Lentils & Veggie Soup

Nourishing & Complete Meal in a Bowl.

I came across this concept of Nourish Bowls in mid 2019. And it not only caught my attention but also enticed me to give it a try. The concept is eating a hearty, complete, filling meal consisting mainly Proteins with touch of Carbs and Fats all in one bowl. So grains, pulses, vegetables, even meat, pasta, with spices and herbs all cooked together or separately and served in a bowl. Of course it is your choice what you wish to add in. Lets dig in to the nourish bowl I made tonight for dinner.

INGREDIENTS

  • Brown Lentils (Whole Masoor) – 1 Cup, Soaked
  • Barley – 2 tablespoon, Soaked
  • Fresh Pavte Wal Seeds (Lima Beans) – Half Cup
  • Green Peas – Half Cup
  • Potatoes – 2 Small, Diced
  • Carrots, Pumpkin, Broccoli, Cauliflower – Quarter cup diced pieces (Add vegetables of your choice)
  • Onion – 1 small, diced
  • Garlic – 4-5 cloves, chopped
  • Tomato – 1, chopped
  • Capsicum – 1 small, chopped
  • Haldi Powder – Quarter Teaspoon
  • Mirchi Powder – Half Teaspoon
  • Dhana Powder – 1 tablespoon
  • Kitchenking Masala – 1 teaspoon
  • Garam Masala – 1 teaspoon
  • Jeera Seeds – 1 and half teaspoon
  • Peppercorns – 7-8, crushed
  • Vegetable Oil – 1 and half tablespoon
  • Salt to taste
  • Melon Seeds & Flaxseeds for topping (Optional)

Soak Lentils & Barley for minimum 5-6 hours or soak in hot water for 2 hours. Soaking helps decrease the cooking time and also better absorption of the nutrients.

There is an option to cook the lentils and vegetables in same pot on stove. It takes quite a longer time – almost 30 minutes in all. But with time limitation I multitasked by cooking the lentils, barley & Pavte Wal Seeds in Microwave for 8 minutes while I chopped the Vegetables. Also cooked the vegetables in microwave for 5 minutes separately while I prepped other ingredients. This multi tasking saved my cooking time by almost 10 minutes.

Heat a big pan or a large pot. Once the oil is hot enough, add Jeera seeds and peppercorns (can add at the end of the cook as well). Let it crackle a little then add onions and garlic and fry for 2-3 minutes. Then add in the tomatoes and capsicum. Cover and cook for another 2 minutes.

Add in all the spices and salt, sauté and add 2-3 tablespoon of water, cover and let the spices cook for a minute. If you skip this step, the spices might be distracting rather than adding flavour to the dish. Spice powders should always be cooked well in any dish.

Add in the cooked lentils, barley, pavte wal seeds and vegetables with the water in which those were cooked. Do not throw away the water. (Tip: Wash your grains before soaking and wash the vegetables before chopping) Cover and cook for 5 minutes so that all the different tastes blend well and create a balance.

Toast the melon seeds and flax seeds till they pop in the pan. Pour a generous amount of soup in a bowl, garnish with the toasted seeds and serve hot.

You can add various ingredients / vegetables of your choice. A few examples – Mushrooms (sautéed), sweet potatoes, french beans, spinach or any other greens you like. You can substitute melon seeds & Flax seeds with any other nuts or seeds of your choice. In place of the spice powders you can try some herbs and chilly flakes. So you see the nourish bowl is basically bringing together all the food that you love to give you a dose of nourishment. Just keep in mind, you need a balance between your grains and vegetables and spices.

An absolute promise, this meal is going to definitely spread some love to your tastebuds and to your heart as well. Finally, your body and soul is gonna thank you for the nourishment and of course the yumminess.

BE YUMMY. BE HEALTHY.

I am Manasi Khandpekar, the founder of MOMmade along with my mom. She is the backbone while I enjoy being the face. Travelling from graphic design to brand communication to creating a brand of my own was a journey of learnings and excitement. The world of food fascinates me everyday. And thats where I am living every moment right now. Writing is another passion so food plus writing gave birth to this blog.

Creamy Mushroom Soup

Nutritious, Yummy and Easy to make.

