Masala Doodh for Kojagiri Poornima

Kojagiri Poornima or the full moon day in Ashwin month is celebrated as Kojagiri Poornima in Maharashtra. Traditionally people stay awake whole night on this day and get together to spend time in singing bhajans and other cultural programmes.

Being away from family, we don't celebrate this day in the traditional way anymore. But we do enjoy the main delicacy of this night, Masala doodh :) This is a sweet preparation of milk with lots of dry fruits and spices.

These ingredients are enough to prepare two cups of masala doodh.

What do I need??

Half a litre milk

2 tablespoon sugar

1 teapoon unsalted almonds

1 teaspoon unsalted pistachios

1/2 teaspoon unsalted cashews

1 teaspoon charoli (chironji)

A pinch of Cardamom powder

A pinch of nutmeg powder

A couple of strands of kesar (saffron) [optional]

What are the steps??

1. Dry roast the almonds, pistachios and cashews. Add a few drops of pure ghee for taste while roasting the dry fruits.

2. Once done, keep a few dry fruits away for garnishing. Grind the rest in a coarse powder.

3. Dry roast the charoli (chironji) in a similar way. There is no need to grind it.

4. Keep the milk for boiling and once its reduced to around three fourth its original quantity, add the sugar, dry fruits powder, charoli, cardamom and nutmeg powder. Add the kesar too. Keep stirring it so that it does not spill over.
5. Continue boiling the milk until it is half the original quantity.

Garnish with chopped dry fruits and its ready to be enjoyed under the cool light of the Kojagiri full moon

Cheesy corn and spinach grilled sandwich

When I started my first job after graduation,  me and my friends used to hang out in coffee shops often. The ones like Cafe coffee day and Barista. We used to have coffee, smoothies and tasty sandwiches. I always ordered the corn and spinach sandwich which had a cheesy and creamy stuffing!

Some time back I realised how much I miss those days and thought I could bring back at least some of those memories by trying out my favourite sandwich :)

So here it is:

What do I need??

1 small onion, finely chopped,
1 bowl of spinach, washed and finely chopped
1/2 bowl of frozen corn kernels
1 teaspoon grated garlic
1 teaspoon Butter
1 tablespoon all purpose flour (maida)
1 tablespoon grated cheese
1/2 cup warm milk
4 slices of bread

Mixed Italian herbs seasoning
Chilli flakes
Salt to taste

What are the steps??

1. Heat butter in a pan. Add the garlic and onion and saute till the onion is soft.
2. Add the spinach and corn and add some salt to season the vegetables.
3. Once the spinach is reduced and about cooked, add the flour and mix well together.
4. Now, add the milk and beat everything together nicely so that it gets a creamy texture, like white sauce.
5. Add cheese, chilli flakes and herbs for seasoning and turn off the heat.
6. Spread the mixture between two slices of bread. Spread a little butter on the outside of the sandwich and grill in a toaster/grill or on a pan.

Enjoy the cheesy corn and spinach sandwiches with ketchup !!

Any Tips??

* Chilli flakes can be replaced with black pepper if unavailable.
* The dish can be made healthier by using whole wheat flour instead of all-purpose flour.