MyMusingsSangSpeak-Pet Puja - Beetroot Salad(Beetroot Raita/Koshimbir)

Beetroot Salad(Beetroot Koshimbir)

This recipe has such a lovely, tempting colour that I am sure nobody will be able to resist it. In addition, it is fully loaded with nutrients and vitamins. Beetroot is high in beta carotene and iron, and hence, should be used often in diet. Many are familiar with beetroot juice. Beetroot can be made into a subji, salad or burfi(dessert). This salad is simple to make and great to taste.

Ingredients

Beetroot – 1 no

Curds – 150 gms

Salt – As per taste

Sugar – 1½ teaspoon

Cumin Powder (optional) – ¼ teaspoon

Coriander Powder (optional) – ¼ teaspoon

Method

Peel the beetroot and pressure cook for about 10 minutes. Allow the beetroot to cool and then, grate it. Flavour the curd with salt, sugar, cumin and coriander powder. Mix the grated beetroot with the flavoured curd and the salad is ready to be eaten. Serve chilled as it tastes better when it is chilled.

MyMusingsSangSpeak-Pet Puja - Laal Bhoplyachi Bhaji( Laal Kaddu/Red Pumpkin Subji)

Laal Bhoplyachi Bhaji( Laal Kaddu/Red Pumpkin Subji)

Laal Bhopala(Red Pumpkin/Laal Kaddu) is a highly nutritious vegetable and should form part of everyone’s diet for vitamins and minerals. I love the fresh aroma of this vegetable. You can cook this vegetable in many ways, like soups, salads, along with daals and in Sambar, and desserts like cakes, kheer(porridge) and halwa. I love Bhoplyachi Ghari (fried snack/goodie made with pumpkin, flour and jaggery) a lot and my grandmother would make a special effort to make it right from planting the pumpkin.

The pumpkin vegetable is prepared differently in different parts of India, some places it is cooked with tamarind-jaggery, some places with curds-coconut and there are many more such interesting recipes with distinct tastes from all over.

Ingredients

Red Pumpkin – 250 gms

Oil – 2 teaspoons

Turmeric powder – ½ teaspoon

Mustard seeds – ½ teaspoon

Dried Red Chillies – 2-3 nos

Asafoetida – A pinch

Salt – As per taste

Curry leaves – 10-12 nos

Curds – 100 gms

Fresh grated coconut – 3 teaspoons

Roasted groundnut Powder – 3 teaspoons

Water – ½ cup

Method

Peel the pumpkin and chop into cubes. Heat oil in a pan, add asafetida, mustard seeds, curry leaves and dried red chillies. Once the mustard seeds splutter, add pumpkin and stir for a minute. Add turmeric powder and salt and stir well for about 2 minutes. Add water and cook for 4-5 minutes by covering with a lid. Remove lid and add roasted groundnut powder and fresh grated coconut and mix well. After 2 minutes, add betaen curds and cook for a minute or two. Lall Bhoplyachi Bhaji is ready to be served and tastes good with roti/chappati or rice. 

MyMusingsSangSpeak-Pet Puja - Chicken Mayonnaise Sandwiches

Chicken Mayonnaise Sandwiches

Chicken Mayonnaise Sandwiches are tasty treats and all those from Pune are sure to vouch for the yummy ones served by Marzorin. The recipe is simple and does not require much effort. I prefer to use homemade mayonnaise for my sandwiches. Ready made mayonnaise is also available readily in the market nowadays and can be used. 

Ingredients

Chicken – 400 gms

Bread slices – 10 nos

Mayonnaise – 75 gms approx

Method

Cook chicken with little salt and water in pressure cooker for about 15 minutes. Remove from the cooker, strain the water (this stalk can be used for soup) and separatethe bones from the chicken to make it boneless. Shred the chicken to small pieces. Remove the sides of the bread slices and heat lightly in a non stick pan. Apply mayonnaise and spread the shredded chicken and make a sandwich. You may use grated cabbage also in addition to chicken if you like.

http://mymusings-sangita.blogspot.in/2015/07/pet-puja-homemade-mayonnaise.html

MyMusingsSangSpeak-Pet Puja - Homemade Mayonnaise

Homemade Mayonnaise

The homemade mayonnaise is one easy recipe and stays for about a week in the fridge. Nowadays, readymade mayonnaise is available in the market, but, I prefer the homemade one as it does not have preservatives and is tastier and you can make it to suit your tastes perfectly. I learnt to make mayonnaise from a dear friend of mine and I am sharing her recipe. I have modified and made some changes though. I use whole egg for my mayo; the traditional mayo uses only the egg yolk. Mayonnaise comes in very handy as a spread for variety of sandwiches and salads.

Ingredients

Egg – 1 no

Salad oil – 1 cup

Salt – As per taste

Sugar – 2 teaspoons

Vinegar/Lemon Juice – 1 teaspoon

Black Pepper Powder – ½ teaspoon

Mustard Powder – ½ teaspoon

Method

Beat egg with a whisk option in electric mixer. Add little oil at a time and keep whisking till all oil is used and a good emulsified mixture is formed. Add salt, sugar, vinegar/lemon juice, black pepper powder and mustard powder and give a final whisk. Mayonnaise is ready to use, store it in a clean jar and refrigerate and use as and when required.

Note – Mayonnaise can be used in a variety of sandwiches along with boiled chicken, tomatoes and cucumbers, cabbage and carrots and so on. Russian salad can be made by using boiled potatoes, peas and beans, and carrots, apples, grapes dressed in mayonnaise. You can make various coleslaw too using cabbage and lettuce etc. If salad oil is not readily available, use any refined oil.

People with egg allergies, be careful. Some people are allergic to uncooked eggs too, so be careful if you are eating mayo prepared with egg.  

MyMusingsSangSpeak-Pet Puja -Sabudana Wada Chutney

Sabudana Wada Chutney

Sabudana(Sago)Wada is an all time favourite Maharashtrian snack. It is a sure shot hit dish for any snack party. Actually, Sabudana Wada is made on Upvaas(fasting) days. In Pune, there are many places serving the best sabudana wadas- Balgandharva Canteen, SiddhiVinayak Wada, Joshi Wadewale and so on. This snack is so tasty and delicious that one can just go on eating continuously, even if the stomach gets full, the tongue may just go on asking for more.

Ingredients

Sabudana(Sago) – 100 gms

Potatoes – 2 nos

Roasted groundnut Powder – 50 gms

Cumin Powder – ½ teaspoon

Red Chilly Powder - ½ teaspoon

Salt – As per taste

Oil – For frying (approx 150 ml)

For Chutney

Curds- 100 gms

Fresh Grated Coconut - 50 gms

Fresh Corinader – 5-6 sprigs

Ginger – ½ inch piece

Sugar – 2 teaspoons

Green Chilly – 1

Salt – As per taste

Method

Soak Sabudana for about 3 hours. Boil the potatoes, remove peels and mash well. Mix all the ingredients, i.e. soaked sabudana, mashed potatoes, roasted groundnut powder, salt, red chilly and cumin powder well and keep the dough for 10-15 minutes. Now, make small wadas of this mixture and fry in hot oil on medium flame. Be very careful while frying sabudana wadas as they have a tendency to burst open. Turn wadas on both sides so that they are fried evenly. Remove from oil once they turn a golden brown, spread on paper to remove excess oil and serve hot with chutney

Chutney

Blend together 100 gms curds, fresh grated coconut, 5-6 sprigs of fresh coriander, 1 green chilly, a small piece of ginger, 2 teaspoons of sugar and salt as per taste. Add more sugar if required.

Note – Sabudana Wadas taste good with tamarind chutney too. Be very careful while frying sabudana wadas as they have a tendency to burst open. 

MyMusingsSangSpeak-Pet Puja - Bhendichi Bhaji(Bhindi/Lady Finger/Okra Subji)

Bhendichi Bhaji(Bhindi/Lady Finger/Okra Subji)

I love my lady’s finger whichever way it is prepared, either crispy fried or tawa masala style or plain masala stir fried or otherwise. My daughter and husband, both, love this vegetable to bits and I do not have to think much while cooking if I have lady’s finger at home. It is one of the easiest vegetables to cook and tastes good any which way it is prepared.

