Gujarati Kadhi

gujarati kadhi

Guarati kadhi is little different from other kadhis like Punjabi kadhi because of the addition of sweetness to it. Gujrati kadhi is sweet sour in taste since jaggery or sugar is added to the kadhi. This kadhi is part of Gujarati thali and is very popular in Gujarat.

Recipe of gujarati kadhi

2 cups curd (yogurt/dahi)

1/4 cup besan (gram flour/chickpea flour)

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

2 dried red chillies

1 inch piece cinnamon (dalchini)

3 cloves (laung)

Few curry leaves

A pinch of hing (asafoetida)

Salt to taste

1 green chilli- chopped

1 lemon sized piece of jaggery (gur) - grated

1 tbsp oil

1. Whisk together curd and besan till smooth and lump free. Add 4 cups of water and mix.

2. Add jaggery and green chilli to curd-besan mixture.

3. Take a kadhai/wok or a pan and pour the above mixture in it. Cook stirring, till 1 boil comes.

4. Turn the heat to low and cook stirring occasionally for about 20-25 minutes. Add salt to kadhi. Turn off the heat.

5. In a separate small pan, heat oil. Add cumin seeds, red chillies, cloves, asafoetida, cinnamon and curry leaves.

6. When they splutter and cumin seeds begin to change color, pour this tempering or tadka over kadhi and mix. Serve gujarati kadhi hot.

Bhel Puri Recipe

bhel puri

You can munch on this bhel puri as an evening snack or anytime when hunger pangs hit you. If you do not add too much readymade namkeen, then this is a low calorie healthy snack. Bhel puri is a delicious chaat item which is basically a Gujarati dish.

Recipe of diet bhel

2 cups murmura (kurmura/ mamra/ puffed rice)

1 small potato- boiled, peeled and cubed

1 small tomato- chopped

1 small onion- chopped

2 green chillies- chopped

1 tbsp peanuts (moongphali)

1/2 tsp chaat masala

1/2 tsp salt or to taste

Bhujia, papadi or some other readymade namkeen

3 tbsp meethi chutney (see the recipe below)

2 tbsp green chutney

1. Dry roast the peanuts in a heavy bottomed vessel (karahi). Take them out and in the same karahi, dry roast the murmura on medium heat stirring continuously till they begin to change color.

2. In a large bowl, mix all the above ingredients and serve bhel puri immediately otherwise murmura will get soggy.

Recipe of quick meethi chutney

2 tbsp sugar or gur (jaggery)

1 tbsp amchoor (dried mango powder)

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp red chilli powder

1/4 cup water

1/2 tsp roasted jeera (cumin seeds)

1. Take a small heavy bottomed vessel and mix all the above ingredients in it.

2. Cook till everything dissolves and chutney gets the right consistency. Let it cool.

bhel poori

Instant Microwave Dhokla

microwave dhokla

Instant microwave dhokla is really an instant and delicious snack. If you take the measurements as given in the recipe below, you get excellent results. Here, I have made the microwave dhokla just like we make microwave idli using microwave safe idli stand except that the batter is different, of course. Earlier, I also made a blog post about khaman dhokla made traditionally that is steamed on a stove. You can check out that too.

Dhokla

1 cup besan (chickpea flour/gram flour)

3/4 cup water

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp turmeric powder

1 tbsp lemon juice (juice of 2 lemons)

1 tsp oil

1 tsp ginger-green chilli paste

1 tsp Eno fruit salt

Tempering (tadka)

1 tbsp oil

2 tsp sugar

1 tsp mustard seeds

100 ml water (1 small cup)

3-4 green chillies (slit vertically)

1 tsp lemon juice

1. Take besan in a bowl and add water little by little, mixing with other hand so as to prepare lump free batter.

2. Add salt, turmeric powder and ginger-green chilli paste to the dhokla batter. Let the batter rest for 20 minutes, covered.

3. Take a microwave safe idli stand and after washing it in running water, don't wipe clean it. Take 1 cup water in the plate of the stand.

4. In a small bowl, take lemon juice and add 1 tsp oil to it. Add eno fruit salt and mix quickly. Add this to the batter and mix.

5. Pour dhokla batter in the moulds of the idli stand immediately. (Don't let the batter sit after adding eno).

6. Cover with the lid which comes with the stand and steam on a micro High for 4 & 1/2 minutes. Take out from the microwave and after 1 minute, remove dhokla from the moulds.

7. For tempering or tadka, heat oil in a small pan on a stove and add mustard seeds. When they pop, add green chillies. Add water and sugar and let it come to boil. Turn off the heat and add lemon juice.

