Kadalai Urundai/ Mallatai Urundai/ Peanut balls

Things we need
Peanuts - 1/4 kg
Jaggery - 200 gm
Cardamom Powder
Dry ginger powder - a little
Water to make balls

Dry roast the groundnut and remove the skin and slightly crush it so that it will break into two halves. (You can also use readily available roasted peanuts). Allow it to cool down.


Dissolve the jaggery in 1/2 glass of water and allow it to boil. After 2 mins, when the jaggery is dissolved, drain it into another vessel till the residue is left in the Kadai. wash them off.  Most of the jeggery we buy contains some sediments of mud. 

Now boil it till we get the right consistency. For that, have a small cup of water beside. Once the jaggery syrup to the water. The jaggery will sink like a stone and not dissolve. And if you are able to make a small ball with it, its  done.

Add the syrup to the roasted peanuts. Mix well. Have a little water  and beside. Make small balls with it.

That is all. Peanut balls are done.

Katrikai Thugayal/ Eggplant or Brinjal paste

Eggplant is one of my favourite vegetable. Its a good source of potassium and have known to have helped in treating high BP. Its one of the very tasty and simple dishes.

Things we need
Eggplant - Big one
Urad dal - 3 spoons
Red chillies - 4
Tamarind Paste - 1 spoon
Salt
Hing/ Asafoetida

Now the little tricky part in this is the cooking of the Brinjal.
Traditionally, the brinjal has to be brushed with oil and Its actually smoked or burnt on stove top.
I tried out using a traditonal oven as well as a toaster oven. The toaster oven consumes less power and time. say 20 mins. So just brush it with oil and keep it in the oven at 350 degree. The skin would be burnt to almost black. Take it out and allow it cool a bit, then peel out the skin and mash the brinjal a bit with your fingers.
If you've a stove top/gas  burner, brush oil, leave it on the stand and allow it to burn & keep changing sides until the entire brinjal is well burnt & coooked inside

Now with a little oil, roast the urad dal until light brown, red chillies, asafoetida . Then grind the tamarind paste and salt well then add the dal and just grind it coarsly. finally add this to the mashed brinjal and mix well.

That is all. Just mix it with hot rice with little bit of ghee or gingely oil.
It is so yummy.

Mangalooru Bonda

This is a left over..makeover recipe. If you are on diet. do not read further. 
But its okie to indulge a bit on this spicy bonda once in a while.
The main ingredient in this is sour butter milk. Which get accumulated in our houses pretty often. 


Things we need


Thick Sour yogurt - 3/4 cup
Maida / all Purpose flour  - 1 cup
Rice flour - 1/4 cup
Rava (optional) for lil extra crispiness- 2 tbs
Green chillies - 3 chopped  
Cilantro / Coriander leaves - chopped
Baking soda - a small pinch
Salt


(the green chillies and coriander can be ground to a paste and added too)


Mix all the ingredients into a thick paste. The batter should be thick. The more watery it is, the more oil, it would absorb. 


Heat Oil in a kadai or a wok,  when hot, make small lemon sized balls with the batter and fry them until golden brown. Serve hot with coconut chutney or tomato ketchup.


Chopped onions added to the batter will add flavor too.

Murukku/Chakkili

This is a very popular snack of south India. It can be made quite easily.

Things we need


Rice Flour - 1 cup
Urad flour - 1/4 cup ( Roast the urad dal and grind them to a fine powder.)
Unsalted Butter - 2 tbs
Hing - a Pinch
Sesame seeds 1 tbs
Warm Water - 2 cups (to knead the dough)
Salt
Red Chili powder - 2 tbs
Curry leaves
Oil to fry

In a mixing bowl, melt the butter, add salt, hing, sesame seeds, red chili powder and mix well. Then add the the rice flour and the urad dal flour. Add warm water and knead in into a dough like the one prepared for chapatti.In a wok, heat the oil. Take a small amount of the dough into the murukku maker and when the oil is hot you can just make small rounds on the oil carefully. Or you can just do it on the spatula and then add it t the oil. Fry until golden brown. Once all the murukkus are done, fry the curry leaves and add in the box where murukkus are stored. Allow it to cool and store in an air tight container.

Do not close the box immediately after making the murukkus, as they would sweat and not be crispy.

Creamy Sweet Corn Soup

I love the sweet corn soup in the restaurants. Loved this recipe
Things we need


Unsalted Butter - 3 tbs
Corn kernels - 2 cup
Red Onion 1/2
Ginger 1/2 inch Piece
Green Chilies 3
Carrot - 1 cubed
Salt
Fresh ground Pepper

Pressure cook the corn with the green chilies and ginger.
Once it is done, take out and discard the ginger and the chilies.  Reserve some of the corn kernels and puree the rest in a blender. In a casserole, add butter, when hot, add the onions and saute until translucent.Add the carrots and saute until soft. Stir in the pureed corn. allow it to a boil. Add salt. Then add some milk as per the desired consistency. Add the pepper

Garnish with cilantro.  Some drops of lemon juice shall add a tangy flavor too. Serve Hot with a Toasted Sandwich.

Poosanikai pulippu kootu/ Tangy Ash gourd or winter melon curry

This dish is made out of a squash so its easy on digestion and can be had with Chapatti as well as rice.


Things we need
Poosanikai - Washed, skin peeled and cubed
Channa Dal = 1/2 cup
Tamarind Paste - 3 spoons
Turmeric powder - 1/4 spoon
Whole Channa Dal (Garbanzo Beans) - 1/4 cup
Salt


For masala
Channa Dal - 1 spoon
Coriander seeds - 1 spoon
Red Chilli - 3
Asafoetida - 1 pinch
Grated Coconut - 1 spoon


For Seasoning
Ghee
Mustard seeds
Urad Dal
Peanuts
Curry Leaves

Pressure cook the 1/2 cup channa dal with little turmeric

You can soak the garbanzo bean overnight & pressure cook it along with the channa dal. Else You can get the canned one.

Take a cup of water add tamarind paste, salt and cook the pumpkin till it is soft. Do not add too much water.
In a skillet,  take 1/2 spoon oil, add red chillies, channa dal, coriander seeds, asafoetida and coconut. Allow it to cool and grind them well.
Add this ground masala to the pumpkin and allow it to boil . Then add the cooked channa dal to it. Allow it to thicken.

Now the seasoning. In a skillet, add a little ghee. When its hot, add the mustard seeds and allow it to spurt, then add the urad dal and the peanuts. Roast until brown then add the curry leaves and a pinch of asafoetida.
Add this to the kootu.

Serve hot with Chapatti or Rice.

Cabbage Usili/ Cabbage lentil curry/ Cabbage Archu kalaral

I thank Lavanya Balaji for this dish. I never knew we can make cabbage usili.  It was simple and much easier than the other veggies.

Ingredients

Toor dal : 1/2 cup

Channa dal : 1/2 cup

Red Chilli : 2

Salt to taste

Turmeric

Mustard seeds

Curry Leaves

Urad dal : 1/4 spoon

Oil

Asafoetida : a pinch

Cabbage - Well chopped

Place the cabbage in a microwave bowl  with a lid, sprinkle little water  and microwave for 7 minutes.

Soak Toor dal, Channa dal for half an hour. Then, grind them coarsly with minimum water after adding salt, red chilli , asafoetida.

Heat 6 spoons of oil in a skillet. When it fumes, add mustard, allow it to spurt and then udad dal, curry leaves roast until the dal is golden brown add the dal mix and turmeric stir thoroughly, close the skillet with a plate and allow it to cook . The mixture separates well like sundal. Add the cooked cabbage to this and mix well. 

That is all to it. This dish takes just 15 minutes including the time taken to cut the cabbage. 

As always I love this with Rasam 

Mint Rice/ Pudina Sadam/ Mint pulav/ Pudina bath

I suddenly fell in love with mint. The taste and aroma was  just too irresistible, I had a couple of dishes lined up that were flavored with mint or should I say bathed in mint.

