Hearty Spices

Masala Paste - Dry roast 5-6 Dry Red Chilies, 1 tbsp of Poppy Seeds, Fistful of Peanuts and 1 tbsp of White Sesame Seeds and grind them into powder. Curry - Heat 2 tbsp of Oil in a pan, add and sauté  2 medium chopped Onions, 4 slit Green Chillis, a tbsp of Ginger Garlic Paste  till translucent for 4 minutes on medium heat. Add  a Kg of cleaned , diced Chicken pieces and cook on high heat for 5-6 minutes, mixing once in a while. Add ½ tsp of Turmeric Powder, 1 tbsp of Coriander Powder, ¼ tsp of Cumin Powder, 1 tsp of Red Chili Powder, Salt to taste and mix well. Add the ground masala paste and a cup of Tomato Puree and mix. Reduce heat to medium, cook without lid for 7-8 minutes. Add ½ cup of Water and cook covered for 20-25 minutes or till the chicken is cooked. Add the a cup of Coconut Milk and cook without lid for a few minutes till you get the desired gravy consistency. Finally add  a tsp of  Garam Masala Powder , mix well....

Batter – Add a cup of All-purpose Flour, 1/8 tsp of Cardamom Powder, a tsp of proofed Rapid Rise Yeast (in ¾ cup fo Warm Water till frothy) and 2 tsp Corn Flour/Starch in a bowl and mix thoroughly. Add a tsp of Oil, a tbsp of Yogurt and Water as needed ; mix well until there are no lumps. Take very warm water in a larger bowl and place the batter bowl inside the larger bowl. Cover the larger bowl and allow the batter to rest for 30 minutes. Mix the fermented batter well and fill the batter into a ketchup bottle. Syrup – Cook a cup of Water, 1¼ cup of Sugar and pinch of Saffron in a heavy bottom pan for 15 minutes on medium heat. Reduce heat to a low simmer and add ¼ tsp of Cardamom Powder, a tsp of Lemon Juice; mix. Jalebi - Squeeze out the batter into the hot oil to about 2-3 inches in diameter. Fry until the bottom side looks golden and flip once to cook the other side. Drain the Jalebi and place directly into sugar syrup. Allow jalebi to remain in the syrup for just a...

Chat - Combine 3 tbsps of Sev, 2 tbsp of crushed roasted Peanuts, a boiled Potato (diced into small cubes), ¼ cup of boiled Chick Peas (optional), small cup of boiled Corn Kernels, 1 small Onion, finely chopped, a Green Chilli, finely chopped, a small Tomato (de-seeded and chopped finely), 2 tbsp chopped Coriander Leaves, big pinch of Chaat Masala Powder (optional), ¼ tsp Red Chilli Powder, ½ tbsp Lemon Juice, Salt to taste in a bowl. Drizzle a tbsp of Tamarind Chutney over it and serve. Tamarind Chutney - Add  a cup of Tamarind Pulp, ½ cup of pureed fresh Dates, ¾ cup of grated Jaggery or Brown Sugar and 2 cups of Wa ter to a pan and cook on a medium heat till the dates and tamarind turn soft. Remove from heat and allow cooling. Grind to a smooth paste. Heat this ground sauce in a vessel on medium flame and cook it for 2-3 minutes. Add ½ tsp of Red Chilli Powder, 1 tsp Cumin Powder, 1 tsp Fennel Seeds Powder, 1 tsp Salt and m...

Wash the 250 gm of Ivy Gourds / Dondakayalu and nip the tip and tail ends. Slit each into two, length wise and slice them into thin long strips. In a pan, dry roast ¾ tsp of C umin Seeds , 2 torn Red Chillies and 1½ of Peanuts for a few seconds stirring continuosly. Remove from heat and grind to make a coarse powder. Heat 1½ tbsp of Oil in a pan and splutter ½ tsp of Mustard Seeds, 1 tsp of Channa Dal, 1 tsp of Urad Dal and few Curry Leaves . Immediately add the sliced dondakayalu, Salt to taste, a pinch of Turmeric Powder and combine. Saute on medium heat for 3-4 minutes,while stirring continously. Reduce to low heat and cover cook till soft, approximately 12-15 minutes. Add the ground coarse powder, combine well and let it cook uncovered for another 2 minutes on medium heat. Remove from heat and serve hot with steamed rice, dal or sambar.

Preparation - Wash, dry and cut 4 Drumsticks / Munagakayalu into 3 inch pieces. Soak ½ cup of Cashews in water for ½ hour. Gravy - Heat 2 tsp of Oil in a pan and splutter ¼ tsp each of Mustard & Cumin Seeds . Saute few Curry Leaves, a large roughly chopped Onion and 2-3 slit Green Chilies till the onions are soft. Add ¼ tsp of Turmeric Powder, a diced Tomato and saute till the tomato pieces are soft. Add in the drumstick pieces, soaked Cashews, ½ tsp of Red Chilli Powder, ¼ tsp of Coriander Powder, Salt to taste and 2 cups of Milk . Cover cook on medium heat till drumsticks and cashew pieces are soft and the desired consistency is reached. Serve hot with steamed rice.

Paneer -  Bring 4 cups of Milk in a saucepan to a rolling boil. Dilute ¼ cup of Lemon Juice in 2 tsp of Water and add to the boiling milk. Mix till the milk curdles completely and remove from the heat. Drain the whey and run water through the curdled milk into a wash cloth. Hand it over the sink for 30 minutes till all the whey is drained. Remove the drained paneer from the wash cloth and place in a plate. Knead the paneer for about 5 minutes into a smooth soft dough.Add few drops of Food Color to it and knead. Divide the paneer into 8 equal sized balls and oval shape them. Syrup -  Take 5 cups of Water in a wide pan and bring it to boil. Add 2 cups of Sugar and stir to dissolve it well. Add the paneer balls to the syrup and bring it to boil. Turn to medium heat and cover cook for 10 minutes. Flip the chum chums and cook for 15 more minutes on medium heat. Check the paneer is cooked well - A perfect chum chum will have pores in it. Now turn off the heat and let the...

Pressure cook  250 gm of cleaned and diced Mutton with 1 tsp of Cumin Seeds, 1 tsp of Fennel Seeds and a pinch of Turmeric Powder and enough Water to cover the meat, for 8 whistles.  Heat 2 tbsp of Oil in a pan and saute a finely sliced medium Onion till they turn translucent. Add and saute 3-4 slit Green Chililes, few Curry Leaves, 1 tsp of Ginger Garlic Paste till the raw smell disappears. Add 1 tsp of Black Pepper Powder, 1 tbsp of Cumin Powder, 1 tbsp of Coriander Powder, 1 tsp of Garam Masala Powder, Salt to taste and mix well. Add the cooked mutton pieces and saute on low heat till the pieces get coated and roasted evenly. Sprinkle a tbsp of Lemon Juice over the curry. Serve hot with rice and sambar.