Side dish

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Stuffed Karela

Where do I start? Karela and yummy seems strange but this is really yummy. I don’t like something so bitter but I do enjoy hint of bitterness. Even in life , your words if they have a hint of bitter I can enjoy but not something totally bitter for absolutely no reason. But bitter has anti viral, anti bacterial property too so very bitter is needed in those cases.

There are so many different variations of stuffed Karela online so pick the way you like. Mostly everyone uses some besan to stuff Karela. This is how I made it and they turned out the way I like it: hint of bitterness and good stuff stuffed inside .

  • Take tender Indian Karela . Scrape the surface , put a slit on skin and remove inside seeds and clean it. Take scrapes and tender white seeds and add some salt. Let it sit for an hr and the squeeze water out from it . That will remove bitterness also.
  • Steam Karela for 4-5 mins depending on size. Be careful and do not overdo it. Underdone is better than overdone.
  • Heat coconut oil and crack cumin seeds . Add pinch of hing if you have it. Also some fennel seeds.
  • Add scrape and seeds. Sauté for a min or two.
  • Add chickpea flour and roast it properly. Add more oil if needed.
  • Add turmeric, chili powder, cumin-coriander powder and salt. I added chat masala too.
  • Let the mixture cool down and then add some dry coconut powder. You can add sesame seeds or powder too.
  • Stuff the Karelas , tie them with cooking thread .
  • Heat coconut oil in a nonstick pan and cook karelas turning all sides.
  • Time to taste. Lovely.
  • Share with everyone around you.
  • Enjoy!
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Bitter Gourd Chips

Do you taste bitter flavor every day? We should have all flavors everyday for all body to functions to happen. Bitter has drying and firming effect. Bitter gourd chips is yummy way to have little bitter in. There are lots of recipes out there. Here’s how I made it:

  • Wash and trim top, bottom of bitter gourd. Scrape the surface little bit if it’s hard. Try to pick tender bitter gourds.
  • Slice them thin using mendoline. If there’s any red seeds , remove it.
  • Make a mixture with rice flour , chickpea flour, red chili powder, turmeric, chat masala and salt.
  • Sprinkle over chips and sprinkle just a little water.
  • Deep fry them.
  • Nice yummy due to chat masala and of course its nicely bitter .
  • Well, we just need to eat few .
  • I also bought a ready made pack at Indian store and they were really good with just a hint of bitterness but of course more greasy. Home made is more bitter.
  • As we enjoy bitter flavor, we also need to learn to enjoy bitter words.
  • Enjoy!
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Roasted Rosemary Potatoes

Don’t they look colorful ? Roasting any vegetables brings out its flavor. Makes me wonder if it’s same for us humans too . Life roast us to bring out our good flavor.

Do you need recipe ? Mix baby potatoes with olive oil, sea salt and chopped rosemary that you grow in your garden or pot . Roast in oven at 375 F. Time will vary depending on how big your potatoes are . Mine took an hr.

Add some baby tomatoes from garden when ready to eat. You can also put toothpick to make it more fancy. Also can make some Indian cilantro chutney on the side . I like to keep things simple. Simple thoughts , simple life and have fun.

Enjoy!

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Side Dish Is Important

Picture is bad .. I know but it will serve the purpose. We all have our favorite food and food that we grew up eating. Most of the ppl think that what we grew up eating was so healthy. Well, let’s not go into that today.

Dosa With chutney is favorite among us Indians and easy, quick to make . To make it a well rounded meal, I added some steamed broccoli on the side . Takes 3 mins to steam and adds a lots of wonderful things. Sprinkle some salt and fresh lemon juice .

Dosa or pancake is made with mixture of brown rice and different dals. Soak it for 3-4 hrs , grind, add salt and cumin seeds. Batter ready. I soaked it before leaving for yoga class . Come home after few hrs and i can grind .

Roasted raw peanuts in toaster oven and made some peanut chutney. Oven roasted peanuts taste really good and it’s so easy to roast. Try if you have never done.

Easy breezy well rounded lunch. You can also roast cauliflower in oven for a side dish. Roasted cauliflower tastes good too. Or any seasonal vegetables. Roast or steam. Some taste good roasted and some steamed. Find what you like and what works for you.

Enjoy!

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Buckwheat Dosa With Coconut Chutney

Do you buy fresh brown coconut? Do you know how to pick good one ? Here’s the trick I use . Take coconut close to ear and shake it. If you hear plenty of water inside , it will be good. Try few and you will know the difference. I drink the water even though I don’t like it. Make fresh chutney with coriander and freeze rest of the coconut pieces. They store well and I take out few every time I am making chutney. Just soak in water for some time and it will soften up.

I have been making this buckwheat dosas and really liking it. I should actually call it buckwheat flavored dosa. I add big spoonful of buckwheat flour after grinding my regular brown rice dosa batter. It gives nice taste to dosa which am loving right now.

I might try more things with coconut. I have never made coconut milk or yogurt.

In India, coconut is offered to good and on some auspicious occasion , coconut is broken and everyone gets a piece of it. If it’s good to offer god then got to be good for us too. Isn’t it?

Enjoy Coconut !