Kande Pohe - A Traditional Maharashtrian Delicacy

Dear All,

Finally the winter has come to an end with sun shining bright in the sky. The temperatures are getting roaring high here in Pune. Last weekend we went for shopping to the very famous Laxmi Road, we left in the afternoon and by the time we came back, we were tired as hell. After a tiring day of shopping, getting up on sunday morning was painful. Usually on weekend i prefer to have a heavy brunch. Poha is one of my all time favorite breakfast. Its very popular dish in Maharashtra and very close to its cousin Batata Poha which is very famous in Gujarat. Both the dish are very similar in nature with few differences in the ingredients used. Its perfect breakfast for lazy weekends when you want to cook something quick. I usually have Poha on weekends for brunch with a slice of brown bread and filter coffee. You can also serve Poha with coconut chutney, the combination is extremely tasty!

Ingredients:-
1 1/2 cup of Poha (beaten rice flakes)
1 medium onion finely chopped
2 tbsp grated coconut (optional)
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp sugar
Salt to taste
1 tsp fresh lime juice

For tempering:-
2 tsp oil
a pinch of asafoetida
1 tsp mustard seeds
few curry leaves
2 small green chillies finely chopped
2 tbsp peanuts
Chopped coriander leaves for garnishing

Procedure:-

• In a wide strainer run the poha through running water, squeeze out the extra water and keep aside for 5 to 8 mins. Make sure you dont add lots of water or else poha will become mushy. Poha should be soft when touched but should not be soggy or mushy.
• Sprinkle salt and turmeric powder. Mix gently to incorporate turmeric powder and salt well.
• In a wide saucepan heat 2 tsp oil, add in mustard seeds, asafoetida, curry leaves, green chillies and peanuts. Saute for 2 mins, until peanuts become crispy.
• Add in finely chopped onions and cook them for 3 to 4 mins, until the raw smell disappears.
• Add in the poha, sugar and mix well. Adjust the salt.
• Just before serving, drizzle some lime juice on poha and garnish with coriander leaves and grated coconut. Serve hot.
• You can also add some sev on top before serving, gives a nice crunch.

Eggless Chocolate Raisin Coffee Bread

Dear All,

The moment I saw Eggless Coffee Banana Bread at Cilantro i knew i wanted to try out the recipe but I am not a big fan of bananas and hence I dont buy them very often until and unless I am making a fruit salad. I used Cilantro's recipe as a base and made this Eggless Chocolate Raisin Coffee Bread. I love Cadbury's Temptations especially the one with raisins and rum, so I was inspired to use chocolate and raisins combo and was quite sure it would work well. Another reason for using raisins was that, few weeks back i bought a large bag of raisins which were on sale! The cake is perfect as a tea time treat, its dense and chocolaty, not too sweet but has perfect blend of coffee and chocolate! This is a perfect bread for people like me who love coffee and chocolate together! 

Adapted from Cilantro's recipe

Ingredients:-

1 1/2 cups of all purpose flour

2 tbsp cocoa powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

a pinch of salt

1/3 cup oil

1 cup sugar

1 cup freshly brewed strong black coffee*

1 cup raisins

2 tbsp rum (optional)

1 tsp vanilla extract

* Make sure the coffee is warm and not boiling hot.

Procedure:-

• Soak the raisins with 2 tbsp of rum. If you dont want to use alcohol, pls use orange juice or you can completely skip this step as well. I prefer juicy raisins in my cake hence i soaked them with 2 tbsp of rum for about 2 hours.
• Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius. Grease and flour a loaf pan 5-9 inch in size.
• Sieve the dry ingredients and keep aside.
• In a seperate bowl, mix together oil, sugar and vanilla. Add in the flour mixture alternatively with black coffee.
• Sprinkle some flour on raisins and add them into the batter. Mix them well.
• Pour the cake in greased or lined cake pan and bake at 180 degrees C for 40 to 45 mins, until a tooth pick inserted comes out clean.
• Cool the cake completely before slicing. The  tastes even better after refrigeration.

