All posts by Geeta's Cuisine

Soya Methi Thepla

Thepla is a famous Gujarati flat bread dish prepared using wheat and gram flour. Since it’s a dry dish and remains good for long period, you could prepare it and carry it on your vacation travel. It also goes well for lunch boxes or a snack with a cup of tea. This recipe is prepared using methi(fenugreek), soya(dill) leaves along with basic ingredients and spices. These green vegetables gives nice aroma and great taste to Thepla. Thepla goes well with Jam and any Pickle and you don’t need a side dish with it. soya-methi_1

Mutter Corn Potli

Mutter Corn Potli is a recipe which goes very well as tea time snacks or as appetizer at parties. There are variety of snacks dishes in India and many of them are the ones which are prepared fresh and served hot. Mutter Corn Potli is very similar to popular snack Samosa however with little cute shape and a slightly different filling. Potli in Hindi is referred to a small jewelry bag. The crust for this recipe is prepared using all purpose flour and filled with sauteed peas & corn with tangy spices mix. The Mutter Corn Potli tastes awesome with date & tamarind chutney. You can adjust the spicy level to your taste. Serve it with tea, coffee or even drinks.mutter-corn-potli_19

Sabudana (Sago) Kheer

Sabudana (Sago) is a pearl shaped vegetarian ingredients which is used to prepare many dishes specifically to be eaten during religious fasting in India. Sabudana is used to prepare recipes like Sabudana Khichdi, Vada, Papad and Mix veg kababs or so on. I am sharing this Sabudana Kheer recipe which I learnt from my Mom, specifically prepared to be eaten during fasting in Navartri festival. Sabudana Kheer is prepared with slightly roasted Sabudana in desi ghee and cooked in milk and brown sugar( sugar). When topped with caramelized cinnamon flavored apple gives an amazing taste to this dish. You can also use this recipe as dessert for your get together and parties. sabudana-sago-kheer_12

Lavang Lata ( Latika)

Lavang Lata, a sweet for which we were crazy in our childhood. Every time we went to market for some shopping, the desire to eat this sweet used to make us pester our parents until they actualy bought it.  It’s a Bengali sweet however pretty famous in Eastern UP and Bihar too. This sweet is made during festivals like Durga puja, Dipawali or Holi as well as readily available in sweet shops but homemade tastes always better. Lavang Lata is crispy on outer surface and little juicy inside. The outer layer is made using all purpose flour and it is filled with mix of milk mava and nuts. The outer layer is sealed using lavang (clove) which gives a exotic aroma to it. When served warm it tastes awesome. The richness of mava, nuts and ghee give a delicious taste. Indulge at your on risk or ensure you do some good exercise after enjoying it.
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Raw Kathal ( Jackfruit) Dum

Kathal (Jackfruit) can be used as vegetable when it’s raw or as fruit when it gets riped. In Northern part of India people mostly use it as vegetable however in South mostly people use it as fruit. Raw Jackfruit can be used to prepare variety of dishes like dry, curry or kofta. Raw Jackfruit dishes are my favorite and I have been always looking to find fresh Jackfruit, however in many of my attempts I failed to find the right one to make proper vegetable dish. Cutting raw Jackfruit requires some skills as it is very sticky, my Mom used oil to grease her palm and knife while cutting the kathal. For this recipe I have used the canned  raw Jackfruit which is available in Indian grocery stores which makes it easier as it is already cleaned and cut. I am sharing this recipe from my Mom who used to make it amazingly delicious. Boiled and roasted kathal cooked in onion and tomato gravy flavored with garam masala powder, nutmeg powder and spices. This simple curry is a great compliment with steamed rice or roti.

 

Maharashtrian Kadhi

Kadhi, the name itself brings a tangy taste in one’s mouth. Kadhi is very simple side dish prepared mainly using gram flour and sour curd. In different part of India, there are many variations of Kadhi. I have earlier shared some of the variations like Bihari Kadhi Bari and Punjabi Kadhi. This recipe is specifically based on how it is prepared in Maharashtra and very easy to prepare. The delicious side dish goes very well with roti, plain rice as well as famous Maharashtrian masala bhaatMaharashtrian Kadhi_6

Masala Bhaat

Masala Bhaat is a Maharashtrian recipe prepared using basmati rice, mix vegetables and spiced with Goda Masala. Goda Masala is a special Maharashtrian spice mix which gives an authentic flavor to the recipe. It seems Maharashtrian wedding is considered incomplete without masala bhaat which indicates that how much people like it. In a way you can say it’s like a veg pulao, however it is more spicy and have it’s own taste. You could add vegetables of your choices in it. I learnt this recipe from one of my family friend’s Mom. She makes it so delicious that once you start eating, you can’t stop. Masala bhaat goes very well with maharastrian kadhi or curd raita.Masala Bhaat_7

Strawberry Modak

Wishing you all a very happy Ganesh Chaturthi!!

Ukadiche Modak is a very famous Maharashtra sweet dumpling which is offered to Lord Ganesha during Ganesh Chaturthi festival celebration. Modak is made using rice flour shell which is filled with a sweet mixture of grated coconut, jaggery, poppy seeds and flavored with green cardamon and nutmeg powder. The Ukadiche modak is steam cooked. As such there are varieties of modak’s recipes like mava modak, puran modak, kesari modak and dry fruit modak. I have also published couple of modak recipes Ukadiche Modak and Indian blackberry Modak. This recipe is a another variation of modak recipe which has a filling based on strawberry. Straberry gives a unique fruit flavor as well as sweet and sour taste to the modak. Rest of the filling ingredients are same like coconut, mava and jaggery. Preparing modak first time or first few time could be a daunting task as it requires patience and some practice to get the right texture and shape. There are some modak mold available and you can try that. Strawberries