Vegetable Pickle

Ingredients:

• Cauliflower cut into small pieces - 1/2 cup
• Carrot cut into small pieces - 1/2 cup
• Tendli [ kovakkai ] cut into small pieces - 1/2 cup
• Green peas - 1/2 cup
• Beet root cut into small pieces - 1/2 cup
• Raw turmeric cut into small pieces - 1/4 cup
• Raw mango cut into small pieces - 1/2 cup
• Green chillie cut into small pieces - 2 to 3
• Ginger cut into small pieces -10 gms
• Mango ginger [manga ingie] cut into small pieces - 2
• Lemon juice - 2 to 3
• Chillie powder - 3 table spoon [ kashmeri ]
• Mustard powder - 2 tsp
• Methi powder - 2 tsp
• Asafuetida - 1 / 2 sp
• Salt - as per taste
• Vinegar - 2 table sp

Method:
Wash and cut the vegetables into small pieces. Blanch these vegetables for 5 mints. Then put the vegetables in a clean cloth. Extract the juice of the lime. Mix it with the vegetables in a jar. Pour oil in a kadai, when heated put the mustard seeds. When it crackles, put the vegetables and fry over a medium heat. Add salt and other masala things. Keep in the fllame for 10 mints. Add vinegar, cool and store in sterilized bottles. Store and serve with any dish as an accompaniment.

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.

Palak Paneer Biriyani

Ingredients:

• Basmati rice - 1 cup
• Cauliflower - 1/2 cup [ cut into small pieces ]
• Cashewnuts - 10
• Panner - 1/4 cup [ cut into tiny pieces ]
• Cinnamon - 1/2 inch piece
• Cardamoms - 2
• Cloves - 2
• Bay leaf - 2
• Palak leaves - 5 to 6[ blanch in hot water for a minute and cut into tiny pieces ]
• Ghee - 2 tbl sp
• Oil - 2 tbl . sp
• Onions - 2 [ cut into small pieces ]
• Salt - as required
• Red chili powder - 1 sp
• Red tomatoes - 2 [ chopped ]
• Tomato puree - 1 tabl . sp
• Ginger - 1 sp [ cut into thin pieces ]
• Saffron - little [ mix in the warm milk ]
• Tomatoes - 2 [ cut into thin rings ]
• Fresh cream - 1 / 2 cup
• Butter - little
• Green chili paste - 1 / 2 sp
• Garlic flakes - 2 to 3 [ chopped into very small pieces ]

Method:
Wash and soak the rice for 20 mins. Then take one pressure pan pour ghee and oil together add cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, bay leaf, cashews.  When the cashews turns into golden colour, add flower along with salt and fresh cream. Pour water and mix well. Close the lid and wait for 3 whistles to come. After the pressure goes, open the cooker and allow it to cool. Meanwhile, take one kadai and place it on the gas, pour 1 sp ghee heat it, add finely cut onions, fry for a minute and add cut palak leaves, salt, green chili paste and mix well. Add little fresh cream, mix well and keep aside. Again keep the kadai on the gas, add little butter to it, heat it add chopped garlic pieces, fry for a minute and add cut tomatoes, paneer, along with tomato puree, salt, red chili powder, little cream and mix well. Fry for 2 mints and keep aside. Meanwhile, preheat oven at 200 degrees, take one oven glass vessel and apply little butter to that. Keep the tomato rings in the bottom of the vessel, on top put the boiled rice one layer, sprinkle garam masala powder, then apply [ kasar, curd, cream and mix together] on top put ginger pieces, after that pour palak gravy, again cooked rice one layer, sprinkle garam masala powder, again add kasar, curd, cream mixture and then paneer gravy on top and finally add the remaining cooked rice. Cover with aluminium foil paper and keep it for 10 mins. Your yummy palak paneer biriyani is ready to eat. Serve hot.

Rasam Varieties [ New Rasam ]

Sundal Rasam

Ingredients:

• Fresh green peas - 1 cup or Mochai beans
• Garlic flakes - 4 to 5
• Big onion - 1 [ dice into 1 inch cubes ]
• Salt - as required
• Curry leaves - little
• Oil - for seasoning & frying
• Tamarind - small lemon sized

Grind together:

• Coriander seeds - 1 tsp
• Cumin seeds - 1 / 2 tsp
• Pepper - 1 / 4 sp
• Red chillies - 4
• Asafoetida - little
• Blackgram & bengal gram - each 1/2 sp

Fry the above spices in little oil and grind with 2 tabl . sp of fresh grated coconut.

Method:
Heat a pressure pan with little oil, and add little mustard seeds, broken red chillies, garlic, and then onion. Fry for 2 to 3 mints, add grind masala and fry for 5 mints, till the aroma begins to come out. Then add fresh peas, fry for a minute and add enough water and pressure cook till 2 whistles. Allow to cool, open the lid, add tamarind extract, salt, little jaggery and boil for 5 mints. Garnish with curry leaves.

Variation :
Kollu Rasam: Dry roast 1/2 cup of horse gram. Pressure cook till soft. Follow the above procedure. While grinding masala add 1 / 2 tbl . sp of  cooked horse gram and grind coarsely. Proceed as previous recipe.

                                   

Onion Rasam

Ingredients:

• Thin tamarind extract - 2 cups
• Green chillies - 4 to 5
• Finely cut onions - 1/2 cup
• Finely cut coriander leaves - 2 tbl . sps
• Salt - as required
• Jaggery - 1 / 2 sp
• Mustard seeds - 1 sp
• Oil or ghee - for frying

Method:
Mix salt, jaggery, onions and coriander leaves with tamarind extract. Heat oil, add mustard, slit green chillies and pour over rasam. [ this is raw rasam. do not heat or boil. ] you will enjoy this rasam.

Goodu Rasam

Ingredients:

• Tamarind - lemon sized [soaked and then squeeze]
• Water - 4 cups
• Salt - as required

Fry and powder coarsely:

• Cumin seeds - 2 tsp
• Red chillies - 2
• Pepper - 1 / 2 sp
• Thur dal - 1 tbl . sp.

For Seasoning:

• Ghee - 1 tsp
• Asafoetida - little
• Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

For garnishing:

• Curry leaves - little
• Coriander leaves - little

Method:
Dilute tamarind extract with water. Add salt, jaggery and boil for 5 mints. Then add powdered ingredients, allow it to come to boiling stage. Add fried seasoning, garnish and remove from the gas. Serve with hot steamed rice.

Paneer Rasam [Rose Water Rasam]

Ingredients:

• Tamarind - smalll lemon sized
• Water - 3 cups
• Rose water - 2 tabl . sp
• Green chillies - 3
• Cumin & pepper powder - 1 tsp
• Coriander leaves - little
• Rose petals - to garnish [ fresh pink colour ]
• Salt - as required
• Sugar - 1/2 sp
• Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
• Oil or ghee - to season

Method:
Soak tamarind in water, squeeze and take the extract and dilute with water. Add little dal water from cooked tur dal. Add salt, and sugar. Then heat oil or ghee add mustard seeds, slit green chili, cumin, pepper powder. Fry for a minute and add to tamarind exract. Boil for 5 mints. Remove from the gas and add rose water. Garnish with rose petals and coriander leaves.

Marriage Rasam

Ingredients:

• Toor dal - 1 cup
• Tamarind - 1 lemon size
• Tomatoes - 4 big
• Asafoetida - 1 / 4 sp
• Turmeric powder - 1 / 2 sp
• Jaggery - 1 tsp
• salt - as required
  

Fry and powder:

• Bengal gram dal - 2 tsp
• Coriander seeds - 3 tsp
• Red chillies - 3 to 4
• Grated coconut - 1 tsp
• Oil - 1 tsp

Roast and powder:

• Pepper - 2 tspn
• Cumin seeds - 2 tspn
• Curry leaves - little

Garnishing : Coriander leaves - a handful

Seasoning:

• Ghee - 2 tspn
• Mustard seeds - 1 tspn
• Cumin seeds - 1 tspn
• Curry leaves - little
• Red chili - 1

Method:
Wash and cook toor dal till soft. Then mash well, add more water and allow to settle. After that remove and keep the top water seperately to make rasam. Grind 2 tomatoes and mix with the extracted tamarind pulp. Add turmeric, salt, asafoetida, finely chopped tomatoes and boil till the raw smell goes. Add the fried, powdered ingredients first and boil for 5mints and then add  roasted powdered ingredients and boil for 5 mints more. Add dal water and jaggery when it comes to boil, garnish with coriander leaves and curry leaves. Remove from the heat, season with mustard seeds and cumin seeds in ghee. Served as an appetiser or with hot rice with porial, usli, etc.

Nutritious Rasam

Ingredients:

• Tamarind - 1 small lemon size
• Turmeric powder - 1 / 2 sp
• Salt - as required
• Asafoetida - 1/4 sp

Roast and powder:

• Toor dal - 1 cup
• Channa dal - 1/2 cup
• Coriander seeds - 1/4 cup
• Cumin seeds - 1 tabl . sp
• Pepper - 1 tabl . sp
• Methi seeds - 1 tsp
• Red chillies - 7 to 8

For wet grinding:

• Tomatoes - 2
• Curry leaves - little
• Coriander leaves - little
• Ginger - 1 / 2 inch piece

For seasoning:

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

Roasting & Powdering Steps:
Roast toor dal, channa dal, and methi seeds [each separately] till it changes its colour and the aroma begins to arise. Roast coriander, cumin, pepper and red chillies also till a nice smell comes. Powder everything together finely, store in an air tight container. When you make rasam add 2 table spoon of this powder.


Method of making rasam:
Soak tamarind in hot water and exract the pulp, add salt, turmeric, asafoetida, and 2 table spoon of this powder. Grind tomatoes, coriander leaves, curry leaves and ginger to a fine paste. Add the ground masala paste to the above mixture. Boil and simmer till the raw smell of the tamarind goes. Then add more water to bring the rasam to a leval and to make it light [add dal water if preferred] Boil and simmer for 2 mints. Remove from the gas. Season with mustard seeds and cummin seeds in ghee. Garnish with coriander leaves and finely chopped pieces of tomatoes, when the rasam is still hot.

Pepper Rasam

Ingredients:

• Toor dal - 1 cup
• Tamarind - 1 lemon size
• Turmeric powder - 1/2 sp
• Salt - as per taste
• Jaggery - 1/2 sp
• Garlic - 2 flakes

Fry and powder:

• Ghee - 2 tspn
• Toor dal - 2 tspn
• Red chillies - 3 to 4
• Kandanthippili - 3 tspn
• Dried ginger - 1/2 inch piece
• Asafoetida - 1/4 spn

Heat ghee in kadai, fry these ingredients and powder.

Roast and powder:

• Cummin seeds - 2 tspn
• Black pepper - 3 tspn
• Curry leaves - little

For seasoning:

• Ghee - 1 tbspn
• Mustard seeds - 1 sp
• cummin seeds - 1 sp
• Red chillie - 1
• Curry leaves - little

Method:
Wash and cook toor dal till tender. When cooked, mash well and add more water, keep the dal water seperately, when settled. In the extracted tamarind plup add turmeric powder, salt, and boil well. Add the fried and powdered ingredients to that and boil for 5 mints. Remove the skin from garlic, crush and add. Add jaggery, dal water, roasted and powdered ingredients. When it comes to boil add curry leaves and remove from the gas. For seasoning, add ghee with given ingredients. Serve hot with roasted papads.

Poondu Rasam [Garlic Rasam]

Ingredients:

• Toor dal - 1 cup
• Tamarind - lemon size
• Turmeric powder - 1/2 sp
• Salt - as per taste
• Asafoetida - 1/4 sp
• Curry leaves - little
• Jaggery - 1/2 sp
• Garlic - 3 flakes
• Pepper powder - 3 tspn

For seasoning:

• Cummin seeds - 1 tspn
• Mustard seeds - 1 sp
• Ghee - 2 tspn

Method:
Wash and cook toor dal well, adding enough water. When cooked, mash well add 3 cups water and keep aside. Remove the top distilled water [ approx -  4 cups ] separately. Extract the pulp of tamarind, add salt, turmeric, asafoetida, jaggery. Season with mustard seeds, cummin seeds, and curry leaves. Stir in the tamarind pulp and boil well. Peel the skin from the garlic flakes crush and add. Add pepper powder and boil for 5 mints more, add dal water and curry leaves. When it comes to boil, lightly roasted and powdered cumin seeds can be added. Serve hot as an appetiser in catories or  with hot rice, roasted papads.

Veppam Poo Rasam [Neem Flower Rasam]

Ingredients:

• Tamarind - lemon size [ extract plup ]
• Diluted dal water - 5 cups
• Tomatoes - 2 [ blend in a mixie ]
• Turmeric powder - 1/2 sp
• Red chili powder - 1 sp
• Rasam powder - 1 sp
• Jaggery - 1 / 2 sp
• Salt - as required
• Asafoetida powder - 1 / 4 sp
• Curry leaves - little

Seasoning:

• Ghee - 1 tbspn
• Mustard seeds - 1 sp
• Toor seeds - 1 tspn
• Red chillies - 2
• Curry leaves - little
• Neem flower - 1 tbspn [ fresh or dried ]
• Pepper and jeera powder - 2 tspn [ roasted and powdered ]

Method:
In the extracted tamarind pulp, add the tomato juice. Add turmeric powder, asafoetida, salt, jaggery, rasam powder, chili powder and boil well. When the quantity slightly reduces, add dal water and curry leaves. Add roasted and powdered pepper, jeera, and boil for another 5 mints. Remove from the gas and season with the given ingredients and neem flower fried in ghee. Serve hot with rice, roasted papads and roasted raw banana curry.



                                    

VEGETABLE PARATHA

Ingredients for stuffing:

• Potatoes - 2 [ large ]
• Carrots - 2
• Beet root - 1
• Peas - 1/4 cup [ shelled ]
• Onion - 1 [ chopped finely ]
• Green chillies - 4 to 5 [ make into paste ]
• Lemon juice - 1 tabl sp
• Cumin seeds - 1/4 sp
• Salt - as required
• Cut coriander leaves - 1 tbl. sp
• Oil - 2 tbl . sp

Ingredients for making paratha:

• Wheat flour - 1 1/2 cup
• Maida - 1/4 cup
• Melted butter - 1 tbl . sp
• Salt - as per taste
• sugar - 1/4 sp
  

Method:
Sieve and mix the flours together in a mixing bowl. Add salt, sugar, and butter, mix well with the flour till the butter blends. Gradually add water and knead to a smooth dough. Pat and knead well for several times. Make balls and roll out into medium sized parathas. Roast on a hot tawa first on one side. Turn over and apply little oil on top. When it roasts into light brown colour on both sides, remove from the tawa. This is the method of making parathas.


Method of stuffing:
Pressure cook potatoes along with grated carrots. Beetroot and peas in other container. Peel and mash potatoes, crush peas. Heat oil and season with cumin  [ 1/4 sp ] seeds. Fry onions for 2 mins. Squeeze out extra water from carrots, beetroot, and add to onions. Continue frying with mashed potatoes and crushed peas. Add salt, chili paste and lemon juice, mix well and remove from the fire. Garnish with cut coriander leaves. stuff 1 1/2 table spoons of filling for each paratha . Take small lemon size ball from the dough, spread into small puri apply little oil to that, put the filling and close it. Apply little dry wheat flour and spread into 1/2 inch thick parathas. Place it on hot tawa roast both sides to light brown applying little oil or ghee to that. Your yummy vegetable paratha is ready to eat. Serve hot with curd.

Iru Puli Kuzambu

Ingredients:

• Tamarind paste - 1 sp
• Fresh beaten curd - 1 cup
• Turmeric powder - 1/2 sp
• Red chili powder - 1 sp
• Sugar - 1/2 sp
• Mustard seeds - 1 sp
• Coconut oil - 2 tabl . sp
• Curry leaves - little

Vegetables used:

• White pumpkin - 1 / 4 k. g.
• Raw red pumpkin - 50 gm
• Tomato - 1

[ wash and cut the vegetables to big pieces discard skin and seeds ]

Fry in oil and grind to paste:

• Toor dal - 1 handful
• Urad dal - 1 sp
• Methi seeds - 1 / 2 sp
• Red chillies - 5 to 6

Fry till dal is golden in colour, add fresh coconut and grind in mixcer and mix with beaten curd.


Method:
Take one deep bottom vessel, place it on a gas stove, add the cut vegetables along with tamarind paste, salt, turmeric, red chili powder, asafoetida, little sugar, enough water and boil till the vegetables are cooked. Add the grind masala with beaten curd and boil for another 10 mints in sim flame. Before removing the vessel from the gas stove, take a small tava and heat mustard seeds in coconut oil and pour it in the kuzambu. Garnish with curry leaves. The mouth watery iru puli kulabi is ready

Puli vitta Poricha Kuzambu

Ingredients:

• Raw banana - 1 [ peel & cut into dices ]
• Any tipe brinjal - 3 to 4 [ cut into pieces ]
• Tamarind paste - 2 tabl sp
• Salt - as required
• Asafoetida - little
• Red chili powder - 1 sp
• Sambhar powder - 1 tsp
• Turmeric powder - 1/2 sp
• Jaggery - small lemon size
• Fresh grated coconut - 2 tabl . sp
• Moong dal - 1 hand ful
• Curry leaves - little
• Mustard seeds - 1 sp
• coconut oil - 2 tabl . sp
• Coriander leaves - little

Method:
Take one small pressure cooker, put raw banana, brinjal along with moong dal adding salt, turmeric and enough water. Pressure cook. Wait for 2 whistle to come. Then open the cooker add tamarind paste, red chili powder, sambhar powder, jaggery, asafoetida, and boil for 15 mints in lower flame. Finally, fry fresh coconut in coconut oil till it becomes golden brown in colour. Add this to the kuzambu and mix well. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and curry leaves. Serve with rice and curry.

Onion Paratha

Ingredients:

• Wheat flour - 2 cups
• Big onion - 2 [ cut onions as finely as possible ]
• Green chillies -  2 [ finely chopped ]
• Coriander leaves - 1 tabl sp [ finely chopped ]
• Salt - as required
• Fresh cream - 2 sp [ it makes paratha soft ]
• Water - little [ if required only ]
• Oil, Ghee mixed - 1/2 cup [ frying for paratha ]

Method:
Mix chopped onion, green chili, salt, fresh cream, chopped coriander leaves along with wheat flour in a big bowl. Mix well, to knead a soft dough. If necessary, sprinkle little water. Then make small lemon-sized balls from that. Keep one tawa on the gas, heat it. Meantime make paratha with 1/2 inch thickness and place it on the heated tawa and fry using oil on both sides. While it roasts to light brown colour, remove from the tawa. Paratha is now ready to eat. Serve hot with pickle and yogurt.

Karuveppilai Kuzambu

Ingredients:

• Toor dal - 1 handful
• Urad dal - 1 handful
• Pepper - 2 tabl . sp
• Methi seeds - 1/2 sp
• Red dry chili - 10
• Tamarind paste - 3 tabl . sp
• Salt - as required
• Turmeric powder - 1/2 sp
• Red chili powder - 1 tsp [ it's gives colour ]
• Asafoetida - little
• Jaggery - as required
• Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
• Til oil - 3 tabl . sp
• Tender fresh curry leaves - 1 cup
• Sunflower oil - 1 tabl . sp
•  Fresh curry leaves - 1/2 cup

Method:
Heat 1  table spoon sunflower oil in a frying pan, add toor dal, urad dal, methi seeds, pepper, red chillies and fry in lower flame till it turns into golden colour. When it cools, add tamarind paste, jaggery, and fresh curry leaves and grind in a mixer into a coarse (near nice) paste adding little water to it. Then keep one deep mouth kadai on the gas, pour 3 table spn of til oil to that, when it becomes hot, add mustard seeds, asafoetida. When the mustard seeds splutters, add  grinded masala, salt, turmeric, and chili powder and salt over a lower flame till the gravy is well thickened and comes to sauce consistency. Remove from the gas and allow to cool. Keep in a dry vessel inside the fridge. Karuveppilai Kulambu is ready. You can preserve this for 15 to 20 days. This is very tasty. Mix with rice and have it with keerai.

PineApple Pulav [It is not sweet pulav]

Ingredients:

• Basmati rice - 2 cups [ boiled ]
• Pineapple finely cut pieces - 1 cup
• Turmeric powder - 1/2 cup
• Salt - as required
• Red chili powder - 1/2 sp
• Sugar - 1/2 sp
• Bay leaf - 2
• cinnamon - 2 pieces
• cloves - 2
• Cardamom - 2
• Cumin seeds - 1 sp
• Cashewnuts - 10
• Raisins - 7 to 8
• Ghee - 2 tbl sp
• Oil - 1 tbl sp
• Finely chopped coriander leaves - little

Method:
Soak the rice for 20 mins. Then pressure cook the rice and keep aside. Take one pressure cooker, keep on the gas, pour ghee and oil together, add cumin seeds, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, and bay leaves. Fry for 2 mins, and add the finely cut pineapples and mix well. Meantime mix salt, turmeric, red chillie powder in 1/2 cup of water. Add the masala water to the pineapple. When the oil leaves the side add the boiled rice and mix well in lower flame. Finally add fried cashews, raisins in 1 tsp of ghee and mix into the pulav. Garnish with finely chopped coriander leaves. Serve hot with onion raitha.

Raw banana Roasted Dry Curry

Ingredients:

• Raw banana - 3 to 4 [ peel the outer skin and cut into thin round pieces ]
• Turmeric powder - 1/2 sp
• Salt - as required
• Tamarind paste - 1/4 sp
• Red chili powder - 2 sp
• Asafoetida - a pinch
• Sambhar powder - 1/2 sp
• Mustard seeds - 1 tsp [ for seasoning ]
• Urad dal - 1 sp [ for seasoning ]
• Curry leaves - little [ for garnising ]
• Oil - as required
  

Method:
Take one deep fry pan, place it on the gas and pour oil, add mustard seeds, urad dal, and curry leaves. When the mustard seeds splutters, add urad dal. When the dal turns to golden brown in colour, add the cut bananas, put salt, turmeric, red chili powder, sambhar powder, asafoetida, tamarind paste and mix well. Cook over moderate heat for 10 mins and close it with a lid. In between open the lid, add 1 table spoon oil and fry till the banana becomes dry. Add more oil and saute to give a fried look. Garnish with curry leaves. Serve with hot rice and sambhar etc.

Methi Paratha [ tepla ]

Ingredients:

• Wheat flour - 2 cups
• Methi leaves - 1 cup [ chop leaves alone ]
• fenu greek leaves
• Salt - as required
• Turmeric powder - 1/2 sp
• Dhania jeera powder - 1 sp
• Red chili powder - 1 1/2 sp
• White seasame seeds - 1/2 sp
• Thymol seeds [ omam ] - 1 sp
• Curd - 2 tbl sp
• Oil - as required [ for kneading, roasting ]
• Green chili and garlic paste - 1 sp

Method:
Mix all the ingredients in a mixing bowl. Sprinkle enough water, oil and knead to a smooth dough. Make lemon size balls from the dough. Then spread it into chapatis of medium thickness. Roast on a hot tawa using half a tsp of oil for both sides of chapati. Serve hot with chunda, and thick curd. This type of tepla can be kept for 4 to 5 days. Perfect dish to take along with you while traveling.

Chunda [ sweet mango pickle ]

Ingredients:

• Grated sour mangoes - 5 cups
• Sugar - 4 cups
• Salt - 1/4 cup
• Red chili powder - 1 tbl sp
• Methi seeds - 1 tsp [ soaked in little water ]
• Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
• Cinnamon - 2 pieces [ 1 inch piece length ]
• Cardamom - 8
• Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
  

Method:
Select good sour mangoes and grate it and keep aside. Measure the grated mangoes.  Wash and soak methi seeds in little water. Powder coarsely cuminseeds, cardamom, cinnamon. Mix this with the chili powder, salt, sugar and drain the water from the methi seeds and add together with the grated mangoes. Mix well and keep the grated mangoes in a wide mouthed vessel. Close the neck of the vessel with a thin cloth and keep it in the hot sun for 10 to 15 days. After 15 days when it comes to the colour of honey, take it out and store in a glass jar or bottle. Serve with puries, chapatis.