Aloo Kathi Roll

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This month has kept us happily busy. The weather cooled off quite a bit, a sure relief from the scorching heat. We thoroughly enjoy this change and try to get outside as much as we can.

 

All "friendly" with the pony.. 

 

The following weekend i enjoyed myself at the navratri celebrations.Oh it was so much fun dancing with all my dear friends some of whom i met after several months.It was a treat to watch the crowd all dressed up in the traditional finery. 

Last week we enjoyed a pleasant change from our usual dinner menu- Kati rolls. I made a simple filling of potato and crunchy green beans stuffed inside a whole wheat roti. To assemble i used a simple chutney made with mint-green chilli, some cheese and crunchy onions. These were devoured at dinner time and the leftovers were packed into lunch boxes.

Aloo Kati Rolls

For the rotis:-
2 C whole wheat flour (atta)
1 C  all-puprose flout (maida)
1 tbsp oil

• Knead the above into a soft dough. Roll in oil and set aside for 30mins at least.
• Roll into rotis. Make sure these are not very thin else they will tear. Do not overcook them or make them crispy else you will have trouble rolling them

For the pudina chutney :-
1 bunch of mint
5-6 tbsp of shredded coconut
2-3 green chillies
1 clove of garlic

• Blend the above into a paste with some water. The paste should not be watery. Mint is salty so be careful when you salt or you might want to skip it.

For the potato filling :
4-5 potatoes boiled and diced
20 green beans washed and chopped
1 tsp of mustard 
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp turmeric powder
2 tsp your favorite garam masla or chat masala or mixture of cumin and coriander powder in equal parts.
salt to taste
3-4 tbsp oil

• Over medium heat combine the oil, mustard, cumin seeds. Once they splutter add the green beans.
• Add 2-3 tbsp water and cover and cook the green beans until tender.
• Add the potatoes and the spices. Salt to taste and mix everything well. Set aside.

For assembly :-
1C mozarella cheese
1C onion cut into spirals

• Spread the mint chutney over the roti. Add one tablespoon of the filling.Top with cheese and onions.
• Fold like a burrito.
• Add some cheese at the end of roll and place that side down on a hot tawa. The heat will cause the cheese to melt sealing the eddge of the roll. 
• Press down until roll is crisp on both sides.
• Serve warm with minty yogurt dip.

For the Minty Yogurt dip :
Mix 1 tsp of the mint chutney into 1C yogurt and mix.

Some health gyan and Aloo Gobi Rasedar

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Last month in a fit of impulsive shopping I ordered these books from Amazon.

These books have busted most of my beliefs about good health and living. A few pounds have cropped up after Ojas was born but more than losing weight I wanted to really focus on staying fit and energized. After all caring for 2 active kids is no small task.
As the books suggested I made some basic changing to my eating habits

• Waking up to a fruit. Mostly a banana or a pear and some soaked almonds and raisins. I have them the first 10 mins of waking up at around 6:30AM. After an hour or so I have 1 or 2 slices of whole grain toast with a boiled egg white. I have my beloved cup of tea at around 9:30AM after I drop Aamod to school. On the first day it was a bit odd to eat a banana at 6:30AM  but soon its become an habit. This keeps me energized during the busy morning hours.
• I have my lunch anytime before 1pm and its usually roti-sabzi-dal after which I take my calcium supplements. Ok now the thing that I loved about the book. The book does not tell you to eat SALADs. An active mom like me cannot survive on SALADS!.
• In-between at around 3pm or so I have a tall glass of buttermilk from homemade yogurt. If I need to be out in evenings I usually have a smoothie or I have 1/2 toasts with a cup of milk.
• I wrap up my dinner by 7pm that is usually rice/roti with sabzi and dal. This way I can happily focus on serving dinner to the rest of the team. A hungry mom is never a happy mom you see.
• I sleep by 10-10:15 AM. And yes no TV after 8PM. I usually read some book or read something online and sleep.
•  I try to exercise at least 3 times a week for not more than 60 mins.  

