Hot and Sweet Raw Mango Pickle (आंबट गोड कैरीचे लोणचे)

Ingredients:
2 cups of raw mango pieces, small pieces
2 cups of jaggery
1 1/2 tsp of chilly powder
14 tsp of salt

In a kadhai, stir raw mango pieces till they turn soft. Add jaggery, chilly powder and salt. Mix it well. Jaggery will start melting and after some time, it will start to thicken up. Simmer for about 20-30 minutes stirring occasionally. Once all the juice is evaporated and a thick sticky gravy is formed, turn off the stove.

Transfer this to an airtight container. This can be kept outside fridge for about a month.

Mango Dal Chutney (कैरीची डाळ)

This chutney is made at the beginning of summer, which coincides with Chaitra, first month of Hindu Calendar. I have fond memories from my childhood of Chaitra Haldi Kumkum at my native place. All the ladies from the village used to come to our place. My aaji and kakis would make this chutney and Panhe (raw mango juice). Along with this chutney, they would serve seasonal fruits from the garden like jackfruit, mangoes, guava, jamuns (jambhala), water apple (jaam).

Ingredients:
1/2 cup chana dal, soaked for 4 hours
3/4 cup grated coconut
1/2 cup raw mango pieces, skin peeled off
1/2 tsp salt or as per taste
1/2 tsp sugar or as per taste
3-4 green chillies
finely cut coriander leaves, for garnish

For seasoning:
2 tsp oil
3/4 tsp mustard seeds
1/4 tsp asafoetida
8-10 curry leaves
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
2-3 red chillies

Servings:
5-6 people

Drain water out of the soaked chana dal.  Grind together all the ingredients, except coriander leaves which are used for garnish. Grind the mixture coarse. In a small kadhai, do the regular seasoning and pour the seasoning over chutney. 

Shrikhand (श्रीखंड)

For a long time, I thought making Shrikhand at home was a long procedure. A very dear friend of mine, Ambi, told me a simplified version of making Shrikhand. This is a traditional Maharashtrian dish, prepared on the auspicious Gudi Padwa - Marathi New Year.

I made two flavors of Shrikhand - Kesar Pista and Mango flavor (Amrakhand).

Ingredients:
800 gms of readymade yogurt (I used Danon)
Approx 1 1/2 cups of powdered sugar

For Kesar Pista flavor
8-10 strands of saffron, soaked in 1 tbsp of milk
1 tsp of pista powder

For mango flavor
3/4 cup mango pulp

For Garnishing

1/2 tbsp of cardamom powder

chopped cashew nuts and almonds for garnish

Servings:
5 people

Transfer the store bought yogurt into a clean muslin cloth and tie a firm knot. Hang it overnight from the tap or nail to leave thick chakka.  You can collect the juice dripping from the yogurt. This is called Piyush. It is considered to be a healthy drink.

Next morning, untie the muslin cloth and scoop out the thick chakka into  a vessel. Divide this chakka into two - one for kesar-pista flavor and another for mango flavor. (I divided it unequally into 1:2, as mango flavored Shrikhand is favorite in our house).

For Kesar Pista Flavor:
Take equal quantity of chakka and powdered sugar (or reduce the sugar content slightly, as per your taste). Grind these into a mixer along with milk soaked saffron, pista powder.

For Mango or Amrakhanda Flavor:
I used approximately 3/4 cup of pulp for 1 cup of chakka.  Add about 1/2 cup powdered sugar. Mix together chakka, sugar with mango pulp. Grind in a mixer.

Garnish both flavors with cardamom powder and chopped nuts. Serve with hot puris or chapati.

Note:
You can use home-made curd instead of store bought pack. I thought this was simpler to do in terms of quick execution. 

Mango Raita (आंब्याचे रायते)

This is a traditional Goan dish, prepared with Ghota (sweet-sour local variety of mangoes). These mangoes are called as Raiwal in Maharashtra.

This is a quick and super easy dish.

