Aapam is a popular breakfast dish from Kerala. In recent years, this simple dish has found admirers from all over the country. Many restaurants countrywide serve aapam. Typically, aapam is paired with a wet gravy called ishtew (possibly derived from stew). This is one of my favourite breakfast dishes. My mood perks up whenever I…
Tag: #oil-free
Little Millet Upma
Little millet is called Samai in Tamil and Kutki in Hindi. Millets are basically seeds of various types of grass. They are gluten-free and packed with nutrition. I tend to use a lot of millets in my food. Not just to provide variety to my grains, but because I really like millets. While on the…
Parika Pitla (Bittergourd & Lentil Curry)
As a child, I disliked bittergourd intensely. As, I suspect, most children do. No matter how much parents explain the health benefits of the vegetable, it never moves kids. In my case, I overcame my childhood aversion for this vegetable. If fact, I really feel deprived if a week passes without bittergourd on my dining…
Chakka Kuru Kuzhambu (Jackfruit Seed Curry)
Jackfruit is a popular fruit/vegetable in many parts of the country. The unripe jackfruit is used to make many different kinds of dishes. The ripe version is eaten as a fruit – really delicious. The ripe fruit is also used to make sweet pastes and jams. The seeds are also consumed. My biggest disappointment is…
Adai (Rice & Lentil Pancake)
Adai is a South Indian breakfast dish that is rarely found in restaurants. At restaurants, it is more common to find dosa and its variations, aapam, rava (semolina, suji) dosa and other such dishes. I cannot understand why this is so, since adai is really a lip-smacking dish that is healthy, packed with nutrition. It…
Podi Podicha Pulinkari (Ground Spices In A Tamarind Base)
Podi Podicha Pulinkari was one of the best kept secrets of Palakkad. At least until the internet became a force. What sets it apart from other ‘kootans’ (wet main dishes to be mixed with rice) is that it has no lentils or coconut. This is indeed a rarity in Kerala cuisine. It is a simple…
Farali Pattice
Farali Pattice is street food from Mumbai, India’s largest commercial city. It is often consumed when fasts are observed and only specific kinds of food are eaten. This is normally a breakfast dish, but I like it as a tea-time snack. In the Mumbai street food version, it is deep-fried. But it need not be…
Whole Wheat Bread
I had always disliked bread. Because it was the only breakfast we used to get five days a week during my childhood. Being vegetarians in Singapore, there was little opportunity to eat a school tuck shops. So my mother used to wake up at the crack of dawn and make lunch for her six children,…
Idli (Rice & Lentil Dumplings)
Like the dosa, idli has also become a kind of a national dish in India. Though originating from South India, if has aficionados all over the country. It is normally had for breakfast in South India (though occasionally for dinner too). In the rest of the country, it is an anytime snack or a meal…
Dosa (Rice & Lentil Crepe)
Dosa has become almost a national dish in India. It is widely available all over the country, even with street vendors. Though the basic ingredients are the same, the preparation varies widely to suit individual tastes. Some like their dosa soft, others crisp. The homemade ones are about 6″ in diameter whereas the ones served…
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