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Colocassia/Arbi/Taro Root – 250 gms Red Chilli powder – 1 ½ tbsp Turmeric pd -1 tsp Salt – 2 tsp Tamarind- 1 lemon sized ball Mustard seeds- 1 tsp Urad dal- 1 tsp Curry leaves-1 sprig Oil- 3-4 tbsp Soak the tamarind in ¼ cup water for 10-15 minutes. Squeeze the tamarind in it to make a pulp. Boil the Arbi in water or pressure cook till partially cooked,not mushy. Peel and chop into small pieces. In a vessel, mix the turmeric powder, 1 tbsp chilli powder and salt with the tamarind pulp. Add the colocassia pieces, prick slightly with a fork and mix well. Leave to marinate for atleast half an hour. Heat oil in a wok or kadai. Add mustard seeds, urad dal and curry leaves. When the mustard splutters and the urad dal starts changing colour, add the marinated pieces. Add ½ tbsp of red chilli powder (optional) and fry till crisp. Is a yummy dish and sometimes can’t be differentiated from potatoes.

My 'grand-uncle', my Mother's uncle was a regular visitor to our house when we were young.He is no more and we miss him. He used to reside in Bombay/Nairobi and travel the world. he used to make this chutney and that's how we know this as 'Bombay Chutney'. One of my favourte chutneys as an accompaniment to Dosas, I remember him and our Icecream trips everytime I make it. Besan (Gramflour) – 1 cup Chilli powder- 2 tsp Salt – 2 tsp Asafoetida (Hing) powder- a generous pinch Onion – 1 large Green chillies- 2 Curry leaves- 1 bunch Mustard seeds- 1 tsp Oil- 2 tbsp (more if reqd.) Lemon juice – of 1 lemon Water- 1 1 /2 cup or more to make a batter Chop onion finely and slit the green chillies into 4 long pieces. In a bowl, mix together besan, salt, chilli powder, asafetida pd and water to make a batter. It should be free-flowing consistency like cake batter. In a pan, heat the oil, add the mustard seeds and curry leaves. When the seeds splutter, add the onions and fry

I had tasted this during my student days in Pune and fished out its recipe from my Mom's collection. It is eaten on fasting days and is great on a rainy day with a hot cup of tea. Sago(Sabudana)- 150 gms Groundnut- 100 gms Potatoes- 3 Chillies- 2+2 or 1+2 Coriander leaves- 50 gms Lemon Juice- 2 tsp OR Dry Mango powder (amchur)- 2 tsp Red chilli pd (optional)- 2 tsp Salt- to taste Oil- as reqd Water- to soak Soak sago in just enough water to cover it for atleast 2-3 hours. It can be soaked overnight too. Squeeze out the water gently and keep the sago aside. Boil potatoes till 80% cooked. Mash and keep aside. Do not make it like a pulp. Chop the green chillies and coriander leaves fine. Grind groundnuts with one or two green chillies coarsely. In a bowl, mix the potatoes, sago, groundnut-chilli mix, chopped chillies, coriander leaves, lemon juice, chilli pd (optional) and salt roughly. Make cutlets, these should be tight balls. Heat oil and deep fry. Alternately, Shallow fry on a

A fast nutritious,tasty timepass snack. Ingredients Serves 2 Black Chickpeas (kaale channe)- 100 grams Boiled Potato (optional)- 1 large Tomato-1 large Onion - 2 Fresh Coriander leaves- 25 gms Green chillies- 2 Lemon juice- of 1 lemon Salt or Black salt- to taste Chaat Masala- 1-2 tsp Soak chick peas overnight. Chop onion, tomato, green chillies and coriander leaves fine. Chop the potato into cubes. Cook the chickpeas after adding a little salt-till done, not soft. In a bowl, mix the chopped ingredients. Add the cooked chickpeas. Add lemon juice,salt, chaat masala and toss well. Serve. Is a tasty crunchy snack. Sumi says: You can chopped diced cucumber and Murmura(Puffed Rice) and serve as a variation.

