Authentic Recipes from the Kitchens of Shriya, Nithu & Arthi!

Ribbon Pakoda – Ola Pakoda

Posted by on Oct 20, 2011 in Appetizers, Diwali Recipes, Featured, Indian Festival, Snacks | 6 comments

Ribbon Pakoda or Ola Pakoda is a popular savory snack in India. The main ingredients are rice flour and gram flour (besan). There may be different versions but the main ingredients remains the same. It is festive season in India, Diwali time. And in most of the houses, people would have started making Diwali sweets and snacks. I miss my family and friends there. But then I want to bring the atmosphere here in my house. And started preparing sweets and savories for the festival. And we would like to bring the festive mood in SpicyTasty as well and make you all happy. Today I am going to post the recipe for Ribbon Pakoda. This is my mom’s recipe. Follow the recipe and let me know how it turns out. Here you go… Preparation time: 45 minutes No. of...

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Cashew Besan Burfi (Chick pea and cashew nut Fudge)

Posted by on Oct 19, 2011 in Desserts, Diwali Recipes, Featured, Indian Festival | 9 comments

It’s the Diwali season and I am sure you can smell it in the air. We certainly can here at SpicyTasty as we bring you delicious Diwali recipes all week. As I mentioned earlier, my mother-in-law is here visiting us. While we were talking about mine and my husband’s childhood Diwali days, Karthik fondly remembered a ‘green cake’ his mom used to make for him. My MIL jumped at that and started to make it for him after so many years! The ‘green cake’ is in fact Cashew Besan Burfi with green coloring but we used orange (kesari) color instead this time. It is rich and soft (yet crispy) in taste similar to Mysore Pak but with the cashew flavor taking over. We hope you enjoy making it for your family as my MIL enjoyed making it for us....

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Diwali Sweet Jhangri

Posted by on Oct 18, 2011 in Cooking Videos, Desserts, Diwali Recipes, Featured, Indian Festival | 10 comments

Jangiri or Jhangri is a dessert from India. It is famous in all parts of India and generally served after a meal. It is one of the popular desserts or sweets in wedding and special occasions such as Diwali. In our house, there is no store bought sweets or snacks. My mom is an awesome cook and she loves to prepare all the sweets and savories at home for us. Whenever she makes Jangiri, she feeds me right from the hot sugar syrup. OMG! I still remember the taste…mouthwatering and just melts in my mouth. Okay! Coming back to the present, I am going to share this easy and yummy Jangiri recipe with you today. Try it at home for this Diwali and enjoy. Here you go… Preparation time: 3 hours (including soaking time) No. of servings: 30 to...

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Oma Podi / Sev

Posted by on Oct 18, 2011 in Appetizers, Diwali Recipes, Snacks | 7 comments

Oma podi or Sev is one of the most popular snacks of India. Sev is my favorite snack with tea and it is also used in chaats. This crispy and tasty sev is very simple to make and we can also make this Sev more thinner by using small size holes in the presser. Time of Preparation : 40 minutes Ingredients: Chickpea / Besan  flour – 2 cups Rice flour – 1/2 cup Ajwain seeds – 2 tsp Salt -to taste Butter – 1 tbsp Hot oil – 1/4 cup Water – as required Oil – for frying Method of Preparation: Soak the ajwain seeds in hot water for 15 minutes. Add some water grind it and strain it with tea filter. In the meantime heat oil in a wide vessel. Mix besan flour, rice flour, ajwain powder, salt,...

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Diwali Snack Thenkuzhal Murukku (Chakali)

Posted by on Oct 18, 2011 in Appetizers, Diwali Recipes, Indian Festival, Snacks, Vinayagar Chaturthi | 10 comments

Thenkuzhal Murukku is a popular snack usually made during the popular Indian festival of  Diwali. This is one of the most popular savory snacks in southern part of India. There are lot of types of murukku (chakali) – kai murukku, thenkuzhal murukku, meti murukku, mullu murukku and ribbon murukku. And this one is my all time favorite snack. This diwali is bit special for me, because of my 7 months old little one. It’s his first Diwali!  The holiday fun starts now. So more Diwali recipes are on the way to SpicyTasty. Ingredients: Rice Flour : 2 cups (sifted) Urda dal flour : 1/4 cup Split chick peas : 2 tbsp Butter : 1/2 stick or 3 tbsp (room temperature) Asafoetida : 1/4 tsp Sesamae seeds : 1 tsp (you can use cumin seeds instead of that too) Salt : required...

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Diwali Sweets and Savories

Posted by on Oct 17, 2011 in Diwali Recipes, Featured, Indian Festival | 4 comments

This year Diwali falls on October 26. And we are looking forward to celebrate this Diwali with some wonderful sweets and savory dishes. In India, most of the sweet shops will be crowded at this time to buy different kinds of sweets and other delicacies. But it is always special when we prepare them at home with love and distribute it to our family and friends. Besides, there are other special dishes that we prepare on this auspicious day. And I am happy to share all these recipes with you and wishing you a safe and wonderful Diwali. Sweet Recipes: Adhirasam Badam Halwa Badam Puri/Almond Puri Basundhi – Creamy Milk Pudding Badam Kheer – Almond Milk Kheer Baklawa – The Sweetheart Middle Eastern Dessert Besan Laddu Besan Rava Ladoo Cashew Badam Burfi- Cashew nut and Almond Cake Cashew Besan Burfi...

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Chickpeas Sundal / Kondai Kadalai Sundal

Posted by on Oct 6, 2011 in Appetizers, Diwali Recipes, Featured, Indian Festival, Navratri Recipes, Veggie Entrees & Sides, Vinayagar Chaturthi | 9 comments

Navarathri is a festival that is celebrated for nine days.  In this festival we will arrange different idols on steps called Golu. On these nine days we will make different sundal on each day. Generally the procedure for making any sundal is same.  Here is the recipe for the chickpeas sundal. Time of Preparation : 20 minutes Spice level : 3 No of Servings : 2 Ingredients: Chickpeas – 1/2 cup Turmeric powder – 1/2 tsp Salt – to taste For Seasoning: Oil – 2 tbsp Mustard seeds – 1 tsp Urad dal – 2 tbsp Asafoetida – a pinch Green chillies – 2 (finely chopped) Red chillies – 2 Curry leaves – a few Coconut – 1 tbsp (shredded) Method of Preparation: Soak the chickpeas for 6 to 7 hrs or soak them in hot water for 2...

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Palada Pradhaman – Rice Flakes Kheer

Posted by on Sep 2, 2011 in Desserts, Featured, Indian Festival, Onam and Vishu, Vinayagar Chaturthi | 9 comments

Palada Pradhaman is a popular dessert dish from Kerala, South India. It is prepared with rice flakes, milk and sugar. This pradhaman is made for festivals and special occasions such as Onam, Vishu and weddings. I have used the readymade rice flakes available in stores. A detailed procedure for making homemade ada is given here. There is another traditional version of this dish known as Ada Pradhaman which is also prepared using the same “ada” or rice flakes but with jaggery and coconut milk instead of milk and sugar. This recipe with rice and sugar is easy to follow and not time consuming. Try this delicious pradhaman for Onam festival or any special occasions and enjoy with your family. Ingredients: Palada or rice ada – 1/3 cup Whole milk – 4 cup Sugar – 1 cup (adjust to taste) Cardamom –...

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Cabbage Milagootal – Cabbage Lentil Curry

Posted by on Aug 29, 2011 in Kootu/lentil Stew, Onam and Vishu, Veggie Entrees & Sides | 11 comments

Palakkad is a city in Kerala. And molagootal is a popular dish among Palakkad Iyers. It is a simple and mild curry made with a wide variety of vegetables such as cabbage, okra, winter melon, chayote, spinach or any of the vegetables of your choice. Today I have made molagootal with cabbage. Try and let me know if you like it. Here you go… Ingredients: Chopped cabbage – 2 cups Toor dal – 3/4 cup a pinch of asafoetida and turmeric powder Shredded coconut (frozen or fresh) – 1/4 cup Cumin seeds – 1 tsp Dry red chilies – 3 Salt to taste For Seasoning: Oil – 1 tsp Mustard seeds – 1 tsp Urad dal – 1 tsp Curry leaves – 6 to 7 leaves Dry red chili – 1 A pinch of asafoetida Method of Preparation: Pressure...

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Inippu Appam – Fried Sweet Pancakes

Posted by on Aug 26, 2011 in Desserts, Diwali Recipes, Featured, Indian Festival | 8 comments

Appam is a known dish in Tamilnadu. There are different versions of appam and this is very simple version which we make during festivals or special occasions. I recently made it for Krishna Jayanthi and it came out well. I have use all purpose flour or maida. You can also substitute it with wheat flour. Here you go… Preparation time (including batter preparation): 90 minutes No. of servings: 15 appams Ingredients: All purpose flour or Maida – 1 cup Jaggery – 1/2 cup Coconut bits – 2 tbsp (optional) Cardamom – 3 pods Oil for frying Water Method of Preparation: In a small thick bottomed pan or kadai over medium high heat, add powdered jaggery and a little water till jaggery is completely soaked. Once jaggery melts, remove from heat and filter it to get rid off any dirts. Again...

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Arachuvitta Sambar – Lentil Soup (Version 2)

Posted by on Jan 29, 2011 in Kuzhambu/Sambar, Onam and Vishu, Veggie Entrees & Sides | 3 comments

ST Authors meet – Day 4 Today is the forth day of  our meet and it is going great. It is snowing here. It is beautiful outside. We went to Cancun Mexican Grill for dinner. We had a good time together. And we watched a nice tamil movie (Shiva Manasula Shakthi). For lunch we prepared Arachuvitta Sambar, Vathakuzhambu (again), Cheppankizhangu fry, Carrot beans stir fry, Okra fry, rasam, fryums..wow!! It’s so nice to cook together and enjoy the food. I have gained a couple of pounds this week alone. Hoping to lose it after I get back home ;). I am glad to share the recipe for Arachuvitta Sambar today. It is one of the most day to day dish in my house and one of my all time favorite. You can serve it along with white rice or Idli/dosa, Ven pongal,...

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Thakkali Pachadi – Tomato and Yogurt Chutney

Posted by on Jan 18, 2011 in Featured, Onam and Vishu, Veggie Entrees & Sides | 6 comments

Pachadi is a traditional dish in Tamilnadu and Kerala. They serve this pachadi along with milagootal in my in Kerala style of cooking. It is so simple and tasty dish which can also be served with rice and sambar/rasam. There are different types of pachadi and today I am sharing the recipe for tomato pachadi. Here you go.. Preparation time: 10 minutes No. of servings: 4 Spice level: 3.5 out of 5 Ingredients: Tomatoes – 3 Yogurt – 1 cup Fresh or frozen shredded coconut – 1/4 cup Green chili – 2 Mustard seeds – 1 tsp Curry leaves – few Urad dal (white lentils) –  1 tsp Method of Preparation: Grind coconut and green chili to a thick paste. Mix it with yogurt. Heat oil in a seasoning pan, add mustard seeds and let them splutter. Add urad...

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Aval Payasam (Beaten Rice Pudding) and Happy Pongal 2011

Posted by on Jan 15, 2011 in Desserts, Featured, Indian Festival, Slideshow, Vinayagar Chaturthi | 7 comments

Wish you all a Happy Pongal!!!!!! It is traditional to make pudding (Payasam) for special occasions like Pongal festival. So I made this aval payasam and it came out really good. If you try it, I hope you enjoy it too. Aval/Poha is nothing but beaten rice. It looks like dry rice flakes. Preparation Time : 30 minutes No of Servings : 4-5 Ingredients: Aval: 2 cups Ghee: 2 tbsp Condensed milk: 1/4 cup Milk: 3 cups Sugar: 1/4 cup (adjust according to your taste) Cardamom Powder: 1/2 tsp Pista (pistachio nuts), cashews, almonds and dry grapes : 1/2 cup Method of Preparation : Heat a tbsp of ghee and fry the poha/aval for couple of mins or till it become light golden brown and keep it aside. Heat a tbsp of ghee and fry all the nuts and...

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Karthikai Deepam and Neyyappam – Version 2

Posted by on Nov 21, 2010 in Best of ST, Diwali Recipes, Featured, Indian Festival, Onam and Vishu | 18 comments

Today is Karthikai Deepam. From Wikipedia: Karthikai Deepam is a festival of lights celebrated by Tamil Hindus on the full moon day of Karthikai month (November/December), which is observed in every home and in every temple. This occurs on the day when the moon is in conjunction with the constellation Karthigai (Pleiades) and purnima. This constellation appears as a group of six stars in the firmament in the shape of a pendant from the ear. Many legends and lyrical poetry have grown round this star. The six stars are considered in Indian mythology as the six celestial nymphs who reared the six babies in the saravana tank which later were joined together to form the six faced Muruga. He is therefore called Karthikeya, the one brought up by the Karthigai nymphs. Houses and streets are lit up with rows...

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Happy Deepavali

Posted by on Nov 5, 2010 in Best of ST, Diwali Recipes, Featured, Indian Festival | 12 comments

Wish you all a very Happy and Colorful Deepavali… Deepavali or Diwali is a festival of lights. This year it is really special for me because I am celebrating it with my family in India. It was colourful and bright everywhere with the sounds of crackers. I enjoyed bursting all the crackers and Today is a special feast along with different kind of sweets. Everything was so yummy that  forgot to count calories…;). Shopping for clothes, sweets and crackers during Deepavali is another wonderful experience (if shopping is done a week ahead…;)). From wikipedia: Deepavali is an important five-day festival in Hinduism, Sikhism, and Jainism, occurring between mid-October and mid-November. For Hindus, Diwali is the most important festival of the year and is celebrated in families by performing traditional activities together in their homes.Diwali involves the lighting of small...

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Dal poli – Sweet Lentil Pancakes

Posted by on Oct 29, 2010 in Best of ST, Desserts, Diwali Recipes, Featured, Indian Festival, Vinayagar Chaturthi | 13 comments

Poli is one of the popular and traditional dishes in South India. We make this dish for festivals and special occasions. It is a flat bread with sweet filling inside which is called ‘Puran’. There are different types of poli which varies with the types of filling. The one that I am going to share with you is “Paruppu Poli”. ‘Paruppu’ means Lentils. Here I have used Channa dal. Puran or the stuffing is made of lentils and jaggery with the flavor of cardamom and nutmeg. This is stuffed in a dough made of maida or all purpose flour, rolled and cooked over hot griddle with a hint of ghee and then served hot with a small dollop of ghee or just by itself. You need patience and experience to get a perfect texture and taste.  hope. After making...

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Gulab Jamun – Milk Balls in Sugar Syrup

Posted by on Sep 19, 2010 in Desserts, Diwali Recipes, Featured, Indian Festival, Vinayagar Chaturthi | 21 comments

Gulab Jamun is a popular and traditional  North Indian desserts made of milk based dough, which is fried and soaked in sugar syrup.  The fried dough balls soaked in sugar syrup melts in your mouth. It’s such an tasty and yummy dessert. It’s usually prepared in the festival times. I made this Gulab Jamun for Vinayaka Chathurthi festival. It came out really good and tasty. It’s one of my favorite dessert and I’ve learned this recipe from my mother. Try this recipe and let me know how it came out for you. Feel free to ask any doubts in this recipe. Ingredients: All purpose Flour or maida : 1/4 cup Milk powder : 1 cup Baking soda : a pinch Milk : 1/4 cup (Just make sure it’s enough to make dough) Unsalted Butter : 2 tbsp(room temperature) Cardamom...

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Chakka Payasam – Jack Fruit Kheer

Posted by on Sep 18, 2010 in Best of ST, Desserts, Featured, Onam and Vishu | 9 comments

Jack fruit kheer or Chakka Payasam is a popular sweet in Kerala. The main ingredient of this kheer is Chakka Varatti or Jack fruit Jam. This jack fruit  jam is made by cooking steamed ripe jack fruit , ghee and jaggery. It lasts for over an year without loosing its taste. We make Chakka Varatti during the jack fruit season and use it through out the year for making Elai Adai, Chakka Payasam and other sweets. This Chakka Payasam is a simple yet delicious sweet for any occassion or an auspicious day. Here you go… Preparation Time: 15 mins (with ready made chakka varatti) No. of Servings: 4 to 5 Check here for the recipe of Chakka Varatti or Jack fruit jam. Ingredients: Chakka Varatti or Jack fruit jam – 3 tbsp Powdered Jaggery – 1/4 cup Coconut Milk –...

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