Jeera Pepper Rasam

Jeera Pepper Rasam 

Jeera Pepper Rasam 

This jeera pepper rasam is perfect for winter season as it gives you a sense of comfort. It is usually taken as detox medicine or for cold and cough. The recipe below is very simple and doesn’t not take more than 20 minutes for its preparation. It can be eaten along with rice or savoured after a meal. 

What you need:

• 3 tsp tuvar dal
• 1 tsp pepper powder
• 1 tsp jeera powder 
• 3 crushed garlic cloves
• 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tomato (large)
• 1 tsp oil
• 1/2 tsp jeera
• 2 tbsp coriander leaves 
• Salt to taste

Method:

1. Wash the dal. Chop the tomato. Cook the dal and chopped tomato in 2 cups of water along with salt and turmeric powder in a cooker.
2. Mash the cooked ingredients. Add pepper, jeera powder and crushed garlic cloves. Boil well. 
3. Check the taste and add more salt or water if necessary. Season with whole jeera.
4. Garnish with coriander leaves. Serve hot. 

Rice Appe

Rice Appe

Rice appe’s are made by cooking fermented batter of rice and urad dal. The texture of these appe’s are just perfect. They are crisp on the outside and soft and spongy on the inside making them the perfect dish to have for breakfast or as a tea-time snack. Rice appe’s can be enjoyed plain or with your choice of sambhar or chutney.

What you need:

• 250 g idli rice
• 50 g urad dal
• 1/2 tsp yeast
• 2 tsp ghee
• 1 cup thick coconut milk
• 1 cup thin coconut milk 
• Salt to taste
• Sugar to taste

Method: 

1. Soak the rice and urad dal for 4 hours.
2. Grind the rice and dal to a fine consistency by adding thick milk and thin milk. Add sugar, salt to taste. Also add yeast. Let the batter be thick. Keep it to ferment for 6 hours or overnight. 
3. Apply little ghee on the appe thava and pour the batter. Close with a lid and fry until the lower surface becomes golden brown in colour. Add a drop of ghee on each appe and turn them over so as to fry them evenly. Remove when they turn golden brown in colour.
4. Serve hot with sambhar or chutney. 

Biriyani Masala Powder

Biriyani Masala Powder

Biriyani Masala Powder

This aromatic and flavourful mix of spices is easy to make at home. It can be used in vegetable biriyani  and also in all kinds of  non-vegetarian biriyanis. 

What you need:

• 50 gm cinnamon 
• 12 gm cloves
• 50 gm kuskus
• 25 gm fennel seeds
• 5 gm star anise
• 12 gm kapok buds (marathi moggu)
• 10 gm masala leaves (tej patta)
• 5 gm kallu hoove (stone flower)

Method:

Warm the ingredients up. Do not roast. Powder it. 

Chicken Korma

Chicken Korma

Chicken korma is a heavenly gravy dish consisting of spices, nuts, coconut and meat. It has a delicious taste and goes very well with parathas, chapatis and rotis. Chicken Korma is that dish which is easy, quick and leaves you wanting for more.

Chicken Korma 

What you need:

…

• 3 onions (medium)
• 3 green chillies 
• 1 inch ginger
• 4 cloves (peeled)
• 2 cups fresh coriander leaves 

…

• 2 tsp coriander seeds
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 2 inches cinnamon 
• 4 cloves
• 1 tsp pepper

…

• 5 cashew nuts
• 2 tsp raisins
• 2 tbsp coconut 

Fry the above three groups separately in just 1 tsp ghee each. Once it cools add 1/2 tsp turmeric powder and little tamarind. Grind to a fine paste.
…

• 1/2 kilo chicken (washed and boiled)
• 1/2 tsp turmeric power 
• 1/2 tsp tamarind

Recipe:

1. Heat a pan. Once the pan gets heated add 2 tsp ghee. Add the ground masala and fry it for about 10 min on low fire. Keep stirring in between.
2. When the masala is well cooked add water and salt. Let the gravy boil for about 3 minutes.
3.  Add the cooked chicken. Add salt if necessary.
4. Give a good boil and your chicken kurma is ready. Serve with paratha, roti or chapathi.

