Diwali Special - Ghughra

It is the festival season that makes us all nostalgic. There are so many wonderful memories of Diwali that I don't know where to start. As we were growing up, we watched Baa and Mom whip up wonderful snacks and sweets for Diwali. The Saat-padi nimki (7 layered salty snack), fafda, mathia and my favorite Ghughra were quintessential and almost synonymous with Diwali in our house. Diwali was the only time Mom would undertake the massive task of preparing them. Ghughra making time for almost like an assembly line - My sister dividing the dough into small balls, I rolled them into flat discs, Baa would fill and close them and Mom would fry them into crispy golden deliciousness.

Ghughra

All through the process, I would be eagerly waiting for that first bite of the Ghughra I'd been waiting to eat since last Diwali! Often, I begged Mom to make it at other times of the year, but she never agreed. I now know that it is an undertaking that she was willing to go though only once in a year! :)

This year, Diwali came a bit early in my house with my parents visiting us here. As a pleasant surprise, Mom agreed to make all the Diwali goodies for me before they returned back to India. Needless to say, we heralded the festive season with delicious Ghughra. Here it goes:

Prep time - 2 hours
Yield - 35-40 pieces

Ingredients:

Filling:
400 grams Khoya/ Mava (room temperature)
1/3 cup chopped cashews
1/4 cup almonds
1/4 cup pistachios
1/3 cup raisins
2/3 cup sugar or more to taste
1 tsp cardamom powder
1/2 tsp nutmeg powder

Dough:
11/2 cups All purpose flour
Pinch of salt
1 tbsp ghee
Water

Ghee for frying

Method:

Filling:

Khoya filling

• In a medium pan, roast the mava/ khoya until slightly golden brown and aromatic. Stir continuously.
• Crush all the dried fruits into a course powder in a grinder. Gently mix the dried fruits with the roasted mava, stirring continuously. 
• Add raisins, cardamom powder, nutmeg powder and sugar.
• Stir for 5 minutes till sugar is evenly mixed and remove from heat.
• Let it cool completely.

Dough:

• Mix all purpose flour, salt and ghee together. 
• Add small amounts of water as required and knead it into a soft dough. 
• Divide the dough into small penny sized balls and cover with a damp cloth.

Ghugra making: 

• Once the filling is completely cooled, start rolling the dough balls into small discs, much like puris. 
• Take a tablespoon of the filling and heap it on one side of the disc. Gently fold the other half of the disc on top of the filling, to make a half moon shape.
• Now pinch the dough on the end of the semicircle and twist it to seal the edges. This can be done using a fork, too. Just gently press a fork tongs on the dough edges to seal and ensure that the filling does not pop out while frying.

Dough edges pinched and twisted to seal the filling inside

• Repeat until all ghugras are ready to fry.
• Fry in ghee till golden and crispy.

Golden delicious Ghughra

I'm glad Diwali came early to my house :)

Bon Appetit!

Hetal from Houston

Jhat-pat Lapsi

Jhat-pat Lapsi

Lapsi is probably my favorite traditionally Gujarati dish. It is almost like a 'halva' made of broken wheat. Typically made on auspicious days, such as New Year or during festivals, Lapsi is an integral part of the 'Nived' spread. My mom always makes Lapsi for our New Year lunch. We eat Lapsi with a simple potato curry. I know, I know, it sounds weird - but it is a delicious combination. My sister and I eat Lapsi by the bowl! Mom often had to whip up a big bowl for us when we returned from school. This is her 'jhat-pat' Lapsi recipe. Her it goes.

Serves: 2-3 persons
Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 8-10 minutes

Ingredients
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup suji/ semolina
3-4 tbsp melted ghee
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup gur/ jaggery
1/4 cup sugar

Method

• In a medium bowl, mix the whole wheat flour, semolina and 3 tbsp ghee well, till it resembles a 'crumble'. Set it aside.

Whole wheat- Semolina 'crumble'

• In a thick bottomed pan or a non-stick pan, bring 3/4 cup water to a boil. Add sugar and jaggery. Continue to simmer on low heat till the jaggery is completely dissolved.

Simmering jaggery-sugar syrup

• Sprinkle the wheat flour-semolina crumble gently into the simmering jaggery-sugar syrup. Cover and let it simmer for about 8-10 minutes on low heat. Do not stir. It is done when a wooden spoon or spatula comes out clean. The consistency should be like a halva or upma.

Crumble sprinkled into jaggery syrup

• Add 1 tbsp melted ghee and serve hot - as a main course Gujarati meal with curried potatoes or as a simple dessert.

Delicious Lapsi

Bon Apetit!

