Raw Mango Srikhand

Mango is the king of fruits.  Now king is in raw state.  Raw mangoes are quite interesting to cook.  In my previous articles I have given recipes how to incorporate this mango to your daily cooking. 

In this process here is a dessert which contains raw mangoes as it's main flavor.

Srikhand is a Maharastrian sweet dish.  It is made of strained yoghurt (curd).  In the strained yoghurt... powdered sugar,  flavors and dry fruits are added.  It is very famous in the western region of India.  There are lots of varieties are also available.  Ripe mangoes  also added to srikhand which is called Amarkhand. 

But this recipe is the my twist to the amarkhand.  It is Raw Mango Srikhand.  Aroma and Sour taste of raw mangoes mix with strained yoghurt gives an interesting recipe.

Raw mango- 2 small size

Curd- 1lit

Sugar -  8 tbsp (depends on one's taste bud)

Sugar (for mango pulp) -  2 tbsp

Sugar (for poaching of mango) -  2 tbsp

Mix dry fruits -  3 tbsp
(i ve used cashew, raisin and almond.  Any dry fruits can be used)

Peel and cut one and half mangoes into cubes.  In a bowl take mango cubes,  salt,  sugar and water.  Boil upto the mangoes are super soft.

Poach rest mangoes in a sugar syrup.  In a bowl take sugar 2 tbsp add half cup off water.  Make a syrup then add the mango piece keeping  the skin upwards and Poach.

Spread a cloth on a colander or strainer.  Put all the curd on that cloth and hang for 30 to 40 mins.  Transfer the hung curd on a mixing bowl,  add 8 tbsp of sugar and mix it properly. Add the boiled mango pulp to the curd mixture and mix properly.  Now peel the skin of the poached mango and cut in cubes and dry fruits. Mix properly with the mixture.

Keep in the fridge in a bowl or in separate bowls to set.  Serve cold..

Tamarind Chutney cooler

"Chutney"...an integral part of our Indian thali.  We Indians do have lot of varieties of chutneys to accomplish our lunch,  breakfast,  dinner,  snacks etc. 

Chutneys can be both sweet and savory.  We have mint chutney, coriander chutney,  coconut chutney,  tomato chutney,  garlic chutney and lots more.. These chutneys not only have a good impact on our body and digestive system but also enhance the taste of the food. 

Here I will give a recipe of a drink with chutney flavor and taste... and with the goodness of spices I have added in the drink.  Though the name is unusual but not the taste.  Your very own chutney served as a chilled drink.

Tamarind Chutney Cooler

Tamarind - a tennis ball size( 100gms)
                      Seedless

Black salt -  2 tsp

Sugar- 2 cups

Salt- 2tsp

Dry Roasted Zeera(Cumin) Powder- 2tsp

Ajwain (carrom) - 2tsp

Red Chilli Powder -  2tsp

Water- 600ml +250  ml

In a heavy buttom pan take tamarind and 600ml water and put it on the gas.  Let it boil for 5 mins.  Then add sugar, salt and all other spices and boil again for 10 mins.  Now strain the liquid and bring out all the pulp from tamarind.

Now again keep the liquid on the stove.  Let it reduce upto a chutney consistency.  Taste the chutney and balance the seasoning.  It is very important.  Let it cool down completely.  This can be stored in fridge for future use. 

In a glass add 3 1/2 tbsp of chutney mixture and  add 250ml of cold water.  Blend well and add ice to the drink and serve..

Bhapa Doi or Steamed Yoghurt

Bhapa  doi is a traditional Bengali sweet dish. Bhapa means steam and doi means curd. In short a curd base dessert prepared in steam.

Bengalis are a great food lovers. They love their food a lot. They are very particular about the food they eat and the ingredients they pick.

Bengalis have a very good sweet tooth. They love sweets a lot. Rasagolla, kala kand, chum chum, ras malai, sandesh and many more. Bhapa doi is one among them. It is nothing but a steamed yoghurt pudding. It is having a cooling effect on body and its healthy too. One can say it is a summer dessert.

It is very easy, quick and simple dish. It will take only half an hour to be ready and few ingredients. One can add  any flavour to it like mango or strawberry or anything.

Here is my recipe..

