For the few reader friends who know.. I have been on an eternal diet… Have achieved my goal, I am on a weight maintainence mode… Still I watch what I eat and count my calories too.. Some days I just follow the simple diet and some days I crave for foods..
Sometimes the cravings don’t essentially mean only biriyani or something exotic… Have been craving for this simple veg meal since a week so finally went ahead and prepared this one..
Bhindi pyaaz and Roti
Bhindi is hindi word for Okra/ Lady’s finger..
Pyaaz is hindi for onions..
Roti is flattened wheat bread!!
At a better angulation!! 😜
Plain simple phulka/ roti goes with any veggie / non veg and is incorporated in many a diet plan…
And of course a sudden urge to have chocolate too.. As I gave a piece to my daughter I couldn’t resist biting into India’s favorite dairy milk… With my favorite roasted almonds…
Today post is about a salad.. Hesaru Belle Kosambari
Hesaru Belle – Split green gram Kosambari- Salad( in the South Indian kannada language)
Hesaru Belle Kosambari
Kosambari is a simple and easy to assemble South Indian salad. A very healthy and yummy one served usually in weddings and festive occasions where food is prepared and served in large quantities…If you go to a typical South indian wedding where food is served and eaten seated..not the buffet type..(as in you are seated in rows with a banana leaf spread in front of you, the traditional way of having food in the South of India at functions..)
Pic courtesy: Rediff.com
You will find the servers first placing salt, pickle on the banana leaf followed by this Kosambari/ salad.. It is yum, refreshing and a really tasty salad..so by the time we wait for the actual food this salad helps to satisfy the initial hunger pangs.. I have had this normally at weddings and I totally love it so encorporating this in my weight loss diet as it has a healthy mix of proteins and veggies..
It is made up of Moong lentils/ moong daal, veggies like carrots, cucumber are also added. Addition of fresh coconut is one of the highlight in kosambari and it does make a lot of difference to the final dish. A final tempering of mustard seeds and curry leaves is also done. However, the tempering part can be skipped
Ingredients
🥗Soak 1/4 th cup of yellow moong daal for about 2 hours 🥗Grated carrot 🥗Finely chopped cucumber 🥗One green chilli chopped 🥗Freshly grated coconut ( can be skipped) 🥗Salt to taste 🥗A teaspoon of lemon juice..
For the tempering/ tadka
🥗A pinch of mustard…Jeera.. Asafoetida…Curry leaves… Chopped coriander and a teaspoon of oil
So in a bowl.. 🥗Mix in the chopped cucumber, grated carrots and coconut,chopped chillies, coriander.. 🥗Squeeze some lemon juice add in salt.. 🥗In a small pan take some oil add in mustard..jeera..asafoetida..coriander..curry leaves..
🥗Add this tempering to the salad and mix well..Can be had as it is or mixed with curd too..
Do try this really light and refreshing salad as a side dish or with your regular meals..
During my Internship, we were posted in a government hospital for about 2 months, so the routine was that all friends would meet up for breakfast at this awesome place called Halli manne ( literally translated as village house, it’s still there in Bangalore) where they used to dole out fluffy idlis and other yummy breakfast items, they had a huge variety to offer..
My friends used to try out every item on the menu..I was determined to do the same but god knows why I used to end up ordering one Idli and one vada with sizzling hot sambhar and this continued for the whole two months we were posted there, everyday breakfast was the same, yummy hot Idlis and I never tired of it..
The Idli family😉
This trend continued even during my post grad days, when my friends used to order Pooris, Dosas and Poha, I used to stick to my staple of one Idli one vada again and again,so that’s when I realised I have an never ending connection with the humble idli..humble Nee..humble idli..😉 given the fact that idlis is also a diet food so my calorie count was in check( remember I am on an eternal never ending diet)
So much for my love for idlis..
Oh and even the day after I delivered, I was given Idli and milk so now you know, Idli rocks!! Annnddd I am hungry typing soo much about idlis, I want one plate right now!! 🤤
So if ever you come across this humble everyday staple in the South of India, grab a hot plate with sambhar and let the magic work…have a great weekend all..🤗🤗🤗
When I graduated to medical college, I used to take all my friends especially the North Indians to this awesome place in Bangalore, street food of course.. Idlies are served in posh restaurants to the humble thela wala ( street vendor)
Idli vadas
The chutneys are something to die for..ahh the endless number of times I have visited this place in bangalore, Commercial street, an elderly couple doling out the most delicious, soft, mouth watering idlis paired with chutneys of two colours, a white one made of lentils and a red one made of fiery hot red chillies and tomatoes..
Vadas and the typical chutneys served at Bangalore.. We have a red tomato chilli chutney…white peanut chutney and green mint chutney…the missing Idlies were gobbled up by me.. 🙈
Chutneys itself need an entire post to be described..you have soo many to choose from!! We have restaurants serving small small lemon sized idlis to huge ones called “Thatte Idlis” with different chutneys..
