Dahi(Nadia)Pachadi / Coconut Raita

I strongly believe, side dishes are cuisines in itself and most often, holds as much importance as main dishes. They not only elevate the taste of a meal but also, an intrinsic part of some. I mean, can you imagine relishing Biryani fully without the raita or kachumbar or even salan (thin gravy) by its side. I, for one, don’t! Some refreshes your taste buds while some other brings spark to a meal. Especially, the tangy, spicy or mildly hot, full of umami dip kinds. Umm…my mind veers towards such mouth watering side dishes like raitas, chutneys, salsas… and  “Coconut Raita” or “Dahi (Nadia) Pachadi” is one of them. 

Basically, Pachadis of various kinds are a staple in Southern part of India. But, we Odias love our tangy side-dishes as well. They hold a special place in our meals. I shall talk about the varieties at length in some other post lest, I get carried away. Coming back to the point, “Dahi Pachadi” as we call it, has also been very much a part of our kitchen since my childhood. The combination of coconut and yogurt is not only refreshing but has a character to it. I remember mom making it frequently for my grandparents because I come from a place where coconut trees are grown in abundance. Recently,  I rustled it up too and have been intending to blog but procrastinated. Sigh!

Read on for the recipe!

Dahi Pachadi 

While the “Pachadi” in South India is cooked with yogurt, coconut and veggies and also served as a side dish, Dahi Pachadi is made out of thick yogurt, desiccated coconut and few other condiments. You can call it “Coconut Raita” as well. One can savour it with rice or can have it with paratha and sabzi or bhaja. It just jazz up the meal like any refreshing side dish. Oh! How I love it. 

 

Ingredients Required:

• Desiccated Coconut – 1 Cup
• Thick fresh Yougurt/curd – 100 gms
• Chopped Green Chilies – 1-2 (depends on how hot you wish to make it)
• Chopped Coriander leaves – 2 tablespoons
• Mustard Seeds – 1/2 teaspoon
• Dry Red Chilli – 1
• Curry Leaves – 10-12 leaves
• Oil for tempering – 1/2 teaspoon
• Salt to taste

Method Of Cooking:

• Pour the yogurt in a bowl and give it a gentle whisk. 
• Add the desiccated coconut, chopped coriander leaves and green chillies in it.
• Add salt to taste and mix everything well.
• In a small pan, heat oil. Once hot, add mustard seeds, add dry red chilli and curry leaves. 
• Once, mustard seeds splutter, switch off the flame and add the tempering in the yogurt mixture.
• Mix well. Sprinkle some more finely chopped coriander leaves for garnishing.
• Savour it in lunch with your meal. 

Ah, one thing to remember here, use freshly grated coconut if available to make “Dahi Pachadi” or “Coconut Raita”. Trust you me, it makes all the difference. That milky coconuty flavour when amalgamates with the fresh curd / yogurt, it just tastes really great, especially, after the tempering. So, if you wish to enliven your tastebuds and conceal the blandness of a meal, Dahi Pachadi can be one of your quick fixes and a healthier one at that. Like I mentioned earlier, I love to have it with both my rice and roti, paratha kind of meals. I hope you do too, once you make it. 

If you liked this post and wish to know about more such side dishes, raitas or dips that can be whipped up in no time, do let me know in the comment section. I’d so love to share. 🙂

Till then, Happy Munching & Keep Smiling! Tada. 🙂

Love,

Shobhna 

 

 

Pan Grilled Creamy Cheese Curd Sandwich

Pan Grilled Creamy Cheese Curd Sandwiches are super yum and a major prerequisite for it is, fresh and nicely prepared cottage cheese or cheese curd to be precise (a variant of cottage cheese). It’s one of my favourite breakfast options which is healthy, super filling and very palatable to say the least.

Paying visits to home to be with my folks is always oxygenating to me. I may not be a little kid anymore, but I always am all agog to be with family like a kid for it is my ultimate and irreplaceable cocoon. Home, after all is a place where I can be just “Me” without the fear of being judged.

These days, one of the reasons my father looks forward to my visits, is because of the prospect of getting to relish dishes different from the regular ones. “Why haven’t you made something interesting yet, I am sort of bored of having the same kind of food everyday”, he told me once during my recent sojourn and I knew I had to oblige him. Knowing his love for sandwiches, I made these Pan grilled Creamy Cheese Curd Sandwiches for breakfast one day and he totally loved it.

Read on for the recipe!

It was not for the first time I was making these sandwiches and the thought of posting the recipe on the blog somehow never really crossed my mind, until I rustled them up that day at home. (It’s probably because good quality cheese curd is easily available in Odisha, India). The mind blowing taste was compelling enough and so were the pictures. Irresistible I say!!! You shall nod in agreement too once you make it yourself. It had a creamy “Melt-in-mouth” kind of a texture, had veggies and I can more or less term it as healthier than other sandwiches. What’s not there to love you see? Oh, how I heart these Pan Grilled Creamy Cheese Curd sandwiches!

