Mohammed Rafi-my favorite singer

Mohammed Rafi (Hindi: मोहम्मद रफ़ी, Urdu: محمد رفیع; December 24, 1924 – July 31, 1980), was an Indian playback singer whose career spanned four decades.^[1] He won a National Award and 6 Filmfare Awards. In 1967, he was honoured with the Padma Shri by the Government of India.^[2]

In a career spanning about 40 years, Rafi sang over 26,000 film songs.^[3] His songs ranged from classical numbers to patriotic songs, sad lamentations to highly romantic numbers, qawwalis to ghazals and bhajans, and from slow melancholic tunes to fast and melodious fun filled songs. He had a strong command of Hindi and Urdu and a powerful range that could accommodate this variety.^[4] He sang in many Indian languages including Hindi, Konkani, Urdu, Bhojpuri,Oriya, Punjabi, Bengali, Marathi, Sindhi, Kannada, Gujarati, Telugu, Maghi, Maithili and Assamese. He also recorded a few English, Persian, Spanish andDutch songs.

An article in Times of India, published on July 24, 2010 sums up his voice as, "If there are 101 ways of saying "I love you" in a song, Mohammed Rafi knew them all. The awkwardness of puppy love, the friskiness of teen romance, the philosophy of unrequited love and the anguish of heartbreak - he could explore every crevice of ardour. It wasn't just love, his voice could capture the navras of life - a failed poet's melancholy, a fiery unionist's vim, a debt-ridden farmer's despair, really anybody at all. Rafi, whose career spanned nearly four decades, was a singer for every season and every reason."^[5]

YOUR INGREDIENTS OUR METHOD

HOW TO MAKE A LITTI CHOWKA
Ingredients

For Covering2 cups wheat (gehun) flour
1/2 tsp carom seeds (ajwain)
2 tbsp refined oil
3/4tsp salt
2 tbsp of ghee

For Stuffing1 cup roasted bengal gram flour
2 to 4 green chillies , finely chopped
1/2 tsp roasted cumin seeds (jeera)
ginger (adrak) , finely chopped
1/2tsp finely chopped garlic (lehsun)
1/2 cup finely chopped coriander (dhania)
1 tsp dried mango powder (amchur)
1 tsp stuffed red chilly pickle masala
1 tsp lemon juice (optional)
1/2 tsp carom seeds (ajwain)
1 tbsp finely chopped onions (optional)
2 tsp mustard (rai / sarson) oil
water
salt to taste

For Chokha2 medium sized boiled potatoes
1 medium sized brinjal (baingan / eggplant)
3 medium sized tomatoes
2-4 finely chopped green chillies
1/2 cup finely chopped onions
1 tbsp finely chopped coriander (dhania)
1 tsp mustard (rai / sarson) oil
salt to taste

For Littirefined oil for frying

Method

For covering

1. Sieve the flour and add salt,ajwain,kalonji,refined oil
2. Knead the dough properly with water and make a stiff dough.
3. Cover with a wet cloth and keep aside.

For stuffing

1. Take sattu or roasted gram flour in a bowl.
2. Add all the ingredients and mix well. In case the stuffing is bit dry, you can add little water.
3. Make sure the stuffing is not too dry and not to soft.

For litti

1. Take the dough.
2. Make 6-7 medium equal sized balls.
3. Take each ball and flatten the ball a bit with your palm and make depression.
4. Fill a portion of the stuffing and close the balls by lifting the sides by hand and flatten the litti a bit by pressing your palm.
5. Keep it aside.
6. Heat oil in a non-stick kadhai.
7. Fry the litti till golden brown*

For chokha

1. Boil the tomatoes and keep aside.
2. Half-cut the brinjal and roast on the fire from both the sides untill it becomes soft.
3. Take a bowl of cold water and put the roasted brinjal in it.
4. Peel of the burnt skin of the brinjal.
5. Mash boiled potatoes,brinjal and tomatoes together.
6. Add finely chopped onion,coriander leaves,salt,green chillies and oil.
7. Add all the ingredients.
8. Chokha is ready

For serving

1. Cut the litti in equal halves and put 1 tsp hot ghee in between
2. Serve hot with chokha.