Easy to make Bakarwadi!

"Bakarwadi" is a favorite Maharashrian snack namkeen, liked by big and small and suits for afternoon tea time snacks.
I love to devour them to overcome my hunger pangs at any time or for that matter any occasion ;-)

To make Bakarwadi, you need to focus your efforts to make 1)the filling and 2)the outer covering.
Ingredients for Bakarwadi filling:-
1 1/2 tsp poppy seeds
1 1/2 tsp sesame seeds
1/4 bowl grated fresh coconut
1/4 bowl grated dry coconut
1/4 bowl sev
1/4 bowl chopped coriander leaves
1 tsp garam masala powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
1/2 tsp amchur powder
some oil to help bind it together
salt to taste
sugar to taste

For the outer covering, we need:
1/4 cup maida
2 tsp besan
1 tsp rava/sooji
ghee used as mohan
salt to taste
and water to roll the above ingredients in the form of a stiff dough, not very soft

Now comes the fun part!!!
After the dough rests for some time (15- 20 mins), make small balls of dough and roll out flat in circular shape (like rolling out roti/chapatti)
Then with the help of a spoon, spread out the filling on top of the rolled out maida evenly.
Start with one end of  flat maida rolling it and tucking the filling inside the maida to form a cylindrical shape roll.
Cut small pieces of the rolled dough in size of your requirement or your preference and deep fry in frying utensil on medium-high till the turn light brown.

Enjoy hot bakarwadi !!!

 

Gilroy Ginger, Ginger Gilroy!!!

Hmmm Gilroy!

So have we heard about Gilroy?

Oh yes we have!!!

So what do we know about Gilroy...

Yes, all about its gardens, reservoirs, car showrooms, factory outlets and yes not to forget its golf stretches:-)

Gilroy is not just a city in Santa Clara County in California but is also known to be the Garlic Capital of the world!

Another hidden treasure (not so hidden may be)of Gilroy is Mount Madonna!

This mountain painted in the redwood forest and grassland overlooking Monterey Bay, between Santa Cruz and Monterey, in Northern California provides you with a scenic view.

But my main recommendation is not just Mount Madonna which would be a great hiking and camping place too, but is in fact is the The Sankat Mochan Hanuman Temple!

This is a project sponsored by the Hanuman Fellowship and is located within the grounds of the Mount Madonna Center for the Creative Arts and Sciences, a residential private retreat and conference center.

It was established in 1978 by the students of Baba Hari Dass, and offers a community designed to nurture the creative arts and the health sciences within a context of personal and spiritual growth.

The Hanuman  temple holds you in captivation as you find yourself in a quiet, soothing  and friendly environment. It helps you connect to your self as well with the supreme power and nature.

Do visit Mount Madonna and the Sankat Mochan Hanuman temple. A prebooked appointment for a Saturday visit is best way  to ensure that you do not miss the chance! Link to appointment page(http://www.sankatmochanhanumansangha.org/visitors/login)

Another hidden treasure  for us Foodies is definitely the Ginger Cafe in Gilroy.

Do stop and enjoy porcupine custard buns, pineapple rice, chilly chicken rice. The Garlic butter noodles-Kids menu is super yummy too!

You don't know what you can actually like unless you try it!!!

Gilroy, though the Garlic Capital of the world is Ginger (cafe)Gilroy  for me;-)

Ganpati Bappa Morya in California

Ganpati bappa morya!!!

A very happy celebration having Ganpati Bappa at our abode in California this year.

Though it has been only few weeks of me being here, the warm welcome that the state has extended has been overwhelming.

The ease at which welcoming bappa at our place was unimaginable.

You will find Ganapati Bappa idols ready for sale around 10-12 days before Ganesh Chaturthi at any of the places mentioned below:-
1)India Cash n Carry
2)Namaste Plaza
3)Namaste India amd many other India  Stores.

There are also specific shops like the "Pooja Store" in Fremont which offer Ganapati idols on sale as well as all the other things required to fulfill the Ganesh pooja at home. Banana leaves, mango leaves, beetle leaves, Suparis, diya, as well as all of the other puja material is available.

As the time approaches to bid Ganpati bappa adieu, one would wonder how to do the Ganesh visarjan.

While I have met and interacted with many families in California who have had Ganpati bappa at their homes for years, I have learnt:-
1) some worship the Ganesh idol at home year after year but dont do visrajan but welcome bappa home and chant "ganpati bappa morya pudhchya warshi kavkar ya" at the end of 1 and a half or 5 or 10 days as per their family tradition with same enthusiasm and excitement
2) some bring new Ganesh idols every year but dont do visarjan/immersion in water
3) Some do the visarjan in small water pool in their own backyards or some like I did
4) leave their dear Ganesh idols in safe custodies of the various Hindu temples in the area who then on the end of 10th day I.e. on Anant Chaturdashi, do the visarjan of all Ganesh idols in San Francisco bay.

Some temples like the Vedic Hindu Temple, Fremont or the Sankat mochan Hanuman temple in Fremont, also allow you to join the cruise into the Pacific Ocean and do the visarjan in person.

Charges for safe custody and in person visarjan are USD 51/-

The Indian communities also arrange for a variety of cultural activities ad competitions for children amd adults. Some of the interesting ones are those arranged by the Marathi Mitra Mandal of Bay Area. Do visit their websites to gather more information.

Hope this blog provides you with some information on how the Indian community celebrates the Ganesh festival in California.

Also sharing some photos from my celebration!

The Mumbai Food Festival

Hi Everyone,

Today's feedback I plan to share with you all is about The Mumbai Food Festival which was held in Mumbai from 9th to 11th May 2014. It was a twin expo with another Fashion Expo on the side.

The Venue was the MMRDA ground at the Bandra Kurla Complex, Mumbai.

With much excitement and anticipation I visited the Festival and though I won the Prize at the cooking competition which was also held as part of the event, that exuberance was overridden by the lack of the variety and scale of culinary Indian and International dishes that were promised of the event.

Few of the stalls which showed promise were the

·         Samudri Kanya - Seafood specialty

·         Fruitilicious – handcrafted fruit bouquets 

Some other stalls covered kitchen equipments for demo and sale which I personally felt were overtly priced.

The Don Bosco culinary school of Kurla had a wide spread of savoury and sweet and baked goodies with some unique food items like the Chicken Donut! Contact details were of Ms. Rebello.

Overall, the Festival could possibly have been much more as I personally felt it had a great potential but lacked stronger commitment and participation from stakeholders of the food industry and fell short on good execution!

I however look forward to the next in the series with my fingers crossed, hoping for the best!

P.S: Sharing some pictures of my dish and the event.

TheStarFoodies this week - our little ones!

Crispy chips with 3 yummy dips

For the chips

Ingredients:

½ cup nachni flour(rich in calcium), ¼ cup wheat flour (protein, carbohydrate, fibre), ¼ cup corn flour ((protein, carbohydrate, fibre), pinch of salt, 1 tea-spoon cooking oil, fresh pepper powder, water to mix

Recipe:

Mix all the above ingredients to form smooth dough. Let it rest aside for 15 minutes.

Roll it into a chapati. Cut into 8 pieces and deep fry till crispy chip like formations.

For the dip:

Dip1: Strawberry surprise

Hang one bowl of curd overnight to form hung curd.

Take the hung curd and strawberry crush to it. Add a spoon of honey. If curd found to be a little stiff, add milk to make it flow.

Mix well and strain, if required for smooth consistency of strawberry dazzle. Garnish with pomegranate seeds.

Dip2: Potato and Cream

Ingredients:

1 mashed potato, 2 spoon sour cream, 2 spoons cheese spread, 3 crushed peppercorns, and salt to taste.

