Iranian Baghali Polou with Borani-Ye Esfenaj, Moong-Coconut milk Soup, MW Almond Rabri

Did I ask for Sunny days? :D I asked and I got them!! Man! It's so hot here, had a headache running around the town doing chores but my plants are growing fast and furious, it's a joy to watch. All the herbs and Curry leaf plant are on the deck and loving the heat. One drawback of hot and sunny days is you don't feel like standing in front of hot stove now and cook which was a comfort in Winter but have to do at least 3 meals a day anyway! Tushar had his Guitar concert last night, his last concert in middle school, enjoyed that too! :)

You must be wondering why am I so busy these days that I am even missing few posts to comment because of lack of time! Well..I will tell you next Wednesday! :)

I made some slightly familiar sounding Iranian dishes last week, loved the taste of the rice and cooling Spinach salad, mainly influenced by the book "Rosewater and Soda bread" by Marsha Mehran, which is second book. I loved her first book "Pomegranate Soup", so read her second one too curious to know what happened to 3 Iranian sisters who escaped form Iran to Ireland. Moong gravy was yummy and dessert with bread slice made it so easy to thicken faster in the MW. Enjoy the feast!

Iranian Baghali Polou with Borani-Ye Esfenaj, spicy Moong and coconut milk gravy and Almond Rabri for dessert on a platter:
Baghali Polou/Polow/Polo and Borani recipes are mostly adapted from a Iranian cookbook by Najmieh K. Batmanglij with my slight changes, who is also the author of "Silk Road Cooking-A vegetarian Journey". Fava beans are added to this rice dish usually but I didn't find those. I replaced it with green and white baby Lima beans. Moong dish is from Lisa's kitchen and Rabri of course is an easy traditional Indian dessert, I made it easier using Microwave and improvised the recipe too. Enjoy making them, always good to try new tastes! :)

Moong and coconut milk soup from "Lisa's Kitchen":
I know most Indians love green Moong and make various tasty dishes with it for rice dishes or Parathas on the side. I chose this recipe from Lisa's kitchen for "T and T"event which looked so delcious, added 1/4 cup thick coconut milk and some Yogurt but mostly followed the rest of the recipe as same as the original. Soup or bhaji as we say is delicious and spicy. It tasted great with the less spicy Dill and Lima beans rice and very nutritious too and also tastes good with Pooris. Here is the original recipe for Moong soup from Lisa's Kitchen.

Iranian Baghali Polou/Dill, Lima beans (could also use Fava beans) and saffron rice:
Here is a very simple and very flavorful with Polou/Pulao Iranian style. With added Dill and Lima beans (Fava beans) and hardly any strong spices, it makes a wonderful accompaniment for any spicy dal or meat gravies along with a salad. You can also add Gosht/Lamb into it to make a non-veg Polou. Usually, all the the ingrdients are added to a dish, covered and cooked in enough water just like Biryani/Pulao to serve.
But I cooked rice separately and then mixed with seasoned Dill and Lima beans which retains the brilliant color of Dill and beans and they don't get too mushy. I reserved some rice and mixed with saffron and salt to serve on top of Dill rice to make this dish attractive as they do in the restaurants. You can mix all this up with Saffron milk and cook for convenience.

You Need:

2 cups Basmati or long grain rice, 1 tsp butter, salt, Pepper, Pinch of Saffron soaked in 1 tbsp hot milk. 1 Cup frozen Lima beans covered and cooked in the Microwave for 5 mins with 1 tbsp water.

Season:
1 tbsp butter, 1 small onion, finely chopped, 2 garlic, minced, 1/4 red chilli flakes, 2 cups chopped Dill leaves, cooked Lima beans, salt and pepper.
Here is how I made it:
1. Cook 2 cups Basmati or long grain rice with 3 1/2 cups of water or cook as usual you do for yourself with 1 tsp butter and 1/4 tsp salt added. When cooked, take out 1 cup of rice, add a pinch of saffron mixed with 1 tbsp of warm milk and mix well. Let it cool.

2. Heat 1 tbsp butter, saute 1 small onion finely chopped, 2 garlic chopped fine, 1/4 tsp red Chilli flakes for a minute. Add cups of fresh Dill leaves with a pinch of salt, saute.
3. Add cooked Lima beans and enough pepper to taste.
4. Add this to cooked white rice and mix well, adjust the salt and pepper. To serve, spoon the Dill rice first and then top with Saffron rice or you can mix both these and serve with spicy gravy and cool Spinach-Yogurt salad.

