What is Edamame?? Well ok ! its time to learn little Japanese, edamame are baby Soy beans in pods (Japanese to English) (Eda~twig, mame~beans) meaning beans attached to pods. These come under protein rich healthy food category and why not try it.

Where to find it ? Regular Super market frozen aisle, I found it at Meijers. Japanese or Chinese stores should carry fresh and frozen.

How to cook ? Boil them in salted water for 5 minutes with the beans in pods, either discard the pod and use the beans or if you handle little chewy stuff then use the pods too.

What to cook? Here's one little secret recipe and keep visiting us for more new ones.

How do they taste? Real sweet, mild... better than green peas, broccoli or green beans. I would match them to Val beans(minus stinky smell) with sweet pea colour, very soft and tender and you won't know a thing that they are Soy. In simple... similar to Avarakkai (Indian broad beans)

Soy Bean sambar / Sambar/ Edamame Sambar / Lentil Curry / Dal with Edamame

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Score: 0.0, Votes: 0

Simple spicy curry prepared with Chow Chow / Chayote squash, a homely style kotsu suits as a side for tiffin or rice item.

Chayote kotsu / Chow Chow curry / Chayote curry / Muddai / Mudda / Kaai Poriyal / Spicy gravy 

USA            ~ Chayote Squash

Tamil          ~ Bangalore Kathirikkai

Telugu        ~ Bengaluru Vankaya

Kannada     ~ Seemae Badhne Kayi

Malayalam  ~ Seema Kathrika

Hindi          ~ Chow Chow

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Score: 5.0, Votes: 1

Simple curry with sprouted whole moong and Paneer. This recipe has got little more of cinnamon touch and adding paneer is just an eye catcher to make picky eaters to include sprouts in their diet.

Paneer Moong Curry / Sprouted Moong Curry / Paneer Curry / Whole Moong /

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Score: 0.0, Votes: 0

Simple stir-fry using minced broccoli and carrot along with dal powder to make this puttu like poriyal.

Broccoli Carrot Poriyal / Minced Broccoli Carrot Poriyal / Porial / Thoran / Stir-fry / Vepudu / Dry Fry

Vote Result

Score: 5.5, Votes: 2

Snake Gourd is called Podale in Konkani. Mostly this vegetable is stir-fried like poriyal or used with dal to make kootu varieties. But to my surprise.. one Goan restaurant served them as appetizer in a buffet and that's how I got the idea for this recipe. Well.. those were deep fried with semolina and stuffed with meat. You must have probably had a shot of these if you've already tried any of those Mangalorean style buffets.

Here in this recipe, I've opted for shallow frying with my own style of potato stuffing and covering with gram flour, use your immagination.. try new stuffing and give it a shot.

Stuffed Snake gourd / Snake gourd Curry / Podhalae / Podale / Podhale / Pudalangai / Potlakaaya / Pathola / Paduvalakaayi / Padavalanga

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How about Camouflaging the beets ??? Here is an interesting one which I found this week "Golden Beets", these are born as beetroots with golden orange skin and light yellow flesh with sweet, delicate and mild flavour of beetroot and some of carrots too. After cooking they look like cabbage stir-fry... but with all the benefits of beetroot.

Beetroot Fry / Beetroot Poriyal / Thoran / Vepudu / Kosambari / Indian Salad / Stir-fry / Golden Beets / Orange Beets / Yellow Beets

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Chalna / Salna is typically a term related to non-veg category, its the watery leftover gravy from any meat curry preparation, mostly mutton or chicken. There isn't a vegetarian version and even if any veggies added to it, its termed as Saagu. Here I've created a vegetarian style salna which tastes pretty decent and could be one good quick gravy for roti / idli / dosai.

Salna / Vegetarian Salna / Sagu / Saagu / Chaaru / Meatless gravy

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Score: 0.0, Votes: 0

Bharwan ~~~ Stuffed, Bhindi ~~~ Okra / ladys Finger, is nothing but Stuffed Okra preparation typically a Gujarati dish. Authentic gujarati preparations are made without onion and garlic, mostly plain dry curry, slightly bland. This is one such dish with mild spices powder stuffed in okra and stir fried. But in my recipe here... I've taken this Gujarati dish to one step ahead, making it spicy with our own tamilian touch. Karam.. Manam.. Gunam gonda Stuffed Vendakkai..

Friends pardon me for writing in Tamil, in general... this recipe of mine is little spicy with additional south Indian spice powders and traditional ingredients.

Stuffed Okra / Stuffed Vendakkai / Stuffed Ladys Finger / Bhaarwan Bhendi / Bharwan Bhindi / Okra / Gujarati / Lady's Finger Curry / Dry Fry / Dry Curries 

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Score: 7.0, Votes: 1

Smacking hot Karaikudi style Black peppercorn gravy.

Black Peppercorn kuzhambu / Peppercorn Gravy / Milagu Kuzhambu / Pathiya Kuzhambu / Karaikudi / Chettinad Milagu Kulambu / Kolambu / Kuzhambu / Spicy tangy gravy

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Score: 6.0, Votes: 1

Its a good practise to include some kind of herbal greens / spice once in while in our normal diet. In India these are available in abundance and is seen in markets fresh almost throughout the year. But its the opposite state here and much harder for us to locate one such items in the market.  Indian stores sometimes have fresh bunch of curry leaves which is one item loaded with healing properties and can't afford to be missed.

Curry leaves Kuzhambu / Kulambu / Kolambu / Kari Leaves / Karuveppilai gravy / kaara Kuzhambu

Vote Result

Score: 10.0, Votes: 1