Hearty Spices

2 cups All Purpose Flour 1¼ cups Wheat Flour 1½ tsp Salt ½ tsp ground Ginger 2 tsp Baking Soda 1½ tsp ground Cinnamon 2 cups Sugar 1 cup light Brown Sugar, not packed ¾ cup Vegetable Oil 1 cup Egg Substitute / 4 Eggs 1/3 cup Water 2 cups grated Zucchini 1 tsp Lemon Juice 1 cup chopped Toasted Pecans Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, salt, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon and sugar. In a separate bowl, combine oil, egg substitute, water, zucchini and lemon juice. Mix wet ingredients into dry – be careful not to overmix!, add nuts and fold in. Bake in 2 standard loaf pans, sprayed with nonstick spray, for 1 hour, or until a tester comes out clean. Alternately, bake in 5 or 6 mini loaf pans for about 45 minutes. OR the muffin versions cooked in about 25 minutes.

2 large Green Capsicums, cut into big squares 1 large Onion, finely chopped ¼ tsp Ginger Garlic Paste 2 Tomatoes cut into big pieces 1 tsp Red Chili Powder ¼ tsp Turmeric Powder 1 tsp Coriander Powder ½ tsp Kasuri Methi (Dry Fenugreek Leaves) 1½ tsp Roasted Sesame Seeds Powder 1½ tsp Roasted Peanuts Powder Salt to taste Few Curry Leaves 1 tbsp Oil Chopped Coriander Leaves for garnish Heat oil in a heavy bottomed vessel, add chopped onions and curry leaves and fry till onions turn transparent. Add ginger-garlic paste and saute for 3 mts. Add red chilli pwd, turmeric pwd, coriander pwd and salt and combine. Add the chopped capsicums and tomatoes and fry for 7-8 mts, without lid. Add a cup of water and cook for approx 10-12 mts with lid on low to medium flame. Allow the gravy to thicken. Add the groundnut and sesame seeds pwds and kasuri methi and combine. Cook without lid for 5 mts. Turn off heat. Remove onto serving bowl and garnish with chopped coriander leaves. Serve with rice or roti...

Heat 1 tbsp oil /butter in a pan. Add 1 tsp cumin seeds . When they sizzle, add a pinch of asafetida, ¼ tsp turmeric powder . Immediately add 3 cups of corn kernels (from about 3 ears of corn), 1 cup water, salt to taste, 2 tbsp finely chopped fresh cilantro, 12 curry leaves, 2 to 4 fresh Thai or serrano chillies, sliced crosswise. Stir, bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 8 to 10 minutes until the corn is juicy and tender. If using frozen corn, thaw for a minute in the microwave before using, and reduce the cooking time a bit. Add a dash of lime before serving if you wish.

1 Cinnamon Stick, about 1 inch and broken 1 - 2 tbsp Oil (and another 1-2 tsp oil for the last step) 3 Bay Leaves 3 Whole Cardamoms 1 tsp Fennel Seeds 3 Cloves 2 tsp Urad Dal ½ tsp Turmeric Powder 2 medium Onions, chopped fine 2 tbsp Tomato Paste 8 Chicken Breasts, boneless and skinless, diced into bite-size piece 20 Curry Leaves Salt to taste For the paste: 1½ tbsp Cumin Seeds 5 Dried Red Chilies 3 tbsp Coriander Seeds 1½ tsp Fennel Seeds 1½ tsp Black Peppercorn 1½ tsp White Poppy Seeds (optional) 3 - 4 medium Garlic cloves, chopped 2 inch Ginger, chopped Heat 1-2 tbsp oil in the pan of your pressure cooker. Add bay leaves, cardamom, cinnamon, fennel seeds, cloves and urad dal. Stir and fry over medium heat until the urad dal turns a golden red. Add the finely chopped onions and sauté until they are soft and slightly golden. While the onions are cooking down, lightly roast cumin seeds, red chilies, coriander seeds, fennels seeds, black peppercorn, and the poppy seeds till they are fra...

2 cups All Purpose Flour ½ tsp Baking Soda ½ tsp Salt ½ cup Butter ¾ cup Cocoa Powder 2 cups Sugar 1 tsp Vanilla Extract 2/3 cup Buttermilk 2 cups Chocolate Chips Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt. Melt the butter in a small, microwave safe bowl. In a large bowl, combine the melted butter (still warm) with cocoa powder and whisk until very smooth. Whisk in sugar, vanilla extract and buttermilk. Gradually stir in the flour mixture until no streaks of flour remain. Stir in the chocolate chips. Drop dough in 1-inch balls into prepared baking sheet, leaving about two inches between cookies to allow for spread. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until cookies are set around the edges. Cool for 2-3 minutes on a baking sheet, then transfer to a wire rack with a spatula to cool completely. Makes about 4 dozen cookies.

Chikkudikaya (Broad Beans) - Wash, trim and cut the 250 gms Chikkudikayalu into 3 pieces. Boil 2 cups of Water in a pan and cover cook the beans along with salt till almost cooked. Drain and keep aside. Vepudu (Fry) - Heat 2 tbsp of Oil in a pan; splutter 1 tsp of Cumin Seeds, 4 Curry Leaves and 2 crushed Garlic cloves;  fry for 5 seconds. Add  a chopped Onions, a finely chopped Green Chilli  and saute till transparent. Add ½ tsp of Red Chilli Powder, ½ tsp of Coriander Powder, ¼ tsp of Cumin Powder, Salt to taste and 1 tsp of Sugar ; mix well. Add the boiled beans and cook covered for 5 minutes on low heat. Garnish with Coriander Leaves (Optional)  and serve with steamed white rice. .

Soak 2 cups of chickpeas in water overnight or atleast 6 hours. Take them in a pressure cooker; add salt, one teabag (optional) and 4 cups of water and pressure cook them until they are just tender. Drain the water and separate ½ cup of cooked chickpeas. Blend these separated ones into into thick, smooth paste with little water. 1 cup Finely chopped, Juicy Tomatoes 1 Onion, finely chopped lengthwise 1 tsp Ginger Garlic paste (Optional) Popu: ¼ tsp Cumin seeds ¼ tsp Mustard Seeds 1 tbsp Chana masala powder ½ tsp Red Chili Powder ¼ tsp Turmeric Salt Fresh cilantro and lime juice - for garnish Heat 1tsp of oil or ghee in a large pot over medium heat. Add and toast cumin and mustard seeds. When seeds start to pop, add the onion and ginger garlic paste. Cook until translucent. Add the tomatoes and cook on high heat until the tomatoes turn to soft. Press with a spatula and mush them. To this tomato sauce, add the cooked chickpeas, pureed chickpea paste, chana masala powder, salt, red chilli...