harabhara Archives | Sindhi Rasoi |Sindhi Recipes

10 Winter Special Sindhi Dishes

Alka Keswani — Wed, 11 Jan 2023 08:49:07 +0000

Winter season in Mumbai is a boon for those who love to eat a variety of greens/leafy vegetables. Sarson ka Saag, Bathua, Saag of Hara bhara, fresh Methi, Paalak, green garlic etc make our meals so refreshing. Winters also bring a bounty of red juicy Carrots, plump pods of Peas, Kand, tender Radish and Sweet potatoes in the markets. Walking down the lanes of vegetable markets in this season means walking down the memory lanes, pausing at the carts loaded with winter produce, admiring the array of colors, sniffing the freshest vegetables and fruits, picking the best from the lot, remembering the food your parents/grandparents cooked, drooling at the thoughts of savouring your favorite seasonal food and eagerly heading towards home with the bag full of nostalgia. Winter season in Mumbai evoke memories of my Mother cleaning (picking) drumstick flowers by tilting the aluminium winnow to collect the rolling buds at one end. Memories of the friends in the neighbourhood chatting while enjoying Sawa Phota or the Choliya (fresh Garbanzo beans) picking pods from bunches of the Saag, memories of the family gathering on a Sunday evening to savour boiled D^adhri (Pods), the wonderful moments spent with the Aunt K in the neighbourhood slurping ‘Aur Jo Ras‘ made by her on a cozy winter afternoon eyeing on the preparations being done for making Thoom Ja Vada to be savoured as evening snacks. Here are 10 Winter Special Sindhi dishes that I would like to share with you all. Do try these, if you are blessed enough to find the seasonal produce in the markets around you. The list includes the winter special sweets that Sindhis love to indulge in! Suhanjhro Traditional Sindhi style curry made using Drumstick flowers or Sahjan ke Phool. It is a very delicious and nutritious curry though cleaning Moringa (Sahjan) flowers is a time consuming process but it is totally worth it. Do check the recipe here! Pali Pali or the fresh tender leaves of chana (Hara Bhara saag) cooked in rustic desi style is not a dish but an emotion, particularly for the elderly Sindhis who would often talk about the Golden era when the pali was cooked on logs/sigri, mashed (Ghotna) crazily with wooden whisker and was had with Chanvar Ji maani (Roti made from rice flour) and home made white butter, a pure winter bliss! Do check the recipe of this saag here! D^adhri The tender pods of Khesari, boiled and garnished with loads of amchoor and coriander powder are one of my most favorite snacks to enjoy at leisure. Have you ever tried these? Find more details about D^adhri here! Sawa Phota Fresh pods of Chickpeas/Garbanzo beans, also known as Choliya or Har bhara in local languages are either boiled and spiced up or roasted with spices. The boiled Sawa Phota are one of my most favorite Winter special Sindhi dishes. Thoom Ja vada Deep fried patties/tikkis made with pounded fresh green garlic, chillies, coriander leaves, flavored with Annardana and basic spices i.e the Thoom Ja Vada are simply irresistible and the garlic lovers would vouch for it. If it sounds interesting to you, then do check the recipe here! Vataran Ji Lilotari Vatana or fresh green peas rule the vegetable markets during winters.Do you, like me, buy the pods in bulk,shell and stock the peas for the rest of the year? If you have some fresh peas in your refrigerator then I would suggest trying this Vataran Ji Lilotari, a curry loved by Brahma Khatri Sindhis. Do check my blog post about the Brahma Khatris and about the Vataran Ji Lilotari here! Gogrun Ji Khatain Turnips and green garlic, both found during winter season are pickled with mustard seeds to make this lovely yellow colored kanji pickle. If you haven’t tried this pickle yet, then I would suggest you to grab some turnips and garlic and make this ASAP! The recipe of Sindhi style Turnip Pickle is shared here! Saandhyal Gajrun Saandhan in Sindhi means to preserve or to conserve something. Saandhyal Gajrun is a tangy, sweetish pickle made using juicy red carrots, mustard oil, Rai dal and basic spices. Do check the recipe of lip smacking Sindhi style carrot pickle here ! Khorak (Khhoraak) For Sindhis Khorak is an ultimate Khurak to ward off the evils of seasonal allergies and to boost the immunity. A mix of roasted flour, poppy seeds, dry fruits/nuts, ghee and edible gum makes Khhoraak an ideal sweet to consume in cold weather as it gives warmth and energy too. Find the recipe of Khorak here! Majoon Yet another body and soul warming sweet dish, Majun/Majoon, not to be confused with Majoun, a Unani medicine made using Cannabis, is a sweet made around Diwali and is had through out the winter season. A delicious mix of Chhuhara (dried dates) dry fruits/nuts, ghee, sugar and mawa and much more, this is a must try! Check the recipe here! Which one of the above mentioned Winter special Sindhi dishes is your favorite?

