Gajar Ka Halwa - without milk

Ingredients:

• carrots
• sugar
• elaichi powder
• raisins
• chopped nuts
• ghee
• khoya
  

Method:
Grate carrots and cook in very little water till water dries up. Now add sugar - half in proportion to the carrots: eg: for every one cup grated carrot use 1/2 cup sugar.
Stir and cook till sugar dissolves and carrot becomes glassy and transluscent. Remove from fire. Add elaichi powder, raisins and chopped nuts and 2-3 teaspoons ghee for flavour. When cold add crushed khoya. Mix lightly and serve after heating it lightly. The khoya should not dissolve. Can be heated in microwave.

Garam Masala

Ingredients:

• 250 gms whole dhaniya
• 2 jaiphul (nutmeg)
• 20 gms dalchini ( cinnamon)
• 20 gms black pepper
• 20 gms star anise (badiyan - optional)
• 20 gm small elaichi (cardamum)
• 10 gms javatri (mace)
• 20 gms lavang (cloves)
• 20 gms jeera
• handful bay leaf (tez patta - optional)

Method:

Dry in sun or dry roast in kadhai putting dhaniya first and then other ingredients. Powder fine when cold. Store in air tight jar.

Gujarati Batata 'pattice'

Ingredients:
Boiled potatoes
salt
corn flour or maida
fresh coconut
green chillies
ginger
hara dhaniya
sugar
kishmish
salt
For chutney: hara dhaniya, green chillies, adrak, green tomatoes/lime juice, salt, sugar
Method:
Mash well some boiled potatoes with salt. No pieces of potatoes should remain. Mix in some corn flour or some maida to bind it.
To make stuffing: Grate fresh coconut. Add chopped green chillies, chopped ginger, chopped hara dhaniya, sugar, kishmish and salt. The stuffing should be slightly sweetish.
Take a little potato and flatten it out on the palm of your hand. Oil your hands first so that the potato does not stick. Put some stuffing in the centre, close it. Roll it in your palm and flatten a little. Deep fry to a golden colour after rolling it in some cornflour. Serve with dhaniya chutney.
Chutney:Hara dhaniya, green chillies, adrak lasun (optional) and salt ground together with green unripe tomato. If green tomato not available squeeze in some lime juice. Sweeten it slightly with sugar if desired.

Gujarati Dal

Ingredients:

• arhar dal (toovar dal)
• hing
• sugar
• ginger
• green chillies
• tomatoes
• cooking oil
• rai seeds
• methi seeds
• dry red chillies
• haldi
• chilli powder
• salt
• corriander leaves
  

Method:
Boil the dal to a very soft consistency with hing and pinch of sugar. Grind ginger and green chillies to form a paste. Chop up a good amount of red tomatoes.
Heat oil. Put baghar (tadka) of rai, methi, hing and whole dry red chillies. Add the masala paste and tomatoes along with haldi, chilli powder, salt and sugar. Whisk the dal till it is very smooth - no grains should remain.Add this to the masala when it is well cooked. Add water to get desired consistency.Boil on low heat for 15-20 minutes. Check the sugar and salt. Add chopped corriander just before serving.
Variation: the taste can be changed by doing baghar differently.
1) baghar of rai, methi, hing, dry chillies whole, jeera and cloves. Add grated copra to the dal and boil.
2) Curry patta can be added in baghar.
3) Vegetables such as bhindi or karela can also be added.

Holi No Ladwo (Gujarati sweet))

Ingredients:

• Atta 1 kg.
• Sooji 300 grms
• Desi ghee 100 grms + 250 grms
• white til - 4 tablespoons
• one copra (dry coconut)
• 50 grms mungfali (peanuts)
• Khuskhus seeds 4 tblspns
• gur (Jaggery) 500 grms
  

Method:
Step 1: Mix the atta and sooji and rub in the ghee (100 gms), and make into a very stiff dough with a little warm water and keep aside ( in short the dough should be stiff enough to make "shakkarparas"). Roll out the dough into thick chapatis cut into squares and deep fry slowly till golden. Crush and when cold dry grind in mixie to resemble sooji or atta.Step 2: Roast 4 tblspns white til (sesame seeds) and one copra - dry coconut cut into very thin 1\2" slices. Fry 50 grms mungfali (peanuts) to a golden colour. Khuskhus seeds 4 tblspns ( no need to roast or fry)Step 3: Mix together Gur (Jaggery) 500 grms crushed\grated\broken up with 250 grms desi ghee. Mix together and beat till it is soft and creamy and no lumps remain. Alternatively the gur and ghee can be melted together till it is bubbly--coolStep 4: Now mix all the ingredients of step 1, 2 and 3 and shape them into 3"\4" balls which is the traditional size but you can make them to any desirable size. Will keep well up to 6 mths if stored well or in the fridge, but to be eaten at room temperature.