Wishing you all a very Happy & Colorful Holi.
Holi special menu: Puran Poli & Mixed Dal Vada.
Enjoy!
ashu 🙂
Happy Holi
Tag Archives: Maharashtrian recipe
Dill Sabji
Dill Sabji
Dill, a green leafy vegetable that can be used as vegetable or a herb , it has a typical flavor that is strong, is aromatic, and was something that I had never tasted in my mother’s house before marriage. My dad never liked the strong flavor of this vegetable and hence mom never made it in our home. I got introduced to this leafy bundle after my marriage, my mother-in-law used to make it perfectly, and I have adapted this recipe from what I have tasted when she cooked it. Both my kids love these greens, and this recipe is the most preferred method of the two that I use to prepare these Dill greens. We can prepare the greens using soaked Mung dal too. I usually do not like to see oil oozing out on to the plate from any sabji that I cook for the day, but for this one I usually add a little extra oil.
Until last month I had eaten Dill leaves in this particular sabji form only, never cooked or tasted its different recipes. But during my recent Georgia travel, I got to taste some amazing recipes using the herb Dill. It is used extensively in other cuisines too, and I loved the versatile uses of it. It was used in soups, salads, as well as rice, and some unique chicken and mutton recipes. I loved the use of it in soups, it enhanced the flavor of the vegetables and chicken so perfectly, the taste still lingers on my tongue. I hope to try out some of these below recipes in my kitchen soon.
These couple food picture below that I am sharing are from my Georgian travel, the soups and Chicken salad that used dill as a herb, it imparted a perfect flavor to these simple recipes.
Now let us get on with the preparation to make the Dill sabji. It is also called as Shepuchi bhaji in Maharashtra in India.
DILL SABJI/SHEPUCHI BHAJI
INGREDIENTS:
Dill greens: 2 Bundles
Green chilies: 2 long ones
Onion: 2 Medium
Tomato: 1 Medium
Garlic: 2-3 Cloves
Oil: 3 Tbsp
Turmeric: 1 Tsp
Cumin: 1 Tsp
Salt: To taste
METHOD:
Clean the leafy bundle by separating the tender stems and leaves. Wash and towel dry the Dill greens.
Slice the garlic cloves. Finely chop the green chilies, onions, and tomato.
Heat a Kadai on the gas stove. Add the oil to it, once it gets hot then add the cumin.
Next add the chopped green chilies and garlic. Saute, then add the finely chopped onions. Cook till the onion become pinkish, then add the chopped tomato. Cook till it gets soft and we see oil at the sides. Then add the turmeric and salt.
Then add the chopped Dill greens. Cover with lid for 5 min, and then remove the lid. We cover it for only few minutes because we just want to ensure the tender stalks get cooked but without changing the color of the leaves. If we cover with lid for long, it adds water to the sabji and gives it a dull color, and also the taste is compromised.
Cooking the greens does not take much time, and hence try and be near the stove while it is getting done. Dry up any liquid from the sabji and put off the flame from the stove, and empty the sabji on to a serving plate or bowl.
I had made a simple bottle gourd Dal to go with this sabji, a freshly made cucumber salad, fulka and some red groundnut chutney. This was my simple dinner menu the other day. I have one roasted papad too on the plate.
ashusrecipe-Dill Sabji
I will try and make a post of my other Dill greens recipe that I make adding the Mung dal sometime sooner.
This is a simple vegetarian sabji that I make in my kitchen, and am happy to share with you all here on the blog. Hope you like this easy-to-make Maharashtrian recipe.
Enjoy 🙂
ashu
Ragda Patties
ashu’s- Ragda Patties
I returned last week from Mumbai, few hectic/busy days in my motherland, spent in the company of my mother and siblings, attending a family function, zooming around the neighborhood on a two-wheeler, and yup clicking loads of pictures too! And I also relished the Pani Puris, an all time favorite street food. As I just returned from Maharashtra, a state in India, so today I bring to you all the Maharashtrian dish called Ragda Patties. This is a wholesome dish that could be a breakfast, or a weekend brunch, or a light & bit different dinner menu. I made it this weekend as our Friday morning brunch menu, yeah, we have a Friday/Saturday weekend here in the UAE, with Sunday being the first day of the week.
