Shrikripa U

Vermicelli Pulav:

May 22, 2024

My daughter persuaded me to write my version of Vermicelli Pulav, which they used to enjoy during their schooling days. It is a one-pot, quick meal with veggies and greens.

Earlier, I posted how to cook vermicelli under the Beginner’s guide. Here is one more recipe with vermicelli from our kitchen to yours.

Ingredients:

Vermicelli – 3 Cups

Mixed Vegetables – 1.5 Cups

Ghee and oil 2 tbsp+2 tbsp.

salt and ½ lemon.

To Grind:

Onion – 1 small

Pudina and coriander leaves – ¼ Cup

Green Chillies – 4

Ginger – ½ inch piece

Garlic – 2 cloves

Cloves – 3

Cinnamon – ¼ “

Turmeric – ½ tsp

Dhania/Coriander powder – 2 tsp

Method

-Toast vermicelli in one tbsp of Ghee. Set it aside.

-Chop all the vegetables and keep them aside. (I normally use capsicum, beans, carrot and green peas)

-Grind all the ingredients under “grind” in a mixie jar till smooth.

-Heat the remaining oil and ghee in a pan. Put chopped vegetables in it and fry till half done. Now, add the ground mixture and salt. Cook till the spices are fragrant and the raw smell vanishes.

-Add 4.5 cups of water and boil; add roasted vermicelli, stir well and cover. Cook till done. Add the juice of ½ lemon and mix.

-If you add water after adding the vermicelli, ensure sufficient water, just like we add while making regular vermicelli. Water should be just above the vermicelli. Mix the mixture and check for the salt. Add and cover the kadai with a lid if salt is needed, and cook it on a low flame.

-leave it to rest for a while and then serve.

Padenji -Bajil / Whole moong dry curry with Poha:

May 7, 2024

Bajil/ Avalakki is a default name for seasoned paper-thin poha, with added chopped onion or plain. It is a speciality of our native, Mangalore.

When Bajil/poha is paired and served with Whole moong curry, it is known as Padenji – Bajil. It is a nutritious, protein-rich combo breakfast option that fills our tummies. It is two straightforward dishes combined to make a pair. If you prepare without onion, an appropriate breakfast option for any day is feast / Vrat.

Even though many people would have tasted Avalakki oggarane in any of our temples, this combo is almost extinct in today’s world. Hence, I wanted to share it with you all.

First, we would prepare Padenji/moong curry:

Ingredients:

Whole green moong – 1 cup

Onion – 1 (optional) (chopped)

Green chillies – 2 to 3(chopped)

Curry leaves – 2 springs

Coconut – 1 small cup

Salt

For seasoning: Coconut oil, mustard, hing, curry leaves.

Method:

-Soak green gram overnight. The next day, wash properly, put sufficient water in the pot, and cook in an open vessel.

-When it starts boiling, all the scum comes to the top and remove that by using a spatula. It indeed increases the taste of the final dish.

-Switch off the gas and prepare the seasoning when the moong is cooked well (it should be soft but hold the shape).

-Take one kadai, heat coconut oil and splutter mustard, add hing, curry leaves, green chillies, and onion, and fry until the onion is translucent.

-Add the required amount of salt, cooked moong, and whatever water remains. Garnish with fresh coconut and cook until salt absorbs and the remaining water evaporates.

Now we would how to prepare Seasoned Poha/ Avalakki Oggarane:

If you want a pictorial guide, please click the highlighted section above.

Ingredients:

Freshly grated coconut – 1 cup

onion – chopped (optional)

Salt

Rasam powder OR Roasted coriander, cumin, red chilli, little hing.

Little tamarind

Jaggery – ½ tsp to 2 tsp (acc to your preference)

Paper thin poha – as needed.

For seasoning:

Mustard – 1 tsp

Urad dal – ½ tsp

Red chilli -1

Curry leaves – 1 spring

Method:

-At first, dry grind coconut, Rasam powder or roasted masala, jaggery, tamarind, and salt.