Chicken Korma 

Khara Pongal (Ven Pongal)

Khara Pongal (Ven Pongal)

Pongal is a very popular dish prepared with rice and moong dal. It’s very nutritious as it is protein packed. It’s considered to be a very good breakfast choice as it’s light and easily digestible. It tastes best when it is served hot with melted ghee.
Here is a very easy and quick way to prepare it.

What you need:

• 1 tsp ghee
• 1/2 tsp Cumin seeds
• 3 curry leaves
• 5  Cashew nuts
• 2 green chillies (slit)
• 1 inch ginger (chopped) 
• 1/2 cup moong dal
• 1/2 cup rice
• 1/2 cup coconut (optional)
• 4 cups water
• 1/2 tsp pepper (crushed)
• Salt to taste

Recipe:

1. Heat ghee in a pressure pan. Add cumin, curry leaves, cashews, green chillies, crushed pepper and ginger. Sauté for a minute. 
2.  Add the moong dal and fry on low fire till it gets aromatic. Add the rice and water. Add salt to taste. Close the cooker and cook for 5 whistles. Serve hot with melted ghee or sambhar. 

Egg Curry (Dhaba style)

Egg Curry (Dhaba style)

Egg curry

Mouth watering egg curry made in dhaba style. Easy to cook and extremely delicious, this egg curry will leave you craving for more. It can be served with roti, rice, paranthas and the list just goes on.

What you need:

• 1 bay leaf
• 1 inch cinnamon 
• 1 big cardamom
• 1 tsp cumin
• 2 tsp red chilli powder 
• 2 onion (medium)
• 1 tsp ginger garlic paste 
• 1/4th tsp turmeric powder
• 2 tsp coriander powder
• 1 tsp cumin power
• 1/2 tsp black pepper powder
• 2 green chillies (small)
• 2 tsp lime juice 
• 1 tsp garam masala power
• Tomato purée of 2 large tomatoes 
• 4 boiled eggs
• 2 tbsp oil
• Salt to taste

Method:

1. Heat 2 tbsp oil in a pan. Add bay leaf, cinnamon, cardamom and cumin. Fry for 1 minute.
2. Add chopped onions, fry till golden brown. Add the red chilli power and ginger garlic paste. Fry till oil separates.
3. Add the tomato purée along with other spice powders. Cook on low heat for 10-15 minutes till all the ingredients combine. Add 1/2 cup water in between.
4. Do not burn the paste. Add salt and boiled eggs and green chillies. Cook for 3 minutes.
5. Serve hot with rice, rotis.

Aloo Bhindi fry

Aloo Bhindi fry

Simple yet very delicious. Aloo Bhindi fry is a must try! This dish is served mainly with Indian flat bread. You can also serve this with some homemade dhal.. 

Ingredients:

Bhindi 300 gms
Potatoes  2 (medium in size)
Onion 1 (medium)
Ginger garlic paste- 1 tsp
Pepper powder- half tsp
Lemon juice- 1 tsp
Salt
Oil- 3 tsp

 Recipe: 

Chop the ladies finger and potatoes into small pieces. Slice the onions.

Heat one tsp oil, fry the chopped potatoes until they are crisp and well cooked. In the same pan add 1 tsp oil and fry the ladies finger till they are slightly brown. Add salt.

Now, heat 1 tsp oil, fry the sliced onion for 2 minutes, add ginger garlic paste and fry for a minute. Add ladies finger and potatoes. Mix well. Sprinkle pepper powder, lemon juice and salt. Cook for another 2 minutes and your dish is ready to serve. 

Enjoy! :)

Goli baje

Goli Baje

Goli baje is a very popular snack from the mangalorean cuisine. These are normally served as an evening snack along with chutney.