Ragda Patties is enjoyed by the kids and hence always makes it to the table as a weekend menu when all members of the family are relaxed and the mood is happy with fun and laughter around the household. This dish is a two in one snack, one is the potato pattie and the other is the Ragda, the legume curry, and together they make what we call as the Ragda Patties. It requires a little pre-preparation, the legume that is used for curry needs to be soaked for 6-8 hrs before they are boiled to make the Ragda.
It also happens to be a favorite Indian street food too, sold on the road side food joints that dole out the piping hot potato patties on the big tava right in front of us, with us drooling till the vendor serves it to us. When one makes it at home, the taste sure differs, the freshness of the ingredients and the love of the person making it contributes to make the dish something that is always welcomed. I am a more particular healthy foodie and hence my cooking uses far less quantity of cooking oil as compared to the general Indian family standards back home. I also try and give the recipe a healthy twist incorporating new ingredients, but at the same time taking care not to change the taste of the recipe as far as possible.
This ashu’s recipe of Ragda Patties uses cooking oats along with the boiled potatoes to make the crisp tikkis or patties that forms one part of the dish. The rest of the ingredients used remain the same. I prefer to use either Canola oil or Extra virgin olive oil in my cooking, but you could use any cooking oil that you use at home.
INGREDIENTS:
For Patties:
Potatoes: 4 Medium
Cooking Oats: 3 tbsp
Breadcrumbs: 50 gm
Salt & Chili Powder : As per taste
Turmeric: 1/2 tsp
Green Chili: 1 (finely chopped)
Chopped green Coriander: 1 Tbsp
Oil: 2 Tbsp
For Ragda:
Dried White peas : 250 gm
Cumin: 1 Tsp
Onion: 1 Big
Tomatoes: 2 Medium
Olive oil: 2 Tbsp
Ginger & Garlic paste: 1 tsp each
Turmeric powder: 1 tsp
Chili Powder: 2 Tsp (As per taste)
Coriander powder: 1 Tbsp
Garam masala powder: 1 Tsp
Dry Mango Powder: 1 Tsp
Toppings:
Green chutney
Sweet Tamarind chutney
Barik (fine) Sev
Finely chopped onion
Finely chopped coriander
METHOD:
Soak the dried white peas in enough water so as to cover them overnight. Pressure cook the soaked legumes to three whistles, this cooks them to soft and mushy consistency.
Boil the potatoes and remove the skin and mash them to smooth texture.
Finely chop the onions, tomatoes, green chili and green coriander.
For making the patties, take the mashed potatoes in a bowl, add the cooking oats, the chopped green chili, green coriander, salt, and mix well. We can also add a pinch of dry mango powder to it.
Take breadcrumbs in a plate. Give shape to the mixture to form patties, coat them with the breadcrumbs. We can either make round ones by hand or use the mould to make heart-shaped ones, as I have done here. Dust away the excess breadcrumbs.
Keep a fry pan on the gas stove and heat, put 1 Tbsp oil and heat. Cook the patties in the fry pan, turning over and cooking evenly on both sides. Remove them when they are cooked on both sides and crisp. Do keep the gas flame from medium-to-slow to ensure that the outer covering does not get over cooked and burnt while the inside remains uncooked. Use more oil if required to make them crisper. Remove and keep the patties on a serving plate once they are done.
TO MAKE THE RAGDA:
Heat a karahi or round bottom pan on the gas stove. Heat the oil in it and then add the cumin, then the chopped onions and fry. When the onion turn pinkish then add the ginger garlic paste, saute and then add the chopped tomatoes. Cook the tomatoes and then add the turmeric, chili powder, coriander powder, dry mango powder, and salt. Then add the boiled white peas and mix thoroughly. Add a glass of water, or as required, to make it in a curry consistency. The peas usually dry up the water when boiled, we want the ragda curry with medium thick gravy and hence adjust the water to add. Let this gravy simmer for 10 minutes, then sprinkle the garam masala powder on top and the chopped coriander and cover the pot with the lid and switch off the gas flame. Our Ragda is ready to be used.
(I do not have any pictures to upload as I never took them when I was making the Ragda, I will click and re-upload them on a later date when I again make the Ragda :))
SERVING: Take a deep dish, put 2-3 ladles of the Ragda curry, then place the pattie in the center. To get a sweet and sour taste we can put teaspoonfuls of the green chutney and the tamarind chutney. Sprinkle on top finely chopped onions, fine gram flour Sev and green coriander leaves.
One could also use lemon juice instead of the tamarind chutney, if one does not wish to make it sweet but want it to be tangy. The quantity of toppings used depends on personal preference, hence I have not mentioned the quantity in the ingredients list.
