This is my first try on baby corn masala gravy for chapathi and roti. I watched few YouTube videos and came up with this north Indian style gravy recipe with onion, tomato base. This recipe is without coconut. It tastes so good. We all loved it with soft chapati. It tastes similar to restaurant style paneer butter masala. Its not so spicy too. I made this gravy directly in a pressure cooker for easy and quick cooking.
If you make it a thick gravy, you can keep in a dosa and make baby corn masala dosa as well. Friends, do try this yummy North Indian style baby corn masala gravy and enjoy with chapathi, roti or naan. Lets see how to make baby corn masala with step by step pictures and video.
Baby corn masala gravy for chapathi, roti
Easy baby corn masala gravy in a pressure cooker. Its a good side dish for chapati, roti and naan.
Cashewnuts - 8 to 10
(Grind to a paste adding milk/water)
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Red chilli powder - 3/4 tsp
Coriander powder / dhania powder - 1 tsp
Garam masala powder - 1/2 tsp
Crushed kasoori methi - 1 tsp
Cinnamon, cloves, cardamom and bay leaf – 1 each
Cumin seeds or shahjeera – 1/2 tsp ( I used black cumin seeds)
Salt & water - as needed
Cooking oil - 2 tbsp (Any Flavorless oil)
Butter - 2 tsp (optional)
Coriander leaves - to garnish
HOW TO MAKE BABY CORN MASALA GRAVY
Wash and chop baby corn into small roundels.
Grind tomato to a smooth paste and set aside.
Grind cashew nuts to a smooth paste adding little milk or water.
In a pressure cooker, heat oil + butter. Saute whole spices and cumin seeds.
Add onion, gg paste and saute for a minute. Add spice powders and saute in low flame.
Then add tomato puree, salt and sugar. Mix well.
Add baby corn pieces and cashew paste. Add garam masala powder. Mix well and add water.
Pressure cook in low flame for 2 whistles. Open the cooker and add kasoori methi.
Give a boil. Garnish with coriander leaves. Serve hot with chapati, roti and naan.
BABY CORN GRAVY RECIPE - STEP BY STEP PICTURES
Wash and clean the baby corn by removing the fiber part. Cut into small, thick roundels. Set aside. Chop onion finely. Grind tomato to a smooth puree adding required water.
Grind cashew nuts to a smooth paste adding required water or milk. Set aside.
In a pressure cooker base, heat oil + butter. Saute cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, bay leaf and cumin seeds / black cumin seeds. Saute for a minute in medium flame without burning it.
Add the chopped onion and saute till transparent. Then add ginger garlic paste. Saute till its raw smell goes off. Reduce the flame to low. Add turmeric powder, red chilli powder and coriander powder. Saute for a minute without burning the powders.
Now add the tomato puree, salt and sugar. Stir it well. Let it boil in medium flame till the puree thickens and leaves oil in the sides.
Now add 1 cup of water, chopped baby corn, cashew nuts paste and garam masala powder. Mix well and check for taste. Add more salt and chilli powder if needed. Close the lid and pressure cook for two whistles in low flame. Open the cooker after steam is released. Check for the consistency of gravy. If its too thin, boil for sometime till slightly thick. Lastly add crushed kasoori methi and coriander leaves. Mix well and boil for a minute. Switch off the flame and serve hot with roti/ chapati / naan.
Enjoy !
Note
Adjust the quantity of chilli powder as per your spice level.
Do not skip cashew paste as it adds thickness and richness to the gravy.
For more richness, you can add a tbsp of fresh cream at the end before serving.
Try this yummy baby corn masala gravy and enjoy with roti/ chapati.
In this post, you can find the list of naivedyam / varalakshmi pooja prasadam recipes of Tamil nadu, Andhra pradesh and Karnataka for Varalakshmi viratham. Varalakshmi Vratham/Varamahalakshmi festival (Varalakshmi poojai in Tamil) is the most auspicious festival celebrated by married woman (Hindu) to commemorate Goddess Mahalakshmi. "Vara" means "boon" and Goddess Lakshmi grants all boons to those who performs pooja with utmost devotion on this day. People of South Indian states like Tamil nadu, Andhra and Karnataka and North Indian states like Maharashtra and Orissa celebrate this festival in a grand manner. This festival usually falls on the second Friday of August/ Sravana masam (Avani in Tamil). In 2023, its on August 25, Friday.
