Khandvi

We miss Gujarati snacks (farshan) every now and then. Few days earlier, I was watching Masterchef India and in the elimination round contestants had to prepare Khandvi. That was enough to tempt me to make Khandvis. I am sharing with you all simpler version of Authentic Gujarati Khandvi recipe.

Khandvi

Prep. Time - 5 mins
Cooking Time - 10 -15 mins
Ingredients
For Batter
1 cup Chickpea Flour
1 cup thick Yogurt
2 cups water
1/2 tsp Turmeric Powder
1 tsp Ginger chilli Paste
Salt to taste
Pinch of Asafoetida
For Tempering
1 Tbsp oil
1 tsp Mustard Seeds
1 tsp chopped Green chilies
few curry leaves
pinch  of Asafoetida
2 tsp Sesame seeds
Grated coconut -for garnish

The tricky part for Khandvi is the batter consistency.  Mix all the ingredients for batter and mix well to get a lump free batter.Grease back part of the plates or your cooking surface. You can even spread out an aluminium foil on a flat surface and grease it.

Start cooking the batter in a pan on medium low heat. Stir occasionally, to make sure no lumps are being formed and the batter is not sticking at the bottom of the pan.When the batter is thick (in around 8-10 mins) pour the hot batter on the greased surface and quickly spread the batter, with the help of a spatula. Spread the batter thin and evenly. Allow it to cool.   You need to spread the batter when its hot. If its cooled, the batter will not spread.

When cooled, cut the Khandvi length wise with around 1 1/2 inch width. Roll up gently starting from the smaller side. Repeat this for all other Khandvi's. Place the rolls in the plate.
For Tempering, heat oil in a small pan. Add Mustard seeds. When the mustard seeds start crackling, add Asafoetida, Green chillis and curry leaves. Turn off the gas. Add Sesame seeds and pour the tempering over the khandvis.

Garnish with grated coconut. You may also use dessicated coconut.
Delicious, Mouthwatering Khandvis are ready for eating !! :)

Try this at your home and let me know how it turns out. I read somewhere, that it can be made in Microwave also. If you try, please share your experience !!

Pull Aparts

These are easy and incredible pull aparts. A party pleasing appetizer.  I was searching internet for a nice bread recipe when i came across pull aparts.  These pull aparts can be savory or sweet. I tried both in one pan. You can even make them with your kids. They will surely have fun.

Pull Aparts

Ingredients
1 cup All Purpose Flour/Maida
1/4th cup luke warm water
1 tsp Oil
1 tsp active dry yeast
Salt to Taste
1 tsp Sugar or Honey
Butter - for brushing
Milk - for brushing

For Stuffing
Coriander Chutney
Chocolate spread
or any other stuffing of your choice


Take Luke Warm water in a small bowl. Add Sugar (or Honey) and yeast. Mix well and allow the yeast to rise for around 5 minutes.

In another bowl sift All Purpose Flour. You may use Whole Wheat Flour or half all purpose and half whole wheat. Add salt, oil and the yeast mixture to the flour. Knead the mixture and prepare a soft dough. Place the dough covered in a warm place to rise. The dough will double in an hour.

While the dough is rising, prepare your stuffing. You can make any spicy chutney of your choice. I used Coriander Chutney and added Sriracha sauce and Parmesan Cheese to it. Visit my blog post on   chutneys for recipe.

Once the dough is double and your stuffing is ready, take out the dough and punch it down.  Divide the dough into small golf size balls. Roll the ball into a thin disk like roti (flatbread).
Brush it with Butter and then spread the stuffing on the rolled disk. Make sure your stuffing is thick and not watery.
Start rolling the disk from one side till the other end. With a knife make 1 inch apart cuts. In a greased baking tray, place the cut pinwheels with cut side down. Leave some space in between the two pinwheels. Repeat this for the rest of the dough.

Place the baking tray in a warm place for another 30-45 minutes, until the stuffed pinwheels have risen again. Once they have risen, they will tend to stick to each other. Preheat oven at around 350 F. Brush milk on the top and place them for baking. Bake them until the top gets a nice glaze or if tapped the bread sounds hollow.

