Aloo Bhindi ( Gravy ), Okra And Potato Curry, Vendakkai Urulaikizhangu Curry

           Whenever I made Aloo Bhindi, it always ended up as a dry curry, this time I wanted a gravy with it, gravy in the sense, not dry. Though the list of ingredients for both the curries are almost the same, with a slight variation I finally got it. It tasted very good and goes well with rotis and naans..

Peanut Chutney, Verkadalai Chutney

          Peanut Chutney, this is another easy chutney that I make regularly to go with idlis and dosas. Roasting and peeling the peanuts is the only work in this, but if you get the already peeled ones, then it's even more easier. The peeled peanuts are just roasted and ground along with the chillies and other ingredients. There are a couple of ways we can do this chutney, using either green chillies or dried red chillies, for today's version, I have used dried red chillies and some garlic, this goes very well with the cucumber idlis that I have already posted..

Pasta With Sun Dried Tomatoes And Paneer ( Indian Cottage Cheese )

          My husband was having his dinner outside, with his colleagues, and it was just me and my daughter for dinner. I had decided on making pasta, but there was no cheese or pasta sauce at home, but still I had made up my mind on it. Going through the fridge, I found some paneer and sun dried tomatoes, so I decided to make something with it along with the pasta.  So I started off with boiling some water for the pasta and doing a simple sauce to serve with it, and decided to use some grated paneer in the place of cheese. Frankly speaking, I was not too sure about the final dish, but I still went ahead with it, and it turned out really good, except for the color. The sun dried tomatoes that I used were a dark reddish color, more like that of dried red chillies soaked in oil, so, when ground with some milk, the color was not that beautiful, but this depends on the color of the tomatoes. Also, I had used whole grain pasta, so the pasta color also was not very pretty but, otherwise, it is so simple to make and the paneer replaced the cheese very well too, try this if you like the taste of sun dried tomatoes..

Eggplant and Chickpeas Curry, Kathirikkai Kondai Kadalai ( Chana ) Curry

          Chickpeas/ chana/ garbonza beans dishes are a favorite at home, especially, chana masala. Cooked chickpeas can be added to salads, to mixed rice and also pairs well with almost any vegetable in a curry. I love it with potatoes, eggplants, spinach, the list goes on. Usually, I add it it only to a gravy, this time I thought I'll make a dry curry with chana and kathirikkai/ eggplant/ brinjals. This curry is again like the Kathrikkai Podi Curry, only with a slight variation in the ingredients for the spice powder. It goes well with rice and sambar, any mixed rice or can be even served with rotis along with some raitha..

Cucumber Idlis, Taushe Idli, Cucumber Cake

          Cucumber Idlis, also known as Taushe Idli ( taushe meaning cucumber ) is a popular Konkani breakfast dish. I first read about it in Aayi's Recipes, a wonderful blog on Konkani cuisine, and have made it so many times even before I started my own blog. This is such a simple dish that can be done instantly, no grinding and fermenting required, just half an hour of soaking time. Traditionally, the batter is kept inside turmeric leaves and steamed, but I have done it in the regular way, using the idli plates or a regular deep dish. It's served with chutney powder or idli milagai podi, but since this idli is slightly on the drier side when compared to the regular idlis, I usually make a peanut chutney to go with it. It's a nice variation from the regular idlis and has a distinct flavor from the cucumber..

Vendiya Keerai Kootu, Methi ( Fenugreek Leaves ) With Tuvar Dal

          Vendiya Keerai, Methi or Fenugreek Leaves, whenever I see a nice fresh bunch, I always buy it. Even if I don't use it the same day, I clean, chop and freeze it and add it later to sambar or curries. Only recently I have started making this kootu and now this has become my favorite dish with these leaves. It's a very simple and healthy dish, tastes great when mixed with rice or even with some rotis..

Double Ka Meetha, Shahi Tukra, Indian Bread Pudding

          Double Ka Meetha, a very famous Hyderbadi sweet and similar to Shahi Tukra, I had tasted this only once, long time back. The ingredients and preparation for Double Ka Meetha and Shahi Tukra, are similar, only the final presentation is slightly different. It's basically bread slices fried in ghee, topped with sugar syrup, rabri, nuts and dried fruits, a very rich and delicious dessert. For Shahi Tukra, the fried bread slices are served as such, but for Double Ka Meetha, they are slightly crushed. This is such a fatty and rich dessert but absolutely delicious, so have a small serving and do some extra workout, it's worth all of it..

Mushroom, Pepper And Cabbage Stir Fry

            The other day, I was making rotis and chana masala for dinner and I had to do some kind of vegetable dish to go with it. Of course, most of the time, we are fine with some sliced cucumbers on the side, but that day I didn't have cucumber but I had a packet of mushrooms. I wanted to keep the vegetable curry very light, didn't want any strong masalas in it, so I made this simple stir fry with it. I added some spring onions, red pepper and cabbage along with the mushrooms and some fresh ginger for flavor. It's a very simple and healthy dish, went perfectly with the rotis and chana masala..

Eggless Cinnamon Swirl Brioche

          This month, for our Eggless Baking Challenge, we had to make Cinnamon Swirl Brioche, suggested by Gayathri. It's a French pastry, very rich from the number of eggs and amount of butter used in making it. This time, I have used orange juice in the place of eggs, I have used orange juice in my cakes, it makes them very airy and light, so I thought that it should work in the brioche too.. I have used only very little of it in the brioche, but still it came out very good. The entire house was filled with the cinnamon flavor and the bread turned out to be absolutely delicious and everybody at home loved it..

Different Varieties Of Rotis And Parathas, Indian Breads

          Rotis/ Indian Flat Breads and Parathas/ Stuffed Flat Breads form a part of an healthy Indian meal and can be had for either breakfast, lunch or dinner along with some curry or dal or even a pickle. Here are some of the different types of rotis and parathas that I have tried out in my kitchen..