Fish Haldoni Recipe | Kokni Fish Curry Recipe | Machli Ka Salan Recipe

There were so many requests in our Facebook page inbox for this particular recipe. And though this fish curry is a kind of every day affair at my place I was just too lazy to post the recipe. (Procrastination! 😣😑)
This kokni style fish curry or haldoni is a red chili and tomato based tangy curry with a little too much if oil and pleasantly dominant garlic flavour. Though it looks hot and fiery but the ingredients blend so well that the resulting dish is a tangy soup that can go just fine with plain cooked rice. But wait, let me tell you one thing that

Aloo bhajji | Potato Pakora | Aloo Pakoda Recipe

Aloo bhajji/potato pakora

Because it's raining and everyone is craving pakoras at tea time so made these simple aloo bhajjiye. :) no glam, nothing fancy bas jhat-pat teatime fixes. 😇

How to make Aloo bhajji | Potato Pakora | Aloo Pakoda Recipe:

Green Moong Dal Bhajiye | Mung Bean Pakora | Moong Dal Pakora

When it's raining, what everyone wants? Yes! You guessed it right! Pakora! So here it's been raining for last few days and we have had different savouries as tea time snacks. Apart from all the jhat-pat or quick fix snacks there are these few that requires a little bit of advance planning like soaking the beans and grinding etc. These Moong Dal Bhajiye is one of them.

Scrumptious Green Moong Dal Pakora is an easy tea time savoury snack having a simple recipe and requires just a little efforts. I'm sure you will love

Tender Cashew Nut Curry Recipe | How to Cook Fresh Cashew Nuts

Tender cashew nuts or you can say fresh or wet cashewnuts are one of the regional and seasonal delicacies. There are different local names for tender cashew nuts like at my place they are called as "kaju ke beej or cashew beans or biyo" while at some places they call it "gir". There are several ways to cook these delicious tender nuts including sweet and savoury, this coconut milk based curry is most popular in our area. Though sometimes we make masala fried dry gir but that's more common in some other places. My mom makes delicious cashew pudding (I will share recipe later, in sha Allah) and one more way is to cook sweet cashew nuts in dessicated coconut and that tastes yummy as well.

Anyway, coming back to this coconut milk based cashew curry, we prefer it with rice flour roti, fried fish or prawns and some chutney, salad on side. One more thing, though the nuts are yet tender they take time to cook and become soft so you can use pressure cooker but just take care that they shouldn't break or become mushy.

Another important thing is How to peel/clean cashewnuts: they are sticky and

Tilkoot Stuffed Eggplants | Sesame Stuffed Eggplant | Stuffed Eggplant Recipe

Juts another version of humble vegetable - Biangan/Vainga/Brinjal/Aubergine or Eggplant whatever you call it! This dish has rich flavours and preparation is really easy with minimal oil as the vegetable is slow cooked with tight lids and without letting any steam go. Tilacha vainga or tilkoot ka baingan as it's called in kokni is considered dawat side dish along with mutton curry and bagara rice with fried papads and mango masala pickel. 

Tilkoot is prepared first and then it is mixed with sliced onions to prepare the filling. Then the eggplants are cut into two halves lengthwise and then horizontally into small pieces and then the slots are made to fill in the prepared filling. As shown in the picture below.

How to make 

Paya Curry Recipe | Goat Trotters Recipe | Mutton Paya Recipe | How to make Goat Trotters

Paya Curry in traditional Kokni style

Paya or trotters (or dawke in kokni) curry are  one of the most relished mutton curries in the region especially during winters as the it makes a soothing comfort food. As a child I didn't like Paya as such but with time I developed my taste buds and now it's one of my favorite meal paired with Chawal ki Roti, yum!! 😋😋

Though the recipe is easy but it's quite difficult to clean and wash trotters properly. Here we get roasted trotters from the local butcher (and this time we got over roasted ones hence the colour lol) so all the hair are already removed and they are cut into pieces already so we only have to wash them well. Here is the 3 steps guide about washing Paya.

How to wash Goat Trotters/Paya:

1. Rinse well the trotters under running tap water. (If the trotters are whole then cut them into approximately about 3 inches pieces).

2. Apply some dry flour and salt and keep them for 5-10 minutes then was rub with butter knife to remove the flour, this ensures removal of all the hair and impurity, if there's any.

3. Now wash well undr running tap water. Rub them well to wash off all the flour. Your trotters are ready to be cooked.

How to Make Paya Curry:

Almond Pudding Recipe | Almond Pez Recipe | Badam Gehu Ki Pez

The most popular Ramadan dessert in Kokan is Pez! We have many different varieties of pez but this almond one is very common. People usually make pez in large quantities and share it with neighbours. It's a healthy dessert that keeps you cool after a long day of fasting and Taraweeh prayer.

The authentic recipe calls for milky extract from soaked whole wheat but you can replace that with wheat starch for a quick fix. You can skip ghee altogether if you are avoiding fats. And if allergic to dairy, you can replace milk with coconut milk but then you'll have to compromise for taste. ;)

Almond Pudding Recipe | Almond Pez Recipe | Badam Gehu Ki Pez

Chicken Clear Soup Salt Free Recipe | Alni Pani Recipe

PC: Asma Dhanshe

A traditional kokani soup popularly known as ‘Alni Pani’ in kokani language and that translates to “water without salt”. This soup is preferably made with home grown organic chicken and homemade ‘desi ghee’. The spices are made fragrant by spluttering in desi ghee and then the chicken is cooked covered in fragrant water for several minutes. The resulting soup is so healthy and yummy that you can’t even guess that it doesn’t have any salt in it. This soup is an amazing remedy for cough and cold and relaxes those aching muscles of your sore throat in no time.

Chicken Clear Soup Salt Free Recipe | Alni Pani Recipe

Dreamy Creamy Delight

I don't follow recipes but my heart for making desserts! And Ramadan is the time when there has been at least one dessert a day. Yes, I said at least one because traditionally they prepare 2-3 sweet dishes a day including puddings (like pez, khawru, gauty halwa etc.) and pancakes for example malpua, pelway and all). So, here's one such dessert from this Ramadan. I didn't follow any particular measurements for this recipe so just sharing how I made it.

