Garlic Spaghetti | Spaghetti Aglio e Olio | Pasta in garlic oil

Comforting and tasty, quick to make, garlicy spaghetti
10/16/2016 8:55:38 PM vindhyadesai

From the land of Italy comes a very simple pasta dish called “Spaghetti Aglio e Olio” which means spaghetti in garlic and oil. This dish is super quick and easy to make. It is one of those quick fix dinners that I make sometimes after a long day or sometimes when I just have only a bunch of garlic and no other vegetable. This can be served with garlic bread or just some toasted bread or even just on its own. I have used whole wheat spaghetti here but durum wheat spaghetti can also be used, anything that you can get your hands on. This pasta dish can also be made with thin spaghetti, angel hair pasta or any other kind of pasta you like. Enjoy the benefits of garlic with this easy dish. Simple, aromatic and tasty! Other pasta dishes and many more Italian dishes to try. ... “Garlic Spaghetti | Spaghetti Aglio e Olio | Pasta in garlic oil”

Kayi Holige | Kayi Obbattu | Nariyal PoLi | Coconut Holige | How to make kayi obbattu?

Soft and crunchy sweet coconut/kayi holige, a special dish for the festivals
10/10/2016 10:28:16 PM vindhyadesai

Wish you all a very happy Vijayadashami/Dasara! Coconut holige/kayi obbattu/nariyal poLi is one of my favourite sweets. It is soft yet crunchy on the outside and it has the unmistakable flavour of coconut. Unlike many other dishes where coconut gets lost in between other ingredients, here it is the main ingredient and it gets due importance. Most functions in Karnataka have holige/obbattu/poLi as the main sweet. Usually beLe holige or this kayi holige steal the show and are made in the order of hundreds. They are made with maida/all purpose flour which can make the edges quite hard and the filling inside might not be sufficient to make them soft yet crunchy. I always try and make recipes with whole wheat flour, for the fibre, taste and it makes the holige so much more softer and they hold together beautifully. Make these and a few can be made quite quickly and is not all that difficult. ... “Kayi Holige | Kayi Obbattu | Nariyal PoLi | Coconut Holige | How to make kayi obbattu?”

Aloo Posto | Bengali Aloo Poshto | How to make aloo posto?

Pungent and flavourful aloo posto – aloo sabzi with khus-khus paste
10/09/2016 10:42:16 PM vindhyadesai

Aloo sabzis are the go-to sabzis be it on a festival or on regular days. Aloo or potatoes just work with anything and everything. After I decided to prepare Bengali style khichuri and tamatar chatni for Durgashtami I was thinking of a sabzi to go along with the chatni and phulkas/rotis, finally I zeroed in on making aloo posto. The star of the show is not aloo though. It is a paste made from lightly roasted khus-khus/gasa gase/poppy seeds. They give a pungent flavour to the sabzi and add great texture. Aloo posto is generally made in mustard oil like most Bengali dishes. It is a simple sabzi and is ready in no time. Do try other khus-khus or poppy seeds related dishes and aloo dishes. ... “Aloo Posto | Bengali Aloo Poshto | How to make aloo posto?”

Tamatar Chatni | Bengali Style Tomato Chutney

Tangy, Bengali style tamatar chatni – a great accompaniment
10/09/2016 10:27:50 PM vindhyadesai

Tomato chutney and gojju are made in many ways in the Indian cuisine. I tried the Bengali version of making tamatar chatni/chutney and I absolutely love the fresh flavours of the subtle spices added in the form of panch phoran. The special ingredient though has to be raisins/kismish which give an edge of sweetness and the way they pop in your mouth adds to the texture of the chatni. Enjoy this chatni with Bengali style khichuri – Bhog er Khichuri. ... “Tamatar Chatni | Bengali Style Tomato Chutney”

Bengali Khichuri | Bengali Style Khichdi | Bhog er Khichuri

Bengali style khichdi or khichuri, filling and satisfying – Bhog er Khichuri
10/09/2016 8:06:47 PM vindhyadesai

Today was Durgasthami and I made a big Bengali spread for the occasion. It included, aloo posto, Bengali style tamatar chatni, rosogullas and bhog er khichuri. This khichdi is one of the many versions of khichdis one can find in the Indian cuisine. From Pongal to huggi to plain khichdi to mixed veg khichdi there are so many varieties. Every state has at least one of its own versions. This khichdi has roasted mung dal in it with some vegetables. It has some aromatic spices like laung, elaichi, dalchini. They add nice flavour to the khichdi. This is a special dish from the Bengali cuisine and is specially made during festivals like Durgasthami and Saraswati Puja making it ‘Bhog er Khichuri’. It is made with a special type of rice called GobindoBhog chaawal. Any fragrant rice like jeera or basmati rice can be used or even our good old sona masuri rice can also be used to make this khichuri. I have adapted this recipe from a blog which has some nice recipes from the Bengali cuisine. Try other Bengali recipes. ... “Bengali Khichuri | Bengali Style Khichdi | Bhog er Khichuri”

Kesar Haldi Doodh | Arishina Haalu | Turmeric Latte | How to make turmeric latte?

