sindhialifbe Archives | Sindhi Rasoi |Sindhi Recipes

Rabri~AlifBe~25

Alka Keswani — Wed, 02 Jun 2021 07:23:46 +0000

The Dairy products could be divided in many types, for example, heat desiccated (khoya), heat and acid coagulated (paneer, cheese), clarified butter (ghee), frozen (Ice cream), frozen concentrated milk (Kulfi variant) and condensed or concentrated products like Rabdi, Basundi etc. In the spotlight today is the Rabri or Rabdi or as many Sindhis call it, Reb^di! Rabri is a concentrated, sweetened whole fat milk and is considered to be of high nutritive value. It is a traditional preparation and its variations are mentioned in ancient food manuscripts, in food related accounts from 16th century and even in popular Mangal Kavyas (Poems of Benediction, in Bengali literature) composed between 13th (or is it 15th?) to 18th Century! There are plenty of versions of Rabri depending on the flavors of the ingredients used, for example, the dry fruit rabri, Khoye waali Rabri, Sitaphal (Custard Apple) rabri or Seb (Apple) rabri, Kesar, Mango, Gulkand Rabri etc. Also, depending on the process of making Rabri and on the texture of the final product, a Rabri it could be classified as Ghatta Rabri, Lachedar, Lachedar khurchan waali, Sar Rabri, Basundi, Faluda waali rabri , Chena Rabdi etc. The basic rules of making a Rabri are same i.e Simmer full fat milk till three fold or four fold concentrations (i.e till it reduces to 1/3rd or 1/4th of its original volume), add sugar and cook a little more. But different kinds of rabri are made by adopting different methods of treating the cream (malai) collected while the milk is being reduced. As the milk is gently simmered, layers of cream appear on the surface. The milk is allowed to simmer undisturbed as stirring would hamper formation of cream layer. Milk is stirred gently only at intervals to prevent the milk from sticking to the bottom of the Kadai. The simmering milk is fanned from the top so that the surface is cooler so as to facilitate formation of cream layers from time to time. The thin cream layers are carefully collected either on the side of the pan/kadai or allowed to thicken a bit and then collected in another vessel only to be added back at the later stage! While on the side of the pan, the cream layers tend to dry out and are then scrapped and added to the final sweetened concentrated milk (here, the rabri) and hence the term Khurchan (the scrapes)! If the cream layers are thinner and are scraped from the sides and mixed in, the rabri is called Khurchan waali Rabri . If the slightly thickened cream layers are mixed and stirred in the rabri the resulting chunkier rabri is called Ghatta Rabri. The texture is not very different in both the cases and many would call both as the Rabri. If larger chunks of thick cream layers are dunked in the rabri it is called as Lachedar (flaky) Rabri. But again, not many consider Lachedar and Khurchan types to be different. Many even label either of it as Lachedar Khurchan waali rabri. Then there is Bengali style Sar Rabri where the malai is really thick and it is neatly cut into slices (squares or rectangles) and served with some thickened milk. Basundi on the other hand is more smooth (creamier) and little runny as compared to the Lachedar Rabri and is generally without any clotted cream (flakes). Rabdi for Faluda is less chunkier than Lachedar but more concentrated and grainier than Basundi! Mostly commercial Rabri is made from high fat Buffalo milk (6% or above, fat) and while some rely on basic ingredients i.e Milk and sugar only, you may find a Rabdi that is made using a little of Tatri (citric acid crystals), lemon juice, curds etc. A perfectly made Rabri will have chunkier malai bits and smooth condensed (concentrated) milk and not the chunks suspended in milk that looks curdled or whey like. And well, by now you may have figured out why the Rabri is in spotlight today, no? The 25th letter in the AlifBe of Sindhi food is ڙ in Sindhi, ड़ in Devanagari and is represented by R^ in Roman Sindhi. No word starts with ड़ in Devanagari and so is the case with Arabic Sindhi too and hence ڙ never comes in the beginning of any Sindhi word. The consonant sound (Voiced retroflex flap ) is peculiar and is used in few languages only. Sindhi and Devanagari Transliteration courtesy Deepak Keswani and Barkha Khushalani! Some Hindi words where this letter is used are: लड़का, पेड़, लड़ाई and of course रबड़ी Kindly note that the Rabri words begin with another R (We have covered it in the Previous post)! Print Rabri~AlifBe~25 Rating 3.0 from 1 reviews A rich and delicious dessert made by reducing milk! Ingredients 1 lit full fat milk ( I used Amul's milk with 6% fat) 3 Tbsp Sugar (Add a tbsp more if you like it very well sweetened) Method Take a thick bottomed kadai, add 2 tbsp of water or grease the kadai with ghee. Pour full fat milk and heat it on medium to high flame till it starts bubbling. Lower the flame. Remaining process needs to be done on medium flame only. A very low flame will not only increase the making time but will also alter the color of the final dish . Traditionally one has to swing hand held fan over the kadai to ensure that the cream is formed quickly. I just kept switching the ceiling fan on and off but it was not of much help! Do not stir milk very frequently as it will hamper cream formation. Just keep a spatula in the kadai and at decent intervals gently scrap the bottom of the kadai with it, without lifting the spatula off the surface. Collect the cream formed on the surface and gently move it to the sides of the kadai. Allow the cream to dry while being stuck on the sides. Keep collecting cream by pushing it to the sides and keep sticking cream on the sides of the kadai. Continue with the process till the milk is reduced to ⅓rd of its original volume. You can go ahead till it is ¼th of its volume. Add 3-4 tbsp of Sugar and gently mix it. Now mix in the thickened flakes and scraped dried thin layers in the reduced, sweetened milk. Allow the mix to cook a little more and then transfer the contents in a bowl. Once cool enough, refrigerate the Rabri for few hours. Rabri tends to thicken after cooling and more so, after the refrigeration. If you find it too thick for your liking after it is cool, simply mix in few tsp of boiled (but warm) milk. You can add saffron, cardamon, dried nuts etc if you wish to make Kulfi from this Rabri. 3.5.3251 And for those who are following the AlifBe series to learn Sindhi script, here is a short video about how to write ڙ in Sindhi:

The post Rabri~AlifBe~25 appeared first on Sindhi Rasoi |Sindhi Recipes.

Dothiyun~Sindhi Saata~AlifBe~20

Alka Keswani — Tue, 11 May 2021 10:55:10 +0000

Dothiyun (singular – Dothee) or Saatta, the popular Sindhi sweet, similar to Kutchi Saata or Gujarati Devada are highly addictive and a delight to relish. Basically a dothee (D^othee in Roman Sindhi) is a fried, sugar glazed cookie made from all purpose flour and ghee/vanaspati. Dothiyun are generally send in to married daughters and sisters on Vadhi Thadri . These are also a part of the ‘Phula Jalan’ or ‘Phula bhugra’ ritual after a child is born, when the mother is given Puffed rice, roasted chana, Mesu (Mysore Pak) and D^othiyun by the parents (maiden family of the new mother), and thus my parents gave me these as per the traditional ritual, says Prisha Galani! One can relish these at any time of the year provided, you have a Sindhi sweets’ shop around or if you make these at home 🙂 To make Dothiyun, you need to knead a dough using maida and ghee and some semolina soaked in milk to provide crunchiness. Ghee or vanaspati is used as a moyan (similar to shortening used in cookies) for the flaky texture. A thick sugar glaze flavored with cardamom and rose essence (both optional but preferred) for enhanced flavors and a garnish of almonds, pistachios and dried rose petals , all work together in a harmony, to make dothiyun alluring and a treat for your eyes and tastebuds! Ideally the sugar syrup needs to be of 2 and half thread consistency or tad bit thicker than that (the syrup should look cloudy) but if you, like me, are not fond of very thick sugar glaze then do not wait for the syrup to turn cloudy and switch off the flame when syrup reaches 2 thread consistency. Sometimes you may even find the perfectly glazed sugar coating over commercially available Dothiyun or saata and it may not be the one made using sugar syrup but by mixing powered sugar/icing sugar, milk and liquid glucose. This type of glaze looks smoother and the common issues like re crystallisation of sugar or getting large grainy crystals could be avoided using this type of glaze. I have used the traditional method of making sugar glaze i.e by cooking sugar and water till desired consistency is obtained. AlifBe: Well the 20th letter (consonant) is ڏ in Arabic Sindhi, ड in Devanagari and D^ in Roman Sindhi. Sindhi and Devanagari Orthography credits: Deepak Keswani and Barkha Khushalani, respectively! It is a peculiar Sindhi consonant and is used in very few other languages ( eg:Vietnamese). To understand how it is pronounced, you can check this video! And as obvious, the dish with the name starting with D^ is D^othiyun! Print Dothiyun~AlifBe~20 D^othiyun are sweet fried cookies coated with thick sugar glaze and garnished with nuts and dried rose petals! Ingredients For Cookies/Mathri 1.25 cups All Purpose flour A pinch of Salt Two small pinches of Baking soda 4-5 tsp Ghee 2 tbsp Semolina 4-6 tbsp milk or as much needed Oil/Ghee/Vanaspati for frying For the Syrup 2 cups Sugar ¾ cup Water 3-4 Green Cardamoms 3-4 drops of Rose essence 8 Almonds, 5-6 Pistachios and few dried rose petals, chopped finely Method Take 2 tbsp of semolina and add 2-3 tbsp of milk. Mix and keep aside, covered for 10-15 minutes. Now take the flour, salt and baking soda and sieve the mixture. Rub in Ghee in the sieved mix. The mix must look like bread crumbs. To this mix add the soaked semolina and start kneading the dough. Keep adding milk, a tbsp at a time till the mix binds well into a dough. You may need around 2-3 tbsp of milk here. Cover the dough and let it rest for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, knead the dough to smoothen out a little. You can make small pingpong size balls and flatten each by pressing between palm or you can roll the dough and use cookie cutter or small katori with sharp edges to cut out small discs. Commercially available Sindhi Dothiyun are around 3 to 3 and half inch in diameter and ¾th of an inch in thickness. But since frying thick dothiyun takes longer time, ideally home made dothiyun are preferred to be 2" in diameter and ½ inch or less thick. Heat oil/ ghee/ mix of both or vanaspati (makes cookies crisp but health-wise it is not recommended) in a frying pan and once it is hot, lower the flame. Add 3-4 discs at a time and deep fry on low flame, till light golden brown. Repeat the process till all 'cookies' are fried. Drain on a kitchen towel and allow to cool completely. Keep covered with a mesh. Covering hot cookies with any plate or thick towel will make 'cookies' soggy. Start working on the syrup after 'cookies' are cooled for at least 2 hours. I left fried ones overnight. Before starting with sugar syrup, grease a steel thali with ghee and keep the chopped nuts and petals handy. In a pan mix sugar and water and cook it on low to medium flame. Add green cardamom, slightly pounded, if using. Keep stirring the syrup till it reaches 2 thread consistency. It may take around 10-12 minutes depending on the flame. Ideally the syrup should be cooked beyond 2 and half thread consistency (it should look cloudy) but I cooked the syrup till just around 2 thread consistency stage. Add few drops of rose essence, stir and switch off the flame immediately. Donot stir the syrup anymore.. Let the syrup cool down a touch (3-4 minutes). You will have to work quickly now. Ask someone to help you, if needed. Now stir the syrup vigorously for a minute and dip a fried 'cookie', turn around a few times and place the soaked cookie on the greased thali, pour some syrup over it, top it up with the garnish of nuts and petals. Take another cookie and dip in the syrup and repeat the above process. You will have to go on garnishing each as soon as you pour syrup over it as the sugar will start crystallising almost immediately and garnishing it later wont work well. If you are not quick enough, chances are that the syrup in the pan will start crystallising before you can dip all the cookies. Don't panic. Just mix few spoons of hot water, mix (warm the syrup again, if needed) and start working again. Allow the sugar glaze to settle well. It may look transparent in the beginning but worry not. After a while you can see lovely thick sugar glaze. (Please refer the short video for this!) Store Dothiyun in an airtight container. It stays well for a fortnight but then it hardly lasts till then! 3.5.3251 Please do watch the following video for the alphabet formation. I have shared a small clipping of making of D^othiyun in the same video. Do check and let me know if it was helpful or not!

The post Dothiyun~Sindhi Saata~AlifBe~20 appeared first on Sindhi Rasoi |Sindhi Recipes.

Dal Dimma~ AlifBe ~ 18

Alka Keswani — Tue, 04 May 2021 03:40:52 +0000

We have arrived at the 4th shape group in Sindhi Script with the 18th letter and it is د or ‘D~’ as in Daawat or as in Dehradun, in Roman Sindhi while द in Devanagari. To Check a recap for AlifBe series kindly click here ! The Sindhi dish starting with د is Dal Dimma or Dal mung! Folks from Sindhi populated areas might know how common it is for people to flock around the carts selling Dal pakwan, early mornings. Though traditionally Sindhi Pakwan is served with Chana dal, it is very common to find carts where you will get an option of Dal Dimma or Dal mung as many call it. Dal mung is a mix of Whole mung, chana dal and Yellow mung dal, slow cooked separately and mixed while serving. Those who hail from Ulhasnagar would know the popular Doli Naashta waala, well known for traditional Sindhi street foods like Dal pakwan, Dal sandwich, Samose, Gulabjamun etc and Dal mung is one of its best seller. Those living around camp 4 of Ulhasnagar would vouch for Dal mung at Shankar Uncle’s New Delhi Nashta House, near Canara Bank. Interestingly around the same place (Canara bank) and previous to that, near Jungle hotel, an old frail, tall Uncle ji (I think his name was Hari or Hiru) used to sell Dal Dimma on fresh leaves (Can’t recollect if those were Paan or some other leaves). Barely 3 tsp of mung and 2 tsp of dal, garnished with spice powder and chutney @ 25 paise, in late seventies and early eighties would be enough to satiate your morning hunger as it was often had with Pao or roti or even with home made Koki. Anyone remember that Uncle ji? The plain mung dal used to be so dense that you need to actually scoop it with a roti/bread. Slow cooked on charcoal sigri for hours, with only salt and turmeric, garnished with black pepper powder, the piping hot buttery soft dal used to be a delight to relish. As a kid studying in Bal Mandir ( Preschool of yore), I was privileged enough to enjoy hot dal from that Uncle’s cart with mom made Koki courtesy the lady who would bring tiffins for the kids from their respective homes during lunch break. I also have memories of savoring Dalmung Sandwich from the cart opposite building number 6, or amazing Dal pakwan at Vig, in Chembur, while enjoying a stay at Grandparent’s home, pampered with food, food and more food by aunts, Uncles and cousins. You can read more about Chembur Street food here! I have already shared recipes of Dal mung and Dal moth on the blog but today we are talking about Dal Dimma! Honestly speaking I was not aware of the term Dimma as it is called Dal mung in my home town. But thanks to the Sindhirasoi facebook group I got to know that a dal preparation without using tomatoes or onions/garlic is called Dimma. I am yet to find the actual meaning of the word Dimma but I need to thank Mr Manohar Pamnani, Mr Sanjay Lulla, Ms Dolly Atmaram Chandwani and Ms Shashi Nagpal who shared their valuable inputs and their memories about Dal Dimma when I approached them to understand what exactly a Dimma preparation is. Will share more about that some other time! Also a big thanks to Barkha Khushalani Di for always helping me out with the Devanagari script. And of course, heartfelt thanks to my better half, Deepak Keswani too, for being there at every step of learning be it Alif Be or reading dictionaries, recording videos/ Insta reels or for helping out in editing clips. Here is the video of letter formation and assembling of Dal Dimma: Summary: So from what I gathered from discussing about Dal Dimma is that mung/ dal is boiled with just salt, turmeric and optionally, chillies and is tempered with hing (asafoetida) and cumin seeds and garnished with spice powders/garam masala. Print Dal Dimma~ AlifBe ~ 18 Dal Dimma or Dal Mung is a mix of whole mung, chana dal, mung dal, cooked separately and assembled for serving. It is a popular Sindhi street food. Ingredients Serves 3 Mung Whole Mung 1 cup Salt as per taste Green chillies 2 or as as needed Turmeric powder ¼ tsp Garam masala powder (I used Abana's GM) ½ tsp Ghee / oil for tempering Red chilli powder ¼ tsp Cumin seeds ½ tsp Asafoetida 2 pinches For chana dal Chana Dal ¾ cup Salt as per taste Turmeric Powder ¼ tsp Green chillies 1-2 Ghee/oil for tempering Cumin seeds ¼ tsp Asafoetida a pinch Abana's Dal Pakwan Masala 1 heaped spoon Cumin seeds ½ tsp Mung Dal Mung dal (split yellow) ½ cup Salt as per taste Turmeric powder ¼ tsp Ghee/Oil for tempering Red chilli powder ½ tsp Black pepper powder ¼ tsp For Serving Boiled potato chopped 1 Small Boiled beetroot chopped, 1 Small Tomato chopped, 1 Small Onion Chopped 1 Mint coriander chutney Sour Tamarind chutney * Amchoor powder for garnish Fried or Roasted Green chillies 3-4 Method Rinse well and soak Mung, chana dal and mung dal, separately for few hours. Cook each dal separately using salt, chilliies and turmeric powder, till done. If using Abana Dal pakwan masala, then add it while boiling Chana dal. You can cook each dal in a pressure cooker or slow cook in a pan. Mung and Chana dal are bit mushy but not completely mashed, while mung dal is cooked till buttery smooth. In Whole mung, add a tempering of ghee/oil, cumin seeds, hing, red chilli powder and mix well. Add some garam masala powder. In Chana dal, add a tempering of ghee/oil, cumin seeds, hing and chilli powder and mix well. Remember not to overcook or over-mash this dal. In mung dal, add a tempering of ghee/oil and red chilli powder. Add black pepper powder and mix. Consistency of all three should not be very runny. Chop salad vegetables and season with salt, pepper, chilli powder and amchoor/chaat masala. *To make Sour Tamarind chutney just soak some tamarind in water, squeeze well and discard the pulp. Season the tamarind water with salt, chaat masala, chilli powder and hint of sugar. While serving, pour some whole mung in a bowl, some chana dal on one side and mung dal on other side, garnish with some Abana Dal masala, Amchoor powder, chilli powder, salad vegetables, chutneys and dried or roasted whole chillies. Serve hot with bread, roti or Koki. 3.5.3251 Picture Courtesy: Saarthak Aurora I made Dal Dimma using Abana Brand’s Sindhi Dal (pakwan) spice mix along with Garam masala and Amchoor powder of the same brand. Abana is a Sindhi word referring to something that is ancestral. They make some unique Sindhi spice mixes that no other brand can boast of; Sindhi Dal ( pakwan) spice mix, Sindhi Kadhi spice mix or even Sindhi Sanna Pakora and Tuk patata spice blend. The spice mixes dedicated to the Sindhi cuisine and a brand name that is so Sindhi that it stirs memories of yore like nothing else would (Remember the Sindhi Movie, Abana?), the brain child of Mr Basant Rajan, who, at the age when people retire, ventured in this field purely because of his passion for traditional food and spices. If you wish to try these Sindhi spices, please check this Box of Nostalgia, a box with 14 different spices and spice blends!

The post Dal Dimma~ AlifBe ~ 18 appeared first on Sindhi Rasoi |Sindhi Recipes.

Khhoraak for AlifBe ~17

Alka Keswani — Thu, 29 Apr 2021 07:41:35 +0000

Technically the 17th letter of AlifBe or the Sindhi Alphabet is ح i.e ‘H’ but this particular alphabet is not used for words of Sindhi origin (there is another ‘H’in the AlifBe and it will be covered in future post when we will arrive on it) and hence there is no corresponding dish in Sindhi cuisine. So we will jump to next letter which, again, is used to write words of non Sindhi origin but thankfully we have a popular Sindhi dish starting with that letter. Any guesses?? Well, the 17th letter is خ which is ख़ in Devanagari (Kindly note the Nukta or the dot) and ‘Khh’ in Roman Sindhi. Many a times people are unable to differentiate between ख़ (with a dot) and ख (without a dot) and hence use the latter one inappropriately. A word starting with ख़ is Khalifa as in Burj Khalifa. In Roman Sindhi it is Burj Khhalifa and बुर्ज ख़लीफ़ा in Devanagari ! And a Sindhi dish starting with this letter is Khhoraak! It probably comes from the word Khhoraak or Khhurak i.e a diet (portion of food). Khorak also means a dose of medicine. A small portion of this sweet is good enough to have for a meal with milk (breakfast) and it provides good immunity and nourishment hence the word Khorak is well justified for this sweet. Khhoraak Khhoraak or Khorak as many call it, is a traditional Sindhi sweet made exclusively in winters. It is also popularly made for new mothers as a part of post natal care wherein the new mother is fed with healthy, nutritious food. Since Khhoraak is made using plenty of dry fruits/nuts, ghee and Khaun (edible gum) it is also considered very beneficial for lactating mothers. Sindhis do not consume this sweet in summers since it could lead to heat production in the body and hence I was reluctant to make this. There were no enough nuts in the pantry nor any poppy seeds and since the lockdown (from March 2020) we do not venture out or call in for home deliveries until inevitable. Also from past many days, I have been experiencing moments of (emotional) meltdown thinking of all those near and dear ones fighting with the deadly virus and about all those who succumbed to the disease. Losing a dear friend, Chef Dinesh Keswani was yet another blow and things got more difficult to deal with. I am still struggling to absorb all that is happening around and I know that most of us are going through the hard times, physically, financially and emotionally. So the thought of cooking anything festive or rich in such a scenario felt stupid and inconsiderate and I was actually on the verge of giving up the AlifBe series. But then I needed something to keep me occupied, something to distract me from the chaos around, something that can help to calm down my nerves, to push me out of the bed, to temporarily stop thinking about all the conversations happening over social media with friends as well as strangers, madly seeking help to deal with the crisis. Strangely, I often find cooking therapeutic and sometimes it does help me to gain control over the overwhelming emotions! I don’t know how far I can carry on with this series since circumstances are so unfavourable. Not only I feel emotionally drained out but also the lack of resources to procure required ingredients is slowing down the pace of AlifBe series. And I am in no mood to go out of the way to hunt for the required ingredients. But I will keep marching on, till I can! Coming back to Khhoraak: Khhoraak is a winter delicacy made from whole wheat flour, ghee, nuts, poppy seeds and edible gum. The texture of Khhorak is generally soft crunchy or brittle but it totally depends on the quantities of fat (ghee) and edible gum used. If you use less ghee or gum it will turn out crumbly soft, if you use oil or mix of ghee and oil, then again, the sweet will be more fudge like than crunchy brittle. If you use sugar syrup then too the consistency will vary. Thin syrup will yield softer Khhoraak while thick syrup will make khhoraak hard. Ideally poppy seeds are added but since I didn’t had any, I used thick rawa (semolina). Also I didn’t add any melon seeds as there were none at home. There are no hard and fast rules about the types of nuts/seeds used and about the quantity of each. It’s flexible! Many people confuse Khhoraak with Majun, yet another winter delicacy. But both are very different in terms of texture, ingredients and flavors too. Khorak is made from roasted flour. Majun is made without using any flour. Mawa is used in Majun while Khorak is made without mawa. Edible gum is used in Khorak but not in Majun. Print Khhoraak for AlifBe ~17 Khhoraak is a winter delicacy made from whole wheat flour, ghee, edible gum and nuts. Ingredients 1 and half cup whole wheat flour 1 and half cup Ghee (I used 1 cup) 1 and half cup Sugar (I used 1 cup) 30 gms of Edible gum 2 tbsp of Poppy seeds (Khaskhas) 12-15 Almonds 10-12 Cashew Nuts 10 Unsalted Pistachios A handful each of of Black raisins and Kishmish ¼ cup of melon seeds (I didn't add any) 5-6 green cardamoms peeled and pounded or powdered ¾ cup hot milk or hot water Few thin slices of Kopra chopped into bits or 3-4 tsp of desiccated coconut powder Method Dry roast melon seeds if using. You can dry roast some almonds and pistachios that you can use for garnishing. Mix sugar in hot milk or hot water and keep aside. The idea is to allow sugar to melt as much as possible. Chop or slice nuts. Reserve some chopped nuts for garnish. Take a flat plate with sides or any cake pan/tray and grease it with oil/ghee. This will be used to spread the Khhoraak. Heat a tbsp of ghee in a thick bottomed pan or kadai. Fry edible gum, in batches, till nicely puffed. Drain and let it cool. Grind to make fine powder. Keep aside. In the same pan pour remaining ghee and add flour. Keep the flame on low. Roast the flour on low flame, stirring continuously, till light brown. This will take anywhere from 15-25 minutes depending on the flame and quantity of flour. Add powdered edible gum, poppy seeds, kopra or desiccated powder (whichever using) and elaichi powder. Keep roasting on low flame and add chopped almonds, pistachios and cashew nuts and melon seeds. Reserve some nuts and seeds for the garnish. Once the flour turns nice brown, add raisins and sugar that was mixed with hot water or milk. Mix quickly as the flour will absorb liquid pretty fast. Switch off the flame and quickly pour the contents on the greased plate. Take a flat steel bowl and press the Khhoraak with the base of the bowl, all over, to smoothen the surface. Garnish with remaining nuts/seeds and press a bit again. Let Khhoraak cool down a bit and then using a sharp knife slice it into desired shape (square or diamond) and size. Do not move the slices. Allow it to cool for a few hours and then separate out slices of Khhoraak. Store in an airtight container. It stays good for a few weeks and beyond if refrigerated. A small slice of this with a glass of milk is an ideal breakfast option during winters. 3.5.3251 And before I sign off, here is a small video about how the letter خ !

The post Khhoraak for AlifBe ~17 appeared first on Sindhi Rasoi |Sindhi Recipes.

J^aj~a Ji Roti~AlifBe~14

Alka Keswani — Sun, 11 Apr 2021 19:43:28 +0000

In olden days, a wedding in a Sindhi home would mean a buzzing neighbourhood. The male clan would deal with the logistics of a wedding, distributing wedding cards, booking tickets for relatives traveling from far and wide, making arrangements for their stay, booking Maharaj or cook/s to cater to family/relatives, friends etc. The female clan (from the family as well as from the neighborhood) on the other hand would take charge of stocking spices, grains, pulses etc. Almost a fortnight before marriage eve, ladies in the family and around would wind up the daily chores and come together to make papad, kheecha (rice papad/fryum), potato chips etc to serve to guests as well as to pack those to give away as a parting gift or a return gift. Mango pickles were made for summer weddings, well in advance while for winter weddings mostly onion, carrot, cauliflower and turnip pickles were made. Quilts, bedsheets, pillows, mattresses were taken out and kept out to soak up sun-rays. Borrowing these from neighbours was not a taboo. Chairs, steel plates or cutlery too, if needed, were borrowed from neighbors, relatives and friends (one of the reasons for having utensils/cutlery engraved with names was to make sure that there was no mix-up). Marriages in 1970’s: My childhood memories of marriages in family or around, revolve around pitching in for making papad, chips (kids were given the job of safeguarding papad kept in verandah or passages, from birds or strays), of banging spoon on a thali while the ladies sang laadas (wedding folk songs), watching raandha (male cooks) burning logs in open areas (outdoors) to cook food in huge degh or Cauldron or watching lady helpers as they chopped bulk of vegetables for salad etc. Till 70’s a marriage ceremony was more about following the rituals than following ‘trends’. People attending a wedding or a reception were offered Sherbet/Cold drinks or an ice cream if the bride’s family was rich. There was no buffet system for Wedding/Reception but close relatives, friends and neighbors of the bride side family as well as the groom’s family were treated with a feast cooked at their respective homes. Traditional feast Food on the plate: Bhuga chaawra, Beeh Patata (recipe shared in this post), Phulko (chapati), Sindhi Papad, Sanna Pakoda, Nalli Kebab (fryums), salad, boondi raita and Gulabjamun! The traditional Sindhi ceremonial food cooked on wedding days used to be different from what it is, now! A typical meal before wedding would be garam masala flavored rice, an onion tomato based subzi of lotus stems and potatoes ( with skin on) heavily flavored with garam masala. Rotis were made by a bunch of helpers of the Raandho (head cook) while some would fry fresh crisp pakode. Some would cut fresh salad vegetables while others would fry fryums, roast papad etc. The chaos would be overwhelming then but still the smoky flavors of the food being cooked, served and relished would make my heart sing. Beeh patata ( lotus stem with potatoes) curry was commonly made as a marriage ceremonial meal, back then, though some still follow the tradition. Many a times if the subzi is to be offered to bhambhan or Brahmin, it is made without onions and garlic (as a Brahmin is offered only satvik food) and by using a base of spinach and brinjal but when it is made for the family, friends, neighbors and relatives, it could be made with onions as the base. Beeh Patata made for the marriage feast had distinct flavours. Cooking brinjal with or without onions to make the base of the curry, would not only give a body to the curry but would also make the gravy homogenous when bhunoed. Potatoes were used with skin on (not peeled) and the freshly ground garam masala along with whole spices were generously used for pronounced flavors and spicy kick. Above all, cooking on logs would make the curry smoky and delectable. The Beeh Patata curry was usually served with degh waara chaanwran, generally, the rice cooked with whole spices….a match made in heaven! In Sindhi language a baaraat (Procession) is called J^anj`a or जञ and (I may be wrong here) the baaraatis or folks attending the ceremony are called J^aanj~ee while the marriage feast is called J^uJ~u. Since there is a lack of proper information in new dictionaries about these traditional words, I cannot confirm if these are the proper terms. But in general a baaraat could mean a procession as well as the people gathered for the procession. And the feast of Beeh Patata and rice served to them was casually called as J^aj~a Ji roti ( roti here means a meal and not the pulka/flatbread). And the 14th letter/consonant in AlifBe series (A-Z of Sindhi Food) is ڃ in Arabic Sindhi, J~ in Roman Sindhi and ञ in Devanagari. This letter is not used in the beginning of any Sindhi word. A perfect example of its use in Sindhi language is the word जञ and hence I have picked जञ जी रोटी for the 14th letter of Sindhi AlifBe. Print J^aj~a Ji Roti~AlifBe~14 Ingredients For Rice 1 and ½ cup basmati rice or any other variety 1" piece of Cinnamon 3-4 cloves 1 whole black cardamom (vadho photo or black elaichi) 4-5 black pepper corns 2 Bayleaves(or tejpatta) 2 tsp of oil Water to cook rice (mostly double the quantity of rice) Few drops of orange food colour (optional) Salt as per taste For Curry 2 Potatoes -Do not peel the skin. Lotus stem (roots) or Beeh.-100-150 gm 2 Onions 2 Tomatoes (small ) 1 small Brinjal Shelled green peas, a handful Ginger about 1" Green chillies 2-3 depending upon your taste 1 /4 tsp Garam Masala powder ½ tsp Turmeric powder 1 heaped tsp Coriander Powder ½ tsp Jeera powder Salt to Taste 2-4 tsp Oil Fresh coriander leaves for garnishing Method To Make Rice Pick and rinse rice few times with water, till water runs clear. Let the rice soak in water for about half hour (or 15 minutes if using Basmati) In a heavy bottom pan, add 2 tsp of oil and put all the whole spices and stir fry for few seconds. Add rice and salt and mix gently. Add water (almost double the quantity of rice) and few drops of orange colour (optional). Mix well, allow it to boil and then simmer. Once the water is absorbed, cover it with a lid and cook on low flame till done. Serve hot with Beeh patata curry. To Make Curry Clean and cut Beeh into slanting slices and pressure cook them with some salt and water till done (2-4 whistles of pressure cooker, depending on quality of Beeh). A knife or fork should smoothly slide in Beeh. Drain and keep aside. Clean the potatoes and cut each into large chunks. Rinse with water, drain and add salt. Soak in water if potatoes start to oxidise. You can peel potato skin but it tastes better with skin on. In a pressure cooker, add 2 -4 tsp of oil and add chopped onions. When onions turn pinkish, add chopped brinjal (with skin) and cook till the mixture is light brown in colour. Add chopped tomatoes, some salt, chopped green chillies, ginger and turmeric. Add half cup of water and close the lid, and pressure cook the mix for 2-3 whistles. When pressure subsides, open the lid, mash the gravy with wooden churner and put it back on flame. Add potatoes, boiled beeh, coriander powder and some salt, if needed and cook on high heat. Add few spoons of water if the mixture tends to stick to the bottom of cooker. Keep cooking on high flame, sprinkling water if needed, till the gravy looks homegenized. Add hot water and shelled peas.The water should be just above the level of Beeh and potatoes. Add garam masala powder and some coriander leaves. Close the lid of cooker and wait for one whistle and then cook on lowest flame, under pressure for 2-5 min. Put off the flame. When the pressure subsides, open the lid and check for the seasoning and consistency of gravy and adjust according to your taste. Garnish with fresh coriander leaves and enjoy it with piping hot rice. 3.5.3251 And as usual, here is a short video to help you in understanding formation of the letter ڃ !

The post J^aj~a Ji Roti~AlifBe~14 appeared first on Sindhi Rasoi |Sindhi Recipes.