BAKED BROCCOLI WITH CHEESE

BAKED BROCCOLI WITH CHEESE

I made this recipe from Jean Carper’s “Complete Healthy Cookbook.” The original recipe had cauliflower, and only eggs, cheese, and bread crumbs but I tweaked it a little bit by using broccoli instead of cauliflower and adding some chili powder and ginger-garlic paste along with the cheese. The result was so tasty. This can go as a healthy starter for any party. I have used bread crumbs from whole wheat bread in this case. No oil is used here; the only fat present is from the egg. Here goes the recipe:

INGREDIENTS:
Broccoli, 1 big head.
Parmesan cheese, 3 tablespoons.
Eggs, 2.
Bread crumbs, 1 cup.
Ginger-garlic paste, 1 teaspoon.
Chili powder, 1 teaspoon.
Salt as per taste.

PREPARATION:
Wash the broccoli and cut it into small florets. Take a plate and put the bread crumbs on to the plate. Mix the bread crumbs with 2 tablespoons of parmesan cheese, 1 teaspoon chili powder and keep aside. Take a bowl and break 2 eggs into the bowl. Add 1 tablespoon of ginger-garlic paste, 1 tablespoon of parmesan cheese, 1 teaspoon of salt to the eggs and beat everything well. Take a baking dish and spray it some oil. Take a broccoli floret and immerse it in the egg mixture. Then take the floret and coat it with the bread crumb mixture and place it on the baking sheet. Repeat the same procedure with the remaining florets. Bake them at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes until they turn golden-brown and crispy. Serve hot with tomato sauce.

SOYA GRAVY

SOYA GRAVY
Recently we decided to have rotis for lunch at least thrice a week, so I am always on the look for side dish varieties to go with rotis. I keep alternating with plain vegetables one day and any masala dish the other day. This is one such recipe. I learnt it from Aval Vikatan magazine when we were staying in Hyderabad. My husband never liked soya granules but he liked this specific dish very much. Now-a-days, we have this regularly with rotis. Here goes the recipe:

INGREDIENTS:
Soya nuggets, 1 cup.
Onions, 2.
Tomato 1.
Ginger-garlic paste, 1 teaspoon.
Fennel seeds, 1 teaspoon.
Cloves, 2.
Cinnamon, 1 small stick.
Red chilies, 3-4.
Coriander seeds, 1 teaspoon.
Curry leaves for garnishing.
Salt as per taste.

PREPARATION:
Take a cup of soy nuggets and put them in boiling water for 2 minutes until the nuggets are puffed up. Let them sit for 5 minutes, then rinse them well, drain them, and cut into very fine pieces or they can be minced well using a blender. Take care not to make them into a paste, just one or two pulses in the blender will be fine. Chop the onions and tomato into small pieces. Heat a pan with 2 teaspoons of oil. When the oil is hot enough, put the fennel seeds, cinnamon stick, cloves, red chilies, coriander seeds and let them fry for a minute until good smell comes from the spices. Then add the chopped onions, tomato, ginger-garlic paste and sauté them along with the spices for a few minutes until the onions turn brown, then switch off the stove and let them cool. When the mixture is cool enough, grind it into smooth paste. In the same pan, add another teaspoon of oil, add the ground paste and fry for a minute. Then add the minced soya nuggets, some salt to taste with ½ cup of water and cook closed under medium flame for 10 minutes until it turns thicker into a gravy consistency. Garnish with curry leaves and serve hot with rotis.

KOTHSU

KOTHSU
Kothsu is a typical Tamil Nadu dish, I think it is from Chidambaram district. Kathrikai (eggplant) kothsu is a famous dish in Tamil Nadu. This is a healthy dish since it is made with 3 types of dhals and vegetables. I started making this after hearing about it from a friend in Hyderabad. She usually adds all types of vegetables in it. I too prepare it the same way. Recently I started adding frozen corn and peas in the kothsu to boost up its fiber content. This can go as a side dish for idlis, dosas, appams etc.

INGREDIENTS:
Toor dhal, ¼ cup.
Channa dhal, ¼ cup.
Moong dhal, ¼ cup.
Red onion, medium-sized, 1.
Tomatoes, small, 2.
Green chili, 1.
Cabbage, carrots, green beans, cauliflower all coming around 1 cup when cut.
Frozen peas and corn taken together, ½ cup.
Garlic, 2 cloves.
Chili powder, 1 teaspoon.
Coriander powder, 2 teaspoons.
Sambar powder, 1 teaspoon.
Salt as per taste.
Cilantro and curry leaves for garnishing.
Mustard seeds, 1 teaspoon.
Cumin seeds, 1 teaspoon.

