Horsegram idlis--kollu idli recipe

     Food blogging makes you try everything and make you aware of many things. Kollu or horsegram was totally unknown to me during my childhood. After reading its health benefits, I have bought it into regular use at my place. My friend had once given me kollu idlis long time back and I had loved it. I wanted to try it since then and so I did after a long time. My friend had made them by adding the ground kollu paste into the regular idli batter. They were soft and good. So you can do the same or else you can follow the recipe I have used below.
     Serve with chutney or sambar and it becomes a nice filling brunch actually. I had served with a side dish made with small onions which was quite good. Will try to take pictures and post the recipe for the side dish next time.

Other recipes with horsegram/kollu-
Kollu rasam/horsegram soup

Dum arvi/arbi recipe - sidedish for chapatis

   I made this couple of week back when I had bought some arbi. I usually make it in the south indian style. But this time as I wanted it for chapatis, I tried it this way. I almost used the same recipe which I had used to make dum aloo, but with a slight variation. It tasted delicious.
 Few more arbi recipes in this blog-
1. Arbi ajwaini
2. Seppangkizhangu/arbi  roast. 
    Also check out-
1. Dum aloo
2. Adhraki dum aloo

Peanut chaat /peanut salad recipe

   I made this during the weekend when we all felt like eating something spicy. Infact we were watching a movie that time and I needed to make something really quick.
    I just had to pressure cook the peanuts as we do for the chundals and throw in some spice powders along with some chopped onions and tomatoes. Hardly a recipe, so I just clicked the pictures of the final product. It was just delicious. A fuss free recipe, where I could do the things during the break without missing the movie!!!

Carrot halwa blondie bars recipe

     I had got some beautiful red carrots which are quite popular in delhi to make some gajar ka halwa. I was suddenly reminded of this blondies which I had loved at the first sight and had bookmarked it. I got enough time to prepare during the long weekend. They were so good and it had the taste of carrot halwa. My hubby said this was one of the best cakes I have made. I am glad I finally tried this one and am sure to make this again!!

Baby potato biryani recipe

       Another rice variety which I wanted to make since a very long time as I am quite fond of the cute little potatoes. Biryani usually consumes lot of time and I was waiting for the opportunity and finally could make it last weekend. I used the similar recipe as I do with the vegetable biryani. But this time I added a green paste made with mint and coriander. Mint leaves imparts a wonderful flavour to the rice.

Me and my Creative Saga

Hello Readers,

How and why did I start this blog?
Welcome to Creative Saga, a food blog, for my love and passion for food and cooking.
I am a native of Tamil nadu but I have spent a good 25 years in Maharashtra, including a few years in Gujarat , Delhi and now Singapore. This is the reason for my love for all kinds of cuisines.
I was not a very keen cook in the beginning. It was just to satisfy my hunger. Cooking was just not my cup of tea, I believed. But my initial days of boredom immediately after my marriage and in a foriegn country only with a few friends lead me to take cooking as a creative hobby. I actually cooked and enjoyed it too!!I developed a sudden liking for cooking and used to ask my friends and relatives for new recipes.I use to ask my grandmom for authentic tamil recipes leaving her puzzled!! And next, I wanted a space where I could store my precious recipes with the picture and share it with my family and friends .Thus the "Creative Saga" came into existence. But then I had a few readers who followed my blog regularly. Then the number of readers grew. People actually began trying my recipes and giving me feedback. That was a huge inspiration and encouragement. I still don't consider myself a great cook.I do make mistakes and have my own disasters in kitchen. I am still learning and the blog inspires me to do more. There is still so much to learn.

 What is in Creative Saga??
Creative Saga is basically a collection of easy Indian recipes and a few international. Being a Tamilian, I have also included some Tamil recipes including some festival food too!! In the recent years , I also developed a liking for baking. And so some cakes,breads and cookies recipes for people who are new to baking.

Palak pulao with paneer and peas- spinach rice with cottage cheese and peas

     Rice varieties are a great saviour nowadays. Its becoming a little difficult managing the house chores along with the baby. But its fun too as I try to spend lot of time with the kids.
     So one of these days, I made this mixed rice variety when I was debating whether to make some cumin rice and palak paneer as a side dish. But with the little time I had in hand, I decided to combine both of them. It became easier to feed my kid too as he is a really fussy eater, and this way I could make him eat spinach which otherwise he would have avoided. I served with some curd and chips.