Recipe:

Mix all the above ingredients and take it out of a blender to form a sooth mixture

Dip3: Hummus

Ingredients:
1 cup kabuli chana-soaked over night, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil, or more as needed, plus more for garnish
Juice of 1 lemon

½ spoon chilli powder
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh coriander leaves, plus more for garnish
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
salt to taste
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
1 spoon jeera powder
10 black pepper
1/4 cup water

Recipe:

Put in mixer and combine all the above ingredients. Keep cut coriander leaves to be used for garnish. Blend on low speed until smooth.
Remove in dip bowl and sprinkle cut coriander leaves, drizzle lightly with olive oil and serve.

            LOVE FOOD!

My encounter with the WALL!

My encounter with the WALL!

The WALL- as he is popularly known as is an absolute personification of humility, poise and talent!

Those 5 minutes in his presence and hearing his rapid fire Q&A responses, surely left me in high spirits -charged , motivated   – that’s what the celebrity personalities do I think, they INFLUENCE  YOU! And in whatever that you do, you will find yourself focused with a new renewed energy and zest!

Thought of sharing this with my dear friends hoping that you all also find your own motivation influenced by your ideals and personalities!

10 Eating Habits You didnt know about today's Indian Teenager!

You would agree, our children growing up in today’s world have their own set of rules when it comes to living a healthy lifestyle. You would especially find “teenagers” who have built their own rulebook to govern their eating habits as well. This is the "growing phase" when a teenager requires maximum nutrition due to the multiples of physical changes that continue to occur in their mind and body. But sadly social influences, peer pressures and the jet age stage we have set up for ourselves often leads them to make the typical eating habit mistakes-Eating outside, skipping breakfast, eating junk food, having inconsistent meal times and the list goes on…

While you will find some on one extreme running after the “size zero “ -ending up with bulimia,  anorexia;  you will also find the other set binging on the fast food today- ending up with obesity and its side effects.

In the midst of the confused minds, it was pleasant to find some sort of equilibrium when I came across this young lady to be-Ms.  Riya Jain, a STD IX CBSE Student. Read below to understand there is still HOPE;-):  

Aarti: Hi Riya, What according to you is Healthy Living?

Riya:  Hi! According to me, if you have a balanced diet i.e., if you include the necessary nutrients in your meal and mostly avoid eating outside and exercise regularly, you have a healthy lifestyle. Also if you don't have any bad habits( most of us know them) then you lead a healthy life!

(Hmmm…not a bad start! She recognizes the basics of a healthy lifestyle)

Aarti : What is healthy food to you?

Riya: I have learnt in my earlier school studies that a healthy diet or a balanced diet consists of nutrients(carbohydrates, fats, proteins, fibers, vitamins and minerals). But according to me, it is the food which whenever I eat, my mom would always be happy with me (chuckles)!

(A mother loving person indeedJ)

Aarti:  How many times do you eat in a day?

Riya: I have 5 meals a day.

(Good. One should have small meals in typical intervals of 2-3 hours. So leaving aside the hours of sleep, one should typically have 6-7 small meals in a day to maintain a good metabolism rate and avoid putting those extra kgs)

Aarti:  What is your favorite food?

Riya: Being a kid of this generation, I like(all kinds of) junk food. But the food made by my grandma is always the best.                                       

(She accepts! Junk food has influenced one and all today!Since it is highly unlikely to avoid in today’s life, one should have a healthy mix of junk or fast food with homemade nutritious food which typically or grandparents still continue to follow)

Aarti:  What food do you eat on a holiday or special day?

Riya: Whenever mom makes something I like, the day becomes special. On a holiday, I would prefer something which is usually not made at home. Also I sometimes try surprising my parents on holidays by cooking on my own. Something unusual and tasty.

(I repeat..A mother loving person indeedJ)

Aarti:  What do you do with the left-over food at home?

Riya: Usually we finish the leftovers the next day by making parathas out of it or in some other way possible but avoid throwing it out in garbage.

