Shegaon Kachori

SHEGAON KACHORI

(Kachori is a well known snack in many states of India and is made in different ways. All regions enjoy bragging rights for their own way of making Kachori. One such very famous variety originates from Shegaon and hence a favorite of nearby regions of Vidarbha.)

Ingredients

For Covering : 

1/2 Cup Sooji    , 1 cup all Purpose flour , 

1/2 stick melted butter , Salt to taste , Little water to knead the dough.

For Filling :

1/2 Cup Moong Dal soaked for atleast 6 hrs,

1 tspn Roasted Fennel (Saunf) , Salt to taste , 1/4th tspn Cumin (Jeera) , 

1/2 tspn Garam Masala , 3/4 tspn red chilly powder , 

1/4th tspn turmeric , 1.5 tbspn oil , 1.5 tspn sugar 

Oil for frying

Procedure : 

For Cover :

Soak Sooji in little water for 10-15 mins.Add All purpose flour , Salt to taste and 1/2 stick heated butter and knead a dough.

Add minimal water for the dough to come together. Knead the dough well . Make sure the dough is not too soft.

For filling : 

Blend Soaked Moong Dal in very little water. Heat oil in a Pan and add Cumin and turmeric to it. When the Cumin splutters , add the 

blended Moong Dal paste to the Pan and add salt , red chili Powder , Sugar , Garam Masala ,Roasted fennel. 

Stir Well to ensure no lumps are formed. Cover the pan and let cook for 10 minutes on low flame. Uncover and break lumps if any and cook for another 10 mins.

The quantity of spices salt and sugar can be adjusted as per personal tastes. The mixture by itself can be a little spicy as those flavors mellow down when stuffed and fried.Let the Stuffing cool down.

To Make Kachori : 

Roll a Puri Sized Dough ball , and stuff about a tspn full of the Moong Dal Mixture. Roll it again and Deep fry it till Golden Brown.

Hot Shegaon Kachori is ready to serve.Tastes great with Tamarind Chutney and/or Pudina Chutney or just by itself. 

Chirote (चिरोटे)

CHIROTE (चिरोटे )

Chirote is a sweet flaky pastry made in a glaze or confectioners sugar. Traditionally chirote is an important part of almost all Maharashtrian wedding. They are prepared during Diwali to mark the festival. I bet no one can eat just one.

Ingredients :

For dough : 3/4th cup All purpose flour (Maida) , 3/4th cup Sooji ,

2 pinch salt , 1/2 cup room temperature milk ,

Food color : Green and red.

2 tbspn ghee , 1 tbspn arrowroot or corn starch.

Oil to fry.

For sugar glaze : 1 cup sugar , 3/4th cup water , 1/4th tspn cardamom powder

For dry Chirote : 1 cup Powdered sugar , 1/4th tspn cardamom powder.

Procedure :

Mix all purpose flour , salt , milk sooji and knead a dough. Divide the dough in 3 equal parts. Mix green food color in 1 part , red in the other and let the third part of the dough be white. Roll out all three parts separately to equal sized rounds.

Mix the ghee and arrowroot/corn starch ensuring no lumps exist.Lay the red part of the rolled out dough on a flat surface. Apply very little ghee mixture throughout the red surface evenly on one side. Stack the white rolled dough over the red one. Apply the ghee mixture on the white surface and then stack the third green rolled dough over the white and apply the mixture again.

Start folding about 1.5 inches dough from two sides across as shown in the picture. Fold the close end away from you and the far end towards you alternatively till both sides meet and stack on one other.

Fold the close end away from you and the far end towards you alternatively till both sides meet and stack on one other.

Use a knife to cut the long roll of dough into 1/2 inch pieces as shown in the picture.

Place the dough cut side down and roll out the dough pieces to small rounds. Heat oil in a frying pan just enough to fry one chirota at a time. Fry the rolled chirota . Notice the colored swirls blossom like a flower . Place it on a cooling rack.

For glazed chirota make a sugar syrup and add cardamom powder. Place the fried Chirota in the syrup and slather the syrup all over the chirota . Place it in a serving plate.

For dry chirota drop the fried chirota in the powdered sugar + cardamom powder mixture. Sprinkle the powdered sugar in all the nooks and crannies of the Chirota. Dust away the excess sugar and the chirotas are ready to serve.

Enjoy any one of the two methods to sweeten the chirota according to your convenience and taste.

Sanja (सांजा).

SANJA (सांजा )
There are times when we feel a little under the weather.It's hard to eat when you're sick, but we know it's best to force something down. Some might feel relieved with a bowl of hot soup while some might want to eat Khichdi. Of course it not advisable to call it a night with empty stomach. Check out this throat soothing , easy to digest recipe that my Mum gave me when i was sick.

Ingredients : (Serves 1)
1/2 Cup Semolina (Sooji) , 1 tbspn oil , 1 tspn Mustard seeds (राई) ,
2 pinch asafoetida , 5-7 curry leaves , 1/4th tspn turmeric , Salt to taste ,
1/4th tspn sugar , 1/2 tspn lemon juice , 1।5 cup Hot water ,

2 tbspn finely chopped onion , 1/4 tspn red chilly powder ,

cilantro to garnish , 1/2 tspn ghee.

Procedure :
Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds (राई). Let it splutter , then add asafoetida + turmeric + curry leaves followed by semolina. Roast for about 7-10 minutes on medium high heat. Add red chilly powder + sugar + salt + onion . Add hot preferably boiling water and quickly stir to avoid formation of lumps. Reduce heat to low and cover the pan for 2-3 minutes. This will help retain the steam within the pan. Then uncover the pan and add lemon juice and cilantro. Serve it hot in a bowl and drop a dollop of desi ghee on top.

The asafoetida , curry leaves , turmeric have medicinal properties that sooth the throat . The ghee on top adds to the flavor also helps to mellow down the strong flavor of asafoetida.
You will enjoy this dish even when you are hail and hearty. You may want to reduce the amount of water in equal proportion to the Sooji then. That means if you use 1 cup sooji use 1 cup water.

Wheat Flour Sheera ( कणकेचा शीरा )

WHEAT FLOUR SHEERA ( कणकेचा शीरा)

Sheera is a traditional Maharashtrian sweet, usually served as ‘Prasad’ for Satyanarayan puja. Although sheera is known to be made of Semolina (Sooji/Rava) you may try this variation. Both have a unique differentiating taste. Its difficult to say which is better because both are delicious.

Ingredients : (serves 4)

1 cup wheat flour , 3 tbspn Ghee ( Clarified butter) ,

1 cup Sugar , a pinch of salt , 1/2 tspn cardamon powder ,

3/4th cup water , 3/4th cup milk. 10-12 cashews

Procedure :

Heat ghee in a nonstick pan till it melts. Add the cashews till they change color and fish them out. Add the wheat flour to the same pan which still has ghee. Roast on medium heat for about 15 minutes or till the wheat flour turns golden brown. Make sure you stir at regular intervals to avoid browning in patches. It has to be evenly roasted through out. After about 15 minutes the aroma of the roasted flour will indicate that its ready.

Heat oil + water together to a boil and add it to the roasted flour. Stir quickly to avoid formation of lumps. Immediately add sugar and a pinch of salt and stir well . The sugar releases moisture and eases stirring. It now gets a dough like consistency. Add the cardamon powder and roasted cashews. Sheera is ready to serve.

Ghavan (घावन)

GHAVAN (घावन)

Ghavan is a riceflour pancake made in buttermilk is a breakfast delicacy in the coastal parts of Maharashtra .The freshness of the ingredients keeps you going throughout the day. The taste mingles and makes you want to eat more.)

Ingredients :

1 Cup Rice Flour , Salt to taste , 4-5 cloves of garlic ,

Cilantro , 1/2 Cup buttermilk , 1 green chilly , 1 tspn Oil.

Oil to shallow fry.

