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.

Breakfast snacks

(25) Sweet Shakarpare

Indian snacks

Ingredients:

300 gms. All purpose flour( maida)

4 tb.sp rawa(suji)

75 ml.melted ghee

5 tbsp.sugar

75 ml. water

½ tsp. salt

Oil for frying

Method:

1) In one mixing bowl heat water ,add sugar to melt and set aside to cool.

2) Add all the ingredients and knead a dough and set aside for 30 mins.

3) Make 2 equal parts of dough and roll to thick roti and cut into 1 inch square.

4)Heat oil to deep fry and drop a batch of shakarpare and deep fry till golden ( remove 1 shade lighter from the oil )

5) cool down completely and store in air tight container for 1 month

6) Enjoy with tea,herbal tea,milk, during traveling or as you want.

Tags herbaltea, tea, tiffinbox, traveling

cold drink Health Drinks Hot Drinks

(23) Fajeto

Mango Soup

Serves 4 person 175 ml each

Ingredients

400 ml water.
6 mango’s seeds and skins remaining after extraction of pulp ( Aam ras )
2 tsp. Salt.
2 tbsp.Sugar.
1/2 inch grated ginger.
2 green chillies halved lengthwise and reseeded.

Tempering ingredients:

1/2 tsp. Cumin (jeera).
2 Cloves (lavang).
1/2 inch Cinnamon ( dalchini).
8-10 curry leaves.
1 tbsp. Freshly chopped coriander leaves.
1 tbsp.ghee.

Method:

(1) In one big bowl take 400 ml. Water

(2) Squeeze and wash thoroughly skins and seeds of Mangoes in this water and drain it. Let 2 of the seeds remain inside for enhancing the sour taste.( Skins can be put to good use by transferring it to compost bin. And seeds can be Sun dried for further use in the making mouth freshner.

(3) Add to this salt, sugar, grated ginger and green chilli.

(4) Boil on slow flame for 5 mins.

(5) Side by side put tadka pan after adding ghee. as soon as ghee melts add jeera wait for crackling sound . Cloves, Cinnamon and curry leaves and finely chopped coriander leaves in it.Boil for 5 more mins. and mango soup is ready.

(6) Enjoy this soup with rice, chillas, biryani, pulao or as you want. you will like both type hot as well as cold. Cold mango soup is a refreshing drink in hot summer days.

Fajeto

List of my other recipes

Tags aamras, chilla, doublelayeredroti, fulkaroti, healthyfood, lunch, pulao, rice, summerfood, sunstroke

cold drink Rejuvenating food

(22) Aam Ras

Mango pulp

serves:4 175 ml/ bowl

Ingredients

6 ripe Kesar Mangoes. 1.5 kg. (approx)

Generally Kesar variety is best for making Mango pulp but you can also use Alphanso or any other variety. As we get 105 different varieties of Mangoes in India.

Method:

1) Wash and wipe ripe mangoes

2) On the clean kitchen platform roll each mango gently but firmly so that pulp inside becomes soft squeezable and lump free.

3) After rolling all the mangoes on a flat surface, pinch stalk of fruit and squeeze out all the pulp throughly . Squeeze and clean the pulp from the seed and under surface of the skin throughly. Keep these seeds and skins of the squeezed mangoes in clean bowl for making mango soup.

4) Strain the pulp with the help of soup strainer.

5) Enjoy chilled mango pulp with bepadi rotli, fulka roti, puri, paratha ,kulcha,bhakhri,chilla or as you want.

6) For making mango pulp more healthier add 1/2 tsp. hot ghee,1/2tsp.ginger pd. Ghee helps in assimilation of fat soluble vitamins A,D,E,K and ginger pd help in digestion. You can also add salt to taste.

7) Many other recipes you can make from Mango pulp like Aam ras Bundi,Aam ras Mohanthal, Aam ras papads, Aam ras icecreams, Milkshakes and smoothy ,Jams and Jellies and many more.

List of my other recipes

Tags bajariroti, bhakhri, celebration, chilla, dhokla, doublelayeredroti, fulkaroti, jowarroti, summerfood

Chats snacks

(21) Biscuit Chat/Puri Chat

Post author By Rajeshree Gandhi
Post date 06/06/2020
2 Comments on (21) Biscuit Chat/Puri Chat

Serves:4

Ingredients

16 Monaco biscuits/Jeera puri/salty puri

16 slices of tomato

16 slices of cucumber

Green chutney.

Red Sweet Chutney

tomato sauce

4 cheese slices (each cut it into 4 equal parts)

1 cup grated cheese

1 cup sev

Chat masala

Method:

1) Arrange all biscuits in one big dinner plate

2) Over each biscuit ,stake cheese, cucumber and tomato slice.

3) Top it up with green chutney,red sweet chutney and tomato sauce as much as you want.

4) Sprinkle sev and shredded cheese.

5) Enjoy biscuits chat with tea or as you like.

Biscuit chat with cheese

List of my other recipes

Tags Chats, greentea, herbaltea, Monsoon, nocooking, redchutney, tea

Dinner lunch

(20) Stuffed Kulcha

Roasted stuffed flatbread

Make 12 Kulchas

Ingredients

1 bowl (250 gms.)wheat flour

1/2 tsp.salt

1tbsp.sesame (til)seeds

2 tbsp curd(dahi)

2 tbsp.oil

130 ml water

For stuffing:

1 cup grated cheese

Chat masala

Method:

1)In one big mixing bowl add all ingredients for making dough and knead for 2 mins.

