Modak

Modak

Modak is a the main sweet dish during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival. It is very famously called 'Modak'. In other languages it is called Modakam, Modaka and so on. Modak is a dumpling made from rice flour with various stuffing, with main ingredients for stuffing being Jaggery, Coconut, Groundnuts and Sesame seeds. Modak is considered a hot favourite of the legendary foodie, Lord Ganesh, who is also known by the name 'Modakapriya'.  The offerings to Lord Ganesha is called Naivedyam, which not only includes the steamed modak, but also various other dishes. 

Adai - A healthy energy-rich Crepes

Adai ingredients getting Sun-Dried

Adai is a healthy, high-energy breakfast dish of Tamil Nadu, India. Adais are packed with fibre and protein, and are low in refined sugars. Adai is nothing but dosa or a pancake, which is a pure vegetarian crepes relished instantly. Traditionally, Adai is prepared in combination of one or more lentils along with rice soaked for sometime, whipped to a fine batter and then cooked on a pan. A similar dish, called pesarattu is made in Andhra too, in combination with rice and green gram.

Gurugaaku Pulagura

Gurugaaku Pulagura

Gurugaaku  Pulagura  is a mashed greens curry, which is tangy and spicy prepared with Gurugaaku leaves. Amma has a fond favorite to these kinds of leafy vegetables. She cooks these leaves and talks about its medicinal value. Usually the flavor associated with the leafy greens is sour. So here in the recipe, tamarind and green chilies are added to give a perfect balance to the curry. Garlic is cooked along with the Gurugaaku leaves to leave sweet flavor in the dish. Seasoning of course adds to the taste and generally pleasing. Gurugaaku leaves can also be cooked with powdered groundnuts for the nutty taste and for its nutrition quotient.

Murukku

Murukulu

For Janmashtami/Gokulashtami / Krishna Jayanthi, prepared this Murukku / Murukulu / Chakli. Rice flour is a main ingredient in this crispy snack, groundnuts / peanuts are added for that extra taste. The groundnuts are roasted lightly to give that extra crispy and crunchy flavor. This south-Indian addictive Murukku is almost forgotten snack in big cities, but its nutritive value is immense. It is a great after-school snack for the kids. 

Coconut Pal Poli

Coconut Pal Poli

Coconut Pal Poli is a sweet prepared traditionally at homes when there were no provision to buy sweets while sudden guests arrived. No communication too were received during those days of their arrival. This was one of the snow-like sweet, which would come to the rescue. So this is such delicacy of olden times, which needed no prior preparation. Since jaggery was easily available during those days, this dessert was considered very superior as it was made with sugar. 

Hesarubele Payasa

Hesarubele Payasa

Hesarubele Payasa is a traditional sweet prepared with coconut, jaggery, poppy seeds, green gram and clarified butter i. e., pure ghee. It is a sweet porridge, slightly thickened to creamy consistency. This consistency is produced using ghee roasted raw rice as a thickening agent in this sumptuous vegan dish. 

Mosaravalakki

Atukulu Daddojanam

Mosaravalakki is dished out of flattened rice / Aval / Atukulu / Avalakki along with fresh curds. The dish though famous all over India, called by different names, namely, 'Thayir Aval', 'Dahi Poha', 'Gopalkala' and 'Atukulu Daddojanam', is similar to Curd rice. In Karnataka, the dish is called by the name Mosaravalakki as this is made more common in the state and served for Gods as Naivedyam or Prasad. Mosaru Avalakki can be garnished with grapes and pomegranate seeds, which makes the dish more rich in appearance. 

Dal Baati Churma

Dal Bati Churma

Rajasthan's famous dish, Dal-Baati-Churma, a Rajasthan delicacy, is a meal in itself. The dish is a confluence of tastes – sweet, salty and spicy. The Baati is prepared with wheat and semolina, and then deep fried into flat rounds. The dal is a combination of five pulses called Panchmel Dal, Panchrathan Dal or Panch Kuti Dal, which is thick, hot and spicy. 

Churma Ladoo

Churma Laddu

Churma is a Rajasthani Sweet in combination with Dal Bati, which is a complete mean and famously called as Dal-Bati-Churma. In the meal, Churma is consumed mixing the Panchmel Dal or Panchvati Dal and this is the traditional way of enjoying the sweet. Churma ladoo is prepared with wheat flour or in combination with wheat flour and rava or sooji (semolina). The dish is also well known in the category of rich dessert as only the ghee is used in the recipe, which brings good health, as well as rich taste.

Panchkuti Dal - a Delectable Blend of Five Lentils

Panchkuti Dal

Panchkuti Dal or Panchmel dal or Panchratan Dal is a delectable combination of five lentils cooked together with the minimal spices. The Panchkuti Dal is a dish included in a Rajasthani meal of Dal-Baati-Churma. Dal-Baati-Churma is a meal in itself. The Dal used here is the Pachkuti Dal. The meal is served during the celebration times, be it marriages or festivals. The Dal is simmered in ghee where cumin seeds are fried and flavoured with bay leaves and fresh coriander leaves. The simplicity of the Dal is protein rich and taste is splendid.

