Onion Uttappam

As a kid, I never order South Indian when we go out as we get it more tastier at home… Now if I have to order one, then my choice has always been (even now) onion uttappam.. And I always tell – extra onions!!! Yeah me crazy with onions and this uttappam is super yummy!!! This is served as a breakfast in many homes in Southern India.. You can add more delicious things like coriander leaves, curry leaves, green chili, carrot etc… Oh yeah that will also be yummm…

Ganesh Chathurthi 2015 / Vinayaka Chathurthi 2015–Celebrations and Recipes

Happy Ganesh Chathurthi... Today (17.09.2015) is celebrated as Ganesh Chathurthi / Vinayaka Chathurthi and it is one of the most popular festivals in India.. Ganesh Chathurthi is celebrated as the birthday (rebirth) for Lord Ganesha.

A craft my daughter did in Nursery for Ganesh Chathurthi

Coconut Milk–Thick and Thin Coconut Milk

Coconut milk is an important ingredient in many countries cooking. It is used to thicken gravies, served as a drink with sweetener, sometimes is served as a condiment. Coconut milk makes a great condiment due to its subtle flavor along with the mild sweetness. It will taste great with spicy Thai dishes.

Mysore pak - Indian Sweets

Here comes a very authentic and traditional sweet that is prepared in our houses almost in all festive occassions.. It is said to have originated in Mysore (Karnataka), it is a very popular sweet and is made in many functions.. We make mysore pak also for parupu thengai. Parupu thengai is a cone shaped presentation of sweets prepared during marriages and authentic occassions. From wiki – “Mysore pak was first prepared in the kitchens of the Mysore Palace by a palace cook named Kakaasura Madappa”. Make sure you have everything ready before you start the process as you will have very little luxury time. Also keep a close watch when the color changes as you skip the time, then your mysore pak will not come correctly.. Next time I make this sweet I will try to take step wise clicks..

Tawa Idli - Street Food

Here we travel all the way to Hyderabad with this delicious street food made with idli... I got this recipe from here and this takes the level of idli from bring simple to exotic.. Serve this as-is or with coconut chutney!!

Jal-Jeera / Jaljeera / Jaljira–Spiced Indian Drink

Today I am bringing a delicious and tongue tickling drink.. It is Jal-Jeera.. Jal means water and jeera is cumin seeds.. This is a very popular flavored drink in India and I got this recipe from here and changed very little.. All of us enjoyed this drink and it was so refreshing and energetic

Idichakka Thoran / Chakka Thoran / Idiyan Chakka Thoran / Jackfruit Curry

Today we are starting week 2 and the theme is Indian States… Starting from my neighboring state – Kerala ‘'- God’s own country.. It is such a beautiful state and their cuisine is so authentic, flavorful and delicious.. We visited Wayanad couple of years back and was super delighted to taste some of the authentic Kerala dishes and this was one of them.. Very simple curry which is called as thoran in Malayalam Language.. You will need raw jackfruit which is very small Jackfruit - size of 5 - 6 inches. Do not forget to apply oil to the palms and to the knife and cutting board before cutting the jackfruit as it can stain pretty badly. Also remove the seeds if it is hard after cooking.. It can be used if the seeds are soft.. I removed some and I used some..

Dal Bhat w Rice

Today we are travelling to our neighboring country - Nepal to relish their National food - Dal Bhat with Rice.. When I was searching for the combos this was one of the first ones I had selected but could do it only yesterday!!! I made this for lunch and it was a very comforting and satisfying meal.. The best part is that you felt like eating home food but it is an International one!!! Serve this hot with steaming hot rice!!

Spicy Potato Kari / Spicy Potato Fry

Potato is an universally liked vegetable, also available in many parts of the world.. This version of using the potato in a kari is a common dish in our household which is everybody's favorite.. Using a cast iron pan will make the browning better and also even.. This can be served along with Sambar saadam, Rasam saadam, Curd Rice, Bisi bela bath, Mixed rice etc.. Today I am serving this with Kaara Kuzhambu and steaming hot rice..

Spicy Potato Kari and Kaara Kuzhambu - Combo

Welcome friends to another month long marathon – “Buffet on the Table”.. Today we are starting another month long marathon – Buffet on the table with 5 categories and the week 1 is going to be "Combo from Countries". and I am starting with a delicious combo in our house.. Spicy Potato Kari and Kaara Kuzhambu. When you talk about Combos, lot of dishes come to my mind other than the Indian ones.. In our house, it is always combo dishes and rarely do we do an one dish meal.. There are lot of combos that are quite popular like – Pita Bread and Hummus, Brownie and Vanilla Ice Cream, Burger and Fries, Mor Kuzhambu and Parupu Usli, Roti and Paneer Butter Masala, Channa Masala and Batura, Fish and Chips, Fries and Sauce, Ghevar and Rabri etc…

Kaara Kuzhambu

Kaara kuzhambu stands up to its name – Kaara means – very spicy and kuzhambu is a thicker gravy and this dish is sure to make your eyes water along with your tongue.. It is super tasty and tongue tickling.. I served this along with the all time favorite – Spicy Potato Fry

Kaikuththal Aval Upuma / Brown Aval Upuma / Unpolished Poha Upuma

Talk about healthy ingredients and unpolished ingredients is on the top of it.. Today's recipe is using the very healthy aval (poha) to make upuma.. This poha is unpolished and is very healthy.. Great thig about poha is that it needs no cooking or minimal cooking only... This makes a great breakfast or a quick dinner... It takes about 15 minutes and tastes best when serve hot!! You can also garnish with some freshly grated coconut if desired.

Methi Pulao–Rice Recipes

Do you like Methi??? I actually love it.. There are so many dishes that can be made with this in both leaves form and seeds form.. They are so healthy, but not many appreciate it due to its slightly bitter taste... We add methi seeds (fenugreek seeds) to a lot of our daily dishes mainly sambar.. This pulao is made with the greens and is quite easy to make.. The flavor of the leaves are beyond words... I am not adding the whole garam masala spices here as I love the flavor of methi, but you may add if you prefer..

Nellikkai Saadam / Amla Rice

Do you know the speciality of Nellikkai (Amla)??? It is the only (at least that I know) that has 5 tastes out of the 6.. Meaning there is arusuvai (6 taste) types of taste that food can be seperated and Nellikkai has 5 in it.. The arusuvai (6 types of taste) are - Pulippu (sour), Thuvarpu (astringent), Kaarppu (pungent), Uppu (salt) , Inipu (sweet) and Kasappu (bitter).. And the other great thing about nellikkai (amla) is that it is used in so many varieties of dishes and it is sooo healthy.. The health benefits of it are so many that you can write few books on it.. And today's recipe if going to use this amla in a very easy way!!

Parupu Usli

Parupu usli is a very popular dish which is made from dals and green beans. This is served in almost all marriages and functions. This is very rich in nutrients from parupu which is rich in proteins and green beans which is a green vegetable. This one is also very appealing to the eye with green, yellow and red colors. It is a great accompaniment to mor kuzhambu, rasam or sambar. It is very filling as it comes with a lot of protein. Since the grinded dal tastes similar to vadai, we also call this vadaikkari..

Fruit Rice

Today's recipe with fruits is very interesting form of rice. It is a great idea to pack for lunch, for parties and also a quick dinner.. The flavor is mild and will be little sweet, so please serve them with spicy side dish.. I served them with spicy Aloo Gobi. I got this recipe from a TV show.

Potato Bajji - Indian Snacks

Bajji is a famous snack in South India. It tastes best when served hot. Bajji can be done with a variety of vegetables like Potato, Carrot, Brinjal (Eggplant), Snake gourd, plantain, bell pepper, onion, bottle gourd, chili etc. Famous ones are potato, chili, plantain and onion. Adjust salt and chili powder to taste.

Aloo Bonda

Today’s recipe is a snack that is commonly served when relatives and friends visit us.. Talk about evening tiffin or snack, bajji and bonda always comes in the list.. Much before the baked goodies came in to our kitchen, it was the bajji, bonda and other snacks that were prepared for snacks..

Milk Powder Burfi–Double Color Burfi–Diwali Sweets

My daughter loves the double color sweets on the sweet shelf.. And the ones that we normally do is with maida.. Today I am making a similar looking sweet with no maida or flour but with milk powder as the main ingredient.. This sweet will also be a treat for people looking for gluten free recipes..I got this recipe from here and made the changes according to our taste.. Make sure to adjust the sugar as per your taste… Artificial sweetener also works great for this recipe.. So if you are making this for people who use artificial sweetener, feel free to substitute.

Palmiers - Little Hearts Biscuits

Today's recipe is another delicious biscuit which is quite popular among kids in India.. It is also a traditional French pastry which is flaky, rich and buttery.. I got this recipe from here and absolutely love it.. The addition of nuts is optional, but so tasty.

Masala Peanuts–Microwave Version

I have made the Masala Peanuts in oven and have thoroughly enjoyed it. Today's recipe is from Nalini's blog which is made in the Microwave oven. We loved this version of the Masala Peanuts also.. Try this and you will know what I am talking about... You could add the spice powders according to taste and preference