In my kitchen

Ambode

2011-10-27T18:05:00.000-07:00

Happy Diwali to all my fellow bloggers! Festival of light is calling for a special recipe and what better than Ambode to get started. Ambode or dal vada or masala vada is a great appetizer to kick start any party. Straight to the recipe below -

Ingredients -

Chana dal (split gram dal): 1 cup
Green chilies: 4-5 or to your spice level
Grated ginger - one spoonful
chopped onions - 1 cup
Curry leaves: few
Coriander leaves (Cilantro): few
hing powder - a pinch
Oil - for deep frying purpose
Salt: to taste

Method - Soak channa dal for 2-3 hrs. Later, grind channa dal into coarse paste. Add chopped oinion, chopped chillies, curry leaves, chopped ginger, coriander, hing and salt to the paste. Mix well. In a frying pot, heat oil. When hot enough, take a spoonful of channa paste, roll it into a ball and pat it flat about an 3/4 inch. Drop it into the hot oil. Repeat it for 6 time or until the pot is semi full. Fry them until golden brown. Take off from my oil and enjoy vada once they are warm enough to eat.

Helpful hints - Do not add lot of water while grinding channa dal. I find wet grinders to be very useful for grinding dals for this recipe. Do not mix chopped onion and salt if you are not deep frying the channa dal paste immediately. Onion and salt make the paste watery and hard to deep fry. If in case the paste turned out to be watery, then add rice flour to make it solid. You can also add chopped mint or dill leaves to this recipe. Onion is optional if you don't want to use it.

Sajjige Rotti

2011-08-10T14:08:00.000-07:00

Mom told me about sajjege (means Semolina rava) rotti on a phone conversation few years back, but not until my recent visit to India I got to know what I have been missing all these years. Mom was right as always; these are one of the tastiest healthy rotti my taste buds feasted upon. Now I am hocked; wish my family did too - they are still ' idly vada dose' fan and nothing at present seems to sway them away. Anyway, straight to the recipe; try these and let me know what your taste bud scream about this!

Ingredients -
2 cup Semolina / Bombay Rava / Sajjige
grated cucumber - 3 (peel the skin before grating it)
chopped curry leaves about 2 strand
chopped cilantro about fistful
chopped green chillies about 2 or more /less depending on your spice level
salt to taste

Need - wax paper

Method - Peel skin off cucumber. Grate it and don't discard the water that oozes out of cucumber. Now mix all the above ingredients. DO NOT ADD WATER while mixing. The water from cucumber will be more than enough. Don't make this a thick dough; its needs to be little loose. The correct consistency is when you hold the dough - its shouldn't drip and at the same time it should break into pieces when you pat the dough or too hard to roll into rotti with your fingers.

Now once the dough is done. Heat the griddle. Cut wax paper into a rectangular shape or round shape ( as big as the griddle) ... its up to you. Grease the paper and take handful of bough, place it on the wax paper, pat it into thin round roti with your fingers. Once that's done, place the wax paper on the griddle - make sure the dough is facing the griddle. Leave it there for about a minute. Now lift the wax paper off the griddle. Apply oil to the roti and turn it to the other side. Once both side are well cooked, take it out and serve hot. Relish it with chutney powder. Continue the same process for the rest of the dough.

Helpful hints - There are many cucumber variety out there. Mom said mullu sautekai (don't know what its called in English - but looks much like prickly cucumber) brings out fantastic fragrance to this recipe. I have tried this with Persian cucumber and I am afraid the taste is not the same. I did find mullu sautekai at the local Indian grocery here in Dallas (how lucky!) I have also tried adding chopped onion to this recipe. I admit its not the same taste. But I would skip adding onion and stick to the original recipe.

Tatte Idly - made with Sujji rava and White lentils

2011-07-27T13:12:00.000-07:00

Don't get distracted by the name of this idly. Tatte Idlies are regular idly but steamed in tatte (plate) instead of regular idly stand. You can buy tatte mould at any Indian grocery here in USA. I got mine from India during my recent trip and thoroughly enjoying different shape of idly. The recipe however is new to most of you. I am using sujji rava instead of idly rava (rice based rava). By the way, tatte idly is prepared with regular idly batter, I am making mine with sujji rava and white lentils for a change. Now straight to the recipe, let me know how your idly came out.

Ingredients-

2 cups sujji rava
1 cup urad dal
salt to taste

Method - Soak urad dal for about an hour. Meanwhile steam cook sujji rava in a pressure cooker without the whistle for about 10 - 15 minutes. Make sure rava doesn't get wet in the process. Grind soaked dal into smooth paste. Add cooled sujji rava to the paste ans mix well. Ferment it overnight. Usually the batter doubles in size and that's how you know batter is ready for idly. Add salt to taste just before you pour it on all tatte for steaming. Steam for 15 minutes and idly are ready. Enjoy it with coconut chutney and / or chutney puddi and a dash of fresh butter - yum yum!

Helpful hints - You can either steam sojji rava or pan fry it (without oil). Failure to do this will make idly come out sticky and hard. Oil tatte before pouring idly batter. Allow idlies to cool down for 5 minutes as soon as you turn off the fire. Don't refrigerate batter if its excess - I personally felt that idlies don't comes out as fluffy as the one before. So use all batter to make idies and you can always refrigerate idlies :)

Uddina Hittu gojju

2011-07-13T16:03:00.000-07:00

Uddu means "Split black lentils" in kannada and hittu translates to "powder". So here you go, summoning the whole recipe in a sentence - curry made out of split black lentils powder. As easy as it sounds, it is even more easier to make. A word of caution though - the taste of this dish is very subject to once like. Since this dish is traditional to south canara localities in India, I high doubt if my own friends know about this dish or even may like its taste. Anyway, try it and let me know in the comment section below.

Ingredients -
2tbsp Urad Dal/Split black gram powder/uddina hittu
1 Cup Curds
2 Green Chili or more/less depending upon your spice level
Few Curry leaves
Gratted ginger - about half spoon
1tbsp Coriander leaves
1½ tsp Oil
½ tsp Mustard Seeds
1/4 spoon of channa and urad dal
hing powder - a pinch
Salt to taste

Method - Mix Curds, Urad Dal Powder, Coriander leaves and Salt and keep it aside. Mash green chilies with your hands into mixture ( if you don't want to handle green chilies with your hands, then you can mince chillies) Heat Oil and add Mustard Seeds and when they splutter add channa, urad dal. When the dals turn golden add grated ginger curry leaves and pinch of Hing and pour it on the Urad Dal mixture and mix well.

Serve with plain hot white Rice. This gojju goes very well with coconut oil on top the rice and raw onions ... yum yum!

majjige huli - version II

2011-07-03T11:01:00.000-07:00

I have posted majjige huli recipe back in March 2010. The one I am sharing today is slightly different version - the vegetables you can use for this recipe are Okra, Tindoras ,Ash gourd , cucumber, and long beans. I personally don't use potato, beans, carrot, peas and capsicum for this recipe. For the folks who like methi seeds favor in their curry; this is a must try recipe for them. Without much delay, here's my mom version of majjige huli. Of course, I have used Okra here. Enjoy!

Ingredients -
Okra - washed, pat dry and cut to half inch long (3 cups).
one cup sour curds or butter milk
3/4 spoon of methi seeds
green chillies - 3 or more
red chili powder - 1/2 spoon or more
Hing powder - few pinch
1 cup shredded coconut
1/2 spoon rice seeds(soak in water for few minutes)
For seasoning : oil, mustard seeds, jeera seeds, chopped curry leaves and red dried chilies (chilies optional)
Salt to your taste

Method - Dry roast methi seeds til they turn golden brown. Grind roasted methi seeds, coconut, raw rice, and green chillies into a fine paste using butter milk ( or curds). DO NOT grind it with water. Mean while boil Okra. Add the grinded butter milk mix to the boiling Okra. Add salt and red chilly powder. Mix well and turn off the fire just before huli starts to boil. Temper it with Musterd seeds, jeers seends, curry leaves, hing and red chillies. Majjige huli is ready; serve with rice ( I enjoyed it with brown rice :)).

Helpful tips - Boiling okra is a trick. You don't want sticky liquid while boiling Okra. Try microwaving Okra; this will eliminate the stickiness - you might want to add little oil while microwaving. Do not make this heat this huli to boiling point - this might curdle this recipe and ruin the whole recipe. Adding raw rice will thicken the gravy. Adding methi bring out savory favor of methi - very unusual favor of majjige huli. This recipe is one of those recipe that needs to be eaten on the day it is made. Refrigerating it for the next day will make methi to give its bitter taste and also gravy turns sticky.

Mysore Masala Dosa

2011-06-19T05:57:00.000-07:00

Mysore is a historically rich city near Bangalore, India. Mysore is known for its palace. Quite a few delicacies are named after this city ranging from the accidentally invented Mysore Pak to Mysore Masala Dosa to Mysore Bonda. I had the opportunity to visit this great city and enjoy its rich food. Here you go ... right to the recipe of the infamous Mysore Masala Dosa.

Ingredients -

For dosa batter-
3 cups rice
1 cup urad dal
1/2 cup sooji rava
2 spoon methi seeds

-Soak rice and methi seeds together for at least six hours. Soak urdal dal for 30 -45 minutes. Grind urdal dal first, transfer it to a mixing bowl and grind rice, methi seeds. Mix all of them together in a big vessel and left it for overnight fermentation. By morning the batter will be doubled. Add half teaspoon of salt to the batter and add sooji rava. Mix it well; batter is ready for crispy Mysore Masala Dosa.

For potato masala-

3 Potatoes - peeled and boiled

One large chopped onions

3-4 green chillies

curry leaves

coriander leaves

lemon juice

turmeric powder

seasoning with mustard seeds, jeera seeds, channa dal, urad dal.

salt to taste

- In a pan, put some oil, add mustard seeds, channa and urad dal, and allow it to splitter. Add green chillies, turmeric powder and curry leaves. Now add chopped onions, salt and fry it till golden brown. Once onions are translucent, add boiled potatoes and mash it. Turn off fire, squeeze lemon juice and garnish it with coriander leaves. Potato Masala is ready.

For red paste masala -

Coconut powder

Garlic

Red dried chillies

salt to tsate

-Grind coconut, red dried chillies and garlic to a coarse paste. Do not add water or may be one spoon if need be. Add salt and the paste is ready for dasa.

Preparing the dosa -

Heat iron skillet. Pour a ladleful of batter on the skillet. Spread it around with the ladle.With the ladle, shape and move the batter outwards in concentric circles - until it shapes in a circular, thin round. Sprinkle half teaspoon of ghee, oil or butter around the batter. Increase the heat high and cook it for few minutes. You may want to cover the skillet for faster even cooking. Once the dosa turns little golden - add a spoon of red paste on one side of the dosa. Spread it evenly and finally place potato curry in the center of the dasa ; fold the dosa in half. Take it out of the skillet and place it on the serving plate. Enjoy the dosa with chutney.

Helpful hints -

Add ghee/ oil / butter nicely for this dosa to be crispy. I have seen people adding raw onion to the red paste. This will make it little liquidy and easy to spread it on dasa.

Mysore Pak

2011-04-14T08:13:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone ... been a while since my last post. Busy is not the excuse I want to shelter in but rather becoming very lazy. Today I am snapping out of it and want to share my latest adventure in my kitchen - Mysore Pak. This South Indian sweet is my father-in-laws favorite one. There are two type of Mysore Pak - one with holes and the other one without any holes. I am sharing the one with holes. A huge thanks to Vah re vah website for this recipe and please check out Vah chef's video on this recipe.

I hope 2011 year has started out amazing for all of you and I wish many more happiness through this year. Happy Ugadhi !

Ingredients :

Besan floor 1.5 cup
Sugar 2 cup
Ghee 1 cup
Oil 1 cup
water 1/2 cup

Method - Mix besan gram flour with little ghee and sieve. This process will eliminate besan from forming balls when you add it to sugar syrup. Meanwhile mix shee and oil together; heat it (not to boiling point). When oil / ghee is getting hot, take sugar in thick bottomed saucer ;add water and let it boil to form sugar syrup. Now add the flour slowly to the sugar syrup and mix rapidly so that no lumps are formed.Then add the hot ghee to the flour , stirring continuously .Cook till the mixture becomes frothy and ghee separates. Spread out on a greased plate. Cut into squares when firm.

Helpful hints - Use aluminum pan to spread out the hot mixture. I was told that aluminum pan can keep it hot and helps in forming holes inside Mysore Pak. Please be cautious since the whole procedure requires cooking at a very hot temperature.

Dil Pasand / Dil kush

2011-01-10T08:28:00.000-08:00

Its been ages since I sunk my teeth on Dil pasand ( a sweet snack filled with tutti frutti and copra). Tutti frutti was banned in US by FDA for its color coating. I guess the ban is now lifted since Indian grocery's are now selling tutti frutti again (not sure for how long). Good for folks like me because Dil pasand is just not possible without tutti frutti. Thanks to Cousin S for making these at her place. A rare treat for me since its been 10 years since I had Dil pasand.

Hope you all had a great holidays and wishing you all best 2011!

Ingredients :-

pastry sheets - 2 (the one used for puff pastry )
Mix below ingredients -
tutti frutti - half cup
dry grated coconut - half cup
poppy seeds - 3 spoonful
sugar powder - 1/4 cup ( more less depending upon your sweet level)
cardamom powder about 1/4 spoon.

Method - Soften the pastry sheets and make it into a dough. Divide the dough into 4 equal balls (if you are using 2 pastry sheets). Roll the ball with a rolling pin and make a chapati. Make two chappatis. Spread the above sweet mix on one of the pastry chappati and cover the other chappati. Seal the edges by pressing the two dough together. Baked it at 345F for about 20 minutes ( until the crust gets golden). Take it out of the oven and cut it into 6 equal parts with pizza knife. Allow it to cool down before eating it. Dilkhush / Dilpasand is ready!

Nutty Flat Noodles

2010-11-28T19:21:00.000-08:00

Nutty Flat Noodles is the name I came up with for my newest creation. If you are a peanut lover like I am, then you will fall in love with this dish. I enjoyed making and relishing it .... and I hope you will try it in your kitchen and love it.

Ingredients -

Flat Noodles about 3 of them (boiled and drained)
Onions length wise
Veggies like carrots, broccoli, green beans - cut length wise
Sprouts about one cup
Tofu cubes fired about one cup
toasted peanuts - coarsely grounded about 1/2 cup
soya sauce as needed
tomato ketcup as needed
chilli sauce as needed

Method - Take a wok, add oil. First add onion, Beans,broccoli and Carrots and fry them for 5 minutes. Once the carrot and beans are little tender add fried Tofu, soy sauce, tomato ketchup, and green chili sauce. Fry them all for 2 minutes. Add boiled noodles and sprouts. Stir them all together for 2 minutes. Add grounded peanuts. Give it a good spin and turn off the flame. Noodles are ready to relish.

