Parsley Pesto

I had bought big bunch of Flat Leaf Parsley to make Falafel, but I did not know how to use/preserve left over. Then I read somewhere that I can pesto which can stay good for couple of weeks. Generally pesto is made using pine nuts, but I used walnuts instead.

Yields about 1 cup

Preparation Time: 10 Minute

Cooking Time: NIL

Ingredients

1-cup freshly chopped parsley

¼ cup walnut

½ tsp basil

½ tsp oregano

2 cloves of garlic

1/6 cup olive oil

Procedure

1. Toast walnuts on low flame for 3-5 minute

2. Mix them with rest of the ingredients and grind into a paste

I have not tried this pesto with spaghetti/pasta yet. But add salt and pepper and it indeed tastes good with toast, bread or crackers

Dal Palak

Here I am with another simple recipe. I like this kind of dish because it’s a good combination of Protein and Greens. Not only it’s quite simple to make but also it makes a complete meal with rice/roti. The original recipe says Palak-Moong Dal but I used three types of dals instead of just moong dal.

Serves 3-4

Preparation Time: 20 Minute + soaking time

Cooking Time: 15 Minute

Ingredients

3 cup chopped spinach

1/3 cup moong dal

1/3 chana dal

1/3 cup toor dal

1.5 tsp oil

A dried red chili

¼ tsp cumin seeds

¼ tsp mustard seeds

¼ tsp turmeric powder

¼ tsp red chili powder

¼ tsp coriander powder

½ tsp lemon juice

Pinch of garam masala

1/8 tsp ghee

Salt per taste

Procedure

1. Mix all 3 dals, soak for 3-4 hours and pressure cook them

2. Heat oil in skillet, add dry red chili, mustard and cumin seeds

3. Add spinach and sauté it for about 5-7 minutes or until mixture becomes dry

4. Add cooked dals, mix well and add remaining dry spices

5. Add water, quantity depends on what kind of texture you want (I used about ½ cup)

6. Add ghee and turn off the heat

P.S. We can also sauté spinach along with onion and tomato to give little Punjabi/North Indian touch

સુખડી/ Sukhadi

It’s the simplest Gujarati Sweet and we both love it, especially when served hot. The best part is, it’s easy to make and all ingredients are always available. And icing on the cake is, though it’s sweet, it has got no sugar. Simple may it sound, let me confess so far I could never make perfect સુખડી. Either it would be too hard or too soft. But this time, I had been very patient and it’s nearly perfect.

Makes 20-25 pieces (Two small plates)

Preparation Time: 10 Minute

Cooking Time: 20 Minute

Ingredients

2 cup whole wheat chapatti flour

1 to 1.25 cup ghee

1 cup shredded jaggery

Procedure

1. Heat ghee in thick bottom pan on low flame. Start with 1 cup

2. When hot enough, add flour and stir continuously, if required add remaining ¼ cup of ghee

3. When this mixture starts leaving ghee on edge and it’s about to change color, turn off the heat

4. Add jaggery and mix well

5. Spread the mixture in plate while hot

6. Let it cool down, cut into pieces and store it at room temperature

ચકરી

Here I am with another typical Gujarati snacks - ચકરી. It comes with several variations, but we just love the simplest version, the one made with whole wheat flour. When I was teenager, mom used to teach me how to make ચકરી using machine. With practice, I could use machine efficiently though I had never tried to make the dough. During this Diwali, I asked HIM what should I make in snacks category and he told me to make just this one item! And when you have please someone by just one dish, you have to be careful ;)

Make 50-60 small pieces

Preparation Time: 30 Minute

Cooking Time: 1 hour

Ingredients

2.5 cup whole wheat chapatti flour

1 tsp turmeric powder

1 tsp red chili powder

1 tsp sesame seeds

1 tsp ajwain

1 tsp fennel seeds

Salt per taste

Oil for frying

Procedure

1. Wrap flour in cloth and pressure cook it for about 12-15 minute (4 whistles)

2. Coarsely crush ajwain and fennel seeds

3. Once pressure cooker cools down, take the flour out and mash it so it does not have any lumps

4. Add all dry spices and make soft dough

5. Put the dough in machine and make ચકરી preferably on damp cloth. If it breaks, add little water to dough

6. Deep fry immediately them until golden brown

P.S. Dough can also be made using sour cream.

Malai Kofta

In India, whenever we would go to North Indian/Punjabi Restaurants, we order one sweet or white gravy based vegetable. And mostly it would be Malai Kofta or Khoya Kaju. But here very few places offer these options so I had no choice but to learn making them myself :)

Serves 4-6 (Makes about 22-24 Koftas)

Preparation Time: 40 Minute

Cooking Time: 20 Minute

Ingredients

For Kofta,

2 cup boiled and mashed potatoes

4-6 tbsp plain flour

1 tbsp ginger-chili paste

1 tbsp chopped coriander

2 tbsp ricotta cheese

20-25 pc cashew nuts

20-25 pc raisins

Salt per taste

Oil for frying

For Gravy

2.5 cup onion paste

1 tsp poppy seeds

1 tbsp મગત્સરીના બી

20 pc cashew nuts

2-3 cloves of garlic

1 tbsp chili paste

1 tsp garam masala

1 tsp cumin seeds

2 tbsp oil

1 bay leaf

¼ cup heavy cream

Salt, sugar and lemon juice per taste

For Garnishing,

Coriander leaves

Procedure

1. Mix mashed potatoes, flour, salt, coriander leaves and ginger chili paste

2. Divide this mixture into balls.

3. Now take each ball, stuff with little ricotta cheese, cashew and raisin

4. Fry them on medium flame until golden brown

5. Soak cashew nuts, મગત્સરીના બી and poppy seeds in water/milk for about an hour and grind into a paste

6. Heat oil in skillet, add bay leaf, cumin seeds and onion paste and minced garlic

7. When it starts leaving oil on edges, add cashew paste and chili paste

8. Add all remaining spices and mix well

9. Add heavy cream and turn off the heat

10. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot