Vegan Black Beans & Mixed Vegetables Salad with Apple Cider Vinegar Dressing

I love salads and soups very much for our weekday's dinner. Especially if a salad is prepared with couple of beans in it, i can have it without any fuss. Obviously you can guess that i will always make salads withbeans in it. I dont grab a 1 kg packet of beans from stores, i usually take 5 kgs bags for my monthly use. They are cheaper than a kg pack and needless to say, if i dont eat meats or seafoods, i can get sufficient proteins from these beans. My store room will always have kidney beans, black-eyed peas, chickpeas and the black beans. I just love to cook with these legumes. No time to soak beans, dont worry, make a huge bags of soaked beans during weekend and store them in freezer, they are just handy to dish out anything with them.

Eggplant Manchurian/Indo Chinese Style Eggplant Manchurian

Manchurian is an excellent starter or side dish to have with fried rice or with a bowl of cooked rice. I have been dishing out many varieties of manchurian and one of my recent trial is with Eggplants. I followed the same cooking way as much as we do with chicken or else vegetables. Eggplant manchurian makes an excellent starter to start a party with, i have made a dry version if you want a saucy style of manchurian you can still dish this eggplant manchurian as much as gravy style dish. Trust me this Eggplant manchurian is definitely a delicacy which is a must to try at home. And this is just prefect to dish out in less than 30 minutes. Its a restaurant style vegan manchurian which is a must to try. And this dish calls for easily available ingredients which is quite easy to find in your pantry.

Dal Maharani/Queens of Lentils Gravy/Maharani Dal

Dal Maharani which is also known popularly as Queens of Lentils gravy have its origins from Punjab. This dish is a nutritious and very protein rich gravy which calls for Black urad dal, channa dal and Kidney beans. These three dals are cooked and enriched with couple of spice powders and fresh cream hence this dal have a very rich taste.However if you are looking for less rich and no cream gravy, you can replace the cream used in this dish with milk, yogurt of else with no dairy products. This aromatic dish can be served very much with any sort of pulaos, rotis or else simply with bread slices. Yes you have numerous choice to enjoy this rich gravy. However i served this gravy with coconut pulao which turned out our lunch more healthy and tasty as well. Obviously we had a tummy full meal and everyone at home enjoyed this nutritious dish.

No Onion No Garlic Curry Leaves Gravy/Karuvepillai Kuzhambu

Though i cant imagine making kuzhambu aka tamarind based gravy without onions and garlic cloves, i love to make atleast once a while to dish out some fingerlicking gravies without onions and  garlic cloves. If you are fasting or dont have onions or garlic at home, you can still make this fingerlicking gravy in an ease with easy cooking process. This gravy is one of a delicious, easy breezy and flavourful dish to make without any fail. Since i want to make a flavourful and aromatic gravy for our lunch few days back, i couldnt think more than dishing out this fingerlicking dish with curry leaves. Curry leaves is a must in South Indian cooking, its one of the flavourful leaves which gives a subtle flavor to anything they are cook with.

Purple Cabbage Masal Vada/Purple Cabbage Channadal Fritters

If you are making often just some crunchy coleslaw or else some easy breezy salads with purple cabbage, you should definitely have to take a look to this crispy fritters aka TamilNadu style masala vadais. Masala vadas are quite a streetfood which can be found easily in every corner tea shops all over Tamilnadu. Masal vadas is usually prepared with channadal along with few spices, however many sort of variations do exists. One can add some grated vegetables or greens to make vadas more delicious and healthy to feed kids easily with vegetables or greens. And my today's post is one among those vegetable loaded fritters aka purple cabbage masala vadas. Cabbage is one of my favourite vegetable but at home its quite a struggle to feed my kids with this leafy vegetable.

Cashew Coconut Milk Pulao

We love briyani during anytime of the day, obviously i will definitely make biriyani atleast twice a month especially on week-ends. Most of our Sunday lunch will be either biriyani or pulao. Served along with a rich, creamy curry or side dish, one can finish their lunch or dinner happily without any fuss. I have already dished out couple of pulao and my space have varieties of pulao cooked either with vegetables, seafoods or meats. However my today's recipe is one of easiest pulao one can dish out quickly without any hassle. Even if you ran out of vegetables or meats, this dish will make everyone happy as this dish is full of flavors. With a handful of cashewnuts, garam masala and homemade coconut milk is quite enough to prepare this pulao.

