Khasta Gaja

Celebrating Holi with ‪#‎homemade‬ Khasta Gaja ( A famous traditional sweet of ‪#‎Odisha‬)...

All purpose flour/ Maida- 1cup
Atta/ whole wheat flour-1/2 cup
Desi Ghee/ melted butter - 1/4th cup
Curd - 2tblsp
Soda -1/4 tsp
saunf/ fennel seeds- 1tblsp
Refined oil-  to deep fry
Salt a pinch

For sugar Syrup :
Sugar- 1 ½  cup
Water- 1 cup
Cardamom powder -1/4 tsp

Method :

Mix maida, atta and ghee, then rub the mixture thoroughly in ghee for 8-10 min. Now, add curd, salt & soda to it and mix. 
Make stiff dough and cover it and keep aside in a cool place for 15 min. 
Now make the sugar syrup till it reaches a two-string consistency

After a while, knead the dough again. make two balls. Roll the dough and form a log. I made two small logs. Now slice the dough into slightly thicker slices as shown in pic. with a sharp knife. let the sides of the pieces little bit rough so that while frying,  oil can go inside .

Take a kadai/ pan and heat  oil for deep frying; the oil should not be more hot..then put the gaja into the oil one after another.

Fry it at low - medium flame and Turn the pieces when they will float in oil..now fry the gajas till they become golden brown in color. It may take 8-19 mins to fry.
Repeat the same for all pieces.
Drain the pieces,
and then put the gajas into the sugar syrup. Allow to soak for 10-15 minutes.

Remove and keep on a plate to drain excess syrup. Now your khasta gaja is ready to serve. You can store it for 1-2 wks in a airtight container.

Gulab Jamun with Bisquick Mix

A simple and easy way to make these yummy gulab jamuns with the pan cake mix/ Bisquick Mix. Hope you like the recipe.

Ingredients:

Bisquick or Pancake mix 1 Cup 

 Milk Powder 2 Cups

 Butter slightly melted: 1/4 Cup

Milk: 2 Tablespoons

Cardamom powder: 1/2 teaspoon

1.5 cups sugar for sugar syrup

Oil for deep frying

Method


Knead the dough using bisquick Mix, milk powder, melted butter and milk. Dough should be soft to hard but not sticky.
Divide into equal portions and shape into 1" diameter. These should have no cracks on the surface as otherwise the gulab jamuns will crack while frying.

For sugar syrup in a large pan, dissolve the sugar in 2 cups of water and bring to a boil.
Take sugar and water in a sauce pan, bring it to boil. Simmer it for 5 to 8 mins till it gets little sticky. Dont need for the syrup to reach 1 string.
.
Remove any impurities which float on top of the syrup using a  spoon.
Add  cardamom powder and keep the syrup warm.

Heat oil in a kadai. Add the balls.Deep fry on low-mediumheat till golden in colour. 

Drain and immerse in the warm sugar syrup. Soak for atleast 1 hour.

Raw Mango Chutney

A small town girl in her school days used to get up early in the morning to pluck flowers with secret intention of picking raw mangoes from neighbors without informing.. hehhe

Back home used to give them to mom with art of fake story telling... :P
Just loved to munch them with blacksalt and chilli powder, Often Mom used to prepare fresh chutneys out of them & I just loved it. That little girl is now mother of a 2 years old. 
Goes to store to buy these raw mangoes to quench her thirst in summer days. The experience then is unforgettable.Feeling nostalgic.

I always love to experiment them in a variety of dishes and enjoy them in every way possible. It’s the simple lip smacking chutney which pleased my taste buds since ages..
It can be served with rice and chapatis and spread for a sandwich and much more. So here is simple recipe for mango Chutney..

Ingredients

2 medium size mangoes, washed peeled and sliced
3-4 garlic cloves
2-3 green chilies suits your taste bud
1 tblsp jaggery or sugar as per your choice
black salt- 1tsp
coriander leaves a few
1/2 cup mint leaves
roasted cumin seeds powder- 1tsp

Method:

Take a blender. add all the ingredients & blend until smooth chutney.
Now transfer the chutney to a clean bowl & store in refrigerator & enjoy with rice, puri, chappatis & as a sandwich spread.

Fish masala fry (macha jhal)

There is proverb in odia (regional language of Odisha) "Aaghrane ardha bhojana" which means inhaling smell of food is like eating portion of your meal... And when it happens to be fish masala or in fact any dish of fish, and you happen to be a fish lover you need to have really good self control to resist yourself having a piece or two when it is being fried to be cooked for curry later. There are many versions of fish curry and to me all are yummy and fish masala fry is definitely one of  the top three. Goes well with both rice or roti. If you have not tried yet, give it a shot and you won't regret! Here it goes...

Method

Fish- 5-6 pieces (you can take any fish rohu, tilapia, samon.. I have used salmon)
mustard oil- 4-5 tblsp
Turmeric powder- 2 tsp for marinating and 1tsp for gravy
1tsp  red chilli powder
2-3 whole cardamon pieces.
1 big onion- roughly chopped
2-3 slit green chilies 
handful fresh curry leaves
1 tblsp crushed ginger garlic
2 medium size tomatoes Sliced ,
1tsp cumin- coriander powder
1tsp garam masala 
1tsp tomato sauce
sugar- 1tsp
salt as per taste

Method:

Wash the fish pieces properly and marinate with turmeric and salt for at least half an hour. 
Heat mustard oil in a pan. Fry the pieces till they turn golden brown in color. keep them aside.
In the same pan heat 1-2 tbsp oil, whole cardamon pieces. Now add onion,  green chilies and curry leaves. let them fry till onion becomes translucent. 
Add crushed ginger garlic. Saute for 2-3 min. Add sliced tomatoes, turmeric powder, red chilli powder, cumin- coriander powder and salt.
Saute  till tomatoes become soft. Now its time to add the tomato sauce. Gently add the fish pieces to the masala. Sprinkle some water. Cover and let it cook for 2-3 mins till the masala is well absorbed by the fish. add garam masala to it. mix well and garnish with coriander leaves.
Serve hot with plain rice and daal.

Masala Prawns (chingudi Masala)

Ingredients:

Prawns - 500 gms
Chopped large Onion- 2nos
Ginger-Garlic paste – 1 tblsp
2 medium size tomatoes- chopped
Salt for taste
Whole garam masalas (2 cardamom, 1” long cinnamon, 1 bay leaf)
Red chilly powder- 1tsp
Turmeric powder- ½ tsp
Mustard Oil- 2-3 tblsp ( U can use any vegetable oil but we odias like nonveg cooked in mustard oil)
Coconut milk- 2tblsp
Cumin-coriander powder- 1tsp
Garam masala- 1tsp

For marination:
Salt as per the taste
Haldi - ½ tsp

Method:

Marinate the Prawns with the above ingredients & keep it for 10-15 min.

Take a non- stick pan. Add 2tblsp of oil.  Pan fry the prawns for 5-7 mins till they cooked properly & light golden brown. Don’t overcook the prawns otherwise they will become hard. 



Heat oil in a pan. Add the whole garam masals & then chopped onions. 
Sauté for 1-2 min till they turns to brownish colour. In this stage add red chilli powder & turmeric powder , sauté for 2-3 sec & immediately add the ginger-garlic paste, don’t let the chiili powder burn. Saute for 2-3 min till raw smell goes away. 

Add chopped tomatoes. Mix well. Add cumin-coriander powder & salt. Sauté till the tomatoes becomes soft & masala is done. Now add ½ cup of water to the masala. Cover & let it boil for 2-3 mins.  Add coconut milk & mix well. Then add the fried prawns .Cook for another 1-2 min.  Add garam masala to it. Mix well & Garnish with coriander leaves.
Serve hot with Roti/naan/ plain rice.

Chhenapoda

Chhena poda (cheesecake) a delicious authentic sweet of Odisha.




As I am staying in US we can’t get easily what we are craving for (esp sweets). So either  prepare on your own or  suppress the desire to eat . Obviously I went with option 1 & any foodie would do that as well.
 Was craving this from a long time since I was pregnant but unfortunately got gestational diabetic so that time it was a BIG NO for me & after that it has been 11 mons I am full busy with my little champ & somehow I missed it. As tomorrow is valentine day & the husband likes chhenapoda very much. So thought of surprise him with his fav sweet after all what will be a better treat than this. The husband  said ”bahut badhiya heichi pura toh pari”  (it’s awsum just like u :P ) & a tickling smile was on my face.

so here we go....

