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Paniyaram (பணியாரம்) is a Chettinad Speciality dish (karaikudi region in TamilNadu) and it can be prepared in two ways either sweet or savory. The traditional savory paniyaram is served with Kara Chutney (spicy chutney prepared from onions,tomatoes). You can prepare a batter exclusively for paniyaram or if you are running out of time you can always use regular fermented dosa batter. In this recipe i have used leftover dosai batter and to add flavour i have added veggies & spices. This masala paniyaram is a perfect,guilt free evening snack and you can improvise it in million ways. You can try…

My mom makes this spicy,tangy ‘Milagu kuzhambu’ whenever we come back home from a trip or vacation. The reason behind this is that we used to be tired from travel & from all those restaurant foods, this ‘kuzhambu’ is considered as a cleansing food. There are no vegetables involved, no onion/garlic , no extra spices. A very simple south indian style ‘pachadi’ (similar to yogurt based Raita with a Tadka) & a pappad (preferrably sutta appalam) are served as side dishes. This kuzhambu is a very common recipe in Tamil Brahmin community. Especially for nursing mothers we serve this kuzhambu…

This is an instant biryani version. With less spices & ingredients the biryani can be prepared within 25 minutes. Mushrooms need very less time to get cooked and hence this recipe comes handy on busy weekdays. I used button mushrooms. Also I added only onion,tomato along with mushrooms. Didn’t want to add too much of veggies. I truely wanted mushroom to be the hero of this dish. You can serve this biryani with raita or any other gravy of your choice. I prepared strawberry raita. It tasted delicious. The tangy,sour raita with spicy biryani made an awesome combo. Do try…

“Paruppusili” in Tamil is nothing but a stir fry of vegetables that are spiced with lentils & dried redchillies. In Tamil Brahmin households paruppusili is a traditional dish that is mandatory in Kalyana Sapadu & in any type of feast during special occasions. The ideal combination of Paruppusili is either vathakuzhambu (spicy tangy onion curry) or morkuzhambu (buttermilk based gravy). French Beans,Banana Flower,Cluster beans are the common vegetables that are used in preparing Paruppusili. However in recent years I have made it with other veggies like Cabbage,Tindora and even with spinach. Brussel sprouts is similar to cabbage and has a…

Our dinners are usually Roti with a simple sabzi or sometimes I go the South Indian way and prepare Upma/Dosai. Its June and is supposed to be the start of Summer season here in UK. But the weather has been crazily cold for the past few days. All we crave is spicy, greasy foods. Yesterday night I prepared this spicy Tawa Pulao for dinner and it turned about absolutely delicious. I served it with Yogurt and crisps. The authentic street food version is prepared directly on the hot Tawa and the addition of Pav Bhaji masala takes this Pulao to…

If I have to prepare a lunchbox recipe within just 20 minutes, I always go for Fried Rice. A simple raita or tomato sauce would go well with that rice. So you don’t have to spend much time on thinking about side dishes. Also when the rice is cooking you could cut the vegetables finely. Once the rice is done, all you need to do is heat up the wok, add the veggies, saute it and finally add rice,sauces. It is as simple as that. But balancing the flavors, getting the right texture of rice is really really important for…

Halloumi – A variety of Cheese that is believed to be originated in Cyprus. It is widely used in Middle Eastern cooking and is popular in many western countries as well. The cheese is produced from Cow’s,Sheep’s and Goat’s Milk. When compared to other cheese varieties I find this cheese a bit extra salty and hence while cooking adjust the quantity of salt accordingly. Few months back when we had our lunch at a restaurant, we tasted Halloumi Skewers for the first time. Loved it totally and since then its been on my monthly grocery list. I usually pan fry…

Couscous is one of my favorite ingredients and am incorporating it in many Indian based recipes too. This salad can be put together within few minutes and its vegan too. Instead of Tofu you could also add grilled halloumi or paneer too incase if you are not a vegan I have used only basic ingredients for preparing the marinade. The salad can be served cold as well. Hence you could prepare the Couscous mixture well in advance and can refrigerate for later use. Grill the Tofu just before serving

Gram Flour Pancakes aka Besan ka Cheela is one of the most popular breakfast recipes in India. There is no fermentation required for the batter and can be made within 20 minutes. They are gluten free, loaded with veggies and accompanied with hot Masala Chai, these pancakes are a perfect nutritious start for the day. The vegetables added to the batter can be changed according to your taste buds. To make it even healthier you could add a bunch of spinach/kale leaves too. The pancakes can be served with tangy Coriander/Mint/Tamarind chutney or with any hot sauces like Tomato Chili…

On a Friday night I was wondering what to make for dinner. Then this idea popped up. Prepared a quick tikki with Potatoes and paneer,served with a simple home made green chutney, store bought Imli(tamarind) Chutney and a salad. It was a satisfying meal and a perfect start for the weekend. Instead of Paneer you could add Tofu too. Since these tikkis are shallow fried they didn’t consume too much oil too. The following measurement yields upto 12-15 medium sized tikkis