Kahwa and The Kashmir Saga

Hi Friends.

I am back after the well deserved break. Enjoyed my holiday in the pristine state of Kashmir. Today I share my experience of rejuvenation and the famous drink that is served there.

I read an interesting line “I am in Kashmir, Heaven can wait”. True to these words the place is beautiful and the immaculate beauty is surely welcoming. One can just sit and watch the place for hours together without getting bored, the serenity makes you believe that one is in paradise.

Our journey started with some hiccups as our aircraft had a problem so were grounded in Jammu for a day, so utilized that and visited the famous Raghunath Mandir and stayed there overnight. The next day we were off to Srinagar, the summer capital of J&K. We enjoyed the view of snow capped mountains during our 35min fly from Jammu-Srinagar. The International airport is beautiful and is under high security. Once you enter the city one can see the army people posted at regular intervals, that’s a common scene through out the state.

The first two days we stayed in a house boat in Dal lake and enjoyed the new experience, felt like living in Venice. The houseboat is made with the deodar tree and the interiors done with walnut tree. There are about 1290 houseboats in Dal lake. The Boulevard road which runs along the lake has a huge number of shops and restaurants. One can do a Shikara ride in the lake and enjoy the floating market, garden as well as water sports.

One can stay in Srinagar and travel to Sonmarg and Gulmarg. Gulmarg has the highest Gandola ride in the world and is called the meadow of flowers. There are two levels of the Gandola, Section I is from Gulmarg to Kongdori and then section II from Kongdori to Apherwat which is about 13,780 ft high. The first section carries about 1500 people/hour and the second section 600 people/hour.

Sonmarg did not have much snow this time and one can trek for about 6kms to reach the glacier.

 

Pahalgam, the land of shepherds is breathtakingly beautiful, we stayed there for 2 days. I would love to visit this place again and stay for more time. It is the base for The holy Amarnath yatra, and the place was getting ready for it. The lidder river flows through the valley and is the attraction of this place. One can do river rafting and enjoy the scenic beauty here.

On our way to Pahalgam we stopped at Pampore a small village famous for it’s saffron fields. I came to know that the saffron is grown only at three places in the world Kashmir, Iran and Spain. Three thousand flowers add up to  yield a gram of saffron, undoubtedly it is very expensive but that did not stop me from buying it.

I also shopped for spices and dry fruits which are of high quality. The shahjeera and cloves that I purchased had an excellent aroma which is completely lacking here in the plains. The other things that one can shop here are clothes made with aari work and needle work, one can buy salwar suit, saree, shawl, stole, bed cover and many more items. Wooden furniture and artifacts made with walnut are very popular here. One should not miss buying paper machee work but if you are ready to spend money do indulge in the carpets, they are beautiful and extremely expensive but will last for generations together if properly handled (the antique carpets are sold at higher price). I did buy a one made with silk on silk wearing a Hamadaan design and still can’t believe I shelled out an exorbitant price for that!!!!

A few things that I bought..

 

Coming to Kahwa, it’s a traditional drink made with green tea, spices and saffron. It is served with dry fruits, sugar and honey.Traditionally made in a brass kettle called samovar. It is served to the guests after a traditional wazwan dinner but we were offered that everywhere and we accepted it gladly especially S who is in love with the drink…

Ingredients

(serves 7-8)
1 heaped tsp green tea
about 9 cups of water
8-10 saffron strands
1 stick of cinnamon powdered
7-8 green cardamom powdered
almonds blanched, peeled and slivered into flakes
7-8 cashewnuts crushed
sugar as per taste ( I used about 10 tsp)
Method

Take a tea pan and bring water to a boil. Add the sugar, put the powdered cinnamon and cardamom and saffron. Finally add the green tea, switch off the gas immediately and cover it with a lid for few minutes, take precaution not to over boil the green tea else the kahwa turns bitter .

Divide the almonds and cashewnuts equally in 8 cups and then strain the tea into it.

Serve steaming hot, it is an excellent drink for winters or a cold day.

