Batter Up With Sujata

Eggless Fresh Fruit Cake With Black Carrot

Eggless fresh fruit cake with black carrot, strawberry, chikoo or Sapodilla organic jaggery, olive oil, whole wheat and soybean flour. Cake is super soft, moist, healthy and absolutely delicious. An aromatic cake with all the goodness of fresh fruits. Protein rich soybean flour will make your cake nutritious and soft. You can get two more jaggery cake recipes on this blog. Click on the name below for recipe.

1. Gluten free apple jaggery cake

2. Oats whole wheat Bournvita cake

And a collection of Eggless fruit cakes

You can also type cake on search to get many gluten free and healthy cakes. Not only eggless but this cake is also butter less and APF less. So you don’t need maida or refined flour, eggs or butter. If you don’t have olive oil then you can use any flavorless oil instead. We normally use fresh fruit for icing but tried this tea cake with fresh fruit and very happy with the taste and texture.

I have used black carrot, chikoo, strawberry, dried cranberries, fig and flavoured with dried ginger, cinnamon and nutmeg. And with whole wheat flour used soybean flour to add some protein and to make the cake more soft. I have used organic jaggery powder to sweetened the cake. You can use brown sugar, confectionery sugar, stevia or any sweetener of your choice. But I recommend to try with organic jaggery powder if you are making it for kids. You all know the health benefits of all these fruits and soybean flour so I am not making the post long and coming to the recipe. If you want you can get many articles about health benefits of these ingredients on Google.

This recipe is my contribution to 282 #Foodiemonday bloghop Best Of Berries theme. This lovely theme suggested by Poonam Bachhav who blog at Annapurna. Poonam has a great collection of different types of wonderful recipes. I love her variety of thali recipes. And bookmarked her Healthy gingerbread cookies to try soon.

As I mentioned above that you can use any sweetener of your choice instead of organic jaggery powder, you can also use any flour instead of whole wheat flour and soybean flour. Like any gluten free flour or even APF or maida can be used. And for flavour you can use vanilla or any essence of your choice if you don’t like cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger powder. You can also add any chopped dry fruits of your choice. I have made this cake in my Samsung microwave. If you are using microwave convection or hot blast mode set the temperature 150°-160° but for OTG set the temperature at 180°.

Recipe

Whole wheat flour or atta – 1 cup

Soyabean flour – 1/2 cup

Baking powder – 1 teaspoon

Baking soda – 1/2 teaspoon

Cinnamon powder – 1 teaspoon

Nutmeg powder – 1/4 teaspoon

Dry ginger powder – 1/2 teaspoon

Strawberry – 1/2 cup, chopped into small pieces

Chikoo or Sapodilla – 1

Dried cranberries – 2 tablespoon, chopped

Dried fig – 2 tablespoon, chopped

Black carrot – 1 cup, peeled and grated + to sprinkle

Organic jaggery powder – 1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon

Olive oil – 1/3 cup

Milk – 3/4 cup + 2 tablespoon

Vinegar or lemon juice – 1 tablespoon

Method

1. Grease a loaf pan or line with parchment paper and brush with oil.

2. If you are using OTG preheat the oven at 180° for 10 minutes. And for new model Samsung microwave set hot blast function. Set the temperature at 150° and press start. Your oven will start to preheat.

3. Peel and chop the chikoo into small pieces. Also chop the strawberries into small pieces.

4. In a bowl mix both fruits with 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon powder and 1 tablespoon organic jaggery powder. Keep aside.

5. Stir 1 tablespoon vinegar or lemon juice in lukewarm or room temperature milk. Your buttermilk is ready to use.

6. In a bowl sieve whole wheat flour or atta, soybean flour, baking powder, soda, dry ginger powder, nutmeg powder and 1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon powder. Sieve twice.

7. Mix chopped dried cranberries and dried fig pieces in the sieved flour.

8. In a large bowl whisk organic jaggery powder and olive oil well. Add vinegar or lemon juice mixed milk and whisk again.

9. Add peeled and grated black carrot and mix. Now add all the dry ingredients gradually and make a lump free smooth batter.

10. Fold in Cinnamon and jaggery mixed chopped strawberry and Chikoo in the batter.

11. Pour the batter into greased or lined baking pan. Level the top with a spoon. Sprinkle grated black carrot all over it. Cut the strawberry into 2 or 4 pieces and arrange on the top. Place the strawberry cut side down.

12. Bake in preheated oven at 180° for 30 – 40 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Insert a toothpick in the middle to check. In Samsung microwave bake in hot blast function at 150° for 30 minutes. But check after 25 minutes. If it’s not done properly bake for a few minutes more.

13. Let the cake cool down completely. Slice and serve with milk, tea or coffee. Or serve soft moist cake as a dessert. You can also serve it with icecream. Happy baking!

Notes

1. You can use any fruit and dry fruits of your choice.

2. Any flour can be used instead of whole wheat flour and soybean flour.

3. You can use vanilla or any flavour of your choice instead of cinnamon and nutmeg.

4. If you don’t have organic jaggery powder then you can use brown sugar, confectionery sugar, stevia or any sweetener of your choice.

5. You can use any flavorless oil instead of olive oil.

If you tried my recipe, you can share your food pictures with me in the social network sites by using hashtag, #batterupwithsujata I would love to see your creations.

I would love to hear from you. Please share your thoughts and suggestions in comment.

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Mix Vegetable Fried Rice

Mix Vegetable Fried rice. Fried rice with all the seasonal vegetables. An aromatic, no onion garlic and easy to make rice dish from Bengali cuisine. You will love the delectable taste and flavour.

