Rava Kesari

Ingredients:
1 Cup - Soji Coarse Rava
1 Cup - Sugar
2 1/2 Cups - Milk
4 TableSpoons - Butter / Ghee
2 Pinches - Cardamom Powder/Elaichi Powder
1/2 Cup (All together) - Kismiss, Cashew Nuts Pieces and Almonds Pieces [Optional]

Procedure:
1. Take a wide pan and heat butter/ghee.
2. Add kismiss and nuts to the butter and fry them on low flame.
3. Once kismiss puffs up and the nuts start to turn light brown, add Sooji Ravi and fry it until the rava turns light brown. All this has to be done on low-medium flame and has to be sauted continuously.
4. Add milk and let the milk boil. Keep mixing in-between, so it doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan.
5. When the milk starts to boil, add sugar, cardamom powder and keep stirring. Adding sugar will dilute the dish, but keep stirring until 80% of the liquid is evaporated.
6. At this point check if the sooji is cooked, if not add more milk and cook.
7. Switch off the stove and close the pan with a lid.
8. Serve this sweet after 10 minutes.

Note: You can substitute milk with water, but the dish would taste better when made with Milk.

Coconut and Cilantro Chutney

Ingredients:
1/2 Cup - Raw Shredded Coconut
1 Bunch - Cilantro
5 - Green Chillies
1 TeaSpoon  - Lemon Juice
2 Pinches - Turmeric Powder
Salt to taste

Tadka:
Oil
Mustard Seeds
Hing
Curry Leaves
1 - Red chilli

Procedure:
1. All the ingredients cilantro, green chillies, coconut, turmeric and salt into a jar and grind them. Add little water during grinding.

2. Take this chutney into a bowl and mix lemon juice.

3. Add tadka at the end.

4. This chutney can be served with Idli, Dosa or Chapati. 

Sesame and Cucumber Chutney / Nuvvulu Dosakaya Pachadi

Ingredients:
1 - Medium Size Yellow Cucumber/ Dosakaya, Cut into small pieces
1 - Garlic Clove
2 Table Spoons - Sesame Seeds
5 - Green Chillies
Salt to taste
2 Pinches - Turmeric
1/2 TeaSpoon - Thick Tamarind Paste
Cilantro for Garnishing

Tadka:
2 TableSpoons - Oil
Mustard Seeds
Cumin
ChanaDal
Urad Dal
1 - Red Chilli
3 - Garlic Cloves, Cut into Small pieces

Procedure:
1. Add salt and Turmeric to cucumber pieces, mix them well and keep it aside.
2. Take a pan and dry fry sesame seeds.
3. Take some oil and fry the green chillies until a white layer is formed on the top of them.
4. Grind Green Chillies, garlic, sesame seeds and tamarind. Add little water if required for grinding.
5. Add this paste into cucumber pieces and mix well.
6. Prepare tadka and add it to the chutney.
7. This chutney can be served with white Rice.

Menthi Pulusu for Pongal / Methiyacha Sambar for Kichidi

Ingredients:
2 - Tomatoes, Cut into Small Pieces
2 - Onion, Cut into Small Pieces
1 Table Spoon - Thick Tamarind Pulp
2 Table Spoons - Jaggary
1 Cup - Water
Salt to taste
1 Tea Spoon - Rice Flour
Turmeric

Tadka:
2 Table Spoons - Oil

1 Table Spoon - Methi Seeds
Mustard Seeds
6 - Green Chillies

4 - Red Chillies

Curry Leaves

Note: You can also use hing during tempering/tadka instead of using onions in this dish.

Procedure:
1. Heat oil in a pan and prepare tadka.
2. Add Onion to pan and saute for few minutes.
3. Add tomato pieces, turmeric and coven the pan with a lid.
3. Once tomato is cooked, add tamarind pulp and water and let the mixture boil.
4. Add Salt, jaggary and mix well. Mix rice flour in some water and add it to the above boiling mixture and let it boil well.
5. Serve this dish along with Kichidi/Pongal.

Capsicum Onion Pakodi

Ingredients:
2 - Medium Size Capsicum, Cut into thin long pieces
2 - Medium Onions, Cut into thin long pieces
3 - Green Chillies, Cut into thin long pieces
2 Stems - Curry Leaves
1 Tea Spoon - Ginger Garlic Paste
1/2 Tea Spoon - Chat Masala
1/2 Tea Spoon - Aamchur / Mango Powder [Optional]
1 Tea Spoon - Salt (Or Adjust to your taste)
1 Tea Spoon - Red Chilli Powder
1 cup - Besan (Gram Flour / Senaga Pindi)

Oil for Deep Frying. 

Procedure:
1. Mix all the ingredients, except Besan and keep the mixture aside for 45 minutes.
2. This mixture will release water after 45 minutes.

3. Heat oil for deep frying.
4. After 45 minutes, sprinkle some besan on top of the above prepared mixture and mix well. Repeat this process until all the besan is mixed.

4. Drop some mixture into the oil to check if the oil is ready for deep frying. If the oil bubbles up right away it means oil is ready.
5. Take some pakodi mixture into your hand and while loosening the mixture using your fingers drop the mixture into the oil and fry it until it turns golden brown.
6. Enjoy Hot Capsicum Onion Pakodi.

Note: The water released by the onion mixture should be good to mix besan, no extra water is required. Use water only if necessary and that too Sprinkle little water and mix the besan - do not add water directly.