Ridge Gourd(Uppu Huli) Dosa

Ridge Gourd(Uppu Huli) Dosa is one of the traditional cuisine of Udupi, Mangalore region popularly know as Dakshina Kannada. People here are well known for their unique cooking style with minimum or no wastage. They cook from almost all edible parts of any given vegetables. Ridge gourd is one of the locally grown vegetable. This dosa is usually prepared during rainy or winter season to keep the body warm. There are few variation of this dosa too. Ridge Gourd can be replaced with fine chopped onion, fenugreek leaves or fine chopped cabbage. However Ridge gourd is the most famous authentic and tasty among all variation.

The batter of ridge gourd dosa is made with rice and flavored with methi seeds, coriander seeds, chili, tamarind pulp, jaggery and freshly grated coconut. The right amount of tanginess, spiciness and fresh aroma of coriander seeds gives a trickle to your taste bud. You can adjust the spiciness as per your taste. This dosa doesn’t require any fermentation before preparation. The texture and taste of ridge gourd dosa makes it very different than other any other regular dosa. It’s not as crispy as other regular dosas however it taste really awesome. Traditional recipe does not include Quinoa in the dosa however I have added it give a slight twist. My kids are very picky eater and they doesn’t like any vegetable which they can see, so I generally grind the vegetable and mix it in batter. My kids loved ground ridge gaurd dosa. Goes well when served with hot cup of tea as breakfast.

I learnt about this dosa from one my friend Akhila Ramakrishna as she prepared it for dinner when we visited her place. She is really a good cook especially Mangalore special foods. I am very thankful to her for sharing this recipe with me which helped me posting it on my blog site.

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.

Maddur Vada

Maddur Vada is a very popular spicy, crispy and mouthwatering snack. The name is based on a place called Maddur in Karnataka which is situated between Bangalore and Mysore. It was one of our favorite snacks while travelling by train between Bangalore and Mysore. Basically, Maddur vada has mainly three ingredients rice flour, fine rava and all purpose flour. The dough is flavored with onion, ginger, curry leaves, hing (asafoetida) and green chili. The beauty of this vada is that it’s crust is very crispy however it is soft inside. Generally, the Vada has round shape, however I tried some experiment with shape and it really looked very nice. I used cookie cutter to give it star and heart shape. You can always customize it’s size of the Vada and spiciness based on your choice. Maddur vada tastes great when served with coconut chutney along with a cup of tea or coffee. I am thankful to my friend Savitha Matad who taught this recipe to me. We had this Vada at her place after long time and it brought back the old memories and I thought of adding it to my recipe blog. Hope you all would enjoy this recipe!

Pomegranate Quinoa Dhokla

Dhokla is a savory steamed tangy, spicy and sweet Gujarati snack which is famous all over India. Dhokla is all time our favorite Snack. There are many dhokla recipe, like a, Khaman Dhokla, Rava Dhokla, Veg Sandwich Dhokla, Green Moong Daal Dhokla, Spinach Dhokla and so on.This dhokla recipe is little different with a slight twist to traditional one. Pomegranate Quinoa Dhokla prepared using Quinoa, fresh pomegranate juice with some spices which makes it more healthy with unique taste and beautiful color. Pomegranate juice gives a tangy-sweet taste to the dhokla. Delicious Dhokla can be served with meal or as an evening snack.

Raw Mango & Guava Chutney

Guava also known Amrood (in Hindi) is a seasonal fruit which could be readily available during its season all over India. This sweet & tangy mouthwatering chutney is prepared mainly using raw mango and guava, flavored with chaat masala and black salt. This delightful chutney goes very well with any Indian snacks like a cutlets, kabab, pakoras, samosa and so on.

Mooli ( Raddish) Paratha

Mooli Paratha is a type of bread which is famous in Northern part of India. There are many types of paratha recipes like Aaloo mutter gobhi paratha, gobhi paratha, methi paratha, green spinach & mustard paratha, Kale & Spinach Lachha Paratha or so on. Paratha’s could be either stuffed, plain or veggie mixed with dough. Paratha goes very well with raita or pickle along with a cup of tea at breakfast. Mooli paratha can be made either stuffed or mixed with flour. This recipe is non-stuffed version of Mooli paratha made with grated mooli, mixed with wheat flour and some spices. Mooli paratha can also be enjoyed with gravy based curries and is perfect for lunch boxes.

Achari Murgh

Achari Murgh (Chicken) is a very flavorful delicious dish popular in Northern part of India. Achari is nothing but pickle spices (which is easily available in Indian grocery store). Chicken marinated with achari masala, yogurt and cooked into onion and tomato gravy gives a tangy taste to this recipe. Cooking this dish in mustard oil gives a nice authentic taste to dish however if you don’t want to use mustard oil, you can use other cooking oil. Achari Murgh goes well with jeera rice, plain rice, roti or naan. This is a very easy recipe to prepare.

Black Beans Omelet Roll With Guacamole Sandwich

Healthy breakfast keeps you lighter and energetic the whole day. For egg eaters omelet is a very common breakfast as it can be prepared quickly and goes very well along with bread and coffee. This recipe is a slightly different than regular omelet recipe. The filling made from boiled black beans which is saute along with onion, garlic and flavored with Indian spices is rolled inside the omelet for this recipe. This omelet roll served hot with a Guacamole sandwich instead of regular bread make is more delicious. You can find the recipe for Guacamole dip here which is used for the Guacamole sandwich. You can use canned beans instead of boiling the raw one. You could also add cheese or sour cream in it for kids.