Fada Ni Lapsi ( Broken Wheat )

Lapsi is a popular Gujarati dessert. It is comprised of roasted and cooked broken wheat sweetened with gur (jaggery) and flavored with cardamon powder. It is a traditional recipe loved by adults and children alike. This is one of the sweets we make during the festival of Diwali and also on any auspicious occasion. Lapsi is one of my favorite sweets and I have it with red chora (also known as red chori, red cow peas, etc). Here is a very simple and easy recipe to make Lapsi.

Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 40 minutes
Servings: 4

Ingredients:

• 1 cup broken wheat (dalia/ fada)
• 1 cup jaggery (gur)
• 1/2 teaspoon cardamon powder
• 3 tablespoons blanched and sliced almond
• 1/4 cup ghee
• 3 cups of water (if you are using bigger size broken wheat, then use four cups of water)

Directions:

1. Boil three cups of water in a pan with grated jaggery until the jaggery melts. Strain to remove any residue and set aside.
2. Heat ghee in a pan or kadai and add the broken wheat. Sauté for a few minutes on medium-low heat.
3. Roast the broken wheat until you get an aroma and the color changes to golden brown.
4. Pour in the boiled jaggery mixture along with cardamom powder. Stir continuously. Cover with a lid and cook on medium-low heat until the water evaporates and ghee oozes out from the sides of the pan.
5. Garnish with blanched and sliced almond. You may also use pistachio if you prefer.
6. Serve hot with red chora.

Notes:  You may also cook using a pressure cooker on medium flame for four whistles.

Stuffed Sweet Peppers

For this dish, you should get sweet peppers - not bell peppers/ capsicum. This will affect the taste quite a bit. Sweet peppers are softer and sweeter than bell peppers. These stuffed sweet peppers make for a nice accompaniment to any Indian meal and you may also stuff the sweet peppers with cheese, paneer, or potatoes to make a perfect appetizer dish as well. In the following recipe, I will describe making stuffed sweet peppers with everyday spices and gram flour. The taste of your meal will amplify serving these stuffed sweet peppers!

Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 10 minutes
Servings: 4

Ingredients:

• 8 sweet peppers (red, yellow, orange and/or green in color - variety will look more appealing)
• 2 tablespoons roasted gram flour
• 2 teaspoons dhanajeera/ cumin, coriander powder
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
• Pinch of hing/ asafoetida 
• 1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon amachur/ mango powder
• 1/2 teaspoon garam masala
• 1 teaspoon whole fennel
• 4 tablespoons of oil plus 1 tablespoon for masala
• Salt to taste

Directions:

1. Wash the peppers and pat dry. Make a slit lengthwise in a pepper keeping it joined on the other side. Cut all peppers similarly. (Removing the stalk is optional)
2. Roast the gram flour on low flame in a nonstick pan until it gets fragrant. Remove the flour from the pan to a bowl. Add salt, garam masala, dhana-jeera powder, turmeric powder, mango powder, garam masala and one teaspoon oil. Mix well.
3. Stuff the slit peppers with this masala from the open side. Press it gently thereafter to compact.
4. Add oil in a pan/(kadai) on medium-low heat.  Once hot, add mustard seeds. When they start to crackle, add cumin seeds and fennel seeds. Then, add hing and place the stuffed peppers on the pan and cover. Cook for 2-3 minutes on low flame.
5. Keep tossing and flipping until all sides are cooked. Then, take them out onto a plate.
6. Serve the stuffed peppers with your meal(s) and enjoy!

Gatta Nu Shaak

Gatta nu shaak is made using a yogurt based gravy and dry masalas to create a mouth-watering dish. It is a traditional dish from the Indian state of Rajasthan. The gram flour gattas are steamed prior to being cooked. This entree will complement any meal. You may enjoy this dish with roti, batti or plain rice.

Preparation Time: 5 minutes
Cooking Time: 40 minutes
Servings: 4

Ingredients:

For Gatta:

• 1 1/2 cups gram flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoon reds chilli powder
• Pinch of asafoetida 
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 1 teaspoon dhana-jeera powder
• 1 teaspoon roasted and crushed dhana (coriander seeds)
• 1/4 teaspoon roasted and crushed whole black pepper 
• 2 1/2 teaspoons oil
• 1 tablespoon fresh coriander leaves, chopped 
• Salt to taste

For Gravy:

• 1 1/2 cups yogurt
• 2 tablespoons ghee or oil
• 1 tablespoon red chili powder
• 1 teaspoon dhanajeera powder
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
• 1 dry red chilli
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
• Pinch of asafoetida 
• 1 tablespoon chopped mint leaves
• 1 cup water
• Salt to taste

Directions:

1. In a bowl, mix gram flour, red chili powder, turmeric powder, dhana-jeera powder, crushed coriander seeds, crushed black pepper, oil, asafoetida and salt. Mix well add a little water to make it into a dough. 
2. Divide the "dough" into balls and roll out into thin rods similar to a long cylinder. Repeat for the remaining dough. 
3. Place water to boil ( 6 to 7 cups) gently dip the ghattas and keep boiling. Cover pot half with lid. Boil it for 20 minutes, stirring once or twice in between. Add more water if required. 
4. Remove gatta from pot and slice it into 1/4" thick pieces. Save the drain water for later use.
5. Make a paste of masalas in 1/2 cup water.
6. Heat the ghee or oil in a pan, add seeds, when they crackle , add hing and dry red chilli. add masala paste and stir for 2 to 3 minutes.. Add  yogurt and stir continuously till boil resumes and whiteness of curds is gone. 
7. Add saved water (approximately 1 cup )) and bring back to boil. When boiling, add gatta and simmer on low for 10 minutes or till gravy is a little thick. Add 1 tablespoon chopped mint leaves ans simmer for one minutes. ( you can also use dry mint powder, instead of fresh mint )
8. Garnish with fresh coriander leaves. 
9. Serve hot with rotis, batti or rice.