To make chenna/ cheese

Whole Milk- 2 litre
Vinegar or lemon juice-  ¼ cup 
Cheese cloth (to filter the cheese/ home made chhena)

Ingredients for chenna poda

Semolina/ sooji- 2tblsp
Sugar- 1.5 cups
Cardamom powder- 1 tsp
Handful of cashews & raisins
Ghee/ butter- 2 tblsp

Method:

 Boil the milk in a heavy bottom pan. When it starts boiling add the lemon juice/ vinegar. When the milk curdles the cheese will separate from the whey. Now switch off the flame. Filter the cheese with the help of cheese cloth to separate cheese from the liquid.
Hang the cheese for at least 1 hour till the whey is drained.
Pre heat the oven to 350 degree F. Grease the baking dish.
Fry the raisin & cashews in ghee. Keep aside.
Now transfer the cheese to a bowl. Rub it & mash well for 3-4 mins. Now add semolina, sugar, cardamom powder & knead well for 5-7 mins.  Add the fried cashews & raisins to it. Add 1tblsp ghee to it & again mix well.
Now make the sugar caramel. For this add 1tblsp butter to a heated pan. Now add ½ cup of sugar to it. When the sugar starts melting and turns red, pour the caramel sauce to prepared grease pan. 
Now spread the cheese mixture  on the baking tray. Now cover it with a aluminium foil. & make the slits on the foil with a knife.
Bake for 30-40 mins until a toothpick insert in the cake comes out clean. Remove from the oven & let it sit for 45 mins outside before savor it.

Samosha/ singada Odisha Style

Oh my God… Samosha/ Singada(called in eastern part of india)  is my  & my hubby's favorite appetizer  and I am super excited about bringing this recipe in my blog!! Enjoy with a hot cup of tea while the rain entertains you with her beautiful tap dance. Sometimes I also make them for our dinner & we eat them with ghuguni (yellow peas curry). I live in the US and  its hard to get fresh Indian food sometimes. So I normally try to make all our favorites  at home. 
As my husband loves it very much so thought to surprise him in yesterday's dinner & really they turned out superb & the husband just loved it!!! 
So here we go…







To make the stuffing

Large boiled potatoes- 3-4
2 large onions chopped
Crushed ginger & garlic - 1tblsp
Dried kasturi methi powder- 1tblsp
Roasted peanuts- 1/4 cup
Green peas - 1/2 cup
cumin seeds- 1tsp
curry powder- 1tsp
Fennel seeds powder/ Saunf- 1/2 tsp
Roasted cumin seeds & red chilii powder (Jeera lanka gunda)- 1tsp
2-3 green chillies- chopped
turmeric powder- a pinch
oil 2tblsp
salt as per the taste


for cover
All purpose flour / Maida- 1& 1/2 cups
Nigella seeds/ kala jeera- 1tsp
Salt a pinch
Oil/ butter- 3-4 tblsp
Oil for frying

Method:

 To make the upper layer mix flour & oil. Mix them properly using your hands. Continue this rubbing action until the flour is evenly coated; it should have a fine texture with no lumps. Now add salt, nigella seeds & water to make tight dough (the dough should not be too soft other wise samosha will become soft). now cover it with a damp muslin cloth/ paper towel.

For filling:
Cut the potatoes in small small pieces
Heat oil. Crackle cumin seeds. Add onion & green chillies , saute till translucent. Add peanuts & fry for 15 sec. Now add crushed ginger garlic & turmeric powder. saute till raw smell dissapears. throw in some dried kasturi leaves. Now add green peas. saute till they bemoes soft. Add the boiled potatoes , salt fennel seeds powder , roasted cumin seeds powder & curry powder. Mix well. (you can also add a pinch of amchur powder if you want a tangy flavor in your samosha). Turn off the heat & allow the mixture to cool.

To make samosha

Knead the pastry dough again and divide it into lemon size balls. Keep the pieces you're not working with covered with the same muslin cloth. Roll this ball out into a 8 inch round. Cut it into half with a sharp, pointed knife. This will make 2 half moon shaped pastries.
Pick up one semicircular piece of dough and moisten half of the straight edge with a little water . Create a cone by bringing the dry half of the straight edge over the moistened half. Press the seam together to close. Be sure to pinch closed the point of the cone as well; a good seam will keep the stuffing in during frying..


Fill the cone with two heaping tablespoons of the spicy potato mixture. Use your fingers to moisten edges of dough with water, and fold dough diagonally in half to make a triangle. Press edges firmly together to seal in the filling. Use the remaining dough and filling to make more samosas.


Heat sufficient oil in a heavy bottom pan in a medium-low flame. The oil should little hot but not smoking,
Add the samosas in batches of four or five, Cook the samosas in the low-medium flame turning often, until they're golden brown & crisp. Transfer samosas to a paper towel-lined plate to drain. Serve immediately or let them cool to room temperature.