So this one goes to one of the captivating culinary herbs.

Things we need


Mint - 1 bunch  (wash and have the leaves plucked)
Green chillies - 4
Shredded coconut - 2 spoons
Onion - 1 chopped
Grated ginger - 1 spoon
Cloves - 4
Cardamon - 2
Bay Leaf - 1
Aniseed - 1 flower
Cinnamon powder - 2 pinches
Cashews
Cilantro - chopped (for garnishing)
Basmati rice - 1 1/2 cup
Salt
Oil - 1 1/2 spoon
Ghee - 1 spoon

How to make it
Cook the rice in a electric rice cooker with 3 cups water. Once the rice is cooked, transfer it onto a big plate so that it becomes a little less hot sp that the rice won't be sticky.

Grind a paste of mint leaves, green chillies and the coconut.

In a spoon of ghee, fry the cashews and keep them aside.

Have the oil heated up in a big skillet then add the bay leaf, Cinnamon powder, cardamon and aniseed. When they begin to spurt, add the onions and saute well.  Add the ginger paste and saute for a minute. Add the mint paste and fry till the color changes. Be watchful not to burn it. Turn off the stove and mix this masala with the cooked rice and salt.  Garnish it with chopped cilantro leaves and the fried cashews.

I just loved to have this with some potato chips and some cucumber raitha.

Pudina Paratha/ Mint paratha/Mint wheat flat bread

My Muse, mint...continues to linger its effect one me..


In this post I am posting how my trial worked. well it had 2 outcomes, both of them were  great.


Things we need
Mint -  a bunch (Washed and leaves plucked)
Green chillies - 3 Well chopped
Salt
Ajwain / Til seeds /carom seeds/ Omam - 1 spoon
Wheat Flour - 2 cups
Gram flour - 1/2 cup
Ghee
Chaat Masala


Trial 1
Chop the mint leaves. Take the wheat flour, gram flour, salt, mint, green chillies and the carom seeds and knead it into a dough and set it aside for half an hour.


Make small ball of the dough and roll them out into parathas. Have a skillet ready and hot and place the paratha on it. Set the flame to a medium heat. Flip the paratha over on the other side and spread a little ghee. Do the same on both the sides. Browny on both sides, the paratha is ready to eat.
This one was great to make & it tasted yummy with just some pickle and curd.

Trial 2
Its a very slight variation. I did not mix the mint and chillies with the dough


Take the wheat flour, gram flour, salt and the carom seeds and knead it into a dough and set it aside for half an hour.


Make small ball of the dough and roll them out a bit. Do not make it too thin. At this stage, sprinkle some chopped mint and green chillies and roll the pin on top of it a bit. I also sprinkled a pinch of Chaat masala on it for a little different twist. 


Now make the paratha the same way but the side with mint, just be watchful that you don't burn the mint. That is all. 
The second method looked a lot like the ones served in restaurants. 

Veggie Pot Pie

Things we need
Pie crust - Store bought
Vegetable broth Pacific Natural Foods (can be homemade too) - 2 cups
Potatoes - 2 cubed/ julienned 
Carrots- 2 cubed
Green peas,Corn Fennels, Green beans, Zucchini, Broccoli - 4 cups 
Onions - 1/2 chopped
Butter - 2 spoons
Salt
Pepper
Grated cheese


Preheat the oven to 400 C .

Thaw the pie crust as per the package instructions. Place one sheet on a pie plate and make tiny holes with a fork. Bake it for 10 mins. 


Meanwhile, In a sauce pan, add butter and saute the onions and potatoes until golden brown. Then add the veggies, salt and pepper. Add the broth to this and allow the veggies to cook well.


On the pie crust laid on the plate, layer with half of the cheese. Now spoon in the cooked veggie mix.  Add the rest of the cheese on top and cover it with the other pie shell. Seal the pie crust and make small slits on top for the steam to escape. With an aluminum foil. cover the edges so that they don't get burnt. 

After 20 mins take out the aluminum foil.  Bake it for around 45 mins or till the pie is golden brown. 

