POUSHTIK DHIRDE

Dhirde is a traditional Maharashtrian dish and everyone will love this as its an  amazing  dish from tava to the plate. Though it is a popular dish in the region, you cannot find them on the menus in a hotel.

Normally, it is made with the gram flour but you can replace it with any other flour.  I have made it in a more healthier way than the original dish.  It can be served with plain yoghurt, thecha, tomato sauce spicy pudina chutney.  If you are making it with rice flour, can be served with sambhar too.  I prefer to have it with chunda.

METHI AJWAIN KALA JEERA POWDER

Methi ajwain kala jeera powder is an age old family medicinal value powder which my grandmother used to make.  we can add dry ginger powder also in it which helps in digestion.  Apart from this, it also helps in bowel movement, keeping cholesterol and blood sugar levels under control and also effective in reducing joint pains.

There is a need always that an elderly person should be at home to remind you about all these valuable information and recipes to revive.  Now a days in the busy life, we always run to the doctor and whatever the medicines they give, consume it without realising the side effect of it.

This powder should be consumed with warm water.  You can also mix it with butter milk or  a handful of rice with ghee and bit salt, mix it and eat it.

One of my friend who also suggested me to consume this to get relief from  my back and knee pain as she is benefitted with this powder.  hence I am sharing with you all the Patti Vaidyam (grandma's treatment) so that you all can also be benefitted with it.

DILL LEAVES KADHI

Dill leaves are good for health as it  helps to cure various diseases.  Dill is relaxant, fortifying (strength giving), diuretic (increases urination helping removal of toxic substances from the body), carminative (helps amps), anti flatulent, stimulates lactation (removal of gases), anti spasmodic (prevents crgalactagogue) and endocrinal secretions, enhances libido due to presence of Arginine and last but not the least, it ensures bone and dental health being a good source of calcium.

Once in a week, do add this wonderful greens in your diet.  The smell of the leaves may not be liked by you at first, but, over a period of time, you will definitely love this.

In the beginning when my neighbour brought the subzi, I did not like the smell of it.  She insisted me to eat the subzi as it will help in reducing the gas and stomach related issues.  Hence I tried and it was bit difficult for me to eat the same but after finishing the subzi, I said, yes I will definitely add this to my diet once in a week.

I made various dishes out of it and the links are given below.  Today I tried making kadhi with it and was awesome with rice and papad.  I made a pachadi also out of it. shall share the recipe soon.

CORIANDER STEM, CURRY LEAVES, CAPSICUM SOUP (THREE "C" SOUP)

Since winter has started, I prefer to have soups atleast one time in a day preferably in the night as we got time to relish the hot soup.

Today I tried the soup with coriander stem, curry leaves and capsicum.  While I was cleaning the coriander, big big  fresh stems were there  and I did not felt like throwing the same in the dustbin.  The curry leaves were also fresh.  I was bit uneasy with cough and cold and wanted to have something hot, I thought of making soup.

The health benefit link is given below with each main ingredient which I would like you to go through for the maximum benefit of it.

Normally, we never bother to make use of the stem, curry leaves which are thrown.  But it has got tremendous health benefits.

Hence enjoy this and think twice before throwing the same.

CHIKOO PICKLE, SWEET, SOUR AND SPICY

Since so  many days, I want to try this but could not make it.  Today, I thought I will do it because I had some nice chikoos with me.  This pickle is no oil pickle hence have to consume it as early as possible.

I made this pickle sweet, sour and spicy because chikoo is sweet.

KUTHIRAVALI FLOUR DOSA

Dosas are loved by all specially when it is served from tava to the plate.   The kuthiravali flour, I bought from the shop ready made and used to make dosa like the way we may rava dosa.  It was nice with chutney and sambar. kuthiravali dosa

You can also buy the millet and grind for making idli and dosa.

