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A famous accompaniment with South Indian fast food like Dosa, Idli, Upma etc. The split dalia gives it a very unique taste and makes it different from the regular green chutneys which are often found at various places all over India. South India prides itself in keeping this amazing and tasty Chutney recipe to its splendid menu.
I keep hearing from lot of food lovers that they try their best to make this chutney but end up in preparing something which is very similar to their regular chutney. So here is my humble attempt to simplify this wonderfully tasty recipe.
Serves – 2 – 3
Ingredients –
Freshly desiccated coconut – 1 cup
Coriander springs – ½ cup
Split dalia (Puthani dal) – ¼ cup
Salt – to taste
Green chilies – 3
For tempering –
Oil- 1 teaspoon
Mustard seeds – ½ teaspoon
Urad dal (dehusked) – ½ teaspoon
Curry leaves – 4- 5
Procedure –
- Finely grind the freshly desiccated coconut, coriander, split dalia, green chilies and salt.
- Add water as per the required consistency but do not make it runny. It should form a fine paste.
- Now in a pan heat the oil and add the mustard seeds. Let it splutter before adding the urad dal and curry leaves.
- Once the urad dal becomes light brown in color turn off the gas and pour this over the grounded mixture i.e the chutney.
- Serve with idlis.
Tips –
You can skip the tempering part.
The chutney can also be made by grinding all the remaining ingredients minus coriander. This too tastes great. The green color of the chutney is because of the coriander leaves.
Another great Indian rice recipe. Very easy to prepare unlike biryani or pulav. Mainly prepared in the North of India as regular rice in everyday meal. This rice gives a very nice aroma of cumin seeds. Generally made using basmati or long grain rice.
Serves – 2 -3
Ingredients-
Basmati Rice- 1 cup
Cumin seeds (Jeera) – 1 ½ teaspoon
Butter / ghee – 1 tablespoon
Water – 1 ¾ cup
Salt – 1 teaspoon
Procedure –
- Wash and soak the basmati rice for ½ an hour in water. Now remove the excess water and keep it aside for 1 hour.
- In a pressure cooker or pressure pan heat the ghee and add the cumin seeds. Let it splutter and now add the basmati rice and sauté well.
- Add the water and salt and mix well.
- Once the water starts boiling cover the lid and cook for 2 whistles.
- Remove the lid and stir gently so that the cumin seeds are mixed well.
- Serve hot with Indian dal with tadka.
Tips –
You can also use oil instead of ghee or butter.
You can use any type of rice. Basmati will only add its own flavor.
One of the most beloved dishes of India. Being very simple and non spicy it becomes a common recipe found in many households. Moong being easy to digest makes it a preferred dish especially for children, the old and when you are not in the pink of your health.
There are various alternatives to this recipe, this one being the most simple of them all and is very easy to cook. It also gives one a change from eating the everyday meal.
Ingredients –
Moong dal (green split beans) – 1 cup
Rice – 1 cup
Sproted moong – ½ cup
Salt- to taste
Cloves – 2
Cinnamon sticks- 2
Water – 4 ½ cups
Sugar – 1 tablespoon
Procedure –
- Mix the rice and moong dal together. Wash and drain the excess water.
- In a pressure pan or pressure cooker add the moong dal and rice mixture and pour the water.
- Add the cloves, cinnamon sticks, sprouted moong, sugar and salt.
- Close the pressure cooker lid and cook the khichadi for 2 whistles.
- Serve hot with kadhi or pickles or just like that.
Tips-
You can also cook the khichadi in an open pot. This will take more time and additional water.
How to sprout moong - Properly pick, wash and soak moong overnight in 2 cups of water in a vessel. Drain the water and cover the moong till it germinates. You can also add mashed vegetables like carrot, potato, pumpkin, etc.
Kadhi is a typically Indian preparation. It’s sort of a soup or a curry which is savored with rice, khichadi or even chappattis. It is made from yogurt (dahi). There are varieties of Kadhi that can be found in India. Each has it’s own recipe and taste depending upon region they originate from.
Ingredients –
Plain unsweetened yoghurt (Dahi) – 1 ½ cups
Chick pea flour (Besan) – 5 tablespoons
Water – 3 ½ cups
Salt – to taste
Sugar – 1 teaspoon
For tempering –
Ghee/ clarified butter – 1 ½ tablespoon
Dried red chilies – 2
Cumin seeds (Jeera) – ½ teaspoon
Asafoetida (Hing) – ½ teaspoon
Curry leaves – 7- 8
Garlic (finely chopped) – 3 cloves
Procedure –
- In a pan whisk the yoghurt and add the water and besan. Mix well till no lumps are formed. Add the salt and sugar to it.
