Easy and Healthy Dahi Bhalla or Dahi Vada
Ingredients :
- Urad dal (without skin) : 250gm
- Chopped ginger : 1 tsp
- Chopped green chillies : 1 tsp
- Salt to taste
- Curd : 500gm
- Whole cumin seeds : 4 Tbsp
- Dry whole red chillies : 2
- Sugar : 1 Tbsp
- Oil to fry
Method :
- Soak the urad dal overnight in sufficient water.
- In the morning, wash the dal 2 - 3 times with water.
- Grind the dal with some salt as per taste in a mixer with minimum amount of water as needed. The paste should be semi solid. It should not contain too much of water so that it flows.
- Put the ground paste in a large bowl.
- Add the chopped ginger and green chillies to it.
- Beat the mixture with a large and heavy spoon.
- To test if the mixture is beaten appropriately, take a bowl of water. Put a small quantity of the paste into it. If the paste flows on water, the mixture has been beaten properly.
- If the paste sinks towards the bottom, continue beating the mixture till a small quantity of it starts flowing on water.
- In a heavy bottomed pan or kadhai, pour some oil to deep fry the vadas and heat it.
- Take small portions of the mixture and put them in the oil. Deep fry the vadas.
- Once the vadas are fried till golden, put them in a vessel containing water so that the vadas are submerged in the water.
- The vadas should be fried only till they are light golden in colour. They should not turn dark in colour.
- Once the vadas have been fried and soaked in water, take the curd in a large bowl. Add some salt, sugar, water and cumin and red chilli powder mix(see recipe below) as per taste and beat the curd till it is smooth. The curd should be of medium consistency and should not be too thick or thin.
- Take the vadas out of water one by one and put them into the curd. The vadas should be covered with the curd.
- Refrigerate it for some time and serve with saunt ki chutney.
- Delicious dahi bhallas/vadas are ready.
For the cumin and red chilli mix, follow the below steps,
- Roast the cumin seeds along with the dry red chillies on a tawa for some time till you are able to smell the aroma of the cumin seeds. Keep the gas on sim, otherwise the spices would burn.
- Grind the roasted cumin seeds and dry red chillies to a fine powder.
Note : Take care that the vessel easily accommodates all the vadas and they are submerged in the curd. Do not overcrowd the vessel. Instead, distribute the vadas into two vessels if you do not have a bigger vessel. If you think that all the vadas are not getting submerged in the curd, add some more curd.
Anjeer and Kaju Milk Shake
Ingredients :
- Fresh Anjeer/Figs : 3
- Cashewnuts : 10
- Milk : 1 Glass
- Sugar : 4 Tbsp
Method :
Put all the ingredients in a blender and blend till you get a smooth and medium consistency. Serve immediately.
Note : If you don't have fresh anjeer, you can also use dry anjeer.
Health Tip :
- The health benefits of figs or anjeer include treatment of sexual weakness, constipation, indigestion, piles, diabetes, cough, bronchitis, and asthma. It also helps in gaining weight after illness
- Figs contain vitamin A, vitamin B1, vitamin B2, calcium, iron, phosphorus, manganese, sodium, potassium and chlorine.
- A few of its health benefits include:
- Prevent constipation
- Weight loss
- Lower cholesterol
- Prevent coronary heart disease
- Prevent colon cancer
- Protection against post-menopausal breast cancer
- Good for diabetic patients
- Prevention of hypertension
- Reduce Sexual weakness
- Strengthens bones
- Avoid Urinary calcium loss
- Prevent macular degeneration
- Relief for throat
4. Cashew nuts are packed with soluble dietary fiber, vitamins, minerals and numerous health-promoting phyto-chemicals that help protect from diseases and cancers.
5. They are rich in “heart-friendly” monounsaturated fatty acids like oleic and palmitoleic acids that help to lower or bad LDL cholesterol and increase good HDL cholesterol.
6. Cashew nuts are very rich source of minerals. Minerals especially manganese, potassium, copper, iron, magnesium, zinc and selenium are concentrated in the nuts.
7. Cashews are also rich in many essential vitamins such as pantothenic acid (vitamin B5), pyridoxine (vitamin B-6), riboflavin, and thiamin (vitamin B-1).
8. In addition, the nuts are also containing small amount of Zea-xanthin, an important flavonoid antioxidant, which selectively absorbed into the retinal macula lutea in the eyes.
