Cook With Me: Easy Peasy Gatte Ki Sabzi (Chickpea Ball Curry)

Hi Everyone!

I have not put up a recipe post in a long while. I tried out gatte ki sabzi the other day. It came out pretty yum. And the husband was happy! So I thought of sharing this recipe with you. Its a dish from Rajasthan. Since Rajasthan is largely a desert, many of its dishes do not incorporate a lot of vegetables. So when you find yourself short of fresh veggies, try this out.

Ingredients:

For the Dough:

1. Besan or Chickpea Flour: 1 cup
2. Salt: a pinch
3. Carom seeds: a pinch, crushed between your palms to release its aroma
4. Baking soda: 1/4th tsp
5. Sour Curd: 2 tbsp
6. Water: a tsp or 2 to soften the dough

For The Gravy:

1. Grated Onion: 1 large
2. Grated Garlic: 3-4 cloves
3. Grated Ginger: Half tsp
4. Grated Tomato: 1 medium
5. Turmeric: Half tsp
6. Chilli Powder: Half tsp
7. Kasoori Methi or Dried Fenugreek leaves: 1 big pinch
8. Sour Curd: Half Cup beaten to remove all lumps
9. Salt to taste.
10. Torn Mint leaves for garnish

Method: 

1. Take ingredients 1-4 and mix the dry products. Then add the sour curd and knead the mixture into a soft dough. Add some water if needed. The feel of the dough should be like that of roti/chapati dough.

2. Rub a few drops of oil on your palms to prevent the dough from sticking to       your hands. Divide the dough into four parts.

3. Take each part and roll it out to form thick fingers, about 1/2 an inch in             diameter.

4. Cut them into half inch pieces

5. Boil about 1 litre water in a pan. When the water is boiling, drop the Chickpea     balls carefully into the water. Simmer for about 10-12 minutes.

                        

6. In the meantime, heat 2 tbsp oil in a skillet and fry the onions, ginger and         garlic till they begin to turn brown

7. Add the tomato, turmeric,  red chilli powder and salt and saute till it begins to     leave oil on the sides of the skillet.

8. Now gradually add the sour curd and keep stirring the mixture or else it will      curdle. Add the Kasoori Methi/ dried fenugreek leaves.

9. When the gravy comes to a boil,add the boiled chickpea balls into this gravy.     Simmer for 10 minutes.

10. Remove from fire, por out into a serving dish, garnish with mint leaves.

11. Serve with steamed rice or roti.

Bon Appetit! 

Shuchi's Colours (Cook With Me): Arty Salad

Hello Everyone!

Winter brings a lot of colourful vegetables to our table. So as winter is preparing to bid us goodbye, lets quickly rustle up a really easy to make. It is not only packed with nutrients, but it it really tasty too!!

So let's dive straight in...

Ingredients:
1.  Apple chopped into sticks
2.  Boiled beetroot ,
3. Chopped tomatoes 

4. Cottage cheese chopped into sticks

5. Broccoli, baby corn, french beans and carrots chopped and par boiled.

6. Dry fruits as in almonds, walnut and cashew nuts

7. Juice of half a lemon, 
8.  Salt, 
9.  Pepper 

10. Honey 

11. lots of love . 💕. 

Method:

1.  Mix lemon , salt , pepper and honey in par boiled vegetables, toss in tomatoes,apple, beetroot and cottage cheese. 
2.  Add dry fruit nuts. 
3.  Ready to eat , tastes better cooled.

Bon Appetit! 

About The Author

Shuchi Khanna is a well known name on the Indian art scene. She has exhibited her paintings in an number of galleries including the Rashtrapati Bhawan. She has won numerous awards, yet remains a warm and friendly person, with great enthusiasm for life! She is a great cook too. You can view her paintings on her website: www.shuchikhanna.com 

Devjani's Corner Cook With Me: It's pickling time.... With Gobi, Gajar and Shalgam

(From www.sanjeevkapoor.com)

Come winter in north India Gobi Gajar and Shalgam ka achhar (Indian Pickled Cauliflowers,Carrots and Turnips) is a household must do. Since every family has their tried and tested secret recipe tucked away there are as many versions of this recipe.

My friend Raseel and I decided to try out her family recipe . " for years my mother made this achaar and gave us, it's time I used her recipe and gave her some"...

So she dug into the recipe book of her 85 year old mother, Satwant Sawhney , an alumni of Lady Irwin College , Delhi...and I hope you enjoy making and sharing it with others as much as we did ...and as did Raseel's mother for all these years!  



This recipe will make around 6 large 1 kg jars. It is slightly time consuming so save an afternoon for this. And as we realized it's fun doing it with friends.


You will need :

2 kgs each of carrots, cauliflower and turnip. Get the freshest possible , it adds to the taste. Do not peel, wash well cut into 2 inch strips, slices or florets and dry for 3-4 hrs in the sun or use the fan overnight.

 

Other ingredients:
1. 250 gms each garlic, ginger, onion peeled and ground not too fine. 

