Black Bean Brownies

          Black Bean Brownies, I had wanted to give this a try, just to know how black beans would taste in a brownie. I checked out a couple of recipes and finally settled down with this one from here. She has not used butter but coconut oil, I have used vegetable oil and maple syrup instead of sugar. It's very simple to make, just blending together all the ingredients and baking. The brownies were on the denser side, nobody would be able to make out that it has been made with black beans. Now coming to the verdict, I would still prefer my flour brownies, and I have figured out an eggless and whole wheat flour brownies which turned out too good ( will post them soon ), but definitely these are healthy brownies, and also, I am thinking, that I can make them even better by increasing the cocoa powder a little, will try out and update..

Murungakkai Palakottai Sambar, Drumstick Jackfruit Seeds Sambar

          I like jackfruit seeds as much as I like the fruit itself, though it's a pain to peel these seeds, they taste delicious. We can make curries with the seeds alone, but I like this sambar made with these seeds and murungakkai/drumsticks more than the curries. The flavor from the murungakkai and also the tamarind added in the sambar adds more taste to the seeds. Serve it with rice and any vegetable curry..

Basil Pesto And Zucchini Risotto

          We love Italian food at home, so I make pasta dishes once a week or so, other than pasta, risotto is also a favorite. I have made Mushroom and Baby Corn Risotto a couple of times, I wanted to try out a different one this time, so I made this Basil Pesto And Zucchini Risotto. It's an easy one pot dish, of course you have to have store bought or homemade basil pesto in hand. Serve this creamy and delicious risotto along with a some lentil soup and salad for a complete and delicious meal..

Pumpkin Paratha

          Pumpkin is not a vegetable that I buy every other day, I cook something with it, might be, once or twice in a month. That's mainly because, I know and have tried only very few dishes with it, a pachadi, soup and sometimes added it to sambar/kuzhambu. This pumpkin paratha has been on the try out list for some time, and finally, I made it couple of weeks back. These parathas are not the stuffed version, in this one, we just add pumpkin puree along with other spices to the flour while making the dough. The parathas turned out very soft and I have also added some ajwain, sesame seeds and ginger which gave a nice flavor to them..

Murungai Keerai Poriyal, Drumstick Leaves Stir Fry

          When something is available in abundance, we don't appreciate it, but then, when the same thing is not available easily, then you start liking it more. As far as food is concerned, this applies a lot, as a kid I didn't like sundakkai/turkey berries, vazhaithandu, small bitter gourds/midhi pavakkai and then the different varieties of greens/keerai, especially murungai keerai/ drumstick leaves. Forget about finding it when I was in the US, but even after coming to India, I don't get this keerai/greens that much here in Bangalore, or at least where I stay. So, now when I see it sometimes, I just get a couple of bunches. Usually my mom prepares this poriyal separately or along with vazhaipoo/banana flower, either way I love it. If you stir fry just the greens alone, it might not be that tasty, but the dal/lentils and grated coconut give it a nice taste and it goes well with rice and sambar/kuzhambu..

Eggless Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Muffins

          It's been a long time since I made chocolate chip muffins, or is this my first time, I don't remember, but when I decided to make it, I wanted to make it whole wheat and of course eggless. Now a days, I am more confident in doing eggless and whole wheat flour bakes, especially muffins have always come out well. I followed the recipe from Joy of Baking, I liked the cinnamon and sugar topping, it not only gave a nice flavor, but also gave a rustic, homemade look to the muffins. I just made a few changes to make it eggless and more healthier..

Vazhaithandu Kootu, Banana Stem Curry

           Vazhaithandu/Banana Stem, when I see a good one in the market, I never fail to buy it, but there are only a couple of dishes that I do with it, a pachadi, poriyal and this kootu. It's a simple dish, once you're done with cleaning and chopping the banana stem ( you can checkout here to see how to chop vazhaithandu ). Usually kootu has vegetables and cooked dal/lentils, but we don't add lentils in this kootu, but yoghurt/curd. Vazhaithandu Kootu goes very well with rice and a spicy kuzhambu/curry..

Oven Roasted Vegetables

          Roasted Vegetables, this is an easy and healthy side to any meal, I have sauteed vegetables on stove top, and oven roasted pumpkins and onions for a soup, but this is the first time I tried roasting a bunch of vegetables in the oven. I wouldn't even call this as a big recipe, it's just mixed vegetables roasted with some herbs and oil. Serve it with burgers, pasta or even roll it in a roti or chappathi topped with some chutney..

Avial, Mixed Vegetables In Coconut Gravy

          Avial, again another favorite, usually served in restaurants along with adai. But whenever I made Avial at home, I usually liked to eat it with rice along with some pappads. But then later, I started liking this other combination too, lemon rice and Avial. This is a simple dish, cooked vegetables in a coconut and yogurt based gravy and seasoned with coconut oil. Here, I have used drumsticks, raw banana along with carrots, brinjal and broad beans ( avarakkai ). But there are days, when I had cooked Avial with only carrots, beans and potatoes alone and still it was delicious..

Chitranna, Karnataka Style Lemon Rice

          Chitranna, this is a slight variation from the lemon rice that we make in the Tamil cuisine, it's a Karnataka version. We make it in a very simple way, basic seasoning with green chillies for a little spice and then the lemon juice. But Chitranna, is even more interesting, with a paste with coconut and spices. We also add onions along with the seasoning, and this gives a nice crunch to the dish. Serve it with some avial or chips on the side..

Eggless Brownies

          When browsing through my baking recipes, I was surprised to see that I haven't posted an Eggless Brownie till now, of course I have one with eggs. Then also, while just going through some brownie recipes, I found that you can make brownies with different textures, they can either have cake-like texture, or a chewy one or a fudgy one. Till now, I haven't really thought about what kind of texture my brownies came out, I prefer chewy brownies but today's brownies have a cake like  texture..