Life is a journey of evolving roles, each with its own beauty and wisdom. From the structured world of academia to the ever-evolving realm of homemaking, I have embraced each phase with passion and grace. When my children settled into their own lives, I found myself with a renewed sense of purpose—to document and share the wealth of knowledge I have gathered over the years.
During the lockdown, I realized that my experiences in cooking, home remedies, and life’s simple yet profound lessons could serve as a source of inspiration for others. Meticulously and with great concern for the palate, gut health, overall well-being, and the emotional gratification of savoring each preparation, I began crafting a collection of love-filled, cherished recipes, time-tested remedies, and stories woven with warmth and wisdom.
I write under the name "Rajeshree's Kitchen", where I share detailed recipes—the kind that provide exact measurements for ingredients like salt and water, which are often left to personal interpretation in most other kitchen blogs. Additionally, I include practical tips with clear reasons behind them, ensuring that every piece of advice is rooted in understanding and experience. My aim is to make cooking approachable yet precise, helping readers not just recreate dishes but truly connect with the joy of cooking.
This endeavor is my way of preserving traditions, sharing insights, and connecting with those who seek both knowledge and comfort in life's everyday moments.
Add Gunder in it and fry gunder on a slow flame and keep aside and switch off the flame.
Crush fried gunder with the help of pastel and keep aside.
Again heat the remaining ½ spoon of ghee in the same pan.
Add carom seeds and wait for a cracking sound. Add wheat flour and saute till it turns aromatic. Now add Ginger powder and crushed Gunder, give a quick stir and add water.
Wash lal chori 2 times, after adding 1 glass of water and salt, cook Chori up to 3 whistles in the pressure cooker.
Simultaneously chop Onions and keep aside.
If you are adding Garlic , then crush or grate Garlic pods and keep aside.
Grate Ginger and chop chillies and keep aside.
Heat oil in a tempering pan. Add Mustard seeds and wait for a cracking sound. Now add Asafoetida powder, curry leaves and then onion. Cook till translucent.
Add Ginger, chillies and Garlic at this moment. Give a quick stir and add dry masala in it.
In a mixture grinder add both dals, Chillies and Ginger.
Make a fine paste after adding salt. Please do not add extra water while grinding.
Transfer the batter in a bowl and stir continuously and vigorously for 2-3 minutes. You can mark the colour difference due to aeration and the batter becomes fluffy also.
Add Eno on the batter and activate it by adding 1 spoon of water on it. Mix smoothly and thoroughly.
Heat the appe pan and brush each cavity with oil.
Close the lid and cook Moong dal pakodi for 2-3 minutes under slow flame.
Flip all the pakodi and again cook for 2-3 minutes. Pierce each pakodi with a knife. If the knife comes out clean, it means Pakodi are cooked.
Mix red sweet chutney and Phudina pani in a bowl.
Add all cooked pakodi in the Phudina pani and keep aside for 4-5 hours in the refrigerator.
Serving suggession:
Garnish chilled pani pakodi with Bundi and serve with love and smile.
If you wish you can sprinkle finely chopped onion and coriander along with bundi.
2 tbsp. Dry mango powder ( Aamchur). OR 4 pieces of green mango (each of 2 inch size). OR 2 inch size ball of tamarind OR 3 tbsp. lemon juice. I prefer green mango.
1 tsp. Rock salt.
1 tsp. Salt.
Method
Pluck only leaves from the Phudina twigs because stalks are bitter in taste.
Wash the leaves thoroughly, drain the water and make a fine paste with remaining ingredients and 3-4 ice cubes. (Always add ice cubes instead of water while making green chutney or green pesto. Due to this colour of the chutney or pesto remains intact. And for locking the aroma add 2 tbsp. of olive oil while bottling the chutney or pesto).
Add 3 litres of water in the above phudina paste.
Taste it and adjust the taste accordingly and your phudina pani is ready to serve.
Wash and Soak all dals and Fenugreek seeds together for 8-10 hours.
Soak separately poha for 30 minutes.
After 10 hours, add poha, ginger and chillies in dal and make a fine paste of it.
Either keep aside a batter for fermentation or you can use it immediately.
Add all spices, chopped spinach and coriander in the batter. Mix thoroughly.
Heat non stick dosa tawa.
Spread 4 equal size uttapam on dosa tawa with the help of ladle. (2 tbsp. batter in each ladle.)
Cook uttapam both the sides.
Serving techniques.
Apply green chutney on the back side of one uttapam, grate panner on it and cover it with second uttapam .(If you wish you can arrange Cucumber and Tomato slices in it.)
Peel the potatoes and cut into halves and keep aside into the pan filled with water. so that potatoes won’t turn black.
Separates florets of Cauliflower and keep aside.
Roughly chop cabbage and keep aside.
Peel green peas and keep aside.
Roughly chop yellow bell peppers and keep aside
Chop one half of the red bell pepper and keep aside.
In a pressure cooker heat 1 cup of water with 1 tsp salt and add all above vegetables in it. Cook up to 3 whistles.
When pressure is released, open the lid. Strain water also known as vegetable stock keep aside for further cooking .
Mash all vegetables with the help of potato masher and keep aside.
Method for making paste.
Half red Bell Peppers, non spicy red peppers and Garlic pods grind into fine paste. Please remove the seeds from the peppers before grinding.
Method for making bhaji
Finely chopped onions.
Heat oil in a nonstick pan and saute onions till translucent.
Add the paste of peppers and garlic and saute till rawness of the paste turns aromatic.
Add salt, chilli powder, Pavbhaji masala and Aamchur powder. Saute for one more minute and add mixed mashed vegetables as well as vegetable stock.
Add 2 tbsp. of butter in it.
Close the lid and simmer for 3-4 minutes on slow flame.
Serve hot with butter roasted pav. Accompany with a piece of lemon, papad or potato chips or banana chips or as you wish but serve with love and smile.
Rajeshree Gandhi's Kitchen blog 