*Best Mango Pie Recipe | No-Bake dessert ideas *

I never believed in love at first sight, but until I met this simple “Mango Pie”. Months back, Jeevs had a potluck at his office. That evening, he brought me a slice of mango pie from the party. The moment I saw the pie, I fell in love with it ). The color was so glamorous, its texture… so shiny and silky, the taste… “oohhhh… so so divine!”. I finished licking the plate in few seconds like a hungry little pussy cat and asked him, “Why didn’t you manage to grab some more slice of the pie?” That day I learnt the recipe and saved it to be presented for the New Year 2013.

Tamilnadu Gravy Varieties | Chettinadu Style Pakkoda Kuzhambu | Pakora Gravy

My mom was born and brought up in Chettinad district. She used to tell us a lot of stories, events and happenings that took place in her beloved village “Kalayarkovil”. Be it the food, her school, the pond, the market, the backyard well, the house or the temple, I almost know everything she experienced in her village. Many interesting stories piling up for my readers . So having said that she’s from the Karaikudi area, I need not talk much about her cooking. Her sauces, be it vegetarian or non-vegetarian, they’re always lip smacking, nobody will say “enough” if she prepares and serves snacks, especially paniyarams. This Pakoda kuzhambu is one of the gravies which I learnt from my mom. In our home, amma makes this at least once every month. Read through to find the mystery spice involved in this spicy pakoda kulambu recipe.

Thoothukudi Macaroons | How to make Meringue-Cookies | Tuticorin Cashew Macaroonns

Have you ever experienced this? At times, some of our favorite sweets or snacks or any food for that matter turn out to be the costliest stuff in the store, isn’t it? When I was a small girl there were times when I rushed to the bakery with the thoughts of these yummy macaroons in my mind, but end up getting a coconut puffs or vegetable puffs instead. Uggh… the awkwardness you feel when you could not offer to buy your favorites, especially in front of the bakery store-keeper . Yeah, macaroons were/are costly cookies (because they’ve got cashews added in them) in the bakeries of my city, Madurai. But when you discover that such costly eatables are too very easy to make and that they need only the minimum ingredients…how luckcky you’ll feel? I felt sooo much lucky when I learnt how to make these yummy little Macaroons/Meringues. So what’s special about “Thoothukudi” Macaroons? Scroll down reader.

Now, do not get shocked by looking at the structure of the macaroons. You should read further to understand its taste

South-Indian style Pepper Chicken Fry Recipe | Tamilnadu Milagu Kozhi Varuval

You can give some rest to your woolen sweaters this winter for this “hot and spicy pepper chicken curry” will give you all the warmth. The husband totally fell for this delicious chicken curry. I am sure; he fell not just for its color and taste, but for its “Vicks vaporub” action too. Yeah, if the roasted onions and garlic cloves in the dish gives the warm smell, and if the tomatoes and the lime adds a tangy taste, it is the “roasted pepper” that soothes a tough throat suffering from cough and cold. You sure can feel the remedy as when the chicken slides down your throat. The hot pepper curry goes in and your cold comes out ) (so have a tissue paper ready )). A very very simple “pepper chicken fry recipe” this is. Reason 1: “NO-marination” required; Reason 2: NO coconut required. This version of chicken pepper fry is different from how my mom usually makes the koli varuval (Chicken fry) at home.

** Idli podi recipe | South-Indian idli-dosa podi recipe | Idli-Dosa side dish**

Are you an “On the go” kinda person? Then you probably should have this “magic powder” in your kitchen shelf. Magical because once you prepare it and have it stored, it is almost ready-made to use for your idli/dosai/paniyarams etc. If you have this magician bottled in your kitchen, you need not spend time to prepare any chutneys. Well, even if you find time to prepare special chutneys, what if your people at home did not like the chutneys? Don’t worry, you can now shut the complaining mouths in the dining hall because today I’ve got you the recipe for “Idli milagai podi/Dry Chutney Powder”. Or even if your chutneys taste great, this “dry chutney” will take over the lead role in your dining table. Whatever yummy chutneys you have on your dining table, everything will get knocked out the moment you open the idli-podi-dabba. The spices used in the idli-milagai-podi release wonderful aroma filling the entire dining hall, submerging the existing of any other chutney you show case during the breakfast .

Sourashtra-style Puliyodharai Recipe ~ Puli sadham Recipe ~ Puliyogare Recipe

Call it an easy lunch box recipe or a recipe while on a picnic or a touring recipe, Puliyodharai alias Puliyogare is a versatile food! While some consider it to be a holy dish prepared with so much of devotion during the pujas for God, it is my comfort food. Comfort food because it involves no cutting of vegetables :P Pulikachal paste is very very handy, especially when you are hungry or when your morning wake-up alarm cheated on you. Moreover, Puliyodharai is a savior of a dying tongue. Savior because, since it has a spicy touch and a dominating sour taste, the moment you taste a spoon full of Pulisadham, your taste buds will blossom back thereby rescuing a bored tongue.

Sourashtra-style Puliyodharai mix ~ Pulikachal ~ South-Indian Tamarind Rice paste

Haven’t we chatted on Sourashtrian Cuisine in one of my earlier posts? This is yet another post that will boast about their dishes. Right from my childhood, I had liked and enjoyed many of their dishes, especially variety rice; Puliyodharai, Lemon Rice, Tomato Rice, Venpongal, Sambar and more. This Pulikachal recipe is one among those dishes that I learnt from my friends here. It is different from what we normally make because this pulikachal recipe requires no roasting or grinding job. A very simple puliyogare paste recipe that tastes HEAVVVVENLY! Truly!

We lived in a street where there used to be several Sourashtra neighbors. We also had many friends at school, who were also sourashtra. Those times, we used to go out for dinner almost on every Sundays. Or Appa will get parcels from one of the many sourashtrian restaurants in the bazaar. When Appa asks what parcel we need, I will readily utter “Puliyodharai”. Yeah, apart from the other variety rice of theirs, I just loved their puliyodharai that is usually accompanied with simple thattapayaru sundal (black-eyed bean salad). Their sambar is another ultimate combination. Today, whenever we have a chance to visit the town, we will get a parcel of each rice variety from these sourashtrian restaurants, and Amma knowing that there’s going to be demand for the puliyodharai in the dining table during the serving, she will ask us to get an extra parcel of puliyogare .

Cashew Nut Burfee | Mundhiri burfee | Kaju Katli | Diwali Sweets

I never thought preparing Kaju Katli will be THIS INSTANT!!!!! Cashew+Sugar with some 4 minutes stirring AND a little patience yields wonderful cakes of Cashew burfi!

I won’t be ashamed to confess the fact that I’m a foodie (uh, the word “foodie” won’t be right. To be precise it is “thinnipandaaram” in Tamil language )). I’m the exact opposite to my mom when it comes to eating habits. May be I should inquire my grandmother or my periyamma about the eating habits of my mom when she was my age. Before my marriage, we were a family of six. So it’s mandatory to hide all the snacks, sweets and biscuits from the four imps somewhere in the kitchen.

Thakkali Chutney | Tangy Tomato Chutney | Tamilnadu-style chutney varieties

I can run my blog for years just by thinking of the various chutney recipes we make in our home. Chutneys not just for dosa and idly, but for bajji, bonda, vada, adai, paniyaram, rice etc. That’s why I cannot stop posting chutney recipes in my blog. So this month, this Thakkali chutney recipe (Tomato chutney) gets a place in the blog.

Every time I write about a recipe in my blog, I consider it like introducing an esteemed Chief Guest for a big show or an event, so that I can sing the praises of the chief guest before he/she takes over the stage . But for this Tomato chutney recipe I won’t be the right host to compliment about it. My sister can do a better job to describe about this chutney’s taste because she ALWAYS demands for this thakkali chutney at home. This chutney is one of the most favorites of our uncle too. He likes it very much that he adamantly demands for this tomato chutney if we already have two to three varieties of other chutneys ready for Idly and Dosa. He likes it this way; he soaks the dosa in this thakkali chutney for a minute or two and then enjoys the drenched dosa. Well, if you want to check if This Chief Guest is worth the praises I sang then, try the recipe yourself. Learn and share the truth. [You’ll only end singing its praise ].

How to grind South-Indian Idly batter using mixie | Tamilnadu Idli-dosa batter recipe

What do you think when a girl from the southern parts of India suddenly lands on a vast space covered full of snow? … Gets super-excited? Jumps with joy? Starts to dance in the snowfall?? Nah, it is none of the above. Believe it or not, the first fear that struck me when I landed in the US was ‘how can I ferment the Idly batter in such a cold climate!’ The snow brought me nostalgia of Idlis and Dosas so very soon that I did not even reach my apartment from the airport. In India, Amma used to grind the batter in the morning and have the fermented batter ready by the afternoons during the summers. Or she grinds the idly batter during the night and gives us the pleasure of tasting soft fluffy idlis the next morning. I kept wondering if I will be able to mimic her Idly batter preparation in this harsh cold weather at least to some extent .