Have you ever eaten Venn Pongal as prasadam 'chuda chuda' (meaning 'hot hot') on a Sunday (or any day) after perumal dharisanam at the friendly neighbourhood kovil? BLISS ! Although nobody can replicate that taste in its entirety, it remains my gold standard for pongal, and this recipe comes quite close, I daresay 🙂 Venn … Continue reading Venn Pongal (Savory Pongal/Kaara Pongal): Step by Step
Our love for rasam is already documented on this blog, here. Being a South Indian Tamil Brahmin, rasam is a well-loved, time-tested, and central part of our everyday traditional cooking repertoire. Rasam is generally had as a soup after the meal, or eaten with rice as a main dish. Although this is a very simple … Continue reading South Indian Style Pineapple Rasam : Step by Step Recipe
Khara biscuit (khara translates to spicy/hot in Kannada) is an extremely well-known savoury style bakery item enjoyed by people of all ages. They're flavoured with a delicious paste of of fresh coriander, green chillies and ginger - giving them their characteristic pastel green colour. I remember those times as a child when we enjoyed the … Continue reading Khara Biscuit (Iyengar bakery style): Step by Step
Hello! 🙂 If anybody asked me what my most favourite dish in the world is, I would say Rasam! For me, this comes on top of everything (yes, even curd rice ;)) and this version of Rasam, i.e., Paruppu Rasam is the best version of Rasam there ever is. This consists of a broth made … Continue reading Paruppu Rasam / South Indian Style Spiced Tomato Broth with Lentils
Cauliflower belongs to the cruciferous vegetables family. It has really significant detox, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties which are of great value to your health. I hated Cauliflower when I was young. I was completely disgusted by the critters and worms that would pop out of the vegetable while cleaning it. I would refuse to touch … Continue reading Gobi Mutter Masala – Gravy style (without tomato)
Most of the curry gravies I make are tomato-based. That I love all things tomato is no secret. DH, on the other hand, does not really love it like I do. The only tomato dish he will happily eat is the tomato chutney. Anything else has ‘too much tomato’ for him. Humph. As if there … Continue reading Baby Potatoes and Green Peas Curry – Gravy style
It is surprising how quick this dish is to put together; yet the end result does not at all look like it has come together in a matter of minutes. Kadai Paneer is an aromatic, colorful and delicious curry. IMHO, although the main ingredient is cottage cheese, the hero of this dish is (surprisingly again) … Continue reading Kadai Paneer (Cottage Cheese Curry with Bell Peppers)
This is an authentic Karnataka dish - the name translating roughly into Hot Lentils Rice. It is a staple breakfast/lunch/sunday brunch item in all Kannada households. Being from Bangalore myself, I love this dish in no small measure and we frequently prepared this at home on sunday afternoons 🙂 The tamil version of this is … Continue reading Bisi Bele Bhath (Rice with Lentils and Vegetables)
It's the time of Ganesha Chaturthi celebrations in Mumbai, and yesterday it was raining torrents in the evening . DH was stuck in traffic and he was going to take sometime to reach home. I remembered that the store near our house sells really hot and fresh samosas; we generally pick it up from the … Continue reading Aloo Mutter Samosa (Samosa with Potato and Peas)
A simple and nutritious dish that is quick to prepare and delicious to eat, Keerai kootu is an oft-repeated staple during the summertime, when greens are available in abundance. Needless to say, greens are loaded with essential nutrients that are good for health; this is an easy and tasty way to serve them up. The … Continue reading Palak Keerai Kootu (Spinach in fresh coconut gravy)
a burst of flavor 