PREPARATION:
Wash the dhals together and cook them for up to 3 whistles in a pressure cooker. Dice the onion and tomatoes and slit the green chili into two and keep aside. Chop all the other vegetables and crush the garlic coarsely. Heat a pan with a teaspoon of oil. When the oil is hot enough, add the mustard seeds and let it splutter. Then add the cumin seeds and fry for 20 seconds. Now add the diced onion, tomatoes, green chili, crushed garlic and sauté everything for 2-3 minutes. Then add the chopped cabbage, green beans, carrot, cauliflower, frozen peas and corn and sauté everything together for another 2 minutes. Then add the cooked dhals, and add 1 cup of water, chili powder, coriander powder, sambar powder, salt and cook closed under medium flame for 10 minutes until the vegetables are cooked and the dhal reaches the desired consistency. Switch off the stove and garnish with cilantro and curry leaves and serve hot with idlis, dosas, or appams.

BAKED SOMAS

BAKED SOMAS
My husband loves somas. This crispy deep-fried snack is such a treat during Diwali. As a kid, I grew up watching my grandmother making this before Diwali sitting in front of a big kadai for deep frying murukkus, athirsams, and somas. We used to scamper around her for treats. After coming to US, Diwali is a very simple occasion, especially if it comes during weekdays. I got the idea for baking somas instead of deep frying after seeing it from Food Network. These baked somas taste so good. There was no difference in the taste as to compared with the deep-fried one. In fact, these were crispier and stayed crisp for days. Here goes the recipe.

INGREDIENTS:
FOR THE FILLING:
Rava or cream of wheat, 1 cup.
Shredded coconut or coconut powder, ½ cup.
Sugar, 1 cup.
Cashews, a handful.
Cardamom powder, 1 teaspoon.
Unsalted butter or ghee, 1 tablespoon.

FOR THE SOMAS:
All purpose flour, 1-/1/2 cup.
Water, ½ cup.
Oil, 1 tablespoon.
Salt for the dough.
Melted butter, 2 tablespoons.

PROCEDURE:
Take the all purpose flour in a basin and add some salt and mix well. Then add water and oil and knead it into a tight dough just like the dough used for making puris. Cover the dough with a damp cloth and let it rest for half-an-hour.

Take a pan and heat a tablespoon of unsalted butter. When the butter melts, add the cream of wheat and fry for a minute under medium-to-low flame taking care not the burn it. Then add the shredded coconut, cashews, and cardamom powder and fry everything for another 2 minutes. Now add the sugar and keep stirring everything together until the sugar melts with the mixture. Switch off the stove and set it aside.

Take the kneaded dough and make small balls of dough from it. The balls should the size of a small lemon. Roll the ball into the thin circles. Take a spoonful of the filling and put in the centre of the rolled dough. Moisten the fingertips with some water and rub the ends of the circle and close the rolled dough and fold the dough into half pressing the edges with a fork. Repeat the same with the remaining dough.

Take a baking sheet and spray it with some cooking oil. Place the somas on the baking sheet not arranging them too close and baste them with some melted unsalted butter. Bake them for 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes. Check them after 15 minutes. If they have reached the desired golden-brown color, they can be taken from the oven right away or else leave them for another 5 minutes. Allow them to cool for 15 minutes and then enjoy.

SLOW-COOKED RED BEANS CURRY

SLOW-COOKED RED BEANS CURRY
I try to add beans in my cooking at least twice a week because of its health benefits. This red bean curry is a variation from the usual one. I made this curry for weekend lunch to go with sambar and rice. It can also be made as a side dish for rotis. I prefer to make it during weekends since it is slow cooked. When I tried to pressure cook red beans, the beans were not that soft though they were cooked for a long time. Slow cooking red beans adds a great flavor to the curry with the onions and tomatoes dissolving into the curry giving a great sauce. I sort of made a dry curry for rice today but it can also be made into a gravy. I did not add any masala powders for this, just a few crushed fennel seeds for taste.

INGREDIENTS:
Red beans, 1 cup, soaked overnight for at least 12 hours.
Red onions, medium sized, 2.
Tomato 1.
Chili powder, 2 teaspoons.
Coriander powder, 2 teaspoon.
Ginger-garlic paste.
Fennel seeds, 1 teaspoon.
Curry leaves for seasoning.
Salt as per taste.

PREPARATION:
Chop the onions and tomato into small pieces. Crush the fennel seeds coarsely with a mortar and pestle. Take a deep-bottomed pan and heat some oil in it. When the oil is hot enough, add the chopped onions and tomatoes and sauté for a few minutes. Then add the ginger-garlic paste, a few curry leaves and sauté for another minute. Now add the chili powder, coriander powder, crushed fennel seeds, salt and fry everything for 2 minutes until the raw smell from the spices go. Then add the soaked red beans with 2-1/2 cups of water and mix everything well. Cook closed under medium flame for 1 hour until the beans are tender. Switch off the stove when the desired consistency is attained, either gravy or dry curry. Garnish with cilantro and serve hot with rice or rotis.

MICROWAVE PONGAL

MICROWAVE PONGAL
I started preparing pongal after coming to US only. While we were in Hyderabad, I was still in the process of learning cooking, usually testing all my preparations on my guinea pig (my hubby) and I was a total failure with pongal. In US, I started preparing pongal by using the microwave and it came out so well during the first time itself and since then there was no going back. All our friends who tasted this loved this dish. I find this method much easier than the traditional method; just cook the rice and dhal together and add the seasonings. Recently I started substituting low-fat butter instead of ghee for health reasons though the taste is still good.

INGREDIENTS:
Raw rice, 1 cup.
Moong dhal, ½ cup.
Peppercorns, 1 tablespoon.
Cumin seeds, 1 tablespoon.
Curry leaves, a handful.
Ginger, 1 small piece.
Green chili, 1 (optional).
Any cooking oil, 1 tablespoon.
Low-fat butter (or) ghee, 1-1/2 tablespoon.
Salt as per taste.

PREPARATION:
Wash the rice and dhal together. Put them in a microwave rice cooker, add 2-1/4 cups of water with salt according to taste and cook for 14-15 minutes depending upon the power level of the microwave. Meanwhile, chop the ginger into fine pieces and slit the chili into 2 and keep aside. Heat a small pan with a tablespoon of oil. When the oil is hot enough, add the peppercorns, cumin seeds and fry then for a minute until good smell comes from the peppers and cumin. Then add the chopped ginger, curry leaves, and chili and fry everything for another minute and turn off the stove. When the rice and dhal are cooked, pour the seasonings over the pongal, add 1-1/2 tablespoon of low-fat butter and mix everything well. If the rice still appears whole, mash the rice with a spatula until everything is well blended to a pongal consistency. If needed, some more ghee or butter can be added. Serve hot with coconut chutney and sambar.

NOTE: Once the pongal gets cooled it hardens up and becomes a bit tight. It can be reheated for 1-2 minutes in the microwave before serving and it comes back to its original consistency after reheating. Some cashews can also be added for seasoning.

BITTER GOURD CRISPS

BITTER GOURD CRISPS
I had these crispy bitter gourd pakoras in Pondicherry which my FIL bought from a nearby bajji shop. Instead of making pakoras, I tried to keep the bitter gourd slices whole using less flour and this came out crispy and tasty too. The bitterness of the bitter gourd was very less. I used only besan here to keep up its low-carb value (yeah I know it is a deep-fried dish, but at least the vegetable is a healthy one and the carb value is also less here). If needed some rice flour or whole purpose flour can also be added for additional taste.

INGREDIENTS:
Bitter gourd, medium-sized, 1.
Besan, 2 tablespoons.
Chili powder, 1 teaspoon.
Salt as per taste.
Baking soda, 1 pinch, (optional).
Oil, 1 cup.

PREPARATION:
Cut the bitter gourd into small thin slices. Take the sliced bitter gourd pieces in a basin and add besan, salt, chili powder, baking soda and mix everything well. A few drops of water can also be added if the mixture is too powdery. The besan should be wet enough to just coat the bitter gourd slices partially. Heat a cup of oil in a pot. When the oil is hot enough, add the bitter gourd slices one by one to the hot oil. The bitter gourd slices start coming up as they get cooked. When they turn golden-brown, remove the slices from the oil and drain them on a paper towel. They can be had as a side dish for rice or even as a snack by itself.

GOING GREEN - SPINACH CHAPATHI

SPINACH CHAPATHI
The inspiration for this chapathi was the colored tortillas from the supermarkets. They looked so appetizing but I prefer homemade chapathis for lunch, thus came the idea. I found that more spinach can be added to the dough this way than just chopping the spinach and making rotis. The spinach taste was not so overpowering here. The taste was just like ordinary chapathis with just a little bit of spinach.

INGREDIENTS:
Whole wheat flour, 1-1/2 cups.
Spinach, 1 bunch.
Oil, 1 tablespoon.
Milk or curd, 1 tablespoon.
Salt as per taste.

PREPARATION:
Wash the spinach leaves and keep aside. Take a pan with ½ cup of water and put the spinach leaves into the pan. Cook the leaves closed for 5 minutes until the spinach is wilted. When the leaves are cold, grind the spinach into a smooth paste with a food processor. Take the whole wheat flour in a basin and add salt and mix well. Then add the purred spinach, 1 tablespoon of curd or milk, 1 tablespoon of oil, 1/2 cup of water and knead everything into a chapathi dough. Some more water can also be added to get the desired consistency. Close the dough with a damp towel and let it rest for half-an-hour. Then heat a flat-bottomed pan, and start rolling the dough into flat chapathis by taking small balls of the dough. When the pan is hot, put a rolled chapathi dough into the pan. Flip it after 30 seconds and add a teaspoon of oil and flip it again after 30 seconds. Keep flipping the chapathi for 20 seconds on each side until it is done. Then repeat the same procedure with the other rolled chapathi dough. Serve hot with any curry.