Fried carrots, French beans, cauliflower, green peas ,cashew nuts and raisins made this rice absolutely delicious. You can use whatever vegetables you like and available. And the rice is flavored with whole spices and Bengali garam masala.

You can serve this fried rice with any curry or

Khejur aamsotto chutney

Mango chutney

Chicken dak bungalow

Savoury rasgulla korma

To get some more recipes from Bengali cuisine click here.

And for some more rice recipes click on the name below.

1. Mexican green rice

2. Tricolour rice

3. Carrot rice

4. Mexican rice

5. Beetroot rice

6. Mint rice

7. Spanish moulded rice

8. Aloo chutney pulao

9. Korean rice

10. Corn peas barista fried rice

11. Easy pulao

12. Saffron rice

Monday again and our 281 #Foodiemonday bloghop theme is Variety Rice Special suggested by Narmadha who blog at Nams Corner. Narmadha is a very talented blogger. I always love her authentic South Indian recipes. I have bookmarked her Veg lunch menu and Curry leaves rice to try. I am sure you will love to visit her space for more authentic, innovative and healthy recipes.

This fried rice recipe is very simple and easy to make. Its a no onion garlic recipe but you can use sliced onion if you want. After adding whole spices add sliced onion with chopped green chilli and fry. When onion becomes golden brown add green peas. You can also make it with leftover rice but rice shouldn’t be over cooked. I have used carrots, French beans, cauliflower and green peas. If you don’t like any of these vegetables you can omit it.

Recipe

Basmati Rice – 1 cup

Carrot – 2

French beans – 100 gram

Cauliflower florets – 1/2 cup

Green peas – 1/2 cup

Green chilli – 3, finely chopped

Green cardamom – 4

Cinnamon – 1 inch piece

Cloves – 4

Bay leaf – 2

Cumin seeds – 1/2 teaspoon

Refined oil – 2 tablespoon

Ghee or clarified butter – 2 tablespoon

Salt – 1 & 1/2 teaspoon or to taste

Sugar – 2 teaspoon or taste

Bengali garam masala – 1/2 teaspoon

Method

1. Rinse the rice well. Soak in water for 15 minutes. Drain the water and keep aside.

2. Heat sufficient water in a pan. When water starts to rolling boil add the rice. Stir and cook until rice becomes soft. Rice shouldn’t be mushy. Keep checking, remove from heat when 90 percent cooked. Check the rice by pressing between your fingers. Strain the rice immediately on a colander to drain the water well.

3. Spread the rice on a plate to cool down. Add salt and sugar and mix well. Add sugar according to your taste. I have used 2 and 1/2 teaspoon sugar, but you can use less sugar. But don’t skip it, add at least 1 teaspoon for taste. Be careful, rice shouldn’t be broken.

4. Wash all the vegetables well. Chop French beans into 1/2 inch pieces. Peel the carrots. Chop into small cubes. Cut the cauliflower into small florets.

5. Marinate the carrots, beans and cauliflower florets with little salt.

6. Crush green cardamom, cinnamon and cloves in a mortar pestle.

7. Heat ghee and oil in a pan or wok. Fry the carrot cubes. Transfer fried carrots to a plate.

8. Now fry the French beans for 1 – 2 minutes. Beans should be remain green. Remove the fried beans from oil.

9. Fry the cauliflower florets till golden brown and remove from oil.

10. Fry the cashew nuts till golden brown and remove from oil. Fry the raisins. When raisins starts to fluff up immediately remove from oil. You can use the raisins without frying if you want.

11. Add cumin seeds, bay leaves, crushed cardamom, cinnamon and cloves in the same oil ghee mixture. When cumin seeds starts to splutter and green peas and finely chopped green chilli. Sprinkle little salt. Saute till green peas becomes tender. To add onion see notes.

12. Now add rice, fried cashew nuts, raisins and all the fried vegetables. Mix well.

13. Fry for 2 – 3 minutes. Stir gently. Rice should be intact. Add 1/2 teaspoon Bengali garam masala powder, mix well and switch off the heat. Your Bengali style fried rice is ready. Serve hot with kosha chicken, fish kalia, dum aloo, dim kosha, chhanar dalna, mutton curry, chutney or any curry.

Notes

1. You can use sliced onion if you want. Add sliced onion after adding cumin, bay leaves, cardamom, cinnamon and cloves and fry. Add green peas when onion becomes light brown.

2. Add green chilli according to your taste.

If you tried my recipe, you can share your food pictures with me in the social network sites by using hashtag, #batterupwithsujata I would love to see your creations.

I would love to hear from you. Please share your thoughts suggestions in comment.

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Ranga Aloor Pithe/Sweet Potato Dumplings

Ranga aloor pithe or sweet potato dumplings. A sankranti special delicacy from Bengali cuisine. Sugar syrup soaked and stuffud with mawa/dried or thickened milk, coconut and khajur gur or date palm jaggery dumplings taste heavenly.

As I mentioned in my last year Sankranti post that in Bengal different types of pithe, puli, paesh or rice kheer/pudding are usually made to celebrate Poush Parbon or Makar Sankranti. On sankranti our lunch is Bhuni khichuri or khichdi with different types of vegetable fry or bhaja, Dum aloo , beguni, papad, tomato chutney or Khejur aamsotto or date mango bar chutney and for dinner different types of pithe puli, paesh or kheer, malpua, green peas stuffed kachodi, aloor nonta or savoury pithe. A day to enjoy all the traditional dishes. Here are some recipes that you can try to celebrate Poush Parbon or Makar Sankranti. Click on the name below for recipe.

