thickens a bit. This should take about 12-15 minutes.
7. Transfer to a bowl, let it cool down completely then transfer to an airtight jar and store in the fridge. It will keep well for 5-6 months.

Aam Ki Launji (Raw Mango Relish) Recipe

© 2021 Rajan Singh Jolly

Rajan loves cooking dishes from his native Indian cuisine. He likes to share his favourite recipes with his online readers.

Sabja, also called tukhmaria, are sweet basil seeds. A good source of several minerals, they are also thought of in India as a natural body coolant. For this reason, they are used in many beverages and desserts that are popular in the summertime, including falooda, milkshakes, curd, buttermilk etc. Consuming sweet basil seeds in the summer helps reduce the risk of summer stress, heat stress, heatstroke and other issues that crop up in the body due to excess body heat.

Here are several other important health benefits of sweet basil seeds.

Do try this healthy and delicious summer beverage and share your experience.

Cook Time

Ingredients

• 250 ml chilled milk (or almond milk), previously heated and cooled
• 1 tsp sabja (tukhmaria or sweet basil seeds), washed and soaked in 1 cup water for 1 hour
• 2 tbsp palm jaggery syrup (or sugarcane or sugar), or to taste
• Ice cubes (optional)

Instructions

1. Wash and soak the sabja in 1 cup water for 1 hour. Drain the water and transfer the seeds to a glass.
2. Add the chilled milk.
3. Add the palm jaggery syrup and stir well
4. Add ice cubes if desired and stir. Serve immediately and enjoy.

Sabja (Basil Seed) Milkshake Recipe

© 2021 Rajan Singh Jolly

Rajan loves cooking dishes from his native Indian cuisine. He likes to share his favourite recipes with his online readers.

Bhatura is a fluffy, leavened, deep-fried bread from North India whose main ingredient is maida (all-purpose flour). It can be served for breakfast or a midday meal, and it is is usually eaten with chole, which is prepared with chickpeas or garbanzo beans.

There are various ways to prepare chole to accompany bhature. One very popular chole dish from Punjab is amritsari pindi chole.

Do try preparing the bhature with the method and tips suggested in the recipe and video. You will be delighted with the resulting soft, fluffy and crisp bread.

Cook Time

Ingredients

• Oil, for frying
• 2 tsp oil, for the dough
• 250 grams maida (all-purpose flour)
• 50 grams sooji (semolina)
• 1/2 cup dahi (yoghurt)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 cup water, or as needed, for making the dough

Instructions

1. In a kneading plate, add the maida, sooji, baking soda, baking powder, salt, yoghurt and 2 tsp oil. Stir and mix until they combine well.
2. Add water little by little to make a soft dough. Knead the dough for about 10 minutes until it is smooth.
3. Coat the dough with a thin layer of oil, cover with a damp cloth and let it rest for 1 hour.
4. After 1 hour, knead the dough again for 1 minute. Heat up oil in a wok while you make 8 balls of dough (each should be the same size).
5. Dust each dough ball in dry flour. Apply oil on a rolling pin and rolling surface. Roll out the dough balls to make evenly thin, round bhature. Each disc should be 5 to 6 inches in diameter.
6. Ensure the oil in the wok is nice and hot. Keep the heat on medium heat and gently slide in one bhatura in the hot oil.
7. Keep pressing the bhatura in the centre and rotating it at the same time until it balloons up. Flip it over.
8. Fry the bhatura until the other side is done. Hold it against the edge of the wok with a slotted ladle to drain out the excess oil then transfer it to a paper towel-lined plate.
9. Fry the rest of the bhature and serve them with amritsari pindi chole, mango launji, sliced onions and green chillies.

How to Make Bhatura Dough and Punjabi Bhature (English)

© 2021 Rajan Singh Jolly

Rajan loves cooking dishes from his native Indian cuisine. He likes to share his favourite recipes with his online readers.

Punjabi Summertime Beverage

Kachi lassi is a summertime beverage from the North Indian region of Punjab. It is a cooling and refreshing beverage prepared with milk, rose syrup, water and ice. In Punjabi, this drink is called chabeel.

Connection to Sikh Tradition

In the Sikh tradition, this drink is served in the peak summer months of May and June to commemorate the martyrdom of the fifth Sikh guru, Arjan Dev Ji. After Arjan Dev Ji refused to stop preaching the word of God, Mughal Emperor Jahangir sentenced him to death by torture. He was forced to sit on a burning-hot iron sheet while hot sand was poured on his body. After five days of this torture, he died.

"My faith is for the people of all castes and all creeds from whichever direction they come and to whichever direction they bow."

— Fifth Sikh Guru, Arjan Dev Ji

Cook Time

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp rooh afza (rose syrup), or as needed
• 50 ml chilled doodh (milk), boiled and then cooled
• 250 ml chiiled water
• 3 to 4 ice cubes, or as needed

Instructions

1. Place the ice cubes in a large mug and pour in the chilled milk.
2. Top up with chilled water and add rooh afza (rose syrup).
3. Stir until the ingredients combine well and serve.

Kachi Lassi Recipe (Refreshing Summer Drink)

© 2021 Rajan Singh Jolly

Rajan loves cooking dishes from his native Indian cuisine. He likes to share his favourite recipes with his online readers.

Ganji is a South Indian porridge-like dish that is typically served as a complete meal. You can also serve it with pickle and either dahi, buttermilk or even a gravy dish. Sometimes vegetables and/or meat are added, as well, to make it an even more healthy and satisfying meal.

Although ganji is usually prepared with rice as the main ingredient, in this recipe, we will be using foxtail millet to replace the rice.

For millet ganji, the usual ratio of water to millet is between six to 10 times. In this recipe, I used eight parts water to one part millet in order to achieve the right consistency.

Cook Time

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup kutki (foxtail millet)
• 4 cups water
• 2 tbsp cold-pressed groundnut oil
• 1/2 tsp jeera (cumin seeds)
• 1/4 tsp rai (mustard seeds)
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 1 green chilli, finely chopped
• 1 tsp ginger-garlic paste
• 8-10 kadhi patta (curry leaves)
• 1 medium tomato, chopped
• 2.5 tbsp chopped French beans
• 2 tbsp chopped carrot
• 2 tbsp diced bell pepper
• 1/2 tsp/to taste sendha namak (rock salt)
• 1-2 tsp chopped hara dhania (cilantro)

Instructions

1. Wash the foxtail millet once and then soak it in water for 8 hours before you wish to prepare the ganji.
2. To start preparing the dish keep an earthen pot or steel pot on low-medium heat. Add oil and let it heat up; then reduce the heat to low, add the jeera and mustard seeds and let them crackle.
3. Add the chopped onion and saute until light pink on low-medium heat.
4. Add the chopped green chilli, ginger-garlic paste and kadi patta. Saute for about 2-3 minutes until the ginger-garlic paste and onions are well roasted.
5. Add the chopped tomato and stir-cook until it turns soft and mushy.
6. Add the chopped French beans, carrots, diced bell pepper and salt. Stir well and saute for 4-5 minutes.
7. Reduce the heat to low. Add the water used for soaking the millet (but don't add the millet yet). Raise the heat to medium, stir and let the water come to a boil.
8. Reduce the heat to low, add the soaked millet and stir well. Cover with a lid and cook for 20-25 minutes or until it reaches a porridge-like consistency (refer to video). Keep stirring and checking at regular intervals.
9. Add the chopped cilantro and turn off the heat. Stir well and serve with buttermilk or dahi (yoghurt) and pickle.

Millet Ganji (Porridge) Recipe

© 2021 Rajan Singh Jolly

Rajan loves cooking dishes from his native Indian cuisine. He likes to share his favourite recipes with his online readers.

Mint yoghurt dip and garlic and chilli yoghurt dip are two healthy dips that are very easy to make, very tasty and can also be used as spreads or dressings.

The first step for both dips is to prepare hung curd with yoghurt. Alternatively, you can use unflavoured plain Greek yoghurt.

Do try these recipes and give your feedback.

Cook Time

Ingredients

For the yoghurt base for both dips:

• 300 grams dahi (yoghurt) or 150 grams hung curd

For the mint dip:

• 2 tbsp pudina (mint leaves)
• 1 tbsp hara dhania (cilantro leaves)
• 1/4 tsp oregano dried, or to taste
• 1/4 tsp sendha namak (rock salt), or to taste
• 1/4 tsp black pepper powder, or to taste
• 1/2 tsp= fresh cream, or as neeed

For the garlic chilli dip:

• 4 to 5 garlic cloves
• 1 or more fresh red chilli
• 1/4 tsp sendha namak (rock salt), or as needed
• 1 tsp fresh cream, or as needed

Instructions

1. If you are using dahi (yoghurt), then you must first prepare the hung curd. Spread a cloth over a strainer kept on a pot and pour the yoghurt in it. Collect the ends of the cloth and squeeze out as much water as you can then twist and fold and keep it on the top. Keep the yoghurt along with the pot in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours to let the remaining water drip out.
2. Divide the hung curd into two equal portions.
3. Take one portion of the hung curd in a bowl and whisk it by hand until smooth and creamy.
4. To make the mint dip, put the mint and cilantro in a mortar and pound with a pestle until they are finely crushed. Put it in the hung curd. Add in the oregano, rock salt and black pepper powder. Whisk the ingredients until well combined.
5. Add the fresh cream and whisk again to mix well. Check the salt for taste and add if necessary. Now the mint dip is ready. Set aside.
6. To make the garlic chilli dip, whisk the other portion of the hung curd until smooth.
7. Add the garlic cloves and fresh red chilli in the mortar and with a pestle pound until you have a fine paste.
8. Add the rock salt and fresh cream and whisk until smooth and creamy. Garlic chilli dip is ready.

2 Healthy Spreads: Mint Curd Dip and Garlic Chilli Curd Dip

© 2021 Rajan Singh Jolly

Rajan loves cooking dishes from his native Indian cuisine. He likes to share his favourite recipes with his online readers.

