khandvi-1

Khandvi is a delicious gluten free snack, traditional to the western state of Gujarat. Made from cooking a mixture of gram/chickpea flour and sour yogurt, to which a mustard seed and curry leaves tempering is applied, Khandvi is a healthy snack idea to think about the next time you feel like snacking between meals.

It doesn’t take too much time to make khandvis, but there is a slight learning curve to it. Its fairly easy to make once you get the technique right. And since there is a slight technique to it I thought why not make a video tutorial for making Khandvis.

This is the first time I tried making a video, so it took more time than expected. Was not easy to shoot and cook at the same time, but somehow managed. And I thought that would be the tough part. But downloading, editing and trying to figure everything out just took more time than expected and hence the reason for such a delayed recipe. Promise this time it wasn’t my laziness! :)

I had Khandvis for the first time when my cousin’s husband was posted to Manesar, an Industrial town close to New Delhi. On the way to her place was a popular Indian fast food chain, Haldirams, that we would often stop by to grab something to eat. I would end up having just the Khandvis and be happy. From there my love for Khandvis was born.

This time when I went to India, the same person who gave my mom the Cilantro cake recipe (another gluten free snack), gave this recipe as well. And today I am sharing it with you along with the first ever video tutorial on the blog.

Hope the video is helpful.

Remember to be patient and cook the paste slowly and completely till thick and also be patient while making the rolls. If you hurry then the thin, delicate layers can break apart.

Note: Almost all the recipes I have seen online, first roll up the khandvi and then pour the tempering. The recipe I have does the rolling after the tempered seeds have been spread out on the unrolled batter. I prefer this at it ensures that each bite has a taste of the tempering. But, if you like you could first roll the khandvi and then do the tempering. 

Khandvi
 
Prep time

Cook time

Total time

 

Author:
Recipe type: gluten free, appetizer, snack
Cuisine: Indian
Serves: 20

Ingredients
For the batter:
  • 1 cup sifted besan
  • 1 cup thick yogurt, that is left outside to sour a bit
  • 2 cups water
  • ½ tsp turmeric powder
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • pinch asafetida
  • 1 tsp grated ginger
  • squirt lemon juice
For the tempering
  • 1 tsp green chillies
  • 2 tsp oil
  • 1 tbsp finely chopped curry leaves
  • 1 tsp mustard leaves
For garnish
  • desiccated coconut
  • finely chopped cilantro/coriander leaves

Instructions
  1. Prepare a clean surface where you would spread out the batter. It could be the back of a cookie sheet, or a clean marble or wooden counter top. You could also use lightly greased aluminium foil. I used my wooden counter top.
  2. Slightly grease whatever surface you use to use. Rub the surface off extra oil using a paper towel to make sure it’s not too oily.
To make the batter:
  1. Combine the gram flour, yogurt, water, lemon juice, ginger paste, turmeric powder, asafoetida and salt in a deep non-stick pan and mix well to make a smooth batter (taking care that no lump remains)
  2. Cook on a slow flame, while stirring continuously till it becomes thick (approx. 8 to 10 minutes). I have seen people doing this in the microwave but since the stove top method works for me, I haven’t tried it yet.
  3. Spread a spoonful of the batter on your lightly greased surface and wait for a few seconds and try to roll up. If it doesn’t, then cook for a few more minutes, and check once more till done.
  4. While the batter is still hot, spread it on prepared surface evenly to make a thin uniform layer using a spatula. Keep the mixture covered, so it remains hot while spreading the batter out.
  5. Once all the batter is spread out, let cool for about 5-10 minutes. When it is rolling consistency, do the tempering. (see note in blog post)
  6. For the tempering, heat toil in a small non-stick pan and add the mustard seeds. When the seeds crackle, add the asafoetida, curry leaves and green chillies and sauté on a medium flame for a few seconds.
  7. Pour the tempering over the spread out batter. Uniformly spread the tempering. Sprinkle dessicated coconut on top. Cut the khandvi lengthwise (approx. 1-1½” in width) into equal portions. Carefully roll up, making sure it is tiight.
  8. Serve immediately garnished with coconut and coriander.