- In another pan heat the ghee and add the cumin seeds. Let it crackle. Now add the cumin seeds, curry leaves, asafoetida, chopped garlic and dried red chilies.
- Pour it over the yoghurt and besan mixture.
- Now boil the yoghurt and besan mixture on low flame while stirring continuously.
- Serve hot with rice or moong dal khichadi.
Tips –
To avoid yoghurt separating while boiling always boil the kadhi on a low flame while stirring continuously.
Beetroot is also known as the table beet, garden beet, red beet. Other than salads it is widely used in pickles and beet soups. Beetroot is a very health root vegetable. It is widely known for its use in keeping cardiovascular health. Its juice helps to lower blood pressure. Betanin obtained from Beet is used as a food colorant.
Cheers to good health and start adding this tasty salad often in your meals.
Ingredients –
Beetroot – 2 medium sized
Plain unsweetened Yoghurt (Dahi) – ½ cup
Salt – to taste
For tempering –
Butter/ ghee – 1 tablespoon
Cumin seeds – 1 teaspoon
Green chilies (chopped) – 2
Procedure –
- Wash the beetroot and boil it in pressure cooker for 3 whistles.
- Peel the boiled beetroots and grate them with a grater.
- In a bowl mix the grated beetroot, yoghurt and salt together.
- In a pan heat the ghee and add the cumin seeds. Once they crackle add the green chilies.
- Pour this over the beetroot and yoghurt mixture.
- Serve with rotis or rice.
Tips –
You can skip the yoghurt and just add tempering to chopped boiled beetroots. (Cube shaped) This could become a beetroot veggie.
Cabbage would be one of the most loved vegetable all over the world. Very healthy and easily available it is often included in meals. This is a typical maharashtrian recipe of a cabbage veggie (sabggies). Chick pea is also a constituent in this recipe, it gives a nice taste and flavor to this beloved sabggies of mine.
Ingredients –
Cabbage – 1 medium sized
Chick pea split (chana dal) – ¼ cup
Jaggery crushed – 1tablespoon
Mustard seeds – 1 teaspoon
Turmeric powder (haldi) – ½ teaspoon
Asafoetida (Hing) – ½ teaspoon
Curry leaves – 6- 7
Green chilies (chopped) – 3- 4
Salt – to taste
Oil – 2 tablespoons
Freshly desiccated coconut – 2-3 tablespoons to garnish
Coriander springs (chopped) – 2 tablespoons to garnish
Procedure –
- Properly wash and chop the cabbage.
- Wash and soak the chana dal in 1 cup water for 1 hour. After 1 hour drain the excess water and keep the dal aside.
- In a pan heat oil and add mustard seeds. Let it crackle. Add the turmeric powder, asafoetida, green chilies, curry leaves and the chana dal. Sauté for 2 minutes.
- Now add the chopped cabbage, jaggery, salt and mix well.
- Cook the cabbage with lid on for 7- 8 minutes or till soft on medium flame. Stir in between.
- Garnish with coconut and coriander. Serve hot with chapattis or rotis.
Tips –
You may also use 1 teaspoon sugar instead of jaggery, if not easily available.
Coffee Cube Cake, doesn’t the name itself take you to a tasty world of cakes. Now imagine a new world of coffee and cakes together. Killing combination isn’t it. Yummy!!. One of my favorite cakes, all time. This is not a very sweet cake and the moment you take a bite, the coffee flavor explodes in your mouth
So stop imagining, let’s get to the real thing 
Ingredients –
Refined flour (Maida) – 100 gms
Baking powder – ½ teaspoon
Cocoa Powder – ½ teaspoon
Castor sugar – 100 gms
Eggs (beaten) at room temperature – 2
Instant coffee powder – 1 ½ tablespoon
Hot water – 1 tablespoon
Butter (softened) – 100 gms
Procedure –
- Sift the flour, baking powder and coca powder together for 2- 3 times.
- Dissolve the coffee powder in 1 tablespoon hot water.
- Mix the flour, baking powder, cocoa, beaten eggs, softened butter, dissolved coffee and castor sugar together. Beat well with an electric whisker or by hand until smooth.
- Transfer this mixture in a greased and base lined cake tin.
- Bake in preheated oven on 180 degrees for 15- 20 minutes for until risen and firm. Turn out on a wire rack, remove the lining paper and let it completely cool. Cut into small cube size pieces and serve.
Tips –
You can use normal sugar instead of castor sugar.
Can also serve be with some whipped cream.
How to base line tin – Cut a butter paper in the shape of the base of the cake tin. Place it at the bottom of the greased cake tin.
Dahi bhutti is basically rice mixed with curds. It originates from the South of India and is very popular dish in the Maharashtra and southern parts of India. Generally, a home meal in these parts does not end until this dish is served.
