Meethi Kadhi Gujarati Style

Meethi Dal or Meethi Kadhi is very common in Gujarati houses and is generally served as a side dish. It teams well with rice dishes like khichdi, vegetable pulao, and even with bhakri. There are oodles of ways to reshape the kadhi recipe and it changes state-wise. Mostly, kadhi recipes are given a touch of sour and spicy taste with a thick consistency, but this one flow towards the sweet side and is less thick.

Comfy Food | Black Lentils Stew | Adad Ni Dal

Lately, I have tweaked my meal portions by inviting different kinds of lentils. I think its predominant to add various nutrients to balance the inner state of mind and body. As whatever we eat is directly proportional to the overall being of our body.

Mango Treat - Aam Ras | Keri No Ras

Aam Ras substantially means mango loaded treat and whenever I think of this fruit I always gainsay with two things. In Hindi, Aam the word itself means “like ordinary”, and on the contrary Mangoes are also said to be the King of fruits. Secondly, I ween that every fruit is a King as it holds its own goodness and splendid taste. Fruits attract me through its vibrant color, soothing smell and of course its mind blowing taste. I like better to chew fruits instead of blending them so that I can relish its unique taste in every bite. Forbye chewing chunks of fruit means adding fiber, which is ultimately more beneficial than ever. But, there is no harm in getting a kick of it in the form of smoothie, juices or simply as a fruit yogurt.

Dill Leaves Dhokli

Dill leaves when dropped in salad, curries or soup strengthens the overall spirit of nourishment. They are piled up with different nutrients adding value to our pink health. They taste excellent when added in keema or minced meat, Hashim enjoys the hint of its flavor in minced keema with pav which is the form of soft bread from inside and crispy layer from outside. If you want to dedicate the entire dish to this greens, there is a little trick - You can merely chop the leaves and toss together with few Indian seasonings or join my orbit and deliver this simple looking recipe into something rare and stunning.

Methi Thepla Rolls – Indian Breakfast Recipe

Gujarati food takes in a lot of effort for full flavored and a healthful bracket of meal. To include all the food groups throughout the day, gujarati cuisine demands prior preparation for the jaw dropping outcome. Adding muthias in veggies to bring out the additional punch in veg dishes or adding dhoklis in greens to make the dish look extra appealing and appetizing or transforming the boring looking lentils into a process of spongy and peng varieties of dhoklas, this is all the effort and vision it takes.

I missed eating mama’s magical food, so it made sense to make a batch of methi theplas at home and have them with milky cardamom tea while watching endless runs of the news switching between CNN, NBC, FOX and Sky. Methi meaning fenugreek leaves and thepla are basically flatbread version of spicy elements moved together to form a delicious and soft roll of methi thepla. I’ve been dying to test out these thepla rolls, a childhood favorite of mine and they exceeded my expectation. The yogurt is used in my thepla dough and as they are loaded with protein that keeps you full longer. They are a great addition to get your daily intake of greens.

Finally! Khaman Dhokla

As we all are locked down with our mains, it is really important to normalize things at home especially when there are special days. Celebrating each occasion during this current pandemic make us appreciate the detail of all the things we were missing. Food is that constitutive part in the celebration that simply adds a generous amount of happiness. As yesterday, it was my husband birthday - a thought of making him feel loved and amazing was all I needed. First and foremost because – I hold the word loss in my mouth, it feels full and heavy, all of a sudden our baby nanu died on 9^th June 2020 leaving us all into a sphere of sadness, it took to grief. It is hard to lose a loved one, we spent our every moment of life with her – she was a companion knitted with immense love and care. To overcome our complicated grief, I decided to cook Hashim favorite cuisine on his birthday and celebrate his day in a simple way as possible. I have cooked all day long since early morning but with a heavy heart. As, whatever I was picking to prepare the meal some veg elements belonged to Nanu. It was difficult to decide the birthday special menu – hence I skipped burgers with french fries option as she was crazy for french fries. She used to hog 15-20 fries without any break. And maybe that’s why we have taken a pause from eating french fries for a while until we don’t find comfort in sadness.

