Sarvana Bhavan style Sambhar
This one is specially for the tiffin (breakfast) dish which is served with Idlis, Dosas and Vadas

Ingredients
1 cup soaked and washed Lentils
1 tbspn Gram daal
1 tspn Corriander seeds
1 tspn Cumin seeds
1 tspn Fenugreek seeds
1/4th cup grated coconut
3-4 red chilies
1 big size tomato
Curry leaves
Mix vegetables (Drumstick, carrots, beans)
1 big size onion
1/4th tspn mustard seeds
1/8th tspn Asofetida
3 tbspn Gingly oil
1 tbspn Tamarind pulp
Around 2- 2.5 glasses of water

Method
1) First boil the lentils and vegetables in a pressure cooker for about 2-3 whistles
2) In a small pan , add 1 tspn gingly oil and add corriander, cummin, fengreek, red chilies, gram daal and roast them for about 1 min
3) Then grind them along with the tomato and coconut to form smooth paste
4) In a big pan add the gingly oil, add mustar and cumin seeds and let them splutter
5) Then add asofetida, chopped onions, curry leaves and saute that welll
6) Then add the paste of spices and again cook for about 1 min
7) Then add tamarind pulp and water and boil for 5 min
8) Finally add the cooked daal and vegetables and salt and cook for about 10 min
9) Serve it hot with Idlis and dosas

Lilva ni kachori

This is a lip smacking savory from Gujarat
This is made up of flour pockets filled with Green lentils called Lilva/ Tuver

Ingredients
2 cups of fresh green Lentils (Lilva/Tuver)
1 tspn ginger chili paste
1/2 tspn Amchur powder
1/2 tspn Garam Masala
salt for taste
1 tbspn raisins

For outer cover
1 cup Wheat flour
1 tspn Carom seeds
salt for taste
1 tbspn oil

! bowl Oil for frying

Method
1) First coarsely grind the green lentils
2) In a bowl add the lentils, ginger chili paste, garam masala, amchur, salt and raisins and mix well
3) Now in another bowl mix the flour, oil ,carom seeds and using 1/2 cup water make a semi stiff dough
3) divide the dough into equal sized 8 balls
4) Flatten the ball and fill a tspn of filling and seal it
5) Deep fry the kachoris at medium flame till they turn golden brown
6) Serve with Tamarind chutney

Magical Hair oil

Again my Mom's legacy. A magical hairoil indeed. Made with lots of herbs in coconut oil
Its a best oil to increase the strength, color, thickness and length of hair

Ingredients
1 ltr coconut oil
1/2 cup castor oil
2 tbspn Amla (Gooseberry powder)
250 gm Amla (Gratted raw gooseberries)
2 tbspn Brahmi powder
4 tbspn MEthi powder (Fenugreek)
4 tbspn Kalaunji powder (Kala jira)
1 cup neem leaves
1 cup Mehndi seeds (optional)

Method
1) First mix all the dry ingredients and grind them to make a powder
2) Grate the raw Amla
3) Add everything to coconut oil and castor oil in a big deep pan
4) Boil the oil for about 5-7 min till you find the bubbles
5) Cool the oil and fine drain it using double cloth
6) Store in a glass jar

Buff Vada/ Farali patice
Generally eaten during fasting days in India. I have fond childhood memories of my father buying them from a nearby shop for us and we used to relish over it.

Ingredients
2 big size boiled potatoes
1/2 cup dececated  coconut
1/4th cup peanuts(coarsely grind)
1/2 tspn chili paste
1/4th tspn ginger paste
1 tspn lemon juice
2 tbspn dry fruit mix (coarsely grind cashew, pista and almond)
salt for tast
1 tspn sugar powder
1/4th cup arrow root powder
Oil for frying

Method
1) In a bowl, mix coconut, peanuts, dry fruits, ginger, chili, salt, sugar , lemon along with about 1/2 cup mashed potato
2) In another bowl, mash the boiled potatoes and add arrowroot powder and salt to it
3) Mix well to form a smooth dough kind
4) Now make 5 equal portions of that dough
5) Roll it circle with palm
6) Flatten it and put a tbspn of mixture on it. Seal the entire outers surface
7) Make rest all balls
8) Again coat it in arrow powder
9 ) Deep fry them at medium flame till they turn golden brown

Green Pancakes
Made up of cucumber and green gram flour

Ingredient
1 cup grated Cucumber
1 1/2 cup Green gram flour
1 tspn ginger garlic paste
1/2 tspn of Green chili paste
Salt for taste
Olive oil 
1 tbspn curd

