Pesarattu (Whole Green Gram Crepe)

Dosa, though originating from South India, has become a kind of a national dish now. In South India, there are myriad versions of the basic rice and split black gram dosa. I have already posted a few in my blog. Several more will follow. Last year, I did some research into the breakfast dishes from…

Pidi Kozhukattai (Steamed Rice Dumplings)

Pidi kozhukattai or upma kozhukattai is a very famous breakfast dish prepared in the Southern parts of India, especially Tamizh Nadu and Kerala. It is super tasty dish that is had at breakfast. It can also be served as  tea-time snack or for dinner. It is relatively easy to prepare. However, the trick is to…

Arachu Kalaki

Arachu Kalaki is a typical Palakkad dish. It requires minimal use of the stove. An ‘almost’ raw dish, it tastes fabulous! I can eat a whole meal of just arachu kalaki and brown rice. When my avidly non-vegetarian German friend, Robert Fuchs, came home for dinner a few years ago, I’d planned this dish. He…

Seppankizhangu Roast (Roasted Colocasia)

In South Indian cooking, several root vegetables are often roasted. This includes potatoes, elephant yam (jimmikhand, chena, senaikizhangu) and colocasia (taro root, arbi, chembu). These are fiery looking dishes, but are actually quite mild in chilli quotient. I love to pair such preparations with a bland main dish such as mulakootal, mulakooshyam or even the…

Killu Pakoda (Pinched Onion Fritters)

As I have had occasion to mention before, most Indian snacks deep fried. This recipe is no exception. The air fried version presented here is as tasty as the deep fried one, but with no guilt associated, I have grown up on this tea-time snack and was missing it sorely when I gave up oil….

Methi Muthia

My first exposure to Gujarati food was in 1981 when I moved to Bombay for a job. I must confess that I did not enjoy the food at all – because there was more than a tinge of sweetness in all the dishes. And I do not have a sweet tooth. Since then, I avoided…

Oats Upma

When I turned vegan some years ago, I was told to avoid processed oats like, for example, Quaker Oats. These very knowledgeable people told me to stick to whole oats. I did some research on whole oats and found several varieties. Steel cut, rolled oats… It all left me very confused. So, I decided to…

Potato Cutlet

Since I turned vegan a few years ago, the choices for an evening snack became really restricted. Most Indian snacks are deep fried. That is when I began experimenting how to transform the traditional snacks into whole food plant based. Hari has proved to be a godsend in this regard. No matter what recipe I…

Wheat Dosa (Wheat Crepe)

This dosa is rarely made in my kitchen. Perhaps twice in a year – and that too, only when I ask Hari to prepare it. This is an instant dosa that needs no fermentation. Served with a chutney of your choice, this makes a wonderful breakfast or snack. It is so quick and easy to…

Punjabi Bhendi Masala

One of my summer pleasures (there are several) is bhendi (okra, vendakai). Like the brinjal, this is indeed a versatile vegetable. It is abundantly available in the Indian subcontinent. But I am not sure that this super-tasty vegetable is available in many other parts of the world. Some years ago, I was having dinner with…