Gluten-Free, Vegan Breakfast Porridge

Millet dalia, or millet porridge, is a variation of the usual dalia that is prepared with broken wheat and dairy milk. Today's sweet dalia dish is prepared with browntop millet and coconut milk instead. Also, instead of refined sugar, we are using the much healthier palm jaggery.

This is a gluten-free, vegan porridge is a filling breakfast dish. Do try and share your experience.

Cook Time

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup browntop millet dalia (broken millet), you can use any siridhanya millet
• 2 cups water, to soak the millet dalia
• 2 cups coconut milk
• 6 tbsp palm jaggery (or cane jaggery or sugar), or as needed
• 6 tbsp water
• 1/2 tsp haro elaichi (cardamom powder)
• 2 cups coconut milk
• 1 tbsp palm jaggery syrup

Instructions

1. Dry-roast the millet dalia on low heat until it becomes aromatic (about 2 minutes). Transfer to a plate and set aside to cool.
2. Put the cooled millet dalia in a bowl and wash it once with water. Strain out this water and then add 2 cups of fresh water. Cover and let the millet soak for 6-8 hours.
3. Once the millet has soaked for the required amount of time, start preparing the palm jaggery syrup. Keep a pan on low heat and put in the palm jaggery. Add 6 tbsp water. Stir the jaggery constantly and heat it until the palm jaggery dissolves completely. Remove from heat and set aside. You can use can jaggery or normal sugar instead of palm jaggery if you wish.
4. Keep a pan on medium heat and pour in the water in which the millet dalia was soaked. Let the water come to a boil.
5. Reduce the heat to low and add the soaked millet dalia. Stir it well and then cover the pan with a lid. Cook the millet dalia until the water dries out but the dalia remains moist (about 10 minutes). Keep checking the dalia in between.
6. Add the palm jaggery syrup through a sieve to filter out any impurities. Mix well and add the cardamom powder. Stir-cook until the palm jaggery water dries out.
7. Add the coconut milk and raise the heat to medium. Mix well and cook until the mixture comes to a boil.
8. Reduce the heat to low and cook the mixture for 2-3 minutes to reach the desired porridge consistency.
9. Check for sweetness and add more palm jaggery syrup if needed. We added 1 tbsp more.
10. Once the millet dalia is ready, transfer it to serving bowls and serve.

Millet Dalia (Porridge) Recipe

Rajan loves cooking dishes from his native Indian cuisine. He likes to share his favourite recipes with his online readers.

Rava and dalia are two products used to prepare Indian dishes like porridge, dalia, idli, dosa, vada and more. Rice and wheat are used wherever appropriate to prepare these dishes.

Usually, wheat is used to prepare rava, which is a fine-grained product. Dalia is prepared with broken wheat.

Millets work both like wheat and rice, in that they can be ground to a flour or cooked like rice. You can buy ready-made rava and dalia from the market, but they can be expensive and sometimes have added chemicals that nullify their health benefits.

Here is a simple method to prepare rava and dalia from millets. We have used browntop millet as an example but you can use any Siridhanya millet of your choice.

Do try and share your experience.

Cook Time

Ingredients

• 1 cup browntop millet (or any Siridhanya millet)

Instructions

1. Put the millet in a grinder jar and grind it on pulse mode.
2. Pulse the millet 5-6 times, giving a 1-2 second pulse each time.
3. Sieve the ground mixture and separate it into a very finely ground rava and a coarser broken millet (dalia).
4. The rava and dalia can be stored in an airtight jar and used within a couple of days or prepared fresh and used immediately as per your convenience.
5. If you would like to store these for a longer period, dry-roast the millet for 2-3 minutes on low heat until it becomes aromatic. Let it cool down completely before grinding it as explained in the steps above.

How to Grind Millet to Make Millet Rava and Millet Dalia

© 2021 Rajan Singh Jolly

Rajan loves cooking dishes from his native Indian cuisine. He likes to share his favourite recipes with his online readers.

A traditional South Indian breakfast or snack dish, dosas are thin crepe-like pancakes that are typically prepared with a fermented batter of rice and lentils.

The dosa we are preparing today, however, is very different from the traditional dosa in the following ways:

• It is prepared with instant oats
• No lentils are used
• The batter is unfermented

This is a gluten-free, vegan dosa that is prepared with very little oil. It's a healthy and tasty breakfast or snack.

Do try and share your experience.

Cook Time

Ingredients

• 1 cup instant whole grain oats
• 1/2 cup water, to soak the oats
• 1 medium onion, sliced
• 1 green chilli
• 1-inch ginger, chopped
• 8-10 kadhi patta (curry leaves)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup water, plus more, as needed, to thin the batter
• Oil, as needed for making the batter

Instructions

1. Put the oats in a bowl and add 1/2 cup water. Stir a few times and cover with a lid. Soak for 15 minutes.
2. Transfer the soaked oats and any remaining soaking water to a grinder jar. Add the sliced onion, green chilli, chopped ginger, curry leaves and salt. Grind the mixture to a fine paste.
3. Transfer the batter to a bowl. Add about 1/2 cup of water to thin it down to a dosa batter consistency.
4. Keep a nonstick tawa on medium heat. Rub a half-cut onion over its surface a few times to clean it.
5. Stir the batter a few times and pour about 1 1/2 ladlefuls on the tawa. Spread the batter carefully, moving the ladle in one direction only, as shown in the video.
6. Pour a little oil all over the dosa and let it cook until its edges leave the pan,
7. Flip the dosa and cook the other side until it also turns a little brown.
8. When the dosa has a net-like texture, it is ready. Transfer it to a plate and make the remaining dosas by repeating steps 4 to 7.
9. Add more water, if necessary, to thin down the batter. The oats in the batter will tend to thicken.
10. Serve with homemade coconut chutney. Recipe video link in the video.

Instant Oats Dosa Recipe (Without Fermentation)

© 2021 Rajan Singh Jolly

Rajan loves cooking dishes from his native Indian cuisine. He likes to share his favourite recipes with his online readers.

Dal chawal is an Indian dish prepared with lentils and rice. In this recipe, we have used masoor dal, or red lentils. You can use any type of rice you like.

It is a very simple and quick dish to prepare. Enjoy it for lunch or dinner, or even take it along or pack it for your child's tiffin box.

When you need a healthy filling meal that can be prepared quickly, this should be your go-to dish. Do try it and share your experience.

Cook Time

Ingredients

For the dal:

• 1 cup masoor dal (red lentils), washed and soaked in water for 1 hour then drained
• 4 cups water
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder

For the rice:

• 2 tbsp oil, or as needed
• 1 tsp jeera (cumin seeds)
• 2 small (or 1 large) bay leaves
• 1 black cardamom pod, crushed to break it open
• 2-3 lavang (cloves)
• 1 medium onion, sliced
• 2 cups water
• 1 tsp salt

For tadka (tempering):

• 2 tbsp desi ghee (clarified butter)
• 1/2 tsp jeera (cumin seeds)
• 1 medium onion, chopped into small pieces
• 1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
• 2 fresh green chillies, slit lengthwise
• 2 red chillies, slit lengthwise
• 1 tsp kashmiri red chilli powder
• 1 tsp coriander powder
• 1/2 tsp garam masala
• 2 tbsp hara dhania (cilantro), chopped

Instructions

1. Prepare the dal: In a pressure cooker, add the dal, water, salt and turmeric powder. Close the cooker and keep the heat between medium and high. At the first whistle shut off the heat and let the cooker cool down until the pressure subsides.
2. While the cooker is cooling down, prepare the rice. Keep a wok on medium heat and add oil. Once the oil heats up, reduce the heat to low and add in the jeera, bay leaves, black cardamom and cloves. Saute until the jeera crackles.
3. Add the sliced onion. Raise the heat to low-medium and saute until the onion turns light brown. Add in water and salt. Mix well and let the water come to a boil.
4. Reduce the heat to low and add the soaked rice without the soaking water. Stir well and cover with a lid. Cook the rice until the water dries up.
5. While the rice is cooking, open the pressure cooker and check the dal. It should be soft. Set the dal aside.
6. Prepare the tadka (tempering) for the dal: Keep a pan on low heat, add the desi ghee and let it melt.
7. Add the jeera and let it crackle. Add the chopped onion, raise the heat to medium and saute until it turns a little brown.
8. Add the ginger-garlic paste, green chillies and red chillies. Saute until the onion, ginger and garlic are roasted. While you are making the tadka, keep checking the rice.
9. When the onion, ginger and garlic turn brown, reduce the heat to low. Add the kashmiri red chilli powder and coriander powder and mix well. The tadka is ready.
10. Add the boiled dal to the tadka, raise the heat to medium and let it come to a boil. Stir from time to time. When the dal comes to a boil add the garam masala and half of the cilantro. Mix, reduce the heat to low-medium and cover with a lid. Cook the dal until the dal and water combine well and it thickens a bit.
11. After about 10-12 minutes, the rice should be fully cooked (the water should be fully absorbed). Cover the rice, put off the heat and let it sit for 5 minutes.
12. Once the dal is cooked to the required consistency add the remaining cilantro, stir it in and remove from heat. For me, it took about 8-10 minutes for the dal to get to the required consistency after adding to the tadka.
13. Serve with mango pickle, slices of tomato and cucumber and a couple of green chillies.

Dal Chawal Recipe

© 2021 Rajan Singh Jolly

Comments

Dora Weithers on May 12, 2021:

Just been introduced to cardamon and I can imagine how tasty this dish would be. Thank you for the recipe..

Rajan loves cooking dishes from his native Indian cuisine. He likes to share his favourite recipes with his online readers.

Punjabi-Style Maize Flour Flatbread

Makki ka atta is maize flour, and makki ki roti is maize flour flatbread.

