Okra Rasam | Bendakayi Neeru Saaru | Vendakkai Thanni Kuzhambu

    Okra Rasam - a fancy name for bendakayi neeru saaru.'Saaru' is a Kannada name for rasam. Rasam is  basically a thin, tangy, watery soup made in southern India with or without dal which pairs well with plain hot white rice.Sometimes may be thick depends on the ground ingredients.There are so many varieties of rasam like kollu, tamarind, tomato , pineapple , lemon etc. In all varieties, the basic ingredients remain the same while the main ingredient differs.

Raw Mango Rice Recipe | Manga Sadam | Easy Rice Recipes | Indian Lunch Recipes

    Raw Mango rice is a quick south Indian variety made with fresh raw mango.Spend 15 minutes and finish cooking your lunch,if you already have some cooked or any left over rice.This can be a healthy lunch box.No grinding and no masala powder makes  it even better choice for bachelors lunch/ dinner.

Curry Leaves Powder | Kadhi Patta Powder | Karuvepilai Podi

       Curry Leaves powder is a podi prepared with lentil (toor dal) and curry leaves.Podi is nothing but a coarse powder prepared with lentils with or without curry leaves.Usually pairs with rice and gigelly oil or ghee.I always have /make idli podi- an instant side dish for idli.Sometimes i make paruppu podi for rice and keep garam masala podi at hand for preparing north Indian curries.

Fruit Salad With Watemelon and BlueBerry | Easy Fruit Salad | Watermelon Recipes

  Fruit salad is a very quick and healthiest meal/snack anyone would ever have.Have i told you i have never seen this much variety of fruits before coming to US .Wanted to try so many different recipes, tried quite a few fruits like pineapple,strawberry,mango,banana,peach (lassi),cantaloupe (juice) .This fruit salad happened just the previous week ,when i bought a whole watermelon.

Rava Upma Recipe | South Indian Breakfast Recipes

        Rava Upma - the quickest breakfast made with rava/sooji/semolina.In South India, upma/uppuma  is THE tastiest,instant breakfast/snack.When there is no idli dosa batter, upma comes in handy.Everything can be done in under 20 minutes from roasting to cooking, there is no cutting of vegetables needed, making it best for bachelors or spinsters.

How To Make Mango Lassi | Sweet Punjabi Drink

    How to make mango lassi - a sweet treat from Punjab.Everybody from India know of this lassi for sure.Mangoes are in season at the end of school year in India.Vacation-Summer starts in India during April.When we were kids,we used to eat mango ..mango.. mango anytime ..For dessert, Side dish or as a Snack.Lassi is basically a drink made with yogurt as the base.You can prepare endless combination of lassi with vegetables and fruits.With cucumber you can make a salt lassi ,Pulse your favorite strawberry in the yogurt to make a Strawberry lassi or You can make peach lassi like i did.So its up to you to choose your favorite combination.

Masala Rice Recipe | LeftOver Rice Recipe

      Masala Rice a quick fix  recipe with the leftover rice.This rice is very popular among bachelors and college grads because they can't make a fresh meal for dinner.This sure can make a fresh,comfortable meal with the leftovers available.

Vegetable Fried Rice Recipe | Indo Chinese

     There are many items in indo-chinese.Vegetable fried rice will be a quick and healthy and really tasty too,among others.I will try to make and post more indo chinese in future.I have a love towards noodles and fried rice .I prefer ordering them when we visit near by restaurants.
    Kids too love these different rice variety,don't like regular sambar,rasam. They  should love their lunch boxes,not to bring anything back?.By making these vegetable fried rice you definitely can achieve the above goal.

Masala Dosa|Dosa Recipe

    Masala Dosa-A very famous dosa among Indians and in places where Indians live.Masala dosa is a south Indian speciality.Its a dosa with crispy outer layer and soft sweet and spicy potato filling inside..It is really easy to make masala dosa at home if you have idly-dosa batter.Dosa batter is readily available at Indian stores .If you can't make it at home, get some before you start making this dosa.Make potato masala, stuff them inside dosa  and enjoy.
    Key thing to note here is masala has to be little sweet compared to poori bhaji,so be careful not to add too much spice.I added carrot and red onion to make it sweet ,if you are short of carrots you can ad fresh or frozen peas to make the masala.Otherwise add some sugar to make the masala sweet .Dosa layer has to be crisp,to do so leave it tava/pan for some more time after the dosa is done.If its too much crisp it will spoil the masala dosa texture.Here is how to make masala dosa ?

Kara Pori|Puffed Rice Recipe

Kara Pori 

    A spicy puffed rice recipe made as a evening snack.This puffed rice is favourite for lord muruga ,the star of "karthigai deepam".This festive falls on Tamil month "karthigai" ,the month lord muruga was born. Muruga ,the most beautiful god.In Tamil "murugu" means beautiful. There is a belief that 6 kid's(muruga's) were born(have seen it in a Tamil movie).So 6 is the number favourite to muruga. In Tamilnadu you can see 6 famous muruga shrines 

1. Thiruthani-Muruga married Valli here.
2. Swami malai-Lord muruga teaches meaning of om to lord Shiva
3. Thiruparamkundram-Muruga married deivanai here.
4. Thiruchendur-Muruga fought against soorapadma here.
5. Palani-Muruga stayed here after he fought with his family for a divine fruit.
6. PalamudirCholai-Muruga stays with his two wife's Valli and deivanai  here.

 I know 4 of the temples ,yet to visit 2 more .
    Now to the puffed rice recipe.I usually do Masala peanuts or poha chivda for evening snack if my dearies are hungry.These 2 are easy to make,But Kara Pori is the easiest of all of the snack.My grandma do this kara pori and pori urundai for karthigai deepam.I failed to make pori urundai this time.So at least i do this Kara pori for lord muruga.

    This kara pori is very simple even an amateur cook can do it.I haven't added peanuts(kadalai),Roasted gram(pottukadalai),curry leaves(karuvepilai).If you wish you can very well add before adding the masala.Roast both of them until they change colour.

    Instead of adding chili powder you can add mor milagai .To enjoy crunchy kara pori just roast  puffed rice(pori separate) 2 -3 minutes before adding to the masala.You can add some veggies,onion to make it masala pori too.

Curd Rice/Thayir Sadam

      "Rice" being a staple south Indian Food, we need variety of rice dishes .Variety varies from delicious  "biriyani" to simple "tomato rice" .Curd rice is the easiest of all rice varieties.Some people even think ,why  are you giving the recipe for this rice ?Some times easy recipe gets faulty and the day got ruined because of not getting the simple  "Yogurt" rice .The trick is you have cook the rice mushy and cool it down before you add curd to it .If the curd is too tangy you can add little milk to get right taste.
 Some common names of this rice "mosaru anna" or "bhagala bath" in Kannada,"Yogurt rice "in telugu .Its commonly called as "thathi Annam" in Tamil Brahmin's community.

Some more rice varieties for you to devour:

1. Channa rice
2. Mushroom Biriyani
3. Coconut rice
4. Mint Pulov
5. Lime rice
6. Vegetable pulov
7. Vegetable biriyani

Cooking time:15 +5 min
Serves:1-2

Sweet Lassi Recipe/Peach Lassi

      Sweet Lassi is a flavored yogurt kind Indian drink ,which would be served along with a meal  in northern  parts of India.People are fond of  making lassi with mango, which is very popular and will be available in most Indian restaurants .
          We love to eat fruits as is .I don't do cakes ,slushes,milkshakes,lassi very often with fruits.But once in a while i do some of these to my daughter(she loves fruits in any form) .This peach lassi i did for one of our road trips ,because  i am not sure how to consume peaches.Peaches are very good fruit which gives lot of fiber, resembles apple.
        I used home made yogurt (with 2 percent milk)for making this sweet lassi .Do you see , it is little watery ?.If you use store bought yogurt ,lassi will be thick and creamy .If your kids love yogurt this is the best way to add some fruits to their diet .This lassi is sweet and tangy with tutti fruity its just good .

