Chayote Squash / Chow chow is a humble little mild squash almost fits any recipe. Here is an interesting pachadi / chutney / Thogayal / Thuvayal / Thokku using chow chow with a medley of few other ingredients to make a scrumptious side which goes very well with rice or idli/dosai.

Chayote Squash Pachadi / Chayote Thuvayal / Thogayal / Thuvaiyal / Thokku / Chayote Chutney / Bengalore kathirikkai / Bangalore Kathrikkai

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Score: 10.0, Votes: 1

Uppu Urundai ? may sound unusual for many, as this is typically a Naatupurathu / Countryside / Village / Gramathu /  recipe which is almost loosing its popularity among most city folks. Only few people actually know or do this at home, a heavy stuffy breakfast or tiffin item only known to many as Upma kozhukattai. These are traditionally made with pounded rice / Noi arisi, typically made from short grain boiled rice or idli rice. Any variety can be used to make these urundais... long grain, short grain, par or fully boiled rice, or even Idli rawa. I 've used raw sona masoori for my recipe and this is how it goes.

Upma Kozhukattai / Arisi Kozhukattai / Arisi Upma Urundai / Uppu Kozhukattai / Rice dumplings / Undrallu / Upma dumplings / Traditional Breakfast / Village / Gramathu recipes

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Short Grain Boiled rice is called Puzhangal Arisi in Tamil. Boiled and Par-boiled is often confused and almost considered the same. But there's a small difference in the processing style, you can read more on this topic here. Glad to see this product recently in most Indian stores and thought would be a great solution and substitute for Idli rice. Look for Ponni Boiled rice (Ponni Puzhungal arisi) (Dakshin Brand) in your local Indian store... they come only in 20lbs and cost around $27 to $30. This variety yields almost similar results like Idli rice except the colour will look pale with light yellowish tinge and also the ground batter will smell like congee thanni(water) but will not interefere with the taste. Spongy idlis and crispy dosas assured.

Long grain par-boiled works for idli dosai but only certain brands(Uncle bens) promises good results, check here for a another great recipe contributed by our friend Kavi. Some local American brand long grain par-boiled doesn't yield good results, they are very sticky, yellowish grains and hard to grind, even after soaking for long time. I've tried Texas brand, El paso... they all will go to garbage, do not purchase them. Also would like members to share some brands which they had success with.

Boiled rice / Puzhangal arisi / Par-boiled arisi / idli / Dosai / Tips / Rice

Vote Result

Score: 10.0, Votes: 3

Dosai with Bottle gourd ?? sounds crazy isn't it? Well, its rich in fibre, low in saturated fat and cholesterol! these are the 3 things which pave way to good health and weight loss. Then, why not include in all possible ways. Though we normally use this in curries and gravies... including in dosai was pretty daunting to me. But my aunt from whom I learned this recipe guaranteed good results and it did.

Ok , as far as the original recipe goes, its a combination of raw rice, idli rice and grated bottle gourd. I've taken it one step  ahead, by adding combination of raw rice, idli rice, brown rice and bottle gourd. There were too many queries on Jasmine rice, its properties.. its culinary use... or getting rid of the huge bag which was accidently purchased... and what not. So, in this recipe my choice is Jasmine rice, Idli rice and Brown rice. Only problem adding Jasmine rice is the texture of the dosai will be little chewy.. something similar to Godumai / Wheat dosai, but doesn't interfere much.

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Score: 0.0, Votes: 0

Asparagus is one veggie which is very versatile, though the appearance may look weird and rugged they always seemed humble, bowing to suit your culinary needs. If you remember, I've always compared the taste of this vegetable to that of raw peanuts... and that induced me to make this chutney, which tasted similar to raw peanut chutney with slight appearance and smell of Ridge gourd thuvayal.

Asparagus Thogayal / Chutney / Thuvayal / Asparagus Masiyal / Asparagus Dip

Vote Result

Score: 10.0, Votes: 1

Simple and easy to make Baked eggs gourmet style.

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Score: 0.0, Votes: 0

Kadappa is a special type of kurma / chutney that is served as an accompaniment to Idlis and Kal Dosas in and around Thanjore District. These are very popular around Kumbakom, Mayavaram surroundings and every petty restaurant /hotel/ road side shop carry this item which is not only enjoyed by locals but also preferred by visitors to these towns. Some call it chutney while some go with sambar but mostly they are termed as Thanjavur Kadappa, which is primarily a kurma preparation with potato but includes lentils and resembles a thick coconut stew. My in-laws are settled in Thanjore and I owe a big thanks for introducing this scrumptious gravy.

Moong Dal Kurma / Korma / Kadappa Chutney / Kadapa / Cadappa / Kadappa Kuzhambu / Kadappa kurma Kuzhambu / Tanjore Kadappa / Thanjavore

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Score: 5.7, Votes: 3

Simple evening tiffin prepared with store bought Ragi flour.

Englsih       ~ Finger Millet

Tamil         ~ Kezhvaragu

Telugu       ~ Ragi

Kannada    ~ Ragi

Hindi         ~ Ragi, Nachani, Bajra

Malayalam ~ Panjapule

Srilanka     ~ Kurakkan

Puttu maavu / Kezhveragu puttu / Steamed puttu

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Score: 0.0, Votes: 0