Stuffed Corn Paratha

I love making parathas with different stuffings. Among these, aloo, methi and gobi stuffings are the most common and I make these parathas quite frequently. However, every once in a while I like to create some healthy stuffings with mixed vegetables, paneer or lentils. Couple of weeks back, I made these stuffed corn parathas with a tasty corn, coconut and lentil stuffing which were not only healthy but also very delicious. We had these with some carrot yogurt raita.

Ingredients -
For the dough -
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 tbsps chickpea flour/ besan
1/2 tsp ajwain
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tbsp oil

For corn stuffing -
2 cups yellow/ white corn kernels
1/4 cup yellow/ green moong dal
2 tbsps masoor dal
1 cup fresh grated coconut
15- 16 curry leaves
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 tbsp minced ginger
1-2 tbsps minced green chillies
1/4 tsp hing/ asafoetida
3 tbsps oil
Salt to taste

Method -

1. Take the wheat flour, besan, salt, turmeric powder, ajwain seeds, cumin seeds and oil in a bowl, mix together and knead into a semi soft dough with some water.

2. Grind the corn and curry leaves into a fine paste adding few drops of water only if needed.

3. Grind the soaked moong and masoor dal into a fine paste.

4. Heat some oil in a non- stick pan and add the corn paste. Then add the moong and masoor paste and mix well.

5. Add the minced ginger, minced garlic, minced green chillies, hing, salt and mix well. Cook for 5 minutes.

6. Then add the fresh grated coconut and cook this mixture for sometime till all the water evaporates and the mixture becomes very dry. Constantly stir the mixture to make sure it does not stick to the bottom of the pan.

7. Take a small piece of the dough and form a round ball. Roll the dough ball into a small 3-4 inch puri.

8. Place sufficient portion of the stuffing in the center of the rolled puri, gather in the edges and form a round ball. Further roll this into a paratha.

9. Heat a skillet/ tawa and place the paratha on it. Roast for sometime till it gets some brown spots. Flip the paratha and cook on the other side as well.

10. Now drizzle few drops of oil and cook the paratha till both sides turn golden brown. Serve hot.

I'm sending this to TorView's Veggie/ Fruit A Month - Corn event originally started by Priya Mitharwal.

I'm also sending these to Sandhya's 'Global Kadai - Indian Flavored Flatbreads event, originally started by Cilantro.

Kelyacha Halwa/ Banana Halwa

I haven't posted many traditional dessert recipes yet. So I thought of posting this simple halwa recipe to end this weekend on a sweet note!

Kelyacha Halwa is a traditional Maharashtrian/ Goan Halwa recipe. My mom made this very often when we were kids and we loved having it with chapati. However, it can be served just by itself as dessert or also with some ice cream. This is typically made from special bananas called rajali keli/ bananas. I couldn’t find these in any Indian grocery stores in our area. So I used regular ripe yellow bananas for this recipe and it came out super delicious.

Ingredients -
3 ripe bananas
1/2 cup sugar
2 tbsps ghee/ clarified butter
2 cloves
1/2 tsp cardamom powder
1 pinch kesar

Method -
1. Peel the bananas and chop them into thick round slices.
2. Add sugar to the banana slices and mix together.
3. Heat the ghee/ clarified butter in a pan and add the cloves. When they crackle add the banana slices.
4. Cook the bananas by covering the pan for 7-10 minutes on low heat till the sugar has melted and bananas are slightly cooked and tender. Stir occasionally to make sure the bananas dont stick to the bottom of the pan.
5. Add some cardamom powder and kesar and mix together. Can be served warm or cold according to your preference.

I'm sending this to Nivedita's 'Celebrate Sweets -Halwa' event.

Kansacha Rassa/ Corn Curry

I have been cooking a lot these days, however I just don’t have enough time to keep updating my blog as frequently as I would like to. Sometimes I cook dishes for a particular event and don’t get around to posting it before the deadline :-(. Hopefully, I'll be able to manage work, home, baby and blog more efficiently in the future.

Anyways, few weeks back, I was browsing through my recipe folder when I came across this traditional maharashtrian recipe of corn curry. I immediately decided to make this as D absolutely loves corn and I had some fresh whole corn in the refrigerator that had to be used up. The dish turned out really good …tasted like some delicious chicken/ mutton curry sans the meat.

Ingredients -
3 corn on the cobs
1 large red onion (@ 1cup roughly chopped red onions)
1 cup chopped tomatoes
1 cup fresh grated coconut
2 whole dried kashmiri red chillies
2-3 cloves garlic
2 inch piece ginger
1/2 cup chopped cilantro + more for garnishing
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
3 tbsps oil
1/4 tsp hing/ asafoetida
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp red chilli powder
1 tsp coriander- cumin powder
1/2 tsp garam masala

Method -
1. Clean the corn by peeling off the husk and chop them into 3 inch pieces.
2. Add some salt and cook the corn in the pressure cooker.
3. Blend together fresh grated coconut, onions, tomatoes, ginger, garlic, cilantro and dried red chillies into a paste.
4. Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds. When they splutter, add hing/ asafoetida,red chilli powder and turmeric powder.
5. Now add the masala paste and fry it till oil separates.
6. Add coriander- cumin powder, garam masala, salt and sugar. Mix well.
7. Add the pressure cooked corn pieces and some water and cook for sometime.
8. Garnish with chopped cilantro.