   Tip:
      You can do lassi with fruit like mango,blueberry.This will be a good quick snack or breakfast for kids that will be made in no time .You can  involve kids while you make them.

Preparation time:5 min

Serves:2

No Microwave Popcorn/Homemade Popcorn

     These days I am in need to make some snack for my little one after she comes from school. While thinking of options I thought about popcorn. Its easy to make popcorn from the packets available at market, but I didn't want to do that. Usually the ready to pop packets are laden with salt and butter and not very healthy. I wanted make it  from scratch. That's when i saw Elise doing a perfect batch of popcorn .
     
What you need ?

     To make a perfect popcorn you only need 2 ingredients , a big pot like pressure cooker or cooking pot along with covering lid (this pot should hold the popcorn while popping). The pot should not be too heavy because you need to shake it while popping . Of course you still need corn kernels and salt.

To make a perfect popcorn in home can be little tricky .

What is a perfect Popcorn ?

     It should not be burnt and also all the kernels has to pop ,that is the perfect batch of popcorn.
Follow the instructions carefully to make a perfect batch. These pop corns are perfect  for a snack on a weekend.

Some other easy snack recipes

1. Poha chivda(aval mixture)
2. Cheerios Bhel
3. Granola Bars

Cooking time:10 min
Serves:1-2

Pasipayaru Sundal/Easy Snack

Very soon navarathri celebrations are starting .So you can see recipes for neivedhyams/prasad in my up coming posts.

 Lets look at "navarathri":

         "Nava" means 9   ,"rathri " means nights .So nine nights pooja and fasting to pray "durga,badrakali,ambal,annapooorna,jagathamba,chandikha,lalitha,bhavani,mookambhika    " to get her blessings .10th day is called "vijayadashami".

There are totally 5  navaratris celebrated year around.  This is what  Wikipedia says

1. "vasantha" celebrated during vasantha kalam "march -April" spring season.
2. "Ashad" celebrated during "June-July"
3. "sharad "celebrated during "September -October" Most important navarathris of all its the starting of winter season.
4. "pusha" celebrated during tarishi "December-January "
5. "magha "  celebrated during "January-February"

       In tamilnadu temples ,idols are decorated in different form of durga for this 9 days .In houses people do "golu " and cook prasad /neivedhyams for god and distribute it to the people who visits their house.Women's share bhindi "manjal .kunkumam " for longavity of their husbands life .
    Sundal which is a easy snack plays a major role in navarathri neivedhyams.There are many varieties of sundal but this pasipayaru sundal is very nutritious ,it can be made as a evening snack for kids.Its very easy and kids and adults would love it for sure.

Cooking time:15  min

Serves:2-3

LongbeansStirfry

I Never saw this bean variety before,it happened  to me one fine day .I was surprised to see it and i got it with a curiosity how it will be  .I guess they taste a bit different from our regular curry beans and  taste similar like "asparagus" which i never tasted .You can add some peanuts while tempering if you like little crunchiness while eating this veggie .
Its called long beans but according to me the taste is little different than our regular beans .When i searched for it wikipedia says Its also called "yard long beans","Chinese long beans" ,"Pea bean" ,"Snake bean".
I am returning to my schedule slowly and will be posting as usual very soon .So until then please be patient.

Looking for some easy sidedish then try

• Snakegourd stirfry
• Tindora stirfry

Preparation time:5 minutes
Cooking time:15-20 min
Serves:2-3

IdlyUpma/RiceIdlyUpma

             Idly Upma is a easy breakfast with leftover idlies.I really can eat a whole lot of upma (this whole batch i can eat) .I remember some of friends who dont like idly like this upma with vengaya kosu,kosumalli .
             What is special about this idly upma ? you might be using the morning or day before streamed idlies , they might be little hard .To make them soft we soak the idly in water and squeeze the extra water out .This way your idly upma will be soft and yummy .Upma means a whole lot of salt (in tamil "uppu" means salt ).Idly upma is no exception to it .With some little extra salt and favourite side dish by your side your leftover idlies gets a royal makeover.

