Hi, Welcome to veggiekhana. I am Swetha, happily married to a caring and inspiring man who adds beauty and perfection to my life. I am a day dreamer and love cooking, crafting, singing and writing. Blogging is a great way for me to share my culinary recipes. I am thankful to my mother for teaching me the "A, B, C, D" of cooking and constantly enriching my list of traditional recipes. All the traditional recipes here are from my mom and I am just a media to share them. My father has always been my greatest encouragement. He used to be the taste tester of all the foods I used to cook since my childhood! All the praises and complements from him has boosted my interest in cooking. Majority of the recipes include Mysore and North Karnataka cuisine and the rest are the ones I tryout after improvising them which I get from various sources. Hope you enjoy and thank you for your visit....
Akki rotti / rice flour roti is one of the most popular dishes in Karnataka. This simple yet delicious dish can be customized according to our taste and requirement.
Ambode/Masala Vada is a mouth watering South Indian snacks which can be relished either with the tea/coffee or can be eaten accompanying a meal. This spicy deep fried dal patties are equally liked by all age groups...
Apple Kheer - In kannada Sebina Payasa. This is a type of sweeth dish in which Apple is used as main ingredient with the mixture of Milk and Sugar. To expore more, please visit Apple Kheer Post.
Aloo masala is prepared by mashing the cooked potatoes and seasoning with some spices. This forms the yummy filling for the "masala dosa" and also a good combination for "poori" and "Chapati".
Ingredients:
Medium sized potatoes - 2
Onion - 1, chop lengthwise.
Boiled green peas - 1/2 cup
Green chilies - 2 to 3
Ginger - 1" piece, grate it or use the ready to use ginger paste.
Channa dal / split bengal gram - 1/2 tsp
Urad dal / split black gram - 1 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Oil - 2 to 3 tsp
Curry leaves - 10 to 12
Coriander leaves - For garnishing
Lemon juice - 2 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Asafetida / hing - A generous pinch
Salt - to taste
Method:
Boil the potato and peel the skin off and mash it.
In a sauce pan heat oil, add mustard seeds, and allow them to splutter. Add channa dal and urad dal.
When the dals start to turn brown add green chilies, curry leaves followed by asafetida and turmeric powder.
Add onion and fry until they become transparent.
Add in the boiled green peas, ginger paste and saute for a while.
Finally add mashed potatoes, salt, lemon juice and give a good mix.
Remove from stove top, garnish with cilantro and serve with dosa, poori or chapati.
Watch the video in Kannada with English subtitles:
Avial (aviyal) means cooked in water and as the name suggests, it is prepared by using cooked vegetables and curd. Its one of the famous South Indian dishes and a must have in Kerala during festivals.
Green chilies - 2, use according to your taste and the hotness of the chilies
Cumin seeds - 1 1/2 tbs
Curd, whisked to make it smooth - 1 cup
Curry leaves - 2 strands
Coconut oil - 2 tsp
Salt - to taste
Method:
Cut the vegetables into even sized pieces and cook along with 1 strand of curry leaves.
Grind shredded coconut, cumin seeds, green chilies into a coarse paste using no or little water.
Take the cooked vegetables in a pot, add ground paste and mix well. stir for some time so that there will be no raw smell.
To this add the whisked curd, salt and mix well. You can add little water to get required consistency to have with rice or keep it thick to enjoy with chapati or poori.
Traditionally "avial" is a "non-tempered dish", so when the mixture becomes hot (do not boil) add remaining curry leaves on top and pour the coconut oil over it. Mix thoroughly and remove from the heat.
Note:
If you want the dish to be non-diary then you can substitute the curd with raw mango gratings, which you can add after adding the ground paste to the cooked vegetables. Stir nicely and finally add curry leaves and coconut oil.
Watch the video in Kannada with English subtitles:
Jangiri / jangir / imarti is one of the most famous sweets enjoyed during the time of festivals or celebrations. This simple dish prepared by using urad dal is not only easy but also fun to prepare.
Ingredients:
Urad dal (split and skinned black gram ) - 1 cup
Rice flour - 2 tbs
Corn flour - 2 tbs
Salt - A pinch (optional)
Food color - As required
For Sugar Syrup:
Sugar - 1 1/2 cup
Water - 3/4 cup
Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp
Rose essence - 3 to 4 drops (optional)
Lemon juice - 1 tsp
Method:
Wash thoroughly and soak the urad dal in water for around 2 hrs.
