Gujarati Kadhi

There are quite a few varieties of "Kadhi" in India, it varies in taste as per local preference. Punjabi Kadhi, Pakoda Kadhi, Gujarati Kadhi etc.

This recipe is from Gujarat region and which is normally a bit sweeter than in other parts on India. Though in southern region of Gujarat, it is prepared without sugar.

Let's collect Ingredients:
2 tablespoons gram flour
2 teacups fresh yogurt
1 teaspoon Chilli- Ginger paste
2 tablespoons sugar (approx.) or to taste.
Salt to taste
For the tempering
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
A few curry leaves
2 teaspoons clarified butter (ghee)

Let's start cooking :
1. Mix the gram flour, Yogurt and mix well. Add 3 teacups of water. Beat.
2. Add the chilli-ginger paste, curry leaves, sugar and put to boil.
3. Boil whilst stirring for a while. Add salt.
4. Prepare the tempering by heating the ghee (clarified butter) and frying the cumin and mustard seeds until they turn brown. Add the asafoetida and red chilli.
5. Add the tempering to the kadhi and boil for a few minutes.

If you like coriander then you can sprinkle that on top and serve hot.

It is eaten with cumin rice, pulav, khichdi etc.

Hotch-Potch Rice / Vaghareli Khichdi

This is a favourite whenever we are up for eating something simple and not too heavy as if you know Indian food, it is normally a big affair.
That day Ashu had to go for a client meeting, so i had to cook only for myself and what better option could have it been than this !


Basically you can put anything and everything in this dish, and so everytime i prepare it i add something extra or i make some variation, and it always tastes good.
I have just noted down how i did it yesterday.... then upto you to customise it as you want.



Let's collect Ingredients :
1- cup plain rice ( I haven't seen here plain rice we use in India for this, so i use thai rice here.)
1/4 - moong daal ( you can also use ahar/toor daal)
Peanuts, handful
2 cup chopped vegetables of your choice ( I used 1 potato, 1/2 carrot, 1/2 cup green peas, 1 onion, 1/2 eggplant, a few florets of cauliflower, 1 tomato, you can also put green beans )
1 tsp - green chilli, garlic paste
2 tsp - red chilli powder
1 tsp - turmeric powder
A pinch of sugar and garam masala to taste
Whole spices (garam masala ) - 1 bay leaf, 1 cinnamon stick broken into pieces, 3 clove, 4-5 whole black pepper-corns ( They also can be skipped if not available but i like them both for taste and aroma )
1 tbsp - Butter / ghee
1 tsp - cumin seeds
curry leaves ( i didn't use it)
salt to taste

Let's start cooking :
1. Wash rice and moong dal in running water. Soak in 2 cups of water and keep aside.
2. In a big pan, heat butter /ghee. When it is hot, add cumin seeds and curry leaves. when it sputters add whole spices and green chilli ginger garlic paste. Stir-fry for about a minute.
3. Add all vegetables, peanuts, red chilli powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder, salt. Mix well.
4. Add rice and mung dal along with the water.
5. Increase the heat to medium high. Let the mixture boil for 3 minutes.
6. Reduce the heat to low, cover the pan and cook for 8-10 minutes until rice is cooked. It is done when all the water is absorbed.

We call it Khichdi / Masala khichdi/ Vaghareli khichdi. You can eat it by itself or with yougurt or Kadhi (recipe coming up soon)
Tips :
1. Put double the water than rice and daal mixture. i.e. 1 cup rice and daal = 2 cups water.
2. Basic vegetables are potatoes, onions. You can select other vegetables as per your preference.

Undhiyu / Oondhiyu ( Delicious stuffed vegetable casserole)

Undhiyu is very famous preparation from Gujarati cuisine. Back home it is savoured in winter when lots of fresh green vegetables are available.

We celebrate Kite Flying Day ( Uttarayan) on 14th January and that is the "Undhiyu time" for all of us.

This year when i talked back home, everyone i talked with asked me if i had "Undhiyu" this season, that made me longing for it.

I decided to try my h

ands on that myself. Help from mom with the recipe, chat with a friend on preparation, some on-line search and i knew what all i needed.

I never tried it earlier as i always thought it's a long complicated procedure ( and also because when was home, it's mom's recipe and she cooks ) but turned out only ingredient list looks long !

Finding and collecting them in Europe can be a bit exercise but not if you are at right market and believe me it is worth those efforts !