Ingredients:
4-5 local mangoes or ghota
Jaggery, about 3:4 proportion, may vary based on sourness of the mangoes
1/2 tbsp mustard powder
1 cup freshly grated coconut
2-3 green chillies
salt to taste

Servings:
3-4 people

Extract pulp from the mangoes. Leave the mango seeds aside. In a mixer, add the remaining ingredients and grind well. Mix this paste with mango pulp. Stir well. Now add the mango seeds to this. Your dish is ready to serve.

Adjust the jaggery proportion depending on the taste of mangoes. If the mangoes are very sour, you may need to add more jaggery.

Optionally you can season it with 1/2 tsp of mustard seeds, a pinch of asafoetida, curry leaves and turmeric powder.

Do not boil the mixture. This is consumed fresh and raw.

Caramel Pudding (कॅरामेल पुडींग)

This pudding looks very difficult but is one of the easiest to prepare. There are different versions of this recipe on the net. I learnt to make this pudding after reading my friend, Ashwini's blog post. I modified it a bit - used 2 slices instead of 1 and used 1 egg instead of 2, as I was running short of egg.

Ingredients:
1/2 litre boiled milk
2 slices of bread, edges removed
1 egg
5-6 tbsp sugar
1-2 drops of vanilla essence
chopped cashew nuts for garnish

For caramel preparation:
2 tbsp of sugar

Servings:
4-5 people

Grind the bread slices in a mixer. Add bread powder and sugar to the milk. Stir well. Cover with lid and keep it aside for 10-15 minutes.

I used pressure cooker utensil for the caramel preparation. You can use any steel vessel with flat base that fits fine in the cooker.

In a steel vessel, add 2 tbsp sugar and sprinkle little water over it. Keep it on low flame, stirring continuously. After about 1 minute, the sugar will slowly turn brown and start melting rapidly. Once the sugar has melted, turn the heat off and spread the liquid brown sugary syrup to uniformly coat the base of the vessel. Sprinkle chopped cashew nut over the syrup while it is still in liquid state. Keep the vessel aside for 10 minutes.

Next, whisk the egg and add it to the milk+bread+sugar. Mix well and pour it in the cooled down caramel vessel. Add sufficient water in the pressure cooker and transfer this mixture into the pressure cooker. Cover the steel vessel with lid. Do not use whistle while cooking. Steam this mixture for about 15 minutes on high flame. Check if the pudding is set by inserting a knife in the pudding. If it comes out clean, the pudding is cooked perfectly. If not, steam it for an additional 5 minutes.

Take the pudding off the heat and allow it to cool down to room temperature. Refrigerate the pudding for an hour. Take a flat serving dish and invert it over the steel vessel. Then quickly topple the steel vessel over the serving dish and give the vessel a gentle shake. The pudding will sit nicely on the serving dish, caramelised side on top.

Refrigerate further until it is served.

Stuffed Tomato (भरलेले टोमाटो)

 You can use different fillings for this recipe. I used paneer (cottage cheese) filling. Sweet corn cheese stuffed filling also tastes yummy.

Ingredients:
5 medium sized tomatoes
grated Cheese or cheese slices for garnish

For filling:
200 gm cottage cheese (paneer), cubed
1/4 cup green peas
2-3 spring onion stems, cut
1 medium capsicum
few broccoli or cauliflower florets
5-6 garlic cloves
1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp freshly grated pepper
2 tsp of oil

Servings:
3 people

Wash the tomatoes and carve out the top portion. Scoop out the seeds and juice inside them. Keep it aside. It will be used while preparing the filling.  In a kadhai, heat oil. Season with garlic cloves, Italian seasoning and freshly grated pepper. Add spring onion stems and saute for a minute Add all chopped vegetables, capsicum, broccoli, and green peas. Stir fry for 5 minutes. Now add the tomato pulp and the pieces cut out from carved tomatoes. Season with salt. Simmer for 10 minutes till the gravy consistency thickens. Add paneer cubes and simmer for another 5-10 minutes. You can use either stir fried paneer cubes or directly use freshly cut paneer cubes. The gravy should not be watery, it should have thick consistency.
Stuff carved tomatoes with the gravy. Seal the top of each tomato with grated cheese or 1/4 of cheese slice. Heat about 2 tsp oil in a flat pan. Season with mustard seeds, asafoetida and turmeric powder. Add the remaining gravy. Transfer stuffed tomatoes to the pan, keeping them in vertical position, with base of the tomato touching the heated surface of the pan. Cover with lid and let it cook for 5-10 minutes. Stir occasionally. The tomatoes should be partially cooked on steam.