Mama's Savory Cake Recipe - Khatta Dhokla

Khatta meaning sour in gujju language and dhokla means steamed and spongy cake concoct through fermentation. Gujjus are die-hard food fanatics for the most part when it is dhoklas. Yellow dhoklas are eaten conventionally and cooked most of the times at my home in Mumbai be it as breakfast, lunch or dinner. Yellow dhokla comes in two forms, if we talk about the taste – the sweet ones are the Khaman dhokla and another is Khatta dhokla which is totally opposite from the taste of the Khaman. I have also shared the recipe of White dhokla that does not necessitate fermentation.

Can Bitter Gourd taste Sweet?? YES!!!

Since childhood, the only vegetable I enjoyed the most has been bitter gourd or karela is what we call. As soon as we hear the name karela! memory gets populated with a sense of its smell and taste of its bitterness. Eww! this is the only expression I have ever come across when it came to this particular veggie. I remember, nobody in our house used to like this one. It was only me and mama who used to relish every bite of it. Hashim always felt hesitant about this underdog veggie. But not anymore! one of the best things about our relationship is the diversity in tastes due to the difference in our cultures. On mama's side, the influences were veggies and little sweet versions of food. And his side, he takes pride in his pakistani cuisine and there were often differences in the name and etymology of certain dishes, for instance, hashim would call scrambled egg as anda ghotala, and I would call it egg bhurji and hashim would say, well it's the Indian version.

That Instant Dhokla

Served With Healthy Sambhar And Coconut Based Chutney

If you’re Gujju then you know what I’m talking about. If you’re not!! Welcome to my another post recipe that will surely blow your mind. What is dhokla?? No need to stress yourself, it’s not at all an IIM based interview question LOL Well! Don't get confused because of its heavily melodramatic name, dhokla is just another easy-to-go dish of Gujju community like other edibles such as khandvi, handvo (recipe already shared) but not at all Khakra! All the names sound like something powerful and dangerous, but believe me the look and feel is other way round. Coming back to the topic, what is dhokla?? Let’s have a sneak peek!! Dhokla comes in different colors and shapes namely, khaman dhokla, White dhokla, sandwich dhokla and what not! Some are famed for its protein rich factor, a few because of its flamboyant garnishing style, some of its healthy added elements and some because of its instant cooking modus operandi.

Gujarati Special Undhiyu

We made Undhiyu for the first time, the triune of sweet, spicy and tangy gave their appearance in the most welcoming and cherished form, most of the veggies were used to excel the homemade undhiyu and Hashim was busy boiling water with fresh lemongrass to gusto tisane, our rabbit nanu has a penchant for greens and he too feasted on the fresh brought greens before the actual makings, despite of all this, the greens kept giving, It's our Gujarati's affinity and memories from the virtual world informed, it is simplest of meal and that was regular at paterfamilias table, my food philosophy is to eat seasonal and maintain a moderate portion control, and this one is what I mean, I truly mean! One bite will take you to the valley of felicity and you'll want to make it all long. It's LOADED with veggies in every bite and finished with much craved muthiya's meaning fenugreek fritters and amazing touch of banana's. Hell yes! twisting combo of garden fresh veggies, delicate fritters and BANANAs, so good and picky husband approved.

Vegan Lentils Stew With Flat Dumplings/Dal Dhokli

Fusion is all about mixing cooking ideas into a marked outstanding dish, I have always battled in cooking Gujarati dishes as it entails a lot of patience and time from you. Done that, my favorite veg fusion recipe dal dhokli is the one I wait, crave and eat time to time again. Alas, I couldn’t learn to cook my favorite dishes from mama, but I always try to reach somewhere at her level of taste and excellence.