Helpful tips: Salt is not necessary to add since soya sauce and tomato ketchup has enough salt for taste. Don't over cook vegetables. Keep it crisp for a better taste. Adjust spice level by adding as needed chilli sauce. You can add any vegetables you want like broccoli and red / green peppers, or cabbage.

Corn bonda

2010-10-27T11:39:00.000-07:00

Cousin Sandhya made these tasty bonda last time we visited her. It was delicious, perfect for tea / coffee time in the evening. Posting her recipe - Thanks S!

Ingredients:-

Maida flour - 1 1/2 cup
frozen Corn - half cup
Finely chopped onions - half cup
Finlely chopped green chillies - to taste
Finely chopped curry leaves and coriander leaves
one spoon jeera seeds
one spoon gratted ginger
3/4 cup curds
Oil for deep fry
salt to taste

Method :- Mix maida and curd into a thick batter. Keep it aside for an hour. De-frost corn in the microwave. Now mix all the above ingredients to the batter and prepare for deep fry. Pour spoonful of batter in the hot oil. Fry it till golden brown. Take it out of oil and rest it on paper towel. Eat it hot.

Helpful hints - Don't make batter too liquidy. Since you will be adding onion it will be more liguidy. So try to make batter little thick.

Hagalkai gojju ( Bittergourd gojju)

2010-10-18T10:37:00.000-07:00

Hagalkai ( Bitter gourd in English) gojju is one of my uncle's favorite dish. Whenever he visits my mom in India, this gojju is a much have lunch / dinner menu. Today I picked up few Hagalkai while grocery shopping. After a quick call to mom and lots of helpful hints from her, I am ready to cook this gojju in my kitchen. Wish my uncle was here to taste it ;) I took many pictures of this gojju but none matched to the taste it really is.

Ingredients :-

One Hagalkai (Chopped and soaked in turmeric and salt water for one hour)
one cup coriander leaves or cilantro leaves
few strands of curry leaves
hing powder - few pinch
4-5 green chillies or to your spice level
Jaggery about a golf size
Tamarind about 4 spoon
salt to taste
tempering with udral, channa and mustard seed

Method :- Chop hagalkai into small pieces ( without seeds) and soak them in turmeric and salt water for about one hour (This is to help minimize bitter taste of hagalkai). In a pan, pour little oil fry coriander leaves, green chillies and curry leaves. Saute them and now add chopped hagalkai ( by squeezing turmeric/salt water of out it). Cover the pan and fry it til hagalkai are cooked. Turn off the fire and allow it to cool down. Now grind them coarsely in a grinder ( by adding little water as needed).

Heat oil in a pan, add mustard seeds, Channa dal, and Urdal dal. Once dals turn golden add the grind hagalkai paste. Add tamarind paste and jaggery. Cook well, add salt. Turn off the fire after boiling it for about 2-3 minutes. Gojju is ready ... enjoy it with white rice.

Helpful hints :- This gojju requires lot of green chillies, tamarind and jaggery to off set the bitter taste of hagalkai. Add them accordingly depending upon the how bitter hagalkai is. I love to eat it with coconut oil and hot white rice ... yum yum!

Avarekai uppitu / Surti Papdi upma

2010-10-10T08:04:00.000-07:00

Here you go ... simple and wholesome recipe of Avarekai Uppitu. What is Avarekai you ask. Avarekai (also called as Surti Papdi in hindi) is like a bean seed used in Indian cuisine. The harvest season of avarekai starts in November and last til February in India. Almost every kitchen in southern India either be cooking Avarekai uppitu or roti or curry or dosa. I won't be surprised if there are any dessert made out of this bean. Here in Texas, I have avarekai available 12 months in a year ... all frozen though (grin!). Anyway ... recipe below. How do you cook avarekai?

Ingredients:-

One cup Avakai
One cup sooji rava
Slit green chillies
few curry and corainder leaves
Gratted coconut - half cup
for seasoning - mustard seeds, Chhana dal, Urad dal.
Lemon juice to taste
Salt to taste

Method:- Pressure cook Avarekai for one whistle and let it cool down. In a big pan, add oil, mustard seeds, channa and urad dal. When dals turn golden add curry leaves and green chilles. Spin it and add sooji rava. Roast rava well till you smell nice aroma. Salt salt and cooked Avarekai (along with the water it was boiled in). Cover the pan and allow it to cook on a medium flame. Once cooked add gratted coconut, coriander leaves and lemon juice. Spin it well and serve hot.

Happy 10/10/10 all .....

Helpful hints:- If you want it tasty, then don't be stingy on oil my friends. When you roast the sooji rava make sure every bit of it is coated in oil. It usually takes 1:2 portion of Rava : water for boiling. I have seen foilks using pepper corn and it also taste good. Make this recipe spicy and sour by adding good number of chillies and lemon juice. You can still make it bland..... portion control is yours :) Of course you can add fried cashews if serving to guest.

Hesarubele Payasa (Yellow Moong dal pudding)

2010-10-05T10:01:00.000-07:00

Today marks a special day to my family; fifteen years ago my mother-in-law departed this suffering world and joined the ultimate one - The God. We don't spend the day mourning but rather reminiscence our joyous moments with her and cook her favorite food. Sweets were her favorite especially hesarubele Payasa and kesaribath. Today we are enjoying those sweets and spend the rest of the day talking about her. Here's to the great human being, a wonderful mother and a very loving wife - May your blessing are always be with us Babby atte. I love you!

Ingredients: -

Hesarubele/Dhuli moong dal/split mung beans without skin - 1cup
Jaggery to your taste
Cardamom powder : 1/2tsp
Coconut milk about one cup
milk : 1 cups or more depending upon the thickness
Ghee for frying dry fruits like raisins and cashews ..if you are using it

Method: Pressure cook moong dal for just one whistle. Open the cooker once safe. Transport it to a bigger vessel, add jaggery, coconut milk and regular milk and boil it. Add cardamom powder and turn off the flame. Garnish it with friend cashews and raisins. Hesarubele payasa is ready; serve mild hot.
Helpful hints:- Make sure moong dal doesn't become mushy and paste when you pressure cook it. Its very important that you turn off the flame after one whistle or just before the first whistle. When you drink this payasa, you want the dal's solid texture. I have seen folks roast the dals before pressure cooking it. It is not necessary to do this. Roasting dals will only delay cooking process. It is very important you use coconut milk to bring out amazing taste to this recipe. Adding only milk will do but its just not the same taste folks. Add jaggery to your sweet level usually requires 1:1 moong : jaggery ratio. You can substitute sugar but seriously its not same taste. Do not use more than 1/2 spoon of ghee to fry nuts and dried grapes. I don't like heavy use of ghee to this payasam.

Gulab Jamoon (made from ready mix)

2010-09-18T04:44:00.000-07:00

Gulab Jamoon is one of my all time favorite dessert. The term gulab jamun comes from Persian, gulab, "rosewater" referring to the rosewater-scented syrup, and Hindustani jamun, "Syzygium jambolanum", a South Asian fruit with a similar size and shape. Gulab Jamoon is prepared with dough consisting mainly of milk solids and flour, fired in oil and soaked in sugar syrup flavored with cardamom seeds and rosewater or saffron.; later garnished by raosted nuts on top of it (optional). Thanks to ready-to-use gulab jamoon mix, this melt-in-your- month dessert can be prepared easily by anyone. If you are one of those folks who carefully followed every direction on the label but ended up with hard jamoons? Then you must ready my tips below. I only hope it answers all that you are doing wrong before.

Ingredients:

One pack of instant gulab jamoon mix (any brand :- MTR, Gits or Nirav; usually 200 gram)
Sugar for making syrup
Oil for deep frying
Cardamom powder
few strands of saffron
Few nuts roasted for garnishing (optiional)

Method:

Prepare sugar syrup first. Use 1:2 ratio of sugar and water and bring it to a boil. Boil it for 5 more minutes and add saffron strands and Cardamom. Turn of the heat; syrup is ready.

Open the mix and transfer it to a mixing bowl. Add 50-60 ml of milk to the mix. Knead gently into a soft and smooth dough. Apply ghee or oil on both palms and shape 20 round and smooth jamoons. Make sure there are no cracks on the dough. Deep fry these jamoons in oil on medium to low heat until golden brown. Drain oil and soak this jamoons in sugar syrup. Allow these jamoon to submerge in the syrup. Gulab Jamoon is ready! Eat hot or chill.

Helpful hints:
1. The original recipe calls for Gulab (Rose water), but I personally don't prefer the flavor of rose water in my dessert. But if you want to add it, then please add about 3 spoons of rose water to the sugar syrup.
2. Alway fry these jamoon in low to medium heat. The dough balls should turn from white to golden very slow. I will give it anywhere from 3 -4 minutes. If you dough turn golden instantly then you will end up having uncooked jamoon inside. Its very crucial you fry them on a low heat.
3. If you have added extra milk while preparing dough and ended up having little sluggish dough, add a spoon of maida(all purpose flour) flour to thicken it. If you have add less milk and ended up having dough dry; then add little more milk to correct the mistake. Its very important that the dough is perfect otherwise the jamoons may come out hard; unable to soak the syrup in.
4. Make sure the syrup is luke warm when you add the jamoons. If the syrup is hot, the jamoons will submerge fast- giving the taste of a steamed jamoons. If the syrup is cold, the jamoons will not soak in all the sugar syrup - leaving the center of jamoon dry. A perfect jamoon will submerge slowly; I would give it a 2 -3 minute time to submerge in syrup.
5. Once the jamoon are soaked and submerged. Take them out and place them in the serving container. That way the sugar syrup will have place for the new batch of jamoons coming in. Once all the jamoons are fried, soaked in syrup and transferred to a container, pour the remaining syrup in the container and refrigerate it.
6. You can eat Jamoon with babana (if you think its too sweet or just like the combo like I do) or enjoy with halwa or ice cream (if you think it is not sweet enough) or have it with carrot kher. Or just gulp it .... choice is yours!

Spinach Rice with Raita

2010-08-29T15:38:00.000-07:00

Learnt this recipes from a dear friend of mine back in 2001. I usually don't make this as often as I should be. This recipe is perfect for kids and adults who usually have difficulty chugging down spinach. Try it and you will love it.

Ingredients:

one bunch of spinach leaves ,chopped
2 cups Basumati Rice (cooked)
1 big onion cut long wise
Few cashew nuts for garnishing
1 tsp. cumin seeds
1 tsp. coriander seeds
5 green chillies or less or more depending upon your spice level
2 spoonful ginger garlic paste
Few strands of cinnamon sticks
3 or 4 cloves
2 cardamom slightly mashed
2 or 3 bay leaves
1/2 spoon garam masala powder
2 Tbsp cooking oil
Salt to taste

Method: In a pan, add little oil and add Jeera seeds, green chillies, coriander seeds. Once they coriander seeds turn light aromatic add coarsely chopped spinach leaves. Saute till spinach is well cooked. Allow spinach to cool down before grinding it to a smooth paste.

In a larger pan, add oil and mustard seeds, cinnamon sticks, cloves , bay leaves and cardamom. When they starts to splutter, add ginger garlic paste, onions and saute the onions turn translucent. Add the spinach paste, salt to taste and cover the pan; allow the whole paste to boil. Turn off the fire and mix this paste with already cooked basumati rice. Mix well so that every rice is covered with spinach masala. Decorate the spinach rice with roasted cashews. Spinach rice is ready; serve with Raita.

Raita recipe:

Ingredients:

One red onions finely chopped
One red tomatoes finely chopped
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1/4 cup grated carrots
few chopped chillies
2 cups yogurt
salt to taste

Mix all the above ingredients and Raita is ready. How simple was that huh?

Helpful hints: For Rice:- I do not use tomatoes while cooking spinach. I heard combination of spinach and tomatoes cooked together causes kidney stone. I am not sure the validity of this, but it sure scared me. Just to be on safer side with my family, I do not combine spinach and tomatoes together. May be squeezing lemon juice might give this rice the sourness it needs. Or can be substituted with sour yogurt raita. For Raita:- Adding sour cream gives it a rich taste it needs. I like tempering it with mustard seeds and dals, but it is not necessary at all.

Broccoli Bok choy

2010-08-19T10:13:00.000-07:00

It was one of those day when your refrigerator is almost empty and you are trying to push one more day before grocery shopping. I was in that scenario when I found only Bok choy and Broccoli in my refrigerator and nothing else. And I thought to myself how amazing it would have been if I had Cauliflower instead of Broccoli and Palak instead of Bok Choy; I would have made Gobi palak I grinned. And right at the moment an idea of Broccoli BokChoy recipe sprouted. So here you go, I followed gobi palak recipe but substituted the main ingredients and call it BROCCOLI BOK CHOY. It was pretty good; nothing close to Gobipalak in taste, but a different taste altogether plus nutritious value of Bok Choy and Broccoli .... need I say more!

Ingredients:

5 Bok Choy

2 cup Broccoli florets

1 small onion chopped

2 medium sized tomatoes diced

4 green chillies slit

8 Cashew nuts

1 small piece ginger

5 garlic flakes

1 tsp mustard seeds

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp cumin powder

2 tsp dhania (coriander) powder

2 tsp garam masala powder

1/2cup milk

Salt to taste

Method:

Take a pan and heat 1 tbsp oil; add cumin seeds, slit green chilies, chopped ginger and fry them till the ginger is well fried then chopped Bok Choy. Fry them well till the Bok Chok is done (You may cover the pan with lid). Keep it aside to cool. Grind cashews first in a mixture. Once it is powdered add the cooked Bok Chok and grind it to a smooth paste by adding water as needed.

Mean while get the Broccoli florets cooked by pan frying them with little oil. Fry it for few minutes ( you can can cover the pan to speed up the process). You can also boil the Broccoli florets in water. I prefer to pan fry them for rich taste.

In a big nonstick pan add oil, mustard seeds and allow it to splitter. Then add chopped garlic and onion and fry then till golden brown. Add chopped tomatoes and fry them all for one more minute. Add garam masala powder, cumin powder and dhania powder. Fry them for 30 seconds and then add Bok Chok paste and fried Broccoli florets to it. Add salt to your taste. You may also want to add water depending upon how liquidy you want the curry to be. Get the curry to a boiling point. Turn off the fire. Serve with Chapattis.

Carrot Halwa

2010-08-10T12:59:00.000-07:00

We all have our own version of Carrot Halwa I bet. Will adding poppy seeds and khoa to this dish surprises you? I certainly was. Cousin Sandhya made this dessert for a baby shower party and I had the opportunity to learn a different version of this Halwa. Adding poppy and khoa did bring rich taste and little crunch munch to this infamous dessert. I can personally vouch it was delicious with a twist of poppy fragrance every bite. Thanks Sandhya!
Ingredients:

Grated fresh carrots 4 cups
2 cups milk
3 spoon khoa
2 cups sugar
pinch of cardamom
2 spoon ghee
1 spoon poppy seeds
1/4 cup Chopped cashew nuts and dried grapes

Method: In a pan, add ghee and saute grated carrots for a minute. Now add milk and khoa and bring it to a boil. Cover the pan and cook grated carrots in milkand khoa on a medium flame. Add Sugar and cardamom and give it a good spin. Cook until the milk evaporates. Turn off the flame. Slightly roast cashew nuts, poppy seeds and grapes in ghee and pour it over the Halwa. Mix well before serving hot or chilled, Halva is ready!

Helpful hints:- Adjust sugar according to your sweet level. If you are running late, then pressure cooking the grated carrots in milk will reduce your work in half. You may also add pistachio and few strands of saffron to this dessert.

Chivda

2010-07-15T11:10:00.000-07:00

Chivda is a South Indian snack that goes perfectly for a late afternoon tea/coffee or in my case just about anytime of the day..... just grab handful and munch on. Chivda is prepared with thin poha (thin flattened rice) with spice and peanuts; put them in an air-tight container and enjoy them for months together (depending on the ingredients used).

Ingredients:

Thin poha 3 cups
Pea nuts 1 tbl spn
Split dalia (hurigadale/putani) 1 tbl spn
thin slices of copra (dry coconut slices)
Chili powder 3/4 tea spn
Oil 2 tbl spn
Turmeric a pinch
Sugar 1 tea spn
Curry leaves 1 strand
one spoon channa and urad dal (optional)
Mustard seeds 1/2 tea spn
Salt to taste

Method : Heat oil in a big pan and add mustard seeds, channa dal, urdal dal, pea nuts, dalia, and slice copra and fry for sometime. When the dals turn golden add curry leaves. Fry on a very low flame. Add chili powder and turmeric. Add the poha and mix well. Now add sugar and salt (do not add sugar and salt before). Mix well(if needed, add extra oil). Keep on a very low flame for sometime, till the poha becomes crispy. Cool to room temperature and store in an airtight container. Chivda is ready.

Helpful hints: I add long dried red chillies when I fry peanuts. People who like it spicy can break these chillies and enjoy the extra spice. Adding little extra oil can made this recipe more crispy and more tasty ( obviously!) You can add garlic to this recipe. Make sure you fry them well in oil. Urad and channa dals are optional.

Tomato gojju

2010-07-09T11:01:00.000-07:00

Tangy, spicy and hot are some of the adjectives to describe this quick-to-make gojju. If you are tired of the same old chutney for dosa and idly then try this gojju; It complements well with Dosa, Idly, paddu, and white rice. Recently I tried it with pongal, and loved the taste. A must try recipe for tomato lovers.

Ingredients:

2 cups of chopped tomatoes (you can chop it big; doesn't have to be fine chopped)
1/2 spoon of methi seeds
1/2 spoon of mustard seeds
1/2 or more spoon of red chilly powder
1/2 spoon of sugar
few pinches of hing powder
few chopped Curry leaves
few chopped coriander leaves
oil for tempering
salt to taste

Method:

In a non-stick pan add oil about 2 spoonful. When oil is mildly hot, add mustard and methi seeds. Roast methi seeds till they start giving nice aroma. Add hing powder, curry leaves and red chilly powder. Give it a good spin and add chopped tomatoes. Cover the pan with a lid for about a minute. Later add salt and sugar; try to mash tomatoes and add water about one cup. Cover the lid and stand it alone for a minute. Boil it till the tomatoes are dissolved and oil starts to ooze. Turn off the fire and garnish it with coriander leaves. Gojju is ready.

Helpful hints: This dish takes lot of chilly powder. So make it spicy as the tangy tomatoes try to balance the spice. Methi seeds gives a nice smell to this ... which I love. Adding little bit of sugar somehow makes this dish all perfect. You can make this gojju as thick or as liquidy as you want.

Nan Khatai

2010-07-07T09:04:00.000-07:00

Hope you all had a great and safe 4th July. A colleage friend of mine visited us this long weekend and she made these cookies at home. Up until then I had no idea about Nan Khatai cookies. Thanks Aruna for introducing me to these wonderful, crispy, eggless cookies.

Ingredients:-

All purpose flour / Maida - 2 cups
Powdered sugar - one cup
unsalted butter - one stick / 8 TBSP
conola oil - 1/2 cup
few gratted almonds
few dried coconut powder (optional)
few pinches of cardamom powder

Method:-

Melt butter and mix it with Conola oil and all the ingredients above. Make a dough. Make sure you don't knead them like you would for chappati / bread dough. Divide the dough into small balls. Press each ball between your palms lightly; every piece should be about 3/4″ in thickness.
Put Nan khatai on a lightly greased cookie sheet and bake at 375 degrees for about 13 to 15 minutes or until Nan khatai are lightly gold brown. After they are lightly golden brown remove the cookie sheet from the oven. Let the Nan Khatais cool down for two to three minutes before taking them off the cookie sheet and enjoy.

Helpful hints: Did you observe there is no baking powder/soda involued in it? I was shocked too; But they expand and fluff up like regular cookies. Again Don't knead this dough. If you do they will start breaking. Coconut powder is optional. But if you like coconut smell and taste then it does goes perfectly well with this cookies.

Besan Ladoo

2010-07-01T09:30:00.000-07:00

Ladoo are one of the most popular sweets from India usually prepared to commemorate special occasions like wedding, festivals, or distributed as prasad at temples like the infamous Thiripati ladoo. There are many types of ladoos prepared with different ingredients but all of them share one common attribute - they are all formed into balls. A funny story I want to share with you all on ladoo. I was coming back to States after a great vacation in India. The Custom officer on duty stops me after scanning my luggages. He asks me " Ma'am is there something in you luggage that are round in shape?". Paniced I answered " No". He asks me to open my luggage. I comply and open my luggage only to find ladoo that were packed by my mother. He laughs and said " Ladoo... I love ladoo ( in his funny accent on ladoo)" and clears my luggages from custom. Apparently ladoos have become so famous that even a custom officer in States know them by name :) Sharing my recipe for Besan ladoo.

Ingredients :-

One cup besan flour
One cup powdered super
some chopped cashews and dried grapes
1/4 cup ghee (clarified butter)
some pinches Cardamom powder

Method:- Roast cashew and grapes in ghee and keep them aside. Roast besan flour in a two spoon on ghee on a non-stick pan. Roast till they change colour to golden and starts giving nice aroma. Roast them on a medium flame. Never burn them or else the whole dish goes disasterous. Turn off fire, add powdered suger, roasted grapes, cardamom powder and cashew nuts to the roasted besan. Mix well using a fork. Once it cools down, take handful of prepared mix and form them to a ball. You can use ghee if you are having trouble making balls. Besan ladoo is ready.

Helpful hints :- You can use confectioner's sugar instead of powdered sugar. The only difference you will notice is that ladoos made with confectioner's sugar are smooth. Powdered sugar are little crunchy. I use little ghee but you can go ahead and make it more rich if you like it that way. The whole success of the recipe depends on how aromaticly besan flour are roasted . Don't burn flour by roasting them on high flames. Always use medium to low flame for roasting.

Chitranna - Mango based / Mavinkai Chitranna

2010-06-12T13:22:00.000-07:00

Hope everyone is doing great in the blogging world. I apologize if I am not leaving comments in your blog lately but rest assure I am trying my best to drop in every minute as time permits. Few months back I posted chitranna - lemon based recipe in my blog. Today I am sharing my version of chitranna using raw tangy mango gojju.....tangier the better! I typically use peanuts in this dish but since I ran out of it and substituted it with extra cashew nuts, you will only find cashews on the pics I posted.

Ingredients:

1½ cups Rice (Preferably Sona Masuri or Basmati)
1 cup Fresh Coconut Pieces or dry coocnut powder will also do the trick
Green Raw Mango Pieces (you can peel the skin if needed)
3-5 Green Chillies (Adjust acc to taste)
Turmeric Powder
1 tsp Sugar (Optional but recommended)
¼ cup Roasted Peanuts or / and Cashews
1-2 tsp Fresh Lime/Lemon Juice (optional, use if the mangoes are not tangy enough)
Salt to taste
For Tempering: 1 tsp Mustard Seeds1 tbsp Urad Dal1 tbsp Channa Dal2 Dry Red Chillies, halvedFew Curry Leaves¼ tsp Hing/Asafoetida1-2 tbsp Ghee or Oil

Method: Cook rice using 1:2 ratios of rice and water. Keep it aside to cool. Meanwhile grind coconut, green mangoes, and green chillies to a roughly ground paste by adding little water. Don't grind to a smooth paste. Some people add no water at all while grinding. Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds to it. When mustard starts to pop and splutter,add peanut or cashews, add channa dal, urad dal, dry red chillies, curry leaves and hing. Sauté till dals turn golden brown. Add turmeric powder and mango coconut paste. Add salt and cook till the raw smell diappears and oil oozes out of the paste. Mavinkai gojju is ready. Turn of the fire and mix this paste with cooked rice. Add lemon juice if mango is not tangy enough. Garnish coriander leaves and serve.

Helpful hints: The best rice is usually the leftovers from previous day’s dinner or lunch. You can make mango gojju and refrigerate it for future use - may be in a month or so. I personally don't like to use ghee for this recipe. You can serve this dish with raita. I like to make this rice dish hot, spicy and tangy.

Potato Fry

2010-05-24T19:46:00.000-07:00

Potato fry is not my family-tradition dish. I don't remember eating this dish at my grandma's place or at any of my relatives place. This recipe is something my mother learned from her friend. I still remember the day I had this for the first time. Loved it to the core and I still do. My mother does not cook this when a guest is invited, during holiday season, and any celebratory special moments. Curious to know the reason? Potatoes apparently are ranked low in the vegetable rank list due to the fact that it is very cheap to buy. Cabbage is next ;) My mother holds an opinion that its degrading our guest if we serve dishes that are sole prepared with potatoes and cabbages. Seriously, what a miss on guest part, this dish is yummy and so is cabbage fry! Never the less, I follow my mom obviously :) No potato fry when invited to my place. This dish is only available in my blog :))

Ingredients:

2 potatoes diced
red chilly powder to the taste
turmeric powder - half spoon
hing powder- pinch
Curry and coriander leaves
1/2 spoon of channa dal, urad dal, jeera seeds, mustard seeds, and oil for shallow fry
salt to taste

Method: In a non stuck pan add oil. When hot, add mustard seeds, jeera seeds, channa dal, urad dal. When channa turns golden add curry leaves, hing powder, turmeric powder and chilly powder. Give it a good spin and add diced potatoes. Add salt and cover the pan, Turn fire to medium. Allow potatoes to fry nicely. Once in every 2 minutes spin the potatoes with a spatula. Garnish with corainder leaves. Potato fry is done when cooked. Serve hot with chapathi or just plain white rice.

Helpful hints: Add miced garlic if you like it. Potatoes are gasy vegetable, adding garlic might help relieve gas formation. Don't allow red chilly powder get burn. It changes the whole taste. I like frying coriander leaves along with potatoes. I love the smell of fried coriander leaves in this dish.

Strawberry Shortcake

2010-05-19T20:14:00.000-07:00

Looking for a dessert that doesn't take up much of your time in cooking and yet be so yummy that your guest comeback for second serving? Then strawberry short cake is your dessert. This recipe so easy even a kindergartner can do. Here you go .... recipe as provided to me by my neighbour. Thanks Nirmala!

Ingredients:

A box of fresh strawberries
1/2 cup sugar
Whipping cream
Dessert shells - one pack will have 6 shells

Method

Remove the stems from the strawberries. Slice into thin (1/4" to 1/8") slices. Put into a large bowl. Add sugar (depending on how sweet the strawberries are to begin with) and mix into the strawberries. Set aside at room temperature to macerate (which means that the sugar will soften the strawberries and help release their juices). Allow strawberries to sit alone for about 20 minutes. Once strawberries are juicy, its time for dessert serving time.

Place Dessert shells on a serving plate. Ladle strawberries and its juice over the dessert shell. Add a dolop of whipped cream on top and serve immediately.

Helpful hints: Always serve immediately before the cream melts and strawberry juice completely soaks the shells. I refregerate straberries after macerating. I like chilled strawberries better :)

Spicy Mint Rice

2010-05-17T09:08:00.000-07:00

Ingredients:

Fresh Mint leaves about a cup or more
two cup rice - have it cooked and ready
two cups veggies - carrots, beansn potatoes, peas
one onion - chopped lengthwise
one cup tomatoes
half cup coconut - fresh or powdered
galic / ginger - about a spoon
one spoon coriander seeds
green chilles to taste
Salt to taste
Mustard seeds, cashew nuts and capsicum for seasoning

Method: In a large pan, add oil, mustard seeds and cashew nuts. When Cashew turns golden add capsicum and suate it till crisp. You might want to add little bit of salt while sauting it. Transfer it to a plate and keep it aside for garnishing later. In the same pan, add little more oil and saute onions. When translucent, add all the veggies and saute them well. Meanwhile, grind together mint leaves, coriander seeds, garlic / ginger, green chillies, and coconut powder to a smooth paste by adding water as desired. Once the veggies are half sauted, add this masala paste to it. Add tomatoes and salt. Boil it till the raw smell vanishes and the oil oozes out of masala. Now add cooked rice and mix them well. Turn off the fire and ganish it with sauted capsicum. Serve hot with raita.

Helpful hints :- Don't grind the masala way in advance. Somehow, the grinded masala tends to change colour. If you are in a hurry, toss veggies, masala paste and rice and pressure cook them. It won't taste same, but not bad at all :)

Pineapple rasa / gojju

2010-05-03T12:32:00.000-07:00

Pineapple rasa or gojju is a delicious combination of sweet and tangy pineapple chunks covered in hot spicy gravy. This dish can also be prepared with raw tangy mango or with bittergaurd instead of pineapple.

Ingredients:

Pineapple chunks - I used one caned pineapple chunks. You can also use freash riped pineapple. Peel the skin and cut them to a small cubes.
one spoon urad dal
one spoon mustard seeds
1/2 spoon methi seeds
hing powder
5 red dried chillies
few curry leaves about 5 strand
one cup coconut powder or fresh coconut
use jaggery about one spoon if pineapple is very tangy
use tamarind if pineaaple is too sweet
salt to taste

Method: Cook pineapple in a pot using water. Mean while in a small pan, add little oil about 2-3 drops and fry in a medium flame urad dall, methi, mustard seeds, hing powder, curry leaves and red dried chilly powder. Fry till urad dal turn golden. Turn off the flame, cool it and then grind it with coconut powder adding water as needed. Grind the masala to a smooth paste.

Once the pineapples are cooked, add grinded masala to the pinapple chunks, add salt and boil them all together. You can add tamarind or jaggery depending upon the taste of pineapple. Give it a good boil and turn off. Gojju / rasa is ready to be served with plain rice / idly or dosa.

Helpful hints : Use badige menasu for nice colour to this recipe. Any other cilly will not bring the same colour and taste. Frying the masala on a high flame will not bring out the same taste. You can temper it with mustard seeds, dal and curry leaves and decorate it with coriander leaves. I personally don't

Mixed Vegetable Saagu

2010-04-21T14:10:00.000-07:00

Poori Saagu is an infamous combination of deep fried bread and vegetable gravy. This hefty breakfast hails from Karnataka, India. But don't limit it to breakfast only, you can enjoy this dish anytime of the day. An authentic saagu is prepared solely with mashed boiled potatoes and some spice. I have added few veggies to this recipe and made it mixed vegatable saagu. Usually Poori goes well with this dish, chappati and rava idly are next in line.

Ingredients:

4 cups Mixed Veggies (Chopped beans, Carrots, potatoes, peas)
one cup chopped onions
one medium capicum cut long
Few gratted ginger about a spoon
5 chopped green chilies
Lemon juice about 3 spoons
cashew powder about one spoon
turmeric powder about 1/2 spoon
hing powder - few pinch
mustard seeds - about 1/2 spoon
Jeera seeds about one spoon
Curry leaves - few strand
Few coriander leaves for garnishing and salt as per your taste

Method: Boil all the veggies. In a pan, add oil, mustard seeds, and jeera seeds. Once mustard starts to splitter, add ginger, curry leaves, green chillies, hing powder and turmeric powder. Give it a good spin. Add chopped onion and capsicum . Fry oinion till they become translucent. Add boiled veggies, salt and little water and cover the pan. Boil it for about 2 minutes. Add powder cashew and give it a good spin. You should see the gravy thickens. Turn off the fire and add lemon juice. Mix well and garnish it with coriander leaves. Serve medium hot with Poori or chappathi.

Helpful hints: Add the water in which the veggies were boiled. Mash the veggies little bit so that the gravy thickens. You can add garlic too along with ginger. Adding cashew is my idea. It brings rich flavour to this dish.

Paddu

2010-04-15T16:01:00.000-07:00

Paddu(Kannada), appe(Konkani), ponganalu (Telugu), paniyaram(Tamil), unniyappam(Malayalam), is one very popular dish in South India which requires a special paddu tava to make it. My mom usually makes this with left over dosa batter. I follow her procedure obviously. Paddu is made either plain, or spicy using onion and seasoning.

Ingredients:

Left over dosa batter
(Dosa batter - 3 cups rice, 1 cup urad dal, some methi seeds and some puffed rice. Soak rice, urad, methi seeds for 6 hours and grind it to a smooth paste. Add soaked puffed rice while grinding. Ferment the batter over night. Dosa batter is ready for regular dasa or for paddu)
Chopped red onions
Chopped green chillies
Chopped coriander leaves
Chopped curry leaves
salt to taste.

Method: Mix all the chopped ingredients to the batter. Add salt if necessary. Heat the gundponglu henchu/tava and spoon the batter into the little wells of the tava. After a min, turnover paddu using the wooden stick . Non-stick paddu tava are best for this recipe. If you are using cast iron tava use a steel spoon to turn over. Once both the sides are browned, remove from the tava and serve hot with chutney or chutney puddi of your choice.

Helpful hints : You can add grated veggies, and make your own version of these dosa balls. I tried paddu with idly batter too and it came out crisp and golden brown. I've seen folks fry onions and bell peppers in a pan first, cool it down and add it to the batter. They just want to make sure onion are cooked well. You can also color the batter with turmeric.

Rajma

2010-04-06T14:10:00.000-07:00

Rajma is a very popular North Indian curry that goes well with roti / chappati or ghee rice. This vegetarian dish is prepared using red kidney beans with lots of Indian whole spices. Did you know red kidney bean was brought to the Indian subcontinent from Central Mexico and Guatemala? No wonder red kidney beans paste is served in many mexican dish like tacos, beans and rice, and soup.

Ingredients:
2 cup Red kidney beans( Soaked in water overnight and later pressure cooked )(Can also use canned kidney beans for a quick recipe)
2 medium sized chopped onions
2 tomato finely chopped
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp mustard seeds
2"piece of ginger jullinned
6 cloves of garlic minced
2 fresh green chillies cut long
Rajma powder (can also be substituted with 2 tsps coriander powder 1 tsp cumin powder 1 tsp and garam masala)
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
Salt to taste
Coriander leaves for decoration

Method: Heat the oil in a deep pan. Add the cumin seeds and mustard seeds. When they stop sizzling, add ginger garlic paste, ( or chopped ginger/ garlic), turmeric powder, green chillies and fry for a minute. Now add onion and fry till soft. Add tomatoes and fry till tomatoes are cooked well and oil starts to separate. Add rajma powder or the subtituted ingredients and mix well. Add boiled red kidney beans ( along with water it was pressure cooked in) and cook till beans are very soft (aproximately 10 minutes). Turn off the fire, garnish it with coriander leaves. Serve with chappati / flavoured rice.

Helpful hints : I add red chilly powder if I need spice level to go up. Adding lot of tomotoes to this dish gives a tangy touch which I love it. I skip adding garlic part since my family is not into garlic that much. I try to mash the kidney beans little with my spacula so that the curry thickens.

Avacado Salsa

2010-03-31T12:55:00.000-07:00

My family cannot get enough of this appetizer! Avacado salsa combined with tortilla chips can make any party a success. This chunky, savory , buttery salsa is an yummy alternative to a traditional red tomato salsa. This recipe is great on tacos, burritos or with your favorite tortilla chips. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cup chopped peeled avocado
1 cup finely chopped tomato
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro (Coriander)
2 tablespoons finely chopped red onion (Or any other onion will also do)
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 garlic clove, minced
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and minced
Salt to taste

Method: Cut onions, tomotoes, jalapeño and salt and refrigerate the mixture for 20 minutes. Cut avacado and take out the seed. Cut the flesh into small cubes and scoop it out using a spoon ( as shown in the picture). Throw away the skin. Add this small cuts of avacado, along with chopped cilantro, garlic and lime juice to the above mix. Mix everthing well and this salsa is ready to be eaten with Tortilla chips.

Helpful hints : Eat fresh. Avacado tends to change colour and becomes dark green to gray if eaten next day. Always refrigerate if you intend to eat after one hour or so. Add green chillies as per your spice level. I never use garlic. My family likes this salsa without garlic. I have tried refrigerating the onion / tomoto mix and one without any refrigeration. Frankly didn't find any difference. If you are in a hurry, skip the refrigeration part. Mix all and eat freash.

Broccoli Bonda /Broccoli Pakora

2010-03-26T13:57:00.000-07:00

Occasional thunderstorms and showers always calls for a deep fried snack at home isn't it?. Its rainning today as I drove back from gym. A quick look into my refrigerator and my eyes landed on Broccoli. Hmmm how about Broccoli bonda I thought and after 15 minutes my family was wanting more of these bondas. They came out crispy, love the smell and taste. A must try recipe.

Ingredients:

Broccoli flowerets
Basin flour / gram flour
red chilly powder
ajwain seeds - a few pinch
Oil for deep fry
salt to taste

Method: Mix basin flour, red chilly powder, ajwan, salt and water. Make thick paste. Get oil hot for deep fry. Dip broccoli flowerets in the paste and drop them genlty in the hot oil. Follow the same for remaining broccoli flowerets. Fry it till golden brown. Remove from oil. Eat it with ketch up or any chutney.

Helpful hints: This bonda did had a strong borccoli smell. Which I loved it but if you can't stand the smell of Broccoli then skip this snack. I added stem also not just broccoli flowerets.

Majjige huli

2010-03-23T13:54:00.000-07:00

Majjige huli literally means butter milk curry. Majjige huli is one of the best alternative if you got tired of rasam, sambar or any other dal based curries for rice. This recipe can be used using veggies like Cucumber, White Pumpkin, Beans, Ladies Finger and Tindora (can also use fresh peas in combination with other veggies). I used tindora today for this recipe.

Ingredients:

Two cups chopped long tindoras
one cup sour curds or butter milk.
4 -5 green chillies - or to your taste
1/2 inch ginger
half cup chopped coriander leaves
one cup coconut (frozen or powdered or fresh)
hing powder
For seasoning : oil, channa dal, mustard seeds, jeera seeds, chopped curry leaves and red dried chilles are optional)
Salt to your taste

Method: Cook Tindora by boiling it in the water. Meanwhile, grind coconut, green chilles, ginger, coriander leaves and sour curds together. You may add water if you want or just use curds. Grind it to a smooth paste. Once the Tindora is cooked, add the paste to the boiling tindora. Add salt and bring it to a boil. Once it boils, turn off the flame. In a seasoning vessel, add two spoon oil and once it is hot, add mustard seeds, Jeera seeds, curry leaves, channa dal (is optional) and red dried chillies (optional). Pour this on the huli. Mix well. Wait until the huli is warm before serving it with white rice.

Helpful tips : Veggies that are not used for this recipes are potatoes, carrots, Brinjal, red pumpkin, and oinions. My mom adds one spoon rice flour while grinding. She said it makes the curry thick. She also adds soaked methi seeds (about a spoon) while grinding. The aroma of methi gives a wonderful flavour to this recipe. The only draw back of adding methi is once its cold, the curry becomes kinda thicky. She doesn't use ginger. But I love the smell of ginger in this curry so I add it.

Ghee - homemade

2010-03-11T08:22:00.000-08:00

Ghee (also known as Clarified Butter) (we call it tuppa in Kannada language), is widely used in Indian cuisine. Unlike butter, ghee can be stored for extended periods without refrigeration, provided it is kept in an airtight container and remains moisture-free. In my kitchen, ghee is a must have ingredient, for seasoning, for my kids' spicy food, for any Indian dessert and for religious observances. Making of ghee is relatively simple if you follow the steps correctly. I don't like buying store bought ghee mainly because of its lack- of-fresh smell and taste. Homemade ghee are fresh, smells great and tastes heavenly.

Ingredients:
Unsalted butter - 4 cubes of forzen butter that are available at your local grocery store
1/2 spoon Turmeric powder (optional)
1/2 spoon Methi seeds (optional)

Step by step instructions:

1. Place the unsalted butter in a heavy quart saucepan and melt over medium heat. Do not cover the pot.

2. Butter starts to melt and makes huge bubble like sound. Please make sure kids are not around when the butter starts to make blowing-bubble like sound. Sometimes it spulter and splash hot butter around.

3. Hot butter will stop making noises and white foam starts to rise. At this time reduce the flame to low, Keep it that way for about a minute and turn off the flame. Add turmeric powder and methi seeds (Optional).

4. The ghee is ready when it:
• Changes from a cloudy yellow to clear golden color
• Develops a nice aroma
• Stops foaming and making crackling noises
• Develops a thin, light tan, crust on the nearly motionless surface
• The milk solids at the bottom turn from white to tan

Helpful hints : Never leave your kitchen unattended while heating butter. I have learnt my lesson coming little late and having my butter completely burnt. If you are using electric stove top, move your vessel to a cool place after the last step. Don't leave it there. The hot coil will burnt it more. Have you ever eaten white hot rice, ghee and salt??? Try it, its heavenly.

Golibaje / Mangalore Bajji

2010-03-07T17:39:00.000-08:00

Mangalore Bajji, as it is referred to in Karnataka (Golibaje in South Canara), is a popular food made from maida, curd, rice flour, coriander leaves, coconut, jeera, green chillies, and salt. I first had these tasty bhajjis' at my aunts. She always made this whenever I am at their place during the summer vacation. She died today. Atte this is for you and I love you always. May you rest in peace.

Ingredients:

2 cups maida flour / unbleached white flour
one spoon rice flour (optional)
sour curds / sour butter milk
4 green chillies finely chopped
finely chopped coriander leaves
finely chopped curry leaves
1 spoon jeera seeds
hing powder
chopped coconut (optional)
salt to taste
pinch of sada powder

Method: Mix maida flour, sour curds, salt and keep it aside for 30 minutes. The consistency is thick hard batter. Don't make this watery. Add chopped chillies, corainder leaves, curry leaves, jeera seeds, hing powder, chopped coconuts and a pinch of sada and mix it well.

Heat oil in a frying pan. When hot, add a spoonful of batter in the oil or use your hand, take batter and drop it nicely in the hot oil. Fry till golden brown and drain it. Eat it with coconut chutney or can also be eaten as is. Enjoy!

Helpful hints : Rice flour is optional. Use only if you want these bajjis cripsy. Always use sour curds or buttermilk for this recipe. You would know these bhajjis are sucess if you cut open and see lot of holes inside it. You can also add gratted ginger if you like a different twist.

Chitranna - lemon based

2010-03-04T15:32:00.000-08:00

Chitranna is a rice-based dish involves mixing boiled rice with something called gojju or Chitrannada Gojju. This gojju can be prepared using lemon (nimbehannu Chitranna) , mango (Mavinakayi Chitranna) or coconut (Kayi-Sasive Chitranna). I am sharing the recipe made with lemon. This is my son's favourite rice item. He calls it yellow rice.

Ingredients:

2 cups rice
one chopped onion
one chopped tomato (optional)
1/2 cup peanuts
4 green chillies
curry leaves
coriander leaves
gratted coconut (optional)
hing powder
turmeric powder
lemon juice - about 2 spoon (less or more depending upon your taste)
for seasoning - oil, channa dal- one spoon, urad dal - one spoon, mustard seeds 1/2 spoon)
salt to taste

Method: Boil rice and keep it aside to cool down. In a pan, put some oil and when hot add mustard seeds, channa dal, urad dal and peanuts. When channa dal is roasted and turned orange, add turmeric powder, curry leaves, and hing powder. Give it a spin with your spatula before adding chopped oinion, green chillies and chopped tomatoes. Saute the gojju till the onions are tender and well cooked. Turn off the fire and add boiled rice and lemon juice. Mix well and garnish it with chopped corainder leaves and gratted coconut (optional).

Helpful hints : Adding more oinions and chopping it little big in size gives much taste to this recipe. Sonamasuri rice or jasmine rice is best for this recipe, Basumati rice is my least option. Tamatoes are optional. I add it because my husband likes it that way.