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Gheeya Makhanwala ( bottlegurd in creamy gravy)

I am in a packing mode as I am off for a holiday to Nepal with 'S' . It's a well deserved break for both of us. I am looking forward to all the fun , excitement and spending lots of time with him. Basically its time to rejuvenate and unwind myself. So my next post will be by the month end.

The last few days have been clearing up whatever was left in the refrigerator . Today I was left with a small bottle gourd , a few tomatoes in the refrigerator. Now 'S' is not very fond of this vegetable, so I had a challenge of making him eat this vegetable, without he fussing about it.

I had read a 'Veg Makhanwala' somewhere and had a faint memory of the process....not remembering it correctly I concocted my own version. This is a mild recipe with a delectable taste, a good way to camouflage veggies like bottlegourd. Must say it was really finger licking. Got a full thumbs up from 'S'.

Ingredients

1 large onion chopped

2-3 Chinese Garlic pods

a small piece Ginger

3 tomatoes

1/2 tsp freshly crushed pepper

1 tsp red chilli pwd

1 tsp kashmiri red chilli pwd

a pinch of turmeric pwd

1 tbsp coriander pwd

2 tbsp chopped coriander

ghee for cooking about 2 tbsp

2-3 tbsp fresh cream ( I used low fat )

1 small spoon cumin seeds

1 small bottle gourd(Gheeya, Lauki)
Spices

2-3 cloves

2 green cardamom

a small piece of cinnamon

a bayleaf

Method

• 
  
  Peel the bottle gourd and chop it into large pieces.
• 
  
  In a pressure cooker keep bottle gourd in a container, in another container keep onion,ginger and garlic. Pressure cook till 2 whistles.
• 
  
  Make tomato concasse .
• 
  
  Grind the onion mix and bottle gourd separately.
• 
  
  Heat ghee in a pan and add cumin seeds. After they splutter add the spices.Then add boiled onion and tomato concasse.
• 
  
  Saute for a minute and add red chilli pwds, corriander pwd, salt , pepper pwd and turmeric. Let the ghee separate, add bottle gourd paste and mix.
• 
  
  Add chopped coriander , mix and cover. Cook for about 5 mins or till the curry thickens and ghee separates, on low flame.
• 
  
  Add 2 tbsp cream mix and switch off flame.

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Minty Taro Kebabs…and a small break

Hi Friends!

Last few days have been busy as we celebrated my son’s 10 birthday and we also had my parents visiting us. Now that my parents are off to London to spend time with their brand new  grandson I got busy to pack for our family vacation. Yes, I will be off from blogging for a while as we spend time in the now lush green mountains of Himalayas, in the extreme North of India, considered the paradise or swarg on earth.. Yes, you guys guessed it right I am going to Kashmir for a week.

I have been trying to finish things in the refrigerator and we had a huge batch of mangoes to finish. Mangoes, we are eating them religiously post lunch and dinner. S, kindly offered to cook complete meals while I completed other chores, so he made dosa for breakfast and  a bengali style cauliflower subzi for lunch. I was left with some paneer and colocasia to finish, with paneer I  made low oil parathas and with Colocasia/Taro I made the Kebabs….

I had never made kebabs with this earlier and it was quite an impromptu plan…but glad I made it because they are extremely delicious and made us feel that we had a royal treat. I also had some mint and cilantro to finish so they also went into the kebabs and gave an amazing flavour. I also used carom seeds which enhanced the flavour of the kebabs further. I would personally recommend that if you are trying these kebabs, do not ignore these seeds.

The kebabs have a nice crunch on the crust and are extremely succulent inside. Taro being sticky one has to be careful while making these as one tends to put more binders to reduce the stickiness but the real art of the making good kebabs is to have less binders, this helps in maintaining the succulence. This is how I have made it…

 

Ingredients (makes about 16)

about 500gms Taro/Colocasia/Arvi

1 tbsp chaat masala

1/2 tsp carom seeds

2-3 bread slices

2-3 tbsp corn starch

7-8 green chilies

5-6 garlic pods

a small piece ginger

4-5 tbsp cilantro

handful of mint

salt to taste

half cup semolina

oil for shallow frying

Method

Boil and peel the taro. Mash it on cooling

Grind together coarsely (I used my hand mixer) cilantro, mint, ginger and garlic.

