YENNE KATHRIKAI (BRIJAL/YENNGAI PLAYA)

Yenngai playa is made up of Brinjal & goes well with akki rotis which is a kickass combo for lunch/dinner in most parts of north Karnataka. The fried spices, grinded and when stuffed inside brinjal, it tastes yummy & melts in mouth. I prepared this dish yesterday at my home and amazing part it that this dish got over in 10 minutes. Who will not like, tasty yenngai with rice & rotis? Two times I failed to come up with good taste and this time, I tried searching on web which suggested 1-2 websites. I rather thought asking mom. My sister helped and I thank my sister Lavanya who shared this recipe with me. Believe me, you guys should try it out. Thanks Lavanya and here I go with secret recipe.

To sauté and grind

Dal and rice (uncooked)- 4 tb sp. each, fried separately

Onion-half, cut into pieces

Garlic-5-6 cloves

Tomato- 2

Red chili powder-3 tb. sp

Vegetable masala powder- 1 tb sp.

Coriander powder-1 tb sp.

Dry Coconut powder -half a cup measurement

Tamarind- small round of 5 rupee coin size

Ground nut- roasted handful

Ingredients

Egg plant/Brinjal- 8-10 small, cut in between without removing stalks

Cilantro/Coriander leaves- a bunch

Curry leaves- few

Salt & Jaggery to taste

COOKING

Add one after the other, all the ingredients mentioned under ‘to saute’ and fry for 2 min. Then grind it to a thick paste.

Stuff the paste inside brinjal ( which should be cut in between in start shape & retain its twig) and fry brinjal in oil along with mustard seeds, curry leaves and very less onions.

Once the brinjal is cooked (as this may take 15 minutes in low SIM), add remaining paste and cook/fry. 
Add salt and jaggery to taste.

Water should be added to bring it to thick consistency. This may take 10 more minutes and yenngai playa is ready to serve.

Serves 3-4 and is medium spicy. 

HAPPY COOKING!!!

TOMATINO NARAM DOSA

This is very common at every house you go into in South India basically Malnad region of Karnataka. In Bangalore, I used to try all kinda dosas with my friend. It was like just go randomly to dosa famous restaurants and try it. My mom got best & varieties of dosa recipes and will post it some time. I love this tomoato dosa because of the rosy color and, when I eat I get tomato taste combined with green chilies and onions in between. When I tried this 1^st time during my high school days, I spoiled it making dosa flour watery. Now when I know the perfect recipe, I would like to share with you guys... Goes best with coconut chutney (you could see recipe in my kitchen list).

Ingredients

Dosa BATTER- Preparation - Soak dosa rice and urdal in water separately for, say overnight. And then next day grind it separately. Mix both using bare hands and add salt. Our hands are best to provide required bacteria to make batter fermented for next day, say after 8-10 hours. The quantity of dosa rice and urdal should be in 2:1 ratio.

Tomato- 2-3, cut into pieces

Green chili-2-3, washed

Onion- half cut into small pieces

Curry leaves (Optional)

Salt

To blend- add tomatoes, green chilies and required amount of salt to taste, in blender. Grind it to paste

COOKING

Add grinded tomatoes to 2 cups of dosa batter and mix well.

Take a pan. Saute onions and curry leaves nicely in oil until cooked and add them to dosa batter

Once the batter is ready, make dosa and Enjoy!

dOS & dONS

Do not use ghee for roasting dosa. Better to keep tomato taste for this

HAPPY COOKING!!!

SABUDANA UPMA/KHICHADI

Once I had been to Mumbai (5 years back) and had delicious sabudana dish for breakfast. I was wondering what was it. Then I was told it’s a very traditional Maharashtrian dish. I just loved it. Most of the time, when Mom prepares rava upma, even though its “WOW”, I feel bored of eating the same. I have tried savia upma (will share it sometime). So I thought of trying upma with sabudana. I like its pearl appearance and when prepared it looks colorful with green (green chilis), yellow and flavor full. Here we go!!!

Ingredients

Tapioca/Sabudana soaked in water overnight- 1 bowl full

Potato- 1 bid, sliced into small pieces

Green chilis-2, each cut into half

Onions- very less (may be 1/3 part of 1 onion)

Ground nut/peas- optional (I dint use this time)

Coconut powder

Cilantro- for flavor

 

To sauté

Mustard seeds, cumin seeds, curry leaves, little pepper & salt.

Cooking

Heat oil in a pan and then add all ingredients listed under to sauté

Add green chili and potatoes and fry it until it’s cooked. Then onions and coconut powder should be added & fried for 10 minutes.

Mix salt and pepper as much as required followed by sabudana.

Stir well so as to mix content well and then add cilantro while you serve.

This serves 3 people.

dOS & dONS

sabudana if not soaked for a good time duration will become smashed while cooking. 

HAPPY COOKING !!!

