Ukkarisida Modaka | Ukadiche Modak | Modaka Recipes

Soft steamed bundles of fun, Ganesha’s favourite, ukkarisida modaka or ukadiche modak
08/30/2019 7:45:51 PM vindhyadesai

Ganesha Chaturthi is near and every food blogger puts in loads of efforts making and presenting different kinds of modak/modaka. I realised I do not have a single post of modaka in over 400+ recipes on FOI. Ganesha’s favourite modak/modaka has to be posted then, for this year’s festival falling on Monday, 2nd Sep of 2019. In my home, we always make everyone’s favourite, bele obbattu/holige. But today we will learn ukkarisida modaka or ukadiche modak.
Ukkarisida modaka or ukadiche modak are steamed modaka with a kayi-bella/coconut-jaggery hoorna/filling. The caramelized coconut-jaggery mixture along with the elaichi makes it very aromatic and flavourful. Now let’s talk about the outer layer, it is very important to get it right. It has a subtle taste and is made with rice flour made into a pliable dough. A pinch of salt is what adds the subtle flavour and seals the deal. ... “Ukkarisida Modaka | Ukadiche Modak | Modaka Recipes”

Godhi Kuttida Payasa | Daliya Payasa | Payasa Recipes

A creamy delicious Karnataka special godhi kuttida payasa, perfect for festivals
07/11/2019 9:10:24 PM vindhyadesai

Simple payasas are one of the most satisfying sweets out there. Our good old South Indian payasa/payasams are so wholesome. Even though they are sweet, they are filled with nutrition especially the ones made with jaggery. Rich in minerals and fibre, this godhi kuttida payasa or daliya payasa is one of the best.
Godhi kuttida payasa is whole wheat daliya, jaggery mixed with a freshly ground paste of coconut and poppy seeds. Almonds and cashews add richness and raisins add fun to this payasa. And what better than ghee and milk to further enrich this wonderful ‘food of the gods’! A bowlful of this payasa is actually food for the soul. ... “Godhi Kuttida Payasa | Daliya Payasa | Payasa Recipes”

Tomato Salna | Plain Salna | Gravy Recipes

A rich and thick tomato based gravy with fragrant spices, tomato salna
04/14/2019 8:47:05 PM vindhyadesai

In many of my gravy recipes, I have emphasized the importance of making gravy based recipes for chapathi or roti. Dry palyas/sabzis are nice but you want something to make your chapathis or rotis even more enjoyable. Especially when you are packing a lunch dabba to office or school. So here we are with another delicious tomato based gravy with due importance to tomato, tomato salna.
A salna is usually made for a biryani or parotta. But this tomato salna goes really well with all kinds of rotis! Tomato salna like any other salnas’ has a fresh and fragrant spice base, freshly roasted and ground! The procedure is pretty simple, once you get hold of all the spices. Simple readily available spices usually found in the kitchen pantry go into this tomato salna. I referred to this wonderful recipe and loved the idea of making a plain gravy! ... “Tomato Salna | Plain Salna | Gravy Recipes”

Dry Nuts Ladoo | Dry Fruits Ladoo | Ladoo Recipes

Loaded with dry nuts & fruits, laced with fragrant spices, dry nuts ladoo
01/06/2019 1:14:40 PM vindhyadesai

Many of us would have made resolutions for the new year and most of them are connected to eating and fitness. A nutritious dry nuts ladoo could be the answer. This is rich both in taste and texture but equally nutritious if not more. You can pretty much add any kind of dry fruits or nuts you prefer like dried figs, apricots, dry cherries, candied fruits apart from the ones mentioned in this recipe.
Jaggery is rich in minerals and also provides calcium. But for me the favourite part of this ladoo dry nuts ladoo is neither nuts nor jaggery. Uh-huh! Anyone can imply that from the name, dry nuts and ladoo saying it has something sweet. ... “Dry Nuts Ladoo | Dry Fruits Ladoo | Ladoo Recipes”

Vangi Bhaat Masala | Bhaat Pudi | Homemade Bhaat Powder

Aromatic homemade vangi bhaat masala, a spice powder to make rice bhaat
08/26/2018 6:37:10 PM vindhyadesai

Homemade masalas are the best, they are fresh and aromatic. Such masalas are free from preservatives and artificial additives. That’s a good start to any dish especially rice based dishes. Different kinds of bhaat are made in South India which are based on some vegetable. Freshly powdered masala should be a part of such flavourful dishes. Vangi bhaat masala is very essential in Karnataka.
Vangi means brinjal or aubergine and a tasty rice dish is prepared with it called vangi bhaat. A special spice powder or masala that goes into it is vangi bhaat masala. It has a variety of spices mostly commonly available at home. These spices are lightly toasted till aromatic and ground into a powder.

... “Vangi Bhaat Masala | Bhaat Pudi | Homemade Bhaat Powder”

Sambar Powder | Sambar Pudi | Homemade HuLi Pudi

Aromatic, fresh, authentic Mysore style homemade sambar powder
09/25/2017 9:26:18 PM vindhyadesai

I am sure everybody agrees that fresh homemade masalas and powders cannot be replaced! Basic powders like saarina pudi/rasam powder and sambar powder are essential to a South Indian cook. They come in so handy. The aroma of homemade sambar powder is the measure of how good your sambar/huLi turns out to be.
Generally all ingredients are dry roasted individually and slowly in heated heavy pans/kadais. But here I have given a simple and easy method all done at once. Moreover it is for a small quantity measure making it simple to handle masala ingredients. This will also ensure your sambar powder is fresh. ... “Sambar Powder | Sambar Pudi | Homemade HuLi Pudi”

Baalehannu Rasayana | Banana Rasayana

Traditional and easy, a quick way to satisfy your sweet taste buds-baalehannu rasayana
05/17/2017 10:00:42 PM vindhyadesai

Fruit salads are always fun to eat. The choices are endless. Fancy fruit salads are too pretentious though, I think. Cutting fruits in different ways is an art of course. Bit of a faff to eat it all up later. Our good old traditional ways of eating fruits are the best. This baalehannu rasayana or simple banana fruit salad is one such salad.
This baalehannu rasayana of course has bananas, along with freshly grated coconut, grated jaggery, pounded elaichi, honey, edible camphor and gasa gase (poppy seeds). All of these amalgamate so well together, baalehannu rasayana becomes a magic salad to eat. ... “Baalehannu Rasayana | Banana Rasayana”

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?”

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?”