My Mother's recipe of stuffing this otherwise tasteless vegetable with a paste of spice powders and then cooking it. It turns out quite nice, pulling in the flavours and stewing in the tastes. I am giving the number of vegetables to be used and not the weight as I find this easier to determine the stuffing ratio. Ingredients Parwal- 12 Onion- 2 Powders Coriander pd (Dhania pd)- 3 tbsp Cumin powder (Jeera pd)- 2 tbsp [Freshly roasted and ground Cumin and coriander powders preferred] Chilli powder- 1 tbsp (Can be reduced to taste) Turmeric pd (optional)- 1 tsp Dry mango powder (Amchur) -2 tsp Salt- 2 tsp or to taste Water - 1/4 cup ( to make a thick paste) Oil- to fry Water- to cook Wash the Parwal and make a deep slit taking care not to cut it in half. Slice the onion fine. Mix the spice powders and water to make a thick paste. Take a small spoon and fill the parwal with the masala. Heat the oil, put the onions in and fry slightly. When it starts turning

I made this for breakfast this morning and my husband asked if I have posted it yet! He loves it,without the cheese though. It was an idea that I tried to made the morning 'make-me-a-fast' omelette tastier, and it clicked. For 1 Omelette Eggs-2 Milk- 1 tbsp Salt- 1 tsp or to taste Pepper- 1 tsp Oil- 2 tbsp Tomato Sauce Tomato- 1 large Onion- 1 Green chilli- 1 Garlic flakes- 1/2 tsp OR Garlic- 2 Salt- to taste Pepper-a pinch Ketchup- 1 tbsp I use Chilli-garlic ketchup Water-2 to 3 tbsp Oil- 2 tbsp Cheese- 25 gms(optional) Chop the onion, garlic(if using the same), chillies and the tomatoes fine. Grate the cheese. Heat oil in a pan. Add the chillies, onion and fry till the onion start turning brown. Add the garlic,tomatoes and fry till soft,adding a little water. Add salt,pepper and ketchup and fry till soft and sauce like. Remove and keep aside Beat the eggs with milk,salt and pepper till frothy. Heat oil and pour the mix. Let the omelette set. I whisk it lightly once when

This was 'tossed' up by my aunt at a barbeque meal on a beachhouse at a family outing. The taste was unforgettable, though I tasted it about 12 years ago or something. My Mother got the recipe and this was a lunchtime treat for us on holidays. It's nutritious and got us to eat the otherwise disliked "Cabbage" in huge quantities without any complaints. INGREDIENTS Cabbage or Lettuce- 1 medium sized Roasted Groundnuts- 400 gms Green chillies- 2 Salt- to taste Lemon juice- of 1 lemon Olive Oil or Salad Oil- 1 tsp Coriander Leaves- 100 gms. Chop the cabbage into bite sized pieces Grind the groundnut, green chillies and salt together coarsely. TAKE CARE not to grind it fine- it spoils your salad. In the salad bowl, put in the chopped cabbage, add the groundnut mix, add chopped coriander leaves, lemon juice and toss well. Sprinkle Olive Oil or Salad Oil. Toss and serve immediately. I love this crunchy salad!

Pakoda Gramflour- 4 tbsp Water- 1 cup Spinach leaves (chopped) - ½ cup Ginger-1/2 inch garlic- 3 Green chilli- 1 Onion- 1 Salt- to taste Oil- to fry Kadhi Besan- ½ cup Thick Curd- ¾ cup Water- ¾ cup (If curd is not very thick, reduce the amount of water) Ginger- 1 inch Chilli – 1 Chilli powder- 1 tsp Dry red chilli- 2 Fennel seed- ½ tsp Asafoetida (hing) pd- a pinch Fenugreek (Methi) seeds- ¼ tsp Mustard seeds- 1 tsp Salt- to taste Oil- 1 tsp Coriander leaves- to garnish PAKODA Chop the onion. Crush together the garlic, ginger and green chilli. Mix together the spinach leaves and all other ingredients for the pakodas except the oil. Mix together to make a drop-consistency batter. Heat the oil and fry the pakodas. Strain and keep aside. KADHI Crush together the ginger and green chilli. In a bowl, mix the gramflour, salt, asafetida, crushed ginger-chilli, chilli powder, curd and water. Whisk together to get rid of any lumps. In a pan, heat oil. Add the mustard seeds and red chillies. Whe

