Shepuchi bhaji is a well known Maharashtrian dish. Very popular food amongst villagers and farmers. It falls under the category of either you Love it or Hate it, more or less like Karela (bitter gourd). It has a cult followers of its own if you ask me heheh and I am one of them. I can polish off my plate when I get served these cult vegetable curries like karela, shepu(dill), bitter beans etc. My husband is just the opposite, he doesn't like it at all. One other reason I look forward to make it as I make it once in a while :)
It is used as a herb in western countries. Dill has been used for culinary and medicinal purposes for hundreds of years.Apart from giving a strong, tangy, appetizing flavor and taste, it possesses plenty of medicinal properties. It is very good for health and has a pretty green color on it. Used these days for garnish, flavoring and for styling food plates to present on Internet handles, it is has multipurpose value- so Dill ain't going anywhere soon :)
I have enjoyed it so much while growing up- eating it with jowar bhakri or rice bhakri elevates its taste 10 folds more. I sill get all nostalgic when I visit my hometown in Belgaum and step into our family friends home, that aroma always lingers in their house. Have you ever experienced that? Every house has its own typical aroma and energy around it.
Anyways coming back to Shepu- my moms fav dish is shepu Idlis...well that is one thing which I am not a great fan of maybe because we add loads of jaggery in it... my tastebuds go crazy where ever it finds spice. Even now when I visit home there is a list of things that I want from my moms kitchen and Shepuchi, methichi bhajis are one of them. I am actually drooling as I am writing this as its dinner time and I cant wait to get my hands on it :)
Lets check the simple recipe:
Ingredients:
2 bunch of Dill leaves (about 21/2 cups of chopped dill)
4-5 garlic pods chopped (large in size)
3 green chillies slit
1 onion med size chopped
1/4th cup toor dal soaked for 30 mins (or split yellow moong dal)
1 tbsp grated coconut for garnish
1/4th tsp jaggery
3 tbsp oil
salt to taste
Preparation:
Clean and wash Dill leaves for a couple of times. It is usually muddy by the roots, so clean it nicely.
Chop the leaves and keep aside.
Soak the toor dal in little water for about 30 minutes and drain the water.
Heat oil in a pan, then add garlic, saute for a few seconds. Add onions and chillies, saute and let it cook till onions are translucent.
Add toor dal and mix it well, add 2 tbsp water and cook it covered for 5-6 minutes.
Now add the dill leaves, salt, jaggery and mix everything nicely. Close the lid and let it cook for another 5-6 minutes. Do not add water. It gets cooked in the steam that gets generated. If need be then add very little water.
Garnish with grated coconut and serve hot with roti, yogurt, rice etc
Njoy cooKing!
Health Benefits:
Dill is packed with micronutrients that provide health benefits. It is a good vitamin A intake that helps you to maintain healthy vision, skin, immune function, growth, and reproductive health. You'll also get a significant boost of vitamin C, an important antioxidant that helps your body to resist infection. Dill is also a good source of fiber, folate (important for cell division and production of DNA), calcium for healthy bones, riboflavin for cell function and development, manganese, and iron.
Dill has been used for centuries in traditional Asian and Ayurvedic medicine. Currently, people use dill for certain medicinal purposes, including: Gastrointestinal disorders Loss of appetite, Kidney disease, Flatulence, Fever and colds, Cough, Bronchitis, Urinary tract disorders, Hemorrhoids, Insomnia and other sleep disorders.
Famous dalitoy (sound toy as tou-yee, close to the original sound :)) of konkani cuisine, hands down is the slurpicious simple dal curry. It is staple and mostly loved by all. It's so funny that even though it's such a simple recipe, it's like making tea. Every house you visit, the taste of tea/chai is different and unique. Everyone puts in their own twist when it comes to making dalitoy. The one that is served in the temple's, is the ultimate one 😀
DaliToy A konkani Dal Preparation
I was surprised to get many messages and comments from my close friends who tried it out and loved it. It then occurred to me that I had never mentioned this recipe to anyone before- thinking that everyone must be knowing it and that's how a basic dal preparation is! I was wrong and so here is a post on this super simple yet powerfully delicious dal- dalitoy!
DaliToy with Plain Rice and Pickle
Here is the recipe of the magical and most common dalitoy. Ingredients:
1 cup Toovar(toor) dal [for healthier version I use yellow split moong dal]
2 green chillies slit
10 leaves of curry leaves
1 tsp mustard seeds
big pinch asafoetida (can increase the quantity if you like)
1/2 tsp turmeric
2 cups water
1 tbsp ghee or oil
1/2 tsp salt or as per taste
handful chopped cilantro as garnish
2 tsp grated coconut [optional]
DaliToy Ingredients in pic
DalliToy after Tadka
DaliToy after cilantro garnish
Preparation:
Wash dal and keep it soaked for 30 min. [Always soak lentils and pulses before using, helps to reduce the gas formation in the stomach :)]. You can skip if in a hurry.
