Ela Ada

Buffet on Table: Week 2 -- Indian States

Day 11: Kerala -- Ela Ada

For the final day of this week's mega marathon, I have a sweet dish from Kerala. Coconut-jaggery stuffing inside a rice flour crepe, then steamed until done. These are perfect to make for festivals and special occasions.

With sravana maasam in full swing, I had way too many fresh coconuts to take care of. So I used some of it to make this simply delicious dessert.

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Shahi Mixed Vegetable & Paneer Curry

I made this creamy and colorful mixed vegetable curry to go with the Khamiri rotis. 'Shahi' literally means regal or royal, so any dish with that in the name means it's going to be rich and flavorful.

This shahi vegetable curry is great to make for parties or when you have company. Like most other Indian gravy curries, this curry tastes even better as it sits. So make it ahead of time and warm slightly when ready to serve.

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Khamiri Roti with Shahi Mixed Vegetable and Paneer Curry

Buffet on Table: Week 2 -- Indian States

Day 10: Uttar Pradesh -- Khamiri Roti

After yesterday's simple Karnataka meal, I've 2 delicious Mughalai dishes from Uttar Pradesh today. Uttar Pradesh cuisine is influenced greatly by Mughal cooking techniques. In the Mughal era, Uttar Pradesh became the heartland of the empire.
Mughlai cuisine is rich with the use of spices and different cooking techniques. I decided to make a simple flatbread and a creamy vegetable & paneer curry.

Khamiri roti is a Mughlai leavened bread. Khamir means 'yeast' and it is used in this roti to make it thick and spongy. I thought it is similar to naan, but these are made with wholewheat flour and are not made as thick as naans.

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Sihi Bella (Sweet Poha with Jaggery)

I made this simple sweet poha dish along with lemon rice for my daughter's birthday. Recently I made a sweet dish poha and jaggery, but that one is more like a payasam but this one is a dry-ish preparation.

This dish can be made in no time, getting the jaggery to melt is the only time consuming part. I used powdered jaggery to make things easy for me, if you are using regular jaggery, then make sure to powder it well. Also using fresh grated coconut is important because dried or frozen coconut is too dry for this dish.

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Chitrannam and Sihi Bella

Buffet on Table: Week 2 -- Indian States

Day 9: Karnataka -- Chitranna and Vella Avalaki

I have savory and sweet dishes from Karnataka today. It was my daughter's birthday few days back and I wanted to make something special for her. Lemon rice, tamarind rice are usually made for birthdays, festivals and special occasions. So I made Karnataka style Lemon rice and Sihi Bella.

I had this lemon rice aka Chitranna from Indira's blog bookmarked for a long time. Both my kids love peanuts along with potatoes, so this lemon rice with both their favorite ingredients was just perfect. I add enough of them so that they get at least one peanut and a piece of potato in each and every bite.

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Kashmiri Saffron or Kesar Rice

Final dish on my mini Kashmiri thali is this saffron or kesar rice. Saffron flavors this simple rice dish along with some more spices. I added some turmeric to give the rice a little more color. Serve with simple rice with a spicy gravy curry.

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Doon Chetin (Apple Chutney)

I saw the recipe for this Apple chutney called Doon Chetin on Vaishali's Kashmiri thali and wanted to try it. This chutney is spicy and sweet and tasted yummy when scooped onto the rotis. It takes just a few minutes to make this chutney, so give it a try if you are a lover of spicy, sweet food. This is part of my Kashmiri Thali.

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Kashmiri Dum Aloo

To go with my Kashmiri Rotis and Saffron rice, I made this Kashmiri Dum Aloo. This curry is so delicious with stuffed potatoes that is served with a spicy, creamy gravy.

I already have another Kashmiri Dum Aloo recipe on the blog, but this recipe is quite different from that one because here the potatoes are stuffed with paneer and unsweetened khoya. I replaced khoya with ricotta cheese because I didn't have khoya on hand and strained ricotta worked like a charm.

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Kashmiri Mini Thali - Roti, Dum Aloo, Apple Chutney and Saffron Rice

Buffet on Table: Week 2 -- Indian States

Day 8: Kashmir -- Kashmiri Roti with Dum Aloo, Doon Chetin & Kashmiri Yellow Rice

After seeing my marathon buddies make amazing thalis, I made a mini Kashmiri thali for today's mega marathon. Thanks to Valli's and Vaishali's Kashmiri posts for the inspiration. I picked the recipes from their thalis to make mine. Here's what I made:

• Kashmiri Roti (recipe follows)
• Kashmiri Dum Aloo
• Kashmiri Kesari Rice
• Doon Chetin (Apple Chutney)

Kashmiri roti is a very flavorful recipe with spices that are added right into the dough. It is kneaded with milk instead of water to make soft and delicious rotis. Served with Kashmiri Dum Aloo, these rotis tasted simply amazing.

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Erra Karam Dosa

Buffet on Table: Week 2 -- Indian States

Day 7: Andhra Pradesh -- Erra Karam Dosa

I am making a dish from my home state of Andhra today. It was quite a task deciding on dishes for this week. I had big plans but things got hectic and I lost track of time. Finally I decided on making simple recipes that have been on my bookmarks for a long time.

This Erra Karam Dosa from Suma's blog is something I have been planning to make for a while now. It is a spicy and delicious variation of dosa from the Rayalaseema region in Andhra. According to Suma it is a dish that is a popular street food.

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Thalipeeth (Maharashtrian flat bread)

Buffet on Table: Week 2 -- Indian States

Day 1: Maharashtra -- Thalipeeth

After a week of combo meals from around the world, our theme for the second week of our mega marathon, Buffet on Table, is Indian States. So each day of this week, I will be sharing a dish from different states in India.

With the amount of time we had to plan for this marathon, I should have made elaborate dishes and meals for this week. Though I had plans to make it 'mega', when reality really hit me it was a little too late in the game. I stuck to very simple dishes, but I have to say I enjoyed them all very much and I will be making them often in the future.

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