Bhendi Bhaja - ଭେଣ୍ଡି ଭଜା (Okra Stir Fry)

Bhendi Bhaja (ଭେଣ୍ଡି ଭଜା) - is a the girl/boy next door kinda side dish. Bhendi (also called as Bhindi in Hindi) or ladies finger is either loved or hated. I remember the first time I cooked Bhindi, I religiously cut the ladies finger into smaller pieces and just like I would with any other vegetable put it in water to wash it and let it soak before I cooked. When I was about to put them in my curry I was surprised to see that the ladies finger had produced a sticky liquid, so it was time for an emergency call to mom. So turned out that's completely normal and ladies finger (okra), so never wash your okras after cutting them up, you can wash them before slicing and dicing them. Even when the okra is being stir fried it will secrete the sticky liquid but that dries out quickly. 

Bhendi Bhaja (ଭେଣ୍ଡି ଭଜା) is the perfect accompaniment that goes well with rotis as well as rice. So here goes my recipe.. 

PREP TIME	COOKING TIME	SERVES
10 minutes	20 minutes	2 - 3

INGREDIENTS

Ingredients	Quantity
Bhendi (Okra)	3 cups (1 packet frozen)
Chopped Onions	1 Medium
Chopped Green Chillies	1 - 2
Garlic	1 - 2 cloves
Turmeric Powder	1 teaspoon
Coriander Powder	2 teaspoon
Cumin (Jeera) seeds	1 teaspoon
Refined Oil	1 Tablespoon
Salt	To Taste

PREP

• Chop onions, chillies and garlic and keep aside
• If you're using frozen bhindi (okra) , put them in hot water for 5 minutes not any longer to prevent the okra from production of sticky liquid

PROCEDURE

• In a skillet, add oil, add cumin seeds, when the seeds flutter add chopped garlic and green chillies

• When the onions are golden brown add the okra

• Add turmeric powder, coriander powder and salt.
• Cook until the okra is crispy
• Serve hot with rotis or parathas. 

SERVING SUGGESTIONS

Serve hot with rotis or parathas.

Feedback and comments always welcome! 

Instant Modak (ମୋଦକ)

Modak (ମୋଦକ) is offered to Ganesha during the Ganesh festival.  There are several different varieties of modaks, fried, steamed and a whole genre of fillings. Coconut is the most popular filling. I call my recipe instant modak coz it's very easy and simple to make. Most of the time I'm also constrained to the kind of ingredients I have at hand. I usually buy frozen shredded coconut to use in my recipes and I've used the frozen kind in this recipe, although there is no denying the taste of fresh coconut. The modak has two components, one the filling and then the outer covering. The outer covering can be made out of wheat flour or all purpose flour and the inner filling is usually made out of coconut, jaggery, or sometimes lentils. 

I like it when desserts take less time to make coz then you can eat them sooner than later. Life is short, who wants to wait for dessert right? ;) 

So here goes ...

PREP TIME	COOKING TIME	SERVES
5 minutes	20 minutes	Makes 7 - 8 medium sized Modaks

INGREDIENTS

Ingredients	Quantity
All purpose Flour	1 cup
Jaggery/Sugar - adjust the quantity based on your sweet cravings ;)	10 Tablespoon
Shredded Coconut	1/2 cup
Ghee	3 - 4 Tablespoon
Cardamom powder (Elaichi powder)	1 Teaspoon

PREP

• If you are using fresh coconut, shred them and keep them aside
• The kind of jaggery I get is usually comes in big pieces so I ground it to powder. I put the jaggery in a plastic bag and use a hammer to powder it down

PROCEDURE

• For the filling: In a small bowl, add your shredded coconut, powdered jaggery and elaichi (cardamom) powder. Mix and put it in the microwave for 10 seconds. This will met the jaggery a bit and makes it easy to mix in with the coconut. 

• For the outer shell: Add a pinch of salt to the all purpose flour, add a little water and make a dough. Same consistency as you will to make chapatis. 

