Doodhi ka halwa / Lauki halwa

Doodhi ka halwa is another favorite at home with us after Gajar ka halwa. Always use fresh and tender bottle gourds so that there will not be many seeds and the bottle gourd will have a mild sweetness adding to the taste of the halwa.  I also add some home made fresh badam powder while making the halwa,it gives so much creaminess and beautiful color due to saffron and turmeric. That is why you see it is on the greener side .No added colors used to get the green color ,it is purely  natural. 

At times ,bottle gourd may turn bitter,so remember to taste a small bit of the doodhi before making halwa.If it feels bitter,then discard it immediately. 

After grating the bottle gourd ,don't leave it for a long time as it will turn brown due to oxidation and the halwa may not look very appealing.

Sharing an easy way to grate the veggies without making the working area messy. Hope you all like this tip . Ofcourse, the food choppers and food processors makes life easy, but this tip is ,if we are using the traditional hand grater for grating .

 The best way to celebrate the come back of my blog is to share a sweet recipe with all of you.

After a long break of almost 4 years due to some personal set backs, I am restarting in 2017 with support of my hubby and dad and lot of nudging and coaxing from my cousin too . So this sweet is for you all for making me move out of my inertia.

With the mild chillnes still lingering in the atmosphere,fresh winter vegetables are a feast to the eyes in the market and make me want to cook something interesting  .

I picked up the bottle gourds which were very inviting and prepared this Halwa instantly.

Every year I unfailingly make Doodhi ka halwa ,but it is only in Nov 2024 I made some changes to the write up and added a few new pictures but leaving the below picture unchanged as it is my fond memory of come back into the world of blogging . The recipe remains unchanged as it is very close to my heart being my mom's recipe .

Cooking time : 45 mins

Cooking level : Medium

Serves : 2-3 people

Ingredients

2 medium sized bottle gourd

100 gms khoa (unsweetened)

1 cup milk

1/2 cup sugar

2 -3 tsp ghee/clarified butter

2-3 cardamoms/elaichi powdered

8-10 Cashews finely chopped

10-12 raisins/kishmish

Chopped pistas and badam 

Method

• Wash and peel the bottle gourds and remove the seeds if there any
• Grate them well using a grater or food processor.
• Grate or crumble the khoa as well and set aside.
• Heat a thick bottomed kadai with 1tsp ghee and fry the grated bottle gourd in it for about a minute.
• Add the cup of milk and mix well and allow the bottle gourd to cook nicely. The doodhi will become soft and loose its crunch.
• Keep stirring in between to avoid sticking and burning.
• This takes about 10 to 15 mins on medium flame.
• Add the khoa,sugar and elaichi powder and stir well and keep the flame low now.
• Allow the mixture to cook well until you see all the milk,khoa and sugar being incorporated well into the bottle gourd and feel and amazing aroma wafting in your kitchen.
• Turn off at this stage and add the chopped cashews to it and mix well.
• You can roast the cashews in ghee or add it just like that.
• You can also add lots of chopped dryfruits too before serving. 
• Transfer in a bowl and keep it refrigerated for an hour or serve it warm .

Notes

1. Squeeze the grated bottle gourd well with both your hands before frying them in ghee. This step ensures that there is no extra water content and prevents the halwa from getting soggy.
2. If using sweet khoa instead of unsweetened adjust the sugar level accordingly.

Hello !!!

Sorry for staying away from the blog for a very very long time.Too much involvement with lot of activities at the personal front that kept me away from posting.
Now at last,I have decided to come back with a lot of new posts.Looking forward to all your support and encouragement as always.
Stay tuned my friends...see you soon !

Phulka Rotis | Fulkas - Indian Flat Bread

This was one post which I thought was not needed. With present day lifestyle rotis / chapatis have become a staple diet for many people . Earlier Rotis were staple to Northern Indian food as Rice was for South Indians,but off late its staple across most house holds..Requests from a lot of my friends came in asking how to make soft rotis and also about the puffing up.So I thought I should be posting the recipe for my friends.

