Let your imagination run wild as you select a sweet fruit like muskmelon and blend it with common flavourings like salt, pepper, coriander and cumin seeds to make this creamy salad dressing, that's sure enliven your meal.

If you thought kadhi is a very simple, everyday dish, this recipe will make you realise just how versatile the seemingly humble kadhi really is. Depending on the spices and additions, like veggies, pakodis or koftas, kadhi can be absolutely simple or awesomely rich too! Here, we have added spinach dumplings to the kadhi to make it special. Made of spinach and besan perked up with spices, the koftas have a wonderful taste and melt-in-the-mouth texture. They complement the yoghurt curry very well, making this a really satiating recipe. You can serve it with hot rice and ghee, or yummy buttered rice .

Smoked cottage cheese patties topped with a fiery red curry sauce.

Maize flour tortillas, interlaced with refried beans and lightly sauteed vegetables and topped with a capsicum sauce.

A lovely soup from Maharashtra made from tomatoes and coconut with a delicate touch of spices.

Mouth-melting bread koftas in delicious pumpkin curry.

Vegetables in Coconut Milk, also called Valval, is a sumptuous mixed veggie preparation in traditional Mangalorean style. Here, the veggies are cooked in a base of mildly sweetened coconut milk, and flavoured with a tempering of cumin and green chillies. Simple but elegant, Vegetables in Coconut Milk is a dish that appeals to everybody. You can serve it with dal and hot rice , or with rotis . Although you can slightly alter the combination of veggies used, do not miss out on traditional ones like red pumpkin and ivy gourd, because they are important to get the authentic effect.

Hare Mutter ke Parathe have a simple yet lingering flavour and texture that appeal to all. Mouth-watering whole wheat parathe made with a delicious stuffing of boiled and crushed green peas, this main course is not only sumptuous but also excitingly crisp and flavourful. It is amazing how a few green chillies and a dash of jeera are able to provide such an attractive aroma and taste to this dish.

Usli consists of a mixture of healthy sprouts that are stir fried with a little masala. A combination of 3 sprouts makes the recipe a good source of protein and iron. Sprouting aids the digestion of these pulses and also increases their nutritive value. The calcium and the fibre content of the recipe is good. It is thus very beneficial for you also keeps your taste buds happy.

These dainty potato baskets are made with potato straw and filled with a crunchy mixture of stir-fried bean sprouts and capsicum. Selecting the right kind of potatoes is the most vital step in making these baskets. Use a variety of potato that is used to make wafers. Some vendors even call them "Old Potatoes". This variety of potato has more starch which results in crisper baskets and these potatoes do not even brown easily. Old tea strainers which are made of metal can be used to make these baskets. You can make these baskets a day or so in advance and store them in an air-tight container.

Traditionally, samosas are served with chutney or chole, but this one which is a personal favourite of mine, is a bit different. I have experimented serving them with a coconut kadhi and to add some crunch to the dish, I have added chopped spring onions. This chaat is a meal in itself! The coconut kadhi uses coconut milk which is the liquid extracted with water from the coconut flesh. Coconut milk are now available in tetra packs at grocery stores, so you need not go through the effort of extracting it!

As they say, necessity is the mother of invention and this recipe came about because I always ended up binging on dahi vadas and the guilt which followed after a deep fried dahi vada snack was immense. But with this recipe, I realised that without compromising on the taste, I could make almost zero fat dahi vadas using a sandwich toaster. This recipe however works better using moong dal as compared to urad dal and the addition of a little Eno’s fruit salt makes the dahi vadas soft and spongy. Keep the prepared dahi vadas soaked in water and drain them out just before serving. Top with low fat curds and go ahead eat as much as you can!

Let’s transform tortilla chips into a healthy snack, and quickly too! an assortment of veggies is swiftly stir-fried and mixed with baked beans and a homemade salsa of tomatoes, jalapenos and spring onions. The tortilla chips is arranged on a dish, loaded with this fabulously tasty topping, and garnished with fresh spring onions. If in a hurry, you can even buy some tomato salsa from the store to make it all the more faster.

This exotic Coconut Vegetable Curry with Coconut Rice is a flavour-packed treat that will remain etched in your memory for ever! Rice that has been cooked with coconut milk and spices is served with a spicy vegetable curry that is flavoured with a rich masala paste. Assorted veggies add a splash of colours to this rice preparation, while abundant use of coconut milk in both the rice and the curry give it an elegance, which complements the intensity of the spice paste in a very balanced fashion. The total effect is mind-blowing and you will thoroughly enjoy this lip-smacking delicacy. To mellow the spicy flavour of the curry serve with accompaniments like Cucumber Pachadi or Red Pumpkin Pachadi .