• Take a small amount of the dough and roll it out to make a small circle

• Add a little of the filling in the centre

• Take it in your palms now and start pinching in the edges, when you've made a few pleats, pinch them all together. 
• Heat oil in a frying pan, test the oil by putting a small piece of the dough in it. If the piece starts sizzling, your oil is ready
• Add the modaks and fry them till they're golden brown
• Your modaks are now ready to be devoured 

SERVING SUGGESTIONS

Eat Modak on it's own, it's more like a sweet dumpling :) 

Feedback and comments always welcome! 

DISCO BHAJA - VEGGIE SKINS SIDE DISH (ଡିସକୋ ଭଜା)

Disco Bhaja (ଡିସକୋ  ଭଜା) is a kind of a byproduct of of Janhi Aloo Posto. My mom was here this summer and she taught me this recipe. I can remember so many of my grandma's dishes where she would take the pain to make sure all grandchildren ate their vegetables. She would add tasty twists to regular vegetables to make them not taste like they look. I remember when I was a kid anything green was off limits, but my grand ma taught her tricks to my mom too so I ended up eating my greens. 

The day we made Janhi Aloo Posto , I peeled the ridge gourd and potatoes for the dish, just when I was about to throw away the peels, my mom said she knows a tasty way to re-use them. See, the whole idea of re-using, recycling, reducing waste is so amazing to me that I jumped at the suggestion and was pleasantly surprised to see the outcome. Also if you have ever eaten at a Odiya home, bhaja is an integral part of the meal, the local saying for a wholesome Odia meal is "cha tiana naa bhaja" - which means 6 curries and 9 side dishes. Yes, we odias spend a lot of time cooking and eating. 

Bhajas are side dishes and are often eaten with rice and daal. They are usually shallow fried and taste best when prepared and served fresh. Why this bhaja is called "disco" bhaja no one will know, it's my aunt's invention and maybe she felt like boogying when she made this so the name - Disco Bhaja :) 

So here goes recipe for disco bhaja....

PREP TIME	COOKING TIME	SERVES
5 minutes	10 minutes	2 - 3

INGREDIENTS

Ingredients	Quantity
Ridge Gourd Skins	peels from 1 ridge gourd
Potato Skins	peels from 2 potatoes
Chopped Onions	1 Medium
Chickpea Flour (Besan)	5 - 6 Tablespoon
Rice Flour	2 Tablespoon
Chopped Green Chillies	3 - 4
Salt	To Taste
Amchoor Powder	2 teaspoon
Oil	3 Tablespoon

PREP

• Peel ridge gourd and potatoes, it would be best if you make this bhaja along with janhi aloo posto so you have the peel handy

• Coarsely grind the potato and ridge gourd skins

PROCEDURE

• In a bowl, mix in the coarsely ground veggie peels, chickpea flour, rice flour, chopped onions, amchoor powder, chopped green chillies and salt

• Take a shallow pan and splash some oil onto it, you can always less oil to make it a tad more healthy

• When the pan is hot, place small blobs of the mixture and flatten them out a bit like in the picture below

• Toast each side until they're golden brown and cook on medium heat

• When both sides look golden brown, take it off the heat and serve hot with rice and daal.

SERVING SUGGESTIONS

This bhaja goes really well with pakhala bhata :) and ofcourse rice and daal. 

Feedback and comments always welcome! 

Chuda Ghasa - ଚୁଡା ଘସା (Flattened rice dessert)

Chuda Ghasa (ଚୁଡା  ଘସା) is the food of Gods, and when I say that I really mean that. :) The usual ingredients are flattened rice (poha, chuda), jaggery, black pepper, edible camphor, shredded coconut and fruits. It is usually prepared during festivals as an offering to the deities. Chuda ghasa is a favorite during Ganesh Chaturthi - the annual Ganesha festival. Ganesh Chaturthi is celebrated all over India with great pomp and glory but the biggest celebrations happen in Maharashtra. The festivities start almost a month early with the artisans preparing the idols made out of clay. Vibrant colours and unique styles of the idols are such a site to watch. 

The Ganesh chaturthi festival has a very definite beginning and end, the festival beings with various communities settings up pandals for festivities. Pandals are temporary structures for religious ceremonies. Pandals can be very elaborate or simple and host the idol of Ganesha. On the day of Ganesh chaturthi, religious ceremonies are performed and food is offered to God first and then distributed amongst everyone. It is an exciting day for children and adults too since everyone gets to wear new clothes and have the day off roaming around pandals and eating yummy food. It is also special since this day kids are free from homework and books, an entire day of being with friends and enjoying.

The festival ends with the Visarjan. This is the day that with double the festivities, dancing and singing Ganesha is bid adieu before we see him again next year. The clay idols of Ganesha are transported in trucks or cars to the sea and the idol is then given back into the water. 

In the years though the amount of artificial coloring and chemicals being used in these idols has dramatically increased and all this going into the sea is also the cause of a lot of worry. Although this has also encouraged a few to make their own idols with environmental friendly material that does not contaminate the sea water. So that's how Ganesh Chaturthi is celebrated all over India. 

Ganesh Chaturthi is also celebrated at home and lots of delicacies are made as offerings to Ganesha. Another offering that is Ganesha's favourite is Modak which will be my next recipe, I do an instant version of the delicacy so until next time enjoy the chuda ghasa recipe. So here goes...

PREP TIME	COOKING TIME	SERVES
5 minutes	20 minutes	3 - 4

INGREDIENTS

Ingredients	Quantity
Flattened Rice	1 and 1/2cup
Jaggery/Sugar - adjust the quantity based on your sweet cravings ;)	8 Tablespoon
Black Pepper powder	2 Tablespoon
Ghee	3 - 4 Tablespoon
Cardamom powder (Elaichi powder)	1 Teaspoon

PREP

• Grind the flattened rice (poha) in a blender to make a coarse powder

• If you are using whole coconut shred them , fresh coconut will add tremendous flavor
• I ground fresh pepper but you can use powdered pepper

• If you have powdered jaggery, you're good but if you have big mounds of jaggery put them in a plastic bag and hammer it down to powder

PROCEDURE

• Mix the jaggery with the flattened rice powder
• Put the mixture on a wide plate and rub the mixture between your palms
• The heat from your palms will melt the jaggery and give moisture to the flattened rice
• Mix for around 10 minutes and if the mixture feels too dry add a few drops of water
• Mix in the shredded coconut, black pepper powder and elaichi powder

• You can also add in fruits, I've kept it simple
• Your chuda ghasa (ଚୁଡା  ଘସା) is now ready to be devoured

SERVING SUGGESTIONS

Chuda ghasa can be eaten on it's own or with some yoghurt. Tastes delicious and is healthier than any cream filled dessert. Chuda Ghasa also goes really well with Dalma. 

Feedback and comments always welcome! 

TOMATO KHATA (Tomato and Dates Chutney)

Tomato Khata (Date and Tomato Chutney) is a side dish that is relished usually with daal, rice. It's sweet, tangy and has an amazing zing to it which makes it the perfect side dish. This dish is very easy to make yet very very delicious and is something you'll see in a traditional Odia spread. 

I haven't added coconut to this recipe but a lot of recipes call for coconuts, just like any other recipe everyone has their own twist to the recipe. My twist is the coriander powder, I've always loved the smell and flavour of freshly ground coriander powder. Dates give the natural sweetness to the tomato khata, I've used sugar but you can also use jaggery instead of sugar. 

Tomato Khata is a popular dish in weddings. It goes really well with Dalma. No matter what you eat it with, rotis or rice it makes a perfect combination. So here goes...

