Drumstick Sambhar

Sambar is one of the most loved lentil based dish in the South Indian cuisine. This versatile recipe of sambhar is  mom’s  and is one of her well loved recipes. This sambhar does not use the store bought powder instead the masala is made from scratch. Lentils, spices etc are roasted and then ground along with coconut and tamarind. Drumstick is the main vegetable in this, but you can substitute with other vegetables like brinjal, radish, carrots, beans etc.  Serves well with plain rice, idli, dosas or vadas.  Ingredients:  1 cup Tur dal 2-3 medium drumsticks ( cleaned and cut…

Banana Fritters/ Kele Mulik or Mulka

Mulka or Mulik as they are called in Konkani are fritters made from fruits like jackfruit and bananas. In most Konkani households they are usually made out of jackfruit and are called as ponsa mulka. But we make them using ripe bananas as well using the same procedure.  Also since it is difficult to find good quality of jackfruit here in the US, I resort to making them using bananas whenever I have some craving for them.  These are perfect if you want to have something sweet and have some over ripe bananas to be used. Crunchy on the outside…

Mexican Rice – for a picnic potluck

I had briefly mentioned about our picnic at the park in my earlier post in which few families got together and did a potluck. With heat looming, it was a weekend well spent, as the kids spent hours together splashing in the water, while the adults stayed in the shade chatting and enjoying the assortment of delicious food. The theme was chosen as Mexican cuisine and everybody pitched in food ideas. Some criteria to keep in mind was that the food had to be kid friendly, easily transportable and would not perish soon. I prepared this Mexican Rice along with…