Who doesn't enjoy a delicious lightly spiced flavorful coconut based egg curry? Egg is one quintessential breakfast food loaded with proteins- liked and consumed by all - good thing being a lot of vegetarians also consume it and are known as Eggetarians 😆  Eggs are the most nutritious food on the planet! There is no doubt about it! On top of everything else, they are also cheap, easy to prepare, go with almost any food and taste awesome.

Dosa is a versatile dish. Set Dosa with Saagu dish is like a couple made in heaven. They complement each other just perfectly. Set dosa is very spongy and soft in texture and is also known as Aval Dosa or Poha Dosa. The batter you get and the method to cook/roast is just like how we make the pancakes. While Saagu is a mixture of vegetables cooked in a thick textured curry where a blend of some interesting spices come together. It is one yummy curry!


Set dosa is similar to mushti pola (another Konkani style dosas) which is very soft and fluffy and has grated coconut ingredient in it. At home, my mom made it once in a while, as everyone loved Plain Dosas. My husband loves this combo so much that I am forced to make it and I prefer to have it for dinner instead of breakfast. It fits perfectly in the dinner menu. Filling and Yumilicious!!


So let us take a look at the Set Dosa Recipe and Saagu Recipe as well.

India's very own street side vegetable burger! You cannot go to Mumbai and NOT have VADA PAV- its a mortal sin if you do that ...lol

VADA PAV

This snack is synonymous with the city of Mumbai, with almost every resident, from factory workers to college students to Bollywood stars, to Visitors are unabashed in declaring their love for it. This street side business has given life to hundreds and thousands of families. A Vada Pav cart owner may be a millionaire for all we know. It is a meal of a poor and snack of the rich. Fills every one's tummy with yumminess!



Vada Pav is a crispy, flavorful sandwich that is consumed in millions across India’s financial capital and largest metropolis every single day. It's made with potato as filling for the vada which is dipped in chickpea flour batter and deep fried. It is then kept in between pav[bread roll] and served with various spicy and tangy dry/wet chutney and fried green chillies. There was a time when I used to ask for extra dry chutney from the vendor. I then brought the leftover chutney home and ate with my roti... its super yummy!

I lived with my aunt in Mumbai for a couple of years when I started work. There used to be a cart by the gate outside the colony which was taken care by a lady who was a widow. She made such excellent Vadas- the taste still lingers on my tongue. To relish hot Vadas which is made in front of you has its own bliss.
Now when I think of it, during shopping breaks I preferred to have Pav Bhaji , Chatpata mumbai special sandwiches or Cheese loaded Sandwiches :) wonder why?


One will find a thela of Vada Pav outside every train station - I am sure thats the hottest spot that is there for a great business! Tired commuters who are always in a hurry to reach somewhere take a quick break indulging in a flavorful Vada Pav which will keep them full till next pang of hunger :)
Mumbai and Vada Pav are inseparable!


Thanks to my aunt who happens to be a great cook and my goto chef :) Its her recipe that I am sharing here.

So without any further delay lets check the recipe:

We will need following: please dont lose interest looking at the ingredients, :) it just has few steps but can be done in fairly good amount of time.

Ingredients:

Dipping Batter

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

Fish curry preparations from the Coastal areas are hands down the best curries in the whole wide world. Reason, fresh fish, fresh coconuts and fresh stock of dry red chillies...:) My ancestors are from coastal region and have known to survive on rice and seafood for their whole lives.:) My grandmother made the best fish dishes ever, she added just those 2-3 fresh ingredients like coconut, dry red chillies and tamarind to freshly caught and cleaned fish by using her signature eyeballing method(:)) to make a fingerlicking gooooood curry!! Since she was an expert, everybody simply loved it!

The highlight of our visit to my grandparents house was mostly "FOOD" and all that simple life around the house. She loved pets so much that all the dogs and cats of the neighborhood used to be at her house :) She loved feeding and talking to them. Wonder none of her kids got those genes passed down hhehehe :(



Few years back my youngest cousin (was 8 yrs then) had visited my grandmother and even he gave her the certificate of excellence :) saying that it was the best fish curry he had in his life (it was actually so cute that it is now a must to be mentioned story whenever we talk about my grandma)....so we all remember her with these loving memories that she has left behind.