1. Til badam laddu

2. Moong dal fried and baked pithe

3. Baked dudh puli

4. Malpua

5. Nolen gur paesh or date palm jaggery kheer

6. Gokul pithe

7. Date palm jaggery and coconut barfi

8. Rice kheer

9. Narkol naru or coconut laddu

And not traditional as above recipes but absolutely delicious two innovative baked recipes with all the sankranti special ingredients.

1. Semolina or rawa cake

2. Date palm jaggery oats dry fruits cookies

Monday again and our this week’s 280 #Foodiemonday bloghop theme is Sankranti Special.

To make these ranga aloor pithe or sweet potato dumplings you need rice flour and maida or refined flour for binding with mashed sweet potatoes. You have to mash the sweet potatoes really well. Dough should be completely lump free. Some sweet potatoes have fiber. Discard the fiber if any. And we don’t need thick sugar syrup for this pithe. Make a stuffing with khoya or mawa/dried whole milk, khajur gur or date palm jaggery, dry fruits and coconut. Cook the mixture on low heat until dried up. Keep stirring to avoid sticking to the bottom. Add little cardamom powder and remove from heat. Let it cool down completely before stuffing.

I always use homemade mawa. Get the method to make mawa here.

Recipe

Sweet potato- 4

Rice flour- 3 tablespoon

Refined flour or maida- 1 tablespoon

Sugar- 1 cup

Water- 2 cup

Cardamom powder- 1 teaspoon

For Stuffing click here

Refined oil or ghee for deep frying

Method

1. First make the stuffing as we made for Moong dal bhaja pithe and keep aside.

2. For sugar syrup boil 2 cup water with 1 cup sugar till sugar completely dissolved. Let it boil on low heat for 5 – 6 minutes more. Add 1/2 teaspoon cardamom powder, mix and remove from heat. You can use half cup khajur gur or date palm jaggery and half cup sugar to make jaggery flavoured syrup.

3. Boil the sweet potatoes. Don’t make the potatoes mushy, boil till potatoes becomes tender. If you are using pressure cooker, cook for 2 whistle.

4. Peel the sweet potatoes when cool. Mash the potatoes well. Break all the lumps and make lump free dough. Discard the fiber if any.

5. Add rice flour, refined flour or maida and 1/2 teaspoon cardamom powder. Mix well and make a smooth dough.

6. Make equal size balls. I have made 13 – 14 balls. You can make small sized pithe if you want. Flatten the balls with your palm. Place one teaspoon stuffing in the middle.

7. You can use little more stuffing but be careful while sealing, stuffing should be remain inside. Seal the edges and give cylindrical shape.

8. You can also make round pithe just like gulab jamun if you want.

9. Heat sufficient oil in a pan or wok. Slide the stuffed pithe into the hot oil. Slide 3 – 4 pithe one by one. But don’t overcroud. Fry on low medium heat till pithe becomes golden brown.

10. Dip the fried pithe in warm sugar syrup. Let it soak in syrup for 30 – 40 minutes or until all the pithe soaked well and swelled.

11. Use a large vessel to soak the stuffed and fried pithe. Don’t place the pithe over each other. Serve warm or at room temperature.

If you tried my recipe, you can share your food pictures with me in the social network sites by using hashtag, #batterupwithsujata I would love to see your creations.

I would love to hear from you. Please share your thoughts and suggestions in comment.

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Til Gur Jowar Cookies/Sesame Jaggery Sorghum Cookies/Gluten Free Cookies

Happy new year to all my readers. Wishing a very happy, healthy, joyous and prosperous new year to everyone. My first post of this year. Starting with a healthy recipe. Til gur jowar cookies or sesame jaggery sorghum cookies. A gluten free, healthy and absolutely delicious cookies with the goodness of sorghum flour or jowar atta, til or sesame seeds and jaggery or gur.

These eggless cookies are very easy to make. You don’t need to cream butter and sugar. Just mix everything and make a smooth dough. Make small balls and press on the sesame seeds to coat well and bake. Try and enjoy the crispy crunchy delicious cookies flavored with cinnamon, cloves and ginger. On last winter I had shared Til badam laddu or sesame almond laddu .

Til or sesame seeds and jaggery both are known as warm food. You may also like Pearl millet sesame oats cookies on this blog. For some more gluten free cookies recipes click here.

Til or sesame seeds contain calcium, magnesium, manganese, zinc. These seeds are a powerhouse of energy and when taken with jaggery they can help to reduce the risk of cold, cough and flu, which is a common health concern in winters. Jaggery or Gur is an ultimate winter superfood. The natural sweetener is not only a healthier alternative of refined sugar but also has numerous potential health benefits. Loaded with iron, vitamin C, protein, magnesium and potassium, gur is something that every person must include in their diet, especially when the temperature drops. Source

I have used sorghum flour or jowar atta to make these cookies. Gluten free Sorghum flour is rich in protein and fiber.

Sorghum is a nutrient-packed grain that you can use in many ways. It’s rich in vitamins and minerals like B vitamins, magnesium, potassium, phosphorus, iron, and zinc. It’s likewise an excellent source of fiber, antioxidants, and protein. Source – Healthline

Sending this post to 279 #Foodiemonday bloghop theme is Sesame Seeds suggested by Mayuri Patel who blog at Mayuris Jikoni. I always love her space for versatile recipes and wonderful write up. I have a long list of baked recipes from her blog to try. Like Taftan, Christmas tea bread etc. You can also get many authentic Gujarati recipes on her blog.

