Ragi Sweet Porridge (नाचणीचे सत्त्व)

Ingredients:
1/2 cup ragi grains or 1/2 cup ragi flour (नाचणी)
1/2 cup coconut milk
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup jaggery, grated
a few cardamom seeds, powdered
handful of chopped dry fruit nuts like cashew, pistachios

Servings:
3 people

You can either use ragi grains or store-bought ragi flour. If you using grains, soak them in water for 2-3 hours. Next grind them in a mixer with minimum water. Extract juice out of this paste, and strain it. This is called ragi satva or extract of the ragi grain. To this add, coconut milk, jaggery and mix well.

Place this liquid on a low flame on gas stove and stir continuously. The mixture will slowly start thickening. Keep stirring continuously to avoid any lumps. After about 7-8 minutes, the mixture will be thickened and will develop a slight glaze. The mixture should be porridge thick. Turn off the gas once it is well thickened and garnish with cardamom powder and dry fruits.

Grease a flat plate with little bit of ghee. Pour the porridge while it is hot. Spread it uniformly on the plate using a spoon or a knife. Cover the plate with a lid and let it cool down for an hour. Once it is cooled down, place it in the refrigerator for further cooling. After an hour, the porridge is ready to be served. It is not very thick like a cake, but semi-fluid. Cut it into bite sized pieces and serve. 

Caramalized Fig (भाजलेले अंजीर)

I wanted to try grilling figs for a long time. I used a pan to grill the figs. This is a very simple and quick dish.

Ingredients:
4 figs, halved
little bit of honey for garnishing
little bit of cheese for garnishing

Servings: 3 people

Heat a flat pan and place halved figs on it, cut side facing the pan. After a couple of minutes, turn them to grill the other side of the figs, the skin part. Once it is well grilled from both sides, turn off the gas. Drizzle the figs with honey and serve. You can top it with blue cheese for garnish.

Dry Veg Manchurian (व्हेज मंचुरियन)

Ingredients:
For the fillets:
1 carrot, chopped
1/2 capsicum, chopped
1/2 onion, chopped
3-4 green chilies
1/2 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
salt as per taste

For the batter:
6-8 cloves of garlic
1/2 inch ginger or 1/2 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
3 green chilies
1/4 tsp pepper powder
salt as per taste
2 tbsp all purpose flour (maida)
1 tbsp corn flour

For the seasoning:
1 1/2 tsp corn flour
1 tsp ginger-garlic paste
2 tsp oil
3-4 spring onion, finely chopped
1/4 cup capsicum, finely chopped
1/4 cup beans, cut length wise
2 tbsp tomato sauce
1 1/2 tsp vinegar
1 tsp chili sauce
1/2 tsp soy sauce
 salt as per taste

Servings: 4-5 people

Mix together all purpose flour and corn flour with very little water to form a thick batter. In a mixer, grind together ginger, garlic and green chilies. Add the ginger-garlic-chili paste to the batter along with salt, pepper powder. Mix it well into a thick batter.

In a mixer, coarsely grind capsicum, onion and capsicum. Do not make it into a fine paste, it should look like shredded veggies. Alternatively, you can finely chop all these ingredients. Mix the shredded vegetables with ginger-garlic paste and salt.

Heat oil in a kadhai. Add the vegetable fillets to the batter and deep fry till golden brown. Keep the fried fillets aside.

In a flat kadhai, heat oil and season with ginger-garlic paste. Keep the flame on high while cooking this sauce. Add spring onion and stir fry. Next add capsicum and beans and keep stirring. Add soy sauce, vinegar, chili sauce and tomato sauce. Stir well. Adjust the salt based on salt content of the soy sauce and chili sauce. Make a paste of corn flour with water and once the vegetables are half cooked, add corn flour paste to the pan. It will start thickening immediately. Stir continuously. Adjust the water in the sauce based on fried fritters. The sauce needs to be sufficient to coat the fritters. Once the sauce has thickened, add the fritters and stir well for 2-3 minutes. Turn off the gas. Garnish with chopped spring onion. Manchurian is ready to serve.

Note: You can add 1/2 cup shredded cabbage to the fillet. I did not have cabbage when I made this recipe, so I didn't add it.

Moong Sprouts Salad (मोड आलेल्या मुगाची कोशिंबीर )

I had a bowl of moong sprouts, leftover after making moong usal. I tried making Thai bean sprouts salad using these sprouts. I did not have soy sauce and palm sugar at home. I added lemon juice for some sour flavor. Next time, I will try adding soy sauce and palm sugar to make it more authentic.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups of long sprouts (moong or any other beans)
1/2 cup capsicum, diced
1-2 spring onion greens, chopped
1/4 cup roasted peanuts, coarsely pounded
1/2 tsp olive oil for mixing
1/4 tsp pepper powder or chilly powder
1/2 tsp lemon juice or soy sauce

seasoning:
3-4 garlic cloves, cut finely
1/4 tsp sesame seeds
1/2 tsp oil

Servings: 3-4 people

Lightly toss together all the ingredients, except the seasoning. In a small seasoning kadhai, heat oil and saute garlic cloves and sesame seeds. Turn off the gas and let it cool a bit. Mix the seasoning with the tossed salad. Refrigerate and serve chilled.

Next time I will try making this salad with bean sprouts and will add soy sauce and palm sugar.