Vegan Aloo Pulao/Gluten Free Potato Pulao

Hectic days doesnt need an elaborate meals, however you can dish out some super filling dishes in an ease with our Indian cooking gadgets. Indian style pressure cookers are real blessing especially when you have time to make something special to pack either in your lunchbox or else for a quick meal. I have been cooking with Indian pressure cookers since a long as they are seriously very handy to cook dishes quickly without any difficulties. My today's post is one of the quickest pulao i have dished out few days back for a meal. Yes easy peasy Aloo pulao with mild spiciness and aroma. No tomatoes, no ginger garlic paste is needed to dish out this vegan and gluten free one potmeal. Just spiced with garam masala,turmeric powder and chilly powder, this delicious pulao is a prefect dish to pack quickly and easily with less cooking process.

Ajwain & Butternut Squash Paratha

Fall season is here, obviously summer fruits and vegetables are very rare in local farmer's market. Finally Fall season vegetables and fruits are showing their heads now. I just love fall seasonal fruits and vegetables, especially the squashes. We do get varieties of squashes and i will never fail to buy them from local farmer's market. My recent visit to farmer market pulled me to grab some seasonal vegetables. Yes i came home with some butternut squash, sweet potato and succulent juicy apples. Obviously i prepared some delightful dishes out of these fruits and vegetables. Here comes one among those dishes i have prepared with butternut squash. Butternut squash is one of my favourite squash after pumpkins. I usually prepare soups with this squash though they are seriously versatile and works awesome to make even our Indian style of curries and gravies.

Doodhi Molagootal/Bottlegourd Molagootal

A balancing meal calls always for rice, dal and some side dishes, and obviously being a South Indian i cant give up rice for any reason. I usually make different dals or gravies to have with rice especially during weekends as i dont carry my lunch to work. Obviously i plan everything to make some rice based dishes during weekends. And here comes a super easy, protein rich Kerala dal based curry aka molagootal. Actually molagootal resembles quite like Tamilian's kootu, which calls for couple of vegetables and dal. Both when cooked together, dal and vegetables are mashed and served with tempering and spices. Molagootal calls  most of the ingredients almost like kootu, though a coconut based spice paste is added to bring a nice aroma to this Kerala dish. Molagootal is a well known dish in Palakad. Molagootal can also called as mulakushyam in many places. However both dishes are the same and the name varies from place to place.

Warqi Paratha/Lucknowi Warqi Paratha

Indian cuisine shares varieties of parathas, these Indian flatbreads have their own place in many thalis or in everyone's meals. Parathas are the most popular unleavened breads in India. And parathas are prepared with whole wheat dough.This dough when rolled out either thick, thin or stuffed, which is later cooked in hot tawa makes this parathas. Parathas are eaten for breakfast, lunch and dinner depending upon how they are served with a side dish or simply with spiced curd. You might have noticed that am running a month of blogging marathon with A-Z International flatbreads. And my post for today's blogging marathon goes for our own Indian flatbread. Since today's flatbreads calls for the alphabetic letter 'W', i grabbed an Awadhi flatbread aka Warqi Paratha. Awadhi cuisine is a cuisine of Lucknow city and this city is known of its Nawabi foods. Awadhi cuisine is quite a rich cuisine and this cuisine involves many rich ingredients like paneer, malai, mutton and spices like cardamom and saffron in most of their dishes. Awadhi spread consists of elaborated dishes like kebabs, kormas, biryanis, kulchas, sheermal,zarda, roomali rotis and warqi parathas.

Dhalpuri Roti/Trinidadian Dal Stuffed Flatbread

Today am taking you all to Trinidad which is the larger and more populous island of two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. Trinidad cuisine is a blend of Indian, European Creole, Arab,Chinese,Latin American, African west, influences. And their well known dishes are Sada Roti, Fried Bakes, Coconut Bake which includes street foods like Doubles, Pholourie,Kachori, Roti Wrap, Aloo pie and much more. Today i want to showcase one of the most popular Street food aka Dhalpuri Roti which have its Indian influence. Roti is consider as the Staple of this West Indian island's cuisine. A roti is Trinidad is served with its accompaniments typically with yellow curry stew of meat, potatoes and chickpeas. Roti arrived to the Trinidad island around the slavery was abolished in the late 1830s, with servants from India, where the unleavened flatbread has been popular for many centuries. Dhal puri, paratha and sada are the most readily available styles of roti in Trinidad.Locals call their brand of paratha “buss up shut,” which gets its name from the Trini pronunciation of the phrase “busted-up shirt,” a reference to what the dish looks like. Not like the traditional paratha in India, buss up shut is broken into pieces, and diners typically pick up the pieces with their hands and use them as utensils to scoop the curry.

