Geetha's Kitchen

Sharbats are cooling beverages made with fruits, herbs, and/or vegetables and very popular during the hot summers. Watermelon Sharbat is a refreshing and delicious cooler. As I put the fruit through a powerful blender, I did not find it necessary to strain out the pulp; you may strain if you wish though. Good and good for you :P! 2 Servings Ingredients: 2 cups Watermelon chunks, chilled 4 to 6 ice cubes 1/2 Lime, juiced 1 pinch Sea Salt Mint sprigs for garnishing Method: Place all the ingredients in the blender container and process into a fine puree. Pour into glasses and serve cold garnished with mint sprigs. Enjoy!

If you want a dish that is sure to please yet easy to prepare, try Golden Roasted Potatoes With Peppers & Carrots. And make plenty of it too as it disappears rather quickly! You can use any kind of potatoes including sweet potatoes/yams. Leftover baked potatoes work very well also - just cut them up, add the rest of the ingredients, and bake. For a delicious variation, substitute 1 Tablespoon of Sambar or Rasam powder for the thyme, rosemary, and chili flakes. 4 - 6 Servings Ingredients: 2 large Potatoes, cubed 2 Carrots, cut in chunks 1 Each, Assorted Bell Peppers - red, green, orange & yellow 1 large Red Onion, diced 6 sprigs fresh Thyme, strip the leaves 4 sprigs fresh Rosemary 1/2 tsp Red pepper flakes (or to taste) Freshly ground Black Pepper 1/4 tsp Turmeric 1 tsp Sea Salt (to taste) 2 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil Method: Preheat oven to 400 to 450 degrees F. Prepare a large baking pan with rim by coating with a little olive oil or cooking oil spray; the 9"x13" ...

Chick Pea Salad I love Mediterranean foods with their lemony, fresh flavors and the abundance of vegetables and legumes. Here is a lovely lemony salad inspired by the Mediterranean cuisine featuring the wonderfully healthy, popular chick peas/garbanzo beans which also incorporates lots of veggies. The hearty, creamy taste of chick peas are nicely complimented by the lemon dressing and the colorful crunchy veggies. Soaking and cooking the chick peas takes a bit of planning but is not otherwise difficult; it is worth every effort. There is no comparison between freshly cooked and canned ones; canned ones are either overly salty, may have sugar added to them, and/or are bathed in preservatives. Using the pressure cooker reduces cooking time quite a bit. I like to cook a large batch of chick peas and use the extra portions for Chole , Hummus , etc. The cooked chick peas can be stored in their cooking liquid in the fridge for about 5 days. They freeze well also. Chick peas are high i...

Curry leaf trees are ubiquitous in South Indian gardens as they are one of the most commonly and avidly used flavoring ingredients in practically all savory recipes. It is a small tree with highly aromatic leaves with a faint citrus and anise flavor. They are prized for their unique flavor as well as medicinal properties and are used in Ayurveda, the ancient art of medicine in India. Amma used to say that curry trees were always planted close to the house to catch the breezes and that it is very healthy to breathe the air wafting through the curry tree branches and leaves! If you have ever eaten South Indian food, you probably know how important curry leaves are to this cuisine. There is hardly a dish (exceptions being desserts of course) that could not benefit from a flavor boost from the curry leaves. In fact I would even go so far as to say that the curry leaf is one of the quintessential aromatic ingredients in South Indian cooking. Curry leaves are one of the major flavoring...

This is a highly nutritious and utterly delicious dal. You might want to make a double batch because it tastes even better the next day. This kuzhambu is a bit spicy; it is as it should be. Typically, tamarind flavored kuzhambus are hot with spices (the word in Tamil for this is "kara-saram" meaning spicy-hot and worthy) to wake up sleepy or numb taste buds.  If the split mung beans with skins are not available, this kuzhambu can be made with split skinless mung (yellow), whole mung, a combination of the two mungs, or other dals. If  Malabar spinach  is not available, regular spinach or other greens such as Amaranth, Swiss chard,  Kale, etc may be used instead. Another wonderful leafy green is  Taro  leaves especially if you have some growing at home. Both the leaves and stems may be used instead of other greens to make this kuzhambu. Sambar powder, tamarind paste, mung dal with skins, and other ingredients are readily available in Ind...

We had just come back from a vacation late at night and everyone was famished and tired. Since everyone was starved for home cooked Indian food, I started making rice and a simple dal. Looking in the pantry for an idea for a side dish, I spied a box of instant mashed potatoes kept there just for an occasion like this. The rest is history; though not exactly very healthful, it was wonderful and very comforting. The recipe as given makes a very mild dish; if you prefer a spicy version you can add chopped onions and garlic to the thalippu with a couple of pinches of turmeric and cook until softened before adding the water. Instant Mashed Potatoes Ingredients: 1 Tbsp Oil 1 Tbsp Chana Dal 1 Tbsp Urad Dal 2 Dry Red Chilies broken into two 1 pinch Asafetida 1 Hot Green Chili, sliced or minced 1 stalk Curry Leaves Instant Potatoes to serve 4 Water Salt to taste 2 Tbsp Cilantro, finely chopped Method: Heat the oil in a skillet or kadai and add mustard seeds, the dals and chilies. When the mu...