Pure Veg Recipes from ManeThindi!

Have leftover bread at home! ?then try this quick snack :)requires very minimal ingredients! INGREDIENTS : Bread pieces - 6 Onions chopped - 1 Chillies - 1 or 2  Vegetarian stir fry sauce - 1 Tbsp Tomato sauce - 1 Tbsp Soya sauce - 1 tsp  Olive oil - 2 Tbsp HOW TO MAKE : Take a frying pan. Add in the olive oil(type used for frying ) and add in chopped onions and chillies. Fry well till onion turns translucent.  Now add the bread pieces and fry qell till crisp. Now add in the sauces and mix well till it is absorbed.  Fry till the mixture turns dry.Enjoy while hot! Preparation Time : 10 minutes

Have been making lotsa dishes with superfood "quinoa" --Quinoa is a seed high on protein and gluten free! http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quinoa Tried making bisibelebhaat with quinoa and it tastes yumm:) INGREDIENTS : Quinoa - 3/4 cup Toor dal - 3 tbsp Water -2 cups Bisibelebhaat powder - 2 to 3 tsp Veggies of your choice - 1 cup Onion - 1  Salt to taste Tamarind paste - 1 tsp Mustard seeds - 1 tsp Jeera seeds - 1 tsp Oil - 1 tbsp Asafoetida - a pinch HOW TO MAKE : Cook quinoa and dal mixture together in a pressure cooker or rice cooker by using 1:2 water. Keep it ready. Now take a thick bottomed pan and add oil. Once the oil is hot, add mustard seeds, jeera, hing . Now add in the cut onions and fry for a minute.Now add in the remaining veggies and add 1 cup of water. Let it boil well until the veggies turn soft.  Add salt to taste and bisibelebhaat powder and cook again for few minutes. Add in the tamarind paste too. Now atlast add the co

Healthy methi or fenugreek seeds poha for breakfast! INGREDIENTS : Poha - 2  cup Methi sprouts (methi seeds sprouted at home) - 1 cup Onions - 2 chopped Chillies - 4 or 5 Ginger - 1 tsp minced Curry leaves - 2 tbsp Turmeric - 1/2 tsp Oil - 1 tbsp Mustard seeds - 1 tsp Jeera - 1 tsp Urad dal - 1 tsp Bengal gram - 1 tsp Asafoetida - a pinch Salt to taste HOW TO MAKE: Soak and drain the water from the poha. Heat a kadai and add oil to it. Once oil is heated, add in the mustard seeds, jeera, urad dal, Bengal gram, hing and ginger. Fry for a minute.  Add in chillies and onion and fry for a minute. Add 1/2  tsp turmeric powder and m8x well. Now add in the methi sprouts and fry well until they soften for about  5 mins. Add in the salt and mix well. Add in the drained poha and mix well. Switch off the heat and add in 1 tsp of lime juice and give it a nice stir . Serve while hot! Preparation Time: 20 minutes

Left over idli batter at home? Try tgus for some variety:) INGREDIENTS : Idli batter Onion chopped Tomatoes chopped Oil for greasing sandwich maker HOW TO MAKE : Grease the sandwich maker with little oil. Switch on the sandwich maker and let it heat a bit. Pour the idli batter to the sandwich grill.top it with onions and tomatoes.  Let it heat for 2 to 3 minutes.  Then close the grill sandwich maker (after making sure top of batter is dry)and let it cook for about 4 mins..checking occassionally.. Now serve the grill sandwich with chutney or just like that.

Puris for making chaats like pani puri,masala puri! INGREDIENTS : Rawa(semolina/sooji)- 1/2 cup Maida(all purpose flour ) - 1/2 tbsp Urad Dhal Flour - a pinch Oil - 1 tsp Warm water Baking soda - 1/2 tsp Salt - to taste HOW TO MAKE Take a bowl and add rava, maida,add water little by little, knead it for 10mins to form a smooth dough. Add oil and knead it for a minute inti a smooth dough. Keep aside for atleast 15mins. Roll the dough very thin and cut small rounds with a lid or container rim. Heat oil, carefully add the rolled puris , fluff it up(as we do for normal puris) and fry them to golden brown till crisp.  Drain in tissue paper and then store in airtight container You can store the puris for about a week to 10 days.

