Kobi nu Loatwalu Shaak

My MIL introduced me to Gujarati style vegetables cooked with flour. In my Marathi family, we cook such vegetables with besan - chickpea flour. My Gujarati family uses "vada nu loat" instead of besan. So each method produces its own unique taste. This vada nu loat is somewhat similar to Maharashtrian ThalipeeTh BhajNi.


Kobij nu Loatwalu shaak
Cabbage with flour
Ingredients
1 small cabbage, finely shredded
Salt to taste
1/2 tsp chili powder
1 cup vada nu loat

Tempering
2 tbsp oil
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1/4 tsp asafoetida

Garnish
2 tbsp cilantro/coriander leaves, chopped

Method
1. Heat oil in a nonstick kadai or a wok. Add mustard seeds, asafoetida and turmeric powder.
2. As the seeds splutter, add cabbage. Saute for 5 minutes.
3. Stir fry till cooked. Add more oil if needed.
4. After getting cooked, add salt, chili powder.
5. Now sprinkle vada nu loat flour, a spoonful at a time, while stirring the cabbage mixture.
6. Keep sauteing till the shaak is dry. Add more oil if needed.
7. Garnish cilantro.

Note
1. This shaak requires more oil than usual. I like not to use oil and hence my shaak gets very dry. I like to serve it with plain yogurt instead of exceeding oil intake.

Valor Shakkariya nu Shaak

I thought of sharing this Gujarati shaak because the combination of valor(vaal papdi/ghevda) and shakkariyu (sweet potato/ratale) sounded very unique. Ajmo or owa is a mandatory ingredient for this recipe.

Vaalor-Shakkariya nu shaak

Ingredients

2 cups vaalor, strings removed, split and torn into 2" pieces

1 smallish sweet potato, peeled and cut, approx 2 cups pieces

1/2 cup Gujarati moong daal vadi or chora daal vadi (optional)

salt to taste

1 tsp ginger-green chili paste

1 tsp coriander-cumin seed powder/dhaana jiru

1 tsp chili powder

3/4 cup water

Tempering

1 tbsp oil

1/2 tsp ajmo/owa/ajwain/ajowan

1/2 tsp mustard seeds

1/4 tsp asafoetida

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

Method

1. Rinse the vegetables. String vaalor, remove both ends, split and tear into 2" pieces. Set aside.

2. Peel sweet potatoes, cut into small pieces. Soak in water till ready to use.

3. Heat oil in a saucepan. Add the ingredients for tempering.

4. As they splutter, add vadies - if using. Fry for 1 minute.

5. Now add veggies, chili ginger paste, coriander cumin powder, chili powder. Saute for 2 minutes.

6. Add water. Bring to boil.

7. Switch the gas to low. Cover with a lid. Let it cook. Check from time to time to make sure water is not evaporated and veggies are not sticking to the bottom of the pan. Add more water if needed.

8. When vegetables are cooked, add salt to taste.

9. Add more water if you want gravy or let the water evaporate if you want a dry shaak.

10. Serve with rotla and athanu(pickle)

Note -

1. If desired, first fry vadies in oil, set aside and then add them to the simmering gravy. I skipped this step to avoid extra oil.

2. Sugar or jaggery is not needed since sweet potato is sweet enough. If you still desire more sweetness, you can always add some sugar/jaggery to taste.

3. Adjust chili ginger paste and red chili powder according to the desired heat/spice level.

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Vaalor

Vaalor

There are innumerable types of string beans in India. The above vegetable is called "Vaalor" in Gujarati. We also call it a type of "Ghevda" or "Val papdi" in Marathi.

You have to remove both ends and remove the strings. Split the vegetable in halves and tear into 2" pieces. You use both the beans and the green pods.

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Ragi Nankatai

When we were in India, Gudiya enjoyed Britannia's Ragi biscuits. I couldn't find them at our local Indian stores here. When I was chatting with my MIL, she suggested Ragi Nankatais. I decided to add cinnamon powder and cocoa powder to disguise them as chocolate cookies.


