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?”

Sajjige | Sajjge | Bellada Sajjige | How to make sajjige hoorna

Super quick and easy, sajjige or jaggery rava sheera
08/01/2016 10:33:03 PM vindhyadesai

The festival season is here. Shravana masa for year 2016 starts in 2 days. Tomorrow is the big festival/habba ‘Bheemana Amavasya‘. Celebrate festivals with fervour yet with simplicity. It will make the festivals more enjoyable. Here’s a quick sweet recipe. Sajjige is made in different ways, I learnt this recipe from my MIL. Simple and super quick to make. ... “Sajjige | Sajjge | Bellada Sajjige | How to make sajjige hoorna”

HuLi Avalakki | Gojjavalakki

Spicy, tangy avalakki/poha with crunchy groundnuts served with curd/yogurt
07/25/2016 10:04:22 PM vindhyadesai

HuLi (tangy/sour) avalakki is a tangy and spicy poha dish. It is made by adding powdered poha/avalakki into a masala made using saarina pudi/rasam powder, tamarind and jaggery. It is a specialty dish from Mysore-Bangalore region. This is one of my favourite breakfasts. In top 5 :)! I love the spicy, tangy notes in this dish. I make this for festivals especially for no feast festivals like Mahashivaratri, Ram Navami, Nagara Chauthi/Panchmi and other festivals like Ganesh Chaturthi. It is also served as prasada/prasad/offering in temples (the tastiest). Serve with curd/yogurt, a winner combination. I learnt to make this from one my aunts, full credit to her for teaching me this recipe. My MIL makes a slightly different version, she boils the masala mixture which gives a more gojju like taste (hence the name gojjavalakki), which is again super yum! ... “HuLi Avalakki | Gojjavalakki”

Neer Dosa

Thin, soft, light neer dosas with kaayi bella and chutney
07/17/2016 4:58:10 PM vindhyadesai

Neer Dosas are made from grinding rice and coconut, they are crepe like in texture and are fluffy. “Neer”  literally translates to “Water” in Tulu. But Neer Dosa means dosa made from  a batter which is thin in consistency. Neer Dosa is a very easy recipe and light on the stomach, eaten mainly for breakfast. It’s a popular dish of Dakshina Kannada. The stepwise pictures I have here are a little dull as there was little light when I shot the pictures and white does not picture well anyway 🙂 Enjoy these soft dosas! ... “Neer Dosa”

Sorekayi Kootu | Sorekayi Masale Kootu | Lauki Masala Kootu

Hot, spicy kootu with sorekayi/lauki
07/12/2016 7:58:48 PM vindhyadesai

There is nothing like a wholesome meal of rice mixed with saaru/rasam or sambar/huLi/kootu. Imagine hot sambar/kootu on rice with some ghee on top, that is a great combination. Kootu is a Karnataka style masale huLi/sambar, it is made with freshly roasted spices and ground with freshly grated coconut. Kootu also has a special type of tadka/vaggarne/tempering generally with groundnuts added to it. Any kind of vegetable can be used, doodhi/white pumpkin or mixed vegetables like carrots and beans can also be used instead of lauki/sorekayi. ... “Sorekayi Kootu | Sorekayi Masale Kootu | Lauki Masala Kootu”

Onion Pakoda | Eerulli Bajji | Kanda Bhaji | Onion Pakora | Onion Fritters

Crisp pakodas to enjoy on a rainy evening
07/10/2016 8:03:31 PM vindhyadesai

On a rainy monsoon evening everyone feels like eating something crisp and spicy. Onion pakodas will be in the top 5 things to make on such an evening. It is easy to rustle up this snack and I love eating a couple of them once in a while. Add subtle spices like ajwain (om) or jeera, it will aid in digestion. Ensure not to fry them on very high heat, fry them on medium heat to cook them all the way till the middle. Enjoy these crisp, karara, onion pakoda/ kanda bhaji(Marathi)/ onion fritters/ eerulli bajji(Kannada) with your cuppa. These snacks are famous world over and they even sell these cold in supermarkets. But homemade fresh hot pakodas are the best! ... “Onion Pakoda | Eerulli Bajji | Kanda Bhaji | Onion Pakora | Onion Fritters”

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”

Baked Nippattu

Crisp savoury bakery style crackers to enjoy with a hot cup of tea/coffee
05/31/2016 10:26:34 PM vindhyadesai

Crispy and spicy nippattu from a local Iyengar bakery with hot South Indian filter coffee(kaapi) is one of the best snacks ever. Baked nippattu turn out to be really crisp and infact that is how they make them in bakeries. Nippattu can be made plain or finely chopped onions can be added which give an extra crunch. I have made them both here and both taste very good. The most important step is to add correct amount of ghee and butter, making the dough with warm water. I have added milk powder which adds rounded flavours to this recipe as suggested from another food blogger smithakalluraya. Simple ingredients turn into a tasty snack. These can be stored for quite a few days in an air tight container if they last that long from hungry mouths and prying eyes:) ... “Baked Nippattu”