Wednesday, December 26, 2007

Mulakkada chaaru (Drumstick Rasam)

This is one of my favourite chaaru. If you get young drumsticks then it is a great dish to relish. Make this Rasam instead of the regular when you have guests at home.

Ingridients:-
Drumstick - 6-8 peices
Tamarind - 2 tbspn fresh extract
Curry Leaves - few
Tomato - optional

1. Take 1 cup water and put drumstick peices in it. Add salt and bring it boil. Leave for 5 mins till the drumsticks are cooked. you will see the fresh green coor of the drumstick changes to pale green and this is when you know that the drumstick is cooked.
2. Now add tamarind juice and tomato, curry leaves.
3. Add very little Rasam powder. Extract of the drumstick should be the key thing in this. This is what gets the flavour.
4. Season with oil, mustard seeds, jeera and hing.

Eat with rice and papad.

Saturday, December 22, 2007

Kaakarakai pulusu (karela Sambar)

When I was young I never used to like Karela... but as I grew up I started to develop a taste for it... probaby the life around u sometimes gets so bitter that even a bitter vegetable starts tasting delicious:-)... that apart...Do you like Karela? If yes you shoud definetly try this recipe...hope you will enjoy this...

Ingridients:-
2 tender Karelas
Onion - 1 (Optional)
Jagerry - 2 big peices
Tamarind - one lemon sized
Cooked Toor dal - 2 cups

1. Cut the Karelas ring shaped and soak them in turmeric and salt water for 30 mins.
2. Squeeze out the water and wash the karela peices thorougly.
3. Take oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds, jeera, turmeric and dry chillies. Once they sputter add green chillies and add onion and karela peices.
4. Fry the karela peices for 5 mins.
5. Extract Tamarnd juice and add to the pan. Add jagerry and add 4 cups water. Also add curry leaves.
6. Once the karela is cooked, add cooked toor dal. Mix well.
7. After 2 mins add Sambar powder (See my other sambar recipies for sambar powder or use MTR sambar powder).
8. Once the powder leaves froth remove from heat and serve hot with rice and papad.

Dosakai pachadi

This is one of the side dish you can make it quicky when guests come. It takes very less time and it tastes good and a great traditional dish.

Ingridients:-
Dosakai - Cucumber - 1
Mustard seeds - 1 tbsp
Rice soaked - 1 tbspn
Green chillies - 5
Curry leaves - few

1. Finely cut the cucumber. Take away the seeds in the middle.
2. Grind the mustard seeds green chillies, and rice to a fine paste.
3. Take oil in a pan and add mustard seeds, urad daal - 1 tspn, chana daal -1 tspn, hing and once sputters add curry leaves.
4. Add the cucumber peices which are finely chopped. Fry for a minute
5. Add the paste and mix well. Add a litte water.

This is quick pachadi which is spicy and is great to eat with daal rice as a side dish.

Nuvvula Podi

This a very simple recipe... but good to eat with rice or add to beans or carrot curry... Do not eat too much at one time as it causes heat in the body which is not good...

Ingridients:-
Seseme seeds - 2 cups
Dry red chillies - 10 peices
Salt to taste

1. Fry the seseme seeds on low flame nicey for around 10- 15 mins.
2. Fry red chillies
3. Grind together after adding salt to taste
4. Store in air tight container

you can eat this with hot rice and ghee and the taste is awesome...

Pappula Podi

If you have been to an Andhra restaurant you wil notice an yellow coor powder along with pickles on each tabe. This is one of the standard powder (in telugu powder is called podi). We call this 'Pappula Podi'.
We used to make this at home regularly and refill it whenever it gets over... it is mixed with rice and oil/ hot ghee. In the podi rice we mix it with mango pickle also and eat. Sometimes we eat with rice, curd and podi. It is the instant food you can have when you are hungry.

Ingridients:-
Dalia - 2 cups
Red dry chillies - 10 peices
Dry coconut - 10 peices
Salt to taste

1. Fry red chillies for a minute
2. Grind all the ingridients to a fine powder

Store in air tight container and eat with rice by adding litte oil or ghee.

Palli Podi

This is one of the standard powder (in telugu powder is called podi) we make in Andhra Pradesh. We call this 'Palli Podi'. Peanut powder. We used to make this at home regularly and refill it whenever it gets over... it is mixed with rice and oil/ hot ghee. In the podi rice we mix it with mango pickle also and eat. Sometimes we eat with rice, curd and podi. It is the instant food you can have when you are hungry.

Ingridients:-
Peanuts - 2 cups
Garlic - 2 big peices
Dry red Chillies - 10 peices
Salt to taste

1. Roast penuts for 5 mins. let them cool. Peel them off.
2. Fry red chillies for a few seconds.
3. Grind all the ingridients to a fine-coarse powder.
4. Store in air tight container and serve with rice and oil.

Chutney Podi

This podi can be used for idli's primarily. We eat it with rice also. I use this for powder for curries also. You can use for Dosa's as well.

Ingridients:-
1. Chana daal - 1 cup
2. Urad daal - 1 cup
3. Dhania - 3/4 cup
4. Tamarind - 10 tamarind dried pods
5. Dry red chillies - 15 peices (more if you want it spicy)

1. Fry each ingridients separately dry without oil (except tamarind)
2. Dry grind all the above into a fine paste
3. Add salt and store in air tight container.

Vankai Menthikaaram

This is one of the traditional curries made in south india. and this is one of my favourite vegetable:-)!!

Menthikaaram porder:-
Chana Daal - 1 cup
Urad Daal - 1 cup
Dry Red Chillies - 15
Methi Seeds - 2 tbp spns
Dhania - 0.5 cup

Fry all the above spices dry saparately till nice aroma comes and allow them to cool. Grind all the spices to a fine paste.

Curry Ingridients:-
Tamarind juice - 3 tbsp
Brinjal small purple ones - 20
Oil for frying

1. Cut Brinjal into long thin peices and keep them soaked in water ( so that color does not change)
2. Take oil in a pan and once little hot, add the brinjal peices by squeezing out all the water.
3. Keep the flame on low-med and let the brinjal's cook and fry. Cover the lid for 2 mins or so.
4. Take away the lid after 2 mins and add salt after
5. After 10 mins of frying on Med flame (brinjals are fried nicely) add methi powder and Mix well. If you need to add more oil if burry is becoming dry, please do so.
6. Now add freshly extracted tamarind pulp. Mix well.
7. Fry for another 2 mins on low flame and remove from heat.

This dish tastes really good with white rice and ghee.

Donda Fry



Dondakai is one of my favourite vegetables. I love Donda fry a lot!!!! It is very simple to make and yet very tasty.

1. Cut Donda kai in small circles
or
2. Cut Donda in long thin peices
or
3. Cut both ends of dondakai and slit both ends.

For the last 3rd one, pressure cook the dondakai on a plain plate for 2 whistlesadd salt to the peices at this point itself. Fry the peices in oil for 10 mins. add chilli powder.



Take oil in a pan and fry the dondakai peices on med flame with generous amount of oil. Fry for around 30 mins or so. Add salt and chillie powder. Ready to eat with rice

Veg Green Masala

I was so bored of the usual onion tomato based recipies for sabzi's that i once ate this wonderful recipe in a restaurant. The masala base was palak and I absolutely loved it!! I came home and tried it immediately and here is the recipe for it.
Ingridients:-
Your favo veggies aloo, cauliflower, carrot, squash, panneer etc
Fresh palak - 3 bunch
Ginger - fresh choppped
Onion - 1 big chopped
1. Take oil in a pan and add chopped ginger and garlic. once nice aroma comes, add onion and turmeric
2. Fry for a min and add chopped palak to it and green chillies. Fry for a min and allow to cool.
3. Now grind to a paste and keep aside.
4. Take oil again, add jeera and then add all the veggies. Put little water and close it and cook. I sually microwave all the veggies before adding to the pan as it will be faster.
5. Once all veggies are cooked, add the paste and let the veggies cook for a min in this paste. Add salt and more water if required.
6. Once cooked remove from heat. Garnish with ginger and fresh coriander on the top.
Good to eat with naan or rice.

Mushroom Mutter Masala

This is a typical recipe. Not very enthusiastic about it. Just made it the other day, so writing it here.

Ingridients:-
1 Tin Mushrooms
Peas - 2 cups
Onion - 1 big chopped
Ginger and garlic - cut into small prices

1. Take oil in a pan and add ginger and garlic
2. Once nice aroma comes add turmeric and add onion
3. Cool and Grind to a paste.
4. Take oil again and add tej patta, add the paste and add mushrooms, peas. Add some water now. cook for 5 mins or so. Add garam masala, cook for another 5 mins.
5. Add fresh coriander now and remove from heat.

Good to eat with Rice and chapati.

Panner Butter masala

I am proud of this recipe! Whenever I take this recipe to a potluck I get great compliments:-)!

Ingridients:-
Panner cut into cubes and fry them
One big onion
Tomatoes - 3 chopped
Butter for frying

1. Take big block of button in a pan and heat butter. Add jeera and once it turns pink add onion.
2. Gently fry the onion in butter fr 5 mins till golden brown.
3. Add chopped tomato it in. Fry for another min
4. Now cool the mixture and grind to a fine paste. This now turns into beautiful orange color. If it does to a brownish color either u burnt the onion too much or add more tomato.
5. Now take more butter in the pan and fry the panner cubes for a min.
6. Add the orange mixture to this now. Keep on low flame.
7. Allow the panner cubes to cook for a min in the mixture now. Add salt and a little garam masala.
8. Remove from heat and serve with roti or rice

More butter more creamy and nice the recipe will turn out to be.

Sorrakai Koora

Sorrakaya also known as Anapakaaya is used in many south indian dishes. Usually in Sambar preperation.
English name is 'Bottle Gaurd'.
We make cury out of this vegetable in 2 types. One is cut into small peices, season it and add seseme seeds powder. Instead of seseme seeds powder you can also add chutney powder (see my recipe for chutney powder). This will make it a dry curry. It goes well with daal rice.
The recipe in picture is a gravy one.
1. cut bottle gourd into med 1 inch square peices.
2. Cut one med onion into long thin peices.
3. Take oil in a pressure pan and add mustards seeds, hing. once mustard seeds sputter add onions, and turmeric, green chillies.
4. Fry for a min, add the bottle gourd peices. Add Salt. Curry leaves
5. Pressure cook this mixture for whistle.
6. Remove from pressure cooker and add at this point you can add milk if you like it creamy.
Serve with Chapathi or Rice.

Puchakaaya Koora (Water melon curry)

This is a new recipe i learnt from one of my dearest friend Sunanda. When we eat water melon we throw the base. We can utilize this base also and make curry out of it. This is a little sweeter in taste and hope you enjoy this dish.

Ingridients:-
1. Water melon base peeled and chopped into small peices
2. Tomato
3. Onion (optional)

1. Take oil in a pan and season with mustard seeds, chana daal, toor daal, jeera and hing. Add a little turmeric powder. Add chopped onion if you want at this point.
2. Once they sputter add green chillies, curry leaves
3. Add the water melon peices.
4. Close the lid for them to cook.
5. Add tomato puree freshly prepared
6. Add Salt and little sugar also to enhance the flavour of the water melon.
7. Add dhania powder little if you wish so.

Take off from heat. This is good to eat with chapati or rice.

Potlakaya Perugu Pachadi (snakegourd raita)

This is again one of the famous south indian side dishes in your lunch meal. I particularly like this one because of the vegetable flavour and it feels good inside the stomach when you eat it.

Ingridients:-
Snake gourd - cut into small peices
Green chillies
Curd

1. Take oil in a pan and season with mustard seeds, chana daal, urad daal, jeera and hing
2. Once mustard seeds sputter add green chillies and curry leaves
3. Now add the small peices of snake ourd
4. Fry the peices for 5 mins, This vegetables cooks quickly.
5. Turn off the heat and add curd and salt.

The dish is ready. The preperation time is just 10 mins, so easy to add this on to your lunch meal as it one extra dish in no time:-).

Budankai/Dosakai pappu

I love this pappu!!

1. Cut Budankai or nakka dosakai as it is called into small peices
2. Pressure cook it. I usually put it along with rice, daal etc while making lunch
3. Grind green chillies (5-6 small ones) and keep ready
4. Take ghee in a pan and add mustard seeds, jeera, hing, turmeric
5. Once they sputter, add the cooked bundankai.
6. Add green chillie paste also.
7. Add the cooked toor dal and mix well. Add salt and remove from heat

Eat with hot rice and ghee and pickle.

Osirikkaya (Amla) pachadi

I love this pickle. I learnt it from my grandma. This is very good for health also and it is very tasty to eat when u fall sick.

Ingridients:-
Amlas round big ones (1/2 Kg)
Chillie pwder - 1 cup
Salt - 3/4 cup
lemons - 10 peices
Turmeric - 1 tspn
Vegetable oil for frying

1. Wash amlas thoroughly, clean and dry them.
2. Take oil in a pan and add the amlas
3. Keep flame low and fry them nicely for about 15 mins. As you fry you see that they slowly swell out and start becoming translucent and tender. With spatula, cut them into peices.
4. Once they are cooked remove from heat
5. For one bowl of amlas(1/2 kg), take 3/4 cup of salt and 1 cup of chillie powder. Measurement is the hard part. I always follow my intuition.
6. Add salt and chillie powder to the amlas and keep placing them in the air tight container u will use to store the pickle.
7. Once all aamlas are finished, add turmeric powder to it.
8. now squeeze lemon juice from 10-12 lemons and add it to the mixture. Mix well
9. Now leave alone the mixture for 3 days. Watch it once a day to see its doing it.
10. After 3 days it will be all set to eat.

Tomato Pachadi

This is a very simple recipe, but it is a great side dish in complete lunch meal.

Ingridients:-
Fresh tomatoes 5 - chopped
Chillie pwoder
Salt
Oil for frying

1. Take oil in a pan generous amount 5 tbspn or more. Add mustard seeds and hing. Once they sputter add tomatoes. Do not add water at all.
2. Now on low flame let the tomatoes cook, slowly you will see that they get cooked and start leaving the oil from the sides. Keep mixing
3. Once the mixture becomes thick and oil saperates, add chilie powder and salt. Add proportion little more that what you add for sabzi as this is a pickle.

Thats it. Its ready to be eaten and u wont believe it tastes very good!!

You can use this for dosa also.

Chekkilaalu - Chakkuli

This is a very popular snack made during festival time. It is very simple to make and very tasty.

Ingridients:-
Rice Flour - 2 cups
Besan - 0.25 cup
Vaamu - 0.5 tspn
Seseme seeds - 2 tspn
Chillie powder - 2 tspn

1. Mix all ingridients in a bowl. Add salt to taste.
2. Take 3 tbspn oil and heat it. Once hot add it to the mixture. This step will give a good crunch to the snack
3. Now add little water to the mixture and make it into a soft dough. We should be able to put it in a chakkuli maker and squeeze it to come out in the shape we desire. The dough should be more softer than the chapati dough
4. Heat oil in a pan and squeeze out the dough in a desired shape. the key for frying is to reduce tghe heat to medium while frying. If you do this it will take more time for the chakuli to fry and the chakkuli will be cream in color. If you do not want it and want the chakkuli to be dark brown in color then you should fry it in high flame and take off soon. Also you can add more chilie powder to you taste
I like it in creamy color, the way they do in marraiges. Enjoy this snack.

Besan laddo


This is a very easy recipe for any festival and yet very delicious. If you do not have enough time and patience to make any other sweet dish like mysorepak etc, try this one.
Ingridients:-
Besan - 2 cups
Pwderred Sugar - 2 cups
Ghee - 1.5 cups
Elaichi powder
kajoos and Kissmiss
1. Fry the besan slowly on low flame till a nice aroma comes. Around 10 mins.
2. Add ghee to it and fry for another 10 mins.
3. Add sugar now, and let the mixture cool
4. Fry kajoos and kissmiss in ghee and add to the mixture.
5. Once semi cooled, make small balls
6. Once the laddoos are cooled completely store in air tight container.

Pav Bhaji

I tried this recipe recently and i loved it!! I used to make pav bhaji but very differently. So here u go.. this is a great dish to make when you call over some frens home...

Ingridients:-
Aloo - 2 med ones peeled and chopped to small peices
Capcicum - 1 big, chopped
Cauliflower - 2 big florets
Carrots - 2 big ones - chopped
Sweet peas - 2 cups
Butter - 1 bar
Tomato - 4 big ones chopped
2 big Onions chopped
2 big alapenos chopped
Ginger and garlic to to taste chopped

1. Take butter in a pan. Add jeera and once sputters add turmeric and add fresh ginger and garlic chopped
2. Now add chopped onion. Adn fry for amin or so. Add tomato and fry for another min
3. Add all veggies and save 1cup of peas.
4. Add more butter and Fry all veggies for 5 mins or so on med flame.
5. Now turn iff heat and allow to cool.
6. Grind the mixture in a food processor to a paste. You should still be able to see small veggie peices in between.
7. Now take a pan and in high flame add butter and the mixture of veggies. Keep stirring constantly. Now add pav bhaji powder and mix well. Add more butterand mix well. Add salt and chillie powder if required.

Remove from heat. Garnish with butter and fresh coriander and serve with tava fried pav and enjoy with ur friends!!

Paalakoora Pappu - All Kinds

This is one of my favourite pappu. Very simple to make and yet very tasty to eat.
There are many ways to make it. Here is one of it

1. You can cook the palak and toor daal in pressure cooker together. Make sure you add more spinach / palak so that you get a very good taste of the greens.
2. Take off the daal and spinach from the cooker, it should be green in color.
3. Take ghee in a pan and add mustard seeds, jeera and hing to it. Once they sputter add turmeric, green chillie paste and add the cooked daal and spinach and mix well. Take off heat and its ready to eat with rice.

Also while seasoning you can add garlic if you like. This gives a good punch to the daal.

Another way to make it.
1. Take ghee in a pan and add seasning mustard seeds, jeera, hing and turmeric. Once they sputter add greeh chillies paste. Add chopped spinach and add some water. cook well in med flame. once the spinash becomes tender and becomes into a green paste, add cooked toor daal.
2. Extract fresh lemon juice and add to the daal now.

Both these ways the daal taste a little different. i like the second way more and usually make it this way.

I am adding one more of my favos. I make this usually when I call guests home. Palakoora - Mamidi pappu.

1. Basically but green mango into small peices after peeling it.
2. After seasoning with mustard, jeera and hing in ghee, add turmeric and mango peices, chopped palak. Add green chillie paste also.
3. Cook on med flame till the veggies are tender, add cooked toor daal.
4. Add salt and mix well.

This is a great dish which is sour and spicy. If the mango is sweet, the dish turns out sweet as well. I love it when it is sweet and spicy!!

Vankai Pappu (Brinjal Daal)

All my life i have grown up eating different kinds of daal. Daal is our staple food at home. I was surprised when folks at my in-laws side said that they never had vakai daal. so one day i made it for them. Here is the recipe for it.

This is made like most of the daals and very simple to make

1. Cut brinjal (small purple ones) into very small peices so that it is faster and easier to cook. The vegetable should blend with the daal smoothly.
2. Take ghee in a pan (all my daal recipies are with ghee) and add jeera and mustard seeds. Once they sputter add turmeric and hing.
3. you can choose to add Green chillies for fresh taste or chilie powder for dry flavour. If you are planning to add green chillies then add them at this point. Grind and add them
4. Add brinjal peices and add some water.
5. cook them for 10 mins or so till they become very soft. Mass them thoroughly.
6. Add Tamarin juide 2 tbspn now.
7. Add cooked toor daal and mix well.
8. Add chillie powder (if green chillies were not used).
9. Mix well and remove from heat. Serve with hot rice and pickle.

Merapakaaya Pappu

All my life I grew up eating different kinds of daals. My mom is just superb in making all kinds fo daals!!! I love my mom! I was very suprised in fact that at my in laws place they do not make mirchi daal it seems. So here is the recipe for mirchi daal.

Dont get scared! It is not spicy at all. Actually it is very tasty and creamy as you fry the mirchi in ghee and add lots of coconut as well. I hope you like this dish and enjoy it.

Choose those green chillies light green color and thin and 2 inches long. These are not very spicy. If you know mirchis the guntur ones which are dark green color and short are the most spiciest ones.!!

1. Take 10 peices of green chillies wash them nicely and take off their heads.
2. Slit them one side and keep ready
3.Take ghee in a pan and one hot add mustard seeds, jeera, hing. Add tumeric and then add green chillies. Keep flame on low and fry the chillies for 1 min.
4. Then add fresh tamarin juice 2 tbspn and add some water. Add curry leaves
5. Now add cooked daal and mix well
6. Add fresh grated coconut it in now. mix well again. Add salt

Serve hot with rice and papad.

Cabbage pappu

All my life i have grown up eating different kinds of daal. Daal is our staple food at home. I was surprised when folks at my in-laws side said that they never had cabbage pappu.

Here is the recipe for it.

1. Cut cabbage into small peices and pressure cook them. I put them along with rice and daal usually while lunch preperation.

2. Once cabbage is cooked, mash well.

3. Take ghee in a pan, add mustard seeds, jeera, hing. Once they sputter add turmeric powder and green chillies paste

4. Add the mashed cabbage now.

5. After a min add cooked Toor daal and mix well.

6. Add salt to taste and remove from heat now.

Instead of green chillies you can add chillie powder also to give a dry taste. Usually if curry is fresh based, i made daal which should taste dry or vice versa. This gives a variety in the meal.

Also the more ghee you add more creamy your daal will be. I add more ghee usually when I call guests home.

Menthi Tomato pappu

This ia again one of my favourite pappu recipe. This combination is good combination to use when you call some guests home. here is the recipe

1. Wash thoughly the fresh methi and chop to small peices
2. Chop 1 big tomato into small peices
3. Take ghee in a pan and add mustard seeds, jeera and hing. Once they sputter add tumerric powder and green chillies.
4. Now add greens and tomato. Add 2 cups water.
5. Allow the greens to cook Methi takes a while to cook thoroughly.
6. Aftr 15 mins once the daal is cooked and all water evaporated, add cooked Toor dal and mix well. Add salt and remove from heat

Ready to be served with hot rice, pickle and papad.

Thotakoora pappu

All my life i have grown up eating different kinds of daal. Daal is our staple food at home. This is one of the famous daal recipies. Hope you enjoy it.

