Microwave roasted moong dal

Saturday evening, I felt like eating moong dal along with tea. Too lazy to go out and buy a haldiram's packet, I thought of making it at home. I googled and found many microwave roasted recipes. I tried this one. It does not turn out as light as the haldiram's one and it is a little crunchier rather than crispier. Still it is worth a try as it is much healthier than the deep fried version. Ingredients: Moong dal - 1/2 cup Oil - 1 tsp Red chilli powder - 1/2 tsp Salt Method: Soak the moong dal in water for about 30 mins Drain out the water and pat the...

Majjige huli

Every woman needs a day off from cooking. I decided it was today as I was bogged down with office work (the woes of IT world). I handed over the kitchen to my dearest hubby. Menu was decided as majjige huli and rice. My favourite huli/sambhar is majjige huli. It's base is not with lentils or dal but buttermilk or curd. Hubby promptly called up his mom for the recipe and whipped up an awesome dinner. Ahhh heaven...:) It is my mom-in-law's recipe that follows... Ingredients: White pumpkin - 2 cups (peeled, deseeded and cut into cubes) Fresh...

Aloo gobi

Sunday nights bring out mixed emotions… Weekend isn’t yet over but the week is visible at the horizon. Sunday nights confuse my brain, should I be happy that it is still the weekend? Or should I be sad that Monday is approaching? Whenever I am in confusion or in sadness, I find solace in food (hence, the weight issues). So food has to be simple, so as not to add to the confusion, and tasty, so it improves my mood. Aloo gobi is a perfect meal for Sunday nights. Easy to make and yummy too. It is a recipe that can seldom go wrong. So go ahead and add a teaspoon...

Gobi Mussallam

Gobi mussallam is actually an entire head of cauliflower or gobi cooked in a tomato and cream based gravy. I searched the internet for this recipe but nothing looked similar to the one I eat at a restaurant near my house. So I decided to use the ingredients mentioned and just make it with instinct. Well, that worked, and I got a yummy gobi mussallam. I did not use an entire head of cauliflower as I was looking at making a smaller quantity, so I just cut it into florets and used. Gobi mussallam Steam and fry the gobi Fry onion, ginger, garlic paste along...

Heerekai Sippe Chutney | Ridgegourd Chutney | Toorai Chutney

Heerekai Sippe Chutney is a flavorful chutney made from Ridge gourd peel, coconut, red chillies and cumin seeds. What's your pick with that hot Dosa on a Sunday morning? Chutney or Sambar? If you just chose Chutney, you are gonna love this new flavorful fibre filled Heerekai Sippe Chutney. If you chose Sambar, may be it is time you tried this flavorful fibre filled Heerekai Sippe Chutney. See what I did there? *wink* Heerekai means Ridge gourd or Toorai or Tori. It a long green vegetable with ridges running through its sides. Heerekai...

Bean sprouts salad

Abroad, salads now form a part of every meal almost. People are getting conscious of their eating habits. For us in India, salad generally means kosambri/ Koshimbir, raita or cut veggies like carrot, tomato, cucumber etc. The same salad on daily basis gets boring. So I keep searching for different types of salad recipes. On sunday, I was very excited to find bean sprouts in my veggie store. I think you can make this at home too, but I've never tried to get the sprouts to grow so thick. Anyway, it was very cheap and I remembered a yummy bean sprout salad I had in...

Shavige uppit / Semiyan upma / Savoury vermicelli

I always get tired of thinking what to make for breakfast. Somehow, cornflakes never was my favorite and with store bought bread being mainly of maida/flour, I need to keep making something different everyday so I don't get bored and skip breakfast. Being the most important meal of the day, breakfast has to be energy packed to get you through the day. Shavige uppit is an easy and quick to make breakfast. Ingredients: Shavige/ Semiya/ Vermicelli – 1 cup (dried) Onion – 1 small Tomato – 1 small Green chillies – 1-2 Oil – 2 tsp Mustard – ½...

Kochhidu moolangi salad | Mooli salad | Radish salad

Crunchy, Peppery, Sharp - That's how I describe this Radish Salad made using both the root and the leaves. What have you been upto this week? Me, I've been gardening a little. Tomatoes are blooming, I see 2-3 juicy ones in the future. But today, was the day to harvest the Mooli (Daikon or Moolangi). I was surprised at how easy and low maintenance Mooli. Just throw in the seeds and stop worrying about them. Wait until they pop out of the ground, and they are ready to be harvested. Two lovely white moolis were peeking out of the soil in my pot. So harvest...

Instant Khaman dhokla

Khaman dhokla is probably the most famous Gujrati snack across India. Easily available in some states and difficult to find in others. Somehow, I love this healthy steamed snack with tea in the evenings, but Bangalore disappoints me by not having it so readily available. I actually have to go in search of it and most times it is just so sweet that it turns me off. Since it is so easy to make, I often end up making it at home myself. Ingredients: Besan - 1 cup Fine rava - 1/4 cup Eno salt - 2 sachets Green...

Pita bread

My husband likes pita bread a lot. It is not so easily found unless we go to gourmet food stores in Bangalore. I always wanted to try making it at home. So I finally thought, this Friday evening I shall give it a try. Try was successful and hubby munched down on the whole lot :) Pita bread with hummus Knead into a smooth dough After 2 hours, the dough has doubled it size Divide dough into balls Flatten out the dough Roll out the dough to 5 mm thickness Puffing in the oven Puffed up pita bread Pita bread Enjoy...

Hummus

I simply love hummus, I can eat it with anything, pita bread, regular bread, chapati etc. I looked around in all the big gourmet food chains recently, but somehow none of them carried hummus. May be it does not sell well here or as it has a lower shelf life, they don't keep them. Anyway, I had this huge wish to eat hummus and pita bread, so I decided to make them both at home. Very simple recipe and you can vary it the way you like... Hummus Ingredients except Olive oil Sesame paste I used instead of tahini Enjoy with bread Ingredients: Chickpeas...