Chicken Fry

Chicken Fry

This is a Chicken fry without tomatoes where the simple spices and freshly ground pepper adds the depth to the dish. Coriander leaves are cooked along with chicken instead of garnish and roasted curry leaves added as a garnish lends the Chicken fry a flavorful tasty side dish. A refreshing hint of lime peps up the dish.

Gongura Pachadi/Chutney

Gongura Pacchadi

Gongura Pachadi Gongura pacchadi is quintessentially Telugu cuisine. Gongura Pachadi is made from Red Sorrel leaves. While it has many culinary uses, the most popular is the pickled version. Although Gongura is widely consumed all over Andhra Pradesh, Gongura is more popular in hotels, restaurants, eateries and food joints. It is also grown in Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh (north east region of India) and also some parts of Chittagong Hill Tracts region in Bangladesh (which is mainly a tribal people region). It is a very popular green vegetable in Chakma community and it is known as "Aamelli". Gongura is a very rich source of iron, vitamins, folic acid and anti-oxidants essential for human nutrition. 

Bansi Rava Upma - Tomato Upma

I had blogged earlier, Upma recipe prepared with vegetables. Sometimes simple upma with no frills is what we want when we get busy but still want to enjoy the home food for breakfast. This upma comes to the rescue with tomato flavor. 

Aloo Beans Subzi

Potato Beans Stir Fry

Potatoes, which are called as 'Alu' or 'Aloo' is a fond vegetable among people in India, specially North India. In almost every North-Indian homes, potatoes are paired with a lot of vegetables like french beans, lady's finger, brinjal, capsicum, fenugreek leaves among few, and cooked as a side dish for main lunch or dinner. Dal-Roti being the main dish, accompanied by Papad and Pickle, Aloo Stir Fries completes the dish in every home in North India.

Sauteed Radish Leaves

                                                    Radish greens stir fry

Radish Leaves are often ignored and only the radish as a vegetable is cooked in a variety of ways. The best part of this vegetable are the greens. The radish and the greens are cooling in nature and possess the most nutrients. Radish leaves have a very different flavor apart from other greens as it has a sharp taste with peppery flavor. 

Bombay Chutney

       Bombay Chutney

Bombay Chutney is a delectable side dish, which my family loves especially with Idlies though it can be used for other breakfast dishes too. This is a easy recipe, which involves no-grinding, no much chopping and prepared with regular basic ingredients. Never knew how the name came into existence but the Bombay Chutney or besan chutney was prepared during olden days in a small eateries in the town side. This dish was one of the side dish, which some eateries followed may be because of the quantity one can create with no grinding involved as during those days only traditional motor and pestle was present, which involved time and effort. Some call the Bombay Chutney as Besan Pitla too. The dish may carry various names and variations too.

Drumstick Stir Fry

Nuggekai Palya

Drumstick Stir Fry is prepared with the drumstick pods and not the leaves. Drumstick pods are chopped into pieces keeping the outer cover intact. The pods are then cooked till tender and tempered with the usual simple spices of mustard, curry leaves, garlic and red chilies. The roasted groundnut powder lends a nutty and crunchy taste to the dish. The crunch taste is also attained by the urad dal (black gram) and channa dal (bengal gram). Combination of these makes a palatable dish one cannot imagine.

Capsicum Egg Fry

       Capsicum Egg Fry

Capsicum Egg Fry is a simple stir fry. Capsicums are easy to cook as it does not require much time. The delicate taste and pleasant flavour of capsicums when paired with eggs makes a delicious stir fry. Tomatoes are added as it coats the spices well giving it a tangy taste to the stir fry. The ginger garlic in the fry gives a great flavour and makes it rich. Coriander adds the colour for this wonderful stir fry.

Sheer Khurma - a Vermicelli Pudding

            Sheer Khorma

Sheer Khurma or Sheer Khorma is a vermicelli pudding prepared by Muslims on Eid ul-Fitr and Eid al-Al-Adha in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Sheer Khurma is similar in the lines of preparation of Vermicelli Kheer but only extra ingredient 'dates' is added here. The dates are boiled in the milk to give it an added authentic taste to the Sheer Khurma. And during the fasting days of Ramadan, Sheer Khurma with dates are prepared as dates are an excellent source of fiber, sugar, magnesium, and have carbohydrates, which will aid the body in maintaining health.

Mavina Hannu Seekarane or Rasayana - a Mango Coconut dip

        Mavina Hannu Rasayana with Neer Dosa

Mavina Hannu Seekarane or Rasayana is a dip commonly relished by the people of coastal regions of Karnataka, i.e., Mangalore, Udupi and many other parts, which is also known as South Canara Region. Coconut being the main cultivation in these areas, the recipe calls for the Mango pulp mixed with coconut milk and flavoured with cardamom.