Hearty Spices

Rice - Cook  3 cups of Rice in a tbsp of Butter / Ghee, 5 cups of Water and 1 cup of Coconut Milk . Let it cool. Tempering - Heat a tbsp of Oil in a pan, saute 1½ tsp of Mustard seeds, 3 tsp of Chana dal, 3 tsp of Urad dal, 3 tsp of Peanuts, 4 tbsp of Chopped Cashews, 4 tbsp of Raisins, few Red Dry Chilies, few Curry Leaves and 3 tsp of Chopped Ginger . Once the dals are roasted, add 2/3 cup of Grated Coconut, Salt to taste and remove from heat. Add this tempering to the cooled rice and serve warm. For making coconut milk - Soak 1 grated coconut in 2½ cups water for 1 hour. Grind in a mixer using same water. Strain to extract the milk. Repeat process with the residue twice. Press out till residue is crumbly. The milk prepared at home has water content in it so 2½ cups can be used with rice to cook rice.  

1-cup Butter, room temperature ½ cup Brown Sugar 1 tsp Vanilla Extract 2 cups All Purpose Flour ½ tsp Salt 2/3 cup Toasted Pecans, chopped In a large bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar. Mix in vanilla extract, flour and salt, mixing just until no streaks of flour remain. Stir in pecans to evenly distribute. Form dough into a ball and place on a sheet of wax paper. Using your hands, shape the dough into a log about 2 inches across or a little less. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for about 2 hours, or in the freezer until you’re ready to use it (it will last a couple of weeks). Preheat oven to 350F. Slice dough into slices that are no more than ¼ inch thick, allowing the dough to soften slightly before slicing if you are using frozen dough. Arrange on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Cookies will not spread very much, so you don’t need to leave too much room between them. Bake for 12-15 minutes, until cookies are lightly browned around the edges. Cool on sheet for 2...

1-cup Urad Daal 5-6 Fenugreek seeds Salt, as needed Oil to deep-fry Water, to soak garelu 2 cups Yogurt (should not be sour) Sugar, as needed 1-inch Ginger 3 Green chilies Red chilli powder, pepper, cilantro, chaat masala (for garnish) Soak the Urad daal and methi / fenugreek seeds in water for 4 hours and grind. Add salt when ready to use. *Tip to make soft and light garelu: Mix the batter in one direction only and with a light hand. Heat Oil. Make wadas and deep-fry them to a golden color. Transfer the fried wadas in water and let them soak for 3-4 minutes. Lightly squeeze the water out. Beat the yogurt and make it smooth. Grind together the ginger and chilly. Add this to the yogurt. Add salt and sugar. Dip the wadas in the yogurt, garnish and serve chilled. Note: Can add tadka too - Mustard seeds, cumin seeds, methi seeds, curry leaves & pinch of hing.

10-12 Baby Potatoes, boiled and peeled ½ cup Cashewnuts 2 big Onions, cubed 1 cup Tomato Puree 1-cup Fresh Mint Leaves 2 Bay Leaves 2 Cloves ½ tsp Fennel Seeds 1 tbsp Chopped Ginger 1 tsp Garam Masala 1 tsp Turmeric Powder 1 tsp Coriander Powder 1 tsp Cumin Powder 1 tsp Pomegranate Seed Powder (anardana powder) - optional 1 tsp Chilli Powder Salt, as needed Oil, as needed In a pan add 2 tbsp oil and fry the onions till the raw smell leaves. Let it cool. Grind the onions, cashews, mint leaves and ginger into a thick paste. (Add garlic if needed). In a deep-bottomed pan add some oil and fry aniseed, bay leaves and cloves. When the aroma arises, start adding the onion paste, tomato puree, and all the other powders. Give a good stir, simmer the stove to medium and add a cup of water, as the gravy keeps getting thick. Let it cook for a while. Now add the potatoes and leave it for another 10 minutes. Garnish with some fresh cilantro, fresh cream, chopped onions and mint leaves.

2 cup Okra, thinly sliced into rounds 1 Onion, finely chopped 3 Green Chillies., finely chopped 2 Garlic Cloves, finely chopped Saute them in oil, until they turn crisp and crunchy, like you normally do for a dry curry. Mix together 1-cup yellow cornmeal, ½ cup whole-wheat flour, 1 tsp each- baking powder and soda, ½ tsp salt . In another bowl, mix - 2 eggs (optional - remove yellows), 1 cup buttermilk, 2 tbsp of molasses/sugar and 4 tbsp of peanut oil . Combine the dry and wet ingredients. Preheat the oven to 400 ° F. When you are ready with cornbread batter and sauted okra, place the empty iron skillet in oven and heat it up. Remove the hot skillet from the oven. First place the okra in the skillet, then pour the cornbread batter over it. Spread the batter neat and even with a spatula. Place the iron skillet in oven, bake at 400° F, for about 20 to 30 minutes or until the top is lightly browned. Serve with gravy curry.

1¼ cup All Purpose Flour Salt, as needed 1½ tsp Baking Powder ½ cup White Sugar ¼ cup Butter 2 Eggs ½ tsp Cinnamon Powder 4 tbsp Milk 1 Large Apple (tart), peeled, cored and sliced For topping: ¼ cup All Purpose Flour 2½ tbsp Butter ¼ cup Brown Sugar ¼ tsp Cinnamon Powder 2-3 tbsp Crushed Walnuts (optional) Preheat oven to 345 F. Grease and flour a round baking pan. Prepare the topping by combining brown sugar, cinnamon powder and all purpose flour well. Cut the butter into this mixture using a fork until it appears crumbly. You can also add a few tbsps of chopped walnuts (optional). Keep aside. Sieve all purpose flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl. In another bowl, cream butter with sugar. Use a hand blender to make a smooth creamy mixture. Add the beaten eggs and combine well. Add cinnamon powder and combine. Fold in the flour mixture little by little alternating with milk. Do not overbeat; just fold the dry till there is not trace of any flour. Pour batter into the greased and f...

1 medium Onion, finely chopped 3-4 ripe red Tomatoes, chopped 1 tender Carrot, grated 2 Bay Leaves 1 tbsp Butter 2 tsp Corn Flour ¼ cup Milk Salt, as needed 1 tsp Pepper 1 tsp Sugar Heat butter in a pan and add bay leaf and chopped onions. Fry them for 2-3 minutes and add grated carrots. Stir for a minute or two and then add chopped tomatoes. Add enough water to cover the pieces and cook till tomatoes become tender. Take the pan from heat and cool down the mixture and blend it in a blender and strain well. Heat the soup back in the pan. Add ½ cup water and salt & sugar till boiling point in reduced flame stirring in between. Take a bowl, and mix milk and corn flour. Add this mixture slowly while stirring the soup. Cook in reduced flame for few more minutes. Serve hot, sprinkled with pepper along with bread.