DILL LEAVES DHOKLA

The flavour of suva bhaji or dill leaves is amazing.  All will not like it at first sight but once you start tasting the same, you will definitely add the same in your weekly dish.  One of my neighbour gave me the subzi for the first time and I was bit reluctant to eat.  She told me it is good for my acidity and gas problem, I dared to eat it and really liked it.  Since then, I make it atleast once in a week for myself (all other members of the family says no to it).

It is one of the subzi I make for ganpati without fail on the second day.

CHEMBU PARATHA

colacasia, chembu, arbi or taro root it is known as normally we put in sambhar or make subzi out of it.  We can fry them also to make chips out of it.  I tried paratha  and it came out well.  I am sharing the delicious paratha with you all so that you can also try this for a change.

SWEET LIME PICKLE WITH GINGER AND GREEN CHILLY

Pickles are always served with any kind of Indian food.  We used to make various kinds of pickles with red chilli powder, with green chilli and ginger etc.   Vaduka puli naraga achar is made by using both the red chilli powder and with green chilli and manga inchi.    I tried the same with sweet lime and was very tasty like the vaduka puli naranga.

This can be served with dal rice, any variety of molagootal specially  keerai molagootal and curd rice etc.

GREENS RASAM

You tube: Greens rasam, the name itself indicates the ingredients used in this is greens viz. tulsi, basil, fresh garlic with greens, coriander leaves, curry leaves, green chilli, ginger etc.  the other day, i tried gooseberry, pudina, garlic rasam and was awesome.

since all the ingredients i used is having the medicinal value and helps in digestion, and contains the vitamins in it, once in a week or twice in a month this can be served to your family members.

Rasam can be served in place of soup as an appetizer or can be served along with rice.

GOOSEBERRY, PUDINA, GARLIC RASAM

Rasam can be served along with rice or as a soup.  When the ingredients are having medicinal properties, it is also more beneficial.  Rasam is a watery dish served along with rice normally.  When you are having cough and cold, it is the best to bring taste in  your mouth.

UTTAPPAM AND KUZHI PANIYARAM WITH BRINJAL MASALA

Normally, when we have left over idli/dosa batter, we always used to make kuzhipaniyaram for snacks in the evening to serve along with hot coffee or tea.

I was having a brinjal in the fridge and wanted to use the same so decided to make the subzi out of it and make the kuzhipaniyaram stuffed with the subzi.  It was awesome when served along with coconut chutney.

Basically I do not write much about the recipes as I am very lazy to sit and write also have no much time to spare.  Hence I am directing you to the recipe straightaway to try the same.  I am unable to trace the picture of uttappam and kuzhipaniyaram as it was done few months ago.  Have to search for it. shall post the pictures soon.

I am sure you will enjoy this.

MOONGDAL DOSA MILAGAI PODI

milagai podi is normally served with dosa, idli etc.  I use this sometimes for the dry subzis too.  The tradtiional recipe of milagai podi is made out of urid dal.  Today I tried the same with moongdal and was very tasty.

So if you cannot consume the urid dal, this is an alternate method for making dosa milagai podi.  Dosas can be made without urid dal also.

WET RED LASOON CHUTNEY

Dry lasoon chutney I have already posted.  It tastes good with vada pav, bhakri etc.  Yesterday, my neighbour gave me the wet lasoon chutney along with dudhi ka paratha and was awesome.  Immediately I noted down the recipe from her for posting as I had taken photograph of the chutney.

MURINGA ILA MOR KUZHAMBU, SHEVGA KADHI, MURINGA ILA MORU CURRY

Drumstick leaves are easily available, very cheap and grows abundantly in India.  It has got medicinal values which are  given after the recipe and worth reading.  It is worth making dish out of this once in a week for health benefits.

I do not remember when I brought the leaves and kept in fridge wrapped in a paper in the door as I used to do with mint leaves and methi leaves.  Since then I forgot about it and never bothered to open and see while cleaning the fridge.  Today, when I was cleaning the fridge, I wanted to remove the unwanted stuff in the fridge so each and every paper packets I opened and saw the drumstick leaves fully dried like the kasuri methi leaves.  Since I love the kootu, molagootal, adai etc. which I used to make with the leaves, I thought I will try the Kadhi today ie. mor kuzhambu in tamil and morukootan or moru curry  in malayalam.

