Paniyaram / Paniaram

Paniyaram (Ponganaala Pennam in Telugu) - Ask any tamilian to list out his or her's top 3 favourite tiffin items and you would defintely find 'Paniyaram' in most of the lists. It is not a surprise as these small pieces of rice cakes made out of dough are my favourites too. Paniayaram resemble closely to mini idli's in terms of the dimensions but taste like dosas.

Though many in our family loved to have this as their tiffin, somehow it cant be seen that often in the kitchen. Whenever the dosa batter gets sour over the days, we all eagerly wait to the see the birth of paniyaram.

Being in United States it always was either a special day when we chose to make paniyram or should I rephrase and say whenever we made paniayram the day became special?



Life has become much more easier once we got the non stick 'paniayara kal', rather than the old heavy weight iron pans my grandother or mother would use. Though the paniyarams made out of the iron skillet taste good, ones made in non-stick pan definitely need very less of oil.

Try substituing oil with ghee to get mouth watering paniyarams.

Between Sweet and Kuhzi Paniyaram, I love to have Kuzhi Paniyarams on any day and especially with coconut chutney or tomato chutney it tastes heavenly.

You can learn how to make Paniyaram by visiting Manpasand.

If you know tamil, here is an excellent video demonstration.

Mango Onion Relish

I love mangoes and I think it is a perfect time to post mango recipes, since it is summer in India and also the best season for mangoes. This dish brings me sweet memories of my days in bangalore where most of my Sunday evenings would be spent by chatting with my roommates and this would be our snack. We would make two versions of this dish one as mentioned by Bubbalili but without jaggery and the other version is to add poha or puffed rice to the mango and onion mixture. Few of my friends like it with puffed rice and it is a common sight in bangalore where you can buy a big cone of this puffed rice for 2 bucks I guess.

This mango onion relish is one of my favorites and yet a very simple one to prepare, so when not in a mood to do intensive cooking for a sidedish I settle with this. It is an excellent combination for lemon rice or coconut rice. I use coconut oil for making this spicy mouth watering salad and have never used jaggery until today. But the sweet and sour taste, tasted better than the one without jaggery.

This is a must try dish and enjoy it as a snack.


Mango Onion Relish Recipe

Baby Potatoes Fry

With the change in climate and temperature fluctuations I had sinus for the past two days and could not update the blog properly. Today I wanted to have something spicy and yet not a lot of hassle to prepare. If you have to meet this condition baby potatoes fry is a good choice, so I settled rasam and the potato fry. Regular potatoes can be used if you do not have baby potatoes, but baby potatoes some how is good, maybe because of the texture.

I followed the exact recipe as from “Vcuisine” with only one alteration, that too since I was lazy. I added the sesame seeds along with the grind mixture so that the work is easily done. Prick the potatoes with a toothpick, so the masala gets in. A fork can also be used but still a toothpick will be better.

Enjoy the baby potatoes fry with rice or roti.



Click here for Baby Potatoes Fry Recipe

Cabbage Pakoda / Cabbage Pakora

Cabbage pakoda / pakora was the snack for the Sunday evening along with the oscar TV show. It is at times good to do just some star gazing while lying relaxed on your couch. Jaden smith was great when he presented the awards, he is a natural should be being the son of Will Smith.

Back to our snack cabbage pakoda’s, I think it is ok to have deep fried food once a week when you work out enough. These pakoda’s are crisper than the regular ones and tastes great. At times I add thinly sliced potatoes too along with the cabbage just to enjoy the fried potatoes along with cabbage and onion. Another few ingredients I usually add are 2 -3 tbsp of grated ginger, chopped curry leaves and baking soda along with the mixture.

Enjoy the pakora with tomato ketchup.



Click here for Cabbage Pakoda / Cabbage Pakora Recipe

Samosa Chaat

After the customary weekend trip to Indian stores I returned with few samosas and few other ingredients. I was too lazy to make the samosas at home and hence bought it from the store. If you have time and interest, you can make fantastic samosas at home by following this link. Chaat of any form amuses me and so decided to make samosa chaat with the samosas I brought this weekend. I followed the recipe for the Chaat from mykhazana, but since the recipe for chutney wasn’t available in mykhazana, I made itself in the following way.

Tamarind / Imli chutney.

Mix tamarind paste with required amount for salt, sugar, cumin powder and 1 green chilly.