Ingredients

Lady’s Finger – 250 gms

Oil – 3 teaspoons

Turmeric – ½ teaspoon

Salt – As per taste

Green Chillies – 2 nos

Ginger garlic coriander paste – 1 teaspoon

Mustard Seeds – ½ teaspoon

Fresh Grated Coconut – 75 gms

Method

Wash the lady’s finger and dry them well by patting on a cloth. Cut into roundels and set aside. Heat oil in a pan/kadahi and add mustard seeds and chopped green chillies. When the mustard seeds splutter, add chopped green chillies and then, add the chopped lady’s finger and stir well for 2 minutes. Add turmeric powder and salt and stir for about 2 more minutes. Add the ginger, garlic, coriander paste and stir well. Even if the lady’s finger gets sticky, it will eventually lose the stickiness once it is done. After about 2-3 minutes, add the fresh grated coconut and cook for 2 more minutes. Bhendichi Bhaji is done and ready to be served.

 Note – Please note that the lady’s finger needs to be really dry before cooking, so you may have to dry every single one with a dry cloth. 

MyMusingsSangSpeak-Pet Puja - Bhendi Besan Masala(Lady's Finger/Okra, Bhindi)

Bhendi Besan Masala (Bhindi Besan Subji, Lady’s Finger/Okra Vegetable)

Bhendi Besan Masala (Bhindi, Lady’s Finger/Okra) is easy recipe to prepare lady’s finger tastefully. It is a stir fried recipe.

Bhendi(Bhindi, Lady’s Finger/Okra)- this vegetable has many nutritional benefits and one must include it in the diet for various minerals and vitamins it provides. Lady’s finger can be prepared in many ways -stir fried, crispy fried or curried. My daughter just loves this vegetable, so it a frequent item on my menu. My husband and me too are great fans of Bhindi. It tastes good with roti/chapati as well as rice and daal.

Ingredients

Lady’s finger – 250 gms

Oil – 2 teaspoons

Turmeric – ¼ teaspoon

Red Chilly Powder – ½ teaspoon

Cumin Powder –¼th teaspoon

Coriander Powder – ¼th teaspoon

Salt – As per taste

Besan(Gram Flour) – 2 teaspoons

Method

Wash the lady’s finger clean and dry very well by patting on a cloth. You can cut them as you wish, either in roundels or lengthwise. Heat oil in a pan and add the lady’s finger and stir fry for 2 minutes. Add turmeric powder and salt and stir fry for 4-5 minutes. Finally add red chilly, cumin and coriander powders and stir for 2 more minutes. Now add besan and keep stir frying on low/medium flame till the besan becomes crisp. Bhendi Besan Masala is done and ready to be served.

Note – Try to use tender lady’s finger as it gives a delicious taste. 

MyMusingsSangSpeak-Pet Puja - Bhendi Plain Masala Bhaji(Bhindi Subji, Lady’s Finger/Okra Vegetable)

Bhendi Plain Masala Bhaji(Bhindi Subji, Lady’s Finger/Okra Vegetable)

Bhendi(Bhindi, Lady’s Finger/Okra)- some love it and some hate it. This vegetable has many nutritional benefits though and one must include it in the diet for the various minerals and vitamins it provides. Lady’s finger can be made in umpteen ways -stir fried, crispy fried or curried.

My daughter loves Lady’s finger immensely and hence, I learnt to cook it in various ways. Once, my daughter tasted some achari bhindi at her friend’s place and since then, I have been making it (this recipe requires to make a Bhindi Masala with fenugreek, fennel, coriander, cumin and kalonji seeds). I still have not learnt the curried one yet, but, have seen it in many cookery shows.

While making lady’s finger, one important point needs to be noted that it should be patted dry very well before cooking or it tends to get sticky. You can add some acidic ingredient like lime juice, amchoor powder (dried raw mango powder) or aamsul to do away with the stickiness while cooking.

