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.