Easy Coconut Rice Recipe, South Indian style

In India coconut is one of the most common offerings to God.  Since is considered ‘sreshtha’ (superior) and auspicious it is offered as a way of prayer. It is first de-husked, broken along with the shell and then offered. After that the coconut is treated as part of prasadam and is consumed by making variety of eatables.  Being a Konkani, coconut is a part of our everyday food. The morning ritual starts by breaking a coconut offering it to God and making some preparations out of it. There are lots of recipes sweet, savory and curries that use coconut. In…

Sooji Kaa Halwa / Kesari Bhath/ Rava Kesari/ Sheera

Wishing you all a very happy Ganesha Chaturthi and hope you all had a blessed and a wonderful day. This festival is also known as Vinayaka Chaturthi or Vinayaka Chavithi and as Chavath) in Konkani.   Growing up in Bangalore this was a very important festival for us. Every year on this day of Chavath, all our relatives and family would gather at my Uncle’s place and celebrate the festival in a grand way. The festivities would go on for 3 or more days starting with Gowri Pooja, Ganesha Pooja and then finally the Ganesha Visarjan.  Gowri Pooja was the…

Chana Daal Kheer ( Kadlebele Payasam/ Madgane)

I have had this post sitting in my draft for a long time now. I made this Kheer/Payasam a long time ago during Ugadi, but somehow never got around posting it.    We love this traditional kheer (dessert) at home. It is called as “Madgane” in Konkani and as “Kadlebele Payasa” in Kannada. This does not use any milk/dairy and is usually prepared during major festivals, weddings, New Year etc. Traditionally this is served on a banana leaf along with the other goodies. It is thicker than the usual Kheer and savored in small quantities. I don’t remember eating this…

Sesame Seeds Balls (Til Ke Laddoo/ Tilgul Laadoo /Yellina Unde /Ellu Urundai )

Sesame Seeds and jaggery balls are traditionally prepared in India during Makara Sankranti. Sankranthi, or Sankranti is a festival that signifies the beginning of the harvest season for the farmers of Indian Sub-Continent. This is a harvest festival celebrated not only all over India but other South East Asian Countries as well. In Maharashtra people exchange multi-colored tilguls made from til (sesame seeds) and sugar and til-laddus made from til and jaggery. While exchanging tilguls as tokens of goodwill people greet each other saying – ‘til-gul ghya, god god bola’ meaning ‘accept these tilguls and speak sweet words’. The under-lying…

Spicy Pongal (Khara Pongal /Moogachi khichidi)

  Isn’t it true that simple, uncomplicated things are the ones that provide the most warmth and comfort? We had been to an Indian Restaurant last weekend in lieu of a mini-celebration and we had their lunch buffet. You know, how these Indian restaurants are with their buffets; they have a lavish spread of at least 20-25 different variety of dishes to offer, ranging from Naans/Rotis, curries, noodles, chaats, 2 deep fried stuff, 2-3 desserts, idlis/dosas, rice, biryani and what have you. All pleasing to the taste pallets but none to the heartJ.   It is hard to resist the…

Lemon Rice Recipe(Chitranna)

Lemon Rice also called Chitranna in Kannada is an easy to prepare yet flavorful rice dish. This is also a good way to use the left over rice or maybe a quick dish idea when unexpected guests arrive. The flavor of this depends on the strong seasoning (Tadka) that is prepared before the cooked rice is added. Even though the seasoning is prepared using simple and  readily available ingredients like curry leaves, asafetida, cumin seeds, mustard seeds, daals they combine together to form an aromatic, sapid base to accommodate the rice. Peanuts add a nice crunch while the coconut balances…

Cucumber Kosambari / Taushe Koshimbir

Kosambari is a typical and traditional saladin Karnataka. It is prepared during major festivals, auspicious occasions, and marriages and even offered as ‘prasada’ in temples. This is also called as Koshimbir in Konkani and Maharashtra and is very easy to prepare. Kosumbari does not involve any cooking, it is basically a mix of soaked lentil and raw vegetable of choice (cucumber or carrot or both) with right seasoning.  It is very high in protein and also has a cooling effect on the body because of Moong Daal and Cucumber.   Kosambari tends to become runny if kept for a long…