Tomato Chuda Santula

One of my favorite breakfast while growing up was Poha upma. Each family/region probably has a different version of this and I found that the Oriyan version is much more simpler and faster to make. 

Since we have got used to our version of Poha Upma, it was definitely a lot different and plain. Next time I would add a few peanuts and more vegetables. The kids missed the potatoes in this for sure!

Check it out for Day 2 Week 3 of BM #29.

Source - here
Ingredients - 

Thick Poha / Flattened Rice 2 cups
Onions, finely chopped 1/2 cup
Tomato, chopped 1/2 cup
Turmeric 1/4 tsp
Green Chillies 2-3 (or to taste)
Salt as needed 
Seasoning (Oil 2 tsp, Mustard seeds 1/2 tsp, Cumin seeds 1/2 tsp, Curry leaves few)


Tomato Chuda Santula

Method Of Preparation -

In a wok/kadai heat oil and prepare the seasoning. Add the mustard seeds and cumin seeds. After they pop, add the curry leaves and saute the onions until they are translucent.

Wash and drain the thick poha in a colander. Set aside for upto 5 min.

Add the green chillies, tomatoes, turmeric and salt. Cook until the tomatoes are mushy.


Transfer the drained poha and mix well. Remove from fire and serve hot.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#29.

Preparation Time 15 min
Serves 2-3

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Posted by Harini-Jaya R on Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Instant Chakuli

I have been thinking about exploring the Oriya Cusine (Cuisine from the eastern state of Orissa in India). So when Srivalli announced one of the themes as 3-course regional cuisine, I chose to make an Oriya breakfast for 3 days.

So for the next 3 days look out for those as part of BM #29. Here is an Oriya Dosa for Day 1 of Week 3.

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Dapka Kadhi

The regular kadhi itself has too many possibilities and varieties. Now to add to that list, here is a Gujarati Kadhi called Dapka Kadhi, moong dal dumplings in a traditional Gujarati Curd Gravy.

This delicious variety of Kadhi has been introduced to us by Srivalli as part of Indian Cooking Challenge for the month of May 2013. 

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Cream Of Broccoli Soup

I had an idea of making broccoli soup for a long time now and the weather suited us just in time! I made this today just when the heavens opened up and so it was 'heavenly' sipping the hot soup and watching the rain!! The kids preferred it cold, though.
Check this soup as part of Day 3 Week 2 of BM #29 under the 'Green' colored entry!

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Posted by Harini-Jaya R on Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Strawberry Lemonade

This year summer is still not upon us but we are enjoying all kinds of coolers. This strawberry flavored lemonade caught my eye when I saw the post on my facebook profile. Check it out for Day 2 Week 2 of BM #29 under the 'Red' color scheme!!

Recipe Source -here
Ingredients - 
Strawberries hulled and chopped 10 to 12 
Sugar 1/2 - 3/4 cup
Water 1/2 - 3/4 cup
Lemon 1 large or to taste
Soda or chilled water to make the lemonade



Strawberry Lemonade

Method Of Preparation -

In a pan boil water and sugar until the sugar dissolves and a sticky syrup is obtained. Remove from fire and let it cool to room temperature.

Puree the strawberries without adding water. Strain if desired. (I made a fine puree so didn't strain.)

Mix the strawberry puree with the cooled sugar syrup. Squeeze in the required lemon juice and refrigerate.

When ready to consume the lemonade, pour about 1/4 cup of  the concentrate and about a cup of water/soda and enjoy it with a few cubes of ice on a hot summer day!!


Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#29.

Preparation Time 15 min
Makes 6-7 cups

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Posted by Harini-Jaya R on Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Mango-Banana Smoothie

What do you do when you get tired of eating a ripe mango?? OMG! How is that even possible? How can anyone get tired of eating mangoes? Yup. Sad but true. There are some such souls in this wide world who fall into that category.

So here is another way to enjoy the fresh ripe mangoes. I paired it with ripe/over ripe bananas and had it for breakfast. My chosen theme happens to be 'cooking with colors'. So this refreshing smoothie qualifies for 'Yellow' for Day 1 week 2 of BM #29.

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Posted by Harini-Jaya R on Monday, June 10, 2013


I found that pumpkin and the spice combination works very well. This evening my kitchen was smelling divine! My kids loved this aromatic and tasty welcome back from school, which really made my day. Inspite of a tough time schedule I could squeeze in time to please the kids and was rewarded by compliments and hugs. 

I chose to make these muffins from Isa Chandra's 'Vegan with a vengeance' for BM #29. The ingredients I chose to highlight are Pumpkin and Milk.