Add this mix to the mashed taro. Also add the chaat masala, corn starch, carom seeds and mix together.

Feel the texture of the mix, based on that add soaked bread to it. I required about two slices. Remember, we do not have to make the bind too hard, it should be just moldable.

The mix will continue to stay sticky, do not worry, just wet your hands lightly and then use the mix.

Take a small portion with wet hand and flatten it into a small tikki.

Roll it in semolina and then shallow fry on medium flame till golden in colour from either side, remove it on a kitchen towel to remove the excess oil.

Serve it hot with curd based mint dip or tomato sauce. I served with tomato sauce as I was clearing my pantry but this will taste amazing with the mint dip.

See you all in about 8-10 days till then you all enjoy cooking and blogging. I will catch up with your posts once I am back.

I have added subscription via the feed burner as well as by email to the blog as  have been getting mails asking for the same,  so those who want to subscribe can check the  top of the right hand side bar.

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Sprouted Moong and Barley Pesarattu

Hi Friends!

As it’s said “Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper”. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day and I look forward to make easy, filling and healthier options for the same. Body needs a good dose of balanced diet in the morning after staying without food for about 8-10 hours. I surely try to concoct various pancakes or crepes as they are filling, nutritious and less time consuming.

Pesarattu is a crepe quite similar to dosa made from green gram without using the rice, it is quite a popular dish from Andhra Pradesh. It is either made with the husked or dehusked lentil and based on the type of lentil used it has a green or yellow colour.

This time when I made this I modified it to a large extent, instead of using the lentils I used the whole green gram (sabut moong) and  sprouted them to make it a more nutritive option, to increase the protein content added split black gram flour (urad dal), to further it added the whole barley flour and to keep it crisp used rice flour too.

Sprouting the legumes increases the protein content which is very important for the growth and development of cells. Barley is a very good diuretic and aids in healthy functioning of the kidneys. So this pesarattu is full of health benefits.

Ingredients

about 4 cups of sprouted green gram

1 cup rice flour

1/2 cup barley flour

1/2 cup urad dal flour

5-6 green chilies

a handful of cilantro

1 tsp chili pwd

2 tsp cumin pwd

3 tsp coriander pwd

a tsp of cumin seeds

salt to taste

water to make the batter

Method

Make a coarse paste with sprouted moong, cumin, cilantro, ginger and green chilies.

Mix all the flours.

Add salt to taste, cumin pwd, red chili pwd, coriander pwd and add water to make a dosa like batter.

Smear some oil on a non stick pan and spread the batter in concentric circles. This is thicker than the normal dosa.

Cook it from one side till you get a golden hue and then flip and cook on the other side.

Serve it with roasted peanut and coriander chutney.

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Parc Marin Vu dans la Presse

L'étude pour le parc marin du bassin d'Arcachon est lancée
premiers avis plutôt positifs
Une seconde réunion de concertation devrait avoir lieu d'ici à la fin de l'année.

Le préfet maritime, Anne-François de Saint-Salvy, le préfet de Région, Dominique Schmitt, la chargée de mission, Anne Littaye, et le sous-préfet d'Arcachon, Pascal Gauci. PHOTO B. D.
Le premier comité de concertation pour la création d'un parc naturel marin sur le bassin d'Arcachon s'est tenue le 11 juin 2010 au lycée de la mer à Gujan-Mestras.
Il était co-présidé par le préfet maritime, Anne-François de Saint-Salvy et le préfet de Région, Dominique Schmitt, en présence de la chargée de mission, Anne Littaye, nommée en février, et du directeur adjoint de l'agence des aires marines protégées, Pierre Leca, qui gère les parcs naturels marins.
Une centaine d'invitations avaient été lancées aux élus, professionnels, associations et services de l'Etat. A l'issue des discussions, il a été décidé d'accueillir un élu, Michel Sammarcelli, maire de Lège Cap Ferret et président du Siba, au sein du comité de pilotage, et de créer des ateliers thématiques.
Le préfet Schmitt estime que le parc naturel ne pourra pas être créé sans « un consensus ». Le prochain comité de concertation devrait se tenir avant la fin de l'année. La mission de préfiguration du parc marin doit délimiter le périmètre, définir les objectifs, et déterminer la composition et le mode de fonctionnel du conseil de gestion.
La procédure devrait durer deux ans, pour une création du parc naturel marin en 2012.
«La réunion était très ouverte. Nous avons senti les gens prêts à participer. Nous n'avons pas entendu d'opposition franche au projet de parc naturel marin. Nous avons entendu des objections, des inquiétudes, mais personne n'a dit : ce parc ne sert à rien » ont assuré, hier, le préfet maritime Anne-François de Saint-Salvy, et le préfet de région, Dominique Schmitt, à l'issue de la première réunion du comité de concertation du parc naturel marin du bassin d'Arcachon, au lycée de la mer de Gujan-Mestras.
« Pas d'inquiétudes »
Des critiques ont pourtant été exprimées, à l'extérieur (lire ci-dessous), mais dans l'ensemble, il est vrai, les personnes rencontrées ont plutôt évoqué une certaine satisfaction. Une centaine d'invitations avaient été lancées aux élus, professionnels, usagers du bassin, associations de protection de l'environnement et services de l'État.

« C'est une très bonne réunion. Elle s'est tenue dans une grande sérénité, tout le monde a pu poser des questions. La présentation du préfet et de la chargée de mission était d'une très bonne qualité. Des inquiétudes ont été exprimées même si je pense qu'il n'y a pas de raison de s'inquiéter. Le parc marin ne coûtera rien puisqu'il est prévu au budget de l'État », a commenté le député maire socialiste du Teich, François Deluga, qui défend depuis toujours la création d'un parc marin sur le Bassin.
« Avancée essentielle »
Le maire UMP d'Arcachon et président de la Cobas, Yves Foulon, était au départ plus hostile. Hier, il était beaucoup plus favorable : « À ma demande, le préfet a accepté d'intégrer un élu du bassin d'Arcachon au comité de pilotage. Le processus est lancé, des inquiétudes sur la gestion du parc sont levées. Les élus vont être directement associés. C'est une avancée essentielle qui permet de travailler. »
Le conseiller régional d'Europe Écologie, Michel Daverat, était lui-même « très content » de cette réunion : « Le parc marin est un outil de gouvernance nécessaire. Je suis satisfait que les réticences s'estompent. Le souhait du préfet de trouver un consensus est important. »
Jean Mazodier, pour la Ceba, a salué « l'excellent exposé et la clarté de l'État sur la gouvernance que nous partageons ».
Les associations environnementales souhaitent s'inscrire à tous les ateliers.

12 juin 2010 SUD OUEST Bernadette Dubourg

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Bread Rolls with Instant Potato Flakes

Hi.

Let me start by asking all my friends, how are you? As of for me I was getting grilled and baked in the extreme heat with temperature hitting 47C. Cooking and eating is an unavoidable affair but it’s quite torturous these days. The kitchen steams and blows me away.LOL.

I had been wanting to bake a bread but my regular readers would know my yeast fear (I call it the yeast ghost) so have been conveniently avoiding or rather postponing it. My brother’s gift to me (A Peter Reinhart book) also could not push or persuade me to attempt  one. Though I did attempt a pretzel during my initial days of blogging and it turned good but I still could not overcome my yeast fear. I guess the heat has hit me really hard that’s why I tried to overcome my fear  and attempted these rolls which I had bookmarked from Katy’s blog who herself had tried it from melskitchencafe.

Last few days there has been some respite with the temperature dropping by a few degrees because of the cloud cover and  cool morning breeze surely left me motivated because I started the entire   procedure around the afternoon, yup I am a little weirdo.

