Recipes

Kacchi Haldi ki Sabji is a unique and traditional winter delicacy from Rajasthan that celebrates the vibrant and nutritious fresh turmeric root. This royal Rajasthani specialty transforms raw turmeric into a delectable curry that not only tantalizes the taste buds but also offers remarkable health benefits.

A winter culinary treasure

The dish is particularly cherished during the winter months when fresh turmeric is abundantly available in the market. Characterized by its earthy, peppery flavor and slightly bitter taste, the sabji is carefully balanced with generous amounts of ghee and yogurt. It provides warmth to the body and helps maintain body temperature during cold weather.

Nutritional Powerhouse

Beyond its delicious taste, fresh turmeric is renowned for its incredible health properties. It is a potent source of antioxidants with anti-inflammatory benefits that may help improve brain function, lower risks of brain diseases, and potentially assist in managing conditions like arthritis and depression. In traditional Indian cuisine, turmeric is often called the "poor man's saffron" and is valued for its medicinal qualities.

The preparation typically involves roasting grated turmeric in ghee, combining it with a spiced yogurt base, and creating a rich, golden-hued curry that is best enjoyed with roti, rice, or traditional Rajasthani breads

Smoked Ghiya-Besan Ki Sabji is a distinctive Rajasthani dish that elevates the humble bottle gourd (ghiya or lauki) to gourmet status. This recipe ingeniously combines the mild flavor of bottle gourd with the nutty richness of gram flour (besan), infused with a smoky essence characteristic of Rajasthani cuisine.The smoking process imparts a unique flavor profile, elevating this dish beyond a simple vegetable curry.Adjust spice levels to personal preference while maintaining the dish's authentic character

Rajasthani Shalgam (Turnip) Ki Sabji: A Nutritious Winter Delight

As winter embraces Rajasthan, the humble turnip, locally known as Shalgam or Shaljam, takes center stage in kitchens across the region. This root vegetable, often overlooked, packs a powerful nutritional punch and can be transformed into a delicious sabji that  warms your heart and nourishes your body.

Often overlooked, this humble vegetable has very slight peppery flavor which makes it unfavorable among kids.

But when prepared with some added ingredients then it turns out into delicious dish to enjoy in the household.

Turnip is not just low in calories; It also packed with essential nutrients. Low calorie count, makes it an excellent choice for those looking to manage their weight without compromising on nutrition.With their high fiber content and low calorie count, turnip helps you feel full longer, making it a great addition to everyday diets.

This Rajasthani-style turnip sabji combines the slight peppery flavor of turnips with aromatic spices and the sweetness of onions and tomatoes, creating a balanced and delicious dish.This sabji can be enjoyed with Roti, Parantha, Laccha Parantha or Naan.

Rajma is widely known as Red Kidney Bean and one of the most relished comfort food in North Indian households.Most of the time it is complemented with Rice but you can definitely have it with Roti or Phulka accompanies with some Salad, Pickle and Boondi Raita. Boiled Rajma is simmered with whole Garam-Masala and Tomato-Onion gravy. In this recipe i used Kashmiri Rajma which is much smaller in size and more shinier than the regular Rajma.

Thai cuisine is one of my favorite cuisine and Thai curry is one of the culinary delight for foodies. It is loaded with so many veggies and burst with Coconut milk flavor. This curry is so creamy and scrumptiously delicious and very easy to assemble with many nutritious vegetables and Tofu. Needless to say its a soul satisfying food. You can customize the vegetable as per your choice/ the availability of the veggies in hand. Zucchini, Green beans, Corn and water chestnut can also be added in the curry. Aroma of the curry wafts throughout the kitchen when you cook it. It is best served hot with Jasmine rice but you can use any Basmati rice of your choice.
Veggies and Tofu in the curry are cooked and simmered in Coconut milk. Cauliflower and Carrot can be parboiled in microwave as theses veggies take longer to cook. Bell Peppers(Red & Green), Green beans should be added at last minutes. I like the pop of color in the curry and like to keep a bite/crunch in them so I add them(Bell peppers, green beans and Broccoli) in last minute. Chopping and cutting of the vegetables take longer and in less than 20 minutes Thai Curry comes together on your plate.
Extra firm Tofu goes best in the curry as silken/medium firm is too soft to handle. Thai curry paste can be found in asian aisle of any super market. But if you don't want to use the store bought, then you can make your own. If you use Concentrated paste then 1½-2 Tbsp. is enough for this serving as it is pretty potent, Whereas if you use the diluted curry paste then you add ½ cup of curry paste.