Now coming to the recipe. As I mentioned above that its a quick and easy recipe. Just mix everything and bake. I have used organic jaggery powder but you can use powdered sugar, brown sugar or any sweetener of your choice. You can also use shredded almond or cashew nuts if you want. Nutty flavour of sesame seeds, coconut, jaggery and the mix aroma of ginger, cinnamon and cloves made these cookies divine. You can use whole wheat flour or atta, refined flour or maida or any flour instead of sorghum flour. But I recommend to try with sorghum flour or jowar atta for best result. I have used salted Amul butter and olive oil. But you can also use ghee or clarified butter, unsalted butter and instead of olive oil any flavorless oil can be used.

Recipe

Sorghum flour – 1 cup

Desiccated coconut – 4 tablespoon

Sesame seeds – 3 tablespoon + for coating

Organic jaggery powder – 1/2 cup

Salted butter – 3 tablespoon

Olive oil – 2 tablespoon

Dried ginger powder – 1/2 teaspoon

Cinnamon powder – 1/2 teaspoon

Baking powder – 1/2 teaspoon

Baking soda – 1/8 teaspoon

Clove powder – 1/4 teaspoon, optional

Milk – 1/4 cup

Method

1. Dry roast 3 tablespoon Sesame seeds or til in a pan. When sesame seeds starts to splutter and change it’s colour to light brown immediately transfer the seeds on a plate.

2. In a large bowl mix sorghum flour or jowar atta, organic jaggery powder, baking powder, soda, desiccated coconut, dry roasted sesame seeds or til, cinnamon powder, ginger powder and clove powder.

3. Add olive oil and salted butter. I have used Amul butter. Chop the chilled butter into small pieces before measuring.

4. Mix everything well with your fingers. When everything combined really well add milk and make a smooth dough.

5. Preheat the microwave convection or hot blast function at 160°. For OTG preheat at 180° for 10 minutes. Grease a baking tray or line with parchment paper.

6. Spread some sesame seeds or til on a plate.

7. Make small balls out of the dough. You can make 18 – 20 cookies from this dough. Depends on the size.

8. Press the balls on the sesame seeds to coat well. For crisper cookies press to make thin cookies. I didn’t dry roast the sesame seeds used for coating because I wanted white coloured sesame seeds coated on brown cookies. You can use roasted sesame seeds if you like.

9. Arrange the sesame seeds coated and flatten balls on lined or greased baking tray. Don’t forget to leave some space between cookies.

10. Bake in preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes or until cookies becomes golden brown. Keep an eye after 10 minutes. For soft mouth melting cookies bake for less time and for crispy crunchy cookies bake for longer time.

11. Let the cookies cool down completely before serving.

Notes

1. Any flour can be used instead of sorghum flour or jowar atta.

2. You can use any flavorless oil instead of olive oil.

3. You can add shredded almond, cashew nuts or any dry fruits in the dough.

4. You can also use vanilla essence or any flavour of your choice instead of cinnamon and cloves.

5. Ghee or clarified butter can be used instead of butter.

If you tried my recipe, you can share your food pictures with me in the social network sites by using hashtag, #batterupwithsujata I would love to see your creations.

I would love to hear from you. Please share your thoughts and suggestions in comment.

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Bengali Garam Masala

Bengali garam masala. An aromatic spice mixture. Add a pinch of this garam masala with a teaspoon of ghee or clarified butter in your curries at the end to enhance the flavour and taste. This spice mixture is commonly used in every Bengali home. In curries, ghonto,dalna etc.

My mother and mother in law both were use it freshly ground in stone grinder or sil batta. And they never dry roast the spices. But I have dry roasted lightly for easy grinding. I remember it’s a regular duty of our domestic helper to grind a small bowl full of this garam masala with the help of little water daily. I didn’t use my stone grinder or sil batta since a long time. Discarded the old one because of small modular kitchen. But I had browse for the picture last night. And loved the picture below. Just like I had in my earlier kitchen.

In my parental home stone grinder or sil batta was made of black stone. In Bengali it’s called sil nora. I will ask my sister in law to send me a picture. Earlier shared one more aromatic Bengali spice mix Bhaja moshla to enhance the flavour of your cutlets, dum aloo, sandwich stuffing or any savoury dish.

Sending this recipe to 278 #Foodiemonday bloghop theme is Spice Mix Secrets suggested by Aruna SarasChandra who blog at Vasusvegkitchen. Aruna is a very talented blogger. Her space is full of different types of wonderful recipes. And she has also some delicious and flavorful spice mix or podi recipes. I have bookmarked her Peanut powder or palli podi and Idli dosa podi. Do visit her space for many more delicious snacks, starter, bread, curries, baked and tiffin recipes.

As I mentioned above that earlier people used this masala freshly ground. But I always store some for easy use. You have to add very little of this spice mixture. And never add it with other spices when sautéing or frying. Always add at the end or before removing the curry from stove for best result. It will make your dish more aromatic.

Recipe

Cardamom- 20

Cloves- 16

Cinnamon- 3 stick

Method

1. Dry roast the spices on a skillet for one minute only. You can also grind without dry roasting. But lightly dry roasted spices will grind easily.

2. Grind when cool. Store in an airtight container for later use. Add a pinch in your curries with ghee or clarified butter at the end to enhance the taste and flavour.

Notes

1. You can also grind this spice mixture without dry roasting if you have a powerful grinder.

2. You can add bay leaf and little javitri with cardamom, cloves and cinnamon if you want to make your spices more aromatic. But in Bengali garam masala we use only green cardamom, cinnamon and cloves.