-Add seasoning to this mixture and mix it nicely by hand.

-Add the required amount of poha, mix nicely with your hand, and serve with Chana and Sweet potato curry.

-Relish the Age-old filling breakfast with your near and dear ones.

Horlicks Cake: (Eggless)

April 26, 2024

The recipe came to light to finish off the stock of Horlicks powder. When you are against wasting food/groceries, this is what happens. I was thinking of Horlicks mysorepak, and after seeing both of my daughter’s faces, I turned around and worked out on baking the tea cake instead of one more greasy stuff.

The trial was a big hit and was baked twice after that by demand. After a long gap, I am sharing this “hit” recipe with my readers.

The recipe is –

Ingredients:

Whole wheat flour – 1 cup

Horlicks powder – 1 cup

Baking soda – ½ tsp

Baking powder – ½ tsp

Walnut – ¼ cup (chunks)

Choco chips – ¼ cup

Butterscotch chips -little (optional)

Salt – ½ tsp

Sugar – ½ cup

Curd – 1 cup

Ghee – 4 Tbl sps

Milk – as needed (to adjust the consistency of the batter)

Method:

-Grease the cake tin, line it with the butter paper, and keep it ready.

-Take one bowl, add flour, Horlicks, baking soda, and baking powder, and mix thoroughly using a wire whisk or sieve everything together a couple of times. Add Choco chips, butterscotch chips and walnut chunks and mix thoroughly with dry flour.

-In another bowl, pour curd, ghee, sugar, and salt. Beat nicely until sugar dissolves.

-Pour the wet content over the dry ingredient and fold in the flour. If the batter looks stiff, add extra milk to adjust the consistency of the batter and adjust accordingly.

-Don’t over-mix the batter; use the spatula to fold the batter.

-Pour the ready batter into the cake tin, and bake in a preheated oven for 40 to 50 minutes until done at 180®C.

Bake in a preheated oven at 180 degrees for about 30-35 minutes or till done.

Instant Khichdi Mix:

January 20, 2024

Instant Khichdi Mix:

Instant Khichdi Mix is a delightful blend of flavours that combines the wholesome goodness of rice, lentils, and aromatic spices in a convenient package. My daughter loves adding readily available veggies, like peas and carrots, to enhance her nutritional intake.

This way, the Khichdi mix is like a culinary hug from home. It allows them to enjoy the comfort of a homemade meal even in a bustling hostel or PG environment.

How I make:

Ingredients:

Split green gram with skin – 2 cups.

Rice – 2 cups

Ghee or Oil – 2 Tbsp.

Cumin –2 tsp

Hing – a small peanut size

Bay leaf – 1 (broken)

Cinnamon – 2 “

Cloves – 2

Cashew bits – 2 Tbsp. (optional)

Salt, Jaggery (optional)

Turmeric – ½ tsp

Red chilli powder – As needed.

Garam masala – As needed.

Coriander leaves – 2 Tbsp. (dried)

Method:

-Take rice and dal, pour them onto a clean kitchen towel, and wipe the grains gently.

-Pulse the grain mix by putting it in a dry mixer jar. This action reduces the cooking time.

-Chop coriander leaves and air dry beforehand and keep it ready.

-Prepare seasoning, heat ghee/oil, fry cashew, cumin, hing, bay leaves, cinnamon, cloves. Add in pulsed dal-rice mixture and roast it for 2 to 3 minutes.

-Add salt, turmeric, red chilli powder, and garam masala; if you are adding jaggery, add that as well.

-Switch off the gas, add coriander leaves or Kasuri methi, mix well, cool the content and pack it in a zip lock pouch or an air-tight container.

How to Prepare the khichdi:

Take ½ cup of readily available khichdi mix; if you want to add vegetables, take chopped veggies, onion or whatever you want.

