Eggless Apricot Pistachio Orange Biscotti

         For this month's challenge for the Eggless Baking Group, Gayathri had chosen Apricot Pistachio Orange Biscotti from Baking Obsession. The recipe called for orange blossom water, which I couldn't find in Chennai, so I went ahead with the recipe, replacing the eggs with orange juice which I thought would also make up for the orange blossom water. However, I would like to try this recipe again using the orange blossom water which I hope to get soon on my US trip. Anyways, these biscottis turned out really good, but they were a little too sweet for my taste, I would reduce the sugar by a few tablespoons on my next attempt. Try them out, they are a great teatime or a mid-morning snack..

Chickpeas (Chana) Raitha

          I have been a little busy the last few days, couldn't spend much time with my blog, and today's dish is also a very simple one. A simple raitha that would go well with any briyani or mixed rice, or if you are on a diet, this could be a complete meal by itself..

Minty Eggplant With Peanuts

          We can find so many different varieties of eggplants in India, different colors and different sizes. And also, this is one of the vegetables that everybody likes at my home, so I make this at least once a week and try out different combinations with it. This is one such, mint and peanuts compliment the eggplants, adds a nice flavor and crunch to the curry, goes well with both rice and rotis..

Rajma Masala

          Rajma Masala, this is a long time due post, I have done this dish so many times, couple of times couldn't take pictures and when I took them, the pictures were not that good. A bowl of rice, a cup of rajma (kidney beans curry) and some curd, or like they say it 'rajma chawal' ( chawal meaning rice), I simply love it, a simple and satisfying meal. You can either soak the dry beans and pressure cook them and then do the masala or if you are in a hurry, can use the canned ones and get done with the whole cooking within 10 mins. Everybody has their own way of doing it, this is the way I do it..

Kozhukattais - Sweet Version

          As today is Ganesh Chathurthi and I made these kozhukattais, I thought it would be apt to post this today. Kozhukattai is a very traditional sweet, sort of like steamed dumplings, the outer layer is with rice flour and the stuffing varies from sweet to savory. I have used the rice flour that my mother prepares, she uses the same flour for idiyappam and puttu, I think I have to do a separate post on how to make that rice flour. I used a chana dal + coconut + jaggery filling, the kozhukattais came out very soft and yummy..

Basil Pesto Parathas

          I need not mention again and again how much I like basil, simply love it in all forms, fresh or dry. I like to use the fresh leaves or in their absence, the basil pesto, now available in Chennai too. Apart from using it in pasta and in sandwiches, I wanted to try out something else with it. So this Sunday, I tried out these parathas with it, you can use the store bought pesto or make your own, recipe here. They are very easy to make and very flavorful..

Vendikkai Thayir Pachadi ( Okra With Yogurt )

          Well, today I am feeling a little lazy, might be it's the end of the week or the beginning of the weekend, whatever the reason, I have chosen a very easy dish today. A simple thayir pachadi or raitha and I love this particular one with vendikkai or okra or lady's finger, I like the ones that we get here in Chennai, they definitely justify the name lady's finger, so slim and long. It's so easy to prepare, serve it as side dish with rice or rotis or parathas..

Tofu Broccoli With Basil

          Back in the US, my daughter and I would frequent a Chinese restaurant, close to home. Of course being vegetarians, we had very few options, the usual lo mein and fried rice, but once I was surprised to find basil in the lo mein (noodles). It gave such a nice flavor and blended well with Chinese style of cooking. I had wanted to try it at home, so this time when I did a stir fry with broccoli and tofu, I used basil ( was so happy that we can get basil now in Chennai). It turned out very good, if you love basil like me, then you should definitely give this a try..

Tri Color Capsicum Rice

          I always have a stock of capsicums in my refrigerator, love its flavor, adding a small piece of it to any dish makes it more flavorful. We can also make so many dishes with capsicum alone, starting from sambars to curries and pilafs. Today's dish is a rice preparation, you can make this with just the green capsicum alone, but since I also had a red and yellow one , I added a little of each one of them, making it very colorful..

Beetroot Semiya Bagalabath

          Bagalabath is a preparation with curd and rice or semiya, a light yet filling dish, usually served in restaurants as a late afternoon snack. The other day, I wanted to have something light for lunch, something cool too, so this was the ideal choice. I added some grated beetroot to the regular bagalabath, it tasted really good, my daughter who doesn't like beets loved this dish..

Long Beans Stir Fry

          Lunch at home is usually rice or roti, sambar or dal and some vegetable and sometimes it becomes very boring, both to cook and eat. When we make a slight change to the way we cook the vegetable or dal, we'll not get bored eating the same vegetables or dal. This curry today is also like that, instead of adding the regular chilli or sambar powder, I made a slight variation, this curry goes well with both rotis and rice, very simple and flavorful..

Lemon Coconut Bread

          This month's challenge for the Eggless Baking Group was Lemon Coconut Bread, you can find the original recipe here. This month has been a pretty busy one for me, but I didn't want to miss the challenge, hope I have posted in time. This is like a stuffed bread with a lemon flavor and a delicious sweet filling of cream cheese and coconut. I made my own cream cheese and used for the filling, the end result was extremely satisfying..