Shepuchi Bhaji (Stir fried Dill leaves dish)

Shepuchi bhaji is a well known Maharashtrian dish. Very popular food amongst villagers and farmers. It falls under the category of either you Love it or Hate it, more or less like Karela (bitter gourd). It has a cult followers of its own if you ask me heheh and I am one of them. I can polish off my plate when I get served these cult vegetable curries like karela, shepu(dill), bitter beans etc. My husband is just the opposite, he doesn't like it at all. One other reason I look forward to make it as I make it once in a while :)

It is used as a herb in western countries. Dill has been used for culinary and medicinal purposes for hundreds of years. Apart from giving a strong, tangy, appetizing flavor and taste, it possesses plenty of medicinal properties. It is very good for health and has a pretty green color on it. Used these days for garnish, flavoring and for styling food plates to present on Internet handles, it is has multipurpose value- so Dill ain't going anywhere soon :)

I have enjoyed it so much while growing up- eating it with jowar bhakri or rice bhakri elevates its taste 10 folds more. I sill get all nostalgic when I visit my hometown in Belgaum and step into our family friends home, that aroma always lingers in their house. Have you ever experienced that? Every house has its own typical aroma and energy around it.

Anyways coming back to Shepu- my moms fav dish is shepu Idlis...well that is one thing which I am not a great fan of maybe because we add loads of jaggery in it... my tastebuds go crazy where ever it finds spice. Even now when I visit home there is a list of things that I want from my moms kitchen and Shepuchi, methichi bhajis are one of them. I am actually drooling as I am writing this as its dinner time and I cant wait to get my hands on it :)

Lets check the simple recipe:

Ingredients: 

• 2 bunch of Dill leaves (about 21/2 cups of chopped dill)
• 4-5 garlic pods chopped (large in size)
• 3 green chillies slit
• 1 onion med size chopped
• 1/4th cup toor dal soaked for 30 mins (or split yellow moong dal)
• 1 tbsp grated coconut for garnish
• 1/4th tsp jaggery 
• 3 tbsp oil
• salt to taste

Preparation:

• Clean and wash Dill leaves for a couple of times. It is usually muddy by the roots, so clean it nicely.
• Chop the leaves and keep aside.
• Soak the toor dal in little water for about 30 minutes and drain the water.
• Heat oil in a pan, then add garlic, saute for a few seconds. Add onions and chillies, saute and let it cook till onions are translucent. 
• Add toor dal and mix it well, add 2 tbsp water and cook it covered for 5-6 minutes.
• Now add the dill leaves, salt, jaggery and mix everything nicely. Close the lid and let it cook for another 5-6 minutes. Do not add water. It gets cooked in the steam that gets generated. If need be then add very little water. 
• Garnish with grated coconut and serve hot with roti, yogurt, rice etc

Njoy cooKing!

Health Benefits:

Dill is packed with micronutrients that provide health benefits. It is a good vitamin A intake that helps you to maintain healthy vision, skin, immune function, growth, and reproductive health. You'll also get a significant boost of vitamin C, an important antioxidant that helps your body to resist infection. Dill is also a good source of fiber, folate (important for cell division and production of DNA), calcium for healthy bones, riboflavin for cell function and development, manganese, and iron.

Dill has been used for centuries in traditional Asian and Ayurvedic medicine. Currently, people use dill for certain medicinal purposes, including: Gastrointestinal disorders  Loss of appetite, Kidney disease, Flatulence, Fever and colds, Cough, Bronchitis, Urinary tract disorders, Hemorrhoids, Insomnia and other sleep disorders.

source:https://www.verywellfit.com

Pathroda / Pathrode (Colocasia Leaves Stuffed, Rolled and Steamed)

Pathroda or Patroda is the most loved dish of Konkani cuisine. Colocasia leaves( Alu paan ) is a tropical plant and grows in abundance in people's backyards. All you got to do is sow in taro roots and water it regularly. You will see these huge luscious green leaves popping out in no time:) I had fun growing these on my patch for the last few years!

There are 10 different names for these leaves and I believe it is consumed in the entire subcontinent of India. Every state has its own authentic dish that has a unique flavor and taste. For example, patra dish from Gujarat/Maharashtra uses a slightly different stuffing that goes in the colocasia leaves and tastes equally delicious! In most parts of Karnataka, they make patroda. In the more southern states of India, they make scrumptious curries. East of India uses the leaf to steam seafood. I should give it a try someday :)!

Initially, whenever I craved to eat Patroda, I replaced colocasia leaves with collard leaves. That works fine too. Also, spinach works, but you have to add more of those leaves as they are very delicate and soft.

You can take a look at alwati(with the corn cobs) recipe on my blog, another unique and authentic dish using colocasia leaves.

The leaves are waterproof and it has a smooth texture, you can actually make cups out of it and drink water :). Amazing creations of nature. In India, one has to be careful when plucking the leaves as some may cause itchiness in your throat while you eat. My mom always kept a glass of buttermilk to drink after having patroda for the meals. It helps to stop the itchiness. When you get it from the store, you need not worry as they get a good stock of leaves. Luckily for me, my home-grown leaves are perfect and itch free :) So no worries hehe.

Let us take a look at the recipe:

Ingredients:

• 10 med size colocasia leaves - makes 2 rolls of 5 each OR 6 big leaves
• 1/4 cup toor dal
• 1 tbsp rice
• 1 tsp channa dal
• 1 tsp urad dal
• 3/4 tsp coriander seeds
• 1 tsp jaggery
• 3/4 cup grated coconut
• 5-6 red chillies
• 1/2 tsp tamarind
• pinch of asafoetida (optional)
• 1-2 tsp oil
• salt to taste

Preparation:

• Soak toor dal, rice, channa dal in water for about 30 minutes minimum.
• Heat oil and fry urad dal, asafoetida, red dry chillies and coriander seeds. Transfer it to a blender. 
• Grind it along with grated coconut, soaked dals, rice, tamarind, jaggery and salt without adding much water (add water sparingly). Make a dry mixture and keep aside. 
• Take a leaf and trim it stem, place in upside down and slather the masala (abt 1-2  tbsp) on it evenly. Place another leaf over it and apply the masala on it. Continue doing the same till you work with 5-6 leaves. 
• Now roll it like a burrito, fold the side ends a little inside and roll from bottom to the top to make one giant roll. Do it gently as the leaves are soft, you don't want to tear/bruise it.
• Steam it using your steaming vessel or pressure cooker without using the whistle for 15 minutes on med-high flame.
• Let it cool before you take a sharp knife and cut crisply into roundels. You will see the beautiful rings with masala coated on it. 
• It can be enjoyed as is by drizzling little coconut oil over it, OR additional tadka of mustard seeds, curry leaves can be added over it, OR it can be shallow fried by rolling it in semolina. Any way you devour it, it will taste amazing!

njoY!! happY cookinG!!

Notes*: 

You can replace colocasia leaves with big spinach leaves or collard greens too. Follow the same method of preparation. Steam 10 minutes extra if using collard leaves and trim the stem nicely.

shallow fried pathroda

Health Benefits:
Colocasia leaves are loaded with potassium and several minerals and vitamins. Helps to build a strong immune system, fights the fatigue problems, helps lower blood pressure, helps in the anti-aging process as it has a high content of hyaluronic acid. It's a low glycemic index food. They are home grown Colocasia leaves :)

Mixed Sprouts Chilla with Besan (Sprouts Dosa)

Mixed Sprouts Chilla with Besan (sprinkled garlic chutney on top)

These days most of us are diet conscious and are always on a lookout for good healthy recipes. Here is one such recipe of sprouts chilla. It is gaining lots of popularity and is soon becoming a staple food in everyone's house. I must admit it is actually a very tasty and healthy dish (dosa). I fell in love with chillas the first time I tried it. I make it as a replacement for Rotis, works quite well.

Chillas can be made with lots of variation, you can use moong dal, matki, channa or oats etc etc. Add spices of your choice, I like to add green chillies- always first preference :), black peppers, cumin and ginger optional. One can add onions, tomatoes or cilantro...I mean the best part is you can play around with it and it still will come out yummy and tasty.

Get addicted to these chillas and see yourself shedding a couple of dress sizes :) I will try too :)

I had a field day with soaking different legumes overnight and getting sprouts. They look so beautiful :)

One of the foodie members Medha Rajpathak-Dhorje mentioned this recipe with the ingredients. I had to eyeball and make a note of measurements, tried it twice and came up with this recipe:

So cheers to Chillas, let me walk you through the recipe:

Ingredients: 

• 3/4th cup moong dal 
• 2 tbsp matki (moth beans)
• 2 tbsp kala channa (black chickpeas) 

[ so almost 1 cup of sprouts- you can use just 1 type of legume too ]

• 2 green chillies
• 1/2 inch ginger
• 3-4 pods garlic
• 5-6 black pepper
• 1/2 tsp cumin coarsely crushed
• 1/2 onion chopped
• 1/2 cup gram flour (besan)
• 1 tbsp yogurt (dahi)
• handful chopped cilantro
• oil to fry
• salt to taste

Preparation:

• Soak the legumes overnight, in the morning drain out all the water and keep in warm place to sprout. To expedite the process, tie it in a muslin cloth and keep aside hung somewhere :) It is an easy process to do in summer time. In winter it may take 2-3 days to sprout.
• Add legumes, ginger garlic, chillies, yogurt in a blender and make a paste by using just enough water. 
• To this mixture add besan, salt, cumin seeds, onion, black pepper and cilantro. Mix everything and add water to make the batter a little runny than pancakes. Almost like dosa batter.
• Take a cast iron griddle and heat it, add 1/2 tsp oil and spread it evenly with a rubber spatula. 
• Take about half a cup of batter and pour it in the centre of the griddle and with the back of the ladle make circular motions and spread the batter like a dosa. 
• Add more drops of oil evenly around chilla. Let it cook for a couple of minutes, flip it and cook for a few more seconds on the other side.(some may skip this step if it is cooked completely). 
• Serve hot with cilantro chutney or coconut ginger chutney or yellow potato sabji, yogurt etc.

njoY!! happY cookinG!!

Health Benefits: Sprouts are rich in proteins, minerals and vitamins. Legumes are in best form when consumed sprouted. The fact that sprouts have low glycemic index (GI) makes this legume food good for diabetics. It causes a slow and steady release of glucose into the bloodstream and thus, maintains your blood sugar levels. Sprouts also help in relieving mood changes during menstruation and post-menopausal symptoms in women. The high fibre content in them helps in promoting a healthy digestive system and intestine by lowering the risk of digestive disorders.