The Bhindi Way On a Sunday!

Here is the easiest 3 step way to prepare Bharwan Bindi (Lady Finger). I had it at Lunch today! Learned it from my Mom who is an awesome cook!!

Step1

Prepare a mix of spices: include Haldi (turmeric powder), Dhaniya (coriander powder), Red Chilli, Khatai, Salt and keep aside

If the Bhindis are long you may cut them into two pieces. Take the Bhindis and slice an opening on the side

Step1

Step2

Fill the spice mix in each Bhindi carefully such that their inside is filled with the masala. Sprinkle the rest of the mix on top of the Bhindis

Step2

Step 3

Heat some oil in a Kadai, add some Jeera. Once the jeera is done, turn-off the gas and let the oil cool down a bit.

Then take the masala filled bhindis and and mix them in the oil.

Cover the Kadai with a lid/plate and turn on the gas again

Keep mixing at intervals till the Bhindis are cooked. Will take about 10 minutes.

Tada!!!!! Have it with hot rotis and raita! Enjoy!! 

Step3

If you wanna go the healthy way, the same can also be prepared in a microwave.

Real Fresh Dosa

Location: Bangalore (Marathalli)


How many of us are street food lovers???? Well I am one for sure!

You might have had dosas in air-conditioned hotels, at the numerous famous darsharnis  or at home but, if you have  ever tried dosa made on a sigdi (charcoal stove), then I’m sure your experience must have been delightful.

I came to know of this really great spot while shopping around in Marathalli. I was just passing by the Woodland factory outlet and noticed a crowd of people around a thela (push – cart) right in front of it.  What I saw tickled my taste buds. This thela was serving a variety of dosas cooked on a sigdi, typically what you get in Mumbai. 

Bangaloreans … whenever you are in that area and need to grab a bite in between your shopping spree, this spot is a good option. This stall on the street is called “Real Fresh Dosas” (though the name will be hardly visible).  The place may seem to be tacky but for the sake of taste and to preserve the sanctity of street food, food lovers need to try.  I have tried this place several times and I’m alive!

So, what’s different about him??

He serves around 50+ varieties of dosas and these are not the regular ones you get in the usual places. He uses mixes/masala made from cabbage, soya sauce, schzewan sauce, bell pepper and the like. And you have Cheese/Paneer topping on it.

Slurp! Slurp! Slurp!

The dosas are wafer thin and very light! One person can easily have two without feeling full till the throat. Besides, they are so yummy that you would definitely want to have a minimum of two!

My suggestions are below in order of scrumptious-ness:

1.       Spring Dosa

2.       Cheese Shezwan Mysore Masala

3.       Kerala Paneer Masala

4.       Shezwan Cheese Masala

And you have to watch how this guy prepares these dosas. It’s like at lightning speed. He moves soo fast, I couldn’t even click his picture properly. 

Sandwiches

This post is my first attempt at sharing my cooking experiments with you. You will notice that all that I try are easy to cook dishes. For those people who don’t shy away from cooking, be on the lookout for more such posts!

It’s general knowledge that Cooking needs time, energy, resources, and patience. Plus if you are experimenting then you need a subject to taste your stuff …. Lucky me ;-)  I have Sakshi as my guinea pig! LOL! She is a big fan of “healthy food”. Gives me a headache!

I have fed her with my red sauce pasta, sand-wiches, vermicelli and a host of other stuff. She has survived each time!! Phew!!

But before starting out you need to have the correct ingredients!  That’s the first and an important step. Like always I went shopping for some exotic veggies from the supermarket and also picked up a couple of sauces besides the ones I already had at home.

This time I wanted to try a Grilled Club Whole Wheat sandwich using a mix of stir fry exotic vegetables including some Leafy ones. Add to those dashes of some good sauces!

Ingredients:

Veggies - Mushroom, Tomato, Bell Pepper yellow & green,  Lettuce, Zucchini , Onion

Seasoning – Oregano, Basil ,  Black Pepper, Salt

Spread- Mustard sauce , Sand-wich spread and Mayonnaise (you get these in eggless)

Oil for stir fry – Olive oil preferably

Bread- Whole wheat brown  bread

Method:

Chop all vegetables except the Lettuce. Heat Olive oil in a pan and add the vegetables. Add salt, black pepper, basil and oregano and stir fry till they are golden brown.

Take a slice of brown bread, spread a layer of mustard sauce. Lay a layer of Lettuce leaves. Spread the vegetables on top. Now take the other slice of bread and spread the sandwich spread on it. Also, add a little mayonnaise on top of the veggies. You may also spread some cheese if you want.

Bring the two slices together and put them in a griller/sand-wich maker.

Make sure you spread a thin layer of butter (lite) on the exposed bread slides for a crispy grill.

That’s about it. Wait for the light to turn green and yummy, juicy and healthy sand-wiches are ready to be had hot hot!

Enjoy them with some Orance juice. It really goes well with this!

Do try and let me know how it turned out! Have fun cooking!

Breakfast at Airlines!!!!!

Location: Bangalore (Lavelle Road)


This Sunday I was up early! My first thought was to go for South Indies breakfast buffet. On stepping out, I had to change my mind. In this lovely Bangalore weather with the cool breeze and the warm sun I thought we would be better off in an open place, where you can sit back, relax and enjoy hot filter coffee and food!

It struck me then. It had to be Airlines! Located on Lavelle Road it’s a must visit for all the early birds on weekends (it’s open throughout the day though). The place is nothing great in terms of seating, ambience, hospitality but, it’s still great! I’ll tell you what I like about the place.

For starters, the place is open air. There are a couple of dozen tables and plastic chairs put together under a large banyan tree. Having breakfast in the open place surrounded by trees with sunrays filtering through the leaves makes up for an awesome ambience! It’s also easy on your pocket! ;-)

What’s so unique about this place however is that they also serve inside your car if you so desire!! I guess that’s why they call it airlines. Maybe??

It’s better known for the south Indian variety but, it does have Parathas, Chinese, Chole Bhatoore and Hot Jalebis. You won’t get hot out of the pan idlis and vadas but they are still good. Khara bhaat again is great esp. when they serve you piping hot! But, nothing beats the Filter Coffee here. Served in those tall glasses the aroma fills your nostrils and you simply have to have it! For me one glass is just not enough!! :-)

My food favourites at Airlines are Idli Chutney, Khara Bhaat and Masala Dosa.

This one time I went ahead and tried their aloo paratha. But that didn’t turn out to be very good. Besides it was made of maida! Their Chole Bhatoore were just okay, not that great. The safest bet is to have their south Indian and coffee!

The place is thronged by all categories of people throughout the day. You will find people of all shapes and sizes, from students to families, from hippies to expats/foreigners, from couples to biker gangs. It’s a pleasure to be in the midst of such diversity!

People often drive down in their open jeeps with family or friends and enjoy the food in the back of their vehicles. Really fun to watch! Makes me want to own my own open jeep! :-((

The compound also houses a Corner House for ice-creams and Coconut Express for some other desserts to cater to your sweet tooth! Do try the Hot Chocolate Fudge from Corner House. I just love it! A small pizza joint is also nestled for those interested.

So all you lazy folks get up and get going! Breakfast at Airlines!!!!!

Spoonful of Sugar

Location: Bangalore (Indira Nagar)


Quietly tucked away in one of Indira Nagar bylanes is Spoonful of Sugar (SOS)! I came to know about this place through word-of-mouth. On the first instance it appeared to be overpriced. But, once you’ve tried the delectable variety there, you will realize it’s worth it!! Since, that first time about an year ago, I have been a regular to this place.

A totally blissful place for desserts.! I’m especially highlighting the desserts here!! There are other offerings like sandwiches, pastas etc. but nothing beats the pies, tarts, pastries and cheese cakes here! My personal favorites are Blue Berry Cheese Cake, Mississippi Mud Pie, Raspberry Cheese Pie and Dutch Truffle! Awesome \m/! Writing about it makes my mouth water! Yum Yum!

The pastries just melts in your mouth and you can’t resist from gobbling up the whole thing. Make sure you ask at the counter to warm up the pastry if appears to be too frozen.

Recently I introduced this to some colleagues from office. Four of us went to SOS on Friday for lunch. We ordered sandwiched, pastas etc.  and when all of that was gone and done we went in for the kill! Dessert!!!!! Initially we ordered two pastries but they were eaten off in no time and we were left craving for more. And we ended up ordering two more! My colleagues just loved it and one of them kept talking about taking it home for his wife. We are definitely going there again!

Their sandwiches are good but not great I would say. My choice is the Mediterranean Grill!

And today I went in again with Cheena and we decided to try their Lasagna which was on the specials list of items for the day. Not to my surprise it was great too! Not too heavy on the tummy and yet truly enjoyable.

And ofcourse how can you not order a dessert item when you are at SOS! We went for ‘Raspberry & Baileys’! Chocolaty and tangy raspberry, the combined flavour gives your mouthful a great treat for the day! We came out refreshed and a bit more sweeter!