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

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.

Egg Tawa Fry | Hot &Spicy Egg Recipe

Egg tawa fry, am hearing this for the first time. Amma always used to make eggs with onion-tomato curry. And that curry can be used as a side dish for idli-dosa and even for rice. This tawa fry don’t need any onions or tomato or any other things. Just the masalas goes along with the hard boiled eggs. When ur really in a hurry to make a hot and spicy dish, definitely you can opt for this. I learned it from TH, his granny used to make this for him it seems and he suddenly remembered that and he badly wanted to taste it now. So, this is his recipe which I tried and tasted and certified to be good. He just loves this along-side with rasam and steamed rice. 

Check out how to make Egg podimas and also Egg Masala Podimas

Kale Stir-Fry | Kale leaves Poriyal

I generally love to have greens (keerai) in my meal every day. When I was in India, I love to have all varieties of keerai especially siru keerai (tropical amaranthus) poriyal. But it became tough for me to get the fresh greens here. I never even attempted to buy frozen foods which are packed from India. So I wanted to give a try with the greens which are available here. I tried to make poriyal with kale and it turned out awesome. I served it with the spicy garlic kuzhambu and with some vadams topped with a spoon of ghee. It tasted heavenly. Please do try this at home and let me know the reviews.

Preparation time: less than 5 mins
Cooking time: 10-15mins

Chana Pulao | Easy Chole Pulao Recipe | Simple One-pot Meal

Preparation time: 6 hours (includes soaking time)
Cooking time: 15 mins

Restaurant-Style Chinese Noodle Recipe | Indo-Chinese Noodle Recipe | Easy Veg Chinese Noodles

Chinese items are something which I always crave to eat outside. Who else will not like??!! They are extremely delicious and in the same way they also use MSG and vinegar which is not recommended for health. I started making it at home and finalized with the recipe. I hope you all remember the Chicken fried Rice Recipe which I shared long before. The recipe is applicable for this too.

I used the sauces which are store bought and even the noodle pack from a local Chinese shop. The trick is to follow the pack instruction correctly to get the long no-mess noodle. I had given the hyperlink for the sauce I had used in the recipe. To give a special touch, I use Anaheim peppers and I loved the taste of it along with the noodle. Never allow the veggies to be soggy. Make sure the flame is high and the veggies remain crunchy. Also add enough of oil to avoid burning of the veggies and chillies in the bottom. A wide open wok will help to do the job best. You need real patience to chop the veggies, else chop them nicely in a chopper. Don’t start with the recipe, unless you are ready with the veggies. Hey there! Don’t forget to check my other Indo-chinese Recipes here. 

Preparation time: 15-20mins

Cooking time: 5-7 mins

Broccoli Paratha Recipe

I must first apologize for my long absence and not being active in blogging. Had lots and lots of work scheduled for the whole month and badly gets time to relax. I had so much of recipe pending to be blogged and am sure I ll share those as soon as possible. Now coming to the recipe Broccoli Paratha is something new which am trying for the past few days. I generally don’t stuff vegetables inside chapathi. We (I and TH) don’t like the stuffed paratha. But nowadays felt bored to having the same usual chapathi and hitting head for the gravies to match up. Hence I tried Mixed Vegetable Paratha (recipe Coming Soon) and also this Broccoli Paratha.

This idea came up after making Broccoli rice. I, kind of minced the broccoli in my chopper and mixed it with rice. TH who doesn’t even like the taste of broccoli, surprisingly liked the dish.  This made me to think of stuffing the chapathi with broccoli, since they are healthier and importantly doesn’t need time to spend for making gravies. I rolled few chapathi as thick and finally tuned to roll it as thin as possible. The thin version is much tastier than the other. But you can try both as per ur wish. Now let’s move the recipe quick!!!

Preparation time: 10 mins

Cooking time: 2-4 mins

Zucchini Chutney | Side dish for Idli, Dosa

Its spring time here in US and I just love the climate. The sun shines throughout the day and this is the best time for all outdoor activities. I find lots and lots of spring vegetables in the market. I had already tried few spring veggies in our tamil dishes. Check my Asparagus Chutney here. One veggie which attracted me this time is Zucchini. This a late spring and early summer veggie, but I found few in my market in cheaper rates now. So I grabbed one and tried to make chutney with that.   

Preparation and cooking time: 5-7 mins

Serves 3-4

Simple Vegetable Pulao | Veg Pulao Recipe

This pulao doesn't need much time; it can be done in a jiffy. I made palak paneer with the extra bunch of spinach I had at home and served it with this simple Veg pulao. It was delicious and TH liked this combo of quick lunch. This can even be packed in lunch box for kids and this turns to be a healthy version of pulao, since it has almost all veggies. You can turn the same recipe into a non-veg dish by adding chicken chunks. Keep this as a base and make ur own variation of pulao. Share ur views and ideas of what all can be added in this pulao.  

Preparation time 5-8 minutes
Cooking time: 10-15 minutes

Egg Masala Podimas | Egg Bhurji

This podimas is a slight variation of Egg podimas recipe which I had posted before. In that I just added onions and green chillies which suits rice with spicy gravy. Whereas this podimas is for rice along with sambar or rasam which are less spiced. This podimas even taste better when done in Iron skillet rather the non-stick wok.

You can directly break the eggs on to the masalas or you can whisk the eggs separately in a bowl and then add to the masalas. In either way it tastes the same, I believe. The best combo for this podimas is Sambar. This will be a sure shot winner if u don’t have any veggies at home, but still wanted to have a perfect meal.

Preparation time: 3-5minutes

Cooking time: 7-10 minutes

Aval Upma | Poha Upma | Flattened Rice Upma with Vegetables

Whenever I run out of time for making breakfast or even for dinner, the first thing comes to my mind is aval upma. Instead going for Maggie, we make this for dinner some times. Since it is rice flakes it gives u tummy full feeling when had a little and they are rich in nutrition. Adding roasted peanuts gives a crunchy effect to the soft poha. You can even try adding roasted cashews.

Aval will swell after adding any type of liquids, either water or milk. But too much of soaking in water may give a soggy texture. So just give a quick soaking time in water before starting up with the recipe. Check outanother recipe for aval here. 

Preparation time: 5 minutes

Cooking time: 10-15 minutes

Pudhina Chutney | Mint Chutney | Side-dish for Idli & Dosa

Though the recipe is very simple I wanted to share in my blog… this chutney has an exotic flavor of mint which I loved the most. If ur a mint lover, you would definitely nod ur head… am I right? This can be served with idlis and even with dosa. I like the same version of chutney with no coconut… it is the best combo with sambar and rice, like a thogayal/thuvayal. Try the same recipe without the coconut and serve for rice too. Since I like the flavor of green chillies more than the red ones I have used that in the recipe. It is optional and you can choose ur own variety of chillies. Serve with hot Idli. Yummm :) 

Prep & cooking time: 5-7 mins

Broccoli Rice Recipe | Easy One-pot Meal | Simple Lunch Box Recipe

I was not a fan of this broccolis and I hated it to the core and never tried or attempted to cook. After knowing the health benefits of it, I wanted to give a try. I tried making biryani with broccoli and it was not that great and TH doesn’t like the flavors. I don’t wanna give up trying again and again. When I saw this recipe in a cookery show, I got excited!!!

The technique I found from that show is, crushing the broccoli and adding to the rice gives a different taste and it neva make us to think that we are eating broccolis. I found it interesting and grabbed the idea and implemented with some of my thoughts. Adding mint leaves enhances the flavors and green peas give a crunchy feel in between. You can even try adding corns. Am damn sure this could be a one-pot meal and can be added to the lunch box menus. I served it with pappad and TH liked to have raitha for this. Let me know ur reviews about this recipes…

Preparation time: 5mins

Cooking time: 15-20mins

Methi Tepla Recipe | Gujarati Methi Tepla Recipe

I never failed to grab a bunch of methi leaves whenever I see it fresh in the market. Methi leaves or fenugreek leaves has a distinct taste than the other greens. I love the taste even if it is dried, which we call as kasoori methi. I prefer to add kasoori methi to most of my gravies. When I was in India, I had a cute little garden in my terrace which had mint, coriander, tomatoes, curry leaves and also methi leaves. I planted fenugreek seeds to get the methi leaves. In that way I had my own-grown fresh veggies. It is always fun to plant ur own veggies and the joy when u get ur first bud is enormous which can’t be expressed.

Whenever I think of methi tepla, I remember the Kashmir trip we went in my college. We went to Kashmir Vaishno Devi temple and also to Delhi and Punjab. It was a ten day trip and we had lots and lots of fun there. We used to travel in Air bus to visit the places and there won’t be time to spend for breakfast, since we ran out of it. So we need to skip our breakfast and sometimes even lunch. 

One of my Gujju friend had brought these teplas along with some pickle. Her mom made the best tepla I had in my lifetime and it was super delicious to have after a day of starving. Wen I made this tepla I remembered the good old days!!! Feeling nostalgic… the main reason in writing in this story is, you can store the teplas in room temperature for weeks… It never gets spoiled so easily. It can be a life savior in ur busy picnic schedules. 

Preparation time: 5-7 mins

Cooking time: 1-2 mins

Spinach Dosai | Palak Dosai | Simple Breakfast Recipe

I love to add lots of greens in my lunch menu. But I don’t find any good variety of greens here as like we get in India. So I need to completely depend on spinach all the time. I make all the traditional kootu, poriyal and masiyal with this spinach and it became very boring day by day. Amma gave this idea of adding spinach leaves to chapathi and dosa. I already posted recipe about palak chapathi and now here is the time to share palak dosai/spinach dosai.

In this recipe I used red chillies and I have mentioned of using either green chillies or red chillies. When ur serving for kids try avoid using green chillies since they are extremely hot than the red ones. I served it with chili-garlic pickle; you can try with any types of chutney. 

Preparation time: less than 5 mins

Cooking time: 2-3 mins

Palak Paratha | Spinach Paratha Recipe

Preparation time: 5 minutes

Cooking time: 1-2 minutes

Raw Mango Rice | Mangai Sadham Recipe

I never bought or tried raw mangoes before. I always have a hatred for that. Don’t ask me for reasons and all… on the other hand TH loves it. He loves the raw mangoes when it is made into a pickle. I bought just one mango from store and tried Raw mango Pickle (recipe coming soon) and also this Rice with the raw mangoes. I loved to temper the rice with lots of peanuts and cashews which gives a crunchy effect. And also I used both red and green chillies, it depends on ur wish to add either of it or try both as like me. Now straight to the recipe!!!

Preparation time: 5 mins

Cooking time: 5 mins

Mochakottai Sundal | Valor Beans Sundal Recipe

The simplest snacks which can be done in just five mins are sundal. This could be the healthiest snack which u can even serve ur children. TH likes this version of sundal with the masala powders. I prefer to have it with the grated coconut alone and tempered on top. You can try this either way and I bet both are equally good. I used amchur powder to give a little sourness to the dish. And adding this is an optional. You can even try adding chaat masala.

Check out my other version of sundal with moong dal.

Preparation time: 6 hours (soaking time)

Cooking time: 5 mins

Brown Rice Pilaf - How to Cook Brown Rice - Rice Cooker Method

Hey friends!!! Hope the diwali celebrations went on good for all of u… It was a hectic day for me… traveled a long for this diwali and enjoyed lots of things in and around Calif. and now back to form and to blogging...

After hogging the sooper damaka festival recipes and all, I tuned back to a healthy recipe… I sometimes turn super-nutritious person and starts to follow a strict diet chart which goes for a week or so. Then the next week I look back for a yum-sum foods… one such food which I follow in my diet chart is Brown Rice Pilaf… In most of the restaurants they serve Brown rice pilaf. When the brown rice is cooked to perfection, it would the stage taker.

If ur more conscious about health, go for this rice. Generally White rice which we consume for the day-day life lacks so much of vitamins and minerals. This is because of polishing the rice to looks much whiter and to make it easy for cooking. Browse Wikipedia for much more health benefits about Brown Rice. Click here to logon.

For my convenience I used mustard and onion in the dish. You can skip adding it... I served it with Paneer Matar Masala.

Preparation time: 30-45 minutes

Cooking time: 30 minutes

Paruppu Sadham | Toor Dal Pulao | Easy One-Pot Lunch Recipe

This is a one-pot lunch recipe which doesn’t need any side dish to compliment with. I like to have it plainly or with just pappad. You can get the satisfaction of getting carbohydrates and proteins together in a single scoop. I used to add green peas in this recipe which increases the taste and flavor. You can try with other veggies like carrots or beans or even soy chunks taste better along with this. I have given 2-3 green chillies which is spicy to my taste buds… adjust accordingly. Make sure u cook the rice into fine grains else the recipe will turn into a mess. Adjust the whistles ratio according to ur rice quality.

Check out other recipe for lunch box menu.

Preparation time: 15 mins (includes Soaking time)

Cooking time: 10 mins