Soothing, warm, fragrant kesar haldi doodh, turmeric latte
10/07/2016 10:04:09 PM vindhyadesai

Turmeric latte is a craze in the West nowadays. It is our good old arishina haalu(turmeric milk) or haldi doodh. Caffeine based drinks are being replaced by this golden yellow coloured liquid goodness. To make it festive and classy I have also added strands of fragrant saffron(kesar) along with warming spices like pepper, cinnamon powder, dry ginger powder(saunth), elaichi and nutmeg. It can be consumed for fasting rituals or vrat. It is a very nice beverage to be consumed to maintain overall health as it has a lot of good warming spices. Enjoy this delightful beverage! Other milk based drinks/beverages. ... “Kesar Haldi Doodh | Arishina Haalu | Turmeric Latte | How to make turmeric latte?”

Aloo Jeera | How to make aloo jeera?

Easy aloo jeera recipe with warming, toasted jeera
10/06/2016 7:38:51 PM vindhyadesai

One of the most common recipes I turn to when I need to prepare something with chapathi/phulkas/rotis is this easy aloo jeera sabzi. Aloo jeera or potatoes in warm toasted jeera/cumin seeds sounds comforting and delicious. This easy aloo jeera recipe can be made for vrata/vrat during Navratri or other vrat related festivals. Use sendha namak when making this for vrata/vrat. This dish gets ready in very less time the only waiting time is for the potatoes to get boiled and cooked which will be faster if you cook them in a cooker. Potatoes can be chopped in any way you like, any shape and any size but make sure they are bite sized. Here jeera is added 2 ways, toasted and pounded jeera and some in the tadka. Other potato dishes to try. ... “Aloo Jeera | How to make aloo jeera?”

Gasa Gase Payasa | Khus Khus Kheer | Poppy Seeds Payasam | How to make gasa gase payasa?

Cooling, easy on the stomach gasa gase payasa
10/04/2016 9:48:35 PM vindhyadesai

Gasa-gase or poppy seeds or khus-khus are pungent oil seeds which give a very unique flavour to dishes. It can be added to breads, to gravies or in our very own Karnataka cuisine it is made into a payasa (liquid sweet). It is not as thick as usual payasa/payasams/kheer. It is liquidy and can be consumed as a beverage. Gasa-gase payasa has unique cooling properties, along with the gasa-gase seeds, it has jaggery (bella/gur), cardamom (elaichi), coconut milk (or grated coconut) and milk. It is a must have dessert during festivals in Karnataka. Along with bisi-bele-bhaat this is a delicacy and is consumed warm/cool as a beverage during or after lunch. This dish has a special mention in wiki under Indian cuisine. This is frequently made by my MIL and I learnt this recipe from her. She generally adds desiccated coconut (kobbri/copra), here I have added coconut milk. Sometimes I add grated and ground coconut. The little raisins pop in the mouth when drinking this unique payasa and it tastes great! This is a light sweet for ongoing Navratri festivities. ... “Gasa Gase Payasa | Khus Khus Kheer | Poppy Seeds Payasam | How to make gasa gase payasa?”

Sabudana Tikki | How to make sabudana tikki? | Navratri Recipes

Soft and crisp sabudane ke tikki with khatta-meetha chutney
10/02/2016 12:57:41 PM vindhyadesai

Sabudana or tapioca pearls are the most common ingredient used during vrata/vrat. It is extracted from cassava root and root vegetables are considered to be healthy to be eaten during fasting festivals. Phaalar or falaari dishes are easy on the stomach and generally simple to make. One would definitely like recipes that are easy to prepare during vrats. Sabudane ki tikki are made from sabudana (obviously), potatoes. To bind everything together I have used arrowroot powder (easily available in grocery shops) which is similar to tapioca flour and is a starch obtained by a root. Arrowroot powder is a permitted ingredient for vrats. You can use lightly roasted besan or even cornstarch or cornflour if you are preparing this on non-vrat days. The main flavouring is from peanuts/groundnuts and other spices. Here I have served with khatta-meetha chutney, serve with falaari chutney on vrat days. ... “Sabudana Tikki | How to make sabudana tikki? | Navratri Recipes”

Mediterranean Platter 1

Mix and match Mediterranean nibbles and snacks platter with dips
09/30/2016 9:52:55 PM vindhyadesai

Mediterranean cuisine is a very vast cuisine. It covers various regions with a wide variety of dishes. Over the last few days I have posted recipes which are simple dips from the Mediterranean cuisine. These dips can be easily converted into a big party platter, forms a great starter with simple nibbles to munch on. The dips included Hummus, Roasted Red Pepper Hummus and Tzatziki. This platter is great for parties or potlucks. Very easy to prepare, easy to put it all together and is very portable. Nibbles and snacks can include very simple things like sliced avocado, pita chips and even tortilla chips (ok may be not Mediterranean but tastes awesome!). Other common things from the Mediterranean region like olives, some Greek Feta cheese (available in most supermarkets) all make up for great snacks on this platter. Include other things if you want to like slices of toasted pita bread, roasted aubergines etc. Restaurant quality dishes at home ready in few minutes. Easy on the stomach and on your pockets! A colourful photo fest below 🙂 ... “Mediterranean Platter 1”