Enjoy the Pie.....

Dahi Puri - Chaat

Things we need

The chutneys we are making for this can be refrigerated or frozen.


Green Chutney
Mint   1 cup
Green Chilli  2
Black pepper corns - 3 or 4
Onion 1/2
Tomato 1/2
Ginger - small piece
Lemon Juice - 1/2 lemons'
Salt
Chaat Masala - to taste
Coriander leaves (Optional)
Sugar - 2 pinches

Grind all these together to a paste.

Tamarind Chutney

Tamarind Paste - 3 tbs  (or extract the same from raw tamarind)
Jaggery - 1 1/2 cube or nearly 3/4 cup grated
Red chilli powder
Roasted cumin powder - 2 spoons
Roasted Fennel powder - 1 spoon
Black Salt
A little grated ginger

Take the tamarind paste in a bowl with 3/4 cup water, add the jaggery and allow it to melt. Then add the chilli, cumin, fennel powder, black salt, ginger. Allow it to boil well till it thickens.



Puris - Store bought
Thin Sev - 1 cup
Chopped Boiled potatoes 1/4 cup
Seeded & Chopped tomatoes 1/4 cup
Pre soaked & pressure cooked chickpeas 1/4 cup
Onion, chopped- 1/2 
Salt
Chaat masala
Red chilli powder
Yogurt - well beaten
Chopped Coriander leaves


Mix potatoes, onions & chickpeas along with little red chilli powder, chaat masala and salt. 
Make a hole in the puri, Stuff with the potato mix, tomatoes. Add the green & the tamarind  chutneys, the yogurt then sprinkle a little of chaat masala, red chilli powder, cilantro.
Garnish with Sev. 


Serve immediately after its made. 

Paani Puri/ Gol Gappa/ Puchka

Chaat is the ultimate snack in India. Every alley has a guy selling us that. It tastes different in different parts of India.
So here is my version of it. I got the puris at the desi grocery store. But one can make these too.
The green paani we make is spicy and its for the katta taste. The sweet chutney is made for the hint of sweetness

Things we need
Puris - Bought at the desi grocery store.

For the paani
Mint - 1 1/2 cup
Coriander leaves- 1 cup
Green chillies - 7
Coriander powder - 1 spoon
Roasted Cumin powder - 1 1/2 spoon
Tamarind paste - 4 spoons
Ginger - 1 small piece
Black pepper - 1/2 spoon
Lemon Juice - 1/4 cup
Paani puri Masala
Black salt - to taste
Salt

Grind all these together well and in a big bowl, add water to it. Be mindful not to add more it might dilute the taste. Add a little boondi to it.

Tamarind Chutney

Tamarind Paste - 3 tbs  (or extract the same from raw tamarind)
Jaggery - 1 1/2 cube or nearly 3/4 cup grated
Red chilli powder
Roasted cumin powder - 2 spoons
Roasted Fennel powder - 1 spoon
Black Salt
A little grated ginger

Take the tamarind paste in a bowl with 3/4 cup water, add the jaggery and allow it to melt. Then add the chilli, cumin, fennel powder, black salt, ginger. Allow it to boil well till it thickens.

For the stuffing
Potatoes - 2 boiled and mashed
Garbanzo beans or Whole green gram - soaked over night and pressure cooked
Onions - sliced well
Red chilli powder
Chaat masala
Salt

Mash all these ingredients together to make the stuffing.

Now break a bit of the poori, stuff it with the potato mixture, add a little sweet sauce to it. Then dip it in the green paani and directly to your mouth.
This should be consumed immediately after making it.
Enjoy hogging it....No one can eat just one....

Bhel Puri Chaat

This is an easy wonderful snack. If the chutneys are made, the other items are easy to gather.

Things we need

The chutneys we are making for this can be refrigerated or frozen.

Green Chutney
Mint   1 cup
Green Chilli  2
Black pepper corns - 3 or 4
Onion 1/2
Tomato 1/2
Ginger - small piece
Lemon Juice - 1/2 lemons'
Salt
Chaat Masala - to taste
Coriander leaves (Optional)
Sugar - 2 pinches

Grind all these together to a paste.

