Mango is a versatile fruit, as many delicious recipes can be prepared with raw mango as well as ripe mango; such as mango pickle, drinks, mango roll up, sweet or spice chutney, shrikhand, ice cream, lassi, mango kulfi and so on. Sweet & sour mango chutney is one of my childhood favorite, and my mom used to make this dish during mango season in the summer. She would make it in large quantities and store it in a jar. We loved eating it in our lunch boxes with parathas. This mango chutney also known galka or khattmithi in Northern part of India, but every state has its own variation of making this sweet & sour chutney with different ingredients and has many different names. This recipe made with raw mangoes, jaggery and some spices in Eastern UP & Bihar style.
Archives
Paneer Mutter Masala
Paneer mutter masala is one of most popular dish in North India. Paneer is one of the most liked ingredient to adults as well as kids. There are varieties of paneer recipes like paneer butter masala, methi paneer mutter masala, paneer tikka masala, palak paneer, chili paneer masala and so on. This recipe is a considered as a delicacy and prepared only on special occasions. It is also one of the most sought out dish in restaurants. The recipe looks very appealing in its orange red color gravy which is generally due to food coloring. However I have used beetroot to get the same color to the recipe. The main ingredient in the recipe is paneer and mutter which is added to a rich tomato based gravy with spices, cashew nut and cream. The wonderful aroma due to spices and awesome taste of curry is extremely appetizing. The curry goes very well with Naan, Poori, Parathas and plain or jeera rice. If you are not a fan of paneer, you can use Tofu instead. Prepare this dish to celebrate your special days with family and friend, however indulge at your own risk.
Daal Baati
Daal Baati Churam is a very popular traditional Rajasthani dish. The celebrations like marriage, festival, parties and so on in Rajasthan are incomplete without this traditional dish. Daal Baati Churma is basically three items put together as a meal. I have already shared the recipe of Churma in my earlier blog and in this blog I am sharing the recipe for Daal and Baati. Baati is made from wheat flour balls with lots of deshi ghee. Traditionally, the Baati balls are backed in clay or coal based tandoor which gives a very specific smoky flavor to the recipe. However, I have made the Baati in electric oven and it really came out well. The crispy Baati with desi ghee aroma makes the dish tastes amazing. The Daal for this recipe is mixture of five kinds of daal (pulses) also known as panchmel daal. The daal is cooked with salt, water and turmeric powder however the seasoning with ghee, ginger-garlic and some gram masala brings in the real flavorful taste in Daal. Serve this recipe to your guests and I am sure they would love it.
Sambar Polenta (Cornmeal)
Polenta aka cornmeal is granules of corn available in grocery stores all around. The Polenta is cooked in many ways like it can be baked, grilled or fried. This recipe is prepared using boiled Polenta which is typically simmered in water with salt and ghee or butter. Polenta takes a little long time to cook and creamy texture.You could each boiled Polenta as is or It can be served many different ways. For this recipe we would prepare a sambar to serve with Polenta. Sambar is a south Indian soup which is prepared using mix of vegetables of your choice, toor daal and special sambar masala. In this recipe, I have also added green pigeon peas along with toor dal to get twist in sambar taste. There are varieties of sambar recipes available and you can use anyone if you like or you can use your own sambar recipe. Polenta used to be one of common meal item when I was young and my grand mother use to make it and serve with toor dal and spicy curry. In northern India is it referred as “Makki ka bath”. I literally love Polenta and every time I make it, it bring memories from childhood. Polenta with sambar was an awesome combination and very delicious, you could also try it with rasam. 
Quinoa Mix Daal Adai Dosa
Mix Daal Dosa is one of the many different types of Dosa found in South India. Mix daal dosa is prepared using a variety of daal (pulses), beans, quinoa and brown rice. Mix daal dosa is full of protein and a very healthy breakfast. Adding quinoa to the recipe makes it even more healthy and delicious. This dosa does not require overnight fermentation process, however, if you wish you can leave it for 3-4 hours to ferment. If you like your Dosa crispy, you can add a little rice flour into batter. Normally, this dosa is served with potato masala, sambar and coconut chutney. You can also try it with guacamole and it tastes just as good.
Bisi Bele Bath
Bisi bele bath is one of most popular dish in Karnataka. The recipe is very similar to north Indian khichdi. In Kannada, bisi means hot, bele means daal and bath means rice hence the name. Rice and daal cooked along with veggie, spices, and jaggery makes this dish delicious. I am very fond of south Indian food and this is one of my favorite dish. The aroma of bisi bele bath masala, curry leaves, ghee and tamarind creates a craving for the food. You can use home made Bisi bele bath masala which gives an awesome freshness and taste to this dish but if not available, you could use store bought MTR Bisi bele bath masala powder. Bisi bele bath tastes best when served hot, topped with ghee along with papad and kara boondi.
Punjabi Pakora Kadhi
Kadhi is one of the easiest recipe which is made using gram flour (besan), yogurt( curd) and spices tadka. Normally, we make kadhi with bari. The bari made with besan and deep fried. Punjabi kadhi is made replacing bari with fried onion pakoras. There are variety of kadhi recipe in different part of India. Punjabi pakora kadhi is one of them. For a nice aroma and taste added roasted methi leaves in this recipe. Roasted methi recipe can be found here. This mouthwatering kadhi goes well with steamed rice and roti.
Kalakhattha Mango Stuffed Khandvi
Khandvi is a Gujarati snacks which is made with gram flour(besan). I have shared another version of Khandvi earlier and you can find it here. Making khandvi is easy however it’s very important to get the right consistency of batter. Kalakhattha khandvi uses ingredients like Indian blackberry (Jamun), beetroot and some spices and stuffed with khatta meetha raw mango chutney or chundo. Jamun and beetroot gives a nice color and different taste then normal khandvi. The khatta meetha and tikha taste of this recipe gives a nice twist to khandvi. All colors are natural color in the recipe.