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Viyam Ja Khaada|Postpartum Food|AlifBe~49

Alka Keswani — Fri, 31 Dec 2021 15:07:37 +0000

The last alphabet of AlifBe, the Sindhi alphabet is ي in Arabic Sindhi, य in Devanagari and ‘Y’ is Roman Sindhi. It is also used as a vowel and could be pronounced as /e/ (even long /eee/). No Sindhi dish starts with the letter Y. Hence for the last alphabet in this series I have picked ‘Viyam Ja khaada’ . Viyam /Vyam/Vi-am means Delivery (Child birth) and Khaada means food/dishes. So basically it means the food that is supposed to be consumed by new mothers, particularly for the first 40 days after child birth. Traditionally, the new mother is supposed to consume nutrient dense, freshly cooked, home made food, following dietary restrictions. The food is cooked without onions, garlic, garam masala, coriander seeds, turmeric etc . Refined oils are strictly avoided and meals are cooked in Ghee only. No pungent ingredients are used to cook meals for the lactating mothers for the first forty days. Cruciferous vegetables, beans, pulses are also avoided for initial few weeks. Cold food, cold drinks, ice creams, fried food etc are also avoided. Cumin seeds are generously added to almost every dish. Chillies are avoided and only black pepper powder is used to make food for the new moms. Vegetables like bitter melons, Sponge gourds, Ridge gourds, bottle gourds, drumsticks etc are to be consumed. These vegetables are cooked in tomato based curries, flavored with green cardamoms and black pepper. Fenugreek leaves, drumstick flowers, dried tender drumsticks (Suhandhro) are most commonly had by the lactating mothers in the first few weeks after delivery. Steamed rice, pulav, biryani etc are avoided for first 40 days. Khichdi cooked in Ghee with pepper corns and green cardamoms is generally had in the lunch along with Methi or gourd’s curry. The rotis are made with whole wheat flour with loads of cumin, pepper and Ghee added to it. Lolo i.e roti sweetened with jaggery is mandatory to have and so are the home made sweets like Khorak, Majun, Khoyo, Magaz Ja ladoo etc, enriched with dry fruits, nuts, Khaun (Gum/Gond). A special mix of digestive herbs and nuts, called Fakki, is made for the new mothers. Broken wheat, Jowar or millet porridge could be had for the breakfast. A special sweet beverage is made, known as Tring/Ting by roasting whole wheat flour in ghee and is flavored with cumin and peppercorns. The above Thali represents the food that could be consumed by a new mom, not necessarily in a single meal. Starting from carrots, in a clockwise direction the dishes are as follows: 1) Carrots 2) Chehro Phulko (Cumin, salt, pepper flavored roti) 3) Methi (Fenugreek leaves) 4) Singyun Tamate mein (Drumsticks cooked in tomato gravy) 5) Tooryun (Sponge gourds) 6) Phote mein Karela (Bitter gourds cooked in Cardamom flavored curry) 7) Lolo (in the centre of the Thali). Check the recipe of lolo here! 8) Rajgira ladoo (Not home made) 9) Tring (placed out of the Thali) Since most of the times, food is exclusively cooked for the new mother, I am sharing recipes for smaller portions (1-2 people max.) Chehro Phulko: Just add salt, pepper powder and cumin seeds to the whole wheat flour dough and make a thicker roti. Use ghee liberally to cook the roti. Methi: In a kadai (Preferably an iron wok), heat a tbsp of ghee and add a tbsp of cumin seeds (optional). Add two cups of fenugreek leaves and saute on high heat. Add a large tomato, finely chopped and salt as per the taste. Cook covered till tomatoes are mushy and the excess of moisture evaporates. Singyun Tamate mein: In a pressure cooker, heat 1 tbsp of ghee. Add 1 heaped tbsp of cumin seeds, 2 green cardamoms and then add two grated/blended tomatoes. Add salt and cook on high heat. Ginger is optional. Some do add it while others skip. When tomatoes are cooked (ghee leaves the sides) add drumsticks (7-8 pieces) that are scrapped and cut into 2 inch pieces, each. Mix and add around 1 glass of water, if you want it soupy or else add around 3/4 th glass of water. Sprinkle around 1/4th tbsp of back pepper and cover the cooker with the lid. Wait for one whistle and then lower the heat. Switch off the heat after 3-4 minutes. Can garnish with coriander leaves (optional) and pounded black pepper. Tooryun: Peel and chop 2-3 sponge gourds/ridge gourds. In a pan, heat 1 tbsp of Ghee and add 1 tbsp of cumin seeds. When the seeds crackle add 2 green cardamoms and 1 large tomato, chopped or blended. Add salt and around 1/4th – 1/2 tbsp of black pepper powder. Cook covered, for 8-10 minutes. Can add few spoons of water if the gourd is not cooked well by now. Garnish with some more black pepper powder while serving. Photey mein Karela: Bitter melons could be cooked in tomato gravy (Refer the Drumsticks curry recipe shared above) or could be made in watery gravy. The Photey mein karela that I made were without tomatoes. Peel, slit and smear salt inside the slits of gourds. After 2-3 hours, rinse the gourds (2 large or 3, if smaller in size) with water, multiple times and squeeze well. Heat 2 tsp of ghee in a pan/kadai/cooker and saute the salted gourds. Add 2-4 green cardamoms. Cook for 2 minutes on high heat and then lower the flame. Keep stirring frequently. After 5 minutes, add around 2 glasses of water, some salt and black pepper powder. Allow the gourds to cook, covered. In a pan it make take 15-20 minutes. If cooking in a pressure cooker, cook for 2-3 whistles. Garnish with more black pepper powder while eating. Tring: Recipe by Ms Neetu Matani! Video Recipe of Tring: In a pan, heat 1 tbsp of ghee. Add 1 tbsp of whole wheat flour. Roast on low heat. Add more ghee if needed. When aromatic, add 1 and half glass of water. Stir vigorously to avoid lumps. Use a whisker to break lumps, if any. Add 2-3 green cardamoms and 1 heaped spoon of jaggery (or more if you wish) and mix well. Allow it to simmer till it thickens a bit (3-5 minutes). Add 1/2 tbsp cumin seeds, 4-5 whole pepper corns and mix well. Simmer for 2-3 minutes or till the consistency is soup like. Transfer to a bowl and garnish with dried fruits/nuts. Some do add a little of poppy seeds and dried coconut powder too. Serve warm, preferably for the breakfast. And here is the last tutorial explaining the formation of Sindhi alphabet ي!

