Sesame seed Mathri

Sesame or Til has to be one of my favourite dry condiment to cook with. A sprinkling of sesame seeds here, a chunk of Sesame Halawa there, a spoonful of Tahini paste in this.... and so the list goes on. Sesame just gives every recipe a nutty rich edge. Whether its in a small portion, sprinkled over a noodle dish or toasty seeds encased in a rich crunchy hardened sugar base as chikki , its taste stands out. So here is a yummy dry snack , which is extremely versatile . You can use it as a teatime snack, a canape, as sticks to serve with dips or as a base to make Indian chat. Its yummy in every form.

Ingredients:
1 cup flour / maida
2 tblsp toasted sesame seeds/ til
2tblsp ghee or vanaaspati/ veg shortening
1 tsp salt or to taste
few black peppercorns roasted and crushed.
water for binding into dough
Oil for frying


Mix together flour, sesame, salt, pepper. Add in the ghee/ vanaspati and mix well. Bind the mixture into a hard dough by adding a little water at a time. Once the dough forms a ball, cover with a damp kitchen cloth and leave aside for half an hour.

To make round mathris the traditional way:
break the dough into small size of  olives. Roll out into thick discs. Using a fork , stab both the surfaces of the disc. Prepare all the discs likewise. Heat oil , lower flame and slowly drop in the discs. Fry on a low flame till they turn pinkish brown. They will continue to get darker even after you drain them out of the oil so make sure they are still just pinkish when you remove them from the oil.

Shortcut method
Divide the dough into 2 parts . Roll out each part to the thickness of a tortilla. Stab the surface with a fork to make pock marks all over. Turn the flattenned dough and repeat. Using a small cookie cutter , cut the dough and fry the shapes till pinkish brown.

You can cut this rolled out dough into strips or discs. These can be used as chat base or canapes, or with a dip.

Vegetable Lasooni

Cooking for vegetarians is always a challenge. While there are scores of vegetables that one can cook, a lot of guests have limitations. Some don't like cauliflower, some don't eat mushrooms, and yet others don't like paneer. This poses a problem. Having mixed vegetables usually takes care of this problem. This allows you to then cook other vegetables without guilt . Mixed vegetables in different gravies can taste very different. Gravies like onion tomato , cream based, coconut based or cashew based. All can use the same vegetables yet taste distinctly different. This vegetable uses the flavour of garlic to make the taste different.

3 cups of mixed vegetables of your choice ( carrots, beans, peas, capsicum, mushrooms, cauliflower, potatoes, broccoli )
1/2 cup of paneer cubed and sauted.
5-6 spring onions sliced ( use only the onions and the white portion under it)
7-8 cloves garlic sliced
6 cashews ground into a fine paste with 1/2 cup milk.
1/2 cup yoghurt.
1 tablespoon cornflour
2 green chillies chopped
1 tsp grated ginger
Salt- pepper to taste
1 tsp garam masala
2 tablespoons olive/ vegetable  oil.

Steam together all the mixed vegetables with a small sprinkling of salt. The vegetables should still be firm and not cooked through and through.
Heat oil and add in the sliced onions ( reserve a few slices for garnishing) . When the onions are just about turning pink add in the garlic.Saute for till you can smell the garlic, add in chillies and ginger. reduce heat. Mix the garam masala  with a little water to form a paste and add to the oil. stir till the oil separates. Mix the yoghurt with cornflour and add to the oil. mix well . Make sure the heat in on low  so that the yoghurt does not curdle. Add in salt and pepper and the vegetables and paneer.Mix well. Add in the cashew paste and cook till the gravey coats the vegetables well. Serve hot with Rotis/ Parathas/ Naans.

Mushroom and Ham pasta

While I was settling in the daughter in Newcastle, England, I had to prepare her for living alone. Eating out was not an option as it is expensive. Yet the foodie needed her share of fancy food, but it had to be easy to cook. The supermarkets offered great options for meats. A little ham would go a long way. Piping hot pasta with a simple green salad was a perfect yet fancy meal.

1 cup pasta ( cook till just about cooked)
1 cup milk
2 tblsp flour
1/2 tsp grated nutmeg
salt pepper to taste
red chilli flakes ( optional)
2 tblsp cheese ( optional)
few pieces of sliced ham Chopped ( Optional) , you could use sausages , bacon, bits of chicken or even fresh shrimp.
1 tblsp olive oil
2 cloves chrushed garlic
1 knob of butter

In a pan heat the olive  oil. Toss in the ham/ meat and fry for a minute, add the garlic. Add the cooked pasta and toss it together. Add the chilli flakes . Keep warm

Mix together Milk, flour, salt - pepper, nutmeg. Heat a small knob of butter and pour in the mixture. On a slow flame, stirring constantly till the sauce thickens. Add in the Pasta mixture. Sprinkle Cheese, cover and cook for a couple of minutes. Serve with a Salad on the side.

Sabudana Khichadi

An now for the king of all falahari dishes. Falahari food is the food that is consumed during fasts. As per Hindu religion certain foods are pure enough to be consumed during fasting. While milk and milk products are undoubtedly the purest form of food to be consumed , other things which can be eaten are all Nuts, Makhana ( Popped lotus seeds) coconut, Sabudana ( sago ) , Potatoes, sweet potatoes, cucumbers, bottle gourd. Special flours are used such as singhada ( water chestnut) , kuttu ( Buck wheat) , Rajgira ( Amaranth) . Only ghee ( Clarified butter) is used as a medium of cooking . All recipes then are basically permutations and combinations of these raw materials .

While my mother in law was alive, we fasted on various occasions. Navratri ( Nine days/ nights) , Ekadashi , Maha Shivratri, Janmashtami. These were the fasts when we would plan elaborate menus . Personally I do not subscribe to the eating of special meals on fasting days. I believe a fast is the day when you are able to control your thirst and hunger and be in a physical state which is close to God. Consuming fruits or fruit juice in small quantities for sustenance is fine. However with the mother in laws religious beliefs and an enthusiastic daughter in law , fasting days certainly felt like feasting days. One of the fasting dishes however frequently made its way onto the dinner table on non fasting days as well. That's the sabudana khichadi. Extremely easy to make once you understand the way to cook it. Any mistake in the steps to follow and you will end up with a gooey lump instead of the lovely separated pearls khichadi.

For the khichadi 

1 cup cleaned sabudana, soak for 2-3 hours. Then drain till all the moisture has dried up.

2 tablespoons pure ghee

1 tsp jeera ( cumin ) seeds

1- 2 green chillies slit and cut in half. (If you like the fiery taste of green chillies, coarsely chop them up) 

1 cup dry roasted non salted peanuts, coarsely crushed.

1 tsp sugar

salt to taste

2 tablespoons dessicated fresh coconut

green corriander for garnish

Once the mositure has dried from the sabudana, add crushed peanuts, sugar and salt. Mix well and keep aside. In a heavy bottommed pan heat the ghee. Add the jeera seeds and green chillies. Add in the sabudana and mix well. Reduce heat and do not cover. Gently and frequently turn the sabudana. As it cooks the opaque beads turn transluscent. The peanuts will make sure the sabudana does not stick to each other. Check the salt at this stage. Once all the sabudana look transluscent , take off the heat. Garnish with fresh coconut and corriander and serve hot. You can serve it with a coconut chutney. Potato wafers, sweet potato/ potato fries make great accompaniments and a complete meal.