Happy's Cook

Wednesday, April 12, 2017

Payaru Kanji Recipe | Green Gram Rice Porridge | Cheru Payar Kanji | Pachai Payaru Kanji | Payaru Kanji with Thengai Chammanthi | Good Friday Special

Payar Kanji is a comforting and traditional food for many Keralites and for people from Kanyakumari District. It is very nutritious, filling and easily digestible. My mum and grandma make this payar kanji at least once in a week and it is very close to my heart. Still, I follow the tradition and make it once in a week for dinner. It is very easy to make and it goes very well with coconut chammanthi or pickle. Whenever I feel bored to cook or I am sick, we end up making this since it is nutritious than buying from hotels. Since Good Friday is nearing, I thought of sharing this recipe on the blog. We make Payaru Kanji for lunch on Good Friday and even in Churches, it is served. Check out my Cheru payar Thoran which goes well with Plain rice Kanji. Traditionally, they make it in a big pot. However, you can make it in a pressure cooker too. (check notes)Let us move on to the preparation of kanji:

Red Capsicum Chutney Recipe | Red Bell Pepper Chutney | Chutney Recipes for Idli/Dosa

I am very much interested in trying different chutneys for Idli/Dosa as the side dish. I have already posted 10+ chutney recipes in the blog and to add on this list, today I am sharing yummy red capsicum chutney. Chutney with veggies is very new to me and I started to learn only after my blog. Once my TCS colleague Rama was talking about this red capsicum chutney and I was not very much interested at that time. However, she prepared it once and gave it to me for tasting. It was so delicious and it goes well with Idli/Dosa, Chapathi and also steamed rice. Recently, I tried it at home and it turns out super delicious. I made it a mildly spicy and Happy too liked it very much. Let us see the preparation steps:

Kerala Style Nandu Roast Recipe | Nadan Njandu Roast | Spicy crab roast in Kerala Style

When I was in Chennai, I had got crabs quite a few times since my neighbour helped me with the cleaning of the crabs. After making Crab Masala with Coconut, I was searching for some other recipes without coconut and this recipe caught my attention. I gave it a try and it came out very well. I was postponing this post since the pictures were not good. However, I am never going to buy crab until someone is there to help me out with cleaning. So, I just thought of posting the recipe with my very old pictures. Let us move on to the recipe:

Broccoli Rice Recipe | Indian Style Broccoli Rice | Variety Rice Recipes for Lunch Box | Lunch Box Ideas

Broccoli has a lot of health benefits and I would like to include it in our diet. I don't really like the taste of broccoli and whenever I make Broccoli stir fry or Broccoli potato roast, we eat it considering its health benefits. However, Happy doesn't eat it and to make her eat, I tried Broccoli paratha. She liked it very much and when I was thinking something similar to that, this broccoli rice came to mind. Since we are grinding the broccoli for this recipe, she didn't complain and had it. Do check the broccoli pulao recipe, if you don't prefer grinding the broccoli. Let us move on to the recipe:

Kadai Paneer Dry Recipe | Spicy Kadai Paneer | Dry Kadai Paneer | Restaurant Style Kadai Paneer

I am not a crazy fan of Paneer, I can have it once in a while. I always make paneer butter masala whenever I have paneer at home. Even Jany and Happy don't show much interest in paneer. I try new paneer recipes, just for the sake of the blog. However, after trying Paneer 65 and Kadai Paneer, I started liking Paneer. I am planning to try more recipes in the future. I always use homemade paneer for my recipes and this Kadai paneer goes very well with Roti or Pulao. Let us move on to the recipe and do check out my Chilli Paneer Dry and Mattar Paneer.

Pachai Payaru Javvarisi Payasam Recipe | Green Gram Sago Kheer | Paasipayaru Payasam | Moong Bean Payasam | Payasam Recipes

When I was asked to prepare some green gram recipes for an event, I made this Payasam along with the other green gram recipes that I posted earlier. Initially, I was planning to make this payasam with Karupatti (Palm Jaggery). However, I ran out of karupatti at that time and hence I made it with normal Jaggery. Green Gram and Karupatti are very nutritious and I suggest you make this payasam with karupatti. Unlike other lentils, the green gram doesn't upset the stomach and it has a lot of nutrients. Do give it a try and let me know the results. Also, check out my other green recipes too: Green Gram Ladoo, Green Gram Suzhiyam, Green Gram Poli, Green Gram sweet sundal, Puttu Payaru Pappadum and Green Gram Thoran.