You can make this kadhi with or without coconut.  I made it like the normal Kadhi we used to make along with Kichadi.  Normally, this is a typical  South Indian curry but I made a twist to this to make it more like the Maharashtrian type  Kadhi.  It is really a tasty dish.

PEAR, PEAS SUBZI

I have posted pear pickle recipe.  Now I am presenting an easy subzi made out of pears, peas and capsicum.

We had some pears which was bit sour, firm and no one liked to eat this fruit.  Since I cannot waste it, I thought of trying a subzi out of this and came out well as an accompaniment for roti, phulka.

Pears Subzi

KOKI

koki is a traditional recipe of Sindhis.  It is loaded with ghee hence those are having health issues can opt for healthy oil too.  But the taste will definitely be different.  However, you can satisfy yourself making with oil too.  It is similar to Kanda paratha except the fact that while kneading the dough also, ghee is added.

My Sindhi friend Vanita Chandnani always used to share this dish whenever she makes it as I used to like it hot from tava to the plate.

ADA MAVU DHOKLA

Ada mavu is made out of rice, tuvar dal, chana dal and little bit of urid dal, green chilli, red chilli etc.  I do not use any fermented batter except for Idli and dosa.  Ada mavu I make fresh and make the adai. Since I had left over Mavu, I decided to make dhokla out of it and it came out very well.

Ada mavu dhokla 

KANDA POHA BHAKRI

Kanda poha bhakri I made today with left over kanda poha.  It was tasty with a spicy mix veg curry.  I used to make paratha out of it when the left over kanda poha is in fridge.  Today, I thought of trying bhakri and was quite successful in making it.  

I had also made tikki out of it which has been posted under snack recipes.

You can also apply oil and make it like you make the tava chapati.

without much boring you, I straight away come to the recipe.

Kanda Poha Bhakri with mix veg curry

Youtube: Kandapoha bhakri

POHA MODAK

Hi friends, Ganesh Festival is on and I am sure I am not late to post this recipe.  We all are aware of making various kinds of modak or modakam for ganesha the destroyer of obstacles  known as vignaharta too.

I keep one and half days ganpati at home and do the pooja like Maharashtrians as well as South Indian.  Pooja is performed the way we perform chanting the 108 mantras of  Ganesha.  Aarti I follow the Maharashtrian style.

The idea came to my mind to keep Ganesha for 3 years in 2009.  When I expressed my views at home, my son said not this year, next year.  I was bit disappointed and had to agree with his views.  Unfortunately that year my mother in law passed away.  But the Ganesha had to come to our house.

You will wonder how?  My husband used to listen to the radio programme in which Malishka, the RJ announced that the third and ninth caller will get an eco friendly ganpati.  My husband was the third caller and we got the ganpati and was brought  home.  It was such a beautiful ganpati.

 However, we started  bringing the idol and performing pooja from 2010 onwards.

Till today, however, I am continuing by the grace of god though I had planned to keep only for 3 years.

Coming back to the recipe.  For neivedyam I was thinking what to make and tried this modak which was not very sweet but liked by everyone.

BITTER GOURD MILAGAI PODI

Bitter gourd milagaipodi is made with little fried bitter gourd and milagai podi.  If you have liking for bitter gourd then only you try this as it tastes slightly bitter.

This can be served with Idli, dosa and with steamed rice, ghee or seasame oil too.

RAVA DHOKLA

RAVA DHOKLA is an easy recipe shared with me by  SARASWATI.  It was easy to prepare and tasted good.    She shared the recipe with me recently  and I prepared the next day.    Dhokla is a steamed dish prepared by Gujaratis.  You can add veggies if you wish to make it more healthy.

ALOO TOKRI CHAAT

Tokri means katori, wati,  bowl  or basket you can call it.  The tokris are made either with maida or with aloo.  here I am giving the recipe of aloo tokri.

