Coconut Milk Cauliflower Pulao | Cauliflower Pulao | Pulao Recipes

Filling and delicious coconut milk cauliflower pulao, perfect for a light lunch
07/02/2019 9:57:24 PM vindhyadesai

Mid-week is here and we are half way to the weekend, well almost! Wednesdays at my home is rice day every week, different bhaats and pulaos are made for the lunch box. Yesterday, I found a nice, fresh, firm cauliflower and I have a can of organic store-bought coconut milk. So coconut milk cauliflower pulao it is for tomorrow.
Coconut milk cauliflower pulao is a very simple pulao and uses very few ingredients, you can get it ready in a jiffy. Wash the rice and keep aside. Clean the cauliflower florets and get them ready. A few spices on hand and you are ready to roll with the coconut milk cauliflower pulao. And oh yes, make it with ghee and it tastes amazing. ... “Coconut Milk Cauliflower Pulao | Cauliflower Pulao | Pulao Recipes”

Paneer Frankie | Street Style Paneer Frankie | Snack Recipes

A fun filled and deliciousness packed street food, loaded paneer frankie
06/28/2019 2:55:03 PM vindhyadesai

On many evenings I am stuck with one single conundrum, ‘what to make for dinner’! Sounds familar right? Day after day, evening after evening thinking of making 3 square meals a day. That in itself is reward-worthy, I mean just coming up with a menu. I know, not many people recognize or acknowledge that. Unfortunately wholesome cooked meals don’t grow on trees. Moreover we have to always balance and use up all the perishable items in the refrigerator. On one such day the recipe of paneer frankie came to my rescue.
Frankies are basically a kind of roll sold as street food in India. Of the many types of street foods we have in our diverse nation frankie is one of them. Paneer frankie is specially famous liked and enjoyed by many. A simple paneer gravy is made and this filled into rotis/chapathis. Then it is topped with some fun things like onions and some flavourful masalas. Some cooling yogurt seals the deal and the paneer frankie. ... “Paneer Frankie | Street Style Paneer Frankie | Snack Recipes”

Veeledele Chitranna | Veeledele Bhaat | Betel Leaves Bhaat

Delicious, festival special- a different spin to chitranna, veeledele chitranna
06/11/2019 9:58:31 PM vindhyadesai

After many months I finally could buy some veeledele/betel leaves here. They were fresh and tender and recently I had seen a bhaat recipe, probably in some magazine or on a TV show. So for a festival when I was thinking of making something different yet simple, I remembered veeledele chitranna.
Veeledele chitranna puts a different spin on traditional lemon rice or nimbehannina chitranna. Veeledele or betel leaves have a natural refreshing flavour which is why they are eaten after a lunch to cleanse the mouth and aid digestion. This veeledele chitranna turns out to be very refreshing too owing to its nice peppery flavour. ... “Veeledele Chitranna | Veeledele Bhaat | Betel Leaves Bhaat”

Mexican Corn Salad | Corn Salad | Salad Recipes

A refreshing salad for the summer, Mexican corn salad, loaded with fun fixins
05/27/2019 6:34:25 PM vindhyadesai

A refreshing salad with Mexican flavours, sounds fancy but I am game for such flavours always. I love pop in the mouth sweet corn, buttery avocado, some herbs like oregano totally lift the flavours of the salad and make it totally Mexican. I went the extra mile and served it with homemade corn bread, just lovely!
On a busy work day evening you can rustle up this Mexican corn salad quickly. Prepare the corn ahead of time and you will have a filling salad ready in no time at all. The red onion slices add a little zing and crunch. And what can I say about avocado the beautiful butter fruit of the gods. They are rich in good fats and so delicious, a nice mouthful. ... “Mexican Corn Salad | Corn Salad | Salad Recipes”

Banana Chapathi | Baalehannu Chapathi | Banana Recipes

Soft and delicious banana chapathi, a perfect thing to pack for kid’s lunchboxes
03/12/2019  2:13:05 PM vindhyadesai

I had never imagined that one day I would document so many recipes with banana/plantain. Baalehannu rasayana, banana appam, baalekayi chips, baalekayi bajji, banana bread, banana milkshake, baalehannina dosa etc. The list is quite long and to make it longer we have a new kid on the block, enter banana chapathi! One of the best dishes to pack for the lunch box for kids, slather with little ghee and roll them up. Kids will absolutely love this banana chapathi!
Banana chapathi can make use of a nice ripe banana and it is flavoured with elaichi making it taste really delicious. My mother taught me this easy recipe and I make it for our office lunch box all the time! We love eating banana chapathi with mango pickle or some simple palya or curry. ... “Banana Chapathi | Baalehannu Chapathi | Banana Recipes”

Paneer Pulao | Matar Paneer Pulao | Pulao Recipes

Golden and soft paneer cubes in a fragrant and flavourful paneer pulao
03/07/2019 8:24:11 PM vindhyadesai