Dreamy Creamy Delight Recipe:

Spring Fried Chicken Recipe

Thousands of recipes for fried chicken still we keep browsing Internet for more ideas and recipes to give a twist to the dish everytime we are going to fry chicken (at least in my case) and sometimes we come across really great recipes. But once when I was tired of scrolling through different web pages my sis came to my rescue and shared this recipe she had tried. I decided to follow the recipe to the T (tee?) :D and it came out so so good that I have decided to follow the same recipe without any variations.

How To Make Spring Fried Chicken:

Tapioca Patties Recipe | Sabudana Tikki Recipe | Sago Vada Recipe

Excuse me for poor presentation and photography because I was running out of time before iftar 😔

There are days when you get tired of kebabs and samosas and all the meaty and cheesy stuff and want something that's simple and light. As it's not possible to skip chicken/mutton and cheese altogether during Ramadan so what we can do is to make some light dish on side and that's what I did, made these Sabudana Vadas.

Sabudana vada or sago vada is a very popular breakfast item from Maharashtra. It's a simple and filling snack that's equally loved by vegetarians as well during fasting days. Deep fried tapioca pearls gives unique crunchy flavour to the simple potato patties. We sometimes dip vadas in beaten eggs before frying just to enhance the golden colour but that's totally optional and better be avoided as sabudana vada comes under veg snacks category.
PS: avoid using fresh coriander in vadas as it makes vadas quite soggy.

Tapioca Patties Recipe | Sabudana Tikki Recipe | Sago Vada Recipe

Chicken Egg Salad

This chicken salad is my go to recipe. It's simple, easy and tastes great! Can be used for making sandwiches and wraps or you can serve it with tortilla chips. You can skip mayonnaise and

Baked Chicken with Vegetables and Lemon Sauce

Nicely baked, rich in flavours, loaded with vegetables with a side of lemon sauce, this baked chicken was a perfect dinner.

Baked Chicken with Vegetables and Lemon Sauce Recipe:

Aamras Puri Recipe

aamras, ajwain puri and chole masala 

As a tribute to the royal alphonso of kokan, we had this royal platter for dinner a few days ago 😋

Aamras is considered a delicacy, not just in kokan but in many other parts of India. It's nothing but the mango pulp cooked with a few more ingredients and served with crispy puris. I made

Aloo Samosa Recipe

The most popular Indian snacks are Samosa and Pakora. There are many varieties of samosa but the most common is Aloo Samosa or also know as Punjabi Samosa. You can easily find aloo samosa anywhere in food streets to high end restaurants here in India.

The spicy potato filling wrapped in flaky pastry with added carom seeds is sure to please your taste buds and satisfy your hunger pangs. ;)
So, I am sharing my homemade punjabi aloo samosa recipe which is very easy to make and always a hit.

Aloo Samosa Recipe

Here is how to make dough to get a flaky crispy covering:

Ingredients:

• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon carom seeds
• 1 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon sesame seeds (optional)
• 2 tablespoons cooking oil
• Water for kneading

Mix all the dry ingredients with the help of a fork so that flour seeds and salt are well incorporated. Pour in oil and mix vigorously till the mixture resembles bread crumbs. Now add water as needed and knead stiff dough. Keep it dough ball in a bowl and wrap it with cling film and proceed to prepare the filling.

Ingredients for filling:

• 2 large potatoes
• 1 cup dried green or white peas (soaked for at least 4 hours) or fresh green peas
• 2 tablespoons of chopped parsley
• 2 inch piece of ginger
• 1 green chilli
• 1/4th teaspoon of asafetida
• 1 teaspoon garam masala powder
• 1 teaspoon mango powder
• 1 teaspoon chaat masala
• 1 tablespoon cooking oil
• Salt as per taste

Method:

1. Boil potatoes and peas in a pressure cooker.
2. Peal and mash the boiled potatoes.
3. Make paste of ginger and green chilli using little water.
4. Heat oil in a wok and add asafetida (if using) when is crackles add chopped parsley and ginger and green chili paste sauté for a minute then add all the spices and salt. Stir well and finally add mashed potatoes and boiled peas. Mix well and let it cook covered on low flame for 3-5 minutes.

Making samosa:

Divide the dough in golf ball sized portions and roll out 1/8” thick in oval shape. Cut the rolled dough lengthwise, take one half and put a spoonful of filling in the center and bring in the pointed edges over the filling making a triangle. Gently press the open edges to seal the cone and voila! You samosa is ready. Repeat with remaining dough and filling.

When you are done with making samosa, heat oil in a deep frying pan. Check the temperature of oil by putting in a bit of dough if it takes a few seconds to come up your oil is at right temperature for frying the samosa, if the dough comes up immediately, lower the heat. Fry samosa at low to medium heat till golden brown and crispy. Serve hot with sweet tamarind chutney.

Savoury Cheese Sticks

Mozarella cheese fingers covered with chicken  and vegetable mixture seasoned with desi spices that create unique blend of flavours. Can be frozen for two weeks. As it's loaded with goodness of vegetables and packed with protein from chicken and cheese, it make a healthy treat of you bake instead of deep frying.

Savoury Cheese Sticks Recipe

Ingredients:

• 200 g Mozarella cheese block
• 1 cup boiled and shredded chicken
• 1 large potato
• 1 bell pepper
• 1 medium sized carrot
• 1/2 cup green peas
• 1/2 cup sweetcorn kernels
• 1/2 cup cauliflower florets
• 1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 1 teaspoon red chili powder
• 1 tablespoon ginger garlic paste
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin powder
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper powder
• 1 teaspoon garam masala powder
• Salt as per taste
• Beaten eggs for coating
• Bread crumbs for coating
• Oil for deep frying

Method:

1. Cut Mozarella cheese into thick 2 inches long sticks and keep in fridge for later use.

2. Wash, cube and pressure cook all the vegetables adding just half a cup of water, a little salt and ginger garlic paste. Vegetable should be mushy but there shouldn't be any excess water.

3. Take cooked veggies in a mixing bowl and add shredded chicken and all the spices and mix well. If it's too sticky, add some seasoned bread crumbs.

