Hi All, I have been going through the recipes submitted by various members. one of my hobbies is also cooking . I have resided in the uk for the last 34yrs. I and my husband and 2 boys are all vegetarians. With innovation I have learnt to make international dishes using veggies. I am a gujarati lady so if anyone of you out there would like any gujju recipes i will be more than happy to post them. It was a pleasure to teach my foreign friends whilst in West Africa and introducing them to our mouth watering dishes Hope to hear from you all
welcome Dear Pravina, Welcome to being one of us in IL. I am delighted by your offer to teach us Gujarathi recipes. Please do go ahead and start a thread. I would be really happy to get recipes of kachori with besan filling, undhiyo and gud keri. Looking forward to these delights. warm regards Vidya
Dear Pravina, I'll be delighted to see gujju recipes and try them out at home. Every weekend(no exaggeration!), my husband and I visit this gujju place(Milan, milpitas) to eat their khandvi, pathra, jalebi and gujju thali). Thepla and dhokla are things I make atleast twice a week, and undhiyu (like Vidya said) is an all-time fav!! My best friend from Mumbai is a kachhi jain, so I am very fond of gujju, kachhi food. I really miss the peanut dry chutney her mom would make(guess it was solapur chutney as they were part maharashtrians too), but incase you know how to make it, I'd be delighted to post a feedback on the same! Would also like to learn dhabeli and gujju sweets. Love Shalini
Peanut Chutney Hi Shalini, Here is how i make the peanut chutney 1/2 bowl peanuts 3-4 green chill 1tsp roasted cumin powder 1tsp chopped coriander 1tsp sugar salt to taste lemon juice Soak the peanuts in water for half an hour . Drain and pat dry. grind them with green chillies add cumin powder,salt,sugar,chopped coriander. add lemon juice when served. I am also posting a recipe for Dhokri which is always a hit at dinner parties. DHOKARI Serves 6 persons FOR THE BATTER I BOWL OF GRAM FLOUR (8OZ) 3TBLS OF DHOKRA FLOUR OR RICE FLOUR ½ BOWL SOUR CURDS ITBLS GINGER AND CHILLI PASTE 3TSP ENO I I/2TSP BAKING POWDER 5TBLS OIL SALT TO TASTE ¼ TSP TURMERIC FOR TEMPERING(Vaghar) 3 TBLS OIL CURRY LEAVES 1TBLS SESAME SEEDS 1TSP MUSTARD SEEDS A PINCH OF ASOEFOTIDA 2TO3 DRY RED CHILLIES 2 CHOPPED GREEN CHILLIES 3TABLESPOON CORIANDER ITBLS DESSICATED COCONUT 1 PUT THE FLOURS INTO A BOWL AND MIX THE CURDS. 2 ADD APPROXIMATELY ¾ BOWL WARM WATER TO MAKE A BATTER 3 LEAVE TO FERMENT FOR 5HRS 4 ADD THE GINGER AND CHILLI PASTE 5 SALT AND TUMERIC. 6 HEAT THE OIL, (3TBLS) AND WHEN WARM ADD TO THE BATTER 7 THE BATTER SHOULD BE OF MEDIUM TEXTURE 8 PUT ITSP OF OIL IN A 10” DIAMETER “STEAMER DISH”. ADD ONE TSP OF ENO AND ½ TSP BAKING POWDER. MIX WELL. 9 ADD JUST ENOUGH BATTER TO FILL ABOUT HALF THE DISH. 10 SWIRL THE BATTER IN THE DISH TILL TURNS FLUFFY. 11 STEAM IT FOR 10MINS IN A STEAMER. 12WHEN COOL CUT IT INTO 1”DIAMOND SHAPES. 13 FOLLOW STEPS 8 TO 12 FOR THE REMAINING BATTER.( 2 times) 14 ARRANGE ALL THE “DHOKRIS” IN A BIG SERVING PLATE. 15 IN A PAN HEAT THE OIL AND WHEN HOT ADD THE RED CHILLIES , CURRY LEAVES ,MUSTARD SEEDS, ASOEFOTIDA, AND SESAME SEEDS. POUR THIS EVENLY ON TOP OF THE DHOKRIS . SPRINKLE THE GREEN CHILLIES CORIANDER LEAVES AND THE DESSICATED COCONUT. SERVE THE DELICIOUS FLUFFY DHOKRIS WITH FRESH TOMATO OR GREEN CHUTNEY. USEFUL COMMENT IF STRETCHED FOR TIME THE FERMENTING TIME CAN BE LESSENED
Gur Keri Hi Vidya. Here is my easy recipe for Gur Keri. I donot put any oil so it satys for 1yr or more 2 Rajapuri mangoes 4Tbls Crushed Dhania seeds 2Tbls Split Mustard Grains(Rai Bhardo) 1/2 Tbls split Fenugreek seeds(Methi bhardo) 2 tsps whole coriander seeds 1/4 tsp Hing 1Tbls red chillie powder 11/2 tsp salt Jaggery Sugar 1/2 turmeric wash Peel and cut the rajapuri mangoes into 1"pieces, Add the salt and 1/4 tsp of turmeric. mix and leave it overnight. next day put the mango pieces in a sieve to drain the accumulated water. leave to dry in the sun on a muslin cloth till it looks dry on the outside. put the Dhania ,mustard and methi in a coffee grinder one at a time to give one or two turns for each to make them a little finer in texture. Do the same for the sugar measure the cut pieces with the help of a small bowl. if there are 4 bowls of mango pieces u take 4 bowls of gur and 4 bowls of sugar. In a big pot put all the crushed seeds. Add the sugar and the gur. add the chillie powder, whole ncoriander seeds, 1/4 tsp turmeric hing and add the mango pieces. give it a good mix. For the next 10to 12 days stir it well everyday a couple of times. The stirring has to done proper. ly so as to turn everything from right from the bottom of the pot so as to make sure sugar does not settle down at the bottomEventually all the gur and sugar will melt into a thick sauce.taste it and if need be one can add a little salt or chillie powder. bottle it in a clean sterlised glass bottle. Any problem ask me Kachori recipe will follow soon
wonderful Dear Pravina, Thanks for all three recipes. I look forward to making all. You write well. Gur keri- thanks for the tip on oil. I assumed that oil will make it stay longer and used to add more, and it always tastes stale after a couple of months. I will follow this tip now. In Dhokri- I am not clear on Point 10- 'Swirl the batter till it becomes fluffy'- How do we do that? Should we use a hand blender to aerate it? Look forward to more such delights from you. Especially Dhokla is a perennial favourite. Thanks again affactionately Vidya
Dhokri Hi Vidya About note 10 on Dhokri- Swirling means when you put the eno,baking powder and oil in the plate ,you add the batter and with a spoon(i just use my hand) turn the batter in a clockwise manner till it becomes fluffy.this is to incorporate air in it. For the gur keri, i don't use oil for the same reason for it not to smell stale after a while. Hope this helps warm regards pravina
Good Work Pravina!! Hello Pravina, Very excited to see authentic gujrati recipes. My husband and I love gujju food a lot, especially those side dishes for rotis/rotlas. Here in Atlanta, USA we visit a gujrati restaurant every now and then for their thali. Most of your recipes are free of onions and garlic and that is what makes them so special. I would like to make those dishes on vrat days when no onion or garlic are used in cooking. Pls go ahead and post your authentic side dishes for rotis and rice. I would really appreciate that. To start with I would like to know how you guys make super soft rotis? Any tips?? Thanks and Regards, Deepa
A welcome addition Dear Pravina, Was happy to see a thread on Gujerati cooking. We indians are really lucky to have so many varied culinary aspects to what is generally known as indian food! Leave aside the international cookery, I am still learning our all indian cookery and discover something new every day. Right now, my question to you would be the same as Deepa's...What IS the trick behind your supersoft rotis? Please give us tips on it. Also, I would like to have a recipe for an authentic Undhiyoo. TIA Love and regards, Kamla
Making soft Rotis or Chapattis Hello Deepa and Kamla, Like in any recipe one has to pay attention to the minor details when cooking same with making chapattis.here is how i make mine. 1 bowl medium wheat flour 2Tbls oil warm water to make dough flour for dusting Ghee or butter Put the flour in a bowl. Make a well in the center and add the oil. Mix the oil well into the flour.Slowly add water and mix it into a soft dough.Take care not too make it too soft. Knead it for couple of minutes,smear a little oil on the dough and cover it with a bowl or a tea cloth.leave it for 15min to20min. knead the dough one more time and make 10 small balls.heat the skillet . The heat should be medium. With the help of the flour roll out a chapatti about 9" in diameter.The chapatti should be evenly rolled.Put the chapatti on the skillet or tawa.When light bubbles appear on the underside turn the chapatti.cook the chapatti all around by turning it and gently pressing it with a kitchen paper towel.when cooked turn it for the final finish. If rolled out properly it will puff up. It comes with practice. put it on a plate and smeat it with ghee or butter. Do the same with the rest of the dough. pile the chapatti . Either wrap it up in a piece of foil or leave it covered properly. till used. the secret of tip for softer chapatti is not too turn it too many times.it should be cooked in 2-3 turns. Hope this helps Rice with Green Peas green chutney and fried tindora will follow soon. warm regards Pravina