Thepla

TheplaI is a gujarati snack enjoyed as, snack or breakfast and also during travel.
It is enjoyed with curd and pickle.
Fresh fenugreek leaves are finely chopped, added to whole wheat flour with rest of the spices and yogurt, kneaded into a chapathi dough and rolled out as chapathis and cooked on hot griddle. Methi Na thepla will be ready.

Ingredients:
Whole Wheat flour - 2 cups,
Fenugreek Leaves - 1 1/2 cups stem removed, washed and finely chopped,
Red Chilly Powder - 2 teaspoons,
Yogurt - 2 tablespoon,
Roasted Cumin Powder - 1 teaspoon,
Turmeric Powder - 1 teaspoon,
Garam Masala Powder - 1/2 teaspoon,
Ginger Paste - 1 teaspoon,
Oil - 2 teaspoons,
Salt,
Water as required to make the dough.

Oil for cooking the theplas(optional).

Method:
Mix all the ingredients to a dough  with water like a chapathi dough.
Take care not to add too much water, as we have added yogurt to the flour.
The yogurt and salt tends to make the dough watery.
Knead the dough well and cover with a damp cloth and rest it for at least half hour.
Shape them into equal size balls and press them into chapathis and cook on hot tawa on both sides until nice golden spots appear and well cooked.
You can drizzle some oil while cooking on both the sides, but it is optional.
Serve it with plain yogurt and pickle.

Chana Dal Chutney

Chana Dal chutney, one of those numerous south indian chutneys,
First, it is a dal based chutney with coconut.
Chana dal, asafoetida and red chilies are fried in a teaspoon of oil, until dal is browned.
Then whole tamarind and coconut are added to the same pan and fried for few seconds and ground with salt, coriander and jaggery to a coarse paste. Finally tempered with mustard and curry leaves.
This chutney goes well with idli, dosa, chapathi, sambhar rice, curd rice or simply mix this chutney with hot steamed rice with a dash of ghee and enjoy.

Ingredients:
Oil - 2 teaspoons,
Chana Dal - 1 big handful,
Red Chillies - 5,
Asafoetida - a fat pinch,
Whole Tamarind -a marble size,
Coconut - 1 cup grated fresh/frozen,
Coriander - 1 tablespoon,
Jaggery - 1/4 teaspoon,
Salt.

For Tempering:
Oil - 1 teaspoon,
Mustard Seeds - 1 teaspoon,
Curry Leaves - 8-10.

Method:
In a pan heat oil.
Add chana dal, asafoetida and red chillies.
Fry until dal is browned.
Add tamarind and coconut and fry for 30 seconds.
Remove from heat and add salt and coriander.
Cool the fried ingredients.
Transfer the fried ingredients to the grinding jar.

Add jaggery and grind with enough water to thick coarse paste.
Remove to a bowl and temper with the ingredients under the tempering table and enjoy.

Eggless Marble Cake

This cake I have couple of times made before, but this time nailed it.
My daughter's school had asked to donate cakes and cookies for sale and proceeds got will go to some charity, It could be either store bought or home baked.
First I thought of Red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting, then the ingredients I was not sure as children in school have some food restrictions.
Then the previous day I went with family for a day outing to Bath.
Next day, the day I had to bake the cake to give it the next day.
I was damn tired, the baking went on postponing as I was tired from the previous day outing, as I had walked the whole city walking.
It was already evening, then I finally went to kitchen to bake and realised I have nothing for cream icing, now I had to think and bake a cake which still tastes good without frosting.
Then I thought of this marble cake, again I was too tired to look into my recipe dairy, but I did know the ingredients for the basic sponge cake.
Then I worked in my head to make changes to the recipe to make a marble cake.
The outcome was fantastic and people enjoyed and sad part many could not have to their heart's content as it was sold out, even after two days I was asked when are you making again.

Ingredients:
Dry Ingredients:
Cake Flour - 2 1/2 cups,
Baking Powder - 2 teaspoons,
Baking Soda - 1 teaspoon,
Salt - a pinch,
Granulated Sugar - 2 tablespoons.
Cocoa Powder - 3 tablespoons.

Wet Ingredients:
Condensed Milk - 400 grams tin,
Water - 1 cup,
Butter - Melted 1/2 cup,
Vanilla Essence - 2 teaspoons,
Vinegar - 2 teaspoons.

Method:
Preheat Oven at 170 degree celsius/gas mark 3.
Grease a round 8 inch baking tin.
Sieve cake flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
Add sugar, mix well and keep aside.
Mix all the wet ingredients and blend well.
Make a well in the dry ingredients, add wet ingredients and gently fold to mix well.
You can as well use a electric mixer for this.
Now make two portions out of the batter.
To one portion add cocoa powder  and mix gently.
First layer vanilla batter in the greased tin.
Top it with chocolate batter evenly and finally cover with vanilla batter.
To a toothpick or fork and make deep swirls to make marble design in the cake.
Bake for 40-45 minutes or until a tooth pick comes out clean.
Coo and enjoy!!!!!

Note:
To make cake flour either you can buy ready from super store or
Measure 1 cup plain flour, take out two tablespoons of plain flour from that measured 1 cup of flour and add 2 tablespoons of corn starch and mix well.
Like this you can make flour according to your needs.