Milk - 1 cup
Curd - 1 cup
Milkmaid- 1 1/2 cup
Cardamom powder - 1 tsp
Chopped nuts and raisins- 1 tbsp
Ghee to grease the mould.

In a pressure cooker put a stand , add water upto the stand level and let it boil in simmer.

In a mixing bowl add milk and curd and Mix properly. It should be properly mixed. One can mix with the help of a beater or blender. Now add milkmaid and mix again. The sweetness of milkman is sufficient to make the dish sweet.  No need to add sugar. The mixture should be very smooth. Add cardamom powder and chopped nuts and raisins.

Grease a mould properly and pour the mixture. Put that in the pressure cooker and close the lid. Keep it in high flame  upto the first whistle. Then lower the flame and cook abt 15 minutes. After 15 minutes switch off the gas and allow it to cool down.

After cool down open the cover and insert a knife if it comes out clean then it done. Keep in the fridge to set. Serve cold with sauce of your choice.

Mix vegetable cutlet

Tomorrow is the last day of school. My champ will go to 3rd standard. He is a big boy now. They will be having a farewell party. It will be a potluck party. All the kids have to bring some snacks items.

Champ told to his class teacher, "I will bring cutlets... My mom can make it". Teacher said yes. Teacher told me if possible prepare and if not purchase from market.

He wanted me to cook for his classmates. As per his version, "mama you are the best cook (kid's used to say this to apply some butter to get their work done). I know you can make good food for me. So I wanted all my class mates to eat your food."

Here comes my version of vegetable cutlet. I will call it jugadu veg cutlets as whatever ingredients available at home I made these cutlets. 

Cauliflower- 2 to 3 florets

Carrot- 1

Beans- 4 to 5

Boiled potatoes- 3

Capsicum- 1

Onion- 1 big

Ginger-  1inch

Garlic- 3 to 4 cloves

Chopped coriander-1 tbsp

Boiled dry chana- 2 tbsp

Salt to taste

Haldi- 1/2 tsp

Red chillipowder- 1/2 tsp

Greenchillies- 1

(For kids one should avoid both the chillies. I didn't add as I will send to school)

Dhania- 1/2 tsp

Zeera-1/2 tsp 

Garam masala- 1 tsp

Corn flour- 2 tbsp 

Bread slices- 6 to 7

Oil for frying

Dry roast dhania and zeera in a pan and make powder. Keep aside.

Steam all the veggies in a steamer/pressure cooker. Boil potatoes and keep them on the kitchentowel,  it will be dry. Let them come to the room temperature.

Chop onion and coriander leaves. Grate ginger and garlic. Keep aside. 

Grind the bread slices and make bread crumbs. Spread them on a big plate.

In a mixing bowl add the veggies, boiled white chana, chopped onion, coriander leaves, grated ginger, garlic, all dry spices and corn flour. Shape the cutlets. And place them on the bed of bread crumbs and coat evenly.

Heat oil in a frying pan or tawa. Place the cutlets in the oil and deep fry  till it becomes goldenbbrown. Serve hot with any chutney or sauce. I packed them in box for his party.

Summer Samber....... Raw Mango Samber..

Raw Mango Samber

Raw mangoes are in season. Cooking with raw mangoes is quite interesting. In my previous articles I have given recipes of raw mango fizz, mango pulao and lehsuni mango chutney. Another interesting recipe of raw mangoes comes here, Raw Mango Samber.

Samber is the staple food of South Indians. But it is very lovingly accepted by all over the world. Samber is a vegetable and lentil stew with some spices and a dash of tamarind. But in summer they substitute the tamarind with mangoes. This special samber also tastes awesome. It tastes good if paired with rice or pongal. I paired this samber with khara (salty) pongal .

Normally I use homemade samber powder with ½ tsp of any branded samber powder. Generally branded samber powder contains more red chillis and is bit more hot. Kids can’t eat samber if made solely from readymade samber powder. So I mix both the powder for a better flavor and less hot.

