Jangiri / Jhangri | Indian Festival Recipes

Jangiri is DH's favorite sweet. It is true that he is not a great fan of sweets, but turns out he just loves this one. So I set out to make this one at home for Diwali. Honestly, I wasn't comfortable making jangiri at home. Ok, I know that is not a good line for any self-respecting food blogger to say. But hey, I am a regular home-cook first and then comes food blogging. But being a food blogger has its own perks. I dare to try new recipes with loads of inspiration from my fellow bloggers and I am happy I tried this one. At the end of the day, the thing that made me happy was a thumbs-up from my DH.Also I have compiled a list of FAQs at the end,...

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Zucchini Coconut Muffins

Baking is therapeutic they say. For me baking is blissful. I bet it is the aroma coming from the oven which makes me say so. When all your favorite ingredients go into the making you will sure enjoy the sweet smell, don't you? This is one such muffin. Coconut is an important part of Indian cooking. And it is really good for you, when taken is limited quantity. Hailing from South India, naturally I love coconut. But this is the first time I am using coconut in baking and it didn't fail me.Ingredients:Recipe adapted from hereWhole Wheat Flour - 3/4 cupAll purpose flour / Maida - 3/4 cupBaking soda - 3/4 tspBaking powder - 1/2 tspSalt...

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Muttai Kulambu / Steamed Egg Curry - South Indian Style | Indian Egg Curry Recipes

The other day (read few months ago) I called up my grandma to ask for her Egg Curry - Muttai Kulambu recipe. She gave me the recipe I asked for and also gave me one bonus recipe for the Muttai Kulambu in a steamed version. I had not gotten a chance to try this version until recently. It is another super tasty, not too difficult to make and easy to drool over family recipe.Ingredients:Serves - 2-3Eggs - 3Onion - chopped - 3/4 cupTomato - chopped - 1/2 cupTurmeric powder - 1/4 tspSalt - to  tastePepper powder - a pinchOil - 1 tbsp + 1/4 tspFor the spice paste:Grated Coconut - 1/2 cupCumin seeds / Jeera - 1/2 tspKhus khus / poppy seeds...

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Kovakkai Varuval / Tindora Fry

Kovakkai/Tindora is one vegetable which I do not remember eating as a child. Not that I LUV my veggies when I was young. I was like any other child, detesting and protesting any vegetable. My dad used to say I literally lived on milk and curd rice. I am not proud about that. And I hope my son does not turn out as picky as I was. Coming back to tindora, I remember that it didn't feature much in our home. This one here is a simple recipe and best suited for cooking without a lot of fuss.Ingredients:Serves - 2Kovakkai/Tindora/Ivy Gourd - 2 cups (I used 1 pack of frozen Tindora)Oil - 2 tbspTurmeric powder - a pinchChilli powder - 3/4 tsp (1/2 tsp...

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Chicken Soup for Cold / Kozhi Rasam | Soup Recipes

Last week my son was under weather with a severe cold. Poor thing was finding it difficult to concentrate on keeping himself busy with the nose block and congestion. All the vaporiser rubbing and steam sauna wasn't helping him much. So I made a simple chicken soup for him. This is a super comforting soup and if your little one can't bear the spicy heat, you might as well just mix this with rice and serve like rasam rice.Ingredients:Serves - 2Chicken (with or without bones) - 1/2 lb (1/4 kg) approx 1/2 cupWater - 2 cupsPearl onions - 8Garlic - 3 cloves Ginger - 1/2" piecePepper corns - 1 tsp Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp Turmeric powder...

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Kathirikai Murungakai Sambar / Brinjal Drumstick Pressure Cooker Sambar | South Indian Recipes

Sambar is an important part of a South-Indian meal. No South-Indian Thali will be complete without this lentil soup. It is simply divine and what would be part of a comforting home cooked food for me. This is the method I follow when pressed for time and it gets ready in under 30 minutes. Ingredients:Serves - 4-6; soaking time - 30 mins; cooking time - 30 mins.Toor dhal/Pigeon Peas - 1 cupBrinjal - 5 small or 1/2 of a big one - cut into wedgesDrumstick - 1 - cut into 2 inch piecesOnion - chopped - 1 cupTomato - 1 small - choppedTamarind - size of a gooseberry/marble - soak in warm water and extract juiceTurmeric powder - 1/2 tspSambar Powder...