Goddess Lakshmi loves special dishes prepared with milk, jaggery, rice, coconut, dal and ghee. So people offer 3, 5, 7 or 9 dishes for Varalakshmi pooja naivedyam / prasadam with these ingredients as major ones. Sweet pongal, Payasam, tamarind rice, lemon rice, curd rice, kesari, vada, panakam, sundal, nombu kozhukattai, sundal are the major neivedyam recipes prepared in Tamil nadu for varalakshmi nombu. Apart from this, people also offer white rice (cooked raw rice), cooked dal (paruppu) and little ghee for Mahanaivedyam. Some people also make raw rice idli.
In Andhra, people offer boorelu, bellam paramannam, pulihora, garelu, chakkara pongali, guggillu, panakam, pappu unta, daddojanam, perugu vada and sundal. In Karnataka Chitranna, bele holige, vada, kosambari, shavige payasa, panaka, sihi pongal, chakli, kodubele are offered to Goddess. In all these states people make similar naivedyam recipes but the preparation method and ingredients are slightly different. I have listed all the possible Varalakshmi festival special dishes for each state. Hope you will find this list useful to choose and prepare naivedyam.
Wish you all a very happy Varalakshmi pooja. May the Goddess bless us with all the goodness of life !
Recently my neighbor from North Karnataka gave me some Jolada roti / Jowar roti , ridge gourd / Heerekai palya (Kannada name )and brinjal / badanekayi chutney as side dish. I have tasted jolada roti oota in Kamat restaurant but this gravy and chutney recipes were new to me. It was so tasty and made me eat 3 rotis 😋.
When I shared this picture in my Instagram feed, many of my friends and readers asked me to share the recipe of heerekayi palya. This afternoon I got the recipe from my neighbor and prepared it for our lunch. It came out so well. Its a very simple recipe with peanut and till seeds/ black sesame seeds masala as base for this gravy. Its very similar to Ennegai recipe prepared using brinjal which is the most popular side dish for Jolada roti. Some people call this heerekayi palya as stuffed ridge gourd palya / heerekayi ennagai palya in Kannada. But there is a small variation in this gravy.
Friends, I bet no one could find that this gravy is prepared with ridge gourd. Its so flavorful and tastes great with jowar roti, rice and chapati. Do try it once. You will love it and start to make it often. Its so easy to prepare too ! Ok, lets see how to make North Karnataka style (Uttara Karnataka) heerekai palya recipe with step by step pictures.
Black till seeds powder or niger seeds powder - 1 tbsp (roasted sesame seeds powder)
Green chilli - 3
(Use 2 for less spice)
Coriander leaves - 2 tbsp
Curry leaves - 10
Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
Sambar powder - 1 tsp ( I used MTR sambar powder, refer notes)
Turmeric powder = 1/4 tsp
Coconut - 1 tbsp (optional)
Cinnamon - 1 small piece
Cloves - 1
To Temper
Cooking oil - 3 tbsp
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves - Few
HOW TO MAKE RIDGE GOURD GRAVY / HEEREKAYI PALYA
Wash and peel the ridges of ridge gourd & skin.
Chop into 2 inch size lengthy pieces. Set aside.
Grind all the ingredients given under “To grind” to a smooth paste adding water.
Heat oil in a kadai. Splutter mustard seeds, cumin seeds and curry leaves.
Saute onion, tomato and ridge gourd pieces till soft. Add the ground masala paste.
Saute till raw smell goes off. Add required water, cover and cook till ridge gourd is done.
Remove and serve hot with Jolada roti / Jowar roti, rice or chapathi !
HEEREKAI PALYA - STEP BY STEP PICTURES
Wash and peel the ridges and skin of ridge gourd. Do not remove the skin completely. But ridges should be removed and discarded. Chop the ridge gourd into 2 inch pieces in length. Wash and set aside.
In a mixie jar take roasted peanuts (without skin), black sesame seeds powder(ellu podi, dry roast and powder it), green chilli, cumin seeds, coriander leaves, curry leaves, dry coconut, turmeric powder and sambar powder ( If you are not using Karnataka sambar powder, add 1 piece cinnamon and 1 clove along with usual sambar powder). Grind everything to a smooth paste adding required water. Set aside.
Heat oil in a kadai and splutter mustard seeds, urad dal and curry leaves. Add onion and saute till transparent. Add tomato, required salt and saute till mushy.
