Modakam is a steamed dumpling with coconut and jaggery stuffing prepared for festivities like Varalakshmi Pooja and Ganesh Chaturthi.God Ganesha is said to be so fond of this sweet and is a must for his offering.It is a long proceedure to make this,but with proper planning your efforts will be well rewarded.Since august and september are months full of festivals and Varalakshmi Pooja and Ganesh Chaturthi are on the cards,iam posting this for the benefit of beginners.See down below the recipe for sweet modakam. Notes
Who doesn’t love pasta and my family is no exception to it.I make tomato based and white pasta recipes for my daughter for either evening snack or lunch box.She loves white pasta more and so I thought of making this sauce so that I can make it whenever she demands.Making these sauces at home is hygienic and economical.I usually make these sauces on weekends and use it up on week days.I made this sauce last week and thought of posting this as this would be useful for all pasta lovers who want to try out the homemade sauce.I already have...
Onion Sambhar is a classic and flavourful gravy made with shallots or onions as you might call them and freshly ground spices.It would always be on the to do list when guests pop over in the south indian lunch menu.Though all sambhar varieties require a tamarind base and the main ingredient being sambhar powder, each recipe has a peculiar taste and aroma of its own.This sambhar is usually thick from the ones we make to serve as a side dish for idlis and dosas.Onions used here is a variety called sambhar onion or madras onion,It has other names too such...
When i posted sweet chutney for chaats i thought of posting this green chutney too as they go hand in hand and are the two important chutneys for our chaat items.This chutney too can be prepared in a jiffy and stored for 10 days.I always make this chutney a little extra and love to have them with parathas too.Try it,Iam sure you'll like it too.Coriander,the main ingredient of this chutney has a good source of folic acid,vitamin A and beta carotene.It also has strong anti oxidant properties and helps reduce the feeling of nausea.With simple coriander leaves you can do...
Pitlai is again a tamarind based gravy,close to sambhar but has many spices added in to it.It is a regular item included in tamil brahmin marriages,festivals and also a regular feature in my home.It is somewhat thicker than sambhar and so flavourful with all the loaded spices carefully roasted and coarsely grounded.This powder which is roasted and grounded is used for many food items and i make it a little extra always and store it in the fridge and it can be used for many dishes such as Arachuvitta sambhar,Rasavangi,Podi kathrikkai curry etc.I will post these recipes sometime later.This pitlai...
Potato Murukku is a crispy snack made out of rice flour and potatoes.Since Janmashtami is tommorow,you can give it a try in addition to the regular delicacies.Here in Bangalore Kannadigas offer many sweets in savouries for the occasion.I wanted to try some sweets too,but since I was unwell had to do with this recipe only.Potato Murukku is a recipe I saw in a magazine and was tempted to try and to my satisfaction came out well.This is a very and fool proof recipe and involves very less ingredients and takes less time for preparing too.You can use homemade rice flour...
Avakkai is a type of andhra pickle though it is prepared in other states of south india as well.The speciality of this pickle is the mangoes which have huge yet tender deeds in it and cut in some what big pieces.The taste is also very hot compared to other pickles.As iam a pickle person,I made this
I like banana stem or vazhaithandu because of it's numerous health benefits.Personally it was a boon to me when i suffered from kidney stones for the past 2 years and my doc recommended to drink banana stem juice daily.I never knew what would that do with the disease curing,but did what i was told.It's fibre content is very good for our body and treats many diseases with ease.Taste wise also it is chewy and with the blended coconut and spices this kootu tastes simply awesome.It is a yoghurt based gravy or kottu and tastes best with variety rice items.Banana tree...
One of the daily features is in my household is ‘what to pack for lunch’?I always ponder about this and try to include variety and health in each meal.So when i was running out of ideas i got this recipe from my friend who makes pulaos of different types.I was happy that this contained corn,my daughter’s favourite.You can alternatively make this with baby corn as well.I have kept the spices minimal,you can increase the amount if you want.Also for a change in colour and extra flavour,i have added green peas,it adds a nice crunch to the pulao and tastes great...
