Steamed Okra Fry

Ingredients:

Okra (Bendakayalu) - 15 tender
Red Chilli Powder
Salt
Oil

Method:

• Wash okra and wipe off with paper towel. Trim the ends and slit vertically.
• Arrange them on a Microwaveable plate like corelle and cover with another plate and microwave for 5 mins high.
• Now sprinkle some chilli powder, salt and oil on every okra, as per your taste.
• Microwave again for 2 mins without covering the plate.

That's it! Okra dish is ready to serve with hot rice/chapati, in less than 10 mins.

Brinjal Pickle

This is garlic enriched pickle generally made with Nela Mulakkaya - Yellow color Brinjal, which is little hard and crunchier than normal brinjal. But since this is rare to find, we can do with normal brinjals too.Ingredients:

Brinjals (Gutti Vankayalu) - 8 small & tender
Garlic - 10 small pods
Pickle Red Chilli Powder - 2 Tbsp
Salt ~
Oil - 2 Tbsp

Method:

• Wash brinjals and wipe off the water with a clean cloth or paper towel. Air dry them for 15 mins. Cut them into medium size chunks.
• Grind garlic into paste.
• Add Brinjal chunks, garlic paste, chilli powder, salt, oil in a dish and mix well.
• Keep it in an air tight container. It takes about 6 hrs to get ready.

Serve with steaming white rice & ghee.

Ravva Laddu

Ingredients:

Sooji/Semolina - 1 1/2 Cup
Coconut grated - 1 1/2 Cup
Ghee - 2 Tbsp
Sugar - 1 Cup
Water - 1/4 cup
Almonds + Cashews - 10

Method:

• Heat 1 tbsp ghee in a soup pan and fry sooji in low flame until u get a nice aroma. (But don't over fry it). Transfer it into a bowl.
• Heat another tbsp of ghee and fry chopped almonds & cashews. You can use electric chopper/grinder.
• When they are done, add coconut and fry until you get nice aroma, sweety smell. (But again don't over fry it).
• Add the above sooji to this and mix finely. Transfer all this mixture into bowl again.
• Now add sugar and water. Boil it until you get nearly one string consistency.
• Now switch off the stove and pour the above mixture.
• Mix it well and allow to cool.
• When it is warm enough to touch, make this into small balls. (I got 15)

Thats it! Delicious yet easy sweet is ready!!

Air dry them and store in air tight container.

For this sweet, don't have to use more ghee. So, NO Guiltysss, MORE Happysss :-)

Semiya Halwa (Vermicelli sweet)

This is one of the sweets my mom specialized in.

Ingredients:

Semiya (vermicelli) - 1 cup
Milk + Water - 2 cup
Sugar - 3/4 cup
Ghee - 2 tbsp
Cashews & Raisins - fried in ghee

Method:

• Fry vermicelli in little ghee under low-med flame till you get nice aroma and also golden color.
• Simultaneously, boil milk + water in soup pan.
• Add fried vermicelli to the boiling milk, stir and allow it to cook completely. Cooking hardly takes 3-5 mins.
• Cook completely but not overcook.
• Now, add sugar and stir continuously till this mixture gets thickened. This hardly takes 8-10 mins.
• Add ghee, fried cashews and raisins. Mix again.
• Pour this mixture in a ghee greased plate and allow it to air dry.
• When its almost dry, cut it into desired shape and allow to dry completely.
• Now separate the pieces and transfer into a container.

That's it! Simple yet Rich tasty sweet is ready!

Serve immediately since no one can wait to taste it!

You can preserve them for few more days in refrigerator.

Spicy Pongal

Ingredients:
Rice - 1 cup
Moong dal - 1/2 cup
Pepper seeds - 8 - grounded
Ginger - 1/2 inch - Chopped finely
Green chillies - 2 long - cut into thin circles
Curry leaves - 1 sprig
Zeera - 1 tsp
Oil - 2 tsp
Ghee - 1/2 tbsp
Salt
Water - 3 cups

Method:

• Heat oil in a steel vessel and do the seasoning with zeera and curry leaves.
• Add ginger, chillies, pepper powder and saute.
• Now add pre-washed rice and dal mixture to this.
• Add water, salt and ghee.
• Put this vessel in pressure cooker and cook as you cook rice for 3 whistles.

You can do directly in Pressure Cooker/Pan also.

Serve this hot spicy pongal as it is or w/coconut chutney/pickle/rasam/chilli powder mix.

One of my friends in California served this with Red chilli powder mixture. She did this with red chilli powder mixed with salt, lemon juice and mustard zeera seasoning.

Pappu Chaaru (Sweet Lentil Soup)

No vegetables left with you except onions? No problem, now also you can do a mouth watering dish!

Ingredients:
Toor Dal - 1/2 cup
Drumsticks - 6 pcs frozen (optional)
Onions - 2 med (sliced)
Garlic - 10 pods
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Zeera - 1 tsp
Curry leaves - 2 sprigs
Green chillies - 4
Red chillies - 3
Hing
Tamarind - small lemon size
Sugar / Jaggery - 1 and 1/2 tbsp
Oil - 1 tbsp
Ghee / Butter - 1/2 tbsp
Corriander leaves - Little (optional)
Salt

Method:

• Pressure cook toor dal with 1:2 water.
• Heat oil in a soup pan and do the seasoning with mustard, zeera, chillies, curry leaves and hing.
• Add garlic and saute. Then add onions, salt and thawed drumsticks. Saute till onions turn transparent and you get good flavor from them.
• Now add mashed dal, tamarind pulp, sugar and water.
• Bring the mixture to boil and look for consistency.
• Taste for salt and sugar, and adjust accordingly.
• Finally add ghee and corriander and close with lid to condense the flavors.

