tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-322068782012-01-25T12:24:34.904-07:00Deepzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07588969837509138250noreply@blogger.comBlogger1031100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32206878.post-31278559247796281232008-05-30T15:52:00.001-06:002008-05-30T15:53:25.414-06:00

This is a very easy recipe and is a whole meal by itself. This will be my entry for the JFI - Bell Peppers event hosted by Creative Pooja.Ingredients:Rice (cooked) - 2 cupsRoasted cashews - 2 tbspCurry leaves - 10Capsicum (chopped) - 1 cupGroundnut (powdered) - 2 tbsp (optional)Turmeric powder - 1 tspOil or Ghee - 2 tbspSalt - as neededTo Powder:Red Chillies - 5Cinnamon - 1/2 inchDhania - 2

Deepzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07588969837509138250noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32206878.post-208998586907815872008-05-29T18:30:00.001-06:002008-05-29T18:37:53.459-06:00

This is a very easy recipe and can be prepared within minutes. Any kind of vatral (dried vegetable) can be used.Ingredients:Sundakkai Vatral - 2 tbspSambar Powder - 2 tspThin tamarind extract - 1/2 cupOil - 1 tbspSalt - as neededRice flour - 1tspSeasoning Ingredients:Fenugreek seeds - 1/2 tspMustard seeds - 1/2 tspDry red chillies - 2Toor dal - 1 tspAsafoetida - 1/2 tspMethod:Heat oil and add the

Deepzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07588969837509138250noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32206878.post-8635225178113121652008-04-15T13:10:00.001-06:002008-04-15T13:22:29.500-06:00

Kootu is a very easy and healthy dish. A lot of vegetables can be prepared this way and it goes well with both chapathi and rice. I usually make kootu with chayote squash, cabbage, snake gourd, yellow squash and spinach.Ingredients:Cabbage (chopped) - 2 cupsTomato (chopped) - 1/2Moong dal - 2 tbspGreen chilly - 2Coconut (shredded) - 2 tbspCumin seeds (jeera) - 1 tspSalt - as neededSeasoning:

Deepzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07588969837509138250noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32206878.post-43918186505218885262008-04-13T20:50:00.004-06:002008-05-29T18:31:23.911-06:00

Ive been busy at work lately and add to that severe neck pain. Hence I've been MIA (Missin In Action). I promise not to disappear again and to post more often. I also have a ton of bloghoppin to do and get updated with whats happening in the blog world. I hope I dint miss anything big and also hope that all is fine with everyone. So here are some pictures from my tamil new year's celebration.

Deepzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07588969837509138250noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32206878.post-79342900257040566702008-01-10T17:50:00.000-07:002008-01-11T06:53:56.202-07:00

We all have read a lot about chocolate lately in the food blogging world. So without further delay I am presenting the array of chocolicious goodies for JFI-Chocolate. You can read more about JFI here. Chocolate Drive by Indira of Mahanandi Chocolate Coconut Burfi by Indira of Mahanandi Sweet Chocolatey Morsels by TC of The Cooker Chocolate kesari by Selvi of Samaithupaarkalam Hot Chocolate by

Deepzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07588969837509138250noreply@blogger.com31tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32206878.post-8325043171047744712008-01-05T15:31:00.000-07:002008-01-05T15:31:11.553-07:00

I love molten chocolate cakes and have been searching for a good recipe for a while. Recently I bought the New Baking Book by Better Homes and Gardens and was happy to find the perfect recipe for the molten chocolate cake. These are baked in individual cups and hence easy to serve. I followed the recipe as is, but served it with whipped cream instead of the recommended Mocha Cream. Next time I

Deepzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07588969837509138250noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32206878.post-18088413497188382902008-01-04T15:34:00.000-07:002008-01-04T15:41:24.535-07:00

I know its raining chocolates in the food blog world but I just wanted to remind everyone to send in their chocolate loaded entries for JFI-Chocolate by Jan5, 2008 to letzcook@gmail.com. Also if you have not received a mail from me for your entry, please send it to me again.

Deepzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07588969837509138250noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32206878.post-39950172621270872532008-01-04T15:30:00.000-07:002008-01-04T16:08:24.762-07:00

I had friends over and made a 4 course meal for Christmas eve dinner. Here's sharing with you a few pictures from the night.For the first couse I served mushroom-blue cheese crostini, walnut cheese tartlets (with onions), peas wheels and spinach cheese rolls.course 1: mushroom crostini, walnut-basil tartlets, peas wheels, spinach cheese wheels The second course was sweet corn vegetable soup with

Deepzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07588969837509138250noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32206878.post-71849586937277394432007-12-27T18:57:00.000-07:002007-12-27T18:58:49.772-07:00

This year Christmas was extra special for more than one reason. It's the first one after our marriage and my brother was with me for Christmas after 6 yrs. I made all the goodies during the week after I got back from work. Some of the recipes are from other fellow bloggers. Sharing with you all a few pictures and a recipe. Clockwise from top: Farsi Puri, Rawa Ladoo, Fruit cake, Seven Cup Sweet,

Deepzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07588969837509138250noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32206878.post-1008948655189671082007-12-25T15:57:00.000-07:002007-12-25T16:02:14.260-07:00

WISHING YOU All A MERRY CHRISTMAS

Deepzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07588969837509138250noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32206878.post-40442239521877716672007-12-22T11:40:00.000-07:002007-12-22T11:40:57.029-07:00

This is a very easy and quick recipe. It takes about 20min and tastes great. I try to avoid readymade sauces as much as possible and hence this simple marinara tastes fresh and delicious. It is also free of any preservatives that are usually found in store bought sauces.Ingredients: Angel Hair Pasta - 8 ozTomatoes (diced and stored in juice) - 1 canBasil (dried) - 1 tbspCarrots (sliced) - 2Capers

Deepzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07588969837509138250noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32206878.post-66901776777803050532007-12-11T13:00:00.000-07:002007-12-11T13:00:11.237-07:00

Here is my first entry to the JFI-Chocolate event. I've never made a dish for any other event this fast. Now I am sure you guys will accept that I am obsessed with chocolate.My boss usually brings us some treats during the holiday season and last year he brought this fudge. They tasted wonderful and my husband and I liked it a lot. I've been bugging him ever since for the recipe. Unfortunately

Deepzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07588969837509138250noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32206878.post-68216795775200216792007-12-07T15:39:00.000-07:002007-12-07T15:39:43.315-07:00