I had all the ingredients  that I required , the only  worry was the yeast, whether it was still active? I had bought it a long time back and was hidden behind my stocks, without taking any chances I first proofed the yeast and the minute I saw the froth coming up I was all set to make the rolls. I did not play around with the ingredients and strictly followed the measurements and instructions, was in no mood to fool myself, so really played safe.

At the end of the baking I was surely happy that I tried these as I just enjoyed making them as I did not find them that tricky. They had the perfect bite and were soft to eat. It is one recipe which has surely motivated me enough to work more with the yeast, I guess, should keep trying such simple recipes to win over the yeast ghost.

Ingredients
3 cups APF
1/2 cup instant potato flakes
1-1/4 cups warm water
1 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp EVOO
2-1/4 tsp instant yeast
1-1/4 tsp salt
some extra APF
1 egg or some milk
Method

Combine well the APF, potato flakes and salt in a bowl.

Warm the water and add the sugar and EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil) to it. Add the yeast and using a whisk mix it thoroughly.

Add the water to the flour mix gradually and knead. If the dough feels sticky add in a little flour (I needed to add more) and knead for about 5-6 minutes. The final dough should be smooth, non sticky and should easily come off from the sides of the bowl.

Grease the dough and cover it with a cling film and leave it to rise for 1-1/2 hours or till it doubles in volume.

Punch the dough and divide it into 12 equal parts and shape them into balls.

Put the balls on a baking sheet and leave them for an hour to rise again.

Apply an egg wash or milk wash and bake them at 200 C for 15 mins or till golden in colour.

The rolls turned out to be perfect and as rightly mentioned toothsome. Sending this to Nupur’s BB4- What’s Lurking in The Kitchen and also to Bread Mania hosted by Chaitra at Aathidhyam.

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A Plate Filled With Health – Succulent Jackfruit & Soya Burger

Hi Friends!

Let me start with a funny incident, about a decade back I guess McDonald’s was very new in this country and visiting it was an important job and considered very happening if one is visiting the metro cities. The first time I visited McDonald’s I was at a complete loss as I did not understand how to order a decent meal at a low price. Anyhow, my cousin helped me in understanding the various options and combos (how dumbo I was) and I ordered a Veggie burger combo. Now eating a burger is an arduous task, yes I realised that the minute I had my first bite and I pushed the stuff backwards towards my palm. I must confess with great difficulty I finished eating that and my mouth and hand was completely messed up by the time I finished it.LOL. Today I laugh at myself remembering this but over the period I have learnt the art of eating a burger…

DH has been quite busy in his office these days and during his meetings they normally would invariably eat Pizza from Pizza Hut or a Burger from McDonald’s. Over a period he has developed a hatred for Mc burgers and was after me that he wants to eat homemade Indianised Burgers. Now the caring and obedient wife I am, how could I ignore his demand . Jokes apart I truly love pampering him at times and so decided to innovate a new Patty for the burger.

What Goes In a Burger

A classical burger basically comprises of a bun cut into halves, a patty which could be veg or non veg, Mayonnaise, cut vegetables. It can be served with or without cheese.

To make the burger really tasty and inviting the key ingredient that should be really good is the patty. I always tend to make a healthy and tasty patty and that’s the reason my family loves homemade burgers as the flavours are not repetitive.

As I mentioned in the Jackfruit & Red Lobia Salan that Jackfruit is available abundantly these days and I am right now on a Jackfruit spree…the real truth is I was left with some jackfruit after making the curry so wanted to use it in an innovative way . Honestly speaking I was overwhelmed with the result. The burger turned out very tasty and undoubtedly extremely nutritious and healthy to eat. Kids and S loved it and I was all collars up.

