Rajasthani Sattu | Badi Teej Sattu

I have observed people from my Marwari community here in the US celebrate our Rajasthani festivals like Teej and Gangaur with so much zeal.  Last year for Badi Teej Sinjaara about 90 women had a get-together at an event hall, we had potluck menu that was pre-decided and selected from (I took Pav Bhaji), a henna artist was called to apply henna on hands, some of my friends planned a game for everyone to play together, they performed a group dance, and we all had so much fun in those 4 hours of our Teej Sinjaara event!

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Crater Chocolate Cake | Eggless Baking

Molten chocolate cakes or Chocolate lava cakes are very popular.  When you cut into one, the chocolate "lava" magically flows out.  So you basically have a chocolate cake that you can eat with the rich, saucy chocolate "lava" which is like a chocolate pudding, or a chocolate sauce.  This Crater Chocolate Cake is NOT the Chocolate Lava Cake.

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Sweet, Sour, and Spicy Mango and Strawberry Salad

When my mom came to stay with us after my delivery to help us with our babies, she also cooked a full meal for lunch and dinner so we could eat healthy and fresh food every day.  The full meal basically consisted of roti, curry, rice, dal, and salad, and once in a while there were desserts.  She made several kinds of salads and the best part was that there were no fancy salad dressings needed.

One such salad was this simple, delicious, sweet sour and spicy Mango and Strawberry Salad.

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On Festival, Fasting, and Food

I think I started fasting for Gangaur and Teej festivals since age 13.  Usually by then a lot of girls my age were told to start fasting to get a "good husband".  While young girls or older women kept their fast by eating once a day or at least having fruits, I used to not even drink water until I saw the moon (for Teej puja).  I think I did that all the way until my undergrad years.

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Easy Eggless No-Bake Blueberry Cheesecake | Eggless Dessert Idea

There are three parts to making an eggless no-bake blueberry cheesecake:

1. Base / Bottom Crust Layer

To make the base crust for cheesecake, you can use graham crackers, digestive biscuits, Nilla wafers, Oreo cookie biscuits, or any such biscuits that can be crushed to a texture that feels like sand.  You can easily make graham crackers at home with this recipe.

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Healthy Homemade Mango Roll-ups and Oven-dried Tomatoes

Call it mango leather, mango fruit roll-ups, mango cigar rolls, or oven-dried mango strips - it's the same thing.

Call it sun-dried tomatoes, oven-dried tomatoes, or dehydrated tomatoes - it's the same thing.

What would take 3-4 days under the sun for their water content to evaporate and dry out will take only 3-4 hours in the oven (the trade-off is smaller quantity).  And since making one or the other in an oven required 4 hours of electricity, I just made the mango roll-ups and oven-dried tomatoes simultaneously.
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Singhare ki Puri and Arbi ki Sabji

After my marriage I was at my in-laws’ place for a month before coming to US.  During my stay there was some festival or some religious fasting day that occurred, I cannot recall which one.  But I very clearly remember when my mother-in-law prepared Singhare ki Poori and Arbi ki Sabji for lunch that day and served me, after asking for two servings I was so embarrassed to ask for more even though my tongue and tummy screamed for more.  It was the first time I was eating those dishes, that combination, and it became my instant favorite.

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