Navratri ( Autumn festival of India)

 The autumn festivities begin with the nine days of Navratri, around end September or beginning October. this changes with Shukla Paksha (Hindu calendar) calendar. During this Hindus worship Goddess Durga. On the 8th day is Ashtami. That is my favorite :-)  bringing loving memories of childhood, when my parents used to worship us as little Devi and wash our feet and then we got us gifts. The food that followed was hot pooris with kale chane and sooji halwa. This combination of poori, chane and halwa is absolutely divine.

I have shared the steps of these recipes so that you too can enjoy this joy with your family and friends. Food is not only flavor but also it builds connections that connects the heart and builds memories to last forever.

Pooris, Sooji halwa, Kale channe

Kala Chana

Kala chana, is a type of chick peas that are dark brown in color, it has a nutty flavor and is very nutritious, high in minerals and fiber.

We soak them in water, overnight, and boil them the next day to prepare this dish. I like to pressure cook them to get them evenly cooked.

Since I will be preparing them for festival and pooja, there is no onions or garlic in this recipe, but this doesn't hamper the taste :)

Ingredients:

2 cups kala chane 

1 piece fresh ginger

2 to 3 thai chilies (green)

Salt to taste 

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp garam masala powder

1/2 tsp lemon juice

2 medium tomatoes pureed 

1 tsp red chilli powder

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

1 tsp cumin powder

Oil for cooking 

      

Add cumin seeds, bay leaves and red chili powder to oil

                                                                                       

Add little water to make a paste

                                                                                      

Add spice paste to the oil 

Add tomato puree 

                                                                                                  

Kale channe

Method:

1. First, wash the chana and using a medium bowl soak them overnight. Strain the soaked chana, next day.

2.  Using an instant pot or pressure cooker, add the soaked chana. Add 1 cup water, salt, ginger,

chili's, and pressure cook for 4 to 5 whistles, or for 20 to 30 minutes.

3. In a separate kadai, heat 2 tsp oil. Add cumin seeds, cloves, cinnamon stick, add tomato puree.

Stir on medium heat for few minutes. Next, season with salt, turmeric, red chili powder, cumin powder, garam masala. 

As it sizzles, add in the pressure cooked chana and continue to stir few minutes.

4. Add 1/2 cup water and allow the chana to cook with the masala for another few minutes, till kala chana appear medium consistency.

5. Close burner, add freshly chopped coriander leaves and serve hot with pooris or rice of your choice.

This dish can easily be prepared with onions and garlic too. The recipe is same, simply puree one medium sized onion and add 1 tbsp garlic paste, to the cumin seeds in the beginning. Allow the onions to turn light golden in colour before adding in the pureed tomatoes and other spices.

Poori

These round fried and puffed Indian bread is a favorite and easily liked by all. Especially fussy kids will easily start liking this and it will give them the much needed calories and iron.

The dough is prepared using wheat flour and ghee (clarified butter) and little water as we required the dough to be firm and not too soft. It is then rolled into round disc, and deep fried in oil.

Ingredients 

1 cup wheat flour

1 tsp ghee

1/2 cup water to knead the dough

1 tbsp sooji (optional, for extra crispiness)

1/2 tsp salt

                                                                

                                                                               

Fried poori 

                                                                    

Poori with kale channe and sooji 

                                                   

Method:

1. Using wheat flour, add ghee and slowly pour little luke warm water and knead a dough, that is not too soft. It should be firm to touch. Allow dough to rest covered for 10 to 12 minutes.

2. Using vegetable oil, heat a medium size kadai that is deep to hold the oil. Heat till it reaches temp of boiling point. Be careful and keep children away while frying food.

3. Divide the kneaded dough into small 7 to 8 portion round balls. Use a rolling pin, flat surface clean area, and a round portion of the dough that looks like a golf ball size. Start rolling to make a round disc shape, The thickness should be medium and then deep fried in hot oil, for few seconds on both sides to get that beautiful golden crisp color. The oil should not be smoking hot, but hot enough to fry the pooris.

4. Use the same strainer and remove each fried poori from the oil. Keep on a plate.

5. These pooris are so versatile, when we add spices, like turmeric, red chili powder, salt, ajwain seeds and knead the dough. We get masala poori. 

6. If we add chopped cleaned spinach or fenugreek leaves, finely chopped while preparing the dough, along with spices and salt, we get spinach or fenugreek pooris that will be green in color.

For now, these are plain pooris and will be enjoyed with chana and sooji ka halwa.

Sooji halwa 

Halwa is the traditional sweet we prepare during pooja or anytime one feels like having something sweet.

It pairs very well with savory Kala chana and poori. Here we have used sooji and besan to prepare the halwa or pudding. 

Ingredients

1 cup sooji ( semolina flour) I like to use the thin variety 

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup ghee

1/2 cup warm water

2 tsp small cardamom powder

1/4 tsp saffron 

1 tbsp besan flour (chickpeas flour) You can get it easily online or in Indian grocery stores.

8 to 10 soaked almonds deskinned and cut small

1 cup warm water 

                                                              

1 cup sugar 

                                                                    

                                                                                                                               

Heat a pan, add ghee, add sooji

                                                                Stir in besan (chickpea flour)

                                                                Continue stirring on medium heat

Cardamom powder

                                                                                

Add cardamom powder and continue stirring

                                         

Add sugar  

                                                                

                                                              

Add few saffron strands to the warm water and keep aside

Add saffron water (Kesar water) to the cooked sooji and stir for 
few minutes, Be careful it can be very hot. As the sooji comes together. Next, close burner

Sooji ka halwa 

                                                                                                                          

Method

1. Heat a medium kadai, add ghee. Now add sooji and stir on low to medium heat.

Next, add besan and continue stirring making sure not to let it burn but making sure the colour of sooji is now light brown. Add cardamom powder.

2. Carefully add in sugar and continue to stir for few more minutes till the sooji comes together and the 

ghee is seen on the side. Now add in water and continue stirring. 

3. Lower the gas burner and add sliced almonds and saffron strands.

4. Close burner and enjoy freshly prepared sooji halwa.

Home made bagels

 I would have never imagined that we could make bagels from the comfort of our home, until I visited my daughter in Boston, she made these delicious cheese and jalapenos bagels and rosemary bagels for us. This is something so amazing, so I had to learn and share the recipe with you'll.

We use bread flour to prepare the bagels. Bread flour is more elastic and rises well and also it gives the bagel a chewy texture. 

Bagels

Ingredients:

4 cups or 500 gms bread flour

1 teaspoon active dry yeast

1 tsp Salt 

1/2 cup warm water (not too hot)

1 tbsp Barley syrup for the yeast water 

2 tbsp Barley syrup to add to the boiling water 

100 gms Dried rosemary

1 cup shredded cheese 

1/2 cup chopped fresh jalapenos

2 tsp crushed rock salt for topping 

1 tsp baking soda 

You can use sesame seeds, black or white too as toppings

Measure yeast 

Add yeast to warm water 

Add Barley syrup to yeast water 

Active dry yeast 

Measure temperature of warm water 

Weigh bread flour for bagesl

Bread flour weighed

Add bread flour to yeast and barley water 

Prepare dough for bagel

Keep kneading the dough till medium firm and smooth

Bread flour for bagel 

Poof the flour and cover with a damp kitchen cloth 

After couple of hours, take out and divide the dough to make equal size portions

Shape each ball into a ring shape using your index finger make a hole in the middle and stretch 

Arrange prepared bagel, on a tray to keep overnight, covered, in the fridge.

Next day, take out bagesl from fridge

Boil the water for cooking bagels 

Add 2 tsp barley syrup to the water

Baking soda to add to bread flour 

Cooking bagel in water, before baking them in the oven 

Using a strainer remove each bagel 

Jalapenos for bagel as topping 

Put cooked bagel on a baking wire tray 

Add rosemary to some of the cooked bagels before baking in the oven

                                                                                      

Rosemary with rock salt Bagel 

                                                                         

Shredded cheese with jalapenos Bagel 

Method:

1. Using a medium bowl, add warm water to the bowl, add in yeast and let it stand for about 10 minutes.

Add in 1 tbsp barley syrup to the yeast water.

2. In another bowl add bread flour, add the barley yeast water to form a dough that is not too sticky and leaves the sides of the bowl. The kneaded dough should feels soft, supple and not too hard or too soft.

Cover the dough to poof, using a wet but not dripping wet kitchen cloth. Leave it aside for at least 2 hours.

3. Line two baking trays with parchment paper. 

4. Check the dough, it would have risen to double. Now using your palm punch the dough down.

Divide the dough into 8 to 10 equal portions. Using a kitchen scale, weigh each portion.

5. Roll each portion, into a small ball shape and using your index finger make a hole in the middle of each dough ball and using your fingers stretch into a circular shape. Try to make each bagel similar size to ensure even baking.

6. Line up the bagels on the parchment paper, cover with a wet kitchen towel. Leave in the fridge overnight.

7. Next day, take out the bagels. Fill out a large pot with about 1.5 liters of water. Allow it to boil well.

Add 2 tsp barley syrup carefully to the  boiling water.  Add 1 tsp baking soda to water, be careful it can splash upwards. Drop each bagel carefully in the water, for about 30 seconds on each side, you can boil 2 bagels at a time. Using a strainer, carefully take out from the water.

Preheat the oven at 350 degrees F

8. Put a tray, now add the toppings. here we added shredded cheese and chopped jalapenos.

You can add rosemary on the surface of the bagel. Now line the baking tray with parchment

paper, add the bagels and bake at 350 degrees F for 15 to 20 minutes.

9. Enjoy warm freshly baked bagels with cream cheese.  I love to enjoy them with some regular coffee too.

Chocolate chip short bread cookie

 

Last year 2025, we as a family, celebrated Christmas in LA. My son's fiance is completing her Doctor Residency and couldn't take time off in December, 2025. Hence my son felt we can all do Christmas in LA and that way all can be together.

We had lot of fun, playing board games, opening gifts and preparing dishes like chicken biryani( made by my son ) and Christmas cookies, made by my daughter.

Here I'm sharing a recipe of Christmas cookies, that are rolled (like a pinwheel) in crystal sugar, before baking them in the oven.

The fun part for making both was adjusting to an airbnb kitchen and the oven they had, didn't work that well! But the cookies turned out great!

Chocolate Chunk cookies with demerara sugar crystals 

                                                                                  

Ready to bake 

                                                                                
                                                                              
                                                                         

Ingredients:

2 sticks of unsalted butter cut into cubes

1/2 cup granulated sugar 

1/4 cup brown sugar 

1 slab of dark chocolate cut into small chunks

1 egg beaten (keep for later for an egg wash on the cookie, before baking them)

21/4 cups all purpose flour 

1/2 cup Demerara sugar (crystal golden sugar)

1 tsp vanilla essence 

1/2 tsp salt 

Method:

1. Using a medium bowl, beat both sugar with unsalted butter (butter is better, if cold) using a wooden spoon mix till it is light and creamy.

2. Next, add in vanilla essence.

3. Sieve flour and salt. Add to the creamy butter and sugar mixture. Add in chopped chocolate chunks

5. Combine the dough and make a thick roll

6. Cover and refrigerate for about an hour 

7. Using a knife cut out round 1 inch thick disc cookie. Using a baking brush dip in the beaten egg and spread onto the sides of the cookies.

8. Using a tray, spread 1/2 cup of demerara sugar and roll the sides into the sugar.

9. Lay them onto a baking sheet, that has parchment paper lined. Bake the cookies, at 375 degrees for about 25 minutes and they are nice and golden in color.

These cookies are chunky and dense and so delicious. Enjoy with family, friends with or without a cup of coffee.