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Banana Stem Stir Fry | Vazhaithandu Poriyal | Plantain Stem Stir Fry

Banana Stem to me was a challenge recipe after Pavakkai, once I overcame the dislike to a vegetable that was once dread by me, I did want to explore possibilities with Banana Stem/ Vazhaithandu and I was on a look out for a simple recipe that was quick and easy to do. To my surprise I have started to love this veg and made this porriyal almost thrice and its a great accompaniment with Pavakka Puli Kozhambhu. The sweet taste of the Vazhaithandu complements the slightly  bitter and tangy taste of the Puli kozhambu. Now that's what I call as a perfect combination. For all those who think of Priya has too much non veg the news is we do eat a lot of veg and almost 3-4 days a week we eat veg at home and there are those days when we don't want anything to do with non veg and the soul reason would be an overdose of non veg recipes. If you are like me who hates this veg try this simple stir fry and I am sure you will love it.

Bitter Gourd Tamarind Curry | Pavakka Puli Kuzhambu | Bitter Gourd/ Karela/ Pavakka Recipe

Pavakka Puli Kuzhambhu is one of the first recipe that I tried using Pavakka, if you had seen my earlier recipe on Pavakka Stir Fry you would know this. Since I was new to cooking this veg I had great difficulty to find the perfect recipe and when I saw my friend Saranya post this recipe I immediately set all doubts aside and went ahead with it. Thanks Saranya for sharing this wonderful recipe which is one of my favorite now. 

Pavakka Puli Kozhambhu is a tangy curry which is mild in spice and is a great accompaniment with white rice and any veg side. Its a perfect satisfying curry for those days when we wish to go vegan. It does take a while to make this so don't do it when you are in a hurry, to be honest it tastes great the next day ;-). The bitter gourd does not taste bitter but very mild in bitterness hence if you are someone who hates this veg go ahead try it and you will love it for sure.

Verdict ~ A favorite recipe @ home and we have it every fort-night

Lemon Pepper Chicken Roast | Whole Chicken Recipe | Christmas Party Recipe

Christmas was great for us, we planned a simple meal just for the two of us and this Lemon Pepper Chicken was one of the recipe that was made. Its a simple Whole Chicken Recipe that has a basic marinate and no curd/ yogurt involved. Since I am a big fan of lemon chicken incorporated it using a whole chicken  The tangy taste of lemon and spicy pepper gives a great combination in this recipe. Try it for yourself and you will love it. To all my blogger friends I have been super busy with husband on leave and not finding time to visit your recipes too. 

Fruit & Nut Cookies | Christmas Cookies | Christmas Bakes


Christmas planning for me started a month back, I had lots of recipes in mind and few of which I have already posted here. This Fruit and nut cookie was one recipe which was in my to-do list for long. Finally it has made an entry here :-) the reason I had book-marked this recipe was because of tutti fruiti in them, we both simply love it. After much hunting to get tutti frutti here I was forced to adapt the recipe with what I could get. Instead made this with glazed cherries and pistachios for the red and green effect. I wish I had taken the cookies a little earlier mine was baked for 13 mins, it is crisp and had enough sweetness and does bring back childhood memories to me.

Plum Cake Indian Recipe | Christian Christmas Plum Cake | Last minute plum cake

Christmas is never complete without a Plum Cake. From childhood I used to love plum cake for their super mosit texture and loads of dry fruit and nuts in them. Although I have found a liking to the Indianised version of plum cake of using only rum essence and not real rum. This plum cake is also more of an Indian version of Christmas cake without using any booze and I call it last minute Christmas cake since it does not call for the traditional method of soaking dry fruits and nuts in rum for over a month or two. For more Christmas Recipes, check out my Christmas Menu HERE

Verdict ~ Cake is super moist and not too much over-powering in spices. Its not too heavy and has a little hit of rum (from rum essence). We both enjoyed it so much and plan to make one more to give away to friends

Breadsticks ~ A guest post by Swathi Iyer


Today I am happy to invite a dear friend and blogger Swathi Iyer who owns Zesty South Indian Kitchen she is a well known blogger and a fore runner in the blogging world. She is a mom of two and juggling between 2 kids she takes time to blog on her passion for food. Talking about her blog she has a wonderful spread of world cuisine, take a look here and you will know what I am talking about. During my initial days of blogging I used to have many doubts and Swathi used to be the one I used to clear them with. At first when I asked her for a guest post she gladly agreed and I did request her to bake any form of bread since she is so good at it. Today she shares with us a beautiful recipe Breadsticks and due to time constrain we are not able to do an interview with her, but you can click here to know more about Swathi. Thanks Swathi for sharing this wonderful recipe and over to you

Meat Ball Recipe | Kheema Puffs Recipe | Mutton Khola Urundai

"Deck the halls with boughs of holly,
Fa la la la la, la la la la.
Tis the season to be jolly,
Fa la la la la, la la la la."

The music makes me merry and so does this season of Christmas were families come together and friends nearer. Christmas for me is very special were we get more time to spend as a family and go to church remember the birth of Christ and giving gifts to the needy. My school was one big inspiration during Christmas where we used to bring gifts to the lowly and as kids we used to save money to do this. We would then make cards for our parents, sings carols, watch Christmas plays and another important thing is end up with chocolates :-) For more Christmas Recipes, check out my Christmas Menu HERE


Chocolate Crinkles | Chocolate Christmas Cookies | Christmas Recipes


Can you believe its just 12 days to Christmas? I am all excited and my oven is super busy. Another reason for the super excitement is my blog crossing 50K page views ;-). The weather is really cold and nothing like keeping my home warm with some fresh bakes. This year Christmas seems to be more Chocolaty for me, no clue why I have been having too much cravings for Chocolate and I simply find this as an excuse reason to bake. I did try my hand on Chocolate Rum Balls which was a super hit at home, we gobbled them and my craving for chocolate were still alive so I tried my hand at these Chocolate Crinkles which has been in my to-do list for long. Boy these were amazing, trust me its a chocolate lovers dream. They taste awesome full of chocolate and I get reminded of brownies, yes you read it right its taste like brownies and gooey chocolate cake. Absolutely in season with their snow caps of icing sugar. For more Christmas Recipes click HERE

Candied Almonds | Roasted Almond Snack Recipe | Christmas Treats | Party Snack

Today I am sharing yet another Christmas Treat recipe/ Party Snack, this is a special treat that is more loved by nut lovers.  One great person who loves nuts would be my Dad, although we stay far apart Daddy this one is for you. These almond treats are coated with perfect balance of sugar and salt that gives added crunch to the toasted almonds. It has a perfect crunch and stays great for up to a month in an air-tight container. Although you can do variations with other nuts but the oven temperature would vary. You could also try doing them on a stove top, but it would take a long time but its worth a try. For  more Christmas Recipes click HERE


Whole Chicken Tandoori Recipe | Restaurant Style Chicken Tandoori Recipe



I am so excited to do my second guest post for my dear sister Divya of Youtoocancookindianfood and thank you so much Divya for sharing your space for my recipe. When Divya had asked me to do a guest post for her and I could not think anything beyond chicken, really... read more you will know why :P You must all be knowing what fun we have when we do things together. Yes I am talking about out Christmas event. Truly speaking I could not have thought of a better time to post this recipe. Please hop into Divya's blog to check out more about this recipe, click HERE 
For more Christmas Recipes, check out my Christmas Menu HERE

Chocolate Rum Balls | Chocolate Truffles Recipe



When Suja chechi asked me to do a guest post I was so thrilled and excited  since it is my very first guest post. She writes Kitchen Corner and is a well known blogger for her lip-smacking recipes. I am so happy to share this wonderful chocolate treats for Christmas. Christmas is very close to my heart and from my younger days I used to get really excited about this season right from buying new clothes, putting up the star (In India Christmas have the tradition to put paper shaped stars fitted with a light bulb inside as a sign of Christ's birth), decorating the Christmas tree and not to forget the yummy sweets, cakes done by amma. But Christmas is not just all these things its a little bit more, its about giving. So today's post is all about little treats that can be given to others as an expression of love. To check out my guest post click HERE 
For more Christmas Recipes, check out my Christmas Menu HERE

Misal Pav | Mumbai Chaat Recipe | Indian Street Food Recipe


Misal Pav is a Mumbai based street food.  It consists of spicy curry usually made of sprouts, mutter, chick peas and chilly powder gravy. The final dish is topped with Punjabi mix, Farsan or sev, poha, onions, lemon and coriander. It is usually served with bread toasted with butter or pav buns. A great Indian chaat which makes a great evening snack. I am finally so happy to get my gear on SNC challenge hosted by my dear friend (sis) Divya Pramil of You too can cook Indian Food, she is well known as the brain child of the SNC group. Yes I take great joy in pulling her leg :P This month's challenge by the South Team is hosted by Sherin of Kuk's Kitchen and the challenge is to make Medu Vadas which is my favorite. On the other hand Meena of Random Ramblings North team has challenged us to make Misal Pav. When I saw this challenge I was really thrilled :-) thanks Meena for this wonderful recipe. Being someone who loves pav bajji and pani puri this recipe was totally new to me and thanks to SNC, Divya and Meena for giving us a platform to learn new recipes of Indian origin with original fool proof recipes tried & tested by members. So here's goes my entry to this month's challenge.

Pavakka Porriyal | Bitter Gourd Recipes | Pavakkai Pan Fry

Pavakka/ Bitter Gourd/ Karela is one veggie that was once hated by me. Pavakkai and me were big enemies, I would run the other direction if I knew that amma had made pavakka at home. Just few months before marriage one fine day I was so hungry and wanted to munch something I saw some chips in a cover and since I was too hungry I did not care what it was and went ahead munching it, to my surprise it was this forbidden veg and I actually liked it. You can guess what happened I changed my mind from not eating this veg I started to have only  pavakka chips and only that form nothing else.


Potato Kurma Recipe | Easy Kurma for Chappati | Chappati side dish recipe

Potato Kurma is a versatile curry and can be made with any of your favorites ~ paneer/tofu, mix vegetables, hard boiled eggs. Its a great side to Veg Pulao, poori or chappthi/roti. I have used basic spices and not loaded it with too much... sometimes simplicity is best :-). This is the curry we had with our Veg Pulao. Linking this recipe to South Indian Series hosted by Divya Prakash

Veg Pulao without Coconut Milk | Mixed Vegetable Pulao | One Pot Pulao

Veg pulao / Mixed Vegetable Pulao is a delicately flavored rice sauteed with ghee and whole spices. Its a simple, easy one pot meal, a family favorite and its the most simplest recipe that can be done as a main with a spicy side. Although we love our chicken recipes sometimes we do take off and go veg, this is more like a weekend meal as its lovely and fragrant, you simply lose the joy of a lovely smelling kitchen if you put this in a box and pack for lunch. But I would not complain :-) its as good as it is and can be paired with a side of your choice. 

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