Pineapple Kesari, Pineapple Sheera

          Kesari is a favorite at home and since we all like pineapple, we love this Pineapple Kesari very much. It's been a long time since I made it at home, and now since pineapples are in season, I made this kesari. It's a very easy dish, we can use both fresh and canned pineapple, and the pineapple flavor takes the regular kesari to the next level..

Avarekalu Sooji Rava Adai, Field Beans Adai

          Another dish that I tried out using avarekalu/field beans was this Avarekalu Sooji Rava Adai. Again for this Adai also I have used hitikida avarekalu (I have peeled the beans and used ). It's a simple dish, we mix the semolina along with ground avarekalu/field beans and few other ingredients and make this adai. It comes out crispy and soft at the same time and tastes great with some chutney or even with some butter..

Ragi Rava Idlis, Finger Millet Idlis

          Today's post is another healthy and delicious idli with millets, Ragi Rava Idlis. I have made idlis with millets, both instant and fermented versions and for this Ragi Rava Idli, I have used ragi flour/finger millet flour and semolina/sooji/rava. The first time when I made these idlis, I used ragi flour and semolina in the ratio of 2:1, say for 1 cup ragi flour, I used 1/2 cup semolina, but I didn't like the texture of the idlis, they were dense. Only on my third try, I was fully satisfied with the idlis, I used equal quantities of ragi flour and semolina and the idlis came out really good and had the perfect rava idli texture. Serve them with some tomato chutney or tomato thokku for a filling and delicious breakfast or dinner..

Motichoor Ladoo Recipe, Motichur Laddu

          Motichoor Ladoo, another sweet that I had wanted to try for a long time, but kept putting it off until now. The main difference between Motichoor Ladoo and the Boondi Ladoo, is the size of the boondis ( fried gram flour balls ), it is very small in size in Motichur Ladoos. Also, we add cardamom and rose essence for flavor in Motichoor Ladoos, whereas in Boondi Ladoo, we add cardamom, cloves and edible camphor for flavor, and also Motichoor Ladoos are softer than Boondi Ladoos. There is a special ladle, Boondi Karandi ( karandi meaning ladle) for making the boondis for the ladoos, and in that also we have differnt ones for making the different sizes of boondis. I had with me, only the regular Boondi Karandi, not the one for making tiny boondis, but we can still make them, they may not be 100% perfect but we can still get close enough results and taste wise there will not be any difference. Even if you don't have a Boondi Karandi, you can still make it using the regular Jali Karandi ( the one with small holes) that we have in our kitchen for deep frying, so do try out this delicious and traditional sweet for this Diwali..

Rava Kichadi, South Indian Sooji (Semolina) Khichadi

          South Indian Rava Kichadi with vegetables, I make this at least once in 2 weeks for dinner or sometimes even for lunch for a weekday lunch box. This is a dish that I fall back to when I am really tired of cooking and want to keep it simple. Of course there's a little bit of veggie chopping, but for me this is simple when compared to making rotis and sabzi. Even people who don't like the regular rava upma would like this Kichadi and as for me, I love the flavor from the ginger and garlic and ghee and it tastes great with some coconut chutney on the side..

Watermelon Dhoklas

          Till a few months back, I never thought that we could do so many dishes with water melon. Till then, apart from eating it as such, the only other thing that I made with it was a juice. But then after making the dosa, I tried out idli, paniyaram and then now these Watermelon Dhoklas. For the idli, dosa and paniyaram, I used the white rind part of the fruit. But for making these dhoklas, I have used the actual fruit. The dhoklas came out too good and they looked so good too with a lovely color, do try this the next time you buy a watermelon..

Watermelon Idlis, Vegan Rava Idlis

          After making dosas with watermelon, using the white rind part of the fruit, the next thing that came to my mind was Watermelon Idlis. As usual, when I am trying something new, I am always prepared for anything, the dish can turn out good or bad. I decided to make it in the same way as Rava Idlis ( Sooji/Semolina Idlis ), using the watermelon rind pulp in the place of yogurt/curd. The idlis came out really good, the texture was like that of rava idlis, and I also realized that I had made Vegan Rava Idlis, do try these idlis, the next time you buy watermelon..

Oats Idlis, Instant Oats Idli Recipe

          Idlis with chutney or sambar is a favorite at home, no complaints from the husband and daughter and for me, I need not spend time standing, making rotis and dosas. Instant idlis get another big tick from me, no need to grind the batter and then wait for it to ferment. Instant Oats Idlis is another very easy recipe, I follow the same procedure like the Rava Idlis, except here, I use a mixture of oats and rava ( semolina ) for making the idlis. Though I can have oats every single day for breakfast, my family runs away from it, so I have to sneak it in only in the form of upmas, idlis and dosas. The idlis came out very good, nobody can tell that there is oats in it unless you tell them. Serve it with the chutney of your choice, we had it with carrot chutney and it was absolutely delicious..