Dilly Ranch Crackers

This crackers will forever make me think of my childhood and Christmastime. My mom would make these for a big Christmas party my parents hosted for years and years.  I would love eating these after their party was over and I got to munch on all the yummy leftovers! These are super easy and make a great gift in a cute little tin.

1 box oyster crackers
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 pkg ranch seasoning mix
3/4 dried dill weed
1/4 tsp garlic powder

Mix the oyster crackers with vegetable oil.  Add the seasonings and mix until all the crackers are coated well.

Tailgating Food

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Nutty Orange & Spinach Salad

Not only the summers but also winters is the perfect time to experiment with salads. Winter is also a good season for Salads due to abundant fresh vegetables and fruits flooding in the market. Nutty Spinach and Orange salad is a delightful green salad which has the right nutrients to keep our body healthy. 

Serving:  1 large bowl

Approx. Time:  15 minutes 

Ingredients

For Salad:
20-25 Spinach leaves (firm & fresh small sized leaves)
2 large Oranges 
8-10 Toasted Walnuts
6-8 Cherry Tomatoes
A sprig of fresh mint leaves
1 tspn toasted Sesame seeds (Til)
2 tbspns toasted Almond flakes

For Dressing:
1 tbspn Olive Oil
1 tbspn Vinegar
? tspn Soy sauce (preferably light)
? tspn Salt
? tspn Pepper powder 
1 tbspn Sugar (or Honey)

For Garnishing:
1 tspn toasted Almond flakes, 
1 tspn Sesame seeds

Pre-preparation

Lightly toast the Walnuts, Sesame and Almond flakes separately on medium flame for five minutes each or till you start getting aroma. Alternatively, you may microwave the nuts for 2 minutes. Set it aside for cooling. Ensure that the nuts are crisp.

Method

Soak the Spinach leaves in a bowl containing ice and water. Leave it in the water for approximately 15 minutes. Remove from water and pat dry on a kitchen towel. Remove the stems and tear into big pieces. 

Peel the Orange and remove fibres from each segment of the Orange. Also remove the seeds from each orange segment. 

Mix the Olive Oil, Vinegar, Soy sauce, Salt, Pepper powder and Sugar (or Honey) in a small bowl and whisk till the dressing turns slightly thick.

At the time of serving, take Spinach leaves in a large bowl and pour the dressing over it. Marinate the leaves for two to three minutes. Then add the Orange segments, toasted Walnuts, Cherry Tomatoes, Mint leaves, toasted Sesame and Almond flakes. Lightly toss the salad to mix well. Remove the salad into serving bowl or plate. Garnish it with toasted Almond flakes and toasted Sesame seeds. Serve immediately.

Notes

1. You may substitute the Spinach with lettuce leaves or use combination of both.
2. You may also add citrus fruits like Kiwi, Sweet lime etc. to add texture and taste to the Salad.

Stepwise Pictures

Salads

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Raw Mango Saar - 2

Saar means extract. Saar is a very tasty extract of the key ingredients. Roti and Rice is the main diet of Mahrashrian people and to accompany it, various liquid curries like Varan, Aamti, Kaalvan, Kalan / Kadhan, Saar etc. are made. It is made from local available ingredients. The consistency of these curries also varies from region to region. Raw Mango Saar known as Kairiche Saar in Marathi is popular in Konkan region of Mahrashtra. There are various methods of making this Saar, but amongst the various methods, two methods are popular i.e. one without Coconut milk and the other one is with Coconut as given here. 

This Saar can be served with plain Steamed Rice with a dollop of Ghee on it or can be served as an appetizer before / during the meals 

Servings: 2-3 Servings

Approx. Time: 20 mins  (excluding pre-preparation)

Ingredients

For Tempering

1 tspn Ghee

3/4 tspn Cumin Seeds (Jeera)

1/4 tspn Asafoetida Powder

8-9 Curry Leaves

For Raw Mango Saar

1/2 cup boiled Green Mango Pulp
5 cups Water
1/2 cup Rice flour Slurry (i.e. 2 tbspns Rice flour mixed in 1/2 cup Water)

Salt to taste

2 tbspns Sugar
3-4 Green chillies (chopped or paste)
1 cup Coconut Milk

For Garnishing:

Chopped Coriander leaves (Cilantro)

To Serve with:

Plain Steamed Rice

Method

Pressure cook 2 medium sized raw green Mangoes for 3 whistles. Remove the raw mangoes and peel it when it is warm. Scoop out the mango pulp and mash it. If the pulp is fibrous (has strings) then blend it into a smooth paste. 

Transfer the Raw Mango Pulp in a large mixing bowl. Add 5 cups water to it and mix well. Then add the Rice flour slurry into it. Mix well. Then add the Salt, Sugar and chopped Green Chillies. Set it aside.