Minature Idlies.. Pics courtesy: Hebbars kitchen
Huge “Thatte” Idlies..Thatte means plate in kannada language Pics courtesy: Hebbars kitchen
So I am imagining myself standing in front of this cart waiting for my turn for steaming idlis, served really hot hot hottttt with the chutneys in tow..ahh I have lost track of the innumerable visits to that place !!!
Speaking of idli love let me share with you another personal story..
It dates back to med school, me and my husband who was “Just a Friend” back then!! As usual I was craving for Idlis from the cart, so he took me there, rather I forced him to come along.. Being the hygiene freak that he is, he was cringing when I insisted on having a plate of Idlis, he let me have my fill though..
So the story goes like this wherein I am blabbering away something and the vendor passes the plate of hot idlis!! Too hot for me to hold and my husband ( who was still just a friend) took out his handkerchief and placed the plate on it and held it for me till it was cool enough for me to eat and I literally ended up eating it out of his hands while still chatting away!! Awww that made me melt indeed..(soo kiddish you might say but yup that’s me Nee and what do you expect I would do??!! All of 21 and experiencing this ha ha ha so that was a sign of love blossoming..) Poor hubby still tags along cribbing and grumbling when I tell him I wanto eat idlis from the vendors..
As I was searching for images I got to know there is a world idli fay too.. Every year, March 30 is observed as World Idli Day, a day dedicated to this delicious, fermented healthy food.. Now that’s also news to me.. Wow!!!
Home made goodness with coconut chutney
More about the Idli love in the next post…Until next time drool away, grab a hot plate of Idli sambhar and let the magic work…have a great week ahead all..
Today post is a very hungry one..Yes my hunger for the staple food in South of India..The Humble Idli!!!😋😋 Why humble??🤔Cause it is the cheapest food!!!
Easiest to make ( I guess only South Indians consider it easy to make) Like rajma chawal is a delicacy for us Southies, Idli is a delicacy in the North..( Speaking entirely and purely based on my experience)
So what is an Idli??!!💁 For my Non Indian friends, here is a link to the description about one of the awesome food South India has to offer..
My love story with idlis dates back to my childhood, when my mum used to give me and my brother 1 rupee on Saturdays ( somedays even she needed a break from cooking and we, a chance to gorge on outside food) So, those were the days when idlis used to cost us just 25 paise each, so 4 Idlis for a ruppee was an awesome deal, shared between me and my bro with the most amazing and tastiest chutneys!!🤤
Ohhh soo in love with Idlis!!!
Idlis in India is available at breakfast and dinner in high end restaurants and as street food too.. The taste of the Idlis sold in the carts is totally awesome and entirely different compared to the once sold at restaurants and hotels which boast of it as a rice dumpling steamed and simmered in spiced broth and blah blah blah, it’s a basic rice ball that’s it!!! 🤨😱😳😩
Coming back to my story, my mom used to pack 2 idlis with mint chutney for school..ahhh a memory I still can’t forget!!😍 A friend of mine amused me by having it with ghee and sugar, so you see, idli can be eaten with groundnut,coconut,mint chutneys..sugar..soaked in milk..with spicy lentil powder mixtures..with vegetable sambhar and the list is endless..
Have Idli with sambharHave it with variety of chutneys!!
The next memory I have as I progressed to high school is of buying it from a small eateries called Sandarshinis for 1 rupee, the prices had increased by then.. My brother’s love for idli sambhar and vada surpasses mine!! Every Saturday after the routine NCC drill in his school he used to treat himself to 2 plates of Idli Vada sambhar!!
💸The prices kept increasing from 25 paise in the 1990s to 1 ruppee in 1994 to 5 ruppees in 1998 to the current 30 ruppees for 4 idlis.. (street food prices) The hotels charge anywhere from 50 to 150 ruppees for a plate.. Idlis are mostly served in pairs cause no one can eat just one😋
In short, Idlis are the most basic and the most easily available and loved breakfast item that has ever been discovered to us South Indians!! More about my idli love in the next post.. Until next time… Enjoy hot Idli sambhar with cool cool chutney!! 🤗🤗🤗
I am soo obsessed with cuisines from across the world so felt that what may seem a daily routine, normal food to me might be a delicacy to someone in another part of the world.. Hence sharing with you a very simple, humble if I may call it so, a staple everyday meal kind of a dish..Lemon Rice! !
Lemon rice straight from my kitchen!!
Give me lemon rice every single day and I can have it for ages…trust me I seriously can.. Traditionally a South indian dish it has evolved along the way with additions and twists in various states of India to suit each ones palate.. It can be had as a breakfast item made from leftover rice or as a starter dish at lunch or as an evening snack where rice is replaced by puffed rice and as a dinner item..( I am sure people all across the world don’t believe in wasting food hence rice is reused in some form to make it fresh again and consumed..)
