Kara boondi / Spicy boondi

Ingredients:
Gram flour(Besan) - 1 cup
Water - 1 to 2 cups
Chilli power - 2 tsp
Crushed Garlic - 3 to 5
Curry leaves- few
Peanut - 1/4 cup
Cashew nut - 2 tbsp (optional)
Salt- to taste
Oil- for deep fry

Method:
Mix the besan and a tablespoon of oil along with water (add water gradually till it gets a dripping consistency - the batter should be little watery and not so thick).
Pour drops of this mixture into hot oil with a slotted spoon.
Deep fry till the drops become golden brown. Drain this from oil and repeat the same for the whole batter.
Fry the peanuts and cashews in the same oil or separately. Keep it aside.
Then heat little Oil in a pan, fry garlic and curry leaves.
Finally mix it all into the boondi and sprinkle red chili powder and salt.
Mix well.

Rava Kesari

Ingredients:
Rava - 1 cup
Sugar - 1¾ cup
Water - 3 cups (you may replace part or whole of it with milk)
Cashews - 10 to 15
Ghee - 1/2 cup
Cardamom Powder - 1/2 tsp
A pinch of food color (optional)

Method:
Roast the rava in a tablespoon of ghee until it has a light golden color and set aside. Fry the cashews in ghee and set aside. Bring 3 cups of water (or milk) to boil, then reduce the flame and add the roasted rava in a steady stream while constantly stirring with a wooden spoon. Stir until the mixture begins to thicken, then add the sugar, cardamom powder, food color and ghee, and mix very well. Add ghee little by little until the kesari leaves the sides of the pan. Stir in cardamom powder and fried cashews. Spread on a greased plate and cut into small pieces or serve warm in a bowl.

Carrot and Beans stir fry / Poriyal

Ingredients:
Carrots - ¾ cup
Beans - ¾ cup
Channa dal - 1 tbsp
Urad dal - 1 tsp
Jeera - ½ tsp
Mustard seeds - ½ tsp
Onion - ½ cup (chopped)
Curry leaves - a few
Green or Red chillies - 3 (slit them length wise)
Turmeric powder - a pinch
Curry powder - 1 to 2 tsp
Grated coconut - 2 tbsp
Salt as per taste
Oil for frying

Method:
Boil the carrot and beans pieces, until ¾ cooked and keep aside.
Heat oil, add mustard seeds and let it pop, then add channa dal, urad dal and jeera then fry it until golden brown. Now add onion, green chillies and curry leaves, fry until onions are translucent. Add boiled carrot pieces, mix and fry for 5 minutes.
Now add salt, curry powder and turmeric powder and fry till soft, finally sprinkle grated coconut, stir well and turn off the heat.

Drumstick Sambar

Ingredients
Toor dal - 1 cup
Tomato - 1
Turmeric powder – A pinch
Tamarind - Small lime sized
Sambar powder - 2 tbsp
Curry powder - 1 tsp
Drumsticks - 2 (cut into pieces)
Brinjal - 2 to 3
Red pearl onions - few (7 to 10)
Mustard seeds - ½ tsp
Fenugreek seeds - ½ tsp
Urad dal - 1 tsp
Asafoetida - A pinch
Red chillies - few
Curry leaves - few
Coriander leaves - few
Oil - for frying
Salt as needed

Method
Pressure cook the dal with tomato, turmeric and a tsp of oil. Once it cools down strain the excess water (you can use this for Rasam) and mash the dal.
Extract juice from the tamarind by soaking it in hot water.
Heat oil in a kadai, add mustard seeds and fenugreek seeds, when it splutters add Urad dal. After it changes colour add hing, onions, chillies and curry leaves and fry till soft. Now add drumstick and brinjal fry for another 2 minutes.
Now add tamarind water and a pinch of turmeric powder, let it boil till veggies are half cooked. In in the middle add sambar powder along with salt. Then add dal and adjust salt and water. Let it simmer for 10 more minutes or until veggies are fully cooked.
Garnish with chopped cilantro and pour some ghee on the top of the sambar.

Note :
You can use any veggies of your choice, like potatoes,carrots and beans… but these give the original flavour (drumsticks, brinjal and small onions).
You can microwave the tamarind in water for a minutes. It becomes easy to extract.

Brinjal and tomato curry

Ingredients
Brinjals - 5 to 6 slit (criss-cross) with stem
Mustard seeds - ½ tsp
Urad dal - 1 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Onion - 1 (chopped)
Chillies - 3 to 4
Curry leaves - few
Tomatoes puréed (3 to 4) - or 3 tbsp of paste (canned)
Ginger & garlic paste - 2 tsp (optional)
Turmeric powder - a pinch
Curry powder - 2 tsp
Coriander powder - 1 tbsp
Oil for frying
Salt to taste
Chopped coriander leaves (optional)

Method

Heat a pan and add little oil fry the mustard seeds, urad dal and cumin seeds. Now add onions, chillies and curry leaves, fry until softened.
Then add the ginger & garlic paste and sauté for 2 minutes. Now add the pureed tomatoes fry for 3 to 4 minutes. Add powdered ingredients and stir well. After a minute add brinjal and required water. Cover it and let it cook till the brinjal gets soft (if you use pressure cooker wait for 1 whistle). Garnish with coriander leaves.
Serve hot with rice or roti.

Carrot stir fry

Ingredients:
Carrots - 1 ½ cup
Channa dal - 1 tbsp
Urad dal - 1 tsp
Jeera - ½ tsp
Mustard sees - ½ tsp
Onion - 1 ( chopped)
Curry leaves - Few
Green or Red chillies - 3 (slit them length wise)
Turmeric powder - A pinch
Curry powder - 1 tsp
Gram flour - 1 tbsp
Salt as per taste
Oil for frying

Method:

Boil the carrot pieces until ¾ cooked and keep aside.
Heat oil, add mustard seeds and let it pop, then add channa dal, urad dal and jeera and fry until golden brown. Now add onion, green chillies and curry leaves, fry until onions are translucent.
Add boiled carrot pieces, mix and fry for 5 minutes.
Now add salt, curry powder and turmeric powder and fry till soft, finally sprinkle gram flour stir it in for another 2 minutes. Turn off the heat and serve.

Cauliflower curry

Ingredients
Cauliflower - 1 (cut them into florets)
Onions - 1 cup (chopped)
Tomato - 1 (chopped)
Cloves - 3
Cardamom - 1
Cinnamon stick - 1 small stick
Poppy seeds - 2 tbsp
Coriander seeds - 2 tbsp
Jeera - 1 ½ tsp
Ginger - 1’ inch (optional)
Garlic - 2 cloves
Carry leaves - few
Curry or chilli powder - 1½ tbsp
Salt to taste
oil for frying

Method
In hot water add 1 tsp of salt and soak cauliflower florets for 3 minutes, then strain water and wash.
Heat oil in a pan add cinnamon stick, cloves, cardamom, coriander seeds and jeera once they change colour add ½ cup onion, ginger and garlic, fry till soft. Let it cool.
Grind the fried onions along with poppy seeds and tomatoes to a smooth paste. Add tomatoes last into the blender.
In a pan heat oil fry mustard seeds, then add onion, chillies and curry leaves. Fry till transparent now add cauliflowers stir well and close the lid fry for about 5 minutes.
Now add ground paste along with chilli powder, salt and required water.
Mix well and cook (covered with lid) till cauliflower soften.
Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot with rice or roti.

Green gram dal / Pasi payaru kulambu

Ingredients:

Whole green gram dal - ½ cup (Pasi Payaru)
Sambar onion - ¼ cup (chopped)
Garlic - 3 pods
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Coriander seeds - 1 tsp
Green chillies - 3 to 4
Mustard seeds - ¼ tsp
Curry leaves - few
Oil for frying
Turmeric powder - a pinch
Salt as per taste

Method
Pressure cook the dal along with oil and turmeric powder for 5-6 whistles (if you have excess water in the dal you can use that for rasam).
In a pan heat oil, add mustard seeds. When it pops add coriander seeds, cumin seeds, onion, garlic, chillies and curry leaves, fry till it softens.
Now add the cooked dal and salt and mix well. Cover with a lid, cook it for another 8 to 10 minutes. Allow to cool then mash into a fine paste.
Pour some ghee before serving with hot rice.

Ven pongal

Ingredients

Raw rice - 1 cup
Split moong dal - ½ cup
Ghee (clarified butter) or butter - 4 tbsp
Mustard seeds - ½ tsp
Cumin seeds - ½ tsp
Peppercorns - 1 tsp
Fresh ginger - 1 tbsp (chopped)
Cashewnuts - 10 to 15
Asafoetida - a pinch
Curry leaves - few
Water - 5-6 cups (you may replace ½ of it with milk)
Salt as per taste

Mehtod
Fry the cashew nuts in ghee for golden colour.
Wash and rinse the rice and dal then cook along with salt for 5 to 6 whistles. If you use a small cooker then milk will boil over, so use a big one. Or do it in the pan so you can stir well.
After they are done, take a small pan and fry the mustard seeds, peppercorns, cumin seeds, asafoetida, ginger and curry leaves in the ghee.
Pour this and the cashews into the cooked rice and mix well. Serve hot with sambar.