Kathamba Rasam

Ingredients :

• Curry leaves - 1 hand full
• Mint leaves - 1 hand full
• Coriander leaves - 1 hand full
• Dry red chillies - 7 to 8 [ fried in oil ]
• Rasam powder - 1/2 tsp
• Asafoetida - 1/4 tsp
• Red tomatoes - 3 [ chopped ]
• Boiled thuar dal - 1/2 cup [ mashed ]
• Salt -  as required
• Turmeric - 1/2 tsp
• Black pepper and cumin seeds powder - 1/2 tsp [ mix ]
• Tamarind paste - 1/4 tsp [ optional because we are adding more tomatoes ]

For seasoning :

• Ghee - 11/2 tsp
• Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
• Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp

Method :

First take one vessel. Add some water, put all the  three  leaves, salt, turmeric, rasam powder, asafoetida, fried red chillies, and chopped tomatoes. Keep the vessel on the gas. Allow to boil for  10 minutes in the low flame. When the raw smell goes add the mashed dal along with required water. Add pepper cumin seeds powder. Wait for 5 minutes. When the  rasam boiled  and raised up. Remove from the gas and add the seasoning which prepared from the ghee. Serve with hot steamed rice and roasted curry along with papad. You can have this like a soup. Enjoy the rainy season.

Seviyan Vermicelli Pakkodi [ Monsoon Special ]

Ingredients :

• Vermicelli [ Semiya ] - 1 packet
• Onion - 2 [ peeled and sliced finely ]
• Potato - 1 big [ boiled and mashed ]
• Green chillies - 2 [ finely chopped ]
• Ginger - 1/2 inch piece [ peeled and finely chopped ]
• Fennel seeds _ 1/2 tsp
• Besan - 1 cup
• Rice flour - 1 tbsp
• Mint leaves - little [ chopped ]
• Fresh coriander leaves - little [ chopped ]
• Salt - as required 
• Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
• Red chilli powder - 1 1/2 tsp
• Oil - enough for frying

Method :

First take one kadai, add little oil and fry the seviyan till it becomes crisp. Then add some water and boil it, till the seviyan becomes soft. Then drain the water, wash it in the warm water [ This prevents from getting over cooked ] and keep aside. Cut the onions into fine slices, chop the green chillies and ginger. Take one big potato, boil, peel, mash it and keep aside. Then take one big bowl, add boiled vermicelli, mashed potato, sliced onion, green chilli, ginger, besan, rice flour, salt, turmeric, fennel seeds, red chilli powder, chopped mint, coriander and 1 table spoon of hot oil. Mix well without adding water. Meantime, keep enough oil in the kadai. When the oil becomes hot, make small small pakodas from the mixture and put it in the oil. When it changes into golden color and becomes crisp, remove from the oil. Serve with green chutney or tomato ketchup. Enjoy your rainy season with hot pakodas.

Rawa White Dokla [ Gujarathi Dish ]

Ingredients :

• Rawa [ suji ] - 2 cup
• Fresh thick curd - 2 cup
• Salt - as required
• Lemon salt or lemon eno - 1 tsp
• Water - 2 cups
• Ginger - 1/2 inch piece [ finely chopped ]
• Green chillies - 2 [ slit ]
• Curry leaves - little
• Fresh coriander leaves - little
• Oil - 2 to 3 tsp
• Sugar - 11/2 tsp

For seasoning :

• Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
• Curry leaves - little
• Asafoetida - a pinch
• Green chilli - 2 [ slit ]

Method :

Take one big bowl. Add rawa, curd, salt, chopped ginger, lemon salt and water, mix well and keep aside for 25 minutes. Mean time take 1 glass of  water and keep on the gas. When its start boiling add salt, sugar, and chopped coriander leaves. Then keep one fry pan add 2 tsp of oil to that, when the oil  becomes hot, add mustard seeds. When the seeds pop, add asafoetida, green chillies [ slit ] and curry leaves and pour to the water and set aside. After 25 minutes the batter becomes fluffy. Keep the pressure cooker on the gas, when the water becomes hot apply little ghee on the vessel and pour the mixture up to 3/4 level. Close  the cooker and allow to boil for 20 minutes. [ like idli ] Remove from the gas. Wait for 2 seconds. Then tilt the vessel on the plate and cut the dokla on squre pieces. While serving arrange the dklas on the plate and sprinkle the water to the doklas which we prepared and kept before. Have with green chutney.

Mango Delight Ice Cream

Ingredients :

• Whole milk [ thick ] - 1/2 litre
• Condensed milk - 1 small tin
• Powdered sugar  - As per taste
• Fresh cream - 1 cup
• Mango pulp - 1 cup
• Mango pieces -2 tbsp

Method :

Take a blender or mixer and put all the above ingredients except mango pieces and stir for 5-10 minutes. [ Run the mixer ]. Then take one air tight plastic container, pour the mixture and garnish with mango pieces. Close the container and keep in freezer for 4-5 hours.

