Thaen Mittai or Then Mittai is a childhood favorite of many who grew up in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. A sweet sugar ball that melts instantly in your mouth. Make several as you cannot stop with one. If you grew up in Tamil Nadu, you would have definitely enjoyed these Thaen Mittai - Then Mittai - Potti Kadai Special Thaen Mittai from the potti kadai / tea kadai/tea stalls at least once....
If I am cooking just for me, Maggi noodles come to my mind right away. It is simple to make vegetable noodles and ready in about 5 minutes. There are several discussions about how it is not safe, but I am not even going there. I still eat it once in a while and so do my kids. There are days when my husband works from home and I just have to make something for the two of us....
My kids love fruit bars and these Fig Newton Bars are very easy to make at home rather than having to buy store-bought ones loaded with preservatives. They can be an excellent snack for kids to take to school or have it after school. My kids love fruit bars and when this recipe for Fig Newton Bars was posted as a part of the Home Baker’s challenge I was thrilled. I made the recipe about 10 days back and each and every bar has long disappeared, I just got to write this recipe....
Jau Ki Papdi is a Baked Barley Crackers that I tried with Barley flour. Baked Barley Crackers, are quick to make and store really well. These crackers also work great as travel food. Experimenting with new Whole Grains is something that I have taken upon myself this year. This Month long Mega BM is helping me quite a bit with it as one of the themes for this month is Whole Grains....
Matar Tofu is an excellent alternative to the regular Matar Paneer if you want to cut down on Paneer and substitute with Tofu instead. There is not much difference in taste and you will not miss the paneer in the recipe. This week I am doing three days of gourmet subzis that have smooth gravies. The last two recipes that I blogged in this series are Matar Paneer and Shahi Aloo Matar ....
A quick and easy mixed vegetable Poricha Kuzhambu for weeknight dinner with any leftover vegetables in the refrigerator. Also called the mixed vegetable poricha kootu, this works great with rice, idli, or dosai! I love Poricha kuzhambu and the most frequent vegetable that I use is podalangai (snake gourd). Recently after marriage, I made a recipe notebook in which I wrote all the recipes given by my mother. They are written so beautifully by me and I can’t believe I had that kind of handwriting back in my early (read very early) the twenties....
A delicious eggless and rich bread that is shaped into bite-sized pieces, drenched in butter, and rolled in cinnamon sugar before baking. This is a fun dessert bun recipe to make with kids. Monkey bread, as the name suggests is a very naughty and fun bread to make and eat with kids and kids at heart. When reading about this bread, it was interesting to read, that the name of the bread ‘Aranygaluska’, means ‘Golden Dumplings’ and was referred to in the Hungarian literature as early as the 1880’s....
Spinach Raita or Palak Pachadi is a refreshing and cooling Yogurt dip that is a must when served with spicy Biriyani or a Side dish. Raita or Pachadi (as we call it in Tamil) is a cooling and refreshing yogurt-based side dish/dip that is served with spicy Biriyani or Curry. There are several different vegetables that we can use to make Raita / Pachadi. I am part of a Facebook Group called ‘Recipe Swap Challenge’....
Paneer Do Pyaza or Spicy Paneer Curry is a delicious curry made with onions added at two different stages. If you are an onion and Paneer lover, this is a recipe you need to try. Paneer Do Pyaza, a delicious restaurant-style paneer curry is perfect with any roti or rice. The first time I tasted this was at one of my friend’s houses and immediately fell in love with the recipe....
Bread is my weakness and baking them is very therapeutic. This Braided bread / stuffed bread filled with vegetables is absolutely delicious and is a wonderful centerpiece to your holiday table. After a break from blogging, it takes a lot of effort to get back to the routine. After a while, I joined the ‘We knead to Bake’ group again and this is the first bread that I have baked with them....
This whole wheat Bread also called the Whole Meal Bread made using the Tangzhong technique is the softest loaf of sandwich bread you will make. This Tangzhong bread is perfect for breakfast and slices beautifully. Before I even start writing the post, I have to mention that this whole wheat bread is one of the very best breads that I have baked in my baking era. I have to thank Swathi of Zesty South Indian Kitchen for choosing that bread as a challenge for this month....
Fall is in the air when you start baking these delicious Apple muffins with cinnamon apple crumbs. These Apple crumble muffins will soon be your go-to muffin for breakfast, snack, or dessert. Make sure not to skip or skimp on the cinnamon apple crumb. That is one of my kids’ favorites and they look forward to the crumb topping. We just blinked and the summer just zoomed by and we are in the fall season already....
This is a basic sugar cookie recipe, and it can be altered to your taste. It includes very basic and simple icing to decorate, so you don’t have to go out and buy expensive store-bought icing. Christmas had never been exciting for us until the kids came along, and they started celebrating it in school. For the past few years, we have started forming our own little family traditions that we follow during the holiday season....
The color of the Beetroot Rice is just so beautiful that no one can say no to it. This Beetroot Pulao is different from traditional rice dishes and is very simple to make. Beetroot is one of my favorite vegetables and I can eat beetroot poriyal all day long. Kids love beets because of the beautiful color and that is one good way to make them eat them. I especially love the beetroot curry/poriyal with curd rice as it changes the color of the rice to pink....
An absolute favorite Vegetarian curry of ours is this delicious Sweet and Sour Stir fry with tofu and Vegetables. It tastes great when served with sticky rice or jasmine rice My husband is a big lover of sweet-and-sour stir fry and we have a hard time finding a vegetarian one when we eat out. I have used tofu for protein and loads of vegetables in this sweet sour stir fry recipe....
This Carrot Tomato Chutney here, which I also call Carrot Tomato Thokku (Pickle), has the tanginess of the tomatoes and sweetness from the carrots. My kids love to soak their idlis in this chutney before gobbling them. Give this recipe a try and let me know your feedback. Having kids at home, we mothers are always looking for ways to get a variety of vegetables into kids’ meals. Making chutneys is one great way to utilize different vegetables....
On days when I want to make traditional dishes but do not want to spend too much time in the kitchen, I opt for kootu. This Chow Chow Poricha kootu is one such comfort food for me, which pairs well with rice and is so easy to make. I love it with rice and paruppu (dal). I also like kootu for the reason that it is a very good way of getting vegetables into a kid’s meals....
Argentinian Onion and Cheese Empanadas are the perfect baked appetizer filled with juicy sweet onions and Gouda cheese. The flaky pastry crust of this Vegetarian Empanada just melts in the mouth. We are on Day 5 of our A-Z Baking around the World, and I realized that I did not have that many savory bakes planned out at all. Going through my bookmarks, I came across this Vegetarian Empanada recipe from Argentina....
Chinese Coconut Buns ( Chinese Cocktail Buns ) were originally created in Hong Kong. These Gai Mei Bao have coconut and cream along with tutti frutti as their filling, making it a very delicious bun. Gai Mei Bao is yet another lovely bake that I had my eyes on ever since these two lovely girls, Priya Srinivasan and Priya Suresh baked it for the We Knead to bake group. I was out of the group for a while and hence I could not bake with them, but I was so glad I stumbled into the recipe....
Karamani Kara Kuzhambu is very hearty and wholesome kuzhambu. We love the tanginess from the tamarind as well as the tomatoes. Adding a bit of fennel to the recipe and jaggery at the end gives a sweet, sour, and spicy feel. I absolutely love making different kinds of kuzhambu. Lately, I have been cooking a lot with karamani / black-eyed peas. Growing up I only ate a couple of dishes with karamani in them, like the Karadayan Nombu adai and the karamani sweet sundal ....
