For this WPC I have selected two photographs that were clicked by me outside a temple in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India.
These old grandmas (I prefer to call them this)with their eyes speaking volumes of the long life journey they have covered were earning a livelihood, selling the flower garlands that they made with their hands. I have great regard and admire these noble souls who are the continuous source of inspiration for us young adults.
These old women were selling flowers outside the temple, both sitting next to each other and who could talk only in Tamil, which unfortunately I do not speak nor understand. But it is true, one does not always need to know the language to converse. These loving grandmas were so warm and friendly and were so elated when I was asking them if I could click a picture of theirs. They instantly agreed, smiled and laughed with childlike innocence, and gave me the moments that I so fondly cherish today.
Meeting them I remembered my better-half’s late maternal grandmother whom I admired and have always looked upon with great respect. She was a very strong personality, a young widow who lived alone and took care of her rice fields, and made a living for herself independently. I have some great memories of the time I spent in her company.
To view other entries in this photo challenge, click here.
Thalipeeth is a flat bread made of a mix of multigrain flours, mixed with dry spices and onion and cooked on the gas stove in a frying pan. It is one of the most loved Maharashtrian breakfast recipes. This multigrain flour mix called as Thalipeeth Bhajani is sold in some grocery stores and also some people make it at home by mixing the pulses and wheat and getting it ground in any nearby flour mill. Most often I do not have this flour readily available at home to use and hence I always make this baked version using only wholewheat flour. We can add Gram flour and rice flour too along with the wheat flour, but for making this thalipeeth I always use only wholewheat flour, it is always readily available and I prefer this taste.
This thalipeeth is the baked version and the dough is made medium soft. Instead of making plain wheat flour fulkas and sabji, one can make this as a wholesome meal alternative.
This is a nutritious and healthy recipe, I have added ingredients to make it one. Using wholegrain and nuts increases the fiber content in the diet. The sesame, and groundnut and flaxseed chutney also adds the nutty taste. The flaxseeds are also good source of fiber and also has the Omega -3s. The fiber or roughage in diet is the undigested part of the plant food that helps with proper bowel movements, forms the bulk of the stools, absorbs water and softens it. It aids to relieve constipation. The caraway seeds too aid in digestion. I have added freshly ground paste of green coriander, green chilies and garlic, and added chopped onions and also greens of spring onions. Yogurt is also added that has milk proteins as well as calcium.
Ingredients to make baked atta thalipeeth
BAKED WHOLEWHEAT FLOUR THALIPEETH
INGREDIENTS:
Wholewheat flour: 350 gm
Onion: 1 big
Spring onions: 1 Bunch (small)
Green coriander + Garlic + Green chili paste: 1 1/2 Tbsp
Curd: 2 Tbsp
Carom seeds: 1 Tsp
Sesame Seeds: 1 Tbsp
Ground Groundnut + Flaxseeds chutney: 1 Tbsp
Red Chili Flakes: 1 Tbsp (optional)
Dried Thyme: 1 Tsp
Water: 200 ml (use as required)
Oil: 50 ml
Turmeric: 1 Tsp
Baking Powder: 1/2 tsp
Salt: To taste
METHOD:
Using few coriander leaves, 1-2 green chilies, and 1-2 garlic cloves make a roughly ground paste. You can add roasted groundnut and flaxseeds to this mix while grinding. I keep groundnut and flaxseed chutney ready in my house.
Chop the onion and spring onion greens finely. Assemble all the ingredients required for making the dough.
Preheat the oven to 200 deg C. Grease a round pie dish with oil and sprinkle with the dried thyme herb and groundnut chutney.
Greased pie dish for making baked thalipeeth.
Mix the wholewheat flour with all the ingredients shown in the pic, add the turmeric, salt, 1 Tbsp oil and using water make a medium soft dough.
Ingredients to make Baked Wholewheat flour thalipeeth
Spread the dough on the pie dish and press firmly so that we get an even flat thalipeeth. I have shared this recipe using a square oven tin, click here to check that recipe.
Ashu’s-Baked Thalipeeth
Bake this in the preheated oven at 200 deg C for 40 min or until the Thalipeeth is cooked and the sides appear crusty. (Note: Oven used in houses are different, hence the oven timing may be a little less or more, use self-discretion).
Apply a coat of oil on top once it is half cooked.
Mid way remove the pan from the oven and apply a coat of oil on top. This gives a shine, does not make the top dry, and also makes it crusty.
Ashu’s-Baked wholewheat flour Thalipeeth
This is how it should be after it is removed from the oven. Serve it with a dip of choice or with the parsley pesto as seen in the picture.
Ashu’s- Baked Wholewheat flour Thalipeeth served with Parsley Pesto.
Click here for the Parsley Pesto recipe. You can also search the archives for my Tomato dip recipe.
I added Tandoori mushrooms and Baked mashed potatoes to the menu to make it a complete meal keeping in view the demand for mashed potatoes from my Jr.
Ashu’s-Baked mashed potatoes, tandoori mushrooms and baked Thalipeeth dinner menu.
One could also add vegetable or Chicken soup to the above menu. This is one of the baked dinner menus made last week and the family enjoyed it. The freshly made parsley pesto dip added a more enhanced, tangy & herby flavor to the thalipeeth.
Go ahead and try making this ashu’s baked version of the Maharashtrian recipe of Thalipeeth, and have a happy baking time in your kitchen :).
Dinner times are the most happening and fun times in my house, the family is seated at the dinning table and this mom dishes out some fantastic menus with everyone relishing amidst jokes and laughter. Whenever I am experimenting with some recipe, it is usually made for the evening meal time, as the whole family is together.
For this week’s Weekly Photo Challenge-Dinnertime , I have selected photographs from my tour to Chennai , India in January of this year.
We reached the Marina Beach in Chennai around 5 pm or so, it is the Longest urban beach of the country, spanning 13 Km. It sure was an unforgettable experience to see this longest beach, we had to walk too much to touch the water :), a tiring experience especially when you have spent the full day sightseeing other places in and around Chennai. But the tiredness was soon forgotten when this foodie caught sight of these food stalls.
A fruit stall at the Marina Beach, Chennai, India.
Lovely golden sand at the Marina Beach Chennai, India.
Marinated cauliflower for making fritters, potato fritters at Marina Beach, Chennai.
Sea fish marinated with spicy masala, notice the fiery red color. Fish fry stall at Marina Beach, Chennai.
Sea fish marinated with spicy masala, notice the fiery red color. Fish fry stall at Marina Beach, Chennai.
Fried crabs at the Sea fish Fry stall, Marina Beach, Chennai.Fish fry stall at the Marina Beach in Chennai, India.Long chili fritters/Pakora stall at Marina Beach, Chennai.Marina Beach, Chennai.
🙂 Below I share pictures of food that I have made in my kitchen.
Summer is here and a plate of freshly cut Alphonso mangoes, Watermelon, Strawberries and Orange is always welcomed and is the most sought after one. Alphonso mangoes from India are the yummiest, and we are fortunate they are available in the markets here too.
These were few of the food pictures that I enjoyed clicking and am happy to share with you all. Though I did not allow myself to eat the fried fish sold at the beach, I did make those yummy prawns that were marinated with the special South Indian chili that imparts the most amazing red color.
If you would be interested to check out some of my sea food recipes, you will find them in the archives. Enjoy your dinnertime with family and friends and make great memories :).
Today sharing with you all my Parsley pesto recipe, I have started making this only recently, from the last 2-3 years. I have always loved the Basil pesto in all the dishes that it is used, but it is not easily available in the nearby stores around my residence. Parsley is abundantly seen in every vegetable selling supermarkets, hence always on hand, and always in the list of purchased vegetables. While staying in India I always made the coriander chutney or coriander-mint chutney for any savory snacks, but this is one pesto that is equally loved by my kids. It has a strong and distinct flavor and has a different taste and hence quite a change for us from the regular green coriander and mint chutney (dhania & pudina).
