Paav Bhaaji

 Paav Bhaaji

One of the famous Chaat items of Maharashtra is Paav Bhaaji.    Bhaaji is served along with toasted Paav freshly with yummy salted butter and fresh onions . 

Paav ( Bun ) :  6

Onion : 1 tbsp ( finely chopped )

Capsicum : 1 tbsp ( finely chopped )

Ginger paste : 1/4 tsp ( crushed )

Garlic paste : 6 to 8 ( crushed )

Coriander: 1/4 cup ( finely chopped )

Kasuri methi powder : 1/4 tsp

Sugar : 1/2 tsp

Salted Butter : 2 tbsp

Oil : 1 tsp

Cumin seeds : 1/2 tsp

Paav Bhaji masala powder : 1 tsp

Kashmiri chilly Powder : 2  tsp

Lemon juice : 1/2 tsp

Salt to taste

Tomato : 2 ( chopped ) 

Potato : 2 ( skin peeled & chopped )

Carrot : 1/2 ( chopped )

Beetroot : 1 tbsp ( chopped )

Green Peas : 1/4 cup

Extra salted Butter for toasting Paav . 

Method :

In cooker, Cook potato, carrot, beetroot,  tomato  and peas adding  salt in a cup of water .   

When it gets cooked nicely, drain vegetable stock in a separate vessel.  we can use this water later.  Mash cooked veggies nicely. 

In a broad pan , add a tsp of oil and temper with cumin seeds

Add 2 tbsp of salted butter, chopped onion, capsicum, a tbsp of chopped coriander leaves, Sugar and kasuri methi and cook in high flame.  Keep stirring for a minute.  

Add half portion of Paav bhaji masala, 2 tsp of chilli powder and give a nice stir.

Immediately add vegetable stock .

cover and cook for 3 mts. 

Check for water now and then. If it becomes too dry, add a ladle of water.

Add mashed veggies, balance half portion of Paav bhaji masala .

Cook for 3 mts .

Add lemon juice and give a boil. 

Remove from flame. 

Bhaaji for Paav is ready. 

Serving: 

Split Paav in the middle . No need to cut into half, let the edge of the paav is still in contact. 

In hot tawa,  add a tsp of salted butter, a tsp of chopped coriander leaves and a tbsp of Bhaaji ... mix nicely.

Take a paav and toast in this butter mixer nicely, to get it coated on all the sides as well as in the middle of the paav . 

At a time you can toast as many as Paav , tawa can occupy. 

Serve toasted paav with sufficient Bhaaji .

Garnish with finely chopped fresh onions and salted butter. 

Enjoy lipsmacking Paav Bhaaji. 

Vella Aval / sweet flattened rice flakes

Vella Aval:

Flattened rice flakes / Aval  : 1 cup
Jaggery                                     : 1/2 cup
Coconut scrap                         :  1/4 cup
Cardamom                               : 2
Ghee                                           : 1 tsp.

Choose thin variety of rice flakes.
Wash in pure water and drain after a minute. Spread it in plate. Keep it aside.

In a tbsp of water add powdered jaggery and boil till it dissolve completely. Drain/ filter  to remove dust and dirt from the syrup.

Again heat the filtered syrup with coconut powder/ scrap.
Cook till it thickens but still hold some moisture.
Add cardamom powder & ghee and remove from flame.
Mix rice flakes with jaggery mixer gently.
Let it set for few minutes before serving.

Vella Aval is ready to serve.
Generally it is prepared during Gokulashtami as Aval is one of the favourite food of Krishna. 

Sukku Vellam

 

Sukku Vellam :

 Dry ginger powder :  1 small cup.

 Jaggery powder       :  3/4th of small cup.

 Ghee                           :  2 tsp.

Mix everything nicely.  Sukku vellam is ready.

Sukku Vellam is good for digestion.

Especially we can prepare this during  festive season to avoid indigestion. 

Its enough to have small quantity per day.

Preferably, organic jaggery is used in this recipe as we are not doing any filtration process. 

Sweetcorn Tehri

Sweetcorn  Tehri

Basmati rice : 1 cup

Sweetcorn :  1 cup 

Onion : 1

Whole Kashmiri chilly : 1 

Green chilly : 1

Tomato :  1

Garlic : 4 cloves

Ginger : ½ inch

Fresh Curd :  2 tsp

Salt to taste

Bay leaf : 1/2

Cinnamon stick : 1 inch

Ghee : 1 tbsp

Turmeric powder : 2 pinch

Sugar : ¼ tsp

Water : 1 + ½ cup

Soak rice for 15 to 20 mts.

Meanwhile, prepare tomato paste.

