Radish Chutney, Mullangi ( Mooli ) Chutney

          Today's post on the blog is another side dish to go with idlis and dosas, Radish Chutney. At home, most of the time, radish gets used up in making sambar and in parathas, very rarely I have made anything else with the vegetable. Couple of days back, when I had to make a chutney for dosas, I wanted to try something new and after going through the vegetables in the fridge, I decided to make this Radish ( Mullangi, Mooli ) Chutney. This is also a nice way to sneak in some veggies, it looks and tastes ( to some extent ) like the coconut chutney, so we can have it with idlis, dosas, adais and upmas..

Suzhiyam, Suyam, Seeyam Recipe

          Suzhiyam/Suyam is one sweet that my mother never misses to make on Diwali, but for some reason, I never made it at all till now. This year, I made it for Diwali, but of course, I didn't get a chance to post it then, since I made it on the festival day, but I managed to take some pictures. This is an easy dish, and if you like sweets made with jaggery, then you will definitely like this..

Dadpe Pohe, Rice Flakes With Coconut Paste

          There are some dishes which make you slog in the kitchen for hours and at the end of it, if the dish turns out good and the family likes it, you get a huge satisfaction. And then, there are some dishes that can be put together in the wink of an eye and again the family loves it and yes, you also get the same satisfaction. If someone asks me, which one of the dishes would I prefer to make, I would say, both, it depends upon the mood on that day. Ok, now, why am I beating around the bush, I just want to say, that today's post, Dadpe Pohe, is an easy dish and that it needs just a few minutes to put together but at the end, it's very tasty and satisfying. It's a Mahrashtrian dish and though the ingredients added to the aval/poha is the same as that we add to the Aval Upma, the way that it's added gives this dish a very different taste and makes it perfect for breakfast or an evening after school snack..

Sweet Somas Recipe, Karanji

          Today, it's going to be a traditional sweet recipe that we make for Diwali, Sweet Somas or Karanji/Kajjikayalu. This is one of my favorites, but I never gave it a try till now because the husband is not a big fan of it. While making it in my kitchen, all alone, my mind was flooded with so many memories. Whenever my mom made this, I would always be a part of it along with my grandmother and aunt. We would be doing such a huge quantity, that we would be spending at least 3 to 4 hours on it, and the whole time would just fly away with so many stories and gossips, missing those days. Coming to the recipe, it's not a very difficult one, the filling is very simple and can be done in minutes, and if you know to roll the dough out thinly, then you can do this sweet. Try it out with a small quantity, especially if you are doing it alone..

Thengai Sadam, Coconut Rice

     
          Thengai Sadam/ Coconut Rice, this is one of the easiest rice preparations, might be next to the Lemon Rice. As the name says, the main ingredient other than rice, is coconut, so grating the coconut is the only time consuming part in this dish. Of course we can use frozen coconut but fresh coconut has its own taste and texture. The rice is very simple and the fresh coconut and curry leaves are the only flavors in it. You can serve this rice with a spicy potato fry or even with simple chips or papads..

Capsicum Chutney, Red Bell Pepper Chutney

          Idlis and dosas appear in our breakfast or dinner menu, at least 2 to 4 times in a week, so I make a chutney for them at least 2 to 4 times in a week. Though the tomato chutney is a favorite at home, to keep us from getting bored of it, I try to make chutneys with other vegetables too, today's Capsicum/Bell Pepper Chutney is one such. Usually I add a capsicum along with the tomato and do it the same way as the Tomato chutney, but this time I left out the tomato and tried a slightly different version. The chutney came out very good and it goes very well with idlis, dosas and other South Indian breakfast dishes. If made a little thick like a thogayal, it would taste good with rice too..

Cabbage Thoran, Kerala Style Cabbage Stir Fry

          Next in line on Onam Sadya Dishes is Cabbage Thoran. Thoran is stir fry with vegetables and can be made with cabbage, carrot, beans or greens and is close in taste to the poriyal in the Tamil Cuisine. The main difference is the cooking oil, which is coconut oil and the amount of coconut that is added at the end. It's a very easy dish, and a perfect side to any South Indian meal..

