Nankhatai

 Nankhatai is a simple butter cookie which can be made at home as a healthy snack. This is the basic recipe. It can be enhanced by adding chocolate chips, dry fruits, tutti frutti etc. 

What do I need??

1 cup maida or all-pupose flour

1/4 cup besan or gram flour

70 g unsalted butter or ghee (make sure it is soft and at room temperature. It should not be melted.)

3/4 cup powdered sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda (optional)

Half teaspoon elaichi or cardamom powder 

Few dry fruits pieces of your choice (cashews, almonds or unsalted pistachios)

 A pinch of salt

What are the steps??

1. Preheat the oven at 180 degrees C.

2. Take the powdered sugar in a bowl and add the ghee or butter.

3. With an electric mixture, cream the sugar and butter until it becomes smooth, light and creamy. 

4. Add cardamom powder and mix well together.
4. Now, sieve all the dry ingredients together, i.e, maida/all-purpose flour, besan, salt, baking powder and baking soda.
5. Add these sifted ingredients to the butter and sugar mixure. Mix well with a spatula or spoon. 

6. Gently bring together the whole mixture to a dough. If you are not able to bring together the mixture and its crumbly, then add 2 to 4 tablespoons milk which is at room temperature or cold.
Do not knead the dough like you do for roti or naan dough.

7. After that, make small balls (lemon size) from the nankhatai dough. Lightly roll them in your palms and slightly flatten them.  Press a piece of dry fruit on the top slightly. 

8. Finally, bake the nankhatai in the pre-heated oven at 180 degrees C for 20 to 25 minutes, or until light golden or golden.

This would make around 20 small nankhatais.

Any tips??

1. A few drops of vanilla essence can be used instead of cardamom powder.

Curry leaves chutney powder (podi)

Curry leaves or kadhi-patta is a common herb we use in our day to day cooking. I discovered a great way to retain its goodness in form of a dry chutney or chutney podi.

What do I need??

1 cup of washed curry leaves

3 tablespoons of urad dal 

2 tablespoons of chana dal 

2-3 whole red chillies 

1 tablespoon grated dry coconut

1 teaspoon sesame seeds

1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds

1/4 teaspoon cumin seeds

1/4 teaspoon hing or asafoetida

1/4 teaspoon amchur powder

1 teaspoon Oil

Salt to taste

What are the steps??

1. Dry roast the curry leaves for around 5 mins or until they are completely dry and can be crushed between fingers. Keep them aside once done.

2. Add oil in the pan. Add the mustard seeds.

3. Once the mustard seeds crackle, add hing, cumin seeds and red chillies.
4. Now add the urad dal and chana dal and wait for the dals to be slightly brown.
5. Add the dry coconut and sesame seeds. Mix and roast for half a minute and switch off the flame. Let the mixture cool down to room temperature.

6. Add the dal mixture, roasted curry leaves, salt, amchur powder to the mixer jar and grind to powder consistency.

While serving, add oil or melted ghee. Enjoy this delicious chutney powder with rice, dosa, idli, paddu (or appe), parathas, or akki roti.

Any tips??

1. Add a pinch of sugar if needed at step 6 if you want to add a bit of sweetness.

 

Onion Tomato Chutney

This is one of the most versatile chutneys I have ever made. Its super yummy and complements almost every staple dish, be it dosa, idli, paddu (or appe), paratha, akki roti and so on.

What do I need??

1/2 cup of chopped onions

1/2 cup of chopped tomatoes

2-3 whole red chillies 

5-6 curry leaves

1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds

1/4 teaspoon hing or asafoetida

1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 tablespoon chana dal
1 tablespoon urad dal
2 tablespoon Oil

Salt to taste

What are the steps??

1. Heat the oil in a small pan. 

2. Once the mustard seeds crackle, add hing, curry leaves and  red chillies. Also add chana dal and urad dal.
2. Wait for the dals to be slightly brown and then add chopped onions. Sauté the onions on medium flame until they are soft. 
3. Now add tomatoes and fry until they are slightly soft. 
4. Add turmeric powder and salt to taste. Mix well.

5. Cool the mixture down and grind to a chutney consistency. Add a little water if needed. But not more than 1 tablespoon or so.

Serve with dosa, idli, paddu (or appe), parathas, or akki roti.

Any tips??

1. Add jaggery or sugar at step 4 along with salt, if you would like the chutney to be a sweet.

Stuffed masala paratha

This is one of the quickest and tastiest breakfast dish I've learnt from my mom. Try it out. The kids love it too :)

 

What do I need??

For the dough:

1 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 teaspoon oil

1/2 tablespoon salt

Water as required

For the Stuffing:

2 tablespoons besan or gram flour

1/4 teaspoon aamchoor or dry mango powder

1/4 teaspoon turmeric

1/4 teaspoon garam masala

1/4 teaspoon ajwain or carrom seeds

1/2 teaspoon red chilly powder

2 table spoon oil

Salt to taste.

What are the steps??