4. Now take a little portion from above mixture and spread on a flat surface, place a cheese stick and close ends in such a way that cheese is well coated with chicken and veggies mixture.

5. Give egg wash and coat with bread crumbs. You can in freezer and deep fry or bake till golden while serving.

White Sauce Croquettes

White sauce because we were bored of potatoes and bread and lentils. So, tried this new base for croquettes and it was a hit instantly! Though the mixture is very soft and sticky initially but when you keep it in fridge for an hour it becomes easy to handle and you make shapes of your choice.

I have used chicken and spinach filling but again, you're free to throw in whatever you want!

White Sauce Croquettes Recipe

Ingredients:

For base:

1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 stick or 4 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 cups full cream milk
1 cup grated cheese
3-4 cloves of garlic
1/4 teaspoon chili flakes
1/2 teaspoon black pepper powder
1/2 dried oregano

For filling:

1 cup chopped spinach
1 cup shredded chicken
1/2 cup boiled sweet cornkernels
2 tablespoons finely chopped onion
1/2 mixed vegetables of your choice like carrot, bell peppers, mushrooms, green beans etc.
2 tablespoons hot and sweet sauce
1 teaspoon ginger-garlic paste
1 tablespoon oil
1/2 teaspoon salt

For coating:

Beaten egg
Seasoned flour
Bread crumbs

Method:

1. Heat oil in a pan and add ginger garlic paste, hot and sweet sauce and salt and then add rest of the ingredients for filling and saute well till everything is crisp.

2. Remove from the fire and let the mixture cool down completely.

3. Now prepare white sauce for base. Heat butter in a pot and put in grated garlic cloves. As the garlic turns slightly golden Add chili flakes, pepper powder and oregano and then immediately add the flour and whisk well. Slowly mix in the milk to form a smooth mixture. Let it cook for a minute on high flame with continuous stirring. Turn off the flame and add one cup grated cheese. Mix well.

4. Once the sauce is cooled down a bit, add in the prepared filling and mix well then keep in the fridge for an hour so that it becomes thick and pliable.

5. Take out of the fridge and make croquettes shapes. Immediately roll in Seasoned flour keep in a tray. Repeat till you are done with all the mixture.

6. Now dip the croquettes in beaten egg on by one and roll in the bread crumbs.

7. Freeze for half an hour and then deep fry till golden. Serve warm.

Half Moon Pies

This recipe is best for freezing as it stays fresh for more than two weeks hence its always on the menu for frozen Ramadan items.
The crispy covering is the result of pate a choux dough which is then deep fried. We prefer creamy filling for this pastry as it goes just perfect with the crispy melt in mouth covering. But the best thing about such pies is, you can always experiment with fillings.

Half Moon Pies Recipe:

How to prepare choux dough for half moons:

Ingredients:

1 cup all purpose flour
4 tablespoons butter
1/3 cup water
1/4 cup milk
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg (optional)

Directions:

1. Take butter, water, milk and salt in a sauce pan and bring it to a boil. When the butter has melted completely, put off the heat and add all the flour and mix vigorously with wooden spoon and again place on medium heat. Let the dough cook on medium heat for about 3-5 minutes or till it makes a ball with shiny surface. Keep stirring with wooden spoon. A thin film of flour may form on the bottom of the pan while cooking the dough.

2. Take the dough in the bowl of a stand mixer and beat on medium low till the dough is warm to the touch. (Instead of using electric mixer you can cool the dough manually by tossing the dough with a metal spatula.

3. Once the dough is cool enough, add beaten egg, if using. The dough will become very sticky and after adding the egg but it will hold back together as you keep on kneading. (To avoid this mess you can skip egg).

4. As dough cools down completely, divide it into small balls. Roll out small and not very thin discs.

5. Put filling on one side of the disc and apply some beaten egg or water on edges with brush or using your finger and then flip the other end making half moon shaped.

6. Dip the pastry in beaten egg and then in bread crumbs and store in freezer safe container. Deep fry and serve when needed.

Creamy Chicken filling for Half Moon Pies:

Ingredients:

1 cup boiled and shredded chicken
1/2 cup boiled green peas
1/2 cup boiled sweet corn kernels
2 tablespoons cream cheese
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
Salt and pepper as per taste
1 teaspoon olive oil

Method:

Put all the ingredients in a bowl and toss well. Keep in fridge for an hour before using.

You can adjust spices as per your taste.

Crispy Bread Pockets

Just another way of eating sandwiches that's even more sinful than the regular ones because the bread itself gets breaded and then deep fried till crispy. So, basically there are loads of calories! But who counts calories when it's Ramadan? ;)
You can make filling of your choice to fill the pockets. Here I have used stir fried chicken and vegetables and topped it with loads of cheese! Because it's cheese and I love it. :D

How to make Crispy Bread Pockets

For making bread pockets you will need:

Sliced Bread (white or brown)

Beaten Egg

Seasoned Bread Crumbs (or you can use plain bread crumbs)

Water for sticking the edges

Oil for deep frying

Round shaped cookie cutter

Directions:

1. Slightly roll out the bread slices on a plain surface with the help of a rolling pin and cut with cookie like this

2. Apply little water on edges of bread discs and stick two discs.

3. Dip in the beaten egg then roll in bread crumbs and keep in the fridge for some time.

4. Heat oil for deep frying and fry the prepared bread discs till they puff up and are nice golden in colour. Remove on kitchen paper and let them cool down. Then cut into two equal halves. Your pockets are ready!

Recipe for the filling I have used:

Ingredients:

1 cup boiled and shredded chicken

1/2 cup chopped bell peppers (green and yellow)

2 Tablespoons chopped carrot

1 small red onion chopped

1 tablespoon chopped parsley

2 tablespoons butter

1 teaspoon mixed herbs

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon chili flakes

Salt as per taste

1 cup grated cheddar cheese

1/4 cup grated mozzarella cheese

Method:

1. Heat butter in a pan when it bubbly add onion, bell peppers and carrot and stir fry for 2-3 minutes then add chicken and all the spices and fry on high flame for 2 minutes.

2. Place 1 teaspoon of this filling in prepared bread pockets.

3. Mix Cheddar and Mozarella cheese and top the bread pockets with cheese.

4. Serve at room temperature.

Alan Recip | Baked Besan Recipe

Alan or Besan is a savoury cake made from chickpea flour. It is considered as a delicacy in kokni cuisine and as it requires kind of hard work, skills and time to make hence its made on special occasions in big batches so that it can last longer. Alan can be stored for one week or more in the refrigerator, just reheat the pieces in a frying pan using just a hint of oil and serve whenever you want.

You have to be careful while making alan that there no lumps are formed and its cooked through so that raw smell of chick pea flour is gone. Elders recommend using wooden spoon to stir while its cooking and its suggested to stir it vigorously, in kokni, Ghotni. After cooking on stove top you can keep the creamy mixture unbaked and serve with roti but the baked Besan tastes HEAVENLY! especially during the rainy days when you are not in the mood of making a full course and just want to enjoy the rains while munching in something that pleases your tastebuds. Make a large batch of this scrumptious delicacy and enjoy!

 How to Make Alan or Baked Besan:

Photo courtesy: Saima Miqdad

Besan Recipe:

Ingredients:

1 Cup Thick Coconut Milk
1 Cup Thin Coconut Milk
7 Tablespoons Chick Pea Flour (Besan)
1 Tablespoon Rice Flour
1 Large Onion
3 Tablespoons Cooking Oil
1 Teaspoon Cumin Seeds
3-4 Cloves of Garlic
2-4 Green Chilies or Dried Red Chilies (depending upon your taste)
1 1/2 Teaspoon Red Chili Powder
1/4 Teaspoon Turmeric Powder
Salt as per taste
1/4 Teaspoon Dry Mango Powder (or a small piece of raw mango)
2-3 Tablespoons Fresh Coriander Leaves

Method:

1. Take chickpea flour and rice flour in a medium sized bowl and add 2 tablespoons of thick coconut milk. Use wire whisk to make a smooth paste. Slowly add more coconut milk little by little while stirring the mixture. Adjust the consistency with thin coconut milk. The ideal consistency is thick yet runny mixture.

2. Now make paste of cumin seeds, garlic and green chili using just a little water so that paste comes out smooth.

3. Now peel, slice and fry onion in three tablespoons of cooking oil. After onions turn slightly golden, add cumin paste, turmeric powder, salt, red chili powder and sauté for a minute then lower the flame and slowly pour in the besan mixture with constant stirring. Add a small piece of raw mango and cook on medium to low flame while stirring vigorously with wooden spoon till it becomes a thick creamy mixture.

4. Add chopped coriander leaves before switching off the burner.

5. Let it cool and remove mango piece.

6. Pour in a greased baking tray and bake in pre heated oven at 210 degrees for 15 minutes or till top turns slightly golden.

7. Cool and cut the pieces. You can serve them immediately or keep in the fridge and serve later. While serving, heat the pieces in slightly greased pan.

Chana Dal Recipe

 

This simple but very delicious dal curry made with split bengal gram is a very famous dish in kokan. The dal is fried in spices and then coconut  milk is added after dal has cooked completely. Egg is added just a minute before taking is off the flame maybe just to give that extra protein punch ;) (NB: eating healthy foods like this is way better than those overrated protein shakes and diet supplements). This dal is paired with hot chili chutney and roasted papad and served with either cooked rice or chawal ki roti. Broiled fish makes a perfect side dish with this meal.

I know that every household has their own version of dal preparation but the basic technique remains the same. So, here I am presenting most common recipe that most of my relatives follow.

Chana Dal Recipe:

Ingredients:

• 1 Cup Split Bengal Gram (Chana Dal)
• 1 Large Onion
• 1/2 Teaspoon Ginger Garlic Paste
• 1/2 Teaspoon Cumin Seeds
• 1 Green Chili
• 2 Cloves of Garlic
• 1/4 Teaspoon Turmeric Powder
• 1/2 Teaspoon Red Chili Powder
• 1/2 Teaspoon Fennel Seeds Powder
• Salt as per taste
• 1 Tablespoon Cooking Oil
• 1 Cup Coconut Milk
• 1 and 1/2 Cups Water
• 1 Egg

Method:

1.  Wash and soak chana dal for about half an hour.
2.  Soak cumin seeds in little water and then make paste of these soaked seeds, green chili and garlic cloves using very little water.
3.  Finely slice the onion and fry in oil. When onion turn translucent add ginger garlic paste and cumin paste. Saute well then add turmeric powder, red chili powder and fennel seeds powder and mix well.
4.  Discard all the water from the dal and add it to above prepared masala, add one and half cups water and let the dal cook covered till its tender and all the water has dried up. (you can use pressure cooker to cook dal).
5.  Now add coconut milk and bring it to a boil and then let it simmer. Beat egg in a small bowl and pour in the dal while its simmering and stir it carefully.
6.  Remove from the burner and serve warm with hot chili chutney.

Note: You can skip egg for vegetarian version.

Adjust spices as per your choice. I like it mildly spiced but you can go for spicier dal curry.

Some people prefer ghee instead of oil so its up to you what type of fat you want to use.

Instant Raw Mango Pickle

Kokan is the home to alphonso mangoes, everyone knows that. Plus, we have many different varieties that are not found anywhere else in the world. Kokan mangoes are rich in flavours and have distinctly different colours and they smell really good. So, undoubtedly we have the best quality of mangoes in the whole world. *feeling proud and blessed, alhamdulillah* 😇
Anyway, as it's the mango season and we have them in abundance, alhamdulillah, so not a single day goes without some instant mango preparation. Whether it's a pickle or chutney or some mango coolant like mango Panna or sometimes mango coconut curry etc. So here I am sharing one such recipe that is loved by all at home. I supposed to take photos after the sugar has melted completely but then I knew that I won't get a chance for photo session once the pickle is ready as nobody would wait till I get a perfect shot lol. But I hope this pic is tempting enough to make you drool ;)
This pickle is made with raw alphonso but if you don't have alphonso you can make with any of the varieties you have. And it's called "kaach" in local kokni lingo. If you are avoiding sugar you can replace it with jaggery but sugar is best for this recipe. We have some other recipes with jaggery and for spicy pickles without any sweetener.