-If it is in a kettle/induction stove, boil 2 cups of water. Add chopped veggies (if you have them) and khichdi mix. Cook and have it with curd or as it is plain.

Navane -Hesarubele Payasa / Foxtail millet and moong dal payasam:

September 18, 2023

Foxtail Millet Kheer is a delicious addition to the festive menu, including the fasting menu, to the traditional kheer we usually make with rice. This millet, also known as Navane in Kannada & is rich in protein, minerals & dietary fibre.
I have mixed nutty-flavoured Foxtail millet and a little moong dal to enhance the rustic taste.

Soaking millet makes it easier to digest and allows your body to absorb more nutrients. I usually do it overnight.

Foxtail Millet – ½ Cup
Moong dal – 2 Tblsp
Water (to cook Thinai) – 2 ½ Cups
Jaggery – ¾ Cup to 1 cup
Cardamom powder ½ tsp
Coconut milk – 1 Cup (you can add whole milk as well)
Ghee – 2 tsp
Cashew – 10 nos
Method:

-Soak millet for overnight. Morning, drain the water and leave the millet to air dry on a colander.

-wash moong dal and drain that as well.

-Make jaggery syrup by – Add Jaggery and water in a pan and heat it till the Jaggery melts completely. Use a filter to remove the impurities and extract Jaggery syrup. Keep aside

-Now, take a thick-bottomed vessel or kadai, heat ghee, fry cashew bits, and remove it; keep aside.

-Add moong dal and fry it until light brown; add foxtail millet and fry for 2 minutes.

-Add hot water or 3^rd extract of coconut milk or whole milk. Cook until millet and dal turn soft and mushy. (it should hold the texture but turns mushy between your thumb and forefinger while pressing it.)

-If you are using clean Jaggery, here I have used Nolen gur (date palm jaggery); add directly and boil until the raw smell of Jaggery vanishes.

-Add thick coconut milk cardamom powder and allow to boil once. Switch off the stove. Garnish with fried cashews and serve.

Vegetarian lasagna:

June 11, 2023

Who doesn’t love Lasagna/lasagne? It is a baked dish consisting of layers of cooked sheet pasta, pureed tomato sauce, and a preferred filling, such as vegetable or meat and topped with cheese.

It is an ultimate one-pot meal, and when it is homemade, without using All-purpose-flour nothing is like it. Here I am, sharing my slightly healthier version lasagne pasta recipe.

Lasagne made from scratch:

I have used a circular glass baking pan that is 10” wide.

For dough:

For 4 circular thin lasagne sheets, I took –

Flour – 1 ½ cup ( ¾ cup whole wheat + ¾ cup All purpose flour)

Salt

Water

Olive oil – 2 tsp (approx.)

Method:

For the Lasagne sheet:

Take Flour, and salt, make a stiff dough using sufficient water, knead until soft, apply oil and keep it resting until you make other things.

For Marinara /Red sauce:

-Blanch 4 tomatoes ( take ½ cup of water, chopped tomatoes, microwave for 3 min), cool, grind.

-Boil with required seasoning ( garlic salt, oregano, little jalapeno seasoning etc.) and two tablespoons of Hot and sweet tomato ketchup and adjust the consistency by adding water.

For Bechamel/ white sauce:

I usually make the veggie-loaded sauce and use it as a filling. ( ½ of zucchini, yellow and red bell pepper, half onion)

-Roast 2 tsp of whole wheat flour OR all-purpose Flour with little butter, whip in a mixer jar with a cup of milk, and keep it ready.

-Heat tawa, add little butter /olive oil, and fry the onion until it turns light brown. Add veggies and fry for a while. Add all the seasonings according to your choice. I usually use garlic salt, red chilli flakes, oregano, and a little jalapeno seasoning.

-Next, add Flour mixed with milk, adjust the consistency by adding extra milk, boil and keep it ready.

Final Layering:

Prepare lasagne sheets one by one. Heat water in a wide vessel, take out the ready dough, divide it into 4, roll it into a circular one, and put it into boiling water; when it is done, it pops up. Remove, drain, and cool it by spreading. Repeat the process.

-For assembling, take the glass bowl in which you bake. Spread one layer of marinara sauce.

Place one cooked sheet, then spread one layer of veggie-loaded white sauce.

-Repeat the process once again. Marinara, lasagne sheet, veggies, last, end with the marinara sauce and grated cheese, and bake at 180 °C preheated oven until the top layer is light brown. Remove, and serve hot.

Raw /Green Tomato Chutney:

April 20, 2023

Green Tomatoes are firm, unripe and tangy compared to Ripened Red Tomato. Green tomatoes are rich in nutrition and antioxidants.

Raw/Green tomato Chutney makes a delicious accompaniment to South Indian breakfast and is easy to make. When I have homegrown tomatoes, it is a must condiment in our household. Today, I am sharing our favourite, much-loved recipe with you all.

Here is how to make it,

Ingredients:

Raw/ Green tomatoes – 4 to 6 (depending on the size)

Oil- 1tbl sp

Cumin – 1tsp

Garlic cloves – 10 to 12

Green chillies – 4 to 5

Puffed chana / Hurigadle/ Pappu – 1 tbl sp

Coconut – ½ cup

Coriander leaves – 2 tbl sps

Salt

Method:

-Take one tawa, heat one tbl sp of oil, then cumin, chopped green chillies, garlic and roast. Then add chopped tomatoes and fry until it wilts by adding salt.

-Switch off the gas when tomatoes wilts, add puffed chana and coconut and fry for 2 minutes. Cool the mixture.

-Grind this by adding coriander leaves. Enjoy with Dosa, Rotti or idli.

My Instagram Account has been Hacked: ALERT NOTE

April 8, 2023

If you’re an active Instagram user, you know how devastating it can be to have your account hacked. Unfortunately, this is a common occurrence that can happen to anyone. In this post, I’ll share my experience of having my Instagram account hacked; please note that everyone should follow my new account @shrikripau and not respond to any other account claiming to be me.

When I received the email from Instagram saying that my login details, which are my email and phone number, had been changed, my heart sank. It felt like a gut punch, and I couldn’t believe what I was reading. I quickly opened the Instagram app to check my account but couldn’t log in. It is a horrible feeling – like someone had broken into my home and taken everything valuable.

I felt violated and vulnerable, like someone had crossed the personal boundary. It was hard to process the fact that someone had been able to get access to my account, which I had carefully curated and built up over the years. The thought of someone else having control over it is a terrible feeling.

As I tried to make sense of the situation, I felt a surge of frustration. It is difficult to know what to do next, and I am worried about the potential consequences of the hack. I am also concerned about the safety of my personal information and the impact on my online reputation. The whole experience is very unsettling and has left me anxious and stressed.

Overall, the hack is a challenging experience for me. It is hard to shake the feeling of violation and the loss of control. I have yet to recover my Original Instagram account and am waiting for the day I do. There have been incidents where people are trying to impersonate me, so please follow my new official Instagram account @shrikripau and help me!

Thank you to everyone who has supported and continues to support me during this confusing state of affairs.

Kodagasana / Kutaja Tambli :

March 14, 2023

The Kutaja plant (Holarrhena antidysenterica) is one of India’s most valuable medicinal plants. also known as ‘Indrajav’, ‘Coneru’ in English, and ‘Kutaja’ in Sanskrit,

(Picture Courtesy: Swathi )

In our language, It is called kodagasana, kodasige, kodenchi, kurchi etc.

The scientific name of this plant itself suggests the use of this plant.’ Holos means whole, and ‘Arrhen’ means male. So ‘Holarrhena’ means the male part of the flower or entire anther (The part of the stamen where pollen is produced), and ‘antidysenterica’ is to stop dysentery.

