This is my first post for Vegan Thursday, an event where vegan recipes are shared every first and fourth thursday of every month. Today's post is about Vella Kozhukattai. This is one of the Kozhukattai I love the most. I like anything that is made with Jagerry. Jagerry with Coconut and Channa dal is a yum combo. With this filling and maida, mom used to make Susiyam (Suzhiyam) which is my favorite. This is the first time I am using channadal filling for kozhukattai. While making the filling, Happy was sitting near me and watching. I gave her some filling while making it, she really loved it. We really loved the kozhukattai and here is the recipe.
When I saw this cute Kozhukattai in some of the blogs, I really wanted to give a try. The name of the kozhukattai sounds interesting and it can be made quickly as an evening snack. The left over dough after making Modak or Idiyappam can be used to make these cute tiny balls. Even though Jany doesn't like any of the Kozhukattai, I pester him to try it. Thank God for giving such a loving person to support whatever I do, with his charming smile. Here we go for the recipe.
When I was searching for Vinayagar Chathurthi Special recipes, apart from Kozhukattai and Sundal I found this Ellu Urudai as one of the special recipes made for that day. Ellu Urundai is one of the addictive sweet, which is made with just two main ingredients Ellu and Jaggery. Both these ingredients have high health benefits. The tiny, nutty sesame seeds are loaded with many essential minerals such as iron, calcium, phosphorus etc., While the Jaggery is the richest source of iron as well. This recipe is one of the easiest ways to enjoy the health benefits of these ingredients. Here we go for the step by step preparation of this nutty Ellu Urundai.
During my school days, my mum used to make Paal Kozhukattai as breakfast, less frequent since my dad doesn't like kozhukattai. Now after marriage, I make this kozhukattai once in a while when I crave for this. When I made it last weekend, I thought of sharing it here and managed to click it during my busy morning hours. Usually, I make it with puttu flour, this time I tried it with Idiyappam flour and it came out excellent. And, here we go for the recipe.
This is one of the simple and easy non-veg recipes we can prepare and serve as a starter. If marinated well for at least an hour with the required masala, then this chicken fry will be a sure hit. I always marinate it the day before and leave it overnight in the fridge. We usually start munching it as soon as fried, never allowed it to come to the Dining table :) Do check out my Dry Chicken masala , Chicken Chippies and Restaurant Style boneless chicken 65 too. Here, we go for the recipe.
I am really excited about participating in this event, which is also my first event after coming to this blogging world. Yes, this post belongs to InternationalFoodChallenge. I thank and appreciate Saraswathi Tharagaram and Shobana Sekar for their effort in forming this group. I like to explore and learn more international recipes. To learn about foods in other parts of the world is really exciting. This dessert belongs to Cantonese Cuisine, China. This is one of the main cuisine styles in China. We really enjoyed having this yummy spiral moon cake, which is flaky outside and sweet inside. It might look like a lengthy recipe, but it is worth doing it. Do give it a try.
Even though I started exploring all kinds of vegetables, I hesitated to try Sena kizhangu thinking about its itchy nature. Later made my mind, and tried it. I felt, if cooked properly the itchy feel we get on the tongue can be eliminated. Initially, we have to parboil it with tamarind and turmeric. After parboiling, we can follow any method to make the roast or fry out of it. Shallow frying with little oil is healthy, but I have deep fried it since no one in my home touch the yam if tossed with masala :P
This is the first fish recipe in my blog. Even though we cook fish often in our home, I have not thought of posting it until now. Finally, here I am with my mom's fish curry recipe. My mom makes delicious fish curry and it was the best recipe until now for me. Jany is also a big fan of my mom's fish curry. She makes two or three types of fish curry and this is one among that, which is very simple to make. Other than cleaning the fish, peeling onions and grinding the masala, we don't want to stand longer in the kitchen to make this yummy curry. Simmering and cover cooking the curry for more time give the best result. Here, we go for the recipe.
For any occasion in my home, we make Siru payir Payasam (Pasiparuppu payasam) or Semiya pal Payasam. This is the recipe I came to know after my venture into this blogging world and I saw most of the blogs have their version of Aval Payasam. Since I had some left over aval, which I bought for Aval Urundai, I thought of giving it a try. And for today's lunch, I made this Payasam. I tried with Jaggery since I wanted to give Happy. It was delicious and easy to make recipe, which we can prepare quickly for guests for their surprise visits. Off to the recipe...
This is the first recipe in my blog which was not prepared by me, Yes!! it was prepared by my mom-in-law during her last visit to Chennai. Kudos to her, for the delicious recipe and the patience which allowed me to click in between. The common name for this recipe is Churukka/Mutta Surukka.This can be made in a jiffy since the main ingredient for this recipe is Raw rice flour and Egg, which we always have in our pantry. Adding eggs make this churukka super soft. Over to the recipe:
Final Pictures updated on 28/09/2017(I prepared it and clicked it)
We had a lovely weekend, we took Happy to a nearby children's park. She was excited after seeing so many kids and enjoyed playing in the slide with Jany's support. And, we captured the lovely moments of Happy with a Deer which came close to her, she even touched the ears of the Deer. The day ended without clicking, cooking and editing. Coming to today's recipe, I am sharing a simple and yet interesting tiffin. Yes, it's Cauliflower dosa. I love cauliflower in any form and this cauliflower dosa goes very well with coconut chutney. It can be had without any side dish as well. Check out my Potato stuffed Masala dosa too.
My curiosity to make perfect Chicken Biryani aroused after I failed in all my attempts to make Biryani. Being my best and first critic, Jany told my Biryani tasted like coriander rice with chicken in it :( and he gave different names for my Biryani after every attempt. So seriously I discussed with my mom, Chithi (mom's younger sister) and my friend Freesia for the recipe of Chicken Biryani. Finally, Freesia's recipe clicked for me and it came out super delicious.
I still remember the golden childhood days when we lived together with my grandparents and cousins in my native. My grandmother gave us Aval with sugar and coconut as one of our after school evening snacks. So, when I saw Aval as the main item for Krishna Jeyanthi, I was super excited and came up with this simple and yummy Aval Urundai. Happy tasted it for the first time and she loved it.
I learned this thattai recipe only for the sake of blogging Krishna Jeyanthi Recipes. No one else other than my mom likes thattai, she loves thattai from Adyar Anandha Bhavan. Moreover, we never bothered to taste thattai before. But now we enjoyed it thoroughly for the first time after I made it. The blogging world has given me opportunities to explore so many new recipes. And, here we go for the crispy thattai...
When I saw the other blogs posting Krishna Jayanthi recipes, being a new blogger I was eager to post some recipes from my end. Since we don't celebrate Krishna Jayanthi, I was not aware of the recipes they prepare for that special day. I rang some of my friends and discussed the recipes they make and I am here with my uppuseedai as the first recipe for Janmashtami. My Aachi is an expert in making this seedai and thattai. When I told mum about my plan to make seedai, she was worried because of its bursting nature. So to be on the safer side, I started frying this seedai after Jany came home. While frying, I was literally running out of the kitchen, after I dropped my first batch into the Kadai. And to my surprise, it came out extremely crispy.
We don't like cakes with too much icing, so whenever we crave for a plain cake, I bake this Vanilla sponge cake. I have served many of my relatives with this cake and they really loved it. I have attempted this cake so many times, and this is the first time it was super soft like we get in the bakery. After so many failed attempts, I have finally got a perfect one and sharing with you all. Do try it and give your feedback. Check out my below mentioned similar sponge cake recipes too:
Tutti Frutti brings me a lot of childhood memories and it is one of the fancy stuff we had in our fridge during those days. When we got our very first fridge, mum used to treat us with icecreams and drinks over the weekend. She always makes Vanilla icecream using a readymade mix and pairs it with fresh fruit salad. When everything is assembled to serve, she sprinkles tutti frutti on top of that and that was my favourite part. From then onwards I love anything that has tutti frutti in it. After I started baking, I was searching for some bakes that have tutti frutti and saw the recipe of these cookies here. It turned out so good and tasted like shortbread cookies. Let's move on to the recipe and do check out other cookie recipes from the blog in the below links.
I never know, making Kesari is very simple before I tried this. It is the most simple sweet recipe, even a beginner can get it done perfectly. Just make sure, you don't allow lumps to form. While adding rava in boiling water, stir continuously in medium flame and pour the rava by spreading it evenly. This is the key point to get perfect Kesari. My mom prepares this rava Kesari for most of the occasions and we love it. Also, I love the rava Kesari from Saravana Bhavan, even though I feel it has more ghee in it. Check out the other Kesari's from the blog in the links below:
I was facing some broadband issue for the last couple of days. I had my previous post in the draft, so I managed to post it on mobile internet. Just before few hours, the issue was rectified and here I am, with my next recipe. I am in a hurry to edit this recipe of Sambar before Happy wakes up. This is one of the basic Sambar recipes with the vegetables we have in hand and it goes well with steamed rice. As of now, this is the only type of Sambar I make in my home. Planning to post other types of sambar after I try it. I have posted a tiffin sambar recipe which is mainly for Idly, Dosa and Pongal.
Happy Independence Day, dear readers!! This is the first recipe I tried in my husband's home after marriage. I got the recipe from one of my colleagues and without knowing anything in the kitchen, I was hunting for ingredients. The cutlets turned out very well and everyone at home was really impressed. My first cooking adventure was a success and I felt proud sharing the recipe with my mom-in law, who is already a good cook by herself. This recipe is spreading in our family circle and I am really happy about this. If interested in mutton cutlet, check that as well. And, here we go for the recipe:
Cauliflower is one of the vegetables most of us love to have. When I get cauliflower, I usually make Manchurian or cauliflower dosa. Once Jany told me, he likes cauliflower when his mom makes it. So I asked my mom-in law about the recipe and tried it. It was too good and I thought of sharing it with you all. It is so simple and easy to make with only 2 main ingredients in hand. Jany is crazy about this egg dipped fried cauliflower and I started making it once in a while.
I have reached a milestone today, yes!! it's my 25th post. Wish me good luck for the upcoming posts. And today's post is Cucumber pachadi. This is one of the tasty side dish in Kerala cuisine. It is also a common side dish which we often make in our hometown. The vegetarian wedding lunch of our place mainly includes Aviyal and Cucumber Pachadi in their menu. The main flavor of the Pachadi comes from the coconut and the sour yogurt.
After my graduation, I was in Ahmedabad for my company's training(TCS ILP) and that was the time I tasted Aloo Parathas. Being in North India for the first time, I enjoyed these Parathas which was different from our regular chapathi. Most of the days I had Aloo Parathas both for lunch and dinner. After coming home, I asked my mom to prepare that, but she doesn't know it. I learnt to make these kinds of stuffed parathas after I started the day-to-day cooking. I am making it quite often now since Happy loves it. Do check out my broccoli paratha and gobi paratha recipes as well.
I am excited about my very first participation in an event, and I am looking forward to learn and try new recipes!
Yes, I am talking about the International Food Challenge (IFC). It is evolved to explore all the cuisines from all over the world. This is evolved by Saras of sarasyummybitesand Shobana of kitchensecretsandsnippets . They have teamed up to welcome foodies , our talented food bloggers to join in this mission to learn , explore the world cuisine along with the heritage every country possess and get to know some ideas what every country has to offer with respect to food .
How it works:
The host and the founders are the one’s who will go through the cuisine of the given month and they will narrow down the results to 3 top most recipes. In the beginning of every month, say on 1st, the host of the given month will let out all the three recipes in detail along with the link and the members have to select the one they like and should submit the challenge on the said date, which is 30/31st of every month.
The best presented dish gets the privilege of being the cover picture of our Facebook page for the whole month along with their copyrights. How cool is that !!
Do you have the urge to learn the world cuisine as simple as that, you want to try some new dish one at a time, then, what’s stopping you foodies, come join us let’s form a group and let’s get started.
Join our FB group HERE to get in touch with the event as well as for the latest updates.
This is one of the very simple and easy to cook vegetables. Initially, I hate almost all the stir fry/Poriyal I make with cabbage, beetroot, carrot, beans ,etc. Later I found out that I overcook all the veggies adding more water. Now I have corrected myself and the Poriyal's I make comes out excellent. In my opinion, veggies should not be overcooked and it should be crunchy. It should be cooked by sprinkling less water and within a few minutes, it should be removed from the flame. Grating beetroot helps me cook fast and here we go for the recipe of the fastest Poriyal :)
When I was in my second trimester, daily as a part of my lunch I have greens. After having it daily, I was bored with the spinach Poriyal and totally hated the smell of spinach. So I started having this Dal Palak and I like having spinach with dal. Now, at least twice in a week, I try to include the Greens in our meals. Apart from Dal Palak, I prepare Spinach Poriyal and Spinach Chappathi as well. And, here we go for the recipe.
Eid Mubarak to all my friends and their families. Hope everyone is enjoying the long weekend!!! I am not ready with any Ramzan special dishes this year. Hopefully, by next year you can find a list of dishes. So this year to celebrate this great day, at least I wanted to share a Chicken Recipe. This is a pretty simple recipe and it can be had as a starter or side dish along with Noodles, Fried rice or Roti. The honey glazed fried chicken pieces when mixed with the Spicy Tangy sauce tastes Yummy!!
Vegetable semiya upma is one of the simple and healthy breakfast recipes. I love this upma very much and I call it as noodles during my school days. When I was in the hostel, my friend Angavai and I enjoy it, while other friends don't like it. Even Jany doesn't like and he never tries any upma variety. This is the first time, I made him taste it and he liked it. There are two varieties of vermicelli, thick and thin. This Semiya upma comes out well with the thin variety. The thick ones can be used for Payasam. I prefer adding veggies with this upma and it is purely optional. If you are a semiya lover like me, then please check the Semiya Biryani, Semiya Payasam and Semiya Kesari recipes as well.
Even people who hate veggies, prefer to eat it when it is deep-fried. So in my home whenever I get Arbi/Yam/Bittergourd, I used to deep fry after marinating it with the masala. Sometimes, if I want to avoid deep frying then I air fry it or bake it in the oven. Both taste good and it goes well with Sambhar and rice.
In my initial days of cooking, this is the only curry I know to make apart from Sambar. We have it with Appam or chapathi and there were days when I used to serve it even for Dosa/Idli. Now I have tweaked this recipe a bit from my original version, the roasted coconut in the recipe gives great flavour to the curry and it tastes good. Check out my Kerala Puttu Kadala curry(black chickpea curry) too. Final Pictures Updated on 4th July 2016
On mornings when I wake up late, the first thing that comes to my mind is Apple honey Oatmeal for breakfast. Though we are not real lovers of oats porridge, we like to have oats this way. Jany and Happy have it without complaining and hence I make it once in a while. Oatmeal is full of fiber , combining fruit or nuts with oats while they are cooking adds more nutrients. When you're trying to lose weight, Oatmeal can be served as a healthy and filling breakfast. Pictures updated on 6th June,2016
Puttu is one of my all-time favorite breakfast dishes. I love eating puttu with any combination, either sweet or spicy. Back in my hometown we prepare puttu for breakfast at least once in a week. But to make Jany eat puttu is one of my most difficult jobs. Once I have seen the preparation of chicken puttu in Asianet television and I wanted to give it a try. Being a chicken lover, Jany was very much impressed with this puttu and even he started eating all types of puttu. Do check out my Kerala style Puttu Kadala Curry recipe too. Final pictures updated on 30th Oct 2016
In south India, most of the days we will eat Idli or dosa for breakfast. This goes very well with sambhar or chutney. Chutneys are not time-consuming and they are easy to make. Our breakfast preparations will be a bliss if we know some variety of chutneys. Also, people at home will not be bored with Idli/dosa if we give a variation in Chutney. Today I am sharing a simple chutney that I often make at my home. Check out the collection of other Chutney recipes from the blog too.
I hate most of the veggies in my childhood. Later on, I started eating some common vegetables and I am unaware of many. So after Happy's birth, Jany and I decided that we should introduce her to almost all the vegetables before she grows up. So every weekend we hunt for different veggies in Kovai Pazhamudir Nilayam. Once I bought this white pumpkin and I don't know what to do with that. Finally, I ended up in googling for "White Pumpkin recipes" and I came across this wonderful dessert. Without any hesitation, I give it a try and it came out really well. Check out my entire Diwali Collection of recipes. Do check out my Corn Flour Halwa, Badam Halwa, Khajoor Ka Halwa too. Here comes the recipe: Final Pictures updated on 19th October 2016
This is my first non-veg recipe in the blog and also this was my first tried non-veg recipe after I start cooking. Most of the day we cook non-veg in my home, and this is one of the simple and easy chicken recipe I often make. This goes very well with Sambar and Rasam Sadam. I got this recipe from my previous cook, she is specialized for non-veg dishes. And , here we go for the recipe.
I am a regular visitor of Joy of baking. Whenever I visit that website, I badly wanted to try Doughnuts. My first trial for the doughnuts was a failure because of the yeast I used. And, finally this weekend I succeeded making these tasty doughnuts. These are so yummy, I bet you can't eat just one. I have tried the yeast raised and deep fried version of preparing doughnuts. I will also try to post the baked version.
Drumsticks are mostly used for preparing sambhar and aviyal. In my native, we have a drumstick tree in our backyard. And whenever we get drumsticks in bulk, mom used to prepare this thoran. My maternal grandmother is from Kerala border and the thorans she makes were yummy!! My mom adopted this thoran from her and I am a big fan of this thoran. Pictures updated on 24th March 2017
When I was a kid I used to run away if I saw ravaupma as a breakfast. My mom makes it once in a while and whenever she makes upma I fight with her. But during hostel days, hunger forced me to eat the upma. And, then I realized the taste behind upma and started liking it. I don't get a chance to prepare upma after marriage since Jany hates it completely. So whenever we go to my mom's place I have ravaupma. These pics are clicked during my last visit to hometown. Final Pictures updated on 6th June 2016
Kuzhi Paniyaram is a popular south Indian snack item or a tiffin variety. It can be made with leftover idli batter. The presence of jaggery makes these sweet paniyarams have a porous and soft texture. In my home, we make both the Sweet and Savoury Kuzhi Paniyaram together either for breakfast or for dinner. Do check out my Kara Kuzhi paniyaram (savory version) which I have posted in this space. Images Updated on 8-Apr-2016. Initially, I wrote this post when Happy was just 4 months old. And, now Happy is around 4 years old and this is one of her favorite tiffins:). I used to send this as her breakfast or lunch when she was going to Amelio child care.
A healthy quick breakfast dish or evening snack made using Idli batter readily available in the fridge. I had this kuzhi paniyaram in my friend's place twice, but never had an idea about how it would be prepared. Once I was googling some recipe with Jaggery, I came across this sweet and savory paniyaram. From that day onwards it is one of our week's menus. It is simple and easy to make if we have Idli batter and paniyaram pan. My husband loves this paniyaram and he even adds saying it tastes like ulundavada,which is one of his favorites.
During my school days, my grandfather used to get parippu vada from the nearby tea shop in my hometown. My cousins and I enjoy our evening tea with this vadai. They generally sell paruppu vadai with delicious thick coconut chutney. From those days, I am addicted to parippu vada. Paruppu vadai with coffee or tea on a rainy evening is pure bliss.
This recipe is very close to my heart, since it is my Aachi's recipe. She is not my own grandmother. I brought her from my school when I was in my class 2, since she doesn't have anyone to take care of her. My parents accepted her in my home on my request. From that day she was our cook and was there with me till I complete my graduation. She is a great cook of all vegetarian dishes including traditional desserts. I got this recipe of aachi from my mom after I started cooking. And here we go for the recipe.
