Adai

Adai is a very famous tiffin or heavy dinner. It is also a festive food made during Karthigai. Adai tastes best when served hot. Some will prefer to eat Adai as is. The famous accompaniment for Adai is Aviyal, but tomato urugai tastes great too. onions and vegetables add a great taste and flavor, but they are also optional based on preference, availability and occassions.

Vella Dosai / Jaggery Pancake

Vella Dosai is a sweet dosai made with wheat and jaggery. This dosai requires no side dish and tastes best when served hot or warm. Serve this for breakfast or a quick tiffin. It is delicious and so kid friendly. It becomes dull and rubbery once it gets cold. This is also done during Karthigai. It is a quick dosa and can be done in less than 30 minutes. This recipe will make 12 dosas.

Veg Patty Chaat

Talk about inventions and this is my invention to a quick evening snack. This is a chat item which is very spicy and tangy. All the spices used in this dish are personal to choice, availability and preference. We bought the boca patty from the freezer section. This can also be served as a light dinner.

Tomato Rice / Thakkali Saadam

Tomato rice is a popular variety rice from South India. It is a desired recipe for its tangy and spicy flavor and its beautiful red color. Each house has its style and way of making it and this is how I make it. . Tomato paste is optional, but it adds lot of flavor. This is my choice for T in the cooking with alphabets for this month’s marathon.

Pachai Milagu Kaara Kuzhambu / Fresh Green Peppercorn Gravy

Pachai Milagu (Green Pepper) is something that I got introduced recently (in the last one year)... Amazing aroma and taste.. It also has a signature flavor that one cannot forget.. I made a kaara kuzhambu with it.. As usual, I did a lot of internet search for recipes and referred to Valli's site and a few more and made mine with a few changes.. Some sites tell you to grind the masala along with the peppercorns, but since I was using it for the first time, I wanted to use them whole. Every peppercorn when you bite brings a zinggggg!!! This goes best with hot steaming rice!!

Naan / Butter Naan

Naan 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. I have made them both in the oven and the tawa. You could also try with etandoor. Naan can be done in many ways and Butter Naan is a common variety of Naan. This is my choice for N for the Cooking with Alphabets theme in this month’s Marathon.

Spicy Pasta - Indian Style

My daughter loves pasta.. Guess a lot of kids do.. Hey the truth is I also love it.. lol:).. So I surely try my best to make it healthy. I have used Whole Wheat Pasta here.. Reason - that is what I prefer.. Even my daughter likes the nutty taste of the whole wheat pasta and actually does not like the regular pasta.. This is my daughter’s favorite lunch or dinner and she is super excited when I make it.. Pasta is an Italian dish which I have customized with Indian spices and taste according to our preference and liking..