DOODH PEDA (MILK PEDA)

Milk (full fat)-- 1 litre
Sugar -- 1/3 cup
Cardamom powder -- freshly ground from 2-3 pods (optional)


Take milk in a wide, thick bottomed pan. Heat it on medium heat.
Keep stirring the milk continuously.

If you take a thick bottomed pan then it is okay to stir it every 2-3 minutes until the milk is reduced to half the amount.

If the pan is not thick the milk will stick to the bottom and burn easily. So be careful when choosing the pan.

Once the milk is thick and about 1/2 liter in quantity, lower the heat and keep stirring the milk more often.

When the milk is reduces to 1/4 of a liter, (1 cup) (it starts to become thick and starts bubbling without forming the film on top) add the sugar and freshly crushed cardamom powder.

Keep stirring the mixture. Once the sugar is added it should be mixed continuously.

Once the mixture starts leaving the pan (you can see the bottom of the pan while stirring), turn off the gas. Stir for another couple of minutes as the pan is still hot. Let it cool down. Once it is of bearable temperature, make the pedas. (pedas will have a smoother finish if it is done when it is slightly warm)


You can make 15-18 medium sized pedas with 1 litre milk.

MIXED VEGETABLE SAMBHAR

for the Sambhar


Split pigeon peas (toor dal) -- 1/4 cup
Mixed vegitables -- 2 cups (cubed) (potato,cauliflower,brinjal,green peas, carrot,french beans etc. can be used)
Onion -- 2
salt to taste
Jaggery -- 1 teaspoon

for the Sambhar Masala

Coconut oil -- 1 teaspoon
Coriander seeds -- 4 teaspoon
Cumin seeds -- 1 teaspoon
Red chillies -- 4-6 (according to taste)
Turmeric powder -- 1/2 teaspoon

for Grinding

Coconut -- 1 cup (grated)
Tamarind pulp -- 3 teaspoons

for tempering
Oil -- 2 tablespoons
Garlic -- 5-6 cloves
Mustard seeds -- 1/2 teaspoon


Heat the oil and roast all the ingredients for the sambhar masala in it.

Grind these masalas with the coconut gratings and tamarind to a fine paste in a blender using a little water. Keep aside.

Wash and pressure cook the dal and vegitables with water.

In a deep vessel, heat oil and fry garlic until light brown. Add mustard and let it crackle.

Now put in the ground masala paste and fry for 3-4 minutes.

Add cooked vegetables and dal, salt, jaggery and 1-11/2 cups of water and bring to a boil. Simmer for around 10 minutes on low flame.

Ready to serve. Goes well with the rice.

MASALA ROTI

Wheat flour -- 1 cup
Chickpea flour (besan) -- 1/3 cup
Tomato -- 2
Onion -- 1 big
Green chilies -- 1
Coriander leaves -- 1 small bunch
Chili powder -- 1/2 teaspoon
Salt to taste
Oil /Ghee (clarified butter) -- 4-5 tablespoons


Chop onion, tomato coriander leaves and green chilies finely. Add salt and chili powder to it.
Now mix in the flours and make a dough using warm water. Cover it and keep for half an hour.

Take a portion of the dough and roll it out into rotis and cook it with oil or ghee until light brown spots appear on both sides.

Serve hot with vegetable side dishes.

TOMATO - CARROT SOUP

Oil-- 2 tablespoon

Bay leaf --1
Tomato -- 5-6 large
Carrot -- 1 (optional)
Onion -- 1 large
Garlic -- 3-4 cloves
Ginger -- 1/2 c m piece
Pepper powder -- 1/4 teaspoon
Sugar -- 2 tablespoons
Salt to taste
Fresh cream -- 2 tablespoon (optional)

Heat oil in a pan and add bay leaf. Add chopped garlic ginger and onion and fry for few minutes.

Roughly chop tomatoes, slice carrots and add to the pan and saute for few minutes. Add few peppercorns to the mixture Cover and cook until done.

I use the carrot to increase the thickness. It gives a nice texture to the soup.


Once done cool the cooked tomatoes and run it in the processor to get a smooth paste. Strain it through a strainer.

Transfer the strained soup to a pan. Add salt, sugar and pepper powder. Adjust the thickness of the soup by adding a little water.

Bring to boil. Serve hot topped with fresh cream..

VEGETABLE PULAO

Long grained rice(like basmati) -- 2 cups
Mixed vegetables -- 1 1/2 cups (carrot, beans,cauliflower,potato,capsicum,corn,peas)
Bay leaf -- 1
Clove -- 5-6
Cinnamon -- 1 " long stick
Cardamom -- 4-5 pods
Cumin seeds -- 1/2 teaspoon
Fennel seeds -- 1/2 teaspoon (optional)
Ginger -- 1 c.m. piece
Garlic -- 2 cloves
Onion -- 2 (sliced)
Pepper powder -- 1/2 teaspoon
Salt to taste
Milk OR Coconut milk -- 2 cups

Chop all the veggies finely.

Wash and soak the rice for 20 minutes. Drain and keep aside.

Heat oil in a heavy bottomed pan and add cloves,cinnamon,bay leaf,cardamom. Fry them on low heat until the nice aroma of the garam masala comes out.

Add cumin and fennel seeds. When they start crackling, add the slightly crushed garlic and ginger. Let it cook for 5 minutes on low flame.Add onion and fry for another couple of minutes.

Now add the vegetables and stir it nicely. The put in the rice and give it a stir again. Take care not to break the rice grains.

Add salt and pepper powder and pour the milk/coconut milk until the rice and vegetables are covered. Cover it and cook it on a very low flame until the rice is done. More water or milk can be added in-between, if required.

Once done serve hot.

POTATO PALYA

Potatoes -- 6-8 medium
Oil -- 4 tablespoons
Mustard seeds -- 1 1/2 teaspoon
Turmeric powder -- 1/2 teaspoon
Curry leaves -- few
Onion -- 2 medium
Green chilies -- 3
Salt to taste

Wash,peel and cube the potatoes into 1" big cubes.

Heat oil in a pan and mustard seeds.

When Mustard seeds start crackling add turmeric powder, slit green chilies and curry leaves. Stir for 1 minute.

Put in onion and fry until it becomes transparent.

Put in the cubed potatoes and cover and cook for 5-6 minute.
Add salt and cook until the potatoes are done.
Serve hot.

TELLEVVU (CUCUMBER DOSA)

This is the classic havyaka breakfast dish. It is prepared in every household in my native as breakfast almost everyday.

Traditionally mangalore cucumber is used for this dish.


Rice -- 1 cup
Cucumber -- 1 small
Salt to taste


Soak rice for 6-8 hours.

Roughly chop cucumber (with or without skin). Now grind together cucumber and rice into a smooth paste. Add salt. This batter can be used fresh without fermentation.

Making this dosa is very tricky. Take spoonful of batter and pour it at the edge of the griddle. Spread it out thinly using a hard carton paper. (Folded banana leaf is used to spread the batter.) Dosa is made paper thin.
Cover and cook it for half a minute.

Since this dosa is very thin it doesn't require to be cooked on the other side.
Serve it hot with chutney.

VADAPPE (CUCUMBER -RICE ROTI)

Rice flour -- 2 cups
Cucumber -- 2 big
Carrot -- 1 medium(optional)
Onion -- 2 medium
Green chilies -- 2
Coriander leaves -- 1 small bunch
Curry leaves -- few
Salt to taste
Oil


Wash and grate the cucumber. I keep the skin to make it more nutritious. But clean it thoroughly before grating. Peel and grate the carrot.

Chop onion, coriander leaves, curry leaves and chilies finely. Mix it with the grated cucumber. Add salt.

Now, mix the rice flour with these vegetables. Add a little water / curd if it becomes too dry. The dough should be a little watery than that of the chapati.

Take a portion of the dough and flatten it and spread it thinly (2-3 mm thickness) on a parchment sheet.


Heat the griddle and lightly grease it. Transfer the vadappe on to the griddle and remove the sheet after half a minute. Cook it slowly on medium heat. After one side is done, cook it on the other side.

Serve hot with butter/ghee(clarified butter) and chutney.

CHANA MASALA (CHICKPEA CURRY)

Chick peas -- 1 cup
Oil -- 4-5 tablespoons
Cumin seeds -- 1/2 tsp
Ginger garlic paste -- 1 teaspoon
Onions -- 3 medium (finely chopped)
Tomatoes -- 4 (finely chopped)
Turmeric powder -- 1/4 teaspoon
Red chilli powder -- 3/4 teaspoon
Coriander powder -- 1 teaspoon
Asafoetida -- 1 pinch
Garam masala -- 1/2 teaspoon
Kasuri methi -- 1 tablespoon
salt to taste

Soak chick pea overnight or for 6-8 hours.
Pressure cook them with water and salt.Once done drain the water.

Take a handful of cooked chick pea grind it to coarse paste and keep it aside. keep aside.

Heat oil in a pan and add cumin seeds. Once the cumin starts crackling add the ginger-garlic paste and onions. Saute until the onion turns brownish.

Now add the tomatoes and saute until the tomatoes are soft. Now add all the powders and kasuri methi.
Mash the tomatoes lightly with a ladle and continue to saute until the oil starts separating the tomato turns into a paste. Add a little water if requited.
Put in the chickpea paste and cook for 2-3 minutes.

Finally add the drained chickpea and salt and bring the gravy to boil. Simmer on low heat until the gravy thickens.

Serve hot with roti, poori or batura.

HESARUKALU BHAJI (GREEN GRAM IN COCONUT GRAVY)

Green gram -- 2 cups (sprouted)
Oil -- 4 tablespoons
Mustard seeds -- 1 1/2 teaspoon
Turmeric powder -- 1/2 teaspoon
Curry leaves -- few

Onion -- 2 medium (sliced)
Tomato -- 2 large (chopped)
Coconut -- 1 cup (grated)
Tamarind pulp -- 3 teaspoons

Jaggery-- 1 teaspoon
Salt to taste

for masala

Coconut oil -- 1 teaspoon
Fenugreek seeds -- 1/4 teaspoon
Coriander seeds -- 2 teaspoon
Cumin seeds -- 1/2 teaspoon
Red chillies -- 4-6 (according to taste)
Cloves -- 2-3
Cinnamon -- 1/2 cm piece
Turmeric powder -- 1/2 teaspoon
Asafoetida -- 1/8 teaspoon
Curry leaves -- few



Heat the oil and roast all the ingredients for the masala in it.The ingredients should go into the frying pan in the same order as they are listed above.

Grind these masala with the coconut gratings and tamarind to a fine paste in a blender using a little water. Keep aside.

Pressure cook the green gram with very little water. Keep aside.

Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds.

When Mustard seeds start crackling add turmeric powder and curry leaves. Stir for 1 minute.

Put in the onion and saute until cooked. Add tomatoes and saute for 2-3 minutes, until the tomato is soft.

Now add the cooked gram and the ground paste of masala. Sprinkle jaggery and salt. Mix everything together and cover and cook for 5-6 minutes on medium heat. Once the gravy starts boiling lower the heat and cook for 2 minutes.

Serve with roti or rice.

SET DOSA

I have always liked the set dosa served in restaurants, but couldn't get the same taste at home.
Then i found this recipe in Lakshmi's Taste of Mysore

I made the set dosa and it tastes awesome. I will try mysore masala one of these days.



Dosa Rice -- 2 cups
Urad dal -- 3/4 cup
Sago -- 1/2 cup
Chana dal - 2 tablespoons
Fenugreek Seeds -- 2 teaspoons
Salt -- to taste


For garnish use
Carrot (grated)
Coriander leaves (chopped) Mixed together.


Wash and soak rice and all other ingredients in separate vessels for 5-6 hours.

Grind them separately to a smooth paste, using water. Transfer both into a bigger vessel mix them. Mix in the salt.
Keep it covered in a warm place for fermentation for 10-12 hours.
Now the batter is ready.

Heat griddle, grease it with little oil and pour a couple of big spoonful of batter in the center. Spread it slightly with the spoon
Sprinkle the Carrot &coriander leaves. Cover and cook for a minute.
Now turn the dosa and cook the other side for another minute.

Serve hot with chutney or sambhar.

MINESTRONE SOUP

Olive oil -- 2 tablespoons
Onions -- 2 medium (finely chopped)
Garlic -- 2 cloves (finely chopped)
Tomatoes -- 6-8 (roughly chopped)
Carrot -- 1 big (cubed)
Potatoes -- 2 small (cubed)
Zucchini -- 1 small (sliced)
Celery stalk -- 2 medium (bias sliced)
Sweet corn kernels -- 1/2 cup
Cauliflower florets -- 1/2 cup

Vegetable stock -- 4-5 cups
Red kidney beans -- 1/2 cup

Pasta (such as macaroni or spaghetti) -- 1 cup (cooked in salted water)

Italian seasoning -- 1 teaspoon
Sugar -- 1 teaspoon
Salt to taste
Pepper -- 1/2 teaspoon

Parmesan cheese for garnish


Cook the kidney beans in water until tender. I prefer to pressure cook it.

Heat olive oil in a thick pan and add garlic and oinon. Saute for a couple of minutes.

Now add all the vegetables and saute for few more minutes until the vegetables become soft.

Now pour in the vegetable stock and bring the soup to boil. Lower the heat and let the vegetables cook for about 20 minutes.

Add the kidney beans and all the seasonings and cook it for 5 minutes more. Finally add the pasta and let the soup simmer for 2-3 minutes.

Ladle the soup into a bowl. Garnish with the cheese gratings and serve hot.

VEGETABLE STOCK

Mixed vegetables -- 1 big bowl

Water -- 1 1/2 liters

pepper corns -- 1 taspoon

Garlic -- 2 cloves

Wash and chop vegetables like carrot,tomato, french beans, celery, onion, cauliflower, cabbage, cucumber, potato(for thick stock) etc.

Boil it in water along with the pepper and garlic. Allow it to simmer on low flame until the stock is about one liter. Drain the stock. Squeeze out the vegetables to get the essence into the stock. Use as required.

This stock can be refrigerated for up to 3 days and frozen for a longer period.

STUFFED CAPSICUM RINGS

Capsicum -- 2
Potato --2 medium
Mustard seeds -- 1/4 teaspoon
Onion --1 small
Chilly powder -- 1/4 teaspoon
Garam masala -- 1/4 teaspoon
Coconut -- 1 tablespoon (grated)
Salt to taste
Oil -- 2-3 tablespoon


Cook the whole capsicum in salted water until it changes color. Remove the stem and the seeds and keeep aside.

Cook the potato, peel and mash it.

Heat little oil (around 2 tblsp.) a pan. Add mustard seeds.
When it starts crackling, add finely chopped onion and fry until it turns slightly brownish.

Add the mashed potato and all other ingredients except oil. Give it a good stir and turn off the heat.

Stuff this mixture into the capsicums. Now carefully slice the capsicum into 2 or 3 slices.(i have sliced the capsicums for easy cooking.) Grease the griddle and place these slices and roast on both sides.

Serve hot with chapatis.

BADAM HALU (ALMOND MILK)

Milk -- 1 glass
Almonds -- 6-8
Sugar -- 2 teaspoons
Cardamom powder -- a pinch
Saffron -- few strands

Soak almond overnight. Peel and make a fine paste.

Boil milk and add the almond paste to it. Boil it for 5 minutes on low flame.

Add sugar, cardamom and saffron to the boiling water. Stir for a couple of minutes.
Turn off the heat.

This milk can be served hot or cold.

For a cold version, chill it in a fridge for an hour or two before serving. Serve garnished with some grated almonds and saffron.

To make almond milk easily, almond powder can be prepared in advance.

For the powder

Take a cup of almonds and grate it.
Add a 3-4 cardamoms and a few strands of saffron.

Grind it to a powder. Store it in a airtight container..

While making almond milk, add a couple of teaspoonful of this powder to the milk along with sugar. Boil for 5 minutes and strain it to remove the almond skin.

Serve it hot or chilled.

UPPITTU (SIMPLE UPMA)

This upma is made slightly sweetish in my native place. I have been trying to get the exact effect. Got some success after two trials.

Semolina (rava) -- 2 cups

Oil -- 4-5 tablespoons
Split Black gram (Urad dal) -- 1 teaspoon
Split chick pea (Chana dal ) --1 teaspoon
Green chilies -- 3 (slit)
Mustard seeds -- 1 teaspoon
Turmeric powder -- 1/2 teaspoon
Curry leave -- few
Asafoetida -- 1 pinch

Sugar -- 4 teaspoons
salt to taste
Coconut -- 1/3 cup (grated)
Coriander leaves -- 3 tablespoons (chopped)


Dry roast rava on medium flame until light brown.

Heat oil in a pan and add urad dal and chana dal.
When the dals are little brownish add mustard seeds and let them crackle.

Add green chilies, curry leaves, turmeric powder and asafoetida.
Stir for a couple of minutes.

Now put in the rava and fry it with this tempering for around 8-10 minutes on low heat. Add sugar and salt.

Boil 1 2/3 cup of water in a vessel while frying the rava.
Now very slowly (and carefully) pour the water into the pan containing the rava. Take care that the heat is on the lowest setting.
Keep stirring to avoid the formation of lumps. Cover and cook for 2-3 minutes on low flame.

Now mix in the coconut gratings and coriander leaves.
Serve hot garnished with more coconut and coriander leaves.

SABUDANA THALIPEETH

Sabudana -- 1 cup
Potatoes -- 2 big
Peanut -- 1/4 cup
Green chilies -- 2 (finely chopped)
Coriander leaves -- 2 tablespoons (chopped)
cumin seeds -- 1 teaspoon
Salt to taste
Oil to grease the griddle

Soak sabudana in water for 2-3 hours.(If you are soaking it overnight drain the sabudana and keep it covered.) They should be soft.

Cook potatoes.

Dry roast peanuts. Skin them and roughly chop them. You can run it in a processor, but it should not become powder.

Now drain the sabudana and put it in a bowl. Mash potatoes and add it to the sabudana. Put in the peanuts as well.
Add all other ingredients and mix it together.

Take tennis ball sized portions from this dough, and flatten it on a baking parchment sheet.

Heat the griddle and lightly grease it. Transfer the thalipeeth on to the griddle and remove the sheet. Cook it slowly on medium heat. After one side is done, cook it on the other side. (Be careful while turning. It could be tricky if not cooked properly)

Serve hot with chutney

IDLI

Idli rava (rice rava) -- 2 Cups
Split Black lentil (Urad Dal) -- 1 cup
Salt to taste

Wash and soak lentil for around 6-8 hours.

If the fine flour is present in rava it will make the idli sticky. So add rava in a vessel and carefully wash it.

Now grind the lentil to a paste. Don't make it too smooth paste. But it shouls not be coarse too.

Mix this ground lentil paste with the rava and leave it in a warm place overnight for fermentation.

Next morning mix salt and pour it in the idli molds. Steam it on medium heat for 15-20 minutes.
Serve hot with chutney and sambhar.

SESAME CHUTNEY

Green chillies/red chillies -- 2-3 (according to taste)
Goconut grated - 1 cup
Sesame seeds - 3/4 teaspoon
Goconut oil- 1/2 teaspoon
Salt to taste

for the Tempering (optional)

3/4 teaspoon mustard seeds
6 curry leaves
1 teaspoon oil


Heat oil and chillies. Once the chillies give u a aroma add sesame seeds. Be careful at this stage as the sesame seeds crackle almost immediately and fly around. Better cover the frying pan with a plate.

Mix this with the coconut and grind it to a smooth paste, using a little water.


Prepare the tempering by heating the oil and frying the mustard seeds, curry leaves until the mustard seeds crackle.
Mix it with the chutney and serve.

SABUDANA KHICHADI

Sabudana (Tapioca pearls) -- 1 cup
Salt to taste
Peanut -- 1/3 cup
Oil -- 4-5 tablespoons
Potato -- 2 medium
Green chili -- 3-4
Cumin seeds -- 1 teaspoon
Curry leaves -- few
Coriander leaves -- 1 tablespoon (chopped)


Wash sabudana and drain it thoroughly. Keep it covered(so that it doesn't lose moisture) for 6-8 hours. Sprinkle a little water in between if u think it is too dry. Take care that the amount of water is not much as if it turns out watery, khichadi will turn out rubbery.
The nylon variety should be soaked for day immersed in water.

P.S.
It is rather tricky to get the sabudana soaked properly. Also depends on different types of sabudana. Always test them before cooking. When you press the soaked sabudana between you fingers it should be rubbery and soft till the core. If it becomes powder, it's over soaked. If its hard in the middle not yet soaked.


Dry roast peanuts on a very slow flame. Peanuts roasted on slow flame has more taste and is more aromatic than the one which is done in a hurry.

Skin the peanuts once they are cool and chop it into small pieces. You can run it in a processor but take care not to powder it.

Cook potato and cube it into medium sized cubes.

Mix salt and peanuts to the sabudana.

Heat Oil in a pan and add cumin seeds and green chillies. Once the cumin seeds start crackling  add curry leaves . Stir for a minute.

Add potatoes and stir for another couple of minutes.

Now put in the sabudana and mix all the ingredients nicely. Cover and cook on low flame for about 15 minutes. Keep stirring in between as the sabudana has the tendency to stick to the bottom.
Do not add water at this stage as it will make the sabudana rubbery. keep it covered while cooking so that it gets enough moisture to cook.

Once done garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot.

CRACKLING SPINACH

Spinach -- 4 cups.
Garlic (chopped) -- 2tsp
Sesame seeds -- 3-4 tsp.
Red chilly flakes -- 1tsp.
Sugar -- 1tblsp.
Sesame oil (optional) -- 1tblsp.
Salt to taste.
Oil for deep frying.


Wash and completely dry spinach. Then shred finely and deep fry them in batches. Take care not to let the color of spinach change.
Put them on absorbent papers and blot out all the oil.

Heat sesame oil in a pan, add chopped garlic, red chilli flakes and sesame seeds. When the sesame seeda starts spluttering add spinach. Mix lightly and sprinkle salt, sugar. Toss well and serve hot.

ALOO GOBI (POTATO - CAULIFLOWER CURRY)

Potatoes -- 5-6 (medium)
Cauliflower -- 1 (small)

Oil -- 2-3 large spoons
Cumin seeds -- 2 teaspoons
Ginger -- 1 1/2 teaspoon (grated)
Garlic -- 6-7 cloves (chopped finely)
Onions -- 2 (medium)
Tomatoes -- 2-3 (large) (chopped)


Coriander powder -- 1 teaspoon
Cumin powder -- 3/4 teaspoon
Garam masala powder -- 1/2 teaspoon
Kasuri methi powder -- 1/2 teaspoon
Turmeric powder -- 1/4 teaspoon
Red chili powder -- 1/2 teaspoon
salt to taste

Coriander leaves -- 1 tablespoon


Sperate cauliflower florets and wash it. Boil it in salted water, with a pinch of turmeric powder, for 2-3 minutes. Drain and keep it aside.

Peel and cube potatoes into 1" cubes. Cook them in microwave or in a pan until half done.


Heat oil. add cumin seeds and let it crackle.

Add ginger and garlic and stir till the raw smell of the garlic disappears.

Now add chopped onion and fry until it is slightly brownish.

Add chopped tomatoes. Stir for a minute. Now add all the 6 dry powders to the pan and stir. Cook until tomatoes turn into paste.

Next add salt, potatoes and cauliflower, mix it with the masala, cover and cook it on low flame until the veggies are soft but firm.

Serve garnished with coriander leaves.

ARISHINA KOFFEE ( TURMERIC COFFEE WITH PEPPERCORNS)

Milk -- 1 cup
Turmeric powder -- 1 teaspoon
Pepper corns (white) -- 8-10
Sugar -- 2 teaspoons.


Coarsely powder the peppercorns. Mix all the ingredients and bring it to boil. Simmer it for 5 minutes on low flame.
Drink it hot.

This drink feels very good on a cold day. When we were kids this drink was used to treat minor cold and throat infections as the turmeric is known for its antibacterial properties.

BALEKAI PALYA (COCONUT FLAVOURED RAW BANANA)

Raw banana -- 4-5
Coconut oil -- 4-6 tablespoons
Urad dal -- 2 teaspoons
Mustard seeds -- 2 teaspoons
Asafoetida -- 1/4 teaspoon
Green chili -- 5-6
Curry leaves -- few
Salt to taste
Sugar -- 1 teaspoon
Lemon juice -- 2 tablespoons (optional)
Coconut -- 1/2 cup(grated)

Steam whole bananas until cooked but firm. Peel and grate it.

Heat oil in pan and add urad dal. When the dal turns pinkish add mustard seeds,asafoetida,green chilles and curry leaves.

When the mustard is crackling add salt and sugar.


Salt is added in the begining so as to ensure the uniform mixing. If you add it after u put in the banana gratings it will stick to some places and it will be very difficult to mix it properly.


Now put on the grated banana, lemon juice and grated coconut. Mix and saute on low flame for about 4-5 minutes.
Serve with roti or rice.

PALAK DAL (LENTIL WITH SPINACH AND DILL)

Split green gram (moong daal/ Split pigeon pea (toor dal) -- 1cup
(they can be mixed too)
Spinach(washed and chopped) -- 1cup
dill (washed and chopped)-- 1/2 cup

Oil for seasoning
Cumin seeds -- 1 teaspoon
Ginger garlic paste -- 1 1/2 teaspoon
Onion -- 2 medium
Tomato -- 2 large
Green chilles -- 2-3
Garam masala powder -- 1/2 teaspoon
Coriander +Cumin + Fennel (powdered) - 1 teaspoon
Salt to taste

Cook dal till tender but not mushy. Now add greens to this dal and let it cook for few minutes.

Heat oil and add cumin. When cumin seeds start crackling add garlic and ginger paste and fry till golden brown.

Put in green chillies, onion and tomato and fry till they become paste.
Add garam masala and the coriander ,cumin,fennel powders. Add this seasoning and salt to the dal and boil it.

Serve with rice or chapati.

SAMBHAR POWDER

Coconut oil -- 1 teaspoon
Fenugreek seeds -- 1/4 teaspoon
Coriander seeds -- 2 teaspoon
Cumin seeds -- 1/2 teaspoon
Red chillies -- 4-6 (according to taste)
Turmeric powder -- 1/2 teaspoon
Asafoetida -- 1/8 teaspoon
Curry leaves -- few


Heat the oil and roast all the ingredients for the sambhar masala in it.The ingredients should go into the frying pan in the same order as they are listed above.

Cool it and make a fine powder. Store it in a airtight container.

NEERU DOSA (RICE PANCAKES)

Rice (use the dosa rice for better taste)-- 2 cups
Coconut -- 1/4 cup(grated)
Salt to taste


Wash and soak rice for 8-10 hours.
Grind it with the coconut into a very fine paste. (grind it with less water. you can add more later.) Add salt and water as required.

This dosa batter is very watery. The trick is to get the correct consistency. you should be able to pour it easily with a spoon on the tawa. If the water is more the dosa will stick to the tawa so try before adding more water.

Now pour the batter on a hot tawa. Cover and cook it for 1 minute.
This dosa is usually cooked on only one side and folded inside out to prevent it from sticking to the plate.

Serve hot with chutney.

PODI (VEGITABLE FRY)

This dish is usually made from bread fruit.
Vegetables like potato, sweet potato, cauliflower, brinjal ,colocasia roots (arbi),ridge gourd etc. can also be used to make this dish.

Vegetables -- sliced
Rice flour -- 1 cup
Chili powder -- 2 teaspoons
Salt to taste
Lemon juice -- 1/2 teaspoon
Oil


Mix Chili powder with salt, lemon juice and water and make a paste. Add a little more water,and make a thin paste if you don't like it spicy.

Heat a tava or a griddle on medium flame and glaze it with little oil.

Dip the vegetable slices in this paste and roll it in the rice flour.
Arrange it on the tava.
Sprinkle a little water for the vegetables to cook.Cover and cook for 2 to 3 minutes on low flame. Take care not to burn them.

Now put a drop or two of oil on each slices and turn them. Can oil the other side as well. Cook on low flame until crispy. Should take 2 to 3 minutes.

Serve hot with tomato sauce.

HARIVE -BELE - PALYA (AMARANTH GREENS WITH DAL)

Amaranth greens -- 3-4 big bunches

Oil -- 4 tablespoons
Mustard seeds -- 1 1/2 teaspoon
Turmeric powder -- 1/2 teaspoon
Curry leaves -- few
Onion -- 2 medium
Green chili /red chili -- 3
Toor dal(Split pigeon pea) -- 1/2 cup
Sugar -- 1/2 teaspoon
Salt to taste

Wash and chop the greens finely.

Cook toor dal until done but not mushy.

Heat oil in a pan and mustard seeds.

When Mustard seeds start crackling add turmeric powder, slit green chilies OR broken red chili and curry leaves. Stir for 1 minute.

Put in onion and fry until it turnS brownish.

Put chopped greens now and cover and cook for 1/2 minute. The greens will wlt and now it will be easy to mix.

Once the greens are properly coated with the tempering, cover and cook on low flame until the amaranth is cooked.

Add the cooked dal to the vessel. Sprinkle sugar and salt and cover and cook for another minute.

Serve with roti or rice.

RAVA DOSA

Semolina (rava) -- 1 cup
Onion -- 1 small (optional)
Cumin seeds -- 1 teaspoon
Ginger -- 1/4 teaspoon (grated)
Asafoetida -- 1 pinch
Curry leaves -- few
Coriander leaves -- 2-3 tablespoons (chopped)
Turmeric powder -- 1/8 teaspoon
Salt to taste


Mix all the ingredients and grind coarsely with little water. Add more water if necessary to get a dosa batter consistency.

Spread the batter on a griddle evenly and cook for 1 minute. Turn it around and cook for another minute. Dosa is ready to serve.

DAL MAKHANI

Brown lentil has been used for this recipe.

Black lentil (urad whole) OR Brown Lentil (Masoor whole) -- 1 cup
Butter/Oil -- 4 tablespoons
grated ginger -- 2 teaspoons
Fennel seeds -- 2 teaspoons (coarsely ground)
Turmeric powder -- 1 teaspoon
Chili powder -- to taste

Cumin seeds -- 1teaspoon
Asafoetida -- 1/8 teaspoon
Ginger garlic paste -- 1 tablespoon
Onion -- 1 medium (thinly sliced)
Tomato -- 3 (finely chopped)
Salt
Garam Masala -- 1/2 teaspoon
Curd -- 1 tablespoon (beaten)
Cream -- 1/2 cup
Coriander leaves -- 2 tablespoons (chopped) (optional)


Wash and soak lentil for 8-10 hours.

Cook it with 3-4 cups of water with salt, red chili powder, fennel seeds powder, turmeric, and grated ginger till the lentil is cooked soft.
Lightly mash the lentil and keep aside.

Heat oil or butter in a thick bottomed pan. Add cumin seeds and asafoetida, let it crackle.

Add ginger, garlic y till the raw smell of the garlic disappears.

Add chopped onions, and cook till light golden brown in color.
Add garam masala and chopped tomatoes. Sauté till tomatoes are well mashed and fat starts to leave the masala.

Add mashed lentil to this mixture and little water if required to get the right consistency.
Simmer at very slow flame for 15-20 minutes. Add fresh cream and let it simmer for 5 minutes and turn off the heat.
Garnish with coriander leaves before serving. Serve hot with Naan or Paratha or even with rice.

I used this recipe from Wikipedia. Here is the link

PADDU

Dosa batter -- 3 cups
Onion -- 3-4 medium
Carrot -- 2
Curry leaves -- few
Coriander leaves -- few
Green chilies - 2
Oil -- 2 tablespoons
Mustard seeds
Additional oil for cooking

Grate carrots, chop all other indigents finely.

Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds. Once they start crackling add green chillies, curry leaves, Onion and carrot. Cook for 5 minutes.
Once cooked mix it into the dosa batter.

Heat the paddu tava and drop a couple of drops of oil in each depression followed by the batter. Batter should be filled a bit less than the full capacity as it will expand in size after cooking.

Cover and cook for 3-4 minutes on low flame. Turn it with a spoon, and cook it for another 2-3 minutes. Use the wooden spoon if you are using the non-stick pan.

Serve hot with coconut chutney.

BHINDI (OKRA) FRY

Okra -- 1/4 kg (small and tender)
Oil for cooking (about 1/4 cup)


Chickpea flour (besan) -- 1/2 cup
Coriander powder -- 1 1/2 tablespoons
Cumin powder -- 1 teaspoon
Fennel seeds -- 1 teaspoon (roughly ground)
Turmeric powder -- 1/4 teaspoon
Chili powder -- 1/2 teaspoon
Sugar -- 1/2 teaspoon
Dry mango powder(amchur) -- 1/2 teaspoon
Asafoetida -- 1/8 teaspoon
Salt -- to taste

Mix all the dry ingredients together in a small bowl

Wash and dry okra thoroughly on paper towels. Remove the head part and slit them lenthwise with out completely seperating.

Fill the chickpea mixture into each okra.

Heat oil in a heavy bottomed pan and drop in these okras. Cook them covered on a low flame. Add a little water if it turns too dry. Cook until the okras are cooked.

This dish can be cooked with water to make a wet version. while cooking add enough water to immerse the okras and cook till done.

Serve hot with chapati.

HULI (SAMBHAR, HAVYAK STYLE)

Split pigeon peas (toor dal) -- 1/4 cup
Vegitable(s)(any) -- 1 cup (cubed)
salt to taste
Jaggery -- 1 teaspoon

for Masala

Coconut oil -- 1 teaspoon
Fenugreek seeds -- 1/4 teaspoon
Coriander seeds -- 2 teaspoon
Cumin seeds -- 1/2 teaspoon
Red chillies -- 4-6 (according to taste)
Turmeric powder -- 1/2 teaspoon
Asafoetida -- 1/8 teaspoon
Curry leaves -- few

Coconut -- 1 cup (grated)
Tamarind pulp -- 3 teaspoons



Heat the oil and roast all the ingredients for the sambhar masala in it.The ingredients should go into the frying pan in the same order as they are listed above.

Grind these masala with the coconut gratings and tamarind to a fine paste in a blender using a little water. Keep aside.


Wash and pressure cook the dal and vegitables with water.

When done, transfer it to a deep vessel.
Add the sambhar masala paste, salt, jaggery and 2-3 cups of water and bring to a boil. Simmer for around 10 minutes on low flame.

Serve hot.

PEANUT CHUTNEY

Peanuts -- 2 teaspoons(or 10-15)
green chillies/red chillies -- 2-3 (according to taste)
coconut grated - 1 cup
Sesame seeds - 3/4 teaspoon
coconut oil- 1/2 teaspoon
salt to taste

for the Tempering

3/4 teaspoon mustard seeds
6 curry leaves
1 teaspoon oil


Heat oil and add peanuts and chillies. Once the peanuts are a bit brownish add sesame seeds. Be careful at this stage as the sesame seeds crackle almost immediately and fly around. Better cover the frying pan with a plate.

Mix this with the coconut and grind it to a smooth paste, using a little water.


Prepare the tempering by heating the oil and frying the mustard seeds, curry leaves until the mustard seeds crackle.
Mix it with the chutney and serve.

BALEKAI MASALA PALYA( RAW BANANA IN SPICY COCONUT SAUCE)

Raw banana -- 2-3
Oil -- 4 tablespoons
Mustard seeds -- 1 1/2 teaspoon
Turmeric powder -- 1/2 teaspoon
Curry leaves -- few

Coconut -- 2/3 cup (grated)
Smbhar powder -- 2 teaspoons
Tamarind to taste

Jaggery-- 1 teaspoon
Salt to taste

Wash peel and cube the bananas into small cubes.

Grind together the coconut, tamarind and sambhar powder to a smooth paste.

Heat oil in a pan and mustard seeds.

When Mustard seeds start crackling add turmeric powder and curry leaves. Stir for 1 minute.

Put cubed bananas mix it nicely and cover and cook until done. Add a little water if necessary.

Once done add the ground paste, jaggery and salt. Mix everything together and cover and cook for another minute.

Serve with roti or rice.