Eggless Chocolate Raisin Coffee bread is finding its way to Meeta's Monthly Mingle guest hosted by Jamie the theme for this month being Chocolate and Bread.

Have a wonderful and relaxing weekend ahead!

Methi Na Thepla - Indian flatbread made with fenugreek leaves

Dear Foodies,

I have received so many requests and emails to share some of the famous Gujarati recipes, so i thought lets start with one of my very favorite gujarati dish Methi Na Thepla translated as Indian flatbreads made with fenugreek leaves. The moment we hear the word Gujarati some of the dishes automatically are associated with it like Theplas, Dhoklas, Khakra, Oondhiyu to name a few. Being gujarati myself I have born and brought up in a household where theplas and dhoklas are made almost every week. I cant even imagine my life without them! 

These are life savior when it comes to travelling and shelf life. I dont remember a single vacation or a trip when we didnt prepare these. When had with batata nu shaak (Potato curry) its unbeatable combo! Even when I left for swiss, my mom had prepared 200 theplas , not that I eat a lot but lot of my colleagues had requested to get these for them from india. If prepared properly and refrigerated these go on for almost a month. Due to higher shelf life people going abroad always take theplas with them to survive for the initial few weeks. I make methi na theplas every week, they are very healthy, delicious and you can have them with absolutely anything curd, pickle, potato curry or jam!

Recipe Source: My Mom
Yields 10 - 12 theplas depending upon the size
Ingredients:
1 cup fresh fenugreek leaves finely chopped
1 1/2 cups of whole wheat flour (atta)
2 tbsp oil
1 tsp red chili powder
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp coriander seeds powder
1 tsp cumin seeds powder
lemon sized ball of jaggery
Salt to taste
Water as required

Procedure:-

• In a clean bowl, mix together fenugreek leaves, salt, jaggery, coriander powder, red chili powder, cumin powder and turmeric powder. All in 2 tbsp of oil and mix well using your hands for 5 to 8 mins until jaggery has disolved. The mixture should be oily. Cover and leave for 15 mins.
• After 15 mins, add the whole wheat flour in this mixture and knead into a soft dough using water as required. The dough should have consistency similar to roti dough.
• Make lemon sized balls and using a rolling pin roll them into circles.
• Cook theplas on non stick pan using little oil on both the sides. Make sure the heat is medium, if you cook them on slow heat the theplas will become very crispy and hard, if you cook on high heat they will get browned too soon without being cooked.
• Serve them hot with curd, pickle or potato curry. 

Let me share a very funny incident with you all. Back in school days we along with my cousins family visited Rajasthan. We visited many cities along with Jaipur, Ajmer, Jaisalmer, Jodhpur and Udaipur. One day we were visiting a fort in Jaisalmer and below is the conversation I had

Uncle: Chalo chalo bacha log, lets get down and move towards the fort.
Me: Grrr..(We had skipped morning breakfast and it was decided to have it at the fort itself)..let me finish my thepla, i'll join u all later.
Uncle: Ok you can take it with you but I will not leave u in the car alone.
Me: Oh...pls ..I'll be fine
Uncle: NO!!!
Me: Ok fine..lets go
(Leading the way by my uncle we started walking towards the fort, I was busy enjoying my theplas which was rolled up with some lemon pickle...mmm just thinking of it got my mouth watering!! Behind my parents and aunt were following, suddenly uncle shouted)
Uncle: Be careful here, its marble flooring and someone has spilled water on it.
Me: I shouted back to my parents and aunt, be careful everyone the water is wet !!!!

Frankly even after i blurted out I still couldnt get it, my uncle came by my side and said casually "water is always wet dear". Hearing this everyone started laughing and I felt like why doesnt the earth open up and take me within :(( Till this date he teases me and I still cant forget that horrid incident!! But all in all it was one of the most memorable trip I have had, what a beautiful place rajasthan is, havent visited? What are you waiting for, plan your next trip there!!

This dish is off to Flavors Of Gujarat event by Nayna