Tag: South Indian

Nellikayi Chutney | Amla Chutney | Gooseberry Chutney

Coarsely ground tangy nellikayi/amla chutney
08/06/2016 7:48:30 PM vindhyadesai

All of us would have heard about the various benefits of amla/nellikayi/gooseberry especially for hair as it is rich in Vitamin A. But on occasions when we do procure nellikayi/amla during season we might not find many dishes to make out of it. It is actually quite a versatile berry used to make sweet, spicy and savoury dishes. It can be made into pickles, jam, a flavourful bhaat, pies, chutney etc. Here’s a recipe of a chutney which my mother makes in a jiffy. The stone ground version of it will be very tasty. ... “Nellikayi Chutney | Amla Chutney | Gooseberry Chutney”

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?”

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”

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”

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”

Beetroot Bhaat | Beetroot Rice

Deep red coloured bhaat made with beetroot, subtly spiced and coconut giving it flavour
06/15/2016 9:48:13 PM vindhyadesai

Beetroot is an under used vegetable. It can be boiled, roasted, made into a juice or smoothie, made into chips, preserved into pickles, used in cakes (yes cake!), made into a sambar, made into a dry subzi/sabji/palya, raitha, chutney, the list can go on and on. Beetroot can also be used to make a tasty and flavourful bhaat. It’s one more simple dish to make for your lunch box like Tomato Bhaat. ... “Beetroot Bhaat | Beetroot Rice”

Coconut Chutney | Hotel style green coconut chutney | Kaayi Chutney

Super-easy, hotel style green coconut chutney
06/08/2016 5:08:58 PM vindhyadesai

Coconut chutney, a no-brainer side dish to accompany dosas and idlis. Making it hotel style at home is easy and simple, it’s just throwing together all ingredients in a mixer jar and grind till almost smooth. Just add the correct amount ingredients to suit your taste. In the no mixie or processor days, people used to grind chutneys in a big stone mortar by hand. I have eaten such chutneys and their taste is quite different probably because it is ground slowly which releases more flavours from the chillies and other herbs. ... “Coconut Chutney | Hotel style green coconut chutney | Kaayi Chutney”

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”

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”