Mango Shrikhand Recipe | Amrakhand | Mango Recipes | Mango Flavored Yoghurt

Today is a special day for me, yes, it is both my birthday and my dad's birthday. Though we both miss mum on this day, we know she is always with us and she is our strength. The day went well with a lot of blessings and wishes from the family and friends. To celebrate this day, I am sharing a recipe with my favourite fruit mango. Shrikhand is a yoghurt based thick dessert which can be made with any fruit. Mango (Aam) Shrikhand is called as Amrakhand and it is usually served along with Poori or as a dessert. I would relate this to the flavoured yoghurt which we get in tubs. The Shrikhand is made using hung yoghurt/curd and unlike Mango lassi it is thick. Let us move on to the recipe and do check out my other Mango recipes too:

Paruppu Sevai Recipe | Paruppu Idiyappam | Lentil Rice Noodles | Idiyappam Varieties

Idiyappam/Sevai is one of our staple breakfast/dinner in south India. At home, we always pair it with Non-Veg Curries or Sodhi (Vegetable Stew). When I was working with TCS, one of my colleagues usually brings different types of Idiyappam. It was very new to me at that time and I have tasted her coconut sevai and sweet sevai, it was so delicious. At Jany's friend's engagement, I have tasted lemon sevai and from that day I wanted to try all these sevai at home. I feel really lazy to make Idiyappam at home. However, I force myself to make it since Happy likes it a lot. Recently, I tried three kinds of sevai and it came out super delicious. Today, I am sharing the paruppu sevai and I will post few more varieties too in the coming days. Let us move on to the recipe:

Channa Biryani Recipe | Chick Pea Biryani | Chole Biryani | Easy One Pot Meal | Pressure Cooker Biryani

Yesterday when I was sharing the Carrot Raita, you would have seen this Channa Biryani served on the plate along with raita. Today I am sharing you all the recipe for an easy one pot meal Channa Biryani. When I was talking to my friend Neena, I realised that this Channa Biryani was not posted on the blog, though I had prepared it quite a few times for our lunch box. I prepared it with white Channa and if preferred you can make it with Kala Channa too. Check out my other Chickpea recipes like Kadala (Channa) Kuruma, Puttu Kadala Curry and Channa Sundal.

Carrot Raita Recipe | Carrot Thayir Pachadi | Raw Carrots in Yoghurt Sauce

Posting a recipe on weekends is an unusual thing in my blog. After the busy and hectic week, I would like to relax on weekends. However, I am planning to post on all days of this month since April is special for me and my family. Hopefully, my plan should work out and I am keeping my fingers crossed :) Today I am sharing a simple and healthy Carrot Raita. I packed this for Jany's lunch box along with Channa Biryani. He liked it a lot and after coming home he told it was very tasty. (again an unusual thing 😁). Though it is very simple, I would like to share the recipe for the beginners and let us move to the recipe. Please check out my Carrot Halwa, Carrot Rice, Carrot Beans Thoran and Carrot Juice recipes as well. If looking for more Raita's then check out my Boondhi Raita.

Tempered Tapioca Recipe | Kappa Thalichathu Recipe | Thalicha Marchini | Coconut Kappa | Tapioca cooked and tempered with Coconut

Hope all the Tapioca lovers over there liked the Kappa Masala that I posted yesterday. Today I am sharing, yet another Tapioca recipe. This is very easy to make and it goes well with evening Coffee or Tea. Whenever I make Kappa masala, I reserve some cooked Tapioca and temper it in the evening to serve along with evening tea. Tapioca with lots of freshly grated coconut is a pure bliss for the rainy day evening. I clicked these pictures when I was in my hometown recently. By the way, the glass cup in the picture is my grandfather's. He was using it for many years and I am happy to use it for my blog. Let us move on to the recipe:

Tapioca Masala Recipe | Kappa Masala | Marchini Kizhangu Masala | Maravalli Kizhangu Masala

Being born and brought up in Kanyakumari district, the word 'Marchini Kizhangu' itself creates goosebumps and it gives me many nostalgic memories. When I was a kid, we always had fresh tapioca from our farm. Mum used to make different dishes and this Kappa Masala is one of my favourites. It goes very well with Fish Kuzhambu and there were days when I had this Kappa Masala with fish as my lunch. Jany too is very much fond of Tapioca and in Sydney we got it in an Indian shop, quite a few times. However, it didn't have the taste like the one we get in native. So, during my recent India trip, we had it for lunch most of the days along with rice and fish. I too clicked it once to share it in the blog and without much delay let us move on to the recipe:

Fish Egg Thoran Recipe | Meen Mutta Thoran | Fish Roe Stir Fry

When I was in Chennai, I usually order fish through Supreme Seafood and once they were asking me to try Fish Eggs. I have never tasted it before or cooked it. However, I have heard it through my cousins. Dad also told it is very tasty and rich in nutrients. Hence, I ordered a small amount and tried it over a weekend. (almost 2 years ago 😁). I was searching recipes online and this thoran caught my attention. It is very similar to our vegetable thoran and the fish egg should be fried before making the thoran. The fish eggs don't seem to be appealing, but it tasted awesome and I am planning to make it in the future too. Before moving to the recipe, check out my other Seafood collections too.

Arisi Paruppu Sadam Recipe | Dhal Rice | Coimbatore Special Paruppu Sadam

Rice and dal, when topped with ghee and served along with appalam is a divine and comforting meal. I have already posted Tamilnadu style paruppu kuzhambu and Kerala style parippu curry. I came across this Arisi Paruppu Sadam in Sharmis Passions a few years back and I had tried it once. It came out very well and after that, I never made it again. Recently, when I was thinking about a one pot meal, this recipe came to mind. I prepared it for our Saturday lunch and clicked to post it here. Let us move on to the recipe:

Prawn Fried Rice Recipe | Prawn & Egg Fried Rice | Fried rice with prawns fry and Egg

Fried rice is one of my childhood favourites and I prefer it more when compared to Biryani. Also, since mum doesn't make Prawns often at home, I order prawn fried rice in most of my restaurant visits. Now, Happy shows much interest in Fried rice/Pulao and Noodles. Hence, I make some kinds of fried rice for our lunch often. Do check out the fried rice varieties that I have posted already on the blog. (Mushroom Fried Rice, Chicken Fried Rice, Vegetable Fried Rice and Peas Pulao). Let us move on to today's recipe:

Raw Mango Rice Recipe | Mangai Sadham | Mango Rice | Lunch Box Recipes

As mentioned in few of my earlier posts, I am very crazy about mango and jack fruit. I can sit and eat just the mangoes and jackfruits, the whole day skipping all other food. During my recent India trip, dad has reserved some homegrown fresh mangoes and jackfruits. I enjoyed it to the core and along with the ripe mango, dad had some raw mangoes too. Vanitha akka made mango pickle, aviyal and fish curry using those raw mangoes. Jany was eating the raw mango with some salt and chilli powder. Being a blogger, the first thing comes to mind after seeing raw mango in the tree, is to use it for the blog. Hence, I planned and prepared this mango rice to post it here. It came out very well and dad liked it very much. We had it with Drumsticks Thoran, Mutton Chukka Varuval and Sambharam. Let us move on to the recipe:

Idli Milagai Podi Recipe | Homemade Idli Podi | Idli Podi | Chutney Podi for Idli & Dosa

Making Idli Podi at home is one of my dreams come true. I felt really excited and proud when I made my first batch of Idli podi. When I was in the hostel, mom used to send me bottles of homemade idli podi and I am addicted towards the podi that she makes. After mom, Vanitha akka follows her recipe and sends me a lot of Idli podi whenever dad visits Chennai. After coming to Sydney, I wanted to try my hands in making this podi. However, my first attempt was a failure and I thought of asking dad to send me the podi from home. During my recent India trip, I asked Vanitha akka to prepare it for me and I was with her when she made it. I got the confidence to try it again and I prepared it soon after I came from the vacation. It came out super awesome and I am here with the recipe. This version is simple with very few ingredients and I will be posting another version of Idli Milagai podi soon. Let us move on to the recipe:

Sprouted Green Gram & Chicken Sandwich Recipe | Chicken & Sprouts Sandwich | Chicken Sandwich with Sprouted green Gram | Sandwich Recipes