Enjoy this delicious pull aparts.

Note : You can be innovative with the stuffing.  Try Hazelnut spread, chocolate, apple cinnamon and different varieties of chutneys. 

Twisted Savory Buns

It has been continuously raining outside and me and my husband had this urge to eat something hot, tasty and yet healthy! Ta-da, I immediately thought of these Savory Buns! Simple to make, healthy to eat and satisfies the taste buds :)

Savory Buns

I added equal proportions of whole wheat flour and all purpose flour (maida), but to make it healthier, you can omit all purpose flour completely. Whole Wheat flour dough is sticker and needs little more kneading then the all purpose flour.

Ingredients:

Wheat Flour                3/4 cup
All purpose Flour         3/4 cup
Luke Warm Water       1/2 cup                
Instant Dry Yeast        1/2 tsp
Sugar                        1/2 tsp
Green Chilies             To Taste
Oil                             2 Tbsp
Sesame Seeds            1 Tbsp
Salt                           To Taste
Coriander Leaves        For Garnish
  

Method:

•  In a bowl, add warm water, yeast, sugar and salt and leave it for 10-15 minutes until frothy.
•  Add in 1/2 cup of All purpose flour and Whole wheat flour to the frothy mixture.
•  Mix the flours and water well(at this stage the dough would be sticky, its ok) and leave it covered in a warm place for 1 hour. (If its cold outside, just keep this dough in the oven with the light on)
•  After 1 hour, the dough should be doubled or fairly risen. At this stage, knock down the air, add the rest of the flour (1/4 cup of All Purpose and wheat flour), coarsely ground chilli paste and knead very well (knead for about 7-10 mins). 
•   Make equal sized small round balls from the dough, pop in 3 of these balls in each muffin cup and keep the dough covered in a warm place for about 50 minutes to 1 Hour.

Dough balls risen after an hour of sitting

• In the mean time pre-heat the oven to 200 C/390 F 
• Uncover the muffin tray, brush a little milk on the dough balls to get a good golden color on the buns and sprinkle sesame seeds and coriander leaves.
• Bake it for about 15-20 minutes or till you see a golden brown color on the buns!

Right out of the oven

• Serve warm with hot tea or coffee, or even with a mixture of Olive Oil and freshly crushed black pepper.

 

Tip: 

(1) The Buns should sound hollow when tapped. If they sound hollow, they are ready.

(2) Though you may use any oil, using Olive Oil gives the best result. 

Muthia (Steamed Dumplings)

Muthia (Steamed Dumplings)

Muthiyas are savory dumplings traditionally made from Gram flour and bottle gourd. I am sharing my way of making muthiyas. They are good as a snack with tea or as a quick and healthy dinner.

Prep Time - 10 mins
Cooking Time - 15 mins

Ingredients
1/2 cup Coarse Whole Wheat Flour
1/2 cup Chick Pea Flour
1/4 cup Rice Flour/leftover cooked rice/ leftover Khichdi
1 cup grated bottle gourd and/or zucchini and/or carrots, and/or cabbage
1/4 cup yogurt 
1 Tbsp Oil
1 tsp minced Ginger
1 tsp crushed green chilies.
1 tsp red chili powder
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp garam masala
Salt to taste

For Tempering
1 Tbsp oil
1 tsp mustard seeds
pinch of asafoetida 
1 dried red chili
1 Tbsp Coarsely ground peanuts
1 Tsp Sesame seeds

Mix all the ingredients and form into a soft dough. Make cylindrical rolls. Place the rolls on a greased steamer plate and put them in the steamer. Steam them for around 20 minutes. Apply the tooth pick rule to check whether the muthiyas are cooked or not.

Remove the muthias from the steamer and allow them to cool.  Cut the muthias into small round pieces.  Prepare for tempering. Take  oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds, once they start crackling, add asafoetida and red chili. Add peanuts and saute for a minute. Add sesame seeds and chopped muthias. Stir fry the muthias for 2 -3 minutes. Enjoy the delicious Muthias with Tea or Ketchup.

I love to be adventures with Muthiyas. Blanched Spinach and Khichdi makes very soft and delicious muthiyas.
Note : If you are using Khichdi/Rice, skip adding Rice Flour.  

Rava Dhokla or Semolina Dumplings

Rava Dhokla or Semolina Dumplings, a famous Gujarati Snack (its not sweet though!!), is one of my favorite dinner option.

Rava Dhokla or Semolina Dumplings

Prep. Time : 20 mins
Cooking Time : 10 mins

Ingredients
1 cup Sooji/Rava or Semolina
1/2 cup Yogurt
1 tsp cut green chilies
1 tsp minced ginger
Salt to taste
1 tsp baking soda or ENO
Oil for greasing

For Tempering
1 Tbsp Oil
1/2 tsp Mustard Seeds
1 Tbsp Sesame Seeds
1 tsp chopped Green Chilies
4 -5 curry leaves
pinch of asafoetida

Mix Semolina, Yogurt , chopped green chillies, ginger and salt. Add water and mix well to form a smooth, lump-free batter. Allow the batter to rest for around 30 minutes. For steaming add around 500 ml water in a large pot and put it on medium heat to boil. Grease the dhokla tray or dumpling tray (thalis). After 30 minutes add Baking Soda or ENO to the batter and mix. Immediately, pour the batter in the greased tray and arrange in the steamer. Steam them for 10 minutes. Make sure the bottom of the tray does not touch the water. You can check Dhokla by inserting a toothpick in the center. It will come out clean if the dhokla is done. Turn off the heat and immediately remove the trays from the steamer and let them cool.
 

Cut dhokla in diagonal or square shape using a small knife. Heat the oil in a pan on medium heat. Add mustard seeds. When they start popping add asafoetida, green chilies and curry leaves. Add sesame seeds. Add the cut dhoklas in the pan. Mix them. Turn off the heat. Serve them with Green Chutney or as it is. :)

Falafel

The first thing I tried in Mediterranean Cuisine was Falafel. Although I had tasted Falafel earlier in India, I liked it only after tasting it here in US - a more traditional version with Pita, Tzatiki dip, Humus, spicy red chutney and salad.

It's a good starter for any party. And recipe is very easy - read on to believe it.

Prep Time : 10 minutes

Cooking Time : 40 minutes

 Ingredients

1 Cup Chickpea/Garbanzo beans/Chole Chana

1 tablespoon Gram flour

1 tablespoon Corn Flour

1 tablespoon Coriander leaves/cilantro

1 tsp red chilli powder

1 tsp turmuric powder

1 tsp garam masala (optional)

1 tsp crushed green chilis

1 tsp crushed ginger (optional)

1 tsp chopped garlic

1 small chopped onion

 Salt to taste

for tempering (optional)

dried red chilis

mustard seeds

sesame seeds

coarsely crushed groundnuts.

Soak Chick peas for atleast 18 hours.  You can also buy boiled garbanzo tins from the market.  Remove the water from the peas and then crush them - not too fine or too coarse. Add all the other ingredients and mix well to form a batter. 

Now prepare the tempering. Tempering is totally optional. Authentic falafel doesn't have tempering. I am just giving it an Indian touch by adding Indian spices, ground nuts and sesame seeds tempering. Add the tempering to the batter.

There are two options to make falafel : deep fry or bake.

To Deep fry: heat oil, make small ice-cream scoop sized balls from the batter and try frying 1 ball first. If it falls apart, add little corn flour.  Fry until golden brown in color. Drain on paper towel.

To Bake: preheat the oven at 350 degree F. Take a deep baking tray. Slightly brush with oil and place the balls in the tray a little apart from each other. Cover the tray with a aluminum foil. Allow them to bake for 20-25 minutes.
I like to use the cup cake tray for baking. After around 20-25 minutes, flip the falafel and place them again uncovered for another 20 minutes or so until they are properly cooked and golden brown in color.

Serve with Tzatiki, salad and/or with pita pockets.

Almond Pretzels

Soft Almond Pretzel

Aroma of hot soft pretzel is irresistible :)

I had tasted normal Pretzels and I didn't like them much. But once I tried these soft Pretzels, I could not resist having them every time I passed by Aunt Annie's shop in nearby mall. Thus me and my husband became huge fan of soft Pretzels, especially Almond Pretzels. And as usual, my cooking passion kicked in and I decided to make these at home.