To make a filling dish takes not much effort. You can also make it fancy-looking by actually not spending a lot of time and effort. How about a flavourful paneer pulao to be the main dish. So it can be served with raitha and that is lunch taken care of. Soft golden paneer in a rice pulao sounds mouth-watering, so here it is!
For this paneer pulao, I have roasted off some whole garam masala to make a fresh and fragrant masala. Paneer pulao makes a for a great lunch box dish or a main dish for a party. Typically I use basmati rice to make any pulao but you can use any long grained rice to make pulao, turns out really tasty. ... “Paneer Pulao | Matar Paneer Pulao | Pulao Recipes”

Aloo Methi | Aloo Methi Sabzi | Sabzi Recipes

Simple everyday sabzi, wholesome and flavoursome, aloo methi
02/27/2019 9:18:01 PM vindhyadesai

A good collection of everyday recipes especially palya/sabzi is very essential. It should be part of a recipe book if you maintain one. Hand-written, everyday recipes are one of the best ways of learning to cook. Noting the recipe down even if you have a copy the book, is quarter of the recipe done. It nicely registers and you exactly know what you need to add to it. So new learners, bachelors, this is one such recipe, aloo methi.
Sabzis made with aloo make for a very easy recipe and go well with rotis/phulkas/chapathis. One of my favourite ways to make a side dish is to choose an easy recipe. I have made a Bengali style aloo methi sabzi with some panch phoran. If you do not have panch phoran readily available, it is quite easy to mix it, read on.
Methi daana (fenugreek), kalonji (nigella seeds), jeera (cumin), rai (mustard) and saunf (fennel)*, yes that easy. Or just use jeera instead, that works too for this recipe! ... “Aloo Methi | Aloo Methi Sabzi | Sabzi Recipes”

Lauki Thepla | Lauki Paratha | Sorekayi Chapathi | Lauki Recipes

Perfect to pack for lunch box, kid friendly, lauki thepla or lauki chapathi
01/18/2019 7:27:05 PM vindhyadesai

As I mentioned in my post, bharwa karela posted a few days back, karela and lauki are one the most used vegetables in India. They are staples, nutritious and healthy. But how do we disguise these vegetables in this age of fast food seeking people. A simple lauki sabzi or lauki dal will not sell and it will remain as cooked. Lauki thepla or paratha is one easy way to hide lauki and kids will love it! By the way, this is healthy recipe #5 in this series.
Knead usual chapathi dough with grated lauki and here I have added roasted ground groundnuts. It enriches the flavour and it goes very well with lauki. Lauki has a soft velvetty texture and groundnuts impart nuttiness and texture to these delicious lauki thepla. Feel free to add jeera, ajwain by slightly pounding them. ... “Lauki Thepla | Lauki Paratha | Sorekayi Chapathi | Lauki Recipes”

Pudina Dhania Paratha | Pudina Lachha Paratha | Paratha Recipes

Layered and flaky, loaded with fragrant mint leaves, pudina dhania paratha
11/28/2018 9:34:50 PM vindhyadesai

Herbs like mint, coriander, basil are very sensitive and clever. Sensitive because they cannot last very long and clever because they are very elusive, not available when required. In my case the herb is mint, I buy it sometimes thinking I would make chutney or pulao or chaats. Then I forget about it and it is somewhere stuck in the bottom of the vegetable drawer. My solution to using pudina/mint is making these flaky pudina dhania paratha.
This recipe can be quickly made with leftover chapathi/roti dough. Quickly chop up some fragrant mint leaves and here I have also added dhania/fresh coriander. Fancy looking pudina dhania paratha will be ready in a few minutes. All you need is a little patience to get the chapathis rolled out first, stuff them and then make the lacchha. They should then be rolled out again but trust me after the first one they are easy to make. ... “Pudina Dhania Paratha | Pudina Lachha Paratha | Paratha Recipes”

Sabsige Soppu Paratha | Dill Leaves Paratha | Paratha Recipes

Soft, loaded with fibre and nutrition, perfect to pack for lunch box, sabsige soppu paratha
09/26/2018 9:22:53 PM vindhyadesai

Today we are back with one more kid friendly, lunch box recipe from FOI. Sabsige soppu paratha or dill leaves paratha makes an excellent paratha to pack for the lunch box. These parathas do not have filling, the dill leaves are mixed with the atta and kneaded into a dough. They are then rolled out like plain parathas by folding them triangles.
As sabsige soppu paratha does not have any filling it does not turn soggy either. But the biggest advantage by far is you can feed kids some nutritious dill leaves which they generally tend to avoid. Dill leaves are rich in Vitamin A and fibre. ... “Sabsige Soppu Paratha | Dill Leaves Paratha | Paratha Recipes”