Is a cool, refreshing, healthy accompaniment to rice dishes. Children love this and relish the vegetables too! Omit the green chillies and increase the vegetable they like and see them asking for more. Serves 4 Cucumber- 2 Tomato -2 Onion- 1 Carrot- 2 Curd- 2 cups Coriander leaves- ½ cup Mint leaves (optional)- 7 to 8 Green chillies- 2 Pepper- 1 tsp Black salt- 2 tsp Salt- to taste Chop the vegetables and add some salt. This will cause it to let out some juices. Mix the curd, chopped coriander leaves, chillies and powders. Add the vegetables and stir. Crush the mint leaves slightly and mix in. Serve with any seasoned rice.

INGREDIENTS Rice- 200 gms Tomatoes- 4 Ginger- 2 inches Green Chillies- 2 Coriander leaves (for paste)- 30 grams Chopped coriander leaves- 2 sprigs Onion- 1 Onion Shoots (optional)- 4 Salt- 2 Black salt- 1 Chilli powder- 1 tsp Turmeric powder- 1 tsp Oil- 4 tbsp Cinnamon Powder (optional)- 1 tsp Water- 3 cups or as required PROCEDURE Wash the rice and leave on strainer for atleast half an hour before cooking. Grind together tomatoes, chopped coriander leaves, ginger and green chillies. Chop the onion and onion shoots into fine slices. In a pressure cooker or pan, heat the oil. Fry the onion till it starts turning crisp. Add the onion shoots and fry. Add the rice and fry till the grains separate and are well fried. Add the ground tomato mixture, turmeric, chilli powder and salt. Fry well till tomato thickens. Add the chopped coriander, cinnamon powder, water. Steam or cook till done. Serve with Onion-Cucumber Raita and gravy subzis.

I Loved this as a breakfast prepearation. My mother adds Urad Dal and Channa Dal, though I like it without the same. I also tried adding "Thazir Molaghai" , which are typically chillies coated with curd and salt and left to dry in the sun, similar to the 'Papad' making process. They dry and attain a slightly wilted form. Then,before eating, they are deep fried and are eaten typically with 'Thallichikotti Thazir Chaadam" or Seasoned Curd Rice. A long time- fave of mine, this chilli is quite tasty with morkalli too! INGREDIENTS: Thick Curd: 200 ml Water:200 ml Or Buttermilk: 400 ml Rice Flour( fine rice powder): 6- 7 tablespoons (200 gms) Green chilli- 1 to 2 Ginger- 1 inch Salt- to taste (2 tsp would suffice for me) Asafetida (Hing) powder- 1 pinch Red Chilles (dry)- 2-3 or Thazir Molaghai (Chillies coated with curd and dried in the sun)- 2-3 Mustard Seeds- ¾ tsp Curry leaves - 5-6 Channa Dal- 1/2 tsp Urad Dal- 1/2 tsp Oil- to cook. 3-4 tbsp and more Ch

Tomatoes- 2 large Onion- 1 large (can add 1 medium if desired) Coriander Leaves chopped- 1/2 cup Green chillies- 2 Salt- as per taste Oil- to fry Water Chop onions and tomatoes fine. Chop chilles into small pieces. Heat oil, add onions and fry till well fried(start turning brown). Add more oil if reqd. Add tomatoes and fry till totally soft and well fried. Tomatoes should turn dark red and get mashed. Remove from heat and let cool. Grind with chopped chillies, coriander leaves and salt. **To add a punch, add 4-6 sweet green grapes when grinding.Tastes chatpata,tangy! An awesome accompaniment with breakfast, typically idlis, dosas and dhoklas and fried snack items.