This recipe will show you the correct way to knead maize flour so that your flatbread turns out soft and moist yet crisp on the outside every time you make it. Follow the recipe to a T and do check out the tips and tricks in the video.

I served my maize flour flatbread with sarson ka saag, a curry prepared with mustard greens topped with clarified butter.

This is a traditional North-Indian meal from Punjab often served and consumed in the winter season.

Cook Time

Ingredients

• 300 grams makki ka atta (maize flour)
• 1 tsp ajwain (carom seeds)
• Water, as needed, to knead the flour
• Oil, as needed, to make the roti (flatbread)
• Desi ghee (clarified butter), as needed

Instructions

1. Mix the maize flour and ajwain in a paraat (large round tray with a raised edge).
2. Little by little, add room-temperature water to the flour and knead to form a dough that is neither too hard nor too soft.
3. To make the roti (flatbread): Sprinkle some dry maize flour on the rolling surface.
4. Take some dough and form a medium-sized ball. Flatten it and then place it on the rolling surface, pressing and simultaneously rotating to make a round, medium-thick roti.
5. Heat a tawa (griddle) and then reduce heat between low and medium. Place the roti on the tawa and let one side cook a bit. Flip it over and let the second side cook a bit. Flip it again.
6. Spread 1 teaspoon of oil over the first side and then on the other side after flipping it over.
7. Roast both sides of the roti until evenly brown and crisp on both sides.
8. Serve rotis hot with sarson ka saag.

How to Knead Makki Ka Atta and Make Makki Ki Roti

© 2021 Rajan Singh Jolly

Rajan loves cooking dishes from his native Indian cuisine. He likes to share his favourite recipes with his online readers.

Paneer paratha is a crisp, healthy and yummy Indian flatbread prepared with a stuffing of Indian cottage cheese and spices. It is very easy to make and quite filling. Although it is often served as a breakfast dish, it can also be eaten as a complete meal for lunch.

I like to serve it with dahi, or Indian yoghurt, as well as stuffed red chilli pickle.

Do try it and share your feedback.

Cook Time

Ingredients

• 100 grams paneer (Indian cottage cheese), mashed by hand
• 275-300 grams whole wheat flour dough
• Oil, as needed, for frying the paratha
• Flour, as needed, for dusting
• 1 medium onion, chopped small
• 2 tbsp hara dhania (cilantro), chopped
• 1 tsp ginger paste
• 1 green chilli, chopped
• 8-10 pudina (mint leaves), chopped
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp garam masala
• 1/2 tsp amchur (mango powder)
• 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp coriander powder, coarsely ground
• 1/2 tsp red chilli flakes

Instructions

1. If you do not already have whole wheat flour dough ready, prepare that first. Set it aside and let it rest for 1 hour.
2. In a mixing bowl add the paneer, chopped onion, chopped hara dhania, ginger paste, green chilli and mint leaves.
3. Add the salt, garam masala, amchur, turmeric powder, coriander powder and red chilli flakes. Mix well and crush any large paneer pieces by hand.
4. Divide the dough into 3 equal portions. Take one portion and roll it into a ball. Dust it with flour and roll it out into a roti about 5 inches round.
5. Place 1/3 of the stuffing onto the roti. Lift and fold the edges simultaneously and gather them on the top. Press the folds to seal, dust with flour and roll it out into a slightly thick paratha.
6. Place a tawa to heat up on low-medium heat. When hot, brush a little oil on the tawa and place the paratha on it. Cook for 15-20 seconds; then flip it over.
7. Cook the other side for 15-20 seconds; then flip it once more. Spread a little oil on the paratha, flip it again and spread a little oil on this side, too.
8. Roast the paratha, flipping it repeatedly, until it is golden and crisp on both sides.
9. Transfer the paratha to a plate and cook the remaining parathas similarly.
10. Serve the parathas with dahi (yoghurt) sprinkled with roasted cumin seed powder and red chilli powder, as well as stuffed red chilli pickle.

Paneer Paratha (Stuffed Cottage Cheese Flatbread) Recipe

© 2021 Rajan Singh Jolly

Rajan loves cooking dishes from his native Indian cuisine. He likes to share his favourite recipes with his online readers.

Meethi semiyan or sweet vermicelli is an Indian sweet dish that can be prepared in two different ways: dry and with milk.

Today, we are preparing the dry sweet vermicelli. It is very easy and quick to make and is very delicious. This could be a go-to dessert recipe when you crave something sweet but are not in the mood to spend a lot of time making it.

Do try and share your experience.

Cook Time

Ingredients

• 75 grams palm jaggery, soaked in 40 ml water
• 1 1/2 tbsp desi ghee (clarified butter)
• 1 cup roasted Bambino suji seviyan (semolina vermicelli)
• 2 cups water
• 8-10 sliced almonds
• 7-8 kishmish (raisins)
• 1/2 tsp cardamom powder
• Sliced pista (pistachios), for garnish
• Raisins, for garnish

Instructions

1. Make the palm jaggery syrup: Soak the palm jaggery in 40 ml water for 15 minutes. Then heat it to make palm jaggery syrup.
2. On low heat, melt the desi ghee in a pan. Then add the roasted vermicelli and roast until it starts to give off its aroma.
3. Add the water, sliced almonds and raisins. Mix well.
4. Add the cardamom powder and palm jaggery syrup. Raise the heat to high, mix well and let the mixture come to a boil.
5. Reduce the heat to low and cover with a lid. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the water dries out (about 12 minutes).
6. Transfer to a serving bowl, garnish with sliced pistachios and raisins and serve.

How to Make Meethi Seviyan (Sweet Vermicelli Dessert)

© 2021 Rajan Singh Jolly

Rajan loves cooking dishes from his native Indian cuisine. He likes to share his favourite recipes with his online readers.

Mushroom is the only vegetable that naturally contains some vitamin D. Interestingly, the amount of vitamin D can be substantially enhanced several times over by exposing mushrooms to sunlight, as the ergosterol present in mushrooms gets converted into vitamin D.

People living in colder regions can suffer from low vitamin D levels, especially during fall, winter and spring. They can, however, sun-dry mushrooms in summer and store them for up to a year in amber coloured bottles. If they consume the mushrooms when sunlight levels are low or absent, they can maintain their vitamin D levels year-round.

Today, we are going to prepare a mushroom curry with our homemade sun-dried mushrooms. Do try this very delicious and healthy dish and share your experience.

Cook Time

Ingredients

• 400 grams fresh mushrooms that have been sun-dried
• 2 1/2 cups water
• 2 to 2 1/2 tbsp oil
• 2 medium onions
• 7-8 garlic cloves
• 1 inch fresh ginger
• 2 tomatoes, pureed
• 1/2 tsp sendha namak (rock salt)
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• 1/2 tsp deghi mirch (red chilli powder)
• 1 1/4 tsp coriander powder
• 1/2 tsp garam masala
• 2 tsp chopped hara dhania (cialntro)
• Cilantro, for garnish

Instructions

1. Soak the sun-dried mushrooms in water for 3-4 hours.
2. Combine the onions, garlic and ginger. Grind into a paste.
3. Heat the oil in a pan on low heat then add the onion, ginger and garlic paste. Raise the heat to medium and saute until the onions turn light brown.
4. Add the tomato puree, reduce the heat to low-medium and mix well. Reduce the heat to low and add the dry spices: salt, turmeric powder, deghi mirch powder and coriander powder. Mix well and saute on low-medium heat until the oil starts to separate out of the masala.
5. Reduce the heat to low and add the soaked mushrooms (without the soaking water; this will be added in the next step). Saute the mushrooms for 1-2 minutes.
6. Add the soaking water and mix well. Raise the heat to medium and let the water come to a boil.
7. Add the garam masala and cilantro and stir a few times. Cover with a lid and cook on low heat, stirring occasionally, for 7-8 minutes.
8. Garnish with some cilantro and transfer to a serving dish. Serve with roti or rice.

Sun-Dried Mushroom Curry Recipe

© 2021 Rajan Singh Jolly

Rajan loves cooking dishes from his native Indian cuisine. He likes to share his favourite recipes with his online readers.

Pongal is a South Indian harvest festival as well as a popular South Indian rice and lentil dish that can be prepared two different ways: sweet and savoury. The recipe I am sharing with you today is for the spicy and savoury pongal.

Pongal is traditionally prepared for the Sankranti festival. Typically, it is a breakfast dish, though it can also be served for lunch or dinner.

Usually, pongal is made with rice but I am using kodo millet, instead. This lowers the glycemic index of the dish, which makes it healthier than the rice version.

Do try it and share your experience.

Cook Time

Ingredients

• 1 cup/200 grams kodra (kodo millet), washed once and soaked in 4 cups of water for 8 hours
• 1/4 cup/50 grams moong dal (yellow lentils), washed and soaked in just enough water to cover the dal
• 2 tbsp desi ghee (clarified butter)
• 1/2 tsp rai (mustard seeds)
• 1/2 tsp jeera (cumin seeds)
• 1/4 tsp heeng (asafoetida powder)
• 1 tsp ginger paste
• 2 green chillies, cut into two and split in half
• 1/2 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
• 15-20 kadhi patta (curry leaves)
• 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp sendha namak (rock salt), or to taste
• 2-3 tsp hara dhania (cilantro)
• 1 cup water, or as needed

Instructions

1. Dry-roast the kodo millet until it becomes aromatic, about 2 minutes, on low heat stirring constantly. Transfer it to a plate and let it cool completely.
2. Dry-roast the moong dal similarly until aromatic and it slightly changes in colour. Transfer it to a plate and let it cool down completely.
3. Soak both the roasted ingredients separately as explained in the ingredients list.
4. Keep a wok on low heat and put in the desi ghee. Let it melt then add in the rai and jeera. Stir until they crackle.
5. Add the heeng, ginger paste and green chillies. Mix well; then add the black pepper powder and curry leaves. Stir a few times. Add the turmeric powder and stir-roast for 1 minute.
6. Add the soaked kodo millet along with the water and the soaked dal without the soaking water. Raise the heat to medium-high, add in the salt and let the water come to a boil.
7. Reduce the heat to low, add the cilantro, stir a few times and cover with a lid. Cook until the millet and dal are cooked soft (about 20 minutes). Add more water if needed (I added 1 cup).
8. Add some more cilantro, mix well and transfer the khara pongal to a serving dish. Garnish with a few teaspoons of desi ghee.
9. Serve with dahi (yoghurt) or pickle.

