Chikki Puran Poli

Category :Vegan
Preparation Time : 5 min.
Cooking Time: 20-30 Min.
Skill level :  Intermediate

Ingredients :
1 c roasted sesame seeds
1 c jaggery, grated or as per taste
1 c regular whole wheat soft dough

For filling:
1. In a blender blend sesame seeds till almost powder.
2. Add jaggery and blend again

Making roti
1. Take a walnut-sized ball of dough
2. Make two disks out of it
3. Roll the two disks into small circles with a rolling pin
4. Now sandwich the two disks with a little ball of filling (a little larger than the size of a walnut)
5. Seal the edges perfectly
6. With the help of a hand or rolling pin, roll it out into a circle
7. On heated griddle lay the roti at medium low temperature
8. After 5 seconds turn it over
9. When its golden-brown turn it over again
10. When its golden-brown both side it's done.
11.Serve warm. You can apply ghee if you like.
12. Repeat the process for all the rotis.

Cherry Raita

 It's summer time and cherries are available for a short time. So to enjoy it, I made a couple of cherry recipes to save for the time when they are not available (Cherrytime syrup) and to enjoy it now, Cherry raita. I made Cherry Raita for eating along the side of stuffed parathas and everybody enjoyed it. 

Category :Vegan, Jain, low fat, gluten free, Nut free

Preparation Time : 15 min.

Skill level : easy

Ingredients :
1 c cherries, chopped
1 tbs onion, finely chopped
1 tbs cherrytime syrup or (1 tbs crushed cherry + 2 ts sugar)
pinch black salt
1/2 ts Chili Powder
1/2 ts roasted Cumin powder
salt as needed
3 c coconut yogurt / yogurt

1. Mix all the ingredients except yogurt.
2. Whisk yogurt for smoother texture.
3. Mix everything together.
* If mangoes are not available, you can replace it with 1 ripe banana.
* For vegan option you can take coconut yogurt instead of regular yogurt.

Mint Rice

Category :Vegan,  low fat, gluten free,
Preparation Time : 5 min.

Cooking Time: 25 Min.

Skill level : easy

Ingredients :

1 ts oil
1 tbs chanadal

1 tbs urad dal
1 ts mustard seeds
1 tbs cashews

3-4 red chili
10-12 curry leaves
1/2 ts turmeric
1 onion sliced
1/4 ts asafoetida
1 c Mint, Finely chopped
2 c cooked and cooled sona masoori or non fragrant rice
salt as needed

1. In a wok heat oil at low heat and roast chanadal.
2. when its light brown add urad dal and mustard seeds
3. after 1 min. add cashews, chilies
4. when its light brown add curry leaves, asafoetida, turmeric and onions
5. when onion is translucent, add mint leaves and salt
6.let it cook for 10-15 min. at medium flame.
7. sprinkle some water if needed
8. add rice and mix gently.

Made from scratch Masalas

Masalas(spices) are heart of the cooking. It creates pleasing aroma which makes us feel hungry. If spices are not right or complementing with each other, despite of putting lots of spices, food won't taste good. At the same time sometimes even basic few spices can make food taste great.

Nawabi Tandoori Masala

Tandoori Masala

No Fuss BBQ masala

Chai masala

suffing powder

Pulihora Powder

Podi - a versatile condiment

Sunflower seed butter

Category : gluten free,  healthy fat, Vegetarian

Preparation Time : 5 min.
Cooking Time : 15 min

Skill level : easy

Ingredients:
1 c sunflower seeds, shelled
1 tbs agave syrup
1 ts onion powder
1/2 ts garlic powder
1 ts Pepper powder
rock salt as needed

1. Slow roast sunflower seeds.
2. When it's fragrant, turn the heat off.(or you can buy roasted)
3. In a blender, blend everything until smooth.
4. Fill it in a airtight container and keep refrigerated. 

*Certain varieties of blenders are capable of blending nuts or seeds till oil starts coming out(e.g. Sumeet, vitamix), but some of the blender needs liquid to process the contents. In that case you might need to add oil or water. If you add water, it will give similar results but shelf life will be shorter.

Neem powder

This is fun way to include neem in day to day diet. Including little amount of neem in diet keeps us healthy and saves us from small small diseases and makes immune system stronger to fight chronic diseases. Neem's Sanskrit name(Arishta) means who relieves sickness. Neem has too many benefits to write down here but here is the link Neem - A tree for solving global problems.

Category :Vegan, Jain, fat-free (oil optional), gluten-free, nut free, rich in protein

Preparation Time : 5 min.

Cooking Time: 15 Min.

Skill level : easy

Ingredients :

1 ts oil (optional)
1/2 c chanadal

1/2 c toordal

1/4 c whole urad/urad dal

1 tbs peppercorns
6" of tamarind pieces, deseeded

2 tbs coriander seeds

4-5 big red chilies (you can adjust spiciness according to your taste)(I took poblano)
1 c Neem leaves
1 ts turmeric
salt as needed

1. Heat oil in shallow pan.
2. Add the ingredient and slow roast until neem leaves are dry.
3. Make powder.
4. Store in a airtight container

Dry Ginger powder - Soonthi podi

Category :Vegan, Jain, fat-free (oil optional), gluten-free, nut free, rich in protein

Preparation Time : 5 min.

Cooking Time: 15 Min.

Skill level : easy

Ingredients :

1 ts oil (optional)
1/2 c chanadal

1/2 c toordal

1/4 c whole urad

1 tbs peppercorns
2" of tamarind pieces, deseeded

2 tbs coriander seeds

3-4 big red chilies (you can adjust spiciness according to your taste)(I took poblano)
1/2 c dry ginger cut in to small pieces
1 ts turmeric
salt as needed

1. Heat oil in shallow pan.
2. Add the ingredient and slow roast until dals are golden brown.
3. Make powder.
4. Store in a airtight container