What you need:

• 1 and a 1/2 cup maida
• 1 cup buttermilk 
• 1/2 tsp chilli powder 
• 1/4 tsp baking powder 
• 1 pinch asafoetida 
• Salt to taste

Method:

1. Beat the buttermilk. Add the flour little by little and make a thick paste. Make sure you’re batter is thick and of dropping consistency.
2. Add the remaining ingredients. Set aside the batter for 10 minutes. 
3. Heat oil in a pan on medium heat. Once the oil turns hot, take small portions of the batter and drop it into the oil. 
4. Keep stirring it until it turns crisp and golden brown in colour.
5. Transfer the fried goli baje to a strainer to remove excess oil.
6. Serve hot with chutney. 

MANGO CURRY

Mango curry

Mango is one of the most popular of all tropical fruits. Ripe mango is considered to be invigorating and freshening. Who doesn’t love mangoes? Pair this delicious curry with steamed rice and experience the burst of flavours on your taste buds.

Serves 6

Ingredients:

• 6 ripe mangoes, peeled
• 1 tsp coriander seeds
• 1/4 tsp jeera
• 1/4 tsp methi seeds
• Curry leaves - 5
• Mustard 1 tsp
• Red long chillies - 3
• 1 tsp jaggery
• 3 tsp grated coconut 

Recipe:

1. Wash and peel the mangoes. 
2. Squeeze the remaining skin with water and add it to the mangoes. 
3. Cook them for five minutes by adding jaggery.
4. Heat one tsp oil, add red chillies, coriander, jeera, methi, mustard and curry leaves. Fry for one minute. Grind this along with coconut.
5. Add the masala to the cooked mangoes. Add salt as per requirement and boil. Season with coconut oil, mustard and crushed garlic. Serve piping hot with steamed rice. 

Beetroot Sambar

Beetroot Sambar

Beetroot Sambhar

Beetroot sambar is a very tangy and spicy sambar, having a very strong colour and filled with the goodness of beetroot. This sambar can be served hot with rice or roti. Good source of iron.

What you need: 

• 2 beetroots (chopped into small cubes)                                 
•  ¾ cup toor dal

       
For Masala: 

• 1/2 tbsp rice   
• 1/2 tbsp coriander
• 1/4 tsp turmeric powder           
• 4 tbsp grated coconut      
• 2 red chillies
• little tamarind

Method:

1. Pressure Cook dal with cut beetroots and curry leaves.
2. Masala: Heat little oil, fry rice, coriander seeds and chillies. 
3. When the rice turns whitish add coconut. Turn off the heat. Grind coarsely with tamarind.
4. When cooker is cooled down, add the masala, jaggery, salt. Add water to get the sambar consistency of your desire. Boil on a medium heat for 5-6 minutes. Turn off the heat. 
5. Season with hing and broken chilli. 
6. Serve hot with rice or roti. 

Mutton Sukka

This dish is special because of the amazingly spiced mutton with freshly ground spices. This dish tops the list of south indian cuisine and flavour in non- vegetarian category. The ingredients are easy to gather and simple to prepare.

What you need:

• 1/2 kg mutton

• 3 long red chillies 

• 2 short red chillies 

• 1 tbsp coriander seeds

• 1 & 1/2 tsp cumin seeds

• 1/4 tsp mustard

• 1/4 tsp pepper 

• 1/2 tsp turmeric 

• 4 cloves

• 1” cinnamon 

• 2 tsp tamarind extract 

• Salt to taste

• 2 cups coconut 

• 1 small onion (sliced)

• 2 tsp ghee

• 5 garlic seeds (crushed)

• 8-10 curry leaves 

Method:

• Wash the mutton. Cut it into small pieces and pressure cook it for 10 to 12 minutes with half cup of water. Grind all the spices to form a fine paste in a mixer jar. Keep it aside.

• In the same mixer jar,, add the coconut and just ran the mixer for one minute. Keep it aside.

• Heat ghee in a Kadai, add the crushed garlic and sliced onions. Fry till brown. Add the curry leaves, masala and coconut. Stirfry for three minutes. Add in the cooked meat and tamarind extract. Mix well check the salt and cook till it becomes dry.