Tendli Bhat, Mahrashtrian Ivy Gourd Rice

          I have heard of this Tendli Bhat, a rice made with ivy gourd in the Mahrashtrian style, but never got a chance to try it until now. When I saw the recipe, I found that I had made an almost similar rice using cucumber as the main ingredient, Cucumber Masala Bhat. This is a simple one pot meal with rice and ivy gourd/ kovakkai as the main ingredients and is very flavorful with the fresh masala powder made with sesame seeds and dried coconut/ copra and other spices. Serve it with some papads or chips and raitha or curd for a simple and delicious meal..

Soy Chunks Pulao, Meal Maker Pulao

          We like soy chunks at home, it's a good source of protein in a vegetarian diet, usually I add it to kurmas, briyani and I have also made parathas with it too. Recently I made this pulao with soy chunks, it's a simple and flavorful dish and very nutritious. Serve it along with a vegetable raitha or kurma for a complete and delicious meal..

Mushroom Briyani

          Mushroom Briyani, jotted the recipe down from a cookery show by Mallika Badrinath and I have been making this for so many years now. It's an easy dish and the mushrooms give a nice flavor to this briyani. We don't add any ghee in this briyani, so it's vegan too, the method is slightly different from the regular briyani and it tastes awesome. Serve it with some potato chips and raitha or curd for a delicious meal..

Sundakkai Sadam, Turkey Berry Rice

          We don't get sundakkai/ turkey berry in Bangalore, at least, where I stay, so whenever the husband goes to Chennai, this is one of the things that he picks from there. Usually I end up making kuzhambu with it, but this time I wanted to try something different, so decided to make a rice with it. There's nothing fancy to this recipe, I have cooked the turkey berries with some onion, tomato and other spices and to add some taste, I  have also added some boiled peanuts to it. The rice turned out good, serve it with some raitha and potato chips or pappads for a simple and delicious meal..

Vegetable Briyani

          Vegetable Briyani, I had made this so many times, but it has made it to the blog only now. Sometimes, I couldn't take pictures, sometimes, the pictures were not good and most importantly, I couldn't get that delicious Briyani flavor which I had got long time back, the main reason for that ( I learned later) is the amount of ghee used in the dish. The ghee gives that rich flavor to the dish, of course for today's dish, I have used a mixture of oil and ghee, but more ghee than oil and I have used a little more than 2 tablespoons of fat on the whole. The dish turned out perfect, and we had it with some cucumber raitha and potato chips for a rich and delicious weekend lunch..

Keerai Pongal, Spinach Pongal

          Today's post is going to be a simple and delicious pongal, Keerai Pongal or Spinach Pongal. I used to make this Spinach Pongal a lot when we were in the US. I always had frozen chopped spinach in the freezer and so this dish could be put together in minutes, here in India, I don't get frozen spinach, so I use fresh spinach. It's a very easy dish, serve it with some Onion And Tomato Gothsu for a complete and delicious meal..

Akkaravadisal (Akkara Adisal), Sweet Milk Pongal

          Akkaravadisal, I have come across this name so many times, but never got to taste it and when going through the recipe for it, I found it to be similar to Sakkarai Pongal, but with a slight variation. It's a Tamil Iyengar recipe and it's made as a 'naivedyam' especially on Koodaravalli which is an auspicious day observed on the 27th day of the Tamil month Margazhi . This year it happens to fall on today and also, Pongal being just around the corner, I thought of making and posting it today. Taste wise, it is more like Sakkarai Pongal, but with a milky flavor, since we cook the rice in lots of milk and ghee. Since it's a rich dish with lots of milk and ghee, have a small serving and enjoy..

Chitranna With Avarekalu, Lemon Rice With Field Beans

          Today's post is another simple and delicious dish with Avarekalu/Field Beans which is in season right now, it's a slight variation to the regular Chitranna or Karnataka Style Lemon Rice. We add some avarekalu to the rice and hence the name, Chitranna With Avarekalu, you'll find this in many of the shops serving Chitranna here. It's a very simple and filling dish, the avarekalu makes it more nutritious and filling and also tasty at the same time, serve it with some potato fry for a delicious meal..

Thengai Sadam, Coconut Rice

     
          Thengai Sadam/ Coconut Rice, this is one of the easiest rice preparations, might be next to the Lemon Rice. As the name says, the main ingredient other than rice, is coconut, so grating the coconut is the only time consuming part in this dish. Of course we can use frozen coconut but fresh coconut has its own taste and texture. The rice is very simple and the fresh coconut and curry leaves are the only flavors in it. You can serve this rice with a spicy potato fry or even with simple chips or papads..

Coriander Chana (Chickpeas) Rice

          Today's post is a simple and flavorful rice with Chana/Chickpeas/Kondaikadalai and Coriander/ Kothamalli. Fresh coriander leaves is ground with other spices, sauteed with onions and then mixed with cooked rice and chickpeas and this is a perfect lunch box recipe. Serve it with some chips/ papadams and raitha/curd for a complete and delicious meal..

Kerala Style Paal Payasam, Milk Kheer

          Today is the last post on the Onam Sadya recipes and I thought I'll end it with a sweet. Since I have already posted the Chakka Pradaman and Cherupayar Paruppu Pradaman, I decided on this Kerala Style Paal Payasam. This is similar to the Paal Payasam we make but the special Chemba Pachari ( Kerala Red Raw Rice ) gives a unique taste and beautiful color to this payasam/kheer. The first day, I had bought broken matta rice, then I realized that it's not the rice used for the payasam. Then again the second day, with some help from the store guy ( he's from Kerala ), my husband bought me the rice. I have adapted the recipe from here and the Paal Payasam came out really good. I used the pressure cooker to save some time, but still the dish takes anywhere between 30 minutes to an hour to be done, depending on the quantity. But, at the end, it's worth all the time and effort, it tastes absolutely delicious and before going to the recipe, Onam Ashamsakal! to all my friends and readers from Kerala..