Badanekai mosaru gojju ( Brinjal gojju)

2010-02-24T14:46:00.000-08:00

Badanakai mosaru gojju literally means brinjal curd curry which goes perfect with white rice. If you are gojju lover like me, you will fall in love with this recipe. Its easy to make and absolutely yummy to taste. Here is my recipe of the infamous combination of brinjal and buttermilk / sour curds. Enjoy!!!

Ingredients :

3 brinjal - the purple ones

one cup curds - preferably sour

4 green chillies finely chopped

few chopped curry leaves and coriander leaves

For seasoning - urad dal, channa dal, jeera seeds, mustard seeds, asafoetida Powder

Salt to taste

Method :- You can either cook brinjal on flame directly or boil them in water or microwave-cook them ; the choice is yours. Have those brinjal cooked using any method. If you are in a hurry, I would suggest microwave them in a bowl of water. Once cooked, mash them and keep aside to cool. Once luke warm, add curds, chopped green chillies, salt. In a small seasoning pan, add little oil, mustard seeds, urad dal, channa dal and jeera seeds. Once channa dal turn to golden, add asafoetida Powder and curry leaves. Turn off the fire and add the seasoning to the brinjal curd paste. Mix well and garnish it with coriander leaves. Serve it with rice.

Helpful hints :- This recipes taste very well if the brinjals are cooked over flame. I agree that it is messy and time consuming to burn them but the taste is uncompromised. If the brinjals are burnt, make sure you peel the skin off before mashing them. Sour curds or buttermilk is a perfect combination with brinjal for this recipe. Do not add curd if the mashed brinjals are hot. Always cool the brinjals before adding curds / buttermilk. Don't overly mash brinjals, make sure there is some lump left.

Capsicum curry and Tofu masala with phulka

2010-02-14T15:57:00.000-08:00

I was on a rampage the other day. I had few veggies left in my refrigerator and an appetite to eat something very different, something I have never eaten before, something that is healthy and tasty , something out of routine. I am sure you all had those days too. Behold .... out came two new recipes that evening. I am cooking something based on the ingredients left in my refrigerator. I am naming them " Capsicum curry and Toffu masala". The verdict on these two recipes is an A + from my family and I hope you will like it too. Enjoy!!!

Recipes for Capsicum curry :

Ingredients:
2 capsicum cut lean and long
Onion cut lean and long
Tomatoes cut lean and long
one bunch spring onion - chopped
3 - 4 green chillies
4 - 5 Cashew nuts - soaked in water for grinding purposes
one spoon jeera
1/2 spoon mustard seeds
1/2 spoon coriander powder
1/2 garam masala powder
salt to taste
oil for seasoning
coriander leaves for decoration

Method: In a non stick pan, add oil, 1/2 spoon jeera , chopped spring onions, and green chillies. Saute it till spring onions are tender. Turn off the flame and allow it to cool down before grinding it to a smooth paste by adding saoked cashew nuts and water.

In a pan, add 1/2 spoon mustard seeds, 1/2 spoon jeera and allow it to spitter. Add long cut onions and saute it till oinion turn to golden colour. Add capsicum and tomatoes. Saute it till capsicum are soft and half cooked. Note: Tomatoes may dissolve and thats ok. Now Add the paste you made, coriander powder, garam masala powder and salt. You may add water to make it semi liquid curry. Cover the lid of the pan and allow it to come to a boil. Turn off the flame and decorate it with coriander leaves. Serve it with chappati / roti / phulka.

Recipe for Tofu masala:

Ingredients:

Semi solid tofu
sprouted moong dal
few mustard seeds
few jeera seeds
soy sauce
chilly sauce

Method: Cut tofu into cubes. In a dosa / chappati pan, add little oil and pan fry tofu. Make sure tofu are fried golden all side. Keep all the pan fried tofu away. In a shallow pan, add oil and mustard and jeera seeds. Once msutard starts to sputter add moong sprouts, pan fired tofu ,soy sauce and chilly sauce. Saute them for about a minute and turn off the fire. My version of Tofu masala is ready.

Making of Pulka: Phulkas are light puffed up unleavended Indian bread. They are very light in texture and melt in your mouth. The Hindi term "Hulka Phulka" means light and fluffy and is used commonly to express something light. And these breads are light and a very healthy alternative to chappatis.

Ingredients:

1 cup Indian wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon Salt (Optional)
1/2 cup Water or as needed to make a soft dough
Oil for kneading (Optional, I personally don't use oil while kneading)

Method: Put the flour, oil and salt in a large bowl with half the water. Adding just enough water knead well to make a soft, pliable dough. Knead dough until it is smooth and elastic. Set aside for 30 minutes.

Heat an ungreased griddle/skillet. Knead dough again. Making 1/2 inch balls as needed. That is just before rolling. This is to make sure that the dough does not dry out. Roll each ball into a disc at least 6 inches in diameter and about 1/8th cm thick. Thin phulkas will puff up too.
Put phulka on the hot griddle/skillet. Cook for about 1 minute, until the top starts to look dry and small bubbles start to form. Flip and cook the other side for 2/3 minutes until small bubbles form. Now take the phulka off the griddle/skillet and turn down the heat, and put the phulka DIRECTLY ON THE FLAME! It should balloon into a spherical shape and puff up. Repeat it for the rest of the dough.

Helpful hints: Phulkas are usually made and served at the time of the meal as the rolled out dough to make the phulkas usually dries very quickly if it is left to stand. Phulkas do not store as well as chappaties. They tend to become brittle or rubbery if kept overnight. Phulkas are eat as you made bread. I have no idea how to make phulka on an electric stove top :( My kids loved tofu masala that day. I used maggie chilly sauce. Made it less spicy for kids.

Happy Valentines Day all :)

Batata Vada / Aloo bonda

2010-01-31T16:47:00.001-08:00

Batata vada is a famous snack hails from the streets of Mumbai, India. This recipe is the first and important step if you planning for Vada Pav - a very delicous chaat item. I had a chance to help my cousin make this appetizer for her baby shower party. The result : We made around 80 vadas and we had none left at the end. Every one enjoyed it and our efforts were paid off.
Ingredients:
2 big Russet potatoes
Gram flour / Besan flour - 2 cups
red chilly powder - 1 spoon or more depening upon your spice level
gratted ginger - one spoon
Green chillies - 5 nicely chopped
Ajwain seeds - a pinch few
For seasoning : Urad dal, channa dal, mustard seeds, hing powder and turmeric powder
curry leaves - nicely chopped
coariander leaves - nicely chopped
Lemon juice - 4 spoon
salt to taste
oil for deep fry

Method: Clean, peel and pressure cook pototoes. Allow the cooked potatoes to cool down. Mash those potatoes with your hand. Make sure there is no water when you mash. Mean while in a small pan - add oil, mustard seeds, channa dal, urad dal. Once the dals turn golden, add choppoed green chillies, turmeric powder, hing powder and curry leaves. Turn off the flame and add gratted ginger. Add this mixture to the mashed potatoes. Add salt, lemon juice and coriander leaves and nicely mix it up with your hand. Now make small balls out of this masala potatoe about a size of a small lemon.

In a deep shallow pan, add gram flour, red chilly powder, salt, ajwan seeds and water. Make a semi thick paste of the gram flour. It shouldn't be too watery or too thick. The batter is now ready for deep frying. The success of this recipe depends on the batter. Some add rice flour too about a spoon or two. I personally don't like to add it but if the situation calls for it then go for it.

In a deep fry pan, add enough oil for deep frying. Once the oil is hot, take a ball of potato mixture, dip it in the besan paste so that there is a thick layer of besan paste on potato ball and deep fry in oil. Fry till it gets a slight brown color. Take them off the oil, strand them to cool down before serving them with masala ketchup or chutney.

Helpful hints : Do not use yellow, white and red potatoes for this dish. Always go for Russet Potatoes. Make sure you heat enough oil so that the whole ball is submerged in hot oil. Leave these balls in the oil for a while before taking the spatula in for a roll. If there are two balls that are attached together in the oil, then DO NOT separate them. If you try, they will break and the whole potatoe filling will come out and create a nasty scene.

Chole Batura

2010-01-22T06:29:00.001-08:00

Chole Batura is one of my all time favourite deep fried snack. Personally I don't like chikpeas, but with Batura and onion on side, I can gulp up this dish in no time. There are lot many recipes out there for Batura involving gratted potatoes and soda powder. I made Batura without any potatoes, soda, or yeast in the dough. The result, it wasn't soaking in oil, very fluffy and absoultely delicious. I tried different recipe for chole. It was the best I had. Thanks to my cousin for her tips.

Chole Recipe:
1 cup Chole /chickpeaks/garbanzo beans
(Wash and soak chole overnight. Pressure cook for 15 – 20 minutes. Do not over cook.)
1 medium onion finely chopped
tomato puree -canned
10 cashewnuts paste (soaked and grind to smooth paste)
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp jeera powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp Turmeric
1/2 tsp Chilli powder
2 tsp Channa/ chole Masala
Coriander leaves finely chopped
hing
Salt to taste
2 tbsp Oil

Method: In a shallow pan, add little oil, jeera seeds, and hing. When jeers starts to spilter, add onions and fry it till the onions turn translucent. Now add tomoto puree (about half a can) and cover the pan, cook it for about 5 - 10 minutes. Later add chole masala, red chilli powder, jeera powder, coriander powder, salt and cook for another 5 minutes. Now add cashew paste, mix well . Garnish it with coriander leaves. Serve with Batura.

Batura Recipe:

Maida / White flour - one cup
Wheat flour - 1/4 cup
salt to taste
Water for mixing

Method: Mix maida, wheat flour and salt with little water and knead it to form a nice soft dough. Divide the dough into equal parts and roll out into circles. Mean while heat oil in a deep pan or skillet, fry batura’s one at a time till the baturas puff up and both sides are golden brown. Drain excess oil on paper towel and keep warm while you fry the remaining. Serve with chole and long cut raw onions.

Pongal

2010-01-13T19:24:00.000-08:00

Today is an auspicious day; today is Sankranti. Sankranti marks transmigration of Sun from one Rāshi (zodiac in Indian astrology) to the other. This year it is Makara Sankranti ( Maraka means capricorn). Apparently sun is transmigrating from Dhanu rashi (Sagittarius) to Makara rashi (Capricorn) and as we all start a new year, Pongal is something we cook this day. We are majority capricorns at home and makara sankranti is something to be extra celebratory this time.

There are two types of Pongal - one spicy and other one sweet. Pongal as such is very easy to cook and very wholesome.

Recipe for Spicy Pongal:

Ingredients:

One cup rice

half cup yellow moong dal

half spoon pepper corn powder

grated ginger - half spoon

Curry leaves

Turmeric powder

Mustard seeds

Grated fresh coconut (optional)

salt to taste

Oil for seasoning

Method: In a pressure cooker, put some oil and mustard seeds. When mustard starts to splitter, add curry leaves, grated ginger, pepper powder and turmeric. Now add rice and yellow moong dal and salt( Please wash rice and dal before cooking). Add 4 cups of water and pressure cook. Turn off the flame after one whistle. Allow the pressure cooker to chill for 10 minutes before opening. Adorn it with fresh grated coconut. Spicy pongal is ready. The other way of cooking this recipe is on a non stick pan. Boil rice and dal for 15 minutes. when almost cooked add crushed pepper, turmeric powder and salt. Season it with curry leaves, jeera seeds, hing, and mustard seeds. Garnish it with fresh grated coconut.

Usually spicy pongal is served with gojju made out of tamarind psate.

Ingredients:

Chopped onion

tamarind paste (soak tamarind in water for paste)

slit green chillies

curry leaves

jeera seeds

jaggary

salt to taste

Method: In a pan, add little oil , mustard seeds, and jeera seeds. When it mustard starts to splitter, add onion and green chilles, curry leaves and saute it till golden brown. Later add tamarind water and jaggary. Boil it for about 3 minutes, turn off the flame and garnish it with coriander leaves. I make it watery. This gojju is tangy. Gives a complete different taste to pongal.

Recipe for Sweet Pongal:

Ingredients:

One cup rice

half cup yellow moong dal

one cup sugar ( or less depending upon your taste)

coin size jaggary (optional)

turmeric powder

cardamom powder

very little crashed pepper

grated fresh coconut

Cashew and dried grapes

ghee

Method: In a non stick vessel boil rice and moong dal (wash them before cooking). Cover the vessel when boiling and allow rice and dal to cook for about 10 -15 minutes. Once boiled, add sugar, jaggary, turmeric powder, crashed peppers. Simmer the flame and mix sugar well. When jaggary and sugar is well melted turn off the flame. Garnish it with fresh gratted coconut and ghee fried cashews and grapes. Sweet pongal is ready!

Helpful hints: Both the recipes can be made either by pressure cooking or simply by boiling on a regular vessel. For sweet pongal do not add sugar before the rice and dal are cooked. By adding sugar early will only make rice and dal take more time cooking and some time not cook at all. Same case with spicy pongal, add salt at the end. Enjoy while its warm. For gojju, always use soaked tamarind paste. Do not use store bought ready made tamarind paste. It just not the same taste.

Mango Ice cream

2010-01-12T19:14:00.000-08:00

Felix(toy frog), my daughter's class pet spent last weekend with my family. This calls for celebration! I wanted to do a dessert that even a 6 year old can do. What better than a home made mango ice cream! It's dead easy, absolutely no stove-top cooking required, oven free, mess free, less time consuming and finger-licking delicious. "You have done a tremendous job mom" proclaimes my son after having a bit. All thanks to Show me the Curry crew for this recipe and my daughter for making this with my help of course.

Ingredients:

Mango pulp 30 ounce
Sweetened condense milk 14 Ounce
Extra creamy whipped topping - 8 ounce
small pieces of pistachio (optional)

Method:

In a big mixing bowl, pour mango pulp, condense milk and whipped cream and mix them well with a hand whisk. Transfer the mixture to a freezable container. If you want sprinkle pistachio pieces, close the lid and freeze it for at least 6 hours. Ice cream is ready.

Helpful hints: Do not use a electric mixture to mix the ingredients. If you want bits of mango in it then add small mango pieces after freezing it for 2 hrs. Mix the mango pieces and freeze it. You can add nuts if you like it nutty.

Pathrode

2010-01-02T15:13:00.001-08:00

Pathrode is a popular delicacy hails from Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts of Karnataka state (India). Pathrado is prepared using taro plant leaves. Taro also known as Colocasia esculenta are highly itchy leaf vegetable. You might experience itchiness in the throat which is common. Itchy is a small price to pay for this delicious food. I am yet to master this recipe. My mother makes it well and I am almost there to match her in this skill.

Ingredients:

8 taro leaves / Colocasia leaves / patra leaves
2 cups idly rice (also know as mallige rice)
2 spoon coriander seeds
1 spoon jeera seeds
1/2 spoon methi seeds
1 cup shredded coconut
tamarind paste
Jaggery - small piece
red dried chilles
salt to taste

You will need a steamer.