I happened to have this item in one of the mall when we along with our neighbour, went out with the kids.  It was quite filling and yummy and since then I wanted to try this at home, but somehow, I could not do so till today.

Today I do not know somehow I felt, I must complete this task and decided to try  my hand on this.  Since I am preparing this for the first time, I was bit nervous as to whether it will come out perfectly or not.  Yes I did spoil the first two baskets and rest came out very well.

I prepared the chaat and gave to my daughter and had myself, I could not believe that I prepared this so nicely.  video link:  how to make   aloo tokri,  and  alooo tokri chaat.

Now let us look at the recipe now:


Yield: 6-7 depending upon the size of the strainer.
time taken: 45 minutes

Ingredients:

2 potatoes (old potatoes or wafer potatoes)
2 tbsp corn flour
1/4 tsp black pepper powder
salt

for the filling:

1/2 cup moong sprouts boiled in salt water for 3-4 minutes
1/2 cup chopped tomatoe
1/2 cup chopped onion
Sweet chutney
green chutney
1/2 cup curd with 1 to 2 tsp sugar mixed in it.
chaat masala
chopped coriander leaves
1/2 cup nylon sev
2 tbsp pomegranate (optional)
boiled and mashed potatoes (optional)
oil for deep frying

Other things you need:

2 tea strainer
(1 small and the other  small (should be able to keep inside the bigger one)

Method:

Wash, peel and grate the potatoes directly in water. wash them three to four times in fresh water and squeeze out the extra water.  Then put it in kitchen towel to remove excess water.



Now put them in a bowl, add the corn flour, salt, black pepper powder and mix well.  Heat oil in kadai.  the oil should be medium hot.  put the potato mix in the strainer and spread evenly.  Now press with the other strainer (smaller one) and put the strainer in the hot oil.  after a minute just lift the smaller strainer and see whether it  is sticking to the potato mix.   fry it till you get a light golden brown colour tokri.  remove from the oil, wait till the oil is strained and turn it and tap on the outside portion to remove the tokri or with the help of knife you can lightly push them out and remove the tokri.  Repeat the process for the remaining aloo mix and fry them.  keep it in airtight container.

In the ingredients picture, you can see the fried potatoes. the first batch did not come out properly and was broken.  This I used while making the chaat.

Now let us look at the preparation of chaat.

Place one tokri in a plate.  put some sprouts, onion, tomato.  put green chutney, sweet chutney, curd.  sprinkle some chaat masala on top of it.   put the fried potatoes, nylon sev.  garnish with pomegranate seeds, coriander leaves.  If you want more chutney and curd, add and serve immediately.  repeat the process for the remaining baskets.

Note:  since fried potatoes were there, I did not use the boiled ones.

We can also prepare the baskets with maida dough which we use for the samosas.
If you do not have the strainer, you can use steel /aluminium katoris for making the baskets  with maida dough and can bake it.

RIPE MANGO SHARBAT

Mangoes - liked by all is the king of fruit.  Apart from eating mangoes as its is, it is used to make mango pulp means aam ras,  mambazha pachadi, mambazha rasakalan,  mambazha sambar,  mango icecream,  mango jam, mango burfi,  mango chutney,  mango falooda with chocolate, mango kadhi,  mango pak, mango milk shake, mango rasam, mango sheera, mango tender coconut drink, mango lassi,  fruit compote etc. sharbat also can be made with it like we make the aam ka panha with raw mangoes.  many more recipe are there in the blog.

In fact, today, I made mango mastani and after cutting the mangoes for the same, i added 1 cup of water in the seed (gutli) and squeezed out the pulp with hand.  then put in the mixer  along with 3 two tsp sugar and a pinch of salt and got the puree out of it.  strained it, boiled and cooled. then added some ice cubes and served with bit chaat masala and chopped pudina.  it was a lovely drink.  This was made with the best out of waste.  Yield two glasses.  Now let us look at the proper recipe with full mango.

