Wednesday, April 29, 2015

another masterclass with Chef Miraj ul Haque | more vegetarian kababs, some more fish and meat kababs to learn at The Great Kabab Factory


Chef Miraj ul Haque has some magic in his hands. Actually some more magic lies in his attitude towards food and learning also. Bees saal se chala raha hoon karchhi, ab tak ban nahi paya baawarchi. That means, I have been cooking since 20 years and haven't yet become a chef, this is what he says about himself. In fact he is a khandani chef whose many generations have worked in the field, fine tuning the techniques to bring the best in the food they serve.

That humility, the eagerness to share the intricacies of cooking and sharing tips generously makes him the person who believed in 'sharing is learning'. He told us that he feels happy to answer any queries regarding cooking as he doesn't want his pupils making mistakes in the kitchen, after a 3 hour long masterclass and volley of questions these words affirm our faith about Awadhii cooking being delicate in temperament.


People were seen recording his masterclass and taking pictures to document the process. Of course for instagraming and facebooking too :-) This one was even more crowded than the last masterclass I attended.

The most intriguing kabab was a Jaitooni Tawa Paneer that was made very innovative. A block of Paneer was hollowed and a black olive mix was stuffed in it and the block was tawa fried. This was the most amazing dish in looks and taste.


The other vegetarian kabab that was really interesting was a Sarsonwali Broccoli. I love my steamed broccoli so much that I rarely douse the broccoli with anything else. I have made a grilled mustard broccoli earlier but this one was a notch above. With the addition of cashew nuts, hung curd and cheese in the marinade the flavours are rich and textures very melt in the mouth type.

I am sharing the recipe card so you can cook it yourself to see how good it is.

Note that the use of cheese in these marinades is very clever. It holds the marinade, makes the mouth feel more creamy and adds the umami factor to the dish. Wonderful trick.


Another interesting recipe he shared was a Kesari Raan-e-Murgh, a saffron infused chicken leg that is grilled at high temperature to retain the juiciness. Here the marinade is hung curd based but processed cheese is used again even though there is delicate saffron to flavour.


One can always skip processed cheese for home cooking, I feel the flavour of saffron will be better if done so.

A fish preparation, Karare Tawa Pomfret was good, more like a deep fried pakoda but done well.


Chef Miraj also taught Soyabean ka Shikampuri Kabab and Hussaini boti kabab, both were great in their own right. I am meaning to cook both of these soon and share the recipe in a little detail here.

Later we sat down for a lavish lunch and tasted the secret recipe Galouti kabab again. The galouti kabab as I said last time, are the best you get outside Lucknow, the overall flavour being a bit robust as compared to Lucknow, the texture is creamy and rich just as the original.


And I tasted the breads this time. The garlic bread and Lachha tandoori roti is really good, in fact I ate more roti than I usually eat.


I tasted daals too, the peeli daal and kali daal both were done perfectly well, finger licking good type. Homely, rich and yet not cream laden fatty mix of lentils.



Desserts that I liked were the same as the last time. Kulfi is not to be missed, I enjoyed the whole stick slowly.


Jalebi is crisp and thin, I had a few bites of it without the rabri which is not as good as it should be.


But most of the other guests love this jalebi rabri combination there, I am biased with rabri as I have tasted the best in Banaras. Sharing the best rabri and doodh from Banaras really soon, haven't been free to sit and write about those gems of Banaras at leisure. But I will correct that really soon.

Stay tuned.



Wednesday, April 22, 2015

a kabab masterclass at The Great Kabab Factory, Radisson Blu Plaza ; learn the tricks with Chef Miraj ul Haque and eat your kababs too...


Making kababs is considered quite a delicate art as well as a daunting task, a territory that many of us home cooks dread entering into. But those who have taken the first steps towards kabab making have never stopped at one I must tell you. Even vegetarian kababs can be made so delicious and special that can lift up a meal by a few notches. And that too with not so much of effort trust me.


I know you must be thinking one can always order kababs and biryanis by any of the specialised places around town famous for home deliveries of such foods. Yes one can always order or takeaway great kababs, biryanis and kormas when one can't handle cooking for a large gathering sometimes, there is always Foodpanda at your fingertips, they are even collaborating with NGOs making sure children's access to food, education and health. I like a business that supports social causes, so go ahead and order good food when you want to.

That apart, an intimate family meal becomes special when you cook together in the kitchen and eat together at the table you would agree. Cooking is such a life skill everyone should have, some might take it to another level with special skills to cook a few complicated recipes too.

And if you still fear cooking you can always look out for masterclasses. In Delhi we have Radison Blu Plaza where they conduct Masterclasses often. I have attended a wonderful Thai masterclass by Thai Chef Suthiwaja at Neung Roi and their first Masterclass at The Great Kabab Factory, the iconic restaurant known for kababs and Indian Mughlai cuisine, that I attended was a huge success. Chef Miraj ul Haque who hails from Lucknow, patiently taught us six different kababs and tikkas, one of them being a very interesting chaat style grilled fruit tikka with pineapples and apples. 


The class was house full, a bunch of men and women learnt the tricks and tips followed by a lunch that included the dishes we learnt and a few more specialties of the Chef Miraj.

He taught us Hyderabadi Shammi kabab, Kasoondi tawa machhi, Bhatti ka murgh, Bharwan dahi ke kabab, Sev aur ananas ki chaat and Kathal ke tikkey. The way Chef Miraj teaches the techniques, the tips to stuff the kababs with a filling that enhances flavours, marination and grilling techniques is commendable. I liked the idea of the Kathal ke tikkey. 

 
The Sev aur Ananas ki chaat was another winner, a chaat (and more spices) doused platter of fruits that has been grilled lightly is something you can't resist, I actually had second and third helpings of the spicy grilled pineapples.


Dahi ke kababs were good too, but I would have liked them a little more soft. But the techniques that dahi ka kabab involves were taught really well, the textures you can always tune to your taste and preference.

At lunch we ate the best Galuti kabab that you find outside Lucknow.


Bhatti ka murgh that came to my plate was quite raw from inside, but the service at The Great Kabab Factory is so good they promptly replaced it with a well done piece of Bhatti ka muurgh which is deliciously smoky and earthy. Thumbs up to the service.

The biryani, the breads and the daals are also good but I would advise you to stick to kababs more to enjoy eating and still not feel stuffed.


As I said you would like to go easy on breads and biryanis at this restaurants, saving some space for the desserts. The kulfi is fabulous and the jalebi is thin and crisp just like they make in UP and Amritsar. Rajbhog is also made really well, reminding me of the Odiya Rajbhog, too sweet for my taste but that is how Rajbhog is.


Paan is served to round off the meal, the tradition that indicates good food has to be pleasant on the stomach, paan helps in digestion and works as a mouth freshener too. I like places that serve paan after a meal.

The mind always finds Banaras connections.

Head over to the next masterclass they are conducting at The Great Kabab Factory, Radison Blu Plaza at Mahipalpur on 25th of April and thank me later. It will be worth your time and money trust me. Chef Miraj ul Haque has magic in his fingers, watch him shaping the kababs and see how much love and passion goes into cooking good food.

Sunday, April 12, 2015

shallow fry to make fish fry | recipe of curry patta infused fish fry




This fish fry with prominent flavour of curry patta is a party in the mouth. Tingling mix of heat and tartness, intense flavour of curry patta seeped deep into the fish makes it a real treat.

I first tasted it when a Malyali friend had invited us home and due to some emergency we had to cancel the dinner that day. She just sent me a dabba of marinated fish that she had planned to fry that evening because she wanted us to taste her special recipe. She just instructed me to shallow fry these fish steaks in sesame oil and enjoy with some cucumbers.

When I opened that dabba ( a steel box) lined with banana leaves, I was in for a surprise as the fat fish steaks were covered with a coarse paste of curry patta, lot of chilly flakes, crushed peppercorns  and bits of tamarind was also visible. I immediately understood why she categorically told me to have it with cucumbers. Yes cucumbers and some buttermilk blended with fresh coconut and more curry patta were the things that saved our palate that day, the fish fry was so hot that our noses turned red and we kept eating unperturbed, with sips of the buttermilk and bites of cucumber in between.

I have cooked this recipe several times since then, about a decade to be precise. And somehow I end up using a similar steel dabba to marinate this fish. Food is often more about pleasant memories than the other things.

I have toned down the heat of this fish fry to suit my preference.

ingredients 
(2 servings as a meal with some salad and stir fry on the side)

large fat steaks of fish ( I used Catla) about 400 gm : fish fillet would also work
curry patta 20 springs or more
garlic cloves 2-3
fresh ginger root chopped 2 tsp
dry red chillies 2-3 or as per taste
black pepper corns 1 tsp
chopped bits of dry tamarind 1 tbsp or a bit more
salt to taste
sesame oil to shallow fry about 2 tbsp or even less

procedure..

blend everything together coarsely except the fish. Do not add water, taste and adjust the heat and sourness in the marinade.

Smear over the fish and refrigerate overnight.


At the time of serving, heat a skillet ( I used cast iron skillet) with sesame oil brushed over it. Spread the fish pieces along with a coating of marination over it and let it cook each side for about 5-6 minutes. Test by pricking the fish and serve hot with cucumbers, other salads or whatever you feel like.

**I generally cover the shallow frying fish with a dome lid and let it cook on medium flame, flip it after a while and then cook uncovered. This ensure even cooking in very less oil.

You can even deep fry these fish, I have done it for larger gatherings and it has turned out perfectly well. Just make sure you dust the marinated fish with a very thin layer of besan (chickpea flour) just before dipping the fish steaks into hot oil. Fry till light brown, drain on kitchen paper and serve as required.


We had a nice alu palak with this meal because there has been so much great tasting home grown spinach that I cannot just ignore the goodness for anything else. This alu palak was made with some yogurt blended with steamed spinach and it was wonderfully delicious.

The curry patta infused fish fry tastes great with just about any fish, but I end up making it with firm and fat steaks just as my friend had made. The extra marinade gets nicely browned and you would look for all the crumbs in the skillet, every last crumb will be mopped off trust me.

Do let me know whenever you make this curry patta infused fish fry. I am sure you would remember my friend that way too!!!



Wednesday, April 8, 2015

sabut masoor ki daal and how to make it differently for everyday convenience



Sabut masoor ki daal used to be a frequent dinner time daal back in my parents' home. For some reason peeli arhar ki daal for lunch and sabut masoor ki daal for dinner was almost a ritual that we grew up with. Winters brought a lot of matar ka nimona and masoor ki daal ka nimona or even palak ka nimona that I have not cooked since ages, but we came back to square one in summers. The same peeli arhar ki daal and masoor ki daal routine we followed religiousely but I don't remember anyone ever complained. I think we were a bunch of extremely active-growing-hungry kids who would get even more hungry when the dining table was laid out.

I think one reason why sabut masoor ki daal was so frequent on the table was that it came from the village grown organically for the family. I can well understand now why my parents wanted to use the home grown lentils to the fullest.

I remember papa would cut salad, would prepare the jars of pickled onion and ginger-garlic and there would always be some freshly ground green chutney at the table. Hot daal with home made ghee was another standard presence at the table that everyone looked forward to. Simple real foods that become a habit and comfort, far from ordering a pizza meal that many associate with comfort food these days. One can always make better choices I say.


So this sabut masoor ki daal remained the comfort food forever. The husband is not too fond of it but he likes it for a change. I eat my sabut masor ki dal religiously,silently and mostly like a one pot meal. I am sharing one of my simplest one pot recipes first, the tadka tempered recipe is next. I cook both the recipes as per convenience and mood, also depending on whether the daal is to be served to guests or to ourselves. For ourselves I like the quick simpler version more, lighter and milder on spice quotient. Topped with a blob of butter or ghee.

ingredients..
(2 servings)

whole red lentils with skin washed and drained (sabut masoor ki daal) 1/2 cup
chopped garlic 1 tsp
chopped ginger root 1-2 tsp (I like a bit more ginger but add as per taste)
chopped green chillies 1 tsp or to taste
black pepper powder 1/4 tsp
roasted cumin powder 1/2 tsp
turmeric powder 1/2 tsp
2 tbsp chopped onions and one medium tomato blended together to make a fine paste
hing (asafoetida) 1 pinch
salt to taste

*ghee 1 tsp + 1 tsp

procedure..

Put all the ingredients together in a pressure cooker pan and add 1.5 cups of water. Add salt to taste and 1 tsp *ghee and close the lid. Place on the gas flame and cook till the first whistle blows. Lower the flame and cook further for 8-10 minutes.

Let the pressure release by itself. Open the lid and stir the cooked daal once. Adjust consistency by adding water or cooking a bit more to make the daal thicker if you wish. Add the remaining 1 tsp ghee and serve hot. You don't even need to garnish it with dhaniya patta or anything. Add more ghee if you wish and can afford health wise.

More ghee is bad ONLY if you eat a lot of it and that too not for clogging your blood vessels but by adding extra calories to your overall daily food intake.

The tadka tempered version of the sabut masoor ki daal would cooked simply with salt and turmeric powder in the pressure cooker as stated above. A tempering will be prepared and added to the cooked daal and simmered for 5 minutes before serving. Some milk and cream would be added to make the daal more 'dressed up for the occasion' if the daal is being served to guests. Not to enhance the taste but to dress it up to look good.


To make a tempering masala for the spiced sabut masoor ki daal..

For 2-3 servings of the daal, heat 1 tbsp ghee in a pan, add 1/2 tsp cumin seeds and some chopped onions, fry till onions get pinkish but not brown. Add 1 tbsp ginger garlic paste and fry till it all looks glazed.

Add 2 tsp coriander powder, 1/2 tsp pepper powder, red chilly powder to taste and let it all sizzle for a second. Add a little garam masala and 1/2 cup chopped tomatoes. Add  bit of salt and fry till everything gets mushy.

Pour this mix into the cooked masoor ki daal and simmer till everything gets incorporated. Add 1/2 cup milk or 2 tbsp cream if desired. Let it come to a boil again.

Serve hot garnished with whatever you like. A blob of butter or a dollop of cream goes a long way to ensure everyone is smitten with the daal. I like some ginger julienne but skip adding it if the other side dishes are hot.

The best part with this daal and many other daals that I cook is, that I use the leftovers to create a favourite breakfast of mine. Daal dhokli made with leftover daal is the best ghee laced breakfast for me to start the day.

Just dilute the daal with equal amount of water. You need about 3/4 cup of cooked daal per serving. Roll out a chapati using multigrain dough and cut the rolled chapati into small square pieces. Mix everything together and simmer till the thin pieces of chapati get cooked. It takes about 5 minutes total.


This is just like pasta in a lentil soup. Trust me this curried lentil pasta will be much more loved than a regular pasta in a soup. Try once if you don't believe me.

Sabut masor ki daal will be your favourite too. Or probably it already is.




Sunday, April 5, 2015

Smoked Biryani House ; authentic Hyderabadi biryani?



The mention of authentic Hyderabadi biryani is what lured us to a far flung restaurant in NOIDA (sector 18) and we were very kicked about it when we planned the day after a couple of months of almost constant travel. I crave for home cooked simpler food when I am back from travel but this Smoked Biryani House that claimed to serve Hyderabadi biryani made us plan for a long drive just to eat good Hyderabadi food. It is another story that we ended up being a bit baffled by the end.

We were looking around sector 18 to locate the restaurant when we spotted a few home delivery vehicles with Smoked Biryani House carrier boxes, climbed up the stairs to enter a quite restaurant with comfortable seating, quaint ambiance. It was during Navratras and we were late for a weekend lunch, a good time if you want to avoid the rush hour.

Seeing a constant stream of the delivery boys carrying home delivery packages downstairs and black and white pictures form the old city of Hyderabad on the walls had piqued up our interest as well as appetite as we waited for our orders to arrive. The restaurant manager came to talk to us and kept telling us stories about how the 'smoked biryani' came into being and how the Chefs are flown in from Hyderabad, we felt like eager hungry kids to dig into a cauldron of spicy Hyderabadi biryani.

But we had to order a few starters before that and thank God we did so. The starters were all good.
The best was Apollo fish, a new preparation for us, grilled fish smeared with minced ginger-chilly-coriander greens and bits of cashew, hint of tamarind and nice balancing of flavours, well done fish.


We liked the Chicken 65 too, the Indo-Chinese of the southern variety, we have had a few versions of Chicken 65 and this one did not disappoint. Good amalgamation of textures and flavours that we liked. The Chennai version of Chicken 65 is different but we don't mind eating a hybrid dish changed a bit if it is still tasty.


Veg Mancurian is another Indo Chinese fusion that surprised us, it was well made. We also ordered Shami kababs and Tandoori fish and found both of these good. Shami kabab can be found in many many variations as this is the most common kabab on every menu, this one was done well. Tandoori fish was succulent, well marinated Basa fish grilled perfectly. The red coloured onion rings served with the kababs and tandoori fish are good too.

Note that there is no superlative goodness about these starters but each of these we tried were well done, good food at this price point (ranging from 200-300 Rs).

But the story took a turn when we ordered the main course. The Andhra Mutton curry was a sad concoction that lacked flavours although it looked creamy and rich. We tried the Veg Biryani, the Chicken Biryani and the Mutton Biryani and ended up looking at each other. Biryanis are presented well here, with a smoking piece of charcoal placed over each potful of biryani but the biryani doesn't taste smoked nor it brings the Hyderabad taste to your palate. Why this biryani is named as Hyderabadi biryani?

But to be honest, the biryani is not bad. The rice is long grained, well cooked and not greasy that I like in a biryani, the meat is well done, tastes good but there is no communication between the meat and the rice. I mean the rice grains have no flavour of the meat at all. A well made kachhe gosht ki biryani is much more flavourful.

The veg biryani was good, actually better than we expected.


But then again I was so happy with the Mirchi ka salan that comes with the Biryani and the Baghara Baingan that we had ordered. Both these were well made, true to their roots. I loved these so much I was thinking of ordering only Mirchi ka Salan and Baghara Baingan from this place the other day. Both are my favourite dishes and both were done so well.

Clearly this restaurant is a new establishment that has become popular for home deliveries. But they have not been able to fix a few things although Chef Bilal from Hyderabad supposedly has worked at Paradise (the famous Hydrabad Biryani place). He probably made salan and baghara baingan at Paradise we concluded :-) He definitely needs to fix the biryani and the desserts.

Oh I am yet to tell you about the desserts. DO NOT order desserts here is my humble advise.


The Lauki ki kheer is loaded with nuts but excessively sweet and lacks any flavour. Khubani ka meetha is just too meetha to get any flavour of khubani, even the texture is bad. Double ka meetha is a suspicious piece of dense fudge that is drowned in synthetic colour and loads of sugar like the other counterparts. In fact all three desserts were made using synthetic colours.

I gave my feedback to the chef and the manager and am hoping they will fix the desserts and the rest of the things soon. The staff is humble and courteous I must add. Service is good.

I tasted a few few really good things here and a few of the worst too. The bigger concern I have here is the claim to be a Hyderabadi Biryani place and there is nothing remotely Hyderabadi in anything we tasted, apart from the mirchi ka salan and baghara baingan.

There are better Hyderabadi biryanis in town, one is very close to our place in Old Rajinder Nagar opposite Rapid Flour Mill.


Wednesday, April 1, 2015

recipe of sepu wadi, a delectable rustic treat from Himachal Pradesh


recipe of sepu wadi

Sepu wadi is a rustic yet aromatic recipe from Himachal Pradesh, cooked mostly for wedding feasts as it is supposed to have been a recipe from the royal kitchens of Himachal Pradesh. The recipe of Sepu wadi was closely guarded by the royal cooks as I have heard some Himachali folks say but now that this wadi is available in the market even in dry form, it proves how popular it has become with everyone in the region, and with those who get to taste it. Count me in.

I used to cook sepu wadi after I had seen the recipe on one of the TV shows I used to follow long long time ago. And then I lost the recipe and used to crave for the same taste. Then I saw dry sepu wadis at Himachal stalls at trade fair and wondered if those are the same as in the TV show the wadi was made fresh.

I was puzzled about this dual identity of sepu wadi for a long time until I saw it again when it was being cooked at the home stay (Raju's Cottage) at Goshaini. Lata ji, the lady of the house cooks all meals for the guests and is a great cook. I had requested her to cook some of these Himachali dishes and she obliged. That's when I saw her soaking dry sepu wadis to cook them with spinach. The wadis are deep fried and sold in markets for convenience. A genius enterprise of the local cottage industry I must say. I had only seen dehydrated Amritsari wadis or wadis from other regions of India but deep fried sepu wadis are a step ahead regarding convenience of desi foods.

This is what I saw at Raju's cottage.

Sepu badi of Himachal

I loved the wadis cooked in spiced spinach puree and took the recipe too. Thankfully there is loads of spinach growing in the garden and needs to be used a lot.

spinach

I prefer freshly made sepu wadi as I find the texture better suited for my taste. Of course I wouldn't trust the quality of oil they use to deep fry the ready to use sepu wadis. So I make my own fresh sepu wadis. Once you have planed your work well and work on it rightly, this recipe wouldn't be so time consuming as it looks.

recipe of sepu wadi

Recipe of sepu wadi..

ingredients for the wadis...
urad daal (skinned black lentils) 1 cup to be soaked overnight
(this makes a lot of vadis for about 6-8 servings, the leftovers can be frozen for later use)
cumin seeds 2 tsp
peppercorns 2 tsp
ginger grated 1 tbsp
dry red chillies 3-4
mustard oil to deep fry the wadis

ingredients for the spinach gravy (2-4 servings)
spinach cleaned, chopped roughly and steamed 2 cups packed
yogurt 1 cup
mustard oil 2 tsp
cloves 4-5
black cardamoms 2
cumin seeds 1/2 tsp
coriander seeds 1 tsp
asafoetida (hing) a pinch
fennel powder 2 tsp
turmeric powder 1 tsp
chilli powder 1/4 tsp or more to taste
dry ginger powder 1/4 tsp
salt to taste

Procedure..

To make the wadis, you can divide the work into 2-3 days. Soak the lentils overnight and grind with the cumin, peppercorns, ginger and dry chillies without adding any water to it. Blend well so the paste gets fluffy. The paste can be left to ferment for a few hours or you can go ahead and make the wadis right away.

recipe of sepu wadi

The wadis can be made the next day and even after making them they can be refrigerated and used whenever required.

To make the wadis, boil about 2 liters of water in a deep vessel with a little salt. Make smooth balls the size of ping pong balls from the lentil paste and drop them in the boiling water. Let them all boil for about half an hour. Fish them out and let them cool down.

Once cooled, cut them into bite sized pieces and deep fry in hot mustard oil. These deep fried wadis can be refrigerated for a week or frozen for a few months to be used when required.

To make the spinach gravy, blend the spinach along with yogurt and salt and keep aside.

Mix the powder spices with a little water to make a paste and keep aside.

Heat the mustard oil and tip in the whole spices. Let them splutter and get aromatic before pouring in the powdered spices soaked in water. Mix well and let them fry till a bit fragrant.

Pour the spinach yogurt mix, add sufficient water to make the gravy of desired consistency, keeping in mind that the wadis will soak up a lot of water. You can also add water as the curry cooks.

Let the green gravy come to a boil. Add required number of wadis, 4-5 wadis per head should be enough but go by your choice. It will be good to chop the fried wadis further if they are too big or too hard.

Simmer the curry till the wadis soak up the juices and become bigger and spongier. Adjust seasoning and serve hot with plain boiled rice or rotis of your choice.

We loved it with makki ki roti more than rice.

recipe of sepu wadi

Note how this curry looks almost devoid of any oil in it. Not that it is a low fat recipe but there is not much oil even if the wadis are deep fried. The reason is that the the urad daal wadis don't soak much oil while deep frying and if we use less oil for the gravy, the overall fat percentage will not be too much. Although you can always use more oil for taste and convenience of cooking.

This sepu wadi curry is so flavourful you wont feel like having any other side dish with it. Just a few raw slices of tomatoes and onions will be great, just like the frugal desi meals we love so much.

The flavours of fennel, cloves and black cardamom is so potent in this curry and the tartness of yogurt just balances everything nicely. I like this curry slightly hot with a god chili kick but you can always tone down the heat to your preference.

Apart from the taste and texture of the wadis in this curry, I love the spinach gravy a lot. And since I have loads of spinach in the garden right now, I have been making this same gravy with boiled rajma (kidney beans) as well.

palak rajma

For the same amount of spinach gravy I add a cup of boiled kidney beans and simmer till fragrant. This becomes a filling meal with just a spoon of rice in it. I don't want to dilute the flavours I like it so much.

Cook the spinach curry sometime even if you don't have the patience to boil and deep fry the sepu wadis. You can use chickpeas or mixed lentils for this curry and see how much you like it. This will give you an idea of what flavours sepu wadi packs in.

These are some of the desi flavours that I love and you would be glad to know how healthy these meals are. Out traditional food is mostly gluten free and uses the seasonal produce so efficiently and optimally.
palak rajma

I always feel we don't need to use any produce being transported from faraway places or out of season as we can cook so much variety or flavours with just the few produce we get in every season in every place. I have experimented enough to conclude this.

Sepu wadi will remain a favourite for several reasons. Thanks to Lata ji at Raju's cottage, Goshaini for reviving sepu wadi in my kitchen.