Whenever amma start making some yummy bhakshanam( traditional snacks) she first starts with a small conical mount with turmeric powder kneaded together and place some kumkum at the top of it. Following this is when she start actually making the dough for ribbon pakoda, omapodi, chakkuli or murukku. Through this process they are invoking the blessings of the food loving God, Ganesh who will probably remove any obstacles in the tricky process of getting these snacks done. Taking that a step f...| Mildly Indian
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 an...| Mildly Indian
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 ...| Mildly Indian
The perfectly spherical puffed pulkha are the epitome of kitchen confidence if you are trying out Indian cuisine. Exactly as I said, it can quite be a test of your patience. Here is my journey to this stack Phulka From memory My paternal aunt who resides in Ahmedabad makes this stack of perfectly round phulka. I was a teen and visiting her. There are many things I could think of for that summer holiday trip that we took. A few good taste bud awakenings too as I really was a picky eater. I rem...| Mildly Indian
I was recently watching the Megan and Harry series on Netflix. There was one particular part I actually liked. The friends' idea for the new year is to set a word. My instant reaction to that was wow, that's profound. Rather than having a resolution that you drop off after a few days, finding a word that is adding meaning to you in multiple ways sounded far better. Guess what word I am choosing...after a bit of thought! Imperfect that is my word. As we evolve this year I will share with...| Mildly Indian
Check out how to make this easy lentil vegetable stew, an easy sambhar recipe, that is vegan and gluten-free. Pair it with your savoury breakfast, lunch menu or evening snack, podipotta sambhar always finds a place in the meal. Walk into a tambhram house anyday there will be sambhar on the menu. Yet the sambhars are all different. There is arachu vitta sambhar, podipotta sambhar, pasi parippu sambhar, thenga paal sambhar, sada (ordinary)sambhar, pressure cooker sambhar, udupi sambhar, darshin...| Mildly Indian
Some recipes don't need much of a note to themselves. The simplicity of the stirfry, the freshness of the ingredients etc are enough to get the dish to perfection. This radish greens poriyal is one such recipe. Mullangi keerai- radish tops Mullangi keerai, radish tops are not the usual spinach option that we come across. The slightly peppery leaves are still a tasty variation to the green addition on your plate. May it be the tops of the daikon, the juicy red salad varieties, the green Chines...| Mildly Indian
At the farmers market, I often observe people take off the radish leaves before getting the bunch of radishes. I have observed the same in India too where the sabjiwala asks if he shall take off the leaves. This week in my grocery I was buying the radish with the tops. The lady at the billing asked me if I kept rabbits!! I replied that we eat it as it was nutritious. She looked surprised but that saved me the reddish leaves that otherwise would have ended up in the bin! This was the revelatio...| Mildly Indian
If I would like to go back and stay in a country, I have been to, I would without hesitation say, I will be with the Pinoys. It is for the smiling people that I would go back for. The ringing laughter when a group of Filipinos get together, their sense of humour and the ability to laugh in spite of all the worldly troubles, that to me is a life well lived. So I would happily live among them. So living there for a few years with fantastic and welcoming people, I learnt some bits of their cui...| Mildly Indian
As soon as you hear the bittergourd name, do you shake your head and say No!! I don't blame you! It is a tough ask till you get used to it and then fall in love with it like me. Not just you, most home cooks are reluctant with it. Most restaurants shun it.. so it is just a handful of bittergourd lovers like us who will get to the task. In fact between India and mt south Asian travels, I have found so many ways to incorporate this unique vegetable. So far on the blog, we have the stir-fried bi...| Mildly Indian
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 Dappal...| Mildly Indian
Turn your ordinary fritters into something amazing the way the Filipinos make it. Try this okoy recipe loaded with veggies and the sweet vinegar dipping sauce ( pink vinegar sauce) to go with it. When we were living in the Philippines, my son went to a kindy and learnt a children's song. The '' Bahay kobo song' that every kid knows in Tagalog. It is a song about a village house surrounded by vegetables and fruits. The song was more beneficial for me than to him as I could navigate the veggi...| Mildly Indian
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 spi...| Mildly Indian
Udupi style recipes have always been a pleasure to make. Without a doubt, a majority of these were hand trained by my mother in law. Today is one such dosa recipe which doesn't require any fermentation of the batter. Southekayi Southekayi is a term which applies to both yellow field marrow and the green large cucumbers. Now as per my learning, the southekayi in this one is the cucumber vs the southekayi in the huli (sambhar), which is the field marrow. Correct me if I am wrong. Anyway, I hard...| Mildly Indian
With innumerable lakes and ponds adding natural beauty reflecting the mighty Himalayan range, only one thing added beauty to them. The water lilies and the beautiful lotus. This is what you look forward to seeing in Kashmir. Needless to say, the fibrous rhizome quickly became the favourite vegetable. It literally populates most home-style cooking recipes of this zone. The combination of this fibrous earthy element with the goodness of good old spinach brings out the gentleness of the Kashmiri...| Mildly Indian
Being a mum is like being a superwoman. Working a job, devoting yourself to various chores, practice sessions for kids, matches and concerts you need to attend and the list goes on endless. The food and the grocery still need to be done and made. This is where we all need a helping hand. There is absolutely no shame in accepting a hand to help for all superpowers do take the help of a sidekick or two. I have chores that the kids help with. My husband does cook at times and gleefully heads to ...| Mildly Indian
Right, I am sure you are wondering how come I have recipes back to back with discarded parts of vegetables. Well, I always have taken care to see if I can use produce to its best. To tell you the truth, I have a huge collection of recipes that I do make with them. Plus it is always been the way so in hardly think of it as a chore. Using up the orange peels Oranges and bananas are perhaps the two fruit that we go through in our house very quickly throughout the week. Of course, the banana peel...| Mildly Indian
Once winter sets in roasted vegetables are such a delightful addition to the meals. Lots of veggies, warmth from the oven and the kind of attention the kitchen gets feels like home. I guess this is the whole reason why these are the top-rated recipes for the holiday season and thanksgiving. Among the roasted veggies, one of my personal favourites is Brussels sprouts. Hence tend to add a bit more of the sprouts to this maple roasted Brussels sprouts recipe when other veggies are added. Brussel...| Mildly Indian
One of the most delicious effortless tropical treats is a cinnamon coated grilled pineapple. It instantly transforms any dull day into a fun one. Equally tantalising is a juicy piece of pineapple with a spicy rub set on a semi char by the grill. The total goodness of the tropical fruit made it even juicier. Except for cleaning up the pokey outer skin, I just love every bit if this fruit. I guess this is going to stay awhile with us as our go-to option for difficult days or one where the...| Mildly Indian
The cumin flavoured, gluten free, delicate basmati rice preparation is one of the basic recipes from Indian kitchen. This jeera rice pairs well with most curries, and is quick and easy to prepare. The Indian pressure cooker that wakes up most of us is the biggest secret to fastest Indian cooking. May it be rice, beans, dals, curries or snacks, we can proudly say we mastered the art of the pressure cooker. Cooking rice in the pressure cooker is one of the first tasks we learn in the kitc...| Mildly Indian
Sago pearls are not just for boba tea!! Sago pearls and coconut milk are a common combination in most Asian dessert puddings. Soft cooked sago pearls with the creaminess of coconut milk with or without fruit running through it are one of the earliest desserts we start kids off with as well. Across the whole Asian continent, you will see this combination. The sabudhana kheer, the Burburcha, buko pandan, or this sago guava pudding all have the interesting texture added by the sago pearls to com...| Mildly Indian
The sabudhana kheer is literally tapioca pearls boiled in milk. Yet, it tastes simply divine in some households and mediocre in others if you are curious like I was here are the best collated ideas to make the best tasting sabudhana kheer. What is sabhudhana kheer? Sabudhana kheer is a creamy milk based dessert popular in India and Pakistan. The recipe uses tapioca pearls cooked in milk and is flavoured with nuts, seeds and saffron. Made during festivals like Holi, Shivrathri, Diwali and ...| Mildly Indian
If you have to experience an ingredient it is to experience it in the simplest form. That's the way I love pasta. Among the dry pasta, the kids love the long strings of spaghetti. easiest to store this dry pasta is the best in winter. The long spaghetti story This particular experiment starts with the winter holidays. I was teaching my kids to do simple pasta so they can get their basics towards survival. Since they are beginners and not ready to use eye measurements to cook we needed the su...| Mildly Indian
Vengaya killu vadam or onion vadam is a flavourful crispy side to your simple Indian meal. Made in summer, this vadam stays good for the whole year and is absolutely loved during the rainy months. Try it? Since our household is divided with respect to love for the allium family we end up with excess of onions during some grocery runs. When the sun was blazing (back to gloomy autumn now) i made a batch of vengaya killi vadam to use up the onions. With pouring rains last week, the weather was j...| Mildly Indian
Talking about quick ideas that makes rice taste a bit more than plain, cooked version is another trick up my sleeve. This is faster and quicker than the kalonji rice or the ghee podi rice , i have written about before. Adding yogurt cured chillies mustard and curry leaves s etc tempering into the cooked rice (or left over rice) revives it and it feels like you have made a pulao or variety rice. Ingredients to make quick thallippu saadam Cooked rice:cooked rice is the base of this recipe. Yo...| Mildly Indian
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 comfo...| Mildly Indian
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...| Mildly Indian
As South Indian borns we live on podis (spice powders) . Podi with idly podi with dosa, sambhar podi, kootu podi, kalathu podi, rasam podi, ellu podi, kollu podi, the list is endless. These save a lot of time in the kitchen and add flavour and nutrition. Hence, we sprinkle it generously on all food stuffs and rice too. Thus originated lunchbox perfect, ghee podi rice. What is ghee podi rice? Ghee podi rice is a very simple stirfry rice recipe. The cooked rice is roasted with , ghee, curry l...| Mildly Indian
If you have been a regular at this blog for some time now, you would have figured out, I give every vegetable I come across a try. At least once and bring it forth to you. As summer approaches us soon, it's time to think about what to throw on that barbecue. Of course that spicy rub pineapples, juicy grilled tomatoes, zucchinis and eggplants have to go on as usual. Here is the recipe for the spicy-sweet pineapple skewers - Click here This summer I do want to keep some more variety to the plat...| Mildly Indian
Radish tops kootu is a mild south Indian curry that pairs well with rice and rotis. The radish leaves are tender and an exciting way to add greens to your winter menu. We are stuck with just kale or Swiss chard during winter months. Since I go big on the green leafy veggies, it is pretty boring to just have these around. However, there is plenty of radish, carrots, beets and cabbages. So, here we are utilizing these fresh radish tops again. When we get some fresh radish tops we make mooli ki ...| Mildly Indian
With under 5 ingredients and 30 minutes, fix up a family pasta night. Pair it with a salad and the creamy goat cheese pasta will be on repeats every week. As much as we love rice, we dig into a good bowl of pasta. Of late, we have been loving a creamy delicious, goat cheese pasta. That tangy flavour of the goatcheese pairs well with a basic tomato pasta sauce to create magic in every bite. So join us as we dig into our new favorite, goat cheese pasta. Ingredients to make goat cheese pasta Pas...| Mildly Indian
Some people you meet just take off so well with you. Conversations with them are heartwarming. It feels like you have known them forever as opposed to some who know forever and a few minutes with them is still an effort. There is no real theory I have here about why this happens but, just that we met some amazing people lately. We were expecting nothing more than an Airbnb at Coraki, NSW. The warmth of the smiles, the care they should to our kids put Sam and Ely permanently on our list of gre...| Mildly Indian
The best of the mixed vegetable rice variety is bisibelebath from the Karnataka cuisine. The blend of a few additions to the regular sambhar powder mix makes it form a brilliant variation. I make bisibelebath one a week..and the recipe is one pot, loaded with veggies and can be cooked with rice, millets, rice flakes or grits. No matter what the other combinations are from my pantry, I always rely on homemade powder. The aroma is so different from the store-bought packaged ones and stays wel...| Mildly Indian
There is no festival in Kerala that should pass by without having a good go at the Kerala sadhya. The elaborate banana leaf meal with 10-12 dishes (sometime 24) is all vegetarian affair. The locally grown vegetables with coconut-based masala cook up the vegetable sides. Fruit and rice-based, long-simmered desserts are added to the meal at the end. This delicious meal served on the fragrance of the fresh banana leaf is the best part of Vishu and Onam. Working mum and sadhya. Sadhya is a time-...| Mildly Indian
Whenever I talk about Kerala, I feel like I have words pouring out of my ears,and nose too to the speed I am unable to keep up. This time it is about the huge relief to see Kerala get back on its feet after massive flood destruction. It is still in need of rebuilding and your help if possible is needed. You can use these portals to contribute whatever you feel worthwhile toward this largescale attempt. Chief Minister's Distress Relief Fund To this recipe Kootu curry js one of the most simpl...| Mildly Indian
Sambhar is a lentil based stew or chowder, staple to the South Indian Cuisine. This slow simmer gravy is an everyday household one. the variations to it are immense. To say, you could literally collect one difference in the recipe or style of making from each household. Its is a melting pot of flavours ranging from sour, spicy with a bit of sweetness. It was an interesting read on Wikipedia, that made me rethink about the sambhar that I literally prepare every alternate day. An 'amti' tur...| Mildly Indian
Arugam pullu (Bermuda grass) rasam is been on my agenda for a very long time. But, whenever I would attempt the photograph- it used to look really hopeless with all the reflections of me which prompts me never to post the recipe. Slowly with evolving skills, I am gearing up to try out new skills to showcase the rasam. Stay in with me on this and do offer your suggestions with respect to the photograph. Rasam is a comfort soup recipe, a South Indian idea for having a rice soup kind of d...| Mildly Indian
Any curry guru will tell you that a great curry starts from the best curry paste. Many a time I am asked for my curry hack. Well, there is the only one that perfects the Indian curries, predominantly the North Indian, restaurant-style curries - the buna masala. Once you get this roasted Indian curry paste to perfection you have mastered 50 per cent of Indian cooking. For a simple eye, it is cooked tomato-onion paste!! For a food connoisseur, it is the degree of roast, the balance of the s...| Mildly Indian
There is no meal in the Indian cuisine that ends without something sweet on a festival day. The need for 'meeta 'on the plate is a compelling tradition. In fact, this is a common occurrence in many traditions. The past couple of weeks have been extremely stressful and I was surprised when one of my children wished to have something sweet to have. It set me thinking. What prompts our sweet tooth to awaken? Like any other animals species, our lookout for sugar is a sustenance model we have cr...| Mildly Indian
Scene 1 At school pocket money used to be just a few rupees..that the best deal you can get from your parents. Typically it is spent on the wrapper free candy from the jars that lined the store near the school and then a quick dash to catch the school bus back home before it leaves. The trading happens once we are on the bus. There is a variety of candy sandd then there are pickled gooseberry, slices of juicy pineapple or the tiniest of packs of naranga achar. The achar always was the top b...| Mildly Indian
Once more we have a short lockdown. We have developed a cluster and to break the chain we are all staying home and doing the right thing. How do I utilise this? It is summer, and following the good old mum trick, we make vadams and vattals in summer aka fryums. Well, ours has turned out to be a wet one, but does that stop the unexpected few days at home being turned into a family activity? Just as much as we like to eat together we like to cook together too and this summer ritual is slo...| Mildly Indian
From the first day of September the Indian calendar is saturated with festivals. The constant tug of war between getting to work and balancing the cultural side to ensure that the kids have a glimpse of festivals even if they are geographically separated from homeland gets me thinking of all sorts of hacks. I hope this is what you enjoy about my blog too! The one that is riding in my thought for this Chaturthi season is to keep ready some no cook modak ideas. This will help me sorting naivedy...| Mildly Indian
The South Indian carrot salad is one for ages I have seem my mom and mother in law do. It is the quickest recipe to make we come home back from a trip or we are totally out of any sides. To us this carrot salad recipe becomes our travel companion, in places where it's really hard to find veggie food. With one of the rasam cubes ( check review https://mildlyindian.com/1-minute-express-rasam-maiyas/ ) or the one for the extreme hunger attacks one the evening. Even a really easy typical...| Mildly Indian
Enjoy a pillowy soft medhu vadai with a crispy exterior made with whole black gram. Make this for all the festivals upcoming and some extra for your snacks. When you think of South Indian food, that idli vada combo stands out. That crispy exterior with the pillowy soft bites reign far above any doughnut lures that you can provide me. Recently I started making medhuvadai with whole black gram, rather than the skinned ulundhu. This purely was because I had a whole bag to finish and there is onl...| Mildly Indian
The typical Indian restaurant menu carries two styles of thali (read as thalee) meals. Classified simply as North Indian and South Indian the platter carries an array of dishes served with rice or bread. These meals are fairly balanced, with a sizable portion of the plate to carry dry vegetable stirfries and curries. The large platter that carries all the dishes is the thali. The South Indian meal. The large platter that carries all the different dishes is the 'thattu' in The southern part of...| Mildly Indian
Peter piper who picked the peck of pickled peppers surely will be changing his choices once he is tried out this green peppercorn pickle. Why do pickles feature in traditional cuisines? During the process of pickling the lactobacilli and other good bacteria found always on the surface of the plants are provided a medium to grow selectively over the decay causing ones. The bacteria work on the sugars going on the plants first converting them to lactic acid and stopping further spoilage. ...| Mildly Indian
A simple lemon pickle where the lemon is in perfect harmony with salt and a few birds eye chillies have always been the house favorite of all pickles throughout my life. While having the lemon pickle with 'kanji ' (Congee) and 'payar thoran,' very often I have heard my dad talk about the pickle with 'odichukutthi naranga' made by my grandmother. I couldn't much relate to it coz I hardly ever figured out till recently it was citron. Citron or wild lemon Citrus medica, odichukkutyhi naran...| Mildly Indian
Every visit amma keeps some treasures for us. This visit she had a bharani (jar) of crisp tender mangoes in brine. Through my jet-lagged eyes too I was happily eyeing them and she knows me so well that she opened the jar, selected a crisp one and placed it with lunch on my plate. The first bite into the tender mangoes I knew it was mums love. Before leaving amma explained the process of making this maanga uppilitathu that I am sharing with you. How to select tender mangoes for uppilitathu? ...| Mildly Indian
Have you had a special bean salad recipe to take to every gathering? Here is my crunchy, easy, fuss-free, Mediterranean black-eyed bean salad. Do you have that one Salad you always take to a gathering knowing fully well that it will be completely devoured though it is not completely a looker? Mine is this Mediterranean black-eyed bean salad. I have lost count of how many times I made it and believed I shared it with you all, till one of my friends pointed out that I missed it. Sorry, so here ...| Mildly Indian
