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Mooli ka Parantha (Raddish Stuffed Indian Bread)

A Confession :
I am blogging this to show of my picture of mooli ka parantha(which I liked) or my version of moolangi chapathi as we call at home. ....

In case you don't know how to make them, here is the recipe :

White Indian Variety Raddish : 2 (wash, peel and grate)
Green Chilli paste: 1tbsp
Cumin:1tsp
Salt
Wholewheat flour/Chapathi atta : 4cups

Mix everything to make a stiff dough. "DO NOT USE WATER" while mixing the dough ... water which is in raddish aids mixing of dough. If dough is a bit hard do not worry as it softens when you allow the dough to rest for 15-20 mins. If you need additional water to make the dough add little by little. Rest the dough for 15 mins before you roll them into 5" diameter circles. Roast them on a hot girdle with little butter/ghee. Enjoy them with your favorite curry!

Mixed Dried Nuts Halwa/Badam Milk Powder

I went on making Badam(Almond) Powder mix for Badami Haalu/Badam Milk & on the road of discovery a delicious halwa was made. Both Milk(hot & cold) & halwa tasted wonderful. I made the powder twice on popular demand at home. Here is the recipe ...

Ingredients:

Badami/Almonds - 2 cups
Cashewnuts - 1 cup
Pista - 1 cup
Nutmeg Powder - 1tsp
Saffron strands - 15
Color- saffron color a big pinch
Edited to add : Cardamom Powder : 1/2tbsp

Toast all nuts over stove top pan/oven/microwave whichever way is convenient to you. They should be crunchy to eat once they cool down. Let them be at Room Temperature when you begin the process of powdering.
Take all the ingredients with toasted nuts and pulse them in mixer/blender/...
The end product should be granular.
Heat up a thick pan and spread the mix over it and switch off the stove. Keep stirring in 2 mins interval in this way the excess oil that oozed out during pulsing will dry and the fragrance is still retained. Cool to room temperature and store in a airtight container.

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Add 1tbsp of this powder to 200ml of hot milk with sugar and serve ..or chill the milk and pulse it in a blender so that the powder and milk are mixed well and serve.

This is not a good picture but still sharing it to show how it may look:

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Color in the rim is because of the saffron which released it's color when I left it for a while....

Mixed Dried Nuts Halwa :

Dried Nuts Powder : 5tbsp
Whole Milk : 1/2litre
Sugar: 5tbsp (or as per your taste)
Ghee: 1tbsp

Heat milk in a thick bottomed pan and let it boil and reduce to half. Keep stiring in between..
When milk has condensed to half of the original quantity add dried nuts powder and condense further untill it starts thickening.
Add sugar and ghee and keep stirring till sugar dissolves and the halwa thickens. Remove the pan from heat and let it cool... Serve at room temperature..
Halwa was made for Sai Prasadam so you can see few flower petals on it..

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Grilled Red Pepper and Tomato Soup

We have just fallen in love with the idea of drinking soup before we think of having dinner. A flavor a day is my way of taking soups so I don't get bored with the idea of drinking soup. A dear friend who knows me very well asks me 'so...which soup recipe are you hunting today :D'....I had red pepper at home, so thought of making a soup with tomato. All soups which I have been making has 4 'essential' ingredients they are 2 veggies, Onion and Garlic any thing additional added to season depends on the vegetable used. I have followed the same 'essential ingredient' principle here, using Italian spices to season the soup. The bright red color made :) and taste was just the way I wanted it to be..less salty, subtly spiced and stomach friendly.

Ingredients :
Red Bell Pepper : 1
Tomato : 2 big
Onion : 1 medium sized
Garlic : 1 pod
Water to make up the volume of Soup
Seasoning : pepper, Mixed Italian spices -store bought, salt

NO OIL, NO BUTTER, NO CREAM ...STILL NICE :D

Grilled all the vegetables on stove top grill...

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When you start grilling while onions and garlic with skin you get a very nice aroma..(I liked it, you may or may not like it)

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Once you grill all the vegetables till they are blistered all over; remove the blistered skin and wash them under running water to remove any adhering burnt skin. This way the final soup will not smell burnt!

Blend everything in a blender and filter to your soup pot add bring it to boil. Add salt and other seasoning ingredients mentioned above according to your taste and remove from stove. Enjoy hot soup with your favorite accompaniment.

Here is a bowl of 'no fat' plain soup seasoned with spices for you !

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Sending this bowl of soup to MM-Grill It hosted by Sig of Live to Eat


Also this goes to colorful event hosted by Sunshine Mom of Tongueticklers blog. This month's color is RED

Sprouted Chana Usli/Molake Kadalekaalu Usli

Kadalekaalu usli makes a good snack in the evenings or a good accompaniment with chapathi. You don't have to use sprouted kadalekaalu/chana always. Soaked/fresh chana can be used to prepare this dish. I had sprouted chana with me and I have used it.

Prep-Work:
Soak kadalekaalu/chana for 8 hrs
Pressure cook kadalekaalu/chana for 3 whistles with little salt.

Ingredients:
Cooked kadalekaalu/chana-2cups (drain water from chana before adding it into the pan)
Onion-1 big (peeled, washed and chopped into fine pieces)
Green Chillies-1 (chopped into circles)
Curry leaves-2-3 leaves
Coriander Leaves-2-3 tsp (chopped)
Fresh grated coconut-1tbsp
oil-1/2tbsp
sasive/mustard seeds-1/2tsp
uddinabele/uraddal-1/2tsp
salt

Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds and when it stops crackling add uddinabele/uraddal and let it brown.
Add curry leaves, chopped greenchillies, chopped onions and stir. Fry onions till they are soft. Cook on medium heat.
Add cooked chana, coriander leaves, grated coconut and little salt and give a good stir. Switch off the stove and cover the pan and leave it aside for 4-5mins. Stirr and serve hot.

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Chilli I used in the dish is from my little garden


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How sad..GYO takes one entry per blog..I wanted to send this too..

Bombai Gojju & Batata Vada for SWC-Maharastra

One of our neighbor in India is a Maharastrian by gene and Kannadiga by birth. She often feasted us with some marathi style food which were Kannadigised either by name or by adding an additional ingredient. One of her fusion food was Bombai Gojju a variation of Zunka of Maharastra. Since the dish was always made remembering our dear K born M neighbor, this goes to Neha who is hosting SWC-Maharastra. Neha here is a fusion food for you :D ! I have something authentic too..'batata vada' which we enjoyed with Pav (Bun) as our morning breakfast! You can browse through www(dot)mumbai-masala (dot) com for batata vada recipe and other authentic Maharastra style dishes. I have tried a few from their website and it has always worked well. Here you go with the recipe of Bombai Gojju :

Bombai Gojju/Zunka-varied
to make gojju for 2 people :

Ingredients :
Tomato : 2
Onion : 1
Curry leaves: 2-3 leaves
Oil: 1tsp
Mustard: 1/2 tsp
Turmeric: a big pinch
Green/Redchillies: 1 -2 cut into 3-4 small pieces
Besan/Gramdal flour/roasted chickpea flour: 1.5tsp
Curd : 1tbsp
salt

Clean and wash Onion, Tomato, chillies and set it aside. Heat oil in the vessel you want to make gojju.
When oil is hot, add mustard seeds and let it crackle. Add chillies, curry leaves, onion and saute.
Add turmeric and little salt and continue sauteeing till onions are transcluscent.
Add in chopped tomatoes into the vessel, add water, cover and cook till tomatoes are soft.
Mix Besan with curd and salt(u have added salt once, so adjust the quantity accordingly)
Pour this mixture to tomato and onion mixture and keep stirring.
Besan starts thickening so keep stirring and add additional water if required to make curry of required consistency. Taste and adjust flavors. Boil the curry for 2-3 mins or till the raw smell of besan flour disappears whichever is first. Garnish with coriander and serve with hot chapathis.

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Batata Vada
Recipe Courtesy: mumbai-masala

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While you all enjoy Batata Vada and Bombai Gojju, don't forget to send in your entries to Neha of Easy n tasty recipes at http://easyntastyrecipes(dot)blogspot(dot)com, in case you are in a hurry....here are the details :

Email the following details to neha.agrawal.2610[at]gmail[dot]com with SWC:Maharashtrian cuisine as the subject line by 31st July.
  • Your name
  • Your blog name
  • Name of the Recipe
  • Permalink of your post
  • A photograph of the final dish (Any size is fine.)

Also sending Bombai Gojju to Curry Mela event hosted by Srivalli of Cooking for all Seasons

Baked Samosa and Tomato Soup

Baked Samosa

Samosa..aah..are they not tempting? :D they are ...for me. Samosa's are my weakness too... and I can add myself to list of people who consider themselves as a 'I go zombie when I see Samosa'... so, I tried this baked version, result was good. A little less guilt compared to deep fried ones. As some great person has said "Conscience is the inner voice which does not allow you to enjoy what you are doing", baked samosas made me guilty coz of the amount of butter which was added in the making of samosa skin ...but there was no choice :( ...anyways no one can bake a 0 calorie samosa so I convinced my conscience ;) and enjoyed eating ... :D You can find the recipe for baked samosa here & here

Anu says.. "the dough recipe is a winner! " She just adds 1/4 cup melted butter to 2 cups of plain flour. I used 1 cup wheat flour and 1 cup plain flour and results were very good.

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Tomato Soup

Tomato Soup is one which needs no introduction. Here you find Sowmya's version which was yummy!

Here you go with Tomato Soup Recipe:
Recipe Source : Sowmya Tripurant

Ingredients :
Tomato : 2 big ripe tomatoes
Carrot : 1 small
Onion : 1 small
(All vegetables, washed, peeled* and chopped)
*where necessary

For Spice Bag :
Cloves powder-1/2tsp
Elaichi powder -1/4tsp
Cinnamon Powder-1/4tsp
White Pepper Powder-2 pinches
(Caution : Pepper+Cloves = too spicy, unless u r in that mood .... ;) )
Tie them in a muslin cloth and leave the thread a bit lengthy so that it can be tied to the vessel.

Salt
Butter/Olive Oil : 1tsp (u can use more ..)

Sauteed all vegetables in olive by adding one after the other with tomato going in last and carrots first. Added little water and boiled it for about 5-8 mins. I covered the vessel while cooking. Removed from heat and let it cool till it reached room temp. Pureed it in a blender. Filtered it to a pan in which soup will be made.
Tied the spice bag to this pan(mine had a handle, so it was easy to tie) and added salt and sugar. When soup start showing bubbles, lowered the flame and checked the soup and adjusted flavors accordingly. Boil it for about 3-4mins in that time spices would have very well diffused into soup. Remove from heat and serve.

Enjoy hot tomato soup with your favorite accompaniment. My son enjoyed them with deep fried bread pieces ;)

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Huli Uppittu/Sour Upma

This is a good variation to normal vegetable upma. Also it can be made quickly with less ingredients, so it is always on my menu for breakfast. Try it sometimes.

You need the following :

Uppittu Rave/Semolina/cream of wheat - 2 cups
Green Chillies - 2
Onion-1 small
Curry leaves - from 1 line
Oil - 2tbsp (I know it is more but uppittu always tastes good with little more oil)
Mustard seeds - 1tsp
Kadalebele/Chanadal - 1tsp
Uddinabele/Uraddal - 1tsp
Saarinapudi/Rasam Powder - 2tsp
Tamarind Juice - 3tbsp (or according to the sourness levels u want)
Salt
Water 4cups

How to make it :
1.Dry roast creamofwheat/semolina in a thick bottomed pan till you get nice aroma of Semolina. At this stage Rava would have started turning brown. Switch off the gas and transfer the Semolina to a plate.
2.Heat oil in a kadhai/shallow pan/any vessel to make upma.
3.Add mustard seeds when oil is hot. Let it crackle, add Chanadal and fry till it is golden brown, add urad dal and let it brown too.
4.Add chillies, onions and sautee , fry it till onion becomes little brown. Add salt and give a nice stir.
5.Add 4 cups of water and bring it to boil. When water is boiling add tamarind paste and RasamPowder. Taste the water and adjust flavors accordingly.
6.Reduce the flame and start adding rava. Keeping stirring while you add Semolina little at a time. Cover and cook for next 2 mins. Switch off the gas and let it rest for next 5-8mins. Garnish with grated coconut and coriander leaves if you have it on hand. Enjoy it hot!

Use any vegetable to make this upma however simply chillies and onions also work well.
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Mix Veg and Fruit juice with Rose Tea

A medley of veg and fruits with fragrant rose tea was a real joy to drink. It was very refreshing to drink a healthy juice with a fragrance of rose aah... call it as a chilled sweet soup or juice it is nice to have it under any name..

Starfruit :

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Mix Veg and Fruits :

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To make rose tea :
Boil water in a pot and add dried rose buds/fresh rose petals (pesticide free) switch off the gas. Let it steep for 4-5hrs. Strain the water and refrigerate, your rose tea is ready!

Buy a packet of these dried roses from a trusted retailer who sells quality goods.

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Take 300ml of rose tea, sugar and chopped veg & fruits in a blender and blend it to make thick juice. Remove it to a serving jug and make up the juice level with rose tea and water. Refrigerate and serve chilled.

I first thought of naming it a soup but changed my mind and termed it as juice. So the photo edited yest still contains Soup on it :D

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I am sending this to Rachna who is hosting Jihva-Flower Power. Jihva is a brainchild of Indira of Mahanandi blog.


Also sending it to WYF-Juices&Icecreams hosted by EasyCrafts



...............also to Mythreyee of Paajaka for her SweetSeries event



...............to Summer Splash event of Aarti

Kadalekaalu Chitranna/Sprouted Green Chana Rice

Perhaps Chitranna, Uppittu, Avalakki are few items which I bet would not say 'no' when you are in a foreign land. Back home these are made on daily basis that say the name of uppittu........"plzzz amma don't give me concrete (we call uppittu as concrete.. ;D) to eat early in the morning"..this was my standard answer when I was a child. I have thrown enough tantrums for eating repetitive stuff ;) like this. To make chitranna/lemon rice more interesting I add few items and give it a bit of face lift. Atleast it does not sound the same old figure rice (Chitra=Figure Anna=Rice..translated from Kannada to English) Priyanka liked it as much as we like it so this is for you Priyanka.....

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You need the following to make Kadalekaalu Chitranna/Chana rice :
Sprouted Chana : 1 small cup about 2 fistfuls (cooked)
Onion : 1 medium sized (peeled, washed and chopped length wise)
Green Chillies : 5 (washed, wiped and cut lengthwise)
Cooked Rice : 4 cups

Tampering :
Oil: 4tbsp
Kadalebele/Chanadal : 1tsp
Uddinabele/Uraddal: 1tsp
Curry Leaves : 1 line
Turmeric powder : 2 pinch

Seasoning : Salt, and Lemon juice from 1 lemon

Garnishing : chopped coriander, grated fresh coconut (optional)

Wash and soak green chana/brown chana (green chickpea/brown chickpea) overnight. Next morning, remove water and transfer it to a airtight container. Keep it aside in a dark place for next 24hrs and you have sprouted chickpea..if you don't see sprouts at 24hrs..you probably have give it another 12 hrs time. Here it is :

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Procedure:
Pressure cook rice and let it cool. Rice grains should fall apart for this type of rice preparation. I keep a plate/bowl over the rice bowl and place chana in it. Chana gets pressure cooked with rice. Remove excess water from Chana. (Note: I do not add water to chana bowl when I place it inside the cooker).

In a wide non stick pan heat oil. When it is hot add mustard seeds and let it splutter. When it has stopped crackeling add Chanadal and let it brown and the add urad dal let it brown too. Now throw in green chillies and chopped onions. Add turmeric powder and give a nice stir. Fry onions till they turn transclusent and soft. Add salt & cooked chana, mix and switch off the gas.

Add cooked rice to the tampered mix and mix it well. Season with lemon juice and garnish with coriander leaves. Serve hot!

My way of enjoying Chana Rice :

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This goes to Grow Your Own event hosted by Jai and Bee..I hope it qualifies ;) GYO event was started by talented Andrea of Andrea's Recipes

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Tags and Awards

I kept my awards for a very looooong time with me :D well, I was enjoying them ;) and it is now time to share the happiness. Before I give away the awards I would like to do the two tags I received from Priti, Veda and Anisheetu. Because Priti tagged me first let me do it first :

Answers to following questions :

- What was I doing ten years ago
I was studying

- What are five things on my to do list for to day
Finish my Monday job in office
Teach Akash
Cook dinner at home
Bloghop to drool over some nicest dishes that my fellow bloggers have cook
Sleep early ;)

- places I have lived at
Mandya, Chitradurga, Bangalore, Ranchi, Gandhinagar, Singapore, ..in...btw Mysore

- jobs I have had
Research Scientist, Research Coordinator

- what are five snacks I enjoy
Maddur Vada, Paani Puri, Churmuri, aaaah...impossible to think coz I feel like eating them all now....I love all snacks :)

- what things would I do if I were a bilianaire
Give me a billion and I will tell u ;)

Second Tag is from dear Veda and Anisheetu has passed me Magic Lamp of Luck



The mighty Genie King and the beautiful Genie Princess from the magical Land of Faraway are back! Upon escaping the clutches of their Evil Master after being held captive for 1000 years, the magical genies have been busy flying on their Magical Flying Carpet, granting wishes and spreading love throughout the blogosphere.

