Navratra Thali

Two times in a year a number of Hindu families across India, especially North India celebrate the festival of Navratri - nine days of prayers accompanies by fasting. The fasting in these days is not very restrictive in terms of quantity to eat but type of things to eat - onions, wheat and related byproducts, pulses etc. are all prohibited. However, this doesn't mean the food has to taste any less tasty or that one can't eat out (with all the navratra specials going around) or experiment in kitchen! And with M's Mom living with us these days, it was ever so easy to cook up a thali with the traditional aloo curry, green chutney, raita, salad and a twist - samak rice flour based crisp dosas.

Individual Recipes

Dosa
2 cup samak rice flour
1 cup curd
Fasting salt (Sendha namak) to taste
Adjust consistency with water

1. Make the batter by mixing all the ingredients.

2. Heat a non stick pan nicely and add ghee. Pour the flowy batter on the pan and make crips pan cakes (dosas). Cook evenly from both sides.

Aloo Curry
250 gm (around 4) boiled potatoes
4 tomatoes, cut in small pieces
Spices - red pepper powder (1 tsp), whole cumin (1 tsp), turmeric (1/2 tsp), garam masala (1tsp)
Fasting salt to taste

1. Add about 1tbsp ghee to a pan. Once the ghee has become hot, add the cumin and let it crackle for a bit

2. Add the tomatoes and let it cook for ~10 minutes till they become soft

3. Add all the other spices and salt.

4. Add the boiled potatoes which have been cut in cubes. Add water based on the kind of consistency needed in the curry

5. Once the gravy is a bit thick, turn of the gas. Add chopped coriander before serving

Green Chutney
1 Radish (roughly chopped)
2 tomatoes
50 gm coriander
2 green chilllies
Juice of 1 lemon
Fasting salt to taste

Grind all the ingredients together to make the simple chutney.