Archives

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…

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…

Pulikuzhambu, Kara Kuzhambu, Poondu Kuzhambu these are all various varieties of thick tamarind based curries that are most popular in Tamilnadu apart from the usual Sambar & Rasam. The consistency is the key to make a perfect poondu kuzhambu. Recently I brought around 1/4 kg of fresh garlic from farmer’s market nearby and was waiting for weekend to make the gravy. After painstakingly peeling 2 whole bulbs of garlic I looked around the pantry and realized there was no Tamarind. Tamarind pulp is an essential ingredient to this curry because it gives the right tanginess to the gravy. I blindly…

I always have Dosai batter in stock and it comes handy while trying to make quick breakfast or dinner. But at times I do forget the bowl of batter lying in fridge and it does become a bit sour after two days. Instead of wasting the sour batter you can try making this ragi rava roast[Finger Millet flour + Semolina crepes] and am sure your family will enjoy this breakfast.I served coconut chutney and tomato chutney as side dishes. However you could serve it sambar or molagapodi [GunPowder] too The following measurement approximately yields 12 medium sized dosas. Unlike dosa batter, this ragi rava batter has to be watery like our regular rava roast. Also you need to pour batter on a hot Dosa Tawa. If the temperature is not correct then it will difficult for you to remove dosa from the pan

Tarts are generally prepared from either ShortCrust Pastry or from Puff Pastry sheets. This tartlet (mini tarts) is a no fuzz snack recipe and I have used very minimal ingredients that are readily available. Tartlets can be served as an appetizer during Christmas/birthday parties and as an after-sch

When we went to Pizza Express recently I tasted this yummy starter. These fries I ordered were so crispy on outside and perfectly gooey, cheesy on the inside. They are lot more flavorful than the usual Potato,sweet potato fries. A bit time consuming process but its all worth it. These fries can be d

Winter is almost here. Evening coffee is replaced by hot healthy soups now a days. This sweet corn soup is our fav next to mushroom soup.. I used frozen sweet corn kernels and they it took around 4-5 minutes for them to become tender. If you are using regular sweetcorns it might take a bit more ti

‘Cream Centre’ – one of the best vegetarian restaurants in Chennai.The dishes are minimal,slightly overpriced,excellent ambiance and great food 🙂 Our fav dishes in CC are Corn Cheese Balls and Mexican Sizzler.

Never been a fan of ‘Pastas’ until I got married. After tasting so many varities in different Restaurents, I started craving for it….This is the first time I prepared pasta from scratch. Definitely easy to make but have to be little careful with the amount of butter,cheese we use. The following me