Nivedhanam

Waffles - Ah I love it!! They are so delicious, so kid friendly and are so popular.. And as with the other foods, when made at home you can make them healthier and there are so many choices... I got this recipe from here and it is surely a keeper.

Do we all love recipes that are too simple, but looks exceptional??? Yeah... I am all for it.. You guessed it right, Today's recipe which I got from here is a very simple and elegant breakfast which is super quick to do... With just a few readily available ingredients, today we will relish a delicious pancake called cachapas from Venezuela. They are traditionally eaten with Queso de Mano (hand made cheese – soft one like mozzarella), but I used the cheese that I got locally here.

Today we will relish the Spanish Soup - Great Gazpacho Soup. This soup is screaming healthy with loads of veggies and so flavorful also.. This is one of the soups you can make the day before as it tastes best when served cold.. I got this recipe from Americas Test Kitchen. This is so flavorful, elegant and richer..

Tahini is a very delicious paste made from sesame seeds. It makes a delicious and important addition to Mediterranean cuisine.. It is an important part of the hummus.. It is advised to store the tahini is the fridge to avoid spoiling. Also addition of oil is not compulsory, but it gives a creamier texture.

A delicious pachadi made during the Tamil New Year. Life is a combination of happy moments, sad moments, excitement, thrill etc and every year in the New Year we make this pachadi which is a combination of Sweetness (from jaggery), Bitterness (from neem flower), Sourness (from raw mango) and seasonings. This is very simple to make and is also delicious..

Today we travel to the temple city - Kanchipuram. Kanchipuram is very famous for Silk Sarees (called Kanchipuram Pattu), temples, rich tradition and culture and food wise, this delicious idli. It has a beautiful aroma from the dried ginger powder and other spices. The recipe today is the very famous idli from this city. This is a very authentic recipe and has its unique taste, appearance and flavor..

There are so many varieties of kozhukkattai and today we are seeing another traditional and authentic made for Ganesh Chathurthi. The taste of this kozhukattai is awesome from the sesame and jaggery...

Today I am bringing a delicious and tongue tickling drink.. It is Jal-Jeera.. Jal means water and jeera is cumin seeds.. This is a very popular flavored drink in India and I got this recipe from here and changed very little.. All of us enjoyed this drink and it was so refreshing and energetic

Here we are travelling to Australia via these delicious potato wedges. The potato wedges are normally deep fried and served along with sour cream and sweet chili sauce.. Here I did make it little more healthier by baking it instead of deep frying it... This makes a great evening snack, party food and it is so kid friendly.. Actually friendly for all ages.. i mean who does not like potatoes??? Definitely I do.. Serve this super hot or hot!!!.. Now this completes week 1 of Combo Dishes… Here is the one I used for Sour Cream

Today we are travelling to our neighboring country - Nepal to relish their National food - Dal Bhat with Rice.. When I was searching for the combos this was one of the first ones I had selected but could do it only yesterday!!! I made this for lunch and it was a very comforting and satisfying meal.. The best part is that you felt like eating home food but it is an International one!!! Serve this hot with steaming hot rice!!

Talk about simplicity and I cannot ignore this delicious recipe... When I was in US, the cuisine which has rice (other than Asian ones) is Mexican.. Love their beans and rice, cilantro rice etc.. Again this fajita is another dish that is part of their platter which is a elegant, simple and flavorful vegetables.. Be it burrito bowl or burrito or taco, veg fajita (pronounced as fa - hi - ta) is sure to be there.. Our favorite place was Chipotle where we used to relish burrito and taco and this fajita was so delicious and flavorful.. I surely miss them here in India (although I have so many other Indian options...). So I made them at home and we all relished it!! yummm...

So what is all in the platter? Tomato and Basil Tortillas, Cilantro Lime Rice, Veg Fajita, Sour Cream, Refried Beans, Corn Salsa and Cheddar Cheese

Talk about healthy ingredients and unpolished ingredients is on the top of it.. Today's recipe is using the very healthy aval (poha) to make upuma.. This poha is unpolished and is very healthy.. Great thig about poha is that it needs no cooking or minimal cooking only... This makes a great breakfast or a quick dinner... It takes about 15 minutes and tastes best when serve hot!! You can also garnish with some freshly grated coconut if desired.

Do you like Methi??? I actually love it.. There are so many dishes that can be made with this in both leaves form and seeds form.. They are so healthy, but not many appreciate it due to its slightly bitter taste... We add methi seeds (fenugreek seeds) to a lot of our daily dishes mainly sambar.. This pulao is made with the greens and is quite easy to make.. The flavor of the leaves are beyond words... I am not adding the whole garam masala spices here as I love the flavor of methi, but you may add if you prefer..

Do you know the speciality of Nellikkai (Amla)??? It is the only (at least that I know) that has 5 tastes out of the 6.. Meaning there is arusuvai (6 taste) types of taste that food can be seperated and Nellikkai has 5 in it.. The arusuvai (6 types of taste) are - Pulippu (sour), Thuvarpu (astringent), Kaarppu (pungent), Uppu (salt) , Inipu (sweet) and Kasappu (bitter).. And the other great thing about nellikkai (amla) is that it is used in so many varieties of dishes and it is sooo healthy.. The health benefits of it are so many that you can write few books on it.. And today's recipe if going to use this amla in a very easy way!!

Here comes a delicious, simple and healthy dish from dal.. I made this for breakfast yesterday we all loved it.. This will be a regular in my kitchen from now.. Try this and you will enjoy it!! This goes into Lentils in different ways theme for this BM..

Parupu usli is a very popular dish which is made from dals and green beans. This is served in almost all marriages and functions. This is very rich in nutrients from parupu which is rich in proteins and green beans which is a green vegetable. This one is also very appealing to the eye with green, yellow and red colors. It is a great accompaniment to mor kuzhambu, rasam or sambar. It is very filling as it comes with a lot of protein. Since the grinded dal tastes similar to vadai, we also call this vadaikkari..

Today's recipe with fruits is very interesting form of rice. It is a great idea to pack for lunch, for parties and also a quick dinner.. The flavor is mild and will be little sweet, so please serve them with spicy side dish.. I served them with spicy Aloo Gobi. I got this recipe from a TV show.