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

(140)Kobi Dadam Dana ni Salad

Ingredients

  • 250 gms Cabbage (Kobi)
  • 1 medium size Pomogranate. (Dadam)
  • 1 tbsp. finely chopped coriander leaves
  • 1 tsp. lemon juice.
  • 1 tsp. Chaat masala.
  • 1 finely chopped green chilli( optional)

Method

  1. Shred washed cabbage with potato slicer.
  2. Remove seeds from Pomogranate and keep aside.
  3. Finely chop washed coriander and green chilli .
  4. In mixing bowl mix shredded cabbage with seeds of Pomogranate. Add coriander and green chilli, lemon juice and chat masala
  5. Cabbage Pomogranate Salad is ready to serve.
  6. Serve with fulka roti, bhakhri, puri, kulcha, thepla, khakhra or as you wish.
Categories
Healthy food

(139)Moong dal Puran poli.

Ingredients for Puran

  • 2 cups yellow moong dal.
  • 3 cups sugar.
  • 6 cardamom powder.
  • 2 tbsp. ghee.

Method

  1. Wash yellow moong dal twice.
  2. Add 1½ cup water and pressure cook till 3 whistles.
  3. After 10 to 15 minutes when pressure release open the lid of the cooker. You will get dry cooked moongdal.
  4. Grind moongdal in pulse mode.
  5. Sieve the whole content.
  6. Add sugar in sieved portion.
  7. Mix thoroughly and cook in slow flame for 5-10 minutes.
  8. You will get thick lump of moongdal puran .
  9. For confirming that the puran is ready or not. Keep spatula in the center of the puran while cooking and if it remains standing still then puran is ready. If not then again cook for 1-2 minutes.
  10. Switch off the flame and add Cardamom powder and ghee in puran.
  11. Mix thoroughly and keep aside for cooling.
  12. Make Golf ball size balls from puran.

Ingredients for Poli (Roti)

  • 2 cups wheat flour
  • 4 tbsp. oil.
  • 1½ cups water.

Method for Poli

  1. Knead roti dough ( see the video for consistency)
  2. Make table tennis size ball from dough.
  3. With the help of rolling pin roll small 4 inch size roti.
  4. Stuff golf ball sized puran and again roll in ½ cm. thick poli( roti).
  5. Roast like paratha . Apply ghee on both the sides . (see video)
  6. Serve hot or cold as you wish both taste delicious.
confirmatory test for Puran by spatula stands still in centre.
Moongdal puran
Wheat dough consistency
Making of Puran Poli
Moongdal Puranpoli
Categories
Healthy food

(138)Instant Poha

Ingredients

  • 1 cup white thick poha
  • ⅛ cup Peanuts.
  • ⅛ cup Daria dal.
  • 1 red chilli powder
  • ¼ tsp. turmeric powder.
  • 1½ tsp. fresh lemon juice.
  • 1½ tbsp. oil for tempering.
  • ⅛ tsp. Mustard seeds.
  • ⅛ tsp. Asafoetida powder.
  • ½ tsp. salt .

Method

  1. Heat oil in sauce pan.
  2. Add mustard seeds and wait for crackling sound.
  3. Add Asafoetida powder, red whole chilli and curry leaves. Saute till it turns crispy.
  4. Add peanuts and Daria dal. Saute it at low flame. Stir continuously till it turns crispy.
  5. Add turmeric powder and mix quickly. Add poha and lemon juice in it.Stir continuously till poha turns crispy.
  6. Crispy poha chivda is ready. This chivda you can enjoy with your evening tea. But for breakfast you need some filling items. So when you are away from home same poha chivda you can use as instant poha.
  7. For instant poha in microwave: Take 1 cup (or as you required ) chivda in medium size bowl. Fill water till chivda submerges. Microwave for 2-3 minutes. Enjoy home made poha in your breakfast.
  8. For instant poha without microwave: You can add boiling water till chivda gets submerges and close the bowl for 3 minutes and after that your poha is ready.
  9. Enjoy instant poha as dry snacks as well as in breakfast when you are away from home and want to eat some home made item.
Ingredients for instant Poha
Chivda
Instant poha
Categories
Healthy food

(137)Gluten free spicy Waffles

Ingredients

  • ½ cup Sorghum (Jowar) flour(tightly filled).
  • 1 tbsp.finely chopped Fenugreek leaves.
  • 2 tbsp finely chopped coriander leaves.
  • 2 tbsp. grated carrots ( cheese grater).
  • 1 tsp. freshly grate Ginger.
  • 1 finely chopped green chilli( optional).
  • 1 tsp. salt.
  • 1 tbsp. til oil.
  • ⅛ tsp. Asafoetida powder.
  • ⅛ tsp. soda bi carb.
  • 165 ml. water.