SAMBAR WITH CHOY

SAMBAR WITH CHOY
A recent phone conversation with friend sent me searching for choy greens in the supermarket. She mentioned to me that this green does not taste bitter and she uses it frequently. Choy was looking similar to amaranth leaves, so I decided to give it a try. I thought of making a sambar with choy so that the tamarind in the sambar minimizes the bitterness of the greens, if any. To my surprise, the sambar was really good and the choy greens blended well with the sambar. Maybe I can start using choy with moong dhal as well.

INGREDIENTS:
Toor dhal, ½ cup.
Onion, medium-sized, 1.
Tomato, medium-sized, 1.
Tamarind, lemon sized or 1-1/2 tablespoon tamarind juice.
Green chilies, 2.
Choy greens, 1 big bunch.
Chili powder, 1 teaspoon.
Coriander powder, 2 teaspoons.
Sambar powder, 1 teaspoon.
Salt as per taste.
Turmeric powder, 1 teaspoon.
Mustard seeds, 1 teaspoon.
Red chili, 1.

PREPARATION:
Wash the toor dhal and cook for 3 whistles in a pressure cooker with a teaspoon of turmeric powder. Clean the choy and chop them into small pieces discarding the thick stems. Extract thick juice from the tamarind and keep aside. Chop the onion and tomato into small pieces and slit the green chilies into two. Heat a pan with a tablespoon of oil. When the oil is hot, add the mustard seeds. When the mustard seeds start to splutter, add the red chili. Then add the onions, tomato, and green chilies and sauté them for a few minutes until everything is blended together. Add the chopped choy and sauté for another minute. Add 1-1/2 cup of water, tamarind juice, 1 teaspoon chili powder, 2 teaspoons coriander powder, 1 teaspoon sambar powder, and cook closed under medium flame for 5-10 minutes. Then add the cooked dhal and cook for another 5 minutes. When the sambar is thick, turn off the stove and serve hot with rice.

SEMI-HOMEMADE SOUP

SEMI-HOMEMADE SOUP
This is a very tasty and easy way of preparing soup in a few minutes. Personally I don’t prefer canned soups because of its preservatives but I love the taste of these soups than the homemade ones. Recently I started getting readymade dried soup packets and these were good too but most of the time the vegetables added in them was less. I tried adding frozen vegetables to the readymade soup mixture and I liked it very much. Then onwards, I started preparing soups this way. In this soup, I added beans, carrots, cauliflower, frozen peas and corn. The soup mixture used here is sweet-corn. The measurements I have used here are for 2 persons. They can be increased or decreased accordingly.

INGREDIENTS:
Instant soup mix, (any kind) ½ packet.
Vegetables like, beans, carrots, cauliflower, peas, corn, everything coming to cup when cut.
Cilantro for garnishing, a handful.
Salt and pepper as required.

PREPARATION:
I have used a mixture of frozen and fresh vegetables here. If frozen vegetables are used, they can be added directly to the soup. Chop the fresh vegetables and cook them in microwave for 2 minutes and keep aside. Heat a pot with 2 cups of water. When the water starts to boil, add ½ pack of the soup and stir everything well. Add the cooked vegetables and frozen corn and peas and keep stirring for a few minutes. Turn off the stove when the soup reaches the desired consistency. Garnish with cilantro, add salt and pepper and serve hot with bread or crackers.

CRISPY PAKORAS

CRISPY PAKORAS

This weekend was as usual for us, lazy! After a late breakfast of Pongal, we had our lunch around 3:30 p.m. I wanted to make something light and simple for lunch as our breakfast was heavy. I prepared vatha kozumbu, rasam, and pakoras as side dish. Making pakoras is very easy if we only know the right consistency for the besan batter. If it is too watery and clumpy, the pakoras end up soggy (I learnt it the hard way). At least, now-a-days, I prepare crispy pakoras. They can go as a side dish for any simple or a tasty evening snack with tea. I have added a little ginger-garlic paste. As for me, I add ginger-garlic paste in almost everything, I simply cannot live without it but it can be omitted if needed. Here goes the recipe.

INGREDIENTS:
Besan, 1 cup.
Rice flour, 1 tablespoon.
Onions, small, 2.
Curry leaves, a handful.
Ginger-garlic paste, 1 teaspoon.
Chili powder, 1 teaspoon.
Salt as per taste.
Red food color, (optional), 1 pinch.
Oil, 1 cup for deep frying.

PREPARATION:
Cut the onion into long thin strips. Chop the curry leaves into small pieces. Take a cup of besan or gram flour in a dish. Add a tablespoon of rice flour, food color, and salt per taste and mix the flours well. Add the chopped onions, curry leaves, and ginger-garlic paste to the flour mixture. Mix everything well without water. If it is too powdery, add few drops of water and knead everything well. The mixture should not be too powdery also with just enough water to coat the flour into the onions. Heat a pot with a cup of oil. When the oil is hot enough, take some of the pakora mixture and put them slowly into the oil spreading the pakora mixture as they are added into the oil. They should be clumped together and added to the oil. When the pakoras turn golden-brown take them out of the oil, drain them on a paper towel and serve hot.

SPICY CORN FRITTERS

SPICY CORN FRITTERS
I have been making this dish sometimes for an evening snack since the past year. I don’t remember from where I learnt this dish, I think it was from Epicurious. In the beginning, I prepared it according to the original dish just with ground corn, salt, and pepper but it not suit our taste buds, so I pepped it up a little our Indian style. It tasted good nonetheless. For all my dishes, the measuring is for 2 persons. The measurements can be increased or decreased accordingly.

INGREDIENTS:
Corn (Frozen or fresh off the cob), 1-1/2 cup.
Onion, small, 1.
Green chilies, 2.
Garlic, 2 cloves (optional).
Garam masala, 1 teaspoon, (optional).
Salt, as per taste.
Curry leaves and cilantro, a handful each.

PREPARATION:
If fresh corn is used, cut the corn off the cob and keep aside. It need not be cooked. I have used frozen corn here, which I microwaved for 1 min to take out the thaw. Chop the onion, chilies, cilantro, and curry leaves into small pieces. Grind the corn into a rough paste. Two cloves of garlic can also be ground with the corn. Some of the corn can even be left whole. Add the chopped onions, chilies, curry leaves, and cilantro to the ground corn. Add some salt and a teaspoon of garam masala to the mixture and mix everything well. If needed a tablespoon of rice flour or all purpose flour can be added to make it crispier. Heat a pot with a cup of oil for deep frying. When the oil is hot enough take small spoonfuls of the mixture and drop into the hot oil. When the fritters get cooked and start rising, remove them from the oil and drain excess oil in a paper towels. Serve hot with ketchup.

EGG KURMA

EGG KURMA
This is a favorite dish of my husband. I learnt to make this dish from my mother-in-law after marriage. Since my husband is a vegetarian (though he eats eggs), my MIL used to make this on Sundays to go with idlis and dosas. This was new to me as I had never had kurma for idlis or dosas. After tasting it for the first time, I got hooked on to this dish. Now-a-days, egg kurma is a part of Sunday brunch for us. When we were in India I used fresh coconut but in US I started using coconut milk for kurmas. The taste is same as using fresh coconut. Here goes the recipe.

INGREDIENTS:
Onion, medium-sized, 1.
Tomato, 1.
Ginger-garlic paste, 1 teaspoon.
Cinnamon, 1 small stick.
Fennel seeds, ½ teaspoon.
Bay leaf, 1.
Eggs, 4.
Coconut milk, 1 cup (or) fresh coconut ground with khus-khus into a smooth paste, 1 cup.
Chili powder, 2 teaspoons.
Coriander powder, 1 teaspoon.
Turmeric powder, 1 teaspoon.
Salt, as per taste.
Curry leaves and cilantro for seasoning.

PREPARATION:
Chop the onion and tomato and keep aside. Heat a pan with some oil. When the oil is hot enough, add the fennel seeds, cinnamon stick, and bay leaf and fry them for 1 minute. Add the chopped onion and tomato and sauté for few minutes. Then add ginger-garlic paste and sauté for a minute until everything is well blended. Add the chili powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder and fry for a minute until the raw smell of the spices goes. Add 1 cup of coconut milk with ½ cup of water with salt and cook over a medium flame for 10 minutes. When the kurma starts to thicken break 4 eggs into the kurma. The eggs should not be mixed with the kurma. They should be left whole. Cook them closed for 5-8 minutes. When the eggs are cooked, they start to float on the top. Serve hot with idlis or dosas.

BELL PEPPER CURRY

BELL PEPPER CURRY
This recipe was from my friend. We were invited for dinner to their house and she made this curry served with rotis. It tasted so good. She used green peppers but I tried it at home with yellow, orange and red peppers. They tasted good too and the curry was colorful.


INGREDIENTS
Bell peppers-3.
Onion- 1 large.
Ginger-garlic paste.
Salt as per taste.
Chili powder -1 tablespoon.
Garam masala- 1 teaspoon (optional).
Tamarind juice, 1 tablespoon.

INGREDIENTS FOR GRINDING
Peanuts, handful, roasted.
Sesame seeds, 1 tablespoon, roasted.

