Zunka Bhakar immediately puts you in the rustic mode- a very traditional rural soul food preparation- no nonsense, nothing fancy, screams out less is more and very comforting food combo from the states of Maharashtra, upper Karnataka and Goa. I simply love this food and even today enjoy relishing it in the dhabas while travelling!

Zunka is a simple preparation of besan (gram dal flour) and onion with few other ingredients. Dry version is often called Zunka and thinner version (patal) is called Pitla. I usually tend to keep my Zunka little thinner so that I can enjoy it with my rice too. The taste is super awesome and when you serve it with Jowar Bhakri(Jolad roti)- it's like having a food orgasm, no kidding :P
Simplicity at its best- hold perfectly apt for this Zunka Bhakar combo!


 Jowar or Sorghum bhakar or bhakri (flat bread) is not very easy to make. Wait don't panic or scroll down :)... Perfect way of making it comes only with the practice. Originally it is rolled out into a flat roundel using just the palms of your hands by tapping it on the ball of dough to make a bhakri. But I am not still there :) I use my rolling pin to roll it out and am happy with the results so far. Very healthy stuff and a good change from my regular phulkas and chapatis.

I have a very fond memory of this zunka bhakar from my childhood days. I had gone visiting my uncle in summer vacation to Mumbai and we were out doing some site seeing under the scorching sun. Me and my cousins were so hungry that day that we turned into mean little winners, our uncle took all the cousins to a dhaba kind of place where they served their speciality zunka bhakar and few other items. He ordered zunka bhakar for everyone without even asking us what we wanted and I still remember the way we hogged it all. Hunger, sun, tiredness and YUM SOUL food- calls for nothing less than but magical happiness!:) We literally licked our plates off :) and that memory is still so fresh on my mind.


Let us take a look at the recipe of Zunka Bhakar or Pitla:

Zunka (Pitla)

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup gram flour (besan)
• 2-3 cups water
• 2-3 green chillies slit
• 1 small onion chopped
• 10 curry leaves
• pinch asafoetida (hing)
• 2-3 pods of garlic chopped
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• salt at per taste
• handful of chopped cilantro for garnish
• 2-3 tbsp oil

Preparation:

• First take the besan (gram flour) and add little water to make a smooth paste and keep aside.
• In a pan heat some oil. Add mustard seeds and jeera, as it splutters add chopped garlic, curry leaves, green chillies and saute quickly for few secs.
• Add the chopped onions and saute till translucent. Add turmeric, salt and mix everything.
• Once done add the besan paste prepared previously into the pan. Add about 2 cups of water ( if you want it dry add less water). Stir everything together.
• Cook for about 5 minutes, till all the water evaporates and a thick yellow somewhat paste like residue is left, adjust quantity of water as per your preference.
• Garnish with cilantro, chopped onion and serve hot with Jowar Bhakri or any kind of Roti.

Jowar Bhakri (Jolad Rotti)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Jowar flour (Sorghum flour)
• 1 tbsp rice flour
• 1/4-1/2 approx (water)
• 1/2 tsp oil
• salt to taste

Preparation:

• Take jowar flour, rice flour in a wide mouth mixing bowl or deep plate, to that add salt to taste.
• Boil water on the stove with oil and slowly add this hot water into the flour mixture while you keep mixing it with a wooden ladle. Stop pouring water once you see a nice soft dough is formed.
• Keep aside for the dough to cool down, say 10 minutes.
• Once the dough cools a bit, start to knead it and continue to knead for at least 5 minutes. Give a nice massage to the dough as you knead it with the palm. It should be a soft dough. For best results gather all the dough and press it using palms of your hand.
• Take a small portion from the dough and form a ball shape, keep it on a wax paper dust some flour and roll it out neatly and gently using a rolling pin. Don't put too much pressure as it will break. You can try patting it with your palms and flattening the ball into a round shaped roti. ( I usually pat it till its like 3 inches in diameter and then roll out with a rolling pin)
• Doesn't matter if it the shape is not a perfect circle. :)
• Heat a skillet or tawa, place bhakri, the side on which we applied dry flour it should face upward.
• As soon as you place bhakri, apply water on the top of bhakri and spread water evenly all over bhakri. (I use a paper towel, soak in water and spread the water evenly over the bhakri)
• Roast it just till the time water starts to evaporate from the top side of the bhakri.
• Now flip the bhakri and cook from other side for a couple of minutes more. At this point of time you can increase the gas heat.
• Now take the skillet away from the gas, lift the bhakri using tongs and roast it on direct gas heat from both the sides. ( you skip this step if not comfortable, just roast on the tawa on both sides)
• Serve hot with a dollop of ghee/butter over it and your favorite vegetable Zunka or Non-Veg curry.