Parsley has been added to my food list and cooking only after I started living here in the UAE. Parsley is used in many dishes in the middle east. It is seen in salads, well known being the Tabbouleh in which it is mixed with Bulgar wheat (will keep that as a separate post for future 🙂 ).
The recipe I am sharing is how I make this Parsley pesto in my kitchen, adjusted to our taste preferences and hence the selection of ingredients too. This may not be the traditional way of making the pesto. I used the pistachio nuts the first time I made this, pine nuts were not in my kitchen pantry, and hence have continued using them every time I make this pesto. The taste, different flavors and texture of the ingredients makes the dip a much relished condiment in my house, kids love it with sandwich, flat-breads, and toasted baguette slices. You can add it to your egg omelette too. When my elder sister visited my place this year, she too loved the dip, hence this post is also for all my family and friends who would like to use Parsley in regular meals but might have double thoughts whether to use or not because of its strong flavor. Go ahead and try it out and see if you like the taste. Parsley is a very good antioxidant, also good source of Folic acid, Vitamins C and A etc.
PARSLEY PESTO/CHUTNEY
INGREDIENTS:
Parsley: 1 bunch
Pistachios: 50 gm (increase the quantity if you want more nutty taste)
Green Chili: 2 small (Adjust it to own taste prefrence)
Garlic: 3 cloves
Olive oil: 3 Tbsp
Lemon: 2 Medium-sized
Salt: To taste
METHOD:
Clean and wash the Parsley leaves. Chop them roughly.
Put the chopped parsley leaves, chilies, garlic and pistachio nut in a mixer pot and grind to make a smooth paste.
Ashu’s-Parsley pesto
Add the lemon juice and olive oil after every few whisks, it becomes easier to grind to paste. Finally add the salt and give the final whisk. Remove the contents into a bowl, check the taste and adjust if more lemon or oil is needed.
Ashu’s-Parsley Pesto
We can add the extra oil, if required, when using as a dip.
Ashu’s-Parsley PestoAshu’s- Parsley Pesto
The above picture shows what was made for dinner last Sunday along with the Parsley pesto as a dip, I will make that as the next post, so do visit to find out what the new recipe would be :). Our weekend starts, wishing you all a good day and a happy weekend to those who reside in this part of the world.
Any new dish or menu that I really like always invariably results in getting prepared in my kitchen. Do any of you readers share this habit of mine? Today’s recipe is one such new dish that I happened to taste this year.
I have already mentioned how Momos (click on it to see the momos post) happen to be a favorite dish in my household. And have also shared the fond memories of eating steaming hot momos in candle light, because their was a power outage, at the humble homely restaurant in Nagarkot during our Nepal tour in 2011, in that previous post. Do click on the link to read about that.
Now coming back to this post, I came across this word Tandoori momos in February of this year, and was quite intrigued and wondered what and how they must be. And just the following weekend I saw the name mentioned in a takeaway menu card of a local restaurant and immediately ordered them. They were the most amazing spicy momos I ever tasted. Momos, until then, that I always made at home were with no chili or spicy and just used herbs to season the meat or vegetables used. But the tandoori momos are The dish to eat if you like tandoori style cooking, I have simply fallen in love with this dish. I highly recommend it if you have not yet tasted them.
The tandoori food like- tandoori chicken or fish etc sold in restaurants or eateries use the orange food color, but I do not use any color in my recipes and hence the color is not the typical orangy reddish that is so typical of tandoori chicken, but then homemade is always the best, with the freshest ingredients and always freshly made.
Today I share with you my recipe of the month –Tandoori Momos, I have made it per my taste preference. This might differ from any original tandoori recipe, but I am sharing here ashstyle cooking!! So here you go-Chicken Momo recipe, Tandoori style.
