Nippattu

Bhagavanta enappa nin leele!! ashtami ge tindi maadisi, ganeshana habbakke post maadista idyalappa!!

I made this for ashtami but posting this for Ganeshana Habba.. 

My aunt Anasuya Hande, is a very skilled cook and she has hand written a recipe book for amateurs like me in the family, who were on the brink of getting married, but didn’t have any “gandha” of cooking(no clue types). 

I treat that book like Bhagavad Gita. 

Anyways, for Krishna Ashtami, I decided to make her nippattu for the very first time. It came out just perfect!! Thanks atte, for the detailed recipe!!! 

The recipe is very easy and doesn’t take a lot of time. Within half an hour I could make 35 medium sized nippattus. Not bad, right?! 

Also Ganesha habba marks the anniversary of my blog! Happy Birthday blog!! 

Do try!

Gobi Sabji (Gobi ka kheema)

This is one flavorful sabji that goes really well with Chapathis. I enjoyed every bite of it. 

Grated gobi gives this a very spongy texture, and when cooked in spiced tomato puree it soaks up all the masala making every bite burst with flavors in your mouth...

You can either use simple tomato puree or make spiced tomato puree for this. I would suggest making the spiced one as that little extra nuance from the spiced puree makes a lot of difference. 

This is not a quick recipe. Grating gobi is a tedious and a messy job. It tends to fly everywhere. Making spiced tomato puree is also extra work. But the end result is very well worth the effort. 

Do try!

Tomato Bath - Version 2

This is the second version of Tomato Bath that I like. Check out Version 1 here. My cousin Archana gave me this recipe. Freshly ground masala with red chillies(instead of green chillies) and coconut gives this a very unique taste. It tastes good on its own and doesn’t need an accompaniment like raita or anything. 

Do try!

Green Moong Dal Rice Bath/Hesaru kalina bath

Yet another rice bath which is very simple, tasty and very very healthy. You can sprout the moong dal to make it even more healthy. 

This rice bath is bland compared to pulavs and biriyanis, but tasty nevertheless. 

It’s great for potlucks and lunch boxes too.. 

Enjoy!!

Mango CheeseCake

Sometime back I saw this video on Euphoric Delights(a FB group) about this easy dessert made for a potluck. The picture and presentation was so enticing that I couldn’t wait to have one for myself. Then I started looking out for the ‘setting’ ingredient agar agar(as a substitute for Gelatin) in local stores, only to realize that it’s not easily available. After months of searching, I found one in an Indian store and finally got to making it..

This recipe is very easy once you get the hang of it. It is also a good potluck item. It looks very fancy and classy served in individual portions, in clear shot glasses. 

Do try!

Puliyogare(Or Chitranna) Gojju/Paste

My mom makes awesome Puliyogare powder from scratch, which I am too lazy to learn. In one of our conversations she told me that the major difference between puliyogare powder and rasam powder is indeed the addition of sesame seeds.. then it suddenly occurred to me why not put some sesame seeds to the rasam powder and make my own puliyogare gojju..

..and that’s what I did here.. 

The trick in bringing puliyogare gojju to a gravy consistency is addition of water, which lot of people miss out on. Even when I am making puliyogare from MTR dry powder, I put some water and boil it to a gravy consistency. Puliyogare comes out better this way and mixing also becomes easy. 

This gojju can be used as chutney with dosa, chapathi and also like pickle with curd rice. My mom used to take chapathi with this gojju for long travels. It has a pretty good shelf life... and can be stored even longer when kept in the fridge.. I’ve never stored this long enough to know exactly how many days it stays :)

When I proudly told mom about my “invention”, she said what I just did was chitranna and not puliyogare.. hehe.. 

It tastes awesome, whatever you call it :)

Do try!

Indian Fried Rice

My Ode to Maggi

Whenever I needed you

you came to my rescue

Mornings, afternoons, nights

even midnights too

You were loved by 

kids and adults alike

Why did they make you

take a hike :((

I was acting over-smart, sneaking in vegetables too

Turns out you yourself were unhealthy, aakhir kyon??    

My mom said one time,

she made you in an old pot of mine 

The vessel turned sparkling new

She swore that’s the last time she’d make you!!

Maggi O Maggi

it’s hard to say good bye!

Good bye, my beloved,

come back healthy and alive!!! 

bye bye Maagi! 

bye bye...

*sob sob*

Coming to the recipe,

This is yet another version of Indian fried rice, which is very easy and tasty. My friend’s mom gave me this recipe. 

It uses only clove and garlic for masala which differentiates this from other rice baths.

Do try!