True friendship and humble beginnings

The humble besan cheela is as dear to me as the first best friend in childhood. When I didn't even know how to prepare a chapati properly, I knew how to get my cheela right.

It gave me the confidence to try and perfect my art.

Whenever I prepare the cheela, I reflect at the culinary journey so far. Those days I couldn't even in my wildest dreams think of preparing the stuff that I prepare in a breeze today.

No matter how great we become, never forget the first friend who appreciated u for your humble beginnings.

This is the way I like my cheela....enjoying the bear hug to brown bread slices.

To true friendship and humble beginnings.

Easy and Healthy Sattu Sandwich

I was introduced to Sattu by my mom in law, after I got married. My earlier job required me to be out by 6.30am. I still remember how diligently she would wake up every morning to prepare my breakfast and tiffin. Even during the famous Delhi winters, she would ensure I never left home without eating breakfast. Sattu was her favourite handy ingredient back then. 

For those who don't know much about Sattu, it is an excellent ready food which has several health benefits, as it is nothing but roasted gram/chana in powdered form. Sattu drink is an excellent way to beat the heat during summers in North India. An excellent food for people suffering from Diabetes and Hypertension, Sattu is an instant energy booster as well and rich in fibre, proteins, minerals and antioxidants. 

A super healthy and light option which perfectly compliments many recipes.

My MIL loves to play around a lot with Sattu. Apart from the Sattu drink in summers, she prepares excellent Sattu paranthas and Littis.

Having learnt so much from her, I experimented with Sattu and prepared these Sattu Sandwich for breakfast yesterday. To my utter gastronomic joy, they came out so well! Posted these on my Facebook foodie groups and the overwhelming response motivated me to post the recipe on my blog.

Ingredients (Makes 2 Sandwiches)

Brown bread - 4 slices

Onion - 1 medium

Green chilli - 1 large or to taste

Salt - to taste

Red chilli powder - 1/4 tsp

Sattu/Roasted grams powder - 1tbsp

Lemon juice - few drops

Cheese slices - 1 per sandwich

Ghee - 1tsp (optional)

Method

1. Chop together onion and green chilli.

2. Add Sattu powder, salt, red chilli powder and lemon juice. Mix well.

3. Spread stuffing evenly on bread slices.

4. Put cheese slice on top.

5. Cover with the other bread slice.

6. Smear some Desi ghee on top (optional) for good colour.

7. Grill and enjoy!

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).