Ingredients - 

All Purpose Flour / Maida 3/4 cups
Wheat Flour 1 cup ( I used Aashirwad atta)
Baking Powder 1 Tbsp
Salt 1/4 tsp
Nutmeg, grated 1/2 tsp
Ginger Powder 1/2 tsp
Cloves, ground 1/8 tsp
Cinnamon powder 1 tsp
Walnuts, chopped 1/2 cup
Sugar 1 1/4 cups
Pumpkin, puree 1 cup
Milk  1/2 cup (or soy milk for vegan version)
Vegetable Oil 1/2 cup
Honey 2 Tbsp (or molasses for vegan version)
Optional Topping - chocolate chips!!

Note - Use just all purpose flour if preferred.
I made pumpkin puree at home by steaming the pumpkin cubes and grinding them along with milk and the other liquid ingredients.


Method Of Preparation -

Preheat the oven to 400 F. 

Prepare the muffin pan either by greasing or using the liners.

Sift the flours, baking powder, salt and the spices. Mix in the chopped walnuts.

In a separate bowl whisk the pumpkin puree, milk, sugar, vegetable oil and molasses.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix until there are no lumps.

Fill the muffin cups two-thirds full. Sprnkle a few chocolate chips on the top and bake for 18 min or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Cool them on a wire rack and enjoy!

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#29.

Preparation Time  15 min + Baking Time 18 min + Cooling time 10 min
Makes 14 - 15 muffins

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It has been my personal experience that any dal/ sambar/ kootu/ curry/ sweet made using Chana Dal turns out very good. It turned out true yet another time with this pulusu. Thanks to Mrs. Maithili Venkateshwara Rao for this delightful tangy gravy.

Check it out for Day 2 Week 1 of BM #29.

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Methi Mango Dal

Come spring/summer and don't we all like to enjoy mangoes in any form? We have been having a blast with mangoes at home. This week the mangoes (as a fruit) were just as sweet as honey which we very rarely get in our neck of the woods. 

This season, we made a small herb garden in our backyard with some Methi , Mint, Marjoram and Basil. Looking at the fresh methi leaves was so tempting that I grabbed the opportunity to cook this classic combination for a dal. 

The result is a lip smacking, aromatic dal which pleases your palate as well as your senses!! My older one exclaimed that it was the best tasting dal ever!! I couldn't disagree, could I?

Even if this happens to be a basic dal made almost weekly at home (during the mango season), I found that it is not so popular with many of our friends. So I thought I would showcase this dal as part of BM #29. 

Incidentally I found a methi tomato dal in a book by Mrs. Maithili Venkateswar Rao, with a note saying that mango can be substituted for tomato.

Ingredients - 

Fenugreek leaves/Methi leaves chopped 1 cup
Toor Dal (Kandi Pappu)  1 cup
Raw Mango peeled and diced 1/2 cup
Salt as per taste
Turmeric 1/4 tsp
Green Chillies 6-7 (or as per taste)
Seasoning (Oil 2 tsp, Mustard seeds 1 tsp, Urad dal 1 tsp, Jeera (Cumin seeds) 1 tsp, Hing couple pinches, 1 dried red chilli, curry leaves)



Methi Mango Dal

Method Of Preparation -

Gently clean the leaves well.


In a pressure cooker boil Toor Dal. Boil chopped Raw mango  and methi leaves separately.

After the cooker cools down, heat a sauce pan and add oil and the seasoning. Wait until the mustard seeds splutter and the urad dal is brown. Saute the chopped green chillies for a couple seconds.


Add the boiled methi-mango and the cooked dal. Sprinkle turmeric and salt to taste.

Let the dal simmer for couple of minutes and serve over hot rice and ghee.


Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#29.

Preparation Time 30 min
Serves 4-5

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Eggless Orange Pistachio Cupcake

The combination of orange and pistachios intrigued me and so I tried them out for the kids. I also was wondering about the usage/relevance of sooji/semolina in these cupcakes. Any thoughts on those are definitely appreciated.

The kids are happy as long as they are cupcakes and they taste good. The kids had a blast decorating them as well.
For Day 3 Week 4 of BM #28, here are the cupcakes..

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Posted by Harini-Jaya R on Sunday, May 26, 2013

Eggless Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie

I always prefer baking cookies when the kids are home with their friends on play dates. One reason is I get to engage them in an activity for sometime specially when they get all cranky and hyper after a while! The other reason is that the kids get a chance to showcase their creativity, have fun and eat them too!

On one such occasion, I baked these healthy cookies and handed them the decorating supplies and it was very cute how they were trying to outdo the other in adding the sprinkles and the frosting!!

