• They are one pot so much less effort.
• The starchier sweetness improves your baking adding a ton more cozy feeling.
• When I bake my kitchen is warm at the same time.
• It is a recipe that you can do as a big batch with minimal prep and have all week long in the fridge.
• It pairs well with pasta, rice or any grains,can be rolled as wraps or made into a salad.

Ingredients for baked root vegetables.

The vegetables: the baked vegetable tray is one recipe that allows you so much flexibility in terms of what you can have. You can make it as colourful as you like or as monochrome as you prefer. Here is a list of vegetables I like to throw into the tray.

• Sweet potatoes
• Carrot
• Turnip
• Potato
• Radish
• Swedes
• Beetroot

For roasting: Olive oil, salt and herbs are the ones that work. The herbs I have chosen is rosemary and oregano. You can use thyme or basil as well. 

Lets make baked root vegetables

The baked vegetables is the best use of a roasting tray.

Prep the vegetables: choose starchy tough vegetables to start with. Wash thoroughly. Cut them into big chunks or dices as you prefer. Keep the beets separately. The carrots, potato sweet potato, radish, parsnip, swedes, turnip can all go together.

Coat them in flavours. Since the vegetables are going to be soft and bland, it is best to coat them with flavours. Sprinkle salt, pepper abd drizzle oil and toss them well. For flavours I prefer to add fresh study herbs that just dont burn away. Rosemary, oregano and thyme are my first choice. Go with what feels natural to you. You can replace the pepper with chilli flakes if you like the heat. Lets the vegetable mix sit while you preheat the oven
Ensure that the beets are coated and kept separate.

Bake: preheat the oven at 180 degrees for 10 minutes. Place the vegetables on a roasting tray. Spread them out evenly. Poke in pieces of beets into the gaps so they cook along. Roast the vegetables for 35 to 40 minutes at 180 degrees Celsius on heat both from up and down. Half way through the time, flip the vegetables over to ensure even roasting. After about 35 minutes the vegetables will be ready and fork tender. Remove from heat and direct to the table. Or cool and proceed for storage.

Meal prep and storage

The baked root vegetables are wonderful to add bulk to any meal or in the lunch box.

Is this a vegan recipe?

Baked root vegetable is an excellent vegan platter. It is filling, a mix of good healthy fibre and carbs and perfect for any vegan meal.

How to make baked root vegetables into a salad?

Once you have the baked veggies in meal prep you can have a hearty salad with it. For the dressing I prepare a generous mix of lemon and lime juice with some pepper and salt. Then you need some freshness. Chop up some tomatoes, a cucumber and handful of oregano, mint and parsley. Add all this into the mixing bowl with double the quantity of baked vegetables. Pour the dressing over it. Toss well and serve immediately. They are great sides to meals and double up as salads. You can add a bunch to your breakfasts to as hash.

How do you ensure the beets don’t leech the colour all over?

There are a couple of ways you can achieve this. If you peel chop and place the beets separately, then place them on the tray to bake it will have zero leaching.
Another method is to ensure you add the beets right at the end, a quick toss in the oil and salt and straight into the oven.

Other baked recipes from us that make a good mealprep

Baked whole cauliflower

Dried peas nuggets

Baked veggie sheek kebabs

Paneer puffs

Stay connected

Hope you enjoy making this batch of low effort baked root vegetables. When you make your batch using this recipe, do share your thoughts and improvements in the comments below.
Pin this for later.
Stay subscribed see you in the next post. 

The banana leaf sadhya made for Onam, Vishu or any of the Kerala festivals has an array of side dishes that are served on the top half of the leaf. Some of these we have posted earlier
Aviyal
Thoran
Pachadi
Kichadi
Erisherry
Mango pickle
However, the mildest, creamy yet simple olan is missed if it is not on the leaf. Have you made it?

What is olan?

Olan is a slow cooked stew made with gourds cooked in coconut milk. It is a mild creamy curry that predominantly uses ashgourd and pumpkins. Depending on regional variations you will find yard long green beans (payar) or cooked cowpeas added to it. It is flavoured gently with salt,curry leaves and slit green  chillies. Unlike a lot of Kerala dishes it doesn’t have a mustard tempering, rather a good tablespoon of pure coconut oil stirred in as soon as it is removed from the heat for that roundeness and fragrance you experience.

How is sadhya olan different from regular olan?

If you are familiar with Kerala recipes, you will know that olan is one that is probably the least made in most houses. This is because the regular olan is a runny curry with less complex flavours. However  the sadhya olan with the creaminess from the coconut milk and the cooked cowpeas is a thicker version which never runs. Though mild it has a well flavoured along with the semi mashed vegetables. The key to making the sadhya style olan is managing the liquid content.

