Senai kilangu [ elephant yam ] paratha

Ingredients :

For stuffing :

• Elephant yam [ senai ] - 1 / 4 k. g.[ scrape the outer skin and pressure cook ]
• Thuvar dal - 1 small cup [ boiled ]
• Ginger garlic paste - 1 / 2 sp
• Green chilli paste - 1 / 4 sp
• Salt - as per taste
• Turmeric - 1 / 2 sp
• Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
• Tamarind paste - 1 / 2 tsp 
• Or lemon juice - 1 tabl. sps.
• Finely chopped coriander leaves - 2 tbl. sps.
• Oil - enough for frying

 [ mix all the ingredients in a bowl and mash well. Finely add coriander leaves and mix well and keep aside. While boiling the yam don't add water, because the stuff will become thin.Keep the yam in big vessel along with dal  and pressure cook ]

For the dough :

• Wheat flour - 1 1 /2 cup
• Maida - 1 / 4 cup
• Melted butter - 1 tabl. sp
• Salt - 1 / 2 tsp

Method :
Sieve and  mix the flours together in a mixing bowl.Add salt and butter, mix well till the butter blends. Gradually add water and kneed a smooth dough. Make medium size balls from the dough. Flatten each ball and keep a table spoon filling inside. Close and seal well all around. Press it in wheat flour and roll out in to thick parathas. Heat a tawa and fry these parathas using oil for both sides while frying. Serve hot with thick curd and pickles.

Capsicum paruppu usili

Ingredients :

• Green capsicum - 1 / 4 k. g. [ finely cut ]
• Turmeric powder - 1 / 2 sp
• Salt - as required
• Curry leaves - little

For usili :

• Thuvar dhal - 1 cup
• Green chilli - 2
• Dry red chilli - 2A
• Asafoetida - 1 / 4 sp
• Turmeric - 1 / 4 sp
• Salt - little

For seasoning :

• Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
• Urad dal - 1 tsp
• Coconut oil -  3 tabl. sps.

Method :

Soak the dal in hot water [ enough to cover the dal ] for 1 / 2 an hour, and graind coarsely along with other ingredients for the usili. Keep kadai on the gas, pour coconut oil, heat it and add the seasoning, when the dal change in to light brown in colour add  the ground usili. Fry in low flame for 5 to 10 minuts, till the dal become soft and seperate. Keep the usili aside, and heat oil in same kadai and add finely cut capsicum, with  pinch of salt and turmeric powder. Stir for a minute till the capsicum is crispy. Take care that it is crunchy and not over cooked. Add the soft usili, and stir gently for 2 mints in medium heat. Add more salt if required. Garnish with curry leaves and mix well. Serve as a side dish with rice.

Easy method :

To do the same recipe in short time, steam ground paste in greased idli plate for 10 minutes, cool it down and crumble it. Fry it along with cooked vegetables.

Tanjore marathi pitlai

Ingredients :

• Cooked thuvar dal - 1 / 2 cup
• Tamarind paste - 2 tsp
• Coriander seeds - 1 tsp
• Black pepper - 1 / 2 sp
• Channa dal - 1 tsp [ bengal gram dal ]
• Urad dal [ broken black gram dal ] - 1 tsp
• Raw rice - 1 tsp
• Methi seeds - 1 / 2 tsp
• Dry red chilli - 7 to 8
• Copra [dry coconut ] - 2 inch piece
•  [ fry all these ingredients in little oil and pound coarsely ]
• Raw peanuts - 1 handful
• Fresh grated coconut - 2 tabl. sps.
• Curry leaves - little
• Salt - as required
• Mustard seeds - 1 sp
• Coconut oil - 3 tabl. sps.
• Jaggery - little
• Turmeric powder - 1 / 2 sp
• Asafoetida - 1 / 4 sp
• Red chilli powder 1 sp

Required vegetables :

• Brinjal - 1 [ cut in to pieces ]
• Drum stick -1 [ cut in to 1 / 2 inch ]
• Pump kin - 1 small piece [ cut in to pieces ]
• Ladies finger - 3 to 4 [ cut in to 1 / 2 inch ]

Method :
Take one deep bottom vessel, heat coconut oil, add mustard seeds, asafoetida, curryleaves. When mustard seeds splutters, add cut vegetables to that and mix well. Pour enough water along with tamarind paste, salt, turmeric, red chilli powder, jaggery. Allow to boil  in low flame till the vegetables becomes soft. Then add mashed thuar dal, and boil for 5 mints more.  When it starts boiling add pound ingredients. Boil for 5 mints more. Before removing fry penuts, fresh coconut and  curry leaves in coconut oil [ till it becomes golden brown in colour ] and pour it  in to the pitlay.  Serve it with hot steam rice.

PAPAYA RASAM RECIPE - RASAM WITH PAPAYA

Ingredients :

• Finely cut ripe papaya - 1 / 2 cup
• Dhal water - 2 cups [ strained from cooked thuar dhal ]
• Green chilli - 1 [ slit in to 2 pieces ]
• Dry red chilli - 1 [ broken ]
• Tamarind paste - 2 teaspoon
• Ripe red tomatoes - 2 to 3 [ grind to smooth paste ]
• Turmeric powder - 1 / 2 sp
• Sambhar powder - 1 1 / 2 sp
• Red chilli powder - 1 / 2 sp [ this gives nice colour ]
• Sugar - 1 / 2 sp
• Asafoetida - 1 / 4 sp
• Curry leaves - little
• Corriander leaves - little
• Black pepper, jeera powder - 1 / 2 sp
• Salt - as required
• Ghee - 2 sp
• Mustard seeds - 1 sp

Method :

Take one big vessel. Add tomato paste, tamarind puree, slit green chilli, broken red chilli, salt, turmeric, red chilli powder, sambhar powder, asafoetida, sugar   along with enough water. Allow to boil for 10 mints in lower flame. When the raw smell goes add dal water, and cut papaya pieces.  Boil for another  5 mints, heat ghee add mustard seeds, curry leaves, cumin, pepper powder, fry for a minute and add to boiling rasam. Remove from the gas and garnish with chopped coriander leaves. Enjoy with steamed rice .

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                                                                Panner [ rosewater ] rasam

    Ingredients :

• Tamarind - gooseberry size [ nelekkai alauv ]
• Water - 3 to 4 cups
• Rose water - 2 tbl. sps.
• Green chillies - 3 to 4
• Thuar dahal water - 1 / 2 cup
• Cumin & pepper powder - 1 tsp
• Coriander leaves - little
• Rose petals - to garnish [ little fresh & pink ]
• Salt & sugar - as required
• Ghee & mustard seeds - to season

Method :

Soak tamarind in water squeeze and take extract, dilute with water. Add thuar dhal water, salt and sugar. Then heat ghee add mustard, slit green chilli, cumin pepper powder, fry for a minute and to tamarind extract. Boil for 5 minutes. Remove from the fire and add rose water. Garnish with rose petals and coriander leaves. Your tasty easy panner rasam is ready.

Chole paratha

Ingredients :

• Previous day prepared chole - 1 cup
• Wheat flour - as required
• Methi leaves - 2 tabl. sps. [ finely chopped ]
• Oil  [ or butter ] - 1 / 4 cup
• Water - if you need

Method :

First take one chopper and grind the chole and keep aside. Then take deep broad vessel add the chopped chole, methi leaves, and required wheet flour and kneed it and  prepare soft dough. [ while mixing the dough add little water if required ]. Make medium size balls from the dough and make parathas. Roast on hot tawa using half spoon of oil or butter for both sides of each paratha. Serve hot with curd and pickle. Enjoy  your  tasty chole paratha.

Chumchum (Bengali Sweet)

Ingredients :

• Milk - 1 lit [ milk to be heated on previous day and kept in refrigerator for 8 hours ]
• Cornfloor - 1 / 2 sp
• Sugar - 1 3 / 4 cups
• Yellow colour or saffron - litttle
• Water - 5 1 / 2 cups

Method :
Remove cream from milk and prepare paneer. [ if cow's milk used then remove cream immediately after cooling ]. Add yellow colour and  cornflour  kneed  well  till it become  smooth. Divide paneer in to  small balls and shape it.[ shape in lenth wise ] Prepare syrup on high flame. When it starts boiling add prepared chumchum  [ use broad vessel to allow the chumchum to expand. ] Do not cover for first five mints then boil for further 15 - 17 minuts with the lid half open. Then remove from the gas. Keep the chumchum in the syrup for one day. To serve remove from syrup and garnish with silver wrap, or with dessicated coconut and powdered sugar.

Rajbhog (Bengali Sweet)

Ingredients :

• Milk - 1 lit.
• Water - 6 cups
• Yellow colour - little
• Cornflour - 1 teaspoon
• Rawa [ semoline ] - 1 teaspoon
• Maida - 1 teaspoon
• Sugar - 2 cups
• Milk masala - 1 tabl. sps.
• Cardmom - little

Method :
Remove the cream from the milk and prepare paneer from it. Add rawa, maida and yellow colour and mix it. Kneed it till smooth and make balls. Put milk masala inside the balls and give round shape.

Syrup :

Mix sugar and water and heat it on the gas in high flame. Select a vessel which is like deep big kadai, so that syrup will not become thick on boilling for long time. When the water starts boiling add the balls one by one and keep the flame in high. Do not cover for at least 5 mints. Then keep half open  for 10 mints, remove cover and boil for another 4 mints. Your rajbhog will become big in size. Remove from the gas. Keep rajbhog in the syrup for 1 / 2 an hour and remove from the syrup. Keep in fridge. Garnish with cardamom.