This also helps to control acidity and other related issues.
Ingredients –
Rice (cooked) – 1 cup
Plain unsweetened Yoghurt (dahi) – 1 ½ cups
Milk – ½ cup
Sugar – ¼ teaspoon
Salt – to taste
Corainder springs (finely chopped) – 1 teaspoon
For tempering –
Butter (Ghee) – 1 tablespoon
Cumin seeds – ½ teaspoon
Curry leaves – 4- 5
White lentils (urad dal) – ¼ teaspoon (optional)
Dried red chili – 1
Procedure –
- Mix the rice, yoghurt, milk, coriander, sugar and salt together and mix well.
- In a pan heat the ghee and add cumin seeds and curry leaves.
- Add the white lentils and dried red chili.
- Pour it over the rice mixture. Mix well.
- Serve at room temperature.
Tips –
It tastes great when served with typical Indian mango or lemon pickles.
You can also mix pomegranate, chopped cucumber to give a unique taste.
Aloo Methi is a spicy and tasty vegetable mainly known for its amazing aroma. It is made from Potato (Aloo) and Fenugreek leaves (Methi). Methi is a herb which has many medicinal properties as well so include this in your meals whenever possible.
Ingredients –
Fenugreek leaves (Methi) – 1 bunch
Onion (finely chopped) – 1 medium sized
Tomato (finely chopped) – 1 medium sized
Potatoes (Peeled and cut in to cubes) – 3 medium sized
Garlic cloves (peeled and finely chopped) – 4
Oil – 2 teaspoons
Mustard seeds – ½ teaspoon
Turmeric powder (haldi) – ½ teaspoon
Asafoetida (hing) – ½ teaspoon
Red chilli powder – 1 ½ teaspoons
Salt – to taste
Procedure –
- Pick and wash the fenugreek leaves under running water twice or thrice.
- Finely chop them and keep aside.
- In a pan or a kadhai heat oil. Add the mustard seeds, let them crackle.
- Then add the chopped garlic, turmeric, asafoetida along with the chopped onion. Sauté till onions become translucent.
- Add the tomatoes and potatoes and sauté for 2-3 minutes. Cover the pan with a lid until the potatoes are almost cooked. This will take approximately 7- 8 minutes.
- Now add the chopped fenugreek leaves, salt and red chili powder. Mix well.
- Cover with lid again and cook for more 3- 4 minutes or till the potatoes are fully cooked.
- Serve hot with rotis or chappatis.
Tips –
Always wash green vegetables before chopping them so that the nutrients are not lost.
People with acidity problems should consume Methi in controlled quatity.
Thalipeeth is a very popular Maharashtrian snack. Basically, the name can be explained as, Thali – a shape of a plate or dish or disk like and Peeth – flour. So when the flour is spread on the tava it basically looks like a plate. Hence the name. It is made from ‘Bhajani’, a flour mixture made of different variety of roasted and grounded grains viz. black gram, chick pea, sorghum, pearl millet, rice, etc. It is widely available across the counters in Maharashtra or can be prepared at home.
The below mentioned recipe is an alternative to the typical way of making Thalipeeth using Bhajani.
Serves – 2 – 3
Ingredients –
Jowar flour (Sorghum) – ½ cup
Bajra Flour (Pearl millet) – ½ cup
Besan flour (Chick pea) – ½ cup
Rice flour – ¼ cup
Nachani flour (Finger millet) – ¼ cup
Onion (finely chopped) – 1 medium sized
Spring onion (finely chopped) – ½ cup
Garlic paste – tablespoons
Salt – to taste
Red chili powder – 1 ½ tablespoons
Oil – 3 teaspoons
Water – to make soft dough of the flour
Procedure –
- Mix all the flours together, add salt, red chili powder, onion, spring onion and ginger garlic paste.
- Using water mix all the things to form soft dough. (refer a)
- Take a thick plastic sheet. It will be used to spread the dough to make thalipeeth.
- Apply some oil to the plastic sheet.
- Take a golf ball sized portion of the dough.
- Pat it on the plastic sheet using the tips of your hand in to disk like shape (thalipeeth). (refer b and c)
- Make small holes in the thalipeeth. (refer b and c)
- Now heat a non-stick pan (tava). Spread ½ teaspoon oil on it.
- Gently turn the plastic sheet upside and slide the thalipeeth on the pan. Using a spoon add small amounts of oil in the holes made in the thalipeeth.
- Cook the thalipeeth on medium flame till it becomes crispy and brown on both sides.
- Serve hot with curds, pickles or some butter.
Tips –
You can also include add grated carrot, beet root and coriander to increase the nutritional value.
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