Lemon Rice!!!😃 One of the most famous rice recipe from South India. It is so tasty, light and easy to prepare. If you have cooked rice then it will take hardly 5 mins to prepare lemon rice. Yes, It's that easy and that quick recipe.

Ingredients:

Lime juice - 1/4 cup(Or to taste)

Cooked Rice - 3 cups

Turmeric - 1/4 tsp
Salt - to taste

Ghee/ oil - 2 tsp or as you wish😉

Peanuts - 10-15

Chana dal - 1/2 tsp

Urad dal - 1/2 tsp

Dried red chillies - 2

Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp

Asafoetida - 1 pinch

Coriander leaves (Chopped) - 1 tbsp

Method:

• Mix salt, turmeric and lime juice with rice. You can increase or decrease the quantity of lime juice as per your taste. Rice should be hot while mixing.
• Heat ghee/ oil in tadka pan.
• Add peanuts. Sauté them for 2 mins on low flame.
• Add asafoetida, dried red chilli,  chana dal and urad dal. After half a minute add mustard seeds. Let it splutter. 
• Turn off the flame and add curry leaves.
• Add this tadka to lemon rice. 
• Mix it well and cover it for some time. 
• Garnish it with Coriander leaves before serving.

Summer time calls for all the light kinda recipes. Khaman is one such dish. It is not deep fried, not spicy moreover it has no onions or garlic. Khaman is prepared with Gram flour,  which makes it slightly heavy.  If you want to prepare authentic khaman then replace moong dal paste with gram flour paste. 

If you are an Indian then you must be knowing the benefits of moong dal! Moong dal khichdi with ghee and curd is the ultimate remedy for most of the illness especially related to stomach. I tried making khaman with other pulses too. This is my mumma's recipes. She tried it with other pulses too. However, it came best with moong dal. So today I will be sharing this recipe.

Ingredients:

Split Moong dal without skin - 1 cup
turmeric powder - 1 tsp
fruit salt - 1 tsp
ghee - 2 tsp
mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
coriander - 1 tbsp chopped
asafoetida - 1/4 tsp
lemon - 1
sugar - 1 tsp
green chillies - 3-4 (Optional)
salt to taste

Method:

For Batter:

• Soak moong dal for 3-4 hours.
• Make a smooth paste of moong dal. Add little water while blending it. The batter should be of pouring consistency. 
• Add turmeric powder and salt.
• The batter is almost ready.
• The last step is to add fruit salt. Not now! I will tell you when.

For Khaman:

• Boil water in a steamer. 
• When water starts boiling then add fruit salt and pour this batter on a greased plate immediately.
• Place this plate in the steamer.
• Let it cook for 25-30 mins on a medium - high flame.
• Turn off the stove. Pour Lemon - sugar solution on these khamans.
• Keep it like that for next 10-15 mins. It is easy to remove it when it is slightly cool.
• Cut it into square shapes. It will come out of plate easily.For Tadka:

For Tadka:

• Heat ghee/ oil in tadka pan.
• Add Mustard seeds and asafoetida. You can also add whole or slit green chillies in tadka. 
• Pour this tadka on Khaman. 
• Garnish it with fresh coriander leaves. 
• Khaman is ready! 😀

If you are following me on Instagram then you must be knowing how much I love South Indian food. Curd rice is South India's favourite dish. Just see this pic. Isn't it amazing? It is so light and tasty😋

Curd rice is one of the best food for summers. It boosts digestion, which makes it a perfect home remedy for stomach upset, bloating or indigestion. We all know about the beauty benefits of curd.😌 It has the perfect combination of calcium, good fats and proteins. Above all, it can be prepared in less than 5 mins. Now it has all the reasons to become a part of your meal😃

Ingredients:

Curd - 250 ml

Cooked Rice - 1 cup

Ginger - 1 inch

Pomegranate seeds(Optional) - 1 tbsp

Peanuts (Optional) - 1 tbsp

Curry leaves - 8-10

Urad dal - 1 tsp

Chana dal - 1 tsp

Dried red chilli - 1

Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp

Ghee - 2 tsp

Salt to taste

Coriander (chopped) - 1 tbsp

Method:

• Mix curd, rice and salt. 
• Heat a tadka pan. Add ghee.
• Add Peanuts. Make sure that the flame is low. Saute it for some time until it turns a bit dark in colour. Just a bit!
• Peanuts is not a part of authentic curd rice. But I love adding peanuts so I'm sharing it with you guys. Let me know if you also like this twist.😊
• Add Chana dal and urad dal. Saute them also for less than a min on low flame. 
• Add mustard seeds, dried red chilli and ginger. Let them splutter.
• Turn off the stove and add curry leaves. 
• Add this tadka to your curd rice. 
• Mix it well. Add Pomegranate seeds too. If you want you can add finely chopped or grated carrots. You can also add finely chopped tomato. If you add some other vegetable then let me know in the comment section below.
• Garnish it with coriander leaves. I know it is looking beautiful and it's really challenging to resist! So, don't resist 😉

Kadhi khichdi is the simplest Gujarati dish that I've ever had. It is very light and tasty. It has all the ingredients that are good for digestion which makes it a must have during summers. It is a no onion and garlic recipe. If you are a beginner then this recipe is definitely for you! No master chef skills or patience is required.

Ingredients:

For Kadhi:

Curd - 250ml
Gram flour (Besan) - 1 tbsp
Turmeric - 1/2 tsp
Ginger - 1 inch
Green chillies - 4-5
Red chilli powder (Optional) - 1/4 tsp
Salt - to taste

For Tadka:

Curry leaves - 8-10
Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Asafoetida - 1 pinch
Ghee - 2 tsp

For Khichdi:

Moong dal - 1/4 cup
Rice - 1 cup
Turmeric - 1/2 tsp
Salt - to taste
Coriander (chopped) - 1 tbsp

Method:

Khichdi:

• Soak moong dal and rice for about 1 hr before cooking. This step is optional but recommended. 
• In a pressure cooker add rice, moong dal, turmeric powder and salt.
• Add 3 cups of water for 1 cup rice and 1/4 cup moong dal. If you want your khichdi to be little more watery or a little drier then you can increase or decrease the quantity of water. 
• Cook it for one whistle on high flame and one on low flame. That's it. Keep it aside. 

Kadhi:

• Mix besan and curd very well. There should not be any lumps.
• Once it is mixed properly add about 250 ml of water while stirring it. Mix salt, turmeric and red chilli as well. Most important part of the recipe is done!!!
• Heat a pan. Add ghee. 
• Add mustard seeds, asafoetida and cumin seeds. Make sure that the flame is low. Let them splutter. 
• Add grated ginger and slit green chillies.
•  Add curry leaves. Immediately add besan and curd mixture while stirring. Some people add curry leaves after adding this mixture. Both the ways it will taste good. Adding it in tadka gives very nice flavour but there is a chance that it might burn. So make sure that flame is low before adding curd and besan mixture.
• Increase the flame now. Keep on stirring it. Stirring is important otherwise gram flour will stick to the bottom.
• Add sugar. Sugar is a part of authentic Gujarati kadhi. However, if you don't like sugar then you can skip this part.
• Once it is boiled you can turn off the stove.

Kadhi khichdi is ready. Garnish it with coriander leaves. Add ghee while serving too. Ghee will enhance the taste of the dish. 😋 Do try this recipe, if you like it then let me know in the comment section below. 😊

South Indian breakfast menu is impeccable! Dosa is one of the most popular dishes in South India. However, in other parts of India people find it difficult to prepare. Batter preparation is very simple. Problem is  to get that perfect dosa! Just like the one in the image below 😉 Agree? 😌 Cool! So today I'll be sharing dosa recipe with few tips to get a flawless dosa every time! Just follow this recipe and the tips. 

Ingredients:

Urad dal - 1 cup
Rice - 2 cup
Salt to taste
Oil/ Butter/Ghee - As you wish😌
Method:

For Batter:

• Soak rice and dal for 3-4 hours in water.
• Rinse extra water and put them in a mixer. Take few breaks while mixing it otherwise batter will become very hot and that will result in hard dosas.Wet grinders are best for this purpose.
• Keep this mixture for 8-10 hours or overnight for fermentation in a warm place. It will ferment quickly in a warm place.
• Once it is fermented then you can add salt. That's it! The batter is ready.

For Dosa:

• Dosa preparation is exactly same as pesarattu or raw banana dosa.
• Heat a non-stick pan. It should not be very hot. Put 1/4 tsp oil, use a napkin to spread it evenly.
• Pour batter into the centre of the pan with a flat bottom bowl or spatula. Spread it with light circular motions. 

Notes: 

1. Pan should be warm, not hot. If you are finding it difficult to spread, means that your pan is hot. For cooling it you can wait after each dosa or rub half onion/potato on your pan, or sprinkle some water.
2. While spreading the batter, Using a spatula with the flat bottom is mandatory. At least for beginners, it is mandatory. You can use a bowl too. In fact that is a better option.
3. Keep the spatula horizontal while spreading. If you are using a bowl then this condition is already satisfied. Try to be a little quick while spreading dosa.
4. Don't try to fill the holes. Getting holes = hot pan. Litlle bit holes are okay. If you will try to fill it then it will make the dosa worse.

• Make it as thin as possible.

• Apply oil from sides and on top of it. You can add butter/ghee too. How much? Well, depends on your wish. 😀 
• Remove it from the pan once it is brown from one side. 
• Dosa is ready! Serve it with sambhar and/or curry leaves and coconut chutney or tomato curry leaves chutney or any chutney of your choice. 

Please let me know if these tips helped you in getting flawless dosa! 😃 

Phirni is a creamy dessert made with milk, rice and dry fruits. It is a very common dessert in North India. It is prepared on festive occasions. It is similar to Rice Kheer. Phirni's recipe is very easy to prepare. No Masterchef skills required.😉 However, patience is required and the result is awesome! Just see this pic. Isn't it mouth watering 😍😋 There is a saying in Hindi, "Sabr ka fal meetha hota h." which means the result of patience is sweet! Well, I think this saying is definitely related to kheer's family desserts😋😅

Ingredients:

Milk (Full fat) - 1 Litre
Rice - 2 tbsp
Sugar - to taste
Jaggery - 3 tbsp
Cardamom powder

Dry Fruits:

• Dates - 3-4
• Raisins - 6-7
• Almonds - 3-4
• Pistachios - 3-4
• Cashews - 5-6

Method:

• Soak rice for 2-3 hours.
• Grind it into a smooth paste.
• Boil milk. Once it is boiled keep it on low flame.
• Add Rice paste.
• Keep on stirring it occasionally.
• Stir it more frequently when it starts becoming thick.
• Add jaggery and cardamom powder after about 30 mins. 
• Add finely chopped dry fruits and keep on stirring it. 
• When you think it has reached desired thickness then you can turn off the stove. It will take approx 45 mins to 1 hour 15 minutes. It depends on how thick you want it to be.
• Phirni is served chilled. So keep it in the refrigerator for some time.
• Garnish it with dry fruits or even rose petals is a good for garnishing! Enjoy this yummy dessert! 

Raita! 😋 During summers, I don't like starting any meal without raita or may be just plain curd. I am pretty sure that you guys must have tried cucumber raita or boondi raita or may be simple raita with onion and tomato. All of them are tasty. Aren't they? Today I have something different for you😌 Raw banana raita! It's refreshing and tasty. Above all, it can be prepared in just 10 mins!!!

Moreover, Raw banana is a good source of fibre and resistance starch. Resistance starch improves insulin sensitivity, lowers blood sugar levels and has several other benefits for digestion. So, raw banana should definitely get its place in our plates! 😊 Don't forget to check out my other raw banana recipes Raw banana dosa, Raw banana dahi vada, Raw banana tikki. 

Here goes my recipe for raw banana raita:

Ingredients :

Curd - 500 ml

Raw banana - 1

Tomato - 1 (Medium size)

Onion - 1 (Medium size)

Green chillies - 2 

Corriander leaves (Chopped)- 1 tsp

Pomegranate seeds - 1/2 cup

Roasted cumin seeds powder - 2 tsp

Salt to taste

Method:

• Remove the peel of banana and boil it. One whistle is enough. 
• Meanwhile finely chop tomato, onion, green chillies and corriander leaves. 
• When boiled banana is ready, mash it well.
• Mix all the ingredients. You can add or remove ingredients as per your wish. Like you can add cucumber or boondi or remove onions if you don't like raw onions. However, I would definitely recommend not to remove pomegranate! When I prepared it for the first time and  shared the pic and recipe with my mother then she asked me to add pomegranate. Her expert advices always take my recipes to another level. Love you mumma 😘😊
• Raita is ready!!!
• You can serve it with lunch or dinner. It will also taste good with Tomato rice, aloo dum biryani,  Sattu Parantha. 

Do try this recipe let me know if you like it. 😊

Sattu is a very common in North India. However, few people from other parts of India don't even know about this super food! Yes, it is definitely a super food. Basically it is roasted gram flour. It has a lot of fibre, proteins and other minerals. It is very good for digestion. Low gycameic index makes it awesome for diabetic patients. It helps in maintaining cool body temperature. So, a must have during summers!

If you find it difficult to get it from local markets then, you can get it from amazon.

There are so many awesome foods that you can prepare with sattu like sattu ka sharbat, sattu parantha or makuni parantha, litti chokha, sattu kabab, sattu kachori, sattu laddu etc. Please let me know if you are interested in any of these or even all of these recipes as well. I will be more than happy to share it😊.
The best part about this recipe is that it can be prepared in just 15 minutes. No preparation time required!!!😃

Ingredients:

For Stuffing:
Sattu - 1 tbsp
Onion(Finely chopped) - 1/2 medu size
Garlic(Finely chopped) - 3-4 cloves
Green chillies(Finely Chopped) - 3-4
Any Pickle Masala- 1 tsp
Mustard oil - 1 tsp
Salt to taste

For Parantha:
Atta(Wheat flour) - 4 tbsp
Ghee(clarified butter)/Oil - 1tsp

Method:

For Stuffing:

• Mix all the ingredients mentioned in for stuffing section.
• Stuffing is ready!! 😄

For Parantha:

• Prepare a soft dough with water and atta.
• Take a small section of the dough. Make a cavity for stuffing.
• Put some stuffing inside this cavity and close it. 
• Roll it using a rolling pin.
• Heat a pan. 
• Transfer this parantha on the pan. Flame should be high or medium - high.
• Turn it when it starts showing some bubbles.
• Apply ghee on this side.
• Flip it again. Apply ghee this side too.
• Keep on pressing, specially sides.
• Flip again. 
• Parantha is ready. Serve it any curd or chokha or any chutney of your choice. It will taste awesome with Ridge gourd chutney .

Fast = Crash diet?! 😉 Even I tried doing that few months back during Navratri. Do you know what happened? Well... Nothing. Thank God that I didn't gain weight! reason is obvious. During fasting, most of us starve throughout the day then have heavy dinner. By heavy dinner, I mean Potatoes + deep fries + sabudana which absorbs hell lot of oil!!!😓 So, no need to starve during fast😇 Try this light crunchy and yummy sabudana namkeen with negligible ghee. 😋

Ingredients:

Sabudana - 1 cup
Peanut - handfull
Dry coconut(Finely sliced ) - 1 tbsp
Sesame seeds - 1 tsp
Ghee(Clarified butter) - 1tsp
Chaat masala - 1/2 tsp (optional)
Red chilli powder  - 1/2 tsp (Optional)
Salt - to taste

Method:

• Dry roast sabudana on low flame for about 30 minutes. Turn off the stove after every 7-8 minutes for about 1 min during this process. 
• After roasting, sabudana will become crispy and crunchy 😃😋. Keep it aside.
• Heat ghee in a pan.
• Add peanuts,  Sesame seeds and finely sliced coconut.
• Saute them for about 2 minutes on low flame. Then add sabudana. Saute everything well for 5-6 minutes. 
• Add chaat masala, red chili powder, and salt.  If you are preparing this for fast then use rock salt instead of normal salt.
• Enjoy yummy crispy sabudana namkeen!!! 😊

There was a day when I was forced to strike a balance between "tasty food" and "strictly no white flour (maida) recipe" wish that my roommate was drooling over. Then was when I started "all home-made ingredients (most of it, though)" mission. End of the day, there was this "yummy yummy in my tummy" look on my roommate's face. So, are you ready to sing the "Yummy...Tummy" anthem?! 

Ingredients:

For dough:

Rice flour - 1/2 tbsp

Maize flour - 1/2 tbsp

Gram flour - 1/2 tsp

Atta - 1 1/2 tbsp

Turmeric - 1/2 tsp

Oil - 1tsp

Vegetables:

Carrot - 1

Capsicum - 1 small

Onion - 1 medium size

Ginger - 2 inch

Garlic - 4-5 cloves

Tomato - 3-4

For Sauce:

Dried red chillies - 5-6

Sugar - 1/2 tsp

Vinegar - 1/2 tbsp

Red chilli powder - 1 tsp 

Salt to taste

Method:

• Take rice flour, maize flour, gram flour and atta in a big bowl.
• Heat oil in a tadka pan. 
• Add turmeric. Turn off the stove after 4-5 second. 
• Add this oil in the mixed flours.
• Now prepare a soft dough with these flours and water.

• Take a section of the dough. Roll it with a rolling pin.

• Cut it into your fav shape. I used this multi-cutter. You can use knife only. 

• This is how it was looking after cutting.

• Now boil water. Add salt and a little oil in boiling water.
• Then add this pasta. Cook it for about 5 mins on high flame. 

• Spread them on a plate.

• Add dried red chillies, 1 inch roughly chopped ginger, garlic(3-4  cloves) and tomato. Make a smooth paste.
• Heat oil in a pan. Add this paste, vinegar and salt.
• Cook it for 5-6 minutes on medium flame.
• Keep it aside.
• Heat oil again. Add all the vegetables.
• Saute them on high flame.
• Add salt, black pepper and the sauce that you prepared. Mix everything well.
• Add pasta. 
• Cover it and let it cook for 1-2 minutes on flow flame. 
• Pasta is ready!!! Enjoy healthy homemade multigrain pasta.😊