2) After pouring 1 tsp.oil on dough knead for 1 min. more.

3) Cover the dough and allow it to rest for 30 mins.

4) With the help of rolling pin roll tennis ball sized dough into round flat bread.Now put 1/12 th of grated cheese in the centre, sprinkle chat masala over it. Make it into ball by pinching all sides together,gently press to flatten and once again roll into flat round bread(kulcha).

5) Apply water on upper side of kulcha with fingers or brush

6) Flip upper side on hot tawa so that kulcha stick to tawa .

7) Roast upper side of kulcha directly on flame.

8) once upper side roasted,put the tawa again on flame so that lower side starts cooking on tawa.

9) same way roast all kulchas and apply pure ghee or buuer on it

10) Enjoy kulcha with any curry of your choice.

List of my other recipes

Tags greengram, kulcha, lunch, moong, nomaida

Daal

(19) Rasawala Moong

Green gram curry

serves 4 150 ml .each

Ingredients

1 bowl (100 gms.) green gram( moong)

2 tsp.salt

4 garcinia( kokum)

2 inch size jaggery ( gud) ball

1/2 inch grated ginger

Tampering (tadka) ingredients:

1tbsp. oil,1/4 tsp.mustard(rai) seeds, pinch of Asafoetida (hing) 1/4 tsp.jeera( cumin),8-10 fenugreek ( methi),1 red chilli halved and deseed ,5-6 curry leaves,1 tsp. washed finely chopped coriander (dhaniapatti)leaves

Dry spices(masala)

1/2 tsp. turmeric (haldi),1tsp.CorianderCumin( dhaniajeera) pd.,1/2 tsp. red chilli ( lal mirchi)pd.

Method:

1) Wash moong for 3 times, add 3 bowl water and pressure cook upto 3 whistles.

2) When pressure cooker cool down ,check that moong is tender. If uncooked,cook again for 3 more whistles.

3) In cooked tender moong add all ingredients and 1 bowl water except tadka ingredients.

4) Boil on slow flame for 5 mins.

5) Put tadka pan side by side with slow flame after adding oil . Add rai and wait for crackling sound then add jeera and methi,hing,chilli,curry leaves and coriander leaves.

6) Boil for 2 mins. and Rasawala moong is ready.

7) Enjoy with fulka roti ,wheat bhakhri,paratha,kulcha,jowar roti,bajari roti and /or rice

List of my other recipes

Tags bajariroti, bhakhri, curry, Dinner, Fever, fulkaroti, greengram, jowarroti, kulcha, lunch, moong, paratha, rice

chutney Quick Cooking Tips

(18)Sweet chutney

Red chutney, Khajur Amli chutney

Ingredients

500 gms. Red Dates.( lal khajur)
100 gms. Tamarind (Imli)
250 gms. Jaggery (Gud)
2 tbsp. Salt.
¼ tsp. Asafoetida (Hing).
2 tbsp. Coriander Cumin powder.
2 tbsp. Red chilli powder.

Method:

1) Wash khajoor and imli

2) In steel vessel add all ingredients and 2 bowl (200 ml) water and pressure cook upto 4 whistles

3) After cooker cools down, deseed khajoor and imli.

4) Transfer all the ingredients in grinder and make a smooth paste of pouring consistency. Strain this mixture with the help of strainer.

5) Boil this chutney mixture for 5 mins.stir continuously.

6) After tasting chutney ,bottle it in air tight container or make a cubes in pop up ice tray.

7) If you keep in fridge, chutney will taste good upto 1 month. Chutney cubes in freezer lasts for 3 months.

8) Enjoy your sweet chutney with chats,vada,pakoda,chilla etc.

List of my other recipes.

Tags besan, burger, celebration, channadalatta, Chats, chickpeasflour, Dinner, lunch, Monsoon, moong, nomaida, Panipuri, Pattice, ragda, redchutney, vada, Winter

chutney Quick Cooking Tips

(17) Green Chutney

Ingredients

5 cups washed,finely chopped coriander.
5 green chillies. If you want more spicy then add more chillies.
1cup washed mint leaves
2tbsp.bhuna channa dal( roasted gram) or khara singdana ( roasted salty peanuts) if you want to use with farali dish.
3 tbsp. lemon juice.
Salt to taste.
1 tsp. sugar.

Method:

1)In a mixture jar grind bhuna chana dal and keep aside.

2) In jar add all ingredients except bhuna chana dal pd. and make a smooth paste by adding 100 ml. chilled water.

3) Now mix bhuna chana pd. and again churn the paste one more time.

4) Green chutney is ready,taste it once and now fill pop up ice tray with chutney. Freeze it for 8-10 hrs.

5) Unmould chutney cubes and keep it in air tight container and again freeze it.

6) Use these chutney cubes by defrosting whenever you needed

7) Enjoy you green chutney in sandwiches,vada,pakoda,with main course etc.

8) Please be quick during unmoulding .