Benne Murukku/ Crispy Savory Chakli

Benne means butter in Kannada and Murukku mean crunchy savory snack. Murukku is also known as chakali is a traditional treat made during festivals of Diwali and Krishna Janmashtami. There are so many variations of this chakli, but this is a tried and a tested one, the one I can rely one. I learnt this recipe from my mom who has been making these for years now. ‘Benne Murukku’ is so crispy that it melts when you pop it in your mouth. This is easy to make and does not consume too much time. This forms a good afternoon snack…

Spicy Pan Fried Eggplant/Brinjal

Remember the spicy dosa/ Uppu huli dosa a popular South Kanara dish that I had posted earlier?  The one in which the batter does not require fermentation and the dosas can be made instantly? With the batter you can makes the dosas (of course) but then with the left over batter you can make these spicy pan fried eggplants.  Crispy on the outside, soft in the inside and coated with delectable batter, they make good side dish with rice –daal or rice –rasam, yogurt rice. The idea for this comes from “Heerekai dosa” a traditional specialty of Karnataka made using…

Easy Black Eyed Peas Salad

Did you know that in the Southern United States, eating black-eyed peas on New Year’s Day is thought to bring prosperity in the New Year? Quite frankly I did not know this either and heard about it only recently from a friend. Not sure if it brings good luck or not, but I am pretty sure that they are good for you. Black-eyed peas are very good fiber sources, rich sources of potassium, natural sodium and zinc. These legumes are pretty versatile. They can be used for making dry stir fry, soups, gravy based curries and salads of course. I…