Easy eggless brownies

Enjoy this Christmas with some homemade eggless brownies…  

I have used flax meal as an egg substitute. Flax meal(ground flax seed) is such a wonderful egg substitute, it has no odd taste, it is good for health, and texture of the brownie comes out soft and fluffy. 

This recipe is extremely easy. Mix everything and bake, as simple as that. Do try! 

Happy holidays!! Merry Christmas!! Happy New Year!!

Refried Beans

Presenting another key ingredient in Mexican dishes - Refried beans. This can also be served as a side dish. Generally it is made from pinto beans - dull pink colored kidney beans, but I made it with regular rajma. Making it from scratch is very easy. However I am presenting an easier and probably a better recipe. My cooking guru taught me this recipe :) Do try! 

Enchilada Sauce

After feasting on unlimited burritos and tacos during our recent Mexico trip, I will be presenting another Mexican delicacy - Enchilada, over the course of few weeks . There is already one more recipe in my blog, which can be found here. What’s different in this recipe is -  here enchilada sauce is made from scratch and there’s also refried beans, which gives authentic flavor to any Mexican dish. I have divided this recipe into 3 parts. Today I am giving recipe for enchilada sauce. 

Making enchilada sauce from scratch is not as difficult as it sounds. In fact I was taken by surprise by its simplicity. Generally, as an easy option, I substitute this with salsa. But this sauce gives more authentic touch, in the sense that it acts more like a base to build upon rather than giving its own flavor to the dish like salsa. Both can be used with different results. I found this recipe online(link given below). Do try and take your Mexican dishes to the next level. 

Ragda Patties

Ragda patties - a famous chat/street food from Mumbai - is basically potato patties dipped in yellow peas gravy(ragda), served with chat garnishing. I found this very easy recipe online(link given below). Ragda is so easy, so simple, you can get it done in no time. Patties on the other hand, is little time consuming. But you can make them before hand and fry just before serving, making this a perfect starter for parties and potlucks. 

Do try!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Easy corn pakodas

Presenting extremely easy to make appetizer - corn pakodas. I got this recipe from a cooking show. It was prepared in under 5 min, or that’s what it was shown as.. It took me close to 15 - 20 minutes.  Fresh corn works best, I used frozen corn. Anyways, I added some mint and cilantro, which was not in the original, and because of that it tasted more like falafel. Perfect appetizer to take for potlucks and parties. Do try!

Vangi bath - from scratch

There’s a youtube channel from Mallamma ajji - cooking granny or something(link given below), from which I have cooked couple of recipes, which turned out very good. Very authentic. I like mallamma ajji’s granny vibes and how she explains every recipe in a simple manner. 

Coming to the recipe, Vangi bath or Brinjal rice, is a famous Karnataka dish/rice bath. You can make a big batch of Vangi bath powder just like Sambar/Rasam powders and use it whenever needed. Original recipe has proportions for a big batch, but here I have also given proportions for one time serving in brackets along with the original. Also, original recipe uses onion - garlic, which I generally don’t use for vangi bath and they can be easily skipped. 

Do try! 

Veg Hakka Noodles in Instapot

I’m probably joining in late to this Insta pot craze culture :) To be frank, I was not that impressed.. It’s good, it is convenient, but instant? Not really.. my pressure cooker does the same thing.

I admit, I haven’t explored it much… just been using it to make big batches of something. Well, it surely has its advantages, like vegetables aren’t mushed like in a pressure cooker, and you don’t need to babysit..etc. Currently I am exploring more and understanding why everybody is going gaga over it..

So recently I tried Hakka noodles and wow! was it convenient. Everything happened in 1 pot - no separate pot for cooking hakka noodles, then strainer for straining, then again a wok for making it... As easy as dump everything and cook. But aren’t you supposed to strain starchy water.. like for health reasons.. or is it just for rice? gah, I don’t know.. I’ll stop pretending to know :) 

Taste wise, it was good, vegetables were neither mushy nor crunchy. In the original recipe, vegetables are sautéd and taken out before cooking the noodles, keeping them crunchy, but I just put everything together. Noodles were starchy when hot, but was good after cooling down a bit. 

Do try! 

Kayi Kadubu - Sweet dumplings for Ganesha Chaturthi

With Ganesha habba only few days away, I want to share how to make kayi kadubu recipe. 

Kayi kadubu is traditional sweet made for Ganesha specially during Ganesha habba. Rice flour dumplings filled with coconut-jaggery filling. My favorite sweet! 

It requires certain skill to pat thin shells with your hand and make sure they don’t break while steaming. The ones I made used to break. As usual my mom came to my rescue and gave few tips which saved my kadubus. I’ve shared the details below. Either shape them like kadubu or modak, recipe is the same. You can also make sweet undlakka - more like inside out kayi kadubu… maybe I’ll save the recipe(method) for next year :D

Happy Ganesha Chaturthi everyone!

HuLi Avalakki/ Udupi style Spiced poha

Avalakki is considererd “shreshta”(rough translation: superior) to Lord Krishna. HuLi(literally sour/tangy) avalakki, is a sweet and tangy tasting avalakki - tasting very close to gojjavalakki. 

This is generally made during festival times as an evening snack along with some kadle usli(channa stir fry) and badam milk, for no-rice diets. In Kota community this is popularly made during engagement-ceremonies, or as one of the breakfast items during weddings.  

This is one of my favorite dishes. My mom makes it best, very close to the ones made by Adige battru(cooks in marriages) :)

This is her recipe. 

Do try!

Happy Krishnashtami!! 

Rave guliyappa

Tried this easy, quick breakfast recipe recently - Rave guliyappa. Loved the taste. It tasted somewhat in between rave idli and rave dosa - more like crunchiness of dosa and softness of idlis put together. 

Something different from regular idli dosa. Easy recipe - just mix everything together and pour into guliyappa kallu, roast to crispiness and enjoy with some chutney. 

Do try!

Hara bhara Kabab - Green Cutlets

I tried this recipe from Hebbar’s kitchen, with minor modifications. It was not as Hara(green) as original, but tasty nevertheless. Taste wise, this was very similar to cutlets(no surprises there), but yes, just green vegetables gives its own unique flavor. Green color surely makes it visually unique. Great appetizer for parties and potlucks. Can be prepared beforehand and fried just before serving. 

Do try!

Whole black urad dal vada/ medu vada

The thing about black urad dal is you cannot do anything with it other than dal makhni!! At least I don’t know anything else! And for dal makhni you only use about 1 cup or so…  What to do with the remaining urad dal?!!

All my google search led to only dal makhni or other similar curries. Then an idea hit me and I searched for black urad dal vada, and voila! I found out that you can actually make medu vada using black urad dal. Who knew?! 

Firstly, taste was same to same like white urad dal medu vada.

Secondly, making a hole in the vada was easy-peasy like you wouldn’t believe. The dough was much firmer and held-together than its white counterpart. 

The few differences were in its color and texture - which was slightly different(little rubbery) after cooling down. 

Do try!

Rajma

Rajma - chawal - chapathi is my go-to menu for weekday dinners, as this is taste-bhi-helath-bhi(and easy-bhi) kinda recipe. My daughter and hubby love this. 

This rajma recipe, I found online, tasted very close to the ones available in the restaurants. 

This recipe doesn’t use rajma masala, but uses a concoction of powders easily available in your pantry. Very easy. Perfect for everyday cooking. 

Do try! 

Ennegayi - Method 2

I am thrilled to share this easy ennegayi recipe I found online. 

Why? This recipe is relatively easy and can be made on a daily basis.. Less oil will also work, although more will always taste better. This recipe is probably close to the original, as it is given by an uttara kannadati. 

I have already shared another ennegayi recipe. Do check it out here. 

In this recipe, eggplants are fried lightly before stuffing. This one step makes making ennegayi so much more easy. Firstly, eggplants are not stiff to fill. You can easily bend them anyway and stuff as much as you want. Secondly, because they are already almost cooked, cooking time is reduced drastically and the chances of masala getting burnt are less, which makes me, a regular masala burn-er, so happy! All in all a keeper of a recipe. 

Do try! 

Kallangadi odu majjige huli/ Watermelon rind curry

Are you throwing away watermelon rind? STOP! 

It’s equally edible as watermelon. 

My mom makes delicious Udupi style palya/sabzi, huLi/sambar with it. It tastes almost like mildly sweetened ash gourd. Today I am giving you a majjige huli recipe. I got this recipe from a cooking show on Udaya TV.  Procedure is little different from the previous recipe I posted, which can be found here(more tips can be found in the link). Tasted delicious. Do try!

Seemebadnekayi(Chow chow)-Nuggekayi(Drumsticks) kootu

Another easy recipe for everyday cooking - Seemebdnekayi(Chow chow) kootu. Seemebadnekayi suits well more in kootus and majjige hulis than sambars. The taste of this kootu is very unique. I just added nuggekayi(drumsticks) along with it. Do try!

Dantinasoppina bassaru-palya - Method 2 (Amaranth Leaves Curry-Sabzi)

This is a slightly different way of making bassaru-palya which I found online. Bassaru - is rasam made from dal stock, and the dal is then used in making sabji(palya). This uses 2 kinds of dals as opposed to one in drumstick leaves bassaru-palya posted previously, which can be found here. Dantina soppu(amaranth leaves) definitely enhances the taste of this palya - saaru combo. This recipe, I believe, is made in gowdra style.  

Dal fry

Another simplest form of dal, Dal fry. It is made with moong dal, which is healthier, as in easily digestible. Just basic tadka + onion + tomato + garam masala + cooked dal - dal is ready! Tastes heavenly!

Serve it with a sabzi, you got yourself a wholesome meal ready in 30 minutes.

I got this recipe from a blog I follow on FB, which has many short and sweet interesting video recipes. 

Do try! 

Quesadilla - easy lunch box recipe

Quesadilla makes for a perfect lunch box item, especially for kids. Adults can equally enjoy it too. Easy peasy, and can be made in a jiffy(less than 10 min) for busy weekday mornings. I’m sure every house has their own recipe for this. Here’s mine.. 

I generally make stuffing before hand and use organic whole wheat frozen tortillas(from costco, with just 5 ingredients, no preservative).

Do try!

Kadale-BaaLekaayi gojju/ KalaChana-RawBanana Curry

“What to cook today?”, must be the most thought out question in every household. 

I still can cook for company, but when it comes to everyday cooking, I’m always wondering till the last minute. There’s only so much I do with the available vegetables. These days I’m browsing for new recipes, something different than our regular rasam/sambar, which can be consumed daily but can also be made easily for everyday cooking.  

With this recipe, I’m starting a new series, Everyday cooking, where I plan to put these easy, tasty and healthy recipes.

Today I’m presenting baaLekaayi-kadle gojju(raw banana/brown chick peas curry). I got this recipe from oggarane dabbi cooking show. It turned out very tasty and can be made easily(like regular sambar) for everyday meals. 

Do try! 

Nuggekayi soppu bassaru/ Drumstick leaves rasam

Bassaru is saaru(rasam) made from strained water after cooking dal. Bassaru is generally made with an accompanying palya/sabzi. In the previous post, I wrote about making palya/sabzi, here I give how to make bassaru. 

Enjoy some hot and healthy nugge soppu bassaru - palya with some rice and ghee. 

Do try!

Nuggekayi soppu Palya/ Drumstick leaves sabzi

Continuing with my streak of healthy recipes, today I present to you nuggesoppu(drumstick leaves) palya-bassaru combo(sabzi-rasam combo) in two posts. I didn’t know that some leafy vegetables(spinach, dill etc) can be eaten in basaaru-palya combination until my friend Lalitha told me about it.. 

Last summer I had some knee issues and thankfully I got to know that drumstick leaves/nugge soppu is some wonder food which helps in this area. So I browsed for recipes and came to know that bassaru-palya is a popular way of consuming it. Taking the leaves out of stalks was little tedious, otherwise making saaru-palya was relatively easy. Tasted heavenly with rice! 
Link for bassaru(rasam) here.

Do try!  

Nellikaayi Saaru/ Amla rasam

Continuing with another healthy recipe, again with nellikayi - Nellikayi Rasam. 

It all started with my cousin making nellikayi tambli for me one time. When asked where she got nellikayi from, she mentioned frozen section in Indian stores. The problem with that is, you get quite a few nellikayis in 1 pack, and every recipe uses only 1-3 max, more wouldn’t be too appealing for your taste buds either. So to finish that pack, I have been browsing more and more nellkayi recipes :) 

So here’s one more nellikayi recipe - nellikayi rasam - healthy, healthy recipe.

It is one of those tili saarus(watery rasams without dal), which you can either drink or eat with rice. I prefer drinking over eating with rice. I would also use little less of rasam powder than mentioned below(original recipe) to get a stronger flavor of nellikayi. 

Do try!

Nellikayi(Amla) Chitranna

Happy New Year! Happy Sankranthi!

This year I want to start off with something healthy. I got this recipe (again) from Oggarane Dabbi cooking show. Nellikayi is supposed to be very healthy. Most Ayurvedic lehas(that I know of) have nellikayi in them. 

Nellikayi has an astringent taste. I tried many recipes with nellikayi recently. Out of all the recipes, this recipe stands out. This recipe is a good way of including nellikayi in your diet.

Do try!