Dhabe ki daal

Ingredients:

1/4 cup chana dal
1/4 cup red kidney beans/rajma
1/2 cup green moong dal
2 chopped tomatoes
2 chopped onion
1 tsp cumin powder
1/2 tsp chilli powder
2 slit green chillies
1 small clove chopped garlic
1 tbsp butter
1/2 tsp dry kasuri methi leaves
1 tbsp chopped coriander leaves
1 tbsp oil
salt to taste

Method:

Soak the dals in water for about 6 hours. Drain the water and pressure cook until soft. Heat oil in a pan, add the chopped onion and green chillies. Saute until golden brown. Add the cumin powder, chilli powder, garlic, chopped tomatoes, salt and saute until the oil leaves the sides of the pan. Switch off the heat. Add this mixture to the cooked dal and cook on a low flame for 5 minutes. Heat butter in a separate pan, add the kasuri methi leaves and chopped coriander and saute for few seconds. Add this to the dal mixture and mix well. Serve with chapathis.

Serves 4

Cucumber gojju

Ingredients

1 cucumber deseeded and chopped fine
2-3 red chillies
1 tsp white sesame seeds/til
1 tsp chana dal
1 tsp urad dal
1/2 cup grated fresh coconut
Jaggery as needed
tamarind paste
salt to taste
1 tsp mustard seeds
curry leaves
1 tsp oil

Method:

Dry roast chana dal, urad dal, white til and red chillies separately. Grind into a paste (with little water)along with coconut, jaggery, tamarind and salt. Add the chopped cucumber to this ground paste and mix well. Heat oil, when hot add the mustard seeds and curry leaves. Add this to the cucumber mixture and stir until combined. Serve with rice or chapathi.

Serves 3

Baby Corn Coins

Ingredients:

1 cup sliced baby corns
1/2 cup all purpose flour/maida
1 tbsp cornflour
1 tsp ginger garlic paste
1 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp soya sauce
1 tsp chilli sauce
water as needed
salt to taste
oil to deep fry


Method:

Mix flour, cornflour, ginger garlic paste, soya sauce, chilli sauce and salt. Add water to make a thick paste. Boil the sliced baby corns in salted boiling water for 5 minutes and drain. Dip the baby corns in the flour paste and deep fry in hot oil until golden brown. Serve with ketchup.

Serves 2

NOTE: If using canned baby corn, there is no need to boil. Just slice and deep fry them.

Banana Dosa

Ingredients:

2 ripe bananas
1 cup fine rava/semolina/chiroti rava
3/4 cup wheat flour
1 1/2 cup fresh yogurt
1/2 cup jaggery
1/4 cup grated fresh coconut
pinch of soda
pinch of salt

Method:


Blend bananas, jaggery and yogurt until smooth. Add the remaining ingredients and mix well. The batter should be a fairly thick consistency. Heat tava, pour the batter and roast until golden brown on both sides. Serve hot with ghee.

Serves 4

NOTE: You can adjust the amount of jaggery according to your taste. If the batter is too thick, add more yogurt instead of water.

Pasta with mint pesto

"Pesto Sauce" is traditionally prepared using basil leaves, pine nuts, garlic and parmesan cheese. I made a slight variation and used mint leaves and walnuts instead. If you dont have basil leaves on hand, mint leaves is a good substitute.

Ingredients:

2 cups uncooked pasta(I used rotini/corkscrew pasta)
1 chopped onion
1 chopped capsicum
1/2 cup chopped mushrooms
1/2 cup baby corn, boiled and cut lengthwise

Mint Pesto:

1/2 cup mint/pudina leaves
1 tbsp roasted walnuts
1 small clove garlic
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/4 cup grated mozzarella cheese
3-4 red chillies
1/4 cup olive oil
salt

Blend all the above coarsely into a paste. Boil the pasta according to package directions. Drain and keep aside. Heat oil, add onion and saute until golden brown. Add capsicum, mushrooms and baby corn and saute for a couple of minutes. Add the pesto sauce,cooked pasta and salt. Mix well. Cook for about 2 minutes and turn off the heat. Add a dash of cream(optional) for a rich taste. Garnish with grated mozzarella.

Serves 4

Capsicum Masala

Ingredients:

1 chopped onion
1 chopped capsicum
1 tbsp roasted white til/sesame seeds
1/4 cup shredded coconut
1/4 cup milk
1/2 tsp sugar
1 tbsp oil
1 tbsp rasam powder
salt to taste

Make a paste of sesame seeds, milk and coconut . Heat oil, add onion and saute until golden brown. Add capsicum and saute some more. Add the ground paste, rasam powder, salt and sugar. Boil until it becomes a thick gravy. Serve with chapathis.

Serves 4

Shavige Uppittu (Vermicelli Upma)

Shavige is quick and easy to prepare and makes a tasty breakfast entree.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup vermicelli
4 cups water
chopped green chillies
chopped curry leaves
chopped coriander leaves
1 tsp chana dal and urad dal
1/4 cup roasted peanuts
1/4 cup shredded coconut
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
pinch of hing
pinch of turmeric
salt to taste
1 tbsp oil
1 tbsp lemon juice(optional)

Method:

Boil 4 cups of water, add the vermicelli,salt and a tsp of oil and cook until tender. Drain and keep aside. Heat oil, add the mustard seeds. When it sputters, add chana dal, urad dal, hing, green chillies,curry leaves and roasted peanuts. Add salt,coconut and vermicelli and mix well. Turn off the heat and add lemon juice. Garnish with chopped coriander.

Serves 3

Avarekalu Saaru

I am a huge fan of avarekalu (papdi lilva). I always thought that avarekalu season in bangalore was sometime during november/december. I was surprised when I found fresh avarekalu recently and had to buy some.


Ingredients:

1 cup avarekalu/papdi lilva
1 cup toor dal
1/4 cup shredded coconut
1 tbsp rasam powder
1 tsp chana dal
1 tsp cumin seeds/jeera
1 tsp dhaniya/coriander seeds
2-3 red chillies
jaggery to taste
1/2 tamarind paste
curry leaves
pinch of hing
1/2 tsp curry leaves
freshly ground black pepper(optional)
salt
1 tsp ghee


Method:

Dry roast chana dal, cumin seeds, coriander seeds and red chillies separately. Grind the spices with coconut and keep aside. Pressure cook avarekalu along with toor dal and salt. Boil rasam powder with water and tamarind paste. Add the ground mixture, jaggery, toor dal, avarekalu and salt. Boil for a couple of minutes. Heat a small kadai, add ghee. When hot, add the mustard seeds, hing, pepper, curry leaves and turn off the heat. Mix well with the saaru and serve hot with ghee and rice.

Serves 4

Methi Matar Malai

Ingredients:

1 bunch fresh methi leaves chopped
1/2 cup boiled peas
1 onion chopped
1/2 tsp ginger chopped
1/2 tsp garlic chopped
1 tsp red chilli powder
1/4 tsp amchur powder(mango powder)
1/4 tsp cinnamon powder
1/4 cup fresh cream/malai
salt to taste
pinch of sugar
1 tbsp oil

Method:

Heat oil in a pan. Add the onions and fry till translucent. Add the ginger, garlic and methi leaves. Fry for about 6-7 minutes. Add the peas, salt, sugar and chilli powder. Fry some more. Add the amchur powder and stir well. Switch off the heat. Add the cinnamon powder and garnish with fresh cream. Serve with chapathis.

Serves 4

Maddur Vada

Ingredients:

1 cup all purpose flour/maida
1 cup rice flour
1/4 cup fine sooji/chiroti rava
1 onion chopped
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/4 tsp grated ginger
4-5 green chillies chopped fine
1/4 cup dry coconut(kobri)
1 tsp hot oil/ghee
pinch of hing
salt to taste

Method:

Combine all the ingredients together. Add water and make a dough. Divide the dough into small balls and keep aside. Heat oil in a pan. Take a ball, flatten it with your hand and deep fry until golden brown. Serve as is, or with ketchup.

Makes around 20 vadas

NOTE: Fry the vadas on medium heat so it turns to a golden brown color gradually. Do not make the vadas too thick, they turn out much crispier if they are thin.

Sabudana Vada

Ingredients:

1/2 cup sabudana/sago/sabbakki
1 peeled boiled and mashed potato
3-4 chopped green chillies
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1 tbsp roasted and coarsely powdered peanuts
chopped coriander leaves
salt to taste
oil to deep fry

Method:

Soak the sabudana in water for about 2-3 hours. Drain and keep aside. Add boiled and mashed potatoes,green chillies,coriander,crushed peanuts,salt,cumin seeds and mix well. Make balls and flatten it with your hand. Heat oil in a pan, add the vadas 3 or 4 at a time and fry until golden brown. Drain on a paper towel. Serve with ketchup.

Serves 4

Nucchin Unde with Majjige Huli

Nucchin Unde

Ingredients:

1 cup toor dal
1/4 cup chana dal
5-6 green chillies
2-3 red chillies
1-2 tbsp chopped coconut bits(optional)
1/8 cup shredded coconut
1 tbsp chopped coriander leaves
1 tsp chopped curry leaves
hing
ghee
salt to taste

Soak the dals for an hour. Grind soaked dal, green chillies, red chillies, hing and salt together. Do not add too much water, it should be a thick coarse paste. Add coconut pieces, shredded coconut, coriander and curry leaves and mix well.



This is what it looks like before steaming



Steam for about 15 minutes. Let cool for 5-10 minutes and serve warm with a tsp of ghee and majjige huli or chutney.

Majjige Huli:

2 cups chopped spinach
1/4 cup chana dal
1/4 cup shredded coconut
6-7 green chillies
coriander leaves
hing
curry leaves
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 cup sour curd/yogurt
1-2 red chillies
1 tsp mustard seeds
salt to taste
1 tsp oil

Soak chana dal for an hour. Grind dal with coconut, cumin seeds, salt, hing, curry leaves and coriander leaves to a fine paste. Keep aside. Heat oil in a pan, add mustard seeds. When it sputters, add red chillies and the chopped spinach. Saute for about 5 minutes. Add the ground paste, salt, water and bring to a boil. Switch off the heat and allow to cool a bit. Add the sour curd and mix well.

Serves 4

Tomato Basil Soup

Ingredients:

5 roma tomatoes chopped
1 red onion chopped
1 small garlic clove(optional)
1/2 tsp ginger minced
1 tsp brown sugar
1/2 cup basil leaves + 1 tbsp chopped, for garnish
salt and pepper to taste
1 tbsp oil
1 tbsp cream(optional)

Method:

Heat oil in a pan, add the onion and brown sugar. Saute until the onions are caramelized. Add the ginger, garlic and saute for a minute. Add the tomatoes, salt and pepper and simmer for 20-25 minutes until the tomatoes are soft. Allow to cool. Blend the mixture along with basil leaves until smooth. Sieve through a strainer, so there are no lumps. Before serving, warm the soup and garnish with chopped basil leaves and cream.

Serves 4

Farfalle with Creamy Pesto Sauce

Ingredients:

2 cups uncooked farfalle(bowtie) pasta
1 onion
1 red bell pepper
1 green bell pepper
5-6 mushrooms sliced
1/2 cup broccoli florets
1/4 cup grated mozzarella cheese

For the pesto sauce:

1 bunch basil leaves
1 clove garlic
6-7 roasted walnuts
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
3-4 roasted red chillies
1/4 cup olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
2-3 tbsp heavy cream

Method:

Place the roasted walnuts, garlic clove, basil leaves, parmesan cheese and red chillies in a food processor and pulse until well blended. With the machine running, gradually add the olive oil and pulse again. Transfer the paste into a bowl, add salt and pepper and keep aside.