Phulka Rotis are the oil free version of chapathi or Indian Flat bread  where the dough after rolling is first lightly toasted on a griddle / tawa and then cooked on an open flame which helps in Puffing up of the roti.  The moisture trapped inside the rolled Out dough tries to escape and enables the cooking  from inside. 

This puffing is known as "PHULNA " in Hindi and hence the name "Phulka Roti"

Resting Time for Dough : 20 mins
Cooking Time : 2 mins per roti
Serves : Makes about 8-10 rotis

Step by step video demonstration from kneading to preparation of Rotis

Ingredients

1 cup whole wheat flour  + 1/4 cup dry flour for dusting
3/4 tsp salt
2 tsp oil
1 cup water
Rolling Pin & Strong base for rolling the rotis

Method

Kneading the Dough

• Mix the salt and wheat flour in a mixing bowl.
• Knead the dough  by adding water little by little and continuing kneading until all the dry flour is used up and dough like mixture is formed.
• Now slowly keep kneading and stretching the dough with your palms until you find the dough to be a little light and soft in texture.
• If you find the dough dry and hard to stretch,just wet your palms with a little water and start kneading.
• This step of stretching and kneading the dough is very important as the GLUTEN present in the wheat flour will react and provide with the elasticity while rolling the rotis.
• As you keep kneading the dough,you can see that the texture of the dough transforms slowly and once it is done it will be a nice shiny soft ball of dough.
• Once the dough is ready,smear oil in your palms and coat the dough all over and keep it covered in cling wrap,muslin cloth or an air tight container for 15 -20 mins.
• This step again helps in providing  the elasticity and softness.

Making Rotis 

• Pinch out lemon sized balls from the dough
• Dust the balls with a little dry flour and start rolling it out into a round shape.
• Ensure that the edges are not thick and the round is evenly rolled out.
• Place the roti on a hot tawa and cook until light brown spots appear on lower side.
• Flip over and cook on the second side until brown spots appear.
• Now take the roti with the help of tongs and put on open flame .Now you can see the roti puffing up.
• In case you are working on an electric hot plate,then you get a grill on which you can place the rotis for puffing.
• Take it off the flame and serve hot with a little ghee smeared over it. (Skip for Vegan diet).
• Always store the rotis in a hot pack /casserole  soon after making them.

It is important to prevent the rotis become soggy and keep it dry and soft until you serve . Check the video below for tips & tricks . 

Notes:

• Too much dry flour for dusting tends to burn when cooking on tawa,so keep the usage as little as possible.
• Initially the shape may be a little weird but do not worry ,with practice you can master it.
• The puffing happens when the moisture gets released from the rotis,do not leave the roti on the tawa for a long time,then the rotis won't puff up.
• Keep the rotis covered in a foil or a thin muslin cloth to retain the softness.

Lachha Paratha / Whole wheat Flakey Flat Bread

We all love to order this Lachha Paratha when we dine out. But have you ever given a thought ,of making it at home? I have always wondered and stayed back even from the thought of experimenting it at home thinking it will be a complicated process to get the flaky layers. Must tell you,I was proven wrong when I made an attempt to make it at home. First time I tried and Viola!! it was great.. nice flaky paratha with mild crispness here and there.
Thanks to Sanjeev Kapoor's show on the television which motivated me to try this at home.I am sure you will also to try this recipe and enjoy the restaurant flavor in the comfort of your home.
I served this lachha paratha with a mix vegetable kurma ,but you can serve it with a choice of your favorite curry / gravy.

Preparation Time : 10-15 mins
Cooking Time : 4- 5 mins per paratha
Serves : makes about 8-9 parathas

Punjabi Baingan (Baigan) Bharta / Fire roasted Eggplant Gravy

Baingan Bharta , Baingan ka Bhurta or Baingan Da Bharta whatever you may call,all it means is a fire roasted mashed eggplant gravy with Indian spices.

A very popular dish in Northern India and a favorite in almost every house hold.There are different ways in which the Bhartha can be prepared. In Lucknow side ,they just fire roast the brinjal ,mash it up and flavor it with spices and mustard oil, something similar to Baba Ghanoush while the Punjabi style Baingan Bhartha is very different as it is cooked in onion tomato gravy after mashing up the roasted brinjal. 

To get the perfect taste of Punjabi style Bhartha ,the eggplant has to be grilled  over direct flame or  charcoal to infuse a smoky flavor into the gravy.  People do use microwave or other means to grill the eggplant but for me the stove top version seems the best way as I dont want to fall back on smoky flavor . The highlight of Punjabi baingan bartha is the rustic smoky flavor from the brinjal.

The gravy doesn't use very heavy spices or spice mix and hence it is fairly easy to make and also tastes rustic. 

The outer skin of the grilled eggplant is peeled off and mashed cooked with cilantro,red chilli powder,onion turmeric,onions to a perfect gravy.

Serve with any Indian Flat bread like rotis / parathas , Naans / Kulchas.

Preparation Time : 10 mins
Cooking Time : 20 mins
Grilling Time : 20-25 mins
Serves : 3-4

Notes 

• Jain version - skip ginger and onions 
• No Onion No Garlic version - skip the onions 

Ingredients
1 big egg plant / aubergine (Bhartha baingan) 
2 green chillies finely chopped
2 big tomatoes finely chopped
1 onion finely chopped
fresh coriander chopped
pinch of turmeric
1 tsp red chilli powder
2 tsp dhania/coriander powder
finely chopped ginger
salt
1 -2 tbsp oil

Method

• Apply a little oil all over the eggplant and grill on an open flame or over charcoal.
• If you are using an electric stove,place the eggplant on a grill stand on the electric hot place and grill
• Keep turning the eggplant over the flame for even grilling.
• The eggplant will slowly start shrinking and the outer peel of the egg plant will have a charred look,that is when the egg plant is totally done.
• Allow to cool for sometime and then peel of the outer and mash the eggplant thoroughly.
• In a heavy bottomed skillet/kadai,heat the oil and saute the onion until pink.
• Next add the chopped green chillies,tomatoes,
• chilli powder,coriander powder and saute well.Add salt as per taste.
• Pour about half a cup of water and cook well until the tomato forms the base of the gravy. You can see the oil ooze out as the gravy is cooking .
• Now add the mashed eggplant and mix well and cook for about 8-9 mins until the flavors are well incorporated.
• Garnish with coriander and serve hot with rotis / parathas.

Pin up

This post was published during my early days of blogging way back in 2013 and the pic quality wasn't so appealing.  Even though I make this recipe frequently, never got a chance to update the post with good pics . I am sure now (29 jan 2023,)the post looks appealing and attractive with new and fresh photos uploaded . Thanks to Renu for actively encouraging us fellow bloggers to be a part of Foodies_Redoingoldposts group which gives a good appeal to my old posts . 

Maa Ladoo | Pottukadalai urundai -Roasted Gram Laddu

If there is a very quick and a no hassle sweet that which is rich and tasty  ,then I must say it is this one . Maaladu ,Maa Ladoo , Pottu kadalai Urundai are all the different ways in which this melt in mouth sweet is known as .

Absolutely no worry about sugar syrup consistency or continuous stirring of ingredients as in case of normal sweets . Totally no cooking involved except for melting the clarified butter which can be done even in a microwave. 

For a beginner , this sweet will boost their confidence to try hands at other sweets as this ladoo will never disappoint you .

The ingredients are easily found in the pantry of every Indian household,so making this ladoo is a breeze when you have sudden sweet cravings.

We make this for Diwali , Navratri and Krishna janamashtami without fail in our home. 


Preparation Time : 5 mins
Cooking Time : Nil
Makes about 15 laddoos

Complexity - easy