Its my turn to host this month's JFI(Jihva For Ingredients). This event was started by Indira of Mahanandi and you can read all about it here. After much thinking (who am I kidding), I decided on this month's special ingredient. Full credit goes to my husband for suggesting this. Its my most favorite ingredient and I think it holds true for most of you out there. Both kids and adults love it. I

Deepzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07588969837509138250noreply@blogger.com23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32206878.post-39825420345007560772007-11-11T17:41:00.000-07:002007-11-11T18:16:58.882-07:00

I made this traditional dessert for dinner on diwali and everyone loved it. It was a very simple and easy recipe and tasted divine. I took this recipe from Mrs. S. Mallika Badrinath's TRADITIONAL SWEETS recipe book. This will be my entry to the JFI-Special Edition Diwali event hosted by Vee of Past, Present and Me.Ingredients:Green gram dal(Split moong dal) - 1 cupJaggery (grated) - 1 cup (can be

Deepzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07588969837509138250noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32206878.post-56426181191179530732007-11-10T12:20:00.000-07:002007-11-11T10:32:23.178-07:00

This being our thalai diwali (first one after the wedding), I wanted to go all out and prepare a lot of dishes for diwali. It was a challenge as I had to come back from work and start making the dishes every night. A big thanks to the food blog community, as I found many delicious dishes, all with elaborate descriptions and pictures. This made my job much easier. Coming from a christian

Deepzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07588969837509138250noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32206878.post-76497906712849506402007-11-01T22:28:00.000-06:002007-11-01T22:50:48.783-06:00

I wanted to participate in the AFAM-Peach event hosted by Mansi of fun and food. But since I was out of time I decided to try a twist to the traditional bhel. I skipped both onions and tomatoes and added peach, mango and pomegrante seeds instead. The bhel tasted perfect with the right amount of spice, salt, sourness and crunch.Ingredients:Peaches (cubed) - 1/2 cupMango (raw) (cut into small

Deepzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07588969837509138250noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32206878.post-80932820323768378432007-10-31T13:10:00.000-06:002007-10-31T13:42:08.963-06:00

Every year for halloween I decorate the house with scary stuff and buy a lot of candy for the neighbourhood kids. Its so much fun to look at all their costumes and their smiles, after getting candy. Even though most moms wont agree with me, I enjoy giving them candy. While waiting for the kids to knock, we carve pumpkins and I roast the seeds for healthy snacking later.Showcasing our carving

Deepzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07588969837509138250noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32206878.post-2951644947165299102007-10-22T23:12:00.000-06:002007-10-22T23:14:50.805-06:00

Last week during my usual blog hoping I came across this recipe and I liked it. It has chocolate in it and thats more than enough reason for me to fall in love with it. The recipe was pretty simple and easy to prepare. Since it does not use butter I think its healthy too. I wasnt sure how it would turn out and was worried if it would turn out hard, more like a browny as it does not use both

Deepzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07588969837509138250noreply@blogger.com23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32206878.post-72827973463450739832007-10-16T17:30:00.000-06:002007-10-16T17:30:50.698-06:00

It's finally here. The roundup for the Green Blog Project - Summer 2007 event. This was started by Inji pennu of myinjimanga. I read about the Green Blog Project - Summer 2006 event, when I had just started blogging in Aug 2006 and I decided to participate. When I saw the roundup, I was excited to see so many other fellow bloggers growing vegetables and fruits at home and going the organic way.

Deepzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07588969837509138250noreply@blogger.com24tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32206878.post-34629222949438375332007-10-01T18:38:00.001-06:002007-10-01T19:27:17.592-06:00

Ingredients:Almost ripe banana - 1Ghee - 1 tbspHoney - 1 tbspYogurt - 4 tbspAssorted fruits (mango, kiwi, strawberry, pineapple and Grapes) - all cubedMint leaves - for garnishingMethod:Heat ghee in a pan and add sliced banana. Fry till it turns golden brown and then let it cool. Blend the banana with honey and yogurt and refridgerate till ready to serve. Skew the assorted fruit cubes in a wooden

Deepzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07588969837509138250noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32206878.post-6650424177330845742007-09-30T11:16:00.000-06:002007-09-30T11:13:51.923-06:00

This is a reminder for all you fellow bloggers to send in your entries for the Green Blog Project by Oct 1, 2007 to letzcook@gmail.com . You can find more details about this event here. I have sent an acknowledgment to bloggers, if I have already received their entries. So please let me know if you have not received my acknowledgement.

Deepzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07588969837509138250noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32206878.post-52991346903436187062007-09-28T20:09:00.000-06:002007-09-28T20:10:06.000-06:00

Usually when I get home from work I start preparing dinner and then go for my walk. So there is no time for an evening snack but yesterday I decided to make something for my husband who was very hungry when he got home. I wanted to make something easy, fast and healthy. I had soaked some black channa to make subzi and decided to use that for my evening snack.Ingredients:Black channa dal – 1

Deepzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07588969837509138250noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32206878.post-83377356422464628332007-09-27T18:28:00.000-06:002007-09-27T18:27:53.833-06:00

This year we harvested a couple of melons and before I could make something out of it we ended up eating it as it is. But this week I harvested 2 melons and decided to make sorbet out of one half of the melon. After a lot of searching on the net I decided with the following recipe. Some of the online recipes called for egg whites but I didn't like the idea of eating raw egg whites. It was very

Deepzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07588969837509138250noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32206878.post-70797889695404539322007-09-15T14:26:00.000-06:002007-09-15T15:13:18.189-06:00

Looking at the entries that have already piled up, I am very excited to host the Green Blog Project – Summer 2007 event. I am sure like me, others are also keeping busy with their gardening. If you live in northern america remember to bring in your summer veggies and tropical plants now or when the low temp is below 50F. In Colorado, thankfully it is mostly in the 50's till the end of September,

Deepzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07588969837509138250noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32206878.post-55038431389659042372007-09-15T13:05:00.000-06:002007-09-15T14:26:43.776-06:00

We usually dont celebrate vinayagar chathurthi at home, but this year I decided to prepare something for it. After searching all over the net I found the recipe for kozhukattai here and tried it. The only change I made to the recipe is I added only 3/4 cup of jaggery for the filling and it was sweet enough for me. It turned out really good and wanted to share some pics with you

Deepzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07588969837509138250noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32206878.post-90041448039840051092007-09-01T18:36:00.001-06:002007-09-01T23:17:19.283-06:00

After thinking a lot about something innovative for the JFI-rice event hosted by Sharmi of Neivedyam, I decided to make this carrot-mint rice. This dish is made from the second batch of carrots that I planted and also uses mint that I grow in pots. It is a very easy and healthy recipe. This rice can be had with raitha and pickle or stuffed into a tortilla along with freshly chopped tomatoes,

Deepzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07588969837509138250noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32206878.post-45741585850763330602007-08-28T12:41:00.000-06:002007-08-28T14:42:19.774-06:00

My parents left last week and now I am back to regular cooking. We've been harvesting a lot of fresh veggies like tomatoes (about 5 lbs every week), mint, curry leaves, spinach, raddish, beans, okra from our very own backyard. I've been using raddish along with fresh spinach to make a simple salad to serve before dinner.All this while I kept throwing away the raddish greens from my garden. Last

Deepzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07588969837509138250noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32206878.post-44679614540110571482007-08-04T19:55:00.000-06:002007-08-04T20:27:27.835-06:00

Yes its a year since I started this blog. I have learnt so much from the food blog world in the past one year. So many new recipes, new gardening ideas, kitchen tips and most importantly have come to know so many food bloggers out there. When I started this blog, it was only a place to store my recipes for me to visit later and to share it with my parents who live far away from me. But now I am

Deepzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07588969837509138250noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32206878.post-56708255584446374972007-07-24T22:02:00.000-06:002007-07-24T22:30:53.305-06:00

I have been trying to post an entry for a long time now but work, travel, family and other things have kept me really busy. My parents are visiting and I am trying to show them around as much as possible in the short 2 months that they are staying with me. Also with my mom around I hardly cook these days. Coming back home to a scrumptious home cooked meal is such a blessing. But since I have

Deepzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07588969837509138250noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32206878.post-82764555838418034592007-05-31T21:54:00.001-06:002007-05-31T22:25:17.298-06:00

I used to love eating ripe jackfruit from the tree in my grandmothers house every summer back home. Here all we get is the over sweet ripe jackfruit soaked in sugar syrup. After a couple of washes it tastes ok but not close to the real one. For the JFI-Jackfruit event posted by Jugalbandi, I wanted to try something with raw jackfruit and that’s when I remembered the kebabs my friend makes with

Deepzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07588969837509138250noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32206878.post-11229886483492003492007-05-20T10:47:00.000-06:002007-05-25T08:57:55.347-06:00

Mango is my all time favorite fruit. It sucks to not get good Indian mangoes here. I usually satisfy myself with the Mexican ones that are available, which are OK in comparison. So for the AFAM Mango event hosted by Deepa of Recipes N More, I decided to try a new dish with mangoes. I got my inspiration from here.Ingredients:Cream - 2 cupsMango pulp - 1 cup Sugar - 1/c cup (can be changed

Deepzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07588969837509138250noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32206878.post-62839284886536673362007-05-18T19:30:00.000-06:002007-05-18T23:46:18.838-06:00

I usually use spinach for making traditional Indian dishes like spinach-dal, palak paneer, spinach sabzi and spinach kootu or for a simple salad. This time wanted to try something different with the spinach I grew in my backyard. After a long search on the net I found something that I like here.Decided to play a bit with the ingredients (read to manage with ingredients I had at hand) and the

Deepzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07588969837509138250noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32206878.post-47888976923945728312007-05-06T12:19:00.000-06:002007-05-06T12:33:43.354-06:00

Work has been very hectic lately and I am still yet to post my Easter dinner recipes. Decided to start with tandoori chicken.Ingredients:Chicken Drumsticks - 8 (skin removed)Tandoori masala or paste - 2 tbspChilli powder - 2 tspSalt - as neededGinger-garlic paste - 2 tspGaram masala - 1 tspLime or Vinegar - 2 tspButter - 2 tbspCooking sprayMethod:Clean and make slits in the chicken drumsticks.

Deepzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07588969837509138250noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32206878.post-4999335709915789432007-04-30T12:21:00.000-06:002007-04-30T22:29:16.361-06:00

I know a lot of people, who don't like Pavakkai (karela) and even refuse to taste it. I was one among the lot till last month, but after much persuasion from my mom decided to give it a try for Tamil New Yr's. She said for first timers, frying the karela was a good choice. Now after tasting it I have to agree that its not bad at all. Honestly this would not be my favorite dish, but with all its

Deepzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07588969837509138250noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32206878.post-87522330205640006172007-04-25T13:31:00.000-06:002007-04-26T21:21:31.336-06:00

I was never a fan of eggplants back home but now I try to make it once in a while. When made well it tastes delicious. I usually make this podi fry with potatoes but tried it with brinjal for tamil new yr's and it came out pretty well.Ingredients:Brinjal (Eggplant) (sliced) - 2 cupsOnions (thinly sliced) - 1Salt - as neededOil - 4 tbspTo Powder:Channal dal - 2 tbspThur dal - 2 tbspRed chillies -

Deepzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07588969837509138250noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32206878.post-83461475839450900942007-04-25T13:20:00.000-06:002007-04-25T19:49:08.454-06:00

I've noticed that most of my north Indian friends are not aware that rasam can be made with so many different ingredients - lemon rasam, dal rasam, pepper rasam, garlic rasam, tomato rasam, neem flower rasam etc etc. Each has its own predominant flavor. I like tomato rasam for its tanginess, that the tomatoes impart. Also for me rasam is a good time saver. It takes exactly 15 min to prepare from

Deepzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07588969837509138250noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32206878.post-30313327661621485952007-04-23T11:45:00.000-06:002007-04-25T15:46:33.913-06:00

Banana flower has lots of nutrient value - Vitamin C, Vitamin A, Calcium and iron too. Cooked banana flower eaten with curd or boiled banana flower mixed with buttermilk is considered an effective medicine for menstrual disorders like painful menstruation and excessive bleeding. Banana flower helps increase progesterone hormone which reduces the bleeding in women. More medicinal info from the

Deepzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07588969837509138250noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32206878.post-89011537318636037612007-04-15T21:48:00.000-06:002007-04-21T20:30:57.962-06:00

Last year when I first read about the Green Blog Project, I was very excited as we had so many veggies growing in our backyard and this was a good event to participate in. I was a month old in the food blogging world and it was one of the first few events that I participated in. I made vegetable fried rice from carrots and beans and tomato thokku from tomatoes grown in my backyard. After sending

Deepzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07588969837509138250noreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32206878.post-87620952746675612712007-04-14T11:50:00.000-06:002007-04-30T22:31:54.718-06:00

Even though I live miles away from home, I still try and celebrate most festivals, just to stay in touch with the tradition. So this time when I found banana leaves (vazhai elai) in a Korean store, I was excited like a kid in a candy store. I was so happy that I can serve my complete tamil meal on a banana leaf for the first time.Iniya Tamizh Puthandu NalVazhthukalSome info about tamil cuisine

Deepzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07588969837509138250noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32206878.post-42804387122489594152007-04-10T00:01:00.000-06:002007-04-12T22:33:25.387-06:00

This winter we did not start any new plants as we had to go to India for about 5 weeks. We had a friend water our plants and I was worried about them. We were surprised to find all the plants hale and healthy when we got back and especially our curry leaf plant thrived well. When we bought the plant it was about 4 inches tall and now its more than a feet tall. We move it out in the summer and

Deepzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07588969837509138250noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32206878.post-32434095990355153742007-04-09T11:41:00.000-06:002007-04-10T10:11:29.508-06:00

I used to love festivals back home as it meant having friends and relatives, wearing new clothes, eating good food and watching tv the whole day. Now that both my brother and I are miles away from home, my parents hardly celebrate it the way they used to. So I decided to carry on the tradition and invited friends over for dinner yesterday.The menu was vegetable biriyani, mutton biriyani, tandoori

Deepzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07588969837509138250noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32206878.post-18203324312661898902007-04-02T15:54:00.000-06:002007-04-04T10:34:11.950-06:00

I don't use my electric grill often. So i searched online for some grilling recipes and found about the panini. It's basically a sandwich that's grilled. The sandwich can be made with any vegetable or meat of choice. I decided to make mine with grilled veggies and goat cheese.Ingredients:Bread slices - 8Onion - 1 (sliced)Green bell pepper/Capsicum - 1 (sliced)Mint chutney - as neededTomato

Deepzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07588969837509138250noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32206878.post-79676414163249259382007-04-02T15:44:00.000-06:002007-04-04T10:27:19.136-06:00

Ever since my binge shopping at the Indian stores I have too many vegetables stored in the fridge. I decided to use the mint to make a chutney that can be used as a spread or with chat items.Ingredients:Mint - 1 bunchCoriander - 1 bunchGreen chillies - 2 to 3 (as needed)Garlic cloves - 2Salt - as neededLime juice - 2 tbspMethod:Clean the leaves and grind everything to a smooth paste adding very

Deepzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07588969837509138250noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32206878.post-37584093835528763212007-03-26T13:44:00.000-06:002007-03-28T14:52:28.264-06:00

The thing that I like about idli batter is that, the same batter can be used to made different dishes. The first two days when the batter is fluffier, thick and creamier idlis and paniyarams can be made. Then the batter can be made a little runny by adding water and dosas can be made. Finally when the batter has fermented a lot oothappams can be made. Again variations to oothappams can be onion

Deepzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07588969837509138250noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32206878.post-83612186647590503222007-03-21T11:20:00.000-06:002007-03-24T10:58:00.216-06:00

Even though I know that making instant mixes, sauces, chutneys over the weekend saves time during the week I hardly ever do that. Two weekends ago I decided to make pulikachal for 2 reasons. One is, I could use it during one of my lazy weekdays and the other reason is a little long to explain. My brother came to the US on a project about 2 weeks ago and my mom had bought a bottle of pulikachal

Deepzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07588969837509138250noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32206878.post-32415560873804991242007-03-16T12:56:00.000-06:002007-03-17T11:33:18.355-06:00

I made this cake a while ago when one of my friends was visiting. He likes this cake a lot and I try to make it every time he comes over. The recipe is simple as it uses a ready made cake mix. I use the Duncan Hines Moist Deluxe Pineapple Supreme cake mix but even a regular yellow cake mix should be enough. This is my entry to this month's AFAM-Pineapple event.Ingredients:Duncan Hines Moist

Deepzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07588969837509138250noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32206878.post-19557194818577893652007-03-12T13:36:00.000-06:002007-03-16T13:47:37.983-06:00

When it comes to roti or poori I always stick to the traditional methods. I am yet to explore different varieties of roti's and poori's. I have been growing methi in a pot and decided to make methi poori with it. I just searched on the net and came with a recipe that was a mix of a lot of recipes. It did come out well and I will be making this dish again but next time I am thinking of grinding

Deepzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07588969837509138250noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32206878.post-8322084043216668852007-03-09T16:45:00.000-07:002007-03-16T13:35:16.633-06:00

This is one of the recipes that I learnt during my trip to India. This recipe is from an aunt and I just followed it blindly. It turned out pretty yummy. The batter is a basic idli batter and you need a special paniyaram pan for it. You can buy one from here. It takes about 4 min for one batch (6) to get cooked and it's pretty filling. This could be made for breakfast or as an evening snack.

Deepzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07588969837509138250noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32206878.post-26246778085100936442007-02-28T21:03:00.000-07:002007-03-16T13:37:18.857-06:00

This is one recipe that I learnt recently and it goes well with Rice-dal or with roti. Its also an easy recipe and a good way to use a bunch of methi leaves. The aloo compliments the bitterness of the methi and the dish finally tastes very good.This will be my entry to this month's Jhiva for Potato event hosted by Happy Burp.Ingredients:Potato - 5 (boiled and cubed)Methi leaves (fenugreek leaves)

Deepzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07588969837509138250noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32206878.post-1172708768632071222007-02-28T17:16:00.000-07:002007-03-16T13:39:34.826-06:00

I'm back after a long trip to India. All my India trips are memorable but this one was extra special since I got married. Coming back after so many ceremonies, so many people, so many activities, life here seems very plain and not so exciting enough. So I am trying to spice up my life with a few new recipes that I've learnt during this trip.As promised I am going to start with the black forest

Deepzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07588969837509138250noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32206878.post-1167169376066982052006-12-26T14:39:00.000-07:002007-03-16T13:35:53.516-06:00

I meant to post this yesterday but was busy cooking from 11 in the morning, as I had friends coming home for dinner. It was a very white christmas in Denver and looked pretty. Few pics from the dinner.Clockwise from top: Tomato-mint raita, Curd rice, Vegetable kurma, Egg masala, Chicken fry, Vegetable biriyani, Chicken biriyani, Gobi 65For desert it was Black Forest cake that I make every year

Deepzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07588969837509138250noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32206878.post-1166822484095040012006-12-22T14:04:00.000-07:002007-03-16T13:41:30.642-06:00

Having to stay indoors because of the snow, I decided to make more Christmas goodies today. Diamond cuts are a tradition back home and my mom would make kilos of these to distribute to our neighbors. Since I had taken out some oil to fry the diamond cuts, I decided to use the remaining oil to make ribbon pakoda. I had to call my aunt back home to get the recipe as I've never made these before.

Deepzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07588969837509138250noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32206878.post-1166752414691969682006-12-21T18:29:00.000-07:002007-03-16T13:34:41.808-06:00

I've been in the US for about 6yrs now and have never seen so much snow. It started early yesterday morning and continued for more than a day. Everything is now covered with snow here, in Colorado. My car got stuck in the driveway yesterday and leaving it out was a big mistake. This morning I woke up to find my car completely buried in snow. It took about 4hrs of shoveling and finally my fiance

Deepzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07588969837509138250noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32206878.post-1166129805827868902006-12-14T11:42:00.000-07:002007-03-16T13:32:20.003-06:00

Lately I've been very busy as I am going to India for 5 weeks in Jan and so have to finish up a lot of stuff at work. I still try to visit all my favorite blogs and keep myself updated but don't have the time to comment. Will try to be more proactive. I am getting married to the love of my life in Jan, so am very excited about this India trip and that also means there might be a big blogging

Deepzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07588969837509138250noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32206878.post-1166057942443477082006-12-13T17:57:00.000-07:002007-03-16T13:51:55.387-06:00

Ive been trying to experiment with differnt types of dal and so bought whole moong dal (the green colored dal with skin on). My first attempt with this dal was vada which came out pretty well. Ingredients:Moongdal(soaked for 2 hrs) - 1 cup Channa dalia (powdered) - 1/2 cupGinger - 1/2 inch Green chillies - 2Onion (finely chopped) - 1/2Coriander leaves - 2 tbspCurry leaves - 1 tbspSalt - as

Deepzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07588969837509138250noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32206878.post-1165453551319523862006-12-06T18:03:00.000-07:002007-04-23T11:42:39.486-06:00

Mutton used to be my favorite in India and also readily available. Here in Colorado, I have to drive 1hr one way to get goat meat, so its becoming an exotic dish lately. Also because of this I end up buying it in bulk and hence will be relishing on mutton for a whole week. So this week I will be posting a few goat meat recipes. This is a very dry dish which is a bit spicy but can be served with

Deepzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07588969837509138250noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32206878.post-1165019987503435932006-12-01T17:39:00.000-07:002007-03-16T13:28:43.836-06:00

Honestly I was not happy with the JFI-jaggery announcement by Kay of Towards a Better Tomorrow, as I use jaggery only for chakara pongal (sweet rice) and dont experiment with it at all. But after days of thinking I decided to make beetroot halwa with jaggery. Ive only made carrot halwa in the past so decided to try something new as suggested by kay. I was sure that the method was almost the same,

Deepzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07588969837509138250noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32206878.post-1164942361916029272006-11-30T19:57:00.000-07:002007-03-16T13:28:21.957-06:00

It feels like forever since I posted an entry. Ive been crazily busy at work and my brother visited me for Thanksgiving, so was busy showing him around and cooking for him. I did take pictures of dishes that I made but did not have the time to post. I hope to post more regulary now. This is one easy instant recipe that I make a lot when I am too tired to cook after a long day at work. You can

Deepzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07588969837509138250noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32206878.post-1163310103396408402006-11-11T22:28:00.000-07:002007-03-16T13:28:04.381-06:00

Last Friday was my dad's birthday and I decided to cook one of his favorites. It took me a long time to decide what to make and finally chose to make pichu pota kozhi fry (shredded chicken fry). My dad took us often to a restuarant called Ponnuswamy in chennai. Most of the times he would order this dish and so I thought why not try this dish out. I did not have a recipe for this but just went

Deepzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07588969837509138250noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32206878.post-1163015202872747252006-11-08T12:43:00.000-07:002007-03-16T13:37:38.523-06:00

I never used to like eating kootu back in India. I always had to choose betweek kootu or chicken fry, mutton fry, fish fry, aloo masala, bindi masala. So naturally I opted for one of those and my mom would forcefully put a spoonfull of kootu in my plate and make me eat it. Now living here for about 6 years I crave for anything Indian. So I do make kootu atleast once a week with different

Deepzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07588969837509138250noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32206878.post-1162965376837923792006-11-07T22:51:00.000-07:002006-11-07T23:00:01.003-07:00

I have a tough time keeping up with fellow bloggers and their recipes. There are so many Indian cuisine related blogs that its not fun anymore to go check out each of them for new recipes. Add to that the need to keep yourself updated with all sorts of news and current events, so that you dont feel like an ignorant idiot during those lunch discussions and arguments with co-workers.NewsGulp.com is

Deepzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07588969837509138250noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32206878.post-1162778186008268702006-11-05T18:56:00.000-07:002007-03-16T13:50:33.879-06:00

I have a friend who loves gobi manchurian. So I make this often with fried rice or vegetable noodles. I tend to make mine with a little gravy so that I goes well with the rice. If needed, it can be made dry and served as an appetizer or an evening snack.Ingredients:Cauliflower (cut into small florets) - 1 bigChilli powder - 1 tspGinger-garlic paste - 1 tspCorn flour - 4 tbspMaida (All purpose

Deepzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07588969837509138250noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32206878.post-1162579761656626392006-11-03T11:49:00.000-07:002007-03-16T13:26:00.696-06:00

I used to love shrimps back in India but the ones that I get here dont have the same flavor. But still once in a while I cook shrimp with a lot of Indian masala to compensate for the lack of flavor. Shrimp also cooks fast hence this recipe is a definite time saver.Ingredients:Shrimp (de-veined and tail off) - 1 cupChilli powder - 3 tspTurmeric - 1 tspCoriander powder - 1 tspLemon juice or vinegar

Deepzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07588969837509138250noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32206878.post-1162403279527741052006-11-01T10:43:00.000-07:002007-03-16T13:42:40.274-06:00

Again a weird combination. These are recipes that I borrowed from other blogs.Almond squares from Priya's sugar and spice.Moghlai egg curry from Lera's myriad tastes.Bread Halwa from from sailu's kitchen.

Deepzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07588969837509138250noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32206878.post-1162148385370740442006-10-29T11:59:00.000-07:002007-03-16T13:24:10.216-06:00

I had some leftover mango pulp and decided to make mango icecream. I dont have an icecream maker but this method always gives creamy delicious icecream. A friend of mine gave me an easy kulfi recipe and I made a few changes to it and made this icecream. I will post the kulfi recipe soon Ingredients:Condensed milk - 1 cupWhipping cream - 1 cupMango pulp - 1 cup (can be increased or decreased)

Deepzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07588969837509138250noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32206878.post-1161713898933986692006-10-24T12:15:00.000-06:002007-03-16T13:38:19.963-06:00

This year I had a few friends staying with me and a few friends who came for dinner. So the day was filled with good food, good company and lots of joy and happiness. I made mysore pak, rawa ladoo, ras malai, thattai, kara sev and dinner was bisibele bath, masala vada, curd rice, potato podi fry, cabbage poriyal and appalam. Some pictures from the day.

Deepzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07588969837509138250noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32206878.post-1161120342354590472006-10-17T15:21:00.000-06:002007-03-16T13:39:58.534-06:00

No festival is complete without some crunchies. So decided to make thattai and kara sev.ThattaiIngredients:Rice flour - 500gmGrated coconut - 1 cup (I use the frozen shredded coconut)Urad dal powder - 1/2 cup (dry roast ural dal and powder in spice grinder)Red chilli powder - 2 tsp (can be increased or reduced as per taste)Bengal gram dal - 4 tspGhee - 2 tspAsafoetida - 1/2 tspSesame seeds - 3

Deepzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07588969837509138250noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32206878.post-1161119941297970982006-10-17T15:18:00.000-06:002007-03-16T13:38:55.512-06:00

Second on my diwali list was mysore pak. Ive attempted to make this thrice (this being my third attempt) and succeeded only now. It came out well, was soft and tasted exactly like the Krishna sweets mysore pak. The only difference this time was I added ghee very slowly and kept stirring it continuously so that the ghee mixes evenly. It actually took me about 25-30 min of continues stirring (yes I

Deepzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07588969837509138250noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32206878.post-1161119933404412972006-10-17T15:15:00.000-06:002007-03-16T13:40:11.777-06:00

Last weekend was spent mostly on cleaning as I have a few friends staying with me for a few days for diwali. Sunday afternoon I found sometime to start making my diwali treats. First on the list was rawa ladoo. The only sweet I would make for Christmas back home was rawa ladoo and that too only the making balls part, out of the already made rawa mixture. My aunt always made the right mixture and

Deepzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07588969837509138250noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32206878.post-1161119702073698222006-10-17T15:11:00.000-06:002007-03-16T13:41:02.666-06:00

This is very easy to make especially if you have frozen shredded coconut. It tastes best with fresh coconut though.Ingredients:Coconut scrapings - 1 cupChanna dalia - 1/4 cup (also called pottu kadalai in tamil)Red chillies - 2 (can be subtituted with green chillies)Salt - as neededFor seasoning:Oil - 1 tspMustard seeds - 1 tspSplit urad dal - 1 tspRed chilly - 1Method:Grind coconut, channa

Deepzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07588969837509138250noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32206878.post-1161119476589529902006-10-17T15:03:00.000-06:002007-03-16T13:43:43.559-06:00

I love dosa's in any form be it rice dosa, wheat dosa or rawa dosa. This weekend I was craving for dosa and decided to make rawa dosa as it does not take a lot of time.Ingredients:Rawa (fine) - 2 cupsRice flour - 1/2 cupMaida - 1/4 cupButter milk - 1 cupSalt - as neededOnions (chopped finely) - 1Green chillies (chopped finely) - 2Coriander leaves (chopped finely) - 2 tbspMustard seeds - tspSplit

Deepzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07588969837509138250noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32206878.post-1161063937288970932006-10-16T23:45:00.001-06:002008-04-13T21:24:34.656-06:00

Since the E-coli scare ive stopped buying spinach. When I looked into my pantry I found a can of collard greens that I had bought a while ago. So decided to make spinach dal with it. Also I like beetroots a lot but grating them usually messes my counter and my hands turn red too. So I dont buy it often but since its very healthy I decided to make it along with the dal.Spinach dalIngredients:

Deepzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07588969837509138250noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32206878.post-1160434859851192952006-10-09T17:00:00.000-06:002007-03-16T13:46:20.121-06:00

Chicken is always a safe bet as you can never go wrong cooking it most of the times. If I am short of time I always make chicken as it cooks fast and tastes awesome.Ingredients:Chicken (cut into small pieces) - 1/2 lbOnions(thinly sliced) - 2Tomato(chopped) - 1 (optional)Ginger-garlic paste - 1 tbspSaunf - 1 tspOil - 2 tbspCurry leaves - 1 sprigSalt - as neededPepper - as neededTo Powder:Red

Deepzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07588969837509138250noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32206878.post-1160345364465292022006-10-08T15:58:00.000-06:002007-03-16T13:48:24.500-06:00

Since Oct16 is world bread day I decided to post a recipe of my favorite Indian bread. The reason its my favorite is I always thought that it was too difficult to make but once I learnt the right way Ive been making it often.BaturaIngredients:Maida flour (All purpose flour) - 2 cupsWheat flour - 1/2 cupSalt - 1 tspCurd - 3 tbspOil - for deep fryingMethod:Mix all the ingredients with enough water

Deepzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07588969837509138250noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32206878.post-1160344583094241072006-10-08T15:49:00.000-06:002007-03-16T13:50:16.396-06:00

Most weekend evenings I try to make some light snack. I had some leftover idlis this weekend and hence decided to make masala idli snack. This tastes good as is or can be served with chutney or even just tomato ketchup.Ingredients:Idli (chopped into 1 inch cubes) - 10Curry leaves - a sprigMustard seeds - 1 tspSplit urad dal - 1 tspIdli podi (powder) - 2 tbsp (can be increased for more spiciness

Deepzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07588969837509138250noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32206878.post-1160344169540531382006-10-08T15:41:00.001-06:002007-03-16T13:52:09.878-06:00

This dish is a great recipe for potlucks and also tastes good with any kind of rice dish. Spiciness can be increased as needed.Ingredients:Potato (boiled and chopped into cubes) - 5Onions (thinly sliced) - 2Salt - as neededOil - 4 tbspTo Powder:Channal dal - 2 tbspThur dal - 2 tbspRed chillies - 4Dhania (coriander seeds) - 2 tbspMethi (fenugreek seeds) - 1 tspJeera (cumin seeds) - 2 tbspMethod:

Deepzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07588969837509138250noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32206878.post-1159746479551870272006-10-01T17:30:00.000-06:002007-03-16T13:52:34.805-06:00

Kesari is a very easy dish that can be prepared quickly. Kesari can also be made with fruits just to add extra flavor. I chose pineapple, as its tanginess contradicts the sweetness of the kesari. Sometimes I also make this with mango pulp. This will be my dish for JFI-ghee event.Ingredients:Fine rawa - 1 cupSugar - 1.25 cupwater - 1.25 cupcrushed pineapple - 1/2 cuppineapple syrup (from tin) - 1

Deepzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07588969837509138250noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32206878.post-1159244523519709872006-09-25T21:56:00.000-06:002007-03-16T13:53:39.195-06:00

Iam sure the title of this blog seems weird as the combination doesnt match. I didn't make all of this together but these dishes are from recipes from my fellow bloggers. I usually experiment my dishes on my friends and they all loved these dishes.RasmalaiThe only modification is that I didnt have a muffin pan handy to bake the ricotta cheese. So used a cake pan instead and then cut the cheese

Deepzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07588969837509138250noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32206878.post-1159158579590434362006-09-24T22:23:00.000-06:002007-03-16T13:54:49.329-06:00

Most exciting news of the weekend is I bought a stainless steel cooking set. After much research on the net decided that this 100$ was a good investment.I used to love prawns in India. Coming from a coastal city we always got fresh prawns in the market. Somehow the shrimp that we get here dont have the same taste and flavor as the Indian ones. Decided to make a spicy shrimp fry with my new

Deepzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07588969837509138250noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32206878.post-1159158234430164812006-09-24T22:20:00.000-06:002007-03-16T13:56:00.081-06:00

This used to be my favorite dish when I was young. My dad never fancied it much but my mom would make it for me. This dish has a mild bitterness to it because of the kothavaranga but adding potato minimizes the bitterness a lot.Ingredients: Kothavaranga (gawar) (chopped) – 1 cupPotato (chopped) – 1 cupOnions (chopped) – 1Tomato (chopped) – 1Ginger-garlic (finely chopped) – 1 tbspMustard seeds – 1

Deepzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07588969837509138250noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32206878.post-1158726198944571092006-09-19T22:21:00.000-06:002007-03-16T13:57:07.890-06:00

This is one of the dishes I first tried out when I started cooking. It is a very easy recipe for potlucks and for hosting a big group of friends at home. Ingredients:Paneer cubes – 1 cupPeas – ½ cupOnions - 2Tomatoes – 2Cloves – 3Cinnamon – ½ stickChilli powder – 1 tbspTurmeric – 1 pinchGaram masala – 1 tbspCoriander powder – 1 tbspSalt – as neededSugar – 1 tspJeera – tspOil – 2 tbspMethod:Grind

Deepzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07588969837509138250noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32206878.post-1158697711722388302006-09-19T14:22:00.000-06:002007-03-16T13:58:15.595-06:00

I was looking at my blog and realized that I dont have any desserts listed. People may think that I am not much of a sweet person but actually its the other way round. I simply love and adore almost anything sweet. So I decided to try out this dish that I have always loved but thought was very difficult to make.I followed the instructions on PuSiVa'S CuLiNarY StUdiO and it took me about an hr

Deepzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07588969837509138250noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32206878.post-1158696953122966812006-09-19T14:08:00.000-06:002007-03-16T13:58:52.347-06:00

I've been growing methi in my garden and as the summer is ending I decided to harvest some leaves. Yesterday we had a very cold spell here in Colorado and when I went home from work I wanted to have something hot with my coffee. Bajji or vada were the two things that came to my mind and decided to go with masala vada. I tried a variation by adding methi leaves to the vada and it came out pretty

Deepzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07588969837509138250noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32206878.post-1158289880254867252006-09-14T20:54:00.000-06:002007-03-16T14:00:04.651-06:00

There are about 100 recipes on the net to make the perfect idli. I use my mom's. I brought back a counter top wet grinder from India last year and its the most useful thing I own right now. I love idli and dosa and was grinding the batter once a week with my american blender. It would take forever to finish grinding the batter, the motor would heat up fast and sometimes the idlis were not soft

Deepzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07588969837509138250noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32206878.post-1158274728673102912006-09-14T15:53:00.000-06:002007-03-16T14:06:31.362-06:00

I've been trying to add fiber to my diet but it is very difficult to consume it in its original form. Juices and soups always work better than just boiled/steamed vegetables or in salads. So I decided to use the yellow squash from my garden along with some store bought organic carrots for this soup. Soups generally need herbs and spices for flavoring. I decided to use basil and coriander as my

Deepzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07588969837509138250noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32206878.post-1157671669557470122006-09-07T17:21:00.000-06:002007-03-16T14:04:41.817-06:00

This summer went by pretty fast. I planted a lot of new vegetables (squash, carrot, methi, eggplant) and was very happy with the harvest. Also this year I had so many flowers blooming in my garden and wanted to share these pics.  

Deepzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07588969837509138250noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32206878.post-1157066391576004162006-08-31T17:02:00.000-06:002007-03-16T14:06:03.309-06:00

This dish is a good way to use all leftover vegetables in the fridge. It takes a little bit of ground work but its a full course meal by itself. It can be served with raitha and chips or appalam (i personally like the later).Ingredients: Vegetables (beans, carrots, peas, drumstick) (chopped) - 1.5 cupsOnions (chopped) - 1 bigTomatoes (chopped) - 2Toor dal (boiled and mashed) - 1 cupRice (cooked)

Deepzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07588969837509138250noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32206878.post-1157065228519397692006-08-31T16:59:00.000-06:002007-03-16T14:07:02.891-06:00

Ingredients:Paneer (cut into cubes) - 1 cupCapsicum (sliced) - 1Onion (sliced) - 1Tomato paste - 3 tbspGinger-garlic paste - tbspChilli powder - 1 tsbpGreen chillies (slit) - 2Coriander powder - 1 tspGaram masala - 1 tspCream - 2 tbspLime - 1/2Salt - as neededMethod: Heat oil in a pan and add onions and capsicum. Fry till the onions turn transparent. Then add tomato paste, ginger-garlic paste,

Deepzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07588969837509138250noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32206878.post-1157064082590709762006-08-31T16:36:00.000-06:002007-03-16T14:07:51.719-06:00

I have a friend who likes chinese/thai food a lot. Since I had lots of beans and carrots that I harvested from my garden I decided to make vegetable fried rice with it. Also because I was tired of eating poriyal which is what I normally make with beans. This is my second entry to Inji Manga's Green Blog Project. Ingredients: Beans (thinnly sliced) - 1 cupCarrots (thinnly sliced) - 1 cupPeas - 1/

Deepzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07588969837509138250noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32206878.post-1156871497854746792006-08-29T11:08:00.000-06:002007-03-16T14:08:45.079-06:00

After a long battle with myself regarding what I should make for the JFI#5 - Milk and Milk Products event I decided to make dahi vada (fried lentil dumplings in spiced yogurt mixture). This is thayir vadai in tamil and is made on festival days. It tastes yummy when served a little chilled.Dahi Vada:Ingredients:For vada:Urad dal (whole) - 2 cupsGreen chillies (finely chopped) - 2Whole pepper corns

Deepzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07588969837509138250noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32206878.post-1156541517886919792006-08-25T14:46:00.000-06:002007-03-16T14:09:27.874-06:00

Last evening I went home early and decided to make an evening snack. During the day I was browsing through other food blogs and the samosas I saw on hooked on heat were very inviting. Also last week I went to a friend's place and helped her make samosas. So I decided to follow the same recipe and method from hooked on heat. Making samosas were always a frightening thing as I always thought the

Deepzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07588969837509138250noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32206878.post-1156528876461918472006-08-25T11:57:00.000-06:002007-03-16T14:10:04.515-06:00

Last night I had some leftover sambar. Just wanted to make something spicy to go with it and hence decided to make fish fry. I always play it safe when it comes to fish. I either buy tilapia or catfish as I live in an inland area where most fishes come from the coast but are not fresh. Both tilapia and catfish are farm raised here in Colorado so they taste a little fresh.Ingredients:Cat Fish

Deepzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07588969837509138250noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32206878.post-1156528404545206252006-08-25T11:48:00.000-06:002007-03-16T14:11:01.359-06:00

This year my garden is abundant with tomatoes. Every week I have been harvesting about 1kg of tomatoes and are out of recipes to use them in. My mom suggested that I make this thokku that can be used with idli, dosa, chappathi or to make instant tomato rice. This recipe uses a little extra oil than normally needed, as it helps in preserving the thokku for a long time. This is my first entry to

Deepzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07588969837509138250noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32206878.post-1156438861596220592006-08-24T10:50:00.000-06:002007-03-16T14:11:33.327-06:00

Last weekend, I had a couple of friends home for dinner. One of them likes the coconut milk ghee rice that I make. So decided to surprise him with that. Wanted to make a gravy dish to go with it and chicken curry was the first thing that came to my mind. This rice is very easy to make and takes about 10min stove top cooking time and then it can be cooked in the electric rice cooker. I used the

Deepzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07588969837509138250noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32206878.post-1155676189598368492006-08-15T15:05:00.000-06:002007-03-16T14:12:15.292-06:00

Last week I tried my hand at some chaat items. Though I am not a big fan of chat items I decided to make pani poori and papdi chat. I used store bought poori's for pani poori (these need to be fluffy and crispy) and made fresh poori's for the papri chat (these need to be flat, crispy and crunchy). I made aloo-channa chaat mix which can be used for both items. I also made tamarind (sweet) chutney

Deepzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07588969837509138250noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32206878.post-1155675935250166812006-08-15T15:03:00.000-06:002007-03-16T14:13:08.336-06:00

Last weekend I wanted to make something special for breakfast. Also I had lots of beans and carrots fresh from my garden. So after much thinking, decided to make appam and vegetable kurma. This will be my entry for saffron trails weekend breakfast blog event. Aappam: Ingredients: Rice (preferably raw rice) – 2 cupsCooked white rice – ½ cupCoconut milk – ½ cupShredded coconut – 2 tbspBaking soda –

Deepzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07588969837509138250noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32206878.post-1155236081586512212006-08-10T12:31:00.000-06:002007-03-16T14:13:32.067-06:00

Last night I was in the mood for idli or dosa but did not have the batter ready. The idli/dosa batter usually takes time preparing (6hrs to soak the ingredients and 6 hrs to ferment the ground batter). So I decided to make Adai as it takes about 2hrs to soak, grind, ferment and to prepare. Adai is pretty filling and high in protein as different varieties of dal are used.Adai:Ingredients:Idli rice

Deepzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07588969837509138250noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32206878.post-1155144520980168052006-08-09T11:06:00.000-06:002007-03-16T14:14:03.778-06:00

Last nite I felt very lazy to cook. So decided to make something fast and easy. I had some leftover sambar so had to make only subji. Hence opted for these two dishes and they are easy and takes very less cooking time and tastes awesome.Spicy Aloo Masala:Ingredients:Aloo (boiled, peeled and chopped into big cubes) - 5Onion (finely chopped) - 1Tomato (finely chopped) - 1Tomato paste or puree -

Deepzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07588969837509138250noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32206878.post-1155057997527399932006-08-08T11:26:00.000-06:002007-03-16T14:14:36.451-06:00

I have lots of Indian vegetables stocked in my fridge after my last week's Indian grocery shop visit. I had murungakai (drumsticks), podalangai(padval), kovakkai(tindora) and fresh coconut. So decided to make some very Indian (specifically Tamilian) dishes with those vegetables for dinner last night. When I think of drumsticks the first thing that comes to my mind is Sambar. I was bored of making

Deepzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07588969837509138250noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32206878.post-1154967567481371582006-08-07T10:18:00.000-06:002007-03-16T14:15:29.645-06:00

Sundays I usually try to laze around the house and not go out. So I had more time to cook. Had some friends over in the evening and hence decided to make soemthing special. The only non-veg item I had at home was shrimp and also had lots of pudina (mint). Hence I decided to make biriyani, onion raitha and boiled eggs for dinner. There are two methods that I use to make biriyani. The first method

Deepzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07588969837509138250noreply@blogger.com1