From East to West

Bardoli ki khichidi
Ingredients:
2 cups of rice
1½ cup of toor dal
250 gm peas
3-4 potatoes (cut in cubes)
2-3 green chillies
1 raw mango
1 tsp jeera seeds
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp red chilli powder
1 tsp turmeric powder
A pinch of asafoetida
2 onions, chopped
½ tsp ginger, chopped
2 tbsp ghee, to cook
Sugar to taste
Salt to taste
Fresh coriander leaves
for garnishing

Method;
Heat two tbsp of ghee in large pot, add jeera and mustard seeds and fry for two minutes. Add chopped onions and saute till brown. Add chopped ginger, split green chillies and continue to fry on a low flame for five minutes. Add the turmeric and red chilli powder and let it cook till the ghee separates from the masala.
Add cubed potatoes, washed rice and dal and saute for five minutes. Add in the green peas, a pinch of asafoetida powder, a teaspoon of sugar and salt to taste. Wait for half a minute and then add the raw mango, chopped into fine pieces.
Mix together and pour in four cups of water. Bring to a simmer, cover the pot and let it
simmer for 20-25 minutes.
Garnish with fresh coriander, ghee and serve!

Upavas Thalipeeth
Ingredients:
1½ cup upvas
bhajani
2 medium sized
potatoes, mashed
½ tsp cumin seeds
2-3 green chillies, chopped
½ tsp sugar
Salt to taste
½ a bunch
coriander leaves
Ghee as
required for frying
1 tbsp yogurt

Method;
In a mixing bowl, combine the following ingredients — upvas bhajni, mashed potatoes, cumin seeds, chillies, coriander leaves and salt.
Start kneading the mixture into a stiff dough. In case the dough is too thick, add some water or yogurt to fix the consistency. Keep aside for 10-15 minutes.
Now divide the dough into small balls of equal size. Place a small ball of dough on the griddle, and start flattening the dough into a small circle.
Once done, make small holes in the flattened dough using your fingers. Heat tawa, add some ghee and place thalipeeth on the tawa.
Drizzle more oil on tawa, cook on medium heat for two to three minutes. Tasty thalipeeth is ready to be served hot with yogurt.

Rui Bhapa
(steamed rohu)
Ingredients:
6 pieces Rohu fish
2 tsp mustard oil + 3 tbsp (for frying fish)  
2 tbsp black mustard seeds
1 tbsp yellow
mustard seeds
1 tbsp poppy seeds
4 green chilli
2 tbsp yogurt, Salt to taste
½ tsp sugar
Fresh coriander leaves, chopped, for garnishing

Method:
Wash and marinate the fish pieces with a pinch of turmeric powder, two tsp lemon juice and some salt. Keep aside for 10-15 minutes.
Heat two tablespoon oil on a tawa and sauté the fish pieces very lightly on both sides.
Prepare a paste grinding poppy seeds, black and white mustard seeds, a pinch of salt and two green chillies with very little water added. In a bowl, take yogurt, above prepared paste, sugar and salt to taste. Mix together and coat the fish pieces with this paste.
There are certain ways, you can steam this dish. Traditionally, marinated fish pieces are kept in a closed box and put in the middle of the pot where rice is just cooked. So that with the heat of the hot rice, the fish can slowly absorb the spices from the marinade and can be cooked at the same time. You can also steam it inside a pressure cooker.
Place a tiffin box inside a
pressure cooker, close the lid, then remove the whistle. Steam it for seven to eight minutes.
Alternatively, to bake the fish in an oven, take an oven-proof dish, place the fish pieces coated with yogurt-mustard paste. Drizzle a little mustard oil over the bowl. Drop one or two slitted green chillies. Sprinkle some chopped coriander leaves. Cover the bowl with an aluminum foil and bake for 10 minutes at 1800C.

Potoler Dorma
Ingredients:
8 pointed gourd (peeled)
Mustard oil for frying

For stuffing :
1 cup cottage cheese grated
½ cup grated coconut
1 onion (pureed)
1 tsp ginger-garlic paste
1 tbsp broken cashews
¼ cup roasted peanuts
½ cup raisins
1 tsp red chilli powder
¼ tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp dried mango
powder
½ tsp cumin seed powder
¼ tsp garam masala
2 tbsp oil
Salt to taste

For gravy :
2 onions (pureed)
2 tomatoes grated
1 tbsp ginger garlic paste
½ cup coconut paste
1 tbsp cashew paste
1 tbsp fresh cream
2 bay leaves
2 dried red chillies
½ tsp sugar
1 tsp jeera
powder
1 tsp coriander powder
½ tsp turmeric powder
¼ tsp garam masala
powder
1tsp ghee
5 tbsp oil
Salt to taste

Method:
Cut one end of the gourd and scoop out the inside with the help of the back of a spoon. Heat oil in a wok and fry the gourds, lightly brown on each side. Remove and keep aside.
In another wok heat two tbsp oil, add the onion paste and fry till golden brown in colour.
To this add the ginger-garlic paste. Sauté for a minute. Add the red chilli powder, garam masala, turmeric powder, broken cashew, jeera powder, dried mango powder and salt as mentioned under stuffing.
Fry for a minute and add the grated cottage cheese, grated coconut and roasted peanuts. Mix well. Remove and keep aside.
Stuff the gourds with this mixture. Lock the open head of gourd with thick wheat paste.
For the gravy, heat five tbsp oil and add the bay leaves, sugar and dried red chilli. Sauté till the sugar caramelises. Add the onion paste and fry till its golden brown, for six to seven minutes. To this add the ginger-garlic paste and sauté for another minute. Add the red chilli powder, turmeric powder, cumin powder, coriander powder salt and fry till oil separates.
Add the grated tomato and again cook till oil separates and the mixture is free of moisture. Add coconut paste and fresh cream. Sauté for a minute. Add ¼ cup water and mix. Add the stuffed gourd, and let it simmer. Add the garam masala powder, ghee and mix well.
Serve it hot with basmati rice or paratha.