Vazhai thandu Poriyal/Stir fried Banana Stem

Banana is a favorite among the south indians.We have banana is all its forms and also utilize every part of the humble banana plant.The banana vegetable is fried into yellow discs coated with salt and pepper, its also used in avials and poriyals, sambars(lentils and vegetable broth), the leaves are used to serve up traditional meals, also to steam foods and also as a take away wrapper.And the tender stem is used in vegetarian side dishes.

Pasta in garlic and tomato sauce

I make pasta for lunch when i have nothing else in mind!Its just so easy and simple to make and tasty!You can make it as healthy(with vegetables) as you can or sinful(with the cheese and butter).i just made it simple as my LM doesn't like any foreign objects in her mouth but the pasta!

Sweetness in a Cup : B & W Wednesday

Jaggery/Gud is a traditional, wholesome form of sugar.It is widely used in many traditional sweet and savory dishes in India and Srilanka.I loved this picture the beautiful curls of jaggery so sweet and versatile!

Sweetness in a cup

I used this jaggery to make candied nuts...giving the already beautiful nuts a nice golden glaze!

Read more about jaggery here 

We use them in payasams, candies and most recently I have started taking a small piece of jaggery as its soothes the sore throat!

Sending this to BWW @ the well-seasoned cook

Diwali Wishes and a sweet dish to accompany-Bread Gulab Jamuns

May the festival of lights bring peace, joy and good health to one and all!Happy Diwali

Colorful Mini Masala Papads/Poppadams

This is not a unique thing to many, just that when i made it i couldn't resist clicking away and so had to put it up here.We got these cute lil papads this time from a local shop, i quickly felt the need to have masala papads, this can be called "instant" (other than the frying time), i assembled the whole thing in about 10 minutes.As yummy a snack that they are, its visually-appetizing too!

Moong dal Murukku/Chakli

My mom used to tell me she makes this murukku often.Its a tradition to make sweets and snacks during the festivals.The saying goes - " enna pathiram vekanum " (means you have to keep an oil vessel ie., you have to make fried stuff during festivals) :)

Tea Buddies : B & W Wedneday

My coffee mug has become my quintessential companion for the day!And a beautiful guest joins us when i do some baking....the beautiful swirls on the marble cake!

Swirly and the Mug :)

Samosas

Samosas are triangular stuffed savory snacks, they are popular everywhere in India and also in many other parts of the world, samosas are made with a variety of crusts(for instance i saw on tv they made the crust with tortilla wraps) and fillings(vegetables,meat, etc get imaginative)!I am a big fan of it.Since we moved here, I've started buying them rather often.And so my anxiety started to try it at home.I really need to get into the "mode" to do anything and everything!So i got down to do it one afternoon.And it wasn't all that bad!

Chicken Curry-Chettinad style

I was just looking through some blogs for some variation in my usual chicken curry and i realized that the one which i usually make(mom's style) is the Chettinad style one!Just that when we make it at home, there's no fancy names addressing it, its just Chicken curry!But in any case, its the taste that matters and not the name :D

Tomato Chutney

Spice up that plain dosa with this tangy spicy tomato chutney.It can add that zing to the bland wheat dosa/adais!

Spices of India

I've taken to food photography ever since I started blogging and I'm so falling in love with my camera which used to see daylight only on special occasions and holidays, especially with the mobile phone camera  becoming a rival of the Canon! But now the Canon has regained it lost crown and its my full time blog buddy, I must say :) I'm coming to realize the complete capacity of the Canon IXUS 50!

Wheat Adai/Dosas/Uthapams

I feel wheat dosas are much easier than making chapatis!But my dear hubby dear feels its too bland and all other adjectives!So I thought let me give this wheat dosa a make over and so came this beautiful uthapam or adai.Adai is the thicker version of our beloved dosas!Usually adai is made with a mixture of lentils and thus makes it a healthier version too!

wheat adais with tomato chutney

Ridge gourd Peels Chutney

I was taken aback when my mom in law first mentioned to me "you don't have to throw this away, make a thuvaiyal (chutney)"! i was like !!!!what with the peels...and she adds saying " you can make chips out of it!" and I was amazed!

Candied Nuts

The festival of lights is just around the corner,as households prepare for the special days with all the pomp and splendor and the most important part of our festivals---food (of course).Households prepare fresh sweets and snacks for festivities and thats a celebration in itself and ofcourse giving away sweets to friends and relatives is always a pleasure!

I had seen Anjum Anand make these candied nuts a long time ago on tv.I thought its such a cute and quick- easy -to- make gift for friends during Diwali.

Rose Pudding

 These are eggless little beauties and so easy that you can call them instant!I fell in love with them, when i saw it at Taste of pearl city!Until i used the china grass myself for this pudding, I had only tasted it at a muslim uncle's house for Iftar and also read about it.Its the vegetarian substitute for gelatin.And the best thing i loved about this china grass is that you do not need to freeze the pudding so set it, which makes it so usable for kids.

Rawa Dosa

This Rawa dosa is a quick breakfast you can whip up on a lazy weekend morning! If you have all the ingredients(easy always there in the kitchen stuff) in hand it can be made and served all within an hour's time.

Mutton Fry

Weekends are time for non-vegetarian food.Especially with my nonveg loving LM, I usually end up making the normal gravy so that it lasts for the evening too.But this time I tried this recipe.And it turned out delicious!