Heritage from Aai

  Rava Besan Ladoo रवा बेसन लाडू Cooked, tested & tasted by: Sandhya Ekbote Photo credit: Sandhya Ekbote Course : Sweet Cooking time: 60 minutes Serving size: 30 ladoos Ingredients : 2 vati coarse rava 2 vati besan ½ vati Ghee ( clarified butter) 2 vati sugar 8 cardamom pods' powder Water Procedure: Heat ghee in a pan and add the besan. Roast it on a medium flame till it turns golden red. Add more ghee if needed. Add the rava to the besan. Stir it well for a couple of minutes. Switch off the flame in a couple of minutes. For the sugar syrup: Take a heavy bottom pan. Add 2 vati sugar and water. Adjust the quantity of water till the sugar submerges in it completely. Bring the syrup to one boil ( kachcha paak ). Add ½ part of the sugar syrup to the  besan rava mixture. The remaining ½ of the syrup in the pan has to be boiled to 3 string consistency ( goli band paak ). This 3 string consistency syrup to be added to the same rava besan mixture. Add cardamom powder. ...

Narali Bhat नारळी भात Cooked, tested & tasted by: Sharada Marathe Photo credit: Sharada Marathe Cuisine: Sweet Cooking time: 35 minutes Serving size: 4 people Ingredients : For cooking rice  1 vati basmati rice 2 .75 vati water For tempering  2 lavag ( clove) 1 piece of dalchini (cinnamon)  4 tsp ghee (clarified butter) 1 vati plus 1 tbsp sugar  1/2 vati tightly packed grated coconut  1tbsp orange juice or orange zest or lemon juice 1 medium sized grated carrot  4 kismis ( Golden raisins)  4 Elaichi's (Cardamom) powder   6 Slivered almonds Procedure :  Soak Basmati rice in enough water for 30-minutes.  Grate half of a  medium sized coconut. You should be able to get 1/ 2 cup tightly packed grated coconut.  Grate 1 medium sized carrot.  Heat ghee in a pan.  When the ghee is hot enough, add cloves and cinnamon.  Fry  for a minute till fragrant.  Add the soaked rice to it.  Saute the ...

Mirchi Pickle     मिरची लोणचे Cooked, tested & tasted by: Sandhya Ekbote Photo credit: Sandhya Ekbote Ingredients: 250gm firm mirchi (green chilies) 2 tbsp mohri daal (split mustard seeds) 1tbsp salt ¼ tsp halad (turmeric powder) 2tbsp oil Asafetida ¼ Lemon's juice ½ tsp Mustard seeds Procedure : Split the green chilies vertically into 1inch pieces. If need be, deseed them partially to reduce the heat. Add oil in a pan. Once oil heats up, add mustard seeds and asafetida in the oil. Let it cool completely. Add mohri dal, halad and salt to the green chilies. Mix well. Put it in a glass bottle. Add lemon juice. Tip: Always make this pickle in small batches. x---------------------------x  

Khajur Vadis Cooked, tasted and tested by: RD Photo Credit: RD Course: Sweet Time for preparation: About 1.5 hours Ingredients: ● 2 vatis tightly packed pitted dates ( khajur ) ● 2 vatis  shelled and cut  Akrod (Walnut) pieces  ● 3 vatis whole milk ● 2 vatis powdered sugar ● 10 elaichis (cardamom) powdered ● ¼ tsp  jaiphal (nutmeg) powder Above: Store bought khajur Above: Walnuts broken into chunky pieces by hand Procedure: 1. In a heavy bottom pan, boil milk. 2. After it boils, add chopped khajur to it. Above: Khajur chopped into chunky pieces with a knife Above: Khajur being cooked in milk 3. Stir it often so that the milk does not stick to the base of the pan.   4.      Once the milk is fully absorbed by the khajur and they become soft, add most of the sugar. Keep aside a tbsp of sugar for later use. 4. Stir again. The sugar will melt and make the khajur moist again. Stir often till all the moisture is reduced and the mix...

Dhokla ढोकळा Cooked, tested & tasted by: Sandhya Ekbote Photo credit: Sandhya Ekbote Ingredients : 3 vati coarse besan (gram flour) 1 vati curd  3/4 tsp  Eno (any fruit salt) 3 tbsp finely cut coriander 3 tbsp grated coconut 3 tbsp oil Pinch asafetida Salt to taste 2 vati lukewarm water Mirchi pani 4 Green chillies, diced in big pieces Sprinkle Sugar 2 tbsp oil 1 tsp Mustard seeds Pinch of hing Salt to taste Procedure : Batter prep: Add lukewarm water to make buttermilk from the curd Add besan to the buttermilk . Stir with a whisk to create a smooth, thick batter without any lumps  and let it ferment overnight. Add 3 tbsp oil, salt and hing to this fermented besan batter. Whisk it with whisk. The batter should be thick yet flow easily off of the whisk. Next add Eno. Eno makes it soft and fluffy. Stir the Eno with the batter briskly and quickly. The End should be mixed evenly with the batter.  The Eno will make the batter frothy, so you need to work quickly t...