Iranian Borani-Ye Esfenaj/Spinach, onion and Yogurt salad:
A popular Spinach and Yogurt salad from Iran, this is served with Baghali Polou on the side. Borani is salad and Esfenaj means Spinach. Very simple and quick salad to make, tastes great with any knid of Indian Pulavs too.

You Need:
1 cup thick plain Yogurt, salt and pepper to taste, 1/4 tsp Cumin pd (my addition),
For seasoning:
1 tsp oil, 1/3 cup well packed chopped Spinach, fresh or frozen (sqeeze it dry and chop finely), 4 tbsp finely chopped onion, 1 plump Garlic, finely chopped.
To make the salad:
1. Beat Yogurt, salt, Pepper, and Cumin powder well and keep aside.
2. Heat oil, add onion and garlic, saute for 1 minute until soft. Add the chopped Spinach, pinch of salt and stir fry for 2 mins. Take off the heat and cool this down.
3. Add cooled Spinach to Yogurt. Mix well and serve.

Moong and Coconut milk Bhaji:
Same as the above Moong recipe but I made it thicker than the soup consistency and added 3 tbsp thick plain Yogurt at the end of cooking to give it a little tang instead of adding lemon juice and simmered it down on low heat until the sauce is thick. Other than that, I followed the same recipe as it is at Lisa's Kitchen.

Microwaved Almond Rabri:
Rabri or Rabdi, traditionally is a thick concentrated milk with sugar, Cardamom and nuts added. I made an unusual and non-traditional Rabri in the Microwave with fat free Evaporated milk, Almonds, lot less sugar (you can add as much as you want) and a surprise ingredient!! Enjoy.

You need:

1 1/2 cup or 12oz canned Fat-free Evaporated Milk, 1/2 cup Almond, skinless and chopped, 1/4 cup sugar, 1 slice crustless bread (I added a slice of Cinnamon and Raisin bread, didn't add Cardamom pd in this Rabri), 1/2 tsp ghee, few strands of saffron and 1/2 tsp Cardamom powder.
To make it:
1. Grind Almonds, sugar and bread slice with 1/2 cup of Evaporated milk until smooth, add rest of the milk and process until mixed.
2. Add this to a deep tall microwavable bowl or glass bowl along with ghee and Saffron, heat for 5 mins making sure it's not spilling over. Stir and heat again for 2 more minutes.
3. It thicken faster because of the Almonds and bread, so be careful not to cook it for too long. Add Cardamom pd and mix well.
4. Exactly how mins to cook depends on your Microwave. Just MW until you get the thick sauce of Rabri. Adjust sugar as well to your taste.
Serve Rabri garnished with Almonds or Pistachios if you like. You can serve this warm or chilled.

Logos, Hosts and events, my thanks to all of you guest hosts and hosts, enjoy! :)

Iranian Baghali Polou, goes to Smitha's "Colors of Taste-Flavored Rice(World)" event.
Almond Rabri, goes to Mythreyee who is guest hosting "MEC-Nuts", an event stated by Srivalli.
Moong in coconut milk soup, chosen from "Lisa's Kitchen", goes to Aparna who is guest hosting "T and T-Lisa's Kitchen", an event initiated by Zlamushka.
Borani-Ye Esfenaj, goes to Mahimaa's "15 minute cooking" event.

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My own tried and tasted recipes from other blogs. Thanks to all of you for posting these delicious dishes, loved them! :)

Vangya cha Rassa, from Anjali.
Spicy Carrot Chutney, from Arch.
Varutharacha Sambhar, from Divya Kudua.
Peanut Chutney, from Sowjanya.

Movies I watched:

Frost/Nixon!
YAY! I was waiting to get my hands on this movie for a week now, I got it y'day at last! :)

You will love this movie if you are into politics, know about Watergate and 37th president Richard Nixon scandal, only president who resigned from "office" in his second term in the history of USA. It's amazing how a president can be so blatant, in denial, arrogant (drunk too sometimes but doesn't remember what he said next day!) and shameless, NEVER really apologized to people for his involvement at all when he resigned but reluctantly admits guilt only when cornered by David Frost at the end of this interview after rambling about everything else for hrs and hrs, even blaming others for all that too! Well... reminds me of another "somebody" we all know who didn't resign from the office or apologized for his mistakes!!:P

Nixon gets paid $600000 in 1977 for this now widely watched interview, which made British journalist David Frost a household name, who is also the only journalist who has interviewed many leaders of the World including Shah of Iran. It makes you angry when Nixon says to David Frost "when the President does it, it's not illegal!" regarding the cover up etc., in this interview.

