My Recipe of Kheer made of Date Palm Jaggery (Noton Gur or Khajur Gur er Paayesh)

This is a Bengal Special Recipe and is used as sweet dish. What makes this dish special is the use of Jaggery as sweetener instead of sugar. This Jaggery is made out of date palm which is popularly known as Noton Gur which mean 'new jaggery' in Bengal. This traditional jaggery is extracted from the date palm trees during winter months in West Bengal and Bangladesh.

Cook Time

Preparation Time : 15 mins

Cook time             : 1hour 15 mins

Ready in               : 1 hour 30 mins

Yields                    : Serves 7-8 people

Ingredients Required

• 2 litres of Milk
• 1 Bowl Condensed Milk or Milk Powder
• 1/2 cup of Rice (Joha Rice or Basmati Rice or any other rice notable for its aroma)
• 500 g of date jaggery/Noton gur (crushed)
• Handful of almond, raisin and cashew.
• 2 -3 Bayleaves
• 2 tsp ghee

Instructions

1. Clean the rice and mix the rice with 2 spoon of ghee
2. Put a deep bottomed pan on the stove and add milk to it.
3. When the milk start boiling, simmer the stove and add the rice in it Add the bayleaves and dry fruits as well.
4. Stir the rice frequently so that the rice does not stick to the buttom of the pan.
5. When the rice gets a bit cooked add the jaggery into. "Adding any sweetener before rice is boiled might delay the rice being cooked and it will prolong the procedure."
6. Once the milk becomes little thickened, you can add the condensed milk. If you opt to add milk powder, add the powder to hot water and  then mix it in the pan.
7. When the rice gets cooked properly, check the sweetness of the kheer/paayesh. If you find it less sweet, you can add more Jaggery.
8. Your delicious Paayesh or Kheer is ready to be served.

This kheer tastes equally good once it becomes cold. The same procedure or recipe can be used to make kheer by using sugar. Just use sugar instead of Jaggery.

My Yummy Recipe of Ridge Gourd (Dodka, Turai or Tori)

Ridge Gourd, commonly known as Dhodka in Marathi and tori or turai in Hindi, is a very nutritious vegetable, but when it comes to eating Dodkha chi bhaji, many people makes faces, as they find it to be pretty tasteless. But my recipe of Dodka will make you add it to your favorite list. Just give it a try.

Nutritional Benefits of Ridge Gourd

Ridge gourd is very nutritious and easily digestible as it is  low in saturated fat and calories. It helps in purifying, rejuvenating, and nourishing the liver. It has good amount of  dietary fiber, vitamin C, riboflavin, zinc, thiamin, iron, and magnesium. It also contain insulin such as alkaloids, peptides which help to lower blood sugar levels. It also contains cellulose which prevents constipation and piles.

Cook Time

Preparation time: 15 min
Cook time: 20 min
Ready in: 35 min
Yields: Serves 4-5 people

Ingredients Required

• 4-5 Tender Ridge Gourd(Dodkya) (Peeled and chopped)
• 1-2 Tomatoes (medium sized) (Chopped)
• 2 tbsp Roasted Groundnut/Peanuts Grinded
• Little dried  Cocunut Grinded
• 1 big sized Onion(Chopped finely)
• 3-4 cloves of Garlic
• 1/2 tsp Turmeric Powder
• 1/2 tsp Cumin Powder
• 1/2 tsp Corriander Powder
• 1/2 tsp Chilli Powder
• 1 tsp Garam masala/ chicken masala
• Salt to taste
• 1 tsp Mustard Seeds
• 2 tbsp Oil
• A few Curry leaves

Cook Method/Instructions

1. Wash the Ridge Gourd properly and peel them little deep so as to remove the green skin part. Do not throw away the peeled skin as you can prepare delicious chutney with the skin which I will post in my next blog.
2. Grind the Ground nuts, cocunut, and Garlic cloves together without adding water and keep it aside.
3. Heat Oil in a pan and add mustard seeds in it. As the seeds starts to pop and sputter, add the curry leaves and then chopped onions and saute it for a while. Add salt and chilli powder to it.
4. Next add the chopped tomatoes and cook it for 2 - 3 minutes till the tomatoes softens. Now add the dry grinded paste to it as prepared in instruction 2. Mix the paste well,stir it and cover the pan and let it cook till the groundnut throws out oil. Add cumin powder, corriander powder and garam masala/chicken masala to it. This gives a special taste.
5. Now add the chopped ridge gourd to it. Mix well for a while and cover the pan.
6. Cook for another 5-10 minutes till the ridge gourd becomes soft. Switch off the flame.
7. Your yummy Ridge Gourd is ready to be served.