Aloo Bonda /Batata Vada

After the scorching summer we had here, the weather has taken a U turn and turned into a mild, pleasant one, reminiscent of the autumn season. Added to this it got cloudy and we had some drizzle over the weekend making it even cooler. There is something about the rain that gives me that cozy, nostalgic feeling. And on days like this, I cannot think of a better way to spend the day than to indulge in some crispy deep fried stuff. The most common deep fried stuff I resort to are these fritters/bhajjis or medu vada. But this time…

Banana Sooji Halwa/Sheera/ Balehannu Sajjige

Wishing all readers a happy and blessed festival of Navarathri. This Banana Semolina pudding or halwa or sheera is one of the easiest Indian sweet dishes that I know of. Although it involves three different processes, all made simultaneously it comes together in no time. If I need to make something quick for a pooja neivedya then I either resort to preparing this or the Sweet Poha. This recipe is also a good way to use up any overripe bananas. This Sheera or the plain one (without any fruits) is usually prepared during SatyaNarayana Pooja and offered as Prasad. While…

Indian Flat Beans Curry/ Chaprada Avere Palya/ Papdi ki Sabzi

Indian Flat beans are referred to as chapparada avare in Kannada and as Chikkudu kaya in Telugu, Val papdi in Guajarati. In Bangalore where I grew up, these beans were readily available and my mom used to prepare it often. But here in the US they are not readily available and had almost forgotten about it. However few weeks ago a good friend of mine got a bagful of beans for us and so I got an opportunity to prepare this dish. The combination of this curry along with tomato rasam, yogurt rice forms a comforting meal. This dry curry…