Ingredients:

• White bread – 12 slices
• Chopped green bell peppers -1/2 of a medium sized one
• Chopped onions – 2 small
• Grated carrot – 1 medium sized
• Mayonnaise – 2 tablespoons
• Cheese Curd (Cottage Cheese) – 250gms
• Garlic bread seasoning – 2 tablespoons
• Chilli flakes – 1 tablespoon
• Salt – 1/2 teaspoon
• Vegetable oil – 4-5 tablespoons

NOTE: Cheese Curd is the curdled milk and a variant of cottage cheese which are very moist and nutritious.

Method Of Cooking:

• Mix all the ingredients together to make a perfect mixture for filling. Mash the cheese curd a bit with a spoon to make it all the more smoother while mixing it together. Keep it aside.
• Take a slice of bread (preferably bigger in size) and spread the mixture evenly in it. Sandwich it with another bread slice.
• Heat a “grilled pan” with oil evenly greased. Once hot, put the sandwiches, press them a bit and flip them once it’s cooked and grilled perfectly from one side. Cook the other side in the same manner. Take out.
• Cut the pan grilled sandwiches diagonally and serve hot with ketchup, tarter dip, mint-mayo or honey-mustard.

I may have rustled these Pan grilled Creamy Cheese Curd Sandwiches up earlier too but that day, it turned out to be super scrumptious. Always remember, the key is to get good quality cheese curd which not only is nutritious but has a creamy texture to it which you will fall for immediately. Trust you me, it makes all the difference like it was the case on the day I prepared it for dad. Honestly, the more I am enumerating the taste, the more my mouth waters. Go and make it now for it’s not time consuming, super duper filling and makes for a good breakfast and lunch option both.

Till then, Happy Munching & Keep Smiling! Tada!

Lots of Love,

Shobhna

Stir Fried Chicken-Veggies Salad

Making salads are no rocket science, but the secret of a good salad lies in perfect melange of flavours. This simple stir fried chicken- veggies salad is filling, healthy and delish. It’s a light meal perfect to gorge onto during summers.

I have a personal affinity towards summers. Perhaps, because I am a summer baby or may be because summers are always reminiscent of those unforgettable memories of summer holidays and the subsequent fun. I may sound a little kiddish here but c’mon, summer holidays are always special. After all who doesn’t cherish those laidback days when the only thing you do is to indulge in things you wish to. One adult view, however, could be, I never feel dull in this season. Fatigued yes, but not dull per se.

But let’s face it. Summer is harsh in India. Especially during the month of May and June the sweltering heat saps all your energy and all you crave for is cool and refreshing drinks and non-spicy, light food or some kick ass salads for that quintessential invigoration.

Like I mentioned earlier, salads are not hard to make. All you have to take care about is, to amalgamate perfect ingredients to make it drool worthy. Also, one important thing to keep in mind is how you want to cut your veggies for salads. Bigger chunks of fruits or veggies keep you full for a little longer period of time than the smaller chunks or fine sliced ones as they get easily digested. Take your pick accordingly. As far as this stir fried salad is concerned, it’s a fairly simple one with few ingredients.

STIR FRIED VEGGIES SALAD

It’s been quite some time since I put together this salad in a real jiffy, because I didn’t have any prior plans as such to prepare it. To be honest, it was more of a spontaneous cooking when my husband was suddenly home for lunch one day. Since he didn’t wish to indulge himself in a heavy meal, I ended up making this salad which is light, has fewer ingredients with refreshing accompaniments.

Read on for the recipe!

INGREDIENTS:

• Chicken Sausages (Can be any of your preference) – 2
• 1 Onion – medium sized
• 1 tomato – medium sized
• Green Bell pepper – 1/2 of a medium sized one
• Baby corns – 2
• Sweet corns – 2 tablespoons full
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil – 2-3 teaspoons
• Fish sauce – 1/2 teaspoon
• Soy sauce – 1 teaspoon
• Chilli flakes – 1/2 teaspoon
• Roasted Garlic – 1/2 teaspoon
• Salt to taste
• Sugar – 1 pinch (Optional)
• Sesame seeds and chopped coriander leaves for garnishing

COOKING METHOD:

• Arrange all the above mentioned ingredients. Dice chicken sausages, onion and green bell peppers. Thin slice baby corns and halve the tomato.
• Heat 1/2 teaspoon of olive oil in a flat pan. Put halved tomato once the pan is hot and pan grill it. Keep it aside. 
• In another pan, add 2 teaspoons of olive oil. Once it warms up, add roasted garlic in it. Add diced chicken sausages and onions and stir them for 5 minutes. 
• Add sliced baby corns and sweet corns in it and cook for another 2-3 minutes. 
• Finally add diced green bell peppers in it and mix. 
• At this point add fish sauce, soy sauce, sugar and chilli flakes. Mix well.
• Lastly add salt and give it all a final mix. Cook for one more minute and take out in a salad bowl.
• Garnish with sesame seeds and a little bit of chopped coriander leaves.
• Serve the stir fried salad with pan grilled tomatoes and cucumber. 

