mayurisjikoni

What is Scoville Heat Unit or Index?    Time is flying! It's already nearly the end of the month.End of the month usually means a recipe for the Shhh Cooking Secretly group .This group was started by Priya of Priya's Versatile Recipes. I, along with Amrita of The Food Samaritan help Priya to run it. Ever since I joined the group in 2014, I've enjoyed being a part of it. Lots of changes have taken place, some old members have left, new ones have joined. Back then partners gave each other any two random ingredients, my first one being barley and broccoli. Nowadays we give partners two ingredients according to the decided theme. This month the theme was #stuffed.Though we know all participants will have stuffed recipes we're impatient to know what each one was given to work on. My partner for the month of May was Priya of   Priya's Versatile Recipes . She initially gave me zucchini as one of the ingredients and can you believe it, I couldn't find any zucchini! Aft...

a great treat    Sabudana vada has been on my 'to do list' for a very long time. These days I am trying to avoid fried foods if possible so that when we dine out, I can indulge in whatever I want. However this Ekadashi, I just decided to make a fried snack. I am so glad I made these so crunchy and delicious vadas. A Maharashtrian snack, which is commonly found as street food, its easy to prepare and crispy from the outside and soft inside. Its usually served with sweetened yogurt. I am not a big fan of sweetened yogurt so I decided to make a yogurt coconut chutney. Sabudana vadas are very often made during fasting time. I had these crunchy vadas for the first time at the Hare Krishna Temple in Juhu and simply loved them. I fried a few and also made a few in the appe pan (paniyaram pan, ebelskiver pan). The fried ones stayed a bit crunchy even after they cooled down. However the ones made in the appe pan, became soft. So, I guess its best to serve them as soon as they are prepa...

Hot hot gotas Gotas are bhajias made from chickpea flour. Its a very easy, quick snack and served as farsan in a gujarati thali. I remember every time my sister and I would go to visit our relatives in the villages in Gujarat, we would  be served gota along with kadhi, rice, vegetables, puri and a sweet dish. I am not a huge fan of the gotas made from cabbage but I love the dakor na gota. People say that the best gotas are from Dakor, home of Ranchodji, next to my grandfather's village Umreth. I have tasted Dakor na gota and they are very spicy but are great with extra sweet tea. Nowadays ready mix packets of Dakor na gota are available in the stores and supermarkets. Just add a bit of  water and you are good to go. When my dad came down to Mombasa, I made Dakor na gotas (recipe from Tarla Dalal but with a few changes) from scratch and I was pretty pleased with the result. Not even one gota was left. Best served hot with a chutney of your choice. DAKOR NA GOTA Serves 4 1 cup c...

Ekadashi.... feast or fasting? Once again Ekadashi is just round the corner. So am sharing another recipe which can be made on that day. Cassava or tapioca is rich in carbohydrates, Vitamin K and minerals like zinc, magnesium, copper, iron and manganese. You have to be careful when buying cassava. If it has bluish blackish specks in the white part, do not use that cassava. Normally cassava is fried or boiled and eaten. In this ekadashi recipe, I have used it to make nice crispy bhajias or fritters.Cassava in Kenya is called mogo.   Updated: We all prefer to have fried snacks as they taste so much better. However, hubby and I are trying to reduce fried foods. I decided to make mogo bhajias in my magic pan -- the paniyaram. They turned out really nice. Crispy from the outside, and with hardly any oil. It turned out to be a guilt free treat.  The recipe remains the same, but instead of frying them in oil, just put the pan on the cooker on medium heat, drop a drop of oil in each h...

Happy Father's day    My dad loves any indian farsan or snack, be it samosas, kachoris, bateta vada, arvi pan bhajia etc. In that respect, I am like him as I love these fresh snacks anytime to chevdo, gathia etc. His all time favourite is vatidar bhajia. A visit to Mombasa is not complete if you have not had the famous vatidar bhajia. Made from split cowpeas and split green grams or split chickpea lentils, every coffee shop, fast food restaurant will serve these famous bhajias. In the evenings, women sit at corners or near their home preparing these hot snacks for hungry passersby. During our visit to Mombasa, a visit to the Cosy Tearoom was a must for my dad to have a cup of tea and vatidar bhajias. I remember they use to serve them in these white saucers with the coconut chutney. My dad can make a meal out of these bhajias. Vatidar bhajia and he wouldn't need anything else. updated 1/10/2015  If you are ever in Mombasa, you must try vatidar bhajias. They are available i...