Making traditional Steamed Modaks take some time as you need to prepare the outer covering and the filling both separately. Shape them and steam. These dry fruit modaks are an easy alternate to the traditional modaks especially if you do not have time. During Ganesh Chaturthi we all make many kinds of modaks. These dry fruit modaks can be made the same way as I have shown or can also be made as stuffed modaks....

Egg toast is eaten across the world and is prepared in numerous ways. Egg in a hole, french toast etc are some world popular recipes. This Indian egg toast is unique and many in India call it a savory french toast. This is a super quick recipe and can be made just in 10 mins. It is best served hot and eaten plain with out any accompaniment. In India people love masala chai with this egg toast....

Brown rice is one of the staples and most often we prefer eating it for our dinner. It goes so well to serve with dal, curry or to make fried rice, rice salad or even tempered variety rice. Similar to white rice even brown rice can be cooked in few different ways. For several years I had made it on the stove top, cooking it in surplus water and draining off the excess once it is done to our liking....

Kashmiri pulao makes for a great meal anytime of the day and can also be served in parties or family dinners. It is so colorful with amazing toppings of fried onions, crunchy nuts, raisins & seasonal fruits. Plus it’s kids friendly too! About Kashmiri Pulao Kashmiri pulao is a traditional rice dish from the Kashmiri cuisine, where basmati rice is cooked with lots of spices and flavorsome broth. It is topped with ghee fried almonds, cashews and raisins....

Yes, this is one of the delicious sides you’ll find served with mutton biryani in restaurants across Hyderabad and Telangana. If you are looking for sides other than Raita and Dal Tadka to serve with your Vegetable Biryani, Mirchi ka salan makes a tasty and satisfying swap that adds a punch to your biryani and Pulao. An easy to make recipe that you can also enjoy with flavored rice dishes or flatbreads like paratha, naan or rotis....

There is a non-vegetarian version of this shorba too which I will share sometime later. I got this recipe from a chef in India who had come home to cook for my elder son’s first birthday. He gave me both non-veg and veg versions. There is no substitute for any ingredients and to get it right we need all the ingredients in the mentioned quantities. This biryani shorba gravy tastes light and is spicy and flavorful and tastes entirely different from the other veg side gravy dishes like potato kurma, simla mirch ka salan, mirchi ka salan and egg masala which i shared earlier....

This dessert has a massive fan following in the Indian states of Gujarat and Maharashtra. It is an important item in traditional Gujarati and Maharashtrian thalis, especially when served at wedding and festivals. Many aren’t aware it’s quite popular in the Southern Indian state of Karnataka where it goes by its Sanskrit name – shikarni or shikharini. What’s the history behind this dish? No one really knows, some culinary genius probably decided to combine a probiotic, cooling agent and a dessert into one dish....

sorakaya pappu is made with toor dal alone, but i don’t like the quality of toor dal available in Singapore, so I use a mixture of toor dal and moong dal, you can use any dal of your choice. Adding even little moong dal gives a good taste to the sorakaya pappu. You can even cook green chilies along with dal, but I add them during tempering, so that I can set aside my kids portion before adding chili....

Sorakkai is the Tamil name for bottle gourd & it is a staple in the Indian cuisine. Bottle gourd is a low-carb, low-sodium, low-calorie and low fat veggie, with high-fibre and high amount of antioxidants. So it is used very often to make stir fry dishes, curries, stew, dal and even chutney in Indian cuisine. This sorakkai kootu is just another way of cooking the veggie. Kootu Kootu is a traditional specialty from the Tamil Cuisine, made with lentils, vegetables, coconut, spices and curry leaves....

These pan grilled stuffed capsicum are delicious with a burst of Indian flavors. They can be eaten as a appetizer or a side in your meal. My kids love them as a after school snack with this tomato soup or with sandwiches. I consider these stuffed capsicum to be healthy as they are pan fried and loaded with veggies. You can use any kind of bell peppers – large or tinker bell peppers....