MOONG SZECHUAN ROLL

Moong  szechuan roll   batter can be made within 45 minutes and the rolls and  crepes can be made immediately.  No need to ferment the batter.  It is tasty and healthy too.  Those who cannot consume rice and urid dal, this is an alternate recipe for them. 

We can also make the crepe with oats.  this can be served with any kind of chutney, sambar, sauce and must serve hot.

moong sezhuan roll video

TOMATO PARATHA

like other parathas, tomato paratha is also equally tasty and good to eat hot hot.  I had the packet of Knorr tomato soup and  half the packet was left over as the half had consumed for soup.  Though I do not normally buy the same as fresh tomatoes are always available and can make it easily.

I utilised the remaining half soup powder to make the paratha.

Must be eager to know how I did it.  Let us look at the recipe now:

tomato paratha video

PANEER RASAM, ROSE WATER RASAM

Paneer poo or paneer rose plant I always plant in the pot. The fragrance of the flower is unable to describe as you have to feel it.  You will not believe after leaving my native place, I used to wander to the nurseries for this particular plant and always managed to get one from them.

The season's first flower I had posted in the FB.  One of my friend and distant relative aunty who saw the photo told me to make the rasam with rose water as she knows that I always try to make something extra out of the box.

Though I have not tasted the same anywhere so far, I thought I will try as I had the dried rose petals and the rose water with me.

It is quite tasty like the normal rasams but you must get the original rose water and here is the recipe for you.

LOTUS SEED SUBZI

Lotus flower is offered to Goddess Lakshmi and you can see her sitting on the Lotus flowers.

The lotus flowers, seeds, young leaves and rhizomes are all edible.  In Asia, the petals are sometimes used for garnish, leaves are used as a wrap for food.  Various parts of the Lotus are also used in traditional herbal medicine.  The fruits are conical pod with seeds contained in holes in the pod.  When the seeds are ripe, they become loose in the pod and then tips down towards the water releasing the seeds.

The lotus stem is eaten in almost all parts of India by making pickles, subzis, vattal etc.

Lotus seed subzi yet another invention of mine today along with the soup.  The subzi was quite tasty with phulka and rice too.  A short note on lotus flowers and seeds.
Now let us look at the recipe now:

other recipes with lotus stem:  lotus stem subzi,  lotus stem chips, lotus stem pickle,  lotus-seed-soup, lotus seed subzi

LOTUS SEED SOUP

Lotus seed soup for the first time I made and it was quite tasty.  Since I have not tried any recipe with the seeds so far, I was bit hesitant how it is going to taste.  But it tasted good and liked by everyone at home.

During our childhood, we used to fight for the lotus seed as it was quite fascinating for us to remove the seeds from the conical shaped pod.  Then the alli (stamen)  it is known as in malayalam  surrounding the pod, we used to eat both these stuff.

The Tamarapoo ie. lotus flower is collected after the Bhagatseva or from the temple and the seeds are removed and it was quite fun.

We performed Bhagatseva at home on 17.07.2015 Friday, Aadi month began on this day, and it was so special for me as it was my husband's birthday.

He brought flowers from Dadar as a lot of flowers are required for this Pooja and 10-12 lotus flowers too among other flowers.

Hence I thought of trying some recipes out of it and made soup and subzi which was good.  on YOUTUBE: Lotus seed soup

Other recipes:   lotus stem subzi,  lotus stem chips, lotus stem pickle,  lotus-seed-soup, lotus seed subzi

The lotus is edible and has many curative properties; its use in traditional Asian medicine is as old as history. The flower is used to brew lotus teas, which relieves cardiac complications and helps to stop bleeding. The roots of the plant help in getting rid of the body’s toxic wastes and in strengthening the lives; it also helps in reducing body heat. The roots and rhizomes are useful in treating small pox, throat complications, pigmentation problems in skin, and diarrhoea.