Tamarind Chutney


Tamarind Paste - 3 tbs  (or extract the same from raw tamarind)
Jaggery - 1 1/2 cube or nearly 3/4 cup grated
Red chilli powder
Roasted cumin powder - 2 spoons
Roasted Fennel powder - 1 spoon
Black Salt
A little grated ginger

Take the tamarind paste in a bowl with 3/4 cup water, add the jaggery and allow it to melt. Then add the chilli, cumin, fennel powder, black salt, ginger. Allow it to boil well till it thickens.

This chutney goes well with samosas, cutlets, pakodas, parathas, vada pav, Sandwiches, any chaat items like dahi puri, papdi chaat, Dahi vada.

The quantity Given below serves 2 to 3 people. One can alter the quantity according to taste.

Puffed rice - 2 cups
Thin sev - 1/2 cup
Crushed Puri or papdi chaat - a little
Chopped Boiled potatoes 1/4 cup
Chopped Cucumber 1/4 cup
Seeded & Chopped tomatoes 1/4 cup
Pre soaked & pressure cooked chickpeas 1/4 cup
Chopped raw mango - a little
Lemon Juice
Chopped Coriander leaves

Roast the puffed rice to make sure they are crispy. Mix all the above ingredients. Add a spoon each of the chutneys. And mix well. Serve immediately else it would become soggy.
You can try out any other veggies too.

Enjoy.

Paruppu Podi/ Dal Powder

This is a must have kitchen item in case we are so bored to cooked.


Things we need


Urad Dal    - 1/2 cup
Toor  Dal     - 1 cup
Moong  Dal  - 1 cup
Black Pepper - 1 1/2 spoons
Red chilli   - 2 or 3
Salt

Dry roast the chilli, black pepper and add asafoetida to it.. Roast the dals separately. Then grind both into a fine powder adding salt .
Its ready. Make hot rice, add ghee mix the powder with it. Serve hot with deep fried or roasted masala papad.

Its has a lot of  protein

Rasam Podi/ Rasam Powder

Moving to a new place, I need to equip my kitchen for comfortable functioning. I had already posted the Sambar Podi. This is the homemade instant rasam podi. It is pretty easy to make & shelve.

Here are the things we need

Toor Dal              -  1 cup
Coriander seeds   -  3 cup
Black pepper       -  3/4 cup
Red chilli              -  4 or 5
Cumin Seeds        -  1/2 cup
Asafoetida            -  a little

Dry roast the first four ingredients and allow it to cool. Grind them along with the cumin seeds.

For the recipe of how make Rasam, follow the link.

Sambar Podi / kozambu Podi/ curry powder

Living In the U.S and running out of stock for homemade Sambar powder is something I always dreaded. I always make the freshly ground masala for sambar. And when I ask for a recipe, I get stone walled telling that I needed a machine (a typical one in India to grind these powders) or I need to have it dried under the hot sun. Both of which is an impossible thing here. My quest ended with my Sister in law, Sumithra Ranganath's easy recipe. It came out really great.

Here are the things we need
Coriander seed - 1 cup
Urad dal           - 1 cup
Channa dal       - 1 cup
Methi seeds     - 1 table spoon
Mustard seeds - 1 table spoon
Red chilli          - 250 gms ( typically this is only a rough measure) 
Asafoetida       -  a little
Turmeric powder - 4 spoons
Cinnamon    - 5 grams.
Maratti Mogghhu (Star Anise) - 5 grams


Dry roast all the above ingredients until golden brown and once you smell the fried chilli Switch off allow it too cool  and grind it to fine powder.


One can skip the last 2 ingredients too.


This powder can be used to make  Sambar, Curries.

A vegetarian Falafel Sandwich

This a dish I tried during my trip to new York. It was very yummy. It is a middle eastern dish.  So I could say its healthy too.

