Mampazha Pulisseri (Ripe Mango Curry)

This very exotic dish is straight from Palakkad and uses ripe mango. There is a version that uses raw mango too. The recipe is in this blog under the title Mango Kadhi. The ripe mango version is really tasty provided you like sweetness in your curry.There has been a lot of debate (especially in India)…

Aloo Kundru (Ivy Gourd And Potatoes)

Ivy gourd is a vegetable that is easily available throughout the year. It is not a sexy vegetable in the sense that we can prepare exotic dishes with it. But several tasty dishes can be prepared with this humble vegetable. One of the reasons for its easy availability is that there is no need to…

Macaroni Indian Style

Pasta is not very popular in India. And there is very little involvement with ‘western’ food, except on special occasions. This is partly because the ingredients are either not available or too expensive. And partly also because Indians had not been widely exposed to western food. This is slowly changing as availability has increased (at…

Iru Puli Kuzhambu

This is a typically Thirunelveli dish. Thirunelveli is a region in the south Indian state of Thamizhnadu. It is famous for it’s distinctive cuisine. This traditional recipe tastes delicious. I have only started experimenting with Thirunelveli cuisine and have fallen with it. Many recipes of Thirunelveli are similar to dishes from Kerala since the city…

Tidali Dal

In many states of India, especially the southern states, there is a concept of ‘kootan’. Kootan means a gravy dish that can be mixed with rice for a meal. It is separate from a dish that is eaten along with rice and kootan. In other parts of the country, especially the northern states, the ‘dal’…

Cucumber And Peas Dosa

Dosas are a very popular breakfast (or indeed anytime) dish. Originally from South India, they are now available in almost every nook and corner of the country. This spread has spawned several variations of this humble dish. I belong to a food group (not vegan, but vegetarian) that is immensely popular with over 23K members…

Raw Mango Salad

As a kid, I loved sour stuff. That fascination and preference continues. It is quite common in India to consume raw mangoes with salt and chili powder. But I can eat a raw mango with no accompaniment. I remember my mother invariably identifying correctly me as the culprit when she found her raw mangoes missing….

Dal Makhani (Creamy Lentils)

This is possibly one of the most well known dals of India. It is a great dish with the smooth taste of butter. Any restaurant in Indian serving North Indian food will have this dish on their menu. I have had this numerous times and always enjoy it thoroughly. i, of course, make this very…

Oyster Mushroom Curry

I find North Indian cuisine using mushrooms quite often. But not so in most other parts of the country, though this is changing with increased experimentation with food. Mushroom was not my favouite either due to its rather slimy mouth-feel. But a few years ago, my friend asked me to test a mushroom recipe for…

Potlakaya Kura (Snake Gourd Curry)

I like to pair my dal/ kootan (the dish that is mixed with rice) with the vegetable main dish (broadly curry). I will call this dal for the sake of convenience. So, if the dal is bland, then the accompanying curry must be spicy and vice versa. What I have discovered while planning meals every…