Grind Red and green chilly, ginger , garlic , tomato to a fine paste and keep it aside.

In a wide and deep non-stick pan ,  pour ghee.

Add thinly sliced onion, sugar and bay leaf. 

Fry in low flame till onion becomes nicely brown and caramelized.

Add tomato paste and saute till raw smell goes. 

Add all the ingredients….  soaked rice, salt, turmeric powder, cinnamon stick, curd,  sweetcorn and mix nicely.

Close the lid and cook rice till all the water absorbed & cooked completely . 

Mix gently and serve hot.

For rich taste, you can add few threads of saffron while cooking.

Mild but delicious Sweetcorn Tehri is ready to serve.  

Can serve along with deep fried snacks, Bakra, Raitha and North Indian gravy. 

Rawa Maaladoo

Rawa Maaladoo

Rawa : ½ cup

Roasted gram/ pottukadalai : ½ cup

Sugar: 1 + ¼ cup

Ghee : ¼ cup

Green cardamom : 4

Cashewnut: 10

Raisins : 10

Dry roast Rawa in a pan till it changes its colour slightly ,in low flame.  

When it comes to room temperature, grind it nicely into fine powder.  Keep it aside.

Grind roasted gram finely.

Grind Sugar very fine.

Mix Rawa powder, roasted gram powder, Sugar powder, cardamom powder. 

Fried Cashews

Heat Ghee and fry chopped cashews and raisins and pour over the mixture.  Using ladle, mix immediately as much as possible.

When the mixer is still warm , start making ladoo.  When it comes to room temperature, it may be difficult to make them into shape.

Enjoy this Ladoo for Diwali or any special occasion.

Note:

* We can make ladoo using only Rawa ( by replacing roasted gram ) as RAWA LADOO or only using Roasted gram ( by replacing Rawa ) as MAA LADOO.

* Don’t stake ladoos one over the other.

* You can keep the ladoo in fridge for a couple of hours .  This will make ladoo tight and will not break easily.

* We can mix rawa powder and sugar powder together along with other ingredients , except ghee and keep this mixture as readymix.   

Just before making ladoos, mix it with hot ghee and shape them into ladoos.

Millet Murukku / Chakli

Foxtail millet Murukku/Chakli

Thinai / Foxtail millet : 2 cups

Roasted gram / Pottukadalai : 2/3 cup

Cumin seeds / Jeeragam : 1 tsp

Salt to taste

Hot Oil : ¼ cup

Oil for deep frying.

Dry roast millet for 5 mts in low flame.

Finely ground into powder along with roasted gram, cumin seeds.

Sieve the powder. 

Add salt and mix thoroughly.

Heat ¼ cup of oil and pour over the flour and mix nicely with a spoon to form a bread crumb consistency . 

Grease the inner wall of the Sev / Murukku press and also the blade with holes, star in shape. … so that the dough will not stick to the press

Heat oil in a pan/ Kadai to deep fry .

Now take the millet flour mixer and add water ( very less , a tbsp at a time ) and make it into a soft pliable dough.

[ Add water to the millet flour just before you are going  to fry, otherwise, the  murukku become dark brown very soon even before it gets cooked properly. ]

Fill 3/4th of the Sev/ Murukku press with the dough. 

By this time, oil might be ready to fry.  Check by dropping a small pinch of dough in the hot oil.  It should raise immediately.

Now keep the flame to low.

Keep murukku press  on top of hot oil and press it to get thin noodles of murukku.

Fry in medium flame on both sides , till it becomes golden brown and the bubbles stops.

Remove from oil carefully .

When it comes to room temperature, store it in air tight container. 

Enjoy your Deepawali with this healthy snacks.

Note :

You can use readymade millet flour .

Can include red chilly powder, Hing powder or Carom seeds while making dough.

Can prepare this Murukku using any millet’s flour.

Coconut Kesari ( Thengai Kesari )

COCONUT  KESARI ( Thengai kesari )

Rawa/ Sooji : 1 cup

Coconut, grated :  1 cup

Sugar : 2 cups ( you can powder it )

Water : 2 + 1/2 cups

Ghee : ½ cup

Cashew nuts : 10 ( chopped )

Raisins : 15

Cardamom powder :  ½ tsp

Food colour of your choice : 1 pinch

In 1 tbsp of ghee fry Rawa on low flame till it changes its colour.

Heat water and add sugar powder … let it dissolve nicely and becomes sticky syrup. 

And then add rawa, grated coconut at one go and stir continuously to prevent lump.

Add cardamom powder, colour and add ghee in stages and keep stirring. Cook till kesari leaves the sides of the pan.

Garnish with ghee fried cashews and raisins.