Just the start of potluck ideas - so much depends on the era and part of India!
crops: barley, wheat, rice, melons, cotton
domesticated animals: cows, pigs, buffalo, sheep
Many lived near rivers and caught fish with fish hooks.
Main foods: wheat products with barley, or rice, with fish & meat. (wheat grew more in the north & rice more in the south) After Buddhism, probably half the population was vegetarian.
In the Gupta Empire, the diet was vegetables, fruits, cereals, breads, and they drank milk.
These recipes were labeled as from "ancient India". These are mostly from
http://www.thewanderingnomad.com/indian_recipe.htmlDIET BHEL (Healthy Mixture)
½ cup whole green grain sprouts (Mwong)
½ cup sprouted earthen pot (matki)
¼ Cup chopped tomato
1 T plain yogurt
½ tsp cumin seed powder
Fresh, chopped coriander leaves (cilantro)
Salt to taste.
Directions: Mix all ingredients thoroughly and serve.
REFINED WHEAT FLOUR UPMA
1 Cup semolina (cream of wheat is very close)
2 Cup boiled water
¼ Cup each, cabbage and onion
½ tsp cumin seeds
2 tsp green goam (split dal) dal (mwong) soaked for an hour in water
4 – 5 curry leaves
2 tsp oil, 1 tsp sugar, salt to taste.
1 or 2 green chillies (chopped)
Cut coriander leaves
Directions:
1. Roast the semolina in a lightly oiled pan at low temperature until lightly browned. Put into dish and set aside
2. Put small amount oil in same pan, heat and put in curry leaves, cumin seed to crackle, then add chili pieces, cut vegetables and soaked dal and fry until brown.
3. Add roasted semolina, salt and sugar to taste. Mix well
4. Pour boiled water in the mixture, mix well and cover with lid.
Cook over slow heat until liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat, let stand 5 minutes.
Serve with freshly cut coriander leaves and sprinkle with lemon juice.
SPINACH OR FENYGREEK (Frozen Methi) ROTI (PARATHA)
Ingredients:
¼ Cup rice flour
¼ green gram dal flour (Bensan) chama dal flour (ground yellow split peas)
¼ each of jowar and bajra flour
1 ½ cup wheat flour
2-3 tsp oil
a pinch of asafetida (a type of spice)
½ tsp cumin seed powder
¼ tsp turmeric powder
2 tsp white sesame seeds
½ tsp ajwain seeds (also used for upset stomach)
½ tsp ginger paste
Salt to taste
1 cup spinach or fenugreek leaf paste
Directions:
1. Mix all the ingredients slowly in the spinach paste only. Use little water if needed. Make a, somewhat, hard dough and let stand in a covered bowl for half an hour.
2. Make small balls of the dough
3. Roll dough in a flat circle with the help of a little oil. Fold in half and again a triangle with oil.
4. Roll flat again.
5. Roast on a flat pan (tawa) over medium heat.
6. Serve with tomato ketchup, or other topping.
GREEN GRAM DAL SWEET SOOJI (In India, girls start to make semolina halvah when they are about 8 years old. The recipe is very similar.)
Ingredients:
1 cup green gram dal
1 ½ cup sugar
½ cup ghee
1-5 tsp cardamom powder
Directions:
1. Wash and soak the dal in water over-night.
2. In the morning, drain the water and grind dal in mixer.
3. In a hot pan over slow heat, sauté the ground dal in ghee till browned.
4. Add sugar and cardamom powder and mix well until sugar dissolves. Cover and remove from heat. Let stand for 4-5 minutes and serve hot.
VITAMIN SALAD
Ingredients:
½ cup grated cabbage
½ cup green gram sprouts, boiled.
½ cup finely chopped skinned tomatoes.
½ cup skinned and grated beetroot.
½ cup grated carrot
1 medium chopped onion.
½ cup boiled Bengal gram sprouts
1 cup chopped lettuce.
6-7 tablespoons curd, drained.
1 tsp finely chopped ginger.
1-2 chopped green chili.
Fresh, chopped coriander leaves
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp sugar
1tsp lemon juice
Directions: Chill all ingredients and mix at time of serving.
CABBAGE SALAD
Ingredients:
1 medium cabbage, grated
1 finely chopped cucumber
1 small finely chopped capsicum
1 chopped onion
½ cup roasted groundnut powder
1 t roasted sesame seeds
1 T lemon juice.
Salt, pepper and red chili powder to taste.
1. Chill all ingredients and mix together well at time of serving.
RAVA UTHAPAM (SEMOLINA PANCAKE)
Ingredients:
2 Cups semolina (Rava)
1 ½ cup curd (plain yogurt)
2 medium onions cut lengthwise.
1 finely chopped skinned tomato, salted to taste
10 tsp oil to make pancake.
½ chopped ginger
1-2 chopped green chili
½ tsp roasted cumin seed powder.
A few fresh chopped coriander leaves.
Directions:
1. Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl, to form a somewhat thick, pouring consistency.
2. Heat skillet. Thinly coat with oil. Cook on both sides until lightly browned.
3. Serve hot with green (coconut and chili or other favorite) chutney.
IDLI (RICE CAKES) – STEAM COOKED
Ingredients:
1 ½ Cup boiled (raw) rice
¾ Cup black gram dal
4 tsp. Oil.
Salt and pepper to taste.
Directions:
1. Soak rice and dal separately in water overnight.
2. Wash drain and grind to a paste separately, then mix together and set aside to ferment for 8-10 hours.
3. Apply a little warm water and salt to taste in the mixture.
4. Steam cook in a thali (flat small dish) for 15 minutes in a rice cooker.
5. Remove the container from cooker, cut the cake in squares and serve hot with green chutney.
MOONG KHICHADI (GREEN RICE) (Microwave)
Ingredients:
1 Cup uncooked rice
1 Cup Moong sprouts (green gram whole)
2-3 pinches asafetida, to taste.
¼ tsp. Turmeric powder
2 tbsp. Ghee
2 tbsp coriander-cumin seeds (roasted)
2 tsp sugar.
1 tsp chili powder.
2 tbsp grated fresh coconut.
2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander
salt to taste.
Directions:
1. Wash the rice and moong sprouts. Drain
2. Put the ghee in a glass bowl and microwave on high for about 30 seconds.
3. add the rice, moong sprouts, asafetida, turmeric powder, spices and 2 ½ cup water.
4. Cover and microwave on high for about 15 minutes. Stirring in between every 5 minutes.
5. Garnish with freshly cut coriander leaves and grated, fresh coconut and serve hot.
Note:
We can make this rice (khichadi) using vegetables like freshly chopped beans, carrots cauliflower, potato, onion, green peas or other sprouted pulses. We may add these in various combinations to make tasty nutritious dishes.
KHICHDI
1C Sago (Sabundana)(looks like Tapioca) -soaked overnight
Wash and soak in ½ C water overnight.
IN the morning add 1 T gee in hot pan. Add 1t cumin seed to crackle
2 Chopped green chilies
Add soaked Sago
½ C roasted crushed peanuts.
Add Salt to taste
Cook for 3-4 minutes over slow heat, stir,
Sweeten to taste.
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Suji Halva
Ingredients:
1/2 cup suji (semolina)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup ghee
1 1/2 cup water
1 oz sliced almonds
1 oz raisins
8 green cardamoms
Directions: How to Cook Suji Halva (Semolina Halva)1. Boil sugar and water together for 5 minutes. 2. Heat ghee add suji and stir on a slow fire till mixture becomes light creamy in color and ghee leaves the side of the pan. 3. Add the syrup and stir briskly till it is absorbed in the semolina. 4. Mix crushed cardamom seeds, almonds, and raisins. 5. Serve hot.