Method

  1. In medium size pan mix all given ingredients.
  2. See the video for consistency of batter.
  3. Use til (sesame)oil for greasing the sides of waffle maker.
  4. Pour batter and fill till rim of waffle maker.
  5. Close the lid and cook for 7 minutes .
  6. Lovely, crispy from out sides, spongy from inside and spicy waffles serves hot with Tomato sauce and green chutney.
consistency of batter
waffle maker
Fill batter till rim of waffle maker.
😍crispy spongy spicy waffle
Categories
Dessert

(136)Doughnuts

Ingredients

  • 2 cups all purpose flour ( Maida)
  • ½ cup warm mik.
  • ¼ cup butter.
  • 2 tbsp Sugar
  • 1 tsp.dry active yeast
  • ½ cup sugar powder.
  • ½ cup melted brown chocolate.
  • Oil for brushing and deep frying.

Method

  1. In big size mixing bowl mix  flour  with dry active yeast, butter and sugar.
  2. With the help of luke warm milk knead dough.
  3. Keep kneading for 5 minutes to get soft dough.
  4. Spread dry flour on rolling board and make ½ centimeter thick round circle with the help of rolling pin.
  5. With the help of 3 inches bottle cap or steel glass cut the small round circles from big circle.
  6. Each small circles cut with the help of ½ inch size bottle cap. So you get each doughnuts with hole in center.
  7. Roll left over dough again and make doughnuts again. In this way keep on making doughnuts till dough last.
  8. Brush the doughnuts with oil so doughnuts do not get dry up.
  9. Keep aside all the doughnuts under wet cloth for 2 hours.
  10. All doughnuts becomes puffy. Now they are ready to fry.
  11. Deep fry all doughnuts till golden brown on medium flame.
  12. Glaze some doughnuts with powdered sugar when they are hot.
  13. Melt brown chocolate slab for glazing doughnuts.
  14. Chocolate slab can be melt in double vessel and not directly on same vessel which kept on  flame.
  15. For melting chocolates: For smooth and shiny liquid choco chips are the best option but you can also use finely chopped chocolate slab.
  16. Take medium size sauce pan. ¼ level of pan filled with water and start heating on medium flame.
  17. Take another bigger size bowl with choco chips or finely chopped chocolate slab. Put it on first bowl and stir occasionally. After 3-4 minutes you will get smooth silky chocolate liquid.
  18. Deep upper layer of remaining doughnuts into liquid and keep aside.
  19. Serve warm doughnuts for better taste.
  20. Remember flame should be medium to slow, so that water doesn’t reach its boiling point otherwise melted chocolate will burn .
  21. During melting procedure, work with clean and dry kitchen tools and vessels. Water should not touch to melted chocolate otherwise it will seize the chocolate liquid and it becomes dry, hard and grainy.
Glazing doughnuts with powdered sugar
Categories
Healthy food

(135)Til Papdi

Ingredients

  • 1 cup til( Sesame seeds).
  • ¾ cup Sugar.
  • 1 tsp Ghee for greasing steel plate, wooden bhakhri press and wooden rolling pin.

Method

  • Dry roast til on medium flame and keep aside.
  • Grease back side of plate, bhakhri press and rolling pin.
  • Heat non stick pan and melt sugar on fast flame for 1 minute. and then turn flame to slow.
  • Stir continuously but slowly to give maximum heat to sugar.
  • After 3 minutes and 45 seconds you will get brown coloured sugar syrup. Immediately turn off the flame.
  • Add Sesame seeds in syrup and quickly mix it.
  • Empty mixture on back side of greased plate and quickly press with bhakhri press and then roll it into thin roti.
  • Mark thin til roti with knife into square shape pieces.
  • keep aside for 15 minutes to cool down and then separate til roti with knife from plate.
  • Separate each piece and keep. In air tight container it can be preserved for 3 months.
  • Til papdi is healthy winter food.
Categories
Healthy food

(134)Daria dal na ladoo

Ingredients

  • 1½ cup daria dal.
  • 1 cup grated natural jaggery( niether jaggery powder nor organic jaggery nor chiki jaggery) commonly known as barfi gud.
  • 8 tbsp. melted ghee.

Method

  1. Clean daria dal and dry roast on slow flame.
  2. Cool down completely and grind in pulse mode of grinder.
  3. Mix daria dal coarse powder with jaggery.
  4. After mixing add melted ghee and again mix it thoroughly.
  5. Make ladoo from mixture.
  6. Store in air tight container for 1 month.
  7. Daria dal ladoo is healthy winter food. Good source of protein. It is good in coughing.
Daria dal
1½ cup daria dal+ 1 cup grated jaggery
Coarse daria dal powder+ grated jaggery
Mixture of daria dal+ jaggery+ghee
Ladoo from mixture.

List of my other recipes.

Categories
Healthy food

(133)Amla Pickle

Ingredients

  • 1 kg Amla.
  • ½ kg sugar.
  • 1 tbsp. salt.
  • 1 tsp. Turmeric powder.
  • 1 tbsp. chili powder.
  • ½ tsp. Asafoetida powder.

Method

  1. Wash, wipe and pressure cook amla, keeping it in a strainer, upto two whistles.
  2. When cooker cool down, take out strainer from the cooker and remove seed from each amla and cut it into small pieces.
  3. In big thick bottom sauce pan or in pressure cooker itself( must be steel cooker) mix amla pieces with sugar.
  4. Stir continuously on fast flame for 10 minutes and after that add salt, asafoetida powder, chili powder and turmeric powder and again cook for 1 more minute.
  5. Amla pickle is ready. Switch off the flame and keep aside.
  6. Bottle it in a glass jar once it cool down completely.
  7. Enjoy amla pickle with roti, bhakri, khakhra, paratha, bread, handavo, muthia, dhokla, patra pakoda, vada, chila or as you wish.

List of my other recipes

Categories
Healthy food

(132)Baigan Bhartha

Ingredients

  • 500 gms bhartha baigan.
  • 1 bunch spring onion.
  • 1 big tomato.
  • 3-4 green garlic. OR Green Garlic Chutney
  • Dry masala-: 2 tsp. chilli powder, 2 tsp. cumin coriander powder, ½ tsp. turmeric powder.
  • Tempering ingredients: 2 tbsp. Oil, 1 tsp. cumin, ¼ tsp. Asafoetida.
  • Coriander leaves.

Method

  1. Wash brinjal and peel skin.
  2. Cut the brinjal into 2 halves and cook upto 3 whistles.
  3. Once cooker cool down, remove brinjal from cooker and mash it with the help of potato masher and keep aside.
  4. Roast tomato directly on flame, remove the skin and cut it into fine pieces.
  5. Finely chop spring onion and green garlic pod with its leaves.
  6. Heat oil in nonstick pan. Add cumin seeds and wait for crackling .
  7. Add Asafoetida powder and spring onion in it and saute till it translucent.
  8. Add chopped tomatoes and garlic in it and cover with lid for 2 minutes.
  9. Add all dry masala and again saute for ½ minute.
  10. Add mashed brinjal, mix well with masala and close the lid. Simmer for 2 minutes.
  11. Switch off the gas and garnish with finely chopped coriander leaves.
  12. Serve hot baigan bhartha with bajra roti, buttermilk and white butter.
Categories
Healthy food

(131)Dry fruit cake.

Ingredients

  • 100 gms. Raisin.
  • 100 gms. Black raisin.
  • 100 gms. Cranberry.
  • 100 gms. Fig. cut into small pieces.
  • 50 gms. Apricot. cut into small pieces.
  • 200 ml. Black grapes juice.
  • 250 gms. butter.
  • 300 gms. powdered brown sugar.
  • 50 ml. oil.
  • 130 gms. curd.
  • 300 gms Maida.
  • 50. gms. Almond powder.
  • 1 tsp.baking powder.
  • ¼ tsp.baking soda.
  • ¼ tsp. salt.
  • ¼ tsp. clove powder.( optional)
  • ¼ tsp. cinnamon powder (optional).
  • ¼ cup Sugar
  • 1 cup water

Method

  • In one big sauce pan mix all dry fruits with fresh black grape juice.
  • Cover the lid and refrigerate for 24 hours for soaking.
  • After 24 hours remove from the fridge and mix thoroughly and keep aside.
  • In another big mixing bowl sieve dry ingredients like flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, clove and cinnamon powder.
  • In another big sauce pan beat butter and sugar with medium speed till it turns creamy.
  • Add curd and oil in it and again beat for few minutes. Scrape the sides and will get super creamy consistency.
  • Now add flour and Almond powder and mix with cut and fold method for 2 minutes.
  • Add soaked juicy dry fruits and again mix with cut and fold method for 2 more minutes.
  • Grease disposable cake mould and pour batter and fill upto ¾ mould . Level the poured batter by taping twice or thrice.
  • Preheat oven at 160 °centigrade for 10 minutes.
  • place mould in to oven at 160° centigrade for 70 minutes.
  • After 70 minutes check the cake with the help of skewers.If it come out clean then cake is ready. If doesn’t come out clean then bake for 10 more minutes.
  • Switch off the oven and after 10 minutes remove from the oven.Separate all sides of cake from mould and unmould the cake.
  • With the help of skewers poke the cake.
  • Prepare sugar syrup ( mix sugar and water, syrup is ready after boiling for 2 minutes) and pour generously in the cake.
  • Wrap cling film and keep aside for 4-5 hours.
  • After 5 hours remove the film and cut the cake into 1 inch thick slices.
  • Serve cake slices with herbal tea.