Instant Khaman Dhokla

Guests are coming over on a short notice, or you feeling to have snack that is easy and mess free to make? Why not make a healthy snack Khaman Dhokla, which is satisfying not only for your stomach but less time consuming. Instant Khaman Dhokla – a nutritious and irresistible Gujarati snack. Khaman Dhokla is prepared with gram flour, mixed with spices and steamed till its soft and fluffy. so let's start making it...


INGREDIENTS:

• Besan, 1 cup (250 gms)
• Sooji, 1-2 tblspn (optional)
• Green chillies, chopped finely, 2
• Lemon juice, of 1/2 lemon
• Turmeric, 1/2 tspn
• Salt, as per taste
• Coriander leaves, finely chopped, 2 tblspn
• Eno Fruit Salt, 1 sachet
• Oil, 1 tblspn

For Tempering

• Oil, 2-3 tblspn
• Curry leaves, 5-6
• Mustard seeds, 1 tspn
• Green chillies, 2 slit half

Serves: 3-4

Recipe Type: Snack

RECIPE:

• Take a deep vessel, in which you can put your batter pan inside, it should fit inside well, leaving sides of the vessel.
• Put 2-3 cups of water and keep it on medium flame.
• Meanwhile, Make a thick batter of besan adding little water at a time. The consistency should be like of cake batter.
• Add lemon juice, coriander leaves, salt, green chillies, turmeric and oil. Beat it very well.
• Grease a plate or a pan with oil, in which you are going to steam the dhokla.
• Now, add eno fruit salt to the batter, it will become frothy, mix it well and immediately pour it to the greased pan.
• Put a stand or some small plate in the vessel of water, on which you can place your pan.
• Now put the batter pan or plate inside the vessel, on that stand. Cover it.
• Steam for about 10 mins.
• Take a toothpick or folk, isnert it in the mid to check if its done, if the stick or folk comes out clean it means its done.
• Take out, let it cool, then take out on a serving plate. 
• For tempering, heat oil in a small pan.
• When its hot, add musturd seeds.
• Add curry leaves, add green chillies.
• When its tempered well, spread it all over the dhokla in the plate. Now cut the dhokla into squares.
• Garnish with coriander leaves.
• Serve with green chutney, imli chutney or just ketchup.

Note:

• The batter should be mixed well and beated well to make a spongy dhokla.
• Add fruit salt, just before adding it to the greased pan, dont let it sit for long.
• The pan or plate you are using should be wide and double in size as khaman rises after steamed.
• You can add a little sugar for that, sweet spicy taste.

Homemade Face & Body Scrubs DIY

One of the key steps to having radiant, younger looking skin is to get rid of old, dry, dead skin cells. And the best way to do that, of course, is to exfoliate. Here are the best natural exfoliants and DIY homemade facial scrubs. And the best part is you have almost everything you need in your kitchen!


WHY WE NEED TO EXFOLIATE:

New skin cells are created in the skin’s inner layer. As they form, the dead skin cells are pushed to the outer layer of the skin. These dead cells gradually flake off. But some of them hang on for too long, making your complexion look dull & rough and clogs your pores causing acne & other blemishes. Exfoliating the skin removes these dead cells.

It is important not to forget to exfoliate your body.

The beauty industry has a million products that will exfoliate your skin. Products that contain plastics, irritating fragrances, glycerin, parabens, phthalates and other questionable ingredients. These commercial products can do a lot of damage to the delicate facial skin.
The good news is that you can make your own simple exfoliating face scrubs at home, really easily!


TOP NATURAL BODY SCRUBS:

1. RICE FLOUR, MILK & TURMERIC

     For me, the rice and milk scrub is on top. Rice is full of antioxidants and milk as we all know is great for soft and supple skin, turmeric adds glow to your skin, thus all making a fully beneficial scrub for face and body.

• Take 2-3 tblspn of rice flour, if you dont have rice flour you can grind rice in a grinder until it turns fine powder.
• Add 2-3 tblspn of milk, 1/2 tspn of turmeric.
• Mix this mixture, until it forms a paste.
• Now scrub gently on your face in circular motions, and scrub your body too.
• Keep it on for 5 mins and wash it away with water. Do this once a week for soft and supple skin.
• Great for every skin type.

 2.  SUGAR, COCONUT OIL & LEMON SCRUB

Coconut oil is rich in its properties and great for skin and hair, while lemon is full of vitamin C and we all know the benefits of vitamin C to our skin.

• Take 2-3 tblspn of sugar granules, add any of your favorite oil (coconut, olive, almond etc), add 2 drops of lemon juice. Mix them all well.
• Scrub gently over face & neck in circular motions then wash as usual.
• Good for normal skin, dry skin people can skip lemon juice.

  3. HONEY & OATMEAL SCRUB

Honey is full of antioxidants, anti bacterial and the best moisturizer for any skin type. Oatmeal is gentle and has anti inflammatory properties.

• Take 2-3 tblspn of oatmeal, add honey to form a thick paste.
• Apply it over clean face and neck, keep for 5 mins and wash with water.
• Do this once a week.
• Great for normal to dry skin.

   4. TOMATO & SUGAR SCRUB

Tomatoes are rich source of lycopene, which acts as an antioxidant that helps in preventing wrinkles by maintaining elasticity of your skin and also protect it from harmful sun rays. Sugar acts as a natural scrub. 

• Take one tomato, puree it.
• Mix 2 tspn of sugar granules.
• Massage over face and neck in gentle motions.
• Let it dry then wash away.
• Good for normal to oily skin.

  5. SEA SALT or BAKING SODA & ROSE WATER

Sea salt is full of trace minerals that rejuvenate your skin, stimulate cell growth and rose water gives soft skin. If you don't have sea salt, you can use baking soda instead, its whitening effect is known to all.

• Take 2 tblspn of sea salt or baking soda, add sufficient rose water or normal water and mix.
• Scrub over face & neck then wash as usual.
• Try these Homemade Face Packs after scrub for clean, soft and glowing skin.

Notes:

• Exfoliating your face in moderation can make skin brighter and softer.People with skin issues such as hives or sensitive skin should check with their dermatologist before using anything on face.

• Too much of anything isn't good for you. You should scrub not more than once a week. 

• Younger people tend to have oilier skin and will be able handle more scrubbing. People with more mature skin will have a thinner skin and will need to do less. 

• Dont be harsh on your skin, scrub very gently, and avoid area around eyes as its very delicate.

•  Choose scrubs according to your skin's need, if you need to moisture your skin, choose honey, milk kind of ingredients. 

•  If you want to get rid of oiliness, choose lemon, tomato ingredients.

Chole Bhature

A Punjabi dish which is popular and loved by all indians. A chole bhature is a dish made of chickpeas and served with poori like bhature. Mouthwatering and delicious!



INGREDIENTS: CHOLE

• Chickpeas/kabuli chana, 1/2 kg 

• Onions, 2-3 finely chopped 

• Tomatoes, 3 big (made into purée) 

• Turmeric, 1/2 tspn 

• Green chillies, 2-3 

• Ginger-garlic paste, 1 tblspn 

• Red chilli powder, 1 tblspn 

• Coriander leaves, 1/2 cup  

• Oil, 2-3 tblspn 

• Salt, as per tatse 

• Lemon juice, 1-2 tblspn 

•  Amdchur powder, 1/2 tspn

Ingredients to be ground into a fine powder:

• Cinnamon stick, 1 1/2
• Cloves, 3
• Black pepper, 3-4
• Bay leaf, 1
• Whole Coriander/coriander powder, 1 tblspn
• Cumin seeds, 1/2 tspn
• Red chilli flakes/red chilli powder, 1/2 tspn
• Shahi jeera, 1/2 tspn
• Cardamom, 2

Grind all these ingredients into a fine powder, and our chole masala is ready. If you already have store bbought chole masala you can skip this step.

Serves: 4-5
Category: Veg
Recipe Type: Main Course

RECIPE: CHOLE

• Wash and soak kabuli chana overnight.
• Now in a pressure cooker add the soaked chana straining its water, and add fresh water just so it covers the chana.
• Cook till 4-5 whistles on medium flame.
• Cool down and keep aside.
• Now in a big wok or vessel, add oil.
• When oil is hot, add cumin seeds, let it splutter.
• Add onions and fry till golden brown.
• Add Ginger-garlic paste and saute over low flame.
• Now add the tomato purée. And saute over high flame for few mins.
• Lower the flame, cook for about 3 mins.
• Add grounded chole masala, red chilli powder, turmeric, amchur powder, few chopped coriander leaves. Mix it well and cover it for 2 mins.
• When the gravy starts to leave oil from sides, add the chole i.e chana with its water.
• Cook for 2-3 mins over high flame then lower the flame and cook for about 7 mins.
• Add salt, green chillies slit into half, lemon juice and remaining coriander leaves.
• Serve hot with bhature.

INGREDIENTS: BHATURE

• Maida, 1/2 kg
• Sooji, 1/2 cup
• Oil or melted ghee, 2 tblspn
• Salt, 1/2 tspn
• Oil, to fry

RECIPE: BHATURE

• Take maida flour into a wide utensil.
• Add sooji, add oil or ghee and salt to tatse.
• Knead the dough adding little water at a time.
• It shouldn't be too soft or too hard, it should be stiff.
• Now take a small portion of it and roll it into a small circle. Make such circled bhature with all the dough and keep it covered.
• Meanwhile, take a big wok, add sufficient oil to fry the bhatures.
• Fry the already rolled bhatures one by one.
• Take them out on a paper so the extra oil is removed.
• Serve hot with chole.

Notes:

• Chickpeas or kabuli chana should get tendered well, when you press it with your finger it should mash and shouldn't feel like a bite in it.
• Adding freshly grounded masala enhances the taste.
• Adding amchur powder is optional, but it tatses good.
• If maida is too heavy for your stomach, you can make pooris of wheat flour, not much difference you'll feel.

Masala Khichdi

Masala Khichdi is a different variant of khichdi, a healthy and full packed nutritious meal ideal for lunch or dinner with step by step pictures is given below...



INGREDIENTS:

• Rice, 2 cups
• Toovar dal (yellow lentils), 1/2 cup
• Moong dal, (green lentils), 1/2 cup
• Onions, 1-2 finely chopped
• Peanuts, 1/4 cup
• Green chillies, 2-3
• Ginger-garlic paste, 1/2 tblspn
• Turmeric, 1/2 tspn
• Coriander powder, 1/2 tblsp 
• Coriander leaves, chopped, 1/2 cup
• Bay leaf, 1
• Cumin seeds, 1/2 tblspn
• Cloves,2-3
• Cinnamon, 1 stick
• Black pepper, 1-2
• Oil+ghee, 2 tblspn
• Salt, as per taste

Serves: 2-3

Recipe Type: Main Course

RECIPE:

• Firstly, wash rice, toovar dal, moong dal together, and soak them in water for about 15 mins.
• Take a deep vessel, add ghee+oil.
• When its hot, add cumin seeds, when it splutters, add bay leaf, cinnamon, cloves, black pepper. And fry for few seconds.
• Now add onions and fry till translucent.
• Add green chillies, Ginger-garlic paste, turmeric powder, coriander powder and fry for 2 mins.

• Now add soaked rice, straining its water.
• Fry for few mins.
• Add peanuts.

• Add 5-6 cups of water.
• Add coriander leaves, salt. Mix well.

• Cook till all the water dries and give it a dum i.e covering it with a lid till air evaporates from sides.
• Serve it with Curd chutney.

Notes:

• You can add any vegetable of your choice to give it a variation.

Curd Chutney

Curd chutney can be served with many dishes, specially it tastes great with Biryani,  Taharior Khichdi so lets quickly look at the recipe with pictures...

INGREDIENTS:

• Curd, 1 cup
• Cumin seeds, 1/2 tspn
• Black pepper, 2-3
• Green chillies, 2
• Coriander leaves, 1/2 cup
• Lemon juice, 1 tspn
• Salt, as per taste

RECIPE:

• Beat the curd well. Keep aside.

• Now in a grinder, add cumin seeds and black pepper, grind it to a fine powder.
• Now in the same jar, add coriander leaves, green chillies, 1-2 tblspn og water and grind.
• Add this paste to the beaten curd. Mix well.
• Add lemon juice ad salt.

• Serve cool.

Tips:

• You can just grind cumin seeds black pepper and green chillies together and add coriander leaves, cutting it finely to the curd later, as after grinding coriander leaves it becomes little sour. Thats why lemom juice is added to combat its taste.
• You can also add barista i.e crispy golden fried onions, it gives a nice flavour.

Achari Gosht

Mutton cooked with the Asian achari masala and topped with lemon juice is a treat to eaters! Lets look at the delicious recipe of Achari Gosht...



Ingredients:

• Mutton 1/2 kg
• Red chilli powder, 1 tspn
• Curd, 250 ml
• Ginger-garlic paste, 1 tspn
• Green chilies, 1-2 finely chopped
• Onion 3-4 fried into barista
• Tomatoes, 3 finely chopped
• Lemon juice, 2 tspn
• Garam masala powder, 1 tspn
• Oil, 3 tblspn
• Shahi jeera, 1/2 tspn
• Cloves, 3-4
• Cinnamon stick, 1
• Black cardamom, 1-2
• Bay leaf, 1
• Salt, as per your taste
• Coriander leaves, to garnish
• Eggs, 1-2 to garnish while serving (optional)

Ingredients to be made into a fine powder:

• Fenugreek seeds, 1/2 tspn
• Coriander seeds, 1/2 tspn
• Dried red chillies, 2-3
• Mustard seeds, 1/2 tspn
• Cumin seeds, 1/2 tspn
• Fennel seeds, 1/2 ttspn

Serves: 4-5

Recipe Type: Main Course

RECIPE:

• Wash mutton thoroughly, take into a wide dish.
• Add well beaten curd, Ginger-garlic paste, salt, few drops of lemon juice, few coriander leaves, 1 tblspn of oil, mix them well. keep it in the refrigerator for upto 2 hours.
• Meanwhile, grind all the ingredients given in the powder ingredients list. Keep aside.
• Fry onions golden brown, just like you fry them for biryani.
• Now, take a heavy bottomed wok, add oil.
• Add all the whole garam masala, fry for 30 secs.
• Add mutton, stir over high flame for 5-7 mins.
• Add tomatoes, mix all well on high flame.
• Now add the powdered masala, red chilli powder, garam masala powder, green chillies, and stir continuously.
• When all the masala and mutton is mixed well, it takes around 15 mins or more.
• Keep the wok covered for 10-15 mins.
• When the masala leaves the oil, add fried onions, few drops of lemon juice.
• Cook till mutton is tender. It will take less time as we have marinated it for long time.
• Adjust the consistency to your preference, it is usually a thick gravy kind of. Add salt.
• Serve topping with some lemon juice, egg slices and coriander leaves, goes yummy with parathas.
• Enjoy! 🍜

Notes:

• Remember to cook the masala well.
• Cook initially over high flame then reducing when its all mixed well and the raw smell of it goes away.

Khadi Herbal Amla and Reetha Shampoo Review

Khadi is a well known brand and is famous for its chemical free range of products. I was in real need for shampoo which reduces hair fall, prevents premature greying and after going through Google I decided to go with the Khadi Herbal Amla and Reetha Shampoo. Its been about a month I bought this online but wanted to review only after seeing its effects. So let's review the shampoo...
Price 130-150 rs for 210 ml

Packaging:

Khadi packs all its products in the same way. A bottle with a flip top and a simple label. The packaging is simple with no huss fuss, and the flip top with the little hole which lets you take only the required amount of shampoo. The packaging is not that travel friendly as it comes in 210 ml bottle and is little bulky.

Active Ingredients:

Amla, Reetha, Bhringraj, Harathki, Neem base.

Texture:

The consistency is neither thick or runny. The shampoo is dark green in color. It does not produce much foam may be because of its 'chemical free' herbal thing.

My Experience:

The Khadi Herbal Amla and Reetha Shampoo, though it does not produce much foam and thus it can be required a little more amout than usual shampoos to lather all over the head, BUT it does cleanses the scalp well, leaving it clean.
It reduced my hair fall upto 50% within 5-6 washes. Though you may not see the effects immediately but it does work if used consistently. I have noticed no dandruff in my scalp since I started using this shampoo. Plus it says it prevents premature hair greying which is a bonus point in this price range, as we all know in todays time the dirt, pollution and other chemical products cause premature greying problems even in teenagers, so I have to see its effects yet on that part.
To sum up I would say, its The shampoo if you are looking for herbal and chemical free shampoo.  Its a mild shampoo for regular use. And 210 ml for this price is not at all bad, even after 5-6 washes the bottle still looks full 👻

Pros:

• Cleanses scalp well.
• Chemical free (herbal).
• Prevents dandruff.
• Reduces hair fall.
• Decently priced.

Cons:

• Khadi products are available only through online sites and at khadi stores. Not on other stores.

Will I recommend it?

You should give it a try once.