Give me this mushroom soup any day and I will happily consume it and finish by licking the bowl empty and spoon so clean. With just 5 key ingredients, it is an absolute cracker to keep you warm on a cold evening like today.

INGREDIENTS

  • Button Mushrooms – 400 g, sliced
  • Onion – 1, sliced
  • Garlic – 2 to 3 cloves, sliced
  • Pepper – 7 to 8, crushed
  • Cumin Powder – Half teaspoon
  • Milk & Water for consistency
  • Salt to taste
  • Oil / Butter

I used Olive oil to cook the onions and mushrooms. Alternatively you can use Butter as well. Fry the onion and garlic for 2 – 3 minutes and add in the sliced mushrooms. Fry off for a few minutes and cover and cook for 5 minutes.

Add a few tablespoons of milk to finish off. Take out. Cool it. And grind in a mixie with some water. Remove back in the pan. Adjust the consistency.

I fried some small chopped mushrooms to add as a garnish. It is optional. Added these fried mushrooms along with salt, crushed peppercorns and cumin powder to the soup. Bring it to a quick boil and serve hot.

This soup will not only warm up the throat and your body but also surely warm up your soul leaving you absolutely satisfied. And as you see it is easy to make that you will never want to go for canned or unreal premixes ever. Nothing can replace the fresh ingredients and its nutrition. And believe me you don’t need to add any cream or flour or any extra herbs.

This Creamy Mushroom Soup is full of flavour, nutrition and of course yumminess cause that’s what we wish to deliver daily. Yumminess Everyday.

BE YUMMY. BE HEALTHY.

I am Manasi Khandpekar, the founder of MOMmade along with my mom. She is the backbone while I enjoy being the face. Travelling from graphic design to brand communication to creating a brand of my own was a journey of learnings and excitement. The world of food fascinates me everyday. And thats where I am living every moment right now. Writing is another passion so food plus writing gave birth to this blog.

Prawns Malvani Curry

The yummy dish for a perfect weekend treat!!

I have always being a seafood lover. As a kid, fish fry or prawns fry were on top of the list. Today if you ask me it is definitely seafood curry with steamed rice. Nothing beats it. The first time I tasted authentic Malvan Fish Curry was in 2006, on a one month vacation to my aai’s (mother in law) hometown – Vengurla. It was one of my most memorable vacations. Living absolutely like the local people was an enriching experiences. My in laws are vegetarians but aai, knowing I ate Non-Veg, insisted that I must eat the home cooked fish curry. And I felt absolutely blessed!! I remember Manju, my sister in law, grinding 4-5 full coconuts by hand on the stone grinder (pata-varvanta / sil-batta) the first thing in the morning. All the efforts to remove fresh coconut milk for the Fish Curry. We have electric mixer – grinders and also have the option of store bought coconut milk. So lets dig in to make lip smacking Malvani Prawns Curry!!

Grated 1/2 coconut, ground with a half glass of water and sieved through a clean white cloth to remove all the milk
as much possible.

Ingredients

  • Prawns – 500gm (Cleaned, de-veined, Washed, and marinated with Haldi powder for 30 mins)
  • Onion – 1 (sliced)
  • Tomato – 1 (roughly chopped)
  • Garlic – 10-12 cloves
  • Ginger – 2 inch (roughly chopped)
  • Khaskhas – 1 tablespoon
  • Fresh grated Coconut (3 tablespoon)
  • Whole Spices – 1 tejpatta, 2 elaichi, 2 lavang, 10 kalimiri, 4 triphala, jeera and rai – 1 teaspoon each
  • Karipatta – 10-15 leaves
  • Kokum – 3-4 petals
  • MOMmade Chilli Powder – 1 teaspoon
  • MOMmade Haldi Powder – 1 teaspoon for marination
  • MOMmade Malvani Masala – 1 and half teaspoon
  • Salt to taste
  • Oil
  • Coriander Leaves for Garnish
  • Coconut milk – of 1/2 coconut

To a broad thick bottomed pan add 2 tablespoon oil, fry onions for 2 minutes, then add tomatoes. Fry till onion and tomatoes are tender enough. Then add the grated coconut and fry till it turns pinkinsh brown. Remove on a plate to cool.

To the same pan, add 1 tablespoon oil and fry ginger, garlic for 2 to 3 minutes and add khaskhas. Fry till the seeds start popping. Remove on a plate to cool. Transfer onion, tomatoes, coconut mixture along with ginger, garlic and khaskhas mix to a grinder jar. Grind along with a little water (I used half glass) to a smooth paste.

Crush elaichi seeds and kali miri a little in mortar pestle. To the same pan, with 2 tablespoon oil (Don’t worry about all the oil. This is a treat for the hard working bodies and souls) add the Jeera, Rai, Kali Miri, Elaichi, tejpatta, Lavang, Triphala, karipatta and 1 teaspoon Mirchi powder. Triphala is one special spice used in Malvan/Konkan area. Its speciality is that it minimises the fishy odour and gives a nice spicy touch.

Then add in the ground curry paste. Fry well for 5 minutes till oil seperates and it becomes nice thick.

After 5 minutes of frying the paste, add 1 and half teaspoon of Malvani Masala. Now this totally depends on your taste preference. Actually for normal adults you can add in 1 and half tablespoon. But I was making this curry keeping in mind my little daughter was going to relish it as well. Though she enjoys spicy food, I try to limit the spices for her. And again honestly, it is not necessary that a lot of spice powder is going to make the dish more tastier. In fact timing is equally important. If you add you garam masala like masalas towards the end of cooking the flavour really stays and enhances. I have put Malvani Masala in exact midway. 2 reasons. Malvani Masala has chilly powder so it should be cooked well. And it has garam masala too so not ideal to add in the oil or else the flavour will be lost. Such blends of mirchi and garam masala should be ideally used in the midway of cooking a dish.

Pour in the coconut milk once the paste and masala is properly fried. This combination of Coconut milk and Malvani Masala is going to give your curry a appetising dark orange colour and of course the yummy rich taste.

Adjust the water for consistency. Do not make it too thin. A little thick curry tastes awesome. Add the salt and kokum petals as well at this time. Once it starts to bubble up, add the marinated prawns. Cook for maximum 3 minutes more and switch off the flame. Serve immediately with hot steamed rice. You can prepare the curry and keep. And add the prawns just before starting the dinner. That way your prawns will never be chewy or rubbery. Never ever over-cook the prawns.

Just as the prawns have taken the ‘C’ shape.. switch off. And EAT.. RELISH immediately. No need for and fancy accompaniment. Just hot steamed rich and a yummy treat is ready!!

I have used MOMmade Malvani Mazala which is made from the authentic malvan recipe and is perfectly spicy with almost 17 whole spices and 4 types of chillies along with khaskhas which makes it a perfect Malvani Masala. I personally recommend seafood lovers to try this. Similarly I have used MOMmade Mirchi Powder and MOMmade Haldi Powder.

P.S. Note: You can definitely try the same process with other seafood options. Like pompfret, surmai, ravas or any other fish. I am yet to try this with crabs.

Hope my recipes really make your weekend absolutely yummy coz thats the mantra (resolution) for 2020 – ‘Yumminess Everyday‘.

BE YUMMY. BE HEALTHY.

I am Manasi Khandpekar, the founder of MOMmade along with my mom. She is the backbone while I enjoy being the face. Travelling from graphic design to brand communication to creating a brand of my own was a journey of learnings and excitement. The world of food fascinates me everyday. And thats where I am living every moment right now. Writing is another passion so food plus writing gave birth to this blog.

Kadhi (Maharashtrian Style)

Simple yet yummy… a comfort food for the soul.

Thursdays have had special place in my heart since my childhood. For two reasons. 1. Only my school had a holiday every Thursday. My brothers had to go to school while I would sleep till late and be a queen for the day. Wasn’t that great!! 2. The Thursday dinner menu was fixed and my favourite. It is till date the most comfort food for me. Kadhi, Khichdi, Bhindi fry, Bajra Bhakri and Thecha. WOW!! Writing this has made me salivate. This menu is so nostalgic.

Kadhi holds a special place in every part of India. And each region has its own variations of this dish. What we are going to see is the style I have seen my mom prepare and the legacy which I continue to prepare and is loved by everyone in my family. I guess it is one of the most simplest ways to make kadhi.