Glutenfree Vegetable Quinoa Kichadi

One of the most favourite South Indian breakfast of mine is Semolina aka Rava Kichadi. I can have this dish everyday without any fuss. Prepared usually with mixed vegetables and roasted rava, this dish makes an incredible breakfast with some spicy coconut chutney. However when i planned to prepare semolina kichadi, i opted for quinoa instead of semolina. With lovely medley of vegetables and quinoa, trust me this kichadi tastes absolutely delicious. Usually ghee is used to bring a nice aroma to this dish, and i opted for oil as i want to prepare this kichadi as a vegan breakfast.An excellent,quick and easy breezy breakfast or dinner to enjoy without any hesitation.My mom used to make this khichadi with garlic cloves instead of ginger garlic paste and temper it with whole spices like clove,cinnamon stick,bayleaf and fennel seeds instead of usual tempering spices, this will give definitely a fabulous masala flavour to this simple fusion khichadi.

Tamarind Broken Wheat Upma/Godhumai Rava Puli Upma

Puli upma aka tamarind upma is usually prepared with rice flour, coarsely grounded rice batter or else with rice rava. Its quite an interesting dish which makes a fabulous breakfast, snack food or else prefect for dinner. Almost like upma,this puli upma is flavoured with usual spices which we usually use for upma apart from cooking the grains with tamarind extract. Whoever loves to kick start their day with a dose of tanginess in their food will definitely enjoy this healthy version of puli upma. Since this dish is a delightful breakfast dish, you doesnt even need a side dish to enjoy with. To bring more nuttiness to this incredible healthy broken wheat upma with tamarind extract, i didnt forget to add some peanuts while tempering which is completely optional. Since i want to give a healthy twist to this traditional dish, i opted for broken wheat,however you can replace the broken wheat very much with rice.

Baked Tortilla Cone Pizza/Tacos Cone Pizza

You might have noticed that am running this week's blogging marathon with Make them as Pizza as theme. After two interesting pizza, am finishing this week's theme with an another kid's friendly cone pizza. Trust me this pizza will definitely become everyone's favourite at home, if you make this cute looking pizza at home for a dinner or lunch. My kids went crazy when i served this pizza for dinner with some salads. Initially when i picked this week's theme aka Make them as Pizza, my mind went immediately for pizza with dosas, chappathis, rotis etc. But some leftover storebought tortillas pulled me to finish them as this cone pizza. This pizza is definitely a easiest one to prepare even for your get together. Mini sized cone pizza works awesome and definitely a prefect crowd pleaser as well. You can dish out two cone pizzas with a tortilla, obviously you can stuff this pizza with any of your favourite toppings.

Whole Wheat Minced Soya Naanizza/Soya Kheema Naanizza

Whenever i make naans at home, i will definitely gather all the ingredients to dish out pizza with them. But somehow i have been postponding to post my home made naanizza in my space. Recently, after our Summer vacation, back home kids were missing our spicy foods. One week with non spicy Greek foods, our tastebuds started begging for some spicy Indian foods. Obviously for our dinner day before yesterday, i dished out some whole wheat naans with chicken curry. After having a tummy full satisfying meal, they were some leftover Naans which i freezed for later use. Yesterday after spending a half a day with my Schoolmate who came all the way to Paris from Chennai, i was completely exhausted. Felt super lazy to prepare our dinner, obviously those frozen Naan came to my rescue and turned them as some Naanizza which i simply topped with a soya kheema masala, some chopped onions, tomatoes and grated cheese.