8. Pour this tadka over steamed dhokla and refrigerate it. Let the water from the tadka gets absorbed turning the dhokla soft. You can serve the dhokla garnished with fresh coriander leaves and grated coconut.

Note- You can cut each idli shaped dhokla into 4 pieces and serve.

dhokla

Gujarati Methi Thepla (Indian Fenugreek Flatbread)

methi thepla

 Gujarati cuisine is mainly vegetarian and thepla have a special place in it. You can also call them methi parathas. Thepla is a delicious item and addition of methi or fenugreek leaves make it even more irresistible. Methi leaves have a unique and slightly bitter flavor and they are also rich in Calcium and Magnesium which is anti- ageing. Methi thepla remain fresh for 2-3 days at room temperature. Stack them one over the other after cooking them. They are both healthy and tasty.

        Recipe of Methi Thepla (Paratha)

            1 cup atta (whole wheat flour)

            1/2 cup besan (gram flour)

            1 cup methi (fresh fenugreek leaves) - chopped

            2 tsp oil + for shallow frying

            Salt to taste

            1/2 tsp red chilli powder (cayenne pepper)

            1/4 tsp turmeric powder

            1/2 cup yogurt (curd)

            1/4 tsp fennel powder (saunf)

1. Mix together atta, besan, salt, turmeric powder, red chilli powder and fennel powder.

Add methi leaves, 2 tsp oil and mix. Add yogurt and knead into stiff dough. Use as little water as possible to knead the dough. Let the dough rest for 20 minutes.

2. Take a ball (peda) out of the dough and roll out into a 5- 6 inch round tossing it in dry flour while rolling out.

3. Heat a tava (griddle) and cook this round on it from both sides brushing with oil.

Cook till light golden brown. Do the same with rest of the dough. These are now called thepla or paratha. Methi thepla taste great with green chilli pickle and yogurt.

Gujarati Masala Thepla (Spicy Thepla)

masala thepla

Gujarati thepla is not just about methi thepla although it's a more famous version of theplaa. Here I have written about masala thepla or spicy thepla. You can also use jeera along with ajwain to make masala thepla. A pinch of turmeric powder added to the dough gives a nice yellow color to the theplas.

Recipe of gujarati masala thepla

1 cup atta (whole wheat flour)

2 tsp oil

1/2 tsp red chilli powder (cayenne pepper)

1/4 cup curd (yogurt/dahi)

Salt to taste

1/2 tsp ajwain (carom seeds)

1 tsp til (sesame seeds)

Oil to shallow fry

1. Take atta in a bowl and mix all other ingredients except oil to shallow fry. Add about 1/4 cup of water to knead into soft dough. Set aside for 20 minutes.

2. Take a ball (peda) out of the dough and roll into a thin 5-6 inch round or thepla, dusting with dry flour to prevent from sticking.

3. Heat a tava (griddle) and cook this thepla from both sides brushing with oil. Cook till golden with brown-black specks. Serve masala thepla with chutney or as a bread with some side.

Shrikhand (Flavored Yogurt)

shrikhand

Shrikhand is a very popular dessert from ‘Maharashtrian cuisine’ and ‘Gujarati cuisine’. It is eaten either as a sweet dish or as a side with puris (Indian bread). Shrikhand is basically strained, thick curd which is sweetened and to which saffron, nuts and sometimes fruits are added. In Maharashtra, mango pulp is also sometimes added to the shrikhand to get 'amrakhand'.

Recipe of shrikhand

3 cups curd (yogurt/dahi)

1 cups grinded sugar

2 tbsp warm milk

A pinch of saffron

1/4 tsp green cardamom (hari elaichi) powder

1 tbsp pista (pistachios)

2 tsp chironji (charoli/sunflower seeds)

1. Tie curd in a muslin cloth and hang in the fridge overnight, with a bowl below to collect the excess water. This way you get thick curd.

2. Dissolve saffron in the warm milk. Soak pistachios in hot water for 10 minutes. Drain, peel and chop the pistas. Clean, wash and pat dry chironji.

3. Take thick, strained curd in a bowl and add grinded sugar. Mix till sugar dissolves completely.

4. Add saffron to the curd and mix. Add cardamom powder and chironji and mix well.

5. Garnish shrikhand with pistachios and serve chilled.

Lauki Chana dal

lauki chana dal

My mom used to make lauki chana dal a lot. She calls it ghiya chane ki dal. My father and I shared same liking for bottle gourd so it was made often. My recipe is slightly different than my mom as unlike her, I temper it with onion, tomatoes and garlic. This dish has both vegetable and lentil so it makes wholesome meal with roti or rice.

Recipe of lauki chana dal

1 medium lauki (bottle gourd, ghiya, doodhi) of 200- 250 grams

1 cup chana dal (Split Bengal gram)

2 medium tomatoes- chopped

1 medium onion- chopped

3-4 cloves garlic

1 inch piece ginger

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

A pinch of asafoetida

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

1/2 tsp red chilli powder

Salt to taste

1 tbsp ghee (clarified butter)

1. Wash and soak chana dal for 1 hour. Peel, wash and cut lauki into 1/2 inch cubes. Crush garlic and ginger together.

2. In a pressure cooker, place channa dal, lauki pieces, enough water, salt, turmeric and red chilli powder. Cook till chana dal gets soft.

3. Heat ghee in a pan and add cumin seeds. When they change color, add hing. Add onion and sauté till they are translucent.

4. Add ginger- garlic paste and sauté for a minute. Add tomatoes and cook till they are soft and pulpy.

5. Add this tempering (tadka) to the boiled dal and cover the lid. Simmer for few minutes and garnish with chopped coriander leaves. Serve hot.

Khaman Dhokla (Steamed Chickpea Flour Savory Cake)

khaman dhokla

Khaman dhokla is a famous Gujarati snack which is steamed, therefore it contains very less oil. It’s a good snack for not just calorie conscious people but for everyone since dhokla is very very tasty.

Recipe of khaman dhokla

1 cup besan (gram flour/chickpea flour)

2/3 cup of water

1/4 tsp turmeric powder

1 tsp salt

1 tsp ginger-green chilli paste

1 tbsp lemon juice (juice of 2 lemons)

1 tsp Eno fruit salt

1 tsp oil

Tempering (tadka)

1 tbsp oil

100 ml water (1 small cup)

1 tsp mustard seeds (kali sarson)

1 tsp lemon juice

2-3 green chillies- slit vertically

2 tsp sugar

Finely chopped coriander leaves- for garnish

1. Take besan in a bowl and add water little by little mixing with other hand so as to prepare a lump free batter.

2. Add salt, turmeric powder to the batter and let it rest, covered, for 20 minutes.

3. Grease a thali (platter) in which dhokla is to be steamed. Pour 1 glass of water in an outer container and put it on heat. Let it come to rolling boil.

4. In the meanwhile, add ginger-green chilli paste to the batter. In a small bowl, take lemon juice and mix 1 tsp oil and eno fruit salt. Pour this over dhokla batter and mix.

5. Immediately pour this batter on a greased thali. Put a stand or an inverted small bowl in the outer container containing boiling water and place this thali over it. Cover the container with a plate.

6. Let the dhokla steam for 5-7 minutes undisturbed over full flame. Then let it steam for another 15 minutes that is 20 minutes in total. The heat should be high so that lot of steam gets formed. Check by inserting the tip of a clean knife. If nothing sticks to it, dhokla is ready otherwise steam some more.

7. Take out the dhokla containing thali from the container and let it cool for 2-3 minutes. Take out the dhokla from the thali to another plate. Let it cool down, and then cut it in squares or diamonds.

8. For the tadka, heat oil in a small pan and add mustard seeds and when they pop, add green chillies. After few seconds, add water and sugar. Let it come to boil, turn off heat and add lemon juice.

9. Pour this tadka over dhokla pieces and put the dhokla in the fridge. Let the tempering containing water gets absorbed turning the dhokla soft. Garnish the khaman dhokla with chopped coriander leaves.

Note- 1.The batter should not sit for long after adding Eno fruit salt otherwise dhokla will not rise.

2. Mix eno in the lemon juice first and not directly in the batter.

3. The gas stove should be on high heat or full flame for steaming the dhokla.

4. You can also make dhokla in an idli stand.

5. The tempering should contain water for soft dhokla.

6. The outer container could be a vessel or a kadhai/wok.

7. You can also steam in a pressure cooker with weight (whistle) removed.

8. The dhokla batter should neither be too thick nor thin otherwise dhokla won't come out right.

Basundi (Sweetened Condensed Milk Dessert)

Basundi

 

 

Basundi is an Indian milk dessert popular in Gujarat, Maharashtra, Bihar and Karnataka. Basundi is traditionally eaten with puris.

Recipe of basundi/ basoondi

1 1/2 liter milk

1/2 cup sugar

A pinch of saffron (kesar)

1 tbsp chironji (charoli seeds) for garnish

Sliced almonds and pistachios for garnishing

1. Place milk in a heavy bottomed pan and bring it to a boil. Turn the heat to medium and cook milk till it is reduced to half in quantity. Stir milk frequently.

2. Add sugar and saffron. Cook till sugar dissolves completely.

3. Let the basundi cool down, then refrigerate and serve basundi chilled garnished with chironji and sliced almonds and pistachios.