Add ridge gourd pieces and saute till it becomes soft. Add ground masala paste. Saute till its raw smell goes off. Now add the required water, check for taste.
Cover and cook for sometime. Open the lid and mix once or twice in the middle. Cook till ridge gourd is cooked completely but not mushy. It should retain its shape.
Adjust the consistency of gravy by adding water. Switch off the flame and serve hot with jolada roti, rice and chapathi.
Enjoy !
Note
Adjust the quantity of green chilli based on your taste.
Sesame seeds powder and peanut forms the base for this gravy. So do not skip it.
You can use snake gourd, lady’s finger instead of ridge gourd.
This gravy thickens over time. So you can add more water if needed and adjust the salt.
Yummy, Karnataka style ridge gourd gravy is ready to relish with jowar roti, rice !
Muscoth halwa / Muscat halwa is a popular halwa recipe in Mudalur near Tuticorin (Thoothukudi), Tamilnadu. It is also known as Mudalur halwa. AJJ bakery/ sweet shop is very famous for this halwa preparation. I got this recipe from a Tamil magazine where the sweet shop owner has given the recipe with measurements. I reduced the sugar quantity and tried it. I also watched Sutralaam suvaikalaam Youtube channel video for more details. This halwa is prepared using Maida milk / All purpose flour milk and coconut milk. It can be called as coconut milk halwa too.
Highlight of this halwa is its made without adding a drop of ghee or oil. The oil releases from the coconut milk makes the halwa glossy and flavorful. If you are a big fan of coconut based recipes, you must try this halwa. It looks and tastes similar to Tirunelveli halwa. Patience is the only thing you need to make this halwa successfully. It needs a day for pre- preparation and an hour to cook. But it tastes great with the nice flavor of coconut. You will love it !
For variations, you can use wheat flour instead of maida. But authentic, sweet shop recipe uses all purpose flour/ maida. But this halwa stays good for 2 to 3 days as we are using coconut milk. Use a good non-stick kadai for best results. If you have an iron kadai, you can use that as well.
Recently Kent appliances sent me a non-stick kadai (Kent Red plus with SS lid)for my review about the product. I have shared a picture of it in my Instagram feed as well. Kent by Kent Appliancesis a kitchen appliance brand. It caters to the various needs of homemakers in the country. It has a varied product portfolio ranging from pressure cookers, non-stick cookware, hard anodized cookware, thermoware, mixer grinders to varied other electrical appliances and kitchen tools. The company has been at the forefront of innovation and has been the fastest growing company in the kitchen appliance space.
When they sent me a kadai for review, I wanted to try some sweets with it because its easy to identify the final consistency. As this Muscoth halwa is without ghee, I felt it would be ideal for making in the new kadai. As expected, kadai was so good. I cooked this halwa for more than one hour still the kadai and its handle was heat resistant. Spatula is good and sturdy. Halwa came out beautifully without sticking to the pan. I loved the red outer coating which is my favorite color too.
Above all this product has one year warranty. I started using this kadai in my regular cooking. So far so good ! Friends, if you are planning to buy this kadai, use CHITRAS5 coupon code for 5% discount (for purchasing through website only). Check out their website, Facebook and Instagram page links below to see all their products.
To make Muscoth halwa, take maida in a wide bowl and make a smooth dough adding water.
Add 3 cups of water to the maida dough. Mix it well with your hands. Dough dissolves in water and you will get white colored milk.
Discard the gluten part and set the maida milk aside. Keep it covered and leave overnight.
The next morning, discard the water carefully and use the sedimented maida milk for making halwa.
In a kadai, add maida milk, coconut milk, 1.25 cups sugar and start cooking in medium flame.
In another small kadai, take 3/4 cup sugar and a tsp of ghee. Mix well and caramelize it in low flame.
Add to maida mixture , add cashew nuts and keep cooking for an hour. Remove when halwa starts to release oil in the sides of kadai.
Transfer the halwa to a ghee greased plate. Cut into pieces when warm. Serve and enjoy !
Tastes best the next day !
MUSCOTH HALWA RECIPE - STEP BY STEP PICTURES
In a wide bowl, take 1 cup of maida/ all purpose flour. Add water gradually and make a smooth dough. No problem even if the dough is sticky. Add 3 cups of water to the dough and start mixing with your hands. Dough dissolves in water and you will get white colored maida milk.
Keep mixing till you get the fiber like gluten part separately. Squeeze well and discard it. Now maida milk with water is ready. Cover the milk bowl with a plate and rest it overnight or 6 hours. Maida milk will be settled down and you will find the water on top. Drain the water carefully. No problem if little water is present with maida milk. Measure the sedimented maida milk. You will get around 1 cup. Keep it aside.
Take one big coconut. Grate it or make pieces. Grind to a smooth paste adding 1 cup of warm water. Strain and collect the coconut milk in a bowl. Add more warm water and take the second milk too. Total quantity of coconut milk should be 4 cups. So you can add water based on this. In a kadai take 1 cup of maida milk, 4 cups of coconut milk, 1.25 cups of sugar. Mix well.
Keep the kadai in medium flame and keep stirring till sugar dissolves. After 5 to 10 minutes, halwa starts to thicken. Keep cooking by changing the flame from low to medium high.
In the mean time, keep a small kadai in another gas burner. Add 3/4 cup sugar and a tsp of ghee. Keep the flame very low. Mix well till sugar dissolves and changes the color to golden brown. Do not burn the sugar. Halwa tastes bitter. This process is called sugar caramelization. Switch off the flame and add the caramelized sugar to the halwa. Do it quickly. Mix well.
Color of halwa changes to golden brown. Add cashew nut pieces. Keep mixing the halwa for another 30 minutes. Halwa thickens completely and leave the sides of kadai. It rolls with the ladle and becomes a lump. It will be non-sticky to touch. If you want, you can remove the halwa to a ghee greased plate at this stage. Set it till warm, cut into pieces and enjoy. It tastes good. But If you want really glossy halwa like in sweet shops , you need to proceed to the next step.
Keep the flame medium and mix until halwa starts to leave traces of oil in the sides of kadai. Total cooking time would be more than one hour. Once you see the oil releasing in the sides, remove and transfer to a ghee greased plate. Level it with ghee greased spatula. Rest the halwa till warm, invert to a plate. Make pieces and consume within 2 to 3 days.
Enjoy !
Note
For healthy options, you can use wheat flour / atta instead of maida.
You can skip cashew nuts.
You can also reduce the quantity of coconut milk to two cups and make this halwa. But halwa won’t release oil. You can remove once it becomes non-sticky.
Actual recipe called for fermenting maida milk overnight. But I saw many recipes that make the maida milk instantly. You can try that way too.
Cardamom powder is not needed. If you wish, you can add it.
Friends, try this easy yummy Muscoth halwa and enjoy with family and friends.
It stays good only for 2 to 3 days because of coconut milk.
7 Taste Uthappam / 5 Taste Uthappam Recipe – Many of you would have tasted this dosa variety in restaurants like Saravana bhavan and many restaurants in Tamil nadu.
Basically uthappam is a soft, spongy dosa that looks round and small in size. You can make it with freshly ground fermented idli, dosa batter or with leftover idli batter. Both tastes great. Onion uthappam is the most common oothappam variety. But this 5 taste / 7 taste uthappam with 7 different toppings makes this simple dish much more interesting.
Though I haven’t tasted this recipe in Chennai Saravana bhavan, I have tasted it in Salem Saravana bhavan – asai dosai and Sree Saravana bhavan restaurant in Krishnagiri. But both the restaurants served 5 taste uthappam with masala toppings like mushroom masala, paneer masala, Gobi masala, grated carrot and small onion. It was so filling that I wasn’t able to eat 3 uthappam.
But the recipe I have shared here is very simple with light toppings. It won’t make you feel full at the same time its so appealing to eyes. Kids would love it for sure. Even we adults would be craving to eat it by seeing their colors.
I have made this uthappam with the mini uthappam pan which I bought recently. I purchased it mainly for this recipe and to make pancakes for Raksha. If you are interested to buy this mini uthappam / pancake pan, please check THIS LINK in Amazon. There are many brands available in it. If you don’t want this pan, you can make in dosa tawa itself. You can make 3 to 4 per batch based on the size of your dosa tawa.
I have used onion, carrot, capsicum, coriander leaves, tomato + crushed pepper, Idli podi / Gun powder, dry fruits and nuts toppings. You can skip any two and make 5 taste uthappam. For variations, you can use paneer bhurji, grated cheese, chocolate chips even finely cut apple for different and interesting toppings.
Friends, do try this easy and colorful 7 taste uthappam recipe and share your feedback with me !
