Back after a long break! Sorry haven’t been able to post recipes for sometime. I have started participating in events where I put up stalls for live cooking. It’s a new experience for me and I have to admit, it’s been a pleasure as well as very fulfilling to cook, serve and see soo many people relish your dishes. It’s such an overwhelming feeling when people come to you and say they enjoyed eating and would like to know the recipe.

So here’s a chutney recipe that became a favourite among the eaters.

Cabbage chutney

Ingredients:-

Cabbage shredded— 1 cup

Raw mango — 2 tbsp

Channa dal — 2tbsp

Urad dal — 1tbsp

Dry red chilli —-. 2

Green chilli — 1

Mustard seeds —. 1/4 tsp

Salt — 1/2 tsp

Oil —. 2 tbsp

A bunch of curry leaves.

Method

Heat 1 1/2 of oil in a pan. Add the dals and red chilli and fry till the dal changes colour and you get a good aroma. Now add the green chilli and shredded cabbage. Fry the cabbage on a medium flame till the water evaporates. Add the raw mango and curry leaves, saute for a minute and put off the flame. Allow the mixture to cool,add salt and grind adding little water to get a chutney consistency. Heat the reaming oil in the pan ,add the mustard seeds, when they splutter,add the urad dal, when it changes colour, add this to the chutney.

Enjoy cabbage chutney with kuzipaniharam, Bonda or any other snack.

There is an inherent connection between a rainy day and a crave for some munchies. Isn’t it! I have whipped up a lip smacking recipe for a instant Vada that will warm your cockles! Enjoy the rains with this perfect evening snack alongside a hot cup of tea.

Ingredients

Avil — 2 cups ( I used red avil).

Rava– 2 tbsp

Rice flour– 2tbsp

Onion– 1 big

Boiled Potato– 1 big

Green chili– 1

Cummin seeds– 1 tsp

Curd— 2tbsp

Salt– 1 1/2 tsp

Oil for frying.

Method –

Cut onion and green chilli into small pieces. Wash and soak avil for 3 minutes and then drain. Mash the boiled potato. Mix the ingredients together. Make a small ball and flatten them. Heat oil in a kadai and fry the vadas. Enjoy hot vadas with ketchup.

One should always try out something new in the kitchen during Navrathri. I tried out this wonderful sweet in a gurdwara and wanted to create my own version. Check out the recipe.

Ingredients –

Atta (wheat flour) – 1 cup

Sugar – 1 cup

Ghee – 1 cup

Water – 2 cups

Cardamom – 1/4th spoon

Method –

Mix together sugar and water. Boil it until the sugar gets dissolved. In a pan, heat ghee and add the atta. Give it a stir. Keep stirring the atta till it changes it’s colour to light brown. Reduce the heat and slowly incorporate the sugar water. Add the cardamom and keep stirring it until you get a thick consistency and the ghee oozes out. Your Khada prasad is ready.

On the 4th day of Navrathri, here is a traditional offering of Brown Channa sundal and Nei Appam. Check out the recipe.

Brown Chana Sundal / Konda kadalai sundal –

Brown chana —- 1 cup

Grated coconut — 2 tbsp

Green chilli— 1

Mustard seeds— 1/2 tsp

Urad dal— 1/2 tsp

Asafoetida—- 1/4 tsp

Salt— 1/2 tsp

Lemon juice — 2 tbsp

Oil— 1 tbsp

Few curry leaves.

Method –

Soak brown chana overnight or 6-7 hrs. Add salt to chana and pressure cook it for 4-5 whistles. Grind together coconut and green chilli together without adding water. Heat oil in a pan,add the mustard seeds, when they splutter add the urad dal, asafotida, curry leaves and the coconut–chili mixture. Fry it till the coconut turns red, add the cooked chana, give a stir and cook it for two minutes. Put off the heat and add the lemon juice. Sundal is ready.

Ingredients –

Kabuli Channa – 1 Cup

Fresh Coconut – 2 Tbsp

Curry Powder – 1 Tbsp

Asafoetida – 1/4th Tbsp

Mustard – 1/2 tea spoon

Urad Dal – 1/2 tea spoon

Oil – 1 Tbsp

Salt – 1 Tea spoon

Few Curry Leaves

Method –

Soak Kabuli Channa overnight or for a minimum of 6 – 7 hours. Chop the coconut into fine pieces. Cook the channa along with salt, in a pressure cooker for 4 whistles with minimum water. Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds. As soon as they splutter, add urad dal. Stir it till it changes color and add the curry leaves. Switch off the heat and add asafoetida, curry powder and coconut . Add this mixture to the cooked channa. Give it a proper stir and close the lid. Cook it for 5 minutes so that it absorbs the masala.

Kabuli Channa sundal is ready for naivedyam!

Curry Powder –

Dry fry 2 tbsp of Toor dal along with 1 tbsp of Dhaniya and 1 Red chilli. Ground it till it forms a coarse powder.

Generally, Channa dal is used for curry powder. To give it a flavorful twist, I have used Toor Dal. You can store this Curry powder and use it later for other sundals as well.

Finally, the wait is over! The festival of Navrathri is here. First and foremost, Navrathri is a Hindu festival that is celebrated over 9 days in the autumn of every year. To everyone out there, wish you all a very happy and prosperous Navrathri. As we are all getting ready to indulge in the joyous festivities, one should stack up their daily menu’s with utterly delicious specials. Hence, I will be sharing recipes for traditional Sundals and Sweets with a twist, for every day of this wonderful festival.

Many of us are always on the look out for a different type of chutney that we can use as an accompaniment. This chutney is flavor packed and can be used as an accompaniment for idlis, dosa and can be mixed with hot rice as well. This recipe uses shallots which are a great and healthier substitute to Onions; which aids in metabolism and circulation.

Ingredients

Shallot—                  15 nos

Raw mango—          2 tbsp(I used a little ripe mango)

Garlic—                     5-6 pods

Fresh coconut—      3 tsp

Dried Red Chilies—    4

Tamarind—               small marble size

Mustard seeds—       ½ tsp

Salt—                          ¾ tsp

Oil—                          2 tsp.

Method

Heat one spoon of oil in a pan. Add the garlic and saute till the raw smell disappears. Now add the shallots and saute till they turn translucent. Add the red and chilies fry for a minute. Finally add in the raw mango and tamarind, give it a stir and turn off the heat. Let is cool , add salt and grind everything together to form a smooth paste. Heat the remaining oil, add mustard seeds, when they crackle turn off the heat and add this to the chutney.

Whenever I prepare this dish for lunch, I can always see a beam of smiles across the table! Thayir Semiya, the perfect substitute for Curd rice is utterly creamy and delicious, and when paired with our famous South Indian pickles is a holy duo! Check out this recipe immediately.

Ingredients

Semiya / Vermecelli—        1 cup

Fresh curd—                         1 ½  cup

Mustard seeds—                  ½ tsp

Asafoetida—                           ¼ tsp

Salt—                                     ½ tsp

Oil—                                       1 tsp.

Method

Boil water in a deep pan, add semiya and cook it. Drain the semiya and run normal water over it. Cool it.  Heat oil in a pan , add the mustard seeds , when they splutter add the asafoetida ,put of the flame. Now take a deep bowl add the semiya , curd, salt, and the tempering. Mix well. Thayir semiya is ready.

An evening snack over a cup of tea or coffee. Normal paruppu vadai is made during festivals or when you have some special guests over lunch. One can relish these masala vadai from any of the tea shops, but preparing it at home is different because you never know how much of the vadai’s you end up having.

Ingredients

Channa dal— 1 cup

Dry red chilli— 2

Green chilli— 2

Ginger— ½ inch piece

Cumin seeds— 1 tsp

Fennel seeds— 1 tsp

Salt— 1tsp

Few fresh curry leaves and coriander leaves.

Oil to fry.

Soak channal dal for 2-3 hours. Grind together red chili, green chili, ginger, cumin seeds, fennel seeds, curry leaves and coriander leaves. Drain water from the dal and grind the channa dal coarsely. Add the grounded paste to the grounded channa dal, add salt and mix well. Heat oil in a deep pan. Take small ball of the mixture, flatten them and slide them into the hot oil, turn them and fry them over medium heat till they are golden brown. Your Paruppu vadai’s are ready. Turn these into delicious Masala vadai’s by just adding chopped onions before frying.

A very simple dish, light on your stomach and definitely healthy. Adding palak makes its more nutritious. Enjoyed by kids and adults equally. Enjoy palak khichdi with kadi.

Ingredients

Rice— 1 cup

Thuvar dal— ¼ cup

Palak / Spinach— 1 cup

Onion— 1 small

Tomato— 1 small

Ginger-Green chili paste— 1

Mustard seeds— ¾ tsp

Cumin seeds— ¾ tsp

Turmeric powder— ½ tsp

Salt— 1 ¼ tsp

Ghee— 4 tbsp

Few curry leaves.

Method

Cook rice and thuvar dal together with turmeric powder and a spoon of ghee in  a pressure cooker. Wash and make a puree of palak. Heat 2 tbsp ghee in a pan, add mustard seeds. when they splutter add the cumin seeds. When you get a nice aroma add the curry leaves and chopped onion and stir till they become translucent,further add ginger-chili paste and chopped tomato and saute for a minute. Further add the palak puree, add salt mix well, cover and cook till the palak get cooked. Now add this to the cooked rice and dal. ( The rice and dal should be cooked well, it should be of a mushy texture.) Add one glass of water and mix it well. Simmer and cook for 5 minutes or till the khichdi absorbs palak flavor. Your Palak khichdi is ready. Drizzle some more ghee before serving and enjoy hot khichdi.