Khara sev recipe - Tikhat sev recipe - How to make khara sev

Khara sev  recipe - Since Diwali is approaching, the preparation of faral or snacks and sweets is going on in full swing. I prepared kharasev, which goes well with sweets. 

It is a simple and easy snack, that few ingredients like besan, rice flour, carom seeds pepper powder and oil for deep frying is needed. Different flavors and taste can be brought out by adding ingredients like carom seeds, cumin seeds, pepper powder, asafoetida, garlic paste, tomato puree and spinach puree. 

I have used carom seeds as a flavoring agent that I like this flavor most. Whenever I use besan for snacks, I add ajwain to it that ajwain is helpful in digestion. 

Khara sev is one of the most versatile snack that makes a great accompaniment with tea or coffee. It can be used for garnishing poha, upma, susla, and Chiwda. This deep fried snack is tasty,  mood triggers, addictive and make cravings for more.

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Badam burfi recipe - Almond barfi recipe

Badam or almond burfi recipe - Deepavali festival and faral is incomplete without laddus and burfis. Among all burfis, cashew nut burfi and almond burfi are my favorites. This most in demand burfi is available in mithai (sweet) shops. But homemade sweets have emotional touch that served with much pride. In homemade sweets purity of ingredients and the cleanliness is guaranteed.

I have already posted badam laddu, that is prepared with almond khava mixture. The preparation of almond khava mixture for both laddu and burfi are almost similar. Smart idea is that, to prepare both laddu and barfi at a time, prepare more quantity of almond khava mixture, divide them into two equal portions, then use one portion to prepare laddu and another one for burfi, I did the same thing. 

The only difference between the preparation of laddu and burfi is that to achieve a smooth layered attractive burfi, the almond mixture has to be smooth. To prepare burfi, the mixture has to be rolled to a thick round disc, trimmed to square, then cut  burfi into squares.

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Badam ladoo recipe - Almond laddu recipe

Badam or almond ladoo recipe - Besides traditional Puja and Rituals, Deepavali is meant for food, sweets, snacks, clothes, fun and happiness. Sweets are either bought from shop or homemade, they surely add glitter to the festive mood. 

For the time being, my kitchen is a small factory, churning out small quantities of various sweets and savouries (Faral). One of them is laddu. Laddus are rich in calories. So, gaining weight is quite possible, after eating it. No matter, we can compensate it later, by reducing to less calories intake to balance the calories. So, let us enjoy eating Deepavali Sweets. 

The laddu has significant role during Indian festival and  special occasions. They gain top priorities among all other sweets. This year I have prepared badam laddu using khava, flavored with cardamom powder. Badam laddu is my family's most favorite laddu. 

It is so flexible, can be modified according to the personal liking. The quantity of khava can be reduced. This creamy textured badam laddu is an eater friendly sweet, that melts in the mouth.

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Maharashtrian karanji recipe - Karjikayi recipe

Maharashtrian karanji recipe  - Diwali season is in the air. This is the right time to make sweets and savouries.  The most popular sweets and savouries are Karanji, Ladoo, Burfi, Halwa, Pedha, Chakli, Shankarpali, varieties of Sev, Chivda, roasted spicy Cashew Nuts, salted Pistachio and processed Dates. 

My preparation of Diwali sweets and savories as started with Karanji. Karanji is a delicious, deep fried snack, that is especially prepared for Diwali festival. Karanji is also known with different names in different parts of India. Gujiya in Hindi, Ghughra in Gujarati, Karjikayi in Telugu, Karachika in Tamil, Karagadabu and Karjikayi in Kannada, Nevri in Konkani. 

Dry coconut, poppy seeds, rava, powdered sugar and cardamom powder are essential ingredients in karanji filling. Today, I am posting Karanji, my first Diwali Sweet of this year. The Karanjis can be stored for about a month in an airtight container. 

The filling mixture can also be stored for about a month in an airtight container to prepare fresh karanji as and when needed. One can have varieties of Karanjis by changing fillings according to the likings, such as fresh coconut and jaggery, mava and dry fruits, chana dal and jaggery.

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Mushroom manchurian recipe

Mushroom manchurian recipe - After having a hearty Chinese meal at Mainland China, along with family friends from Delhi, we returned home  with a sweet memory of the Chinese dishes. Among them one unforgettable dish was mushroom manchurian. I have prepared mushroom manchurian several times on the demand of my kids. 

I must admit here that I too started loving this addictive dish. As this is a familiar dish, I did not find it difficult to prepare. Using mushrooms and ching's manchurian sauce mix, I made this manchurian quickly. It turned out delicious as usual. So, I thought to share the recipe with you all.  

Note that you can also replace mushrooms by paneer. You can also make mixed vegetable manchurian by using vegetables like cabbage, cauliflower and carrot. 

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Mushroom and garlic stir fry recipe

Mushroom and garlic stir fry recipe - Mushroom and garlic stir fry  is a quick and easy dish with mild flavour of garlic and pepper. You can add capsicums along with mushrooms. This is a flexible dish wherein, flavour and taste can be changed  according to one's liking. Mushroom stir fry and hot chapati make a good accompaniment. Serve this dish with pickle and buttermilk.

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Batata vangyachi bhaaji Recipe - Potato-brinjal sabzi

Batata vangyachi bhaaji recipe - Chapati and rice are our staple food. So, Preparing sabzi and curry everyday is mandatory for me. Batata-vangyachi bhaaji is a Maharashtrian style sabzi which I prepare often. So, here is a quick to make yummy batata-vangyachi bhaji to go with chapatis. Serve this bhaaji with hot chapatis along with pickle.

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Shallow fried onion pakoda recipe

Shallow fried onion pakoda recipe - To make a healthy snack, I have prepared shallow fried onion pakoda instead of deep frying it.  You can also deep fry these pakodas. The mixture for this pakoda is made by using onions, gram flour, coriander leaves and some other essential spices. These pakodas are very common in every house hold. I have been eating onion pakodas since childhood and even now also I feel like to eat more and more whenever I prepare it. Hot pakodas goes well with a hot cup of tea or coffee. 

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Aloo paratha recipe - How to make stuffed potato paratha

Aloo paratha recipe - This is an easy to prepare aloo paratha which I like to make often. When my kids were small they were not eating vegetables. Therefore I thought of stuffing the vegetables in the roti itself and I was making thepla. Later I started to stuff almost all vegetables (except bitter gourd), dals, beans, sprouts, etc. Thus, my family developed liking towards parathas and still I am continuing it. 

Aloo paratha  is an Indian flat bread prepared with wheat flour, all purpose flour and potato filling, then shallow fried on griddle. This  paratha is North Indian speciality, usually served for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Making stuffed paratha is bit tedious and it needs little bit of practice to roll gently after the stuffing.

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Bharli bhindi mirchi recipe - Stuffed ladies finger and chillies

Bharli bhindi recipe - Bharli bhindi and bharli mirchi or stuffed ladies finger and green chilly  recipe - Bharli mirchi and bharli bhindi are my favorites. The stuffed chilli and okra are great accompaniment to the main course. This can be wrapped in phulka and chapati to serve as a roll, or to pack in the lunch box. I have prepared them several times and thought to share the recipe with you. Another important thing is that the same filling can be used with  capsicum, bitter gourd and ridge gourd. The dry filling powder can be used to make peeth perun bhaji with vegetable such as ivy gourd, cluster beans, capsicum, ridge gourd, radish and spring onion.

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Mix dal mushroom pancake recipe

Mix dal and mushroom pan cake recipe - The pancake made with dals, mushrooms and onion make a good breakfast / teatime snack. The lentils provide nutrient to the body as well as release energy for the natural regular activities. Mushroom and onions are considered as skinny vegetables. The addition of these two vegetables enhances the flavor and gives an excellent taste to the dish. Besides this, this kind of a meal topper, gives you a valuable vitamins and minerals. It leaves an uttapam like taste in the mouth while eating. Usually this pancake is served with chutneys.

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Sprouted green chickpea usal recipe

Sprouted green chickpea  usal  recipe - Chickpea is good sources of proteins and it provides energy to the body. Hence it is wise to include chickpea in any form in our diet. Germination makes the pulses more nutritious. This green chickpea usal is a simple and easy variety of dish which can be prepared within few minutes. This usal can be eaten as it is or you can serve it as a side dish to any main course. Either way it tastes great.

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Wheat flour ladoo recipe - Godi hittina unde recipe

Wheat flour ladoo recipe - Wishing you all a  Very Very Happy Dussehra. After Ghatasthapana, today is tenth day of Navratri, Dussehra, also called as Vijaya Dashami. This festival is celebrated on the occasion of Lord Rama's victory over King Ravana. 

All the temples, shops,  roads leading to the shops and temples are decorated with colorful blinking lights. During these nine days, one can see people standing in a queue with pooja thali, to get into the temple for darshan of Goddess. 

Today is Ayudha pooja, wherein weapons, vehicles and doors are decorated with Marigold Garlands. Apta leaves known as sonyacha paan ( golden leaves ) are exchanged between friends and relatives. Traditional sweets are prepared to offer as naivedya . 