Enjoy your Mango Delight Ice Cream.

Barva Baingan [ Brinjal ] Hyderabadi Style

Ingredients :

• Small brinjals - 1/4 kg. [ slit into four without removing stem ]
• Onion - 2 [ roughly sliced ]
• Salt - as required
• Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
• Red chilli powder - 1 1/2 tsp
• Tamarind paste - 1/2 tsp
• Jaggery - 1 tsp
• Oil - as required
• Ginger garlic paste - 1/2 tsp
• Onion seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Curry leaves - little

Dry roast :

• Onion - 2 [ chopped ]
• Coriander seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Poppy seeds - 1/2 tsp
• White seasame seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Peanuts - 1 tbsp [ peeled ]
• Methi seeds - 1/4 tsp
• Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Dry coconut [ sukka copra ] grated - 2 tbsp

Dry roast each separately and grind together to a smooth paste.


Method :

First fry the brinjals in hot oil till its color changes. Then remove from the oil and keep aside. In the same oil, add onion seeds, wait for a second and add curry leaves. Then add all the dry masalas one by one. Mix well. When the oil leaves aside, add ground masalas along with fried brinjals. Add tamarind paste, ginger garlic paste, jaggery and 1/2 cup of water. Mix well and close with lid. Allow to boil for 10 minutes more in low flame. When the subji gets completely cooked, remove from the gas. Serve with hot roti and steamed rice.

Mango Rasam

Ingredients :

• Mango - 1 small [ not fully riped ]*
• Green chilli - 2 [ chopped ]
• Ginger - small piece [ chopped ]
• Tuvar dal - small cup [ boiled and mashed ]
• Curry leaves - little
• Fresh chopped coriander leaves - little
• Salt - as required
• Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
• Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
• Rasam powder - 1  1/2 tsp
• Asafoetida - 1/4 tsp
• Tomatoes - 2 [ chopped ]
• Lemon juice - 1 tbsp

* Peal the skin, cut the pieces, boil them, make purie of that and keep aside


For seasoning :

• Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
• Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
• Ghee - 1 tsp

Method :

First boil the mango and grind in the mixer. Then take one vessel, add required water, salt, turmeric, red chilli powder, rasam powder, asafoetida, green chilli and ginger. Allow to boil for 20 minutes in low flame. Add chopped tomatoes also. When the raw smell goes, add mashed tuvar dal and mango purie. Mix well. If you need water, add required water. When it starts boiling, add lemon juice and remove from the gas. Then keep a small kadai and add ghee. When it becomes hot, add mustard seeds, cumin seeds and add to the rasam. Garnish with curry leaves and coriander leaves. Serve with fried subji and steamed hot rice, adding little ghee to that.

P.S. : This recipe I learned from my brother Kanna.

Samman Aaloo [ Kashmiri Dish ]

Ingredients :

• Baby potato - 1/4 kg
• Fresh paneer - 100 gms
• Mustard oil - 1/4 cup [ if you don't like mustard oil you can use normal oil also ]
• Salt - as required
• Asafoetida - 1/4 tsp
• Maida - 2 tsp [ disolved in little water. ]
• Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
• Kasmeri red chilli powder - 1 tsp
• Garam masala - 1 tsp
• Fresh curd - 1/4 cup [ beaten ]
• Milk - 1/4 cup
• Dry ginger powder - 1/4 tsp
• Fennel seed powder - 1/2 tsp
• Fresh chopped coriander leaves - little

For garam masala powder :

• Cinnamon - small piece
• Cloves - 2
• Cardamom - 2 
• Black cardamom - 1
• Cumin seeds - 3/4 tsp
• Black pepper - 1/4 tsp

Dry roast all these ingredients in kadai and make powder in mixer.


Method :

First peel the potatoes and keep in the water [ It helps the potato remain white ]. Then keep one kadai on the gas. Add required oil. When the oil becomes hot, fry the paneer cubes till it changes into light brown color. Meantime, boil some water adding asafoetida. When the water starts boiling, remove from the gas and put the fried paneer in that [ It helps paneer to be soft ]. In the same oil, add the baby potatoes and fry till it changes into golden brown color. Then remove from the oil and keep aside. In the same oil, add all masalas [ salt, turmeric, red chilli, garam masala powder (which we grind in mixer), fennel seed powder, dry ginger powder ]. Mix well and then add beaten curd along with maida water. Stir nicely. When the oil leaves aside, add milk. Wait for 2 seconds and then add fried potato (aaloo), soaked paneer with water. Alow to boil for 5 minutes more. Then remove from the gas. While serving, first keep the aaloo and paneer in the plate and pour gravy on the top and garnish with chopped coriander leaves. It goes well with roti, parathas.