besan (gram dal/garbanzo flour)

Summer time and Popsicles are inseparable. Simple joys of life is what I say! A sense of happiness, coolness, liveliness, and all that goodness bundled on a stick! Not to mention all the pleasing colors and flavors (of your choice) will definitely bring out the happy child in you. As summer holidays kicks in this season, what better way to start treating kids than a healthy fruity popsicle(s)? You may see many such colorful additions on my blog this season.

I am not an ice cream or a popsicle person (yes call me weirdo :)), but I take immense pleasure when I watch people enjoy it! Though these days I have taken a liking for eating Godiva and Magnums ice cream bars a lot!


My kid is a crazy fan of popsicles. Any day better than other calorie loaded sweet treats. So thought of kickstarting it with watermelon berries popsicles. Watermelons have become synonymous with summer and picnics, and for a good reason. Their refreshing quality and sweet taste help to combat the heat and also provide a guilt-free, low maintenance dessert for kids and adults alike to enjoy. One of the easiest treats one can make for their kids :)

So here we go to check the recipe:

Ingredients:

• 2 cups watermelon roughly chopped
• 2 tbsp yogurt (dahi)* 
• 1/2 cup berries (took black and blue berries half and half)
• 2 tbsp honey (or add 1 tbsp sugar as per your taste)*

Preparation:

• Blend all the ingredients together. (pour it over a sieve to take out any coarseness or seeds)
• Fill 3/4th of the popsicle mold.
• Add 4-5 whole blueberries in the molds.
• Freeze it for a couple of hours till it is set and ready to eat. 

njoY!! happY cookinG!!

notes:* adjust the quantity of honey(sugar) depending on how sweet you want and also the sweetness of fruits that you are using. You can also substitute any ice cream in place of yogurt.

Health Benefits: Watermelon is considered as a nutrient dense food, a food that provides a high amount of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants for a low amount of calories. Watermelon, because of its water and fiber content, helps to prevent constipation and promote regularity for a healthy digestive tract. Made up of 92% water and full of important electrolytes, watermelon is a great snack to have on hand during the hot summer months to prevent dehydration.


Blueberries are believed to contain the highest antioxidant capacity of all commonly consumed fruits and vegetables. Low in calorie and high in nutrients, who doesn't want that in this diet conscious era:) They are so good for our health that just add it in your cereals, pancakes or just munch on it! But get it in your system :)

Dalimbi  or Val, also known as butter beans or Bitter Beans and some call it field beans is a very staple pulse in Maharashtra state, Gujarat state etc. Its funny that in most of my posts I have to mention various names of 1 ingredient - such is the culture and global influence we live in today! It can be cooked as a nice dry Usal or as a nice slurpy Rassa. Some even make it with full fledge ground coconut masala called Birde. This is basically my Mother In Laws recipe, which she makes fondly for her ladla beta ..yes.. you heard me right :) Intentional or not the biaseness oozes out in one form or the other hehe.. Well thats how most moms are. Who knows I may turn out the same way, only time will tell :)

Dalimbi Rassa

Frankly at my home while growing up this dish was not cooked very often but I had tasted it at my neighbors home and I simply love anything that is slurpicious with exquisite red color along with that oil floating on top of the curry. I will never say NO to that, cross my heart. After I married, and as my husband loved it so much, I started getting a bag of split Val or whole Val at home. Usually I get split one. But right now beggars are not choosers applies to us because of lockdowns in most of the states. Just grabbing whatever is found :) in the aisle or in shopping cart online.

Veg Thali

 Coming to the recipe, I have already posted Dalimbi dry Usal on my blog. You can take a look if interested. I like Curry style with more Rassa any day. This particular beans has a nice soft bitter taste to it which has to be complimented with sweet so the usage of gud/jaggery is important and as well as sourness, so kokum water is used in this recipe to give that particular unique flavor to the curry. Use of ginger/chillies and goda masala are few other ingredients that bring out a lovely taste to it.

