Grilled Potato slices

I have started loving simple recipes and healthy cooking has always been my first love . One of the days I wanted to eat some crispy wafers but gagged at the thought of oil in them . So went into my kitchen and decided to make something at home . This recipe is simple and guilt free 🙂

potato

Ingredients :

Potatoes – washed , peeled and sliced (I use a slicer and decide on thickness basis my liking )

Chilli powder

Turmeric powder

Amchur /Dry mango Powder

Salt

A teaspoon of oil

Mix all the ingredients and simply grill them. I also tried to do this in my micro wave and it cooked well too . Since my tray is smaller , I stacked them up separately on 2 racks of grill and let it remain inside the convection for over 6 to 8 mins and voila ! yummy crispy potato crisps, chips is ready . If you happen to try this do lemme know how it turned out .

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Notes : You can replace amchur with lemon juice , add coriander powder , I sometime get lazy and all I use is sambhar powder . Alternatively I grill sweet potatoes, Okhra , Brinjal , etc . Use your creativity here .

Happy Cooking

The Super Market -Life lessons

There is this road I take everyday to work and back . It was overtly crowded and traffic almost on a stand still as the super market on the road was a crowd puller with less parking so every visitor parked on the footpath and clogged the roads . This went on for years and I never noticed anything but the traffic , chaos and so many times have found ways to avoid driving on that stretch especially a sunday as I know a 2 minute drive will take 20 minutes and life went on …

Recently they shut the store rather shifted it elsewhere and when I realised that it was a huge sigh of relief for me. No more traffic woes I screamed and punched my hands in the air . Again life went on until one night when I was driving back home. I saw the dark building from the signal and noticed that the super market and people around it were beyond mere nuisance . It provided light and also had people and security around which was missing.

The path gave a deserted look and left me thinking that we always find negatives when something is around us and start noticing the positives when it is gone . Why is that we aren’t trained to see the good first before we crib about the bad? isnt that the ideal way of looking at life? We whine and cry about what we dont want and seldom appreciate what we have . We run behind what we dont need and ignore what we have , we chase dreams for tomorrow and fail to live today . We are humans and the most intelligent “life” on this planet .. Hmm time to rethink?

Koshys

Koshys is an evergreen , will never go wrong place for me from years . A place that reminds me of old Bangalore and I long to visit this restaurant most times I am around M G road. There is a thing about this place I can never explain and of course I know what exactly to order and they have never let me down.

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It was a saturday afternoon and yummy food was on my mind after a month of healthy food life balance . Which place other than Koshys could I have thought of . While parking is a huge concern after 2 rounds of Koshys we finally parked in a no parking lot(sigh!). Parking woes , ok let me not go there for now. We were blessed as the table was waiting for us and we happily plunged into them and ordered prawn curry rice and pork curry rice(not in pic , sorry) at one breath . It is always accompanied by salad , pickle and papad . The waiter uncle who attended us was very serious and spoke to the point unless the other ones I have encountered and meant serious business . Food came , was polished off in no time . I also wanted to eat an ice cream , no fancy but simple good old chocolate ice cream so ordered for it . When doing a crime , do it properly no? (am referring to the cheat meal)

Go Go anytime and enjoy the food , this place is all about old Bangalore and good food . Its a big Aye from me . If you are not from Bangalore then make a mental note to visit this place atleast for breakfast the next time you visit my city and if you are a Bangalorean and have never been there, what are you waiting for ?Just go I say .

Address : 39, St. Marks Road, Bengaluru, Karnataka 560001

Phone : 090071 19356

Radish /Mooli Sambhar

Oh yes! I know its the easiest dish , yet I know many who ask me how I make it so here I am writing the method . This is one of the ways I make Sambhar . I love to enjoy this with phulka/Roti or some brown rice . Radish I know is not a fav veggie of many , I love this sambhar and is my fav after drumstick . I will blog a sambhar powder recipe shortly 🙂

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Ingredients

Serves : 2. Please double the ingredients basis the number of people

Tomato – 1

Onion – 1

Mooli/Raddish – 1

Mustard – a tsp

Sambhar Powder – 1.5 tbs

Hing/Asafoetida – a pinch

Oil- 1 to 2 tbs

Toor Dal – one small cup

Turmeric – 1 tsp

Salt – to taste

Curry Leaves – one sprig

Method :

1.) Wash the dal well and boil in the cooker with sufficient water and turmeric powder

2.) In a wok/Kadai add 2 tb oil and add the reddish and saute . The raw smell of the radish has to go away .

3.) Add onions and sauce until the onions are cooked well

4.) Add Tomato to the mixture and continue to saute until the rawness of tomato goes away

5.) Add Sambhar powder to the mix . I added about 1.5 tb s and salt as per taste and saute well .

6.) Add the dal to the masala with salt and allow it to simmer for about 10 mins

7.) Tadka/Seasoning time : take little oil, add mustard allow it to splutter , add hing, curry leaves

8.) Transfer the tadka to the sambhar and close the lid

Step 9 : Eat 🙂 . Enjoy . Oh! refer the notes below

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Notes : I added mustard to the oil in which i sauted the mooli itself

Tamarind can be added in the end . I didn’t feel like this time

Adigas

Sunday morning breakfast is like a ritual and most days its a planned affair. Today however it was a knee jerk reaction. We were near Adigas when we were hungry and it didn’t take us a second to decide 🙂 .

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I ordered the classic idli (I know I said classic , doesn’t it sound uber cool?) and my friend asked for mini idlis , they should name them the minions if you ask me 😉 . After paying at the cash counter , we collected the receipt and headed to the delivery counter and that guy asked me if I wanted my idlis soaked in Sambhar and I happily nodded as that is the way I like it at Darshinis .. My friend got these mini idlis soaked in a yellow gravy loaded with ghee. I tried tasting that dish but was unsuccessful as all I could taste was ghee which I am not a fan of.

