Courses: Lunch

Fig And Goats Cheese Pizza With Arugula

Pizza with sweet caramelized onions, figs, goats cheese and crisp arugula
07/28/2016 10:43:45 PM vindhyadesai

To open the pizza recipes account on FOI, I would like to post an unusual pizza recipe generally not available to order online. Just ripe, heart shaped slices of figs (anjeer), creamy goats cheese (can be substituted with mozzarella or pizza cheese), sweet caramelized onions and crisp arugula also known as rocket leaves (can be substituted with basil or any light salad leaf if rocket leaves are not available) are the toppings in this recipe.
Substitute ingredients depending on their availabilities. These are a super combination, this is infact a classic recipe of pizza. Goats cheese and figs are the new ‘jodi’ like bread & butter or cheese & grapes. Adding figs do not make the pizza sweet or fruity, they lend a beautiful flavour with the onions because they caramelize really well. Goats cheese is a soft cheese which does not melt. I have used homemade onion marmalade(jam) for this recipe as the base sauce, it can be substituted with a slightly less sweet jam or even tomato sauce or ketchup. ... “Fig And Goats Cheese Pizza With Arugula”

Sorekayi Kootu | Sorekayi Masale Kootu | Lauki Masala Kootu

Hot, spicy kootu with sorekayi/lauki
07/12/2016 7:58:48 PM vindhyadesai

There is nothing like a wholesome meal of rice mixed with saaru/rasam or sambar/huLi/kootu. Imagine hot sambar/kootu on rice with some ghee on top, that is a great combination. Kootu is a Karnataka style masale huLi/sambar, it is made with freshly roasted spices and ground with freshly grated coconut. Kootu also has a special type of tadka/vaggarne/tempering generally with groundnuts added to it. Any kind of vegetable can be used, doodhi/white pumpkin or mixed vegetables like carrots and beans can also be used instead of lauki/sorekayi. ... “Sorekayi Kootu | Sorekayi Masale Kootu | Lauki Masala Kootu”

Bisi Bele Bhaat | Bisi Bele Bhath | How to make bisi bele bhaat

Favourite and festive bisi bele bhaat
06/27/2016 9:27:47 PM vindhyadesai

Bisi Bele Bhaat (BBB) is the default dish for a big function like weddings in South Karnataka. It is a crowd favourite dish and made for most festivals and grand celebrations. It is a thick rice and lentils dish with loads of vegetables, fragrant spices and topped with cashews and groundnuts. Very filling and super tasty, generally served with masala corn flakes, potato chips and mixed raitha. Use freshly made masala and your BBB will be a hit. BBB is probably one of those dishes which people like it best when homemade rather than hotel style. Not many restaurants serve good bisi bele bhaat. So, why not try making it at home.
There are quite a few steps, keeping everything organized makes it easy without making you feel overwhelmed. Make dry BBB masala previous day or first thing before starting bisi bele bhaat. I have learnt this recipe from many people each with their own proportions for masala but credit has to go to my friend’s mother who gave me her handwritten recipe which I tried with some variations. Enjoy! ... “Bisi Bele Bhaat | Bisi Bele Bhath | How to make bisi bele bhaat”

Dal Fry

Lightly spiced and comforting dal fry served with phulkas or rice
06/18/2016 9:37:21 PM vindhyadesai

Homemade dal fry, sounds comforting? Whatever new type of food or dishes we crave for, we always go back to homemade food like saaru (rasam), dal tadka, dal fry, some steamed rice and chapathis/rotis and sabzi/palya. Dal fry is the first dish I always make when I cook North Indian food, served along side paneer(dry or gravy), phulkas and some hot steamed rice or jeera rice. I make a big pot of dal, serve it with phulkas for one meal and then with rice for another meal. My menu is sorted on a busy day. I always use toor dal/arhar dal/pigeon pea dal/togari bele to make dal fry.
Masoor dal/red lentils can also be used. Toor dal gives the creamiest texture and the right thickness to dal fry. Dal fry is made by cooking dal and adding sauteed tomato masala to it and I also add tadka on top for extra flavour. Dal tadka is made by cooking dal and masala together in a big pot or cooker and then tadka is added to it and is thinner in consistency compared to dal fry. ... “Dal Fry”

Beetroot Bhaat | Beetroot Rice

Deep red coloured bhaat made with beetroot, subtly spiced and coconut giving it flavour
06/15/2016 9:48:13 PM vindhyadesai

Beetroot is an under used vegetable. It can be boiled, roasted, made into a juice or smoothie, made into chips, preserved into pickles, used in cakes (yes cake!), made into a sambar, made into a dry subzi/sabji/palya, raitha, chutney, the list can go on and on. Beetroot can also be used to make a tasty and flavourful bhaat. It’s one more simple dish to make for your lunch box like Tomato Bhaat. ... “Beetroot Bhaat | Beetroot Rice”

Pudina Vegetable Pulao

Minty green mixed vegetable pulao served with a cool raitha
05/07/2016 4:13:19 PM vindhyadesai

One of my favourite dishes to cook when I started to experiment in the kitchen as a school girl, was a big pot of vegetable pulao. I used to cook vegetable pulao adorned with cashews, raisins and toasted bread croutons. On Sunday afternoons, no one was allowed inside the kitchen at home, chopping up vegetables, making rice, grinding the masala, I used to like to make everything myself. This is one of my favourite rice dishes to make on a weekend. Fresh mint/pudina leaves along with a few spices are the base flavours to this super flavourful rice. I generally serve it with a simple mixed vegetable raitha. Any other raitha or just plain yogurt will also go well with this pulao. ... “Pudina Vegetable Pulao”