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Rasam podi (powder)

>> Sunday, August 30, 2009

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Rasam is most popular & mostly eaten southIndian dish. I make it daily with homemade rasam powder. Aroma & its taste makes this dish special always.

Ingredients :
  1. Toor dal - 1 cup
  2. Channa dal - 1/4 cup
  3. Cumin seeds (jeera) - 3/4 cup
  4. Pepper corns - 3/4 cup
  5. Corriander seeds - 1/2 cup
  6. Fenugreek seeds (Methi seeds ) - 1 tbsp
  7. Raw rice - 1 tbsp
  8. Hing - 1/4 tsp

Directions to cook :

£ Roast all the ingredients seperately without adding oil.

£ Combine & grind all the roasted ingredients together to fine powder.

Store it in the air-tight container for longer use.

Wow !!! Its my award time :)


Thanks priya for tagging me this award. I am really honoured to receive this from you.

Requirements:

1. I must thank the person who gave me the award and list their blog and link it.
2. I must list 10 honest things about myself.
3. I must put a copy of The Honest Scrap Logo on my blog.
4. I must select at least 7 other worthy bloggers & list their links
5. I must notify the bloggers of the award and hopefully they will follow the above three requirements also.

Honest things about myself :
  1. Nature loving person
  2. Simplicity
  3. Very sensitive
  4. Like to play with my son
  5. Try to cook something different everytime. Fortunately, whatever I cook it taste different everytime.
  6. Love pet animals
  7. Like to travel a lot
  8. Like to try modern outfit (which will not suits me always)
  9. Like to chitchat with my friends
  10. Love to sleep for long.

I would like to tag this award to these lovely bloggers.

Home cooked oriya food, Sangeetha, Priyameena, Ganga, Tresa Augustine, Sarah naveen, Tina noble.

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Marble cake

>> Friday, August 28, 2009

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I like gardening. I planted lotz of flower seeds & this is my first flower in my garden for this season. I am excited to see this cute looking tiny sunflower especially during my morning hrs. With this excitment, I made this cake which taste both vanilla & chocolatish in every single bite. Simple to bake, yet taste yummy :)


Ingredients :
  1. 50 gms dark cooking chocolate, chopped
  2. 175 gms softened butter
  3. 200 gms sugar
  4. 3 eggs, lightly beaten
  5. 1/3 cup milk
  6. 1/2 tsp vanilla essence
  7. 175 gms self-raising flour
  8. 1/2 tsp baking powder
  9. Icing sugar, for dusting

Directions to bake :

£ Preheat the oven to 180 C. Lightly grease the baking pan & line the base with non-stick backing paper.

£ Melt the chocola in a bowl over hot water and keep warm. Cream the butter and sugar until soft and fulffy.

£ Add the eggs little at a time until well combined. Add milk, vanilla essence and stir until combined.

£ Stir in the sifted flour and baking powder. Remove half of the mixture and stir in th emelted chocolate until well combined.

£ Drop spoonfuls of the cake mixture into the prepared tin, alternating between mixtures and starting with the light mixture. Bake for 60 to 75 min or until cooked through. Once cool, dust some icing sugar & serve with tea.

Happy baking :)


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Potato fry

>> Wednesday, August 26, 2009

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Potato fry is my comfort dish. It taste great with rice & rotis as well. Very simple to make yet taste yummy :)
Ingredients :
  1. Potato - 250 gms
  2. Chilly powder - 2 tsp (as per ur spice level)
  3. Oil - 2 tsp
  4. Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
  5. Salt to taste

Directions to cook :

£ Peel off the potato skin & chop them into small cubes. Keep aside.

£ Heat oil in the heavy bottomed pan, add the chopped potatos & fry them till half cooked.

£ Add turmeric powder, chilly powder & salt. Fry them without adding any water till golden brown in color.

Serve with rice.

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Apple swan

>> Monday, August 24, 2009

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Fruit carving is an art. Georgeous looking apple swan would be perfect for the get together buffet parties.

