Dudhatle Fov

Dudhatle Fov is a Goan sweet dish, which is prepared specially for Janmashtami celebration and Diwali. 'Dudh' means milk and 'fov' refers to flattened rice or poha. This dish is made from red poha (organic), which is a local variety. Poha are cooked in milk, sweetened with sugar and flavoured with cardamom. It can be served warm or chilled.

Measurement: 1 Cup = 180 ml
Serves: 4

Ingredients:

1. Red poha - 1 1/4 cup
2. Milk - 500 ml
3. Water - 1/2 cup
4. Sugar - 3/4 cup
5. Green cardamom (powdered) - 2 to 3
6. Salt - a pinch

Procedure:

• Wash and drain poha. Keep aside for 10 min. Sprinkle salt over it.
• Boil milk and keep aside.
• In a thick bottomed pan, take water and 1/2 cup of milk. Bring it to boil.
• Add poha to it.
• Once it starts bubbling, add milk and cook for 5 min. Stir occasionally. Flame should be low to medium. (If you want to add cashew nuts, then add at this stage)
• Add sugar and simmer for further 5 min. Stir occasionally.
• Let it rest for at least half an hour.
• Serve warm, at room temperature or chilled.

Tip:

• You need to let it rest for some time after cooking, so as to get the proper consistency. If you find it thin, you may add more poha. If it turns thick, then little milk can be added later.
• Cashew nuts can be added optionally.

Veg Cheese Club Sandwich

Veg Club sandwich refers to layered sandwich having 2 to 3 layers. It is a popular Pune or Bombay street food and also served in restaurants, but nothing difficult to make at home.

This can be prepared in different ways, by using fillings of your choice. As long as toasting or grilling is concerned, you can either toast the slices and then assemble or first assemble everything and then toast  or grill it. You can use vegetables of your choice like tomato, cucumber, onion, boiled potato, boiled beetroot, lettuce as per the availability. Then you need a coleslaw salad (cabbage, carrot, capsicum with mayonnaise dressing). Additional fillings you can use like chilla (tomato omelette) or grilled paneer. Cheese can be used as per one's requirement. 

When it comes to sandwiches, I remember my post graduation days in Pune. I did not like to have the food provided by the 'dabbawala' and excessive use of oil would cause acidity problem, so I loved eating three things : 1) 2 or 4 fruit dish (platter serving 2 or four types of fruits - self sufficient) 2) Kachhi dabeli and 3) Sandwich - it used to be without coconut based chutney.

These sandwiches can be served for breakfast with hot cup of coffee or for evening snacks with a glass of cold coffee.

I will share the recipe of very simple veg cheese club sandwich, with coconut based chutney and coleslaw salad. Here goes the recipe.

Measurement: 1 Cup = 180 ml

Serves: 3

Ingredients:

For Veg Cheese Club Sandwich:

1. Jumbo bread slices - 9
2. Sandwich chutney - 4 to 5 tbsp
3. Cheese slices - 3
4. Processed cheese (grated) - as per your requirement
5. Cheese spread - as per your requirement
6. Butter - as per your requirement
7. Tomato ketchup - 6 tsp
8. Pepper powder - 1/3 tsp approx
9. Salt - 1/3 tsp approx
10. Tomato (sliced) - 2 medium or 12 slices
11. Cucumber (sliced) - 1 medium
12. Onion (sliced) - 2 medium
13. Coleslaw salad 

For Coleslaw Salad:

1. Cabbage (shredded) - 1 cup
2. Carrot (grated) - 1 small
3. Capsicum (finely diced) - 1 small or just a half
4. Mayonnaise (eggless) - 1/2 cup (I have used funfoods - small pack is also available)
5. Sugar - 1/2 tsp
6. Salt - 1/4 tsp
7. Pepper powder - 1/8 sp

Procedure:

For Coleslaw Salad:

• Take a mixing bowl and combine all the ingredients.
• Divide the salad into 3 portions and keep aside.