You can also make a Tikki burger and Tikki chaat with the help of my faqs below. About Aloo Tikki Aloo Tikki is a very popular snack indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. In Hindi, Aloo means “potato” and tikki means “patties or cutlet”. Made with boiled & mashed potatoes, spices and herbs, these Indian style potato patties are shallow fried or pan fried to perfection until crisp. Aloo Tikki is considered to be the Indian version of the hash brown although there are multiple variations to this snack, owing to the changes in the regional cuisine....

In South Indian Cuisine, usually stir fried dishes like this green beans fry is eaten with rice, rasam or sambar. But it also goes well in a school/ office lunch and can be eaten with any meal. About Beans Poriyal The most common preparation of a poriyal begins with tempering mustard seeds, red chilli, lentils and curry leaves in oil, followed by stir frying the vegetables until tender. Lastly the dish is spiced and finished with fresh grated coconut....

About Chana Dal Chana dal also known as Bengal gram is the skinned & split version of whole brown chickpeas. Also known as kala chana, these brown/black chickpeas are the desi variety & are smaller in size than the white chickpeas, kabuli chana. In Indian cuisine, we use the whole brown chickpeas as well the split & skinned version of the same which is the chana dal. I have also shared the recipe of the kala chana curry here....

If you are new to Indo-chinese foods, then read on to know .. What is Chilli Chicken? Chilli chicken is a sweet, spicy & slightly sour crispy appetizer made with chicken, bell peppers, garlic, chilli sauce & soya sauce. This crisp fried saucy chilli chicken recipe is hands down the best that you can make at home. There are so many ways this chicken appetizer is made. The recipe shared on this post is my own which has been much loved by my friends & family....

I had some readers requests for this recipe so sharing my version which has the same flavors of this mango pickle. This pickle can be made in just 20 minutes and is very flavorful and hot. This is served with rice, ghee and pappu (andhra style dal). I made this dosakaya pickle late in the night, so I have just few step by step pictures. I have used lemon juice that was extracted from 1 medium sized lemon....

It came out very delicious,moist & soft. The sweet flavor was amazing due to the sugar sprinkled strawberries. I adapted this topping idea from Martha Stewart’s Strawberry cake. But the recipe had eggs in it, so for the batter I followed this Eggless Tutti frutti cake recipe. To make this eggless strawberry cake, you don’t need a mixer. Just mix up the wet ingredients and then the dry to it....

Supermarket shelves are loaded with so many kinds of garam masala and unfortunately most of them lack the real thing – that’s the aroma! I have never come across anything like the homemade for the simple reason that ground spices oxidize and lose their flavor overtime. Also there is never a balance of spice, pungent, sweet and bitter tastes & flavors. With homemade garam masala, we have the option to blend the spices in small batches and store them well so they remain much more fragrant for longer....

If you are new to making homemade fresh grape juice then this post may be helpful. There are numerous benefits of consuming grape juice, especially when made fresh and consumed immediately. Grapes are a rich source of antioxidants, many vitamins and minerals. Though grapes provides us with abundant nutrients and benefits, it is good to consume a variety of fruits or juices and not limit to grapes alone. There are 2 ways of making grapes juice – One is to boil the grapes and then make a juice that can be preserved for long time....

This simple chicken curry has an amazing burst of flavors from the fresh ground roasted spices & the tempering touch that’s given with the fresh curry leaves. Years ago I happened to try this and just got hooked to it forever. Made it time & again and have always been complimented by my folks. This kerala chicken goes well with plain rice, ghee rice, kerala neychoru, pathiri, appam or any breads like roti, parotta, paratha & chapathi....

This spice powder can be prepared in bulk and stored for a couple of months in the refrigerator. It comes handy when you want to prepare any mixed vegetable korma, egg or chicken korma. It is very flavorful and fills the home with an aroma of spices when you cook. korma masala powder recipe is from my mum , she did not add dry coconut (copra) since that reduces the shelf life and the coconut can smell rancid after a few weeks....