1. Wash and chop fresh thotakoora into small peices.
2. Take oil ina pan and add mustard seeds, jeera and hing. Add turmeric once they sputter. Add Green chillies and curry leaves now.
4. Add thota koora and add some water.
5. After 5 mins add fresh tamarind juice 3 tbspn.
6. Now cook the greens till tender and they turn color to greenish brown.
7. Now add little toor daal. Consitency of this daal should be thin.

This dish is a little sour and spicy in taste. Serve with hot rice and papad.

Beans Nuvvula koora - Beans Seseme curry

This is a regular day to day dry curries which is made in a andhra home. Basically you can add the seseme seeds falvour to you favourite veggie and it tastes very good. Here is the rcipe for green fresh beans and you can use it for carrot, bottle gourd and fresh pumkpin as well.

Ingridients:-
Beans - cut them finely
Seseme seeds
Curry leaves

1. Pressure cut green beans. I put them along with rice and daal in the pressure cooker while cooking for the meal. In pressure cooker the veggie cooks fast and the dish is made in minutes.
2. Take some oil in a pan and season with chana daal, urad daal, mustard seeds and hing. Add a little turmeric.
3. Add the cooked beans to it now. Ensure there is no water addd
4. Fry it for a min. Now add the seseme powder as in my other recipe (see for detailed instructions there. In short basically fry it and dry grind along with dry red chillies)
5. Cook the veggie and seseme seeds powder for 2 mins. Add salt and remove from heat.

Enjoy this dish with rice and daal.

Goddu Pulusu - Chama (Amorphophallus)

This is again a traditional south indian recipe. It is made with Amorphophallus. A sticky starchy kind of potato. This is like sambar except that it has no daal it in as the vegetable has enough start in it already:-). This dish is eaten along with daal (pappu) on the side.

Ingridients:-
Chama gadda - 8 peices
Tamarind Pulp - 5 tb spoons
Green chillies
Jaggerry

1. Pressure cook amorphophallus to three whistles. peel off and cut them into big / med peices
2. take oil in a pan and season with mustard seeds, jeera and hing. Once the mustard seeds sputter add green chillies and curry leaves
3. Add little turmeric powder. now add them cooked chaama and add water
4. Now see that the chama dissolves a little in water and the semi thinner liquid is formed. Add tamarind juice now.
5. Now add jagerry and mix well.
6. If the consistency is thin, then add a little cooked toor daal. Else do not add.
7. Bring the pulusu to boil. Add little sambar powder.
8. Cook for 5 mins and take off from heat.

Serve with plain toor daal and rice and papad.

Aloo Palak


This recipe is rich in Palak. Very simple to make. Here is the recipe.
Ingridients:-

Palak - 2 bunches
Onion - 1 big chopped
Green chillies - 5-6
Ginger - 1 small peice
Garlic - fresh chopped

1. Take some oil in a pan and add little jeera, ginger and garlic. After some time add onion and green chillies
2. Fry for a min and then add the cleaned spinach/ palak leaves
3. Fy them for 5 mins till they become soft. Take off from heat.
4. Grind the mixture into a green paste once cooled.
5. Peel and cut potatoes into small cubes. Microwave them for 4 mins or so till cooked.
6. Take some oil in a pan and fry the aloo for a min
7. Then add the green spinach paste prepared. Add salt
8. Cook the aloo in the palak till cooked. Take off from heat and serve with Roti.

Bisibele bath


This is a typical south indian dish mostly prepared in karnataka. I learnt it when I was in mysore. you can make this with beaten rice (atukulu) or rice. I generally make it with rice.
The key spice is in this is Puvva. Also called as badiyan and you get this in a indian grocery store. This gives a nice aroma and a flavour to your bisi belebath.
Bisi means hot, bele means pulse. So basically this is suppossed to be eaten hot and it is daal rice. (literally translated:-)!).
Ingridients:-
Cooked Toor daal - 1 cup
Cooked Rice - 2 cups
Veggies - Brinjal, carrot, peas / aurekkai (if available). You can add aloo also if you like. Drumstick if available.
For Sambar powder:- Fry chana daal, Uradal daal, Dhania, dry coconut, dal chini, dry red chillies to a fine paste after dry frying them.
1. Take oil in a pan and add dal chini chakka and puvva.
2. Add all the veggies now and add water. Let them cook for some time.
3. Add tamarind juice to your taste and little turmeric now
4. Now add cooked daal. After some time add sambar powder.
5. Now add rice finally and mix well. It should not be too thick.
Add fresh coriander on the top and ready to be served hot!

Vangi Bath (Brinjal Rice)

This is my favourite rice item to make during festivals. Vangi means Brinjal. So this is basically brinjal rice.

To make the masala:-
1. Chana daal - 1 cup
2. Urad daal - 1 cup
3. Dhania - 3/4 cup
4. Dry red chillies - 5 peices
5. Dal chini - 2 small peices

Dry gfry all the above (without oil) and grind them to a fine powder
1. Take medium sized 5 brinjals and cut them length wise
2. Take oil in a pan and season with chandaal, urad daal, mustard seeds, hing and turmeric powder.
3. once they sputter add currly leaves and green chillies
4. Now add brinjals and aloo also if you like it
5. Fry them till cooked on low flame
6. Add the masala powder grinded earlier.
7. you will notice the nice aroma that comes at this point. Add more oil if required.
8. now mix this curry you made in rice. The rice should now be in nice brown color.
9. Add salt and vangi bath is ready!

You can add peanuts and kajoo also while seasoning to make the dish look richer.

Mukkala pulusu (mixed veg sambar)


This one of the regular dishes prepared at home on a daily basis in most south indian homes.
Ingridients:-
Bottle gourd, Carrots, brinjals, drum stick, Okra and any of your other favo veggies
Tamarind juice
Sambar powder
1. Take oil in a pan and season with mustard seeds, jeera and garlic.
2. Now add onion and bhendi
3. After some time add all other veggies
4. Add water. Let them cook for 5 mins
5. Now add tamarind juice and turmeric powder
6. Add curry leaves and salt.
7. Once all the veggies are cooked add cooked toor daal.
8. Add sambar powder and remove from heat.

Pappula kaaralu - Rice and Peanut snack

This is my favourite snack which is made during festivals and my mom makes this very well!!. As we used to finish it in no time, my mom used to hide this and give us one chakkuli a day:-)!
Here is the recipe for it..

Ingridients:-
Rice Flour - 2 cups
Peanuts - 1 cup
Chillie powder - 1 tspn
Salt to taste

1. Fry peanuts and grind them to a fine paste
2. Mix peanut powder, rice flour, chillie pwder and salt.
3. Heat 3 tbspn oil and add it to this mixtire
4. Now mix the ingridients to make a nice soft dough.
5. Use a chakkuli maker and use the plain round shaper in it.
6. Put some dough in the chakkuli maker and sqeeze it out and make zig zag shapes with it.
7. Once oil is hot and you squeeze it, reduce the heat to med-low and fry it slowly. This way the snack will get a nice golden color.

Enjoy the snack at tea time also!

Ava Arati koora - Banana Curry

This is one of my favourite 'Ava' curries next to kanda bachali. This recipe again is a typical andhra dish. Basically banana also when cooked is a little sticky so the 'Ava' ting gives it a good punch.

Ingridients:-
Raw Banana - 2
Mustard seeds - 3 tbspn
Green chillies - 5-6
Curry leaves

1. Peel the banana nicely. Pressure cook them as whole for 2 whistles. Take them out and mash them well. Alternatively you can, even cut the banana into small peices and then pressure cook as well, if you do not like it mashed.
2. Grind the mustard seeds and green chillies with little water.
3. Take some oil in a pan and season with chana daal, urad daal, mustard seeds and hing. Then add curry leaves.
4. Now add the cooked banana to this. Fry for a min
5. now add the mustard paste prepared and add salt. Mix well. Let it cook for 5 mins and take off from heat.

