Two food blogger moms share recipes from their home states to make cooped-up cooking simpler
Welcome to the new normal. Spending 24X7 at home and eating a variety of snacks from the kitchen now seems routine. Since a majority of us are working from home, it-s even more tempting to get up and rummage through the fridge every 10 minutes. Two mommies, who have long been food bloggers, come to the rescue.
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Bharati Mhatre, a Navi Mumbai resident, started the YouTube channel, Simply Swadisht, in May 2017. The Maharashtrian homemaker has been cooking for her joint family for 17 years. "They are all food critics, including my two kids. I get daily feedback. One day, when I thought my love for cooking had got serious, I decided to start my own channel," says Mhatre, 38.
But unlike other home chefs, Mhatre has stuck to sharing recipes from the Agri community, an ethnic group native to Mumbai. "My family is always my priority. And each member has a new demand every day. My day begins with preparing snacks for each of them. Finally in the afternoon, post lunch, I have about two hours to set up a tripod in the kitchen and film a recipe for my channel. Because I am always on the go, my recipes, too, are for people who don-t have much time to spare. They are easy and can be made in as less as 30 minutes," she adds.
Bharati Mhatre and Poonam Rajhans
Mhatre-s YouTube channel has 625K subscribers, with 900 followers on Instagram. She uploads two new videos every week.
Jharkhand-based Poonam Rajhans, too, has been sharing quick and easy recipes on the Instagram page, Mummy the connoisseur. "My daughter, Pratidhee, insisted that I start sharing all recipes on social media. I told her, I am doing what every other mother is doing out there for her family. What-s the big deal? But given that our friends and families had already been praising my cooking, it only made sense to share some of my secrets with others. I said, okay," laughs Rajhans, 44.
While her daughter handles the page, Rajhans is the one who makes the final dish look delectable after spending hours working on it. "I am an MBA and only started cooking after I got married. It-s not really rocket science; some of my recipes can be made even by amateurs within 20 minutes," she says.
Rajhans shares two of her favourite dishes, aloo khas tikki and dalpuri. "Khas khas is widely used in Jharkhand and has nutritional value. These tikkis are commonly prepared in our kitchens. Similarly, dalpuri is famous in Bihar. Eating one puri keeps you going for hours."
Mhatre, on the other hand, recommends making rava coconut cake and sukka chicken curry. "Rava coconut cake is for those who want to devour an afternoon snack. And can be made with basic ingredients on the shelf. You don-t even have to break quarantine norms for it."
Follow Simply Swadisht: https://www.instagram.com/simplyswadisht/channel/
Follow Mummy the connoisseur: https://www.instagram.com/poonam.rajhans/
Dalpuri
Ingredients
1 cup chana dal, soaked overnight
2-3 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp red chilli powder
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp cumin powder
½ tsp garam masala
1 tsp fennel seeds, coarsely ground
½ tsp aamchur
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 bay leaf
1 black cardamom
2 cups wheat flour
2-3 tbsp oil
Butter/ghee for roasting the paratha
Salt
Method
Pressure cook chana dal with one cup water, bayleaf, black cardamom and salt for two whistles. Strain out the extra water. Mash this a bit. Take a kadhai, add oil, add cumin seeds. Add coriander powder, cumin powder, turmeric powder, red chilli powder. Add this to mashed dal. Add garam masala, fennel powder and aamchur. Check if the salt is right to taste. Your stuffing is now ready. To make the parathas, make the dough and make small cups to add the filling. Now roll this into parathas. Add oil to the pan and roast the paratha on low flame.
Agri sukka chicken
Ingredients
1 kg chicken
2 big-sized onions
2 tsp dry roasted coconut roast dry coconut directly on flame till the outer layer turns slightly dark. Slice it and then grind
30 crushed garlic cloves
1 inch crushed ginger
6 tsp Agri red chilli powder
1.5 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp garam masala powder
3 bay leave
3 cardamom
4 black peppercorn
4 cloves
Oil
Salt
Method
Marinate chicken with 3 tsp red chilli powder, 1 tsp turmeric powder and 1 tsp salt. Rest it for 30 minutes. Heat 4 to 5 tbsp oil, add whole spices. Add chopped onion and fry it till it becomes translucent. Add crushed garlic and ginger. Saute for few seconds. Add 3 tsp red chilli powder and ½ tsp turmeric powder. Mix well. Add marinated chicken. Cover with lid and cook on low flame for 5 minutes. Add garam masala powder and salt. Mix and again cover with a lid and cook for 10 minutes. Add ground coconut. Cook for 5 more minutes. Serve with rice and bhakri.
Aloo khas tikki
Ingredients
4 medium sized boiled potato
1 big sized onion
2 tbsp cottage cheese
1 inch grated ginger
2-3 green chillies
Chopped coriander
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp red chilli powder
2 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp chaat masala
½ tsp garam masala
2 tbsp oil
2 tbsp ghee/butter for roasting
1 tsp cumin seeds
Pinch of asafoetida
Pinch of sugar
Salt to taste
For coating: 2 tbsp bread crumbs and 2-3 tbsp poppy seeds
Method
Take a pan and add oil. Add cumin seeds and a pinch of asafoetida and onions. Stir till the onions are golden brown. Now, add grated ginger and chopped green chillies. After you roast this mixture for 2-3 minutes, add coriander powder, cumin powder, red chilli powder and salt. Saute this for 3-4 minutes. Add mashed potatoes. Mix it well and add cottage cheese, garam masala, chaat masala, chopped coriander and pinch of sugar to it. Add bread crumbs to bind all of this together. Make tikkis out of it and roll them on poppy seeds. Now add butter/ghee to the pan and roast the tikkis. Serve with green chutney or ketchup.
Rava coconut cake
Ingredients
1 cup semolina
1 cup fresh grated coconut
1 cup curd
1 cup sugar
¼ cup milk
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp vanilla essence
Sliced almonds
Ghee to grease tin
Method
Mix semolina, coconut, curd and sugar. Let the mixture rest for 30 minutes. Add milk for flowing batter. Add baking powder, baking soda and vanilla essence. Add chopped nuts and mix well. Grease cake tin with ghee. Pour the batter and garnish with slice almonds. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes on stove. Preheat pot or deep pan for 10 minutes. Place the tin on a metal stand. Cover it and bake on low flame. Once done, cool it and demould.
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