Method
1)In a bowl mix the gram flour, grated cucmber, ginger, garlic, chili and salt
2) Add curd and about 1/2 cup water as needed to make batter 
3) In a fancy pan apply some olive oil
4) Pour one ladle of batter and spread it like pancake
5) Cook for about 2 min on one side
6) Flip the pan cake and let it again cook for another 2 min
7) Serve them hot with sauce or curd or chutney or even jams

Spinach Walnut soup
A combination of multiple vitamins, magnesium, omega3

Ingredients
250 gm Spinach (washed)
1/4th cup walnuts
1 onion chopped finely
1 tspn garlic paste
1/4th tspn ginger paste
1/4th tspn chili powder
salt to taste
Pepper powder
1 cup water
1 tspn Butter
1 cinnamon stick

Method
1) Take a pan and add Butter to it
2) Turn on the stove and then add chopped onions, garlic, ginger paste, Cinnamon stick
3) Saute for 2-3 min. Then add the spinach and other ingredients along with water
4) Finally add walnut powder to it and cook it for about 3 min
5) Then grind it to make a smooth paste and again boil for 2 min.
6) Serve it hot

Strawberry Jam
No Colo...No Preservative...No Gelatin

      Ingredients

      500 Gm Fresh strawberries

      350 Ggm castor sugar

      1 tbspn lemon juice

      Method

      1) Wash the strawberries and remove the leaves

      2) Dry them on kitchen towel

      3) Cut the strawberries into small pieces

      4) In a pan add the strawberries and sugar and start cooking at medium flame for about 20-25 min

      5) Once the sugar starts bubbling, add the lemon juice and turn off the flame.

      6) Let it cool down completely and then store it in air tight jar and store in refrigerator

Nutella Chocolate flavoured dark pastry

Ingredients
1 cup all purpose flour
1/4th cup dark chocolate (grated)
1/4th cup milk
1/4 tspn baking powder
1 1/2 tbspn butter
1/2 cup sugar

For Frosting
1/4th cup Nutella spread
Ferraro balls
1/4 th cup grated dark chocolate

Some hazelnuts and strawberries for garnishing

Method
1) In a bowl beat the butter and sugar and add few drops of vanilla essence
2) to that add milk and flour
3) Add grated chocolate and baking powder and mix all the ingredients thoroughly
4) Till it forms a ribbon consistency batter
5) Pour the batter into the pastry moulds and bake at 180C for 20-25 min in a pre-heated oven
6) For frosting, melt the chocolate using double boiler method
7) To that add nutela and 1 tspn butter 
8) Now cool down the cakes and frost them using the nutela and chocolate spread
9) Garnish it using Ferraro and strawberries

Collegian Bhel
A street food made with very few elements and yet taste awesome

Ingredients
1 cup salted Peanuts (peeled preferably)
1/4 cup Sev
2 tbspn Corriander and chili chutney
1/2 cup finely chopped Onion and Tomatos
Chaat masala

Method
1) In a bowl add the peanuts
2) To that add chutney, onion, tomato and mix well
3) Add sev and chaat masala and mix well
4) Serve it 

Healthy Gujarati snack platter
1) Limbu Mari sev in mixed millet flour
2) mixed millet puri
3) brown poha chevda
4) Bajra wheat flour shakkapara made with jaggery

Ingredients

For Mixed Millet Puri
     1 cup mixed millet flour
     1 tspn Turmeric powder
     1 tspn red chili powder
     1 tspn carom seeds
     1 tspn salt
     1 tbspn oil for dough
     2 cups oil for frying
     1/2 cup water
Method
1) In a bowl mix all the dry ingredients and the 1 tbspn oil and mix well.
2) To that add water slowly and form stiff dough
3) Make equal sized small balls and roll them in puri shape
4) Poke the puris with a fork
5) Deep fry the puris at medium flame till they turn brown and crispy

For Brown Poha Chevda
     2 cups of Brown Rice flakes
     1 tbspn Grondnut
     1 tspn Turmeric powder
     1 tspn red chili powder
     Few dry curry leaves
     Salt to taste
     2 tbspn oil
     1/4 tspn asofetida
Method
1) In a pan , add oil and once it heats, add asofetida
2) Immediately, add the beaten rice flakes and other dry spices and mix well
3) Dry roast the Poha at medium flame for about 5-10 min till they become crispy and loose moisture
4) Store in airtight container



For Lemon Pepper Sev
      2 cups Gram flour
      1 cup water
      1 tspn turmeric powder
      2 tbspn pepper powder
      3-4 tbspn lemon juice
      2 tbspn oil for batter
      Salt to taste
      2 cups oil for frying
Method
1) In a big bowl, add the Gram flour and other ingredients and mix them well. Add lemon juice and pepper powder too
2) Slowly add the water and form a batter (like that of a cake)
3) In a Sev spreading machine, add the batter after greasing it
4) Heat the frying oil in a pan
5) Once the oil heats well, start spreading the sev like noodles shape and deep fry at medium flame till it becomes light brown and crispy
6) Remove and let it cool
7) Store it in airtight container


For Shakkarpare
      2 cups Bajra flour + Wheat flour
      1 cup Jaggery water
      2 tbspn oil for dough
      2 cups oil for frying
Method
1) In a bowl, add the flour, jaggery water and oil and form a stiff dough
2) Make 4 equal sized big ball 
3) Roll one ball into 10 inch circle
4) Cut in desired shape
5) In frying pan , heat the oil and start frying the shakkarpare till they turn light brown
6) Remove from frying pan and let them cool

Cocktail Mukhvas
(A combination of Sunflower seeds, Chia seeds, Flax seeds, Carom seeds)

Ingredients
1/4 cup Flax seeds
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
1 tbspn Carom seeds
1 tbspn Chia seeds
1 tspn Black Salt
1 tspn Lemon juice

Method
1) In a pan first dry roast all the seeds for about 5 min at low flame to remove the moisture
2) Then add the Blacksalt and the lemon juice and keep roasting this for 10-15 min at low flame
3) Then on a dry kitchen towel, spread the mixture and let is dry below the Fan or sunlight till the moisture of lemon evaporates
4) Store the Mouthfreshner in airtight container

Chocolate Truffles

Ingredients
500 gm Dark compound chocolate
2 tbspn Butter
1/4 cup Milk cream
Mixed nuts (optional)

Method
1) Using a double boiler method, melt the chocolate in Milk cream
2) To that add the butter and whisk it thoroughly
3) Let it cool till the ganach becomes stiff
4) Now make equal sized balls of chocolate
5) Arond 8-10 medium sized truffles can be made
6) You can add nuts of your choice

Vegan Cheese cake
(Assembled with just dry nuts and coconut milk)

Ingredients

1/2 cup Cashew nuts(soaked for an hour)
1 cup mixed nuts - Dates, Almonds and Walnuts
1/2 cup coconut milk
1/2 tspn Lemon juice
1/4 cup Maple syrup or honey
1/2 tspn Vanilla essence

Method
1) Mix the Dry nuts and grind them to make the smooth mixture
2) Lay the mixture on the bottom layer of a cheesecake mould or just a round mould
3) Now take the soaked cashew nuts, coconut milk, lemon juice, vanilla , honey and grind to make a thick smooth paste and leave it aside for 10 min till it thickens
4) Lay the cream layer on the bottom layer and let it set for 5 min
5) Refrigerate the cheese cake for about 2 hours till the top layer cheese cream sets nicely

Coffee cookies dunked in dark chocolate

Ingredients
1 cup all purpose flour
90 gm butter
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 tspn baking powder
1/4 tspn vanilla essence
1 tbspn coffee powder
2 tbspn warm milk
100 gm dark chocalate

Method
1) In a bowl , add butter and sugar and whisk it well
2) Then add flour, essence , baking powder , coffee and warm milk
3) Milk well and form a soft dough
4) Make some 10 equal sized balls out of it. Make sure that the outer surface is smooth
5) In a pre-heated oven , bake the cookies at 180C for about 15-20 min 
6) Please do not over bake them. Let them be in the oven once you switch off 
7) Using double boiler method, melt the dark chocalate
8) Dip the cookies in the chocolate and give any desired design on it
9) Let it cool and store in air tight jar

Paneer Potlis

Ingredients
100 gm Paneer/ cottage cheese
1 tspn Ginger Garlic paste
1 tspn green chilies
Salt for taste
1/4 tspn Amchur powder
1/2 tspn Chaat masala
1 small sized Chopped onion
2 tbspn butter
Oil for frying
1/2 cup All purpose flour
1/4 tspn Carom seed
Water as needed to make stiff dough

Method
1) In a pan, add 1 tbspn butter and to that add chopped onions, ginger, garlic and chili paste and saute well
2) Then add crumbled paneer and add turmeric, amchur, chat masala, salt and turn off the stove 
3) Add some chopped Corriander
4) For dough, mix the APF, 1 tbspn butter, carrom seeds, salt and make a stiff dough
5) Take a tiny sized balls from dough and roll it circle
6) Stuff with a spoon of paneer filling and seal it like potli
7) Deep fry the potlis till they turn brown ans crisp
8) Serve them hot with Tomato sauce or any other dip