Very well acted by Frank Langella and Michael Sheen in the lead roles, Kevin Bacon is great as usual. Fascinating movie to watch, I can imagine how stressful it must have been to both Frost and Nixon to get thru' this one at that time! You also feel sorry for Nixon when he says to Frost when they meet privately, "I am just not suited to be liked, I don't have that kind of charm. Do you know how fortunate you are?". Ex President Richard Nixon died in 1994.

Bride Wars
One of those Chick flicks which I usually don't like to watch but watched this one for kookie Kate Hudson and my new fave actress Anne Hathaway. It's very funny and entertaining movie!
Two "best friends" who dream about their "perfect weddings" since they were little girls, grow up, fall in love and get engaged. When they hire a wedding planner for their "perfect" weddings, she accidentally books the same date for both weddings! Best friends then get competitive "best enemies", even try to destroy eachother's wedding plans, not willing to give up on anything which is hilarious to watch. Now it's war, girly style!! After all that drama, what happens in the end is for you to watch, I don't want to spoil the fun!! :D

Have a great weekend, see you all later! :)

Banana-Chocolate Muffin half loaf, Oatmeal-Raisin-Walnut-White Chocolate Chewy Cookies, Ugadi Pachadi/Bevu Bella and Thali!

Well....last weekend was very rainy, relatively warm but fun too. We did some usual shopping, cleaned up my veggie patch in the backyard and watched few movies. We are expecting 70F+ this weekend, might even scatter some veg seeds on the ground, it's not too early I hope!

Menu this week: I had baked a eggless Banana Chocolate Muffin loaf and few of my favorite eggless Oatmeal Raisin chewy cookies last week for this post before Ugadi last Friday. So here they are along with my addition of Ugadi festival thali (scroll down to see thali and recipes) since I had made those too! :D

Now, let's do some baking first!!

A slice of Banana-Chocolate Muffin Half loaf served with creamy butter for you:
Banana and Chocolate chips makes a great combination and very moist Muffins to have as a snack or for breakfast. I added 1/3rd cup sugar as I don't like vary sweet Muffins but you can use 1/2 cup sugar if you like as the recipe form a Betty Crocker book says. My kids ate the whole loaf within 2 days! :P

Banana Chocolate Muffin Half Loaf:
You must be wondering what the heck is Half loaf! I did too until I found the Half loaf pan in Amazon. It's a round loaf but half the size of a full loaf pan, as small as a smaller rectagular 8" pan. It makes a beautiful half round design on top of the cake or Muffin when inverted.

To bake the Muffin loaf:
You can see the Half loaf pan here. It's cute, something diffeent than usual. You can use 12 cup Muffin pan or smaller Loaf pan if you like, doesn't make any difference in taste and texture.

You need:
3/4 cup Milk,
1/4 cup Vegetable oil,
2 tbsp Yogurt instead of 1 Egg,
2 cups Plain flour (can use Wheat flour instead too),
1/3 or 1/2 cup sugar (depends on how sweet you want),
2 tsp Baking pd,
1/2 tsp Salt.
1 cup mashed Banana or use 2 large banana to mash coarsely,
1/4 cup semi-sweet Dark Chocolate chips.

To bake Muffin:

Heat oven to 400F. Grease or spray no-stick on a Muffin pan or a half loaf pan or a regular smaller loaf pan, keep it ready.

1. Beat Milk, Yogurt (or Egg) and oil by a whisk or in a mixer with beater attachment.
2. Stir in Flour, sugar, baking pd, Chocolate Chips and salt together and add all at once to the mixer, mix gently without beating too much, just until mixed. A bit lumpy batter is okay too, never beat too much until gooey.
3. Fold in coarsely mashed Banana to it and mix gently again, do not beat too much.
4. Pour into the Half loaf pan or small loaf pan or divide equally betn 12 muffin cups. Tap the pan gently to release the bubbles.
5. Bake for 20-25mins or until the top s golden brown and the center is baked well. Since Banana makes the loaf moist, it takes a bit than usual Muffins, test with a skewer in the center until it comes out clean.
6. Cool on the cooling rack, invert the Muffins and cool thoroughly to store in airtight conatiner or Ziplock bag.