Method: Soak idly rice overnight (or at least 6 hours). Grind idly rice along with coriander seeds, jeera seeds, methi seeds, dried red chilles, tamarind, jaggery, salt and water. Don't make it too watery. The consistency should be of thick dasa batter. Now the spicy masala is ready.

Now wash taro leaves properly and pat it dry. With the help of pestle or knife, slightly crush all the veins of patra leaves like the picture below. This will help cook fast and make it less itchy.
Apply a layer of masala on the leaf. Keep another leaf on the first leaf and repeat till you have 3 or 4 leaf stacked. Now roll them. Make sure you apply masala when you roll them and apply batter on top as well. Once nicely rolled, put them in the steamer and steamed it for at least 15 minutes. Pock a knife and see if the knife catches the batter if it doesn't then its done. If batter sticks to the knife, then boil it for some more time. Allow it to cool down before cutting it into long pieces.

Once boiled, there are two ways we eat it. Pan / iron skillet fry or by seasoning it. I am sharing the one with pan fry here.

Grease pan the pan / skillet. Place the long cut patra on it and fry it till they are crispy and well fried. Transfer it to serving plate and eat it when hot. There are no chutney or any side dish for it. It tastes good if you like a food that is totally different than the ordinary.
Helpful hints: Never drink water after having this food for at least half hours. Drinking water might make it more itchy if you already have itchy throat. Please sure lot of tamarind, red chilles and salt ... more than you normally use. These leaves absorbs salt, tamarind and red chillies so such that you would be amazed. If you use less then it spoils the whole taste of it and also makes it more itchy I believe. All the best!

Masala Dosa

2009-12-20T14:40:00.000-08:00

Masala Dosa is a hefty Indian breakfast hails from Southern part of India. They are so delicious and yummy; they can be a knockout mini meal eaten any time of the day. Preparing this type of restaurant dosa at home is really easy, only thing you need is time, and a big appetite.

Ingredients for Dosa:
One cup Urdal dal
2 cup rice
1/2 cup semi thin flattened rice
one spoon methi seeds

Method for Dosa batter : Soak rice and methi seeds together for atleast six hours. Soak urdal dal for 30 -45 minutes. Grind urdal dal first, transfer it to a mixing bowl and grind rice, methi seeds and flattened rice (soak it for just 5 mintutes before grinding) next. Mix Urdal dal and rice batter. The consistency of batter must be like that of evaporated milk (commercial kind). Not too watery or not too thick. Pour the batter into a big vessel, cover it with a lid and keep it in a warm place for overnight fermentation. By morning the batter will be doubled, usually. Add half teaspoon of salt to the batter and stir thoroughly and the batter is ready for dosas.

Method for Dosa : Heat iron skillet. Pour a ladleful of batter on the skillet. Spread it around with the ladle.With the ladle, shape and move the batter outwards in concentric circles - until it shapes in a circular, thin round. Sprinkle half teaspoon of ghee, oil or butter around the batter. Increase the heat high and cook it for few minutes. Cover the skillet. Place potato curry in the center and fold the dosa in middle, remove and serve it immediately. Serve with coconut chutney and / or sambar.

Ingredients for potato curry:

3 Potatoes - peeled and boiled

One large chopped onions

3-4 green chillies

curry leaves

coriander leaves

lemon juice

turmeric powder

seasoning with mustard seeds, jeera seeds, channa dal, urad dal.

salt to taste

Method: In a pan, put some oil, add mustard seeds, channa and urad dal, jeera seeds and allow it to spiltter. Add green chillies, turmeric powder and curry leaves. Now add chopped oinions, salt and fry it till golden brown. Once onions are translucent, add boiled potatoes and mash with. Turn off fire, squeeze lemon juice and garnish it with coriander leaves. Curry is ready.

Helpful Hints : An iron skillet works best for this dosa. Non stick skillet might not bring out the best favour. I have seen folks adding channa dal (half cup) to the dosa batter. It taste good as well. Definately an alternative taste.

Hirekai Bonda / bhaji (Ridge Gaurd bonda)

2009-12-05T21:02:00.000-08:00

Hirekai (Ridge gaurd) bonda like any other deep fried snacks are delicious to taste. It is quick to make and really a good rich snack to get your guest indulged in.

Ingredients:

One ridge gaurd (Peeled and cut round)

one cup Besan powder

Red chilli powder – 1/2 tsp (or as per your taste)

Ajwain – 1/4 tsp

Cumin seeds

Jeera - 1/4 tsp

Asafoetida or Hing – 1 pinch

Oil for deep frying

Salt to taste

Method: Add Besan flour, Red Chilli powder, Ajwain, Cumin seeds, Asafoetida/Hing and Salt in a mixing vessel and make thick batter of the mixture by adding water. Meanwhile , heat oil in a shallow vessel for deep frying purpose. Once the oil is hot, dip the round shaped cut Ridge Gourd one by one in the batter and deep fry. Take out from oil once these bonda's turn golden brown. Eat it as an evening snack along with coffee or tea.

Helpful hints: You can add one spoon of rice flour to make it extra crunky. Please check for any bitter ridge gaurd before using them for bonda.

Vegetable Kadai

2009-11-19T15:38:00.000-08:00

A kadai is a type of thick, circular, and deep vessel used in Indian cooking . Kadai are traditionally made out of cast iron and several dishes named after the utensil such as Vegatable Kadai and Paneer Kadai.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup green beans cut long

1/2 cup long cut carrots

1/2 cup long cut green bell pepers

1/2 cup long cut potatoes

1/2 califlower florets

1/2 fresh green pea / frozen pea

1/2 cup fried-paneer cubes

1/2 cup long cut onions

one cup chopped tomotoes

one onions for grinding

10 cashew nuts

1/2 spoon jeera, coriander, and garam masala powder

red chilli powder

kasuri meti

mustard seeds

Jeera seeds

Coriander leaves for decoration

Butter for shallow cooking

salt to taste

Method:

Put some butter in kadai and saute oinion and tomotoes until they are cooked well. Allow them to cool before grinding it along with cashew cuts into a smooth paste. Add water as needed while grinding.

In the same Kadai, add butter, mustard seeds and jeera seeds. Once mustard seeds starts to spilt, add onion and all vegies. Shallow fry well unitl the vegies are semi cooked. Add jeera powder, coriander powder, and garam masala powder to those vegies. Keep stiring to make sure vegies don't get burnt. Add red chilly powder if you want it spicy and hot. Now add the grinded paste to the veggies. Add one cup water, salt, fried-paneer cudes and cover the kadai and allow it to cook well under low flame. After a minute or so. add kasuri methi and mix well. Turn off the flame, garnish it with coriander leaves before serving it with naan or chapathi.

Useful Hits: Mix and match any Veggies; don't limit it to the veggies mention above. Add lot of tomotoes into the paste to give it a tangy flavour. Kasuri meti is optional. You can substitute butter with cooking oil.

Seven-cups burfi

2009-10-16T14:43:00.001-07:00

Happy Diwali to all. Diwali -the festival of light, the day to get indulged in sweet and what better to enjoy the rich taste of Seven cup burfi. Why seven cup burfi? Because its easy to make and rich in taste, a combination any mother would prefer. The name Seven cups derive from the 7 cups of ingredients that are used to make this burfi. Try it, you will love it !!!

Ingredients:

One cup besan powder

One cup whole milk

One cup ghee

One cup coconut powder

Three cups sugar

Few cardamom powder

Method:

Mix above ingredients in a non stick pan and bring them to a boiling point. Meanwhile greese (with ghee) a flat steel plate. Keep stirring the ingredients to make sure it doesn't get burnt. Keep stiring unitl you see the mixture form one sticky lump. Remove from fire and pour the mixture on the steel plate. Allow it to cool down before cutting it into your desired shape. Burfi is ready to eat after it cools down.

Helpful hints: The tricky part of this recipe is to know when to stop and pour it onto the steel plate. If you remove it from fire too soon, the burfi will become like halwa. If you remove it from fire too late, the burfi will be hard like a stone. My helpful hint here is to tilt the pan and notice if the hot mixture doesn't stick to the pan when you tilt. If it doesn't then its done.

Home made Paneer

2009-10-15T19:10:00.000-07:00

Paneer is the most common South Asian cheese which is made by curdling heated milk with lemon juice. Unlike most cheeses in the world, the making of paneer does not involve rennet(which may be derived from animal, plant, fungal, and microbial sources) as the coagulation agent. Paneer is completely lacto-vegetarian and a great source of protein for vegetarians and brings out a great rich taste in North Indian curries. Infact most of the North Indian curries are conpletely paneer based like Paneer mutter, Butter paneer masala, Palak paneer and many more.

Ingredients:
One gallon regular milk
Half a cup of lemon juice (fill the other half with regular water and make it a one cup juice)

Preparation:

To prepare paneer, food acid (usually lemon juice, vinegar, citric acid or yogurt) is added to hot milk to separate the curds from the whey. The curds are then drained in a muslin cloth or cheesecloth and excess water is pressed out. Place the curds in the muslin cloth on a flat plate and place a heavy container on top of it. The purpose is to squeeze whey out of the curd. Leave the container on top of the curd for two hours.

After two hours, remove the cheese from the muslin cloth. Cut the paneer to the desired shape ( usually cut in cube for Indian dishes). I roast the paneer before freezing them. For roasting: place the panner cubes on hot greased (I use ghee) tava and roast it the golden brown on all sides. Add paneer to your curries right from your refregerator -home made paneer :)you can be sure of its freshness.

Helpful hints: DO NOT squeeze water out of the curd by force. The purpose is to get water slowly and steadily not instantly. I use lemon juice ONLY and not any other food acid. I was told that paneer doesn't taste well if vinegar / curd is used. If you want masala paneer then add masuri methi, jeera powder and little bit of garam masala to the boiling milk before adding lemon juice.

Benne Biscuit

2009-09-23T16:56:00.000-07:00

Benne (means butter in Kannada language) biscuit is one of the infamous cookies hail from the bakeries of India. These cookies just melt in your mouth like a butter would, and thus the name butter biscuit. As you observe the ingredients below, this recipe does not use butter at all. There are many recipes out there using Margarine / Dalda instead of ghee. I am trying the recipe given by a friend and loved the way she has done it. Those cookies melted in my mouth and wish I could say the same with mine. This was my first try and definately lot to learn.

Ingredients:

1 cup maida / unbleached all purpose flour

1/2 cup ghee

1/2 cup powdered sugar

pinch of cardamom powder

few piches of baking soda

Method: Refrigerate ghee for one hour. Once solid due to cold, scoop out and and place it on a mixing bowl. Start the long process of rubbing the refrigerated ghee with your palm. Ghee starts to melt in to a white foam like liquid. Once every inch of the ghee is melted add powdered sugar. Mix it well again with your palm. Once sugar dissolves, add cardamom powder, maida and baking soda and mix them to form a dough.

Pre heat oven to 350 F. Scoop a spoonful of dough on to your palm and roll them to form a perfect ball. Pat the balls before placing it on the cookie sheet. Bake them for 10 -13 minutes. Cool them before indulging on a ride of butterly meltdown.

Antinunde (Karadantu / Ghum ke ladoo)

2009-08-14T11:34:00.000-07:00

Antinunde( Antu means gum; unde means ladoo in Kannada language) ranks top in the ladoo category with my family. The edible gum used in this dish has many health benefits; it is said that these gum promotes strong back bones. My mother made these when I delivered my daughter and my son after two years. She kept saying it will help my bones strong and I beleive her. What I like about these laboos are they are packed with protein (nuts), iron (dates) and jaggery (the lesser evil of sugar). I call it a protein bar that is heavenly in taste.

Ingredients:

1 cup chopped cashew

1 cup chopped Almonds

1 cup chopped dried dates

1 cup dried grapes

1/4 cup antu (edible gum)

1/2 cup dried shredded coconut

2 tbsp kuskus

Ghee

Jaggery

Method: In a pan roast seperately all the ingredients about except Jaggery putting little ghee. Start with cashew. Once it turns reddish, transfer it to a mixing bowl. Next roast almond adding little ghee. Transfer it to the mixing bowl and mix well with cashew. Follow the same procedure for edible gum, dates, dired grapes, coconut and kuskus. Once all the ingredients are roasted, mix them well in the mixing bowl. The next and the most important step is to make Jaggery paka (Syrup). Paka is the method breaking jaggery into fine powder and boiling it to a thick form by adding little bit of water.

Once paka is ready, pour it hot on the roasted ingredients. Mix it well with a spatula. Allow it to cool a little bit before making ladoo. You can prepare Ladoo in the size you like. You can keep these Ladoos in an airtight container. These Ladoos are ok to eat till one month from prepare.

Helpful hints: Keep stiring the nuts while roasting. Don't burn them. Edible gum blow big when fried in ghee. You can break them into smaller pieces if you don't want when stuck in your teeth while eating. Always use dried coconut and not fresh coconut. Don't make thick jaggery syrup or else these ladoo will turn into hard to eat balls.

Cereal Mix (Indian style)

2009-08-06T05:29:00.000-07:00

I first got to taste Cereal Mix at a friend's place. I loved the idea and the taste. This Cereal Mix makes a perfect snack with afternoon coffee / Tea, perfect for anytime snack munch between lunch and dinner, perfect for those who doesn't want to indulge in deep-fry snacks, perfect for kids who doesn't want to eat wholesomeness of cereal and perfect for people like me who wants a quick and easy treat. Try it and I hope you will like it ...

Ingredients:

One cup corn flakes ceral

One cup toasted corn cereal ( chex style)

One cup toasted wheat cereal ( chex style)

One cup toasted whole grain oat (Cherrios)

Half cup peanuts

1/4 cup dried grapes

one tsp Turmeric powder

red dried chilly powder (upon your taste)

1/2 spoon garam masala powder

Oil

sugar

salt

1/2 tsp Urad dal, Chhana dal, Mustard and curry leaves for seasoning

Method:

In a big non stick pan add 3 tbsp oil (as much or as little depending upon your diet). When the oil is hot, add urad dal, chhana dal, mustard seeds, peanuts, curry leaves and fry them until urad dal truns orange. Add dried grapes, turmeric powder, red chilly powder and garam masala powder. Give it a good stir before adding all the cereal mix. On a medium falme, keep stiring the mix. Add salt and 1/2 tsp of sugar and mix well. Make sure every piece of cereal is covered with seasoning. Turn off the gas once cereal is hot and well mixed. Allow the mix to cool down before transferring them to a sealed container. Enjoy !!!

I want to add puffed rice, and some prezels in my next try.

Helpful hints : Very less salt is requires since those cereal already have some amount of salt in it to begin with. I buy walmart brand cereal (great value brand). Make sure those cereal are not coated with sugar or any other flavor. Adding more oil makes it more tasty and crunchy if you want to sacrifies on calories intake.

