Babycorn Jalfrezi

Birthday speech : "Speech as i would like to call it, though it's more of a write up"...So, for all those who didn't know, 25th November was my birthday! I was lucky enough to be kept busy with phone calls and messages from my family and friends wishing the best for me, and while a lot were happy that i was spending my day at home with the furries and keeping the Cafe open, a few did mention that I should have taken the day off and gone out partying or somewhere. 

So, here's my question to you all : Should a person do what one loves to do on his/her birthday or should he/she just follow the norm of going out, drinking and partying with friends?

I, for always, would go with the former. I decided to take bookings for my petsitting services as I WANTED to be amongst the "four's" for my birthday. I decided to keep the Cafe open as I LOVE being in the kitchen. And what more, when during all this I had my loving husband and a supportive family by my side. Spending a day like this made me much happier than going out to a restaurant and spending a few thousands over beer and food. Doing what you love is so IMPORTANT. We might earn a little less but are the happiest. That way, niether do we lose sleep worrying about the black money in the cupboard ( The DE-MO effect ) nor do we have to wake up to meet the targets. 

I decided to make Mushroom rice and Babycorn Jalfrezi for the birthday dinner. I shall post the rice recipe in next post as the combination tastes wonderful. But meanwhile, here is the recipe of Babycorn Jalfrezi that you can make and serve with roti, paratha or naan.

This dish is popular in Indian restaurants and i would always order it as a child. This is the first time i tried making it. You can skip babycorn and add vegetables to make Vegetable Jalfrezi or even paneer to make Paneer Jalfrezi. The dish gets ready very soon as the basic method of cooking is stir fry. 

Ingredients:

Babycorn - 200 gms

Capsicum - 1 

Onion - 1

Tomato - 1 small

Tomato puree - 1/2 cup ( I made at home by boiling tomatoes, removing skin and pureeing it but you can buy readymade )

Salt - to taste

Pepper - to taste

Corriander leaves - to garnish

Cumin powder - 1/2 tsp

Corriander powder - 1/2 tsp

Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp

Red chilli powder - 1/2 tsp

Kitchen king masala - 1/4 tsp ( You can also use Garam masala instead )

Red chillies ( dry ) - 2

Ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp

Vinegar - 1/2 tsp

Sugar - 1/2 tsp

Butter - 2 tbsp ( can also use oil... i went a little overboard not worrying about calories ;))

Method :

Cut the babycorn horizontally into bite-size pieces. You can cut them in any shape as you like.

Slice the onion and capsicum lengthwise.

Chop the tomato

Boil water in a pan, add a pinch of salt and then add the chopped babycorn to it. Cover and let it rest for a while. This process is known as blanching. Drain the water.

In a wok/kadhai, add butter. Put in the red chillies and then add the sliced onions and saute till they are translucent. Now, add the ginger garlic paste and let the raw smell go away.

Add the chopped tomato and salt. Let it cook till the tomatoes turn soft. Now add all the masalas ( turmeric powder, red chilli powder, cumin powder, corriander powder and kitchen king masala ). If adding garam masala, then don't add now. Add rest of the masalas.

Add the sliced capsicum and let it all cook till oil starts leaving the sides. Now add the blanced babycorn and saute for 2-3 mins. 

Pour in the tomato puree. If you don't have a puree, use tomato ketchup.

After about a minute or two, add vinegar, sugar and garam masala ( if adding ).

Mix it all well and put off the flame after about a minute or two.

Garnish with corriander leaves.

If you want a little gravy, add water if it gets too dry after adding the puree.

Enjoy this tangy, sweet and spicy dish with roti or rice. Here's how i served it :

Happy Cooking :)

Zucchini Apple Salad

The word Salad sounds boring to many. And then there are some i know who only survive on Salads, who make special Salad diet plans, not just for the purpose of diet or to lose weight but simply for the love of eating fresh. I myself was never a salad person, like i would never order a salad when at a cafe or restaurant. The reason also being, most of the "usual" restaurants here served only cucumber,tomato and onion as salad. Its off late that people are exposed to different types of salad ingredients and the sauces and dressings. Moreover, the easy availability of these fruits and vegetables has also helped a-once-termed-exotic-salad reach everyday menu in homes.

Cost factor : Buying broccoli, zucchini, baby corn, purple cabbage or even coloured peppers as everyday buy for a middle class person was not affordable a while back. But the same veggies are available at Farmer's market or wholesale markets these days, for nearly the same price as french beans or lady's finger. 

Exposure due to Internet :Social media and Google has also helped a lot of good salad recipes made available for women to try at home apart from just Garden Salad. There are so many good YouTube videos and blogs available showing easy, less time-consuming and tasty recipes of salads.

The love of trying something new : People these days are willing to experiment, have a taste of different cuisines and try different palates. This love and curiosity has upped Salad's position from "Oh, so boring" to "It looks delicious". Not to mention all the health benefits that eating any fresh vegetables or fruit provides us. So, all in all, it's a win-win situation that people are enjoying eating raw.

Last evening, this bug of "trying something new" bit me too. I had fresh zucchini and fruits at hand. So, made this easy-peasy salad for dinner and it turned out great. I didn't use any sauces or any difficult dressings and the simplicity of it made it more tasty. At times, dressings overpower the salad taste, so i used just 5 basic ingredients and let the taste of veggies and fruits remain. 

Moreover, it's a quick meal. Just chop, assort and mix. That's it. No sauteing, no crushing, no tossing.

Ingredients:

Zucchini - 1 medium sized

Apples - 2

Yellow bell Pepper - half

Red bell pepper - half ( You can also add onions or green capsicum but i didn't)

Olive oil - 1/4 cup

Pepper - to taste

Salt - to taste

Sugar - 1 tsp ( Substitute with honey if preferred )

Vinegar - 1- 2 tsp ( Use apple cider or red wine vinegar )

Herbs of your choice - I did sprinkle oregano and dried parsley on top but it's optional

Method:

Chop zucchini, apples and peppers and combine in a bowl.

In a small bowl, whisk together oil, pepper, salt, vinegar and sugar. Pour this dressing over the zucchini-apple mixture.

Toss and sprinkle herbs of your choice

Please note: Serve this salad immediately after tossing. Don't let it rest for long.

Happy Cooking :)

 

The Making of Cafe Two's and Four's

Hello all you lovely people,

You have no idea how much i have missed this space!!! I just realized that my last post was exactly a year back. I have missed reading all the blogs i used to follow, i have missed trying out some of their recipes and most of all, i have missed clicking pictures especially for the blog. Past one year has been a tremendous journey of brainstorming, ideas, physical work, patience and most of all taking that leap of FAITH.

Today, i felt little restless. Today, i felt that itch to write. So, today, i am here taking you on mine and my husband's journey of starting our new venture : Cafe Two's and Four's . (All about two-leggeds and the four-leggeds) Yes, we wanted to combine two of our passions together - PETS AND FOOD. So, what better way than to start a pet-cafe or a cafe where pets are allowed. There is anyways a dearth of pet-friendly spaces around. A few of my blogger friends who are friends with me on Facebook already know about it as i have been regular with my posts on the page, but just to have it for keeps, i decided to pen down some points about our journey with some photographs that i have taken from my phone camera. So, excuse for the picture quality.

1. TAKE THAT STEP : Starting a new venture takes a lot out of you. It never really occurred that we could start a business, that too a cafe, and more so, in a different city. We always wanted to shift back from Delhi. But never really thought everything would fall in place so quick. On our last Diwali visit back home, i.e Mumbai, i decided to stay back and do some R n D about real estate to get an idea if we can even think about opening a venture anytime.The 2 months long stay-away from hubby was the first ever since our 3 years of marriage, but days went by in a jiffy as some sort of passion had taken over me completely.

2. R N D/MARKET SURVEY IS MUST :During that time, i also explored a lot of cafes and restaurants to get an idea about food, furniture,ambiance, comfort, crowd etc. And while doing all this, I got a chance to catch up with all my friends whom i had missed meeting when in Delhi. Also, all my experience of exploring and writing for Maneesh (http://mysticfoodiemantra.com/author/gauriblog/ ) was at the back of my mind.

The first glimpse of the place

3. CHOOSE LOCATION WISELY : Mumbai was always our first choice, but seeing the size of the shops and the prices, we were disheartened. All our figures were running haywire and opening some new business seemed impossible. Just about when i decided to go back to Delhi and continue life as it was, it dawned upon us to explore the city of PUNE, where my in-laws stay. A visit to Pune was immediately planned and thanks to internet, we found out some good properties listed for rent. Pune roads and areas were completely new to me. So, a couple of days went by exploring around with my father-in-law. And then, we saw this place!!!! The first property we saw in Baner area and we fell in love with it. Hubby dearest was updated with pictures and details only on phone and whatsapp. But the place looked do-able. It had a lot of positive vibes, sunshine, air and a feel-good factor.

4. NEVER COMPROMISE ON YOUR BASIC IDEA/THEME : The advantage of this place was the open lawn area which was our main requirement since we wanted the cafe to be pet-friendly. The previous places we saw were all compact and without an open space. We even had thoughts of changing our theme and opening a regular cafe, but as it's said, things will happen when they have to happen. We were meant to do this and it so happened :)

5. ALWAYS ASK FAMILY FIRST, THEN TURN TO FRIENDS : We ran through some figures and decided to take that step - with all the assurance that "We will do it". I don't remember a single time when me or hubby were scared or fearful, since we had a lot of support and backing from both of our parents. Hence so, I HAVE TO SAY THIS HERE : There is no greater happiness than the support of your family.

My constant companions - Mom and Father in law. MIL and Dad missing in the picture

6. "AIKAAVE JANAACHE KARAVE MANAACHE" (LISTEN TO ALL BUT DO WHAT YOU FEEL IS RIGHT) : We shifted to Pune on Jan 1 st 2016 and were still clueless as to, how to go about the idea. New city, new venture, new contacts...Some suggested somethings, others some other things. Some said east, others said west ( not that there were people too who suggested north and south ;)). We listened. We heard. We argued. We fought. We brainstormed. And, we came with solutions. Always. The solution was : Listen to your heart. 

Trust me, many must have said this but i stamp and sign on it with my experience, that "Just listen to your instincts and do what feels right for you". There are always people to let you down, there are always people who will speak against you, there are always people who will confuse you but stand FIRM.

7. DIY IS ALWAYS CHEAPER AND MORE FUN : We decided to go DIY for the cafe. Of course, some ideas had to be re-thought after seeing the feasibility, costing and maintenance but in the end, we had fun doing it all. And in all this, my husband always asked me, "If someone asks you, why don't you pay the labour and get it all done, what would you reply?" and my answer was, "Then, there's no fun in it and the reason we decided to do this is for fun". Yes, the idea to start this venture was all about having fun!!! It doesn't mean, one shouldn't think business or do losses but the whole motive was not to earn money but to do what we love. And we were doing exactly that!!! We still are....:)

8. GOOD THINGS TAKE TIME, YOU EITHER WAIT OR SETTLE FOR LESS : There was a lot of testing of patience too, as labour here is a big problem and for some things, we had to depend on them. So, what we thought would be done in a month took 2 months and finally by March mid, the work was completed. In the meanwhile, there was a lot of exploring around in terms of checking and finding wholesale markets, working on the menu ( which is an ongoing process ), deciding on the pricing, getting tyres and crates for seatings, working out the lighting, fixtures, equipment for kitchens (some of them i had only seen on food shows), and of course all the cleaning, drilling and painting work. These were the times, we understood the meaning of "dead tired", both physically and mentally. 