Instant Mango Pickle Recipe

Ingredients:

1 big raw mango
2-3 garlic cloves
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon red chili powder
2 teaspoon refined oil

Method:

1. Wash and peel the mango and chop it finely.
2. In a bowl, crush garlic cloves and adde chopped mango. Add salt, sugar and red chili powder. Finally add oil and mix everything well.
3. Wait till sugar melts completely and the lip-smacking, juicy mango pickle is ready in no time! Enjoy!

Chocolate Fridge Cake

Fridge cakes are a hit nowadays because not everybody can bake (though I can, alhamdulillah!) and as the Mercury levels are getting up we all are getting hooked on foods that can keep us cool and can be prepared quickly as nobody would like to spend hours in the kitchen. And baking is just a big no! So, today when I was asked to make a chocolate cake I opted for this Chocolate Fridge Cake and didn't expect any appreciation because I knew I have taken a shortcut and it is going to disappoint all but to my surprise everyone loved this simple fridge cake and I had to prepare another batch because the first one was not enough! Lol
It's a simple recipe with layers of sweet and salty biscuits and chocolate ganache and it's frozen till firm and then sliced. You can serve this cake with fresh fruits and some whipped cream, if you want. I have used Parle's Crackjack Biscuits you can use any of the sweet and salty biscuits of your choice.

How to make Chocolate Fridge Cake

Ingredients:

24 sweet and salty biscuits
100 gms dark chocolate
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk

Method:

1. Pour cream in a sauce pan and microwave for 2 minutes (you heat on gas stove for about 3-4 minutes on medium to low flame.
2. Now finely chop the chocolate and mix in hot cream also add condensed milk and mix well with the help of rubber spatula. It should be thick mixture but of pouring consistency.
3. Take a 8 inch square box and arrange four biscuits side by side pour some prepared chocolate mixture wait for a minute so that the sauce thickens. Repeat till you get 6 layers of biscuits. Pour the remaining sauce on top and keep it in the freezer for about 30 minutes.
4. Check if it's hard, if not, leave it in the freezer till it is hard enough to cut with a knife.
5. Remove from the fridge and cut into one inch thick slices. Serve immediately.

Tilkoot - Sesame Seeds Dry Chutney

Sesame seeds are known as 'Til' in kokani langauge and and the word Tilkoot translates to "ground sesame seeds". We koknis have many such "secret ingredients" that make our dishes distinctly different from others and Tilkoot is definitely one of those ingredients. La! Wait.. tilkoot is not just an ingredient, it's actually a kind of dry chutney made from black sesame seeds by adding garlic and dried red chilies. You can have tilkoot on its own as a chutney or you can use it as a condiment to make many other dishes that includes vegetables and sprouts. Traditionally tilkoot was made using mortar and pestle and the remains would be wiped of by grinding chawal ki roti in the same vessel which would make a great nutritious snack with a  dollop of pure ghee, as told by my grandma but I have always seen tilkoot being made in electric grinder so it's not a difficult task at all and you can easily make it whenever you are craving for it and have all the ingredients in your pantry.

Ideally you should use a mixture of long and short black sesame seeds in the proportion of 1:4 that is, if you have 1 tablespoon of long sesame seeds you should use 4 tablespoons of short black sesame seeds but if you don't have the long ones (that aren't easily available in most of the places) you can go for only short ones and it will taste even better as the short ones are rich in  oils and flavours.

So here is How to Make Tilkoot

Ingredients:

1 cup short black sesame seeds
1/4th cup long black sesame seeds
4-5 cloves of garlic
2-3 dried red chilies
1 teaspoon salt
A small piece of dried coconut (khopra) (totally optional)

Method:

1. Dry roast sesame seeds on a cast iron tawa till you get nice aroma. Then remove in a plate and let them cool completely.
2. Also roast khopra, if using, till it becomes dark brown and slightly charred at ends.
3. Peel and add garlic cloves to the seeds. Break and add dried red chilies.
4. Ground everything to get coarse mixture. Your tilkoot is ready!
5. Store tilkoot in glass jar and keep it in fridge so that it can last longer.

Tilkoot can be enjoyed as a chutney or you can sprinkle it on boiled drumsticks, green beans etc. It's also used to make a stuffing for veggies like okra and eggplant.

Dried Baby Shrimps Fry | Sukat Fry | Suka Javla Fry

Every kokni household has Sukat, Sore and bombil in their pantry. Whether you like it or not but as a kokni you should some stock of these dried seafood as it's an age old tradition in the community and it really helps when you are unable to access fresh seafood during the rainy season when it rains heavily. In case you don't know what's sukat then know that it's just the dried shrimps which shrink to the size of a thumbnail and the one I'm sharing the recipe for looks like this 👇

There are many other varieties which I'll share soon, in shaa Allah!

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The dried seafood had as an intense odour that's unbearable at times but if you wash and cook it properly then the taste overpowers the odour. You don't really feel any bad aroma while eating. And yeah let me assure you that sukat taste really good! You can even make a filling for your toasted sandwiches with leftover fried sukat along with other accompaniments (that's the way I eat sukat lol). Anyway, let's proceed with the recipe.

Sukat Fry Recipe

1 cup sukat
1 large onion
1 medium sized tomato
1/8th teaspoon turmeric powder
2 teaspoon red chili powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
A small piece of dried raw mango Buy Now
(Or you can use either tamarind or dried kokum)
1 tablespoon cooking oil
1 tablespoon chopped coriander leaves

Method:

1. Thoroughly clean the sukat and soak it in warm water for 10-15 minutes and then wash well gently rubbing with your hands under running water. Drain and keep it aside.
2. Peel, wash and finely slice the onions and fry in oil till translucent then add finely chopped tomato.
3. After tomatoes become pulpy add turmeric powder, red chili powder and salt and mix well. Keep flame very low.
4. Now add in sukat and stir well to get everything incorporated. Sprinkle chopped coriander leaves and place raw mango piece and cover the pan.
5. Cook for about 10 minutes then remove lid and stir fry on high flame for a minute with stirring. Serve with chawal ki roti or any other roti and bread.

