Avocado Chutney

Ingredients:
2 - Avocado
2 - Green Chillies, Chopped
2 Table Spoons - Chopped Cilantro
2-3 Table Spoons - Leomon Juice
1 - Chopped Onion, Optional
Salt per your taste

Tadka:
1 Table Spoon - Oil / Ghee
Mustard Seeds
Urad Dal
1 - Red Chilli
Hing
5- Curry Leaves, Chopped

Procedure:
1. Cut avocado into half and remove the seed. Scoop the halves and take out the inner portion.

2. Mash the inner portion of the avocado.
3. Add salt, green chillies, cilantro, onions, lemon juice and mix well.
4. Add tadka at the end.
5. This goes well with Dosa and Chapaties.

Palak Rava Idli

Ingredients:
100 grams - Palak
2 Cups - Sooji Rava
5 - Green Chillies [Adjust per your taste]
2 Cups - Sour Curd
10 - Cashew Nuts Pieces [Optional]
10 - Curry Leaves, Chopped
1 Tea Spoon - Jeera
1 TableSpoon - Oil / Ghee
Salt As per your taste
1/8th Tea Spoon -  Eno Salt / Baking Soda
1 Cup - Carrot cubes,  Green Peas, Sweat Corn [Optional]

Makes 20 - 24 Idli's

Procedure:
1. Heat oil in a pan, add jeera.
2. Add cashew nuts and when cashew nuts turn light brown, add curry leaves.
3. Add Sooji Rava and mix well. Keep the stove on a medium flame and stir in between.
4. When sooji rava turns light brown, switch off the stove and let it cool.

5. Grind palak and green chillies along with some water.
6. Add this puree, curd and salt into sooji rava and mix well.
7. Keep this Palak idli batter aside for 20 - 30 minutes.

8. Grease your idli plates and place some carrot cubes, green peas and sweat corn on these plates.

9. After 20 - 30 minutes, add eno salt / baking soda to the palak idli batter and mix well.
10. Pour laddle full of idli batter into the idli pates and steam cook them for 10 minutes.
11. Serve hot idli's with Coconut chutney. OR Kids prefer eating it as is with out chutney, just smear some ghee on the idli's and serve.

Note: As Spinach has some salt in it, taste the batter and add salt accordingly.

Bread Upma

Ingredients
6 Slices - Bread
1 - Big Onion, Chopped
1 Table Spoons - Lemon Juice
2 - Tomatoes, Chopped
Salt as per your taste

Tadka:
Mustard Seeds
Urad Dal
Chana Dal
1 - Red Chillies
3 Table Spoons - Peanuts / CashewNuts
3 - Green Chillies, Chopped
10 - Curry Leaves

Oil - 3 Table Spoons

Procedure:
1. Cut edges of the bread (Optional) and cut the white portion of the bread into 1 inch cubes.

2. Heat oil in a pan and add tadka, add tadka ingredients in the order mentioned in tadka ingredients section.
3. After tadka is done, add onions and salt to it.

4. After onions turn brown, add tomatoes. After the tomatoes soften and the water is evaporated, add bread and sprinkle some water and mix well.
5. After 2 minutes, the bread will be fried.
6. Mix again and add lemon juice and garnish with cilantro.
7. Switch off the stove and cover the pan with a lid.
8. After 2 minutes, mix well and serve bread upma.

Beerakaya Dosa / Ridge Gourd Dosa

Ingredients:
1 Cup - Rice
3 Cups - Ridge Gourd, Cut into 1 inch cubers
4 - Green Chillies
1 Tea Spoon - Jeera
Salt as per your taste
2 Table Spoons - Chopped Cilantro
1/8th Tea Spoon - Hing
Oil for dosa preparation




Procedure:
1. Soak rice for atleast 2 hours.

2. Drain the water and grind the rice.
3. To this add ridge gourd pieces, chillies, salt and grind again.
4. Take out the batter and add cilantro, jeera, hing and mix well.
5. The batter is ready to prepare dosa.

Note: Do not add extra water while girding, as ridge gourd has water in it and that is good enough to get dosa batter consistency.  Add water only if required.