Drain out the water and grind the urad dal in to smooth paste using minimum amount of water.
Add the rice flour, corn flour, salt and mix by adding little water to get a thick batter.
Mix food color with little water and add to the urad dal paste little by little and mix until required color is obtained.
Transfer this batter to a ketchup squeeze bottle or to the traditional jangiri making cloth if available. As other options one can also make use of icing bag or a zip lock bag in which a hole is made by piercing a hot nail.
Heat the oil in a wide pan.
Simultaneously prepare the sugar syrup. For this take sugar in a pan and add water. Place it over the stove top.
When it starts to boil add cardamom powder, rose essence, mix well and boil for another 3 to 4 minutes until it attains one string consistency.
Lower the heat and let it maintain the warmth.
As the oil will be hot now, fry the jangiris in it by squeezing the batter in the shape shown below. Firstly make one or two overlapping circles. Continue pouring batter in the form of coil over these circles and seal the end.
While pouring the batter into the oil, the heat can be reduced so that the desired shape is formed nicely and later the heat can be raised while cooking. Continue cooking over a medium heat.
After some time flip the side.
Once they are done transfer them to the warm sugar syrup. Let it sit for around 3 minutes and take out on to a tray. Repeat the process with rest of the batches.
Let them sit for minimum of 2 to 3 hrs before consuming as it will allow the sweetness to seep into the jangiris thoroughly and also the smell of urad dal will fade out. Enjoy the jangiris as dessert with your festive food.
Watch the video in Kannada with English subtitles:
Rawa idli (semolina idli) is one of the hassle free variation of idli without any necessity for soaking, grinding and fermenting. I am giving here the recipe for the mix which can be prepared in about 15 minutes and can be preserved refrigerated for around 6 months. Rawa idlis can be prepared instantly by making use of this mixture whenever needed.
Ingredients:
For Preparing Rawa Idli Mix:
Bombay rawa / coarse semolina - 2 1/2 cups
Mustard seeds - 1 1/2 tsp
Channa dal / bengal gram dal - 1 tbs
Urad dal / black gram dal - 1 tbs
Cashew nuts - 1 1/2 tbs
Green chillies - 3 to 4 (use according to the spiciness of the chillies and your taste)
Curry leaves - Around 20
Ghee / clarified butter - 1 tbs
Oil - 3 tbs
Asafetida - 1/4 tsp
For Preparing Rawa Idli: (makes around 12 idlis)
Rawa idli mix - 1 cup
Curd / yogurt - 1/2 cup
Water - 1/2 cup
Cilantro / coriander leaves - Around 2 tbs and a little for garnishing
Carrot gratings - little for garnishing
Ginger paste - 1/2 tbs (grated ginger can also be used instead)
Salt - to taste
Oil - for greasing
Method: Preparation Of Rawa Idli Mix:
Heat ghee and oil in a pan and add mustard seeds. When they stop spluttering add channa dal and urad dal followed by cashew nuts.
When they slightly change the color, add in the curry leaves and chopped green chillies fry for a while and add asafetida. Fry until the dals and cashews turn golden brown in color.
Add in the rawa (sooji / semolina) and fry nicely until it changes the color and gives nice aroma.
Transfer it immediately into a wide plate and allow it to cool.
Transfer it to an air tight container. This mixture can be stored refrigerated for around 6 months and can be used as and when required.
Preparation Of Rawa Idli From The Mix:
Take rawa idli mix in a bowl. Add chopped cilantro and ginger paste.
Add in the curd, water, salt and mix well. Set aside for 5 minutes. The consistency of the batter at the time of pouring in to the idli mould should be as shown in the image below. If the batter appears little dry after 5 minutes, add little water to adjust.
Grease the idli plates and pour the batter.
If you want to garnish a bit, after greasing the idli plates, place in some carrot gratings and chopped cilantro and then pour the idli batter over it.
Meanwhile boil little water in a pot. The water should be only few inches in level from the bottom.
Place in the idli stand with stacked idli plates inside the pot and cover with a lid having a steam vent. You can also make use of a pressure cooker, but do not put the weight (whistle) on the lid covering the steam vent.
Steam cook the idlis for 10 to 12 minutes, take out and let it sit out for 1 or 2 minutes.
Remove idlis from the mould by making use of a knife or spoon.
.jpg)
.jpg)