Kodo Millet Khara Pongal Recipe

© 2021 Rajan Singh Jolly

Rajan loves cooking dishes from his native Indian cuisine. He likes to share his favourite recipes with his online readers.

Sprouted moong dal (mung bean) curry is a tasty recipe that calls for just a few basic spices. It comes together very quickly; you can have it on the table in a matter of minutes.

This curry is typically served as a side dish with rice and sindhi kadhi, but you can also have it with roti or chapati.

Do try it and share your experience.

Cook Time

Ingredients

• 1 cup sprouted moong dal (mung beans)
• 1 tsp salt, or to taste
• 3-4 tsp oil
• 1/2 tsp red chilli powder
• 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
• 1/4 tsp heeng (asafoetida powder)
• 150 ml water, or as needed
• 1-2 pinches red chilli powder, for garnish
• 1-2 pinches amchur (mango powder), for garnish

Instructions

1. Heat oil in a pressure cooker and add in the sprouts, heeng and all spices: salt, red chilli powder and turmeric powder. Stir well and saute for 1-2 minutes.
2. Add just enough water to submerge the sprouts.
3. Stir well and close the lid. Give 2-3 whistles and put off the heat. Let the pressure release on its own.
4. Open the cooker. The sprouts should be done and all the water should have dried up.
5. Transfer to a serving dish and garnish with a little red chilli powder and amchur powder.
6. Serve with rice and sindhi kadhi. Recipe video link for the sindhi kadhi in the video.

Masala Moong Sprouts Curry Recipe

© 2021 Rajan Singh Jolly

Rajan loves cooking dishes from his native Indian cuisine. He likes to share his favourite recipes with his online readers.

Millets are ancient grains that were eaten for thousands of years all over the globe before wheat and rice became popular after the Green Revolution. Millets are gluten-free, low glycemic index grains better known as bird feed—although they are only not that. They have much to offer in terms of health and nutrition to humans, as well.

Recently millets have enjoyed a revival, especially the five millets which have been named "Siridhanya millets" by Dr Khadar Vali of India. These five millets are believed to be particularly healthy because of the unique way their high fibre content in these grains is interwoven with their carbohydrate, as well as their amazing nutrient profile. The five Siridhanya millets are:

• Foxtail millet
• Little millet
• Barnyard millet
• Browntop millet
• Kodo millet

Today I am going to show you how you can boil these millets, using foxtail millet as an example. The process is the same for all the Siridhanya millets.

Do try this method and share your experience.

Cook Time

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup any siridhanya millet (I used foxtail millet)
• Water, for washing the millet
• 1 1/4 cups for soaking and cooking the millet
• 1/4 tsp sendha namak (rock salt), optional
• 1 tsp any cold-pressed oil (I used cold-pressed groundnut oil)

Instructions

1. Wash the millet once in water and drain.
2. Add the washed millet to a bowl, pour in enough water to cover the grains and cover with a lid. Let it soak overnight.
3. The next day, drain the millet but reserve the soaking water.
4. Set a steel kadahi (wok) on low heat. Add the soaking water, oil and optional salt. Raise the heat to medium. Let the water come to a boil, then add the soaked millet and stir a few times.
5. Once the water again comes to a boil, reduce the heat to low, cover with a lid and cook until the water dries up. Check a few times in between. This should take about 10-12 minutes.
6. Remove from heat and let the millet sit, covered with the lid, for 5 minutes.
7. The millet rice is ready to serve or for its further preparation into fried millet rice or any other type of rice needing boiled millet rice.

How to Boil Millet Rice

© 2021 Rajan Singh Jolly

Rajan loves cooking dishes from his native Indian cuisine. He likes to share his favourite recipes with his online readers.

Upma is a breakfast dish usually prepared with rava or wheat semolina. In this recipe, I used millet rava, and I also incorporated a few vegetables to make it healthier—and more colorful! Although upma is traditionally a breakfast dish, you can have it for lunch or dinner as well.

Since millet rava is not readily available in many places, I used whole millet to make rava first—and then used that to prepare the upma. In this recipe, I used browntop millet but you can use any type of millet you have on hand. In the video below, I will show you the process I. used for making the rava.

Do try this delicious and nutritious recipe and share your experience.

Cook Time

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup browntop millet or any siridhanya millet rava
• 1 cup water for soaking the millet rava
• 3 tbsp any cold-pressed oil (I used groundnut oil)
• 1/4 tsp jeera (cumin seeds)
• 1/4 tsp rai (mustard seeds)
• 1/4 tsp chana dal (split and skinned bengal gram)
• 1/4 tsp urad dal (split and skinned black gram)
• 1 medium onion, chopped small
• 2 green chillies, split in half
• 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
• 15-20 kadi patta (curry leaves)
• 2 tbsp green peas
• 2 tbsp chopped carrot
• 2 tbsp chopped green bell pepper
• 1 medium tomato, chopped small
• 1/2 tsp sendha namak (rock salt)
• 1 tbsp chopped hara dhania (cilantro)
• Cilantro, for garnish
• 1 fresh red chilli, split, for garnish

Instructions

1. To make the millet rava from millet, put the millet in a grinder jar and give 1-2 second pulses 5-6 times or until it is coarsely ground. Do not grind it too fine. Sieve out the ground millet and separate the fine rava from the bigger millet pieces.
2. Dry-roast the millet rava on low heat. Stir constantly until you can smell its aroma and it is slightly brown. Transfer to a plate and let it cool down completely.
3. Wash the millet rava once and drain out the water. Add 1 cup of water, cover it with a lid and let it soak overnight.
4. The next morning, the rava will be ready to make upma. Keep a pan on low-medium heat and add 3 tbsp oil. Once the oil is hot, add the jeera and rai. Let them crackle.
5. Reduce the heat to low and add the chana dal and urad dal. Saute for 1-2 minutes until they just change in colour.
6. Add the chopped onion, slit green chillies and turmeric powder, raise the heat to low-medium and saute for 1-2 minutes until the onions change a bit in colour.
7. Add the kadhi patta and mix well. Add the green peas, chopped carrot, chopped bell pepper and chopped tomato. Mix well and saute for about 1 minute.
8. Reduce the heat to low and cover with a lid. Cook for about 2 minutes.
9. Add the water the millet rava has been soaked in and salt and mix well. Raise the heat to low-medium and let the water come to a boil.
10. Add the soaked millet rava, a little at a time, mixing it in simultaneously. Add some hara dhania, mix well and reduce the heat to low. Cover with a lid and cook for about 2 minutes.
11. Remove the lid and stir-cook the upma until all the water dries out, about 3-4 minutes.
12. Millet rava upma is ready to serve. Serve it as shown in the video.

Notes

• When you grind the millet you will get a mix of fine ground millet rava and some broken millet. You can use the broken millet to make dalia or porridge, halwa etc. Store it in an airtight jar for use later.
• The millet rava can also be used to make idli, dosa etc.

Millet Rava Upma Recipe

© 2021 Rajan Singh Jolly

Rajan loves cooking dishes from his native Indian cuisine. He likes to share his favourite recipes with his online readers.

Nonalcoholic Mandarin Orange Mojito

This refreshing summertime mojito mocktail is flavoured with kinoo, or mandarin oranges. You may be able to find kinoo in your local Indian market; if not, you can easily substitute regular oranges.

This orange mojito is not only delicious, it's easy to make, too. Your family and friends will love it. Do try it and share your experience.

Cook Time

Ingredients

• 200 ml kinoo (mandarin orange juice), freshly squeezed
• 150 ml crushed ice
• 150 ml chilled club soda
• 1 1/2 lemons, cut into 12 pieces
• 4 tsp ground mishri (rock sugar) or table sugar
• 20-25 fresh pudina (mint leaves)

Instructions

1. In a large mug add the mint leaves, lemon pieces and ground mishri. With a muddler or the round end of a long ladle, muddle the ingredients to extract their juices and flavours.
2. Add the orange juice and stir until the sugar dissolves.
3. Add the crushed ice and then the chilled club soda. Stir again a few times.
4. Garnish with a sprig of mint leaves, push in a straw and serve this refreshing mocktail.

Mandarin Orange Mojito Mocktail

© 2021 Rajan Singh Jolly

Rajan loves cooking dishes from his native Indian cuisine. He likes to share his favourite recipes with his online readers.

This is a delicious arbi (taro root) curry that is prepared in the dhaba style. Dhabas are popular roadside eateries, usually found on highways and close to gas stations, that serve as rest stops for truckers and travellers.

Dhaba-style dishes are typically quite spicy and flavourful, as well as being a treat for the eyes. You can expect them to be fingerlickingly good.

This particular curry is prepared in the dum style, meaning that it is cooked under pressure.

Try this dum arbi dish and share your experience.