Ingredients for 8 Patties

3 cups cooked jackfruit

1 cup soya chunks soaked in water

4 boiled and peeled potatoes

8-10 garlic pods

2 inch ginger

1 large onion finely chopped

1/2 cup milk

4 tsp oil

6-7 green chilies

salt to taste

oil for shallow frying

Slices of onion and tomato

cheese slices

lettuce/cabbage leaves

Burger Buns

Mayonnaise

Spices

1-2 tsp red chili pwd

3 tbsp coriander pwd

2 tbsp cumin pwd

1 tsp garam masala

2 tsp amchoor pwd

Method

To Make The Patty

Squeeze out the excess water from the soya chunks.

In the food processor put the soya, cooked jackfruit, garlic, ginger and green chilies and blend to mix.

The jackfruit being fibrous needs a binding agent, that  role is played by the  boiled potatoes, mash them and mix. Mix the chopped onion, all spices, salt to taste, oil and milk.

Adding oil and milk in the patty dough makes it more soft and succulent (if one likes a very firm patty do avoid these).

Take a tennis ball size portion of jackfruit mix in one palm and shape it like a patty using the other hand.

Shallow fry the patty from both the sides. Take due precaution while flipping.

Assembling the Burger

Cut the burger into equal halves and lightly toast them on a griddle using oil or butter ( I used oil).

Spread mayonnaise(I used eggless, low fat) on the lower half and place the patty over it.

Place the sliced onions and tomatoes (one can use cucumber, beetroot too) over the patty.

Cut the cheese slice and place over the sliced veggies.

Now put the lettuce leaf ( I did not have that so use cabbage leaves) and finally put the other half of the burger and close it.

Warm it at 60% microwave for 30 seconds before serving.

Press it gently from the top, serve it with tomato and mustard sauce. This can be a very filling meal too.
Sending this to Bread Mania hosted by Chaitra at Aathidhyam.

and also to Sara and  Sunita’s- Think Spice Think Garam Masala.
Sending the burger to my event ‘Only’ Sandwiches, burgers & Panini, guest hosted by Savi-Ruchi.

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Mixed Veggies In a Very Low calorie Makhani Gravy…but no compromise on taste!!!!

Hi friends! My regular readers would know that these days I am trying to cook and post curries which are low in fat. I  am trying to make curries without compromising on the flavour but surely the calories.

As foodies we all know that a Makhani gravy as the name describes is made in butter (makkhan) and cooked in a cream. I have posted two of these variants earlier Daal Makhani and Cauliflower Butter Masala, which also happens to be a very popular recipe from my site.

In the Makhani gravy the main base is tomato flavoured with whole spices. It’s easy to work with tomato and whole spices as they do not add to the fats, the real work goes in replacing cream and the butter as they are the fattening agents and add to the overdose of calories.

One can surely use a low fat butter and a low fat cream but that reduces calories to some extent but if one wants to indulge in an extremely low calorie affair then there comes the real challenge. I have surely not used any cream or butter here, so then what did I do? I found a very interesting ingredient which provides a creamy texture and still does not add much to the calories, this does not let one miss that creamy texture added by the cream…it’s the skimmed milk powder. It just conveniently replaces the cream in the makhani and one just does not miss it!!

Ingredients

a large handful of peas (I used frozen)

2 potatoes cubed

8-10 french beans chopped

1 small cauliflower cut into small pieces

1 carrot cubed

one onion boiled and pureed

2 tbsp ginger & garlic  paste

3/4 pack of tomato puree

6-7 tbsp milk powder

whole spices (bay leaves-3, cinnamon stick-1, black cardamom-2, green cardamom-4, cloves-4)

a pinch of nutmeg

1 tbsp kasoori methi

1 tsp sugar

2-3 tsp kashmiri chili pwd

2 tbsp coriander pwd

a pinch of turmeric

a pinch of garam masala

oil for cooking about 1 tbsp+ 1 tbsp ghee

salt to taste

Method

Boil  and cook all the vegetables in water.

Heat the oil and ghee mix and add the whole spices and let them crackle.

Now add the kasoori methi and saute for few seconds without letting it burn.

Add the g-g paste and add the kashmiri chili pwd.

Put the boiled onion paste and cook for a minute, now add the tomato puree and sugar.

Add the coriander pwd, turmeric and mix. Remove from fire and add the milk powder mixed in water, this prevents curdling of the milk. Saute for a few more minutes.

Now add the veggies, salt and garam masala and cook for a few more mins. Just before removing from the fire add the nutmeg and mix.

This curry goes well with Jeera rice, Whole wheat Naan, Paratha or Roti.

Just show off with some cream on top.
Tips-

One needs to be careful using the milk powder as it curdles easily. That’s the reason salt is added at the finishing stage plus when the milk powder is added as a slurry, remove the pan from fire.

I have used the skimmed milk powder, one is free to use any.

Sending this to Sara and  Sunita’s- Think Spice Think Garam Masala.

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Kakadiche Thalipeeth ..Maharashtrian Style Cucumber Pancakes

Hi Friends.

It is always challenging to make an interesting and healthy breakfast everyday. The most regular items that frequent my kitchen are Indori Kanda Poha, Avarekalu Uppittu, Upma, Shavage Upma, Ukadpendi,  Idli, Dosa…etc. Do share what all you make for breakfast.

Summer invites more cucumber into our diet as it’s a good hydrating agent and  I do keep a good stock of them in my refrigerator. I love to eat it raw with some salt, lime and red chili pwd on it, it’s simply superb. Because of the heat I have lost much interest in elaborate cooking. One of these days when I was trying to fix a decent breakfast, I suddenly realized that I have not made Thalipeeth (pancakes) in  a long time. The name thalipeeth made me further realize that I have never fed my family Cucumber Thalipeeth, which happens to be my ‘The Favorite’ one. The self realization actually shocked me and made me wonder, how was that possible, how did I ignore it for such a long time especially when they have been my personal favorites… Anyways, I did not waste a single minute after that and geared up to make these yummies.

Trust me friends these pancakes taste awesome and can make a wholesome meal too, in case one is planning a brunch. When served with curds and ghee, they make an excellent combo. The best part is that they are made with multi grains which adds to it’s health benefits. This particular pancake is also made during fasting, the recipe of which I will share later. To my delight my family just loved it and has asked to make it more frequently and to my utter surprise the fussy eater (my younger one) demanded to have some more of these again for the lunch, sadly they were over so have promised him that I will make them soon. I am sure to repeat these again but for now, let’s check the ingredients and how I made it..

Ingredients

3 cucumber grated

8-10 green chilies chopped finely

4-5 tbsp chopped cilantro

3 tbsp sesame seeds

3-4 tbsp sour yogurt

a cup of wheat flour

3-4 tbsp gram flour

a pinch of turmeric

1 tsp red chili pwd ( add only if the green chilies are not spicy)

5-6 tbsp rice flour (one can add more too)

salt to taste

oil for cooking

Method

Cut the sides of the cucumber and rub it on the cucumber to remove the latex (do not avoid this step). Peel the cucumber and grate it. Do not squeeze.

Mix in all the ingredients and make a semi solid (tooth paste like consistency) dough, normally the juice of the cucumber is sufficient to make the dough else use a little water. A semi solid dough helps in spreading the pancakes easily on the pan/ tava.

Smear oil on a non stick pan. Wet hand and take a ball of the dough and spread it thin on the pan. Traditionally it is spread on a banana leaf and then pressed on the pan, else one can use a plastic sheet or a paper cutting to make the pancakes.

Put a little oil on top and along the sides.

Let the pancake cook from one side and then flip it. It should get a golden colour (kharpoos bhajane) on either side and cooking should be done preferably on medium flame.

Serve it with ghee/ curds or both.

This taste too good to resist. The yogurt adds a mild sour taste, sesame a nice crunch and the cucumber a delectable flavor. I will personally recommend you to try this. I missed my father a lot while eating  as these are his favorite too.

Tips- Keeping the spice level high with green chilies is recommended else it tastes a bit bland.

Cilantro adds a great flavor so do not avoid that.

One can add more rice flour if they like the pancake more crispy.

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