Beetroot Soup Recipe

Even though I know beetroots are very good for the health, I rarely add in my menu. I don’t know why I hate this lovely vegetable after knowing all this. If you are a regular reader of my blog, you could see just few recipes with beets here. I make beetroot rice when TH not at home, cos he too hates it. This poor vegetable doesn't find any place in my pantry all these days. But here on, am trying to add up the beets to my menu, since I was advised to increase my RBCs. Nowadays I started to take beets by making this soup before my meal and I made it regular in my home. Generally it increases ur appetite and the pepper and cumin in the soup helps in ease digestion of the food taken. Trust me; it can relieve u from bad/sore throat immediately when taken with lots of pepper.

Need some sweets with these beets? Click here.

Need a juice/drink with these beets? Click here. 

Preparation time: less than 5mins

Cooking time: around 10mins

Serves 2

Bisibelabath | Sambar Sadam Recipe

I usually call this Bisibelabath or sambar sadam as somberi sapadu which means lazy people’s food. Cos, when we make rice separately we need to make sambar, rasam and poriyal to accompany it. And sometimes we need appalam to compliment all this. But making bisibelabath is such an easy task where rice and sambar are already mixed together with a bunch of vegetables. So it is like a one-pot meal which has carbo, protein along with all the vegetables. TH don’t need anything as a side dish for this rice and my work goes simple.

I still remember the taste of Bisibelabath which is served in Rathna Café, Chennai. That is the best according to me. Ghee, the major ingredient which enhances the flavor for this rice and in rathna café they make the rice completely with ghee. Don’t mind to taste there once if you get a chance and don’t mind for the extra calories you are gonna get after that.

This rice is made with freshly ground spices and here I used my sambar powder to make the work simple.  It would be good if the sambar powder are fresh and in good condition. Click on the highlighted link to get the sambar powder recipe.

This can be served alone with appalam or chips or vaadam. GarlicPotato fry and raw banana fry are the best combination for this rice.

Preparation time: 15-20mins (soaking time)

Cooking time: 20-30 mins

How to make Dosa | Dosa Batter Recipe | South-Indian Style Dosa Recipe (With Video)

I already have a post on How to make Soft Idli, a year back. I wanted to post some tips and tricks about making dosa for a long time. I wanted to make it simple by giving a video presentation, but being a lazy bugger, I don’t have the patience to take a video of my own. TH was there at home last weekend and I asked him for the help. He patiently took this video for me.

I don’t make separate batter for making dosa. The same batter which I use for idli, makes the work easier. To get the thin and crisp version of dosa, I used to add a cup of water to thinner the batter. Click here to see on How to make Batter for Idli and Dosa.

Stay tuned to get more variations of Dosa. 

Don’t forget to look into the video for more information.

Aloo~Bhindi Masala Gravy | Potato~Okra Gravy for Chapathi

I normally include chapathi in the menu twice a week and always there will be confusion on what to make for the side dish. Most of the time, I will make some gravy with paneer or mushroom. Some of the time capsicum takes the job to compliment. Here are some more other options for the side dish for chapathi. (Click here)

When I went through the net, I saw this recipe in a blog which sounds great. I saw this on few of the restaurants and I never dare to opt this, worrying about the taste. But when I tried it at home, I felt totally in love with the masala. If okra is ur favorite veggie, I would definitely recommend you to give this a try. 

Preparation time: 10 mins

Cooking time: 15 mins

Naan | Tawa Naan Recipe (Without Yeast)

TH always insists me to make naan. But, I never attempted to make at home, rather I can eat nicely when bought outside. The one thing which prevented me from trying is “Yeast”. I don’t have a good opinion on that, donno why! And I don’t want to buy yeast just for making naan alone. We I went through the internet for naan without yeast, I got some idea on that and tried making naan at home Without Yeast.  

The texture was almost like the way we get in the restaurants. Since I have electric gas, I used my grill rack. If you have a wire mesh, that will also work well. Always use thick curd which is freshly made. Sour curd will spoil the taste of the naan. I used store bought plain yogurt. Give the resting period for the dough to increase its volume. I gave 3 hours; you can even keep the dough for about 5-6 hours in room temperature. If the dough is sticky after the resting time, add some maida on top to make it even.

Please see below for the variations u can make with this recipe. Paneer butter Masala would be a perfect combo for this naan. Give it a try and let me know the reviews.

Vegetable Dum Biryani | Veg Biryani Recipe

I have been making biryani for the past three consecutive Sundays. The love for biryani is blossoming day by day. I made Mughlai Chicken Biryani and also tired the same recipe with goat, the next Sunday. It was super awesome and it never ruins me in taste and flavor. Undoubtedly, the third Sunday I made this Vegetable Dum Biryani which is exactly the same as Chicken Biryani. We wanted to make it light for the third Sunday, hence chose vegetable biryani. But I accompanied the biryani with Chicken Hariyali Tikka, which TH made.

I just used the veggies which I had in hand. Carrots, beans and potatoes are the must-veggies for biryani. Yet green peas, soya chunks are all optional. Since TH doesn’t like Cauliflower, I dint add. Make sure u chop the veggies of same size to cook equally.

Instead of using whole garam masala, just crush the masala with a pestle to 2-3 pieces. This will enhance the flavor of the biryani. For some more tips and notes, please see below.

Now let’s start cooking the biryani!!!

Brinjal Chops Recipe | Kathirikkai Chops

This is one of my very own favorite recipes which amma makes rarely at home. This will be very spicy, because of the chilli powder and also the whole pepper corns which are ground to paste gives an extra ordinary tempting flavor to the dish. Some will like the taste of fennel seeds and few don’t. I personally like the fragrance of fennel in the recipe. Avoid if ur not willing to add fennel in the dish. This can be served with steamed rice as such or can also be served as side dish for sambar and rasam. I like this curry to serve with crispy dosas.  While buying brinjal always chose the smaller ones rather the medium or big sized ones. Smaller ones are easy to cook and they are much tastier than the others.  

Preparation time: 5-7 mins
Cooking time: 10-20 mins