Another look:

Oatmeal-Raisin-Walnuts-White Chocolate Chewy Cookies:
If you know me by now, you know I don't like desserts or sweets much. I would rather sit and munch on savory snacks than cookies or cakes any day. But if I had to choose one cookie to have, I would love this Oatmeal Raisin chewy (not crispy and crunchy cookies) cookies, which I adapted from a "Taste of Home" magazine recipe called "Grandma's Chewy Oatmeal Raisin cookies".
I love these with lots of Raisins and Walnuts personally but added White Chocolate chips for kids so they can eat them too, worked out well. I made huge cookies but you can scoop smaller portions to bake plumper and smaller cookies.

You need:
1 cup dark Raisins soaked in 1/3 cup warm water to soften them and then crush them gently.
1/2 cup vegetable butter flavored (optional) shortening, 1 egg, 1 cup dark Brown sugar, 1/2 cup white sugar, 1 1/2 tsp Vanilla essence. (adding 2 tbsp sweetened coconut will add texture too but optional)
2 cups Plain flour,1 1/4 cup regular rolled Oats, 3/4 tsp Cinnamon pd, 2 tsp Baking soda, 1 tsp salt, 3 tbsp Walnuts and 1/4 cup White semi sweet Chocolate chips or slightly crushed Chocolate squares.

To bake Cookies:

Preheat the oven at 350F.

1. Beat veg shortening, egg, brown sugar, white sugar, and vanilla, until creamy.
2. Add Plain flour, baking soda, oats, Cinnamon and salt. Mix well gently and add soaked Raisins with it's water, fold in until you get a big sticky lumpy dough.
3. Divide into equal portions as big as you want, roll gently to balls and flatten the top. Place them on a cookie sheet 3" apart and bake for about 18-20 mins. Do not over bake to make them too crispy. If the middle is a bit soft after about 20 mins, it's okay. They do cook a bit even after you take them out of the oven and becomes chewy when cooled.
Note: You can skip the Egg in the recipe, expect the cookies to be flatter without the addition of Egg like mine looks. I ran out of Eggs for the first time in my life, can you believe it? I always add 1 egg to this Oatmeal cookie recipe! :P
Yummy chewy cookies are now ready to eat!

Logos and events list:

Banana-Chocolate Muffin Half Loaf, goes to Madhuram's "Egg substitute-Yogurt" event.
Oatmeal Chocolate Chewy cookies, goes to Srilekha's "EFM-Cookies" event.
I am also sending these Chewy white chocolate cookies to Poornima Nair's "For the love of Chocolate" event.
Hulianna, goes to Smitha's "Colors of taste-Flavored Rice" event.
I am sending yummy Mixed dal Ambodes to LG's "Meals on Wheels" event as my second entry as well.

Thanks to all of you ladies, enjoy hosting! :)

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About Ugadi/Hindu New Year festival:
As most of you know, we had our Hindu New Year last week. "Uga" means "era" and "adi" means "beginning", in Sanskrit. More info about Ugadi is here in detail. I usually don't cook anything special for Ugadi, but my grandparents grandly celebrate this day in India but this year thought I would add one more to our Shivaratri and Deepavali festival list. I even found a frozen pack of green (well..they were half ripe!) Mango slices to make Ugadi Pachadi. Kids got to learn about Hindu new Year and liked it, so it's all good! :D

A peek at our Ugadi habbada oota/thali we had last Friday:
Here is the menu; Ugadi Pachadi or Bevu Bella, Karnataka style Hulianna, Carrot and Moong dal/Hesarubele Kosumbari, Mixed dal Ambode, plain Yogurt and Sabbakki Payasa/Sago Kheer/Tapioca Saffron Pudding for dessert. You can see all the recipes below.

Ugadi Pachadi or Bevu Bella (Bevu for Neem/bitter and Bella is Jaggary/sweet) in Kannada:
Ugadi Pachadi or Bevu Bella is traditionally served on Ugadi or New year's to start the day. It has mixed six flavors and tastes like mixed with Tamarind water and chopped green Mango for sour and tangy taste, Jaggary or sugar for sweet, Neem flowers or leaves for bitter, Green chillies or chilli pd for spicy and salt to represent life with it's various stages of joys and sorrows!