TANDOORI MOMOS (CHICKEN)
INGREDIENTS:
Boneless Chicken: 350 gm
GingerGarlic paste: 1 Tbsp
Green Chili paste: 1 Tsp or Red Chili Flakes: 1Tbsp
Chopped Green Coriander & Mint: 1 Tbsp
Salt: To taste
Refined Flour: 350 gm
Garam Masala: 1 Tbsp
Tandoori Masala: 1 Tbsp
Chaat Masala: 1 Tbsp
Cooking Oil: 2 Tbsp
METHOD:
Grind the chicken flesh with the ginger & garlic and green chili pastes. Or one can directly add the whole chili, ginger and garlic (2 small cloves of garlic, 1-2 green chili and small piece of ginger can be used) to the chicken and grind together. Add the salt and chopped coriander and mint leaves and mix well. Our momo filling is ready for use.
(ashuskitchen)Tandoori momo filling
Make a medium soft dough of the refined flour. We are not adding any salt to the flour, as we will be using the spices to coat. Make even-sized small balls of the dough and roll out a small circular puri.
(ashuskitchen)Tandoori momo outer cover
Fill the chicken stuffing and close the ends as shown in the picture. Make all the momos and keep ready. Do not forget to apply oil to the steaming bowl/plate in which the momos are to be steamed. This prevents the steamed momos from sticking to the bowl or one another after they are steamed.
(ashuskitchen) Chicken momos kept in steam basket
Steam the momos for 10 minutes in a steamer. If you are using a pressure cooker for steaming purpose, then do not keep the whistle.
(ashuskitchen)Steamed Chicken Momos
Take a small bowl and mix the garam masala, tandoori masala and chaat masala with oil. Apply this spice paste on each steamed momos and place them on a lined baking tray.
Preheat the oven to 200 deg C, with the oven & grill setting, and then bake/grill the momos for 25-30 mins or until they are baked. Over grilling might burn the outside coating, and hence do check them and use own discretion for oven time and remove once they look baked and grilled.
Do not keep the baking tray very close to near the grill as the intense heat from the grill might burn the top cover and the momo might be still half baked. Keep the tray in the middle shelf of the oven.
Vegetables and momos ready for baking/Grilling
I also made tandoori vegetables to go with this dish, our dinner menu that night in the last month, March month.
The spicy outer coat and the mildly seasoned chicken filling compliment each other and we get a taste that is the best and makes us reach out for more momos. We had a great dinner time in my household when I made these, though a couple of them did get a bit over grilled, resulting in a hard outer coat, but nevertheless it was a good meal time, all were finished, even the slightly burnt ones too 😁.
Ashuskitchen’s Tandoori Vegetables
Hope you all must have enjoyed the pictures and maybe you might like to give them a try. Do let me know what you think of the recipe in the form of your comments. Have happy mealtimes, and a great Sunday ahead.
This is my entry for this week’s Weekly Photo Challenge Future.
Plant more trees for a better tomorrow.
The best thing we can do for the future is plant more saplings for a more greener Environment. The picture is clicked in the UAE, during a tree plantation drive couple years back, an old snap from my archives.
For this challenge I am including pictures that were clicked during my visit to the beautiful country Jordan. It was a great trip and the whole family enjoyed the vacation. The country has some of the most beautiful and breathtaking monuments that I have visited so far. Hope you all enjoy the pictures as much as I did visiting these places and capturing the amazing landscapes in my camera.
The city below, captured from the top, at the Citadel, Amman, Jordan. Notice the ancient Roman Theater amidst the new buildings.The ancient roman city of Jerash, Jordan.The mesmerizing landscape of Wadi Rum, Jordan.Different shades of the sand seen, one even gets to see Pinkish colored sand at Wadi Rum, Jordan.Wadi Rum, Jordan.Petra, the most memorable place to visit in Jordan.
This was at the start of the long walk that leads you to the hidden City of Petra, the best memory, the breathtaking wonder that awaits ahead, worth the visit.
The view below clicked from at top of Mount Nebo, Jordan.
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