Pitlai

Pitlai

Ingredients:

2 medium bitter gourds ("karela")pavakai

3/4 can chickpeas

1/2 cup cooked toovar dal

3 green chillies slit

1 1/2 tspn tamarind paste

3-4 red dry chillies

2 tspns urad dal

1 1/2 tspn coriander seeds

1/2 cup grated coconut

few peppercorns

a little jaggery or sugar

turmeric, salt to taste

mustard seeds, curry leaves, oil for seasoning

Preparation:

Slit bitter gourd into four quarters and cut 1/2 inch thick pieces across.

In a little oil, saute cut bitter gourd and green chillies. Add 2 cups water, tamarind, turmeric and salt. Let simmer

until bitter gourd are tender. Add chickpeas and jaggery/sugar.

While bitter gourd are cooking, in another pan sprinkle a little oil and fry coriander seeds, urad dal, red chillies

and peppercorns until well roasted. Add coconut, stir a min or two and then grind in a blender. Add a little

tomato paste if handy for color.

Blend in cocunut paste into the bitter gourd-tamarind mixture. Add the dal. Mix well and reheat a till it begins to

simmer. Take off stove.you can use katrikai instead of pavakai....

Gotsu

Gotsu

Ingredients:

One small to medium brinjal

1/2 tbsp tamarind paste or extract from a tamarind size marble, soaked

one large onion, chopped (if using little ones in a bag, about five)

2 ripe tomatoes, diced

6 hot green chilles, slit and cut into pieces

curry leaves

1 tspn mustard

1/2 tspn turmeric

garlic (optional)

salt to taste

3-4 tbspn oil

Preparation:

Chop the brinjal into very tiny pieces. Heat oil, add mustard seeds, when popping add curry leaves, chillies,

onions and fry till onions become transcluscent. Add tomatoes and brinjal and fry for another five minutes. If

using tamarind paste add a cup and half of water, or pour equal quantity of extract from fresh pulp. Throw in the

turmeric, salt and garlic. Let it simmer for a while until brinjal becomes really soft and is barely able to retain

its shape. Remove from heat.

Tomato-Onion Gotsu More tomatoes can be substituted instead of the brinjal for a tomato- onion gotsu. Add

more chillies if necessary.

This is good with Rice,upma etc..

Vegetable Kurma

VEGETABLE Kurma

Ingredients:

2 cups Vegetables

2 Onions cut length-wise

2 Green chilies cut length-wise

1 tsp Coriander powder

1 1/4 tsp Salt

one pinch Turmeric powder

1/2" Cinnamon stick

2 Cloves

2 Cardamom

2 tblsp Coconut powder

1 tsp Khus-Khus (poppy seeds)

1/4 tsp (3 cloves) Garlic

1/4 tsp powder (or 1/2" fresh) Ginger

Method:

Put a reasonable sized vessel on the range and heat oil. Add cinnamon,

cloves and cardamom and fry for 2-3 minutes. Add onions and green

chilies and fry till onions turn brown. Add garlic + ginger paste and

fry for a minute or so. Add vegetables and fry for about 3 minutes.

Add Water (about a cup or two). Let the vegetables + turmeric powder

cook.

If you are using canned or frozen vegetables skip the above step.

Add coconut paste, khus-khus, salt and wait until cooked.

Note: Cook on low heat.

This is good with Roti,Chapati,and Naan, Briyani..

Bonda with potato/Urulaikizhangu Bonda

Bonda with mashed potato

Ingredients:

1 medium Onion

2 cups Potato

1 1/2 cup Peas and carrots

2 big ones Green chilies

1 teaspoon Lemon juice

1 cup Gram flour

1/2 tsp Mustard seed

pinch Turmeric

1/2 tsp Baking powder

1/4" piece Ginger

1 small bunch Coriander leaves

2 tsp Salt

Oil- for frying

Method:

The filling is prepared as follows:

-----------------------------------

Mix potato buds and 1/2 teaspoon of salt with 1 cup of hot water.

Finely chop ginger, chilies, coriander leaves, and onion. Heat oil

(about 5 Tbsp) and add mustard seeds. Add chopped ingredients and fry

until onions are brown. Add carrots, peas, turmeric and 1 tsp of salt

and cook on low heat for about 10 minutes. Add potato (now mashed) and

fry for 5 minutes. Remove from heat, add lemon juice and let cool.

The batter is prepared as follows:

----------------------------------

Combine gram flour, 3 Tbsp of oil, 3/4 cup water, 1/2 tsp salt, the

baking powder and mix thoroughly

After the batter is prepared, make small balls out of the filling and

roll them in the batter. Next fry it in hot oil. You will get about

20-30 small bondas.

Sambar Podi/Sambar Powder

Sambar powder:

Ingredients:

Whole red peppers - 1/4 kg

Coriander seeds - 1/4 kg

Toor Dal - 200 g

Gram dal - 200 g

whole black peppers - 25 g

asafoetida - a pinch

Method:

Dry the above ingredients or fry all the ingredients separately without oil and grind into a nice powder.

Vaangi Baath(Brinjal Rice)

Vaangi Baath (Brinjal Rice)

Ingredients:

Brinjal - 300 gms

Onions - 2-3 medium sized

Coriander powder, Chilli powder, Salt to taste

Rice - 1 cup

Water - 2 1/2 cups

Cooking oil - 2 tbsps

Finely chopped coriander leaves

Method:

1.Cut the brinjal & onions to not very fine pieces. If u cut the brinjals

too fine, they will get mashed up and will lose their taste.

2.Saute the onions till they get transparent. Then, add the brinjals also.

3.Add the spice powders and saute the curry for 4-5 minutes.

4.Cook the rice in the quantity of water mentioned above. Do not

overcook.

5.Allow it to cool and then mix it with the curry just prepared above

taking care to see that u do not mash them up.

6.Garnish with finely chopped coriander leaves.

7.Serve hot.

Sakkarai pongal/ sweet pongal

Sweet Pongal

Ingredients (for two people) :-

Moong dhal - 1/2 cup.

Rice - 1/2 cup.

Milk-1cup

Coconut-small amount

cashew-20

jaggery-2cup

raisins (khish-mish - dry grapes)-some

cardamom-a pinch

ghee.-1cup

Preparation:

Fry the moong dhal (before washing) till it becomes little light brown (it

will start smelling). Then soak rice and dhal separately for 10 minutes.

Thoroghly wash and keep it in cooker with the right water (lesser is o.k)and

cook it seperately (in two different containers). Meanwhile cut coconut in

very small pieces and fry in ghee. Fry cashew and raisins also separately.

Break the jagerry and put in water (very little) and make a syrup. This is

done because sometimes jagerry has mud and stones. After we make the syrup

strain it through tea strainer. Put the rice and dhal in a big vessel and

add milk (may be one cup) and cook it till all the milk gets absorbed. Add

jaggery syrup and again cook till even it gets absorbed. Add three big table

spoons of ghee, powdered cardamon and cook again for a while. Add fried

coconut, cashews and raisins.

Serve hot in two cups with a spoon of ghee.