Garlicky Spinach Raita

Hello Friends,

I have to tell you how guilty I feel that I have over 600 recipes in my bookmarked list and I add more and more every week :( Even if I cook just bookmarked recipes for 2 years, I may still not exhaust the list. So, here is some ease of guilt by trying this recipe. 

I made it over the weekend for a potluck and it was a hit, everyone loved it and it is a keeper. I want to thank Sushma for giving this delicious recipe. Please follow her blog for Garlicky Spinach Raita recipe as I have used it exactly like she told and we all loved it :)

I am sending this to Bookmarked Recipes - Every Tuesday (Volume 41) event hosted by Aipi and me.

This also goes to Veggie/Fruit A Month - Spinach event hosted by Reshmi and started by me.

That's all for now. Take care till next post.

Cucumber and Peanut Raita from Satya

Hello Friends,

Here is another wonderful re-creation of Cucumber and Peanut Raita from my blogger friend Satya's Blog.

It was super quick and super delicious. It hardly took 15 min. to put together on the whole including grating cucumber and powdering peanuts. My picture is not so great (taken in hurry),  but I am sure, the name and my comments make you interested and you try it out. I can guarantee you will not be disappointed. Thanks Satya for this nice twist in my usual cucumber raita :)

It goes with literally anything. We enjoyed it with our rava pongal, I know very unusal, but as my husband and son likes yogurt with almost everything, I thought why not add a veggie to it to make it healthier :)


That's all for now. Take care till next post.

Ghiya ka Raita - घीया का Raita (Bottle Gourd Raita) of Pushpa

Hello friends,


I don't have it too long in my bookmark list (I have some from like a year ago, sorry folks). But, I had my ghiya (Lauki or Bottle Gourd) handy and I wanted to try something different with it. So, here was my delicious rescuer,  Ghiya ka Raita - घीया का raita (Bottle Gourd Raita) of Pushpa. You have got to check her other recipes too, I have few more bookmarked, so will be posting them too soon (hopefully).


Pushpa, this is now a family favorite when it comes to Raita. My husband could not even guess it was bottle gourd, he says "may be onion" :)

You guys have to check out the recipe and may be try it out soon. It is very very easy to whip up. I would say about 15 min. from start to finish including prepping and pouring it in serving bowl... lol


This is my entry to Aipi and my Bookmarked Recipes - Every Tuesday - Volume 19 edition and Hearth and Soul Hop - Volume 26

That's all for now. Take care.

Jau Ki Ghaat - जौ की घाट (Barley and Yogurt Raita / Drink)

Hello friends,


The name could be a surprising one. Yes, this is what we call something that you may know as "Barley Raita". The process is also very different from what you may have known or eaten from.


This is a very authentic Rajasthani preparation which I obviously learnt from my SIL, Manju didi. It is such a wonderful and great thing for this summer season as it cools you down. You also may notice that I am calling it as a drink and that is because it is actually drunk just like that in villages to cope up with all the heat from deserts of Rajasthan.


The preparation is actually very simple, but it is not done in few minutes. I mean the whole cooking time is just few minutes, but it is done over a period of time, actually overnight, so to speak. So, without further delay, here is the recipe.


Jau Ki Ghaat - जौ की घाट (Barley and Yogurt Raita / Drink)

Ingredients
Jau (Pearl Barley) - 3 tbsp
Onion - 1/2 cup, finely chopped
Chaas (Buttermilk) - 1 cup
Dahi (Yogurt) - 1/2 cup
Water - 1 cup
Bhuna Jeera (Roasted Cumin Powder) - a pinch per serving
Lal Mirch (Red Chili) Powder - a pinch per serving, optional, only if you like
Salt - as per taste
Preparation

• Take barley in a blender and blend it to a coarse powder.
• Take one cup water, add chopped sliced onion and salt and let the water come to boil.
• Add one cup buttermilk to coarse barley powder made in first step. 
• Add this buttermilk / barley mix  to the above boiling water and mix well.
• Keep stirring till it starts boiling (about 4-5 min.) or else the mix will start to curdle.
• Boil for another 5-6 min. The mixture will become slightly thicker.
• Turn off the heat and let it sit overnight (no need to put it in fridge). Just let it be there on the counter. It will become even thicker kind of like thick rice pudding.
• Add yogurt to this ghat in the morning and mix well.
• Sprinkle roasted cumin powder and red chili powder in individual serving cups or glasses.
• If you want to drink it (it will be chunky, but I like chunky drinks), you may want to make it little thinner than if you are eating it in a cup.

Serving
Serve it as a side dish with roti or rice. It can be simply eaten in a bowl separately in the morning in place of breakfast as guess what it has whole food, veggie and dairy all that we usually eat for breakfast. Or, as I mentioned above, just fill your glass with it and just drink it up like a savory yogurt drink :)


Did you notice something else as well, this dish doesn't have any fat in it, I mean nothing obvious like oil or butter :)

I am sending this to CWF : Barley event started and hosted by Kiran, Side Dish Showdown: Anything Goes of Cinnamon Girl

   

Also sending this to Side Dishes from India event of Suma.

That's all for now. Take care till next post.

Kheere Ka Raita - खीरे का रायता (Grated Cucumber Raita in Cool Yogurt)

Hello Friends,


Today, I am here with a nice cold raita that goes well with anything and is real quick too.
Kheere Ka Raita - खीरे का रायता (Grated Cucumber Raita in Cool Yogurt)

Ingredients
Kheera (Cucumber) - 1 cup grated
Dahi (Yogurt) - 1 cup cold, do not add any water to it
Salt - as per taste
For Seasoning
Urad Dal (skinned and split black lentils) - 1 tsp
Rai (Mustard Seeds) - 1 tsp
Jeera (Cumin Seeds) - 1 tsp
Lal Mirch (Red Chillies or green chillies based on your preference) - 2 broken in pieces
Heeng (Asefoetida) - 1 pinch
Meetha Neem (Curry Leaves) - 1 sprig
Oil - 1 tsp
Preparation

• Take oil in a pan and all ingredients under "For Seasoning" and fry till the urad dal is light brown in color.
• Now, take a bowl and mix kheera, dahi, salt well and add the fried seasoning at the top.

Serving
This is ready to be served with roti/paratha or warm rice alike.


That's all for now. Take care till next post.