To make Pachadi/Bevu Bella:
Take a cup of Tamarind water mixed with 2 tsp thick Tamarind paste in a bowl, add enough salt, Jaggary or sugar, 1/4 of a Jalapeno sliced, Neem flowers or leaves if you have it (I added 1/2 tsp Kasoori Methi for bitterness, didn't have Neem), thinly sliced green Mangoes with skin. (I used frozen green Mangoes, doesn't have the greatest taste, fresh green mangoes are always better!) Mix and chill to serve.

Ugadi Thali recipes:

Karnataka style Hulianna/Tamarind rice:

1. Cook 2 cups of rice with 1/4 tsp turmeric, 1 tsp oil and enough water, spread it on a pan and cool.
2. Add 1/4 cup oil in a deep pan, add 1 tsp Mustard seeds, 2 tsp each Chana dal and Urad dal, few curry leaves, 2 red dry chillies and 1/4 cup Peanuts. Roast it until they are reddish. Now add 1tbsp white Sesame seeds and 3 tbsp dry dessicated coconut, stir for 1 mins.
(Traditionally these two, Sesame and coconut, are roasted separately and pounded together coarsely to add to the rice at the end when we are mixing Tamarind paste and rice but I make it the easy way)
2. Add 1 cup of Tamarind water mixed with 1 tbsp of thick tamarind paste, salt and 1 tsp Jaggary. Let it boil until it reduces to half, oil floats on top.
3. Add powdered masala to it, mix well and let it cook on low heat for a while. Now, Huli is ready.
4. Mix rice and enough huli until it's evenly coated, adjust the salt and serve. Serve plain yogurt on the side along with some Papad or crunchy Boondi or Sev snacks.

To make Hulianna masala powder:

Dry roast 2 tbsp Coriander seeds,1 tbsp Cumin seeds, few dry red chillies, 2 tsp Peppercorns, 1 tsp Mustard seeds, and few curry leaves until reddish, cool all of them, add 1/4 tsp Hing/Asafoetida and powder it until fine powder. Use it as much as you like to add to Tamarind paste to make Hulianna paste.

Kesari Sabbakki Payasa/Sago Kesar Kheer/Tapioca Pearl Saffron Pudding:

1. Add 2 tbsp ghee to a deep pan, fry 1/2 cup Sago until they pop like popcorn. Add 1 tbsp Raisins and 1 tbsp slivered skinless Almonds, stir until golden and raisins are puffed up.
2. Add 3 cups pf milk (2% is okay) and simmer this for 30-40 mins until milk is reduced to half.
3. Add enough Jaggary or sugar to your taste, 1/4 tsp Saffron strands and simmer again for 10 mins.
4. When Sago is cooked soft and milk is like thickish, add 1/2 tsp Cardamon powder, mix and take off the heat.
5. Serve chilled or warm. Adjust the thickness of the sauce, should be like pudding or very thin.

Mixed dal Ambode:

1. Soak 4 tbsp Tuar dal, 4 tbsp Chana dal, 2 tbsp Moong dal, 2 tbsp Masoor dal, 2 tbsp Urad dal and 1 tbsp raw rice overnight, drain the water next day, add to a blender.

2. Grind this coarsely, place the thick dough in a bowl. Add 1/4 cup finely chopped onion, 1"chopped ginger, chilli flakes or green chillies, salt, Cilantro, Curry leaves, few crushed coriander seeds, fennel seeds, Ajwain, Cumin seeds and mix everything well. Adjust the salt.
3. Heat oil to 375F or hot, take a small lump of dough in your hands, flatten and drop it in the oil.Repeat with others and fry until golden and cisp both sides. Drain on the paper Towel and serve.

Carrot-Hesarubele/Moong dal Kosumbari:

1. Soak 2 tbsp Moong dal for 2 hrs and drain the water. Grate 3 carrots to a bowl. Add 1 tbsp Lemon juice, salt, Moong dal, chopped Cilantro.
2. Mix well and adjust the salt. You can add finely chopped red onion to this but I didn't add this time.
3. Heat 2 tsp oil in a pan, add 1/2 tsp Mustard seeds, 1 sliced green chillies, curry leaves. When they pop, add to the bowl with carrot.
4. Mix well and serve.