Ingredients to make olan

Vegetables: since this is a mild stew with gourds and pumpkins, so they make the bulk of this recipe. the withte fleshed wintermelon ( elavan) is preferred over the giant ash gourds. The pumpkin adds a it of colour and sweetness. if you cant get the wintermelon, bottle gourd, watermelon peel or chayote work well too.
Bean: the creamy composition works because of the earthy flavours from the cooked cowpeas. Cowpeas have an earthy flavour and are perfect for this mild recipe.
Coconut milk: coconut milk is the cooking liquid here. At first the this cococnut milk is used to cook the gourds in. At the final stages, string the thick coconut milk or coconut cream. this ensures that the final result is thick olan and it is creamy.
Seasoning: Salt is the only seasoning here.
Spices: this is a mild stew and uses no spices. The single green chilli added is for fragrance, not heat. This is opional.
Oil: the final roundedness of the recipe comes from half tsp of coconut oil stirred in at the end. This is an optional step, but brings the flavour exactly like the one in the sadhya.

Mealprep this mild gourd stew

The gourd stew or olan is a great recipe to mealplan. It stays good for a few days under refrigeration. They do freeze good, but not great. The gourds do go a bit limp upon thawing the frozen one. So add it to your mealprep not much to your freezer list.

What pairs well with sadhya olan?

Sadhya olan is a great accompaniment to the banana leaf meal or a South Indian thali. It pairs well with idiyappam (string hoppers), steamed breads or chappathi. In a great rush week, Olan is perfect with some toasts or just as such warmed in a bowl resembling a chunky soup.

Lets make Sadhya Olan

Stay connected

Hope you had a great Onasadhya. If you are looking for the best organizational tips to make sadhya, do check out our post
Guide to Sadhya.
When you make this olan recipe, do share your thoughts in the discussion below. We would love to hear from you.  If you like to share or save this recipe, here is the pin link.

Sadhya olan pin for later.

See you in the next post.

Apple almond kheer is a delightful no sugar added Indian style dessert fit for any festival. Flavoured and thickened with almond flour it is a quick and easy recipe that is perfect for beginners.

I am  not good when it comes to viral recipe trials. By the time I decide buy the ingredients and try it, the trend is over!
Clearly,it needs much more devotion and promptness. So that is an area we shall leave it to the enthusiastic experts. However there is one recipe I have been wanting to try and was waiting for the apple season to come. Enjoy my version of the apple kheer with no added sugar. 

What is apple kheer?

Made with full fat milk that’s slow cooks rice grits,  kheer is a must try  dessert. This is traditionally served in festivals  and grand Indian  weddings. We have added a whole collection of kheer in our post- Payasam pathaman and kheer
Apple kheer a fusion dessert  that embodies the idea of a kheer but has apples and almond flour to flavour and thicken. It is not a super sweet version , rather one to share at dinners or home gatherings.

Is this diabetic friendly apple kheer?

I make this with no added sugar or sweetener, just the sweetness from the apples making it a bit more on the diabetic friendly Indian dessert side. Please be aware that the apples are sweet enough, so moderate the portion size.

Ingredients to make almond apple kheer

Apple: crunchy sweet apples are the base flavour for this kheer. Personally, I like pink lady or red apples to make this kheer. I would avoid tart green apples as they can be too sour and may split the milk.

Butter or ghee:To kick off the caramelization and the colour on the apples, unsalted bautter or a small amount of ghee is helpful.You can use coconut oil if you are making it vegan. 

Almond flour: the almond flour gives a rabdi like feeling to the kheer. I use the blanched almond flour. If you don’t have these you can grind a few almonds or soak them and grind with the milk. Instead of almonds you can used any nuts of your preference like cashews, pistachios. Melon seeds or puffed makhana(lily seeds) powder also taste good and thicken the kheer easily.

Milk: full cream milk is best suited for this recipe. It has the right consistency and doesn’t easily split the milk when adding the sauteed apples. I would avoid almond milk to make this kheer among the plant based ones as it easily splits. You could use coconut or soy as well.

Sweetener: I have actually not added any in this recipe as the apples were super sweet and we like a mild sweetness for our kheer. You can add sugar as the milk boils. If adding jaggery syrup or maple syrup add it after you remove from heat. Alternatively date paste will be lovely in this kheer.

Spices: the common sweet spices used in Indian desserts are saffron and cardamom. I have used a few strands of saffron and powdered cardamom to finish the recipe.

Let’s make almond apple kheer

It does take a few steps to make this kheer, however, it is not a hard recipe to follow some absolutely recommend beginners to try it.

To prep the Apple: the Apple can be chopped like I have done or grated to have a smoother kheer. It is optional to peel the apple as this will be all about mouth feel. I leave the peels in as it gives a good bite. Once prepped add the apples to a pan with a touch of unsalted butter. On a low heat let this mix cook down and caramelize. Ensure that this is a low heat process. You can cover the apples for a minute if you feel they are dry. This captures the water from the juices allowing the apples to steam.

Boil the milk: in a separate sauce pan,  boil the milk. As it bubbles and boils, stir in the almond flour.
Thicken the milk the almond flour is the thickening agent. When the milk has started boiling and rising a bit, lower the heat to a simmer. Sprinkle the almond flour on the boiling milk. Stir well ensuring it is lump free. Let this cook down for about 5 to 6 minutes with stirring in between.

