Gongura Pickle / Thokku Red Sorrell Chutney

While in Bangalore, we used to get different type of greens and so I grew up eating a wide variety of them. Bangalore like other cities in India is a heaven when it comes to greens and you can find them at vegetable shop, street vendors, and vendors selling them on cycles.   But then, I don’t recall eating these Red sorrel leaves (called as Gongura in Telugu).Over the years here in US, I have come to understand that Gongura is quite a tradition in Andhra. Be it the chutney, pickle, rice, daal it is well loved and relished. Friends and…

Kesar Phirni

Hope you are having a great start to the New Year with all resolutions intact. Also hope you had a great weekend. We had a fun and relaxing weekend with a potluck dinner at a friends’ place. With great food, chatter and laughter it was a good way to re-charge the ‘batteries’ and gear up for the hectic week ahead.  I had prepared this Kheer during the beginning of the New Year. Even though the weather is awesome for January, it has been cloudy on days. As a result I could not take some good pictures, depicting the actual color…

2011 the year that was and a look ahead

 Time files and how! I cannot believe that December is over and that we are only a day away from opening a new page on the calendar, ushering a new chapter in our lives. Even though it is a brand new day, brand new month and a brand new year I have mixed feelings standing on the threshold; letting go of the old known while inviting a new unknown.  With an awesome road trip and wonderful vacation few days ago it was a glorious end to 2011. Soaking up warm sun, dipping feet in the sparkly green water and relaxing…

Strawberry Oat Bars

These bars are delicious, adaptable and very easy to make. You can substitute any preserves of your choice like raspberry, peach etc. I usually have strawberry preserves on hand and so I used it in this recipe.    The crust in many ways reminds me of the one that I had made for Apple crisp.I was in a hurry when I made these and so did not have the time to take good pictures. Trust me the pictures do not do justice to the taste of these delicious bars. These make a good snack and great accompaniment with tea or coffee. …

Methi Besan Sabji

Around this time of the year (Fall/winter) we get good and fresh methi/fenugreek leaves, dill in the groceries and I make good use of that. I am not too fond of the frozen fenugreek leaves, as I feel that they do not have the same flavor and so I look forward for the arrival of the fresh ones.  Few people I know do not like the intense or bitter cooked taste of the methi, but fortunately we love it at home and so I get an opportunity to try different recipes with it. This methi besan sabji was one of…

Whole Moong Bean Sambhar

The past 10-15 days have been really busy for us and along with that we have been on an emotional roller coaster ride. With tense moments at work and some hard news from friends, we have been riding on wave of emotions ranging from disbelief to stress to restlessness. Hopefully it is all behind us now and we are now looking forward to brighter days ahead of us. As a result I did not get time to post or write in detail about this recipe. But hopefully this is a self explanatory dish based on the title of Whole Moong…

Quick Bisi Bele Bhath

As I looked through my old recipes on this blog, I was surprised to find that I have not posted the recipe for Bisi Bele Bhat yet. It is a famous and a classic dish of Karnataka, Bisi-bele-bhaath literally translates to hot-lentil-rice in Kannada. Having grown up in Bangalore this dish was common in the restaurants, homes, functions, festivals, temples tec. It is a warm comforting food and the one that is very close to our hearts.   It is also known as Bisi bele huliyanna.It is a wholesome dish laden with lentils (proteins), rice (carbs), vegetables along with plethora of…