Nellai Melagu Kulambu

Ingredients :

• Small onions 1 / 2 cup [ peeled ]
• Garlic flakes - 4 to 5 [ peeled ]
• Seasame oil - for frying
• Salt - as required
• Turmeric powder - 1 / 2 tsp
• Curry leaves - little
• Jaggery - 1 tbl. sps.

For seasoning :

• Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
• Asafoetida - 1 / 4 tsp
• Cumin seeds - 1 / 2 tsp
• Curry leaves - little

Grind together :

• Black pepper - 2 tbl. sps.
• Cumin seeds - 1 tbl sps.
• Coriander seeds - 1tsp
• Fenugreek - 1 / 4 tsp
• Mustard seeds - 1 / 4 tsp
• Ginger - small piece
• Dry red chillies - 6 to 8
• Grated coconut - 2 tsp
• Curry leaves - little
• Tamarind paste - 2 tbl. sps.

[ fry the above spices in little oil till golden and grind with little fresh curry leaves to coarse paste and keep aside. ]

Method :

Heat oil in a frying pan, and seasonings and then onions, garlic and fry till onions become golden. Add ground paste, salt, turmeric, jaggery and little water to get gravy  consistency. Boil till oil floats on top. Remove from the gas. Serve with idli, dosa, and cooked rice.  You can keep it in the  fridge for 15 to 20 days.

Palak Kadhi

Ingredients :

• Low fat curds [ dahi ] - 1 cup
• Bengal gram flour [ besan ] - 2 tbsp
• Green chilli ginger paste - 1tsp
• Green paste - 1 tsp
•  [ 1 tsp grated fresh coconut, 1 / 4 cup mint leaves, 2 cupe coriander leaves, 1 tbsp rice flakes, [ soaked ]
•     2 green chillies, 1 tsp jeera and salt. Mix all the ingredients and blend to a smooth paste in a mixer using little water. ]
• Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
• Cumin seeds - 1 / 2 tsp
• Fenugreek seeds - 1 / 4 tsp
• Curry leaves - 2 to 4
• Asafoetida - 1 / 4 tsp
• Sugar - little
• Grated garlic - 1 / 4 tsp
• Palak puree - 1 / 2 cup
• Salt - as required
• Coriander leaves - little [ for garnish ]

Method :

Whisk the curds along with the besan and 2 cups of water till it is smooth. Then add the ginger- green chilli paste and mix well. Then keep aside. Heat non- stick pan on a medium flame and when hot, add the mustard seeds, cumin seeds, fenugreek seeds, curry leaves and asafoetida and dry roast for about 30 seconds. Add the besan-curds mixture and continue stirring till it comes to boil. Add the sugar, garlic, spinach puree and salt. Mix well and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes. Garnish with chopped coriander. Serve hot with roti, steamed rice.
    

Vegetable khichdi [ Handi khichdi ]

Ingredients :

• Basmathi rice - 1 cup
• Mix dhal [ soaked ] - 3 / 4 cup
• Cauliflower florets - 1 / 2 cup
• Potato cubes - 1 / 2 cup
• Chopped onions - 1 / 4 cup
• Finely chopped coriander leaves - little
• Salt - as required
• Turmeric powder - 1 / 2 tsp
• Dhania - jeera powder - 1 tsp
• Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
• Green chilli, ginger, garlic paste - 1 / 2 tsp
• Clove - 1 or 2
• Cardamom - 2
• Bay leaf - 1
• Cinnamon - small piece
• Dhania chopped - 2 tbl.sp [ for garnish ]

Method :

Clean, wash and soak rice and dhal for 15 minutes. Drain and keep aside. Combine together cauliflower, potatoes, onions,coriander, turmeric, coriander-cumin seed powder, chilli powder, ginger-green chilli paste, garlic paste, clove, cardamom, bayleaf, cinnamon and salt in a cooker or handi and mix well. Add the rice, dhal to the vegetable mixture and mix gently and keep aside to marinate for 30 minutes. Put 3 cups of water to boil, pour in to the cooker and close the lid and wait for 4 whistle to come. Otherwise pour the water to the handi, mix well and cover and cook on a medium flame for 30 minutes or till the rice and dhal gets cooked. Garnish with coriander leaves. Serve with pickle, and wafer.

Wheat [ lapsi ] kesari

Ingredients :

• Broken samba wheat [ lapsi ] - 1 cup
• Finely grated white jaggery - 1 1 /4 cup
• Water - 4 cups
• Chopped nuts - as required
• Ghee - 3 tbl sps.
• Cardamom powder - 1 / 2 tsp

Method :

Fry lapsi in 1 tbl sp ghee till nice aroma comes. Heat jaggery with water till it is dissolved completely.  Then remove from the fire and strain through a fine sieve to remove dirt.  Then mix lapsi, remaining  ghee, cardamom powder and jaggery syrup and cook it in the pressure cooker. Wait for 2 whistle to come. Allow it to cool, mix well, and add fried nuts. If you need add more ghee. Your tasty easy lapsi kesari is ready to serve.

Mixed vegetable raitha

Ingredients :

• Grated carrot - 1 cup
• Grated cucumber - 1 cup
• Green chillies - 2 [ finely chopped ]
• Beaten curd - 2 cups
• Salt - as required
• Turmeric powder - 1 / 2 tsp
• Asafoetida - a pinch
• Fenugreek powder - 1 / 4 tsp

For seasoning :

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

Method :

Grate carrots and cucumber. Chop green chillies and coriander leaves. Beat curds with salt and little turmeric powder. Heat oil and fry mustard seeds, a pinch asafoetida powder and cumin seeds. Add it to curds with a pinch fenugreek powder. Mix in grated vegetables and serve. 

Orange Pulav

Ingredients :

• Basmathi rice - 1 cup
• Ripe oranges - 3 [ loose jacketed ]
• Green grapes - 1 / 4 cup [ seedless ]
• Cashewnuts - 1 handful
• Coconut milk - 1 cup
• Cardamoms - 2
• Cinamon - 1 inch piece
• Bay leaf - 1
• Orange colour - a pinch
• Onions - 2 [ cut in to lenth wise ]
• Green chillies - 4 to 5 [ slit ]
• Ginger garlic paste - 1 / 2 tsp
• Ghee or oil - 4 tbl sps
• Coriander leaves - little

Method :

Wash and soak rice for 30 minutes. Cut onions and green chillies lengthwise. Peel one orange and keep separately. Take juice from other two oranges and strain to remove seeds. Heat ghee or oil in pressure pan and fry gram masala spices, green chillies and then onion. Add ginger garlic paste and rice. Fry for 2 minutes. Mix orange juice with coconut milk and make it up as two cups with enough water. Boil this separately and pour over rice with enough salt, and colour. Mix gently, reduce flame, and pressure cook for 10 minutes. After removing from gas, mix fried cashewnuts, orange segments, grapes and cut coriander leaves. Serve with mixed vegetable raitha.

Vengaaya chutney

Ingredients :

• Peeled small onions - 1 cup
• Red tomato - 1 big [ cut into small pieces.
• Red chillies - 10
• Salt - as required
• Sugar or jaggery - 1 tsp
• Tamarind paste - 1 tsp
• Oil - 2 tbl. sps.

Method :

Heat oil in fry pan and  fry red chillies, onions, tomato till golden brown.  Then grind in mixer along
with tamarind, salt and sugar or jaggery. Your yummy gvengaaya chutney is ready.