For Veg Cheese Club Sandwich:

• Apply cheese spread over 1 slice.
• Now, spread 1 to 1 1/4 tbsp chutney over it. Keep it on a plate.
• Place 4 slices of tomato (in a single layer)  over it.
• Place cucumber slices, sprinkle little salt.
• Place onion slices and sprinkle little salt and pepper.
• Place cheese slice over the vegetables. (In case grilled paneer is used, then use it here instead of cheese slice)
• Place second slice of bread.
• Apply 2 tsp of ketchup.
• Now, spread coleslaw salad and place the third slice. (If you are using chilla, it will form an additional layer after this)
• Now, apply some butter over the third slice.
• Either repeat the procedure for remaining sandwiches or prepare them parallely.
• Heat a frying pan (tava).
• Spread some butter over it and place the sandwiches, toast them on low flame for a min. (Buttered side should be on top)
• Turn them gently and toast on the other side. (Alternately, you may grill them)
• Cut them diagonally.
• Garnish with grated cheese.
• Serve immediately with or without ketchup accompanied by coffee. (Potato wafers or french fries would also serve as a good accompaniment)

Goad Bhakri

Goad Bhakri is a Goan homemade breakfast. It is a flat bread - wheat flour, jaggery and coconut are the ingredients. It has a thickness like uttapam. It is topped up with pure ghee. It is best enjoyed with a cup of coffee.

Measurement: 1 Cup = 180 ml
Makes: 2 to 3

Ingredients:

1. Wheat flour - 1 1/2 cup
2. Scrapped coconut - 1/2 cup
3. Jaggery (powdered) - 1/2 cup
4. Water - 1 1/4 cup and a bowl for dipping fingers
5. Ghee - for frying
6. Salt to taste - 1/2 to 3/4 tsp approx

Procedure:

• Take a mixing bowl and combine all the ingredients except ghee. Rest it for 10 min.
• Divide the dough into 2 to 3 balls of equal size.
• Heat a skillet and grease it with a teaspoon of ghee. 
• Take a bowl of water and dip your fingers in it. Now, take one ball of dough and place it on the skillet and press it gently giving it round shape. Make use of water for pressing it conveniently. Don't make it thin, it has a thickness.
• Pour ghee around the edges and fry it on medium flame.
• Turn over and again pour ghee around the edges, fry.
• Serve hot.

Tip:

• A pinch of cardamom powder may also be added while making dough.
• You may also prepare a savoury variant by excluding jaggery and using green chillies and coriander leaves.

Soya Chunks Xacuti

Xacuti is a Goan spicy dish. It is a coconut and onion based curry with varied spices. The curry paste can be used for non-veg dishes too. I use it mainly for mushrooms, soya chunks and cauliflower.

Measurement: 1 Cup = 180 ml

Serves: 3 to 4

Ingredients:

For Soya Chunks Xacuti:

1. Soya chunks - 3 cups or 100 gm approx
2. Onion (chopped) - 1 large
3. Tomato (chopped) - 1 medium
4. Marinade
5. Xacuti paste
6. Refined oil - 11/2 tbsp
7. Coriander leaves - for garnishing
8. Salt to taste
9. Sugar - 1/4 tsp

For the Marinade:

1. Green chilly - 1
2. Coriander leaves - handful
3. Garlic - 8 cloves
4. Ginger - 1/2" piece
5. Yogurt - 1 tbsp
6. Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
7. Salt - 1/2 to 3/4 tsp approx

For making Xacuti paste:

1. Coconut (scrapped) - 1 1/2 cup
2. Onion (sliced) - 1 medium
3. Cloves - 4
4. Star anise (seeds removed) - 4 to 5 petals
5. Cinnamon - 1/2" stick
6. Peppercorns - 6 to 8
7. Green/ black cardamom - 8 to 10 seeds
8. Nutmeg - a tiny piece
9. Mace - 2 thin petals
10. Fennel seeds - 1/4 tsp
11. Poppy seeds - 1/3 tsp
12. Cumin seeds - a pinch
13. Coriander seeds - 3/4 tsp
14. Kashmiri mirchi - 1
15. Byadgi mirchi / any other red chilly - as per your requirement
16. Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
17. Tamarind - marble sized ball
18. Oil (preferably coconut oil) - 2 to 3 tbsp

Procedure:

For the Marinade:

1. Grind green chilly, coriander leaves, ginger and garlic to a fine paste without water or by adding a spoonful of water. 
2. Combine it with yogurt, turmeric powder and salt.