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Pali For AlifBe ~4

Alka Keswani — Mon, 08 Feb 2021 19:02:32 +0000

We are on the 4th Alphabet of Arabic Sindhi Alphabet which is پ or P as in Roman Sindhi! Different books/ websites or articles related to Persio Arabic script will show varying results if you search for this alphabet. I am going with the Balbharti book of Arabic Sindhi (Maharashtra) as it is source I am referring for Alif Be series. You can find the scanned copy of this book here! Not only you will find the consonants and vowels in this book but also some rhymes and lessons covering the basics like alphabets, vowels, word formation etc. To make things easier, audio files are available with each page. Also those who asked me what software I am using for typing in Sindhi, then please note that it is the same website (Sindhyat.com) developed and maintained by my better half, where you can find options to type in Sindhi (Sindhi Keyboard) from where you can even copy and paste words elsewhere. And there is the dictionary too where you can find meaning of a word in Sindhi, Devnagiri and Roman. So پ is for Pakora, papad and Pali too! I have already shared a post about Pali but since this is a very very traditional dish made during winter season, I cannot help but pick Pali for P. Print Pali For AlifBe ~4 Pali or tender chickpea leaves cooked with tomatoes is a winter delicacy that is enjoyed with sorghum roti and white butter. Ingredients 250 gm Pali leaves (with stems) 15-20 leaves of spinach 3 Large tomatoes 2-3 green chilies 1 tsp cumin seeds ½ inch piece of ginger 2 tsp cooking oil ¼ tsp turmeric powder 1 heaped spoon of coriander powder Salt as per taste 1 tsp oil/ghee and 3-4 garlic cloves for tempering 2 tsp tamarind pulp (optional)* Method Carefully pick pali leaves and discard any tough stems, grass, weed etc. Rinse the leaves thoroughly with water. Discard thick stems of spinach and rinse well. Chop roughly and keep aside. In a pressure cooker heat around 2 tsp of oil and add 1 tsp of cumin seeds. Add pali and chopped spinach and around 3 large, ripe tomatoes, roughly chopped 2-3 green chilies and finely chopped ginger along with salt, turmeric and coriander powder. Add half a cup of water and close the lid. Lower the flame of the burner after first whistle of pressure cooker and cook under pressure for 10-15 minutes. Switch off the gas. Once the pressure subsides, open the lid of the cooker and mash the subzi with a wooden masher/whisker (Mandhiyaro). Ghotarn (manually mashing with masher in a circular motion) is very important here. You can blend the mix using food processor but I don't like pureed or paste like texture of greens and hence I avoided using a blender. You can add a spoon or two of Jowar flour while mashing pali for better consistency and texture. Give a tadka of chopped garlic and you can add some tamarind pulp here. In that case cook further for 4-5 min. I had it with Juar Dhodho (patted jowar flour roti) with some home made white butter and enjoyed a divine meal. *Adjust the quantities of tomatoes and tamarind as per your preference. Use less tomatoes if using tamarind. 3.5.3251 Special Thanks to Meena Chijwani ji for inspiring me to cook Pali and to Barkha Khushalani Di, who taught me that it is Pali and not Palli! So much to learn and so much to unlearn too! Other Sindhi Recipes starting with P are: Patate ja pakora Patate Wada Pakora Kadhi

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Palli~Tender Chickpea Leaves

