Sooji Halwa - Variety 1

My mom adds milk to this halwa other add water. I made this my friend who was travelling with kids. If you add milk or water you have to refrigerate it. So made this only with ghee so that it stays good for  3 to 4 days. 

Ingredients:

Sooji or upma rava 1 cups

Ghee  1 and 1/2 cups

Sugar 1 cups

(adjust accordingly)

Elachi powder 1/2 teaspoon

Raisins and cashews handful

Preparation:

1. Heat a pan and turn it low flame add 4 teaspoons of ghee and add the rasins and cashews. After they slightly change color add the sooji to it.

2. When sooji starts to turn golden color.  Add  sugar and mix well.

3.Add the some ghee and mix well.Add cardamom powder and  mix well.  Add the remaining ghee and mix well.

4.Keep stirring the mixture on a medium flame until you get a consistency. 

Garnish with ghee fried rasins and cashews (optional)

Dosakai Pappu

I had guests coming to my home so cooked plain dal for sambar and dal . Then I added the dosakai pieces and taste was awesome.  You can cook  dosakai and dal together in cooker also.

Ingredients:

Toor Dal  1/2 cup

Dosakai or 

Yellow cucumber  1 medium sized

Garlic cloves 2

Turmeric  1 pinch

Urad dal  1 teaspoon

Mustard seeds  1/2 teaspoon

Red Chilli  2 

Hing 2 pinches

Red Chilli Powder 1/2 teaspoon

(adjust accordingly)

Curry Leaves 6 to 8

Oil 2 teaspoons

Salt as needed

Preparation:

1. Wash the dal and put the dal in the pressure cooker or a pan. After it is cooked keep it aside. Cut cucumber and garlic into pieces. Taste the cucumber  and seeds some times the seeds are bitter then discard them.

2. Heat a pan add oil after oil is hot add urad dal,  mustard seeds, red chillies, garlic pieces, curry leaves and hing.  When mustard seeds spulter and dal changes to golden color . Add the dosakai pieces and keep stiring until they are soft and cooked . This takes about 5 to 10 minutes in medium flame.

 3. Add the dal ,tumeric powder ,salt and red chilli powder and cook  until to get the desired consistency.  If you want dal softer and thinner add water and cook for more time.

Menthi Dal Variety 1 or Menthi Kura podi pappu

Ingredients:

Toor Dal  1/2 cup

Menthi leaves 1 bunch

Turmeric  1/4 teaspoon

Green chillies 2

Urad dal  1/2 teaspoon

Mustard seeds  1/2 teaspoon

Red Chilli  2 

Hing 2 pinches

Curry Leaves 6 to 8

Oil 2 teaspoons

Salt as needed

Preparation:

1. Cut menthi leaves into small pieces. In a pan add water after water is heated add the menthi leaves and dal and cook the dal is cooked. The dal should not  become very soft. 

2. Drain the excess water .

3. Heat a pan add oil after oil is hot add urad dal,  mustard seeds, red chillies, curry leaves and hing.

4. When mustard seeds spulter and dal changes to golden color . Add the dal ,salt and cook for 2 minutes.

Magai Pappu or Amchur pieces dal

Ingredients:

Toor Dal  1 cup

Dry Mango pieces   10

(In US amchur pieces )

Turmeric  1/4 teaspoon

Green chillies 2

Urad dal  1 teaspoon

Mustard seeds  1/2 teaspoon

Red Chilli  2 

Hing 2 pinches

Red Chilli Powder 1/2 teaspoon

(adjust accordingly)

Curry Leaves 6 to 8

Oil 2 teaspoons

Salt as needed

Preparation:

1. Heat a pan or kadai and add the toor dal and  dry roast till you get a nice aroma. Ensure that the dal does not get dark.

2. Wash the dal and put the dal in the pressure cooker or a pan, add the dry mango,green chillies and tumeric . Add 2  and 1/2 cups of water and cook until the dal is fully cooked.

3. Heat a pan add oil after oil is hot add urad dal,  mustard seeds, red chillies, curry leaves and hing. 

4. When mustard seeds spulter and dal changes to golden color . Add the dal ,salt and red chilli powder and cook for 2 minutes. If you want dal softer and thinner add water and cook for more time.

Onion Uttapam

Ingredients:

Dosa batter 4 cups

Onions 2

Green chilli 3

Ginger 2 inch piece

Fresh Coriander leaves

 

Preparation

Click the link below to learn how to prepare dosa batter

1. Cut Onions, ginger ,coriander leaves and green chillies into small pieces.

2. Heat a your non-stick pan or tawa after it is heated turn it into medium low flame. Use a round serving spoon to spread the batter thick  into 6 inch round on the top of batter spread the vegetables.

3. Spread the oil on the sides of uttapam . Cover it with a lid ,after 5 minutes or when it is light brown remove the lid and turn the Uttapam on the other side a spatula.

 

4. When it is cooked on both sides flip it over to the first side and after a half minute serve with peanut chutney or cocunut chutney or tomato cutney, podi or sambar.

Menthi Pudina Pickle

Ingredients:

Menthi Kura or Menthi leaves 1 bunch

Pudina 2 bunch

Red chilli powder 1/4 cup

Turmeric powder 1/4 teaspoon

Oil 1/2 cup
Red chillies 2
Mustard seeds 1/2 teaspoon

Salt as needed

Preparation:

1. Wash pudina and menthi leaves. I have use the whole menthi bunch as it has lot of fiber in it. You can use only menthi leaves if you want to.

2. Heat a pan and add 2 teaspoons of oil add the menthi kura to it . Add the pudina leaves to it.

3. After the pudina leaves and menthi leaves and stem change the color. Put them in mixie or blender and make it into a smooth paste.

4. Heat the same pan and add 2 teaspoons of oil and out the paste in it. When the paste thickness add salt and tumeric powder. 

5. Add red chilli powder and mix well.

6. Heat a pan add the remaining oil add red chilli cut in three halves , mustard seeds and hing or inguava to oil and after oil is heated add to the pickle bowl and mix well.

Cabbage Pakodi Curry

You can use onions instead of cabbage for pakodi. I have made this for pooja. In pooja we donot use onions so I made this with cabbage.

Ingredients:

Cabbage 1/2 piece of big cabbage

Ground nuts 1 cup

Red chilli powder 1/2 teaspoon

Oil 4 teaspoons

Salt as needed

For Pakodi or Pakoras:

Cabbage 1/2 piece of full

Besan 2 cups

Coriander powder 1 teaspoon

Red chilli powder 1 teaspoon

Oil for frying

Salt as needed

Preparation for pakoras or pakodi:

1. Cut cabbage into small pieces. I used processor to cut them.

2. In a bowl add besan ,water ,salt, red chilli powder and coriander powder. The batter should be thin.  If it is add besan to it.

3. Add the cabbage pieces to bowl and mix well.

4. Heat a pan after oil and after oil is heated add little besan cabbage batter to the oil and fry them.

  

5. After they are uniformly fried and turn to golden color. Serve with chutney or ketchup.

Preparation:

1. Cut cabbage into small pieces .

2. Heat a pan and add the remaining oil. Add the ground nuts and fry. Keep them aside.

3. Add the remaining oil to the pan after it is heated add the cabbage pieces and fry till they change the color.  Add the red chilli powder and tumric mix well.

4. In a large bowl add add pakora or pakodi , add the cabbage pieces, pakodis or pakoras and groundnut pieces and mix well.

Add salt  and mix well.