Makai ni Khichdi or Makai no Chevdo

Makai ni khichdi or Makai no chevdo as it is know by the most people, is a popular snack in Gujarat, but I had never heard of it until I got married:). It is prepared by cooking fresh corn kernels in milk, along with coconut, coriander and some spices.


I was born and brought up in Bombay. Despite of being Gujarati, I never realized that we (in my family) didn’t make many authentic Gujarati dishes, and had never even heard of them. My MIL makes many authentic Gujarati dishes, which either I hadn’t tasted before, or I had never heard of them before. Makai no chevdo is one of them. They call it chevdo, but to me it looks more like khichdi. This is one of the healthy and tasty Gujarati dishes which everyone should try.

My MIL makes it with yellow corn kernels available here in the USA. I am not sure if they make it with white corn in India. I personally think that the yellow corn version is better, because it is naturally sweet, and no additional sugar is needed in this recipe.

Here is the recipe.
Ingredients:
1 Cup Frozen Corn Kernels, Thawed (You can use fresh corn too),
½ Cup Milk,
¼ Cup Water,
Salt to Taste
1 Teaspoon Chili-Ginger Paste (or Per Taste)
¼ Cup Shredded Coconut (Fresh or Frozen),
½ Cup Chopped Cilantro,
1/8 Teaspoon Turmeric Powder, Optional
1 Tablespoon Oil,
¼ Teaspoon Mustard Seeds,
¼ Teaspoon Cumin Seeds,
A Pinch Asafoetida
Lemon Slices, Optional

Method
Pulse the corn kernels in a grinder 2-3 times such that it resembles a coarse mixture. You can leave some kernels unbroken, it is perfectly fine. Just make sure to not make a smooth paste out of the corn.

Heat oil in a pan and add the mustard seeds to it. Once they finish crackling, add the cumin seeds and asafoetida. Wait for 30 seconds, and then add the corn, salt and chili ginger paste. Stir and cook on low heat for 2-3 minutes making sure that the mixture doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan. Now add the milk, water, cilantro, coconut and the turmeric powder. Turn the heat to medium, cover the pan with a splatter guard and cook the mixture until most of the liquid evaporates. The resulting mixture should have khichdi-like (rice pudding) consistency. I prefer mine a little on drier side, so I cook it a little longer. This is it, your Makai no Chevdo or Makai ni Khichdi is ready to be served.

Serve hot by garnishing with some chopped cilantro and putting some lemon slices on side.

Note: No pictures of this dish. My husband loves it so much that as soon as it is off of the stove and onto a serving plate, it goes into his tummy. Next time, I will remember to take a picture of it before I serving.


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Churma Laddus or Churma na Ladwa(Ladva)

Churma laddu or Churma na ladva is a very famous sweet made from whole wheat flour, ghee and jaggery. We usually make these laddus during Ganesh Chaturthi. This year, I was a bit busy during Ganesh Chaturthi, and never got time to make these laddus, so I made them during navaratri:)

Churma na ladva are made by making a stiff dough out of wheat flour and ghee. This dough is then divided into small portions and deep fried in ghee until crispy. Then it is ground to a coarse powder. This powder is called Churma. Warm ghee and jaggery is added to the churma in order to form ladva.

This was my first time making these laddus, so I was a bit nervous. Ofcourse I didn’t want to fry the flour in ghee, so I took a healthier approach (suggested by my mom). My first trial didn’t turn out very good, so I tried them again the next day, and the result was very good.

Here is the recipe
Ingredients:
1 Cup Whole Wheat Flour (Coarse flour if possible)
1/4th Cup Ghee
1/3rd Cup Jaggery (Gud), Grated or Broken into Very Small Pieces
A Pinch Nutmeg Powder
1/4th Cup Milk
1 Tablespoon Khus Khus (Poppy Seeds)
1 Tablespoon Slivered Almonds, Toasted

Method:

Melt half of the ghee and add to the flour. Mix well. Now add 3-4 Tablespoon of milk in order to form stiff dough. Add more milk if needed. Cover the dough and keep aside for 10 minutes.

Divide the dough in equal portions and roll out a 4 inch diameter disc. This is called Bhakhari. Heat a tava (non stick pan) at low-medium heat. Cook the bhakhari on both sides until it turns golden brown and crispy. Cook the rest of the bhakhari and allow them to cool. Now break the bhakharis into small pieces and grind them to a coarse powder. This powder is called churma.

Heat the remaining ghee and milk in separate containers. Combine the ground powder (churma), nutmeg powder, almond and jaggery in a plate. Pour the melted ghee over the mixture and mix well. While mixing make sure to break the gud with your hands so that no lumps are formed and the gud gets evenly mixed with the flour. Now add 2-3 tablespoon of the milk and mix well. We are adding milk just to bind the flour so that we can form laddus out of it. After adding a little milk, check and see if you can form round balls out of the flour. If not, add some more milk until you are able to form balls.

Spread the poppy seeds in a plate. Roll the balls in the seeds to coat all sides. Let them cool completely and put them in an airtight container. Store them in refrigerator since it contains milk.

(Pictures to be uploaded shortly:))

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