Serve with hot rice and papad.

Agarakaya Pulla Bellam ((Kantola Curry)

Agakara kaya is one of a rare vegetable and a great delicacy. You will get this in Vizag in winter mostly. This tastes similar to karela but little less bitter and it is short and round in shape. On the contorary you will get this vegetable any time in the USA in a can:-).
This recipe is 'pulla bellam' means 'sour and sweet' dish with kantola. If you like recipes which are sweet and sour then you can try it.

Ingridients:-
Kantola - 1 can
Tamarind juide - 5 tbspn
Jagerry - 1 small lemon size

1. Cut or slit to half each kantola so that the gravy gets into it while cooking.
2. Take some oil in a pan and add the kantola peices
3. Fry the peices for 5 - 10 mins on low flame till it is almost cooked. Add salt.
4. Now add the tamarind juice and jaggery
5. Close the lid and let the peices cook well in the tamarind and jagery juice.
6. Once cooked add some chillie powder and remove from heat.

Vankai Pachi kaaram (Green Brinjal curry)

This is another typical andhra dish and probably made very often in every andhra home. For this you should use green small brinjals for best results. It is a very simple dish yet tasty to relish. Pachi kaaram means raw spice. It is made out of two simple ingridients coriander and ginger. These 2 spices go well with to the green small brinjals to make a simple and yet tasty dish.

Ingridients:-
Tender green round small brinjals - 12-15
Coriander - 1 bunch
Ginger - 1 cm peice
Green chillies - 5-6 peices

1. Grind the coriander, ginder and green chillies together. Add little water if required for grinding. It should be of chutney consistency.
2. Slit the end of the brinjals till half and let the brinjals be whole. You should select small sized brinjals for best results.
3. Take some oil in a pan and on med flame fry the whole brinjals. Add salt while frying, so that salt sinks well into the brinjal
4. Once the brinjals become tender and almost cooked, add the corainder-ginger paste.
5. Mix well and let it cook fully. Please ensure that you cook on low flame now so that the brinjals and the masala do not get burnt.
6. Once cooked well, take off from heat and serve with hot rice and daal.

Beerakai ullikaaram (Ribbed Gourd curry)

This recipe i learnt it from my mother in law. This is a typical andhra dish and it tastes great. Good dish to make when you are expecting guests home.

Ingridients:-
Tender Ribbed gourd(Beerakayi) - 5-6
Onion- 1 big one
Dhaniya - 2 tbspn
Dry red chillies
Turmeric - 1/4 tspn
Tamarind juice - 2 tspn

1. Peel off the beerakayi. Dont feel it fully. Peel just to make sure thin hard skin is still left on it. The reason is when we fry it it should retain the round shape and should not become too soft.
2. Cut the beerakayi into 1.5 inch circles. slit on both sides.
3. Take some oil in a pan. Once hot add the beerakayi peices and on low flame let the beerakayi fry. You will see that the beerakayi will give out its water first and them cook it in slowly and then once its own water goes off and then it starts getting fried. It will take around 20 mins for all the peices to get cooked. It will become tender but still have beautiful round shape.
4. Now dry fry dhania and grind chopped onion, turmeric, dry red chillies and a little bit tamarind juice(if you like it). Grind them well.
5. Now add this paste to the beerakayi peices which are slowly getting cooked.
6. Once the paste gets sinked into the peices (which will happen after 5 mins you add the paste). Take off from heat. Serve with hot rice.

The key to this recipe is to cook the dish on low flame, so that all the flavors are enhanced. Hope you will enjoy the dish.

Thotakoora pulusu (Leafy Sambar)

This is a very simple recipe and a regular recipe at home

Ingridients:-
Thota koora - 2 bunches finely cut
Tamarind juice - 4 tspn
Tumeric - 1/4 tspn
Tomato - 1 small chopped
Curry leaves
Green chillies - 4 slit open
Cooked toor Daal - 1 cup

1. Take oil in a pan and season with mustard seeds, jeera and hing.
2. Add the leafy vegetable and add 2 glasses water
3. Let the greens cook for 5 mins. Add tamarind juice and turmeric now
4. Add curry leaves and green chillies now.
5. Let the greens cook well now. Add salt
6. Once the greens are cooked well add the toor dal and mix well.

Take off heat after 2 mins. Enjoy the dish with hot rice and papad

Kanda Bachali (Yam and Greens curry)

This is a very tranditional dish made in most marraiges.

Ingridients:-
Kanda gadda (yam) - 1 big
Bachali - 1 bunch fresh green
Tamarind juice
Green chillies
Mustard seeds

1. Take oil in pan and season with mustard seeds, chana daal , urad daal, hing and turmeric.
2. Now add green chillies and curry leaves
3. Now add a little water and let the kanda gadda cook for some time
4. Add the bachali reen leves finely chopped to this
5. Add water and let the veggies cook to a paste
6. Add tamarind juice
7. Freshly ground mustard seeds and add to this now. This will give a great zesty punch to it.

Bobbatlu / Holige / Puran Poli


e This is my favourite sweet dish and we make it for every sankranthi and dusserra and whenever I find time:-).
This is made in different parts of south india with different filling. In andhra we make it with moong daal and sugar filling. We at home make it with chana daal and sugar/ jagerry filling.
To make cover:-
Take one and half cup maida flour. Add half cup wheat flour. Add 2 tbspn sooji in it. now mix this flour by add little oil and water. The key here is to make the flour very soft and pillowable. Add 1 cup of oil almost and let the mixed flour roll soak in oil for an hour.
To make the filling:-
Pressure cook moong daal / chana daal with very minimum water.
Add 1:1 ratio sugar.
Add elachi pwoder.
As you add sugar the filling becomes sloppy. So heat it a little to make sure the filling becomes hard and easy to make small balls.
To make bobbattu:-
1. Take a small ball of the flour and put in on a greased plastic cover. pat the flour to make it into a circle
2. put one ball of the filling on it.
3. now seal the ball with the flour.
4. turn the ball now upside down and pat it to a circle of radius 2 inches.
5. Fry this on a pan on low flame with adding ghee on both sides.
Eat it hot with more ghee on top or with milk on the top.

Masala Vada


This vada is very simple to make and very good to eat.
Ingridients:-
Chana daal - 2 cups soak for 3 hrs
Green chillies
Ginger
Onions - chopped
1. Grind into a paste the soaked chana daal, green chillies and ginger. When you grind, do not grind to a fine paste. make sure some chana daal you can see here and there
2. Add chopped onions to chana mixture now.
3. Add salt and currly leaves
4. Heat oil in a deep botton pan
5. Take small balls of the chana mixture, flatten it and add to hot oil
6. Fry on med flame
7. Serve these vadas with coconut chutney

Guthi Vankaya


This is my most favourite gravy curry. This is also the most traditional south indian dishes made out of brinjal.
Ingridients:-
Brinjals - small purple ones
Peanuts - 1 cup
Seseme seeds - 2 tbspn
green chillies
Onion
Tomato
1. Slit the small purple oinions on the bottom . Take off its stem
2. Now take oil in a pan and fry them in oil. Close the lid so that they brinjal cooks well. Add salt at this point, so that the salk gets into the brinjal
3. Now remove brinjals and add oil and add garlic to it.
4. Add onion to it now
5. As onions are frying, dry fry peanuts and remove their covers. Fry seseme seeds also and grind both of them into a fine paste
6. Now add tomato puree to the onions
7. Add the grinded peanut and seseme powder to this. At this point you have a good brown color masala paste in the pan
8. Now add the fried and cok brinjals and now add little chillie powder to this.
9. Cook for some time and remove it from heat.
Serve hot with rice or chapati.