What effect this is having on me ??
For one my blood sugars are being relatively stable. How I know that ?? No 4pm craving for crunchies or munchies. I craved a cup of coffee or tea in the afternoons at 4pm. But I do not miss that anymore. No growly stomach at 10AM and 10PM. I have the energy I need during the active morning and evening hours. After a long day I often complained of aching calves. The calcium supplements have taken care of that. I feel that it surely is being better absorbed. I had trouble falling asleep but now I fall sleep within 10 min after laying down and get up on my own without an alarm.

So much to share the health gyan that I acquired in past month. There is more but I will tell you and when I try it out.

Now onto some yummy curry :-
Aloo-gobi rasedar is my homely cauliflower curry. Its a watery curry to be had with some fresh rotis or steaming rice.

Aloo Gobi Rasedar
( Inspired from this recipe on TongueTicklers )

1C cauliflower florets
1 potota cubed
1/2 C frozen or fresh peas

2 tsp chilli powder
1tsp turmeric
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp coriander powder

1/2 medium sized onion chopped
1 tomato chopped
2 garlic cloves
1 tsp chopped ginger

1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tbsp. of  gul (jaggery)
cilantro to garnish

• Combine the ginger, garlic, onion, tomato in a food processor to make a course paste.
• Over medium heat add the cumin seeds and then quickly add the above paste. Saute till fragrant and onion is soft.
• Add the spices.Saute till oil separates. Add a teaspoon of water if mixture is too dry.
• Then add the vegetables - cauliflower, peas, and the potatoes. Mix well and add boiling water to cover the vegetables.
• Lower the heat to medium and cook till vegetables are tender. Add salt and jaggery to taste and adjust consistency. of curry.
• Serve warm.

You can add shredded coconut, peanut powder to made a richer gravy. We prefer to have it simple though.

Stuffed brinjals (Bharli Wangi)

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Last weekend passed by in a whiz as we were all part of the local Ganapati celebrations. We were invited by lots of dear friends for aarti and prasad. It always amazes me how year after year the enthusiasm of festival brings people of all sects together. We at home offered some ukdiche modak to bappa and all his humble devotees.

A couple of days back i found some tiny eggplants at our local indian grocery store. They were too cute to ignore and almost beckoned me to make bharli wangi or stuffed eggplants. I followed this recipe and adding a few of my own ingredients to suit our taste.

Now onto the recipe.

Stuffed Eggplants (Bharli wangi)
6-7 small eggplants washed
2 tbsp tomato paste

For the stuffing:-
1 onion finely chopped
6-7 tbsp peanut powder
4 tbsp fresh coconut/dried coconut flakes
3 tbsp garam masala( your favorite or the best you can find)
2 tbsp goda masala ( optional.Increase quanitity of garam masala of you do not have this )
salt to taste
1 tsp chilli powder
1 tbsp of jagerry

5-6 tbsp of oil

• Cut the stems off the eggplant and make 2 vertical slits making a "X" at the top. Put the eggplants in salted water until ready to use.
• Combine all the ingredients for stuffing. You can add 1-2 tbsp of water if mixture is too dry. Carefully stuff this mixture into the eggplants taking care not to break them. Keep the excess stuffing aside.
• Over medium-low heat add the stuffing and saute for 3-4 minutes. Add the tomato paste,some more chilli powder if needed and cover the mixture.Fry until the mixture is lumpy and leaves oil. You can 1-2 tbsp of water if the mixture is too dry. But make sure that you cook the mixture and tomato paste well.
• Now slide in the eggplants and cook for another 5mins.
• Add boiling water just enough to cover the eggplants. Cover and lower the heat to medium.Cook for 5-6 minutes.
• Uncover and check for salt. Add additional spices  and salt if required. We like the curry to be on the sweeter side but you can omit it.
• Cook for another 5-6 minutes until the eggplants become soft but not mushy. Add cilantro and serve hot.

