Recipes

In Hindu religion, in its Vrat / fast / worship and festival days many special kinds of dishes are used. Recipes of many of the common dishes are given here to facilitate people to perform them well.

Baatee
Daal Baatee is a very popular dish of Raajasthaan. Daal (pulses like Moong, Urad, lentils etc) is made like an ordinary Daal. For Baatee knead 2 cups of wheat flour with enough water and 5-6 tablespoons of Ghee. Make their balls of golf ball size. Press a little bit from top keeping the ball on your palm. In India, in village, or traditionally these alls are roasted in the hot coal ashes, but in modern way they can be cooked in an oven, till they are well cooked - a little more than light brown. Take them out and dip them in Ghee and eat them with Daal. The most popular Daal to eat with Baatee is washed Urad Daal, next comes a mixed Daal of washed Urad and Chanaa Daal, next comes a mixture of three Daal - Toor (Arahar), washed Moong Daal,  and washed Chanaa Daal (in a little amount).

Chivadaa
Take some beaten rice or flat rice (Pohaa, or Chaulaa). Wash it with water. Throw its all water. Soak it in milk with sugar. Milk should be a little more than it covers Chivdaa. This is called milk Chivadaa. The other type of Chivadaa is made by soaking in yogurt. After washing it soak it in yogurt (curd). This is called yogurt Chivadaa (or curd Chivadaa). You will have to put some more yogurt as Chivadaa sucks yogurt more than milk. It becomes more in quantity also, so a little Chivadaa becomes enough. Both of these are made normally on Sharad Poornimaa day.

Chooramaa
This is also a Raajastaan dish. Baatee (see above) are made by frying the balls in hot Ghee. When they are cool, they are broken to pieces, beaten in an iron mortar with iron pestle. To keep it finer it is sieved and an equal amount of sugar and a little Ghee are mixed to it. One can make Laddoo also of this mixture.

Halavaa
Take 1 cup whole wheat flour. Fry it in at least 3/4 cup Ghee. When it is golden brown, add 3 cups of water and a little more than 2 cups of sugar. Mix it well a little bit fast so that there is no stone in it. When it starts leaving pan, take off the fire. This Halavaa s good for Naivedya on Satya Naaraayan Poojaa or on any other festival. It can be eaten on those Vrat days when there is no restriction of eating Phalahaar only, such as fast on Tuesday.

Kasaar
Kasaar is made from whole wheat flour and ground sugar. Fry 1 cup flour in 1/2 a cup Ghee until it starts smelling fried or becomes light brown in color. Take off from the heat. When it is cool, mix 1 cup ground sugar well. This dish normally used in Satya Naaraayan Vrat Prasaad along with banana pieces and Panchaamrit.

Kheer
It is like rice pudding. Boil 1/3 cup rice and milk together on low fire until The rice is cooked well soft and rice and milk are not separate. The mixture becomes thick. Mix some sugar later. You may add some cashew nuts, almonds, grated coconut, small cardamom, and raisins to it.

Kamalgattaa, or Taalmakhaanaa (seeds of lotus) can also be boiled in milk to make Kheer. This Kheer is normally eaten in Vrat (fasting days). They are broken with a knife to make small pieces and are boiled in milk until they are soft and smooth. Mix some sugar and eat it. Rice is not to be eaten in Vrat.

Khichadee
Khichadee is a Daal (pulse) and rice preparation. Take equal quantity of split Moong Daal (with or without its green skin) and rice, add water to it, at least four times of the Daal and rice combined (1 : 4), mix some salt and cook it until very soft. Mash it very well. One may add some Ghee or butter for taste and it is ready to eat.

Maal Pooaa
Maal Pooaa is a name of sweets available in the market. They are made of refined wheat flour (Maidaa or white flour). Small Poorees are fried and then dipped in syrup. After a while they are taken out of the syrup.

Meethaa Cheelaa
Take 1/2 cup of wheat flour, mix 1/2 cup sugar or jaggery and prepare a smooth paste, so that it can be spread on an Ghee-smeared Tavaa (pan) like pancake or Dosa. Surround it by some Ghee drops, after a minute, turn it, cook it from another side. Cook it also for one minute and take it off.

Meethee Pooree
Make a dough by mixing 4 tbsp sugar in 1 cup wheat flour with 2 tsp Ghee and make Pooree out of it.

Panchaamrit
This is a liquid being prepared to offer the Deity. Normally it is prepared by mixing cow dung, cow urine, cow's milk, Ghee, and yogurt; but now a days it is prepared by mixing cow's milk, Ghee, yogurt, honey and sugar (sometimes only either sugar or honey is used and the other one is replaced by Gangaa water if available). Take 1 cup milk, 1/2 cup yogurt, 2 tbsp honey, 2 tbsp sugar, 1/2 tsp melted Ghee; and mix just by hand. If one has Tulasee leaves, a few leaves broken into small pieces are also added to it. Panchaamrit is mostly used in Vishnu's worship - Satya Naaraayan Kathaa Prasaad, to bathe Shaalgraam, to bathe Vishnu's idol etc, but to worship others is also used.

Pooaa
Pooaa is made of whole wheat flour mixing with jaggery or sugar. Take one cup of flour and 3/4 cup of jaggery or sugar. Mix them with water to bring to the consistency that a Pakoraa can be made of that - means so that you can fry it in oil or Ghee making small balls. After you get the consistency, beat it with your fingers for a couple of minutes. Then make Pakoraa ot of that. Fry them till they are bit dark brown, not light brown.

Rabadee
Normally Rabadee is good from market, but it can be made at home also. To make it, take 1 quart (1 Kilo) milk and boil it on a low fire until it becomes like tomato sauce consistency. Cool it, mix sugar, small cardamom powder, sprinkle finely cut almonds and pistachio. To make it sooner one can mix some condensed milk also in the milk when it is almost ready.