Procedure :

Mix Salt , oil and rice flour together. Whip curd / Yogurt to leave no lumps add water if you need , so that it looks like buttermilk. Mix it with the flour. Add finely chopped garlic , chillies and corainder to the mixture with right amount of water to make a Dosa-like bater.

Spread the bater on a hot flat pan . Drizzle some oil for greasing. Cook from both sides till golden brown. Serve it hot with Sweet and Sour Lemon Pickle.

The sour taste of the yogurt , the garlicy aroma , the freshness of green chillies combine together to make a wonderful startup meal.

Stuffed Jalapenos.

STUFFED JALAPENOS

Ingredients :

Jalapenos 6-8 , 3/4th cup chickpea powder (Besan) , 1/4th cup Peanut Powder ,

Chilly powder , Salt to taste , 2 pinch turmeric , 1 pinch asafoetida , 3 tbspn oil

3 tbspn tamarind pulp, 1/4 tspn fennel seeds , 1/2 tspn sugar .

Oil to shallow fry.

Procedure :

Cut the jalapenos lengthwise on one side and deseed the jalapenos to make room for stuffing. This will also help to reduce the heat from them.

Mix besan , salt , chilly powder , peanut powder , fennel seeds (optional) , sugar , turmeric , asafoetida , tamarind pulp. Drizzle regular cooking oil over the mixture and mix it well so that the oil holds the mixture. Use of water makes the filling sticky . Oil helps to bind the mixture together better.

Stuff the jalapenos with the mixture and make sure you have a tight filling. Use a double boiler or preassure cook the jalapenos for about 10 minutes . These can be stored in the fridge for a couple of weeks .

Shallow fry these before you serve and due to its long shelf life they can be served as a side as and when needed.

NOTE : This Maharashtrian side is made with a particular type of green chillies . Jalapenos are a good substitute for this recipe. You may use any type of green chillies that are not too spice, reasonable in size per availability.

Vatli Dal.

VATLI DAL

(About Vatli Dal : It is a Maharashtrian delicacy normally made during Ganpati Visarjan as a Prasad . It tastes very Chatpata and is very easy to make. It can be made for evening snacks.)

Ingredients : (Serves four)
1 cup Chana Dal , Salt to taste , ½ tspn Cumin , ¼ tspn mustard seeds ,
1 tspn lemon juice , ½ tspn red chilly powder ,1/4 cup Oil , ¼ tspn turmeric
2 pinch Asafoetida (Hing)

Procedure :
Soak Chana Dal overnight (Minimum 8 hrs) . Blend it in a mixer to form fine paste.

Heat Oil in a nonstick pan . (Note that this dish needs more quantity of oil as compared to any other dish else it become dry). Add cumin , mustard seeds , Asafoetida , turmeric to make the Tadka. Then add dal paste and stir . Then place a lid on the pan and let cook on medium heat. Make sure that you stir often so as to keep the bottom of the pan clean. Remove lumps if any when you stir. Add Red chilly powder and Lime juice . Keep cooking till the water content is reduces. ( It should be like Upma).

Vatli Dal is ready to serve . You may garnish it with Grated Coconut and finely chopped Cilantro. Traditionally it is served with Panha ( Raw Mango juice).

Puran Poli. (For Holi)

PURAN POLI

Ingredients :
For Puran : 1 cup chana Dal (split Chickpea) , 1 cup grated jaggery , 1/4th tspn nutmeg powder , pinch of salt
(chana dal and jaggery 1:1 proportion)

For Dough : 1 cup Wheat flour , salt to taste , water, 2 tbspn oil.

Procedure :

Cook the chana dal (split chickpea) in a pressure cooker. Mix the Chana Dal and Jaggery together and heat it in a nonstick pan. The jaggery melts and mixes well . Keep mixing well till it turns into a thick mixture so that you can form a ball after it cools down. (Remember that the mixture becomes more dry after cooling down. So do not make it too dry) . Add a pinch of salt and nutmeg powder . Mix well .