If you tried my recipe, you can share your food pictures with me in the social network sites by using hashtag, #batterupwithsujata I would love to see your creations.

I would love to hear from you. Please share your thoughts and suggestions in comment.

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Bhuni Khichuri Or Bhoger Khichuri/Moong Dal Khichdi

Bhuni khichuri or bhoger khichuri/khichdi. A very aromatic and delicious one pot meal . This khichdi is usually prepared for offering as bhog prasad for Goddess with 5 types of vegetable fry, mixed vegetable or labra, dum aloo, chutney, rice kheer and sweets etc.

Now what is bhog? Food prepared to offer God called naivedyam or bhog. I had mentioned about bhog in my Durga Puja Or Sharad Utsab post. Not only khichdi but Luchi , Radhaballabhi, pulao , Misti doi suji or semolina halwa and different kinds of sweets also can be prepared for bhog. You can serve this khichdi with any no onion garlic curry. I had served it with papad, begun bhaja, dum aloo, mixed vegetable or labra, chutney and rice kheer.

And some salted vegetable fry to serve with this khichdi. Aloo bhaja or fried potato, fried cauliflower, begun bhaja or fried brinjal and pumpkin fry.

Here are some recipes that you can make with khichuri.

.Date raisin jaggery chutney with mango bar

.Mango raisin chutney

.No onion garlic makhana curry

.Potato curry

.Dum aloo

.Rice kheer with date palm jaggery or khajur gur

.Rice kheer or paesh

.Misti doi

You can call it moong dal khichdi. But let me tell you that its not light moong khichdi which normally served to sick people. But this khichdi or khichuri is taste like pulao. Usually fried cauliflower and potatoes are used to make this bhoger khichuri or bhuni khichuri. But you can also make it with only green peas if you want. You can add cashew nuts and raisins in the khichdi if you like. Normally gobindobhog rice is used to make this khichdi but I don’t have gobindobhog rice so used Indrayani rice. My daughter bought it from Pune. You can use any fragrant short grain rice.

Monday again and this week 277 #Foodiemonday bloghop theme is One Pot Wonder suggested by Archana Gunjikar Potdar who blog at Mad Scientist Kitchen. Archana is a wonderful blogger. I always love her authentic Goan recipes, different types of continental recipes and delicious bakes. Her Plum and apple cobbler and Goan-methi-che-polle-recipe are in my next to try recipes. Do visit her space for many more amazing recipes.

Now coming to the recipe. You can also make this khichdi in pressure cooker. If you are using pressure cooker add only 4 & 1/2 cup water. You need more water in open pot. But khichdi taste best in open pot, as I did. Fry the moong dal well or till you feel the aroma of fried moong dal and dal becomes golden brown. You can add less sugar according to your taste. But don’t skip it. To make the khichdi more aromatic and ghee and little Bengali garam masala powder at the end. You can add water according to your desired consistency but don’t make the khichdi runny. This khichdi or khichuri taste just like pulao. You can dry roast the dal and then wash and add with rice in the khichdi. You can add cumin powder and red chilli powder if you want. I am sharing my mother’s recipe here.

Recipe

Moong dal – 1 cup

Rice – 3/4 cup

Potato – 2 large

Cauliflower florets- 13 – 14

Slit green chili – 2 – 3

Green peas – 3/4 cup

Grated ginger – 1 tablespoon

Cumin seeds – 1 teaspoon

Dry red chilli – 1

Bay leaf – 2

Green cardamom – 3, crushed

Cloves – 3 – 4

Cinnamon – 1 inch piece

Mustard oil – 4 – 5 tablespoon

Ghee or clarified butter – 2 tablespoon

Salt to taste

Turmeric powder – 1 teaspoon

Sugar – 1 tablespoon or to taste

Water – 6 – 7 cup

Method

1. Wash the rice well and soak in water for 10-15 minutes. Drain the water and keep aside. Use gobindobhog rice or any fragrant short grain rice.

2. Wash the moong dal and drain well.

3. Peel the potatoes and cut into 4 pieces.

4. Heat mustard oil in a pan or wok. Fry the potato pieces till brown. Remove from oil.

5. In the same oil fry the cauliflower florets. When florets becomes brown remove from oil and place on a plate.

6. Now add 1 tablespoon ghee or clarified butter in the oil. Add cumin seeds, dry red chilli, crushed or broken green cardamom, cloves, cinnamon and bay leaf.

7. Add drained moong dal and fry for a minute. Add grated ginger and fry till dal becomes golden brown.

8. You can dry roast the dal before washing, dry roast till fragrant and golden brown. If you are dry roasting moong dal then wash when cool and add it with rice.

9. Add soaked and drained rice. Mix well. Add salt, turmeric powder, fried potato pieces, green peas and stir well. Saute for a minute. You can add 1 teaspoon cumin powder and 1/2 teaspoon red chilli powder if you want. I didn’t.

10. Add 5 cup water and slit green chili. Mix everything well. When it starts to rolling boil reduce the heat. Cover and cook on simmer for 15 minutes.

11. Stir in between. Check after 10 minutes and you can add more warm water if required. If you are using gobindobhog rice then you may need less water.

12. Now add sugar and fried cauliflower florets. You can also add some cashew nuts and raisins if you like.

13. Add 1 cup warm water and mix well. Cover and cook on simmer for 10 minutes more. I like my bhuni khichuri/khichdi dry. But if you like medium thick then you can add little more warm water. Khichdi shouldn’t be runny so add water carefully.