Vandelaga tambali

2009-08-03T17:28:00.000-07:00

Vandelaga leaves (botanical name: Centella Asiatica) which are also called Brahmi in Sanskrit are known to have some medical benefits. This is used as a leafy green in south Indian cuisine. Tambali is yogurt based gravy and, I whip it up quite often as it is a convenient option for a light and healthy meal. Tambli can be prepared with palak, methi seeds , onion, and many more leafy veggies. Tambli is usually had with white rice or can be consumed alone just like masala buttermilk.

Ingredients:

1 cup Vandelaga(brahmi) leaves
4 cups butter milk or one cup curd
4-5 green chillies or 7 black pepper
1 tspn cumin seeds
pinch of hing
curry leaves, mustard seeds, urad and channa dal for seasoning
Salt

Method:

In a non stick pan, add little oil and add cumin seeds and green chillies or black pepper. When cumin starts to slit, add the chopped vandelaga leaves. Saute them until those leaves soften. Turn the the gas and allow it to cool. Now grind it along with buttermilk or curd as needed. The consistency is liquidy (like rasam). DO NOT HEAT.

Seaon it with mustard, curry leaves, cumin, hing, urad and channa dal. I have added Majjige menasu in the season. It is optional.

Helpful Hints: Do not heat once grinded. You can add fresh coconut while grinding to bring out rich taste to tambli. Make tambli as thick or light as you want.

Kaju Burfi

2009-07-27T05:03:00.000-07:00

Kaju (Cashew) Burfi is one the most easiest , quickest dessert ever without compromising on taste for sure :). Usually these burfis' are decorated with edible silver foil. I have substituted silver foil with cake sprinkes here. Just follow the recipe and you will not go wrong on this.

Ingredients:

One 1/2 cup of powdered cashews
One cup powdered sugar
half cup instant non fat milk powder
1/8 tps of cardamom powder
2 tbsp water

In a double boiler (when top vessel is hot) add powdered sugar, non fat milk powder and continuously stir it. The purpose here is to heat the sugar and milk powder evenly with out burning it. When its warm and little hot transfer it to a mixing bowl, add powdered cashews, cardamom powder and 2 tbsp water. Knead it with your hand (like how you would do it for chapati). Have lot of patience while kneading. Its going to take some time before it forms a dough.

Take a rolling pin (apply little ghee to it so that the dough doesn't stick to the pin). Roll it to your desired thickness. Cut it into your desired shape. Apply silver foil or any other decoration (in my case cake sprinklers). Kaju Burfi is ready!!!

Helpful Hints: I have tried this recipe with powdering the sugar that I have at home in a mixer. It came out too sweet and there was a little crunchy texture. DO NOT powder the sugar at home. Always buy powdered sugar (also known as confectioner's sugar or icing sugar) available at grocery stores. DO NOT add lot of water ... it will spoil the whole recipe. Don't soak and grind cashews. Don't roast the cashews. I have powdered the cashews in a mixer to a smooth powder.

Avalakki Payasa

2009-07-10T18:15:00.000-07:00

This payasa is a delicious pudding prepared with avalakki ,milk and sugar. There are different thickness to avalakki, from almost translucently thin (the more expensive varieties) to nearly four times thicker than a normal rice grain. The thicker avalakki is the one that needs to be used for this recipe.

Ingredients:
1 Cup thick Avalakki
3 Cups Milk
8 – 9 tbsp Sugar( less or more depending upon your taste)
¼ tsp Cardamom Powder
Few strands of Saffron
Few Cashew nuts,pistachio and dried grapes
2tsp Ghee/Clarified Butter

Method:

Soak avalakki in water for 3-4 mntutes. Mean while heat 1tsp of Ghee and fry Cashew nuts, pistachio, dried grapes and keep aside. In the same pan add Milk and let it come to a boil. At this point add avalakki by squeezing water out in your hand. Reduce the flame; add sugar, cardamom powder and saffron. Mix well and cook for 2 mintues. If you do not like the Payasa thick, add another cup of Milk and boil for few more seconds. Add cashew nuts,pistachio and dried grapes and remove to a serving dish and serve after cooling it for 5 mintues.

Helpful hints: Don't serve immidiately after preparing this dish. Allow alavakki to absorb milk and sugar for a superior taste. Always use thick alavakki. Thin alavakki will destroy the whole recipe.

Mango Kesaribath

2009-06-28T09:10:00.000-07:00

People who are Mango freaks have one more reason to celebrate the unbeatable favor of mango fruit. Mango Kesaribath apart from being finger licking delicacy can be eaten as morning breakfast or as a dessert or as prasadam / naivedhyam. This recipe is just like regular Kesaribath except the part that it has ripen mangoes in it to bring out a complete superior grand taste. Try it, you will love it.

Ingredients

One cup Ripen Mangoes (cut into cubes, without the skin)

¾ Sooji rava

One ¼ cup sugar

Few Kesar, Few cashew, pistachio, and dried grapes

Pinch Cardamom powder

Ghee

Method:

In a nonstick pan, roast cashew, pistachio and dried grapes using one spoon of ghee. Once roast, keep it aside. In the same pan roast sooji rava using one spoon of ghee. Once the rava is hot and turned to light brown, keep is aside too. In the same pan add 3 cups of water. Bring it to a boil and add cut ripen mangoes and stir for one 30 seconds. Add roasted rave to the boiling water, add few kesar and sugar and allow it to cook. Close the lid of the pan and simmer the heat. After 5 minutes add ghee to make sure the rava doesn’t stick to pan. Add cardamom powder and all the roasted nuts. Give it a good stir. Mango Kesaribath is ready to eat.

Helpful tips : Heat it while luke warm for superior taste. The cut mangoes might dissolve. This is not a problem. Same recipe can also be done with ripen banana or pineapple.

Spicy Shankarpoli (with yellow moong)

2009-06-12T20:39:00.000-07:00

Shankarpoli is a finger food snack that can be enjoyed along with afternoon tea or coffee. Shankarpoli can be made either sweet or spicy. Check out the recipe for shankarpolli (sweet and spicy) at my friend Soumya's. The only difference with my recipe is the ingredient yellow moong which makes spicy shankarpoli very crunchy and also brings out alternate taste.

Ingredients:

one cup Maida flour
1/2 cup yellow moong dal
chilly powder
1/4 spoon of ajwan seeds
1/4 sppon of jeera seeds
2 spoon butter
salt to taste
oil for deep frying

Method : Soak moong dal for two hours. Later drain moong dal and mix it with Maida flour, chilly powder, ajwan, jeera, salt and melted butter in a bowl. Add water as needed and make a soft dough, like you do for chappati. Then take a handful scoop of the dough, roll it to a round ball using you palm. Later flatten the ball using a rolling pin. Use maida flour for easy rolling. Cut it using a knife into diamond shape.

Meanwhile get the oil hot for deep frying in a frying pan. Once the oil is ready, drop those cut dough into oil gently. Allow it to fry nice in the oil. Take it out once it turns to golden brown. Spicy moong dal version of Shankarpoli is ready. Eat it once it cools down. Can be stored in a air sealed container for a month or more.

Helpful hints: Since having moong dal in the dough makes it hard to roll it, profusely use maida flour for easy rolling. For a different taste, replace red chilly powder with grind green chillies and coriander leaves.

Rava Dosa with raw mango-coconut chuttney

2009-05-28T08:11:00.000-07:00

Rava dasa is quick and easy to make compare to other dosas that requires fermentation. Absoluelty delicious to taste, this dasa is for those who are short in time to do any other wholesome breakfast.

Ingredients for Dasa :

One cup Rice flour
3/4 cup Maida flour
Half cup suji rava
One cup grated carrot
One cup chopped red onions
Chopped coriander and curry leaves
Chopped green chilies
One spoon Jeera
Salt to taste

Method:

Mix all the above ingredients in a blow with water. The batter should be watery consistent. Heat iron griddle. Greece it well and pour the batter on hot tava and form a dasa shape. Batter spread around the tava since it is diluted consistent. Allow the dosa on tava till it is done; you may cover the griddle for quick and fast cooking. Put oil while dosa is on tava as needed. Remove and eat while it is hot and crispy.

Ingredients for raw mango chutney:

One cup coconut
One cup chopped raw mangoes
Green chilies (as needed)
Ginger
Chopped coriander
Urad dal
Channa dal
Mustard seeds
Curry leaves
Salt to taste
Oil for seasoning

Method:

Grind coconut, raw mangoes, chilies, ginger, coriander and salt in a mixer by adding water. Grind well for a smooth paste like consistency. Transfer the chutney to a bowl and season it with mustard seeds, curry leaves, udral dal and channa dal. Chutney is ready.

Helpful tips : The success of this dosa depends on the exact consistency of the batter. If the batter is too liquidy add more rice flour; if the batter is too thick add little more watter. Keep the dosa long on iron griddle if you want it crispy. You can add ginger to the batter for different flavour.

Carrot Kheer

2009-05-09T04:49:00.000-07:00

Carrot kheer or paysam is one of those desserts that you can make when you are of short of time and you want something delicious and quick to make. Carrot kheer is a nutritous dish with the look of a brilliant orange colour that will sure make you hurry and leave you wanting for more. This dish can be eaten hot / luke warm in winter and chilly cold in sultry summer.

Ingredients:

6 Carrots peeled and cut
Sugar
milk
Soaked almonds and cashew
saffron
cardimom

Method

1. Cut the carrots (wash and cut the edges) into small pieces and boil it in a pressure cooker
2. Pressure cook carrots in milk
3. Place the boiled carrot, soaked almonds, cashew & saffron into a grinder and make paste of it.
4. Then add the carrot paste and the remaining pressure cooked milk in a cantainer and boil them on a medium flame.
5. Stir the mixture continuously and add sugar (add additional sugar as per the taste).
6. Add cardamom powder and stir well.
7. Heat the mixture until boiling state.
8. Now let it cool for sometime.
9. Refrigerate it for cold serving or luke worm.
10. Decorate with cashews and sliced almonds before serving (optional).

Helpful hint: You also boil carrots in water. Don't make it too watery by adding too much milk. Do not add water to this dish.

Idly, Vada, Sambar and coconut chutney

2009-05-02T12:48:00.000-07:00

Talking about hefty breakfast, Idly Vada Sambar and chutney combo ranks first on my list. Growing up, Idly was a once every week breakfast menu at my mom's place. I took several mishaps before perfecting it. I am very thankful to my Cousin S for sharing her recipe for Sambar. I am posting her recipe in this blog.

Idly :( You need Idly stand )

Ingredients:

Idly rice- 2 1/2 cups
Urad dal - 0ne cup
Salt

Soak Idly rice over night. Soak Urad dal for an hour and grind it in a grinder by adding water as needed. Remove the paste and grind Idly rava next by adding water as needed. Grind it to rave texture. Mix both (Idly rava and urad dal ) grinded paste together. Allow the paste to ferment over night. Once fermented, pour idly batter on the idly stand (greace it with oil) and pressure cook it for 15 minutes. Allow it to cool for 2 mintues before scooping out idlies from the idly stand. Idly is now ready to eat :)

Helpful hints: Please make sure the paste is not too watery. If the climate is very humid the paste gets fermented soon may be in 4 or 5 hours. Don't allow it to ferment too long. The Idly paste gets sour.

Sambar :

Ingredients:

Toor dal -1 cup boiled
Onion - 3 (1 for masala)
Tomatoes -3
Ginger - half inch
Garlic - 2 clove
Corainder seeds - 4 tsp
Jeera seeds- 1/2 tsp
Methi seeds- 1/2 tsp
shredded coconut - 1 cup
red dried chillies- 5 or more
Tamarind paste - 3 spoon
Jagerry (optional)
Curry leaves
corainder leaves
Hing powder
Mustered seeds
salt to taste

Preparation for masala: In a pan add little oil. On a medium flame roast coriander seeds, jeera, methi, red dried chillies, ginger, garlic and chopped onion. Once you start getting nice aroma add shredded cocnut to it and fry for a minute and turn off the stove. Once it cools down grind it to a smooth paste by adding water.

Boil toordal in a pressure cooker.

Take a bigger pan. Put some oil in it and fry onion and tomotoes. Add curry leaves to it. Once onion turn brown add grounded masala paste and boiled toor dal. Add tamarind paste, jagerry and salt. Mix well and add salt to bring it to a liquidy sambar consistancy. Allow it to boil well. Decorate it with chopped coriander and season it with mustered and hing powder. Sambar is ready to serve.

Urad Vada

Ingredients:

Urad dal
chopped coriander
chopped curry leaves
chopped green chillies
Hing powder (optional)
salt to taste
Oil for deep frying

Soak urad dal for 45 mintues. Grind it in a grinder by adding very little water. Take the thick paste out of grinder and add choopped curry leaves, coriander leaves and chopped green chilles.

Get ready to deep fry the above paste. Add salt just before deep frying the vada. Take a scoop of paste in your hand and make a hole of the batter with your thumb and gently drop it in the hot oil. Continue this process of making vada. Fry them to golden colour and take it off from the oil. Vada is ready.

Helpful hints : You can add ginger paste to the vada batter also. Don't soak Urad dal for a long period of time. Thirty to forty five mintues is more than enough. Urad vada takes long time to fry so don't hurry other wise you will end up with raw batter inside when you cut it open.

Coconut chutney:

Ingredients:

Grated fresh coconut - 2 cups
green chillies - 3
ginger -half an inch
coriander leaves - 1/2 cup
tamarind paste - one spoon
curry leaves
Salt to taste

Grind above ingredients apart from curry leaves in a mixture. Season it with muster seeds and hing powder.

Idly, Vada, sambar and chutney is ready to eat !

Akki roti with red bell pepper chutney

2009-04-28T19:28:00.000-07:00

Akki roti is one of the famous karnataka specialty dish. It is quick to make and so yummy to taste. I recently got a taste of it at my cousin's place along with bell pepper chutney to go along with the roti. I am sharing her recipe below. Thanks S:)

Ingredients for Akki Roti

2 cups: Rice flour (Akki hittu)
1/2 cup: Chopped onion
grated carrots
Chopped green chillies
2 tbs: Chopped coriander leaves
Chopped curry leaves
1tsp: Cumin seeds (jeera)
A pinch Asafoetida (hing)
Oil for roasting
Salt to taste

Method

Mix all the ingredients with water. Knead well to make soft dough.
Grease the iron griddle with cooking oil and take a lemon sized ball of the dough and pat it to form a roti right on the griddle itself.
Make 3-4 holes in the rottis and pour few drops of oil in each hole. Cook well till golden brown. Repeat the same with the remaining dough.