I'm sending this to TorView's Veggie/ Fruit A Month - Corn event originally started by Priya Mitharwal.

Indian Cooking Challenge - Kara Sev

When Srivalli announced 'Kara Sev' for this months ICC Challenge, I had planned to make a few batches of both the sev versions that were provided to us. However, this past month was relatively hectic and so I didn't get a chance to make these ahead of time. I literally got done making this sev few minutes back. The recipe was simple and easy to follow and the results were really amazing! I have made sev in the past several times either by using only rice flour or only besan but never a combination of the two. I think it was the combination of these two flours that made these sev very crispy and delicious! We both loved it very much!

Ingredients -
11/4 cup gram flour/ besan
1/2 cup rice flour
1 tsp red chilli powder
1/4 tsp black pepper coarsely powdered
2 tsps butter/ Ghee
1 pinch cooking soda
3 tsps crushed garlic
Salt to taste.
Oil to deep fry.

Method -
1. Sieve both Gram flour and Rice flour together in a bowl.
2. Add red chilli powder, black pepper powder, salt, garlic, butter/ ghee and cooking soda.
3. Mix thoroughly with hand. It should look like bread crumbs. Divide the dough into 2 portions.
4. Take one portion of this mixture, sprinkle water, knead like Puri dough.
5. Heat oil in a kadai, use sev maker/ chakli press. Put some dough in the sev maker and press directly into oil.
6. Deep fry in oil , drain excess oil.
7. After cooling this off, store this in an airtight container.

Roasted Corn Guacamole

Couple of weeks back we had this Roasted Corn Guacamole at Chili's. We loved it so much that I decided to recreate this at home for a quick snack last weekend. The roasted corn adds some natural sweetness and a pleasant bite to the guacomole which we really loved. I think this is probably the best way to experience the true taste of avocados. I served these with some healthy flaxseed corn chips.

Ingredients -
2 Avocados
1 jalopeno
2-3 cloves garlic
1 lime
1 cup finely chopped cilantro
1/2 cup sweet corn kernels
1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
1/4 cup finely chopped tomato (peel the tomato and chop into small pieces)
1 tsp oil
salt to taste

Method -
1. Cut the avocados in half, discard the seeds and scoop out the avocado from the peel into the blender.
2. Blend the avocados along with garlic and jalopeno into a smooth paste.
3. Heat a tsp of oil in a skillet and roast the corn kernels.
4. Add onions, tomatoes, roasted corn, cilantro, lime juice, salt to the avocado puree and mix well.
5. Serve with corn chips.

I'm sending this to Priya Mitharwal's A.W.E.D - Spain event originally started by DK of Chef In You.

Sabudana/ Sago Khichdi

Sabudana or Sagu Khichdi is a traditional Maharashtrian farali dish mainly prepared during fasting days. However, both D and I love this very much and so I make this quite often for breakfast as well. I usually make huge quantities of this khichdi so that I can use the leftovers to make sabudana vada or sabudana thalipeeth which we equally love. My mom makes the best khichdi and over the years I have learnt to make it pretty close to hers. The soaking process of the sabudana is the key to making a good khichdi. Here's my mom's recipe of sabudana khichdi.

Ingredients -
2 cups sabudana/ sago
1 medium boiled potato
1/2 cup peanuts
4 green chillies
2 tsp cumin seeds
3-4 tbsp ghee/ clarified butter
fresh grated coconut
finely chopped cilantro
1-2 tbsp sugar or to taste
salt to taste

Method -
1. Wash the sabudana throughly with water and discard the white water, drain and set aside. Sprinkle the sabudana with some water and toss them with a spoon. Repeat this process every 30 mins or so for the next 2-3 hrs or till the sabudana is soft.
2. Add sugar and salt to the sabudana and lightly mix.
3. Peel and chop the potato and add some salt and sugar to the potatoes as well.
4. Grind the peanuts, green chillies and 1 1/2 tsp cumin seeds into a coarse powder.
5. In a pan, heat some ghee and add cumin seeds.
6. Now add the potatoes and mix well.
7. Then add the sabudana, mix and cook for sometime covered on medium flame. Occasionally toss the khichdi.
8. Now add the peanut, cumin seeds and green chillies mixture.
8. Cook for approx. 10-12 min.
9. Garnish with fresh grated coconut and chopped cilantro.

This goes to Niloufer's 'Cooking with Seeds - Sago' event, originally started by Priya.