14. At last add 1 tablespoon ghee and switch off the heat. Add more ghee if you wish. I have added some more ghee before serving. You can add little Bengali garam masala powder at the end. Get the recipe of Bengali garam masala here.

15. Serve hot khichuri/khichdi with begun bhaja or beguni or baigan pakoda, labra, Dum aloo , tomato chutney or Khajur or date chutney, Mango-raisin-chutney papad, paesh or rice kheer and Misti doi.

If you tried my recipe, you can share your food pictures with me in the social network sites by using hashtag, #batterupwithsujata I would love to see your creations.

I would love to hear from you. Please share your thoughts and suggestions in comment.

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Collection Of Eggless Fruit Cake

Collection of eggless fruit cake. Here are some fruit cake recipes with different flours. You can get sugar free cake recipe for diet conscious people. And also some gluten free and vegan fruit cake recipes. Try the guilt free cakes or some with sugar cakes and enjoy the upcoming festival. Click on the name or picture below for recipe.

Dundee Cake

Mixed taste of almond, lemon, orange, blackberry preserve, cardamom and cinnamon made this cake super yummy and aromatic.

Suji/rawa or semolina cake

A cake with all the ingredients we use on sankranti. Loaded with dry fruits, mawa, til or sesame seeds, coconut and flavoured with cardamom and caramel.

Diet cake or fruit cake

A delicious treat for diet conscious people. A completely guilt free cake. Super healthy for kiddos and perfect for health watchers.
Even diabetic people can eat it.
Its APF less, butter less, egg less and yes sugar less too. Even frosting is butter less and sugar less.

Whole wheat fruit cake

Egg less, butter less and APF less super soft fruit cake. You will love it’s mild flavor of orange and spices. The cake is healthy because of whole wheat flour and lots of dry fruits.
You don’t need overnight soaked dry fruits. Very easy to make yet absolutely delicious.

Eggless Christmas Cake

Egg less fruit cake. Super soft, moist, flavourful and loaded with dry fruits. No, not rum soaked its caramel soaked dry fruits cake or Christmas cake.
Very easy to make, no fuss and aromatic cake for this special accession.

Gluten free and vegan fruit cake

Eggless gluten free and vegan fruit cake. Made of Soyabean flour and oats and loaded with dry fruits. Dry fruits are not rum soaked. You don’t need to soak the dry fruits for long periods. Just soak in orange juice for overnight. The cake is spiced with star anise, green cardamom, cloves and cinnamon.

Gluten free jaggery fruit cake

Gluten free fruit cake with amaranth flour or rajgira atta, sorghum flour or jowar atta and soybean flour. Vegan people can replace honey with jaggery.
A delicious aromatic festive cake loaded with dry fruits and flavoured with all the spices and chocolate. Try and feel the burst of taste and flavour. Blend of three healthy gluten free flour, tea soaked dry fruits, flavorful spices, cocoa, jaggery and honey made this cake super soft, moist, mouthwatering and healthy.

If you tried my recipe, you can share your food pictures with me in the social network sites by using hashtag, #batterupwithsujata
I would love to see your creations.

I would love to hear from you. Please share your thoughts and suggestions in comment.
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Bajra Or Pearl Millet Pizza Crackers / Gluten Free Crackers

Bajra or pearl millet pizza crackers. Crispy crunchy eggless crackers made with pearl millet or bajra flour. A perfect winter special gluten free treat for kids and adults both. Because nutritious and protein, fiber, iron enriched gluten free pearl millet or bajra also helps to stay us warm in winter. Crackers are gluten free and if you are following vegan diet, omit cheddar cheese powder.

Here is an easy to make recipe for this season. But if you don’t have pearl millet flour or you don’t like the taste of pearl millet then you can make it with refined flour/maida or whole wheat flour/atta. Refined flour or all purpose flour/maida definitely taste better but not healthy though but you can use once in a while. Or use a mixture of refined flour and whole wheat flour. Choice is your.

This time I have used my new Samsung microwave to make these crackers. At first I was little confused about its hot blast mode. But now my experience is its perfect for baking just like convection mode or OTG. But hot blast mode takes less time and also you have to set the temperature at low. For cookies set at 160° instead of 180° and for crackers set the temperature at 170° or 180° instead of 190°. And keep an eye after 8 minutes because it bakes faster than traditional oven. Here is the picture of the new member of my kitchen 😀. I also loved the look. Isn’t looks cute? And also sharing a picture of samosa which I had made first time using it’s slim fry mode. Slim fry mode works as air fryer. And vadi or sun dried lentil dumplings using sun dry mode. You can call it instant vadi.

Bajra is rich in magnesium, which helps keep the heart healthy. It has potassium, which dilates blood vessels, allowing blood to flow more easily. This helps reduce overall blood pressure. Bajra also has fibre that helps reduce LDL, or bad, cholestrol. Source

You may like some more recipes with pearl millet or bajra on this blog. Click on the name below for recipe.

1. Gluten free savoury pancake

2. Gluten free rose flavored nankhatai

3. Eggless pearl millet cashew almond honey cookies

4. Pearl millet sesame oats cookies

5. Fennel oats millet cookies

Earlier shared Whole wheat carom seeds or ajwain crackers

This week our 276 #Foodiemonday bloghop theme is Kids Party suggested by Swaty Malik. Swaty is a very talented blogger who blog at Food Trails. Do visit her space for many innovative and healthy recipes like Healthy sattu cookies , Semolina and coconut tea cake and her Palak paneer fried rice is also in my list to try soon.

