Besan-Rava Ladoo

I was invited to a friends house, and decided to make these ladoos to take to their house. They turned out very delicious.

Ingredients

1 cup besan,

1/4 cup fine rava,

1/2 cup dessicated coconut(dry), grind fine in coffee grinder

1/2 cup ghee,

1 cup sugar,

1 tsp cardamom powder,

1/4 tsp nutmeg powder,

raisins

Method

• Heat ghee in a pan on low heat, add rava and roast till slightly roasted and brown, then add besan and roast well till nice aroma comes of the besan, about 15-20 minutes. Take off heat add fine ground coconut, sugar, elaichi powder, nutmeg powder and mix well,
• Let cool slightly , enough to handle with your bare hands.
• Take 2 tbsp of the roasted mixture in your hands and shape to make balls add a raisin to each ball while rolling.
• Makes 18 balls.

Moolichi Bhaji

Mooli (Radish)leaves from my kitchen garden.

Moolichi Bhaji with rice, dal and mushroomchi bhaji.

This is one of the simple ways moolichi bhaji is prepared in Goa.

Ingredients
1 bunch mooli leaves, chopped( I took the leaves from my garden),

1/2 chopped onion, 1 green chilly,

2 tbsp grated coconut,

2 tbsp yellow mung dal, washed and soaked in 5tbsp water for 10 minutes.

Method

• Heat pan on medium heat add soaked dal with 1/4th cup water , add chopped onion and cook till dal is slightly cooked
• Then add chopped green chilly and chopped mooli leaves, coconut, salt to taste and pinch of sugar.
• Cover with lid and let cook till dal and leaves are cooked and all water is evaporated.

Note:

Can add any kind of dal like toor, masoor, chana, etc.

When ma would make this bhaji she would add some coconut oil at the end that would give it a distinct flavor. But usually her cooking had hardly or no oil at all.

In our home we always had home made coconut oil bottles stocked up so it was always used for cooking and especially added to certain vegetables at the end of cooking.

Green Peas Rice

Green Peas Rice with Instant Chicken.

Ingredients

1 cup rice,

2 cups( 500 ml) water,

2 tbsp oil,

5 peppercorns,

1 black cardamom,

1 piece cinnamon,

1/2 cup green peas,

1/2 tsp shahjeera,

pinch sugar, salt to taste,

1 tsp lemon juice.

Method

• Heat oil in a pan, add sabut(whole) masala then add rice. stir well till rice is toasty, then add green peas, hot water, sugar, salt, lemon juice and let it boil.
  
• Once the water is boiling reduce heat to low and cover partially and let cook till rice is cooked and all water is evaporated.
• Let rest for 10 minutes then open the cover, fluff the rice with a fork and serve with the Instant chicken or chicken of your choice.
  

Note

Ma never added cloves to make any kind of pulao or biryani or savory rice dishes coz she said that cloves in rice made her associate it to saakhar bhat(sweet rice)(recipe to follow soon )

So sometimes I add cloves at other times I do not, so adding cloves is optional

Either ways this rice definitely tastes nice.

Instant Chicken

This is comfort food for me, ma made this chicken very often when she was in a hurry as this chicken is made in the pressure cooker.

My Papa, brother and me enjoyed it a lot coz it was so yummy it did not matter to us that it was not made with lot of toil and energy. Ma always made green peas rice to accompany this chicken.

I make this instant chicken a lot as my family loves it too.

My 2 year old daughter enjoys it a lot as I make it very mild and using chicken wings as she likes to hold the wing and eat it rather then boneless chicken :D

Ingredients.

1 lb chicken( I used wings),

Marinate chicken for 15 -20 minutes in

2 tbsp ginger-garlic-green chilly-coriander leaves paste,

salt.

1 tbsp oil,

2 cups finely chopped onions,

1 tomato chopped fine,

4 cloves,

1 black cardamom,

5 black peppercorns,

1 inch piece cinnamon,

1-2 green chillies(slit),

1 tbsp grated ginger,

1 tsp turmeric powder,

1 tbsp paprika,

1 tbsp crushed kasoori methi.

Method

1. Heat 1 tbsp oil in pressure cooker, add onions and cook till transparent, add chopped tomatoes, ginger, turmeric, paprika, cloves, cardamom, cinnamon, peppercorns, slit green chillies, and cook till blended well,
2. Add marinated chicken and stir till the masala is coated to the chicken. Add the crushed kasoori methi and stir well.
3. Put the pressure cooker lid on with the whistle( no need to add any water, the tomato and chicken release their own water ) and turn the heat to high, let 3-4 whistles come, take off heat and let cool.
4. Serve with plain rice or green peas rice(recipe coming soon).

Note:

Can add more green chillies to make more spicy. The amount of chilly that I used was just right for my 2 year old daughter to enjoy :)

Ananas Jam / Pineapple Jam

Let me start my first recipe post with sweet pineapple jam.
Ma made many different kinds of jams, but mango jam was my favourite. Here in Canada we do not get the mangoes that are used to make jam so I tried making pineapple jam.
I had never tried my hand at making jam but since I came to Canada I have not eaten the home made jam and craved for it, so used my Ma’s formula to make the jam.
My friends love this pineapple jam and ask for the recipe every time I serve it to them.


Ingredients.
2 cups (500 ml)crushed pineapple,
1 and 3/4 cups sugar,
½ tsp cardamom powder,
4 cloves,
Pinch of paprika,
1 tsp lemon juice.

Method.
Mix all ingredients in a small sauce pan and keep on medium flame.

• Cook uncovered, stirring frequently till all water is evaporated and the jam is thick but not solid.
• The jam will thicken after cooling completely.
  
• Cool completely, fill in jars and enjoy with toast.
  
  

Note:
Crushed Pineapple gives the jam a nice texture.

Ma always added a small amount of paprika or chilli powder in the jam, so the jam was not too sweet but hand a slight tinge of the pepper. This jam is not too spicy as is murrabba but I would say it is a sister recipe of it :)

I used regular 1 cup =250ml measure, thanks K for reminding me to mention what cup size I am using for the recipe :)

Ma's Recipes

In this blog I will post my recipes and my Ma's recipes, who was an excellent cook as is my Aayi (maternal grandmother).
Ma and Aayi are my inspirations for my adventures in cooking.

Ma passed away 3 years ago at the age of 59, she was just 4 months short of her 60th birthday.

When Ma passed away she left a deep void in me that can never be filled or explained but she left her treasure of recipes and sweet memories with me. Her recipes linger in my mind and my kitchen.

I learned my culinary skills from her and have her vast recipe collection that she wrote down in her diaries, but there are many recipes that I never got a chance to get from her. And sometimes I wish she was here so I could just talk to her.

Going through her dairies to sort out recipes is very emotional for me as every page I turn I can feel and sense her. But I need to do this for her and myself.
She always wanted me to do something in the culinary world so I guess this is the closest that I can get for now by creating a food blog and sharing ma’s and my recipes of Goan, Indian and World Cuisine.

Ma cooked a variety of foods, she was really good at making pickles, jams, baking cakes, etc and I am proud to say that I have picked up that knack for cooking from my Ma. She cooked with every single piece of food and never wasted anything, in fact she had many trash to treasure recipes which I will try to post soon.

Ma was an all rounder, she completed her Bachelors in Economics after her marriage to my Papa and having a baby boy(my brother), she was a self taught tailor(she could stitch clothes, knit, do embriodery) and an excellent cook, u name it and she could do it that was her way of thinking.

Ma was my best friend to whom I could open out my heart to, I miss that part as now I have no one to open out my heart to. I miss you Ma.