Thepla

Thepla, is another type of indian bread from Gujarat, India. It is also called as 'Dhebra'. This is very popular as they are served regular meals, best companion during travel and picnics. These can be made with variety of flavors like ajama (Carom seeds), Til (sesame seeds), Doodhi (Bottle gourd), Mooli (Radish). 

Ingredients  -

2 cups whole wheat flour

1 tbsp oil

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

2 tsp chilli powder 

1 tsp coriander / cumin powder

salt to taste

whole wheat flour for rolling

oil for cooking

Directions - 

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and knead into a soft dough using enough water. 

Knead the dough well cover it and keep aside for 10 mins. 

Divide it into equal portions and roll out each portion into a circle desire of your thickness.

Heat a tava (griddle) and cook each side, after that add little oil on each side and let it cook till golden brown color from both sides. 

Serve it with chundo (sweet mango pickle), or aloo subzi (dry potato side dish), yogurt (curd). My personal favorite is aloo subzi. :)

Tip: If preparing for travelling, knead it with milk instead of water. For soft thepla, dough should be soft and cook it on high flame.

During travel, I enjoyed these with srikand, Chundo, ghatiya, spicy mango pickle, onion, aloo subzi and Alphonso mangoes

Try it, click it and share it.

Potato Soup

This is my second winter in USA and this year winter is so much better than previous year. While I think what to cook for dinner the only thing which occurred to me was something which keeps us warm and then I decide for potato soup, which will warm us on a cold winter night.

Ingredients

1-1/4 potatoes, peeled and quartered

3/8 small carrot, finely chopped

1/8 stalk celery, finely chopped

3/8 small onion, minced

1/2 cup water/ vegetable broth

salt to taste

3/4 cup and 1 tablespoon milk

1 tablespoon butter, melted

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon dried parsley

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/3 cup shredded swiss cheese

Directions:

In a large saucepan, bring potatoes, carrots, celery, onion, vegetable broth/ water and salt to boil. Reduce heat cover and simmer until all veggies are tender. Once cool pour this in a mixie and make  it into a nice smooth. I left some potato pieces intentional to chew it while sipping it. Also, I used water instead of vegetable broth. 

Stir in milk to the mixture. 

In a small mixing bowl, blend butter, flour, parsley and pepper; stir into mixture. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened and bubbly.

Remove from heat, add cheese and stir until melted. 

Garnish with cheese and croutons. Serve hot. 

Try it, click it and let me know if you enjoyed it. 

Mango cheesecake

It is a season of love, romance and to fill our lives with sweetness. To celebrate valentines day was thinking of various options to gift my S (my spouse). I wanted to gift something apart from card, chocolates, candles, accessories, clothes, etc. so thought of making an eggless no bake mango cheesecake. S loves mangoes and in USA we don't get the type of mangoes which are so very easily available in India. And I was very happy with results. It was such a delight to see him enjoy cheesecake. This is a simple recipe with few ingredients. Best part is no bake and no egg. 

Let's make note of ingredients required (for a 750 gm cake) 

250 gm Mangoes
200 gm digestive biscuits
3 tbsp melted butter (unsalted)
3/4 cup sugar or more (Depending on sourness of fruit)
1 cup hung curd (You could also use cream cheese)
1 cup cream
1 tbsp gelatin (or agar agar)
4 tbsp water
some pistachio for garnishing

Steps:

1. Grind the biscuits and mix in the melted butter with it. Line the base of the serving dish evenly and smoothly with the biscuit mixture. Put in the refrigerate to set. I used individual classes to serve this to all guests. You could use either of things as per your preference and comfort.  

2. Puree mangoes and sugar together in a mixie/ blender. Add the hung curd and cream, blend well to make a smooth mixture. Pour it into a bowl. You could also use readily available mango pulp in that scenario sugar is not required. I used pulp and skipped sugar. Add 4 Tbsp of water in the gelatin. Then pour the gelatin slowly into mixture. Keep stirring continuously. 

3. Now pour the mango mixture onto set biscuit base. Cover and refrigerate to set overnight.

4. Pour some mango pulp on the top of mixture as a final layer to dessert and refrigerate for 30 mins and serve cold. 

Garnish with sliced pistachio and serve cold, unfortunately I ran out of it so couldn't garnish :( 

Tip: Make sure to drain water from curd. The curd should be really thick. 

Note: I have never used agar agar so not very sure how to use it. Please refer some youtube videos to guide you. 

  

Rotli / Phulka

Rotli is the first thing which I learnt in cooking and so its very special & close to my heart. What better way to show my love towards it than to make it my first post of my cooking blog. With all these years of practice I know for sure that on any given day my rotlis are soft, tasty and yummy and it can never ever go wrong. Not that am self-praising or being arrogant just that I made all possible mistakes during my learning days, can't find any more mistakes to make and hence, end up making perfect rotlis every time :)

Rotli (or Roti in Hindi) is a staple bread in my home. These are paper-thin and smeared with ghee. No one can get bored of eating them everyday. They taste best not only when they are hot but also when cold. I have these everyday for breakfast and for lunch. Of course hot ones for lunch and leftovers tastes good with milk/ tea/ coffee and pickle of your choice for breakfast. 

Without further delay lets get started. 

Ingredients 

1/2 cup whole wheat flour/ multi-grain flour

ghee for smearing

Whole wheat/ multi-grain flour for rolling

Luke warm water 

Method

Knead into a soft and smooth dough using enough water. Keep aside for 15 to 20 minutes. Make sure dough is soft. As in picture, I could easily make an impression of my finger indicating that it is soft dough. I generally don't use oil/ ghee during kneading process. 

Divide the dough into 8 equal portions and roll out each portion into a thin circle. Make sure that you roll it evenly. It should be as thin as a paper from all sides. 

Heat a tava (griddle), place the rotli on it and turn it over after a few seconds. 

Cook on the other side till air pockets appear on the surface and then turn it over onto an open flame for a few seconds till it balloons up.

  

Smear a little ghee on top of each rotli and serve immediately.

 

My mom once had told me that "the day all rotlis are of same size and paper thin, that day you are best in making rotlis". Keeping her words in my mind, I try to achieve it every time I make these. This is how it looks when all are done. 

 

Serving suggestion: These are an excellent accompaniment to any Dal or subzi. 

Tip: I keep all my rotlis on a tissue before transferring them to hot box. This helps in keeping bottom most rotli in good condition else steam makes that rotli little soggy making it stick to the dish.

Do let me know your feedback once you have tried.