Eggless Cornmeal Bread / Buttermilk Cornbread / Eggless Cornbread

Cornbread is a very popular breakfast in the US.. It is made on the skillet or baked in the oven and served as breakfast. It is quite simple to do and very delicious.. I baked this in a 8 inch square dish and the height of the bread was about 1 1/4 inches.. You will get a taller one if you choose a smaller pan. You can also bake these in muffin tins. I got this recipe from allrecipes.com and made a few changes..

Potato Chips

If there is one type of food which is enjoyed in many parts of the world, then it has to be chips.. Ranking top on junk food, these are irresistible and a lot of times you cannot stop with one.. There are many branded chips available, but make them at home and make it even more irresistible. I have tried the baked version here, but this one is the sinfully delicious fried one. You can add any seasoning powders of choice, but I kept it simple this with just salt and chili powder.

Nutella Truffles - Nutella Recipes

For this week BM we are going to be seeing desserts in different forms and the first one I have chosen is Truffles. Truffles - the word makes us drool.. Truffles are traditionally made with chocolate ganache and rolled in sugar or cocoa powder or nuts. I started with this recipe, but made some changes. Check out my regular Chocolate Truffles here. Today for a change I am using Nutella and also adding corn flakes and nuts.

Eggless Strawberry Muffin - Without Egg, Without Butter

I love baking.. and yes if that comes with ease of work, then I am happy.. My daughter was super excited to see this pink color muffins and she was all praise for me!!! Was it a win win?? Yes and no.. The reason I say no is due to the amount of sugar in it and also I have added few drops of food color.. I am not a big fan of using food colors, but sometimes I do use it.. Try this muffin which is very light in texture and also makes a perfect one for the kid's lunch box, party food. Sharing this for this month's BM - Holiday food.

 

Tomato Rice / Thakkali Saadam

Tomato rice is a popular variety rice from South India. It is a desired recipe for its tangy and spicy flavor and its beautiful red color. Each house has its style and way of making it and this is how I make it. . Tomato paste is optional, but it adds lot of flavor. This is my choice for T in the cooking with alphabets for this month’s marathon.

Lemon Rice

There are so many variety rice that we enjoy.. It makes a great travel dish and also for lunchboxes.. I know many of you would have relished this lemon rice in your child hood and your kids are now enjoying this.. Lemon rice is both kid and mom friendly where the kid gets the refreshing lemon flavor with lentils, cashew and ginger and for the mom - it is a too easy to make.. So here is a great lunchbox recipe for self or for kids..

Senai Kizhangu Kootu

A very delicious and authentic kootu which has lots of flavor. I make this quite often and it is one of our favorite kootu. I have added coconut oil, but you could use regular cooking oil. You can enjoy this kootu with plain white rice, curd rice, rasam rice etc. It also makes a great lunchbox dish. Mix rice and little coconut oil with the kootu and enjoy for lunch as is or with appalam (papad).. Here is another delicious kootu from Tamil Nadu

Bajra Roti–Rajasthan

Welcome to the state of Rajasthan.. Rajasthan, the name means “The land of Kings”Raja means King and Sthan means place / land. It is one of the biggest states in India and covers about 10.4% of the total land area. I visited Rajasthan last year and it was a beautiful place and very photographic . The cuisine of Rajasthan is highly influenced by both the war like lifestyles and the availability of the region. Food that are perfect for travel, will last for several days are so perfect. Also ingredients that would grow with very less water is perfect. Last year we visited Rajasthan for our Anniversary trip and stayed at Taj Lake Palace. The food was awesome and phenomenal. We also enjoyed the street food there!! Another experience was riding on the camel.. One Hell of an experience.. I was so scared to ride on it that I was so much waiting for the ride to be done.. I had a nice opportunity to visit the Taj Palace Kitchen and was so excited.. That was the first professional kitchen I entered.. The Chef there was so kind enough to walk me through it and also gave me his signature recipe book that is used in the restaurant.. I felt so proud. And then came our Formal Dinner. The Head Chef there told the Manager to give us the Chef Table. I did not know what Chef Table is.. But anyway I was thrilled about it.. Evening we were all dressed up formally and went there to the restaurant. Now the Manager was super busy and he forgot to give us the Chef Table and was looking for a general table to seat us. The Head Chef was sweet enough to come out and remind the Manager and we got to sit in the Chef Manager.. To those like me who do not know what a Chef Table is – Chef Table is a seating table from where you can get the best view of the kitchen and the dishes being cooked while you are eating.. So sat in the center there and I enjoyed looking at the kitchen right from my table. The cooks there were sweet enough to keep pointing at the dishes – Maam yeah aapka cook ho raha hai – Madam your dish is getting cooked there now. The Chef also came and took some pictures with us. The food blogger in me was so elevated and clicked many photos of the cooking and of the dishes served.  The Head Chef also asked me to review their food, cooking, way of cooking and the way of serving.. Man I felt like I was in Cloud Nine.. After the dinner, we went back to our room with so many sweet memories. The Chef there said that I spent all my time seeing the kitchen and did not each much!! Lol… I enjoy cooking more than eating!!! Coming to today’s recipe, it is the signature dish - Bajra roti and it is also a very healthy and nutritious roti. This is my choice for the Rajasthan state. I served it with Dum Aloo.