Lemon rice is such an amazing dish that it is served as Prasadam in South indian temples… Along with its counter part, Tamarindrice called as Puliogare and curdrice..
Yes… Festivals are incomplete without these yummy dishes.. In India on any festival or auspicious occasion, you will find these delicacies being prepared as pooja prasadams… There is something about these prasadams distributed at The temples especially, The lemon rice / tamarind rice taste out of the world.. You just can’t get that taste when the same dishes are made at home I always wonder why??!!🤔
The elders say it’s the pooja/ God’s touch..as in food which is cooked as a prasadam is never tasted before offering,so it’s told that the divine grace goes with the cooks excellence in cooking the offering…I really till date don’t understand that cause I still can’t cook that way🤔🙄 Lemon rice is also a favourite for long distance travels..back in the days when train travel was the most convenient, large families used to pack up lemon rice for the long journey..
I remember travelling from Bangalore to Mumbai..Bangalore to Shiridi and lemon rice accompanied me on every single journey…given the fact that it has lemon hence it prevents rice from getting spoilt..
The dish requires just Lemon and the usual spices found in a South Indian kitchen.. I love to eat mine with Papad..Potato fry..Chips.. Omlette.. Chicken ( fry and gravy form) and the list is endless..
Lemon rice complete with Green Chillies..Curry leaves.. Jeera.. Mustard.. Groundnuts.. Turmeric gives it the typical yellow colour..
Here it is served with chicken kabab.. My daughter loves this combo.. The tangy taste mixed with spicy chicken is simply yum
Chicken kabab!!
Thus this amazing everyday staple food, rules the lives of every South Indian household.. Do let me know if you have tried this dish..
Mangoes the king of fruits and the national fruit of India is a priced treasure during this period!! So I try and make all recipes with mango.. Ranging from mango pickles, sweet/ sour to mango rice..mango dal..mango juice/ milkshakes…it goes on…
Todays simple and easy recipe is one such dish which can be made before hand and it lasts long after summer is gone..
Being a savoury person getting into the habit of making sweets was a little difficult..Having a Bengali husband who loves all things sweets, I am inclined to learn new sweet dishes..
There is a joke I always make…dip a blade of grass in condensed milk and my hubby will enjoy it..🙄🤭
So today’s recipe is a simple two ingredient one..
Aam ka murabba/Sweetened mango fruit preserve..
Homemade Aam ka murabba!! Goodness overload!!
Aam means mangoes in Hindi Murabba means sweetened fruit preserve
🥭So take some raw mangoes… (I have used two) 🥭Rinse and wipe dry the mangoes.. 🥭Peel the outer skin.. 🥭Chop them into small pieces or one can grate them too..(Hubby likes biting into the crunchy pieces,so I chop them)
🥭In a pan add in the chopped angoes and sugar..1-1.5 cups of sugar according to the tartness of the mangoes.. (Add more or adjust according to the taste preference) 🥭On a low flame..keep stirring this mix nicely.. 🥭The sugar will melt to a watery consistency..keep stirring.. 🥭When it reaches a one string consistency switch it off and let it cool completely before transferring them to clean glass containers.. 🥭Refrigerate them and they will last longer… 🥭This Can be had as an accompaniment with rotis and parathas or as an after meal sweet dish..
Ever since I started my never ending diet.. I always keep and feel Sundays to be my cheat meal day.. Either you eat the whole day or just opt for one cheat meal.. I prefer the latter…
So today I made what we call as Gongura Mutton Curry in the southern states of India… Gongura is Sorrel leaves…a green leafy vegetable..with three triangle shaped leaflets.. It is kind of sour when you cook it.. Can be made into a paste..Chutney.. Pickles..mixed with pulses to make gongura dhal…mostly used in many non vegetarian dishes…
Sorrel leaves!!!
Today I used it along with mutton to make yummy mutton curry..
Gongura Mutton CurryClockwise… Gongura mutton… Vanjaram fish fry… Rice and curd!!!
To make sure I am still within my current weight, I compensate by having a very light dinner..
Here’s a sweet dish called Nolen Gurer Payesh…Date Palm Jaggery Rice Pudding…
Made by my mil..
It isba typical bengali sweet dish made especially during the winters…
Made from a special flavoured rice called Gobindobhog rice.. simmered for a long time in thick milk and jaggery, to be eaten warm or chilled!!!
Nolen Gurer Payesh!!!
I read somewhere that for Bengalis Payesh( Rice pudding) is Love but Nolen Gurer Payesh is an emotion!!! Holds true for Bengalis..whereas for a non bengali like me tasting the super rich ..creamy… flavour filled kheer tasted like our sweet pongal with a twist!!
