Gajar ka Halwa

This sweet dish is popular across India, especially in the winter season when you get Dilli Gajar, as the red long variety of carrots is called.

My recent kitchen acquisition has been a Dutch Oven or cast-iron cooking pot. And this sure has been help for making this absolutely amazing sweet. The slow-cooking ability enhances the flavors by letting the carrot cook very slowly.

Gajar ka Halwa in my DO

Ingredients:

• 1/2 kg carrots – peeled and grated
• 1 tbsp ghee
• 1/2 ltr milk
• 1 heaped cup sugar
• ground cardamom, cashew nuts and raisins/sultanas

Method:

• Heat the ghee in the Dutch oven or any other deep, thick cooking dish.
• Add the grated carrot and mix well, letting the ghee coat the carrot completely.
• Add the milk and sugar and mix again and set the heavy lid.
• The carrot would normally cook for about an hour on a slow flame. However, the time taken will vary depending on the kind of dish used for cooking. A thinner dish may take lesser time.
• Mix well intermittently to prevent the carrot from sticking to bottom of the dish. Take care not to mash the carrot as it cooks.
• When done, the milk would have completely been absorbed into the carrot.
• Add the ground cardamom and mix well.
• Add the cashews and raisins, and any other dry fruit as desired.

This sweet can be served hot or cold. However, hot is preferred as it tastes better that way. Many times, people prefer it to be even heated a bit before serving.
It lasts for about 3-4 days without refrigeration.

I hope you, dear reader, enjoy this sweet dish as much as we do in this season! 🙂

Veg Kurma

I’ve had kurma before I got married, but I wasn’t particularly fond of it. What i had at restaurants always seemed like a bad mix of whatever vegetable added in going bad. And not to mention, the spiciness was very un-attractive.

That was however, before I had the kurma my mother-in-law made. I remember the first time I ate it. I was rather reluctant to even try, my past experieces not being good. And I wasn’t keen on saying that I didn’t like something she made, especially when everyone else was gung-ho about it. 🙂 So definitely it was a welcome surprise when i loved the kurma!! 😀

After a couple of attempts I’ve finally got it right, and so have decided to share it.

Ingredients:
1 cup dessicated fresh coconut
5 large green chillies
a large piece of ginger
3 medium potatoes
2 tomatoes
green peas
1 carrot
Optional vegetables: french beans, cauliflower
1 medium onion
3 tbsp Khus-khus
1tsp salt
Pinch of turmeric

Method:

• Boil all the vegetables and set aside. Partially mash only the potatoes. The potatoe should essentially be very tiny boiled pieces, and not a complete mash.
• Grind khus-khus into a fine powder
• Add onion, chilliwes, ginger and coconut, and grind to a fine paste. Add water as required.
• Chop the tomatoes and braize in 2 tblsp oil
• Once the tomatoes are softened, ass all the boiled vegetables and the coconut paste.
• Add salt to taste and turmeric
• Boil the vegetables till it becomes thick
• Add chopped coriander and curry leaves about 10 min before serving. So not mix, just drop it on top and cover with lid. This will give the kurma a very nice flavour.

You can have the kurma with rotis, puri or dosas.

Pav Bhaji

This is, by far, one of the most popular snacks available on the street of India. it doesnt matter which part of the country you belong. Chances are, you’ve tried this dish, and have ordered it again, and again. 🙂

This is my attempt to re-create that magic in my kitchen.

Ingredients:
2 peeled potatoes
2 peeled carrots
1 cup chopped tomato
1 finely chopped onion

Optional ingredients:
1 capsicum
1 cup peas
10 cauliflower florets
1 cup shredded cabbage
1 cup chopped beans

Spices:
2 green chillies
1 tsp red chilli powder
1 tsp pav bhaji manasal / garam masala
pinch of turmeric
1 tsp salt

Method:

• Boil all the vegetables except the onion and tomatoes
• Mash slightly and set aside
• Heat 1 tsp oil in a large wok and add the chopped onion.
• Once the onion has turned brown, add the chillies and tomatoes
• Add turmeric, chilli powder and masala
• Cook till the tomatoes have softened up.
• Add mashed vegetables, some water (if required) and mix well.
• Cook till the water evaporates, and the vegetable is a bit thick.
• Take off the flame, and add chopped coriander as garnishing.

You can serve this with pav, rotis or even dosas (yes, Dosa!). I wasnt sure of this until the other my husband suggested it. It turned out quite well to my surprise. the spiciness of the bhaji off-sets the blandness of the dosa, and makes a great combination.

You can also replace the pav bhaji masala with garam masala. This will give you a simple mixed-vegetable dish that can be served with rotis.