Cook Time

Ingredients

For marinating the arbi:

• 500 grams arb (taro root), boiled and the skin removed
• 1 1/2 tsp coriander powder
• 1/2 tsp deghi mirch powder
• 1/2 tsp kashmiri red chilli powder
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• 1/2 tsp garam masala
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp bhuna jeera (roasted cumin seed powder)
• 1/4 cup mustard oil, for frying

For the gravy:

• 1 tsp jeera (cumin seeds)
• 1 tbsp ginger paste
• 1 tbsp garlic paste
• 2 onions, grated
• 1 green chilli, finely chopped
• 1 1/2 tsp coriander powder
• 1/2 tsp garam masala
• 1/2 tsp deghi mirch powder
• 1 tsp kitchen king masala
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• 1/2 tsp kashmiri red chilli powder
• 1/4 cup water
• 3 tbsp roasted groundnuts, ground coarsely
• 3 medium tomatoes, pureed
• 3 tbsp dahi (yoghurt), whisked until smooth
• 1 tbsp kasuri methi (dry fenugreek leaves)
• 350 ml water, or as needed
• 1 tbsp chopped hara dhania (cilantro), plus more for garnish

Instructions

1. Prick the arbi with a fork all around and set aside.
2. Combine all of the spices needed for marinating the arbi in a bowl and stir until they combine nicely. Add the fork-pricked arbi and mix until the arbi is evenly coated. Cover with a lid and let it marinate for 30 minutes.
3. Add oil to a pan and heat on low-medium heat until it smokes. Then add the marinated arbi and shallow-fry it is golden brown. Keep turning it at regular intervals. Remove and set aside.
4. Strain out the oil and reserve 3 tbsp of it to prepare the gravy.
5. Heat up the reserved oil in a pan (if you don't quite have 3 tbsp, add fresh oil to make up the difference). Add the jeera and let it crackle. Keep the heat on low-medium.
6. Add the ginger and garlic paste and saute for 15-20 seconds on low heat.
7. Add the grated onions and chopped green chilli. Saute for 2 minutes on low-medium heat.
8. Reduce the heat to low and add in the ground spices: coriander powder, garam masala, deghi mirch powder, kitchen king masala, salt, turmeric powder and kashmiri red chilli powder. Stir until they combine well.
9. Add 1/4 cup of water and stir well. Raise the heat to low-medium and cook until the oil separates out of the masala.
10. Add the roasted and ground peanuts and mix well. Stir-roast for 1 minute.
11. Add the tomato puree. Stir the mix and cook until the oil once again starts to separate out of the masala.
12. Reduce the heat to low, add the whisked dahi and stir quickly until it mixes well.
13. Add the kasuri methi and stir roast for 30 seconds; then add the water, stir well and let the gravy come to a boil.
14. Add the fried arbi and mix carefully. Add a little cilantro and cover with a lid. Cook for about 10 minutes on low heat.
15. Dhaba-style dum arbi is now ready. Serve it with roti, paratha or rice.

Dhaba-Style Dum Arbi (Taro Root Curry) Recipe

© 2021 Rajan Singh Jolly

Rajan loves cooking dishes from his native Indian cuisine. He likes to share his favourite recipes with his online readers.

Punjabi-Style Paratha

Paratha is an Indian pan-fried flatbread that is traditionally prepared with wheat flour. It can also be prepared with flour made from other grains, but this is less common.

Parathas can be plain—meaning without any stuffing—or they can be prepared with a variety of vegetable stuffings.

Mooli ke patton ka paratha is a stuffed paratha that is made with chopped radish leaves that have been spiced with a multitude of spices. Though this paratha is a bit unusual, it's very flavourful, delicious and of course healthy.

Using sendha namak (rock salt) and cold-pressed groundnut oil instead of refined table salt and refined oil makes it much healthier because these ingredients are unrefined and chemical-free.

Although typically served for breakfast, paratha can be enjoyed with lunch or dinner, as well. Do try it and share your experience.

Cook Time

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups green leaves of 2 radishes, washed, wiped dry and chopped
• 1 tsp sendha namak (rock salt), or to taste
• 1/2 tsp red chilli powder
• 1/2 tsp garam masala
• 1 tsp amchur (mango powder)
• 1 tsp dhania (coriander seed powder)
• 1/2 tsp ajwain (carom seeds)
• 1/2 tsp buna jeera (roasted cumin seed powder)
• 1/2 tsp chaat masala
• 1 green chilli, finely chopped
• 1 inch ginger piece, ground into a paste
• 1 to 1 1/2 cups atta (whole wheat flour dough)
• 1 to 2 tbsp cold-pressed groundnut oil, or as needed

Instructions

1. Add all of the spices and salt to the chopped radish leaves and mix well. Set aside.
2. Take some dough, shape it into a ball, dust it with dry flour and roll it out into a round slightly thick roti (round disc) about 6 inches diameter.
3. Place about half the prepared stuffing in the middle of the roti. Gather the free edges of the roti on top and press to tightly seal.
4. Dust with some dry flour and roll it out into a slightly thick paratha (round disc).
5. Brush a little oil on a preheated pan and place the paratha on it. Keep the heat on low-medium and let it cook for about 15-20 seconds; then flip it over. Let the other side cook for 15-20 seconds and then flip it again.
6. Now spread a little oil on the paratha and flip it again. Spread a little oil on this side too.
7. Cook the paratha, flipping it frequently and cooking it until it is crisp. There should be golden spots all over on both sides. Prepare the other paratha similarly.
8. Serve with homemade plain dahi (yoghurt) and pickle. Links for these homemade dishes are in the accompanying video.

Mooli ke Patton ka Paratha (Stuffed Radish Leaves Paratha)

© 2021 Rajan Singh Jolly

Rajan loves cooking dishes from his native Indian cuisine. He likes to share his favourite recipes with his online readers.

Unlike what many people might think, millets are not just bird feed. Millets are ancient grains that have been consumed by humans for thousands of years, especially before wheat and rice became popular all over the globe.

Today's recipe is a variation on coconut rice, though instead of rice we are using kodo millet. Kodo millet is one of the five traditional millets that have been researched extensively in India.

This is a very unique dish. I hope you give it a try and share your feedback!

Cook Time

Ingredients

To boil the millet:

• 3/4 cup kodo (kodra) millet, soaked in 3 cups of water for 8 hours
• 1 tsp cold-pressed oil, preferably coconut oil
• 1/4 tsp sendha namak (rock salt)

For preparing the dish:

• 2 tbsp cold-pressed oil, preferably coconut oil
• 1 tsp rai (mustard seeds)
• 1 tsp jeera (cumin seeds)
• 2 tsp chana dal (split and skinned bengal gram)
• 2 tsp urad dal (split and skinned black gram)
• 2 tbsp cashew nuts
• 2 tbsp raw peanuts
• 1 tsp ginger paste
• 2 fresh whole red chillies
• 1 fresh green chilli
• 15-20 kadhi patta (curry leaves)
• 1/4 tsp heeng (asafoetida powder)
• 1/2 tsp sendha namak (rock salt)
• 1 1/2 cups grated fresh coconut
• 2 tbsp chopped hara dhania (cilantro)

Instructions

1. Put the millet soaking water in a kadhai and let it come to a boil on medium heat; then reduce the heat to low. Add the soaked millet, oil and salt. Stir well and cover with a lid. Cook until the water dries out and the millet is cooked (about 15 minutes). Set aside.
2. Heat the oil in a kadhai on medium heat; then reduce the heat to low. Add in the rai and jeera and let them crackle.
3. Add in the chana dal and urad dal. Fry for 30 seconds, then add in the peanuts and cashew nuts. Stir until the nuts turn a little brown.
4. Add in the ginger paste, red and green chillies, kadhi patta and asafoetida. Stir-roast for 30 seconds.
5. Add the sendha namak and grated coconut and mix well. Stir-roast for 1 minute.
6. Add the boiled kodo millet and hara dhania and mix well. Stir for 1 minute and remove from the heat. Cover with a lid and let it sit for 4-5 minutes.
7. Kodo millet coconut rice is ready to serve.

Millet Coconut Rice Recipe

© 2021 Rajan Singh Jolly

Rajan loves cooking dishes from his native Indian cuisine. He likes to share his favourite recipes with his online readers.

Vermicelli custard, a pudding prepared with vermicelli or sevai, is a very popular Indian dessert. Quick to prepare and very yummy, it is made with roasted vermicelli, milk and nuts.

Do try this simple dessert and share your experience.

Cook Time

Ingredients

• 500 ml full-cream milk
• 1/4 cup roasted sevai (vermicelli)
• 1 pinch kesar (saffron)
• 1 tbsp vanilla custard powder, dissolved in 1 tbsp milk
• 4 tbsp ground mishri (rock sugar) or table sugar
• 10 almonds, sliced
• 10 cashews, chopped
• 10 pistachios, sliced
• 10-15 raisins

Instructions

1. Heat the milk until it comes to a boil; then reduce the heat to low, add the roasted vermicelli and saffron and mix well. Add the sugar and nuts but reserve some for garnish. Do not add the raisins.
2. After 2-3 minutes, raise the heat to low-medium and cook until the vermicelli is soft (this should take about 5 minutes).
3. Reduce heat to low. Add the custard powder and milk mixture to the pan and stir-cook for 1 minute.
4. Remove the vermicelli custard from the stove and let it cool down completely.
5. Garnish the dish with the raisins as well as the reserved nuts.
6. Chill in the refrigerator before serving.

Vermicelli Custard Recipe

© 2021 Rajan Singh Jolly

Rajan loves cooking dishes from his native Indian cuisine. He likes to share his favourite recipes with his online readers.

Contrary to what some people might believe, millet is not birdseed. Millet is a traditional grain that has been consumed by people all over the world for thousands of years. It used to be more common before the Green Revolution of the 1960s, when wheat and rice became more popular.

Today, millet is being reintroduced to the modern world, in part because of the efforts of Indian scientist Dr Khadar Vali. He has worked relentlessly over the past 25 years to revive interest in this ancient grain.

This recipe is for fried rice with foxtail millet, one of the five siridhanya millets—so named because they are thought to be miracle grains for health. The five siridhanya millets are foxtail millet, barnyard millet, little millet, kodo millet and browntop millet

Do try this foxtail fried rice and share your experience.

Cook Time

Ingredients

For boiling the millet:

• 1/2 cup unpolished kangni (foxtail millet), or any other unpolished siridhanya millet
• 2 cups water for soaking the millet
• 1/4 tsp sendha namak/ (rock salt), or to taste
• 1/2 tsp cold-pressed oil, for boiling the millet

For making the fried rice millet:

• 2 tbsp cold-pressed oil, for preparing the dish
• 8-10 fresh red chillies, chopped
• 1 fresh green chilli, chopped
• 1 inch ginger, made into a paste
• 1 carrot, chopped small
• 1 small green bell pepper, chopped small
• 2-3 tbsp spring onions and greens, chopped
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• 1/4 tsp black pepper powder
• 1/2 tsp sendha namak (rock salt), or to taste

Instructions

1. Wash the foxtail millet thoroughly once and then soak it in water for 8 hours (or overnight if you have the time).
2. Put the soaking water in a pan or wok and keep it on medium heat. Add 1/2 tsp of any cold-pressed oil and 1/4 tsp salt and let the water come to a boil.
3. Add in the soaked millets, reduce the heat to low and cover with a lid. Cook until all the water dries out and the millets are just moist (this should take 10-12 minutes). Set aside.
4. Keep a pan on low heat, add 2 tbsp oil and let it heat up. Add in the chopped garlic, chillies and ginger paste. Saute until these are roasted, about 1-2 minutes until they change slightly in colour and become aromatic.
5. Add in the chopped carrot, bell pepper and spring onion. You can also add beans, cabbage or other veggies of your choice. Mix well.
6. Add in the spices: turmeric powder, black pepper powder and rock salt. Raise the heat to medium and mix well. Cook for about 2 minutes until the veggies are slightly done but retain their crunch.
7. Reduce the heat to low, add in the boiled millets and mix well. Stir cook for 1-2 minutes.
8. Millet fried rice is ready. Transfer to a serving dish and serve with plain dahi (yoghurt), dal or any gravy.

Foxtail Millet Fried Rice Recipe

© 2021 Rajan Singh Jolly

Rajan loves cooking dishes from his native Indian cuisine. He likes to share his favourite recipes with his online readers.

Baingan ka bharta is a smoked eggplant dish that is popular in the Punjab state of North India. It is simple to prepare and very yummy. It is traditionally served as a side dish at lunch or dinner with roti, an Indian flatbread, or paratha, which is a pan-fried version of roti.

Do try it and share your experience.

Cook Time

Ingredients

• 500 grams large baingan (eggplants)
• 3 tbsp oil
• 2 medium onions, chopped
• 3 medium tomatoes, chopped
• 1 tsp salt, or to taste
• 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
• 1/2 tsp deghi mirch (red chilli powder)
• 1 tsp coriander powder
• 1/2 tsp garam masala
• 1 pkt maggi magi masala
• 1-2 tbsp hara dhania (cilantro), chopped

Instructions

1. Roast the baingan over a direct flame until they are soft and the skin is charred. Remove and cool a bit; then remove the skins. Wash in water, transfer to a plate, chop, and set aside.
2. Keep a pan on medium heat and put in 3 tbsp oil. When the oil is hot add in the chopped onions and saute until they turn pink.
3. Add in the chopped tomatoes and saute until soft.
4. Reduce heat to low and add the salt, turmeric powder, deghi red chilli powder, coriander powder and garam masala. Mix well and stir-cook for 1 minute.
5. Add in the chopped eggplants, mix well, cover with a lid and cook for 10 minutes, stirring a few times in between.
6. Lift the lid, raise the heat to medium-high, add in the maggi magic masala and mix well. Stir roast the eggplant mixture until the oil separates out.
7. Add in the chopped cilantro, mix well and then transfer to a serving dish. Serve with roti or paratha.

Punjabi Baingan Bharta Recipe (Smoked Eggplant Mash)

© 2021 Rajan Singh Jolly

Rajan loves cooking dishes from his native Indian cuisine. He likes to share his favourite recipes with his online readers.

Paneer, or Indian cottage cheese, is typically prepared using dairy milk. However, for those who are vegan or lactose intolerant, we can use nut milk instead.

Today we are preparing paneer from homemade peanut milk, which is not only healthy but also contains no preservatives or stabilisers of any kind.

Do try it and give your feedback.

Cook Time

Ingredients

• 100 grams raw moongfali (peanuts), soaked for 8 hours and drained
• 1 lemon
• 3/4 cup water, for grinding
• Water, as needed for mixing

Instructions

1. Wash the peanuts well a few times and then soak in water for 8 hours. After soaking, strain out the water, wash them again and grind them to a fine paste, adding about 3/4 cup of water.
2. Add more water, as needed, and stir until the water combines well.
3. Heat the mixture until lukewarm, then strain out the peanut pulp. Your peanut milk is now ready.
4. Heat the peanut milk over medium heat until it comes to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and add in the juice of half a lemon. Stir a few times and squeeze the other half lemon into it. Remove from heat and stir well for 30-40 seconds.
5. Strain out the paneer in a muslin cloth and tie the cloth into a knot when the water drains out. Let the paneer sit for about 30 minutes to drain out all the water.
6. Tie the cloth firmly and place a heavy weight over it. Let the paneer sit for 1 to 1 1/2 hours to help it set well.
7. Transfer the paneer to a plate and keep it in the fridge to let it firm up. Then cut it into pieces and fry them lightly before adding to curries.

Vegan Peanut Milk Paneer Recipe

© 2021 Rajan Singh Jolly

Rajan loves cooking dishes from his native Indian cuisine. He likes to share his favourite recipes with his online readers.

Healthy and Delicious Juice

Juice made from lauki (bottle gourd) and tomato is a great body detox and cooling beverage for the summer season. It's also very tasty.

If you do not have any health issues and are not on any medication you can enjoy this juice every day on empty stomach in the morning.

Try it and share your feedback.

Cook Time

Ingredients

• 300 grams lauki (bottle gourd)
• 100 grams (1 large) tomato
• 1 lemon or lime

Warning

Bitter bottle gourd is poisonous. Always taste bottle gourd before you use it. If it's bitter, discard it.

Instructions

1. Peel the lauki and then taste to make sure it is not bitter. (Bitterness indicates that it is poisonous. If it's bitter, discard and choose another lauki.)
2. Chop the peeled lauki into small pieces. Chop the tomato into small pieces, as well.
3. Add the chopped lauki and tomato to a blender and squeeze the lemon juice into it. Close the lid and blend until finely ground. If needed, add another small tomato to help in grinding but do not add water.
4. Strain out the healthy and delicious juice. Serve immediately.

Bottle Gourd and Tomato Juice Recipe for Summer

This content is accurate and true to the best of the author’s knowledge and is not meant to substitute for formal and individualized advice from a qualified professional.

© 2021 Rajan Singh Jolly

Rajan loves cooking dishes from his native Indian cuisine. He likes to share his favourite recipes with his online readers.

Idli is a savoury rice cake that is a popular breakfast food of South India. Typically, idli is prepared with rice and a lentil like urad dal (split and skinned black gram).

In this recipe, however, we are replacing the rice with ragi, which is a very healthy finger millet. Ragi is a gluten-free grain; it is actually a seed from the grass family.

Although idli is typically a breakfast food, it can be also eaten for lunch or dinner. Try this variation to the popular rice idli and share your feedback.

Cook Time

Ingredients

• 1 cup ragi (finger millet), soaked in water for 6 hours
• 1/2 cup urad dal (split and skinned black gram), soaked in water for 6 hours
• 1 tsp salt
• oil as needed, for greasing the idli moulds
• water as needed, to make the batter and steaming the idli batter

Instructions

1. Strain out the soaked water from the urad dal and discard. Also, strain out the water from the ragi and save it for grinding.
2. Grind the ragi, adding a little of the soaking water, to get a thick, flowing batter. Transfer the batter to a large pot. Now grind the dal, adding the same ragi soaking water, to make a thick, flowing batter. Add this batter to the ragi batter.
3. Stir until the two batters combine nicely. Cover with a plate and leave it for 10-12 hours to ferment.
4. Add the salt and water to adjust the consistency. Whisk in one direction only for about 5 minutes until the batter becomes soft and fluffy.
5. Fill the idli steamer with water and keep it for boiling, on medium flame, while you grease the idli moulds with oil and pour a ladleful of the batter into each pit of the moulds.
6. When the water comes to a boil, put in the idli batter-filled moulds in the steamer. Cover with the lid and raise the heat to high. Steam for 20-25 minutes or until the idlis are cooked.
7. Demould the idlis and serve them with sambhar and coconut chutney.

Ragi (Finger Millet) Idli Recipe

© 2021 Rajan Singh Jolly

Rajan loves cooking dishes from his native Indian cuisine. He likes to share his favourite recipes with his online readers.

Urad dal is a popular North Indian dal (lentil) dish. It is prepared using skinned and split whole black beans that are called mah ki dal (incidentally, once these black beans are skinned and split, they are white in colour). The word sookhi means dry, and so sookhi urad dal refers to a dry lentil dish that makes a delicious stuffing for parathas. In North Indian homes, leftover dal is often used to prepare stuffed parathas.

Do try this recipe and share your experience.

