Beerakaya Nuvvula Kura (Ridgegourd - Sesame Curry)

½ kg Ridge Gourd/Beerakaaya, peeled and chopped
1 large Onion, finely sliced
2 Green Chillis, slit length wise
1½ – 2 tbsp roasted Sesame Seeds
¼ tsp Turmeric Powder
Salt to taste
½ tbsp Oil

Popu:
½ tsp Mustard Seeds
¼ tsp Cumin Seeds
¾ tsp Urad Dal (minapappu)
1 tsp Channa Dal (senagapappu) (optional)
1-2 dry Red Chillis, tear & de-seed
Few Curry Leaves

Sprinkle 3-4 tbsps of water to the ridge gourd pieces, salt and turmeric powder and place lid. Cook on low to medium flame till the ridge gourd is almost cooked and the water evaporates.
While the ridge gourd is cooking, heat oil in a separate cooking vessel, add mustard seeds and let them splutter. Add cumin seeds, urad dal and red chillis and saute for a minute till the dal turn red and you get a nice aroma. Add curry leaves, green chillis and onions and saute for 4-5 minutes. Add the cooked ridge gourd and combine. Cook on high to medium flame for 2-3 minutes. Lower heat, add the roasted sesame seeds powder and combine. Cook without lid for a minute and turn off heat. Serve hot with steamed rice or rotis.

Mooli Paratha - 1 (White Radish Roti)

Dough - In a bowl, mix 2 cups of Wheat Flour with Salt to taste and a tbsp of Ghee, forming into smooth dough with Water as needed. Separate dough into golf-sized balls and set aside.

Mooli Mixture (Radish Filling) - Squeeze out all the water from a cup of grated White Radish and mix Salt to taste, 5 chopped Green Chillies, an inch of grated Ginger and set aside.

Paratha - For each dough ball, roll out the dough into a small circle and put around a tbsp of the raddish mixture in the centre. Bring the ends of the circle together and form into a ball. Seal the edges completely so that the stuffing does not come out. Roll out these dough balls into a 6-inch circle. Fry on a heated pan adding a bit of ghee around the edges to crisp it up.

Serve hot with Tomato-Chili Ketchup.

Double Chocolate Banana Bread

Prep - Preheat oven to 350 F (180 C) and place oven rack to middle position. Butter and flour the bottom and sides of a 9 x 5 x 3 inch loaf pan.

Batter - In a large bowl whisk together a cup of All Purpose Flour, 1/2 cup of Dutch-processed Cocoa Powder, 3/4 cup of granulated Brown Sugar, 1 tsp of Baking Baking Soda and 1/2 tsp of Sea Salt.
In a medium-sized bowl, combine the 3 ripe mashed Bananas, an Egg, 1/4 cup of melted Butter, 1/4 cup of Oil and 1 tsp of Vanilla Extract. Lightly fold the banana mixture into the dry ingredients until just combined and batter is thick and chunky. Fold in the ½ cup of toasted Walnuts / Pecans, coarsely chopped (Optional) and 3/4 cup of Dark Chocolate Chips. Scrape batter into prepared pan. Top the batter with 1/4 cup of Dark Chocolate Chips.

Bread - Bake until bread has risen and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 50 to 55 minutes. Place on a wire rack to cool and then remove the bread from the pan. Cut into slices and serve warm or at room temperature.

Capsicum Chicken

Masala Powder - Finely grind 1“ dalchini, 1 elaichi and 2 cloves and keep aside

Marinade - Wash and cut the ½ kg Chicken into medium sized pieces. Marinate it with 1 tbsp of Yogurt, ½ tsp of Red Chilli Powder, ½ tsp of Pepper Powder, 1½ tsp of Coriander Powder, ½ tsp of Cumin Powder, pinch of Turmeric Powder, 1 tsp of Vinegar / Lemon Juice, 1 tsp of Soya Sauce, Salt to taste and 1¼ tsp of Ginger Garlic paste for at least 2 hours in the refrigerator.

Gravy - Heat ½ of the Oil in a cooking vessel, add a chopped large Onion and fry till transparent. Add chopped pieces of 2 Green Capsicums and 2 Tomatoes and saute for 3 minutes. Turn off heat and keep aside.

Curry - In the same vessel, heat 1 tbsp of Oil, add the marinated chicken and cook on high heat for 4-5 minutes, combining once in a while. Reduce to medium heat; let the chicken cook for 8-10 minutes, uncovered. Add ¼ cup of Water and cook till chicken turns soft and there is hardly any water left. Add the masala powder and 1½ tbsp of Tomato Sauce. Add the sauteed onion, capsicum and tomatoes. Combine and cook on high for 3-4 minutes. Remove from heat and garnish with fresh Coriander Leaves. 

Serve hot with white rice, rotis or naan.

Royyala Tomato Curry (Prawn Tomato Curry)

Shrimp - Clean, shell, devin about 500 gms of Prawns / Shrimps and keep aside.

Curry - Heat 2 tbsp of Oil in a pan and saute a large chopped Onion, 3-4 slit Green Chilies till onions are transparent. Add 1 tbsp of Ginger Garlic Paste, few Curry Leaves and saute for a minute. Add a medium chopped Tomato and saute for another 3 minutes. Now, add a 1/3 tsp of Turmeric Powder, 1 tsp of Coriander Powder, ½ tsp  of Cumin Powder, 1 tsp of Red Chilli Powder and combine. Add the cleaned prawns/shrimps, Salt to taste; mix well and cook on medium heat for 5 minutes. Now add 1 cup of Water and cover cook further for 5-7 minutes on medium heat. Add ¼ tsp  of Garam Masala Powder; mix well and remove from heat. 
 
Garnish with few chopped Coriander/Cilantro Leaves and serve hot with steamed white rice or chapatis/rotis.

Mushroom Matar Curry

½ packet or 15 Button Mushroom, chopped
1 cup Frozen Green peas, boiled
2 Tomato, chopped
1 Onion, chopped
1 tbsp Ginger Garlic Paste
¼ bunch Coriander Leaves, chopped
2 cups Milk
1 tsp Ghee, for topping
Salt to taste

Spice Powders:
1 tbsp Coriander Powder
½ tbsp Cummin Powder
¼ tsp Garam Masala
Chilli Powde, as required
Pepper Powder, as requried
¼ tsp Saunf Powder
Bengal Gram Dal + Urad Dal - each ¼ tbsp - Fried in a dry pan and powder it

Heat oil in a frying pan. Add saunf powder in hot oil and then add onion. Saute till golden brown. Now add the Ginger garlic paste saute till aroma disappears. Now add the tomato and fry them until they are mushy. Add all the powders one by one except pepper and dhal powders. Saute well and now add mushroom. Mushroom oozes out water, let them come out and absorbed again. Now add green peas and milk. Dont add water. As soon as the milk is added stir well to avoid curdling. Now add pepper, dal powder (mix with tbsp of water and add to avoid lumps) and salt. Let it cook well and gravy get thickens. Now garnish with chopped coriander and add ghee atlast in the top of the gravy.
Note: Mushroom can also be substituted by cauliflower or baby corn. Microwave cauliflower or Baby corn for 4 minutes and can be added to tomato mixture. Simmer the flame when adding milk to the tomato mixture. If milk measurement which I have given is not enough add more milk or water and adjust to the desired consistency.

Blueberry Buckle Coffee Cake

Prep - Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease 8×8 square pan or bundt pan with non stick spray.

Batter - In a medium mixing bowl, cream ½ stick of Butter and 1 cup of Sugar for 3-4 minutes until light in color and creamy. Add 1 Egg and 2 tsp Vanilla Extract and cream for an additional 2 minutes. Add ½ tsp of Salt, 2 tsp of Baking Powder and 2 cups of All Purpose Flour and mix on med-low speed adding the ½ cup of Buttermilk / Milk in a steady stream. Mix batter until everything is fully incorporated, approximately 3-5 minutes. Batter will be nice and thick. Fold in fresh 1½ cup of Blueberries and pour batter into pan. Set aside.

Topping - In a food processor or by hand, mix 1 cup of Brown Sugar, ¾ cup of All Purpose Flour, 2 tsp of Cinnamon and 5 tbsp of Cold Butter until the mixture is crumbly. If mixing by hand, just use your fingertips or the back of a fork. Add crumb topping mixture to the cake pan and gently press everything down.

Bake in the oven for 50 minutes or until done. Remove from oven and let it sit for 8 minutes and invert it onto a plate. Garnish with ¼ cup of sifted Powdered Sugar.

Vankaya Dosakaya Pachadi (Eggplant - Lemon Cucumber Chutney)

Veggies - Heat 2 tsp of Oil in a pan and fry 4 medium Eggplants, chopped, ¼ tsp of Turmeric Powder and Salt as needed for 15 minutes on low heat and keep aside. In the same pan, heat a tsp of Oil and fry 6 whole Green Chillies for 2 minutes. Cut a small Lemon Cucumber (Dosakaya) into thin and small pieces and keep aside.

Chutney - Grind fried chillies, ½ tsp of Cumin Seeds, 5 Garlic Cloves, chopped, 1 tsp of Tamarind Paste and Salt. Add fried brinjal and grind once and then add choped cucumber and grind again. Keep aside in a bowl.

Tempering - Heat 2 tsp of Oil in a pan, saute 1 Red Chilli, ¼ tsp of Mustard Seeds, ¼ of tsp Cumin Seeds. After they splutter, add ½ tsp of Black Gram Dal (Urad Dal), ½ tsp of Channa Dal and few Curry Leaves and remove from heat. Add this to the chutney bowl and mix well. Garnish with few Coriander Leaves.

Keema Ki Tahari

500 gm Ground Lamb meat
1 large Yellow Onion, sliced
5 tbsp Canola Oil
4 Green Chillies, slit in middle
1½ tbsp Ginger Garlic paste
3 Tomatoes, finely chopped
1 tbsp Red Chilli Powder
2½ tbsp Salt
1 tsp Garam Masala Powder
½ cup Yogurt
4 Green Cardamoms
2 Cinnamon sticks
1 tsp Caraway seeds
5 cups Water
3 cups Rice
3 tbsp Cilantro, finely chopped

Wash and soak the rice in fresh cool water sufficient enough to remain 5 cms above the level of rice.
Wash ground meat along with sliced onions well and drain the water completely in a very fine mesh strainer.
In a large saucepan at medium heat, add 3 tbsp oil and green chillies, cinnamon stick, cardamom, caraway seeds and ginger garlic paste. Let it splutter and fry. In a minute. add the drained onions + ground meat and also add red chilli powder, 2½ tsp salt, garam masala powder, tomatoes and stir well and let it cook for 10-15 minutes until you see oil floating on top. Add the yogurt and mix well. Let cook for 2-3 minutes. Add cilantro and mix well.
Add the water and let the mixture come to a boil. As soon as it begins to boil well, add rice and mix well. Let it come to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to simmer and cover with a lid. Let it cook till very little water remains. Keep checking it every now and then, and give a gently stir everytime. Add a few splashes of water if you feel you need more water for the rice to cook. Once the water is mostly dried up, close the heat, but leave the saucepan on the hot stove so that a nice steam forms. Let the dish rest for 15-30 minutes. Serve warm

Vankaya Kaaram Petti Kura

¼ kg Purple Brinjals, wash, make + quarters with stalk intact and apply oil
1 tbsp Oil
Few Curry Leaves

For stuffing:
1¼ tbsp Coriander Seeds
3 tbsps Chana Dal
1½ tbsp Urad Dal
2-3 dry Red Chillis, tear and de-seed
½ tsp Cumin Seeds
Pinch of Methi Seeds
Big pinch Asafoetida
Small gooseberry sized Tamarind
Salt to taste

Add ½ tsp oil in a cooking vessel, add coriander seeds and stir-fry till it turns slightly dark in color. Remove. Similarly, add channa dal and urad dal, roast till them till they turn red and remove. Dry roast dry red chillis, methi seeds and cumin together for 2 mts and remove. Cool the dry roasted ingredients. Add turmeric pwd, salt, tamarind, and hing to these roasted ingredients and grind them all together to a coarse pwd. It should not be wet.
In the same vessel, add the remaining oil, add curry leaves and toss them for a few seconds. Place the stuffed brinjals in the oil and cook on high flame for 4-5 mts. Now, cover with lid and let them cook on medium flame for 10-12 mts. Keep checking in between and stir fry to ensure they don’t burn or stick to the pan. Now on low flame nicely roast the brinjals without lid. It should take 35-40 mts for the brinjals to cook inside and be well roasted. Serve with rice.

Mango Mousse

Cream - Whip 2 cups of chilled Heavy Whipping Cream until soft peaks appear. Cover and refrigerate it.

Gelatin mixture - Soak 1 packet of Gelatin in 1/3 cup of Cold Water for a few minutes. Heat in microwave for 30 seconds till the gelatin is dissolved.

Mango Puree - Mix 2 cups of Mango Puree with 1/3 cup of powdered Sugar. Add it to the gelatin mixture and mix well. Then add the whipped cream until combined. Chill for 4 hours or overnight covered.

Serve cold.

Badam Beerakaya (Almond Ridgegourd Curry)

Almond / Badam paste - Soak 8 Almonds in water for about an hour. Drain the water and peel the almond skins. In a mixer or mortar, grind the almonds, a pinch of salt to smooth paste.

Curry - Peel 3 Ridgegourds / beerakaaya, wash and dice them in to bite-sized pieces.
Heat 1 tbsp of Oil in a pan, saute few Curry Leaves, a pinch of Cumin and Mustard Seeds. Add the 4 slit Green Chilies, ridgegourd pieces, Salt to taste and cover cook on medium heat for 10 minutes. Add 3 tbsp of Almond/Badam Paste, mix and cook till desired consistency is reached.  Serve hot with rice or chapathi.

Lachcha Paratha

3 cups Whole Wheat Flour
Salt to taste
2 tsp Ghee / Clarified butter
2 -3 tsp Ghee + 3 tsp wheat flour
2 -3 tbsp flour for dusting
Water as required making the dough
2 -3 Oil
Take the flour in a bowl along with salt and ghee. Mix well. Slowly add the water and knead to soft pliable dough. Cover with a wet muslin cloth and let it rest for 20 - 30 mins.
Make a mix of the ghee and flour together separately. Divide into equal balls. Flatten the ball over the flour, and using a rolling pin, roll out the balls into thin circles. Spread a little of the ghee and atta mix over the top and roll inwards tightly as a rope. The way you do it, you will end up with a tight rope, circled with the mix inside all covered.
Over the top of the rope, dip your fingers in the ghee atta mix and spread over the rope. Circle as a spiral with ends nicely closed. Dust the flour over this and gently roll it again. Meanwhile heat a tawa and once it's hot, fry the rolled out paratha. When one side is cooked and rises up, spread a little of the ghee atta mix on the top and sprinkle oil around the parathas. Flip over the other side and cook in the same way. Ensure it doesn't get burnt. Once it's cooked on both sides, remove to a plate and clap at it while it's hot. This way you will loosen the layers.

Rava Idli with Verusenagapappu pachadi (Sooji Rice Cakes & Groundnut Chutney)

Rava Idli - Heat a tbsp of Ghee / Oil in a pan; saute ½ tsp of Mustard Seeds and once they splutter, add a tbsp of Chana Dal and saute till the dal turns golden brown. Add 3 slit Green Chillis, few Curry Leaves and 1" inch grated Ginger. Immediately add a cup of Sooji (Ravva) and stir-fry the rava constantly for 3 minutes. Remove from heat and let it cool.

Add 2 Grated Carrots, 2 tbsp of chopped Coriander Leaves, 2 tbsp of Grated Coconut, a cup of beaten Yogurt, ½ cup of Water, Salt to taste and mix well. Allow the mixture to sit for atleast ½ hour.Grease the idli plates, place a roasted Cashewnut in ghee on each of the greased idli plates and pour the rava batter over the cashewnut. Steam the ravva idlis on medium flame for around 10 minutes. Remove the rava idlis carefully and serve hot with chutney.

Groundnut Chutney - Dry roast a cup of Peanuts and keep aside.

Heat a tsp of Oil in a pan; saute 3 crushed Garlic Cloves, 3 Dry Red Chillis and stir-fry for a few seconds. Add a sliced Onion and saute further for 2-3 minutes on medium heat. Remove from heat and after it cools down, grind the roasted peanuts, a tbsp of Tamarind Paste, sauteed onions and garlic along with Salt to taste and ½ cup of Water into a smooth paste.
Heat ½ tsp of Oil in a pan; saute ½ tsp of Mustard Seeds allowing them to splutter. Add ½ tsp of Urad Dal and let it turn golden brown. Add few Curry Leaves, remove from heat and pour over chutney. Serve with the rava idlis. 

Senagapappu Payasam (Chana dal Kheer)

Dal and Sago - Soak 1 cup of Senagapappu (Chana Dal) and ¼ cup of Saggubiyyam (Sago) in water for atleast 2 hours seperately. Pressure cook Chana Dal with a cup of Milk and a cup of Water for one whistle.

Kheer - Heat ½ cup of Water, a cup of Powdered Jaggery / Sugar and stir cook until sugar/jaggery melts. When the syrup starts to thicken, add the soaked sago and 2 cups of Milk. Cook on medium heat for atleast 15 minutes, stirring in between. Stir in the Chana dal mixture also and mix well ocassionally for another 10 minutes till it reaches the desired consistency.

Flavor - Heat a tbsp Ghee in a small pan, saute ¼ cup of Cashews and Golden Raisins and toast till light brown. Add them to the kheer. Finally, stir in the powdered Cardamom Powder (of 2 pods). Switch off the heat and let it stand for 30 minutes. Serve hot or cold.

Bangaladumpa Vepudu (Potato Fry)

Boil or pressure-cook 4 medium sized Potatoes to tender. Peel and remove the skin. Cut the potatoes to small cubes.

Heat 1 tbsp of Oil In a pan. Add & toast a ½ tsp each of Cumin Seeds, Mustard Seeds, 3 Dried Red Chilli Pieces, a pinch of Turmeric Powder and few Curry Leaves. Add the potato cubes. Sprinkle Coriander Powder, Red chilli powder and Salt as needed. Combine and cook on medium heat for about 5 to 10 minutes until potato pieces brown a bit. Serve hot with rice and rasam.

Bagare Baingan

Preparation - Roast 2 tbsps of roasted Peanuts and 2 tbsps of Sesame seeds in a pan on low flame and make into slightly coarse powder. Wash 8-10 small Purple Brinjals with stems intact and make a + slit shape.

Heat 3-4 tbsps of Oil in a pan on medium high heat; saute the brinjals for 2 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium low and cook the brinjals till tender (about 20-25 minutes), while stirring in between. Once tender, remove and set aside.

Heat 2 tbsps of Oil; add and saute chopped 3 medium Onions, 3 slit Green Chillies and on medium heat till the onions turn soft and light golden brown. Add and saute a tsp Ginger Garlic Paste and saute for 2 minutes. Remove from heat, allow to cool and grind to a smooth paste.
Heat 1 tbsp of Oil in a pan; add a tsp of Mustard Seeds, a tsp of Cumin Seeds, a pinch of Fenugreek Seeds and let them splutter. Add a pinch of Asafoetida, 2-3 dried Red Chillies, few Curry Leaves and toss them for a few seconds. Add the onion paste, a pinch of Turmeric Powder, 2 tsp of Red Chilli Powder, a tsp of Cumin Powder, a tsp of Coriander Powder, ½ of Garam Masala Powder, sesame and peanut powder, Salt to taste, a tbsp of Tamarind Extract, a cup of Water and bring it to boil. When it starts to boil, reduce to low heat and slowly add the sauted egg plants. Cover cook till the brinjals are soft and the gravy is thick. Remove from heat and serve hot.

Paneer Butter Masala

Prep - In a saucepan, bring about 4 cups of Water to boil, gently drop 3 medium Onions and 4 ripe Tomatoes. Cook on high for 10 minutes. Drain the water and let onions and tomatoes cool down. Once cool grind onions and tomatoes to smooth paste, seperately. Soak 3 tbsp of Cashewnuts in little water and grind to smooth paste.

Paneer - Heat a tbsp of Butter and fry the 250 gms of Paneer cubes to golden brown. Bring a cup of Water to boil, remove from heat and add the paneer cubes to it, let them sit aside for 5 minutes.

Curry - Heat 3 tbsp of Butter in a pan on medium heat. Add and saute the onion paste for 5 minutes till it turns golden brown. Add 2 tsp of Ginger Garlic Paste and saute for another minute. Add 2 tsp of Red Chilli Powder, ¼ tsp of Turmeric Powder, cashewnut paste, Salt to taste and mix. Add the tomato puree, ½ tsp of Kasuri Methi, ½ tsp of Coriander Powder, 1½ tsp of Garam Masala Powder; simmer and let it cook for 4 minutes. Add the fried paneer, mix gently and let it cook for another 4 minutes. Now add ¾ cup of Water and cook on medium heat till the gravy turns to a thick consistency. Let it sit for atleast 10 minutes and garnish with freshly chopped Coriander Leaves before serving.

Semiya Kesari

Garish - In a saute pan, heat 1 tbsp Ghee / Butter and saute few Cashewnuts and Rasins. till golden brown. Keep aside.

Vermicelli - In the same pan, toast 2 cups of Vermicelli until they turn light golden brown. Keep aside.

Kesari - Boil 4 cups of Water along with a pinch of Saffron, Cardamom Powder and Food color (Optional). Once the water is bubbling hot, stir in the roasted vermicelli, reduce heat and close the lid. Once the water is absorbed, stir in a cup of Sugar and mix well. Serve hot / cold.

Peas Pulav

Heat a tbsp of Ghee or Oil in a pan; splutter a Bay leaf, 2 Cloves, an inch of Cinnamon, a Cardamom, a tsp of Cumin Seeds, few Cashews and few Curry Leaves. Add and saute a thinly sliced Onion, a tsp of Ginger-Garlic paste and 3-4 few slit Green Chillies till onions are browned. Add a cup of Green peas, 2 cups of Basmati Rice, Salt to taste and stir till everything is coated. Add 4 cups of Water and let it boil. Cover cook on medium heat till all the water is absorbed. Remove from heat, let it sit for 10 minutes and garnish with Coriander Leaves before serving.

Gummadikaya Kura

3 cups of peeled and cubed Red Pumpkin
1 big Tomato chopped
2 medium Onions, chopped
1 tbsp grated Jaggery
2 Green Chilli, slit
2 dry Red Chilli, deseeded and split into two
½ tsp Red Chilli Powder
¼ tsp Turmeric Powder
1 tsp Coriander Powder
½ tsp Mustard Seeds
1 tsp Cumin Seeds
1 tsp Urad Dal
7 cloves Garlic, slighly mashed
10 Curry Leaves
Coriander Leaves for garnishing

Heat 2-3 tbsp of oil in a pan. Add the mustard seeds and let them splutter. Add cumin seeds, dry red chillis, urad dal, and garlic and curry leaves and fry till light brown. Add the chopped onions and fry till transparent. Add the cubed pumpkins, tomatoes, turmeric and salt and let it cook covered on low heat for 15 minutes. Add chilli powder, coriander powder and jaggery and mix well. Add ½ cup water, cover and cook on slow fire till pumpkin is soft and cooked. Garnish with coriander leaves.

Variation: You can add sweet potatoes, chikkidi kaayi (Indian Beans), drum sticks and brinjal along with the pumpkin.

Undrallu

1 cup raw Rice
2 tbsp Chana Dal, washed
½ tsp Jeera
2 tbsp Grated Fresh Coconut
½ tsp Salt
2 cups Water

Wash rice well and drain all the water. Spread on a paper napkin to dry out all the water. Rice grains have to be fully dry. Grind the rice grains in a blender/ grinder to a rawa consistency.
Place a saucepan on the stove with water, chana dal, cumin and salt. Bring the water to a boil, reduce the heat to a medium heat, pour in the rice rawa slowly into the boiling water and keep stirring. Stir till all the water is absorbed by the rice rawa. Add grated coconut and stir in well. Turn off the stove, cover with a lid. After 15 minutes, spread on a lighlty greased plate. With wet hands make small balls. Sprinkle some water if rawa is too hard or breaking. Use a idli steaming stand to steam these rice balls. Place idli stand in a pressure cooker with little water to steam. Cover the pressure cooker and steam for 10 minutes.

Notes:
Can substitute Rice Rava instead of Rice and skip coconut.

Ragi Malt

2 tbsp of ragi flour
1 cup water
1½ cup of water + ½ cup milk
4 tsp of sugar or powdered jaggery
½ tsp of powdered cardamom

Take the ragi flour in a cup and add ½ glass water to it slowly. Combine to smooth, lump free paste.
In a vessel, take one glass of water or milk. Heat till the water reaches boiling stage. Then add the dissolved ragi flour solution slowly to the boiling water (milk), continuously stirring with a spoon. Wait for water (milk) to start boiling, and then add the flour mix. Add sugar or jaggery per your taste and pinch of cardamom powder. Reduce the heat to medium level, and simmer the ragi malt for 5 minutes, stirring in-between. Turn off the heat. Let it cool to warm, and then pour into a glass or cup.
Makes 4 cups.

Restaurant Style Chicken Curry

Wash, drain and cut the 500 gms of Chicken (boneless or with bones) into bite sized pieces and keep aside.

Grind 3 Ripe Tomatoes, 10-12 Cashews, 3-4 slit Green Chillies into smooth paste and keep aside.

Heat a heavy-bottomed pan and add 1/3 cup of Oil to it. Add a Cinnamon Stick, 1/2 tsp of Cumin Seeds, 2 Cardamoms, 1 Bay Leaf and let them splutter. Add a large finely chopped Onion to it and fry until light golden brown. Add a tbsp of Ginger Garlic Paste, 2-3 slit Green Chillies and fry until golden brown. Add the drained chicken and cook on high heat for 4 minutes, while stirring. Add Salt as needed, 1/2 tsp of Garam Masala, a tbsp of Red Chilli Powder, a tsp of Coriander Powder, a tsp of Cumin Powder, a pinch of Turmeric Powder and mix well. Cook for 8-10 minutes until the oil separates.

Add the ground tomato paste and cook on medium heat for another 5-6 minutes. Add 1/2 cup of Water and cook further by stirring for another 10-12 minutes. Add a tbsp of Butter, 2 tbsp of Heavy Whipping Cream, 2 tbsp of chopped Coriander Leaves and mix well. 

Remove from heat and serve with Roti / rice.

Vankaya Fry

10 Fresh Brinjals
4 tbsp Oil
Salt to taste

Dry roast and powder:
1 cup Roasted Bengal Gram
10 Dried Red Chillies
1 tsp Cumin Seeds
1 tsp Salt

Popu:
1 tsp Mustard Seeds
1 tsp Cumin Seeds
1 Sprig Curry Leaves
2 tbsp Urad Dal
4 Dried Red Chillies
2 Onions, slit length wise
6 Green Chillies, slit

Heat a pan and fry roasted bengal gram, dried red chillies, jeera in low flame for about 4 mts. Switch of the flame when bengal gram starts turning its color. Allow to cool, add salt and grind to coarse powder. Set aside. (This powder can be stored in a tight container for about a month).
Wash brinjals, slit them into 4 halves (make a plus shape) leaving the stems. Heat oil in a kadhai and fry brinjals in low flame till brinjals turn soft. (Cover with a lid and stir occassionally) Set aside the brinjals once soft. In the remaining oil, add urad dal, mustard seeds, jeera, dried red chillies, curry leaves, green chillies. fry for 2 mts in low flame. Add onions, and fry till soft (for about 4 mts in low flame). Add fried brinjals to onions, and cook for 3 mts in low flame. Add roasted bengal gram powder, adjust salt and stir gently so that brinjals do not break. leave on low flame for 3 mts.

Godhuma Pindi Dosa

Mix a cup of wheat flour with 2 to 3 cups of water. Stir in a tsp of black pepper powder and salt. Thoroughly mix the batter without any lumps. The consistency of batter must be like thick buttermilk, not too watery or not too tight. Don’t let the batter sit for long time, it will become gooey mass.
To prepare dosas, lightly oil the dosa tava and rub it with a cut onion. Heat over medium-high. When the tava is hot, pour a ladleful of batter steadily from a height of 3 to 5 inches onto the tava. Allow it spread on its own in a thin lace like layer. Sprinkle a ½ tsp of ghee or oil and cook on high heat. Within a minute or two, bubbles start to appear on the surface. Wait until the underside of dosa turns golden and then gently turn it to the other side. Cook for another minute or two. Remove and serve hot with peanut or coconut chutney.
Note: Because wheat flour batter is very sticky, trying to shape the dosa with back of the spoon like we do for regular dosa won’t work. Please resist the temptation to shape and allow it to spread on its own.

Lemon Cake

1¼ cup All Purpose Flour/Maida (305 gm)
Pinch of Salt
1 tsp Baking Powder
½ cup Sugar
½ cup Butter
4 tbsp Lemon Juice
1 tsp Lemon Zest
2 Eggs
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
¼ cup Milk (60ml)

Preheat oven to 180 C / 350 F. Grease and flour a round baking pan. Sieve maida, baking powder and salt in a bowl.
In another bowl, combine butter and sugar. Use a hand blender to make a smooth creamy mixture. Add the beaten eggs and combine well. Add vanilla extract, lemon zest and lemon juice and combine well. Fold in the maida mixture little by little alternating with milk. Pour batter into the greased and floured pan. Bake in preheated oven for 45-50 mts or till a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. Place on a wire rack to cool, slice and serve at room temperature

Mullangi Pappu

1 cup Toor Dal
150 gm Mullangi / Radish
100 gm Sambar Onions
2 tsp Sambar Powder
2 medium Tomatoes
Small lime size Tamarind Pulp
Few chopped Coriander Leaves
1 tbsp Oil
Salt to Taste
Turmeric a pinch
4 Green Chillies

Popu:
1 tsp Mustard Seeds + Urud Dal + Fenugreek
Few Curry Leaves
4 cloves Garlic
3 Red Chillies

Clean toor dal and pressure-cook it with 2 drops of Oil and turmeric. Keep it for 1 whistle. Remove and let it cool down. Chop Radish into 1" circles. Pressure it with Dal for another whistle. Keep it aside. Soak tamarind and extract pulp from it. Soak onions in water for 5 minutes. Chop Onions and tomatoes. Heat oil in a pan and add seasoning ingredients. Then add chopped onions & green chilies. Sauté till they are cooked and then add tomatoes and sambar powder to it. Cook till the tomatoes are soft. Then add the cooked toor dal with mullangi, tamarind pulp. The dal should be well cooked. Cook on high flame for 5 minutes, then simmer for 10 minutes till its cooked well. Add salt and garnish with coriander leaves.

Vegetable Springrolls

Veggies - Cut Onions, Bell Peppers, Cabbage and Carrots into thin long strips. Start with sauteing the onions, and then add bell pepper and then the other veggies. Sprinkle Salt to taste and 1 tsp of Soy Sauce. Cook for a few mins until its semi done and then remove and place in a separate bowl and let it cool down.

Wrapper Batter - In a bowl, mix ¾ cup of All Purpose Flour, 2 tbsp of Corn Flour, Salt to taste, 3 tbsp of Rice Flour and an egg. (Can skip egg and add some baking soda). Mix well thoroughly making sure there are no lumps. The batter needs to be a pouring consistency - not too thin and not too thick.

Wrapper - Now, in a pan pour a ladle of the batter in the center and quickly lift up the pan and twirl it around so that the batter spreads evenly into a circle. Let it cook for a min - until you start seeing these small holes. Flip over and cook for a min. Make sure you don't crisp them up too much - they should still be soft to touch like a pancake. Pick a spoonful of the filling and place it in the center. Gently start rolling from one side. Fold over one side on top of the rolled edge. And then fold over the other side too and make a pocket. In order to seal the roll, add a paste of flour and water mixture to the edges. And then seal shut. Fry one or two at a time. Fry until they turn golden. Serve hot with ketchup.

Note - You can add long cut strips of green beans, broccoli, mushrooms or other veggies that would taste good in a spring roll. You could also add sprouts if you'd like.

Anabhakaya Vepudu

1 Anabhakaya / Sorakaya, chopped
1 medium Onion, chopped
4-5 Curry Leaves
3-4 Green Chilies, slit
½ tsp Mustard Seeds
1 tsp Urad Dal
1 tsp Red Chili Powder
1 tsp Coriander Powder
A pinch of Turmeric Powder
1–2 tbsp Peanut / Groundnut Powder
Salt to taste
2 tsp Oil
Peel the outer skin of the bottle gourd and cut into 2 inch pieces. Heat a pan with oil and add mustard seeds, urad dal, curry leaves. Add onions, green chillies and turmeric and sauté till onions are pink. Then add the bottle gourd pieces along with salt. Simmer with a lid and cook for 10 mins. Check to see if the vegetable has turned soft. Add chili powder and coriander powder. Stir well. Cook again for 5 - 7 mins. When the bottle gourd is cooked well, finally add the groundnut powder. Combine and remove.