Methi Pilaf/ Rice With Fresh Fenugreek Leaves

          Back in India, after more than a month's stay in the US, hardly had time to check my blog since last Friday, and again this weekend is going to be a busy one with house hunting in Bangalore. In the meantime, whenever I get a chance I am trying to do a post and visit other blogs. Today's post, Methi Pilaf, again something that I had cooked 2 months back, I haven't cooked anything for more than a month now. This is once again a very simple and flavorful dish and goes very well with almost any side dish or even a simple raitha or yogurt..

Mushroom And Baby Corn Kuzhambu ( Curry )

          Till now, whenever I got mushrooms and baby corns, I had either prepared curries separately with each of them, or used them in fried rice or noodles, but never had I tried a kuzhambu with it. I tasted this at a restaurant, prepared in the Chettinad style, along with garlic, black pepper and coconut. I loved this curry and wanted to try it at home, the next time I had mushrooms and baby corn. This kuzhambu/ curry goes very well with rice, rotis, idlis and dosas, very easy to prepare and very flavorful, if you like garlic and pepper flavors, then you'll love this..

Onion Peas Masala

          Green Peas is something that I always have in my freezer, it comes in handy when I have to make something in a hurry, especially in the mornings when packing lunch for my daughter. It cooks faster and most kids love green peas. Today's post is Onion Peas Masala, also an easy dish, needs very few ingredients but tastes really good, caramelized onions with green peas. I have already posted Tomato Onion Masala, which might look similar to this, but then the spices added are different, so the taste also differs. This goes well with rotis or even as a filling for your sandwiches, if you like onions and peas, then this is for you..

Mooli Parathas/ Radish Flat Breads

          One more week in the US, then back to India, then a move, locally from Chennai to Bangalore, it's going to be pretty hectic for the next month or two, before we settle down, until then, hopefully I have enough posts in draft, to keep my blog going. Today's post, also from draft, is Mooli Parathas/ Radish Flat Breads. There are a couple of versions in this, some using grated raw radish, some using sauteed radish, I prefer the latter, it's less messy to roll out parathas using sauteed radish. I have used my own version of the filling, using some powdered roasted peanuts, making it a little more tasty and nutritious and they tasted very good with the cucumber raitha and mango chunda..

Vegan Double Chocolate Cake

          Double Chocolate Cake, well, as the name suggests, it contains double the amount of chocolate, compared to the regular chocolate cake, one in the form of cocoa powder and the other in the form of chopped chocolate chunks. For this vegan recipe, I have used regular coke as a replacement for egg. I had noted down this recipe, using coke, for a regular vanilla cake so many years back from a newspaper, but got a chance to try it only now. I had made some changes and it turned out very well, the cake was so moist and light and tasted so good with the chocolate chunks here and there, I would say, a ' Double Delight ' for all chocolate lovers..

Palak Paneer Bhurji/ Spinach And Cottage Cheese

          My daughter loves spinach and paneer, she likes all the curries I make with them, especially the Palak Paneer, it's her favorite side dish for rotis. But sometimes when I want to do something simple with spinach and paneer, but still very tasty, then this Palak Paneer Bhurji is my option. This goes very well with plain rotis or as a filling for sandwiches and masala dosas, or even mix it with some white rice, try it, I am sure you'll love it..

Dal With Spring Onions/ Lentils And Green Shallots

          Spring Onions/ Green Shallots/ Vengaya Thaal, till some time back, I had used this vegetable only in Chinese dishes, I'll buy a bunch, use a little for a fried rice or noodles and the rest, most of the time, will end up in the trash can. But of late, I have started using it in other dishes, today's dal being one of them. The spring onions give such a nice flavor to this dal, very easy to make and makes a nice side dish for both rice and rotis..

Capsicum And Potato Kurma/ Curry With Coconut

          Kurma is a coconut based gravy, usually made with potatoes, cauliflower or a mixture of vegetables and it goes well with rotis, pilafs, idlis, dosas or even plain rice. It's a rich curry, but I try to make it a little lighter by reducing the quantity of coconut added and replacing it with some shallots. For today's kurma, though I have added potatoes, I have also added some capsicum which gives it a unique flavor..

Tomato Raitha/ Tomato With Yogurt And Spices

          Enjoying our stay here in the US, especially my daughter, she's having a nice time, visiting her friends and cousins. Now then, when we go back to India after a month, it's going to be again, ''oh I miss this and that and that " for sometime. Coming to today's post, since I am not cooking here, it's also from draft, a very simple and delicious raitha with tomatoes, just, the way I made it is slightly different. This goes very well with parathas, pilafs, or I can have it just like that, try it, am sure you'll like it..

Keerai Saadam/ Spinach Rice

          When I am not in the mood for cooking, or when I don't feel like doing the regular sambar, rasam and curry, I do some kind of mixed rice. I would cook rice, vegetables and dal together like in this Cabbage Pongal or cook rice separately and mix in with some sauteed vegetables. But whatever it is, I try to make it as wholesome and nutritious as possible, so that we get our daily dose of protein and vegetables. This Spinach Rice is one such attempt, I have used Mulaikeerai/ Amaranth Greens for making it along with some cooked chana dal and fresh ground masala. When served with some raitha or curd/ yogurt, it makes a complete and satisfying meal..

Sliced Cucumbers With Pepper And Cumin/ Cucumber Salad

          After doing a long post on Tiramisu, I thought I'll keep this one simple and short, well the recipe ( if you can call this as one) is also very simple, Sliced Cucumbers With Pepper And Cumin. This is a perfect accompaniment to any meal, or also, a healthy snack for hot summers, very mildly spiced and refreshing with a slight hint of lemon..

Eggless Tiramisu

          For the month of  April, we had to do Tiramisu for our Eggless Baking Group. I had finished making it, way back by the 11th or 12th of the month, since I had to travel to the US. I was so happy that I had finished the challenge, way before the revealing date, and I had taken the camera with the pictures with me. But then, while travelling, I had left the camera at a friend's place, and came back only today, so once again, I am late for the post. Coming to the Tiramisu, we had to make our own mascarpone cheese, eggless savoiradi or lady fingers and then make it alcohol free too. Well, it was quite a challenge, but an interesting one and I think I have succeeded, at least 80%. I have tasted the regular Tiramisu with the eggs and the alcohol, and I can say, I have come closer to the original, except for the alcohol flavor in it. Anyways, I truly enjoyed making it and my family loved the eggless, alcohol free Tiramisu..