Kosu Huli/Cabbage Sambar

I only like Kosu in palya, or Chinese dishes... but in a huli, not so much. I think Kosu doesn’t go well with the taste of sambar powder. But my husband LOOOVES it!! I thought he was one of a kind loving this huli, until my cousin Archana told me that she LOVES it too!! Now two people loving this huli is not a mere coincidence :) .. I got curious and found out that she had a different recipe. I tried it and it came out good. This huli, I liked. Believe me, if a kosu huli non-liker like me has liked this huli, then anybody can.

This huli has a strong cinnamon flavor, which I think reduces the pungency of cabbage. 

Caramel Pear Upside Down Cake

Again, I got a whole bunch of pears from Costco, and they started to brown really quickly. Next time if I have to buy pears, I will not buy from there. 

I was in a dilemma as to how to finish them off. I didn’t want to make pear crisp again. I remembered about this pear upside cake that I had bookmarked sometime back. But it was with egg. So I searched for eggless recipe and found this. But this was not exactly a caramel based upside down cake. So I thought I’ll make the caramel part from the first link and make the eggless batter from the second link. 

This batter does not use butter and so is healthy in a way. The cake came out moist and tasty. 

How to make Caramel?

Ingredients

Sugar - 1 cup

Water - 1/4 cup

Method

Put sugar and water in a pot and heat it on medium flame. DO NOT STIR. Stir only initially until all the sugar dissolves. After that, STOP. Stirring can crystallize the sugar. After sometime, the solution starts to change color. Once it starts to change color, it changes rather quickly. So keep an eye. It can burn really quickly. To check the color I take a white bowl/plate and start putting droplets of syrup on it. Once it reaches a deep amber color, it is done. 

After it is done, you should act fast, as it can solidify very quickly.

Chole

There is really nothing I can write about Chole. It needs no introduction. Everybody makes it. Everybody likes it. 

Initially I used to make it with chole masala, but one of my cousins told me that garam masala works just fine. Since then I’ve been using only garam masala. Actually chole masala gives it some tartness, which I personally don’t like, so I prefer garam maslala.

This is one of my easy-to-make, delicious, can’t-go-wrong, feed-a-crowd type of dish. 

Rava Dosa

I am not very fond of Rave dose. But it is my husband’s favorite. So, I learnt to make this. My mom makes very good Rava dosa. So I took her recipe and tried to make it. It had its share of disastrous trials and errors. I remember initially we hardly got to eat whole dosas. It used to come out as a lump of cooked, sticky batter. But I am glad and proud to say that I have mastered the skill :) 

The key to making good rava dosa is the batter consistency. Then, the cooking time. 

Goli Baje

Goli Baje is another popular dish from South Canara. In Bangalore it is known as Mangalore bajji. This bajji is unlike any other bajji as it does not have any vegetable. It is made with just maida and some masala in it. This is a very easy recipe. Add some mashed bananas instead of masala, it becomes Mangalore Buns.

Pear Crisp

I am not a big fan of cinnamon in desserts... hence, I don't like most of the pies, crisps, pastries that are available here in US.. 

I had a bunch of pears which, thanks to my daughter’s intervention, was going bad super quickly. So, I thought of making this pear crisp - cinnamon less.

Instead of cinnamon I added cardamom powder, instead of maple syrup I added honey, I did not cut down on butter and added some extra sugar to make the ripe fruit even more sweet :) 

The result was this super rich, super tasty, super easy dessert. 

A bite of hot crisp, contrasting with the cold ice-cream, with oats and nuts providing just the right amount of crunch will take you to a different world, I tell you...

My friend Veena has a good mantra, “diet mane haalaaga!”... Chant and eat away...