In Mumbai, we fitfully relish a fuse of Gujarati and Marathi traditional cuisine on our dining table to please and match the taste buds of multi-cultural elements within us. My bhabhi (sis-in-law) belongs to Pune side of city, we enjoy eating every cuisine of her specialty, dada and I would favor Marathi food over Gujarati food for a change, but dal dhokli is the only break in the pattern. Dal dhokli or Varan phal is on the cusp of Gujarati and Marathi flavors; the ingredients list is the spares as the savory dhokli is the star, garnishing elements when combined with the final output of the dish emphasizes its taste and aroma.

The recipe is the hue of sunflower and gold, I associate it with happiness, warm harmony, and it reminds me of the glossy growth of sun with the freshness of the greens in the park, albeit slightly subdued in its brightness as it is lightened with the addition of silky soft dumplings or dhokli. Dhokli are basically uncooked Indian flatbread that is cooked in a slow cooker with lentil stew, thus the fusion of two Indian recipe blends together giving a yummy and flavorful taste. 

I think this is the perfect dish for the one's who disrelish veg cuisine, as the taste of dumplings and lentil stew will keep you hooked and away from those non veg appetency. If you soak lentils overnight, then this dal dhokli recipe will become an easy task for you or you can simply put the lentils to boil for a longer time, any route you take. I recommend reading the entire recipe at least once before you start making it!

Vegan Lentils Stew With Flat Dumplings/ Dal Dhokli

Preparation Time: 8-10 hours

Cooking Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes

Total Time: 11 hours, 30 minutes

Serves: 4 persons

Ingredients:

½ cup split pigeon peas/ toor dal (washed and soaked overnight)

½ cup wheat flour

1 tablespoon chickpea flour

2-3 tablespoons cooking oil

1 large finely chopped onion

½ teaspoon cumin seeds

½ teaspoon mustard seeds

1 teaspoon turmeric powder

1 tablespoon red chili flakes

½ teaspoon coriander powder

4-5 curry leaves

3-4 slit green chilies

1 tablespoon lemon juice or raw mango powder

3-4 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons finely chopped coriander leaves

Salt to taste

3-4 cups water

Method:

• Add clean and soaked split pigeon peas in a slow cooker, put in 2 cups of water and salt to taste, leave it to boil for about 20-30 minutes on a medium heat. If you haven’t soaked the lentils night long, then boil the lentils for 1-2 hours until it is cooked evenly.
• Meantime, let’s start with the dhokli preparation, all we need to do is prepare the dough and make the Indian flat bread or tortilla like thin flat bread. In a large bowl, add ½ cup wheat flour, 1 tablespoon chickpea flour, ½ teaspoon turmeric powder, ½ teaspoon red chili flakes, ½ teaspoon coriander powder and salt to taste. Knead the dough into a smooth form with the help of water, cover the dough and keep it aside.
• When the lentils or the dal is done, let it cool down to a room temperature. In a blender, add boiled lentils and blend it into a smooth consistency.
• Heat cooking oil in a slow cooker and add mustard and cumin seeds, once they start to pop, add curry leaves, ½ teaspoon turmeric powder, ½ teaspoon red chili powder and slit green chilies.
• Transfer the blended lentil mixture into the slow cooker and add a cup of water, cook uncovered for about 10 minutes on medium flame.
• Meantime, make round shape balls from the dough and flatten the balls with the palms of your hand. Use a rolling pin to roll a piece into a thin shape like tortillas. On an unoiled skillet, roughly warm the flat bread on both the sides to kill the raw smell of the flour. Make sure you do not warm it completely, just a flip will do. Make two Indian flat breads and refrigerate the remaining dough using a zip lock.
• On a clean surface, place flat bread and cut it into square or diamond shape with the help of a pizza cutter. We are finally ready with our dumplings or dhokli’s!
• Straight away, drop (one-by-one) the pieces of dhokli’s into the boiling lentil stew and let it cook for a minute. Now add another batch of dhokli’s and repeat and stir occasionally. Allow the dal dhokli to cook for 20-25 minutes until the dumplings turn soft and the consitency becomes little thick, add water if needed.
• Later, add 2-3 tablespoons of sugar, 1 tablespoon lemon juice and salt to taste. Adjust the sweet, sour and spicy taste of the stew and serve hot with pickles. Don’t forget to garnish with chopped onions and finely chopped coriander leaves! Enjoy!

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Cabbage Salad/ Sambharo

I love to try different types of salad and salad dressing for an impressive dinner meal. In our house, we love to eat different types of salads made by combining vinegar or yogurt or variety of other salad dressing ideas with carrots, tomatoes, lettuce, cucumber, grapes, green chilies, baby corns, sprouts and even pasta. Among all cabbage is the delicious and crunchy form of salad I can totally rely on. It goes really well with any type of vegetable curry or subzi.

This salad belongs to my roots Gujarat, we call it as sambharo! Sambharo or cabbage salad is basically half cooked salad with fewer spices and green chilies. Mama makes it every time for dinner whenever she prepares dal, rice or khaman dhokla and sometimes fafda. Khaman dhokla is a fluffy, spongy and  light Gujarati snack dished out after steaming the batter of chickpea flour, semolina, ginger-garlic paste and other seasonings. This salad also blends quickly with any vegetarian meal as it is fresh, half cooked, spicy and slightly sour in bites. It is a stir fry recipe where you can add cabbage, carrots, multi colored bell peppers, raw papaya but mama makes it simple. She puts cabbage, carrots and fresh cilantro and I love the addition of cilantro as I feel cilantro tastes heaven with crunchy salads.

Try this amazing side dish at home and thank me later. I am going to make this again and again with all my vegetarian meals. The amazing flavor of curry leaves and cilantro with a touch of lemon juice takes this recipe to another level.

Cabbage Salad/ Sambharo

Preparation Time: 15 minutes

Cooking Time: 5 minutes

Serves: 2-3 persons

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon cooking oil

1 cup cabbage, sliced into thin strips

1 medium size peeled julienne carrot

1 small raw mango, sliced into thin strips

5-8 green chilies, with the help of a sharp knife slit the green chilies vertically without splitting it into two.

½ teaspoon mustard seeds or rai

½ teaspoon turmeric powder or haldi

1 teaspoon lemon juice, substitute for raw mango

1 stem of curry leaves

1 tablespoon roughly chopped cilantro or coriander leaves

A pinch of asafetida

Salt to taste

Method:

• Wash cabbage, raw mango and peeled carrot and chop them into julienne or just run the cabbage and carrot across the grater.
• In a skillet, heat cooking oil and add half teaspoon of mustard seeds and let them crackle for a few seconds. Directly add curry leaves, turmeric, a pinch of asafetida or hing, slit green chilies on a low flame.
• Let it cook for a few minutes until the raw smell goes away, add julienne of cabbage, raw mango and carrots. Toss and unify everything and add salt to taste. Allow the veggies to cook for a few minutes and turn off the flame.
• Garnish with chopped cilantro and squeeze lemon to it. You can skip adding lemon juice as we have added julienne of raw mango. 
• Simple and yummy salad recipe is ready to serve.

Savory Vegetable Cake/ Handvo Recipe

Well! This is a customary cake altogether filled with different types of lentils and vegetables skipping flour and cream as this cake is not the ordinary type of sweet and creamy gateau!. This is the healthiest and hearty version of savory cake and it is well-known as handvo in major parts of India. The outer crispy texture and softness from inside makes me eat them as a treat. It's a warm savory cake that is most often served in dinners at my house and we also prefer to eat the leftover cake on the very next day in the morning with a hot cuppa tea. Nothing goes to waste! This cake itself had a thin crust on the top with a touch of slightly roasted sesame seeds. It's the kind of the cake that makes you want to smile when all you want to do is be grumpy because you had to clean up so much after it. It's a kind of a savory cake that I'd want to make again and again, but without all the hassle it entailed in the first place, so here is what I'd do! Soak lentils and rice and blitz it into thick batter, add some grated veggies and little spice to balance its taste and baking in using a special handvo cooker or on a normal frying pan.


Vegetable cake or hando is one of my favorite recipe's, its a gujarati equivalent of comfort and nourishment. Handvo or vegetable cake can be plain, but its popular renditions include flavoring from different vegetables and spices. It's often eaten with green coconut chutney or sauce, pickle and tea. I prefer eating them in all ways as they just taste marvelous!

Savory Vegetable Cake/ Handvo Recipe

Preparation Time: 12 hours
Cooking Time: 30-35 minutes
Total Time: 12 hours, 35 minutes
Serves: 2 persons

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons cooking oil
1 cup rice
1/2 cup chana dal
1/4 cup urad dal
1/2 cup, whisk yogurt
1/2 cup, bottle gourd or lauki
1 carrot, grated
1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
4-5 curry leaves
2 green chilies, finely chopped or 1/2 teaspoon green chili paste
1 teaspoon garlic paste
1 teaspoon ginger paste
1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder or haldi
1/2 teaspoon red chili flakes
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
A pinch of Asafoetida or hing, optional
Salt to taste

Method: 
Let's start with the rice and lentils soaking process!

• In a bowl, wash and soak 1 cup of rice, 1/2 cup of chana dal and 1/4 cup of urad dal. Soak it overnight or you can also soak them for 4-6 hours.
• Remove all the extra water from rice and lentils and transfer them into the jar of a blender. Add 1/2 yogurt and salt to taste. Blend it into a smooth and thick consistency, you can add 1-2 tablespoons of water while grinding. I prefer to avoid using more water otherwise the batter may turn thin in texture.
• Now remove the batter into a container and cover it with a lid and allow it to ferment for about 8-10 hours. Due to a fermentation process, I always make them for dinners by soaking the rice and lentils overnight and letting it ferment the whole day. You can also try soaking them in the morning and grinding into a thick batter after 4-6 hours. Froth the mixture overnight and make vegetable cakes in breakfast or pack them in your lunch boxes. They certainly taste great!
• Now once you see bubbles after a fermentation process, you can add ginger-garlic paste, chopped green chilies  or green chili paste, 1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder, 1/2 teaspoon red chili flakes, a few drops of cooking oil and salt to taste. Mix everything properly.
• Now add grated bottle gourd or lauki by squeezing all its water, grated carrots and 1/2 teaspoon baking soda. You can also add chopped fenu-greek leaves or methi, green peas and grated beet-root too. Since, I only had a bottle gourd and carrots handy in my pantry so I have added only two of them!
• Mix well, the batter should always have a thick consistency for a perfect vegetable cake or handvo.

Let's start with baking!

• In a frying pan, add 1 tablespoon of cooking oil, add mustard seeds and let them pop for a few seconds. Now add a few curry leaves, a pinch of Asafoetida or hing and 1 teaspoon of sesame seeds.
• Now gently pour two big spoons of batter into the frying pan and spread it evenly with the help of a spatula. Handvo or vegetable cake should be 1 inch thick and round in shape.
• Cover the pan and lower down the flame and allow it to cook until the top layer seems cooked and the base turns crisp and golden brown in color. The more the thickness of the handvo or cake the more time it will demand in cooking.
• Flip it to the other side once you have achieved the golden brown and crisp base. Let the other side cook covered for about 5-8 minutes.

Follow the same step for the remaining batter. Transfer the yummy savory vegetable cake into the plate, slice the cake like you cut a pizza pie and serve warm with tea, ketchup or any tangy and spicy sauce as a breakfast, evening snack or dinner! This can also be a great treat on parties or large get together.

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Delicious Okra Recipe / Bhindi Kadhi

Curry is one of the best options for the ladies out there who wants to wrap up cooking, pronto! It is thick, yellowish colored dish that is prepared by using yogurt and chickpea flour over a low flame to win a spicy, tangy and flavorful taste. Mama knows numerous ways to make curry look good and taste good. For that, she tries different fusion with simple curry dish for unique and extra piquant results. Mama always aims to create a healthy curry by adding chopped fenugreek leaves, sometimes drumsticks and also scrumptious fritters. One of her hit and fit recipe is top listed on my veg menu and that's Okra curry.