Sambhar Masala is generously used all around India to make Sambhar. We all know this and me trying to write this here just sounds very silly. But, the fact is that Sambhar Masala can be used for a lot of dishes besides Sambhar as well and the flavors that it produces in a dish are delicious beyond words.
I love experimenting with flavors and Sambhar Masala is one of the best “go to” masalas. Try adding it to your chicken, Idlis or Rajmas and you will be super amazed with the results.
There are loads of different companies selling Sambhar masala in the market. I still prefer making my own at home and you could try and see how simple it is. This masala can be stored in an airtight container for up to 6 months.
Chutney made with peanuts.
Rava Idlis is one of my favorite breakfast. You’d be amazed to know but I had never tried Rava Idlis until I got married. And, once I did, Rava Idlis found themselves a new fan. Once married, after coming to USA, Rice Idlis were one of the first demonstration of cooking skills presented by Mr. Parveez and not just were the idlis soft and fluffy, the sambhar was finger licking delicious with the perfect peanut chutney.
For years, weekends used to start with a special breakfast cooked by Mr. Parveez, which reduced to few special occasions a year, thanks to children and busy lifestyle that comes along with the joy of parenthood. Now, I can make 4 different varieties of sambhar, but my first sambhar recipe was from Mr. Parveez.
So, getting back to the Rava idlis. For the first few years, I only enjoyed them in India during my visits, since idli making was my “man’s job” and my man didn’t make rava idlis. Finally, the craving was hard to wait for my trip to India and I managed my own recipe for Rava idlis. This recipe is another version of Rava Idlis where I added a little sambhar masala to enhance the taste. I believe this to be one of my best experiments. Please do try. This is a perfect dish if you are going low on carbs or calories, great for diet. Its clean and healthy as well.
The value of eating vegetables is something most of us realize after getting older, specially after having kids. This is the time you understand why your mom took all those strict routes of making you eat Bhindi, turai and patta gobhi. In my case, I always threw a fit when my mom made cabbage or patta gobhi but, since I wasn’t a big fan of Okra/ lady finger/Bhindi either, I had to pick my battle and would normally give in with cabbage.
It was my teen age when I actually started enjoying cabbage and I remember that my mom started adding grated carrot and peas to the cabbage which changed the taste from the tradtional cabbage curry and added a lot more flavor to the dish.
This cabbage curry is my mom’s recipe. There is no onion or garlic added to it. My boys love it and its one of the few ways to serve the greens in a delicious way.
Bisibelebath is a traditional south Indian breakfast. Growing up in Northern India, I realize that I never knew this dish existed. To me Masala Dosa, Rava Dosa, Idli and Sambhar were South Indian food and my knowledge never went beyond that. After I got married, I discovered the food heaven that South India offered. I was not just amazed but, also surprised that the food had the never ending variety.
Bisibelebath is one of Mr. Parveez’s favorite dishes. I would always see him order and relish the dish at our favorite restaurant in Bengaluru. Unfortunately, we do not find the dish as commonly in restaurants in United States, and some restaurants that do serve, do not make it correctly. Therefore, I started cooking my own. The best compliment is when I don’t see Mr. Parveez enjoying the restaurant cooked Bisibelebath as much as he enjoys mine…LOLzzz. As much as he hates it when I tell him that [you know wives have the “wife sense”..LOLzzz] .
Mr. Parveez believes that no matter what I make at home, when he eats the same dish outside, he expects me to completely ignore the fact that its something I can cook and stay away from asking any questions related to the dish. So, now all I do is take a bite and be thankful, that I can make better.
This dish is basically Rice and Toovar daal cooked together and then mixed with boiled veggies and the Bissibhelebhaath powder, along with a little jaggery and Tamarind. Fimally tempered with South Indian tempering of cumin seeds, Mustard seeds, asafoetida, curry leaves and a few cashews. Serve hot/ warm with something crunchy.
We love curries and specially curries that aren’t made commonly. One such curry is Beetroot. While growing up, Beetroot only made it to our salads, with time I found that people even make pickles out of Beetroot. And, then after I got married, I found that its a pretty popular curry in my new home.