And now, the genies are back with a special gift for everyone! Behold the sacred, Magic Lamp of Luck! With this magic lamp, your blog will enjoy much good luck and fortune, warding off all things evil lurking around in the blogosphere. We would like to share this magic lamp with you so please pass on the Magic Lamp of Luck to those in need of some good luck. Remember, do not be greedy or unkind, evil or vengeful and good luck & fortune will always be with you! Join us on another exciting magical adventure as we spread goodwill and good luck to one and all! Master List :

* Start Copy Here*


1. Add your site(s) to the list once you have received the Magic Lamp of Luck.


2. Pass on the Magic Lamp of Luck to as many people as you like. After all, everyone needs some good luck!


3. Leave a comment HERE once you’ve passed on the Magic Lamp of Luck. Once the Genie King and Genie Princess have visited your site to make sure your links are complete and proper, you will then be added to the Master List.


4. To ensure everyone receives equal link benefit, please UPDATE your list regularly!


1-Mariuca 2-First Time Dad 3-Mariuca's Perfume Gallery 4-Emila's Illustrated Blog 5-The Other Side of Emila 6-My Sweet Escape 7-Bay Head Blog 8-Roxiticus Desperate Housewives 9-LadyJava's Lounge 10-Petty Ramblings of a Petty Queen 11-The Real Deal 12-Pinay Mommy Online 13-Perpustakaan 14-LadyJava Life's Pages 15-Make Money Online 16-Cat Tales 17-LadyJava's Food Paradise 18-Being Woman 19-Spicybug 20-Biz-N-Honey 21-Aeirin's Collections 22-Sasha Says 23-Project Heavy Traffic 24-Picture Clusters 25-My Wanderings 26-Maiylah's Snippets 27-Moments of Colours 28-Life Quest 29-BigMoneyList 30-The Best Parts 31-Morphed 32-Buhay Pinoy 33-Galatayo 34-Blogging Tips 35-Apples Of The Eyes 36-My Own Utopia 37-Sasha's Corner 38-Under One Roof 39-Say Cheese 40-A Great Pleasure 41-A Life in Bloom 42-Because Life is a Blessing 43-Digiscraptology 44-Xixi 45-Ode to Adrienne 46-CrankyDave 47-Simple Life 48-Dew Drops 49-The Journey 50-Mastering Your PC 51-Day Break 52-A Little Girl Talk 53-Mom Knows Everything 54-Day to Day 55-1 of a Kind Wis 56-It's a woman's world! 57-Breather 58-Photo Hook 59-Letterbox 60-Asian Mutt International 61-Dream Doe Philosophy 62-MommyAlehs Up-Close And Personal 63-Livin' the Life! 64-Restnrileks 65-English Corner 66-English Grammar 67-Bodybuilding & Fitness 68-Everything you need 69-One Stop Games 70-Blockbluster Movie Trailers 71-Bodybuilding & Human Growth Hormone 72-World of Tennis 73-Men's Health & Tips 74-Internet Marketing Strategy & Tips 75-Latest Technology 76-Tentang Binaraga 77-Berita Seputar Selebriti 78-Panduan Kesehatan 79-Insurance For You 80-Crissy's Zone 81-Crissy's Library 82-Crissy's Haven 83-sHeNzEe's wOrLd 84-Voice Of The Spirit 85-Best Cuisine Recipes 86-Stand My Ground 87-SeeNRead 88-This Is A Miracle 89-I AM KCAT 90-Traipsey Turvey 91-GBeX & DOm 92-Spun By A Seanachie 93-ISL Family 94-D' Cooking Mudra 95-'Story' the Great 96-UmmiRosma 97-Munirah Abd 98-Atie 99-Hit-or-Miss 100-Twisted Sister 101-Laketrees Artist 102-Blessed Sanctuary 103-Comedy Plus 104-Blogging By Sandee 105-Living Life to the Fullest 106-Speech-Less 107-Happy Life 108-My Discoveries 109-Strangely Out Of Place 110-Rooms of My Heart 111-The Paper Vision 112-Luxurious Retreats 113-Reef 114-Weekend Snapshot 115-Blessie's Finds 116-Confessions of An Army Wife 117-My Pooch Life 118-Five Martini Lunch 119-TIPS FROM THE TRAILER 120-PoeARTica 121-STAY AT HOME MOM 122-Rantings of a Woman 123-Sjtl's Weblog 124-Turn-u-Off 125-My World in My Own Word 126-Shawie 127-A New Saga 128-Janeth Vicy's Life Journey 129-Simple Reveries 130-Berry Blog 131-Touts4u 132-My So Called Life 133-La Vida es Hermosa 134-Speedcat Hollydale Page 135-mangosteenskin 136-Choc Mint Girl 137-Of Colors And Styles 138-Pinaymama's Diary 139-My Life's Rollercoaster Ride 140-My Life...My Journey! 141-Bonoriau 142-Jenny and Belle 143-Read My Mind 144-A Sweet Taste Of Life 145-Shopping Blog 146-Precious Moments 147-Feydakin 148-Hot Shit Form Here 149-A Mother's Simple Thoughts 150-Daily Ramblings Rendezvous 151-Miss Moneypenny's Comical Posts Undercover 152-My Precious Niche 153-Fun|Fierce|Fabulous 154-Colorful World of Shiela 155-Me,myself+2 156-Ozzy's Mom 157-Let's talk about MJ 158-Great people make us feel we can become great 159-A Family Man 160-Just the way it is... 161-In Depth 162-Attitude, the ULTIMATE POWER 163-Are You Grateful? 164-Complain Complain Complain 165-My Little Black Pot 166-Notes By Marvic 167-Aku Pelukis 168-Jiwasintetik 169-Foster Me Up 170-Life: Thoughts & Inspirations 171-The Callalily Space 172-Mommyhood and Me 173-Bits and Pieces 174-La Place de Cherie 175-Through The Rain 176-Blogfixes 177-New England Lighthouse Treasures 178-Chez Francine 179-Tsinay 180-Hailey's Domain 181-Hailey's Beats and Bits 182-My So-Called Life 183-PinayWAHM 184-Rusin Roundup 185-Sweet Temptation 186-Lynn's Chic Spot 187-Kai Kriye 188-LiLo n StiTcH 189-Lights and Shade 190-Easycrafts 191-Ideasmoney 192-My creations 193-Sukanya-hobbiesandcrafts 194-My Kraft 195-Adam: @geNda | iNsPiRaSi 196-The Working Mom 197-My Touch Of Heaven 198-Her Name is N.O.Y. 199-Fida Abbott 200-Hesitant Wife's Blog 201-Blogging For Fun 202-Paint Your Life 203-Spicybugz World 204-Colin From Life 205-Ramblings of The Phat 206-AngelBaby from Your Caring Angels 207-Creative Saga 208-Indian Khana 209-Me and My Kitchen 210-Mom's Recipies 211-Mom's Cooking 212-Cooking Station 213-Simple Indian Food 214-Rekha's Kitchen 215-YOU Next!


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Thanks Veda and Anisheetu for wishing my blog luck . I would like to pass it on to :
Sowmya of Creative Saga
Cham of Spice Club
Prajusha of ICook IPost
Shreya of Mom's Cooking
Rashmi of en vittu virundhu

Time to pass on other awards :
Prajusha and Mrs.Srilekha has showered their love in TOM by giving Yum Yum blog award.
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I would love to pass this on to
Sunshinemom of Tongue Ticklers
Anisheetu of My Kitchen
Vedamurthy of Iyengar's Kitchen
Roma of Roma's Space
Usha Prashanth of Samaikkalam Vanga

Vani, Priti, Priyanka & Srilekha made me feel happy by giving Friendship Award. I am passing this on to
Nupur of Cinnamonhut
Sowmya of Creative Saga
Sukanya of Sukanya's Musings
Nags of Truly Madly Deeply
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and to Vani, Priti and Priyanka again.. for being such sweet blog buddies.

Many thanks to Veda, Usha Prashanth and Rashmi for passing me Yummy Blog award. Your blogs are yummmy too.. I would love to give yummy blog award to
Rekha of Plantain Leaf
Farida of AzCookbook

For Award Picture please click here

Many thanks for Roma for sending across a big giant bear hug to me. Hugs to you too..

Have a great day ahead...

Mix Vegetable Huli/Mix Vegetables in Lentil Sauce

Huli in Kannada translates to 'Sour' in it's literal meaning. Sambar which is popular worldwide is Kannadiga's Huli. I am not sure about differences between Sambar and Huli as I consider both at par with each other. A wonderful medley of vegetables with split pigeon peas and hot rice....aaah hungry stomach needs nothing more.........and with some yogurt..it is a feast ;) Huli is part of everyday lunch/dinner menu. You can prepare some saarina pudi and with few more additional ingredients your huli is ready. Here you go with the recipe :

You need the following to make Huli :

Vegetables any of these available at home. Mix and match.
Toamto, Carrot, Potato, French Beans, Onions, Chaoyate, Brinjals, Drumstick, Spinach, ...list continues..

For a cup of Pigeon peas/Togaribele/Toordal and 2 cups of vegetables cooked you need following additional ingredients other than Saarina Pudi/RasamPowder.

Dry Roast the following on a hot pan :

Uddinabele/Urad dal -1tsp
Kadalebele/Chana dal-1tsp

additional raw ingredient to grind
Onion : 1" piece (raw)(optional)
Fresh grated coconut : 3tbsp
Saarina Pudi/rasam powder : 2tbsp (or according to the hotness levels)
tamarind paste : 1.5tbsp (adjust according to sour levels required)

Tampering :
Ghee/Oil, Mustard, Curry Leaves, red chillies - 1, hing

Procedure:

1. Pressure cook vegetables, pigeon peas/togaribele/toordal with a pinch of turmeric, 2-3 curry leaves and a tsp of oil for 3 whistles.
2. Dry roast urdadal/uddinabele & Kadalebele/Chana dal on a hot pan and powder it. To it add raw onion, saarina pudi/rasam powder, tamarind and fresh grated coconut and grind to form a paste using little water.
3. Add the saarina pudi/rasam powder paste to cooked dal and vegetables. Add salt and bring it boil. Kannadiga type huli calls for a little(1/2 tsp-1tsp) jaggery at this point. This is optional.
4. Tamper using ghee/oil and add it to boiling huli. Let huli boil for 2-3mins. Switch of the gas and let it stand for 15mins before you serve with hot rice.

A bowlful of huli for you......
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Puffed Rice Brittles

Puffed Rice Brittles/Puri unde/...call them anything .....they add a good crunch while you eat. It is easy to make and what else can a mom like me wants? when I always on look for simple to make snacks for my kiddo! The total time taken to make is about 15 minutes if you have all the ingredients at home. Here you go with the recipe..

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You need the following :
Puffed Rice
Grated jaggery
roasted sesame seeds
roasted and deskinned peanuts (optional)
grated dry coconut (optional)
ghee-1tsp
water - 2tbsp

I am not writing the amount of puffed rice qty etc as I did not measure them while making it. You can take approximately. About 4 cups puffed rice: 1/2 cup jaggery ..

Take jaggery and water in a thick bottomed wide pan. Melt jaggery and let it cool. Filter it. Jaggery may contain dirt etc. Clean the vessel and dry it.

Grease a tray with ghee and sprinkle sesame seeds on it.

Take the syrup in the same thick bottomed pan and heat it on medium flame till you get a 2 string consistency syrup. When you pull a drop of syrup btw your thumb and index finger it should form two strings. This takes 2-3 mins time. ..so keep checking.

Add rest of the ingredients and mix. Switch off the stove. Transfer the mixture to the tray. Grease a rolling pin and press down the mixture to spread uniformly over the tray.

Let it cool. You can garnish with dry coconut and nuts if you wish. Cut them into squares and store in a refrigerator or outside.
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Puliyogare & Saarina Pudi

Puilyogare/Tamarind Rice is a tangy spicy rice which is very famous in southern part of India. The thick tangy tamarind sauce mixed with rice and tampered with loads of (yes..loads of..) peanuts is a joy to eat! A bowl full of puliyogare any time.. is difficult to say 'NO' to a hardcore SouthIndian like me!! Saarina pudi (rasam powder) was out of stock and so puliyogare was made because fresh saarina pudi was made :D ..This time around I tried saarina pudi from Iyengar's Kitchen

I was tempted to make Puliyogare when I saw it on her blog, so I made they were a grand success at home.

You need following to make saarina pudi :

Rasam Powder: For 1 kg

1/4th kilo – Byadagi variety red chillies
150g kilo- Guntur Chillies
3/4th kg – Coriander seeds
100 gms - Fenugreek seeds
100 gms - Cumin seeds
50 gms –Peppercorns
50 gms - Mustard seeds
1 tspn - Turmeric powder
½ tspn – Hing
4-5 strands – Curry leaves

Fry all the ingredients without oil separately. Grind it to a fine powder.
I have added 150 g more chillies than Veda has used to increase the hotness of the powder. Rest of the ingredients are same.
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You just need to follow same step by step procedures as mentioned by Veda on her blog for yummy tasting Puliyogare.

You need the following to make Puliyogare Gojju :
Tamarind – 1½ cups
Oil - ½ cup
Mustard seeds – 1 tsp
Curry leaves – 4 lines
Asafoetida (Hing) - ½ tsp
Red chillies – 8
Rasam powder – 8 tbsp
Salt – According to taste
Jaggery – 2 blocks

To make Tamarind rice from gojju prepared above you need the following :
Cooked Rice – 2 cups (grains separated
Oil - ½ cup
Mustard seeds – 1 tsp
Curry leaves – 4-5 strands
Asafoetida (Hing) – ½ tspn
Peanuts– Use generously
Grated Dry coconut – 2 tbsp
Pulioyogare gojju or concentrate prepared earlier – 3 tbsp
Salt to taste

Powders for seasoning:
Black Sesame seeds – 1½ tbl spns (don’t add too much, although it enhances the flavors….it might get bitter if added in a large quantity) I have used white sesame seeds in my recipe
Peppercorns – 1 tspn
Coriander seeds – 1 tbl spn
Rasam powder – 2 – 3 tbl spns

For a detailed post on how to make puliyogare visit Iyengar's Kitchen

This is for you....... :D
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Sending saarina pudi to Roma's Long live shelf event

Orange Flavored Pumpkin Soup & Kitchen Connect-Singapore

Pumpkin, Carrot and Orange..Orange colored vegetables make this soup healthy. You are gulping in a cup full of soup rich in Vitamin A. Bright colored soups/food on the table adds appetite to already hungry stomach....The recipe was taken from Sanjeev Kapoor's book. Thanks to him the soup was delicious.

The recipe called for 500g pumpkin and 4 carrots, I just took 100g of pumpkin and 1 carrot and it served 2 people.

You Need :
Pumpkin : 100g, peeled and cubed
Carrot : 1 big, peeled and cubed
Onion: 2 pearl onions (small onions used to make sambar)
Garlic: 1clove
Greenchilli: 1/2 (you can omit if u want to add pepper later)
Orange Juice : 1/2 cup
Salt

To make it more nice : Fresh Cream : 1/4 Cup (I did not use it)

In a pan add cubed pumpkin, carrot, onion, chilli, garlic and enough water. Bring it to boil. You read right, there is no butter/olive oil used here.
Cover and cook till carrots are fork tender. Take it out of the stove and let it cool.
Blend all the contents and transfer to your soup pot. Add half cup of water and salt.
Heat the soup. Add orange juice and switch off the stove. Mix and adjust seasoning.
Serve Hot

KITCHEN CONNECT-SINGAPORE
a gastronomic connection...
"Inspired by Arasuvai friendship event started by Lakshmi of The Yum Blog"

After last blogger's meet we exchange e-mails frequently, chat online...etc and during one such mail exchanges and chats, Priyanka and Sowmya had shown their interest in the friendship chain event. Ideas flew in from Priyanka and Nupur and thus Kitchen Connect-Singapore took it's birth. The event is glued with blogger's meet which will be happening in the last week of July.

Some rules :
1. KC-S will happen in the month when blogger's meet
2. Each blogger brings in a packet which will contain a surprise ingredient for a fellow blogger. Please include a cooking tip for cooking the dish. Rest of the package may contain any other item of the blogger's choice.
3. Please write your name on the sealed package.
4. A lucky dip of all the packages is made and each blogger walks away with a challenge with her.
5. Each blogger will blog the dish cooked with the surprise ingredient.

Rest of the bloggers can see surprise ingredient recipes on Singapore Blogs from the month of August or last week of July itself! SG.Bloggers please use the following logo when you blog :


If any SG.Bloggers have queries please contact me on lakshmiATtasteofmysoreDOTcom

Kesaribhath






Kesaribhath with Pineapple
Divine prasadam(offering) to gods

Blog: www.tasteofmysore.com       Author: Lakshmi Grandhim
Preparation time : 10min             Making Time : 10mins       Total Time Taken : 20min
              Makes :  4 bowls/5-6 servings                         
            
         Ingredients:

100g : Chiroti Rava*
   90g: Sugar
1Tbsp: Ghee
              Pinch: Cardamom powder
            1 Tbsp : Raisins+Cashewnuts
4tbsp: Pineapple pieces* 
 300g: Water (Rava: Water ::1cup:3cups) 
7-8strands: Saffron soaked in a drop of hot water
Food Color : a pinch (optional)

Method :
1.          Fry Chiroti rava* in a thick bottom pan on medium heat, till fragrant.  Transfer rava to a plate. Let it cool down.
2.          Heat a tbsp of ghee in same pan. Add cashew nuts and fry till they turn golden brown. Add raisins. When raisins start plumping up add pineapple pieces. Fry for next 2 mins or till pineapple is fragrant. Add measured quantity of water and a drop of color.
3.         Measure sugar and keep it ready. 
4.         When water starts to boil add a pinch of cardamom, switch off the stove and start adding Chiroti rava by stirring continuously. Add sugar after adding rava. Mix and keep it aside for 5-8mins. Pour saffron strands plus water on the prepared Kesaribhath and mix well. Super soft Kesaribhath is ready to eat!
             Notes:
1.          Chiroti Rava is very fine semolina.
2.          You can choose to add any fruit. If you are adding banana, make sure not to fry it for only 5 seconds. Pineapple and Banana goes well with this sweet dish.
3.         Kesaribhath prepared this way remains super soft for long hours.




Peas and Mint Soup

It is raining soups... these days at home. One of the reason to have soups on menu is to reduce the amount of rice that we eat at night and ......the idea is working!!! with some extra work. As long as it is healthy and helps to shed some weight that extra work is joyful for me.

The taste of Peas and Mint Soup is very different from the soups that I have had till date. The subtle aroma of fennel seeds gave us a nice feeling when we had it on our dining table. Fennel's carminative properties helps to relieve flatulence (because.... of eating?/drinking peas in large quantity).

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Recipe:

Peas : 3 cups (frozen or Fresh) 1cup measured approx 50g of peas
Onion: 1 small, cleaned and chopped
Garlic: 2
Fennel Seeds: 1tsp (roasted and powdered)
Mint: 3tbsp, chopped
Coriander Leaves/Stem: 1tbsp, chopped
Knorr Veg Stock Cube : 1/2 cube
Olive Oil : 2 tsp
Water as required

Heat olive oil in pan. Add garlic and onion, sautee till onions are transcluscent.
Add fennel powder, stirr.
Add chopped mint, coriander and peas and give a nice stirr. Add water and stock cube.
Cover and cook till peas are soft. Switch off the stove and let the bowl of liquids and solids cool down. Blend it in batches. Transfer the liquid to soup pot again.
Add salt, pepper powder and warm the soup.
Serve hot.....enjoy!!

Leek and Potato Soup

We enjoyed Leek and Potato soup today. Leek which belong to Onion group have subtle and sweet compared to onions. Potato made the soup creamy, while leek added nice subtle flavor to the soup. I googled around to find overwhelming number of recipes for this combination. My version with the available ingrediants in my pantry :

I added :
Leek : 2 , I used white and half of the green part
Potato : 1
Garlic : 1 clove, chopped into fine pieces
Vegetable Stock Cube : 1/2 cube
Olive Oil : 1tbsp
Water around 1 liter

How to make :
1. Wash Leeks and chop them into 1" pieces. I have used white portion and half of green portion.
2. Discarded the upper portion of the greens.
3.Wash and peel potato, dice them into small pieces.
4.Heat O.oil in a wok, sautéed leeks, potatoes and chopped garlic.
5.Add 400 mlwater, stock cube and bring it to boil. Cover and cook for 5 min or till potatoes are fork tender. Let it cool
6.Take the above mix of liquids n solids in a blender and blend them in batches till it forms a smooth paste.
7.Transfer it to your soup pot, Add sufficient water and adjust the soup consistency. Add salt and pepper powder and warm the soup. Serve hot with any accompaniment of your choice.

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ಹೆಸರು ಮೊಳಕೆ ಕೋಸುಂಬರಿ/Sprouted Moong Salad

It never occurred to me that my blog missed my favorite kosumbari.. till I was reminded by protein rich event hosted by Sangeeth of Art of Cooking Indian Food. Few of the protein rich foood for a lacto vegetarian like me are Milk, Cheese, Beans, Spinach, legumes, corn, oats etc
Many protein rich food mentioned above are also rich source of carbohydrates. Simple to eat protein rich food for me should contain less carbohydrate, good amount of protein and give us energy to carry on our activities and easy to make. Not to forget micronutrients like vitamins, minerals etc which should be included in our day to day meals. Now sprouted green beans make a good fit for the above category. It makes a good mid morning snack.

"Produced from mung beans, the sprouts are free of cholesterol, and are ideal for anyone counting calories. One cup of mung bean sprouts contains only approximately 30 calories, 3 grams of protein, only 6 carbohydrates, and only 0.2 grams of fat. Sprouts also contain a high source of fiber, are easily digestible and contain a high concentration of enzymes facilitating the digestive process" quotes a Associated Content website.

You have a look at 10 reasons why you should eat sprouts

You can buy readily available sprouted greenbean/mungbean which is available in supermarkets to make this salad. It saves lots of time. Alternatively if you choose to make it at home all you need to do is to follow these simple steps :
1. Soak beans overnight or at least 8hrs
2. Drain away excess water from beans
3. Transfer the sprouts into a air tight container
4. keep it in dark place (esp green/mung beans) for 12hrs
5. At the end of 24hrs you can see very well sprouted beans

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Kosumbari:
Kosumbari is a Karnataka style salad. It is a medley of fresh sprouts/soaked lentils with cucumber/grated carrots, grated coconut and seasoned with salt and lemon juice.
You need 1 cup of sprouted beans to have 3g of protein into your diet.

You need following to make kosumbari :
Sprouted Mung beans : 1cup
Cucumber : 1 (peeled, and cut into very small pieces)
Coconut : 1tbsp (grated)
Green chilli paste : 1/2 tsp
Salt and Lemon Juice according to taste

Tampering (Optional)
Oil, mustard seeds, urad dal/black split lentils, curry leaves and hing/asafoetida.
Heat oil and tampering ingrediants in the order mentioned. Allow mustard to pop and then add lentils. lentils should be brown before you proceed to add curry leaves. Switch off the gas and add asafoetida.

Toss all the ingrediants when you want to serve. Pour tampering over and toss again. Serve fresh.

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LongBeans and Sprouted Kadalekaalu palya &Awards

Sprouted Hasiru(green) kadalekaalu (chana) is a rich source of B series of vitamins. It has been ages since I feasted on fresh green chana available in India. There were days when we waited to see fresh green chana in markets. I don't exactly remember which month of the year we saw them in abundance, but they tasted awesome! Avarekaalu (surti papdi) dishes galore between the months of Dec-Jan, green chana dishes rock the menu when they are available in the market. I was able to find dried green chana in Mustafa after a loooong time. I happily bought 2kilos!!! I adore all types of beans and I remember to make them atleast once a week.