Add the apples: add the cooked apples into the mix and mix well. You can take off the heat at this point.

Flavouring the kheer: sprinkle cardamom powder and a few kesar strands and mix well.  At this stage my kheer is done. If you prefer to add sugar or jaggery syrup do so at this stage and mix well.

Is this a vegan kheer?

If you are using plant based milks the recipe can easily be turned vegan. Coconut milk or soy tastes good. For sauteeing and caramelizing the butter, coconut oil is best. 

Can we make this with other fruits?

Of course  you can change the fruits to make a variety of kheer. Mango ,jackfruit or plantain banana will be my first choice.
You can try dates and dried figs too. When using sweet dry fruits adjust the sugar accordingly.

Other quick try kheers

Sabudhana kheer
Sweet potato kheer
Mothichoor ladoo kheer
Rajgira kheer
Manipuri black rice kheer

Stay connected

When you try out this almond apple kheer, let us know in comments how much you liked it. Share it with family and friends.
Pin this link from here
See you in the next post

The moment you place a plate of stuffed vegetables feel so much more special that just stir frying.
This is the magic of bharwan. It is not vegetable specific and can be seen in most dominant cuisine styles.
In Indian recipes as well you will come across a large number of vegetables served as roasted or curries with stuffed produce. Okra, capsicum, bottlegourd, eggplants, chillies, bittermelon, lemons,  mushrooms, you name it, there will be a lipsmacking stuffed version of it.
Thats when we got these baby brinjals!! That too farmfresh baby brinjal (eggplant) spotted in the market deserves a wholesome approach. Here is my version of the tastiest stuffed baby eggplant.

What is a brinjal?

Brinjal, eggplants and aubergine are all the same.

The fruits of Solanum melongena is a sturdy shrub that grows easily. The fruits come in various shapes and colours. Some are deep purple and large and used for roasting. Some green or varigated, some elongated like a zucchini and some round like a little ball. The flavor profile is nearly the same. All can be roasted, boiled or grilled and rarely eaten raw.

Here are some recipes we have previously tried with eggplants.
Kashmir doudh wagun
Kerala vazhuthananga mezhukkuperatti
Srilankan wambat moju
Chettinad kathrikka podi varuval

Ingredients to make this peanut masala stuffed brinjals

Unlike the popular dry masala stuffed baingan recipe, this is one that uses fresh ground pastes and roasted peanuts. This makes the eggplants succulent ans keeps the moisture as it roasts.

Brinjal: since eggplants come in various sizes for this recipe what you need is small baby oval or rounded eggplants. The colour or variety is up to you it can be purple, variegated or the white variety. While coosing the eggplants for this recipe, ensure that they are all even sized so you can get them cooked evenly.

Peanut: roasted peanuts form the bulk of the filling.this not only gives the nutty creaminess but also makes this recipe much more nutritious. You can use peeled peanuts of keep in the skin on. Peanut butter is not suitable becoz of the oil content. 

Onion: the red onion provides the base masala flavour.Usually I prefer this and a smooth paste so it is easier to stuff the eggplant. You can choose shallots or white onions to make the same. Shallots will be a bit sweeter.

Fresh masala base: the true flavour of the recipe comes from the fresh pastes that are made. This is a combination of fresh ginger root, garlic and green chillies. When made a paste together, they create fresh and robust flavour paste. This combined with the peanuts make the stuffing so tasty.

Lemon juice: the final splash of Lemon juice once the recipe is done provides a summery freshness to the recipe. You can have lime, lemon or tart orange juice to make this shine.

Lets make bharwan baingan

The recipe is a bit of work between prepping the brinjals and making the masala paste. However, once that part is completed, it is fairly a easy process. Check the notes below so you can actually make it in larger quantities for meal prep. 

Mealprep the stuffed brinjal

Stuffed brinjal stays good in the refrigertor for up to a week, so we highly recommend this recipe to add to your meal prep. Though it takes a bit of time, if you have a large quantity of eggplants, do not hesitate to make a big batch and freeze for later. Complete the roasting process and cool before freezing. In this way, eggplants wont leach and the result when you thaw it back up is as good as the fresh ones. Freeze as a single layer first and then store them in a container. This ensures they do not stick to each other. 

Collaboration

As bloggers we always draw inspiration and ideas from each other and support in the growth and enthusiasm. This time in the Shh cooking secretly group we are exploring stuffed vegetables recipes which have such a huge variety to offer.Check just one more, stuffed capsicum from The mad scientist kitchen.

Stay connected

Stuffed brinjal recipes are a favorite for us in our house. When you try this version of peanut filled, stuffed eggplants do let us know how you liked this recipe in the comments below. The recipe my sound similar to Bharali vangi, however is far different in flavour. 

We would love to hear from you in the comments below.

Pin this for later.

See you in the next post.

The winter blustery nights should be renamed as stay at home curry nights.

I am talking about the curries that feel like home, not the greasy,masala heavy ones. The aloo curry, lauki ki sabji or the tofu curry, these are the ones that i seeing this group. There is one more that I love to make on the coldest nights,Andhra style dappalam. There is no particular explanation  why dappalm on winter nights other than comfort. If you havent tried this Indian curry, today is your day.

What is Dappalam?

Dappalam or mukkala pulusu is a tangy, stew made with pumpkin, sweet potato, moringa pods, eggplants, yams and ashgourds to be served with rice. This light and low calorie curry is from the andhra cuisine. It is a lentil free, gluten free and nut free stew.

Is dappalam same as sambhar?

Dappalam is very different from sambhar both in flavour and ingredients. Though the vegetables used and the tamarind feels the same,dappalam does not use any cooked dals to thicken it. It is thickened using rice flour.  Dappalam also doesn’t use any spice mix unlike sambhar which needs sambhar podi or the ground paste.

Ingredients to make dappalam

Vegetables: most vegetables that feature in Southindian curries can be used in this curry as well. Pumpkin, wintermelon, bottle gourd, ridge gourd, small eggplants, tomato, moringa pods all work well in this recipe. You can add spinach, moringa leaves, methi leaves can also be great additionally. The spiciness is added in two fold using green chillies and later on as chilli powder. Serrano peppers provide a good flavour here.

Tamarind: the tanginess is what keeps the curry interesting. Dry tamarind soaked and pulp extracted is the commonly added one. You can use storebought tamarind paste. If adding the paste ensure you stir in a little at a time as it is stronger in intensity than fresh pulp.

Spices: not much of whole spices or.spice mixes are made for this recipe.  What goes in is salt turmeric powder amd red chilli powder. Choose your red chilli powder based on the heat you prefer. It can be mild Kashmmiri chilli or sick thikat lal. You can also.vhoose between paprika or cayenne.

Jaggery: the balance of the heat from the chillies is well balanced by a bit of jaggery that is added.
Infact the jaggery also enhances the sourness from the tamarind.

Rice flour: rice flour thickens the gravy to a pouring consistency. This can be white or red rice flour..ensure it is a fine ground powder. Glutinous rice flour is not useful to make this as it will make the gravy a bit jelly like (not pleasant to have).

Lets make this mukkala pulusu

The mukkala pulusu is a easy curry eve  for beginners to master as you can  keep adjusting the spices as the curry boils.

• Wash peel and cut the vegetables chosen into chunks.
• Soak the tamarind in warm water and set it aside to extract the pulp.
• After 10 minutes , crush with hand and extract the tamarind pulp.
• Add the vegetables into a cooking pot with turmeric and salt.
• Add the tamarind pulp and mix well.
• Add just enough water to submerge the vegetables.and cook them on medium heat.
• Add red chilli powder and jaggery as the vegetables start to become soft.
• Cover and cook this till the vegetables are soft.
• Make  a slurry of the rice flour.
• Pour this into the curry while constantly stirring.
• Let this slow boil and thicken the curry
• When it is a pouring consistency and the curry appears glossy, it is ready.
• Remove from heat and serve. 

What pairs well with dappalam?

Dappalam with steaming hot cooked rice (white or red), lettuce veppudu and some sago vadam is our Sunday meal. Don’t forget the dollop of ghee on the hot rice to get the authentic flavour.  You can pair this with soft rotis, fluffy set dosa, string hoppers or idlies too.

Is dappalam a vegan recipe?

Yes Dappalam is a wonderful vegan stew recipe. It is loaded with vegetables and  is free from dairy  nuts and gluten.

When is Dappalam made in Andhra cuisine?

Dappalam is often made during the Sankranthi festival as a part of the elaborate meal. You can swap the sambhar out of a banana leaf meal to add this or in the south Indian thali. 

Other south indian curries

Thengarachukuzhambu
Kulith saar
Manga pachadi
Aviyal kuzhambu

Stay connected

Hope your curry nights will be easier with dappalam. Let us know in the comments how you served this curry.
Pin for later
Stay subscribed and see you in the next post

Thankfully that Indian borage plant, that was generously shared by my husband’s cousin is happily growing. We have made so much chutney and rasam with these leaves.I have some more leaves to make new recipes. Since it is winter, the leaf growth will be slow. So I am salvaging some of the excess leaves to make a thokku and keep for a few days so the plant can be left alone to be its best. So here is omavalli thokku.

What is a thokku?

Thokku is a borderline between pickle and chutney. It is spicy, roasted in oil and has a lot ground vegetables with spices and seasoning. It is a long standing version when compared to a chutney. The common varieties are tomato thokku, gongura leaves thokku or mango thokku. It is different from a thogayal as there are hardly any lentils used in this recipe. Thokku is used in the place of a pickle in the South Indian meal. They taste great with thair saadam or as a dip for idlies and dosas.

Ingredients to make the omavalli thokku

Omavalli leaves: fresh fleshy leaves of Indian borage plant is  a key ingredient in this recipe. They have a slight peppery flavour laced with an oregano smell. The leaves wont give much volume to the thokku but is key to the taste and flavour. We don’t have much swaps here without altering the flavour. However, you can make mint or coriander thokku the same way.

Shallots and garlic : since it is a thokku recipe is like to store and use both for rice based meals and for idly dosa breakfasts, I add shallots and garlic for flavour. These also provide a good fragrance along with the omavalli leaves.

Tomato:here is volume and sourness that is needed for the thokku. Fresh tomatoes are the best. However, they are not the best at the moment in season so plain canned one will make the cut. You can choose just plain ones or the ones that are peeled and chopped. It is important to make sure they don’t have any salt or seasoning added to them.

Tamarind: to pack in a thokku punch you need a small lime sized ball of dried tamarind. You can swap this with about a teaspoon of prepared tamarind pulp.

Spices and seasonings: salty and spicy with a hint of sour is the aim of the best thokku. So let’s start with salt. You can use seasalt, table salt or the rocksalt crystals. My parents believe in rock salt. I have used generic salt from the supermarket.

For the colour and heat dry red chillies are used. I have chosen the bydgai variety to lower the heat index and just add flavour and colour. You can choose the variety you have at home for Indian cooking. Red chilli powder is fine to be used too. Paprika will not be useful, cayanne is ok. 

Fenugreek seeds add a distinct aroma to the thokku. It is a usual ingredient in south Indian pickles.

Oil:sesame oil into a generous amount is needed to make this. The oil not only allows to cook and roast the thokku, but also acts as a preservative forming a layer on top. This cuts off aerobes and prevents the thokku from going moldy. Oil is added first at tempering and a second portion almost at finishing stages.

For tempering: mustard seeds, curry leaves and dry red chillies are needed for tempering the oil. I prefer to grind the curry leaves along with the omavalli leaves as i don’t get a lot here.

Lets make Indian borage pickle.

Though the ingredient list was a bit long, the making steps are simple. Slow cooking is the best hence the time taken is a bit for the best results.

Prep the ingredients: wash, drain and check the Indian borage leaves. Peel as set aside shallots and garlic to go with the blend. I have used canned tomatoes, however you can use fresh ones to make the blend.

Grind the mix:into the blender add the shallots,garlic, curry leaves, omavalli leaves, tamarind, chillies and fenugreek seeds. Add the tomatoes and blend to a smooth paste.

Tempering: add the half the quantity of sesame oil into the deep pot and set on medium heat. Add mustard seeds,dry red chillies and fenugreek seeds to it and let the mustard splutter.

Slow cooking: once the mustard seeds crackle, add the blend paste. Mix well so the the oil mixes in well. Add salt, asafoetida,  pepper powder and slow cool this on a low heat. Mix intermittently and as it thickens add the rest of the oil. Cook it the oil starts showing up on the surface. Keep mixing and cooking till it is like a paste. At this stage the thokku is ready.

Storing: Remove from heat and cool it down. Transfer to dry bottles and once completely cooled, press down a bit so the oil layer is on the top covering the paste.  Seal and store in a dark corner of the pantry.

What pairs well with omavalli thokku?

The reason I store thokku is because you can spice up a lot of lunch box ideas within minutes. So here are my best combos.

• I like the lunchbox with thokku rice and cauliflower mezhukkuperatti. As a fusion I make thokku pasta with loads of vegetables. I use a spoon of thokku in stirfries and kadamba poriyal.
• As a classic sit down meal, steamed rice with kootu, some vattal or vadam and this thokku is a soulful end to a massive week.
• Dont limit the thokku to just home meals. Try a wrap with baked veggies and the thokku spread on the wrap. Ooo, yum!!

How to store Indian borage pickle?

The thokku stays well for upto three months. Ensure you transfer them warm into clean, dry glass bottles.
If you have made a huge batch remove a small portion into a smaller bottle to use often.this helps to reduce contamination of the bigger stock.
Use a dry spoon to remove a serving of pickle and don’t leave the pickle open for long.

Other pickle ideas

Here are a few ideas that you can make and keep for a long while. Click on each of these highlights to take you to the respective recipe.

• Green pepper pickle
• Gooseberry pickle
• Mango fenugreek pickle
• Ginger pickle

Stay connected

If you have not grown an Indian borage plant,I highly recommend one. They don’t rely on your green thumb,hardy and live well. In addition to making them as food the leaves can be seeped as tea.
When you have a lot of leaves, try this recipe and let us know what you think.
Pin this for later.
Stay subscribed and see you in the next post.

What is sabhudhana kheer?

Ingredients to make sabhdhana kheer

What are the best tips to make sabhdhana kheer better?

• Cooking down the milk: reducing the milk actually brings forth a creamy density. This flaours the tapicoa pearls really well.
• Evaporated milk cuts down a fair bit of the cooking time. It also doesn’t take away from the flavour.
• In certain recipes for the kheer you will find the addition of milk powder. This again increases the creaminess of the milk.
• Soak the tapioca pearls: it is no fun to bite into a hard centered tapioca pearl. So ensure you wash and then soak the tapioca pearls for a couple of hours

Is jaggery suitable to be added to this kheer instead of sugar?

You can certainly use jaggery in the place of sugar to make this recipe. If using jaggery, do not add it like you do with sugar. Instead dissole the jaggery in a bit of warm water and make a syrup. oil the syrup and remove the impruitirs that skim on top. When the cooking process for the kheer is finished, add the jaggery syrup after you remove the kheer from the heat. This will ensure the kheer is not curdled.

Meal prep for this kheer

Serving ideas for sabhudhana kheer

Can I make this kheer vegan?

Can I make this a sugar free dessert?

Enjoy sipping this warm broth with pumpkin and soft tofu through winter months or as you recover.

Ever since her braces the tooth sensitivities are high and my daughter looks for something filling  yet soothing. That’s when we devised this soft tofu and pumpkin broth soup that has been a winner.
Served warm, the soup has a lot of liquid and soft cooked pumpkin pieces. The soft tofu can be added chunky or broken down to form more of an egg drop soup consistency. This is a bowl of pure comfort and nourishment at the same time. It is a beginner recipe that is needs a chopping board, knife and a cooking pot only. It is,

• low calorie
• gluten free
• devoid of nuts
• dairy free.

Ingredients for the pumpkin soft tofu soup

Pumpkin: the chunks of pumpkin give the body to this soup. Any variety is fine as long as they soften when cooked. I like the Japanese variety somehow as it has a smoother mouth feel. It is perfectly OK to swap this to butternut squash as well .

Soft tofu : this is the softness and the uniqueness of this soup. When cooked,the soft tofu assumes a soft jelly like texture. It cannot be swapped for firm tofu as it feels clunky. So no swaps please on the soft tofu.

Seasonings: Salt and pepper is plenty to right make this soup good. Yet I have a secret ingredient you should try.

Dried mushroom powder: This brings forth a soothing umami flavours to the dish. I choose the powder as at the moment my daughter finds it difficult to chew. If not you can add a few chopped pieces of shitake or brown Swiss. I would totally avoid enoki as it will make the soup a bit slimy and with the soft tofu it us not a great mouthfeel.

Broth : to be clear,  I cook the soup in water. However you will get a much more depth of flavour if you use a vegetable broth. If using the broth be mindful not to add salt till you have tested the salt levels.

Herbs: you can finish off this soup with herbs if you like. You can add chopped coriander leaves, chives or scallions.

Let’s make pumpkin soft tofu soup

This will be one of the easiest ways you will make a soup.

Prep the pumpkin: this is probably the most time consuming process in this whole recipe. Peel and chop the pumpkin into chunks. You can dice smaller if you like. Frozen pumpkin cubes work well too.

Cook the pumpkin in broth: into a cooking pot add the broth (or water) and the pumpkin cubes. Cover and cook till the pumpkin is soft and mashable.

Add the soft tofu: remove the block of tofu from the packaging. Cut them into cubes. once the pumpkin is cooked add the tofu into the soup. Simmer and cook for 5 minutes till the tofu steams well. Instead of cubes you can crush the tofu and add. This soup will resemble the egg drop soup.

Season and serve: adjust the salt and sprinkle some pepper into the soup and remove from heat. The soup is ready to be served. Serve warm.

Variations to the soup.

At times we like to spice it up a bit with this soup, so a teaspoon of sambal chilli paste or Thai curry paste into the broth adds a ton of flavour and a variation from the regular.

Likewise, along with the pumpkin, you can add any vegetable you choose. This adds a bit more variety to this broth. You could try zucchini, broccoli, cabbage or winter melon will be good in the recipe.

Meal prep and lunch boxes

The soup broth definitely tastes the best when warm. However, it can be prepared ahead. It stays good for up to 3 days. I wont recommend freezing the soup as it is nit worth that effort.

Other soup recipes that are handy when having braces.

Broccoli and peas soup
Cherry tomato soup
Avocado cold soup
Carrot and celery soup

Stay connected

The pumpkin and soft tofu broth is a simple recipe. It is a perfect winter comfort or a bowl when you are just under the weather. Let me know if you like this version of a simple soup in the discussion below.
Pin this recipe for later.
Stay subscribed and see you in the next post. 

Enjoy a lipsmacking thogayal made with dals and peels of the ridge gourd in traditional south Indian flavour. Pair it with meals of your choice to wow, your family.

What I see as a difference between home cooks and chefs is not just in the size of meals that we make. Chefs have to keep up with so many of our taste factors, cost control and visual appeal. Home cooks, do know the people they cook for, so fairly easier for them to play around with the ingredients to suit the home needs. Moreover, home cooks can focus on ensuring the best of nutrition from best of produce.What do you think

Here is an age old recipe that a lot of South Indian home cooks rely on, peerkangai thol thogayal.

What is peerkangai thol thogayal?

Peerkangai thol is the peel of ridgegrord. This along with roasted lentils, spices, coconut and tamarind is ground into a coarse paste. This is peerkangai thogayal or ridgegourd chutney. It is a popular recipe among all South Indian states and has a few different names, peechinga chutney in Kerala, beerakaya pachadi in Telugu,  heerakai chutney in Kannada.  Often paired with steamed rice, a dollop of ghee and some stirfried vegetables on the side, the recipe is a classic homestyle one.
The recipe as such is

• Vegan
• Gluten free
• Onion and garlic free
• No nightshade added
• And dairy free

 

Ingredients from ridge gourd chutney

 Angled loofah or ridge gourd belongs to the cucumber family. The tough outer skin has predominant ridges. The gourd as such has soft flesh that is cooked into curries or stirfries. The peel is the one we have used to make this recipe

Dals: the dals add volume and depth of flavour to this recipe. I use a mix of skinned black gram dal (urad dal) and chick pea dal(channa dal). When roasted thr dals and ground the dals add the necessary volume to the dish.
Spices:there is very minimal spices in the recipe. Red dried chillies are a huge part if the flavour. The second main flavour comes from curry leaves. Along with the salt, the small pinch of asafoetida added offsets any need for garlic or onion.
Coconut: grated coconut added a softness. The milky flavour of the coconut works well with the ridgegourd. Tamarind: there is a slight hint of sourness that you experience while having this recipe. This comes frontiers dried tamarind that is added and  ground along with the ingredients. It adds a zesty flavour to the dish when having with grains or breads.

Let’s make peerkangai thogayal

The recipe is a medium intensity one where the roasting of dals is the one that can go wrong as it burns easily.

Prep the peerkangai: the peel of the ridge gourd is the one used to make this recipe. However, the ridges have a tough fiber running through them that needs to be removed.

• Wash and pat dry the riodge gourd.
• Using a knife or peeler approach of the pointed ridges. This js where the fibres are.
• Press down the peeler and remove the green skin completely. Save this part of this chutney. Save the spongy part to make kootu or stirfry.

Roast the dals and spices: in a heavy bottomed pan, add the urad dal and channa dal and a tsp of coconut oil. Dry roast this on low heat. Add the curry leaves and red chillies as the dals start turning golden and roast all together till the chillies are crisp and the dals deep golden. Remove this from heat on to a plate and set it aside.

Roast the peerkangai thol: Add the skin. Stir fry this till the peels look deep green and vibrant. Remove and add to the same plate. Let this cool down as well.

Grind the thogayal: once cooler to handle add the roasted dals, chilli,curry leaves, sauteed ridgegourd peel, tamarind, salt and coconut to the food processor and blend into a coarse mix.
Remove the coarse ground mix to a bowl and the thogayal is ready to be served.

Best pairings with peerkangai thol thogayal

Here are a few ideas for you to try with this thogayal
Peerkangai thogayal with steamed rice, a small spoon of ghee and poriyal on the side is one great Sunday meal.
At home, we like this as a side to rasam rice and often with some kootu.
Alternatively, you can use this as a dip for idlies, dosa etc too.
We use this as a spread for wraps and sandwiches. Pretty much the thogayal and cheese sandwich is a great try. Use some  grana padano or  aged cheddar instead of saltier ones like feta.

Meal prep and lunch boxes

Thogayal stays well in the fridge for up to a week without any issues. It also freezes so well, that we often rely on a frozen block for quick lunches. We love thogayal cheese sandwiches for our lunch box. You could also use it to stirfry the rice with, like we made ghee podi rice.

Other chutneys and thogayals

Thogayals, chammandi and chutneys are a big part of South Indian meals. Here are a couple of ideas
Thenga chammandi
Curry leaves thogayal
Doddapathra chutney
Mango chammandhi
Watermelon rind thogayal

Stay connected

The comfort of hot rasam on a plate with steamed rice and a ball of this thogayal is Sunday for us. We enjoy it as a meal together that screams simplicity yet home.Hope you enjoy making this chutney as much as we love bring it to you. If you make it slightly different tell us your version, we always love to try different ones .
Pin this for later
See you in the next post. 

Milk is not one of my favorite drinks. I always disliked a cup of milk whether you add sweetness to it or not. So, when I was little my mum devised a few clever ways to make me have some. The one that I did not put up much of a fight with was for the warm cup of cardamom milk during the cooler months. As the slow autumn chill is coming through here currently, I had a sudden urge to try this elaichi doodh back again.

What is cardamom milk?

Cardamom milk is an excellent winter warm drink where steamed or boiled milk is infused with the aroma and flavour of cardamom. This elevates it from just being a drink to a copy dessert like feeling. It is also the same recipe called as cardamom moon milk.

Ingredients to make elaichi doodh

Milk: classic elaichi doodh used full cream milk. However, it is up to you to use skim, lactose free or half and half milk or plant milk like soy or oat. Ensure you have a thick bottomed pan to boil it in.

Cardamom: green cardamom pods are the ones used in the recipe. When you buy them,ensure they look deep sage green or slate green and are so fragrant as soon as you open the pack. The skin is discarded (use in curries or to make tea) and  the seeds are ground to add to the milk.

Sweetener: this can be entirely your choice. Honey, cane sugar, stevia, monk fruit or add none if you prefer it that way.

