Kitchen-Kollections

Ingredients

2 cups round slices of bittergourd
1 cup chopped onion
3 chopped green chillies
A pinch of Turmeric powder
1 tsp Gram flour or besan
2 tbs Lemon juice

Method

Cut the bittergourd into thin round slices. Place all of them on a plate and sprinkle salt and turmeric and mix well. Keep it like that for at least 15 minutes. Now take a ziplock bag or any bag and put all these pieces into it and squeeze the juice out of the pieces. Sprinkle some oil on the pieces and microwave it for 10 minutes on high (stirring in between).

Take a pan and add popu (urad dal, mustard seeds, jeera and senagapappu, red chillis, curry leaves) Add chopped onion and green chillies and fry them till onions turn transulcent. Now add the bittergourd pieces and cook for 15 minutes stirring in between. Add 1 tbsp of besan or gram flour and mix well so that it absorbs all the oil. The reason why I add besan is it soaks the bitter taste and gives a crunchy look. This curry goes well with chapatis!

Wheat bran upma

I am sure all south indians are all familiar with semolina or rava upma. But there is another variety of upma too…goduma rava upma or wheat bran upma. Its highly nutritious and really tasty.

Here is the recipe :-

Cooking time 20-25 min

Ingredients

1 cup wheat bran
1 cup diced Onion
2 diced green chillies
Curry leaves – 4 to 5
1 potato cut into pieces
1 cup boiled peas
1 cup diced carrot
2 cups water

Popu or Tadka

1 teaspoon sanagapappu
1 teaspoon minapappu
1 teaspoon  mustard seeds
1 teaspoon  jeera
2 or 3 red chilli
half a teaspoon of ginger garlic paste
salt to taste

Method

Pour some vegetable oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds and let it splutter. Add sanagapappu, minapapappu, jeera and red chillies. Stir well. Add onion, green chilies, curry leaves and ginger garlic paste and keep stirring until onions are transparent and soft. Add potato, peas and salt and let it cook for a while. Add 2 cups water and let it boil. Now slowly add the wheat bran and mix well. Put a lid on the pan and let it cook for 10 min stirring in between. After it is cooked, garnish it with coriander leaves and savour it!

Here is the recipe of simple andhra khichdi. It is quite healthy and nutritious.  It tastes really well if you eat it along with some andhra pickle or with curd.

Ingredients

2 cups of rice nicely washed and soaked

1 cup diced red bell pepper

1 cup boiled peas

half cup kandi pappu or masoor dal - soaked

1 tsp chilli powder

2 pinches of turmeric powder

1 cup diced onions

4 green chillies sliced

half spoon of ghee

Salt to taste

half tsp peppercorns

3 bay leaves

2 or 3 cinnamon sticks

4 cups of water 

Method

Take a pan and pour some oil into it.  Add bay leaf, cinnamon stick and peppercorns and stir them well. Add the vegetables and fry them for a while. Add the soaked dal and rice. Add water. Add salt, chilli powder and turmeric and mix well. Pour the entire mixture into rice cooker and cook. Garnish with coriandar leaves and serve hot with pickle or curd! Your dish is ready to eat.

You would be surprised to know that this is one of the most searched item on search engines. There is actually no shortcut of making perfectly round chapatis..but it requires lot of patience and stamina Here are some tips :-

• Always add a pinch of salt in the flour before mixing it with water.
• Mix the flour with a little hot water. It comes out really soft.
• The quality of the chapatis totally depends on how soft the dough is.
• After you have made the dough, apply some oil and again mix it properly. This is one of my mother’s trick! She is champ in making the most softest chapatis sslurrppp
• Take a small ball of the dough and again press it softly..apply some flour and make a pancake like shape.
• Keep applying little flour so that it doesn’t break
• Now the trick is how to use the belan or rolling pin with your palms as well as fingers.
• First you have to you use complete palm on the pin to make it flat by the sides. It will become a squarish round.
• Then using fingers on the sides of the belan, start rolling the chapatis (increasing) and keep turning it around. Keep applying little flour at each step.
• Best way to check whether you will have a soft chapati is to lift and see it under light..if u see dark patches it means you need to press it a little more. If its transparent, that means it will become a perfect phulka!
• Now fry it on the skillet, fry both sides till nicely brown. You can add little oil. Now see the change at the table, but serve hot, or keep covered till serving.

I hope this helps..

Ingredients

2 pound tindora or dondakaya (preferably boiled)
Curry leaves
Popu or tadka
Popula powder
Peanuts – half a cup
Red chilli powder – half tsp
Salt to taste

Method

Pour two tablespoon of oil in a deep pan and add popu ( chana dal, urad dal, jeera, mustard seeds – half tsp) Add curry leaves, peanuts and fry for a while. Add the sliced dondakaya pieces and mix it well so that oil is covered on all pieces. Add salt and red chilli powder. Do not cover it with lid and keep frying it for at least 15 minutes. In the end add popula powder and again fry for a while. It tastes very well with hot chapatis.

Navaratri, Durga Puja & Dusshera

Every year during the lunar month of Ashwin or Kartik (September-October), Hindus observe ten days of ceremonies, rituals, fasts and feasts in honor of the supreme mother goddess. It begins with the fast of “Navaratri”, and ends with the festivities of “Dusshera” and “Vijayadashami.”

Goddess Durga
This festival is devoted solely to the Mother Goddess — known variously as Durga, Bhavani, Amba, Chandika, Gauri, Parvati, Mahishasuramardini — and her other manifestations. The name “Durga” means “inaccessible”, and she is the personification of the active side of the divine “shakti” energy of Lord Shiva. In fact, she represents the furious powers of all the male gods, and is the ferocious protector of the righteous, and destroyer of the evil. Durga is usually portrayed as riding a lion, and carrying weapons in her many arms.

In my hometown, kanaka durga devi temple is very famous and equally powerful. The abode of Kanaka Durga, goddess of power, riches and benevolence, is the presiding deity of the city. The temple is set on the Indrakiladri hill. The deity in the Kanaka Durga temple is regarded as Swayambhu or self-manifested, hence is considered very powerful.

The beauty of this temple is seen to be believed. The temple is situated on a hill on the banks of the Krishna river. The origin or installation of Kanaka – durga Devi at Vijayawada is unknown. She is said to be Swayambu or selfmanifest.

Mother Kanakadurgeswari seated atop the Indrakilaparvatha at Vijayawada is the supreme Goddess of Andhra Pradesh, attracting lakhs of tourists since time immemorial. This temple occupies a covetable place in the scriptures; for several of the Sivalilas and Saktimahimas were enacted on and around it, making the region a place of unparalleled spiritual eminence of everlasting significance.