Capsicum Masala Recipe/ Bell pepper coconut curry (dry)

While there are different ways of making capsicum curries, this way of making capsicum/bell pepper curry is my all-time favorite. The pungent capsicum is simmered in a coconut masala, perfectly balancing sweet, spicy, salty, and sour flavors. This combination transforms the bell pepper into a captivating dish. Preparing this Capsicum Masala is a breeze. While the onions and capsicums cook in a pan, I quickly grind the coconut masala and mix it with the sautéed vegetables. Since everything cooks rapidly, this dish is ready in no time and tastes incredible. Pair it with rice and dal, like “Daali thoy,” and…

South Indian Tomato Rasam Recipe

Although I grew up in Bangalore, the hometown of the renowned restaurant MTR, I was unfamiliar with MTR masalas, powders, and spices. The primary reason for this was my mom’s good culinary skills—she made all the powders for sambhar, rasam, vaangi bhaat, and pulliyogere from scratch at home. And we didn’t feel the need to buy the store-bought powders. Fast forward a few years, when I got married and moved to the United States, I found myself as a novice cook, suddenly responsible for preparing meals. I craved comfort foods like rasam and sambhar—the flavors I grew up with. That’s…

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…