This Chakki Ki Sabzi, made from whole wheat dumplings in a tangy sauce is a meal by itself. Apart from being a meal, this spicy and tangy sabzi also goes well with rice.
This month, us bloggers from Shhhhh Cooking Secretly Challenge traveled to the land known as the “heart of India” also known as Madhya Pradesh.
Here are some of the famous things to see in Madhya Pradesh
Sculptures of Khajuraho
Wildlife at Bandhavgarh
Kanha National park
Temples at Ujjain
The historical city of Gwalior
Buddhist stupas at Sanchi
Apart from the historical sites and national parks, Madhya Pradesh is also known for vegetarian food such as poha, bhutta ka khees, palak pooris, malpua and mawa bati.
This month my partner Shobaji from Shobasfoodmazaa gave me two very simple ingredients to use and make a dish representing Madhya Pradesh. She gave me whole wheat flour and cumin seeds. The obvious thing for me to make was Chakki Ki Sabzi.
A few things to know about this recipe:
The chakki / whole wheat flour dough used in this recipe is first steamed, then fried and then in gravy.
Make nice and small pieces of the dough ( once it is steamed it does become big).
Dough in an oiled utensil before steamingDough dollops after steamingFried dough
3. It is time time consuming to make this sabzi, but it is absolutely delicious.
4. Don’t go overboard with the spices, subtle flavours make this sabzi delicious.
This recipe is similar to Gatte ki Sabzi which is a popular recipe from Rajasthan. Here whole wheat flour is used instead of gram flour (besan). The main difference is seen in the way that the Gatte and chakki are cooked. Gatte are cooked like a pasta in boiling water whereas chakki cubes are steamed, fried and then added to gravy.
Some of the other recipes using whole wheat flour / atta ingredients are:
Vazhakka Thoran is an easy and classic dish made with Raw banana and coconut. This version of stir fry can be easily served with rice or rotis.
In the last few months, the state of Kerala has been in the news because of floods and devastation across the state. Many people have lost their near and dear ones. In the middle of all this devastation, news channels also showed us resilience and positive vibe that the people of Kerala have.
As an ode to the state of Kerala and its people, for this month’s Shhhhh Cooking Secretly Challenge, us food bloggers are cooking recipes from Kerala.
This month i was paired with Anu Kollon from Ente Thattukada and she gave me coconut and raw banana as my secret ingredients. This gave me the perfect opportunity to make the traditional Vazhakka Thoran.
My quest to make a very traditional dish using coconut and raw banana led me to my neighbour’s (Aruni’s) house. After chatting with her on various recipes like kallan or erissery, i decided to make a simple dry raw banana preparation to go with rice last week.
Did you know this about Banana??
Did you know the banana plant might be the only plant where almost all parts of the plant get used and nothing goes waste?? Let me write how 🙂
Banana plant Stem / trunk – Also known as Vazhai thandu in tamil, this part of the plant is used in south indian cuisine to make a raita or a dry sabzi.
Banana leaves – The leaves which are large and water proof, are very commonly used as plates to serve food in marriages or family functions. It is also used to make eco-friendly containers in India.
Banana flower – In south India this part of the plant is used as a vegetable to make dry sabzis or even tasty vadas (fried lentil fritters).
Raw banana – Raw banana is very versatile and can be used in curries / sabzis as a vegetable or gets used to make some yummy chips.
Ripe banana – What can i say, that you dont know, in Banana cake, in fried bananas or had just as a fruit, so many options to eat these.
Coming back to the recipe, I made the Vazhakka Thoran as an accompaniment to sambar/rasam rice for lunch, but it can also be served with mixed rice varieties or rotis.
This spicy tangy and sweet cabbage chutney is something I had never made and once I made it, oh yum! Why make the same boring curry when you can try this delicious chutney?
Every one of us has a quirk that we need to do. Some keep cleaning the house, some others keep rearranging items in their house. There are also people who shop. Me, I make lists. Every single day I make a list.
Making lists generally ensures that I do not forget things to do. So when I decide to go vegetable shopping, what do I do? I make a list of all the vegetables and fruits that I need to buy for the next 3-4 days ( yes I do buy veggies in advance).
But this list of mine generally won’t include cabbage, because according to my husband it tastes like mud. 😉
Why cabbage chutney then?
I buy cabbage because
1) I love to make a very simple coconut based curry
2) I like it but in general I have not made anything other than a curry with it.
Add channa dal, udad dal and let them turn golden brown.
Now add the green chillies, garlic, corinander leaves, chopped cabbage, and salt to the kadai and mix well.
Cover and cook the cabbage till it is soft.
Add the tamrind piece and mix well
Once it is mixed well, grind the cabbage mixture in a mixie to smooth paste and remove it in the serving bowl.
In another small kadai, add oil and once the oil heats up, add the mustard seeds.
Once the mustard seeds splutter, add the curry leaves and mix well. Add this to the cabbage ground mixture.
If required one can also add jaggery to the chutney to get a spicy, sweet and tangy taste.
Serve with hot dosas or idlis.
Recipe Notes
Once can substitute cabbage with peerkankai / ridge gourd or green tomatoes.
Red chillies can also be used instead of green chillies and one would get a nice deep red colour.[contact-form][contact-field label='Name' type='name' required='1'/][contact-field label='Email' type='email' required='1'/][contact-field label='Website' type='url'/][contact-field label='Comment' type='textarea' required='1'/][/contact-form]