For mint chutney followed the recipe as of mykhazana and used tomato sauce instead of tomato chutney. You can add a bit of dahi with chaat masala to make dahi chaat.

Serve the samosa chaat as an evening snack.


Click here for Samosa Chaat Recipe

Baked Eggplants

A real quick recipe made with eggplants and the preparation time including the baking is 15 minutes. Tastes great as a sidedish with rice or as a snack. The eggplants can be baked in an oven or just toasted on a tava. In ase of toasting the eggplants should be grease with oil and then covered with a lid initially. Make sure it cooks on a low flame when you plan to toast them. Enjoy the baked eggplants with rice and dal.




Click here for Baked Eggplants Recipe

Rava Upma / Uppittu / Uppindi

Upma is a very popular South Indian Tiffin item and comes handy when you need to prepare a delicious dish in a short span of time. The aroma comes out great, if a little Ghee is added while frying the Rava initially. After frying the onions, vegetables like Cauli flower, Peas, Carrot, Potato, Beans can be added to make Khichidi and which is a healthy one too. Enjoy your Upma with Chutney, Pickle or Curd.



Click here for Upma Recipe

Taro Root Fry / Colcesia Fry

A shallow fried dish made with roots, goes well as a side dish or an evening snack. The taro roots are pressure cooked in tamarind water, which makes the roots get a tangy taste. Then the dish is shallow fried in oil along with other spices to get the desired taste. Usually garlic cloves and dry red chillies are added to do the tadka. But dry red chilli powder and crushed ginger and garlic can be used depending on the preference. Enjoy the taro root fry with any variety hot rice.



Click here for Taro Root Fry / Colcesia Fry Recipe

Idli / Idly / Iddenlu

A staple South Indian breakfast made with ground rice flour and black lentils with water and methi seeds. The batter is then allowed to ferment for an overnight before the idli’s are made. If the proportion of the rice and lentils are exact, you get the perfect batter the work is almost done. Do not overook the idli’s since it may turn hard. Enjoy idli with sambar and Coconut Chutney.



Click here for Idli / Idly / Iddenlu Recipe

Crunchy Chicken Fry

Another deep fried chicken made with a chicken thighs or boneless chicken pieces. The bread crumbs in this recipe makes the chicken crunchy, but it should be cooked on low flame otherwise the bread crumbs will turn brown very fast and inside of the chicken would not be cooked. Yogurt and Soy sauce if desired can also be added to the marinade. The egg should be beaten well and must be added, since it acts as a binding agent for the breadcrumbs. Corn meal can also be used instead of bread crumbs in the recipe to get the same texture. Serve it hot as an appetizer or a snack.

Click here for Crunchy Chicken Fry Recipe

Samosas / Spicy Potato Snack

The photos in this recipe talk more than words, splendid photos explaining how to fold the dough into a samosa. A typical filling of this delicious Indian snack would be potatoes with peas or a filling made with potatoes and mixed vegetables. For a party you can make this ahead of time and reheat in the oven for 10 minutes once the guests are home. Enjoy the samosa with mint chutney and tomato sauce.


Click here for Samosas / Spicy Potato Snack Recipe

Medhu Vada/Uzhunnu Vada (Urud dal vada)

A step-by-step procedure, with photos on how to prepare the vada. The less water you add to grind the dough the better the batter would be and would absorb lesser oil. The only ingredient you can add if you want is cumin seeds or jeera. Fry the vada’s on medium flame so that it is cooked properly. Enjoy the vada with coconut chutney and sambar.


Click here for Medhu Vada/Uzhunnu Vada (Urud dal vada) Recipe

Raw Plantain Cutlets / Vazhakai Cutlets

Tastes great and makes a yummy evening snack too. You can replace the raw plantain with potato to get potato cutlets or aloo tikki (Lime juice should not be added for potatoes). Instead of frying it on a pan you can bake it an oven too.


Click here for Raw Plantain Cutlets / Vazhakai Cutlets Recipe

Stuffed Capsicum / Capsicum rings

This is an appetizer, which tastes more like potato cutlet. Stuffed capsicum is a favorite of all time, but in this recipe the capsicum has been sliced for convenience, which is a brilliant idea. The usual vegetable cutlet filling instead of the aloo filling also tastes great. Try the same recipe with the same filling or something of your choice.

Click here for Stuffed Capsicum/ Capsicum Rings Recipe