My contribution for this theme is pizza flavored crackers made with pearl millet or bajra flour. Kids love pizza, right? So here is a crispy crunchy and nutritious crackers with all the goodness of pearl millet. As I mentioned above, if you want to make it dairy free just skip cheese powder. And if you don’t have bajra or pearl millet flour then you can use whole wheat flour or all purpose flour. You can also use the seasoning according to your choice.

Recipe

Bajra or pearl millet flour – 1 cup

Olive oil – 3 tablespoon

Salt – 1/2 teaspoon

Baking powder – 1/2 teaspoon

Oregano – 1 teaspoon

Dried basil – 1/2 teaspoon

Chilli flakes – 1/2 teaspoon

Pizza sauce – 2 teaspoon

Garlic powder – 1/2 teaspoon

Cheddar cheese powder – 1 tablespoon, optional

Water – 5 tablespoon

Method

1. Preheat the oven at 180°. Grease a baking pan or line with parchment paper.

2. In a bowl mix bajra or pearl millet flour, salt and olive oil. Mix well.

3. Add baking powder, oregano, dried basil, chili flakes, pizza sauce, garlic powder and cheddar cheese powder. Mix again. See notes for more options.

4. Now add water and make a smooth pliable dough. Add little more water if required. I have used 2 teaspoon water more. Cover and keep aside for 10-15 minutes.

5. Sprinkle little flour on a flat surface. Knead the dough again and roll with a rolling pin. Thickness shouldn’t be more than 1/4 inch.

6. Prick with a fork and cut with a cookie cutter or pizza cutter. Cut into your desired shape.

7. Place the crackers on baking pan. Bake in preheated oven at 170° for 8 to 10 minutes or till the crackers becomes light brown. If you are using OTG bake at 180°. Enjoy the guilt free crackers on your munching time.

Notes

1. Whole wheat flour/atta or refined flour/ maida can be used instead of bajra or pearl millet flour.

2. You can add the seasoning according to your taste.

3. Garlic paste or minced garlic can be used instead of garlic powder.

4. You can also use freshly crushed black pepper in the dough.

5. To make the crackers vegan omit cheese powder.

If you tried my recipe, you can share your food pictures with me in the social network sites by using hashtag, #batterupwithsujata I would love to see your creations.

I would love to hear from you. Please share your thoughts and suggestions in comment.

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Multigrain Chocolate Cookies Or Shortbread Cookies/Nankhatai

Eggless chocolate cookies or chocolate nankhatai/shortbread cookies. A delicious and healthy treat for your kids. Cookies are made with multigrain flour or a mixture of wheat, barley, ragi, corn, chana or chickpea and soybean flour and little cornmeal. And sweetened with organic jaggery powder. You can also use normal powdered sugar, coconut sugar or brown sugar. You can add some choco chips or chopped dry fruits in the dough if you want.

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I got a bottle of farm fresh organic jaggery powder from my loving neighbor Jagjeet Kaur Kang (Sona). Every year she brings a bottle for me from her parents home. And I love to use this jaggery in my bakes like

Gluten free apple almond cupcakes

Apple almond saffron whole wheat muffins

No butter no sugar oats almond cookies

Gluten free vegan apple jaggery cake

Whole wheat coffee jaggery cookies

Whole wheat Bournvita cake

and Gluten free oats tutti frutti jaggery cookies . So thanks to Sona and a big thank to her brothers who cultivate in their farm.

Sending this post to 275 #Foodiemonday bloghop theme is Healthy Bakes suggested by me. Eagerly waiting to see my fellow blogger’s recipes using different kinds of healthy flour or some healthy baked dishes.

I have used store bought multigrain flour but you can make a mixture of different flours if you want. And if you don’t have organic jaggery powder then you can use unrefined or raw sugar, brown sugar, powdered sugar, jaggery powder, coconut sugar or any sweetener of your choice. My kids like less sweet so I had used 1/3 cup organic jaggery powder, if you like your cookies sweeter then add 1 cup sweetener. Cornmeal will make your cookies crisp. But you can also use oats powder, besan or chickpea flour or simply increase the amount of multigrain flour. For soft and mouth melting cookies bake for only 10 – 12 minutes. And for crispy cookies bake for 15 – 20 minutes. Every oven takes different time so check after 10 minutes. If you are using OTG set the temperature at 180° but in new microwave convection mode bake at 160°.

Recipe

Multigrain flour – 1 cup

Cornmeal or makka atta – 1/3 cup

Semolina or suji – 2 tablespoon

Cocoa powder – 2 & 1/2 tablespoon

Butter – 1/2 cup

Organic jaggery powder – 3/4 cup

Vanilla essence – 1/2 teaspoon

Baking powder – 1/2 teaspoon

Baking soda – 1/4 teaspoon

Choco chips as require

Method

1. Preheat the oven at 180°.

2. Grease a baking tray or line with parchment paper.

3. In a bowl mix multigrain flour, cornmeal, semolina, cocoa powder, baking powder and soda.

4. In a large bowl whisk jaggery powder and butter well. I have used homemade white butter. I like my cookies less sweet but if you want sweeter cookies use 1 cup organic jaggery powder.

5. Add vanilla essence and whisk again.

6. Now add all the dry ingredients. Mix well and make a smooth dough.

7. Make small balls. You can make 21 – 22 small cookies. Or make larger balls to make large size cookies.

8. Press the ball gently with your palm and arrange the cookies on greased or lined baking tray.

9. Press ones choco chip in the middle. I had used white choco chips. You can use any choco chips or dry fruits of your choice. But this step is optional.