COCONUT-RED CHUTNEY

When there is Dosa there should be a chutney!!!
But when its tomoato Dosa, definitely YES for coconut chutney. Here is the recipe

TO SAUTE

Mustard seeds, dal/gram, red chilies, curry leaves

INGREDIENTS TO GRIND
Dalia split/putani/hurgadale- 1 hand full
Grated coconut - 2 hand full
green/red chili- 3 (depends on person's choice)
tamarind- 1 rs coin sized
Salt to taste

PREPARATION

Fry dalia split and coconut for 2-3 minutes in order to avoid raw smell and cool it
Add all ingredients which are listed under 'to grind'
Grind it till it becomes as a thick paste
Then saute mustard seeds, dal, red chilies and curry leaves for 2  minutes and add on to grinded chutney.
Now, chutney is ready

HAPPY COOKING!!!

PUMKIN-CHANNA RICE

Sometimes (many times) I try my own/ modified recipe, adding one or more ingredients and most of the time (all time) I fail to bring it to a very good food. This time I tried Channa rice along with squash/pumkin (I used round pumkin). It turned to be very delicious dish and I am glad to share here. Channa used for preparing many masala curries and a favorite temple prasadam. There was squash at home which people hate eating it. My mom used to prepare Halwa and I have no clue of how to prepare it. I was bored of preparing channa masala because very less likes for it at my home. So here my recent invention of channa rice. Super fast and feels fresh for lunch box.

Ingredients

Squash/Pumkin- grated

Overnight soaked channa dal & cooked in pressure 

cooker-1 cup

Rice (uncooked)- 2 cups

Tomato-1 chopped small

Garlic-2-3 cloves

Garam masala-1 tb sp.

Coconut powder/grated coconut-one hand full

Cilantro & salt

To sauté

Cinnamon sticks-2-3 pieces

Pepper corns-5-8

Mustard

Cumin seeds-2 tb. sp.

COOKING

Sauté all ingredients listed under ‘to sauté’

Add onions, garlic and cook for 2 minutes. Then add grated squash. Fry it until it is fully cooked. This will take at least 10 minutes.

Add tomato, channa dal and coconut powder followed by garam masala & salt.

The first added cinnamon sticks and pepper gives spicy taste. Thus amount of garam masala added depends on person’s capacity of eating spicy.

This will come to a thick pasty consistency. Add rice and cook in pressure cooker for 3 whistles. This should be cooked under steam after whistle for 10 minutes.

Open the cooker and mix the contents carefully without mashing rice. Add cilantro and serve. Serves 3. If used Basmati rice, the texture becomes very smooth.

HAPPY COOKING!!!

BRINJAL COCONUT CURRY

I thank one of my friend, Neel who taught me cook this recipe. It was delicious and a kind of THAI dish. I call it as THAI style because we used a bit thai curry powder and a lot of coconut milk. Here it is…

To sauté

Chili oil, Mustard, curry leaves

Ingredients

Eggplant/ Brinjal-5-6 sliced vertically

Onions- 1, sliced thinly

Tomato-2-3 chopped into small pieces

Garlic cloves

Green chili-2 sliced

Cilantro

Thai curry powder-1 tb sp.

Coriander powder- 1 tb sp.

Chili powder- 1 tb sp.

Salt to taste

Coconut milk- half a cup

Cooking

Add oil and sauté onions, garlic, green chili along with mustard and curry leaves.

Cook brinjal until it becomes soft

Add tomatoes and cook until tomato attains smashed texture.

Then mix curry powder, coriander powder, chili powder and salt to taste.

Once all the ingredients are cooked add coconut milk and cook for 5 minutes.

So, now it’s time to serve with cilantro on top. 

Goes good with Chapati/ Ric. Can serve 4. 

dOS & dONS - coconut milk will smell if not cooked properly

if there is no curry powder, add garam masala powder.  

HAPPY COOKING!!!

GARLIC TADKA-MUSHROOM RICE

Saturday! 

Weekend.. Started with a lazy sunlight, peeping from window & I was still on bed sleeping, yawning,…. When stomach shouts then I realized I am hungry! I should be cooking something really fast... Fast and Tasty – mouth watering!!!

When I opened my refrigerator, I was happy to look at mushroom.. going for mushroom masala will take time which may make me to starve for 5 more minutes. I got this recipe from my friend last week so here it is !!! I am so impressed with the aroma of garlic jumbling with Mushrooms & so I am writing this blog RIGHT AFTER FILLING MY STOMACH ;).  

Guys... prepare this and have fun. This can be ate without any side dish. But if you have pickle, it rocks…  I am gonna eat this watching a movie now

To sauté

Butter- 3 spoons

Garlic-10 cloves (sliced vertically)

Spring onions-few

Green chili- 2 cut into half

Onion- thinly sliced (few)

Mushrooms- 1 Cup (the more you add the more you taste!!!)

Cilantro/Coriander-to taste

Salt- (as you want)

Main ingredients- Cooked rice along with all ingredients mentioned in ‘to sauté’

Cooking

Add all the ingredients mentioned under to sauté

Sauté for 10 min.. Add mushrooms at end as to get cooked really fast.