Check out what the kids decorated and enjoyed them for Day 2 Week 4 of BM #28.


Eggless Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie

Ingredients - 

Whole Wheat Flour 1 cup
All Purpose Flour 3/4 cup
Salt 1/2 tsp
Baking Soda 1 tsp
Rolled Oats 2 cups (Quick cooking oats is good too)
Softened Butter 3/4 cup (or a little less)
Sugar, powdered 1 cup
Milk 1/2 cup
Lemon/Lime Juice 1 Tbsp
Chocolate Chips 1 cup
Optional Ingredients (Shredded Coconut and Vanilla extract)


Eggless Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie

Method Of Preparation -

Sift the flours and baking soda. Mix in salt and rolled oats and set aside. Add the chocolate chips as well.

Whisk the butter and powdered sugar until the sugar dissolves. Mix in the milk and lemon juice.

Add the liquid ingredients into the flour-oat mixture and gently mix to make a stiff dough.

Preheat the oven to 375 F. Line a couple of baking trays with parchment paper.

Pinch a tablespoon of dough (or more as per preference), flatten into a disc and place on the baking tray. 

After all the dough is shaped into cookies and arranged on the trays, place the baking trays in the oven to bake for 20-22 min or until the undersides are slightly brown.

Remove and let them cool on the wire racks. Enjoy as is or let the kids decorate and have fun!


Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#28.

Passing on these Cookies to Srivalli's Kid Delight hosted at Nivedanam.

Preparation Time  10 min + Baking Time 22 min + Cooling time 15 min
Makes 20

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Eggless Zucchini Carrot Biscotti

I somehow like Biscottis better than cookies. I feel that they are more like crispy cakes :). The kids, like me love the biscottis. (though they like cookies and cakes as well!)

Anyway I made these for them as an after school snack and they munched them with their share of milk without any complaints.

Check these out for Day 1 week 4  of BM #28.

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Keerai Kootu ~ Kootu With Greens

Here is the third kootu in this series. Typically any winter greens can be used for this type of kootu and I happened to make this with spinach. 

In fact any vegetable or a combination of vegetables can be used  with this kootu masala, only it wouldn't be keerai kootu, right? As I understand Keerai means greens. Here are the Kootu recipes I blogged in this edition of BM #28.

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Posted by Harini-Jaya R on Sunday, May 19, 2013

Pumpkin-Poppy Seeds Kootu

Here is another version of kootu which we enjoy at home. This is a very simple kootu where there is no roasting of dals/spices is involved. We love it for its simplicity. If you love the taste of poppy seeds, then it is a must try!!

For Day 2 week 3 of BM #28, check it out.

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Posted by Harini-Jaya R on Saturday, May 18, 2013

Kootu in Tamil, according to Wiki, is a dish made with vegetables and lentils in a semi liquid form. Such a simple explanation for such an elegant form of food! I shall blog three such Kootu recipes which we enjoy at home as part of BM #28. 

Poricha Kootu, as I understand, is when urad dal and pepper are freshly ground to flavor the kootu.
So whatever vegetable you use with this combination of masala, it qualifies as poricha kootu. Please correct me if I am wrong, though.


Bottle Gourd Poricha Kootu

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Sanna ~ Yeasted Idlis From Mangalore

For this month's Indian Cooking Challenge, Valli has taken us to the shores of Mangalore and Goa. These yeasted cakes are supposed to be part of the traditional Christmas fare in that area.

These fluffy idlis (as I like to call them) were a true delight to have. For the adult version, I sprinkled some crushed red peppers while the kids version had a small dose of sugar. 

I was skeptical about adding too much of yeast and so reduced it to 3/4 tsp and there was not a trace of the yeasty smell during the steaming or after.

Recipe Source: Shireen Sequeira's Mom
Ingredients - 

Parboiled rice/Idli Rice 1 1/2 cups (I used Idli Rawa)
Raw Rice 1/2 cup (I used Sona Masuri Rice)
Urad dal 1/4 cup
Active Dry Yeast 1 tsp ( I used 3/4 tsp)
Sugar 1 tsp (to prepare the yeast solution)
Warm Water 3 Tbsp (to prepare the yeast solution)
Salt to taste
Sugar to taste (optional)



Sanna ~ Yeasted Idlis From Mangalore
Method Of Preparation -

Soak urad dal and the rice separately for at least 3 hours in plenty of water. Both of the varieties of rice can be combined.

Drain the water and grind the urad dal first to a fine paste adding as little water as possible. Then grind the rice also to a fine consistency. The resultant batter should be of dosa batter consistency.

Meanwhile soak yeast in warm water along with a little sugar and let it froth up. Add this yeast solution to the batter and set aside in a warm place for fermentation. It should double in a couple of hours.

Prepare a few ramekins/cups (steel or aluminium) by greasing them. 

Without mixing the fermented batter, pour into the greased ramekins until they are half full leaving some space for the batter to rise. I made 8 ramekin size, a 6 inch cake and a 7 inch cake.

Steam the ramekins for about 15 min. Unmould and enjoy with any accompaniment of your choice. We enjoyed it with peanut chutney while the kids dipped them in Badam Milk!

Preparation Time 20 min (Excluding soaking and fermentation)
Makes 25-27 (ramekin size)

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Posted by Harini-Jaya R on Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Carrot Fennel Soup

This month's Magic Mingle called for the ingredients of Yogurt and Fennel. I was set on making a soup using fennel but was still undecided on what vegetables should go in.

I finally decided that I would use apple and carrot as the base and tried it out. My husband who usually doesn't like carrots, loved the fennel flavor and smell so much that he gobbled up the soup heaping compliments :). He said it reminded him of some soup he had in a restaurant in India!

Ingredients - 

Carrots, chopped 1 1/2 cups
Apple, peeled, cored and chopped 1/2 cup
Onions, finely chopped 1/4 cup
Yogurt/Curds, beaten 1/4 cup
Salt, Curry Powder and Pepper to taste
Seasoning (Ghee/Butter 1 tsp, Fennel seeds (Saunf) 2 tsp)
Note - 

*Feel free to use crushed fennel if preferred or A fresh fennel bulb would be aromatic as well.
*Greek Yogurt can be used instead of plain yogurt


Carrot Fennel Soup

Method Of Preparation -

Boil the chopped carrots and apple until tender. Blend until smooth adding about 1 cup of water or vegetable broth.

In a pan, heat ghee and add the fennel seeds. After they start to crackle, saute the chopped onions until they are golden brown. [Alternatively crushed fennel can be added later in the simmering soup.]

Pour the pureed carrot-apple mixture into the pan, sprinkle salt, curry powder and pepper to taste and simmer for about 3-4 min.

Remove from fire and mix in the beaten yogurt and serve it warm with croutons.

Linking this soup to Kalyani's Magic Mingle ..

Preparation Time  20 min
Makes 2 cups

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Posted by Harini-Jaya R on Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Punjabi Samosa

When we are talking about samosas, how can anyone forget the typical Punjabi samosas? I couldn't not prepare these samosas with the inimitable taste of coriander seeds and pomegranate seeds in almost every bite !

I stress that for those of you who are like me, who can tolerate the baked versions, go for it. Just spray some oil and bake them at 375 F for about 25 min or until they are golden brown all over.

Here are the Samosas I prepared for this edition of BM #28..
Scrambled Tofu Samosa for Day 1,
Palak Paner Samosa for Day 2 

Also another one from the archives ..
Vegetable Samosa

Ingredients - 

Oil For Deep Frying
For the Wrapper -
Refer to Vegetable Samosa or Scrambled Tofu Samosa

For The Filling - 
Potatoes 2 , boiled and roughly mashed
Peas handful, boiled
Turmeric 1/4 tsp
Salt, Red Chilli Powder, Amchur Powder, Garam Masala to taste
Roasted Coriander seeds, coarsely crushed 1 tsp
Dried Pomegranate seeds , coarsely crushed 1 tsp
Seasoning (Oil 1 tsp, Cumin seeds 1/2 tsp)

Punjabi Samosa

Method Of Preparation -

For the Wrapper -
Refer to Vegetable Samosa or Scrambled Tofu Samosa

For the Filling - 
Roast and coarsely crush the coriander seeds and dried pomegranate seeds. Set aside.

In a heated pan, add oil and cumin seeds. After the cumin seeds crackle, add the boiled and mashed potato, turmeric and boiled peas.

Add salt, red chilli powder, amchur powder, garam masala, coarsely crushed coriander seeds and dried pomegranate seeds. 

Mix well until the flavors are uniformly blended. Remove from fire and let it cool.


Assembling the Samosa - 
Pinch a big marble sized dough and roll it into a thin circle (like roti). Using a pizza cutter or knife, cut the circle into 2 halves.

On each half, apply water to the edge and make a cone/triangle shape and press well so that the edges are sealed properly. 

Fill in about a tablespoon of the filling and seal the edges by applying water.

Keep them covered while the oil is heated in a kadai/wok.

Gently slide these in moderately hot oil and fry them in low-medium heat. Drain them on to kitchen paper towels when they get a golden brown hue.

