Raitha's:

1. Onion Raitha:

Slice onions into thin long pieces. Add little powdered salt & mix well. Keep aside for 1 or 2 hrs. Squeeze out & add beaten thick curds. Take 1 garlic flake & 2 green chillies & crush them into a fine paste. Fry for a minute in little ghee. Add to raitha, mix well & serve or Grind ginger & green chillie alone & mix to raitha.

2. Spinach Raitha:

Chop the spinach as fine as possible. Heat a tsp of oil & fry by sprinkling little water. Cool & grind them into a smooth paste. Beat the curd well. Slice onion & green chillies. Heat ghee & fry garlic, green chillies & onion. Cool & add it to spinach paste with enough salt, sugar & beaten curd. Sprinkle little garam masala powder.

3. Masala Raitha:

Grate carrots & cucumber. Chop green chillies & coriander leaves. Beat curds with salt & little turmeric powder. Heat oil & fry a pinch asafoetida [perungayam] powder & cumin seeds. Add it to curds with a pinch of roasted mustard powder & fenugreek [methi] powder. Mix in grated vegetables & serve.

4. Cucumber Raitha:

Grate cucumber. Squeeze out & add to beaten thick curds. Mix enough salt, chillie powder, cumin powder & finely cut coriander leaves.

5. Cauliflower Raitha:

Grate cauliflower & steam for 5 to 7 mins. Let them become cool. Mince ginger & green chillies. Chop coriander leaves. Add thick beaten curds with enough salt. Mix every thing well & serve chilled.

6. Mint Raitha:

Grind mint leaves into fine paste. Add roasted cumin powder, salt & chillie powder. Beat thick curds till it becomes creamy. Mix every thing together.


7. Alu Raitha:

Boil potatoes, peel & smash or dice finely. Add salt, chillie powder, cumin powder & cut coriander leaves. Mix in thick beaten curds. Chill & serve.

8.[1]. Tomato Raitha: 

Beat thick curds till it becomes smooth & creamy. Add finely chopped tomatoes, coriander leaves, sliced green chillies & salt. Chill & serve.

 [2]. Tomato Raitha: 

Blanch whole tomatoes in hot water for few mins. Peel & chop them finely. Cut green chillies. Finely chop onions & coriander leaves. Heat oil, add mustard seeds, green chillies & then tomatoes. Fry till the moisture is absorbed. Cool & add raw chopped onions, coriander leaves & little garam masala powder. Mix beaten curds before serving.

9. Cabbage Raitha:

Grate cabbage. Finely dice capsicums. Heat oil & fry for 2 to 3 mins. Cool throughly. Add cumin powder, pepper powder & salt. Beat curds till it becomes thick & creamy. Mix every thing together. Garnish with cut coriander leaves. Add resins if desired.

10. Boondhi Raitha:

Beat curds till it becomes thick & creamy. Soak boondhi in water for a minute. Squeeze & add to curds. Add cut green chillies, finely chopped coriander leaves, curry leaves, chillie powder & cumin power.

Boondhi :

This is made out of bengal gram flour which is mixed with little water, salt & chillie powder & deep fried using a special laddle with full of holes on it.

Aiyangar Pulikachal

Ingredients :

Rice                                                    1 cup
Tamarind                                             Little more than big lemon sized
Powdered asafoetida                            A pinch
Green chillies                                       4 [long thin variety]
Red chillies                                          8
Salt                                                     As required
Peanuts                                               1/2 cup
Oil [seasame]                                      As required
Jagerry                                                Small lemon size.
 

Fry & powder :

Red dry chillies                                10
Coriander seeds                               1 1/2 tsp
Black gram dal                                 3/4 tsp
Bengal gram dal                               2 tsp
Peper                                              Few [optional]
Fenugreek                                       Few.
[Fry the above spices in 1/2 a tsp of oil & powder].

Dry roast & powder separately :

Seasame seeds                               1 1/2 tbl sp.