Then add rice mix well and serve hot. 

dOS & dONS- Mushroom & Rice will become like smashed if not served hot

HAPPY COOKING!!!!!

VENDEKAI KOLUMBH

This is the most made, the most praised dish of south India.  We call it as bendekai huli in Karnataka and Vendekai Kolumbh in Tamil Nadu. It means ladies finder curry (Okhra). I could tell to every dish I prepare “I LOVE IT” so I choose to prepare it. If you like chat-pati tamarind on your tasty buds then you should be trying out this today.  

I dedicate this to my MIL who tought me this over a phone call and I did it

To Sauté–Following the order– Oil, Musturd seeds and curry leaves

Ingredients

Ladies finger– cut into small pieces

Tomato–1, cut into small pieces

Garlic–7-8 cloves

Onion–1, cut into small pieces

Tamarind– soked in water and smashed

Cilantro/coriander leaves

Kolumbh chili masala–2 tb spoon (The ratio of kolumbh chili masala and tamarind water should be 1:2 ratio)

Cooking

First, add ladies finger and fry it for 10 minutes.

Then sauté all ingredients as listed in “To sauté” list. Add garlic, onions and tomato.

Mix well to make it as a paste.

Add 2 tb sp. of Kolumbh chili  masala and double amount of tamarind water. Allow it to boil for few minutes and add salt to taste & coriander for flavor.

Serve with rice or chapatis. 
Dos and Dons– frying ladies finger till it is cooked is very important, otherwise the kolumbu chili powder and salt will not get into vegetable properly

HAPPY COOKING!!!

LEMON RICE

With my experience, cooking is my remedy for stressful life. As a researcher, I need to spend time lots of time sticking on to computer and analyzing data. hardly I can manage time in cooking. To relax, I just involve in cooking. When I started cooking, 1^st thing most important, being a south Indian (no offense) I learnt to make lemon rice and later turned it to lemonish rice. Its because I found adding more lemon gives tangy taste along with those cilantros/ coriander on top. I also call this rice recipe as Indian version 2 min noodles. It hardly takes your time. So I can make this within no time and get back to stick onto laptop. SO here is it…

To Saute–Following the order–

Oil (4 tb sp.), Mustard seeds (1 tb sp.), turmeric (pinch), Green chilies (2, sliced into half. make it 1 if u r mild spice eater), curry leaves (8-10)

Ingredients

Onion big sized–1 chopped

Lemon–1, extract the juice

Cooked rice–200 gms

Cilantro/coriander leaves & salt to taste

Cooking

Saute all ingredients listed under “to sauté” following the order

Add chopped onions until turned brown/goldenish

Add lemon juice and salt, cook well for 1 more minute on high heat. 

Turn off heat and then add cooked rice.  Mix it thorough so that lemon is equally spread on to each rice grain.

Check salt taste. Add coriander leaves and serve 

Dos and Dons

Do not turn off without cooking lemon and onion completely or else it leaves raw smell. 

SECRET INGREDIENT– if you have mango, grate it and use in place of lemon. This will make remarkable tamil style puli-soru (Mango rice). 

HAPPY COOKING :)

MUSHROOM MASALA

A much awaited, mouth watering Mushrooms are here :) :)

I am very much affectionate towards Mushrooms. It is one of the nutritious foods & adds flavor by itself. I have read 100s of recipe for Mushroom masala, Mushroom curry Mushroom dry etc. it’s yummy too when I eat at restaurants!!! But few south Indians are scared to taste because they are allergic to panner/cheese in most of the north Indian dishes. Here I am with Mushroom masala with touch of tamil style.

To Sauté* – Oil, mustard seeds, Jeera/cumin seeds, Punida/mint, ginger, Cinnamom, garlic

Main Ingredients

Chinna vengayam (small sambar onions) – 8-10

Tomatoes– 2 sliced into small pieces

Big onion– half sliced to small pieces

Mushrooms– 1 cup

Coconut milk-1/2 cup

Broccoli– 2-3 flower head (optional)

Green chilli–1-2 sliced (medium spiced)

Spring onions-2 stalk

Cilantro/Coriander & salt to taste

Cooking

Sauté all ingredients mentioned under TO SAUTE.

Add green chilies, sliced onions and tomato, cook till it forms a paste. Then add big onion sliced along with broccoli, spring onions and coconut milk.

Once coconut milk is cooked, add mushrooms and allow it to boil for next 5 min.

This allows everything to mix with each other. The cinnomom flavor spreads within mushrooms then add salt & Cilantro.  

Dos & Dons– Do not overdo mushrooms as it gets soften/melts very fast. Cooking under low flame would be perfect. 

HAPPY COOKING!!!

*I am not mentioning the amount of ingredients required to Saute. A bit would be fairly sufficient

I would love to prepare Mushroom soup one day. Please share recipe if you guys have.