This plain bhindi masala is the easiest recipe with least ingredients and little cooking time.

 Ingredients

Lady’s finger – 250 gms

Oil – 2 teaspoons

Turmeric – ¼ teaspoon

Red Chilly Powder – ½ teaspoon

Cumin Powder –¼th teaspoon

Coriander Powder – ¼th teaspoon

Salt – As per taste

Method

Wash the lady’s finger clean and dry very well by patting on a cloth. You can cut them as you wish, either in roundels or lengthwise. Heat oil in a pan and add the lady’s finger and stir fry for 2 minutes. Add turmeric powder and salt and stir fry for 4-5 minutes. Finally add red chilly, cumin and coriander powders and stir for 2 more minutes. Serve hot.

Note – Try to use tender lady’s finger for cooking this recipe, it helps the dish to taste delicious. 

MyMusingsSangSpeak-Pet Puja - Kairiche Panhe( Kairi/Aam Panna /Raw Mango Juice/ Sherbet)

Kairiche Panhe( Kairi Panna /Raw Mango Juice/ Sherbet)

Indian summers and Kairiche Panhe(Kairi/Aam Panna) go hand in hand. It is a tasty drink which is a natural cooler and best way to beat the excessive summer heat. In Maharashtra, Kairiche Panhe is made on the first day of Chaitra month, the start of Navratri. Generally, this raw mango drink is sweetened with jaggery. Nowadays, many people prefer to add sugar. The raw mango juice can be flavoured with cardamom plus saffron or mint plus cumin powder as per one’s liking.

Ingredients

Raw Mangoes - 2 medium sized

Jaggery/Sugar – Approximately 2 cups

Salt – As per taste

Cardamom Powder – ½ teaspoon

Saffron – A pinch

Water – As per requirement

Method

Peel the mangoes, remove portion near the stalk and pressure cook for about 10-12minutes. Allow to cool and separate the pulp and seeds. Count the pulp and measure approximately one and half times sugar/jaggery and mix well with the pulp. Pressure cook this mixture again for about 5 minutes. Allow to cool and add cardamom powder and saffron. Blend in a mixer and store in a bottle. Store this mixture in refrigerator. It stays for about a week. While serving add a little of this mixture with cold water and pinch of salt and serve chilled.

Note- Some people flavour Kairiche Panhe with dry ginger powder and rock salt too.

MyMusingsSangSpeak-Pet Puja - Masalyachi Bharli Wangi (Brinjal Masala), (Stuffed Eggplant)

Masalyachi Bharli Wangi(Brinjal Masala)

Masalyachi Bharli Wangi or stuffed eggplant is a favourite Maharashtrian vegetable preparation and my mother’s one signature dish out of many. It tastes good with jowar (shorghum) bhakri(roti) and more so with plain rice. Generally, you need to use KateWangi(Brinjals with thorny stalks) for this recipe, but, if these are not readily available, then you can make do with those available in the market. The famous brinjals in Maharashtra are the ones from KrishnaKath, Nashik, Kolhapur, Wardha and some few other places.

Ingredients

Brinjals – 250 gms

Onions – 2 medium

Coriander – 5-6 sprigs

Garlic – 10-12 cloves

Roasted Groundnut powder – 100 gms approx

Kolhapuri Kaala Masala – 1 teaspoon

Turmeric – ½ teaspoon

Salt – To Taste

Oil – 2-3 tablespoons

Water – 400-500 ml

Method

Wash brinjal, retain stalks, cut lengthwise in 4 up to the stalks ( 2 cuts and brinjal should hold on as whole). Chop onions finely. Wash and chop coriander too finely. Crush garlic. Mix all ingredients - chopped onions, coriander, crushed garlic, tumeric, salt, oil and Kolhapuri Kaala Masala well. Fill this mixture in each brinjal and cook in a pan with water on high flame initially. Once the vegetable comes to a boil, lower the flame, cover with a lid and allow to cook for about 15 minutes. Stir occasionally and add water if required. Once you see the oil separating, the vegetable is cooked and done. Remove from fire and Masalyachi Bharli Wangi is ready to be served with accompaniment of your choice.