 

 

 

Mexican Pasta Salad

A cloudy and windy Saturday (Sadly, no rains though)

A walk to the theatre to see Man of Steel (which I enjoyed watching)

A lazy Sunday spent meal planning and grocery shopping (my first time doing a meal plan for the week)

And, eating this mexican pasta salad for lunch today. All of this and more made it a weekend well spent. :)

The first time I made this easy pasta salad was for my coffee group friends and everyone enjoyed it. In fact it got my friends’ kids’ approval as well, and one of them is only 15 months old. And I think anything that gets a kid’s approval is a recipe to keep. Just make sure you reduce the spice to make the recipe more kid friendly.

mexican pasta-3

Read More →

quinoa bread-6

I had pinned this recipe for Quinoa bread quite a while back. The recipe was in French (or that’s what google says) but it intrigued me quite a bit, and with the help of google translator I could figure it out more or less and seemed like an easy recipe.

And it IS easy.

Not much of kneading, though I did knead it a little more than what the original recipe suggests. Well, the original recipe just calls for mixing everything with a wooden spoon. Maybe because I used slightly less water than called for I did have to knead it a little by hand to make it into a smooth dough. But that was it.

Also, I was a little wary of adding the walnuts before the first rise, because my knowledge of bread baking tells me that any additions like seeds, nuts weighs the dough down and thus inhibits rising so they should be added after the first rise. Luckily the dough still rose but since I was in a time crunch I did not wait till it tripled in size, as the recipe states but baked it once it was double in size after an hour and a half.

quinoa bread-3

quinoa bread-9

Read More →

bhindi raita-2

….or put in english- Roasted Okra in Yogurt.

I have posted this recipe long, long back. It was one of the initial few recipes that were put on the blog, when only my close friends knew about the blog. So why am I posting it again. Because I have changed it slightly. Also, things written in that post have also changed. Slightly.

I had started this blog to not only document recipes that I tried but also have a place to jot down snippets from my life, so that one day I can go through a particular blog post and know that on that particular day while preparing macarons I screwed up and ended up with this. Or how people on facebook congratulated me for being pregnant when I clearly was not and as a result made this.

It was also a place to document V and my life together. So when I went back to the old recipe’s post it was amusing to see how some things have changed.

Read More →

ghiya kofta-3

If you have been paying attention to what I write on my blog and have an amazing memory, then you would know how much I love my parents’ cook, Hira. He is super talented and makes the most amazing food. Had I not gotten sick in India I am sure I would have put on a lot of weight. Thankfully that did not happen.

So while V was having super healthy Glow spinach smoothies in the US, I was feasting on Hira’s amritsari Kulchas, chholley, butter chicken, grilled fish, koftas, phirni decorated with rose petals and so much more. (I really have no right to crib that V is thinner than me, just don’t.)

The other day my mom and I were on the phone and my mom told me about what Hira had been making quite a lot for their lunch these days. She was talking about these Ghiya koftas that I am sharing today on GMT.

Read More →

fluffy pancakes-7

A while back (and I am sorry to the person who asked this because it’s been quite a while back), someone asked me for a good recipe for pancakes. The simple kinds. Easy to make, and great to taste.

Since V is not that crazy about pancakes, they are never made in our house. In fact, during the first month or so of our marriage I remember bringing one of the boxed mixes home. I made them once, but realized later that V is not a fan of pancakes, and that box sat in our kitchen pantry cupboard till it expired, never to be used again and finally thrown after a year of passing its expiry date.

I, on the other hand do like pancakes.

I have grown up on pancakes.

Almost every weekend, my brother and I would request my mom to make pancakes for us. She generally used box mix, but sometimes made them from scratch too. Along with the pancakes, on the table would be maple syrup that my grandmother would get from Canada every time she came to visit us in India, but I always preferred the lemon syrup that my mom made from scratch.

And that’s how I remember pancakes. My mom serving them hot with a good serving of butter and the lemon syrup drizzled on top. Oh sooooo good.

Read More →


oatmeal pecan cookies-2

oatmeal pecan cookies-8

“Raisins that look like chocolate chips are the reason I have trust issues.”

Yesterday was one of those rare days when I actually got up at 5.30 in the morning and went for a jog.

It always feels good when I do that, but the only problem I face is that the day becomes way too long. I was showered and done with breakfast by 7.30 and with the house clean, my friends out of town and nothing to cook since V was not coming home for lunch that day and enough leftovers in the refrigerator for me, I had nothing much to do.

As a result I was wandering around the house aimlessly. I read my book for some time but then that also lost its charm and I ended up doing what I generally do when I am bored at home. Bake.

