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.