Breakfast Poha Recipe | Kanda Poha Recipe | Onion Poha Recipe

Kanda Poha or Onion Poha is undoubtedly the most popular breakfast item in the state of Maharashtra. It's light yet very filling breakfast with the goodness of peanuts and exciting flavours of curry leaves and fresh coriander. There are two types of poha (flatten rice) thick and thin, the thick one needs to be soaked for 3-5 minutes while just washing in a colander would do for thin variety. The dish is made more filling by adding deep fried potato cubes. Serve Kanda Poha with freshly shredded coconut and lemon wedges for additional flavours.

How to Make Kanda Poha:

 

Ingredients:

1 Cup Poha (Pressed/flatten Rice)

1 Large Onion

2-3 Green Chilies

10-12 Curry Leaves

2 Tablespoons Coriander Leaves

1/2 Teaspoon Mustard Seeds

A small pinch of Asafoetida

1/4th Teaspoon Turmeric Powder

1 Tablespoon Peanuts

1 Tablespoon Vegetable Oil

Salt as per taste

1 Teaspoon Lemon Juice

1/2 Cup Cubed Potatoes (deep fried and drained)

Method:

1. Take Poha in a colander and run cold water all over it and leave it to drain out completely.

2. Heat oil in a skillet and fry peanuts till crispy then remove the peanuts and add mustard seeds, asafoetida, curry leaves, green chilies and let it splutter then add chopped onions.

3. when onions turn pink add in half of the coriander leaves, salt and turmeric powder and stir well.

4. Finally add poha and give it a good mix and saute for a couple of minutes. Then mix in the remaining coriander leaves, peanuts and fried potatoes. Sprinkle lemon juice and some chopped green chilies.

5. Serve poha hot topped with freshly shredded coconut and lemon wedges.

Spicy Scarmbled Eggs | Egg Bhurji Recipe | Akoori Recipe

Egg Bhurji

Another popular breakfast dish across the country but like all other dishes every region has their own version of scrambled eggs but Mumbai's Anda Bhurji is probably the best among all. It has amazing blend of spices and nutrients to kick-start your day with a protein punch! Its usually eaten with freshly baked Pav (dinner rolls) but if you are a weight watcher and are avoiding carbs then you can have bhurji on its own. But to be honest nothing can beat Bhurji Pav with a cutting chai :P lol
Anyway, here I am sharing the recipe for egg bhurji that's popular in mumbai as well as in kokan. It's really very easy to make and quite a filling dish with added vegetables (but that's optional) plus you can adjust spices as per your taste. For vegetarian version, you can replace eggs with crumbled paneer.

Hot To Make Egg Bhurji:

Ingredients:

2 Large Eggs
1 Medium Sized Onion
1 Medium Sized Tomato
3-4 Green Chillies (Chopped)
2 Tablespoons Chopped Coriander Leaves
1 Teaspoon Ginger Garlic Paste
1/4th Teaspoon Turmeric Powder
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
1 Tablespoon Butter (or Oil)
1 Teaspoon Pav Bhaji Masala (Optional)
(You can optionally add vegetables of your choice like finely cubed carrots, bell peppers, boiled potatoes etc.)

Method:
1. Break eggs in a bowl and beat well with the fork.
2. Peel and finely chop the onions, tomatoes, coriander leaves and green chillies.
3. Heat butter or oil in a pan and add onions and fry till turns pink then add tomatoes and saute till tomatoes become pulpy.
4. Add ginger garlic paste, green chillies and coriander leaves. fry for a minute then add salt, turmeric powder and pav bhaji masala. Add vegetables at this stage if using and cook covered till vegetables are tender.
5. Now slowly and pour in the beaten eggs and and keep stirring so that everything gets well combined. Cook till eggs are fully cooked. Serve hot with freshly baked mumbai ladi pav.

Semolina Pancakes Recipe

While we were enjoying some really delicious madeleines at evening tea one of the girls said, "we are one heck of ungrateful people. We have many Desi foods that taste much better than these well marketed foreign delicacies. Huh!" And we all had to turn our heads to her ask her what happened? Then she said she had some homemade pancakes that tasted somewhat similar to madeleines Or I think EVEN BETTER than these little beauties. And her grandma who was visiting them made these pancakes for the breakfast. We all were so curious to know the about these REALLY GOOD pancakes now and wanted taste them right then but obviously that was impossible so we asked her to share detailed recipe in the WhatsApp group. Lol
So she did that and surprisingly my mom aunty already knew this recipe. They said just because you the new generation doesn't appreciate traditional sweets so we don't make them now otherwise we used to feed you these foods while you were young. And they made fun of me that your generation isn't aware of what they have and is blindly running after whatever is being made popular by good marketing. It was getting on my ego now so I just rolled up my sleeves started gathering the ingredients. And after o5ne hour, with the help of my sweet sis, I was able to present these lovely pancakes. They were really a hit!! My sis even kept some for her friends visiting in the evening. And everybody who had these pancakes had happy expressions. Alhamdulillah! :D

I know, I know you want to know the recipe now so here it is,

HOW TO MAKE SEMOLINA PANCAKES

Ingredients:

1 Cup Fine Semolina
2 Large Eggs
1/2 Cup Sugar
A Few Drops of Orange Blossom Water
OR Rose Water OR Cardamom Powder (or Any other fragrance of your choice)
A Pinch of Salt
Butter (for shallow frying the pancakes)

Directions:

1. Break eggs in a mixing bowl and add sugar and salt and beat till sugar melts.

2. Slowly fold in the semolina and and add the fragrance or of your choice and and cover bowl and keep it aside for 15-20 minutes.

3. Heat a non stick pan on medium low flame and brush it with melted butter and pour one spoonful of pancakes mixture. Let it cook on one side for about 3 minutes and then flip over and cook on the other side till done.

4. Better served warm.

Prawn Biryani Recipe

Biryani is LOVE so are prawns! and when both get together everyone at home becomes happy. Alhamdulillah! :D

Yeah I know chicken and mutton are there and nothing can compare to nice layered Chicken Biryani or Mutton Dum Biryani but Fish or Prawns Biryani taste equally good too or even better at times, believe me! And seafood is good for health compared to poultry, to be honest.