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Lastly, Movies I watched last week:

Goya's Ghosts:
Most beautiful film to watch, saddens you but keeps you glued to the movie. It involves Roman Catholics, Spanish and French revolution. Francisco Goya, who was a painter for Royal family witnesses the life of a young Catholic (whose ancestors were Jewish) girl who was arrested for being a "Judaising" because she doesn't eat Pork. Tortured, manipulated and raped by a Spanish priest Lorenzo in prison for years, Goya and her family tries to rescue her but fail. What happens after that very interesting and tragic. Click on the link for the full story. Beautifully acted by Javier Bardem and Natalie Portman, a must see film if you can get it on DVD.
In Bruges:
Colin Farrell won the "Golden Globe" best actor award for this movie. It's about 2 hitmen who are hiding in Bruges after a killing. While killing a priest as his "Hit", Ray kills a little boy as well who was praying in the church, so he flees the country to Bruges. But the death of that child haunts him and tries to kill himself. In the end, when his own people want him dead, he wants live desperately! Anyway, he does get shot in the end and survives! JOY! :P

Two more additions!
Kids didn't have school on last Monday, so they went to "Monsters VS Aliens 3D" . It was good, as my kids said and they told me that in one the scenes in the movie, they say "We need our best scientific minds NOW, somebody please call India!" :D
I went to "Knowing" (Thanks for suggesting SJ!) in the same movie theater. Knowing was a surprisingly good movie, riveting and non-stop action/thriller. Gets a little silly in the end with Aliens and their "Akasha Vahana" (:D) ie aircraft sucking up 2 kids along with 2 Bunnies to "restart" the World but overall very entertaining movie to watch, loved it.

A very funny thing happened last Sunday, one of the joys of raising mixed culture kids in good old US of A with some Indian "Hinglish movie" culture thrown in!! :D
Trisha and I were relaxing on the sofa watching TV. I switched to Zee Cinema channel and they were showing "God Tussi Great Ho" (copy of "Bruce Almighty!") movie with Salman Khan, AB etc. Trisha suddenly says, "Mom, I can't believe they are calling GOD a great HO!!" and I just fell off the couch laughing. I never saw that coming and she was staring at me like I am a crazy woman!! ;D
(Indians living in USA know what she meant! Okay, I will tell you...."Ho" is an American slang for "Whore" here! She didn't know what "tussi" meant but read everything else in English and then to top it all, she asks me "is that the "Salmon" guy? He looks weird!" too!! I will surely miss her when she leaves for college in August! :P)

That's all this week, see you all later!

Haryanvi Cuisine: Pakodi di Kadhi, Jeera Chawal, Mooli de Paranthe, Gajar da Achar, Aloo Raita, Besan Pinni and Chhas!

Look who is wandering into the wonderful state of Haryana today!
Yes! It's that time for my favorite RCI event again and this month we are going to tour and taste Haryana, which geographically surrounds Delhi (India's Capital) on three sides, forming the northern, western and southern borders. I am not from Haryana and what I gather from reading about this state from various online websites is that it's cuisine and culture are similar to Punjab. So I am trying to do my best here to bring you few dishes from that region, so bear with me if you think they are not very authentic Haryanvi! :)

Here is what WIKIPEDIA says about Haryana:
"The name Haryana means "The Abode of God" from Sanskrit. Hari (the Hindu God Vishnu) and ayana (home), although it may also refer to the lush green landscape of the state (from Sanskrit harit meaning green).
Chandigarh is the capital of Haryana and the state of Punjab as well. Haryana was the cradle of Indus Valley and Vedic Civilizations, both flourishing on the banks of the now lost Saraswati river. Haryana contributed heavily to the Green Revolution that made India self-sufficient in food production in the 1960s. The state of Haryana has the 3rd highest Per Capita income in the country. It is one of the leading industrialized states of India and is considered to be the current major hub for the information technology and automobile industries."

About Haryanvi cuisine:
"Haryanvi cuisine is like the people of Haryana, simple, robust. The 'Land of Rotis' is an apt title for Haryana as people are fond of eating different kinds of rotis. Haryana is well known for it's agriculture and cattle wealth, so there is a abundance of milk, butter, ghee, Lassi, Thandai, Buttermilk and vegetables, which are similar to Punjab." These infos are from a Haryana tourism website. Here is my RCI Punjab post.