When I was in Paris during our outings, I often relish on the cold chicken sandwich made with Baguette. It tastes so delicious with the creamy mayonnaise and the chilled chicken. At home, I always grill or toast the sandwich. When I was thinking of making a sandwich with sprouted green gram, I thought of making it as a cold sandwich. It came out really awesome and we all liked it. You can make it either cold or grill it and both tastes equally good. Check out my other sandwiches that I have posted earlier. Do check out my homemade green gram sprouts recipe too, Let us move on to the recipe:

How to Sprout Green Gram at home | Sprouted Green Gram |Sprouted Mung Bean

A few months back during our usual phone conversation, my mom-in-law told me that she is tempering the sprouted green gram for the mid-afternoon snack. She told it is very tasty and it has a lot of health benefits. She explained to me the procedure of sprouting since I was not aware of it and asked me to try it for Happy. After a week, I tried it at home and I was very much excited when I saw the sprouts. From that day I started exploring many recipes using sprouted green gram and I have a few recipes in my drafts as well. However, before sharing those recipes, I wanted to share a post for beginners like me about sprouting the green gram at home. Hence, I was delaying the recipes that I have in hand. This weekend when I sprouted the green gram, I captured the steps and I am here with the preparation steps:

Potato Fry Recipe | Urulaikilangu Varuval | Aloo Fry | South Indian Style Potato Roast

Weekends are always busy for us and if I think of posting something on the blog, mostly it will not work. Today I found some time when Happy and Jany were busy with the swimming practice and I am here with the recipe of easy to make potato roast. Potato is one of my all time favorite vegetable. However, I don't make it quite often thinking it causes gas and bloating. Recently, Happy started liking the potato roast and hence we are indulging on the potato frequently. I add a lot of asafoetida and garlic for easy digestion. The potato roast that I am posting today goes very well with Sambhar rice and Curd rice. I use the same roast potato as the filling for breakfast sandwich if I make it in excess. Let us move on to the preparation steps:

Paneer Kheer Recipe | Paneer Payasam | Chenna Kheer | Payasam Recipes

Finally, I am clearing all my very old posts from the draft. This post is almost two years old and I made it when I was living in Navallur, Chennai. Hence, the quality of the picture is not too good. Actually, on that day I was planning to make Kalakand and got the ingredients ready. However, when few unexpected guests turned out for that day's lunch, I made this paneer kheer as a dessert along with the lunch. It was a super hit and the guests liked it a lot. It is a simple and easy to make dessert with very few ingredients. Do follow my homemade paneer recipe and prepare fresh paneer at home for this payasam. Check out my Payasam/Kheer collection too. Let us move on to the recipe:

Mushroom & Spinach Sandwich Recipe | Mushroom & Spinach in White Sauce Sandwich | White Sauce Veggie Sandwich

Because of the sudden change in the Sydney weather, I was down with flu and cold for the past few days. Hence, I was not able to post anything on the blog and I did a very minimal cooking as well. Today's post is a simple and healthy sandwich, which we can make it for our morning breakfast. The sandwich can be served with any smoothie, boiled egg and fruits for a filling and healthy weekday breakfast. I made this mushroom spinach sandwich with white sauce and hence it is a little heavy and cheesy. If you don't prefer white sauce, then you can add the sauteed veggies alone as the filling. Let us move on to the recipe. Check out the below-listed sandwiches too and plan your breakfast.

Vegetable Pulao Recipe | Veg Pulao in Pressure Cooker | Mixed Vegetable Pulao

For Jany's lunch box, weekly once I make Vegetable biryani or Vegetable Pulao. It is an easy to make one pot meal that is nutritious too. This is very similar to the Veg biryani and Vegetable Semiya biryani that I posted earlier. It goes very well with any Non-Veg gravy or Paneer Butter Masala. For the lunch box, I pair it with Potato fry and onion raita. Let us move on to the recipe:

Poli Recipe | Pachapayaru Poli | Green Gram Poli | Payatham paruppu Poli | Pachai Paasiparuppu Poli

Poli is one of my all time favourite sweet and I never miss to taste Paruppu poli and coconut poli in restaurants if the menu card has it. When I was preparing green gram recipes for an event, the idea of green gram poli came to mind and I tried it immediately. It came out very well and we all liked it. The filling is similar to the Pachapayaru Suzhiyam I posted earlier. I have already posted Puran Poli/Paruppu Poli in the initial days of blogging. Do check that too. Let us move on to the recipe:

Special Non-Veg Lunch Menu | Special Weekend Lunch Menu | Lunch Menu - 3 | Lunch Ideas

Finally came the weekend :) Cheers!! Hope everyone is in the mood to relax and enjoy the weekend. In Sydney, we had showers for the entire week and no much sunshine. The forecasts for the next few more days is the same. Hence, I am planning to make something that is comforting for this weather over the weekend. I have plans to click few recipes for the blog too. Today, I am here with another weekend special lunch menu that I served as Christmas dinner for one of my friends' family. Check out my Lunch Menu1 and Lunch Menu2 that I posted earlier. Let us move on to the preparation steps:

Broccoli Potato Roast Recipe | Broccoli Potato Stir Fry | Aloo Broccoli Stir Fry | South Indian Style Broccoli Potato Varuval

Considering the health benefits of broccoli, I often try to include broccoli in our lunch menu. Apart from the Broccoli Stir Fry and the Broccoli Paratha that I posted earlier, I make few more dishes with Broccoli. One among them is this broccoli potato roast and it goes very well with Sambhar and Steamed rice. Let us learn to make the simple and healthy stir fry:

Indian Style Baked Salmon Recipe | Baked Salmon | Baked Salmon with Indian Spices | Fish Recipes

Though I am planning to post on a daily basis, I am running out of time and missing the posts most of the days. Yesterday I started editing the pictures and finally I am here with the recipe. I tasted the salmon for the first time when we were in Paris. I liked it very much and I used to make curry out of it. However, after moving to Sydney, I started exploring a variety of recipes using the salmon considering its health benefits. One of my attempts is the Indian Style of baked salmon and it came out super good. Jany liked it very much and asked me to make it often. If you don't own an oven, you can very well follow the same recipe and fry it in a pan. The salmon by its own has a lot of healthy oil hence take care not to add more oil while cooking it. Let us move on to the recipe:

Puttu Recipe | Puttu Payaru Pappadam | Steamed Rice Puttu | Steamed Rice Cakes and cooked Green Gram

Puttu is one of the staple food in my native and I grew up eating it. Puttu is my favourite breakfasts for the relaxing weekend morning. I love to have it along with a cup of karupatti coffee. Mum makes Puttu on Saturdays and I am following the same. Initially, Jany doesn't show much interest to eat puttu. However, after I started to cook he doesn't complain and started eating it. Now, I serve Puttu with different combinations like Puttu with Kadalai curry, Chicken Puttu or Puttu with Banana and he is happy about that. Today I am sharing my all-time favourite combo, Puttu with Payar and Pappadam. Let us move on to the recipe. (see the notes for Homemade Puttu flour)

Wheat Flour Kesari Recipe | Wheat Flour Halwa | Atta Ka Halwa | Atta Kesari | Godhumai Maavu Halwa | Atta Ka Sheera

I made this Wheat Flour Halwa during last Diwali when I was not confident enough to try Tirunelveli Halwa at home from the scratch. However, before Diwali, I attempted Tirunelveli Wheat Halwa and to my surprise, it turned out super awesome. Hence, that recipe made its entry into the space during Diwali. I thought of posting this recipe at least now since it tastes equally good with different flavour and texture. Check out my other special sweet recipes that I have posted until now. Let us move on to the recipe:

Strawberry Yogurt Popsicle Recipe | Strawberry Popsicle | Strawberry Recipes

I don't prefer chocolate flavoured ice-creams when compared to fruit flavoured Popsicle. For the summer heat, I just rely on the popsicles and whenever I have excess fruits at home, I transfer it into a popsicle and relish it every day after lunch. My favourites among the popsicle are Mango Popsicle, Rosemilk Popsicle and I make it often. However, during the last strawberry season, I made this two layered popsicle and it was a hit at home. Let us move on to the preparation steps. Do check out my other Strawberry recipes like Strawberry Jam, Strawberry Yogurt, Strawberry Milkshake and Strawberry Banana Smoothie.

South Indian Fish Meals with Vegetables | Special Weekend Lunch Menu | Lunch Menu - 2 | Lunch Ideas

This year when I started my weekend lunch menu series, I was planning to share different menus every Friday. Because of my vacation, everything got delayed and today I thought of posting a menu that I clicked a few months back. I had prepared the entire dishes in the menu on the same day except for makkan peda. I usually make one vegetable along with this fish meals. However, when I was planning for a post, I added the rasam and an additional vegetable into our normal menu along with fryums and dessert. I prepared it for our Saturday lunch and it was super delicious. Check out my already posted Lunch menu too. Let us move on to the preparations involved in the menu:

Paneer 65 Recipe | How to make Paneer 65 | Paneer Fry

I am crazy about Chicken 65 and Gobi 65. It will be in our starter list, whenever we visit any restaurants. However, I have not tasted Paneer 65 until I visited my friend's place. When I tasted it, the first thing comes to mind is to post it here and when I saw the strips of Paneer 65 in Raks Kitchen, I was super tempted to try immediately. For Christmas 2016, we had few friends at home for lunch and one among them is vegetarian. Along with all the non-veg dishes, I made this Paneer 65 for him. It was a huge hit and even the non-vegetarians started munching it. I am here with the recipe and let us move on to the preparation steps. Do check out my other Paneer Recipes:

Vegetable Stew Recipe | Kerala Style Vegetable Stew | Mixed Vegetables Cooked in Coconut Milk

Anything that is cooked in coconut milk tastes yum and it gives a unique flavour to the curry. I love to experiment recipes with coconut milk and one among them is 'Tirunelveli Sodhi'(Veggies cooked in coconut milk), which pairs well with idiyappam. Similarly, I have posted few non-veg dishes cooked in coconut milk such as Kerala Mutton Stew and Spicy Mutton Curry. Today we will learn how to make Kerala style of vegetable stew. This goes well with idiyappam, appam and Neer Dosa. This stew tastes similar to the white kuruma we get in hotel Saravanan Bhavan along with appam. Do check out my Vegetable Kuruma too. Let us move on to the detailed preparation steps:

Strawberry Banana Smoothie Recipe | Strawberry Recipes

Wishing you all a very happy Valentine's Day!! Let this day of love, be a memorable one and celebrate it with your loved ones in a beautiful way. I missed the blog so much and finally, I am back to Sydney after my three weeks vacation to India. We really had a good time in India with our friends and relatives. With all the fond memories, I am back to my routine. As I compose this post, I am just relaxing on my couch after my morning hurry-burry activities. I have dropped Happy in her school and have few things to do before I pick her. Let us move on to the post. This year I am not ready with any special recipe for Valentine's Day and I am posting this Strawberry smoothie from my drafts. Check out my already posted Valentine's Day special recipes like Egg in a toast, Valentine's Jello hearts. Also, do check out my other Strawberry recipes: Strawberry Jam, Strawberry Yogurt and Strawberry Milkshake.

Broccoli Stir Fry Recipe | Indian Style Broccoli Stir Fry | Broccoli Poriyal

Hello everyone, hope you all are doing well. I am in India for a three week vacation and hence I am not active these days. Though I have many recipes in drafts, I am a bit lazy to blog. However, made my mind today to compose a simple and easy stir fry recipe. I cook broccoli once in a week, considering its health benefits. Apart from the stir fry, I make Paratha and Pulao using broccoli. Let us move on to the recipe:

Wheat Rava Sweet Pongal Recipe | Broken Wheat Sweet Pongal | Godhumai Rava Sweet Pongal | Pongal Special Recipes

Happy Pongal to all my friends and readers. Hope everyone is in the holiday mood and started with the Pongal preparations. I am travelling to India tomorrow and I am totally excited about the vacation. I have lots of plan for the vacation and I wish everything should happen. I have few recipes in drafts which I will be posting after I settle. Check out my collection of Pongal recipes and do share me the feedback if you try something. Making sweet Pongal with wheat rava is very new to me and I love it to the core. I have already posted Cracked Wheat Upma which is one of my favourites. Let us move on to the recipe:

Rava Pongal Recipe | Rava Ghee Pongal | Rava Khara Pongal | Sooji Pongal | Pongal Special Recipes

I was not ready with any new Pongal Special recipe until yesterday. Since we are travelling to India this weekend, I am in the process of cleaning my fridge and kitchen pantry. While cleaning I found a small pack of leftover Rava/Sooji and this recipe of rava pongal comes to mind, which I saw long back in a TV show by Chef Dhamu. Jany never tastes anything with Rava and hence I made this for Happy and me as our today's breakfast. It came out very well and we both liked it. Over the last few weeks, Happy was very fuzzy in eating food and this pongal came to my rescue today. If you are planning to try this recipe, please don't compromise in the ghee quantity. If the mentioned ghee quantity is reduced, then the pongal will be turned to a sticky gooey paste. According to Chef Damu's comment, the pongal should not stick to the pan while we scoop it and it should slide into the plate beautifully. I had it with Coconut Chutney and Filter Coffee. It goes well with Pongal Gotsu or Peanut Chutney too. Check out my Venn Pongal/Khara Pongal and other Pongal special recipes too. Let us see the preparation:

Vegetable Kurma Recipe | Mixed Vegetable Kurma | Veg Kurma for Chapathi/Roti | Hotel Style Veg Kurma for Chapathi | My 350th Post

Hope everyone is back from the Christmas and New year vacation. We had a great and memorable vacation here in Sydney. Also, most of the days my Kitchen was closed and I had a break from regular cooking. I have not tried any new recipe for the last 2 weeks and it was a much-needed break. I relished lots of new food from restaurants and I have plans to try few dishes at home. In a week, we are heading to India, for another long vacation. Hopefully, I will be keeping the blog active even during my vacation with the posts from my drafts. Today's post is about a comforting and rich veg Kuruma. I received many request from readers for this recipe and hence I thought of posting it. I will be posting Kerala-based vegetable stew too. Let us move on to the recipe:

Special Non-Veg Lunch Menu | Special Weekend Lunch Menu | Lunch Menu - 1 | Lunch Ideas

I am starting a Lunch Menu Series from today and hopefully, I will be posting the lunch ideas every Friday. Also, I will share both the veg and non-veg dishes as a part of this series. To start with, I am sharing a complete non-veg lunch that I prepared for Jany's Birthday last November. The menu has his favourite mutton, chicken and fish items that I make at home. However, you can tweak the items according to your personal preference. I have explained the steps I followed in preparing this elaborate meal. Making many dishes at the same time is a little hard work for me since I am not exposed in preparing an elaborate meal more often. With a lot of preparations, I achieved this end result and Jany was very much impressed😆💕 with this lunch on his birthday. Let us see the preparations involved in this menu:

Methi Thepla Recipe | Gujarati Methi Thepla | Fenugreek Paratha | Vendhaya Keerai Roti

I always like to explore stuffed parathas and all other kinds of parathas since Happy prefers it more than rice. I have already posted Aloo Paratha and Broccoli Paratha. To add on to this list, I am here with another interesting and healthy recipe. I love to add Fenugreek/Vendhaya Keerai/Methi in my cooking considering its health benefits. Whenever I see a bunch of fresh methi leaves in the supermarket, I grab it and mix it with the dough while making Chapathi. After coming to Sydney, I came to know about this Methi Thepla through few North Indian cooking groups. Also, I talked to a friend/teacher Nidhi in Happy's playschool and got the recipe. This goes well with curd and pickle, it can be packed for lunch box, picnics or train travel. Without further delay, let us move on to the recipe.

Kara Kuzhambu Recipe | Kara Kuzhambu with Brinjal & Drumstick | Gravy for Rice

In my hometown (Nagercoil), Kara Kuzhambu is not a common gravy for rice since we eat fish most of the days. Other than fish, we make Paruppu Kuzhambu, Sambhar and Mor Kuzhambu. Also, we make a special curry called Veran Curry or Thengai Kuzhambu to go along with fish kuzhambu made without coconut. However, Aachi who stayed with us in my childhood days for helping mum makes Kara Kuzhambu and many other similar curries. Though mum doesn't make it, I like this curry very much and used to ask the cook we had in Chennai for the recipe. I learned this recipe from her and I am making it quite frequently now.

Final pictures updated on 25/Jan/2021

Makkan Peda Recipe | Arcot Makkan Peda | Malai Kaajaa | Welcome 2017

Hello All, Wishing you and your family Happy Sparkling New Year 2017. May the new year be the best you have ever had. Yet, another milestone for Happy's Cook, yes!!, we have crossed 20,000+ Likes in Facebook page. I am really excited about this achievement and special thanks to everyone for the support. Do support me in the future and spread the page among your friends to help me reach more heights. To celebrate the special occasion and the new year, I am here with a sweet recipe. I followed the recipe from Rak's Kitchen and it turned out super awesome. This makkan peda is similar to Gulab Jamun with Khoya and stuffed with fruits, Nuts. It is famous in Arcot, a place in Vellore district of Tamilnadu and hence the name. Do check out my similar recipe of Bread Gulab Jamun and other Sweets too. Off to the recipe: