Smoked Garlic Khichdi

A twist to the traditional Khichdi by giving it a smoked flavour and it tastes just awesome. However, you cannot reduce the quantity of Ghee in this. Initially, I made this khichdi with a tablespoon of ghee. However, it did not generated the desired result, and I had to use additional ghee. (In the stepwise pictures, you will find that only a tablespoon of Ghee has been used)

Servings : Approx. 2 people

Ingredients: 

For Khichdi :
1 cup Rice
1/2 cup Tuvar Dal (Piegon Pea)
3 cups Water
Salt to taste

For Smoked Garlic Khichdi:
1/2 cup white portion of Spring Garlic 
1 cup green portion of Spring Garlic
Salt to taste
2 tspns Cumin Powder (1 tspn for each portion)
2 tspns Coriander Powder (1 tspn for each portion) 
1 tspn Pepper powder (1/2 tspn for each portion)
2 tspns Oil (1 tspn for each portion)
3 tspns lemon juice (1 and half tspn for each portion)
3/4 cup Ghee
1 tspn Cumin seeds
Khichdi (as above)
Salt to taste

Other Ingredients :
2 slices of lemon
2 Charcoal (Koyla / Kolsa)
2 tspns Ghee

For Garnishing :
Chopped Spring Garlic 
Coriander leaves
Lemon slice

To Serve with :
Papad
Mango Pickle

Method:

To make Khichdi :

Wash rice and turvar dal and rest it for 10 minutes. Boil 3 cups and a little more water in a vessel at high flame. Add salt to taste. When it reaches boiling point, add rice and tuvar dal to it. Allow it to cook on high flame for fifteen minutes. Then cover it with lid  and let it cook on low flame for further fifteen minutes. 

To make Smoked Garlic Khichdi :

Take two charcols and place it on burning flame for around 7-8 minutes. 

Simultaneously, take White portion of Spring Garlic and green portion of Spring Garlic in separately in two steel bowls. Add Pepper powder, Cumin powder, Coriander powder, Oil and lemon juice in each of the bowl. Mix well. Now place lemon slice in each of the bowl. Place burning charcol over the lemon slice and pour a tspn of ghee over the burning Charcoal. Immediately cover the bowl with a lid. Set it aside for 5-7 minutes. After that remove the coal and lemon slice from the garlic. 

Heat Ghee in a pan. Add cumin seeds to the ghee. Then add the smoked white portion of the spring garlic into the ghee. Saute it for 2-3 minutes. Then add smoked green portion into it. Again saute it for a minute. Then add the cooked Khichdi to it. Mix well. Check the seasoning. Cover the lid for 5 minutes.

If you want to enhance the smoky flavour, then again place lemon slice, burning charcoal and ghee over cooked Khichdi and cover it with lid.

Garnish it with chopped Spring garlic pods, lemon slice and coriander. 

Serve hot with Papad and Mango pickle.

Notes:
You may replace Moong Dal with Tuvar Dal while making Khichdi. 

Stepwise Pictures:

 

 Sending this event to Madhu's Indian Recipes Event - Left Over Make Over

Methi Thepla

Friends, here is a recipe after a long, mandatory break due to long working hours. I hope to be more regular, henceforth. 

Methi Thela is a very healthy and easy-to-make Gujrati recipe. Theplas can be made and preserved for several days. It is a preferred food caried by many during travelling as you can roll it and eat it comfortably.Theplas are generally eaten with traditional mango pickle or Chunda (a tangy sauce made from shredded raw mango).

Servings

: 10-12 theplas

Ingredients:
For the Curd mixture :
1/2 tspn Carom seeds  (Ajwain / Ajma / Owa)
1/2 cup Sour Curds (Yogurt)
1 tspn Sugar
Salt to taste
1/2 Riped Banana
2 tbspns Vegetable oil

For Methi Thepla :
1 and half cups Whole wheat flour
1/2 tspn Turmeric powder
1/2 tspn Red chilly powder
1/4 tspn Asafoetida (Hing)
1 tspn Coriander - Cumin Powder
1 Cup chopped fenugreek leaves (Methi)
Curd Mixture (As above)
Water as required

Other Ingredients :
Wheat flour (for dusting)
Vegetable Oil (for roasting)

To serve with :
Tomato Ketchup Or
Green Chutney Or
Mango Pickle Or
Mango Chhunda

Method:

To make Curd mixture:

Corasely crush the Carom seeds. Take curd in a bowl. Add Carom seeds powder, Salt, Chopped Banana, Sugar and oil to it. Mix it with the help of blender to make smooth paste. Set it aside.

To make Methi Thepla:

Wash methi leaves and chop it finely. Take Whole wheat flour in a mixing bowl. Add turmeric powder, red chilly powder, asafoetida, coriander-cumin powder and chopped fenugreek leaves. Mix all the dry ingredients together. Then add the curd mixture to it slowly and knead it into a dough (Normal roti dough). If required, add some water to it. Also, check the taste of dough and adjust the spices, if required. Rest the dough for half an hour. 

Heat a griddle / Tawa on medium flame. Now make small sized balls of the dough. 

Take a dough ball on rolling surface and dust it with wheat flour. Roll out the dough balls into round shaped thin rotis. Dry roast the thepla from one side. Now change the side and apply some oil to it. Again, change the side and apply some oil. Roast it from both the sides.

Serve hot with Tomato Ketchup, Green chutney, Mango pickle or Chunda. 

Notes:
1. The sugar may be substituted with Jaggery.
2. You may also add two tablespoons of Bajri flour or Besan flour

Stepwise Pictures: