High protein salad for the Gods! One of the dishes Amma prepared for Ganesh Chaturthi as part of the naivedyam was boiled black chickpeas (Kala chana) tempered with spices. Goes by the name ‘Guggulu’ in parts of Andhra. We at home call it ‘Talimpu Senagalu’.

Atukulu (Aval) Payasam is prepared with rice flakes aka poha that is roasted in ghee, slowly simmered in a poppy seeds-coconut milk-jaggery base, flavored with cardamom and garnished with toasted cashew nuts and raisins.

Isn’t it fun having close family and friends come together for a festive occasion? Women folk working in the kitchen preparing delicacies – mixing, stuffing, steaming, cooking and of course, gossiping. Hope you enjoyed the weekend celebrating Ganesh Chaturthi.

Fragrant one pot dish using broken rice aka rice rava. Punched up with a good dose of lemon, the crunch of the peanuts and dals are perfect against the soft rice rava! What I enjoy most about this recipe is the tempering with spices and curry leaves filling the home with a warming aroma. Comes together in a snap and flavor-wise is tremendously good!

Pulihora, Aratikaya bajji and Coconut chutney Bajjis, gold colored, savory, crowd pleasing treats that bring life to a special occasion. During my growing years, you could find me sitting on the beach wall (Vizag is blessed with a beautiful coastline) with family or friends relishing murri mixture and raw plantain bajjis stuffed with raw onions [...]

Wishing all my visitors, readers and friends a Happy Ugadi and Gudi Padwa.

Sankranti Subhakankshalu to all my dear readers and friends! Its that time of the year to welcome the three day harvest festival, Makara Sankranti. The festivities began yesterday with a lot of feasting. Pulihora, garelu, halwa boorelu, bobbatlu, cauliflower masala curry, potato fry, kakarakaya (bitter gourd) nilava pachadi, charu, appadam and yogurt with white rice [...]

Pappu Chekkalu, Thattai, Nippattu We made Pappu Chekkalu (Thattai, Nippattu, Rice Crackers) and Ribbon Murukku for Diwali. During my early days of messing around in the kitchen I was intimidated to prepare Chekkalu like most first-time nervous cooks trying to prepare traditional foods. Its not easy and certain food preparation does require some experience before [...]

Deepavali lit up the kitchen with fun, laughter and culinary conversations. Our family whipped up an elaborate vegetarian meal which included Pulihora, a traditional favorite among South Indians, an unassuming tangy rice dish speckled with spices, roasted peanuts and aromatic curry leaves. The aroma of Pulihora preparation is enticing that brings nostalgic memories of my [...]

Wishing all my readers, visitors and friends a happy and safe Deepavali! Phew! Its been a marathon of sweets dishes at our home. Three sweet recipes for my dear readers this Diwali – Badam Halwa, Annam Payasam and Bobbatlu. With a home full of near and dear loved ones and the background sound of crackers [...]