Preparation time:5 min
Cooking time:5 min
Serves:2

Broccoli Pepper Fry | Indian Broccoli Recipe

     Hello readers and friends, its been long since I posted.We were on vacation, before leaving on vacation I thought I would share some recipes from India,That is impossible!!! I spent most of the time with my family. I visited them after 2 long years. Apologies for not posting a single recipe at that time. We came back a few days ago.I had to start my usual chores,of course posting too.Finally I edited post of this broccoli pepper fry recipe.

    This broccoli pepper fry is a simple broccoli recipe made with just pepper and jeera.Pepper and jeera is added in oil just before broccoli,to get a smoky taste in the fry.You can say this broccoli is prepared in Indian style.Roasted pepper/jeera gives a unique  taste to broccoli fry.I do cauliflower pepper fry this same way.So if you don't get broccoli you can make this pepper fry with cauliflower.

VengayamThakkaliThokku/EasySideDish

           This is a guest post  to my friend resna so I just want to give a little intro about her.
Resna is a good friend of mine and my fellow blogger .She is blogging since 2013 and she has many wonderful recipes collection in her blog.She is very good at non-veg items, especially kerala items .She is a very good baker  too .I love her eggpuffs so much ,apart from that i want to try her eggkebab which is so good. Check out her space for these special recipes .
         She asked me for a guest post one fine day and i sent her this post .Hope she likes my post .
     Coming to thokku. When you have no vegetables and you want to make a side dish for roti/chapathi this thokku comes in handy .Its one of the easiest recipes i do .I do it occasionally but my husband love it for sure.My mom do whenever we go on a trip .Its so good at those times when we are so tired visiting so many places .You got my point ?The good part is You can make it with your pantry ingredients without much fuss .

KondakadalaiSadam/KalaChanaChawal/BlackchannaRice

           Black chana(black chickpea/kondakadalai/kalachana) has more nutritional value than white chana its very good for your eye health( my grandmas word).I do chana kulambhu ,gravy for roti etc.One day i just don't want to do my regular recipes ,was searching for recipes and found the perfect recipe of chana rice in priyakas blog .Believe me in a span of 3-4 weeks i did this rice almost 3-4 times and we all love it a lot .Its just perfect for tiffin box- a filling nutritious meal for your loved ones in their boxes .When you sprout the channa then you get the whole grain value too.So protein,fibre,vitamin ,wholegrain,carbohydrate in one meal ...So good .With some yogurt,karasev,papad you are ready for lunch .let see how i did the rice.

Interested in quick rice recipes ? check
Mushroom fried rice
Peas pulao
Low calorie mushroom biriyani

Preparation time :20 min(for cooking the rice and chana)
Cooking time:10 min
Serves:2

PotatoPoriyalWithoutPressureCooker/DrySideDishForRoti

        Potatoes are everybody favourite .Potatoes are consumed more than any other veggies around the world .From poriyal to mashed potatoes there are many variations you can do with potatoes.Potatoes available in specific regions vary in taste ,color and are good to make only specific food varieties.
Some varieties of potatoes i know

• Baby potatoes(small size potatoes .Good for frying ,Masalas)
• Russet potatoes( have little pigments shown.Good for baking,mashing,French fries)
• Idaho potatoes(large brown skin potatoes.Good for baking,mashing,French fries and chips)
• Pink potatoes(pink potatoes)

        Same potatoes cooked in different indian style.
       One is Potato masala .In there ,potatoes are pressure cooked ,peeled and added to masalas. Second is  Poori bhaji  here potatoes are pressure cooked and added to onion ,tomatoes and green chilies .In this recipe potatoes are cubed ,tempered and added to masalas .Three diff styles with same potatoes  .
        Even people without pressure cooker can do this poriyal without much fuss.Cooking the potatoes in slow fire gives the potatoes a slight crispness and masala flavours wonderfully blended to the potatoes  makes this dish so awful.

Preparation time:5 min
Cooking time:20-25 min
Serves:2