Roasted Tomatoes’ Chatni

A great combination of tradition, and aroma, taste and health
Preferred in winters.

Ingredients for four persons-

- 8 small fresh red desi tomatoes
- Green chilies- 2 (finally chopped)
- Whole Garlic- 6-8 stands (cleaned, peeled and coarsely chopped)
- Fresh Garlic Leaves- 4-6 leaves (Cleaned and finally chopped)
- Ginger- 2 inch (cleaned, pealed and finally chopped)
- Onion- 1 medium sized (Finally chopped)
- Salt- ½ tsp or to the taste
- Mustard Oil- 2-3 table spoons
- Coriander leaves- (Finally chopped for garnishing)

Recipe-
1. Clean and wipe tomatoes
2. Grease tomatoes with little mustard oil
3. Grease pressure cooker with little mustard oil
4. Put all the greased tomatoes in the greased pressure cooker
5. Put the pressure cooker on the flames with removed whistle and gasket
6. Once the pressure cooker is heated well, put the flame on sim or minimum or if flames can’t be controlled put the cooker on a thick tava or frying pan
7. Leave the cooker on the flames for 20-30 minutes till all the sides of tomatoes roast well
8. Keep turning the tomatoes in order to expose all of its surface to the heat
9. Once tomatoes are roasted, take them out of the cooker, remove blackened skin from the roasted tomatoes and then mash them completely with hand in a separate bowl. Don’t use blender or mixer for mashing.
10. Prepare masala mix of onion, garlic leaves, chilies, ginger, garlic, salt and mustard oil together with hand in a separate bowl
11. Add the roasted and mashed tomatoes in the masala mix
12. Garnish with finally chopped coriander leaves
13. Serve with multani Khichdi, dal-bhaat-choka, roti-sabzi etc.

Nb. Tomatoes can also be roasted directly on coal furnace (Chulha) or in electric/gas oven.

* A combination of Boiled Potato and Roasted Tomatoes’ Chatni can also be prepared by just mixing boiled mashed potatoes and roasted tomatoes’ Chatni of 4 tomatoes together.

Chokha- (Potao Bharta)

Chokha, a simple, tasty and healthy food, liked by all class of people in Bihar and represents the tradition of Bihar.
A perfect combination of potatoes, onion, salt, roasted red chilies, mustard oil and tradition.

Things needed for making ‘Chokha’ for four persons-

- Potatoes- 4 medium sized (Boiled and pealed)
- Onion- 1 medium sized (Finally chopped)
- Red Dried Chilies- 2 medium sized (Roasted and crushed) or Green Chilies- 2 (finally chopped)
- Ginger- 1 inch (Finally chopped)
- Whole Garlic- 2 flakes (Roasted and crushed)
- Mustard Oil- 2 tsp.
- Salt- ½ tsp. or to taste

Recipe-

1. To boil potatoes, first of all clean the potatoes with skin. Put them in to a pressure cooker or any deep utensil. Fill the utensil with water, just enough to cover the potatoes. Put it on the flame for boiling. One whistle will be adequate for boiling in pressure cooker.
2. Once the potatoes are properly boiled, take them out of the water and peal them off
3. Finally mash the potatoes in a bowl
4. Add finally chopped onion, roasted chilies, roasted garlic, chopped ginger, salt and mustard oil in the bowl of mashed potatoes
5. Mix everything with hand in a uniform blend
6. Serve it with Multani Khichdi, roti, bhat-dal etc.

* A combination of Boiled Potato and Roasted Tomatoes’ Chatni can also be prepared by just mixing boiled mashed potatoes and roasted tomatoes’ Chatni of 4 tomatoes together.

Garlic-Red Pepper Chatni-

Perfect for adding real spicy and tangy taste to starters, pakodas, parathas, Kababs and Multani Khichdi

Ingredients for four persons-

- Garlic- 3 medium sized bulb (Cleaned and pealed) or 50 gms freshly made garlic paste
- Red Dried Chilies- 4-6 medium sized (Perfectly soaked in clean water) or 1-2 tsp of red pepper powder
- Salt- ½ tsp or to taste
- Lime juice- 6 table spoons or squeeze of 3 medium sized fresh lemons or 4-6 tsp of Mustard oil

Recipe-

1. Add soaked red chilies, garlic and salt in mixer and ground them till a fine, uniform blend is ready. Little water can be added for easy grinding.
2. Add lime juice or mustard oil and mix it in to a perfect blend.

Green Coriander or Pudina Chatni-

Chatnees has a very special place in Indian cuisine and often preferred with daily meals as a taste enhancer. It has a direct impact on taste buds and nostrils. Immediate salivation is a must for those, who know the taste of Indian chatnees. It goes with all desi starters like Pakodas, Samosas, Veg/Non-Veg Kababs or with stuffed parathas (potato, onion, cauliflower, and radish and sattu parathas) and also with the Multani Khichdi.

Ingredients for four persons-

- 50 Gms. fresh coriander or pudina leaves
- Green chilies- 2-4 (cut in to 2-3 pieces)
- Whole Garlic- 25 gms or 1 medium sized bulb (Cleaned and pealed) or 1 tsp freshly made garlic paste
- Salt- ½ tsp or according to your taste
- Lime juice- 4 table spoons or squeeze of 2 medium sized lemons or 4 table spoon of mustard oil

Recipe-

1. Add coriander leaves or pudina leaves, garlic, chilies and salt in mixer and ground them till a fine, uniform blend is ready. Add little water in the mixer if needed for grinding.
2. Add lime juice or 4 table spoons of mustard oil.
3. Serve it with the Multani Khichdi, desi starters, pakodas, kebabs, and parathas and with whatever you like.

Corn Pakoda

Ingredients for four persons-

- Besan (Gram Powder)- two table spoons
- Corn- 100 gms. (tender and fresh, crushed)
- Onion- 1 medium sized (finally chopped)
- Green chilies- 2 medium length (Finally chopped)
- Garlic Paste- ½ tsp.
- Ginger paste- ½ tsp.
- Turmeric Powder- ½ tsp.
- Black Pepper Powder- ¼ tsp.
- Red Pepper Powder- ¼ tsp.
- Cooking Oil (Preferably Mustard oil) - (for deep fry)
- Salt- ½ tsp. or to taste

Recipe-

1.Put crushed corn in a bowl
2.Add besan (Gram flour), onion, chillies, turmeric powder, red pepper powder, black pepper powder, ginger-garlic paste and salt to the corn
3.Mix it well, a very little water may also be added in order to make uniform mix
4.Add mustrad/cooking oil, enough for deep frying, in the deep pan and put it on the high flame
5.Once the oil is fully heated, start adding medium sized besan-corn-masala mix
6.Don’t put more pakodas at once in the hot oil than you can handle
7.Fry the pakodas till it becomes golden brown and separate them from the oil
8.Serve hot with pudina/coriander/garlic/ Chilly chatni

CREDIT- The above recipe is adaptation of recipe by Deepika Singh, Gujarat

Sweet Sunday: Shahi Piece for you

Ingredients for four persons-

- White Bread- 4 loafs (Each loaf diagonally cut in to 4 triangles)
- Desi Ghee- 6 table spoons
- Sugar Syrup- 1 cup (200 gms.)
- Khoya / Mava- 50 gms. (Heated and fried in Ghee)
- Kesar (saffron) color- (8 threads of kesar (Saffron) soaked in 2 table spoon of water)
- Cashew- 15 (Soaked in milk and made paste; to be fried and mixed with the Khoya or Mava)
- Cardamom powder- 4 pinch (for Garnishing)
- Pistachino- 4 (Sliced, for garnishing)
- ishmish (Raisins) - 16 (For garnishing)

Recipe-

1. Heat the ghee in a deep frying pan
2. Fry bread triangles in the heated ghee till they turn light brown or golden
3. Take the fried bread triangles out from the frying pan and put it aside for cooling and drain the ghee from fried bread pieces
4. Put khoya (Mava) and cashew paste in the heated ghee and stir them till it gains a dark creamish color
5. Remove the khoya (Mava)-cashew mix from the frying pan
6. For making sugar syrup- add one cup / 200 gms of clean crystal sugar in 1 ½ cups of clean water and put it on high flames. Stir constantly till the sugar crystal melts and thick and sticky syrup is ready.
7. Now add kesar (Saffron) color in the sugar syrup
8. Dip the bread triangles in sugar syrup and leave it for 30 minutes, so that sugar is uniformly mixed with the bread triangles
9. Cover the fried bread triangles with khoya (Mava)-cashew mix
10. Garnish with cardamom powder, Pistachino and raisins
11. Serve without freezing

Raita

Raita helps balance oil and spices of any food.
Since, Multani Khichdi is full of vegetables, so simple raita (with less spices and less vegetables) will go best with it. Usually, it is preferred dish with all main course dishes and goes with all occasions and gathering.

Ingredients for four persons-

- 300-400 ml of fresh dahi (Curd)
- 25 gms or one small onion (finally chopped) or half cucumber (Cut in to fine 1 inch fingers) or 1 medium carrot (Cut in to very fine 1 inch fingers)
- Green chilly (1/2, Finally chopped)
- Roasted cumin powder- ½ tsp
- White Pepper powder (2 pinches)
- Red Pepper (1 pinch for garnishing at the end)
- Salt- 4 pinches or 1/6 tsp
- Black salt- 2 pinches (For garnishing)

Recipe-

1. Blend fresh curd uniformly, either with a blender or with hand
2. Add ¼ cup of water to the curd and again blend it till a creamy layer appears
3. Add salt, roasted cumin powder and white pepper in to the curd and mix it
4. Put the finally chopped onion or cucumber fingers or carrot fingers and finally chopped green chilies in to the blend and mix it evenly
5. Garnish it with red pepper powder and black salt
6. Serve it in a serving bowl

My first feast for my colleagues at my office

It was my first winter, just after few months of joining Centre for Social Justice, Ahmedabad-Gujarat, when I joined my office’s food club and offered to give treat to my colleagues and decided to cook for everyone, including the Dalit cooks of the food club.
It was a strange announcement from my side that I will cook ‘Multani Khichdi’; a name instantaneously discovered by me for the kind of Khichdi, which I intended to serve.
A Khichdi, without boundaries of master and servant, officer and peon, boss and employee, indeed a classless Khichdi with a class was the idea to serve. And was also the realization of fact that food can bridge boundaries of class, idea and beliefs.
It was the day when I strongly demonstrated my urge to own my office and people around me. Food became the words of expression, in which everyone took part either by giving direct hand while cooking, Rocky, our driver and other two Dalit cooks and rest of the people by having the feast and sharing their words of appreciation from beginning to the end.
Believe me; this has helped to induce new interest in many people of my office. So, anyone who wants to try this in his office, hostel, family, should try this out.
This Khichdi was like any other North Indian Masaledar Khichdi with little combination, fusion and improvisation.
To make the task easy for all men who love cooking I am bringing here, the recipe for 4 persons, you, your girl friend/wife (if any), and one of your closest friend and her closest friend. You can undoubtedly, cook it for your mother, father, family and friends.
It is simple and tasty.

Things one will need while cooking ‘Multani Khichdi’ for four persons:
- Fine Basmati rice- 400 gms (Washed and soaked thoroughly in clean water)
- Masoor dal- 200 gms (Washed and soaked thoroughly in clean water)
- Chana dal (Gram Dal)- 20 gms (Washed and soaked thoroughly in clean water)
- Cabbage- 200 gms (Sliced, not very thick)
- Cauliflower- 200 gms (Cut in to medium sized pieces)
- Carrot- 100 gms (Sliced in to 1 inch fingers)
- Green Peas- 200 gms (pealed)
- Potatoes- 100 gms (Pealed, cut in to 1 cm square pieces)
- French beans- 50 gms. (Cut in to 1 cm pieces)
- Onion- 400 + 200 gms (Chopped long)
- Spring onion- 100 gms (finally chopped)
- Tomatoes- 100 gms- chopped in to small pieces (1 cm)
- Green chilies- 4 (Cut and incision from the middle)
- Whole Garam masala- Black cardamom- 4, green cardamom- 4, black cumin- ¼ tsp, white cumin- ½ tsp, black pepper- 1 tsp, cinnamon- 1 stick/flake, clove- ¼ tsp, javitri- 4 flakes and finally Chopped Ginger- 2 inch
- Salt- ½ tsp or to taste
- Sugar- 1 tsp

Recipe-
1. Put 4 Table Spoons of ghee (Most Preferred)/olive oil/mustard oil in a pressure cooker or any vessel.
2. Put the pressure cooker on the flame to heat for few minutes.
3. First of all put green chilies in to the heated ghee.
4. Immediately then, put 400 gms. of chopped onion in to the hot ghee.
5. Add chopped ginger and then all the whole spices in to the onion.
6. Add ½ tsp salt (Or according to your taste) in the onion.
7. Stir the onion and chilies with all the whole spices till the onion becomes light brown.
8. Add one by one all the vegetables except chopped tomatoes, in to the onion and spices.
9. Stir it for a while, not less than 4 minutes, the vegetables will lose some water.
10. Add chana dal and Masoor dal in the vessel.
11. After 1 minute add soaked basmati rice in to the vessel, and leave it for a while in the vessel, so that the rice become crisper.
12. After 2 minutes, add chopped tomatoes, 300 ml of water and 1 tsp sugar and mix it well.
13. Cover the pressure cooker with lid and wait for the first whistle.
14. Put the pressure cooker / vessel off flame after first whistle.
15. Don’t release pressure immediately from the cooker.
16. Serve with onion / cucumber / carrot raita, achar, roasted papad, coriander chatni / Pudina Chatni / garlic-red pepper chatni / roasted tomatoes’ chatni, potato chokha, brinjal ka bharta.

My experience with electric stove in my small kitchen

My passion in cooking started from a long time fatigue from hostel’s dining hall and food during my long stay in Aligarh Muslim University.
As an extended passion to serve my friends, the delicacies of tasty and healthy food, started with impressing my girl friend, who is foodie and has a taste of good food, vegetarian, non-vegetarian, North Indian food.
It was her electric stove and broken pressure cooker gave this passion newer wings and then started the journey of expressing myself through food.
It was the realization that food is a very strong way of expression, expression of love, emotions, importance of your beloved, friends, colleagues and acquaintances in your life. And therefore this Blog, one of such expressions.
Though, anyone can join this Blog. Anyone, who has or has no feelings towards food, can cook or can’t cook but knows the relevance of food as a cohesive force between different streams of humanity.
An old saying, the way to the heart of men passes from his stomach. But it is little different here and the way to heart of all of us passes though the stomach of many like us irrespective of beliefs and values.
The idea is to have a platform for many men like me, who cooks or wants to cook for their loved ones and find food an expression of love, care, affection.