Author: Rajeshree Gandhi

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.

Categories
soup

(249)Drumstick Soup

Ingredients

  • 2 Drumsticks
  • 8 Almonds
  • 2 Coconut cubes
  • 1 tsp. Salt
  • 1 tsp. Black pepper powder
  • ½ inch Ginger piece.
  • 8-10 Mint leaves (Phudina pan)
  • 3 cups water.

Method

  1. Cut Drumsticks into small pieces. In a pressure cooker gather all ingredients and add 1 cup water.
  2. Pressure cook up to 2 whistles.
  3. When pressure releases open the lid and add the remaining amount of water.
  4. Scrape all drumstick pieces with the help of a spoon and discard skins of it.
  5. Make a paste of soaked Almonds, coconut cubes, Ginger and Mint leaves.
  6. Blend the Drumstick contents with paste of remaining ingredients with the help of the hand blender. Strain the content with the help of the strainer.
  7. Put the content ( Drumstick soup) on high flame and give 2 – 3 boils. Turn off and serve hot with love and smile.

List of my other recipes

Categories
Healthy food

(247) Thai Rice.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup Jasmine Rice.
  • 4 cup water.
  • 1 tsp. Salt.
  • 2-3 Bay leaves.
  • 2 tbsp. Ghee.

Method

  1. Wash rice twice and add the given amount of water.
  2. Add all other ingredients and pressure cook directly in the pressure cooker up to 3 whistles.
  3. Serve hot with Thai Curry or as you wish.

List of my other recipes.

Categories
Healthy food

(246)Thai Curry

Ingredients

  • Ingredients for green paste:- 2 cups finely chopped Coriander leaves, 10 – 12 spring Onions with stalks and without leaves, 2 ½ inches size Galangal, 12 Green chillies, 2 inches Ginger, 8-10 lemongrass with stalks, 8-10 Basil leaves, 8-10 Kaffir lime leaves.
  • 1 cup zucchini.
  • 1 cup Baby corn.
  • 1 cup Broccoli.
  • 1 cup Mushroom.
  • 1 cup Paneer.
  • ¼ cup Thai brinjal ( Thai pea eggplant)
  • Butter.
  • 4 cups of coconut milk.
  • 2 tbsp. Coriander seeds.
  • 2 tbsp. Cumin seeds.
  • 2-3 Bay leaves.

Method

  1. Dry roast Coriander seeds and Cumin seeds. Grind and keep aside.
  2. Peel and wash Galangal and chop it into small pieces and try to make paste in the mixture by adding 1 or 2 spoons of water. Galangal is hard and fibrous so filter it with the help of a tea stainer and keep aside.
  3. Cut lemongrass stalks into small pieces and try to grind with 2 spoons of water. Filter it with the help of a tea strainer and keep aside. Make a bunch with leaves of lemongrass and keep aside
  4. Make a paste of basil leaves and Kaffir lime leaves and after adding 2-3 spoons of water, strain it and keep aside.
  5. In the same mixture jar make a paste of spring onions with stalks. Make a smooth paste by adding one or two spoons of water and keep aside.
  6. Make a paste of Coriander leaves, Green chillies and Ginger and keep aside.
  7. Saute all vegetables and Paneer cubes separately in 1-1 tsp of butter.
  8. Heat 1 tsp.of butter in a frying pan saute bay leaves and green paste till oil separates.
  9. Simultaneously boil a lemongrass bunch in 2 cups of water in a big sauce pan.
  10. Once boiling starts add coriander and cumin powder, filtered Galangal ,filtered lemongrass stalk, filtered basil and kaffir lime leaves, spring onion paste, all sauteed vegetables and paneer cubes and boil for 5 minutes.
  11. After 5 minutes mix green paste and give one boil to it.
  12. Add coconut milk and red Thai chillis and salt. Give one more boil and turn the flame.
  13. Serve hot spicy green Thai Curry with rice.
  14. Serve hot with Thai rice.
Categories
snacks

(243)Limbu Mari ni sev

Ingredients

  • 1 cup Besan.
  • 1 tbsp. white pepper or Black pepper powder.
  • 1 tsp. Salt.
  • ½ tsp. Turmeric powder.
  • 3 tbsp. Lemon juice.
  • 1 tbsp. warm oil.
  • Oil for frying.

Method

  1. Sieve all dry ingredients together in a big mixing bowl.
  2. Add lemon juice and oil and mix it thoroughly.
  3. Add a water spoon by spoon and make dough thicker than paste.
  4. Heat oil for frying.
  5. With the help of a sev machine extrude sev and deep fry.
  6. Serve with Ponk, Chila, Bhel, Sev Puri or as you wish.

List of my other recipes

Categories
Healthy food

(242)Black beans Curry

Ingredients

Method

  • 1 cup black beans.
  • 3 finely chopped medium size onions.
  • 2 tbsp. Oil.
  • 1 tsp. Cumin seeds.
  • ¼ tsp. Asafoetida powder.
  • 3 kokum or 2 medium size finely chopped Tomatoes.
  • ½ tsp. Turmeric powder.
  • 1 tsp. Coriander Cumin powder.
  • 1 tsp. Red chilli powder.
  • 1 green chilli and ½ inch Ginger piece paste.
  • 1 tsp salt.
  • ½ tsp. Garam masala
  • 1 tbsp. finely chopped Coriander leaves.

Method

  1. Pressure cook Black beans up to 2 whistles after adding salt.
  2. When pressure releases, open the lid and keep aside.
  3. Simultaneously chop Onions.
  4. Heat oil in a non stick pan. Add Cumin seeds and wait for a crackling sound, add Asafoetida powder and then chopped onion. Saute onion till translucent.
  5. Saute dry masala and chilli Ginger paste for 30 seconds and then add boiled beans and kokam. Boil for 5 minutes on slow flame and then add coriander leaves again cook for 30 seconds and switch off the flame.
  6. Serve hot with Paratha, Roti, Puri, Bhakri, Rice or as you wish.

List of my other recipes.

Categories
Quick Cooking Tips

(240)Onion Tomato Gravy cubes.

Ingredients

  • 1 kg Onions.
  • ½ kg Tomatoes.
  • 10-15 Garlic pods.
  • ½ cup Cashews.
  • 1 tbsp. Poppy seeds.
  • ½ cup chopped Coriander leaves.
  • ¼ cup Mint leaves.
  • ¼ cup tender Curry leaves.
  • Whole spices 4 cloves , 6 black peppers, 2 Green cardamom, 2 black cardamom, 6 dry red boriya chilli,
  • Salt
  • 1 ½ tsp . Asafoetida powder.
  • 1 ½ tsp. Turmeric powder.
  • 6 tbsp. Oil.

Method

  1. Peel, wash and chop Onions into 8 to 10 pieces and keep aside.
  2. Wash and chop tomatoes into 8-10 pieces.
  3. Heat oil in a nonstick sauce pan.
  4. Add Asafoetida powder
  5. Add whole spices and quickly give 2-3 stirs.
  6. Add Curry leaves, coriander leaves and mint leaves and saute for 1 minute.
  7. Now add cashews and saute till it turns light golden then add poppy seeds and garlic pods.Again saute for one minute and add Onions. Saute till translucent on medium flame.
  8. Add tomatoes at this time and stir 2-3 times and close the lid, cook on a slow flame till tomatoes become tender. Keep aside to cool down.
  9. Make a smooth paste and fill the moulds and refrigerate for 8- 10 hours.
  10. Unmould gravy cubes and store in the freezer for further use.
  11. Defrost the cubes whenever you want to use them. Measurement of the cube is one cube equal to one onion and ½ tomato.

List of my other recipes.

Categories
Quick Cooking Tips

(238)Tomato Puree Cubes

Ingredients

  • 2 ½ kg Tomatoes ( preferably organic tomatoes) .
  • 5 tsp. Salt.
  • 5 tsp. Sugar.

Method

  1. Wash and wipe all tomatoes.
  2. Cut each tomato into 8 pieces .
  3. Cook tomatoes on a fast flame in a nonstick sauce pan and cover with a lid after adding salt and sugar.
  4. Reduce to half and stir occasionally.
  5. When you get your required consistency turn off the flame and keep aside to cool down.
  6. Make a smooth paste of tomatoes. Strain the paste and fill the moulds with this puree and refrigerate for 8-10 hours.
  7. Unmould puree cubes and store in the freezer
  8. Defrost puree cubes whenever you want to use tomatoes in your recipe.
  9. You can measure the number of tomatoes with pieces of your tomato’s puree cubes as per the size of your cubes. Here 1 cube is equal to 1 medium size tomato.
Categories
Quick Cooking Tips

(234)Parsley Garlic Cubes

Ingredients

  • 50 gms. fresh Parsley.
  • 50 gms. fresh green Garlic
  • Olive oil.
  • Ice tray.

Method

  1. Pluck roots and pods separately from the green leafy Garlic.
  2. For Parsley Garlic cubes we need only leaves so finely chop Garlic leaves and keep aside.
  3. Pluck Parsley leaves, finely chop and keep aside.
  4. Mix ⅓ cup Parsley leaves and ¼ cup Garlic leaves and wash thoroughly together.
  5. Spread over the kitchen towel to drain excess water.
  6. Filled the ice tray cavities with these greens.
  7. Pour Olive oil over these greens and fill the oil up to the rim of the cavities.
  8. Keep this tray in the freezer for 8-10 hrs. So that olive oil will freeze and Parsley cubes ready.
  9. Enjoy your pasta and noodles vegetables with flavour of Parsley and Garlic.
Garlic
Parsley
After 8 hours in the freezer
Categories
Healthy food

(232) Celery – Green Peas Paratha.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup Celery leaves.
  • 1 cup Green Peas.
  • 3 Green chillies.
  • ½ inch Ginger piece.
  • ½ cup Finely chopped Coriander leaves.
  • 1 tsp. Mango powder (Aamchur powder).
  • 1 tsp. White Sesame seeds.
  • 3 cup Wheat flour
  • 1 tsp. Salt.
  • 5 tbsp. oil for dough.
  • 1 tsp. Garam masala.

Method

  1. Pluck leaves from Celery stalk, wash and keep aside.
  2. Wash Green peas, chillies and Ginger and keep aside.
  3. Grind it into a fine paste of all ingredients and keep aside.
  4. In a mixing bowl mix wheat flour, oil, and all dry spices. Mix thoroughly and check oil is in the exact amount by making fist of flour. If flour holds the shape it means oil is perfect.
  5. Mix paste in flour and knead soft dough with the required quantity of water.
  6. With the help of dry flour roll parathas and roast with ghee on medium flame.
  7. Serve hot with Bundi Raita, Golkeri pickle, Chass or herbal tea, Green chutney or as you wish.

List of my other recipes.

Categories
salads

(229)Brown Chana ni Salad

Ingredients

  • ½ cup Brown Chana.
  • ¼ cup Pomegranate seeds.
  • ½ cup Finely chopped onion. Spring Onion tastes best in salads.
  • ½ cup Finely chopped Tomatoes ( optional)
  • 1 tsp. Lemon juice.
  • 1 tbsp. finely chopped Coriander leaves.
  • 1tsp. Salt for cooking Chana.
  • ½ tsp. Rock Salt for salad.
  • 1 tsp. Red chilli powder.

Method

  1. Wash and Soak brown chana overnight.
  2. Pressure cook soaked chana up to 5 whistles after adding salt.
  3. When pressure releases, open the lid and strain cooked chana and keep aside.
  4. Strain water you can use for making osaman.
  5. In a mixing bowl mix chana, chopped Coriander leaves, Pomegranate seeds and chopped onion and salt and chilli powder.
  6. Serve with Roti, paratha bhakhri puri, Rice or as you wish.