Do not skip the tomato paste. It brings the whole curry together. You can substitute with thick tomato puree but not with chopped tomatoes. Make extra since the leftovers taste delicious the next day.

Besanwali Mirchi

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I am finally settling down after an eventful weekend. It all started last thursday with friends coming over for playdates with the elder one and ending up playing with the baby. Then on friday i joined some friends at the mall. I absolutely love to see their faces light up on seeing their friends and enjoying each other's company. I think its something that we all love as a family. Having impromptu get together with friends without having to worry about the many formalities.

Our local Maharashtra mandal had a Mangalagaur function last weekend. Lets just say it was an oppurtunity for us to get a few hours away from the husband and kids and have a wonderful time enjoying the traditional marathi games. So to my friends at the HMM thank you for providing us with an awesome time. The food, the games and above all your hospitality was absolutely fantastic. 


Saturday evenings were spent having an evening picnic at Central Green at La Centerra. Oh how i have loved this summer because of this event. Outdoor concerts on the lawn with some snacks and an ice-cold drink and then joining Aamod in game of soccer or just playing tag with him. Tiring but oh so much fun !!

Now onto food :- Have you see the Hatch Green Chiles flooding the grocery stores this month ? I bought some of those last weekend planning to make this recipe. But i was shorthanded on time this weekend and ended up making this "Pith-perun" (literally meaning sprinkled with chickpea flour) bhaji. This is one really really simple and healthy recipe.

This is one vegetable that tastes awesome even when cold. I generally pair it up with some soothing kadhi or dal.

 Besanwali Mirchi ( Peppers with chickpea flour)

What's needed :-
6-7 Mild hatch green chile peppers or green bell peppers chopped
4-5 tbsp chickpea flour or besan
3 tsp chilli powder
2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp mustard seeds
pinch of hing
salt to taste

How to:-

• Over medium heat combine the oil with mustard and cumin seeds. Lower the flame and add the hing, turmeric and chilli powder.
• Then carefully slide in the peppers and mix everything.
• Simmer and cook covered until the peppers and soft. Its important to cook them on low flame so as not to burn the peppers.If the mixture becomes dry add a tbsp of water.
• Once the peppers are soft add salt and cook uncovered. The peppers with release water and cook on medium flame until the water dries up.
• Next sprinkle the chickpea flour and mix everything.Cook for another 5 min until the flour cooks itself.
• Serve.

Crispy Cornflakes Chivda

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Ojas - All of 4 months

6 months back we welcomed a new addition to our little family. After the first few months of  hard work, sleep deprivation, crazy routines we are finding our way to better manage ourselves. I am slowly getting a grasp of challenges ahead. Challenges a bigger family gives.Visiting friends and well-wishers of the blog have been wanting to know when i would start posting some new recipes.

While the baby takes an afternoon nap I try to catch up on mail and blogs. I crave for something crunchy, munchy not overly sweet. This chivda made of cornflakes and rice crispies was just what i needed.Its very quick to make and very addictive. Its difficult not to love it. There is not much of a recipe here. You can adjust the quantities as per your taste. We like a chivda with a lots of nuts that is slightly spicy and sweet.

Cereal Chivda

3C corn flakes ( the unsweetened variety )
1C rice crispies 
2 tsp mustard seeds
2-3 tsp chilli powder
2-3 tsp chivda masala (or use equal parts of coriander powder and cumin powder )
3 tbsp powdered sugar
salt to taste
7-8 tbsp oil
1/2 C peanuts
4-5 tbsp cashewnut halves
7-8 curry leaves

How to :-

1. Mix the corn flakes, rice crispies.Add the salt and powdered sugar. Mix well.
2. In hot oil add the mustard seeds, curry leaves, peanuts and cashew nuts. Fry until peanuts are golden brown.
3. Then add the spices and turn off the heat. Let rest for a minute.
4. Add this to the cereal mixture.
5. Mix and enjoy.Store in air tight container.