Treats to enjoy amid Shravan

A home chef, Kalpana Talpade, shares simple recipes and tips to negotiate the holy month Shravan

Rajgira thalipeeth

Borivali-based home chef Kalpana Talpade, who is particular about fasting during the month of Shravan, says that apart from the regular sabudana khichdi and wada which are prepared during this time, the rajgira thalipeeth is one of her favourites. "It's basically an amaranth flour pancake. Most of the ingredients are easily available at home or at the local grocery stores, and it's a quick fix on the days that you're fasting," she adds.

Ingredients

• 2 cups rajgira flour
• ¼ cup roasted peanuts
• 2 potatoes
• 1 green chilli (chopped)
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• Salt to taste
• Ghee for frying

Kalpana Talpade

Method

Wash, peel and grate the potatoes. Then, keep them in water. Meanwhile, coarsely grind the roasted peanuts. Drain the grated potatoes into a bowl. Add the peanuts, green chilli, cumin seeds, salt and mix everything well. Now, slowly tip in the rajgira flour to the mix. After giving it a good stir, add a little water at a time and knead to form a soft, but firm dough. Divide the dough into eight equal parts. Take a silicon or a plastic sheet, or a banana leaf and apply some ghee on it. Press a part of the dough into a round shape with your fingers by placing it on the sheet or leaf. Heat a pan and gently place this thalipeeth on it. Sprinkle some ghee around it and let it cook till it turns golden brown; cook the other side in a similar manner. Serve the thalipeeth with curd, green chutney or loni.

Chickse

Chickse

"In Pathare Prabhu households, when we fast on Mondays (Shravani somwar), we also prepare a special sweet dish. A few of the options include sanjivrya (sweet semolina-stuffed poli), airolya, kelyachi poli, raghav das laddoo, guravlya, churma laddoo, badamachi poli and more," Talpade shares. But since most of them require special ingredients, she recommends chickse or chana dal cake, which doesn't need eggs, maida, rawa or even butter.

Ingredients

• 1 cup chana dal
• 1 cup sugar
• ¼ cup pure ghee
• ¼ cup dry fruits
• 6 to 7 cardamoms
• A pinch of nutmeg
• ¼ tsp cooking soda
• A pinch of salt

Method

Soak the chana dal in water overnight. Grind it with very little water to form a course paste. Next, powder the sugar and cardamom together. In a bowl, add all the ingredients and mix them well; keep aside some dry fruits for garnishing. Grease a baking tray with ghee and pre-heat the oven. Bake the mixture at 180 degree Celsius for an hour. Allow the cake to cool down before cutting it. Garnish with dry fruits.

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