Benne Muruku | Butter Muruku | How to make benne muruku?

Crisp and crunchy snack, butter/benne muruku
10/20/2016 10:04:26 PM vindhyadesai

Crisp and crunchy benne/butter muruku has to be one of the tastiest snacks ever. It is a favourite in most households and can be made during many festivals like Ganesha Chaturthi, Sri Krishna Janmasthami and Deepavali/Diwali. In our childhood days, we used to look forward to celebrations of Deepavali/Diwali, along with buying and wearing new clothes and bursting crackers (which we no longer do for Mother Nature!) we also enjoyed eating these crunchy savoury snacks all day long! Of course along with swallowing up some sweets 🙂
Benne muruku is made from rice flour and butter as the main ingredients. Adding butter makes the muruku very crisp and light. Addition of too much butter makes them very brittle and there is a good chance that they will disintegrate while frying. So add butter with caution. Sesame seeds and carom seeds(om/ajwain) give nice flavour and aroma. Enjoy these with a cup of tea/coffee. Try other tea-time festival snacks like chivda and nippattu! ... “Benne Muruku | Butter Muruku | How to make benne muruku?”

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”

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus | How to make red pepper hummus dip?

Hummus dip with notes of sweet roasted red pepper and creamy feta cheese
09/28/2016 9:48:05 PM vindhyadesai

In continuation to my previous post, plain hummus dip, this recipe is a simple extension of it. I wanted this recipe to searchable so I am posting it as a separate one. This is one of the most delicious variations of a hummus dip. It has roasted sweet red bell pepper and creamy Greek Feta Cheese. Feta cheese is available in superstores easily these days. If you cannot procure Feta cheese you can skip it or add some fresh paneer/cottage cheese in place of it, squeeze in some lime/lemon juice before using it. The texture will not turn out to be very creamy but paneer is a good substitute. In keeping with the Mediterranean cuisine, I will reveal the Mediterranean platter in tomorrow’s post. I prepared the platter with these hummus dips featuring in it. Wait and watch this space! ... “Roasted Red Pepper Hummus | How to make red pepper hummus dip?”

Hummus | Houmous | How to make hummus dip?

Textured, creamy, protein filled hummus
09/27/2016 8:05:41 PM vindhyadesai

Hummus is the most common vegetable or chip dip, a staple condiment. It is from the Middle Eastern Region and is a staple in the Mediterranean cuisine. Made from chick peas, it is rich in proteins and good fats. Sesame seed paste (tahini) and olive oil add a distinctive taste to the dip. It can be made smooth but a bit of texture always adds to the layered flavours. Many restaurants make this very dry because it is pre-made and left out to dry. Serve with roasted vegetables, pita or tortilla chips or use it as a spread for a quick sandwich. This is such a versatile dip, it practically goes with anything. Try making this easy dip at home and enjoy the goodness of chickpeas! Other variations of this classic recipe like roasted red pepper hummus to try. ... “Hummus | Houmous | How to make hummus dip?”

Pineapple Gojju | Ananas Gojju | Pineapple Gotsu | How to make pineapple gojju?

Fruity, spicy, festive pineapple gojju
9/03/2016 4:21:01 PM vindhyadesai

In traditional South Indian cuisine it is customary to have a balance of all flavours when eating a meal, especially a big meal on a festival or in big spreads like in weddings. A pickle and a palate cleansing gojju are the most important dishes to get a balance of all the flavours. Gojju is like a curry but thicker and is served in small quantities as a little side dish to eat with hot rice. When we make gojju at home, it is often served as a side dish with chapathi or akki rotis(rice flour rotis). Pineapple gojju has a very festive taste to it with all the different spices, fruity, sweet and sour flavour of pineapple. Gojju/gotsu need not have a lot of oil added to it to make it tasty but it has to be mildly spiced and made into the right consistency. Try making this special pineapple gojju at home, here’s the recipe. Other gojju recipes on FOI. ... “Pineapple Gojju | Ananas Gojju | Pineapple Gotsu | How to make pineapple gojju?”

Avalakki Chivda | Poha Chivda | How to make chivda?

Crisp spicy tea-time snack, avalakki/poha chivda
08/26/2016 9:30:34 PM vindhyadesai

Want to have something at home to munch on without worrying about calories, then chivda is your snack. Yes, it is not completely guilt-free but it is better than deep fried or sweet snacks on a daily basis. Come tea-time we all feel like eating something with our favourite beverage, chivda sounds definitely mouth-watering. This is a very famous snack from North Karnataka and Maharashtra. Nowadays, it is famous all over. Different things can be added to chivda like mixture, sev, ghatte, broken onion pakoda, roasted dry nuts etc. But the base for making avalakki/poha chivda is the same. Use medium poha/rice flakes for making chivda it gives a nice crispiness and crunch. Enjoy with your favourite cup of tea/coffee or serve with yogurt/curd (super combo!) or madike usli/matki usal (again a super combo!). It is also a preferred snack during fasting or when guests pop-over, all in all it is a versatile snack. ... “Avalakki Chivda | Poha Chivda | How to make chivda?”

Yellu Gojju | Sesame Seed Gojju | Yellu Tuvayil

Rich sesame flavoured gojju to accompany uddina bhaat
8/12/2016 9:47:01 PM vindhyadesai

This sesame seeds gojju is both a gojju and a chutney. It is very tasty because of the various kinds of flavours, bitterness, light oiliness from sesame seeds, sweetness from jaggery and coconut and sourness from tamarind, spiciness from red chillies. The perfect balance for your palate. Try this with uddina bhaat, the combination is a delicacy. ... “Yellu Gojju | Sesame Seed Gojju | Yellu Tuvayil”

Puliyogare | Puliyogare Gojju | Pulihora | Puliyodarai | How to make puliyogare?

Traditional Iyengar puliyogare with homemade gojju
08/02/2016 5:46:18 PM vindhyadesai

Tangy, sweet, spicy and even slightly bitter, all tastes in one dish. Puliyogare has to be one of those dishes. Traditional Iyengar Puliyogare made at home is an excellent dish for festivals. You can make the gojju ahead of time and store it and make puliyogare quite easily for your lunch box or even for a quick picnic. It is just mixing in gojju evenly with cooked and cooled rice. Cooked rice should not be sticky and you can eat the most wonderful puliyogare at home. The prasada/offering they give at temples has a unique taste. I would say this one will come quite close and it’s homemade, so no complaints. There are a few steps to make the gojju. I have segregated them to make it easy and each stage can be done separately. ... “Puliyogare | Puliyogare Gojju | Pulihora | Puliyodarai | How to make puliyogare?”

Gorikayi Chutney | Chavli Chutney | Cluster Bean Chutney

Spicy chutney made with cluster beans, a side dish for rotis, dosas
04/29/2016 11:26:49 PM vindhyadesai

I generally like to make chutneys using some kind of vegetable in it. Adding a vegetable gives the chutney so much more flavour and texture. It will also save you time scraping a lot of fresh coconut. Here I have made use of cluster beans or gorikayi. These beans have a bitter sweet taste and when cooked lightly they taste really good. ... “Gorikayi Chutney | Chavli Chutney | Cluster Bean Chutney”