Hearty Spices

Eggs - Boil 4 large Eggs in a pan filled with water for 20 minutes. After cooling, shell the eggs and make 3 - 4 slits halfway on them. Keep aside. Spices - Heat 2 tbsp Oil in a saute pan. Once hot, add 1 tsp Cumin Seeds, 2-3 Cardamom Pods, 3-4 Cloves and 3-4 Peppercorns . Toss them till they start to sizzle and pop. Veggies - Take a medium-sized Onion and 1-2 Green Chilies and finely chop them. Add them to the saute pan and fry till browned. Clean and chop a large Tomato and a cup fresh Fenugreek Leaves and add them to the pan too. Spice Powders - Add Salt to taste, ¼ tsp of Red Chilli Powder, ¼ tsp of Turmeric Powder, ½ tsp of Coriander Powder and ½ tsp of Cumin Powder to the pan and mix well. Cook till the tomatoes are pulped and the oil comes out from the sides. Curry - Beat 1 tbsp Yogurt in a cup of water and add it to the pan. Stir till the mixture is mixed well with the onion-tomato mixture. Allow it to come to a boil, and then add the slit boiled eggs to the ...

Dry - In a mixing bowl, seive 1½ cups of All Purpose Flour, ¼ tsp of Baking Powder, ½ tsp of Baking soda and a pinch of Salt together into a smooth mix. Then, add a cup of Freshly chopped Strawberries and ½ cup of semi sweet or dark Chocolate Chips to it. Wet - In a blender / mixer or in a bowl, mix ½ cup of Vegetable Oil, ½ cup of Sugar, 2 ripe mashed Bananas and ½ tsp of Vanilla Essence into a smooth mixture. Bread - Gently incorporate the dry and wet ingredients together and mix in ¼ cup of sliced Almonds. Pour into a well greased loaf pan. Top off with some silvered almonds. Bake in a preheated oven at 350F for about 50 mins. Serve warm or cold.

Dal Mixture - Heat 1 tsp of Oil in a small pan. When hot, add 1 tbsp of split Black Gram Dal (Minapappu), 1 tsp of Bengal Gram Dal (Senagapappu) (optional) and 1 tsp of Coriander Seeds . When golden brown, add 2 slit Green Chilies and 2 dry Red Chilies and toss for a minute. Finally add a big pinch of Asafetida and immediately remove from heat. Keep aside to cool. Ginger & Coriander - Remove the skin on 1½ - 2 inch Ginger and slice into thin pieces. Clean a big bunch of Coriander Leaves (about 1½ cups) and chop them. In the same pan, add 1 tsp of Oil , add ginger and sauté till it turns red (approx 3 minutes). Add the coriander leaves and sauté further for a minute. Remove from heat and cool. Grind - Grind the roasted dal mixture, sautéed ginger-coriander, 1 tbsp of grated Coconut (optional), 1 tbsp Tamarind paste, 2-3 tbsp Jaggery along with Salt to taste , to a slightly coarse paste by adding about ¼ cup of Water . Popu (Seasoning)- Heat 1 tsp of Oil in a small pan. ...

Lentils (Dals) - Soak ½ cup of Toor Dal (Kandipappu), ½ cup of Channa Dal (Senagapappu), ½ cup of Moong Dal (Pesarapappu), ½ cup of Urad Dal (Minapappu), ½ cup of Rice in enough cold water for atleast 6 hours. Batter - Grind the soaked lentils along with 6 dried Red Chilies and Salt to taste into a smooth dosa like batter. Seasoning (Popu)- Heat 2 tsp Oil in a small pan. When hot, add ½ tsp of Mustard Seeds, ½ tsp of Cumin seeds and a pinch of Asafoetida . Once they splutter, add 6 Curry leaves and toss for 10 seconds and remove from heat. Add the seasoning to the batter. Ada - Heat a griddle / dosa pan on medium heat and pour about a ladleful of batter. Spread the batter around with the ladle in the form of dosa. Add ½ tsp of Oil around the dosa and let it cook for about 3 minutes. Flip the dosa and cook for another 2 minutes. Serve hot accompanied with Allam Kothimeera chutney (Ginger Coriander Leaves Chutney).

Yogurt Mixture - Beat a cup of Yogurt with ½ cup of Water smoothly without lumps for about 30 seconds. Onions, Green Chilies, Ginger and Turmeric Powder - Finely chop 2 medium Onions, 4 Green Chilies and an inch of Ginger . Add these to the beaten yogurt along with ¼ tsp of Turmeric Powder . Popu / Seasoning - Heat 2 tsp Oil in a small pan, add ½ tsp of Cumin seeds and ½ tsp of Mustard seeds . After they splutter, add 4 Dried Red Chillies , 1 tsp of Split Black Gram Dal (Minappappu), ¼ tsp of Fenugreek seeds and a pinch of Hing . Once the dal is golden brown reduce to low heat and add 2 sprigs of Curry Leaves . Add this to the beaten yogurt mixture and mix well. Garnish - Finely chop a small bunch of Coriander leaves and keep aside. Add Salt to taste to the beaten yogurt mixture and garnish with the chopped Coriander Leaves. Serve cold with hot white rice.

Preheat oven to 350F. Line standard 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners. Batter - In a mixing bowl, combine ¾ cup of All Purpose Flour, ¾ cup of Sugar, 1 tsp of Baking Powder, ½ tsp of Baking Soda and ¼ tsp of Salt ; set aside. With an electric mixer, combine 6 tbsp of Unsweetened Dutch-process Cocoa Powder and 3 tbsp of Hot Water until a thick paste forms. Add melted 3 tbsp of Unsalted Butter, 6 tbsp of Buttermilk, 1 large Egg and 1 Egg White ; beat until combined. Whisk in flour mixture until smooth. Cream Cheese Icing - With an electric mixer, beat 3 oz of Cream Cheese and 1 cup of Confectioners Sugar until light and fluffy. Cupcakes - Scoop batter into prepared pan and bake until a tester comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Transfer cupcakes to a wire rack to cool completely. Use an offset spatula or butter knife to spread Light Cream-Cheese Icing over tops.

V eggies - Wash, peel and cube 2 medium Potatoes and a Carrot . Boil the veggies and mash them together. Add a tsp of Grated Ginger,  2 minced Green Chili and 2 tbsp of chopped Coriander Leaves  to the mashed mixture. Add 3 tbsp of Soaked Poha , a pinch of Turmeric Powder, a tsp of Amchur, a tsp of Red Chilli powder, a tsp of Cumin Powder, Salt to taste and mash well to form a smooth consistent mixture. Tikkies - Make Lemon-sized balls and flatten them out in the form of tikkies. Shallow-fry them in a pan until golden brown. Keep aside. Peas - Pick and wash 1½ cups of whole dried Yellow Peas . Soak for 6 hours in water. Drain the peas and add 2 -3 cups of Water, Salt to taste, a pinch of Turmeric Powder and pressure cook for 1-3 whistles or until they are well-done. Keep aside until cool. Ragda - In a saucepan, heat 1 tbsp Oil . Add finely sliced small Onion and ½ tsp of Turmeric Powder . When the onions are translucent, add finely chopped small Tomato...