Tag: Weekend

Brinjal Coins

Crispy but soft, pan fried brinjal/aubergine coins for tea-time
9/16/2016 10:42:06 PM vindhyadesai

Something to munch on during tea-time especially on a rainy lazy Sunday evening surely sounds like fun. Snacks with tea/coffee need not always be deep fried or dunked in a lot of oil and then fried. Snacks can be subtly made and they taste really good without the guilt of a lot of calories. Eggplant or big brinjal/aubergine is not an appreciated vegetable but if it is converted to a tasty, crispy, savoury snack it can be very delightful. I call these Brinjal Coins because they look like big gold coins with the beautiful golden yellow colour rendered by the addition of turmeric/haldi. This is one of the many simple snacks I have learnt from my mother. Enjoy these with your hot beverage or serve as a starter! Try other snacks/starters. ... “Brinjal Coins”

Ice Cream Cake | Raspberry Swiss Roll Ice-cream Cake

Fun-filled, ice cream filled, decadent, indulgent ice cream cake
9/09/2016 7:22:33 PM vindhyadesai

Is it a cake, is it ice cream? As the name says, it is ice cream cake. Ice cream filled into a cake base and frozen back to solid. This is recipe number 100, a big milestone for Food Of Interest. Thank you to all those who have liked Food Of Interest and for trying out my recipes. It is my humble effort to try out and document Vegetarian/Vegan recipes from India and all over the world. This decadent, indulgent ice cream cake is adapted from Chef Lorraine Pascale‘s ‘Indulgent Ice Cream Cake’. It has a Swiss roll cake base (plain cake with layers of jam or marmalade all rolled into a tight roll) and vanilla ice cream filling. Use Swiss roll cake if you get it or try homemade one (recipe will be posted on FOI), or use regular Pound cake for the base. Layering a bowl with cling wrap is very essential for the cake to be inverted from the bowl and that resembles a half-spherical cake. More details in the recipe below. Please do share recipes from FOI, try them out and leave feedback on the website in ‘Comments’ section and don’t forget to ‘Rate’ the recipes on the website! 🙂 ... “Ice Cream Cake | Raspberry Swiss Roll Ice-cream Cake”

Masala Dosa | Masale Dose | How to make masala dosa?

Most loved breakfast ever, soft yet crisp masala dosas
08/30/2016 9:38:23 PM vindhyadesai

Dosa/Dose is a very popular dish from South India eaten for breakfast. But these days, dosa has become an universal dish. It is famous all over the world and not just in India. They are thin and crepe like, made from rice and urad dal(black gram dal) batter.  See my dosa batter recipe to make dosas. This is a crowd puller dish and is one of the most prepared dishes in weddings and other parties along with bisi bele bhaat. You will definitely see a crowd around a dosa counter wherever it is, in parties, in dosa camps, in hotels, in street dosa vans which sell “99”, “100” and many more varieties of dosas. With the same batter you can make different variety of dosas. Masala dosa has potato (aloo) masala palya filling with red chutney (kempu chutney) smeared just before adding the masala. Red chutney is substituted with green mint/pudina chutney sometimes. Serve dosa with coconut chutney or any other chutneys or side dishes you like. ... “Masala Dosa | Masale Dose | How to make masala dosa?”

Aloo Paratha | Aloo ke Parathe | How to make aloo paratha?

Filling and favourite aloo ke parathe
08/13/2016 6:25:11 PM vindhyadesai

This week on Food Of Interest [FOI] I will be adding vegetarian recipes from cuisines from various parts of the world. The list is of course to start with, Indian, followed by Italian, Spanish, Mexican, South African, Austrian, American and last but not least Chinese. The dishes themselves will be revealed over the next week. It is all about fresh vegetarian cooking. Fresh produce all over the world is treated with immense respect in their local cuisines. Tasty food, a few famous dishes and a few unheard of dishes but all about vegetables and fruits and fresh produce that is eaten and celebrated world over. To begin, a very famous Indian recipe which celebrates potato and wheat, aloo paratha. This paratha is everybody’s favourite and is very filling. So here is Dish 1 part of World Cuisine Series – Aloo paratha! A super Sunday morning breakfast/brunch. ... “Aloo Paratha | Aloo ke Parathe | How to make aloo paratha?”

Paddu | Davanagere Benne Paddu | Gundupongala

Crisp, golden Davanagere benne paddu, served with groundnut chutney
07/03/2016 7:16:13 PM vindhyadesai

Again, a super-speciality dish from Karnataka, Davanagere benne paddu. Davanagere/Davangere is the famous city which has given the famous benne dosa, benne khaali dosa, benne paddu is another super tasty dish. Paddu/gundupongala, is it dosa? Is it idli? It looks both like soft idli and crisp dosa, tastes like dosa and a little soft inside. Make this instead of dosa or idli for a weekend morning breakfast. Making paddu needs a special type of pan which looks like an idli plate but is like a non-stick or cast iron skillet/tawa. Making paddus needs patience but once the paddu pan is  seasoned and is hot, paddus can be made easily. ... “Paddu | Davanagere Benne Paddu | Gundupongala”

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”

Khaali Dosa | Khali Dosa

Light and fluffy dosas served with coconut chutney and a blob of butter
06/05/2016 1:05:57 PM vindhyadesai

Khaali Dosa, it always reminds me of Sunday mornings. A famous hotel from old Bengaluru/Bangalore, Hotel Dwarka serves the best khaali dosas. Khaali meaning ’empty’ in Kannada, khaali dosas do not have any filling in them like masala dosas. Light and fluffy dosas served with chutney and butter, simply one of the best breakfasts. Here’s the recipe for khaali dosa for you to make them and reminisce about good, old, traditional dishes from South Karnataka. ... “Khaali Dosa | Khali Dosa”

Aloo Masala

Potato gravy or aloo masala for rava idli
05/22/2016 11:50:35 AM vindhyadesai

Aloo masala is a light gravy to accompany rava idli or chapathis or rotis. Boiled and mashed potatoes are mixed in tangy tomato gravy. Simple ingredients and easy to make. MTR hotel serves rava idlis with aloo masala along with ghee and chutney, a unique combination not found in a lot of eateries. I have already posted Rava Idli recipe and here is the aloo masala recipe to go along with it. Enjoy it for a sumptuous weekend breakfast! ... “Aloo Masala”

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”