Hearty Spices

Okra - Heat 1 tsp of Oil and lightly toast ½ tsp of Cumin Seeds . Add a chopped Onion and a chopped Tomato and saute until the onions turns transculent. Add the 1 tsp of Grated Ginger, few Curry Leaves, 2 chopped Green Chillies, ¼ of Turmeric Powder and saute for few minutes. Finally add 2 cups of chopped Okra pieces , saute until they get well cooked in simmer and put off the stove. Yogurt - Whisk  2 cups of Yogurt with Salt and 1 tbsp of chopped Coriander Leaves, keep aside. Once the cooked okra is cool, add to the whisked yogurt and refrigerate for 2 hours. Serve chilled with rice.

Sambal - Saute 2 chopped Tomatoes with a pinch of Salt and ½ tsp of Oil till mushy. Place 7-8 dried Red Chillies in a bowl of water; bring it to a boil for 5 minutes. Remove from heat, cover and allow staying for about 10 mins. Drain the chillies and grind with the sauteed tomatoes and 1 tsp of Sugar to a smooth paste. Tofu - Drain and cube 1 packet of Firm Tofu into 1 inch cubes. Heat 1 tbsp of Oil in a saute pan, sprinkle a pinch of Salt and fry the tofu pieces, allow them to brown on one side, sprinkle more salt on top and flip them over, allowing the other side to brown as well. Remove from the stove and keep aside. Curry - In the same pan, heat a tbsp of Oil, saute thinly sliced 2 Onions (into 1 inch pieces), an inch of Ginger, chopped and 4 chopped Garlic cloves till browned. Add the sambal along with the a tbsp of Tomato Paste / Puree and 1 tsp of Soy Sauce and fry till thick - about 5 to 8 minutes. To this, add about a cup of Water , mix well and stir ...

Chilli - Coconut mixture - Grind 6 Green Chilies along with 1 tbsp fresh Grated Coconut and keep aside. Popu (Seasoning) - In a saucepan, heat 1 tsp of Oil on medium heat. Toast ½ tsp of Cumin Seeds, ½ tsp of Mustard Seeds, 2 dry Red Chilies and 3-4 Curry Leaves in it. Curry - Add 1 cup of cubed Anabkakaya (Bottle gourd) and Chilli - Coconut paste. Stir in ½ tsp of Turmeric Powder, Salt to taste and ¼ cup of Water . Close the lid and cook on medium-low heat, until the pieces are tender. Reduce the heat to low and stir in the 1 cup of Sour Yogurt . Turn off the heat and remove the saucepan from the stove. Cover the pot with a lid and let the curry sit for about 15 minutes. Serve warm with rice.

White Cookie Dough - Beat the 1¼ cups of Sugar, ¾ cup of Ghee / Melted Butter / Oil, ½ tsp of Vanilla Essence and 2 tbsp of Yogurt till smooth. Add 2 cups of All Purpose Flour, ¼ tsp of Baking Soda and ¼ cup of Semolina to the sugar-ghee mixture. The dough should be kneaded well for at least 7-8 mts, add few tbsps of cold milk and chill for a few minutes. Divide into two parts. Chocolate Cookie Dough - Take one part of the dough and add 1 tbsp of Cocoa Powder and knead till well combined, add a little milk if required. Make small balls and keep aside. Nankhatai - Pinch dough of the white cookie dough and shape into small balls and roll each of them it into a thick cylindrical shape. Now place a cocoa flavored ball on the surface. Along the edges of this cocoa colored ball, roll the cylindrical shaped white dough and gently flatten. Garnish with almonds on top of each flattened ball by slightly pressing into the dough. Place on a greased tray with enough space between eac...

Rava & Dal - Cook ½ cup of Split Yellow Moong Dal in microwave for 10 minutes. Dry roast 1 cup of coarse Wheat Rava for 6-7 minutes. Wash the wheat ravva and dal and soak them together in water for 15-20 minutes. Pongal -  Heat ½ tbsp of Oil in a pot. Add ½ tsp of Cumin Seeds and once they splutter and turn slightly brown, add 1 tsp of grated Ginger, 3-4 Curry Leaves, 2-3 slit Green Chillies, 1-2 broken Red Chillies and 1 tsp of Peppercorns and combine. Add a pinch of Asafetida, 1 cup of packed chopped Spinach Leaves and saute for 5-6 minutes. Add the drained wheat ravva and dal and stir fry for a minute. Add 5 cups of Water and Salt to taste to the above mixture, bring to a boil, cover and cook on medium to low heat till both the dal and wheat rava are cooked (30 minutes). Alternately can use pressure cook until 2 whistles. Serve hot with a pickle of your choice, curd and papad.

Bread - Cut 6-8 slices of White Bread into small cubes and keep aside. Popu (Seasoning) - Heat ½ tbsp of Oil in a pan on medium heat. Add ½ tsp of Channa Dal, ½ tsp of Urad Dal, ¼ tsp of Mustard Seeds and 1 tbsp of Cashew Nuts , fry them until slightly toasted. Upma - Add 3-4 Curry Leaves, 3-4 slit Green Chillies, finely grated inch of Ginger and finely diced Onion . Saute til the onions are translucent. Now add a big pinch of Turmeric Powder, finely chopped Tomato and Salt to taste . Cover the pan with lid and let the mixture cook for 4-5 minutes or till the tomatoes turn soft and mushy. Add the cubed bread pieces and lightly sprinkle some water . Gently mix until the mixture is incorporated. Turn off the heat and add Juice of ½ Lemon/Lime and mix lightly. Garnish with finely chopped 4-5 sprigs of Coriander Leaves . Serve hot.

Gasagasalu (Poppy Seed Powder) - Roast 3 tbsp of Poppy Seeds in a pan for about 3 minutes, until they start to change color. Add 3 dried Red Chillies, a pinch of Salt to them and grind into coarse powder. Veggies - Cut 20 Okras to quarter to half inch wide rounds after trimming the ends. Fry - In a pan, heat 1 tbsp of Oil . Add and toast ½ tsp of Mustard Seeds, ½ tsp of Cumin Seeds, ½ of Urad Dal, ½ of Channa Dal  and a sprig of Curry Leaves . Add the okra pieces and mix once and fry stirring very rarely until they are free from moisture. Add the poppy seed powder, ½ tsp of Turmeric Powder and Salt to taste . Mix gently and saute for few more minutes. Serve hot with rice.