Heat Ghee in a a pan. Add the Cumin Seeds and saute. Then add the Asafoetida and Curry Leaves. Then immediately add the green mango puree mixture into the pan. Heat the mixture till it gets a boil. 

At the end add the Coconut milk and let it simmer for few minutes. Garnish it with chopped Coriander leaves and serve hot with steamed Rice. 

Notes

1. From the tempering ingredients, you may substitute Ghee and Cumin Seeds with Oil and Mustard Seeds.

2. The quantity of Sugar may be adjusted according to the sourness of raw Mango.

3. Alternatively, you may prepare the tempering separately and pour it on the Saar. 

Traditional Marathi

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Dahi ka Shorba

This recipe is a tribute to my long distance Guru and my inspiration Mrs. Tarla Dalal.  I have seen her many a times in Girgaon at Golden Star Thali, during Khetwadi festival, at Central Plaza,... but never had the daring to talk to her or obtain her autograph. Thereafter, I started visiting her website, participated in online Recipe contest and won many of her Cookbooks with her autograph on it.  I have created this recipe from one of her cookbooks 'Healthy Soups & Salads' received by me as a Prize for my recipe 'Tomato Kadhi'. Dahi ka Shorba is inspired from her recipe 'Curd Shorba'...

Servings: 2 Servings

Approx. Time: 15 -20 mins

Ingredients:
1 cup Curds (Dahi)
1 cup Water
1 tbsn All purpose flour (Maida)
Salt to taste
2 tbspns finely chopped Cucumber 
2 tbspns finely chopped tomato
1 tbspn chopped Coriander leaves
1/2 tspn Rock salt (Kala Namak)

For Tempering:
1 tspn Butter
1/2 tspn Cumin Seeds
1/2 tspn Ginger Paste
2  finely chopped cloves of Garlic
1 tspn chopped Green Chillies

For Garnishing:
Chopped Coriander 

Method:

Take Curds in a mixing jar. Add Water, All Purpose Flour and Salt to it. Blend it together for a minute.

Heat Butter in a pan. Add Cumin Seeds, Ginger Paste, chopped Garlic and chopped Green Chillies and saute it for a minute. Then pour the Curd mixture into the pan. Cook till the mixture starts boiling i.e. approx. 3-4 minutes.  Once it is boiled, add Rock Salt, chopped Cucumber, chopped Tomato and chopped Coriander Leaves. Immediately switch off the flame. 

Garnish it with chopped Corriander leaves and serve hot.

Notes:
Do not overheat the mixture as it may curdle.
You may also add a pinch of Turmeric Powder to get colour.

Soups

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Watermelon Cold Soup

Watermelon Cold Soup is a quick ten minute recipe. This can be served as an appetizer before meals.

Yield: 1 Serving

Approx. time: 10 min.

Ingredients:

1 Bowl Water melon Pieces

1/4 tspn Pepper Powder

1/2 tspn Ginger Paste

1/2 Chopped Green Chilly

1 tbspn Honey

1 tspn Tobasco Sauce

Salt to taste

2-3 Mint leaves

Method:

Take Water-melon pieces in a blender and blend it. Pass the mixture through a Siever. Then add all the balance ingredients and mix. Refrigerate it for an hour. Serve Chilled.

Note:

You may also add Orange Juice to enhance the taste.

Stepwise Pictures:

Soups

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Mango Kadhi

Sweet Kadhi  is a Gujarati speciality, which has a sweet, sour and pungent taste. Gujarati kadhi itself has a wonderful taste and adding mango pulp only it makes it more rich and aromatic. Mango Kadhi is very simple to make and can be served with plain roti, khichadi or steamed rice.

Servings :
4 persons along with main course 

Ingredients :

For chickpea slurry :
2 tspns chickpea flour (Besan)
4-5 tspns water

For Tempering :
1 tspn ghee 
1 tspn cumin seeds (Jeera)
1/4 tspn fenugreek seeds (Methi)
1/4 tspn asafoetida powder (Hing)
1/2 tspn ginger paste
1-2 green chillies  (Chopped)
7-8 curry leaves

For Mango Kadhi :
1 cup alphanso mango pulp
1 cup semi-sour curds
1/2 cup water
2 tbspns sugar (or as per taste)
Chickpea slurry (as above)
1/2 tspn turmeric powder
Salt to taste

For Garnishing :
Chopped fresh coriander leaves

Method :

To make chickpea slurry :
Take chickpea flour in a bowl. Add some water to it. whisk it to form smooth paste. 

To make Mango Kadhi :
Take curd in a bowl. Whisk it with the help of blender. Add some water and again whisk it. Then add chickpea slurry to the curds and blend it. Also whisk the Mango pulp separately and set it aside. 