PREPARATION
Cut the bell peppers into small, thin strips. I have taken out the seeds of the bell peppers but the seeds can also be left. Chop the onion into small pieces. Heat a kadai with some oil and put the chopped onions and sauté them for 2 minutes and then add the bell peppers and ginger-garlic paste and sauté them till the bell peppers is cooked but not too soft. Then add the ground peanut and sesame paste, chili powder, salt, tamarind juice, and garam masala and add 1/2 cup of water. Cook them closed for 5 minutes on a low flame until the curry thickens up, then add curry leaves and cilantro on top and serve.

KEERAI VADAI

KEERAI VADAI
My grandmother used to make delicious keerai vadais. She will add drumstick leaves to the vada. I have not found fresh drumstick leaves in US, so I have used spinach. Even methi leaves can be used for making these vadas. Here goes the recipe:

INGREDIENTS:
Channa dhal, 1 cup, soaked for 2-3 hours.
Fennel seeds, 1 teaspoon.
Rice powder, 1 tablespoon.
Garlic, 2 cloves.
Ginger small pieces.
Green chilies, 3.
Spinach, 1 bunch.
Salt, as per taste.
Red onion, medium-sized, 1.
Curry leaves, a handful.
Cilantro, a handful.

PREPARATION:
Wash the soaked channel dhal and set aside. Grind the channa dhal along with the fennel seeds, chilies, garlic, and ginger without water. Clean the spinach and chop them into small pieces. Chop the onion, curry leaves, and cilantro into small pieces. Add the chopped spinach, onion, curry leaves, cilantro, rice powder, and salt to the ground channa dhal and mix everything well. Heat a kadai with 1 cup of oil. When the oil is hot, take a small amount of the ground mixture and flatten it with the palm of the hand and drop into the hot oil. When the vadais rise up and turns golden-brown, remove the vadais from the oil and drain the excess oil with a paper towel. Serve the hot vadas with tomato sauce.

BLACK BEANS-BELL PEPPER MASALA

BLACK BEANS-BELL PEPPER MASALA:
This dish was a trial and error recipe. I started cooking black beans only recently. I never use canned beans because of its salt content. Usually I buy the dried beans, soak them overnight, and then cook them. I feel that it is healthy this way and worth the trouble. Initially I tried this dish with green bell peppers but after the dish was prepared, I could not find any traces of green in the dish, so I started using colored bell peppers with black beans since then. I prepare this as a side dish for rotis usually. I cooked the beans by using the pressure cooker and not by cooking them on stove top. The beans tasted great and were soft by this method.

INGREDIENTS:
Black beans, ½ cup, soaked overnight.
Bell peppers, yellow and orange, 2.
Onion, large, 1.
Tomato, medium, 1.
Tomato paste, 1 tablespoon.
Ginger-garlic paste.
Garam masala, 1 teaspoon.
Chili powder, 2 teaspoons.
Coriander powder, 1 tablespoon.
Salt for taste.
Curry leaves and cilantro for seasoning.

PREPARATION:
Cook the soaked beans using pressure cooker on medium flame for up to 3 whistles and set aside. Chop the onions and tomatoes into small pieces. Dice the bell peppers into medium-sized cubes. Heat a pan with some oil. When the oil is hot enough, add the chopped onions, tomatoes, curry leaves, ginger-garlic paste and sauté them for a few minutes. When the onions and tomatoes are soft, add the bell peppers and sauté them for 2 minutes. Then add the chili powder, coriander powder, garam masala, and salt and fry everything for a minute until the raw smell of the spices go. Add the cooked beans and cook them closed for 5-10 minutes until everything turns dry. Turn off the stove, garnish with chopped cilantro and curry leaves and serve hot with rotis.

VEGETABLE OMELET

VEGETABLE OMELET
This dish was made by my husband when I was down with fever. He prepared a simple meal with puliogare and this vegetable omelet. The taste was so good and I started preparing omelet this way since then. He used pre-cooked frozen vegetables for the omelet but I have used grated vegetables here. Any type of vegetable can be used here, even frozen peas, they taste good. Now I have used green beans, carrots, and cabbage here. I have grated the carrots and cabbage and cut the beans into very small pieces. I cooked them a little but even raw veggies can be added to the eggs. They get cooked easily since they are cut into small pieces or grated. This can be served as a side dish for rice or can be taken as an evening-time snack with ketchup. Here goes the recipe:

INGREDIENTS:
Eggs-3.
Carrots, grated to ½ cup.
Cabbage, grated to ½ cup.
Green beans, cut into small pieces coming to ½ cup.
One small onion.
Green chilies, 2.
Salt, as per taste.

PREPARATION:
Chop the onions into small pieces and cut the chilies into thin slices. Grate the carrot and cabbage. Cut the green beans into small pieces. Heat a pan with some oil. When the oil is hot enough add the cut and grated vegetables along with the chilies and sauté them for 5 minutes until everything is soft. Transfer the contents into a bowl and break 3 eggs into the vegetable mixture. Add salt according to taste. Beat the eggs well along with the vegetables. Heat a flat-bottomed pan and when the pan is hot, pour the contents into the pan and spread them well. Some oil can be added around the corners. Flip the omelet when one side is cooked. Remove the omelet from the pan when the other side is also cooked and serve hot.