Pizza Quesadillas/Fusion Pizzadillas

When Pizza and quesadillas meet together, obviously the final result will be Pizzadillas or Pizza Quesadillas. My kids are crazy fans of Pizzas, and nothing can beat the homemade pizzas na. However i plan myself to make pizza crust often at home with different grains in it, so that i can feed my kids easily pizza with healthy grains in it. And do you know that these homemade pizza crust base can be freezed easily which will be really handy to use whenever you feel like making a pizza party at home. Thaw the pizza crust and top them with your favourite toppings and your pizza is ready to bake. Trust me this works awesome for me. But in case if you dont have time to make your own dose of pizza crust, dont worry. Now you can dish out some delicious, cheesy, extremely addictive and dangerously tempting pizzas with some store bought tortillas.

Channadal Khatta/Creamy Chattisghari Channa Dal /Khatte Channa Dal

Nothing can beat a bowl of comforting dal with some rice or rotis to finish our meal. Am a ardent fan of simple dal recipes and whenever i get a prefect dal recipe to cook with, i wont skip making the dish. A prefect satisfying meal must have definitely a dal based dish to please our tastebuds rite. And my space is loaded with many delightful protein rich dal dishes. However i have many to try and show case in my space. My today's post is an interesting dal from Chattisghar cuisine. Actually this dal dish goes for a facebook group event in which i have been a member since three months. Every month either we cook with Alphabets or Recipe swap, and vice versa. Since i like challenges, i couldnt stop myself to join this group. This month's challenge is Recipe Swap and i have been paired with Seema of Mildly Indian. While going through her space, this creamy Channa dal khatta caught my attention and immediately i tried at home to pair with Dhuska. Trust me, this dal works awesome with Jharkhand fried bread and we finished our lunch happily with these two delicious Regional foods.

Mutton Kheema Masala Kuzhambu/Minced Meat Masala

Minced meat Masala is my hubby's favourite, he just love this masala with anything. When served with dosas, idlies or else with rotis, one can enjoy this lipsmacking kuzhambu without any fuss. Its a prefect dish for meat lovers. Excellent to relish even with mildly flavoured pulao or parottas this dish is definitely a must try. My meat lovers at home are crazy fan of this dish, however i love to prepare this minced meat masala with both chicken and mutton. My today's post is Minced mutton, and i opted for pressure cooking method. Yes this dish is one pot dish, as you need just a pressure cooker to prepare this fingerlicking masala. However you can dish this incredible dish even  by cooking them in traditional way as much as like other mutton dishes. If you are a vegetarian, you can dish this spicy and flavourful dish with minced soya chunks, crumbled paneer or else with crumbled tofu.

Vegan Radish Greens Channadal Kootu

Radish greens are the green leaves on stalks on top of the root vegetable  aka the radish . Radish is an extremely popular vegetable in the world. Different parts of the plant, including the seeds, sprouts, and leaves, can be used both in culinary applications and traditional medical treatments. In some parts of the world, radishes are actually cultivated specifically for their leaves, as they continue to grow while the root develops.These radish greens have a peppery, earthen taste, making them an interesting addition to any salad and they can also be added to sandwiches or even boiled down and salted for a great side dish. These leaves contain much higher concentrations of certain nutrients than the vegetable itself, so if you are one of the countless people who simply throw away radish greens, change your ways and add this nutritious new food to your diet.

Black-eyed Peas Dumpling in Tangy Gravy/Kaaramani Urundai Kuzhambu

Black-eyed peas, which i fondly call as Kaaramani is one of the protein rich legumes aka beans which have loads of nutritious content in it. Do you know just a cup of Black eyed peas have 20% of daily value of magnesium, calcium and iron. Yes if you are vegetarian, dont forget to add this beans quite often in your diet. Also a cup of cooked black-eyed peas have 160 calories with interesting fiber in it. Black eyed peas is one of my most favourite legumes after Red kidney beans,obviously my pantry will always have this. South Indians makes a lipsmacking tangy dish with steamed dal dumplings dunked in a spicy tamarind gravy. Its quite a popular dish and we call it as Paruppu urundai kuzhambu. Highly rich in protein, this dish is often prepared at home whenever we feel like having something tangy and protein rich food for our meal. Since i want to give a twist to the usual Paruppu Urundai kuzhambu, i replaced the toordal dumplings with steam cooked black-eyed peas dumplings.. Trust me this dish is just prefect to enjoy with hot steaming rice and papads.