Ullipaya/ Onion Jhulka

Onion lovers will love this recipe. As it is fast to make and tasty to eat. This is dru curry and can be accompanied with any liquid item along with rice or with roti.IngredientsOnionsChick-pea flour (Senagapindi, Besan)Red Chilli powderGreen chillies (optional)Salt to tasteFor tadka:OilMustard seedsCumin seedsMethod of preparation1. Do tadka by taking a kadai or pan and adding oil to it. Add mustard seeds after oil is heated and let them splutter. After they are done, then add cumin seeds. Add green chillies (optional).2. Now add onions and let them turn golden brown.3. Add Red chilli powder and Salt at this point and mix it.4. Lastly add chick pea flour as needed until the wetness of the onions is gone and mix.5. Garnish with coriander and ser...

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Snakegourd Yogurt pickle

Potlakaya Perugu Pachadi ki true translation is Snakegourd yogurt pickle. This is another simple and easy to make and tasty sides. I feel its healthy too.IngredientsSnakegourd - 1 chopped roundGreen chillies -3-4 chopped small(depending on your taste)YogurtSalt to tasteOil - 2-3 teaspoonsMustard seeds Jeera/Cumin SeedsUrad dalAsafoetidaCurry leavesCoriander leavesMethod of preparation1. Boil Snakegourd chopped pieces in water added with salt until the pieces are totally done/well cooked. 2. Drain the water and take the boiled snakegourd pieces in a bowl. Add salt, yogurt, green chillies, Coriander leaves.3. Take small bowl for tadka and do tadka...

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Tasty Jones - not so tasty

After reading several rave reviews on Tasty Jones, we decided to go there for lunch today. The place is just opposite the GRT hotel in Pondy Bazaar, Chennai.Done up entirely in red and white, the interior looks clean and nice. That's where the nice part of the restaurant begins and ends, though. Nothing else is worth writing about. The waiter wasn't able to help me choose something non-spicy for my daughter. We ordered fries, a veggie burger and a vegetable club sandwich. The fries was too oily. I mean, you could literally squeeze the oil out of those potatoes. When we got the rest of our order, to our surprise, each order had some fries on the side. Now, why the heck didn't that waiter tell us that we'd be getting fries with our main order?As for the burger and the sandwich, the less said,...

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Cooking with leftovers - idli manchurian

Has anyone perfected the art of cooking just enough for two people? Let me in on your secret, will you??? I am never able to cook just the right amount. When it is just the two of us, the leftovers are manageable as in they last only for a few servings for the next meal. When I have guests though, I end up cooking much more than is needed. Somehow, I have this weird thing about it being better to have more of a thing that to fall short of it when there are guests.This morning, I made idlis for breakfast and none of us (that includes the little girl 'coz she's fond of idli) ate any 'coz we just weren't hungry. Here's something that I came up with...

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I call it kurma

So, what's the difference between a kurma and a korma??? If you are like me, you just overlook the difference in the spelling and set about making it knowing that you can throw in a little bit of everything that you have and come out with a satisfying and tasty dish.What you need:Chopped veggies - 1 cup (I used carrot, beans, & potato. Other veggies that can be used are capsicum, cauliflower, beets, peas...)Tomato - 2 large, ripe onesOnion - 1 largeGinger - a fairly large pieceGarlic - 4 or 5 clovesRed chilli - 2 or 3Cashew - a handfulCardamom - 4 or 5 podsClove - 4Star anise - 1Cinnamon -...

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