A memoir of Gujarati family recipes, A little bit of this, a little bit of that brings love on a plate to lovers of Indian cuisine, with a batch of time-honoured recipes that showcase authentic Gujarati fare, served up family style.
Winning Best in the World in two categories at the 2018 Gourmand World Cookbook Awards catapulted mother and daughter Jayshri and Laxmi Ganda into the culinary world in New Zealand. Now living in Queensland, Jayshri brings her top selling cookbook A Little Bit of This, A Little Bit of That to an Australian audience.
Jayshri and Laxmi spent eight months cooking and recording everyday Gujarati recipes of fresh, light and clean Indian food to ensure the cooking skills and knowledge that their mums brought from India are passed down through the generations and aren’t diluted or lost along the way.
Apart from seafood, meat and poultry, the cuisine in the Gujarat region is typically vegetarian with an abundance of fresh spices. Here, the mother and daughter duo share some of their favourite dishes from the book to entice you to try them out at home.
STUFFED CHILLIES
MACHA NA RAVEYA
(mar-char-na-ra-veh-ya)
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 12 minutes
Makes 4 portions
This is a tangy and spicy delight. Large sweet chillies are stuffed with a flour-based mixture that is lavished with spices then fried. These are amazing!
1 small onion, chopped
1/4 cup pea flour *
4 tablespoons oil, divided
1 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon peanuts, crushed
1 tablespoon dessicated coconut
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
2 tablespoons water
4 (15-20cm) large sweet chillies
* Substitute: semolina
In a small bowl, combine onion, pea flour, two tablespoons of oil, sugar, peanuts, coconut, coriander, cumin, salt and turmeric. Add water and stir into a paste. Wash chillies and slice lengthways on one side, ensuring not to cut right through. Remove any seeds and fill with paste. In a large frypan, heat remaining two tablespoons of oil on a low heat. Add chillies and cover. Cook for 8 minutes, turn over chillies and cook for further 5 minutes or until cooked through. Serve hot or cold on their own or with a main meal.
CUMIN SPICED RICE
JEERA VARDA CHORKA
( jee-rah-var-da-chor-ka)
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
SERVES 4
A simple way to flavour a plain rice. Subtle yet aromatic flavours make this a must-try option for rice.
3 tablespoons clarified butter
2 teaspoons cumin seeds
2 whole cardamom pods
1/4 cinnamon stick, broken
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups long grain rice
4 cups water
2 tablespoons fresh coriander, chopped
Heat clarified butter in a large frypan on a medium heat. Add cumin seeds for 30 seconds or until darkened. Add cardamom, cinnamon and salt, stir to release flavours. Add rice and stir fry for 1-2 minutes. Transfer to a medium saucepan, add water and bring to boil. Turn to a low heat, cover and cook for 15-20 minutes or until water is reduced and rice is cooked.Toss through coriander and serve hot.
MUNG BEAN CURRY
MUNG
(mug)
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
SERVES 3 – 4
A staple of any Indian diet, mung is a really comforting curry that is delicious with hot roti (rotli) on a cold day.
A nutritious meal for the vegetarian diet. It’s always mung on Monday at our home.
1 cup green mung beans
1 carrot, grated
3 cups water
1 tablespoon oil
1/4 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 pinch of asafoetida
1 teaspoon fresh green chilli, minced
1/2 teaspoon fresh garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon fresh ginger, minced
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
2 tablespoons fresh coriander, chopped
Optional: 1/2 cup Greek yoghurt, unsweetened
Wash and drain mung beans. Add mung beans, carrot and water to a saucepan, and bring to a boil. Cover and cook on medium/high heat for 30 minutes or until mung beans are cooked. In a large frypan, heat oil on medium heat, add cumin seeds and fry for 30 seconds or until darkened. Add asafoetida and fry until dissolved. Add chilli, garlic, ginger, salt, brown sugar and turmeric. Stir paste to infuse masala.Add mung beans and stir to combine; allow to heat through. Add yoghurt if desired and stir to combine. Sprinkle and stir through coriander and cumin. Garnish with fresh coriander and serve hot with your choice of bread and / or condiments.
CORN BHAJIYA
CORN BHAJEEA
(corn-ba-jee-ya)
Prep Time 6 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Makes 35-40 pieces
A delicious deep-fried corn fritter to have as a snack or starter. Great as a plate to take to a party or picnic.
1 cup creamed corn
1/2 cup coarse semolina
1/2 cup pea flour *
2 tablespoons plain Greek yoghurt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
4 tablespoons oil, divided
1/4 cup fresh fenugreek, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh green chilli, minced
1/2 teaspoon fresh garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon fresh ginger, minced
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 litre oil for deep frying
* Substitute: channa / besan flour
In a medium-sized bowl, combine corn, semolina, pea flour, yoghurt, baking powder and 2 tablespoons of oil. Cover with cling wrap and leave to rest overnight or for up to 6 hours at room temperature. Add fenugreek, chilli, garlic, ginger, salt, sugar, turmeric and 2 tablespoons of hot oil to the mixture. Stir to combine. Heat remaining oil in a wok on a high heat. Carefully place 1/2 tablespoon sized portions into hot oil and deep fry for 1-2 minutes or until golden brown. If Bhajiyas are very oily, the oil temperature will require a higher heat. Drain on paper towels. Best served hot.
INDIAN DONUT BALLS
GULAB JAMAN / GULAB JAMBU
(goo-larb-jam-an / goo-larb-jam-bu)
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
MAKES 18 – 20
Indian version of homemade donuts dipped in a sugar syrup as opposed to granulated sugar. A tasty favourite and easy to make.
For the dough
1 cup milk powder
1/2 cup white flour
1/2 cup fine semolina
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cardamom seeds, ground
3/4 cup cream
1 litre oil for deep frying
For the syrup
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
1 teaspoon rose essence
For the dough
In a large bowl, combine milk powder, white flour, semolina, baking powder and cardamom. Make a well in the middle and pour in cream. Combine into a dry dough. Measure dough into tablespoon sized portions and roll into balls. Heat oil in a wok on a medium heat and deep fry balls for 4 minutes or until a golden brown colour. Rotate while deep frying.
For the syrup
In a medium saucepan, dissolve sugar, water and rose essence on a high heat for 5 minutes. Add deep-fried balls to syrup and let cool at room temp before refrigerating. Serve chilled. Or heated with icecream. Will keep in refrigerator for 1-2 weeks.
