Bhee Tikki Archives |

Green Garlic Galore: 10 Delicious Sindhi Style Recipes to Try

Alka Keswani — Wed, 07 Jan 2026 16:00:54 +0000

Mumbaikars often romanticise Mumbai’s monsoon, but the winters here are just adorable – not for misty, foggy weather like in the mountains in the East or chilly temperatures in North India, but for the vibrant array of fresh fruits and veggies in the markets. The Markets around are adorned with the Strawberries from nearby hills, Grapes from Nashik, Guavas from Sholapur, Oranges from Nagpur, the leafy greens like fenugreek, spinach (local and from Narayangaon), Root veggies like Kand, Radish, Red carrots, Sweet potatoes, Cruciferous veggies and plump Green Peas and not to forget the Winter gems: Bathua, Hara chana saag, Sarson ka saag and Spring Garlic, truly a treat for food lovers! Winter Favourties: The diversity of produce inspires delicious recipes and warm dishes, making Mumbai winters remarkable. While Bogi Ji Bhaji, Mulyache Varan, Gaajar Halwa, Sarson Ka Saag , Gobi Ke Parathe, Undhiyu, Umbadiyu, Ponk, Bathua Saag, Matar Ka Nimona, Gongura, Dappalam, Karaisutir Kochuri, Haldi Ki Subzi, and Amla Pickles/Murraba rule the kitchens and hearts of foodies in Mumbai, Sindhi community celebrates winter produce in the most delicious way by making simple yet nutritious curries and pickles using seasonal vegetables! Turnips are turned into hearty mash as well as tangy pickle. Carrots are used in pulav, mixed vegetables, pickle, etc., not to forget the mighty Gajrun Jo Seero. Peas enrich the flavors of pulav, potato toasters, samosas, and potato curries, among others. Fenugreek, cauliflower, and radish are also often on the winter special menus in Sindhi kitchens, along with some rare gems like Suhanjhde Ja Gulah (Moringa Flowers), Pali (Hara Chana Saag), and D’adhri And though I adore all of the above seasonal specials, the one ingredient that makes my winters exceptional is the Green Garlic or Spring Garlic (Kind of crazy to call it Spring Garlic when it is available in winters in Mumbai). The tender immature garlic, harvested before it forms a proper bulb is heart and soul of many traditional dishes in Maharashtra as well as in Gujarat. Sindhi cuisine boasts of many seasonal dishes bursting with mild garlicky, sweetish, slightly pungent flavours of green garlic known as Saee (Green) Thoom (Garlic) in Sindhi. Highlighting some of the Sindhi Winter specials featuring Green garlic while drooling at the thought of cooking and relishing my winter favourites. 10 delicious Sindhi recipes featuring green garlic! 1) Thoom Ja Vada: Fried Patty made from pounded Green garlic Just pound some green garlic, chillies, coriander leaves and add basic spices for flavour, besan for binding and shape the dough in a round tikki, deep fry and relish one of the most intriguing winter delight! Click Here for detailed recipe of Thoom Ja Vada along with recipe video 2) Chithyal Gogroon : Mashed Turnips’ curry flavored with fresh green garlic Chopped turnips cooked with caramelized onions, tomatoes, green garlic and regular spices, gently mashed to make the slightly sweetish and a little pungent curry. Click Here for detailed recipe of Chithyal Gogroon Turnips cooked across the years 🙂 3) Gobi Patata : Cauliflower and Potatoes cooked in pounded mix of fresh green garlic, coriander leaves, chillies and a little of fenugreek leaves, in an Iron Kadai Blanch, drain and deep fry florets of one medium sized cauliflower. Cut 2 medium sized potatoes in wedges and fry till soft. Make sure to add some salt to cauliflower and potatoes while frying. Remove excess oil from kadai leaving behind 2 tsp oil and add pounded mix of a handful of chopped fresh green garlic , handful of coriander leaves, 2-3 chillies, ginger and saute for 2-3 minutes. Add 2 tomatoes, chopped, salt as per taste, 1/4 tsp of turmeric and cook covered on low flame till tomatoes are mushy. Add fried Gobi and alu , 1 heaped tbsp of coriander powder and a hint of garam masala powder and mix everything. Sprinkle some water over the subzi and cook cover till the oil separates. 4) Gajrun Jo Saandhano : Red carrots stuffed with mix of pickled in Mustard oil, fresh green garlic and pickling spices Click here for the detailed recipe! 5) Gogrun Ji Khatain: Turnips pickled in Sindhi style Kanji water, a zero oil, winter special pickle flavored with green garlic! Get the detailed recipe, here! 6) Juar Jo Dhodho : Patted Jowar Roti (Bhakri style) flavored with onions, green garlic and chillies. Check the recipe of Millet Roti, here! 7) Seyal Phulka : Leftover rotis’ ‘Pasta’ cooked in a pounded mix of fresh green garlic, coriander leaves, ginger and chillies in tomato sauce. You can find one recipe of Seyal Phulka without green garlic here! Here is the recipe to make Seyal Phulka using spring garlic ! Pound half cup of chopped green garlic, handful of coriander leaves, 2-3 green chillies and ginger in a mortar pestle. Heat 2 tbsp oil in a kadai, saute the pounded mix till well cooked (3-4 minutes), add 2 small tomatoes, chopped, salt, turmeric powder and cook till tomatoes are mushy. Add 1 tbsp coriander powder and cook further for 2 minutes. Add 1 and half glass of water and bring it to a boil. Tear 3 leftover rotis into bite sized pieces and add to the bubbling mix. Lower the flame after a minute and cook till excess of water evaporates. Garnish with fresh coriander leaves and lemon juice and enjoy with roasted Papad. 8) Beeh Ji Tikki : Boiled Lotus stem stuffed with a pounded mix of green garlic and coriander leaves along with basic spices, dipped in Besan batter and deep fried. Click Here for the recipe of Beeh Ji Tikki 9) Saaee Thoom Ain Methi Pulao: Fenugreek and Spring garlic Pulao with assorted vegetables like Potato, Apple Gourds, Peas, carrots etc. You can find the recipe of Thoom Methi Pulao here. Just use 4-5 tender stalks of Green garlic instead of Garlic mentioned in the recipe 10) Mooli Paratha: Grated Radish flavoured with Green Garlic and basic spices stuffed in a Paratha Grate 2 Radishes. Add salt and leave aside for 10 minutes. Squeeze well to remove excess water, adjust salt, add turmeric, chilli powder. Pound 2 green chillies, 2-3 stalks of green garlic (green as well as white part), little of coriander leaves and add to the stuffing mixture. You can add pounded Annardana, Jeera powder, Amchoor etc. Mix everything and use this mixture to stuff the Parathas. Roll each paratha and cook on medium flame till crisp. Slather some white butter and enjoy with Dahi or Raita. Did this post stimulate your appetite? Do you have other ideas to use Green Garlic ? Do let me know in the comment section! BTW which one of the above mentioned dishes, is your most favourite?

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Beeha Ji Tikki|Stuffed Lotus stem Tikki

Alka Keswani — Mon, 29 Dec 2014 15:32:27 +0000

A Sindhi’s love for Lotus stem dates back to pre-partition era and our forefathers loved the nutty flavored, woodsy looking, stringy/hairy stem of Lotus flower so much that they started cultivating it here in India, around their homes, and hence this Lotus stem or Beeh is still found mostly in Sindhi dominated areas.Those who grew up in areas like Ulhasnagar, Chembur, Khar, Pune, Indore or such other Sindhi populated places, might have tasted, the stuffed Beeh tikki. A signature Sindhi snack, Beeha Ji tikki, is now hardly available in Sindhi eateries and is seldom cooked at homes. I still remember those days when we used to buy this tikki from Pakora vendors.The shop of Ballu Uncle in Ulhasnagar camp 4, was so popular because of his Beeh ji tikki, that it became a landmark for areas around, and the lane opposite to his shop, was known by his name. In the evening, the hot crispy, spicy stuffed lotus stem tikkis, with green chutney, attracted not only the locals but also the people from far and wide.The Man is no more, neither is his shop, but the taste of Beeh tikkis lingers on. This week I received yet another batch of amazingly fresh lotus root/stem from my Mother-in-law along with my favorite fresh green garlic and I instantly craved for some Beeh tikkis. And oh ! there are some fresh turnips and freshly milled Jowar flour that she packed for me, so Chithyal ghogrun and Juar jo dodo shall be my lunch tomorrow ;-). Thank you Ma 🙂 The lotus stem must be cleaned properly, boiled and then stuffed with the mixture of greens. You can use regular garlic, but this time I used fresh green garlic, that imparts more verdant flavor. The besan batter coated tikkis could be fried completely at one go, if you wish to make it less sinful. But Sindhis have this evil affinity for double frying their snacks for the sake of enjoying crispy and crunchy munchies ;-). So pick your choice ! Heading towards the recipe of Sindhi Beeh Tikki, here we go… Print Beeha Ji Tikki|Stuffed Lotus stem Tikki Prep time: 15 mins Cook time: 20 mins Total time: 35 mins Serves: 5 Lotus stem stuffed with green masala, dipped in chickpea batter and double fried Ingredients Beeh/bhein (Kamalkakdi or Lotus stem) 250 gm For Stuffing Coriander leaves ½ cup Green chillies 4-5 Chopped Fresh green garlic 2 tbsp Turmeric powder ¼ spoon Coriander Powder 2 tsp Amchoor (Optional) ¼ tsp Salt as per taste To make batter for coating Gram flour (Besan) 1 small cup Salt as per taste Red chilli powder ½ tsp Baking soda a pinch Oil for frying Method Wash thoroughly the lotus stem and cut it into pieces, each about 2 inches long. Now boil these in a pressure cooker with some salt and water, till almost done. Depending upon the quality of lotus stem, the time to cook varies.To soften the stem faster add few drops of oil or sindhi papad while boiling. The lotus stem that I used, was fresh and of good quality. I put it on low flame for 4 minutes after one whistle (of pressure cooker) and it was just perfect to stuff and fry. Meanwhile mix chopped coriander leaves, green chillies and chopped fresh garlic in mortar-pestle (Hamam Dasta) and pound it to obtain a coarse mixture.Please do not grind it. Add salt, turmeric powder, coriander powder, amchoor powder (optional) and mix it properly Take each piece of boiled lotusstem, slit it vertically and stuff the mixture properly. Now take besan in a bowl, add some salt, red chilly powder and baking soda and mix it properly. Add water to make a batter of thick consistency Dip each stuffed lotusstem piece in batter and coat it properly. Fry it in hot oil on medium flame for a while, then take it out and press a little in between your palms (carefully so as to not break it) and fry again till crisp and golden colour.Repeat the procedure for remaining pieces Serve this Bheeya ji tikki with coriander and mint chutney or any chutney of your choice. Goes well with Dal rice, or Tidali dal 3.5.3251

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Beeh (lotus stem) Tikki

Alka Keswani — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 20:01:36 +0000

Few days back there was a food event where in the host called upon for Pakora recipes and being a sindhi I have no reason not to participate in that, coz Sindhis are world illfamous famous for their love for crispy pakoras , fritters, Tikkis etc, basically anything deep fried. But I wanted to make something special….something which is closely associated to Sindhi cuisine, is something unusual yet delicious….My thoughts wandered from Palak pakora to mix vegetable pakora but I wasn’t satisfied.Then after spending many days in deciding what to come up with, I zero in down on Beeh Ji Tikki….a stuffed lotus stem, coated with chickpea flour batter and deep fried. But my enthusiasm was crushed ,when I was unable to find lotus stem in our regular veggie market and despite of many rounds in market I could not hunt them in required time.I missed out the wonderful event 🙁 I was bit upset and just over a casual talk, I told my mother about it and as everyone knows how Mothers are…..these crispy lovely Beeh (Lotus stem) Tikkis landed at my doorsteps in no matter of time Yes… my father grabbed some Beeh from God- knows- where and my mother made the tikkis from them and send them to me. No marks for guessing how much I enjoyed these! So now I am sending this to dear pooja and this is my yet another entry for Pooja’s Theme of the week-Saffron white green Beeh (kamalkakdi or lotus stem) Ji Tikki Print Beeh (lotus stem) Tikki Prep time: 30 mins Cook time: 15 mins Total time: 45 mins Serves: 4-5 Beeh or kamalkakdi or lotus stem are stuffed and then coated with a layer of spiced besan layer, deep fried tikkis, a very special tikki from Sindhi cuisine Ingredients Beeha/bhein (Kamalkakdi or Lotus stem) 250 gm Coriander leaves -A small bunch Green chillies 4-5 Garlic 10-12 cloves Turmeric powder ¼ spoon Coriander Powder 2 tsp Amchoor (Optional) ¼ tsp Gram flour(Besan) 1 small cup Salt as per taste Red chilli powder ¼ tsp Baking soda a pinch Oil for frying Method Wash thoroughly kamalkakdi and cut it into pieces of about 2 inches long Now boil these in a pressure cooker with some salt and water, till 1 whistle Prick it with knife to check whether kamalkakdi is almost cooked or else boil it further.Depending upon the quality of kamalkakdi, the time to cook varies and if you are one of those unlucky people who is cooking beeh that just refuses to soften even after hell lots of cooker whistles, then make them cook faster by adding few drops of oil or sindhi papad (my MIL gave that tip) while boiling Meanwhile mix chopped coriander leaves, green chillies and garlic in mortar-pestle (Hamam Dasta) and pound it to obtain a coarse mixture.Please do not grind it. In case you don't have mortar pestle just crush them on flat surface with rolling pin etc Add salt, turmeric powder, coriander powder, amchoor powder (optional) and mix it properly Now take besan in a bowl, add some salt, red chilly powder and baking soda and mix it properly.Add water to make a batter of thick consistency Now take each piece of boiled kamalkakdi, slit it vertically and stuff the mixture properly. Dip it in besan batter and coat it properly. Fry it in hot oil on medium flame for a while, then take it out and press a little in between your palms (carefully so as to not break it) and fry again till crisp and golden colour.Repeat the procedure for remaining pieces Serve this Beeha ji tikki with coriander and mint chutney and get praised for your hard work 2.2.1 Well, to mark the occasion of Indian Independence day which falls on 15th of August, Pooja asked every participant to write something about India, its culture or its history. I on my part would like to end up this post with lyrics of this song, that describe Indians according to my perspective (please do take it on lighter note:-)) Hum logon ko samajh sako to samjho dilbar jaani Jitna bhi tum samjhoge utni hogi hairaani Apni chhatri tumko dedein kabhi jo barse paani Kabhi naye packet mein bechein tumko cheez puraani Phir bhi dil hai hindustani Phir bhi dil hai hindustani Phir bhi dil hai hindustani Phir bhi dil hai hindustani (If you can understand we Indians, then do try,the more you know about us,the more you will be amazed.On one hand we can hand over our umbrellas to the needy, when its raining and on the other hand we can even cheat you out by selling you outdated stuff, but after all said and done…we are Indians at our heart, with loads of love for our nation)

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