Now heat ghee in a pan. Then add cumin seeds, fenugreek seeds, asafoetida powder, ginger paste, green chillies and curry leaves to the ghee. Pour curd mixture and stir it. After a minute, add mango pulp to the mixture and mix it. Thereafter add turmeric powder, sugar and salt. Simmer it for 4-5 minutes. Garnish it to chopped fresh corriander leaves.

Serve hot with roti, rice or khichadi. 

Notes :

1. You may also add clove powder to enhance the taste of Kadhi. 
2. If you remove the key ingredient - Mango pulp, then it becomes regular Gujarati Kadhi

Soups

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Sol Kadhi

Sol Kadhi (kokam in coconut milk) is a well known dish from the Konkan area of Maharashtra. It is a cooling drinking and acts as an appitizer. It is also good for digestion and is traditionally served with steamed rice.  If served as an appetizer, you can avoid tempering. Tempering brings in additional flavor when this dish is served with main course. This dish is also known as 'Kokam Kadhi'.

Ingredients :
For Sol Kadhi
12-15 Kokam /Aamsula (Garcinia Indica)
2 cups Thin Coconut Milk
1 tspn Green Chili paste (for finely chopped green chilly)
1 tspn Garlic paste (or finely chopped garlic)
1 tbspn Sugar
2-3 tbsp finely chopped fresh coriander leaves
Salt to taste

For Tempering :
1 tspn Ghee
1/2 tspn Cumin seeds
1/4 tspn Asafoetida
6-7 curry leaves

Method :
For tempering :
Heat ghee in a small kadai. Add cumin seeds and saute till it crackles. Lastly, add curry leaves and asafoetida. Turn off the gas and allow it to cool. 

To make Sol Kadhi :
Soak Kokam in hot water (about cupful) for about half an hour. Alternatively, it can be soaked for 5-6 hours in normal water. Squeeze the soaked kokam to extract juice out of it. Pass it through a strainer. Now add green chilly paste, garlic paste, salt and sugar to it. Mix it well.

Then, add coconut milk and stir it in the kokam mixture. Then, add chopped corriander leaves.  Lastly, pour the tempering over it. Serve at room temperature or chilled. 

Notes :

1. I have used ready made coconut milk. However it tastes divine with freshly extracted coconut milk. In that case grind three cups of freshly grated coconut with green chillies, garlic and water in a grinder and pass it through siever. More coconut milk can be extracted by repeating the process for the remaining coconut paste.

2. If you want to avoid the tempering, then you may add dry roasted crushed cumin to this kadhi

3. Do not heat the Sol kadhi as it gets curdled on overheating.

Traditional Marathi

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Bhune Bhutte Aur Mirch ka Shorba

Bhunne Bhutte aur Mirch ka Shorba (Roasted Corn & Bellpepper Soup) is a part of the ethnic Mughlai menu. In India, shorba means gravy or broth and it is served as main course with rotis or pulaos. 

However, I prefer this Shorba as an appetizer. Roasting of ingredients gives a nice smoky flavour and aroma to this Shorba. I am sure you will love this classic Indian soup. 

Wish you all a very happy holi!!!!

Ingredients :

For the Shorba :
2 Corncobs
1 Yellow Bellpepper
1/2 tspn butter
2 tbspns Oil
1 small cinnamon stick
1 Bay leaf
4-5 cloves
5-6 black peppercorns
1 tspn garlic paste
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 tspn turmeric powder 
1 tspn corriander-cumin powder
3 cups water
1 cup milk
Salt to taste

For Garnishing :
Sprigs of Corriander 

Method :

Pre-preparation :
Grease Corncob and bellpepper with butter. Roast it on direct flame till it gets some black patches. After roasting the Corncob, scrape the corns with the help of a knife to get the corn kernels. Chop the roasted bell peppers and set it aside.

To make Shorba :
Heat oil in a pan. Add cinnamon stick, bay leaf, cloves, black peppercorns and saute it for a minute. Then add garlic paste and chopped onion and saute till the onion is transculent. 

Thereafter, add roasted corn kernels and roasted bellpepper pieces into it. Cook it for 3-4 minutes. Then add turmeric powder, corriander-cumin powder, salt and saute it. Then add some water and simmer for approximately 10 minutes. Turn off the flame and let it cool for some time.

After cooling, remove the whole spices from the mixture and transfer it into a blender. Blend the mixture into smooth puree. If required, pass the puree through a strainer. 

Transfer the puree back into a pan. Re-heat the mixture on low flame. Add some salt to taste. Lastly, add a cup of milk and stir. Cook it for 5-6 minutes again. 

Garnish it with a sprig of corriander. Serve hot with Garlic bread.

Notes :

You may add cream instead of milk to make it more rich
You may use the Indian corn or American corn as per your preference

Stepwise Pictures :

Soups

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