Add dal and water in a pressure cooker and cook the dal for 2 whistles. [for toovar dal 2, for moong dal 1] One can also cook on stove top, takes a little longer and need to keep an eye as its getting boiled. Usually will take 20 + minutes on stove top[or till dal is fully cooked].
Let the cooker cool down, check the dal, mash it a little bit if needed with a spoon. I use traditional wooden handmasher, ghotni :)
In a vessel, heat ghee/oil, add mustard seeds, once it starts to splutter add green chillies, curry leaves, stir quickly, lower the gas to sim, then add turmeric and asafoetida(hing)
Into this immediately add the cooked dal, give it a stir and add more water to adjust the consistency of the dal as per your requirements, some like it thick and some like it thin.
Add salt and bring to a quick boil. Switch off the gas and garnish it with a handful of chopped cilantro and grated coconut(optional).
While serving with rice, top it with little bit of ghee OR lemon juice it tastes super yum!
Notes:
*You can have variations while making dalitoy. One can add tomatoes and green chillies while pressure cooking the dal.
* You can also add 2 inches of ginger roughly chopped either in your tadka or while cooking dal.
* You can give garlic tadka too.
njoY!! happY cookinG!!
Nutrition Facts: Lentils is a mighty member of legume family, it's a good source of cholesterol-lowering fibre. It has good amount of folate and magnesium which is needed for a healthy and loving heart :) It replenishes our iron stores. Light on body, a good source of protein for vegetarians. Lentils Rule :)
Many names and one magical sweet dish that melts in the mouth. Holi, festival of colors and Puran Poli go hand in hand, it is a must to do dish during this festival in the state of Maharashtra. It is offered into the fire which is lit for Holika Dahan and after that everyone gets to eat and enjoy it. It is a fun dish and one may need a little practice to roll out these stuffed polis. It basically contains 2 parts, puran(huran) the stuffing (chana dal/jaggery mixture) and all-purpose flour dough called kanik. It feels like an accomplishment when you make these polis successfully :)
Let's quickly check the recipe:
Ingredients:
1 cup chana dal
1 cup jaggery (grated)
1 cup all-purpose flour (maida)
2 tbsp whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp turmeric powder (haldi)
4 tbsp Oil (vegetable)
1 tsp cardamom powder
puran and dough
Preparation:
In a pressure cooker, add 3 cups of water and washed chana dal. Pressure cook for 3 whistles, then switch off the gas and let the cooker cool down.
Open the pressure cooker, strain the cooked chana dal and reserve the water. This water can be used to make katachi amati. Drain water completely from the dal. Then add this dal into a deep pan.
Add jaggery in it and let this mixture cook over medium heat. Keep stirring over medium heat until the mixture becomes thick (keep stirring for like 7-8 minutes).
Let it cool down a bit. Then using a mesh strainer try to gather all the smooth mixture and keep aside else you can use mixer to blend this mixture smoothly too or if you feel lazy you can skip this step, just see to it that dal and jaggery is nicely mixed.
Add cardamom powder and mix. * Keep aside, this is your puran.
In a mixing bowl take all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour and turmeric pwd. Add 4 tbsp oil and mix well. Now add water little by little and make a smooth consistency dough.
Knead the dough until the it becomes very elastic. Put this dough into a bowl and cover it with lid. Let it rest for 30 minutes atleast.
Make small balls of the stuffing. Then make balls (smaller than stuffing) of the dough. Grease your fingertips and spread one dough ball gently to make a small round disc. Put one stuffing ball on it. spread the dough gently over the stuffing with fingers and cover the stuffing. Use dry rice flour to roll the poli. Heat the frying tawa, place rolled roti in the center and roast on both sides over medium heat, add little ghee while roasting. Serve hot with Ghee. Puran-poli tastes good with cold milk too.
These puran polis stay fresh for approximately 1 week at room temperature.
njoY!! happY cookinG!!
Note*: The huran has to be nice and dry for rolling out the Poli without breaking it. If you feel that the huran has moisture you can either freeze it for some time or microwave it for a couple of minutes stirring it after every minute. Knead the kanik nicely for couple extra minutes before making balls and rolling out.
I made one batch with 3/4 cup whole wheat flour and 1/4 cup maida without adding turmeric, see the picture below.
Maida Poli are more fluffy and soft.
HAPPY HOLI Making of Puran Poli in pictures:
Soft Ubbati
Health Benefits: Puran Poli made with whole wheat is rich in complex carbs, fibre and certain minerals. Jaggery used in the preparation is loaded with iron, calcium, phosphorus minerals. It digests slowly and hence helps to release energy slowly. Cardamom used also aids in digestion.
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