That's it! Flavorful Pappu Chaaru is ready to serve with white rice/pongal/curd rice.

Pappu chaaru with Fresh Home-made Butter... umm... it ROCKS!

We used to eat all the onions and garlic with curd rice if my mom is not near by! :*)
Ofcourse, after seeing that, she used to scold us since we ate all without leaving it to others ;)

Chana fry

Ingredients:

Carrots - 2 cups Diced
Chana dal - 1/2 cup
Grated Coconut - 1/4 cup (fresh/frozen)
Green Chillies - 3
Red chillies - 2
Garlic - 6 cloves
Mustard seeds - 2 tsp
Urad dal - 2 tsp
Zeera - 1 tsp
Curry leaves - 1 sprig
Oil - 1 tbsp
Salt

Method:

• Pressure cook Chana dal with just enough water until its tender but not mushy. Drain if any water.
• Cook diced carrots in microwave until they are tender.
• Heat oil and do the seasoning with the above mentioned ingredients like mustard, zeera, urad dal, red chillies, green chillies, curry leaves and garlic.
• Add the carrots and salt and saute them for 1 min.
• Now add the chana dal and fry another min.
• Now finally add grated coconut and fry until the aroma comes from it, like 1 more min.
  

Thats it! Simple and delicious, colorful and healthful Carrot dish is ready to serve.

You can do this dish with either Chana dal or Carrots or both.

Hey, if you end up with more drained water from chana dal, don't worry, you can make Senaga kattu ( like dal rasam).

Preserve the above water in a dish. To this you can add water if its too thick for a rasam consistency. Boil it if you add extra water. Add salt and season with zeera, red and green chillies, curry leaves and garlic. You can serve this with white rice. This really tastes awesome with nice flavor of garlic.

Simple Carrot Rice

Ingredients:
Rice - 1 cup
Carrots - 4
Onion - 1/2
Zeera pwd - 1/2 tsp
Coriander pwd - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric - 1/2 tsp
MTR Puliyogare pwd - 1/2 tbsp
Mustard - 1 tsp
Zeera - 1 tsp
Curry leaves - 1 sprig
Green chillies - 2
Red chillies - 2
Oil
Salt


Method:

• Cook rice with double the water, little salt and oil. Fluff with fork and keep aside till it become warm.
• In the mean while, heat oil in the pan and do the seasoning with mustard, zeera, curry leaves, red and green chillies. Add coarsely chopped onions, turmeric and salt. Saute it till onions become transparent.
• Add grated carrots and fry under med high for couple of mins. Add all the above spicey powders. Do not overcook carrots. Leave it bit crispy.
• Now, the final step follows... add the cooked rice and mix nicely. Garnish it with fresh coriander or onions.
  

Enjoy as it is warm or with your favourite kurma and raitha as we did :)

I did Mixed Veg Kurma with baby potatoes (really good stuff), carrots, peas and corn.

This is my first entry to JFI-Rice hosted by Sharmi of Neivedyam. Hope she will accept it!

Spinach with Garlic and Methi

As we know, Spinach is a rich source of vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin E, vitamin K, magnesium, and several vital antioxidants. For this beautiful green Spinach, the addition of Garlic and Methi seeds enhace its flavor which you can't stop licking it before serving ;)


Ingredients:
Spinach - 1 1/2 bunches
Mustard - 1 tsp
Zeera - 1 tsp
Curry leaves - 1 sprig
Methi seeds - 1 tsp
Garlic - 3 pods
Onion - 1
Tomato / Puree - 2 Tbsp
Green Chilly - 1
Zeera pwd - 1/4 tsp
Coriander pwd - 1/4 tsp
Chilli pwd - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric Pwd - 1/2 tsp
Garam masala - 1/4 tsp
Oil
Salt

Method:

• Heat oil in pan and do the seasoning with mustard, zeera, methi, curry leaves, chilly and garlic. Add the chopped onions and saute till transparent. Put the turmeric powder and stir.
• Add the chopped spinach and cook until it is 3/4th done.
• Add all the above mentioned spice powders and saute once.
• Now, add the tomato and cook by covering under medium heat.

That's it! Hot FLAVORFUL Spinach Curry is ready to serve with rice :)

PS: When cooked, the volume of spinach is decreased by three quarters.

Ridge gourd peel fry (Beera pottu vepudu)

This is my mom's recipe which we used to eat in our childhood. I remembered suddenly after these many years and so I started doing this... This came simply superb. Besides this, my mom used to make curry and chutney with this peel. I need to do them sometime later. Meanwhile, enjoy this recipe :)


Ingredients:
Peel of ridgegourd
Garlic pods
Mustard seeds
Zeera
Urad dal
Green chillies
Red chillies
Curry leaves
Salt
Oil

Method:

• Wash the peel and grind coarsely with green chillies and some salt without using water.
• Strain the water if u get any from it.
• Heat the oil in the pan and do the seasoning with mustard, zeera, red chillies, urad dal, curry leaves and garlic.
• Then add the grinded peel and fry until it just changes the color from light green to dark green or little brown.

That's it, tasty peel fry is ready! Enjoy with hot rice along with ghee.