Sweet Bean Seed Chundal [Thotil Payaru]

Ingredients:

• Red small variety bean seed [or]
• Whole green gram dal               } - 1/2kg
• Freshly grated coconut - 1/4 cup
• Powdered jaggery - 1 kg
• Cardamom powder - 1 tsp
• Fresh ghee - 2 tbl sp

Method:

Fry the whole dal in a kadai (preferably non-stick kadai) till nice aroma comes. Then soak the dal for minimum 3 to 4 hours. Then wash and pressure cook with enough water. After 4 whistle comes, remove from the gas and keep aside. Then heat jaggery with half cup water in deep bottom kadai. When it melts, strain through a strainer and reheat. When it thick syrup comes, add cooked dal and stir continuously. Cook till it becomes thick and allow all the moisture to evaporate. Finally add grated coconut, cardamom powder and ghee. Mix well and remove from the heat. When it comes into room temperature, transfer to a serving dish.

Note : Generally in South India, people make this dish for new born baby's barsa [Cradle Ceremony] as a prasad for Lakshmi Devi (Goddess) in Aadi (Shraavan) month.

Bajra Idli

Ingredients :

• Bajra - 2 cups [ heaped ] [ kambu ]
• Boiled rice - 1 cup
• Red gram dal - 1 cup [ tuar ]
• Rock salt - as required
• Oil - 3 tbl.sps.
• Cooking soda - 3 / 4 tsp

Method :

Soak bajra and rice together for 5 hours in enough water.  Soak dal separately for 1 hour. Grind dal to smooth frothy paste and bajra-rice mixture to coarse rawa consistency. Mix both together with salt. Allow to ferment for 15 to 20 hours. Next day pour hot oil which is  seasoned with mustard seeds to the batter along with soda. Then mix well and steam idlis as usual. Serve hot with molokai podi and onion chutney.

Mysore Vadai

Ingredients :

• Bengal gram dal - 1 / 2 cup
• Thur dal - 1 / 2 cup
• Moong dal - 1 / 2 cup
• Broken black gram dal - 1 / 2 cup
• Cashewnuts - 1 / 4 cup [ broken ]
• Chopped coriander leaves - little
• Chopped curry leaves - little
• Green chilli, ginger paste - 1 table spoon
• Salt - as required
• Oil - enough for frying
• Finely chopped onion - 1 / 4 cup [ optional ]

Method :

Mix all the dalls together and soak in enough water for 3 to 4 hours. Then drain the water and grind to a  coarse thick paste. Add salt and other ingredients to that and mix well. Then take a plastic sheet of paper and put even sized balls of this and flatten it. Deep fry this in boiling oil. Turn over until golden brown in colour and fully cooked. Remove from the oil and serve hot with coconut chutney.

Tips : Avoid excess moisture in the batter for crispness.

Palak Dumplings

Ingredients :

• Moong dahl - 1 cup
• Chopped palak - 3 / 4 cup
• Chopped onions - 1 / 4 cup
• Finely chopped green chillie - 1 tsp
• Baking powder - a pinch
• Salt - as required
• Oil - enough for frying

Method :

Clean the moong dal and soak it in enough water for 3 hours. Then drain the full water and grind it to a smooth dough [like vada batter]. Then mix the chopped palak, onion, green chillie, salt and baking powder to the batter and make small balls and fry them in hot oil till it becomes golden colour. Serve hot with tomato ketchup.

Cheese Bonda

Ingredients:

• Madia - 1 cup
• Grated cheese - 1 / 2 cup
• Cashewnuts - 1 table spoon [ broken ]
• Chopped coriander leaves - little
• Chopped curry leaves - little
• Salt - as required
• Green chillie - 1 [finely chopped ]
• Water - as required
• Oil - required  for deep frying

Method :

Mix madia, cheese, and other ingredients with required water without lumps and prepare dough. Mean time keep oil in a deep bottom kadai. When the oil becomes hot immediately make small small balls from the dough  and deep fey till it change to golden brown. Serve with tomato ketchup or green chutney.

Maida [ Dimond ] Biscuits

Ingredients:

• All purpose flour / Maida - 1 cup 
• Red chilli - 3
• Ginger - 1 inch piece
• Garlic - 3 cloves 
• Ajwain / omam seeds - 1/4 tsp
• Asafoetida - 2 pinch 
• Water - 1/2 cup [Increase or Decrease]
• Salt - As per taste
• Oil - for frying 

Method:

 

1. Grind the ginger, garlic and red chilli to a smooth paste by adding little amount if water.

2. Take 1 cup of all purpose flour/maida and add the ground paste, ajwain, salt, asafoetida and mix well by adding water little by little and form a smooth dough. Keep it aside for 20 to 30 min.

3. Make small equal sized balls with the dough. Take one ball and flatten it using chappathi roller as we do it for roti or chappathi's. Make it into 2mm to 3mm thin if possible.

4. Now using a cookie cutter cut the rolled dough into diamond shapes and remove slowly from the chappathi maker and collect in a bowl or plate.

5. Now in a kadai heat oil and first out a pinch of dough to it don't harbor immediately raises up. Now fry the cut pieces into oil in small batches. When they turn light brown on both the sides remove from oil and filter the excess oil in kitchen tissue.

6. Now store the cute diamond cuts in a air tight container.

Yummy n crispy Diamond cuts or Diamond biscuits are ready. 

Chiku Ice cream

Ingredients :

• Chikus [ sapota ] - 300gm [ 4 big ]
• Full cream milk - 5 cups
• Conflour - 1 table spoon
• Fresh cream - 1 1 / 2 cups [ chilled ]
• Powdered sugar - 4 to 5 table spoon
• Gelatine - 1 tsp
• Water - 1 / 4 cup
• Sugar - 3 / 4 cup
• Vanilla essence - 2 tsp

Method :

Keep 1 / 2 cup milk aside. Boil rest of the milk in medium flame for 30 minutes. Then remove from the fire. Dissolve cornflour in 1 / 2 cup of milk. Then add cornflour paste into the boiled milk, add sugar. Cook for 5 minutes on high flame, stirring continuously, till it coats  the spoon and becomes a very thin custard. Meantime soak gelatine in water for a minute. Heat on low flame to dissolve it.Then mix gelatine solution to the custard, stirring continuously. Then freeze it for 4 to 5 hours, turning the fridge to its coldest. Meantime peel chikus and mash them roughly with a fork to a rough puree. When the custard is frozen after 5 hours, proceed further. Beat chilled cream with powdered sugar till light and fluffy. Keep in the fridge. Cut the frozen custard into small cubes and beat till light and fluffy. Mix the custard, cream and chiku puree and vanilla essence and blend in blender or mixer for 5 minutes. Freeze it till it gets ready.