Showing posts with label Side dish. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Side dish. Show all posts

Cucumber Salad/ Raita

Raita, a refreshing side dish is made with curd/yogurt and mixed with vegetables, fruits as per their availability. We love variety of raitas such as cucumber raita, tomato raita, carrot raita, beet raita at our home and I prepare it quite often. Below is an easy recipe of cucumber raita.




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Piyava Masala Idlis / Sanna Khotto

Sanna Khotto is a popular side dish/snack from GSB cuisine. Khotto name is derived from jackfruit leaves (khotte paan) that are used to make moulds/baskets. You may watch the process of making khotte/moulds in this videoThese moulds are then used to steam the rice dal mixture and make savoury dumplings. When the mixture is steamed in banana leaves it is called as Sanna Muddo. 

What I have got here today is an instant recipe for these masala idlis (instead of traditional recipe). I have excluded dal while making these idlis, thereby saving on preparation time. The below recipe has been a saviour when I am short on time and in need of making something filling.




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Instant Karathey Kismuri

Kismuri is salad type side dish prepared by Amchis that goes well with rice dalitoy combination or pej (red rice kanji), I already have a recipe for Karathey Kismuri which you can check here. Today's recipe is again on Karathey kismuri but this one is a fatafat/instant version. No grinding of masala is done in this recipe. You may substitute bittergourd pieces with vegetables such as beans, carrot, yam [Surna Kismuri] or red chilly papad (Happala kismuri). 




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Bhenda Upkari / Simple Okra Stirfry

Okra or Bhendi, being a slimy vegetable doesn't appeal to everyone's tastebuds. Not just that but the sticky sap that oozes out from the ends of this veggie can really discourage a novice cook and this happened to me. Both of us, me and hubby loved to eat it but for many months after marriage I avoided buying it. Slowly, as I got to know about different cooking techniques as well as tips to minimize or eliminate the sliminess, I dared to buy it regularly and the only dish I would attempt those days was Bhenda upkari [Konkani cuisine], simple yet delicious side dish to go with rice and dal. Below is how you prepare this stirfry.



Here you go to read about the tips while cooking okra. Pick up the tip that you are comfortable and gives the best results for cooking this veggie.


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Bittergourd Stirfry/ Karathey Upkari

My mom will be shocked when she sees me cooking and eating bittergourd lovingly that too once in every 10 days types. This was one veggie which I would avoid touching during my childhood days. But then my disciplined mom would find her own ways [read as scoldings] and tactics [read as emotional manipulations] to feed me this veggie. I would take big bites and just swallow down the bittergourd dish in one go and then proceed on to finish my meal

Now as time changed, priorities changed. After marriage found out hubby's love for this veggie. He liked it so much that anytime I send him to get some vegetables [except bittergourd], he would get them and say I won't force you to eat but you can cook for me :) ... I could not neglect his request and tried to be adventurous while cooking it as well as eating the dish. Over the time I learnt to mellow down its bitter taste by trying out innovative combinations and make the dish delectable. Slowly my sense of taste seemed to change and I started loving this veggie. Now being on other side of the table [a mom to two kids] and completely aware of its health benefits I try to cook it more often with innovative combinations and include in our diet. Hopefully this way their tastebuds aquire the taste and start loving it. If you are interested, you can check other bitter gourd recipes that I have posted here and here

The below recipe is a side dish. Easy to prepare and with less ingredients, this dish goes well with rice and dal.




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Karathey Ambade Ghashi [Karathey Tikshe Godshe Amshe]

"Where are you?" ... "Missing ?" ... "Long time no see busy ?" ...  "No new posts, what happened?" ... aah friends I am feeling special and humbled by all the attention received from you. Thank you so much for all your kind words and messages. Now what had happened and why I was missing from here.

With series of events happening on personal front I opted to stay away from blogging and social media for some time. The vacation time was scheduled with two main events, firstly my elder son's thread ceremony. The function went well. After the function the next event in line was his participation at International Spell Bee competition so you see the whole focus was on him. Happy to share with my readers that he got selected as Budding Star at the competition among 97 students and received a trophy as well as cash prize in dollars. 

After this event it was time for our return. Though we had scheduled our holidays to be little longer than previous ones but with these events it went by very quickly making it a memorable one. Post vacation after resuming routines at home and at work, I realized there was some imbalance and not able to finish my work in time. This made me step back and analyze what had caused it. Things at home were not in place and it dawned on me to opt for declutter lifestyle. As Barabara Hemphill has said " Clutter is nothing more than postponed delayed decisions". How true.. yes I have been postponing those decisions leading to a stressful routines, so decided to devote my blog time to sort and set things in order. Created space by becoming minimalist. Gave some of the toys , books to friends and other unused things were diverted to charity. I am happy I took the step and feeling happy and relaxed. 



So friends what next? Am I done with this or still it will keep me away from blogging?  
The answer is I am back to the space that is very dear to me ,,,  with a hope that it will not interfere in my clutter maintenance schedule [to stay organized] and this in turn gives me some time for blogging  ~ a virtuous cycle you see :). Probably you would see less posts but I won't keep myself away from posting recipes.  With many recipes lying in my draft for sometime now [the ones I had cooked before vacation], I decided why not publish them one by one.  

