Recipe Fundas!-Simple,Tasty, Healthy Vegetarian recipes for a Vibrant Living!

  Musfata Center- a place usually popular among locals in Singapore was looking different in Phase III of circuit breaker of Covid outbreak. There were very few people seen and most of the staff were immersed in their own chats. Though baby mangoes (Maavadu) are nowhere to be seen, we were happy to see some rare goodies from India. Mango Ginger- a variety of Ginger that has strong aroma of raw Mango was something that caught my attention. I made a yummy pickle and my family enjoyed it as as a side dish. Here is the pickle recipe 1. Wash and peel the mango ginger. 2. Give it a good blend in a mixie adding half a cup of water. 3. In a pan, add 2-3 tbsp of sesame oil, add the blended mixture. Add  2 tbsp of chilli powder and salt to taste. Keep stirring regularly until the ginger cooks and you would see the oil oozing around the sides. 4. Store it in an air tight container. 5.Shelf life would be around a week with refrigeration

This is a simple pickle that can be stored for months. Wash the green pepper and pat it dry with a towel and store it in a bottle. Add in salt and few drops of lemon juice and few tbsp of shredded mango ginger. Keep shaking the bottle once a week. The green pepper will turn black after a few weeks and you can consume it in smaller quantity (less than half spoon), with curd rice.

I love Mango pickles and recently Mrs.Madhavi shared how to make these easily at home. Ingredients 1. Mango- 2 (Raw, peeled and chopped in small pieces) 2. Chilli powder- 1 cup (red chilli) 3. Garlic- 1 full (chopped pods) 4. Salt- 1/2 cup 5. Sesame oil- 1 cup 6. Mustard and Fenugreek seeds- 1 tbsp each (roasted and powdered). Mix all the ingredients. Add the heated sesame oil. This pickle will soak and will be ready in 2 days. Definitely tastes wonderful and nothing can beat home made taste and this pickle lasts longer.

As kids in a rural town in Southern India, we had no clue on any of the cadburys varieties of candies and were more exposed to easily available fruits and nuts for less than a rupee. In my school days, (in the 90s), we always had ground nuts, some of the local berries (Naga pazham- a type of blue berry in India) and goose berries sold in front of our school. It used to cost only 25-50 paise, to get a handful of  these :). We also had a gooseberry tree (bigger variety- more nutricious one) at home. No one planted it, but it gave us huge amount of  gooseberries each year. My father would give it to each and every single household (atleast 1 kg per home) but we still will end up having some cases left. The traditional grandmother's recipe is to soak gooseberries in salted water adding some turmeric powder, for atleast a week. Whenever we needed to make a fresh pickle, these gooseberries are the instant choice prepared in no time for a guest (usually the mappillais: son-in-...

A different type of pickle, using Mint. Grind a handful of mint leaves in the blender. Add 2 tbsp of oil in a pan, and add mustard seeds. When mustard starts splattering, add the ground mixture and add 1/2 tbsp of chilli powder and salt. Let this cook well. Add a small piece of jaggery and add 1 tbsp of gingelly oil. This will look like Gongura pickle in color (Brownish).

I tried this yesterday and its very good. Ingredients: 1. Finely chopped and washed coriander- 1 cup 2. Tamarind- 1 small lemon size 3. Red chillies- 5 4. Salt- as required. Grind all of the above in the blender. In a pan, saute with mustard seeds and add this blended mixture and add gingelly oil (2 tbsp) and let this cook well. When all the water has evaporated, this will reach the consistency of pickle. Goes nice with Idli/Dosa or Rice.

I got very big gooseberries in market lastweek. I soaked these in salted water and added a spoon of turmeric powder. After a week, when the gooseberries are soaked well in salted water, I cut the gooseberries into small pieces and removed the seed. In a pan, add 2 tbsp of oil, 1 tbsp of mustard seeds, 1 tbsp of chilli powder. Mix well, so that the chilli powder is fried in oil. Now, add the gooseberry pieces and add salt. Cook simmer for 2 mins.

If you are someone who loves spicy items, then this is something that you can try. Ingredients: 1. Green Chillies- 10 2.Jaggery- 1 1tbsp 3.Gingelly oil- 2 tbsp 4. Sunflower oil & Mustard to Saute 5. Salt- as required. 6. Optional- Asafoetida (1 pinch), Turmeric powder- 1 pinch. How to make Green Chilli Thokku 1. Grind green chillies adding lil water in a blender. 2. In a pan, add oil and mustard and asafoetida. Once the mustard starts splattering, add the ground mixture, tumeric powder. 3. Add jaggery and salt as required. 4. Let the mixture come to a boil. 5. Once it comes to a paste like consistency, add gingelly oil and store in an airtight container.

1.Grate 1 big mango fully, after washing and peeling the skin. 2.In a pan, heat oil, put mustard seeds, add grated mango and turmeric powder. 3.Let this cook in a lil water. 4.Then, add red chilli powder (1-2 tbsp) and salt and add gingelly oil. 5.Once this mixture is well cooked, store in an air tight container. This is a yummy pickle and a favourite for most people from S.India

"I usually buy yellow lemons in the stores. Once the juice is extracted I kept storing them adding salt. After a week, I pressurecooked these lemons for about 3-4 whistles. How to make pickle? In a dry pan, add oil, curry leaves, mustard seeds, asaefoetida, and 1-2 tbsp of chilli powder. This chilli powder should be fried in oil, now add the cooked lemons and add salt. Let this mixture cook for about 10 mins. Add gingelly oil and store in an air tight container in fridge"