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I love the open dosa’s at Adigas which I will order the next time , but this time was a no compliant one as always . Its an Aye from me . There are several Adigas in Bangalore , I visited the one on Ulsoor road . Simply enjoy maadi

Website : http://adigas.in

Wheat Cake

After I started baking I literally have stopped going towards the bakery which I think is a good sign and I always look for recipes that is healthy as maida/plainflour is not my cup of tea. So here I am with a recipe I tried from the web and it is one of the yummy cakes I came across which is guilt free 🙂 . Lets begin no? 🙂

Ingredients :

Atta/Whole Wheat – 2 cups

1 to 2 cups of jaggery , cane sugar (intent is to refrain using refined sugar)

1/2 tb baking powder

1 1/2 tb baking soda

2 tb cinammon powder

3/4 cup refined oil (I used rice bran oil)

1 cup curd

water as required

walnuts, raisins , figs – a fistful

Method (I use a connection micro wave, so if you are using a oven please adjust accordingly)

1.)Pre Heat the microwave to 180 deg C | for oven 200 deg c is good

2.)Mix all the dry ingredients together in a bowl

3.)Blend the curd and oil together in another bowl.

4.) Mix the dry and wet ingredients and mix well. Add water as required to get the dripping consistency .

5.) add the dry fruits the way you want . I chose to garnish them , sometimes I mix them with the cake mixture itself

6.) Oil bottom of the baking dish and bake at 180 deg C for about an hour , of course checking in regular intervals . The tooth pick has to come clear when inserted and thats the sign of a baked cake .

7.) cut and serve when cool

Dry ingredients mix

Wet Ingredients mix

Blend blend both

The dry fruit time

Notes : Mixing the ingredients well is key to a good cake is my learning .

You can replace all the ingredients with maida, sugar etc and that will be the regular cake. This is an attempt to eat healthy and yet tasty .

Sugar I added one cup and it was just sweet the way I like and if you are sweet tooth soul then make it 2 cups of sugar (cane) .

Madurai Idli Shop

Once upon a time when Tamil style idli and sambhar was on mind I used to visit this place and somewhere had forgotten. Last Sunday when Idli’s were on my mind for brekkie the closest destination was Madurai Idli shop. So decided to park the car and walk in hoping all was the same .

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The idlis were ok and I am unsure what the gravy is called for it surely wasn’t sambhar . I thought tomato gravy and didn’t event eat it after tasting once ,however the guys at the service counter told me it was sambhar . Service was bad, “I dint care attitude “. I decided to eat and leave as I wasn’t planning to visit them again anyways . The idlis were cold and just ok . No spoons and the wait was unbearable .. May be expansion is not everyones cup of tea and inflation make people compromise on the quality and quantity. This is the era where chutney is more of water than flavour , whom can we blame really ? This place is a big nay! from me .. If you want to give it a try below are the details , you never know it might be your day 🙂

Address: No. 3051 80 Feet Road, HAL 2nd Stage, Indira Nagar, Bengaluru, Karnataka 560038

Phone: 080 2520 2255

Kobe Sizzlers

After a movie one evening when we were hungry the only option that caught our attention at the Garuda Mall was Kobe sizzlers. I have had a love – hate relationship with this place . Yet! I believe in chances so we again went in and ordered for a chicken sizzler and veg sizzler . Oh! didn’t I mention that I have become a vegetarian for now, its over a month. I know sizzler and veg is not something most will relate to, well! I like to experiment and enjoy change too 🙂

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This came in which was a huge patty /cutlet with some sauté veggies and fries on a bed of rice and I opted for the mushroom sauce . The patty was a big no for me as I am not a fan , yet tried and wasn’t pleased so decided to let go of the main attraction of the dish and dug into the rice with veggies and sauce . I must say I enjoyed it. My friend ordered for chicken breasts with pepper sauce and devoured it . Both looked the same so i didn’t click 😛 , you can also say that it was dug into before i realised ..

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Its an aye from me . Do visit them if you still haven’t 🙂

Website : www.kobesizzlers.co

Address :They have over 4 locations and new addition is Garuda Swagath . Just google for addresses .

#happyeating

Oats Dosa

What to make for breakfast is a question I ask myself every morning and sometimes the previous night. Its the most important meal of the day and has to be like a King’s meal I am told . For some unknown reasons I decided to make Oats Dosa . I had not soaked any ingredients required for a regular Dosa and wanted an easy way out too hence the idea 😉 .

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I made this in like 30 mins and wanted to share the recipe .

Ingredients :

Oats : 1 cup (put it in the mixer and powder it)

Rice flour : half cup

Roasted Rava /Semolina : Half Cup (make sure it is not roasted to brown)

Curd : half cup

Onion : 1 finely chopped

Green Chillies : 2 finely chopped

salt to taste

Water as required

Method:

Take a bowl, add oats, rice flour, rava , curd and mix. Add water and bring it to almost watery consistency. Now add onion and chillies followed by salt and mix well. These are porous crispy dosa like the rava dosa so the consistency has to be watery. Keep it closed for about 30 mins and make Dosa’s hot . They will be crispy , delicious and healthy too :D.I like it this way , you can temper / tadka the batter with oil, peppercorns , jeera too.

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Oats Dosa batter

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Crispy Oats Dosa

Simplest Onion Chutney

One onion and 2 green chillies (this can be added basis your liking) grind them with salt. It is ready .It was simple and yummy.

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If you cant handle the punch raw onions and chillies bestow upon you ,add some oil to it and it immediately neutralises that flavour .

Enjoy the dosa and let me know how you liked it 🙂

#Happy eating

Bindu Gopinath

Food – Life – Travel