Preparing the dough

1. Mix all ingredients and prepare the dough similar to how we do for plain paratha. It should be of medium softness. Not too soft, not too tough.

Preparing the stuffing

1. Mix all the ingredients together and make a smooth paste. Add more oil if needed.

Preparing the paratha

1. Take a ball of dough, roll it out to the size of a thick poori. Apply the stuffing paste on it nicely and fold it twice, so that the shape is like a triangle.

2. Now roll it thin to the shape of the paratha.

3. Cook the paratha on both sides on a heated non-stick pan. Apply oil on both sides while cooking.

Serve with curd, chutney or pickle. Enjoy !

Shrikhand

Shrikhand is a traditional Indian sweet dish made with hung curd. Its mostly prepared in Maharashtra during Holi and Gudi Padwa (Maharashtrian new year). It's one of the most yummy and refreshing desserts. This recipe will make around 4-6 bowls of shrikhand, depending on the thickness of the curd.

What do I need??

1.5 lt thick Curd
2 cups powdered sugar
2-3 pinch of saffron strands
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg powder
1 cup finely chopped mixed dry fruits, like pistachios, cashews and almonds

What are the steps??

Preparing Hung curd or Chakka

1. First line a strainer with a muslin or soft cotton cloth and place it on a deep bowl.
2. Pour the curd into the lined strainer. Bring the edges of the cloth together and tie into a tight knot.
3. Gently press and make sure that whey is dripping out.
4. Now hang the cloth on hook, cabinet handle or refrigerator handle, so that the whey is allowed to drip down. Place a big bowl to collect the whey and leave the curd hanging for 5-6 hours or over night.
5. The hung curd prepared this way will be rich and creamy. With this 1.5 lt curd, you should get around 500-600 gms hung curd. But this may not be exact measure, it will depend on the thickness of the curd. Keep it in the refrigerator.

Preparing Shrikand

1. Take 1 tablespoon warm milk and add the strands of Saffron to that. Let it rest for sometime for the saffron to leave its natural colour.

2. Add the powdered sugar to the hung curd or chakka slowly and keep mixing well. You can also use an electric mixer for the same. The sugar should get completely dissolved in the curd and the mixture should be smooth and creamy. Add sugar according to taste. 

3. Add the saffron, nutmeg powder and dry fruits and mix well. The Shrikhand is ready to be served.

Any tips??

1. Add cardomom powder if nutmeg is not available
2. Add a bit of cold milk if consistency is too thick.

Til or sesame chutney with a twist

This is a lovely til chutney which goes well with parathas, especially methi parathas. This recipe has a  special twist. Wait for it!

What do I need??

6 tablespoons til or sesame seeds
3 tablespoons of chopped coriander
1 tablespoon tamarind pulp
1 tablespoon jaggery
1 teaspoon finely chopped green chillies
2 tablespoon finely chopped onion
1 pinch hing or asafoetida powder
1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon red chilly powder
2 tablespoon Oil
Salt to taste

What are the steps??

1. Dry roast the til until they are fragrant and light brown. Be careful not to burn them.

2. Once the roasted til have cooled down, add the til, tamarind pulp, coriander, jaggery, green chillies and salt to a grinder jar and grind to a fine paste. Add water as required.

This chutney is now ready to be served as it is. To add an extra flavour follow these steps.

1. Heat the oil in a small pan. Add the mustard seeds and let them crackle.
2. Add hing and chopped onions. Mix well.
3. Sauté the onions on medium flame until they are soft. Now switch of the heat and add turmeric and red chilly powder.
4. Add these sautéed onions to the chutney and mix well. Your chutney is ready to be served.

Serve with parathas, thalipeeth or akki roti.

Any tips??

1. Avoid red chilly in the last step if the chutney already has the right spice level.
2. Add aamchur or dry mango powder if tamarind pulp is not available.

Bread vada

This is a yummy recipe I tried out with left over bread slices. Its a great breakfast dish and kids will love it as a snack as well. This recipe will make around 10 vadas.
Try it out.

What do I need??

4 slices of bread
2 tablespoons chiroti rava or thin rava
2 tablespoons rice flour
4 tablespoons curd
1/2 bowl finely chopped onion
1 tablespoon finely chopped green chillies
1 tablespoon finely chopped ginger
8 - 10 curry leaves finely chopped
Handful of chopped coriander
1 teaspoon jeera/cumin coarse powder
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
1/4 teaspoon black pepper powder
Pinch of hing or asafoetida
Oil for frying
Salt to taste

What are the steps??

1. Grind the bread slices to a fine powder

2. Mix all the ingredients together with a spoon
3. Now you will be able to knead it like a tough dough. Add little water only if needed.
4. Divide the dough and make small flat vadas
5. Deep fry the vadas until they turn a nice brown.

Serve with mint coriander chutney or tomato ketchup

Any tips??

1. Add red chilly powder if you want it more spicy.
2. If the curd is not sour, add 1 teaspoon of lemon juice