Thakkali Kootu / Tomato Kootu

Quick meal??? The first thing that comes to my mind is this kootu with steaming hot rice... This one is a life saver as it takes very few ingredients, not much preparation and the meal is very comforting and tasty...

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…

Australian Baked Potato Wedges w Sour Cream and Sweet Chili Sauce

Here we are travelling to Australia via these delicious potato wedges. The potato wedges are normally deep fried and served along with sour cream and sweet chili sauce.. Here I did make it little more healthier by baking it instead of deep frying it... This makes a great evening snack, party food and it is so kid friendly.. Actually friendly for all ages.. i mean who does not like potatoes??? Definitely I do.. Serve this super hot or hot!!!.. Now this completes week 1 of Combo Dishes… Here is the one I used for Sour Cream

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

Spinach Mini Quiche w easy Crust / Mini Quiche with Crust / Eggless Quiche / Eggless Mini Quiche

Quiche is one of the recipes that I have not tried due to high amount of eggs in it.. Today I am sharing a delicious Quiche which is completely egg free.. So was this easy to do?? Yes and No.. The reason was I did mini quiche in muffin tin which does not have a loose bottom.. So had to research quite a lot to ensure that the base does not crack and also comes out clean.. I used the base recipe from cooks.com and the filling was my own.. The crust was so beautifully flaky and soft which is an interesting texture...

Bread Pizza Cups–Muffin tin recipes

Bread is an universal food and there are lots of dishes using it.. Dishes can be a very simple bread jam or a delicious bread pudding.. Today we are going to be seeing the bread in cute cup form.. Now like yesterday's recipe, today's recipe is also a different use of muffin tin rather than the regular muffins or cupcakes.. These bread pizza cups are so versatile and are sure to impress kids and adults.. They are perfect for parties, potlucks, as an evening snack, a quick bite etc..I got the idea of making the bread pizza cups from rakskitchen. Filling is a personal choice. You can bake the bread cups separately and add sundal or sprouts as a change.. You could also fill them with fresh fruits and whipped cream.. yummm.. The taste is very similar to the Bread Pizza I make..  This Bread Pizza Cups should be served hot hot!!!

 

Semiya Upuma Muffin–Muffin tin recipes

One of the hardest task for a lot of moms these are to make kids eat regular and daily food.. You give them idli, dosa, upuma etc, they are so bored and they want noodles, pasta, muffins etc.. And it is the same in my house.. Now the problem is half resolved with this interesting idea of using muffin tin to make the normal semiya upuma.. It is very interesting to see how kids love these as compared to the regular upuma served on a plate.. Now my mind is bursting with ideas to morph our regular food into something more interesting and yes it is also quite challenging.. Some that come to my mind are cookie cutter shaped dosas or rotis, coin dosa, tart shaped idlis and many varities and shapes of upuma, pongal and khichdi.. So let us go to today's recipe where the idea was born when Valli announced "Make in a muffin tin" for this month's BM and i was looking for ideas online where many choices were there for making in a muffin tin (other than the regular muffins and cupcakes)..

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..

Jeera Rasam - Rasam Varieties

What is the most comforting food in our house?? It is rasam... and there are so many varieties of it.. This rasam is so flavorful from jeera (cumin seeds) and tastes awesome... Serve it hot with rice and a veg and that is such a fulfilling dinner!! This is my another choice for Lentils in different ways…

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..

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..

Carrot Kheer–Summer Drinks

Today's recipe is a delicious and refreshing kheer made with carrots.. The method is quite simple. You can serve this hot or chilled.. Serve this for this hot summer and get the goodness of carrots and milk along with honey

Honey Multigrain Pizza

Pizza - Ah!! that word makes a lot of us drool.. In our house, all of us love pizza. I have tried many types of pizza.. Last time I did with whole wheat flour, this time I have included multigrain flour making it even more better. For the multigrain flour, you could use your choice of combination. A combination of corn, rye, oats, fingermillet flour, soy flour, maize flour etc..
Do check out my Whole Wheat Pizza, Pan Pizza, Deep Dish Pizza on my blog..

Baked Potato–Breakfast Recipes

Have you ever wanted to eat something hot without cooking??? Hmmm I would love that.. To a lazy person like me, if I can get super hot, savory breakfast without much work, I am all excited.. So here comes that recipe.. This is also a very famous breakfast on the menu in US. I did not add any cheese (which is usually added) here, but feel free to add to your preference and taste..

Onion Pakoda

Pakoda is a famous snack in South India. It tastes best when served hot. This is a regular in our house as it is one of the most favorite snack / tiffin, but never get a chance to click as it is mostly done while I am cooking itself.. By the time I am done with final round of frying, the earlier rounds of pakoda are over. Even today, I took the clicks in a hurry and hopefully I will be able to do the justice on photo for this delicious pakoda. Adjust salt and chili powder to taste. You can make many varieties like cashew pakoda, mint pakoda, masala pakoda etc.. Today my choice is the very famous onion pakoda.

Parupu Bonda

For this week BM we will be seeing a variety of snacks starting with a type of Bonda today. Fried items are many people's weakness.. You can just stop with one.. Same holds true for this delicious bonda. This bonda is made with a variety of lentils (parupu) along with spices ad herbs.

Bolani / Aloo Paratha

Bolani is Afghani Flat bread which is very similar to our stuffed paratha. Bolani is typically fried or baked. Today I have used potatoes and peas for the filling. Fillings can be any vegetable or combination of vegetables as per choice. I have tried both tawa version and baked version.. Loved the tawa version better. Serve this hot with curd or flavored mint chutney.

Onion Kulcha

For the next 3 days, we are going to be seeing 3 different types of Breads for this month’s BM. Kulcha is a famous Indian bread that tastes best when served hot. It is accompanied with a variety of dishes like paneer butter masala, channa masala etc, though the most common side is the chole (or channa masala). Kulcha can be done in many ways and onion kulcha is a common variety of kulcha. This recipe will make 5 kulchas. Stuffing is a personal choice, you can also add cumin seeds, chili powder, salt and chat masala.

Kambu Semiya Upuma – Millet Recipes

With the New Year brings New Year resolutions and a lot of people have “Eating healthy” or “Weight Management” as part of their resolution. Here I am with a recipe to help….I love visiting shops that healthy items like millets, many types of rice, many types of flour etc.. We learn so much about the ingredients available for us. But a lot of ingredients are new and unidentifible. I remember seeing black rice for the first time and did not even recognize it, but I was surely fascinated by it. Recently I saw various types semiya made with millets like semiya made with Kambu, Ragi, Whole Wheat. I once saw a TV show where they did upuma with Kollu Semiya. It was very similar to how I do with Ragi Semiya. Now I have tried Ragi semiya and it was delicious. Today I tried Kambu Semiya and it was even more tastier. Cut the vegetables and you have the delicious upuma ready in no time... This will serve 3 - 4. Kambu is Bajra in Hindi, Pearl Millet in English, Sajjalu in Telugu. Try this for a healthy breakfast or evening tiffin and you will be happy you did!!