Pulihara (Tamarind rice)


This is a very easy to make dish and is made on every festival day in our house.

Ingridients:-
Tamarind juice - 1 cup
Turmeric
Green chillies
Rice - 2 cups cooked rice
Kajoo
Peanuts

1. Take oil in a pan and add mustard seeds, chana daal, urad daal, kajoo, peanuts, 1 tspn turmeric and hing
2. Once mustard seeds sputter, add green chillies and curry leaves
3. Then add the tamarind juice at this point. cook for 1 min till the fresh smell of tamarin goes away.
4. Add little sugar also now
5. Take off from heat and mux this with rice and add salt.

Tamarind rice is ready and you wont believe that it tastes really great!!

Merapakaaya Pachadi (Red chilli pickle)


Spicy, Sour, Sweet and Yummy. Thinking of this makes my mouth water:-). In india you get good ripe red chillies and you can use them to make this pickle. If you can in the USA, you can try to get good red chillies from a mexican or asian market.
Very important this is to put on gloves while doing this, so that you do not suffer for the next two days.
Ingridients:-
Red chillies - 1 kg
Tamarind - 0.25 kgs
Jaggery - 0.1 kgs
Oil - 10 tbspn
Salt
1. Wash the chillies well and clean them. cut off their green extensions. As this pickle is not suppossed to very spicy, take off the seeds in the chillies.
2. Take off the seeds in the tamarind
3. Take a clean bowl and add the red chillie peices and tamarind and beaten jaggery. Add salt.
4. Mix well and keep aside for 6 hours.
5. Next day morning you will see that the chillies are well marinated in the tamarind and the jaggery juice.
6. Grind the ingridients to a fine paste.
7. Take oil in a pan and add hing. Once hot add the red chillie paste. You will see that the chillie paste makes a lot of noise and all the water in it gets evaporated.
8. Once the water goes away (after 5 mins), take off from heat and let it cool.
9. Once completely cooled, stored it in a tight jar.

Vatappalu (Crunchy rice snacks)


This is made every diwali in our home when i was young. We used to love eating this. We even distribute this to our relatives and friends during the festival season by nicely packaging them.
Ingridients:-
Rice flour - 2 cups
Peanut fried and grinded - 1 cup
Onion chopped - 2 med finely chopped
Curry leaves
Chilli powder
1. Take a vessel and add rice flour. Heat ghee in a spatula and add to this mixture. Adding the hot ghee in the mixture ensures that the rice snack comes out crunchy.
2. Add the peanut powder and the rest of the ingridients.
3. Now mix the flour with water and make it into a chapati roll. Make them into small balls and pat them into small circles.
4. To make them into perfect circles, i use a pickle jar lid.
5. Now deep fry these rice patties in oil
6. cool them off and then store in air tight containers.

Mysorepak


This is one of the traditional south indian dishes which takes in a lot of ghee. you should be able to generously add lots of ghee in it. If you have been to Hyderabad Krishna's sweets ever, you will know how heavenly the mysorepak tastes.
I am proud that this recipe comes close to the krishna sweets recipe. The pic is not good here though:-).
Ingridients:-
Besan - 2 cups
Ghee - 5 cups
Sugar - 3 cups
1. Heat ghee in a pan and set aside
2. Take sugar and very little water so that it becomes liquid and heat it to a string consistency and set asid
3. Take besan in a pan and fry slowly till a nice aroma comes.
4. Now these steps are the key
Add a little ghee in the besan
Add a litle sugar syrup
Keep mixing
5. Repeat step 4 till you have finished all the sugar syrup and almost all ghee. Leave some ghee for later
6. Also as you are doing step 4 you will see that as soon as you add a little sugar syrup, the besan bloats up a little and becomes more. So if you started at 1/3 filled besan in the vessel, you will see at the end of step 5 that you have almost reached 2/3 of the vessel.
7. Now heat the left over ghee and as you see smoke coming out of the ghee, add this quickly to the besan you have on the other side. You will see that the besan rises now and your vessel is full.
8. In all these steps make sure that you are constantly stirring the besan vessel.
9. Now keep stirring for more time till you start seeing pores in the besan. Now here is the key
Keep stirring till you cannot stir anymore. You have to take off the besan from the heat at the right time for the right texture of the mysore pak.
10. Take off the besan from heat and spread over the greased edgy plate.
11. Within 5 mins it will become harder
12. Cut into diamond shapes as it is still hot
13. Allow to cool completely and take the peices out of the plate and store in air tight container.
This dish really requires good timing on Step 9. The final product you get should be of the correct texture that when you bite it, it should melt in your mouth. I bet when you eat this you will feel heavenly!!:-). Enjoy!

Corn Poha


This is a very simple snack. You get corn flakes in a Indian store. Fry them in hot oil and you have the flakes ready.
Fry some peanuts and Dalia and add to it
Add salt and chillie powder.
Now to give punch to the whole snack, add some kala namak to it.
This gives a good flavour to the whole snack.
Simple to make, store it and enjoy it.

Veggie wraps

This is one of the easiest snack you can make when you did not expect friends home, when you dont have enough time to cook or simply when you are hungry!!
Ingridients:-
Tortilla - 4
Black Olives
Alapenos
Capcisum
Onions (Optional)
Cheese - cheddar or any kind u like
Salsa sause

Mix all the veggies you want and chesse. Add salt.

Spread the salsa sause over the tortilla. add he veggie mix you made. Roll it over as shown above.

Bake it in the oven for 10 mins at 350 degrees

Cut into smaller peices.

Enjoy the snack!




Thai Red Curry

I love Thai food!! Its the next kind of food I like to eat besides indian when I am really hungry!!!:-). Thai red curry is one of the very popular dishes (i guess) in Thai foods. I am a vegetarian basically, so this is the veggie version.
The Thai Red curry paste is available in any asian markets. This dish is really simple to make as your paste is already available. When you choose the paste be careful to choose the veggie version in case you are a vegetarian too...

One key thing you will need to make thai foods is a Wok. These foods should be prepared at high heat, so that you can get the actual fried flavour. (dont burn it:-)!!). So if you dont have a Wok, get one a big one it will help!!).

Ingridients:-

Basil leaves
Bamboo Shoots
baby corn
Tofu (fried or soft however you like)
All the above veggies are must haves. Besides these you can add any veggie you want. I generally add
Red Bell peppers (as this gives good color to the dish)
Mushrooms,
zuchinni,
squash,
Brocolli (even this sometimes:)!).

1. Heat your Wok and ensure it is hot.
2. Add your favourite oil (veggie / canola etc) to the Wok.
3. Add the red curry paste to the hot oil. Fry it immediately and ensure it is not burnt... once it is fried for 1 min... add all your veggies.
Add baboo shoots first and fry for a min so that the smell is gone!!
4. you might want to fry your Tofu first if you like fried tofu.
5. Once all your veggies are added add coconut milk after 30 sec.
6. Dilute the curry to your desired concentraion level by adding water.
Add salt and if you like it spicy add chilli flakes. (i dont add chilie flakes)
7. Let the veggies cook for 5 mins or so. DO NOT over cook the veggies like indian dishes:-).
8. Then add Fresh basil leaves to give the punch and nice aroma.

Take off from heat and serve with white rice. Enjoy the dish when its hot!!

Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Kaakarakaaya nuvvula pachadi

This is one of my favourite side dish with mudda pappu. This taste will start to grow on you as you eat it. The fresh the karela's you get the more tasty this will be.

For Powder:-

Seseme seeds (nuvvulu) - 1 cup
Dhaniyaa- 1 tspn
Chana daal - 1.5 tspn
Urad Daal - 1tspn
Dry Chilli - 5
Dry Coconut - 1 tspn

Fry all of the above separately and let it cool. Once it is cool grind to a fine paste.

For Pachadi:-

Karela - 4 thin and tender
Tamarind juice - 4 tbspn
turmeric - 1 tbspn
Jaggery - 2 big peices / Sugar - 2 tbspn

1. Cut Karela into small peices and soak in turmeric and salt water for 30 mins.
2. Wash thoroughly and Squeeze out water from the karela peices and keep them aside.
3. Take 2 tbspn oil in a thick bottom pan and once hot add chana daal - 1 tspn, urad daal - 1 tspn, few peices dry chillie, mustard seeds, hing, litte turmeric. Once mustard seeds sputter add karela peices.
4. Add sugar and fry for 5 mins on low flame.
5. Add tamarind juice and let the karela cook now. Add litte water if required.
6. Once karela is cooked add the nuvvulu powder.
7. Fry for some time and remove from flame.
8. Serve with mudda pappu and rice.

Gummadikaaya Sambar (Sambar Powder Included)

Though Pappu (Daal) is our favourite and staple food in my family we love Sambar also. The unique thing though is we make Sambar of each vegetable do not generally mix all of them (unless you have a less qty of all of them:-)!). I believe that to get maximum flavour out of each vegetable try to cook only that vegetable Sambar and see the difference!

Dondakaaya Sambar, Ulligadda Sambar (small onions), Chikkudukaaya Sambar, Carrot Sambar... to name a few

Now I share my favourite Manchi Gummadikaaya Sambar. This is pumpkin Sambar.

Sambar Powder:-

Dhaniyau - 1
Senaga pappu - 1.5
minapappu - 1.5
Red Dry Chiies - 15 in number
Dry Coconut - 15 peices

Fry all above in a pan with no oil saparately. Let them cool and grind to a fine paste.

For Sambar:-

1/4 Pumpkin - peeled and cut into med sized peices
Tamarin juice - 4 tbspn
Jaggery - 2 big peices
Curry leaves - few
Cooked Toor Daal - 2 cups
Green chillies - 4-5

1. Take a pan and add oil, jeera, mustard seeds, turmeric -0.5 tspn, hing. Once mustard seeds sputter add the pumpkin peices.
2. After a min add 4 cups water. Add salt, curry leaves, green chillies. Close the lid and let the pumpkin cook.
3. After 5 mins add tamarind juice and jaggery. Make sure you add this before the vegetable is cooked completely. The sour and sweet taste shoud sink in the vegetable as well.
4. Once the vegetable is cooked add Samabar powder. Use freshly prepared sambar powder to yeild best results. Nice sweet aroma of pumpkin should come.
5. Take off from heat and serve with rice, pickle and papad.

As said you can substitute pumpkin with any other vegetable like Carrot, beans, tindla etc.

Andhra Rasam

This is the Rasam we usually do at my in-laws place. This is a little spicy and strong. Add a litte pepper to this rasam and it makes a great digestion recipe.

Ingridients:-

1 tomato chopped
Tamarind juice - 4 tspn
curry leave - few
coriander leaves - few
Turmeric - 0.5 tspn
Cooked Toor dal - 1 cup
Pepper - Optional

1. Take 3 cups of water. Mix tamarind juice, tomatoes, curry and coriander leaves. Add turmeric also at this point. It gives a different favour when you add turmeric directly in water than in the seasoning.
2. Boil the rasam for 10 mins on med flame
3. Once tomatoes are cooked and the tamarind fresh smell is lost add cooked toor dal
4. After 2 mins add pepper, salt and rasam powder. I use MTR rasam powder for this rasam.
5. Boil ofr 5 more mins and take away from flame
6. For seasoning you can add ghee or oil, mustard seeds, jeera, hing.

Iyyengar Rasam (Rasam powder Included)

This is the regular daily rasam that is cooked in my house. This rasam has a little sweetish taste and you will feel good to eat it at the end of your meal.

For Rasam Powder:- dhaniyaau - 1 jerakaa - 0.5 Dry chillies - 15 in number Black pepper seeds - 0.4 cup Curry Leaves - handful kandi pappu - 0.5 cup
Fry all the above dry in a pan. Let them cool and grind them to a find paste.

For Rasam:-
Cooked Toor dal - 1 cup (optional)
Jaggery - 2 big peices
Tamarind juice - 5 tbspn
Coriander fresh chopped
Curry leaves - few
1 tomato chopped

1. Mix all of the above in 4 cups water. As rasam powder has daal, you can add cooked dal if you wish to have it a little more thick.
2. Boil for 10 mins till you get a nice aroma.
3. Add rasam powder and salt.
4. For seasoning take ghee in another pan, add jeera, mustard seeds, dry chilli, turmeric and hig. Once they sputter add them to the rasam.
5. Serve hot with rice and papad.

Lemon Rasam (Rasam powder included)

I love the 'nimmakaaya chaaru' my mom used to make. This has a very fresh taste. Eat this with papad/ vadiyams and it makes your day!

For Rasam Powder:-
dhaniyaau - 1
jerakaa - 0.5
Dry chillies - 15 in number
Black pepper seeds - 0.4 cup
Curry Leaves - handful
kandi pappu - 0.5 cup

Fry all the above dry in a pan. Let them cool and grind them to a find paste.

For Rasam:-
One smal tomato chopped - 1
Cooked Toor Dal - 2 cups
lemon juice - 5 tbspn.

1. Take 4 cups of water. Add cooked toor dal to it. Ensure the consistency is thin
2. Boil for 5 mins till you get a nice daal aroma. Now add few curry leaves, corainder, tomato
3. Boil for some more time till you get the aroma of the leaves. Now add Rasam powder.
4. Take ghee in another pan and add mustard seeds, jeera, hing, turmeric-0.5 tspn, dry chillies (2-3 small peices). Once they sputter add them to the rasam.
5. remove the rasam off the heat and add lemon juice. Extract the juice fresh for best results.
6. Mix well and serve hot with rice and papad.

Mysore Rasam (Rasam powder Incl)

One of the things I loved when I was in Mysore was the rasam. It has this amazing flavour that satifies my taste buds. End your meal with Rasam leaves a very good taste in your mouth:-). Key ingridient in this is the dry chillies you get there. It is called Ghaatu menusu (menusu is chilli in kannada). Also add green chillies directly in boiling water to get a fresh flavour and more spice.

For Rasam Powder:-

Dry red chillies - 1 cup
(Ghaatu menusu)
dhaniya - 0.4 cup
Jeera - 0.3 cup
Methi seeds - 1tsp
Curry leaves - 2 handful

Take oil in a pan and fry the dry chilies well. Keep it aside and fry all the rest also in oil one at a time. Once cool, grind the powder and keep aside. You can store this powder in a air tight container for future use as well

For Rasam:-
Cooked Toor dal - 2 cups
Tamarind juice - 2 tbspn
green chilies - 4 small ones
Fresh chopped Coriander - handful
Few curry leaves
Tomato (Optional)

1. Take 4 cups water. Mix tamarind juice, coriander, curry leaves and let it boil. Make sure you extract the tamarind juice fresh before preparing the rasam. readymade tamaring pulp do not yeild good results
2. After 2 mins add the cooked dal. Ensure the consistency is thin. Now add Green chillies as well. Add Tomato at this point if required.
3. Then add the rasam powder, salt to taste. At this point you should get a very good aroma of rasam.
4. Add ghee in another pan for seasoning. Add mustard seeds, dry chilli, hing, turmeric and put in the rasam. Make sure you use ghee for seasoning to yeid best results.

