Ulundhu vadai (Black gram spicy doughnuts)

INGREDIENTS:

1. Black gram / Ulundhu parupu – 1 cup

2. Onion – 1 medium size

3. Green chilli – 4 roughly chopped

4. Curry leaves – finely chopped

5. Corriander leaves – Finely chopped

6. Salt – 1 tsp or as required

7. Oil – as required (to deep fry)

PREPARATION:

1. Soak the black gram/ Ulundhu parupu in water for 2 to 3 hours.

2. Grind to a smooth paste with limited water. The consistency should be thick.

3. Add the finely chopped onions, curry leaves, corriander leaves, green chilli and salt.

4. Mix all the ingredients together. (Do not add water)

5. Heat enough oil to deep fry. Grease your palm with little oil and take a scoop of vada paste and flatten it. (make a little hole if you prefer)

6. Slip it into the oil and deep fry it until golden brown.

7. Serve hot with chutney or just like that.

8. Makes 15 to 20 vadas.

Custard Kulfi

INGREDIENTS:    

1. Custard powder – 1 tsp

2. Milk – 1cup

3. Sugar – 10 tsp

4. Ice cream sticks – as required

5. Microwave Food wrap – as required.

PREPARATION:

1. Mix the custard powder in 2 tbsp of cold milk and set aside.

2. Boil the milk in a pan.  Bring the flame down and add the custard paste and sugar.

3. Keep stirring until the milk turns into a thick consistency.

4. Turn of fire and allow it to cool.

5. Pour the custard milk into an ice-tray and cover it with the microwave wrap.

6. Pierce the ice cream sticks and freeze it.

7. Once it is frozen, bring it out and remove from the tray and serve it.

8. Store in a container and allow them to sit in the freezer.

9. Makes 15 to 20 small custard kulfies.

Thayir vadai (Spicy doughnuts in sour cream)

INGREDIENTS:

To make Vadai:

1. Black gram / Ulundhu parupu – 1 cup

2. Onion – 1 medium size

3. Green chilli – 4 roughly chopped

4. Curry leaves – finely chopped

5. Corriander leaves – Finely chopped

6. Salt – 1 tsp or as required

7. Oil – as required (to deep fry)

To make thayir vadai:

1. Plain yoghurt – 2 cups

PREPARATION:

To make Vada:

1. Soak the black gram/ Ulundhu parupu in water for 2 to 3 hours.

2. Grind to a smooth paste with limited water. The consistency should be thick.

3. Add the finely chopped onions, curry leaves, corriander leaves, green chilli and salt.

4. Mix all the ingredients together. (Do not add water)

5. Heat enough oil to deep fry. Grease your palm with little oil and take a scoop of vada paste and flatten it. (make a little hole if you prefer)

6. Slip it into the oil and deep fry it until golden brown.

7. Serve hot with chutney or just like that.

8. Makes 15 to 20 vadas.

To make Thayir vada:

1. Beat the yoghurt and set aside.

2. Boil water in a vessel.  Add the vadas, one by one and leave until they absorb water.

3. Squeeze the water from the vadas and set aside.

4. Add the vadas in the yoghurt one by one and allow them to soak completely.

5. 2 cups of yoghurt is enough for 15 vadas. (More yoghurt can be added if necessary)

Chicken Lasagna

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

INGREDIENTS:

To make curry:

1.  Bone less chicken or minced chicken – 250 gm

2. Onion – 1 small

3. Tomatoes – 2 med size or Tomato puree – ¾ cup

4. Garlic – 2 pods

5. Salt – as reqd

6. Vinegar – 1 tsp

7. Fresh ground coarse pepper – 1 tbsp

8. Vegetable oil – as reqd

9. Cumin powder – ½ tsp

To make White sauce:

1. All purpose flour – 1 tbsp

2. Milk – 1 ½ cup

3. Butter – 2 tbsp

4. Salt – as reqd

5. Cheddar cheese – 2 tbsp

To make Lasagna:

1. Lasagna noodles – 8 pieces

2. Cheddar cheese – ½ cup (grated)

3. Spring onions or corriander leaves – ¼ cup finely chopped

PREPARATION:

To make curry:

1. Clean and grind the boneless chicken and set it aside. (It is not necessary to clean the minced chicken.)

2. To make tomato puree: Boil water in a pan and add to tomatoes until the skin leaves it intact.  Take off the skin, allow it to cool and grind it into a smooth paste.

3. Heat oil in a sauce pan, and toss in the crushed garlic and finely chopped onions with 1 tsp salt, cumin powder and ground pepper. Sauté it until the onion turns pink.

4. Add a tsp of vinegar and the minced chicken to it and sauté it until the chicken turns pale.

5. Add the tomato puree and give it a stir.

6. Add 2 cups of water and cook with lids on in medium flame until the gravy gets thicker.

7. Check for salt and turn off the fire.

To make white sauce:

1. Heat the butter in a sauce pan, and add the flour and blend together into a smooth paste.

2. Add the milk to the mixture and keep stirring until the mixture turns into a smooth saucy consistency.

3. Add the cheese to the sauce and turn off the fire. Cover the lid and allow it to stand for a while for the cheese to melt with the mixture.

4. Allow it to cool.

Assembling and cooking Lasagna:

1.  Boil water in a pan and add the lasagna noodles with 1 tsp oil and allow it to cook tender.

2. Filter the water and keep the noodles aside.

3. Grease the bottom of a rectangular bowl, and pour 2 ladles of chicken curry into it.

4. Arrange 2 or 3 of the cooked lasagna noodles so as to cover the curry.

5. Top the lasagna noodles with white sauce, and a ladle of chicken curry. Sprinkle with a tbsp of grated cheddar cheese.

6. Arrange another layer of lasagna noodles over the curry and repeat with white sauce, chicken curry and grated cheddar cheese.

7. Sprinkle with corriander leaves or spring onions over the last layer.

8. Allow an inch and half on the top of the bowl, for the lasagna to cook and raise.

9. Cover and cook for 30 minutes in microwave or until the tooth pick pieces the noodles effortlessly.

10.  When it is done, allow it to stand in the room temperature for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.

11. Serves 2.

Note:

For Pressure cooking:  Place the assembled bowl into the pressure cooker and cook for 5 whistles or 20 minutes. Taste differs from oven cooking to pressure cooker cooking.

 

 

Banana custard

INGREDIENTS:

1. Custard powder (vanilla flavor) – 2 tbsp

2. Full cream milk – 3 cups

3. Sugar – 6 tbsp

4. Butter- 1 tbsp

5. Long yellow banana – 3  sliced

PREPARATION:

To prepare custard cream:

1. In a small bowl, mix together sugar and custard powder and add 2 tbsp of milk to make it a paste.

2. Bring the milk to boil in a sauce pan and add the butter and custard paste to it.

3. Keep stirring until the mixture turns into a smooth semi solid consistency.

4. Remove from fire and allow it to cool.

To make banana custard:

1. Slice the bananas and arrange it in a bowl evenly.

2. Pour in the cooled custard cream over the banana slices.

3. Refrigerate for 2 hours.

4. Serve cold.

5. Serves 4 to 6.

Serving suggestions:

1. Top the custard cream over a scoop of vanilla ice-cream for a fine dessert.

 

 

 

Coconut milk biriyani

INGREDIENTS:

1. Basmati rice – 3 cups

2. Chicken – ½ kg

3. Onion – 3 large

4. Coconut milk – 300 ml or 1 ½ cups.

5. Green chillies – 5

6. Salt – as reqd

7. Oil – as reqd

8. Ghee – 2 tbsp

9. Lemon – 1 or 1 tbsp juice

10. Corriander leaves – 1 cup finely chopped

11. Mint leaves – 1 cup finely chopped

12. Ginger garlic paste – 2 tbsp

13. Coarsely ground pepper – 1 tbsp

14. Spices – (cardamom – 2, cinnamon stick – 1 inch, cloves – 2, Bay leaf – 2, Star aniseed – 1)

 

PREPARATION:

1. Soak rice in water for 15 minutes

2. Heat oil and ghee in equal rations in a pressure cooker, splutter spices, and add the sliced onions along with 1 tsp salt.

3. Sauté until the onion turns pink. Add the ginger garlic paste and keep sautéing until the raw smell leaves the mixture.

4. Empty the corriander and mint leaves into the pressure cooker and blend them along with the ginger garlic paste.

5. Slip in the chicken pieces and add the coarse ground pepper and stir it up to get smothered with the mixture.

6. Add the lemon juice to the chicken and blend all the ingredients together.

7. Drain the rice and add to the ingredients in the pressure cooker and gently stir them so as to avoid breaking of the rice.

8. Add water and coconut milk to it. 1 cup rice : 1 ½ cup water (300ml). Hence, in this strategy, 300 ml thick coconut milk + 600 ml water for 3 cups of rice. +50 ml water can be added, depends on your pressure cooker.

9. Give all the ingredients a gentle stir. Check for salt. It must be little salty before you close.

10. Finally add a tbsp of ghee and cover the lid and pressure cook for 3 whistles or 12 minutes.

11. When the pressure is released, open the lid and stir it up and leave it open for 2 minutes.

12. Serve hot with onion yoghurt salad, cucumber yoghurt salad or chicken gravy.

13. Serves 5.

 

 

Green gram with mashed potatoes

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

INGREDIENTS:

1. Green gram – 1 cup

2. Potatoes – 2 large

3. Onion – 1  medium size

4. Tomatoes – 2 medium size

5. Garlic – 5 pods crushed

6. Curry leaves – 1 sprig

7. Corriander leaves – ¼ cup finely chopped

8. Turmeric powder – 1 tsp

9. Chilli powder – 1 tbsp

10. Salt – as reqd

11. Oil – as reqd

12. Mustard seeds – 1 tsp

13. Cumin seeds – 1tsp

14. Asafoetida – a pinch

15. Ghee or butter – 1 tsp

PREPARATION:

1. Soak the green gram in water over night or for 12 hours. (it is good if they sprouted)

2. De-skin and dice the potatoes.

3. Heat oil in a pressure cooker and splutter mustard seeds and cumin seeds and dash a pinch of asafoetida.

4. Toss in the curry leaves, crushed garlic and the onions and sauté them until the onion turns pink.

5. Add the diced potatoes and allow them to blend with the onion garlic mixture.

6. Finally add the tomatoes with a tsp of turmeric powder and chilli powder. Cover and cook in low flame until the tomatoes are juicy.

7. Drain the water from the soaked green gram and add it to the tomato onion mixture.

8. Give it a stir and add a tsp of ghee or butter before closing the lid.

9. Pressure cook for 5 whistles or 20 minutes.

10. Remove from fire and garnish with corriander leaves.

11. Serve hot with chappathi or dosai as side dish.

Note:

The potatoes will be cooked tender. It will be nice to mash them after removing from fire if serving kids. Or, leave it as it is to see the chunks along with the green gram.

Chicken Kurma in thick coconut milk

INGREDIENTS:

1. Chicken – ½ kg

2. Onions – 2 big sliced

3. Tomatoes 2 medium size(finely chopped)

4. Grated coconut – 2 tbsp

5. Coconut milk – 1 cup (225 ml)

6. Cashew nuts – 7 or 8

7. Ginger – 1 “piece

8. Garlic – 8 to 10 pods

9. Chilli powder – 1 ½ tsp

10. Turmeric powder – 1 ½ tsp

11. Corriander leaves – ¼ cup finely chopped

12. Curry leaves – 1 sprig

13. Green chilli – 4 pods

14. Salt – as reqd

15. Oil – 5 tbsp

16. Ghee – 1 tbsp

17. Fennel seeds – 1 tbsp

To grind:

1. Mustard seeds – 1 tsp

2. Corriander seeds – 1 tbsp

3. Clove – 1

4. Cardamom – 3

5. Cinnamon stick – 3”

6. Fennel seeds – 1 tsp

7. Cumin seeds – 1 tsp

8. Black pepper seeds – 1 tsp

9. Fenugreek seeds – ½ tsp

PREPARATION:

1. Dry roast the ingredients under “To grind”. Allow it to cool and powder it. Keep it aside.

2. Soak cashew nuts in hot water for 10 minutes and grind them with grated coconut. Add this mixture to the coconut milk and keep it aside.

3. Grind the ginger garlic without water or grate the ginger garlic and keep it aside.

4. De-skin, wash and pat dry the chicken and keep it aside.

5. Heat oil and ghee together in a pressure cooker and splutter fennel seeds.

6. Toss in the grated ginger garlic and sauté it for 2 minutes and follow it with sliced onions and 1 tbsp salt.

7. Sauté the onions until they are transparent.

8. Add the finely chopped tomatoes along with chilli powder and turmeric powder and the ground powder from “To grind”.

9. Slip in the chicken pieces over the tomatoes.

10. Sprinkle the ground pepper over the chicken (Do not stir).

11. Cover and cook in medium flame until the tomatoes are juicy and the raw smell of powders are gone.

12. Once the chicken turns into a semi gravy, check for salt and add the coconut milk mixture and give it a stir.

13. If the gravy is too thick, add ½ cup of water and stir it up.

14. Cover and pressure cook for 4 whistles in medium flame.

15. Once the pressure is released, transfer it to a bowl garnish with corriander leaves, curry leaves and slit green chillies.

16. Serve hot with rice, idly, dosai or chappathi.

17. Serves 5.

 

 

 

Wheat Vegetable Dosai

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

INGREDIENTS:

1. Wheat flour – 1 cup

2. Egg – 2

3. Salt – as reqd

4. Carrot – 1 med size (grated)

5. Onion – 1 med size (finely chopped)

6. Curry leaves – 1 sprig

7. Corriander leaves – ¼ cup finely chopped

8. Oil – as reqd

9. Green chillies – 2 pods finely chopped

10. Cumin powder – 1 tsp

PREPARATION:

1. In a deep bottomed vessel, mix the flour, cumin powder and the salt with adequate water to get a thick dosai consistency. (Not too thick – not too thin)

2. Beat the egg and mix it along the flour mixture.

3. Add the finely chopped onions, green chillies, grated carrot, curry leaves and corriander leaves to the batter.

4. Heat a skillet, and grease it with little oil. Pour a ladle of batter and spread it into circles.

A little oil around the corners of the dosai will give crispy ends.

5. Turn the dosai when the edges raise up. Cook the turned side for a minute and remove from fire.

6. Serve hot with chutney, sambar or idly podi.

7. Serves 3

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Butter Mushroom

INGREDIENTS:

1.  White button mushrooms – 400 gms

2. Onion – 1 finely chopped

3. Tomato puree – ½ cup

4. garlic – 1 tsp grated or crushed

5.  Butter – 2 tbsp

6. Oil – as reqd

7. Cashew nuts – 10

8. Turmeric powder – 1 tsp

9. Chilli powder – 1 tsp

10. Curry leaves – 1 sprig

11. Corriander leaves – ¼ cup finely chopped.

12. Salt – as reqd

To grind:

1. Cinnamon stick – 1 inch

2. Cardamom – 3

PREPARATION:

1. Soak the cashew nuts in hot water for 10 mintues.

2. Cut and clean the mushrooms.

3.  Grind the ingredients under “to grind” and keep it aside.

4. Tomato puree (homemade) – Boil 2 large tomatoes in a pan until the skin loosens its intact. Cool, remove skin and grind into a smooth paste.

5. Heat 1 tbsp butter and 1 tbsp oil in a pressure cooker and toss in the grated or crushed garlic along with onions and 1 tsp salt and sauté them until the onion turns pink.

6. Add the mushrooms and the ground powder along with turmeric and chilli powder and stir it up with the onion mixture.

7. Pour in the tomato puree and blend all the ingredients together.

8. Cover and cook in medium flame until the raw smell of the powders leave the paste.

9. Grind the cashew nuts into a smooth paste and add it to the above mixture.

10. Cover and pressure cook for 3 whistles. (Add water if necessary).

11. Remove from fire and transfer to a serving bowl.  Add 1 tsp of butter and garnish with curry and corriander leaves.  Allow it to stand in room temperature for 15 minutes before serving. (with the lids on)

12. Serve hot with rice, chappathi or dosai.

13. Serves 4.

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