Kerala Style Beetroot Kichadi, Onam Sadya Recipes

          This whole week it's going to be all Kerala dishes here, especially ones that are served in the Sadya. Yesterday, I had posted Inji Puli, and today it's the Beetroot Kichadi. The Kerala Kichadi is a curd and coconut based dish and not the Rava Khichadi that we Tamilians make or the Rice and Dal Khichdi that they make in the North. It's more like our Pachadi and we can use other vegetables like okra, cucumber and bitter gourds too. There is also another dish called Pachadi in the Sadya and there's only a small difference between the Kichadi and Pachadi. Again I followed the recipe from a cook book, it's a very easy dish and would be a nice accompaniment to any Indian meal and we loved it at home..

Millet Kozhukattai With Date Almond Filling, Millet Modaks With Date Badam Filling

          Ganesh/Vinayagar Chaturthi is just 3 days away and I see so many varieties of Kozhukattais in many blogs. Usually I make kozhukattais with paruppu-thengai-vellam pooranam/filling and sundal on Vinayagar Chathurthi, but this time I wanted to try out a different filling. For today's kozhukattais, I have use date-almond-coconut filling and I have also used millet flour instead of rice flour for the outer layer. Also, there is no added sugar in the filling, so this is very healthy too. I have used varagu flour/kodo millet flour, the outer layer came out really good, do give this a try and enjoy these healthy and delicious kozhukattais..

Mangalore Cucumber Seeds Saaru ( Rasam )

          When I posted Mangalore Cucumber Palya/Stir-Fry, I had told that I had saved the seeds for doing another dish called Saaru. Saaru is basically similar to the Tamil Rasam with a very thin soup like consistency. In Karnataka, they make Saaru out of cooked dal/lentil water, greens like spinach and like this one using the seeds of the Cucumber. Mangalore cucumber is the yellow or orange colored cucumbers, usually shaped as shown in the picture. When eaten raw, they don't taste like the regular cucumber but they taste very good in curries. I had adapted the recipe from here and they had used Udupi Rasam Powder to spice up the Saaru, since I didn't have it with me, I checked the ingredients for it and used them in this recipe. Also I added a cup of cooked lobia/karamani/black eyed peas to the saaru at the end, this way I thought I can add some protein. Since I added just one cup, it didn't change the taste or consistency of the Saaru. It went well with white rice and the Mangalore Cucumber Palya that I made that day. Next time, you see this orange/yellow Cucumber in the market, do buy and try out the Palya and this Saaru..

Ela Ada With Chakka Varatti, Steamed Rice Parcels With Jackfruit Preserve

          After making Chakka Varatti/Jackfruit Preserve, I was waiting to try out Ela Ada, when I say waiting, I really mean it because where I stay in Bangalore, I don't easily get banana leaves, except might be on festival days. I had to tell the flower lady to get me some and then I finally got after a week. Though we can use just coconut and jaggery filling, I wanted to make the Ela Ada with Chakka Varatti. Once you have the Chakka Varatti ready, then making these Ela Adas is not a big task. We can even use parchment paper for making these adas, but the banana leaf gives a unique flavor to the dish. The finished dish tasted awesome, close in taste to kozhukattais and my family loved it..

Cabbage Akki Roti, Cabbage Rice Roti

          Akki Rotis are simple and delicious rotis made using rice flour ( akki meaning rice in Kannada ), very popular dish in Karnataka and they make many varieties, plain ones and then so many versions using different vegetables. The first few times that I made them, I usually make a dough just like we make it for rotis, later I learnt that it should be slightly wet dough, this gives you much softer and delicious rotis. I adapted the recipe from here, and I have added finely chopped cabbage to the dough. The rotis came out too good and we loved it with peanut chutney..

Mangai Thogayal, Raw Mango Chutney

          Today's post is going to be a simple one, Mangai Thogayal/Mango Chutney. Though I make sambar or kootu or vegetable gravy to go with rice, we always love to have some kind of thogayal or chutney on the side. When we make thogayals, since we mix it with rice, we make it as thick as possible, without adding water ( or very little water ) and the texture is slightly coarse. I make the mango thogayal just like the coconut chutney, except here, for sourness I add the mango pieces instead of tamarind. This tastes very good when mixed with rice, or if you want to have it with idlis or dosas, make it slightly watery and season it with some mustard and urad dal..