VENDAYA KEERAI-KATHRIKAI KOZUMBU

VENDAYA KEERAI-KATHRIKAI KOZUMBU
This is traditional Tamil Nadu gravy served with rice. There are many variations of this dish. At home, my mother used to prepare it this way. I have used eggplants here. Even plantain, drumsticks, yam, or okra can also be used for this gravy. Drumstick leaves can also be used instead of methi. They add a good taste. For the seasoning, I have added vadakam. It is a traditional Tamil Nadu seasoning made with dried small onions, fenugreek, chilies etc. That gives a real good taste to sambars and other gravies. Back home, my grandmother never cooks anything without vadakam. It can be omitted if not available. Here goes the recipe:

INGREDIENTS:
Small onions, 1 cup.
Tomatoes, medium sized, 2.
Eggplants, 3.
Methi leaves, 1 bunch.
Garlic, 3-4 cloves.
Tamarind, 1 lemon-sized ball.
Chili powder, 3 teaspoons.
Coriander powder, 2 tablespoons.
Sambar powder, 1 teaspoon.
Curry leaves for seasoning.
Fenugreek powder, 1 teaspoon.
Salt for taste.
Vadakam for seasoning (optional).
Mustard seeds for seasoning.

PREPARATION:
Extract thick tamarind juice from the tamarind (it usually comes to 1 cup) and clean the methi leaves and keep aside. Chop the onions and tomatoes into small pieces. If small onions are used, they need not be chopped. Crush the garlic into a rough paste. Cut the eggplants into small pieces and put them in cold water to prevent them from turning brown. Heat a kadai with some oil. When the oil is hot enough, add the mustard seeds. When the mustard seeds start to splutter, add the vadakam and when they start to turn brown, add the chopped onions, tomatoes, curry leaves, and crushed garlic and sauté them for few minutes. When everything is well blended, add the chopped eggplants and sauté them for a minute. Then add 1 cup of tamarind juice, chili powder, coriander powder, sambar powder, fenugreek powder, and salt and cook them closed in medium flame for 10-12 minutes until the raw smell of the spices go off and the gravy thickens. Then add the cleaned methi leaves and cook them for 2-3 minutes and turn off the stove. It can be served with rice, idlis, or dosas.

CAPSICUM-EGG FRIED RICE

CAPSICUM-EGG FRIED RICE

INGREDIENTS
Capsicums (green or any color)-2
Onion-1.
Green chilies-2
Ginger Garlic paste- 1 teaspoon
Fennel seeds- ½ teaspoon.
Cloves-1 or 2.
Bay leaf -1
Eggs-2
Salt as per taste.
Rice (Basmati or any other rice like ponni)-1 cup.
Curry leaves, for garnishing.

PREPARATION
Cook the rice and let it cool. Cut the capsicums and onion into small pieces or long thin strips. I like it in small pieces. Chop the onions and split the green chilies into two and keep aside. Heat a kadai with some oil. When the oil is hot, add the bay leaf, cinnamon stick, fennel seeds, and cloves and let them fry for a few seconds. Then add the chopped onions, chilies, ginger-garlic paste, curry leaves, and capsicums and sauté them for a few minutes until the capsicum is cooked but not too mushy. Add some salt for taste and break 2 eggs into the kadai. Scramble the eggs with the capsicum mixture. Some pepper can also be added for taste. When the eggs are well scrambled, add the cooled rice and mix everything well. This goes well with side dishes like egg curry, chicken curry, or any spicy vegetables. I prepared Gobi Manchurian to go with this.

Weekend Breakfast!

Today's breakfast: Pongal, Sambar, Coconut chutney, Vadas.

PARUPU KEERAI

PARUPU KEERAI
This is a regular recipe at my in-laws, especially on Saturdays, just a simple dish with greens and dhal but tastes real good. After marriage, this was a new dish for me as my mother cooks greens in a different way, usually like a kootu-form with tomatoes. Now I started preparing both ways. This recipe goes well with rice. It tastes yummy with spicy fried potatoes or yam fry.

INGREDIENTS:
Any greens like amaranth, methi, or spinach, 1 bunch. (I usually use spinach).
Cooked toor dhal, 1 cup.
Dried 2d chilies, 2.
Cumin seeds, 1 teaspoon.
Mustard seeds, ½ teaspoon.
Green chilies. 2.
Salt, as per taste.
A clove of garlic, (optional).
A pinch of asafetida.

PREPARATION:
Cook around 1 cup of toor dhal and keep it aside. Take a bunch of spinach leaves (baby spinach tastes better than the regular spinach in this recipe) and clean them well. Cook them well with little water in a closed pan along with 2 split green chilies (we need not chop the greens here as the greens are to be grinded). A clove of garlic may also be added while cooking the greens. When the greens are cooled, grind them into a fine paste along with the green chilies and garlic if it is also added. Heat a pan with some oil. Then add around ½ teaspoon of mustard seeds and when the mustard seeds splutter, add a teaspoon of cumin seeds and 2 dried red chilies. Then add the ground greens and cooked toor dhal with ½ cup of water and some salt according to the taste. Add a pinch of asafetida and cook everything for 5 minutes on a low flame until it thickens up and serve with hot rice.

SOYA-PEAS FRY

SOYA-PEAS FRY

The inspiration for this recipe was from the magazine Aval Vikatan. When we were in Hyderabad, I used to purchase these magazines just for the free cooking booklets issues that come with it. Those collections were a good source, usually the booklets contain around 30 recipe for specialties like dhals, curies, side dishes etc. Coming to the recipe, I tried this from a gravy special issue but somehow I screwed up the recipe and in the end I had to fry everything to a dry form to bring it to something at least looking good to the eye. Then wonders of wonders this turned out to be real good. We had this with idlis and dosas that day but this goes well with rotis too. I used soya nuggets here instead soya granules because cleaning the soya granules was a bit tough as the little granules went down the sink when I rinsed them. Rinsing the nuggets and then mincing them to fine granules works out well for me.

INGREDIENTS
Soya nuggets around 1 cup.
Onions, large-1.
Tomatoes, medium sized-2.
Ginger-garlic paste- 1 teaspoon.
Chili powder.
Fennel seeds-1 teaspoon.
Garam masala (optional, tastes good even without garam masala).
Salt, as per taste.
Peas (frozen or dried peas cooked well)- ½ cup.

METHOD
Take a cup of soy nuggets and put them in boiling water for 2 minutes until the nuggets are puffed up. Let the, sit for 5 minutes, then rinse them well, drain them, and cut into very fine pieces or they can be minced well using a blender. Take care not to make them into a paste, just one or two pulses in the blender will be fine. In case dried peas are used for the recipe, soak them for 6-8 hours and cook them (or frozen peas can be used). Chop the onions and tomatoes into small pieces. Heat a kadai and add 1 tablespoon of oil. Add the fennel seeds and let them fry for a few seconds, then add the onions, and later the tomatoes when the onions have turned brown. When the onions and tomatoes are sautéed well and blended together, add a teaspoon of ginger-garlic paste and sauté for a minute. Then add a tablespoon of chili powder and garam masala and required salt and let the spices fry for a minute on a low flame. Add around 3 tablespoons of water and add the granules and peas and cook them closed on low flame around 5-8 minutes till they turn dry. Turn off the heat, add cilantro and curry leaves on top and serve with rotis, idlis, and dosas.

VARIATIONS:
Fried paneer cubes can be added at the end.

PEAS MASALA
This is a easy to cook recipe. The cooking time takes around 15 minutes, useful for packing lunch boxes with some rotis or rice. I like the taste of dry peas, so I use dry peas most of the time and the taste difference also varies with the dry and frozen ones.

INGREDIENTS:
Peas, dried ones soaked for around 6-8 hours, around 1 cup.
Onions, large-1.
Tomatoes, medium-sized, 2.
Salt as per taste.

INGREDIENTS FOR GRINDING:
Ginger -1 small piece.
Garlic 3-4 cloves.
Cinnamon- 1 small stick.
Fennel seeds - ½ teaspoon.
Cardamom seeds - ¼ teaspoon (optional).
Red chilies, 2-3 depending on the heat level preferred.
Coriander seeds – 1 tablespoon.

PREPARATION:
Heat oil in a kadai and add cinnamon, fennel seeds, cardamom seeds, chilies, coriander seeds and fry them for a few minutes without letting them get burnt. Let them cool and grind them into a fine paste along with the ginger and garlic. Cut the onions and tomatoes into small pieces. Take a small vessel used for pressure cooker cooking or a pressure pan can also be used without any vessel. Put the chopped onions and tomatoes into the vessel or pan, then add the ground masala to this, and add the soaked peas. Add required salt and water enough to cook the peas and pressure cook for 2 whistles until the peas and the other ingredients are cooked well. When the pressure is off, heat oil in a small kadai, transfer the contents from the vessel into the kadai, and fry the peas masala for 5-6 minutes until you get the desired consistency. Then add chopped cilantro and curry leaves for garnish and serve with rotis or rice. This goes well with just plain rice and rasam or curd.

My own food blog finally!

Hey guys, here’s another foodie on roll. I am a homemaker who loves cooking and trying out new recipes. The so, so many food blogs available now has inspired me to create my own food blog. Here I go with my own blog and ideas. See you with many of my tried and tested recipes soon.