Vegan Archives - Dees Platter

Kale Chane for Navratri prasad

Kale Chane ka prasad for Navratri is prepared in India on the 8th or 9th day of the pooja – also called ashtmi and navmi. On the last day, nine young girls (symbolic of nine goddesses) are invited from the neighborhood in the morning to have prasad which includes poori ,sabzi, suji ka halwa and kale chane. During my childhood my friends and I used to get invitations from so many neighbors that after the first two houses, the rest of the aunties used to pack our prasad. Along with the prasad a small gift was given which was always the main attraction and we used to make sure not to leave any house unattended 😂😂.

Now, I also do Navratri pooja and invite small girls from the neighborhood for prasad. It is so much fun to feed them and to keep listening to their non-stop chit-chat about their new bangles, who is eating more pooris or which gifts they got from the other aunties. Hot poori and kale chane is always their favorite. Small kids can’t tolerate very spicy food, so I always use a mild level of spice in kala chana and sabzi for this particular day.

Kala chana/black gram/black chickpeas can be prepared for evening snacks as well. If you can tolerate, increase spices like ginger, green chilies, red chilies and chat masala. Serve them with finely cut onions or onions rings along with a dash of lemon juice. Mouth-watering evening snack is ready!

If you don’t want to go through all these spices, then just boil them with salt and keep them in a small quantity near your work station and keep munching them. If you don’t suffer from acidity, then can munch the overnight soaked ones without boiling them.

There is one more post for Kala chana in the blog. If you are interested, you can check that out as well…

Black Chana with Coriander Gravy (no onion-garlic)

If you cook your food without onion garlic, then this recipe of kale chane for navratri prasad is perfect for you!

Ingredients:

Kala chana 1/2 kg ( 500 grams)
Turmeric powder 2 tsp
Small mustard seeds ( rai) 1 tsp
Cumin seeds (jeera) 1+1/2 tsp
Asafoetida (hing) 1/4 tsp
Oil 5 tbsp
Coriander powder 3 tbsp
Red chili powder 2 tsp
Dry mango powder (amchur) 1 tbsp
Garam masala 2 tsp
Salt as per taste
Water as per requirement

Process:

Wash chana nicely and soak them in the water overnight (water should come up 5-6 inches over the chana in the vessel.)

In the morning you will see that chana has bloomed nicely. Reduce 1/4 water, add salt and turmeric powder. Boil chana in the pressure cooker till it turns soft. It is difficult to tell the exact time of boiling as different types of pressure cookers take different time.

While chana is boiling, let’s prepare spices. In a bowl take coriander powder, red chili powder, dry mango powder (amchur) and garam masala. Add 3-4 tbsp water, mix it well and keep aside.

When chana is boiled, let the pressure cool down completely, open the cooker and shift the boiled chana in a different vessel.

Heat oil in a wok and crackle rai, hing and jeera. Add those soaked spices from the bowl along with water.

With a spatula stir this masala and let it cook for 5 minutes on medium heat. Add boiled chana, mix it well with spices and let it cook till the water evaporates. Don’t forget to stir in between to avoid burning chana from the bottom of the vessel.

Kale chane ka prasad for Navratri is ready. Shift it in a serving bowl.

April 18, 2022

Deeksha Pathak39 Comments

Healthy Natural Juices (no added sugar )

Fruits and vegetables produce healthy natural juices without adding sugar. Fresh juices are essential to keep us healthy and hydrated. There are many brands of packed juices available in the shelves of supermarkets. But no brand can compete the fresh flavor and nutrients we get from freshly squeezed fruits and vegetables .The biggest health benefit of fresh juices is that we don’t have to add sugar in them. These are naturally sweet juices and instead of adding sugar, a pinch of salt enhances their taste a lot!

Interesting, isn’t it! Try these few fruits for healthy natural juices without sugar and see how beneficial they are for your whole family. But of course, be careful if any of them have a contrast with any of your health problem.

Watermelon juice

Wash and cut only red pulp of watermelon. Chop small pieces of red pulp (don’t worry about the seeds). Add washed and chopped mint leaves and grind into mixer. Sieve juice to remove seeds. Add a pinch of rock salt or white salt and pour juice into glasses. You can keep tiny round pieces of watermelon along with the juice to make it more inviting for kids.

Eat and drink watermelon 🍉

Purple Grapes juice

This year we got a lot of purple grapes direct from the farmers due to lockdown situation. A few of my friends prepared grape jam. But grapes had seeds and I didn’t have so much of patience to de-seed them for jam. So, each day fresh grapes juice for everyone in the family!

Wash grapes, and along with the seed keep them in the mixer, add little bit of water and grind them. Sieve the juice to remove seeds, add salt, pour into the glasses and enjoy.

Mosambi juice (or sweet lime juice)

Wash and peel mosambi, take out seeds and squeeze out juice through juicer and enjoy. In the same manner orange juice can be relished.

Tomato and Mint juice

Tomato and mint juice is a very nice summer drink. If you don’t have green mint leaves, then after taking out juice of tomatoes add Homemade Dry Mint Powder/ Podina ka powder – it would be equally delightful.

Spinach Tomato juice

We all know how nutritious spinach is. But with cooking, nutrients die down. And unlike Popeye, we can’t eat raw spinach also 😀. So, add tomatoes with spinach, grind them together with some water, sieve that, add some salt and enjoy!!

Carrot, Tomato and Beetroot juice

This is very healthy, dark coloured juice. It is best to improve your hemoglobin. You can even add little bit of grated gooseberry. Wash everything ,peel carrots and beetroot, chop them in tiny pieces along with tomatoes and grind everything in the mixer along with some water, sieve it, add some salt and serve.

Fresh tender coconut water, lemon juice, mixed berry juice, bel ka juice (golden apple or aegle marmelos), musk melon juice, pomegranate juice Aamras (Mangoshake) ,Kachhi keiri ka pana/panna (raw mango beverage) and so many seasonal fruits can be used for fresh juices. Encourage your kids to develop a habit for fresh juices by making them understand the difference of packed and fresh ones.

I am very sorry for not being a regular reader of my fellow bloggers’ blog for quite some time. In my previous post also I had promised that I will try to be regular, but it is just not happening. Probably I am little bit slow with multi-tasking. But I am glad that gradually I am able to do what I had dreamt for the last 4-5 years. Due to some unavoidable circumstances was not able to continue my baking entrepreneurship, but now it is taking shape slowly. There is a long way to go, but just a few glimpses of my work till now…

July 2, 2021November 1, 2021

Deeksha Pathak78 Comments

Spicy Whole Potatoes

I can guarantee you one thing about this Spicy Whole Potatoes dish – that this dish would become your family’s favourite and it will be a part of your menu for special occasions. There are very few people who don’t like potatoes. Kids love potatoes, and they can have them daily in their lunch box and in dinner as well. I remember that whenever my mom used to boil potatoes for preparing stuffed paratha, or gravy based or dry sabzi, as kids my sister and I used to sneak in the kitchen to take away one or two boiled potatoes. We used to enjoy them simply with salt.

Usually cooking whole potatoes is not a regular trend. We always cut them into pieces or mash them for different dishes. We always avoid using them as a whole. Try this spicy whole potatoes dish once, and there will be constant push from your family members to cook them again and again.

You can call these Spicy Whole Potatoes as Stove Roasted Potatoes too. Roasted Potatoes sounds much more fashionable also 😉 – you can prepare this dish on your stovetop and with the title of ‘Spicy Roasted Potatoes’ can boast your cooking skills on Instagram! Just kidding😅 – but seriously, that’s what teens do nowadays! They cook and garnish the dish. Everyone is waiting eagerly to taste it. But no, wait… first have to be clicked for Instagram… and… done! OK, now come and taste everyone 🙋 honestly speaking – not much difference between them and food bloggers 😇.

So, if you have never tried any dish from whole potatoes till now, try these spicy whole potatoes. I hope if you like potatoes, you will be loving this dish with whole potatoes.

Ingredients:

400 gm potatoes
5 tbsp oil
1/4 tsp rai (small mustard seeds)
1/4 tsp jeera (cumin seeds)
1/8 tsp asafoetida (hing)
2 tsp coriander powder
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1/4 tsp red chili powder
1 tsp amchoor /lemon juice
Green chilies sliced
Chopped green coriander leaves for garnishing

Points to remember:

Don’t over-boil potatoes that they crack or become too soft.
Try to take same sized small or medium potatoes. That way, they will get boiled with the same consistency.
If you have fresh small-sized potatoes, then you can prepare them without peeling also. Crisp potato skin tastes really good.
You can use spices of your choice also. Try dry oregano, crushed dry fennel seeds, long slices of raw mango, dry red chili, freshly grated coconut, fresh dill leaves, fresh mint leaves, fresh fennel leaves, dry fenugreek leaves (homemade Kasuri methi) … anything… till wherever your imagination and taste buds match!

If interested, you can check a few more posts based on potatoes in the blog:

Aaloo ki sookhi sabzi (boiled potatoes with Indian spices)

Dahi waale aaloo (Potatoes with buttermilk)

Aalu ki tikiya(potato patties stuffed with spicy peas)

Aaloo ki kachori

Crispy Potatoes

Process:

Wash and boil potatoes in the pressure cooker. If potatoes are small in size then one pressure (or whistle) is enough. If they are medium in size then not more than two quick pressures.

Once potatoes are boiled and steam of the pressure cooker settles down, shift potatoes to a sieve and immediately wash them with cold tap water. Potatoes will remain firm in cold water. Peel when the water drains out from potatoes.

With the help of a toothpick, prick potatoes from all sides. With this step potatoes wouldn’t taste completely bland from the inside.

Heat oil in a broad heavy-bottomed pan and crackle rai, hing, jeera (small mustard seeds, asafoetida and cumin seeds).

Keep the heat on the sim. Add peeled potatoes along with salt, coriander powder, chili powder and turmeric powder. Mix everything well. Slice green chilies and add and cover the pan.

These potatoes should be cooked on sim heat. Use a separator if your stove doesn’t give sim heat.

Keep on stirring potatoes time-to-time from all sides. Let them become crisp from all sides and get a beautiful brown colour!

Add some more sliced green chilies and fresh coriander leaves for garnishing!

January 23, 2021January 23, 2021

Deeksha Pathak103 Comments

Gaajar matar gobhi ki sabzi

Gaajar matar gobhi ki sabzi (carrots, peas and cauliflower) is a wonderful combo of three winter vegetables. All vegetable vendors bring fresh red carrots, peas and cauliflower in abundance during winter. Though these three vegetables can be cooked separately, ( Aaloo Gobhi ki sabzi ) as a combo, gaajar, matar aur gobhi creates a delicious vegetable dish. The sweet taste of carrots and peas is balanced by adding ginger, green chilies and garam masala. Kids also love this vegetable as they find their favourite peas here.

Sometimes the taste of gaajar matar gobhi ki sabzi is ruined if peas are not of good quality. They remain hard until carrots and cauliflower are completely cooked. To avoid this issue, I prefer buying very soft peas. But in case you have hard peas, then before cooking them, boil them in a pressure cooker for just one pressure. Now peas will be completely cooked along with carrots and cauliflower. Be careful, don’t boil peas for more than one whistle, otherwise, they will become mushy by the time all the vegetables are cooked.

You can check out more recipes in the blog for different vegetables:

Vegetables (Curries)

Ingredients:

Carrot 250 gms
Cauliflower 250 gms
Peas 100 gms
Grated ginger 1/4 tsp
Green chillies chopped 3-4
Oil 5 /6 tbsp
Salt as per your taste
Red chilli powder 1 tsp
Coriander powder 2 tsp
Turmeric powder 1/2 tsp
Garam masala powder 1 tsp
Tomatoes 2 / lemon juice 1+1/2 tsp /amchur powder 1 tsp
Green coriander leaves for garnishing
Water 3-4 tbsp if required

Process:

Peel, wash and chop carrots. Cut cauliflower in small florets and shell out peas and wash them.

In a wok heat oil and crackle rai, hing, jeera (small mustard seeds, asafoetida and cumin seeds).

Add carrots, cauliflower and peas followed by chopped green chilies and grated ginger.

Add coriander powder, red chili powder, turmeric powder, salt and mix it well with veggies.

(If all the water is drained out from the vegetables after washing and sieving them, add 3-4 tbsp of water after mixing spices. If still some water remains while adding veggies in the wok, then there is no need to add water unless spices start sticking to the bottom of the wok).

Cover the wok and let vegetables cook on sim heat. In between, stir them two or three times until they become soft.

Now add garam masala and chopped tomatoes/lemon juice/amchoor powder. Mix it properly and let the veggies cook for two-three more minutes. Gaajar matar gobhi ki sabzi taiyaar hai.

Transfer it to a serving bowl and sprinkle finely chopped green coriander leaves. Enjoy this winter special vegetables treat with roti, paratha, poori or rice.

January 14, 2021January 14, 2021

Deeksha Pathak78 Comments

Kunduru ki sabzi

Kunduru ki sabzi is my favourite as a side dish with daal-chawal, though it is equally good with chapati and plain paratha too. Kunduru is known by many different names, like, ivy gourd, coccinia grandis, tendli, scarlet gourd, tindora etc. I really like this vegetable when kunduru is completely raw and green from inside. When kunduru ripens, they turn red from inside and look fruit rather than vegetable! Though we can still cook ripened kunduru as a vegetable, but that recipe some other time.

Kunduru ki sabzi can be cooked with or without onions. Onions enhance the taste, look and make it more appealing. But that doesn’t mean that kunduru doesn’t taste good without onion – my mother is a non-onion-non-garlic person and she cooks finger-licking good food!!

There are a few more posts on different vegetables in the blog – if you are interested, can take a look…

Vegetables (Curries)

Ingredients:

Kunduru 1/2 kg
Onions 2 big sized
Green chillies chopped 3-4
Oil 5 – 6 tbsp
Water 2-3 tbsp (if required)
Coriander powder 1 tbsp
Red chilli powder 1 tsp (increase or decrease)
Turmeric powder 1 tsp
Salt as per your taste

Process:

Wash and chop kunduru lengthwise in thin stripes and keep them aside.

Chop onions and shallow fry them in one tbsp oil till they are slightly more than translucent.

Transfer these onions to a bowl. Add remaining oil and crackle cumin seeds (jeera) and asafotida (hing) in the same wok. Add chopped kunduru, spices and cut green chilies. Mix everything well and cover the wok. Keep the heat on sim.

Stir them twice or thrice. Add 2 or 3 tbsp of water if spices are sticking to the bottom of the wok. Cover again and let them cook till they are soft. Add fried onions, mix them with kunduru and let them cook on sim heat for 2-3 minutes more.

Kunduru ki sabzi is ready! Serve it hot as a side dish with daal-chawal or plain parathe/roti.

January 9, 2021January 9, 2021

Deeksha Pathak49 Comments

Mint flavoured rice

Mint flavoured rice happened in my kitchen just by chance. We were kind of bored with plain rice with daal (lentil), so decided to change the menu by changing plain rice into flavoured rice. As my daughter can’t have hot spices, so instead of preparing biryani (pulav is also regular in the menu), I decided to use hara podina/pudina (fresh mint) for flavouring rice. Green mint gave rice a nice flavor with mild spices and one more variety is now added to her menu.

In India, different types of chutney, like Coriander Chutney (dhaniye ki chutney, Imli ki meethi chutney Lahsun (garlic) ki chutney Tamatar ki chutney Raw Mango Chutney with Jaggery are an integral part of our daily food menu. Podina or mint chutney is very refreshing in taste. There is not much difference in the preparation of dhania (coriander) and pudina (mint) chutney, other than leaves. If you already have mint chutney, you can use that for preparing mint rice or else can follow the whole process…

Ingredients:

For mint puree

50 gms green mint leaves
One small tomato
One green chili

Rice 1/2 cup +2 tbsp
Oil 2 tbsp
Cumin (jeera) seeds 1/4 tsp
Asafoetida (hing) powder 1/8 tsp
Small mustard seeds (rai) 1/8 tsp
Mint puree 1/2cup
Water 1/2cup + 8 tsp
Salt as per your taste
Lemon juice 1tsp

Note :

Red chilli powder can also be added to mint puree to make it spicier.
Use fresh mint leaves for a nice flavour.
If you find that mint flavour is less with the given quantity of mint puree, sprinkle dry mint powder (Homemade Dry Mint Powder/ Podina ka powder). And next time, add more mint leaves to the puree.
Water quantity and cooking time might be different depending on the different quality of rice and different types of pressure cooker.