Cook Time

Ingredients

To boil the dal:

• 1 cup urad dal (split and skinned black gram), soaked in water for 4 hours and then drained
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• 4 cups water

To make the tadka (tempering):

• 2 tbsp desi ghee (clarified butter) or oil
• 1/4 tsp heeng (asafoetida)
• 1 tsp jeera (cumin seeds)
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 7-8 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 inch piece ginger, julienned
• 1 green chilli, chopped
• 2 dry red chillies, chopped
• 1 medium tomato, chopped small
• 1 tsp salt, or to taste
• 1/2 tsp deghi red chilli powder
• 1 tsp coriander powder
• 1/2 tsp garam masala
• 1 tsp kasuri methi (dry fenugreek leaves)

To cook the dal:

• 1-2 tbsp hara dhania (cilantro), chopped
• 1/2 cup water, divided
• 1 lemon, juiced
• 1 tsp hara dhania (cilantro), for garnish

Instructions

1. Prepare the dal: Fill a kadahi (wok) with water and place over full heat. Add in the soaked urad dal and turmeric powder. Stir well and let the water come to a boil.
2. Stir the dal and reduce the heat to low. Cook the dal until it is 90% cooked and keep stirring and checking the dal at intervals. Our dal took 30 minutes to get to this stage.
3. Transfer the dal to a colander to strain out the water. When the water has stopped dripping from the colander, transfer the dal to a bowl and keep it aside.
4. Prepare the tadka (tempering): Keep a pan on low heat and add in the desi ghee. Let it melt, then add the heeng and stir for a few seconds.
5. Add in the jeera and let it crackle. Raise the heat to low-medium and add in the chopped onion. Saute for 1 minute.
6. Add the chopped garlic cloves and julienned ginger for 1-2 minutes until these become aromatic.
7. Add the chopped green and dry red chillies and the chopped tomato. Stir-cook until the tomato becomes slightly soft.
8. Lower the heat to low and add in the dry spices: salt, deghi red chilli powder, coriander powder, garam masala and kasuri methi. Stir-mix for about 15 seconds.
9. Cook the dal: After 15 seconds add in the boiled dal and mix well. Add the hara dhania and 1/4 cup water. Mix well and cover with a lid. Let cook until the dal is cooked soft. Our dal took 5 minutes to cook and we added another 1/4 cup of water to it and kept checking the dal a few times in between. Keep the heat on a low medium. The cooked dal should be moist yet with no sign of any remaining water in it.
10. Squeeze in the lemon juice, add in a little cilantro, mix well and then transfer to a serving dish.
11. Serve the dal with roti or paratha. You can also make stuffed dal parathas with any leftover dal.

Sookhi Urad Dal Recipe

© 2021 Rajan Singh Jolly

Rajan loves cooking dishes from his native Indian cuisine. He likes to share his favourite recipes with his online readers.

I always prefer homemade curd/yoghurt and butter rather than their store-bought counterparts because when I make it myself I can control all of the ingredients. I don't add any chemical preservatives or additives, which the store-bought products contain.

The method I describe below is the one we use at home. It is a very traditional method of using raw milk to make curd—and then using the curd to make white unsalted butter.

As a side benefit, this recipe will give you a large amount of buttermilk, which is very low fat, healthy and cooling. It's a great beverage for the hot summer months.

Try it and share your experience.

Cook Time

Ingredients

• 1 litre raw full-fat milk
• Cold or chilled water, as needed
• 1 tsp jaman (curd starter)

Instructions

1. To make the curd/yoghurt, heat the milk until it comes to a boil, then remove it from the heat and let it cool down until it is just warm. The temperature of the warm milk should allow you to comfortably immerse a finger. It should not be too hot nor too lukewarm.
2. Add 1 tsp of jaman (curd starter). Stir it in well and cover with a lid. (Jaman is leftover fresh curd from an earlier batch of curd. If you do not have jaman at home, you can buy readymade curd from the market and use a little bit of it as the starter.)
3. If the weather is cold like it is where we live, wrap the covered pot in a warm cloth or shawl (in warm weather there is no need to wrap it in a warm cloth) and let it sit undisturbed overnight or for 8-9 hours until the curd sets completely. This curd can now be used to make butter (or any curd-based dish or raita).
4. To make butter: Add 1/2 the curd and some cold water in a blender and blend for 2 minutes, a little at a time, until the butter starts to separate out.
5. Blend for another 2 minutes or so until all the butter has separated out. Transfer the butter to a plate and transfer the liquid (buttermilk) to another pot.
6. Process the leftover curd and transfer the butter to the plate and the buttermilk into the pot.
7. Collect the butter and wash it with cold water until the water runs clear.
8. Homemade butter is ready for use. Serve it with paratha or use it in the dishes you prepare.

How to Make Curd and Butter From Raw Milk

© 2021 Rajan Singh Jolly

Rajan loves cooking dishes from his native Indian cuisine. He likes to share his favourite recipes with his online readers.

Khichdi is a rice and lentil dish that is similar to a savory porridge. Different varieties of lentils can be used to prepare this dish, but the type we are using today is chilka moong dal, or split mung bean with the skin.

Of all beans, chilka moong dal is one of the most nutritious and easily digestible. It is for this reason that khichdi made with this type of bean is often recommended for the elderly and sick.

Do try it and share your experience.

Cook Time

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup rice, soaked in water for 30 minutes and then drained
• 1/4 cup chilka moong dal (split mung beans with skin), soaked in water for 30 minutes and then drained
• 3 cups water
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp desi ghee (clarified butter)
• 1/2 tsp black pepper powder
• 1 tsp bhuna jeera (roasted cumin seed powder)
• desi ghee for garnishing, as needed

Instructions

1. In a pressure cooker, add the soaked rice and soaked moong dal. Add the water and salt. Close the pressure cooker, keep the heat on high, give 3 whistles and put off the heat.
2. Open the cooker when the pressure subsides. The khichdi should be soft. Our khichdi was of the right consistency. If you find your khichdi is a bit thick, add water as needed and stir it in. Now light the flame and keep it on low.
3. On a side burner, in a tadka pan, heat the desi ghee and reduce the heat to low. Add in the black pepper powder and roasted jeera powder. Stir for a few seconds, then transfer the tadka/tempering into the khichdi and mix well.
4. Transfer the khichdi to a serving dish, garnish with a few dollops of desi ghee and serve with any pickle or plain dahi (yoghurt).

Chilka Moong Dal Khichdi Recipe

© 2021 Rajan Singh Jolly

Rajan loves cooking dishes from his native Indian cuisine. He likes to share his favourite recipes with his online readers.

Khasta methi mathri is a popular, classic Indian savoury snack. If you purchase the readymade version from the market, you will note that they are typically prepared with all-purpose flour. In this recipe, however, we are using whole wheat flour to make them healthier. For added flavour, we add kasuri methi, or dry fenugreek leaves.

These mathris can be served with pickle or with a cup of hot tea as an evening snack—or anytime you need something to munch on. Try making them and share your feedback.

Cook Time

Ingredients

• 2 cups atta (whole wheat flour)
• 1 tsp ajwain (carom seeds)
• 1 tsp coarsely ground kali mirch (black peppercorns)
• 2 tsp kasuri methi (dry fenugreek leaves)
• 1 tsp bhuna jeera (roasted cumin seed powder)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 4 tbsp or more desi ghee (clarified butter)
• Water, as needed, for the dough
• Oil, as needed, for frying

Instructions

1. Put the atta in a paraat (a large plate with riased edges) and add the ajwain, coarsely ground kali mirch, kasuri methi, bhuna jeera powder and salt. Pour in the desi ghee and mix until well combined. Take a fistful of flour and press the fist tight then open it. If the mixture binds and holds shape the amount of ghee used as shortening, it is ready. If it doesn't hold its shape, add a little more ghee until the mixture holds shape.
2. Add water little by little and knead the flour to make a hard/tight dough. Cover and set aside for 15 minutes.
3. After 15 minutes, grease your hands with a little ghee and knead for about 2 minutes.
4. Take a small portion of the dough, shape into a log and snip off small portions about the size of a small lemon. Shape each portion into a round-shaped mathri by pressing it in between the palms.
5. Drop the mathris in hot oil kept on low heat and let them fry undisturbed until they start to rise on their own. Flip them over a few times and fry until they are crisp and golden. Fry in batches if needed.
6. Transfer to a plate and let them cool down completely. Store them in an airtight container.
7. Serve with hot tea as an evening snack. These mathris will keep well for 2 to 3 months.

Khasta Methi Mathri Recipe (Indian Savoury Crackers)

© 2021 Rajan Singh Jolly

Rajan loves cooking dishes from his native Indian cuisine. He likes to share his favourite recipes with his online readers.

Millets are traditional seeds that were commonly consumed the world over, especially before wheat and rice became popular. They are coarse grains and not very popular in spite of the fact that they are much healthier than wheat or rice. In the West they are frequently used in birdseed mixes, but in the semi-arid areas of Africa and Asia they remain an important food crop.

Khichdi is a popular dish in India that is typically prepared with white rice and lentils. In this recipe, instead of rice, we are using a variety of millet called foxtail.

Millets need at least six to eight hours of soaking time before they can be cooked. This is because of their high fibre content, which requires that the seeds completely absorb water so as to not cause digestion issues. Millets are an alkaline food, low on the glycemic index and gluten free. These characteristics make it a great option for diabetics and those with gluten allergies or sensitivities.

Millets can be cooked just like rice or made into flour. In India, we make roti (flatbread) with it.

Do try this yummy and healthy millet khichdi and share your experience.

Cook Time

Ingredients

• 1 cup foxtail millet (or any millet of your choice), soaked overnight in 1 cup of water
• 1 tbsp moong dal (yellow dal), soaked in water for 2-3 hours
• 1 tbsp desi ghee (clarified butter)
• 1/2 tsp rai (mustard seeds)
• 1/2 tsp jeera (cumin seeds)
• 1 small onion, chopped into small pieces
• 1 tsp ginger paste
• 10-15 kadhi patta (curry leaves)
• 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 medium tomato, chopped into small pieces
• 1/4 cup green peas
• 1/4 cup chopped bell pepper
• 1/4 cup chopped carrot
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp red chilli powder
• 1 additional cup water, total 2 cups of water, including soaking water for the millet
• 1 tbsp chopped hara dhania (cilantro)
• 1 tbsp desi ghee, for garnish

Instructions

1. Set a pan on low heat. Add the desi ghee and let it get hot.
2. Add in the rai and jeera and let them crackle
3. Add in the chopped onion and stir a few times. Then add the ginger paste, curry leaves and turmeric powder. Saute until the ginger and onion are roasted.
4. Add in the chopped tomato and cook until it turns soft.
5. Add the green peas, chopped carrot and chopped bell pepper. Stir a few times. Add the salt and red chilli powder and cook for 2-3 minutes.
6. Add the soaked foxtail millet along with the soaking water as well as the soaked lentils without the water. Add in the additional water as well. Stir and close the pressure cooker. Raise the heat to high and give 3 whistles then put off the heat.
7. Open the cooker when the pressure subsides and check the consistency. If it is too thin, continue cooking until it thickens. If it's too thick add some more water and cook it a bit until done.
8. Garnish with some desi ghee and serve with plain yoghurt or pickle (or on its own).