Lets take a look at the recipe:

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup val (or butter beans)- soaked and sprouted preferably- yields approx  2 cups
• 1 sprig curry leaves
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 2 tsp jaggery 
• 4-5 kokum petals - washed and soaked in 1/2 cup of warm water for 10 min
• 2 tbsp oil
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• pinch of asafoetida (hing)
• 1 tsp chopped ginger
• 1 small onion chopped
• 1 tsp red chili powder
• big pinch turmeric powder
• 1 1/2 tsp goda masala (or onion masala or garam masala pwd)
• handful cilantro finely chopped
• 1 tbsp fresh coconut for garnish (optional)
• salt to taste

Boiled Butter  Beans

Kokum Petals

Chopped other ingredients

Preparation:

• Soak the val beans in the water overnight or for 8 hours. If you want to make sprouted val beans  (which is more nutritious) then drain the water and keep it to sprout for 8 hours in a muslin cloth tied up. 
• In a saucepan add enough water till val beans is immersed and on med heat cook for 15-20 minutes. Keep a close eye after 15 minutes. It must be just soft. ( It gets mushy quickly and we don't want that). Switch off the gas and drain the water out. Keep cooked val beans dal aside.
• During this time also soak kokum in half cup water and keep aside for 10 min.
• In a pan, heat oil , add cumin seeds-  once it starts to splutter add curry leaves, then add hing and then chopped ginger - saute for couple of min on med flame. 
• Add chopped onion, saute onion till light brown, then add the powders, red chili pwd, turmeric, goda masala - stir quickly on a low flame. 
• Transfer the cooked butter beans to this mixture, add kokum water and discard the kokum leaves, add jaggery, salt to taste.
• Now add 1 cup + more water as per your required consistency and let the curry simmer for few minutes where you will see a nice red color and some oil floating on top! 
• Add cilantro and grated coconut(optional) Your curry is done, serve hot with rice or rotis.

Health Benefits:

Val or Lima beans (butter beans), like any other beans, are rich in dietary fiber. It is a slow burning complex carbohydrate. Val Beans gives you much energy to burn while stabilizing blood sugar. Also, has a good amount of Iron which is very crucial for the body. It is a power packed protein. A good source of manganese and folate along with potassium and has low sodium content.

We are going through a history where the world is witnessing a pandemic episode of Covid-19.  As the world reels in the #StayAtHome concept lots of new ideas are popping up on internet to keep oneself busy and sane. One of them being Baking YES... Baking Breads, Cakes, Muffins, Brownies, Pastries is at its peak and is being enjoyed thoroughly across the globe as we silently fight against the Virus and pray that it dies down.


Irish Soda Bread



I venture into baking once in a while. This time it was so tempting for me to just  not to ignore the call of baking a bread. But sigh!! I had to be patient as I did not have yeast in my pantry. Going to grocery stores at the drop of the hat is a big NO NO now, to add to it I kept forgetting to add that ingredient on my list of next home delivered order.

So I was left with no option but to look for something that used no Yeast. Something that was quick, simple and no fermentation recipe for my bread as I craved to make one!

And voila came across Irish Soda Bread in a 5 year old magazine which I was browsing while having my tea.
As befitting many of the best breads in the world – Irish Soda Bread is a traditional Irish speciality- it was made with only the most basic of ingredients: flour, baking soda (used as a leavening agent instead of yeast), soured milk to moisten and activate the soda, and salt.
Irish Soda bread remains an international favorite.  Before baking, a cross was cut on the top with a knife, to ward off the devil and protect the household. 
Something about it, when you mark that X just before the bread goes in the oven, makes you smile and you know it will come out right :)





You are going to love it I promise.

Made this in like 50 mins [included baking time] and it was ready to be relished with your butter/jam/marmalade.....

Here goes the recipe:

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cup +2 tbsp - all purpose flour
• 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 2 tbsp regular rolled oats
• 1/2 tsp baking pwd
• 3/4 tsp baking soda ( preferably fresh)
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp cold u salted butter cut in small cubes
• 3 tbsp honey
• 1 1/4 cup buttermilk
• 1 egg
• 2 tsp orange zest ( optional)
• 1/2 cup nuts or dried currents or cranberry
  

Preparation: