Category Archives: Indian

Vermicelli Upma (A lazy day meal :) )


I am sure you have days when you don’t want to do much of anything. Just a “take it easy”, “keep it simple” kind of  day.  I am sure you have an arsenal of quick recipes to survive such days…. you can add this one to that list too 🙂

If you have tried vermicelli before and have hated it, it is highly likely that you didn’t like the texture. Vermicelli is very unforgiving when it is overcooked. Al dente is a must, else it becomes gummy and not very appealing. Hope this quick recipe helps you to fall in love with vermicelli.

  • I am using roasted vermicelli – 1 cup. If you have only  the plain vermicelli, all you have to do is heat a tsp of oil in the skillet and toss the vermicelli in the oil for a minute in low heat, until it becomes golden brown.

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  • Veggies that you’ll need :
  1. onions – 1 small or half medium (sliced thin)
  2. carrots + green beans (french cut) + green peas – 1 cup
  3. minced ginger – 1 tsp
  4. chopped cilantro
  5. grated coconut – 2 tbsp
  6. lime juice – 1 tsp (optional)
  7. slit green chilles – 3 or 4  (replace with red pepper flakes)

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  • In a pot, heat a spoon of oil, and fry seasoning of your preference. I fried mustard seeds and urad dhal as I like the nutty flavors they bring. You can use cumin instead or garam masala (cloves, cinnamon and cardamon). Then saute the onions until translucent, and then the green chillies and ginger and the finally add the carrots, beans and peas. Add salt to sweat the veggies.

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  • When the vegetables soften, add 1.5 cups of water to the pot.  [ 1 cup of vermicelli : 1.5 cups of water] Usually the package says to add 2 cups of water, but 1.5 cups of water gives the right texture. Add salt to the water as needed and bring the water to boil.

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  • Add the roasted vermicelli to the boiling water and keep stirring. Reduce heat to medium.

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  • I timed it and it took exactly 3 minutes to cook 🙂 .

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  • Turn off the heat and add the chopped cilantro and grated coconut. You can add a tsp of lime juice for acid but its optional.

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And its done. The most time you will spend is in cutting vegetables, if you had pre-cut frozen vegetables , this becomes even quicker.

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Some variations :

1. You can add garam masala, ginger garlic paste and mint leaves to make it into vermicelli pulav

2. You can add shredded cabbage, soy sauce and green chilli sauce and make a chinese version of this.

3. You can add turmeric powder and lemon juice.

4. If you choose to add tomatoes, reduce the amount of water.

5. You can add toasted cashews or peanuts.

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Puli Molaga (Hot chillies in tamarind sauce)


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These beautiful red chillies came from my neighbor’s garden (She generously supplies her garden veggies throughout summer).  So gorgeous….so hot 🙂 I love adding them in all my cooking from upma to fried rice.  A few days back my neighbor’s son walked in with the handful of these and said ” I want you to have this, they are special because these are the last chillies in the plant”. Thank God for these beautiful children filled up with so much love 🙂 I promised him I will make something special with his special chillies.

Puli Molaga is a simple side made by cooking the chillies in  tamarind sauce. You can think of it as the south Indian salsa and it is a multi purpose side that can be served with rice, rotis, idli/dosa or as a spread for breads and wraps.

  • You will need a cup of pearl onions. If they are smaller in size , you can add them as whole. The pearl onions I had were bigger in size, so I quartered them. Cut the chillies in half inch pieces. You will also need some curry leaves.

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  • For seasoning , you will need :
  1. Mustard seeds
  2. Urad dal
  3. fenugreek seeds
  4. turmeric powder
  5. jaggery / vellam / brown sugar
  6. Asafoetida / hing

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  • Soak tamarind in water. The longer you soak , the more you can get out of the tamarind. Ideally, you soak it for a couple of hours before you need it. I almost always forget to do that, so I just soak the tamarind in water and heat in the microwave for 45 seconds. This softens the tamarind and makes it easier to get the juice out.

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  • Dilute the tamarind juice with water. It is hard to correctly predict how much “puli” (tamarind) you will need. I always try to make more than enough and store the rest in the fridge and try to use it within a couple of days.

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  • Heat 2 tbsp of oil in a pan.  Fry the mustard seeds. Once they splutter, add the urad dal. When the dal turns to golden brown, add the fenugreek. Then fry the curry leaves and the chillies.

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  • Saute the pearl onions.  You can use shallots instead of pearl onions too.

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  • When the onions soften , pour in the tamarind juice.

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  • Add salt, turmeric, asafoetida and jaggery (brown sugar) to the curry. Adjust salt and brown sugar accordingly so that there is a perfect balance of heat, sweet, sour and salt.

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  • Allow the curry to boil and reduce. Do not cover with lid. Any time you need to boil tamarind solution (for any recipe) you should not cover the pan with lid.

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  • Cook until the curry thickens and the oil separates.

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As I mentioned earlier, this can be served with steamed rice, breads, rotis and wraps. My favorite part of this dish is the onions, soft and juicy soaked in all the spices…..I just keep digging for them 🙂

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Adukku pathiri ( with veggie filling)


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This is a Kerala recipe, Malabar to be precise. Pathiri is a pancake(steamed) made with roasted rice flour. “Adukku” means layers. The rice pancakes are layered with some filling (usually meat or sweet) in between them. I  made a veggie filling with my favorite vegetables and the typical kerala coconut seasoning. May seem like a lot of steps, but quite simple to make.

  • To make the filling :
  1. Red onions
  2. Green peppers
  3. Red peppers
  4. Mushrooms

(These are the veggies I am using (my favorite pizza toppings 😉 ). You can use any vegetables of your choice. Cut the vegetables thin.

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  • Heat a tsp f oil in a skillet and saute the onions and peppers.

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  • Add the mushrooms. Add salt and pepper.

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  • While the mushrooms are cooking , you can make the seasoning. You’ll need :
  1. grated coconut : 2 tbsp
  2. cumin : 1tsp
  3. green chillies : 3 or 4
  4. ginger
  5. a pinch of turmeric powder

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  • Grind the above ingredients without adding water. Grind them just enough that everything blends, no need to make a fine paste. This is the standard seasoning used in Kerala for the vegetable stir-fry (thoran). It is simple but fresh.

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  • Add the seasoning to the sauteed vegetables and cook for a minute.

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  • This concludes the making of the filling. This, in itself,  is a good vegetarian side.

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  • Now to make the pathiris (pancakes), you will need the roasted rice flour. This should be available in Indian grocery stores in some version. Pathiri powder, Idiappam powder, Appam powder, puttu powder…..any of these can be used. If you can’t find it, just regular rice flour will work too, though there will be a slight difference in the softness of the pancakes.

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  • To a cup of roasted rice flour, add salt, a tsp of oil and some chopped cilantro.

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  • Boil water in a sauce pan, and pour the boiling water to the flour.

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  • Pour enough water to wet all the flour and mix with a spoon (as it will be too hot to touch).

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  • After a couple of minutes, when your hands can bear the heat, knead it to a smooth dough. Rubbing oil in your palms makes it easier.

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  • Okay….now for the fun part 🙂 Traditionally this is done using banana leaves. If you are not lucky enough to get one in your place (like me), here is an easier alternative I learned from a friend. (Trust me, this is much easier than using aluminium foil or plastic sheet).  Wet a paper towel (bounty or brawny, something that won’t collapse when wet).

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  •  Place a small ball of dough on the wet paper towel and spread it with your fingers. Make two pathiris.

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  • Place the filling on one of the pancakes.

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  • Now place the other pancake over the filling. This can be easily done by flipping the other pancake along with the paper towel over the filling and then peel off the paper towel.

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  • Press down the edges to seal.

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  • To steam the pathiri, I used my steam basket. You can also do it in your idli/idiappam maker.  Place the filled pathiri along with its paper towel in the steam basket.

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  • You can also cover the top with another wet paper towel. Steam for 5-7 minutes.

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  • And thats it….. 🙂

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  • All there is left to do is , slice and serve 🙂

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  • This one is done with 4 layers. The procedure is same though, may be a few extra minutes of steaming to ensure the inner pancakes are cooked through.

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This post is a dedication to all my friends from Kerala who through the years have shared their language, food ,culture and above all , their love with me.  Wishing everyone a happy Onam and a prosperous year ahead  🙂

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Spicy plantains (Ennai vazhakkai)


After six weeks of vacation, my own kitchen looks so new to me. Everything looks untouched as my husband had survived with canned soups and packaged salads and the kindness of our neighbors 🙂 Even cooking seems like a strange thing. I guess that is the point of a vacation : to refresh and renew.  I am slowly easing into the idea of cooking three meals a day, everyday 🙂

Here is a simple recipe that doesn’t ask for much, easy to make and easy to eat 🙂

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  • I use the green plantains we usually get in the Indian/Asian stores, but any green plantain is good.

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  • Peel the plantains and cut them in half. I do a very gentle peel, by removing only the hard skin out and leaving the layer of soft skin still intact. It adds a nice texture once cooked. If you don’t care for it , you can peel off that layer too.

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  • Bring a pot of water to boil and drop the plantains in. Cook for no more than 5-6 minutes.

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  • When you see the change in color, remove from heat.

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  • Cut the plantains in rectangles. (If you think  the plantains are overcooked, just allow them to cool down for 30 minutes before cutting).

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  • Mix 2 tsp. of turmeric powder, 3 tsp. of chilli powder (more or less as you prefer), 1 tsp. of black pepper, and salt with water to make a paste. You can also add garlic powder or paste.

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  • Rub the paste on to the plantains and set them aside for 15 mins. You can refrigerate them too, it helps the paste to adhere better.

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  • Heat oil in a skillet and fry the plantains to a golden brown.

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  • This is traditionally made as a side for rice. But in my house, this never makes it to the table 🙂 Kids enjoy it as a snack and they call it the “vegetarian fish”…. 🙂

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Chicken Vindaloo ( Replace chicken with tofu for vegetarian version)


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As much as I love cooking, I am very much intimidated by recipes that call for 25 ingredients and 30 steps 🙂 I have been cooking long enough to understand that good food can also be simple food. But there are exceptions to every rule. Chicken Vindaloo is one such recipe, involves more steps than normal, but completely worth all the efforts. A staple in Indian restaurants’ lunch buffet, this curry with chicken and potatoes is quite spicy. Its not the kind of heat that makes you reach for water after the first bite, but with all the different layers of spices, you will definietly start to sweat before your are done eating 🙂  I don’t mind spending an hour in the kitchen for this, because this could be the only thing I cook for the whole day. Make chicken vindaloo and steam some rice… lunch and dinner are taken care of (with no complaints :))  (The flavor profile closely matches with  chicken chettinad).

  • Step 1 (Making the spice blend)

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  1. black mustard seeds –  2 tsp
  2. cumin – 2 tsp
  3. black pepper – 1.5 tsp
  4. cardamom seeds – 2 cardamom (remove the pod)
  5. fenugreek – 1 tsp
  6. cinnamon –  three sticks (about an inch each)

(These quantiies are for 1.5 lbs of chicken)

  • Heat 1/2 tsp of oil in a pan and fry the spices. Add the mustard seeds first and the fenugreek at the very end. Image
  • Allow them to cool down for a bit and pulse them in a spice blender.

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  • To this add :
  1. 1 tsp of turmeric powder
  2. 2 tsp of red chilli powder
  3. 1 tsp salt
  4. 3 tsp of brown sugar

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  • Mix everything with 2 tbsp of vingear. Image

This concludes the making of the vindaloo spice blend.

  • Step 2 (Making the onion paste)

Chop 2 medium size onions. Image

  • In a big pot add 2 tbsp of oil and saute the onions. Image
  • The onions have to caramelize and turn brown. This will take approximately 8 – 10 mins in medium heat. Image
  • Cool them down and grind to a thick paste. The paste has to be brown in color, if not , the onions have not caramelized enough and that will definitely affect the taste of the gravy. Image
  • Step 3 (Marinating the chicken)

Clean and cut the chicken into cubes (preferably boneless). Marinate the chicken with the spice blend (step 1) and the onion paste(step 2) and set aside for at least 30 minutes.  Image

  • Step 4 (Making the Vindaloo Gravy)

The rest is quite easy. To make the gravy you will need :

  1. Medium tomatoes – 2
  2. Cilantro – a generous bunch
  3. Curry leaves – few
  4. Ginger garlic paste – 1 tbspImage
  • You will also need 1 large or two medium potatoes. Peel and cut into big cubes and leave them in water until needed.Image
  • In a big pot, add 2 tbsp of oil, and fry the ginger garlic paste.Image
  • Add the tomatoes, cilantro and curry leaves. Sprinkle salt to sweat the tomatoes.Image
  • When the tomatoes soften, add the marinated chicken.Image
  • Add the potatoes.Image
  • Cover and cook. There is no need to add water.Image
  • Usually the restaurant vindaloos are more like thin curries.  But I prefer a thick gravy. Remove from heat when the chicken is completely cooked and your preferred consistency is reached.Image
  • For thicker gravy, cook until oil separates.Image

This goes extremely well with rice or naan. It is a flavor packed dish, so just this and rice makes a sumptuous meal.

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