PREP TIME	COOKING TIME	SERVES
5 minutes	15 minutes	5 - 6

INGREDIENTS

Ingredients	Quantity
Tomatoes (Medium size)	3
Jaggery/Sugar	4 Tablespoon
Dates	7 - 8
Panch Phutana (5 Spice Mix - cumin +mustard+ nigella+ fenugreek+ aniseed) Read more on wikipedia	1 teaspoon
Sugar	3 - 4 Tablespoon
Turmeric	1 Teaspoon
Oil / Ghee	2 - 3 Tablespoon
Red Chillies	2 - 3
Coriander Powder	1 Teaspoon
Salt	To taste
Delete this

PREP

• Dice the tomatoes and keep aside
• If you have dates with pits take them out and keep aside

PROCEDURE

• Add oil in a pan, when the oil heats up add panch phutana (cumin +mustard+ nigella+ fenugreek+ aniseed)

• Add the red chillies and then add the diced tomatoes
• Add the turmeric, coriander powder and the salt

• Cook until the tomatoes are soft and then add sugar and the dates
• Cook for 10-15 minutes until the dates become soft

• Your tomato khata is now ready to be devoured.

SERVING SUGGESTIONS

Tomato khata goes really well with rice and daal.

Feedback and comments always welcome! 

TIKHRI (MOONG AND JAGGERY PUDDING)

Tikhri (Moong and Jaggery Pudding) has so many fond memories for me. This is my grand mother's recipe, am sure there are numerous variations to this dish, but this is how my granny used to make it when we visited her during summer vacation, she still does. Summer vacation was so much fun when I was a kid. Usually summer vacations would mean a trip to my granny's place in Sambalpur. Sambalpur is situated in western Orissa and get's super hot in summer. When we (me and my cousins) arrived at granny's place we would all go on a weighing scale. The idea was to make sure we put on a few kilos before we left home. flash forward... years later... they expect me to become thin, how is that even possible :P I inherited the love of food ;)

This recipe has very few ingredients but the important thing is to get it to a consistency that solidifies when kept in the refrigerator and can be cut into slices like you would cut a cake. The recipe is full of protein from the lentil, although it even requires a good amount of sugar so I wouldn't say it's completely healthy only because of the amount of sugar/jaggery that goes into making this dish but way better than any preservative laden dessert. So here goes my attempt at going back into the memory lane :)

PREP TIME	COOKING TIME	SERVES
5 minutes	1 hour + overnight freezing time	makes around 16 medium sized pieces

INGREDIENTS

Ingredients	Quantity
Moong Daal (skin removed)	2 cups
Jaggery/Sugar	1 and 1/2
Water	1 cup
Cardamom powder	1 teaspoon
Ghee/Clarified Butter/Butter	a pinch (for a vegan version use vegetable oil)

PREP

• Wash the moong daal and use a food processor or blender to make a smooth paste

PROCEDURE

• In a heavy bottomed vessel add water and jaggery

• Once the jaggery+water mixture starts boiling, add the moong paste while stirring continuously to avoid any lumps. 

• Keep stirring until you get a thick consistency as shown in the picture below. The mixture should reduce approximately by almost half a cup of what it was before when you started. It takes a while to get to this consistency but yumminess guranteed besides its a very good arm exercise ;) I used a pot but I believe if you use a wider vessel the cooking time will get reduced drastically.

• Add cardamom powder and mix well, add a few raisins (optional). Taste your mixture, it should taste super sweet, the sweetness will reduce later as you will eat this dessert cold. If it does not taste sweet enough add more sugar.

• Take wide shallow vessel and apply a little ghee or vegetable oil for the vegan version. Spread the mixture on the plate. I used a plate that was a little bit shallow, your tikhri should not be too thick so if you have a deep dish then spread less of the mixture and use more dishes. 

• Once the mixture cools down put it in the refrigerator overnight. Do not put in the freezer.

• In the morning your tikhri will be ready to be cut and devoured. 

• Tikhri is a great summer dessert as it eaten cold. It stays good if kept in the refrigerator for almost a week. Make sure you keep it covered or store in a box otherwise they will become dry. 
• Tikhri can leave a little bit of the jaggery water later but even that is delicious.

