Suba's Recipes

                                        This post explains the preparation of an easy and addictive vazhakkai fry which I have been making for the past few years. Frying in a dosa tawa gives the crispness and texture to the vazhakkai.

                                    This post explains the preparation of a simple and easy aloo gravy - a no onion no garlic recipe with mild flavors. This gravy goes well with roti, poori or even mild pulao varieties. I have made this many times on days when we cannot include onion, garlic or any masalas. It is also perfect for people who don't prefer overpowering spices in the dish.

Coriander thogayal is an easy to make thogayal variety. When you have a bunch of coriander leaves which is about to get dry, you can use it to make this dish. Even the stalks of the coriander leaves can be used. I have already shared a thogayal recipe made with mint leaves. This is just another variation, but I have added coconut in this.                 

Spring Onion Sabzi - An easy to make side dish which goes well with any roti or paratha or naan variety. It also makes a great stuffing for chapathi. I usually buy a bunch of spring onion when I plan to make Fried Rice or Vegetable Noodles. But as we use only a small quantity, the remaining part becomes dry if unused. So when I was thinking of other dishes to make with spring onion, my sister-in-law suggested making parathas with it. So I started making parathas with spring onion.

Onion tomato thokku - a versatile, simple and easy to prepare thokku variety which goes perfect as a side dish for any tiffin item. This can also be mixed with plain rice or even used as a sandwich stuffing. By cooking in oil, this stays good for few days when refrigerated and also is a perfect option for travel purposes. You can make this over the weekend and store it for your weekday purposes.                       

Kootu is a traditional South Indian side dish served for rice. It is prepared with the goodness of dal and hence goes well with any kuzhambu, rasam and thogayal varieties. I have already shared chow chow kootu and carrot chow chow kootu recipes. This time I have prepared kootu with another healthy vegetable - bottle gourd(lauki). I started using this vegetable very recently only. It has lot of nutritive values and is perfect for summer time because of its water content.                                                  We usually make kootu with moong dal. But I replaced moong dal with channa dal in this recipe and it turned out good.  Also the dal is cooked just soft and not mushy.  We can serve this kootu as a side dish for rice or even mix with hot rice and ghee and feed for kids or serve it as a side dish for roti.   

Tomato Garlic Chutney - easy to prepare chutney variety which goes well with any breakfast dish. I already have a onion tomato garlic chutney posted earlier. I just skipped onions in that recipe and tried this. It turned out to be flavourful. Since we grind the paste and saute it well in oil, it can be stored for few days and can also be used for travel purposes.

Tawa Paneer Masala is the easiest paneer recipe to make. I usually make Kadai Paneer whenever I buy a packet of paneer. I came across this recipe from this site and loved the simplicity of the dish. I have been making this very frequently and have modified the original recipe to skip/replace few ingredients. You can prepare this dish in very less time with easily available ingredients in your kitchen. This is a versatile side dish which goes well with rotis, parathas, naan or even as a side dish for any mild pulao varieties or for plain rice mixed with dal. You can use this as a stuffing to make chapathi rolls and pack for the lunch box.                                                                                                ...

Brinjal Drumstick Masala is an easy to prepare side dish for mild pulao varieties or can even be mixed with plain rice. I learnt this recipe from my sister-in-law. This is a flavourful dish requiring very less ingredients and short time. The key ingredients required for this masala are fennel seeds and coconut. Both cannot be skipped as they only lend the flavour to the dish. Brinjal and drumstick is always a winning combo in sambar , vathal kuzhambu and this is another dish where you can use both.                                                                    

Tomato Kurma is an excellent yet easy to make side dish for idli , roti, aappam , idiyappam and even for mild pulao varieties. I have already posted Mixed Vegetable Kurma in my blog. But this is easier to make with lesser ingredients and can also be made even when we don't have vegetables in stock. It is a flavourful dish made with easily available ingredients in our kitchen. It can be prepared in a short span of time and hence is an easy recipe for even beginners to try.

Potato masala( poori masala) is a classic combo liked by people of all age groups. This is simple to make as it does not require any grinding part and can be done in very short span of time. The same masala can be used for masala dosa stuffing as well.            

Mango thokku is an easy to make pickle variety using raw mangoes. This can be used as a side dish for curd rice or even as an accompaniment for tiffin varieties. This is healthier when compared to store bought pickles, as it is homemade without any preservatives. Also check my easy to prepare  tomato thokku  recipe.

Thokku is nothing but a thicker version of chutney which is mainly meant for travel and storage purposes. The recipe here uses tomatoes as the main ingredient. This is an easy to prepare thokku variety which goes well with all tiffin items and also curd rice. Since it is a no onion no garlic recipe, it can be used for festival days. We can prepare in bulk in advance and use it for travel purposes too.

Mango pachadi is a traditional sweet prepared during festivals in south indian households especially on tamil new year day. It has multiple tastes like sweetness, sourness, spiciness and bitterness. When prepared on tamil new year day we also include little neem flowers fried in ghee. Here I have given the recipe without neem flowers.

Kadai paneer is an easy to prepare paneer dish which goes well with roti, naan or even mild pulao varieties. There are different methods of preparation for this dish in the food blogs.  I used to prepare this dish in a different fashion earlier but recently came across a simple recipe in vegrecipesofindia . I made few changes to the original recipe and prepared. The taste was really good. Even beginners can try this dish with ease. Check  this post  to learn how to make fresh homemade paneer.

I prepare brinjal gothsu in the same way as the simple onion tomato gothsu . There are various recipes for this dish with different ingredients and methods. I have shared the recipe based on how I usually prepare at home. This goes well with idli, dosa, pongal and arisi upma.

Gothsu is a traditional south indian side dish prepared for tiffin items. It differs from sambar as the consistency and the ingredients vary. There are many variations to this gothsu recipe - we can add vegetables or make it simply with onion and tomato. Similarly we also make a version without dal. Each variation has its unique taste, yet pair well with most of the tiffin items like idli, dosa, pongal, upma etc. This onion tomato gothsu is an easy to prepare side dish which I regularly make for idli, dosa, pongal and arisi upma.

Arachuvitta Sambar is the variety of sambar made with freshly ground spices. It is more flavourful than the regular one made with sambar powder. It goes well with both rice and tiffin varieties. Even though we can use any vegetables which we use for the regular sambar, it tastes great with radish, drumstick, small onions/shallots or a combination of these vegetables. Here I have used radish and small onions to prepare this sambar. We usually make this type of sambar when we have guests at home or on sundays. It is usually paired with potato curry . Before marriage my mother and perimma make this combo at least twice a month on sundays. Since I love this combination I make it frequently too.

Paruppu usili is a traditional south indian dish prepared with the goodness of dals. The dish is usually prepared using vegetables like french beans, cluster beans, cabbage, plantain flower. You can make this dish when you have less quantity of these vegetables. Since we include dal in this, it goes well with any kuzhambu or rasam variety without dal. This includes mor kuzhambu, vathal kuzhambu , kara kuzhambu or a simple rasam.  My mother and aunty used to prepare this as an accompaniment for mor kuzhambu or vathal kuzhambu at least once or twice a month.

This is an easy to prepare chutney with tomatoes. It is a no onion no garlic recipe and is made more healthy by adding mint and coriander leaves. It goes well with idli, dosa and all tiffin varieties.