Archana's Veg Food Chronicles

Khara Pongal or Huggi is a popular South Indian rice dish. The word 'Pongal' in Tamil means bubbling up. In Karnataka, we make 2 types of Pongal a sweet version and a savory version.Savory version is usually made with Rice, Moong Dal, and spices tempered in ghee.  It is a one-pot recipe that I usually make in my Instant Pot. A very easy and quick recipe that can be whipped up with just a few spices, ghee, no need of vegetables, totally comforting on a cold chilly day and can be had along with tomato gojju/ south Indian tomato curry. Cooking it in Instant Pot makes it super easy since you don't use many vessels and everything is made in just one pot right from tempering spices to cooking Rice and moong dal. It is very healthy as it consists of moong dal a primary source of protein and vitamins. Ghee being a superfood, and one of the essential parts of any Indian meal nourishes the body from within and believed to pacify all three doshas as

Menthehittu or Methkoot is a traditional delicious protein-rich powder recipe that has been passed down from many generations especially in North Karnataka and Maharashtra. Usually made with Dals, Rice, and spices, all these are roasted well and ground into a fine powder. In other words, It is a kind of dry chutney powder that is usually added to hot steamed rice, mixed with ghee and a pinch of salt. One of the most comforting and satisfying rice variety which is usually eaten at the beginning of every meal in North Karnataka household. This powder contains nutritious dals like Chana dal, Urad dal, Moong dal along with Rice. Wheat berries are also added but it is optional. So all in all you get the nutrition from all these in one powder in a certain ratio that is beneficial and necessary for our good health which our ancestors knew well before. So first the rice is eaten is along with this powder and then with rasam, sambar and so on which gives the necessary nu

Ghee Mysore Pak is one of the most famous sweets of Karnataka. It is one of the traditional sweets that is made in ghee. It originated in the state of Mysore, Karnataka. It is usually made with generous amounts of ghee, sugar, and Gram flour. Very famous for its melt in mouth texture and also known to be the pride of Karnataka. Here I will be sharing how to make Mysore Pak using jaggery instead of refined sugar. All traditional sweets were being made in jaggery before refined sugar was introduced in India which is much healthier and flavourful. Also, it retains iron content from the sugarcane and so very beneficial especially for kids. I like to come out of that refined sugar sweets concept in which we are trapped and accept nothing other than the one made with refined sugar. Definitely, this Mysore Pak doesn't taste like the normal one but still is super flavourful and addictive too!! This is best suited to make during festivals, for gatherings and parties.

A classic vegetarian French delicacy that is not only so beautiful but super delicious to eat. Tian is an oval-shaped earthenware that goes from oven to table. It is usually filled with layered, overlapping vegetables with some sauce and served as a main or side dish. This is a baked vegetable dish that is made with a wide variety of vegetables like tomato, onion, garlic, zucchini, yellow squash, Eggplant beautifully sliced and arranged in a baking dish or cast iron pan along with a combination of fresh herbs and spices. I had seen the movie 'Ratatouille' and that was when I was inspired to make this dish. I tried adding roasted veggies while making the sauce to make it more flavourful and healthy. The main part of this recipe is slicing the veggies evenly so they can be arranged perfectly in a baking dish or cast iron pan. I have used a cast iron pan here as I made the sauce in it and placed the slices on the same without having to transfer