Vangi bath / Brinjal Rice - Karnataka

Cuisine of Karnataka has a lot of influence from Tamil Nadu, Andhra and Maharashtra. There are lot of bath here - Bisi Bela bath, Vangi Bath, Bagala Bath, Kesari Bath etc.. Bath mentioned here is for the rice. Some sweets are very popular here like the Pedha from Dharward, Mysore Pak and the very famous Maddur Vada from the city of Maddur and the list goes on.. Today we are enjoying Vangi bath which is a rice variety made with Brinjal / Eggplant. It can be accompanied by curd, appalam or vadam. Vangi Bath is best when had hot, but also makes a great travel food and lunchbox dish. This is also a great way to sneak in some brinjals for folks who do not like it…

 

Pita Bread

Every country has their share of authentic breads. Pita bread is from the Mediterranean region and it tastes awesome when baked fresh with hummus.. You could enjoy it with hummus, insert it with falafel, tzazki sauce and salad and that makes a meal. Make these breads and are so perfect as a snack with hummus.. For this month’s We Knead to Bake, Aparna gave us the choice to bake any bread and this is my choice. This is also a perfect snack choice for the “after school snack” for this month’s BM

Tomato Mint Mozzarella Savory Waffle

I have been looking ways to use my waffle maker other than the standard sweet waffles.. This one is a great idea and was very happy that I used mine. A delicious and quick savory waffle that can be made in the waffle maker.. This will make a perfect one for lunchbox, travel or a great breakfast. Hungry for an evening snack and this is so perfect for it.. My family loved it.. You could also use your sandwich maker, but the shape and the appearance of the waffle makes the kids really excited…

Kambu Dosai / Bajra Dosai –Very Healthy Breakfast

We all know that breakfast is an important meal of the day and making it nutrituous is equally important.. I generally feel a lot of the breakfast options are quite healthy like Idli, dosai, upuma etc.. Now the health freaks in us wants to make it even more healthier.. Like really guilt free. I tried this Kambu Dosai and it was delicious and I am sure I will be making this again... I ahve added a lot of veggies to this. Veggies and spices are your choice. Add them according to liking and preference. Make sure to cut them small or grate finely. Also it is better to add the black pepper powder just before making the dosai. The health benefits of Kambu are “helps in lowering cholesterol, helps in maintaining a healthy heart, solves acidity problems, helps with stomach digestion etc” It is a gluten free grain and is very well suited for people with Celiac disease and it is also very rich in fiber..

Parupu Podi (பருப்பு போடி)

Parupu podi is a powder which is made with lentils and spices. It can be made weeks in advance and stored in an airtight container. To serve, just add sesame oil or ghee to hot cooked rice and add the parupu podi. This makes lunch and dinner easy and very less work. The parupu podi rice can be accompanied by curd or by appalam or vadam. Parupu podi (mixed with oil or curd) can also be served as an accompaniment with dosa or idli. I love this as a travel food, just mix with rice and gingelly oil and enjoy!!

Potato Chips (Baked)–Baked Potato Chips

Who does not like potato chips and how about a guilt free one? Make this potato chips and it is not easy to tell that it is baked. Spices are personal choice, but I kept it simple and traditional with salt and red chili powder. Use a v slicer or a mandolin to get paper thin slices.

Broccoli Cheese Paratha or Calciumaratha

Women are advised to eat calcium rich foods. This advise is more when you are a new mom. So when I was advised about having calcium rich in my diet.. I took the advise from my folks at home and also turned to internet to see what ingredients are rich in calcium.. And then I put these ingredients together and made this paratha.. So I named it Calciumaratha.. The two main ingredients are Broccoli and Cheese.. Makes 12 medium big sized parathas. Good for 3 – 4 people.

Mangai Saadam / Raw Mango Rice

Mango is the king of fruits and the raw variety called Raw Mango or Green Mango is used in a lot of cooking.. We used its powder as Amchur powder, we use the raw mango for pickles, rice, in sundal etc.. Mangai Rice is a very delicious and tangy South Indian variety rice. It is very appetizing in its appearance with its beautiful yellow color from turmeric. This is a quick recipe and taste best when served hot fresh, but also makes a great travel food. The best accompaniments for these variety rice dishes are Spicy potato fry, appalam, chips or vadam.

Thengai Podi (தேங்காய் போடி)–Coconut Powder

Coconut Powder / Thengai Podi is a powder made with coconut, lentils and red chili. It is a quickie that can be done in less than 5 minutes with all the Ingredients available in most pantries. It can be made in advance and stored in an airtight container for a month. Mix this with hot rice and a dollop of ghee or coconut oil and it is a great quick dinner. This goes for this month's Vegan Thursdays

Eggless Jam Swirled Muffins / Eggless Nutella Swirled Muffins

Want a breakfast or food on the go in a jiffy? I am sure a lot of us say yes.. These muffins are so perfect for it. A delicious and very pretty looking muffins was suggested by Priya for this month's Eggless Baking Group which is started by Gayathri. It was a quick and easy one and you get a lot of points for those swirls. Wanted to get the picture with the muffin opened (like the interior), but it was gone by then!!! The original recipe had eggs and I replaced them with Egg replacer and little extra baking soda

Pulikachal / Tamarind Rice

Call traditional recipes and this is one of the recipes you can think of. Ask people what is their most common travel food, then this will surely be one of them.. This is dish that can be made ahead and stored in an airtight container for a month. To serve, just mix with hot cooked rice. This is made primarily with tamarind. Using sesame oil gives the best taste and flavor but other cooking oil can be substituted if sesame oil is not available. Lot of Ingredients are to taste. This is my first recipe to the “Vegan Thursdays” group that I have joined. The idea is to share Vegan recipes on first and last Thursdays..