Geetha's Kitchen

When Paji wanted a nice South Indian breakfast and I did not have any freshly ground batter, I quickly made up this recipe. Much to my delight, the adais turned out even better than I had anticipated. Paji absolutely loved the flavor and especially the crunchy, crispy texture of the cornmeal similar to the fresh ground batter! Flavorful adais take just minutes to prepare. The combination of grains (cornmeal) and legumes/beans (urad and besan) provides abundant protein, vitamins and minerals which makes these adais not only good, but good for you also. Enjoy! Finely chopped onions, green chiles, coriander leaves (cilantro) etc may be added to the batter and made into vegetable adai. Ingredients: 2 cups Coarsely ground Yellow Cornmeal 1 cup Whole Wheat Flour 1/2 cup Urad Flour 1/2 cup Besan (Chick Pea Flour) 1 tsp Sea Salt 1/2 tsp Red Chile Flakes 1 pinch Asafetida Oil for cooking Method: Combine the flours, salt, and spices in a mixing bowl. Stir well to mix...

Pumpkin Pie, freshly baked This is truly an amazing pie using fresh pumpkin/squash! And very easy to boot; who needs more complications when one is trying to cook a big feast!? Just put all the ingredients in the blender, give a whirl and off into the oven. I make it as the last recipe for the day; the pie bakes as I finish all the clean-up. Then relax and enjoy the evening with an amazing pie. A friend gave me a recipe and the important assignment of making dessert for Thanksgiving dinner. I adapted the recipe to suit what I had on hand. The recipe called for cooked pumpkin; and I had none. So I used fresh butternut squash that I had and it worked! Same with the spices; I only had fresh ginger and whole nutmeg and cloves which I used. This recipe is Gluten, Dairy, and Fat Free! It looks too good to be true but I guess you just have to see - well actually taste :P - for yourself to believe it. I love that it is so guilt-free too ;D --who needs all the extra calories from the ...

Baked Neyyappams Here is the recipe for Baked Neyyappam, a favorite of Amma's. This recipe is dedicated to my mother Jaya because she enjoyed the eggless banana muffins that I made for her. They reminded her of the 'Neyyappams' and she wondered if we could add all the traditional flavors - cardamoms, Indian Jaggery, and coconut. Thus was born the "baked neyyappams". We had fun experimenting and we often added cashews. Traditional appams are cooked just like the Scandinavian abelskiver in a pan of the same name that looks just like the Indian "appa karai" or "paniyaram pan". Amma was amazed that the Scandinavians eat "appams" too :D. Appams are made for celebrating life - from birth ceremonies of new infants to memorial ceremonies called Shraddham and everything in between. They are also another well-loved offering for festivals and auspicious occasions. Amma loved that the baking process cuts down on pre...