Life 'n' Such

When I was in elementary school, one of our neighbors were from Gujarat, western part of India. She used to make this dessert made with 3 commonly found ingredients in Indian houses. Ofcourse you could jazz it up with dry fruits and stuff. But I am so lazy, I just stuck to the basic ingredients. This is my mother’s recipe for making gud papdi, which I am guessing she picked it up from our neighbor.
Not only is it delicious, and good for you, kids genuinely like to eat it. And they dont know its a healthy dessert. Shhhhhhhhh, lets just keep that to ourselves!

Here it goes.

Ingredients:

Whole wheat flour (smooth texture), 1 cup
jaggery (gud), 3/4 cup grated
unsalted butter or ghee 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp

Optional:

white poppy seeds (khus khus) about 1 tbsp
slivered almonds for garnish

Method:

Keep a small tray or a deep dish ready, but greasing the bottom with a non-stick spray or ghee. I used a 8X8 inch square glass pan.
Start by heating up the ghee/butter. Then add the flour to this. Roast on medium high flame till you get a sweet smell, and the color looks like a deeper tan/golden red.

When its nicely roasted. Turn off the heat, and add the jaggery to this. Quickly mix it.

Then put this in the greased pan, and flat it out with a spatula, or with the bottom of a smooth bowl.

Cut into little pieces, and let it cool thoroughly.

I read somewhere this stores well for upto 15 days.

Note: I made a small mistake, I got bored grating the gud, so I just put it in a ziplock bag and broke it up in small pieces with rolling pin. But later when I was mixing it in with the roasted flour it would not evenly mix in. So, next time, take the effort, and grate it!!

2 Comments | In: Dessert, Food, Indian, Recipes | | #

Do you eat only vegetarian when you are out, then you know in western countries like US, its really hard to find vegetarian dishes on the menu!

Yesterday I bumped on this really delicious vegetarian sandwich at our Bruegger’s bagels bakery. I, if you know anything about me by now, am a very very picky person, so when it comes to ordering food, it is the same way. I am sure I drive the person taking my order crazy!
But anyhow! The point is, I ordered the most delicious and satisfying sandwich ever and that too with no animal product in it!! Yeah…. victory atlast!

Okay, here is what happened at the bakery.

I wanted to order the Leonardo Da veggie (Light herb garlic cream cheese, roasted red peppers, muenster cheese, lettuce, tomato & red onion) from their menu, which is on asigo softwich.

But they had run out of asiago softwich, I have never eaten this kind of bread before, and hence was wanting to try it. So they suggested the asiago bagel. I was in no mood for eating a bagel at 3 in the afternoon, so I asked for different bread. They had plain ol’ white bread and wheat bread. So I picked wheat.

Then, I didnt want the garlic cream cheese, so I asked for hot jalapeno cream cheese. Then I wanted to eat it hot, so they suggested they would Panini it for me. For that they had to leave the lettuce out.

But boy oh boy, did this turn out great!!!!!!! The Bruegger guys should pay me for inventing this sandwich combination, and name it in my honor, ok I know I am kind of getting carried away.

So please give this a try, when you want to eat out, definitely try the Leonarda Da Veggie my style! (or the way they have it sounds great too)
To find a Brueggers near you, click here: http://www.brueggers.com/

No Comments | In: Appetizer/Snack, Food, Recipes | | #