Coming to the fish preparation, we have various kinds of fish curries that are very prominent amongst Konkani clan. Northern Karnataka is known for Teppal ambat (schezwan peppers/coconut curry) and Kandya ambat (onion/coconut curry) and in the south of Karnataka they make Phanna ambat (onion tempered curry), Alle piyav ambat/ghashi (onion/ginger curry).. so these are the few variations one will see. Goan preparation is again little different where they use garam masala (whole spices) in the curry. As we move to the north east side of India, one can see the fish preparation in mustard oil and mustard paste etc. So it's unlimited variety :)


Once you get a hang of making these coconut curries, there is no going back- I am telling ya :)

Let us take a look at this Konkani Fish Curry of Kandya Ambat recipe:

Ingredients:

• 1 cup fresh grated coconut (or frozen coconut)
• 1 onion finely chopped
• 2 big size pomfret/pompano (makes 8-9 pieces/fillet)
• 1/2 tea spn tamarind extract or kokum or small marble size ball of tamarind
• 1 green chili slit optional
• 7-8 red chilies (byadgi/kumti chillies preferably)
• 2 tsp coriander seeds
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 2 tbsp oil
• salt to taste

These Boondi or Bundi ladoos are the most beautiful looking ladoos that are there in the market. That light yellow /orange color makes it look so beautiful and festive! It is a collection of tiny pearly balls of gram flour, first fried then dipped in sugar syrup and then rolled into a ladoo. Boondi ladoo is a very delicious treat and is seen served on almost every joyous ocassion in India.

Never in my wildest dreams, I thought that one day I would be making this treat in my kitchen! I always thought it is a difficult dessert to make. No one made these back at home either, we always got it from the store and have eaten plenty at weddings and pooja ceremonies :)


But one day I simply pulled up my socks, said a small prayer in my mind and started making these goodies. To my surprise, they came out so good that my joy had no bounds! From then on there was no looking back. I look forward to make boondi ladoos every Diwali festival. Another reason to learn this exotic ladoos was my son, yes, he saw boondi ladoos from that Krishna animation series and wanted to have it along with rasagulla, sandesh, and besan ladoos :) Thanks to that series, my kid pushed me to do the needful and I couldn't be more happier with the end results!!

This recipe is adapted from manjulas kitchen site.

Let us take a look at the recipe:


Ingredients:

• 1 cup gram flour (besan)
• 1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon water adjust as needed
• 1 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 cup water
• 1 tablespoon sliced almonds
• 5 green cardamom pods crushed
• Oil to deep fry

Preparation:

• Add the water and sugar in a saucepan and bring to a boil on medium-high heat. When the syrup comes to a boil, turn the heat down to medium and stir to dissolve the sugar. Let it simmer until the syrup is about half thread consistency.
• Mix the gram flour with water to make a smooth pancake-like batter or slightly thicker than dosa batter. You can test by pouring little batter on a perforated ladle(which we use to serve rice) and see drops of batter coming out. If it is runny you will have to add little more besan, if it's too thick add little more water to the batter.
• Heat the oil in a frying pan on medium high heat. The frying pan should have at least 1 1/2 inches of oil. To test if the oil is the right temperature, drop a pinch of batter into the oil, if it rises immediately without changing the color then the oil is ready to start frying the boondi.
• Hold the skimmer(perforated ladle) about 1 to 1 1/2 inches above the oil over the center of the frying pan with one hand. With your other hand pour some of the batter onto the skimmer to cover all of the holes without spilling over the edge of the skimmer. If you hold the skimmer higher than 1 1/2 inches above the oil boondi will not be round.

• The batter will start dropping through the holes into the oil. Drop enough boondi into the oil so they just cover the surface of the oil in frying pan in a single layer
• Fry them until the sound of sizzling stops and boondis are light gold in color but not crispy. Lift the boondi out of the oil with a slotted spoon (this allows excess oil to drip back into the frying pan) and put them directly into the warm syrup and mix.
• Before making the next batch of boondi, wipe clean the skimmer. This helps to keep the boondi round.
• Repeat the process of making boondi and adding to the syrup with rest of the batter. You may have to adjust the heat in between making boondis.
• When finished frying the boondi, let them soak in the syrup for few minutes.
• Add the crushed cardamom seeds and sliced almonds to the syrup.
• Now drain off the excess syrup.
• If the boondis are still hot, let them sit only until they are warm enough to handle  but don’t let them to cool off. If the boondis become cold you will not be able to form them into ladoos.
• Grease your hands with some ghee, to make the ladoos, scoop up some of the boondi mixture into your palm with a spoon. Gently squeeze the mixture between both palms to shape into a round ball about the size of a golf ball. As you are squeezing some of the syrup will come out. Dont worry about it.
• Repeat the process till all the boondi is used up to make ladoos.
• As the ladoos cool to room temperature they will become firm but they should still be moist.
• Serve it as a dessert or snack.

Getting back to blogging after a short break, feels so good to be back in my comfort zone :)
It was Monday, Presidents day a long weekend in USA. Had a busy rest of the weekend having too much fun! Thought of lazying around while cleaning up the house and at sharp 11:08am had a craving to eat pav bhaji after my eyes wandered on the potato bag in the pantry :) Got lucky as I had all the ingredients in the fridge except pav (Indian bread). After begging for 5 minutes to my Pati-dev who thinks weekends are his right to be a couch potato, sent him off to the store to get the pav while I geared myself to make some YUMM-O street food.


This dish is a big hit at my house and relished amongst my friends. I got this recipe from a Juhu beach vendor in Mumbai on Youtube some years back. Can't go wrong, right? I have customized the recipe just a little bit as per my convenience. I was actually surprised to see couple of ingredients that went into it like kasoori methi and hing. Well, it only adds more great flavors to say the least.

Another huge USP of this dish, can add as many variety of vegetables you want and kids will not even know :) because potatoes overpowers the rest of the clan :)- So yes, Moms can go YAY!!










Pav Bhaji was invented as a midnight dish by street food vendors, made with all the leftover vegetables from the day, mashed up together, with loads of added spice, and butter. Bhaji is the Marathi word for a vegetable dish, and pav probably comes from the Portuguese word for bread.

All I can say is try it and see if you like it.

Ingredients:

For the Bhaji:

• 2 big potatoes boiled, peeled and mashed lightly
• 4-5 ripe tomatoes chopped ( if not sour enough, add extra tbsp of tomato paste)
• 1 capsicum chopped
• 10 flowerets of cauliflower (roughly chopped)
• 1 small carrot chopped (optional)
• 1/2 cup peas boiled
• 1 1/2 tsp ginger garlic paste
• 1 tsp Kashmiri chili pwd (to give more color than spiciness)
• 2 tbsp butter
• 1/4th tsp turmeric pwd
• 1- 2 tbsp pav bhaji masala (everest or mtr)
• handful chopped cilantro leaves
• 1 tbsp fenugreek leaves
• pinch asafetida 
• 2 tbsp of oil
• food color orange 1 pinch ( if you want that gorgeous color :))

To Fry the Pav:

• Butter
• Cilantro leaves
• Prepared Pav Bhaji

Garnish Ingredients:

• Chopped onion
• Sev
• Lemon pieces
• Dallop of butter on it

6 Pav (store bought for now)
Minimum 2 Pav each person to relish all that goodness of buttery bhaji :)


Preparation:

• In a non stick pan, heat oil, add capsicum, cauliflower, (carrots if using it) and quickly saute it for 2 to 3 minutes. 
• Add ginger garlic paste and let it cook for little bit more till the raw smell goes away. Add asafetida, kasoori methi and cook for a minute.
• Now add chopped tomatoes and saute it for couple of minutes. You can add 1 tbsp butter now and let it cook till you see some oil coming out from the corners. Stir in between.
• Add masalas - turmeric pwd, chilli pwd and pav bhaji masala, salt mix everything together quickly. 
• Add boiled potatoes and with a masher, start mashing everything together. Add water little by little till you get the consistency of thickness/thinness you want. It is always semi thick. Potatoes basically absorb water. 
• Taste it and see if it needs adjustment, if your tomatoes are not sour enough, add lemon juice.
• Add food color if you want.
• Let it cook on sim flame for about 7-8 minutes. Keep stirring in between and add water as you like. Add another tbsp of butter :)
• Garnish it with Cilantro and switch off the gas.

How to fry the Pav just before serving:

• Cut the Pav in the centre and semi open it.
• On a frying pan, add butter, as it sizzles add bhaji, cilantro and place the pav face down and cook for few sec. Drizzle some butter or oil on top and serve hot.

How to Serve Pav Bhaji:
Serve good amount of bhaji in a compartmented plate, chopped onion, cilantro and lemon slices on one end, you can add onions, sev and butter on top of the hot bhaji, and masala fresh pav on the other side.

Trust me, eating is much easier than writing how to serve Pav Bhaji :):) (joke)

If you are street food junkie, you may also like
Missal Pav,  Baked Potatoes Wedges,  Mumbai's special Masala Sandwich

njoY!! happY cookinG!!

Health Benefits:

Due to the increased interest in foods that are low-carb or low-glycemic index, the potato has unjustly earned a bad reputation. Potatoes consumed in simple roasted, grilled, boiled, steamed manner with little or no oil/butter is very healthy and nutritious for health.
It is loaded with calcium, phosphorus, zinc, magnesium, iron that helps in having strong bones.
It has vitamin B6 which supports heart health.
Choline is a very important and versatile nutrient in potatoes that helps with sleep, muscle movement, learning and memory.

 Chakli (also known as chakkuli or chakali) is a very staple savory tea time snack found in most of the Indian households. When it comes to making chakli, there are numerous recipes out there. Previously I updated my blog with a recipe that called for crunchy chakli and this recipe calls for a more softer and crunchy chaklis. This is our home recipe. You gotta try it to believe it :)

My favorite kind is soft and crunchy chakli mixed with lots of spice. But now I appreciate less spicy kind too :) Ingredient phutani(dalia) that is used in this recipe is delicious in taste, nutritious and can be digested easily. It is commonly mixed with sugar and distributed to the devotees in temples as God's offering.
Getting the spirals right(it is a big deal:)) while you press on the dough using a chakli press maker, surely gives you a kick and cheap thrills :) If it won't come out neatly (or breaks) please don't overreact like a hindi serial mother-in-law hehe... absolutely don't worry, I do have few tips up my sleeve which is mentioned in the notes below.



The first time you make it right, that moment, that satisfaction, that simple pleasures of life are not to be forgotten! :) (at least in my case) I cannot thank the techno-era we live in where I can simply share my kitchen achievements/stories, mishaps, success any darn thing with my mom, sister or a friend instantly.

Let us take a look at the Chakli recipe,

Ingredients:

• 1 cup rice flour 
• 1/4th cup roasted gram dal (also known as dalia, phutani) 
• 1 tsp chilly powder, (more if you like spicy) 
• 1/2 tsp turmeric (haldi) 
• 1/2 tsp cumin seeds (jeera) 
• 2 tsp sesame seeds (til) 
• 1/2 tsp coriander powder (dhania pwd) 
• 1/2 tsp cumin powder 
• 2-3 tbsp butter at room temperature 
• salt as per taste 
• 1/2 - 3/4th cup approx. water (to knead the dough) 
• oil to fry 

Preparation:

• Mix all the above ingredients except water and mix everything with your fingers. 
• Then slowly add water little by little and make a chapati/roti like dough. Keep aside for 20-30 min, covered.
• Take some portion of the chakli dough, knead it some more and place it in the chakli press, start making spirals on a newspaper sheet or wax paper. 
• Heat oil in a kadai, once the oil is hot bring the flame to med. Slowly slide the chaklis in the kadai using piece of wax paper or slide it on plain spatula and transfer slowly in the hot oil and fry nicely till it is brown on all sides on med-low flame. 
• Take it out and place on the paper towel to absorb the extra oil. Nice soft and mild crispy chaklis are ready. 
• Let it cool down completely before you store it in an airtight container. 

STUFFED BRINJAL CURRY

There are various versions of stuffed brinjal recipes. This is one of the easiest and yummiest recipe you can find anywhere which is based out of Maharashtra. I grew up eating stuffed brinjal cooked in coconut base curry, but that recipe some other time. I simply love this sabjiyon ka raja (king of vegetables) Baingan/Brinjal/Eggplant in any form, be it fried, baked, fire roasted, grilled, in lasagna, rice or in curry. This spicy preparation will send you drooling, guaranteed!

Ingredients:

• 8 medium sized brinjals
• 1 big onion chopped
• 1 tbsp chilli powder
• 1 tsp garam masala
• 2 pod garlic chopped (optional)
• 1 inch ginger chopped (optional)
• 1/2 cup peanuts roasted and powdered
• 1/2 tsp jaggery (or brown sugar)
• salt as per taste
• 1/2 tsp tamarind pulp
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 10 curry leaves (optional)
• 2-3 tbsp oil
• cilantro for garnish
• 2 cups water (or more)

Preparation:

• Slit the brinjals in 4 parts keeping the stalk intact. Soak it in salt and tamarind water for 30 minutes.
• In the meantime make a mixture of chopped onions, peanut powder, chilly powder, garam masala, ginger garlic, salt.
• Drain the water from brinjals and stuff it with this onion mixture. Keep the remaining onion mixture aside.
• In a wide non-stick pan, heat oil, add mustard seeds, once it splutters add curry leaves and the remaining onion mixture and saute it for few minutes. 
• Now slowly add the stuffed brinjal and let it slightly roast on all sides, for a couple of minutes on each side. 
• Now add 1 cup water and close the lid, let it cook for 8-10 minutes on low-med heat. Add jaggery and tamarind pulp. Now very gently turn brinjals over and let it cook till done. Last few minutes cook uncovered. Curry thickens, adjust water and spices accordingly. Garnish with cilantro and serve hot with bhakri, roti or paratha. It's finger licking good!

njoY!! happY cookinG!!



Health Benefits: King of vegetables, better provide some royal benefits :) It helps in iron production in our body, keeps chronic diseases at bay, helps quit smoking(who knew?), has good amount of vitamin C and is effective as antiviral and antibacterial source, helps to have healthy strong hair, keeps the skin soft and supple, prevents skin cancer etc. Research on eggplant has focused on an anthocyanin phytonutrient found in eggplant skin called nasunin. Nasunin is a potent antioxidant that has been shown to protect cell membranes from damage.

Instant Pot pressure cooker is creating waves in the communities across the world and I am happy I have one at home to make some yummy dishes being absolutely carefree, stress free and mess free :)

Have tried quite a few recipes and I must say, so far so good. Very helpful when you have an errand to run and don't have enough time to cook the dish, switch off the gas and only after that dash out of the house. Instant Pot is a life savior in such scenarios. You wanna run to a grocery store? You wanna pick up your kid from the activities? You wanna go shopping? You wanna linger in your shower little more time :)(hell ya!)? no problemo :) Dump the ingredients of a recipe into the instant pot, set it up appropriately and off you go doing your errands tension free. By the time you get back home, your dish should be ready (hopefully :))


So today I made Tilapia Fish curry using coconut milk and spices. Tastes fantastic. This curry can be enjoyed with the plain rice or noodles. I usually use curry leaves for this preparation but today added thai basil leaves with thai bird chillies and the aroma was so fantastic that I just cudn't wait for it to be done. We enjoyed it as a family-- happily slurping away with the rice.

Very easy to make and a combination of spices and coconut milk gives this curry a heavenly taste and aroma. I actually enjoyed the thai basil twist on it :) It complements well with the aromatic long grained basmati rice or jasmine rice. You can make this same curry adding chicken or shrimp too.


Let us take a look at the Fish Curry with Coconut Milk (Tilapia)

Ingredients:

• 3 cups coconut milk (can use coconut powder or tin)
• 1.5 lb tilapia fish cut into big fillet (take any white fish)
• 2 med onion sliced
• 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes ( or 1 tomato chopped)
• 4 pods garlic chopped
• 2 inch ginger chopped
• 2 green chillies (or thai bird chilies)
• handful of curry leaves or thai basil
• 1 tbsp coriander pwd
• 2 tsp cumin pwd
• 1 tsp chili pwd (or 1 tsp chili flakes)
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 1/2 tsp fenugreek pwd (optional, but it imparts nice taste)
• Either use above 5 powders or 3 tbsp of curry powder.
• 1-2 tbsp oil
• salt to taste
• 1-2 tsp lemon juice to taste

Preparation:

• Press [Saute] to pre-heat the cooker. When the words 'Hot' appear on the display add oil, then drop curry leaves or thai basil (keep 5 leaves aside to add later),  then add onion, garlic, ginger and saute until onion is translucent. (around 3-4 minutes)
• Add all the powdered spices and saute together for 1 more minute. 
• De-glaze with the coconut milk making sure to un-stick anything from the bottom and incorporate in the sauce. Add green chilies (or thai bird), tomatoes, fish pieces. Stir gently to mix everything. [adjust thickness by adding more coconut milk or water if needed]
• Close the lid of the Instant Pot, Press [manual] and use [+], [-] to adjust time. Set on 3 minutes pressure cooking time. 
• When time is up open the pressure cooker using QPR (don't wait on NPR because fish gets done quickly).
• Add salt to taste, remaining thai basil leaves and lemon juice before serving it hot with Rice or Noodles.

njoY!! happY cookinG!!

Note*:
 This curry can be easily made on stove top too. Pretty much the same process. Before adding the fish to the curry, bring it to a boil, then add fish pieces and simmer the curry for few minutes till the fish is done. Serve hot with Rice or Noodles.
 The color of the curry varies depending on your chili powder. Some chilies are spicy but don't impart that dark red color and vice versa.



Health Benefits: 
Coconut Milk: 
Coconuts are highly nutritious and rich in fibre, vitamins C, E, B1, B3, B5 and B6 and minerals including iron, selenium, sodium, calcium, magnesium and phosphorous. Unlike cow's milk, coconut milk is lactose free so can be used as a milk substitute by those with lactose intolerance. It is a popular choice with vegans and makes a great base for smoothies, milkshakes or as a dairy alternative in baking. Coconuts are one of those foods that oscillate between the 'good' food and 'bad' food camps. Coconut milk, especially the lower fat variety, can be used in moderation (1-2 times per week). source:https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide/ingredient-focus-coconut-milk

Tilapia:
It is a bland yet delicious, lean white fish that has a wide variety of associated health benefits, including its ability to help reduce weight, boost overall metabolism, speed up repair and growth throughout the body, build strong bones, reduce the risk of various chronic diseases, lower triglyceride levels, prevent arthritis, protect against cognitive decline, prevent various types of cancer, reduce signs of aging, boost the health of your hair, and strengthen your immune system.

When I think of burfi, the first thing that comes to my mind is oozing ghee, sugar and maybe khoya, besan etc.. But this particular burfi has no such thing, just plain main healthy ingredients. You will want to keep this in your pantry to chomp off whenever you will have a sugar craving :) and go guilt free :) It is more like an energy bite which will calm your sugar cravings too. Win Win situation!

So not wasting any more time here, am going straight to the recipe details!


Let us take a look at the Dates and Figs Burfi (Energy Bites) recipe.


      Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups dry figs 
• 1 cup dates 
• 2 tbsp ghee 
• 1/2 cup sugar(optional) 
• 10 cashews (roughly chopped) 
• 10 pistachios (roughly chopped) 

Preparation:

• Soak dates in hot water and keep aside for 10 minutes. Then cut dates finely with a knife. 
• In a processor grind figs. 
• Take a pan and warm ghee in it, now add the figs and saute on medium flame for around 6-7 minutes.  
• Add the dates and sugar if you need that extra nice sweet taste and saute till it leaves ghee at the side of the pan (like 5 more minutes) 
• Add the chopped nuts and mix everything well. 
• Grease a tray or plate with ghee or on a wax parchment sheet, add this mixture, spread it evenly with a flat spoon. 
• Refrigerate for 10 minutes, cut into desired shaped pieces and keep it back in the refrigerator for an hour. 
• You can roll it into bite size balls too. Get creative and give your own twist :)

njoy!! happY cookinG!!


Health Benefits: Figs are a good source of potassium, a mineral that helps to control blood pressure. Very good source of fibre, magnesium, vitamin b6 and copper. Good news is dry figs are available easily in the market. 


Dates: again high in dietary fiber helps prevent LDL (bad) cholesterol. Good content of iron, potassium, B-vitamins along with vitamin A(for eyes, skin), Vitamin K(for bones).

Today I was in a great mood to have these yummilicious Ragi Rotti. Ragi rotti (in Karnataka) also known as Nachani chi Bhakri in Maharashtra: is a very staple and savory breakfast dish. Ragi(finger millet) is hailed as a very nutritious millet/grain with a naturally nutty flavor. Lots of recipes are churned out using this ancient grain and Rotti (flat bread) is one of them. Feel free to take a look at few more interesting recipes on my blog that use Ragi as the main ingredient. In the past few years Ragi has taken a permanent place in my pantry :)



Ragi Rotti is nothing but a finger millet pancake made with mixing ragi flour, hot water, onions, chilies and few other ingredients to make a semi-soft dough. It makes a power packed breakfast or meal for that matter. It is usually served with spicy chutney, yogurt and dollops of ghee/butter.
Most authentic way of making it is by patting a rotti on a banana leaf and then frying the rotti on both the sides on a griddle till it's cooked. The flavors are amazing. As banana leaves are not easily available in the USA,  I use wax paper to roll it 🙂 . Many a times I directly pat the rotti on the griddle/tava itself. I wouldn't recommend it for the beginners though.


Ragi digests slowly and hence keeps you full for a longer period of time, just like protein. That's the reason why it is very loved and common amongst hard working class of people like farmers, construction workers etc. Ragi Mudde is another such example. Ragi flour porridge is given to babies once they start on solid food. A very staple grain found in almost every household in India. I highly recommend to incorporate this grain in your lifestyle.


Let us take a look at this recipe of Ragi Rotti.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup ragi flour (finger millet flour)
• 3/4 cup hot water (approx)
• 1 small onion chopped
• 1 green chili chopped
• 1 inch ginger minced
• couple sprigs of cilantro chopped
• salt as per taste
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• oil to fry
• 2 tbsp grated coconut (optional)*

Semi Soft Dough

Spread the ball of dough on a wax paper with your greased fingers,

Fry on both sides.

Preparation:

• In a mixing bowl add all the ingredients except water.
• Nicely mix everything with your hands or use a wooden ladle. Pour hot water slowly little by little as you keep mixing the mixture in circular motion. Keep doing it till you get a nice soft dough. Not too hard. Keep aside closed for 5-10 minutes.
• Now heat a griddle/tava till smoking hot and then reduce the heat to med. Add 1 tsp of oil.
• Take a square piece of wax paper to roll out rotti's. Take a portion of the dough about the size of a tennis ball and keep it on the wax paper. Grease your palms with oil and flatten it nicely using your fingers slowly and gently making a round rotti about 5 inch in diameter. (You can also use a rolling pin to make rotti).
• If the edges are cracking, do not worry, just dip your finger with some water and gather it and seal the crack. Make some holes in between to make sure the oil gets absorbed uniformly well.
• Lift the rotti along with the wax paper and invert it on the hot tava carefully and peel the wax paper out leaving the rotti on it.
• Add oil or ghee gingerly around the rotti and over it. Cover with a lid and cook for couple of minutes. Flip the rotti and add more oil if you want and let it cook for another 2 minutes or till its done.
• Take it out and serve hot with ghee/butter/yogurt/chutney etc.

njoY!! happY cookinG!!

Note:* Usually the ragi rotti turns out little on the crispier side.
If you want it more on the softer side then add coconut.
If you think that dough is too soft to make rottis, add a tsp (or more) of rice flour to make it semi-soft.
You can also add veggies in it to make it more nutritious like grated carrot, cucumber etc.

You may also like:

Ragi Mudde
Ragi Iddiyapam
Ragi Poori
Potato Stew



Health Benefits: 
Finger Millet(Ragi) is a power packed grain! It is high in protein and minerals. Helpful in controlling diabetes, keeps one younger for a long period(cross-linking of collagen), reduces bad cholesterol, also has anti-microbial properties and has been found to act against a number of bacteria including Bacillus cereus, which causes food poisoning, Salmonella sp., which causes a typhoid-like fever etc. Try and include this healthy food in your diet when you can.

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