Amma Jevayala

 Sweet Karamani or red chawali chundal - another classic chundal made during navratri Quantity - for 2 people Ingredients - Red chawali - 1/4th cup Jaggery - 2/3 tbsp or more as per taste Cardamom powder - 1 tsp Salt - a pinch  Nutmeg - a pinch  Fresh coconut - to garnish  Water - 2/3 tbsp as per jaggery quantity  Procedure - 1. First wash and soak red chawali overnight or atleast for 4/5 hours . 2. Then pressure cook the chawali  . Do not overcook it . It should not be too mushy . Usually 10 mins high pressure in instant pot should work .  3. Heat a kadai and put jaggery in it to melt along with water . Once it has melted , add the cooked chawali and mix well . 5. Add little water if it looks too dry and let it cook in low flame for 5 mins . 6. Then add cardamom,nutmeg and pinch salt and simmer it for some time . 7 . Finally garnish with fresh coconut  Serve hot :)

 Vatani dal - this is a classic marathi recipe and it very similar to chandal dal chundal . So , made this version for Navratri . Quantity - for 2 people Ingredients - Chana dal - 1 cup  Green chillies - 3/4 as per spice Cumin seeds - 1 tsp Fresh coconut - 1/4th cup Fresh coriander - for garnish (optional) Oil - for cooking Salt - as per taste Hing - to temper Haldi - to temper (optional) Procedure - 1. Wash nicely and Soak chana dal overnight or at least for 6/7 hrs . 2. Drain all water from soaked chana dal and then in a mixer grind it along with green chillies and half quantity of jeera . Do not grind into smooth paste . Grind it very coarsely . Some chana dal can remain intact as well. 3. Now heat oil in kadai . Once hot , add jeera . After it splutters , add hing and haldi . Then add the chana dal and mix everything well . Add salt as per taste and stir nicely . 4. Cover and allow it to cook covered for at least 10 mins . Again mix well and let it cook covered for another...

 Chickpea Chundal - classic chundal recipe made during navratri. Quantity - for 2 people Ingredients - Chickpeas/Chole - 1 cup , soaked for at least 10 hours in advance Green chillies -2/3 finely chopped Red chillies - 1/2  Urad dal - 1 tsp Fresh coconut - 1/4th cup Curry leaves - few  Hing - to temper Mustard seeds - to temper Haldi - to temper (optional) Salt - as per taste Oil - for cooking . Can use coconut oil too. Procedure: 1. Soak chickpea over night or at least for 10 hours in advance with enough water . Once soaked nicely , pressure cook chickpeas in instant pot for 25 mins manual mode. Add little salt while cooking . 2. In a kadai , heat oil . Once oil is hot , add tadka items - mustard seeds , hing , haldi , urad dal , curry leaves , red chillies , green chillies . Fry tadka nicely . 3. Once tadka is ready , add the cooked chickpeas and mix well . Adjust any salt and let it cook covered for at least 8/10 mins . Keep flame medium . 4. Next add fresh coconut and...

 Sev Batata Puri - classic mumbai style chaat Quantity - Makes aprox 8 plates of sev puri . Each plate has 7 puris Ingredients: Puri for sev - store bought any brand .  Thin sev - store bought Potatoes - 5 medium size Onion - 1/2 finely cut as required Tomatoes - 3/4 chopped finely as required Chaat masala - to sprinkle as required Fresh Coriander finely chopped - for garnsih Sweet chutney : Tamarind - one small lemon size  Dates -10/12 Jaggery - one tsp Red chilli powder - 1 tsp Jeera powder - 1 tsp Salt - as per taste Green chutney - Mint bunch - 1/2 Coriander bunch - 3/4th Ginger -1/2 inch grated Green chillies - 5/6 as per spice Salt - as required Lemon juice - squeezed from half lemon  Red chutney (optional) Red chillies soaked - 5/6  Kashmiri chilli - 1/2 soaked Garlic - 5/6 pods finely chopped Salt as required Procedure - 1. Boil potatoes in cooker or instant pot . Let them cool and then remove skin . Mash them nicely with a fork and add salt as required ...

 Bread pakoda - a slight twist to the deep frying version making it more of like masala toast :) Quantity - for 2 people  Ingredients: Bread slices - 6  Besan - 1/ 2 cup Finely chopped green chillies - 2/3 Red chilli powder - 1/2 tsp Coriander powder - 1 tsp Fresh chopped coriander - few strands  Salt as per taste Oil - for shallow frying Water - as required to make a thin paste Procedure: 1. First cut the sides of bread and keep then ready . You can use the sides to make bread crumbs and store 2. Next in a bowl , mix besan , green chillies , red chilli powder , coriander powder and fresh coriander . Add salt as per taste and then add little water to make a smooth paste of besan . Ensure there are no lumps. 3. Heat a saucepan or a tawa and add oil to it for shallow frying - 2/3 tbsp is enough . 4. Take a bread slice and cut it into 2 triangles . Repeat for all other slices as well .  5. Once oil is hot , dip the bread triangle in besan mixture and coat it nicely...

 Khekda Kanda bhaji - are crispy pakoras of onion and not of khekda or crab as the name suggests . They are simple called khekda bhaji because of their appearance .  Quantity - makes 10 crispy bhajis Ingredients: Onion = half of big or 1 medium size Besan - 3 tbsp Coriander powder - 1 tsp Jeera powder - 1 tsp Red chilli powder - 2 tsp or as per spice Haldi - one pinch Salt - as per taste Ajwain - 1/2 tsp (optional) Peanut oil - for frying Hot oil - 2 tbsp as mohan  Procedure- 1. Cut onion vertically into thin slices and separate out every slice . Take these into a big bowl. 2. Next add all the dry spices and besan and mix well . Also add salt and keep it aside 3. In meanwhile keep oil for frying in a kadai . When it becomes hot , remove 2 tbsp of oil and add it to the onion mixture . Mix well with onions and spices . By now , onion must have left some water due to salt and so the mixture becomes slightly wet . Do not add any water to the mixture . This will not make the b...

 Tandulache Dhirde/Ghavan - simple dish made from rice flour but very tasty and falls in comfort food category  Quantity - makes 6 regular sized dhirde Ingredients: Rice flour - 1 cup Salt - as per taste  Whole jeera - 1/2 tsp (optional) Fresh coriander leaves - few (optional) Oil - for cooking  Water - 2/3 cups to make a watery consistency of batter Procedure- 1.  In a big bowl , take rice flour and add salt /jeera/coriander leaves chopped . 2. Next add water and keep checking consistency . Batter should be very thin like rava dosa . This will give nice crispy texture to the dhirde. 3. Heat tawa and once it is hot , pour ladleful of batter and make a thin round dhirde . You will see bubbles appear in the dhirde . That means it has perfect consistency . Add oil along the edges . Be generous with oil .  4. Once it is  nicely brown on one side , flip it and cook on other side .  Serve hot with homemade tup /lasun chutney or mango pickle or coconut c...