STEP 1 :


STEP 2 :


STEP 3 :


STEP 4 :


STEP 5 :


STEP 6 :


STEP 7 :


Happy carving :)

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Madrasi chicken

>> Friday, August 21, 2009

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My hubby asked me to do something new in chicken, which I never tried before. And, he himself browsed the Internet & gave this wonderful recipe to cook for our weekend lunch. Though, the list of ingredients is little big, yet simple to make & taste awesome.

Ingredients :
  1. Chicken - 1 kg
  2. Curd - 2/3 cup
  3. Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
  4. Chilly powder - 2 tsp
  5. Garlic paste - 1 tsp
  6. Lemon juice - 1 tsp
  7. Bay leaf - 1
  8. Cinnamon - 1 stick
  9. Cloves - 3 nos
  10. Black pepper - 1 tsp
  11. Onions - 1 cup
  12. Grated coconut - 2 tsp
  13. Tomatoes - 1 cup
  14. Corriander leaves
  15. Oil - 2 tbsp
  16. Salt to taste

Directions to cook :

£ Clean & marinate the chicken in curd, turmeric powder, chilly powder, garlic paste, salt & lemon juice for atleast one hr.

£ Heat 1 tbsp of oil in the pan, add bay leaf, cinnamon, cloves, black pepper, onions & saute.

£ Add tomatoes & grated coconut & saute till cooked. Allow it to cool & grind them to the fine paste.

£ Heat 1 tbsp of oil in the pan, add the grinded masala & the chicken along with the marinated masala. Ajust the salt. Cover and cook until tender.

£ Finally, add the corrainder leaves & serve warm.

Perfect for rotis.

Wow !!! Its award again:)


Thanks priya for thinking about me & passing this cute looking award to me. U are simply superb :)

The rules are:

1. Put the logo on your blog or post.

2. Nominate at least 7 blogs.

3. Let them know that they have received this Scrumptious award by commenting on their blog.

4. Share the love and link to this post and to the person you received your award from.

I would like to share this awards to : Gita, Kittymatti, Sanghi, A2Z vegetarian cuisine, Leena rashmin raj, Parita, divya Vikram, Ann.

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Palak (spinach) keerai kulambu

>> Wednesday, August 19, 2009

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Keera kulambu is the healthy south Indian dish served with rice. Keerai is cooked with dal & Indian seasonings. Addition of vadagam & ghee will enrich the taste and flavour of the dish. This taste great with potato fry. Any type of keerai (leaf) can be used to make this dish. This is the best way of serving the keerai for the healthy life.
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Ingredients :
  1. Spinach (palak keerai) - 1/2 cup
  2. Oil - 1 tbsp
  3. Red chillies - 3 to 4 nos
  4. Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
  5. Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
  6. Urad dal - 1 tsp
  7. Curry leaves - 1 tbsp
  8. A pinch of hing
  9. Garlic pods - 4 to 5 nos
  10. Vadagam - 1 tsp (optional)
  11. Toor dhal - 1/2 cup
  12. Onion -1 no (finely chopped)
  13. Tomato -1 no (Finely chopped)
  14. Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
  15. Tamarind paste - 1/4 tsp
  16. Salt to taste
  17. Ghee - 1 tsp

Directions to cook :

# Pressure cook the toor dal. Keep aside.

# Clean & finely chop the spinach.

# Heat oil in the pan, add cumin seeds, urad dal, mustard seeds, red chillies, hing, curry leaves & garlic pods.

# Once splutter, add the onions & saute. Add the finely chopped tomatoes & saute for 4 min.

# Add the finely chopped spinach & saute for 3 min.

# Add the cooked dal & enough salt and water. Cover and cook until done.

# Meanwhile, heat ghee in the small pan & fry the vadagam. Add it to the kulambu.

Serve with rice.

NOTE :

Those who don't have vadagam, just add the ghee finally.

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Sweet pongal (Sakkarai pongal)

>> Monday, August 17, 2009

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Sweet pongal is the famous Indian sweet prepared during pongal festival. Sprinkling the nuts roasted in the ghee, makes the perfect starter for the special occasion. And, I made this to celebrate my parents anniversary today. There are many variations of sweet pongal and this how my amma makes it. In most of the temples in south India, this type of sweet pongal is served after pooja.

Happy Anniversay dad & mom :)
Ingredients :
  1. Rice - 1/2 cup
  2. Milk - 2 cups
  3. Jaggery - 1/2 to 3/4 cup ( to ur sweet level)
  4. Water - 2tbsp
  5. Cardamom powder -1/2 tsp
  6. Nuts - 1/4 cup (Cashew nuts, raisins)
  7. Ghee - 2 tbsp
  8. Edible camphor - a pinch

Directions to cook :

# Clean & wash the rice well, add 2 cups of milk & pressure cook them.

# Heat the water in the pan, add the jaggery. Keep stiring continously. Once the jaggery melts, strain them to remove the sand if any.

# In the non-stick pan, add the strained jaggery & cooked rice. Cook on medium heat for 5 min till it becomes thick.

# Meanwhile heat the ghee & fry the nuts. Keep aside.

# Add the cardamom powder, edible camphor in the rice & stir. Switch off the flame & add the roasted nuts and ghee. (Dont stir immediately - standing time : 15 min)

Serve them warm.

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Hyderabad dum chicken biryani

>> Friday, August 14, 2009

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Dum chicken biryani is the most popular south Indian dish. Everybody always prefer to eat good biryani :) My earlier briyani is like pulavs....

Recently, I tried this dum chicken biryani & that was the awesome tasting biryani I had. I marinated the chicken with all Indian spices overnight & layered them first followed by the rice & other seasonings. I cooked it on the low flame for almost 40 min and I think I made the almost perfect biryani !!!

Ingredients :
  1. Chicken - 1 kg
  2. Basmati rice - 2 cups
  3. Water - 5 cups
  4. Corrainder leaves - 1 bunch
  5. Mint leaves - 1/2 bunch
  6. Green chillies - 12 to 13 nos
  7. Cinnamon stick - 2 nos
  8. Cardamom - 5 nos
  9. Cloves - 6
  10. Mace
  11. Black cumin seeds (shahi jeera) - 2 tsp
  12. Bay leaf - 2 nos
  13. Ginger garlic paste - 2 tbsp
  14. Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
  15. Lime juice - 2 tbsp
  16. Fried onions - 1 cup (Deep fry the sliced onions in the oil)
  17. Chilly powder - 2 tsp (as per ur spice level)
  18. Corrainder powder - 2 tsp
  19. Cumin powder - 1 tsp
  20. Saffron strands (soaked in 3 tbsp of water) - I replaced it with red food color
  21. Ghee (clarified butter) - 3 tbsp
  22. Oil - 4 tbsp
  23. Aluminum foil to cover the pan.

Directions to cook :

# Soak the rice in water for half an hour. Keep aside.

# Finely chop the corrainder leaves & mint leaves.

# Heat 1/2 tsp of oil in the pan, add 1 cinnamon stick, 3 cardamons, 3 cloves, mace, 1 bay leaf & 1 tsp black cumin seeds. Keep aside.

# Marinade the chicken pieces in the fried seasonings, lime juice, 1/2 qty of chopped corrainder leaves, mint leaves, green chillies, ginger garlic paste,turmeric powder, 1/2 cup fried onions, chilly powder, corrainder powder, cumin powder & salt to taste for atleast 2 hrs preferebly overnight.

# Boil 5 cups of water in a pan, add the remaining cinnamon stick, cardamom, cloves, black cumin seeds, bay leaf, salt & cook the rice till half done. Remove & drain the water. Keep aside.