Ragi Nankatais
Ragi Flour Cookies
Ingredients
Beat together
1/4 cup Shortening (I used Sprectum brand)
1/3 cup sugar
2 tbsp yogurt

Mix together
1 cup ragi/nachni flour
1 tsp cinnamon powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
A pinch of salt
1 tbsp cocoa powder

Method
1. Beat shortening, sugar and yogurt together.
2. Add dry mixture carefully
3. Beat to make a dough consistency.
4. Preheat oven to 350 F
5. Make uniform balls. Pat them to make small discs
6. Bake in the oven for 16 - 18 minutes.

Note -
1. Since these cookies do not have all purpose flour or wheat flour, they have a distinct Ragi flavor. It may be an acquired taste.
2. The above proportion gave me about 2 dozen small nankatais.


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Chora daal ni Vadi

My MIL narrated a funny story while sharing this family recipe of chora daal ni vadi. When she was a new bride, the whole family decided to go to the ancestral home in the village. My MIL and her MIL decided to make these vadies since it was summer time. They had made such vadies many times before on the terrace of their Mumbai apartment. So making the vadies was not a big deal. They made the vadies on a big scale and spread them in the backyard and went about to do the other chores. After an hour or so my MIL peeped out of the window and was shocked to see the two cows devouring all the vadies. By the time she reached there, all the vadies were gone!! So the moral of the story is - keep an eye on these irresistible vadies as they are drying. Other animals may find them equally irresistible!!;-)

Chora ni Daal ni Vadi
Ingredients
1 big cucumber, grated, squeeze out water as much as possible
1 cup chora daal, soak for 2-3 hours, drained and ground coarsely
salt to taste
1/2 tsp asafoetida
1 tsp green chili-ginger paste
1 tsp garlic paste

Method
1. Soak chora daal for 2-3 hours. Drain and grind coarsely with asafoetida, chili-ginger paste, garlic and salt.
2. Do not use water for grinding.
3. Stir in grated cucumber. Squeeze out as much water as possible.
4. Spread a cloth in the backyard or a terrace or a deck, making sure that it's a very sunny day. [and cows are not around!!!!!;-)
5. Drop half a spoonful of batter. Let it dry completely till it's crisp. You may have to keep it in sunshine for at least 3 days. Take it in during nights.
6. After it is completely dry with no drop of moisture, store in an airtight container and use as needed

Note -
1. I have not yet ventured into making these vadies. We make something similar called "SaanDge" in Maharashtra using kohLa or ash gourd. The recipe is different. I will share it soon.

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Guvar Bataka nu Shaak

A simple stir fry from my mother-in-law's kitchen.

Guvar - Bataka nu shaak

Cluster beans with potatoes

Ingredients

2 cups cluster beans, torn into 2" pieces

1 medium potato, peeled & chopped

salt to taste

1 tsp dhana-jiru/coriander-cumin powder

1 tsp grated jaggery

Tempering

1 tbsp oil

1/2 tsp mustard seeds

1/4 tsp ajmo/owa/ajwain

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

1/4 tsp asafoetida

2 tsp ginger-green chili paste

Suggested Accompaniment
Thepla or Rotla or Rotli

Method

1. Steam cluster beans and potatoes in a pressure cooker. Add water as needed. Set aside to cool down.

2. Heat oil in a pan. Add all the tempering ingredients.

3. As they sizzle, add cooked & cooled beans and potatoes, and remaining ingredients. Add cooking water as well.

4. Simmer till all the water is evaporated.

5. Serve with rotli or thepla.

Note -

1. Traditionally, very tender, small cluster beans are chosen carefully for recipe. They are kept whole by just removing both ends. We do not get tender cluster beans here. So I tear them into 2" pieces.

2. Instead of potatoes, vadis can be added. If you want to add the vadies, steam just cluster beans. Saute vadis in the kadai.
3. If you like, you can garnish with a spoonful of scraped, fresh coconut.

Morayyo

This recipe falls under Indian fasting food category. What we call "vari" or "bhagar" in Marathi, the same is known as "samo" or "morayyo" in Gujarati. It also goes by the name "Vrat ka chawal" in Hindi. My mom makes delicious varichi khichdi or varicha bhaat and my mom-in-law makes this delicious morayyo on the fasting days.


Morayyo
Steamed
Ingredients
1 cup samo/vari/nhagar/morayyo/vrat ka chawal, rinsed
2 cups buttermilk, thin consistency
1 medium potato,  raw, peeled & grated
1/4 cup daaNyache koot/unsalted, roasted peanuts powder (optional)
rock salt/sindhav/saindhav to taste
1 tsp green chili-ginger paste/vatela aadu marcha

1 tbsp chokhu ghee/sajook toop/clarified butter


Method
1. Boil buttermilk in a saucepan.
2. Add chili ginger paste, rock salt.
3. As it starts boiling, switch the gas to low.
4. Add all the remaining ingredients except ghee. Stir gently.
5. Cover and cook on a low flame for 20-25 minutes or till it is cooked.
6. Once cooked, drizzle clarified butter.
7. Serve hot.

Note -
1. The original recipe does not required peanut powder.
2. Gujaratis use a special salt called rock salt or sindhav for the fasting food. Common salt is not used for "vrat ka khaana".
3. Use more buttermilk if you prefer porridge like consistency.

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Bread Pakoda

When you say "Bread Pakoda", you don't really think of it as a "light" food. I have tried to modify the original recipe by using Pam cooking spray instead of deep frying it.

I first had bread pakoda at SEEPZ canteen. They served it with their delicious chutney. I made it myself after my marriage and was shocked to see how much oil was gulped down by that bread while frying. So I never made it ever again. But then just the other day, I thought of shallow frying it.

Bread Pakoda
Ingredients

For Stuffing
2 medium potatoes, boiled, peeled, mashed
1/4 cup green peas, boiled (optional)
1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
1 tbsp chopped cilantro
1 green chili, minced (optional)
1 tsp lemon juice

4 sandwich thins

For batter
1/2 cup besan/chickpea flour
salt to taste
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1/4 tsp asafoetida
1/4 tsp paprika
A pinch of baking soda
water as needed to make batter

Pam Cooking Spray

Method
1. Mix mashed potatoes with remaining ingredients to make stuffing. Set aside.
2. Make a thick batter with besan and remaining ingredients. Set aside.
3. Heat tawa/pan.
4. Open each sandwich thin. Stuff potato mixture. Close and dip in the batter so it is fully covered with besan.
5. Using cooking spray, shallow fry all the thins.
6. Preheat oven to 350 F
7. Transfer cooked pakodas onto a baking tray. Bake for about 10 minutes flipping once.
8. Enjoy with tomato ketchup.

Note
1. You could have used leftover potato bhaaji or fry ginger-garlic paste and then add mashed potatoes.
2. I baked it after shallow frying so the besan batter is fully cooked. Since I am not deep frying it, this step is necessary.


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Vegetable Curry with Pesto

I have blogged about several green curries already. One common ingredient in all these green curries is coconut. I was thinking about ways to reduce coconut and use some omega 3s. I suddenly thought about the pesto that I had frozen.

Vegetable Curry with Pesto
Ingredients
1/2 cauliflower, cut into florets
A handful of crowder peas (frozen)
A handful of yellow corn (frozen)
1/2 packet stew vegetables (frozen - potatoes, celery, carrots and pearl onions)
1/2 packet leafy greens (frozen - collard greens, kale, mustard greens)
6-7 grape tomatoes, halved
6-7 red radishes, quartered

1/2 cup Arugula Pesto

1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp dhansaak masala or garam masala

Method
1. In a deep saucepan, add all the vegetables with turmeric powder and 1/2 cup water.
2. Cover and let it cook - without letting it too mushy. Add water if needed
3. Once the veggies are cooked, add paprika, dhansak or garam masala and pre-made pesto.
4. Add water to obtain the desired consistency. Add salt. Bring to boil.
5. Simmer for 5-7 minutes.
6. Serve over a warm mound of rice.

Note -
1. You can use any veggies of your choice. I tend to go overboard and add tons of veggies.
2. In this experiment, I didn't add any oil.


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