Notes

• The ratio of millet to lentils should always be 4:1.
• Do not discard the millet soaking water as it contains many vitamins and minerals.
• Millets need to be soaked for a minimum of 6-8 hours. Overnight soaking, if possible, is best.

Millet Khichdi Recipe

© 2021 Rajan Singh Jolly

Rajan loves cooking dishes from his native Indian cuisine. He likes to share his favourite recipes with his online readers.

Rasam is a traditional South Indian soup-like dish that is spicy, sweet and sour. It goes well with rice (instead of gravy), can be eaten with vada or idli (instead of sambhar) or can be served as a soup, without other accompaniments.

This is a basic rasam recipe that is simple and quick to make yet very delicious. This particular preparation does not require any rasam powder—homemade or market-bought—nor does it call for dal (lentils).

The sourness in the rasam comes from tamarind, which can be replaced by kokum (dried fruit rinds of the plant Garcinia indica) or its juice if you wish.

Do try and share your feedback.

Cook Time

Ingredients

For the tamarind water:

• 1 lemon-sized ball of imli (tamarind pulp)
• 1/2 cup warm water

For the ground spice mix:

• 3 tsp jeera (cumin seeds)
• 1 tsp sabut kali mirch (black peppercorns)
• 8-10 garlic cloves

For the rasam:

• 2 tbsp oil
• 1 tsp rai (mustard seeds)
• 1/4 tsp heeng (asafoetida powder)
• 2 dry whole red chillies
• 10-15 kadhi patta (curry leaves)
• 1 large tomato, seeds removed and chopped into small pieces
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• 2 cups water
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1-2 tbsp chopped hara dhania (cilantro)

Instructions

1. Soak the imli in the warm water for 30 minutes; then mash it well and strain out the pulp. Set the tamarind water aside.
2. In a mortar, add the spices for the spice mix. Grind the spices until they are coarsely ground. You can grind them coarsely in a grinder instead. Transfer the spice mix to a bowl and set aside.
3. Keep a pan on medium heat. Add the oil and let it heat up, then reduce the heat to low. Add in the mustard seeds and let them crackle.
4. Keep the heat on low and add the heeng, dry red chillies and curry leaves. Saute for 15-20 seconds; then add the chopped tomato and cook until they become soft.
5. Raise the heat to medium and add the coarsely ground spices and turmeric powder. Saute for about 15 seconds.
6. Add the tamarind water, 2 cups of water and salt. Stir to mix well, raise the heat to high and let the mixture come to a boil.
7. Reduce the heat to low and let simmer for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.
8. Add the cilantro and stir a few times before removing the pan from the heat.
9. Rasam is ready. Serve hot.

Easy and Quick to Make Basic Rasam Recipe Without Rasam Powder and Dal

© 2021 Rajan Singh Jolly

Rajan loves cooking dishes from his native Indian cuisine. He likes to share his favourite recipes with his online readers.

Ram ladoo, a snack prepared with spiced and fried lentil batter, is a very popular street food of Delhi. It is traditionally served with two different chutneys: a spicy green chutney prepared with radish leaves, cilantro and mint, and a tamarind and jaggery sweet and sour chutney.

This snack looks lovely and is yummy, too. Do try it and share your feedback.

Cook Time

Ingredients

For the mooli (radish chutney):

• 1 cup mooli (radish), washed and chopped
• 1 cup hara dhania (cilantro), washed and chopped
• 1/2 cup pudina (mint leaves), eashed
• 2 tbsp khari boondi or sev, type of fried lentil noodles
• 3-4 green chillies (I used 2 for a less spicy version)
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 lemons, juiced
• Water as needed, for grinding

For the ladoo batter:

• 1 cup moong dal (yellow dal), soaked in water overnight
• 1/4 cup chana dal, soaked in water overnight
• 1 inch ginger, grated
• 1 green chilli
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• Water as needed (we used 2 tbsp)
• Besan (brown chickpea flour), as needed

For deep-frying:

• Vegetable oil as needed

For serving:

• Mixture of grated radish and radish leaves
• Gud-imli (tamarind-jaggery chutney)
• Radish chutney prepared in this recipe

Instructions

1. Prepare the mooli (radish chutney): In a grinder jar, add the chopped mooli leaves, hara dhania, pudina, khari boondi, green chillies, salt and lemon juice. Add water as needed and grind it to a thick, finely ground consistency chutney. Set aside.
2. Prepare the ladoo batter: In a grinder jar, add the soaked moong dal, soaked chana dal, ginger, green chilli, baking soda and salt. Add just enough water to help it grind to a thick fine paste. Transfer the paste to a bowl.
3. Whisk the batter by hand in one direction only until it is light and fluffy. This will take about 5 minutes. Set aside. Note: After whisking the batter, if it seems to be slightly thin, add some chickpea flour and stir it in.
4. Heat oil on medium heat then drop spoonfuls of batter in the hot oil and fry the ladoos until they turn crisp and golden. Transfer to a plate and fry as many ladoos as you need. Store any unused batter in the fridge and use it within 1-2 days.
5. To serve the ladoo, place a layer of ladoos in a small plate, spread a mixture of grated radish and sliced radish leaves over them, spread some gud-imli chutney over this and finally spread the mooli chutney over this.
6. Ram ladoo dish is ready. Serve it immediately.

Ram Ladoo Recipe: Delhi Street Food

© 2021 Rajan Singh Jolly

Rajan loves cooking dishes from his native Indian cuisine. He likes to share his favourite recipes with his online readers.

Lauki (bottle gourd) juice is quick and easy to make at home. Bottle gourd is a very healthy vegetable, and it makes a delightful curry, as well.

Its fibre-rich juice is a natural coolant for the summer season. It has several health benefits, and it is also thought to help detoxify the body.

Important Notes

• Always taste the lauki before juicing it. If it is bitter, do not use it as it is poisonous.
• Drink the juice as soon as it is prepared. Storing the juice not only results in nutrients and health benefits being lost but it also causes gas and/or bloating.

Cook Time

Ingredients

• 150 grams lauki (bottle gourd)
• 150 ml water

For the imli (tamarind) water:

• 15 grams imli (tamarind)
• 1/4 tsp salt
• water as needed, to soak the bottle gourd

Instructions

1. Prepare tamarind water by soaking the tamarind and salt in warm water until soft. Then mash the pulp and squeeze out the water. Add salt and stir well until dissolved.
2. Wash the bottle gourd thoroughly. Soak it in tamarind water for 15 minutes. This will help to remove most of the pesticides. If you buy organic bottle gourd, you may skip this step.
3. Wash the soaked bottle gourd well with water; then dry with a dry napkin.
4. Cut out the required amount of bottle gourd and peel it. Slice into quarters and cut out the seed portion.
5. Taste a small piece to check that it is not bitter. If it is bitter, discard it and use a bottle gourd that is not bitter.
6. Chop the bottle gourd into small pieces and add them to a grinder jar. Add a little water and make a fine puree.
7. Transfer the puree to a glass and add the rest of the water. Stir well and serve immediately.

Lauki (Bottle Gourd) Juice Recipe

© 2021 Rajan Singh Jolly

Rajan loves cooking dishes from his native Indian cuisine. He likes to share his favourite recipes with his online readers.

Pickle-style vegetable curries are tangy and flavourful. This particular eggplant curry will certainly tickle your tastebuds with a variety of flavours. Serve it with roti, paratha, or any Indian flatbread.

Do try it and share your experience.

Cook Time

Ingredients

Whole spices:

• 1 tsp saunf (fennel seeds)
• 1 tsp jeera (cumin seeds)
• 1 tsp sabut dhania (coriander seeds)
• 1/4 tsp kalonji (nigella seeds)
• 1/4 tsp methi dana (fenugreek seeds)
• 1/2 tsp rai (mustard seeds)

Ground spices:

• 1/2 tsp red chilli powder
• 1/2 tsp garam masala
• 1/2 tsp amchur (mango powder)
• 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp salt

Other ingredients:

• 2 small baingan (eggplants)
• 2-3 tbsp oil
• 2 tomatoes, pureed
• 2 tbsp hara dhania (cilantro), chopped

Instructions

1. Dry roast the whole spices in a pan on low heat until they turn aromatic and change a little in colour. Transfer to a plate and let them cool completely. Then grind them coarsely.
2. Remove the green stalks from the baingan. Make two cuts in each baingan at right angles to each other on the opposite ends, about three-quarters deep.
3. In a mixing bowl, add in the coarsely ground spices, salt, red chilli powder, turmeric powder, garam masala and amchur. Mix well.
4. Stuff the masala in the cuts made in the baingan.
5. In a pan, heat 2-3 tbsp oil over low heat. Place the baingan in the pan and cover with a lid. Cook for 2 minutes. All cooking should be done on low heat.
6. Lift the lid and turn over each baingan. Put the lid back on and check back after 1-2 minutes. Repeat this process of turning the baingan so that they cook evenly on all sides until they are about 80% cooked.
7. Add the tomato puree and mix well. Cover with a lid and cook for 4-5 minutes. Check and stir at regular intervals.
8. Add the hara dhania, remove from heat and mix well. Serve hot.

Achari Baingan (Pickle-Style Eggplant Curry) Recipe

© 2021 Rajan Singh Jolly