Things we need
For this we need to fry small balls, Some veggies, chutney/ hummus and pita bread. I got the pita bread from the local market.
When I ate this dish it was served with Hummus. I modified it a bit to suit my taste, so I made a chutney with mint and coriander.  You can also buy a hummus at a local store.

For the patty or the falafel balls
Garbanzo beans / Whole channa dal - 1 cup
Green chillies 3
Minced Ginger   1 spoon
Cilantro 1 small cup
Cumin powder - 1 spoon
Coriander powder - 1 spoon
Salt
Crushed Black pepper  - 1/2 spoon
All purpose flour/ maida - 3/4 cups
Baking soda 1/4 spoon
Oil to deep fry

For the Chutney
Mint
Coriander leaves
Green Chillies

The veggies
Chopped Tomatoes
Green pepper
Lettuce
Onions
Cucumber
Boiled corn fennels
Sour cream

How to make

The patty or  falafel balls
Soak the garbanzo beans/ whole channa dal overnight. You can use the canned garbanzo beans if you are okie with it. I prefer it fresh.

In a food processor, add the garbanzo beans, green chillies, minced ginger, cilantro, cumin powder, corriander powder, crushed black pepper, baking soda and salt. Grind these coarsly.  If you are adding garlic, you can add it along with these. just sprinkle water, if needed.
This comes in the consistency of a coarse masala vada batter.  Now take oil in kadai, make small balls of this batter & deep fry them.
Keep them on a tissue for the oil to drain. They will be crisp.

The Chutney
Grind the mint, coriander, green chillies, salt. Grind all these ingredients to a paste.

Now just open the pita bread, throw in a couple of the falafel balls, add all the veggies you want, some chutney & some sour cream. If needed you can jus sqeuuze in some drops of lemon juice too.

Enjoy.

Strawberry Pie

I love sweet stuff. And Strawberries are one my favorites.


Things we need
Fresh Strawberries  1/2 boxes ( or 5 cups)
Sugar  - 1/2 cup
Corn Starch - 2 spoons
Unsalted Butter
Pillsbury Pie Crusts
Whipped cream.

The pie crusts - to thaw them, please fopllow the instruction given on the box.
Preheat the oven to 450
Hull all the strawberries. Take one box of the strawberries, grind them well in a food processor. In a vessel, heat them till they thicken up a bit. Do not add water. Mix the corn starch & sugar in a little amount of water till the lumps dissolve. And add this to the boiling berry sauce.  Stir them well. The liquid will thicken up a bit . Do not add more corn starch, as that will dominate the taste and the sauce will become very thick.

Grease the baking tray with butter and roll out the pastry sheet. With a fork, make small holes. This allows the pie to get cooked evenly.  Fill in sheet with the sauce we made & arrange the 1/2 box of hulled strawberries along the sides of the pie sheet. Close this with the other pie sheet & crimp the edges using your thumb. Brush the top of the pie with butter. With a sharp knife make little slits on top.


Slide it into the oven & reduce the temperature now to 250. Let it stand for 35 mins. The top of the pic turns slight brown when done.

A yummy strawberry pie. It is very yummy when served with whipped cream.

Vegetable Pulav/ Steamed Rice with vegetables

This is neither a pulav nor a biriyani which is loaded with rich ingredients. So this pulav strikes somewhere in between. I got this recipe  from my friend Gana Nithin. Thanks Gana.

Things We need

Basmati Rice - 2 1/2 cups
Vegetables   - Potato, green beans, carrots, bell peppers (capsicum), green peas, Corns funnels, Cauliflower florets.
Ginger          - minced well 3 spoons
Onions (small) - 2 chopped well
Coriander leaves - 1 1/2 cup
Mint leaves   - 1 cup

Cinnamon     - 2  pinches ( I use cinnamon powder)
Cardamon    - little
Pepper corns- 5 or 6
Bay Leaf       - 1
Cloves          - 4 or 5 corns
Green Chillies- 10 -12
Coriander powder - 1 1/2 spoon
Coconut        - 2 spoons
Poppy Seeds - 1 spoon
Fennel Seeds - 1 spoon

Butter            - 1 spoon
Curd             - 2 spoons

Salt
A little oil



Okie now lets make it.