For seasoning :

Mustard seeds                               1 tsp
Black gram dal                               1 tsp
Bengal gram dal                             1 tsp
Broken peanuts                              2 tsp
Curry leaves                                   As required


Method :

Cook rice till it is half done i.e; the rice should not be over cooked. Allow it to cool completely. Separate the grains. Soak tamarind in 2 to 3 cups of water & then extract juice from it. Strain & keep it aside.
Heat a tsp of seasame oil & then add asafoetida & red chillies [whole] to it. Fry till the chillies become black in colour. Pour tamarind & extract with whole green chillies. Keep stirring constantly till the extract reduces its volume & forms into a thick pulp. Add enough salt to that & a little lemon size jagerry & powdered masala . Cook for another 10 mins. Remove from fire. Add required quantity of pulikachal to the previously cooked rice. Pour some seasame oil over the rice. Mix well & serve. Garnish with cut curry leaves. Your puliyotharai rice is ready.

Kalyana Vatha Kuzhambu

Ingredients :

Coriander seeds                              1 tbl sp
Bengal Gram                                  1/2 tbl sp
Broken black gram                         1/2 tbl sp
Poppy seeds                                    1/2 tbl sp
Dry red chillies                               6
Fresh grated coconut                     1/2 cup
Big onion                                       1 [cut into dices]
Small sambar onion                      1/2 cup
Tomatoes [small]                          2
Salt                                                As per taste
Curry leaves                                  Little
Seasame oil                                  10 tbl sp
Red chillie powder                       3 tsp
Turmeric powder                         1/2 sp
Jaggery [small lemon size]          1.

For masala grind together :

Bengal gram, broken black gram, khus khus, dry red chille, 1 big onion, & 1/2 cup grated coconut [Fry the ingredents in 2 sp oil & grind it to smooth paste.]

Method :

Take one big vessel, pour 10 tbl sp of seasame oil [nalannai] & heat it. Add little mustard seeds, bengal gram, broken black gram ,dry red chille, methi seeds & curry leaves. When it splutters, add small onions, cut tomatoes to that. When the onions & tomatoes becomes soft, add the grained masala along with tamarind paste & mix well. Add salt, turmeric powder, chillie powder, & jaggery. Pour 3 glasses of water to that & boil nicely when the kuzhambu gets ready. Remove from the gas. Have it with hot steamed rice along with seasame oil.

Quick Cauliflower Masala

 Ingredients :

Cauliflower                                      1 big
Peas                                                  1 cup shelled
Onions                                              2
Oil or Ghee                                      2 tbl sps.

Grind together :

Onion                                              1 big
Tomatoes                                        2 medium sized
Garam masala powder                   1/2 tsp
Sambar powder                              2 1/2 tsp
Salt                                                 As required
Sugar                                             1/2 tsp [optional]
Coconut                                        1/2 scraped.

Method :

Cut onions into long pieces. Grind the masala & keep aside. Clean & wash the cauliflower well. Boil cauliflower with peas in enough salted water. Strain & heat ghee in a pan & add 1/2 tsp of cumin seeds. When it splutters, add sliced onions, & fry it. When it turns into golden brown colour, add the grained masala to it & fry well till oil separates from it. Now add boiled cauliflower & peas with enough water to cover. When the gravy becomes thick, remove & serve hot. Garnish with cut coriander leaves.

Punjabi Dishes :

1.                                                  Malai Kofta

                                                                                                                                                                Ingredients:

Potatoes                                   1/2 kg

Paneer                                     200 gms

Green Chillie                          2 to 3 [cut into small pieces.]

Resins                                     10 to 15 [Kismish ]

Salt                                          As per taste

Corn flour                              2 tbl sp

Onions                                    1 or 2

Ginger                                    1 inch

Garlic                                     5 flacks

Cinnamon                              1 stick

Cloves                                    5

Fresh Cream                          1 1/2 cup

Ghee                                      2 tbl sp                       
Oil                                         For frying.

To make paste :

Cashewnuts                            1 hand full

Poppy seeds                           1 tbl sp

Method :

Boil potatoes, grated panner & smash them along with salt, cornflour, cut chillies, resins & mix well. Make balls, press it with hand & deep fry it in hot oil. Keep it aside.

