This is a 15 minute recipe, if you have the vangi baath masala (spice powder) ready.
Basically, cook the rice. Chop and saute the green peppers. Mix them up together in a bowl with the masala powder, and temper. Done!
Vangibath Masala Powder
Vangibaath is a dish from the Indian state of Karnataka. It is a spiced rice dish made primarily with eggplant, and a special spice mix (masala). I learned this recipe from my very first friend in the US, Usha. When my babies were, well, babies, we used to spend a lot of time with Usha and her husband Shivu. They adopted our young family as their own. There was a lot of cooking that happened. As a delicious result, my cooking has been influenced by Usha’s karnataka style cooking quite a bit, and I still, after 20+ years, make a lot of dishes I learned from her. This is one of them.
This is the masala powder that is added to cooked rice and eggplant/brinjal. I also learned to use this powder with other vegetable+rice combos such as green pepper, and cauliflower.
Anyway, this powder, though readily available in most Indian grocery stores, tastes best when made fresh at home, and it doesn’t take a long time to make. I make it in small quantities whenever I need, but you can make it in small batches and store in the refrigerator.
Eggless Orange Tutti Frutti Cake
Recipe Source:
http://gayathriscookspot.com/2013/11/eggless-orange-tutti-frutti-cake/
I have been wanting to try this cake for a while now, and a weekend party gave the perfect opportunity. I baked two loaves. They turned out pretty good. The only changes I would make the next time is to make it with olive oil instead of butter, and add some orange zest to the batter.
I completely forgot to take pictures while making it, so all the pictures I have are of the finished product!
Kollu Rasam (Horsegram Rasam)
Today’s recipe is made out of the grains that are fed to horses, ergo horse gram. Yep! Instead of the toor dal that is traditionally used in rasam, this recipe bases its protein content on horse gram. Horse gram is supposed to have some magical properties such as helping in weight loss. I don’t know if that’s a confirmed fact or not, but on cold rainy or winter days, it’s a good hearty soup/rasam to have piping hot with some steamed rice.
Minestrone
Minestrone is an Italian soup made mostly with vegetables, stock, beans, and pasta. This is a lifesaver for vegetarians eating out, especially if you don’t do eggs – most restaurants make it with vegetable stock, but I always check to make sure it is not made with meat stock.
The soup is hearty, and very satisfying on a cold and blustery night. And it comes together beautifully with not much effort in about 30-45 minutes.