Almond Dry Fruit Roll Recipe | Badam Khajur Roll Recipe | Badam Dates Roll | Almond Roll - Indian Sweets Recipe

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Ending this year with a sweet post, Almond Dry Fruit Roll recipe. This Year 2015 went well for us with good memories and fun. Now ready to welcome 2016 with the same hope and prayers. In terms of blog too, this year was good and Me & My blog got featured thrice in Aval Kitchen Magazine & Once In The Hindu, Chennai January Edition.  Though I wasn't much active this year but still happy that I have shared some good count of wonderful recipes here. Thanks to all my readers, blogger friends and friends for your constant support and encouragement.
Now coming to Almond Dry Fruit Roll, this is one of the sweets that I made for Diwali 2015. Almond Dry Fruit Roll is similar to Kaju Pista Roll, instead of cashew and Pistachios I used
Badam/Almond and Dry fruits - Dates & Tutti Frutti Combo. This is my own try that turned out super good and got good appreciation from my friends and family. I simply prepared the almond outer layer using the same Badam Katli/Almond Burfi Recipe. I did not take step wise pictures as I was so much tired in making sweets & snacks on the day before Diwali. I will update the post with step wise pictures sometime soon. You can refer my Kaju Pista Roll Post which I explained with step by step photos for easy understanding.

Palak Vegetable Curry | Mixed Vegetables In Spinach Curry | Spinach Curry With Vegetables

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I mostly pack rotis & Curry or sabzi for Lunchbox. At least three days in a week it will be rotis and a side for V's lunchbox. So i have to make different curry and sabzis every day, If you are my Instagram Follower then you might be knowing what I pack for my kids and V's lunchbox daily. Since I share their lunchbox pictures  and sometimes do share the recipes of sabzi and curry and Quick Rice Recipes too. If interested do follow on Instagram for more updates and recipe ideas. One of my kids' favorite spinach curry is Palak Paneer but I cannot make palak with paneer all the time. So sometimes it will be Tofu Palak or Aloo Palak for rotis. I also make Palak curry with mixed vegetables combo and this is my favorite spinach curry, this time took some pictures to share here. This is so simple recipe with great taste and a yummy side dish to go with Puris & Phulka.

Masala Pav Recipe | How To Make Mumbai Special Masala Pav Recipe | Masala Pav Chaat Recipe

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Masala Pav is a popular roadside chaat of Mumbai. Like other chaats I have tasted Masala Pav in my Hometown, Tamil Nadu too. Masala Pav is nothing but a spicy onion-tomato masala curry stuffed between soft butter toasted Pav(Soft Buns/Dinner Rolls). This tastes so good and spicy and I love it more than Pav Bhaji.
I don't have any Idea about how they make the curry for Masala Pav until I saw Nalini's Post. Thanks to Nalini for sharing this easy peasy method, only thing I changed is I prepared the masala separately in a kadai and toasted the pav in griddle with butter and then added the masala and stuffed it. This is so yummy and addictive chaat, my kids loved it a lot and asked me for more but I didn't have enough masala. And Next day made it again for their lunch as Masala Pav Sandwich. So whenever, you plan to try this make sure you make enough masala, as it is addictive even kids will not stop with one masala pav :) Now off to the recipe

Plain Biryani Recipe | Kuska Biryani Recipe | Hotel Style Kuska Recipe

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Plain Biryani or Kuska Biryani is popular in Tamil Nadu Non-Vegetarian Hotels & Restaurants. We never knew that Kuska is not a vegetarian Recipe, since in Hotels they use Meat or Chicken Broth to Make Kuska or sometimes they serve Chicken Biryani or Mutton Biryani without pieces. Then one we happened to saw a piece of meat on our plain biryani pack and from that time we stopped buying it during Saturdays. Plain Biryani/Kuska is prepared using Small grain rice, Seeraga Samba Rice which gives unique aroma and taste to the biryani. The Kuska prepared using the below method gives almost the Hotel style taste and flavor. I have tried with Seeraga Sambar rice but that time I didn't get time to take pictures. Later, I couldn't find Seeraga Samba rice even in Patel Brothers. So, I used Basmati Rice. This is a flavor rich one pot meal that requires Chicken or Meat Broth(I used Chicken Broth), Yogurt, Coconut Milk and mild spices blend. If you are a Biryani Addict, then for a change try this Plain Biryani and enjoy it with some Spicy Chicken Fry & Mutton Kurma.

Chicken Chukka Varuval | South Indian Chicken Roast Recipe | Spicy Chicken Chukka Fry Recipe

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If you love South Indian Style Chicken Chukka Fry then this recipe is a must try. One of the best chicken chukka fry that can be served as an appetizer or as an accompaniment with Mild Pulao or Plain Biryani or with simple Rasam and Rice combo. After Purattasi Month, last month prepared this chicken fry and plain biryani for Sunday Lunch. This is similar to my Mil's chicken fry. She makes very spicy chicken fry using kuzhambu chicken(chicken pieces cooked from the kuzhambu/Chicken Gravy). At in laws place no one likes chicken served in gravy or curry, they prefer to eat deep fried chicken or chicken chukka roast. So My Mil makes chicken fry from the gravy chicken(without Coconut) and serve the plain gravy with Idli/Dosa. I like my mil's chicken varuval and it is different from my Mom's recipe. Later came to know the method and secret ingredients are homemade spice powders. I have tried this chicken fry few times and last time clicked some pictures to share here.
As I planned to make Plain Biryani / Kuska Biryani, I needed broth, so instead of preparing kuzhambu or gravy I simply boiled chicken with enough water and used boiled chicken to make this easy and spicy roast. For this chicken Roast I recommend to use Homemade Chilli Powder(with lentils &spices) or Kuzhambu Milagai Thool for authentic taste and flavor. Also use Sesame Oil or Peanut Oil. Now off to the recipe..

Pav Bhaji Masala Recipe | Mumbai Special Pav Bhaji Recipe | How To Make Bhaji Masala | Step By Step Recipe

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Pav Bhaji Masala Recipe with step by step photo. Today's recipe is a Mumbai Famous Pav Bhaji. Pav means Soft bun and Bhaji is mashed kind of vegetable curry with potatoes and other vegetables. Of all the chaat/street food recipes, Pav Bhaji is V's most favorite dish. I too like it but not much like him and the kids too. They love to have this bhaji masala with rotis, dosa, bread and even with Jeera Rice. So whenever I make bhaji masala for Pav I make it in bulk so that they have it for all three meals with rice and rotis too. I learned this Bhaji Masala from my Neighbor Friend 4 years back when we were in WI. She only suggested me to add a small Indian Eggplant/Brinjal along with potato and other vegetables to make Bhaji. Brinjal adds some nice buttery flavor and taste but it is optional. If using brinjal try to use tender and fresh small brinjals for fine taste.  I always prefer to add more vegetables to the curry but alternatively you can make this bhaji with potato and peas alone. Adding mixed vegetables gives good taste and flavor and also it is healthy. Try my Pav Bhaji Masala next time and do share your feedback. But I am sure, you will love it !

Masala Puri Chaat Recipe | Peas Masala Puri Chaat | How To Make Masala Puri Chaat

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Chaat is my favorite snack and I love all varieties of Chaats. In India we used to enjoy Chaats at Hotel & chaat Shops. Amma doesn't know to prepare any chaat, she only makes Masala Pori & Beach Style Sundal Masala. So, Once or twice a month we go out to eat Chaats. But after coming here after Marriage I missed eating chaats and after moving to New Jersey, we enjoyed some tasty Chaats at Hot Breads. Then with the help of my North Indian friends, You Tube videos  and food websites I learned to make different chaat recipes at home. As everyone at home loves chaat, I often make simple chaats like Channa Chaat, Bhel Puri, Peas Masala Chaat at home. I always have Chaat Chutneys in my fridge. I prefer Dates Tamarind Chutney instead of Tamarind Chutneys for chaat. So I make it bulk and also it stays good for a month. If you have chutneys in hand, then making chaat is so simple and quick.
Now coming to the Peas Masala Puri,  is nothing but a Peas Masala served with crushed puri, chaat chutneys, onion, tomato & finally topped with generous sev. You can make any desired Peas Masala gravy like Green Peas Masala or Yellow Peas Ragda. I used my Green Peas Masala recipe and the chaat turned out super flavorful and delicious.