Hearty Spices

Scrub, peel, dice and boil 2 Potatoes in microwave for 5 minutes. Add ½ cup of Green Peas to them and boil again for 3 minutes .  Mash the boiled potatoes, peas in a bowl and add 2-3 finely chopped Green Chillies, an inch of minced Ginger, 3 tbsp of Finely chopped Coriander Leaves, Salt to taste, ½ tsp of Garam Masala, ½ tsp of Chaat Masala (optional), 1 tsp of Roasted Cumin Powder, ½ tbsp of Lemon Juice, 1 tsp of Red Chili Powder and 2 slices of powdered toasted Bread . Mix well and roll into lemon sized balls and flatten them shaping into cutlets or round burger shaped patties. Heat 1 tbsp of Ghee on a pan and shallow fry 3 to 4 tikkis at a time till a crisp golden color crust is formed on both the sides. Remove on to an absorbent paper and serve with tamarind chutney or with pav.

8-oz Cream Cheese, at room temperature 1 cup Sugar 3 large Eggs 2 ½ cup Milk 1 tbsp Vanilla Extract 10-11 cups White Bread, cubed 2 cups Fresh Strawberries, quartered Preheat oven to 350F and lightly grease a 9×13-inch baking pan. In a bowl, cream together cream cheese and sugar until fluffy. Beat in eggs, mixing at medium speed until very smooth, then slowly blend in milk and vanilla extract. Dump all bread cubes and strawberries into the bowl and turn gently with a spatula to allow the bread to soak up the liquid. Pour into prepared pan and gently smooth into an even layer. Bake for 30 minutes, until pudding springs back slightly when you touch the top and the edges begin to turn golden. Cool for at least 15 minutes before serving. Serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream. Serves 10.

1 cup of Vadiyalu - Fry in oil till golden brown and set aside. 3-4 tbsp Oil 1 tsp Cumin Seeds 1 tsp Mustard Seeds 8-10 Curry Leaves 3 Medium Onions, finely chopped Salt, as needed ¼ tsp Turmeric Powder 1 tsp Ginger-Garlic Paste 2 tsp Red Chilli Powder 1½ cup Water Freshly Chopped Coriander Leaves for garnish Heat oil in a pan. On low flame, fry cumin seeds and mustard seeds till they splutter. Add curry leaves, onions, salt and turmeric powder. Fry till the onions turn soft and light golden in color on medium flame. Add ginger-garlic paste and fry for about 2 mts. Then add chilli powder and mix well. Add the fried vadiyalu and water. Bring it to boil, reduce the flame and cook for about 15 mts. Adjust salt and chilli powder. Once the vadiyalu are cooked and the gravy turns thick, turn off the flame. Add chopped coriander leaves. Serve hot. Note - Can add ¼ cup of milk after the curry is taken off the flame.

2 cups of Tofu Cubes (Optional - roast in a tsp of oil) 1 medium Onion, finely chopped 1 tsp Ginger Garlic paste Salt - to taste Oil For Gravy: 1 tbsp Coriander powder ½ tbsp Garam Masala powder ½ tbsp Red Chili powder 2 tsp Tomato Ketchup 2 tbsp Tomato Puree 1 cup Milk ¼ tsp Turmeric In a bowl, whisk in all the gravy ingredients and keep aside. Heat some oil in a wok, sauté onion and ginger garlic paste for couple of minutes. Add in the gravy mixture. Cover and cook for 5-6 minutes on low flame. Finally add Tofu cubes and season with salt. Simmer for 7-8 minutes on medium-low flame. Make sure the cubes are dipped into the sauce. Serve hot.

1 Mango (Seed with little flesh around) 3 cups of Water 1 tsp Rasam Powder 1/2 tsp Turmeric Salt Fresh Cilantro For Popu: 1/2 tsp Mustard Seeds 1/2 tsp Cumin Seeds a pinch of Asafetida 1 tsp Ghee (Clarified butter) Few Curry leaves Add the Mango seed to the water in a bowl. Add salt, turmeric, and rasam powder and let it boil till the mango gets cooked. Once the mango is cooked, temper with the popu ingredients and garnish with fresh cilantro.

3,4 Red delicious or Gala Apples, cut into bite size pieces (not too small or too big) 200gm unsalted butter (2 sticks), at room temperature 4 eggs (large) 200 gm All Purpose Flour 2½ tsp Baking Powder 200 gm Sugar 2 tsp Vanilla Extract Preheat the oven to 375F. Grease the pan well with butter/PAM. Cut the apples in advance, doesn't matter if they discolor while you prepare the batter. Cream butter, sugar very nicely until double in volume. Add eggs and vanilla and beat till smooth and well blended. Gently mix the flour and baking powder in a separate bowl. Add flour-mixture to the wet-mixture slowly until well blended. Take care not to over mix the dough. The batter should be really soft now. Fold in the apples. Pour into the pan and bake for 45 min, check if done by inserting a toothpick in the center of the cake. If needed, bake cake for 10 min more. Cool cake for 20 min and then place a plate over the pan and invert. Serve with runny custard.

Eggs - Boil 6 Eggs , peel them and make slits along the length of each egg. Lightly fry them in a tsp of Oil with a pinch of Turmeric Powder for 5 minutes. Gravy - Heat 2 tbsp of Oil , crackle ¼ tsp of Mustard Seeds and a pinch of Fenugreek Seeds . Add few Curry Leaves, 3 crushed Garlic Cloves and fry for 1-2 minutes. Add 2 Onions, finely chopped, 4-5 Green Chillies, slit and saute till golden brown. Add 1 tsp of Red Chili Powder, Big pinch of Turmeric Powder, ¾ tsp of Coriander Powder, ¼ tsp of Cumin Powder, mix well and saute for few seconds . Add a chopped Tomato (optional) and saute for 4-5 minutes . Mix in 2-3 tbsp of Tamarind Paste, 2 cups of Water and bring to a boil. Add Salt to taste, ½ tsp of Sugar, ½ tsp of Garam Masala, reduce heat and let it simmer for 2-3 minutes. Add the eggs and let them cook in the gravy for 10 minutes or till the required gravy consistency is got. Garnish with chopped Coriander Leaves and serve hot.