Tomato Bhat

Ingredients

1. Tomatoes - 250 gms
2. Onion - 1
3. Green Chillies - 2
4. Red Chillies - 2
5. Ginger Garlic Paste - 1 spoon
6. Rice - 1 Cup
7. Groundnuts - 25 gms
8. Curry Leaves - 5
9. Turmeric powder - 1/4 spoon
10. Salt - 2 spoons(optimum)/to taste
11. Mustard seeds - 2 gms
12. Chana Dal - 5 gms
13. Udit Dal - 3 gms
14. Jeera Seeds - 3 gms

Procedure

1. Boil the rice in a pressure cooker(take twice the amount of water) and  keep it ready.
2. Take 4-5 spoons of oil in a pan and heat it.
3. Add mustard seeds, chana dal, udit dal, jeera seeds, red chillies(break  into pieces), curry leaves to it and heat them until the dal turns brown.
4. Slice onions into pieces, cut green chillies and add them to the pan.
5. Add Groundnuts and fry them until onion turns white.
6. Add Giner garlic paste, Tomato(finely cut into pieces) and mix all the  ingredients well.
7. Add water(until the ingredients are sufficiently immersed in water) and  stir well.
8. Close the pan with a lid and turn the flame to medium and wait for 5  mins.
9. Open the lid, add salt to the mixture, mix well and close the lid.
10. Wait until the mixture becomes thicker and get close.
11. Then add the boiled rice to the mixture and mix thoroughly such that  the mixture is well distributed across the rice.
12. Server the Tomato Bbat hot and enjoy!!!

                         

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Angry Potato

Ingredients
1) Potato - 3 large size
2) Onion - 1
3) Spring onion - 3
4) Corn flour - 3 spoon full
5) Red Chilli sauce - 2 spoons
6) Red Chillies - 5
7) Tomato Kechup - 1 spoon
8) Garlic  - 3
9) Ginger - 5 gms
10) Soya Sauce - 1 spoon
11) Black pepper - 1 spoon
12) Salt - 1 and half spoon

Procedure
1. Take a bowl and add soya sauce, 1 spoon red chilli sauce, one and half  spoon corn flour and potatoes(cut into medium sized pieces)  and mix them  well.
2. Cut the oinions, sprin onions into small pieces and soak them in water.
3. Take oil in a pan and heat it.
4. Once oil is heated, add potatoes to it and fry them until they turn into  golder brown.
5. Take the fried potatoes into a separate bowl.
6. Cut ginger, garlic, red chillies  into pieces and add them to the oil in  the pan.
7. Add the onions along with spring onions to the pan and mix well. Add  tomato kechup, remaining red chilli paste, black pepper and salt(1 spoon)  to it and mix well and heat until the onions turn white.
8. Take a small bowl with the remaining corn flour add water(quantity can  be to make a thick paste of corn flour).
9. Add the corn flour mixture in the pan and mix all the ingredients well.
10. Add water to make it little gravy and salt and mix well.
11. Add the fried potatoes and mix thouroughly such that potatoes are  covered with the mixture very well. Heat for 2 mins and then switch off the  flame.
12. Garnish with the green part of spring onions.
13. Angry Potato is Ready and serve hot.

Note: This dish is good for snacks. Can try with Rice and Roti as well.
                             

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Sambar

Ingredients
1) Toor Dal - 50 gms
2) Onion - 1
3) Green Chillies - 3
4) Drum Sticks - 1
5) Brinjol - 1
6) Ladies finger - 1
7) Tomato - 1
8) Tamarind - 10 gms
9) Sambar Powder - 1 spoon
10) Channa dal - 3 gms
11) Udit dal - 2 gms
12) Black Mustard seeds - 2 gms
13) curry leaves
14) Salt - 2 spoons
15) Red Chillie - 1
16) Jeera seeds - 2 gms
17) Garlic - 3 pieces
18) Red Chillie powder - 1/4 spoon
19) Red chillie - 1

Procedure
1. Boil the toor dal in pressure cooker(with water twice the quantity of Dal).
2. Take the tamarind in a bowl and soak it in water.
3. Cut the onion vertically, drumstick into 3 inch long pieces. Take them in a vessel, add water to it and boil.
4. Oncce the onions are turned white add the tamarind water to it. Boil for 5 mins
5. Chop the vegetables brinjol, ladies finger, tomato and add them to the boiling tamarind water.
6. Cut the green chillies, garlic and add them in the tamarind water.
7. Add curry leaves and salt to it. and boil for 5 mins.
8. Add the boiled dal(prepared in step 1) and heat until bubbles appear in the vessel.
9. Add red chilli powder and stir the ingredients well.
10. Add Sambar powder and stir well and heat it for 2 mins and put off the flame.
12. Take a pan with 1 spoon of oil and heat it.
13. Add musard seeds, Channa dal, udit dal, jeera and red chillie andheat it until the dal turns brown.
14. Mix the tadka(prepare in step 13) to the mixture(prepared in step 10) and mix it thouroughly.
15. Sambar is ready and serve it hot.
                              