The cooked lotus root is good for the stomach and the reproductive organs. It also helps to contract the blood vessels and prevents blood loss and complications such as coughing blood and blood in stools. The stem helps in the healthy growth of the foetus and also used to treat tightness of the chest. The lotus seed is used to tone the spleen and the kidney and is also used as food. Soups are also made from the seeds. The large leaves are used as cold bed sheets to treat high fever and for the treatment of summer heat and further they are used to things. The things that are thus wrapped remain fragrant for a long time. In short, it can be said that the lotus is a panacea.

RAGI PINWHEEL IN RABDI

Ragi is a powerhouse of health benefiting nutrients that help in reducing weight and also acts as a treatment for multiple diseases like Brittle Bones, Osteoporosis, Anaemia and Diabetes. It is a natural relaxant that helps in relieving stress and anxiety. It is one such rare cereal that doesn’t need to be polished and, therefore, can be consumed in its purest form with all its goodness intact.  Ragi is one of the best natural protein sources. It is also rich in health benefiting amino acids and mineral like Calcium, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin and Riboflavin. The high level of dietary fiber in this cereal aids in proper digestion, normal bowel movement and prevents constipation. The insoluble fibers present in Ragi assists movement of food through the intestines while the insoluble fibers retain water thereby easing the passage of waste.  Include it to your daily diet in order to protect your digestive system and avert risks of constipation and other digestive disorders.


Everyone love to eat a dessert after the meal.  Whether they are at home or in a party or a wedding or any other function, without a sweet, the function is incomplete.

Here I am presenting this recipe which I tried for my mentor Ms.Dahlia Twinkle who was keen on participating in a competition with the products of Aachi.   I do not know whether she has opted for this recipe or not, but when I tried this, I could not resist myself and prepared the same on the second day too.

Let us look at the recipe now which I made  with Ragi.   It is a simple preparation and healthy too.

APPLE SUBZI

Apple subzi is very easy to make and tasty along with the phulka, roti.  You can make it dry or with gravy too.  The apple which I bought had a bit sour taste, no one dared to eat that.  So I thought of making subzi out of it and liked by all.  

I have also  shared  apple pickle  recipe with  simpleindianrecipes.com  before I started my blog.  See other pickle recipes in Pickle recipes in my blog. see the apple methi sprouts pickle.

Every day it is a question mark what to prepare as accompaniment for Roti.  Since I was the only person to eat as others opted for rice variety, I thought of making this simple and easy subzi which was awesome.  

Let us look at the recipe now:

MALVANI WADE ll KOMBDI VADE ll HOW TO MAKE KOMBDI VADE

Kombdi vade is the speciality of Malvan.  This vade or puri is served along with  spicy chicken curry.  Malvani cuisine is famous in Konkan region of Maharashtra and Goa and some northern parts of West Karnataka.  Although Malvani cuisine is predominatly non vegetarian, there are many vegetarian delicacies too.  Malvan is a ton in the Sindhudurg district on the wet coast of Maharashtra.

This dish can be served along with a cup of tea also as I did it yesterday.  Since we are vegetarian, I had some choley with me and served along with it.

After browsing the net and discussion with various friends of mine how to make the Malvani Vade, I came to know that everybody got their own version and style of making it.  So I made according to my style, though I got the original recipe from Pratibha aunty.  

I am giving the original recipe as well as my own version.  Though the ingredients are roasted, powdered and then the vade is made, I used the  raw ingredients.

MOONG OATS CREPE

Moong oats crepe  batter can be made within 45 minutes and the crepes can be made immediately.  No need to ferment the batter.  It is tasty and healthy too.  Those who cannot consume rice and urid dal, this is an alternate recipe for them. 

We can also make the crepe without oats.  this can be served with any kind of chutney, sambar, sauce and must serve hot.

We can also stuff them with potato masala or szechuan  masala.

CHUKKU KAPPI, GINGER COFFEE

Chukku kappi or ginger coffee is a speciality of Kerala.  Normally, when we are down with cold and fever, my mother used to make this.  

