Onion Raita

Onion raita is the common raita or pachhadi. In southindian meals, thayir pachadi is part of the meal. Also in northindian meals, they are served as raita. Just the garnishing is different in both of them.
In my house, curd or yogurt is a must after every meal in the day time. I either serve in the form of raita or we take as simple curd. Ofcourse, I prefer home made curd. I do not like that creamy or the sticky flavor of the curd. So I make at home. The store bought yogurt does not taste the same as we get in Aavin. Here, they add guar gum or xanthum gum. So, if you have kids who love to eat curd, then take that little effort to make them at home. You can prepare by boiling the milk in microwave too. Its not much an effort, just the calculation of boiling the milk.

When choosing to prepare onion raita, I always like to use small onions and not the pearl onions. When I was in US, during the initial days, I used to buy the pearl onions and wondered why it tasted different here. Then I started buying shallots. I just love the shallots even for my upma.

Carrot Almond Gheer

Gheer or Payasam is made on auspisious days, birthdays, & anniversaries. So if you are a 6 member family including grand parents, am sure to prepare payasam at least once a month. I always get bored with vermicilli or rice or poha. So I prepare the carrot badam payasam or beetroot payasam on any one such occasions.

Basically, I am not fond of gheer. When my mom used to prepare gheer, I never have it the same day. But, Sundar is just the other way. He loves gheer, and it gets exhausted very soon. Both my kids love to have gheer. I always make a savory to my craving when all others have the sweet @ my place.

Chilli Parotta | Kothu Parotta

It is more than 18 months since I visited India. When this time gap increases, you begin to crave more for the authentic local dishes, events, and meeting people. You cannot make the events happen here very like it happens in India neither can you have all of them here. At-least, we can prepare the foods we crave for. This way, I have satisfied myself with the road-side foods I eat there.

It is so much fun to be with your friends, watch the road side vehicles, stay in the fresh air. And wait with the watering mouth for the food to be served. Especially, if you are living near the beach side, then you will never like to relocate to any part of the world. The bajjis, sundal, tender coconut, cotton candy, chats, etc., cannot be replaced.

Chilli Parotta is one such food, which brings some nostalgic moments. I was telling all my childhood stories during my preparation to my daughter. Well, I would exaggerate quite many things and she enjoys them.

The easiest way to prepare is to use the frozen parottas. One of my friends, asks me why don't you buy chilli parotta itself from store instead of buy frozen parottas and preparing. I always prefer fresh ones, so I do not even buy the parotta from shop. I preapre at home and store in the fridge and use it the following day or within a week. If you are trying the first time, you can try with frozen parottas.

Paneer Butter Masala | Party style

Let's talk about Paneer Butter Masala today. Not just any kind, the kind that you get in Indian restaurants. Why? Its one of most wanted recipes for almost all of us once in a while.

Sundar likes it so much so do I. Little girl comes frequently to pick a piece of the paneer from the masala. When you hit the search button for paneer butter masala, you get pages and pages of recipe. Almost all will be similar, but not all will give you the taste from the restaurant. 

In most Indian restaurants, dishes are more creamy and have thicker gravy. The reason is very simple - they use cream. Also they use food colors for most of the dishes to get the rich color. When I cook on day to day basis, I do not appreciate both the above. But when you prepare for the party, use of cream enhances the taste.