Halwa-in-a-Hurry

Here is a quick way to make Halwa if you're in a bind. Halwa is a North Indian/Middle Eastern dish.

Ingredients

4 small or 2 big zucchinis(green)
8 oz of ricotta cheese
pinch of cardamom powder
blanched almonds
2 table spoons of sugar
1/2 a stick of butter

Peel and grate the zucchinis. Make sure they are tender and not old or overripe.
Put them in a microwave-safe bowl and cook for 5 minutes.
Stir it as you add the ricotta cheese, the butter and sugar.
These days, I use fructose instead of sugar because then my diabetic friends can still eat
it without fear.
Microwave for another 10 minutes, but take it out every 2-3 minutes and re-stir.
Let it cool and add the cardamom powder and almonds on top for a garnish.
Done.

Mango Chitra-Anna (Mixed Rice)

Serving for 4 people
Total preparation time is 20 minutes
Ingredients
2 cups of rice
3 cups of water
one raw mango
2 table spoons of peanuts
1/4 mustard
pinch of Asafoetida
1/4 bunch of cilantro
2 table spoon of olive oil
4 green chillies
pinch of turmeric
salt to taste
Peel the mango, grate it and keep it aside.
Wash and cut green chillies and chop the cilantro.
Cook 2 cups of rice with 3 cups of water. Once the rice is cooked put it in a wide tray and let it cool. In a skillet fry 2 table spoons of peanuts about 3 minutes in the oil, until it turns a golden color, then keep it aside. Add mustard, asafoetida and let it splutter. Then add the green chilies. After a couple of minutes remove it from the heat and add this mixture to the rice. Also add turmeric, cut cilantro, grated mango and salt and mix well.
The Mango rice is ready. Its usually eaten as a side dish to the main lentil-and-rice dish which is a main course in south Indian meals.

Bitter Gourd Gojju

A gojju is a sweet-and-sour vegetable stew-type side dish from Karnataka.

I have not written recipes for a long time as I was in India for a long time to celebrate my daughters wedding. Today, I got some free time to write a recipe for hagalkai/bitter gourd/karela (different people call it different names) gojju.

Cut 4 or 5 bitter gourd, remove the inner seeds. Cut it into pieces that are about 1/4th of an inch. Put the cut vegetable in a container and sprinkle some turmeric powder. Let it sit for about 30 minutes so that the turmeric absorbs the bitterness.
In a pan, take about 2 to 3 table spoon of oil (it can be vegetable, olive, peanut, or canola oil). I use olive oil. Heat the oil moderately.
Wash bitter gourd nicely and take out the water completely by squeezing excess water. Put it the warm oil and fry it. It needs occasional stirring. When the gourd turns light brown take it out in a plate.
In a separate pan take one tea spoon oil and for that add 1/2 spoon fenugreek (Methi) seed. Fry till it turns light brown. Add 2 table spoon urad dhal or black gram ( available in Indian stores), and when the dhal turns light brown add 5 or 6 whole dried chili peppers (according to taste). Fry it for about 5 minutes in medium heat. Then, in a blender, add dessicated coconut about 1 heaped table spoon of this fried mix, add one and half table spoons of sugar and about 1 cup of water. Blend it until its a fine mixture. In a dish take one tea spoon oil and add hing (asafoetida) and mustard let it splutter for that add fried gourd or hagalkai and add salt and about half tea spoon of tamarind paste and 2 cups of water. Let it get cooked for about 5 minutes for that add blended mix and stir well.
Gojju is ready
Bitter gourd has been proven to bring blood sugar down. People who have diabetes drink gourd juice every morning. It also helps insulin production.

Cranberry Chutney

Ingredients
1/2 a cup of fresh cranberries
1/2 cup of fresh coconut
4 or five mild or hot chili peppers (adjust to preference)
1 teaspoon sugar
salt to taste
1/4 teaspoon black mustard
pinch of asafoetida
2 teaspoon olive oil
Preparation time 5 minutes
Cook fresh cranberries for about 1 minute in high heat with about 1/2 cup water. In a skillet take one teaspoon of oil, add very little mustard let it splutter. Put the tender cranberries along with the water, salt, sugar and the coconut, red pepper in a blender. Blend it till it mixes well. Season with mustard and pinch of asafoetida.
You can eat this chutney with cooked rice or spread it on bread or pita bread or Naan.