Banana Flower & Cabbage Rice, Vazhaipoo Muttaikose Sadam

          Vazhaipoo/Banana Flower and Purple Cabbage, we love this combination at home, I usually make a poriyal/stir fry with this combo and they go very well together. So when I had a little bit of cabbage and half a banana flower, instead of making the usual poriyal, I made this mixed rice with them. I made it more like a fried rice and added spring onions, baby corn and finally some peanuts to give a nice flavor. When we cook banana flower like this, we don't taste the bitterness from it. The rice tastes really good, serve it with some potato chips for a simple and delicious meal..

Tomato Rice With Coconut Milk, Thengai Paal Thakkali Sadam

          Thakkali Sadam, this is the favorite mixed rice in our home, I have already posted one version of it ( the one that I make more often ) here in the blog, I don't use any masalas, garlic or coconut milk in that rice, just plain seasoning and green chillies for spice. Today's rice is another version of Tomato Rice, we cook the rice with tomatoes, coconut milk and it has garlic, it's more like a pilaf. This rice tastes totally different from the first one and the flavors are totally different with the coconut milk and garlic. Both are tasty in their own way, you might like one better than the other, depending upon your choice of flavors..

Mushroom And Cabbage Pulao, How To Make Mushroom And Cabbage Rice

          There are some dishes that you did some time back ( years back ), not once but so many times, and then, for no reason, you don't do it anymore. Then suddenly, one day, just like that, you remember it back, well, today's dish, Mushroom And Cabbage Pulao, is one of them ( I have so many like that ). It's nothing big, but I like this combination of mushrooms, purple cabbage and red capsicum and I have just added some garlic and chilly flakes along with them. The vegetables along with the garlic gives a nice flavor to the rice, there's no need for a side dish to go with this rice and it's a perfect lunch box recipe..

Double Beans And Mint Pilaf, Double Beans Briyani

          Happy Mother's Day to all, you lovely moms out there. Today's dish is a simple pulao/pilaf with Double Beans And Mint that I made sometime back. You can find the dry beans all year round, but we get the fresh ones, only during the season. We can make this pulao/briyani with either the fresh ones or the dry ones, except when using the dry ones, one extra step is there, soaking it overnight and pressure cooking, with the fresh ones, they can be cooked in a regular pan. We usually add mint leaves to briyanis, here, I have added a little more, so the pilaf/briyani has a nice mint flavor. If you are not able to find these beans, you can do it with other variety of beans like butter beans and rajma beans, or if none of them are available, you can use our good old green peas too. Serve it with a salad and raitha and some chips for a simple and delicious meal..

Puli Sadam, Tamarind Rice, Puliyodharai, Puliyogare

          Puli Sadam, Tamarind Rice, Puliyodharai or Puliyogare, this is one of most popular mixed rice dishes of South India, something that we pack for trips and also most often served as a ' prasadam' at the temple. All of us in the family love the ' prasadam puli sadam '. Also this is one of the rice mixes, that I used to make and keep for my husband, when I came to India on vacations ( when we were staying in the US ), it keeps well in the refrigerator for at least 2 months. If you have the mix ready, then it takes minutes to mix in some cooked rice with it. I follow this recipe that I had jotted down long time back from a cookbook. And one more thing, gingelly oil, sesame oil is a must for this rice and also in a generous amount, so if someone is allergic to sesame seeds, then don't try this rice. I feel, that the rice will loose its unique flavor if we replace the sesame oil. Serve it with some papadams or chips on the side for a delicious meal..

Maa Inji Saadam, Mango Ginger Rice

          I had this large quantity of mango ginger/maa inji, had brought it from Chennai ( I am not able to find this in Bangalore, at least where I stay ). I made some mango ginger pickle, maa inji thokku ( still to post ) and then this rice. This is an easy and simple recipe, almost done in the same way as lemon rice, in fact we add some lemon juice in the recipe. As I had already said, mango ginger does not taste like mango or ginger, it looks like ginger and smells like mango, hence the name. The rice has a very refreshing taste, serve it with some avial or potato fry or chips..

Basil Pesto And Zucchini Risotto

          We love Italian food at home, so I make pasta dishes once a week or so, other than pasta, risotto is also a favorite. I have made Mushroom and Baby Corn Risotto a couple of times, I wanted to try out a different one this time, so I made this Basil Pesto And Zucchini Risotto. It's an easy one pot dish, of course you have to have store bought or homemade basil pesto in hand. Serve this creamy and delicious risotto along with a some lentil soup and salad for a complete and delicious meal..

Chitranna, Karnataka Style Lemon Rice

          Chitranna, this is a slight variation from the lemon rice that we make in the Tamil cuisine, it's a Karnataka version. We make it in a very simple way, basic seasoning with green chillies for a little spice and then the lemon juice. But Chitranna, is even more interesting, with a paste with coconut and spices. We also add onions along with the seasoning, and this gives a nice crunch to the dish. Serve it with some avial or chips on the side..

Green Peas Rice

          My family likes mixed rice or variety rice, be it the traditional lemon rice , tamarind rice or tomato rice or the others using different vegetables. They are not only apt for packed lunches, but even when planning a party menu, we can also add them as one of the dishes. For today's dish I have used some leftover rice and green peas ( fresh or frozen ) along with some capsicum and potato and some fresh spice powder for flavor. Serve it with some raitha or curd and some chips for a complete and delicious meal..