You may blend the mixture in a food processor to break the Dal. You may also use the traditional Puran Yantra if you have one.

If you do not have either of those , blend the Dal before you mix with jaggery in a mixer and then cook with jaggery.

Make the wheat flour dough . Make sure you add 2 tbspn oil and mix the dough well. This dough is more loose as compared to the normal roti dough.

Make a small cup of the dough and fill in Puran to form a stuffed ball. Roll out the ball and make the Roti on Medium heat. Puran Poli is ready to serve.

Tastes best with Ghee or Coconut Milk.

Sheera.

SHEERA

Ingredients :

½ Cup Sooji (Rava) , ¾ cup sugar ,

1cup mixture of milk and water in 1:1 proportion ,

1 tspn Cashew , 1 tspn Raisins , 2 tbspn Ghee ,

½ tspn cardomon powder , a pinch of salt .

Procedure :

Evenly roast the Sooji in a pan till it changes colour. Set it aside for some time .

Heat ghee in a nonstick pan and add chashews broken into halves . Roast them till golden brown Add the roasted sooji and keep roasting till it gets a darker shade of golden brown .

Meanwhile heat the milk + water mixture till it starts boiling. Add raisins to the mixture so that they cook and fluff-up in size.

Add the liquid mixture to the sooji and mix well till the mixture cooks up evenly . Then add the sugar and salt to the sheera . Mix well till the sugar melts . Add cardomon powder to the sheera for flavour at the end .

Variation : If you are making the sheera for "Prasad" for some religious ritual , you may use only milk to cook the Sheera . You may also add small bite size pieces of banana . It adds to the flavour of Sheera.

Kothimbir Vadi.

KOTHIMBIR VADI

Ingredients :
1 Cup Chana Dal (Soaked for Minimum 8 hrs) ,
3/4 cup Chopped Coriander / Cilantro ,
1/2 tspn ginger garlic paste ,
Salt to taste , 1 tspn green chilly paste , 1/2 tsp baking soda
2 pinch turmeric , 1/2 tspn sesame seeds , 1/4 tspn cumin seeds

Procedure :
Grind the soaked chana dal in the blender to form a fine paste. Use minimal amount of water to grind. Mix the paste + chopped coriander + ginger-garlic paste + baking soda + chilly paste + Salt + turmeric powder + sesame seeds + cumin seeds together. Cook the bater in a double boiler using a flat pan (On high heat for about 25 mins).

Let the vadis cool to room tempreture .Cut the Vadi into blocks of reasonable size .

Deep fry and serve hot and crisp with green/Imli Chutney.

DOUBLE BOILER :

Double boiler is a simple arrangement to cook food. Heat water (approximately 2 cups) in a big vessel ... Add the food content in a smaller utensil Place the small container in the bigger. Cover the bigger one with a lid so that the steam does not escape ...

Its almost similar to the cooking technique in a cooker ... Only difference is that this ones without pressure ...

Gulachi Poli (For Sankranti)

GULACHI POLI

Ingredients :

For the Filling :

2 cup Grated Jaggery ,

1/2 Cup Roasted - Powdered Poppy seeds (Khus-Khus)

1/2 Cup Roasted - Powdered Sesame Seeds (Til)

1/2 teaspoon Powdered Cardomon (Elaichi)

For the Dough :

1 Cup Wheat Flour , 2 tbsp oil , Water , Salt to taste

Procedure :

Mix the flour water and salt to knead the dough with oil . Cover and let ot set for about an hour.

Mix the Jaggery + powdered poppy seeds + powdered sesame seeds + cardomon . Use your hands to mix to avoid formation of lumps in the filling .

To form Poli :

Take a ball of dough and roll it to form a small roti . Add the filling and use the free ends of the roti to form a ball again . Seal the ball well by pressing the open ends just as we would normally do for a Paratha.Roll it into a roti again . Roast both sides on the Tawa on medium or low heat .

Take care that the filling doesn't spill when turning the Roti upside down .

Serve when the Poli cools down to room tempreture . This poli tastes good with Desi ghee .