Optionally you can also grill them in the oven instead of using a pan. 

Dry Fruits Ladoo (सुक्या मेव्याचे लाडू)

These ladoos are super easy to make. They serve as quick energy boosters and quick snacks.

Ingredients:
1 cup nuts (Pistachios, Cashew nuts, Almonds, Walnut)
1 cup dry fruits (Dry figs, dry apricots, deseeded dates)
a pinch of salt

Servings:
About 30 small ladoos

You can use nuts and dry fruits in any ratio. Adjust the composition so that ladoos are not too nutty or too sweet due to the dry fruits. Roast the nuts in a kadhai individually. Allow them to cool. Grind together nuts and dry fruits to form a coarse paste. Knead the dough to mix well. Roll the dough on palm to make either ladoos or flat patties or in any desired shape.

There is no need to add ghee or sugar. Due to the oil in the dry fruits, the ladoos become sticky. 

Thai coconut Curry (थाई करी)

I love thai food, the curries, salads, starters and peanut sauce ! I searched thai recipes on the net, but each of the recipe used fish sauce or some other non vegetarian condiment. After a while, I gave up searching and thought it is best to eat thai in a restaurant.

I was discussing thai food with my aunt. She told me an amazing recipe for thai coconut curry. She is vegetarian like me. She said she modified the ingredients to suit her taste.

Ingredients:

5-6 lemongrass leaves

1 1/2 tsp ginger-garlic-chilli paste

1/2 cup broccoli florests, chopped

1/2 cup babycorn, sliced

1/2 cup paneer cubes (optional)

1/4 cup peas

1/4 cup carrot, chopped

1/2 cup capsicum

2 cups coconut, grated

1 tbsp coconut milk powder (for added flavor)

salt as per taste

For seasoning:

2 tsp oil

Servings: 

4-5 people

Prepare lemongrass paste by adding little water. Strain the paste and keep aside. Adjust the chillies in the ginger-garlic-chilli paste to suit your taste buds. Extract coconut milk from the grated coconut, about 1 1/2 - 2 cups. In a kadhai, heat oil and saute ginger-garlic-chilli paste. Once the paste is stir fried, add vegetables of your choice. Cook for few minutes. Add lemongrass paste and salt. Add little water to cook the vegetables. Once the vegetables are slightly cooked, add coconut milk. In a bowl, dissolve coconut milk powder in sufficient water. Add this mixture to the kadhai. Let it simmer for a few minutes. Do not overcook it. Serve with hot steaming fragrant rice. 

Alu Methi Bhaji (मेथी बटाट्याची भाजी)

Ingredients:
1 cup of methi or fenugreek leaves, finely cut
1 large boiled potato, diced
1 small onion, chopped
1 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp chilli powder
salt as per taste
a small piece of jaggery as per taste (optional)

For seasoning:
1 tsp of oil
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
a pinch of asafoetida
1/4 tsp turmeric powder

Servings:
3 people

Heat oil in a kadhai and add mustard seeds. Once the seeds start to pop, add asafoetida, cumin seeds, and turmeric powder. Add chopped onion and stir fry till golden brown. Now add methi leaves and mix well. In about 1-2 minutes, the methi leaves will reduce in volume. Now add boiled potato wedges and mix well. Add garam masala, chilli powder, salt, jaggery and little water to the kadhai. Cover with lid and let it simmer for 5-10 minutes. Alu methi is ready for serving.