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Trek to Harishchandragad via TolarKhind

I had done a trek to Harishchandragad on 1st-2nd Sep. Harishchandragad is the fort situated in Ahmednagar District. There is a temple on the top which is well built.
Trek Location
Name: Harishcandragad
Base Village : Khireshwar Base
Distance: 210kms from Mumbai(approx)
Route to reach base: From mumbai take eastern express way and get down at khubi fata. From khumbi fata take left nad reach the Khireshwar base village
Ascent time: 4.5hrs
Descent time: 4.5hrs
Height of the Naneghat fort: 4710ft
Trek Experience:I reached Kalyan by 10:40 pm. Trek Organizers stopped the ST bus for me. I got into the bus. Reached Savarne, where there is an abandoned Police chowki by 12:20 am. Waited for few more members to join. By 1:00 all the members have been joined. Had dinner.However due to some technical issues we dropped off the plan to take the Nalichi Vaat route. so planned to take the route via Tolarkhind. By 1:20 decision has been made to go to Khubi fata and then do the trek. I got a truck(filled with ACs) by 3:20 am. Reached Khubi fata by 4:30 am. Then got ready and started towards the base village Khireshwar by 4:55. Reached the base, had morning breakfast and started Ascent. The root is very slippery. Little drizzling was there. I reached the TolarKhind. The rockpatches were very slippery.Once I crossed the rockpatches, was surrounded by greenary and flowers. The trail was amazing. The view was fantastic with little drizzles and droplets on the flowers. I reached the top of Harishchandragad by 11:30 am. Went to the cave. Taken rest. ordered Rice, Roti , bhaaji for lunch from the villager who is preparing in the cave adjacent to ours. Had lunch by 3:00 pm and went to Temple for darshan and left for Kokan Kada(the best place to be during monsoon). However due to fog,clouds and rain not able to view the base of the hill from the top of Kokan khada. But there is continuous wind flow. It sarted raining heavily. However due to strong wind rain was carried away from the place where I was standing. It was fabulous to watch. Returned to the cave by 6:00 pm.
                                            Played some games in the cave. Started cooking Maggie and Soup. Organizers are very good at cooking as well. All the equipment was brought for cooking. Had dinner by 8:30 pm. Had gossiped upto 10:30 and then slept in the caves. Sunday Morning got up by 5:30 am and got ready and started descent towards the base village by 6:30 am. Now I have taken a route via Cartoon Network(there will be 7 hills which need to cross by traversing - While ascent taken a route via Balekilla) This route is covered with nice colourful flowers. The route was quite scary while descent due to wet rocks. By 11:30 am reached the base. Went to a small dam nearby. IT was very good. Had some photshoot and then started towards the Khubi fata. We got a jeep on the way. Boarded it and reached Khubi fata by 12:30. Got a ST bus to Kalyan station. Reached station by 3:00 pm. So reached home safely. All is well.
                                 

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Tomato Bhaaji

Ingredients
1) Tomato - 3
2) Green Chillies - 2
3) Malai - 100 ml
4) Methi - 10 gms
5) Jeera - 15 gms
6) Ground nuts - 30 gms
7) coriander powder  - 10 gms
8) Red Chilli powder - 5 gms
9) Asafoetida(hing) - 5 gms
10) Mustard seeds - 5 gms
11) Turmeric powder - 5 gms
12) Salt - 1 and half
13) Ginger - 5 gms

Procedure
1. Take a bowl of water and boil it.
2. Once the water is boiled add two tomatoes to it and boil them. close the bowl with a lid. Once boiled, take the tomatoes into a vessel and pour cold water on them.
3. Take one tomato(slice into pieces), ginger(chop finely), green chillies(cut into small pieces) in a mixer and grind them. Take the mix into a separate bowl.
4. Take Mustard Seeds, Jeera(10 gms) and Methi into a pan and fry them until they change to brown colour.
5. Take the above fried items along with groundnuts into a mixer and add little water and grind them. Take the paste into a separate vessel.
6. Take two spoons of oil in a pan and heat it. Add Jeera to it.
7. Add Coriander powder turmeric powder in the pan.
8. After two mins add the tomatoes paste(prepared in step 3), Asafoetida in the pan and heat until the oil gets separate.
9. Add Malai and add the paste(prepared in step 5) to the pan, mix the ingredients well.
10. Add Red Chilli powder and mix well until the oil gets separate.
11. Add water as per the required levels for the gravy thickness(in general 200 ml of water would be sufficent).
12. Add salt to it, mix all the ingredients thouroughly and boil them. Close the pan with the lid and put the falme in low.
13. Remove the skin of the tomatoes(boiled as per step 2) and cut into 4 pieces, one horizontal and one vertical but the base of tomato base should not be cut.
14. Add the sliced tomatoes to the gravy. ensure that entire tomato gets the gravy and heat it for 2 -3 mins with pan closed with the lid.
15. Serve the hot Tomato Bhaaji.
                               

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