We get daily fresh produce of seafood here and I am really grateful to Almighty for that O:) So, it was one such day when we had fresh, big, white prawns bought straight from the local fishermen. I was all set to make Butter Prawns and Veg Pulao for lunch but then somebody said BIRYANI! and my brain prompted me, CHANGE THE PLAN! So I just went ahead with chopping the onions for browning. And after one and a half hours I served piping hot biryani with minty cucumber raita and fried papad followed by a rich carrot halwa as dessert which was prepared in a jiffy yet tatsted really good alhamdulillah. Yumm!!! :D

How to make Prawns Biryani:

Ingredients:

1/2 Kg Rice
15 Large Prawns
8 Large Onions
5 Medium Sized Tomatoes
2 Tablespoons Ginger Garlic Paste
1/2 Cup Curd
1 Packet of Shan Bombay Biryani Masala
3 Medium Sized Potatoes
1 Tablespoon Cumin Seeds
1/2 Cup Oil
5 Tablespoons Melted Pure Ghee OR Butter
Salt as per taste
1/2 cup water + for boiling the rice
A pinch of saffron strands soaked in 1.5 tablespoon of hot water
1 Tablespoon of chopped coriander leaves
1 Teaspoon of chopped mint leaves

Directions:

1. Peel, wash, pat dry and finely slice the onions. Heat oil in a pan and brown the onion till crispy. your brista or crispy fried onions are ready. Keep the aside in a airtight container so that they can stay crispy.

2. Wash and Soak the rice for 10 minutes. Meanwhile boil about 2.5 Litres of water with salt and cumin seeds. When water comes to a boil discard water from soaked rice and pour the rice in boiling water, cook till half done, strain and keep aside.

3. Chop tomatoes and fry in 1/2 cup oil in a big pot (you are going to use the same pot for making the biryani). When tomatoes turn pulpy add ginger and garlic paste, curd, brista (save some brista for garnishing) and Shan Bombay Biryani Masala. Mix everything well and saute till starts leaving oil then add washed and prawns and saute for a minute and add half cup water and let it cook covered.

4. Wash and peel the potatoes into thick round slices and arrange the slices on prepared masala.

5. Now arrange rice on potato layer and garnish with chopped coriander and mint leaves, some brista and let it cook covered for 15 minutes (cover it well so that no heat can escape from the pot).

6. After 15 minutes pour 5 tablespoons of melted pure ghee or butter and the saffron water. Cover it again and cook for 5-7 minutes. The prawns biryani is ready to be served!

Steamed Egg Pudding

EGG PUDDING

Puddings are always a hit dessert in family functions and this one is one of those traditional pudding recipes that have been passed over by grandmas from generation to generation. It requires just a few simple ingredients to prepare this light, creamy pudding. either serve it warm or cool it for several hours in fridge it will taste great anyway. The is key is to steam it for right duration so that you can get that perfect firm texture. The perfect egg pudding will have a firm texture and will leave juices at the bottom after it has cooled down to room temperature.

Egg Pudding Recipe

Ingredients:

6 Eggs
1 Liter Full Cream Milk
1/3rd Cup Sugar (or as per taste)
A pinch of Salt
1/4th Teaspoon Cardamom Powder
1/4th Teaspoon Saffron Strands
Slivered Almonds and Raisins for garnishing

Direction:

1. Keep the apparatus ready by heating about 2 inches of water in a double boiler.
2. Break eggs in a mixing bowl one by one and beat well with a wire whisk. Add sugar and salt and keep pouring the milk little by little meanwhile. When all the milk has been added to the beaten egg mixture and sugar has melted almost completely, transfer the mixture into steaming pot or bowl and sprinkle cardamom powder, saffron strands and gently garnish it with slivered almonds and raisins.
3. Close the lid of steamer and let it cook for 30 minutes. Check if its done by inserting a wooden skewer, if it comes out clean the pudding is done.
4. Serve either still a bit warm or completely cold, the way you want.

Puri Bhaji Recipe | Bhaji Puri Recipe | Poori Bhaji Recipe

Puri Bhaji with chutney and lemon

High carbs alert! 😅

Who can resist this sinfully yummy, calorie packed breakfast? No one! Yes you can be a dieting ninja but I bet you just can't resist a plate of spicy dry potato bhaji and scrumptious pooris when served as breakfast or even as dinner. I know it will give you a tough time at the gym while burning those extra calories but it's worth it, to be honest! Lol

This popular breakfast is typically served with a side of coconut based chutney (that's usually white but I like green colour so I add some greens), pickle, watery pea curry (Usal) and lemon with raw onions but you can never find any bits of raw onion in my plate, I just don't like that smell. I couldn't make usal or pea curry or channe ka salan whatever you may call it as it was not a planned meal and i had no soaked or tinned chickpeas or peas so I served the simple puri bhaji with chutney and lemon.

Puri Bhaji Recipe

How to make pooris:
I followed this recipe How to make perfect Pooris and the result was amazingly perfect puffy pooris.

For making Potato Bhaji you will need

Ingredients:

2 Large Boiled Potatoes
3-4 Cloves of Garlic
1/2 Teaspoon Chopped Ginger
10-12 Fresh Curry Leaves
1/2 Cup Fresh Coriander Leaves
3-4 Green Chilies
1 Teaspoon Mustard Seeds
1/2 Teaspoon Cumin Seeds
1/4th Teaspoon Turmeric Powder
1 Teaspoon or as per taste Salt
2 Tablespoon Cooking Oil
1 Chopped Onion (optional)

Method:

1. Peel and chop boil potatoes. Peel and crush  the garlic cloves. Finely chop green chilies and coriander leaves and ginger.
2. Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds, cumin seeds and curry leaves once they start to splutter add crushed garlic (and chopped onion, if using). When garlic turns golden add ginger, chilies and coriander and saute it well on low flame till nice aroma arises then add salt and turmeric powder and stir well. finally add chopped potatoes, mix well and cook cover till potatoes absorb all the flavours.
3. Always serve it hot with puris, lemon and chutney.

For Making Chutney:

Finely slice 1 cup fresh coconut and grind it to a fine paste along with 2-3 cloves of garlic. add salt to it and give tadka of mustard seeds. you can add green or red chilies and a few coriander leaves while grinding the chutney. Use very little water while making the chutney.