# Pour the oil & ghee in the non-stick pan, spoon in the marinated chicken as the first layer & then the cooked rice as the second layer. Finally, spread the remaining fried onions, corriander leaves, mint leaves & the dissolved saffron.



# Cover the pan tightly with the aluminum foil. Cover & cook for 10 min on medium heat and then on slow heat for 30 mins.

# Remove from heat and stand with lid covered for approx 10 min.


serve warm with raita.


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Jeera rice (Cumin seed rice)

>> Thursday, August 13, 2009

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Cumin seeds are a very good source of Iron and Manganese and aids in effective digestion. Its anti-carcinogenic properties protects against cancer and supports the liver in detoxifying process.At times, I woke up little late in the mornings & predominately jeera rice would be our lunch menu. Simple & easy to prepare, but taste awesome.

Ingredients :
  1. Basmati rice - 1 3/4 cups
  2. Cumin seeds - 3 1/2 tsp
  3. Bay leaf - 2 no
  4. Cinnamon - 2 stick
  5. Cardamom - 3 nos
  6. Ghee - 1 tbsp
  7. Green chillies (optional)
  8. Green peas - 1 tbsp (optional)
  9. Water - 2 1/4 cups
  10. Salt to taste

Directions to cook :

£ Wash the rice & soak for 1/2 hr.

£ Heat ghee in the pan, add cumin seeds, bay leaf, cinnamon & cardomom.

£ When the seasonings sizzles add the green peas, green chillies & the rice and fry for 3 mins.

£ Add the water & salt. Cover and cook.

Serve them warm.


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Spicy Curry leaf powder

>> Tuesday, August 11, 2009

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My hubby likes to start his lunch with the spice podis like paruppu podi, curry leaf podi, sesame podi & even sometimes with idli dosa podi. Especially, during his busy days he prefer to have his lunch outside & in those days curry leaf podi is my handy menu. Amma keeps telling us to eat the curry leaves instead of throwing them away because of its medical value.

I have been planning to make this spicy curry leaf powder for soo long & finally I made it. I sun dried the curry leaves for 2 days instead of dry roasting them in the pan and them grinded with the roasted Indian spices. I like to have this with chapathi, idlis, dosa & rice with a tsp of ghee. Though, it is simple to make yet it taste heavenly :)

Ingredients :
  1. Curry leaves - 2 cups
  2. Channa dal - 4 tbsp
  3. Urad dal - 2 tbsp
  4. Red chillies - 6 - 7 nos (as per ur spice level)
  5. Cumin seeds - 1 tbsp
  6. Corrainder seeds - 2 tbsp
  7. Tamarind - size of a litchi
  8. Methi seeds - 1/4 tsp
  9. Garlic - 1 pod (Optional)
  10. A pinch of hing
  11. Salt to taste

Directions to cook :

# Sun dry the curry leaves till crispy. Otherwise, dry roast the curryleaves for about 5 min. Keep aside.

# Dry roast all the ingredients seperately, as they turn brown at different temperatures. Allow them to cool.

# Combine all the roasted ingredients & grind them finely.

# Store it in a air tight container.

Note :

  1. Continously stir the ingredients while roasting. They turn black very quickly.
  2. Avoid using oil at any stage for longer use.
Wow !!! Awards again :)

Thanks pooja for passing me these awards. I am really honoured to receive it from you.

The rules for the Kreative blogger award are :

  1. You must thank the person who has given you the award.
  2. Copy the logo and place it on your blog.
  3. Link to the person who has nominated you for the award.
  4. Name 7 things about yourself that people might find interesting.
  5. Nominate 7 other Kreativ Bloggers.
  6. Post links to the 7 blogs you nominate.
  7. Leave a comment on which of the blogs to let them know they have been nominated.

