Some great recipes from fellow bloggers

This post is long due. I have not posted anything for long and I am still waiting for dear hubby to fix the memory card issue. This one is a perfect unphotogenic post anyway.

I have been trying a whole lotta recipes from some great Indian cooks (who happen to blog). I have neglected even posting a message to them (sorry for that!). So here are some recipes I highly recommend:

1. Mahanandi- Full marks to Indira for her authentic Andhra cooking. I have hardly eaten in any Andhra person's house and to think that I am actually cooking their food, I am amazed. Hurray for blogs! I tried her Ponganalu with peanut chutney, buggani, Ridge gourd dal and ridge gourd in tomato sauce. Ponganalu is similar in many ways to the vellai appam we make. But yet, the amount of oil is used is amazingly miniscule. Even if it takes a little longer to cook than your normal appam (fried in oil), it is worth the time it takes. Among the ridge gourd recipes I have tasted, I think the ridge gourd tomato gravy is my favorite now.

2. Sailu's food- I tried the pepper rice recipe last week and we are hooked. My husband does not like the heat from pepper (sort of hits your throat rather than your tongue)but he loved Sailu's recipe. The sesame tones down the heat of pepper without overpowering the delicious pepper flavor. The same evening I made Sailu's corn bhel - fresh, delicious and different.

3. Saffron hut- This is about the recipe so many people want to try and I did too- the Spinach cottage cheese Aloo paratha. The photo is so amazing and comforting, that you want to grab it from the plate. I felt the spinach-ricotta dough was hearty enough and omitted the stuffing. I added some kasoori methi to the dough, instead. It is indeed a nutritious meal for my toddler and a delicious one for the rest of us.

4. Shammi's Food, in the main- Shammi's cooking is mostly like what I make. Many of her dishes are tamilian. But as with different families, many of Shammi's recipes are different from what I make. I made the pulikaachal recipe 'coz it sounded close to what my mom makes. Mom does not use pepper and coconut, though. My mom, never gives me exact measures and I end up with something that is not quite there. Shammi's recipe was perfect in terms of heat and tanginess. It tasted very much like Iyengar puliodarai served in temples. Btw, iyengar puliodarai uses black pepper and sesame which makes it unique. I added a tbsp of sugar at the end to give a complex all-in-one flavor. It makes about 2 cups but the taste of it is so yum, it will last me a couple of days.

5. Salt and pepper- With that delicious pepper rasam photo, I did not wait for long to try. The fresh toasted, hand ground spices give it a unique and delicate flavor. I tried it as a soup the first day and with ghee and rice the next day. The flavors are stronger when the rasam sits for longer. Lovely and comforting.

6. Nupur, of course- My house is becoming a part Marathi and part Telugu household 'coz of Nupur and Indira. I hardly try anything from books when such great recipes are available online. I recently tried Cabbage zunka, Koshimbir and egg rassa. Nupur's measurements are spot-on and they come out perfect with no modifications. When I tried to get y'all links to the above recipes, I noticed that I have tried a whole lotta of recipes from her A-Z series. In no particular order, I have tried Amti, egg rassa, usal/missal, Zunka, Bhendi fry (made several times), bharli vaangi, Daalimbay bhaat, fanas bhaji, bhadang and koshimbir. Whew, so many Marati recipes and now do you agree with our household becoming partly Marathi? Here is the link to the series.

Thanks for posting such great recipes. Keep them coming!