VIRUNDHOMBAL

Pepper Karasev - prepared with besan flour,  rice flour and spiced up with chilly powder and freshly ground black pepper powder. Great evening snack during winter days. If you are looking for an easy snack to prepare within an hour, try this pepper karasev. It comes together easily without much work. Karasev is typically made by scrapping the dough in a ladoo ladle. It's difficult for me to scrape directly into the hot oil, so I prefer to use the murukku press. But if you like the traditional method, you can prepare as you wish.

White pumpkin halwa also called as Kasi halwa is a quick and easy dessert with a very few ingredients. My husband bought me a big white pumpkin from the market and I don't know how to finish it. Because after cutting the white pumpkin, it doesn't taste good after 2 hours. We usually prepare kootu, sambar and thayir patchadi. This time my periappa(uncle) taught me this halwa with white pumpkins and it tastes so good. In our hometown, this white pumpkin halwa is served as a dessert for breakfast on special occasions.

Ribbon pakoda can be prepared in many different methods with few easily available ingredients in your kitchen. The ingredients primarily, used in this dish are gram flour, rice flour and chilly powder. You can also prepare ribbon pakodas with strong flavours like garlic paste and asafoetida powder. Make sure to grind the garlic cloves, smooth and strain it before adding to the dough. Apart from water, you can also add the garlic cloves water to knead the dough to bring more flavour to the pakodas.

Vegetable aval upma is a quick and simple evening tiffin for your kids. Of course, it's packed with nutrients too. Preparing the upma with soaked aval, cooked vegetables and few basic tempering ingredients make a healthy and delicious tiffin that taste like vegetable rice.The onions, green chillies and peanuts are sauted well in oil to bring the flavour for the upma and then the soaked aval and cooked vegetables are added to it. Once added, all the ingredients are mixed well to prepare a beautiful upma. The best part in this upma is all the ingredients give a unique taste. If you miss any one of the ingredients, the taste may differ a lot. If you use the thin aval, no need to soak them in the water. Since I like a chunky upma, I always go with thick aval for this upma.

Sundals are the perfect dish for an evening snack or a midday snack. They will come together quickly and easily, and perfect for all ages. When it comes to making snacks, many of us feel tired to spend more time in the kitchen. This happens to me everytime so a lot of times I make sundals for a quick evening snack.

Bitter Gourd Pitlai - an easy South Indian kuzhambu made with bitter gourds, toor dal flavoured with a good amount of red chillies, coriander seeds, chana dal, coconut and other spices. I guarantee this kuzhambu will surely impress your family. We always prefer kuzhambu with a good aroma and perfect balance of heat with a hint of tanginess.