Gobi Matar/ Cauliflower And Peas Curry

          Another curry that I make often these days, is this Gobi Matar/ Cauliflower And Peas Curry, the reasons being, this curry goes well with both rotis and rice, super easy to prepare and tastes very good. To add to all the above and the most important, my daughter, who's not a big fan of this vegetable, except in Pakoras/ Fritters and Manchurians ( both deep fried)  likes cauliflower cooked this way, which is much more healthier. It's not a gravy, it would fall between semi-dry to dry curry. If you have leftovers, you can very well use it as a filling for a very tasty sandwich the next day..

Vegan Chocolate Chunk Cookies

          Chocolate Chip Cookies, though I have baked it a couple of times, never blogged it, so I thought it's high time that I added this to my bakes. I had initially thought of doing it as half oil and half butter version, but then I had bought some tofu the previous day and I wanted to use it, so went ahead and made a vegan version. To tell you the truth, I was not sure of the result, made a very small batch of just 7 cookies, ready to trash it, if something went wrong. But at the end, they turned out to be really very good, soft and guey, otherwise I wouldn't be blogging it, right. Since I ran out of chocolate chips, I've replaced it with chocolate chunks, hence the name Chocolate Chunk Cookies..

Vazhaithandu Poriyal/ Banana Stem Curry

         The pith or the inside part of the banana stem has many medicinal benefits. Whenever I find a good piece of it, I buy it, at least once in 2 or 3 weeks, I know and do only a couple of dishes with it, one is this Vazhaithandu Poriyal and the other is the Thayir Pachadi ( with yogurt/ curd). I have to learn some more dishes with this vegetable or stem. This is my mother's recipe, the tuvar dal and coconut added gives a nice taste to this curry, try it out, when you get a chance to get this vegetable..

Quinoa Patties With Chickpeas Gravy

          Many of us are familiar with the famous Ragda Patties, this is a slight healthy twist to this delicious dish. Ragda is the chickpeas or peas gravy that is served with the potato patties. Here I have reduced the potatoes and replaced it with the healthy quinoa and sauteed cabbage, they tasted really awesome. The chickpeas gravy that I have used here is slightly different, in that I have added some tamarind and jaggery, to give it a sweet and sour taste. The Quinoa Patties, topped with the Chickpeas Gravy, with a sprinkle of sliced onions and green chutney, made up for a wholesome and healthy meal, try this next time you cook quinoa..

Coriander Chutney/ Green Chutney

          Chat Dishes are very popular in Indian Cuisine, it has it's origin in the northern states, but now popular throughout India and almost everywhere in the world. If you can find a Indian restaurant in your area, I am sure you'll find some kind of a chat in the menu. It's mostly served as a snack or an appetizer. Most often they are served with some chutneys, one of them is today's Coriander Chutney, this is also served as a side to the plain pappads. Can also use as a spread on sandwiches and keeps good for one week in the refrigerator..

Methi Thepla/ Flat Breads With Fenugreek Leaves

          My last post was Mango Chunda/ Chutney, and I had mentioned there, that, I had made Methi Theplas to go with it or vice versa. Theplas are basically flatbreads made with a dough which is made of wheat flour and yogurt/curd along with some spices. Though I had tasted it a couple of times, I really fell in love with it, when I tasted them at my friend's place, her mother had made them and brought with her when she had travelled from India to the US. They tasted simply too good, and I didn't hesitate a moment to ask her the recipe. I made it last week for lunch along with the Chunda and we simply loved it..

Mango Chunda/ Chutney

          Mango Chunda, a sweet and spicy chutney, I don't remember when I first tasted this, I think, I had it with some parathas at a friend's place. It's a Gujarati dish, traditionally served with theplas and parathas, and it's prepared with raw mangoes and has a sweet and spicy taste. While reading about it, I came to know, that the traditional way of making this, is really a lengthy process, where the grated mango is mixed with sugar and left to melt naturally under the sun, and then the spice powders are added. But I tried this easy version from Tarla Dalal's recipe collection, and the result was awesome. Now I have a small jar of it, which can be used for at least a year, that is, if it's not finished by then, a tasty accompaniment for any paratha or even as a spread on a slice of bread..

Vegan Chocolate Mug Cake

          Chocolate Mug Cake, finally I got to post it, and a vegan version. I've tried it so many times, sometimes it had turned out good and then sometimes, like a flab of rubber that I had to throw away. It was when I was making the Eggless Cauldron Cakes, I had some leftover batter, that I poured in some ramekins and microwaved, it came out very well, so I stuck to that. Then yesterday, I tried a vegan version, using orange juice and oil, the result was very good, ideal for those days, when you want a chocolate cake, but then, lazy to bake a big one..

Tomato Capsicum Dal/ Lentils

          Dal/ Lentils is the main source of protein in a vegetarian diet, but eating the same old dal or sambar every single day can become a little boring. Adding a different vegetable or slightly tweaking the spices added can result in very different flavors, this Tomato Capsicum Dal is one such attempt. The capsicum, fenugreek, coconut and jaggery added makes this dal taste different from the usual and it goes well both with rice and rotis, give it a try, you might like it..

Paneer Butter Masala/ Creamy Curry With Indian Cottage Cheese

          Paneer Butter Masala, a favorite of most kids, a rich creamy dish, and is sure to appear in most party menus. Paneer/ Indian Cottage Cheese cubes are cooked in a rich blend of spices and is garnished with kasuri methi/ dried fenugreek leaves and a dash of fresh cream, the resulting flavor is simply irresistible. Though the dish looks so rich and delicious, it's actually pretty easy to make it. You can make your own paneer ( the method here ) or use store bought ones, both works very well..

Chana Dal Vadai/ Split Chickpeas Fritters

          Vadais/ Lentil Fritters, I make them once in a while, since it's a deep fried snack, and even then, I mostly make the Ulundu Vadai. I very rarely make these Chana Dal Vadais. These vadais are again crispy on the outside, soft on the inside but not spongy, a great tea-time snack. I have added just onions to the batter, though we can add other vegetables like cabbage, spinach and vazhaipoo/ banana flower. These vadais taste best when hot, can have it as such or with some coconut chutney..

Sundakkai Kuzhambu/ Turkey Berry Gravy

          Sundakkai/ Turkey Berry is widely used in South Indian cuisine, especially in the Tamil kitchen, we use both, the fresh berries and the preserved dried ones known as Sundaikkai Vathal. While googling I also read that it's used in Thai cooking too. While growing up in India, I wouldn't even think of eating this vegetable, but after marriage and moving to the US, I started missing it, we hardly found them on the East Coast, I could have only the dried ones that I got from India. It's available on the West coast in some farmers markets. Now that I am back in India, I get plenty of these fresh berries, there are a few dishes that we make with it, today's is the Sundakkai Kuzhambu. The tamarind extract and the jaggery used balances the slight bitter taste of these berries, it tastes awesome when served with some hot white rice..

Couscous With Cabbage And Peas

          Couscous, popular in Moroccan cuisine, is generally served steamed, along with some vegetable or meat gravy. While reading about it, I came to know that the box of couscous that we get is actually precooked and dried, so all that we do is, add it to boiling water, cover and switch off and leave it for about 5 to 10 minutes. So it's very easy to prepare and when cooked with some vegetables, makes a complete meal, whole wheat couscous is also available, making it more healthier. I have made this dish with an Indian flavor, it tasted very good and was done in minutes..

Aloo Methi/ Potato With Fresh Fenugreek, Dry Version

          Potatoes, there can be very few people who'll say 'I hate this vegetable', we might be avoiding it for health reasons, but then the simple potato curry is always very tempting. My daughter loves potatoes, so I make them at least once a week, and this combination with methi/ fenugreek leaves is simply too good. I have another version in my blog which has some gravy, this one is a dry version. I have used Tarla Dalal's recipe, I know, I'll be making this again and again..

Thumbprint Cookies, Eggless

          Looking back, I realized that I have not baked that many cookies as cakes, so the other day, when I had made up mind to bake something, I decided that it was going to be some kind of a cookie. Googled and finally settled down with these Thumbprint Cookies, the name because of the thumb-like depression in the center of the cookie which is filled with some jam or jelly. I have used Apricot Preserves for the filling, and I have made an egg less version, if you like the soft, short bread like cookies then, this is for you..

Pineapple Rasam/ Clear Soup

          Rasam is a must in the lunch menu when my husband is around. Most of the times, I use the ready made rasam powder and it'll usually be a tomato, lemon or garlic rasam. I had this small tin of pineapples, when thinking about how to finish it, this Pineapple Rasam popped up. Though I've had it many times and made it at home a couple of times, I was not really satisfied with the taste. This time, I used freshly ground powder and I don't know what, everything fell into place and the rasam was very flavorful and tasted awesome, this one's a keeper..

Roasted Broccoli With Parmesan

          Broccoli has become a family favorite, even after coming to India, I buy it at least once a week. Though we can do some Indian recipes with it, personally I like it in the form of a stir fry or simply blanched with some dip. The vegetable should not be overcooked, should retain a slight crunchiness. This dish is again very simple to make, tastes really good and will definitely be loved by kids, can serve it as an healthy appetizer or snack..

Thakkali Saadam/ Tomato Rice

          My daughter is not a big rice eater, anytime, she prefers rotis, idlis or dosas to it, the only exception being a couple of mixed rice varieties, like the lemon, tomato and tamarind and of course thayir saadam. Tomato rice is an all time favorite as far as my family is concerned. There are a couple of versions of it, I follow my mother's, no masala items, the green chillies give an unique flavor to it, a simple but extremely delicious one..