Kande Pohe (कांदे पोहे)

This snack is prepared in every Maharashtrian household, especially for breakfast. It is also become popular snack to be served when a prospective groom meets a prospective bride for the first time.

Ingredients:

2 cups Flattened rice (poha)

1 medium sized onion, chopped

1 medium sized potato, boiled and chopped

a small piece of ginger, grated or finely cut

a handful of groundnuts

salt as per taste

1/2 tsp sugar or as per taste (optional)

1/2 tsp lemon juice

coriander leaves for garnish

freshly grated coconut for garnish

For Seasoning:

1 tbsp oil

1 tsp mustard seeds

a pinch of asafoetida

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

8-10 curry leaves

Servings: 3 people

Wash the poha and drain water, keep it aside. In a kadhai, heat oil and season with mustard seeds. Once the mustard seeds start popping, add asafoetida, cumin seeds, curry leaves and turmeric powder. Next add ginger pieces,groundnuts and onion. Fry for 2-3 minutes until onion is golden brown. Add potato and cover with lid. After 1-2 minutes, add salt and sugar. Mix well and stir for another 2-3 minutes. Now add the washed poha and mix it well. Add little water if you find the mix to be very dry. squeeze lemon juice and cover with lid and let it cook for 1-2 minutes. Turn off the heat and garnish with coriander leaves and grated coconut.

Appe (आप्पे)

This is our family favourite snack item. You can use regular idli batter to make them. Alternatively you can make them using different varieties of dal.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup urad dal, soaked for 4-5 hours
1 cup rice, soaked for 4-5 hours
1 medium sized onion, finely chopped
salt to taste
oil, for greasing the pan

Servings:
3-4 people

Soak urad dal and rice for 4-5 hours. Grind them together adding just enough water for grinding. Leave it for fermentation overnight(7-8 hours). Your appe or idli batter is ready. Add little bit of salt to the batter. This batter can be used to make idli, appe, dosa or any other dosa variety.

Grease the appe pan with little bit of oil. Take a spoonful of the batter and pour it in the appe moulds of the pan. Cover with lid. After 3-4 minutes, turn them over to cook the other side. Let it cook for another 3-4 minutes. Take the appe out of the pans and serve them with ketchup or any chutney of your choice.

Beetroot Salad (बीटाची कोशिंबीर)

Ingredients:
1 cup grated beet
1/2 medium sized onion, chopped
1 green chilly, finely chopped
1/2 cup curd OR lemon juice
salt as per taste
1-2 tbsp pomegranate seeds for garnish

Mix all ingredients. You can use lemon juice instead of curd. Beetroot along with chopped onion tastes good. Refrigerate and serve.

Rajma Gravy (राजमा)

Ingredients:
1/2 cup rajma (red kidney beans) soaked overnight
1 large onion, chopped
1-2 tomatoes, chopped
1/2 tsp ginger garlic paste
1 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp chilli powder
2 tsp tamarind, soaked for 1/2 an hour
salt as per taste
jaggery as per taste

For seasoning:
1 tsp oil
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
a pinch of asafoetida
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1-2 bay leaves

Serving: 3-4 people

Cook Rajma in a pressure cooker along with little salt and 2-3 drops of oil. Cook it well (about 4-5 whistles). Do not overcook it as it will turn mushy. In a kadhai, heat oil and season with mustard seeds, cumin seeds, bay leaves, asafoetida and turmeric powder. Add ginger garlic paste and fry it well. Once it turns brown, add onion. Fry until onion turns golden brown. Add chopped tomatoes and let it cook for 2-3 minutes. Next add rajma, pulp from the soaked tamarind. Add garam masala, chilli powder, salt and jaggery. Let it simmer for 15-20 minutes. Serve with rice or chapati.

Ambadyachi Udadamethi (आंबाड्याची उडदामेथी)

Ambade (Hog plum) are one of the delicacies of vegetarian Goan food. They are sour and have a unique taste. This curry is usually prepared during Ganesh festival.

