Recipe world

  We grow different kinds of vegetables in our backyard every summer. This year, while ordering seeds online, we also found Snap Melon seeds. Hence, after many years, we finally got to enjoy Mekkehannu payasa again! This fruit - also called Ibbudla or Kyakarike Hannu - gives a wonderful taste to the payasa. When it is still unripe, it tastes extremely bitter, but once it ripens and cracks open, it becomes soft and melts in the mouth. The kids really enjoyed watching this fruit split open on its own, and our little boy even calls it “Hatch melon”! Here is the recipe for this payasa, which can be prepared using just a few ingredients: Preparation time: 5 - 10 minutes Difficulty level: Easy Serves: 3 Ingredients: Snap melon (Mekke hannu) - peeled, seeds removed and chopped - 2 cups Sugar - 5½ tablespoons or adjust to taste Cardamom powder -  ½ teaspoon Cold milk - 1½ cups Sabja seeds / Kamakasturi seeds (optional) - 2 teaspoons (soak in water for 20 minutes or more) Recipe Inst...

ಕನ್ನಡದಲ್ಲಿ ಓದಲು ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಕ್ಲಿಕ್ ಮಾಡಿ   'Tambli' is a yogurt based gravy which is easy to prepare and has the health benefits too. When its summer, one or the other variety of Tambli is very common in Havyaka homes, to serve with rice. Here is a unique Tambli recipe which is prepared using Tindora which is known as 'Tonde Ele' in Kannada. Preparation time: 15 - 20 minutes Difficulty level: Medium Serves: 4 - 5 Ingredients: Tindora leaves - 5 or 6 Fresh grated / frozen coconut - 3/4 cup Thick buttermilk - 1 cup Cooking oil - 2 1/2 tsp (see Tips) Peppercorn - 4 Cumin seeds / Jeera - 2 tsp Mustard seeds - 1 tsp Salt - taste Sugar - 1/4 tsp Lime juice - 2 tsp or to taste Recipe Instructions: Wash and clean the tindora leaves, chop them roughly. Take a small wok or frying pan. Heat it up by adding 1tsp of oil. Add 4 peppercorns and fry them for 2 minutes or till its nicely roasted.  Then add 1 tsp of cumin seeds. Saute it for a minute or till aromatic. Finally add the chopped t...

  ಕನ್ನಡದಲ್ಲಿ ಓದಲು ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಕ್ಲಿಕ್ ಮಾಡಿ.   We had a huge crop of pumpkins this summer. Growing our own veggies during different seasons is not only pocket saver, its stress burster too, in my opinion. It needs a bit of regular maintenance, but seeing the garden brimming with flowers, fruits and veggies, it feels worth the effort.  Pumpkins last upto 6 months if they are harvested after ripening well. We enjoy pumpkin soup every now and then for our dinner during winter nights. Other dish which my family loves is Pumpkin Sambar. This Sambar won't need onion and garlic, its vegan friendly and tastes similar to the Temple style Sambar.  Here is the recipe for you all to try: Preparation time: 45 minutes Soaking time: 20 minutes Serves: 6 Difficulty level: Difficult Ingredients: Pumpkin (de-seeded) - 600gm Toor dal - 3/4 cup Fenugreek seeds - 1 tsp Salt - to taste Jaggery - 1/4 tsp or to taste Water - as needed - For Masala Paste: Cooking oil - 2 tsp (see notes) Dry red chil...

ಕನ್ನಡದಲ್ಲಿ ಓದಲು ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಕ್ಲಿಕ್ ಮಾಡಿ   Majjige Huli / Paladya is one of the most common side dish in Havyaka households at my native place. When you are bored of eating same type of Sambar everyday, Majjige Huli makes the lunch or dinner more enjoyable. Different vegetables are used to prepare Majjige Huli. When made using every different vegetable, taste of this side dish varies. Also, we can make both sweet and savoury version of Majjige Huli with every vegetable! During our recent visit to Sydney, one of our family friends had kindly shared some home-grown Tondekayi / Dondakaya with us. It was long time since I prepared Majjige Huli using Tindora. We all enjoyed this sweet version of Tindora Majjige Huli, and here is the recipe for you all to try! Preparation time: 25 minutes Difficulty level: Medium Serves: 6 Ingredients:   Tindora / Tondekayi / Ivy gourd / Dondakaya - 15 nos Thick buttermilk - 1 1/4 cup  Salt - to taste Jaggery (or sugar) - 4 to 5 tea spoon (as per tast...

  ಕನ್ನಡದಲ್ಲಿ ಓದಲು ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಕ್ಲಿಕ್ ಮಾಡಿ   Just like every year, our summer veggie patch is on full bloom this year too. When there are so much home grown veggies, its very hard to choose the veggies for your cooking, when you don't want anything go waste! We are making a good use of home grown veggies in our daily cooking, sharing some with friends and also, preserving some in the freezer for the winter months.  A few of our white radish plants grew up taller, they didn't produce any bulbs, but we could see big bunches of radish beans on the plant. Then, I got to know from one of my friends that, radish beans are good for cooking curries and stir fries. I tried my hands on making 2 - 3 varieties of stir fry (Palya), and here is the one which was liked by all.. Preparation time: 25 - 30 minutes Difficulty level: Medium Serves - 5 Ingredients: Radish / Muli beans - about 3 cups Salt - to taste Sugar - 1 tsp Amchur powder - 3/4 tsp  - For Seasoning: cooking oil - 3 tbsp, Ur...

ಕನ್ನಡದಲ್ಲಿ ಓದಲು ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಕ್ಲಿಕ್ ಮಾಡಿ   Cucumber is one of those vegetables which is widely used in Indian cooking. Its summer here, and we are making a good use of cucumbers. My cooking style goes more towards my native style food when its summer; we enjoy preparing and eating native style curries like Hashi, Tambli, etc which are mainly yogurt based. But when the winter starts, we prefer more of soups, chapathi and curries. Hashi or Saasive is a yogurt and coconut based curry which is a good combination with rice. We Havyakas can prepare Hashi or Saasive using almost every variety of vegetables and edible leaves.   Today, I am going to share the recipe of Savatekayi Hashi (Sasive) with you all. When we were school age kids, we cousins were all very keen to watch how Amma / Aunty / Grandma chop the cucumber so finely using 'Ilige mane' or coconut scraper. We all loved that aroma which comes when the cucumber is chopped finely. And, we used to wait for that small leftover pieces o...

Balekai or plantain is one of our family favourite vegetables. We get raw banana or plantains once in a while in the Indian grocery stores here. We love different dishes made using plantains in our native style.  I had brought raw bananas after a long time during my recent grocery shopping. My daughter requested to prepare Banana chips since its her all time favourite. Hence, I had to make some Banana / Plantain Chips for her. One dish we never want to miss is Plantain Palya / Poriyal / Fry / Thoran.  Here is the recipe of Havyaka Style Balekayi / Plantain Palya for you all! Preparation time: 20 -25 minutes Difficulty level: Medium Serves: 4 - 5 Ingredients: Medium sized plantains - 3 Grated coconut - 3 tbsp (fresh / frozen or desiccated coconut)     Green chilli - 1 (according to taste) Salt - to taste Sugar - big pinch Lime squeeze - 2 tbsp or to taste Curry leaves - 1 string Dry red chilli - 1 inch piece Urid dal - 1 tsp Mustard seeds - 3/4 tsp Hing / Asafoetida ...

As a South Indian family, we love rice for our daily lunch. Hubby loves Roti / Chapathi and hence, I prepare Roti / Chapathi for our dinner. To ease the the cooking time, I plan to make any one side dish or sambar or dal to be suitable for both rice and roti! This reduces my time in the kitchen a bit. Here is one such Palya / curry which goes well with rice, roti / chapathi, dosa and poori. Do try this healthy and delicious Cabbage - Sprouted Green Gram Palya / Thoran / Masala Dry Curry and let me hear your feedback :) Preparation time: 15 minutes Difficulty level: Medium Serves: 3 Ingredients: Finely shredded cabbage - 3 cups Sprouted green gram / mung bean - 1/2 cup (can use more also) Salt - to taste Amchur powder / hulipudi - 3/4 tsp Sugar - 1/3 tsp Pav Bhaji Masala powder - 1 tsp Red chilli powder - 1/4 tsp (adjust according to spiciness)  - For Seasoning: Oil - 1 1/2 tbsp Dry red chilli - 1 inch piece Urid dal - 1 tsp Mustard seeds - 1 tsp ...

This year, we had planted some snow pea plants in our little backyard. Snow peas are easy to grow, they won't need much care and the yield is also pretty quick. Now, the winter has started and still we are getting enough crop to serve our little family. As they have a sweet taste, my kids love to pick the snow peas fresh from the garden and eat them as it is.   Here is the recipe of a side dish which my family loves to eat often. I use potato, snow peas, capsicum and green peas for this Subzi. But it should be ok if you skip capsicum and / or green peas. Preparation time: 25 minutes Difficulty level: Medium Serves: 4 Ingredients: Potatoes (big) - 2  Snow peas - 8 to 10 Capsicum chopped - 3/4 cup Green peas - 3/4 cup (I have used frozen peas) Kasuri methi - 1 tbsp Cumin coriander powder - 1 tsp Salt - to taste Pepper powder - 1 tsp or for taste  - For seasoning: Oil - 2 tbsp Fenugreek / Methi seeds - 1/4 tsp Method: Wash ...

We had a nice veggie garden during summer this year. Our little backyard was filled with many veggie crops for last couple of months. Radish or Moolangi was one of them, which we had a good crop. By the time COVID lockdown started, our veggies were ready for harvest. Prices of fruits and vegetables have risen drastically these days. Our home grown veggies have reduced the grocery bills to some extent. Now, its time to wind up the veggie garden as the winter is approaching.  Here is one of my favourite recipe, Radish leaves thepla or Mooli leaves paratha.. Preparation time: 25 - 30 minutes Difficulty level: Medium Yield: 10 - 11 Theplas Ingredients: Radish leaves - 1 small bunch Whole wheat flour / Atta - 2 1/4 cup Besan flour - 2 tbsp Oil - for cooking Cumin coriander powder - 1 tsp Garam masala powder - 1/2 tsp Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp Red chilli powder - 1 tsp Chilli flakes (optional) - 1/2 tsp Salt - to taste Sugar - 1 1/2 tsp Amchur powder - ...

As everyone is restricted from going outside due to COVID - 19, its a bit hard to manage the kids at home all day. And, more household work like cooking, cleaning vessels, cleaning and the like. I am trying to involve kids in doing the household chores a bit. Here is a recipe which can be done involving the kids. Potato Podi or shallow fried potato slices are always on demand in our home.  Preparation time: 20 -25 minutes Difficulty level: Medium Serves: 4 Ingredients: Potato (big ones) - 2 Sooji rava (Course Semolina) - 3 tbsp Salt - to taste Red chilli powder - 3/4 tsp or to taste Oil - for cooking Method: Peel off the skin of potatoes and cut them into thin slices. Mix together sooji rava, salt and red chilli powder in a small bowl.  Coat the potato slices with the rava mixture by dipping them in the mixture. Cook them on the hot tawa by drizzling a few drops of oil. Flip them a few times to ensure even cooking. How to cook ...

Doddapatre is a common herb which is generously used in many Indian households for cooking and home medications. This plant won't need much care and can be easily grown in a pot. We use this herb mainly to get rid of cold and cough. Having access to herbs like Ajawain, tulsi, ginger, etc. will definitely cut down frequent visits to the doctor for some common sickness. Apart from its medicinal values, Ajwain leaves are equally good for preparation of a few yummy dishes. Here is one such side dish, Doddapatre / Ajwain leaves Gojju.. Preparation time:15 minutes Difficulty leves: Medium Serves: 4 - 5 Ingredients: Doddapatre / Ajwain leaves - 7 or 8 Split bengal gram - 2 tbsp Dry red chillies - 2 Urid dal - 1 tsp Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp Hing / asafoetida - a pinch Coriander seeds - 3/4 tsp Cumin seeds - 1/4 tsp Till seeds - 1/2 tsp Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp Salt - to taste Tamarind - 1 1/2 tbsp or to taste Jaggery / sugar -  3 tbsp or to taste Grated co...

As you all know, Corona virus is spreading quickly everywhere and its at all recommended to go out in most of the places. Curfew, home isolation these are the situation everywhere. This virus is spreading in our area also. Kids are homeschooling, husband is working from these days due to safety reasons. We are completely restricting ourselves from going out except fortnight grocery shopping. Hope some solution will be found out soon and I wish for everyone's safety and good health. Coming back to the recipe part, here is and easy Chutney recipe which I learnt from my sister. This goes well with rice and Idlis. This Chutney can be made with commonly available ingredients from the kitchen pantry and hence, I thought this might be of help especially when you can't go out for much grocery shopping. Below is the recipe of Kadlebele Chutney or Kadle Kaalina Gojju.. Preparation time: 10 - 12 minutes Difficulty level: Medium Serves - 4 Ingredients: Kadlebele (Sp...

When it comes to the habit of healthy eating, eating more vegetables is always recommended. Being born and brought up in South India, we prefer Rice for our lunch and dinner most of the time. So, I try to include salads, veg stir fries, lentil based curries and yogurt in our daily food to make sure we won't miss the required nutrients.  I try to mix and match the vegetables for my curries and stir fries just to make it attractive for my daughter to eat! Beans is one of those vegetables which goes well with most other vegetables to make delicious dishes. I am sharing with you all a healthy and delicious stir fry using Beans and Lilva Beans. For this recipe, you can use either fresh or frozen Lilva Beans. I have used the frozen ones here.. Preparation time: 20 - 25 minutes Serves - 3 Difficulty level: Medium Ingredients: Fresh beans - 200 gm Silva Beans / Hitikida Avarekalu (Fresh or frozen) - 1/2 cup (can add more if you like)     Salt to taste A...

Eggplant is used in preparing wide variety of Indian dishes. We too love this vegetable in our cooking. Varieties of side dishes and stir fries can be made using this vegetable. Today, I am sharing a unique Stir fry (Palya) recipe from my native place.  As per my observation, most of the eggplant recipes tastes good only when onion or garlic is added. But this Stir fry tastes delicious without adding garlic and onion. Try this simple yet delicious Stir Fry and let me know your feedback! Preparation time: 20 minutes Soaking time: 15 minutes Serves: 4 Difficulty level: Medium Ingredients:  Eggplant (Finely chopped) - 1 large  Oil - 5 to 6 tbsp Dry red chilli (optional) - 1 small piece Urid dal - 1 tsp Mustard seeds - 1 tsp Asafoetida / Hing - big pinch Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp Green chillies - 2 (add according to spiciness needed) Curry leaves - 1 strand Salt to taste Amchur powder - 1 1/2 tsp or to taste Grated coconut - 4 tbsp Metho...

Rainy season has started in various parts of India now. In my native, its the time to enjoy different seasonal fruits like mangoes, jackfruit, pineapple and so on. They are good to eat just like that. Also, varieties of sweets, jams and side dishes can be prepared using them. I have shared some of those recipes already. Please click on the recipe names below to check them. Pineapple Kesari Pineapple Jam Jackfruit Kadubu Jackfruit Chakke   Paladya Jackfruit Chips   Hadigadde Palya Mango Neer Gojju Mango Sweet Pickle Mango Red Chutney Mango - Sweet Corn Chaat Mango Milkshake Eggless Mango Loaf Cake Coming back to today's recipe, we all know that pineapple can be used to prepare Jam, Pastry, Kesari (Shira), etc. sweet dishes. I am sharing with you all the recipe of a delicious yogurt based gravy using pineapple. Its one of the authentic Havyaka recipe and we call it as Pineapple Saasive. Try this sweet gravy with hot rice and let me know how you liked it! ...