Chocolate Gujiya
Ingredients :
For outer covering,
- Maida : 4 cups
- Ghee : 8 Tbsp
- Salt : 1 tsp
For filling,
- Khoya : 500g
- Desiccated coconut : 6 Tbsp
- Cashewnuts,chopped : 20
- Almonds,blanched and chopped : 20
- Raisins : 40
- Green cardamom powder : 1/2 tsp
- Powdered sugar : 300g
- Drinking Chocolate : 1 cup
Method :
- For preparing the covering, sift refined flour and rub in the ghee and salt. Add cold water and knead into a stiff dough. Cover it with a damp cloth and set aside.
- Roast the khoya slightly till it turns pink. Remove from heat and allow it to cool.
- Add desiccated coconut, cashewnuts, almonds, raisins, and green cardamom powder to khoya (reduced milk) and mix well.
- Add powdered sugar and grated chocolate and mix properly.
- With oiled hands divide dough into small balls.
- Grease the gujiya mould. Roll out dough balls into small puris (flat roundels), put it on the mould and press lightly.
- Place the stuffing in the hollow portion. Apply a little water on the edges, close mould and press firmly. Open mould and remove extra dough.
- Keep gujiyas covered with a damp cloth.
- Similarly use up all the dough and stuffing.
- If you do not have a mould, gujiyas can still be prepared. Roll out puris, cut with a katori (metal bowl of four-five inch diameter) to get a proper round shape.
- Place stuffing on one half, lightly dampen edges and fold the other half over the stuffing and press edges firmly using a fork.
- Heat sufficient oil in a kadai (wok) and deep-fry gujiyas on medium heat till golden brown. Drain and place on an absorbent paper. Let them cool slightly before serving, as the stuffing inside may be very hot.
Note : If you want to have healthy gujiyas, place the karanjis on a greased baking tray. Brush them with a little ghee and bake at 180°C for twenty to twenty five minutes instead of frying.
You can also make the above gujiyas without using drinking chocolate. It would be the usual mawa gujiya.
Healthy Date and Anjeer Gujiya
Ingredients :
For outer covering,
- Maida : 4 cups
- Ghee : 8 Tbsp
- Salt : 1 tsp
For filling,
- Dates,chopped , seedless : 2 cups
- Dried figs,chopped : 2 cups
- Cashewnuts,chopped : 20
- Almonds,blanched and chopped : 20
- Pistachios, chopped : 20
- Raisins : 40
- Green cardamom powder : 1/2 tsp
- Poppy seeds (khuskhus/posto) , roasted : 4 Tbsp
- Milk , for stuffing : 6 Tbsp
- Ghee,melted , for stuffing : 4 Tbsp
Method :
- For preparing the covering, sift refined flour and rub in the ghee and salt. Add cold water and knead into a stiff dough. Cover it with a damp cloth and set aside.
- Preheat oven to 180°C.
- To make the stuffing take dates and figs in a bowl.
- Add crushed cashewnuts, pistachios, green cardamom powder, roasted poppy seeds and mix.
- Mash lightly with fingers and add a little milk.
- Roll out a dough peda.
- Place it in the karanji mould.
- Put a small portion of the prepared filling in the hollow. Apply a little water on edges, close the mould and press firmly.
- Remove the excess dough and use again.
- Similarly make the remaining karanjis.
- If you do not have a mould, gujiyas can still be prepared. Roll out puris, cut with a katori (metal bowl of four-five inch diameter) to get a proper round shape.
- Place stuffing on one half, lightly dampen edges and fold the other half over the stuffing and press edges firmly using a fork.
- Place the karanjis on a greased baking tray. Brush them with a little ghee and bake at 180°C for twenty to twenty five minutes.
- Cool, store in an airtight container.
Namak Pare
It makes a delightful snack to be served on Holi
Ingredients :
- Maida : 2 cups
- Salt : 2 tsp
- Jeera : 1/2 tsp
- Ghee : 4 Tbsp
- Oil to fry
- Chaat masala
Method :
- Sift the flour with the salt.
- Add jeera and rub in the ghee.
- Using Cold water, knead the flour to make a stiff dough.
- Cover it with a damp cloth and leave aside for half an hour.
- Divide the dough into 4 portions.
- Roll out each portion into a thick chapati.
- Using a knife, cut out small squares or diamonds out of it. You can also cut large strips out of it as you like.
- Heat Oil in a kadhai . To check whether it is appropriately heated, drop one square into the oil. If it floats towards the top, then the oil is ready for frying. The oil should not be too hot so that the namak pares get burned.
- Add the dough squares into the oil just enough for the oil to accomodate easily.
- Fry till they are golden in color.
- Remove from oil and place them on a kitchen towel or tissue paper to absorb extra oil.
- Repeat till all the dough squares have been fried.
- Allow them to cool.
- You can sprinkle some chat masala on it to give an extra taste.
- Store in a Air tight container.
- Delicious Namak Pares are ready to be served.