2. 200 gms rai, ground dry

3. 50gms Kashmiri chilli powder and 1-2 tbsp red chilli powder or to taste.

4. 1tbsp Garam masala
5. 1/2 liter mustard oil
6. 800 gms Gur or jaggery
7. 1 cup vinegar

Method:


1. In a large karahi, heat oil till it fumes , add the garlic, ginger, onion paste and fry till golden in colour. Remove from fire. 
2. Add the chilli powders and salt and mix well and let it cool. 

3. When cool add Garam masala and rai powder. 

4. Divide this mixture into 4 parts . Similarly divide the vegetables too into four parts and mix each portion of the prepared masala into a portion of the vegetables. This division is important to ensure a balanced mixing.

   

5. Put into jars and leave in the sun for 3-4  days. The vegetables will mature in the spices and settle leaving space in the jar. This  breathing space is important for the next step.  

6. Heat the vinegar and Gur after the last step has been achieved. Using a spoon evenly pour into the jars.        

        

7. The pickle will be ready in another 2 days.

Enjoy and share.


Do let me know your variation of the same pickle.

Devjani is a wife, mother, teacher, social worker, a gardening and cooking enthusiast, a globe trotter, a bundle of boundless energy and an extremely creative person. She loves to share easy recipes, ideas to keep kids creatively occupied, and a host of other tips and tricks around the home and beyond.

Devjani's Corner (Cook With Me):Gushtaba (Meat Balls in a Yogurt Sauce)

Hello Friends!

It's time for some non-vegetarian recipe this time... Gushtaba is one of the most easily recognized Kashmiri dishes. It is cooked on special occasions like weddings and festivals. 

This a simple to-do-at-home recipe of Gushtaba... It also adds a different colour to the table.



 (Stock Image)

For the Meat BallsYou will need: 

1. 1/2 kg chicken mince, 
2. 2 tsp jeera powder, 
3. 2 tsp fennel powder, 
4. black cardamom ground ,
5. green chillies, 
6. garlic paste ,
7. One Egg
8.  salt to taste
9.  some malai/ cream or oil

Method:

Mix all the ingredients given above and keep aside for 15 mins. Grind in a blender till smooth. Wet your hands to make balls out of this mixture. Keep aside.


For the Gravy You Will Need:

1. Whisk I cup curd with 1 cup water in a blender add salt,
2. 1 tsp ginger paste, 
3. 1 tsp fennel powder, 
4. green and black cardamom powder, 
5. cinnamon broken into small pieces
6.  oil.

Method:

1. Mix all the ingredients.
2. Bring mixture to boil stirring whisking constantly so that it doesn't curdle.
3.  While boiling drop the koftas one by one, gradually. 
4. Boil for only 2-5 mins till done ... Test by piercing a fork through.
5. Garnish with ghee and mint leaves. If gravy is too thin add maida/flour paste (mixed with water) to thicken.

Note: With mutton keema, follow the same process, add little papaya piece to the mince and let it stand for one hour. Cooking time will be longer since it s a tougher meat than chicken.

What do you think of this recipe? Do try it and let us know how you liked this dish.

Think and Stay Beautiful!


Devjani is a wife, mother, teacher, social worker, a gardening and cooking enthusiast, a globe trotter, a bundle of boundless energy and an extremely creative person. She loves to share easy recipes, ideas to keep kids creatively occupied, and a host of other tips and tricks around the home and beyond.

Devjani's Corner (Cook with Me): Gilki or Tori (Ridge Gourd) the Malawi Way

Hello Everyone!


The malawis (of Madhya Pradesh) are mainly vegetarians .. But not boring. In fact they do interesting things to boring vegetables.

 This recipe is from Rajani's kitchen in Indore, Madhya Pradesh, India. Rajani, a Malawi is a hard core vegetarian and her husband a strict  Mathur nonvegetarian..... So their dinner table is always an exciting blend of different cuisines. More about the Mathur meat cuisines later... Today it is back to the humble tori.
It's got a fun name there... Gilki

Gilki or tori the Malawi way

Ingredients:

1. Tori 1/2 kg scraped, slit    
    
   
2. Dhania/Coriander powder
3. Jeera/Cumin powder, 
4. Haldi/Turmeric Powder,
5. Salt, 
6. Amchoor/Mango powder
7. Red chilli powder All to taste 
8. Hing/asafoetida  and jeera/cumin seeds for tempering in one tablespoon of oil
9. 1/2cup roasted coarsely ground peanuts 
   

Method
1. Mix all powders and fill the tori. 

2. Then chop them to one inch pieces.

3. In hot oil put hing/asafoetida, jeera/cumin seeds allow it to splutter for 1/2 a minute
4. Add the vegetables.
5. If the tori is fresh it will release a lot of water to cook in it. However if they are not so fresh a few sprinkling of water may be required. 
6. Cover and cook . 

7. When done add the peanuts and serve hot.

Bon Appetite!