Continue frying them in batches and serve them hot with chutney of your choice. 





Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#28.

Preparation Time 45 min
Makes 20 approx

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For Day 2 Week 2 of BM #28, here is another filling for our favorite samosas. Personally these samosas have become my favorite. 

I was very much tempted to finish off the filling as is and had to stop myself from doing so. The result being I got 3-4 samosas less, no one being the wiser :)


Palak Paneer Samosa

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Scrambled Tofu Samosa

All of us agree that Samosas make for great appetizers at parties, right? So when Srivalli announced 'Types of Samosas' as one of the themes for BM #28, I thought I would take it up to please my family :). 

For the wrapper, I have earlier used a different ingredient mix for Vegetable Samosa. I have observed that both the wrappers work well.

Since my older one loves the scrambled tofu, I thought I should try this in a samosa form and see if she likes it! She really did like it. I also baked a batch of samosas instead of frying in the oil for my humble self :).

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Sindhi Sai Bhaji

Here is yet another delightful vegetable-lentil medley which has already become a family favorite. 
This is supposed to be a traditional Sindhi Variety which we have since adopted :).

There are so many Sindhi Dishes which I have bookmarked and made some too. I am sure I will get another opportunity to post those !

So check it out for Day 3 Week 1 of BM #28.

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Aur Jho Ras - A Sindhi Kadhi

As soon as I saw this recipe in SindhiRasoi, I felt it was closer to our pulusu variety where we add tamarind along with vegetables. My husband who is a major fan of garlic was very happy with the garlic smell wafting through the kitchen!

So for Day 2 Week 1 of BM #28, here it is..

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Tidaali Dal

We start yet another edition of Blogging Marathon. For the first week of this edition, I have chosen to blog some traditional Sindhi dishes. 

I have browsed through some websites which had some authentic Sindhi dishes listed and I picked out three simple ones to make which I shall feature for the next three days.

The first one is of course, this Tidaali Dal or Tridaali Dal which, as the name signifies, is made out of three lentils. I have seen various ratios of these dals in multiple websites and I chose to go with a ratio I am comfortable with.

We found this to be a very aromatic dal and comforting at best!

Ingredients - 

Chana Dal 1/2 cup
Urad Dal 1/4 cup
Moong Dal 1/4 cup
Tomato, chopped 1/2 cup
Salt as needed
Turmeric 1/4 tsp
Ginger, Garlic and Green Chillies as needed
Seasoning (Oil 2 tsp, Cumin seeds 1/2 tsp, Mustard seeds 1/2 tsp, Curry leaves few, Asafoetida 1 pinches)
Optional Lime Juice as needed


Tidaali Dal

Method Of Preparation -

Wash the dals and pressure cook them along with ginger and green chillies until they are thoroughly cooked. Mash the mixture, add in salt and turmeric.

In a pan, add oil and the rest of the ingredients. After the mustard seeds crackle, add the grated garlic and saute until it turns golden brown. 

Add the mashed dal and let it simmer for a couple minutes and remove from fire.

Traditionally it is served with Sorghum Roti but we enjoyed with Rice. 

Also I squeezed in some lime juice to suit our palate.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#28.

Preparation Time  30 min
Serves 3-4

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Kobbari Pacchadi

For the last day of this month long Blogging Marathon # 27, here is a humble and basic chutney from my kitchen.

It is very rare for me to make this coconut chutney at home. The reason is simple. I am very picky when it comes to the quality of coconut. We very rarely the coconut which doesn't smell or which is not dry. On the rare occasion we get good quality coconut, we tend to eat it raw with some jaggery. 

Ingredients - 

Fresh Coconut, shredded 1 cup
Green Chillies 4-5 (or to taste)
Tamarind pulp 1 tsp 
Salt as needed
Coriander leaves, few
Seasoning (Oil 2 tsp, Chana Dal 1 tsp, Urad Dal 1 tsp, Mustard seeds 1/2 tsp, Cumin seeds 1/2 tsp, Asafoetida 2 pinches, Curry leaves few)


Kobbari Pacchadi

Method Of Preparation -

Grind all the ingredients adding as little of water as needed.

Prepare the seasoning - Heat Oil in a pan, add all the seasoning ingredients in the order mentioned. After the mustard seeds pop, remove from fire and transfer onto the chutney.

Mix well and serve with steaming hot rice or Ven Pongal.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#27.

Here is the list of recipes blogged this month in a glance..

Week 4 - Misc (Craft or Condiments)


Preparation Time 7-10 min
Makes 1 cup

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Posted by Harini-Jaya R on Tuesday, April 30, 2013
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