White dhokla

This is a favourite breakfast snack of Aarti, Reva and me. Very easy to make at home, although Reva is used to making it with instant packets available in the market.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of urad dal
  

• 2 cups of rava idli rice


• half tsp of soda bi carb


• coarsely ground pepper corns according to your taste


• salt according to your taste


• 1 tsp ginger paste

Method:
Wash & soak the dal and idli rava seperately for about 2 hrs. and then grind the dal first in a mixer to a smooth paste. Add the soaked idli rava to the ground dal and run in the mixer just for a minute. Pour out the contents and keep it for 6 to 7 hrs to ferment. Before making it add the coarsely ground pepper, ginger paste, salt and soda bi carb. Mix all the ingredients well. Oil the dhola stand plates, pour a little batter and steam it in a pressure cooker without the whistle or in a steamer. The dhokla should be ready in about 5 mins time. Cut it in diamond shape and serve green chutney or tomato sauce.

We had it with red chilli kharda, and I am posting the recipe right after this one.

Variation:

You can add a tadka of rai, hing and til seeds.

Panchphoran Masala

I got this recipe from Asru Didi, Aarti's mother-in-law. I find it very useful when we need a change in taste from the usual Maharashtrian- style phodni/ tadka. I like it in dry vegetable dishes.

Ingredients:

1 measure each

• Mohri/ Rai/ mustard seeds


• Jeera/ cumin seeds


• Methi/ fenugreek seeds


• Kalonji/ onion seeds


• Saunf/ fennel seeds

Method:

Mix the above ingredients, store in an air-tight container and use for tadka, especially in bhindi, karela, potatoes, red pumpkin, etc.

I've Been Bitten...

...by the blog bug :)

I am basically a home-maker. I used to be a school teacher many years back, then took a long break to raise my two daughters, and have recently started working with my husband in his firm.

Although my daughters have flown the nest for a while now, they still keep pestering me for recipes, sometimes the same ones over and over again. I am starting this blog primarily for them to save them some huge phone bills {although I don't really mind them constantly calling me :)}.

This blog was created on my daughter Reva's insistence but my first recipe is for my son-in-law, Vish who says he wants to learn to make various masalas. As of now, I provide my daughters with homemade masalas, and hope that Vish will one day take over from me, and send me some too!