Aloo Anardana Paratha - Jammu and Kashmir

Jammu and Kashmir is the Northern most state in India. It consists of three regions – Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh. Srinagar is the Summer capital and Jammu is the Winter capital. Jammu has numerous Hindu shrines which is big Hindu Pilgrimage bringing thousands of pilgrims every year. Kashmir is so beautiful and scenic and many movies of 1970’s and 1980’s time have captured the beauty for a lot of the romantic songs.. Ladakh is known for its remote mountainous picture perfect scenery and Buddhist Culture.. Coming to the cuisine of Jammu and Kashmir, Kashmir cuisine was mostly influenced originally by the Kashmiri Pandits. Usually Pandits do not eat meat, but this region is an exception where the Pandits have eaten all the meat except Beef which is banned here. So with a cuisine which has so much of meat based dishes, it was little challenge for me to land on an authentic dish from this region. I was so excited when my research landed me on Sanjeev Kapoor’s website and this was a dish mentioned for this region and was a sure try. A delicious spicy paratha which gets its flavor from the dried anardana seeds.. This recipe makes 12 - 14 parathas.. I served this with curd and it was such a delicious dinner. Now because this paratha is big, one could eat 2 or 3. I got this recipe inspired from here, but did few changes.

Khatta Kaddu - Himachal Pradesh

Kaddu means Pumpkin and this is a dry curry with pumpkin.. Daily food in Himachal Pradesh is very similar to many parts of India and is dominated with dals, rice, roti and subzi.. The spices are used significantly in this cuisine and add a lot of flavor and taste to the dish.. This is a quick and easy preparation which goes very well with roti, puri or pulao.. I got this recipe from here.. Compared to other parts of India, this state prefers a lot of meat based dishes.. From wiki – “The day to day food of Himachalis is very similar to the rest of the north India. As compared to other states in north India non-vegetarian cuisine is more preferred. Traditionally, Himachali cuisine is dominated by red meat and wheat bread. Thick and rich gravy, with aromatic spices, is used in abundance as the base of many dishes. Some of the specialties of Himachal include Manee', Madira, Pateer, Chouck, Bhagjery and chutney of Til.”

Eggless Cake Pops

I made chocolate cake for my daughter's birthday and wanted to make the cake pops with the left over cake crumbs or cake pieces.. My daughter loved it and it was an instant hit and I had fun playing with various designs. This was one of the choices chosen by Pallavi for this month’s Home Bakers Challenge. You can play around with the designs and sprinkles. This also makes a great kid time to allow them to play and decorate their cake pops.. My daughter thoroughly enjoyed it..

 

Bajre Ki Khisri / Kambu Ven Pongal - Haryana

From Gujarat, we travel to Haryana today. Haryana means – the house of Gods. Hari is one of the names of Lord Vishnu and ayana means home. Chyawanprash was first made here. From Wiki – “Haryana has a rich cultural heritage that goes back to the Vedic times. Dhosi Hill, the ashram of revered Rishi Chyawyan is an important site where Chyawanprash was formulated for the first time. Cattle being common in Haryana, dairy products are a common component of its cuisine.[54][55] Specific dishes include kadhi, pakora, besan masala roti, bajra aloo roti, churma, kheer, bathua raita, methi gajar, singri ki sabzi, and tamatar chutney. Lassi and sharbat and nimbu pani are three popular non-alcoholic beverages in Haryana. Liquor stores are common there, which cater to a large number of truck drivers. ”Coming to today’s recipe, it is a wholesome and delicious breakfast!! Khisri or Khichdi is so much similar to the Pongal we do in the South.. This one is very much like the Ven Pongal, but made with the very healthy whole green moong dal and bajra..

Muthia–Steamed Snack - Gujarat

Today we travel to the beautiful state of Gujarat.. Gujarat and their cuisine reminds of 2 things always.. One is the dialogue from the movie 3 Idiots - Tum Gujarati log itne cute hote hoi, par tum logoun ka khana itna katarnak kyun hai - dhokla, handvo, kakhra, fafda, thepla.." Meaning – “You people from Gujarat are so sweet, but why does the names of your foods so scary like dhokla, handvo, kakhra, fafda, thepla – sounds so scary while saying them”..Another is the memorable experience Vaishali gave me with all the different varieties I could gobble!!! Still fresh in memories of us eating the chaat, where the guy who was making it for us got hurt as he was posing for us while cooking.. We had to take the shots of him cooking for us.. Another incident was buying the fafda on the other side of the street where we made u turns twice to go near the shop.. The delicious papad paratha she made for us... And so much more!!! Thanks to Vaishali for the sweet memories.. Now coming to today's recipe... It is the very famous Muthia which is a steamed snack.. Imagine you eat a snack and it is very addictive, but no issues as it is guilt free and so healthy... One version of Muthia is actually sinful with deep fried and another is guilt free steamed version.. I have tried my hands on the Gujarati cuisine and loved the Dhokla, Khaman, Methi Thepla.. Looking forward to try some more from this cuisine..

Goan Style Paneer

Goa is a coastal state of India along the Western region, located along the Arabian Sea and has beautiful beaches and historic sites. Goa is the smallest state in India by size and is the fourth smallest by population. Although it is the smallest state, it has the highest GDP per capita. Goa’s history goes back 20,000 – 30,000 years.. From wiki – “Goa's history goes back 20,000–30,000 years. The rock art engravings exhibit the earliest traces of human life in India.^[9]:p.254Upper Paleolithic or Mesolithic rock art engravings have been found on the bank of the river Kushavati at Usgalimal.^[10] Petroglyphs, cones, stone-axe, and choppers dating to 10,000 years ago have been found in many places in Goa, such as Kazur, Mauxim, and the Mandovi-Zuari basin.^[11] Evidence of Palaeolithic life is seen at Dabolim, Adkon, Shigao, Fatorpa, Arli, Maulinguinim, Diwar, Sanguem, Pilerne, and Aquem-Margaon etc. Difficulty in carbon dating the laterite rock compounds poses a problem for determining the exact time period.^[”The cuisine is highly influenced by the Hindu origin, but has high impact from the Portuguese with their colonization for about 400 hundred years. Seafood is a big part of Goan cuisine. Staple foods are rice and fish with strong spices and intense flavors. I got this recipe from here and made very few changes.. This recipe has its sourness from tamarind, distinct flavor of the coconut milk and delicious taste of paneer..

Gajar Ka Halwa – Delhi

Today we travel to the Capital of India – Delhi. Delhi is an Union Territory more closely resembling a state having its own High court to Chief Minister. The Delhi city is the second most populous city in the World. From wiki – “The NCT and its urban region have been given the special status of National Capital Region (NCR) under the Constitution of India's 69th amendment act of 1991. The NCR includes the neighbouring cities of Alwar, Baghpat, Gurgaon, Sonepat, Faridabad, Ghaziabad, Noida, Greater Noida and other nearby towns, and has nearly 22.2 million residents”. Delhi was the site of the ancient Indraprastha, the capital of Pandavas during the Mahabharata. There are many historical sites in Delhi. Some to name are – Red Fort, Qutub Minar, Humayun’s TOmb, India Gate etc. Delhi cuisine is largely influenced by the Mughals and this is where the Mughlai cuisine in India originated. There is street in Delhi called the “Gali Paranthe Wali”. Gali means street and Paranthe is Indian bread. There is an entire street that is full of varieties of Paranthe.. Delhi is a great place for foodies.. From Wiki – “The Gali Paranthe Wali (the street of fried bread) is a street in Chandni Chowk particularly for food eateries since the 1870s. Almost the entire street is occupied by fast food stalls or street vendors. It has nearly become a tradition that almost every prime minister of India has visited the street to eat paratha at least once”. I have made carrot halwa before but that was a much easier one, but this one tastes more yummy and more authentic!!