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Source: Spinach chutney with rice flour roti

Another vegetable which has recently been introduced to  indian cuisine is zucchini, this vegetable which resembles a cucumber in appearance , but has a firmer texture and has seeds  which are very tiny and almost invisible,  an emerald green  colour and  comes from the family of squash, the only difference is that its harvested quite early when it reaches the length of about 25 cms, this is to prevent it from losing its taste. This vegetable which is a storehouse of nutrients, adapts itself very well to any cuisine  sweet or savoury, be it a zucchini fritter or just  simply tossed with a few herbs and roasted.. it\’s a great side dish and  is very healthy. Today i would like to share with you a snack made with shredded zucchini which I have adapted to an Indian taste, this snack can be premade and then reheated and served, the use of oil is very minimum in this snack, and its a good option for those of you trying to avoid snacks which are deep-fried. We as mothers know that children are fussy when it comes to eating vegetables, I learnt how to play  hide and seek with vegetables in many forms when my children were growing up,sometimes in parathas, sometimes in cakes, and idlies, there were beetroot parathas, carrot sindhi kokis, or spinach idlies..etc . But nowadays young mothers are more health conscious and train their children from an early age to eat healthy. Zucchini is definitely a vegetable which should occupy a permanent space in your vegetable drawer.. Ingredients 1/2 cup  + 1/2 cup  finely grated zucchini 1/2 cup chick pea flour..(besan) 1/2 cup rice flour 2 tbsps yogurt paste of ginger and green chillies.( to your spice level) 2 tbsps of lime juice salt to taste and a pinch of turmeric 1 small potato boiled, peeled and grated 1 small onion finely chopped 1 small tomato finely chopped 2 tbsps of finely chopped spring onions 2 tbsps finely chopped corriander leaves 3 tbsps grated paneer..(cottage cheese) 1 tsp cumin seeds 1 tsp red chilli powder 1 tsp garam masala 1/2 tsp amchoor powder salt to taste METHOD.. 1. mix together the besan, 1/2 cup grated zucchini , rice flour salt, ginger green chilli paste, yogurt, lime juice and about 1/2 cup water to get a smooth batter which is not too thick . Keep aside for 15 minutes. 2. heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan, add cumin seeds and chopped onions, saute till onions become soft, add the chopped tomatoes and garam masala, turmeric, amchoor, red chillie powder,  salt, mix well..and add the grated potatoes and paneer. 3. Separately saute 1/2 cup of grated zucchini till dry , and add to the potato mixture, this is the filling for the zucchini turnovers. At this point you have 2 options.. use the potato filling only or add the sauted zucchini.. 4.Heat a non stick pan, brush a little oil on the surface and drop a spoonful of the batter on it, it should spread a little. After a minute turn it over and put a tsp of the filling on one side of the pancake and cover with the other half to get a semi-circle. 5. Cook the pancake on both the sides till crisp brushing with a little oil.. serve hot with a sauce of your choice.

Years ago broccoli was a rather unknown vegetable on the Indian table. We Indians know all about the sister counterpart of broccoli , that is the cauliflower or more popularly known as gobi , every region of India has its own tasty version of gobi, with gobi aloo heading the list, imagine eating gobi aloo accompanied by a hot elaichi flavoured moong dal khichdi ,washed down with a glass of  chilled lassi, hmmmm comfort food at its best. The advent of broccoli in India is quite recent, though India is among one of the top producer of the vegetable, Its popularity is more in the chinese food world. This lovely emerald green vegetable is a storehouse of nutrients and is a great anti oxidant too. It also does not require too much cooking. Having it sauted with garlic and seasoning accompanied by steamed rice makes for a very healthy and tasty dish. This vegetable is also very versatile and can blend with other vegetables such as mushrooms , tofu and young baby corn, it\’s also very delicious with a cheddar cheese sauce poured over it and gratinated until golden.I have used broccoli in various ways at home, right from a broccoli tikki up to a broccoli pancake. Today i will share with you a very simple pancake made with semolina and broccoli. This pancake is a great evening snack or it can even be had for breakfast, its made in a jiffy and can be made beforehand and reheated before serving. I normally serve this with a coconut chutney, do try it BROCOLLI PANCAKE FOR THE PANCAKES 1 CUP SOOJI( SEMOLINA) 1 CUP SOUR CURD (YOGURT) 1 CUP COLD WATER 1 TSP ENO FRUIT SALT METHOD… MIX TOGETHER THE SOOJI, YOGURT AND COLD WATER TILL SMOOTH, KEEP ASIDE FOR HALF AN HOUR, MIX IT GENTLY ONCE AGAIN AND ADD MORE WATER IF IT IS TOO DRY. NOW ADD THE BROCCOLI MIXTURE AND MIX GENTLY. THE CONSISTENCY SHOULD BE  MEDIUM, IT SHOULD NOT BE WATERY .FINALLY ADD ENO AND ADD 1 TBSP OF WATER ON TOP OF ENO, IT WILL FROTH IMMEDIATELY, MIX GENTLY AND DROP SPOONFULS OF THIS BATTER ONTO A GREASED NON STICK PAN. WHEN LIGHTLY BROWNED ON THE UNDERSIDE, FLIP TO COOK ON THE OTHER SIDE, POUR LITTLE OIL DURING BOTH SIDES OF COOKING.. YOU SHOULD GET A PANCAKE WHICH IS CRISP ON THE OUTSIDE AND SOFT INSIDE.. SERVE HOT WITH COCONUT CHUTNEY   FOR BROCCOLI MIXTURE 1 CUP FINELY CHOPPED BROCCOLI 1 TSP CUMIN SEEDS 1 TSP MUSTARD SEEDS 10 FINELY CHOPPED CURRY LEAVES 2 OR 3 GREEN CHILLIES SLICED INTO THIN RINGS SALT TO TASTE METHOD HEAT 1 TBSP OIL IN A PAN, ADD MUSTARD SEEDS FOLLOWED BY CUMIN SEEDS. NOW ADD THE GREEN CHILIES AND BROCCOLI, SAUTE FOR ABOUT 5 MINS AND ADD SALT TO TASTE.. REMOVE FROM HEAT , COOL AND ADD TO THE SOOJI BATTER.    

Any Indian food lover, especially those who have a sweet tooth , will have definitely tasted this amazing dessert at some point in their lives. This sinfully rich dish has paved its way down the Moghul era,with its route passing the courts of the nawabs and royal households too.. which is why it has an important place in wedding menus and is also very popular during the ramzan festival second only to the amazing sheer khurma..This elaborate looking dish is actually very simple to make, needing just few ingredients. Many families have their own version of this dish , some serve it chilled, some at room temperature, even the way it is served varies from region to region.The Hyderabadi people call it DOUBLE KA MEETHA.. because of a type of milk bread that they use which literally swells to double its volume when soaked. The bread is always fried first till golden and then soaked in a warm saffron syrup, once the bread slightly softens up, it is topped with a rich rabri and nuts..This wonderful marriage of flavours which are a sheer delight in gastronomy is India\’s delicious answer to the bread pudding of the western world.. The simpler Sindhi version of this dessert is known as chash ji dabroti, it was a standard once in a week dish in our home during winters, which my mom made on most saturdays , basically the bread was fried until golden then dunked in a warm sugar syrup flavoured with saffron and cardamoms.. my grandmother , amma loved this dish so much that she always asked for second helpings, with me not far behind.:) the Sindhi version does not include rabri. Today I will share with you my version of the recipe, enjoy it , though this rich dessert will make calorie conscious people think twice, do try a small portion. SHAHI TUKDE INGREDIENTS FOR THE RABRI 750 ML OF MILK 200 ML OF SWEET CONDENSED MILK 1/2 TSP CARDAMOM POWDER METHOD TO MAKE RABRI.. BOIL THE MILK , CONDENSED MILK AND CARDAMOM POWDER TOGETHER AND SIMMER TILL THE QUANTITY HAS REDUCED TO HALF, STIR IN BETWEEN.. WE WANT A CONCOCTION WHICH IS THICK BUT NOT DRY, SHUT THE FIRE, COOL THE REDUCED MILK AND THEN ADD 1/2 TSP OF ROSE ESSENCE..KEEP ASIDE. THIS CAN BE MADE AHEAD OF TIME AND KEPT COVERED IN THE REFRIGERATOR. INGREDIENTS FOR SUGAR SYRUP 500 ML HOT WATER 100 GMS SUGAR 1/2 TSP CARDAMOM POWDER 1/2 TSP SAFFRON STRANDS (soaked METHOD BOIL THE WATER AND CARDAMOM POWDER ALONG WITH GROUND SAFFRON TILL IT REDUCES BY ALMOST HALF… KEEP WARM INGREDIENTS FOR THE BREAD BASE.. 6 SLICES OF WHITE BREAD CUT INTO 4 PIECES EACH OIL OR GHEE TO FRY THE BREAD 2 TBSP PURE GHEE METHOD TO FRY AND ASSEMBLE HEAT OIL OR GHEE IN A WOK, I USE OIL AND ADD 2 TBSPS OF GHEE FOR THE FLAVOUR, DEEP FRY THE BREAD PIECES UNTIL GOLDEN AND PUT ONTO A FLAT PLATE, POUR THE SAFFRON SYRUP ONTO THE BREAD AND ONCE THE BREAD SOAKS UP THE SYRUP TRANSFER TO A SERVING DISH, USE HALF THE PIECES FIRST, TOP WITH RABRI AND NUTS, AND TOP AGAIN WITH BREAD PIECES, GARNISH WITH MORE NUTS, ROSE PETALS AND SILVER VARKH.. SERVE AT ROOM TEMPERATURE OR COLD.

The Bengal connection has been a strong one in my life.. having loved bengali sweets since a very young age, I can never resist a malai rasgulla sandwich or a syrupy cham cham.. and how about that spongy rasgulla?and who does not know about the sandesh ? this easy to make sweet is very popular and comes in many flavours like kesar, mango, pistachio etc It is due to the influence of karachi sweet mart Pune,  in my life, the owners wife was my mom\’s best friend and these treats were very often on our table, this kind aunty would never lose an opportunity to send us sweets ,very often the door bell would ring and we were handed a packet of cold rasmalais which were so soft  that they literally melted in your mouth.. these rasmalais were dunked in a saffron infused sweet milk base, oh how we relished these delicious sweet treats ..Even today, on all my visits to India I still head direct to the karachi sweet mart to buy their Bengali sweets.. Bengali sweets are no doubt on the sweeter side of life, but they are lighter than most IIndian sweets because they are paneer or cottage cheese based.. chenna as it is called by Bengalis. Another plus point being the absence of ghee or oil… Today I will share with you a very simple instant sandesh which makes use of condensed milk and is made in a jiffy… you can substitute the mango essence with soaked and ground saffron or use any other flavouring. This sandesh is best had cold.It also keeps up to a week in the refrigerator.. do try it out… INSTANT MANGO SANDESH 125 GMS FRESH PANEER.( COTTAGE CHEESE)GRATED 100 ML SWEET CONDENSED MILK 1 TBSP MILK POWDER 1 TBSP  FLOUR 1 TBSP OF POWDERED SUGAR 1/2 TSP MANGO ESSENCE FEW DROPS OF LIQUID YELLOW COLOUR METHOD… 1.. BLEND TOGETHER PANEER(COTTAGE CHEESE) , CONDENSED MILK , MILK POWDER , FLOUR AND SUGAR TO A SMOOTH PASTE. 2.. PUT THIS BLENDED MIXTURE INTO A NON STICK PAN AND STIR ON A VERY LOW FLAME FOR ABOUT 5 MINUTES UNTIL THE MIXTURE LEAVES THE SIDES OF THE PAN. IMMEDIATELY SHUT OFF THE FLAME.. OVERCOOKING WILL RESULT IN A GRAINY SANDESH WHICH WE DO NOT WANT, A SANDESH HAS TO BE SMOOTH. 3.. ADD 2 OR 3 DROPS OF LIQUID YELLOW COLOUR AND ABOUT 1/2 TSP MANGO ESSENCE..AT THIS POINT YOU CAN ADD ANY FLAVOUR OF YOUR LIKING.. 4..POUR THIS MIXTURE ONTO A LIGHTLY GREASED TRAY AND CHILL… 5.. COVER WITH SILVER VARKH OR TOP WITH TINY BITS OF FRESH MANGO AND CUT INTO SMALL PIECES… SERVE COLD…ENJOY.