Life As I Know It

I love mushrooms and it’s my next favourite thing after paneer. I like using spongy ingredients to soak the flavours and give the curry the zing. Usually when we add a whole bunch of things in a pot it is very difficult to single out every single spice. I like working with an ingredient that sponges up the flavours and each ingredient is easily discernible, which is why I like working with mushrooms and paneer. Of the many mushroom recipes that I have tried this one by far is the easiest and goes well with rotis and rice. Plus the fact that there is a bit of coconut in it gives it that coastal flavor. Ingredients: 1 pack mushroom 1 tsp fennel seeds 2 onions 1 sprig of curry leaves Grated coconut 1 tbsp oil Salt To marinate the mushrooms:                    ½ cup thick curd 1tsp ginger-garlic paste ½ tsp chilli powder 1tsp coriander powder 1 tsp cumin pow...

My cousin was in town for a bit and she wanted to take her kids to one of our all-time favorite places – Downtown. For those not familiar with Mysore, on Kalidasa road is one teeny tiny shop that’s been there for over two decades that serves some of the best burgers I have ever eaten. Whenever I go out of town and come back home I need to have a burger from there or if I have a friend visiting, a meal at Downtown is mandatory. One of the reasons for the popularity of this little spot is that, the couple that runs it makes the burgers themselves and every day we are served fresh burgers. They go by quality hence the moment the patties are over the shop closes. One of the unique things about their burger is coleslaw. They use coleslaw along with beans and a patty. In fact in all the variations of their burgers they serve coleslaw. I was to go with my cousin but work got in the way. Thus, one Saturday I decided that my family would have to eat my own “version” of the Downtown burgers for ...

Look at the consistency!  Blame it on the blog! Earlier, every time I thought of cooking something my first thought is, “ Is this blog worthy?” Now it is, “ Is this the healthiest version of the dish?” As it happens Lulu and I don’t recommend deep frying, or having overly rich desserts and even the recipes we’ve put up until this point have all been the healthiest version we knew. Yes, some things need deep frying ( Koftas ), sure… but we try to recommend shallow frying or toasting after having tried it out ourselves. I wanted to make mayonnaise but I was worried about making the traditional mayonnaise with eggs for fear of how it would smell. Which is also why I haven’t ever made it.   Then one day I came across this simple recipe on YouTube and had to try it! Ingredients: 25 Cashews 3 Garlic pods ½ Lemon 1 Tbsp vinegar (I used Apple Cider Vinegar) 1/3 Tsp pepper powder ¼ Cup water ½ Tsp pink salt (Or regular salt ) Method: 1. Soak the cashew nuts in water for 10 minutes. ...

My aunt is an enthusiastic follower of our blog and is constantly suggesting new recipes for me to try. She actually waits for me to make them and after I share my excitement of the dish being a success, she tries it out as well. My parents are my critics and they are both enjoying the multitude of dishes that are being prepared every week. Here is another piece from my “experimental” cooking saga! Ingredients: 1/2 cup of soya chunks 1 medium capsicum 1 medium onion ½ inch ginger finely chopped 6-7 garlic cloves 2 Tbsp cornstarch 1 ½ Tbsp green chili sauce 1 ½ Tbsp soya sauce (dark) 1 ½ Tbsp tomato sauce 2 Tbsp Chings hot sauce 1 Tbsp oil 1 cup water Salt Method: 1. Soak soya chunks in hot water for 10 minutes then drain and squeeze the water out of the chunks and set aside. 2. Dice the onions and capsicum and set aside. 3. In a pan heat oil and add ginger, garlic and saute on  medium flame,  till they turn slightly brown. 4. Now add onions and saute till they are a translucen...

Raw bananas are usually used in curries, stir fries or are deep fried. It is yet another common ingredient found in a coastal household. I bring to you not a coastal curry nor fritters…instead a raw banana patty recipe! Ingredients: 2 Raw bananas 3 Medium sized potatoes 1 Big onion 1 Tsp garam masala 1 Tsp jeera powder ½ Tsp coriander powder 2 Rusk powdered 4 Tbsp rice powder Salt Oil Method: 1. Boil raw bananas and potatoes separately.   Let it cool then skin both the vegetables and mash them together in a big bowl. 2. Then, finely chop onion and add it to the mashed mixture. 3. To this mixture now add garam masala, jeera powder and coriander powder and mix well. 4. Make patties and set aside. 5. Mix rice powder and rusk powder in a plate. 6. In a non-stick pan heat 3 tbsp oil. 7. Coat the patty with the rice and rusk powder and shallow fry in the pan. 8. Serve hot with ketchup or hot sauce or mint chutney. Notes: ●Since onions tend to leave water make sure to get on with patty ma...

Coastal cuisine involves a lot of frying. Coastal folks tend to dip just about anything in a batter and deep fry it. One of summer’s gift to mankind is the breadfruit a.k.a ‘jeev kadge’, which is a common vegetable found in Konkan homes. We present to you two variations of fritters made with breadfruit. The batter ingredient plays a key role in the ‘taste’ of the fritter. We hope you try them and enjoy! Breadfruit Fritters with Rice Batter/ Jeev Kadge Phodi Ingredients: Half a bread fruit 1Tsp chili powder ½ Tsp ‘leveled’ asafoetida 4-5 Tbsp of fine rice powder Water as required Salt Oil Method: 1. Peel bread fruit and slice it. 2. Prepare mixture with water, chili powder, asafoetida, rice powder and salt. Make sure that the paste isn’t too dry or runny. 3. Marinate the breadfruit slices in the paste for about half an hour. 4. Heat oil in a deep pan and deep fry the slices. 5. Serve it hot as an accompaniment to your lunch or serve it at tea with ketchup and hot sauce. ________________...

I love mangoes and this blog has given me the opportunity to get a little adventurous in the kitchen. I don’t particularly have a specific fondness for food from any particular region but I do love certain vegetables and curries made using those. I found this yummy sambar recipe from Sharmis blog but tweaked it according to my taste. Ingredients: 2 Medium sized raw mangoes 3/4 th Cup toor dal 2 Tsp heaped sambar powder 2 Medium sized onions 2 Tsp oil 1/4 th Tsp fenugreek seeds (Methi) ½   Tsp urad dal A pinch of turmeric powder Salt To season: 1 ½ Tsp mustard seeds 2 sprigs of curry leaves 2 Red chillies         1/4 th Tsp hing (Asafoetida) Method: 1.      Wash and wipe the mangoes dry and chop them into bite size pieces. 2.      Pressure cook toor dal for 4 whistles. 3.      Heat kadai, add oil, fenugreek seeds, urad dal, onion. 4.      Once onions turn brown, add...

Salad with Khakra! I love making salads. Ever since I was a kid my mum has made it a point to serve salads for us and that habit of eating raw vegetables has caught on to a point where if there is no salad I slice cucumbers and have them with my food. I came up with this recipe one day when I was just contemplating making vegetable juice. I used to take apple cider vinegar with a cup of water everyday but hated the taste. I thought maybe I should just add it to fresh vegetable juice. But I just couldn’t bring myself to use a mixer early in the morning. Hence, that idea got canned and this salad idea was born. Ingredients: 1 Carrot 1 Radish 1 Cucumber 1 Capsicum 1 Potato 1 White onion ½ Cup moong sprouts ½ Cup methi sprouts A fistful of groundnuts Salad Seasoning: ¼   Tsp chaat masala ¼   Tsp coriander powder ¼   Tsp jeera powder ¼   Tsp pepper powder ¼   Tsp salt ¼   Tsp fennel seeds Salad Dressing: 3 Tbsp apple cider vinegar 1 Tbsp honey Method: 1.  ...