Sabudana Upma

Sabudana upma is an awesome meal during fasting. I prepare this couple of times in a month as its very light and nice to eat .

Prep time: 10 mins
Cooking time : 15 mins
Cooking Complexity : Medium
Serves : 4 people

Ingredients
Roasted Groundnut - 4 tbsp
Oil : 2 tbsp
Jeera : 1 tsp
Mustard Seeds : 1 tsp
Bengal gram & Urad dal : 1 tsp
Curry leaves : 10 leaves
Red chillies : 7-8
Onion : 2
Grated coconut : 5 tbsp
Salt as per taste

Method:

1. Soak 1.5 cups Sabudana (I use Bhagyalakshmi sabudana) overnight in 2 glass buttermilk(1.5 glass water and 0.5 glass curd)
2. Drain out Sabudana and cook for 5 mins in water with little salt
3. In a kadai , add oil. Add mustard seeds, jeera, bengal gram & urad dal, curry leaves, chillies, turmeric powder. Fry Well.
4. Add chopped Onions , let it fry well.
5. Now add grated coconut and fry for 2 mins . Add drained sabudana, salt , groundnut powder. Mix well.
6. Let it cook for 10 mins on low flame.
7. Serve hot.

Chicken Ghee Roast

When i joined my current company 4 years ago, found the best buddies. Fridays used to be a "No Dabba day". Our usual hang out for lunch would be the mall close to our office. Ghuru, one of my colleague was sooo fond of this Ghee Roast(Mushroom , as he was a veggie) . Not sure, how that tasted(Veggies have this option). Every week, he used to just buy Mushroom Ghee roast and Neer dosa. This made me always think of trying this dish. This was really yum with Chicken..

Here, you go my version of Mangalore style "Chicken Ghee Roast" . This goes well with Phulka, Chapathi, Neer Dosa or the regular dosa.

Ingredients:

Chicken : 1 Kg
Dry Red Chillies: 10
Menthi Seeds: 1 tsp
Jeera : 1 tsp
Pepper : 1 tsp
Dhaniya : 2 tsp
Garlic: 5 cloves
Ginger : 2 inches
Tamarind: little
Curry Leaves: 10- 12 strands
Curd : 1 small cup
Ghee: 3- 4Tbsp
Turmeric Powder: 1/2 tsp
Salt as per taste:

Method:

Wash Chicken thoroughly.
Mix Chicken, 1/2 tsp salt , turmeric powder, curd and let it rest for 1 hr.

Masala :

Dry roast Dry chillies, methi,jeera, pepper, dhaniya.
Once it cools grind them to a smooth paste along with ginger, garlic, tamarind.
Dont add water.

Heat Ghee in a bowl, add chicken(without the curd mixture) with little salt. Let it cook well.
Keep the curd mix aside.
Once the chicken cooks, keep that aside leaving the ghee in the same kadai.

Pour the masala in the left over ghee and let it cook for 5 mins. Now add the cooked chicken, curd left over , curry leaves and cook for 20 mins on low flame with lid closed.

Rava Vada

Vadaaaaaa....., just the name of it makes me drool!! After chicken , if i like anything is - vada! (People who are following my bog closely , know my craze for  chicken).

I remember during my pregnancy days, i used to crave for vada's daily.. Yes , daily:) .. No wonder i had put on 27 kgs during my pregnancy.

Goutam had really tough time during my pregnancy. I used to sit in the middle of the night asking for varied stuff( he only knew to cook Lemon rice - that's a diff story).  I remember dragging him around 6AM for more than 30- 40 kms just to eat that crispy vadas. 

Now that i have a 7 year old son , stopped bugging him with all my cravings. Tejas keeps us so busy , we don't think or care for our cravings anymore.. Ya that's part of the other innings of life.. 

This weekend was crazy as i woke up and wanted to eat vada at any cost. Now that's when i think about making this Rava Vada which is the close brother of Urad Dal Vada:)

My tummy was soo kush.. Not sure how many vadas i gulped. I was not thinking of any calorie consumption..Will make this up by walking few extra kms today, that's my new fond love. 

Here, you go lovely people .. Sharing this wonderful recipe . Do share your pictures.

Rava Vada

Prep Time : 10 mins
Cooking Time: 10 mins
Cooking Complexity : Medium

Ingredients:

Chiroti Rava : 2 cups

Curd : 3/4 cup

Finely chopped green chillies : 3

Jeera : 1 tsp

Asafoetida/ Hingu : 1/2 tsp

Finely Chopped Coriander leaves : 2 tbsp

Finely Chopped onion : 1

Finely Chopped curry leaves : 2 tbsp

Soda : 1 pinch (i add ENO/ fruit salt)

Oil for deep frying

Salt as required

Method:

Mix all the ingredients and let it rest for 30 mins.

Heat oil in a kadai for deep frying

Make small balls of the mixture . Grease your hands with a drop of oil.

Flatten it using your palms . Make a hole in the centre.

Drop this vada's in oil and deep fry until golden brown.

Serve this with coconut chutney or ketch up. 

Even just the vada's are so yum to be relished.

Happy Cooking:)

Plain Biriyani Rice

After loooooooooong time , writing on my blog. Yes, i was completely missing from being in touch with all of you. Life was pretty hectic in the last few months - loads of travelling, officeeee, health issues, son's school just to name a few.. Forgot to mention my weight gain saga and my diet story as well. I managed to stay on KETO diet for a month and lost 5 kgs... Yippie that was the plus point.

Well, just to celebrate me coming back full time on blogging(loads of dishes cooked and pictured to be on the blog soon). I will be sharing one of the awesome authentic Biriyani rice dish ,this will go very well in any Veg and Non Veg parties. This will be one sure hit recipe when you have both veg and non veg crowd.

Have been cooking this for many years now. 

Prep Time : 20 mins
Cooking Time: 1 hr
Cooking Complexity : Complex

Ingredients:

Jeera Sambar Rice / Basmati Rice : 1 Glass
Finely chopped methi leaves : 1 Cup
Finely chopped coriander leaves : 1 Cup
Finely chopped tomatoes: 1
Methi , Coriander Stem - 2 cups
Cinnamon : 1 inch
Cloves: 4
Elaichi: 3
Onion Thin Sliced: 3
Fresh Ginger : 2 inches
Fresh Garlic : 10 pods
Grind ginger and garlic to fine paste
Oil : 5 tbsp

Method:

Grind Methi and Coriander stem in to fine paste

Wash rice & soak in water for an hour.

 Finely chop the Methi and coriander leaves

Heat a cooker, add oil
Add Elaichi, Cinnamon, cloves

After a min, add Chopped onions, green whole chillies

Add chopped green leaves

Add finely chopped tomatoes, ginger garlic paste

Add 2 glassses of water  and required amount of salt. After this boils. Add rice and cook.
Switch off the stove after 2 whistles

Happy Cooking:)

Ambur Dum Biriyani

If its weekend, then it ought to be biriyani and kebabs. We Indians, love biriyani and that so evident from North India to South India. I like to try various biriyani recipes every time, so that i don't get bored cooking and even people who eat keep praising me for the new variety:). There are atleast 25 biriyani recipes which i prepare and will keep sharing the same with this group.

Off late, there are many Ambur biriyani centres which have mushroomed in Bangalore. While my way back from office, the aroma from those biriyani centres made me curious. Didn't enjoy much due to too much oil in the biriyani. But, the mild flavour attracted me and i wanted to give it a short. Was trying out the perfect authentic recipe , reached out to few people to get authentic recipe and here i am posting this for all you people.If you have to impress your spouses or kids, this is the best biriyani recipe.

Key success to cooking is using fresh ingredients , grinding own masalas. Try madi and share pics :)

Prep Time : 20 mins
Cooking Time: 1 hr
Cooking Complexity : Medium

Ingredients:

Chicken : 1 kg
Jeera Rice : 1 Kg ( 3.5 glasses)
Finely chopped mint Leaves : 1 Cup
Finely chopped coriander leaves : 1 Cup
Dry Chillies (Byadige) : 15
Finely chopped tomatoes: 3
Cinnamon : 1 inch
Cloves: 4
Elaichi: 3
Onion Thin Sliced: 3
Fresh Ginger : 2 inches
Fresh Garlic : 10 pods
Grind ginger and garlic to fine paste
Curd : 1 cup
Oil : 5 tbsp

Method:

Soak Dry chillies in water for 5 mins and grind to fine paste using little water.

Wash and soak Jeera rice for 30 mins.

After 30 mins , Boil Water in a big bowl. Add rice and let it cook until 3/4th done,. Add 1 tsp salt

Strain the rice and let it rest for sometime.

To prepare Biriyani

In a large Kadai, heat oil. Add Cinnamon, cloves, elaichi. After a min add onions, ginger garlic paste and fry well

Now add half chopped mint and coriander leaves, tomato and fry well,
After this is fried add red chillies paste and after 5 mins add curd.

Now add chicken and let it cook for 20 mins. Add salt

Add the semi cooked rice on top of the masala and let it cook on slow flame for 45 mins.

Mix well and serve hot.
This can be served with Raita or Chicken gravy.

I did serve with liver fry and it was a hit.

Happy Cooking:)

Akki Roti

Akki Roti

One more regular and famous dish from Karnataka. I love cooking our own special dishes. Akki roti with groundnut chutney is the best combination and you can never eat just one.There can be so many varieties prepared in akki roti. You guys, would have heard about 99 dosa varieties. The same applies to akki roti as well.Yes, you heard me right!. There so many healthy and tasty variants with diff chutney.This will be my basic akki roti version.
Just to mention few variants: Palak, menthi, carrot, shredded potato, onion, curry leaves, coriander leaves, shredded chicken(i can never leave chicken in any dish):p

Ingredients:

Rice flour: 2 cups
Cooked rice and grinded to fine paste: 2 tbsp
Finely chopped onions: 1 small cup
Green chillies and coriander leaves : as per taste
Oil: 2 tbsp
Salt as per taste
Water : to mix the dough

Method:

Take rice flour, cooked rice in a bowl.

Add salt , onion, green chillies, coriander leaves . Add sufficient water to make a dough. Ensure the mixture is not watery.

In a tawa, add one drop oil and spread across.

Take a ball size mixture and keep it in the centre.
Now pat it from centre and keep spreading till the edge of tawa. This need to be very thin. You can dip your hand in water and pat the roti.

Add oil around the roti. Close it with lid and switch on the stove.

Turn it when its cooked well.

Serve with ghee & your favourite chutney

Chicken Pickle

Its very boring to have just rice with dal during weekdays. In the mornings its tough to prepare  breakfast and pack yummy lunch for office. In the last few weeks, i have started having small frequent meals and more healthy ones. This is filled with loads of protein. Yay!! I am happy, as this includes more chicken in my diet. I am not complaining:).  Here, i go with making chicken pickle to fullfill my weekday cravings. This is tangy, spicy filled with loads of flavours and to top it its very simple to make. This can be kept in fridge for close to 4 weeks. Try madi and let me know

Ingredients:

Boneless Chicken : 500 gms
Chilli powder : 3 tbsp
Mustard powder : 1 tsp
Menthya powder : 1tsp
Turmeric powder: 1/2 tsp
Garlic : 10 pods
Green chillies : 10 whole
Red chillies: 5 broken
Curry leaves
Lemon: 4
Mustard oil : 10 tbsp
Oil for deep frying
Salt: 2 tsp

Method:

Cut boneless chicken in to small pieces. Boil 2 litre water by adding 1 tsp salt , turmeric powder. Add chicken pieces to it. Once the chicken cooks well.Strain the chicken and keep aside.

Heat oil in a kadai. Fry the boiled chicken pieces.

In a bowl mix chilli powder, 1 tsp salt,mustard powder,menthya powder by adding lime juice

In a separate kadai, heat mustard oil, garlic, green chillies, red chillies, curry leaves.  Add the chilli powder mix. Mix well. Now add chicken and mix well.

After 5 min, remove from flame and let it cool down. Check salt and add accordingly.

Store in glass jar and keep in fridge

Note : Use dry spoons while using. This will increase the shelf life

How to make mustard and menthya powder
In a small kadai, dry roast separately menthya for a min. let it cool down. Remove this on to a plate. Now in teh same kadai, dry roast mustard until it splutters. Once both cool downs.

Grind to  fine powder.

Hitikida Avarekalu Saru(Hyacinth bean)

You can rarely find a Kannadiga who doesn't like Avarekalu. There are so many varieties which are prepared and you can see the skin peel thrown on the roads in front of all houses. During my childhood, I used to always wonder why people throw this on the road. My granny said that people throw the hyacinth bean peels on the road believing that the curry will turn out very well . LOL , not sure how will curry be tasting good if people stamp the peel . There might be some pipe connection to their kitchen :p

Jokes apart, try this curry and enjoy with dosa / ragi balls.

Prep time : 5 hrs
Cooking time : 1hr
Complexity : High

Ingredients:

Hitikida Avarekalu: 4 Cups (1 KG Avarekalu).
(Peel Avarekalu and soak in water for 5 hrs. De-skin the seeds)

Grated Coconut: 3 Tbsp
Green Chillies: 10
Dhaniya Powder: 1 tbsp
Cinnamon: 1 inch
Cloves: 4
Onion : 2
Tomato : 3
Ginger Garlic Paste : 1tsp
Coriander leaves: 2 tbsp
Oil : 3 Tbsp

Method:

Masala:

In a small kadai, heat 1 tbsp oil. Add chopped 1 onion, green chillies, cloves, cinnamon, 1 chopped tomato. Fry well. Add ginger garlic paste. Switch off the stove and add Dhaniya powder and grated coconut.

Grind this mixture to a fine paste. Add coriander leaves and grind.

Heat vessel, add onion . Fry Avarebele by adding salt.

Let this cook well. Once this is cooked add the grinded masala  with one glass water and let it boil . Add finely chopped tomatoes.

Let it boil .

Avarebele Curry is ready to be served with Ragi Balls/Rice/Dosa.

Happy Cooking:)