Coconut Milk Pulao I share the traditional Andhra style coconut milk pulao recipe in this post along with instructions to make it in a pot, pressure cooker and instant pot. In South India, locally grown aged regular rice is used to make this dish. However feel free to use any kind of rice that you have. Keeping the rice grains separate, grainy yet fully cooked is very important. So use only aged rice as this kind of rice cooks up perfectly to fluffy grains without turning sticky and mushy....

Usually egg mayo sandwich is made without much flavoring, herbs etc. That’s a bit bland for our taste buds, so I use some herbs, garlic, pepper & chili flakes which really enhances the taste and flavor. It is good to consume these sandwiches within 2 hours of preparing as the eggs and mayo are unsafe for consumption after 2 hours unless refrigerated. These egg salad sandwiches are also great for evening snack or meal along with some tomato soup....

This recipe yields a soft, fluffy and moist eggless vanilla sponge cake that can be used as a base for decorated or frosted cakes. There is no condensed milk and butter used here, yet it turns out good. I have made a square 7 inch, 2 layer cake. If you desire to make the way I have made it, then you will have to double the recipe and bake 2 cakes in 2 pans....

This best chocolate cake is simple & easy to follow even by a beginner. It is a one bowl cake that just needs a whisk, no mixer needed except for the frosting. This recipe uses 1 egg which helps the cake to rise & keep it moist. I have baked this cake in a oven. If you do not have a oven you can also bake it in a cooker or a heavy bottom pot following this post on Cooker cake recipe....

Pumpkins are loaded with nutrients & are available through out the year so we use them often at home. I usually buy the whole pumpkin and use it to make various dishes like this pumpkin halwa, kaddu ka kheer and this pumpkin curry which is a favorite at home. This kaddu ki sabzi tastes mildly hot, spicy, flavorful and delicious. This dish is cooked on a low flame so pumpkin absorbs all of the flavors from the spices....

There are also many modern versions of making gulab jamun using milk powder, potato, sweet potato and even with bread. But the taste of the khoya gulab jamun is much superior from all these & is rich, soft, juicy and light. To make this gulab jamun recipe, you can use homemade khoya or store bought one. I have used store bought one as making khoya at home needs hours of hard work....

Kajjikayalu is a generic name in telugu given to Karanji or gujiya but these kova ladoo are for some reason known as kova kajjikayalu, probably since they are stuffed. To make kova kajjikayalu, first jaggery coconut ladoos are made. Then these are stuffed in sweetened koya or kova mixture. These are fairly easy to make and needs no special skills like syrup consistency. These are available in well known sweet stalls in Andhra pradesh....

I make these lauki paratha very often since my kids’ are fussy towards eating bottle gourd in other forms. Sometimes I also add greens like methi, palak or dill leaves whatever I have. Recently I made these with lauki & methi leaves so thought of updating the post with new pictures. Do try this combo if you have fussy kids at home. I am sure they will love these as much as mine....

Actually malai chicken is basically a Punjabi dish where chicken is simmered with milk and spices. It is also called as murgh malaiwala & is most commonly seen on the menus of Indian restaurants serving authentic North Indian food. However there are different versions of malai chicken served in restaurants and is mostly a region based thing. So the recipe I have shared here is not the Punjabi dish but it is a variation & tastes extremely good....

Mango Smoothie The same goes for this Mango smoothie; the ingredients are yogurt, fresh mangoes, ripe bananas, peeled and deseeded oranges, and honey as an optional sweetener. Blend them according to the recipe instructions below, and enjoy. If you are a vegan you can use this homemade almond yogurt. While sweet enough to eat at the end of a meal, this mango smoothie also makes a great breakfast. There’s fiber and simple sugars from the whole fruits and honey to get your body going....

Barfi is an Indian sweet, traditionally it used to be made by condensing milk and then sweetened with sugar. There are also variations of making barfi without milk like peanut burfi, maida burfi,kaju barfi or coconut barfi. To know more about burfi, you can check this collection of 16 barfi recipes. Barfi recipe shared here, is an easy one. All we need is mawa and sugar.we also call this as plain barfi, mawa burfi or khoya burfi....

If you are new to Indian cuisine and wondering what is it.. About Palak Paneer Palak paneer is a classic curried dish from North Indian cuisine made with fresh spinach, onions, spices, paneer and herbs. ‘Palak’ is a Hindi word for ‘Spinach’ and ‘Paneer’ is ‘Indian cottage cheese’. So palak paneer translates to paneer simmered in a smooth spicy and delicious spinach gravy or sauce. The dish is more popular in the restaurants than in the households....

The original Mughlai recipe used lot of onions and did not use tomatoes instead curd/ dahi was used. So the recipe shared here is not of an authentic do pyaza but a restaurant style paneer do pyaza recipe. The taste of paneer do pyaza gravy is rich, very unique and delicious. I had always wondered about the unique flavor & taste of few paneer dishes served in a North Indian restaurant in Singapore....

Punugulu are often made in most Andhra homes even with left over idli dosa batter that is sour or over fermented batter while some prefer to make them with fresh batter. There are a few different variations of making punugulu. Some make with maida and they are called maida punugulu. I have shared the recipe of this one too in the recipe card below. Pesara punukulu, perugu punugulu are some of the other variations to the basic recipe....

Sesame seeds are widely used in Indian cuisine to make ladoos, chikkis & curries. Sesame rice is one of the varieties you can make when you do not have time to make a elaborate meal. I have used unhulled sesame seeds, you can also use black sesame. Nylon sesame & hulled sesame are low in nutrition so try using unhulled seeds. To make sesame rice, spiced sesame seeds powder is made first....

A set of soft and thick spongy dosas are served together with coconut chutney and sagu. This is a basic set dosa recipe that can even be used to make dosas without oil on a nonstick tawa. These turn out to be soft, mouth melting and spongy with a delicate texture. These are different from the poha dosa called as atukala dosa in telugu. To make good set dosa, proper fermentation of the batter is very important otherwise they don’t yield porous and spongy dosa....

There are so many ways this is been put to use. Since tahini is high in protein and calcium I often use it as a spread in the wraps for my kids. Making tahini at home needs a bit of patience if you are washing and toasting them but it is worth the do. You will have fresh smelling and tasting sesame paste with all the goodness of nutrition in it....

In India, every region has their own unique way of making pickles. Not only the method but also the ingredients used vary a lot. In North India a lot of people use mustard oil and in South India sesame oil is used. The pickle recipes are usually passed on over the generations. Tomato Pickle Tomato Pickle is a pickle variety from Andhra Cuisine made primarily with tomatoes. While the traditional pickle is a no-cook recipe and is made with sun dried tomatoes, the other easier version shared here is simply made by cooking tomatoes until the raw flavor is lost....

I have made this with fine semolina known as suji or Bombay rava. On occasions I also make this with wheat rava (dalia) and even with bansi rava. Bombay rava has lesser fiber and is somewhat considered a refined food. So to make it a bit healthier I use wheat rava and bansi rava. This recipe works good with all 3 kinds of rava. However you need to add more water for the last 2 kinds....

Noodle and vegetable or meat combos are popular across the world, so much. They have become comfort food for many. Serve a plate of steaming hot noodles straight from the wok, and you have big fat smiles all around the dinner table. About Vegetable Noodles Vegetable noodles is a healthy Chinese inspired dish where cooked noodles are stir fried with lots of vegetables. Further the dish is seasoned with a splash of sauces, vinegar and black pepper to up the taste and flavor....