Ganpati Bappa Moraya!

Yesterday was Ganesh Chaturthi, the auspicious day when Lord Ganesha comes to our home and showers His love & blessings upon us! Everyone is happy, excited, ecstatic to greet their favorite God. Nobody is left out of the fervor and festivities. And I mean NOBODY!
That includes Rain God too. It was raining the whole day yesterday, as if the rains were washing and cleaning everything to welcome Ganpati Bappa.
I was sitting in my balcony watching the rains and sipping tea and observing things in general, around. That's when I noticed two young girls on the road, one carrying an idol of Ganpati Bappa and the other with puja ingredients in her hand. Another woman behind them was carrying some decoration items. The glee and excitement on their face was visible even from my 3rd floor balcony.
I was just observing them when I noticed that they turned towards a construction site opposite to my house. Wondering where they were headed, I continued watching them. They headed to one of those temporary houses, made of tin sheets, that belonged to the site workers. One of the girls went inside and brought aarti thali to welcome the Lord of Wisdom in their house. I was overwhelmed at how peacefully the festivities had graced a temporary house amidst all the dhol-tasha & DJ banging for Bappa's arrival.
Maybe next year, those girls won't be here. They might be at another construction site with their families and the 'temporary houses'. But I'm sure the Lord will grace their homes with the same fervor and gaiety.
May Ganpati Bappa shower His blessings on everyone.
Ganpati Bappa Moraya!

Image source: Google

Tricolor

As our 71st Independence Day nears, I start getting the patriotic vibes. These vibes reached my kitchen and I made a tricolor salad using simple ingredients available in my kitchen.

Here I have used grated carrot, onion & coriander.
Share your tricolor foods too...
Happy Independence Day! 

Kothimbir wadi

In winter, when kothimbir (dhaniya/ sambhar/ coriander) is available in ample, we often make pudachi wadi in Vidarbha. But here in Pune side, I came to know of a different version of kothimbir wadi. I hadn't tasted it until my sister's MIL made it for my baby shower. And OMG! I loved it...
Yesterday I got a fresh bunch of coriander for 10 Rs and immediately decided to give it a go.

Clean a bunch of fresh and green coriander leaves. Wash well so as to remove all the dirt in it. Spread the washed leaves on a thin cotton cloth to dry.
After it dries well, chop the coriander finely. Take the chopped coriander in a bowl, add salt, red chilly powder, turmeric powder, coriander & cumin powder, white sesame seeds, 1 teaspoon oil and a little bit of sugar. Add all the ingredients as per your taste, mix well and keep the mixture aside for 15 minutes.
Now, you will find that the mixture has become wet. We will now add besan (gram flour) to this accordingly, adding only a bit of water if needed. Roll it into a tight dough, oiling your hands.
In the pressure cooker, keep water for boiling. The water should not be less, or else the cooker bottom will burn. Take a utensil that fits in the cooker and grease it with oil. Put the coriander rolls in this utensil & put it inside the cooker. Put on the lid of the pressure cooker without the whistle and let it steam for 20 minutes.
Let the rolls cool down & then cut it into thin slices. Now deep fry or shallow fry these slices as per your liking. You can also have the steamed wadis if you are counting the calories.
Enjoy hot, crispy, fried kothimbir wadis with ketchup!