Raw Mango Samber

Tuar dal – 1cup

Mango – half of a medium size mango

Brinjal – 1

Drum stick – 1

Samber Onion – 10 to 15

(shallot)

Tomato- 1 big

Onion- 1 big

Haldi – ½ + ½ tsp

Salt – to taste

Zeera – 1 tsp

Mustard – 1 tsp

Samber powder – 2 tbsp (1 ½ homemade + ½ branded, can change the quantity as per taste)

Red chili powder – ¼ tsp

Curry leaves – 1 string

Hing – 1 pinch

Oil – for tempering

Red chili- 1

Samber Powder

Chana dal- 1 cup

Dhania – ¾ cup

Zeera – ½ cup

Methi- ¼ cup

Hing – 1 tsp

Haldi – 1 tbsp

Red chili – 1 and ½ handfuls (as per taste)

Dry roast all the spices in a dry pan, one by one. Frying point of every spice is different, so frying separately one by one is always advisable. Let them cool down completely. Then in a grinder jar put all the dry roasted spices, hing, haldi and make a powder. Samber Powder is ready. It can be stored for a month.

Wash and soak tuar dal for 15 mins. In a cooker add soaked tuar dal, salt, haldi and water. Cook for 3 whistles (1 in high and 2 in low). Let it cool down.

Cut all the veggies lengthwise. Peel the mango and make long and thick strips. Slice the onion and keep aside. Don’t throw the seed of the mango. 

In pan heat oil, add cumin and mustard. Let them crackle….then add hing, red chilli and curry leaves. Next sauté sliced oinion for a minute and add all the veggies including mango strips. Add salt, haldi, red chili powder, samber powder. Cook covering for 5 mins.

Add cooked dal and let it boil. Lower the flame, cover it and let it boil. Cook upto the veggies are soft. Balance the seasoning and serve with rice or pongal..

Muskmelon Cooler, a Summer Drink

Musk Melon Cooler

summer is round the corner. whole india is a hot tawa now. some cool drinks is the only rescue on this season.watermelon and muskmelon are in season. 

Muskmelon is a species of melon. Its scientific name is cucumis melo. It is a fleshy and watery fruit. It is found in different shapes and colors. It is found during summer especially from April to August. It is a sweet fruit which is having cooling effect on body. Muskmelon is native of Iran, Anatolia and Armenia. It also grows in northwest India and Afghanistan. 

Muskmelons are like super hero of fruits. These are good sources of Minerals, Vitamin A and Vitamin C. Melons have 90%of water. It is very good for the summer.

Muskmelon has different health benefits. These are good for constipation, acidity, digestive function, bowel movements, and diarrhea. It is very good for women also. It helps in regulating blood flow during periods. It also helps in lactation. It induces breast milk of new mothers.

One can make yummy drinks from muskmelon. Here is my recipe …

Musk melon cooler

Musk melon – 700 gms

Sugar – 2 t0 4 tbsp (depends on the sweetness)

Black salt- to taste

Water – 1 cup

Lemon juice- 2tbsp

Ice cubes- 5 to 6 cubes

Black pepper- 1 tbsp

Cut the muskmelon into half. Scoop out the seeds first. Then scoop out the flesh in a bowl. Blend the flesh with sugar, ice cubes, black salt and water. Make a smooth juice. Then add lemon juice and black pepper. Taste the cooler and adjust all the flavors if needed. Add ice cubes and serve.

kanika, a sweet rice from odia cuisine

Kanika

“Kanika” is a sweet rice and staple food of odia cuisine. Kanika used to grace the important festivals, functions and occasions of an odia family. Now a days people prefer biryani or fried rice than this delicacy. Still kanika stands first with its unmatched aroma and uniqueness. In comparison to biryani or fried rice, kanika is bit more aromatic and sweet in taste. It mostly prepared for the Prasad. It is also a part of the Lord Jagannath’s Chhapan (56) Bhog.

Raw rice is mostly used for this dish. But one can change the rice with basmati rice. But personally I like kheer rice or zeera rice for this. The rice itself has a beautiful flavor which enhances the aroma of the dish.

Zeera rice- 1 cup

Water- 2 cups

Sugar – 2 tbsp + 1 tsp (more sugar can be used)

Salt – to taste

Ghee- 2 tbsp

Mix dry fruits- ¼ cup

Mix whole garam masala- 1 tbsp (cardamom, cinnamon, clove, bay leaves)

Heat ghee in a pan and 1 tsp of sugar. Let the sugar caramelized, but it should not be burnt. In the meantime wash and clean the rice, add the cleaned rice to the ghee pan. Fry the rice till it becomes dry and keep aside.

In another pan heat 1 tbsp of ghee, add garam masalas and let their aroma come. Add dry fruits and fry them.  Add water, salt and sugar and let it boil. Add fried rice and first let boil in high then slow the flame. Cover and let it cook up to rice is done.

Don’t serve it immediately; let it stand for at least half an hour. It will help in keeping the rice grain fluffy. 

Serve this dish warm with odia dalma or hing wali potato curry.

Raw Mango Dishes..

Raw Mango Pulao and Amba Khata

Raw mangoes contain a good amount of vitamin B and vitamin C, which is more than ripen ones. Due to vitamin B and C these are best suit in maintaining a good health and strengthening immunity system.

Now raw mangoes started coming to market. You can see lots of raw mangoes everywhere. One must be thinking what to cook with raw mangoes. Pickles are good but it is a difficult task to handle.  I wanted to incorporate raw mangoes in my daily cooking. So thought of why not cook some drink, rice, chutney, dal and dessert from raw mangoes.

In this process in my last article I have shared a healthy and easy recipe of a raw mango drink. In this article I will share two recipes of raw mangoes.

1.      Raw Mango Rice with Vegetables (Raw Mango Pulao)

2.      Amba khata ( Sweet and Savory Raw Mango Chutney )

Raw mango rice with vegetables is my twist to the regular raw mango rice. Blanched and sautéed vegetables added to the mango rice to give an additional kick to the rice. Tanginess and flavor of raw mangoes and freshness of veggies is the best thing of this dish.

Amba khata is the traditional side dish of an odia thali. It is prepared in summer only. Once it is prepared one can fridge store it in a container for two weeks. Sweet and sour taste and flavor of garlic is the X factor of this dish.

Raw Mango Rice with Vegetables (Raw Mango Pulao)

Cooked rice- 1 cup

Mixed veggies- ½ cup (carrot, cauliflower, beans and green peas)

Grated mangoes- ½ cup (as per taste)

Salt -To taste

Sugar- ½ tsp

Haldi- ½ tsp

Red chilli powder- 1/2 tsp

Urad dal (whole) - 1 tsp

Chana dal - 1tsp

Peanuts – 1 tbsp

Mustard- ½ tsp

Zeera – ½ tsp

Hing – a pinch

Whole red chili- 2

Grated ginger- ½ tsp

Curry leaves – 1 string

Oil for tempering

Cook /Steam rice with little oil and salt and keep aside.

Blanch mix vegetables in salted water. Heat oil in a pan, add a little oil. Add the blanched veggies and fry in high flame up to sides become brown and keep aside.

Again heat oil (1tsp) in wide pan, add urad dal, chana dal and peanuts. Fry up to golden colour, careful it should not be brown. Now add cumin and mustard seeds and let it splutter. Add red chilies broken into two and curry leaves. Add grated mangoes, haldi powder and red chilli powder (kashmiri red chilli powder will do good). Grated ginger then come in the line and fry properly.

Add fried vegetables and mix properly. Now add rice, salt and sugar to the mixture.  Mix properly and cook for 5 mins more.

Now it’s ready to serve

Amba khata

Raw Mangoes- 1 and ½

Jaggery or sugar- as per taste

Salt- as per taste

Haldi- 1/ 2tsp

Red chilli powder- 1/2tsp

Mustard- 1/2 tsp

Cumin- 1 1/2 tsp

Curry leaves- 1 string

Crushed garlic- 1 ½ tsp

Whole Red chili- 3nos

Oil for tempering

Water- 1 ½ cup

Rinse and clean the mangoes. Peel and cut them in cubes.

Heat oil in a pan, add cumin and mustard. Then add red chili, curry leaves and crushed garlic and fry properly. Add cubed mangoes, salt, haldi and red chilli powder and sauté them properly up to water evaporates and manoes started sticking to the pan.

In the meantime heat another pan, add cumin 1tsp and 1 whole red chilli. Fry it properly and let it cool down. Make powder of the roasted spices and keep aside ( one can add more cumin and chillies and store them for future use. One can also change the proportion of the two as per taste).

Now add water (it depends on the choice) to the mangoes and cover it and let it boil. Once the mangoes are soft add sugar or jaggery. (One can add sugar free if any diabetic is at home).  And again allow it to boil and reduce.  When required consistency reached switch off the gas and add dry roasted cumin and chili powder.

It is ready to serve.