Bring 4 cups of water to a boil. Add salt and the uncooked pasta. Cook the pasta according to the package directions. Reserve 1/4 cup of the pasta water. Drain and keep aside.

Heat oil in a pan, saute onion and the bell peppers until soft. Add the brocolli and mushrooms and saute until cooked. Lower the heat and add the pesto paste, reserved pasta water and salt. Now add the cream and the cooked pasta and mix until combined. Sprinkle grated mozzarella on top and serve!



Serves 4

Khara Biscuit (Masala Cookies)

Ingredients:

1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup(1 stick) cold unsalted butter
2 tsp sugar
1 1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp chopped green chillies
1 tsp chopped curry leaves
1/4 tsp ajwain seeds or cumin seeds
4 tbsp yogurt

Method:

Mix the flour with sugar, salt and baking powder. Cut the butter into cubes and mix it in with the flour using a hand held mixer. It should be a bread crumb consistency. Add the chillies,curry leaves, ajwain seeds, yogurt and mix until the dough comes together. Roll the dough into 1/8 inch thickness. Cut into desired shape and place on a baking sheet.



Bake at 350 degrees F for about 15-16 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack.

Makes around 25 cookies

NOTE: Once the dough comes together, do not knead it too much or else the cookies are going to get hard once baked.

Potato Bonda (Bombayi Bonda)

Ingredients:

For the potato filling:

4 potatoes
3-4 green chillies chopped fine
curry leaves chopped
coriander leaves chopped
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
pinch of hing(asafoetida)
pinch of turmeric
lemon juice
salt to taste
1 tbsp oil

For the batter:

3/4 cup chana besan
1 tbsp chilli powder
1/4 cup rice flour
salt to taste
water as needed

Oil to deep fry

Method:

Wash and peel the potatoes. Remove the skin and boil them until soft. Mash and keep aside. Heat oil in a pan, when hot add the mustard seeds and allow to sputter. Add the chopped green chillies, hing, turmeric, curry leaves and saute for a minute. Add the mashed potatoes, salt and mix well. Turn off the heat and add the coriander leaves and lemon juice. Allow to cool and then divide into balls.



Sift the chana besan, rice flour, salt and chili powder together. Add water and make a thick batter. Heat oil in a deep fry pan on medium high heat. Dip the potato balls in the batter and deep fry, a few at a time. Keep turning until they turn golden brown on all sides. Drain on a paper towel. Serve as is or with chutney!





NOTE: The batter needs to be thick and does not require a lot of water. The rice flour makes it crisp.

Serves 4

Veggie Sandwich

I have had vegetarian sandwiches in restaurants, fast food joints etc, but somehow craved for more flavor. After trying out different ways, I finally came up with this recipe. One good thing about this recipe is that you can use any combination of vegetables and sauces you like. It is slightly sweet and spicy at the same time - the red bell pepper makes it sweet and the hot sauce heats things up!

Ingredients:

1 loaf italian bread
1 red bell pepper chopped
1 green bell pepper chopped
1 onion chopped
1/4 cup canned black beans, drained and washed
4-5 chopped button/portobella mushrooms
1 avocado sliced
1/2 tsp hot sauce(optional)
salt
provolone/pepper jack cheese slices
1 tomato sliced
ketchup
mayonnaise
1 tbsp oil
1 tbsp butter

Method:

Heat oil in a pan on medium high heat. Add the chopped onions and bell pepper. Saute until the onion becomes translucent. Add the black beans and mushrooms and saute until the mushrooms are soft. Add salt, hot sauce and turn off the heat. Set aside.



Slice the bread into 1/2 inch thick. Take two slices, spread ketchup on one and mayonnaise on the other. On one slice, add some of the sauteed vegetables, slice of avocado, slice of tomato and a slice of cheese. Place the other slice on top and press lightly. Heat a grill pan on medium high heat. When its hot, grill the sandwich on each side until golden brown. Spread some butter, cut into half and serve!



Serves 4

NOTE: I used the sri racha hot chilli sauce which is quite hot, a little goes a long way. You can substitute mayonnaise with butter, butter spread or pesto sauce. If you dont have a grill pan, prepare the sandwich in a normal fry pan, make sure you place another heavy pan on top of the sandwich(which is what I did).

Green Onion Gojju

Ingredients:

2 bunches of Green Onions(Eerulli hoovu)
Jaggery to taste
Salt
Tamarind
Curry leaves
Mustard seeds
Pinch of hing
1 tsp urad dal
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp sesame seeds
1/4 tsp methi seeds
4-5 red chillies
1/4 cup shredded coconut (fresh/frozen)
1 tbsp oil
Water

Method:

Roast urad dal, cumin seeds, sesame seeds, methi seeds and red chillies separately until you get a good aroma. Grind it with coconut to a paste and keep aside. Chop the green onions.



Heat oil in a pan. When hot, add the mustard seeds, hing and the green onions. Saute until the onions are soft. Add the ground paste, tamarind, jaggery, salt and water. Bring to a boil and then lower the heat and simmer for 5 mins. Turn the heat off and add curry leaves. Serve hot with chapathis or rice!

Serves 4

NOTE: You can roast the dals and red chillies, powder and store them. This powder is a base for other gojjus like onion, okra and bitter gourd(karela) gojju.

Poori with Masala Aloo

Poori

Ingredients:

1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup all purpose flour (maida)
salt
water as needed
oil to deep fry

Method:

Combine the flour and salt together. Add water gradually and make a soft dough. Cover with a wet cloth/paper towel and keep aside for about 15 mins. Make small balls of dough and roll into 6 inch circles with a rolling pin. Make sure you roll it out evenly all the way through.

Heat oil in a pan on medium high heat. Deep fry the rolled poories until golden brown. Drain on a paper towel.



Masala Aloo




Ingredients:

3 potatoes
1/4 tsp cumin powder
1/4 tsp coriander powder
pinch of hing
pinch of turmeric
1/4 tsp chilli powder
pinch of garam masala
pinch of pav bhaji masala
pinch of sugar
salt to taste
2 tbsp oil

Method:

Cut the potatoes into small cubes and boil them with salt and water. Drain and keep aside. Heat oil in a pan, add turmeric,cumin powder,coriander powder, chilli powder, sugar and salt and fry for a minute. Add the boiled potatoes and fry for few more minutes. Switch off the heat. Add garam masala, pav bhaji masala and mix well. Garnish with chopped coriander. Serve with hot pooris!

Serves 4 people

Pudina (Mint) Rice

Ingredients:

A bunch of mint leaves
2 tomatoes chopped
1 onion roughly chopped
chopped vegetables (carrot,potato,beans,peas,cauliflower)
1/2 inch ginger
1 small garlic clove
1/4 cup shredded coconut (fresh/frozen)
5-6 green chillies
1/4 tsp cardamom powder
1/4 tsp cinnamon powder(optional)
1/4 tsp clove powder(optional)
pinch of turmeric
1 1/2 cups uncooked basmati rice
2 tbsp oil
salt to taste
finely chopped coriander leaves

Method:

Grind onion, tomato, coconut, mint leaves, ginger, garlic and green chillies to a paste. Boil the vegetables with salt and water for about 5 mins. Drain and keep aside. Cook the rice in a pressure cooker with 2 cups water. After one whistle, switch off the heat. Allow to cool.

In a pan, heat oil on medium high heat. Add turmeric, cardamom, cinnamon and clove powder and fry for a minute. Add the ground paste and fry until the water evaporates, about 10-12 mins. Then add the boiled vegetables and fry for another 5 mins. Add the rice, salt and mix well. Garnish with chopped coriander and serve with raita or yogurt.

Serves 4 people.