(With the prevalent scarcity of food in different parts of the globe, we need to understand that we need to LOVE FOOD…and that is what I firmly believe as well … as you may have noticed in my blogs I tend to re-iterate…and save food, make better use of left- over food. The easy and most rampant way is to throw it away! We do not want to face a time where we have to worry about the FOOD rate going higher than the dollar rate, do we?!!!)

Aarti:  How important is being fit to you?

Riya: Being fit is quite important for me. Being fit does not mean looking very slim or thin but being physically strong and mentally as well.

(Rightly said!)

Aarti:  Do you like to eat snacks or full meals?

Riya: It depends on the time of day. Like in the afternoons I would prefer full meals but in the morning or in the evening I like to have snacks.

Aarti:  What time of the day is your last meal?

Riya: I have my dinner by 8 pm. But before sleeping I have chocolate milk.

(We should have early dinner, typically 2 hours before we assume our night sleep as it helps digestion and also reduces the risk of stroke by about two-thirds is what I have heard)

Aarti:  Do you eat because you are supposed to eat to live or do you eat because you love to eat?

Riya: I am a foodie and that's for sure. But these days I am preparing myself for the hostel meals so i have to eat whatever is made at my home be it the capsicum or the bitter gourd.

(OK so now she confirms, she is the normal typical teenager…she hates some food type atleast…hahaha)

But talking to her has reinstilled the hope that the Indian teenager type, though represents itself to be rebel to some extent has the basics of a healthy life absolutely clear in their heads.

A healthy eating habit lifestyle leads to a healthy, happy and longer life!

Love FOOD!

For All FOODIES!

Hi All,

With my recent posts, you would have noticed I am back! :-)

And I am back with a NEW format on my blog which I am sure you will cherish!

I started my blog with the name "(Aamhi Khavayye)- The FOODIES" and I think what better medium to connect to other FOODIES like me than through MY OWN BLOG which is named FOODIES!

So I hereby welcome YOU to be part of my blog! Here's how...

1) every week there will be a theme/topic on which "The FOODIES" blog will welcome your recipes 

2) best two recipes (as found relevant to the topic) will be selected to be featured under " THE STAR FOODIE of the week!"

3) this gives you the opportunity to be featured as THE STAR FOODIE of the week with your recipe and your profile and photo being published online as part of the blog!

4) and what's more? From the recipes getting featured in the course of entire month, The best recipe of all will receive a fantabulous prize each month!

So what are you waiting for? Pull up your chef hat and be ready to share your recipe exclusively to Aamhi Khavayye-THE FOODIES!

Herez what you do now:
1) Become the "Follower" of  this blog http://foodrecipes-aartipatil.blogspot.in/, "Like" the Facebook Page https://www.facebook.com/#!/aamhikhavayye and "Follow" me on Twitter @patilsaarti . YES, you need to do all three to confirm you are THE REAL FOODIE!!! ;-)
2) Send in your recipes to thestarfoodie@gmail.com This week's topic is DIWALI SPECIAL
3) The entries will be invited from Tuesday i.e. today till Sunday ONLY
4) The selected recipes will be published under next week's Monday blog and the announcement of  THE STAR FOODIE will be made

LOVE FOOD!

I am back!!!

Dear Friends,

I am back and back with a BANG!
I have been away from My blog for over a year now but was occupied with the arrival of my little bundle of joy last year! All mommies will second me when I say "I hardly had any time for myself:-)". Well, it's true!! But who's complaining ;-)

Now that my baby is occupied a little more with himself than me, I do plan to dedicate some of my mommy-time to what I like doing. COOK FOOD, EAT FOOD and BLOG on FOOD!

I also have started tweeting much and you can follow me on twitter @patilsaarti and Like my page https://www.facebook.com/aamhikhavayye

So stay tuned.... There is a lots of food and fun stuff coming this way!!!

And a surprise to be unveiled in coming weeks for all FOODIES like me!

Love Food!