Broccoli usili recipe | Broccoli podimas

Broccoli usili or broccoli podimas is a south Indian dry curry made with the combination of a veggie and dal. I have posted the beans paruppu usili and vazhaipoo paruppu usili earlier, both are always a super hit recipe. This method of making paruppu usili i read in a cook book and tried it for a potluck party too. I was bit not sure how it will be liked by all as it is not the traditional brahmin way of making the usili. But to my surprise, everyone liked it very much and it was a huge hit too. You can make this by replacing broccoli with beans, capsicum.

Kesar pista Kulfi recipe

Kesar pista kulfi recipe is a popular traditional Indian ice cream. I have already posted the kulfi recipe, this kesar pista kulfi i have given for Kungumam thozi magazine. This recipe got published last week. From my childhood i love to eat kulfis. We get from a local guy who used to bring this at night during sumer season. They serve the kulfi in banana leaf. Many times the guy who sells kulfi take banana leaf from our home as we have lot of banana tree at home. My grandmother used to scold him for taking it at night time as generally they won't give anything in night. Make this kesar pista kulfi for kids and let them enjoy their summer with this traditional Indian ice cream. Check out my mango kulfi recipe too.

Sweet corn pasta recipe | easy pasta recipes

Sweet corn pasta , this is  a creamy tomato based pasta cooked with sweet corn and other veggies of your choice. I have recently tasted this pasta in my friends house. Few weeks back she invited us for dinner and the spread was amazing. She is a very good baker and the menu had a wonderful spread of varieties of recipes. She made delicious Pizza, Soup, noodles and this pasta too. Without fail i noted down the recipe of the sweet corn pasta from her. This recipe she adapted from Tarla Dalal cook book. It turned out very well and every one liked it very much. For sure, kids will love this spaghetti sweet corn pasta. Check out my mushroom pasta and pumpkin pasta too.

Punjabi Mango Pickle recipe | Indian Pickle recipes

Punjabi mango pickle | aam ka achar is a popular pickle recipe of North India, usually made in summer season and stored for a year. I have posted mango thokku, avakkai mango pickle recipe . This aam ka achaar is a north indian style of mango pickle, which i have tasted in many Indian restaurants here. Generally it is served with parathas. But it goes well with our south indian curd rice too. One my friend's mother in law passed on this recipe to me and it turned out so nice and tasted the same as we get in restaurants.

Tandoori tofu recipe | Tofu recipes

Tandoori tofu is a vegan version of paneer tikka, marinated in flavourful spices and cooked on the tawa. Already i have posted paneer tikka and hariyali paneer tikka. Last week , a friend of mine visited us for dinner. I planned the menu for the dinner but was struck with what to make for starter. I didn't have paneer cubes at home , but i had a block of tofu which i had bought for making a sweet and sour gravy(recipe coming up soon). So decided to make this tandoori tofu and it turned out very well too. Everyone liked it and compared to paneer tofu is quite healthy too. I wanted to post this easy starter recipe of  bite sized tandoori tofu and made it again yesterday. Check out my Tandoori gobi recipe and sweet and sour tofu recipe too.

Grape popsicle recipe | Summer cooler recipes

From my childhood i love black grapes very much. During my childhood days we get the black grapes which has seeds in it. My sister doesn't like that and so i always get a big portion for me. Also i generally do not discad the seed while eating, i just carefully bite it and swallow woth the seed. My sister used to tease me, that I will get a grapes tree from my tummy as i am swallowing the seeds. Later we started gettign the seedless varitey. Even after coming to Singapore, i buy the grapes regularly. I have posted a grape orange juice recipe too few years back. When i was casaully waiting for a friend near a shop, i happened to see these umbrella shaped ice lolly moulds in a small shop nearby. So picked this up and made thsi grape popsicle. Varsha wanted to post some summer cooler recipes, but she is bit busy with her studies as she is in 10th grade now. Anyways, stay tuned for her summer recipe post soon. Check out my moong bean popsicle, rose falooda popsicle,

Sambar Vadai Recipe | With hotel sambar recipe

Sambar vadai is one my all time favorite, in fact i can say it is the entire family's favorite one. I have very fond memories associated with this vadai. I have been postponing to post this sambar vadai post here for such a long time. During my childhood days, my dad used to take us to hotels and those days, eating out is a rare thing in many houses. But in our house, appa takes us out almost every weekend. And those days we get only South Indian food varieties at hotels.  Sambar vadai is one among our favorite and also rava dosa too. Appa loves sambar vadai and he always says that it should be soft and and slip into the throat while eating it. Many restaurants when we order samabr vadai, they will just put medu vadai in hot sambar and immediately serve. Though it taste good, it will not be so soft and it will be difficult to cut with the spoon. I vividly remember when i was studying in 9th grade, we went to Trichy for a wedding. That time appa took us to a market place and there we had an evening tiffin as we all felt hungry. I still couldn't forget the taste of sambar vada which we had there. It was a very small eating outlet and the sambar vada was out of the world. After that, whenever we eat sambar vadai outside, we both recall the sambar vadai which we had in Trichy. So somehow when i see or hear or eat it will bring back all the memories of my childhood associated with my dad.
Today i finally managed to write this post and i missed my dad very much while eating the delicious sambar vadai. It has been 21 years since now, he left us, but the memories are still greenish and will always be cherished.

Paneer Lababdar recipe | Side dish for roti

Paneer lebabdar is a rich onion tomato based ,restaurant style paneer gravy. I have come across this name in Kailash parbat menu card here in Singapore. They have Paneer tikka lababdar in their menu. As i planned to post paneer tikka masala soon, i thought i will try Paneer lababdar and post the recipe. I don't know the exact recipe but i have noted down a recipe of a paneer gravy from a Cookery show which i watched in Delhi long time back during a holiday. Everyone at home loved the paneer gravy and we had it with peas pulao for a weekend lunch. You can serve this with roti|kulcha too. Though the recipe may look it has many steps but it is quite easy and worth trying too.

Orange Slushie recipe | Summer cooler recipes

Slush | Slushie is a crushed ice drink, combined with any fruit juice and soda. We get slurpy ( a brand of slush) available in all 7- 11 stores here. Though i don't buy that for kids always but rarely i get it for them. Last sumer itself i wanted to try this at home but some how i missed. Yesterday when i saw akid holding the slurpee in hands in the super market, i thought i will make slush at home and surprise the kids. I picked up fresh oranges and soda from the super market and made it for kids. It was a huge hit at home. Instead of buying the ones at store atleast once in a while i can make it for them at home. Of course as a mother i know fresh fruits are good for the health, i do give them a lot but once in a while pamper them with these types of juices. See the notes section below for healthy variations.
Check out my

• Orange soda recipe
• Orange barley water

Soft dosa for Travel | Easy picnic recipes

This is the recipe of Soft dosa which is the best suitable one for travels and picnics.  You can prepare it a day in advance and the dosa will remain super soft the next day. During our childhood days, we used to travel to Trichy from Madurai during our summer holidays to visit our uncle's place. Also sometimes we go to Chennai to visit our aunt's family too. During those days, whether the distance is short or long we pack food for our travel. As the entire family is a great fan of dosa  we mostly pack dosa for our journey. My grandmother makes this special soft dosa for the travel, which will stay soft even the next day too. When i asked my mom about this recipe some time back she couldn't recall it. Recently my perimma, aged 80, visited my mom's place and she sent me a voice note in what's app for the recipe of the dosa. She calls this as "Kattu dosa", kattu means parcel.
  We a group of friends were practising for a half marathon(21 km).  Every Sunday morning we go to the nearby walking track and practise jogging there. During one of our long running practise sessions we decided to take breakfast and have it after the run. Since we start early in the morning for practise, it will be difficult for to make any breakfast and pack and go. When we are discussing about this, i told them i will make this Dosa and bring it. It tasted very nice and stayed super soft the next day.  Pack this dosa the before day night and have it the next day for breakfast, even if handled properly it will stay good till the next day evening too.