NELLIKAI CHUTNEY This is the time of year when Indian Gooseberries are available in plenty. These are called  Nellikai/Nellikayi in Tamil and Kannada, Amla in Hindi, and Avalo in my mother tongue, Konkani. As we had gooseberries readily available, I decided to prepare an easy to make yet delicious chutney with them to go with the breakfast dosas!  We have been told that even in ancient times our rishis knew about the many health benefits of amla. This article details some of the health benefits  of gooseberries.  Elsewhere in this blog, you will find recipes ..read more

 KEERAI KUZHAMBU  Today's recipe has health-filled Spinach as the main ingredient. It is from Tamilnadu and is called "Keerai Kuzhambu" with Keerai meaning Spinach in Tamil. As you know, this leafy green veggie is called Palak in Hindi and Palak Soppu in Kannada. It has been well- established that Spinach has many health benefits so I often make dishes using spinach. In my childhood days, we remember reading Popeye comics with the main character eating vast amounts of spinach! Elsewhere in this blog, you will find different kinds of dishes made with spinach/palak, such ..read more

   OUR DINING EXPERIENCE- MAINLAND CHINA My family and I love the Indian version of Chinese food. Years ago, we thought what we were eating was authentic Chinese food but later we came to know that what we have is Chinese food designed to suit the Indian palates. We call it "Indian Chinese" these days.  One of the best places for food of this type in Namma Bengaluru is the Mainland Chine chain of restaurants. This is a subsidiary of an Indian restaurant company called Specialty Restaurants Limited. There are four of them nowadays in our city. We usually visit the one in Jayanaga ..read more

 BROCCOLI GARLIC STIR FRY Growing up in India, I had never come across Broccoli in my younger days. It was only when we started visiting the United States that I tasted this veggie. It was then that I came to know that it is considered to be one of the healthiest vegetables. These days, of course, broccoli, (which belongs to the cauliflower family), is easily available in India. While it is mostly used in baked or cooked form in Continental cuisine, we in India have adapted its use to our popular dishes too.  Elsewhere in this blog, you will find the recipes using broccoli, such as ..read more

 CABBAGE KOOTU Cabbage is one vegetable that is most commonly used all over India. It is easily available all through the year.  It has numerous health benefits as it is rich in Vitamin C and has many antioxidants. Elsewhere in this blog, you will find recipes for dishes made with cabbage such as :-  Cabbage Sukke from our Konkani cuisine Cabbage Lollipop- made in an appe pan and not deep fried Cabbage Sanna Polo - a spicy side dish from our Konkani cuisine Kimchi - a yummy salad made with cabbage Today's recipe is an easy to make yet tasty side dish m ..read more

 OUR DINING EXPERIENCE: ANUPAM'S COAST II COAST When you decide to eat out, what determines your choice of restaurant? Some factors could be the novelty of a new place, positive references from family and friends and the type of cuisine they are famous for. Recently, we had lunch at Anupam's Coast II Coast at Bengaluru's popular Church Street, hosted by Prem's cousin: Rati. I guess all three factors mentioned steered us to this restaurant!! We thoroughly enjoyed the lunch!  This restaurant carries on the tradition of yummy food started by its older avatar at Koramangala (another par ..read more

 HEEREKAYI  TOVVE Ridge Gourd  and Moong Dal are the main ingredients for today's recipe- Heerekayi Tovve -which is from my Home State of Karnataka. This dish is called Heerekayi Tovve since Ridge Gourd is called Heerekayi in Kannada and Tovve is the Kannada word for Dal. Ridge Gourd is called Turai in Hindi and Ghosale in my mother tongue, Konkani. We use ridge gourd at home from time to time as it has various properties that make it good for health.  Elsewhere in this blog you will find recipes for other dishes made with ridge gourd such as:- Ridge Gourd Dosa Ghos ..read more

AVARO BATATE HUMMAN  One of the favourite dishes in my family from our traditional Konkani cuisine is called Avaro Batate Humman. The name of the dish comes from the two principal ingredients  "Avaro" being Hyacinth Beans and "Batato" being Potatoes in Konkani, my mother tongue:. We make this whenever Hyacinth Beans (called Avarekalu in Kannada, Mochakottai in Tamil and Surti Papdi in Hindi)  are available.  Also, please note that this does not call for the use of onion and garlic. It is therefore made on days when you may want to avoid using these two ingredients.  E ..read more

 GULLA MASHINGASAANGA SAGLE Today's recipe is from our own GSB Konkani cuisine and is called Gulla Mashingasaanga Sagle. The name comes from the two principal ingredients: the first is Matti Gulla, ( a special type of brinjal available in the Udupi area of my Home State of Karnataka). Tradition has it that the first crop of Matti Gulla ( named after a place called Matti, near Udupi) is offered at the Udupi Sri Krishna Temple. What is called aubergine or eggplant abroad, is more commonly called brinjal in India. Call it what you will, we make much use of it in our Indian cuisine. Brinjals ..read more

 AMATEKAI (INDIAN HOG PLUM) GOJJU The Indian Hog Plum is called Amatekai in Kannada. We call this Ambado in my mother tongue, Konkani. The Indian Hog Plum is used in curries as also in making chutneys and pickles. This is found in plenty in the Mangaluru- Udupi region of my Home State of Karnataka.  Recently I got some Amatekai/Ambado in the nearby Mangalore Stores and immediately wanted to use the. I have adapted this recipe from Amatekai Gojju, from the YouTube video from Swayampaaka. Please note how sweet or spicy the dish will be depends on the quality of the amatekai used. You h ..read more