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
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.
Categories
Healthy food

(222)Nomato Sauce

Ingredients

Method

  • 500 gms. Pumpkin.
  • 2 medium size Onions.
  • ½ cup Basil leaves.
  • ¼ cup soft kokum( Garcinia indica)
  • 6 Garlic pods.
  • 3 tbsp. Mixed herbs.
  • 3 tbsp. Virgin olive oil.
  1. Peel pumpkin and wash. Grate or chop in a chopper and keep aside.
  2. Peel and wash onions and garlic pods. Chop in a chopper and keep aside.
  3. Finely chop Basil leaves and keep aside.
  4. Wash the Kokum and make a fine paste of it and keep aside.
  5. In a nonstick pan mix olive oil with all chopped ingredients and salt. Cook on a fast flame.
  6. When chopped vegetables turn tender add mixed herbs and kokum paste. Mix thoroughly and again cook for 5 more minutes and nomato sauce is ready.
  7. To achieve the perfect consistency of nomato sauce grind into coarse paste once it cools.
  8. Taste the sauce and if you want a more tangy taste then mix lemon juice to it when it cools completely.
  9. Enjoy Namato sauce in pizza and pasta when you are allergic to tomatoes.

List of my other recipes.

Categories
salads

(219)Moong Salad

Ingredients

  • ½ cup Moong ( whole Green gram).
  • 4-5 Chopped Spring onions.
  • 1 Tomato ( optional).
  • ¼ cup Pomegranate seeds.
  • 1 tbsp. chopped Coriander leaves.
  • 1 tsp. Salt.
  • 1 tsp. Chat masala.

Method

  1. Wash moong and soak overnight.
  2. Next morning again wash and boil in salted water for 10 minutes.
  3. Strain boiled Moong. Moong water you can consume as it is by adding fresh lemon juice or use for making osaman.
  4. In a mixing bowl mix boiled Moong with remaining ingredients and mix thoroughly.
  5. Enjoy your Moong Salad with roti, paratha, khakhra, bhakhri or as you wish.

List of my other recipes.

Categories
soup

(248)Carrot soup

Ingredients

  • 5 Orange Carrots.
  • 1 small Onion.
  • ½ inch Ginger piece.
  • 8-10 Mint leaves (steam and then removes otherwise colour will change )
  • 3 cup water.
  • 1 tsp.salt.
  • Tempering Ingredients 1 tbsp. Ghee, 1 tsp. cumin seeds, 1 bay leaf, 8-10 Curry leaves, 2 cloves.
  • 1 tsp. Black pepper powder.

Method

  1. In a saucepan add 1 cup water , carrot pieces, onion pieces, ginger, mint leaves, salt and pepper powder and pressure cook up to 2 whistles.
  2. When pressure releases open the lid, blend it with a hand blender.
  3. Strain the content with the strainer and add remaining water.
  4. Heat the ghee in a tempering vessel. Add cumin seeds and wait for crackling sound after that add other tempering Ingredients and give a quick stir to all and pour it in soup.
  5. Boil carrot soup for 2-3 minutes after adding Black pepper powder and serve hot. Serve with love and smile.

List of my other recipes.

Categories
Breakfast

(245)Ponk Chila.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup mix dal coarse flour or batter.
  • 1 ½ cup water or buttermilk.
  • 1 tsp. Salt.
  • ½ tsp. Asafoetida powder.
  • ½ tsp. Turmeric powder.
  • 1 tsp. Red chilli powder.
  • 1 tbsp. finely chopped Coriander leaves ( optional)
  • 2 Green chillies (optional)
  • 1 cup Ponk( tender jowar grains)
  • 1 cup limbu mari ni sev.

Method

  1. Mix all spices and mix dal flour or batter in a sauce pan.
  2. Adjust the consistency by adding water.
  3. Heat non stick tawa and spread 4 to 5 small chilas and sprinkle ponk on it.
  4. Roast in Ghee, Butter or Oil on both sides
  5. Serve hot chila with limbu mari ni sev and enjoy with coconut chutney.
Consistency of the batter
Jowar Ponk
Mix dal chila sprinkle with Jowar ponk.

List of my other recipes.

Categories
Beauty tips

(208)Hair Nourishing Cream

Ingredients

  • 2 tbsp. Fenugreek seeds.
  • 1 medium size Aloe vera leaf or 1 tbsp. Aloe vera gel.
  • 2 tbsp. Hibiscus flower powder.
  • 2 tbsp. Heena powder.

Method

  1. Soak Fenugreek overnight. Strain water and keep aside to make food for hair roots.
  2. Make a fine paste of Fenugreek seeds.
  3. Peel Aloe veera leaf and scrape pulp . Add this pulp in Fenugreek seeds paste and again in the mixture make a smooth paste.
  4. Sieve both the powders with a fine nylon sieve.
  5. Mix thoroughly  the heena powder in the paste .
  6. This is your hair food. Apply this paste in wet hair and keep for 15 minutes.
  7. Wash hair with cold or lukewarm water.
  8. Apply this hair food twice a week after shampoo. You will get shiny manageable hair.
Fenugreek seeds
Soaked Fenugreek seeds
Hibiscus and Heena powder
Fenugreek seeds paste
Paste with fresh aloe veera
Hibiscus and Heena powder mixed in paste.
Paste applied on my hair
Categories
Healthy food

(202)Fada Lapsi

Ingredients

  1. 1 cup Wheat daliya ( broken wheat, Gheu na fada)
  2. 2 tbsp. Ghee.
  3. 1 cup Sugar.
  4. 3 cups Water.
  5. ¼ tsp. Cardamom powder.
  6. 2 tbsp. Sugar powder.

Method

  1. In a non stick pan or a thick bottom pan heat ghee and roast fada or daliya till golden brown.
  2. When grains turns golden brown ghee separates out, this is the time to add water.
  3. Transfer the roasted mixture in pressure cooker container and pressure cook upto 3 whistles.
  4. Once pressure releases, open the lid of pressure cooker and transfer cooked fada mixture in to the nonstick pan.
  5. Roast till the excess water content in cooked fada burns off.
  6. At this time add sugar and again roast till ghee separates out.
  7. Add cardamom powder and mix thoroughly.
  8. Serve hot.
Dalia roast in ghee
Roasted dalia with water
Pressure cook Dalia
Cooked Dalia mix with sugar
Fada Lapsi or Daliya Lapsi

List of my other recipes

Categories
Beauty tips

(201)Skin tan removal lotion cubes.

Ingredients

Method

  1. Cut edges and sides of aloe leaf.
  2. Scrap each leaf of aloe.
  3. In mixture jar add sticky pulp of aloe vera leaf, pulp of tomatoes or if you are taking whole tomatoes then chop in to small pieces, turmeric powder, Chick Pea flour or besan and honey. Grind and mix thoroughly.
  4. Smooth pouring liquid like lotion is ready.
  5. Fill each cavity of ice tray, with tan removal mixture.
  6. Keep in refrigerator for 8-10 hours.
  7. After 8-10 hrs unmould cubes and store in ziplock bag.
  8. Everyday scrub this mould on your face and body. Leave for 10 minutes and wash with luke warm water.
  9. Within 10-15 days you can mark the changes.😍
Ingredients for tan removal cubes.
cubes of tan removal lotion

List of my other recipes.

Categories
Healthy food

(200)Palakh Kofta Curry

Ingredients

  • Ingredient for Spinach Puree
  • 2 bunches of Spinach( approx 400 gms.)
  • Ingredients for Onion Gravy
  • 2 medium sized Onions.
  • 2 Garlic pods.
  • ½ inch size Grated Ginger.
  • Paste of 2 Green chillies.
  • ½ cup Curd.
  • 1 tsp. Garam masala.
  • Tempering Ingredients for Onion Gravy
  • 2 tbsp. Oil.
  • ¼ tsp. Cumin seeds.
  • ⅛ tsp. Asafoetida powder.
  • Ingredients for Spinach Kofta
  • 1 bunch of Spinach ( approximately 200 gms.)
  • ½ cup Wheat coarse flour (Jada atta).
  • ¼ cup Chick Pea flour (Besan)
  • 2 tbsp. Oil.
  • ⅛ tsp. Asafoetida powder.
  • 1 tsp. Sugar.
  • ½ tsp. Salt.
  • 1 tsp. Red chilli powder.
  • 1 tsp. coarse powder of Coriander seeds.
  • ⅒ tsp. Soda bi carb.
  • Oil for frying kofta.
  • Tempering Ingredients for Palakh kofta curry
  • 1 tbsp. Oil.
  • ½ tsp. Cumin seeds.
  • 8-10 Curry leaves.
  • 2 whole red chillies.
  • ½ cup Curd.
  • 2 tbsp chopped Coriander leaves for garnishing.

Method

  1. Recipe for kofta
  2. Pluck Spinach leaves. Wash thoroughly and finely chop one bunch of Spinach.
  3. In big mixing bowl marinate chopped spinach with salt and sugar. Keep aside for 10 minutes.
  4. Mix coarse wheat flour and Chick pea flour and oil thoroughly. The flour should hold the shape of fist. It means oil is perfect for kofta.
  5. Add all dry ingredients in flour and mix thoroughly.
  6. Mix flour with marinated spinach . knead dough in marinated spinach liquid. No need to add water for kneading kofta dough.
  7. Deep fry kofta and keep aside.
  8. Recipe for Spinach puree.
  9. Pluck Spinach leaves from remaining 2 bunches of spinach. Wash thoroughly all leaves
  10. Boil water in big sauce pan. Blanch all Spinach leaves and immediately after removing from boiling water place in ice water. Chilled water restrict further cooking of leaves and retain colour and flavour.
  11. Strain chilled water and grind spinach leaves into smooth puree without adding water. Keep aside Spinach puree.
  12. Recipe for Onion gravy
  13. Heat oil in nonstick pan . Add Cumin seeds. Wait for crackling sound and add Asafoetida powder, Sliced onions. Saute till it becomes translucent. Now add Garlic pods saute and add dry masala and freshly chopped Coriander leaves.Saute for 1 minutes . Switch off the flame and make a paste when it cools.
  14. Heat again non stick pan with Oil. Add Cumin seeds, whole chillies and Curry leaves. Add onion gravy, Palakh puree and mix thoroughly. Add curd . Quickly stir and simmer till oil separates. Stir continuously otherwise curd will separates.
  15. Now add kofta . Close the lid and simmer for 5 minutes on slow flame.
  16. Garnish with chopped Coriander leaves.
  17. Serve hot with steamed rice and Fulka roti or Bhakhri or Jower roti or Bajra roti or Paratha or as you wish.

Instead of chickpea flour you can also use either green moong dal flour or yellow moong dal flour.

Blanch Spinach (Palakh)
Palakh paste in Onion gravy.
Kofta Dough
Making of Palakh Kofta
Palakh Kofta
Palakh Kofta Curry

List of my other recipes.