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..

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..

Podalangai Poricha Kootu, Snake Gourd Curry With Lentils

          When making a South Indian meal, when I want a change from the sambar, I make a vegetable kootu. Kootus are made with some kind of a vegetable and usually a dal, except when we make Moru Kootus, then we don't add lentils to the dish. We also add a lot more of the vegetable when making a kootu than when we make sambar. So if you make some rice and pappads, then along with the kootu, it would be a simple and filling meal. Today's kootu is with Podalangai/Snake Gourd and we use moong dal/split green gram in it, Podalangai Poricha Kootu. This kootu/curry is very flavorful from the freshly ground coconut-spice paste. Serve this with some white rice and a little ghee and some sutta appalam on the side, it such a delicious combo..

Beetroot Pooris (Puris)

          It's been a longtime wish to make colorful Pooris/Puris, the green ones with spinach and then these pink ones with beets. For those who might ask what are pooris, well they are deep fried puffed up flat breads made using whole wheat or all purpose flour or a mix of both. For making these pink Beetroot Pooris, we add some beet paste to the dough along with some spices. The puris look really attractive and they go very well some potato kurma and they would be perfect for a kids party..