Mirchi Bajji | Menasinakayi Bajji | Snack Recipes

Hot, spicy, best snack to munch on in winters, mirchi bajji
01/22/2018 9:31:33 PM vindhyadesai

When it’s raining or in the cold winter months there is always a need of a nice snack to munch on. Along with your favourite hot beverage like chai or coffee, imagine eating spicy mirchi bajji. Makes you drool, isn’t it? Unlike many other recipes this takes only a few minutes to prepare. A few mirchi (fat green chillies) is all you need. Other ingredients are basic and you can find them on your shelf.
All you have to do is, de-seed the chillies, quickly make the batter, dip and fry. A plateful of hot mirchi bajji gets ready in almost a jiffy. I sometimes wonder if making tea or coffee takes longer:). But ensure to de-seed the chillies especially if children are eating. Along with these mirchi bajji I like to make a few aloo bajji as well to counter the heat of the mirchi bajji. ... “Mirchi Bajji | Menasinakayi Bajji | Snack Recipes”

Badam Halwa | Sweet Recipes | Festival Recipes

Rich and nutty, with a beautiful sunshine yellow colour, badam halwa
01/01/2018 8:08:24 PM vindhyadesai

A rich and nutty halwa is the order of the day! Welcoming the new year with a gorgeous yellow coloured traditional sweet, badam halwa. Halwas are very popular all over India. Carrot halwa, lauki halwa are amongst the most favourite and common ones.
Badam halwa is a rich and decadent halwa made purely with almonds, sugar and fragrant saffron (kesar). Indeed it is a very rich sweet but so tasty that you will want to gorge on more than one. ... “Badam Halwa | Sweet Recipes | Festival Recipes”

Carrot Payasa | Payasa Recipes | Festival Recipes

Creamy carrot payasa, an easy choice for festivals or when guests come over
07/09/2017 4:57:44 PM vindhyadesai

When guests are coming over or when you need to make a quick sweet which everybody would like then carrot payasa or kheer can be one your choices. It tastes best chilled or at room temperature. You can even make it ahead of time and refrigerate it.
It’s just a matter of slicing up some fresh carrots and cooking them through. They can be even cooked in a pressure cooker till soft. Made fragrant with elaichi, this easy to make carrot payasa is popular with kids. They will like the colour and texture. It is smooth and sweet, so you would not hear any complaints. ... “Carrot Payasa | Payasa Recipes | Festival Recipes”

Palak Paratha | How to make palak paratha? | Paratha Recipes

Soft, green, tasty, delicious and kid friendly palak paratha
02/20/2017 9:05:35 PM vindhyadesai

Spinach or palak is a super vegetable/greens. It is loaded with nutrients and fibre and especially good for children. Because eating spinach is somewhat clichéd, children get into the habit of not consuming this wonder vegetable/greens. But add palak into soft palak paratha, they will come back for more.
Try and incorporate vegetable/greens into the dish itself so that it cannot be separated out. It makes wonderful soft parathas and is a great dish for lunch box, picnics or travel.
Palak paratha is quite simple to make although it does require a bit of preparation. But it is worth the effort as it does not require any side dish but you can make do with some yogurt on the side. Throw in some pickle if serving to adults. ... “Palak Paratha | How to make palak paratha? | Paratha Recipes”

Whole Wheat Puri | How to make atta puri? | Poori

Whole wheat puri nashta for weekend, with aloo masala and seviyaan kheer
01/29/2017 9:34:35 PM vindhyadesai

Puris or pooris are unleavened puffed up bread, a very common dish all over India. These are whole wheat puri which makes them extra delicious and they are definitely a crowd favourite.
Whole wheat flour (atta) is kneaded into a smooth dough. Little dough balls are pinched off the dough rolled out into discs (not too thin not too thick). These are then deep fried in medium hot oil till they puff up.
They are a treat to eat and very commonly made during weddings and religious occasions and festivals. ... “Whole Wheat Puri | How to make atta puri? | Poori”

Peanut Chaat | Shenga Masala | Chaat Recipes

Chatpata, crunchy, yummy peanut chaat
12/28/2016 1:38:11 PM vindhyadesai

Something that reminds us all of childhood has to be peanut chaat/shenga masala/mungphali ki chaat. Delicious, chatpata and yummy, this peanut chaat is quick to rustle up.
All it takes is to have some roasted peanuts and some papdis on hand. I have used homemade whole wheat baked papdis which adds to the taste. A few simple finely chopped vegetables along with a sprinkling of chatpata chaat masala is all that goes in. Mouthwatering, what are you waiting for then, it’s winter, gets dark early, so go quickly and make this. ... “Peanut Chaat | Shenga Masala | Chaat Recipes”

Pudina Dal Shorba | Soup Recipes

Piping hot, appetizing, refreshing drink, pudina dal shorba
12/13/2016 8:43:51 PM vindhyadesai

Shorbas’ are a great way to start a meal. Pudina dal shorba definitely has a place at the beginning of a grand feast. Shorbas’ have their roots in Persia and the Middle East.
These are piping hot soups served as an appetizer. As we know with soups, there can be many varieties. Shorbas’ are specialty soups from Asian cuisine. It is even served just on its own with some kind of bread to soak up the goodness. ... “Pudina Dal Shorba | Soup Recipes”

Tomato Paratha | How to make tomato paratha?

Soft, delicious and filling tomato paratha for travel or lunchbox
11/30/2016 9:54:21 PM vindhyadesai

Did you know that tomatoes can be ‘grated’ into a coarse puree. I learnt this recently from an article which mentioned ingredients that can actually be grated. So these grated tomatoes add a new kind of texture to soft tomato paratha. I have used this technique to make super tasty red tomato paratha.
However, tomatoes should be firm and just ripe to be able to grate them. Of course, they should also be fresh. Nothing stops us from pureeing the tomatoes in a blender. That would work well too. ... “Tomato Paratha | How to make tomato paratha?”

Whole Wheat Papdi | How to make baked papdi?

Homemade whole wheat baked papdis/crackers for chaat
11/08/2016 9:51:16 PM vindhyadesai

Dreaming of a having a plate or two of some chaat (Indian street food) on a rainy day? Then you decide to rustle up some chaat at home, only to discover that you do not have papdis at home.
Papdis or crackers are an essential ingredient to chaats like bhel, papdi chaat, dahi papdi chaat, masala puri etc.  I say you can easily make these at home, whole wheat papdi, baked instead of deep fried.
You would probably be excited that now you can make chaat with ease. Make a batch of these and store them. This recipe yields up to 50-55, 1″ in diameter papdis.
Also this recipe can be easily doubled or tripled. You could also make this a fun activity by involving your family especially kids to carve out the papdis. Just store these in an airtight container and they are available when required. They stay good for a few months. ... “Whole Wheat Papdi | How to make baked papdi?”

Baked Shankarpali | Baked Shakkarpare | How to make baked shankarpali?

Crisp, salty, sweet, nutty, baked shankarpali, badam-kaju & ajwain-jeera biscuits
10/23/2016 10:31:36 PM vindhyadesai

During Deepavali/Diwali, making Shankarpali/Shakkarpare snacks is very common. They are deep fried biscuits which are crisp with both salty and sweet versions. How about trying baked versions of this famous snack? Baked shankarpali are easy to make and you can change the flavours as you want. Here I have used only butter whereas some people do use vegetable shortening (dalda) which does not contain very healthy fats hence I generally never use it.
These can be made in bulk and 1 cup of all purpose flour yields a lot of biscuits. Just store these biscuits in air tight containers and they last for a few days. The base for both versions is the same. I have illustrated the base for both biscuits and then extended them into their respective flavours.
The sweet version can also be made plain without any nuts but adding almonds-cashews gives them a nice texture and flavour. The salty ones can also be made plain or even ground black pepper can be added in place of ajwain-jeera. The choice is yours! Also try benne biscuit recipe. ... “Baked Shankarpali | Baked Shakkarpare | How to make baked shankarpali?”