Navarathiri is a major festival celebrated all over India – spanning 9 days, nights and the 10th. day. It is celebrated differently in various parts of the country – though most of the celebrations are in honour of Durga or Shakti (female as the source of all strength). In South India, all three major goddesses…
Tag: #gluten-free
Puttu (Steamed Rice & Coconut Savoury Cakes)
Puttu is a hugely popular breakfast dish (it is also served at lunch or dinner) from Kerala. From homes to roadside stalls to restaurants, puttu is available all over Kerala. Very healthy (it is steamed) and tasty, it is often served with kadala curry (black garbanzo beans, kala chana). There are several variations to the…
Idiaapam (String-hoppers)
I keep mentioning that something or other is my favourite dish! That’s because I have several such dishes. Here is yet another one – string-hoppers. Paired with ishtew (please see the section under breakfast in this blog for the recipe). All in my family love this particular breakfast. When we were kids in Singapore, my…
Stuffed Peerkangai (Ridge Gourd, Tori)
I get so much of ridge gourd every summer. It is a challenge to make this bland vegetable in different ways – that are tasty and tickles the palate. I often spend many evenings during summer researching this. It was on one such evening that I came across this very interesting recipe. And it tasted…
Vazhaithandu Thoran (Banana Stem Stir Fry)
The banana tree is a wonderful one. All it’s parts are edible, including flowers, raw banana, ripe banana and stem, Cleaning the flowers or stem, however, is a cumbersome process. In the case of the banana stem, the outer layers must be removed to reach the tender inner stem. These are then chopped into thin…
Kolmi Shaker Ghonto (Water Spinach Mixed Vegetables)
Water spinach (known as kalmi saag in Hindi and kolmi shaak in Bengali) is a very tasty green. I was introduced to this green during my early days in Singapore where it was plentifully available. In those regions, it is called kangkong. It is also widely used in oriental cuisine. I was pleasantly surprised to…
Pargarkkai Varuval (‘Fried’ Bittergourd, Karela)
Bitter gourd was not one of my favourite vegetables. I used to intensely dislike the bitter taste. Things did not get much better whenever my father used to visit me. He was a great fan of bitter gourd. The more bitter, the better. He therefore used to request Hari to make just bitter gourd stir…
Urulaikizhangu Bajji (Aloo Pakora, Potato Fritters)
It is now monsoon in India. This is the favourite anytime snack during the rainy season. Accompanied with a hot cup of tea. Of course, this snack is traditionally deep-fried. But the non-oil version is equally great. And goes as well with a herbal cup of tea! I am now so used to having this…
Sambar Powder
I have had several requests for the sambar powder recipe. As I have mentioned before, the taste of a good sambar depends almost completely upon the powder used. Of course, these powders are available at retail outlets all over the country. These, however, a characterless and highly avoidable as you will land up with an…
Aloo Tuk (Crispy Potatoes)
I came across this recipe when I was searching for deep fried snacks that I could convert to WFPB. This is an interesting Sindhi snack that uses baby potatoes. One can use regular potatoes too. I recently had lunch with a Sindhi friend and she served taro root tuk (arbi, chembu tuk). Delicious. I am…
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