Regional Cuisine of India aka RCI event is started by LakshmiK and this month EC of "Simple Indian Food" is guest hosting and she has chosen Haryana (vegetarian dishes) as the state for February. Thanks for hosting EC. With all those wonderful information about Haryana, let's celebrate and cook something Haryanvi, shall we? :)


Haryanvi Thali:
(I had to get my "big gun" thali for this Haryanvi cuisine menu, smaller thali won't do! :D)
Besan (chickpea flour) Kadhi with Pakodi, Jeera (Cumin flavored) rice, Mooli (Radish) Paratha, Potato Raita, Carrot-ginger-garlic pickle, Besan Pinni and Chhas (a lightly spiced Buttermilk). Some salt sits in the middle of the thali and lemon slices and a green chilly just in case if you feel the urge to take a bite! :D


Let me type in how I made these first:
You see Kadhi Pakodi, Jeera Rice and Carrot pickle below, you enlarge this by clicking on the collage. Recipes follows.
Pakodi di Kadhi:
For making Kadhi:
1. Beat 1 cup fat free or light Sour cream with 3 cups of water and add 4 tbsp Besan (Chickpeas flour) with a whisk to avoid lumps. Add 1-2 sliced green chillies, 1 tsp or more salt, 1/4 tsp turmeric, 1/2 tsp chilli pd, 1/2 tsp garam masala, 1 tsp each of cumin seeds pd and Coriander seeds pd, 2 tsp ground ginger and keep stirring often, simmer gently until it bubbles and thickens slightly, may be for 1/2 to 1 hour. Do not heat on medium heat, sour cream might separate.
2. Add Besan pakodis, let them soak and simmer for a while and turn off the heat.
To make Besan Pakodis:
1. Mix 1 cup Besan, 1/2 cup minced onion, 1 potato peeled and chopped fine, 1/2" ginger grated, 1/2 tsp dry chilli flakes, salt, 1/2 tsp garam masala, 1/4 tsp of baking pd, 1/4 tsp ajwain and add enough water to make a thick batter.
2. Deep fry small balls of these batter until golden and add to the above Kadhi.
Seasoning for Kadhi:
Heat 2 tsp ghee+1 tsp oil, add 1 tsp cumin seeds and 2 dry chillies. When they splutter, add to the Kadhi and mix.

Jeera Chawal:
This is an easy ghee and cumin flavored rice to make for Kadhi, of course you can also serve Kadhi with plain rice.
1. Cook 2 cups of Basmati or long grain rice with 3 1/2 cups water, 1 tsp oil or ghee and pinch of salt or as you cook rice usually. Cool the rice a bit.
2. Heat 1-2 tbsp ghee, add 1 bay leaf and 1 tsp cumin seeds. When they are slightly golden, add to the cooked rice and mix well.

Gajar Achar:
Freshly made Carrot pickle lasts in the fridge about a week. You can also add pickle masala like SWAD brand if you have it or you can add freshly ground spices. I added some garlic and ginger slices to this too, tastes great with Mooli parathas.
Here it is:
1. Dry fry 2 tbsp reddish Mustard seeds, 1 tbsp (or 1/2 tbsp, if you don't like it too bitter) Fenugreek seeds and 2-4 (or more for spicy) dry red chillies and pound these coarsely. Keep aside.
2. Take 1 large Carrot, wash, dry, cut into 2" sticks, 1 tsp paprika for color, slice 3 garlic and 2" ginger, mix with 2-4 tbsp Lemon juice and enough salt.
3. Add ground pickle masala to Carrot etc and mix well. Tempering the pickle is optional, I didn't do it. Adjust the spices and salt, keep it in the fridge. You can use it immediately.

Alrighty, second batch now!
This part has Aloo raita, Mooli (Radish stuffed ) Paratha, Besan Pinni (a delicious dessert like Burfi) and Chhas, a lightly spiced Buttermilk to wash it all down, Haryanvi style! :)

Mooli de Paranthe:
Mooli stuffing:
1. Thickly grate Daikon or white Radish until you get about 2 cups or so, sprinkle some salt and let it rest for a while to draw out the water. Squeeze out the water to get dry Radish.
2. Mix with a bit of chilli pd or minced green chilles, tsp of grated ginger, few pinches of turmeric, 1/2 tsp cumin pd, enough salt, little Amchoor (Mango pd), 1 tsp besan or cornstarch to make it all come together.Divide into equal sized portions.
Paratha: Mix 2 cups wheat flour (Atta), salt, 2 tbsp oil or veg shortening, 1/2 tsp of baking powder(optional but makes it very flaky) and enough water to make a firm dough, make into equal sized balls and let it rest for an hour or so.
To make Mooli stuffed Parathas;
Roll out dough to 4" circle, place a Mooli stuffing, cover and carefully roll out to 5-6" circles and roast on Tava with a bit of oil until both sides are golden. Check this "Aloo parathas" post to see step by step photos of stuffing.