Let's collect Ingredients :

2-3 small purple eggplants ( white eggplants don't taste as good as purple in this preparation )

4 small potatoes

4-5 big pieces of plantain / raw banana

1/4 cup Stringed beans whole ( Green broad beans - surti papdi, whole tender avrekayi)

1/4 cup purple yam chunks (ratalu) ( I didn't use it, as i couldn't find it here that time)

1 raw banana, cut in round pieces

For paste:

1/4 cup coriander leaves (I used along with thick stems)

4 green chilies

1 tsp jaggery

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 tsp ginger

1 tsp garlic

1/2 cup fresh peas

1/4 cup coconut

1 tsp coriander seeds

1 tsp cumin seeds

A pinch turmeric

Salt

For Muthiya(Chickpea flour Dumplings ):

1/4 cup fenugreek leaves

1/8 cup wheat flour

1/8 cup Chickpea / yellow gram flour (besa

n)

1 tsp red chilly powder

1 tsp Ginger paste

1 tsp Green chillies minced

A pinch baking soda

1 tsp - lemon juice

1 tsp - sugar ( as per taste, you can skip this as well)

A pinch turmeric

Salt as per taste

Oil

Tempering:

Oil

1/2 tsp carom seeds ( ajwain)

A pinch asafoetida

Let's start cooking :

* Grind the paste ingredients without adding too much water.

* Make deep cross into eggplants, plantains(raw banana), potatoes and stuff the paste into them. String the green bean. If they are too big, cu

t them into two.

* In a bowl, take the Dumplings (muthiya) ingredients. Add a little

water to make a dough. Make small balls from the dough. Deep fry the balls and keep it aside.

* Also fry potatoes and eggplants a little bit so that when they are put together with other vegetables, they don't take more time to cook than other vegetables.

* Heat oil (I used the oil remaining from frying

dumplings ) and add carom seeds (ajwain), asafoetida.

* Now slowly arrange all the vegetables in layers spreading left over paste in between and over the vegetables.

Add about 1/4 cup water (Traditionally oil is added, that is how one gets while eating outside. Normally when it is cooked at home then to make

it less oily and a bit more healthier water is use, but i bet with oil is always tastier. hehe).

* Cover and cook on a medium flame. Don't mix too much just keep shaking in between so that vegetable are not meshed up.

* When the vegetables are almost done, add Dumplings (muthiya). I also left bananas for the last so that they are not completely meshed.

* Do not mix too much after adding Dumplings (muthiya

).

* Cook for 2-3 mins and take off the heat.

Your Undhiyu is ready, it can be eaten with rice or puri.

In some parts of India, it is eaten by itself with sprinkling some lemon, coriander and sev (fried noodles) over it.

Tip:

Don't stir vegetables too much using spoon, so that they are not broken or meshed. once a while turn them for overall cooking.

*tsp = tea spoon

*tbsp = table spoon

AMERICAN CHOP SUEY

This recipe is often displayed under chinese menu but obviously not an authentic Chinese one. This is one of the most common dishes that is served in restaurant in India. A delightful preparation of crispy noodles served with vegetables and a tangy sauce. One of my favourites.

I have been looking for this recipe since quite some time, but i never got one which can match with that tangy taste I used to get back home.

Today I was again on the mission of searching for one and then i decided to combine a few steps from there and then further costomised it as i remember back home.

And here it was, exactly what i was looking for and taste we were craving for since our move here.

Before i forget what did i do, i decided to write it down. I am sure i am going to need it again.

Ingredients

3/4 cup boiled noodles

1½ cups crispy fried noodles

2 cups Shredded Cabbage

½ cup spring onions, cut

½ cup beans (I used white beans with Tomato sauce )

½ cup French beans, ( If you wish, I didn't add those )

½ cup carrots, sliced (parboiled)

1 capsicum sliced ( I used mix of green and yellow)

½ cup baby corn, cut into pieces

½ teaspoon Ajinomoto powder(optional)

1 teaspoon chilli sauce

1 tablespoon oil

salt to taste

For tangy sauce

1 cup vegetable stock ( I used 1 ready made veg stock tablet available in the market)

¼ cup brown vinegar

¼ cup sugar

¾ cup water

2 tablespoons cornflour

1 tablespoon soya sauce

¼ cup Tomato puree

2-3 tablespoon Tomato ketchup

Method

1. Combine all the ingredients for the sauce in a pan, mix well and bring to a boil. Cook until the sauce is thick. Keep aside.

2. Heat the oil in another pan and add the vegetables and Ajinomoto. Stir fry over a high flame for 3 to 4 minutes.

3. Add the prepared sauce, boiled noodles, chilli sauce and salt and cook for a few minutes.

4. Add half of the fried noodles and mix well.

5. Serve hot, topped with the remaining fried noodles.

Did you know , Literal translations of this recipe name means 'savoury mess'.

Can't agree more ;o)