Instead of using the sugar and normal jaggery, we use karuppatti or palm jaggery or panamchakkara it is known as and the taste is quite different.

Since I was having bit cold and head ache, I thought of making it early in the morning instead of having my normal black tea or green tea.  

MYSORE MASALA DOSA

Mysore masala dosa is prepared with the red chutney  and potato masala spread on it  and served hot with chutney and sambar.

It is almost same like the normal masala dosa but added chutney is the only difference.  

This mouth watering dosa, served hot with sambar and chutney is heavenly if you are a lover of South Indian breakfast.

SUBZ HARA MASALA

From the name itself, you can make out that the vegetables are cooked in green gravy.  subz means vegetables and hara masala means green masala or gravy.  Almost every day, you land up making the subzis in tomato onion based gravy so sometimes a change to the green gravy is always welcome.  the main ingredient in the masala being the coriander leaves which is good for the people who are suffering from diabetic.



Now let us look at the recipe now:

AMLA SHEPU SUBZI

Amla and shepoo both are having medicinal values and good for health.  Both are good for diabetic people.  Having calcium in it, good for bones, helps in digestion.  dill leaves helps in curing the gas problems.

We must add both these main ingredients in our daily diet atleast 3-4 days in a week.  Since amla has got a different kind of taste, and dill leaves are having a peculiar taste, both blended together makes a very nice subzi and can be served as a side dish.

WHEAT FLOUR SEVAI

Sevai, string hopper, idiyappam it is known as is my favourite dish with morukootan.  You can also serve this with chutney and sambar.

When I had made the sevai with brown bread, a friend of mine requested me to try with wheat flour.  I really took the pain to make it with wheat flour and it was very tasty.

Here I am sharing with you all the recipe as it is very easy to make and healthy too.  Iam little lazy to write about the dish ofcourse with less time to spare in my hand hence you must have observed that I am straight away coming to the recipe always.

LAUKI PEEL VATHAL

Monsoon is fast approaching before that you can try this vathal.  We used to make the vathal with Ash gourd peel also.  Very easy and tasty with sambar, rasam, dal rice.  Normally, we throw away the peel of lauki.  As it is edible, while preparing subzi also we can make use of it, but most of the people prefer to peel off the same.

Since I had peeled of one full lauki, I tried this vathal and liked by everyone at home.

WHEAT GUGRI

Gugri means sundal, usali.  Recently, one of my neighbour, a Marwadi Jain gave me a plate of Wheat and Black chana prepared and said that it is called Gugri.  When I looked at the dish, I felt the same like our sundal.  Then I searched on the net and came to know that it is one and the same.  Only thing that she had prepared  bit mushy.

Then I thought of making the same only with the wheat as we always prepare the sundal with black chana, kabuli chana, horse gram, chana dal etc.

PANEER ZAIKEDAR

Paneer zaikedar of zaikedar paneer means delicious paneer.  This is made basically with paneer spring onion,  peas and spices.   Very easy to make, delicious and can be served with Paratha, Roti or Pav or bread toasted with butter on tava.  

This recipe was shared with me by one of my colleague and I prepared the same for roti.

JODHPURI GULAB JAMUN KI SUBZI

Since so many days, I was thinking of making something different.  Recently, I saw in TV serving  Gulab Jamun ki subz.  I have a friend of mine who is a Rajasthani and asked her about the recipe.  She happily described the recipe to me.  When I made it, the dish was awesome and liked by everyone at home but my friend is used to have spicy dishes, she said the gravy is lacking the spiciness.  Since we cannot consume much spicy food, i have taken the spices according to our requirement.  If you want more spicy, add more masalas.

 Gulab jamun ki sabzi is  a  Rajasthani dish.  The gulab jamun’s are fried and instead of dipping them in sugar syrup they are dipped in tomato/cashew gravy.It is a very  heavy and filling  dish  as cashew adds all the richness to it.

Since  my neighbour is Jain an does not eat onion and garlic, I did not add onion in this.  You can add onion while grinding the tomato or can be fried and then add along with cashew while grinding.