The chutneys add more or enhance the flavors of the dish, making it a Chaat recipe and one usually enjoys it more by adding lots of Sev on top.
NUTRITIONAL CONTENT: Legumes are a good source of vegetarian proteins and rich in fiber. The potatoes form the carbohydrate part but when we add the oats we increase the fiber content of the Potato patties and make it a more healthy version.
Hope you all enjoyed going through the recipe, do give it a go to find out if your taste buds get tickled by the combination of flavors used.
Wishing you all a happy Wednesday 🙂
ashu
Baked Wheatflour Thalipeeth
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.
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.
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.
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).
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.
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.
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.
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 :).
Enjoy.
ashu.
Cowpeas Curry or Chavli Usal
We all know the importance of food in our lives. It is a medium that also helps us to connect with one another. One easily gets connected with like minded foodies through the food that they love, and now with the help of social media through the pictures that one shares. For me the food journey has seen bringing the people together, and one can see the influence of Indian food, its spices and curries spread to so many countries across the globe. It gives great happiness and a fascinating feeling to see the love of Indian cuisine shared by so many non-Indians.
I have always enjoyed this bond that is created by the food I cook. Travelling to places makes us aware of the different landscapes, but also brings us closer to the community or people in that place. This incident happened with me during a sightseeing visit to Cologne, Germany, when I was on a short visit to Frankfurt couple years back. We were visiting the Chocolate Museum in Cologne and during lunch time were seated and had just opened the home packed lunch, an elderly lady stopped by, started talking with us and so we offered and shared our food with her. She was telling us how she loved the Indian food and was so happy to eat with us, and it was this same Cowpea curry that we were eating that noon. Every time I cook this legume, I am fondly reminded of that total stranger who shared the food with us that day. It was the food that had connected us at that moment, and though I am not aware where she must be at this moment but I always get this warmth thinking about that afternoon.
Most Indian families makes use of Lentils and Legumes in their daily food. Most of the legumes are sprouted before use to make them more nutritious, and also for fast cooking and better absorption. The sprouts increase the nutritive value of the legumes. Legumes are a source of good dietary fiber in our diet and also are a good vegetarian protein source. The legumes cooked in the form of usal or curry are eaten with pav, parathas or roti and can be eaten as a breakfast food or main meal and it as well adds as a curry component of the regular vegetarian meal served in hotels or canteens etc.
The cowpeas are usually preferred as a weekend breakfast dish in my house. It is easy and fast to cook, and does not matter even if one forgets to soak them the previous night. All the ingredients required are always present in the house, and hence one does not need any planning to make this dish.
COWPEA CURRY:
INGREDIENTS:
Cowpeas: 250 gm
Onion: 2 Medium
Tomatoes: 1 Big
Ginger Garlic paste: 1 Tbsp
Oil: 2 Tbsp
Chilli Powder: 1 Tbsp
Turmeric: 1Tsp
Coriander Cumin Powder: 1 Tbsp
Salt: To Taste
Garam Masala Powder: 1 Tsp
Green Coriander: 2 Tbsp finely chopped
Water: 1 Glass
METHOD:
Boil the Cowpeas/Lobia/Chavli in a pressure cooker upto 2-3 whistle.
Finely chop the onions and tomatoes. Make the ginger garlic paste using 3-4 garlic cloves and small piece of ginger. Finely chop the green coriander that would be used for garnishing after the dish is prepared.
Heat a Kadai or pot and add the oil. Then add the finely chopped onions and sauté till they are pinkish. Then add the ginger garlic paste, and after it is cooked for 1-2 minutes add the tomatoes and cook well till all are completely mashed. Then add all the spices and chili powder and salt and stir, and as soon as we see oil separate from the masala in the pan then add the boiled cowpeas.
Mix everything, add some water and let it cook on slow flame. Once it is boiled and all the masala is mixed evenly and a curry is formed, switch off the flame. Adjust adding the water quantity according to the thickness of the curry required.
Then lastly add the garam masala and finely chopped green coriander and keep it covered for sometime.
TIP: Serve this along with Roti, Paratha, Bread or Pav, or one could also eat this with steaming white rice at lunch time.
This was one more of my favorite foods that I loved sharing with you all. Hope you would try it out someday. Till then enjoy the goodness of eating nutritious, yummy homemade food :). Have a wonderful day friends.
ashu
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