Note – If Kolhapuri Kaala Masala is not available, use a mixture of red chilly powder and garam masala.

MyMusingsSangSpeak-Pet Puja - Basic Curry (Rassa) Paste/Masala

Basic Curry Masala(Paste)

The basic curry masala paste is generally used in most Maharashtrian recipes and can be used for vegetarian as well as non-vegetarian dishes. This is the typical Kolhapuri Rassa(Kolhapuri Curry) paste. It is used to make many rassa bhajis (subjis or vegetables). In earlier days, when no mixers were available, this paste would be ground on a stone slab with hands, it was a good form of exercise too. The paste would be prepared fresh every time when it was required for a dish. The mixer has simplified the process to great extent. Nowadays, we have the fridge, hence, this paste can be prepared and refrigerated and used as and when required. Life has become much easier. The main ingredients for the curry paste are onions, cocnut, fresh coriander, ginger and garlic.

Ingredients

Onions – 4 large

Dry Coconut – 1 whole(grated)

Ginger – 2 inch piece

Garlic - 25-30 cloves

Coriander – 10 -12 sprigs

Oil – 2-3 tablespoons

Water – As reqiured  

Method

Chop onions and fry the onion in little oil till it is browned well. Then dry roast coconut and grind all the ingredients- onions, coconut, ginger, garlic, coriander to a fine paste. Add little water if required. Heat little oil in a pan and roast the masala paste on medium flame till it leaves the sides of the pan. You need to stir continuously lest the paste is burnt. Cool the basic curry masala paste and store in a container and refrigerate in deep freezer.

Note

This basic curry masala can be used for vegetarian as well as non vegetarian dishes. You can make brinjals, ridge gourd, green peas, potatoes, cauliflower, all kinds of sprouts etc. in vegetarian recipes. The paste can be used to make eggs, chicken, meat, fish etc. too.

For non vegetarian recipes, a mix of sesame and poppy seeds is also added for extra flavour. Sesame and poppy seeds are dry roasted and powdered and added to the curry paste.

While making curries, you need to add turmeric, chilly powder, garam masala or Kolhapuri Kaala Masala in addition. Tomatoes also can be added. Fresh grated coconut can be substituted in place of dry coconut. You can use desiccated coconut too. 

MyMusingsSangSpeak-Pet Puja - Chicken Sandwiches

Chicken Sandwiches

Chicken Sandwiches taste utterly delicious and are simple to make too. These sandwiches give the taste of chicken patties. The chicken filling can be made and stored in the fridge for up to 5-6 days and used as and when required. You can also make kathi rolls, tacos or burgers with this filling.

Ingredients

Chicken – 500 gms

Onions – 2 large

Tomatoes – 2 large

Ginger Garlic paste – 1 and ½ teaspoon

Garam Masala – 1 teaspoon

Red Chilly Powder – ½ teaspoon

Coriander – 7-8 sprigs

Salt – To taste

Oil – 2 tablespoons

Bread – 10 slices

Butter – 25-30 gms

Mayo/cheese spread (optional) – 30 40 gms

Tomato sauce – For accompaniment

Method 

Cook the chicken in little water in a pressure cooker. Remove the stalk and debone the chicken and shred it. Slice onions and tomatoes. Wash coriander and chop finely. Heat oil in a pan and add onion and fry till it caramelizes to a nice golden brown. Then add tomatoes and ginger garlic paste and fry for about 2-3 minutes. Then add shredded chicken, garam masala, chilly powder, salt and stir well. Finally add chopped coriander and remove from fire.

For sandwiches, apply little butter to the bread slices and toast them lightly, spread the mayo/cheese, chicken filling and toast till they become crispy. Chicken sandwiches are ready to be served.

Note

You can add mint leaves or spring onions for variation.The chicken sandwiches form sumptuous breakfast foods, also good to carry in tiffins and are tasty snacks for party as well.