Cabbage-Tomato Pacchadi(Chutney)


I had this huge cabbage sitting in my refrigerator and we were getting tired of eating different types of cabbage curries. Then I remembered that my sister's mother-in-law (who is, by the way, a great cook) makes chutney out of cabbage and so I made a quick call, got the recipe and made it for dinner. To give it a twist, I added a little tomato. I am glad I had this idea in mind. Reactions at home?? It is anybody's guess ..I mixed it in Yogurt(Curd) and I loved it with chapatis for dinner! 


Ingredients -

Cabbage chopped 2 cups
Tomato chopped 1/2 cup
Tamarind juice or lemon juice 1 Tbsp (Optional)
Sugar/Jaggery 1 tsp (Optional)
Turmeric a pinch
Salt as per taste
Green chillies 2-3 (as per taste)
Seasoning ( Oil 2 tsp, Mustard seeds 1 tsp, Urad dal 2 tsp, Methi seeds a pinch, Jeera 1 tsp, Hing(Inguva/Asafoetida) 1/8th tsp, Dried Red chillies 2)


Method Of Preparation - 


Heat a wok/kadai/sauce pan and add oil and the rest of the seasonings. 

After they are properly roasted, add the chopped cabbage, chopped green chillies and cook the cabbage without adding water. 


After the cabbage is almost done, add the chopped tomato and saute until tender. 


Add salt, sugar, and tamarind juice as per taste and let the mixture cool.
Grind into a coarse paste and serve it with hot rice and ghee.


Cabbage-Tomato chutney makes its way to Jagruti's 'Complete My Thali - Chutney'.




Makes 1 cup


Preparation Time 25 min 

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Posted by Harini on Wednesday, September 22, 2010
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Vegetable Spaghetti


Spaghetti is one of those items which the kids love to eat at home. I like to sneak in some veggies and herbs too. I sometimes also sneak in some whole wheat spaghetti. This also makes way into my 8 year old's lunch box. Initially I was hesitant to pack spaghetti in her lunch box as I thought it would become cold and not so easy to eat. But my daughter says she like spaghetti cold. So I was relieved to note that I have one more choice for her lunch box. Here is how my kids love ..


Ingredients - 


Spaghetti 1/2 cup
Mixed Vegetables chopped 1 cup
Italian herb seasoning a dash
Shredded cheese 2 Tbsp
Pasta sauce or tomato ketchup 2 Tbsp
Olive Oil 1 tsp
Salt as per taste

Method Of Preparation - 
Boil Spaghetti as per the instructions on the package.
Boil the mixed vegetables separately.
In a sauce pan, heat olive oil, add pasta sauce and after it simmers, add the boiled mixed veggies.
Mix in some shredded cheese and salt as per taste.
Add the boiled spaghetti and mix well and sprinkle the Italian herb seasoning.


PS - I would like to change the seasonings if I were eating it, by adding green chillies, coriander leaves, coconut powder/paste either in addition to the Italian seasoning or instead of it.


Serves 1 kid

Preparation Time 25 min 

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Posted by Harini on Tuesday, September 21, 2010
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Vaamu aaku Bajji / Ajwain patte ke Pakode


During my recent trip to India, I found Vaamu aaku (also known as Ajwain ka patta or Carom leaves) in my sister-in-law's house and re-lived some childhood memories. We were encouraged to eat Vaamu leaves (also known as Daggaaku) when we had a sore throat. I remember these lovely leaves in my grandparent's garden in Koilkuntla (near Nandyal, AP, India) where we spent many a summer. As kids we used to enjoy picking the leaves more than eating these pungent leaves :). My mother-in-law suggested that we make bajjis (fritters) out of these and so we made these and enjoyed them on a rainy afternoon...
If interested, there is some interesting trivia about Vaamu / Ajwain here.


Ingredients - 

Vaamu aaku ( Ajwain ke patte) about 15
Besan 3/4 cup (or as needed)
Mirchi powder 1/2 tsp (or as per taste)
Salt as per taste
Oil for deep frying


Method Of Preparation - 

Make the Bajji batter (the batter should be slightly thick like Idli batter) with Besan, water, Salt and Mirchi Powder. 


Heat oil in a wok/kadai and dip the vaamu aaku in the batter and gently slide in the oil and fry until golden brown.


Repeat until all the leaves are done.


I like to sprinkle Black salt (kala namak) after they are done.


Makes 15 


Preparation Time 25 min 

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Posted by Harini on Sunday, September 19, 2010
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Mixed vegetable pickle


I first prepared mixed vegetable pickle upon the insistence of my cousin, Mallika. She was in fact reminding me to make this for a very long time. Finally I made this and I am glad I gave it a try. Thanks to her, we have an enjoyable pickle to add to our menu! 

 We can actually have it as a salad, if we reduce the spices and seasonings. It gives a nice crunchy feel and the kids will love it too as a salad (a nice way to sneak in veggies !). Actually using Chayote squash (Bangalore vankaya or seema vankaya) in a pickle was very new to me but it is now a regular at home. 

 Also my pickles are usually very mildly spiced. So feel free to adjust the flavors as per taste. Finely chopped florets of Cauliflower can also be added to the mix.



Ingredients - 
Chayote Squash finely chopped - 1 cup
Carrots finely chopped - 1 cup
Mango finely chopped - 1 cup
*Lemons finely chopped - 1/4 cup
Green chillies chopped - 4 (or as per taste)
Ginger finely chopped - 2 Tbsp
Salt 5-6 tsp (or as per taste)
Chilli Powder 5-6 tsp (or as per taste)
Mustard Powder 8-9 tsp (or as per taste)
Fenugreek powder (roasted methi powder)  2 tsp
Turmeric 1 tsp
Seasoning (Oil 2-3 Tbsp, Mustard seeds 2 tsp, Asafoetida (Inguva) 1/2 tsp)
Lemon Juice as per taste (Optional)

 * The first time I made this pickle, the chopped lemons gave a very bitter taste so the next time I omitted them. But my cousin says she never had such experience with adding chopped lemons. So please check the taste of lemons before deciding to add it to the pickle.


Just after mixing all the ingredients, this is how the pickle looks.

Method Of Preparation - 


In a mixing bowl, Add the finely chopped chayote squash, carrots, mango, lemons, green chillies and ginger.


Add salt and turmeric and leave it for about 10-15 min. 


Mix them well and add the rest of flavors. Squeeze in some lemon juice if the mango is not too sour or as per taste.


Finally heat some oil and add the rest of the seasoning and after the mustard seeds splutter, add the seasoning to the pickle.


Let the pickle rest for about 6-8 hrs so the flavors are all mixed well and the juice oozes out. Make sure to store the pickle in a refrigerator to retain freshness. A couple days should be fine even at room temperature.


Makes for 3.5 cups
Preparation Time 25 min (keep it aside for 6-8 hrs before consuming)

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Posted by Harini on Saturday, September 18, 2010
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Mango-Mint Chutney / Mamidikaya-Pudina Pacchadi


The season of mangoes (which just went by) is my fav. I love experimenting with mangoes (both raw and ripe). Add mangoes to anything, be it rice, chutney, dal or dessert .. each of them becomes an enjoyable treat! Don't you all Mango lovers agree? So the other day, it was time to mix in some mint with mango and make chutney!! So  here it is...



Ingredients - 


Mint leaves 2 cups
Mango (raw) chopped 1 cup
Green Chillies 4-5 (or as per taste)
Dry Red chillies 2-3 (or as per taste) (Optional)
Seasoning (Oil 2 tsp, Chana Dal 1 tsp, Urad Dal 1 tsp, Mustard Seeds 1/2 tsp, Hing a pinch)


Method Of Preparation - 


In a heated sauce pan , add a teaspoon of oil and saute the mint leaves and green chillies until they wilt.


Add chopped mango and switch off the flame. The mango pieces need not be sauteed.

Grind the mint , green chillies and mango pieces adding a little salt.  I also added a few roasted dry red chillies to the mixture. 


