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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…

This is my go-to recipe when I want to make a simple side dish for Rice/Roti/Poori. I usually mix these veggies together (Onion,Carrot,French Beans,Potato,Tomato,Capsicum,Cauliflower/Broccoli).They all make a fantastic combo. You can even add Cabbage,Spinach or any other greens too to make it even more healthier. Such a simple recipe but tastes absolutely delicious. Since I love crunch in the curry, I don’t add too much of water while cooking the vegetables. Since they will soften the texture. Just sprinkle few drops of water while cooking the veggies. The following measurement serves two. Adjust quantity accordingly
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‘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…

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…

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…

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…

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

Rama Navami is a traditional Hindu Festival to celebrate the birth of Lord Shri Rama. Lord Rama is the sixth reincarnation of Lord Vishnu himself and in Tamil Nadu temples we celebrate “Shri Rama Navami Utsavam” for nine days. It is firmly believed that mere chanting of His name ‘Rama’ burns ignorance, passion and sin. With or without knowledge, correctly or incorrectly, when the word “Rama” is pronounced it showers a rain of good upon the devotees. My mom usually reads Samkshepa Ramayan and she performs a simple pooja by reciting Shri Rama Ashtothram and then finish the pooja with…