Sponge Dosa

Ingredients:
1 Cup - Urad Dal
3 Cups - Rice
1 Cup - Thick Poha / Atukulu
1 1/2 Tea Spoon - Salt [Or as per your taste]
1 Tea Spoon - Jeera

Procedure:

Batter Procedure:
1. Soak urad dal and rice for atleast 6 hours.
2. Soak Poha for 1 hour.
3. Grind all these ingredients with water and keep the batter aside for fermentation for atleast 8 hours.
- Consistency of sponge dosa batter is same as the consistency of regular dosa batter.
4. After the batter ferments, mix the batter well along with salt and jeera.

Sponge Dosa Batter

Dosa Preparation:
1. Heat dosa pan and later put it on a medium to low flame.
2. Pour 1-1/2 to 2 laddles full of batter onto the pan and spread the dosa on the pan. Dosa should be 1/4th inch thick.
3. Add little oil on the circumference of dosa and close the pan with a lid.
4. After a minute, there will be holes on top of the dosa and will look spongy.
5. Make sure crust is formed at the bottom of dosa, after which take out dosa onto a plate.

                       DOSA - TOP SIDE                                                             DOSA - BOTTOM SIDE

6. Serve dosa with Bombay Chutney (Chana dal Chutney).

Note:
You need not fry dosa on the other side. One side of the dosa will have crust and the other side will be soft and spongy.

Bombay Chutney / ChanaDal Chutney - For Dosa

Ingredients:

1/2 Cup - Chanadal

6 - Green Chillies [Or adjust per your taste]

1 Tea Spoon - Jeera

2-3 - Garlic Cloves

1 TableSpoon - Thick Tamarind Pulp

Salt as per your taste

2 Pinches - Turmeric

1 TableSpoon - Oil

1 Cup - Water

Procedure:

1. Heat Oil in a pan and fry chana dal until it turns light brown.

2. Add Green chillies and then add water. 

3. Let the water boil.

4. Check if chanadal is cooked - take 1 chana dal between your index finger and thumb and press it. If the chanadal breaks into two, it indicates canadal is cooked.

Cooked Chanadal

5. Switch off the stove and cool it.
6. Grind this along with salt, turmeric, garlic, tamarind and jeera.
7. This goes well with Sponge Dosa. Can also be served with regular dosa.

Pesara Pachadi with Raw Mango / MoongDal Mango Chutney

Ingredients:
1 - Medium Size Raw Mango, Cut into small pieces
1/2 Cup - MoongDal
6 - Red Chillies
Salt as per your taste
1/8th TeaSpoon - Turmeric
1/4 TeaSpoon - Hing

Tadka:
1 Table Spoon - Oil
Mustard Seeds
Urad Dal
Hing
1 - RedChilli
Curry Leaves

Procedure:
1. Soak Moong dal and red chillies for 30 minutes.
2. Drain the water and grind the moong dal and red chillies along with mango, salt, turmeric and hing.

3. Add little water while grinding if necessary.
4. Take the chutney into a bowl and add tadka.

5. This chutney can be served with Plain rice and ghee.

Note:
1. If Raw Mango is not available, you can add 2-3 Table Spoons of Lemon Juice.

Kakarakaaya Podi / BitterGourd Powder

Ingredients:
2 - Medium Size BitterGourd, Cut into 1/2 inch pieces
6 TableSpoons - Chana Dal
2 TableSpoons - Urad Dal
2 TableSpoons - Dry Grated Coconut
1 TableSpoon - Coriander Seeds / Dhaniya
8 - Red Chillies
Lemon Size Tamarind
1/8th TeaSpoon - Methi Seeds
1/4th TeaSpoon - Hing Powder
4 TableSpoons - Oil
Salt as per your taste
1/8th TeaSpoon - Turmeric

Procedure:
1. Heat 1 Table Spoon of oil in a pan.
2. Roast  the below ingredients by adding them one after the other into the pan:
   - Methi Seeds, chana dal, urad dal, red chillies, dhaniya, grated dry coconut, hing, tamarind.
3. Switch off the stove after the above are roasted and grind them along with salt and turmeric.
4. Heat remaining 3 TableSpoons of oil in a pan and shallow fry bitter gourd pieces.
5. Once the bitter gourd pieces are fried, let them cool down and then grind them along with the above powder.
6. Serve the powder with Plain White rice and ghee.

Methi Rice

Ingredients:
2 Cups - Rice
31/2 Cups - Water
2 Cups - Chopped Methi
3 Table Spoons - Oil
1 Table Spoon - Ghee
2 - Onions, Cut long
4 - Cardamom
6 - Cloves
1 - Bay Leaf
1/2 inch Cinnamon Stick
1/4th Tea Spoon - Sha-Jeera
1 Tea Spoon - Ginger Paste
1 Tea Spoon - Garlic Paste
6 - Green Chilli, Chopped/Paste [Adjust per your taste]
Cilantro for garnishing
Salt as per your taste
2 Pinches - Turmeric
2 Table Spoon - Lemon Juice

Procedure:
1. Cook rice separately.
2. Heat oil in a pan, add sha-jeera, bay leaf, cinnamon stick, cardamom, cloves.
3. Add Ginger, garlic and green chilli paste.

4. Add onions and saute them. When the onions turn light brown, add chopped methi leaves and mix well.

5. Once methi leaves are cooked, add salt, turmeric, cooked rice and lemon juice. Switch off the stove.
6. Add ghee and mix well and garnish with cilantro.
7. Serve Methi Rice with raita or curd.

Wheat Biscuits

Ingredients:

2 Cups - Wheat Flour

2 Pinches - Salt

2 Table Spoons - Butter

Water
Oil for deep frying

Sugar Syrup:

1 Cup - Sugar

1/8th Cup - Water

1/4th Tea Spoon - Cardamom Powder [Elachi powder]

Procedure:

1. Mix wheat flour, salt and butter along with water and knead the dough thoroughly. The dough should be hard.

2. Cover the dough and keep it aside for 30 minutes.

3. After 30 minutes, knead the dough again and make it into 4 portions.

4. Heat the oil. Once the oil is hot and ready to fry, keep it in medium flame.

5. Roll the dough flat, similar to chapati. It should be 1/3rd CM thick.

6. Cut the chapati in circle shape using a bottle cap or diamond shape using a knife.

7. You can knead the remaining dough at the end and make chapati again and cut them.

8. Fry these in oil until they turn golden color.

Note: Make sure the oil is in medium flame through out the cooking time.

Sugar Syrup:

1. Add sugar and water and make thick sugar syrup.

    When the sugar syrup starts to form form, this is the indication that the syrup is ready.

Sugar Syrup

2. Add cardamom powder to the syrup and mix it.

3. Add the above prepared wheat biscuits into the sugar syrup, mix well and switch off the stove.

4. Once it cools down, you can separate the wheat biscuits and store them.

Kaju Namkeen

Ingredients:
2 Cups - All Purpose Flour
3 Table Spoons - Oil
1/2 Tea Spoon - Salt [Adjust per your taste]
1/2 Tea Spoon - Jeera
1/2 Tea Spoon - Ajwain [Vaamu]
Water
Oil for deep frying

Procedure:
1. Mix all the above dry ingredients with water and knead the dough thoroughly. The dough should be hard.
2. Cover the dough and keep it aside for 30 minutes.
3. After 30 minutes, knead the dough again and make it into 4 portions.
4. Heat the oil. Once the oil is hot and ready to fry, keep it in medium flame.
5. Roll the dough flat, similar to chapati. It should be 1/3rd cm thick.
6. Using a bottle cap and starting from one end press half of the bottle cap into the dough to make half moon shape.

7. Starting from one end to other end cut the dough in horizontally or vertically rows.

8. You can knead the remaining dough at the end and make chapati again and cut them.
9. Fry these in oil until they turn golden color.
10. If you prefer you can also add chat masala to these namkeens.

Kaju Namkeen mixed with Chat Masala

Note: Make sure the oil is in medium flame through out the cooking time.

