Capsicum Besan Vegetable (पीठ पेरून सिमला मिरची)

Ingredients:
1/4 kg capsicum,
1/2 onion, vertically sliced
1/2 cup chana dal  or Besan flour,
1/2 tsp garam masala (optional)

For Seasoning:
2 tsp oil
1/4 tsp mustard seeds,
a pinch of asafoetida,
1/4 tsp turmeric powder,
2-3 green chillies, vertically sliced
salt as per taste
1 tsp of jaggery (optional)

Servings: 3 people

Cut capsicum into medium sized pieces. Discard the seeds of the capsicum. Cut onion vertically. In a hot pan, add oil. Season with mustard seeds, asafoetida, turmeric powder, green chillies. Saute onion for 2 minutes. Next add capsicum pieces. Mix well. Cover with a lid and let it cook for 3-4 minutes. Add salt and jaggery (optional). Stir well and cook on low flame for another 5 minutes. Now sprinkle chana dal or Besan flour and mix well until the capsicum is uniformly coated with besan flour. If the vegetable looks very dry after adding besan flour, add about 1/2 tsp of oil to the pan.  Simmer for 8-10 minutes until the besan flour is cooked, stirring a few times in between to avoid burning the vegetable.

Serve with chapati or rice and dal as a side dish.

Bottlegourd Thalipeeth (दुधी भोपळ्याचे थालीपीठ)

Ingredients:
1 cup grated bottle gourd, peel the skin of the gourd
2 1/2 cups of assorted flours (Jowar, Bajra, Rice, Besan, Wheat, Ragi)
OR
2 1/2 cups of Thalipeeth Bhajani (readymade thalipeeth flour from the store)
1 tsp chilli powder
1/2 tsp garam masala
salt as per taste
1 tbsp oil for roasting

Servings: 3 thalipeeth

Peel the bottle gourd, remove seeds if present and grate about 1 cup of gourd. In a flat plate, mix the grated bottle gourd with assorted flours or use readymade thalipeeth bhajani flour. If you are using assorted flour, you can mix jowar, bajra, rice, besan, wheat, ragi flours, all of them or whichever you have at home. The proportion of bajra, besan, rice is approximately 1/2 cup together. You can mix the remaining flours of jowar, rice, wheat, ragi in any proportion. I prefer to use less of wheat and rice since these two grains are consumed in the form of chapati or rice.

Mix all the listed ingredients except oil and knead into a dough. Add little bit water, if needed while kneading the dough. Very little water needs to be added to the dough since the bottle gourd has sufficient water content. Divide the dough into 3-4 balls.

Take a flat pan and heat it on medium flame. Using palms and a flat surface or a clean plastic sheet, lightly press the dough ball. Use little bit of oil to prevent it from sticking either to the surface or palms. Continue pressing and turning slightly each time to form a round thalipeeth. Thalipeeth is slightly thicker than chapatis.

Grease the heated pan with 1-2 drops of oil and gently transfer the thalipeeth onto the pan. Make 2-3 small holes on the thalipeeth using a spoon or a knife. Pour a few drops of oil along the surface of the thalipeeth and cover it with lid. Keep the flame on medium. After 3-4 mins, thalipeeth will be roasted on one side and the color will change to slightly brown. Flip thalipeeth to roast and cook the other side for another 5 minutes. Cover it with lid while cooking.

Serve hot thalipeeth with a dollop of home made butter. Serve plain yougurt on the side. 

Bittergourd Vegetable (कारल्याची भाजी)

Ingredients:
1/4 kg bitter gourds,
1 1/2 tsp garam masala,
1/2 tsp chili powder,
1 1/4 tsp tamarind pulp, extracted from soaked tamarind
1/4 cup peanut powder,
freshly grated coconut for garnish

For seasoning:
2 tsp oil, (a little more than regular quantity)
1/2 tsp mustard seeds,
4-5 fenugreek seeds
1/4 tsp turmeric powder

Servings:
3-4 people

Clean bitter gourds by cutting it into half and scoop the seeds out by inserting a knife in the core and turning it in circular fashion. Clean the outer skin by smoothing the rough surface. Cut bitter gourd into round 1" pieces.  Sprinkle some salt over these pieces and cover it with lid. Leave it for 20 minutes. After about 20 minutes, the bitter gourd pieces will turn soft and watery. squeeze the water out of these pieces. This takes away bitterness of the gourd to some extent.

In a kadhai, heat oil and season with mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds, turmeric powder. Add bittergourd pieces to the seasoning and mix well.

Falafel (काबुली चण्याची भजी)

Falafel is a very popular Mediterranean dish. Falafel are chick pea fritters.

Ingredients:
1 cup of chickpeas (soaked overnight),
1 medium sized onion,
4-5 garlic cloves,
1 1/2 tsp cumin seeds, roasted
2 tsp coriander seeds, roasted
2 small red chillies or 1/2 tsp chilli powder,
salt as per taste
1 cup vegetable oil for frying

Servings: 12-15 small fritters

Soak chickpeas overnight and drain the water. Chop onion into small pieces. Mix together all ingredients and grind in a mixer to form a coarse batter. The consistency of the batter should be that of a thick chutney, it should not be runny. The batter should not be  Heat oil in a kadhai. Once the oil is hot, make small balls of the batter and drop them in the hot oil. Fry till golden brown. Serve with either coconut chutney or tomato ketchup.

Traditionally, falafel are stuffed in the pita bread pocket along with a fresh lettuce or any other green salad and chutney.