Masaal puri -easier and quick way to enjoy masala puri when you want! Main ingredients : Aloo peas curry (recipe here- (http://www.manethindi.com/2011/02/aloo-mutterpotato-peas-curry.html?m=1) Cornflakes mixture(plain or  recipe here--  http://www.manethindi.com/2013/06/cornflakes-mixture.html?m=1) Onion chopped -1 Lemon juice Chilli powder Salt if needed HOW TO MAKE : Dilute the aloo peas curry and allow it to boil well for 5 minutes.  Now take a plate or bowl and add 2 big ladels of aloo peas masala, then add cornflakes mixture, onion, carrot, tomato, chilli powder.  Mix well and relish:) This is a decent alternative to the traditional masala puri chaat:)

Left over rice at home or need a quick evening snack with tea? Try this easy recipe and enjoy:) INGREDIENTS : Cooked Rice -2 cups mashed Besan/gram flour- 3/4 cups Onion - 2  Green chillies -2 Pudina or mint leaves- 1 cup Red chilli powder- 1/2 tsp Salt-to taste Curd -3 tbsp Oil for frying HOW TO MAKE : Take a mixing bowl and mix all the ingredients except oil and keep aside. Meanwhile heat a frying pan with oil. Once the oil is hot,add the pakora mix made in to rounds one by one. Fry it on medium heat for about 3 to 4 mins and remove it from the flame once they are golden brown.  Serve hot with tea:) Preparation time: 15 minutes

I tried to make asparagus poriyal or palya Indian style and it tastes yumm! Try it! INGREDIENTS : Asparagus - 1 bund peeled and finely cut Red or green chillies - 5  Coriander leaves - 2 Tsp Turmeric - 1/4 tsp Mustard seeds - 1 tsp Jeera seeds - 1 tsp Urad dal -1 tsp   Coconut - fresh or desiccated - 2 tbsp Oil - 2 tsp Hing - a pinch  Salt to taste  HOW TO MAKE Take a frying pan and add oil to it. Once heated, add in mustard seeds, jeera, urad dal and allow it to sputter.  Now add hing and also add finely cut asparagus. Fry well for about 5 to 7 minutes on medium heat . sprinkle little water while frying if very dry. Add salt to taste. Add fresh  or desiccated coconut and mix well. Garnish with fresh coriander and serve with hot rotis or rice! Preparation Time: 15 minutes

Healthy oats idli will surely make a good breakfast recipe! Try it:) INGREDIENTS : Oats - 2 cups Rava/semolina -1 cup Chana dal -1 tsp Urad dal - 1 tsp Mustard seeds - 1 tsp Green chillies - 2 to 3 Coriander - 2 tbsp Curry leaves - handful Baking soda - 1/2 tsp Curds - 1/2 cup Water - to adjust to idli batter consistency. Make sure its not too watery. Oil for frying and greasing the idli moulds. HOW TO MAKE : Take a frying pan and dry roast the oats for 3 minutes and allow it to cool.Then grind them to a fine powder. Now add 2 tsp oil to the frying pan, add in mustard seeds, chana dal, urad dal . Once they start sputtering add in the rava/semolina and fry well for few minutes until you get a nice aroma on medium flame. At the end add in the powdered oatsand mix well. Switch off and let the mixture cool down. Add salt to taste , curry leaves and coriander leaves . Now add in the curds and required water to get a thick batter consistency. Lastly

Onion Rava dosa or Rava Roast is a breakfast special from south India.It is an instant dosa which can be prepared at home with minimum ingredients and time.Rava roast tastes best when it is thin and crispier!Read on for the recipe! INGREDIENTS: Roasted Rava - 1 cup Rice flour - 1 cup Maida or All purpose flour - 2 Tbsp Chillies - 2 or 3 finely cut Onion - finely chopped - 2 Jeera or cumin seeds - 2 Tbsp Coriander leaves - 2 tsp Curry leaves Salt to taste Buttermilk - 3 cups(or water can also be used) HOW TO MAKE: Take a mixing bowl and mix all the flours with Jeera, finely chopped green chilies, coriander leaves, curry leaves, salt and add buttermilk/water to get a thin batter without lumps. The batter consistency should be pouring consistency and not spreading consistency.Allow the batter to rest for 10 minutes. Heat the tava/pan . Now start pouring the batter from the edge of the pan to get a thin layer of dosa. You will see some pores..leave them l

Tried this green grapes chutney for a change and it was tangy ,spicy and tasty! INGREDIENTS: Green grapes - 500 gms Dry red chillies - about 10 to 12 Fenugreek(menthya) seeds - 1/2 tsp Asafoetida - 1/4 tsp Tomato paste - 1 tsp Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp Salt to taste Oil - 3 tsp HOW TO MAKE: Dry roast red chillies,fenugreek and asafoetida and grind them in to fine powder. Now take a deep bottomed pan and add in the oil. Once hot add in the mustard seeds,once they sputter add in the whole green grapes and saute well until the grapes pop out and reduce in size.(this will take about 10 minutes) Add the tomato paste and mix well. Now add in the ground mixture and salt and mix well.saute for few minutes on low flame. Switch off and enjoy with hot rice or chapathis!

Pesarattu is an Andhra speciality!.It is made with whole green moong dal and its very healthy.It is typically served with spicy ginger chutney. NOTE: Pesarattu is mostly served with a filling of  r ava upma also called as "MLA Pesarattu" . You can add a mound to the centre of the dosa(like aloo filling used for masala dosa) for some variety:) INGREDIENTS: 1 cup   whole green moong dal soaked 1/4 cup  of  raw rice Ginger 1 inch piece Few sprigs of coriander leaves Green chillies -  3 to 4  Peppercorns - few 2 tbsp  of  oil, for drizzling on dosa while cooking 1/4 cup  of  minced onions for garnish (optional) HOW TO MAKE: First Soak the moong dal and rice together for at least 4 hours . Grind together with rest of the ingredients and some salt + water Heat a tawa and spread one ladle-full of batter into a dosa. Spread it thinner for a crisper version or thicker for a soft version depending on your taste. Drizzle with some oil and spread the min

People from Bangalore love this Iyengar bakery style honey cake..it is simply irresistible:) Tried making it and it tasted something similar:)   manethindi.com   INGREDIENTS: TO BAKE THE CAKE: All purpose flour -2 cups Baking powder-1 Tbsp Ripe Bananas -2 Unsalted butter - 1 cup Sugar -1 cup Milk-4 Tbsp Vanilla essence -1 tsp   For the syrup: Water -1 cup Honey- 1 cup coconut powder -1 cup Freshly squeezed orange juice - 1/4 cup cardamom powder -1/2 tsp a pinch of red food color (optional) HOW TO MAKE: Preheat oven to 180 deg celcius. Take a mixing bowl. Add 2 cups of all purpose flour and baking powder and mix well. Now add in the melted butter and beat well. Take a blender and blend the ripe bananas, sugar and milk together. Now add in the blended liquid to the mixing bowl and mix well to get a nice batter without lumps. Now transfer the contents to a greased baking tray and bake for about 40 to 50 minutes (mine took about 45 mins..chk

Mysore pak is a sweet which originated in mysore , Karnataka.  It is made by using generous amounts of ghee (clarified butter), sugar and gram flour.   INGREDIENTS: Water -  1/2Cup Gram Flour -  1.5Cups Ghee -  2Cups Sugar - 2Cups HOW TO MAKE: Mix besan gram flour with 3 tsp of hot ghee and sieve. Take sugar in thick bottomed pan. Add water and let it boil to form sugar syrup till it reaches soft ball stage (when the sugar syrup starts boiling a nd frothing, take a water cup and drop little sugar syrup to it, if it turns to a soft ball and sinks to the bottom, your sugar syrup is ready!) Melt the ghee in a bowl.(make sure it should be really hot) Now add the flour slowly to the sugar syrup and mix rapidly so that no lumps are formed. Then keep adding the hot ghee to the flour little by little, stirring continuously Cook till the mixture becomes frothy and ghee separates. Spread out on a greased plate. Cut into squares when firm.  

Chow Chow Bhath is a breakfast special from Namma Bengaluru. Chow Chow Bhath consists of Kesari Bath (Halwa) and Khara Bhath (or Upma), where the main  for preparing these two dishes is semolina.  'Kesari' is nothing but saffron . The word 'Khara' refers to the spicy savory. These two form a heavenly combination together..hence the name chow chow bhaath:) INGREDIENTS Semolina/fine sooji/rava - 1 cup  Sugar - 1 cup  Saffron or kesari  - few strands soaked in little milk Cashew nuts - around 10 halved Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp. Clarified butter/Ghee - 1 cup(can also use less..but this gives the taste ) Water -3 cups  HOW TO MAKE: Take a frying pan, add ghee or clarified butter keeping the flame very low. Once it becomes hot, add cashew nuts broken into pieces and fry till very light golden brown. Now add in the semolina and fry until you smell a nice aroma .   Now add in the sugar and mix well.(make sure the flame is still in low/medium)

  Avial is a side dish common to Tamil and kerala cuisines..It is very easy to prepare and very nutritious.   INGREDIENTS : Carrots                  1 Potatoes                1 Beans                  10 Raw banana        1 Drumstick            1 Turmeric               a pinch Coconut oil          1 tbsp Yogurt/curds       3 Tbsp Curry leaves         a few (optional) Salt to taste For Grinding: ·         Cumin seeds              - 1 tsp ·         Grated coconut          - ½ cup ·         Green chillies             - 3 to 4 or according to your spice level     HOW TO MAKE   Chop all the vegetables to 1 inch pieces Heat coconut oil in a pressure cooker or a thick bottom pan. Now add vegetables, turmeric, little salt and mix well. Add ½ cup water and cook it on a low flame until the veggies turn soft.(it should not get too soft) Grind coconut with green chillies and cumin seeds into paste and keep it aside. Heat 1 tsp coconut oil in a fry pa

Homemade Paneer or cottage cheese..it is healthy and yummy!prepare at home n enjoyy !! INGREDIENTS : 1.5 liter milk 1 cup curd HOW TO MAKE Bring the milk to a rolling boil (make sure you are right there to avoid spill overs!). Add 1 cup of curd and give it a good mix. Now simmer for another 2 minutes and let the whey separate well. Switch off the flame and let it cool a bit. Now take a cheese cloth or a thin cotton cloth and transfer the whey on to it.Be sure to cool off to a normal temperature before squeezing the excess water. Now keep the cheese cloth on a strainer and keep some heavy weight on it so that all excess water will be removed .  Leave for about 2 hours .  Now take the paneer and refrigerate for about 1 hour . Once the paneer is a bit hard, cut them into cubes and they are ready to be used in curries or can be stored about 15 to 20 days in refrigerator.  Note: Lemon juice or curd can be used instead of curd.But I seem to like the one with curd

Great to have  just as a soup or with rice, coriander-jeera rasam is simple to prepare and very tasty ! INGREDIENTS 1.5 tsp Coriander seeds 1.5 tsp Jeera seeds 2 tbsp Grated coconut, fresh/frozen 2 to 3 Dry red chillies, low spiced 3 to 4 peppercorns 2-3 strands Coriander leaves 1/2 tsp Tamarind paste 1/2 tsp Jaggery(optional) 1 tsp Ghee/Clarified butter or vegetable oil can be used. 1/2 tsp Mustard seeds A pinch of hing 7 to 8 Curry leaves Salt to taste HOW TO MAKE Grind together coconut, coriander seeds, jeera, cilantro and red chillies with a cup of water. Take a container.Add about 2-3 cups of water and dilute the ground mixture. Bring to boil on stove. Add tamarind paste, jaggery and boil for another 4-5 mins. Now tadka with mustard seeds, hing and curry leaves.  Serve hot with rice and enjoy! Preparation Time: 15 minutes

This can be prepared within minutes if you have batter ready! Still faster if you have ready idlis! INGREDIENTS : Idlis - 3 to 4 Chutney pudi - 2 Tsp(I used MTR chutney powder) Oil or ghee -2 Tsp Mustard seeds - 1/2 Tsp HOW TO MAKE : Take a kadai. Add in the oil and let it heat. Add in the mustard seeds and let it sputter  a bit. Now add in the cut idli pieces and let it fry for about a minute. Now sprinkle the chutney powder available in your pantry and mix well. Let it fry for about a minute on medium flame. Switch off the flame and serve while hot! Preparation Time: 5 minutes