So here is the recipe of curry 'Karathey Ambade Ghashi' from Konkani cuisine prepared with bittergourd and hogplums [ambado]




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Pistewali Gobi

I am sure you must have tried using cashews or badam paste in a curry, but have you tried using pistachios ? If yes,then as you read the recipe below, kindly share with me your version of using pistas in a curry. If it's no then check here and do try it.

I actually came across this recipe in a book by Sanjeev Kapoor titled "Vegetarian recipes from around the world". I don't remember reading this name or hearing about the dish before this [later found recipe is available on his website here]. The dish attracted me and why because it was made from our favourite veggi, cauliflower [family fav]. Pistachios were used in the paste form as a base in this side dish. With some pista powder at home to be finished before its expiry date, I quickly noted the recipe [in my mind] and tried it last week. We relished this with Arabic flatbreads. 




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Kali Mirch Pudina Bhindi Fry

Bhindis (Lady's finger) also known as Okra is a vegetable used in Indian cooking. It is stirfried, stuffed or used in curries. This veggie contains rows of edible seeds [see in the above pic] which is notorious to release a sticky liquid while cooking, and hence the preparation methods such as cutting and cooking techniques matters a lot towards developing a liking for this veggie. If you are unfamiliar and want to know about tips for cooking okra in order to produce less slime, read here



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Achari Zucchini - A side dish



About 5 years back while teaching alphabets to my elder one, I came across "Z for Zucchini". It was the first time I had read about this veggie, so further researched to know what it is exactly. When I read about it here, it dawned on me that all this while what I was buying from supermarket was not cucumbers but zucchini. Both zucchini and cucumbers belong to same family Cucurbitaceae. I also read that unlike cucumbers, zucchini can be served as cooked dish. Though never dared to cook it until I came across a recipe that looked delicious and it had this veggie in it. The below recipe is inspired from Seema Hussain's recipe of Achari Tori. Using zucchini was suggested by another friend. I halved the quantity as this was an experimental attempt. If you like flavors of panchphoran mix then you would surely like the below dish.





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Tendle Talasan

When I was a kid always used to hear [now I know its a myth] "masta tendle khaunu jeeb daata and matte kumbh jatta" which means the kid will have a slurred speech and difficulty in learning making them dull headed if this veggie is consumed in large amounts. Ha ha surely a myth as till now the diminishing intellectual effects are not seen inspite of enjoying this dish since my childhood :) ... I love this stirfry so much to the extent that my mouth is watering while I am drafting the recipe to share with you. Yet another garlic lovers delight and very very easy to prepare. Previously, I had posted Tendle butti and was wondering how did I miss posting talasani. That's because whenever this stir fry is prepared the quantity gets reduced after cooking and is finished in no time. This dish is infact our family favourite. A simple stirfry from amchi cuisine is prepared using coconut oil and seasoned with basic ingredients. They taste best when we use small and green ivygourds instead of ripe ones. My mom has kept a special stone in her kitchen used exclusively for crushing/smashing this veggie [tendle dhaddoche]. You can crush this veggie with mortar pestleI don't have a stone, so the crushing part is done with Indian kitchen pincer/pakad/sansi. Don't forget to add lots garlic in the seasoning which will enhance the taste of this dish and you will enjoy it even with plain rice and milk.




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Theeyal ~ Small Onions And Brinjals

I have been wanting to try few recipes from Kerala cuisine prepared specially for Onam Sadhya meal. So when my friend 'R' mentioned and suggested the recipe for "Theeyal" from here, I decided to try it. Theeyal means 'burnt' dish and usually served in traditional sadhya meal. It is dish having spicy tangy taste with unique flavor mostly from roasted ingredients. The dish turned out so delicious that I had to reach for a second helping with hot rice. Below recipe is an adaptation and I have used brinjals along with shallot onions. 




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Pudina Palak Ki Kadhi

Mint leaves add a nice refreshing flavor to any drink or salads. During summers, I add them in chaas, juices, soups or as garnish for salads and was thinking how it would taste if I add them to yogurt based kadhis. So this time when I lay my hands on fresh mint leaves, I added handful of them to below palak kadhi recipe. It surely took this kadhi to another level and tasted super with fresh and aromatic flavor. Read below to find out how I prepared it from palak and pudina. 




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Corn Capsicum Carrot Subzi - Dry Side Dish

Back to blogging after busy days with school break followed by a short wonderful trip to Abudabhi. Missed this space and hope you all too missed me! We came back a week before and the schools were to reopen next day itself. This time with younger one's entry to kindergarten section, we were excited but he seemed to be bit anxious. We had to spend more time talking to him about his school, teachers, singing nursery rhymes, watching educational videos, etc. with an attempt to make him feel comfortable about the new chapter in his life. We took him for shopping school items such as bag, tiffin box, water bottle, stationary, etc and repeated the same exercise as we had done with our elder one .. involving them while selecting their items. The process helped them to connect with school phase and it took 2-3 days time for him to get adjusted. Back home after his return, we found him excited talking about day's event in his school and busy reciting rhymes. Glad to see that he has embarked on this academic journey with excitement and confidence. 

