Kitchen Khiladi 2015 - Cancer Institute Foundation

Cooking Competition and me? I am myself surprised that I participated in cooking competition last weekend (Oct 3rd). I came to know about this event when we visited Sunnyvale Hindu Temple on Ganesh Chaturthi. The first look of the flyer immediately got both of us (Manoj and me) excited to participate in this competition. This was an innovative way of Cancer Institute Foundation to raise funds and support Cancer Institute in all aspects of cancer treatment and research. For more information read here.

Although, I have never been into cooking and all (you probably know this if you know me as Jaya and not as Dhriti) but cooking for a good cause is what attracted us. Recently, Manoj and I have been thinking of ways to give back to the society, ways to help people in need, ways to help people who are putting in efforts to do something really big and this very well fitted into that bucket. 

But the challenge was cooking and that too with aroma, taste, nutrition and also with a great presentation! On the top of this, the main rule of this competition was to use TURNIP as the main ingredient. The first thing I did when I came to know this rule was to google and make sure what Turnip is. It is called 'Ghogdu' in Sindhi. In Hindi, people call it 'Shalgam'. 

Turnips!

And then I became aware of the health benefits of Turnip. Here are some very interesting facts about Turnip:

1. Turnip is a bulbous root with a creamy white color and a purple top where it has been exposed to the sun.

2. Turnip is a powerhouse of nutrients with a very low amount of calories.

3. Turnips are very good source of anti-oxidants, vitamins, minerals and dietary fiber.

4. Turnip greens compose of many minerals and vitamins several times more than that in the roots. The greens are very good source of antioxidants such as vitamin A, vitamin C, carotenoid, xanthin, and lutein. Further, the leafy-tops are an excellent source of vitamin K.

5. Turnip also has anti-cancer properties. Studies show that consumption of Turnip may help to reduce your risk of colorectal and lung cancer. 

On registering for this event, I started asking everyone around me for ideas on what I can cook with turnip. Two of my other friends - Richa and Namita were also excited after knowing about this contest. After a couple of days of brainstorming we finally decided to make Shalgam pav-bhaji (main course), Ghazal-e-Shalgam (salad) and Sweet-o-rosie (desert) and all made up of Turnip. I want to thank Richa and Namita for bringing in so much enthusiasm and creativity for the cooking competition and of course the creative names of all the dishes :) Although we didn't win, it was an incredible experience for all of us. I am definitely going again next year! 

Recipe: 

Name of the dish: Turnip Pav Bhaji 

Serving size: 5 people

Main Ingredients:

Turnips 5

Onion 1 

Tomato 2

Egg plant 1 medium sized

Carrots 2

Peas - 1 cups

Gobhi 1/2 flower

Dudhi 1/2 - small portion

Pavbhaji masala

Red chilli whole

lemon

Ginger 1/2 inch

garlic 3-4

green chili 1-2

salt

Garnishing:

Cilantro 

Sev 

Lemon

1/2 onion finely cut

2 green chillies 

Method to make Bhaji :

Take ginger, garlic and chill from main ingredients and make ginger garlic chili paste.

Take tomatoes and make puree.

Cut all other veggies into small cubes and wash them.

Put cooker on a stove and heat butter + little oil and add some jeera and let it splatter for few seconds.  Add ginger-garlic chili paste and let it cook for about 30 seconds or till you smell the aroma of ginger garlic. Then add chopped onions. Let it cook till it becomes pinkish brown. Add tomato puree and salt let it cook for 2-4 minutes. Then add all the veggies and saute for a few minutes.  Add 1/2 glass water and close the lid of the cooker and let it whistle for 6-8 times.  Open the cooker after 10 minutes and mash the veggies. 

Take a big frying pan and add oil and when it heats up add pav bhaji masala and cook for few seconds. Add the mashed veggies to this. Let it simmer for 10 minutes so that the veggies soak the masala. Squeeze one lemon and add some cut cilantro. 

Serve this hot with pav and garnish this with cilantro, chopped onions and sev.

Bread bowl Turnip bhaji!

 Ghazal-e-shalgam

1. Grate the turnip nicely
2. Put grated turnip in ice cold water for 15 minutes
3. Squeeze out water from turnip
4. Make a mixture of ginger, asafoetida, pepper, red chilli powder and add salt to taste
5. Mix the turnip in the above mixture
6. Take a container, put some oil and deep fry the mixture in whatever shape you want
7. After frying let the pieces cool down to room temperature.
8. Cut the cabbage into boat shape and put every piece of fried turnip on top of it
9. Take cubes of cheese and fry them slightly
10. Garnish the turnip boat with the cheese and mayonnaise

Sweet-o-rosie

1. Take one cup of flour (maida) and make the dough
2. Keep it aside for 10 minutes
3. Take one pan, put some water, honey and cinnamon and let it boil on medium flame for 10-15 mins
4. Chop the turnip in half moon shape and put every piece in the the above pan and let it boil for 10 more minutes
5. Take all the pieces out from water, drain out the water and keep the pieces aside
6. Now make a fine rectangular strip using the dough made at Step 1
7. Use the rectangular strip and the pieces kept in step 5 to make the rose flower shape
8. Take one pan, put oil and fry the rose petals for 5-7 mins on medium flames
9. Garnish the rose petals with butter and honey, keep them aside
10. Take another pan, mix water, honey and cinnamon and put rose petals in it.

Few pictures from the event:

Presentation at the event! Front view

Our presentation at the event! Back view :)

Temptations Team at work!

All excited before judges start tasting the dishes ;)

Spreading some awareness!

Look who came to cheer us up!

Winners on stage!

Some posing! post event..

Just some more posing.. 

Power-packed Antioxidant dryfruit balls!

I am sure this has happened to you at some point in your life. Your mom kept forcing you to eat dryfruits and you kept avoiding her. But, do you know the benefits of eating dryfruits? If not, read this - http://www.beingbeautifulandpretty.com/2015/10/health-benefits-eating-dry-fruits.html 

I myself keep making resolutions every now and then that I will be eating dryfruits on a regular basis. But unfortunately, I have been breaking my resolution every single time. Last weekend, Manoj came up with the idea of making dryfruit mithaai and so we gave it a quick try. And to my surprise, it came out really very well. Super delicious and super-duper healthy and totally guilt free and absolutely sugar-free! You will forget the crappy granola/protein bar once you try this hand-made healthy snack :) Here is the recipe:  

Prep Time: 10-15 min

Ingredients:

1/2 Cup Dried Fig

1/2 Cup Dried Dates Seedless

1/2 Cup Dried Blue Berries

1 Cup Mix Nuts - Cashews, Almonds, Pistachios & Walnuts.

1 Tablespoon coco power

1 Tea spoon coffee powder

Method:

1. Put the cashews, almond, pistachios and walnuts in a grinder and crush them into small pieces. Make sure not to churn them into powder.

2. Heat a pan and put the cashews, almond, pistachios and walnuts in the pan to lightly roast them. 

3. Microwave the dried fig, dates & blue berries in a bowl for 1 min to make them soft.

4. Put all the contents in the grinder along with coco powder and coffee. 

5. Blend them for a few seconds. Again not to make a dough out of the mix but just enough that the dry fruits are blended together.

6. Take some ghee/clarified unsalted butter and apply a little on your palms and make small balls from the mix.

Note: This can be made out of any dryfruits you have at home. You can use chia seeds, raisins etc if you have them!

Here are a few pictures:

Sukhadi recipe

This weekend it was Ganpati Visarjan which means time for Ganpati bappa to go back home :( But going back means coming back soon!

I wanted to offer some sweet to Ganeshji on this day of visarjan. After thinking a lot, I decided to make sukhadi for which I did not have to go out for shopping:) This is a very easy recipe which contains only 4 main ingredients - wheat flour, gud (jaggery), ghee, cashew nuts.

Here is my recipe:

Ingredients:

1 cup wheat flour

1/2 cup jaggery finely grated

1/2 cup ghee

Handful cashews cut into halves OR almonds cut into halves

1 tbsp poppy seeds (khus khus) - optional

Method:

1. Take ghee in the pan and start the stove.

2. When the ghee starts to melt, add the wheat flour and cook on medium heat till you smell nice aroma of wheat flour. (Roast till it turns pinkish brown).

3. Put the stove on sim. Add jaggery to it and stir till the jaggery nicely mixes with the wheat flour.

4. Turn off the the gas and pour this mixture into a plate and tap it with a spoon to make the top surface of the plate smooth. Make sure you don't pour a thick layer in the plate. Sukhdi tastes/looks good if it is around 1/2 of an inch :)

5. While it is still hot, sprinkle poppy seeds and cut it into diamond shape just like kaju katli.

6. Decorate it with cashew nuts or almonds.

General Observation: I have noticed that when I make any sweet and if have Ganpati songs playing in the background, all of my sweets turn out to be amazing! Give it a try next time :)

Sukhadi!

Jai Ganpati Bappa!

All the girls in the house!

MJ

Haye tujhko phir se jalwa dikhana hi hoga, 

Agle baras aana hai (aana hi hoga)!

Dekhengee teri rahe, pyasee pyasee nigahe,

Toh maan le tu maan bhi le kehna mera,

Laut ke tujhko aana hai, sunle kehta divana hai,

Jab tera darsan payenge, chain tab hamko pana hai,

Morya morya morya re,

Bappa morya morya morya re! 

Welcoming Ganpati Bappa with Modak - Sept 2015

Vakra-Tunndda Maha-Kaaya Suurya-Kotti Samaprabha

Nirvighnam Kuru Me Deva Sarva-Kaaryessu Sarvadaa!

With Ganesh Chaturthi around the corner, I had been thinking to make Modak at home. Also I have been experimenting a lot of new things in my kitchen recently but this one sounded really very difficult. After a couple of thoughts somehow I managed to take the guts and decided to offer home-made Modak to Ganesha! When I went through the recipes online, I found it to be so easy and thats when it hit me that the best things in life are actually very simple even though they may sound difficult at first thought. 

Let me quickly share the recipe and some pictures:

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup mawa - crushed or grated.

3/4 cup sugar 

5 elaichi/cardamom crushed and powdered

1tbsp ghee

2 tbsp of evaporated milk (optional)

Few strands of kesar

1 tbsp milk

Bunch of pistachios or almonds depending on what you prefer - crushed

Special Ingredient - A playlist playing Ganesha songs. This will add love and sweetness in the Modak that Ganesha loves :)

Method:

Mix few strands of kesar in 1 tbsp of milk and stir it and keep it aside. We will use this at the end.

Take a pan and keep it on stove on high flame. Add ghee, crushed mawa and sugar in the pan and keep stirring at high heat for a min or two. Then reduce the flame and keep stirring this mixture at med heat for around 10 mins. Add the crushed cardamom at this point. If this mixture doesn't become liquid-like in about 10-15 minutes, then add 2 tbsp of milk one at a time and let it evaporate before adding another. Keep stirring for few more minutes. Stop the flame and keep it aside till it completely cools down.  (It took 4-5 hours for me to completely cool it down)

After 5 hours, take the milk mixed with kesar and add it to the mawa mix and knead it with hands. Also add the crushed pistachios to this mix and again knead it. Take the Modak mold and prepare modak from your mawa mix. Now your Modaks are all set to be offered to Lord Ganesha! 

Here are some pictures: 

A very special thanks to Chandana Rathan from Crave Cook Click group for lending me her modak mold for this!

A Very Happy Ganesh Chaturthi to everyone and may HIS blessings be always upon all of us ! 

Mother-in-law's special - Nankhatai

Have you ever had Nankhatai? Nankhatai is a short bread biscuit popular in India and Pakistan. The word Nankhatai is derived from Persian word Naan meaning bread and Khatai from an Afghan word meaning Biscuit. 

I have been crazy about them since the first time I seriously liked them when my mother-in-law made them at home. Nankhatai at home? I can never imagine myself making them at home. Since last one and a half years whenever both of us craved for Nan-khatai's, mummy would always send it for us. I have never even given a thought of trying it myself until now! Yes, until now! I tried mummy's recipe this weekend and it turned out to be super-awesome! Well, I made them on saturday as well as on sunday! :) Wondering, why? Saturday batch was just to make sure it comes out well and when it turned out to be super delicious we were both hungry for Nan-khatai on sunday again :) 

Let me first quickly share the recipe:

Ingredients:

1 cup maida

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup ghee

1/4 cup milk maid (I used condensed milk)

4-5 elaichi (grounded)

Method:

Mix all the above ingredients and prepare a dough which feels like puri dough. Make small balls and put them on the baking sheet. If you like take a knife and draw a slit in plus(+) style on the nankhatai dough and garnish them with grounded pista/almonds on the top. Pre-heat oven to 250 degrees and bake till they become golden brown. Don't let them sit in the oven till you see the proper brown color as after removing from the oven, they will become darker than what you took them out as. So make sure to take them out before they turn brown in the oven.

Adventure - On first day, I baked them at 190 degrees which took around about ~30 mins to bake. Whereas on day 2 I tried to bake them at 350 degrees as read on the other websites and I was very close to having the firealarm go off. The reason of the smoke was the pistachios were getting burnt at 350 degrees. So, I reduced the temp to 250 degrees :)

Different moods of Nankhatai!

Thank you Mummy for this recipe! This is my second baby step towards baking after beingdhriti!

Recipe post after a very long time - Secret sauce of Chole masala!

Hiiiiee! I had been away and not blogging since quite sometime now. I had been very busy with job hunting, settling down at new work place, then Alaska trip during the Memorial long weekend and then taking parents around during the 4th of July long weekend and then the Yellowstone trip during the labor day weekend! Each of these deserve a blog post of its own. I hope I get to them very soon.

Today, I just decided to write down the recipe of Chana masala (quite cliche, right?) that I made for lunch today as an ice breaker and get back to writing ;)

Ingredients:
2 cup of chole (soaked in water overnight)

Initial tadka :
2tbsp oil
1tsp jeera powder
2 elaichi (Cardamom)
1 small stick of cinnamon (optional)
2-3 curry leaves
1 pinch hing (Asafoetida)
1 big Tej patta (Indian bay leaf)
3 cloves of garlic, 1/2 inch ginger, 1 big green chilli - make ginger garlic chilli paste

1 small onion - medium/finely chopped
2 big tomatoes - medium sliced
1tsp red chilli powder
1/2 tsp haldi (turmeric powder)
2tsp coriander powder
chole masala
chat masala powder to taste
salt as per taste
1/2 cup fresh cilantro
1/2 lemon

Initial Prep (Secret Sauce) - Before starting to cook, I took a handful of chole in a blender and added little water and blend them together. This will result in a chole paste. This is to make the chole gravy thick. I noticed this was the secret sauce and without which my chole wont turn out to be restaurant-like or authentic punjabi style. 

Method: 

In a pressure cooker add oil. Then add jeera powder, elaichi, cinnamon, curry leaves, hing, tej patta, and ginger garlic paste. You can keep the stove at med-high speed for this. Let it cook for about 30 seconds or till ginger garlic turns light brown. 

Then add onion to this and let it cook till onion becomes translucent. Then add tomatoes and let them cook till they let the water out. Add red chilli powder, haldi and coriander powder. Keep stirring till it starts becoming dry. Then add chole masala and salt as per taste. Add the secret chole paste at this time and also add chole and let the pressure cooker whistle around 7-9 times. Turn off the gas and let the pressure cooker sit for a while. Once you open the pressure cooker squeeze half a lemon if you would like to have it little tangy. I love it that way. Garnish with cilantro and serve hot with Bhatura/Roti and don't forget to make chaas on the side. Chaas goes really well with chole masala. Or you can have masala papad as a side :) 

My connoisseur hero was super impressed with the Chole masala that I cooked today for lunch so this recipe definitely deserves to be posted :) Here is the picture:

Story behind Thadri !!!

Thadri is one of the most important festivals for Sindhis. But, I never knew the reason behind celebrating Thadri. I guess as a child I was never so inquisitive to find out the reason. But now I have gotten the answer to this question. Here is a short description that my Mother-in-law sent me about why Sindhis celebrate Thadri in the month of Shravan. It is really very informative and I thought of putting it here on the blog. 

WHY THADHRI ?

Thadhri is celebrated for Devi Mata ---- when people used to get small pox or chicken pox - it used to be considered that have Mata ( meaning Mata was upset) --- Mata means Chandi Mata- Durga Devi in Chandi Roop --- People considered it to be her anger. So Thadho (cold) used to be done --- Cold Food and people prayed to her.

The mother goddess is worshipped in various forms, Sittala, being the small-pox goddess, is worshipped by Sindhis. She is the eldest of several sisters, named after different kinds of diseases such as measles etc. The worship of the goddess lasts during the whole period of the attack of the goddess (disease). Mothers sing Thadhri son: 'Thaar Mata Thaar, Munhje bachran khe thaar'…

The annual festival observed in honour of this goddess is called 'Thadri', or the cooling festival.

Meetho Lolo and Dal jo Lolo is usually made for a festival.

Ladies prepare Meetho Lolo, Dal jo Lolo and curd, boondi raita on the previous day of the festival. On the day, fire is not lit at home, and we eat the thado (cold) food prepared on the previous day.

BACK GROUND:

Thadhri means Thadho (Cold)

 - Chulas are not burnt - thats the thing because - in the morning Pooja of Chula is suppose to be done with Akhri and thikriyiun.

- 7 akhriyoon small size of quarters lolis are made they are supposed to be kept on chula on which lollas were made

- with matho on them and some sindoor and water is put

- then You have to offer some flowers if you so prefer

- whole day they should be kept

- next day you put them under the tree and then light up the chulo

- Its more or less for making the agni cool

- five tikriyoon small of pennies size are also made. chana dal 2 spoons is also soaked in the night and with soaked chana dal

- 5 tikriyoon sindoor you hold them in your muthi and you have keep on everybody's eyes

- and say three times --- ' Lakhro saakro, wadi mai, nandi mai, Langhi payi paar, devi rani tu thadho kar thaar.'

Agni tej is in our eyes- thats why they are kept and prayer to devi mata is done.

This is one of the very important Festivals of Sindhis.