This dish is the Non-Veg delight for many Vegetarian people. It looks like pull apart meat but definitely tastes like vegetarian. So, Jackfruit is not really favorite vegetable for many:but quite popular in North-Indian cuisine. This vegetable is little tricky to handle. That might be one of the reason why many people don't try it. So if you are preparing from fresh Jack-fruit then you have to take little care of you hands as it has milky secretion which is sticky and discourage one to prepare it. You have to smear Oil in your hands and Knife  before handling it. After cutting it you have to take out the layer on the seeds which isn't edible. Then bite size pieces are fried. Needless to say that it's a long process. But no worries, in my recipe I used Canned baby Jack-Fruit which is easily available in market. I just wash it with fresh water and then shallow fry it and later simmer in Tomato-Onion gravy and served with Roti or Naan.

MOONG DAL GATTA CURRY(TAKA-PAISA KI SABJI) Gatta Curry is famous traditional Rajasthani dish which is prepared with Gram flour or widely known as 'Besan'.The base of the Gravy is Onion-Tomato and Yoghurt. In this recipe I use Moong Dal flour instead. As Moong Dal is light to tummy and very easy to digest. Gattas are boiled in water first and then fried in oil. Later Gattas are simmered in Yoghurt base garvy.Traditionally Gatta Curry doesn't have any filling inside, but sometime you can have filling inside.There is one very renowned restaurant in Gurgaon named "Kingdom of Dream". They are very famous for their regional delicacies of every state of India.Rajasthan is one of them and they serve stuffed Gatta curry.Stuffed Gatta Curry is more rich and succulent than the normal Gatta Curry. This curry is served with Roti,Nan,Rice and some other accompaniments.

Panner Tikka masala is just a variation of Paneer Tikka.It needs no introduction and is very renowned dish in all over India. It is served as an entree while Paneer Tikka is an appetizer. The gravy base is thick tomato-onion paste. It is richly marinated dish in which first, a Yoghurt base marination is prepared with many spices. Many vegetable including but not limited to Paneer, Capsicum (Green, Red,Yellow), Onion, Baby Potato, and Mushroom can be added to the marination.Marinated veggies are then roasted in the oven or on the grilled pan.Then charred Paneer and Veggie chunks are simmered in thick Tomato-onion gravy. I used both Oven and Grilled Pan to cook it.You can directly cook it on stove top on high flame as well.When it's simmered in thick gravy which makes the dish scrumptiously delicious.

  POTATO(ALOO) CURRY
Aloo curry is the key dish of Ashtami Thali as is served with Poori in the prasad. This curry is pretty simple yet very delicious.Gravy of the curry is just tomato based and tempered in whole Garam-Masala with all the essential spices.Curry goes very well with Puri and can be eaten with Roti as well.

Rajasthani dishes have very important role of Besan and Yoghurt as it is arid zone and green vegetables are not easily available. Pitod is one of them which is made of Gram flour.
It is traditional, very popular and delicious recipe which is liked by all. It is also known as Rajasthani Paneer ki sabji as when it is cooked with Gravy it tastes as well as looks like Paneer.
Besan/ Gram flour is main ingredient which is mixed with just water and some other spices and then cooked on slow heat. I add yoghurt as well for more rich taste. Unlike Khandvi which is very thin sheet of Besan rolled in shape of cylinder, Pitod is thick square pieces of Besan. Later on you can add gravy in it and make curry as well.