7 Things about me :)

  1. Simplicity
  2. Be happy & make others happy - That's what I try to do :)
  3. Like to browse & try lotz of new dishes to achieve this month target of increasing my hubby weight to cope up with me.
  4. I try to be more creative which becomes my dream next day.
  5. Like to see the giggling childs laugh.
  6. Like to do window shopping even daily.
  7. Like to give more surprise to my hubby - Just like that :)

Thanks once again pooja for this wonderful awards & tags :)

The rules are:

Respond and rework – answer the questions on your own blog, replace one question that you dislike with a question of your own invention, and add one more question of your own. Then tag eight or ten other people.

1) What is your current obsession ? Blogging, cooking & interior decoration.

2) What are you wearing today? Jeans & T-shirt

3) What’s for dinner? Chapathi with chicken curry

4) What’s the last thing you bought? Maybelline compact powder

5) What are you listening to right now? Sweet sound of birds

6) What do you think about the person who tagged you? Soo sweet & talented. Awesome :)

7) If you could have a house totally paid for, fully furnished anywhere in the world, where would you like it to be? Switzerland

8) What are your must-have pieces for summer? Serviced A/c, umbrella & hair cut.

9) If you could go anywhere in the world for the next hour, where would you go? Kulumanali, India

10) Which language do you want to learn? German

11) Who do you want to meet right now? My amma & daddy

12) What is your favourite colour? Lavender

13) What is your favourite piece of clothing in your own closet? Yellow saree (Hubby's first gift)

14) What is your dream job? HR professional

15) What’s your favourite magazine? Femina & Women's Era

16) If you had $100 now, what would you spend it on? Remote controlled miniature Ferrari for my son

17) What do you consider a fashion faux pas ? Impressive

18) Who are your style icons? My hubby

19) Describe your personal style? Simple & homely

20) What are your favourite movies? Maniratnam movies

21) What inspires you? Singing & dancing

22) Give us three styling tips that always work for you? i) Light makeup ii) Matching accessories iii) Smiling face

23) Coffee or tea? Cardamom tea

24) What do you do when you are low or terribly depressed ? Listen music

25) What is the meaning of your name? Happiness

26) Which other blogs you love visiting? All food blogs

27) Favorite Dessert/Sweet? Kaju katli

28) Favorite Season? Autumn

29) Who inspired to start a blog ? My hubby

31) Most important tip for a successful career ? Be smart & patience

My question :

32) Wht is your favourite cuisine ?

I would like to share this awards and tag with.

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Plain tomato soup

>> Saturday, August 8, 2009

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I always love to have tomato soup as the appetizer especially during the winter season. The tomatoes are cooked in the Indian spices & seasoned with the basil. Final addition of fried bread crumbs enhances the flavour & its taste.

Ingredients :
  1. Finely chopped tomatoes - 5 nos
  2. Small sized onion - 1 no
  3. Bay leaf - 1
  4. Cinnamon - small piece
  5. Cloves - 1 no
  6. Butter - 1 tsp
  7. Garlic cloves - 1 no
  8. Tomato puree - 1 tbsp
  9. Water / chicken stock / Vegetable stock - 2 cups
  10. Basil powder - 1 tsp
  11. Salt & pepper
  12. Bread crumbs (Fry them in the oil or ghee)

Directions to cook :

£ Cook the chopped tomatoes, garlic, onion, bay leaf, cinnamon, cloves together for 10 min. Keep it aside.

£ Remove the bay leaf, cinnamon & cloves and transfer the cooked tomatoes to the blender & blend until smooth.

£ Heat butter & add the blended tomato, salt and 1 tbsp of tomato puree in the pan. Add water & cook until soup is reduced to the desired consistency.

£ Season with basil & pepper to taste.


Garnish & serve them warm with fried bread crumbs.

