A simple side for pooris/chapathis/rotis. Minimal ingredients, no fuss, rustic side dish. This can quickly become a go to dish, it’s vegan, and needs no garlic or onions. All you need is potatoes, tomatoes and a few staple spices that most pantries would have.
Basic Rasam Powder (Rasapodi)
Print Recipe Basic Rasam Powder (Rasapodi) This podi is as basic as salt and sugar in a south Indian …
Vazaikai Karam Curry (Plantain Curry)
A simple curry, ready in the time it takes rice to cook. Doesn’t need many ingredients.
Simple Okra/Bhindi With Paanch Puran
This is a simple dry side dish that comes together pretty quickly, and needs simple ingredients. This is inspired by the Bengali dish chorchori or churchuri which is made with a mix of vegetables such as pumpkin, eggplant, potatoes, and almost always spinach, but all I had was okra/bhindi, and I decided to make it with what I have. It turned out really good! The original Bengali dish uses the mix of whole spices called Paanch phoron/paanch puran which is readily available in Indian grocery stores (paanch meaning five in Hindi). The original recipe also uses the spices whole, but I modified it slightly by powdering them coarsely, and adding it at the end instead of in the initial tempering.
Kadalai Paruppu Sundal (Chana Dal Sundal)
Sundal is the generic term for the South Indian protein/complex carb dish that is made mostly by (sometimes) soaking and then steaming legumes, and seasoning them mildly, and garnished with coconut, cilantro. Roughly they can be equated to salads. They pack a protein punch, and are made during the festival season of Navratri in the southern part of India, on all nine nights, with different legumes such as chana dal (Bengal gram), chick peas (white as well as the small brown kind), peanuts, green gram, etc. Most of them are made with salt and mild spices, but there are a couple of recipes which are sweetened with jaggery and coconut.
I made the one with chana dal for Ganesh chathurthi, which celebrates Ganesha, the god in Hindu mythology who removes obstacles. Sundal is considered one of his favorite foods.