I searched the recipe on internet but there were many methods of making them. I experimented a bit and result was not bad at all. In fact it turned out to be as good as the one from Aunt Annie's :).

Preparation Time - 1 hr 30 mins
Cooking Time - 30 mins

Ingredients

1 cup All Purpose Flour
1/4 the packet Rapid Rising Yeast
1 tsp Sugar + 2 tsp Sugar
Salt to taste
2 Tbsp melted Butter
1 Tbsp Baking Soda
2 Tbsp coarsely crushed Almonds

This will make 4 Pretzels.

Dissolve 1 tsp sugar and yeast in 2 tablespoon lukewarm water. Keep it aside for 5 minutes.
Meanwhile Mix Flour, salt and 1/2 Tbsp butter. Add the dissolved yeast and form a soft dough. Add extra water if needed. Transfer the dough into a lightly oiled bowl. Cover it and keep it in a warm place  approximately for an hour or until it's size doubles.

Mix sugar and almonds in a small bowl and keep aside. Punch down the risen dough and divide into four parts.Roll one part into a long rope.

Make a U shape with the rope, twist the ends of the rope and join them at the bottom of the U shape. Use some flour for dusting.
For nuggets cut the rope into 1-inch pieces. You can also create different shapes; it can be a fun activity for kids - with all the different shapes they can give to a regular pretzel :)

Place the pretzels on a dusted and lightly greased plate.

Boil almost 1 litre of water. Add baking soda to it. In parallel, lightly grease your baking sheet and preheat the oven to 425F.

Add the pretzel into the boiling water and allow it to cook for not more than 1 minute. Remove it from water and place it on the greased baking sheet.  For nuggets, place them in water for 30 seconds.

Brush the pretzels with butter and sprinkle the almond mixture on top. Bake the pretzels for 12-15 minutes. Baking time varies, so keep an eye. My pretzel got baked in 12 minutes.

Take them out and lightly brush them with butter or dip them in liquid butter as done by pretzel shops. The hot soft pretzels are ready :).

Try it and do share your experience.

Hasselback Potatoes

This is a new kind of fancy baked potatoes.

Hasselback Potatoes

Potatoes are awesome. You can make numerous dishes from potatoes - few of them involves baking. This recipe can be enjoyed any day and its also a tempting fasting dish. 

If you are french fries lover or not, you will surely enjoy this dish. And most important thing is that it is very easy to prepare with nothing much to be done. 

Since its not deep fried, you can enjoy it without much guilt. 

Preparation Time - 5 minutes

Cooking Time - 30 minutes 

Ingredients: 
2 large baking potatoes  
2 Tbsp melted Butter 
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp dried basil
2 tsp olive oil

Salt  to taste

Preheat oven to 425F.

Take butter, olive oil, black pepper, basil, salt in a small bowl and mix them well. Cut potatoes from one end to other creating thin slices as shown. 

Take a baking pan and put the sliced potatoes. Now apply the butter mixture between each slices of the potato with the help of a brush or spoon. Drizzle rest of the butter on top and the potatoes are ready for baking. Put them into oven & bake for 30 mins or until golden brown as shown. The potatoes should be fork tender. 

Put some cheese between each slice and on top to get that cheesy flavor :). Cook it to impress your near and dear ones :) 

In case you are making as a fasting recipe, you can substitute ghee for butter. 

You can prepare a similar dish using sweet potatoes. 

Fafda with Papaya Chutney & Spicy Yogurt Dip

Fafda, Papaya chutney & Spicy Yogurt Dip

Fafda is a popular Chickpea snack. It is a typical Gujarati Street Food served with savory papaya chutney and a spicy yogurt dip.  Follow this easy recipe and enjoy home made Fafdas.

Ingredients

Chickpea Flour or Besan - 1 cup
Cooking Soda - 1/4th tsp
Water -1/4th cup
Asofetedia - 1/2 tsp
Coarsely Crushed Black pepper - 1/2 tsp
Ajwain - 1/2 tsp
Salt to taste
Oil - 1 Tbsp
Oil for frying
Turmeric powder - 1/8tsp

For seasoning

1/2 tsp of black salt,
1/4th tsp red chili powder
1/2 tsp cumin powder,
1/2 tsp coriander powder
salt to taste.
Mix all the seasoning ingredients and keep it aside.

Take cooking soda in a small cup. Add 1/4th cup water into it and allow the soda to dissolve in the water.  In another bowl mix flour, asofetedia, crushed pepper, ajwain, salt, turmeric powder and oil. Add the soda water and make a tight dough. 

Add 1/2 teaspoon of oil and knead the dough well. Make equal size small balls from the dough. Heat the oil at medium heat.

Take a wooden surface. Grease it with oil or an oil spray. Take one small ball and place on the greased surface. With the help of the base of your palm, press and flatten the dough ball into a long strip.

Tip : Making strips from the dough with hand comes with practice. Dont panic if you are not able to do so. You can use a rolling pin to make strips. Roll the pin in only one direction, from bottom to up.

Fry the strips over medium heat until golden brown. Take them out and put them on Tissue paper. Sprinkle the seasoning mix. Repeat the process for all other dough balls.

For Papaya Chutney recipe check my post on Chutneys.

For Spicy Yogurt Dip visit my post on Yogurt Dips.

Dabeli or Double Roti

Dabeli or Double Roti

Dabeli or Double Roti is a famous street food originally from Kutch region of Gujarat. Its a mouth watering dish and has plenty of flavors in it. All ages of people enjoy having Dabeli. Today i am sharing a total home made simplified yet very tasty dabeli.

Ingredients

Potatoes Boiled & mashed - 3 big

Green Chilli & Coriander Paste - 1 Tbsp

Ginger Paste - 1 tsp

Salt - to taste

Lemon juice - 1 tsp

Sugar - 1 tsp

Red chili powder 

Garam Masala

Dhania jeera Powder - 1 tsp

Amchur Powder - 1 tsp

Oil - 3 tsp

Pav or buns

To Serve 

Onions Chopped

Date & Tamarind Chutney

Chili & Garlic Chutney

Coriander Chutney

Fresh chopped coriander leaves

Butter

Masala Peanuts

Nylon Sev

Pomegranate Pearls

Cheese

Heat oil in a pan. Add chili- ginger paste and saute for a minute. Add mashed potatoes. Add salt, lemon juice, sugar, red chili powder, Garam masala, dhania jeera powder. Mix everything well. Turn off the gas. Now add amchur powder, and 2 tsp each of tamarind and garlic chutney. Add some of the masala peanuts, pomegranate pearls. Give it a good mix. 

Slit the buns horizontally without cutting through. Toast the buns upside down on a hot tava using butter. This makes pavs really soft and tasty. Spread red chilli-garlic chutney, coriander chutney and sweet date and tamarind chutney on both sides of the pav. You can increase the amount of chutney as per your taste. I love coriander and tamarind chutney so i use them more. Then top the mixture with chopped onion, pomegranate pearls, masala peanuts, nylon sev and fresh green coriander leaves. Its optional, but i also love to top it with grated cheese. You can use mozzarella or processed cheese. Close the both sides of the pav. Place the stuffed pavs on a hot tava. Press slightly and toast on both sides, with a little butter if you wish. (If you are calorie conscious you can avoid using butter again. Its optional.) Serve hot.

Following are some tips for dabeli recipe 

For tastier dabeli, you can use fresh dabeli masala in place of Garam Masala. For making dabeli masala dry roast 2 dried red chilies, 1 tsp whole green corriander seeds, 3-4 cloves, 1 tsp jeera,3-4  pepper corns, 1 bay leaf and 1/2 cinnamon stick. Dry roast all the ingredients and make a fine paste.) 

If you don't get masala peanuts,then don't worry. Dry roast the raw peanuts till they are light brown. Allow them to cool. Remove their skin and break into halves. Heat a pan with one tsp of oil. Once the oil is hot add peanuts,1 tsp red chili powder, 1/2 tsp of black pepper powder and 1 tsp of chat masala. mix them well and cook for a minute. Now allow them to cool and set aside for later use.