Kartik poornima pori

Ingredients:

• Aval pori or Nel pori - 4 cups [ puffed poha ]
• Jaggery - 1 cup
• Water - 3/4 cup
• Coconut bits - 1/4 cup
• Cardamom powder - 5 to 6 [ powdered ]
• Ghee - 1 sp

Method:

Remove the rusk and dust from the pori, and keep aside [do not wash in water]. Fry the pori for 5 mints in hot kadai till it becomes crisp. Keep jaggery in a kadai adding 3/4 cups of water, heat and boil. When the jaggery is melted, strain through a strainer to remove the dirt from jaggery. Replace and boil well till it reaches one string consistency. If you drop in a bowl of water it will form a pillet. [i.e it won't dissolve]. At this stage, put off the gas, add 1 sp ghee, put the pories, powdered cardamom, coconut bits and mix well. Every thing should be done quickly. Then speard it on the news paper, after it cools store it in container. When it is still hot it can be made into laddu shaped balls.

Athirasam

Ingredients:

• Good quality raw rice - 1 k.g. and 200 gms
• Jaggery - 1 / 2 k. g.
• Powdered cardamom powder - 1 tsp
• Oil - for deep frying

Method:

Wash well and soak the rice for 1 hour. Drain the water throughly through a drainer. Then powder the rice, sieve nicely and keep in a thali. Grate the jaggery, keep 1/4th glass water in a frying pan and add the grated jaggery. When it comes to a thick consistency [i.e if you drop in water it should not dissolve], pour the rice flour slowly. Keep on stirring. When it becomes thick, stop putting the rice flour. It should be a thick dough, allow to cool. Then dip your hand in oil and  make medium round vadas [ athirasam ] with 1/2 inch thickness, the size of  your palm over a greased polythene or banana leaf. Heat oil in a frying pan, place one adirasam at a time, turn the other side slowly. When it comes to a golden brown color, gently remove from the oil pressing with wooden stick to remove all the oil from the adhirasam. Keep a colander or tissue over a basin and place each athirasam gently. When the oil is totally removed, keep in an air- tight container.

Ordinary Idli

Ingredients

• Good quality boiled rice, raw rice, or idli rice - 2 cups
• Good quality of whole white urad dal - 1 cup
• Salt - as per taste

Method:

Wash and soak rice and urad dal each in 2 separate vessels. Grind urad dal and rice each separately. Urad dal should be ground to a very fine  paste adding just enough water, the rice should be ground almost finely [separately]. Then mix both the batter of urad dal and rice in a large vessel for fermentation adding enough salt. Mix well and keep. Allow to ferment overnight or atleast 8 to 10 hours. If you keep the batter for more than 12 hours the colour of the idli will slightly change to creamish colour. The batter should not be too watery or too thick. Greese each idli mould with till oil, pour one ladle of the batter in each mould and steam for 10 mints. Then remove the idlis after 10 mints and keep in a cassarole.

P. S.
1. You can make stuffed or sandwich idlis by keeping boiled vegetable subji in between the batter.
2. You can mix fried and crushed moru milagai with the idli batter and make idlis to give it a different taste.
3.The same idli batter can be poured into small moulds to make mini idlis.

Veg - Manchurian

Ingredients:

• Cabbage grated - 1/2 cup
• Cauliflower grated - 1/2 cup
• Carrot grated - 1/2 cup
• Capsicum - 1/4 cup [ finely chopped ]
• French beans - 50 gms [ finely chopped ]
• spring onions - 1 bunch [ finely chopped ]
• Green chilies - 2 [ finely chopped ]
• Garlic flakes - 4 [ finely chopped ]
• Ginger - 1/2 inch piece [ cut into small pieces ]
• Pepper powder -  1/2 sp
• Aji-no-moto - 1/4 sp
• Conflour - 4 tbl. sp
• Maida - 2 tabl . sp
• Soya sauce - 1 tabl . sp
• Tomato ketchup - 2 tabl . sp
• Garlic chili sauce - 1 tabl . sp
• White vinegar - 1 tabl . sp
• Oil - for deep frying

Method:
Take one deep bowl and put all grated vegetables, adding salt, pepper powder, aji-no-moto, maida, cornflour to that, mix well with hand. Don't add water, make balls from that and deep fry in oil till it turns brown and. keep aside. In the meantime, take 2 tabl . sp  of  cornflour and dilute in the water. Then take one kadai, keep on the gas, pour 2 tabl . sp of oil to that, add finely chopped  garlic, green chili, ginger to that and fry for 2 mins, then add soya sauce, garlic ginger sauce, tomato ketchup. Add cornflour water to that and mix well. If it becomes thick then add  the fried balls to it. Before removing from the gas, garnish with chopped  spring onions. Serve hot with fried rice.

Chinese Fried Rice

Ingredients:

• Basmati rice - 1 cup
• Black or white pepper powder - 1/2 a pinch
• Aji-no-moto - 1/4 sp
• Salt - as required
• Soya sauce - 1 tabl . sp
• Cabbage grated - 1/2 cup
• Carrot grated - 1/2 cup
• Capsicum - 1/2 cup [ cut into finely ]
• Spring onions - 1 bunch [ chopped nicely ]
• Oil - 2 tabl . sp

Method:
Wash and soak the rice for 15 mints and pressure cook and keep aside. Allow the rice to cool. Then take one big kadai, keep on the gas and pour the 2 tabl .sp of oil, heat it and add the cut onions, then grated vegetables one by one and fry for a minute, add salt, pepper powder, aji-no-moto, then soya sauce and mix well. Then add cooked rice and mix well. Keep gas in high flame. Before removing from the gas, garnish with chopped spring onions. Serve hot with Manchurian.                                                                                                                        

Vegetable Stew

Ingredients:

• Cauliflower - 1/2 cup [ cut into dices ]
• Potatoes - 1/2 cup [ cut into dices ]
• Carrot - 1 [ cut into pieces ]
• Green peas - 1/4 cup
• Onion - 2 [ cut into 1/2 inch lenth wise ]
• Green chili - 2 [ slit and keep ]
• Coconut milk - 2 cups[ 1st, 2nd, 3rd extract of milk ]
• Curry leaves - little
• Salt - as required
• Turmeric powder - 1/2 sp
• Coconut oil - 2 tbl . sp
• Ginger - 1/2 inch piece [ cut into piece]
• Cut coriander leaves - little

Method:
First boiled the cut vegetables in the 3rd extract coconut milk till it becomes soft and keep aside. Then
take one deep bottom kadai, keep on the gas pour 2 tabl sp of coconut oil, heat it and add onions, slit green chilies, curry leaves, cut ginger and fry for 2 mins in low flame. When the onions turn brown in color, put turmeric powder and add the boiled vegetables along with the milk and fry for 5 mins. Then add the 2nd extract of coconut milk along with required salt. Allow to boil for 10 mins. When its ready, before removing from the gas, add the first exract coconut milk. When it starts boiling, switch off the gas and garnish with cut coriander leaves and curry leaves. Serve with roti, rice and aapam.

Carrot Peas and Cauliflower Curry

Ingredients:

• Onions - 2
• Carrot - 3 or 4
• Cauliflower - 1
• Peas - 1/2 cup shelled
• Oil - 1 1/2 tbl . sp
• Capsicum - 2 [cut into cubes]

Grind together:

• Onion - 1
• Ginger - 1/4 inch piece
• Red chilies - 8
• Coconut - 1/2 scraped
• Jaggery - 1 sp
• Tamarind - small lime sized
• Garam masala - 1/2 sp
• Salt - as required

Method:
Cut onions finely. Dice all other vegetables into 1 inch pieces. Grind the masala and keep aside. Heat oil in a shallow pan, add cumin seeds, when it splutters, mix onions and fry till transparent. Add the raw vegetables, fry for 2 or 3 minutes, put the ground masala without water, and fry for 5 mins. pour enough water, salt and jaggery. Cover and cook till the vegetables are soft. Serve with coriander leaves decorated on top.

Note: The vegetables can be steamed beforehand in the above recipe.