Geetha's Kitchen

My friend EJ loves Indian food including karela or bittermelon! She asked for a good recipe for stuffed karela. Since we enjoyed the Karela Atho so much, I thought it might be fun to make it into Stuffed Karela for EJ with a few minor changes! NOTES: I find that leaving the stem ends of the veggies intact keeps them from falling apart while cooking. Trim off only any excess or discolored stems leaving about 1/2 to 1 inch of the stem intact. Indian or Asian karela may be used to make this dish. Zucchinis may be used instead of karela. Prepare the zucchini by trimming the blossom ends, and make a slit along the length without cutting through. Remove some of the center carefully with a little spoon or a melon baller; just enough to hold the stuffing. Save the the removed portion, chop and add to the onion mixture. 4 Servings Ingredients 4 medium Karela 1/2 tsp Salt + 1/2 tsp Sambar/Rasam powder 1 Tbsp oil for cooking the stuffed veggies 2-3 Green Onions, with lo...

Puli (Tamarind) & Thayir (Yogurt) Sevai are delicious South Indian gluten-free Rice Noodle treats, prepared for breakfast, brunch, lunch or dinner. These make fabulous picnic fare as they travel well and can be enjoyed at room temperature. Dried rice noodles, readily available in Indian and Asian Markets, make quick work of making these wonderful dishes.  Once you have cooked the plain sevai (rice noodles), it is transformed by adding the appropriate ingredients.  Puli (Tamarind) Sevai is one of our all time  favorites as is  Thair (Yogurt) Sevai. Both are prepared in similar ways as Tamarind Rice   and  "Yogurt" Rice . Plain Sevai 8 oz dry Rice Sevai aka Rice Noodles or Sticks Prepare the sevai according to the package directions and drain well. If you salt the water to cook the sevai, you may not need much additional salt afterwards. Spread the sevai on a large platter to cool so they don't all stick and clump together into one big mass...

Mirchi Ka Salan (Green Chile Curry In Tamarind, Peanut, & Coconut Sauce) is a wonderfully fragrant, rich, and nutty curry with Chiles for vegetables! We love this Hyderabadi recipe which can be mild or spicy hot depending on the choice of the chiles. It is worth making a big batch for the week; as the chiles soak in the flavorful sauce, they get more delectable. NOTES: I generally like to use Shishito chiles which are usually mild; when a spicy dish is needed, jalapeño chiles  (cored or left whole) may be used. Garam Masala maybe homemade or purchased. 4-6 Servings Ingredients: Masala: 4 tbsp Peanuts 1 pinch Fenugreek seeds (about 6-7 seeds ) 3 tbsp Sesame seeds  1 tsp Poppy seeds (optional) 2 tbsp dry Coconut  1-2 cloves Garlic ½ - 1 inch Ginger, peeled and roughly chopped ½ cup water, as needed to blend Salan: 1 tsp Tamarind concentrate + ½ cup Warm Water 2 tsp Oil, divided 12 mild/hot Green Chiles with stems ½ tsp Brown/Bl...

Mung Sprouts Salad is a delicious snack or side dish; the lime juice and spices give it a snappy fresh flavor and piquancy perfect for a quick pick-me-up. Mung Sprout Salad is a version of Indian street fare. Although the salad can be made simpler without the veggies, we love the colorful and flavorful additions. The wonderful thing about this is that while amazingly satisfying, it is not a calorically dense food; so enjoy without guilt :D. We enjoy the fresh and crunchy sprouts any time of the year but particularly in the summer when we love lighter foods. It is quite similar to the  Sprouted Bean & Lentil Salad , Kale Bhel Salad and Chundal/Sundal . Sprouting beans, peas, lentils, or seeds makes their nutrition more available and easier to digest. Most bean, pea, and seed sprouts are also edible raw; exceptions are kidney beans, pintos, and limas - usually all big beans need to be cooked until well done. Sort, soak, and sprout the whole mung beans. Sprouting may tak...

Ellu Sadam is traditionally made at home and in some Temples as offering particularly on certain Saturdays. At home, first the crows are fed some cooked rice in the mornings, then the freshly prepared sesame rice is blessed and usually shared with neighbors and friends before enjoying it. Ellu Sadam/Ellodarai is delicious served with appalam (papadums), karuvadams or vadams (crisp rice noodles and papadams respectively). I like to pair it with a simple chopped tomato-cucumber salad . Notes: Black or white sesame seeds (unhulled) and black or white urid dal maybe used in any combination depending on how you want the resulting rice color; if you like lighter colored rice, use a combination of one white and one dark, and both white for a very light-colored results. Sesame powder maybe prepared without black pepper also. You can store the Sesame powder for a few days at room temperature or a few weeks in the fridge; for longer storage, keep in the freezer. Peanuts maybe u...