Serve the Rasam hot with Rice and papad.

Saturday, December 8, 2007

Peanut Chutney


Ingidients:-
1 cup peanuts
4-5 red dry chillies
2 tb spn Tamarind juice
Salt to taste

1. Roast the peanuts and let it cool. Take off the peanut cover.
2. Fry the Red chillies for a few seconds
3. Grind the peanuts and red chillies.
4. Add sufficient water while grinding. Add the tamarind juice
5. Grind to a smooth paste. Consistency should be a little thin. Add salt.

Season with mustard seeds, hing, curry leaves. Serve with Idlis.

Coconut Chutney

Ingridients-

1 cup dalia (putnala pappu)
3/4 cup fresh cut coconut
5-6 green chillies
Sal to taste

For Seasoning:-
Mustard seeds
Hing
Dry red chillies
Curry leaves

1. Grind all the ingridients to a smooth paste by adding water to desired consistency (I prefer it thick).
2. Take a pan add add sone oil. Add all the seasoning stuff and mix it with the chutney.

This chutney tastes good with Idli and dosa.

Idli recipe

This is the most healthy break fast food and easy to make and anytime snack.


Ingridients:-

1 cup Urad daal
2 cups Idli rava
Salt to taste

How to make the batter:-
1. Soak Urad daal for 4 hours
2. Wash and drain the water. Grind in a wet grinder or mixie adding very little water. Grind it to a very smooth paste.
3. Wash the Idli rava thoroughly and drain the water completely. Take a fistful of Idli rava , squeeze the water out and put it another vessel. Repeat it till you squeeze out all the water.
4. Mix the paste from point 2 and 3. Mix it well and the consistency should be thick and (it will be spongy if you have used wet grinder).
5. Leave aside the batter for 6 hrs or so to ferment ( if you have not used a wet grinder). Else the Idlis will not come spongy.
6. Once the batter is ready. Take the idli plates and apply a little oil on it so that the idli does not stick to it.
7. Take a tb spoon and place the batter in each Idli slot. Once done place it in a Idli cooker or pressure cooker for 10 -1 5 mins on med flame.
8. Once the whistle starts blowing and you can smell nice aroma of Idlis cooked switched off the cooker and wait for 2 mins. Then open the cooker and take a flat sppon to take out the Idlies
9. Serve hot with Peanut chutney or coconut chutney.

Tip: Make sure the consistency of the batter is loose and fermented if you have used a mixie to grind, else the idlies do not come out spongy.
** See my recipe for Idli chutney podi.

Rava Dosai

Ingridients:-
1 cup Rice Flour
1/2 cup Rava
1/4 wheat flour
1 tbsp pepper seeds
1 pinch soda
Few curry leaves
4-5 green chillies finely cut
1 medium sized onion finely chopped (Optional)
Salt to taste.
Sour curd (optional)


1. Mix all the ingridients listed above except onions in a deep vessel. Add water around 3 cups and mix well. The consistency should be very thin, like mango juice. The consistency is the key.
2. Leave the batter for 10 - 15 mins
3. Then mix well and add more water if required.
4. Now heat the pan and when it is just hot, take the batter in the laddle and start pouring it from the side of the pan. As you are pouring the batter you will see that lot of holes will come. This is good. Take one more laddle and our the batter till the whole pan is filled with a thin layer of the batter. Be sure you do this step 4 in 10 seconds.
** Add onion at this point if you like.
5. Then increase the heat of the pan. In a minute you will see the dosa coming out of the tava.
6. Slowly flip it over and roast till it is crispy
7. Now fold the dosa to make a triangle.
8. Serve this dosa hot straight from the pan with pure coconut chutney.

Tip: If the dosa is breaking and you are not able to turn it, make sure you add a little more wheat flour. Consistency of the batter is like sambar.

Masala Dosa



Ingridients:

1 cup Urad Dal

2.5 cups Rice

0.5 cup beaten rice (Atukulu)

1 tsp methi seeds

1. Soak Urad daal, methi seeds and Rice over night

2. Just before grinding the rice and daal soak beaten rice for 5 mins and then mix it with rice.

3. Grind thoroughly the mixture together in a wet grinder or mixie to a very smooth paste. Do not add much water while grinding.

4. Put the batter in a deep vessel and Leave the dosa batter for 12 hrs to ferment in a warm place. You should see that the dosa batter should rise by 1 - 2 inches minimum.

5. Mix the batter with a laddle nicely. Now the batter is ready to be used.

6. Now take a flat pan, and keep the flame on low.

7. Do not put any oil on the pan, take one laddle of dosa batter and spread it over the pan in a round shape. (make sure your pan is not too hot).

8. Now increase the flame, so that the pan becomes hot. After a minute roll over the dosa. Roll it back after a few seconds.

9. place some aloo masala in the middle and close both ends. Take the dosa out of the pan and put a peice of butter over it.

10. Serve it hot straight from the pan with coconut chutney and sambar.

Tip: Make sure your pan is just the right heat and do not put oil before spreading the batter, else the the batter will stick to the oil and it is difficult to spread it. If the tava is hot enough then the it takes only 30 sec to make one dosa.

Pongali Pulusu

Ingridients-

1 big lemon sized Tamarind
2 tbsp seseme seeds
1 tsp sambar powder
2 Red dried chilles
Few curry leaves

1. Extract the tamarind juice and keep aside. Fry seseme seeds till they start turning brown and grind them and keep aside.
2. Take a sambar vessel and put a little oil. Put little mustard seeds, jeera, break the red chilles and put them . Add little hing.
3. Once the mustard seeds splutter add the tamarind juice. Make sure the pan is hot, and add some water. Make sure the consistency is thick only. Add curry leaves.
4. Add Sambar powder and add seseme powder.
5. Boil till the tamarind raw smell is gone for about 5-7 minutes.
8. Serve hot with pongali.

This pulusu should be sour in taste. If you like it to be sweet you can add a little jaggery also.

Pongali



How to make Pongali:

Time to Make: 25 mins

Serves: 3-4 people

Ingridients:-

1 Cup Rice

1/3 Cup Moong Dal

2.5 Cup water

3 tbsp Ghee

1 tbsp Oil

2 tb.Sp Kaju

5/6 green chillies / 1 big alapeno pepper

1 tsp Mustard seeds

1/2 tsp Jeera

1 tsp pepper seeds

1/2 tsp turmeric

2 pinches of Hing

Few currly leaves

Salt to taste

1. Fry Moong Dal till it gives a nice aroma.

2. In the same pan, put oil and ghee. once it is hot add mustard seeds, jeera, black pepper seeds, Hing. Once mustard seeds splutter then add Turmeric, Kaju, Green Chillies, Curry keaves.

3. Now add the fried dal, add the washed rice and fry for a minute.

4. Put all this in a pressure cooker vessel. Add water (a little more than what you add for cooking rice). Add Salt (Do NOT forget to add salt at this time).

5. Pressure cook for around 5 whistles ( more than for cooking rice which is usually 3).

6. Take the pongal out of pressure cooker. Mix well and add more ghee if required. Take a cupe and fill pongal in it and place it in a tiffin plate to get a round shape

7. Serve hot with Pongali Pulusu and Coconut chutney.

Variation:- You can add any veggies you like (Carrot, beans, peas) to make vegetable pongali. Its a great dish for brunch!!