Hetal from Houston

Daal Dhokri - Gujarati one pot meal

Daal Dhokri

While pasta, quinoa and couscous dishes have become a part of our weeknight dinner plans, some quintessentially Gujarati dishes have found their way into my 'weeknight go to recipe' list. Daal Dhokri is one such dish. Simply put, it is spiced whole wheat pasta cooked in lentil soup that is a sumptuous combination of proteins (toor daal 'sauce'), carbohydrates (roti 'pasta') and fresh vegetables. To my mind, it is a nutritious one pot Gujarati meal that makes for very few dishes to clean after a weeknight dinner! :) Here it goes -

Serves: 3-4 persons
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 40-45 minutes

Ingredients

For Daal

1 cup toor daal

1 tbsp oil

1 tbsp ghee

1/2 tsp mustard seeds

1 bay leaf

2-4 cloves

2 cinnamon pieces, 1" long

1" ginger, minced or grated
2-3 green chillies

1 sprig curry leaves
1/2 tomato
5-6 tbsp jaggery
2 tbsp lemon juice
2-3 tbsp peanuts, raw (optional)
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
Salt, to taste

For Dhokri
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
1/4 tsp asafoetida powder
1 tbsp canola oil
salt to taste

For garnish
1 small onion, finely chopped
1-2 small potatoes, boiled, peeled and chopped (optional)
1 cucumber, diced (optional)
1-2 tomatoes, diced
1/4 cup coriander leaves

Method
For Daal:

Simmering toor daal

1. Rinse the toor daal till water runs clear. Cook the daal in a pressure cooker with 2 cups water, salt, turmeric and ginger. It took about 3 whistles in my cooker, but time taken may vary. Once cooled, blend the daal in a blender.
2. In a large sauce pan, heat the ghee & oil. Once hot, add mustard seeds and let it sputter. Add curry leaves, cloves, cinnamon, bay leaf, green chillies and asafoetida. Add blended daal and mix well. Add about 3 cups of water, jaggery, chilli powder, peanuts, tomato and salt.
3. Bring the daal to a boil and simmer for 15-20 minutes while stirring occasionally. Add lemon juice just before adding the dhokri.

For Dhokri:

Diamond shaped dhokri pieces, ready for the daal pot

1. In a large bowl, knead wheat flour into a firm dough using warm water and 1tbsp oil. Add turmeric powder, red chilli powder into the dough. Set the dough aside for 10-15 minutes.
2. Divide the dough into 5-6 golf ball sized portions. Roll each dough ball into large thin chapatis. I rolled the rotis to about 8-10" in diameter, since I have a large rolling board.  
3. Once rolled, cut roti into diamond or square shapes using a knife or a pizza cutter. 
4. Meanwhile, bring the daal to a boil, and add the roti pieces one by one (to prevent any lumps). Continue to roll the remaining dough balls, cut into small pieces and add to the boiling daal.
5. Cook the dhokri in daal for 10 minutes or till the dhokri is completely cooked.

To serve:

1. Serve hot daal dhokri in a deep bowl. Garnish with the chopped onions, potatoes, tomatoes, onion and coriander leaves.
2. You could add a drop or two of ghee for added taste. Its purely optional, though.

Sumptuous Daal Dhokri

Bon Apetit!

Hetal from Houston

Keri no Ras - Aamras

I love all things mango. Unending supply and variety of mangoes makes summer my favourite season. I even went to India one time in the middle of summer, so that I could eat the king of fruits to my heart's fill (Yes, I'm that crazy!). My latest trip to the Indian grocery resulted in an impulsive purchase of TWO boxes of mangoes. Result? The apartment was filled with faintly sweet fragrance as they slowly ripened. 

Everyday I would check each piece to determine which ones were ripe enough to eat and/ or refrigerate. Soon enough, there were far too many ready to eat and no place in my refrigerator. So I made the staple meal for Gujarati households during the summer (read 'mango') season - 'Keri no Ras' to eat with poori. Its makes for a perfect lazy Sunday lunch for a mango loving soul. Oh dear Lord! The very thought of Ras-Poori makes my mouth water. Here it goes.

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Serves: 4-6 persons

Ingredients

3 ripe mangoes

1 cup skimmed milk, cold

2-4 tsp sugar (depending on how sweet the mangoes are)

1/2 tsp ground ginger powder

Method

• Peel and dice mangoes into 1" cubes. Extract as much pulp from the pits.

Golden ripe mango cubes

• In a blender, blend mango cubes, milk and sugar into a thick pulp or 'aamras'.
• Strain the 'aamras' in a fine wire strainer or cheese cloth to remove any mango fibres.
• Pour in a bowl and stir in ginger powder. Refrigerate till ready to serve with poori or chapatis. It can even be served as a delicious summery dessert.