(Serves 2) INGREDIENTS Rice-1/2 cup Moong Dal(Split Yellow Gram)- 1/2 cup Chopped Mixed Vegetables(Carrot,Peas,Beans,Potatoes)- 1/2 cup Onion-1 Tomato-2 small Green chilli- 1 to 2 Ginger - 1 inch Turmeric powder- 1/2 tsp Cumin (Jeera) powder- 1 tsp Cumin seeds- 1/2 tsp Salt- to taste Oil- as required Pickle- 1 tsp (Optional) Coriander Leaves chopped-1/2 cup METHOD Soak the rice and moong dal for atleast half an hour. Drain and leave on a sieve for 20 minutes before cooking. Chop onion and tomatoes fine. Slice 1 chilli (optional). Chop the ginger and 1 chilli and crush or pound these well together. In a pressure cooker or deep dish, heat oil, fry cumin seeds. Add the onion and fry well. Add tomatoes and crushed ginger-chilli. Cook till soft and paste like. Add salt,turmeric and cumin powders.Add the pickle(optional) Mix well. Add the rice-dal,vegetables and mix well,frying for 2-3 minutes. Add 2 and a quarter cups of water and cook till done.(ADD 2 and a half cups if you like your khich

My dear mother-in-law's recipe. I is quite a good accompaniment with rice dishes and daily rice-dal meals. Boondi- 200 grams Warm water- 1 cup Red chili powder- 1 tsp Salt – 2 tsp Sugar- 2 tsp Fresh Curd- 2 cups Mustard seeds- 2 tsp Green chillies- 2 Curry leaves- 1 stalk Add red chilli powder and salt to the warm water and soak boondi in it. After 10 minutes, add sugar, green chillies and curd. Mix well. Heat oil for tempering, add mustard seeds and curry leaves. Pour over boondi raita. Adjust salt and sugar according to taste of curd. This has a sweet and salty taste and is a good accompaniment to spicy, masala dishes. Serve with hot, spicy Biriyanis, Rice-dal-Currys and Pulaos.

INGREDIENTS Boondi- 200 grams Rock Salt- 1 tbsp Chaat Masala- 1 tbsp Red chili powder- 1 tsp Cumin powder- 1 tsp Onion – 1 small Green chilli – 1 Fresh Curd- 2 cups Warm water- 1 cup Fresh coriander leaves – 1 tbsp Chop the coriander leaves, chilli and the onion. Add red chilli powder and ½ tbsp salt to the warm water and soak boondi in it. Mix the remaining rock salt, chaat salt, cumin powder in the curd. Add in curd and the mixed powders to the soaked boondi after ten minutes. Leave for 10 minutes. Add the chopped onion and chilli. Mix in coriander leaves and garnish with some sprigs. Serve with stuffed paranthas and flavoured rice dishes.

INGREDIENTS Rice- 200 grams (1 cup) Soya Chunks (Nutrela brand is famous)- 15 Red chilli powder- 1-2 tsp Onion- 2 Ginger- garlic paste- 1 tsp Pudina- chilli paste- 1 tbsp (Paste made from ½ bowl of mint leaves and 1 green chilli) Mint leaves- 8 Curd- ½ cup Saffron (optional)- 6 to 7 strands soaked in ½ cup milk Oil or Ghee to fry Water- 2 cups Biryani masala – 2 tsp I use Everest Shahi Biryani Masala- is quite tasty Or Quick Biryani Mix {(2 Cardamom, ½ inch cinnamon,3 black pepper, 2 cloves powdered), 1 small bay leaf, ¼ tsp coriander powder, ½ tsp red chilli powder) Salt- to taste PROCEDURE Wash rice rice well, strain and leave for atleast half to one hour before cooking. Heat 2 cups of water. Remove from heat. Add 1 tsp salt and red chilli powder. Immerse the soya chunks and leave for atleast 20 minutes. Take out squeeze and put in again for 10 minutes. Squeeze out water, taking care not to break any and leave aside. Slice onions into thin slices. Fry one onion till golden b