Ingredients:
5-6 ambade (Hog plums)
3/4 cup grated coconut
4-5 red chillies
1 tsp turmeric
1 tbsp jaggery or as per taste
salt as per taste

For seasoning:
1/2 tsp oil
1/2 tsp mustard
a pinch of asafoetida
5-6 fenugreek seeds

Serves: 3 people

Peel the skin off the ambade and sprinkle some salt over them. Let is stand for half an hour. Grind together grated coconut, red chillies, turmeric and make a smooth paste.
In a kadhai, heat oil and season with mustard, asafoetida and fenugreek seeds. Now add the ambade to it and stir well. Add the coconut paste, salt and jaggery and let it simmer for some time. Add sufficient water and bring it to boil. Once ambade are cooked well turn the heat off. Serve with Chapati or rice.

Stuffed Bittergourd (भरलेलं कारलं)

Stuffed bittergourd is one of my favourite preparation of this vegetable. I found this recipe here and decided to try it out. I normally use coconut and groundnut based stuffing. I will make a separate entry for that recipe next time I make it.

Ingredients:
1/4 kg karela or bittergourd (5-6 small ones)

For stuffing:
1 medium sized onion
1/2 cup dry coconut
1 tbsp coriander seeds
2 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp fennel seeds
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
2-3 tamarind pieces, soaked in water
jaggery as per taste
1/2 tsp chilli powder
salt as per taste

For seasoning:
2 tsp oil
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
a pinch of asafoetida
1/2 tsp turmeric

Servings:
3 people

 Wash the bittergourds thoroughly and give a vertical slit along the vertical line. Do not cut into two pieces. Remove the seeds inside the gourd. Sprinkle salt over the slit bittergourds, mixing them well and leave them aside for 1/2 hour.

In a kadhai, dry roast dry coconut, coriander seeds, cumin seeds and fennel seeds separately. Once it is cooled down, grind it together with all other ingredients listed for stuffing. Make a thick paste for the stuffing.

Stuff karelas with the stuffing and tie a thread around to keep it together. Heat oil in the pan and add mustard seeds and asafoetida and haldi. Next add the stuffed karelas and stir them to coat with oil. Add the remaining paste to the pan. Add sufficient water and cover it with lid. After about 5-7 minutes, turn the karelas over. Again cover with lid and let it cook for another 7-8 minutes.

I carved the inside of an onion and stuffed it with leftover stuffing paste and added it to the pan while cooking karelas.

Suran Bhaji (सुरणाची भाजी)

Ingredients:
1/4 kg Suran or Yam
1/4 tsp oil
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/4 tsp of cumin seeds
a pinch of asafoetida
1/8 tsp turmeric powder
2-3 red chillies
1/4 tsp garam masala
salt as per taste
little bit of jaggery as per taste (optional)
grated coconut for garnish

Serving: 2 people

Peel the skin off the yam and make wedges. Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds to it. When the seeds start to pop, add asafoetida, cumin seeds and red chillies. Fry chillies for a minute and then add suran wedges. Stir fry and add about 1/2 cup of water to let it cook. Cover with lid and simmer for 10 minutes. Add garam masala, salt and jaggery. Stir and cover with lid. Simmer for another 5-10 minutes until the wedges are cooked well. Garnish with freshly grated coconut.

Buttermilk Curry (ताकाची कढी)

Ingredients:
3 cups of buttermilk
1/4 tsp grated ginger
salt as per taste
1 tbsp besan or gram powder

For seasoning:
1/4 tsp ghee or oil
8-10 curry leaves
1/4 tsp mustard seeds
a pinch of asafoetida
3-4 red or green chillies
1/8 tsp turmeric

Servings:
3 people

Add grated ginger and salt to buttermilk. Slowly add besan powder to buttermilk, stirring well to avoid any lumps. Keep it aside.

In a kadhai, heat oil or ghee. To this, add mustard seeds, asafoetida, curry leaves and chillies. Fry chillies for few seconds and add turmeric. Add about 1/2 cup of water to this and slowly pour the besan and buttermilk mix to the kadhai. Stir continuously to mix well. Take care not to boil the buttermilk as it will split. After about 1-2 minutes, the curry thickens a bit. Do not boil the curry.

Moong Dal Curry (मूग डाळीची आमटी)

Ingredients:
1/2 cup Moong dal, boiled
4-5 Garlic cloves
1 medium sized tomato, wedged
2-3 green chilies
coriander leaves for garnish
salt as per taste
1 tsp of jaggery or as per taste

For Seasoning:
1/2 tsp Cumin seeds or Jeera
1 tsp Ghee or oil
a pinch of Asafoetida or hing
1/2 tsp of turmeric

Servings:
3 people

Boil moong dal in a pressure cooker, adding sufficient water. Keep it aside for cooling. In a kadhai, add ghee or oil. Season with jeera, asafoetida. Add chopped garlic cloves, turmeric and stir for a minute. Next add tomato wedges and let it cook for 5 minutes.  Now add the cooked moong dal. Season with salt and jaggery. Let is simmer for 5-10 minutes. Garnish with coriander leaves and lemon juice.

Black Grapes Juice (काळ्या द्राक्षांचा रस)

Ingredients:
1 cup black grapes, thoroughly washed
4-5 ice cubes
a pinch of Salt (Optional)
Sugar as per taste (Optional)

Blend together black grapes along with ice cubes. Add sugar and/or salt as per taste. 

Rava Dosa (रवा डोसा)

The leftover buttermilk from the churned butter is slightly bitter to taste compared to fresh buttermilk. I use it in recipes instead of drinking it. Here is one such recipe that uses leftover buttermilk. You can also use fresh buttermilk for the recipe.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups of Buttermilk
1 1/2 cup of Semolina or Rava
1/2 cup of rice flour
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 medium tomato, finely chopped
2 tbsp coriander leaves, finely chopped
2 green chillies, finely chopped
salt to taste

Servings:
5-6 medium dosas

Add semolina to the buttermilk and mix well. Depending on how thick the batter is, add little water to make it of dosa batter consistency. Cover it and leave aside for 2-3 hours to ferment.

Add rice flour to the batter and mix well. Next add chopped onion, tomato, coriander leaves, chillies, salt. Adjust with water to have a dosa batter consistency.

Heat a non-stick pan. Pour a ladle of batter onto the pan. Spread it uniformly to make a medium thick dosa. Cover it with lid. Keep the gas stove on simmer. After about 3-4 minutes, flip the dosa and let it cook for 2-3 minutes.

Serve with coconut chutney or any other chutney/sauce of your choice. My daughter loves it with a dollop of cheese spread.

Mixed Vegetable Gravy (भाज्यांचा रस्सा)

My daughter wanted to have potato gravy. I didnt have cauliflower, peas etc that are needed for potato gravy of her choice. I modified it a bit to make mixed vegetable gravy. You can add any vegetables of your choice. This gravy is made without using onion or garlic.

Ingredients:
4 medium sized potatoes, chunk sized pieces
1 large carrot, bite sized pieces
2 medium tomatoes, bite sized pieces
3 small eggplants, bite sized pieces
2 capsicum, bite sized pieces
1 tbsp tamarind juice
salt as per taste
jaggery as per taste
1 1/2 tbsp groundnut powder
finely chopped coriander leaves for garnish
2 tsp garam masala
1 tsp red chilli powder

For Seasoning:
2 tsp oil
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
a pinch of asafoetida
8-10 curry leaves
4-5 fenugreek seeds
1/2 tsp turmeric powder

In a large kadhai, heat oil for seasoning. Add mustard, fenugreek seeds. Once the mustard seeds start to pop, add asafoetida, curry leaves and turmeric powder. Next add tomatoe pieces and stir well. Cover with lid and let it steam for a minute. Once the tomatoes have turned soft, add the remaining vegetables and stir well. Cover with lid and let it simmer for 5 minutes. Now add garam masala and chilli powder and tamarind juice. Add about a cup of water and let the vegetables cook well. Cover with lid and let it simmer for 5-7 minutes. Add salt and jaggery and stir well. Once all the vegetables are cooked, after about 5-7 minutes, add groundnut powder for a thicker consistency. Simmer for 2-3 minutes. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves.

Note: You can add green chillies instead of red chilli powder. You can use coriander and cummin seeds powder instead of garam masala.

Coconut Chutney (नारळाची चटणी)

Coconut chutney can be made in a variety of ways. This chutney uses daria dal (split gram dal) or daale in marathi.


Ingredients:
1/2 cup freshly grated coconut
1 tbsp roasted daria dal (daaLe)
2 green chillies
1 1/2 cup coriander leaves
2-3 garlic cloves
1 tsp of tamarind pulp or lemon juice
salt as per taste
sugar as per taste

Combine all ingredients and grind them in a mixer. This chutney goes well with idli, dhirde, ghavan or any other flat bread. 

Potato and eggplant slices (बटाटा आणि वांग्याचे काप)

This recipe is our sunday special lazy recipe. Slices, along with rice, dal and/or solkadi makes for a quick lunch. Whenever I crave for oily snacks, I make these slices. I prefer shallow fry snacks than deep fried ones.

Ingredients:
2 potatoes
3 small eggplants
2 tbsp semolina
3/4 cup jowar flour or rice flour
2 tsp chili powder
oil for shallow frying
salt as per taste

Servings:
3 people

Wash and dry potato and eggplants. Make round and thin slices of potato and eggplant. Sprinkle 1/4 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp chilli powder on these slices. Mix well and leave them for 10-15 minutes to marinate. After marination, it will release water, drain it. Now in a plate, add together semolina, jowar or rice flour, remaining chili powder and salt. Mix it well. 

Heat pan on gas stove. Dip each slice into the dry mixture, coating both sides well. Make a batch of slices and dry roast them on the pan. Coat the pan well with oil to cook the slices well. Cover the pan with a lid for 1-2 minutes. Then turn the slices over to cook the other side well. Coat them with little bit of oil. Sprinkle very little water and cover with lid. Slices will get cooked in 2 minutes. Keep the gas stove on simmer to avoid burning the slices. The slices should be cooked well and soft. Do not overcook them as they will turn hard.

Carrot Salad (गाजराची कोशिंबीर)

Ingredients:
2 carrots, grated
finely chopped coriander leaves
freshly grated coconut

1 tsp lemon juice
salt as per taste
sugar as per taste

For Seasoning:
1/2 tsp of oil
1/2 tsp mustard
a pinch of asafoetida
1/4 tsp turmeric
7-8 curry leaves
1-2 medium green chillies, finely chopped

Servings:
3 people

In a bowl, mix together grated carrot, coriander leaves, coconut, salt, sugar, lemon juice. Toss lightly. In a small kadhai, add oil. Add mustard seeds to the kadhai. Once mustard seeds start to pop, add asafoetida, curry leaves. Next add chopped chillies, turmeric powder. Stir well and turn the heat off. Add this mixture to the bowl and mix well.

Spring Onion Bhaji (कांदा पातीची भाजी)

Ingredients:
Spring Onion/Kanda paat 1 bunch - chopped
 1 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp chilli powder
salt as per taste
jaggery as per taste
Freshly grated coconut for garnish

For Seasoning:
1 tsp oil
1/2 tsp mustard
a pinch of asafoetida
1/4 tsp of turmeric powder

Servings:
3 people

Wash and cut spring onion. In a kadhai, heat oil and add mustard to it. Once the mustard seeds start to pop, add asafoetida. Now add chopped spring onion and turmeric. Stir well and cover with lid. Let it simmer for 2 minutes. The spring onion will get cooked. Next add garam masala, chilli powder and salt and jaggery. Stir well and simmer until the jaggery is dissolved and masala, chilli powder are mixed well in the vegetable. Garnish with freshly grated coconut.

Optionally, you can add about 1 tbsp of gram flour or besan once the vegetable is cooked and mix well. Simmer for 2 minutes. Garnish with coconut before serving.