NOTE: Aamras can be easily frozen in a freezer safe container if you wish to relish the golden goodness all year through. I do it in small 2 serving sized containers, for easy thawing.

Keri no ras

Bon Apetit!

Hetal from Houston

Murrabo - Mango Marmalade

Its a sweltering hot day today in Houston. It brings back vivid memories of the summer back home in India. Every summer, my mom and Baa (grandma) would be super busy making 'Athaanu' or pickles of various kinds- some sweet like Khaman, Gor keri, Murrabo and many spicy ones like Marwari keri, Pachranga etc. 


Given the elaborate and time consuming process, almost the entire family was in-charge of some step. Baa would peel the raw mangoes, while Mom would cut the mangoes and slather salt-turmeric or other spices on the mango pieces. My sister and I were in-charge of the most mundane bit - placing each mango piece cut side up on large piece of cloth in the sun. Ofcourse, we placed a couple of pieces (or more!) into our mouths! As the sunlight moved through various parts of the house, the pickled mangoes followed. The entire house would smell of fragrant spices and mangoes. If it rained (as it often does in Kolkata, after a few hot-humid days), everyone would run helter-skelter, trying to save the pickled mangoes from the rain. Ah...wonderful days!


The same fragrant flavors filled my kitchen as I made 'keri no murrabo', or mango marmalade. It is a fairly simple recipe that is made on a stovetop, and not under the sun! Here it goes -

Ingredients

Raw mangoes - 2 medium sized

Sugar - about 2 cups
Kesar/ saffron - few strands.

Cardamom seeds - 10-12 seeds(2-3 pods)

Cinnamon - 2-4 pieces, 1" long

Cloves - 3-4

Water

Method

Mango pieces in simmering water

• Peel mangoes, and cut flesh into 1 inch pieces. Discard the pits. Add to simmering water. Once mango pieces are transclucent, strain water. (You can reserve this water for refreshing mango panna.)

Translucent mango pieces in a strainer

• Chaashni/ Sugar syrup - Add sugar in a medium saucepan. Add water just enough to cover the sugar, less than a cup. Heat till sugar dissolves into syrup. Continue to cook on low heat till the syrup thickens. Check for two string consistency by taking a drop of syrup on your thumb (Carefully, the syrup will be hot), and pressing your forefinger on that drop. Once you move the forefinger away repeatedly, you'll see 'strings' form, as the syrup sticks to the thumb and forefinger. The syrup is done when you see two strings form.

Chaashni/ sugar syrup

• Add the mango pieces into the chaashni. Continue to cook on low heat, stirring gently till the syrup thickens again to almost honey like consistency (~30-35 minutes).

Mango in sugar syrup

• Turn off heat. Add saffron, cardamom, cinnamon sticks & cloves.
• Let it stay in the sauce pan overnight - to cool completely. It will thicken further as it cools. The saffron turns the syrup into a lovely amber colour.

Murrabo/ mango marmalade

• Pour in a medium sized sterilized glass jar. I used two smaller jars. Store in a cool dry place. There is no need for refrigeration, it has a long shelf life of about a year! Its so delicious, I bet it wont last that long. 

Keri no Murrabo

• It is great with thepla, parathas or even on slice of toast! Enjoy!

Bon Apetit!

Hetal from Houston

Matar Papdi/ Curried Sugar-snap Peas

Many many years ago, Mom had a really tough time getting my sister to eat green vegetables. Anything green on her plate would be deemed to be 'kaarela' (bitter melon), and remain untouched! The only green vegetable that didnt qualify as 'kaarela' was green peas. Needless to say, Mom incorporated peas in most dishes, hoping that some of it would end up in her stomach. Matar Papdi is a traditional Gujarati dish usually made during winter with very tender whole peas in a pod. This dish was one of her (and my) favourites, and still is. I find sugar snap peas to be the closest to those 'tender green peas in a pod' back home. Here it goes.
Serves: 2-4 persons
Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 20-25 minutes


Ingredients:
1 pound Sugar snap peas.

Ajwain/ carom seeds

1 tbsp oil (any)
1/4 tsp hing/ asafoetida
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ajwain/ carom seeds
1 tsp haldi/ turmeric powder
1-2 green chillies (whole)
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
2 tsp dhania-jeera/ coriander-cumin powder
Salt to taste
Coriander/ cilantro leaves for garnish
Water


Method:

• Thoroughly rinse and pat dry sugas snap peas. 
• Set a large non-stick fry pan to medium heat and add oil. Once the oil is hot, add ajwain/ carom seeds. Once the seeds turn golden brown & fragrant, add the hing, baking soda and green chillies.



