Spinach Vada

Ingredients:
Moong dal - 2 cups
Channa dal - 1 cup
Rice - 1/2 cup
Spinach - 1 bunch
Ginger - a small piece
Green Chilles 3-4
Hing a small pinch
Salt 1 tbsp.
Cooking Oil for frying

Method:
Soak rice and dals for 1 hour in water. Grind ginger, green chilles, hing, salt and the soaked dhal coarsely. Add finely chopped spinach and make small balls.Deep fry in oil. Serve hot with sauce or chutney.

Rasmalai

Ingredients:
Milk - 1 1/2 litre
White Vinegar - 3 tbsp.
Sugar - 3 cups
Flour (Maida) 2 tbsp.
Crushed Green Cardamoms - 1 tsp.
Pista - 10-12 nos.

Method:
1. Boil milk and cool it.
2. Add vinegar to the milk, slowly little by little and keep stirring.
3. Filter the mixture using a thin cloth and squeeze out the water.
4. Place the cheese (paneer) on a board and while still hot, knead it till no granules are left.
5. Repeat the process after adding the flour to it.
6. Make small balls from the mixture and flatten it.
7. Make thin sugar syrup. In a small bowl mix little flour with water and add this to the boiling sugar syrup.
8. Add crushed cardamoms to the syrup.
9. Add the rasmalais to the sugar syrup. Garnish with grated pistas.

Dal Payasam

Ingredients:
Moong Dal (lentil) - 1 cup
Coconut - 1/2
Jaggery - 2 cups (grated)
Cardamom powder - 1 tsp.
Cashewnuts - 1/4 cup
Raisins - 1/4 cup
Ghee

Method:
1. Wash and drain the dal. Fry it in hot ghee for 2-3 mins. Keeo aside.
2. Fry the cashews and raisins in ghee and keep aside.
3. Cut 5-6 coconut rings and chop it further to small pieces. Fry it in ghee and keep aside.
4. Grate the remaining coconut and grind it with 1 cup hot water.
5. Drain and reserve the coconut milk. This will be thicker.
5. Again add 1 cup hot water to the ground and drained coconut and grind.
6. Squeeze the milk out and reserve in a separate bowl from the previous.
7. Add this second milk to the fried dal and pressure cook it.
8. In the meantime, boil 1- 1/2 cup water and add the jaggery to it.
9. Boil it till the liquid obtains a thick consistency. Pour this into the boiled dal mixture and stir well.
10. Cook for a few mins. Add cardamom pwd. and the fried cocunut pieces, cashews and raisins.
11. Keep strring all the time. Add the thick coconut milk and mix well. Remove from heat and serve hot.
12. It tastes great if eaten cold too.

Vegetable Kofta

Ingredients:
Potatoes - 6 big nos.
Carrots - 3 cups (sliced)
Onions - 3 nos. (sliced finely)
Garlic - 1 cloves (crushed)
Ginger - 1 inch piece (chopped)
Cinnamon pwd, Cloves pwd, turmeric pwd. - 1 tsp. each
Tomatoes - 2 nos. (pureed)
Chilli pwd. - 1/4 tsp.
Salt and Black pepper
Flour for coating, Oil for deep frying
For Garnishing - 4 tbsp. thick cream and chopped fresh corriander leaves.

Method:
1. Cook the potatoes and carrots and mash them up. Mix salt and pepper to taste. Reserve the vegetable stock.
2. Form the mixture into small balls, coat with flour and deep fry in hot oil till golden brown.
3. Keep it aside. Fry onions in oil till golden brown. Add ginger, garlic, cloves, cinnamon, turmeric and a little water.
4. Cook for 2 mins. Add the tomato puree and simmer till it forms a thick sauce.
5. Then add the vegetable stock, pepper, salt and chilli powder and bring to boil.
6. Place the cooked koftas in the sauce and simmer for some time. Add the cream just before serving and garnish with corriander leaves.

Navaratan Curry

Ingredients:
100 grams (4 oz.) french beans.
100 grams (4 oz.) carrots
100 grams (4 oz.) potatoes
100 grams (4 oz.) cauliflower
100 grams (4 oz) capsicums
100 grams (4 oz) paneer
100 grams (4 oz.) cashewnuts
100 grams (4 oz.) raisins
100 grams (4 oz.) green peas
2 tomatoes
1 teacup curd
4 tablespoons ghee
Ghee for deep frying
Salt and sugar to taste
Pineapple pieces and few cherries for decoration.
For Masala Paste
6 cloves garlic
2 green chillies
4 kashmiri chillies
1 inch piece ginger
2 teaspoons coriander seeds
1 teaspoons cumin seeds
1 teaspoon jeera
3 cardamoms

Method:
• Cut the french beans, carrots and potatoes into small cubes.
• Cut the cauliflower into big pieces
• Boil the french beans, carrots, cauliflower and green peas
• Deep fry the potatoes in ghee
• Cut the paneer into small cubes and deep fry in ghee
• Cut the capsicums into long strips
• Grind the tomatoes with very little water
• Whip the curds
• Heat the ghee in a vessel and fry the paste for a little time
• Add the tomatoes and curds and fry again for a few minutes
• Add the vegetables, cashewnuts, raisins, paneer pieces, salt and sugar
• Cook few minutes
• Decorate with pineapple pieces and cherries

Very tasty curry for rotis,naans and parathas.

Tomato Soup

Ingredients:
1½ lb ripe tomatoes,chopped
1 tbsp chopped lemon grass
2 curry leaves
2" fresh ginger,peeled & chopped
1 tsp salt
4 fl oz water
4 fl oz single cream
1 pt milk
1 tsp ground roasted cumin seeds
pinch ground black pepper
2 tsps lime or lemon juice
1 tbsp chopped coriander leaves

Method:
Put the tomatoes,lemon grass, curry leaves,ginger, salt and water into a saucepan and bring to the boil. Lower the heat, cover and simmer gently for 15 minutes.
Uncover, increase the heat and simmer more rapidly for another 15 minutes.Puree in a liquidiser then sieve. Add the cream, milk, cumin seed, black pepper and the lime or lemon juice. Stir together well and reheat gently without boiling. Serve garnished with freshly chopped coriander.

Cauliflower Curry

Ingredients:
Cauliflower - 3 cups (in flowerets)
Peeled and cubed potatoes - 2 cups
Oil - 4 tablespoons
Coriander leaves - 1 tablespoon
Rasam powder - 2 teaspoon
Cummin seeds - 1 teaspoon
Salt - 1 teaspoon
Sugar - 1 teaspoon
Turmeric powder - 1/4 teaspoon
Hing powder - 1/4 teaspoon
Onion - 2
Green chillies - 2
Capsicum - 1
Ginger - 1 cm

Method:
Chop all vegetables. Heat three tablespoons oil in a kadai, add the cummin seeds and hing powder. When the cummin seeds splutter add the onions, capsicum, green chillies and ginger into the hot oil and fry till the onion turns golden. Add tomatoes and fry till it becomes mushy. Add cauliflower, potatoes and turmeric powder, fry a bit, add salt, sugar and quarter cup of water. Cover and cook till the vegetables are cooked and the curry is dry. Add the rasam powder, coriander leaves and the remaining one tablespoon of oil-fry till you get a lovely aroma. Remove and serve piping hot with rotis or rice.

Hot Kachori

Ingredients:
For cover:
1 1/2 cup plain flour
3 tbsp. oil
salt to taste
cold water to knead dough
For filling:
1 cup yellow moong dal washed and soaked for 1/2 hour
1 tsp. garam masala
1 tsp. red chilli powder
1/2 tsp. dhania (coriander) powder
1/2 tsp. coriander seeds crushed coarsely
1/2 tsp. fennel (saunf) seeds crushed coarsely
1/2 tsp. cumin seeds
1/2 tsp. mustard seeds
1 tbsp. coriander leaves finely chopped
salt to taste
2-3 pinches asafoetida
1 tbsp. oil
oil to deep fry
1 tbsp. plain flour for patching

Method:
For cover:
Mix flour, salt and oil, knead into soft pliable dough.
Keep aside for 30 minutes.
For filling:
Put plenty of water to boil. Add dal.
Boil dal for 5 minutes, drain.
Cool a little. Heat oil in a heavy pan.
Add all seeds whole and crushed allow to splutter.
Add asafoetida, mix. Add all other ingredients.
Mix well. Do not smash the dal fully.
But enough to make the mixture hold well.
Remove from fire, cool.
Divide into 15 portions.
Shape into balls with greased palms.
Keep aside.

Next steps:
Make a paste with water, of flour for patching.
Keep aside.
Take a pingpong ball sized portion of dough.
Knead into round. Roll into 4" diam. round.
Place one ball of filling at centre.
Pick up round and wrap ball into it like a pouch.
Break off excess dough carefully.
Do not allow cover to tear.
Press the ball with palm, making it flattish and round.
Repeat for 4-5 kachories.
Deep fry in hot oil, on low flame only.
If the kachori get a hole anywhere, apply some paste.
Return to oil and finish frying.
Turn and repeat for other side.
Fry till golden and crisp. Small bubbles must appear over kachori.
Drain and serve hot with green and tamarind chutneys.

Making time: 1 hour (excluding soaking and cooling times)
Makes: 10-12 pieces
Shelf life: 2-3 days

Note: Take care to fry on low. Hurried frying will result in soggy and oily kachories.

Vaangi Baath

Ingredients:
1 long purple brinjal, cut into large pieces
1 1/2 cup raw rice, washed and cooked such that the
grains of rice remain seperate
5 red chillies
6 peppercorns
1/2 tsp turmeric
4 tbsp ghee(clarified butter)
4 cloves
Salt to taste
1 tsp urad dal
1" cinammon
1 1/2 tsp coriander seeds
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
2 green chillies
1 tsp channa dal
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp oil for frying the masala
1/2 cup sour buttermilk or 2 tsp lemon juice

Method:
Fry in the 1 tsp oil 4 out of 5 red chillies, turmeric,cloves,
cinammon, cumin, coriander and peppercorns.
Powder them using a coffee grinder and set aside.
Heat the ghee in a pan and add the mustard seeds, red chilli,
green chillies, urad dal and channa dal.
When the seasoning is almost done, add the brinjal pieces
and fry till the brinjal is done.
Now add the buttermilk and mix well.
Add the powdered masala and mix.
Add salt to taste.
Bring to a boil and remove.
Mix this with the cooked rice and heat through.
Serve hot.

Methi Pulao

Ingredients:
2 bunches of Methi leaves
1 pod of Garlic
1 piece of Ginger
1 bunch of Coriander leaves
6 Green Chillies
4 Cardamoms
2-3 Cloves
Cinnamon pieces
3 Onions
3 Tomatoes
2 cups of Rice
Salt

Method:
Grind the garlic, ginger, coriander leaves, green chillies, cardamom, cloves, cinnamon and one of the three onions to a smooth paste. Keep it aside.
Heat oil in a vessel. Then fry the two chopped onions. When they turn brownish, add the ground paste and fry well till the oil separates.
Add the chopped tomatoes and fry for some more time. Now add the methi leaves and some water and cook till the mixture is pulpy.
Next add four cups of water and then the two cups of rice (the water should be double the quantity of rice) and add salt. Bring to boil and then cook on a low flame. Add a knob of butter when the rice is cooking. Cook on low flame until done.