Stuffed Okra/ Bharwan Bhendi Recipe

Be it the stuffed eggplant/brinjal (bharlele vaingan), stuffed capsicum, stuffed karela there is something interesting and special about these recipes. It gives one a feeling that lot of time and effort has been put while making the dish.  Having grown up in a Konkani household, most of the stuffing that I know of is prepared using ground coconut masala. Traditionally stuffed Bhindi is prepared based on this curry, with a thicker version of the masala called ‘Maasaolu’.  Anyway, few weeks ago it was close to the weekend and I had only about a handful of these vegetables waiting to be…

Spinach Pithla

Pithla is a delicious, spiced gravy made with Besan (chickpea flour). It’s a quick and handy recipe, perfect for those times when you’re out of vegetables or need to whip up something simple yet satisfying. The iconic combination of Pithla Bhakri or Jhunka Bhakri holds a special place in North Karnataka and parts of Maharashtra. The dry version of Pithla is often called Jhunka or Zunka. Growing up, my mom would often prepare this for breakfast, pairing it with Jowar Bhakri and a flavorful garlic (lassuni) chutney. I wasn’t a big fan of Pithla back then—especially with rice—and would come…

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…