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This is my go-to sidedish when I am not in mood to chop lots of veggies, when there are unexpected guests & at times when the fridge is empty..Also it…

This is very similar to the typical Tomato Rice prepared in SouthIndia but just the spices/drypowders used here are slightly different. In general when I make vegetable pulao, i only…

In Karnataka, ‘Vaangi Bath’ (Brinjal Rice) is a popular rice recipe that is prepared from fresh spice powder instead of store bought Red Chilli Powder& Coriander Powder combination. This recipe is inspired from Vaangi Bath preparation however the spice powder I used is very simple with minimum ingredients and this rice can be prepared within 30 minutes. A great lunchbox meal that stays fresh, aromatic for a longer time. You can prepare this powder in a large batch and can use it while preparing dry subzi like potato fry, brinjal fry, cauliflower poriyal etc. They taste delicious. I served this…

Once in a week my school & college days’ lunchbox menu will definitely have Lemon Rice/Tomato Rice with a piece of Lemon Pickle as sidedish. Such a humble yet comforting meal. Even after eating it all these years am never bored or tired of SouthIndian variety rice ☺️ Maybe because of the gene I suppose. This tomato rice recipe is my own & have been following it for years. It is slightly different from my mom’s. Her recipe doesn’t include garlic & garam masala powder for flavor. The best side dish for this rice is obviously Potato fry but for…

Have never cooked Courgettes until I was in Chennai. If you give me any new vegetable all I can think of is how to cook a SouthIndian recipe using it. Courgette/Zucchini is a summer squash vegetable popular in UK.Its texture slightly similar to Cucumber & I have made Courgette Kuruma (thick stew using coconut paste), Koottu (lentil based gravy) before. Last weekend I thought of preparing Pakoda from it. Initially I wasn’t too sure how it will work so thought of adding some carrots along with courgette. Turned out so delicious and this is my own recipe. Instead of the usual Onion Pakoda/Pakora try this and am sure you will like it too. I bought this handy cheap spiralizer during a sale. I use it for salads mainly. Instead of grating Courgette & Carrot i used this spiralizer. In case if you don’t have it , use your knife & make thin strips. 

This is such a versatile healthy side dish that can be served with Rice ,Roti or even with Dosai too ☺️ The basic ‘koottu’ (கூட்டு) recipe contains 3 important components 1. Veggies – Pumpkin, Carrot,Eggplant,Drumstick, Snakegourd,Spinach,Chow Chow,Cabbage are the most commonly used vegetables. 2. Daal (lentils) – A cup of pressure cooked daal. It could be either a mix of moongdal and channa dal or just moongdal or toordal 3. Coconut Paste – This paste is essential. All you need is fresh coconut, green chilli & jeera. However if you want you can add peppercorns, ginger & garlic too Once…

‘Poriyal’ (பொரியல்) is dry stir fry of veggies that is served as a sidedish with Rice,Sambar or any southindian lunch. Its very very easy to make and the below recipe can be used with various vegetables like Beetroot, Cabbage, Spinach, Snakegourd, White Pumpkin, Any squash varieties, Raw banana,Eggplant etc. 1. Instead of boiling the veggies separately you can directly saute them in frying pan. However sprinkle water and keep an eye on the veggies. They might get charred if it lacks moisture 2. You can add sauteed onions,tomatoes too if you want along with beans & carrot I used dried…

Sambar is an integral part of Tamil cuisine. Be it breakfast or be it lunch, Sambar has to be there. Whenever I prepare tiffen items like Idli,Dosai or pongal, I usually go for this one pot sambar. Its done in pressure cooker and all you need is just 20 minutes. Tamarind is not used in this recipe and hence to give that tangyness to Sambar, I have added more tomatoes Tastes so good with even Sevai (Rice Vermicelli), Appam, Idiyappam too. Also even if you have unexpected guests, you can prepare this quickly without any hassle. The below recipe can…

When you order mini meals in any restaurants like Saravana Bhavan , A2B the Sambar Rice will be of smooth, melt in mouth texture. Unfortunately the quantity they provide is very less and most of it is occupied by Shallots & Drumstick 😉 Thats a different story altogether We can achieve the same taste when we prepare at home as well. This is different from Karnataka’s BisiBele Bath. Sambar Sadham recipe is inspired from my mother-in-law. Our extended family is a big one and everytime during a family function or gettogether we have atleast 20-25 members gathering at her…

Weekends we mostly prefer hearty lunches. Food is the perfect way to unwind a stressful week. Yesterday we went to purchase groceries and came back home at around 11:00am..Both of us were damn hungry and I thought of putting together a quick meal yet delicious one. I zeroed in on Daal + Chawal (Rice with lentils) and for sides i initially planned a simple potato fry. The fresh capsicum I picked from the market was starring right into my eyes A simple potato fry became stuffed capsicum and to add some deliciousness (read calories) sprinkled cheddar cheese at the…