In India there are variety of food which are very local to certain areas. Rolled besan curry is one of them and mainly prepared in northern part of UP and Bihar. My mother used to make this recipe often when she used to run out of vegetables and I loved it every time. You can make this recipe without much preparation when you don’t feel like making vegetable curry. The recipe is prepared by rolling besan batter on tava and simmer into a spicy tomato based gravy. I have earlier shared a different variation of besan curry named as Besan ki Sabji. If you don’t want to make roll based, you can prepare Besan ki sabji instead. The rolled besan curry goes very well with Partha, phulka and rice.
Category Archives: Veg
Makki Ki Roti & Sarson Ka Saag
Makki (corn flour) ki roti and Sarson (mustard) ka saag is one of the very famous Punjabi dish which is also very much liked by people in Northern part of India. Makki flour has very less amount of gluten hence it’s little difficult to make the roti (bread) out of it. Adding little bit of wheat flour makes it easier to make the roti. Kneading the flour is one of the important step while making this roti. Traditionally, the roti is made using palm of both hands by thumping both side to expand however that requires some practice, so I have used butter paper to make this roti and spread it using fingers. Generally this roti is much thicker than actual wheat flour roti and cooked in clay oven however I have cooked it on Tava top. Sarson leaves are generally available during winter season hence the dish is mainly prepared during winter. Sarson ka saag is made using mustard leave, spinach and bathua leaves. You can also add chana leaves as it gives a great taste to it. I have added little sweet corn to the saag as it reduces the bitterness of the mustard leave and gives creamy taste. Adding roasted gram flour gives thickness to the saag. The saag can be also served with normal roti or paratha. When I was kid, my Mom used to make it using roasted corn flour at home and serve with saag and ghee. I really miss those days very much. 
Goda Masala Powder
Masala (spices) in any Indian food is one of the most important ingredient giving an unique taste to each recipe. You could find varieties of readymade masalas in any Indian grocery store however if you want to get a real fresh taste in your dish you shall prepare it home from basic ingredients. Goda Masala is one of the famous spice mix from Maharastra state. This masala is used in many Marathi recipes like masala bhaat, vegetarian, non vegeterian curry and other recipes. This fresh and aromatic masala gives a unique taste to any recipe. In fact while I was making this at home, the whole house was filled with awesome sweet-scented smell. Dagad phool is one specific ingredient which gives a very distinctive flavor to the masala. There are many versions of Goda masala recipe and people of different region make slight changes in ingredient list based on their preference/taste. Making Goda masala is really very easy as the only thing one need to ensure is that the ingredients are roasted well and don’t get burnt. Although Goda means sweet but the masala is not sweet at all. I learnt this recipe from one of my friend Shilpa’s Mom who belong to Maharashtra and really glad to share it on my blog.
Daal Baati
Daal Baati Churam is a very popular traditional Rajasthani dish. The celebrations like marriage, festival, parties and so on in Rajasthan are incomplete without this traditional dish. Daal Baati Churma is basically three items put together as a meal. I have already shared the recipe of Churma in my earlier blog and in this blog I am sharing the recipe for Daal and Baati. Baati is made from wheat flour balls with lots of deshi ghee. Traditionally, the Baati balls are backed in clay or coal based tandoor which gives a very specific smoky flavor to the recipe. However, I have made the Baati in electric oven and it really came out well. The crispy Baati with desi ghee aroma makes the dish tastes amazing. The Daal for this recipe is mixture of five kinds of daal (pulses) also known as panchmel daal. The daal is cooked with salt, water and turmeric powder however the seasoning with ghee, ginger-garlic and some gram masala brings in the real flavorful taste in Daal. Serve this recipe to your guests and I am sure they would love it.
Sambar Polenta (Cornmeal)
Polenta aka cornmeal is granules of corn available in grocery stores all around. The Polenta is cooked in many ways like it can be baked, grilled or fried. This recipe is prepared using boiled Polenta which is typically simmered in water with salt and ghee or butter. Polenta takes a little long time to cook and creamy texture.You could each boiled Polenta as is or It can be served many different ways. For this recipe we would prepare a sambar to serve with Polenta. Sambar is a south Indian soup which is prepared using mix of vegetables of your choice, toor daal and special sambar masala. In this recipe, I have also added green pigeon peas along with toor dal to get twist in sambar taste. There are varieties of sambar recipes available and you can use anyone if you like or you can use your own sambar recipe. Polenta used to be one of common meal item when I was young and my grand mother use to make it and serve with toor dal and spicy curry. In northern India is it referred as “Makki ka bath”. I literally love Polenta and every time I make it, it bring memories from childhood. Polenta with sambar was an awesome combination and very delicious, you could also try it with rasam. 
Orange Ginger Juice
Orange is a citrus fruit and an excellent source of Vitamin-C. The fruit can be eaten as is or you can extract juice from it. Cold Orange juice is very refreshing and it energies you during hot weather. This recipe adds a little flavor of ginger to orange juice and it tastes awesome. Honey is optional in case your oranges are little sour, then add to make it sweet or else you can just skip it. Hope you enjoy this blend for orange and ginger.
Watermelon Strawberry Drink
Watermelon is a seasonal fruit available during summer and very good to avoid dehydration. My family loves watermelon in all forms either eating as fresh cut fruit or juice. This recipe is a blend of watermelon and strawberry added with some lemon juice and spices. This refreshing drink is perfect for hot summer weather and give you a big relief from the hot weather and keeps you hydrated. This lovely naturally red color drink is very simple to make, although the sweetness of fruit is more than enough but if you wish you could add either sugar or honey to complement the sweetness.
Stuffed Red Chili Pickle
Red Chili … as the name sounds it’s hot. In northern part of India, red chili is available during the winter season and mostly used to make the pickle (achar in hindi). I had been searching for this kind of chili here and finally found in Walmart store. Although this is not exactly the same type which is generally used however pretty close. I have seen my grand mother and mother making this pickle during my childhood. I am really glad to share this traditional recipe from my Mom. This pickle is made from mixture of various spices and mustard oil. Mustard oil give a authentic taste to the Pickles. There are certain important steps in making this pickle, one is that red chili needs to be dried up in sun light for at least 3-4 hrs. so that the moisture contents goes away and once again after preparing the pickle it needs to be left in sunlight for at least a week in a glass container. This pickle could be little spicy however goes very well with Paratha or side of any meal especially rice and yellow daal or khichadi. Hope you would enjoy this pickle as part of your meal. 