Eggs and I share a very intimate relationship. Most of my friends very well know that and I often get teased about the same. I tend to make them to celebrate the happy moments and also to soothe myself during times of distress. I love to eat them for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Today's recipe is the most fun dish I made in recent times. It felt like am playing with two different recipes and combining the recipes into one which is better in taste and in looks as well. My good friend Sandeepa has a similar Bengali version and mine - Easy Indian Omelette Curry is an lazy, adapted version. In less than half an hour, you will have a delicious egg dish which can be served with any kind of rice or roti. :-) Enjoy!
If there is always one accompaniment while having breakfast at my mum's place, it is definitely this Under 15 minute Easy South Indian Coconut Chutney. I have been eating it with my idilis and dosas for as long as I remember and now I thought it is a perfect time to share the recipe with you all. All you need is fresh coconut and a handful of ingredients. Every south indian breakfast deserves a simple to make chutney as a side and after trying this version, I guarantee you will instantly fall in love, never to look back again! And while you are at it, don't forget to leave a comment on this post to mark your participation for the TWO book giveaways (Day 3) Scroll down for more details. If you haven't tried your luck already, do leave a comment on Day 1 and Day 2 giveaway blogposts as well. Good Luck!
My first memory of my grandmother's cooking is - how she made a simple, yet flavorful lemon flavored rice one night out of just a bowl of stale rice. Things were scarce, times not-so-luxurious back then and being judicious about groceries was the only way to keep the family of five well fed and nourished. Money doesn't define us as human beings only compassion will, she used to say. Whenever I make this Lemon Rice at home, I think of her immense love and exuberance. When I am 60 years old, even if I manage to imbibe half of her qualities, I would feel really accomplished in life!
Learn how to make sambar rice in one pot i.e pressure cooker. One dish to clean, one plate to serve and a bunch of chips with a bowl of yogurt is all that is needed to make it a full lunch or dinner meal. On busy (read as lazy) weeknights, such recipe ideas help us fill our tummies easily and quickly. To save time, I tend to chop veggies like - okra, green beans, tomato, bottle gourd, drumstick and refrigerate in air tight boxes.
Learn how to make a combination which is as appetizing as it sounds - eggplant and egg curry. Have you ever tried that? Served with hot steaming rice and ghee this recipe is sure to please all, especially egg lovers like me. With minimal ingredients, this perfect weeknight dish can be made from start to finish in less than half an hour!
Learn how to make an easy and zingy stew very commonly made in Andhra kitchens. I added potato for today's recipe but this is such a forgiving recipe that almost anything can be added to increase the flavor quotient. Best part --> it's vegan!
Learn how to make a simple and easy dry curry recipe popularly made in many coastal Andhra households. It is a process where we cook any vegetable in a mustard paste which add an extra zingy flavor. Eons ago, I wrote about a version which uses cabbage and to this date it is one of the most popular of all curry recipes published on the blog. Many mustard lovers out there. Eh?
Learn how to make a quick lemon dal or nimmakaya pappu (as it is called in Telugu). What I love about this simple dal is the tangy lemon juice combined with soothing dal into almost a soup like consistency. It tastes perfect as-is with loaf of crusty bread, pour over cooked rice or as a side dish for rotis. If you are looking for easy dinner ideas for one, this recipe fares very well in that category too!
Of all the many recipes of my mother I try to copy diligently, today's recipe tops them all. Ask my sister and she will tell you how crazy I am about 'Menthi Majjiga'. Every time I drop my mom's place for lunch/dinner, this has to be made. It just goes without saying. When I first ate it a few months ago, I was simply blown away by its utter simplicity and sheer deliciousness. I am still salivating as I write this sentence. Ok, I will just stop my ranting right here and directly jump to the ultra easy 4 step process of making classic Andhra Style Menthi Majjiga which involves almost no cooking and take less than 15 mins.