Aloo Raita:
1. Boil 1 or 2 Potatoes, peel and cube them, keep aside to cool them.
2. Beat 1 cup of plain thick yogurt, add salt, pepper, cumin seeds powder, pinch of Kala Namak, pinches of Chaat masala and few chopped mint and coriander leaves. Add Potato cubes and mix to chiil and serve.

Besan Pinni:
A typical Haryanvi dessert, we loved these. Tastes like Besan Laddoos we always make at home but better with Pistachios and easy to make too. They say that Pinni is the way they make these sweets squeezed in the fist of your palm. I made few of both shapes.
Here is how:
1. Sift 1/2 cup Besan well to avoid lumps.
2. Heat a non-stick pan with 2 tbsp ghee and add besan to it on low heat and keep stirring until it's roasted or until you smell the aroma. Do not burn it.
3. Add 1/2 cup powdered Sugar,1/4 tsp Saffron, 1 tsp ground cardamom, 1 tbsp toasted chopped Pistachios, mix everything very well and cook for 2 mins or until sugar is incorporated.
4. Take off the heat, add 1 or 2 tbsp of milk to it just until it's little wet but liquidy. Just enough milk so you should be able to pick up the dough and make shapes with your hand.
5. Traditionally, you take a lump of Besan mix, squeeze it gently to make a fist in your plam to get the finger prints on it like Gujarati Muthias. I made some of those until my palms started to get red and then put some in a small cup and inverted them to make the other shape.
6. Cover to keep. This recipe makes about 7-8 small pieces which is enough for us.

Finally, a Chhas:
A simple but tasty Buttermilk drink to accompany these thali dishes, somewhat like south Indian spiced buttermilk but lot less spicy! Here is my very tasty Karnataka style Majjige!
To make Chhas:
1. Beat 2-3 cups of thin Buttermilk with salt, taosted and ground cumin seeds powder, coarse pepper pd well until frothy. Few chopped mint and Cilantro on top to garnish and flavor would complete the picture! Serve with Lemon slices.
One more look without the Chhas there. This thali was delicious!! Enjoy and have a great weekend!!!


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Tried and tasted dishes from other blogs:
Thanks to all of you for posting these yummy dishes! :)

Potato Muruku, from Vijaya.
Zucchini chutney, from Laavanya. (Added 1" ginger and 1 garlic to grind and tempered with mustard seeds)
Crowder peas Usal, from Meera. (Made this with some gravy to go with soft Idlis!)
Kollu Pongal, from Jayasree.

Thank you Yasmeen for "You are a sweetheart" award, photo is in the side bar. I think you are the SWEETEST gal! :)

Book I am currently reading is:
"Q and A" by Vikas swarup, which is available at Amazon. He is a Indian diplomat serving in South Africa, the book says. This is also his first novel which is converted in to 34 languages so far! This is THE book which inspired the movie "Slumdog Millionaire".
The main character here in this book is a waiter in Mumbai who won a billion rupees in a contest and his name is Ram Mohammad Thomas!! When they arrest him, police mocks him "What kind of name is that? Your mother couldn't decide who your father is?"
Intriguing enough for ya? I am still reading it, has 12 chapters which takes to every question of that contest and his life experiences in every stage and it's very enjoyable, much more interesting than the movie! :))

Have a wonderful Shivaratri celebration on the 23rd, see you all next week with what I made for Shivaratri, a smaller thali than this for sure! No fasting in my house for any reason! ;D

MOONG DAL-CUCUMBER-PEANUT MEDLEY (Kosumbari)

Hesaru bele-Soutekayi-Peanuts Kosumbari:

Excellent, crunchy ,tasty ,cool cucumber side dish/salad on a hot summer day! Use fresh young tender cucumber. Enjoy!

You Need:
2 Cups Cucumber cubed
2 tsp Moong Dal, soaked in water for 2 hours and drained (Yes! use it raw)
1 tbsp Spicy Peanuts crushed
1 tsp Cilantro
Salt and some sugar (optional)
1 tsp Lemon Juice
1 tsp Dry Grated Coconut

TEMPER:
1 tsp Oil
1/2 tsp Mustard Seeds
2 Curry Leaves
1 Fresh Green Chilly,slit

To make:
1. Mix all the above ingredients from cucumber to salt.
2. Heat oil for tempering, add the ingregients given and then pour in the temperings.
3. Serve chilled.

Have fun! :)