Gujarat on a platter - mouth-watering recipes...

Gujarat on a platter Chef Bal Bhadra Singh dishes out some innovative variations of traditional Gujarati food. Dig in as the monsoon arrives.

Gujarati cuisine is becoming increasingly popular because of its wide range of flavours and textures. A typical Gujarati thali has farsan (starters), rotli, dal, khichdi, vegetables, a variety of sweet and sour chutneys, pickles and raita. Here are some recipes from Bal Bhadra Singh, Corporate Master Chef at Bandhani Restaurant at The Pride Hotel, Ahmedabad. Singh discovered his culinary talents at the age of ten, and takes pride in his innovative dishes, besides the traditional thepla, dhokla and khichdi. TAMETA KOTHMIR NU SHORBO Ingredients: Tomatoes 100 gm Coriander leaves 75 gm Lemon juice 10 ml Sugar 5 gm Tomato ketchup 10 gm Chopped garlic 3 gm Ginger-garlic paste 15 gm White pepper powder 10 gm Coriander whole 10 gm Salt to taste Butter 10 gm Method: Cook the tomatoes and coriander leaves in 300 ml of water until the tomatoes dissolve. Strain it, grinding the solids left over after straining before adding them again to the mixture. Heat ghee in a pan. Put the chopped garlic and then the ginger-garlic paste, stir for a little while and pour in the stock. Add all the masalas and cook for some time. Strain the entire thing again and serve hot, garnished with coriander leaves. LILWA KACHORI  Ingredients: Maida 1kg Oil 150 gm Salt to taste For the stuffing Tuwar dana (whole pigeon peas) 100 gm Nibu ful (citric acid) 3 gm Sugar 10 gm Garam masala 3 gm Coriander powder 5 gm Cumin (jeera) 2 gm Cashew 3 gm Raisins 3 gm Chopped green chillies 3 gm White sesame (til) 10 gm Asafoetida (hing) a pinch Salt to taste Oil to fry Oil for cooking 10 gm Crushed black pepper 3 gm Crushed coriander seeds 3 gm Method: Make a pliable dough of the maida, oil, salt and water and keep aside for half an hour. Make small roundels (half-circles) of uniform size and keep aside. For the stuffing, put oil, hing, tuwar dana and til in a hot pan and stir well. Add the remaining ingredients and cook till the mixture becomes crisp. Remove the pan from the fire and allow it to cool. Stuff this mixture into the roundels and deep fry till golden-brown. Serve hot with sweet chutney. METHI GOTA  Ingredients: Gram flour (besan) 100 gm Chopped methi (fenugreek) leaves 50 gm Saji ful (citric acid) 2 gm Lemon juice 5 ml Sugar 5 gm Crushed black pepper 3 gm Chopped coriander leaves 10 gm Coriander seeds 3 gm Sounth 3 gm Oil to fry Salt to taste For the kadhi Curd 100 gm Water 50 ml Turmeric 2 gm Salt to taste Sugar 10 gm Mustard seeds 5 gm Oil for tempering Gram flour 10 gm Method: Make a batter of the gram flour and other ingredients and fry them in small roundels till golden brown. Serve hot along with the kadhi. To make the kadhi, mix water, curd and gram flour well. Heat oil in a pan and put the mustard seeds. After the seeds begin to splutter, add it to the mixture along with the other ingredients. Cook till you get a thick consistency. This is a dish that�s usually made during the monsoon. MASOOR RAJMANI DAL Ingredients: Masoor dal 100 gm Rajma 50 gm Onion 100 gm Ghee 50gm Chopped tomatoes 100 gm Garlic 50 gm Green chillies 25 gm Red chilli powder 10 gm Chilli paste 20 gm Turmeric 3 gm Coriander powder 10 gm Method: Wash masoor and rajma properly, soak overnight and cook well. Heat ghee in a kadhai and add the cumin seeds. After a little while, add the hing, garlic, onion, chilli paste, tomatoes, green chillies, coriander powder, chilli powder and turmeric, and stir-fry it. Then add dal and cook till well done. WALNI KHICHADI Ingredients: Rice 500 gm Wal 150 gm Salt to taste Haldi 3 gm For the tadka Ghee 100 gm Cumin seeds 3 gm Asafoetida 2 gm Chopped onion 25 gm Garlic 25 gm Coriander powder 10 gm Cumin powder 10 gm Method: Soak wal for two hours, wash the rice and keep aside. Heat ghee in a pan and add the cumin seeds. Then add garlic, followed by the onions and coriander powder, salt and turmeric. Put in the rice and stir-fry for 5-6 minutes. Add water and simmer till cooked. Serve hot with ghee. METHI MUTHIA NU SAAG  Ingredients: For the muthia Methi leaves 250 gm Green chillies 100 gm Coriander leaves 250 gm Asafoetida a pinch Coriander powder 10 gm Soda a pinch Salt to taste Oil 50 gm Water For the gravy Ghee 100 gm Garlic 10 gm Green chillies 10 gm Chopped green coriander 10 gm Sugar 10 gm Cumin powder 5 gm Turmeric 3 gm Narial (desiccated coconut powder): 30 gm Method: Mix all the muthia ingredients, press them into small cylindrical shapes and deep fry them. Keep aside. Heat ghee in a pan and add ajwain. Then add garlic, green chillies, coriander, narial, cumin powder, salt, coriander powder, sugar and other masalas. Finally, add the muthias and allow them to cook. Serve hot garnished with chopped coriander. MASALA THEPLA  Ingredients: Maida 100 gm Curd Rice, boiled 100 gm Chopped methi leaves 50 gm Coriander powder 10 gm Red chilli powder 10 gm Salt to taste Coriander leaves 10 gm Oil to fry Method: Make a dough of the maida and the other ingredients. Make balls from the dough and roll them out like chapattis. Cook them on a hot tawa in oil and serve hot with green chutney and chunda. DUDHI NA KOFTA Ingredients: For the kofta Grated dudhi 250 gm Gram flour (besan) 80 gm Ginger 8 gm Salt to taste Garam masala 3 gm For the gravy Tomato 50 gm Onion 50 gm Cashew paste 25 gm Garam masala 10 gm Cumin powder 10 gm Coriander powder 10 gm Coriander leaves 10 gm Method: Mix all the ingredients and make kofta balls from them. Fry in oil till golden brown. Keep aside. Heat ghee in a pan and add asafoetida to it, followed by the chopped onion. Then add the ginger-garlic paste, cashew paste, garam masala, chopped tomatoes, coriander powder, cumin powder and salt. Add the fried koftas when the gravy is well-cooked. Serve hot garnished with cream and coriander. FANCY DHOKLA  Ingredients: Dhokla flour 250 gm Curd 50 gm Soda a pinch Asafoetida a pinch Ajwain 2 gm Garlic 1 tbsp Oil to 10 gm Salt to taste Mint chutney Method: Mix all the ingredients except for the mint chutney and keep overnight. Pour half the mixture into a dish and steam till half-cooked. Spread the mint chutney over the half-cooked dhokla and steam again for another five minutes. After that, pour the remaining mixture and steam the entire thing till it�s cooked.

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 * Indiancuisineandculture Y-Group