Let’s make cardamom milk

Making cardamom milk is as simple as slow boiling the milk and stirring in the cardamom powder and sweetener .

• Remove the seeds from the cardamom pods.
• Crush them well.
• Slow boil the milk till it is bubbly and frothy.
• Stir in the cardamom and remove from heat.
• Stir in the sweetener. If using honey, wait till the milk cools down a bit.
• Pour into cups and serve warm.

Will cardamom milk induce sleep?

Cardamom as a spice  is a soothing relaxant. Along with milk that is well known for inducing sleep the Cardamom milk combination makes it and excellent combination. It certainly is not a remedy for sleeplessness. 

Can elaichi milk be vegan?

If you are following this recipe with soy milk, oat milk etc,  the recipe naturally becomes vegan, however you don’t want honey in the recipe.

Can we serve this chillied?

Absolutely, pop them into small bottles and leave them in thr refrigerator. If using UHT milk, it will stay for almost a week with no issues.

Milk recipes from this blog

Kesar doodh – aromatic saffron milk

Mexican Atole | Hot corn drink

Ulundhu paal | blackgram drink

Jeera milagu Kashayam paal | spiced milk

Stay connected

Hope you are a better milk lover than I am and enjoy this recipe more often. Let us know if you have some soothing warm drink recipes like this that you absolutely love in the comments below.

Pin this for later

Stay subscribed and see you in the next post. 

Till the covid lock downs came i never realised my food tastes really good coz amma send the bases needed for the nice meal. So the sambhar podi, rasam podi, vattals and vadams needed to make a south Indian meal all were perfect as amma made them. This lack of skill really was a big gap that I couldn’t help learning to bridge. With ammas guidance vattals were the first try, then the sago vadams and then slowly trickier ones like mor milagai. This year as I was making some of these recipes I remembered to take images of mormiliagi to share with you.

What is mor milagai?

Sundried chilli pickle made in south Indian homes and served with lunch or dinner. These chillies literally are translated as buttermilk chillies. The chillies are marinated in traditional buttermilk. This infuses the flavours of the yogurt, tenderises it and reduces the heat of the chillies. The marinated chillies are sundried and the stored. To add to a meal, these are deep fried.

Ingredients to make mor milagai

The mor milagai vattal doesn’t require much, just three ingredients.

Chillies: green chillies are the main ingredient of this recipe. Ideally slight plump but spicy chillies are used for the recipe. However, you can use jalapeno or Serrano peppers too to make this recipe.  Slightly plump thin walled chillies are the best as they dry fast and are delicious.

Traditional yogurt :natural set yogurt is what makes this recipe best. Ideally slightly sour yogurt is preferred as it makes the chillies less intense after marinating. Churn the yogurt with a bit of water to aid in the marination.

Salt: crystal salt or table salt is best to use here. You don’t need anything fancy.

Let’s make yogurt cured chilli

This is probably the part that is going to test your patience and bit.

• Wash and clean the chillies and pat them down with a kitchen towel.
• Trim the stalks with a scissors so you a centimeter above the stalk.
• Slit the chillies and set them aside.
• In a jar mix together yogurt water and salt.
• Shake it up till it becomes evenly incorporated.
• Soak the slit chillies in this mix. Shake up the mix well and leave it overnight to soak.
• Drain the chillies the next day morning and dry the chillies in sun. Place the remain liquid in fridge.
• In the evening, place the partially dried chillies back in the buttermilk solution.
• Dry them again the next day.
• This process repeats t0 about 3 to 4 days till the buttermilk milk mix is almost over. And the chillies semi dry.
• For the next couple of days, sun dry the chillies till they are crisp.
• Once well dried, store in air tight bottles.
• To deep fry, heat oil in a small wok. Once the oil is hot or sizzles when a small piece of the chilli is dropped in it, place 3 to 4 chillies at a time and roast till it us crispy.
• Drain from the oil and the chillies are ready for your meal.

Storing the sundried chillies

Sun dried vattals and vadams are best stored in a dry box with a tight lid and away from moisture. When removing some for use, ensure your hands are dry. In about 3 to 4 months it is best to sun the vattal again so it remains crisp and moisture free.

How to use the mor milagai vattal?

Once the yogurt cured chillies are completely dry, you can prep fry them in hot oil as needed for the meals. Alternatively you can airfry them too.

Serving ideas for mor milagai

Fried mor milagai can be served with papads in any South Indian meal. Commonly paired with Thair saadam, koozhu , or ulundhu saadam, it provides a crunch and a heat kick to these nutrients dense lunches.
The mor milagai vattal is a perfect addition to the South Indian tempering when making poriyal too as it is slightly less pungent than the dried red chillies.

Other sundried vattals from our blog 

Sago fryums

Lotus root vattal

Mango vattal 

Kumbalanga vattal 

Stay connected

Mor milagai vattal is a traditional South Indian recipe that few make at home. It is not hard, but a slow task so keep up the patience and try atleast once.  Let us know in the discussion below how your batch turned out with our recipe. Share the idea with friends and family.

Pin this for later

Stay subscribed and see you in the next post.