This impromptu stir fried veggies salad won palates and hearts both. Fixing it up from the scratch takes for about 20 minutes and that saves you from slogging in the kitchen for long, especially during blistering heat. This scrumptious salad is light, healthy and full of flavours. If you wish to make your meal more lavish, have it with boiled eggs and hung curd. Fixing meals quickly is such a breather during summers afterall and the cherry on the cake is, when it’s healthy and delicious.

Hope you all liked the post and the recipe. In case of any queries and feedback, do comment in the section below. I’d love to hear. 

Till then, Happy Munching & Keep Smiling! Tada. 🙂

Love,

Shobhna 

 

Spring Onions & Green Peas in Mustard Paste

Winter finally bid adieu to us and Summers just seems to have been barging in, leaving Spring perplexed. That implies, it would no more be fun curling up in bed lazily till long hours, you would have to relinquish having endless cups of tea because of the heat and most importantly you would have to let go of winter produce. Honestly, although I like the “Spring Summer” phase (Like many others do I guess), to part with winter produce is the most difficult task. I simply love making the most of vegetables we get in India during winters. They not only make dishes look resplendent, the veggies give you a dose of health too and that makes me a happy happy soul.  

Apart from many other winter produce, spring onions and green peas are found in abundance. Whenever I get green peas during winters, it is reminiscent of my mom buying a good deal of green peas not only for immediate consumption but also to store this green pearls for future usages when we stop getting fresher ones. So, here’s a quick tip: Blanch the green peas and let it get dry and deep freeze it for storage. Believe you me, it lasts long for I saw my mom doing that for years. 

Seasonal dishes are always special and apart from many winter delight, the one dish that used to be a must in our household in my growing up years was “Spring Onions & Green Peas in Mustard Paste”.  To tell you the truth, I never really missed having the dish so much till I  shifted and couldn’t get to eat it at all. This winter, I called my mother and asked her for the recipe because I was back from visiting home some time back and was terribly missing home cooked food.  It’s a dish from my native land Odisha and we Odias love our “flavoured mustard paste” dishes like no one. If I may say, even more than the people of  West Bengal. 

Spring Onions and Green Peas in Mustard Paste is a very very refreshing and enchanting dish. It gives you a bite, a mild crunch and a burst of flavour which you can’t stay away from for very long. The distinct flavour of spring onion goes very well with the mustard paste while the fresh green peas do the balancing act, yet stand out. It’s a perfect winter delight which can equally be savoured with rice and roti (Indian flat bread). 

Read on for the recipe!

Ingredients:

• Spring Onions – 5 medium sized straws
• Green Peas – 1 Cup
• Mustard Seeds – 1 teaspoon
• Dry Mango Powder (Aam chur powder) – 2-3 teaspoons
• Green chillies – 1
• Tomato – 1 small sized
• Vegetable Oil – 4 tablespoons
• Salt to taste

For Mustard Paste:

• Black mustard seeds – 3 tablespoons full 
• Dry Red Chillies – 2 medium sized
• Cumin seeds – 1/2 teaspoon
• Garlic Cloves – 10-12 

Cooking Process:

• Make the mustard paste by grinding all the mentioned ingredients. Chop spring onions and tomatoes. Keep aside.
• Heat oil in a pan. Once hot add the mustard seeds in it and let it splutter. 
• Add chopped spring onions and saute. After 2 minutes add the green peas, a bit of salt and mix. 
• After spring onions gets sauteed properly, add the mustard paste, dry mango powder, salt to taste and give everything a nice mix. 
• Keep adding wee bit of water in between and cook till it becomes fragrant and the raw scent is gone. Serve hot!
• You can add a little water as per your preference but make sure not to add much water. 

Spring Onions & Green Peas in Mustard Paste  is a perfect dish to relish with steamed rice. But if you ask me, a slightly thicker version of it (The one in the picture) tastes great with roti or paratha (forms of Indian flat breads). The first time I cooked it, I was a little apprehensive about its outcome but when it turned to be lip smacking, I knew I had to put it on the blog. My parameter of tasty is when I successfully replicate the taste of dishes that of my mom’s. Since the taste was bang on of this dish, I cooked it again to post it on the blog. 

Since I never really missed having this indigenous dish of Odisha (My home land) earlier, a sudden bout and the season of the produce played the catalyst. If you ask me, I am glad about that bout because I can envision myself cooking this next winter as well. I am sure, you would also love to give this dish a try for it won’t disappoint. 

Also, don’t forget to give me your feedback of any kind in the comment section along with your thoughts on this dish. 

Till then, Happy Munching & Keep Smiling! Tada. 🙂

Love,

Shobhna