Vikram reached home exhausted, after two hour long grueling metro journey. He rang the bell and could hear some raised voices inside the house. He heard a hurried set of feet approaching the door. The door was thrown open by his 8-year old son Jai. Jai’s face lit up at the sight of his father…”Dad, I am hungry…I can’t eat what is prepared at home”.
Vikram dropped his office bag on the floor, washed his hands with soap, and headed straight to the kitchen.
Vikram would rarely buy special ingredients to cook. He practices ‘free form’ cooking i.e. make do with what is available in the refrigerator and kitchen cabinets. He makes a mental note of the health benefits each of the ingredients provide to his growing child. He tries to replace refined grains like rice and wheat with the coarse ones. No doubt, they are called ‘nutri cereals’ by the government now!
Vikram cooks for love and love is the seasoning he uses in ample, to flavour the dishes he concocts for his son. Here are some recipes shared by this father who unwinds while cooking, for the apple of his eye.
1.Name of preparation : Ragi Aloo Parantha (Potato filled Finger Millet Flatbread)
Ingredients for 8-10 paranthas
All-purpose wheat flour – 200 gram
Ragi (Finger Millet) flour – 200 gram
Four normal size potatoes- boiled and mashed
Salt and red chilli powder to taste
Ghee – 4 table-spoon
Roasted and grinded Ajwain (Carom Seeds) and Jeera (Cumin Seeds) – half table-spoon each
Method of cooking :
Mix all-purpose wheat flour and ragi floor. Add all the four mashed potatoes, four table spoon of ghee, salt and red chilli powder to the mixed flour. Then, add powdered ajwain and cumin seeds to the dough mixture.
Knead and smoothen the dough with help of little water, enough to maintain consistency to convert into small balls.
Place the ball on the rolling area and flatten it slightly with hand. Carefully, lift the flattened dough and place in the pan.
Fry the paranthas with ghee and serve with either milk or curd.
The preparation is very soft and kids love it!
2.Name of preparation: Bajra and Chana dal khichri with Goji (Pearl Millet and Chickpeas Lentils Porridge with Indian Indigenous Buttermilk)
Ingredients for khichri (porridge):
Bajra (Pearl Millet) – 200 gram
Chana dal (Chickpeas Lentils) – 100 gram
Rice – 200 gram
One medium sized onion chopped
2 tomatoes chopped
Ginger 25 gram finely chopped
Garlic 10 cloves finely chopped
Green Chillies 3-4 finely chopped
Salt to taste
Cumin seeds ½ table spoon
Method of cooking:
Wash and soak bajra, chana dal and rice over-night. Boil all the three ingredients with two and half times the amount of water.
Grind chopped onions, tomatoes, ginger, and garlic. Fry the cumin seeds and the paste in 5-6 spoons of ghee till a fine aroma exudes. Add salt and mix well. Add the paste to the boiled mixture of bajra, rice and chana dal. Mix well. The khichri is ready to eat.
Ingredients for Goji:
Chhaas (Butter milk) – 500 ml glass kept outside overnight
Un-boiled milk, toned – 500 ml
Ajwain (Carom Seeds) and Jeera (Cumin seeds) – one table-spoon each (to be put in micro-wave for 3-4 minutes, cooled, and grinded to make powder)
Black salt to taste
Method of preparing Goji:
Mix buttermilk which has turned tangy after being kept overnight, and the un-boiled milk. Add all the other ingredients at room temperature. Refrigerate the beverage and serve it with the khichri.
The preparation is liked by children as well as older people on soft diets.
Hope the kids and adults savour the above preparations for better health benefits, distinctive flavour and the exotic experience!!
Monica (Managing Editor) is the quintessential researcher - she thrives on showcasing overlooked aspects that form the foundation blocks of people, places and issues. She is a social scientist by profession with masters in Economics and loves to travel.