1. Add turmeric, salt and fenugreek-cumin powder to yogurt
2. Whisk until creamy. Add water if desired for a thinner consistency
3. Heat oil in a small kadai and add urad dal, cumin seeds, red chilli, and mustard seeds. Once they start to splutter add hing, green chillies and curry leaves.
4. Add tadka to the yogurt mixture and mix well
This is Recipe 61 added to 2013 Recipe Archive. Check out the rest of the recipes too.
A meal must always be given the respect it deserves. My mother made sure we did exactly that when we were young. She taught us the value of money, value of having good people around and how to be street-smart in this hard, competitive world. Rather than just saying, she always followed her heart and did things the right way. Will you ever be wrong?, I always tease her. :-)
"I never desire to converse with a [wo]man who has written more than [s]he has read" ~ Samuel Johnson
What have you been reading lately? I, for one buried my nose into the classic Kane and Abel by Jeffery Archer for past 3 straight days (and nights), reading frantically on my Iphone kindle app. Yep, on that small, tiny screen. What a fabulous read it is and what a prolific writer Jeffery Archer is! His portrayal of both the protagonists - Kane and Abel is just brilliant. As a reader, you want both of them to win and taste their share of victory. You root for both of them. There is emotion, suspense, drama in the novel and I was left with a THAT sense of sadness when it came to an end. Doesn't that always happen with every good book we tend to read? :-)
What have you been eating lately? With summer at its peak, I hardly want to enter the kitchen let alone cook. I start sweating so profusely that I feel like having a bath, again.
..a long time ago, I made some talimpu roti (rice and green gram porridge). So long ago that I forgot how it tastes like. So long ago that I almost forgot such a thing exists and it was then an easy super fast breakfast or brunch dish. So I made it again, just to savor its flavor and experience its comfort. The sun god too took a break today and the weather was a little pleasant with slight cool breeze all evening. Perfect with a cup of masala tea to finish with.
Enjoy!
..just two main ingredients...
...Healthy breakfast ready in minutes...
I made few small, thin pancakes out of the left over porridge the next day. Crispy on outside and with soft insides, these tasted so good. Didn't feel like left overs at all. :-)
..left over rice and green moong dal porridge as small pancakes..
I am feeling super lazy today. So much so that I don't want to move from this couch, ever.. Each one of us has such days right? Today, is my day! Now, as the lunch time approaches and my stomach starts to grumble, I crave for something super quick yet comforting to eat (read as drink!). That's when I made a big bowl of tomato chaaru for myself along with a small serving of rice. This recipe has a very special place in my heart as it is one of first few recipes I learnt from my mom. Whenever I missed her in a faraway land, this was my meal. Whenever I used to feel (home) sick or have cold or throat pain, this was my meal. Comforting in its true definition. Do you see the mug below? Yep, that is how I drink my chaaru every single time. It takes less than 15 mins to make this dish from start to finish and best part is there is no chopping required. Just grind, boil and season with tadka. That is it. Enjoy!
Yay! It's Friday today. After a busy week both at work and personal fronts, here I am sitting on my office desk during lunch time, thinking about what prologue to write for this post. Sigh! sometimes when you are drained, writing is always the hard part. Nothing's is coming to me. All my thoughts are wandering back to the task list in my "Reminders" app on my Iphone 4S. To make up for the sad state of my mind, I thought of sharing few pictures which I have photographed for this year's Project 365 so far. That's an easy task. Isn't it? Just choose my favorites and jump right into today's recipe. Yep, I chose the easiest way out. :-)
Here we go -
My favorite time of the day is when I am sitting in our balcony with a cup of tea. I make it a point not to have any news paper or my phone or my laptop around to distract the mind. Just me and my cup of ginger tea contemplating on the things to do on that day!
“In joy or sadness flowers are our constant friends.” ~ Kakuzō Okakura, The Book Of Tea I am in love with the bright, summer mornings we are bestowed with these days and strolling around in our roof top garden before it gets too hot.