A visit to Mandai :)

Experiments in the kitchen

9. BELIEVE - IN GOD, IN MOTHER NATURE, AND ABOVE ALL IN YOURSELF : When Dad came and performed pooja on the opening day, it all felt worth it. I really know the feeling of an artist now who creates an art, or a chef who designs and plates a dish, or someone climbing Mt.Everest. There is still a lot to achieve and it's an ongoing process, but just to make the place alive gives a lot of good feeling to both me and hubby dearest. 

I will share some current pictures of the cafe and some "Before-After" photos in my next post!!!

Thank you for reading through our journey and yes, i feel good today. Because i wrote. I guess the writer in me was bouncing inside to come out. Today was the day :)

And yes, Happy Cooking :)

Puran poli : Dussehra special

Happy Dussehra to everyone reading this :))) Last year i had posted the recipe of Coconut Barfis (Naaralachya vadya - click on the link to read more about the festival) and today, i am posting that of Puran poli. Yes, it had to be a sweets-post since it's festival time, and how can the celebration be complete without making or eating sweet :) Some of the combinations are all-time favourites in a Maharashtrian home like Shrikhand- puri, Basundi-puri or Puran poli-kataachi amti etc. 

Puran poli is basically a flat-bread stuffed with a sweet filling of skinned split bengal gram and jaggery. The best part about Puran poli is, it tastes good even when it's cold ( or even a day old :)) . Usually eaten with a generous amount of tup (ghee) on top, it can also be eaten dipped in milk or with Kataachi Amti. As we say, the food and water changes every 10 kms in India, the same way - the method of preparation and ingredients vary in different regions in Maharashtra. Some add grated coconut to the sweet filling, some make the filling with sugar or a mix of jaggery and sugar both. For the covering, some make it with wheat flour and some with maida (all purpose flour) or a mix of both. Recently, one of my sister in law told me that in her village, the covering is made of suji (rawa). For flavouring, nutmeg and/or cardamom powder is added.

So, the recipe is actually quite easy- less ingredients and not much of cooking time. But the tough part is to roll the polis (breads) without letting the filling come out. If the filling comes out (which surely will, the first time you make it), it will burn while cooking the roti. So, to avoid it, just dust a little flour on the filling, and roll again.

You can fry the rotis with oil or ghee as per your liking, but ghee of course adds the flavour. So, diet conscious people, let the dieting stay away during festivities, what say? :) Also, you can make Puran one day prior and keep in the refrigerator. Puran(the filling) stays good in an air tight container in refirgerator for even a week. You can also eat Puran as it is with a plain roti adding little ghee on top... Tastes absolutely divine :)

Preparation time : 35-40 minutes

Cooking time : 20-25 minutes

Serves : 2-3 people

Recipe type: Indian flatbread

Ingredients:

Chana daal (Skinned split bengal gram) - 1 cup

Jaggery - 1 cup 

(The right amount of sweetness is always to take equal quantity of lentil and jaggery)

Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp

Nutmeg powder - 1/4 tsp

All purpose flour - 1 cup

Wheat flour - 1/2 cup

Oil - 5 tbsp

Ghee - 1 tbsp

Ghee - to fry the polis

Recipe:

Wash the chana daal well. Pressure cook the washed chana daal along with 2 n half cups of water for 4-5 whistles. Switch off the flame, let the pressure subside. Now drain the daal and remove water thoroughly.

Use this water to make Kataachi Amti.

Sift the all purpose flour and wheat flour together. Add in 5 tbsp oil and mix well.

You can also add a little of turmeric powder for colour. 

Now, add water little by little and knead into a nice elastic dough. Put the dough in a bowl, cover and let it rest.

Heat 1 tbsp ghee in a kadhai, and add the cooked chana daal. Add in the jaggery and mix well. The mixture will turn to a thin consistency as the jaggery will melt. Let it cook till the mixture forms a nice thick ball. Keep stirring in between to avoid burning or sticking to the kadhai. Lastly add in the cardamom and nutmeg powder and mix well.