Kutaja plants are common in tropical parts, especially in rocky areas of India. Here, Ku-taja, as the name depicts, is grown in-between rocks.

Now, how it is procured or stored: In season, we pluck the flowers, clean them and sun dry them for a few days till it shrinks and becomes brown and crisp. We store it for years and use it as and when needed to treat or maintain gut health.

In our region, our ancestors occasionally included Kutaja flowers to maintain tummy health by frying 7 to 8 flowers in little ghee and having it with the first morsel of rice while having lunch.

In some households, it is used while seasoning the Huli menasu ( one of the age-old recipes)

We all know how our grandmoms treated us for our tummy aches, be it because of overeating during childhood, excess indulgence during summer vacation, or any upset tummy episodes.

The only remedy was Kutajarishta, an ayurvedic concoction OR

Homemade kutaja or kodagasana tambli: recipes of our region.

Let us see how it is made in our household –

Ingredients:

Dried Kutaja flowers – 8 to 12

Ghee or coconut oil – ½ tsp

Black peppercorns – 6 to 8

Grated Fresh Coconut – ½ cup

Buttermilk – 1 serving spoon

Method:

-Take ½ tsp of ghee or oil, and fry kutaja flowers and peppercorns.

-Grind fried items, Coconut, salt and water to make a smooth paste.

-Add buttermilk and adjust the consistency by adding water and boil once.

-If you like seasoning on tambli like me, please go ahead and heat some ghee and add cumin and curry leaves. Pour on Tambli and enjoy it as a soothing drink or with Hot Rice.

Veg Ball Manchurian:

February 2, 2023

Super tasty and popular Indo -Chinese dish. It is served as a side dish with Noodles or Fried Rice. It is either ginger /garlic flavoured, and I usually prefer the ginger one and am sharing the same with you all.

At first, grated veggies are bound together to make a roundel, then deep-fried in hot oil. Once the veg ball is deep-fried and ready, dish preparation doesn’t take much time.

How I make –

Ingredients:

For Veg Ball:

Cabbage – around 200 grams

Carrot – 1 small

Capsicum – ½

Spring onion – 2 springs

Green chilli – 1

Ginger juveniles – 1 tsp

Salt

Corn flour – 1 tablespoon

All-purpose flour – 1 tablespoon

Rice flour – 1 tablespoon

For Gravy:

Oil – 2 tablespoons

Ginger juveniles – 1 tablespoon

Spring onion – 3 bulbs + greens

Capsicum – ½

Schezwan Sauce – 1 to 2 tablespoons

Soy sauce – 1 tablespoon

Vinegar – 1 tablespoon

Tomato sauce – 2 tablespoons

Salt – as needed

Corn flour – 1 to 2 tablespoons

Method:

-First, we will see the method of deep-fried veg balls:

-Grate or chop cabbage, carrot, and green chilli in a vegetable chopper/food processor.

-Chop capsicum, and spring onion, mix all the sauces in a small cup and keep.

Take one bowl, mix chopped veggies, green chilli, and ginger, sprinkle flour, add salt at the end, and start binding together to make a ball.

-Deep fry all these balls and keep them aside.

-For the sauce,

-make a slurry of cornflour in a cup of water and keep it aside.

-Heat oil, drop ginger, and bulb part of spring onion (chopped) and fry for 2 minutes.

-Add Spring onion bulb part and capsicum and fry for a while.

-Add all the sauces and fry for 1 minute and add 2 cups of water ( I usually use starch water, which we drain while preparing noodles or rice, to make this gravy. It tastes and gives a nice texture.)

-Boil, add cornflour slurry and boil nicely until the sauce looks glossy and the consistency becomes thick.

-Adjust the seasoning, salt and water. Drop those fried veggie balls and allow to boil once garnish with spring onion greens and serve with fried rice or noodles.