One Day At A Time!

Snack time at my place! Its been a while, I made any fried goodies. Thanks to last night's leftovers, I had plenty of time to make this savory Ribbon Murukku. We love such crunchy munchies with our evening cup of tea. Ingredients: Rice Flour - 1 cup Besan / Gram Flour - 1/2 cup Oil - 1 1/2 tbsp Red Chili Powder - 1 tsp White Sesame Seeds/Til - 1 tsp Asafetida/Hing - 1/2 tsp Sugar - 1/2 tsp Salt Oil for frying How to make Ribbon Pakoda: In a mixing bowl, add rice flour, gram flour, hot oil, chili powder, asafetida, sesame seeds, sugar and salt. Mix well. Now add water, little at a time and knead to make a stiff, non sticky dough. I added about 3/4 cup water. Divide the dough into 3 balls. Heat oil for deep frying. Heat the inner part of chakali / murukku maker with oil. Place the ribbon plate and add one dough ball. Close it with the lid. When the oil turns medium hot, hold the chakali maker above the frying pan. Carefully turn the handle so that the ribbon shaped mu...

What's cooking for lunch at your place?  We are having a simple roti sabji for lunch. A protein rich split chickpeas curry with soft, fluffy phulka. Today's recipe is the basic style of cooking an Indian curry, with onions and tomatoes. Add your personal touch to this curry by choosing your favorite Masala or spice mix. Ingredients: Chana Dal/Split Chickpeas/Split Bengal Gram - 1 cup Onion/Pyaz - 1 medium Tomatoes/Tamatar - 2 medium Garlic/Lahsun - 3 big cloves Ginger/Adrak - half inch piece Green Chili/Hari Mirch - 1 Red Chili Powder/Lal Mirch - 1 tsp Garam Masala or any other spice mix - 1/2 tsp Chat Masala or Aamchur (Dry Mango Powder) - 1/2 tsp Mustard Seeds - 1/4 tsp Turmeric/Haldi - 1/2 tsp Cilantro/Coriander/Dhania Leaves - few sprigs Salt Oil How to cook Chana Dal Masala: Soak chana dal in plenty of water for 20 - 30 minutes. Soaking is optional. Wash the soaked dal well. Heat about 4 cups of water in a pot. Add washed dal and cook until cha...

Anyone experiencing the Monday blues? I am feeling too lazy to cook anything.  But at the same time, I don't want any takeout either. South Indian lemony rice, well known as Chitranna, seemed like a nice easy lunch to cook. The crunchy peanuts and aromatic dals make this tangy rice a true delight as a meal or as a snack. Ingredients: Basmati Rice - 1 cup Raw Peanuts/Groundnuts/Shenga - 1/3 cup Chana Dal/Split Bengal Gram/Split Chickpeas - 2 tsp Urad Dal/Split Black Gram - 1 tsp Mustard Seeds - 1/2 tsp Turmeric/Haldi - 1/2 tsp Curry Leaves/Kadipata - a sprig Coriander/Cilantro/Dhania Leaves - few sprigs Green Chilies - 3 Onion - 1 medium Oil - 3 tbsp Lime/Lemon - 1 Salt How to make South Indian Chitranna: Wash rice well with water. Drain all the water. Cook washed rice with 1 1/2 cups water, little salt and 1/2 tbsp oil.  Oil is optional, but the cooked rice does not turn sticky because of oil. Fluff t...

Anyone who is familiar with the whole elaborate process of making South Indian Dosa, knows about the importance of measuring ingredients, quite similar to baking.  But, Mushti Polo is traditionally made using fistful of ingredients. Mushti refers to fistful in Konkani. Cooking using fistful of this and fistful of that is slightly inconvenient for me. As usual, my Mom has her recipe for me, where fistfuls are substituted with measuring cups. Ingredients: Medium Grain Rice/Idli Rice - 1 cup Thin Poha/Flattened Rice/Avalakki - 1/2 cup Urad Dal/Split Black Gram - 1/4 cup Shredded Coconut (fresh or frozen) - 1/4 cup Fenugreek/Methi Seeds - 1 tsp Salt Oil How to make Konkani Mushti Polo: Soak medium grain rice, urad dal and fenugreek seeds in plenty of water for 6 - 8 hours. Wash the soaked ingredients well. Grind soaked rice, urad dal, fenugreek seeds, coconut and flattened rice flakes, in batches,...

Bhakri is a gluten free flatbread made of rice flour or jowar flour or finger millet flour or pearl millet flour. These are well known as Bhakri in Maharashtra and Rotti in Karnataka. One good thing about Bhakri is that these are oil free. Nutrition wise, you are eating whole grain complex carbohydrates. For a wholesome meal, pair it with a protein rich beans curry. Or a simple coconut chutney tastes great too. Ingredients: Nachni/Ragi/Finger Millet Flour - 1 cup Rice Flour/Tandlacha Peeth - 1/2 cup Water - 1 1/2 cups Salt How to make Nachni chi Bhakri: In a mixing bowl or a big plate, add nachni flour and rice flour. Add salt to taste and mix well. You can make bhakris with just nachni flour as well.  Add 2 cups of water in a pot and bring it to a boil. Turn off the heat and add this boiling water to the bowl. Using a spoon, mix all the ingredients well. When it turns cold enough to handle, knead the dough well and divide into 5 balls. Sprinkle some rice flour ...

Every Indian city is well known for its unique street food. So far, you have read all about Mumbai and Mangalore delicacies. How about Kolkata's delicious Kati Roll ! This loved street food of Kolkata is well known all over India as Vegetable Frankie. You can make these wraps in a number of ways .... with vegetables, with paneer (Indian Cottage Cheese) or meat as well. Today I made these rolls with everyone's favorite potatoes and lots of colorful vegetables.

Though these fritters are popular as Mangalore Bajji , these are loved all over Karnataka. I tasted these for the first time, in my Belgaum college canteen. Since then, its one of my favorite fried foods... crisp on the outside and soft on the inside. Ingredients: All Purpose Flour/Maida - 1 cup Besan/Chickpea Flour - 1/4 cup Yogurt/Curd/Dahi - 1/2 cup Coconut (chopped) - 1 1/2 tbsp Cumin/Jeera Seeds - 1 tsp Ginger (finely chopped) - 1 tsp Green Chili (finely chopped) - 1 tsp Cilantro/Coriander Leaves - few sprigs Sugar - 1 tsp Baking Soda - 1/4 tsp Oil for frying How to make Mangalore GoLi Bajji: In a mixing bowl, add all purpose flour, besan, yogurt, salt and sugar. Mix well. Now add water, little at a time, and make a thick batter. I added about 1/4 cup water. Batter must not be too thick or too runny. Cover it with plastic food wrap and set it aside in a warm place overnight.  If not overnight, let the batter rest for at least 30 minutes. Sour yogurt ...