SERVING SUGGESTIONS

Eat cold and enjoy 

Feedback and comments always welcome! 

JANHI ALOO POSTO ( ଜନ୍ହୀ ଆଳୁ ପୋସତ୍ ) Ridge Gourd, Potato and Poppy seeds Curry

Janhi Aloo Posto ( ଜନ୍ହୀ ଆଳୁ ପୋସତ୍ ) is a very popular dish in Odisha. It can also be made without the potato but what's an Odia dish without potato. Posto (poppy seeds or Khas Khas) are used in a lot of dishes to provide thickness , texture and flavour. Since this seed is obtained from opium poppy, any dish made out of poppy seeds, can make you a bit drowsy. It's the perfect sunday afternoon dish, eat, sleep and be merry ;) In Karnataka, posto is called gasagase and is used to make paysa or kheer. Kheer/Paysa/Paysam - is a dessert usually made with rice, milk, sugar and spices, though different states in India have different varieties of this same dessert using different ingredients. For example rice is sometimes replaced with semolina noodles or granulated semolina. Read more about Kheer/Paysa

In this dish I've also used Janhi (Ridge Gourd) which is extremely rich in dietary fibres and vital minerals like zinc, iron, magnesium etc. I found this article online that tells all the amazing things ridge gourd does for you. My husband tells me that my mother-in-law makes bhajjis (pakoras) out of ridge gourd, I can imagine how yummy they will be. Since my mom was here for a month she taught me this recipe and she also showed me how I can use the peeled off skin of these vegetables to make a bhaja (pakora).  

This dish goes well with rice but you can eat it with rotis too. So here goes...

PREP TIME	COOKING TIME	SERVES
10 minutes	10 minutes	3 - 4

INGREDIENTS

Ingredients	Quantity
Janhi / Ridge Gourd	3 big sized
Potato	1 medium sized
Onion	1 medium sized
Ginger	1 small piece (a little smaller than your thumb)
Garlic	1 - 2 (optional)
Green Chillies	1 - 2 (add more if you like your dish to be spicier)
Cumin Seeds	1 tablespoon
Poppy seeds	2 n 1/2 tablespoons
Mustard seeds	1 teaspoon
Oil/Ghee	2 tablespoons
Salt	To taste

PREP

• Peel the ridge gourd, take out the outer green rough skin and cut them into medium sized pieces
• Cut the potatoes into small pieces and soak them in water to prevent from browning. It is important that potatoes are cut into small pieces since ridge gourd takes very less time to cook, smaller potato pieces will cook easily and you will avoid over cooking the dish.
• Chop onions finely and keep aside

• Soak the poppy seeds in warm water for around an hour or so
• After the poppy seeds have been soaked for an hour, in a blender/food processor make a fine paste of ginger, garlic, poppy seeds (posto), green chilly and cumin seeds and keep aside. My blender does not blend well for smaller quantities so I made a small bowl full and used it later in a different recipe. 

PROCEDURE

• In a vessel, take two teaspoon of oil, add mustard seeds
• When the mustard seeds begin to flutter, add the chopped onion 

• After this add the potatoes since they will take the longest to cook

• When the potatoes are half done, add the Janhi (Ridge gourd)

• Stir and cook for around 5 minutes and then add the poppy seed paste. Add around 3 tablespoon of the paste you made. Poppy seeds can sometimes make the curry bitter so be careful with how much paste you put in.

• Cook until the smell of the raw ginger and garlic is gone, it should not take more than 10 minutes. Some people also add turmeric to the recipe but I haven't since the poppy seed mixture gives a unique colour to this dish
• Now add around 1 cup of water and cook on low flame until the curry isn't watery and the poppy seed paste has formed a thick mixture. Poppy seed is used to thicken the curry so if you think your curry became too thick, add some more water. 

• Your curry is now ready to be devoured. :) 

SERVING SUGGESTIONS

Aloo Janhi Posto goes really well with basmati rice 

Feedback and comments always welcome!