In a small heated sauce pan, add oil and the seasoning spices and let them brown a little and let the mustard seeds splutter.


Add this seasoning to the chutney and serve with steaming hot rice and enjoy!





Mango-Mint Chutney rightly goes to 'Complete My Thali - Chutney' event hosted by Jagruti of Joy of Cooking.


Makes 1 cup 


Preparation Time 25 min

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Posted by Harini on Friday, September 17, 2010
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Manoharam - IC Challenge


I have never heard of 'Manoharam', which is made by rolling crispy murukku bits in jaggery syrup. Because of the Indian Cooking Challenge this month, I got to know of this Tamilnadu delicacy and enjoyed making it and my family surely enjoyed eating these too!! There were two different versions of Manoharam, one with crispy murukku bits and the other was making boondi with a different combination on flours. I chose to make the former. Thanks to Srivalli and Lataji, for this introduction to an authentic Tamilnadu sweet.


Ingredients - 


Rice Flour 2 cups
Yellow Moong Dal 1 cup
Ghee 2 Tbsp
Salt 1/2 tsp
Jaggery 1 cup
Water 1/4 cup
Oil for deep frying

PS - The original calls for Raw rice, but I didn't have time for the process of washing the rice, air drying it and then powdering the rice. So I went with the store bought rice flour. 


Method Of Preparation - 

Powder the yellow moong dal and mix it with rice flour. 


Add Ghee and mix well so the ghee is well incorporated into the flours.


Add water to the flours to make a dough (chapati dough consistency).


In a wok, heat oil to medium heat.


Fill in the dough in a chakli press with multiple perforations disc (The original recipe calls for 3 perforations disc, but I didn't have that disc), 

Squeeze out the murukkus in oil and fry them to golden brown color and drain them onto kitchen paper towels. 


Break the murukku into small bits and keep them aside.


In a separate sauce pan, melt the jaggery with a little water and strain for any impurities.


Heat the jaggery syrup to get a thick consistency (Muduru paakam). A simple test for consistencey - when a drop of syrup is put in water, a hard ball must be formed.


Switch off the flame and add the bits to the syrup and mix well making sure the syrup is coated uniformly.

Grease palms and roll into medium sized balls and serve. I made bite size pieces as I had to attend to my 3-yr old at the right time and the whole thing solidified by the time I could return to this activity. But anyway, I am happy with the result as it is easier for the kids to pop them into their mouths without making a mess!! 




Makes about 2-3 cups of bite size pieces


Preparation Time 50 min 

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Posted by Harini on Wednesday, September 15, 2010
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Tomato-Tofu Rice


Now that the schools have reopened for this academic year, my picky daughter is posing a 'lunch' challenge for me. With her ever changing tastes, I am being pushed to get creative and sneak in some healthy stuff into her lunch box! This time I have chosen to add some tofu in any form possible. This fabulous experiment of mine was a smash hit from the get-go!! Much to my surprise, my 3 yr old polished off her bowl of Tomato-Tofu rice. What more compliment do I need ?? So here is how my kids loved..



Ingredients - 

Tomato pureed 1/2 cup
Tofu pureed 1/4 cup
Onion chopped 1 Medium sized
Rice 1/2 cup
Turmeric 1/2 tsp
Ginger-Garlic Powder 1/2 tsp (Optional or as per taste)
Salt as per taste
Lime/Lemon juice 2 tsp (Optional)
Coriander leaves For Garnish
Seasoning ( Oil, Jeera 1/2 tsp, Mustard seeds 1/2 tsp, Chana Dal 1 Tbsp, Urad Dal 1 Tbsp, Peanuts 1 handful, Cashews 1 Tbsp)

Method Of Preparation - 

In a sauce pan, Add the seasoning and saute till the contents are brown.
Add Onions and Ginger Garlic paste and saute them.
Add the Tofu and Tomato puree.
Add turmeric and Vangibath Powder and let the mixture simmer for about 2-3 min.
Meanwhile cook rice and cool the rice. It is easier to make with leftover rice :)
In a mixing bowl, add rice and the tomato-tofu mixture and mix well.
Adjust the taste as per need and mix in some lemon juice if required. 
Garnish with coriander leaves and serve!


PS - My kids don't eat spicy food and hence this rice is mild.

Sending this rice to the 'Tasty Tofu Treats' hosted by PJ.

Makes for 2 kids

Preparation Time 35 min (Incl the time to prepare rice)

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Posted by Harini on Tuesday, September 14, 2010
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Green Peas Kheer / Batani Payasam


Hey !! I am back from a 4 month long vacation ..Had a great summer and I have some interesting stuff coming up!! But first, one of my treasured recipes which was in my drafts for quite some time...

I can imagine the expressions on some of your faces because I have seen those expressions at home!! But trust me, it is impossible to find out the ingredients in the kheer even after tasting. When I first tasted Green peas kheer at a friend's place few years ago, I thought it tasted very good.  But when I enquired about the ingredients, it was quite a shocker!! The kheer was made out of green peas. Something unimaginable for me at that time. And today, I suddenly thought I should surprise my cousin who is visiting us with this awesome and rare (?) kheer. So go ahead and surprise and impress your loved ones like this...

Ingredients - 


Milk 5 cups
Green Peas 1 cup
Coconut Grated (Dry or Fresh) 1 Tbsp (Optional)
Dried Nuts (Almonds, Walnuts, Cashews) 1/4 cup
Brown Sugar 1 cup
Cardamom powder 1/2 tsp
Cashews and Raisins (Fried in Ghee for Garnish)


Method Of Preparation - 

Pressure cook green peas in 2 cups of milk.

Grind the boiled peas and all the dried nuts into a fine paste adding a few spoons of milk.


In a sauce pan, boil the remaining milk and add the paste and cardamom powder and let it simmer for a few minutes until the kheer becomes a little thick.


Switch off the flame and garnish with fried cashews and raisins and serve chilled.


Green Peas Kheer fondly goes to 'Celebrate Sweets - Kheer' event hosted by Umm Mymoonah started by Nivedita.


Serves 4 adults
Preparation Time 45 min

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Posted by Harini on Monday, September 13, 2010
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On Vacation!!


I am currently on a vacation and so I probably wont be able to post anything for the next month or two. Please bear with us and keep checking back for more updates. Keep an eye for some interesting stuff in this space!!Take care everybody!!

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Posted by Harini on Tuesday, July 6, 2010
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Masala Quinoa




Masala Quinoa is in effect Ummagalli with quinoa. I was cracking my brains to feed my kids something nutritious and they left me with very few choices and so it had to be ummagalli with quinoa. By now, it is probably clear that I have got hooked on to quinoa more so because of its nutritional profile. Its versatility and ease of adaptability has made it a favorite at home. So here's how my kids liked it..


Masala Quinoa


Ingredients - 
Quinoa 1 cup
Mixed Veggies (Carrots, Peas, Beans, Shelled edamame, Palak) 2 cups
Sambar Powder 1 tsp
Turmeric 2 pinches
Salt as per taste
Tamarind juice / Lemon juice 1 Tbsp (I used lemon juice)
Seasoning (Oil 1 tsp, Chana dal 1 tsp, Urad dal 1 tsp. Mustard Seeds 1 tsp. Jeera 1/2 tsp, Curry leaves) 
Method Of Preparation - 

 In a sauce pan, boil 5 cups of water and cook quinoa for about 10-13 min. 

Boil all the veggies separately (to speed up the cooking process). I microwaved the veggies with 1/2 cup of water.


After the quinoa is cooked, it would look like a gravy. Add turmeric, salt, sambar powder and all the veggies. If using tamarind juice, now is the time to add it too.


Meanwhile, in a small pan, heat oil for the seasoning and fry all the seasoning spices. After the mustard seeds start spluttering, add the sesaoning to the quinoa mixture.

Let the quinoa mixture simmer for a while and when the consistency seems right, switch off the flame. 

Serve and enjoy!

Note - Please alter the ingredients to suit your taste..

 Serves 3 Adults

Preparation Time 30 min

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Posted by Harini on Thursday, June 24, 2010
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Barbatti Koora / Long Beans Curry


The long beans in the Indian store used to intrigue me in my first few years in US (about 10 yrs back). I casually mentioned this vegetable to Amma over the phone and she told me that they are known as Barbatti (probably in Hindi) and that she used to make curry out of it when we were in Assam (sometime during 1978-82 time period). Anyway I don't remember seeing this vegetable in Hyderabad where I spent about 15 yrs. Over the years I have modified Amma's recipe to suit our changing tastes!! This is how I currently like and make :)





Ingredients -


Barbatti chopped 3 cups 
Peanut-Coconut Masala - 1/4 cup (see the recipe)
Turmeric - a pinch
Onion - 1 medium, finely chopped (Optional)
Salt to taste
Seasoning (oil, chana dal, urad dal, mustard seeds, dried red chilli, curry leaves)


Method of preparation - 


Boil the chopped barbatti.


In a heavy bottomed pan, heat oil and add the seasoning to it.


After the mustard seeds splutter and the chana dal and urad dal turn golden brown, add the chopped onions and saute until golden brown.


Add the boiled barbatti and turmeric, the peanut-coconut masala and salt and mix well.


After about 2-3 min the curry is ready to be served with steaming hot rice!!


Serves 4 Adults 
Preparation Time 30 min

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Posted by Harini on Sunday, June 20, 2010
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Beerakaya Pacchadi / Ridge Gourd Chutney



I had only one Beerakaya in my refrigerator and that wouldn't be enough to make curry for us. So I made Pacchadi out of the beerakaya. I didnt scrape off the peel. In fact the peel is supposed to be very good in fiber. In fact my mom makes chutney out of the peel specifically. And that tastes just as divine as this pacchadi! 


Ingredients - 

Beerakaya Chopped 2 cups
Green chillies 3-4 (as per taste)
Turmeric 2 pinches
Salt as per taste
Sugar/Grated Jaggery (Optional)
Tamarind juice or lemon juice as per tasteGarlic cloves 2-3 (Optional)
Coriander leaves 1/2 cup

For Seasoning

Any Oil 2 tsp
Mustard seeds 1 tsp
Urad Dal 1 tsp
Chana Dal 1 tsp
Methi seeds (Fenugreek seeds) 1 pinch
Jeera 1/2 tsp
Red chillies (Optional)
Curry leaves (Optional)
Method Of Preparation  -

In a skillet on a medium-high flame, Pour the oil and the rest of the seasoning items and after the mustard seeds splutter and the rest of the items are done, add the chopped beerakaya and chopped green chillies and saute them. (Make sure it doesn't get burnt by stirring it occasionally)

After about 10 min, add turmeric, salt and sugar and mix well and let the beerakaya pieces cook for a while.

After the beerakaya pieces are cooked and become tender, switch off the flame.

Let the mixture cool down and then grind it to a coarse paste .

Enjoy it with steaming rice and ghee. Some like it with Idli, Dosa or Vada too.

Makes 1 cup of Chutney

Preparation Time 25 min 

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Posted by Harini on Thursday, June 17, 2010
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Baked Zucchini Sticks



A few years back when my parents-in-law visited us, I took them to the local farmer's market. Looking at Zucchini my father-in-law asked me if I knew the vegetable. At that time I was not aware of Zucchini, so I told him I didn't know that vegetable. He then tells me that it looks familiar to a vegetable called 'nethi beerakaya', which he used to eat as a child. I was amazed to discover the correlation and since then I have been using zucchini as often as possible. In my initial experiments with baking, I found this recipe in some local magazine here where they used eggs to dip the zucchini in. Later on I came to know that the egg wash can be substituted with flour+ milk mixture and so I did ! Trust me my kids love to eat zucchini like this..I am ever so glad to make this as often as they want to eat!! Who wouldn't be??


Ingredients - 

Zucchini 1 medium
Maida (All Purpose Flour) 3/4 cup
Milk 1 cup
Bread crumbs 1 cup (or as needed)

Method Of Preparation  - 
Make a paste of Maida and Milk and add more milk if necessary to get a bajji batter consistency.

Cut the Zucchini vertically to make thick pieces, dip them in the Maida-Milk batter and roll on bread crumbs or sprinkle bread crumbs on them.

Arrange the Zucchini pieces on a greased baking tray and bake in a preheated oven at 400F for 25 min on one side.

Flip them onto the other side and bake for another 10-15 min until they brown a little.

Serve them with ketchup and the kids will love it!!

Notes - I used Italian flavored bread crumbs, so I didn't need to add any more salt or seasoning. 
Serves 2 Adults
Preparation time 40 min

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Posted by Harini on Monday, June 14, 2010
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Dondakaya Vepudu / Tindora Fry/Ivy gourd Fry


Tindora fry / Dondakaya vepudu is one of the easiest of the side dishes and yet delicious!! During my childhood, we were told that tindora is one such vegetable which has no essential nutrients and causes dullness of the brain ('Mandha Buddhi'). So it was always a neglected vegetable at home. To the contrary, I just learnt that Tindora is rich in Beta-Carotene and has numerous medicinal uses of its leaves and roots. It is supposedly good for diabetic patients. I wonder why this vegetable has been 'defamed', so to say, for so long.




Ingredients - 

Tindora 1 lb
Onion chopped 1 medium
Salt as per taste
Red Chilli Powder as per taste
Oil 1-2 Tbsp

Method Of Preparation - 

Wash and chop the tindora into thin circular discs.

Put them in a microwave safe bowl, add 1/2 cup of water, cover with a microwave safe lid and microwave for about 6 min (until almost cooked). By microwaving tindora cooking time is reduced in half and less oil is used! This step can be skipped if microwave cooking is a no-no. Tindora can be cooked on the stove top too :)

In a hot skillet, add oil and saute chopped onions until they are golden brown and add the strained tindora to the sauteed onions. 

Add salt and continue to saute the tindora until they turn light brown. That takes about 15-20 min. The cooking can be stopped at anytime now depending on personal preference.

Switch off the flame and then add the red chilli powder. If it is added when the flame is on, the chilli fumes would spread to the whole house and everybody would start sneezing!!

Serve it as a side dish for Sambar/Dal and enjoy!

Serves 3 Adults

Preparation Time 30 min 

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Posted by Harini on Thursday, June 10, 2010
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Baked Potato Wedges



Baked potato wedges are a very healthy substitute for french fries. This particular seasoning I used give these wedges an Italian touch which we all enjoy. I was introduced to this Pizza-Pasta seasoning blend by one of my friends and we got hooked on to this seasoning and also the wedges...yumm...


Ingredients -

Potatoes vertically cut into 2-3 inch wedges with skin 3 cups
Pizza-Pasta seasoning 1 tsp 
Salt as per taste
Olive oil (or any vegetable oil) 2-3 tsp
Method of preparation - 


In a mixing bowl, add the potato wedges, oil, pizza-pasta seasoning and salt and mix thoroughly so as to coat all the wedges evenly. (They could also be mixed in a big ziploc bag to avoid the hassle of cleanup!)

Preheat the oven at 400 Degree F. Meanwhile arrange all the wedges on a greased foil lined cookie tray so they don't overlap and put the tray in the oven for 15 min. 


Take them out and flip them with the help of tongs and return them to the oven for another 10 min. Check to see they don't burn and put it in broil mode for about 5 min for crispy and crunchy wedges! (Even without broiling them they are delicious !)


Take them out and munch them as is or as an accompaniment to Sambar/dal


Notes - 


The pizza-pasta seasoning is very spicy and doesn't have salt in it so make sure salt is added as per taste.
There are other variations to the seasoning but this is the most popular at home. 
Herbal seasoning or more Indian type of seasoning can also be used.


Serves 4 Adults
Preparation Time 10 min Baking Time 30 min

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Posted by Harini on Thursday, June 3, 2010
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