Spinach Corn Cheddar Cheese Muffins | Mexican Savoury Muffins

Packed with a punch of jalapenos, with cheese, corn and spinach – Mexican style muffins
08/17/2016 9:53:27 PM vindhyadesai

I have a soft spot for anything savoury 🙂 Whenever I get an opportunity, I try to make savoury things to nibble on. This is Dish 4 of the World Cuisine Series and it is from Mexico. One of my favourite cuisines to prepare and of course to eat (gobble ’em all up). These are muffins with Mexican flavours, corn, jalapenos, cheese, what is not to like about them. Whenever I bake anything I try to make them all with whole wheat. Along with whole wheat flour, I have also used yellow cornmeal which is maize flour, easily available in stores/supermarkets. It gives a nice texture to the muffins, you also get to incorporate another grain and cornmeal is widely used in Mexican cuisine! The most important thing about muffins is not to overmix the batter/mixture which will make them chewy and hard. Mix and make muffins, enjoy them as a snack or for a quick nibble with a glass of milk in the morning. Also try other Mexican recipes! ... “Spinach Corn Cheddar Cheese Muffins | Mexican Savoury Muffins”

Mango Lassi | How to make mango lassi?

Thick creamy mango lassi
08/05/2016 8:11:12 PM vindhyadesai

Chilled mango lassi on a hot afternoon sounds too good. Lassi is a very thick yogurt based drink with lots of cream/malai floating on top. Instead of adding thick full fat yogurt I have added very thick buttermilk and a little yogurt/curd for flavour. It will taste very good especially with mango and there is no compromise with flavour. Try other mango recipes! ... “Mango Lassi | How to make mango lassi?”

Doodh Pedha | Milk Pedha | Doodh ke Pedhe | How to make soft milk pedhas | Doodh pedhas without condensed milk

A mouthful of milky fudgy goodness, soft doodh pedha
07/22/2016 8:05:28 PM vindhyadesai

A small thing of joy is to eat a doodh pedha. It is one of the most popular sweets sold in sweet shops. Imagine a big line of pedhas lined up on the other side of the counter. There are so many versions of this pedha, kesar-elaichi, elaichi, pista-kesar and so on. The ones that you get in Nandini (a milk brand in Karnataka) are pure milk pedhas. The marking on them makes the pedhas even more inviting. Try making these soft doodh pedhas at home, roll them up into small balls or pedhas/pedhe or even try and make the Nandini replicas. I used a fork to create a Nandini shop/bakery like pedha with a fork. It is actually a reverse of their shape (complementary shape). I love them nonetheless, they are milk  pedhas after all.
Here are I have used only milk and there is also a short-cut recipe with condensed milk which I will post soon. I have flavoured them with elaichi/cardamom, I wanted to make them plain this time. I sometimes add kesar/saffron or pista or both but elaichi/cardamom is something that I always add to the pedhas/pedhe. I have added a lot of pictures stepwise to show consistency in each step. ... “Doodh Pedha | Milk Pedha | Doodh ke Pedhe | How to make soft milk pedhas | Doodh pedhas without condensed milk”

Hung Yogurt | Hung Curd | How to make hung curd at home | Dahi Ka Chakka

Homemade thick and creamy hung yogurt
07/20/2016 10:36:55 PM vindhyadesai

Thick hung curd/yogurt (dahi ka chakka in Marathi/Hindi) made from separating whey from curd or yogurt. It can be used to make desserts like shrikhand (try out my Aamrkhand recipe) or for dips or spreads ( try out the spread for ALT). It is an excellent low fat alternative to cream, sour cream and mayonnaise. It is rich in calcium and is very creamy. Do not throw away the whey, it is rich in nutrients. See notes below for useful tips on what to do with whey. ... “Hung Yogurt | Hung Curd | How to make hung curd at home | Dahi Ka Chakka”

Mixed Vegetable Raitha

Cool and simple mixed vegetable raitha
07/15/2016 8:03:16 PM vindhyadesai

Cool and easy to make mixed vegetable raitha. When you make a dish like pudina pulao or bisi bele bhaat or any bhaat you need something to cool down and mellow down all the spices and hot food. Mixed vegetable raitha is the easiest accompaniment to make with those dishes. ... “Mixed Vegetable Raitha”

Aam Shrikhand | Aamrkhand | Mango Shrikhand

Light, creamy mango and yogurt based dessert
05/29/2016 2:11:50 PM vindhyadesai

Aamrkhand or mango shrikhand or aam shrikhand is a mango and yogurt based no-cook dessert. It’s the mango season! Mango the king of all fruits makes this dessert very special. It is light and creamy and the mango flavours ooze through from the dessert. If the mangoes are sweet only a little sugar will be enough to cut through all the flavours. Saffron is added for enhanced flavour and gives a deep colour to shrikhand. Hung curd or yogurt separated from all the whey is used to make aamrkhand. I also love making kesar elaichi shrikhand. Aamrkhand is generally eaten with puris or just as dessert. ... “Aam Shrikhand | Aamrkhand | Mango Shrikhand”

Gujarati Kadhi

Tangy, creamy yogurt based gravy with sweet notes
05/24/2016 8:51:36 PM vindhyadesai

Kadhi is a yogurt/curd based dish made using besan(chickpea flour) to thicken it into a gravy like consistency. Besan also prevents yogurt from splitting when it is heated. Yogurt can be sour or sweet, it depends on the type of Kadhi you are making. Yes, there are various types of Kadhi that are made in India. Almost every state has its own type of Kadhi, from the Punjabi version which has pakodis to Rajasthani Kadhi which is not as sweet as Gujarati Kadhi. Then there are more variations from South India like majjige huLi from Mysore/Bangalore, majjige paladya made in North Karnataka, Mor Kulambu from Tamil Nadu. There are so many variations and every version is very comforting.
Gujarati Kadhi is sweet because of the sugar or jaggery. You can make this in a jiffy after a long day and feel comforted on a cold winter night or a hot summer evening. Kadhi has cooling properties, it is known that it prevents formation of phlegm and can be eaten for dinner as the yogurt is cooked.I generally serve this with ‘rotlis’ (rotis with ‘L’ are Gujarati rotis or phulkas smeared with desi ghee) or plain steamed rice. ... “Gujarati Kadhi”

Palak Raitha

Cool raitha made with spinach
04/16/2016 7:53:42 PM vindhyadesai

If you are looking for a chutney replacement especially with akki roti (savoury rice flour rotis), then try this raitha made with spinach mixed in yogurt. The green specks of spinach in yogurt/curd are both cooling agents. Serve it with a spicy roti or it goes well with any bhaji or curry just to cool things off a bit. Spinach is rich in iron and A & K Vitamins. ... “Palak Raitha”

Rava Idli | Breakfast Recipes | Idli Recipes

Steamed savoury cakes made of cream of wheat/semolina
03/28/2016 4:23:28 PM vindhyadesai

Rava Idli, claimed to have been invented by MTR (Mavalli Tiffin Room) during World of War II is a savoury breakfast dish popular in South India especially Karnataka. It is made of coarse cream of wheat or semolina, a bunch of chopped coriander, golden fried cashews, raisins & dals.
Rava Idli makes a light yet filling breakfast and very good for digestion since it uses curd/yogurt. Yogurt is added along with a pinch each of baking powder, soda which make the idlis light and fluffy. Serve it with chutney or aloo masala or sambar
... “Rava Idli | Breakfast Recipes | Idli Recipes”