I usually try my mom's proven recipe for biriyani all these years. It's totally south indian and lip smacking recipe.. but I'm not talking about that one now. I would share that recipe on a another post. But this time I tried a different way to make chicken biriyani... and it ended as exactly I wanted it to be!! We love Andhra style biriyani served in Nagarjuna Hotel in Bangalore.... (not the Hyderabadi style). This is similar to south indian style, but more of green chillies. I tried a combination on my own to mimic the Nagarjuna Biriyani... and yayyyyyy I won it!! Sandy loved it to the core!! Now let's look into the recipe:

Recently we've been watching Fox Traveller for hours and hours together. We saw this recipe on the "Food Safari" show. Wanted try this authentic Chinese delicacy immediately... Toffee Banana is a classic Chinese dessert. Banana is dipped in a batter, deep fried and then coated with toffee. It's a different taste from other common desserts. Try it for an evening snack... or have it with vanilla ice cream.

South Indian soups are very famous across India, be it vegetarian or non-vegetarian. It is usually not the creamy version but is a clear soup made with spices like pepper. Famous ones are Kozhi (Chicken) Soup, Aatukaal (Mutton leg) Soup, Drumstick soup, Cauliflower Soup, Beetroot soup and many other unique ones. Drinking these soups are believed to be a cure for common cold, cough and fever. Grandmothers make these traditional and authentic soups with all the love and freshly ground spices, for the kids. A cup of soup can be drunk before you start your afternoon meal or you can also have it with rice. Let's see Beetroot soup recipe today.

Ingredients:
Beetroot chopped finely - 1
Onion sliced lengthwise - 1
Tomato chopped - 1
Green Chilli slit lengthwise - 2 or 3
Pepper Corns - 1/2 tsp
Split Urad dal - 1/4 tsp
Fennel seeds - 1/4 tsp
Moong Dal - 1 tsp
Biriyani Spices like star anise - 1 
Black Stone Flower - 1
Bay leaf - 1
Cinnamon stick - 1"
Pepper powder - 1/2 tsp (optional)
Oil - 1 tbsp
Salt
Chopped Coriander to garnish

Method:
1. Heat oil in the cooker pan, put all the biriyani spices and roast them until aroma arises.
2. Add the pepper corns, fennel seeds and split urad dal.
3. Now add sliced onions and green chillies. Saute well until onions are transparent.
4. Add chopped tomatoes and beetroot. Also add 1 tsp of moong dal for added flavor and texture.
5. Add salt as required and let the veggies cook for 2 mins.
6. Add 1 1/2 cups of water and close the cooker. Cook for 2 whistles, don't overcook the veggies.
7. Open the cooker, add some pepper powder if required (Since beetroots may be over sweet). Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot.

You can use the same recipe for Cauliflower or plain tomato soup. This hot soup  tastes great for this cold weather and the monsoon season.
Happy Cooking!!
Rate this recipe below.

You would have heard about the famous cheese chilli toast... especially at the Mumbai roadsides shops. I was introduced to these by my mom first, she makes them at home. They make a great breakfast for the weekend or even a good evening snack option. Its cheesy, crunchy and juicy in the mouth. Yummm. . I cant wait to share the recipe with you.

We love to have Pavbhaji at any chat corner or north indian restaurant. It is always served with lots of butter, chopped onions for extra crunchiness and lemon wedges. My husband loves it to the core, so I thought let me try making it at home this time. My mom has made it a few times and turned out good, so I took her recipe as the base. Here we go...

Ingredients:
Potato - 2
Carrot - 2
Green Peas - 1/2 cup
Cauliflower florets - 1/2 cup (optional)
Green Capsicum - 1 small
Tomato chopped - 2
Onions finely chopped - 2
Ginger garlic paste - 1 tbsp
Pavbhaji masala - 1 1/2 tsp
Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric - 1 pinch
Jeera - 1/2 tsp
Oil - 2 tbsp
Butter - 2 tbsp
Pav - 8
Salt
Chopped Coriander leaves to garnish
Lemon wedges on the side

We love all kinds of fruits and like the adventure of trying new fruits now and then. We are currently loving the Mangoes, Lychees and Peaches this season. I had some peaches lying in my fridge, almost ripe enough. It was a bit sour to eat it as is, milkshake was the only option I could think of. I thought to put in my creativity a little bit and make a delicious dessert for both of us... A cold dessert to sccop into, for this summer. And then I made my own Peach delight recipe... you can say it's kind of a sorbet, a slightly different version of the Peach Melba. But you can even serve it hot/warm too.

Pongal is a South Indian Rice Dish made for morning breakfast usually. I get tempted to have pongal in any of the South Indian famous restaurants... It tastes so heavenly when they serve it hot with a dollop of ghee, with white chutney and sambar. I love to have Pongal at any time of the day... but not the Karnataka style one. It is like porridge and you have to drink it... and the worse part is that they serve it with raitha. Eeeks!!

I make Pongal at home almost every week, because it's easy, tasty and heavy for weekend breakfast. So that my husband doesnt complain when lunch takes time. :) You would have read a lot of Pongal or Venpongal recipies... this one is especially for the working women who want to do stuff faster and avoid using lots of vessels for cooking. You need only one pressure cooker!! That's why i call it One pot Recipe.