Alka Keswani — Mon, 23 Mar 2020 14:23:16 +0000

A bit late to share a recipe of a seasonal delicacy, the Palli leaves or tender leaves of Chickpeas but then it is better late than never! The season is over but I am still sharing this post as I don’t want this one to become yet another ‘draft post’ waiting for an appropriate time to share it. Every winter season the elderly in the family would get nostalgic about the Palli and dodoh (patted jowar/riceflour/bajra roti) but I never got a chance to cook or taste palli considering that the greens are available only for a short period of time, when in season and I somehow never came across a bunch of it in the local markets. Maybe I never paid enough attention or maybe I had my eyes only on regular ones like Spinach, Fenugreek, Coriander leaves, Mint, Amaranth etc, ignoring gems like Bhathua, Palli, Purslane and more, as I never had good recipes to cook with such leafy greens. I am now more drawn towards lesser known local seasonal vegetables and leafy greens as I am able to lay my hands on plenty of recipes and can chew the brains of many virtual friends and some eminent bloggers to guide me about using ingredients that I am not familiar with. The best thing about creating a food group on Fb is that you not only feel motivated to cook elaborate festive meals on festivals or special occasions, but also get a push to cook seasonal food when you see everyone sharing the same. So when it is a Mango season, you feel tempted to take out those glass barnis and make some khatti bheendi, or Ambryun ji khatairn following the herd. Or when Thadri festival approaches, all the discussions about Lola, dhaiwada etc. motivate you to push your limits and cook every possible traditional dish suited for the occasion. Celebrating Chetichand with Tayri/Tayri becomes mandatory when everyone in the virtual group is making it. It is very difficult to resist the temptation of cooking something that you crave for, when you see others sharing the pictures of it. Yes, the pros and cons of virtual world are unfathomable! I will be sharing some recipes that I learnt from fellow group members and I hope you will find those helpful and if you have some Sindhi food recipes that are not available on this blog, please do share with me and I will make sure to recreate and share the same, on this blog, of course with due credits to you! Coming back to Palli, I came across a post by Meena Chijwani who not only shared a recipe of Palli, but also some helpful information on how to pick and clean the leaves.So this year I kept looking for it in local markets around my home but couldn’t find any tender leaves. Finally I happen to visit the vegetable market in Ulhasnagar with my MIL and she took me to the lady selling drumstick flowers and palli. And we came back with loads of Swanjhro or Suhanjre ja Gulah and Palli leaves. Asked few friends from across the border and also read recipes shared by some members in the Sindhi Rasoi Fb group and finally cooked the greens that are very popular in Sindh but less popular in Sindhi families on this side of the border. And when I finally savored the combination I could understand why our grandparents often craved for this. Special thanks to Meena Chijwani for sharing details about cleaning and cooking palli and nudging me to cook this fabulous subzi! I adjusted the recipe to suit my preferences but the basics of it were adapted from Meena ji‘s recipe. Ingredients: 250 gm Palli leaves (with stems) 15-20 leaves of spinach 3 Large tomatoes 2-3 green chilies 1 tsp cumin seeds 1/2 inch piece of ginger 2 tsp cooking oil 1/4 tsp turmeric powder 1 heaped spoon of coriander powder Salt as per taste 1 tsp oil/ghee and 3-4 garlic cloves for tempering 2 tsp tamarind pulp (optional)* Method: To begin with, please buy the fresh, tender and green leaves. If the leaves appear to be pale, yellowish or brownish then totally avoid buying from that lot. Carefully pick leaves and discard any tough stems, grass, weed etc. It takes a lot of time to pick/clean Palli. Patience is the key! Rinse palli leaves thoroughly with water. Discard thick stems of spinach and rinse well. Chop roughly and keep aside. In a pressure cooker heat around 2 tsp of oil and add 1 tsp of cumin seeds. Add palli and chopped spinach and around 3 large, ripe tomatoes, roughly chopped (or you can use less tomatoes and instead add tamarind pulp later), 2-3 green chilies and finely chopped ginger along with salt, turmeric and coriander powder. Add half a cup of water and close the lid. Cook till you hear one whistle of cooker and lower the flame and cook under pressure for 10-15 minutes. Switch off the gas. Once the pressure subsides, open the lid of the cooker and mash the subzi with a wooden masher/whisker (Mandhiyaro). Ghotarn (manually mashing with masher) is very important here. You can blend the mix using food processor but I don’t like pureed or paste like texture of greens and hence I avoided using a blender. You can add a spoon or two of Jowar flour while mashing palli for better consistency and texture. Give a tadka of chopped garlic and you can add some tamarind pulp here. Cook again on medium flame for 5-7 minutes if you add tamarind or if there is any excess water. I had it with Juar dodoh (patted jowar flour roti) with some home made white butter and enjoyed a divine meal. *Adjust the quantities of tomatoes and tamarind as per your preference. Use less tomatoes if using tamarind.

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