Like all vegetable curries, Beetroot also has loads of unique ways of being cooked. My MIL makes her Beetroot by cooking it with spices and coconut puree, which is amazingly delicious as well. I still remember when Mr. Parveez told me one of his childhood stories about Beetroot. As a kid, he would sometimes take this curry to school and since Beetroot left a little red color on his tongue and he would run around telling his school mates that he had blood for lunch…LOLzzz. Childhood is the best life we live and the memories are so fond and extremely special. The most fascinating part is us remembering everything by looking at things around us….I always love sharing these little stories, after all, every food has a story.
This recipe is one of my experiments with both my favorite veggies, Beetroot and Bell pepper.
This is a recipe from Bangalore. All Bangalorean Muslims love to cook varieties of Non vegetarian food and one of the commonly made food includes, Surmai / King Fish Fry. As much as its a part of all da’awat or get together, it is made quiet often at homes, since it makes a perfect side dish with Dal Chawal.
I was introduced to this kind of fish after becoming an official member of The Parveezes. My father in law was a real foodie. May his soul rest in peace, he would travel an hour or two to get the best fish fry for the family. My husband, Mr. Parveez has loads of fond memories of various restaurants and places he went with his father as a kid and my boys are always happy listening to his childhood stories.
My Father in law was a friendly guy and he would make a little more effort with people who served good food, to get a hint of what all ingredients they use… its funny but I think that’s how all us foodies are. a close by market to that restaurant sold some masala in a packet that my Father in law started buying since it was recommended by the cook of the restaurant. Since then every time he went to buy the fish, he would get loads of packets of those masala so, we could mix up some lemon juice and ginger garlic paste with fish and fry them. The fish would be very similar in taste to that from the restaurant.
For the first few years after we got married, I would bring those masala packets from Bangalore and every now and then use them on special occasions only, since India trip was only once a year. Then one fine day, I thought of giving up using the masala packet and make my own, so we could enjoy the yummy fish more often. I wouldn’t say it was exactly same as to what we get from the restaurant, but very close and close enough for us to not crave the fish when we visited Bangalore.
Not just that, my late Father in law loved the fried fish I made with homemade masala and since then, there was no looking back. This masala makes your King fish taste even better. Its an easy marination and makes a quick fish side dish that goes great with Sambhar and boiled Rice.
Every Indian who loves non vegetarian food and don’t like Pepper Chicken. Pepper Chicken is made in dry style and curry, both. This recipe I tried is on the drier side and serves as a great side dish. The taste or flavor is very close to Chettinad style of chicken. The pepper rules the dish with other chilies, making it spicy and the spices leave that flavor on your taste buds that lingers on for long and makes you crave to eat one more bite even though your tummy is full. Yupp!! this is that kind of dish.
I come across a lot of people who take certain flavors and spices lightly and do not realize how a perfect dish is ruined if the measurement of a certain spice isn’t accurate. Pepper Chicken has black pepper as the main spice and we need to make sure that Black pepper powder is put in the correct measurement. Less would not give a perfect flavor and more would make the dish bitter.
This recipe is fool proof and I have paid attention to the exact ingredients to make a pepper Chicken. Hope you enjoy as much as we do.
This dish is a gift of my husband, Mr. Parveez. On days when I am confused and find it hard to decide on what should be cooked, he would come up with his innovative ideas and suggest on something new he would like me to try, unless he makes his way to the kitchen and treat me something super fatabulous.
Anyways, one day I was all confused and he suggested making this chicken dish. The dish uses 4 kinds of chilies so spice factor is a little high and if you aren’t daring enough, I would ask you to cut down on the spice level. This dish makes a great side dish with dal chawal.
This chicken is an inspiration from my friend’s mother in law. My friend, originally belongs to Bihar and fell in love with a boy from Tamilnadu… “Ab Miyaan Biwi raazi to kya karega Kaazi”…which means , if the Bride and and Groom agree to get married, there isn’t much a priest can do…LOLzzz. Jokes aside, we were once invited to her house on lunch where her super awesome and super cook, mother in law made this dish.
I loved it and knew that it was completely different from the Andhra style. I tried hard to get the recipe but she preferred keeping it to herself. The only tip she gave was that she doesn’t fry the chicken before cooking it in yogurt sauce. That tip was more than enough to crack the whole recipe.
This recipe is easy to make and makes a lovely side dish. Its completely different in taste from the Andhra chicken 65. Its simply amazing how different recipes are from one state to another and both dishes are equally delicious.