Pineapple Gojju Pineappl in Sweet Sour Spicy Gravy

Gojju is a very popular Karnataka gravy. It is a perfect combination of sweet, sour and Spicy gravy, with veggies like okra, brinjal or green bell pepper...It can also be done with raisins or pineapple..Every household will make okra gojju and during festivities or weddings, pineapple is favoured one and a must in the spread...there is always two variations with the recipe. One is mustard and coconut based gravy and the other with dals and coconut. But when you make with pineapple it is only one recipe with dals and coconut. This goes well with hot steamed rice with a dash of ghee..You can either use fresh ripe pineapple or canned..I have used canned pineapple, as I had no time to go to store and buy fresh ripe pineapple.

Ingredients:
 Pineapple - Medium riped  11/2 cups chopped,
or alternative you can use same quantity of canned pineapple in its own juice.
Tamarind - 1 medium lemon size,
Jaggery - 1 medium lemon size,
Salt,
Oil - 1tablespoon,
Mustard - 1 teaspoon,
Curry Leaves - 10.

To Roast and Grind:
Oil - 1 teaspoon,
Chana dal - 1 teaspoon,
Coriander seeds - 1 teaspoon,
Urad dal - 1/2 teaspoon,
Fenugreek seeds/Methi - 1/4 teaspoon,
Sesame Seeds - 1 teaspoon,
Red Chillies - 6-8,
Grated Coconut - 1/2 cup fresh r frozen.

Method:
Soak Tamarind in warm water for 20 minutes, extract the juice and keep aside.
Roast the ingredients under roasting table, except the grated coconut, with a teaspoon of oil and fry until golden brown
Finally add coconut and fry for a minute and remove from heat.
Cool the mixture and grind to a smooth paste, with water.
In a Kadai, heat a tablespoon of oil.
Add mustard seeds, when it crackles, add curry leaves.
Add Pineapple and fry for a couple of minutes.
Add tamarind juice and cook for couple of minutes.
Add salt and jiggery and boil for couple of more minutes.
Add ground pat and boil for 4-5 minutes, until you get the nice cooked, blended aroma of salt, sweet, sour and spicy aroma.
Switch of the heat and serve with hot steamed rice and Enjoy..
If you are adding canned, then first bring tamarind juice, salt and jaggery to boil for 2-3 minutes.
Then add ground paste and cook for 4-5 minutes.
Now add chopped canned pineapple and cook for couple of more minutes.
Then finally temper with one teaspoon of oil, mustard and curry leaves and add to gravy.
Enjoy.

Note:
You can use the same recipe for raisins.
Omit coriander seeds for roasting and grinding.
Boil tamarind juice salt and jiggery and add  ground paste.
While tempering finally after adding mustard, curry leaves and asafoetida, add 1/2 cup raisins and fry until raisins bloats up and add to gravy and give a boil, remove from flame and enjoy.


 

Dodda Patre /Karpooravalli Tambuli or yogurt Chutney

Doddapatre as called in Karnataka or karpooravalli in tamil is a rejuvenating herb which rejuvenates your taste buds, when you are just recovering from fever or other sickness like nausea and vomiting.
It has great medicinal values and used when you have allergic rashes, or when you have bad taste in your mouth,  when you have allergic rashes, just wash and rub these leaves to the affected area in your body, you can see in minutes rashes disappearing.
you can know more about the herb here.
This herb can be grown in  a pot or small patch, where there is enough sunshine and watered regularly and comes handy in your kitchen for tasty healthy food and also as a medicinal herb.
I just love this yogurt based chutney, I just don't need reason to eat this. This is a very aromatic herb, about 20-25 leaves of these herb is washed and pat dried with a towel.
Then in a teaspoon of ghee, a teaspoon of cumin and pepper are fried. Then this herb is added to the cumin pepper and fried until this herb wilts. ground with a little coconut to give body to the chutney.
Then added to yogurt and tempered in ghee with cumin and enjoyed.
If you use it for medicinal value, then mix this chutney with rice and eat it as your first morsel of food, before eating anything else. It is said when had this rice in empty stomach, it balances pitta and kapha in your body.
Anyways, as I love this herb and used to having this right from my childhood in my grandma's  kitchen, it is a family favourite. Even now when I am writing this post, my mouth is watering...ha ha such is the effect.
You can also dip these leaves in bajji batter and deep fry like bajjis and savour.
Now coming to the recipe,

Ingredients:
Doddapatre - 20 leaves medium sized washed and pat dried,
Ghee - 1 tablespoon,
Cumin - 1 teaspoon,
Black Pepper Corns - 1 teaspoon,
coconut - 1/2 cup,
Salt,
Yogurt - 1cup.

Tempering:
Ghee - 1 teaspoon,
Cumin - 1 teaspoon.

Method:
In a thick bottomed kadai, heat ghee and add cumin and pepper.
When pepper starts to crackle, add doddapatre leaves and fry until it wilts.
Switch off the flame once the leaves wilts a bit and add coconut and fry for a minute and allow to cool.
Then grind to a smooth paste with enough water.
Let the ground mixture be of a normal thick chutney consistency.
Add yogurt and temper with the ingredients under the tempering table.
Enjoy with  hot rice.