Roma's Space

White Pumpkin Curry

Ingredients :

• 10 medium sized pieces of white pumpkin
• 3 small red chilly flakes
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
• Few pieces of fresh coconut
• 3 tablespoons of raw rice
• 2 teaspoons of coconut oil
• 1/2 teaspoon Rai (Big)
• Curry leaves
• 1 cup curds

Procedure :

1. Grind coconut, red chillies and raw rice in the blender with some water.
2. Boil the pumpkin pieces in a vessel with 4 cups of water and haldi powder till the water quantity reduces to half.
3. Once pumpkins are done add the coconut paste and continue to cook for 5 more minutes.
4. Turn off the heat and let pumpkins cool. Add curds and stir well.
5. Heat coconut oil and add rai, curry leaves for the tempering. Mix this into the pumpkin curry.
6. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot with plain rice.

Please NOTE :

Adding curds to the curry when its hot can make it split. In this curry, we don’t want that to happen. You can heat the curry once its completely done and serve hot with rice.

Ghatte ki sabzi

This is a special dish made by Rajasthanis. The desert land has minimal supply of fresh fruits and vegetables leading to people finding other ways to prepare their curries. Ghatte ki sabzi is one such exotic invention of the Rajasthanis. It is a unique dish in which the dryness of the besan is complemented by the moisture in the yoghurt. This is truly one of my favorites!

Procedure to make Ghatte

 

Ingredients :

• 2 cups of Besan
• 2 tablespoons ghee
• 1/2 teaspoon jeera
• 1/4 teaspoon ajwain
• Pinch of hing
• 1/2 teaspoon red chilly powder
• 1/2 teaspoon dhania powder
• 2 cups curd
• 1/2 teaspoon rai (Big)
• Dhania leaves (for Garnish)

Procedure :

1. Keep 2 tablespoons of Besan aside. Knead remaining Besan into a stiff dough with salt, ghee, jeera, ajwain and some water.
2. Grease a tray and spread out the dough on it. Grease the upper surface with ghee and carefully roll it up. Let it rest for a while.
3. Place the besan rolls into boiling water for about 5-7 mins.
4. Take out the rolls into a sieve and allow them to cool. Cut the roll into round pieces. These pieces are called Ghatte.
5. Take curds separately in a bowl. Mix into it 2 tablespoons of besan, dhania powder, haldi powder and salt.
6. Heat oil in a kadai. Add Rai, Hing and red chilly powder. To this tempering add the previously prepared Ghatte and fry for a short while.
7. Now pour the curds mixture into the ghatte and cook for about 5-7 mins, till the Besan smells done.
8. Garnish with dhania leaves and serve hot with rotis.

Please NOTE :
Care needs to be taken while adding salt to the curds mixture as Ghatte already contain salt.

This is a cold, crunchy salad with a sweet and sour taste. Its taste depends completely on fresh and crispy vegetables. If fresh Iceberg lettuce is available anywhere then this is the way to go.

Ingredients :

For the salad

• 5 fresh lettuce leaves
• 5 fresh cabbage leaves
• 1/2 cup grated carrot

For the dressing

• Few teaspoons of vinegar
• Few teaspoons of red chilly sauce
• 1 teaspoon Sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon Salt

Procedure :

1. Shred the lettuce and cabbage. Mix in the grated carrot.
2. Mix the ingredients for the dressing in a bowl. Stir well till sugar dissolves.
3. Now mix the dressing into the salad and refrigerate for an hour.
4. Serve with meals or snacks.

Badam Burfi

One day I noticed a 200 gram packet of Badam Milk powder lying in my kitchen. It didnt have much use as I had already bought a different milk mix and was liking it too much to switch to something else. I wondered how to finish the Badam mix quickly as these powders typically lose their flavor with time. I found the Badam Burfi to be a good way out.

Ingredients :

• 400 grams Khoya
• Less than 200 grams Badam Milk powder (if its MTR it will contain sugar)
• 1/2 cup milk
• Few teaspoons ghee
• Few teaspoons rawa

Procedure :

1. Mix the Badam milk powder with khoya and saute well.
2. Add milk and ghee to this mixture and cook on low flame, stirring continuously.
3. Roast rawa and add to the mixture. Stir till mixture thickens.
4. Pour mixture out on greased tray.
5. Cool and cut into desired shape.

Please NOTE :

I have tried out the above recipe with MTR Badam Milk powder. However, if you use a badam milk powder of a different brand then you will need to check if it already has sugar or not and add some accordingly.

Pudina Chutney

This is a minty spicy chutney which goes well with all chaats and snacks. Fresh Mint and coriander leaves can give this chutney a taste to remember. A Chutney being uncooked, is the healthiest way to consume our green leafy vegetables.

Ingredients :

• 1 cup fresh Pudina or Mint leaves
• 1/2 cup coriander leaves
• 1 green chillie
• A small piece of ginger
• Pinch of White and black salt
• 1/2 teaspoon of amchur powder
• Few drops of fresh lime juice

Procedure :

Grind the above ingredients in a blender and your Mint chutney is ready to be eaten.

Please NOTE :

To get a fine consistency you might need to add a few teaspoons of water. However, care needs to be taken as Mint and Coriander leaves have a high natural water content and the chutney should not eventually get watery.