Chicken Afghan Karahi Recipe

Afghani Chicken Karahi

It's not everyday that we cook traditional food so you may find some odd recipes here. Odd in the sense they are not kokni recipes, as the blog title suggests. So, here is one such recipe - Afghani Karahi Chicken. The recipe was shared in a Facebook group and it was looking so tempting that I just couldn't ignore the post but digged through the comments to find recipe and saved it. Today I thought let's try that chicken recipe instead of making zinger burgers (that's what was the plan for tonight) so I asked everyone if they're ok with the change in menu and they all were like, "okay, no problem." So I just went ahead with the recipe. Firstly I gathered the three spices for making special Afghani Karahi Masala once the masala was done I stored some as I  made extra masala powder by using 3x quantity of spices because it was smelling so good and I sensed that  the recipe is gonna be a keeper and I'd might want to make it for a dawat dinner which is scheduled 2 days later (in sha Allah). After doing the masala I had to clean and wash chicken once again as I needed curry pieces for this recipe and I was supposed to make zinger burgers with boneless chicken fillets but then I marinated the fillets and kept them in freezer for later use and started working on this recipe of Afghan Chicken Karahi. Anyway, I was able to present the dish at dinner table on time alhamdulillah.

So here it is,

AFGHANI CHICKEN KARAHI RECIPE

Ingredients:

1 Kg Chicken

2 Chopped Onions

4 Chopped Tomatoes

1/4th Cup Oil

2 Tablespoons Ginger Garlic Paste

3-4 Green Chilies

1/2 Teaspoon Salt (or as per taste)

1/4th Teaspoon Chili Flakes

1/8th Teaspoon (or a pinch of) Turmeric Powder

For Special Masala:

1 Tablespoon Black Pepper Corns

1 Tablespoon Cumin Seeds

1 Tablespoon Coriander 

(Roast them well on medium low flame on a cast iron griddle, let them cool down to room temperature and then grind coarsely. Your special masala is ready)

Directions:

1. Heat oil in a skillet and fry chopped chopped onions till light golden brown then add washed chicken pieces and cook on high flame for 5 minutes.

2. Add ginger garlic paste, chopped tomatoes, green chilies and one tablespoon special masala. Cover and cook for 5 minutes.

3. Sprinkle salt, turmeric powder, chili flakes and cook with stirring occasionally till oil starts to separate.

4. You can garnish the dish with 1/2 teaspoon of special masala, green chilies, chopped ginger and fresh coriander leaves. (I had no time to decorate the dish :P)

Fried Prawns Recipe | Jhinga Fry Recipe

Because we koknis LOVE seafood!! 😍😋😋
We have seafood at least five times a week here in kokan. Most of the time seafood is fresh straight from the sea to your doorsteps that too variety of seafood like many varieties of fish, oysters, prawns, crabs, bombay duck etc. But there are days when the fishermen are not so lucky to catch fish (for example stormy rainy days) and that time we have to go for dried seafood (surat, bombil, sore etc.) that we have already stocked up during summers. So basically we live on seafood lol. Anyway, I was talking about this dish - Jhinga Fry. This spicy and simple prawns preparation is one of the dishes that are frequently cooked at my home and I loved Jhinga Fry since my childhood. Sabzi, roti and Jhinga Fry would make a perfect dinner that you can even serve to your guests with a side of omelette and mango pickle.

Fried Prawns Recipe

Ingredients:

300 gm prawns
1 large onion
1 medium sized tomato
2 teaspoons red chili powder
1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
1/2 teaspoon coriander powder (optional)
A piece of dried raw mango OR 2 tablespoons tamarind pulp OR 2-3 dried kokum fruits
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons oil
Fresh coriander leaves for garnishing

Method:

1. Shell, devein and wash prawns and place in colander so that all the water is removed completely.
2. Finely slice the onions and fry in 2 tablespoons of oil in a skillet. Once the onions have turned golden pink add chopped tomato and stir fry till tomato turns pulpy. Now add turmeric powder, chili powder, coriander powder and salt and mix well.
3. Once the rawness smell of masala goes, add prawns and mix well. Keep the flame lowest and let the prawns cook covered for 4-5 minutes then add dried mango/tamarind/kokum and again cook covered till prawns are done.
4. Garnish with freshly chopped coriander leaves while serving.

Grandma's Flan Recipe | Crème Caramel Recipe | Caramel Custard Recipe

I have a big sweet tooth that most of the times I skip main course and eat only the salads and desserts and if the saying "you are what you eat" is true then I must be very sweet! Haha 😛
Anyway, here I am sharing one of those light, filling and pleasant desserts that have been there since ages! These old style desserts don't have any fancy ingredients buy still rock till the date. I am sure most of you are already a fan of this superb sweet dish - Crème Caramel! I know it's not like many of our mix, whip and serve kind of fancy desserts but it's not that difficult either. When I tried it for the first time I ended up with a burnt mess of sugar which was not ready to leave the bottom of sauce pan lol so I had to prepare caramel once again and it was all so messy but like everything else I mastered the art of making a perfect flan with time. Alhamdulillah!

Easy No Fail Flan Recipe

Ingredients:

4 eggs
2 cups full cream milk
1/2 cup thick cream
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
A pinch of cardamom powder
A pinch saffron soaked in 1 tablespoon of hot milk
1 cup sugar for making caramel

Directions:

1. Beat eggs in a bowl and add cream, half cup sugar, salt, cardamom powder and saffron. Beat well and slowly pour in the milk and whisk well.
2. Take 1 cup sugar in a heavy bottomed sauce pan and place on very low flame till the sugar is liquefied and turns golden brown in colour. DO NOT stir the sugar while it's melting.
3. Take a glass baking dish and pour caramelised sugar. Rotate the dish so that covers the bottom and sides of the baking dish. Now gently pour in the egg mixture without disturbing the caramel.
4. Take some water in a baking tray and place the prepared flan dish and bake in the preheated oven till it becomes firm. Insert a skewer to check if it's done. Once done remove from the oven and let cool completely.
5. When the pudding cooled down completely invert it on a serve plate and and place in the fridge till its time to serve. You can serve fresh fruit on the top of caramel custard.