Doodh Peda / Pala Kova - From Scratch

Ingredients:
2 Liters - Whole Milk
1/2 Cup - Sugar

Note: Use a wide and thick Pan to make kova



Procedure:
1. Boil milk in a pan on a cook top.
2. Once the milk starts to boil,  stir continuously until the milk gets thick.
3. At this point add sugar and put the stove on a medium flame.
4. After sugar is added, stir continuously and be cautious not to burn it.
5. Stir until kova starts to stick to the spatula and starts to come off the pan.
6. Once done, switch off the stove and cool it.

7. Once the kova cools down, make balls out of the kova.
    - Apply ghee to both of your hands and take some kova, make it into a ball and press flat.

Chakkalu / Tatte

Ingredients:
2 Cups - Rice Flour
2 Table Spoons - Butter
1 Table Spoon - Grated Ginger
4 - Green Chillies
10-15 - Curry Leaves
1 Table Spoons - Sesame Seeds
1 Tea Spoon - Jeera
1 Tea Spoon - Chilli Powder [Adjust per your taste]
2 Table spoons - ChanaDal
Salt Per your taste
Water
Oil for deep frying.

Procedure:
1. Soak chana dal for an hour.
2. Heat Oil on a medium flame.
3. Grind Ginger, Curry Leaves and Green Chillies coarsely.
4. Mix Rice flour, butter above paste, soaked chana dal, salt, chilli powder , jeera and sesame seeds.

5. Add little water and mix the dough.
  - Dont add too much of water otherwise chakkalu will absorb lot of oil.
  - Mix enough water that if you take some dough and make it into a ball and try to break it, it should break easily.

Chakkalu Dough

6. Make the dough into small balls (as shown) and press them flat using your fingers on a plastic paper.

Make the dough into small balls

Press the dough ball flat onto a plastic paper

7. You can press upto 8 - 10 balls onto plastic paper and fry them at once.
8. Fry them until they turn light golden color.

Dondakaaya Kobbari Pachadi / Tindora Coconut Chutney

Ingredients:
15 Pieces - Tindora
2 Table Spoons - Fresh Grated Coconut
6 - GreenChillies[Or Adjust according to your taste]
2 TableSpoons - Thick Tamarind Paste
3 - Garlic Cloves
1 - Onion Medium Size, Chopped
2 Pinches - Turmeric
Salt as per your taste
Cilantro for Garnishing
1 Table Spoon - Oil

Tadka:
1 Table Spoon - Oil
Mustard Seeds
Urad Dal
1 -Red Chilli
Few Curry Leaves

Procedure:

1. Cut each Tindora Vertically into 4 pieces.
2. Heat Oil in a Pan, add tindora, green chillies and mix them. Close the pan with a lid.
3. Once the Tindora pieces get soft, switch off the stove.
4. After the tindora pieces get to room temperature, grind them along with coconut, garlic, tamarind, salt and turmeric.
5. Take the chutney into a bowl and add chopped onions (raw onions) and mix well.
6. Add tadka to the chutney and garnish with cilantro.
7. Tindora chutney can be served with Plain Rice and Chapaties.

Beerakaaya Tomato Pachadi / Ridge Gourd Tomato Chutney

Ingredients:
2 - Ridge Gourd (Medium Size), Cut into 1 inch pieces
2 - Tomatoes, Cut into pieces
1 - Onions, Chopped
5 - Green Chillies
1 Table Spoon - Menthi Kharam
2 Pinches - Turmeric
2 Tables Spoons - Thick Tamarind Paste
Salt as per taste
2 Tea Spoons - Oil
Cilantro for garnishing

Tadka:
1 Table Spoon - Oil
Mustard Seeds
Urad Dal
Hing
Curry Leaves

Procedure:
1. Heat oil in a pan and add onions.
2. When onions become soft, add green chillies and ridge gourd pieces.
3. Mix well and cover the pan with a lid.
4. When the ridge gourd becomes soft, add tomatoes and mix well. Cover the pan with a lid.
5. When the tomatoes become soft and the water is evaporated, switch off the stove.

6. When this mixture cools down, grind along with menthi kharam, turmeric, salt and tamarind paste.
7. Take the ground chutney into a bowl and add tadka.
8. Garnish with cilantro.
9. Beerakaaya Tomato Pachadi is ready to serve. This goes well with plain White rice and Chapaties.