INGREDIENTS

  • Dahi – 1 cup
  • Besan – 2 tablespoon
  • Kari patta – 10-15 leaves
  • Adrak – 8-10 small peices
  • Green Chilly – 2 chillies chopped
  • Panchphoran (Rai, Jeera, Methi, Saunf and Kalonji)
  • Hing – 1 teaspoon (oops.. forgot to add in the pic beside)
  • Badi Elaichi – 1
  • Ghee – 1 tablespoon
  • Water – 1 glass
  • Salt as required
  • Water as required

Start with mixing Dahi and Besan and beat it well to make a smooth batter. Add enough water to make a runny batter. I used one glass of water for this portion size. Remember water should be enough to cook the kadhi and still keep it as thin or thick consistency of your choice. You can add haldi powder as well at this stage if you like. We don’t prefer it in our home so I never add haldi powder to the kadhi.

To a pan / kadhai add ghee, panchphoran and badi elaichi. Let is crackle a little and add hing. (I forgot to add the hing in the ingredients pic.) But hing is absolutely necessary. Then add the karipatta, chillies and ginger pieces. You can also grind the ginger and chilly in a grinder. (I will soon share a different variation of kadhi using ground spices)

Lower the gas flame and add in the besan dahi mixture. Stir well and continue to cook on low flame.

Add salt to taste and cook for 7-8 minutes. Check consistency and also make sure the rawness of besan has gone. Serve hot with some khichdi or steamed rice. What I made with kadhi tonight? Some masala Khichdi, Parwal bhujiya (Bihar style) and chapati. Very comforting and yummy. Remember Yumminess Everyday.

BE YUMMY. BE HEALTHY.

I am Manasi Khandpekar, the founder of MOMmade along with my mom. She is the backbone while I enjoy being the face. Travelling from graphic design to brand communication to creating a brand of my own was a journey of learnings and excitement. The world of food fascinates me everyday. And thats where I am living every moment right now. Writing is another passion so food plus writing gave birth to this blog.

Haldi waala Doodh

Famously called the ‘Turmeric Latte’

Amazing Benefits of Haldi waala Doodh

  • Full of Antioxidants
  • Help to improve mood
  • Help reduce inflammation
  • Has antibacterial, anti-fungal and anti viral properties
  • Good dose of calcium and vitamin D
  • Improve memory and brain functions
  • Reduce the risk of cancer
  • Help improve Digestion

How to prepare the beneficial Haldi waala Doodh?

The amazing benefits make this humble Haldi waala Doodh deserve the name ‘Golden Milk‘. Well lets get started –

Start with a cup of milk in a steel pateli on a medium gas burner.

Add a spoonful of sugar and stir. You can opt for jaggery or even honey for healthier versions. But one spoon of sugar in a day wont hurt a person with moderate weight and good health.

I added nuts powder. I have prepared this powder using almonds, cashews, pistachio and walnuts. Prepare this powder by taking the nuts in equal quantities (can be changed as per your preference), dry roast them on a pan and pulse it in a grinder. Store in an airtight container. You can skip this step. I was making the milk for my daughter and I avoid giving her any store bought milk protein powder. Hence I add this nutritious home made nuts powder which definitely helps in her growth.

Now add a pinch of elaichi (cardamom) powder, jaiphal (nutmeg) powder, and miri (pepper) powder and quarter teaspoon of good quality haldi powder. You can skip jaiphal (nutmeg) powder if taking in the days time. But if consuming the milk at night do add. These powders not only add flavour and fragrance but also add its own amazing properties to the milk. Elaichi, Miri & Jaiphal as spices are filled with amazing health beneficial properties.

Bring it to boil, cool a little (if you are giving it to your kid) and serve. I have strained it as my daughter likes plain smooth milk. You can avoid straining and actually bite on the small crumbs on nut powder.

Ofcourse I have used MOMmade Haldi powder, MOMmade Elaichi Powder, MOMmade Jaiphal Powder, MOMmade Miri Powder.

It is perfectly fine to consume this amazing Haldi waala Doodh everyday and reap the amazing benefits for a lifetime. It is yummy and it is healthy. So here’s our first step to ‘YUMMINESS EVERYDAY’.\

BE YUMMY. BE HEALTHY.