Babies, they are adorable. Aren't they? This is one my favorite shot of my sister's niece who is already almost an year now. How time flies!
My favorite muse is of course photographing food and there are no surprises there. ;-) and sometimes they are slowly creep into my photo blog too.
These are my favorite few shots from Project 365 so far. There are many more that I wish I could share. But, that would make the post too long. To follow my photo journey, do subscribe to - 365 days of Siri. Now, let's talk about today's recipe. Shall we? - a combination of curry my mom makes where are literally nothing in the fridge. The Chana Dal and Coconut Stir Fry is a simple to make curry that goes well with both rice and rotis.
Sometimes simplicity belies a truth about one's cooking and it is hard to prepare simple food so delicately that there is no hiding behind artifice where each ingredient shines through by itself. It doesn't have to be those butter-laden pleasure bombs like Palak Paneer or Makhani. On a day when am out of time or bored of eating rich, high calorie food, I opt for dishes like today's which are quick, easy and come very handy with less than 5 main ingredients. This Arbi Curry is still a family favorite and my mum makes it at least weekly once. Its tangy and its zingy! Try it today.
10-12 arbi/colocasia/tara root/chamadumpalu
few curry leaves
salt - to taste
1/8 tsp turmeric
1/4 tsp red chilli powder
2 green chillies, chopped
2 tbsp (or more if desired) tamarind pulp
For Tadka -
1 tbsp oil
1/2 tsp each of - cumin seeds, mustard seeds, chana dal and urad dal
1 pinch of hing
Preparation:
1. Pressure cook arbi for 2 whistles. Peel and cut into even sized pieces.
2. Heat oil in a shallow pan and add all the ingredients listed under 'tadka'. On low-medium flame, let them sizzle a bit. Then add green chillies, curry leaves, tamarind pulp, salt, turmeric and chilli powder. Once the spices are cooked for 1-2 minutes on low flame, add boiled arbi. Toss gently until evenly coated. Cook on medium-high flame for 4-5 mins until they are nice & golden. Serve as a side with rice and rasam.
Toor Dal Chutney | Kandi Pachadi as we call in Telugu
Being a working mom, with two picky-not-so-obedient kids and no support from either of in-laws, it was quite challenging for my mother to effectively take care of both work and home fronts. But, she did such a beautiful balancing act that we never felt she was not around or we are not being fed with proper home-cooked meals. Eating out in fancy restaurants was a bit of a luxury for us, growing up and reserved for only super-special occasions like birthdays.
Simple ingredients, quick & easy chutney recipe
On days when my mother would reach late at home, she would quickly whip up this super simple chutney for us. My dad would put the rice in the rice cooker, melt the ghee and fry few papads by the time she is home. In less than 15 minutes everything would come together and dinner is served. Even till today, this recipe tops the list of favorite-childhood-recipes-one-cherishes-forever. !! :-)
{Recipe} Toor Dal Chutney | Kandi Pachadi
Ingredients
1/2 cup toordal (split pigeon peas)
3-4 dry, whole red chillies
a pinch of turmeric powder
1 garlic clove
1 tsp cumin seeds (jeera)
1 tbsp tamarind pulp
1 tbsp oil
salt - to taste
For Tadka - (1 tsp each of mustard seeds, cumin seeds, urad dal) + few curry leaves + a pinch of hing + 1 tbsp oil
Preparation:
1. Heat a pan and add oil. Once hot, roast the toor dal until its light browni-sh color. Add in red chillies, garlic and cumin seeds. Fry for 1-2 minutes on low heat. Season with turmeric and salt. Remove from heat and cool a bit.
2. Grind the dal mixture along with tamarind to a coarse mixture by adding water little by little. Transfer the chutney into a serving bowl.
3. Heat oil in a small pan and add all the ingredients listed for "Tadka". Once the mustard seeds start to splutter, pour the tadka over chutney and Mix well.
4. Serve it with hot rice, ghee and papads. Yummilicious!
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