For making Xacuti paste:

• Heat oil in a kadai.
• Fry spices numbering 3 to 12 till they give out aroma, take them out. In the same oil fry red chillies and at last coriander seeds. Take them out.
• In the same oil fry onion till golden brown, add coconut and stir fry till coconut turns slightly brown (flame should me low to medium).
• Grind all the ingredients including tamarind and turmeric powder to a fine paste by adding 1 cup water.

For making Soya Chunks Xacuti:

• Boil 550 to 600 ml water in pan. Add 1 heaped tsp salt and soya chunks. Soak them for 10 to 15 min. Drain and transfer in normal water, let them cool. Squeeze them to drain excess water. (This process is called treating the soya chunks)
• Combine the marinade with soya chunks and rest it for 30 to 45 min.
• Heat refined oil in a thick bottomed pan and stir fry onion.
• Add tomatoes and saute.
• Add soya chunks and stir fry for 2 to 3 min. Keep it on low flame for another 2 to 3 min, stir fry occasionally.
• Add xacuti paste, 1 to 1 1/4 tsp salt approx, sugar and water (2 cups approx). Stir well.
• Simmer for 5 min.
• Garnish with coriander leaves.
• Serve hot with pav, bread, dosa or rice.

Tip:

• If you are serving it for the lunch, then try to prepare it in the morning. If you are serving for the dinner , then try to prepare it in the afternoon. This is to infuse the chunks with the spices. At the time of serving just add 1/2 to 3/4 cup of water and reheat it.

Arbi Ki Sabzi

Arbi ki sabzi is a dry veg prepared from colocasia roots. This dish is cooked in North Indian style. Boiled and peeled colocasia roots are cooked with stir fried onion, tomato and spices. The dish can be made spicy to suit one's taste buds. it can be served with phulka, chapati, puri or dal - rice combo.

Serves: 3

Ingredients:

1. Arbi - 300 to 350 gm
2. Onion (chopped) - 1 large
3. Tomato (chopped) - 1 large
4. Ginger (grated) - 1/4"
5. Garlic (crushed) - 8 cloves
6. Cumin seeds - 1/4 tsp
7. Amchur - 1/3 tsp (optional)
8. Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
9. Chilly powder - 1/2 tsp
10. Coriander powder - 3/4 to 1 tsp
11. Cumin powder - 3/4 to 1 tsp
12. Garam masala (Everest) - 1/2 tsp
13. Cinnamon powder - 1/4 tsp
14. Kashmiri mirchi powder - 1/2 tsp
15. Tamarind - lemon sized ball
16. Oil - 1 1/2 tbsp
17. Ghee - 1 tsp
18. Salt to taste
19. Sugar to taste
20. Coriander leaves - for garnishing

Procedure:

• Keep arbi immersed in water for 10 min, so as to get rid of soil. Now, wash them till you get clean water. Pressure cook them with sufficient water, salt and tamarind ball till 3 to 4 whistles or till done. Let them cool, peel them and cut into bite size pieces.
• Heat ghee in a pan and stir fry arbi pieces, sprinkle amchur and keep aside.
• Heat oil in a kadai and add cumin seeds.
• Add onion, ginger and garlic. Stir fry till onion turns golden brown.
• Add all the dry spices and stir fry for 10 to 15 seconds.
• Add tomato and stir fry till tomato turns mushy.
• Add salt and sugar.
• Add arbi and stir fry for a min.
• Cover and cook on low flame for 5 min.
• Garnish with coriander leaves.
• Serve with phulka, chapati, puri or with dal - rice combo.