Now traditonally this mixture used to be put through the Puran Yantra (Puran Maker) for a very thin soft puran, but since i didn't have that, i just mashed it with a masher and it was fine. I tool the idea of mashing the puran from here.

Now, make equal sized balls of the puran and the dough both.

Make sure the filling in each dough-ball is good enough for the taste to come.

Roll the dough in a small puri-shape and add the filling in the centre. Now with your fingertips, gently close the sides of the dough in the centre to cover the stuffing. Now roll this into a roti. You can use all purpose flour or rice flour to roll the roti.

Heat a tawa. Place the roti on the tawa and fry on both sides till golden in colour adding ghee on top. 

Puran polis are ready. Don't forget to enjoy one served hot right from the tava with ghee on top. 

Happy Cooking :)

Vaatli Daal : Ground Chana daal snack

I love this part of the year!! Yes, i have mentioned it before and i will say it again and again. With so many festivities come so many traditions, celebrations and of course food specialties. More so, the sweets and snacks that are prepared in each household adds so much more excitement to the air, that it's fun not only gorging on them but learning about the whole "making" process too. Yes, as kids, it would hardly matter but since the time i have started blogging, i try as much as possible to learn/read about different cuisines, and the history behind each dish or the method it is prepared. Am sure my fellow bloggers will understand this urge to explore :) Here today, am posting the recipe of a typical Maharashtrian delicacy often served on Anant Chaturdashi (the last day of Ganesh Chaturthi)that i made for the first time. I have always seen my mother or aunt making this on the traditional grinding stone (Paata-varvanta as we call it) during Ganesh festival but never really knew that this tasty dish can be made even in mixer-grinder. Of course, the hand ground adds in more flavour but the mixer does justice too. It is also an easy recipe to serve as a tea time snack or for breakfast.

Vatli Daal is literally translated as "Ground Daal"- the daal here being Chana Daal (split and husked Bengal gram). This is a highly nutritious dish and has a nice tangy flavour to it, with the addition of raw mangoes. Since raw mangoes was not easily available during this time here, i have used lime juice. You can also add Amchur powder instead, but the tanginess in the dish is important. There is also a raw version of this daal which i will post soon.

Preparation time: 8-10 hours soaking
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Serves: 2 people
Recipe type: Snacks

Ingredients:

Chana daal - 1 cup 

Lime juice - 2-3 tsp or grated green mango (3 tbsp)

Salt - to taste

Sugar - 1/2 tsp

For tadka:

Oil - 3 tbsp

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp

Green chilli - 2(sliced)

Grated ginger - 1 inch piece

For garnish :

Grated fresh coconut

Chopped corriander leaves (optional)

Recipe:

Wash and rinse the chana daal well.

Soak the chana daal in about 2 cups of water for 8-10 hours of overnight. It should turn to be so soft that when you press it, the daal grain should break. Hence, if needed, soak for more time.

Drain the water and clean the daal under running water.

Now grind this to a grainy consistency in mixer grinder adding little water at a time. Don't make it to a runny consistency. It has to be grainy.

Heat oil in a pan. Now add mustard seeds and let them splutter. Add the turmeric, green chilli and ginger.

After about half a minute, add in the ground chana daal. Mix it all well. Add the lime juice, salt and sugar and again mix it all well.

Add a little water and cover the pan. Steam cook the daal for about 5-7 minutes. Keep stirring occasionally.

Garnish with grated fresh coconut and corriander leaves (if used).

Tangy yummyliscious snack is ready. Hope you all try it and love it.

Happy Cooking :)

 

Talniche modak : Anant Chaturdashi special

In my last post of Hartalika which i posted a day prior to the start of Ganesh festival, i had mentioned that i will make modaks and write a post the next day. Unfortunately, am writing this post on the last day of the festival, since last few days were very busy. For those who know my profession, i was surrounded with 3 mischievous babies past 10 days, and there was just no time to edit pictures or write a post :) But modaks are so delish that one can eat it anytime, right? We don't really need a festival for that!!!

Anant Chaturdashi is the 10th or last day of Ganesh Utsav. On this day, Ganesha is given grand farewell and the idols that were placed in homes or colonies for the festival are immersed in a nearby waterbody. Since a lot of the idols were made of POP (plaster of paris) earlier, immersing them in water bodies would only pollute it and the next day we could see broken idols floating on top or on the banks of sea or river. This was really saddening, and though the practise continues at a lot of places, there are people who for eco-friendly Ganeshas and also immerse the idols in man-made temporary water bodies. Well, Ananta in Sanskrit means eternal (The immortal Lord Vishnu) and chaturdashi is 14th day of the bright fortnight. 

Although Ganesh festival is celebrated across India, mostly in the states of Maharashtra, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh, most of the other states also worship Lord Vishnu on this day. There is a very interesting mythological story about this day. Sumant was a Brahmin and had a daughter Sushila with wife Diksha. When Diksha died, Sumant remarried but the stepmother would torture little Sushila. So, when she grew of age, she eloped in the forests with a young man named Kaundinya. One day, when Kaundinya went for a bath in the river, Sushila met some women on the way worshipping Lord Ananta and got to know about the pooja and 14-year vow. It is said that if one fasts and does pooja on this day for 14 years in a row, one is blessed with Lord Vishnu's blessings to regain lost wealth or well being for family. Sushila took the oath, tied the sacred vow-thread to her hand and followed all the tradition religiously. Indeed they became rich and successful. 

One day when Kaundinya got to know about the vow, he got angry as he believed he is self-made man and his riches are not due to any vow. He throwed away Sushila's vow-thread in fire and soon after, they became poor. Kaundinya understood the power of the Ananta and took the 14 year vow restoring his belief and regaining his lost wealth. 

Well, such stories are always interesting to hear, ain't they? Coming back to the modak post, there are two types of modaks popularly made : One is Ukadiche (the white steamed ones with rice flour) and one is Talniche (deep fried ones). On my paternal side, and my in-laws side, they make Talniche modak as prashad for Ganesha. On my maternal side, though, the Ukdiche modaks are made. Here, i am posting the deep fried ones (yes, they are easy as compared to the others), and hubby's favourite! :)

It is a tradition that always with modaks, one karanji is made or vice versa. Modak represents male and karanji is female, so to signify it is "shubh" (auspicious) that the male and female stay together :) Just as we make one Kadbola with Chakli or one puri with shankarpale :)

Preparation time : 25-30 minutes

Cooking time : 30 minutes 

Serves : 2-3 people

Recipe type: Sweets and dessert

Ingredients:

For dough : 

Maida/All purpose flour - 1/2 cup

Atta/ wheat flour - 1/2 cup

(You can also make the dough with only wheat flour or only all purpose flour)

Salt - a pinch

Ghee/oil - 2 tbsp

For filling :

Grated fresh coconut - 1 cup

Grated jaggery/ sugar - 1/3-1/2 cup 

Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp

Ghee - 1 tbsp

If you are adding sugar, you can also add 2 tbsp khoya or fresh cream (optional).

Addition of nuts is optional and as per choice too

Oil - for frying the modaks

Recipe:

Mix the wheat flour and all purpose flour and add in salt. 

Heat the 2 tbsp ghee/oil (make it real hot - this is what we call 'Mohan'). Add this to the flour mixture, and mix it with a spoon. Remember it's hot, so don't use hands.

Now add water little by little and knead it into a nice smooth soft dough. Cover the dough and keep aside for 15-20 minutes.

Meanwhile, lets make the filling:

Take 1 tbsp ghee in a kadhai.

Add the coconut and saute for a minute, stir continuously to prevent sticking/browning.

Now add the sugar or jaggery. It will melt and become liquid. Let it cook till all the liquid is absorbed and a nice aroma comes.

Now mix in the cardamom powder and nuts. You can also add a pinch of jaiphal (nutmeg) powder for taste.

Switch off the stove and let this filling cool down.

To make modaks:

Knead the dough again for a while, and divide it in equal sized balls. (This proportion makes 12 - 11 modaks and 1 karanji).

Now roll these balls in small sized puris. Roll them as thin as possible, especially the sides of the puri. You can dust some flour to roll the puris, but i didn't need it. The mohan made the dough so soft, that the puris rolled very well by itself.

Now, take the puri in your palm and add a spoonful of the filling in the centre.

Now pinch the edges of the puri one by one and then bring all the pinched ends together in the centre. Seal it well.

Repeat the procedure for other modaks. For karanji, roll a puri and fill the filling in the centre. Now life one side of the puri and roll it on to the other side and seal it with your fingertips. (I think the next time i make modaks, i have to click pictures of the procedure too).

Now heat oil for frying in a kadhai and gently fry modaks one by one till golden brown on all sides. Remove on a tissue paper and let it cool.

It is said, that one should not taste the filling or modak before giving it as "Prashad" to the God. So, do your pooja and then pop them in your mouth :) It will be full of goodness :)

Happy Anant Chaturdashi to all of you :)

Happy Cooking :)

Happy Hartalika: Celebrating female friendships!!

I love this part of the year... there are so many festivities and celebrations one after another, that it truly brings out the joy of life. Smiles, food, laughter, shopping, meeting families and friends and the age-old traditions that are followed along with it. One such interesting mythological story is that of Hartalika. Hartalika is observed one day before the Ganesh Chaturthi. (Bhadrapadh Shudh Tritiya)

On this day, girls and women pray to Goddess Parvati. Unmarried girls do pooja to get that prince charming they have always been dreaming about and married women pray to get the same husband in all the lives, also for happy successful married life. It is a belief that once you take the oath of Lord Shiva, you shouldn't break it, hence women continue to do this pooja each year till they are alive.

Parvati was the daughter of Himvan (the king of Himalayas). "Parvat" means Mountain, hence being the daughter of the king of mountains, she was named Parvati. It is said, when Parvati grew of age, Narad Muni brought in the message of Lord Vishnu to marry her. Himvan was very happy to hear this, but Parvati had secretly loved Lord Shiva. Hence, without telling her parents, she ran off with her female friend into the forests. Harit ( = Haran =abduction) and Alika ( = alichya = friend). Hence the name, Hartalika.

On the banks of the river, Parvati made a "Shivling" of sand and started meditating and praying to Lord Shiva. Initially, she ate raw leaves, but later on even left that. This we call as "Upvas" meaning fast. Seeing this, Lord Shiva was pleased and agreed to marry Parvati as per her wish. 

Seeing his daughter's willpower and faith, even Himvan agreed to get Parvati married to Lord Shiva. So, since all this was achieved by the help of Parvati's female friend, girls and women(known as suvasini's) fast all day long on this day and then do pooja together of idols of Shiva and Parvati made of sand. The fast is then broken the next day as the Suvasini's stay awake all night long playing games such as Jhimma, Phugdi, Tiprya etc.

This day also celebrates the friendship among female friends. Having a friend to tell your secrets to, and one whom you can count on in moments of need is a part of life. So lets say cheers to all our women friends as they are our true support and let us decide on this day, to cherish the relationship for lifetime. 

Unfortunately i don't have any recipe of Modak on my blog yet, so i am going to make some tomorrow for Ganesh Chaturthi and post one. Meanwhile, if you don't want to go traditional and enjoy some other lip-smacking sweets, here are some ideas :

1. Gulkand Chocolates : http://cookininpajamas.blogspot.in/2013/11/gulkand-chocolates.html

2. Coconut ladoos : http://cookininpajamas.blogspot.in/2013/10/coconut-ladoos.html

3. Pajama "Pop in the mouth" Ladoos : http://cookininpajamas.blogspot.in/2014/02/pajama-pop-in-mouth-ladoos-rose-day.html

4. Naaralachya Vadya : http://cookininpajamas.blogspot.in/2014/10/dusshera-special-naralyachya-vadya.html

Happy cooking and wish you all a Happy Ganesh Chaturthi :) Let us all say, "Ganpati Bappa Morya" :)

Cheese Butter Masala

Hello all you lovely people! Hope you are having a fabulous weekend :) Today i am posting the recipe of Cheese butter masala which i made couple of days back. I had not heard this recipe ever, until my husband asked me to make it. He remembered eating it in his early childhood in some restaurant at his native place - Akola. Sometimes, i really feel lucky to have a foodie husband - a lot i have learnt in life about food is because of him, and so i owe the blog to him in some way :)

On finding out more, i learnt that this is a typical north Indian recipe, just as paneer butter masala. The only difference here is paneer is substituted with cheese. When i made this recipe, i simply loved it and in just a month, i have made it twice :) Yes, cheese and me sort of have a close bonding, can't keep away from it for long, hehe.

Both the times that i tried the recipe, i made it in a different way. The first time, i did add onions and the second time i didn't. Once i made it with cashew paste, and the other time i skipped that and added cream. Also, the first time i didn't boil tomatoes before making a puree while the other time i did. So there are whole lot of variations you can make with this simple dish, just to enhance or suit the flavours and taste according to personal preferences. Here i will post the one with onions.

As the name suggests, it does call for a generous amount of butter, so don't compromise on that. Also, in restaurants, food colour is added to get a nice colour. Here i have chosen red ripe tomatoes instead. You can also skip adding kasuri methi and add corriander leaves in the end while garnishing.

The recipe gets ready within minutes and tastes delicious on it's own. So just serve some parathas or naan or plain roti by the side along with some salad, and you save yourself a lot of time standing in the kitchen!

Preparation time :10 minutes

Cooking time : 30-35 minutes

Serves - 2-3 people

Recipe type : Main course (vegetarian)

Ingredients:

Tomatoes - 4 medium

Onion - 1 medium

Cheese cubes - 4 (I used Amul cheese cubes)

Butter - 4 tbsp

Cumin seeds - 1 tsp

Kasuri methi - 1 tsp

Salt - to taste

Ginger-garlic-green chilli paste - 1 tbsp (I crushed 1/2 inch ginger, 3-4 garlic and 1 green chilli in a mortar and pestle)

Turmeric powder - 1/4 th tsp + 1/4 tsp

Red chilli powder - 1/2 tsp + 1/4 tsp

Corriander powder - 1 tsp +1/4 tsp

Cumin powder - 1/4 tsp

Garam masala - 1/4 - 1/2 tsp

Cream and corriander leaves to garnish (optional)

Sugar - 1 tsp (optional)

Recipe:

Chop the onions. Make 4 square pieces of each cheese cubes (You can even cut them into half)

Wash the tomatoes, chop and make a puree of it in grinder. If adding cashews, add soaked cashews to the tomatoes while making puree.

Now, heat 1 tbsp butter in a kadhai and add this tomato puree. Saute well and add salt and 1/4 tsp each of turmeric powder, red chilli powder, cumin powder and corriander powder. Saute for about 10 minutes till the puree starts leaving oil. Add water little by little if the puree sticks to the kadhai and gets dry.

You can entirely skip this step and add the puree later on. This just enhances the flavour as the masalas get mixed well with the puree.

Heat 3 tbsp butter in a kadhai. Add cumin seeds. When they splutter, add onions. When onions become translucent, add the ginger-green chilli-garlic paste and saute for about 1/2 a minute till the raw smell goes away.

Now add the tomato puree (either sauteed with masalas or without). Now add the spices ( red chilli powder, turmeric powder, corriander powder and salt) and mix well till the masala starts leaving the sides of the kadhai.

Add about 3/4-1 cup water and sugar and let it come to a boil on low flame. Now add the cheese cubes. Add kasuri methi and garam masala. Mix it all well.

Don't cook for long after adding cheese cubes.

You can even add some cream for garnish on top.

Cheese butter masala is ready :)

Happy Cooking!!! :)