SCHEZWAN SANDWICH

Bread items are always welcome in our house.  whether it is bread burji, bread omlette, bread pakoda, bread rolls or bread upma.  I was not very fond of bread items till such time I got married.  When I had the bread upma for the first time, I did not like it.  then I got used to it and it is part of our breakfast menu atleast once in a month.

Actually I wanted to make pizza and the pizza spread was not there.  Then the chutney was in the fridge so thought of making sandwich out of it and was very successful.

BREAD PAKODA WITH DOSA MAVU

Bread pakoda is a very easy snack item when you are having unexpected guests in your house. Bread can be purchased at any time and the besan is always in your store in the kitchen so need not worry.

Recently, when I made bread pakoda, few bread pieces were left out as the besan mix was over.  I had little bit of dosa mavu say for 3 dosas.  I mixed 2 tbsp of besan, chilli powder, ajwain, hing powder in it and dipped the bread pieces in it and made the pakodas.  It was very tasty and I finished the entire lot alone.

when you are having left over dosa batter, you can try this recipe and enjoy it.

ROSE MILK

Rose milk is a simple, easy preparation which can be served during the summer season.  add subja to this makes it more effective in cooling the stomach.  If you have ready made Rose Sharbat  (I used mapro brand), it is easy to make.  

CURRY LEAVES MOR KUZHAMBU

curry leaves has so many health benefits and why you should eat curry leaves  can be seen from this link. Normally, people throw away the curry leaves without knowing the health benefits.  Once you come to know the reason why should eat curry leaves, you will never throw this away.  This kuzhambu was very tasty along with rice and wafer even my daughter enjoyed it.  The reason, it helps in growing your hair, removes dandruff and stops hair fall.

It can be grown in our balcony and enjoy the fresh leaves whenever you want.

Now coming back to recipe, you can enjoy this kuzhmabu with rice or just drink like the kadhi as it is good for stomach ailments too.

other recipes of curry leaves:  curry leaves chutney, curry leaves dhokla,  curry patta gun powder,  curry patta idli, curry patta idli fry, curry leaves kuzhambu rice, curry leaves kuzhambu

LAUKHI YAKHNI, AL YAKHNI

Lauki is a quite healthy  vegetable and helpful in reducing your cholesterol, weight etc.  We can make varieties of dishes from lauki halva to raita with this.

I made this raita or Al yakhni (Al means Lauki in Kashmiri, Yakhni is curd based sauce) when I made Kashmiri pulao today as per my Son's requirement.  It was a good combination, simple and easy to prepare.
I forgot to take the photo separately of the  Al  Yakhni.  It is with the  Kashmiri pulao.

FRUIT SAMBAR

Sambar is an item prepared by South Indian to serve along with rice, idli, dosa, uttappam, medu vada  etc.  The spicy tangy sambar can be made with various combination of vegetables and with certain fruits also.

You can also make the sambar with jackfruit, pineapple, nendran pazham, mango etc. 

Here I am sharing with you a simple and easy sambar with fruits.  It tasted nice with rice, idli, dosa which I made on the same day.

You must be wondering idli and dosa together. Yes one child wants idli and another wants dosa. I preferred to have it with rice.  So three varieties I had to prepare to relish this fruit sambar.

other fruit recipes:   mambazha sambar, mambazha rasakalan, mambazha pachadi, mango rasam

Let us look at the recipe now:

AKKI ROTI

Akki roti (youtube)  is basically made with rice flour and is the speciality of Karnataka. We make Verum arisi adai means plain rice adai which is made with brown rice.  if we add onion and some vegetables in it, it becomes Akki roti.  One is plain and the other one is with vegetables that is the only difference between the Verum arisi adai and akki roti.  similar to this roti is muringa elai adai. 

We can put any vegetables or leafy vegetables to the plain rice flour or plain rice batter (with brown rice or white rice) and make this roti.  You name it adai or roti, it is yummy with any kind of chutney or sambar.

Let us look at the recipe now: