APPEHULI

(GREEN SOUR LIME SOUP-indian style)

Kanchikai -- 1
Sugar/jaggery -- 4-5 teaspoons
Salt -- 1/8 teaspoon (more if required)
Coconut milk -- 3 tablespoons
Green chilli -- 1 small

Garlic -- 3-4 cloves
Coconut oil -- 1 teaspoon
Mustard seeds -- 1/4 teaspoon
chilli powder -- 1/4 teaspoon


Peel and cut the kanchikai in to two halves. Add salt and jaggery in a bowl.Squeeze out the juice from the fruit throgh a strainer.
Add approximately 1 cup of water(250 ml) to this juice. Add the coconut milk to it. Crush a greenchilli to add flavour.

Heat oil in a temparing pan. Cook garlic until light brown. Add mustard. When the mustard is crackling add the chillii powder and turn off the heat within few seconds.

Add it to the appehuli. Ready to serve.

Kanchikai is a variety of citrus fruit. It is very similar to a sweetlime but it is not sweet even when it ripens. It is mainly used for cooking and making pickles in my native. (I am sorry i don't know any other name for this as well!)

MYSORE PAK

Chick pea flour(besan) -- 1/2 cup
Sugar -- 1 cup
Ghee (clarified butter) -- 1 cup
(OR
Ghee --1/cup + Sunflower oil -- 1/2 cup)
Water -- 1/2 - 3/4 cup just enough to dissolve sugar.

Sieve chick pea flour and keep aside.

In a thick bottomed wok add sugar and water.
Dissolve the sugar on low flame.

Bring this sugar syrup to boil on high flame. See to it that it doesn't overflow.
Once the syrup is bubbling and boiling again lower the heat and let it simmer for 6-8 minutes.

Now slowly sift in the chickpea flour. Keep stirring the mixture to avoid forming lumps.
Once all the flour is in, take ghee in a vessel and keep it on a slow flame.

Keep stirring the mixture to avoid burning. Pour a couple of tablespoons of hot ghee
on top of the mysore pak mixture every 3-4 minutes and keep stirring.

When the mixture becomes thick and starts leaving the bottom of the pan pour in all the remaining ghee and keep stirring.

When the mixture moves with the stirring spoon and feels kind of porous or bubbly turn off the heat and immediately pour it in flat plate. Don't try to level it off with the spatula. Just wait for 20-30 seconds and upturn it on a second plate.

Cut it into pieces after a couple of minutes. (Once cool it will not cut into smooth pieces.So it should be still hot.)

Serve it hot or at room temperature. Can be stored up to 3-4 days.

CURD RICE-1

Rice -- 2 cups (cooked)

Curd (yogurt) -- 1 to 1 1/4 cup

Oil -- 3-4 tablespoons
Split black gram (Urad dal) -- 1/2 teaspoon
Mustard -- 1/2 teaspoon
Dry curd chilli (mosaru menasu) -- 3-4 (soaked in spiced curd and sundried)
Sesame seeds -- 1/2 teaspoon
Curry leaves -- few

Onion -- 1 (chopped finely)
Coriander leaves -- 3 tablespoons (chopped)
Salt to taste

Heat oil in a pan and add the black gram. When it becomes brownish add mustard, chilli , Sesame seeds and curry leaves.

When the mustard and sesame start spluttering add onion and curd and turn off the heat immediately.


Add rice and salt and mix all the ingredients nicely.

Top with chopped coriander and serve.

DRY COCONUT (COPRA) CHUTNEY POWDER

Dry coconuts (Copra) -- 2 cups (grated/powdered)

Split chickpea(chana dal) -- 1/2 cup
Split black gram (urad dal) -- 2-3 teaspoons
Curry leaves -- 20-30
Chilli powder -- 2-3 tablespoons (or to taste)
Tamarind -- little
Salt to taste
Sugar -- 1-2 teaspoons


Grate or chop and run the copra in a processor to make powder.

Dry roast both lentils and slightly dry the curry leaves and tamarind.

Now mix all the ingredients and run it in the processor until it is powdered. (coarse)

Can be served with dosa, along with ghee or oil.