Spiced up

• Add sugar snap peas and toss gently. Add salt and turmeric to the sugar snap peas. Add 1/2 cup water. Reduce heat to medium low and cook, stirring occasionally.

Almost tender sugar snap peas

• Gradually, the peas will become tender. Next, dhania-jeera powder and red chilli powder. Continue to cook till peas cooked thoroughly. Note: Over-cooking the pods will make them come apart.

Matar Papdi

• Garnish with coriander leaves (optional). Serve hot with rice & Gujarati kadhi or toor daal.

Served with rice and toor daal

P.S: Some mature snap pea pods may need to be "stringed" i.e. membranous string on the sides removed.


Bon Apetit!
Hetal from Houston

Ghau Bajra na Thepla - Wheat Millet flatbread

Methi Thepla is a quintessential Gujarati flatbread made with spices and fenugreek leaves. It is a staple in all Gujarati households, and can be eaten during any meal. The methi can be substituted with minced garlic, grated milk gourd (lauki/doodhi) or even zucchini. I can eat Methi Thepla at anytime of the day, with yogurt or sweet mango pickle or even tea :)
Last week, I picked up some wonderfully fresh methi /fenugreek leaves and instantly wanted to make some methi thepla. I knew I was running low on whole wheat flour, and soon realised it was not enough to make the thepla. So I added some Bajra/ millet flour instead to make Ghau- Bajra na Thepla.
Here goes the recipe.


Serves: 4-6 persons
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes
Ingredients:
1 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup bajra/ millet flour
2 cups fenugreek leaves (removed from stems, washed and dried)
1 tbsp turmeric powder
1 tsp red chilli powder
1 tsp salt (or more, to taste)
1 tbsp sesame seeds
1 cup yogurt (room temperature) plus some water (sort of buttermilk consistency)
1/2 cup+ 2 tbsp vegetable/ sunflower/ canola cooking oil for frying.

Directions:

Thepla dough ball

• In a large mixing bowl, mix the flours, turmeric powder, chilli powber, salt, sesame seeds together. Add 2 tbsp cooking oil and bit of the yogurt at a time, mixing to blend them together and form a lose dough.
• When the ingredients have all come together, add the fenugreek leaves and knead into medium-soft, smooth dough.  Set dough aside for 20-30 minutes to rest.
• Divide the dough into small 1 inch ball sized portions.

• Roll into 5-6 inch diameter thin diskettes. Use flour to help rolling, if the dough sticks to the rolling board.

Golden brown Thepla

• Heat a griddle on high and fry the theplas one at a time. Place one rolled diskette on the griddle. Flip when tiny bubbles rise on the top surface. As soon as the first flip is done, baste a little bit of the cooking oil and spread well over the surface. Flip again in 30 seconds and baste. The Thepla is done when both sides are crispy and golden brown. 

• Serve with chilled yogurt and Chhunda(Sweet mango pickle) or your favorite pickle or chutney

Bon Apetit!

Hetal from Houston

Ghau Bajra Thepla with yogurt and pickle

Doodh Poha on Sharad Poonam

Its Sharad Poonam tonight. It brought back memories of the Sharad Poonam celebrations at my Baa's (grandma's) place in Asansol. They lived in a huge house with a lovely courtyard right in the middle. I was very little, but I clearly remember my Baa making the traditional Gujarati Doodh Pauva (Poha), and letting it "cook" (and cool) in the full moon light. After devouring the doodh pauva, we would enjoy Garba- Raas way past our bedtime :)

All that nostalgia made me crave for some doodh pauva just the way Baa made it, so I called mom and got the recipe. Here it goes.


Serves: 4-6 persons
Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 10 minutes plus cooling time
Ingredients:
3 cups milk - I used 2% milk
1 cup poha/ rice flakes
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp powdered elaichi/ cardamom


Method:

Simmering milk with sugar and cardamom powder

• Boil milk in a non-stick pan for few minutes on medium heat. Add sugar once the milk is frothy and tiny bubbles form on the edge of the pan. Also add the cardamom powder.

Poha/ rice flakes -rinsed

• While milk is boiling, rinse the poha/ rice flakes thoroughly (2-3 times, or till water runs clear).

• Add rinsed poha to the boiling milk, and let it simmer for about 5 minutes. Remove from heat, and let it cool. Refrigerate for 2-3 hours, and serve cool.

Doodh Pauva

Happy Sharad Poonam!

P.S. You could also add vanilla or nuts or even saffron. I skipped these, since I wanted to make it just the way my Grandma did.

Bon Apetit!

Hetal from Houston