I am Manasi Khandpekar, the founder of MOMmade along with my mom. She is the backbone while I enjoy being the face. Travelling from graphic design to brand communication to creating a brand of my own was a journey of learnings and excitement. The world of food fascinates me everyday. And thats where I am living every moment right now. Writing is another passion so food plus writing gave birth to this blog.

We love MOMmade

365 Days 365 Recipes – 2020 Challenge

Being surrounded by spices day in and out, experimenting with them and trying out different recipes to give something better to MOMmade customers every time has motivated me to write this blog. My hubby fondly says, “Your cooking has drastically improved from the time you started making MOMmade Spices.” I take that as a compliment cause honestly when I got into food business I started consciously learning a lot more about food. Prior to that I was following some one’s advice or unconsciously just making edible food without thinking much about the flavour, fragrance and taste too. In fact had a simple rule of not spending more than an hour in the kitchen. You know I had better things to do. Little did I know that the same kitchen would later become my business itself.

This is MOMmade for all you of you. Presenting a range of spice powders made with mom’s love, literally. My mom is my partner and I say it with a pride. The intent is very simple. And can be explained with our simple tagline.

100% Pure.

When I was researching for MOMmade before starting out, I happened to visit a Masala Factory on the outskirts of the city. A big open land filled with Potato skins lying on the ground under the sun to dry. I wondered what were potato skins doing in a Masala Factory? A bit insider information that I got shocked me. These dried skins would be ground with whole spices to make Garam Masala Powder. WHY? One, its is a filler and adds to the weight. And two, it gives the curry a ‘tarri’ (oil layer of top) (Maharastrians would understand the word tarri very well) And it left me with only one question ‘What are we eating?’

Well, fortunately experiences and studies like these encouraged me to make a brand that is absolutely true to its heart. And MOMmade is. No added color, preservatives or such harmful, harmless tricks to add to our profit and affect our customers health. Though the factory may not be a state of the art factory now, but every MOMmade product that comes out of it is 100% PURE and I can say that with my hand on my heart.

100% Indian

‘Jaise har das kos pe bhasha badalti hai, waise hi khaan paan bhi badalta hai.’ Each region in India has its own speciality. There a numerous recipes passed down from generation to generation, from mothers to daughters, from mother in laws to daughter in laws and lost. I intend to bring our these recipes and present it to our and the next generation in the best possible way.

100% MOMmade

My mom is my business partner. In fact the idea of MOMmade came from her. With moms there is NO COMPROMISE whatsoever. They only want to give the best quality to their family. And MOMmade is all about a team of MOMs striving to give the best. The idea is of my Mom, the products are made and packed by Moms, sold by Moms and also majorly bought by Moms.

The BLOG

All these experiments have improved my cooking to a great extent. At least made me conscious about whats going in the kadai. Is it absolutely necessary? Or am I adding it for the sake of it. For example Masalas. Does each dish really require many masalas and tadka? Can a lot of masala really make the dish tasty? Or without any masala, the dish would be tasteless? We feel adding garam masala or some form of it is absolutely necessary. Well not really. Adding the right and the right amount of masala is the key. Too much or too less of anything is always the problem. Like diet. Extreme dieting and extreme eating is wrong. Balance is required everywhere. Even in a dish you prepare as simple as Haldi wala doodh – famously called ‘Turmeric Milk’ or ‘Golden Milk’ or the biggest fad of recent times ‘Turmeric Latte’. Thats going to be our first recipe in the journey of 365 Days 365 Recipes.

New year resolutions are made to be broken. Well lets make one unbreakable resolution – ‘YUMMINESS EVERYDAY’ Simple to follow. And simpler if you follow us as yummy home made food will never harm you in the long run.

BE YUMMY. BE HEALTHY.

I am Manasi Khandpekar, the founder of MOMmade along with my mom. She is the backbone while I enjoy being the face. Travelling from graphic design to brand communication to creating a brand of my own was a journey of learnings and excitement. The world of food fascinates me everyday. And thats where I am living every moment right now. Writing is another passion so food plus writing gave birth to this blog.

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