Well, either I bake or open the refrigerator, look for something to eat (read chocolate), realise it’s not healthy and shut the door, only to come back and repeat the process three times, before finally caving in. (Damn you, chocolate!)

Read More →

SHU_7368-3

I have never understood the hype behind red velvet cupcakes/cakes. So much food coloring in a baked good. Just does not seem right. And since I do not understand the hype, I have neither attempted making one or ordering it in a bakery, except for one very unfortunate dry and unflavorful experience at a bakery once. So when my friend asked to make a red velvet cake for one of our coffee friends’ farewell party, I was in a fix. Being such a popular cupcake/cake choice I thought I should see what the hoopla is actually about and agreed to baking some.

I searched and bookmarked many red velvet recipes. But finally went with the one that I am sharing today after reading the reviews on allrecipes.com. I ended up making cupcakes instead of a cake because I feel they are so much more fun sometimes, plus I had more fun decoration ideas for cupcakes than a cake.

What drew me to the recipe was actually the frosting. It called for cooking flour and milk together and then adding to the cooked mixture creamed butter and sugar. Its something I had never done or heard of before. It’s also how traditionally red velvet cakes were iced- with a french-style butter roux icing. And after reading the reviews, and how good the frosting and the cupcakes were I decided its worth trying. I was sure my friends would forgive me if they turned out bad.

Well, honestly, since the only experience I have had with a red velvet has been a dry, too-fake-red red velvet cupcake , these turned out to be very good. They were fluffy, moist, with a hint of chocolate too. The frosting, though, I was not sold. It wasn’t particularly bad, quite decent actually, but I think I am biased towards cream cheese frosting on top of a red velvet cupcake or any cupcake for that matter. So I missed the cream cheese flavor.

SHU_7391

Read More →

SHU_7343SHU_7350

A week back V had to go out of town and I was left home alone for three days and two nights.

Two very painful and scary nights.

With V gone all those scary movies, CSI , criminal mind episodes flashed in front of me and I just couldn’t sleep the whole night.

See, I love watching scary movies, and all those crime, murder mystery shows. But then later, I imagine all the different scenarios that they show in horror movies or the crime serials happening with me and every tiny little noise is made out to be a serial killer trying to get in the house and murdering V and me in our sleep.

And because of these fears I take many precautions. Like, if I get up in the middle of the night to pee, I let V know by repeatedly saying his name and as a result waking him up, so that if anything happens to me while on my way to the bathroom, he knows and comes for my rescue. Of course, now he is so used to it, most of the time he sleeps through it, so now I make sure I am little louder while saying his name. Yep, he is really lucky to have me in his life.  :)

I also lock our bedroom door, because I believe if someone does break into the house and we don’t hear it, we will for sure hear him trying to unlock our bedroom door. I also have been playing with the idea of putting a heavy piece of furniture in front of the bedroom door, just in case the killers do manage to open our door and we do not hear it. V thinks its a little bit too much because we do live in a very safe town. But one can never be too sure, can one?!

And athough I have a terrible time later, I never learn and continue to watch scary movies. I do try to reduce the chill factor by covering my eyes with my fingers, just enough to watch, sbut enough to not get that scared. I remember Rich Hall made a sniglet (snig’ lit: any word that doesn’t appear in the dictionary, but should) for watching a scary movie like that- SNARGLE. And to V’s and others’ amusement, and to my embarrassment I snargle a lot!

Read More →

SHU_7720SHU_7746

In our small mining town, we are a total of eight people from India; three couples and two bachelors, one of whom is actually a forced bachelor, since his wife is in California doing a one year course.

Its nice to have people from your country in the same city, especially in a place like this. And more so when it means you get to eat home cooked Indian food that is not cooked by your own hands. So every time we get a dinner invitation from our Indian friends I get super excited. And the joy is double since both the couples belong to states in the south of India, and since I am a complete novice with cooking south Indian food, I revel in their dosa, biryani, sambhar, and curd rice.

Its not that I have not tried my hand at South Indian cooking. During the first few months of our marriage, I tried making dosa, but it was a complete disaster that ended with me throwing the dosa batter away. After that misadventure, I have kept my distance from cooking anything that is south Indian totally relying on my South Indian friends here to satisfy my idli-dosa cravings. And it doesn’t hurt that my friend makes amazing food.

Read More →