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Kadai chicken

>> Thursday, August 6, 2009

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Kadai chicken is most popular chettinadu dish cooked in red gravy. This can be served either with rice or rotis. It taste AWESOME :)

Ingredients :
  1. Chicken - 1 kg
  2. Corriander seeds - 2 tsp
  3. Cumin seeds - 2 tsp
  4. Black peppercorns - 10 nos
  5. Ginger - 1 1/2 inch piece
  6. Garlic - 10 cloves
  7. Oil - 2 tbsp
  8. Butter - 1 tbsp
  9. 1 Large sized onion - Finely chopped
  10. Tomatoes - 4 nos (Finely chopped)
  11. Water - 1/2 cup
  12. Salt to taste
  13. Finely chopped corrainder leaves for garnishing

Directions to cook :

# Dry roast the corrainder seeds, cumin seeds & black pepper corns. Keep aside.

# Grind ginger, garlic and red chillies to a fine paste. Keep aside.

# Heat oil & butter in the kadai (Frying pan), add finely chopped onions & saute till light golden brown.

# Add the grounded spice powders & the red chilly paste. Saute it for 5 mins.

# Add the finely chopped tomatoes & continue to saute till the tomatoes become soft.

# Add the chicken & 1/2 cup of water and stir. Cover & cook on medium heat till the chicken is tender.

# Garnish it with corrainder leaves.

Serve hot.

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My 50th post

>> Monday, August 3, 2009

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I just realized this is my 50th post. Thanks all for visiting & your continous encouragement. So, lets celeberate. Here is the little food world from Nature kitchen - JUST FOR U :)
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Rice Dishes


International dishes




Breakfast menus
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Side dishes
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Non - Vegetarian specials


Mutton urundai kulambu

Chutneys


Cakes

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Labels

Almond recipes (7) American recipes (4) Ancient Indian recipes (42) Apple (1) Aval dishes (3) Baby corn dishes (1) Baking (30) Banana (4) Belgium (1) Biscuits (1) Bondas (1) Bread (12) Breakfast menus (25) Briyani (2) Brownies (1) Cabbage dishes (1) Cake decorating (3) Cake frosting (4) Cakes (18) Capsicum dishes (3) Cauliflower dishes (3) Chick peas (2) Chicken dishes (12) Chinese dishes (2) Chocolate dishes (11) Chutneys / Dip (6) Coconut dishe (8) Comfort dish (41) Cookies (2) Corn dishes (1) Corriander leaf (2) Cucumber (4) Cumin seeds (12) Cutlets (2) Dal dishes (17) Dessert (9) Dosa varieties (3) egg dishes (1) Eggplant dishes (4) Fish dishes (3) German food (1) Ghee (2) Halwa (1) Healthy dishes (5) Home made chocolate (1) Ice cream recipes (2) Icings (2) Indian Sweets (11) International (8) Italian (7) Jaggery dishes (5) Kids special (5) Kovakkai recipes (1) Kuzhambu (7) Ladoos (1) Lassi (1) Leftover delicacy (5) Mango (3) Methi combination (1) Milk shakes (3) Mint dishes (6) Moong dal dishes (1) Mousse (1) Muffins (5) Murukku varieties (1) Mutton (3) Napkin folding techniques (3) Non-Vegetarian dishes (4) Nuts (1) Pakoda recipe (2) Parathas (2) Pasta dishes (6) Payasam (3) Pickle (1) Pineapple (3) Pizza (3) Pizza recipes (3) Poriyal ideas (4) Potato dishes (10) Raita (1) Raita special (1) Rava dishes (1) Red kidney beans (1) Rotis (1) Salad recipes (2) Sambar varieties (1) sandwich (1) Semolina (1) Side dishes (29) Snacks (13) Soup dishes (1) Spaghetti dishes (1) Spice powders / Podi (5) spinach dishes (2) Sprouted recipes (1) Strawberry dishes (1) Sundals (1) Sweets (1) Table setting (2) Tagliatelle menus (1) Tamarind special (6) Tandoori (1) Thailand (1) Thokku varieties (1) Tomato (16) Vada specials (2) Vadai (3) Variety rice (16) Vegetable and fruit carving (5) Vermicelli dishes (1) Viennese dishes (1) Waffel (1) Wheat flour (2) yam (1)

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