Wash the rice & keep it aside. Soak the poppy seeds in water. Take 1/4 of the chopped onions. Fry the cloves (2), cinnamon (a pinch), onions (1/4 ), ginger, green chillies,1 cup of coriander leaves, little mint leaves,  and add coriander powder, coconut . Grind them into a paste along with the poppy seeds.

You can make this in a pressure cooker or even in an electric rice cooker.

In the pressure cooker, add butter, when its hot, add the fennel seeds, cinnamon, cloves, bay leaf, cardamom, peppercorns, chopped onions. Fry them well then add chopped mint & coriander leaves & the masala we had ground earlier. Fry till the oil oozes out. Then add 2 spoons of curd and all the veggies. Mix them well and add the rice and salt & water (1 : 11/2 cup). Close it with the lid without the weight. Stand it for 14 mins & then switch it off & place the weight on it. Let it stand for 10 mins. The Veg Pulav is done.

If you are planning on using a electric rice cooker, fry all these in a skillet & then add them to the electric rice cooker.

I actually garnished it with some fried paneer cubes and some cashews.
The mint twist is an amazing flavour. Voilà its Done. It goes well with Raitha. Enjoy!

Rasam vadai, Bonda Soup

This is one of my granny's recipes...A very traditional one.

Things we need

For Vada
Urad dal  - 1 1/2
Pepper
Oil to fry
Salt


For Rasam
Moong dal 1/2 cup
Urad Dal - 1 Spoon
Pepper - 10/15 corns
Asafoetida - a pinch
Cumin seeds - 1 spoon
Red chillies - 3
Salt
Tamarind paste - 3 1/2 spoons
Mustard seeds
Curry Leaves.

Vada
This recipe is meant for 4 people. You can alter according to your needs.
Soak 1 1/2 cups of urad dal  for 2 hrs. Then grind it with pepper & salt. I use an Indian mixer. So I just sprinkle water on & off while grinding in order to get a thick batter. I keep the batter in the fridge for an hour so that the batter thickens up a bit more.


Make it into flat vadas & Fry them. If this doesn't work, just make tiny balls & fry them.  (I was unable to make them into flat vada shaped ones, so i made small balls & they taste great too) . Keep them on a tissue paper to have the oil absorbed.

 Rasam
 Pressure cook the moong dal with water for 4 whistles. once done, mash the dal well & make it a little watery & set it aside.

With a little oil, roast the pepper corns, urad dal, cumin seeds, asafoetida, red chillies. Then grind them to a paste.
In a vessel take the tamarind paste add water & salt to it & allow it to boil. Then add the above masala to it & bring it to a boil till it froths. then add the dal water & allow it to boil. For the seasoning, in a kadai, take a little oil, add mustard seeds, little cumin seeds & curry leaves & add it to the rasam.

Rasam is done. Add the vadas to the rasam & allow it to soak for an hour. Well rasam vada is done.
The flavor of pepper should be on the higher side, as it gives taste to the rasam & the vada.
Pepper is very good for health & if you have noticed, for this rasam  we haven;t used toor dal. So its totally a different taste to experiment on.

Bon apétit!

Carrot Halwa/ Gajar Halwa/ Sweet Carrot pudding

Things we need

Carrot   2 lbs

Sweetened Condensed Milk  14oz

Unsalted Butter 6oz

Cashew & Almonds shriveled

Cardamon 

Peel & Grate the carrots in a food processor.In a big thick bottomed skillet, melt the butter, fry the nuts & Keep them aside.
Add the shredded carrots & saute them until they are soft (2 to 3 mins). Add the nuts to the mixture, then the  sweetened condensed milk. Mix them well and close it with a lid & allow it to cook on low flame for around 30 mins. stirring it occasionally . By then, everything is absorbed well & the butter starts oozing out. Ts done.

Serving tips

Heat the halwa a bit & serve it with ice cream. Its very yummy that way.

Its not a healthy dish for sure. But a bit of indulgence is no harm.