7 taste uthappam / 5 taste uthappam recipe
How to make easy and colorful 7 taste uthappam with idli dosa batter.
Cooking oil / Sesame oil /Ghee - to drizzle over dosa
HOW TO MAKE 7 TASTE UTHAPPAM RECIPE
Wash and chop all the vegetables finely. Grate carrot.
Take idli dosa batter and add little water if batter is too thick.
Heat a dosa pan or uthappam pan. Pour small ladleful of batter. Do not spread it.
Sprinkle the topping over each dosa. Drizzle oil around the dosa.
Cook in medium flame. Flip and cook the other side till toppings become golden in color.
Remove and serve hot with chutney or sambar !
7 TASTE UTHAPPAM - STEP BY STEP PICTURES
To make 7 taste or 5 taste uthappam, prepare the toppings by finely chopping onion, capsicum, cashew nuts, tomato, coriander leaves. Grate carrot and keep aside.
Take 1 to 2 cups of idli dosa batter. You can use leftover idli dosa batter or with fresh fermented idli batter. If the batter is too thick add little water and bring to pouring consistency. Remember batter should not be too thin and watery.
Heat a dosa tawa or mini uthappam pan (If you have it). Pour small ladles of batter in each hole. In dosa tawa, make 3 to 4 small sized thick dosa. Do not spread the batter.
Place the toppings over each dosa. Put chopped small onion in one, tomato and sprinkle some pepper powder in the second, capsicum in third, grated carrot, chopped coriander leaves, dry fruits and nuts in the remaining uthappam. Lastly sprinkle idli podi over the 7th uthappam. Drizzle oil or ghee (for kids) around each dosa. Cook in medium flame and flip the dosa.
Cook the toppings side patiently till each of them is cooked well and turns slight golden brown in color. You can remove carrot and coriander uthappam earlier than onion uthappam.
Remove in a plate and serve hot with chutney and sambar !
Enjoy !
Note
For variations you can use grated cheese, grated paneer, chocolate chips and favorite fruits.
To make 5 taste uthappam, skip any two toppings and make the remaining.
Adding ghee gives the best taste. But you can use cooking oil or sesame oil for low calorie version.
Coconut chutney or sambar is the best side dish for these uthappam.
Colorful, tasty 7 taste uthappam is ready ! Enjoy !
Sprouts are nothing but germinated seeds that are high in nutrition. Some of the edible sprouts arealfalfa, broccoli, mung bean, green peas, chana and radish sprouts. Making sprouts at home is so easy. I make moong bean sprouts also known as green gram sprouts regularly for making sprouts salad for his lunch box, sprouted green gram kurma for roti and sometimes sprouts chaat in weekends. But I never thought of making a separate post for this until few of my readers asked me to make a detailed post on how to make sprouts at home.
As we all know, sprouting a legume increases its nutritional value. Sprouts are rich in protein, vitamins and minerals. Sprouts are more helpful for weight loss by keeping the tummy full for long time. It is always better to consume homemade sprouts than the store bought ones as its more healthy, fresh and hygienic. Tomorrow I will share a simple moong sprouts salad that aids in weight loss. Before that we will see how to make sprouts at home easily in simple steps. Lets see how to make green gram sprouts with step by step pics.
Wash the green gram and soak overnight in enough water.
The next morning drain the soaked water completely.
Take the soaked green gram in a clean cotton cloth.
Tie it and set aside for a day to two.
Green gram would germinate and gets sprouted. Store this in a box inside refrigerator.
Consume it within 2 to 3 days. You can make salad, gravy, rice and chaat with sprouts.
HOW TO MAKE SPROUTS AT HOME - STEP BY STEP PICTURES
Wash the green gram (moong bean) twice or thrice. Add enough water and soak it for 8 hours or over night.
The next day morning drain all the soaked water from green gram. Keep the green gram in a clean cotton cloth. Tie the cloth and keep aside for one to two days.
After one day, open the cloth and check whether the moong bean is germinated. If not keep it for one or two days more. You can even refrigerate and sprout it.
Once its sprouted, transfer them to a clean container. Use whenever needed. It stays good for 2 to 3 days in refrigerator. Its always better to consume small sized sprouts. Do not consume if its over grown.
Note
You can use green peas, brown chana / kala chana, ragi/ finger millet and sprout it. But sprouting time may vary based on the legume.
Time duration for sprouts may differ based on the weather in your place.
Try this easy method of making sprouts and share your feedback with me.
