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.
1½ cup wheat flour+ ½ cup sieved lapsi flour.( lapsi flour is coarsely ground wheat flour like semolina- suji. Coarse whole wheat flour commonly known as ”jada atta” or ”churma lapsi atta”
½ tsp. salt.
60 ml. oil.
or
4 tbsp oil.
175 ml water.
In mixing bowl mix all ingredients and knead a stiff dough. Keep aside for 10 -15 mins.
Smear with little ghee and again knead to a smooth dough.
Divide the dough into 8 equal portions.
Roll each dough ball into flat , round bhakhri.
Preheat tawa on a medium flame.
Roast both the sides,apply little ghee and press gently with wooden press till it turns light golden brown.
Enjoy bhakhri with any vegetable curry, Jeggary and pickle.
You can use bhakhri as pizza base and instead of slice bread in sandwiches.
½ cup Rice(chawal preferably Parimal also known as Patna rice)
¼ cup Moong dal (Mung beans) (split green which contains more fibre or yellow which is easy to digest).
¼ cup Masoor dal( split red lentils).
2 tbsp. Tur dal (split pegion pea) .
3 ½ cups water.
Tips:
Requirements of water varies by types of vessels you use to cook khichadi
4 cups water if khichadi in direct pressure cooker .
3½ cups if khichadi in steel pot in cooker.
4½ cups water if khichadi in sauce pan or kadhai.
Dry masala:
2½ tsp.salt
1 tsp.turmeric pd.
1 tsp.black pepper pd.
or
1 tsp. red chilli pd.
Tempering ingredients:
2 tbsp.ghee.
1/2 tsp. mustard(rai)
2 cloves.
1/2 inch cinnamon stick.Asafoetida (hing).
⅛ tsp.Asafoetida (hing).
Method:
In one big steel pot mix all dals and rice .Wash and drain 3 times with water .
Add 6 &1/2 cups water and all dry ingredients.
Side by side heat tempering vessel and add ghee. Once ghee melts,add mustard seeds and wait for crackling sound. Add cloves , asafoetida and cinnamon . Pour this mixture in khichadi pot. Stir the mixture in pot .
Place this pot in pressure cooker. Cover the pot with lid and close pressure cooker. Pressure cook upto 4 whistles.
Open cooker after pressure releases and serves hot and pour 1 tsp. ghee per plate. khichadi with Soup,tameta nu shak, papad and pickle.
Serve hot khichadi with Soup,tameta nu shak, papad and pickle.
This is a simple type of khichadi which is healthy and yummy too but you can make more rich and spicy by adding different ingredients like onion and garlic and mixing some vegetables.
In one big mixing bowl marinate methi leaves and coriander leaves with salt and sugar for 30 mins.
Add oil ,curd and all dry spices in marinated mixture.
Mix thoroughly and add atta and again mix and knead . Take water for soft and smooth dough.
Keep aside for 30 min.
After 30 mins. divide dough into 20-25 equal parts .
With the help of rolling pin ,roll each dough ball like roti and shallow fry with oil .Apply ghee and serve hot or carry with you while traveling or in offices.
You can enjoy your thepla with Aam ras,Masala tea, herbal tea,tameta nu shak,kela nu shak or any pickle,jam,chhundo.
Pressure cook all vegetables in 200 ml water. Add salt, sugar and black pepper. Cook upto 3 whistles.
After pressure release, open the cooker and cool the things completely.
Scrape pulp from drumstick with the help of spoon and discard skins.
Blend all the vegetables in blender and strain with the help of strainer. Add water to to make required quantity.
Boil soup for 5 mins. Side by side heat tempering vessel on slow flame and add butter . Once butter melt add cumin. After crackling sound add cinnamon and clove. Pour this tempered mixture in soup and boil for 1 more min. Serves hot.
Serve your soup with handavo,khichadi biryani or as you want. Serve with love and smile
You can also have during sickness .As drumsticks contains all nine essential amino acids, tomatoes are rich in fibers, lycopene, minerals and vitamins B and C and carrots are rich in minerals and vitamins A, D, E and K.
500 gms handava batter{ 100 gms rice (chawal),50 gms. white urad(udad dal),50 gms. lentil( tur dal), 50 gms chickpeas (channa dal) soak and make coarse batter}.
Keep aside this batter upto 6-8 hrs. for fermentation
or
In market you will get ready made Idli-dosa batter .Same you can use to make handavo. Only after adding ½ cup suji.which will give crispiness to upper and lower layer of handava.
Masala:
4 tb sp. sugar,2 tsp chilli pd,3tsp.cumincoriander pd. 1/2 tsp haldi,4 tbsp.curd ½ inch grated ginger,2 green chilli paste.1 tsp soda ,3 tsp. salt.
Tempering ingredients for mixing with batter:
1/2 tsp rai ( mustard seeds),2 pinch of hing (Asafoetida),one tbsp.oil.
Tempering ingredients for pouring batter in pan.
2 tbsp.oil, ¼ tsp.mustard(rai) seeds, ½ tsp.sesame seeds and ½ tsp.sesame seeds for sprinkling over batter
Method
(1) In fermented handva batter add all masalas. Mix thoroughly. Sprinkle soda powder on batter
(2) Preheat tempering vessel ,add oil and rai and wait for crackling sound then add hing.
(3) Pour mixture over handwa batter and then mix thoroughly.
(4) Heat kadhai(pan) with oil and add mustard seeds . After crackling sound add sesame seeds and half of the batter.
(5) Cover the pan with lid .Cook the handavo until the upper surface look cooked or pierce knife which comes out clean and bottom surface turns light brown.
(6) Flip gently and again cook on slow flame upto 4-5 mins. or turns light brown.
Remaining half batter, repeat same process for making handvo.
8) You can also add boiled vegetables like green peas and sweet corns and / or grated vegetables like bottle guard zucchini , carrots .It will enhance the taste as well as nutrition.
1)In one mixing bowl mix all ingredients and knead a soft dough and rest it for 30 mins.
2) Knead more and make soft no sticky dough. If require take 1 tsp ghee for soft and smooth dough.
3) Divide dough into 20 equal parts and make a 10 pairs. Prepare all pairs by applying oil on one side of the dough disc and dry flour on other dough disc.
4) Heat tawa and start rolling each paired dough disc gently into 9 inches roti.
5) Roast roti on tawa( not on flame)
6)Hot roasted roti tapped by two hand for 2-3 times so it will seperate into two layers.
7) Apply ghee on each layer and enjoy bepadi rotali with Aam ras.
1) In one big mixing bowl add all ingredients and knead medium hard dough ,cover it with a damp cloth and rest the dough for 1 hr.
2)After 1 hr.again knead the dough .
3 ) Place a portion of the dough in the chakli maker
4) Tighten the lid and move in rounds to get a spiral shape.
5)Fry the chakli till it is golden.
6)Drain chakli on a paper towel to remove excess oil.
7)Once the chakli are cooled at the room temperature store in an air tight container for 1 month.
8) Enjoy chakli with tea,Herbal tea, milk ,coffee or as you want.It is the best option to carry ready to eat food while tracking,hiking or on a picnic.
Rajeshree Gandhi's Kitchen blog 