Though I was relieved after seeing him getting adjusted so soon ... there was something which was bothering me still and what was that? Packing another tiffin box for school .... My elder one always had a request to send foods that are not much of a mess, easier to eat which will give him some time to play. I am sure there must be similar requests from most of the school going kids out there which force us to plan for recess snack ideas that's not just tasty, healthy, more appealing but quick and convenient for them to eat in their school environment. In the first week, I packed some dry snacks, finger foods, fruit pieces and a juice packet in their boxes. Both of them returned back with emtpy boxes. In the coming weeks, I have few healthy snack ideas such as parathas, rava idlis, dosas, chappati subzi that are approved by elder one and hope younger one too relish it. If any new recipe, I usually experiment it before packing it to school. This way I am assured that they would empty the boxes and there is no food wastage. My kids love corn so when I came across corn subzi recipe in my notes, I decided to try it at home before sending it to school. I adapted the original recipe by adding capsi, carrots to make it colourful and more nutritious, and altered the quantity of spice powders to make it less spicy. Was happy to see plates polished off by both of them and a healthy recipe getting added to my tiffin ideas. If you too are in search of recipes for tiffin box do try the below recipe.



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KOOTTUCURRY/ ERISHERY - GUEST POST 3

Its a 2nd Monday of this month and here I am having my guest on Flavors and Colors. Did you all realize that I posted my previous guest posts for Jan and Feb on Mondays in the second week of the month. I thought to continue with same pattern. Today with this 3rd session, its my dear friend Priya R Shenoy who is always cheerful, bubbly and very enthusiastic person. I got to know her [again no guesses here], through a food group. A real FOODIE [hope Priya doesn't pinch me for that mention in caps;)]. She is an expert in North Kerala cuisine. Having said that, she also enjoys trying out various recipes from other cuisines and comes out with mouthwatering dishes. With her keen interest, she manages to cook many dishes in a day and so has been nicknamed as "Express Queen" in our group. Today she shares the recipe of dish which she loves and is her speciality.This is what Priya had to say in her words -

I am so happy today to do this guest post. Excited, this being a new experience for me and bit nervous too bcoz it's Appu's blog Flavors and Colors. We follow her blog regularly and I have tried so many recipes from here. So when she recently asked to write a guest post here it was nothing less than any oscar for me. Thank you so much dear for this opportunity and honour! 

About me, I am a housewife, mother of two cute kids, now settled in Trivandrum. Being born and brought up in Kanhangad (North Kerala), naturally my love towards Kerala cuisine is huge and all my recipes and taste is largely influenced by this cuisine. 

Today I share the recipe of a dish " Koottucurry or Erishery" from North Kerala, to be specific from Kanhangad. It is a side dish served with rice and a must curry for every malayali feast. This dish is very close to my heart, because from my childhood days I always loved this curry and now it's a favourite one of my hubby too :). The unique combination of black chana, raw banana [preferably the kerala plaintain) and yam makes this dish tastes heavenly. 



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Capsicum Panchamrut

Panchamrut and the name to my knowledge until now was only the one which was prepared and offered as neveidya during the puja time. It is a sweet mix/nectar prepared by mixing five ingredients and I just love it. To know what it is and how it is prepared you can read here.

Now when my sis, Suppiakka uttered about "Capsicum Panchamrut" I found the name very catchy, an unique dish there and got more curious to know what exactly the recipe was. Immediately I insisted her to share the dish recipe. Upon asking how did it taste, she said this is spicy, sweet and tangy dish that tastes awesome even without the use of onions and garlic. So friends below is my sis recipe. Believe me it tasted delicious and we relished it as side dish with chappatis.



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Methi Matar Malai

Methi Mutter Malai is a rich blend of  cream, green peas, fenugreek leaves flavoured with Indian spices which serves as an yummy accompaniment to rotis, parathas, phulkas. 

The name of this dish brings back many sweet memories of my vacation time I spent at Nashik some 15 years ago where my aunt's house was located. During one of the vacation period, my aunt [who is a fantastic cook] had prepared this dish and it tasted lip-smackingly delicious. I couldn't resist myself from eating it with hot phulkas and simple pulao. Thanks to her for introducing this rich creamy Mughlai dish. I tried to take the recipe from her verbally but failed to register it properly because of my ignorance about certain ingredients especially Indian spices. And so I managed to carry back only the name of the dish along with me. This dish always topped the list while ordering the menu during our visit to any of the north indian restaurants in India. The interest to know its recipe never peeped into my mind till the time I got to taste it once again,,, home made methi matar mala prepared by my ex-colleague "M" who was from North India. She shared her recipe and luckily by this time, I was knowledgeable about Indian spices. Since then have been preparing it at home, with possible variations depending on the availability of ingredientsI use less of cream and more of either cashew or almond paste to give that creamy texture to this dish. I have prepared this dish using fresh methi leaves as well as kasuri methi [in absence of fresh methi leaves] and we like both the versions. 




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