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Cabbage Poriyal | Indian Stir-Fry Recipes

Nature's simple foods are often the simply delicious ones. A cabbage poriyal is what I would choose if I had to for a side dish for rice. It is easy to make with simple flavours and is a great accompaniment for any kulambu, rasam or curd rice. Ingredients:Cabbage - chopped/shredded - 4 cupsMoong dhal - 2 tbspOil - 1 tbspOnion - 1/2 cupGreen chilli - 2Ginger paste - 1/2 tspGrated coconut - 1 tsp (optional)Salt - to tateTempering:Mustard seeds - 1/2 tspUrad dhal - 1/2 tspChana dhal - 1 tspCurry leaves - a fewMethod:Wash and cook moong dhal in 1 cup of water until soft but still holds the shape. Sprinkle a couple of teaspoons of water to the...

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Mirapakaya Bajji / Stuffed Milaga Bajji

Do you remember the friends we visited for dinner in my German Chocolate Cake post. They are a sweet couple and the dinner was super awesome. Now, DH and spicy foods are two entities who cannot be separate. And needless to say when they made Andhra-style Mirapakaya bajji for appetizers, he was in cloud nine. Seeing how much he loved the bajji, I duly asked for the recipe and they were happy to share.Ingredients:Serves - 5Serrano Peppers / Bajji Milagai - 10 (Choose the light colored ones and definitely stay away from the dark ones)Besan / Chickpea flour - 2 cupsRice flour - 1/3 cupGinger garlic paste - 1 tspChilli powder - 1 tsp or to tasteSalt...

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German Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Ganache and Coconut-Almond Frosting - Celebrating 300th post

I made this German Chocolate Cake last month for our 4th wedding anniversary. I have been meaning to post it sooner than later in this space but somehow it became later. Since I was approaching my 300th post mark, I reserved this special cake for the special post. DH loves chocolates but isn't a big fan of cakes. He is a gourmand but never really tells me which food he likes and which he doesn't. He is not a big sweet-lover as well. See, now my task of deciding on a cake for the celebration becomes difficult. But the other day, when he had to pick the dessert for our friend's dinner invite he picked the German Chocolate Cake. I asked him...

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Peerkangai Kootu | Indian Curry Recipes

For a fulfilling weekend meal the other day, I made this kootu with Milagu Kulambu and Peerkangai Thogayal to go with rice. An easy to put together kootu, makes even the pickiest of eaters to enjoy. Trust me, any vine vegetable cooked with dhal will be super tasty, like my Pumpkin kootu or Suraikai kootu.Ingredients:Serves - 3-4Recipe from herePeerkangai / Ridge Gourd- peeled and chopped - 2 cupsMoong dhal - 1/4 cup - cooked with turmeric and saltCoconut - 1 tspUrad dhal - 1 tbspRed chilli - 3Cumin seeds - 1/2 tspTempering:Oil - 1 tspMustard seeds - 1/2 tspCurry leaves - a fewMethod:Dry roast urad dhal, red chillies, cumin seeds until a nice...

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Coconut Ice Cream | Desserts Recipes

Growing up, I was not familiar with coconut ice cream. The most common flavours in cups were vanilla, chocolate, pista and sometimes strawberries. The first time I had coconut ice cream was after I came to US. Which is ironic because India, my home country is the 3rd largest producer of coconuts in the world. We use coconuts extensively in both cooking and worship rituals but coconut ice cream was somehow unheard of (I don't know if it is available now). Coming back my post, this is my first on an ice cream recipe because this is the first time I made ice cream at home. Ingredients:Serves - 4-5Heavy Whipping Cream - 1 cupCoconut milk  -...

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Peerkangai thol thuvayal / Ridge gourd Peels Chutney | Indian Chutney Recipes

Peerkangai / Ridge Gourd is a nutrient rich vegetable. Being brought up in a South Indian Family we were fed with a sumptuous share of vegetables for our meals. Dad always says vegetables from the vine are really good for health. Our mothers and grandmothers plan really very well on what vegetables can be cooked how. There was never any wastage of vegetables and if there are any leftovers they are promptly featured in a kootu or avial. Talking about the nutrients in the vine vegetables, this ridge gourd peels chutney always present whenever there is a curry, kootu or sambar is made with ridge gourd.Ingredients:Makes 1/2 cup of...

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Soba Noodles Vegetable Stir Fry

When it comes to making noodles at home I prefer whole grain spaghetti. I love the texture of the spaghetti in all the dishes I make be it with the simple Spaghetti with Home made Marinara, Spaghetti with Mushrooms & Onions, Pesto Pasta Primavera and Szechwan Noodles. My recent love is this soba or buckwheat noodles. Native to Japan, though this noodles is similar in nutrients with the whole grain spaghetti it is a gluten-free option for those who are on a gluten-free diet. It is a great component for soups, salads or stir-fries.Ingredients:Serves - 2Soba (Buckwheat) Noodles - 1 bundleRed bell pepper - 1 - cut into...

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