Here is a simple stir fry recipe from my kitchen. It can be prepared quickly using the common ingredients in the pantry. We Many people dislike okra because of its slime. But you won't feel it when its cooked with proper care. Okra is a good source of fibre which is needed for our body. Try this Okra Stir Fry and I hope you like it! Preparation time: 20 minutes Serves: 2 Difficulty level: Medium Ingredients: Medium size Okra - 15 nos Amchur powder - 3/4 tsp or for taste Salt to taste Fresh grated coconut - 2 to 3 tbsp For seasoning:           Oil - 2 tbsp,          Dry red chilli - half piece,          Urid dal - 1 tsp,          Mustard seeds - 1 tsp,         Asafoetida / Hing - a pinch,         Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp,         Curry leaves - 7 or 8 leaves,         Green chi...

Its the summer season in India now. We were on a vacation to India last month. Since the mango season has started, we enjoyed eating varieties of mangoes there. In my home, everyday we were having one or the other dish prepared from mango for the lunch.  Ripened mangoes are also good for preparing few types of curries like Neer Gojju, Sasive, etc. We get a wild mango variety called 'Sasive Maavu' at our place which has a sweet and sour taste. It is good for preparing curries like Saasive and Neer Gojju. I am sharing the recipe of Mango Neergojju with you all today. Try this simple and tasty curry before the mango season ends! Preparation time: 20 minutes Serves - 4 Difficulty level: Medium Ingredients: Saasive mango / wild mangoes - 5 to 6 Liquid jaggery (Joni bella) - 7 tbsp or to taste Salt - 1 1/4 tsp or to taste Water - 2 cups For tempering: Oil - 3 tsp, Dry red chilli- 1, Urid dal - 1 tsp, Mustard seeds - 1 1/4 tsp, Asafoetida / Hing - a pinch...

Different kinds of leafy vegetables are part of our healthy diet. They are good source of various nutrients and taste delicious as well. One among those leaves is Amaranth Leaves. We buy it often from the vegetable market. Amaranth leaves are a good source of calcium, iron and vitamins. They are good for preparing stir fry, sambar, hashi, saasive and other side dishes. Below is the recipe of Amaranth Leaves Stir Fry / Harive Soppina Palya.. Preparation Time: 20 - 25 minutes Serves: 2 Difficulty level: Medium Ingredients: Amaranth leaves / Harive soppu - 1 bunch Dry red chillies - 2 or 3 (adjust according to taste) Urad dal - 1 tsp Mustard seeds - 1 tsp Asafoetida / Hing - a pinch Turmeric powder - 1/8 tsp Cooking oil - 3 tbsp Grated coconut - 1/2 cup Salt to taste Amchur powder - for taste Jaggery / sugar - 1/4 tsp or according to taste (see Tips) Onion (optional) - 1 Method: Wash the amaranth leaves in clean water thoroughly. Chop them finely. I...

ಕನ್ನಡ ಆವೃತ್ತಿ Don't know whether I am becoming more busy (or lazy!) these days, its becoming tough for me to invest time for blogging. We were roaming around different places during the week-ends and kiddo keeps me busy during the week days! Even I tried varieties of dishes, but couldn't click the picks being with her. We had a memorable Diwali celebration this time. There are more Indians in our locality. So, we took part in Diwali celebrations at different places. We celebrated the festival at home one day. I had prepared Holige / Obbattu for Diwali this time. In fact I prepared Seven Cup Burfi and Mysore Pak too! But they were for kiddos playgroup and hubby's office. There are different ways to prepare this Tovve. My version was slightly different earlier; after I learned this version from my friend Maitri, I just shifted to this method. Try this simple and easy curry and let me know your feedback! Preparation time: 20 minutes Serves: 2 Difficulty lev...