I tried an exception to the usual tomato gravy for Mushroom curries. This is similar to Methi Mutter Malai curries srved at restaurants. INGREDIENTS Button Mushrooms- 200 grams Onions- 1 Ginger-garlic paste- 2 tsp Tomatoes- 2 large pureed Capsicum- 1 Coriander (dhania) powder- 2 tsp Turmeric (haldi) powder- 1 tsp Chilli powder- 1 ½ tsp Garam Masala- 1 tsp Salt- to taste Cumin seeds- 1 tsp Bay leaves- 2 Milk- ½ cup Cream – 2 tbsp Oil- 3-4 tbsp Water- 1 ½ cup Coriander leaves- to garnish Chop the capsicum and mushrooms into small pieces. Grind the onion into a paste. Use the onion as a separate paste. Heat 2 tbsp of the oil. Add the cumin seeds and bay leaves. Next add the ginger-garlic paste and fry till well done. Now add the onion paste and fry till turns thick and slightly brown. Add the tomato puree and fry adding more oil. When it starts leaving the sides of the dish and turning dark in colour, add the turmeric, coriander, chilli and salt. Fry well and add the capsicum. Sprinkle a

INGREDIENTS Cauliflower- 1 Batta Masala (Ground Masala) Whole Coriander seeds- 1 tbsp Whole Cumin seeds – 1 tbsp Red chillies- 5 My Eastern Curry Paste Onion – 1 large Ginger- 1 inch Garlic- 10 to 12 large Green chilies- 2 Tomatoes – 2 large Onions- 2 Turmeric powder- 2 tsp Red chilli powder- 1 tsp Kasuri Methi- 2 tsp Sugar- ½ tsp Salt- to taste Oil Water Preparation Puree the tomatoes by grinding them. Make the Eastern Curry Paste. Slice the onions thin. Soak the kasuri methi in about 50 ml. of water Prepare the Batta masala by soaking the seeds and chillies in about 50 ml of water for atleast an hour. Then remove them and grind them while gradually adding the water in between. Cut the Cauliflower into florets, soak in water to which turmeric and a pinch of salt has been added. Cooking procedure Heat 2 tbsp of oil. Fry the drained cauliflower till slightly brown. Remove from heat. Add a little oil if required and when heated, the curry paste to the pan. Fry till it gets well fried an

For Kofta Raw (green) papaya- 1 Salt- 1.5 tsp Chilli powder- 1 tsp (to taste) Besan- 1/2 cup Ajwain- 1/2 to 1 tsp Water - as reqd For Gravy Tomato Puree (Thick)- 1 cup Onion grated- 2 Ginger- garlic paste- 1 tbsp Turmeic powder- 1 tsp Coriander powder- 1.5 tsp Cumin powder- 1 tsp Chilli powder- 1 tsp Garam Masala- 1 tsp Chopped Coriander leaves- to garnish Oil- as required Salt- as per taste Water- 1.5 cup Can sprinkle a little black salt(kala namak) if u like the flavour- I love it To make koftas Grate the papaya. sprinkle salt and leave for sometime. Papaya lets go of water. Squeeze out water, add salt,chilli powder,ajwain and 2-3 tbsp besan. Form balls, if balls are tight, roll in dry besan and fry.Test fry one. Or else, Mix besan with salt and water to form batter. dip koftas and fry. Drain and keep aside For gravy Heat Oil.Add ginger-garlic paste and fry well. Then, put in grated onions and fry till golden. Pour in tomato puree and fry till it changes colour to a dark blood red.