Fenugreek / Methi Recipes

In this post, I'm reposting some old entries and sending them to Priya Mitharwal's 'Think Spice - Think Fenugreek' event, originally started by Sunita of Sunita's World.

MALAI METHI MUTTER

CHAWLI METHI DHOKLA

 METHI NA DHEBRA

Panchamrut and Chincheche Saar/ Tamarind Saar

In this post, I'm reposting some old entries and sending them to Suma's 'Sidedishes from India' event.

PANCHAMRUT

CHINCHECHE SAAR/ TAMARIND SAAR/ SOUP

Karela Peel Thepla

Karela is one veggie I havent cooked much since I got married. D absolutely hates karela, so I usually refrain from buying this. Anyways, I bought karelas last week so I could use the peels specially to make these theplas :-). The inspiration for this dish comes from Tarla Dalal's Website but the recipe is tweaked to suit our palates. I served these theplas with a traditional gujarati kela methi nu shaak (Ripe banana fenugreek leaves curry). These karela peel theplas were just as good as the methi or mooli theplas I make.

Ingredients -
3/4 cup Karela Peels finely chopped(peels from 3 medium sized karelas/ bitter gourds)
2 cups wheat flour
1/2 cup bajra flour
1 tsp red chilli powder
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp sesame seeds
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp garam masala
1/4 tsp hing/ asafoetida
2 tbps sugar
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
2-3 tsps ginger- garlic paste
3-4 tbsps yogurt
Oil as needed
Salt to taste

Method -
1. In a bowl, combine all the dry ingredients such as wheat flour, bajra flour, red chilli powder, turmeric powder, sesame seeds, cumin powder, coriander powder, garam masala powder, hing, salt and sugar and mix well.
2. Then add yogurt, karela peels, cilantro, ginger- garlic paste, 2 tbsps oil and knead into a firm dough using enough water.
3. Divide the dough into medium sized balls and roll each dough ball into a circle (like chapati) with the help of your rolling pin.
4. Heat the tava and cook each thepla on both sides till golden brown by drizzling few drops of oil on both sides. Serve hot.

This goes to Nithu's 'Best Out Of Waste' event.

Avocado Peas Chakli

Chakli is one snack I love eating as much as I love making them. This savory snack makes a perfect accompaniment with evening coffee or chai. Last Sunday, I made these Avocado Peas Chaklis as I wanted to use avocados in some Indian dish. I had planned to make either a dosa, paratha or puri with avocados. However, before I could cook any of these dishes, I saw them posted by my other blogger friends. Few days back, I had come across a chakli recipe where boiled potato was used in place of butter/ ghee. So I thought why not add avocados in place of butter? That's how the plan of making these Avocado Peas Chaklis conceived. I added green peas just to give it some color.

These chaklis came out very crispy and crunchy. This is the first time I have made these without adding any ghee/ butter to the dough. The dough was a nice light green color, however, the chaklis turned out slightly golden brown when they were deep fried. So I would say that was the only disappointment. I was expecting the fried chaklis to be light green or creamish in color (like the store bought butter chaklis). Anyways, this was a successful experiment and I'm happy with the result. Will be surely making these very often.

Makes 16-17 chaklis
Ingredients -
1 cup wheat flour
1/2 cup peas
1 avocado
2-3 green chillies
1/4 tsp cumin seeds
1/4 tsp carom seeds/ ajwain
1 tbsp black/ white sesame seeds
Salt to taste
Oil for deep frying

Method -

1. Take the wheat flour in a muslin cloth and tie a knot. Steam this flour bundle in the pressure cooker without putting the weight for 10 mins. You can also steam it outside over boiling water for 10mins.

2. In the meantime, scoop out the avocados and grind them along with the peas and green chillies into a very fine green paste. Add few drops of water only if needed.

3. Cool the flour bundle and make sure you break any lumps. Add ajwain, cumin seeds, sesame seeds, salt and mix well.

4. Add the green paste (@ 6 tbsps) and knead together to form a soft dough (like chapati dough). Add more green paste if needed. (I ended up using all of it, but quantity may vary based on the size of the avacados and the amount of water added while grinding).

5. Take a small portion of the dough and form a cylindrical shaped log and drop it in the chakli/ murukku press.

6. Heat oil in a deep frying pan/ kadhai.

7. Using your hands, press the chakli mold to form concentric circles on a plate. Also check out other convenient way of forming chaklis here.

8. Gently lift the chaklis and deep fry in hot oil on medium flame. Fry few chaklis at a time making sure you do not overcrowd the kadhai. Fry both sides till they turn golden and take them out on a clean paper towel or old newspaper to drain the excess oil.

9. Allow them to cool and store them in an airtight container.

Note –

* Make the chaklis immediately after making the dough to avoid the chaklis from absorbing too much oil.

* If making a big batch, work on small amounts of dough at a time.

I'm sending these Avocado Peas Chaklis to Priya Mitharwal's 'Vegetable/Fruit A Month' event with Avocado being the chosen fruit for the month of May 2010.