10. Bake the cookies in preheated oven for 12-15 minutes or till cracks appears. For crisper cookies bake for a few minutes more. Let the cookies cool down before serving. Enjoy the cookies with your milk, tea or coffee.

Notes

1. Any flour can be used to make these cookies.

2. You can also add some choco chips or shredded almond or any dry fruits in the dough.

If you tried my recipe, you can share your food pictures with me in the social network sites by using hashtag, #batterupwithsujata I would love to see your creations.

I would love to hear from you. Please share your thoughts and suggestions in comment.

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Dim Kosha Or Spicy Egg Curry With Thick Gravy

Dim kosha or spicy flavorful egg curry from Bengali cuisine. A rich and thick curry, best accompany with steamed rice pulao, puri, naan or any bread. Easy to make and delectable taste.

Posting after a short break. Hope you will like the recipe. Earlier shared Chicken kosha Kosha means bhuna or frying the spices well. For delectable taste you have to fry the spices on low flame for a long time. I had served this delicious dim kosha or spicy egg curry with Saffron rice .

Eggs are a very good source of inexpensive, high-quality protein. More than half the protein of an egg is found in the egg white, which also includes vitamin B2 and lower amounts of fat than the yolk. Eggs are rich sources of selenium, vitamin D, B6, B12 and minerals such as zinc, iron and copper. A study published in Paediatrics magazine has suggested that giving young children just one egg a day for six months, alongside a diet with reduced sugar-sweetened foods, may help them achieve a healthy height and prevent stunting. Source

You may like some more dishes with eggs on this blog. Click on the name below for recipe.

1. Piperade-with-indian-spices

2. Soya-loaf

3. Kerala-egg-roast-with-potato

4. Egg korma with almond and coconut milk

5. Eggs in mustard and poppy seeds

6. Egg in yogurt sauce

7. Spicy egg or masala egg

8. Egg pulao

9. Potato stuffed egg enchilada

10. Tomato cilantro egg drop soup

11. Dimer chop or deviled egg

12. Chicken-dak-bungalow

Happy to post for our bloghop group again after more than a month. This week 273 #Foodiemonday bloghop theme is My Family Favorite recipe suggested by Priya Vijaykrishnan who blog at Sweet Spicy Tasty. A perfect blog name. You can get many wonderful savoury, sweet, spicy, healthy, authentic, innovative and mouthwatering recipes on her blog. I have bookmarked her different types of lipsmacking chutneys and Date coconut microwave laddu to try.

As I mentioned above recipe is very easy to make. Fry the salt, turmeric powder marinated hard boiled and peeled eggs. Don’t forget to make a few slit on the eggs. I had used mustard oil, you can use any oil but this curry taste best with mustard oil. If you don’t like to use green cardamom, cloves and cinnamon, then you can use 1 teaspoon panch phoran for tempering. To make panch phoran or five spice mix 1 tablespoon each nigella seed or kalonji, cumin seeds or jeera, mustard seeds or sarso, fennel seeds or sounf and 1/2 tablespoon fenugreek seeds or methi. I also make dim kosha with panch phoran for a change. But this dim kosha with crushed whole spices is aromatic and more delicious.

Recipe

Eggs – 4, boiled and peeled

Onion – 1 large, thinly sliced

Ginger garlic paste – 1 tablespoon

Tomato – 1 ,finely chopped

Great chilli – 2 – 3, slit

Green cardamom – 3

Cloves – 3

Cinnamon – 1/2 inch piece

Dry red chilli – 1

Bay leaf – 1

Turmeric powder – 1/2 teaspoon + 1/4 teaspoon

Cumin powder – 1 teaspoon

Coriander powder – 1 teaspoon

Kashmiri red chilli powder – 2 teaspoon

Garam masala powder – 1/2 teaspoon

Sugar – 1/2 teaspoon or to taste, optional

Salt to taste

Tomato ketchup – 1/2 tablespoon

Mustard oil – 3 – 4 tablespoon

Water – 1 cup

Method

1. Make some slit on the hard boiled eggs. Marinate the eggs with little salt and 1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder. You can also add little red chilli powder. I didn’t.

2. Crush green cardamom, cinnamon and cloves in a mortar pestle.

3. Heat oil in a pan. Fry the eggs till golden brown from all the sides.

4. Remove the eggs from oil and place on a plate.

5. Add bay leaf, dry red chilli and crushed cardamom, cinnamon and cloves in the same oil.

6. Now add sliced onion. Fry till onion starts to change it’s colour.

7. Add ginger garlic paste and fry for a minute. Add chopped tomato, salt, cumin powder, coriander powder, turmeric

8. Now add tomato sauce and stir. Add water and mix well. When water starts to boil add the eggs and slit green chili. Add sugar if using. Mix well.

9. Cover and reduce the heat. Cook on simmer for 7 – 8 minutes. Remove the cover and cook on high heat until gravy becomes thick. Add garam masala and mix. Taste and adjust the salt. Mix and remove from heat.

10. Garnish with cilantro or coriander leaves. Serve with roti, puri, naan, paratha, steamed rice, jeera rice or pulao.

Notes

1. You can add peeled, cubed and fried potato in curry if you want.

2. Use chilli according to your taste.

3. You can also use 1 teaspoon panch phoran instead of crushed whole spices for tempering or tadka.

If you tried my recipe, you can share your food pictures with me in the social network sites by using hashtag, #batterupwithsujata
I would love to see your creations.

I would love to hear from you. Please share your thoughts and suggestions in comment.
Please visit my facebook page and hit the like button to get the latest update

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