Hyderabadi Vegetable Biryani

Paradise Hotel, a landmark on Sardar Patel Road in Secunderabad which is so hard to miss. A crowded road with equally crowded biryani house which has been serving thousands of people day and night since 1953. I still clearly remember,  6 years back when I first visited Hyderabad; lunch at Paradise was ranking very high on our must-to-do list. Their signature biryani was truly succulent, flavorful and aromatic! It was a delicious experience. When I first came across the recipe for Hyderabadi Birynai at Swasthi’s Indian Healthy Recipes, I knew I didn’t want to miss this opportunity to cherish my experience in my own…

मूगा-तांदुळाची खिचडी / Rice Moong Dal Khichadi

Comforting to eat, Effortless to make I will describe Khichadi in word one – Soul-food! It’s so comforting, fulfilling and satisfying. This was the first recipe I learned from my mom when I first started my job in Bangalore. It’s a ‘++’ version of  वरण भात ‘Varan-bhaat’  (dal-rice) but it’s actually easier to prepare than dal-rice. The best part I like about Khichadi is it’s a one pot meal. All you do is mix all ingredients together in pressure cooker, then wait for few minutes and dig in! Well khichadi literally means a mixture. The rice in it adds the starch,…

ulunthan kali

Ulunthan Kali

This was my first time participating in Indian Cooking Challenge and I was very excited about it. Srivalli had asked us to prepare a traditional sweet from Tamilnadu. I had never heard the name before and surprisingly none of my Tamil friends were familiar with its name – “Ulunthan Kali”. As Srivalli explained, its known by various other names such as  Kummayam or Adi Kummayam or more popularly Thiruvadhirai Kali. The recipe was given by Padma. The most impressive thing about this dish is its ingredients.; urad dal, rice, jaggery and sesame oil; all combined together to make a deliciously…