Fajeto (Mango Kadhi/Mango Rasam)

Recipe contributed by: Dhara Balwa

A lot of mango recipes will be coming from my kitchen with summer here. I have already tried a few mango recipes and tomorrow is mango ice cream's turn. But let me not get ahead of myself and talk about Fajeto. Fajeto is a Gujarati recipe which was created to get the most out of mango. That is after you get the pulp or the fruit, the seed of the mango with whatever pulp and juices are left on it is boiled with water and tempered with spices, kind of like rasam. Then it evolved in kadhi. Gujarati kadhi is sweet, tangy and spicy at the same time so may be some mango lover like me would have thought, "How about adding mango to it?" And let me tell you, it tastes amazing! Whoever thought of it needs a round of applause. And apart from the flavor, the color is appealing to the eyes too. My son pronounced his verdict today that Fajeto is his favorite among dals/kadhis. I am not surprised! Try this refreshing recipe that you can have as soup too.

Photo by Dhara Balwa

Serves: 6
Prep time: 12 min Cook time: 30 min
Difficulty level: Easy

Sudanese-style Fava Beans

Recipe contributed by: Dhara Balwa

Sudanese Fava beans is served with fresh bread, the dish known to the locals as Fulaish (Ful - Dry Fava beans, Aish - Bread). It is a common Fatur (Breakfast) meal for them. I lived in an apartment in Khartoum, Sudan that had few stores next to it. The shopkeepers(especially those owning grocery stores) would have a common pot of beans cooking since early morning and just around 11 am, someone will cut the salad vegetables, fill a huge bowl of Ful, top it with sesame oil, Sudanese Jibna (flavors similar to Feta cheese) and salad and mix it all together. The men of all the shops around would get together and eat from the common bowl accompanied with bread. I found similar tradition in other nearby clusters of shops too.

My husband and me usually used to eat it for dinner. There have been times when I cooked dinner and because of the craving, we ended up eating Ful sandwich with dinner to be consumed the next day. Because it was available so easily everywhere in Khartoum, the need to cook it at home didn't arise. But when we came here in US, we couldn't find a restaurant that served Ful the Sudanese style. Searching the aisles and different varieties of main ingredients, we finally settled with the Egyptian Fava beans (It is national dish of Egypt) and Trader Joe's Feta cheese.

High in protein content and bundled with so many vitamins and minerals, try this dry Fava beans recipe.

Photo by Dhara Balwa

Serves: 4
Prep time: 5 min plus 14 hrs soak time for Fava beans; Cook time: ~ 3 hours
Difficulty level: Easy

Chinese Fried Rice

Recipe contributed by : Surekha Mahajan

Fried Rice is the easiest dish to make as you can throw in any vegetables and few sauces and you are good to go, and you can make it from left over rice too. Easy to make still as delicious. You can pair the rice with Vegetable Manchurian or any other Chinese gravy dish, or soups such as Veg corn soup, hot and sour soup.

This recipe is contributed by a great cook, my cooking guru and my neighbor Surekhaji. She is a fantastic cook. A few days ago, we had Chinese meal at her house and she made fried rice, hot and sour soup and Thai spring rolls, and I made Vegetable Manchurian. I will post Hot and Sour soup and Spring Rolls recipes soon.

Serves: 4
Prep time: 20 min. Cooking time: 25 min
Difficulty Level: Easy

Sindhi Besan Tikki Sabzi (Gram Flour Patty in savory curry)

Recipe contributed by: Shilpa Balwani, Gujarat, India

Besan tikki ki sabzi is a very popular Sindhi dish. One reason of the popularity is the base gravy which is so delicious and other because it is so quick to make. When you don't have many options in vegetables/out of vegetables, you can quickly make this and serve with hot phulkas (Indian roti). You can also fry the tikkis/patties and I am sure they would taste better. My mom suggests shallow frying is an option too as sort of middle ground. :)

This yum recipe is yet another contribution from my cousin, Shilpa. I can't state enough times that she is such a good cook! Look for other recipes from her on the blog. You won't be disappointed by the mouth-watering dishes.

Photo by Shilpa Balwani

Dum Aloo

Recipe Contributed By : Rashmi Sampat

Dum Aloo is one of my favorite potato recipe. We avoid fried food in my family, so I made these Dum Aloo's by baking them and it did not taste any different than fried version. So if you can save some calories by not frying, why not?

I have asked to prick the potatoes in this recipe. It helps potatoes absorb the spices fast, and potatoes will cook perfectly. If you like, you can fry the potatoes, too.

Serves : 4-5
Preparation Time: 15 minutes Cooking Time: 30 Minutes
Difficulty Level: Medium

Vegetable Manchurian

Recipe Contributed by : Rashmi Sampat

Vegetable manchurian is one of my favorite Indo-chinese dish. This dish was inspired by Sanjeev Kapoor's book "Best of Chinese Cooking". I have made some changes according to my taste and preference. You can add or reduce the heat(spiciness) acoording to your taste.

Serves: 12

Prep time: 30 min Cook time: 30 min 

Difficulty level: Medium

Spicy Basil Fried Rice

Recipe contributed by: Kruti Verma, Virginia, USA.

Thai food is one of the favorite cuisines here in the DC area. And why not? The dishes are so flavorful. This delicious Thai recipe is the vegetarian version of the traditional Spicy basil chicken fried rice that does not use fish sauce/oyster sauce and of course the chicken itself. Please note that the spice level can be adjusted according to your taste. Note you can also use left-over rice for this dish.

Image contributed by Kruti Verma

Serves heartily: 3
Prep time: 15-20 min Cooking time: 30 min
Difficulty level: Easy