Beautiful Autumn:

Autumn is my favorite month. We can experience the beauty and colors of Mother Nature. We planted few fruit trees and an Autumn Blaze Maple tree in our back yard this summer. We have been waiting for our Maple leaves to change colors. So, it did!!!




Scroll down and on the right side, see our fall mums and chillies too!

Vegetable Biriyani:


I love to experiment with new recipes and methods for Pulavs and Biriyanis. When I saw Radhika's Hyderabadi Dum biriyani (made with meat), I thought why not try the same with veggies. That's it, I ended up with a delicious, easy Veggie biriyani. There are 2 ways to prepare this - Either partially cook rice and gravy separately and bake them in the oven or pressure cook. I used the first method. Do give it a try!

Ingredients:

Basmati rice - 1 cup
Veggies - (Carrots, cauliflower, potatoes, beans, peas)
Onions - 1 (thinly sliced)
Green chillies - 2 or 3 (cut into thin long slices)
Ginger garlic paste - 1 tbspn
Thick curd - 1 cup
Chilli powder - 1 tspns
Coriander powder - 1 1/2 tspns
Garam masala - 1/2 tspn
Cloves - 5
Cinnamon stick - 2
Cardamom - 3
Bay leaf - 1
Salt

Chop all veggies and put them in a large bowl. Add curd, green chillies, ginger garlic paste, chilli powder, coriander powder, garam masala, cloves, cinnamon, cardamom, bay leaf, little salt and mix well. Set aside for 30 minutes.


Wash the rice and cook the rice till 3/4th done. Heat a pan, add ghee/oil, add onions and fry for 5 mins. Add the veggies mixture and let it cook 3/4 th. Preheat the oven to 375 degree F.
Take an oven safe dish, spray little oil on the bottom and the sides. This prevents the rice from sticking to the dish while baking. Spread a layer of rice, followed by a layer of veggies.
Repeat and end with top layer of veggies. Cover the dish with foil and bake for about 15 minutes. Garnish with cilantro and serve hot!

Alternately:

Heat a pressure cooker, add ghee/oil. Add onions and fry for 5 mins. Add the veggies mixture and partially close the lid. Let it cook for 6 to 7 minutes. Add 1 1/2 cups water and salt. Once the water starts to boil, add the rice and cook for 2 whistles. Garnish with cilantro and serve hot!

Brinjal curry:

I made this curry 3 months back. I took the pictures to post it immediately. But......At last today I was determined to share it with you all. This is a great accompaniment to Pongal. It is tangy, spicy and delicious. I got this recipe from a dear friend of mine.

Ingredients:

Brinjal - small - 8 or 9 (I used the small Thai variety)
Onions - 1
Ginger garlic paste - 1 tspn
Tomato - 1 medium
Turmeric
Chilli powder - 1 tspn
Coriander powder - 2 tspns
Tamarind paste

Grind into a paste:
Coconut - 2 tbspns
Sesame seeds - 1 tspn
Cumin seeds - 2 tspns

For seasoning:
Whole pepper - 6 to 7
Mustard seeds
Curry leaves


In a kadai, heat 2 tbspns oil. Add mustard seeds, whole pepper and curry leaves. Add ginger-garlic paste and fry for a minute. Then add onions (thinly sliced) and fry till they turn light brown. Now add cut brinjal pieces into it and saute with little salt. Saute for 3-4 mins and add coriander powder, Turmeric powder and Cumin powder, chilli powder.

Now add the coconut paste to the curry. Add diced tomatoes, and salt for taste. Add 1 tspn of tamarind paste (Optional). Add some powdered jaggery and mix everything well and cook.
Garnish with coriander leaves. Serve hot with Pongal!

Adai:

This recipe comes from a dear friend of mine, Savitha. I have never made adai. When I told her this, she was surprised and immediately asked me to try it. She told me the recipe and very patiently answered my questions. I set out to try it. I just made a little change to her recipe by adding urad dal.
Just before I was about to start making adais, she called me to tell me not to be intimidated because the adais are going to be bit thicker than our usual dosas and they take some time to cook. It was very sweet and considerate of her. Thank you Savitha. So, here it goes:

Ingredients:

Raw rice - 1 cup
Toor dal - 1/4 cup
Whole Moong dal - 1/4 cup
Urad dal - 1/4 cup
Red chillies - 10 to 12
Onions - 1/2 cup
Curry leaves
Asafoetida


Method:

Soak rice and the dals together for 4 to 5 hours. Grind them along with red chillies and salt. Add onions, curry leaves, sprinkle little asafoetida and mix well. Heat a dosa pan, when it medium hot, pour a ladle full of batter and spread it slighty. Add some oil around the adai and let it cook. Once the edges start to lift off from, flip the adai and cook the other side. Serve hot!



I served it with idli/dosa podi. I usually heat some sesame oil and add chopped garlic and fry till light brown and then add it to the podi. My husband likes it that way.

Happy Navaratri to all of you!

Sprouts curry:




This is an easy, healthy recipe made with sprouted moong dal. Tastes very nice with rotis.

Ingredients:
Sprouted moong dal - 1 cup
Onion - 1/2 big
Tomato - 1 medium
Garlic - 2 or 3 pods
Curry leaves
Chilli powder - 2 tspn
Coriander powder - 1 tspn
Turmeric - a pinch
Tamarind paste - 1/2 tspn
Salt


Method:

I usually microwave the sprouts for 3 or 4 minutes so that it cooks faster on stove. Heat a kadai, add oil, add mustard seeds, cumin seeds and let it splutter. Add chopped onions, chopped garlic, curry leaves and fry for 5 minutes. Add chopped tomatoes, turmeric, chilli powder, coriander powder, salt, tamarind paste and little water and fry well till the tomatoes become soft. Add sprouts and 1 cup water and close the lid and cook until it's done.