This is a simple vegetable using yard long beans (alasande beans/karamani) and sprouted hasiru kadalekaalu (green chana).
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You need the following to make them :
Yard Long Beans : 3 cups (washed and chopped)
Sprouted Hasiru Kadalekaalu : 1/2 cup (green chana)
I have steamed both of them separately till they are fork tender.

To blend :
Dry Coconut Powder/shavings/peel : 2tbsp
Guntur chillies/Red Chillies : 3 (adjust according to your taste)
Jeerige/Cumin: 1tsp
Salt
Dry roast red chillies on a hot pan till they are crisp. In the same pan fry cumin for few seconds.
Cumin will turn brown and bitter if they are over roasted. Please be careful while roasting cumin.
Blend all the above to make a fine powder and keep the powder ready.

Tampering :
Oil : 1tbsp
Mustard: 1/4 tsp
kadalebele/chanadal: 1tsp
Uddinabele/Urad dal: 1tsp
Curry leaves : from 1 line

How to make :
Heat oil in a pan/woke/... When oil is hot add mustard. When mustard stops spluttering, add chanadal when they start changing their color add urad dal. Fry both till they are golden brown. Add curry leaves and steamed vegetables follow the row. Give a nice stirr. Sprinkle the dry coconut n chilli powder over it and stir and fry for next 1-2 min. Switch off the gas. Cover it with a lid and set it aside for 5-10 mins before you serve/till falvors settle down. You may like to garnish with chopped coriander before serving. I served them with rice. You can find recipe for crispy methi thepla's/debra here

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Now it is the time to give awards which I got from my dearest fellow bloggers.

Good Chat Blog Award
Priyanka of Asan Khana had passed me this award and I accept that I am chatty. I would love to pass this on to

Sukanya of Sukanya's Musings
Nupur of Cinnamon Hut
Shifa Firoz of Voiz Out
Prajusha of I Cook I Post


Nice Matters Award
Priti of Indian Khana
Vanamala of Nalapaka
Coffee of The Spice Cafe
Anupriya of My Space

You Make My Day Award
Pooja of Creative Pooja
Nithu of Spicy Tasty
Asha of Foodies Hope
Vanisri of Illatharasi
Sowmya of Creative Saga
Mrs.SriLekha of Me and My Kitchen
HariPriya Reddy of Indian Hut
Priyanka of Asan Khana

Inspiration Award

I would love to pass on this award to Bellur of Rambling with Bellur who has always been my inspiration to comic creation. He inspires, keeps you occupied on his blog. Thanks Bellur for inspiring with your comics I love your blog.

Bureka Boy inspires me with his detailed recipes, tips, clear, mouth watering and simple pictures. He is a awesome baker who blogs ME cuisine. Check out his blog for mouth watering recipes.

There are many bloggers around who blog with altruism and give away useful tips/tricks about technology, blogging, food etc. They all are a true inspiration to me. I love them all.

Blogging with a Purpose
Sireesha of Mom's Recipes has passed me this award. Thanks Sireesha.

There are few bloggers around who blog with a purpose of sharing good information. Their sole purpose is to share their knowledge. If you are a tech challenged blogger like me, you can check out few good tips and step by step instructions here :
http://tips-for-new-bloggers.blogspot.com
http://tricks-for-new-bloggers.blogspot.com
I am not sure whether they are going to pick up this award, but I would love to pass this award to them. Their blog has helped me a lot.

Siri of Siri's Corner and DK of Culinary Bazaar started Dining Hall with a purpose of providing forum to bloggers to discuss and share their views. This award jointly goes to Dining Hall makers. Not to forget Indira of Mahanandi who was a brainchild of Dining Hall, she is a inspiration and a blogger who managed Dining Hall for more than a year. Thank you Indira, DK, and Siri.

Sailu of Sailus Food who gave us wonderful blog aggregator TasteofIndia. Thanks Sailu!

Sireesha, this award goes back to you for the purpose of sharing your mom's tasty recipes.

Many thanks to all my dearest bloggers for showering me with these awards. They mean a lot to me. Congratulations to all those who are receiving awards from Taste of Mysore. Enjoy them and pass them over!

The link to all award pictures can be found here.Please feel free to use them.

Methi Thepla

I wanted to recreate the thepla that I once ate at my neighbor's house in Gujarat. Googled few recipes, added and subtracted few ingrediants and finally came up with crisp and tasty theplas. I am not sure about it's authenticity, but we were very happy with the taste and crispiness of Theplas.

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Ingredients:
Methi/fenugreek Leaves : 1.5 cups Picked & washed
Sajje hittu/Black Millet Flour/Bajra: 3 cups
Wheat Flour : 1 cup
Coriander & Cumin powder : 1tsp (freshly roasted n powdered)
Green Chilli Paste : 1tbsp
Roasted Sesame Seeds/Til/Ellu : 1tbsp
Salt
Water to knead the dough

Finely chop Methi/Fenugreek leaves. Mix all the ingrediants above with the leaves. Mix them.
Let the flour mixture rest for about 5 mins.
After 5 mins, sprinkle some water over the flour and start kneading the flour to make a stiff dough.

This flour mix does not require much water. Softer bajra dough mix is difficult to handle.

Let this stiff dough rest for about 20 mins. Roll them out into 5" rounds. You can use a cookie cutter to have a perfect round shape. I do not use any cutter I try to make approximately round shaped chapathis.

Heat girdle/tava on high flame. When it is hot, lower the flame to medium and start roasting the theplas. Press, twist and turn should be the key words while roasting the theplas to get crisper ones. If you want softer version just roast them like normal chapathis.

Suggested Accompaniment for Theplas: Masala Dahi

Here is my thali with Karnataka style long beans n sprouted chana vegetable, Andhra style dal, Sprouted chana as salad, Rice and Theplas.

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