Rajeshree Gandhi's Kitchen blogLife 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.
Serves:4
Ingredients
16 Monaco biscuits/Jeera puri/salty puri
16 slices of tomato
16 slices of cucumber
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.
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.
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
Red chutney, Khajur Amli chutney
Ingredients
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.
Ingredients
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 .
Ingredients
1 Coconut( Shreefal)
Method:
1) Buy good quality coconut with coconut water
2) Remove coconut from its hard outer shell.
3) Chopped coconut into dice size.
4)Grind these coconut pcs.with 100 ml. of water into coarse paste
5) Fill this coarse paste in ice tray and freezed it for 8- 10 hrs.
6) After 10 hrs. unmould coconut cubes and keep in air tight container .Keep this container in freezer .
7) whenever you want to use coconut either in curry or for making idli-dosa’s chutney or as hair food remove from the freezer and use.
8)Please be quick while unmoulding cubes and filling container with cubes.
Ingredients
Per cube: 1/2 tbsp. lemon juice
Juicy lemons
Method:
1)Buy 25 good quality, juicy,thin skinned yellow lemons.
2) Wash and wipe all lemons with nepkin.
3 ) Squeeze all lemons with the help of a squeezer. Please don’t throw squeezed lemon skins. you can prepare lemon peel pickle from it.
4) Strain lemon juice with the help of strainer .
5) Fill pop up ice tray with this juice and freeze for 8-10 hrs.
6) After 10 hrs.pop up all lemon cubes and store in air tight container.
7) Keep this container in freezer .Cubes will remain fresh for about 6 months.
8) whenever you want to use lemon, quickly you can use these cubes. It helps in hot summer when good lemons are unavailable.
9) Please be quick while unmoulding cubes and filling container with cubes.
serves 16 chillas
Ingredients
2 bowl (300 gms.) chanadal flour (chickpea)
1 bowl (150gms.) chawal ( rice) flour.
1/4 tsp Ajwain(carom seeds)
1/4 tsp. Haldi(turmeric)pd
1 tsp dhania jeera( coriander cumin) pd.
1and 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp. lal mirch( red chilli) pd.
1 tsp kala miri( black pepper) pd.
Method:
1) In one mixing bowl take both atta and all spices.
2) Add 2and 1/2 bowl water in it and mix thoroughly so no lumps.
3) keep aside for 30 mins.
4) Check the batter,must be pouring consistency.Start making chillas (dosa)
5) Serve hot with any Soup,green chutney and red chutney. Serve with love and smile.
6) while making chilla,you can sprinkle shredded cheese.
7) You can also add finely chopped onion, tomatoes, capsicum and finely chopped coriander in chilla batter.
12 pattice balls 3 inches each
Ingredients
Method:
1) After washing,boil potatoes in pressure cooker
2) After 3 whistles, switch off flame and wait for pressure release
3) Peel and smash all potatoes and add chat masala,salt, finely chopped fresh coriander and lemon juice
4) mix thoroughly and make 3 inches size balls
5) Gently press each ball in your palms and shallow fry on tawa with ghee
6) Pattice are ready. Enjoy it with ragda,green hot chutney,red sweet chutney,finely chopped onion and sev.
Serves 2. 250 ml.each
Ingredients
water. 500 ml.
Basil(Tulsi) Leaves. 8-10
Lemon grass. 15-20 pcs
Mint (Phudina) Leaves 8-10
Ginger grated 1/2 inch
Method:
1) In one big vessel mix all ingredients and boil for 10 mins.
2) Herbal tea is ready. Add 2 tsp. honey(optional) and squeeze 1/2 lemon in 500 ml. tea.
3) Enjoy your herbal tea with some cookies, sweet shakarpare,salty biscuits, salty namakpare ,mathri or puri.
Rajeshree Gandhi's Kitchen blog 