Cut onions into thin long pieces. Blanch tomatoes in hot water. Remove skin & make into paste. Make a paste of ginger & garlic. (Readymade ginger garlic paste are available in shops). Heat 3 table spoons of oil or ghee & mix together in a pan. Add cinnaman, cloves, & ginger garlic paste. Add onions & fry for a minute. When it turns golden brown, add turmeric powder, chillie powder, salt, dhania powder & tomato puree. Cook for few minutes. Now mix ground cashews, poppy seeds with 3/4th cup of cream to this. Pour some water & make into thick gravy. Cook for 5 to 10 minutes & remove from fire. To serve, arrange koftas in  the serving dish, pour other half of the beaten cream on top. Pour the hot gravy on top. Serve hot with sprinkled cut coriander leaves.
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2.                                                     Navaratna Kurma
                                                           
Ingredients :

Paneer                                                                  100 gms
Mixed diced vegetables                                       2 cups
[Carrot,Beans, Peas, Potatoes, Cauliflower]
Onions [Boiled & Grained into fine paste.]                4
Ginger garlic paste                                               1 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder                                                  1/2 tsp
Dhania powder                                                      2 tsp
Chillie powder                                                      1 1/2 tsp
Garam masala                                                       1 1/2 tsp
Milk                                                                      1 cup
Fresh Cream                                                         3 tbl.sps
Ghee                                                                      3 tbl.sps
Salt                                                                        To taste
Tutti fruity, Kismis [Resins],
Cashews,
Tinned Pine Apple pieces                                                      
[Diced into small pieces]                                     1/2 cup [Optional].
                                                                      
Method :

Dice paneer into small pieces, deep fry & keep aside. Heat ghee in a pan, fry onion paste & ginger garlic paste. Fry in a low flame till the ghee separates from it. Add turmeric powder, dhania powder, chillie powder, garam masala, salt & finely grained cashew paste. Then add boiled vegetable pieces. Let it boil for some time. When the gravy is thickened, add milk, & fresh cream. Boil for a minute. Add paneer pieces & dry fruits[As mentioned in ingredients] before removing from fire. Fry cashewnuts in little ghee & add it. Garnish with coriander leaves. Have it with your nan.

Carrot Thogayal

Ingredients:

Carrot                                                     1/4 kg
Green chillie                                             1
Ginger                                                     1/2 inch
Dry red chillie                                          10 [Kashmiri Red Chillie]
Broken Black Gram                                 2 tbl. sp
Tamarind paste                                        1/2 sp
Salt                                                          To taste
Oil                                                           For frying
Fresh grated coconut                               1/2 cup
Curry leaves                                            little
Coreander leaves                                    little
Asafoetida [peringayum / hing]                1/4tsp.

Method :

Take one big kadai & add 3 big spoons of oil. First add red chillie, broken black gram & fry for a while till it becomes red. Now add along with diced carrot, green chillie, ginger, tamarind, salt, curry leaves, coriander leaves & hing . Fry for 5 mins, add coconut & mix well. After it becomes cool, grind in the mixer.Your thogayal is ready to eat. Similarly instead of using carrot, you can also make thogayal with cabbage, red pumpkin, & chow chow (Bangalore Kathirikai) using the same method. Have it either with rice, idli or roti.

Mix Vegetables In Tomato Gravy

Ingredients:

1/2 cooked mixed vegetables (Diced)                           1 cup.

(Carrot, Cauliflower, French beans, Green peas)
Big Onions                                                                  4
Big Red Tomatoes                                                      2
Salt                                                                            As Required
Red Chillie Powder                                                    3 sps
Turmeric Powder                                                       1/2 tsp
Sugar                                                                        1/2 tsp
Garam Masala Powder                                              1 sp
Fresh Cream                                                             1/2 cup
Cut Corriander Leaves                                              For Garnishing.

Method:

Out of the 4 onions given above in ingredients, dice 2 onions well & fry it seperately. Grain the remaining 2 onions & 2 big tomatoes & keep it seperately. Now take a big vessel, put 3 table spoons of oil & heat it. Then add the grained onions paste & tomato puree (grained tomatoes) on it & mix well. Add salt & the remaining ingredients 1 by 1 (Adding sugar gives a rich taste). Fry it well. When the oil leaves sideways, add 1/2 cooked vegetables & 1/2 cup of water. Close the vessel with a lid for 10 mins. After 10 mins, remove the lid & add the fried onions along with fresh cream. Cook for another 5 mins. Remove from the gas & garnish it with cut corriander leaves.
You can have it with phulkas & parathas.