Cumin rice or jeera rice is probably the easiest thing to make in a rice cooker. I make it occasionally when I don’t have the energy to cook up anything beyond a simple dal tadka and don’t feel like rolling out rotis. The simple addition of fried jeera to cooking eliminates the need for a rasam or kuzhambu. Win! Pin I got my rice cooker end of last year and have since cooked many things in it apart from plain ‘ol rice....

Pin The secret to this recipe is marshmallows. The gelatine in this eliminates the need to use eggs and also the lengthy setting time that’s common for classic mousse recipes. Ingredients : Mini marshamallows - 150 g (I used regular ones) Butter - 50 g, softened Chocolate - 250 g (I used 60% dark chocolate, and it was super intense), roughly broken into pieces Hot water - 60 ml Cream - 250 ml Vanilla extract - 1 tsp...

I got a bit tired of baking the same old banana bread and the (although fabulous) banana cake with cream cheese frosting all the time. Since banana cakes travel well, I almost always default to them when baking something to carry as a gift. So recently I wondered if I could bake cookies with ripe banana and if I could make it healthier than my usual bakes tend to be....

Eggless no bake Oreo cheesecake recipe for dessert lovers. This is a classic cheesecake recipe you can put together in no time and keep chilled until you need to serve. My eggless no-bake Mango Cheesecake recipe has been received well by everyone. A lot of you tried it, loved it, and shared pictures with me. But one thing that a few people complained about was that the cheesecake recipe has gelatine in it and gelatine is not apt for vegetarians....

After a lot of deliberation, and research, both online and offline, I decided to go ahead and buy a Magimix 3200 XL to help with my cooking needs. Besides the more basic functions like chopping and slicing, the Magimix also comes with a dicing attachment and I was quite excited about that, even though I did have to get it separately and pay extra. Things to Consider before Purchasing a Food Processor...

No matter how many different types of idli podi I have tasted in my life, my favourite will always remain my Amma’s. She roasts the spices a tad longer it gives the podi a deeper colour and flavour. I have never made Dosa podi myself but rather bring it back during my trips to Kottayam. Since she always makes it the day before I land and keeps it all packed and ready, I wasn’t able to take step by step pictures for making this Idli podi but will update this post if and when I manage that....

Saarina Pudi (Sambar Powder, Karnataka Style) Ingredients: Dhaniya seeds (coriander seeds) - 250 gms. Red chillies - 100 gms Jeera seeds - 50 gms Fenugreek seeds - 25 gms Mustard - 25 gms Pepper - 25 gms Hing - ½ tsp Instructions: Roast dhaniya and red chillies in very little oil till it emits a nice smell. Dry roast all other ingredients till well done and add hing at the end....

Egg roast or mutta roast is quintessential Kerala and a big part of our meals, especially breakfast, in the state. I grew up eating a LOT of it, in many different variations and over the years, have fine-tuned this dish to what it looks like here. This recipe post has been edited to reflect some tips and techniques, the ingredients are still the same so if you came in search of the recipe you have tried and loved, don’t worry!...

Learn how to make Kerala-style, particularly Kottayam-style , red fish curry (also known as meen vevichathu, meen mulakittathu, meen mulakarachathu) using kudampuli and without coconut. This fish curry is arguably the most popular fish recipe in Kerala , often served with tapioca as kappayum meenum and with rice and curries too. Growing up, this fiery and spicy red fish curry was my least favourite. I preferred fried fish or the fish curry with coconut that taste so good with rice....

I also have another distinct memory associated with lemon rice. One of eating it at a temple when I was very little. I forgot where or when but that was probably the best lemon rice I have ever tasted. It’s been ages since I have eaten from a temple but if I see it when I pass by, I am grabbing some! I also have another distinct memory associated with lemon rice....

If you are new to baking or want a non-fussy chocolate cake, then this one-bowl chocolate truffle cake recipe is for you. While the 5-min chocolate mug cake is great to satisfy instant chocolate cravings and is often quoted as the most dangerous chocolate cake recipe , sometimes you want the “real” deal. And you want it fast. I had one of those nights the other …err… night. I turned to Piece of Cake , the awesome book SJ recommended to me that gave inspiration to my Orange Cake Recipe ....

This is a recipe for restaurant-style paneer butter masala recipe, with step by step pictures to guide you along the steps of making it. It’s one of the most popular recipes on this blog with hundreds of people trying and liking it. A few ingredients are what truly make this recipe stand out, the actual cooking process is really simple and straightforward that even a beginner cook can ace it. So why wait, try this paneer butter masala recipe and let me know how you go!...

The last time I bought it, I forgot another major ingredient that’s required to make podalanga kootu. Coconut! I wasn’t prepared to give up the texture of the channa dal either. Here’s what I ended up. Something of a kootu with snake gourd but without the coconut and no need for any grinding. All hail lazy, quick recipes. Snake Gourd / Podalanga Masala Recipe Makes ~ 3 cups Serves 2 Preparation time: 10mins Cooking time: 30 mins...

Raw papaya is very easily available in Singapore too, thanks to the Thais and their affinity towards raw papaya salads. The method used to make kappalanga thoran is very non-fussy and this is how amma makes most of her thorans. You can leave it to cook and focus on other dishes. Also check out moringa thoran , spinach thoran , and papadom thoran recipes, all from Kerala. Raw Papaya (Kaplanga) Thoran Recipe Serves 4 Preparation time: 15 mins Cooking time: 15 mins...

I found some gorgeous Indian radish in Little India the other day and had to buy a bunch. They were fresh, with the leaves still on and quite small so I used up about 5 of them to make enough for the two of us. Pin Yes, that’s my hand. You may not know this but I have once been a hand model for an ad that featured in a Malayalam magazine called Vanitha....

I had also heard of making poornam (filling) with cooked channa dal, coconut and jaggery but using the same filling as vella kozhukkattai (which we make for Ganesh Chaturthi or Vinayaka Chaturthi ) was new to me. So when she offered to make it one day, I jumped at the opportunity to learn this new way, probably the method followed in Tamil Nadu, of making susiyam. There are a few variations too, you can check notes....

Hummus and related dips - yum. Pin Couscous, rice and roasted meat - yum again. Pin Shawarma - total YUM. We had the yummiest chicken shawarma in Ibn Batuta Mall in Dubai. It cost 6dhm and is easily the best shawarma I have tasted! Pin Weird black olive salad - erm.. not yum. Pin Surprisingly, we found a lot of good bread and pastry in almost every buffet we had. A welcome breakfast, for sure....

They have compiled a free ebook with 100 recipes - all sweets that too! - contributed by food bloggers so go download your copy today. I just checked it out and I definitely like what I see. My contribution is the Besan Ladoo I made for Vinayaka Chaturthi. Download your copy here . Pin

Chana masala is a popular Indian vegetarian dish made with chickpeas (also called Chana) in a base of onion-tomato curry with spices. While the typical method of making chana masala involves a variety of spices, my mum’s version is very simple and highlights only 2-3 key spices, otherwise letting the flavour of the cooked chana shine through. Other chana recipes I have cooked and shared: Kerala kadala curry , Punjabi chole masala ....