Odisha Mo Odisha

Stuffed Mirchi Pakoda - Not originally from Odisha but totally liked and loved by people there .. especially on a rainy evening with a cuppa tea... What I used: 2 big fat green pakoda mirchis {See picture} 2 small potatoes - boiled & peeled 1/2 onion finely chopped 2 tea spoons amchoor powder 6-8 table spoons besan {approximate for two mirchis to get coated by} 1 pinch baking soda 1 tea spoon ajwain {carrom seeds} Salt to taste Oil to deep fry Process Mix boiled potatoes {mashed} with onions + salt + amchoor powder and set aside. Slit the mirchis to create a pocket & clean out all the seeds. Stuff the potatoes mixture in the mirchi pocket. Make a batter of besan + water + ajwain + wee bit baking soda(for fluffiness) + salt  Dip the stuffed mirchi in the besan batter & deep fry until golden brown on all sides. The deep frying process in this case might be tricky, because the stuffed mirchi is cylindrical (well almost). Be patient and keep tu

It's so simple and makes a great breakfast...even on a week day. All you need is Dosa Batter - Store bought or home-made.. Either works great ! Nadiya Pura - Sweet Coconut Stuffing - See below for the recipe. Its real simple Oil (or oil spray) for making dosas Process Heat a non-stick Dosa pan and grease it with a little oil (and a tissue paper) When the pan is medium hot, spread the Dosa batter like you'd for a dosa or chakuli peetha. Pour a little oil on the sides. Let the chakuli peetha cook a bit. When the peetha is almost cooked, spread the coconut stuffing on one side of the dosa and fold over the other half. Let the dosa cook with the coconut stuffing inside of it. Flip to cook the other side also. Serve hot with nothing but a wide smile !! Sweet coconut stuffing - a.k.a " Nadiya   Pura" {Pasted from an older post} Ingredients: Grated Coconut - 2 Cups Jaggery - 1.5 Cups (This will be totally based on your good judgement) Fr

This is from back in 2012.. after a long time, I had got a break from work for a couple of months. In these months, I truly realized how bitter-sweet a marriage can be. Earlier when we both used to work, we took each other for granted, rarely talked during the day, took care of our stuff ourselves... the feeling of being in a relationship never crossed my heart so strongly. But during my break, I realized, its actually a very special relationship which has love in fights, smiles in tears and happiness in sad times. This recipe is actually dedicated to my dearest husband who hates bitter-gourd but when I made it at home after ages, he actually said, he does not mind eating it. His face was worth watching but his love and sincerity in eating the bitter-gourd dry subjee made me feel that this simplistic recipe belongs in this blog. Thus the name also... bitter-gourd although is bitter but is specially good for health when consumed in a timely manner. Isliye... kadwaa hai par acha hai.

Ever since I left home for my engineering studies, I have never been able to to go home during the world famous "Bali Jatra" (Literal Meaning : Festival of the sand)... This is the 7 day long festivities of handloom exhibitions, farmers market, Odiya street food, Indian & international food exhibits.. and lot more... When we were kids, we would start visiting the 'mela' preparations with Baba when the vendors will be digging holes in the ground to fix bamboos etc for their stalls.. I remember I used to say my Baba is the best because he used to take us to those 'mela' grounds even before the festivities start... silly yet true.. back then.. very simple things made me super happy.. Yes, I was a happy kid.. and a kid who loved to have deep fried food.. especially for evening snacks.. well.. I am still the happy kid who loves fried food.. :) Here's one of the very famous Bali Jatra street food.. deep fried snack recipes.. made from shrimp.. Hope y

Little Sis (Please do not go by little.. she's at least 1.5 feet taller than I am) : What's you planning on making for dinner? Me (almost confident) : Egg Pulao.. biryani sort of thing.. Little Sis: Isn't it binary? .. like is it Egg Biryani or Egg Pulao ? Me (confused) : Not very sure.. its not really a biryani method .. but it has biryani masala in it.. I saw it on youtube by Vah chef.. Don't need oven or anything.. Little Sis: Thats great.. I love youtube.. Did you see that new video from RA-One.. its funny.. Me (even more confused) : It has biryani in it?? Or Egg? The Vah chef is on that?? Little Sis: No.. just saying about the video on Youtube.. this site is a life saver when you r darn bored.. Me (smiling.. donno for what !!) : Ohh.. we are off the biryani topic.. I see.. we r talking about videos.. :) Little Sis: Well.. yeah.. you are making it right.. it will be awesomer than the youtube guy.. and make a little more.. I want it

Looking at some of my older posts, I realized that I am not writing difficulty enough recipes so that the blog will look nice... Well.. the problem is I AM LAZY.. so I keep looking for quicker options.. But, sometimes, I do cook nice things for the family... which consists of my husband & two year old son who does not like spicy stuff right now.. :) Some day I dream... some day !! Here goes the recipe for a soybean keema kofta curry which I made and we loved to eat with roti. I am sure you'll like it too. Soak Soyabean (I use the Nutrela brand from the Indian store) nuggets in water and microwave on high for 6 -8 mins. Ensure that the water does not spill off, else the whole microwave cleaning will take a lot of time. Squeeze excess water (not need to make it super dry) and put the nuggets in the blender to chop them off into soyabean keema. You can also get Nutrela's Soyabean keema as well. Ensure that you wash them super properly else even a little bit of sand

Person (not from Katak) : What did you have for B'Fast Kataki : Bara aau tarkaari Person (not from Katak) : And lunch? Kataki : Pakhala bhata, Bara, Piyaaji Person (not from Katak) : So what are some good snacks in Katak to go with tea? Kataki : Bara, Piyaaji, Aloo Chop, Baigani, Gul-Gula... and they keep talking till the Non-Kataki person actually orders a plate of everything to try. :) If you are from Katak, you must have been through one of these conversations with your non-Kataki friends at some point or manner. I know I did and while even answering, I always remembered that street side fried stuff (Chhana - Chhani as Mami says it) is so easy to get, so tasty and so unhealthy that I crave for it every day of my life while in US.. The moment I reach Katak, the smell of deep frying oil drags me to the Kanika Chhaka or Shelter Chhaka and all the diet consciousness goes into the nearby gutter (Yes, Katak still has gutters - open without warnings) Here's my M