Now back to the wheat flour ladoo.  Wheat flour ladoo is a ladoo which can be prepared in a jiffy with few ingredients. It doesn't need much preparation. It is also offered as naivedya. Variation can be done by replacing wheat flour by split bengal gram flour or besan.

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Balekayi phodi - kele phodi recipe - Roasted spicy raw banana

Balekayi phodi or kele phodi recipe - Roasted spicy raw banana is a konkan cuisine commonly prepared as a side dish to rice and curry. In southern part of Karnataka raw bananas are widely used to make curry, upkari, chips palya ans phodi. There are few varieties of making phodi. This is a spicy version which goes well with hot rice and all varieties of dals. Even you can have it as a starter.

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Kolhapuri chicken curry recipe

Kolhapuri chicken curry recipe - Kolhapuri chicken Curry is the spiciest chicken curry I have ever tasted. This curry is a speciality of Kolhapur, which is a prominent city in Western Maharashtra, 200 km. south of Pune. This exotic curry is prepared uisng kolhapuri masala along with other ingredients. This spicy curry goes well with all types of rice, rice flour roti, jawar roti, phulka and chapathi. It is usually served with onion raita and lemon wedges.

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Egg omelette Recipe - How to make egg omelette

Egg omelette recipe - Egg omelette is a hassle free snack or dish that I make often. It is convenient to carry in the lunch box too. Fresh, hot omelette goes great with bread slices as sandwich. It is also served as a side dish along with any main course.It can also be eaten as it is.  Because of it's simplicity, versatility, and taste, it has become favorite part of our diet. Many like it for this reason.

Now,  I'm explaining here about proteins (in eggs) and cholesterol in short. Protein is the most important nutrient required to build and repair our system. It also satisfies the hunger without adding fat or calories.

Egg yolk (yellow part) contains cholesterol and no protein. If you want to avoid fat and cholesterol, you can avoid using egg yolk. But, egg white contains all of the  proteins of an egg and it has no cholesterol. It means egg white is very good for health. Here is the simple version of my omelette that even a small child can do it. Note that you can add vegetables like carrot, capsicum, cabbage, mushroom, etc. to it.

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Hesru bele payasa - Muga dali paays - Green gram dal kheer

Hesru bele payasa or mugadali paays recipe - Wishing you all a Very Happy and Prosperous Navratri. Today is Ghatasthapana day. Navratri starts from today. On this auspicious day, I am posting easy to prepare very delicious hesru bele payasa or mugadali paays recipe. The kheer is called as payasa in kannada and paays in konkani. 

This payasa is made with split green grams, coconut milk, jaggery and thickened with semolina or rava. You can also use similar quantity of rice flour to make the kheer thick.To have a grainy texture for split green grams, do not cook it in the pressure cooker. 

It has an inviting flavor of cardamoms and jaggery. This very popular traditional sweet dish is often made during special occasions and festivals in Karnataka. It is also used to offer as naivedya to God.

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Adrak lasun jeera chutney recipe - Ginger garlic cumin seeds chutney recipe

Adrak lasun jeera chutney recipe - Ginger, garlic and cumin seedschutney is one of my favorite chutneys. This is an authentic chutney always liked by my family members. The  ginger, garlic and cumin seeds add an extra flavour and unique taste to the chutney.  This chutney besides being tasty, helps in digestion also. Idli, dosa and vada goes well with chutneys. This is one of the  varieties of chutneys which I prepare often.

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Kadadhanyachi usal recipe - How to make mix legumes usal

Kadadhanyachi usal recipe - Kadadhanyachi usal is a Maharashtrian side dish made with mixed legumes. This is a healthy and nutritious side dish which I would prefer to make often. I have used three varieties of sprouted legumes for this dish.

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Green masala paste recipe - Green masala for marination

Green masala paste recipe - For enhancing the flavour and taste of  some dish green masala marination is must. Several types of marinades can be prepared by using different ingredients. One such marinade is prepared by using green chilies, coriander leaves, ginger, garlic and cumin seeds. This is called green masala paste. This marinade is used for marinating paneer, cauliflower, mushrooms, etc. It can be used in biryani, pulao and spicy rice etc. While marinating you can add yogurt or lemon juice, to give a tangy taste. You can also use red chili powder if you want to make the dish more spicy. The masala can be stored in an airtight container in deep freeze for about a month. If you want the masala to be tangy, you should add appropriate amount of lemon juice.

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Corn patties recipe - Sweet corn cutlet reccipe

Sweet corn patties recipe - Today I am posting the recipe of corn patties. Fresh corns and rice flour are used as main ingredients to make these patties. Deep fried pakodas can also be made using the same ingredients. But the motive behind making the patties instead of deep fried snack is to avoid excessive oil. This is a healthy evening tea time snack, usually served with chutneys.

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