Sankranti Yellu Bella | Til Gul | How to make yellu bella?

Traditional homemade Sankranti yellu bella, trail mix to share
01/10/2017 9:29:26 PM vindhyadesai

Trail Mixes are always fun to eat. A traditional way of celebrating Sankranti/Pongal in Karnataka & Maharashtra is to make yellu-bella or til-gul. Sankranti yellu bella is a mixture of toasted sesame seeds and jaggery pieces. Apart from these ingredients which denote bitter-sweet flavours, roasted groundnuts, roasted gram and pieces of desiccated coconut are also added.
This is the perfect marriage of all flavours depicting the flavours of life. On this occasion of Sankranti make this mixture from scratch at home. With only few days away from Sankranti I thought of posting this recipe for Sankranti yellu bella.
It is more of proportions of all ingredients that need to be added in order to make this mixture well balanced. Most people tend to buy this from grocery stores these days to celebrate Sankranti. Would it not be more fun and authentic to put together a simple mixture at home this Sankranti? ... “Sankranti Yellu Bella | Til Gul | How to make yellu bella?”

Beetroot Saasme | Beetroot Raitha | Raitha Recipes

Bright, colourful and cool, beetroot saasme or beetroot raitha
01/07/2017 4:52:15 PM vindhyadesai

Saasme or raitha is one common dish I make with any South Indian meal like this beetroot raitha, carrot saasme, sorekayi (lauki) saasme etc. After a hearty lunch with hot and spicy sambar, huLi, saaru, kootu or rasam you will need something to cool things off. Plain yogurt does the trick most of the times.
A very good way of consuming more vegetables is to mix it with yogurt/curd to make a raitha. This beetroot raitha or saasme is a very good way of consuming this bright yet humble vegetable. ... “Beetroot Saasme | Beetroot Raitha | Raitha Recipes”

Uddina Vada | Medu Vada | How to make uddina vada?

Crisp and hot, everybody’s favourite uddina vada
01/04/2017 9:23:27 PM vindhyadesai

An integral part of a typical breakfast plate from South India is this uddina vada. Be it Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh or Kerala, people love these vadas. It is also called as medu vada/ulundu vadai.
Uddina vada is consumed in various ways. It is usually served with soft rice idlis or just plain with tiffin sambar poured over it called as sambar vada. But my favourite combination is Ven Pongal.
The warm pongal with these crisp vadas is simply to die-for. Along with simple coconut chutney these uddina vada are a delicacy. Even pudina chutney tastes great!
These vadas are generally not prepared for festivals instead they feature on menus for ceremonies. But uddina vada are sometimes prepared for specific festivals depending on beliefs and customs. Uddina bonda on the other hand (same batter) are made for any occasion. ... “Uddina Vada | Medu Vada | How to make uddina vada?”

Southekayi Hasi Gojju

Tasty and delicious side dish, southekayi hasi gojju
12/30/2016 4:24:09 PM vindhyadesai

Simple side dishes are always a welcome change to rich and laborious gravies. This cucumber dish called as southekayi hasi gojju (no cooking required) has ingredients that are added to a bisi gojju (cooked and warmed)
Gojjus/Gotsus are typically tangy side dishes which have loads of flavour in them. Take for instance, pineapple gojju, apple gojju or this yellu gojju, they are very tasty. But they require the masala to be prepared and ground. That is the reason why these dishes are limited to certain special occasions like festivals and weddings. ... “Southekayi Hasi Gojju”

Eggless Honey Cake | Bakery Style Honey Cake | Eggless Cake Recipes

Moist, succulent, utterly delicious, Iyengar bakery style eggless honey cake
12/11/2016 10:06:38 PM vindhyadesai

Moist, melt in the mouth, sweet honey cake reminds me of childhood. This was one of the perks of growing up in the 90’s. A delicacy from the local bakery used to be a treat. Eggless honey cake has to be one of the best cakes on earth. Who agrees with me?
The oozy jam mixture on top of the honey moist cake makes it very succulent. I have used a basic eggless orange cake recipe for this cake. I sometimes also make this eggless honey cake with whole wheat flour using the recipe for whole wheat orange muffins as the base. But to get that authentic moistness I make this cake with all purpose flour. ... “Eggless Honey Cake | Bakery Style Honey Cake | Eggless Cake Recipes”

Seemebadanekayi Chutney | Chutney Recipes

Spicy yet with sweet mellow flavours all part of this chayote squash chutney
11/20/2016 5:54:07 PM vindhyadesai

When thinking of what kind of chutneys to make for dosas, idlis or even chapathis I try to find a way to incorporate vegetable in some form. Either in peels form, stalks form or even the vegetable itself.
This is a great way to intake more fibre as part of your diet in a very tasty form, chutneys. This is also a great way to use up leftover small pieces of vegetables.
Chutneys are a very integral part of Indian cuisine. Coconut chutney is the most common chutney as a side dish for dosas or idlis.
Try this chayote squash/seemebadanekayi chutney. This is a very sweet vegetable and has a lot of moisture. It goes well with a lot of dishes, a simple one seemebadanekayi saagu. For today, try this seemebadanekayi chutney, spicy, sweet flavours all in one! More chutney recipes. ... “Seemebadanekayi Chutney | Chutney Recipes”

Mixed Veg Saagu | Karnataka Style Mixed Veg Saagu

Karnataka style delicious mixed veg saagu a popular side dish for set dosas
11/14/2016 9:41:12 PM vindhyadesai

Aromatic, flavourful, coconuty mixed veg saagu Karnataka style is one of my favourite gravies. It is a very popular side dish for chapathis/rotis, pooris or dosas especially set dosas.
Veg saagu has a rich taste rendered by the coconut masala along with a background of subtle spices like laung, dalchini. The hint of tanginess from lime/lemon makes it a very well balanced gravy. The mixed vegetables are cooked to perfection. They melt in the mouth but still with a little bite. The combination is exquisite! ... “Mixed Veg Saagu | Karnataka Style Mixed Veg Saagu”

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?”

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?”

Shenga Chutney Pudi | Groundnut Chutney Powder | How to make groundnut chutney powder?

Spicy groundnut chutney powder, pre-made side dish
09/22/2016 9:52:21 PM vindhyadesai

Having a side dish always on hand in the form of a dry powder and which does not spoil is very useful. Chutney Powders/Chutney Pudis are a great side dish for chapathis, rotis, dosas, idlis or even hot rice with ghee. Shenga chutney pudi (groundnut chutney powder) is a very famous side dish from North Karnataka. All households make large quantities of this tasty spicy powder and store it. Try this with thalipeeth or with dosas. Dosas like rava dosa, open masala dosa taste really good with this chutney powder. The best combination has to be Bhakkri or Jowar Roti (plain sorghum flour oiless thin rotis) with this tasty shenga chutney powder mixed with yogurt/curd. A slightly different form called ‘shenga hinDi’ a coarser and rougher chutney powder with only oily shengas, is also a super delicacy from the beautiful land of North Karnataka (like Bijapur and other places). Other shenga/groundnut recipes to try. ... “Shenga Chutney Pudi | Groundnut Chutney Powder | How to make groundnut chutney powder?”