Besan Ka Sheera is something I discovered very recently & it has been a revelation. For my South Indian taste buds, it tasted like drinking Mysore Pak or Besan Laddoo may be :)

Besan Ka Sheera is a common home remedy for cold & cough in Punjabi households just like Kashaya in South Indian homes. This is delicious stuff, it tastes like a Dessert. You need to try this even if you are not under the weather :)

This Sheera has to be of a drinkable/Pouring consistency. You can also make it slightly thicker into a porridge like consistency & eat it with a spoon (I prefer the former)

It can also be given as a porridge to infants over 10 months of age

We over enthusiastically bought quite a few Pumpkins for Halloween last month. While we carved & decorated a couple of them, we were left with 2 huge pumpkins.

Honestly, we don't like cooking with sweet Pumpkins that much as it lends a sweet taste to whatever dish it goes into so. I didn't want to waste the pumpkins, so I came up with a couple of recipes where I could use them

One of them is this simple Pumpkin & Chickpea Curry. I've added some Coconut Milk as the base & some Indian Masalas to spice it up. I served it with some Steamed Basmati Rice & it tasted quite good 

Serves 4 

You Will Need:

• 4 cups of peeled & diced Pumpkin
• 1 cup cooked or Canned Chickpeas 
• 1 can Coconut Milk - 400 ml 
• 1 large Onion - finely chopped
• 4-5 cloves of Garlic
• 2 Green Chilies - slit lengthwise
• 1 tablespoon Cooking Oil
• Salt as per Taste
• Fresh Chopped Coriander for Garnish 

Spices Used:

• 1 teaspoon Red Chilli Powder
• 1/2 teaspoon Garam Masala
• 1/2 teaspoon Kitchen King Masala 
• 1/2 teaspoon Turmeric Powder
• A dash of Sriracha Sauce or Sambal Paste - Optional 

Empty Salna or Plain Salna or MT Salna is a plain gravy originating from the City of Madurai. It is usually served as an accompaniment with Parottas, Idli, Dosae/Dosai, Idiyappam, Jeera Rice or Biryani 

This Gravy uses only Onions & Tomatoes along with an array of Spices. Since, it does not have any other vegetables in it, it is called Empty Salna 

Though this is very popular in roadside Eateries/Carts, It is also served in South Indian Restuarants as well usually with Ghee Rice/Jeera Rice, Biryani,Parotta. 

I served this with Cabbage Pulao. As this Pulao was mildly flavored, it paired well with the Spicy Salna 

Serves 4

You Will Need:

• 1 big Onion - Finely Chopped
• 2 Big Tomatoes - Roughly chopped 
• 1 tablespoon Oil 
• Salt as per Taste 
• A handful of fresh Coriander 

Here is a quick video to help you see the right consistency of the dough. This is a fairly simple recipe that beginners can attempt too 

You Will Need:

• 2 cups of Almond Flour  (I've used Costco Almond Flour)
• 1 cup Sugar 
• 1/2 cup Water 
• 1 tablespoon Ghee 
• 1/4 teaspoon Cardamom powder
• A few strands of Saffron 

Chutney Pudi is a pantry staple in most households in Karnataka .. It can be consumed in more than a dozen ways. 

Chutney Pudi mixed with a little Ghee or Groundnut Oil eaten with Idli or Dosae is such a savior when one is too lazy to make some chutney .. A drizzle of chutney Pudi over the otherwise boring Uppittu, Eaten alone with curd rice, Akki Rotti  or simply mixed with fresh steamed rice & Ghee is such a bliss. It is a pantry staple in most Karnataka households 

Hope everyone's having a great Navaratri. This year Navaratri feels so different without inviting people over but we are trying to make the best out of it. 

Here is a simple Usli made with Sweet Corn. 

Adai Dosae or simply called Adai is one of my favorite recipes from Tamil Nadu. It makes for a great protein packed breakfast 

People either love Adai or really seem to hate it. I love it.  It is a bit heavy on the stomach & can keep you full for hours 

Though traditionally eaten as breakfast, I like to eat serve them as dinner sometimes. 

Also, what I love about this version is the addition of Moringa Leaves or Nugge Soppu as we call it in Kannada. 

Moringa Leaves is a Super Food, The Leaves do not have a strong taste so they can be added into a variety of things like Dal, mixing in the chapati dough, Akki Rotti or even Upma for the dose of nutrition.

The Batter needs to be ground into a slightly coarse paste. Also, the batter is slightly thicker than a regular Dosa Batter 

This is what it is going to look like. 

You Will Need:

• 2 cups Raw Rice 
• 1 cup Urad Dal
• 1 cup Chana Dal
• 1 cup Tuvar Dal
• 1 cup Moong Dal
• 2 cups  Moringa Leaves 
• Salt as per taste
• A big pinch of Hing/Asafoetida
• Oil for cooking the Adai

Cabbage is one vegetable that we are quite bored of at present. I always make a quick stir fry (Palya) out of it as my family doesn't really care about Cabbage Sambar or Cabbage Dal .. 

Apart from adding it to Noodles or Fried Rice, I didn't know how to out it to use .. I made a quick Cabbage Pulao with shredded Cabbage & onions. Honestly, it was quite nice 

I am going to be making this often as a weekday lunch, now that we are in the middle of Online Schooling chaos, we need loads of under 30 minute meals :)

Serves 4 

Ingredients:

• 2 cups or Half a head of Shredded Cabbage 
• 1 large Onion - sliced lengthwise 
• 1 1/4 cup of Basmati Rice (I've used the traditional Paavu Measurement)
• 1/2 cup Frozen Peas /Edamame
• 2 cups Water (Preferable Hot)
• Salt as per taste 

• 1/2 teaspoon Turmeric Powder 
• 1 teaspoon Red Chilli Powder 
• 1 powder MTR Pulao Masala 
• 1/2 teaspoon Kitchen King Masala