 KADHI-PAKODA
Kadhi-Rice is famous soul food of North-Indian delicacy. Kadhi  is made of Gram flour and  yoghurt mixture which is cooked with lots of spices. Pakodas are deep fried Gram flour dumplings which are seasoned little bit  and then added later on in the Kadhi and then cooked in the sour  mixture of thick gravy of chick pea flour and yoghurt mixture.Succulent Pakoda add burst of flavors into the Kadhi. Pakoda in the Kadhi are as soft as Cotton Candy. They just melt in your mouth. Kadhi is best served with Rice only but you can have it with Roti, accompanies with Potato curry/ vegetables as well.

Gatta Curry is famous traditional Rajasthani dish which is prepared with Gram flour or widely known as 'Besan'.Govind Gatta is somehow different in shape.Govind gattas are "GOL-MATOL" ROUND in shape and are much more richer than the regular Gatta Curry .
It has "Khoya-Dryfruits-Paneer" filling inside and then merged in Yoghurt-Khoya-Tomato-Onion base garvy. Stuffed Govind Gatta curry is more rich and succulent hence the name is stuffed GOVIND GATTA or Shahi Gatta.It is served with Roti,Nan,Rice and some other accompaniments.Govind Gatta requires same ingredients as regular Gatta, only filling requires couple of extra ingredients than regular Gatta Curry. You need khoya or Mawa, grated Paneer and few Dry Fruits and season it with Salt,Asafoetida and dash or red pepper powder.That's it.You can use as much  dry fruits as you want but then it makes the curry more rich.

BATHUA/BATUWA KI KADHI
Kadhi-Rice is famous soul food of North-Indian delicacy. Bathua Kadhi is prepared in winter and more specifically it is winter delicacy only. Adding Bathua takes it to the different flavor profile and enhance the health quotient of the dish. Bathua Kadhi is made of Gram flour,Bathua and yoghurt mixture which is cooked in lots of spices. Kadhi is best served with Rice only but you can have it with Roti, accompanies with some cooked vegetables as well.

Sambhar is lentil base curry in which lots of vegetables are added.You can choose any of the seasonal vegetable like Bottle Gourd,Carrot,Pumpkin,Brinjal,Drumstick are name of few. What makes it different from other curries is Tamarind pulp and aroma of Sambhar powder. Sambhar powder is mix of different spices which are coarsely ground.Tamarind pulp is used in the curry to give it sourness, but I have used Lemon Juice instead. All veggies are cooked with Dal and then it is tempered with Mustard seeds and Curry Leaves. Sambhar is served with Idli,Dosa,Vada or just simple white rice.

Rajma is widely known as Red Kidney Bean and one of the most relished comfort food in North Indian households.Most of the time it is complemented with Rice but you can definitely have it with Roti or Phulka accompanies with some Salad,Pickle and Boondi Raita.Boiled Rajma is simmered with whole Garam-Masala and Tomato-Onion gravy.In this recipe i used Kashmiri Rajma which is much smaller in size and more shinier than the regular Raj

Choley is a north indian curry dish and best complement with Bhature but it goes very well with Puri,Roti,Naan and Rice.White kabuli-Chana or Chick-Pea is used for the curry.Kabuli-Chana is soaked overnight and then simmered in generous amount of onion-tomato gravy.Chana Masala add distinctive flavor to the dish.This popular curry is pride of every festivities or function.No occasion is complete without Choley with Bhature or Choley with Puri or Choley with Naan.

1.Wash Chick Pea in running water and soak them overnight.Strain the water and add 
   fresh water.Add salt and pressure cook them.Keep them aside.  

Gravy recipe:

  ARBI/TARO (DRY CURRY)