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Dhaage Waara Karela~AlifBe~19

Alka Keswani — Fri, 07 May 2021 07:10:28 +0000

I have been cooking food since last three decades or so. In all these years I have cooked for family, friends, relatives and even strangers.Have shared home made cakes, cookies, pickles, jams, curries, koki, snacks, Pulav and Biryanis with many of those whom I came across but none of these ever fetched me as many applauds as this humble, often uncherished, ignored and despised dish; stuffed bitter melons/bitter gourds! Of course this dish is on the menu only if I know that the person likes bitter gourds. I know many who love to hate this bitter tasting vegetable but thankfully I am surrounded by many who simply adore Karele. My (late) mother would specially cook these for me and send in often and so does Ma, My MIl! I feel amused when people ask me “Woh Dhaage waale karele kabh khila rahi ho?” It feels good to find a fellow karela lover in this world of karela haters! Back To AlifBe: The 19th letter of the AlifBe series is ڌ in Arabic Sindhi, Dh~ in Roman and ध in Devanagari. Some words starting with this letter are Dharma, Dharamshala, Dholavira etc. And yes, Dh~aag^e waara karela ( Dhaage waale karele) or bitter melons stuffed and secured with threads, is the dish of the day, today! In this Sindhi style stuffed bitter gourds, no besan or peanuts are generally added. But when these are cooked as a part of Shraadh meals or Satvik meals then Ma makes these using peanuts to bulk up the filling, skipping onions and garlic. Will soon share her recipe as well! Print Dhaage Waara Karela~AlifBe~19 Rating 5.0 from 1 reviews Bittergourds stuffed with onions, garlic and spices, secured with threads and cooked till gourds are soft and stuffing is well caramelised. Ingredients Bitter gourds 250 gm Onions 2 small Chillies 2 Garlic 3 cloves Ginger 1 inch piece or less Coriander leaves ¼ cup Salt as per taste Turmeric powder ¾ tsp Coriander powder 1 heaped tsp Amchoor powder ½ tsp (optional) Asafoetida a pinch or so Oil 1 tbsp Clean white thread to tie the gourds Method Rinse gourds with water. You may or may not peel the gourds. Slit gourds vertically from one end to another. You can scoop out seeds if you wish. Rub each gourd with some salt and stuff some salt inside the gourds as well. Keep aside for at least an hour. Rinse salted gourds well with water and squeeze firmly. This process will reduce the bitterness of the gourds. Now heat 1 tbsp of oil in a pan and add bitter gourds. Cook on medium heat till bitter gourds change the color a bit. Remove from oil. Meanwhile make the stuffing. Peel and grate onions, pound chillies, ginger and garlic along with coriander leaves. Add salt, turmeric powder, coriander powder, amchoor, if using and hing and mix everything well. Stuff the bitter gourds with this stuffing and secure each by tying a piece of thread across each karela. Heat the same pan (with oil) in which the bitter gourds were fried and place the stuffed gourds carefully. Cook on high heat for a minute and then lower the flame, put a lid on the pan and place some heavy object over the lid. If there is any extra stuffing, mix it in before placing the lid. Let the rest of cooking happen on slow flame. Do give it a mix, intermittently and if needed, sprinkle some drops of water to avoid sticking of the gourds to the bottom of the pan. Cook till bitter gourds are soft and the stuffing is cooked well (anywhere between 10-15 minutes). This is often served as a side dish with dal and rice. 3.5.3251 And here is a short video about formation of Sindhi alphabet ڌ

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Thadri festival~ Food And Rituals

Alka Keswani — Thu, 03 Sep 2015 12:26:35 +0000

Thadri, a festival celebrated by Sindhis, 7 days after Rakhsabandhan, to please Goddess Jog Maya, is a day to consume cold (cooked a day ahead) and pro biotics like curds and pickle. It is similar to the Shitla Ashtami and Basoda festivals and generally the lady of the house cooks food like Lola, koki, paratha etc and the next day the whole family is supposed to consume the cold food. While many people write off this tradition as regressive, there is some science involved here, to support the rituals, to some extent. Without engaging into a debate of right or wrong, I am sharing the recipes and rituals for Thadri festival, since I am finding it hard to reply individually to everyone inquiring about it. Please note that traditionally everything was cooked on a sigri/chulha, later on a kerosene stove and that chulha /stove was not used on Thadri to cook anything (i.e it was kept cool). Since it is a time consuming process hence nowadays food for thadri is cooked on a gas stove and you can use kerosene stove just to cook lola. Some people cover the burner of gas stove that was used to cook lola and on Thadri nothing is cooked on that particular burner. You can use other burner to cook tea, milk etc, or satvik food for those who cannot eat cold food for the whole day) Do whatever works for you! Generally the food that is consumed on Thadri consists of: Lola (mandatory) For recipe of Lola, click here Koki For recipe of Koki, click here Besreen/besani Dal paata phulka: To make dal paata phulka, rinse well and soak moong dal for an hour. Drain and roast slightly in some oil in a pan, add salt, turmeric powder and green chillies (optional) and boil in some water till al dente. Drain if there is any excess water. You can add a tempering of cumin seeds, coriander powder and red chili powder and add some amchoor too. Cool properly and use this to make stuffed parathas, the way aloo parathas are made. Around 1 cup of cooked dal is needed to make 4-5 parathas. Dahi vada For the recipe of dahi vada, click here Methi subzi For the recipe of Methi subzi, click here Karela daas For the recipe of karela daas, click here Mirchi pakora For the recipe of mirchi pakora, click here Along with the above mentioned food, Sindhis like to relish: Bhindi aloo (fried okra and potato chunks, spiced with salt, coriander powder, red chilly powder and turmeric) Veg sandwich (without toasting bread and made using ingredients that are boiled or made a day ahead) Sai (green) chutney Basar ji khatairn (Onion Pickle) Singar (Nylon sev) Also some people make fried lola (rottah), ghach or chautha, literally meaning the quarters (sweetened maida or atta dough, rolled and cut into quarters, fried and sprinkled with powdered sugar on which some hot ghee/oil is poured) and satpura (layered, fried, crispy puris made from maida) too. Here is how you can plan to cook the whole meal with ease. The day before Thadri, in the afternoon, mix sugar/ jaggery in water and mix it well. Keep it aside. Soak Mung dal, chop onions, green chilies etc for koki and besani. Peel garlic for subzis. Gather all the ingredients to make green chutney (Coriander leaves, chilies, mint, tamarind, garlic, ginger, cumin) in a bowl covered with cling film and refrigerate. If you wish to make dahi vada, then soak urad dal too. Mostly dry subzis like methi, karela dhaas, bhindi aloo etc are also cooked along with mirchi pakora. So if you plan to make all these, simply clean a bunch of fenugreek leaves and peel bitter gourds, make a slit (lengthwise) and add salt. Similarly, slit the bhavnagri mirchi (or the chilies that are thick and are used for pickles or fritters) lengthwise and stuff a mixture of salt and amchoor (or lemon juice) and keep aside. Then go ahead and take a nap, if possible. To begin the marathon cooking, start with boiling mung dal (to be stuffed to make parathas) till it’s just cooked but not mushy (al dente). Add spices to it and let it cool. Prepare stuffing for karela. Knead the dough for parathas and let the dough rest for a while. Knead the dough for koki and besani and start cooking. Please be patient and cook these on medium flame. Do not cringe on oil/ghee. Make sure you boil enough of milk if you wish to set the yogurt at home. Boil some potatoes and beetroot too and buy some fresh sliced bread so that you can make veg sandwiches (without toasting bread) on Thadri. While Koki/besani is being cooked, you can start cooking subzis like methi aloo, stuffed karela, bhindi aloo etc. Using cooked moongdal, make ‘dal paata phulka’ or the stuffed dal parathas. Grind urad dal for vadas (bhalla). Fry in batches and keep aside to cool. Make the batter for coating mirchi pakodas and fry pakore till golden brown. Make green chutney. Now using the sugar syrup, knead the dough for lola. Reserve some dough to make 3 lolris and 7 akhris (explained below). Cook lola on medium to low flame using generous amount of oil/ghee. Once you are done with cooking lola, place a mud/clay plate; daangi and cook akhryun and lolryun using the extra dough that you have reserved after making lola. You need to divide that portion of reserved dough into 7 lemon sized balls and 3 slightly bigger ones. The 7 akhryun are rolled between palms and slightly pressed while the 3 lolryun are rolled into small discs. Cook all these on the hot mud plate and keep aside in a bowl and cover it well. In absence of a mud plate you can use a tawa but make sure that you do not use it on Thadri for cooking anything. When you are done with cooking, carefully sprinkle some water on daangi to cool it. Some people switch off the flame after sprinkling water, while some do so prior to sprinkling. If there is any water remaining on the daangi, drain it. Place some raw rice and sugar (akho) and keep it covered. Let everything that you have cooked, cool down properly and then place everything in suitable containers. As a common rule, Lolas are kept in a separate container, while koki, besani and dal paata can be kept together in one container. Pack subzis, vadas, mirchi pakoras in airtight boxes. You can refrigerate vadas, boiled potatoes and beetroot, green chutney but everything else need be kept outside at room temperature. Set the yogurt before sleeping. Soak a handful of chanadal (or kabuli chana, depending on your family rituals) and rice, in water either at night or do so early morning on Thadri. Next day i.e on Thadri, the lady who has cooked Lolas needs to follow the rituals. After taking a bath (preferably with cold water), wearing the same clothes that she had worn while cooking, needs to carry a lota (made of steel, brass or copper) and place this lota on the stove/burner that was used to cooked the lola and apply some kumkum. Placing the akhryun and lolris on a plate, a dot of dahi and kumkum is applied on each. To perform puja, take a bowl and mix the soaked chanadal, rice, akhryun ( keep the lolryun aside), some dahi and kumkum. Take a portion of this mix into your left hand and while patting it with your right hand, recite the following: ” Hik seeyar, bha seeyar, tey siyar chaar, laakhro saakhro , nandhi maayi, wadi maayi, langhaye paar, mai maata je aadhar”(this is a prayer, for requesting Goddess of fire to save the family from the wrath of diseases like chickenpox, measles and mumps). You have to do this thrice with your left hand and thrice with your right hand. Also a portion of this enclosed in your fist, is made to touch the closed eyes of each family member. This mixture is then immersed in any water body/ river, along with daangi, on the day following the Thadri. One lolri is given to any girl child, the other, to a cow and the remaining one is distributed as prasad among family members. Once the rituals are over, the family can have the cold food. Soak vadas in water and then add to the beaten curd. Try to consume parathas in the morning and the other stuff later on, since parathas tend to spoil fast. You can also make veg sandwiches and chaat in the evening . Don’t forget to share some food with your friends or neighbors :-).

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Patri Khichreen|Sindhi Style Khichdi

Alka Keswani — Fri, 08 Jun 2012 12:28:42 +0000

Sindhi Style Khichdi, called Patri (Liquid like) Khichdi is generally made during summers and enjoyed with a variety of Subzis, ranging from Turnips to Spinach, Smooth gourds to potatoes. The rice and lentils are cooked together along with some black pepper corns, till creamy and usually served with a dash of desi ghee, some homemade Dahi (yogurt)/pickle/mangoes/Papad. A light meal in summer, simple, healthy and delicious! But there is a healthy twist in the basic recipe. Interested?? Just scroll down!!!!!! Generally lentils and rice are cooked with plain water. But I used vegetable stock, just like we use in Risotto.To make a quick vegetable stock, just chop veggies like carrot, beans, cauliflower, cabbage etc (around 11/2 to 2 cups) and pressure cook with 6 cups of water till 8-10 whistles. Strain and reserve this liquid to use for cooking rice and Dal. Print Patri Khichreen|Sindhi Style Khichdi Prep time: 5 mins Cook time: 20 mins Total time: 25 mins Serves: 2-3 A light Summer meal, Khichdi made by cooking rice and lentils together using vegetable stock. Ingredients Rice 11/2 cup Khichdi ki Dal (Husked Green Gram) ½ cup ( You can vary the ratio of rice and lentils) Salt as per taste Turmeric powder ¼ tsp or less Black pepper corns 5-7 Ghee/oil 2tsp Vegetable stock or water 5 cups (more or less) Method Mix rice and lentils, rinse well with water and soak for 15-20 minutes. Drain and keep aside. In a pressure cooker, heat 2 tsp of oil. Add Peppercorns and rice and saute' for a minute or so. You can also add 1-2 whole green cardamoms. Add water/ vegetable stock, salt, turmeric powder and mix well. Close the lid of pressure cooker and wait until pressure is released 6-7 times (6-7 whistles).Turn the flame to lowest mark and let the Khichdi cook for 1-2 more minutes.Put off the flame. Once the pressure subsides, just mash Khichdi with Wooden masher till its creamy. Some prefer it without mashing, so choose the way you want to eat. The consistency of this khichdi is liquid like, so if needed add some water and boil for a minute or so. Serve immediately with a dash of Desi Ghee, along with any Subzi of your choice. Hot patri Khichreen taste equally good with some curd, papad or pickle. I served Khichreen with Karela and Potato Subzi, some curd and baked peels of Bittergourd (Karele Ji kaath, as called in Sindhi) 2.2.6

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Karela Basar

Alka Keswani — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 12:30:07 +0000

Half of the visitors arriving here would run away, for sure, after reading the name of this post…..Coz; that’s a normal reaction I expect from people who just can’t stand the bitterness of karela (bittergourd). But this post is for those other half, who will stay and would actually read the recipe…Kudos for them(bravo !). This is the simplest, basic recipe for making bittergourds and a bit of modification, like adding sliced potatoes, would actually save you from making additional dish for those fussy eaters who refuse to even have a look at these” bitter wonders”. They can enjoy potatoes in onion while you…The great karela lover… can relish your karelas . Print Karela Basar Prep time: 20 mins Cook time: 30 mins Total time: 50 mins Serves: 2-3 Bitter gourd, karela recipe, easy to cook and it actually tastes delicious. Ingredients Bitter gourds (karela) 250 gm Onion 3 large Tomatoes 2 small sized Salt Green chillies 2-3 Ginger Turmeric powder ¼ tsp Coriander powder 1tspn Garam masala powder ½ tsp Oil 2-3 tsp Method Wash, peel and slit bitter gourds. Put some salt and keep them aside for few hours Now rinse them with some water and fry them in LITTLE oil, till light golden colour Now use this oil, to cook onions which are sliced, until soft and pink Add chopped tomatoes, green chillies, ginger and some salt Let the mixture cook till onions are very soft and brown in colour Now add fried karelas, turmeric powder, coriander powder, garam masala powder and cook further on low flame If required, add few spoons of water and cook till karelas absorb the flavour of spices and turn soft Mostly sliced potatoes, that are slightly fried, are added with karelas, which are supposed to reduce the bitterness or karela.Moreover the kids wont refuse to eat this vegetable, when they see some potato slices peeping through the mixture of karela and onions;-) 2.2.1

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