It has been a long time since I posted anything here. Last few months were very busy for us. We were preparing for a long awaited India trip. Time sure flies. Here we are back from India to Kansas now. It was quite emotional trip for many reasons. We had been there after 3.5 years. Since pappa had many health issues in last few months, I wanted to meet him. Just before leaving, we came to know that my MIL had to go through a knee surgery. Thank god, pappa does not need any immidiate medical attention and MIL is also recovering well.
It was Ishaan’s first trip to India. He got adjusted amazingly well there. He is now missing everybody and the big space – at my hometown we have a big front yard, he used to play there all the time. I am sure we all will take a while to get re-adjusted here.
During our last trip, I had spent all my time on taking food pictures. I missed being with parents after coming back. So this time, I did not spend much time on recipes or pictures. I got few recipes from aayi, my sister-in-law and pachi (mom’s sister), which I will post in coming days.
This is a very simple recipe which I often make. This is on the same lines of bhende bharth or vayngana bajji . Usually this is made like gosale bharth or vayngana bharth by grinding coconut. But when I am in hurry I take this shortcut.
Below I have mentioned both the easy version(with pictures) and the traditional version that is made at our place.
Ingredients: 2 cups chopped pumpkin (you can replace with butternut squash) 5 red chillies (for traditional version) or 1 tea spn chilli powder (for easy version) 1/2 cup coconut 1/4 tea spn tamarind extract 1/4 cup chopped onion Salt
Method for easy version: Pressure cook pumpkin pieces(after removing the skin). Cool to room temperature. Add all coconut, tamarind, salt, chilli powder. Mash everything very well. While serving, mix a little salt with onion and mix with the pumpkin chutney. Serve with papad.
Method for traditional version: Pressure cook pumpkin pieces(after removing the skin). Cool to room temperature. Grind together coconut, chillies, tamarind, salt(do not add too much water, it should be chutney consistency). Add the pumpkin pieces to chutney and mash with a spoon. While serving, mix a little salt with onion and mix with the pumpkin chutney. Serve with a urad papad.
PS: It is very hard to cut uncooked butternut squash/ pumpkin. Microwave it whole for 1-2mins and you can cut it easily.
Wish you all a very happy and prosperous Deepavali/Diwali.
Ever since we returned from India, I have been thinking about making something for Diwali. But somehow it never went from just a thought to action. One month of not stepping into kitchen, has it’s effect on me still. I asked V to hang the Diwali lights in our patio. I was planning to call that our celebration. But then,I wanted to have something special for this festival.
Beetroot halwa was on my mind for a while now. I distinctly remembered the taste from childhood. I almost always have beetroot in my refrigerator as it is one of Ishaan’s favorite vegetables. I decided to make some halwa yesterday.
As you can see, it is quite easy to make, perfect for a person who has active toddler pulling on her legs all the time!. The only time consuming part is grating the beetroot. Beetroot is quite hard to cut when it is very fresh. But after a few days in fridge, it becomes a little soft. That’s when I used it. It was quite easy to peel and grate. For any other dishes, I cook the beetroot with skin and then peel and cut it. But here, beetroot has to be grated fresh.
Adjust the sugar based on sweetness of beetroot. I would suggest starting with 3/4th the quantity I mentioned below. Then increase it if required. The ones I used were quite sweet (compared to ones I tasted in India recently).
You can add some cashews fried in ghee. I loved the pure halwa, so I did not add any dried fruits. It came out just like I had imagined, just the way I remember it from my aayi’s kitchen. The halwa decreases considerably after cooking, so keep that in mind while making it. Some people add milk to it and make it on the same lines as carrot halwa .
Ingredients: 2 cups peeled and grated beetroot 1 cup sugar 2 tea spns ghee (you can reduce it to 1 tea spn) 1/2 tea spn cardamom powder
Method: Heat ghee in a thick bottomed kadai. Add the beetroot. Keep mixing it once in a while. Keep the heat on medium to avoid burning. When it looks cooked and reduced in quantity, add sugar. Mix. Let it cook down. When the mixture starts looking dry, take off heat. Add cardamom powder, mix. Serve warm or chilled. (Add cashews fried in ghee on top if required).
Serves : 2 Preparation time : 30mins
Pictorial:
