Healthy Low Oil Lauki Koftas

I simply love having koftas. Whenever delicious koftas are being served, I always pamper myself by taking second or at times even third helping. At home, whenever mom would prepare lauki koftas, I could smell them from outside and dashed to the kitchen as I enjoy to have them like fritters as well!

My love for koftas can be guessed from this incident that happened few years ago...

I had recently got married and kitchen by then, was still my MIL's den. One day, when I returned from office, the aroma of Lauki koftas being deep fried had filled up the house. However, being a new daughter in law in the house, I felt a bit awkward to ask for the koftas to be eaten as fritters. After preparing the koftas, MIL asked me to keep them on the table, as there was still time for dinner and she thought of preparing the gravy later. With the bowlful of delicious Lauki koftas, I advanced towards the table however, me being the shameless foodie, couldn't resist the temptation. Since the bowl had many koftas, I thought who would come to know if I had  one or two koftas? So, I quickly gobbled up 2-3 koftas and went about my business, as usual. However, after half an hour, my tummy began to ache profusely. Unable to control, I ran to my MIL who was also troubled to see me in pain. It was but natural for her to ask what all I had that day, since I was perfectly normal when I returned from office. Well, I had to reveal then, that I gobbled up few koftas from the bowl.  MIL gave a hearty laugh and told me that she had semi fried the koftas as she thought she will fry them once more before adding to the gravy! In a hurry to eat before anyone could catch me, I ate koftas that were raw from inside!

Well, now I mostly refrain from gorging on koftas the reason being, they are deep fried. Sacrifices one has to make when the waistline goes out of control!

But, few days ago I learnt from a Facebook group how to enjoy the koftas guilt free! Yes, c'est possible! 

So, sharing the recipe of my healthy Lauki Koftas

Ingredients

Lauki/Gheeya/Bottle Guard - 1 small, grated

Sattu/Roasted gram flour - 2 tbsp

Salt - 1 tsp 

Carrom seeds/Ajwain - 1/2 tsp

Coriander powder - 1 tsp (for kofta) + 1 tsp (for gravy)

Asafoetida Powder - 1/4 tsp (for kofta) + 1/4 tsp (for gravy)

Oil - 1 tbsp (kofta) + 1 tbsp (gravy)

Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp

Curry leaves - 4-5, chopped

Black peppercorns - 2-3

Bayleaf - 2 small or 1 large

Cloves - 2

Onion - 1 medium, blended into a fine paste

Tomato - 1 large, pureed

Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp

Red Chilli Powder - 1/2 tsp

Salt - to taste

Homemade malai - 1 tbsp

Method

1. In a bowl, take the grated lauki. Ensure to squeeze out the water completely from the grated lauki, else it will be impossible to bind together the koftas. I don't throw this water coz it is very healthy. Instead, I use it while preparing the gravy for the koftas.

2. Add the sattu powder as it will help bind the batter. I avoid cornflour powder and use sattu powder extensively in cooking as it is very healthy and gives a nice flavour as well. Also add carrom seeds, coriander powder, asafoetida powder and mix very well. 

3. Shape the mixture into small laddoo sized balls. 

4. Heat the appe pan/Paniyarakkal and add few drops oil to each cavity.

5. Add a kofta each to each cavity. Cover and cook on low flame for 4-5 minutes.

6. Change size and cook for another 4-5 minutes. Do not cover if you want the koftas to turn out crispy and like to munch on them as pakodas.

7. Flip and cook on low flame till the koftas are cooked well from all sides.  

Koftas are ready!

For the Gravy

1. Heat oil in a kadai. Add cumin seeds, curry leaves and asafoetida, black peppercorns, bayleaf and cloves (I forgot the peppercorns, bayleaf and cloves so added them later).

2. Add the onion paste. If you have time, brown onion paste would add more flavour however, I was running short of time so I decided to go for the regular onion paste. Cook for 2-3 minutes on medium flame till the onion paste turns golden brown.

3. Add the tomato puree. Add turmeric powder, coriander powder, red chilli powder (I didn't as my children don't eat chillies yet)) and some salt. Mix well and cook on medium flame for 2-3 minutes or till the mixture starts leaving oil on sides. 

4. Add water from the grated lauki and give the gravy a nice boil.

5. Add some fresh homemade malai and mix well. Keep stirring. 

6. Add the koftas to the gravy.

Enjoy low oil healthy Lauki Koftas!

Easy Eggless Mango Tea Cake

After my last attempt with Eggless Mango Cake received much appreciation, I was motivated to experiment again with Mango. However, I wanted to try something different this time, preferably without condensed milk. So when I discovered this recipe, I was super excited to try it out! Made few variations and to my utter delight, it came out awesome!

I served this at tea time and it became an instant hit! A slightly dense cake, the Semolina gives it a wonderful texture, while the Cardamom flavour is just heavenly! The best part was that the cake tasted even tastier the next day!

Ingredients

Wholewheat flour/Atta - 1 Cup

Semolina/Rava - 1/2 Cup (The original recipe mentioned thin rava however, I had the thick one available so I used that and the cake came out equally good)

Baking Soda - 1/2 tsp

Baking Powder - 1 tsp

Salt - a pinch

Mangoes - 1-2 No., chopped

Mango emulsion/mango essence - 1 tsp

Grain Sugar - 3/4 Cup

Green Cardamom/Elaichi - 3-4 No.

Curd - 1/4 Cup

Refined Oil - 2tbsp

Warm Milk - 2tbsp

Walnuts - 1/2 Cup, chopped

Method 

1. In a blender jar, take the chopped Mango, sugar and green cardamom and blend into a smooth paste.

2. Transfer the Mango-Sugar-Cardamom mixture to a mixing bowl.

3. Add the curd, mango emulsion and oil. Mix well using a whisk. The wet mixture is ready. 

4. Sieve together the wholewheat flour, rava, baking soda and baking powder. The dry mixture is ready. 

5. Add the sieved dry mixture to the wet mixture and gently fold. If the mixture is too thick, add 1 tsp warm milk at a time and adjust the consistency to a smooth batter neither too thick, nor runny.x

6. Add the chopped walnuts and mix slightly.

7. Transfer the batter to a greased loaf tin. Tap lightly to even the batter.

8. Bake in a preheated oven at 190 degree celsius for around 35 minutes or till a knife comes out clean when pricked in the cake. 

9. Demould and cool on a wire rack for 15-20 minutes. Enjoy the cake with tea or as a dessert. 

The softness test...

Pahadi Style Urad Dal Khichdi

Few days ago, my MIL was remembering her days in Kullu. My FIL was posted there for a few years and lived in a cute little house on the banks of Beas river. She was telling me about the warmth of the neighbours and how they used to exchange dishes they prepared everyday. Since I am a big foodie, any mention of food gets my antennae active. So, I requested her to prepare one of the special dishes she had there. MIL went inside the kitchen and while I made the little one eat and sleep, she came up with the one of most delicious versions of the Khichdi I ever had! I was so hooked on to the Khichdi that I requested her to prepare one more time so that I can post the recipe on my blog. 

Sharing the recipe of Pahadi style Urad Dal Khichdi. This is an easier version by my MIL as she knows I am a lazy chef and a complicated recipe will scare me out!

Ingredients

Khichdi Rice (we used Basmati tukda that we generally use for baby food) - 1 Cup soaked for an hour

Urad Dal with skin - 1/2 Cup, soaked for an hour

Desi Ghee - 2 tbsp

Curry leaves - 4-5

Black peppercorns - 3-4 no.

Cloves - 2-3 no.

Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp

Bayleaf - 1 no.

Asafoetida - 1 tsp

Green Chillies - 2-3 no. 

Ginger - a small piece

Garlic - 4-5 pods

Onion - 1 small

Salt - to taste

Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp

Water - 2 Cups

Method

1. Grind together the onion, ginger, garlic, curry leaves and green chillies. The mixture should be chopped, not blended. I used my electric chopper. Remember, we do not want a paste.

2. Heat 2 tbsp ghee in a pressure handi.

3. Add the bayleaf, asafoetida, cumin seeds, black peppercorns and cloves.

4. When they begin to splutter, add the chopped onion - garlic - ginger - curry leaves - green chillies mixture.

5. Saute on medium flame for 3-4 minutes. 

6. Add the soaked dal and rice and saute on medium flame for another 2-3 minutes.

7. Add turmeric powder and salt and mix well.

8. Add enough water to cover the mixture 1/2" above. Mix well.

9. Cover and cook for one whistle. Let the steam escape on its own from the pressure handi.

Serve piping hot with salad.

Easy Instant Dhokla

I have a childhood connection with Dhokla. In Delhi, whenever we had unannounced army of guests (I say army because kids those days accompanied their parents, unlike these days when kids prefer gadgets to get togethers) usually chai would be prepared at home and snacks ordered from the local market. Most often, the snacks ordered would be piping hot Samosas, Jalebis and Dhokla! 

I remember there was a sweet shop (Aggarwal Sweets) in Munirka, Delhi and whenever Papa and I would pass by, we would get at least half a kilo Dhokla packed and then enjoy at home with Chai! Our taste buds were so used to the Dhokla from our favourite shops that while in Delhi, we never ever felt the need to prepare Dhokla at home!

However, after I moved to Mumbai, like most other foods, I found a difference in the Dhokla served here. Blame it on the numerous places where I tried the Dhokla, but I found the Mumbai walla Dhokla a bit dry and less spongy than its Delhi counterpart. As a popular Hindi saying goes, "Marta Kya na karta", my MIL got into crazy Dhokla experiments and we almost got used to being the guinea pigs of her experiments.

Finally, my dream of having Dhokla of my choice came true when I purchased an Aluminium Cake tin recently. So desperate were we to have Dhokla that we inaugurated the tin with Dhokla instead of a cake! How funny is that! Using an Aluminium tin gave us the desired results as the tin heats faster. 

Here's how we got our instant spongy Dhokla!

Ingredients

Besan/Gramflour - 1 Cup

Semolina/Suji - 2tbsp

Curd/Dahi (Preferably sour) - 3/4 Cup

Turmeric Powder/Haldi - 1 tsp

Salt/Namak - to taste

Vegetable Oil - 2 tbsp

Lemon Juice - juice of 2 lemons

Eno/fruit salt - 1 sachet

Mustard Seeds/Sarson - 1 tsp

Curry leaves/Kadi Patta - 8-10

Green Chillies/Hari Mirch - 2-3, chopped

Green Coriander - 2tbsp, chopped, for garnish

Sugar - 2-3tsp

Water - 1 Cup

Method - 

1. In a mixing bowl, take curd.

2. Add the gramflour, semolina, salt and turmeric powder.

3. Mix well to form a smooth batter. If the batter is thick, some lukewarm water can be added to adjust the consistency.

4. Add 1 tbsp vegetable oil and juice of 1 lemon. Mix well and rest for 20-30 minutes. 

6. Boil water in a steamer (I used pressure cooker cooker and kept a stand inside). Add 1 sachet Eno to the batter and just slightly fold in one direction. Pour the batter immediately in a greased Aluminium cake tin and steam for 15 minutes on high flame or till the knife poked in the Dhokla comes out clean. 

7. For the tempering, heat 1 tbsp oil. Add mustard seeds, green chillies and chopped curry leaves. 

8. Once they splutter, add 1 cup water. Mix well and bring to a boil. 

9. Add 2-3 tsp sugar (or to taste) and juice of 1 lemon. 

10. Cut the cooled Dhokla into pieces and pour the tadka on it. Garnish with chopped coriander (I haven't as my son doesn't like coriander).