Dry Baingan Masala Curry/ Brinjal Podi

Remember the Masala powder that we made earlier? Most of the time we have been eating it along with warm rice, salt and oil. But then we had some Thai eggplants sitting in the fridge and so I used the powder to make this quick and simple dry Brinjal curry. This powder pairs well with brinjal/eggplant. The aromatic powder gives good flavor to the cooked brinjal. Other vegetables that can be used are beans, carrots, cabbage and of course potatoes. My MIL reminded me that this is referred to as Kuttida Palya in Kannada.

Easy Ras Malai (using Ricotta cheese)

Ras Malai is a popular dessert in India. Ras malai consists of sugary, cream to yellow-colored balls (or flattened balls) of paneer soaked in malai (thick milk) flavored with cardamom. It was only after coming to US, I learnt to make this easy Ras Malai using ricotta cheese (as substitute for paneer) and that makes the recipe simpler. I am not sure if this is the authentic taste but I am sure it is close to the original. This is a very easy dessert to make, even though the steps may seem complicated. But if you try it once, you…

Multi Purpose Spice Powder/ Masala Powder/ Curry Powder

There are many variations of this spice powder/curry powder and not to mention different names Khara Pudi, Palya Pudi or even chutney Pudi that it can get confusing. So to avoid any confusion I am referring to this as multi purpose Spice Powder. At home our pantry is usually stocked with different powders, but they are either store brought or the ones that we got from India courtesy of our parents.  So it is rare that we make powders from scratch at home. But this one is an exception and the credit goes to DH for making this. As the…