Aayi's Recipes

Happy 19th birthday to my oldest baby Aayi’s Recipes. Something that started as an online diary quickly became an integral part of my entire family. Although it is called Aayi’s Recipes, pappa was a big driving force behind it.

Thank you each and every one of you for all your support during these years. We are blessed to receive all your love. Your comments, messages help us keep going. Thank you once again 🙏.

It is the fresh bamboo shoot season. It is a rainy season delicacy used in many dishes. This one with dried green peas, green beans and bamboo shoots cooked in rich coconut paste and spiced with teppal(tirphal) called otane randayi is a family favorite. Bamboo shoot give a nice crunch and taste to this dish

https://www.aayisrecipes.com/side-dishes/beans-peas-sidedish-beans-otane-randayi/?amp

Wish you all a happy Father’s day. Take a moment today to celebrate the amazing dads.

I feel I had one of the best dads in the world. Just like everything else, his unwavering support for Aayi’s Recipes kept me going for so long. He was a big foodie and enjoyed trying new dishes with us. But his true love was simple Konkani food. I thought it would be fitting to post two of his favorites today.

Idli puddi - a delicious snack prepared with left over idlis. It has the heady aroma of ginger, hing and coconut oil. He often asked for this and helped prepare this.

https://www.aayisrecipes.com/breakfast-or-snacks/idlis-in-jackfruit-leavesh*ttukhottekhotte-kadubu/

Cheppi kheeri - this is actually one of the last food pictures he sent me. This cheppi(bland) kheeri is made of cooked rice and coconut milk. Flavored with turmeric leaf.

https://www.aayisrecipes.com/festival-food/sugarless-rice-puddingcheppi-kheeri/?amp

Malabar spinach with jackfruit seeds (bikkand ghalnu vali bhajji ambat) - Bikkand (jackfruit seeds) are popular delicacies in our part of the world. They are nutritional power houses and taste great in any dish. We save seeds from ripe jackfruit and dry them to use in any dishes throughout the year.

https://www.aayisrecipes.com/gravy-curry-and-daals/curry-with-greensvali-bhajji-ambat/?amp

{New video} Rice Rotti(Alayle pita bhakri) - These soft and delicious rottis are regular at my home. These need a little practice but once you get it, you will love these.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9JdeiZikIbI

A quick Konkani thali to clean out the fridge. Here I have
🍴two kinds of phodis(rava fries) with cauliflower and potato,

https://www.aayisrecipes.com/starters/rava-fries-phodi/

🍴a karathe kismuri(fried bittergourd mixed with spicy coconut)

https://www.aayisrecipes.com/side-dishes/bitter-gourd-chutney-karathe-kismuri

🍴kulitha saru (horsegram gravy)

https://www.aayisrecipes.com/side-dishes/horsegram-grvay-and-sidedishkulitha-saru-and-kosambari/

Along with cherry tomatoes, homegrown organic cucumber. The bittergourd is from my friend’s amazing garden. The best part of summer vacation for kids is that I get some free time after work now to relax for sometime and cook something delicious!

Cookies and cream cake - If you have followed me for a while, you know our love for cookies and cream. It was my son’s birthday couple of months ago. This being his 10 th birthday, I wanted to make something nice for him.

I called few of his friends for a simple get together. He asked for this cake. Unlike every year when I make a themed cake, I told him I could just make a simple one. He happily agreed. I didn’t think I had in me to pull this off this year but I am glad I did. The child had a nice time.

https://www.aayisrecipes.com/cakes-cookies-pies/cookies-and-cream-cake/

I received the most precious present today. My child, who is in 8th grade, has manufacturing as one of the electives. He could make a predefined project to get his marks or make something custom. He thought of this precious present.

He spent many extra hours during last few months to make this grill as a late birthday/Mother’s Day present for me. I think the AR logo is executed to the perfection. Even the handles are custom made. He told me that he was working on a custom piece but never said what it was. When he gave it to me today, I was speechless and in tears.

He said when I grill something on it, the stuff will have a AR logo on it which will be super cool. The grill markings are all custom made to fit the design. Absolutely love the grill and cannot wait to use it.

