Indian Gooseberry is called Amla (Hindi) or Nellikayi (Kannada) or AvaLe (Konkani). HinDi is a kind of pickle. Usually HinDi looks like a chutney . Amla is a rich source of Vitamin C and has many uses in Ayurvedic medicines . We make two kinds of pickles with Amla . It is also used in many dishes. But at my home, Amla is synonym with AvaLe HinDi . Aayi’s AvaLe HinDi is very very popular among all our relatives....
Few months ago, I bought a bag of boiled rice (ukdo tandul/Kerala matta rice) – the brownish colored boiled rice. V and I both enjoy the congee (pej) made of this rice. The problem is, we only get 10-20lb bags of this rice here. We don’t eat congee very frequently these days, so I needed another way of using this. So I have been making few different dishes with it....
Bhel is a very famous and tasty chat one can find anywhere in India. Everyone has a different style of making bhel. Any version of this dish is delicious. Puffed rice or churmuri is the main ingredient of bhel. What will you do if you cannot find it nearby. Here is the solution. Take thick avalakki(poha/flattened rice) and deep fry it in oil. While deep frying, keep in mind to do it on a very low flame and the oil should be very hot....
If there is one vegetable that I want to include in our diet and miserably failed, then it is broccoli. My friend keeps telling me how great this vegetable is. Lately I have been a little successful in my broccoli mission :). I include it in soups and pastas, but don’t make it ‘star of the dish’. I see better result with the approach!. Recently I made this soup and it came out really good....
Wish a very happy father’s day to you all. I have been writing so much about my mom on this blog. But I think, I have never written anything about my dad. Now what can be a better day than Father’s day? My dad – ‘pappa’ as we call him is a doctor and a social worker. After he finished his medical studies, he moved back to the village to stay with my grand father since my grand mother was no more and grand father was alone....
The course-2 of wilton cake decorating ended yesterday with the last class. In this entire course of 4 weeks, we bake just one cake in the last class. We make a lot of different kinds of flowers, save them all and use in the grand finale in the last class. So it all gets built up until then. I could not make all the flowers, because I took wrong icing to all the classes....
Tausalli is one of the most loved breakfasts among Konkanis. I never knew it is also called ‘cucumber cake’. But after reading Ashwini’s post and also talking to few of my readers who referred to this dish as ‘cucumber cake’, I thought of adding “Cucumber cake” to the title of this post. Taushe means Cucumber in Konkani. The name comes from “taushe idli – tausalli” since it is steamed like idli....
Are you tired of wracking your brain for dinner ideas that are both quick and delicious on a hectic weekday? Look no further! We’ve got just the recipe that will not only save you time but also leave your taste buds dancing with joy. In this blog post, we’ll introduce you to a simple yet incredible potato dish that’s bound to please everyone at the table. Say hello to the aromatic magic of ginger and cumin that elevates this humble potato creation to a whole new level of culinary delight....
“ KhoLu ” is the red liquid part of pickles (generally mango pickle). But here, I think KhoLu means pickle. So this can be called as Shrimp pickle. ‘Kokum’ is called as ‘Sola ‘. The most popular shrimp pickle among Konkanis is here . But “Kokum Shrimp” is my Aayi’s own recipe adapted from kokum bangada . This is one of the simplest and tastiest shrimp recipes. This literally gets ready in 10mins....
My maternal grandmother was a great cook. She had her own set of recipes for which she was very famous in the family. Few of them are pani puri , masala dosa , batate song and many more. Her all dishes had a very distinguishing taste. Her pulavs were also special. Few days back, I got a request for the masala pulav from Anu, I tried this recipe which I had noted down from my mom’s diary....
I wanted to post this recipe for a long time. This was a regular with chicken biryani at my pachi’s (aayi’s sister) home. It has been over a decade and I still remember the awesome taste of this combination. Somehow I have not prepared this very often, I kept forgetting to get the exact recipe from pachi. But that changed when I was in India this time. I have a strong dislike for raw onions and my family knows this very well – I still watch in awe when Ishaan, who is a picky eater, loves to eat raw onions!...
This is one very simple “recipe” that I prepared a while ago. Rasayana is a popular Kannada sweet dish which usually has coconut milk(sometimes only milk), sugar or jaggery for sweetness and some kind of fruit. I was not aware of this version with  Kitttale haNNu – orange, until I saw it in a Havyaka special article in a book. I loved the simplicity of this sweet dish....
Randayi is a Konkani sidedish which has juicy coconut paste. Different vegetables, lentils are used to make randayis . Pineapple and peas is a very unique combination which tastes great. When I got married in 1974 and moved to my new home, my husband told me about this recipe. He narrated a story that took place in 1972 at his sister’s wedding. His elder brother, who was a great food lover, was taking the lead and discussing the plan with the cooks while chalking out the menu....
The specialty of Konkani seafood dishes is – they are almost always quite spicy and made with coconut. A drizzle of coconut oil on top of these, with hot rice tastes heavenly. I can’t stress enough on how much I miss these dishes here. Being from coastal area, we always got very fresh fish and relished these spicy dishes made at home. Don’t know why I don’t make these often here....
Red amaranth is a very popular leafy vegetable that we get in the market here. It is in season now, so we go to any santhe( like a local farmer’s market) we can find this in abundance. Some people even get this to our door step. There are many varieties of tamdi (red) bhajji (leafy vegetable), some are bright red – where the gravies look almost like beetroot and some loose that color when cooked....
I recollect a colleague of mine from Northern part of India telling that in their menu, he had never seen drumstick. When he along with his friends hired a cook, he prepared a drumstick curry with rotis. These bunch of friends apparently told cook, if at all you prepare anything with this vegetable, we are going to find replacement for you. I pity – not the cook but this bunch of friends as they fail to explore potential of drumsticks....
Mandakki or Churmuri or puffed rice is loved all people. It is used to prepare various dishes depending upon the individual taste. My mother used to prepare this masala mandakki. We used to love this. Mandakki recipees are very easy to prepare and consumes very less time. It makes for a very quick and tasty snack. Mandakki is a preparation of full satiety value but less calorific value. Ingredients: 2 cups mandakki (puffed rice/chirmuro) 1/4 cup onion chopped 1/4 cup tomato pieces 1 tbl spn Coriander leaves 1 tea spn chilli powder Salt Oil Lemon juice...
This is one more Konkani special. Jaggery is called ‘GoD’ in Konkani. Its called as ‘Gandarli’ in North Kanara Konkani and ‘surnali’ in South Kanara Konkani. This is usually prepared with colored cucumber(magge, if someone knows the exact english name, pls let me know). I used water melon for this. Even the normal green cucumber can be used. Usually this and the normal cucumber dosa are prepared together for breakfast....
Ishaan is already 3 years old! I love this beautiful age – his imaginary stories, his own on-the-fly songs, his craze for cricket and soccer and everything that involves balls, his love for his bike etc. Unlike last two years when we had big parties for his birthday, we decided to keep it simple this time. Since he loves to have his friends, we decided to call our friends home....
It was one of those days, when I had a lot of vegetables in refrigerator which needed to be used. I was exhausted after a busy day at work. So I decided to make a one pot dish packed with vegetables. The mild spices give an amazing aroma. Beetroot gives a touch of sweetness. It was a very filling and delicious pulav. Other vegetables like green beans, carrots etc also can be included in this, but I didn’t want vegetables to totally overpower the pulav....