Red Bell Pepper chutney:

Ingredients:

2 Red Bell pepper
4 spoon Urad dal
1 spoon Jeera
1/2 spoon methi
7 red dried chillies
Tamarind
Jagerry (optional)
Mustard seeds for seasoning
pinch of Asafoetida

Method:

Chop red bell pepper and cook them in water. Mean while take a pan, add little oil and roast urad dal. jeera. meti and red dried chillies on medium flame. Once the urdal dal turns orange turn off the falme. Once the bell pepper and the roasted masala are cool, grind them to a thick paste. Add Tamarind, Jaggery and salt to the grinder and give it a final spin. Season it with mustard seeds and Asafoetida.

Helpful hints: Cover the griddle for fast cooking. Add grated coconut and butter to the akki roti dough for smooth and rich taste. Don't forget to make holes on the roti for even fast cooking. It also helps roti to come off the iron griddle once its well rosted. Eat it hot and fresh. Don't make them and keep it for eating later. It spoils the texture and the taste.

Veggie stuffed chapati

2009-04-22T16:59:00.000-07:00

Veggie stuffed chapati is something I invented one fine evening. Ever since it became a mega hit with my husband, this has become a must delicacy in my kitchen. People who like semi cooked veggies will absolutely love this.

Ingredients:
Wheat flour
Maida flour or all purpose flour
Finely chopped Onion
Finely chopped capsicum
grated carrots
finely chopped green beans
Chopped coriander
Lemon juice (one spoon)
red chili powder
garam masala powder
salt to taste

Add half flour of Maida and half flour wheat (you can also add salt if you need it) and knead them to a soft dough by adding water as needed. Keep it aside for 5 minutes. Meanwhile mix chopped onions, capsicum, carrots, beans, coriander, Red chili, garam masala powder, lemon juice and salt in a bowl. Allow it to marinate for 5 minutes.

Now make small balls of the dough. Roll the dough with rolling pin and form a chapati. Make two chapati. Now sprinkle veggies on one chapati and cover it with another chapati. gently close the edges of the chapati with your finger tips.

Meanwhile get the iron tawa hot and nicely fry the chappati by adding oil (I use olive oil). Nicely fry them both side. Once done remove them from tawa and cut them into 4 pieces with a scissor. Enjoy when its semi hot.

Helpful tips: If you want it healthy make it with only wheat flour. I also add chopped spring onions, chopped methi leaves to the stuffing. If you want it very spicy add more chili powder along with coriander powder and jeera powder to the veggies. It gives a nice kick to the spiciness.

Meese pakora (onion pakora)

2009-04-12T09:26:00.000-07:00

Its raining today and what more reason I need to make some fried items to enjoy the soaky weather. Messe pakora is what I have in mind. Its easy and deliciously yummy to taste . I am sharing the recipe thought by my father-in-law who is master when it comes to fried snacks. Its called meese (mustache in kannada) pakora.

Ingredients:

Onions chopped thin and long
Besan flour (Gram flour)
Red Chili powder
Few grinded ajwan seeds
Pinch of asafoetido powder
Chopped coriander leaves
Chopped curry leaves
Salt to taste
Oil for frying

Method : Cut onion thin and long. Transfer it to a bowl. Add salt and red chili powder to the bowl, mix well and cover it for 15 minutes. When onion is mixed with salt it oozes water. So when you open the cover you will find salty water with nicely soaked onion.

Add besan flour, ajwan, hing powder, chopped curry leaves and coriander leaves to the bowl and mix well. Don't add water unless needed. The mixture should be thick and not liquidy. Heat oil in a frying pan and fry the above mixture by dropping it into the oil either using a spoon or your hand. Fry it well till golden brown. Meese pakora is ready to eat :)

Helpful hints: The biggest mistake I have seen my friends make is to take out the pakora out from the oil soon. please fry them until golden brown and see the difference in taste. Add two or three spoon on water if need be. Adding too much of water spoils the whole recipe. Make sure onion is more in quantity than the besan flour. I add lot of chili powder ... my secret to the success. I do not add baking powder to it.

Veg Chinese Noodles

2009-04-04T19:34:00.000-07:00

Quick and deliciously yummy to taste, home made Chinese noodles is a best way to consume some proteins like tofu and moong sprouts. Being a vegetarian, absence of protein in our daily diet is something I fear all the time. My kids hate toffu but mixed with noodles they gulp it down without any complaints.

Ingredients

Noodles (Boiled and brained)
Medium Tofu(Pan fired)
Moong sprouts
Chopped spring onion
Baby corn (I got the caned one)
Long cut onion
Long cut carrot
Long cut Beans
Long cut cabbage
Soya Sauce
Knorr green chillies sauce
Tomoto ketchup
Olive oil / regular cooking oil

Take a wok, add oil. First add onion, Beans, cabbage and Carrots and fry them for 5 minutes. Once the carrot and beans are little tender add baby corn, fried Tofu, soy sauce, tomato ketchup, and green chili sauce. Fry them all for 2 minutes. Add boiled noodles and sprouted moong. Stir them all together for 2 minutes. Vegetable noodles are ready to eat.

Helpful tips: Salt is not necessary to add since soya sauce and tomato ketchup has enough salt for taste. Don't over cook vegetables. Keep it crisp for a better taste. You can add any hot sauce not necessarily the Knorr brand. Don't substitute noodles with maggie noodles .... its just ruins the whole recipe. You can add any vegetables you want like broccoli and red / green peppers.

Gobi Palak

2009-03-18T08:42:00.000-07:00

Palak Gobi is a delectable curry perfect for rotis or chapatis. This recipe is a combination of spinach and cauliflower, cooked with tomatoes, ginger and garlic and lightly seasoned with onions and other spices. This curry is a perfect way to consume the wholesomeness of Spinach and cauliflower.

Ingredients

1 bunch palak ( or spinach)

1 cup cauliflower florets

1 small onion chopped

2 medium sized tomatoes diced

4 green chillies slit

8 Cashew nuts

1 small piece ginger

5 garlic flakes

1 tsp mustard seeds

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp cumin powder

1 tsp chilli powder (optional)

2 tsp dhania (coriander) powder

2 tsp garam masala powder

1/2cup milk

Salt to taste

1 1/2 tablespoon ghee (clarified butter)

Take a pan, melt butter and add cumin seeds, slit green chilies, chopped ginger and fry them till the ginger is well fried then chopped palak. Fry them well till the palak is done (You may cover the pan with lid). Keep it aside to cool. Grind cashews first in a mixture. Once it is powdered add the cooked palak and grind it to a smooth paste by adding water as needed.

Mean while get the cauliflower florets cooked by pan frying them with butter. Fry it till little brown (you can also deep fry gobi if you want it high calorie packed and rich taste). You can also boil the cauliflower florets in water. I prefer to pan fry them for rich taste.

Once the cauliflower florets are fried and spinach is grind to a smooth semi thick paste, take a big nonstick pan add butter (you can also substitute butter with Ghee, or olive oil or regular vegetable oil). Add mustard seeds and allow it to splitter. Then add chopped garlic and onion and fry then till golden brown. Add chopped tomatoes and fry them all for one more minute. Add garam masala powder, cumin powder and dhania powder. Fry them for 30 seconds and then add spinach paste and cauliflower florets to it. Add salt to your taste. You may also want to add water depending upon how liquidy you want the curry to be. Get all the curry to a boiling point. Once it starts to boil, add milk and mix it well. Turn off the fire. Serve with Chapattis.

Helpful tips: never over cook Cauliflower to a mushy paste. You can add red chilli powder if you want it more hot and spicy. You can also add Paneer and boiled potato to this curry for an alternate taste.

Masalpoori

2009-03-13T12:54:00.000-07:00

Yamyamyammmm ! If you like chaat in general, you will die for masalpoori. Yeap! It’s that deliciously mouthwatering. What’s so extraordinary about this chaat is that its hail from roads of Karnataka. I bet no one apart karnatakans’ ever heard of this chaat in India. What a bummer! Never the less, here is the recipe …. Do try and post your comments.

Ingredients you need:

One pack Pani Poori / one pack papdi poori
2 cups dried green peas (soaked overnight)
1 diced potato
Tamarind paste
Jaggary (coin size)
1 bunch coriander leaves
Few mint leaves (optional)
One chopped onion
1 red chopped onion
10 pepercorn ( if you want it spicy)
Ginger half inch
2 Garlic
Few Cinnamon stick
Cloves
One spoon Khuskhus (Poppy seeds)
One spoon Saunf (Fennel) (optional)
6 Green chillies
Kara sev
Chopped tomato
Salt to taste

Direction:
Pressure cook soaked peas and potato in a cooker (Don’t put salt). Take a pan, put little oil and fry cinnamon, lavanga cloves, pepper corn, kuskus, saunf, green chillies, garlic and ginger for 2 minutes. Add chopped onion and fry for a minutes. Later add coriander bunch ( little chopped. I add the stem too …not just the leaves) and mint ( only if available. Its optional). Keep stirring it until done.

Grind the above pan fried masala. Add Tamarind paste , jaggary and water as desired to make it a smooth masala paste.

Open the cooker and transfer the cooked peas and potato to a bigger vessel. Add the masala paste to the Vessel. Add salt to your taste. If you want it spicy add red chilly powder (optional). Try to mash the peas to a smooth paste ( not all of them but most of them. If the pressure cooked peas are already mushy then its fine). Add water if you want. This masala should be semi liquid.

Method of preparation:

Take a nice bowl. break 6 pani poori or papdi poori with your hand. Pour one full scoop of peas potato masala (it has to be warn to semi hot). Sprinkle chopped red onion, diced tomato, chopped coriander leaves and Khara sev. Eat immediately and drown to world of Yumyum!

Helpful Tips: You can use pita bread or baked corn chips instead of pani poori. Don't substitute Dried peas with fresh peas/ or frozen peas / or chick peas. It will spoil the whole taste. You can add creamy yogart of top of the masalpoori if you feel it too spicy. Don’t mash the potato. Eat when its hot for better flavor and taste. If left long the pooris get all soggy.

Heeray kAyi dose (Ridge Guard dasa)

2009-02-24T20:16:00.000-08:00

Rice: 3 cups
Ridge guard: Peeled and sliced thin
Coriander seeds – two spoon
Jeera- one spoon
Jagerry
Tamarind paste
Dried red chilles - 10
Shredded Coconut -1 cup
Salt to taste

Soak rice for 6 hours. Grind it with coriander seeds, Jeera, coconut, red chillies, tamarind paste, jaggery and salt. Grind it well to a smooth thick paste.

Heat iron tava and grease it well. Take the sliced heeray kAyi , dip it in the batter and place it on the hot tava. Take another dipped slice and place it next to the already placed heeray kAyi slice on tava. Continue this process to form a dosa. After a minute flip the dasa on to the other side and cook well. Eat it fresh and hot.

Helpful hints : Taste the ridge guard to check if it is bitter before making dosa. A bitter guard can ruin the whole taste of the dasa. If you don't wish to use coconut then substitute it with idly rice. Idly rice comes out very smooth than regular long grain rice. For a nice red/orange colour for dasa you can add paprika apart from red chillies. Don't trash the peeled skin of heeray kAyi. You can make delicious chutney with it.

Green Idly

2008-08-20T19:40:00.001-07:00

I was at an utter shock when I saw green colored idly on my breakfast plate. I thought something was wrong with my eyes. I rubbed my eyes just to make sure everything is alright. Still the idlis were green. Panicky I double verified with my Aunty if those Idlis were green. She laughed and said they are regularly idly but she added White Hibiscus leaves to it.

I knew hibiscus, especially white hibiscus is considered to have medicinal properties in the Indian traditional system of medicine. Roots make various decoctions believed to cure various ailments. Both in India and China, infusions of Hibiscus leaves and flowers were mixed with herbal oils and applied on the scalp as a part of regular hair care. I didn’t realize that hibiscus leaves are edible. My aunty believes that extracts of some hibiscus species have health benefits, including prevention of constipation, bladder infections and nausea, and high blood pressure. The studies that yielded these results are debated. I was reluctant to taste but that would also hurt my Aunts’ feelings. So I ate it … it was delicious just like regular idly.

Recipe for Green Idly:

Ingredients: Idly rice (2 cups), Urad dal (1 cup), White hibiscus plant leaves (1 cup), Salt.

Soak idly rice over night. Soak Urad dal for 30 minutes. Grind Urad dal first in a grinder. Take out the grinded paste and grind rice to rava like paste. Mix Urad paste and rice paste well and allow it to ferment. After the batter is fermented, grind the hibiscus plant leaves and add it to the batter. Add salt to the taste. Now the idly batter is ready to be steamed into delicious idly. You can use regular idly stand or steel cup for steaming. Grease it with edible oil and put the batter in it and steam for 15-20 minutes till they are cooked well. Serve it with sambar and coconut chutney.

Jolad Rotti (sorghum rotti)

2008-07-11T10:52:00.000-07:00

Jawar or Sorghum is the main staple diet for most of North Karnataka folks. Jolad rotti or jawar rotti is a must in any North Karnataka houses. My mother cooks pure south Kendra food. Jolad rotti is completely new phenomenon for us when we moved to North Karnataka. Every afternoon we would hear some strange tapping sounds from our neighbor’s home. Curious and wanting to know, my mother asked our neighbor one nice day about the noise she hears every single day. Our neighbor laughed and said “O that’s our servant making Jolad rotti”. She was kind enough to share few rotties for taste. It was amazing taste. How on earth were we deprived of this food for this long? My mother learned the recipe which was very easy. But when it came to doing it, she failed miserably. My mother and I still haven’t learned the art of making Jolad rotti with our hands but we do it with a rolling pin though; obviously it doesn’t taste as good as doing it with our hands.

Recipe of Jolad Rotti:

Prepare dough by mixing the jowar flour with hot water; add salt to your taste before adding hot water. Knead the dough well just the way one would do chappati dough. Later divide the dough and make lemon sized balls. Helpful hint : Don't make jawar balls all at a time; take a scoop of the dough, knead it well and make a ball. Then, using your palm pat the ballas into flat thin round. Your hand and the place you pat the balls should well floured with Jowar flour. Then lift the doughspread carefully and placed on a hot iron tava (griddle). On medium-high heat, rotti is roasted slowly. Water is applied with a cotton cloth on the surface of roti, before turning it to the other side. After two to three minutes of cooking, roti is turned to the other side and cooked until done. Jolad rotti is used served with Gurellu pudi (Black sesame powder) or peanut powder or stuffed eggplant.

Our servant in India makes Jolad rotti for us. She is an expert. I had the opportunity to take a small clip of her making the rotties.

It looks so easy but its so hard to do it. But with little practice and repetition anything is achievable that includes Julad roti. I hope you will have an opportunity to experiment this rotti and enjoy the process of making it. Good luck.