Tamdi bhajji alsande randayi (red amaranth and black eyed peas sidedish) - I think i went little overboard with gardening in last two months. I went to a nursery almost every weekend and bought something. Unfortunately the bunnies in my garden and the extreme heat in Texas are not kind to my plants. But I take what I get. I have learned a lot on gardening here, it is definitely so much different from Kansas where the garden flourished with minimal work.

My pappa loved red amaranth. He purchased the fresh one often. Every year when I grew veggies, I would show him my garden. He loved seeing the familiar vegetables growing in my garden.

Over the years I have developed a deep liking for red amaranth. I have tried to grow it before and it gave pretty good yield. This year I got a pack of seeds from amazon and a friend also shared some seeds. The first batch came out very well before the bunnies ate it all. Then I tried again. This time I moved the pots together and covered with chicken wire. So today was the first harvest.

https://www.aayisrecipes.com/side-dishes/red-amaranth-sidedish-tamdi-bhajji-randayi/

Veg puffs and blueberry muffins- Yesterday a friend from Dallas was visiting Houston and came to visit us. Loved having them here, reminiscing memories from Kansas and our long walks during lunchtime when we worked together. My boys had a blast playing with her boys.

These puffs are my go to dish when I have guests. They are so easy to put together and usually kids also enjoy them. These have a simple potato stuffing. I use store bought .

Along with those, I made blueberry muffins. This time I used some orange zest(the recipe calls for lemon zest). They came out so good. My child has been feasting on the leftovers since morning.

https://www.aayisrecipes.com/cakes-cookies-pies/blueberry-muffins/

Happy Mother’s Day to all the wonderful moms out there.

My aayi has been a pillar of strength and calm in our life. She is the sweetest but also mentally strongest in my family. I cannot be more grateful for her.

I hope to get back to sharing food that makes her and myself happy. I have been cooking regularly although most of my meals have been put together in hurry. But somehow struggling with clicking pictures or posting here.

Today I decided to make a Konkani meal that has been very dear to my heart. This Rosu(Ghashi or Udid methi) was one of pappa’s favorite dishes. It is full of spicy, tangy and sweetish flavors all packed in one dish. It is one of the must have in our functions and gatherings. I made it with bhende(okra) and tender mango pieces. You have to taste it to understand the flavors of this humble dish.

I served it with rice, a side of beetroot upkari and happal(papad). It was a very satisfying meal.
https://www.aayisrecipes.com/gravy-curry-and-daals/coconut-curryghashi-or-rosu/

Some of you reached out to me on why this space has been so quiet. I have been thinking about how to share this news, because I have no words.

We lost our dad to an accident couple of weeks ago. We are still trying to come to terms with all of it. Pappa has been the biggest influence throughout my life. Not only he was an amazing dad, he was a great human being. He literally changed lives of people being a doctor and a social worker. He tirelessly worked for the betterment of our hometown by leading the educational institutions, religious initiatives and everything else. The news articles, messages, phone calls we received make me realize the impact he had for the community, some of it I never even knew.

Please keep my family in your prayers 🙏.

Sourdough pizza (Indian flavored) and garlic knots- my starter sits in back of fridge like an abandoned baby. Every two weeks or so I take it out,feed it and make something with it.

One good part of living in Texas is all the good homemade food that we can order. Ahem! It is good for people that actually order. I never do. But I like to have that option. Few days ago, I saw an add for home made pizza. So we ordered some. It was good but then I wanted to make similar ones at home with my beloved sourdough. Finally all the stars aligned today.

For the topping, I mixed paneer with bellpepper, tomatoes, added garam masala, chat masala, chili powder, salt. Spread marinara sauce on base, spread the topping, mozzarella cheese. Sprinkled some dried oregano, olive oil and fresh basil on top before serving. It was so delicious.

Watermelon dosas (kalingana pole/surnaLi) - love these sweet dosas, usually prepared with the white part of watermelon. Aayi usually makes the sweet version and also savory one on the same day. Funny that I am leaning towards the sweet version as I grow older!!

https://www.aayisrecipes.com/breakfast-or-snacks/sweet-dosa-goda-polo/

Mixed flour bhakri - this is my easy take on the Marathi special thalipeeth. I mix different flours like rice flour, jowar flour, almond flour, wheat flour and gram flour with milk. Add onions, coriander leaves, cumin seeds, little chilli powder. Then spread it directly on tava.
Serve this delicious bhakri while it is still hot with little butter on top and spicy chutney on the side. My kids love this combination. I often make this for breakfast to give a healthy boost to their mornings.

Double chocolate brownies with strawberries- last couple of days my child wanted to make brownies. His busy schedule didn’t allow him to do that. Finally today he got to it. He made these amazing brownies with finely chopped strawberries added. Then he cut it into heart shape and gave it to me ❤️(I ate it up before taking picture 😁). He said he wanted to make it for valentine’s day but couldn’t. So it was a present for me!. I am literally tearing up while typing this. They were soft, melt in the mouth kind (I almost forgave him for all the spilled vanilla essence in fridge 😂😂).

Do not ask me for recipe. I don’t know what he followed. I gave him a link but he usually either forgets measurements or makes some changes. So I would call it his original 😻. He was going to share with friends but after tasting few bites, he said he would rather keep it for ourselves 😂.

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Eggplant rava fry (vayngana phodi) - phodi is an easy and delicious sidedish to any meal. Aayi sent this picture where she has used fresh eggplants shared by a neighbor. There is no comparison to these locally grown fresh produce.

https://www.aayisrecipes.com/starters/rava-fries-phodi/

{New Post} - This Soya chunks pulav with coconut milk is a flavor bomb that my family really enjoyed. Add any vegetables you like. The soya chunks provide necessary protein.
https://www.aayisrecipes.com/rice-items/healthy-soya-chunks-pulav-coconut-milk-recipe/

Garlic and herb angel hair pasta with ground chicken nuggets - one of the latest dinners I made that my kids absolutely loved.

Heated lots of olive oil and added crushed garlic, dried basil, oregano and parsley. Then some chopped tomatoes went in along with salt and pepper. Tossed cooked angel hair pasta. At the end added more olive oil and Parmesan cheese.

I bought the ground chicken to make something else but ended up making these nuggets again. They are juicy and delicious.

https://www.aayisrecipes.com/simple-and-easy/ground-chicken-nuggets/

Engayi and bhakri - this is a combination I grew up eating. This version of engayi has coconut base and brinjal(eggplant) cut into pieces (unlike the ennegayi where small stuffed brinjals are used). Aayi prepares rice rotti(alayle pita bhakri) with it. She serves this for breakfast.

https://www.aayisrecipes.com/side-dishes/brinjal-curryennegayi-or-engayi/

Some comfort homemade food is what I crave for when I have too much on my hands. My last few weekends have become as overwhelming as weekdays with kids projects. Bhakri is not something I try when I am already tired but I still went ahead and made these with some hacks.

The usual jowar bhakri takes some patience. I use my aayi’s easy method of rolling the dough but even that needs time. I mix half a cup of wheat flour in about 3-4 cups jowar flour to make it easier to roll. The proportion of wheat flour to jowar flour is quite less but you save big on time.
https://www.aayisrecipes.com/parathas-and-rotis/jowar-rotijolad-rotti-an-easy-way/

Carrot cake with cardamom - I bake lot of cakes, but if you ask me my favorite, I would definitely choose this. I love cardamom and I think this cake just gets elevated to a new level with aroma of cardamom.

This time I used half all purpose flour and half almond flour. Reduced the sugar to half. Used coconut oil. It was little grainy compared to my usual due to almond flour, but it was delicious.

https://www.aayisrecipes.com/cakes-cookies-pies/carrot-cake-with-cardamom/

I took it to Ishaan’s project meet and it got polished off. I guess I have to make it again soon so that I can enjoy it as well.

Omelet pulav - when the child had tournament this weekend and had to leave early, wanted to make something easy to pack for lunch. This omelet pulav came to mind.

I made the rice in . I added a can of coconut milk while making the rice. Then separately made omelet and added at the end.

It was delicious. I hope it provided some warmth to the child who was playing in below 30F. Little bro said it was best pulav ever!

https://www.aayisrecipes.com/egg/omlet-pulao/

Black peas gravy (kale vatanechi amti) - these black peas take me back to my college days in Belgaum. My roommate and I used to get dabba from a local person. One of the common dishes was this amti. I used to look forward to this sweetish gravy. This time I used my MIL’s recipe for amti to make this.

https://www.aayisrecipes.com/gravy-curry-and-daals/toor-dal-amti/

I served this with methi paratha one day and next day lunch, served with yellow flavored rice. It is always a nostalgic journey down our college days for the husband and I.

Crab curry (kurle ambat) - seafood is a big part of our diet. Crabs have been always my favorite. For some reason, I hesitate to buy crabs here. I have cooked them very rarely.

Last year when we were in India, my kids loved them. Especially the little brother(who has become extremely picky eater). I bought them few times from Asian stores since then. But recently, when we were at my friend’s place, she served a big Kerala spread. She is a seafood lover like me. She had used frozen blue crabs from in one of the dishes. It was so delicious.

So I got a pack of those blue crabs and made my aayi’s crab curry. They were so good, definitely better than I expected(I always thought the frozen crabs wouldn’t taste good).

https://www.aayisrecipes.com/konkani-recipes/crabs-gravykurle-ambat/

Tofu and vegetables noodles - what to make for kids lunchbox is a daily struggle. These noodles fit the bill perfectly.

I fry vegetables, grated ginger and tofu in little oil. Add cooked noodles, salt, soya sauce and any hot sauce I hate ( here I used red curry paste). Mix very well. Then sprinkle good amount of crushed roasted peanuts. End with some coriander leaves garnish. It is one of my favorite lunches as well.

Tomato omlet - the school reopened this Monday, that meant busy mornings. I struggle to figure out a filling breakfast for kids that is also healthy. Today this vegetarian “omlet” came to mind.

I used a combination of besan(gram flour), wheat flour and almond flour to make this.

https://www.aayisrecipes.com/breakfast-or-snacks/tomato-omelet-vegetarian/?amp

I also served a boiled egg with this. Kids asked for the pepper egg

https://www.aayisrecipes.com/simple-and-easy/egg-pepper/?amp

Does weekends become busier than weekdays? The last weekend before winter break got really busy with both kids having to work on their projects. I woke up early to help the little one. The lunch was ready by 8am(except for the fish fry). Coming back to this comforting lunch after all that hard work on his project felt nice.

https://www.aayisrecipes.com/side-dishes/potato-side-dish-batate-talasan/

I made Konkani style sambar - Kolmbo. As I mentioned before, this is my go to dish when I think about a comfort Konkani meal.

https://www.aayisrecipes.com/konkani-recipes/sambarkolmbo/

Spicy potato (batate talasani) - a basic potato fry that my child is very fond of.

Fish fry - a rava fry with tilapia.

Weekday mornings with poha - we love Indian breakfasts in this home. We eat cereals and pancakes once in a while but always go back to good old desi breakfasts. Poha is one of the regulars.

I usually make my poha with potatoes and recently started adding green peas as well. I garnish it with grated coconut, roasted peanut powder and coriander leaves. I make a big batch and sometimes we eat leftovers with afternoon chai as well.

https://www.aayisrecipes.com/breakfast-or-snacks/potato-poha-batate-phovu/

Oatmeal raisin cookies - little baking session with my cutie niece today. I love baking with kids. Probably need to start doing this regularly. So satisfying.

We used recipe from .

{New video} A very easy delicious seafood fry where the fish is wrapped in banana leaf and fried. Has a great aroma from the banana leaf.

Spicy Fish in Banana leaf Banana leaf gives a very good aroma to this spicy fish. The no-oil frying makes it a healthy seafood option as well. We usual a simple masala to marinate the...