Heritage from Aai

 TOMATO SAAR                              टोमॅटो सार Cooked, tested and tasted by:  Suvarna Deshpande  Photo Credit:  Suvarna Deshpande List of ingredients:  • 2 Tomatoes  • Little ginger  • 1 Green Chilly  • 2 tsp. wet coconut shredded  • Pinch of hing (Asafetida) and halad (turmeric) • Mohri (Mustard seeds) • 2 tsp sugar • Freshly chopped dhaniya leaves • Little oil for tempering Procedure: 1. Grind tomatoes, ginger, coconut and green chilly in the mixer. Keep aside. 2. Turn the gas on and keep a vessel on it.  3. Add oil and let it heat up.   4. Add mohri and when it crackles add hing and halad . 5. Then add the mixed items made in step one.  6. Stir well and add sugar.  7. Let it boil fully.  8. Serve hot after garnishing with dhaniya .  x----------------x

 Moog Palak   मूग  पालक Cooked, tested and tasted by: Suvarna Deshpande  Photo Credit:  Suvarna Deshpande Course: Savory varan (Daal) Cooking time – 35 min. Makes for six people List of Ingredients:  • ½ Vati Moong Daal (split with green chilka ) • 2 Vatis Palak (packed in the vati) (spinach) • 5-7 methi seeds (fenugreek seeds) • Aamsul (soaked in water for about two hours) • Jaggery • Kala Masala (to taste, made as per recipe by Aai ) • 1 medium sized tomato finely chopped For the tempering: • Oil (about 1Tbsp.) • Mohri (Mustard seeds) • Sabut Dhanay ( whole corriander seeds) • Kadi patta (Curry leaves) • Haldi (Turmeric) • Hing (Asafetida) • Red chili powder Procedure: 1. Pressure cook moog dal with a few methi seeds. 2. Turn on the gas and put an appropriate vessel on it.  3. A dd oil in it. Let it warm up.  4. Add mohri to it and let it crackle completely. 5. Then add dhanay and kadi patta . Mix till...

                               Besan Ladoo    बेसन लाडू Cooked, tested & tasted by Sandhya Ekbote Photo credit : Sandhya Ekbote Course: Sweet Cooking time: 1hr Serving size: 20 ladoos Ingredients : 4 vati besan ( gram flour , coarsely ground like rava ) 1 tbsp rava (semolina)/ rice flour (coarse texture) 2 vati powdered sugar 10 - 12 cardamom pods powdered 5-10 slivered almonds and chopped cashews ¾ vati melted ghee (clarified butter) Procedure : Heat a heavy bottom pan. Add 1/2 vati  clarified butter. Roast besan and rice flour on a low medium flame. Stir often so that the besan gets browned evenly and does not burn.  As you begin to roast the besan , small lumps will be seen  in the flour. These lumps disappear later. Sparingly add ghee to the mixture, preferably one spoon at a time. Be ...

            Masale Bhaat              मसाले भात Assembled, tested and tasted by:  Manjiri Subhedar   Photo Credit:  Manjiri Subhedar List of ingredients:  • X vatis of basmati rice • Cauliflower cut into large florets • Peas • Ginger (as per your taste) • Green Chilies (as per your taste) • Dalchini (cinnamon) • Lavang (cloves) • Tej paan (bay leaves) • X tsp. of Kachcha masala (made with Aai's recipe ) • Haldi (Turmeric) • Salt to taste • Fried kajus (Cashews) Procedure: 1. Wash rice and keep aside for about an hour.  2. Chop cauliflower into large flowerets and keep aside. 3. Peal and wash peas. Then keep aside.  4. Grind ginger and green chilies into a fine paste. Keep aside. 5. Turn the gas on and keep a karahi  (wok) on it.  6. Add little oil to it and stir fry pieces of cauliflower in it till they turn golden brown.  7. Remove fro...

 Gajar  Halwa  गाजर हलवा Cooked, tested and tasted by: Sandhya Ekbote  Photo Credit: Sandhya Ekbote  List of ingredients:  • 1 Kg. Gajar (Carrots) • 2 Tbs. Ghee (clarified butter)  • 1 Litre Milk (full cream)  • 1 vati (medium size) sugar • 15-20 Elaichis ’ powder (cardamom) • 20-30 Almonds peeled (after soaking in hot water for one hour) and then cut neatly along the length Procedure: 1. Thoroughly wash all the carrots. 2. Cut off the two ends.  3. Peal and grate them so that the grated strands are long.   4. Turn the gas on and put a heavy bottomed pan on it. 5. Put the ghee in it and let it melt. 6. Add the grated carrots to it. Stir and cover it. 7. Let it cook for 5-10 minutes. 8. Then add milk and let it come to a boil with the carrots in it. 9. Stir it continuously so that the milk does not stick to the bottom of the pan. 10. When the milk dries up, add sugar and stir.  11. The sugar w...

Masalas                            मसाले Assembled, tested and tasted by:  Manjiri Subhedar   Photo Credit:  Manjiri Subhedar Kachcha Masala कच्चा मसाला  List of ingredients:  • 4 vatis Dhane (Coriander seeds) • ½ vati Jeera (Cumin seeds) • 20 Badi elaichi (Large cardamoms) • 4 Long dalchini sticks (Cinnamon sticks) • 20 Lavangs (Cloves) • 20 Meeray (Black pepper) • 8 Leaves of Tej paan (Bay leaves) Procedure: 1. Gather all the ingredients as shown above. Do not roast anything. 2. Simply dry grind all the above ingredients in the mixer.  3. Then mix them thoroughly so that it becomes homogenous.  4. Bottle it and use when needed. Above: All ingredients in the mixer for grinding Above: Masala in the process of grinding Above: Close up view showing the texture of the ground masala Tips 1. This quantity will last for about two months. Use it in masaalay bhaat...

 Shrikhand     श्रीखंड Cooked, tested and tasted by: Renuka Ekbote  Photo Credit:  Renuka  Ekbote  Course: Dessert served in the meal List of Ingredients:  • 1 vati chakka made out of yogurt  • 1 vati ground sugar  • Keshar (saffron) softened in warm milk • Jaiphal (Nutmeg)  • 5   Elaichis ’ powder (cardamoms) Procedure: 1. First make the chakka by tying yogurt in multiple layers of cloth and then place a heavy weight on it. Arrange it in such a way that the water that is so released does not make a mess around.  2. When there is enough water released, drain it out. Repeat this as and when there is enough water. It can take 10-12 hours (depending on the quantity of the yogurt) for the yogurt to release all the water within.  3. When most of the water is gone the yogurt looks very dense like cheese/ paneer. This is called chakka .   4. Bring out the shrikhand maker and install a sieve ...